A Big God and a Small Mountain
Hi Friends,
I have an important topic to write about today. Many people struggle with negative thoughts and depression. The vision that the Lord has shared with me concerns this very thing. It speaks to the topic of how our runaway thoughts take us down a dark path. There is deliverance and hope for people who habitually entertain negative thoughts.
The Vision
I saw a very tiny vision. I saw the image of a mountain but it was only ¼” high. There was a tiny black cloud that came upon the tiny mountain and sat down upon it concealing it completely. The cloud was about ⅜” high and about ⅝” wide. When the cloud lifted, it revealed a white mountain. Then the black cloud sat down upon the mountain again, it lingered a short while and then lifted. This time the mountain returned to its original dark color. Then a third time the cloud came down and rested on the mountain. When the black cloud lifted this third time, the mountain returned to white.
This is what I believe that the vision means.
The mountain represents a person’s outlook, manner of being, or state of mind. The black cloud represents dark, negative thoughts, that either come from the person’s imagination or from the devil. The mountain is tiny, because the mind is small in comparison to God’s mind. The black cloud is small because the negative thoughts are vapor, they have no substance. And, compared to the Lord’s ways, thoughts, and his awesome power, these things are very small. But to a person who suffers from depression, the negative thoughts are oppressive, and all consuming. The mind that is unmanaged, untransformed, and unregenerated, is held captive by the negative thoughts. The mind becomes dark, because the thoughts are dark.
In the vision, the mountain starts out as dark, for people are born into sin. This we call original sin, or inherited sin. It is the sin of rebellion against God, originating in the garden with Adam and Eve. It is the sin of disobedience, sourced in a lie. The serpent in the garden spoke to Eve and enticed her mind to consider that God was “holding out on her,” that she could be equal to God, if she ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. She knew that God said that she would surely die if she ate it. However, the serpent interjected the thought in her mind, that God didn’t really say that. Being unaware of the serpent’s deceptive ways, she accepted his enticing proposal which appealed to her human nature. So she went ahead and ate the fruit, and gave some to her husband, Adam. Their eyes were opened. Now they realized that they were naked. They did not die a physical death at that time, but they died a spiritual death immediately. They were no longer innocent. Their minds were now filled with darkness, and this is the state of the human mind today.
In the vision, the mountain starts out dark. When the dark cloud decends on the tiny mountain, the person’s mind, already predisposed to darkness, becomes even darker. This is a time of depression. The average person, who manages their thought life is usually okay, and just shakes off the negativity, with the next thought or imagination.
But someone who does not manage his thoughts well, or has no one to encourage him, can become overwhelmed with the negative thoughts. This can become depression.
The devil likes to torment people with bad dreams, or dark, perverted or twisted thoughts. It does not take much for these thoughts to take root and become a pathway that is well traveled. These thoughts continue indefinitely until something is done to arrest them.
In the vision, the dark cloud settles a second time on the mountain, but when it lifts, the mountain is white. This can represent two different pathways. In a person who is not saved, the person might go for counseling to help him to manage or lessen his dark thoughts. For a time the person may feel better and experience more hope in life. Hence the mountain changed to white. But when the dark cloud returns for another period of time, the person then returns to his original state of darkness. He is no better now than he was before.
The other pathway is for a believer, who experiences the dark cloud, and seeks help with prayer counseling and deliverance. When the dark cloud is removed, the enemy is defeated and leaves. The person is free of the demonic oppression, and he can live with joy, peace and confidence in his relationship with God.
However, there are people who receive deliverance, forgiveness of sin, and are filled with the Holy Spirit, but when darkness returns to tempt them to sin, they cannot fight off the negative thoughts and succumb to sin all over again. In the vision, when the dark cloud lifts, it reveals a dark mountain. The person has then become filled with the devil and his tormenting thoughts.
“If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.” 2 Peter 2:20-22
Jesus warns us of this potentially recurring circumstance:
“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.” Luke 11:24-26
Spiritual freedom is only found in a full surrender to the Lord and his ways. We have to be fully committed to him, otherwise, our life in this world is fruitless.
When considering helping a person to be set free, we need to see a desire on their part to not only want their deliverance, but have the ability to hold their deliverance. Otherwise, their deliverance is futile; it will not last. The state of the person will now be considerably worse. I can compare two different scenarios. I have had a successful deliverance and spirit filled life with the Lord now for 29 plus years. But my brother has lived in torment for many years because like a dog returning to its vomit, he returned to his life of sin. He opened the door and too many to mention have taken up residence with him.
We, (my spirit filled brother and sister and myself), are waiting, praying and standing in faith that he will surrender his life to the Lord, and want his deliverance.
My brother was exactly like the vision of the tiny mountain and the tiny dark cloud. He opened the door through divination. He acted as a medium, testing himself and (consulting demons), about the health of a client many states away.
My nephew is in a similar way, but he was never delivered, so there are not hordes of demons with him, perhaps just one. But it is not healthy. He is spiritually dead.
But our hope is in the Lord. He is the healer, the deliverer, the provider, our all in all! There is no one greater than God Almighty. There is no one who will stand with us like the Lord, who will never leave us nor forsake us.
I want to also address the situation of the innocent children of Christian families who are serving the Lord. The devil wants to hinder the work of the ministry in any way that he can. There is an important scripture:
Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’” Matthew 26:31
Satan knows that to stop the work of God, he must strike the shepherd. If the shepherd is strong in spirit and not easily attacked, then the devil and his demons will attack the weak ones in the pastor’s family. The devil will bring down the shepherd by attacking what he loves – his family. So the children, his wife, or close relatives who do not have the same ability to resist the devil will find themselves under attack more often. With children and family members, they will experience sickness of body, soul or spirit. Depression, anxiety, fear, and other debilitating states of mind come when they do not defend themselves with the word of God, or do not take authority over unclean spirits. They need to take negative thoughts captive and send them back to hell from whence they came.
I believe that it is important to teach the young and the new believers how to defend themselves against the attacks of the wicked one. They need to know who they are in Christ and they need to understand and utilize the authority that they have as believers. They need to take the thoughts captive.
“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-5
These are our weapons:
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” Ephesians 6:10-18
The Belt of Truth - We declare the truth over our situation:
“Submit yourselves then to God. Resist the devil and he will flee.” James 4:7
“He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.” 1 Peter 2:24
“Therefore, God highly honored him and gave him a name above all names, so that at the name of Jesus everyone in heaven, on earth, and under the earth might bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11
The Breastplate of Righteousness
“Therefore, openly acknowledge your sins to one another, and pray for each other, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” James 5:16
Gospel of Peace
When the unsaved hear the good news of the gospel, they can choose to repent of their sins and be saved and delivered. They will experience the peace of God, as they make their peace with him.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
Helmet of Salvation
It protects your mind, knowing that you are right with God, and that you have been born of the Spirit of God, you have salvation in the name of Jesus.
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7
The Shield of Faith
It helps us to extinguishes the flaming arrows of the wicked one. Faith moves mountains:
"For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:20
“...stand firm and you will see the deliverance of the Lord…” Exodus 14:13“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” Mark 11:22-25
Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” James 5:14-16
Sword of the Spirit
It is the powerful word of God—the Bible.
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12
“...so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11
The Holy Spirit living in the believer is greater than the devil and his demons:
“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4
Returning to the vision:
The last stage in the vision was in the third falling of the dark cloud over the mountain. When it lifted the mountain was white. This is God’s ultimate desire for all of us who are believers. He wants us to overcome our sin and the wicked one. We have to overcome the desires of our flesh and surrender to God. He will fill us with his Spirit and we will have the power to overcome.
In the Book of Revelation, the Spirit of God speaks to each of the seven churches. Each time the Spirit calls the church to account, speaking of its faithfulness and of its waywardness. The Lord warns each church to stand firm in the faith even under intense persecution, until the very end. The Lord declares that all believers’ faith will be tested. And if they are found to be faithful to him he will reward them with everlasting life.
To the church at Ephesus:
“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place… He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” Revelation 2:4-7
Then at the very end of the Book of Revelation we are encouraged again to overcome:
He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. Revelation 21:6-7
I hope that you will understand that the Lord is good and that he loves you. He wants everyone to be overcomers. His death on the cross provided a way for us to be reconciled with the Father. We can live a victorious life with him. He gives us the word of God which is the sword of the Spirit, and his blood that cleanses and purifies us. He empowers us with his Holy Spirit which he gives to indwell each believer. And for those who truly want to walk victoriously, he gives us the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and with fire.
The Baptism in the Holy Spirit
This is a greater infilling of the Holy Spirit than one receives at the time of conversion when we are born again. The disciples first received the Holy Spirit when he breathed on them:
“Again Jesus said to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so also I am sending you.” When He had said this, He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. John 20:21-22
But the greater gift was yet to be received. Before he ascended into heaven, Jesus told them to wait in Jerusalem for the gift of power.
“On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: ‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’” Acts 1:4-5
“I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:49
I believe that if someone needs deliverance and truly wants to serve the Lord, they can be delivered, and they will be able to hold their deliverance. But it takes tenacity and a strong desire to want God more than all the sins and treasures that the enemy used to entice him.
If his faith is weak, and his desire to serve God is marginal, then it is best to help him to understand his fate if he does not serve God.
“But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” Revelation 21:8
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10
Final Thoughts
Depression comes with demonic oppression and sometimes possession. The first step in ridding ourselves of negative thoughts is to take the thoughts captive. The second is to repent of our sins and get right with God, for he will give us his Holy Spirit that will lead us into all truth. Since depression is based on lies and fears, and self deprecation, the Holy Spirit will reveal these thoughts as untrue, and we can come out of agreement with them.
We can read, study and know the word of God and discover who we are in Christ so that we can use the word of God as a weapon that destroys vain arguments and lies. When we know who we are and have a relationship with the Lord, we will understand our authority which is given to us who believe. We can use that authority to bind and to loosen the demonic spirits and to bind and loosen ourselves from wrong thinking, sickness and disease.
For binding and loosening are keys to the kingdom of God. It is the very way in which the kingdom works.
“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:19
The power of God is released through our declarations and “in the name of Jesus.”
We speak to the mountain. We speak what we want to see happen. We declare those things that are not as though they were. We speak with expectation and belief as the Lord did, who called things into existence.
“He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.” Romans 4:17
Jesus wants us to use his power and his authority to call healing into existence, to call the dead to life, to call for the enemy to be bound, to call the afflicted to be loosed “IN THE NAME OF JESUS.”
Because the Lord has said:
“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and he will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” John 14:12-14
I hope you will read this over and over again and share with others, for these are powerful scriptures that will change anyone’s life, if you allow the scriptures to transform you.
Walking with the Lord is all about faith, and trust. It is about having a relationship with him. The stronger your relationship is with God, and the more of the word of God that gets into you, the more freedom and contentment you will have in him.
He will be your song, your joy and your delight. Stay strong in the Lord.
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6
