Power Through Faith

POWER THROUGH FAITH

Study Text: Mark 11:20-24

And passing on early, they saw the fig-tree dried up from the roots.

Mar 11:21 And Peter, remembering, said to Him, Rabbi, behold, the fig tree which You cursed has withered away.

Mar 11:22 And answering Jesus said to them, Have faith of God.

Mar 11:23 For truly I say to you that whoever shall say to this mountain, Be moved and be cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he said shall occur, he shall have whatever he said.

Mar 11:24 Therefore I say to you, All things, whatever you ask, praying, believe that you shall receive them, and it will be to you.

Introduction:

- Faith in God is something we do not possess naturally, but a gift from God. Eph. 2:8

- God enables us to believe in Him for salvation, then He gives every believer some “measure of faith”, Rom. 12:3.

- That is, God empowers His children to believe Him, to serve Him, to glorify Him through the power of the faith in Him that He gives to us!

- This outworking of faith in God’s people has allowed them to see demonstrations of God’s power that marvel the mind.

- It has allowed them to receive answers to prayers for things that appeared impossible.

- Consider the following:

• Joshua 10:12-14 – Joshua commanded the sun to stand still so Israel could defeat the Amorites.

• Isaiah 38:1-6 – King Hezekiah was told that he would die. He prayed to the Lord and God added 15 years to his life.

• Genesis 22:1-14 – Abraham was told to sacrifice his son Isaac, who was the son of promise. He obeyed by faith and God spared Isaac, providing a ram in his place.

• Joshua 14:6-16 – 85 year old Caleb believed God for the power to defeat a mountain infested with giants. God gave him that mountain.

• 1 Samuel 17:1-54 – A teenage boy named David believed God for the power to defeat a giant named Goliath. God gave him the victory.

• Daniel 3:1-30 – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego believed God to keep them from the power of a pagan king and a fiery furnace. God met them in the furnace and protected them there.

- The passage before us today magnifies the power of faith. On Monday morning of the Lord’s Passion Week, as Jesus his disciples walked toward Jerusalem, Jesus cursed a fig tree, 11:12-14.

- When they passed by the next day, the fig tree was dried up. Jesus uses this experience to teach His disciples a lesson about The Power Of Faith.

- When we exercise faith in God and His promises, we can expect amazing results.

- We shall discuss this topic under three sub-headings

1. The Object Of Biblical Faith;

2. The Opportunities Of Biblical Faith; and

3. The Obstacles Of Biblical Faith.

I. THE OBJECT OF BIBLICAL FAITH

- When the disciples are amazed at the withered fig tree, Jesus simply says, “Have faith in God.”

- The emphasis of that command is that God people should have a deep-settled, consistent, ongoing confidence in Who God is; what God has said; and what God will do.

- It speaks of a constant communion of prayer with God, dependence upon God, and obedience to God.

- When Jesus says “have faith in God”, He is encouraging faith in several aspects of God’s character.

A. In God’s Person

- If you are saved, God is your Father. As your Father, He cares about every need in your life, 1 Pet. 5:7.

- As your Father He invites you to bring your needs, burdens and concerns to Him, Phil. 4:6-7; Heb. 4:16.

- As your Father He desires to open the resources of His kingdom and give them to you, Luke 12:32.

- Our God loves His children and He wants them to come to Him on the basis of simple, childlike faith. Like a child trusts its parents for every need, the child of God can trust the Heavenly Father.

B. In God’s Promises

- When it comes to the matter of faith and approaching God in prayer, the people of God have some very precious promises.

 God invites us to pray to Him – Phil. 4:6; Matt. 11:28; 1 Pet. 5:7.

 God promises to hear us when we prayers – Jer. 33:3; Psa. 10:17; 65:2.

 God promises to answer our prayers – Matt. 7:7-11; Isa. 58:9.

- When it comes to the promises of God, we have the Lord’s guarantee that He will keep every one of them, Rom. 4:21; Heb. 6:18; Num. 23:19.

- By the way, you cannot have faith that God will do something for which there is no biblical promise!