Sermon Tone Analysis

It’s the day after Palm Sunday that Jesus was returning to the city, passing a fig tree along the way.

Wanting a breakfast of figs, He was disappointed; the tree was barren.

To the disciples’ surprise and within their hearing, He cursed it.

The next morning they found the tree withered.

This is our Lord’s only “destructive” miracle, but there were two reasons for it.

The first was as a parable.

The fig tree is a symbol of the Israelites who, despite the loving care of the divine gardener, despite the fact that God wanted to, like a hen, gather them together, they bore no spiritual fruit but withered spiritually in rejecting the Messiah.

The second reason was: Christ was giving the disciples a lesson in faith so that in coming days they themselves would not wither.

On the eve of their greatest trauma, He wanted to teach them to trust God.

We have here:

1.

A Command (v.

22).

Have Faith in God.

Because the Greek is open to it, it can also be translated as: Have the faith of God.

Faith is the answer to our challenges in life.

It puts a little bit of a different twist when we say have the faith of God…God’s faith is complete, God does not doubt.

And we can have faith in God for He never fails.

The opposite of faith is fear and doubt and worry.

A. What do we do when anxious? Have faith in God.

He promises to work everything together for good.

In the Hiding Place about Corrie Ten Boom and her family it was the fact that God has a plan and purpose even in extreme suffering that kept them going during their time in a concentration camp.

It was the knowledge that in the midst of crises there is a Divine Plan working out but we may not always understand it.

It is to be open to God using us as He used the Ten Boom’s to bring many women into the Kingdom of God.

What was her sister’s saying?

‘There is no pit so deep, that God’s love is not deeper still.’

Really, here is the key.

The Ten Booms had faith in God because they knew God.

They knew from their Bibles and they knew experimentally.

It was their living daily faith.

Did this make their circumstances change immediately?

No.

But they saw God at work.

And eventually their circumstances did change but only after they lived to see God at work in the circumstances.

B. What do we do when disappointed?

Have faith in God.

He promises to bring good out of bad in the lives of His children.

C. What do we do when angry? Have faith in God.

He promises to settle scores on our behalf.

It is God who justifies.

We trust God to sort out the injustices, not try to sort them out ourselves.

D. What do we do when impoverished?

Have faith in God.

He promises to meet every need.

A key promise in the Bible which is conditional upon obeying is:

A Scottish missionary to China named George Duncan, a friend of Hudson Taylor, found himself stranded without money for an extended period in the region around the city of Nanking.

There were two banks there, but both closed, leaving no way for the China Inland Mission to get money to Duncan.

But as the missionary studied his Bible, the Lord gave him a verse of Scripture—Psalm 37:3: “Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed” (KJV).

That verse came to Duncan so powerfully that he had absolutely no worry about his provision, but his Chinese cook and assistant became agitated.

“What shall we do when the money is all gone?” he asked.

“Do?” the missionary responded, “Why, we will trust in the Lord and do good.

So shall we dwell in the land and be fed.”

The China Inland Mission was desperately trying to get money to Duncan, but it was the dry season and the water level was so low on the rivers that travel was difficult.

Finally the day came when all the money was gone and the cupboard was bare.

Duncan, unruffled, went out to preach that morning as usual, telling his cook, “Let us trust in the Lord and do good.

His promise is still the same.”

That evening as he returned home, hungry and exhausted, his cook ran out to meet him with the exciting news that a CIM representative had finally arrived with money and the needed provisions were available.

Duncan just took it in stride.

Putting his hand on the man’s shoulder, he said, “Did I not tell you this morning it is always all right to trust in the living God?”

This for me is something that gets me through life.

God has always provided not only for what I need but sometimes even for those things my heart has been set on.

God is to be trusted and we can rest on Him.

Only let us seek first His Kingdom and Righteousness.

E. When facing sickness or death?

Have faith in God.

He gives eternal life.

Every time someone is sick there are always Christians around who want to condemn you for not having enough faith.

Or even think that whenever something doesn’t go our way including sickness that we are out of God’s favour.

God is not a vindictive God with His hand against us but He wants to bless us.

Again it is about trusting God for the outcome knowing that He has a plan even if we cannot see it or understand it and may never do.

Just yesterday whilst walking Ethan, our dog, a sparrow fell to the ground right in front of me.

It must have been sick and it stayed there until I returned 5 or so minutes later before flying off and falling again.

It is impossible for something like this to happen and not be reminded of what Jesus said in:

Not one falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will and consent and knowledge.

There is not one sparrow that the Lord does not know about.

He knew about the one that fell to the ground yesterday and it happened with God’s knowledge and consent and will.

Was God vindictive to that sparrow?

No.

But through it reminded me that God knows about everything and everything happens for a reason either by a deliberate act of His will or by His consent.

Nothing happens without Him knowing about it.

That does not mean that any of the bad things that have happened was because God did it.

That’s not right, for we are in a sin-sick world.

But whatever has happened God cares for you and in some instances this may mean we take comfort in the fact that God is a God of justice and will recompense one day any who did you harm.

Sometimes God uses sickness to bring us back to Him if we are out of fellowship…if that is the case it is easy enough to return to Him.

But the result of all sickness is that we should draw nearer to God.

At least, let this be what happens when we are laid low as sometimes we will be.

But what if we are facing death?

Then we have the hope of the most hopeful people on the planet.

We have been given eternal life.

We are just passing through.

Heaven is our home.

It is there that we are truly citizens.

F. When lonely?

Have faith in God.

His presence is near.

Indeed this can be the lot for people.

God has designed us to be in families.

There is the family of God which we should not neglect.

But God Himself is present with us each, individually:

The command then is to have faith of God and faith in God.

[Left out due to time constraints in service:

2. A Truth (v.