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Whenever I am given the opportunity to check out someone’s Bible, I immediately scan through the pages to see which verses have been highlighted. With very little exception I have found that the vast majority underline verses that pertain to acquiring something through the releasing of their faith, or where Biblical personalities achieved miraculous results. It is energizing to our faith to see the potential achievements that can be personalized in our lives. The problem is we don’t know how motivated faith works. If God has given us all things that pertain unto life and godliness (II Peter 1:3), why are we in the hunt for something He has already given us? Instead of working in the framework of His Word, we take things out of context and use a “claim and frame” attitude. A case in point is the dialogue around the fig tree that Jesus had with His disciples. (Mark 12 and Matthew 21) Jesus pronounced the sentence of death on a tree that had given the appearance of figs, but on closer examination there was no fruit. The harvesting of the figs had not begun, but there still should have been some partially ripe fruit that could have been eaten. The disciples were amazed at how quickly the fig tree dried up and died. What Jesus said next is the entrance ramp to misunderstanding.
The central theme of the encounter at the fig tree centered around prayer and having faith in God. Jesus was showing what the power of prayer, seasoned with faith, could achieve. It was not a question of cursing a fig tree into non existence, or casting a mountain into the sea; rather, it was having the faith to believe that no matter how little or big the problem or obstacle in our life, it is at our mercy! Prayer is not crossing our fingers and making empty promises to God, but a confidence we exhibit by our faith in Him. What does God desire in the situations that confront us? When God is in the equation we will better understand His purpose and will. Praying with faith can diminish any problem we may face. We need to learn to speak what we believe. Too many times we grow the problem from a fig tree reality into a mountainous experience. Jesus pointed out to His disciples the importance of speaking to the problem. (Mark 11:23) Instead of talking about our negative challenges, let us learn to “cast it into the sea” by the words of our mouth.
We must put all of this in the right framework. Before we can use the authority given to the Believer, we need to behave like a Believer. Almost with the same breath, Jesus expanded His teaching to an area that was neglected by so many: the doctrine of forgiving. For the fig tree and mountain to be removed, we need to learn, as the Disciples did, to remove unforgiveness from the base of the tree and the valley of the mountain. If we are not willing to forgive those that have hurt us, God will not forgive our offenses. (Mark 11:24, 25) It is astonishing how many Christians are harboring negative feelings against other Believers. There are Christians who have left churches because they could not stand to worship with their offenders. How can we overcome problems in our lives, when we have not learned to forgive each other? When are we going to put down our stones and walk away from judging? When are we going to get serious about being a Believer? To get rid of the fig tree, we must first get rid of our lack of forgiveness! If we delay our forgiveness, the fig tree will turn into a mountain. The gateway to the supernatural is through forgiveness of one another. The door to victory is through forgiveness. When we learn these Truths, the “sea” should be filled with our discarded problems.
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