Teacher: Pastor Chet Lowe

Main Scriptures: Mark 11, Hebrews 10

Date of Teaching: December 29, 2022

• Mark 11:20-24
  • Fig trees bear both figs and leaves at the same time—but this one only had leaves. Jesus cursed it for its hypocrisy
  • There is a misinterpretation of this text called the faith movement in which we become like God, giving the direction and He becomes like a servant
  • The disciples are still amazed that Jesus’ words have power to affect change
    • They had been with Him for 18 months, had heard every message, learned to pray from Him, etc.
      • Despite all this, they still had a lack of faith in God
        • In God, not our prayer lives, Bible reading, giving, fasting, etc. because that would be the works-based religion of the Pharisees
          • We’ve been saved by grace through faith NOT our works (Ephesians 2:8-9)
        • Disciplines are not the foundation or object of our faith. They are just the means to grow in it
    • Faith in God looks like the bleeding woman in Mark 5:25-34
      • She heard about Jesus, believed what she heard and acted upon what she heard (Hebrews 11:1). Jesus told her her faith is what moved the mountain of her sickness
        • We put our faith in things God has spoken to us (ie: Luke 3:2 > John 1:23)
          • Reading the word has no power on its own (Like Samuel in 1 Samuel 3)
          • God speaking to us in relationship, through the Word, makes the difference to our faith
            • Then we need to act on it!
        • We need to put our faith in God, not our spiritual processes
          • Faith in God involves doing risky and impossible things
• Hebrews 10:38-11:6
  • The fig tree had no will and just had to obey but by faith, people of faith, do what God asks them to do
    • God is the object of our faith—we need to start seeing what we can’t see (John 5:37, 1 John 4:12, 1 Timothy 1:17, 1 Timothy 6:16)
      • Do we believe He can move mountains today?
        • v. 6 Believe that He is (Hebrews 13:8)
          • It’s easy to believe for “yesterday” and “forever” but do we believe in “today?” (Psalm 68:28 NIV, Malachi 3:6)
            • Our disappointment or lack of personal experience makes believing for today difficult
  • Our faith must be in God, not our processes, timing, answers or deliverance
    • Jesus prayed “let this mountain be moved” in the Garden of Gethsemane while He sweat drops of blood, but even then didn’t put His faith in the sincerity of His prayer, deliverance, etc.
    • He put His faith in God because He also prayed “not my will but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42, 1 John 5:14-15, John 14:13-14, John 15:7)
      • God will only move the mountains He wants to, and He still moves them today
• May we have eyes to see by faith what we can’t see with our eyes (2 Kings 6:18)