Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

1. Jesus Cursed the Fig Tree

a.

It was a prophetic object lesson about where hypocrisy leads.

b.

It was a symbol for Israel, they appeared healthy, but they were fruitless.

2. Mark's Sandwich

a. Mark wrapped the two episodes of the cursing of the fig tree and the discovery of the withered tree around his account of Jesus' cleansing of the temple.

b.

His aim was to show that the hypocrisy of the fig tree was evident even down to the heart of Jewish worship, the temple, which the religious authorities had turned into a house of commerce rather that a house of prayer for all nations.

c.

Judaism seemed magnificent, but it was rotten at the core and therefore fruitless.

Have Faith In God

1. Jesus gives his disciples this command "Trust God"

a.

We are to trust God at all times with everything, it's an obligation of every creature made in His image.

b.

Trusting God is a moral, ethical, and spiritual duty, because not to trust God is to challenge the integrity of His Word, His promises, and His character.

c.

It's interesting that this is Jesus' response, to give a command after He curses the fig tree and cleanses the temple.

Maybe His next words provide a clue for us as to why this is His response?

Faith Can Move Mountains

2. The disciples were probably astonished.

a. Jesus has entered the city on a donkey like a king, cursed a fig tree that is now dead, and cleared the temple courts.

I am guessing the disciples are feeling a bit overwhelmed.

So Jesus tells them "Trust God".

b.

They were probably wondering what kind of power was this? and Jesus was giving them the answer, it's the power of faith that makes impossible things possible.

Specifically, faith acting through prayer.

c.

Faith acting through prayer is the kind of faith that can move mountains, then Jesus adds.

d.

This verse has been misused by some to preach a prosperity gospel.

e.

The Bible gives us a wealth of instruction about prayer, repeatedly stressing the importance of trusting God for the answers to our prayers.

Therefore, a statement like this must be understood in light of all of the teachings in the scriptures about God answering prayers.

f.

When you look at prayer in all of scripture, we see that the consistent teaching is that we must pray in accordance with the will of God.

God doesn't will you to be rich, you already are in Him.

God's will is for you to grow closer to Him.

The Relationship of Faith and Prayer

1. Believe to Receive

a.

So what is Jesus saying about the relationship between faith and prayer?

b.

If we fall on our knees and cry out to God, and we give Him the concerns of our hearts, we can know for sure that He hears and He answers, and His answers are always perfect.

c.

But we tend to think that if God does not do what we ask Him to do, He has not answered our prayers.

d.

Lets look at the prayer of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane:

e.

After Jesus prayed this prayer, He was later arrested and put to death on the cross.

Does that mean God didn't answer his prayer?

f.

Jesus prayer is an example of a faith prayer, notice he said "Yet not as my will, but as you will".

In other words this is what I want, but what I truly want is for your will to be done.

Jesus' prayer was answered, God said no because it was His will for Jesus to go to the cross.

g.

Let me give you an analogy from R.C Sproul to help:

Many promises in Scripture assure us as to how God will answer our prayers; we simply need to believe them.

Many years ago, when I was on staff at a church, a woman came to me for counsel because of her unrelieved feelings of guilt over a sin she had committed in the past.

I advised her that she needed forgiveness from God, and the only possible way for her to receive it was for her to repent.

When I told her that, she became irritated.

She said, “I thought you were a theologian.”

She was looking for a technical, sophisticated answer to her moral dilemma, something that she could not expect to find from people in her prayer group.

She said, “I have asked God fifty times to forgive me for this sin, and I’m still overwhelmed by my guilt.”

So I told her she needed to pray one more time and repent of her sin.

At that point, she became very irritated and said: “I have told you that I have asked God to forgive me many times.

I have repented.

Why do I still feel guilty?”

So, I said to her: “Yes, you need to pray for forgiveness one more time, but this time you need to pray that God will forgive you for another sin—your arrogance.”

Of course, she did not understand the point I was making and became even more irate, so I asked her to read James 1:9: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Then I explained to her that she had confessed her sin but she did not feel forgiven because she did not believe God’s promise of forgiveness.

h.

We must learn to trust in God and know that He always keeps His promises!

Then Jesus continues.

i. R.C Sproul give a great discourse of this misused passage:

This statement may sound completely outrageous, but I do not believe that this text or any text in the New Testament teaches that we are obligated to forgive people who sin against us unilaterally without their repentance.

All the New Testament teachings on confronting brothers who sin against us, seeking restitution, carrying out church discipline, and so forth do not mean that if someone harms us, we have to say, “I forgive you,” We may do that, but there is an analogy between our forgiveness of others’ sins and God’s forgiveness of our sins.

God does not forgive us unilaterally; He requires repentance.

But when we repent, He does forgive.

We must do the same.

If someone injures us or offends us, but then he apologizes, confesses his sin, and asks for our forgiveness, we cannot hold a grudge.

If we do, we can expect the same from God. Jesus’ point is that every Christian is to be standing ready at any moment to forgive any offense if the offending person repents.

j.

Forgiveness is part of true freedom.

Scripture doesn't require you to forgive unrepentant offences, but it sure is healthy to learn to let it go.

A Question about Authority

1.

The Question about authority.

a.

This question is still asked today in the church, we actually struggle with authority and try to say no one actually has authority over anyone.

This is a cultural lie that brings deception to the church.

b.

This question of authority was a point of contention throughout Jesus' ministry.

c.

This question of authority should not be a question for believers, all authority lies in Jesus.

d.

Yet, for those who don't yet believe they still question this authority.

e. Jesus puts the question back to them, and they can't answer because they fear the reaction of others.

The religious leaders were set in their belief that Jesus had no authority to preach and do miracles, nothing he could do or say would change this.