You Can't Move A Mountain If You Won't Move Your Mouth

Summary

Summary prepared by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon's captions — published in summary form; watch the full sermon at the source.

Say unto this mountain

He comes out of the "I've Been Redeemed" response working the room — "Not everybody can say it, but I can say it. Not everybody can shout it, but I've been redeemed" — shakes the neighbors awake ("It's Sunday night in New Bethel"), gives honor to "your pastor and his wonderful wife and their family. Nobody quite like the Robinsons, and I love them," and reads the first text: "Mark chapter number 11, verses 22 and 23. 'Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say' — would you say, say? — 'unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.'" Then the second: "The book of Matthew, chapter number 17 and verse number 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' — everybody say, say — 'unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.'" His own frame for the night: "I really hope we will be uncomfortable tonight with what God wants to do... One of the reasons praise and worship is so good for you is because your flesh hates doing it. Praise is good for me because I don't like to praise. Running's good for me because my flesh don't want to run. And I've learned I better not do what my flesh wants to do. He said, 'If you say unto this mountain, it's going to move. If you speak to the mountain, it's going to move.' There is something divine and supernatural that happens when you mix faith with opening up your mouth. And even when it don't look like it, I'm going to open up my mouth and speak to the mountain. And He said if I'll do it, and if I won't doubt, and if I'll do it in His name, I'm gonna have [whatsoever I say]. I want to preach to you for just a little while on this simple subject: You can't move a mountain if you won't move your mouth."

Scriptures: Mark 11:22-23; Matthew 17:20

God created with His voice

"Going all the way back to the book of Genesis: when you read that creation account... the God of the universe, when He brought this world into existence, He could have used any means that He wanted to. He is the infinite, omnipresent, all-powerful God who is everywhere at the same time, who fills all time and space. He could have created the world through any means that He desired to create it. But we find that when He wanted to create something, when He wanted something to come out of nothing, the thing that the Lord used to do it was His voice. The Bible says, through faith, in Hebrews chapter number 11, we understand that the world was framed through the word of God. We have been created in His image and formed in His likeness. When you were buried in the name of Jesus and you were filled with the Holy Ghost, you took on a brand-new nature. And I believe that part of that nature that you took on is this: if God used His words, and if God showed the power to create and to destroy, and the power of the tongue, I believe God has also given me and you the power of speaking life and death. I think this church knows well enough that I'm not talking about blab-it-and-grab-it and name-it-and-claim-it. When He said you pray, He said you do it according to My will. The Bible says that the power of life and death are in the tongue. Jesus said, 'If you will ask according to My will, and you'll have enough faith to believe that it will come to pass' — Jesus said, 'You shall have whatsoever you say.'" The diagnosis of the downcast: "There's a reason some people walk around and they're always down and out, and they're always depressed. Why? Because they've never learned how to speak life where there is nothing but death. But I'm telling you, it takes a saint of God who says, 'I may be in the valley of the shadow of death, but I'm going through. I may be in a mess, but I'm not going to sit around and feel sorry for myself. No, I'm going to speak those things that are not as though they already are.'... Jesus did not say think the mountain. He didn't say if you use the power of positive thinking, then the mountain's going to move. He didn't say if you wish it enough or if you hope it enough, it'll move. No. But He said there is something divine that happens when you get a little bit of faith and you get your mouth open and you speak to it. That's why your flesh don't want to open up its mouth. That's why the devil's fighting you right now."

Scriptures: Hebrews 11

Unpolished church, and doing your part

He loves this church for refusing the trade: "There's such a pressure on the church today — we need to be just a little bit more polished. We need to be just a little bit more professional and put together... Some people say, 'Well, we're just getting the Holy Ghost,' and they think that means they shouldn't practice and they shouldn't do things their best. Aren't you thankful you go to a church where they've married the two together, and they said, 'We're going to do our absolute best — but when the Holy Ghost moves...' I just believe that our world is so sick and tired of going to churches and having no move of the Holy Ghost. And the problem, and the sad part, is this: I'm not just talking about churches that are not even Christian. I'm not just talking about churches that don't even know what the Holy Ghost is. I'm talking about churches that know about the name of Jesus, and they know about repentance, and they know about baptism in His name. And I'm telling you, there's people coming to church looking for answers, but they ain't finding it in the church... because there's no atmosphere there. There's no saints there that have made up their mind, 'We're going to have something happen.' But I'm telling you, if you come to this house messed up, you can leave whole. If you come to this house sick, you can leave healed. Why? Because there's some saints that have made up their mind: we didn't come for pretty church. We didn't come for polished church. We came for a move of the Holy Ghost." Then the division of labor: "How and why do you expect God to move what you can't move, when you won't even move what you can move? I know you can't move the mountain, but what you can move is your mouth. And you want to come to church and stand there and let God do all the heavy lifting. No. I'm telling you, I've learned: when I do my part, God will do His. When I'll do what I can do, God will do what I can't do. But we're learning how to come to church and sit back in our La-Z-Boy and relax and get spoon-fed a little message and not have to do nothing."

Peter's sandals

"Don't forget, it was in Acts chapter number 12 when that angel was sent down from heaven and said, 'Peter, here's what I'm going to do for you. I'm going to get you out of prison. I'm going to make these people so tired that when you begin to walk by them, they don't even wake up. When we get to the gate, it's going to open of its own accord. But I tell you what I'm not going to do: I ain't putting on your sandals. I'm not going to do what you can do. But what I'm going to do is what you can't do.' I'm preaching to somebody in this house. I know you can't heal yourself, but what you can do is open your mouth. I know you can't heal your mama, but I tell you what you can do: you can dance. You can run. You can get in the Holy Ghost. And I'm telling you, when you do it, something's going to break. Something's going to move. Something's going to shift... I'm not going to expect Him to move the mountain if I won't move my mouth."

Scriptures: Acts 12

The battlefield vision

The altar call is warfare, and he says so plainly: "The devil is still a liar. I said, the devil is still a liar. God's on the throne. It may not feel like it. I may be in a mess, but God is on the throne... You got to open up your mouth and speak to the mountain. Come on — if you want God to move, you need to move your mouth. If you want God to work, you need to work... Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. Come on, open up your mouth. Come on, find somebody and pray with them in the Holy Ghost. Get connected to somebody, and you call on the name of Jesus together. Come on, let out a desperate cry." Then a directed moment he explains as he goes: "I felt this in the Holy Ghost. If you feel like you've been too weak to battle, if you feel like the enemy has been getting the best of you spiritually, I want you to come as close to this front as you can, quickly. I'm not saying you backslid. I'm just saying the enemy has made you feel like you've been defeated... Everybody else that's been getting a breakthrough, I want you to get behind them... What I visualized in the spirit was: the enemy's got these folks feeling like they're on the battlefield by themselves. And what I had, a vision in my spirit, in my mind — I could see the church, like these folks out here by themselves on the battlefield, and I can see the church coming up over the hill behind them. And while they're standing out there and they feel like they're by themselves, I felt like the ones that are behind them — the reason I had you to get behind them is I want you to shout and let the devil know you're on the battlefield with them, and they're not by themselves. They may not have the strength to put the enemy on the run, but you shout for them. Let them know that you are there... You're not out here by yourself, brother. You're not out here by yourself, sister. Let out a war cry for them. Come on, brothers. Come on, prayer warriors. Come on, sisters. Come on, intercessors. Breakthrough. Breakthrough. Holy Ghost." His last words name the silencer: "Brother Jonah, the devil is a liar... You may not feel like you can win the victory, but you got some prayer warriors. You got some prayer warriors on the battlefield with you... Come on, church. This man's at war. Come on. I feel like fear has silenced some of us. I need somebody to let them know: we're fighting with you. You're not by yourself."