Adrian Rogers - How to Remove Mountains
Would open your Bibles to Matthew chapter 17? When I was a young Christian in the church that I attended, we used to sing a chorus, maybe you remember it, «Have you any rivers that seem to be uncrossable? Have you any mountains you cannot tunnel through? God specializes in things that seem impossible. He knows a thousand ways to make a way for you». And I’m speaking today to some people who have some difficulties; I mean, some mountains: mountains of heartache, mountains of debt, mountains of despair, mountains of satanic opposition. And you say, «O God, what am I going to do with this mountain that is facing me»?
Well, today we’re going to have a lesson in how to remove mountains. Look in God’s Word, if you will, in Matthew chapter 17 verses 1 and 2, «And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them: and His face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light». And then go over to verse 20, if you will, of this same chapter, «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 unto this mountain, 'Remove hence to yonder place'; and it shall remove; and, '» what’s the next word, what is it? «'nothing, and nothing, '» say it with me one more time, «'and nothing shall be impossible to you.'»
That’s God’s Word, «Nothing shall be impossible unto you». Have you any rivers that seem to be uncrossable? Have you any mountains you cannot tunnel through? God specializes in things that seem impossible. Jesus said, «Nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing shall be impossible unto you». I agree that seems pretty big. That seems like, «Well, maybe we’d better water that down or explain that away». Why don’t we just believe it? Why don’t we just simply believe what God has said? Here’s a lesson in mountain moving. This chapter that we’re reading from is a chapter of contrasts. We read of mountains and mustard seeds. We read of glory and we read of despair. Jesus has gone up to this exceeding high mountain and He’s transfigured. The word transfigured literally means He is «metaphorized».
There’s a metamorphosis. This word is the Greek word that we get our English word metamorphosis from, which means «a change of form». But not just a change of form; a change where that which is on the inside comes to the surface. The glory of God was in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that glory burst forth on the mountain of transfiguration. You see, God starts with the inside and goes toward the outside. Satan just covers the outside because he has nothing on the inside. Satan knows how to masquerade, but Jesus was metaphorized. That glory that was in Him came to the surface. And what a day it was! What a beautiful thing it was, as the glory of our Lord was shone there on that mountaintop, and His face shone like the noonday sun. His garments glistened as the snow.
And God spoke from the glory, «This is My beloved Son». There are three basic things I want you to see as we look in this chapter about moving mountains. First of all, I want you to see the glory that we are to anticipate. Do you have it? The glory that we are to anticipate. What was the reason for this transfiguration? I mean, what was it all about? It was a preview of the greatest event this world will ever know, and that is the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Now, I want you to look in your Bibles in chapter 16 and just back up to verse 27, «For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father, with His angels; and then shall He reward every man according to his works».
That is a promise from the Word of God. Jesus Christ is literally, actually, visibly, bodily coming back to this Earth again. Jesus said it, and it will happen. This same Jesus is coming again. But now look in Matthew 16 verse 28, «Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom». Now some people have thought, «Well, Jesus made a mistake, because all of the apostles died and He had not yet come». But, oh no, He never makes a mistake. What He is saying is, «I am going to give you a preview, some of you who are now living. I am going to give you a preview of My coming in glory». And that’s what the transfiguration was. It was a preview of the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Now, there should really be no division between chapter 16 and 17. I remind you that the chapter divisions were put there after the Bible was written. I think they were put there to keep preachers from preaching too long. And so, these chapter divisions are not a part of the inspired Word of God. I’m happy to have them, but chapter 16 flows right on in to chapter 17. And He says in verse 28, «There are some who will not see death, till you see the Son of Man coming in power and glory». And then it tells of the transfiguration of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I want you to look at it very carefully, and look in chapter 17 verse 1, «After six days,» now why is that recorded, «After six days». Well, six is the number of man. There are 6,000 recorded years of human history.
Second Peter 3:8 tells us, «One day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day». «After six days». There have been 6,000 years of recorded history. And, friend, we’re on the threshold of the seventh day. The seventh day is the 1,000 year reign of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We call that the millennium. There is coming a day when the desert will blossom as a rose. There’s coming a day when the lamb and the lion shall lie down together. There’s coming a day when the Earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as waters that cover the sea. And Jesus, our Lord, shall rule and reign here on this Earth. And His kingdom will come. His will will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.
After six days of failure, then the Lord Jesus will appear. It’s a dark hour. It’s a dark hour domestically and internationally. It’s a dark hour scientifically. For the first time in history man is literally afraid of what he knows; I mean, afraid of what he knows. His head and his hands have outrun his heart, and we’re creating the ability to destroy ourselves. And then we’re afraid because of what we don’t know. Have you been reading recently about the plagues that are beginning to bubble up around the Earth, strange new diseases? I used to read the book of the Revelation and read about those plagues, and I thought, «Well, surely we’ve got penicillin. We’ve got other things. Don’t worry about the plagues».
But it’s a dark hour. But, friend, it is gloriously dark because our Lord is about to come. We’re living at the close of six days of history and that seventh day is about to dawn on us. Somewhere years ago, I read about a man who was spending a night in a chalet in Switzerland. And in the middle of the morning, early in the morning, he heard this noise, this roaring and this rumbling and this crackling. He was frightened. He thought maybe it was the end of the world. He told his host, he said, «I was so frightened this morning. What was that»? «Oh,» he said, «it was just the sun hitting the ice slopes and the ice was cracking and melting as the sun came up in the morning». He said, «What you thought was the end of the world was the dawning of a new day».
And friend, what some people think is the end is really the dawning of a new day. Our Lord is going to come, and He’s going to rule and to reign upon this Earth. I want you to notice those who were involved this day. Look, if you will, in Matthew 17 verse 1, «And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John and brought them apart». Who do these represent? Well, these represent the witnesses. They were there to see it. And do you know why they saw it? They were looking for it. They were there when Jesus said in Matthew 16:28, «There’ll be some of you standing here who’ll not die until you see the Son of Man come in glory». And they were there, Peter, James, and John, and they saw it.
Now, He had told them, they were looking for it, and they saw it. Some of us are looking for Him to come the second time. And I want to say, friend, that He’s told others that He’s coming also. You see, God took Peter, James, and John apart from the rest. That’s very interesting. Does God have favorites? I wouldn’t say He has favorites, but He has some intimates. He has those who are on the inside. And, surely, the Lord God will do nothing except He reveals His secret to His servants, the prophets. I want to say that spiritual men today, all of those that I know, are looking for Jesus to come at almost any moment. There were three witnesses. But then, not only were there three witnesses; there were two participants.
Look in Matthew 17 verse 3, «And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with them». Now Elias, that’s just the New Testament way of saying Elijah. So here’s the Lord Jesus Christ up there on, I believe, the top of Mount Hermon, a beautiful mountain, and there appears Moses, the great lawgiver. There appears Elijah, the great prophet. And there’s the Lord Jesus, the Savior, and Jesus is transfigured before them and they talk. Why Moses and Elijah? Well, again, Moses gave the law and Elijah was the prophet. And Jesus fulfilled the law, and the prophet spoke of Jesus. But I believe there’s another reason. Moses and Elijah represent the two groups that will be involved when our Lord comes in power and in great glory.
Now let me tell you what happened to these two. Moses died and was buried. Put in your Bible margin Deuteronomy 34 verses 5 and 6, «So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab,» and nobody knows where his grave is. Moses died and was buried. Do you have that? And yet, Moses was on the Mount of Transfiguration. Now what about Elijah? Elijah never died. He never saw death. Put in your margin Second Kings 2:11, «And it came to pass, as they still went on and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into Heaven».
Elijah never died. He was caught up in a whirlwind in a chariot of fire. He was raptured. Moses died and was buried. Elijah never died; he was taken up into Heaven. And now on the Mount of Transfiguration, which is a preview of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, there is Moses and there is Elijah. Now put this verse in your margin, First Corinthians 15 verses 51 and 52. Here’s what the apostle Paul says is going to take place when Jesus comes, «Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep,» that is, not everyone is going to die, «but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed».
Do you see it? There’s the Moses crowd, «The dead shall be raised incorruptible». There’s the Elijah crowd, «And we shall be changed». If Jesus Christ were to come today, all of the dead saints would be raised like Moses was, and all of the living saints would be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. Those are the two groups that are going to be present with our Lord when He comes to receive His own. There’s the Moses crowd and the Elijah crowd. I used to think I always wanted to be in the Elijah crowd till I read something Charles Haddon Spurgeon said. Spurgeon said, «I’m so glad. I hope I die before Jesus comes because,» he said, «I want to experience the thrill of the resurrection».
Think about it. Think about it. Whether you’re in the Moses crowd, or whether you’re in the Elijah crowd, whether you have died and come out of that grave, or whether you’ve changed and caught up. That’s the reason the apostle Paul said in First Corinthians chapter 15 verses 54 and 55, «When this comes to pass, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, 'Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? '» The Elijah crowd will say, «O death, where is your sting? You never stung me».
The Moses crowd will say, «O grave, where is your victory? You can’t hold me when Jesus comes in glory». What a day, what a day that will be. And here we have that story there in a preview of the glory we should anticipate. We should be looking for it. Peter got so excited. He said, «Lord, let’s go into a building program. Let’s just build something up here». You know, you can count on Peter to do something dumb almost all the time. And look if you will, in Matthew 17 verses 4 and 5, «Then answered Peter, and said, unto Jesus, 'Lord, it is good for us to be here, '» I’ll say that’s an understatement, «'if Thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.'»
Now, Peter made some big mistakes, but this one was king size. «And while he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them,» that was the Shekinah glory of God that overshadowed them, «and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well please; hear ye Him.'» So you have three witnesses. You have two participants. But you have only one Savior. His name is Jesus. Look again in Matthew 17 now and begin in verse 5, «Hear ye Him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face and were sore afraid». Boys and girls, that means they were scared stiff! «And Jesus came and touched them, and said, 'Arise, and be not afraid.'»
Now Mark verse 8, «And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save,» or except, «Jesus only». Now, if you want to know what everything is all about; I mean, if you want to get it in two words, just put a circle around «Jesus only». If you want to know what God is up to, it is this: Jesus only! It’s true in creation. Why the universes? Why did God make it all? It was made by Him and for Him. What’s the world coming to? It’s coming to Jesus. What’s the purpose of creation? Two words, Jesus only! It’s true in redemption. How are we saved? Not by a program, not by a plan, but by a person. You want to understand salvation? You can put it in two words, Jesus only! It’s true in the Bible. You want to understand this book? You want to know what the Bible is all about?
Friend, you can put it in two words, Jesus only! It’s a Him book; it’s about Him. And you have to read the Bible in the light of Christ and see Christ in the light of the Bible. It’s true in prophecy. People want to talk about prophecy. But, friend, Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. You make a mistake if you read the Bible and study prophecy and try to see what’s going to happen. It’s not about a happening; it’s about a person. It’s about the Lord Jesus. We’re not waiting for something to happen, but for someone to come. What’s the key to prophecy? Jesus only! And it’s true in the church. We need to love the Lord Jesus who said in John 12:32, «And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me».
What is the purpose of this church? It is Jesus only! He said, «I will build My church». He didn’t say, «You’ll build My church,» or, «I’ll build your church». Jesus only. Now, there’s the glory we anticipate, but now, wait a minute. There’s the grief we must alleviate.
Look now in Matthew 17 verse 14 through 18, «And when they were come to the multitude,» that is, now they’ve come down from the mountaintop, down from the mountain of glory, down into the valley, «And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to Him, and saying, 'Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is a lunatic, and sore vexed; for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. And I brought him to Thy disciples, and they could not cure him.' Then Jesus answered and said, 'O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? Bring him hither to Me.' And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour».
Now Jesus comes down from the mountain of transfiguration to the place of misery. And in that valley there was satanic power. There was a boy who was demon-possessed. In that valley there was sickness and sorrow and despair. In that valley there was a father with a crushed and a bleeding heart, who had come up against a mountain of difficulty. And in that valley there were some preachers, and they had no power. They’d gone through the ministerial function. They had rebuked the devil. They had shouted. They had prayed. They’d gone through their form and their ritual, and nothing had changed. And then Jesus came and He spoke.
There was no struggle, no groaning, no long battle. Satan released his grip on this boy. He was healed. Smiles came back to his face and a happy boy cuddled in the arms of his father. And the father whose heart had been crushed looked into the face of Jesus. And with tears of gratitude, he began to give God praise for the victory. And then the Lord Jesus looked at these disciples. They asked Him a question in Matthew 17 verse 19, «Then came the disciples to Jesus apart,» that means, they had to get Him off in a corner. They were ashamed to ask in public, and said, «Why couldn’t we do it? Why couldn’t we cast out that devil? What was wrong with us? Why were You able to do it and we’re not able to do it»?
And here’s the answer in verse 20, «And Jesus said unto them, 'Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, 'If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain.''» What mountain was He talking about? The one He’d just been on, this mountain. He was up on an exceeding high mountain. «'You can say to this mountain, 'Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.''» That brings me to the third thing I want to say today about moving mountains. There’s the glory we should anticipate. There is the misery we must alleviate. And, therefore, there is the gift we must appropriate. Now what is the gift that we must appropriate? It’s faith. It’s faith. How do we move mountains? With faith. What kind of faith? Well, look and see what our Lord says here in this marvelous passage of Scripture.
Look at it in Matthew 17:20, «And Jesus said unto them, 'If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed.'» Now we say, «Well, Pastor, do you, do you believe that»? Well, yes, I believe it, I believe it. I believe that the problem in the 20th Century church, very plainly put, is a lack of mountain-moving faith. That’s a problem in my heart, in my life when it’s not there; it’s the problem in your heart and in your life when it is not there. Somewhere I read about a lady who lived in a house, and in front of her house was an ugly and unsightly hill, and it blocked the view of the valley as she wanted to see it. She came upon this promise in the Word of God, and so she thought she’d try it. So she prayed all night that that hill, that mountain, would be removed that was blocking her view.
All night long she prayed and asked God to remove that mountain. When the sun came up, she opened her blinds and looked out and it was still there. And she said, «Just as I expected, just as I expected». Oh friend, we really have never really learned how to believe God. Now why did our Lord say that faith is like a grain of mustard seed? Well, think of the size of a mustard seed; it is so small. Think of the smallness of the seed. Now, our Lord was not putting a premium upon small faith. Our Lord loved great faith. But what is our Lord saying? He is saying, «The least amount of faith is greater than the greatest amount of difficulty». He’s comparing a mustard seed to a mountain.
This is a David and Goliath experience in the Spirit. A mustard seed went to battle against a mountain and slew it; a mustard seed! Know what that says to me? «Adrian, you must not have very much faith. Maybe your faith is not even the size of a mustard seed». We boast about our faith, but Jesus said, «If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed». The smallness of the seed. But think of the secret of the seed. No man can manufacture a mustard seed. Given enough time, they can make a mountain, but they can’t make a seed. Bulldozers can mound up a mountain, but you cannot manufacture or synthesize a seed. Why? Because a seed has one ingredient that is absolutely necessary and it is L-I-F-E, life, life.
A seed has life. Faith is supernatural. Faith is not positive thinking. Faith is not desiring something and then believing you can have it, naming it and claiming it. You can’t claim it till God names it. Faith is the supernatural gift of God. Only God can make a seed, you read about that in Genesis. That’s the reason why I don’t believe in this monkey mythology called evolution. Friend, it’s unmitigated stupidity, unmitigated stupidity that out of inorganic matter can come life. Life comes from God and faith comes from God.
Romans 10:17, says, «Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God». And the Word of God is called a seed. And you’ve got to open your hand and let the Lord put that seed in your hand because you can’t work it up. There is the size of the seed. There’s the secret of the seed. The source of the seed. There is the sowing of the seed. What’s a seed for? It’s not a museum piece. A seed is to be planted. Now, God will give you faith, but God will not believe for you. Is faith the gift of God? Yes. Does that mean God will believe for you? No. Breathing is a gift of God. God gives you air and God gives you lungs, but you can smother if you want to. God gives you faith, but you must believe. You must take the seed of faith and put it in the ground because there’s life in that seed.
And out of that seed there comes life and more seeds. And if you’ll take that little seed of faith and put it in the dust of despair, out of that seed of faith will bloom the flowers and the fruits of God’s grace and God’s glory. When our Lord said, «Remove this mountain,» was He talking literally? No, He was talking figuratively. He’s talking about figures, like faith is like a mustard seed, difficulty is like a mountain. It would have done that man there, that had a demon-possessed boy, no good to move that mountain. But what was up on that mountain? The glory of God was on the mountaintop. What was down in the valley? Despair and heartache. And what was He saying? He’s saying, «Get rid of the mountain. Bring Heaven to Earth. Bring Heaven to Earth. Remove that span between Heaven and Earth and get the power of God that’s on the mountaintop down in the valley and get the mountain out in between».
You say, «Well, Pastor, I just don’t have that kind of faith». Well, I think most of us don’t. We ought to have. We could have. We should have. By God’s grace we will have. They said, «Master, why couldn’t we do it»? He said, «Because of your unbelief». Oh, they believed in Him in a sense, but they were unbelieving believers. «Because of your unbelief». And then in Matthew 17 verses 19 through 21 He said, «This kind of demons, they don’t come out without prayer and fasting». And some versions leave out that last thing, «and fasting,» but I believe it ought to be there. «This kind doesn’t come out except by prayer and fasting». Why do we have such little faith? Very simply, we’re not very serious about this matter. God does business with those that mean business. When are we going to get serious? We’ve got a world that’s in the grip of a personal devil.
You say, «Well, Pastor, can we believe for other people»? That father believed for his son. As a matter of fact, in the other Gospels, that father came to Jesus and said, «Master, if You can do anything for my son, please do it. I brought him to Your disciples and they couldn’t do anything». And Jesus looked at him and Jesus said in Mark 9 verses 23 and 24, «If you can believe, all things are possible to him that believeth». And you remember what he said? Here’s what he said. He said, «Lord, I believe; help my unbelief».
Have you ever felt that way? «Lord, I believe; help my unbelief». He had the faith of a mustard seed. He didn’t have big faith. He just had little faith. But our Lord took the faith that he had and used it. You don’t have to have perfect faith. It’s not great faith in God that you need; it’s faith in a great God that you need. If you’ve got faith like a grain of mustard seed, plant it, put it in the ground, begin to believe God and trust God, and you’ll see mountains of hate and despair and difficulty and disease and deprivation and demonism flee away.
There’s the glory we anticipate, Jesus is coming. There’s the grief we must alleviate, a world is in the grip of Satan. There’s the gift we must appropriate, and it is faith. O God, help us to believe. God help your pastor to believe. God help this church to believe. We need in these days, an earth-shaking, mountain-moving, devil-defying faith in God. Have you any rivers that seem to be uncrossable? Have you any mountains you cannot tunnel through? God specializes in things that seem impossible. He knows a thousand ways to make a way for you. There’s no person God cannot save, no disease God cannot heal, no problem God cannot solve, no promise God cannot keep. What a mighty God we serve! Folks, you and I need to work on our faith, Amen? Let’s pray.
Father God, we’re like that father who prayed, «Lord, I believe; help my unbelief». O God, help me to believe You more. Teach me, Lord, how to trust You; Lord, how to abide in You, because, Lord, I know that faith is a gift that You give only when You want something done, not when I want it done. So, Lord, teach me to abide, to know Your will, and to receive faith.
Now, while heads are bowed and eyes are closed. If you’re not certain that you’re saved, would you like to be saved, would you? Would you like to know that you really do have life? Jesus said, «I’ve come that you might have life». Could I lead you in a prayer? We’ll call this prayer the sinner’s prayer. And you can pray and accept Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. You can do it right now. Would you pray this prayer?
Dear God, I know that You love me. Thank You for loving me. And I know that You want to save me. Jesus, You died to save me and You promised to save me if I would trust You. Jesus, I do trust You. I believe You’re the Son of God. I believe you paid for my sin with Your blood on the cross. I believe that God raised You from the dead. And now I receive You as my Lord and Savior. Forgive my sin. Cleanse me. Come into my life. Take control of my life and begin today to make me the person You want me to be. And Jesus, give me the courage to make it public. Help me never to be ashamed of You. In Your name I pray, Amen.