Intro story-old friend
He did a good job pretending to be someone he wasn’t
On the outside he was fake
Up to the point to where it almost cost his life
He began to hang out with a group of guys that were pretty rugged
He started to try to act like them as well
they were kinda hardcore
they would often get in fights
they would talk trash but back it up
It was fun for them
He wasn’t like them, he was soft
One night when he was out by himself, he ran his mouth to the wrong person
He ended up getting stabbed through the stomach
He almost died, he had to spend weeks in the hospital and have many surgeries
All of this was because he tried to act like something that he wasn’t on the outside
But on inside he was deceitful
Matthew 21:18-22
18 Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry. 19 And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away.
20 And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?”
21 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. 22 And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
Jesus had come into the city and the people praised Him saying hosanna, hosanna
Jesus headed to the temple and overturned tables of money changers
He rebuked the people for turning the house of prayer into a den of thieves
He healed the lame and the blind as the chief priests and scribes scoffed
Jesus leaves to Bethany to stay the night and the next morning as he was returning to the city He was hungry
He saw a fig tree full of leaves but no figs to be found
Jesus said “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away.
The withering of the tree was more than just a withered tree
It was a sign to Israel that there was judgement coming to them
As you read the bible sometimes its easy to overlook things the bible is saying
People often read the story about the temple and the withered fig tree separately
But they should be read in context to each other
Everything that Jesus did had a deeper meaning to it
Ive seen people preach this scripture as Jesus being hungry and because there were no figs He was angered
So He curses the fig tree out of a humanistic anger or selfish need because He was hungry
That is inaccurate, it would go against the very teachings of Jesus
Jesus saw the tree full of leaves and knew that it would be a teachable moment to the people
This story is also found in mark 11
And said it wasn’t in season for figs
So why would Jesus go to the tree if it was out of season
Well the fig tree is different than other trees
It grows figs first then the leaves
By the time the tree would be full of leaves it should also be full of figs
Even out of season it could’ve been an anomaly of nature, but the figs should’ve been there
And Jesus knew that
Ezekiel 17:24
24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the Lord, have brought down the high tree and exalted the low tree, dried up the green tree and made the dry tree flourish; I, the Lord, have spoken and have done it.”
Jesus was using this tree as an example of what the Israelite people and pharisees had become
Remember He just rebuked the people in the temple
He was saying the nation had become a tree with huge leaves on the outside but on the inside there was no fruit
The people would confess, we love the temple, we love God, we are children of Abraham
But on the inside they were dead
The outward appearance would look like they abundantly loved God
But they didn’t
They were a greedy people only caring about their own power and selfish ambition
The people were so consumed with themselves that they not only missed their messiah
They crucified Him, they went from Hosanna to crucify Him
There was no fruit to be found. Only leaves
It was fruitless confession to God
And for that they would be destroyed
The withered fig tree was both a miracle and a parable
Matthew 21:20
20 And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?”
Jesus told them that it was possible by faith
He began His answer with the phrase “Assuredly, I say to you
Some versions say truly
Since we have a language barrier and do not fully understand the culture we can miss important phrases
The expression Jesus is using is indicating that Jesus is speaking from the direct authority of God
He wasn’t teaching based on something He learned from another rabbi which was customary
Jesus was drawing from His own divine authority
This is the way Jesus taught, with authority
You see it all through out the Book of matthew
Since Jesus taught this way it amazed the crowds
And it was an offense to the religious leaders
Matthew 7:28-29
28 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, 29 for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Jesus explained His answer that faith enabled Him to wither the tree
And if they have faith and do not doubt they could do even more
Like “say to this mountain and be cast into the sea”
Jesus was likely talking about the mount of olives
A visible mountain they could see
Jesus was not trying to teach them how to do these big miracles, but rather to have faith in God
And they would be able to overcome monumental obstacles in their lives
Because with God all things are possible
What does this mean to you
Make sure you don’t have a fruitless confession
The state of where the church is today is obvious that there are plenty of fruitless confession
The church is almost unrecognizable from even 5-10 years ago
It has become a place of selfish ambition and pandering
It has leaves but no figs
Much like the pharisees and people of Jesus time
There were 400 years between Malachi and Jesus birth
There is no biblical text from this time, 400 years of silence
They passed down religious traditions and ceremonies but their heart was far from the Lord
They honored God with their mouth but the heart was far from Him
Isaiah 29:13
Therefore the Lord said:
“Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths
And honor Me with their lips,
But have removed their hearts far from Me,
And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,
Very similar to where the church is headed
The pharisees taught out of their own desires
Like many pastors and teachers today
They are creating leaves without figs in many people
“Come to Christ, its easy, just a simple prayer”
Then they head back to their old life with no real change, but they said the prayer so they’re good
Unfruitful confessions that the Lord is displeased with
“Come to Christ, His grace will cover your sin
You don’t have to change, let the people do what they want
God is the judge”
The church has allowed a place, where people can attend and on the outside appear to be changed, but their hearts are still wicked
When did the church allow such blasphemies
I will tell you how this happens
Fruitless confessions
With sorrow I will say, I have played a part in leading to fruitless confessions
Story-youth in leadership
On the outside everything looked good
The works, speaking messages, being in youth leadership
They talked the way we wanted them to
They played the part well
But in the end it was meaningless, it was fruitless
I knew something was wrong but I didn’t address it
I didn’t want to lose youth, the youth group just started to grow
I ignored what the Lord was telling me. I became a hindrance
They no longer attend church or live a life set apart for Christ
When we become ok with the way someone lives that doesn’t line up with the word
We are just adding to the problems within the church
It seems that when the world says something is ok, the church is very quick to adapt
Lets look at cohabitation for example
This is where a man and a woman live together in a sexual relationship and aren’t married
Its sin
But in the 60’s and 70’s it became normalized
The church shortly after stopped addressing it. Now it is common
The divorce rate in church skyrocketed when divorce became the norm
People divorcing their spouse for no biblical reason
Just because it got hard
Another thing that the church began to ignore
I could go on and on about things the church became ok with, but God isn’t
I believe there are 2 reasons people continue to live in habitual sin after confessing Christ
Either they have had a fruitless confession
Or they have hardened their heart to the point where there is no more conviction
Which can lead to a fruitless confession
The church should be a place where we faithfully serve God
We should desire change,
We should want to honor God with our whole lives
We should welcome it
Even if you have had a fruitless confession there is still hope
Don’t let it cost your eternal life
Repent, turn back to your First Love
There will be grace for you
Not just a grace that covers your sin, but a grace that gives you the power through the Holy Spirit to change
It is a change that leads to a faithful confession
A confession that says “God no matter what you say, I will follow”
Whatever you ask of me I will do
When you have this faithful confession and your life begins to honor God you will be at peace
You will no longer care what the world says is right
You will begin to view everything through the lens of the bible
Story-when I gave my life to Christ
I wanted nothing more than to honor God with everything I had
It is a lifelong change
I was willing to do anything
I lost friends many friends. People I had been close with for 15 plus years
But it didn’t matter
I was going to honor God
A faithful confession to Christ is the best thing that will ever happen in life
If you ask any true Christian they will never say they regret following Christ
What they regret is not doing it sooner
We need to be people that are fully engulfed in the Lord
Nothing the world says matters, nor scoffers
Because we know where our hope lies, in Jesus Christ
Fully God, and fully man, who walked this life sinless
He was tempted, tried, and tested, but he never sinned
He was crucified because of our sinful ways
He took our place
He sacrificed Himself that we may be in right standing with God
Repent and be cleansed of unrighteousness
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
The time to repent is now
He is pure and Holy
He is the messiah
He is coming back for His people that have had faithful confessions
Having a faithful confession to Christ leads us to a faith that can move mountains
Matthew 21:21-22
So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. 22 And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
Jesus wasn’t teaching His disciples about miracles
He was teaching them to have faith in God and believe
You didn’t see disciples after this casting physical mountains into the sea
He wanted them to understand that God makes the impossible possible
We all face obstacles in life
What matters is the way we approach them
Do you try to handle it on your own, or do you have faith in God that His will be done through prayer
This scripture isn’t saying that God is our personal genie either
Granting us whatever we pray for
I gave my life to the Lord at a prosperity gospel church
They often use scripture like this out of context acting like God will give you everything you ask for as long as you believe
This is false
Often people will pray with wrong motives
God knows what is best for His people, so if His answer to a prayer no, rejoice
If it is yes, rejoice
God is in control of all things and knows all things be faithful to Him and have faith in Him
The person that had the most faith in the bible asked God for something and God didn’t do it
He didn’t get mad, He followed the will of God
Mark 14:35-36
He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him. 36 And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”
Jesus prayed for the cup to pass, but He still needed to go to the cross
It was the will of God, and He was obedient
We must know that God will answer according to His will
1 john 5:14-15
Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
He hears us, whether you get the answer you want or not
We still must believe and pray in faith
You know whats been on my mind lately
we have had this building for 8 years now
It took a lot of prayers of faith to achieve it
But God came through
We were going through a program where people could pledge money to get the required funds
We had raised 500,000 dollars the amount that we needed
Well the program didn’t work like we thought it was going to
We lost 250,000 dollars 45 days before the building was supposed to close
People stepped up and helped
But we still needed 50,000 with only 3 days to left
People that didn’t even attend our church stepped up and closed the Gap
People in this room helped and if you are here now and couldn’t you still reap the reward
This was just the beginning of monumental faith moments
Not too long ago
Covid hit and while other churches died off
We thrived
Because of you, the people in this room
Because of your faith, and your prayers of faith to God
It gets even deeper
Pastor matt had the vision to one day own this block
We purchased 3 houses during covid
We didn’t even seek them out
The man that lived in the house rob lives in Had been sick
I built a relationship with his father, and helped however I could
My son even kept up on his lawn care
The man ended up passing away
Out of the fathers thankfulness he offered us the house first
A few weeks later I was edging the lawn and a lady pulled up and said
Im selling the house across the street, do you guys want to buy
SO we now bought another house
Awhile later the man that lived behind us passed away
His children came to the office one day and said my father wanted us to ask you first
He wanted it to belong to you
3 houses all while other churches collapsed
You, as a church thrived
There will always be naysayers
So I want to address this
People might say that it wasn’t in Gods will because it was financed
Which is odd to me because im almost certain that at least a majority of people didn’t pay cash for their house
How is it that people can finance a house and it is according to Gods will
Posts on facebook like Look what God did
But if the church does it its not in Gods will
How holy are they
that its fine for them, but not a church
It’s a double standard, its called hypocrisy
The very thing we preach against
I fully believe that these were monumental obstacles that through the faith of the congregation
And faithful prayers, God delivered these things to us
There are always going to be areas that take an enormous amount of faith
Be faithful, pray faithfully, and God will answer according to His will
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