Put Your Faith to Work

Mark 11:12-15 New King James Version (NKJV)

¹² Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. ¹³ And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. ¹⁴ In response Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.”

And His disciples heard it. ¹⁵ So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.

Mark 11:20-24 New King James Version (NKJV)

²⁰ Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. ²¹ And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.”

²² So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. ²³ For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. ²⁴ Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

Mark 11:20-24

Put your faith to work.

“Some of us have unemployed faith.” – Pastor Billy Johnson

There are some things that we are tolerating, but God wants us to put our faith to work.

 

What Is Faith?

A lot of times we go to Hebrews 11 and say ‘faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not  seen.’ – Yet this is a description of faith, not a definition.  A good definition of faith is ‘to believe to the extent of complete trust and reliance; to be confident.’

Who Are We To Have Faith In?

Jesus leaves out all guesswork when he says “Have faith in God.”

“Why have you superimposed a time, a human time, on God’s results?” – Pastor Billy Johnson

You can’t use what has happened as a predictor for what will happen.  The disciples had never seen a tree dry up that fast.  But we aren’t talking about human power and human resources.  We are talking about almighty God.

Your faith can’t be in your friends.

Your faith can’t be in your family.

Your faith can’t be in your finances.

Your faith can’t be in your faith.

Have Faith In God.

God does not lie, and He does not change!

What Can Faith Do?

“Faith in God makes the impossible, possible.” – Pastor Billy Johnson

What have you already deemed impossible?

v23 – Assuredly I say to you whoever shall say to this mountain…

The Impossible, Possible

• The woman with the issue of blood for 12 years who had seen every physician, yet they could not help her.  Yet she heard of Jesus.  She touched the hem of his garment, and Jesus said “Daughter, your faith has made you well.”
• Blind Bartemeus was sitting by the roadside and he heard that Jesus was passing by, so he started crying out “Jesus have mercy on me.”

How Does Faith Work?

Faith works by believing that you receive when you pray.  The moment I ask, I must believe.  I cannot allow double-mindedness, fear, or doubt to set-in.

“When you pray, where is your expectation?” – Pastor Billy Johnson

v24 – Whatever things you ask when you pray….

Faith accepts it now as done, even though the answer is in the future.

We must be confident in God’s power, but submitted to His will.