Challenge Thy Mountain in the Lord
We are invited to command God to move mountains in our lives, and to trust in His power and provision to overcome any obstacle.
Charles E. Cowman preaches about the powerful concept of commanding God's work with faith and confidence, drawing examples from biblical figures like Joshua, Elijah, Luther, and Jesus Himself, who invited people to command Him. This shift in relationship with God is a call to bold and unwavering faith in prayer, contrasting with hesitant and unbelieving prayers. God lovingly offers His resources to His children, encouraging them to command Him in faith and claim His promises.
Text
"Concerning the work of my hands command ye me" (Isa. 45:11).
Our Lord spoke in this tone when He said, "Father, I will." Joshua used it when, in the supreme moment of triumph, he lifted up his spear toward the setting sun, and cried, "Sun, stand thou still!"
Elijah used it when he shut the heavens for three years and six months, and again opened them.
Luther used it when, kneeling by the dying Melanchthon, he forbade death to take his prey.
It is a marvelous relationship into which God bids us enter. We are familiar with words like those which follow in this paragraph: "I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded." But that God should invite us to command Him, this is a change in relationship which is altogether startling!
What a difference there is between this attitude and the hesitating, halting, unbelieving prayers to which we are accustomed, and which by their perpetual repetition lose edge and point!
How often during His earthly life did Jesus put men into a position to command Him! When entering Jericho, He stood still, and said to the blind beggars:
"What will ye that I shall do unto you?" It was as though He said, "I am yours to command."
Can we ever forget how He yielded to the Syrophenician woman the key to His resources and told her to help herself even as she would?
What mortal mind can realize the full significance of the position to which our God lovingly raises His little children? He seems to say, "All my resources are at your command." "Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do." --F. B. Meyer
Say to this mountain, "Go,
Be cast into the sea";
And doubt not in thine heart
That it shall be to thee.
It shall be done, doubt not His Word,
Challenge thy mountain in the Lord!
Claim thy redemption right,
Purchased by precious blood;
The Trinity unite
To make it true and good.
It shall be done, obey the Word,
Challenge thy mountain in the Lord!
Self, sickness, sorrow, sin,
The Lord did meet that day
On His beloved One,
And thou art "loosed away."
It has been done, rest on His Word,
Challenge thy mountain in the Lord!
Compass the frowning wall
With silent prayer, then raise--
Before its ramparts fall--
The victor's shout of praise.
It shall be done, faith rests assured,
Challenge thy mountain in the Lord!
The two-leaved gates of brass,
The bars of iron yield,
To let the faithful pass,
Conquerors in every field.
It shall be done, the foe ignored,
Challenge thy mountain in the Lord!
Take then the faith of God,
Free from the taint of doubt;
The miracle-working rod
That casts all reasoning' out.
It shall be done, stand on the Word,
Challenge thy mountain in the Lord!
--Selected
Sermon Outline
- I. The Relationship Between God and Man
- A. God invites us to command Him
- B. This is a change in relationship from our usual hesitating prayers
- II. Jesus' Attitude Towards Men
- A. He puts men into a position to command Him
- B. He yields to those who have faith
- III. The Significance of God's Invitation
- A. He raises His children to a position of authority
- B. He gives us access to all His resources
- IV. The Power of Faith
- A. Faith can move mountains
- B. Faith can conquer even the greatest obstacles
Key Quotes
“Say to this mountain, 'Go, Be cast into the sea'; And doubt not in thine heart That it shall be to thee.” — Charles E. Cowman
“It shall be done, obey the Word, Challenge thy mountain in the Lord!” — Charles E. Cowman
“The miracle-working rod That casts all reasoning' out.” — Charles E. Cowman
Application Points
- We should pray with faith and confidence, trusting in God's power and provision to move mountains in our lives.
- We should obey God's commands and rest on His promises, trusting in His goodness and faithfulness.
- We should not doubt or question God's Word, but rather trust in its power to overcome any obstacle.