Powerful Prayers

Good morning. My name is Matthew Capone, and I'm the pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church,

and it's my joy, truly, to bring God's Word to you today.

A special welcome if you're new or visiting with us. We're glad that you're here,

and we're glad that you're here not because we're trying to fill seats,

but because we're following Jesus together as one community,

and as we follow Jesus together, we become convinced that there's no one so good,

they don't need God's grace, and no one so bad that they can't have it,

which is why we come back week after week to hear what God has to say to us in His Word.

We're continuing our series in the Gospel of Mark.

You'll remember that the Gospels tell the story of Jesus and His life and His death and His resurrection,

and as we come to this passage this morning, there's really no two ways about it.

We have a difficult text of Scripture before us.

It's difficult to understand. It's difficult to hear.

It's hard intellectually because it appears, at least on first reading,

that somehow we can control God.

We can have supernatural powers if simply we have enough faith.

And it's hard spiritually because as we come to this passage,

it has the potential to bring us maybe guilt or shame or cynicism

as we look at things that we've cried out to God for, we've prayed earnestly for,

and God has chosen not to grant that.

We wonder if something was wrong with us if we didn't just have enough faith,

and so maybe we found ourselves in a place of resignation or cynicism.

So as we come to Jesus' teaching here, I say sometimes, as I do now,

I'm going to say something, not everything,

as we try to unravel the knots of this passage to both satisfy our minds,

to understand it, and also to address our hearts as we face the challenges

of just living as Christians, crying out to God,

and feeling like at times He doesn't hear or answer.

And so it's with those challenges that we're going to turn now to God's Word.

I invite you to turn with me to Mark chapter 11.

Mark 11 · chapter mention

We're going to start at verse 20, and remember that this is God's Word.

God tells us that His Word is a lamp to our feet, and it's a light to our path,

which means that God has not left us to stumble alone in the dark,

but instead He's given us His Word to show us the way to go.

And so that's why we read together now, starting at verse 20.

As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots.

And Peter remembered and said to Him,

Rabbi, look, the fig tree that you cursed has withered.

And Jesus answered them,

Have faith in God.

Truly I say to you,

whoever says to this mountain,

be taken up and thrown into the sea,

and does not doubt in his heart,

but believes that what he says will come to pass,

it will be done for him.

Verse 24,

Therefore I tell you,

whatever you ask in prayer,

believe that you have received it,

and it will be yours.

And whenever you stand praying,

forgive,

if you have anything against anyone,

so that your Father also,

who is in heaven,

may forgive you

your trespasses.

I invite you to pray with me as we come

to this portion of God's Word.

Our Father in heaven,

we do praise you

and thank you again this morning

that you teach us and instruct us,

that you challenge us

and you encourage us with your Word.

We ask that you would do that this morning.

You would especially help us

to understand clearly

what Jesus is teaching in this passage,

and that you would encourage us

to be bold in our prayers,

and comfort us

and sustain us

in the prayers

that we have prayed for

months and years

and perhaps decades,

that you would stir up our faith,

that we would see Jesus

in his beauty

and his glory,

and that our love for him

would grow more and more,

that you would change us,

that we would look like him.

We thank you

that even though

we haven't earned these things

and we don't deserve them,

we can ask them with confidence

because we ask them in Jesus' name.

Amen.

As we come to this passage,

we're picking up

where we left off last week.

You'll remember

that we had first

this cursing of the fig tree

by Jesus,

which was an illustration

that he was acting out,

that he was living out,

so that he could tell his disciples

what was actually going on

with the temple,

that the temple was

all leaves and no fig.

It was all external appearances,

but no substance.

As we move on

from that episode,

Jesus cleaning out

of the temple,

it appears to be important

to Mark to tell us

once again

about this fig tree.

And so we see

in verse 20

what we didn't learn

last week,

which is the totality

of its destruction.

It's not just

that the fig tree

has been destroyed,

but it has been destroyed

away,

all the way

to the roots.

Jesus has taken here

a scorched earth policy

towards the fig tree,

that this destruction here

is total and utter

and complete.

And so Peter represents

the surprise of the disciples

in verse 21.

He says,

look, Rabbi,

the fig tree

that you cursed

has withered,

which reminds us

that it wasn't clear

what the conclusion

would be

in the previous passage.

There's all sorts of ways

this could have played out

when Jesus says,

may you never bear figs again.

And here it plays out

in an incredibly dramatic

and severe way.

It is complete

and quick

and total,

more than Peter

perhaps expected.

That's important

for us to understand

as we head

into this next story

because what Jesus

says next

assumes Peter's

surprise here.

Verses 22 and 23,

Jesus is essentially

saying,

oh, you think

that's a big deal?

You think it's surprising

and powerful

to wither

a fig tree away

all to its roots?

Look up.

You see that mountain

over there?

If you have enough faith,

you can throw that

into the sea.

In other words,

making a fig tree

wither to its roots

isn't anything.

Disciples,

you all ain't seen

nothing yet.

If you are impressed

by that,

you are too easily pleased.

There is so much

more power

than you realize.

There is something

greater even

than what you've seen.

Now when Jesus

in verse 23

says,

look at this mountain,

that helps us understand

that he's talking about

not just mountains

in general

but a specific mountain.

There's disagreement

about whether

he's referring here

to the Mount of Olives

that he crosses over

as he approaches Jerusalem

or if he's referring

to the Temple Mount

where the Temple itself

stands.

Regardless,

there is a little-known

historical fact

that's important

for us to know

as we come to this passage

to be able

to understand it.

And that little-known

fact is this.

Neither the Temple Mount

nor the Mount of Olives,

believe it or not,

have ever been cast

into the sea.

That's actually

never happened.

And it's important

for me to point that out

because it highlights

the first thing

we need to understand

about this passage

which is the form

of Jesus' teaching here.

When Jesus tells them,

hey, if you have enough faith,

you can throw a mountain

into the sea,

Jesus is using

what we might call

an overstatement.

Some have referred to it

as an exaggeration

or a hyperbole

or a proverbial saying.

And unless you think,

in case you think

I'm making this up

to take a hard passage

and make it easier,

remember we've already

seen this.

Mark 9, verses 43-47,

Mark 9:43–47

Jesus says,

hey, it's a good idea

to cut off your hand,

cut off your foot,

tear out your eye.

None of you, however,

here have cut off

your hands, your feet,

or torn out your eyes

as far as I can tell.

And so you're in agreement.

There's times when Jesus

uses an exaggeration

to make a point.

The same thing is true

in Luke 12.

You have a passage

about this on the back

of your worship guide.

Or Luke 14, excuse me.

Jesus says,

you should hate your family.

And yet,

so many of you

are sitting here

with your families

because you know, right,

Jesus is making

an overstatement.

He is saying something

extreme to make a point.

And the point here

is this,

that prayer is very powerful.

But it's more impactful,

it's more memorable

for Jesus to say,

hey,

prayer's so powerful

you can take mountains

and cast them

into the sea

than to say,

oh, you think that's big?

Well, prayer's a really big deal.

That might go over

the disciples' heads,

but here,

Jesus,

as the master teacher,

gives them this image

to help them

remember forever

how important it is

that they would pray.

Jesus is simply

telling them this,

prayer can accomplish

more than you imagine.

Prayer can make

the impossible possible.

And so that helps us

escape the trap

that's been used

by those who have

abused this passage

that somehow

we have to take it

woodenly

or literalistically

that if we just

have enough faith,

God will do anything

for us.

God is somehow

this genie in the bottle

and if our faith

can rub that bottle

just the right way,

then we will have

the superpower

to do whatever

we want in this world.

And yet that is not

what Jesus is teaching here.

He is simply telling them,

look,

what you've seen here

is nothing compared

to the power

that is available

to you

through prayer.

And so that's the first thing

we need to understand

about Jesus' teaching here

is the form

of his teaching.

That in this,

he is using

this overstatement,

this hyperbole,

this proverbial saying.

The second thing

we need to understand

to make sense

of this teaching

from Jesus

is the context

of his teaching.

That he's teaching this

in the context

of the overthrow

of evil,

the clearing

of the temple

which prevents

God's people

from actually

accessing God's presence.

The point of confusion

here for those

who abuse this passage

or misunderstand it

would be in verse 24

when Jesus says,

whatever you ask

in prayer.

And the confusion

would be

if we make the word

whatever

mean anything

or everything.

And whatever

does not mean

anything or everything

and so I want you

to think about it

this way.

You invite me

to your house

for dinner

and I come over

and being

the housebroken,

well-trained guest

that I am

with just really

clear boundaries,

as soon as I come

to your house,

I make a beeline

for your freezer.

And I pull open

the freezer door

and I say,

what do we have

in here?

And there it is,

it's glowing

and bright

in your freezer,

I see that you

have the quart

of Blue Bell

ice cream.

And so I say,

yes,

this is what

I've hoped for

and longed for,

that is what

I want.

We haven't eaten

dinner yet.

And so what do

you say to me

at that point?

You say,

Matthew,

you can have

whatever you want.

What does that

not mean?

It does not mean

that you have

invited me

to go upstairs

in your house

and take all

your guns

and all your jewelry.

Whatever

does not mean

anything or everything.

When you say,

Matthew,

you can have

whatever you want.

What you mean is

you can have

whatever you want

in the context,

in the realm,

in the sphere

of the freezer.

And if I'm lucky,

in the sphere

of the refrigerator.

There's a context

to that statement.

When you say whatever,

you don't mean

anything in the world.

You don't mean

everything in your house.

You mean

whatever you need

to eat

from this

refrigerated instrument.

Okay,

there's a realm,

there's a context,

there's a boundary,

there's a limit

on your statement there.

I might also

never be invited

for dinner again.

Same thing

is going on here

with Jesus

is that there is

a context

and a realm.

When Jesus says

in verse 24,

whatever you ask

in prayer,

he is speaking

in the context

about the advancing

of God's kingdom,

the destruction

of evil,

and the erasing

of what separates

God's people

from God's presence.

We are not

in the realm

of the refrigerator,

we're in the realm

of the clearing

of the temple

that has just happened

and the withering

of the fig tree.

The withering

of the fig tree

is destroying

those things

that have spiritual

appearance

but no spiritual

substance.

Whatever you ask

in prayer

in that genre,

whatever you ask

in prayer

for the advancing

of God's kingdom,

whatever you ask

in prayer

for the defeat

of evil

and the overthrowing

of spiritual

strongholds.

One pastor

puts it this way,

we can move mountains

in our prayers,

the mountain

we are moving

is the overthrow

of a broken world

and the coming

of the kingdom

of God.

Which means

that this morning

you have already prayed

that God would cast

mountains into the sea

because that's exactly

what we pray for

in the Lord's prayer.

we come together

and say,

hey, may your kingdom

come, your will be done

on earth as it is

in heaven.

For God's kingdom

to come

and his will to be done

on earth as it is

in heaven

is much more difficult

than shriveling

a fig tree

to its roots.

It is in fact

much more challenging

than casting a mountain

into the sea.

It is something

that only happens

if God's supernatural

power is at work

in the world.

And so you might

be thinking,

oh man,

that's all this passage

means?

Like, we're downplaying it.

It just means

the Lord's prayer.

No, I don't say this

to downplay this passage

but to highlight

and emphasize

what a radical

act of faith

it actually is

when we pray

the Lord's prayer

together.

Remember verse 25

of this passage.

Jesus says,

hey, by the way,

when you're praying,

you also need to forgive.

And if you're honest,

you know how hard

it is to forgive

someone who has

truly hurt you.

It is harder

to do that

than to cast

a mountain

into the sea.

We are asking God

when we pray

for his kingdom

to come

on earth

as it is in heaven

to do what

no earthly government

has ever been able

to accomplish.

Dynamite

can destroy

mountains.

We have the technology

right now

to cast

mountains

into the sea.

We do not have

the technology

to move

the human heart.

We do not have

the technology

to break

the forces of evil

once and for all.

We do not have

the technology

necessary

to restore

dignity and worth

to people

who are on the margins.

We do not have

the technology

to rescue

the poor

and bring down

the arrogant.

Now,

I didn't share this

with you last week

because I didn't

want to brag,

but I do want

to tell you this week

I actually

personally have

the capacity

to shrivel

fig trees

to their roots.

I have

a can

of Roundup 360

in my backyard

right now.

And even if I didn't,

we all know

Home Depot

is less than

10 minutes

from this church.

And I guarantee you

they have it in stock.

Roundup 360

cannot destroy

the sin

in our hearts

to its root.

God's power

at work

through prayer

is much

more powerful

than the shriveling

of a fig tree.

It makes

putting a

mountain

into the sea

look like

nothing.

When we pray

for God's

kingdom to come,

we are praying

something

impossible

and radical

and revolutionary.

we are praying

for power

that can come

from God

and God alone.

And so

we can say

mountains truly

are moved

when we pray

in our congregational

prayer for our

army chaplains

and they are able

to speak clearly

about the gospel

and soldiers

are moved

in their hearts

because of that.

God has moved

a mountain.

That is harder

than withering

a fig tree.

It's harder

than casting

a mountain

into the sea.

When we pray

for children

who are taught

in our Sunday

school classes

week after week

that in 40 years

they would still

love Jesus

and be part

of his community

in the church,

we are praying

that a mountain

has been moved,

that God would

move mountains

that are beyond

our control.

To do that

is much harder

than withering

a fig tree.

When we pray

for oppressive

and unjust systems

to be replaced

by the love

of God

and his gospel,

we are praying

for mountains

to be moved.

And so what Jesus

here is saying

is that the power

of God's kingdom,

the defeat of evil,

those are the prayers

that God cooperates

and answers.

Jesus always

and ultimately

answers the prayer,

thy kingdom come,

thy will be done

on earth

as it is in heaven.

He just doesn't

always answer it

in our way

on our timetable.

And so that's

what's going on

in this image

of the mountain.

How do we make sense

of this hard saying?

We have to know

the form

of Jesus' teaching.

His form

is in exaggeration.

We have to know

the context

of his teaching

which is in

the kingdom.

And we are not

out of the woods

yet.

Because we also

have verses 23

and 24

which would

at first glance

make us believe

that maybe

we can somehow

name it

and claim it

if we just

have enough faith

whatever we want

in this life

will happen.

Or on the other side

maybe we're filled

with shame

and guilt

because obviously

we don't have

enough faith

or God

would have acted.

And so we're going

to head straight

into that as well.

Verse 23 says

if you don't doubt

in your heart

but this man

believes what he says

will come to pass

it will be done

for him.

No qualifications.

If you have

enough faith

it's going to happen.

Verse 24

whatever you ask

in prayer

believe that you

have received it

and it will

be yours.

I want you to

think about this

and understand it

in the context

of verse 22

where Jesus says

have faith

in God.

Now in our

confession this morning

we already hit

the first two elements

of Charles Spurgeon's

definition of faith.

First that faith

is knowledge

but it's also

trust or belief.

It's not just

knowing the facts

but that they're

believing that

they're true.

Spurgeon gives

a third element

though which we

might call

trust or action

which means

I live

as if these

things are true.

I don't just

say in my head

I believe them

but my feet

and my hands

and my heart

show that I

believe those

things.

If that's what

we mean by faith

if that's the

faith that we're

talking about

in this prayer

then we can say

that Jesus

is teaching this.

The direction

of our prayers

must match

the direction

of our lives.

The direction

of our prayers

must match

the direction

of our lives.

Don't expect

God to answer

your prayers

if you pray

for the kingdom

and refuse

to live

like the kingdom

is true.

In fact

that's the logic

that's given

in the Lord's

prayer right?

Forgive us

our debts

as we

forgive our

debtors.

It is in

that sense

that we believe

that we've

already received

it.

In the sense

that we're

praying for

the kingdom

and we're

living as if

the kingdom

is true.

We're demonstrating

that faith

by our actions.

We're not just

saying words

but there's

an integrity

there's a

consistency

between what

we ask

God for

and the way

that we act

in the world.

And so that

helps us understand

why verse 25

is here.

Verse 25

is one

application

of that

principle.

Okay,

your prayer

and your life

needs to move

in the same

direction so

verse 25

whenever you

stand praying

forgive

if you have

anything against

anyone so

that your

father also

who is in

heaven may

forgive you

your trespasses.

verses 23

and 24

are not

saying

be perfect

and have

superhuman

faith

and then

whatever you

want to

happen

will happen.

It is saying

this,

live out

the Christian

life.

Live your

life in

such a way

that if

Jesus doesn't

come back

and if the

kingdom is

not true

you will

lose

big time.

That's what

it means

to believe

your prayer

has already

been answered.

It's to

truly live

into the

kingdom.

First

Corinthians

15

talking about

the resurrection

Paul says

hey by the

way if

Jesus didn't

rise from

the dead

we Christians

we should

be pitied

more than

anyone else

in the world.

We're actually

the stupidest

people.

We're going

to lose

more than

anyone else.

Matthew

17

Jesus

clarifies

he talks

again

in that

passage

about moving

mountains

and he

says hey

you know

how large

and great

your faith

has to be

to move

a mountain?

It has to

be so large

and great

that it's

like a

mustard seed.

The smallest

of all the

seeds.

The smallest

amount

of faith

can move

mountains.

that's

what it

means to

believe

that we

already

have it

to receive

it.

It means

that we

are living

as if

our prayers

are true.

I told

you we

have two

challenges

before us

this morning.

One to

satisfy our

minds and

understanding

what it is

that Jesus

is actually

teaching in

this passage

and the

other one

is to

address our

hearts

because I

can talk

about the

power of

prayer as

much as I

want and

I am very

aware that

for all of

us many

of us in

this room

who have

lived as

Christians for

any amount

of time

we have

had seasons

of prayer

perhaps in

the past

perhaps in

the present

and we

have not

seen the

kingdom come

in the way

we wanted

or expected.

And so this

passage raises

up for us

either this

sense of

cynicism and

despair

prayer isn't

worth it

I am going to

continue to

go through

the motions of

the Christian

life but

I have

shut my

heart down

I am not

going to

risk hoping

again.

Or it has

brought us to

places of

guilt and

shame.

Man if I

had only

prayed more

back then

then things

would be

different.

If I had

more faith

then I

wouldn't be

in the

situation I

am in

now.

In other

words we

have to

answer this

question what

do we do

when our

prayers aren't

answered?

How do we

respond when

we pray that

God would

move a

mountain and

we see the

mountain still

standing?

I have a

mentor I'll

call him

John and

John grew

up in a

Christian family

and his

parents were

both believers

and when he

was an

adult his

parents decided

that they

did not want

to be married

to each other

anymore.

And John

begged God

that he would

move that

mountain.

He begged

that the

kingdom would

come in

such a way

that his

parents would

not get a

divorce.

And they

did.

Later

John met

the love

of his

life and

they married

and they

had great

hopes and

dreams of

children together

and they

prayed that

God would

move that

mountain.

And he

didn't.

And so I

asked him at

one point I

said what have

you done

with that?

How do you

work through

that in light

of God's

promises to

you about

prayer and

what you

believe about

his goodness?

And he

said this.

He said that

took several

years to

really work

through because

there's so

many other

ways that I've

seen God's

goodness.

You use

what you've

seen in the

light to

help you

trust in

the dark.

I don't

understand Lord

why you would

let this

happen but I

also know

this is a

broken world

and that's not

your fault.

that's our

fault.

I need to

trust that

you're still

with me in

this and

you haven't

forgotten me.

You use

what you've

seen in the

light to

help you

trust in

the dark.

And then he

goes on to

say this.

When prayer

does not change

things I need

to trust.

Lord you are

still good and

I don't know

why you haven't

answered this but

I trust you and

I'm going to

keep asking.

That doesn't

mean there

aren't times

when I'm in

sorrow.

That's why so

many of the

psalms are

lament psalms

because of

unanswered

prayer.

God knows

how grieving

that can be and

so he gives us

the language to

use in the

face of

unanswered

prayer.

prayer.

The same

trust that

allows us to

pray allows us

to keep

following God

even when we

don't see what

we want to

see.

You use what

you've seen in

the light to

help you trust

in the dark.

Of course

that's what we

sang this

morning, right?

We sang how

long?

How long

until you wipe

our tears

away?

How long

until we see

you descending

from the sky?

Of course

if you read

the book of

Psalms you know

that at the

end the last

psalms are all

psalms of praise

which is the

psalmist's way of

teaching us that

in the end all

of our laments

turn into songs

of praise to

God if we

wait long

enough.

The kingdom

will come

fully and

finally.

Finally Jesus

teaches this

knowing that

the most

painful

unanswered

prayer in

all of

history

will happen

to him

soon.

You'll

remember as

Jesus is

facing his

own death

he prays out

to God

and he

basically says

look I want

there to be

another way

for this to

happen

but not

my will

be done

your will.

And so

Jesus'

prayer goes

unanswered

and Jesus

himself removes

the greatest

mountain he

removes the

mountain of

sin that

separates us

from God

because of

his unanswered

prayer he

suffers the

punishment the

death that we

deserve and

he lives the

perfect life

that we did

not so that

we can cry

out how long

so that we

can pray to

God asking

him to move

mountains so

that we can

have the faith

that accesses

the very power

of God.

When we don't

know where

God is or

how he is

acting we

simply look to

Jesus on the

cross.

Jesus.

And we

know

as we're

told by

the apostle

Paul all

the promises

of God are

yes and

amen in

him.

All our

prayers for

mountains to

be moved,

all our

prayers for

the kingdom

to come

are, have

been answered

and will be

answered in

Jesus.

Jesus.

I

mentioned

before

Charles

Spurgeon

who's a

famous

Baptist

preacher

in London

in the

19th century

and the

story is

told of

five young

college

students who

were spending

a Sunday

in London

and so they

decided hey

here's what we

really want to

do we want to

go hear this

great Charles

Spurgeon guy

preach because

we've heard

about how

wonderful he

is.

So they're

waiting for

the doors to

open and

this unassuming

man comes in

and greets

them and

he says

gentlemen let

me show

you around

would you

like to

see the

heating plant

of this

church.

They thought

this was a

strange request

because they

happened to

be visiting

in the month

of July but

they decided

to amuse

this old

man.

They didn't

want to

offend him

so we're

told they're

taken down

a stairway.

A door

was quietly

opened and

their guide

whispered

this is

our heating

plant.

To the

surprise the

students saw

700 people

bowed in

prayer seeking

a blessing

on the

service that

was soon

to begin

in the

auditorium

above.

Softly

closing the

door that

man introduced

himself to

them.

It was

Charles Spurgeon

himself.

Prayer

moves

mountains.

Christians.

It is the

heating plant

of the

Christian

life.

And as

we pray

in faith

for God's

kingdom to

come

we use

what we've

seen in

the light

to trust

in the

dark.

Let's pray.

Our

Father in

heaven we

praise you

and thank you

for your

word for

your promises

of prayer

and for

your

encouragement

to us.

We ask

that you

would use

this teaching

in our

lives.

That we

would cry

out to you

more and

more with

hope and

longing

that the

direction of

our lives

and the

direction of

our prayers

would be

one and

the same.

Knowing that

you're the

one who

gives us

the power

and the

grace.

We ask

these things

in Jesus

name.

Amen.

I invite

you to

stand