Prayer Moves Mountains (Mk. 11:20-24)
Someone once said, “Prayer can move the world.” John Calvin said, “Prayer is like establishing an impregnable fortress around us.” Prayer is the best way to save time because when God works, He is stronger and faster than anyone else. Prayer supplies the power of God to people scattered all over the world.
The title of today’s message is, Prayer Moves Mountains.
Introduction – Child of God
A child of God has a right to pray. We can pray to God because we are children of God. We can truly pray for anything, that means we have the right to pray any prayer. Can I pray even for the small, petty things? Because you’re a child of God, yes, you can. Because we are children of God, God answers when you pray.
Answer – God’s Plan
Then God will give you this perfect answer, then you can know God’s plan wherever you go. We cannot know God’s plan, however, we may see God’s plan through things like our environment and the problems we face. We can be certain of God’s answers within all things, including my plans and the plans of the church.
Spiritual Science
Prayer is a spiritual science. Science means, if you give a certain input, the output will always be the same. When we have the input in the name of Jesus Christ, the output comes from God. In the world, we learn a physical science, but the spiritual things also have a science. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven, and that’s why we have to know this thing called “spiritual science.”
For someone who has the status of a child of God, they have the power and authority to receive answers to prayers, then when do we think of praying this way? Usually it’s when we can’t get what we want, when we can’t do something, then we pray to God, because God can do something. That is prayer, too, but if you change everything into prayer, then the way you change your life will change.
But most people think that prayer is turning something we cannot do with our human ability into something possible by God’s power. That is why John Calvin says prayer can move the world, because God is currently moving the world. “Can someone like me do that?” Because you’re a child of God, yes, you can. Then, God is going to answer, transcending time and space.
Prayer is the thing that speeds up time the most, because God works transcending time and space, and God works faster than anyone else can. Prayer can supply the power of God to epople scattered all over the world, so therefore, if you know prayer, it really means you know everything. On the other hand, fi you d’nt know prayer, it means you really don’t know anything. The one who prays will never face a limitation, but the one who does not pray will ultimately be trapped by the environment and their limitations. Therefore, prayer in your everyday life is very important.
1. What is the reason for this?
Today we received the word that nothing is impossible with prayer, but what is the reason for this?
1) When you pray, the Holy Spirit comes upon you (Lk 11:13)
It is because when you pray, the Holy Spirit begins to work. The Holy Spirit is one part of the Triune God, therefore, nothing is impossible with prayer.
(1) It is the Lord’s promise (Acts 1:4-5, 11)
The reason the Holy Spirit works is because this was something promised to us by God. In Acts 1:8, it tells us to pray for the power of the Holy Spirit. The standard is that we must do this until the Holy Spirit comes upon us, and if we’re children of God, it means we now have a standard of our prayer. You hold onto the Word GOd has pormised you, and you pray until you receive that answer.
(2) When you pray with faith in His promise, the Holy Spirit (God of power) comes (Ac. 2:1-13)
Then, whenever you hold onto the word that had promised to you, believe that it has already given to you, then you will revive the answer, therefore, you need the faith. If you don’t pray, it’s the same thing as saying I don’t have faith. “I know I should pray, but I don’t have the faith to do it,” therefore, if someone doesn’t pray, it means they don’t have faith. “I know I have to pray, but I cannot, because I don’t believe.” So if you are not praying, it means you do not have faith. If you don’t have faith, then you cannot enjoy the blessings and the power of the Throne of God, then you’ll always have to live with your own power.
But that’s impossible, if we could live with our own power, we wouldn’t need the power of the Holy Spirit. That’s why we always have to say regrettable things to other people, or we have to borrow money from others, and our lives are always seeking the opinions of other people. We live essentially as slaves, why? Because we lack faith. Then, is faith all we need? What kind of faith are you talking about? Are you talking about a blind or baseless faith? Only when you have the faith from the Word God promised and pray, that’s when God will answer you. In order to do that, you have to know the Word. Praying for everything is great but it is important to pray with the word God has promised you in faith.
(3) The Holy Spirit came to Samaria (Ac. 8:4-8)
Then, the Spirit of God will work even in the areas where Jews would never go, like Samaria in Acts 8. They held onto the Word that they would become witnesses until the ends of the earth, so they prayed and God worked until it reached Samaria.The angel of God led Philip, and that’s how they moved because the Holy Spirit of God moved.
2) When you pray, the Holy Spirit works through the angels.
The second reason all things are possible in prayer is because, when you pray, God moves with the heavenly hosts. These angels don’t move without the command of God, so the Holy Spirit is moving the Lord’s angels.
(1) We have the right to receive help from angels
It’s because we have the right to receive help from angels through prayer. This authority doesn’t mean I have the right to move the angels however I want. If you receive this incorrect idea, you become a heretic, because who are you to move the heavenly angels and host? Only God moves the angels, but God moves them for the sake of His children who pray.
For the children of the devil, the demons will move when they pray because they are children of the devil. Especially the deeper someone goes into religion and prayer in that, then they will go deeper into evil spirits. When you go to those kinds of locations, you will receive those demons, too.
There are times when you don’t know what you’re doing, so you go up to a temple and come back with a demon because that religion is a channel through which demons work. If there is a religious temple around where you live, it is a place where demons are working, and you have to know that. But you guys have the power to break that down, that’s the reason God gave you authority.
(2) It is because we are God’s children and the angels are His servants.
(3) The reason angels were created is revealed in Heb. 1:14
Hebrews 1:14 says, “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” So when you pray, God will send His angels for the sake of his children to give them his word, and fulfill His work. You have to know this to realize that God will work transcending time and space. If there’s a gathering of just 2-3 people who know this mystery, the entire region will change.
It doesn’t really matter if people don’t know this mystery and gather, because that’s the same as a gathering of unbelievers. But whenever two or three people gather in the name of Jesus Christ to pray in faith, then the spiritual works really take place. If you don’t know this, then there’s nothing that really takes place: not the church, not your business, not your life, because, do you think the forces of darkness will leave you alone?
Do you think the evil forces will let you live a very successful life? We don’t think about that, because we think all we need is our own diligence, but do you think the devil doesn’t work upon your business? The devil will make you completely broke because that’s your work. He will bring very strange people for you to meet and you end up losing all your money, so really, if you don’t know this mystery, you can’t do anything, you can’t study, anything.
It doesn’t matter where you are or when you pray because God answers His children regardless of that; it’s not just within the church confines, because the Owner of your life, your work, and your studies is God. Then, you have to pray to God so that God works upon that, and it’s never for what I want, but it’s God’s business, so I pray for God’s will and desire for that to be fulfilled.
But there are only few people who do this, so that’s why people get caught up in their limitations and fall over again. They are not able to pray, they’re always their own masters, and they’re drunk on themselves and make themselves fall. That’s honestly our life. Even if you’re playing, you shouldn’t just play, but you should play in prayer.
Unemployment is not “playing,” playing is also work through which God’s answers come, so in the Kingdom of God, there’s no unemployment. There’s no joblessness because God is working. If God is working, then the children of God all have a job. First and foremost, we have our spiritual job, and prayer is going into the work that God is doing.
When people talk about their physical job, even if you don’t have a physical job, God is doing His work through you. If you do have a job, God will do His work through that job, too. If you don’t know prayer, then the older you get, the more sad you will become. People just waste their time wandering around because they have nothing better to do. “What do you mean, ‘because I have nothing to do’? If you pray, there’s a work that God is doing.”
People die of loneliness and boredom, we call that “dying from loneliness.” For such people, even when they work, they don’t do it with prayer, but they do it with diligence, so their life ultimately ends, stuck in their limitations, but the one who prays can go into the work God is doing.
(4) Angels carry our prayers to God (Rev. 8:3-5)
Revelation 8 says that whenever we pray, the angels take our prayers on a golden incense burner up to the throne of God, and God answers us because these angels have been sent to serve us, that is what God does, then how does God listen to our prayers? God knows all things. Whenever we, the children of God, pray, of course God moves His angels to answer. This is not by some kind of physical law, but this is only realized by knowing the spiritual science and the grace of the Holy Spirit.
(5) We realize this spiritual fact through the grace of the Holy Spirit, not science, medicine, law, or politics
The spiritual world isn’t something you can learn with your brain by studying. You may be able to understand logically with your brain, but you can only really know the spiritual world if God gives you the grace of His wisdom.
- Elijah was provided with water and bread by the help of an angel
Elijah was under a tree and by God’s grace, He sent a bird to feed him with water and bread, with the help of God’s angel.
- Elisha was protected and surrounded by angels
The angel also protected Elisha’s city. Look at the city of Dothan, the army of Aram were coming to attack but they were protected by the armies of angels, because the city of Dothan had the covenant of God and therefore, God had to work. The city of Dothan was the location to nurture 7000 disciples, then of course God would guard over it. Then, Elisha had that faith and prayed for his female servant to see.
When he made the confession of faith, “The armies that are with us are far more numerous than those who are with them,” it means you have faith because this is God’s work. This is not something you can see by simply opening your eyes; this is what he believed, that truly what I am doing is a part of God’s will, and it doesn’t matter how much Satan works because God’s power and armies are greater, if this truly is the work that God is doing.
Then of course, we will face danger, but God is stronger and greater. I didn’t have this faith because I believed my work, but it is the will of God, but people who are not within God’s will will fall because of those dangers, therefore, ultimately nothing will work out unless it is by God’s will. There’s not a single work that takes place easily from beginning to end ever. People come and disturb you, the devil himself comes to disrupt you, then without a doubt, if you can finish something until the end, it is the will of God, and you are winning this through faith.
Then, what is God’s will? Absolutely, my business is used for the salvation of souls. For people who are not like this, they are bound to fall because they’re fulfilling their own will. Because they can’t do it with their own strength, they fall. But they don’t even have this beginner-level faith, but they keep trying to rush after great things.
That’s because, as they’ve been imprinted and rooted in the world, they believe that their business and God are two separate things, they’re under the misconception that work is something I have to do and church is a place I go to receive grace. Therefore, they have a faith where God only works within the confines of the church and the world is left for Satan to work. Because they have this unbelief, Satan is bound to work in that unbelief, therefore, unbelief will yield fruits of unbelief. If you have faith, you will have fruits of faith.
God is controlling everything, everything is moving under God’s sovereignty, and anything that is not the will of God is bound to be destroyed because God is currently moving everything. If it’s not God’s will, then of course it will fall. It’s my will or God’s will, am I within the covenant God requested of me? Then we can make this confession of faith.
We do not pray because we lack something, but because we have faith in the covenant, we’re able to pray with that faith. Is it true that saving the 237 nations is God’s will? Then what’s we have to do business with? If you’re completely irrelevant to that, then you’re irrelevant to God. Is it true that God is healing people through the work I am doing? Then it is God’s will; otherwise, you cannot endure, then why does God have to help you? You yourself aren’t going towards God’s will, but we ask for God to help us even if we don’t go into His will, then His will won’t be fulfilled.
Of course, sometimes God will pretend to give you what you want so that later on, you’ll return to God’s will, you have to make it so that your children know this basic level of faith to live their walk of faith. Do you think things are fulfilled because people shout with a loud voice? People fight with each other, saying, “We have to stop this from taking place,” but that’s not believing in God. Just because someone’s shouting so loudly doesn’t mean it’s going to work out; that person is going to fall even if you leave them alone, because their voice isn’t God’s Word. That’s just their own exertion stemming from Genesis 3, but you fight to break them down. That’s the plague from the devil that does not come from faith in God.
The people of the world follow the news of the world, but because we don’t believe in the power of God, you thrill things take place by the things of people, and if there’s something humans can’t overcome like COVID, you need to keep that as a reference, but if you simply believe everything unbelievers say, then you’re an unbeliever. Things work out according to God’s Word, not according to the news of the world.
If we don’t have faith in God to this extent, then we’re always going to be filled with fear and our heart will keep on shrinking. Even if a person is perfectly fine, if they are hit a few times like this, they are bound to shrivel up. That is why God gives us His Word and tells us to pray with faith with the Word, then no matter where you are, God answers, and no matter what circumstance you face, it’s okay.
It doesn’t even matter if we face the end times or not because God’s will shall be fulfilled. The more sturdily rooted you are in this, the more protected your heart is. If it is not rooted in this then your heart will shake because of fears, and you will have a disease because of these blows. So honestly, the catch that we have the grace and faith is something that isn’t even quantifiable by money. Let’s say for example that someone succeeds a great deal but they face one shock in their life and die because they pop a blood vessel in their brain. Then their life itself is in vain.
True success is being able to overcome all things, but if you’re broken down with one blow, then that’s not true success, and yet we follow after these incorrect things, these incorrect words. That is a lie, they cannot even protect their own life. We keep reading books from successful unbelievers, trying to imitate them, but those are people whom God chose use to fulfill His will as well. We’re so inspired by successful unbelievers and follow after them, do you think a child of God should do that? The more you believe in God’s Word, it becomes your strength , it becomes your power, and only that can change the world.
- Daniel was protected from lions by angels
Daniel faced actual danger by being thrown into the lion’s den, and God protected him with angels, why? Because Daniel was in the covenant. “Why was I dragged into Babylon, and later on, to Persia? Why do I have to do this work as a governor of some other nation?” He received a definite will and plan from God. “I will do world evangelization here,” but what do you think “world evangelization” there means?
“Persia is conquering the entire world, and through this, I will reveal the name of Jehovah,” and the reason why he prayed three times a day facing Jerusalem is not to ask God to give him things, but he held onto this covenant in prayer. Because he was so certain in it, he didn’t even bat an eye.
If this is the extent of God’s will, then I will do God’s will until the day I die. That’s the way to overcome mental problems. That’s the way to block disasters. Otherwise, it doesn’t matter even if you’re a doctor yourself, they get diseases as well. On Wednesday, I was talking with my friends and his wife was having nerve pains in her teeth. He said, “My knee hurts so much I can’t even walk,” and inside, I was thinking, “You’re not even 60 years old, what are you going to do?”
I told him, “Stop staying cooped up in the doctor’s office and walk around a bit.” I know his lifestyle every day, he just gets his nurses to do whatever he needs to do, and he has a guitar in his office because he’s so bored and lonely, so he just doesn’t work no wonder he doesn’t have more diseases. “I even bought a bike so I can exercise outside, but COVID happened so I can’t do that,” so I told him to exercise inside the house.
“What’s the point of making all this money if you can’t even walk around in your 60s?” He said, “yes, you’re right.” “You’re so young and you’re already like this, then what’s the point of having all that money?” He should be like David Abrams and go swimming. You have to live like you’re young. It’s very regrettable because this man is also a deacon in the church, and I’m still curious if their church still has a lot of offering.
“Oh, he asked me if my church was getting more money,” and I said “Oh don’t worry about it because we’re getting more offering during COVID than before,” and he was shocked, he said I have to retire in five years. He said, “I have to retire in five years.” I said, “If you’re going to retire in your 60s, what are you going to do with the 40 years of your life we’re going to live till we’re a hundred.” “I can’t be a doctor past my 60s, because in reality being a doctor is high sensitivity work and it’s a lot of labor.”
“Oh, there’s certain types of doctors who can go into their very old age.” “We’re different.” “You’re very sad.” Sure, money is important, but he doesn’t even have faith, he spent all his money raising his three kids, it’s a really sad life. Sure, some people say the children are the fruits of one’s life, but they’re not the fruits of faith. If we don’t go into the pace of God, we end up getting dragged in the environment of the world, and at the end of our life, there’s nothing to show for it.
- Daniel’s companions were saved from fierce flames by angels
The three young adults went into the fiery furnace and God protected them. They said, “If we perish, we perish.” How is it that these three young adults were able to make such a bold confession? That’s what’s really important. It doesn’t matter how loud you speak with empty words. When you face danger, especially in the face of death, everyone tucks their tail between their legs. It doesn’t matter if a strong person shouts with faith, if they face death, then they will avoid it because everyone is pretending to be strong to survive threats so they can live, so everyone will flee from a man who says, “You will die.”
Do these people not want to preserve their lives? What’s more important is, what reason did they have so that they could be so bold as to lose their lives? They said, “Bowing down to idols is not God’s will. We are created to worship only the LORD God, and to fulfill this will, He will protect us, but even if He does not, we will still go in.”
- Peter was freed from prison by an angel
Apostle Peter was about to be executed, and the night before, he was falling asleep, and that’s only possible reaction if someone has made the conclusion, “I will live the rest of my life, fulfilling God’s will, and if it ends tomorrow, I will go tomorrow,” that’s why he was able to sleep so comfortably, facing execution the very next day, because honestly dying is the way to live. But instead of dying for the Lord, if we try to live for ourselves, we cannot endure even the smallest things.
When we face an incident that push into our lives we can’t endure, because we are struggling to survive and we think this is threatening our lives and we can’t endure. I’m sure there are a lot of people who have committed suicide because of the coronavirus pandemic already, why? Because they’re trying to live for themselves, but that is honestly a life in vain. But those who resolve to live for the will of the Lord will say, “hallelujah,” whether they are in prison or out of prison because they made the resolution, “I will use the rest of my body and life for the will of the Lord.” That’s how the devil flees.
The devil was an angel, he has greater power than humans, it’s simply he doesn’t have the image of God. The thing that has been following your entire family line will follow you. You say, “Oh, but I’ve become a child of God by Christ,” and legally speaking, you have, that’s not something we earned on our own; God told us He would do it out of his grace, and it happened. If we did something to become children of God, maybe we might have some ability, but it’s not something we did to earn.
If we did something to become children of God, it means we have some level of ability to avoid the curses of sin, disasters, and hell, but because that is not possible, we have become children of God by God’s grace. However, the remnant of the background that we had of darkness, sin, and hell are always remaining within me, and you can’t overlook that. That’s what it means for you to hold onto the gospel always.
If you overlook that background of darkness, you say the words, “Only Gospel,” but you don’t know the reason why, and that’s why you’re taken in by it. That’s the work of darkness. We still have the imprint, root, nature from before we believed in God, isn’t that right? That’s why we worry in unbelief.
You’re worried, and that’s the time when the darkness that has been working in your entire family line begins to work in you, and that’s why we go into mental and spiritual problems even after receiving salvation, that’s not something that can be solved by going back and forth from church. Just because you take your backpack back and forth from school doesn’t mean you are studying, you have to study to study. You cannot gain some kind of sanctification by going back and forth from school, because Satan doesn’t care about that.
You have to realistically know the background of your family line, and if you don’t understand that, you won’t understand the reason for only Christ. You think that going to church, “only Christ” becomes just a catch phrase, but it’s not only Christ because for you, it’s only you, because you don’t know the background you came from. You don’t know the problematic background that came to you from your family line, and that’s where the devil will come to you one day when you lose your faith, so prayer is not a simple thing.
3) When you pray, the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and Satan is bound and evil spirits flee.
These are the words that take place when you pray. Without a doubt, it’s by the work of the Holy Spirit that the darkness is cast out and the kingdom of God is established.
(1) Matthew 12:28-29
There are some people who can cast out demons and others who cannot. Then, Jesus Christ said, “Oh you of little faith, these are demons that cannot be cast out unless it’s by prayer.” The demons in your region and your family line cannot be cast out luness it is by prayer. Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit and commanded a demon to leave that person. You receive the filling of the Holy Spirit by faith, and therefore if you don’t have faith, nothing works.
Darkness flees before the one who has faith. You need to have this faith to do work or anything. If the work completely captures your business, how will you do anything? Even if I were the devil, I would take you down. I would leave unbelievers alone because they’re my children, because all the unbelievers are giving offerings and sacrifices to me. I have to break down the children of God for their children to be broken down as well.
But if you think you can do something by your own strength, if you think you can rely on someone else because they made you a promise, that’s foolishness. The devil will never flee because of humanism. The devil only breaks down by the working of the holy spirit.
(2) Ac. 8:4-8
By the Holy Spirit, they were led to Samaria. It doesn’t work out unless it’s led by the Holy Spirit. Then, when they prayed, the Holy Spirit appeared to Paul and told them to change their direction towards Macedonia.
(3) Mt. 8:16-17
Because the demons were cast out, diseases were healed.
(4) Ac. 16:16-18
It’s the same with the demon-possessed fortune telling slave girl. This fortune teller was making a lot of money, and it’s not only fortune-tellers who can make money from their business. Celebrities who are demon-possessed also make money from their work. People are possessed by demons and they write works and those sell. People who are possessed by demons make music and it pulls money in. So, it may be different from Korea, but this is how the devil works in America, but people don’t know that, but imagine how great these influences are? People in Hollywood can’t even budge because they’re seized by darkness.
2. How are you supposed to pray?
First and foremost, we have to believe in God’s Word and pray.
1) We are to listen carefully to Jesus’ words (Mk. 11:20-21)
So, the fact that you’re praying means you’re praying in faith with God’s Word.
2) Whose power do you depend on in prayer (Mk. 11:22)?
Whose power do you receive when you pray?
3) Prayer makes the impossible possible. Then, what is the meaning of ‘mountains’?
When Jesus says prayer can move mountains, it means that God can do things impossible for mankind, that is why you must not worry.
4) How are you supposed to pray?
(1) Do not doubt (Mk. 11:24)
Why do you doubt? People doubt when they don’t have the word of God because they don’t have the Word of God, so of course they doubt. That’s why you have to hold onto the basis of your faith in the word of God and pray.
(2) When is the answer to your prayer given (Mk. 11:24)?
Then, when do you receive answers? When you believe. The very moment Daniel resolved and prayed before God, he answered.
(3) Whose power is the standard of prayer (Mk. 11:22-23)?
Then, whose standard is the power of prayer? God power is the standard, that is why we don’t look at people because God answers, and that’s why we pray. Then the one who prays can do their business, live their lives, because God is doing it. So, prayer contains many things inside.
When Jesus says, “prayer moves mountains,” it means He makes the impossible possible, because there’s nothing impossible in God’s covenant. If you are going to make disciples of all 237 nations to save them, then everything trying to block you will turn into an answer. We have been called as the ambassador of Christ to do this work.
I am moving all things through prayer, why? Because God is working. If you don’t do that, you’ll have no choice but to worry about your kids, your business, and the people you meet, because that’s the extent of your abilities.
Prayer
Father God, we thank You. Thank You for making us children of God and giving us the right to pray. May we see the work of God as we pray in faith with the covenant. In Jesus Christ’s name we pray, amen.