(Note:
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OVERCOMING
THE MOUNTAIN, PART ONE
“if
you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say
to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’
and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you”
(Matthew 17:20, NIV).
WHEN WE FIRST RECEIVED our son’s diagnosis of
autism, we felt as if we’d run straight into a
mountain. It felt overwhelming and unconquerable, and
the terrain was unlike anything we had ever navigated
in the past. We knew we had to somehow overcome the
mountain, yet we felt poorly equipped to do so. And
yet, knowing that God had given us many promises for
our future and our son’s future, we began to tackle
that which seemed unyielding. As we have journeyed over
the mountain these past several years, we have learned
one thing: God is faithful. Even if moving the mountain
means doing it rock by rock, we have found that God
always has a way.
His
way, however, is not necessarily automatic. As we tackle
any of life’s obstacles, we need to understand
that there is a process we need to go through in order
to overcome the mountain. Following are nine principles,
each of which is crucial for overcoming. This week we
list the first four principles, and will conclude next
week with the remaining five steps of the process:
1.
SUBMIT TO GOD.
If we were to be honest, most of us would have to admit
that we cringe at the thought of submission. Yet it
is the first key toward overcoming the mountains in
our lives. We can’t skip it and go on to something
else. In an effort to understand what submission is
and is not, here is a helpful truth from Jack Hayford’s
book, The Power and Blessing (Victor Books):
“Perhaps
few words have suffered at the hands of human misapplication
more than ‘submission.’ The word is doubly
abused, having been rendered the equivalent of ‘patsy’
or ‘wimp’ if a person chooses to be ‘submitted.’
And submission has also mistakenly been made synonymous
with ‘subjugation.’ But ‘to submit’
is neither to become somebody’s doormat, nor is
submission the enforced requirement of a conqueror or
tyrant.
“The
Word of God has a great deal to say about a disciple’s
learning ‘submission,’ but it never suggests
that to do so is to resign human dignity, intelligence,
or good sense. To the contrary, God is the author of
true human dignity (which is the opposite of pride,
the fallen man’s substitute), and the God-given
human capacities of intelligence and good sense are
never denigrated by Him (though faith will often overreach
both while denying the practical value of neither).
“Submission
has to do with our sensible acceptance of our appropriate
place in God’s order of things. It has everything
to do with clear-headed thinking and nothing to do with
empty-headed self-centeredness” (pp. 33-34).
Pastor
and author Palma Chandler suggests that submitting is
synonymous with believing. He writes,
“The
word ‘submit’ means to yield or surrender
to the authority of another. God’s Word is His
manifested authority. Having faith in God is: 1) taking
God at His Word; and 2) trusting God to bring His Word
to pass. The term ‘believe’ is an action
word. It carries with it the idea of corresponding actions.
Therefore, when I submit to God, I surrender to the
authority of His Word. This causes me, my life, and
my circumstances to line up with what He wills, which
is what He says” (The Miracle of True Prayer [Creative
Ways Multimedia], p. 125).
To
submit is to make a decision, based on trust, to get
in your right place. It’s that simple. Our right
place is to be in obedience to God, doing His will.
We need to make one further note, however. Submitting
to God is NOT synonymous with accepting every circumstance
that comes our way as His will.
Contrary
to what some may believe, not everything that happens
on Earth is God’s will or was in His perfect plan.
Adam and Eve choosing to sin was not in His perfect
plan for the human race. Every time someone dies without
coming into a relationship with Him through Jesus, God’s
will has not been done. Much sickness and disease are
a result of our choices as human beings, more than they
are God’s plan for our lives. We know, for example,
that if we have a chronic smoking or drinking problem,
or if we eat a consistently poor diet, our bodies will
suffer—not because of something God did, but because
of something we have done.
There
are many, many examples of this in every facet of our
lives. Part of submitting to God is knowing what to
accept as part of His will for our lives, and knowing
when a circumstance is not lining up with God’s
plan for us, and taking whatever steps are necessary
to correct it. That’s why prayer is so important.
In the next few weeks we will devote an entire article
to this subject.
2.
RESIST THE DEVIL, THE AUTHOR OF SIN.
As we have just stated, not everything that happens
in life is a result of God’s will, or of His perfect
plan. One of the major elements that thwarts God’s
plan for our lives is sin. Sin is the Satan’s
most effective and immediate weapon for robbing us of
blessings and stopping God’s purposes in our lives
and in the lives of the generations that follow us.
Sin will keep us from being able to gain the strategy
that we need from God in order to overcome the mountains
of life. Why? Because sin can actually change our perspective
and causes us to lose our sensitivity to what the Holy
Spirit may be trying to communicate to us. Sin causes
us to lose our sense of direction.
While
it is true that Satan does have the right to tempt us,
it is also true that we have the authority to withstand
his temptations. We have the power to resist sin. Romans
6:14 says, “For sin shall not be your master,
because you are not under law, but under grace.”
In other words, sin does not have dominion over us.
It does not rule our lives. Sometimes it may require
special warfare to break the power sin may have over
us, but even with habitual issues, God’s power
is greater. This step is essential to overcoming mountains.
If we do not resist the power of sin, how can we resist
the enemy when he comes to steal what is ours? Our sin
gives him a right to be there! Again, this is a topic
about which we will post an article in the coming weeks
including some specific strategies for overcoming sin.
3. DRAW NEAR TO GOD.
James 4:8 says, “Come near to God and he will
come near to you.” Every time we make an effort
to draw near to Him something is deposited in our spirits
whether or not we are consciously aware of it. We do
not need to see a great light come into the room where
we are, or to hear an audible voice in order to experience
the presence of God. Draw near to Him and He will draw
near to you!
The
primary method we have for drawing near to God is, of
course, prayer. We simply cannot cultivate our relationship
with God through substitutes. Love is evidenced through
relationship and relationship is evidenced through communication;
therefore, the depth of our relationship with Him can
only grow as we spend time communicating with Him. We
cannot know what our destiny is, or what God’s
strategy for us to overcome our mountain is without
the discipline of prayer.
4.
GAIN REVELATION.
Many Christians are unaware that prayer is actually
two-way communication. It is not just talking to God,
but learning how to hear His voice as He speaks to us.
As we draw near to God and He draws near to us, we can
actually begin to gain revelation for how we are to
move forward. It is in the place of two-way prayer that
we receive God’s wisdom for how to overcome the
mountain. We begin to understand detailed steps for
victorious living.
As
we draw near to God and become sensitive to His voice,
God begins to reveal great truth to us. Once God has
revealed that something is absolutely true, no further
question remains. It’s as if a veil is ripped
from our eyes and having seen the truth, nothing can
back us up. Any revelation that brings victory in our
lives can only come from God. Therefore, in order to
overcome any mountains in our lives, we must seek God
to gain revelation. A deeper teaching on the issue of
how to hear the voice of God will be another upcoming
weekly topic.
We
can overcome the mountains of our lives, but as we are
seeing here, it is not an automatic occurrence. We must
be willing to partner with God. It may seem like a lot
of work, but if we are willing to commit ourselves to
follow God’s path, the mountains of our lives
will be removed, and our victories will be great!
With
blessings,
Jack and Rebecca Sytsema
(P.S.
For Part Two of the article, please
click here.)
©2006,
Children of Destiny. All rights reserved.
(This
article has been adapted from the book, Possessing Your
Inheritance, by Chuck D. Pierce and Rebecca Wagner Sytsema,
published by Renew Books, 1999).
__________________________________
OVERCOMING
THE MOUNTAIN, PART ONE
SCRIPTURE GUIDE
If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can
say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’
and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.
(Matthew 17:20, NIV).
1.
SUBMIT TO GOD
Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way
prosperity will come to you. Accept instruction from
his mouth and lay up his words in your heart. If you
return to the Almighty, you will be restored.
(Job 22:21-23,NIV)
Moreover,
we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and
we respected them for it. How much more should we submit
to the Father of our spirits and live!
(Hebrews 12:9, NIV)
Submit
yourselves, then, to God.
(James 4:7a, NIV)
2.
RESIST THE DEVIL, THE AUTHOR OF SIN
Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
(James 4:7b, NIV)
Be
self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls
around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you
know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing
the same kind of sufferings.
(1 Peter 5:8-9, NIV)
For
we know that our old self was crucified with him so
that the body of sin might be done away with, that we
should no longer be slaves to sin--because anyone who
has died has been freed from sin.
(Romans 6:6-7, NIV)
Therefore
do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you
obey its evil desires.
(Romans 6:12, NIV)
For
sin shall not be your master, because you are not under
law, but under grace.
(Romans 6:14, NIV)
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness
of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace
(Ephesians 1:7, NIV)
who
gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present
evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
(Galatians 1:4, NIV)
3.
DRAW NEAR TO GOD
(for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope
is introduced, by which we draw near to God.
(Hebrews 7:19, NIV)
let
us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance
of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us
from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed
with pure water.
(Hebrews 10:22, NIV)
Come
near to God and he will come near to you.
(James 4:8, NIV)
Will
he find delight in the Almighty? Will he call upon God
at all times?
(Job 27:10, NIV)
He
will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be
with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
(Psalm 91:15, NIV)
Then
you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I
will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when
you seek me with all your heart.
(Jeremiah 29:12-13, NIV)
4.
GAIN REVELATION
Listen! Listen to the roar of his voice, to the rumbling
that comes from his mouth.
(Job 37:2, NIV)
After
that comes the sound of his roar; he thunders with his
majestic voice. When his voice resounds, he holds nothing
back. God's voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does
great things beyond our understanding.
(Job 37:4-5, NIV)
for
he is our God and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
(Ps 95:7-8, NIV)
When
he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of
them, and his sheep follow him , because they know his
voice.
(John 10:4, NIV)
Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint;
but blessed is he who keeps the law.
(Proverbs 29:18, NIV)
I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught
it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
(Galatians 1:12, NIV)
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom
and revelation, so that you may know him better.
(Ephesians 1:17, NIV)
___________________________________
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