Thank you. Go back now to Matthew 21. The last time we looked at this chapter in Matthew, Matthew 21. We stopped at verse 16. The Lord
had just come into Jerusalem where He went into the temple
and threw out all of the money makers in there. Religion, had
degenerated into nothing but business, money-making business. Does that sound familiar? And the Lord, one of the other
writers said, plaited a whip or made a scourge. And he got
rough on those chief priests and, well, the moneymakers. Threw
them all out. He said, you've made my house
a den of thieves. And the chief priests, the ones
in charge, the scribes, the religious leaders, who were making money,
as you might know, they were making a cut from these people
that were selling all these religious trinkets and so forth. They were
making a percentage of the sales. And it says they were sore displeased.
They were real angry and they were real upset. And they said to him, and I loved
how he answered them, they said, under him, Do you hear what these
are saying? The people were giving him the
praise and the glory, and he said, Yea, have you never read? Out of the mouth of babes and
sucklings thou hast perfected praise. And then in verse 17,
this is where we pick up. Now, this one line really struck
me when I read it. Every word, every line in God's
Word is significant. If we just stop and think, consider. It says, "...and he left them." And he left them. Religion. That's where these scribes and Pharisees and
religious leaders and all the people were in on it. Religion. And the Lord left them. Now this
is a clear exposure of religion then and religion now. The Lord Jesus Christ. God. in human form. Let's see this
walk. This was no mere man. This was
God. He came to this earth. He walked
this planet and he left. Why was he here? See, this is
the whole issue. This is what it's all about.
This is something the whole world has to face. This is the question
of all questions. Who was this? They asked that
up in verse 10, didn't they? When he came into town. It says
all the city was moved. And since Christ has come to
this planet, all the world has been moved, or that is affected
by his coming. And they asked, and men and women
are still asking now, who is this? Or who was that? Who was
it? Folks have all kinds of different
ideas about who he was. Well, he came. Now, this Bible,
this book that we read and that we believe is God's Word, it
says, and Christ himself said, Jesus Christ himself said that
he was God. I'm talking about the Creator,
the one who made this planet. The one whom Scripture says,
in whom we live and move and have our being. The God in whose
hands our breath is. The one who kills, the one who
makes alive. The one who saves, the one who
damns. Became a man. Was made flesh and walked upon
this earth. Scripture says he came to his
own. He was made by them. They were
made by Him and they knew Him not. He came to His own creatures
and they didn't know Him. Well, He came to Jerusalem. Jerusalem
was a large metropolitan, or that means worldly city. Metropolitan means people from
all over the world came there to live. Jerusalem was the center
of culture and all that in the then known world, Jerusalem.
He came to this large metropolitan or worldly city, not unlike New
York City or any other major city, Washington D.C. today.
He came to it and it was a place, a city full of corruption and
wickedness. That pretty much describes a
large city. Men and women, human beings by
nature, are sinful and corrupt. And the more you get together
and the more tightly you pack them together, the worse they
become. He came to this large city full
of people and he left. You think about that. Humanly
speaking, you think about the opportunity. That was there when
God came down. He came to the temple. He came
into Jerusalem and the first place he went was to the temple.
Most Jews in Jerusalem were religious. This was a religious place, no
different than a large so-called church today. But it was full of money-making
corrupt business. Our Lord came there and He left. He cleaned it out temporarily.
Temporarily He cast out all the money-making people. He healed
a few blind and lame folk. Just a few who came to it, blind
and lame. They had real need. And he healed
them. And then he left. And it wasn't
long afterward until that place went right back to where it started. And then when he left this planet
for good, our Lord, we saw in another message, he came to Jerusalem. That's where he was headed from
the day he was born. He was headed to Jerusalem to
do something, to do a work that had been foreordained before
the world began. Our Lord was predestined to go
to Jerusalem to do something there, to do a work. And he did that work, and when
he left for good, as I said, that temple went back into its
corrupt money-making ways. The city went back to business
as usual, as if he never came. And they were left to themselves,
and to this day, it's a mess over there. And what
a prophecy this is. Not only was this a clear picture
of the sad state of affairs of people and religion in general,
but a prophecy of our day. The world in general, and the
United States of America in particular. I have, we have looked together
before at the movement of the Word of God, the Gospel. How
it started over there in the Middle East in that little, in
the heart of the then known world, in Israel. It started right there.
We have Turkey, where Abraham was. But it was right there in
that little central location of the then known world. And
upon the persecution of the church in the book of Acts, it spread
out. And it went to the west and went
to the east. And mostly went to the west.
And it began to spread over Europe. And the churches in the Revelation
that we read of were in Europe. Most of them were in what is
now Turkey. Are you with me? And that gospel
spread like As the wind blew, kind of like seed, and that's
what the scripture says it is. And see, it left Israel. It left
that. It left that. And went into Europe
and began to spread. Then went into Germany and Switzerland. That's where the Reformers and
so forth came from. Then moved over into Spain and
France and then across into the British Isles. And wherever it
went, it pretty much left where it came from. Wherever God sent it, it came
and it left. And then in God's providence,
it moved overseas to this North American continent through missionaries
and so forth. And it came, and I believe it's leaving. He's leaving. I believe our society is fast
becoming a God-forsaken society. Reprobate, that's what reprobate
means. God leaves us to ourselves, leaves us alone. Would you turn with me to Romans
1? And this is something you know well, or most of you, everyone
doesn't, but Romans chapter 1. I believe, not only based on
Scripture, but What I see all around me, I believe this is
fast becoming a reprobate society. When half of so-called Bible-believing,
God-fearing people vote in favor of sodomy being legalized, God has left us alone. I'm talking about folks in the
Bible belt. About half. And if you don't have your eyes
wide open to see that. But not just that, the state
of religion, people. How would you characterize religion
today? What's it all about? You see what a prophecy. In one
line here. He left them. He left them. This is a passage, Romans 1,
that most know well, perhaps not all, a passage that speaks
with each coming year, with each passing year, this speaks louder
and louder. It screams at me. This passage,
everything I see and hear about me, Romans 1 keeps just reverberating
through my mind and in my ears, just loudly, just a clear declaration
of our times. Look at verse 18. You know these verses. The wrath
of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness
of men. The wrath of God. What's that?
Well, they call it tsunamis and earthquakes and hurricanes and
floods and disasters and calamities and diseases and so forth. People
dropping like flies, you know. Talk about the war over in Iraq,
and in the space of four or five years, 3,000 men have died. 6,500 people a day die in this
country alone. 6,500 people a day are dying
every day. Every day. In this country alone.
It's not talking about the world. Dropping like flies. From what?
Diseases, pestilence, famine, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods,
disasters. And men and women don't perceive
it as being from God. And someone stand up and say
so, and he's called a bigot and a hate monger and so forth. And
I blame it on the religious leaders who've convinced the world that
God loves everybody so much that God could have no part in any
of this. And that's what he's talking
about in verse 18, those who hold the truth in unrighteousness.
You see that? They hold the truth. They have
a Bible in their hand, but it's for unrighteous purposes. It's
for covetous, wicked, vain, glorious purposes. Money-making purposes. Political gain, you know. If
you want to get elected, you've got to prove yourself a Christian
now. Hold the truth in unrighteousness.
Verse 21, it says, when they knew God, that is God, He said
in verse 20, it's clearly seen, His power is Godhead, but without
excuse. When they knew God, they glorified
Him not as God. Very few people. We're in a very,
very, very, A very small minority that actually believes God is
God. Honestly. A very small minority. Comparatively, it's like Noah
and his family. They glorify him not as God.
Modern man has made man into a God, and God is like a man. Read on. Verse 22. It says, professing
themselves to be wise, they became fools. Educated folks think education
is the savior of our society. Our God hath made foolish the
wisdom of this world, 1 Corinthians 1 said. It seems the smarter men seem to
become, the dumber they get toward the truth. Verse 24 says, So
God gave them up to uncleanness. Verse 25, I changed
the truth of God into a lie. God's Word is very plain, isn't
it? If you just read it, if you just read it, I mean, I'm talking
about a King James Bible, the one we first got in the English
language. Just read it. It's plain, very plain. But because
it's so plain, because it so plainly denounces what all is
going on and exposes it, they begin to twist it and pervert
it and corrupt it and make perversions of it so that it doesn't say
what it says. Turn it into a lie. where it doesn't even resemble
God's Word anymore. And look at verse 25. Keep looking at
it with me. Now, folks, this is just a dire warning to us. And it says, "...they worshipped
and served the creature more than the Creator." Doesn't that sum it up? Man gets
more glory than God, who is blessed forever. And for this cause,
see verse 26, why are we reading this? For this cause, God gave
them up. Gave them up. Doesn't mean he gave up on them.
Doesn't mean he was trying and couldn't, because they wouldn't
let him, so he gave up on them. No, that's not what it's saying.
It said God left them. Left them to themselves. Left
to themselves. Do you see why that verse stuck
out at me now? It's that one line. came into the temple, came into
that big city of Jerusalem. Go to Hebrews 13, Hebrews chapter
13. He came to the center of religion
of that day, and he left. He left. That's a very revealing line,
isn't it? You just stop and think about it. He left them. And our
text says he went out of the city. into a little town called Bethany. He came into Jerusalem. Are you
with me? He came into Jerusalem, did what he came to do, and left,
went out of town, went outside of Jerusalem. He's coming back
to do something, but he went outside to a little town called
Bethany, and that's where he lodged there. It says that's
where he stayed. He spent the night there. Why? Because there
was a little town outside there named Bethany. There were two
or three of his dear, close friends. A family. A little poor family. A brother and two sisters. And that's where he loved to
go. Two or three were really gathered in his name. And that's
where he dwelled. Lazarus. Mary. Martha. And he went there often. And they were intimate friends,
family. Look at Hebrews 13. This is what that's speaking of. Hebrews
13, verses 13 and 14. Let us go forth therefore unto
him without the camp. Without the camp. outside of
where big religion, big business called religion is. Christ is
not in all that. He's not in that mess. He's not
in that mess. You have to leave that and go where those are truly
meeting in His name. Go without the camp, without
the world. That's where the people dwell,
without the world, or outside of corrupt religion, outside
of the world. Go where two or three are gathered
in His name, or that is for His glory, for His honor, to learn
of Him, to worship Him. And it says, bearing His reproach.
You see that? Verse 13. Bearing His reproach. You remember the scribes and
the Pharisees hated Him. They hated him, so
they were sore displeased with him. People were worshipping
him, some of the people, the young, the babes, and they didn't
like it. They hated the true Christ then,
and they hate him now, as Jane, they hate him now. And they hated the true disciples
of Christ back then. Lazarus, that man I just told
you about, The Lord raised him from the dead and they saw it.
They saw a miracle performed upon this fellow who was dead.
They all knew it. They saw it happen. Him raised
from the dead. They tried to kill Lazarus to cover this thing up. They
eventually did kill all of Christ's disciples and Christ himself. They hated the true Christ then
and now and they hated the true worshipers and believers in Christ
then and now. So he says you're going to have
to go to him bearing his reproach. Now let me ask you something.
In light of everything we were just talking about, does Romans
1 not speak clearly to you, loud and clearly to you of our day?
Is that not a clear indictment or revelation, exposure of our
day? Is it not? Do you find yourself like Lot,
vexed with all of this? That's what the Lord said about
Lot. He said that just Lot, that righteous man, was vexed every
day with a conversation, or that is, a life, all that he saw and
heard around him. Do you not find yourself vexed
with everything? Aren't you? Are you? If not,
it's a bad sign. It's a bad sign. The Lord destroyed
Sodom. Nowhere near as large as some
of the major cities of our day. Few people believe that story.
You do, don't you? It says, the Lord was merciful
to Lot. The Lord being merciful to him.
See, Lot was a man. He was living inside him. And
some of that got to him, too. I mean, he was living there. But it said,
the Lord was merciful to him and laid hold of him. Lot lingered. Lot wanted to hang around. His
wife didn't want to leave at all. His wife didn't know the
Lord at all. And she perished there. But it
says, the Lord being merciful to Lot, laid hold on him and
brought him forth without the city. Brought him out. And that's what
salvation is, folks. is to deliver us from this untoward
generation, to deliver us from the corruption of this world
through love. That's what Peter wrote. To deliver
us from the great wrath to come. Old-fashioned message, but true. May God have mercy on us and
our children. The Lord was merciful to Lot
and his children, his two daughters. Boy, they were sinners, weren't
they? The Lord laid hold on Lot and
his children and brought them forth and said, set them out
of the city. Set them out there. And I said,
don't look back. Do not look back. And verse 14, look here in verse
14 of Hebrews 13, it says, for we have here, we here, here we
have no continuing city. It's not the only continuing.
Folks think it is. That's what they Peter said,
they will say, in the last days, mockers and scoffers shall come
walking in their own lusts, saying, where is the promise of his coming?
All things continue as they have from the beginning. We don't
see any sign of his coming. You don't? No, of course you
don't. You're blind. But you do, don't you? And we
have here no continuing city, but we look for one. We seek
one to come. We seek us a new Jerusalem. You
know there's going to be a new Jerusalem? That's what this book
says, that's what God who cannot lie says, that's what Christ...
See, this whole thing, this whole issue is who this man was, and
if he's God, then the whole world's in a heap of trouble. Believers
in him are in for a wonderful eternity. But the rest of the
world's in for a heap of trouble. If he is who he said he was,
and who this book says he was, the whole world's in a heap of
trouble! But most people, since they're not interested, And don't
believe that he's just a man, no different than Mohammed or
Confucius or Buddha or anybody else. You can take it or leave
it. But the whole issue is who this
man was, what he said, if he's God. Now, buddy, it's life or
death, isn't it? It's an absolute imperative that
we believe him, know him, find out about him. Scripture says
repent, bow down to him, believe, trust him and so forth. If he's
not, if he's not God, let's get out of here. This is a waste
of our time, an absolute waste of our time. This man was the
greatest imposter to ever live, and we're absolute fools for
meeting here tonight in his name. Utter fools. See, this is the issue. The issue
is a person. And as I've noted, the whole
calendar revolves around this person. Men and women are forced
to look at the calendar which says time is measured by him,
before Christ, A.D. and Odomino in the year of our
Lord. He either was, either is, or he wasn't and he isn't. That's
the whole issue. If he is God, oh, You know, everybody's interested
in the hereafter. Everybody's interested in Oprah's
life hereafter, her life on other planets, her life out there,
you know, the mysteries of the universe and all that. Well,
if God walked this planet, if God Almighty walked this planet,
don't you think we ought to hear what, don't you think we ought
to listen very carefully to what He said? Isn't that what the
Hebrew says, John? We ought to give them more earnest
heed to the things we've heard because of who this is. And he
started that in Hebrews 1 saying who he was. God hath in these
last days spoken unto us by his only Son, the only bodily manifestation
of God who is invisible. And he came and he left. He came to this earth. Why did
he come? What did he do? Where'd he go? What's he doing now? What'd he
say? Is he coming back? See, that's the whole issue.
Tim. Hold that place in Hebrews 13,
okay? Hold that there, mark it, and
go back to our text in Matthew 21. Matthew 21. Go back there. You know, we believers are like
Christ. We came here. We were brought
here. And we're leaving. He's returning. We're not. Matthew
21, look at verse 18. Well, he went back into the city.
He returned in the morning into the city. Came back into Jerusalem. And it says he hungered. He hungered. See, things like
this are what people get confused about. If
He's God, how could He hunger? If He's God, how could...that's
what... You know the answer to that,
don't you? You know why that is, don't you? It says in Hebrews
that He is made in all points like as we are. He must. He had to. He made a little lower
than the angels. God became a man. Why? To die. God can't die. Man must. God became a man. Man can't get to heaven. Man can't earn heaven. God became man. To do for some people what they
could not do. But he hungered. It says he hungered. And I love that passage. It says,
We have a high priest who is touched with the feeling of our
infirmities. Tempted in all points like as we are. Touched. He's
called the man of sorrows. Our God is touched with the feeling
of our infirmities because he himself took flesh. And he hungered. He didn't have to. He did it
voluntarily. He could have met his own needs.
He could have fed himself, but he didn't. To know what we go through. And
he thirsted. He said he was a man of sorrows
from his youth up. A man that is born a woman is
full of troubles. Sorrows. He was weary with his
journey. He thirsted. He sat down. He
worked hard. Aren't you glad that he knows?
He knows our friend. Well, he came. He was hungered.
Verse 19 says he saw a fig tree, one fig tree in the way. One
fig tree. And he came to it and he found
nothing thereof but leaves only. One fig tree, but there was no
fruit on it, just leaves. It looked like a fig tree, didn't
it? It had green leaves on it, looked alive, but it didn't have
any fruit. No fruit. Good to look at, but
good for nothing. Right? Now what have we been
talking about? Religion and so forth. Everything
our Lord did, everything is in context. If we'd follow the line
of truth, we'd see it. It all follows perfectly. There's
nothing disjointed, Vicki. It all goes together to teach
us something. Whatever things are written are
written for our learning. This is a clear picture of professing
believers. who may look good. I was talking to someone the
other day, you know, and we were talking about these, well, I'll
not mention them, I mention them too much, but a particular denomination
of religious people that dress real conservatively. And this
person said they were impressed with the way these people live.
I said, I'm not. Not in the least. And God's not
either. As a matter of fact, I believe
it's another abomination to God Almighty. Maybe even more so than the harlots. And you thought I shot him. Isn't that what Christ said?
We're going to see that in this very chapter. He said the publicans
and harlots are going to get into heaven before you do. Why? It's all a cover-up. It's a cover-up. They look real
good. Look real good. It's a cover-up. Cover-up. No fruit. They only
turn over a new leaf. And it will soon wither. It all
will soon wither. And be cursed of our Lord. all
works and so forth. Remember that in Matthew 7, where
it says, Our Lord said, Many will say unto me in that day,
Lord, Lord, we have preached in your name, we have prophesied
in your name, we have done many wonderful works. And the Lord said, You
are a bunch of workers of iniquity. He cursed them, sentenced them
to an everlasting curse, just like this picture. Do you know what this is talking
about? Do you see that? Why is this here? To show our Lord's
power over trees? No, no. No, that's not it. Do you remember
what leaves Adam and Eve tried to cover themselves with in the
garden? I started thinking about that.
It does not tell us what tree they ate from. Could have been a fig tree. That
would be a pity, wouldn't it? Anyway, you know what kind of
leaves it was that they tried? The first man and woman who tried
to cover their sin and their nakedness before God. Tried to
cover up. Tried to hide themselves from
God. took fig leaves and sewed or made themselves little aprons
or little garments to cover it. And they may have been real proud
of them, you know. What fools, what fools. It's no coincidence, folks, that
the only thing on this earth, the only thing our Lord cursed
when he was on this earth was a fig tree. It's no coincidence. Go back to Hebrews 13. I told
you to mark that. Notice how amazingly God's Word
fits. Okay? You got it? In light of
everything that was just said, look at verse 15. By Him, therefore. He talks about
going to Him without the camp. We have here no continuing city.
We seek one to come. By Him, therefore. Let us offer
the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips. Give Him thanks to His name. Our Lord once told His disciples,
herein is my Father glorified that you bear much fruit. Remember that? that you bear
much fruit." Well, here it says, "...by him." Now, Christ is that
tree of life which bears all manner of fruit. Have you ever
read that in the Revelation? What about the tree of life in
the garden of which man and woman could not partake of then? That's
Christ. God said, if they partake of
that, they'll live forever. That's Christ. Christ is the tree of
life. By Him, therefore, Christ is that tree whose fruit is fruit
of Christ. He is life. Christ is life. Without Him, we're dead. Fruit. Tree. You know, a tree, a living
tree, has fruit, and in that fruit is seed, isn't it? Is there
life in that seed? Just take an apple tree. You
take an apple from that tree and there's seed inside of it,
isn't there? Much seed. Is there life in those seeds?
Absolutely. What kind of life? If you plant
that seed, what's it going to grow up to be like? If you plant
that seed, what is it going to be? Is it going to be a banana?
It's going to be just like the fruit it came from. See, by Him, in Him, Christ is
that tree of life. Whoever is in Him has been predestinated
by God to be like Him. God hath foreordained us to be
like Him, whose seed remaineth in us. See, by which we are born
again, incorruptible seed, which is Christ. And it says, by him
let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continuing. Now
here's the chief fruit that God looks for, may I say that, that
God looks for in human beings. This is it. Our Lord said this,
some of you are with me. I've lost a bunch of you, but
some of you are with me. Our Lord said, The hour has come, and now is,
that the true worshippers shall worship the Father. Worship the
Father. Shall really worship, not just do it with the lips,
and not just look like it, and not just go through the motions,
and not just have all the trappings, and all the paraphernalia, and
all the props of religion, and holding the Bible in their hand,
and looking like it, and sounding like it. I mean, they're going
to worship God in spirit and in truth, from the heart, with
this book. And that's it. And God seeketh
such to worship Him. Here is the Father glorified
that you bear much fruit. And the first fruit is a praise
to God continually in all things, in everything. To Him be the
glory. That's what they're saying in
heaven. To Him be power and glory and strength and wisdom and honor
and majesty and salvation belong to Him and calling and election
and drawing and calling and giving and all of it, every bit of it.
What do you think about that? Is that what you believe? Is
that what you long to do? This is the first part. Continually,
it says, continually, without fail, without reservation, every
time you meet, in all things you do, whether you eat or drink,
do all for the glory of God, the praise of God. Folks, you
won't find many people doing that. You just don't find them. Our Lord said, well, did Isaiah
speak when he said, this people draw near with their lips, but
their heart is far from it. That all who partake of Christ
bring forth this first fruit is praise, worship, thanksgiving,
a thankful. It says the fruit of our lips.
Now, this is vital. All of God's people want to somehow
or another Don't you? If you are, you do. You want to serve God somehow.
People talk about serve God. Barnard, one time a young fellow
said to Barnard, he said, Brother Barnard, I want to serve the
Lord. Barnard said, well, do it. You know what he meant by that. I'll tell you the first way.
Fruit of our lips. Fruit of our lips is a thankful
and grateful life. If there's one thing that characterizes
a world, Lena, it's this. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Isn't it? It's raining. It's
too hot. It's too cold. Well, God, may I say it, damn it all. That's precisely what he's going
to do. Their very lips condemn them. Believers, that should be far
from us. Murmuring and complaining is
bitter fruit. It's not fruit at all. It's bitterness.
But a thankful and grateful heart and spirit and attitude. If it's
raining too much and the floods come, well, we ought to be all
just washed away like Noah's day. If it's too hot, well, God,
you ought to, so the mercies of the Lord were not consumed. Huh? This praise, this thankful, grateful,
unmurmuring attitude is fruit that God is well pleased with. Our Lord, I love Psalm
24, it talks about Christ. It says, He had clean hands. and a pure heart. No evil motive,
no pure heart, sinless perfection. It says he never swore deceitfully. Nothing ever came out of his
mouth, but good thing. Isn't that amazing? Amazing. And so God said out loud, I'm
well pleased for this. Well pleased with him. First
fruit. And then let me close with this.
Let me tell you about this. What is a fruit tree for? Does
a fruit tree exist for itself? Does it bear fruit for itself? Then why does a fruit tree bear
fruit for other people? Christ being that tree of life,
why did he bear fruit? To the glory of God and for the
service of his people. He said, just eat. In me you might have life. Eat.
Service of others. And are you still in Hebrews
13? Look at verse 16. It says, but
to do good and to communicate, that means give. Forget not. For with such sacrifices, God
is well pleased. No, no, no, preacher, no. God's
not well pleased with anything. That's what it said then. Now
what does it say? Fruit. Herein is my Father glorified
that ye bear fruit. What for? And you know, God gives
according to the measure of the grace of Christ. He gives some
ten, some twenty, some a hundredfold. We're supposed to be good stewards
of the grace of God. What's a steward? It's the one
who doles out. It doesn't belong to him. He's
the one who doles it out. That's why we're given this grace.
Well, in our text, in closing, it says the disciples marveled
that the fig tree was so soon withered away. And folks, all of this is just,
it's gone. It's gone. Don't let me upset
the young people too much, young parents and all that. You need
not worry. If you believe Christ, trust
Christ, there's not going to be one ounce, not going to be
one moment's worry or fear or any of that sort of thing. Don't
worry about that. Just trust in the Lord, okay,
would you? When He comes, it's like that and, you know, it's
all. Your children, everything about
you, the Lord's already predetermined. It's all going to be taken care
of. Go on. Do what you're supposed to do. And just leave all your care,
cast all your care on Him. Don't worry about it. Don't worry
about it. And it's all going to wither
away, real soon. It's just withering up now. You
see that? Very clearly. Men talk about global warming. Boy, is it going to be. He says,
Be not weary in well-doing, in due season ye shall reap, if
ye faint not, if ye don't quit. For we go out of the grace of
God, don't quit. Well, he said to his disciples in this text,
and I quote, he said unto them, Verily, they marveled the fig
tree was withered away so soon. The Lord said, Verily, truly
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," apparently they were near a mountain, he
pointed at a mountain, and he said, you shall say unto this
mountain, be thou removed, be thou cast into the sea, and it
shall be done. And all things whatsoever ye
shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. Now, I dealt
with that passage several years ago when I was younger, about
ten years ago or more. And I thought I had the answers
then. And I don't know now. But I do think, though, this.
I know he was talking to his disciples. Okay? That's who he was talking
to privately. There was nobody else around.
His disciples, those twelve, were with him, and they marveled
at that. They were walking along, he withered the fig tree, and
they marveled. And he said to them, if you have faith, You'll not
only do this, but if necessary, if it need be, if for the furtherance
of the truth, if for the cause of God and truth, the mountain
need to be moved, you could say it and it would happen. He's
talking to his disciples. These were men who were given
special supernatural powers. That's right. That's right. He was talking to men to whom
he said later on, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in
heaven. Remember that? That doesn't apply to me, or
Pope Pinhead IV, or whoever. It doesn't apply to a man. It
applies to these apostles. He said to these apostles later
on, he said, you're going to sit on twelve thrones of judgment,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel. I don't have a clue what that's
talking about. Nobody else does either. So I do know now who he was talking
to about this. Right? In content. And he said,
praying, believing, and receiving. Now, I do know this, too. That
certainly applies to us. To all disciples. Praying, believing,
receiving. Our Lord said, John said to us
in his letter, he said, whatever you ask the Father in his name,
believing, you know you have those signs. So what's that talking
about? Well, there's one thing that God's
people... David said that. David never withered a fig tree.
David never performed a miracle. David never did anything like
that, did he? Because he was one of the greatest
believers that ever lived, didn't he? But here was the prayer of
David. Here was the heart's desire of
David. He said, one thing have I desired
of the Lord, and that's what I'm going after. And it's what
he continually prayed unto God for. In the name of Christ. In the
name of God. You see, we will receive whatever
we ask that's in keeping with God's will. He said, having food
and raiment, be content. That's all you need. Don't ask
for, well, I'm going to believe God for a Mercedes. That's not
what he's talking about. That's what these worldly covetous
fakes sat. God's people, that's not what
they're after. But there's one thing they're
after. We believe God, according to God's will, that he will give
us what is in accordance to his will. Bread, we need bread, don't
we? He said, ask, give us this day
our daily bread. David said, I've never seen one
of God's people begging bread. I've never seen, David said,
I've been young, I'm now old, I've never ever seen in my whole
life one of God's people begging bread, sitting on the corner
begging bread, ever. couple of brethren right down
in Mexico right now, and he won't find any of those people down
there, believers, begging bread. God provides. It's amazing how
he provides for those people. They make pennies a day. God said it. Bread, food, raiment. pray and believe in His name.
Lord, and there are other things, but they're all spiritually related. Lord, I need mercy. Do you really? Yes, I do. Then you'll have it. Lord, I
need grace to live by. Do you? You can't do it on your
own. You need grace for everything. Then you'll have it. You'll have
it. Lord, I need patience. Lord,
I need to be long-suffering. Lord, I need wisdom. Aren't those
needful things? Aren't those in keeping with
God's will? Isn't that what he promised to give to them that
asked him? And you know what he said to
Solomon? He said, since you didn't ask
for all these riches, since you asked for what was good and right, Seek ye first the kingdom of
God and His righteousness, and all these things be added to
you. And look at us here. Look at us. We're rich. Not only spiritually, but materially.
I mean rich. We live like kings. That's just
gravy. That's not the bread. We can
do without the gravy. I'm finding out now I don't need
any more gravy. But I can't live without bread.
Right? And the older I get, the more
I'm finding out I don't need all this gravy. But I sure need
Christ to bread. Don't you? Okay. Stand with me. Our Lord, thank You for Your
Word. It's so wonderful. So wonderful. It is so truly
Your Word. The Word of God. quick, powerful,
which liveth and abideth forever. Thank you for it. It is your
voice, your power, your salvation, if you are pleased to use it,
if you are pleased to plant it, if you are pleased to water it,
nurture it, and bring forth life and bring forth fruit for thy
glory and the good of thy people. And that's our prayer, Lord,
and You promised to do just that. You've done it in our midst. You've done it for many. We ask
that You continue to do it. Lord, our children, our spouses,
our parents, our families, our friends, our neighbors, Lord,
we ask that You would be pleased, according to the riches of Thy
glory and according to Your tender mercies, that You continue to
do this work We'll give you all the honor and glory. And it's
in Christ's name we're met here tonight. The tree of life. Amen.