Move Mountains

Humanly, it cannot be done, but Jesus said, “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” Matt. 17:20.

The mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds, hardly visible to the human eye. It means that if we have any faith at all, we can do supernatural deeds.

When the disciples crossed the sea in their ship, there arose a storm and the waves beat against the ship that it was full. They came to Jesus who was sleeping peacefully and said unto Him, “Master, carest Thou not that we perish” Jesus rebuked the wind and there was great calm. Then He said unto them, “Why are you so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?” Mark 4:20.

Jesus asked the question, “How is it that ye have no faith”? They had seen many miracles of Jesus, but yet they were fearful. If they had had a little faith, like a mustard seed, they would not have been fearful.

The old Israel saw many miracles during their wilderness journey, but yet every time when a new difficulty arose they forgot them all and murmured against God and Moses. For this reason they could not enter into the Promised Land.

Paul writes, “So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.” Heb. 3:19.

In Tanzania a group of Seventh-Day Adventists said that they had faith, and they jumped from the ship to the waters below, and they all drowned. This was not true faith. Jesus would not jump down from the pinnacle of the temple, where Satan had taken Him.

“If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, said Jesus, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove.” Though the grain of mustard seed is so small, it contains that same mysterious life principle which produces growth in the loftiest tree. When the mustard seed is cast into the ground, the tiny germ lays hold of every element that God has provided for its nutrients, and it speedily develops a sturdy growth. If you have faith like this, you will lay hold upon God’s word, and upon all the helpful agencies He has appointed. Thus your faith will strengthen, and will bring to your aid the power of heaven. The obstacles that are piled by Satan across your path, though apparently as insurmountable as the eternal hills, shall disappear before the demand of faith. ?Nothing shall be impossible unto you.”? DA 431.

The greatest obstacle or mountain that we are facing is sin. It is sin that spoils this life, and it is sin that takes the eternal life away from us.

Humanly we are not able to save ourselves from sin. We need the power of God to overcome. The promise has been given us, “and she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins.” Matt. 1:21.

And Paul writes, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” Eph. 2:8.

Hebrews chapter 11 tells us some of the mighty works that have been done by faith.

By faith we receive grace of God. Our sins will be forgiven and we receive power to live a godly life.

But faith is something we cannot produce. It is included in the fruits of the Spirit. When we are born again of the Spirit, we receive the fruit of the Spirit, which gives us faith to move mountains. Therefore it is a gift of God.

Many professed Christians pray to God to be saved from sin. Yet they continue to commit sins and finally they come to the end of their lives, still doing sins. What went wrong? Why could they not move mountains?

There is something that we must do, and many fail to do it. Jesus said, “If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.” Matt. 5:29, 30.

Paul writes, “Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.” Heb. 12:4.

“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Phil. 2:12.

And Sister White continues, “The strongest evidence of man?s fall from a higher state is the fact that it cost so much to return. The way of return can be gained only by fighting, inch by inch, every hour. By a momentary act of will, one may place himself in the power of evil; but it requires more than a momentary act of will to break these fetters, and attain to a higher, holier life. The purpose is formed, the work begun; but its accomplishment will require toil, time, and perseverance, patience and sacrifice.” Test. Vol. 8, p. 313.

“After the union with Christ is formed, it can be preserved only by earnest prayers and untiring effort. We must resist, we must deny, we must conquer self. Through the grace of Christ, by courage, by faith, by watchfulness, we may gain the victory.” RH, Dec. 13, 1887.

These quotations show us clearly what we must do in order to overcome sin, and then the power of God will be added to it and the mountains start moving, sin will be overcome and our salvation will be complete.

Those who do only half-hearted effort themselves, will not receive the power of God. We must place all on the altar of sacrifice in order to be omnipotent in our deeds, and move the mountains.

“So those who are called to unite with Christ must leave all in order to follow Him. Old associations must be broken up, plans of life relinquished, earthly hopes surrendered. In toil and tears, in solitude and through sacrifice, must the seed be sown.”

“Those who consecrate body, soul, and spirit to God, will constantly receive a new endowment of physical, mental, and spiritual power. The inexhaustible supplies of heaven are at their command. Christ gives them the breath of His own Spirit, the life of His own life. They Holy Spirit puts forth His highest energies to work in heart and mind. The grace of God enlarges and multiplies their faculties, and every perfection of the divine nature comes to their assistance in the work of saving souls. Through co-operating with Christ, they are made complete in Him, and in their human weakness they are enabled to do the deeds of Omnipotence.” GW, p. 112, 113.

This was the message of Jones and Waggoner in the 1888 Conference. They said that the power of Christ is so great that starting today we can live a life without sin. When Jesus said to the blind, “open your eyes and see,” he could see immediately; and when He said to the lame, “arise and walk,” he could walk immediately; and also when He said to the sinner, “go and sin no more,” he could go and do no more sins, because Jesus always provided the power to do what He asked from them.

Unfortunately the leaders in that conference refused to believe it and rejected this heaven-sent message, and Sister White said that by rejecting this message they sinned against the Holy Spirit, but yet they remained as leaders; when the test came upon the church in 1914, not even one of them accepted the reform message, but became enemies of the church of God. Only those who had accepted this message of Christ’s righteousness had power to be faithful even unto death.

This is our message today to the people who are struggling against sin, and have failed. They could not move the mountains, but we know the way how to do it. But, if anyone, even today refuse to believe this message, they also will commit an unpardonable sin, because there is no other message that could save them.

By this message we become perfect, “Even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Without this perfection we will be lost. May the Lord help us to move the mountains that are hindering our salvation, and prove to others that it can be done.
AMEN.

Timo Martin, Canada