sf504 - THE HIGHWAY TO HOPE - Something to Consider (Mark 11 12-26)
Mark 11:12-26
INTRODUCTION
Setting
Monday - Three days before Passover
Jesus is returning to Jerusalem from Bethany
He judges Israel’s religion.
Two Acts of Judgement
Curses the fig tree - judges unfruitful religion
Cleanses the Temple - judges unfaithful religion
One Act of Encouragement
Call us to faith - encourages us to pray believing.
1A. JESUS EXAMINES US (11:12-19)
1B. Jesus examines our fruit (11:12-14)
The definite need for fruit - “Jesus was hungry”
He hungers for your good works; he hungers to see you useful. Jesus the King of kings, hungers after your prayers — hungers after your anxieties for the souls of others; and nothing ever will satisfy him for the travail of his soul but seeing you wholly devoted to his cause. (CH Spurgeon, “Nothing But Leaves)
The deceptive nature of false fruit
Ø Where there are leaves there should be life
Ø It had all the external markings of fruit but none of the benefits.
Matthew 7:16-20 (NASB) 16“You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17“So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18“A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19“Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20“So then, you will know them by their fruits.”
The destiny of fruitless trees (11:14, 20)
Matthew 7:21 (NKJV) 21“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
2B. Jesus examines our faith (11:15-19)
Jesus judges our motives
Ø They were motivated by greed.
Ø They had made religion a means to an end
Ø They used religion as a place to hid their sin “den of robbers”
Ø They were looking for what they could get out of religion not what they could give to God.
Jeremiah 17:9-10 (NKJV) 9“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? 10I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.
Jesus judges our methods
Ø They were selling salvation.
Ø They were more interested in profit than prayer
Ø They believed that the ends justified the means.
2 Timothy 2:21 (NASB) 21Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.
2A. JESUS ENCOURAGES US (11:22-26)
1B. Jesus encourages us to pray with faith (11:22-24)
The prayer of faith begins with a proper profession (11:22)
The prayer of faith requires a positive philosophy (11:23)
The prayer of faith results in a powerful proof (24)
Matthew 7:7 (NASB) 7“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
Matthew 18:19 (NASB) 19“Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 21:22 (NASB) 22“And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
2B. Jesus encourages us to practice forgiveness (11:25)
God’s forgiveness motivates us to forgive
Matthew 6:14 (NASB) 14“For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you..
God’s forgiveness mandates that we forgive
Matthew 6:15 (NASB) 15“But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.
APPLICATION
When God examines your life…
Ø Does He find any fruit?
Ø What kind of fruit does He find?
When God examines your heart…
Ø What kind of faith does he find?
Religion without faith and fruit is deadly.
SOMETHING TO CONSIDER
The Highway to Hope – Part 2
Mark 11:12-25
1A. JESUS ____________________________ US (11:12-19)
1B. Jesus examines our __________________ (11:12-14)
The definite ___________ for fruit - “Jesus was hungry”
The deceptive ________________________ of false fruit
Matthew 7:16-20 (NASB) 16“You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17“So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18“A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19“Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20“So then, you will know them by their fruits.”
The destiny of fruitless trees (11:14, 20)
Matthew 7:21 (NKJV) 21“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
2B. Jesus examines our __________________ (11:15-19)
Jesus judges our __________________________
Jeremiah 17:9-10 (NKJV) 9“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? 10I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.
Jesus judges our ___________________________
2 Timothy 2:21 (NASB) 21Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.
2A. JESUS ____________________________ US (11:22-26)
1B. Jesus encourages us to pray with faith (11:22-24)
The prayer of faith begins with a ___________________ profession (11:22)
The prayer of faith requires a _____________________ philosophy (11:23)
The prayer of faith results in a _____________________ proof (24)
Matthew 7:7 (NASB) 7“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
Matthew 18:19 (NASB) 19“Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 21:22 (NASB) 22“And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
2B. Jesus encourages us to _________________________ forgiveness (11:25)
God’s forgiveness ____________________ us to forgive
Matthew 6:14 (NASB) 14“For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you..
God’s forgiveness __________________ that we forgive
Matthew 6:15 (NASB) 15“But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.