Sunday
Morning Bible Study
March 20, 2005
Introduction
People have some silly ideas when it comes to prayer. Some think it’s just a joke.
Illustration
Prayer is not a joke. It’s not a
scam. God hears and answers prayer.
Mark 11:20-26
:20 And in the morning …
morning – proi – it’s
early in the morning, between 3-6 a.m.
:21 Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master …
Last week we talked about Jesus’ grand entrance into Jerusalem
on Palm Sunday with the crowds shouting “Hosanna”. When He came into Jerusalem,
the first thing He did was to go to the Temple
and look around. But He didn’t say or do anything else that day except go back
to Bethany to spend the night.
On Monday morning Jesus got up early and started toward Jerusalem
when He spotted this fig tree. As we mentioned last week, it wasn’t time for the
full figs, but at this time of year there were these small edible buds that
grew on fig trees called the “early ripe fruits”. Because the leaves were
already on the fig tree, there should have been this fruit as well. When Jesus
saw that there wasn’t any fruit, He said, “No man eat fruit of thee hereafter
for ever”.
Why did Jesus say this to the tree? Was He just cranky? No. He said it because
God desires fruit.
We talked about how the fig tree was one of the symbols of Israel.
We talked about how Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem
was His coming to look for fruit.
And on Monday morning, when He didn’t find fruit in the Temple,
He cleaned house – throwing out the merchants who were ripping people off in
the Temple.
What does God desire? God desires fruit. He desires fruit in our lives.
And now on Tuesday morning, this fig tree has completely withered from the
roots up.
:22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
We may be wondering why Jesus cursed the tree, but the response He gives to
Peter has to do with how He did it, not why He did it.
The word for “God” in the Greek tells us that “God” is the object of
“faith”.
We aren’t supposed to have faith in faith, but faith in God.
:23 …say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea
Literally, “be plucked up and tossed
into the sea”
Jesus and His disciples are up in the hills of Judaea.
I would imagine the disciples are thinking of someone picking up the Mount
of Olives and tossing it into the Dead Sea.
:23 and shall not doubt in his heart
doubt – diakrino – “to judge between two”; a divided
judgment, a wavering doubt. James uses this word to describe a person who
“wavers” when he is asking God for something. James says …
(James 1:6) For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven
with the wind and tossed.
:23 …he shall have whatsoever he saith
The one who doesn’t doubt can move mountains.
Lesson
Moving mountains
God will move mountains.
I found it interesting to see that there are a couple of places in
Scripture where it speaks of mountains being thrown down, even thrown into the
sea. Both times are in the future.
During the invasion of Israel
by Gog and Magog, God says there will be an earthquake:
(Ezek 38:20 KJV) …and all the men that are upon
the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall
fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.
During the Great Tribulation:
(Rev 8:8 KJV) And the second angel sounded, and
as it were a great mountain burning
with fire was cast (grk: ballo) into the sea: and the
third part of the sea became blood;
I wonder if someone will be praying when these things
happen. (Note: actually, someone is
praying, see Rev. 8:3-4).
God can move mountains.
After the Babylonian captivity, the people of Judah
returned to the land and one of the tasks before them was to rebuild the Temple
in Jerusalem. Zerubbabel was the
fellow in charge of the project.
(Zec 4:6-7 NKJV) So he
answered and said to me: "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not
by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' Says the LORD of hosts. {7} 'Who are
you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall
bring forth the capstone With shouts of "Grace, grace to it!"' "
For Zerubbabel, the mountain was the humungous task of rebuilding the Temple.
The task wouldn’t be accomplished by Zerubbabel’s might or power. The job
would be done by the Holy Spirit.
And when the last stone was put in place, people will be marveling at God’s
grace.
Are you facing mountains today?
It might be a health issue. It might be finances. It might be a
relationship. It might be a job. It might be your family.
(Psa 97:5 NKJV) The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the
LORD, At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
:24 …What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe …
There’s a command here. We are to believe. We are to trust.
:25 And when ye stand praying, forgive …
There’s another command here. Forgive.
Lesson
Keys to Answered Prayer
Jesus gives some important instruction concerning prayer. But keep in mind
that it is early in the morning and He is with His disciples, not the crowd. He
is not going to give a comprehensive, all-inclusive teaching about prayer, He’s
just talking about a couple of important things. He has been with these fellows
for three years now. They are His disciples. There are quite a few lessons
they’ve learned along the way, things they already have built into their lives.
For a person to say, “The one and only key to answered prayer is faith” is
simply being short-sighted.
1. His will
(1 John 5:14-15
KJV) And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing
according to his will, he heareth us: {15} And if we know that he hear us,
whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
God is not a genie in a bottle who has to do whatever we ask Him to do. He
is God Almighty. He is our Lord and Master.
Even Jesus prayed in the Garden
of Gethsemane:
(Luke 22:42 NKJV) saying, "Father, if it is Your
will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be
done."
A key to answered prayer is asking for the things God wants.
How do I know what God wants?
The best way is to be sure you read His letters to you
(the Bible).
What if I don’t know what God wants?
It’s also okay to pray, “Whatever Your will is” if you
don’t know. But a person praying this in faith is going to give God praise no
matter how it turns out. If you really believe God is going to do what’s best,
then what happens is best.
2. Obedience
It’s much easier to know how to ask according to His will when you are
living according to His will.
(1 John 3:22-23
KJV) And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his
commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. {23} And this
is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ,
and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
When I walk in obedience to God, does He “owe me”? Not at all.
But when I walk in obedience to God, I am learning more
and more what pleases Him.
That means I learn more and more what His will is. I know
what to pray for.
If I goof up and sin, does that mean that God won’t answer any of my
prayers? No. He is gracious. He will answer some of your prayers.
But He wants you to be close to Him. He wants you to know what it’s like
for Him to answer all of your prayers. And you’ll know what to pray for if
you’re walking in obedience.
3. Forgiveness
(Mark 11:25
NKJV) "And whenever you stand praying, if you have
anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also
forgive you your trespasses.
Forgiveness from God
We need God’s forgiveness if we expect Him to listen to
us.
(Psa 66:18 KJV) If I regard iniquity in my heart,
the Lord will not hear me:
Illustration
A concerned husband went to a doctor to talk about his
wife. He says to the doctor, “Doctor, I think my wife is deaf because she never
hears me the first time and always asks me to repeat things.” “Well,” the
doctor replied, “go home and tonight stand about 15 feet from her and say
something to her. If she doesn’t reply move about 5 feet close and say it
again. Keep doing this so that we’ll get an idea about the severity of her
deafness”. Sure enough, the husband goes home and does exactly as instructed.
He starts off about 15 feet from his wife in the kitchen as she is chopping
some vegetables and says, “Honey, what’s for dinner?” He hears no response. He
moves about 5 feet closer and asks again. No reply. He moves 5 feet closer. Still
no reply. He gets fed up and moves right behind her, about an inch away, and
asks again, “Honey, what’s for dinner?” She replies, “For the fourth time,
vegetable stew!”
Sometimes we think God has a problem when the problem is
really ours.
Forgiveness comes when we deal with our sins
(1 John 1:9 KJV) If we confess our
sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness.
To “confess” means
to “agree with”. I must agree with God about my sins. I must agree that my sins
were wrong. I must agree that God wants me to turn from my sins. I must agree
that Jesus has paid for my sins.
He is just to
forgive us because of what Jesus did on the cross. Jesus died in our place. Jesus
paid the penalty for our sins.
He is faithful to
forgive us. We can count on Him forgiving us if we will simply confess our sins
to Him.
Forgiveness towards others
Jesus says that if I don’t forgive others, then God won’t
forgive me.
Jesus told a story (Mat. 18) about a man who owed the king
thirty million dollars. When the man couldn’t pay what he owed, he was going to
be thrown into prison. But the man got on his knees and begged the king for
mercy and the king surprised everyone and forgave the man the entire debt of
thirty million dollars. The next day the man went out and found a fellow who
owed him thirty bucks. When the man couldn’t pay, even though the man begged,
the fellow threw his friend into jail. When the king found out about this, he
threw the first fellow into jail as well.
God’s forgiveness towards us is so huge that it ought to
teach us that we should forgive others as well.
If God has forgiven us so much, how dare we hold something
against another person?
A key to God answering my prayers is forgiveness.
4. Faith
(Mark 11:22-24 NKJV) So
Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God. {23} "For
assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast
into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things
he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. {24} "Therefore I say
to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them,
and you will have them.
It’s having faith in God, not in faith.
Being confident in God. Trusting in God.
It’s not something that you can boast about later saying, “Look what my
great faith did!” But it’s, “Look what my great God did!”
Abraham had this kind of faith when he was given the
ability to conceive a son in his old age:
(Rom
4:19-21 NKJV) And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own
body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness
of Sarah's womb. {20} He did not waver (grk: diakrino) at the promise of God through unbelief, but was
strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, {21} and being fully convinced that
what He had promised He was also able to perform.
He knew God’s will because he had God’s promise.
He didn’t look at his own weakness but at God’s strength.
Got any mountains that need to be moved? Pray.