The King is Coming – part 3

Sep 6, 2026 • Rory

068 The King is Coming – part 3

Mark 11:1-26 (22-26)

September 6, 2026

Last Sunday we officially began

What is commonly referred to as “Passion Week”.

Jesus finally approached Jerusalem.

We’ve been looking at the entirety of this first segment because Mark seems to lump it all together, even intertwining various events into one big narrative.

What we have chosen to do is

Examine the 5 major points of emphasis that Mark focuses on.

I’ll quickly recap where we’ve come.

#1 A COLT

Mark 1:1-7

In many ways it would have been sufficient for Mark to simply have skipped to verse 7, “They brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it; and He sat on it.”

From an information standpoint that really does suffice

To prepare us for the triumphal entry.

But Mark instead spends 7 verses revealing to us the process for securing the colt that Jesus was to ride.

WE TALKED ABOUT PROVIDENCE

· It was a SPECIFIC colt not just a random one.

· It was a SELECT colt, never ridden by anyone, but preserved for the Lord.

· It was a SECURED colt, even guarded from anyone else taking it.

· It was a SURRENDERED colt, freely given to the use of the Lord.

· It was a SERVING colt, carrying Jesus into the city.

Jesus providentially secured the use of that specific colt for Himself.

WE TALKED ABOUT PROPHECY

· How this event was prophetically spoken of in Zechariah 9:9

· All Israel knew that their King would come seated on the colt of a donkey.

WE TALKED ABOUT PURPOSE

· Why did Jesus providentially secure that colt?

· Why did Jesus command the disciples to go and get it?

This was Jesus’ way of announcing His messiahship.

Up until now He had told the disciples not to tell anyone who He was.

Now Jesus is freely and openly declaring it.

By asking for and supplying that colt Jesus is emphatically declaring that He is the King they have been waiting for.

#2 A CROWD

Mark 11:8-11

· The crowd immediately picked up on the statement being made by Jesus.

· They threw their coats under Him, which was a declaration of submission.

· They led Him to Jerusalem while quoting Psalms 118 over Him.

Singing “Hosanna!”

Which means “Save Now!”

They were pumped, they had found their King!

They believed Jesus would enter Jerusalem, seize the throne,

And restore the kingdom to power, prominence, and prosperity.

But it was at that moment that

Something happened which we did not expect.

(11) “Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late.”

· Jesus followed the crowd into the temple.

· He took a good look at the throne they were offering Him.

· AND HE REJECTED IT.

· He turned around and left the temple.

And we said, He is certainly the King they had been waiting for,

But He is not the King they expected.

· He did not come to rubber stamp their religious hypocrisy.

· He did not come to pretend approval for all their wicked deeds.

· He is a righteous King and He will rule in righteousness.

Certainly everyone even today should pay attention to that reality.

In the book of Zephaniah the prophet anticipates “The Day of the Lord”.

However, Zephaniah reveals that the people may be surprised

What the King actually pronounces judgment against.

Zephaniah 1:7-13 “Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is near, For the Lord has prepared a sacrifice, He has consecrated His guests. “Then it will come about on the day of the Lord’s sacrifice That I will punish the princes, the king’s sons And all who clothe themselves with foreign garments. “And I will punish on that day all who leap on the temple threshold, Who fill the house of their lord with violence and deceit. “On that day,” declares the Lord, “There will be the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate, A wail from the Second Quarter, And a loud crash from the hills. “Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar, For all the people of Canaan will be silenced; All who weigh out silver will be cut off. “It will come about at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And I will punish the men Who are stagnant in spirit, Who say in their hearts, ‘The Lord will not do good or evil!’ “Moreover, their wealth will become plunder And their houses desolate; Yes, they will build houses but not inhabit them, And plant vineyards but not drink their wine.”

The inhabitants of Jerusalem just learned that same truth.

1. Jesus declared Himself to be King.

2. He entered the temple amidst much pomp.

3. But when He looked at the kingdom which was offered He rejected it.

He would not accept what they offered,

Instead He would return on the next day and overthrow it.

And that led to Mark’s next major point of emphasis.

#3 A CURSE

Mark 11:12-14

1. Jesus now returning to the temple early in the morning is hungry

2. He sees a fig tree with leaves.

3. He approaches it, but finds no figs on it and curses it for it’s fruitlessness.

We discussed how many have difficulty with the passage thinking it makes Jesus appear to be impatient and self-serving.

But what you don’t know is the history of that tree.

· What you don’t know is how many times Jesus has passed that tree.

· We discussed a lesson from Luke’s gospel where Jesus had given a fig tree 3 years to bear fruit and it still had not.

What you see in that tree is a fruitless tree whose TIME WAS UP.

For many years that tree had been allowed to live a fruitless life

With seemingly no consequence.

It may have even thought it was getting away with it.

NOT SO.

The Lord had been watching, and on this day, TIME WAS UP.

And that was a fitting action because

Jesus is about to go and do the exact same thing in the temple.

JUDGMENT IS AT HAND.

In fact, though Mark doesn’t mention it, Luke mentions that Jesus wept over the city as He contemplated what was about to come upon it.

Luke 19:41-44 “When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. “For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

Like the fig tree, Jerusalem’s time was up.

And that led us to the 4th major point of emphasis

#4 A CLEARING

Mark 11:15-18

Jesus entered the temple and began to drive people out.

· There were dover sellers and money changers who were making a corrupt living off of God’s sacrifices.

· There were people who were totally taking over the court which God had provided for Gentiles to pray and seek Him.

JESUS HAD ENOUGH.

He would not tolerate this corruption so He cleared that place out.

He warned them about making the temple into a den of robbers

He rebuked them for not using it as a place of prayer for the nations.

And we saw why He would not accept their kingdom.

It was corrupt and detestable and must be overthrown.

AND ALL OF THAT MADE SENSE TO US.

In fact, it all fit very nicely together.

But then we come to the final point of emphasis from Mark’s gospel

And it is where we want to pick up this morning.

A Colt, A Crowd, A Curse, A Cleansing

#5 A COMMENT

Mark 11:19-26

This is where the story comes to its intended end.

You can’t study this entire narrative in Mark’s gospel without ending here.

If we do we miss Mark’s point.

He purposely intertwined this entire story together.

We are supposed to see this as part of it.

In fact, this is THE CULMINATION.

1. Jesus entered the temple and rejected their offer.

2. He then returned and cursed a fruitless fig tree on the way

3. Jesus then continued on to Jerusalem where He cleared the temple.

4. He condemned their hypocritical religion.

5. He went home when it was late and dark.

6. And now the next morning He’s coming back to the temple to further instruct the people about the truth.

(19-21) “When evening came, they would go out of the city. As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. Being reminded, Peter said to Him, “Rabbi, look, the fig tree which You cursed has withered.”

You will remember that when Jesus cursed this tree back in verse 14 Mark was very careful to make sure we understood that “His disciples were listening.”

Jesus cursed that tree and made sure His disciples heard Him curse it.

AND SO NOW, they are coming back to the city and the disciples notice that “the fig tree withered from the roots up.”

“Being reminded, Peter said to Him, “Rabbi, look, the fig tree which You cursed has withered.”

On one hand we might be a little confused by Peter’s surprise.

· Had he not witnessed miracle after miracle from the hand of Jesus?

· Had he not seen greater works than that?

It seems strange that Peter should be so surprised

That Jesus performed such a work.

However, this is the first miraculous work that Peter has seen Jesus perform that was meant for judgment and not salvation.

So far everything Jesus had done was to save lives, not condemn them.

· He had come to save.

· He had come to give life.

· He had come to rescue.

It’s understandable why Peter would ask about this.

And it is at this point that we begin to contemplate the purpose.

Pretend for a moment that you haven’t read ahead in the story.

· He intentionally made sure that His disciples heard Him curse that fig tree.

· And now we find that it was “withered from the roots up”

· Peter “Rabbi, look, the fig tree which You cursed has withered.”

If you have never read verse 22, WHAT DO YOU EXPECT HIM TO SAY?

· You expect an explanation for why that tree deserved what it got.

· You expect a sermon about the fruitlessness of Israel.

· You expect Him to remind about that fig tree in Luke’s gospel.

· You expect Him to talk about how that tree represents Israel.

You expect an explanation about how Israel has failed to produce

And will also be cursed and will wither in judgment.

BUT THAT’S NOT WHAT JESUS DOES.

He doesn’t explain the judgment of that tree at all.

Instead He focuses on His ability to curse it.

· He focuses on the power He had to cause that tree to wither.

· And He reveals that the same power is available to His followers.

He purposely cursed that tree in their hearing

Now He seizes the opportunity to give them the point.

AND WHAT IS HIS MESSAGE?

(22) “And Jesus answered saying to them, “Have faith in God.”

TO BE CERTAIN there is coming plenty of truth from Jesus

About the fruitlessness of Israel and their impending judgment.

But when Jesus wants to talk to the 12

He does not want to talk about the judgment of others,

He wants to talk about the faith they must have.

It doesn’t do us any good if all we ever do

Is focus on how other people deserve judgment for their lack of fruit.

Jesus would rather

We examine the fruitfulness and faithfulness of our own lives.

He’ll deal with their hypocrisy, we must focus on our sincerity.

Did you read the Jonathan Edwards quote that Amy put in the bulletin?

Resolved: To act, in all respects, both in speaking and doing, as if nobody had ever been as sinful as I am; and when I encounter sin in others, I will feel (at least in my own mind & heart) as if I had committed the same sins, or had the same weaknesses or failings as others. I will use the knowledge of their failings to promote nothing but humility – even shame – in myself. I will use awareness of their sinfulness and weakness only as an occasion to confess my own sins and misery to God.”

So the message Jesus has for the 12 isn’t about the sin of Israel,

It is about their own spiritual walk and it is direct. “Have faith in God.”

More literally Jesus says, “Have THE faith of God”

That is to say, “Have true faith”

Jesus says that the lesson of the fig tree

Was meant to teach the 12 to believe correctly.

Forget about their lack of fruit for a moment and let’s talk about your faith

Now, allow me to break this passage down a little further to help us understand it.

1) THE POWER OF CONFIDENCE (23)

“Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him.”

Here is what I need you to recognize.

· In verse 23 Jesus is NOT speaking specifically about the 12.

· Jesus specifically says “whoever”.

· He is NOT speaking to “you” He is speaking of some random “him”.

This is NOT the point of the sermon yet.

What you have here is JESUS AFFIRMING (as an illustration)

A basic human principle that governs people’s lives.

This principle even governs the lives of non-believers.

What is the basic human principle Jesus is affirming?

CONFIDENCE PRODUCES PRODUCTIVITY.

· That is NOT a spiritual point,

· That is just a basic human observation.

· It is one that many humans, even non-believing humans have discovered.

When I was a kid I remember my mom reading the book called “The Value of Believing in Yourself” by Louis Pasteur.

And how his belief in himself helped him find a cure for rabies.

AND THAT NOTION IS FAR FROM UNIQUE.

The world loves to talk about the importance of believing yourself.

I just did a quick google search on “The Power of Confidence”

And there is no shortage of results.

“Confidence is the one superpower that can allow you to achieve anything you want.

Confidence is one of the most powerful tools humans possess. It is the superpower that allows you to move mountains. There are two essential factors to consider here. First, without self-confidence, you will not be able to grow or achieve new milestones. Second, confidence is a unique ability that gives you the power to influence people to believe anything you say and do things that you want.

Humans are biologically programmed to trust and respond positively to confident people. We have a specific region in our brain that is programmed to respond only to confident people. Leaders and politicians who exude the most confidence are the ones who successfully influence millions into believing whatever it is they want them to believe.

Confidence is the superpower that has allowed humans to believe they can do the unthinkable. We would never have reached the moon or a distant planet without confidence. Confidence is the only mental attribute that can enhance physical capabilities like power, strength, and speed. When you are confident, you perform at a higher level than when you don't hold your abilities in high regard.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kmehta/2022/05/12/the-superpower-of-confidence/

THAT THINKING IS NOT EXTREME, some of the most successful people in the world follow that exact line of thinking.

Henry Ford said, “Whether you think that you can, or that you can't, you are usually right.”

https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/henry_ford_131621?utm_source=share&utm_medium=select

Michael Jordan said, “Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.”

https://www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/confidence.html

Theodore Roosevelt said, “Believe you can and you're halfway there.”

https://www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/confidence.html

And right now you are thinking that you can’t believe

I would just quote such secular nonsense right here in a sermon.

Well, I’m going to surprise you when I tell you that

Jesus was doing the same thing in verse 23.

He is referencing basic human belief and doctrine.

NO, Jesus is NOT prescribing that

The secret to success in life is belief in self.

Obviously Scripture teaches the denial of self.

WHAT JESUS IS DOING

Is recognizing the common belief system of the world

And that there IS some truth to it.

It is simply true that confident people

Achieve more than unconfident people.

That is basically and generally true.

I didn’t know it at first, but after a few years of coaching Little League

I quickly learned that the most important attribute

I could instill in a young baseball player was CONFIDENCE.

Technique matters, fundamentals matter, practice matters, but nothing was as important as the kid standing in the batter’s box who absolutely believed he could hit anything the pitcher threw at him. The more they believed the more success they had.

And you have probably seen this in life.

One of the things that most endeared me to my dad was his belief in me. Over and over I would hear him say, “You can do it.”

I’ve heard Leo talk about how his dad instructed him regarding construction jobs to always take the job and say he could do it and then he’d be able to.

There is truth in that concept.

And JESUS SIMPLY ACKNOWLEDGES that.

Even in Jesus’ day, how many things had people accomplished simply through their confidence in their abilities which spurred on their strong work ethic?

· In a couple of days the disciples are going to marvel at the great temple structure that man was able to build.

· Or think in their day of the Roman coliseum, the Greek Parthenon, and other great structures.

Jesus recognized that human confidence could accomplish great things.

· Obviously He was speaking symbolically, not actually there.

· Moving a mountain simply means, “accomplish an impossible task”.

SO IT’S A BASIC HUMAN PRINCIPLE

People can accomplish seemingly impossible tasks

When they truly believe they can do it.

· How else do the Wright brothers launch a plane?

· How else does Frank Crowe build the Hoover Dam?

· History is lettered with stories of people who believed in themselves, didn’t quit, and accomplished incredible things.

Now at this point you grow a little uneasy because you’ve heard

A lot of prosperity preachers say these very same things.

We’ve heard the Joel Olsteens and the word-faith people go on and on about the importance of believing in yourself and having confidence and saying positive things so that you can attract positive results to yourself, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

So you’re a little concerned that Jesus just seemingly endorsing all of that by admitting that confident people do in fact achieve great things.

LET ME ASSURE YOU THAT JESUS IS NOT ABOUT TO

GO ALL JOEL OLSTEEN OR ZIG ZIGLAR ON YOU.

HIS POINT WILL BE SIMPLE.

If man can accomplish great things

Simply by having confidence in themselves (and they can),

How much more could he accomplish if he had confidence in God?

It’s similar to the analogy

He made earlier on prayer in the Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew 7:7-11 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. “Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? “Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”

That’s the same type of analogy.

We know that in general fathers basically give good gifts to their children.

· Certainly there are exceptions.

· Certainly it doesn’t always ring true.

· But in a general sense it is basically true.

If you can be confident that your earthly father, even though he is evil,

Will give you something good when you ask,

How much more confident should you be in God who is only good?

JESUS IS DOING THE SAME THING HERE

If man, for the most part, achieve great things by believing in himself,

How much more could he achieve by believing in God?

THAT WILL BE HIS POINT.

WHY?

Because the disciples are about to have their entire world turned upside down.

· They are about to witness Christ rejected and crucified.

· Certainly their faith will be restored when He is raised,

· But then they will witness Him ascended to heaven and it will feel like they are on their own.

THEY WILL NEED CONFIDENCE.

Not in themselves, but in God if they are to accomplish their mission.

So Jesus takes a general principle from the world

And makes a spiritual point with it.

The Power of Confidence

2) THE PATTERN FOR PRAYER (24)

“Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.”

Do you see the difference in the target here?

· Now he’s NOT talking about “whoever”,

· He is talking to believers.

· He is talking to the 12.

And He is not referring to their confidence in their own ability,

That confidence is about to be shattered,

He is talking about their confidence in God.

Man can do great things by believing in himself,

But it is nothing compared to what man can accomplish

When he believes in God.

And the place where we SEARCH FOR THE EXISTENCE OF THAT FAITH

Is in our PRAYER LIFE.

Have you ever wondered if there is a place where our faith can be measured?

· Well check your prayer life.

· This is where faith proves itself.

(24) “Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.”

First I simply want you to listen to what Jesus says

Without all the exceptions that theologians are prone to give.

Most theologians have decided that Jesus’ statement here is not detailed enough.

They don’t like how open-ended it sounds.

So they like to immediately remind you of what Jesus REALLY means.

· That it is only prayers offered “in His name” that count.

· That it is only prayers offered “according to His will” that count.

And look, we’re NOT denying that to be true.

We interpret scripture by scripture and so we know that is accurate.

Certainly all true prayer

Is offered in Jesus’ name and according to His will.

But can I just point out to you that Jesus didn’t mention that here.

· Did it slip His mind?

· Did He mean to say that and forget?

NO. Because His point here

Is NOT to show you how prayer is limited,

But to show you how much confidence you can have in God.

So He gives a glorious promise to His disciples,

I would hate for any of us to cheat ourselves

By immediately seeking to explain it away.

Jesus says, “all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.”

What Jesus is teaching is that

You can have unlimited confidence

In the power and ability of God to answer your prayers.

DO YOU?

We should expect God to answer our prayers,

And if He does not we should see that something is wrong.

Either our requests do not align with His will (which is a problem in our heart)

Or we are not truly praying in faith (which is another problem in our heart)

I don’t always agree with him,

But I thought William Barclay gave some exceptional insight here:

1) He spoke about prayer and how we must be willing to pray.

· Well that’s one problem there.

· Some people don’t have answered prayer because they don’t pray.

2) He also spoke that we must be willing to accept God’s answer,

· Don’t expect God to always tell you what you want to hear.

· If you petition God you must be willing to accept His response.

· That is true too.

But more even than those, I liked what Barclay wrote as a third insight.

3) “It must be the prayer of expectation….When we pray, it must never be a mere formality. It must never be a ritual without hope.

· Barclay goes on to quote a conversation in a book he read about a man questioning if his prayer had ever been answered.

· The conversation basically sees a man painting on a ladder and a man walking by lifted his hat to it even though he was an otherwise intelligent and educated man. When asked if he believed in such superstitions the man said, “No, I don’t exactly believe it, but I never throw away a chance.”

Barclay noted that this is how many people view prayer, “For many people prayer is either a pious ritual or a forlorn hope. It should be a thing of burning expectation.”

(Barclay, William [The Gospel of Mark; Revised Edition; The Westminster Press; Philadelphia, PA; 1975] pg. 277)

THAT’S A SOLID POINT.

One of the reasons we don’t receive answers to our prayer

Is because we don’t really expect an answer.

And that is the point of Jesus here with His disciples.

· They are absolutely shocked that Jesus could curse a fig tree and God would

wither it from the roots up.

· And Jesus turns and says they ought not be surprised to see God

supernaturally work at the request of those who believe Him.

It is a call to them to exercise real faith.

The type of faith that puts confidence in God.

And if you’ll think about it, this is precisely what the apostles later talk about when they start instructing us about prayer.

1 John 5:14 “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”

“confidence” there is (par-ray-SEE-ah)

It means “freedom in speaking” or “unreservedness in speech”

Or “without ambiguity” or “without the use of figures”

Or “free, fearless, confidence, courage, boldness, assurance”

It is a man that knows without a doubt

That when he prays according to the will of God that God will do it.

And unfortunately it is that very confidence

That is so often lacking in our lives.

Things which God has clearly articulated to be His will and yet we wonder if He’ll do it?

· Where’s the confidence?

· Where’s the conviction?

We see men every day put more confidence in their own abilities

Than most believers ever put in God.

And we see those same worldly men accomplish more in their own strength than most believers ever accomplish through faith in God.

Do you see why Jesus is confronting His disciples?

Jesus is in the midst of confronting

A highly sinful and yet worldly successful human enterprise.

· They have built a temple.

· They have organized a worship scheme.

· They are making lots of money.

· It is impressive.

And Jesus is destroying it.

And while He is destroying that fruitless man made one

He wants His disciples to know that they can accomplish much more if they will operate by faith in God.

Consider:

Hebrews 3:6 “but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house—whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.”

Hebrews 4:16 “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Hebrews 10:35 “Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.”

Then look at how the apostles lived after Christ ascended:

Acts 4:13 “Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.”

Acts 4:29 “And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence,”

Acts 28:30-31 “And he stayed two full years in his own rented quarters and was welcoming all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered.”

“unhindered” is that same word (par-ray-SEE-ah)

Be confident in God!

That is Jesus’ point.

That is where fruitfulness comes from.

3) THE PROBLEM IN PRAYER (25-26)

“Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. “But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.”

Jesus just instructed that

Successful prayer is all about confidence in God.

And here He addresses the number one killer of our confidence.

Most of the time the reason people lack confidence in prayer

Is NOT because they lack confidence in God’s power.

The reason they don’t pray with confidence

Is because they lack confidence in their right to ask.

They know God can, they just don’t think God will for them.

And the reason is because they know they have sinned.

· They know they have fallen short.

· They don’t feel worthy.

· And so they have no confidence in prayer.

Jesus here reveals the secret to overcome that confidence killer.

FORGIVENESS

(25) “Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions.”

Forgiving others gives you confidence in God’s forgiveness.

Confidence in God’s forgiveness gives you confidence in prayer.

That is what Jesus said.

Forgive your brother, then you will know God’s forgiveness,

And you will be confident that God will answer your prayers.

And this is the lesson Jesus gives to the 12

As He is simultaneously destroying the religious system of Israel.

Their system knew nothing of forgiveness and faith in God.

· It was all hypocrisy and extortion.

· Their system was a fruitless tree.

· Jesus was destroying that fruitless tree.

Jesus called His followers to a fruitful life.

· A life of genuine forgiveness and faith.

· A life of confidence in God.

· A fruitful life characterized by answered prayer.

THIS IS WHAT THE COMING KING WANTED FROM THEM.

Can I remind you one of the reasons that Zephaniah said that the Lord would come and destroy Jerusalem?

Zephaniah 1:12 “It will come about at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And I will punish the men Who are stagnant in spirit, Who say in their hearts, ‘The Lord will not do good or evil!’”

That is Israel.

It is the very thing Jesus is warning the 12 against.

· Don’t be stagnant in spirit.

· Don’t doubt God.

SO THIS MORNING:

· How’s your prayer life?

· How’s your forgiveness?

· How’s your confidence in God?

It’s easy to sit back and see why God destroyed Israel.

What is of more value to us

Is to see what God wants from us instead.

Let me encourage you church.