Introduction

Good morning, everyone. The topic I am sharing today is The Faith to Move Mountains. Jesus said that if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can not only move mountains but also accomplish anything. How can I make the topic of The Faith to Move Mountains clear to everyone?

Let me give you an example: Suppose someone has just bought a villa at the foot of Mount Tai and comes to see it every day because it needs renovation. If I pray desperately there, and the next day that person comes and finds that Mount Tai is gone, and his house is gone too, and asks who did it, and it turns out I did it, but this has not happened! If everyone today had the faith of a mustard seed and prayed desperately there, but Mount Tai still stood firm, how should we view this? Is God's word false? Or are we mistaken? We must be mistaken because we did not understand the 《Bible》when we read it, so we used it in the wrong place.

Today, many Christians have been praying extra hard for the presidential election in a certain country. After they prayed, the prophet also prophesied that a certain Mr. P would be elected for a second term as president. But looking at the current situation, it doesn't seem like Mr. P will continue to be re-elected! Although we have not seen the final result yet, the matter is basically settled. Did our God make a mistake? Or are we mistaken? Should Christians have such a great interest in presidential elections? This is a big confusion!

If you have the faith of a mustard seed inside you and can move mountains, this statement brings great confusion. I prayed very hard, but Mount Tai still stands firm. You say I have no faith inside, but I am very confident, yet Mount Tai remains unmoved! There are even stranger phenomena. Some people pray desperately, asking God to give them a confirmation that they should marry a brother who loves the Lord very much. Some even describe the other person's height, waist size, and appearance in faith. As a result, one day they actually meet such a person. Others have seen the other person's birth date in a vision, and when they meet that person, their birth date matches exactly what they saw. Then these people say: God has answered my prayer! Did God really listen? As a result, after marriage, the couple begins to have serious conflicts.

She is very confused because after finding a husband who suited her heart at the time, she gave many testimonies, telling everywhere how, after praying with faith, God gave her a good partner. As a result, she gave her testimony and got married, but her relationship with her husband was very problematic, and she was not happy. People became confused: Did God give me this? There were many confirmations at the time! Until today, we have a couple among us who have always said that they had confirmation in their marriage, but now their marriage is also in trouble.

Chinese Mingding Destiny is a theological system that aims to resolve confusion and make understanding clear. In any case, theological confusion must be thoroughly exposed so that our brothers and sisters know how to understand and implement God's word. Chinese Mingding Destiny cannot tolerate confused explanations: What kind of mountain is being moved? What kind of faith is being believed? The problems we face today are highly controversial. Should we avoid it in a situation full of controversy? Actually, we shouldn't avoid it. For these questions, we should return to the 《Bible》and see what God really said. So, today we must know for sure that the confusions we need to resolve are far from being resolved.

In every Sunday sermon, I face an extremely difficult situation, which is how to help everyone resolve their confusion and make them clear in their understanding. I very much hope to explain God's word clearly and implement it. So, today we must all ask ourselves a question: Have we really implemented God's word? We will encounter many confusions in our lives. Our ability to be clear in understanding, distinguish good from bad, and make correct choices in judgment is all related to understanding. What mountain is being moved? What kind of faith is it? Today we will explain these questions.

Scripture

When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into fire or into water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.” Jesus replied, “You unbelieving and perverse generation, how long must I stay with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment. Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” (《Matthew》 17:14-21)

Prayer

Heavenly Father, reveal to us today so that we can understand your words and implement them. Do marvelous work in us, open our minds, and let every brother and sister understand your words and come out of all kinds of confusion. Let the Holy Spirit move in our hearts, so that our hearts are completely opened and we can see your eternal glory through the Holy Spirit. Lord, we are here today, expecting you to speak to us, so that the speaker and the listener can be edified, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

Scripture Background

Last week, we preached the sermon The Faith of the Prodigal Son. For the first time, I tried not to divide it into paragraphs and not to talk about titles, and I finished speaking in one breath. But this is not my habit. My habit is to try to write the manuscript clearly. In the early days, I used to do verbatim manuscripts, even including: Let the brothers and sisters turn around and say to the people around them, Lord Jesus loves you. I had to write these words in the manuscript. I don't have the habit of improvising. Today I am back to my original habit, writing the manuscript well and sharing it with everyone. Let's look at the theme and background of this scripture.

This passage is the background in 《Matthew》 Chapter 17. Jesus took three disciples to the mountain. The disciples saw Moses and Elijah appear and talk to Jesus. Jesus had a glorious image and his whole body was shining. Moses and Elijah were also shining all over. Peter felt it was great and suggested building tents for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah, and then hearing a voice from the sky talking to them. It must be unforgettable to encounter such a scene. Then they went down the mountain and saw a father bringing his child to find Jesus. This child was miserable and was repeatedly thrown into the water and fire by the devil. The devil wanted to kill the child. The father asked the disciples for help, but the disciples could not drive out the devil. Jesus was very moved after hearing this person's words:

Jesus said: O faithless and perverse generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me. (《Matthew》 17:17 )

If Jesus came to our generation today, he would also express the same feeling. Why? Because Jesus wondered why the disciples could not drive out this kind of devil? Fortunately, this passage does not record that the two brothers' father died, and the two brothers were grabbing each other's necks, asking Jesus to help them divide the family property; nor does it talk about two old men running for president, asking Jesus to judge who should be the president. The background of this passage is that after Jesus' disciples could not drive out the devil on the child, they brought the child to Jesus to ask Jesus to help the child drive out the devil. That is to say, the theme of this passage is driving out devils. After Jesus finished speaking, he just rebuked the devil and drove it out. Every time I read this passage, I say to God: God, I want to be like this too.

Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not drive it out?” Jesus said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you. (《Matthew》 17:19-20 )

But we really followed Jesus to do it, but why is that Mount Tai still there? In fact, the mountain that Jesus said is a spiritual mountain. Moving mountains actually refers to spiritual things. When we read 《Bible》today, we must know one thing: 《Bible》uses spiritual words to explain spiritual things. I encourage you to write this sentence in your notebook.

I think God gave me a wonderful growing environment. When I was a child, I came into contact with many things in the spiritual world, such as shamanism, demon possession, and wolf spirits. There were so many of these things, and I have been very interested in the spiritual world since I was a child. Even if I didn't quite understand, I knew there were these things. Later, when I read 《Bible》, I realized what these spiritual things were all about. It is to explain spiritual things with spiritual words. You may ask: Is there this sentence in 《Bible》? If you use the electronic version of 《Bible》to search, you will definitely be able to find this sentence.

Sometimes when I cast out demons, I hear the demon tell me that it lives in a cave in XX Mountain. I wondered why 《Bible》did not record such things. Because I read a lot of books since I was a child, I remembered 《Classic of Mountains and Seas》, which records what mountains and rivers there are, and what monsters live there, such as nine-tailed foxes, nine-headed snakes, nine-headed birds, and many other such things. It turns out that 《Classic of Mountains and Seas》records things in the spiritual world, not a book recording geography.

Now we know that this is not a mountain that can be seen with the naked eye in the world, but a mountain that cannot be seen with the naked eye, a big mountain in the spiritual world. For example, a child being controlled by epilepsy is actually a mountain in the spirit. In the education we received in the past, we knew that the Chinese people before liberation were oppressed by three invisible mountains: imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucratic capitalism. We use mountains to describe the problems we are oppressed by. Just like Sun Wukong in 《Journey to the West》being suppressed under a mountain and unable to get out, it is uncomfortable to be unfree. The mountains inside us are spiritual things. Moving the mountains away means releasing the child, because this is a spiritual mountain.

After Jesus moved the mountain away, he said:

But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.(《Matthew》17:21)

The theme of this passage is driving out devils, and driving out devils requires faith that can move mountains. What kind of mountain is being moved? It is the big mountain that is suppressing people. This explanation is more reasonable, because Jesus answered the disciples' questions. Today we must know that mountains are very spiritual.

Casting Out Demons Is the Best Practice of Faith

When the disciples were casting out demons, they encountered the problem that they could not cast out the demons, because their faith was smaller than a mustard seed. Jesus lamented people's unbelief. So where is the most obvious place to practice faith? It is casting out demons. In fact, doing business, studying, and doing anything requires faith. But if you use spiritual words to explain spiritual things, casting out demons is the best practice of faith. To what extent is it practiced? It is practiced to the point where you can be like Jesus, just rebuke the demon and the disease will be cured. Jesus is a model of faith. Moving mountains is moving spiritual mountains, and casting out demons is closely related to moving mountains.

Today there is a phenomenon that is very confusing, that is, after praying, many things are accomplished, and many things are not accomplished, but there are more things that are not accomplished. For example, in some people's sermons and testimonies, the same story can be repeated for several years. It is not that it cannot be told, but are there only these few things that have been accomplished? When they give testimonies, they often share how he came to a country, how he met his wife, and then how he got married and had children. As a result, the child did not study well, so he prayed. As a result, one day the child's grades improved. After getting the results, he burst into tears. This is also a practice of faith, but it is not the best practice. There is no such record in 《Bible》.

Why is casting out demons the best practice? Because Jesus Christ came into this world and trained 12 disciples, letting them practice faith, which is to go out to preach the gospel, heal the sick, and cast out demons. Later, he trained more than 70 disciples, who also preached the gospel, healed the sick, and cast out demons. 《Bible》records that when the disciples could not cast out demons, Jesus would say that they had little faith. In what matter is it best to practice faith? In fact, it is in the matter of casting out demons.

I also started practicing faith in casting out demons at the beginning, and it was very hard at the beginning. Compared with the child's epilepsy problem, the child's learning problem is not at the same level as this matter. Grades don't seem that important, but what if the child has epilepsy and is controlled by the devil? You need to kill the devil. Jesus came and drove out the devil, but we can't drive it out. Do you believe that you can drive out this devil? At this time, it is determined whether this person has the faith of a mustard seed or the faith of cooked rice. If it is the faith of cooked rice grains, then he will definitely give up the battle at this time, thinking that if he can't do it, then forget it!

Let's imagine that if Jesus Christ's disciples had this劲: Little one, I don't believe I can't beat you. Today I must drive this devil out! Then this child will definitely be healed. But in 《Bible》, the disciples can't handle the child brought by this father, and there is confusion in their hearts. What is their reaction? Can't handle it, can't handle it, we can't handle it! What kind of person pleases Jesus? It is the one who has 劲in his bones, I won't eat or drink, I must drive you out.

Chinese Mingding Destiny practices faith in this way. Many diseases are related to devils. We have practiced it this way. Sometimes we practice for a month, sometimes we practice for three months, and sometimes we practice for a week. I will give you a rough statistic. If you pray for ten minutes and it doesn't work, continue to pray for an hour, and then continue to argue with him for three hours. At this time, half of the devils will be driven out. If three hours is not enough, pray for eight hours. If eight hours is still not enough, argue for one month or three months. If the devil encounters such a person, it will be a devil's nightmare and will definitely go out.

If you ask me what is the best thing to practice, it is faith. Why? Because the faith of a mustard seed, although it is a seed, this seed has vitality. If you plant this seed, you will get a return of thirty times, sixty times, or one hundred times. For example, if we have thirty times, we have thirty mustard seeds of faith. If these thirty mustard seeds of faith are planted again, there will be nine hundred. If we continue to plant them, the mustard seeds will continue to circulate, and as a result, your faith will be improved. When we cast out demons, we first cast out a small demon. A mustard seed of faith will get thirty mustard seeds of faith. Then we cast out a bigger demon. Thirty mustard seeds of faith will become nine hundred. If we continue to do this, we will move away devils as big as mountains.

What God wants is for us to practice this kind of faith. Devils actually play the role of sparring partners. If we have the opportunity to practice healing the sick and casting out demons, don't miss the opportunity. As for driving out the devil and solving the person's problem, if this person is willing to follow you to believe in the Lord well, let him follow you well. If he is not willing, don't force him. Casting out demons is the best practice of faith, which is in line with the teachings of 《Bible》.

Moving Spiritual Mountains

Everyone must understand that what is recorded in the Bible, whether it is moving mountains or anything else, must be interpreted spiritually with spiritual words. If we look at it with worldly eyes, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. If we have faith like a mustard seed, even a mountain will surely be moved away. Because this is a spiritual mountain, any spiritual oppression is a spiritual mountain.

When I was a child, I read the story of The Foolish Old Man Who Removed the Mountains: There was an old man named Yu Gong (actually, he was a wise man who appeared foolish). There were two big mountains in front of his house. One day, he wanted to move the two big mountains away. When I read this, I thought, how stupid this person is! Wouldn't it be easier for him to just move his house? Moving is much easier. I didn't understand why he wanted to move the mountains. This mountain represents a spiritual mountain. The problem is that when we encounter problems in spiritual matters, we cannot always run away and avoid them. We must learn from Yu Gong's character, which is that the mountain must be moved, and I will definitely not move away.

When we are at odds with demons, we must have the attitude that they must move away, and we must stand here. Yu Gong began to dig the mountain, which was an expression of his character, a never-give-up attitude. Someone asked him: Yu Gong, when will you finish digging the mountain like this? Yu Gong replied: Even if I cannot finish digging, my sons will dig, and if my sons cannot finish digging, my grandsons will dig. Generations will continue to dig, and this mountain will surely be moved away. Actually, could he control his sons? What he said didn't count! But Yu Gong had the faith to dig, and as a result, he didn't even need his sons to dig. God sent two mighty angels to move the mountains away.

This is a very spiritual story. Today, when we see a person oppressed by demons, there may be a big mountain on him, or perhaps two or three big mountains. Do you go around it, or do you directly get rid of it? A person with character will have faith like a mustard seed inside, which means not giving up in the face of difficulties.

Healing the sick and casting out demons does not require advanced techniques or complex comprehension. You only need a never-give-up attitude, which is that the demon must retreat, and I will not retreat. When dealing with this kind of demon that presses on people like a mountain, we must have Yu Gong's character. When praying, it doesn't matter if we miss one or two meals. We are just at odds with the demon. This is the character of a person who moves spiritual mountains. We must begin to cultivate this character, even if it is as small as a mustard seed, it doesn't matter. I will dig it away bit by bit, and God will surely send mighty angels to move it away.

Today, there are few people who dig mountains bit by bit. Not only that, but there are also very few people who dig spiritual mountains, but they focus their eyes on worldly things. For example, they pray to find a good husband, thinking that this is what God has prepared for them. We will encounter many difficulties in our lives. If we still have hope in this world, then you are living in vanity. How is it possible to move spiritual mountains? We will be helpless in the face of worldly problems. Chinese Mingding Destiny is full of interest in casting out demons and releasing people from the oppression of demons. We avoid talking about marriage and love, and even when we talk about improving children's academic performance, it is not through tutoring classes, but through spiritual means.

Because our hope is in eternity, to obtain the glory in eternity, and the crown that Jesus has prepared for us in eternity, we will not hesitate to lay down our lives. What kind of mountain to move? It is to move spiritual mountains. Of course, if you move spiritual mountains a lot, you will find that worldly things are being turned around one by one. If you do not have an eternal perspective and love the world, I know that you value worldly things too much in your heart, so you cannot move the big mountains in the spirit, and many things in your life are also difficult to turn around.

While they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” (Matthew 17:22)

Can you understand the above scripture? Is being killed a good thing or a bad thing? Being killed is a good thing, because one will be resurrected on the third day after being killed. In order to remove this spiritual mountain, to release the captives, and to set the oppressed free, Jesus was willing to die on the cross for us, shed His precious blood, and endure the scourging. But because people do not have an eternal perspective and place their hope in this world, they will be greatly sorrowful. Therefore, moving mountains is moving spiritual mountains, and our hope must be placed on the glory in eternity.

What Kind of Faith Is Faith?

What you believe in is very important. Among the Christians I have come into contact with, they are full of interest in worldly things like electing a president, thinking that this is something that is in accordance with God's will, and even in the movement against homosexuality, they act as very active people. I wonder where the biblical basis is for this? I haven't found it. If they find relevant scriptures to imitate, then it must be because they haven't learned their language well and haven't understood God's will.

What kind of faith is it? Is our faith like a mustard seed? Is it built on the word of God? Actually, the word of God is very clear. As long as we pay a little attention, you will find that Jesus never did things like participating in elections. If Jesus wanted to participate in elections, or become the entire Roman Emperor, what difficulty would there be for Jesus? He could feed five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish. If Jesus organized an army, he could solve the problem of food and supplies every day with five loaves of bread and two fish. Wouldn't such an army be amazing? But Jesus didn't do that! Therefore, what kind of faith is it? Faith is believing according to the word of God.

And my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:4-5)

Everyone's ears have calluses from hearing this sentence of the Apostle Paul, but even so, many people may not be able to receive it, because they become entangled when they see their worldly affairs. Therefore, their faith is not built on the hope of eternal glory, but on worldly things, such as children, husbands, families, businesses, and jobs, all of which are worldly things. What do we believe in? It is what the Apostle Paul said: My speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. Everyone can go to the Bible to see that this power is to remove the big mountains in the spirit, release us to be free, and no longer be oppressed. Our faith like this is built on God's good will!

Do you think God really cares about XX people becoming president? God really doesn't care much. God doesn't care to such an extent that he doesn't even care who becomes the high priest. God even brought the Babylonian Empire and the Assyrian Empire to destroy the Kingdom of Judah and the Kingdom of Israel. Does God really care about this worldly regime? God really doesn't care much. God even brought the Roman Empire to destroy the temple. Can you understand? Not one stone here will be left on another; see what large stones and what magnificent buildings are here! Is that what God wants? No, that is not what God wants.

Our faith is no longer built on this worldly foundation, but on the hope and glory of eternity, built on the words of Jesus Christ. Therefore, this is also what I repeatedly emphasize, which is to listen to the word of God and then act on it. If you hear the word of God and do not act on it, but act on worldly teachings, do you think this will work? If Jesus Christ did the most casting out demons, but we do not imitate him and do not cast out demons, then have we acted on the word of God? Of course, most of the brothers and sisters among us are following me in imitating Jesus to cast out demons. But there are still many people who have never cast out demons, and it is already good enough if they are not chased by demons.

This is what faith is about. It is trusting in the word of God, which is that you and I live by every word that comes from the mouth of God! This makes it easy to understand why we pray with a lot of mustard seed faith, but Mount Tai still stands tall. We seem to pray with great faith, and the election of XX as president does not seem to be accomplished, just as we pray desperately, but XX people have not become the richest people, because our faith is not based on these foundations at all.

Where should our faith be? In the word of God, in the hope of eternal glory. We give our lives to God, just like Jesus giving himself to God, letting people kill him, and as a result, he was resurrected on the third day. Doing this is a spiritual matter. If Jesus was not resurrected on the third day and completed the plan of redemption, then what is his faith? He would not be like many Israelites who believed in organizing an army to overthrow the Roman government.

Our faith is not in this world at all, so we no longer fight in this world, and we can live in peace. But in our hearts, we have this glorious hope, which is to remove this spiritual mountain from these oppressed people. Imitate Jesus, and let those who are epileptic, autistic, and restricted by many spiritual things be released from the oppression of demons. It is to have such faith, even if such faith is only as big as a mustard seed, it can move mountains.

I believe that in your heart, you have already begun to have a hope as small as a mustard seed, and then there will be thirty, nine hundred, and two thousand seven hundred hopes the size of mustard seeds that are constantly increasing. Beginning with faith and leading to faith, you are growing in such a situation. The faith of a mustard seed is a living faith, a faith that can increase and grow.

If we are pursuing worldly things, can your faith grow? Prayer sometimes works and sometimes doesn't, and most of the time it doesn't work, because it is not God's will at all. If we walk in God's will, even with the faith of a mustard seed, we can experience God's glory and power every day. Then our faith is no longer built on the plausible words of human wisdom, but on the manifestation of God's power.

Why did Jesus deal with the devil so easily? Because Jesus had the faith to die if necessary. Jesus regarded the word of God as his only mission. When the devil tempted Jesus, Jesus said: We do not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Yes! We live on every word that comes from the mouth of God, and worldly wealth and glory have nothing to do with us. Jesus fasted and prayed in the wilderness for forty days and nights, and the Holy Spirit descended on him. He overcame the devil Satan, and the devil Satan was completely trampled on by Jesus. So the greatest demon has already been trampled on by Jesus, let alone the little demon that wants to oppress this child, wouldn't Jesus easily deal with it?

Why can't we deal with the devil? Because our faith is built on a worldly foundation. As long as our faith is able to be like Jesus, willing to give everything for God, as small as a mustard seed, we can do great things for Jesus. But do Christians today have such faith? Is our faith placed on eternal glory? If we know that living in this world is vanity of vanities, are we willing to give everything for Jesus Christ and give up everything we have in this world? I have said these words many times, but not many people can listen to them, because their minds are full of worldly things. They also love God very much, but they are still entangled in many worldly things. You can see what they ask for in prayer. Some people ask us to minister to them for the sake of their jobs.

Our foundation is not in worldly things at all. As long as we give up everything for Jesus Christ, nothing can disturb us. We can rebuke the demon to leave, just like Jesus, and the demon will leave. This is how I have come all the way. The most powerful demon caster among us is me, because I have given up everything for Jesus Christ. Although I occasionally think of others taking advantage of me and cheating me out of money, these are all small things. Once you fall into the logic of the world, you will be entangled in your heart. When you enter the logic of God, you will immediately be joyful. No one can deprive me of the glorious reward I have in Jesus Christ forever. I came into the world to run for the hope of eternity, and there is nothing better than this.

Jesus prepared to be crucified, are you prepared? God let Jesus Christ be completely offered up, are you willing to be completely offered up? If you are willing to be completely offered up, you are a spiritual person, and it will be easy for you to deal with these demons. The devil shows you the wealth and glory of the world, do you still want it or not? Are you giving up the wealth and glory of the world and walking the path of eternity, or do you want to gain the glory of the world? When you see a company being listed, someone making a lot of money, and becoming the richest person, do you feel envious? This depends on our inner value system. Casting out demons is a very good touchstone; if it works, it works; if it doesn't work, it doesn't work.

Summary

We must open our spiritual eyes and look at these things in the world in the spiritual realm. Do you really interpret spiritual things with spiritual words? If this is really the case, you will suffer a lot less sin, and you can cast out demons instead of being chased by demons. Pursue the kingdom of God, no longer pursue the kingdom of the world, and you will be full of joy and full of peace. No longer be disturbed by worldly things, become a mighty warrior in the kingdom of God, and be able to trample and plunder the devil and his enemies. Now it is no longer I who live, but Jesus Christ who lives in us, so that we can run with hope in eternity, hoping to come before God in the future and receive a crown of glory.

In the days of this world, just like Jesus, rebuke the mountain to move away, and it will move away; rebuke the demon to leave, and he will leave. Demons will not mistake people, and God will not mistake people. Demons know who you are, God knows who you are, and we ourselves know who we are. Now we have let go and are running with hope in eternity, so that we can see the glory of God in this world. May the glory of God be manifested through you, Amen!

May God bless everyone!