God Speak
THE MIRACLES OF JESUS
PART 3 – God Speak
The Fig Tree Withered
Mark 11:12-24 NKJV
12 Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. 13 And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 In response Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.”
And His disciples heard it.
Jesus Cleanses the Temple
15 So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 16 And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. 17 Then He taught, saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ”
18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching. 19 When evening had come, He went out of the city.
The Lesson of the Withered Fig Tree
20 Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21 And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.”
22 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.
THREE OBSERVATIONS AND APPLICATIONS:
1. AUTHORITY
Mark 11:14
"In response Jesus said to it, 'Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.'"
Genesis 1:3
"Then God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light."
Principle: God's Word creates
Isaiah 55:10-11
"So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void..."
Principle: God's Word always accomplishes His purpose.
Romans 4:17
"...God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did."
Principle: God speaks according to His intended outcome.
Hebrews 11:3
"By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God..."
Principle: The unseen responds to God's Word.
Proverbs 18:21
"Death and life are in the power of the tongue..."
Application: Our words have influence and should align with God's truth.
2 Corinthians 4:13
"I believed and therefore I spoke..."
2. CLEANSING
Mark 11:17
"My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations."
Psalm 24:3-4
"Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?... He who has clean hands and a pure heart."
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
"Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit..."
Application: We are now God's temple.
2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV
“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
Hebrews 12:1 AMP
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of [a]witnesses [who by faith have testified to the truth of God’s absolute faithfulness], stripping off every unnecessary weight and the sin which so easily and cleverly entangles us, let us run with endurance and active persistence the race that is set before us.”
James 4:8
"Draw near to God... Cleanse your hands... Purify your hearts."
3. FAITH
Mark 11:22-24
"Have faith in God..."
Hebrews 11:1 KJV
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen"
Faith sees before it sees.
Hebrews 11:6
"Without faith it is impossible to please Him..."
Faith is essential to flowing with God.
James 1:5-8 NKJV
5” If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. Faith doesn't waver.”
Matthew 21:21-22
The parallel account says:
"If you have faith and do not doubt..."
This reinforces Mark's account.
John 15:7 NKJV
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you[a] will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”
Faith grows out of abiding in Christ.
1 John 5:14 AMP
This is the [remarkable degree of] confidence which we [as believers are entitled to] have before Him: that if we ask anything according to His will, [that is, consistent with His plan and purpose] He hears us .Faith is confidence in God's will.
Romans 10:17
"Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
Faith is fed by God's Word.
Summary
Authority — Jesus reveals the power of His Word.
Cleansing — Jesus prepares the temple for genuine prayer and communion with God.
Faith — Jesus invites His followers to trust God wholeheartedly and pray with confidence in His promises.