HOW TO DEAL WITH MOUNTAINS II.
MEMORISE:
For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Mark 11:23
READ: Exodus 17:8-13.
8 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
9 And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.
10 So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
11 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
12 But Moses hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
13 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
MESSAGE:
We started discussing how to deal with mountains yesterday and mentioned that we can try to run away from them by turning our back against them or going round them aimlessly- killing the time we should have used to utterly destroy them. We pointed out the futility of these two approaches in dealing with our mountains. Today, we shall look at some other ways whereby we can deal with mountains- symbols of the challenges of life.
Another way of dealing with a mountain is by climbing it. Though it may be difficult, it is a most effective solution, as we see in today’s text. The wandering children of Israel were confronted with a very fierce battle against the well-organized army of the Amalekites. It was a great mountain indeed. What did Moses do? After he had chosen Joshua as the captain of the army and set men for battle, he went up to the mountain to pray for divine intervention. The Bible says in Philippians 4:6-7:
“ Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
The above Scripture tells of the importance of prayer when we are confronted with mountainous challenges of life. This is one of the best ways of dealing with mountains, according to our memory verse today.
Beloved, whatever the nature of the mountain you are facing (which symbolizes a problem), discuss it with God as Moses did in our text of today, and you will see it disappearing before you.
Another way of dealing with a mountain is by boring a hole through it. This will create a tunnel through which you can get to the other side and into your promised land (Exodus 14:21-28). The Lord made an expressway through the Red Sea for the children of Israel to pass through and He can do the same in your life, over and over again. You will overcome every challenge of life in Jesus’ name
ACTION POINT:
Build an altar of prayer onto God today and you shall have victory over every mountain in your path, in the mighty name of Jesus.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: GENESIS 12-14.
HYMN 22: SWEET HOUR OF PRAYER.
Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
That calls me from a world of care,
And bids me at my Father’s throne
Make all my wants and wishes known.
In seasons of distress and grief,
My soul has often found relief
And oft escaped the tempter’s snare
By thy return, sweet hour of prayer!
Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
The joys I feel, the bliss I share,
Of those whose anxious spirits burn
With strong desires for thy return!
With such I hasten to the place
Where God my Savior shows His face,
And gladly take my station there,
And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!
Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
Thy wings shall my petition bear
To Him whose truth and faithfulness
Engage the waiting soul to bless.
And since He bids me seek His face,
Believe His Word and trust His grace,
I’ll cast on Him my every care,
And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!
Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
May I thy consolation share,
Till, from Mount Pisgah’s lofty height,
I view my home and take my flight:
This robe of flesh I’ll drop and rise
To seize the everlasting prize;
And shout, while passing through the air,
“Farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer!”
