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The Word Produces Fruit
Matthew 21:14 'And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.'
MATTHEW 21:12-14
When we, who are the temple of the Lord, are occupied with the cares of this life, the needs of others are not met. However, when we are cleansed (Jn. 15:3), then the Lord can accomplish His ministry through us.
Jesus tells us not to worry or be anxious about our material needs being met. It would be impossible to never think about our physical needs, even Jesus thought about His need for money to pay taxes. We are simply not to be occupied with thinking about riches or spend time worrying about our necessities. They will be added unto us as we seek first the kingdom of God.
Prosperity can...
BEING A PLEASURE TO GOD
Our Words Are Alive
Mark 11:14 'And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.'
Notice that this verse says that Jesus 'answered' this fig tree. The tree had not spoken to Him verbally but it communicated that it had figs by the leaves on it. It is a fact that a fig tree should have figs by the time the leaves are evident. A fig tree actually produces green figs before the leaves appear and if no figs are produced by that time, then the tree will not have any figs that year. This fig tree was professing something that it didn't have even though it was still too early for figs.
Not only plants, but other things can communicate with us too. Circumstances can tell you that you have failed....
Believe That You Have Received
Matthew 21:19 'And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.'
MATTHEW 21:18-19
The Greek word for presently means 'instantly; immediately; soon.' However, the disciples didn't realize that the fig tree had died until the next day. If the tree died instantly, why didn't they notice it until the next morning? The answer to this question is found in Mark 11:20. The tree was dead from the roots up. The tree did die instantly just as the Word declared, but what had happened to the roots wasn't visible until the next morning.
There is a...
GOD IS LOVE
Choose To Believe
John 12:39-40 'Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.'
JOHN 12:37-40
This could be interpreted as the ultimate teaching in predestination. That interpretation would be that these people were never given the opportunity to believe because of Isaiah's prophecies. However, the Word of God makes it clear that 'whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved' (Rom. 10:13); 'Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he...
The Power To Live A Holy Life
John 12:31 'Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.'
The only reason Satan ever had any right to become a prince or rule over us was because we yielded ourselves to him through sin (Rom. 6:16). Since Jesus 'bore our sins in His own body on the tree' (1 Pet. 2:24), Satan no longer has power or authority over those who accept Jesus' gift of salvation. Satan has been 'cast out' -- stripped of any power he had. Now he can only deceive, and if we fall for his lies, we stop God's blessings from flowing in our lives.
The reason why a believer must live a holy life, is to avoid Satan's bondage. When we obey sin, we yield ourselves to Satan, the author of that sin.Yielding to sin is...
Jesus Paid Our Debt
John 12:31 'Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.'
There is still a future judgment of the world coming, where the wicked will be separated from the righteous and cast into the lake of fire. This verse refers to the sins of the world that were about to be placed on Jesus and that He would suffer our punishment.
Jesus suffered the punishment for our sins, so there is no reason why we should suffer for them too. The price for sin has already been paid by the only one who could fully pay it and that is Jesus. All Jesus asks of us to make His redemption ours, is faith in Him as our Lord.
Sin has a wage it must pay and no one can avoid payday without faith in Jesus. Anyone who does not...