Bible Study_ “Be Fruitful”

Mark 11 talks about Jesus and how he dealt with the Fig Tree. First of all let’s talk about Fig Trees and what they represent. These trees, we know produce fruit; and it is my belief that this was the exact type of tree that was in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve ate of the fruit because lets be real— apples weren’t even a thing back then. (But that’s a conversation for another day. Fig Trees grow figs, which are not actually fruit but over 1000 small inverted flowers that are pollinated by females fig wasps burrowing inside to lay eggs. These trees bear leaves and then when in full leaf, begin to harvest the figs.

In Mark, when Jesus approached the fig tree, he had a need and unfortunately for the tree, it was unable to meet the need of the Lord. The Bible talk about everything that has breath is supposed to serve the Lord; well not the fig tree. In this scenario, the fig tree was unproductive in meeting the need of the Lord in that moment and although the Bible says that the season for figs had not yet come, this tree should have been at least producing some fruit and because it could not meet the need of the Lord, he declared that “no one would eat fruit from it every again.”

— it is important for us to recognize that first of all there was a need that was not being met, God created everything and everyone to produce, so if we are unproductive, there are consequences, just like the story of the man with the hidden talents. Just like in the beginning “God spoke” and then things manifested. The same thing happened to this tree. Jesus spoke to it, with authority, and it began the process of withering away.

When the disciples passed by the tree on the next morning, they noticed that the fig tree had withered away from the roots up. Therefore, when Jesus spoke to it, it died instantly — but it died at the roots first.

This story is a testament to the power of the spoken word. When we speak, someone begins to take place in the realm of the unseen and although this is not something that we can see happening with our natural eyes we must do as Jesus said in Mark 11:22 “Have faith in God.” —or have the God kind of faith.

“Jesus replied, “Have faith in God [constantly]. I assure you and most solemnly say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea!’ and does not doubt in his heart [in God’s unlimited power], but believes that what he says is going to take place, it will be done for him [in accordance with God’s will]. [Matt 17:20; Luke 17:6; 1 John 5:14] For this reason I am telling you, whatever things you ask for in prayer [in accordance with God’s will], believe [with confident trust] that you have received them, and they will be given to you.”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭11‬:‭22‬-‭24‬ ‭AMP‬‬

If we will really believe, then the thing that we speak will come to pass. There are a few nuggets in this to take away —

1. We must believe what we say — Yes, God’s word is truth and there is power in the word, BUT that word must first be spoken by someone and that someone is a person that you must believe what they say. So, if you have not been in the habit of telling the truth or being a person of your word, then how will you be able to believe what you say? We have to be able to trust the voice that God uses.
   • Let’s talk about the 5 elements of Faith:
     • Hearing — “Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God” Rom 10:17
     • Receiving — Receive the word and the messenger God uses — “Take heed [to weigh carefully, examine] what you hear…” Mark 4:24 — we need to discern what we are actually allowing into our eyes because these things could be contrary to the word of God, causing a heart of unbelief resulting in what happened to those in Jesus hometown. They could not receive from him because of their unbelief [refusal to believe]; they were also too familiar with him.
       • How in the world does a person get a heart of unbelief? Well, this can happen based on what goes inside of a persons heart, their heart can be hardened and the Lord says “Harden not your hearts as in rebellion” Heb 3:8 — this is what happened to the children of Israel that died in the wilderness.
     • Believing — now that you have received a word from God and accepted the messenger that he chose to use, do you actually believe what you have heard? “Believe in your heart” Rom 10:9; “don’t doubt in your heart, but believe” Mark 11:23… then you shall Receive!
     • Speaking — After hearing, receiving what we heard and believing it, we must now begin declaring it just as the Lord Jesus did when he spoke to the fig tree. Check out what Charles Capps has to says about this here.
     • Take Action — The Bible says that “Faith without works [corresponding action] is dead. Considering we live in the 3rd dimension, it is important that we don’t just expect things to fall out of the sky but that we take actions that put us in position to receive what it is that we are believing for.
2. Do not doubt in your heart — did you know that you can have faith and belief in your heart, but doubt in your mind. It’s true! The enemy always tries to throw ideas of doubt, but we are to resist him just as Jesus did on the mount.
3. Believe you receive… when you pray – we must believe that what we were believing for happened when we pray. It is finished just like when Jesus spoke to the fig tree — it died at the root (in the unseen realm) but it eventually was visible to the eye.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is faith and the way that we operate by faith. We, as Jesus has said, are sons of God. There is power available to us and faith is a tool that was given to us, we just have to know how to use it.