Australian Bible Church – Nov. 18, 2007   Matthew 14-16

A CONTINUATION OF THE THRUST AND BASE OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
OF AUSTRALIA ON BIBLICAL LINES …

Mountains, Misfits and Marvels 

I   MOVING MOUNTAINS

Mark 11:21-26 shows us the power of God, via the action of Christ in seeking fruit in vain from a fig tree, leading to its being found withered the next day. The important thing is what He said to it. "Let no man eat fruit of you ever again." If it was not the season for fruit, yet that would only enhance the point. ISRAEL was that fig tree without its figs. The fig gave Israel one of its national symbols (Micah 4:4 assuring each could in the blessed time have his own vine or fig tree, undisturbed in a realm of plenty and peace, while Jeremiah also famously uses the fig of Israel in Jeremiah 24). What then ? We should as a spiritual people, Paul advises, "Preach the word! Be ready in season, out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort .." (II Timothy 4:2). This fruitlessness symbolised  national failure.

 Deuteronomy 6 shows no less required in its day, of Israel, holiness at all times. Yet neither in nor out of season was the truth revered by the nation as a whole, for the high priesthood was sold for money, while shameless frauds were enacted on the word of God, which was both added to by tradition and annulled by continued misconduct (Mark 7:7ff.,  Matthew 23:33-35). Thus they were making it "of no effect". Christ came when many did not expect Him  (though the date of His death was foretold for some 6 centuries by Daniel), and of the people Christ declared this: "This people honours me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." Even in friendship, if the heart is not there, you might as well forget it. How much more is this so in worship of God!

Hence their own LORD took them by surprise, though their last prophet, Malachi had warned them: "the Lord whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple... But who can endure the day of His coming ? and who can stand when He appears ?" (3:3). Centuries passed and this was the last until they duly killed "the messenger of the covenant" (Micah 5:1ff., Is..42,49), indeed the One who WAS the covenant (Isaiah 42:6), who thus made a new Covenant in His own blood (Matthew 26:28).

Thus even when He came, and found no SPIRITUAL FRUIT, accordingly He showed by the miracle of the fig tree, what lay before the nation. It would wither, and no more would Israel be the example to show forth His praise for He would do it Himself in the New Covenant personally, and by His body, the Church of believers from many nations,  in whom He would reside by His Spirit (John 6:53-56, Col. 1:27). Isaiah 30 shows just how utter was the rejection of Israel as the spiritual beacon, and Isaiah 65:13-15 that those of the new name (Is. 62:1ff.) would rejoice while Israel, by contrast, would lament. Killing your Employer does not help the wage situation (Mark 12). Only in Christ's own name could they ever find peace with God now, and so join with all the others of many nations, who came to the crucified, resurrected Christ (cf. Is. 52:15), sprinkling them with His blood.

When then the disciples were amazed at this withering of the tree overnight, Christ told them this: "For assuredly I tell you, whoever says to this mountain, Be removed and be cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I tell you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." He added that when praying "if you have anything against anyone, forgive him ... if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses." That is a very searching preliminary condition. Fail there,  and pray is ready to fail.

Thus by faith can you change the geological landscape. What had been a 'mountain' can now be swallowed up by the sea! What had confronted and affronted you, baulked and bewildered you, now can be sent out so that you can do the will of God from the heart and fulfil all His desire for you. NOTHING can stand in the way of your doing the will of God, for this prayer is your gold card to the divine power to move the apparently immovable, and deliver you from weakness and failure in what He desires of you.

Indeed, it is God who works in His people both to will and to do (Philippians 2). What you desire for your own pleasure is NOT to be found in the will of God, although you may ask for any good thing at the Father's pleasure; but what you desire for HIS work, will and for obedience to Him, in whose name you pray, this may indeed be found. Reservations about His power or grace, or uncertainty remove this option. FAITH unwavering is required. You must abide in Him and His word, as in John 15, and so abiding in Him and His words in you, you ask.

Known sin is one of the first things to remove. Uncertainty about career or service, this is another. Weakness of personality or character, this is a third. Lack of love to Him, this is yet another. Where promise applies, where mercy prevails, nothing is too hard, but keep yourself in the love of God (Jude 21). Bunyan was a passionate pastor, his heart moved for his people, and for 12 years he was put in prison because he believed in free worship in Christ's name and with Him as active head: not some State appointed forms and princes. How sad! what a loss! Think of all those sermons he could not preach. How it would have weighed if he had not had faith!

Yet he wrote The Pilgrim's Progress, a book for long second in popularity after the Bible, and MILLIONS have been helped by its preaching and teaching, valuing it like jewels. Similarly William Tyndale was engaged in getting for England a fine translation of the Bible, so that instead of the Roman pope dictating by HIS word to the people, the word of GOD could liberate them and bless them, and they could see for themselves what it said. He was executed. Nevertheless his translation of the New Testament and some of the Old has been a basis for some of the very best English translations ever made, and millions upon millions have been blessed.

Indeed, earlier, Tyndale in an argument with a 'learned' but 'blasphemous' clergyman, a prophecy of his came true. "We had better be without God's laws than the Pope's" said that clergyman. I found the same in New Zealand, where an elder told me some Presbyter had declared that it was not the Bible but the rule book by which they went! How past evils have crept up on a sleeping land.

To this clergyman, Tyndale famously replied:

"I defy the Pope, and all his laws; and if God spares my life, I will cause the boy that drives the plow in England to know more of the Scriptures than the Pope himself."

Sending translations of parts of the Bible to England, Tyndale soon had floods of this word, forbidden by papal authorities and those who feared them, from  free use by the populace, inundating the country. Indeed, a Bishop bought up all the copies he could find to burn them, but the money was secretly sent on to Tyndale, who many more with the proceeds! Thus again, a mountain blocking a man’s work for God was removed. Not indeed,  without suffering; it was yet a wonderful work in the love of God for the needs of the people.

Again, when William,  with royal Mary to rule in England after the foul torments, tortures and killings of James II, was approaching the shores of England with a fleet, the wind was driving them on to a most dangerous landing site, where prepared troops could have overcome his army in its disembarking. Just in time, the wind changed and sent his ships back to their desired place on an earlier part of the coast, from which he went on to conquer, and to fulfil the desire of those nobles who had asked him to come and liberate them.

So do mountains move. It is important not to TELL God how to move them, or to which sea; but the prayer of faith in His word and ways will be answered.

II MOUNTAINS DESTINED FOR DUST

That is a matter of moving mountains, and how changed the landscape when you do this. But some mountains are those which accumulate with dust over time, the mountains of blasphemy and disobedience in a heart or a land. They rise in their ugliness until the people are exposed to the sun in its glaring, and they sit on filth. We have many of those now, and they are to grow until the Lord annihilates them, after what man does with freedom is shown to all! (II Thessalonians 1). II Timothy 3 tells us of the heights of evil to be found on some of them, for the last days, which are now ours. People will be blasphemers, unholy, despisers of good, not believing in the power of God.

As II Peter 2, and 3 tell us, from the midst of churches themselves, there will arise those who will bring in damnable heresies, forsaking the Lord whom they courted but did not know. Such false preachers and teachers will "exploit you with deceptive words" and God, who knows when to act will do so;  for says Peter, "for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber." In the last days, he declares, scoffers will abound denying the flood and His return.

Of this kind are those who push their blasphemies and lies into schools under biology or religious teaching alike, or in much of social teaching, witlessly worshipping follies of their own creation, and understanding nothing of the Christian God, moulding new christs with the hands of unbelief, and as their imagination flits. Yet the word of God is fulfilled on all sides, while their own imaginary ideas are confronted continuously by facts to the contrary. Actually, not only has the always verified Bible been as constantly fulfilled as their ideas have been unverified and anti-verified, but the language of the Creator IN us is increasingly shown to be a wonder of biological LITERATURE in itself! 

In the latest Journal of Creation, 2007,  pp. 111ff., we find that DNA information is "overlapping-multi-layered and  multi-dimensional". As with human speech, it has multiple rules and conditions, symbols and inventions to cover its inventory. Much DNA formerly little recognised for function (‘junk’), is now found to contain information about how to use information. This only makes sense in the context of the information to which it relates. It is like having a car, and then a computer to control it. The latter involves knowledge of the former to an intense and immense degree.

Trying to control it, without understanding, would ruin it long before anything useful happened; but when the PURPOSE is to control the controls, then it is simple, for the brilliance of God, to implement this. We do this sort of thing every day, though more modestly. It is creation as known to us by what WE have been enabled to do ourselves. In making US, there is purpose and plan, design and detail to the uttermost; and hence we can even discuss it, having the logic in us, which is used in it! Thus the intricacies of our genes, written in all life forms in one language, that of DNA, use symbol and command telling matter just what to do and when, on the assembly line of human production. We are seeing, not the first creation, but the means IN LANGUAGE by which it copies what God has done, keeping KINDS as in the Bible.

Similarly, organs once not fully understood, like the appendix are anything but vestigial, remainders of what was once useful. They are USEFUL NOW.  Set at the beginning of the colon in man, the appendix is a useful site for making cultures or reservoirs of good bacteria, to be used in case of need, and in the meantime, it injects from its resources these bacteria into the natural flow as it passes. It is a safe haven, and thus also keeps a store for need, so covering the case of  anything spoiling the normal digestive work.

God has thus spoken both TO us in the Bible, IN us in our plans and procedures in our very bodies, and FOR us in Jesus Christ, who died to just for the unjust to bring us back to God (II Peter 3:18). Every mountain, says Isaiah 2, will be made low and these evil attacks in schools and colleges, TV and news media, will be among them. They are spreading fables  (foretold in II Timothy 4:4),contrary to all evidence and the actual laws of science. How great are the millstones that await many! (cf. Matthew 18:6-9). These are mountains that will be eternally buried in shame. 

III THE IMMOVABLE MOUNTAIN

Above and beyond all mountains, the mountain of God's own righteousness, this will always stand. "Thy righteousness is like the great mountains, Thy judgments are a great deep." Immovable is the mountain of God, and His judgments, they stand when all else passes. Into the deep go the mountains of sin and evil, but onto the summit of the shielding mountain of God go the saints, who have learned to abide in Him, and stand where the Rock is!

In Daniel 2, we see a symbolic presentation of history. A great statue is revealed, the head the empire in which Daniel lived, and as you go down the statue towards the toes, you get different empires, which Daniel in the inspiration of God, predicted would come in that order. Naturally, they did so – Babylon, Media and Persia, Greece (Alexander the Great) and this one that would in one form or another, endure. Thus, in the end we read that a great stone would come hurtling down from the heavens, and smashing the statue of empires on its feet, so crushing it. The dust would scatter, but as to the stone, it would become a MOUNTAIN and FILL THE EARTH.

Just as the Gospel is like leaven, in bread, going throughout it, so the power of God in judgment, when He comes, is like an ever-growing mount, overcoming all contest, revealed as the very site of the Sovereignty and Majesty of God. Here is the kingdom (Daniel 7:25 takes up the theme), which will never pass away. Put differently, we see in Daniel 7, all peoples and languages brought to the rule of Christ, who Himself, as the Son of man, incarnate God, is brought near to the Father who gives Him eternal mandate.  So the glory of God, which He knew from the first (John 17), now after His humiliation on the Cross, continues past the last, for there is no end to eternal life! Just look at the language of it in Daniel 7:13:

"I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man,
coming with the clouds of heaven. He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations and languages should serve Him.  His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed."

This is our Christ and our Lord, who having shown His heart and power on earth in His incarnation, will complete His mission with power; for it has been long that man has been given the Gospel of grace, and when this is done, then comes the Righteous rule of God, the division of sheep and goats, the end of the ways of flesh’; and the beauty of holiness continues for ever. How wonderful to know this God, and to stand on this mountain, that of God's own righteousness, given to us in Christ (Romans 5:17), whose it is to give! (I John `:1-4).

How simple it is, through repentance from sin and the reception of the Lord’s Christ as Lord and Saviour, to find by faith life for ever. Divine is His word, and His rule now in the heart, will become His rule in glory over this earth, where in the Alps of His loveliness, you are placed by Him (I Thess. 3:13), remaining with Him even when this world departs (II Peter 3, Isaiah 51:6!). This world has nothing to offer but fraud and lies and the lie, denial of its Lord, and trusts in nothing. In the Lord Jesus Christ, by contrast, here is the One to whom to look in EVERYTHING NOW, as you move mountains, One who by no means leaves us who are His, for ever. Amen.