At 1. 2. 3.

the end of the session, the participants will be able to: Reflect on mountains that are hindering their walk in Christian Life Know how to have a faith that can move these mountains Know what it means to have an expectant heart

Talk Sharing

40 minutes 20 minutes

A CFC SFL Household Servant living out the principles mentioned in this talk

I. Introduction Jesus said to them in reply, Have faith in God. Amen, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it shall be done for him. Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours. (Mark 11:22-24) Mountains are enormous, gigantic and massive creations of God. Some mountains are famous like Everest, Fuji, Mayon, etc. because they possess a certain trait like being the highest, most dangerous, perfect cone, etc. Mountains differ in shape, height and even color. However, one characteristic is the same for all mountains -they are immovable. This session will talk about how can we move a different kind of mountain, mountains not seen in our natural landscape but exist in our lives. II. Mountain-Moving Faith In the story in Mark 11, Jesus told His apostles that faith can move mountains. The context used in Jesus time until now is that mountains does not only represent land formations but they also represent obstacles, trials and hardships in life. Just like natural mountains that we need to go around of and blocks our view, spiritual mountains are hindrances that we

need to overcome. These mountains forbid us to come to know God deeper and closer. These mountains stop us from doing what God asked us to do. These mountains prohibit us from changing the world by setting it on fire with our faith. What mountains do you have in your life? What is stopping you from fully serving the Lord and giving your life to Him? We can learn in our story how Jesus advices His apostles in moving mountains of obstacles in their lives. He gave us these requirements: A. The first requirement to removing mountains is having faith in God. Here are some points about having faith in God: 1. The object of faith Jesus said to them in reply, Have faith in God. (Mark 11:22) The object of faith is God Himself. The operative word here is in God. The most important aspect for us to move mountains in our lives is realizing who or what is the object of our faith. Faith has no value by itself, only the object (God) has value. Jesus did not say to have faith on faith but to have faith in God yet this is the experience of many. When we are faced with problems, we try to arouse a lot of faith to overcome the problem. But what really is happening is that we have faith on faith. The more we know the object, the more we believe in the object. Fear is the result of lack of knowledge. We fear to use something that we are unaccustomed to, we fear to go to a place where we have not been yet, we fear to do something we have not done. On the contrary, knowledge brings about trust. We trust a person we know, a building or bridge we know the contractor or a gadget we know the manufacturer. The same is true with God. The more we know Him in our Bible reading and everyday experiences with Him, the more we trust Him. The more we know what He has done in the stories in Scripture, the easier it is for us to offer and surrender our lives to Him. What is good is when we do that, the more He increases our faith. We should discover that: a. God is bigger than your mountains b. God is stronger than your mountains c. God is wiser and smarter than your mountains d. God is more powerful than your mountains 2. The purpose of faith Amen, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it shall be done for him. (Mark 11:23)

The purpose of faith is to remove mountains. This Jewish phrase means to remove difficulties. From the time that Jesus started His public ministry up to this point, His disciples had a hard time believing in His teachings, works and so much more, on who He truly is. They had a mountain blocking their vision of the really identity of Jesus and what He has set to do. Jesus performed these miracles so that they may believe. Jesus knew that His time on earth will not be long and He will eventually leave His disciples. He urged them to have faith and remove the mountain of doubt, fear and worry they will experience during His impending passion. 3. The way to possess faith Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer... (Mark 11:24) Why do we pray? We pray because we believe that Someone hears our prayer. Jesus Christ emphasized the role of prayer in moving mountains in the lives of His apostles. Since God is the object of our faith, Jesus encouraged His apostles to talk to Him. In Matthew 6:8 it says, Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. It seems that prayer is useless because God knows our needs even before praying. However, Jesus Christ emphasized prayer and even taught His disciples how to pray. Why do we need to pray? We pray not because God needs to hear our prayers (because He knows it already) but because we need to hear our own prayers. When we say our prayers, it increases our faith. When we pray even when we feel not praying, it increases our faith. When we still continue to pray even God seemingly do not answer our prayers, it increases our faith. 4. The result of faith believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours. (Mark 11:24) The result of faith is mountain being moved! This does not mean God will answer our prayers the way we want God to but He will answer them in His own way. Whether God will directly move the mountain or give us the patience and perseverance to endure it, the effect will be a renewed and restored self. In this way, our faith is still increased and we will be more able to face future challenges. B. The second requirement to removing mountains is having an expectant heart. and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it shall be done for him. (Mark 11:23)

There is this story of an old lady who has a problem with the mountain that is blocking the view in her backyard. One day, she went to church and heard a sermon regarding faith that can move mountains. She happily went home and told the mountain, With my faith, you will move out of the way! and went to sleep. In the morning, she was shocked to wake up seeing the mountain again. She said to herself, I said so! Our faith should be coupled with an expectant heart. We must believe and expect the answers to our prayers. We must be confident and assured what Jesus has promised that it shall be done for us. What are some aspects of having an expectant heart? 1. Expectancy involves all our being. a. When we expect, it involves our emotions: we desire. b. When we expect, it involves all our will: we ask. c. When we expect, it involves our spirit: we believe. The world tells us that expecting is a risky thing to do. We are opening ourselves in getting hurt. However, if it is to God that we expect, we are in for a surprise because He will not disappoint. We just need to be open on how he will answer our prayers. 2. We expect because God has given us the authority. But he should ask in faith, not doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed about by the wind. (James 1:6) The sea in the Jewish time is thought to be the dwelling place of evil spirits. That is the reason why the evil spirits who went to the pigs threw themselves to the sea. In the gospels, it was shown that Jesus has the authority (Matt 28:18-19) to calm the storm and the sea. This simply means He has the authority over evil spirits. However, Jesus also gave this authority to His disciples (Luke 10:19) and the primary reason why He did this is for use to overcome evil in our lives. These evil causes mountains of trails and obstacles in our Christian life. 3. Expecting compels us to act A person with an expectant heart is a person of action. Since he/she is assured of the promises of God, he/she is confident to work for the fulfillment of his prayers. III. Conclusion Mountains hinder us from seeing the Lord, serving Him and living just like Him. In life, we are given different mountains that we need to overcome. With faith in God and an expectant

heart, Jesus promised us that we will overcome them. When we overcome them, we grow in maturity in our Christian faith.

1. After the talk, the speaker leads everyone into a prayer. 2. The speaker leads the group into reflection with the following reflections: a. What mountains am I experiencing right now? b. Do I have the faith in God and an expectant heart to overcome these mountains? Explain. 3. After the reflection, the speaker ends the prayer. 4. If time permits it, a plenary sharing can be done.