Facing The Mountains of Life
Zechariah 4:5-10
Welcome to Calvary Baptist Church, and thank you for allowing me to speak this morning.
What I want to do for a few moments is to try to bring the sermon that I believe God has for this hour, and that is facing life’s mountains.
In 1969, Marty Robbins wrote and sang a song that later even Elvis Presley recorded
But this time, Lord, you gave me a mountain
A mountain you know I may never climb
It isn’t just a hill any longer; Lord, you gave me a mountain this time.
So where did the mountains come from? According to:
Amos 4:13 For behold, He who forms mountains, And creates the wind, Who declares to man what his thought is, And makes the morning darkness, Who treads the high places of the earth– The LORD God of hosts is His name.
As you go through the scriptures, you’ll see that anybody that God used in a mighty way had to face a mountain, an obstacle, a hindrance, something that was in the way. Not to prove to God that they could come through it, but to show them that God would bring them through it. And that’s what builds faith
Ceylon said last week in Sunday School he believed the reason this church is facing so many hard times is that God’s got a mighty work ahead for us here in this church. And Satan’s not happy about it, and he’s fighting hard, and I truly believe that
As I’ve stated in the past, I know what it’s like to walk into a nice restaurant and order steak and lobster and never look at the price. I also know what it’s like to search the sofa for change so I could go get a dollar hamburger from McDonald’s. I have been on both sides, and trust me when I tell you I like the steak and lobster side far better than the McDonald’s burger.
God has brought me through some real hard times, but listen, He brought me through. God will also bring you through. It’s up to you.
Paraphrase the story of Job. Ever felt like God gave you a mountain? As we said about Job, it doesn’t matter what all you’ve had; it can be taken away, and how you handle those mountains in your life is what makes you who you are and how much you trust God
Satan Attacks Job’s Character. As you may not have figured out yet, I love the story of Job. After I accepted Christ, I used to come to Snyder all the time and ask him what I should read, and one day he said Read the book of Job…
Job 1:6-12 6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. 7 And the LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So, Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.” 8 Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?”
The Lord is the one who put these mountains in front of Job
9 So Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!” 12 And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.
Ever felt like your name came up in that conversation? Ever felt like saying, as the song said:
” Lord, You gave me a mountain this time. “
Well, we need mountains in our lives because they build up our character. They make you what you are. You see God’s hand in those mountains. God knew Job was good, but the question is, did Job know? Job had to learn through the obedience of following God.
God knows what this church can come through; the question is, do you, Calvary, do you know what God can do through this church in this time if we just allow it?
And this church is learning through the mountains we are facing that God is with us through everything
The Bible mentions mountains all through the Scripture
– Abraham offers Isaac upon Mount Moriah, afterward called Mount Zion, the site of the temple (later in the time of Solomon)
– Mount Horeb appointed as a place for the Israelites to worship
– Jesus is tempted upon
– Jesus preaches from; the sermon is even called the Sermon on the Mountain
– Jesus goes up onto it a mountain for prayer
– Is transfigured upon
– Removed by faith Acts 1:12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey.
– Mt. Calvary And Jesus himself is crucified on Mount Calvary
What Mountains Are For
- Mountains make you look up. You see the mountain is way too high for you, but you learn it is not too high for our God
- Mountains make you make decisions. Around it, over it, or through it. Or give up and walk away, and I’m begging you, please don’t do that.
- Decisions build character (how you handle the mountain in your life?)
- Mountains show how Small you are. And how big our God is
- Mountains get you ready for bigger Mountains
To get us to our text for today in Zechariah 4:6-10
History
605 B.C. Daniel taken captive
586 B.C. Judah falls; Jerusalem is destroyed and so is the temple
538 B.C. Cyrus’s decree allowing the exiles to return.
536 B.C. Temple construction begins; temple foundation rebuilt after 2 years, then the Samaritans delayed the building for 17 years, and you wonder why the Jews don’t care too much for the Samaritans, and then
I believe God has us in a delay time. And that’s not a time to give up. And then in the book of:
Ezra 5:2 Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem: and with them were the prophets of God helping them.
They weren’t there just praying for them; they were there working with them. They weren’t holier-than-thou that they couldn’t get their hands dirty. It reminds me of when we were building this very church; Ben Turner was here daily working and sweating and getting blisters and bruises right along with the rest of us. That’s called leadership
Everyone was doing the work on the House of God: the preachers, the teachers, the deacons, even the people that think that they’re not good for anything. They were helping to build the house of God. You may think you mean nothing, but in God’s eyes you mean everything. Please don’t think you’re not important because you are. That’s why we’re here, because of you.
I like Zerubbabel not only because he’s in the bloodline of Jesus, as it says in Matthew 1:13, but he is a carpenter, a builder, A master craftsman, and he built the house of God. I can relate a little. Can’t you, David?
Promise Keepers? 1996 with Snyder…But I’m just a carpenter, so is Zerubbabel, and so was our Savior.
But now I want to look at our character, our prophet, our teacher in this lesson
ZECHARIAH [zack ah RIE a] (Jehovah remembers) –
A prophet in the days of Ezra (Ezra 5:1; 6:14; Zech 1:1,7; 7:1,8) and author of the Book of Zechariah. A leader in the restoration of the nation of Israel following the Captivity, Zechariah was a contemporary of the prophet Haggai, the governor Zerubbabel, and the high priest Joshua. Zechariah himself was an important person during the period of the restoration of the community of Israel in the land of Palestine after the Captivity.
The Book of Zechariah begins with a note concerning the prophet. He returned with Zerubbabel from Babylon (Zech 1:1,7, also Ezra 5:1; 6:14). This means that Zechariah himself was probably a priest and that his prophetic activity was in close association with the religious center of the nation. His vision of Joshua the high priest (Zech 3:1-5) takes on added importance, since he served as a priest in association with Joshua. Zechariah began his ministry while still a young man (Zech 2:4). And again, I can relate. In 520 BC, two months after Haggai completed the prophecies that are recorded in the Book of Haggai.
Zechariah is walking and talking to an Angel. We need to be led by God
Zechariah 4:1-10 1 Now the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep. 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” So I said, “I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. 3Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.”4 So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, “What are these, my lord?”
5 Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”
Zachariah didn’t understand what the Angel was talking about, so he told him he didn’t understand it, and then the Angel explained it to him, beginning in verse number 6. As I tell every class that I am in charge of teaching, if you have a question, come to me and ask me, and if I don’t know it, which sometimes I don’t, I promise you by the next week I’ll have more information on it than you’ll ever want to know, so it’s OK to ask when you don’t understand.
6 So he the Angel answered and said to me: Zachariah “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts.
7 ‘Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone With shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” ‘ ”
A capstone is a final stone at the top of a wall or building or a crowning achievement that marks the peak of completion.
8 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying: Zechariah
9 “The hands of Zerubbabel Have laid the foundation of this temple; His hands shall also finish it. What God starts God will finish Then you will know That the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. You know that God’s hand is in this
10 For who has despised the day of small things? For these seven rejoice to see The plumb line The Carpenter tool in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the LORD, Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.”
Dr. Charles Stanley
1.) When God calls you to a task, He assumes the responsibility of removing hindrances that would keep you from accomplishing that task.
God called this church to do Operation Christmas Child. He’s been removing hindrance after hindrance, and He’s been accomplishing a task
God’s called Ceylon’s class to send money and Bibles to Don Rich in Peru, and 18,000 Bibles have been sent to that section of the world today because of a little Sunday School class here in Powder Springs
A.) God is only committed to removing the obstacles and hindrances to those things which are the will of God for our lives
My prayer partner Ben Bennett says all the time, Lord, help me stay in your will so I’m not in your way and he asks me all the time, when he has a prayer request, “Are you clean?”
B.) Make sure you are not the obstacle or hindrance.
(God uses only clean vessels or instruments) No more than you would eat out of a dirty plate or cook in a dirty pot, God’s not going to use dirty people.
God will remove them,
Well, are you clean??? Want to be used by God? Get clean and ask Him to use you, and He will.
2 Timothy 2:21 If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.
Back to:
Zechariah 4:9 The hands of Zerubbabel Have laid the foundation of this temple; His hands shall also finish it. Then you will know That the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. He started it, and he finishes it. God gets the glory
Note: Zerubbabel was building his own house at the time.
So don’t let your plans get in the way of God’s plans. But I’m doing this, and I’m doing that.
Well, stop and don’t let your plans get in the way that you can’t say I’m about my father’s business
2.) We are to face our task in the power of the holy spirit, not in our own energy and strength.
“God, in his love, always wills what is best for us.
In his wisdom, He always knows what is best,
And in His Sovereignty, He has the power to bring it about.”
Zechariah 4:6 So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts.
Might = chayil (khah’-yil); probably a force, whether of men, other means, or other resources; an army, wealth, virtue, valor, strength: Your strength not God’s And the verse is saying not by MIGHT
activity, (+)army, band of men (soldiers), company, (great) forces, goods, host, might, power, riches, strength, strong, substance, train, (+)valiant (-ly), valour, virtuous (-ly), war, worthy (-ily).
Power = koach (ko’-akh); or to be firm; vigor, literally (force, in a good or a bad sense) or figuratively (capacity, means, produce); also (from its hardiness) a large lizard: -ability, able, chameleon, force, fruits, might, power (-ful), strength, substance, wealth.
Who said it? Jehovah, the Lord, (but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts. )
the LORD of hosts = Yehovah (yeh-ho-vaw’); from OT:1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God: KJV – Jehovah, the Lord.
- How to face life mountains
Jesus just finished talking about John the Baptist. In Matthew 17, then He has a man who brings his son to him to be delivered of an evil spirit: And we will eventually deal with this in the miracle series we’re doing on Sunday nights downstairs.
Matthew 17:14-21 14 And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, 15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. 16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. 17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. 18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. 19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
Matthew 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, 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.
21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
(Example: ydc) … If you add fasting with your prayer, I promise you God will do a miraculous work. I have seen it myself. I’ve seen hundreds make a profession of faith in one day, and it was a part of a ministry from this very church because God was in it and because his people fasted and prayed and sought his face, and God did miraculous work
This church is doing pretty good with some of the outreach, but we need to do more. No church will grow until they’re reaching the community, until they’re reaching the world, until they have an outreach. Maybe, just maybe, if we did the first things first, God would give us what we need. Just maybe? Ben Turner taking on more missionaries when financial problems hit
You have to get involved in a relationship with God.
We need to know that if you pray for God to move a mountain, we need to be prepared to wake up next to a shovel. You’ve got to get involved, and God will move that mountain. You have to trust that God will be there and He will move the mountains in our lives.
Jesus said You shall say unto this mountain: Talk to your mountain and tell it what to do.
STOP telling God how big your mountain is and start telling your mountain how big your God is!!!
When the disciple Philip tells his friend Nathaniel they have found the Messiah, Nathaniel is skeptical, and he asks:
John 1:46 And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
When Dion Lotter used to say “come,” it was not a request; it was a demand, and that’s basically what Philip is saying to Nathaniel. You come and see. You come and experience this, and God will do a mighty work
Come and see what God has done and what He is going to do. Come and see…
You don’t know the power of my God. God’s everywhere, and He is in control of everything. He can bring this church to be a mighty church again, and I invite you to come along, come and see.
I love what Doctor Charles Stanley says: God is not everywhere. This is how big a God we serve. Everywhere has to come into the presence of God, and that makes me go wow
I recently heard a preacher say:
“There is nowhere there’s a where, where God’s not there.” I love that
Psalm 139:6-12 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it.
7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” Even the night shall be light about me;
12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
Things may look dark to you right now; you may have gone through a lot of heartache and hard times, but God is the light, and He’ll light the way and help you
Faith is not a dark room we walk in hoping to be ok. But a well-lit room with God’s hand leading all the way.
Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. He will light the way!!!
You can’t go anywhere that God’s not there. You never walk alone
God has a way of getting your needs met.
Your problem solved.
That way is rooted in your faith becoming a seed, seed faith.
When you plant a seed,
God changes the nature of that seed so that it becomes a plant: But you have to die to yourself and get yourself out of the way and let God take control
John 12:24-26 24 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. 25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.
And I’m not talking about like those charlatans on TV, these televangelists. You give me so much money, God’s gonna give you so much back. That’s not what I’m saying. You’ve got to plant that seed of faith; sometimes you do have to plant financial seeds of faith and watch God multiply it, not to reward you but to grow the ministry, and then great is your reward
Takes a little bitty seed of faith. Lea Ellen Rich gave me a little mustard seed
Mustard seed:
- THE PLANT ITSELF… Show the mustard seed
- The mustard plant is well known for its hot-flavored seeds
- Among seeds sown in a garden, it was generally the smallest
- As a plant, it reaches ten, sometimes fifteen feet in height
- In the fall of the year, its branches have become rigid, and the plant often serves as a shelter for birds of many kinds
(William Hendricksen, Commentary on Matthew)
And the power of life surges within that tender young plant to such an extent that even a mountain of earth cannot stop it from pushing upward!
Jesus says our faith is like a seed. When we put our faith into action, that is, when we release it to God. It takes on a totally new nature. It takes on the nature of a miracle in the making.
But I don’t have faith, God says you do;
- God says you have to have a measure of faith.
Romans 12:3 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.
It resides within you. So how do you get more Faith? Doing what you’re doing right now!!
God says that this faith comes alive by hearing. By getting involved, by trusting God, and by watching Him do what no other God can do
You want to grow your faith, and then get involved in God’s work.
Why do I believe that God can do something here?
Because I’ve seen him do it here for 61 years.
I’ve seen him take little or nothing and make something mighty out of it, and He can continue to do it if we will just let Him. And again, please don’t give up. God sent me here this morning to tell you don’t give up.
As I’ve said about this church and how it was built, we didn’t have a whole lot of money here, but what we did have was available men that sacrificed as Zerubbabel did to build the house of God, and that built faith in a young man like me; I was a young man at the time
You want to build faith? Get in church regularly, get involved in the ministries. Don’t walk away from them. Get in Sunday school, get in a Bible study, get in a small group.
Come on Sunday Nights and Wednesday nights to learn more about Jesus.
Use the talents that God has given you to bless others. Get involved and help this church to grow.
Learn more, hear more, and in the Book of Romans it says
Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Get in the Word of God. Listen to the preachers. Open the book up yourself. There are dozens of free apps that you can download on your phone and listen to the word of God, and it will grow your faith
God says that you can apply your faith to see your daily needs met. How?
You do something as an act of your faith.
You sow the mustard seed smallness of your faith into an action of love.
Then, when our faith has been planted, it grows.
Speak to your mountain and watch God set about its removal.
Watch it work in John with Jesus
John 6:3-14 (NKJV) 3 And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples.
4 Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near.
5 Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?”
6 But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.
7 Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.”
8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him,
9 “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?”
And watch what happens: He used what He had. With the two small fish and the five barley loaves, let’s continue to use what we have and let God be the leader of this church, not a man
Zechariah 4:10 For who has despised the day of small things?
John 6:10 10 Then Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
11 And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.
12 So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.” God doesn’t waste anything
13 Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.
14 Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
We will expound on this on Sunday nights when we get to this miracle, but the point I am trying to make is:
It’s not the amount of faith but what you put your faith in. Thin ice vs. thick ice.
Put your faith in Christ, and with two fish and five biscuits, He can feed thousands. But we’re just a small church; yeah, but He can do a mighty work with this small church
Every one of you has faith in something. You put faith in the very Pew that you’re sitting on. You put faith in your car. You put faith in every person you pass on the road, so you do have faith
Faith that appears small or weak to us still can accomplish the humanly impossible.
This mountain was a figure of speech for an obstacle, hindrance, for a humanly impossible problem, none of which is impossible for God to deal with through committed people who accurately understand their authority and know His power, His will, His purpose, and His provision.
Jeremiah 32:17 ‘Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.
Jer 32:26 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, 27 “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?
Listen, if there’s anything too hard for your God, you’re serving the wrong God
And as I have said, God or Jesus never ever asked a question for information. It’s His way to reveal something. So, when God asks Is there anything too hard for Me? He was asking, “Have you got the faith to trust in Him?”
My question to you this morning, Calvary is anything too hard for God?
Can God supply the preachers to fill this pulpit? Can God supply a Pastor?
I know of people that are fasting and praying for this church; God is working, and in the days to come we’re going to look back and say God was in it the whole time.
So, I ask you now whether there is anything too hard for God? No!
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
That word “hope” does not mean wishful thinking. It means an overwhelming confidence. The Greek word in the New Testament is used 18 times as the word “trust.” It’s not wishful thinking. Just because you haven’t seen it yet doesn’t mean that God’s not involved
It’s like a real smart kid me sitting in school. You can ask us Are you gonna pass this test And I would say, “I hope so,” which meant wishful thinking on my part, but the smart kid would say, “I hope so.” But it’s an overwhelming confidence that’s the way this word is used
Hebrews 11:2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.
3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
11 Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.
12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.
13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
And so are we if you’re a believer; we’re just pilgrims passing through
I have seen God answer prayers years after someone died who prayed them.
We saw that downstairs in The Book of Revelation says that the prayers of the Saints that have gone on before us are still in God’s ears. I take great comfort in that, knowing that my mother’s prayers all those years every single day for me are still in the ears of God, and He’s still hearing and answering those prayers
14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
Hebrews 11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
21 By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.
22 By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.
23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment.
24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;
25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.
27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.
28 Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.
29 By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.
31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.
Another one in the lineage of Jesus
32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:
33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
38(Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
Hebrews 11:39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect. They didn’t have Jesus and the mercy and the grace that we now have We have it so much better than the Saints of old
But God heard and answered their prayers. By faith they prayed; by faith they called on God, Jehovah, the mighty creator of the earth. And He can do the same for you; He is the same God yesterday, today, and forever. He can do the same for Calvary Baptist Church here in Powder Springs, and so now the question
Why am I still facing this mountain?
Cause you are letting the evil one, Satan, get the victory,
2 powers here working all the time, and these mountains make you ineffective for Christ. If you allow Satan to get the victory
John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
Fig tree
Matthew 21:18-22 18 Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry. 19 And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away. 20 And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?” 21 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done.
22 And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
Again, these mountains are the obstacles, the hindrances, the things that are keeping you from serving our mighty God
Why did Jesus curse the fig tree?
Hidden in the story is something most people miss: in the distance Jesus sees a fig tree covered in leaves.
He walked up to find no fruit, so He curses it,
Matthew 21:19 19 And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away.
So, what happened? Some fig trees produce fruit before their leaves appear, so a fig tree covered in leaves makes a claim: I have fruit, but when Jesus and his disciples came closer, there was no fruit.
Do you honestly think that Jesus didn’t know that there wasn’t any fruit on the tree? He was making a visual point to his disciples who were there.
This was a picture of religious leaders. Pharisees said You see teachers of the law from a distance; they look magnificent.
They have beautiful robes for prayer, and it shows strict traditions.
They were covered in leaves, but up close, no love, no joy, no peace, no mercy, no justice, no compassion, no fruit of the Spirit.
Jesus said:
Matthew 23:27-29 27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. 29 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,
The fig trees with only leaves show its only painted appearance that promises life, but holds only death.
Maybe there’s an area in your life covered in leaves, but lacking fruit.
You know how to speak the language; you know which verse to quote; you know how to appear spiritually healthy, but beneath the appearance, something has become dry.
Jesus isn’t looking for leaves. He’s looking for fruit.
I used to own a lot of green golf clothes. I had some shirts and hats from the Masters golf tournament in Augusta. Augusta National Golf Club
There used to be a young preacher here years ago, and he played golf all the time, and he asked me he said Where do you play and I said Anywhere I can. It’s been a while since I’ve been to Augusta, but I like that course just fine.
He looked at me real long and hard, then he said What do you shoot.
I told him I shoot in the 70s or 80s; if it got any warmer than that, I didn’t like to play.
He rolled his eyes at me. I held my hands just right and did the grip.
I had the stance, and I stood and did like you are supposed to do. I kept my left arm straight, and I did the swing because I did know how to play the game.
I told him the last game I played, I shot a 74. He said You’re lying I said, ” No, then I went to the second hole, and I shot another 85. He was getting rather frustrated with me pretty quickly
Then he asked me where I got the shirts and the hat, and I told him, and this was years ago. So, these references worked pretty well.
I said my buddies Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer were in the clubhouse one day at Augusta National Golf Club, and I asked them for one of their green jackets.
They told me, DeWayne, you have to earn it; I had to play and win a green jacket.
But then they did say they could give me a green shirt and a hat.
And with that said, my friend said You’re lying and I said I’ve been lying the whole time, brother.
I’ve never been on a golf course a day in my life, and he said I have a hard time believing that because you know how to stand, you know how to grip the clubs, you know the talk, you know how to act as you’ve been there, but you never played a game?
I said I’ve never been on the golf course except to cross it to get to a lake. So no, I don’t play golf.
And that’s the way my spiritual life was.
You want to know if I can play golf or not? Put me on a golf course, and the moment I tee up and start to hit the ball, you will realize I can’t play that game.
Because I never have.
It was like my Christianity. I was raised in church; I knew how to talk to talk And looked like I could walk the walk, and look the look like a Christian.
I worked at a Christian Children’s Home.
I helped build the very pews you’re sitting on and worked on this church building for a couple of years, helping to build it.
I led people to the Lord. And then mountains came into my life, and difficulties hit me. I had to spiritually tee off, and I couldn’t. As I said, I looked the part, but I was not a Christian; I had never accepted Christ as my Savior
But the mountain was there, and the moment that I needed God, I knew, and those close to me knew that I’d never accepted him as Lord and Saviour.
And then on June 15th 1989 I knelt in that study.
I looked like a fruitful fig tree; I put on good leaves, but there was no fruit.
I didn’t know God; I never accepted Jesus, and I plead with you: if you have never accepted Christ, don’t leave today without Jesus
What will people think or say?
They will say Hallelujah. I’ve seen the chairman of the Board of Deacons accept Christ. I saw the pastor’s wife accept Christ.
I saw a youth pastor accept Christ.
Don’t let pride get in the way.
Don’t let pride be what sends you to hell.
Too many people are sitting in Church today.
They look the right way. They talk the right way in Church, but when they get in the world, they are not what they are here. It’s easy to be a Christian in these four walls. You got to be a Christian out there
They know they don’t know Christ
They look good, they sound good, but they don’t know Jesus. They’re just fig trees with leaves, and they’re not producing any fruit.
And there will come a time when Christ will come to you, and if you are not His believer, you are going to get struck down, and you won’t get another chance
- You say: to the mountain, the obstacle that hinders the things that are in your way
- You ask: In Prayer
- You believe: God to handle the problem
- You receive. Which builds more faith;
Identify your Mountain and deal with it.
What is the mountain of your life? Unbelief, Loneliness, Trouble on the job, Disease, Sickness, A wounded relationship, Rejection, Trouble in your home? Money or the lack of. Something else? Be Encouraged! Jesus shows a way to see that mountain Removed!
- Tired of facing the same mountain??
Deuteronomy 1:6 “The LORD our God spoke to us in Horeb, saying: ‘You have dwelt long enough at this mountain.
The children of Israel had wandered in the desert for 40 years, passing the same old places
MOUNT HOREB, [HOHR eb] (waste) – the “mountain of God” (Ex 18:5) in the Sinai Peninsula where Moses heard God speaking through the burning bush (Ex 3:1) and where the law was given to Israel (see Map 2, B-2).
(from Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c)1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
Deuteronomy 2:2-3 2 And the LORD spoke to me, saying:
3 ‘You have skirted this mountain long enough; turn northward.
You have dealt with this enough!!! It’s time to move on. Are you tired of facing the same obstacle, the same problem? Give it to the Lord…
I’ve seen nine different men in my lifetime here at this church fill the pulpit as pastor or even interim pastor. And not a one of those men is here today, and only three of those men are still alive today. It’s not about the man; it’s about the God that we serve.
So, stop focusing on what we don’t have and focus on what you do have, and use what you have and your availability. If God used you, then He can use you again, and God will take what little we’ve got and make something great with it if we quit looking at the mountain and start looking at the God of the mountain
10 For who has despised the day of small things? For these seven rejoice to see The plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the LORD, Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.”
Close: Trust God.
He will not leave you alone. If they’ll come with a song…
Hebrews 13:5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper;
I will not fear. What can man do to me?” NKJV
Know this: YOU are not ALONE!!!!
And now, as Paul Harvey would say, the rest of the story:
536 B.C. Temple construction begins;
516 BC, 20 years after they started, the Bible is recorded in the Book of Ezra that they completed the temple and had a party and celebrated, and rightfully so.
Ezra 6:13-18 13 Then Tattenai, governor of the region beyond the River, Shethar-Boznai, and their companions diligently did according to what King Darius had sent. 14 So the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. (Eh-doe) And they built and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the command of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.
15 Now the temple was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.
16 Then the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites and the rest of the descendants of the captivity, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.
17 And they offered sacrifices at the dedication of this house of God, one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel twelve male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.
18 They assigned the priests to their divisions and the Levites to their divisions, over the service of God in Jerusalem, as it is written in the Book of Moses.
When God calls you to a task, He assumes the responsibility of completing that task. Stop trying to take God’s job
Listen, it’s not your battle. It’s GOD’S; don’t give up and don’t abandon us. I asked you to come along with us because in the coming days I believe there’s going to be a celebration of what God can do with this very church
Zechariah 4:6 6 So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts. God said Zerubbabel would finish it not by his power or his might but by the Spirit of the Lord, and that’s how it happened
Leave it there and move on.
- Mountains make you look up.
- Mountains make you make decisions
- Decisions build character (how you handle the mountain)
- Mountains show how Small you are. And how big our God is
- Mountains get you ready for bigger Mountains
(the bear went up the mountain) … There will be other mountains, but you keep on keeping on, and trust God; And He will bring you through.
Let’s pray
Calvary Baptist Church Sunday, October 11, 2026 AM
