Mark 11:15 says, And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves; When Jesus got to Jerusalem He went to the temple, and found it had been turned into a place of commerce. As Christians, when we gather together in God's name, He is there with us, so what will He find? Have we allowed worldly things to invade our worship service? Jesus began to cast our those who bought and sold in the temple and overthrew the tables of the money changers and those who sold doves, which were used in the worship service. They did these things to make a profit themselves and not for God. We need to make sure that the things that we do in the church today are for God's glory and not for our benefit. Verse sixteen adds, And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. Jesus would not allow them to carry any vessel that was used for profit through the temple. This doctrine has not changed today. If we are somehow attempting to use the church for our benefit materially, we may be able to do so, but one day Jesus will cast out all that we have profited by it. Anything that we do for profit, especially when we are gathered together in God's name, will never last. Not only that, but I believe it will often stand between God and us. Verse seventeen declares, And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves. Jesus said it was written that His house would be a house of prayer and said instead they had turned it into a den of thieves. I believe that whenever anyone begins to emphasize giving to profit themselves, even if they profess it to be for God's glory, that they are not following God's word. Prayer and sincere worship of God and fellowship with our fellow believers should be at the center of our worship service and not materialism. Verse eighteen adds, And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine. The scribes and chief priests then began to plot about how to destroy Jesus, because He was hurting their authority and profit. These were the religious leaders of God's chosen people, and we need to pray that the leaders of the church do not become the same way today. The scribes and priests feared taking action against Jesus, because the people were astounded by His doctrine. Are we still astounded by God's doctrine today, and are people afraid to act against us because of our relationship with Jesus Christ? Verse nineteen says, And when even was come, he went out of the city. Verse twenty adds, And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots When Jesus and the disciples left Jerusalem to return to Bethany where they were staying it was dark, so they evidently didn't see the fig tree that Jesus had cursed, but returning the next morning, they did. Matthew Henry says the fig tree represented Israel which had been the productive people of God, but whose faith was now dried up and worthless. We should never stop being productive in God's kingdom because our faith has dried up. Verse twenty-one continues, And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away. Peter noticed the fig tree had dried up and was startled by the fact. He did not have faith to believe that Jesus had power to really cause this to happen. As Christians, we should never doubt the power of God. Verse twenty-two states, And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. Jesus told Peter and the disciples to have faith in God. Once we put our faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we should never live in doubt again. Verse twenty-three adds, For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Jesus then said if they had faith, they could command a mountain to move, and it would move if that person had enough faith. Matthew Henry says the mountains were figurative for any seemingly impossible obstacle that stood between the disciples and God. He said this applies to all disciples, which includes us as Christians. Verse twenty-four adds, Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. Jesus then said that whatever they desired when they prayed if they had faith, they would receive it. Some people believe that anything that they want and ask God for by faith as Christians that they will receive it. I believe that the key is that we are to pray by faith, and if we do, instead of asking God to give us what we want in faith, that sincere pray will align our wants with God's determination of what we need. I also believe that moving a mountain by faith means that it would need to be moved in order for us to do what God asks us to do. It would never be simply to bring attention to our power but would be done in order for us to do God's will in our life and for His glory. We may spend all our time trying to move a mountain by faith when God only wants us to climb over it by faith in Him. Jesus said what we desire when we pray that we are to believe, and we will receive it. This is different than seeing and desiring something then praying that God will give it to us, even if we have faith. By prayer, we should determine what God wants for us and then have faith to believe that is the best thing for us, even if it may not be what we desire. One thing God will always want for people is to restore them to a relationship with Himself through putting their faith in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord.
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