The Focus of Faith

We'll turn to Mark chapter 11 this morning, Mark chapter 11, as we continue here looking

Mark 11 · chapter mention Mark 11 · chapter mention

through at the life of Jesus, as we've come to the final days of Jesus' ministry here

upon the earth.

And the Bible gives us more information about this period in His life than any other.

It gives us all sorts of details along the way in this final seven to eight days here

we are looking at.

And we see Jesus as He had entered into Jerusalem just a couple days earlier from where we're

looking here, He had entered in and the people had greeted Him joyfully and honored Him.

And He'd made His way into the temple and then returned back away from the city of Jerusalem

into the town of Bethany.

And on Monday on His way back into Jerusalem there and the temple, we find that when He

entered the temple, He began to cleanse the area and teaching people and preaching about

the use of the temple.

That was not to be a place of merchandise, but a place of prayer, a place where people could

connect and communicate with God.

It was a place that was supposed to be something that would build people's relationship and

draw them to the Lord.

But we find here, before He went into the temple that day, on His way to Jerusalem, Jesus

was hungry, so He looked for some figs on His way and had some leaves.

And we're going to be reading through about that.

But He expected some figs to be present as the leaves were formed upon the tree.

Now just a little interesting tidbit there for you on that.

Figs produce fruit before leaves.

Leaves were present with an expectation of fruit to be on the tree.

And so we're going to look here as Jesus finds no figs upon it and He responds by condemning

the tree for the lack of figs.

And we're going to look here because this event, the next day as Peter finds that the tree

has withered away, we find that Peter asks him a question about it.

He makes note of it and Jesus gives a response towards him.

We're going to look at here today the reality of that faith that must draw us to God.

And so we find here, as we begin looking here in Mark chapter 11, we found Mark chapter 11

Mark 11 · chapter mention Mark 11 · chapter mention

this morning.

Go ahead and stand together in honor of the reading of the Word of God.

And we'll read a couple of verses here up at verses 12 through 14, and then we'll skip

down to verse 20.

And so we find here, it says in verse 12,

Now verse 20,

we find the next day after Jesus had cleansed the temple and went back out, they're coming

back into the town the next day.

It says,

In the morning as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.

And Peter says,

Remember, and saith unto him,

Master, behold,

the thing that thou artest thou artest is withered away.

And Jesus answering saith unto them,

Have faith in God.

And when you stand praying, forgive.

If you have ought against any, that your Father also is in heaven, may forgive you your trespasses.

And if you do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, as we come before you this morning, Lord, we're so thankful for your word, Lord,

as we look at this lesson on faith and trusting you and what it means,

what that looks like and the necessities around it.

Lord, we pray just have your hand upon each heart, each life here today.

Lord, you know each one.

You know the needs that we bring in.

Lord, you know the challenges that we face.

Lord, would you just help us to focus upon the truth of your word today,

even in the midst of those things,

that the principal reality is we need to have faith in you.

And Lord, we pray just have your hand upon each one today in a mighty way.

And let us ask it in your precious name.

Amen.

You may be seated.

You know, while we can make application to our lives and other events and parables in Scripture,

one thing we always need to be careful of is to make sure we focus on the way that Jesus presented something.

Because oftentimes people have read this passage talking about him cursing the fig tree,

and you'll find a lot of people try to put a lot of speculation into it.

But we're going to stick to how Jesus described and the focus that Jesus put on the event

and what Jesus had to say about it.

Because when it comes to the Scripture,

when Jesus gives an illustration or an application to something,

we can rest assured it's the right one.

It's what he wanted us to know and what he wanted us to understand about the truth of the matter.

But we find here that the next morning here,

after Jesus had returned back into the city,

we find the disciples were fascinated as they passed the tree

that the day before on Monday had leaves and was green and growing and looked vibrant.

And the next morning, the tree was withered up.

It's dried up.

You know, there was nothing more to it.

It was dried up from the root.

And notice what Peter asked him here in verse 21.

Or says to him,

And Peter, calling to remember, saith unto him,

Master, behold the fig tree which thou cursest is withered away.

You know, it wasn't hard for the disciples to see the difference.

You know, the day before that tree was very green, it was noticeable.

From even afar off, Jesus made note of how green it was from afar

because he came looking for the figs.

He made note of what had appeared and what was there.

And one day it's green and lush.

And the next day, this word withered,

literally, if you've been driving around Lincoln lately,

you see a lot of withered trees.

That's the same term.

In other words, it was dried up.

All the leaves had turned brown.

There was nothing left of what brought any vibrancy.

And you know, we walk, you drive around town,

you see all these piles of tree limbs that have withered away.

That's what happened to this tree overnight.

Now, that's the reason the disciples could very easily notice that

and make attention to it because that would be pretty obvious.

If you've got a tree that's totally green one day

and you come back the next day and it's dried up from the root,

all the leaves are dried up, everything just withered away on it,

it would catch your attention.

And we find here it did just that.

And it was completely,

it was not natural for it to wither away so quickly and completely.

But I want you to draw your attention here this morning to verse 22.

Because Jesus gives us a very critical statement about this.

Notice how Jesus responds to him.

Verse 22,

Jesus answering, saith unto them,

Have faith in God.

Have faith in God.

You know, we know that faith is central to God's program.

Everything that God has for us is centered around this concept of faith,

this trusting.

You know, think about what the Bible tells us.

Hebrews chapter 11, verse 6 says this,

Hebrews 11:6

But without faith, it is impossible to please him.

It is impossible to please him without faith.

Faith is a critical element that we find.

And when you look through the scripture,

you'll find that faith did so many things.

Not just a generic faith.

Because we're going to look here this morning,

sometimes people get in trouble and they get caught up in the faith.

But I want you to understand,

the focus of what your faith is upon is important.

Why do you have faith?

Faith itself, we can have faith in a lot of things.

But faith, the object of our faith, is important.

I want you to see here,

Jesus points them to that fact that it's not,

don't be fascinated or caught up in the tree.

Understand that it's faith in God that's critical.

And sometimes we can get caught up in the fanciful

and the things that catch our attention.

Instead of focusing upon the right direction,

that's to focus upon God.

But when you look at the scripture,

there's many individuals that had miraculous things take place

because of faith.

You'll consider Joshua commanded the sun to stand still

so Israel could defeat the Amorites.

I mean, that took faith.

Where was this faith?

That was in God.

We find Isaiah, in Isaiah 38,

we find King Hezekiah was told he would die

and he prayed and the Lord added 15 years

because of his faith in God.

We find in Abraham,

there in Genesis chapter 22,

Genesis 22 · chapter mention

was told to sacrifice Isaac,

his son of promise,

and he obeyed by faith

and God gave him a ram in his place.

Joshua, we find in Joshua 14,

we find an 85-year-old man by the name of Caleb,

believed God for the power to defeat a mountain filled full of giants.

God gave him the mountain.

We find in a teenage boy named David there in 1 Samuel,

by faith defeated a giant named Goliath.

By faith he accomplished those things.

God gave him the victory.

Three young men in the book of Daniel there,

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego believed God

to keep them from the power of a pagan king

in a fiery furnace.

And God met them there in the furnace

and protected them,

not because of just faith,

but their faith in God.

What was added here is important

because many times we could give many examples of faith

and not just generic,

but directed and specific focused faith in God.

We need to trust God,

the reality of it,

the object of biblical faith.

This is the object of biblical faith,

is not just faith itself,

it's not just hope itself,

but it's in God.

He is the one that gives hope

when we trust Him.

It's what He has done

and what He can do.

You know, we understand that faith

is not blindly wishing something true.

You know, sometimes people enter into that idea of faith,

that faith is just something that,

well, you're just hoping that to be.

Well, faith has something more to it

than just hopeful wishing

or just being positive-minded.

I want you to understand,

faith is not just something that fascinates the mind.

I mean, the disciples were fascinated

by what happened to the tree.

Sometimes things will happen

and people get fascinated by it.

And they'll even maybe give honor to God for something,

but their faith misses the mark

because the mark is not in what is fanciful

or what is hopeful

or what's wished for,

but our faith needs to be in God,

in who He is.

Notice back here in Hebrews 11, verse 6,

Hebrews 11:6

notice what He tells us here.

Without faith it is impossible to please Him,

for he that cometh to God,

notice it,

you must believe that He is.

Have faith in God.

Believe that He is.

And when we say to believe that He is,

that doesn't just mean that He exists.

You know, the reality is

a lot of people will give acknowledgement to God.

But their faith is not in God.

Because in your faith is in God,

there's some things you have faith in

because Jesus is the foundation of faith

must be in God.

Our faith is not in His kingdom

that's going to come.

Our faith is not in the law.

Our faith can't even be in our position,

even like His disciples.

Their faith couldn't be in the fact

that Jesus made them a disciple.

Their faith had to rest in God.

Had to rest above those things.

In something of more substance,

the one that was behind all of it.

Because simply it's being persuaded

by who God is,

His character,

to have a deep, settled trust

in who He is,

what He says,

and what He will do.

Because we have to understand,

we must have faith in His person.

You know, not just acknowledgement

that He exists,

but who He is.

That He is God.

He is above all.

You know, I want you to understand

His person is there

because He's personal with us.

He wants to connect with us.

The Bible tells us in 1 Peter 5, 7,

to cast,

casting all your cares upon Him,

for He careth for you.

That's a personal connection.

It says who God is.

He has a personality.

He has something that you can connect with.

He wants and invites you

to bring those things.

Think about Philippians 4,

in verse 6,

where it says,

Be careful for nothing,

but in everything,

by prayer and supplication,

with thanksgiving,

let your requests remain known unto God.

And the peace of God,

which passes all understanding,

shall keep your hearts and minds

through Christ Jesus.

You know,

we need to know

that we can trust His person,

who He is.

not just a generic God,

but a specific God.

But we can have that

because we must have faith

in His promises.

Because of who He is as a person,

we can have faith

in His promises

that He has made to us.

To trust those things.

Think about Romans chapter 4.

Romans 4 · chapter mention

Romans chapter 4,

Romans 4 · chapter mention

here in verse 21,

it says,

and being what?

Fully what?

What?

Is that next word?

Persuaded.

Fully persuaded.

That has to do with our thinking.

How we process it,

creates a filter

or a lens

through which we see

and how we understand.

When you're fully persuaded

in your mind,

it's locked in.

Have you ever noticed

that somebody's

fully persuaded about them?

You just will almost give up

arguing with them

about anything?

Or about that topic?

Because if they're

fully persuaded,

man,

there's nothing

going to change their mind.

God tells us

we need to be

fully persuaded

because He had promised

that He was able

also to perform.

He is able

also to perform.

Think about Hebrews chapter 6

Hebrews 6 · chapter mention

in verse 18

that says,

by two immutable things

in which it's impossible

for God to lie.

You know?

To understand

that God cannot lie.

He will not lie to you.

You know?

We look at the world today.

You know,

whenever the elections

come up,

you can look at it

another way.

Oftentimes,

it's the lying season.

You know?

There's more lies

floating around right now

about everything

than you can shake a stick at.

You know,

especially at the age

of social media,

but I want you to understand

when God said something

in His description

of somebody

or you or me,

God does not lie.

God's promises are true.

His application,

His,

what He tells us

about the world,

what He tells us

about us as individuals,

what He tells us

is going to happen.

It's going to be.

We can trust

what God has said.

You know,

Numbers chapter 23

Numbers 23 · chapter mention

and verse 19

says this,

God is not a man

that He should lie,

neither the Son of Man

that He should repent.

Hath He said

and shall He not do it?

Or hath He spoken

and shall He not make it good?

You know,

He's asking questions

for the children of Israel

who had just come out of Egypt.

God made promises to them

and He said,

hey,

what did you guys just see?

What did you just see

and understand

and experience?

Did I not tell you

this was going to happen

and did it not happen?

He wants us to know

that we must have faith

in His promises,

but we need to have faith

also in His power

because, you know,

we know very quickly

that promises

are easily made.

You know,

even as people,

sometimes we make promises

even with good intentions.

You know,

I think we can all look back

on our life at some point

and say,

I made a promise

that I made with good intentions

but I couldn't fulfill it.

There were other things

that I could not control

that impacted my ability

to fulfill a promise.

But I want you to understand

when it comes to God,

He has the power

to fulfill them.

That's the difference

in God's promise

over any other promise

you'll get.

God says,

when I promise it,

I have the ability

to perform it.

I have what it takes.

You know,

think about Jeremiah 32.

Jeremiah 32 says,

Oh Lord God,

behold,

thou hast made the heaven

and the earth

by thy great power

and stretched out arm.

Notice this,

there is nothing

too hard for thee.

Nothing too hard for God.

Luke chapter 1 verse 37

Luke 1:37

makes a very simple statement,

for with God

nothing shall be impossible.

When it comes to faith in God,

we need to trust

His eternal plan.

We need to trust

His purposes.

You know,

God has a purpose

in what He's doing.

Often times,

we get uncomfortable

with God's purpose,

but God has a purpose

and a plan

that He has established

and set out.

He has it the way

He's going to do it.

And when it comes

to faith in God,

we need to trust

His eternal plan,

a plan that He will

accomplish.

If He is a,

we can trust His person,

we can trust His promises,

we can trust His power,

we can trust His purposes.

You know,

think about Ephesians chapter 1.

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

It's made this morning.

Ephesians chapter 1

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

and verse 9

tells us this.

It says,

Having made known unto us

the mystery of His will.

God doesn't hide His will from us.

He reveals His will to us.

He wants us to know

that He is accomplishing

what He said

He was going to do.

You ever notice

it's real easy

to claim something

if nobody knows

what you started out with?

You know,

I promised that years ago.

Who heard you?

Nobody.

Well, how do you know?

God tells us,

Hey, here's the plan.

Here's the purpose.

I promised these things

to be so.

Now you can examine it.

Now you can trust it.

He says,

According to His good pleasure,

which He hath purposed

in Himself,

that in the dispensation

of the fullness of times

He might gather together

in one

all things in Christ

which are in heaven

or which are on earth

even in Him,

in whom also

we have attained

an inheritance

being predestined

according to the purpose

of Him

who worketh all things

after the counsel

of His own will.

I want you to understand

God has declared

some very simple promises.

This verse applies

very directly

to your salvation

in this way.

Your salvation,

God says,

Whosoever shall call

upon the name

of the Lord,

whoever trusts me

as Savior,

will be with Him.

That's what God

predetermined.

God said,

I have a plan

and a way

and if they make

that choice,

I have predetermined

I'm going to fulfill it.

I'm going to take care of it.

It's all upon me.

You know,

think about

Proverbs chapter 19.

Proverbs 19 · chapter mention

Proverbs chapter 19

Proverbs 19 · chapter mention

in verse 21

tells us this,

There are many devices

in a man's heart.

Nevertheless,

the counsel of the Lord

that shall stand.

God is the one

that has established

those things

because consider

His will is very clear

within the Scripture.

God is not willing

that any should perish,

that all should come

to repentance.

You know,

God makes some very clear

statements about His will.

His desire

and His plan

and His provision

took care of everything

we need

to have a relationship

with Him

if we trust

in God.

If our faith

is in God,

not in church,

not in baptism,

not in what somebody

told you,

our faith must be

in God,

must be in what

Christ has done,

the one that came

and died for our sin.

It has to be

in that alone.

Because we see here,

notice what He tells them

in verse 23.

He makes that declarative

statement of faith

in God.

And then Jesus says,

For verily I say unto you,

that whoso 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.

He saith.

Now I want you

to break these down

a little bit

because God tells us

we have opportunities

of faith.

What are we going

to trust Him in?

What are we going

to ask Him for?

Our faith functions

when we trust God

and that He's going

to do that which is

often what we see

as impossible.

Those things that we look

at and say are impossible

because I want you

to get the picture here

because remember

Jesus is coming down

to the Mount of Olives

when He's describing,

telling the disciples this.

So they're coming down

from the mount

and can you imagine

Jesus when He said,

Hey, this,

if you ask the Lord,

this mountain,

He's looking at the

Mount of Olives

and cast into the sea

which would have been

the Dead Sea.

that was a big thing

in the disciples' minds.

They could vividly

see the picture.

They're thinking,

this is impossible.

The point isn't

the moving of the mountain.

Jesus is making

a point here

that reveals to them

that true faith in God

will change insurmountable

obstacles in your life.

Faith in God

will move things

that we think

are impossible.

impossible.

They may be impossible

to us

but they are possible

with God.

Let me give you

an example.

Have you ever

considered that sometimes

we either look at somebody

or maybe even yourself,

you've had this thought

that I am so lost,

so far away from God,

God can't save me.

You know what?

God says,

hold on because

I can.

Amen.

What we think

is impossible,

God says,

I can.

I can take a sinner

and turn him

into a saint.

God can do

the impossible.

We can look at somebody

and say,

that's a lost cause

and God says

if they trust me,

it can be totally different.

You think about

sometimes we have

a great need

that appears

that could never

be met.

You know,

sometimes we have

situations in life

that say,

Lord,

I don't know

how this is going

to happen.

I don't know

how this is going

to be overcome.

I don't even have

any idea

of how this could

even change around

or turn around.

And Jesus is telling

the disciples,

have faith in God.

Have faith in God.

I guarantee you

that Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego

took a lot of faith

to say,

okay,

in the furnace we go.

Because when we read

those Old Testament stories,

we get to look back

at what happened.

They didn't know

what was going to happen.

They had no idea

what God was going to do.

They didn't look

at the king

and say,

you throw us in there

and Jesus will save us.

That wasn't their attitude.

Their attitude was,

very simply,

we trust God

over everything else.

And God changed

the impossible.

Some problems

seem so big

it appears

they could never

be overcome.

But God says,

I can.

God changes

the impossible

to the possible.

Because of His

promise,

and faith in God

is built upon

the promises

found in His Word.

He allows us

to believe

God in the impossible.

Just as it was

impossible

for you and I

to be saved.

You know,

there's not a single

person that's possible

to be saved

of their own accord.

not a one of us.

It was God

that made it possible.

It was God

who changed things.

Look over at

1 Timothy for a moment.

1 Timothy chapter 2.

1 Timothy 2 · chapter mention

Look here at verse 3.

It says,

For this is good

and acceptable

in the sight

of God our Savior

who will have

all men to be saved

and come unto

the knowledge

of the truth.

For there is

one God

and one mediator

between God

and men,

the man Christ Jesus

who gave Himself

a ransom for all

to be testified

in due time.

He made it

very clear.

He made it

proclaimed

that the impossible

is possible.

But it's not

possible by a

generic faith.

You know,

oftentimes we have

a generation today

that reads this passage

and they say,

Well,

this is a blank check

for me.

One thing we have

to always keep in mind

that the Bible

never contradicts itself.

And the context here,

God says,

You trust me

and I can do

the impossible things

in your life

that need to be accomplished

because it's a specific faith

in the promise

that God made.

When you call upon Him

to save you,

you're trusting God

in a specific promise

that He made.

That's how you're saved

is trusting God

for a very specific promise.

That promise is

that He,

when you call upon Him,

that calling isn't just

recognizing that

He's present.

It's acknowledging

that you are the one

that could do nothing

and He is the one

that has done everything

by shedding His blood

on the cross

for your sin.

God says,

If you trust Him,

if you call upon Him

to be your Savior

to cleanse you from sin,

He says,

I will.

Jesus is clear about faith

as believing

and not doubting.

It's not wavering

in confidence

that God will do

what He promised.

But just to be clear here,

what I want to talk

for a moment,

this fact that faith

is not a blank check

because some think,

well,

if I have faith,

then God's got to do it.

That's not the way

this works.

Faith is always,

faith in God

is always connected

to the promises of God.

They don't separate.

They're built upon

His promises.

It's built upon

what He has declared.

It's founded upon

the Word of God.

Jesus always points

to that reality

for us

and we understand

that very clearly.

Notice in the Gospel of John,

look over to John chapter 14

John 14 · chapter mention

for a moment.

John chapter 14,

John 14 · chapter mention

we find over here,

John chapter 14,

John 14 · chapter mention

look at verse 13.

It says,

whatsoever ye shall ask

in my name

will I do

that the Father

may be glorified

in the Son

and if ye shall ask

anything in my name,

I will do it.

He promises

He's going to accomplish it

if we ask

according to His will

to do those things.

His will

is important

that's connected

in this

here this morning.

But I want you

to see here

because faith

has some challenges.

You know that statement

that Jesus made,

have faith in God.

In a sense,

sometimes we treat it

like a platitude.

Yes I do,

but

there's some obstacles

to actually trusting God.

and we'll notice

what Jesus reveals

to His disciples

because faith in God

can do the impossible,

but faith can be hindered

by things about us.

There are many things

that can hinder our prayers

and we'll quickly look

at three here this morning

that Jesus makes

direct mention of.

Things that hinder

those things coming to pass.

Because notice here

what it says in verse 23.

He says,

Verily I say unto you

that to whosoever

shall say unto this mountain

thou shalt be removed

and be thou cast into the sea.

Now notice this,

and shall not doubt

in his heart.

Doubt.

This goes back

to what we talked about earlier

when it comes to unbelief.

Remember when Jesus

went into different villages

there was things

He did not do,

there was miracles

that were not performed

and what did Jesus

accredit it to?

Unbelief.

Unbelief.

They were refusing

to recognize

who God is,

to trust Him.

Because doubt

is divided into one's,

is dividing one's

or to draw back.

You know,

when we pray with doubt

we're drawing back

from God's Word

and His promises.

You know,

ultimately really

doubt questions

God's character.

I'll tell you

to look over

in the book of James

this morning.

James chapter 1.

James 1 · chapter mention

Notice what James

tells us

in James 1.

He says,

But let him ask

in faith

nothing wavering.

For he that wavereth

is like a wave

of the sea

driven with the wind

and tossed.

For let not

think that he shall

receive anything

of the Lord.

Now I want you

to understand

that James

makes it clear

that we can doubt,

we can know,

but we have,

we hold back

to say,

God says He can,

but I really

don't believe He can.

You know,

that's a real thing

for us,

isn't it?

just like anything

else in life,

you can know

something up here,

but to actually

put the confidence

out in it

is a different thing.

To actually put

a trust in it

to say,

I'm going to

extend myself

out beyond

where I am

because I trust

God's going to

make the difference.

unbelief.

Notice verse 24,

it says,

therefore,

I say unto you,

whatsoever things

ye desire

when you pray,

believe that you

receive them

and ye

shall have them.

Now this word

we're going to

look at here

is desire.

What things

ye desire?

You know,

because we ought

to desire

the right things

when we pray.

Because the Bible

tells us we can

desire the wrong

things when we pray.

We can desire

things contrary

to the word of God.

Because God's

going to answer

prayer when we

trust Him

because our prayers

need to be built

upon His what?

His promises.

Upon His word

and what He has said.

Notice what it

tells us here

that our prayers

need to be in

alignment with

God's will.

Look over in

1 John chapter 5.

1 John 5 · chapter mention

1 John chapter 5

1 John 5 · chapter mention

and verse 14

tells us this

and this is the

confidence that

we have in Him

that if we ask

anything according

to what?

His will

He heareth us.

And if we know

that He hear us

whatsoever we ask

we know that we

have a petition

that we desire

of Him.

In other words

when our desire

is to see His will

and His purpose

fulfilled

He promises

to answer.

You know,

think about

Joshua and Caleb

and all the

others we mentioned

who received

big answers

to their prayer

of faith

did so

because they

were asking

for things

that God

had already

promised them

in His word.

God had already

promised Caleb

to take the

mountain years

earlier.

He promised it

to him years

earlier and Caleb

says,

God,

I'm calling

upon your promise

to fulfill it.

When the sun

stood still

that day for

Joshua

and the children

of Israel

it stood still

because Joshua

was calling

upon God's promise

to deliver them

and to conquer

the land.

He was giving

them something

of substance.

You know,

does God

ever answer

the prayers

of His children

when they ask

for things

that He

hasn't

explicitly

promised?

Yes.

Because God

understands

that there are

certain things

we do need.

I mean,

He's given us

generic promises

that He'll never

leave us

or forsake us.

He promises

to take care

of our daily

needs.

But,

you know,

sometimes we can

ask for some

specific things

that are still

according to

God's will.

Things that will

help us

or benefit us.

You might say

those are blessings

that God gives

to you.

But those blessings

and those things

will never go

in counter

to His will.

They'll always

be a blessing

because of His will.

Something that

He's given to you

that benefits

or encourages

you or

strengthens you

and your faith

can move forward.

But look at

verse 25

and 26.

This is another

interesting one

as you think

about Jesus.

He starts out,

they're talking

about a fig tree

and mountains

moving into the sea

and He turns

this whole conversation

around to faith

in God

and trusting Him

above everything else.

Verse 25 and 26

point something out

where I think

a lot of times

we struggle

with faith.

And that's

in the area

of forgiveness.

We struggle

in trusting God

when we say

we're going to

forgive.

God makes promises

associated.

Notice what He

tells us here.

This idea of

unforgiveness.

Look here,

and when you

stand praying

forgive.

Forgive.

If you have

ought against

any.

That's a pretty

generic statement.

If you have

ought against

anybody,

if there's a

problem that you

haven't forgiven

or that you

haven't dealt

with,

Jesus says

it hinders

your prayers

when you don't

trust Him

to say,

I can forgive

them because

God has forgiven

me.

If God

can forgive

me,

I'd be able

to forgive

somebody else.

But we

struggle with

forgiveness,

don't we?

Jesus tells

the disciples,

because there's

going to be

some things

happen.

Often we

wonder,

why does

Jesus focus

on forgiveness?

this?

When you

look and read

about what

happened to

the apostles

here a little

later in the

scripture,

they had to

offer a lot

of forgiveness

to people

for things

that they

did.

Think about

Peter and

John,

they were

beaten,

put in

prison.

They were

beaten,

put in

prison.

John had

his brother

killed by

getting his

head chopped

off.

That's

pretty

personal.

And

Jesus was

telling them

it doesn't

matter what's

happening now

or what's

happening later.

You need to

forgive just

as I forgave

you.

But that's a

real struggle

because he

expects us to

forgive.

forgive.

Notice in

verse 26

he says,

if you do

not forgive

neither will

your Father

which is in

heaven forgive

your trespasses.

In other

words, I want

you to

understand here,

we'll talk

about this

a little bit

more in

just a

moment,

but I

want you

to understand

the importance

of forgiveness.

Look over in

Ephesians chapter

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

4 and verse

32.

Ephesians 4

32 tells us

this, it

says,

be kind

one to

another,

tenderhearted,

forgiving one

another,

for even as

God for

Christ's

sake hath

forgiven

you.

You know,

the right

perspective in

our eyes when

we understand

that God

offered us

a way of

forgiveness,

but we

didn't merit

the forgiveness.

Oftentimes we

hold up our

forgiveness because

we look and

say that person

doesn't merit

it.

and God

says you

didn't either,

but I

gave it

anyway.

The

necessity

of forgiveness,

that

unforgiveness,

just as

faith enables

our prayers,

unforgiveness

is a barrier

to them.

You say,

why is that?

Because

unforgiving

spirits puts

us at odds

with the

Lord.

Now what

Jesus is

talking about

here is

twofold,

because you

got to

understand his

audience is

the first

thing.

Whenever you

read the

scripture,

it's like,

who is he

saying this

to?

He's saying

this to his

disciples,

those that

have already

trusted him,

those that

have been

set apart

to serve

him.

He's telling

them that,

hey,

if you

don't forgive,

it's going

to hinder

our relationship.

fellowship.

He's not

talking about

losing salvation,

he's talking

about hindering

fellowship with

one another.

God's

God's

fellowship with

God after

salvation.

Unforgiveness is

a hindrance,

and we can hold

on to those

things.

When we

possess an

unforgiving

spirit,

our prayers

will be

hindered,

and God's

forgiveness will

not be realized

in our daily

walk with

him.

You know,

this morning

we should

consider the

important nature

of faith

when it comes

to the things

of God.

Because Jesus

makes it clear,

have faith

in God.

Not in your

abilities,

not in what

somebody else

has done,

have faith

in him.

To trust

him.

God is the

one that

everything else

submits to.

You know,

the focus of

our faith

not only

gives us

a direction,

but connects

us with the

one that

supplies the

needs along

the way.

This morning,

how is your

faith?

How is your

faith today?

Because

oftentimes we

come in with

mountains that

need to be

moved in our

lives.

That you look

at and say,

God, I don't

know how that's

going to happen.

And Jesus

says,

trust me.

Follow my

promises,

claim my

promises,

and I will

fulfill my

promises.

Are there

mountains that

need to be

moved?

Are you

seeking his

will in your

life?

Do you

trust him to

do what he

promises to

do?

Because you

can know

what it

says, but

there's

another to

trust it.

Because trust

involves stretching

out to say,

I think God,

it's not just

thinking that

God's going to

do it, it's

knowing God

is going to

fulfill after

you step

out.

Faith is an

element of

saying, I'm

going someplace

that I'm not

sure of, but

I'm trusting in

the one that

is sure.

Because I

know who he

is and what

he can do.

It's the

substance of

our faith.

Today we

need to

understand the

importance of

humbling

ourselves when

we trust him

to his will

and not

ours.

You know,

maybe it's a

simple today to

say I need to

call upon the

Savior.

There's never

been a time and

a place where I

could look and

see that that's

when I called

upon him.

This is the

moment I

trusted God, I

trusted Christ as

my Savior.

Because that

happens in a

moment.

It happens at a

specific place at a

specific time.

If you can't see

that in your

mind, that's

something you

need to deal

with before the

Lord.

If that's the

case, I

encourage you to

trust him today.

But as the

heads are bowed

and eyes are

closed this

morning,

maybe there's

some things when

it comes in

regarding to your

faith in God

this morning.

maybe there's

some mountains,

maybe there's

some obstacles,

maybe there's

some things that

you're just like,

Lord, I don't

understand what's

going on.

I don't

understand why

this is happening.

But Lord, I'm

going to seek you

and your will,

Lord, I'm going

to trust you as

we walk through

those things day

by day.

Is that your

need today?

Heavenly

Fathers, we

come before you

this morning.

Lord, we just

thank you and

praise you for

your word and

for your promises,

just for who you

are, Lord, that we

can trust you in

all areas of our

life.

And Lord, we pray

just have your hand

upon each one here

today.

Lord, you know the

needs, you know the

specifics of each

life.

Lord, there's no

hiding those

things from you.

Lord, if there's

one here today that

doesn't know you as

Savior, that today

would be the day

they would call upon

you.

But Lord, if there's

other needs, that it

might be the day that

they say, I'm going

to put all my eggs

in God's basket.

I'm going to trust

him in everything

moving forward.

And Lord, we just

ask it all in your

precious name, Lord,

as the piano plays,

that you'd work upon

hearts and lives here

today.

In Jesus' name,

amen.

What about you

today?

Amen.