HEALTH, HEALING, AND MIRACLES – PART FORTY
Sunday – December 16, 2018, Tevet 8, 5779
Greetings dear saints of the Most High God and perhaps a sinner or two! Welcome back to this part-two of the withered fig tree and Jesus teaching on faith. This will be the last teaching in this series. The Lord has not impressed me as of this writing as to what if anything is to follow this on Sundays. Of course, the Saturday teachings on Life in Heaven will continue until that series is complete and the weekday teaching will be continuing indefinitely.
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Matthew 21:18-22 (KJV)
18 Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered.
19 And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.
20 And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away!
21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.
22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
Last Sunday I made the point concerning the fig tree that Jesus was speaking of and to Israel. They were at that time practicing a form of godliness and were very legalistic and would remain so. They would remain so until the end of the age or until the fulness of the Gentiles is come in. The Tribulation Period is in large part a judgment of Israel. At the end of the Tribulation the blindness of Israel will be removed and they will receive the Messiah who will setup a one-thousand-year reign of the earth from Jerusalem. King David will be on the throne in Jerusalem as well to rule it and Israel. The physical demonstration concerning the fig tree going from appearing healthy to stone cold dead required faith and demonstrated the fate of Israel for the next two thousand years but faith was not His point, the fate of Israel. This was not just decreed of God but was the result of their choices, the most awful of which would occur within hours, the rejection of the Messiah, Christ Jesus.
Jesus then turns His attention to a discussion about faith in verses twenty-one and twenty-two. He says have faith (believe), doubt not, say, and the mountain will move or anything else for that matter. He then goes on to say that we will receive whatever we ask for in prayer when we believe (implied doubt not). It is critical that we not misinterpret what Jesus is saying, the phrase “ask in prayer” is not different than “saying”. If we have learned nothing else in this series it must be that we speak to things and they are done for us by the Father just like we have seen over and over in the ministry of Jesus. We decree or declare the thing and it is done for us. Of course, the caveat is that it must be led of the Spirit, do it by faith doubting not, and in love. The phrase or word “pray” means to put a demand on the power of God. When you go to the bank and present a check you may ask for the money but that check in reality is a demand note. Our Heavenly Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, and the Holy Angels are just waiting for us to declare the will of God and they will bring it into existence in the earth. Okay, now, let’s turn our attention to the Book of Mark.
Mark 11:12-14 (KJV)
12 And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry:
13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet.
14 And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.
Notice that the tree looked healthy and there were no figs for it was not the proper season for figs. Notice the curious thing Jesus did; “And Jesus answered and said unto it”. If you think of the fig tree as Israel then it makes more sense than this tree carrying on a conversation with Jesus. Israel had given its answer that it was and would reject the Messiah and thus Jesus declared the outcome of that choice. Next there is a break in the Scripture with Jesus going into Jerusalem where He clears out the Temple for it was being used for all the wrong reasons. They return to Bethany and we pick up the account as they are returning to Jerusalem the next morning (twenty-four hours have passed since Jesus spoke to the fig tree).
Mark 11:20-26 (KJV)
20 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.
21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.
22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.
I realize I am going long today but I will not belabor it. Let’s focus on the faith part of the preceding Scripture. In verse twenty-two (the number of light) Jesus commands that we have faith in God, other translations say have the God kind of faith. Dear brother and sister when we were born again our God given DNA jumped to life with the very same faith as God. Of course, our faith is tiny in comparison but we have the responsibility to cause it to grow and we do that by believing not only in Him but in the Word of God, that we are in that name, the name of Jesus, and doubt not. We see the same pattern here where Jesus talks about saying then about praying, they are the same. Quit begging for stuff! It is the Father’s good pleasure to give us the Kingdom! He has given us the Kingdom now not just in the sweet by and by. Remember our declaring or decrees are Scripture based, led of the Spirit of God, done in faith without any (zero) doubt, we receive it as done, and it is done. Receiving it in faith means that in our mind that thing we have commanded is the only possible outcome. Finally notice the indispensable fact that we cannot have any unforgiveness and expect things to happen in our lives as a result of prayer (our decrees).
Until our next publication, I speak this Scriptural prayer for your life right now, receive it in the name of Jesus, confess it, and walk it out with thanksgiving.
Exodus 15:26 (KJV)
26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
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