Figs and Faith
Notes
Transcript
Opening:
Good morning again Connection Church! I am so happy that you are here. It is so vital that we gather together. It is a blessing to be able to gather together and worship the Lord our God! I am so happy that we can gather together. It is a great privilege to be back behind this sacred desk.
Introduction of the Text:
This morning we are back in Matthew. We will be handling our next difficult passage. Matthew 21:18-22. This morning we are looking at Jesus cursing the fig tree. Many scholars have objected to this passage. Skeptics and critics love to point to this passage and criticize Jesus. Many have pointed to this passage and accused our Lord of having a temper tantrum resembling that of a two year old. They point to this passage and make claims that Jesus is wrongfully angry. In this passage, Jesus again shows His authority over nature. But this time, He does not bring peace. Instead He brings death. Jesus shows His power to curse nature and see it wither and die.
This is a passage that many just avoid. They prefer to skip it. But we won’t do that. We will dive into the text and search out it’s meaning. We will not avoid the difficult passage, but will seek to learn from it. Last week we covered Jesus cleansing the temple. That was also a hard passage. But as we study this text, I believe the meaning of what Jesus is doing will begin to become clear.
This passage is also widely used to justify the word of faith doctrine. It is used to claim that Jesus has given us a blank check if we only have the faith. We can have anything we want if we just have enough faith. But is this the meaning of the text? We do not want to read a meaning into the text. We don’t want merely our idea of the text. We want to know what the text really means. So today, let us examine this text that has been avoided and misused by so many. Let us look into this great and powerful word that God has given to us.
With this in mind, let us read the text. Stand with me for the reading of God’s Word.
Reading of the Text:
THE BARREN FIG TREE
18 Now in the morning, when He was returning to the city, He became hungry.19 And seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He said to it, “No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.” And at once the fig tree withered.20 And seeing this, the disciples marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither all at once?”21 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen.22 And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
Behold, The Word of God.
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, we come to you today humbled and honored that we can gather in your presence. Thank you for the many blessings we have in you. We know that you are the giver of all good things. You have blessed us with so much. So we thank you. We praise you for all the good things you have given.
Lord, you have also comforted us when we are hurting. You have given us comfort and love. You are gently with the lowly. You do not break the bruised reed. You do not quench the smoldering wick. Those of us who are bent and almost extinguished are shown such love from you.
Lord, you have also violently driven our hypocrites and thieves. Help us not to prop up some imagined view of you. Lord, keep us from making some made up image of your character. We want the real you. We don’t want a false view of you. May we lean in to your love and your anger. May we prize your care and your violence. May we see the real you. Lord, let us look at the text today and accept who you are. For you are Lord. You are God. You are great and good. You are Lord of all. You sit enthroned over every king. You sit enthroned over every lord. You sit above every president, congressman, senator, judge, and dog catcher. May we submit to you above all else. May we obey and you and may we call other to obey you. We ask this in Jesus name, amen.
Opening Illustration: Grandma’s Crab Apple Tree.
When I was growing up, my grandparents lived in Belle Fourche. In their yard was a small crab apple tree. It was a standard crab apple tree. There was nothing extra ordinary about it. It was like most trees in our area of the world. The leaves fell in the fall. It remained leafless through the winter. In the spring, it would bud and flower. It would then grow leaves and then small crab apples. We never did anything with those small apples, but they did attract the deer. Every year, it was the same. Spring brought blossoms, Summer brought leaves and fruit, Fall brought falling leaves, winter brought nothing. Year after year after year. I loved that tree because it was the prefect climbing tree. As a kid, I would go outside and climb up into that tree. I would play many games. Often I was an explorer in an unknown land. Other times I was a soldier. It was a great time! But sadly, that old crab apple tree slowly died. It began to rot in the middle and over several years, it began to die. It was a slow process, and eventually it was cut down. The death of the fruit tree took years. It was slow and finally resulted in us cutting it down.
Transition:
Why do I bring this up? Because in this passage we see Jesus curse a fig tree. We don’t have fig trees around here but a fig tree is a fruit tree. It produces figs. But when Jesus curses the fig tree, it follows His command and dies. However, it died in a very unique way. It was not a slow process. It just died. Jesus cursed it and death came upon it. This should alert us to the nature of this text. It should intrigue us and draw us in. What was the purpose of this? Why did Jesus do this? I think passages like this are not just hard, but are interesting. I think it peaks our interest. But just as with last week, let’s not rush in to the question of why just yet. Let’s establish what happened. There will be some rabbit trails, but let’s look at the first section of this passage. The cursing of the fig tree.
The Cursing of the Fig Tree.
The Cursing of the Fig Tree.
Verses 18-19 say 18 Now in the morning, when He was returning to the city, He became hungry.19 And seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He said to it, “No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.” And at once the fig tree withered.
We see Jesus returning from Bethany in the morning. If you remember from last week, Mark’s gospel gives us slightly more detail on this passage. Matthew puts several events into one day. Mark’s gospel lets us in on the fact that this event actually happened in two sections. Jesus entered Jerusalem, went to the temple, but since it was late, He and disciples went back to Bethany for the night. The next morning they return to Jerusalem. The cursing of the fig tree happens on their way into the temple. Then Jesus cleanses the Temple, returns to Bethany. Then as they re-enter Jerusalem they see the withered fig tree. There is no conflict. Matthew is simply condensing the account. Matthew is emphasizing the event by showing it all at once. There is nothing wrong with this, nor is it conflicting to Mark’s account.
Transition:
But before we move on, I wonder if you noticed something very important in the opening of this text. What if I told you that there were three words here in this verse that were very important to refuting several ancient heresies? Three words that helped to tear down the heresies of Docetism and Apollinarianism. what are those three words? “He became hungry.”
“He Became Hungry”
“He Became Hungry”
Explanation:
Here comes the inevitable internal groan of “Who cares?” What does it matter what some old ancient heresy says? Well, it matters first because God addresses it in His Word. Secondly, it matters because it relates to the nature of Jesus. Third, it matters because many old heresies have been coming back and haunting the church like a mummy. It is important that we recognize the truth of the Word of God. It is vital that we understand the nature of who Christ is. It protects us to know what these false teachings are.
So what is so important about the fact that Jesus ate food? Well, there were a group of people who claimed to be Christians who were known as the Gnostics. These people claimed to have secret knowledge given to them by God. They claimed that God was speaking to them and telling them things not contained in Scripture. There were many branches of gnosticism. It branched into multiple heresies. And it quickly became evident that this must be addressed. One of the branches began to deny that Jesus was human. They believed that Jesus was truly God, but they rejected the idea that Jesus was human. They hid this in some almost true statements. They would make statements like “Sin has affected all of nature...” So far so good. “And that means that the physical is fundamentally evil.” Oops, they did a heresy. You see, sin affects all of nature, but the natural world is not fundamentally evil. It is not wicked to be human. All of humanity is radically corrupted by sin, but being human is not one of those sins. It would be true to say “Sin has affected all of nature, and because of sin, mankind is sinful to the core.” Their statement is almost true. It is only a “small” error. What does it matter?
Well, by saying that almost true statement, they began to deny the humanity of Jesus. If it is evil to be human, then Jesus must not be human. He cannot have a human nature, if human nature itself is sinful. See, the truth is that humans are corrupted by the sin nature, but that is different than just being human. Jesus could be truly human because it is not sinful to be human. It is sinful to have a sin nature, but Jesus did not have the sin nature. He was truly good. He was the only good man to ever live. Jesus was a good person, but He was a person. Scripture teaches that Jesus is God. Jesus is truly God. But He is also truly man. And passages like this defend it. Jesus had a real flesh and blood human body. How do we know? He got hungry. Jesus’ real stomach was really rumbling and because of this, He really wanted figs.
Argumentation:
However, perhaps there is still that feeling of frustration. What does this matter? Who cares what some random group says about Jesus? It matters because God has spoken about who He is. We ought to give this the due weight it deserves. If God says something it really matters. Beyond this, if you have a wrong view of Jesus, you may be believing in a false Christ. What does that mean? You have heard me say this many times. A false Jesus cannot save. The Jesus of Mormonism cannot save. They deny that Jesus is truly God. Same goes for the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Same goes for the Jesus Islam. These are false Christs. They have no power to save. They are not the one true God. They are not the one true savior. It is the equivalent of naming your pet rock Jesus and hoping it saves your soul from hell. Good luck. The only hope is found in the one true Jesus Christ, Lord of all. The one true Jesus Christ who is truly God and truly man.
He is truly God, therefore He can stand before the Father. He is truly man, therefore He can pay the debt we owe. This is no mere pointless debate. As God, Jesus cannot die. If He were not truly man, He could not die in our place. Since He is truly man, He can die for our sins. He can pay our debt. Since He is truly God, He can atone for us. This is no mere trivial matter.
But why do I emphasize this? It may seem like a mere rabbit trail, but I believe it is important to see that these issues are important. These three words are vital to a proper understanding of the nature of who Jesus is. Every word of Scripture matters. It is vital. It is not a small thing. It is also important for us to think about these matters. We must wrestle through these things and come to the text seeking real answers. This is vitally important because the difference between heresy and truth is often a small one. A word here or there can have horrible impacts. It is the difference between Jesus is God and Jesus is almost God. The adding of that one word changes everything.
The details of the text are important. Pay attention to them.
Transition:
Since the details of the text are so important, let’s get back into examining them. Let’s skip off of our very important rabbit trail and back onto the road of the text. Let’s look at what happened.
What Happened:
Jesus and the Disciples are heading back into Jerusalem. They are returning to the Temple. On the way, they come across a lone fig tree by the road. Jesus was hungry, so they walk up to the tree. When they arrive they discover the fig tree had leaves, but no figs.
The Tree Had Leaves, But No Figs.
The Tree Had Leaves, But No Figs.
Any of us would read this and see nothing abnormal about this. So what? What is so important about the fact that the tree had leaves but no figs? Our confusion is compounded when Mark’s gospel tells us that it was not even the season for figs. It was not fig season, so why is it recorded as if it were surprising not to find figs? More than that, why did Jesus react so harshly? Because that is what we see next. We see the anger of Christ.
The Anger of Christ.
The Anger of Christ.
When they approach this fig tree with leaves but no figs, Jesus becomes angry. He curses the fig tree. He says “No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.” This is harsh statement. And Matthew tells us that at once the fig tree withered. This raises even more questions. Not only are we wondering what the big deal about leaves are, why Jesus was so angry; but now we are also wondering how to mesh the accounts of Mark and Matthew. Mark puts a full day in between Jesus’ curse and the withering of the tree. Matthew uses the words “at once.”
This seems to be as far as the skeptics go. They seem sufficient to ask the questions and pretend that since there are questions, our faith must crumble at its seems. Any analysis of this shows that is the tactic of fools. A fool asks a question without seeking an answer. We ought to encourage the asking of questions. it is a good thing to ask questions! But the point of asking a question is to find an answer. I know, that is not a very progressive idea. Contrary to the post modern thought, the point of question is not the question, it is the answer. I love questions. I want to encourage you as much as I can to ask your questions! We as a church do not judge you for your questions. Please ask your questions if you have them. But when you ask them, we will seek the answer from God’s Word. What has God said? We will seek the answer from context. We will use the brains that God has given us, and we will seek out the answers.
So let’s look at those questions. What is the big deal about the leaves and no fruit? Well, we may be very confused by this, but a first century Jew in the Palestinian area would have understood this instantly. We are a different climate and we do not have any fig trees. Fig trees are different than the trees we have. My grandma’s crab apple tree or my parents two regular apple trees produce fruit once a year. Normally end of Summer or beginning of Fall. If I were to say that Tom and Sally went to the orchard in September but were shocked because there were no apples, we would understand. So how do fig trees work? Fig trees are different. They bare fruit several times a year. They begin in the Spring and have a second harvest in the Summer and again in the Fall. Normally they have three harvests a year. Sometimes they will have even more. Some fig trees bear fruit early or late. So one can get fresh figs year round. This is why they are so vital to the agriculture there.
But Mark tells us that it was not the season for figs. So why did Jesus expect figs? It is clearly before the Spring season. Here is the next interesting thing about fig trees. The fruit comes in before the leaves. So a fig tree that has full leaves in the Spring ought to have fruit. The leaves are a sign of the fruit. A tree that has leaves but no figs is a barren tree. It is obvious why we would not understand the statement about the tree having leaves but no figs, but like I said, a first century Palestinian would immediately understand.
This also in part explains Jesus’ curse. The tree was showing signs of fresh figs but was barren. It was claiming to have fruit, but it had none. It was a hypocritical tree. And here we may begin to see why Jesus did what He did. But before we do that, let’s look at that last obvious question this passage raises. Why does Matthew indicate the tree withered all at once while Mark puts a day in between? This again is not too difficult to answer. Mark kept these particular events in order of occurrence while Matthew sought to clarify them by keeping them together. Truly the tree did whither at once, but the disciples only noticed it the next morning. Beyond this, remember my story of the crab apple tree? It died, but it took years. Trees take a long long time to die. But this one died and completely withered within a day. That is at once. There is no conflict here.
Transition:
But now let’s go back to the why. We have established what happened. We have even answered questions from the context. But now lets look at why this happened.
Why it Happened:
What is so significant about this event? I think that it is clear that there is more happening here than meets the eye. Jesus just cleansed the temple. He flipped tables. He drove people out with a whip. Now He has shown His authority over nature in a new way. He has cursed a tree and it died. There is clearly some subtext happening here. This is clearly pointing to something larger. We will encounter this feeling many times in the coming passage. If you will recall, we took a break for a few weeks from Matthew before my son was born and all the hospital visits. The reason was because the passages following the triumphal entry are deep and difficult passages. I needed time to study and read and dive deep into them. They must be understood in light of the historical context. In the coming passages we will see Jesus pronounce curses and woes on the Pharisees and Israel. We will see Jesus prophesy about the destruction of the temple and dark things. This must be correctly understood.
What is happening is the ending of one age and the beginning of another. The Old Covenant is being fulfilled. The sacrificial system will be completed and set aside. Worship in the temple will end and move into the church. This is a tumultuous time. Think of all of the signs that God built into the sacrificial system of the Jews. Every one of those were to point to Jesus. What a massive event it is that the one that all this was pointing to had come. This is a shift on the cosmic scale. We so often take this for granted because we are on this side of that change. But this was the most pivotal moment in human history. This was quite truly a cosmic change. God had stepped onto earth. But it was more than this. Not only were the signs of the Jewish sacrificial system being completed and fulfilled, but the ones who were steeped in that system missed it. They did not recognize the messiah. They committed a grave and great sin. They rejected the one who was the fulfilment of all that had come before.
This was the true devastation of what was happening in the temple. The Jewish people had missed it. The sacrifices were being made, but the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the World had come. The sacrifice of sheep and bulls was passing away for the one true Sacrifice had come. The symbols were passing away. The real had come. The sin was great. The temple became a marketplace. The true religion was upheld but some, but they were in the minority. It was a dark time. No prophets for four hundred years. They were waiting. They were enslaved. And the religious leaders had become hypocrites. This was a wicked time. And when the Messiah came one the scene, the Jewish people in large rejected Him. God hardened their hearts so the gospel would go out to the gentiles. But this was their sin. The symbol of the sacrificial system was still in place, but now it was just a shell. It had the pomp of outward religion, but gone was the true religion that God had instituted. They were fruitless trees. They had leaves, but they had no figs. And here is the subtext. Jesus is giving a physical parable.
A Physical Parable.
A Physical Parable.
We are used to Jesus telling parables with words, but this time, He has used actions. This act is linked with the cleansing the Temple. Jesus is pronouncing woe on Israel for rejecting Him. They were the fig tree. The showed the outward sign of faithfulness. They had leaves. They were claiming to be God’s people but their hearts had become hard. They were claiming up and down that they had fruit. They were proclaiming that they were eager for the Messiah but when He came, they rejected Him. This however did not take God by surprise. God had even ordained this hardness of heart. The Pharisees and religious elites were playing their part perfectly. Soon, they would hand Christ over to be crucified. This was part of God’s perfect plan for redemption. This does not negate their responsibility. They did these things. They rejected Christ. They cried out “crucify Him.” The ones who claimed to love God were the ones who cried out for His death. They were responsible for the most wicked act in history.
Jesus’ act here was a foreshadowing of His judgement on the wickedness of the people. In mere days they would say, “His blood shall be on us and on our children!” Little did they know that God would bring about judgement. If only for a time. He would send the gospel to the gentiles until the time is completed. And here is the punishment for being fruitless. But we must not imagine that the danger was only for ethnic Jews of the first century. We must see the reality of Jesus’ warning. We must see the danger of being fruitless.
The Danger of Being Fruitless.
The Danger of Being Fruitless.
Jesus is comparing the state of Israel with the fruitless fig tree. But do you see the warning for us? We are the branch grafted into the tree. We are gentile Christians. In Romans 11 Paul describes us as a branch grafted into the tree. True Israel is the saved. All the saved are true Israel. But think of this, If God punished ethnic Israel for being a fruitless tree, will He spare us? By no means. Beloved, fruitless trees will be cursed. They will dry up. They will be cast into the fire and burned up. This warning is for us as well.
We must examine ourselves. We must look closely at the fruit we bare. Are we barren? Are we showing leaves without fruit? We must look at this closely. We must not abandon this question. We must be willing to look at this and ask it honestly of our individual lives, and our church. I believe it is obvious that much of the church in America is a fruitless tree. There are many fruitful trees, but if we are truly honest, there are many fruitless ones. But it is easy to point fingers. It is easy to say, “They are not bearing fruit!” And honestly, there is a place for that. We ought to call the faithless to repentance. But we must never imagine ourselves to be outside of this question. Repentance begins in our house. Repentance begins here. We must examine our own lives.
Look at your life. Are you a fruitful tree or a fruitless tree? Look at your household. Men, are you ruling your house well? Is your house bearing fruit? Moreover, are you bearing fruit? You cannot be a good lord of the house if you are not bearing fruit. How can your wife follow you if you won’t repent? What do you need to repent of? Do you confess your sins to God? I admit, I was convicted of this. I rarely take time to confess out loud my sins to God. This must change. And men, follow suit. How can you make your house fruitful? Confess your sins. I implore you men in Christ, before you go to bed, pray and confess your sins to Christ. Is your attitude poor? Do you mistreat your wife? Are you angry? Filled with lust? Are you a lier? Are you a drunkard? Are you a sinner? Confess this to God. Before you do anything else pray like this: “God, I am a sinner. Today, I did not love my wife as you command me. Today I looked at other women with lust. Lord, I lied. Lord, I specifically snapped at my wife in a sinful way. I am a sinner. Forgive me. Help me, through your Spirit to rule my house well.” Pray that prayer. Be specific. Men, this ought to start with you. Be good lords over your homes. Do not be tyrants.
Wives, do the same. Pray and confess where you have failed to submit to the husband God has given you. Confess your sins. Repent and ask the Lord to help you grow. Are you filled with gossip? Are you filled with discontent in your homes? Are you a lier? Are you needlessly angry? Are you constantly nagging? Confess this. Pray and be specific about your sins to God. Tell God of your sins. Ask for forgiveness and help. Ask God to sanctify you.
Children, do the same. Confess to God when you are disobedient. This must start in our homes. If we do this, then we will see fruit. Your homes will be conformed to Christ. Your homes will grow fruit. This will not remove the troubles, but you will be amazed. Your tree will grow fruit.
From there is moves into our church. Fruitful families lead to fruitful churches. If every family in this church would confess their sins to God and ask for Him to sanctify them, I cannot imagine what would happen. The beauty of God’s work in you would not stay in these walls. Our church would begin to grow such rich fruit. And from there we would see what would happen.
Fruitful churches lead to fruitful communities. This leads to fruitful businesses. This leads to fruitful city government. This is how we see the great commission accomplished. In short, fear God. This means you must do this in your own life. You must do this in your family. And we must do that in our church. Amen? Our culture hates fruitfulness. We murder our children. We claim men can be women and women can be men, or whatever they want. May we, the people of God be fruitful in this dark land. We the people of God ought not to be bare trees. We ought to have leaves and fruit.
May it be said of us that we have the leaves of outward faithfulness and if you look under those leaves, you will find lush fruit.
Transition:
But if you are paying attention, you will notice that we are not even half way through our verses. We covered verses 18-19. The next three verses seem somewhat disconnected, but I assure you they are not. These next three verses are dealing with the nature of faith Let us continue on and you will see how these are connected.
The Nature of Faith.
The Nature of Faith.
Verses 20-22 say, “And seeing this, the disciples marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither all at once?”21 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen.22 And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
What Happened:
The first thing we see is the disciples are in awe.
The Disciples Are in Awe.
The Disciples Are in Awe.
The disciples are rightly in awe. Jesus cursed a tree and it died. It withered and died in remarkable time. They question Jesus and He gives them a very interesting answer. He tells them that they will do likewise if they only have faith and do not doubt.
Have Faith and Do Not Doubt.
Have Faith and Do Not Doubt.
This is quite the statement. They will do what was done to the fig tree and even cast mountains into the sea. This is quite the promise. Whatever they ask in prayer, they will receive. This is an incredible promise! They will cast mountains around like pebbles! Move over superman, this is a real superpower. Apparently Christians can throw mountains and get whatever they want! Want a million dollars, poof, it’s yours. Want to throw terry peak mountain into a new location. Just say the word. What do you want? Want a new home? Just speak and it will happen. Do you want a new sports car?
A new lifted truck? Clearly you can just say the words in faith and they are yours! Wow, that is incredible.
Likely some of you are rather uncomfortable with me saying that. You feel a stirring in your heart at those words. You feel this red flag going up saying that I am misusing these verses. Good! That stirring is the Holy Spirit. That red flag is waving around for a very real reason. That is clearly not what these verses are saying. So what are they saying? Are they saying that we have a blank Spiritual check that we just need to cash in?
A Blank Spiritual Check?
A Blank Spiritual Check?
Did Jesus give the Apostles unlimited power to get whatever they want? Man, if He did, they failed. Most of these men died in horrific ways after facing torture. They died without a cent to their names. They died with their bodies broken and bleeding. Likely their last breaths were likely ragged through the spitting of blood. So what is this saying? That depends entirely on how we define faith. Sadly, we rarely think about what faith really is. We rarely take serious time and define faith. We rarely look deeply into this concept of faith. So what is faith?
What is Faith?
What is Faith?
It is scary to me how few times I have actually heard faith explained. I grew up in the church and rarely have I heard anyone really explain what it means to have faith. Webster defines faith as “strong belief or trust in someone or something.” But what does that mean? I define faith as “weighted belief.” Faith is belief that is willing to put weight in something. It is willing to put skin in the game. Now, contrary to what some say, faith is not blind. We have good reason to have faith in some people and things. Faith is in fact, evidence based. Faith has evidence behind it. Let me give two examples.
There is common sermon illustration, I have even used it. I honestly have no idea who first used it, but it is not mine. All of you are sitting in chairs. You have the weight of your body in that chair. You are exercising faith in those chairs. You have faith in those chairs to hold you up. This faith is not contrary to evidence. This faith is, in fact, because of much evidence. All of you have sat in many chairs throughout your lives. In fact, most of you have probably sat in those exact chairs before. You have much evidence that the chair you are in will hold you. You have faith in that chair. You have literally “weighted belief” that the chair will hold you.
Now let me give an example near and dear to my life right now. I am away from my wife and Son. They are still in Denver, in the hospital. I am hundreds of miles away. Were anything to happen, I could not get there. But I have great faith in Katharine. I have great faith that she will handle the decisions that need to be made. I have faith that she will take great care of our son. I have faith in this. I have faith that she will make the best decisions for our child. I have faith because I know her. I have weighted belief in her because of her character. I know the wonderful woman she is. I know this more than anyone. I have complete trust in her.
Faith is not a mere emotion. It is not an action, though it involves actions. Faith is weighted belief in someone or something. And faith is not in a vacuum. Faith is directly linked with the object of that faith. I do not have faith in Katharine simply for the sake of faith. I have faith in her for she is worthy of that faith. Her character breeds that faith I have in her. And beyond this, it is tied to her nature. My faith in her is tied to who she is. My faith in her is determined by her. In this way, you can see how my faith in her originates in her, not me.
In a similar way, our faith in God is this way. It is tied directly to who He is. We have faith in God. We have great faith in Him. And this faith does not originate in us. It comes from Him. It is a gift from Him. So, our faith cannot accomplish anything outside of who He is. It is tied to His character and will. It cannot be or do anything outside of who He is. Faith is not a blank emotion. It is not an action, though it leads to action. Faith is weighted belief in Christ.
This is where many go wrong. This is what I was satirizing in my oppening of these verses. This promise is a real promise from Christ. But it is not a blank check to do whatever we want. It is not a blank check from God for a new home, or new cars. It does not mean we can throw a mountain around. It does not mean we have some super power. What does it mean?
It means that the impossible will be possible through faith. Through faith, impossible things happen. Why? Because our faith is linked to God. It is tied to who He is. It is trust in His will. And when we have full trust in His will, we will see impossible things happen. Clearly Jesus is using hyperbole. No Christian in history has ever actually commanded a mountain into the sea. That was and still is a common phrase used for doing the impossible. And it is true because through faith, anything is possible.
But this is not possible because faith changes God. Faith does not change God. It is tied to the fixed character of God. And that never changes. Faith taps us into what God is already doing. It does not change what God is doing. This is why Jesus links this with prayer. Prayer is an incredible act of faith. Faith is us making our cries and praises known to God. He already knows, but we are still to tell Him. Prayer is when we come before God and speak to Him. Prayer does not change God, it changes us! Through prayer we come in line with God’s plan and character. It conforms us to His will. This is why the Christian must pray. One of my favorite quotes on prayer is from C.S. Lewis. He says, “I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn't change God. It changes me.”
What Are We To Do With This:
But what are we to do with this? How do we apply this? I think there are two applications that are obvious. We must have faith in Christ and bear fruit.
Have Faith in Christ.
Have Faith in Christ.
First we must have faith in Christ. The reason Israel was a fruitless tree is because they had works but no faith. They had the actions down, but it lacked genuine faith. The Pharisees are the clear picture of this. They had the outward acts of righteousness down. But they were whitewashed tombs. They were clean on the outside, but inside they were dead men. They had faith in their works. They believed that their works made them righteous before God. That is not how it works. Works of the fruit of faith. They cannot be the object of your faith. It is the exact same as if you have faith in yourself.
No, faith must be found in God. You must lay aside your faith in yourself and trust in God. This is the first step in the Christian walk. But the Christian walk does not only have one step of faith. Every single step must be one of faith. Christianity is consistent faith in God. You do not only trust in Him one time. There is a first time. But then it maintains until the end. You must begin and continue in faith. If you have never placed your faith in Christ, you must do so. I beg you to do so today! But even if you have placed your faith in Christ, you must continue to do so. Carry on in faith. This is the only way to be fruitful. And this is the second application. Bear fruit.
Bear Fruit.
Bear Fruit.
Again comes the question of “What does faith have to do with the fig tree?”
True faith bears fruit. Faith does not come from works. Faith is not a work. Works come from true faith. This is fruit. True faith is life. And from faith comes fruit. Bearing fruit is inextricably linked to faith in Christ. Faith is found in the object of the faith. And faith is the only way to bear fruit. It is faith in Christ that brings life. Faith is the life of the tree. Without faith, you are like a construction paper tree that a preschooler made and stapled leaves on. You have paper leaves and foam fruit. Without faith, you are fake. But through faith in Christ, you bear fruit. Faith is what causes you men to kneel down at night and confess your sins. Faith is what causes us to bear fruit. It is that faith that causes your homes to begin to be fruitful. It is that faith that will lead to our church being fruitful. it is that faith that will grow and bear more fruit. It is the life in the tree that brings true and sweat fruit. May your faith satisfy the desire of our savior. May Christ come to our trees and find the fruit that ought to be there.
In short, submit yourselves to God. Confess your sins to Him and ask Him to sanctify you. Have weighted belief in Christ and then bear fruit in keeping with that faith.
Let’s pray.
Prayer:
Communion:
Now while they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it. And giving it to the disciples, He said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”27 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you;28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.
Closing Hymn:
Closing Benediction:
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy,25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, might, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. Jude 24-25