As Preached by Pastor Tony Evans

0:02
Mountains in the Bible are used in a number of ways. First of all, there is the physical mountain that we normally use the word to refer to. But also in the Bible mountain also refers to kingdoms. The kingdom of God is called a mountain. The Kingdom of saikhan is called a mountain. And the kingdom of men is called a mountain. It’s referring to a rule over a sphere. The word mountain is used of that. The third way that the word mountain is used in the Bible, as it is used in this passage is for an un-overcomable situation. A situation that looms so large, you can’t move it by yourself, and you don’t even know anybody who can help you move it. It’s just too much Big. You can’t get over the hump. It’s too awesome in its problematic impact on your life.

1:11
There is mountain was a called Mountain, Zachariah 4: 7, uses the word mountain in this way, some obstacle that looms large in your life to which you need divine help to move. In this passage today, Jesus talks about moving mountains and it is introduced by a fig tree. Peter says to Jesus, Jesus, verse 20, the fig tree that you cursed yesterday, has withered today from the root up. You pronounced a curse yesterday, we came out here today and what you said yesterday not only has happened today, but it is super happened, because it is withered not only with the fig part, but it is withered from the root up. So whatever you said, has completely reversed this situation.

2:18
We find in verse 12, Jesus is hungry and Jesus wants to get something to eat. He looks and He sees a fig tree and leaf; That is the leaves were out. When the leaves are out on a fig tree that means they are figs. The leaves are the external validation that things are on the tree. Jesus being hungry, goes over to the fig tree and leaf to get figs. Were also told it was not the season for figs. So the tree is showing fig leaf while its not even the season for figs to grow. So Jesus sees something out of the norm and goes over in His humanity because He’s hungry. But when He goes over, He discovers there are leaves with no figs. There are leaves with no figs. Let me put it another way, there is an external reality, with no internal reality. There is an external show, with no internal meaning. There is the look of figs without the reality of figs. The fig tree was a deception; It was trickery, because there were no figs. So Jesus curses the fig tree. He says, because you are a deceiving tree. I’m hungry, You gave me the visible impression you could feed me when I came over, there was nothing but a good look, but no substance and so I’m going to curse your external activity because of the absence of an internal reality.

4:14
However, between the fig tree yesterday, and the fig tree today, there is a story. Let’s look at the story, the tie the two days of the fig tree together. It says in verse 15, between the two fig tree events, Jesus comes to Jerusalem. It was the temple, He drives out those who are buying and selling in the temple, overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple. And He began to teach them saying, is it not written My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations but you have made it a robber’s den. Follow me now; On yesterday, Jesus was hungry and He went to a fig tree that looked like it was real, but when He got up close, there were no figs, there was no reality. The following day, He goes to church, the temple, and where He should have found folk worshipping God, where He should have found folk praying to God, where He should have found folk living for God. He found fake religion, not the real thing. Now it was in the right building, because it was in the temple, It had the right folk, because there was a priest, but it didn’t have spiritual reality. They were shucking and jiving in church, they were playing religion in church. They had the leaves and the leaves You should have met, you should find God here, You should find his presence here, You should find his power here. But when Jesus showed up, all they were doing were playing games in the house of the Lord. There was no reality to their religion.

6:16
You see, religion without reality is leaf without life. Religion without reality is leaf without substance. You can look the part., but when we get up close, and peer close, there is no spiritual life, spiritual reality. You see between the fig tree yesterday, and the fig tree today is the temple story. And in the temple story, which is Jesus has a major point is you’re supposed to be reality, but all I see is Christian leafs. I don’t see the Spirit of God, the power of God, the presence of God, all you’re doing is trying to make money, all you’re doing is having programs, all you’re doing is activity that has absolutely nothing to do with spiritual reality. You got fake church going on. In fact, He goes on to say when He quotes the Old Testament, My house shall be known as a house of prayer.

7:19
Jesus is delusioned by the church, by Christians who are satisfied with leaf Christianity, and not life Christianity, who want leafs, but who don’t want figs, external religious look, without internal religious reality. And so, when He talks about that, it says Peter says to Him, Master, Rabbi, the tree has withered from the root up. I mean, you cursed the tree, but in 24 hours, this whole tree is gone. How could you do this?

8:12
studied the Bible in college for four years, four years working on the master’s degree, another four years working with a doctorate degree. And then I’ve been preaching all of these years and I’m still learning new things from this awesome inexhaustible book, the Word of God. That’s why I’m so excited about the Tony Evans Study Bible. And it’s a company with the Tony Evans Bible Commentary. It will take all of this training and this teaching and make it available to you to understand, utilize and apply God’s most powerful

8:58
Jesus it says answers. Now it’s interesting. It says Jesus answered but technically Peter didn’t ask the question. All Peter said was the tree is withered from the root up? Well, that’s not a question. That’s a statement. But Jesus knew what he was getting at; what Peter was getting that is how could something that big happen this fast? That’s the question. Jesus knew what his question was. Tree is fine Yesterday, your cursed it yesterday, is gone today, how can all that happen in 24 hours, and that’s when Jesus now gives him and gives you and me His secret for moving mountains, things in your life that are too big for you to handle on your own. And for anybody else, you know to handle for you. He says, in verse 22. Have faith in God. He says, a simple statement, have faith in God. You want to How I got that tree from yesterday to be totally transformed today. Here’s My answer Peter and the disciples have faith in God.

10:11
In fact Jesus says in Matthew chapter 17, versus 20 and 21. If you have the faith of the grain of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain uses the word mountain be moved, and the mountain will be moved. He says, and this comes through fasting and prayer. He says, mustard seed faith can work. If it’s in the right object. Don’t have faith in your faith. Have faith in the right object. A lot of faith in the wrong object will go nowhere. A little faith in the right object will go a long way. To put faith in God means that you must put faith in God’s word God’s will and God’s character. And when you have faith in that God, now we can discuss mountain moving prayers. If you don’t have faith in that God, then you’re asking the wrong person to move the mountain, because you’re not asking the person who you are to truly have faith in.

11:21
He then says, You must put confidence in God, His will, His way, His word. What do you do next with your mountain, is what you do. He says, Whoever says to this mountain, be taken up and cast into the sea. So Jesus is probably on the Mount of Olives. 15 miles downhill is the Dead Sea. He says, If God is working for you, you can say that this mountain be moved and it will relocate itself. The problem is the mountain. You want to get the mountain off of you, You want it to relocate itself away from you. He says, if there’s figs on your tree, there is life. You have faith in the true God, then you can do with your mountain what you saw me do, Peter, what Mine; I spoke to it.

12:32
He talks about praying to God, but then he talks about speaking to your mountain. Prayer is when I talk this way, my mountain is what I’m experiencing out here my daily life. He says, if there’s faith on the tree, real life, you’re not withering. If you have faith in the real God, not the God of your own making his will, His Word and His character. Then you can have a conversation with your problem coz the mountain is your problem. And when you speak to your mountain, it says the mountain will relocate itself; means get out of your face. The mountain will relocate itself. Now, this raises the question. And the question is and what Jesus says after this, and it’s a question in everybody’s heart and mind. He says, All Things will which you pray and ask, believe that you ever received them. And they will be granted you. Whenever you stand praying, forgive; if you have anything against anyone so that your Father in heaven will also forgive you. In verse 24, He makes a staggering statement. Whatever you have asked for, believe you have received it. In other words, you haven’t recently it yet, but believe you have received it, even though you haven’t received it. So you expect it, but you have received it.

14:09
The difference between God’s unconditional will and his conditional will. God’s unconditional will is what He decides to do, regardless of what anybody else does. Another word, He’s gonna do it, period. His sovereignty has decided this is what I’m going to do, and no matter what you do, don’t do what somebody else does that done do, nothing one change, cuz this is my unconditional Well, that is it’s not tied to any conditions. I’m just gonna do it, because I have my prerogative to do it. The reason why God tells us to pray is so that we can link into His conditional will, because His unconditional will is gonna happen whether we pray or not, but His conditional will always happens if we obey if we pray if we believe, and if we have Figs on the tree that is, we are we are full of divine life, operating within us. So that’s condition.

15:10
So many of the things that we pray for, we don’t get because we didn’t meet the conditions. It didn’t feel fit God’s conditional will, cuz if it’s His unconditional will, it’s gonna happen regardless. But if it’s His conditional will, it happens if only if certain factors are made. And that’s why in the Scriptures, were told that we have to qualify for certain things to happen, because it’s tied to his conditional will. So, how do you know if something you’re asking for is unconditional? He’s gonna do it or not do it anyway? Or conditional? Let me answer that two ways. Number one, many times you don’t know. Okay? Many times God is silent on whether it’s unconditional or conditional. So guess what you do? You treat it like it’s conditional. If you not sure, then you treat it like it’s conditional, and you do everything you’re supposed to do so that if it is unconditional, you’ve met all the standards for God to fulfill His, if it is conditional, for God to fulfill His conditional will regarding that situation.

16:19
But then there’s another answer. 1 John five:14 and 15 says, and we have this confidence that if we ask anything, according to His will, He hears us. And if we know He hears us, we know that He will grant what we have requested. So here’s another secret to God’s conditional will. When God is operating on a conditional will and He wants you to qualify to move this mountain that you are facing. What He will do is give you an inbred confidence or a sense of assurance or a sense of peace, or a sense of realness that this thing is going to happen. Because when God is doing something big in your life, He has to do two things at the same time, prepare the thing that He wants done, and prepare you for the thing He’s doing. Both things have to comply. If you are not being prepared, then you’re not ready. You’re like the children in the wilderness, because you’re not ready for the promised land, because you won’t meet the conditions. But He also has to get the promised land ready, so that when you arrived there, and He’s ready to move the mountain, the mountain is already ready to obey. It’s in the hands of Almighty God of love is conditional on conditional, but what I don’t want it to happen is I don’t want it to be conditional, and I didn’t do what I was supposed to do.

18:03
But then one more thing, and it’s an important thing. He says, Whoever, whenever you’re standing, praying, forgive if you have anything against anyone, so your Father in heaven will forgive you. Okay, watch this. Forgiveness is a condition of moving mountains. This is, this is, this is in the same story. Forgiveness is not necessarily reconciliation, you can forgive without being reconciled. For example, suppose the person you need to forgive has died, you can’t reconcile with them. Suppose the person you need to forgive, you don’t even know where they are anymore, You can’t reconcile with them. Or suppose the person you need to forgive, doesn’t want to repent, Doesn’t want to say I’m sorry, doesn’t want to confess, then you can reconcile with them. Forgiveness can lead to reconciliation, but forgiveness is not the same as reconciliation. Forgiveness is where you are not seeking revenge against the offender. Okay? I am not seeking vengeance, Vengeance is mine saith the Lord, I will repay, you are not seeking to repay; what God is saying is you’re blocking Me moving your mountain. Because what you’re wanting for me is my forgiveness for you. Well, if you want my forgiveness for you, you got to be willing to offer it to somebody else.

19:31
Now, unless you have the right view of God, you’re not gonna do that. Because you think I’m gonna repay this. I’m gonna get my posse to repay this, because I that you shouldn’t have done that to me. And I’m gonna get you for doing that. Well, what you just did, you didn’t have faith in the God of the Bible. So you gotta have faith in the God of the Bible, which keeps you from needing vengeance for yourself. Not necessarily reconciliation, but vengeance for yourself. See the reason why Joseph, Joseph could forgive his brothers for sell him into slavery, putting them in a hole, selling them to the Ishmaelites. He says he forget, he said, I forgive you and the reason I can forgive you is you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. God is so big, He use your mess to create my miracle. That’s unless you have that view of God, you will do the wrong thing because you don’t have faith in God. And you’ll do the wrong thing while talking about God. Yeah, I’m trusting the Lord while I get them back.

20:35
Okay, so you’ll do the wrong thing in the name of God. I’m trying to create for me, for you, for us, this bigger view of God, that we have faith in that God, that we are life Christians, not leaf Christians. We don’t just come to church on Sunday, that we want to make this house a house of prayer, not just a house of preaching, a house where we cry out to God and where we see miracles happen here, I want people to come not for the preacher of the sermon, but because of the power that’s happening, lives have changed, miracles are taking place, sicknesses that heal, marriages are restored, sins overcome, addictions are canceled; That’s why they come. And then if they come for that, the preaching becomes extra, because they’re coming for the power of God in this house, that’s what we’re crying for.

21:27
And so if you meet the qualifications, you want to be an authentic life, Christian. You want to cry out to God in prayer and in faith, you’re going to speak to the mountain, and you’re going to forgive those who need to be forgiven, whether that’s writing a letter sending a note, making a call, if those people are contactable, or just acknowledging the God that they aren’t, I released them. Lord, I don’t feel like releasing them, I don’t even want to release them, but I do know I want my mountain move. So because I want my mountain move in the name of Jesus Christ, I released them from the offense against me. I’ma let You handle them, because I need You to move this mountain in my life.

22:08
And when we qualify for the mountain moving work of God, we will see mountains move. Things that God once moved, will see it moved. And we will see God’s power in this house, and that’s what I want. We’ve got a mountain. You have mountains, and if you don’t have one, keep living. You don’t have a mountain, something too big for you to move. Just make sure that when you face your mountain, you have qualified for the conditional will of God to see that mountain move.

22:52
In closing, there was a husband who went to the doctor. On behalf of his wife, he says God my wife Eva has a hearing problem. She can’t hear well, I can be talking to her, screaming across the room, and she doesn’t hear, the doctor says okay, I tell you what? Let’s set an appointment, you bring her in next week. But between now and next week, I want you to run a test. So Doc what’s the test? So stand 15 feet away, and when she’s cooking, ask her what she’s cooking. If she doesn’t answer, then go 10 feet away and ask her what she’s cooking. If she doesn’t answer, go five feet away and ask her what she’s cooking. If she’s still doesn’t answer, go right up to her ear and shout in her ear. What are you cooking? to see whether she answers there, because that’ll give me a measurement of how many feet it takes before she’s hearing. He says okay, I’ll do it. He went home, 15 feet away. Dear, what are you cooking? Nothing. He goes 10 feet away. Dear, what are you cooking? Nothing. He goes five feet away. Dear, what are you cooking? Nothing. He goes right up to her ear. Dear, what are you cooking? She says, for the fourth time vegetable soup. See, the problem may just be you

24:26
You not only to speak to God about the problem, we are to simultaneously speak to the mountain or the problem or the and overcome a situation about God. When you pray about this mountain and figuratively the mountain in the Bible is a situation you don’t know how to overcome. Then you need to bring The character of God, the promises of God and the power of the Word of God to that problem. And you speak to it, you tell that mountain what God says about it. You tell that mountain about the power of God, you tell that mountain, what this passage of Scripture says about this particular situation. If you need healing, quote, to the illness, the power of God’s word, watch God show you that He can cast mountains in the seas when you speak to the mountain.

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