Three Necessary Elements of Faith

Mark 11:22-25  And Jesus answered them, "Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses."

    I remember years ago, as I read these words early in the morning, in a flash I saw that there were three necessary and connected elements of faith and they corresponded to verse 23, 24 and 25.

Faith to Remove

    There are some things that need to be removed from our life and, it will take this aspect of faith for progress to be made. The mountain represents anything that stands in the way of the plan of God and is not His will for our lives. A mountain is a large and looming obstacle that blocks sight of anything lying beyond it. We are hemmed in by the mountain and quite often we get used to seeing it and then surrender to the lie that it will always be there and that there is nothing we can do about it. However, in contrast to this way of thinking, Jesus said that we must confront the mountain, face it and speak to it directly. Many times the mountain on the inside may be bigger and more of a challenge than the mountain on the outside. The mountain on the outside represents a gigantic problem. It may be a financial debt or huge need, it may be a sickness or physical limitation, or it could be opposition to a dream that God has put in your heart to accomplish. One thing that we know for sure, the mountain must be removed and in order for that to happen, our attitude has got to change; first we must deal with the mountain of doubt and uncertainty that is on the inside of us. We certainly cannot be mountain-movers if we see ourselves as helpless victims of the circumstances of life. We definitely cannot be mountain-movers if we also constantly blame others for their existence.

    In Jesus’ day if you were considered a ‘mountain-mover’ that meant that you were known as ‘a solver of great difficulties’. It has been pointed out that we are known either for the problems we create or the problems we solve. Solving problems eliminates mountains, creating problems builds them. In the Book of Psalms we are told that the mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord; talk about solving or dissolving them; once they melt there is no proof that they even existed.

Faith to Receive

    Not only will we need to face mountains, remove hindrances and solve problems but there are going to be many things that we will need to receive from God and then implement in our lives. These are things that we desire from God and even more so; we require from God. That word translated desire is a Greek word that actually is much stronger than a simple desire; it is a requirement; it is a necessity; we must have it. Like the oxygen in our lungs, it is not an option. Most of our praying is based on a fleeting wish or a vague hope that life could be better; but this kind of prayer that Jesus speaks of springs from an intense desire to fulfil the will of God. We have a destiny and a calling from God; He has designed for us to cooperate with Him in the bringing about of His will and purpose for our lives. He will not overpower us and force His will on us; He wants us to want His will. Jesus teaches us that in order for us to receive what God has promised and about which we have asked, we must believe.

    What is it that we are to believe? We are to believe that we have received the things desired and asked for. We are to believe that the answer has been given and that we now have it on the inside. Again, this strongly infers that, previous to our prayer, we have been walking with the Father and we have been reading the Word of God so that we are intimately acquainted with His will. This kind of faith proceeds from a revelation of security; I know my Father’s heart towards me. We do not doubt what He wants for us. We know the will of our Father because we know the Word of our Father. A minister from a previous century once wrote that faith begins where the will of God is known. If we do not know the will of God, we have not yet begun to ask in faith. First, we must step back and discover the will of God. Settle the question before we ask. So, the other thing that we are to believe is implied; we are to believe that it is the will of God for us to have the thing that we desire. At the beginning of verse twenty-four Jesus says, therefore; because of what I have previously said. It is possible that He is teaching us that because we have been moving mountains and solving problems, we are now able to see more clearly what God desires for us.

    Receiving from God is not passive or automatic; we must be taught how to receive; we must be informed of the laws of reception. In football there is a player who fulfils the position of a Receiver and it is not a passive role. The Receiver must be knowledgeable of the play-book; he must be well-versed in the strategies of the team and then he must actively get in a position to receive. There are many similarities to our walk with God; answers are not automatic; we must situate ourselves so that we are in a place to receive. The old Pentecostals used to say, ‘You gotta get under the spout where the glory comes out’. The Greek word for receive is also translated take; taking is an action on our part. We are to grasp the answer and take it by faith from the hand of God. God’s will to give is subject to His law of reception; it is a transaction between two parties; no giver without a receiver and vice versa.

Faith to Release

    Right on the heels of some of the most amazing statements and promises in the Word of God, Jesus strategically connects the command to forgive. The reality is that we live in a less-than-perfect world and forgiveness will always be necessary for the maintenance of any relationship. Our relationship to God, our marriage to our spouse, our friendships, and any association with others will require the exercise of forgiveness in order for that connection to remain healthy. Life is full of disappointment, hurt, difficulty and offenses and forgiveness is the only effective antidote to their poison.

   To forgive is to let go of whatever we are holding on to or holding against someone. It might be something big or it might be something small; it matters not; Jesus said ‘anything against anybody’. We are not downplaying or making light of the hurt that people have experienced; we have indeed suffered in many ways, however, we are commanded to forgive. If I am holding on to something in my hand and I want to get rid of it, I simply let go. That is basically what forgiveness does; it lets go; it removes its grip and releases control. We have all heard the phrase ‘Let go and let God’ and it certainly applies here. The fact is that forgiveness is not a feeling or emotion per se; it is a choice; it takes a security in God; it takes faith. The day Jesus was crucified he forgave his enemies while painfully hanging from the cross; He released his enemies from their sin, and He released Himself from binding their sin to Himself. A refusal to forgive keeps all parties involved bound to the incident in question. The fact that these words on forgiveness are located where they are it would imply that the biggest hindrance to a robust faith life is an unforgiving spirit.

   Father, teach us and empower us to walk by faith and not by sight! Amen!