Say Unto This Mountain

Please turn to Mark 11. 

I have a question for you. What is the last thing you said about a problem you were dealing with? 

Well, here's what we're going to look at in the next several minutes — and this is the one thing I want you to walk away with:

What you say, combined with what you believe, determines what you see. That's it. That's the whole teaching. Say it. Believe it. See it.

Now I know that might sound simple — maybe even too simple. But we're NOT going to take my word for it. 

We're going to go straight to the Word and let it speak for itself. 

We're going to look at what Jesus Christ taught about words and believing, dig into one of those words in the original Greek to see what it really means, and then look at one example of this principle — a woman whose son was dead, who opened her mouth, and said something that changed everything.

Say it. Believe it. See it. 

Jesus

Jesus taught his disciples something that… should change the way we talk. It's in Mark chapter 11, verse 23.

Mark 11:23: For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

Count how many times Jesus used the word "say" or "saith". Four times. I say unto you… Whosoever shall say... those things which he saith... he shall have whatsoever he saith.

Jesus is teaching that the words you speak are connected to the results you get. And he said whosoever — that includes everyone in this room. And he said he shall have… whatsoever he saith. And that includes … whatsoever. Whosoever, whatsoever. 

So there are two working parts here: what you say, and what you believe. 

Let's look at the believing side for a moment, because there's a word in this verse that is really interesting when you look at it in the Greek.

Greek Word Study: "Doubt"

The verse says, "shall not doubt in his heart." Now, we could read that and think… doubt just means… not being sure about something. But the Greek word for "doubt" here tells us something a lot more than that.

Greek Word Study: "doubt"

Strong's G1252

“diakrinō”

Pronunciation: dee-ak-REE-no

Definition: to separate, to judge against, to be divided in one's mind.

From "dia" (through, between) + "krinō" (to judge, to decide). 

Literally: to judge between two things — to have a mind divided against itself.

diakrinō

dee-ak-REE-no

The Greek word for doubt here… means to be divided — to have your mind pulling in two directions at once. It's not just a little uncertainty. It's a heart that is fighting against itself.

So… When Jesus refers to "doubt in his heart," he was describing someone whose inside world… and outside words… are going in opposite directions. 

I say one thing with my mouth, but my heart is going against it. That internal division is what that Greek, diakrinō, means.

So Jesus is saying to NOT do that. Don’t doubt. Don’t get your heart and your mouth going in the same direction. Don't be divided. 

Instead, say what you believe, and believe what you say. 

When those two things line up — you’ll receive what you said. That’s what Jesus said in Mark 11:23: “and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.”

Now what if our believing feels a little small? What if my believing isn’t big but it just feels a little tiny about something. Jesus covered that too. 

Matthew 17:20: 

“...for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith (believing in the Greek) 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.”

A mustard seed… this is a very tiny thing. But a mustard seed is alive — it grows. 

Even the smallest real, undivided believing can be enough. 

Nothing shall be impossible unto you. That's the promise.

The Shunammite Woman: II Kings 4

Now, let’s look at a story that illustrates this principle in life that we’re learning about today. It's in II Kings chapter 4.

The Prophet Elisha spoke to a woman from the city of Shunem — she was going to have a son. 

And she did. She had a boy. 

But then one day, when the child was older, he went out to his father in the field and collapsed. He complained of a terrible headache. By noon, he was dead.

The woman laid her son on a bed and set out to find Elisha. 

She was moving fast. And on her way, she met Elisha's servant Gehazi, who had been sent to ask about her family. 

Here is the moment. Her son is dead. Went to find Elisha. Got Gehazi. Look at what she said.

II Kings 4:25,26: 

So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite: Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? 

And she answered, It is well.

She answered: “It is well.”

Her son is dead. The facts of her situation are devastating. And she said, “It is well.”

Now let's be clear — this is not denial. She knows what happened. She is going to get help. But she is not going to open her mouth and rehearse the tragedy. She is not going to say what the facts are saying. She is going to say what she is believing God for.

This is exactly what Jesus was teaching us in Mark 11:23. 

She was not divided — her mouth and her heart ARE going in the SAME direction. 

She said what she believed, NOT what she saw. 

And what happened? Elisha went back with her, prayed, and her son was raised from the dead. 

Verse 36 — Elisha said, "Take up thy son." And she did.

• She got what she said. 

• She said it. 

• She believed it. 

• And she saw it come to pass.

These Old Testament stories are not written to us, but they are written for us to read and learn from. And when these old stories… apply spiritual truths and principles… that are an alignment and harmony with the teachings that are written to us, then we can truly learn from them.

Turn to Colossians 1.

What This Means for Us Today

Because these are old stories, and we are living in the Grace Administration, we have something even greater… available to us… that was NOT available to people in II Kings.

Colossians 1:27 tells us that we have “Christ in you.” We have the gift of holy spirit inside us.

Turn to Romans 10.

That is the reality of every born-again believer. We are not trying to reach up and hope God hears us. We are not hoping that the power or answers show up eventually. We’ve got Christ is in us… right now. The power of God is already present inside you.

And Romans 10:9 and 10 show us that believing and confessing — say and believe — are woven into the fabric of being born again.

Romans 10:9,10 says: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

With the heart man believeth. With the mouth, confession is made. With the heart, you believe. With your mouth, you confess… you say… what you believe.

That is the pattern we walk by every day. 

• Say what the Word says. 

• Believe what the Word says. 

• And watch what God does.

Summary

So here's what we’ve learned.

Mark 11:23 — Jesus said the words you speak and the believing in your heart… work together… to produce results. 

Say it and believe it, and you'll have it.

The Greek word for doubt, diakrinō, means… being divided, having your heart pulling against your mouth. 

The goal is to get undivided — same direction inside and out.

Matthew 17:20 — you don't need mountain-sized believing. You need real, alive, undivided believing. Even a mustard seed can move mountains.

The Shunammite woman — her son was dead, and she said "It is well." She said… what she was believing for, not what she was looking at. And she got her son back.

Colossians 1:27 and Romans 10:9-10 — we have Christ in us. 

The power is already present. “Say and believe” is how we got saved, and it's how we walk every day.

And, the one point: What you say, combined with what you believe, determines what you see.

What you say, combined with what you believe, determines what you see.

Word of Encouragement

In closing, whatever you are facing right now — whatever mountain is sitting in front of you — you are not at the mercy of it. 

You have the Word of God. You have Christ in you. 

God is not waiting for you to get everything figured out before He acts. He is not waiting for you to be perfect or have everything together. He works with a grain-of-mustard-seed of real, undivided believing. 

You are not the Shunammite woman. You have something she didn't — you have Christ living inside you right now. 

And if she could speak what she believed, imagine what is possible for us.

Do the Word — This Week

This week, let’s listen to what we say. What do we say about our health, our finances, our situation? Are those words in alignment with what the Word says?

Then, let’s find one promise in the Word that applies to what’s happening in our lives (whatever challenge we’re facing). Just one verse. Write it down. Say it out loud. Say it like we mean it.

Say it. Believe it. See it. 

Now let’s go do it.

Amen?