Fear God

Power In the Blood Assembly
Mar 22
8 min read

Mark 11:12-26

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree 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.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple 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. 16 And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. 17 Then He taught, saying to them, "Is it not written, 'MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL NATIONS' ? But you have made it a 'DEN OF THIEVES.'" 18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching. 19 When evening had come, He went out of the city.

The Lesson from the Withered Fig Tree 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. 25 "And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. 26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses."

Jesus Curses a Fig Tree and Clears the Temple Courts

Verse 18 (they feared God - ???)

We should have a special relationship with this text…

Why?

"Los Barbados" is the original name given to the island of Barbados by Portuguese explorer Pedro a Campus around 1536, meaning "the bearded ones". This title was inspired by the numerous bearded fig trees (Ficus citrifolia) found on the island.

Its difficult to find a bearded fig tree, they are here, however they are in places: Andromeda Botanic Gardens, Sandy Lane and Welchman Hall Gully or happen upon one or two while driving along countryside

Cou Cou – its hard to find today?
Flying Fish – very expensive – hard to find today?
Education (95% literacy) – is this still true?
Christian Nation – is this still true?

It seems that what we are used to be our identity, just like the named Bearded fig tree where we got our name from, yet we seem to be lacking…hard to find? Have we lost our identity, we hardly have fig trees also have we loss our fear of the Lord…Lets look at the text ~

(Pray – may I never lose my identity in Christ due to culture)

1. Fear God – He sees all, He knows all

12 The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry.

Key Meanings and Significance of Bethany:

"House of Figs/Dates": Some translations suggest "house of figs" (beth-ania) or "house of dates," referring to the abundance of these trees in the area.
"House of Obedience": A spiritual interpretation ~ referring to the faithful devotion of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha.

Biblical Significance:

Home of Friends:
It was the home of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha, where Jesus received hospitality and rested.
Resurrection Site:
It is where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11), demonstrating his authority over death.
Ascension Location:
Jesus ascended to heaven in the vicinity of Bethany (Luke 24:50-51).

The Next Day? What happened the day before?…let’s have a look

Mark 11:11 (Jesus comes to Jerusalem as King)

11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

(verse 12 – He leaves Bethany early and hungry.

Jesus is hungry?

Jesus was hungry in the wilderness –

"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matt 4:4)

Jesus was hungry with the woman at the well –

John 4:31-34 ~ 31 In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32 But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” 33 Therefore the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.

Jesus – was Jesus hungry for righteousness?

Matt 5:6 “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”

(Pray for hunger for righteousness – may unrighteousness make us agitated)

2. Fear the sword of God – the Judgement

13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14 Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.

…19 When evening came, Jesus and his disciples[c] went out of the city. 20 In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21 Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”

(Familiar Situations of Jesus’ judgement)

Gen 3: Jesus the word walking in the garden – Adam and Eve hiding covered in fig leaves (naked ~ no fruit).

John 15:1-8 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

(Matthew 15:8-13) ~ 8“‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.9 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’[c]” 10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. 11 What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.” 12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?” 13 He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots.

What are plants?

A person/thing who is a "plant"

Secret Agent/Manipulator: An individual placed in a group or situation to gather information, influence events, or create a specific, premeditated impression. It is synonymous with an informer or someone placed to trick, mislead, or trap.

Judas was a plant – John 6:70-71 Jesus answered them, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!” / He was speaking about Judas,

You will know them by their fruit -

Matthew 7:15-20 (NKJV) - 15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

Parable ~ Wheat and Tares ~ (Matthew 13; 24-30, 36-43)
Many will say Lord Lord ~ (Matt 7:21-23)
Woman that cried out after Paul ~ (Act 16:16-18)

Fraudulent Fig Tree

We have plants in our Society. & rulers in high places
Cult-ure
Friends
Business partners

Plants

Minds (thoughts. Imaginations)
Heart (False doctrine)
Soul (soul ties)
Body (Spirit of Fear)

(Prayer – against destiny destroyers, plants of the enemy, witches, sorcerers, monitoring spirit, familiar spirit, astral traveler, familiar spirit)

3. Fear the House of God

15 On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, 16 and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. 17 And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’[a]? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’[b]”

(John 2:15-17 (Amplified Bible) ~ He made a whip of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; then to those who sold the doves He said, “Take these things away! Stop making My Father’s house a place of commerce!” [Ps 93:5] His disciples remembered that it is written [in the Scriptures], “ZEAL (love, concern) FOR YOUR HOUSE [and its honor] WILL CONSUME ME.” [Ps 69:9])

What was Jesus teaching?

(Isaiah 56:7 (New International Version) 7 these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”)

18 The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.

Fear God - Conclusion

22 “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. 23 “Truly[d] I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

Solutions – No more plants

Have faith in God – he reveals any hidden thing Holy Spirit
Power of the Authority of the believer – prayer
Even if the enemy is as big as this mountain it is subject to Jesus (word)
The Power of Forgiveness (don’t let the plant called unforgiveness hinder your prayers)