Gtcotr/ss030721
Mark 11 NKJV
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.
25 “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.
You have been given the opportunity to move mountains. Faith is a force and like most everything else God makes, faith is designed to grow. When you exercise your faith, it will grow. And by the way …
Having faith in God is not the same as having faith in your faith.
God is not held hostage by your faith. The giver is greater than the gift.
Some Believers have abandoned faith pursuits because the way they tried it didn’t work. Faith is based on relationship. Faith is trust. Trust in God … Trust in the Truth. Faith is not a get out of jail free card and is it mind over matter. Although positive thinking is generally better than negative thinking, positive thinking will not quench the fiery darts of the enemy or cultivate miracles. Faith will! Faith in God, not faith in faith.
Faith is trusting God:
·
Both
when we know His will, and when we don’t …
·
When
we see His hand, and when we don’t …
· The scriptures are plain.
Hebrews 11: 6 But without faith it is
impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He
is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Jesus encourages His followers to have faith in God. Have the God kind of faith. Jesus wants us to, and expects us to, move mountains by faith.
This week in Arizona I heard a lady say: “When Jesus is misrepresented, He will be rejected.” We share the real Jesus with real people who are facing real life situations and need faith.
·
Faith
is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen …
(Hebrews 11:1)
·
Faith
is like a mustard seed … (Luke 13:19; 17:6)
· Faith is designed by God to grow … given the chance in your life, it will! It will grow larger than anything else! (2 Thessalonians 1:3)
However, we are not talking about faith today. I believe the Lord wants us to have faith, and I believe we move mountains, but for today’s message, I believe Jesus wants us to look beyond faith for just a moment and focus our attention on a higher priority … something even more important than moving the mountains in our lives.
Many times when this passage is read, quoted, or preached, it concludes with an admonition to have faith in God and command the obstacles that stand in your way to be removed. That is of course a great and accurate message. However, you may note that Jesus was not finished with His fig tree explanation when He told the disciples they too could pray and move mountains. Jesus wanted to go a little deeper and make it a little more personal for them before concluding His lesson. Jesus told them:
Mark 11
24 “Therefore I say to you,
whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them,
and you will have them.
25 “And whenever you stand
praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in
heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.
26 “But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”
This verse is not talking about salvation. Let me be clear. Salvation is a work of grace.
It is evident however that our unwillingness to forgive others when they trespass against us in some way limits God’s willingness to forgive us when we trespass against Him.
As long as the conditions of life remain here on earth, we will find it necessary to forgive others their offenses from time to time whether great or small. Jesus mentioned this during His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6 while He was teaching the multitudes how to pray. Immediately after the most familiar part, “Give us this day our daily bread” … Jesus said:
Matthew 6 NKJV
12 And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
14 “For if you forgive men
their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15 “But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
Once again, this should interest us to consider that - Somehow our unwillingness to forgive others limits God’s willingness to forgive us.
It is therefore critical we forgive others. Critical to us, not to them. People can live a good life here on earth and, if they are saved, go to heaven singing Hallelujah with or without your forgiveness. When we forgive others, it sets us free, and it pleases God. When we forgive others, whether small trespasses or great, we put God in the driver’s seat and remove ourselves from the self-elected judge over our neighbor.
Forgiveness does not mean “I like you” or, “I agree with you” or “It’s ok.” And “I forgive you” does not mean, “Forget about it.” Forgiveness is a God quality we can cultivate in our own lives which makes us more pleasing to God. And remember:
Forgiveness is the measure of the person who is forgiving, not the person being forgiven.
Forgiveness is the measure of God in you.
The message is clear throughout the Gospels: Jesus wants us to forgive others, just like He wants us to move mountains. But don’t’ be confused. Just because you forgive someone does not mean everything is automatically ok between you and them. But it does mean that when we forgive others, everything is ok between us and God. Just realize …
There is a difference between forgiveness and restoration.
Sometimes
people confuse elements of truth and end up misrepresenting Jesus. We should be
cautious to not confuse or mistake:
·
Opinion for Truth
·
Lust for Love
·
Complaint for Prayer
·
Fear for Faith
·
“Excuse me” for “Forgive me”
·
Sacrifice for Obedience
·
Money for Success
· Forgiveness with Restoration
You can forgive a person and never choose to be in business with them again. You don’t have to trust someone just because you forgive them!
“I forgive you” means, “I don’t want you to go to hell over this and I don’t want to live in hell over this either. So, I forgive you and put you in God’s hands – hope you straighten up.”
Jesus was encouraging us that before we try to move the mountains that stand around us, we need first address the mountains which have taken root inside us. This is where faith can move the biggest mountains.
“First clean the inside, and the outside will be clean also.” (Matthew 23:26)
What
are my Take-a-Ways from the message today?
1.
When Jesus is misrepresented, He will be
rejected.
2.
Forgiveness is the measure of God in me, not the
measure of the person I’m forgiving.
3. Our faith-filled words can move mountains, even in us.
