Episode #62: How To Move Life’s Mountains With Faith

We open Matthew 17 and get brutally honest about what blocks faith from working: unbelief. We learn how to speak to the “mountains” in our lives, strengthen our faith through God’s Word, and stay steady when fear and outside noise try to pull us under. 
• faith as small as a mustard seed still moving mountains 
• unbelief stopping faith from working and keeping mountains in place 
• defining mountains as real-life barriers like sickness, debt, job loss, and lack of peace 
• speaking as the action of faith and refusing to rely on begging 
• developing faith through daily hearing of the Word of God (Romans 10:17) 
• renewing the mind to avoid worldly thinking and recognize God’s voice (Romans 12:2) 
• how unbelief limited mighty works in Jesus’ hometown (Matthew 13) 
• why doubt makes us double-minded and unstable (James 1) 
• Peter walking on water until fear and unbelief crept in (Matthew 14) 

So if this message helped you in any way, share it with a friend or family member. 
If you have not accepted Jesus into your life, say the salvation prayer with me.

Transcript

Welcome And Mission

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Hello, my name is Stephanie. Welcome to the All Is Well podcast. My mission is to teach people the word of God and emphasize its importance in their daily lives. I'm glad you decided to join me today. Let's get started.

Mustard Seed Faith Explained

SPEAKER_00 0:21

Welcome to episode 62. Did you know that we only need faith as small as a mustard seed to move mountains? Well, in today's episode, we are going to discuss that we need faith to please God and how unbelief can deter our faith. Let's get started. Let's turn to our Bibles to Matthew 17 verse 14. And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to him, kneeling down to him and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely, for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. So I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him. Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to me. And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the child was cured from that very hour. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, Why could we not cast it out? So Jesus said to them, Because of your unbelief, for assuredly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, Move from here to there and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting. So the disciples wanted to know why they couldn't cast it out. And so Jesus immediately answered and told them because of their unbelief. So unbelief stops faith from working. And so you don't need a great amount of faith for your faith to work. It says here, if you have faith as a mustard seed, and a mustard seed is very tiny, it's very small. So even having that small amount of faith, Jesus says that you can say to this mountain, move from here to there, and it will move. Because you have faith, you believe. But once you doubt, it's hard to do it. And so that's what he was telling the disciples was that they couldn't cast out that disease or what was wrong with that boy because of their unbelief. Because Jesus doesn't work with unbelief. It is faith. Because we do know, as it talks about in Hebrews, that it is impossible to please God without faith. So if it's impossible to please God without faith, that means that he doesn't have doubt. He doesn't operate in doubt. He's unable to. So in the same way for us, it doesn't matter how small that faith is. We can speak to that mountain and it will be moved.

Naming Your Mountains And Speaking

SPEAKER_00 3:22

So what are mountains? What could a mountain be? Well the mountain is anything in your life that is in your way to keep you from living your life to your full potential. It could be sickness, a disease, a job loss, debt, unpaid bills, death, anything that is in your way and anything that is not causing peace in your life. Do any of the things that I mentioned give you peace? If someone has a job loss, do you have peace? No. Debt, no. Unpaid bills, no. None of those things give you peace. So that is a mountain. And God says, when you speak to that mountain and you have faith as small as a mustard seed, and you speak for it to move, then it will move. And God requires us to speak. It says, You will say. I'll hear people say, Please, God, do this for me. Please, God, I want you to do this. Remove this. But it says here in His Word, it says, You will say. God requires us to speak. He wants us to move. He wants us to cause the mountains to move when we speak. He wants our faith to be activated and not to rely on other people. That's what he says here. Even as small as a mustard seed, you can speak into that mountain. Think of the disciples when they were with Jesus. Were they just following Jesus just to hang around him? No, he was teaching them so that way they could do the same things that he was doing. And also when he left the earth and went to heaven, they could finish the job that he was doing and continue it. So, in the same way for us, it's not to beg God to do something for us, but to look in his word and say, okay, what does God want me to do here? He's giving us faith. It's impossible to please God without faith. So how do I show my faith? How do I broadcast that and show that I believe that he can do this for me? Am I just saying it quietly where no one hears? That's not what he says. He says to speak. Just like in Genesis, when God created the world, was he quiet? Was he just thinking in his head? No, he said it out loud. Let there be light, and there was light. Let there be the animals, let there be this, let there be that. He spoke it and it was created. In the same way we're born in the image of God, in the image of Christ. So in the same way God wants us to speak. So speak to that mountain and it will be moved. Have faith, because without faith, it is impossible to please God. The speaking is the action part. We don't just sit and wait. We speak, we do what God requires us to do. Because faith without works is dead, and it is impossible to please God without faith. But what causes the mountain to remain? Unbelief causes the mountain to remain. It can't move. Just like the story we read with the disciples, they couldn't cast that sickness out of that boy what he was going through. And Jesus said it was because of their unbelief. You can have faith as small as a mustard seed and you can still move that mountain, but unbelief will cause the mountain to remain. So don't think that you don't have any faith. God has given each and every one of us a measure of faith, and your faith will carry you through. Be persistent in your faith. How do you strengthen your faith? It says in the Word of God that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. So you don't need to hear it just once a month or whenever you're going through a hard time. Every day. And in Joshua, it says to meditate on the word of God day and night. So meditate and read on the word of God day and night, and then listen to sermons and attend church, and you're hearing it. That's how you're developing your faith and squishing that unbelief.

Strengthening Faith Through The Word

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So let's turn to our Bibles to Romans chapter 12, verse 3. For I say, through the grace given to me to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. See what it says there? As God has dealt to each one a measure of faith, He's given us that faith. We already have that faith. How do we get more faith? By hearing and hearing the word of God. So if you're asking for more faith, you need to hear the word of God. Repeatedly, strengthen your faith. That's how you strengthen your faith. Let's move to Romans 10 17. And this is what I read earlier too. In Romans 10 17, so then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God, which means you hear it again and again and again. You strengthen it, you renew your mind every day with the word of God. Like it says in Romans chapter 12, verse 2, and do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. If it's hard and difficult for you to believe the things that God is talking about, that means that you need to meditate on the word of God. It says here in the Bible, do not be conformed to the world. Don't think like them. So what do I need to do to not think like the world? But be transformed. How are we to be transformed? By the renewing of our mind. We need to renew our mind by the word of God. It makes us think like God thinks. It takes us to a higher level. And so when the enemy is trying to distract us, but then God's speaking to us, we'll be able to navigate and be able to tell who is speaking to us and which voice should we follow. God always leads us with peace, not with chaos or confusion. That's the devil's job. He leads us to chaos and confusion.

When Unbelief Limits What God Does

SPEAKER_00 9:49

So let's go to Matthew chapter thirteen, verse fifty three. It says Now it came to pass when Jesus had finished these parables that he departed from there, when he had come to his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brothers Jane, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things? So they were offended at him. But Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house. Now he did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. As you can tell here, they began to question who he was. How could he do this? We know him, we grew up with him. How could he have this wisdom? Where did he get it from? And so because of that, they were doubting him. And so it says here, now he did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. They didn't believe that he was Jesus. They didn't believe that he could heal. And so there was unbelief that was set in, and because unbelief was set in, he couldn't do mighty works, which means that people left there and they were not fully healed. So just maybe small minor things that he healed. Maybe a sore neck, maybe a headache, but he couldn't do mighty works. So that's what unbelief will do. Let's go to James chapter one.

Doubt Makes You Double-Minded

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James chapter one verse six. But let him ask in faith with no doubting. For he who doubts is like a wave of the sea. It says here, let him ask in faith with no doubting. God doesn't want us to doubt, because it says in Hebrews, but without faith it is impossible to please God. Because what happens when we start to doubt? He says, For he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double minded man, unstable in all his ways. So doubt causes you to be unstable. So it says here in verse 7, for let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, which it's hard for him to receive anything because how can you receive anything from the Lord when you don't believe, when you're doubting? What does God call someone who doubts? He is a double-minded man, someone who is double-minded and unstable in all his ways. Because you think this, but then you're thinking that, but what about this? And they said this. Always follow the voice of the Lord. And if it's hard to do that, what is the word of God saying? What is Jesus speaking? And as we read earlier, as we talked about, faith comes by hearing and by hearing the word of God. That's how we strengthen our faith, and that's how we stay away from becoming double-minded and unstable. If you're doubting in everything and God's telling you to do this or to do that, and he's requiring you to speak, but you doubt, it's not going to be moved, it's going to stay there. You're going to be stuck, you're going to be unsure, unstable. And so that's why he says here, but let him ask in faith with no doubting. You can't doubt. It doesn't work that way. But what about this? What about that? It doesn't work. Let him ask in faith with no doubting. No doubting. Go back to Genesis. When God created the earth, he didn't say, Well, I hope this works. I've never created an earth before. No. He went ahead and he spoke it. He had faith and it was created. Let there be light, it was done. Let there be night, it was done. Let there be waters, it was done. Let him ask in faith with no doubting. God wants us to ask, but with no doubting. Remember because it is impossible to please God without faith. So let's read about Peter, what happened to him when he believed, but then he let unbelief come in

Peter Walks Then Sinks

SPEAKER_00 14:05

the picture. Let's turn to Matthew chapter fourteen. Let's turn to Matthew chapter fourteen verse twenty two. Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. Now when evening came he was alone there, but the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves for the wind was contrary. Now on the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea, and when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a ghost, and they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, Be of good cheer, it is I, do not be afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water. So he said, Come, and when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. So he had faith right there, he was believing what Jesus told him, so at this point Peter is walking on the water like Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, Lord save me. So that is when unbelief crept in. He started to look on the outside. He started to see instead of having faith. Because there was a storm. It says, But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid. So when he started to be afraid, that's when the doubt came in. And what happened? And he began to sink because he didn't believe anymore. And he said, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him and said to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt? And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshipped him, saying, Truly you are the Son of God. So let's talk about something for a minute. Right here, Jesus responds to Peter by saying, Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt? But earlier when we read, Jesus said that we only needed faith as a mustard seed, and a mustard seed is small to speak to the mountain to cause it to move. But with this act here, Peter only had little faith because he came only a short way. He did have faith, but what happened? Then he let the doubt and unbelief and the wind get to the best of him, and he started to doubt. So that's why there it says you of little faith. And that's why it's important to meditate on the word day and night, is to develop your faith by hearing and hearing the word of God. Is that whenever you see things on the outside and people are starting to tell you, well, why are you doing this and why are you doing that? you won't get distracted by that. You'll keep your eye on the prize, keep your eye and your ears on what God told you to do. But if you are not meditating on the word of God, it's hard for you to recognize God's voice when He's speaking to you, then you're gonna have doubt and fear and toss like the wind, like it's said earlier in James when we talked about it, and become unstable. A person who becomes unstable is not developing their faith. And in order to develop your faith, we need to read the word of God day and night because it strengthens us. God wants us to take us to a higher level. It's not just about begging God for Him to do stuff for us, but to speak to that mountain and to command it where to go and for us to go to the next level. But it's hard for us to do that if we're not meditating on the word of God, if we're not renewing our mind. Because we're here in the world, we're living, we talk to people, we go shopping, we go to work. So all these different things are in our mind. So if we let that be our final authority, then it's going to be hard to do what God tells us to do because we can't hear his voice. We don't recognize it. The word of God helps us to recognize his voice and his instruction. And then even though we see things on the outside that are trying to convince us to go a different direction, his voice and his word will keep us going on the right track. But we have to stay in his word. No matter how strong that you may think you are in the word of God, it doesn't say after a while, after you feel you're strong enough, then you can give the word of God a break. Nope. It says every day, meditate on the word of God, renew your mind with the word of God, develop your faith with the word of God because hearing and hearing by the word of God, that's what strengthens our faith. Because doubt will cause you to go one direction, but faith will cause you to go to where God wants you to go. And that's the place where God wants you and I to

Prayer, Share, And Salvation Prayer

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go. So before we close, let's say your prayer. Thank you, God, for whoever is listening today. Thank you, God, that we are developing our faith by renewing our mind with the word of God day and night. Thank you, God, that we are training our spiritual ear to hear your voice and that we are not distracted by the outside world, but we are renewing our mind. And thank you, God, for all that you've done in our life. In the name of Jesus, amen. So if this message helped you in any way, share it with a friend or family member. And thank you for tuning in. If you have not accepted Jesus into your life, say the salvation prayer with me. Heavenly Father, I admit that I have sinned. I repent. I believe in my heart you raised Jesus from the dead. I confess with my mouth, Jesus is Lord and my Savior. Right now, I receive forgiveness by the blood of Jesus. Come into my life. I am saved. In Jesus' name. Amen. I'm glad you pray that salvation prayer. Make sure that you plug yourself into a spirit filled church and read the Word of God. Well, I hope you enjoy the message and thank you for tuning in.