Have Faith In God – Mark 11
The Lord Jesus went to Jerusalem and Calvary. Up until this specific time whenever the Lord Jesus healed people he told them not to tell others. He kept things private as possible and seemed to move around undercover when he could. He didn't want to attract attention. Now this changed as he headed toward Jerusalem and Calvary.
The common people and children were happy to hail him as the King and Messiah. They sang his praises as he made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
The Lord Jesus went into the temple and cleansed it. He taught his disciples that in order to accomplish anything with God that a person must have faith and must be in a right relationship with God and man. Forgiving people is basic to faith in God.
Mark 11:22, "And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God."
While he traveled the Lord Jesus cursed a fig tree which had no fruit. Later the disciples noticed the tree was dried up and were amazed at how quickly the tree had died. When they brought this to the attention of the Lord Jesus he replied, "Have faith in God." He explained to them that if they had faith then what they said would be done. He described the authority a faith-filled believer has to create change in the world. He tied this to a right relationship with people and God. We cannot separate faith in God from a right relationship with people. Both go together.
Today men have faith in many things. Some believe in philosophy, science, or world religions. Some boast in an absence of faith. Men put their heart and energy into self worship. This is the essence of sin – worship of self – and being conformed to the world system. In principle this is living in agreement with the devil. When men do not put faith in God they put faith in themselves which leads to existing like Satan. Satan only worships self. This is what men do when they do not put their faith in God.
The Lord Jesus did not teach us to put faith in faith itself. Some have taught that as long as you have faith it does not matter what the object of your faith is. This is a spiritual disaster because God has made man in such a way that man becomes like whatever he worships. When men worship worthless objects they become worthless. Another word for worthless in the Bible is "reprobate".
The Lord Jesus Christ is God and He is Man. He is the God Man. He became a man to save us from ourselves, from sin, from this world, and from the devil. He redeemed us with his blood which he shed upon the cross. He died, was buried, and rose again the third day. All those who put their faith in the Lord Jesus are united with him and become one with him in death, burial, and resurrection. We become a new creation in Christ Jesus. Old things pass away and all things become new.
