Youth Pastor Brad DeLong - The Mountains God Doesn't Move

oh you've got every right to give that praise this morning don't let me coming up here stop you would you give a shout of praise like you've already been doing and glorify the lord who's gone before you who stands beside you who is always nearby oh the goddess found you in every valley the god who's walked with you in every shadow we praise you jesus we praise you jesus i wish someone would let that praise just flow out of him without reservation praise his great god oh this man god who's walked with us this great god has kept us who's been good to us whose goodness we've seen uh oh we could do this all day and he'd be worthy of it we could do this until the sun went down and he'd be worthy of it oh this is all right church to pause and praise right here we praise you jesus we praise you jesus we praise you that praise is so precious to god i've looked around the room and seen men and women facing mountains and yet praising god

let me tell you about one of them i've already talked about her a moment ago but let me read you the request sister gibson mentioned gall bladder attack two gold stones removed the doctor told me the gallbladder needs to be removed i have nodules in my lungs that have begun to grow and cysts on kidneys and more chemotherapy be not afraid it is hard even still i will be of good cheer and i will praise despite the mountain despite the sickness despite the child i will praise this god who has been so good to me oh would you do that right now from your own heart in your own experience

hallelujah all of your praise is precious to him but i feel like there's just a little something extra when god who sees where you are today sees you at the foot of a mountain and yet here's your unfettered praise oh i feel like it just stirs god says i'm gonna move on their behalf i'm gonna do a miracle or a work on their behalf not that your praise on the mountaintop doesn't stir him but there's something about praise and desperation and brokenness that draws god to that broken and contrite heart i wonder if you do that again before we move any further just because he's worthy and not because i've asked you but because just god is worthy of praise would you offer it to him lord we love you we worship you we praise you this morning you hear and see every individual and you hear every praise and you've taken note of it and i believe you're going to honor it every praise you're inhabiting our praise today we worship you we love you we glorify you jesus believe it i believe it i believe it god's glory is here his presence is here his angels are here god's here to help us and strengthen us

thank you jesus i feel a word for the church family today one that i believe is going to bring clarity talk about youth week and some other things near the end i want to direct your attention to mark chapter 11 verse 22. while you're doing that i'll say very quickly how thankful we are to have every guest that's here today at apostolic pentecostal church and what you are experiencing is the power and the glory of god we thank the lord for his presence it's here mark 11 and 22 in response to his disciples astonishment over the fig tree that jesus rebuked he answered and said to them have faith in god it's just that simple have faith in god for surely i say to you whoever says to this mountain be removed and be cast in the sea and does not doubt in his heart but believes that those things he says will be done he will have whatever he says and for i say to you whatever things you ask when you pray believe that you receive them and you will have them that's the word from the lord you will have them keeping this theme of both mountains and prayer in mind just three chapters later the same disciples and the same rabbi jesus traveled to the mount of olives after their passover meal verse 32 of mark 14 records what happened there then they came to a place which was named gethsemane he said to his disciples sit here while i pray it took peter james and john with him and he began to be troubled and deeply distressed and he said to them my soul is exceedingly sorrowful even to death you're in good company today if you're sorrowful he went a little farther and he fell on the ground he prayed that if it were possible the hour might pass from him and he said about father all things are possible for you take this cup away from me nevertheless not what i will but what you will instead here in this text and on this mountain the very same mountain mover who spoke in mark 11 prays a prayer that speaks to us today and based on these passages in his compelling disposition

i want to preach today about the mountains god doesn't move the mountains god doesn't move i believe the word of the lord is going to bring us clarity today his word is going to help us and i want you to pray to that end there's a holy presence of god here would you respond to that presence and pray right now church lord you're here to help us we feel your glory and your presence here another indication and sign that you're here to come alongside us and strengthen us and help us and i pray that your word would bring clarity to every person who hears it today that your word because it's yours would help and strengthen and and go ahead of someone and bolster their faith today in the name of jesus we're asking for your help and we thank you in advance in jesus name and you may be seated in the aftermath of my title i want to be clear from the outset and from the word go this morning that our god can move any mountain in any place and at any time i have used this phrase already and i'll say it again that he truly is the mountain mover it's one of his many accolades it's one of his many specialties so much so that i would say today that no mountain is truly safe in his sights and no obstacle is immovable in his company no storm and no trial no circumstance no sickness and no hardship is ever permanent in his presence but rather at any time and in any place and at the whim of his command and his will obstacles are removed and sicknesses are healed and storms are put to rest and turmoil is stopped in its tracks and mountains are removed from their very roots and from their very base psalm 97 affirms it when it says the mountains melt like wax at the presence of the lord at the presence of the lord of the whole earth the heavens declare his righteousness and all the peoples see his glory we see the glory of the god of the entire earth including the god of every mountain that you and i have faced will face or are currently facing we see the glory of the mountain mover who is in this place this morning and who can be on the shadow of any doubt move and remove any mountain that you and i are facing today i want to tell you that he still moves mountains and he is still the mountain mover he still calm storms and he's still the peace speaker he still heals bodies and he's still the healer of every disease he still forgives sins and he's still the great redeemer he is still very much an expert to say the least at moving our mountains he is the mountain mover i wonder if you believe that and to help our faith today can we pause and celebrate this god who's done it before and this i know we just started but why don't we give him a praise in advance for every mountain i praise you for the ones you've moved and i praise you for the ones that you will move oh we praise you today we exalt you today we worship you jesus it's interesting to me scripture uses this analogy of mountains when discussing our obstacles and our dilemmas and even our adversity time and time again the lord refers to mountains when illustrating the hindrance that he plans to remove especially in the old testament there are constant and consistent promises of mountains being made flat or melting before the people of god as they travel on their way to triumph and restoration and victory and i believe that this language is used intentionally now they weren't accustomed in that region to massive mountain ranges like you see in a place like colorado or or the himalayas for example but the audience in the setting of the bible was primarily positioned in a mountainous region where this analogy would certainly have hit home for those who were hearing it as i considered it this week it was almost as if god wanted to point out to them the biggest and the most immovable thing they could find and then say to them oh yeah i can move that out of your path too i can move that if i in fact in our text he's almost using hyperbole to explain both the power of their prayers and the power of the one to whom they were praying he said it's not not just a fig tree but you can say to this mountain be removed and be cast into the into the sea not just an insignificant tree but a mountain in other words think of the biggest and most immovable object you can find and i can move that too child of god think of the most impossible thing to move that you can think of and i'll show you that i can move that thing too and not just move it but i'll cast it it'll be cat it'll be thrown it'll be heed it'll be launched into the sea how impossible is that i think that's the point but there's more because studies have shown that even the tallest of mountains can be completely submerged into the sea or into the world's oceans everest itself could potentially be cast and submerged completely into the marianas trench without covering or cresting the surface of the water so i won't just move your mountain but i'll cast it into the sea and i won't just launch it out of here but i can completely bury it so it will never be seen on the surface of your life again hear me today no matter the mountain no matter the obstacle no matter the adversary or the extent of each and every one he's telling us he is able to completely remove it and he's able to make it look like it was never there in the first place even the tallest of mountains the greatest of trials is at the mercy of the mountain mover and the god of the entire earth and he doesn't just move him but he moves him convincingly in more ways than one god moves them with style micah chapter 1 it says the mountains melt before them the valleys split like wax before nahum chapter 1 says they quake before him and the earth heaves in his presence zechariah 4 says mountains become a plain before the people of god and psalm 114 says they skip like rams and the little hills like lambs before the presence of the lord even beyond that these are not to mention the fact that the lord will also use us in our faith in the moving of mountains as well our text says by our faith we can speak to mountains and see them remove matthew 17 says our mustard seed of faith is enough for us to say to our mountain move from here to there and it will move and nothing will be impossible for you and lastly isaiah 41 15 says see i will make you into a threshing sledge new and sharp with many teeth you will thrash the mountains and crush them reduce the hills to chow you'll window them the wind will pick them up and a gale will blow them away but you will rejoice in the lord in the glory and or glory rather in the holy one of israel so whether god does it himself or he uses his people in the miraculous the fact remains no mountain can withstand the power and the authority of the god who specializes in moving mountains and however he chooses to do it melting them like wax shaking them with this presence causing them to skip like rams uprooting them in response to the faith of the people of god the truth resounds today no mountain no matter its size its scope its breath or its longevity it doesn't matter how long it's been there it does not matter how long it has been there no mountain can endure when confronted with the will and the word of god which are unstoppable i use that word unstoppable there on purpose this morning because it's the undeniable truth and i also use it because it's employed in the language of a popular concept that's existed for centuries the concept is pertinent to what we're discussing today you probably heard of it before it's called the irresistible force paradox it asks the question what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object this question has caused debate confounded many for hundreds of years it's been pondered in millions of mines it has in a way surfaced in light of mountains and obstacles that seem to be immovable but i would say today that if god is that unstoppable force and he is then the immovable object in his way simply does not exist and that may be a generalization of the solution but there simply is no such thing as an immovable object or an immovable mountain in his universe he is unstoppable which means that nothing is immovable for him he can move any mountain today he can heal any sickness today he can change any life represented here or if you're watching online today he can forgive any past wash away every sin he can calm any storm and overcome any obstacle he can move any in every mountain that is present today this god who is undeniably a mountain mover so wherever you're facing today he can move it he can remove it according to his will and his plan at any time and any place he can move any mountain that he chooses to move that he chooses to move and i use that word chooses on purpose as well today i think by now you know where i'm going because of my title my text but i'll elaborate further just in case he can move any mountain he chooses to move and he can even move the ones he chooses not to move and whether or not he moves it i will say today that it does not negate the fact that he can move it and he's still the mountain mover but you see

sometimes god doesn't move mountains instead he decides to use mountains for his purpose and his plan sometimes god doesn't move mountains he uses them instead this is reinforced by the fact that mountains often places of great significance and both jewish and christian culture are mentioned more than 500 times in the word of god and about a third of those references listed in scripture had at least one major event occur upon them i reiterate that god doesn't always choose to move the mountains in our lives but many times he decides to use them right where they are not only that but mountains trials storms sicknesses pain sufferings loss grief you name it they can actually and ironically become some of the most significant spiritual places in our lives where major events and god moments are set and occur i present as evidence to you today bible characters like abraham moses caleb david solomon elijah james peter john and jesus himself each of whom had their own mountain center and mountaintop experience from mount sinai to mount zion and mount moriah to the mount of olives mountains have surprisingly been center stage in god's plans for humanity for hundreds and thousands of years and i'm not talking solely about the physical ones instead these mountains physical and spiritual have been used to represent both obstacles and opportunities throughout the word of god the journeys of the people of god when you consider that abraham learned to trust god to the uttermost on mount moriah and moses was called by god on mount heaven he saw the glory of the lord on mount sinai and david built a solemn sacrifice on the same mount moriah and solomon built the temple the epicenter of god's glory on the same spot in elijah overcame the darkness of israel and mount carmelite heard the voice of god on mount horeb as well and peter james and john experience the glory and transfiguration on mount tabor and jesus willingly lay down his life in prayer at the base of the mountain of olives it's no wonder that god often decides to leave and fix a proverbial mountain in the place and the journey of his people who he loves and he constantly leads you see there is something about a mountain there's something about a child there's something about a storm and there's something about the pain and suffering of god's people that causes them to move from the place where they've stayed fixed and comfortable and to ascend to a place wherein they would never have found themselves before hear me today it is no accident you've got a mountain in your path and it's no coincidence that god has often met with his people at the peak of their proverbial mountains in fact psalm 95 and 4 says that the mountain peaks themselves belong to him the mover of mountains so maybe just maybe god doesn't intend to move your mountain today maybe in its place he fully intends to move you instead you see sometimes god doesn't move the obstacle he just moves us in its place sometimes he doesn't remove the mountain instead he has to remove or replace some things in us which requires us to scale said mountains sometimes god in his infinite wisdom leaves the mountain in its place and instead compels us to move beyond our place our place of comfort our place of control our place of complacency our place of contentment while he can move every mountain you and i can testify the fact that there are some and in fact many that he does not move like abraham and moses and elijah and david jesus himself those mountains stand as a testimony and a benchmark in our lives of the glory and the strength of god meeting us in the middle of our trial in the middle of our weakness and i urge someone this morning think back to some mountains think back to some storms think back to some trials you faced and i compel you remember the unparalleled closeness you fell with god while you traverse that rough terrain of your life like moses on mount sinai a lonely climb of over seven thousand feet in that season of your life you are compelled to move beyond the base level of your spirituality and ascend to a greater vantage point through pain and heartache and then experience the glory of god in a way you never had before when i could not wholeheartedly wish a mountain a storm a trial of sickness on any life today what i can hope for in every life is a moment like moses had on the peak of a mountain an obstacle where you encounter god's glory in a way unmatched in any other place in your life i wonder if that's why james said count it all joy when you fall into various trials knowing the testing of your faith produces patience but let patience have its perfect worth that you may be perfect and complete lacking nothing i feel that way when i'm in his glory i feel that way when i'm in his presence maybe i haven't been there for a while so god's called me up a trial or a mountain to get me in his glory maybe that's why paul penned for i consider the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us and peter prophesied the god of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in christ after you have suffered a little while will himself restore you make you strong firm instead fast so do not fear the lord says to isaiah for i am with you do not be dismayed for i am your god i will strengthen you and help you i will uphold you with my righteous right hand and that being the case we circle back to james who said blessed blessed is the one who perseveres under trial or temptation or a mountain because having stood the test and made the climb that person will receive the crown of life the lord has promised to those who love him i understand i've not come to belittle your mountain today your trial your sickness your family situation i just come to help provide clarity for you as you gaze upon it and you traverse it it's an obstacle yes it could also be an opportunity i can honestly tell you today i don't understand all of why you're facing a mountain but there are many mountains that god chooses not to move i know he can move him we sing about that we celebrate it we believe it but instead he chooses not to and we are subsequently left with the doubt and the questions and oftentimes the agonizing ascent and that's truly what it is today it's an ascent our theme for our youth week this week is ascend i've been hard pressed recently to think of a more common way the people of god have sinned than when they're facing and ascending a mountain i don't understand all church but i want to offer you what i do know about that ascent you see in the natural realm the higher you go the more difficult it is for your frame in your body the higher you go the less oxygen and strength you'll have the higher you go the more uncomfortable your flesh will feel same could be said of a spiritual mountain today the higher you go the closer you get to god the more difficult it is for your flesh and the more dependent you become on the spirit instead flesh fades and wilts on the mountain like it did for moses on mount sinai when he witnessed the glory of god and just a momentary glimpse flesh weakens and diminishes on the mountain where our dependence on god is fully realized like it couldn't be otherwise flesh dwindles and decreases on the mountain while dependence on the spirit has to expand and increase you often lose the faculties of the flesh on the mountain but thankfully you gain other faculties instead vision broadens and grows on the mountain i'm just getting down to earth here and digging this out today is i want to help someone with their vision it grows on the mountain clarity is achieved think about it you see more from the mountaintop than you could anywhere else and it only increases the higher you go i want you to hear me today your mountain is not robbing you of your vision this morning it is not robbing you of your vision instead when it's ordained of god your vision your clarity will only increase you start to see things like god sees him when you're on the mountain you gain clarity like elijah did in his brokenness and like david did it as sin and his desperation you start to see things differently from the mountaintop and the mountainside as your vision increases all the more not only that but you gain closeness on the mountain as well both times god revealed himself to moses personally it was on top of a mountain he whispered to elijah on the mountain he revealed himself to peter james and john on the mountain he inhabited his temple on top of the mountain there is a closeness on the mountain how are you going to testify to that this morning anytime you've gone through a trial there's just a closeness with god i can personally say i have never felt closer to him than during those times i have stumbled up the side of the rugged terrain of my life and stumbled into his presence on the mountain or in the trial or battling the storm or facing an adversary so i say again today your mountain is not robbing you of anything this morning instead as you ascend you're gaining some intangible things strength strength that's made perfect in your weakness vision and clarity closeness intimacy and familiarity with god a dependence on god and his spirit a glimpse of his glory and his greatness a trust in his plan and his purpose a growth a development an ascent it can only happen in a setting like the one you're in now facing your mountain these are the things to be gained on the mountains that god doesn't move it makes me wonder what caleb of the old testament was on to no one full well the the adversity everything he was going to face on the mountains of hebron he utters this famous statement in joshua 6. he knew it was going to be a struggle he knew it was going to be a battle

even still he says give me this mountain of which the lord spoke to me in that day the lord's the one who brought me to this mountain god led me here i want to pause here because someone someone's wondering why you're suffering why you're here and what's going on here have you been following the holy ghost more than likely it's not it's not out of the norm for god to lead you to a mountain if you've been following him the lord spoke to me about this caleb could have had anywhere easy but god said i'm sending you to this mountain as your inheritance it doesn't seem like much of an inheritance today some of you have been faithful and you're wondering why am i facing this god led you here but you heard in that day how the anakim were there and the cities were great and fortified but it may just be the lord will be with me and i shall be able to dry them out as the lord said i would be rather i'd rather be with him facing a mountain than without him in an easy plane and the lord was with caleb he received a whole lot more than a mountain in that day but a promise and a victory that stood for generations and then wandering this morning in light of his testimony what it is is going to come of the faithfulness of the people of god who have decided that even in the face of adversity and struggle and pain we're gonna go where he leads us even if it involves a mountain that he has decided not to move what will come of your faithfulness child of god as you climb that mountain gain a renewed vision obtain a closeness with god claim a promise he's given achieve a testimony that will forever stand what will come of god moving me rather than god moving my mountain for me what will come in the mountains god doesn't move i don't know all of what it will but ii corinthians 4 16 tells us part therefore we don't lose heart don't lose heart even though our outward man is perishing yet the inward man is being renewed day by day i pray for that renewing this morning for our light affliction which is but for a moment is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory this morning i recognize i'm talking to some men and women who have struggled on the back side of a mountain of laid and life seems to be an uphill battle every day and and you're in the midst of your mountain your trial and your storm you're wondering what in the world is all this poor how could god get the glory out of all of this mess the truth is i couldn't tell you the half of it but there is a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory for your mountain and your light affliction so he may not move your mountain today even though we believe he fully and absolutely can't either way we trust the mountain mover whether he chooses to move it or not knowing this that our mountain is not in vain and then even if he doesn't move it he is most certainly using it your mountain is not in vain your mountain your affliction will result in exceeding an eternal weight of glory asking musicians to come it's last june sitting in my office got a text said guys just got my scan results back it's back said it's bad the mountain that had previously miraculously been moved was back it looked considerably larger than before over the next year i watched up close and from afar as my friend traversed that mountain that i knew full well god could move at any moment if he chose to part of me wishes he would have a large part of me if i'm honest but seeing and witnessing everything anthony gained on his mountain his journey i'm starting to see at least in some glimpses why god didn't move it truth is i may never see all the reasons why that mountain was left in its place but i thank god i got to see plenty of him i got to see the glory of god in my friend's life even as he battled cancer and chemo treatments i'd meet with him i tried to encourage him and comfort him the whole time he'd encourage and comfort me instead i'm thinking who is this guy even on his lowest days sick from chemo and treatments he would spend time worshiping the lord laying in his bed as his dad read psalms of praise to him as he would worship in fact october last year in the middle of the battle on the face of the mount in affliction he recorded an album of worship songs the title is included come what may he can can't help myself i'm running was a title and god is calling all echoing his journey his faith his ascent up a mountain that god did not move but he most certainly used fact is long before anthony ever ascended he had already ascended thousands of people got to witness god's glory in every step of his journey even as he reached the summit of it all now he sees more than he ever has he's got a closeness with god you can only achieve on a mountain like that after running the race with patience like anthony did looking unto jesus the author and finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured his own mountain the cross despising the shame is set down at the right hand of the throne of god and really it's only when we view our mountains through the one that he and her do things really start to become clear for us at the foot of the mountain of olives facing his own mountain he prays i'm a father all things are possible for you you can move any mountain you can move any obstacle you can move any storm or any trial take this cup or if you allow me take this mountain away from me nevertheless not what i will but what you will in other words you can move the mountain but i want your will even if you don't and i know some could argue this morning that golgotha the setting of the cross was little more than a hill around 2100 feet of elevation but it was indeed a spiritual mountain in every sense of the word and today i am thankful of all the mountains he doesn't move he didn't move that one his own mountain he himself entered today i am thankful of all the mountains he could have moved he left that one right where it was you see his mountain paved the way for you and me to overcome our mountain today because of the cross we can overcome every mountain in our way this morning including death hell in the grave so he may not move my mountain today but because of his own i can ascend and overcome this morning i repeat there is no mountain he cannot remove and with his help there's no mountain you cannot overcome today i wonder if you believe that i feel his holy presence would you stand to your feet right now and thank him for that mountain that he couldn't move but left would you begin to praise him and thank him for the cross and in doing so i'm hoping that a faith and a strength will rise up in you right now oh can we lift praise to the mountain mover today who instead of moving his own decided he was going to die for our sins on that mountain i praise you lord i thank you i thank you that you can move mountains that you will but i also thank you that sometimes you don't move mountains i praise you i'll let that praise rise up in you and let that faith rise up in you as well this morning my appeal to you today is two things if you need a mountain moot you've got a sickness a trial you need something to be moved today i want to open this altar for you and then if you need strength to climb a mountain that god hasn't moved i want to open this to you as well if you need a miracle or you need strength that's a pretty wide net i want to invite you to begin to come right now brothers and sisters who are facing a mountain which you begin to come and if you're watching you're standing where you're at and not facing a mountain i want you to key in on someone that you're going to go pray for and someone you're gonna come alongside oh we've got brothers and sisters facing some mountains some sickness some trials and circumstance they're gonna come and receive strength but they're gonna come and receive a miracle today now that they've come if you're stealing your pew and you feel someone to go pray for would you step out and go in faith and come alongside them and pray in the name of jesus we believe you can move in god we believe you can move it oh you're able to move it oh let that faith rise up in you guys you can move this sickness you can remove it from my life you can calm this storm you can forgive my sins and wash them away oh jesus but i trust you lord i will not be is there isn't one that is the sun to rise is i victory you keep the promises there is i my god my me me when i go to the bedroom more than oh i am i oh victory when i

you're praying please continue i want to ask again just to key in on two things if you need strength today you need strength in the middle of weakness maybe you're just feeling weak and tired as you traverse them you just need the strength of god would you lift your hand right now and we're going to pray for those in need of strength keep that hand lifted if you would we can we go to prayer right now church acting as though it would be it's us or our own need or it's our individual life that needs that strength would you pray for those needing strength right now that the god of all strength who makes his strength perfect in our weakness would meet with him in the name of jesus we're believing for strength right now for these families for these individuals who are weary to these individuals who are weak and oh god you made a promise to paul and we stand on it and your strength is made perfect in weakness so we rally behind these families we rally behind these moms and dads we rally behind these individuals lord we rally behind brothers and sisters who have admitted today i need the strength of god to meet me on the side of my mountain i'm weary today i'm weak in today oh but i need your strength lord and i believe that there's an infusion of strength and we speak that in jesus name into every life that needs it today in jesus name secondly i want to ask continue praying if you are don't let me stop you but if you need a miracle and you're believing that god is going to move your mountain would you just lift your hand to say i need a miracle i'm facing sickness but i've got to have god move it we're going to pray and believe i know i said he doesn't move some mountains that doesn't mean he can't move these we're going to pray and believe that god's going to do it keep that hand raise if you would and can brothers and sisters go and lay hands and believe in the name of jesus every mountain lord every mountain every mountain we believe in jesus and you're going to help us you're going to strengthen we're believing and you can move every sickness you can heal everybody you can heal every family i am i am i victory

why don't we praise him can we do that together for every mountain he's moved and for all the strength he's given for the ones he didn't lord we praise you i'll worship you either way god we've got strength either way we've got an answer either way we've got hope today whether you move it or not and we believe that you can we trust in you jesus the mountain mover we trust in you jesus thank you lord