0:08 An old preacher once said, Jesus never taught his disciples how to preach, but how to pray. He did not speak much of what was needed to preach well, but much of praying well. To know how to speak to God is more than knowing how to speak to man. Not power with men, but power with God is the first thing. Jesus loves to teach his disciples how to pray, and that is true.
0:52 The Lord Jesus did teach his disciples how to pray, and he instructed his disciples in the area of prayer on more than one occasion. Such lessons are found throughout his ministry and even near the end of it. And it may be striking to us to discover yet another set of instructions on prayer at a site and during a time that is presented before us in our text today. And at first glance, it may seem out of place. And so I invite you to turn with with me to Mark 11 beginning in verse 20 to consider these things further.
1:42 Mark 11 verse 20. Father, from the bottom of our hearts, we ask for your help in this message. Oh, Lord, just inspire us to obey it and to believe it. We need your help for this, and we believe that it is for us at this time as a church. In Jesus' name we pray.
2:08 Amen. Mark eleven twenty. As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. And Peter remembered and said to him, Rabbi, look. The fig tree that you cursed has withered.
2:25 And Jesus answered them, have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, be taken up and thrown into the sea and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive. If you have anything against anyone let me repeat that.
2:58 If you have anything against anyone, so that your father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. This scene takes place the day after Jesus entered into Jerusalem to cleanse the temple. And we learned that last week. And we also saw that after Jesus with his priestly purification completed that cleansing, he retreated to another place, exiting the city for another evening, most likely to Bethany again to be with his friends. And as verse 20 informs us, in the morning, the day after, they make their way, Jesus and the 12, back to Jerusalem.
3:47 And they traveled on the same path that they did when they saw the fig tree originally. But as they journeyed, the disciple disciples made a shocking discovery. The fig tree, that very same fig tree that Jesus spoke to has now shriveled up from its roots up. And Peter was the one who vocalized his wonder. And he sought the Lord's attention on the matter.
4:15 Rabbi, look, the fig tree that you cursed, it has withered. And interestingly, after the disciples pointed to this object of judgment, the Lord begins and elaborates on this teaching about prayer. As though the fig tree was the object lesson for this truth, this mysterious yet powerful thing known as prayer. Now, if someone were to ask you based on what we learned in the past couple of weeks, what does the message of the miracle of Jesus cursing the fig tree point to? Your answer should be that the fig tree symbolized Israel's religious hypocrisy and Christ's displeasure over her inexcusable fruitlessness, ultimately resulting in judgment.
5:08 That's what that miracle was about. It was pointing to a fruitless religious system in the temple. When you saw the temple, you saw a religious building. But when you went into the temple, you saw no fruit. You would be right if that is your explanation.
5:23 You would be correct in your interpretation of this miracle. Yet at the same time, Jesus seems to draw a different set of truths from what we have concluded about it. How do we make sense of this? The answer is found in Matthew's explanation of the very same story. So turn to Matthew chapter 21 and look at verse 20, just one verse, and it'll make all the difference for us.
5:48 In Matthew 21 verse 20, Matthew writes, when the disciples saw it, they marveled saying, how did the fig tree wither at once? So Matthew expands on the story. And the disciples here not only marveled at the sight, that in such a short amount of time, this tree was put to death, they desired an explanation for it. So what the fig tree symbolized is still Israel, but how it was able to decay in such a way according to the words of Jesus is the consequence of a power that was accessed through prayer. But why teach on prayer now?
6:43 You know, why wouldn't Jesus just in a breath or two explain it while they were making their way towards Jerusalem? There are other pressing matters at hand. Did we forget that what this conversation is and where it happened and when it happened was just a few days, a few days before Jesus would be betrayed, tortured, and put to death? Is a message on prayer really necessary at this time? Is it relevant?
7:12 Christ is about to complete his mission this very same week. The answer to the relevance of prayer at this time and it being necessary is a resounding yes. Christ takes his time now to build the faith of his disciples in the area of prayer for that very same reason. He's about to physically depart from them. All these disciples knew in their relationship with Christ for years.
7:43 Intimacy with Christ, ministry for Christ was in the context of having Christ with them all the time. And all of that was now ready to change. So knowing that the Lord is ready to now transition from being with them to being with the father in glory, he's preparing his servants. He wants to prepare his friends on how they can access his presence, enjoy his fellowship, and draw from his power, his provision, his protection through prayer. You know what this tells me right at the outset of our message?
8:27 Prayer is the means by which you and I come closest to the savior. Prayer is the means by which you and I walk the closest with the master. The disciples are now ready to enter into an experience that you are very familiar with, that you've only known your whole Christian life. Namely, walking with Jesus without actually physically walking with Jesus. And what the disciples were provided has been provided to you and I.
9:00 This gift, this ever present channel known as prayer that at any time, at any place invites his personal care and power into any situation that requires it. And the disciples believed it. The disciples believed in this thing called prayer. The moment Jesus left them. You remember where Jesus ascended?
9:25 We don't talk much about the ascension of Jesus, do we not? We talk about what? His death, yes, his life, his burial, his resurrection, but his ascension, that's for another message for another time. When Jesus bodily ascended into heaven in acts one eleven, what do you read in the next verses in acts one twelve to 14? That the disciples returned to Jerusalem.
9:45 They were rejoicing and they put themselves together in an upper room and in one accord devoted themselves to prayer. The moment Jesus leaves, you know what they do? They run to what he has given them so that they can know his presence and access his divine power. Prayer. Prayer.
10:07 As comforting, as exciting as that truth may be, Christ here in our text clarifies that there are conditions to knowing the full potential of this reality. Prerequisites, if you will, to knowing prayer with answers. And that's precisely what I wanna speak to you about today. I want to, based on this text from the words of Jesus, draw out for us three requirements. Three conditions, not just for prayers being heard, not just for prayers being answered, but for prayers to move mountains.
10:49 And so we come back to our text and we look at the first thing. What does Christ demand of me to pray in such a way where mountains can move? Say, what do you mean by mountains? Well, just stay awake for the midpoint of the message and you'll know what I'm speaking about with mountains. Jesus tells us in verse 22 of the first thing as he teaches on prayer that is needed of us to see things happen in our lives.
11:19 And Jesus answered them, have faith in God. Have faith in God. That seems very simple. Let me give you a heads up. The three points are very simple.
11:31 And guess what? I'm happy it's simple. I'm happy it's not some elaborate exercise to try to get God's hand to move in my life. Here's step number one for you and I, have faith in God. For Jesus to say this right from the beginning indicates that the disciples and making the comment about the fig tree demonstrate it's a symptom of a lack of faith in the full potential of God's power.
11:55 Rabbi, look. The fig tree withered, the one that you cursed. Matthew says, how did you do this? Now, if you're coming up near the end of Jesus ministry, you're you're reaching there the three year mark, you would think that the disciples have settled in their minds and their hearts that Christ and his word has all power and authority over everything. Not just over demons, not just over sickness, but over creation itself.
12:20 You would think that they would have determined that. But here we find them struggling, trying to comprehend how this came to be. And we can be a little bit lenient here in understanding because this is a unique miracle. Jesus determining and deciding an object with his power to be judged directly. Very uncommon as we learned.
12:39 So the disciples asked, and Jesus here is gently teaching them and reminding them that this was possible, disciples, this was possible because of God. Now how does that tie into prayer? Very simple. When you have a limited view of God's power, character, will, it will ultimately limit how you pray. Notice that Jesus did not say have faith in prayer.
13:08 Is that what he said? Have faith in prayer. No. He said have faith in God. God is the object of your trust even in the area of prayer.
13:17 Have faith in God. At the end of the day, how you pray is determined by what you know and what you believe about the Lord. And this is why having faith in God is the bedrock for mountain moving prayer. And it's mentioned as the first thing for a reason. Can I ask you something?
13:42 What do you know about God? What do you know about his character? What do you know about his nature? What do you know about what he has done throughout history? And what you know about that is one thing, but believing he did it is another.
13:56 You see, growing in your knowledge of God in his word and thriving in prayer go hand in hand. Because as your knowledge of God grows, so does your confidence in his ability and willingness to intervene on your behalf. And I think about Paul's words about the whole bible, yes, but specifically the Hebrew scriptures where he says in Romans 15 verse four that these things have been given to us for our encouragement. Not just to stuff your head with knowledge. No.
14:27 No. You can read the old testament and be filled with encouragement and surely encouraged in how God has moved and worked in the lives of others through and in his people. Defending them, providing for them. You can be encouraged. You know, some people treat the bible as a museum.
14:45 They just look at it and see history and say, wasn't that nice? It's not just a museum. It's not just a testimony of what he's done, but of who he is today. And I'm thinking and meditating on this, have faith in God. How does my knowledge of God fuel my faith in God so that I can express it in prayer to God?
15:07 And one guy came to mind. He's not referenced much, but, oh, he's mentioned in the Bible. Nehemiah. One and two. Before Nehemiah two, there's Nehemiah one.
15:32 How about that? In Nehemiah chapter one, we learned that Nehemiah, while in exile serving the king, a pagan king, was informed by some of his brethren that traveled to Jerusalem of the desolation of the city, the holy city. The walls are down. They're defenseless. They're vulnerable.
15:52 They're an object of scorn and mockery. Nehemiah is so overcome by this that he begins to weep and set apart time for fasting and prayer. And when you read there in the beginning of Nehemiah one, you were told the day that he begins to do that. And then you come to Nehemiah two and you see another date, not meant to be glanced over, but to consider the significance of Nehemiah's devotion. In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of kings, Artaxerxes.
16:19 You know what that means? When you compare Nehemiah two one with Nehemiah one, the first few verses, you learn that Nehemiah has been praying and has been weeping and has been seeking God for months. Months. When wine was before him, because he was a cup bearer, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence and the king said to me, why is your face sad seeing you are not sick?
16:52 This is nothing but sadness of the heart. Then I was very much afraid. So Nehemiah here is doing what you were supposed to do when you served monarchs and kings of ancient times. Show that you are enjoying what you are doing for the king. And then he learns because this pagan king, yes, though a pagan, was discerning.
17:18 Why is your face down? And it's not because you're not feeling well. I can tell that it's because your heart is heavy. And we're told that Nehemiah was afraid when this man made that observation. Because you also know this about ancient royalty that it didn't take very much for them to make rash and severe verdicts whenever they were not pleased with someone or something.
17:41 And so now, Nehemiah is not only sorrowful for what's happening to his people, now he is concerned about his own well-being. And so he musters up the courage to say something in verse three. I said to the king, let the king live forever. Why should not my face be sad when the city, the place of my father's graves lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire? Then the king said to me, what are you requesting?
18:10 And here it is. So I prayed to the God of heaven. You know what that doesn't mean? So I prayed to the God of heaven. It doesn't mean that Nehemiah asked to retreat to his room for a few days and to seek God so that he can have a more refined answer.
18:29 No. This was an opportunity of a lifetime. This was a window that was open and it could be shut in the very same moment. And so Nehemiah knew that he had to take advantage of this. And so right there as he stood before the king, surprised by his somewhat compassionate probing, praise.
18:54 He prays right there and then. And we see here that within the mixture of fear and excitement, Nehemiah speaks to the king of kings as he stands before this king. And we're not told what he prayed. I can make a safe guess that it's somewhere along the lines of courage, somewhere in the ballpark of wisdom, so he can give the right answer to this man and not blow this chance. You see, you look at this and you think to yourself, why is this mentioned here?
19:26 Is it important? Yes. It's important. He gave it to us in our bibles for a reason, not to just see what he has done, but who he is now. What he's able to do today.
19:36 You know what the sacred snippet of the Bible teaches me at least? That wherever I am, whoever I stand before, no matter what I am feeling, I can spontaneously, I can internally, I can even briefly lift my request before the God of heaven and earth, and he'll hear me. You look at Nehemiah chapter one and you see a man who spent days and time alone crying out to the Lord and we even get a long description of what his prayer looked like. And then in the next chapter you have this, just a little breath, a whisper of prayer and both are just as recognizable by God. So this this man in this very moment, I'm just giving you an example of how this can feed your faith in God.
20:25 To trust in God. The God of Nehemiah who heard Nehemiah is my God. Is my God. So before I step into that office, before I step into that room, before I make this confrontation, before I hear this news, I can pray to my God right there and then. And God will hear it.
20:44 He will turn his ear. Yes. Even from his throne above, and I have his full attention. So now my view of prayer based on that, just because I decide to have my devotions in the book of Nehemiah, now my view of God is expanded. The ability of God, the ever loving presence of God and knowledge of God is now equipped in my faith, furnishing in my trust.
21:10 Have faith in God. What do you know about him? What do you believe about him? Are you able to look at situations that are related to things in the word of God? If you don't have faith in God, then you won't be able to do the next thing.
21:27 The next thing for mountain moving prayer to be a reality is to identify and express your need. Look at verse 23 again at Mark 11. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, be taken up and thrown into the sea and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Now before we get into the practicality of this, let's clarify what Jesus is speaking about. I can assure you that he's not giving you a secret to tapping into some kind of ability to shift nature or to move geographical boundaries.
22:06 That's not what the Lord is getting at here because prayer does not promise us to tap into something to perform pointless stunts. What Jesus is saying here is a figure of speech that was common in his day and is common in the scriptures. Most of us know this verse. I'm gonna I'm gonna ask you to complete it. Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts.
22:37 That's Zechariah four six. But But do you know what comes after Zechariah four six? Because it'll give us insight into what Jesus is saying here. Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit says the Lord of host. Well go to Zechariah four seven to see the rest of it.
22:59 Let me read verse six to connect it. Then he said to me, this is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel of Zechariah four six, not by might nor by power, but by my spirit says the Lord of hosts. Who are you, oh great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain and he shall bring forth the top stone amid shouts of grace, grace to it. What is this great mountain that the Lord personifies?
23:28 And what does it mean for this great mountain to be made a plain? Well, there's a hint in verse seven that gives us an idea of the context. He says in the latter part, and he being Zerubbabel shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of grace, grace to it. Now when you build a structure from the base level up, at that foundational level, there is a cornerstone. Christ is our cornerstone.
23:55 Right? We believe that, and that's in the scriptures as well. But when that building comes to its completion and when it's ready to be finished, you can place a top stone. And that indicates that it is in fact completed. And this is what he's speaking about, that Zerubbabel is going to take a top stone and place it.
24:14 We're talking about a building here. We're talking about an actual structure as we're about to discover in the next two verses. So what building are we talking about here? Well, the wider context is indicating that it's the temple. Zerubbabel was a man among the exiles that left Babylon and came back to Jerusalem.
24:34 And not only was he an exile that returned back to the holy city, he was a leader. He was a leader who supervised the reviving of the temple structure. In fact, Haggai tells us that he was one of the governors. He was a governor in Judah. And so Zerubbabel here played an instrumental role in seeing this thing come back to life.
24:57 But that plan, that project saw many great obstacles. All you have to do is read the book of Ezra to see most of it. There was legal issues. There was political interference that put a pause on the project. On top of that, you had gentile persecution, verbal accusations and slanders and actual physical threats.
25:19 And more than that, you read Haggai and you had internal problems. You had the people of God who got lazy and distracted. And so what happens? They start beautifying their own homes and neglecting the house of God. And Haggai has to come and say, hey, what are you guys doing?
25:34 Get back to what matters the most. So you have all these things, all these problems that became insurmountable. No human effort can be implemented to overcome this problem. These series of problems that piled up on each other. And that's what the Lord is alluding to when he's speaking about this great mountain.
25:56 This great mountain that's facing Zerubbabel as a leader who's trying to honor God with this house, with the people who have vacillating commitment, with outsiders who don't want to see God's house built, with even leaders who with one letter, one word can stop your construction project. This great mountain. And the Lord says, Zerubbabel, I'm gonna make it a plain. I'm gonna I'm gonna add grace and ease to this. Where there was such difficulty and hindrance, I'm gonna make it disappear.
26:25 That's confirmed in verse eight and nine. Look, Zechariah four eight and nine. Then the word of the Lord came to me saying the hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. I bring this to your attention to say that the imagery of a great mountain was used by the spirit to speak of a major barrier, a towering hindrance that stood in the way of the will of God being expanded and advanced.
26:58 And this is a good reason to believe that when Jesus spoke of uprooting mountains, he was speaking of prayer having the ability to flatten any intimidation, any overwhelming difficulty that tried to block you and I from enjoying God's purposes. So we're not talking about physical hills here. We're talking about real life, almost impossible to deal with problems. With that being said, the Lord translates that hyperbolic statement in verse 23. Right?
27:30 Whoever says to this mountain, be thrown into the sea, he translates that analogy to real life application. And what's the application? Look at verse 24 of Mark 11. Therefore, meaning, based on what you just heard about speaking to mountains and seeing them moved into the sea, tossing them to the side. Therefore, based on that, here's what I'm about to say this say to you about this.
27:52 Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours. That's how you apply this. To see mountains moved, to be brought down, to be moved to the side is through prayer. And that's our second application to seeing God do that in our lives. Mountain moving prayer means you actually have to pray about it.
28:24 That's almost silly to say as a point. Right? A message on prayer, one of your points is pray? Not very profound, but you and I are aware that human nature is capable of being so shaken, so disturbed, so drained when troubles arise. That to actually bring it and to place it at the feet of the Lord is sometimes and oftentimes an afterthought and even with some, no thought at all.
28:56 Whatever you ask in prayer, let me remind you that moving mountains, any impossibility that drops into your ministry, any mountain that is stretching higher and wider in your marriage, any mountain that's meddling with your children, anything that's trying to frustrate your business, or any other category. Jesus says whatever you ask in prayer will not be moved unless you ask. Will not move an inch unless you ask. Mountains don't move when you complain about the mountains. Mountains don't move when you stay up all night tossing back and forth about the mountain.
29:36 Mountains don't move when you torchingly return to the drawing board trying to find a different solution in your own strength and human wisdom. Mountains are moved according to Christ when you open your heart before the Lord and spill out your needs and your concerns and you say, Lord, you have to do something about this. And like I said, we can get so caught up in our thinking, so caught up in talking to others about it, that we have no energy left to say, you know what? This Wednesday night, I know church has a prayer meeting, I'm gonna show up, get with brothers and sisters, kneel on this carpet and ask God to do something. That's not to say that you don't plan.
30:19 That's not to say that you don't invite the council of people. But listen to this, there are some situations in life where your plans or the plans of others can't do a thing about it. That's what Jesus is speaking about here. Can you imagine moving a mountain? How silly would that look?
30:38 Placing your bare little hands on the east side of that hill and trying to move it? He's giving this hyperbole for for a reason. There are things in life that are like that. It's like you can't go anywhere. I'm standing before this thing and I'm living in its shadow.
30:50 What am I to do? Ask the God who made the mountain. Ask the God who has power over the mountain, ask. Well, God is sovereign and truly, if he desires to do something in my life for his will to be accomplished, then I don't see the need to ask. That's not how the economy of faith works in God's kingdom.
31:12 God has his will and God will do things with his common grace in our lives but there are some things that can only be unlocked when you hit the floor with your knees. Figure that out in your theology if you will. I take the words of Jesus literally and seriously. I'm reminded of six words. Six words that Hezekiah, another king heard from the prophet Isaiah when he was visited by skyscraper situation, where you could not look to anything else.
31:43 Outnumbered by the armies of Assyria, intimidated, fearful, pushed in a corner. And here's this is precious. I mean, this is wonderful. Isaiah 37 verse 21. When I was looking at this point, it was these six words that rang through my heart.
32:07 And Isaiah thirty seven twenty one, then Isaiah, the son of Amos sent to Hezekiah saying, thus says the Lord of God of Israel, hear the words, because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria. You see that? Because you have prayed to me, implying what? If he had not prayed, there wouldn't have been an answer. Did God see the trouble?
32:44 Did God see his city being surrounded? Did God see that they were going to be absolutely swallowed by a foreign enemy? You better believe it. But it wasn't until he heard the voice of a man saying, God, these are the threats of the king of Assyria. I'm concerned about your glory.
33:04 What are you gonna do Lord? You need to do something about this. And the prophet comes with a pure true word from the Lord. Hezekiah, because you have prayed to me, watch me now. Do you know how freeing that is?
33:20 Do you know how freeing that is in so many ways? What if God doesn't answer, well I did my part because you have prayed, because you have prayed. I'm not willing to live my life thinking, what if I have prayed? I'm going to pray about it. I'm gonna bring it before God and stand back and see if you'll give me instruction about it or if you'll tell me to just stay there, be quiet, and watch me move.
33:46 We come back to what Jesus says here in our text in verse 24. Therefore, I tell you whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours. So not just to pray about it, but to pray about it in a certain way with expectation. With expectation. I'm believing that if I pray about this, God is going to give it.
34:10 Some of us are offended by that, but God invites us into that. You're saying, well, are you saying that if I pray hard enough, and long enough, and passionately enough, and desperately enough, that God will give me whatever I want? No. Prayers of faith will never fulfill desires of the flesh. Do you see who Jesus is speaking to when he gives these instructions?
34:36 Is he speaking on a mountain top with thousands of people there with questionable motives? Yes. This is applied to us, and yes, this is applied to readers of the bible, but it's to these disciples who have sold everything to follow Christ. Who have determined that their future will be framed by one aim, advancing the gospel even unto death. Who have said no to the world and yes to the Messiah.
35:02 When you have that as your life, when your heart has determined that in your relationship with Christ, that's gonna formulate how you pray. So this isn't a blank check for just anybody. This is for those who, like the disciples, have decided to follow Jesus, make their life about Jesus, and live to please Jesus. When when that's there, then this applies to you because you're gonna pray differently than the person who's half in with Jesus. Not gonna happen.
35:30 Whatever you ask my followers who are living to serve me, who when I leave will truly take this to heart, I'm gonna be behind it. Pray with expectation. Pray with longing. Come to the place like Nehemiah where your reflex, when trouble visits you, when you were surprised by something go, Lord, you gotta do something here. Oh, Lord, help me.
35:59 Oh, what a wonderful thing it would be if, and I believe it is here, if every home here had that. Mom and dad know, kids, get around. We gotta pray. We have some troubles here with our finances. Nothing to worry about, but let's bring it to the Lord.
36:20 When that report comes in over the phone and it's a tragedy to your family. When the church when the church needs something, we need something. Do we not? You were here for the announcements. Right?
36:32 I forgot what it was. What do we do? God. You see us. Where are we gonna go in this market?
36:41 What are we gonna do at this time? We have no idea. Good. Ask. Come to me.
36:50 Bring it to me. I think this message is providential. I don't know about you. I was floating since I've been studying it all week. Yes.
36:57 Okay, Lord. This great mountain will be made a plain. Not by your might, not by your power, but by my spirit, says the Lord. Well, if you want to see the spirit work, you gotta partner with the spirit. And so we see here that the Lord gives this very simple condition, but one that we often miss.
37:15 Whatever you ask, you gotta ask. Take that thing, whatever that mountain is called and bring it to him. Say, Lord, this, I've read about you, I've heard things about you, I've listened to enough sermons. I've read church history. I've studied revivals.
37:31 Now here's my own mountain. Here's what's happening. Lord, do something. And I believe with all my heart because I have studied you that this is nothing to you. That's the kind of prayer that moves mountains.
37:48 Not half hearted. Not distracted. Not, oh, you know, it's the right thing to do to pray. Not when somebody asks you to pray, you're like, yeah, how am I gonna say no? What kind of Christian are you like?
38:00 Yeah, yeah, let's pray about it. Thank you Lord. Okay. Thanks buddy. Alright.
38:03 Yeah. That doesn't move nothing. Desperate, humble, broken, fully convinced kind of praying. I believe God can do something about it. Well, does it have to be big for God to do something about it?
38:19 Not necessarily. Whatever you ask in prayer. Whatever you ask in prayer. As one writer said, let everything in your life come under the care of prayer. Just smother it all.
38:38 Submerge it all. You get to buy a new car? Pray about it. Why not? Thinking about where to move?
38:46 Pray about it. Why not? Kids being bullied? Pray about it. Why not?
38:52 You're invited to pray for whatever. Pray. Pray in the moment. Take time to pray about it like Nehemiah. Just pray and watch God move.
39:05 I can take the next ten minutes to tell you about stories. Stories, personal stories of how God has shown himself true. Everything from new boots, as some of you heard that story, I won't bore you with it again. New boots to new cities, new locations. From little problems that I need for the day to be solved to big problems where I don't know where I'm gonna be for the rest of my life if this is not solved.
39:35 Whatever you ask in prayer, invite me into it. But we have one more step, one more condition for mountain moving prayer. The first was to have faith, not in prayer, not in your devotion, in God. Grow in your knowledge of God and watch your strength and your confidence in prayer also grow. But from there, to also identify and express your need with expectancy.
40:04 Lastly, live repentedly before God. Verse 25 of Mark 11. And whenever you stand praying, that was a common posture praying of that time, forgive. If you have anything against anyone, so that your father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. This final condition here is so important.
40:36 Having faith in God is foundational, identifying and expressing your need to God is essential. But without recognizing this, you will not be able to move a pebble unless we take heed to what the Lord is saying. The Lord, essentially, in a general way, is saying if you are willing to justify holding on to sin, then you forfeit your access to miraculous problem solving mountain moving prayer. That's what you forfeit. And and that's that's a threat throughout the bible.
41:13 Even in first Peter three when we're told about husbands and how they should relate to their wives. Do you know what the threat was for husbands? They don't live in an understanding way with their wives. Your prayers won't be heard. I had a friend who told me when he was recently getting married, said, are you excited to get married?
41:27 He's like, yeah. I'm kinda nervous too. Said, wow. I was expecting a different answer. And he said, remember that passage in in Peter?
41:34 He says, look, I'm becoming one with somebody else and I've never obviously done this before and I'm just I just wanna make sure that God gives me the strength so that my prayers are not hindered based on how I treat my wife. Wow. You know what that tells me about that man? About the Bible declares about prayer? That prayer should be so valuable to you that threat should be legitimate.
41:57 Do you feel that when you read that passage? The way you treat your spouse will determine how God will hear you. Does that cause you to be like, hey, honey. Can we talk? Some people have such a low view of prayer they can read past that and not be moved an inch.
42:19 You have not experienced what prayer can do. You have not tasted his presence in the secret place. You've not seen it for you not to feel something like that. And so Jesus now comes in his final condition and he says, if you're willing to hold on to sin, you're willing to let go of this gift. Not your salvation, but this gift, your experience of God through this life.
42:44 But what he has specifically in view here is the issue of unforgiveness. And what the Lord essentially is getting at is if we are determined to withhold mercy and grace from another, you should not be surprised when God withholds his blessing from you. I love the book of Job for many reasons. It's such a unique book. But what moves me about the book of Job is how it ends.
43:16 Because if you want one word to describe the ending of Job, it's this, restoration. Restoration. Restoration and it's multifaceted. Turn with me to Job as we close this service soon. Job.
43:39 Job 42 in verse seven. After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, my anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right as my servant Job has. Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves, and my servant Job shall pray for you. For I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly, for you have not spoken of me what is right as my servant Job has. In these verses, God refers to Job as my servant four times.
44:30 My servant, my servant, my servant, my servant. And he speaks to these three friends. Interestingly, he doesn't bring up Elihu, the the youngest one out of them. We can talk about that another time, but these three friends. And he tells them, you're wrong.
44:47 And I'm gonna vindicate the innocence of my servant. The way I'm going to do that is have you humble yourself to come before him and to seek his pardon, his forgiveness expressed through prayer. And when you do that, then I will hear you, and I will answer you. In other words, what the Lord is teaching these people here is that to be reconciled with Job is necessary before you seek to worship and receive anything from me. And so they went and they did so.
45:25 And as much as Job's prayer was a condition for these men to experience renewal, right, it's it's pretty clear, plain. This is the part that moves me. Job praying for his friends was necessary for him to know renewal. Him praying was not just for his friends to experience restoration with God, him willing to pray for them was also necessary for him to know the fullness of restoration. Prove it.
45:56 Look at verse 10. And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. It's clear, Job's fortunes were not restored until until he prayed for his friends. So God was not willing to move on behalf of these friends, and God was not willing to move in the life of Job to the fullest extent until they reconciled.
46:28 You have to go and acknowledge my my servant Job was innocent. You were wrong in accusing him and you read about all those accusations throughout Job. And Job, my servant, before I restore to you anything, forgive them. This man was not just blistered with actual sores, but was harassed by the railing slander of these friends. Coughed up Job, You can't experience all this without being a sinner in secret.
46:58 What did you do? Did you sleep with somebody else's wife? Did you rip off the poor? Did you blaspheme God? Cough it up, man.
47:06 Imagine your friends doing that. The counsel of Job's friends was best when they were silent for several days. Problems arose when they began to speak up. Imagine all of this. Imagine the bitterness, the resentment, the anger.
47:22 I spent all those chapters telling you that I, in my conscience, am innocent and you didn't believe me? Now you want me to pray for you on top of it? You know, prayer is one of the strongest indications that you have forgiven somebody. Prayer for that person is one of the strongest marks that you have moved from resentment to relief. You know what this truth makes me wonder?
47:52 How much blessing is being kept from those because they have not yet prayed for others who have hurt them? Personally, I step back and thought, Lord, far be it from me that if in my heart I'm holding something against someone and that resulting in you holding back something for me. You know, that might be true of you today. Be a Christian long enough and you will know pain and hurt even if you're not a Christian. If you do not let go, God will not be able to open the floodgates.
48:46 If you cannot stand in prayer and forgive, then God will not give you the solution to that mountain. That can all change today though. You know why? Because this lesson on prayer with the withered fig tree immediately follows Jesus cleansing the temple. And you know what Jesus said when he cleansed the temple?
49:12 My house shall be called what? A house of prayer. How fitting. My house shall be called a house of prayer. Now let me teach you about prayer and here you are in the new covenant in the house of God.
49:23 I'm gonna challenge you to do something today. Instead of just wrapping this up, having two songs and going our merry way, I'm gonna ask you, if you want this kind of heavenly favor over your life to forgive. To forgive people who have said things about you, who have done things to you, who have stolen from you, who have tried to kill you. Say, Lord, I wanna be free. I wanna be free.
49:57 And that might be for some of you, but you know what it's gonna be for all of us? Because there's gonna be a two part response to this message. The first one is for all of us to to sit still and to get right with the Lord in this area. I refuse to live my life with blockage vertically because I'm not willing to let go horizontally. And we can go in the next thirty minutes about what forgiveness looks like.
50:21 Let me tell you what forgiveness isn't. It isn't you not feeling pain even if it's been years since you've been hurt. It's not you forgetting what happened either. Forgiveness is you saying, I refuse to entertain, to wallow, to enjoy the thought, and even to plan revenge. That's I'm done.
50:43 It's not it's not up to me. I refuse. And one of the ways in which you know you're free from that, because sometimes unforgiveness is empowering. That's why we hold on to it. We think about and we play these things in our minds and we almost wish harm upon those who have hurt us.
51:06 And that thing needs to be broken. And the way one of the ways in which there is light now and there is freedom is that you could say, Lord so and so. I'm asking that you have mercy on them. Genuinely from my heart. And one of the motivators for that is, how many times have I failed you and you've extended mercy to me over and over and over?
51:30 And if you feel like that is not even enough motivation to forgive another person, revisit the absolute holiness of God and realize just how heinous and evil even the smallest offenses are to him. And realize he takes you back every time. Every time. He doesn't put you in a penalty box for a few days and say prove yourself and then we can go back at this thing. The moment you say forgive me, he goes, I've forgiven you.
51:56 Fuel your forgiveness in that place. Say, Lord, forgive. Forgive them. Bless them. Not bless them while they remain in their sin.
52:08 Lord, be kind to them and instead of extending judgment to them, would you so overwhelm them with your mercy that their hearts melt and they're restored to you. Do that for them, please. That's the type of prayer of a person who is forgiven. That's the first part. Second part is this, church, aren't you excited that we have a great mountain before us in this next year?
52:32 We do. And don't think that we just started off this campaign with a lengthy announcement and we're just gonna revisit it once or twice. No. We gotta pray. And we gotta say, Lord, here we are, MBC, and here's a mountain.
52:46 Do something, Lord. Do If you don't come through, we're finished here. If we don't come through, we're gonna get a lot of tickets on our cars, Lord. You need to come through, Lord. We're grateful for the space, but look, it's been three weeks in a row and people are still back there.
53:03 Lord, you gotta come through. We're gonna do that. So here's what we're gonna do. K? We're not in a rush.
53:08 Right? It's the Lord's day. Right? Good. I'm gonna ask for one or two of the musicians to play gently just for the sake of limiting distraction.
53:17 I'm gonna ask every single one of you before we move to that second part as a church, crying out to the Lord, for you to think about that last part. Having faith in God and and identifying and expressing your need to God won't go anywhere unless you're first forgiven. Let your heart be set free today with that truth. Give them to the Lord. Bless them.
53:38 Pray for your enemies, our Jesus said. What do you pray for? Lord, I'm praying for my enemies? No. Pray for them.
53:47 And then we'll transition and say, here we are, Lord. Our hearts are clean. We've released this. And now we come and we say, please help us with this mountain. Make this great mountain into a plain, oh God.
53:58 I'm so excited to do this today. Come ahead, missusens. Yes. And just do that. Don't distract anybody.
54:04 Let them be with the Lord in this. And in a few moments, I'll come back up here and give us instructions how we'll close out the service. Spend time with God. Lord, we put these names before your throne. It might have been parents, might have been siblings, might have been church people, might have been a pastor, an elder, a deacon, a coworker, a boss.
57:52 Lord, when we just bring them to you now, we say, god, we forgive them and we want you to bless them. We want you to have mercy on them. We want them to be overcome by your love. Lord, we ask that they would not remain in their sin, that they would no longer justify the things that they've done even done to us, but that, Lord, in your kindness, you would lead them to repentance. We do not wish for judgment upon them, but for your mercy to triumph instead.
58:35 Lord, let this be the defining moment for some perhaps to know a freedom that they've never experienced before. We will not steal from you, Lord. You said vengeance is mine, says the Lord, and I will repay. We give that right to you. We don't even want that to be in our imagination.
58:58 Never mind scheming and hoping, Lord, we don't wanna murder their reputation. We don't wanna continue speaking about the hurt that they've done to us. Lord, if there's gonna be any energy spent on those people who have hurt us is to pray. Help us do that. That in every complaint that comes from our heart and every remembrance that only strengthens our bitterness, we would say, Lord, please heal me and heal them.
59:25 Bring us to that place, Lord, of freedom. And help us believe that you've set a principle with Job's life that fortunes are released when we have that release. We don't want anything to get in the way, Lord, to you forgiving us, you answering us, us having your full pleasure reigning over our lives. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
59:53 Church, would you stand with me? We're gonna now get into the second part of this. And as the praise team comes up, as we're ready to sing in closing, I want us to I want us to really pray. Pray with expectation. God owns everything.
1:00:16 And you read the story of Ezra and Nehemiah and even Haggai, you realize that God is sovereign over the kings of Persia, the kings of Babylon, over every politician, and in our context, every village. This is not just a time for us to see how God will come through with resources. This is a time, I believe, with all my heart, designated to see what God will do with prayer, what God will do with prayer when a church prays. And so I'm just asking you now with full attention just to engage in this act of faith to pray. And so give your complete focus with me now as we turn to the Lord.
1:00:57 This isn't showmanship. This isn't just the emotional way of ending a service, really to pray. My house shall be called the house of prayer. God longs to hear our voices this Sunday afternoon. Lord, we look to you with absolute trust in you.
1:01:13 We have read of you and we have heard of you. You are the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You are the God of Joseph. You are the God of Daniel. You are the God of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel.
1:01:27 You are the God who has heard many prayers. The prayers of individuals, the prayers of your people Israel. And Lord, you are the same God today who now in the new covenant has given us the access to you. The access that's not limited to a temple. The access that's not gained through several sacrifices, but through the blood of your son.
1:01:50 The once and for all sacrifice, we have boldness and confidence to come before your throne. Lord, you know our hearts. You know that we love the gospel. We love your word. We wanna be holy.
1:02:01 We wanna please you. And Lord, we have a need. We have a need today. Lord, we thank you for the growth in this church. We thank you for the people that you're changing.
1:02:12 We thank you for the maturity that's being realized in our faith as we gather week after week. But, Lord, we are limited today. We're being strained today, Lord. We have great hopes and dreams and desires for your will, oh, God, and for your name's sake. So, Lord, we ask that you make this great mountain into a plain.
1:02:30 And we pray, Lord, from the bottom of our hearts that we would see a miracle of provision. And that, Lord, you would highlight and make known a place that you have designated for Maranatha Bible Church. Lord, we will not fear nor fret. Help us remember that as we advance your kingdom, Satan will not sit idly by. He will seek to frustrate and divide and agitate our own hearts and the hearts of the people here gathered.
1:02:55 So, Lord, help us be equipped equipped with the full armor of God, mindful that although this is a nice desire to ask for, this is war with the kingdom of darkness. And so we pray for protection over our minds, our hearts, our unity, our love against persecution that would try to hinder us meeting here peaceably. And we pray, Lord, that you would come through in a way that's undeniable. Let there be no confusion that when this does happen, that you're the one who did it. This is our desire, Lord, that in 2024, leading into 2025, there would be an amazing testimony in the Chicagoland area.
1:03:31 And that, Lord, when you do bring us through and people ask, when did you come here and how did you come here? We'd be able to say, listen to what God has done. This is our yearning and our plea, Lord, and we ask believing that you will provide for this church, for every person's need here in their family, with their jobs, with with any struggle, Lord. Move those mountains today. Help us graduate in prayer for your glory, and we say thanks to you together in Jesus' name.
1:04:01 Amen. Let's sing to the Lord together.
