CAN YOU MOVE A MOUNTAIN WITH YOUR PRAYER?

It is said in Matthew 21:21 as well as Mark 11:23 that if you have faith and do not doubt you can say to a mountain “’Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done”!

This has never happened. If it did happen it would be the talk of the world and yet Jesus said that it could happen.

I used to read this and say to myself “No one has that much faith; so much that they do not doubt a little bit”.

I viewed those verses like that for many years, but then I thought they might be symbolic. The Word of God uses symbolism quite a bit. That is only logical as we have not seen Heaven and the things that are Spiritual, so God uses what we do know to explain what we do not know. So, I said to myself, “The mountain must stand for people and the sea must stand for the water of baptism and so if one believes they can say to the people “Go throw yourselves into the water and it will be done””. But then I realized that would place the power of salvation in my hands. Salvation is the choice of the individual and not the power of another man. God did everything that was necessary for anyone to be saved and the choice is in the hands of the individual. So, I reverted back to my first thoughts on the matter.

Then, after more thoughts, allowing God to lead my thoughts, I understood and had to laugh! So let me explain and perhaps you also will laugh.

It is obvious that someone with out enough faith can not move the mountain, because they doubt. But suppose there is someone, or even many that have faith and do not doubt and can say to a mountain, “’Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done”. Then why hasn’t it happened?

The answer, or understanding, is so plain that it is hilarious!

The one with faith and that does not doubt knows that God made the mountain and placed it where it is, so that is where it belongs. To move the mountain would be saying ‘That is not where the mountain belongs’ and that would be doubting God!

So, faith or no faith, the mountain remains where it is.

Funny, isn’t it?

DO CHRISTIANS WORSHIP THREE GODS?

The Son of God is the Holy Spirit and He was created before anything else was made. The second verse in the Bible says, (Gen 1:2 NIV) “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” You see that He already existed. The verse doesn’t say “Holy Spirit”, but it should be apparent that it is the Holy Spirit.

The Spiritual birth of Jesus was when the Holy Spirit became one with a man. That man was the son of David. (2 Sam 7:12 NIV) “When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom.” That offspring is Jesus the son of man and that man became one with the Son of God, who is the Holy Spirit. So, it is better to name Jesus as Jesus Christ (Jesus (the son of David) and Christ (the Son of God)). Jesus was born of the Spirit when he was baptized (Matthew 3:16); just the same as we were (Acts 2:38&39).

Those who do not understand say that we worship three Gods, because we say that God has a Son and we baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, which seems to say that we claim there are three Gods. I have to admit that this accusation puzzled me for quite some time. Scripture states many times that there is only one God (Deu 4:35&38, 1 Kings 8:60, Isa 44:8, 45:5&6, 45:18&22, 46:9, Joel 2:27, Mark 12:29, and I probably missed some). God had not made this clear to me, so I did not have an answer to this accusation.

I was given the Holy Spirit to teach me all things (John 14:26), so every now and then, I would think about this question and the Spirit finally gave me the answer that satisfied me.

I will try to explain the answer that I have, but first let me state something about God that, it seems to me, everyone agrees with and that is “God is everywhere, at all times”.

I live in America and when I pray I am sure that God hears me. If I am praying at the same time one of my brothers in China is praying I believe that God hears both of us. There are probably millions of Christians that pray at the same time and I believe that God hears each and also hears them clearly. I don’t think that anyone would disagree with that understanding. Even if one doesn’t believe in God, they would have to admit that if there was a God He would have to be able to accomplish that feat.

Now, here is a parable, or allegory that I believe God gave me so that I might understand the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as the same God.

Suppose that you have a golden bowl and it is filled with water. Then there is a golden cup made and that cup is dipped into the water and filled with it. So, the water in the cup and the water in the bowl are the same water. Then some of the water in the cup is poured into an iron cup. Is not the same water in all of the containers? Is it not only one water?

I see the golden bowl as a symbol of God our Father, the golden cup as the Son of God, and the iron cup as the son of David. If you visualize the water as a metaphor or symbol of the Spirit of God, then it should be clear that the same Spirit is in all three containers. God is Spirit (John 4:24) and all three are filled with the same Spirit: one Spirit, one God.

If you can visualize God as being in more than one place in any point in time then it should not be difficult to visualize God as being in all containers at any point in time. I say all containers, not just three, because God, the Holy Spirit is in all of His children: given to them when they were baptized (Acts 2:38&39).

I hope this allegory helps you understand as it has helped me. I know that you were given the Holy Spirit to teach you all things, so listen to the Spirit and I am sure that He will make it clear to you in a way that you can also understand.

We do not worship three God’s.