Faith as a Mustard Seed - Part 2
By Alan Breitenstein
December 5, 2021
Scripture Reading: Matthew 23:12
“And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. “
This message is a continuation of my last message. I was led by Walt to check out another verse on the subject of mountains, which led to other interesting and quite disturbing information. From the last two messages and this one, the whole point was to search for gaining faith.
I thank the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for answering my question on 'how to gain faith' and also to Walt for contributing some information.
In the last message one version was given on what mountains may pertain to. This message is another version.
We will start out with verses that describe the many meanings that mountain has.
Zechariah 6:1 "And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass."
The mountains referred to here is a kingdom.
Ezekiel 36:1 “Also, thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD:”
These mountains refer to the leaders of Israel
Judges 9:36 “And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, Behold, there come people down from the top of the mountains. And Zebul said unto him, Thou seest the shadow of the mountains as if they were men.
These mountains are people
Ezekiel 6:3 “And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys; Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places.
These mountains and the hills refer to the leaders. The river and valleys refer to the people.
Ezekiel 6:2 “Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them”
These mountains are the leaders of Israel
Mark 5:11 “Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding.”
Mountains here can mean people or an actual mountain or hill.
Isaiah 2:14 “And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up”
These mountains are those people who have lifted themselves up and became proud, for the Lord God was going to humble them.
Habakkuk 3:6 “He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting.”
These mountains are nations.
Isaiah 2:2-5
2 “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD
This mountain is the highest mountain of all for this mountain is the Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Exodus 19:9-14
9 “ And the LORD said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the LORD.
10 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes,
11 And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai.
12 And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death:
13 There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.
14 And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes.”
This mountain is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now knowing this, we can look at Matthew 17:16-21:
16 “And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.
17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? Bring him hither to me.
18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, why could not we cast him out?
20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.”
In the last message I made mention of the mountain being fear; the reason being that Jesus said unto them "Because of your unbelief". Where there is doubt, there is a fear of failure.
There are 2 key words used in verse 20 "this and remove"
The NAB has the word move instead of remove.
Take notice that Jesus said "ye shall say unto THIS mountain". The word 'this' is specific. Was Jesus referring to the disciples’ unbelief, or was He referring to Himself?
As we read there are many mountains which include people, nations, kingdoms, fear, sickness, sorrow, poverty, wars, corrupt government, banking cartels, discord or chaos, pride, greed, exaltness, injustice, corrupt weights and measures, temptations, and any earthly evil that is conjured up and Jesus Himself.
In the above passage all of the above could be referred to as mountains to be removed or moved.
Could Jesus be referring for us to remove the above mountains and it shall remove? Or is Jesus saying "You shall say to Me (mountain) remove the many mountains that afflict us"? If Jesus is referring for us to remove the many mountains without Him, then what need do we have for Jesus if we have the capabilities to do it ourselves? Could Jesus be saying to remove Him from idleness to action? Remove has different meanings: to discard, replace or to move again. God has moved again and again and again for the sake of His people. The book of Judges has many examples of God moving to aid His children. Wouldn't this understanding be in harmony with 2nd Chronicles 7:14?
14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
In the above mountains mentioned, some can be moved very easily and others will require prayer and fasting, and that can only happen when we acknowledge the one true mountain, Jesus the Christ.
In verse 20 if we think that Jesus is referring to Himself, then we are also saying that Jesus is exalting Himself. He righteously exalted Himself. He also allowed His enemies to think that they were humbling Him. His enemies humbled Him, which led again to His rightful exaltation.
Notice that Jesus said "You shall say", not ask or beg. There is a time to ask and there is a time to say. For instance, what shows more faith? “Lord Jesus remove these mountains that are upon me", or "Lord Jesus would you remove these mountains that are upon me"? The time to ask is "Lord Jesus show me what you mean by such and such a verse, give me understanding.
Throughout Scripture God has tested His people. No matter how great one is, if you claim to serve the Lord God, then you had better plan on being tested at all times. If mountains are to be moved then shouldn't allegiance be proven? Let's use Moses as an example.
Deuteronomy 32:51-52
51 “Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel.
52Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel.
In the New American Standard, verse 51 states that Moses broke faith. One must wonder if this would have bothered Moses in not being allowed to enter the Promised Land. Have you ever set your heart on a task and then you find out that you cannot finish it due to your health or something else? Have you ever thought that if you were to die suddenly, whether or not your work was completed or whether or not the loved ones near you would be able to function? I personally hate starting something that I can't finish.
Continuing with Moses:
Exodus 17:1-7
1 “And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.
2 Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD?
3 And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?
4 And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me.
5 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go.
6 Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
7 And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?”
Numbers 20:1-13
1 “Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there.
2 And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.
3 And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the LORD!
4 And why have ye brought up the congregation of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there?
5 And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.
6 And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto them.
7 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
8 Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.
9 And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him.
10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?
11 And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.
12 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.
13 This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and he was sanctified in them.
God tested Moses here for in verse 8. God told Moses to take the rod, the same rod that God told Moses to strike the rock for water the first time the Israelites complained for water, only this time God told Moses to speak to the rock. Due to Moses being bitter toward the congregation, he forgot what God commanded him to do. Have you ever been in a moment like Moses? Although Moses had a righteous bitterness toward the congregation, he let that bitterness go to a point of transgression, in that he lost focus as to what God instructed him to do. Now God could have not let that rock pour forth water, but that would have left doubt and loss of respect among the congregation of the Lord.
We all experience highs and lows. Why do we take past experiences or actions and expect the same results? It is like cancer patients feeling good one day and bad the next. We have a tendency to be having good days and thinking (or hoping) the end of the bad days have come. And then they come back. Roller coaster rides are tests from God. Why does God test us? God consistently tested our ancestors in the wilderness and He consistently tests us today. He tests us to see how many Joshuas and Calebs He can find. For when He returns He certainly does not want to open the doors of the wedding feast to those who are going to complain and be in fear.
What teacher doesn't test their students?
Two of all the male Israelites that left Egypt got to go into the Promised Land.
Numbers 32:11-12
11 “Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not WHOLLY (emphasis on wholly) followed me:
12 Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun: for they have wholly followed the LORD.”
Through the past two messages and now this one, the question is should we be putting our faith in anything or anyone other than our God , the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Keep in mind these verses
1st Corinthians 2:5: “That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”
1st Corinthians 13:2: “And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.”
Matthew 6:33-34:
33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”
Exodus 20:3 “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”
Matthew 22:35-38
35 “Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.”
Matthew 6:25 “Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?”
He is even there when we are confronted by those who think they have authority.
Matthew 10:18-20
18 “And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.
19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.
20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.”
Matthew 6:33-34
33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”
When the question was asked if should we be putting our faith into anything or anyone other than God, the answer should be no. And yet we have put our faith in a false god. God is so good at testing us and putting us in delusion. Our ancestors and we have failed the tests that God has given us.
I was told by one of my teachers that you can be so spiritual to where you are no earthly good. That was a long time ago and I never understood why one would not want to be so spiritual, until now.
One way for us to gain faith is to tear down the idols.
Revelation 13:16-17
16 “And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”
Some say that that beast is the social security number; some say it is the vaccine, but what if it is these Federal Reserve notes? The only thing that keeps this false god in existence is faith. Knowing that we are slaves to this god is one thing, but knowing that putting our faith in this beast system is another thing. It is heartbreaking. We have been deceived. And when you observe a Federal Reserve note, it will have the words IN GOD WE TRUST. Not many people will ask which god. The god mentioned IS the debt note.
The god mentioned is the debt note. The deceit is that one word was removed. That word is the same word that we brought up in Matthew 17 v 20 this mountain. The true phrase on the Federal Reserve notes should read IN THIS GOD WE TRUST. Having this god gets you anything you want; it buys you the illusion of wealth, health, joy, and abundance. It does not buy you harmony for the ones who have less and want more. It does not buy you a seat in heaven. The more of this god that you have, the more you want and need.
Matthew 4:8-11
8 “Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.”
Ezekiel 14:4: “Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols”
How can we be spiritual when we are using and serving a false god? How can we depart from this god and live on this earth? How can we survive anywhere or do anything without using this god? If we were to use biblical money, we would have to get it by using this god. Sure we could drive to a secluded place and just leave everything and rely on God for food and clothing and shelter, but is that what God really wants? Or does He want us to provide for our household?
Revelation 18:11-12
11 “And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,”
I would recommend reading all of chapter 18. Take notice of the merchandise of gold and silver for sale by the merchants. Who is the her in verse 11? Babylon? Federal Reserve notes.
Genesis 4:1: “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.”
Jim brought this passage up a few weeks back and some pastors have made mention that the Lord here is God and some say that Eve just thought that Cain came from the Lord. In light of this message, Eve knew exactly who the Lord was, for in her eyes it was the lord of the earth or prince of the earth.
John 12:31 “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.”
Eve was the first to fall for a false god and that is the chief sin of all for that is the transgression of the 1st Commandment. The second chief sin is the result of the violation of the first commandment. There is a reason for the 1st commandment being first, for every sin or transgression committed the 1st commandment is always the first violated.
What is it that makes gold and silver so valuable to be used as money? Yes, it is better than paper debt, but what makes people want it? Who declared it to be an exchange for merchandise? Maybe this will help. We have to understand what money is and means.
Hebrew Word: כֶּסֶף
Transliteration: keçeph
Phonetic: keh'-sef
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Strongs Definition: silver (from its pale color); by implication money
BDB Definition:
1. silver, money
a. silver
1. as metal
2. as ornament
3. as colour
b. money, shekels, talents
And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.
Gold
Gold was commonly used to make jewelry and ornaments for two main reasons: the Egyptians believed gold to be the flesh of the sun god Ra and because gold was plentiful in the region. Artisans made amulets, death masks, diadems, ornamental weapons, vessels, and funeral art out of gold to adorn the tombs of pharaohs. Some of these objects were decorative, meant to shower the fallen leaders with wealth and beauty. Other objects were created as good luck charms that were believed to ensure a safe journey to the afterlife. Though gold was largely controlled by leaders and the wealthy, non-royal Egyptians were also known to own gold jewelry.
Goldsmiths shaped the yellow metal by casting and hammering, while adding embellishments with techniques like embossing and engraving. Precious stones and glass were often set into decorative gold pieces. Gold was also pounded into thin plates, which could be glued or riveted onto other materials. This technique was used in the making of columns, obelisks, furniture, coffins, death masks, and jewelry. Artisans also created gold leaf, which could be applied to surfaces using gesso. Gesso is plaster or glue.
Ancient Egyptians frequently used a naturally-occurring alloy known as electrum, which consisted of gold, silver, and a small amount of copper. It was pale amber in color. Electrum was used to make chariots, columns, thrones, offering tables, statues, amulets, and jewelry.
Silver
Silver was far scarcer than gold in ancient Egypt, which made it a highly valuable commodity. The white metal was treated much like gold and electrum, used to meet a variety of needs. One unique use for silver was that artisans would beat it into sheets to plate mirror surfaces. When used for ornamental purposes, silver could be stained black using sulphur.
1 Timothy 6:10: “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
It is God who instills into our thoughts that gold and silver is to be used as an exchange of merchandise. Gold and silver has also been treated as a god. It gave the elite a sense of power by the mere fact of how much they had. My thinking may be skewed but when you put a value on something, does that not lead to setting up a false god? It has to be another test from God to see what we will do with it.
Judges 8:24-27
24 “And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)
25 And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey.
26 And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels' necks.
27 And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.
Further on in Judges, Micah had 1100 pieces of silver and had a silversmith make an idol with 200 of them. Later a tribe of Dan stole it and set up the idol for themselves. Judges chapter 17 and 18: is this any different than what we do today? We work for these idols, we pay with these idols .We have become whores for this idol and we wonder why God is not answering our prayers.
How shall we treat this debt idol, for even though it is called money, it is not. Silver is money. How can we turn this beast system back on to the beast?
Revelation 18:4: “And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.”
What if coming out of her means stop referring to these debt notes as money and start referring to her as to what they really are? We have no money. So when it comes to removing mountains such as bad government and banking cartels, could Jesus have meant their removal comes about when He said in the following verses?
Matthew 17:21 “Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting”
Luke 8:7 “And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?”
What if we were to pray and fast for an agreed amount of days? Broadcast this fast among our kindred people throughout the world. Give instructions for what to drink during this time to prolong the fast. When hunger pains get too great, prayer is recommended. Could hunger pains be a greater misery than what Jesus went through? Don't let your belly be your god. Don't think of food; pray. Constantly remind yourself why you are fasting. It is for your children, grandchildren, kindred brothers and sisters and for the glory of God. What if we started on the month of Abib or Nisan of the Israel calendar as a remembrance of our ancestors coming out of Egypt? The reason for this is to give time for others to be on board and for the evil ones to start fearing.
We, our parents and our grandparents, parents have never known what true liberty is. We have been brainwashed to think that slavery is freedom.
Let us pray: Lord God, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, we are sinners that serve a god not by choice but by necessity. We thank You for the revealing of our sin and ask You to hear our cry for mercy. Amen.
