Matthew 17:19-21

Mountain Movers

Introduction:  I have heard of apartment movers; furniture movers and all other kinds of movers, but never mountain movers.  Mountains are  not literally bad in of themselves; however, some mountains tend to get in the way.  Many of us today are confronted with mountains.  Mountains in our families; mountains on our jobs, mountains in our community, mountains in our marriages, internal emotional and psychological mountains, mountains of all kinds of addictions.  The purpose of the sermon today is to give us some areas that are at work in our lives that cause mountains to remain or remove.

I.  The Power of Unbelief

·         What were the precipitating events?

·         A lunatic was on the loose (a demons possessed boy)

·         (v.19) They came privately to Christ, we should come to Christ with our disappointments

·         come to him in secret prayer

·         It is an atmosphere not congenial (kindred, compatible) to miracles being performed

·         A general state of unbelief is like a malaria or poisonous air

·         All are affected one way or another

·         Those who don’t believe—remain so

·         Those who do believe become bitter, and not better many times

·         In a nutshell, it gets nothing done

II.  The Power of Faith

·         Its Existence

·         It begins with the word of God – “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

·         It is possible to have religion and no faith

·         Like a grain of mustard seed (v.20)

·         It’s smallness – if it’s real, no matter how small it’s effective

·         It’s life – the mustard seed is better than a grain of sand because it’s alive and can grow

·         A living faith will not remain small

·         Faith is not only intransitive (non-active), but also transitive (it’s active); faith is not actin in and of itself, but it’s given to enable us to do great things which we could not accomplish without it.

·         A great work

·         Work of removing difficulties

III.  The Power of Prayer and Fasting  (v.21)

·         Sacrifice is a great asset for the believer

Conclusion:  Lord, don’t move my mountain, but give me the strength to climb, and Lord don’t take away my stumbling block but lead me all around.  All mountains are not bad…

·         Mt. Moriah – a place where we see God provide

·         Mt. Sinai-a place where we see God give direction

·         Mt. Carmel-a place where see God prove himself

·         Mt. of Transfiguration-place we see God glorified