False Impressions

"14 Let no one eat fruit from you ever again"                         Mark 11:12-14 & 20-26  NKJV

On the way to the Temple, Jesus was hungry and seeing a fig tree in the distance, made His way over to it. Now this was the Passover season - the middle of April. Leaves were displayed on a fig tree as early as March but usually, figs were not found on the tree until late May - early June. 
Jesus, never the less, approached the tree because it appeared to be displaying fruit. However, when He saw that there was no fruit on it, He said, 'Let no one eat fruit from you ever again. 'It may have been possible that green figs - not ripe - were on the tree but they would have been very unpleasant to the taste. He then carried on with His journey to Jerusalem. The disciples must have been wondering what their Master was doing, they would have known it was the wrong season. What on earth was happening? The fig tree, to Jesus, was presenting an unfulfilled promise, it was a fake impression, promising something it couldn't produce or hadn't produced yet. 

Jesus though, had something that He wanted to teach His disciples. He wished to demonstrate how faith works. He needed to instill in their minds how to live by faith. They'd witnessed Jesus' faith in action; it was now time to teach the men - the men who would be carrying on His work when He ascended into Heaven. 'Have faith in God,' Jesus said, which was similar to what the apostle Paul would later write in 2 Corinthians 5:7, 'For we walk by faith, not by sight.'

Verse 22 talks about a mountain. This is something symbolic, something so big and awesome in our lives that brings fear or concern. A mountain is something that looks impossible to be able to conquer. David was faced with this when he looked at Goliath. He was a mountain of a man - perhaps nearly 10 feet tall. Now that is big, especially when David was only a small guy. He must have looked awesome to David. The Israelites recognised this and wouldn't go near him. David on the other hand was not impressed or frightened. He knew what must be done to stop this intimidation. He also knew that God was with Him. Just one smooth, round stone later and the mountain fell. (1 Samuel 17).

We all face mountains from time to time but with faith in Jesus, we can overcome them. We can tell these mountains to move out of our lives - and they will! The key is believing and refusing to doubt v23. Doubt robs us of our faith. 

If you're going to do something major where faith is concerned, consider not telling anyone; otherwise they may put doubt in your mind, 'Well I don't know about that. God doesn't always do that etc etc.' Keep it to yourself - think big! Think faith! Think Jesus! This was how Smith Wigglesworth worked, 'If God said it, I believe it and that settles it.' Yes, we need prayer back up at times, but details can be kept to yourself. Trust Jesus.

Finally, but very importantly, make sure there is no unconfessed sin in your life and that you hold nothing against anyone, as this could block your faith from working. Then just go and pull that mountain down. I like what Kenneth Copeland says:

"We ought to walk around in faith acting like healing belongs to us (regardless of symptoms to this contrary). We should walk around like prosperity is ours (regardless of the figures in our cheque book). If we'll do that, God WILL get those things to us. It is His Will for us."
                                                  (The Blessing of the Lord (2011) p113 Kenneth Copeland)

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@hotmil.com