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Say To This Mountain, "Be Gone!"


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Matthew 21:17-22

And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.

Early in the morning, as he was on his way back to the city, he was hungry.

Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, "May you never bear fruit again!" Immediately the tree withered.

When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. "How did the fig tree wither so quickly?" they asked.

Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done.

If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."

These of course are the verses that people use, including TWI, to promote the idea that believing=receiving.

Well, here's actually what I think it means. Yes, I could be wrong.

"You can say to this mountain", refers to an obstacle in your life that's keeping you from being like Christ. "Be removed", so that there isn't a stronghold in your life that's keeping you from bearing fruit, like the worthless tree.

This is what I believe Christ was more speaking of. I don't for one second believe that this record is teaching us some kind of metaphysical formula for financial success.

Jesus concludes by saying "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." I think Jesus is revealing right in the context what we should be praying for. We should be praying to God and trusting in him to help remove any obstacles that would keep us from bearing fruit...of which Israel (the fig tree) had none because they didn't trust God.

If we believe God and ask him to help us get out of sin in our life and become more Christ-like, do you think he will answer? Yes, he will, that's the point Jesus is making. The mountain (i.e. your obstacle) will be removed because God will help you clean up your life. This also flows now with...

1 John 5:14, 15

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

And if we know that he hears us-- whatever we ask-- we know that we have what we asked of him.

Well what things are according to His will? Well, I would imagine his plan, his purposes, to win the unsaved, to protect believers, to give them help and guidance, to help believers manifest the fruit of the spirit in our lives and be like Christ to one another. Isn't all the law summed up in love God and love your neighbor? So it makes sense that above all, God would be helping you to get to that place in life, which is the goal, regardless of whether you live in Chicago, Seattle, or New Jersey, whether you have a nice car or no car, whether you're a plumber or a doctor, whether you have a physical ailment or whether you don't.

The fact that God hears us if we ask anything according to his will implies that if we ask anything that is not according to his will, he might not hear our requests (at least to the point of granting). The fact that God's will plays such a roll in things suggests that there are millions of things one could pray for and never see an answer, even if they did believe. So to throw around believing=receiving as some general principal in life is misplaced.

These are the words of our Master. When Christ's words are recorded, there is some pretty heavy spiritual insight and wisdom coming from his lips, especially since words would be few since time was limited. And everything he ever spoke revolved around his mission which was "to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed" (Luke 4:18).

Christ is speaking here of deep spiritual truths, trusting in God, prayer, and inner transformation by the power of God from oppressive behaviors and bondage that destroys us. Leave it to the greedy unspiritual, 5-senses man to water it down into some kind of formula for material prosperity so that they can look good in the eyes of others and boast of their great "faith". Disgusting.

Anyway, that's what I think it means. And hey, I'm free to think for myself! What a blessing! :biglaugh:

Edited by Lone Wolf McQuade
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God first

Beloved Lone Wolf McQuade

God loves you my dear friends

that was great insight you had to teach us

thank you

the mountains are our imaginations bad in our lives

2 Cor 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

so many people look for the bible for fleshly understanding when its about spiritual understanding

the fig tree gave up its growth so that Jesus Christ could use it to teach spiritual things

it could of fought to live but it did not

its like John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

is this fleshly life or spiritual life I say the context makes it spiritual life

Jesus Christ came to bring life after death

Jesus Christ did not have abundantly fleshly life

just wanted to tell you how you help me see God's truths more perfectly

thank you

with love and a holy kiss blowing your way Roy

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"Believing" has no power whatsoever to alter circumstances outside of ourselves. However, what we believe does affect our attitude, courage and how we act about our circumstances.

Believing God's Word can and will release the power of God in a situation.

For the most part, telling a "mountain" in our lives to be gone won't budge. We built most of our own mountains ourselves. It is a lifelong work to, by the Holy Spirit, to tear down the stronghold that have been contructed in our lives. It is the presence of the Holy Spirit that gives us the effective weapons to tear down these strongholds.

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Believing God's Word can and will release the power of God in a situation.

Evan,

This statement has been used and abused by so many in the "Word-Faith" movement as to make me cringe.

It makes me think of Star Wars...use the FORCE, Luke!

We are not talking about a magical process, one where you can invoke some spiritual force at your command. And that, IMHO, is exactly what TWI taught.

We are talking about utter conformance to God.

I seem to remember Phillipians 2:5 being repeated often. Was it one of the TWI retemories? But we didn't look at it in context.

Phl 2:5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,

Phl 2:6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,

Phl 2:7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

Phl 2:8 And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.

Yeah, we are to have the mind of Christ. But what is that mind?

He emptied Himself when He tok on the form of a servant. He became ultimately humble. He became absolutely obedient to the will of the Father. Do we do this? Do we take on the form of a servant? To we humble ourselves? Do we become ultimately obedient unto the Will of God? Even when it's not convenient or pleasant to do so? Are we willing to walk in Christ's footsteps? Even to follow him down the road of suffering to Calvary? Just like many of the first century believers or believers in places a little less comfortable than the USA?

Or do we try to use God. Do we try to blackmail God toward the end of serving our own stomachs?

That statement you made (and I know this was not the context in which you made it), is used by word-faith preachers to encourage the latter.

And is quite disgusting...when it is mae in the context used by TWI.

Last word: I know that this is not the context in which you made this statement, Evan, so don't take the above as an attack upon you. You just used a catch phrase that is often, often used to teach people that Holy Spirit is no more than some magical spiritual power that can be harnassed if you know the right incantation.

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How right you are, Mark.

Yeah, in my clumsy way I was trying to contrast the mythical 'power of believing' with the true source of all power, God Hisself. But now that you brought it up I can see the value in expressing things more clearly. Taken by itself I have the same reaction to the phrase as you.

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