Pastor Tim Dunn "Mountains Move" Part 3 (Sunday 5-21-23)

Amen, we're gonna continue talking about mountains. Amen. And I grew up

listening to two types of music, okay, in my childhood. First was

Southern gospel music. Amen. Anybody testify. We listened to the Rainbows,

We listened to the Isaacs, and we listened to the Immortal Gaither Vocal Band,

Amen, some other groups. I remember when the Oak Ridge Boys put

out a Southern gospel album. We had to have that eight track. Amen.

Some of you don't have no clue what an eight track is. You'll

have to google it. Amen. It was the bomb back in the day.

Man. And uh, and so you know, we we would we

listen to those. The second kind of music was in complete, vast contrast

to the first kind of music because it was men like Jim Reeves singing and

the hag Merle Haggard, the Possum, George Jones, Amen, Willie Nelson

a man and and and the ilk. That ilk is what I was in.

And then every now and then my mom would slide in a hip swishing

Elvis record and uh, you know, we'd huh think very much, you

know, and so, but that was short lived. That was short lived.

My dad didn't he had none of that amen. Needless to say,

I was a well rounded kid with with music. I was a Jesus loving

outlaws what I was. And so one song though that for me in particular,

was just I knew every word. Probably shouldn't have known every words of

this song, but it was a of course, it was a Willie Nelson

song. My heroes have always been cowboys. I love that song and still

like it. Still not a great song, but I still you know,

it's one of those things that takes you back because every October thirty first,

you know what I did. I dressed up as the Lone Ranger. I

had the mask, touched my blue jeans into my boots, had to fake

spurs on he man had two holsters right here, and then two pearl handled

six shooters that stuck in everything. The big guy, gigantic belt buckle.

That's what I was, the Lone Ranger. One year, I remember we

had a picture of a friend of mine dressed up as Tonto. And so

I'm telling my age now I know. But so I've been to the town

of Tombstone. I've walked the street of Tombstone, and and and where Doc

Holiday and White Earth walked I've walked through the Ok Corral. It's the coolest

thing I've I've dreamed of being those men ever since I was a kid.

Me and Roy walked through the jail where Billy the kid shot his way out

to freedom. The bullet holes are still in the door. Amen, I

grew up fantasizing about the cowboy lifestyle, and then and and that whole mantra.

Free to ride the West in any direction, free to wander, no

one there to tell you what to do or where to go, or time

to be there. Unless the cowboy was married. Then he had his wife

to do that. But it was the great mystery and the draw of the

wild West, this idea of independence. No one telling you. Our nation's

greatest celebration just a little over a month is July fourth. We celebrate a

day of independence. Our nation happens as we talk about breaking free. Amen.

Well, the idea or ideology of independence is noble, and it's great

for a society. But spiritually speaking, the mountains that we face are not

brought down. The mountains you face are not conquered or leveled by our independence,

but rather our reliance, your reliance on him. A man Isaiah forty

is where we're gonna read from. And I know you just got comfortable,

but if you don't mind standing with me. Isaiah forty chapter three says the

voice of him that cries in the wilderness, prepare you the way of the

Lord. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley

shall be exalted, and every mountain and hills shall be made low. The

crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. And the glory

of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken it, and everyone said, Amen,

a man, would you pray with me? Lord, We come before

you. We ask you to speak to us through your word. Let your

word God penetrate our life. Let it move in us, let it work

in us. Lord, Let your spirit have its way in this place,

in our hearts and our lives. Today in Jesus name a man, Amen,

so you can be seated once again. This desire independence becomes very easy

to transition from this pursuit of independence into a reality of self reliance. And

the truth is that self reliance is the purest form of idolatry. You know

why, because you and I become the center. When we become self reliant,

we become the center, We become the epicenter that we try to bend

and turn everything and everyone toward us. That's the problem with self reliance is

we are the foundation, We are the everything that it's built up on.

It becomes us, and we turn everything in our life to work toward us.

And I'll just tell you this, It's been tried. It's been done

over and over and over and over and over and over and over again throughout

history. Never turns out great, never turns out great. Amen, Because

that's not how we were created. That's not how we were built. Jesus

has a different version. He said in John chapter fifteen, verse five,

he said, I am the vine. You are the branches. The branch

cannot become the vine. Why because the branch needs the vine. And so

he says, he that abides in me and I in him, the same

brings forth much fruit. For without me you can do nothing. And when

you become reliance on the vine, it frees you to live and reach your

greatest potential as the branch. Why not because of the branch's ability to live

separate from the vine, because of the power of life that the vine gives

the branch. The branch does not bear fruit without the vine. And so

it's not about independence, it's about your reliance on God and what He wants

to do in your life, his will, his plan, his design,

his purpose for your life. Amen. And if I ever tried to separate

myself for the idea of independence, then I become the epicenter. And the

whole structure of the house is built on sand, and we know how that

turns out, and the wind blows the house falls. Amen. Amen.

Because we were created to be the branch, and we were created to work

from him, not separate from him. We were created to have his virtue,

his power, his anointing, his spirit to his authority working through us

so that we can bloom, and we can blossom and we can bear fruit

and we can make an impact. Amen. That's why. That's why he's

the vine, and we have to be reliant on the vine. John MacArthur

said that Jesus's words and John fifteen about the vine, they emphasized not a

moment of salvation, but a lifetime of sanctification that follows. Amen. Because

when you are connected to the vine, you realize that things don't happen on

your time or my time, they happen on His time. Amen. Amen.

When you're connected to the vine, you realize it's not about your autonomy,

it's about God's authorship in your life. Amen. How many of you

have given him authorship over your life? A man if heaven today is a

great opportunity to do that, because He is the author and the finisher of

my faith Amen, of your faith, hallelujah. He has this, He

has ownership because he's your creator. Amen. But you decide who has authorship.

Amen. And if you'll give him authorship over your life, he will

direct you, He'll order your steps because he is the only one that can

bring the mountains flat in your life. Amen. When you're connected to vice

is not to access God's power, but it is a step into his presence.

Amen. When you're connected to the vine. When you're connected to the

vine, you realize it's not because of you, it's because of him.

How many have ever conquered mountains and you realize, and you could testify today,

it wasn't because of you, It was because of him. Amen.

Amen, I'm here today because of Him, not because of anything. I

did. And during this series we have talked about the faith to move mountains.

And as we push towards this, as we challenge you in this idea,

you have to have an understanding that it is not a faith in your

abilities. It's not what you can do, because you cannot beat addiction,

You cannot conquer that mountain, you cannot defeat that giant you. Man,

there's no self help book pastor writes it. If it doesn't have it centered

around God, then it's not a help, Amen, because he's our help.

He's our help. Amen. Man, it takes God's You understand,

it's not about my abilities. It's not what you can do. It's not

about faith that you have in your strength to move these things out of your

life. It is a faith that we have in God's abilities. How many

believe God still moves mountains? Amen? How many believe that God still heals?

How many believe that God still delivers Amen, breaks addictions? How many

believe that Amen? Hallelujah. We have to know that when we go after

God, that when we want to move mountains, it's not about the strength

of your faith. It's about the object of your faith. Amen. It's

not the strength of your faith. It's the object of your faith. And

we started this whole series with the verses in Zechariah chapter four, verse six,

where he says, not by might nor by power say it with me,

but by my spirit, says the Lord. He says, not by

might nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord. That's

what it's all about. Amen, You're as go away. It takes the

power of the Holy Ghost to break the chains of addiction. Amen. How

many that have ever been addicted can testify to that? Hallelujah Amen. Isaiah

forty. We started with reading verse three, four and five, skipping down

a few verses in chapter twelve. Chapter twelve, he says, who has

measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, the hollow of his hand,

and marked off the heavens by the span? This is I'm talking about

God. Amen. Amen, this is God, This is your God,

this is the God of your life. He measured the waters in the hollow

of his hand, He marked off the heavens by the span, and calculated

the dust of the earth by the measure, and weighed the mountains in a

balance and the hills in a pair of scales. Hey man, when I

read that. Keep that up. When I read that, it hit me.

He weighed the mountains in a balance. So I want to tell you

we're gonna we're gonna go back. That mountain that looks and feels impossible and

impossible, that obstacle in front of you that you don't think you can conquer

is weighed in his balance. Amen, bring that picture up. Balances are

instruments. Okay, we're gonna go back to science class, all right.

Balances are instruments, sure, okay. It measures is how big something is?

All right, you're with me. It's the amount of matter that is

in something. I don't want to lose you. I'm not a teacher,

so somebody could probably do this better than I could. Okay. So a

balance is an instrument that measures mass. A true balance measures mass by comparing

the unknown mass to a known mass. When I read that, it's like

the Lord slapped me in the back of the head. And let me tell

you what he told me. He said, a true balance, he's an

instrument that measures an unknown mass You're mountain in comparison to a known mass.

His power and ability. Amen, he says, I'm weighing your mountain,

not against your ability, but against his That's what he's telling you. He's

weighing your mountain, not in your ability to conquer it, not enmity to

break that chain of addiction, not in your ability to have mind over matter.

He says, I'm weighing against my power to work in your life and

through your life. And I don't care how big your mountain seems to you.

It's not measuring up to the power and the might of God. Hallelujah.

Somebody needs to understand that. Somebody needs to get that in your mind.

I rebuke the lie of the enemy that your mountain is too big because

it's not too big for God. And your mountain, that unknown massa at

you face, is not weighed against you. It's weighed against God. Hallelujah,

hallelujah. Hey man, that brought clarity to my mind. That brought

an understanding to my mind, hey man, that I don't have to understand

every angle of my mountain. I just have to understand how powerful my God

is and my mountain was never weighed against me. Your mountain is not punishment

for something you did in the past. That obstacle is not punishment by God

for what you did or didn't do. He's saying he's gonna use his power

to bring you through because he's the waymaker. Amen. I feel the Holy

ghost in this place, a man where you sit. Would you just lift

your hands and give him honor right now? Hallelujah, Thank you Jesus,

Thank you Jesus, hallelujah. I don't know how big your mountain is.

I don't know how big it feels to you, but I do know how

big your God is. Amen. I do know how big your God is.

Amen. I don't know everything. I don't know all the pathways around

and through that obstacle that you face. But I do know what I know

about God. And he is the healer, and he is the waymaker,

and he can set you free, amen, and he can break any chain

that binds you. You know why because I know that. I know how

many know that? This morning? Come on, I'm trying to get somebody

to testify with me. Hallelujah. I don't know everything about your fight.

I don't know everything about your struggle. I don't have to. You don't

have to know everything about my struggle. You don't even have to know everything

about your own struggle or your own mountain, because it's not weighed against you,

it's weighed against Him. What do you know about God? That's the

most important thing. Is not what you know about your mountain. It's what

you know about God. Ah Man, Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. Amen,

your mountain, it's not weighed against you. And Amen, it's not

your might that makes it flat. It's not your power that moves it.

It's His spirit that moves it. That's why the object of your faith must

be Jesus, Jesus, Hallelujah's something about the mention of his name, Jesus,

Hallelujah, Ute Jesus. Amen. Check this out. Let's read a

little bit further Verse thirteen Isaiah forty and thirteen. Who has directed the spirit

of the Lord or as his counselor has informed him with whom did he consult,

and who gave him understanding, and who taught him in the path of

justice, and taught him knowledge and him for and informed him of the way

of understanding. Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,

Amen, and are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales. Behold,

he lifts up the islands like fine dust. I am talking about your

God. Some of you have to. The thing is, you've been talking

to God for so long about how big your problem is. You need to

start talking to your mountain about how big your God is. You need to

start testifying to your mountain, hold destroying mountain. My God is great,

My God is mighty. Hallelujah. Why then talk to yourself, convince your

own mind, because that's where the battle of lies comes against you. Amen.

I know I'm fired up this morning, but I feel it to Amen,

and I'm tired of walking around and seeing people walk around defeated like I

can't do it. It's not gonna happen. That's lies. And I rebuke

those lies in the name of Jesus, Amen, because it's not up to

you. God's already defeated them. He's already weighed them, and they don't

measure up to His power and his anointing in your lives. Hallelujah. I'm

trying to build your faith. I hope I'm doing a good job. I'm

not mad at you. If my favor, I'm not mad at you.

My wife says. When I get fired up, I'm like, ah,

I'm not mad at you three like this. That's not me. I can't

do that, Amen. I'm trying to build your faith and who God is.

Amen. Amen, look at somebody and tell him. God is able,

He's great, he's mighty, he's big. I don't care what you're

facing, Amen, Halloa mo shundah. Amen. Amen, I'm describing Him

in comparison to your mounting. I want you to understand hand, whatever you're

facing, God's powerful. It's not about me. It's not about my or

I him who measures the water in the hollow of his hand. Amen,

I'm not talking about a drop of water. I'm talking about every drop in

the ocean on planet Earth is measured in the hollow of his hand. How

do you think if the waters of this world fit in the hollow of his

hand? What do you think your mountain looks like in comparison to that?

Amen? It's not as big as you may seem. It's not as big

as it feels on some days. Amen. I understand waking up and all

you see and all you feel is that mountain, is that obstacle, is

that resistance. I understand that. I've seen it, I felt it,

I've dealt with it. Myself. Amen, I felt I've I've woken up

and not wanted to get out of bed because it felt too much. Amen.

And I didn't even go in. What talks about a scale? He

said that heels are weighed in his scale. You know what a scale does.

It measures the weight. It's not just about the amount, it's not

just about the mass, it's about the weight. And the mountain feels so

heavy. Sometimes the obstacle feels so heavy. Anybody testify to that, Amen.

But I'm here to tell you that God's already weighed the weight and it's

not for you to carry. And that's why the word of God says,

cast all your cares upon him, for he cares for you. Amen.

Amen, he says, take my yoke upon you. Why he says,

my burden is light, My burden is light, My burden is light.

He will take the weight of your mountain and carry it. Why because when

Isaiah spoke about his birth, he said the government shall be upon his shoulders.

You know what government he was talking about, not the physical world,

the government, the spiritualities and the powers and the things that we battle,

the mountains that we face, the obstacles and the resistance that we face.

They're upon his shoulders, So that weight has already been measured in his scale,

and he's carrying it for you. All you have to do is give

it to him. Amen. I want my wife to come. Hallelujah,

hallelujah. He measures the water in the hollow of his hand. Amen.

It is he who is able to move hearts. Amen. Amen, it

is he who is able to shift and change atmospheres. Who am I talking

about? Anybody answered that, Who am I talking about? Who am I

talking about? Come on, it's okay. You can talk about who am

I talking about? Amen? Not just God, your God. You have

to make it personal. If it's always just God, it never becomes personal.

I'm talking about the God who my heart. I'm talking about the God

that changed my atmosphere of my home when the enemy came in. It was

given my daughter nightmares. We prayed, we sought God, we open the

word of God, and he changed the atmosphere of my house and her mind.

Amen. That's the God I'm talking about. Hallelujah, hallelujah. If

you're used to calm preaching, I'm sorry today. I am fired up.

Amen. I'm tired of living in the shadow. I'm ready to live under

the shadow of the wings of the Almighty, in the shelter of the Almighty.

Cola shandaha ha. He is able to give power to the powerless.

Anybody testify. He's able to give hope to the hopeless, bring peace in

the middle of chaos. He's able to mend the broken lives, broken hearts,

broken marriages. That's who he is in that God desires to move and

abide in you. Would you stand with me and would you lift your hands?

All over this place, I feel the glory of the Lord in this

place. I feel his power and his anointing. I feel heck now,

hallelujah, hallelujah. Ah, yes Lord, lest Lord, Yes Lord.

Oh, why don't you just talk to him right now? Why don't you

lift your voice? And that mountain you're fighting, that mountain you're facing,

that obstacle, that resistance, Why don't you just give it to him right

now, right where you standing, young and the old alike, hallelujah,

all over this place had the mighty name of Jesus, hallelujah. It's all

right. It's all right to lift your voice. God. Here I am

right now, and I cast all my cares upon you. I cast all

my cares upon you, hallelujah. It's none about my ability, It's about

my faith in you. Everything flows from my foundation of faith. Say you

are God, and you are good, and you are mighty, and you

are strong. Hallelujah, and the name of Jesus, Hallelujah. Hate you,

Jesus. I want to read one last part of Isaiah forty to you

as you stand with me this morning, and as you're standing here, I

wonder as I read this, if you would just close your eyes and because

your mine, not thinking about what our baptisms, not thinking about what's gonna

happen after you leave here, but in this moment, let your mind encompass

him. In verse twenty eight of Isaiah forty, he says, hast thou

not known, hast thou not her everlasting God, the Lord, the creator

of the ends of the earth. Fainteth not, neither is he weary.

There is no searching of his understanding. He gives power to the faint,

and to them that hath no might. He increases strength even the youth.

He even the young shall faint and be weary, and the hun and shall

utterly fall. But They they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.

They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not

be weary. They shall walk and not faith. Hallelujah, hallelujah. And

I know that scripture was read last week, but there is something about it.

There is something about it that just anything within me. I'm not waiting

on my own strength him, waiting on the Lord to work through me.

And in hallelujah. And as my wife begins to see, whatever your mountain

is, whatever you're facing this morning, whatever that struggle, that fight,

that resistance, that obstacle, whatever it may be, I want to invite

you, young and old alike, to come and cast it at defeat of Jesus.