And Jesus answered saying to them, “Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.” Mark 11:22-24.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
The more you walk with Me and submit to My Word the more you will experience and know that I do work all things together for good for those who love Me and are called according to the purpose. What purpose? Of bringing Kingdom living to earth. A life of shalom and all headed home to My everlasting arms.
But even now, if you draw close to Me, I will draw close to you and I will hold you. And how do I hold you? With My left hand under your head and My right hand embracing you. Songs of Songs 2:6; 8:3. And wealth and riches are in My left hand and in My right hand is long life, eternal life. Proverbs 3:16. So My left hand is held under your head to impart how to profit and increase, “Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go.” Isaiah 48:17. And “But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.” Deuteronomy 8:18. And healing and health for your body are in My right hand that is embracing you. My Words are life to those who find them and health to all their body. Proverbs 4:22.
Have faith in Me and act on that faith. Expect Me to help you. Faith without works is dead. What are the works of faith? Like Me, I speak those things that be not as being and they manifest. I call things in. I called Abraham the “Father of Many Nations,” and he believed and so he became.
To walk in victory you have to speak to things and this is exercising your faith. “The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would obey you.” Luke 17:5-6. And today we consider the next miracle of Jesus recorded in the gospel of Matthew and it all came about because Jesus spoke to a fig tree. And He did it to teach you how to speak to those things that hinder your path to your destiny.
This miracle takes place after much teaching and preaching and then after Jesus’ amazing entrance into Jerusalem with palm branches being spread before His path as He fulfills the prophecy of Zechariah: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Zechariah 9:9. And it is after that the miracle of the barren fig tree takes place. Jesus used it for teaching about how faith works to His disciples, and it is recorded for you as well. It is in the gospels according to Matthew and Mark. Luke discusses the teaching but in another context, that is, in the context of the boy who had the seizures and fits that Jesus healed.
We will consider primarily the account of Mark for it is the most complete in details.
Right after He entered Jerusalem mounted on the donkey’s colt, Jesus came into the temple; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late. Mark 11:11. On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. He answered (apokrinomai: to answer) it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening. Mark 11:13-14.
Jesus found a fruitless fig tree that was appearing fruitful by its covering of leaves and I tell you that He “answered” it. The doubts, the unfruitful thoughts, the evil things that the devil sends and puts in your way you must answer. You must curse them at the root so that you will never eat that fruit again. Fruit of depression, fear, gluttony, depression, and the like, you must curse at the root and cut down those trees so that they never try to take over your life and the lives of others again.
Jesus answered the tree and went on. He did not stand there to see if what He said worked. He knew My Word and He knew how to exercise His faith. He never spoke anything except what I told Him and never did any work I had not showed Him to do. Obedience makes for confidence. If you want to be confident at all times just be obedient to My Word at all times. Consult Me constantly (that is prayer without ceasing, 1 Thessalonians 5:17). He had released His faith by speaking the Word and that was enough to manifest the result.
Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves; and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple. And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a robbers’ den.” The chief priests and the scribes heard this, and began seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching. Mark 11:15-18. Jesus had looked around the day before and that night He had consulted Me about it and heard what to do. The next day He executed My Word in perfect faith. Do not undertake projects until you have consulted Me and until you have heard from Me.
And I do not overlook when you turn My house into a commercial enterprise for profit. My house should be filled with worship and the sharing of the Word which brings prosperity, health, and grace in each member as they grow up to full maturity in Christ. The shepherds should not be getting fat off the sheep, they are to be serving the sheep who in turn give tithes and free will offerings to enrich the lives of the shepherds but the harvest of which come back to bless the sheep by opening the windows of Heaven to them and rebuking the devourer. They should be fed and led.
After cleaning out the temple, Jesus taught the people there for the rest of the day. At evening He has His disciples went back to Bethany, which is very close to Jerusalem, and is the home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus.
In the morning they again headed to Jerusalem. They took the same route they always had. As they were passing by, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. Being reminded, Peter said to Him, “Rabbi, look, the fig tree which You cursed has withered.” And Jesus answered giving them the heart and center of exercising your faith, “Have faith in God.” Mark 11:22. That is where it all begins. Faith in Me which means faith in My Word. Complete trust with no doubts that My Word is truth and there is no other absolute truth. Also, I am telling you that your faith rests on My Word, if it is contrary to My Word you cannot stand on it for results. It must be in keeping with My Word, which contains My faith for the result you seek.
“Have faith in God” can also be stated as “Have the faith of God,” which is contained in My Word. And the way I exercise My faith is in speaking the Word of the result I have envisioned, such as “Light be,” and light was.
And then I tell you what to speak. “Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him.” Mark 11:23. You must speak to whatever is blocking your way to the promise in My Word and take it out of the way, whether it be a mountain of pain, illness, debt, doubt, shame, guilt, addiction, or a host of other things that the devil throws up as road blocks. You must answer the opposition directly, like Jesus did with each thought the devil threw at Him. Jesus checked each one and banished Satan with checkmate. WHEN THE MOUNTAIN GETS IN YOUR WAY AND BLOCKS YOUR MIRACLE SPEAK TO IT! That is what Jesus did to the fig tree and it withered from the roots. Speak the truth of My Word to every symptom of illness, pain, or lack that springs up in your way because Jesus bore your illness and pain and lifted it off you and His death on the cross redeemed you from the curse of the law (sickness, poverty and eternal death).
And once you have rebuked the mountain and dissolved it into the sea (molecules and miracles), you must pray to heal the damage done or to call in the funds, “Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.” Mark 11:24. This is the prayer of faith. No anxiety just reliance on what I promised I will perform if you just believe and receive. No begging is necessary when you know what I have already freely given you in Christ. All My magnificent promises are “yes” to you in Him. You merely need to receive them with gratitude and trust.
If you feel you have been doing this but somehow your miracle is not manifesting, you need to check one thing. Jesus told you, “Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.” Mark 11:25-26. Unforgiveness can block your reception of your miracle. You may be wondering however that since I have already put all your sins on Jesus and punished Him for them so that whosoever calls upon His Name is saved how it is I would no forgive you? Well, the answer is that in My Word and I tell you that the standard of judgment you use I must use back on you. This is a spiritual law that cannot be broken. I forgive you and everyone, for Christ paid the ransom for ALL, by the blood of Jesus as propitiation for your sins. Whether you personally receive this or not is up to you, but it has been paid so sin is not the issue it is your reception of His atonement that determines your entrance to My Kingdom. However, if you do not forgive others as I forgive you, that is, knowing that His blood not only atoned to Me but also to you for all sins committed, then your standard is that the blood of Jesus is not enough. I must then use that same standard on you. It is in your best interest, if you want miracles, to forgive or the line of connection, that is, of transport of the power to you constricted and shut. If you want the flow of grace you must agree with Me by accepting the blood as atonement for sin.
And actually, Jesus had told the disciples this same principle of faith in context of epileptic boy: when the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not drive it out?” And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.” Matthew 17:17-20.
And Luke records the same concept but does not include the miracle of the fig tree. “The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would obey you.” Luke 17:5-6.
I love you. “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. And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” Matthew 21:21-22. Don’t just talk about the mountain in your path, rather, speak to the mountain and tell it just what to do. And this applies to every trial in your life. You have to ANSWER IT AND THEN CAST OUT THE DEMON BEHIND IT. And then pray to Me with confidence for the healing of the damage it has caused. And ALL of this should be done with Me in prayer. Do not speak until you have found in My Word, by the direction of My Spirit in you, just what to say that will effect the change you desire.