Mountains represent literal walls, circumstantial challenges and obstacles in our lives that try to prevent us from receiving and experiencing the promises of God
“In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”
God designed our bodies to live forever. (Gen 1:26) God did not design our bodies to break down and die. He created us sickness free. He created us with no disabilities; we were strong, healthy and free! That was our original design.
It was not until man, blinded by the deception of the devil, was faced with a mountain that challenged this reality. That mountain was unbelief. God warned man, the day he chooses to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he would die. (Genesis 2:17)
Sadly that day came. Sin was formed in man’s heart, and death came into the world. Sin, which is believing and acting on something other than what God has said, is designed to steal, kill, and destroy us in every area of our life, spiritually, physically, and provisionally.
The purpose of sin is to challenge, or block us from walking in FAITH, which is believing and acting on what God has said. It challenges us. It is a mountain that needs to be removed from our hearts.
Sickness in our bodies is the direct result of sin that has infected our hearts. (Romans 5:12) The wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23) Sin produced sickness in mans bodies.
Sickness is death in progress. It challenges our health. It is a mountain that must be removed.
Only faith can remove the mountains in our life.
In Joshua 1:5 we see this principle revealed.
“There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”
This word “stand” here actually means to stand in a stationary position in order to block you.
God was telling Joshua that no enemy would be able to stand in front of him to block him and the nation of Israel from possessing the promise land.
He did not say that they would not try to block him. For the enemies of Israel attempted to do so. They tried to stop them at every turn. With every battle there was a Word from the Lord that Joshua had to hear, believe, and act on to have victory.
The same principle is true for us today. No enemy of God, no circumstance, no mountain, no sickness is able to stand in front of you to block you from taking possession of God's promise of healing and health, for your life!
It is time to end the confusion.
We must get one foundational truth settled in our hearts. The mountain is not there because God wants to challenge you. The mountain is there because Satan is challenging you. He is attempting to block you from receiving your promise of healing, and steal the health God has already given you!
The Apostle Paul experienced this type of resistance from the enemy. His experience is a perfect New Testament example of how to overcome these mountains, these challenges of Satan.
In 2 Corinthians 12:7 we read:
“And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.”
Notice that Paul received an abundance of revelations from Jesus Christ. These revelations would cause him to be exalted above his situations. He became a powerful threat to the kingdom of darkness. That is the purpose of revelation, to raise you up out of the oppression of darkness.
Jesus told Peter that He was blessed because of the revelation he received. It is upon this rock, the rock of revelation that the Church would be built. Furthermore, the gates of hell would not prevail against it! (Matthew 16:17)
Did you see that? Jesus said that the gates of hell would not be successful in blocking you from walking in your revelation.
This is what the enemy fears in your life. So he aggressively and subtly challenges you from experiencing the revelation of Jesus Christ.
He has attempted to do this through what Paul revealed to us in 2 Corinthians 12:7. His subtle deception has twisted this powerful truth and enslaved millions.
First of all let's look at the phrase “lest I should be exalted above measure." Religion has misinterpreted that to mean Paul exalting himself in pride because of his revelations. That interpretation flies in the face of what Jesus taught in Matthew 16:17.
Again the purpose of revelation is to cause you and I to rise above the oppression of darkness. Revelation opens prison doors for them that were bound (Isaiah 61:1). Revelation makes us free, (John 8:31-32). Revelation comes from God through Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:2), and whom the Son makes free is free indeed! (John 8:36)
Secondly it was Satan, not God, that assigned to Paul a special messenger to persecute him, to be a “thorn in his flesh”, to challenge him in every way.
And finally, to further his deception, Satan suggested Paul's "thorn in the flesh” to be some kind of physical sickness sent by God to humble him.
A foundational principle that will help you understand what the Bible is saying is this; The Bible will always interpret itself. Paul knew the Old Testament like the back of his hand. He made references, in his written Epistles that came from the Old Testament quite often.
The phrase “thorn in the flesh” is one of them. Let’s look at Ezekiel 28:24. Here we read how the enemies of Israel were referred to as thorns.
“And there shall be no more a brier to prick the house of Israel or a HURTING THORN of all those around them who have treated them with contempt and they shall know (understand and realize that I am the Lord God.”You see Paul used the phrase “thorn in the flesh” to refer to a group of people that were persecuting him. Everywhere Paul went preaching the Gospel, Satan used a group of Jewish men, who were enemies of the Gospel, to go where Paul was, and stir up strife and contention that would cause him harm.
They were literally attempting to stand in front of him to challenge his progress in reaching the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Paul repeatedly ran for his life, was stoned and left for dead, or kicked out of the town where he was ministering. The unbelieving Jews that were challenging and persecuting Paul at every turn were the “thorn in the flesh” that he was referring to.
Nowhere does Paul ever refer to sickness and disease as a “thorn in the flesh.”
We must understand WHO our enemy is. It is not God trying to prevent you from receiving His blessing. He is the one who sent His best, Jesus Christ, to die for you so you can have and experience His life and blessing.
Satan is the one that will influence people; stir up storms and circumstances, to block you from receiving God's best in your life.
God is the One, and Jesus clearly revealed it to us in Mark 11:22-24, Who gave us a tool, a weapon to use to overcome and remove these mountains in our lives.
The main tool that God has ordained us to use is FAITH! FAITH ALWAYS SPEAKS!
In Mark 11:22 Jesus said faith in God is the answer to any challenge you face!
Use the tool God has given you. Use your faith in God. 1 Peter 2:24 declares “...by His stripes ye were healed.” Believe that Word in your heart, and then speak that Word to your body.
Speak to the mountain of sickness, that is challenging your health, and demand it be removed from your body. Stand your ground and don’t give place to the devil!
Say this from your heart of faith today:
IN THE NAME OF JESUS, DEVIL YOU MUST LEAVE! BY HIS STRIPES I AM HEALED! I AM NOT THE SICK, I AM THE HEALED. SICKNESS, DISEASE, DISABILITY, YOU MUST LEAVE! BODY YOU ARE HEALED! YOU ARE HEALTHY, YOU ARE STRONG! PRAISE THE LORD, I AM FREE!
