Me and My Big Mouth!: Your Answer Is Right Under Your Nose

Chapter One

Mark 11:22,23

Do you have problems? Your answer is right under your nose.

At least a major part of it is.

I do not believe that anyone can live in victory without being well informed concerning the power of words.

Usually when we have mountains in our lives we talk about them, but God's Word instructs us to talk to them, as we see in Jesus' words in this passage.

Are You Talking About Your Mountains - Or to Your Mountains?

When Jesus said that we are to speak to our mountain in faith, commanding it to be lifted up and thrown into the sea, this is a radical statement and one that deserves some study.

First of all, what do we say to the mountains in our lives? It is obvious that we are not to hurl our will at them, but the will of God, and His will is His Word.

In Luke 4 when Jesus was being tempted by Satan in the wilderness, He answered every trial with the Word of God. He repeatedly said, "It is written," and quoted Scriptures that met the lies and deceptions of the devil head on.

We have a tendency to "try" this for a while, and then when we do not see quick results we stop speaking the Word to our problems and begin once again speaking our feelings, which is probably what got us into trouble to begin with.

A stonecutter may strike a rock ninety-nine times with a hammer, and there may be no evidence at all that the rock is cracking. Then on the one hundredth time, it may split in half. Each blow was weakening the stone even though there were no signs to indicate it.

Persistence is a vital link to victory We must know what we believe and be determined to stick with it until we see results.

Obedience and Forgiveness Are as Important as Faith and Persistence

For this reason I am telling you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe (trust and be confident) that it is granted to you, and you will [get it].

And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him and let it drop (leave it, let it go), in order that your Father Who is in heaven may also forgive you your [own] failings and shortcomings and let them drop.

But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your failings and shortcomings.

Mark 11:24-26

To make sure we maintain balance in this teaching, let me say that speaking the Word of God is powerful and absolutely necessary in overcoming. However, it is not the only doctrine in the Word of God.

For example, obedience is equally important. If a person thinks he can live in disobedience, but speak God's Word to his mountains and get results, he will be sadly disappointed, as Jesus clearly stated in this passage.

Mark 11:22-26 must be considered as a whole. In verse 22 Jesus said to constantly have faith in God. In verse 23 He talked about releasing faith by speaking to mountains. In verse 24 He spoke of prayer and the importance of praying believing prayers. In verse 25 He gave a command to forgive. And in verse 26 He stated plainly that if we do not forgive, neither will our Father in heaven forgive us our failings and shortcomings.

There is no power in speaking to a mountain if the heart is full of unforgiveness, yet this problem is rampant among God's children.

Multitudes of people who have accepted Christ as their personal Savior fall into the deception of trying to operate one of God's principles while completely ignoring another.

Obedience is the central theme of the Bible. For many of us, our life is in a mess due to disobedience. The disobedience may have been the result of ignorance or rebellion, but the only way out of the mess is repentance and a return to submission and obedience.

Don't Ignore the "Ifs" and "Buts"

If you will listen diligently to the voice of the Lord your God, being watchful to do all His commandments which I command you this day, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.

And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you if you heed the voice of the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 28:1,2

Please notice the "ifs" in this passage. So often we choose to ignore the "ifs" and "buts" in the Bible.

Consider, for example, 1 Corinthians 1:9,10:

God is faithful (reliable, trustworthy, and therefore ever true to His promise, and He can be depended on); by Him you were called into companionship and participation with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

But I urge and entreat you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in perfect harmony and full agreement in what you say, and that there be no dissensions or factions or divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in your common understanding and in your opinions and judgments.

We see that God is faithful, and we also see that we draw upon that faithfulness by honoring Him with obedience in relationships. Our disobedience does not change God. He is still faithful, but obedience opens the door for the blessing that is already there due to God's goodness to flow to us.

This book would be a tragedy in my estimation if I tried to teach that you and I can have what we say without clarifying that what we say must line up with the Word of God and His will. "Speaking to our mountains" is not a magic charm or incantation that we pull out and use when we are in trouble or when we want something for ourselves, and then continue on in carnality and a disobedient lifestyle.

Mere Infants

However, brethren, I could not talk to you as to spiritual [men], but as to nonspiritual [men of the flesh, in whom the carnal nature predominates], as to mere infants [in the new life] in Christ [unable to talk yet!]

1 Corinthians 3:1

As long as you and I are carnal, we should hope and pray that God shows us mercy and that we do not get what we say. We will be saying a lot of things that are our will and not God's will, simply because we cannot tell the difference yet. As "babies in Christ," we simply do not know how to talk yet, as Paul tells us here in this passage.

Just as natural babies must learn to speak the language of their elders, so Christians must learn how to talk God's way.

Learning To Speak God's Language

For everyone who continues to feed on milk is obviously inexperienced and unskilled in the doctrine of righteousness (of conformity to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action), for he is a mere infant [not able to talk yet]!

But solid food is for full-grown men, for those whose senses and mental faculties are trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between what is morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to divine or human law.

Hebrews 5:13,14

We need time to learn the Word of God and to know His heart. Although many things are clearly defined in the Word, and it is obvious what God's will is, there are other things that we need to make decisions about that are not spelled out in black and white. We need to know His heart and be led by His Spirit. The Bible does not tell us what kind of automobile to buy, or when to sell our house and purchase a new one, or what company to work for. If we do work at a company and want a promotion, that desire could be God's will for us, but it could also be covetousness. How can we know the difference?

Time is the answer.

It takes time to know God, to know our own hearts, and to be able to be totally honest with ourselves and with God. It takes time to learn about motives and how to determine whether ours are pure.

"If It Be Thy Will"

. You do not have, because you do not ask.

[Or] you do ask [God for them] and yet fail to receive, because you ask with wrong purpose and evil, selfish motives. Your intention is [when you get what you desire] to spend it in sensual pleasures.

James 4:2,3

I once heard it said that a person operating in faith will never pray, "if it be Thy will." There was no other explanation given; therefore as a young Christian I took the statement to an extreme.

In the same way, I heard that I could have what I said, but nobody told me that I needed to grow up. Perhaps someone did say it and I was so full of myself that I did not hear, but I was 11 definitely out of balance. I wanted what I wanted, and I thought I had found a new way to get it.

There are some things in the Word of God that are so clear that we never have to pray, "if it be Thy will."

Salvation is a good example.

In 1 Timothy 2:3,4 the Bible states that it is God's desire that all should be saved and come to a knowledge of Him. I would never pray, "Dear Father in heaven, I ask in Jesus' name that You save _____, if it be Thy will." I already know it is His will to save that person.

James 4:2 says we have not because we do not ask. Verse 3 says that sometimes we ask and yet fail to receive because we ask with wrong purpose and evil, selfish motives. I realize that sometimes it is hard to believe that of ourselves, but, nonetheless, it is true. It is especially true of the believer who has not allowed the purification process of God to take place in his life. In that state, a person has God in him, but he also has an abundance of "self" in him.

I believe that in those instances when what we are asking for is not clearly spelled out in the Word, and we are not positive that we have heard from God about the issue, it is wise and an act of true submission to pray, "if it be Thy will."

I recall an instance many years ago when my husband Dave and I were vacationing in a lovely spot in Georgia. We were exceptionally tired, and God had made a way for us to take some time off and rebuild our energies. We were enjoying the place so much that we began planning to bring our children back there the following year and take an extended vacation. We were full of our plans and excitedly talking about them. I began to "declare" (make a verbal confession), "We are coming back here next year, I and our entire family will be blessed with a vacation at this place."

Suddenly the Holy Spirit spoke James 4:15 to me: You ought instead to say, If the Lord is willing, we shall live and we shall do this or that [thing]. As I began later to study this Scripture I also noticed verse 16: But as it is, you boast [falsely] in your presumption and your self-conceit. All such boasting is wrong.

There is a difference between faith and confidence, and foolishness and presumption. Unless that difference is discerned, the spiritual life becomes a tragedy instead of a triumph.

I do not personally feel that I am weak in faith if I pray, "Lord, I want this thing - if it is Your will, if it fits in with Your plan, if it is Your best for me, and if it is Your timing."

Proverbs 3:7 says, Be not wise in your own eyes I have taken this verse to heart and believe it has saved me a great deal of agony.

There was a time in my life when I thought I knew everything and if everyone would listen to me, we would all get along just fine. I have now discovered that I do not know anything at all, at least not compared to what God knows.

We must resist the temptation to play "Holy Ghost, Jr." Instead, we must let God be God.

Balance, Wisdom, Prudence, Common Sense, and Good Judgment

Every prudent man deals with knowledge, but a [self-confident] fool exposes and flaunts his folly.

Proverbs 13:16

It seems to me from my twenty years of observation in the Kingdom of God, that people and teachers have a difficult time with balance. The doctrine concerning the power of words, the mouth, confession, calling those things that be not as though they are, and speaking things into existence, is one example where I have seen people get off into extremes. It seems that the flesh wants to live in the ditch on one side of the road or the other, but it has a difficult time staying in the middle of the highway between the lines of safety.

Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour.

1 Peter 5:8

Extremes are actually the devil's playground. If he cannot get a believer to totally ignore a truth and live in deception, his next tactic will be to get him so one-sided and out of balance with that truth that he is no better off than he was before. Sometimes he is even worse off than he was.

Wisdom is a central theme of God's Word. As a matter of fact, there is no real victory without it.

In Webster's II New College Dictionary wisdom is defined as "1. Understanding what is true, right, or lasting. 2. Good judgment: common sense." I have dealt with many people over the years, both lay people and those in full-time ministry, who simply do not use any common sense.

Wisdom does not operate in extremes. Proverbs 1:1-4 says that wisdom is full of prudence, and prudence is good management.

In this same dictionary, prudence is defined as "careful management: ECONOMY." The adjective form, prudent, is defined as "using good judgment or common sense in handling practical matters." I believe we might say that wisdom is a combination of balance, common sense, and good judgment.

A teacher of God's Word has to be responsible to explain himself enough to be reasonably sure that believers in all stages of spiritual growth understand him. To make one blanket statement that "you can have what you say," without any explanation, is dangerous to the immature Christian.

Continues.