mak 11:20-26 sermon

intro: The story of the withered fig tree we will be reading is not a simple miracle rather it was a parable in life Christ was trying to teach his disciples {true faith ,proper prayer,forgiven and forgiving heart }Jesus is exposing not emotional and outward faith but one rooted in trust inGod and shaped by his grace this passage asks the question is our faith rooted or mainly leafy and looks alive. 

Sermon Title:Where is your faith rooted?

Text: “As they were passing by in the morning, 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 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 to 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 ‭11‬:‭20‬-‭26‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

Main Idea:Saving faith rests wholly in God, expresses itself in believing prayer, and reveals itself through a forgiving heart.The withered fig tree (v. 20-21) serves as an object lesson, like the temple cleansing, showing the judgment on spiritual hypocrisy and lack of genuine spiritual fruit despite outward show, a theme MacArthur connects to the nation of Israel. 

Point 1: Saving faith rest in God alone not religious appearance 

Scripture: v(20-21)

Meaning : Though the fig tree appeared to have life it bore no fruit this is an example of hypocritical religion. Christ's curse wasn’t impulsive but judicial. Israel had forms of worship but lacked repentance and faith. The lesson God judges fruitlessness you can have all the credentials whatever and on judge he can say depart from me I never knew you.

Application: is your faith rooted in Christ? Or merely tradition does not simply rest in attendance theology or moral reform. Is there any evidence of repentance in my life? True faith produces fruit because it comes from the Holy Spirit. 

Key point : outward professions are not equal to inward regeneration. You can look clean on the outside but you can be evil as can be on the inside. Not bearing fruit shows lack of true faith. 

Point 2: True faith trusts God's sovereign power and grace 

Scripture:“v(22-24)

Meaning :. Having faith in God is knowing he is who he says and we are his children we know and trust his character and power. The imagery of faith moving mountains is showing God's power and ability not man's authority. Prayer is effective because it shows God's sovereignty that he’s a genie in a bottle but he does things according to his perfect will.

Application: pray boldly but also submissively putting trust in God when the results are different than what we're expecting. It's a hard pill to swallow but it’s not what we want; everything is done according to his will. Let your prayers show and deepen your dependence on God not entitlement. 

Key points : Faith rests in who God is not what we can achieve. God answers prayer according to his will not our desire prayer is a humble act of dependence on divine sovereignty 

Point 3:Forgiveness shows a forgiven heart. 

Scripture: v(25-26)

Meaning:  Jesus ties forgiveness to prayer not as a condition of justification but as evidence there of. An unforgiving heart is a heart that’s untouched by grace. My favorite quote of this is how can God forgive the worst in you if you can forgive the worst in others. I wasn’t back in church long. God put on my heart to apologize and forgive someone that I knew didn't do anything wrong but we had an altercation and had our outs and Gods like go forgive him and that’s when I heard that quote in another pastor's message. 

Application: Examine your heart. Do you hold bitterness or hatred in it? Remember the immeasurable debt Christ took on to forgive you. Forgive as an act of obedience and let it serve as your witness don’t thing being unforgiving is showing strength it’s withering you away from Christ

Key points: forgiveness flows from grace received not the works we performed. Our unforgiveness will disrupt our fellowship and our witness. It makes you a hypocrite. A harden heart contradicts the gospels profession

Conclusion

Recap: The fig tree warns us against dead faith.

Prayer teaches us dependence on God’s power.

Forgiveness proves the work of grace within.

Where Christ saves, He produces faith, prayer, and love.