Breakthrough

Breaking Through: Living a Life of Radical Faith

Have you ever read a Bible verse that seemed almost too good to be true? A promise so powerful that your mind immediately starts making excuses for why it couldn't possibly apply to your situation?

In Mark 11:22-24, Jesus makes an astonishing declaration: "Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, be removed and cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them and you will have them."

Read that again slowly. Whatever you ask. Believe that you receive it. And you will have it.

For many believers, this verse creates an uncomfortable tension. We know God doesn't lie, yet our experience often contradicts what seems like a straightforward promise. The gap between what Scripture says and what we've experienced can leave us skeptical, religious, or quietly doubting.

But what if the problem isn't with God's promise—it's with our perspective?

The Grasshopper Mentality

The story of the twelve spies in Numbers 13 reveals a critical truth about breakthrough. When the Israelites stood at the edge of the Promised Land, they sent scouts to survey Jericho—the greatest fortified city of the region. After forty days, the spies returned with conflicting reports.

Ten spies focused on the obstacles: "The people who dwell in the land are strong. The cities are fortified and very large. Moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there." These giants were so intimidating that the spies concluded: "We were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight."

But two spies—Caleb and Joshua—saw the same situation through different eyes. Caleb boldly declared, "Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it."

Same circumstances. Same giants. Completely different perspectives.

The ten spies gave a "bad report" that focused on impossibility. Their doubt literally devoured them—the Bible says the land "devours its inhabitants." Doubt doesn't just prevent breakthrough; it consumes us from the inside, robbing us of the abundant life God promises.

The Power of Perspective

Here's a simple exercise: Hold your finger directly in front of your eye. How big does it look? Massive, right? It blocks your entire field of vision. Now pull your finger away from your face. Suddenly, it's the proper size.

We go through life staring at our problems up close—our marriage struggles, financial pressures, health issues, addictions, depression. When we focus exclusively on the obstacle, it appears insurmountable. But when we pull back and look at our massive God, everything changes.

Your God is a deliverer. He has seen everything happening in your life. He wants to remove everything that doesn't belong. And He has good plans for you—plans to prosper you, to make you flourish.

Speaking God's Language

In Joshua 1, as Joshua prepared to take over leadership after Moses' death and face the intimidating task of conquering Jericho, God gave him a specific instruction three times: "Be strong and very courageous."

But God didn't just offer encouragement—He provided a strategy: "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."

Notice the emphasis: the Word should not depart from your mouth. This connects directly back to Mark 11:23, where Jesus emphasizes what we say four times in two verses.

What we speak matters profoundly. When we call sickness "my sickness" or depression "my depression," we're claiming ownership of something that doesn't belong to us. The enemy may try to put it on us, but we don't have to accept it, hold it, or speak about it as ours.

The Faith of Caleb

Fast forward to Joshua 14. The Israelites have conquered the land and are dividing territories. Caleb, now 85 years old, approaches Joshua with a remarkable request. He points to a mountain region inhabited by giants—the very Anakim that had terrified the other spies decades earlier—and says, "Give me this mountain."

At 85 years old, Caleb declared: "As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me. Just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war... It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said."

This is the spirit of breakthrough. Caleb had defeated giants before, and his God hadn't changed, so he would defeat giants again. Age, circumstances, and obstacles didn't matter—only God's faithfulness.

The Prayer of Jabez

In the genealogies of 1 Chronicles—those sections of Scripture we often skip—God pauses to highlight one man: Jabez. While everyone else receives barely a sentence, Jabez gets a paragraph. Why?

Jabez was cursed from birth. His name literally means "pain"—his mother named him this because she bore him in pain. He was destined for a life of struggle and hardship.

But Jabez refused to accept the curse. He called on God saying, "Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!"

And God granted his request.

When you refuse to accept the limitations placed on you—by circumstances, by family history, by past failures—and instead cry out to God for more, He responds. He's a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

The Blood That Purchased Breakthrough

The spirit of breakthrough isn't based on positive thinking or self-help strategies. It's rooted in the costly sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Jesus shed His blood from seven places, each a redemptive act. In the Garden of Gethsemane, under such extreme anguish that blood vessels burst in His forehead, He surrendered His will: "Not My will, but Yours be done." His blood purchased authority over our willpower.

At the whipping post, His back was torn apart—39 lashes that shredded His flesh. Isaiah 53:5 and 1 Peter 2:24 declare: "By His stripes you were healed." Past tense. Already accomplished.

The crown of thorns, pressed deep into His skull, purchased the mind of Christ for us—freedom from mental anguish, depression, anxiety, and tormenting thoughts.

This wasn't a symbolic gesture. It was a brutal, costly sacrifice that purchased complete freedom for every person who would believe.

Moving Forward

The question isn't whether God wants to give you breakthrough. The question is whether you'll believe Him enough to receive it.

What is your Jericho? What stronghold has stood in your life for years, convincing you it will never fall? What have you stopped praying about because you've lost hope?

God wants to take you from glory to glory. He wants your cup to overflow. He wants to do exceedingly, abundantly above all you can think or imagine—not just because He's sovereign, but according to the power that works within you.

You're not weak. You're not a grasshopper. You're an overcomer through Christ who strengthens you.

Stop staring at your problems up close. Pull back. Look at your massive, faithful, miracle-working God. Speak His words. Think His thoughts. And walk in the breakthrough He's already purchased for you.

The walls are coming down.

(This blog was created from Chris Cashen's origninal sermon using pulpit.ai)