May it please Almighty God to
bless us together this morning as we meditate in His Holy Word.
Let us turn to the Gospel of Mark, chapter 11, and we'll read
verse 22. The Gospel of Mark, chapter 11,
and reading verse 22. And Jesus answering, saith unto
them, have faith in God. This response was to Peter because
of the comment that he made. And the previous two verses explain
that, because the 20th verse tells us, And in the morning,
as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter, according to remembrance,
said unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursest
is withered away. And in the earlier part of this
chapter, there is that little account about the fig tree, because
we read that, and the morrow when they were come from Bethany,
he was hungry, that's the Lord Jesus. And seeing a fig tree
afar off, having leaves, he came, if happily, he might find anything
thereon. And when he came to it, he found
nothing but leaves, for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus
answering and said unto it, no man eat fruit of thee hereafter
forever. And his disciples heard it. So as we know, therefore, the
tree withered. And that's why Peter came and
asked the Lord or spoke to the Lord and said, Master, behold,
the fig tree which thou cursedest is withered away. And the response
was from Jesus, have faith in God. That's a very short statement,
isn't it? I'm sure all of us, you young
people, I'm sure you can remember this, can't you? It's a very
short little statement. Have faith in God. And you may ask the question,
well, why do I need faith? You may wonder what that means
and why you do need faith. Well, Jesus tells us and the
Apostle Paul tells us, especially when Paul wrote to the Hebrews. You may remember the Hebrews
being the Jewish people. And in the 11th chapter to the
Hebrews, it's a whole chapter really which speaks about faith
and the faith of many of God's people and how they were blessed
indeed. But there's one verse which is
very significant for all of us and it's verse six, the 11th
chapter in the epistle of Paul to the Hebrews. And this is what
it says, but without faith, Note that without faith it is impossible
to please him. That means to please God. For
he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a reward
of them that diligently seek him. There's a lot of instruction
in that verse, really, if you just think about it. First of
all, a very clear statement that without faith it is impossible
for us to please God. So what does that mean? That
means that all of us, without exception, must possess faith. Faith to believe. Faith to believe
that God is God. And faith to believe that he
is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. So often we can be very casual
in our prayers. I can say sometimes we can almost
be very flippant in our prayers. And we don't really realise who
we are speaking to when we pray. And it's a very good thing when
you and I understand how great God is and how small we are. And therefore not to pray in
a wrong way, but indeed to be diligent and careful as we come
to God in prayer. If we have a little understanding
of the greatness of God and our smallness, I think such a perspective
would direct us to have a right attitude when we come to God
in prayer. You know, many prayers are just
rattled off irreverently. There's no reverence in prayer. And yet we should have some understanding
that in prayer we come to God, or at least, sadly, we may pretend
to come to God, who is a great God. I like to often think of
the greatness of God in this way, that God spoke the world
into being. You can't speak anything into
being, can you? You can't speak anything, and
it's done. But God only had to speak. And
that whole universe was created. Well, if you and I have a little
understanding then of how great God is, And then to think, and
again it's important to think and realise that this great God
is so wonderful that he hears our prayer. But that prayer must
be in faith. And that faith is spoken of like
this. He that cometh to God must believe
that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek
him. So again, that's a very important consideration, isn't
it? When we pray to God, often, you know, perhaps people say,
well, I prayed for this, and I prayed for that, and I've never
had any answers to my prayers. Well, it may be because two things
really. First of all, we haven't prayed
in faith. And secondly, we've prayed wrongly. And the Bible describes that.
That if we've prayed amiss, it's the wording the Bible used, that
we might consume it upon our lusts. That's a pretty sad thing,
isn't it? If we therefore come in a wrong
way, to our God that we may then consume it upon our lusts and
the fourth chapter in James tells us in the third verse, this is
what it says ye ask and receive not because ye ask amiss that
ye may consume it upon your lusts and that means that you may pray
for wrong things And you expect those wrong things for God to
hear and God to answer. Well, here we have this statement.
You ask a mess just so that you might consume them upon your
lusts. God doesn't answer such prayers. So perhaps if you pray to God
and you haven't had those prayers answered, and you may wonder
why well just stop a moment and just think why did I pray like
that? what was the reason for praying
like that? and you know you could answer
that question very simply by asking yourself whether if God
had answered that prayer it would have been for the glory of God
or whether it had been just for your own satisfaction, something
you wanted. Now, there's nothing wrong in
praying to God for everything that you and I need. But we must
realise that sometimes God answers very positively, but He says
no. He's still answered, but He hasn't
said yes. Sometimes we expect God to say
yes to everything. But sometimes God says no, because
God knows what is good for you and me. And therefore, if you
haven't received a positive answer, question whether your asking
has been right. Whether it's been for the honour
and glory of God. And also perhaps, as this verse
in Hebrews tells us, whether you've come in faith believing. You haven't come then doubting. You see, we mustn't come to God
in prayer and say, well, I'm not sure whether God's gonna
answer this prayer, but anyway, I'll just speak the words. You
see, we are to come reverently and in a right spirit. We must
come like this way. He says here, for he that cometh
to God must. It's not a question of, well,
possibly it's this way. No, this is the word. We must
believe that he is, that means that he is Almighty God, and
that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Again, that is a very important
word, isn't it? To be diligent. That means to
be constant in our prayers and to earnestly seek that God would
direct us in our prayers to pray for those things which are in
accordance with his will. Now, this demands really that
we receive the great and wonderful blessing of faith. And so the
Lord says here, when he answered Peter, have faith in God. Some people say, well, I've got
faith to believe that that can happen. That's not a right faith. That's not a godly faith. That's
looking to themselves. It's a question of coming right,
isn't it? And coming to God in faith, believing indeed that
he will hear and that he will answer our prayers. You know,
faith is mentioned so many, many times in the Word of God. And as I've just mentioned, the
11th of Hebrews gives a wonderful list of those things which, or
those people who were blessed with living faith to believe. But the Apostle Paul, when he
wrote to the church of Rome, he homed in really on this blessed
gift of faith and in the fifth chapter he speaks to us about
the God-given gift of faith and it starts off chapter 5 with
these words therefore and because it's therefore it's speaking
about that which has gone before in the previous chapter and the
previous chapter tells us about faith. Verse 16 tells us, therefore
it is of faith that it might be by grace. And that's the free
and merited favour of God to give us faith. We can't demand
faith, that we deserve faith. But it's wonderful if God does
give faith. And so we read, therefore it
is of faith that it might be by grace To the end, the promise
might be sure to all the seed, not to that only which is of
the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who
is the father of us all. Well, I hope you can remember. that Abraham was given faith
to believe that when the Lord came to him and told him that
he would have a son in his old age, something which was naturally
impossible because his wife was old and past the age of childbearing,
yet he believed God. God gave him faith to believe. And that faith which was given
was this, the things which are impossible with men are possible
with God. And so God blessed Abraham with
this wonderful gift of faith. And that was wonderful. And we're
told in this fourth chapter, blessed is the man to whom the
Lord will not impute sin cometh this blessedness then upon the
circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also. For we say
that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. God blessed
Abraham then with this wonderful gift of faith and blessed him
with righteousness to mean that he was right with God. What a wonderful blessing that
is. And so he was justified by faith
as we come in again to this fifth chapter. Therefore being justified
by faith, we have peace with God. through our Lord Jesus Christ. That's a very important verse.
It's a very important consideration. And what a mercy it is if God
gives us faith to believe. Remember, it's all of God. It's
all of grace. But if he gives us faith, then
we are justified. That means we're made just in
his sight. And that's a tremendous blessing,
isn't it? And it emanates, you see, all from the gracious goodness
and gift of God. And so he goes on, by whom also
we have access by faith into this grace, wherein we stand
and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but
with glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh
patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope
maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in
our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us. What a gift. What a wonderful
gospel we have, to think that God gives us these great and
glorious and wonderful gifts. And what a mercy then it is for
us today to be amongst those who do receive this great and
wonderful gift of faith. And yet those words you see are
very true, We must believe that God does give this faith. Without faith, it is impossible
to indeed please God. So what a wonderful favour this
morning. In our little life, the Lord
enables us to consider these great truths. Because faith believes,
faith believes that we are indeed sinners. And faith believes that
God sent his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but indeed receive that gift of eternal
life. So you see how relevant and so
important it is that you and I might receive this wonderful
gift of faith. The Apostle Peter, another man
blessed of God to receive this wonderful favour. And indeed,
he speaks about the trial of our faith. You may say, well,
what does that mean? Well, what it means is this.
God tests whether what we think is faith actually emanates from
God. Because we don't want to have
a false faith. We don't want to produce what
we think is faith, but it doesn't emanate from God. Well, the apostle
Peter knew what true faith was. And he also knew that it was
costly. He tells us this in the first
chapter, verse seven, that the trial of your faith, that means
the testing of our faith, being much more precious than
a gold that perisheth. Just think of that. You youngsters,
you may think that money and gold are very, important. Well, they are necessary. We
can't live without money, can we? But you see, we are to set
our hearts and our affections upon things above, which are
spiritual blessings. And so the Apostle tells us,
the trial of your faith, the testing of our faith, is much
more precious than the gold that perishes. So, if you may have
thought Well, I've got faith and I've prayed for this and
I haven't had an answer to that prayer. Well, it may be the time
hasn't come for God to answer that prayer. But it may be the
Lord's not going to answer that prayer, at least in a way that
you desire. And therefore, he goes on to
say, though it be tried with fire. Well, we might think, well,
of course, faith is something which is not tangible that we
can grasp, but nonetheless we can understand the analogy that
the Lord gives here, that fire burns up rubbish, doesn't it?
You and I, I expect you've all been and seen a bonfire. You've
all seen the rubbish put on a bonfire and how it burns. And here where
the Lord tells us that, though it be tried with fire, that means
the faith which we have, If it's God given and God sends fire
to burn up that which is the rubbish, we should be thankful
for. And yet you see, it's not easy
to receive this effect. We may be thinking, well I'm
relying on that. I believe God gave me faith to
believe so and so and this and that. And now it all appears
to have disappeared. Nothing has happened. It hasn't
been fulfilled. It may be, therefore, that this
is a trial, a trial for you. And God does send such trials
to test the reality of our religion, the reality of our faith. And what a kind God we have in
this respect. You may say, well, I don't think
that's very kind of God, because I wanted that and I was relying
on it, and yet God's taken it away. Well, God knows what is best. And as I already said, we may
have asked for it, in a wrong way. And now it's been burnt
up, it's been taken away. You can be sure of this, that
which God has given, and that which has given us faith to believe,
will not be burnt up. It will be tested. It will be
tried. It'll be put into the fire. And
again, it's a very wonderful and simple illustration because
gold, when it's found, when it's dug up from the earth, often
has a lot of impurity in it. And it has to be put in a furnace
to purify it, so that all that is left eventually is that which
is pure gold. All the impurities have been
burnt off. Now, my friends, you and I don't
want to come, I'm sure, to the gates of heaven and we have been
relying on an impure faith, an impure blessing. We want only to have that which
God has given us. So, that's why Peter's able to
say, the trial of our faith. And he tells us, again let me
read it, being much more precious. It's a wonderful emphasis, isn't
it? Much more precious. It doesn't just say it's more
precious. He says it's much more precious
than a gold that perishes, though it be trine with fire, might
be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of
Jesus Christ. See, that which God gives won't
be taken away. it will remain and that's what
you and I can rest in. That which perhaps we wanted
to come and happen hasn't because it wasn't God's purpose and it
wouldn't have been for your and my spiritual good. The Lord knows
exactly what you and I need. And so, you know, the apostle
goes on to say, to be tried with fire might be found unto praise
and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, whom having
not seen ye love. And that's a test of the reality
of that faith which God gives to believe. Having not seen,
ye love. Why would you and I love someone
who we have not seen? Doesn't make sense, does it really? To expect to love someone who
we've not seen. So why should we love someone
who we've not seen? It's because the Lord Jesus Christ
gives us faith to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, that he
came into this world to save our souls. He came into this
world to redeem our souls, to free us from the curse. What is the curse? The soul that
sinneth it shall die. Now it was God's love to us that's
freed us from this. What a wonderful blessing that
is and how glorious a truth it is. than to hear such words as
this. And the Apostle Peter, he knew
what he was talking about because he had experienced it. And it's a great blessing for
you and me today if we experience the reality of such grand and
glorious truths. And so, whom having not seen,
ye love. Is it because Is it because Almighty
God has given you faith to believe the Lord Jesus Christ has come
into this sinful world to die in your place in order to redeem
your souls? Now, the apostle goes on. You see him not yet believing
he rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, receiving
the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. Really, the Apostle is spelling
out here to us today, the most important thing for each one
of us is to receive and know the salvation of our souls. What does that mean? It means
this, that it is well with our soul. And it's only well with
our soul if God has given us faith to receive the Lord Jesus
Christ as our saviour. to believe, and it's a wonderful
thing to believe. That's really why the apostle
says, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. And it's unspeakable
to think that Almighty God, who I've tried to describe, has looked
upon us, looked upon you and me, and had mercy upon us and has
come and has called us out of darkness into the marvellous
light of the Gospel and as that reveals to us it
produces joy and he describes it unspeakable, why? because
it's really not of this world It's outside this world. It's
a grand and it's a glorious truth. And it's something that we should
so, so much praise and bless God for. And he goes on, of which
salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently who prophesied
of the grace that should come unto you. Well, it may have been
that you and I have had to search, we had to pray diligently for
such a blessing. Don't worry, don't tire, press
on. Because God does hear and God
does answer. the prayers of his children,
in his time and in his way, for his honour and for his glory. Never forget that. Through our
salvation, his name will be lifted up and honoured and glorified.
And that really is a test of the reality of our religion,
the reality of our faith. to know that God has given us
this gift of faith to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as our
great and wonderful Saviour. Well, it's a cause, isn't it,
for marvelling. And he says, On which salvation the prophets
have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that
should come unto you? Well, this morning, has that
grace come unto you and me? Have we received the grace of
God? Do we bless God because of it? Has God given us faith to come
to Him believing? He does dispense and He does
give. glorious, wonderful favours. So the Apostle goes on, searching
what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ, which was
in them, did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings
of Christ and the glory that should follow. So that's a little
insight that God gives. to show to us that Christ suffered. He suffered greatly so that you
and I might receive the gift of eternal life. And what a blessing
that is if we have received faith to believe these wonderful, wonderful
blessings. And so we come back to this simple
statement, have faith in God. Nowhere else. Nowhere else. And the Apostle Paul tells us
when he wrote to the Galatians, he describes this gift of faith
as one of the fruits of the Spirit of God. It's one of the evidences
that God gives us in our heart, that we are amongst those who
he has loved with everlasting love. The psalmist tells us,
the secret of the Lord is with them that fear him and he will
show them his covenant. To think that God reveals to
unworthy sinners, this great and glorious secret of the gift
of faith, to believe the blessed Saviour came into this world
to redeem my soul. It all comes down to a personal
religion. It all comes down to the desperate
need that we all have of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ as our
Saviour and to truly bless and Praise God for it. Well, my friends,
this morning, let us not pass over such a great and important
truth as this. You know, we mentioned, it was
mentioned, I don't know if you noticed, in that 16th hymn, there
was this statement about faith. The Spirit brings the chosen
race. a holy Christ of you. That follows really what I was
describing about the greatness of God, a holy Christ of you.
And while by faith they see his face, their souls grow holy too. In holiness, the saints delight,
while here on earth they dwell. And that's another test of the
reality of our religion, if we love holiness. In holiness the
saints delight, while here on earth they dwell. By faith they
wrestle day and night for more holiness to feel. You may say,
why is that? Because we desire to be more
Christ-like. Desire to be a true follower.
of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Well, I hope I've been able to explain
a little about the great blessing and the need and the necessity
of receiving God-given faith. And if we have to rejoice in
it and to praise our God for it, and to realise how important
it is, as the Lord said to Peter, have faith in God.