The Importance of Speaking the Word in Ministering Deliverance
Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; and He said to them, “Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it. And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it,’ and immediately he will send it here.” So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it. But some of those who stood there said to them, “What are you doing, loosing the colt?” And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded. So they let them go. (Mark 11:1-6)
We know that, just days before His death, Jesus rode into Jerusalem upon a donkey's colt to the cries and cheers of "Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" (Matthew 21:9).
This event is what we refer to as the Triumphal Entry that occurred on what is now called Palm Sunday. Interestingly enough, we can prove from Scripture (most notably John 12) that this occurred on the same day that the Passover lamb was being escorted into the Temple in preparation for its sacrifice. This would have been the tenth day of Aviv.
Why Did Jesus Curse the Fig Tree?
Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. In response, Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.” And His disciples heard it. (Mark 11:12-14)
The fig tree is one of the more frequently mentioned trees in the Scriptures. It was from its leaves that Adam and Eve made their first covering (Genesis 3:7). The fig tree was valued first of all for its delicious, sweet fruit (Judges 9:11).
The nation of Israel is often symbolically referred to as the ‘fig tree’. Even Lord Jesus made reference to the fig tree in connection with the nation of Israel being reborn again. (Matthew 24:32-33)
Several times in the Old Testament, the prophets describe God as inspecting Israel for “early figs,” as a sign of spiritual fruitfulness (Micah 7:1; Jeremiah. 8:13; Hosea. 9:10–17)—but he finds “no first-ripe fig that my soul desires.”
So in two exiles (Assyrian and Babylonian), God pours out the curse of barrenness (Hosea 9:16), and Israel becomes a rotten fig (Jeremiah. 29:17). So you see that fruitlessness leads to judgment.
But why did Jesus curse the fig tree if it was not the right season for figs?
The answer to this question can be determined by studying the characteristics of fig trees.
The fruit of the fig tree generally appears before the leaves, and, because the fruit is green it blends in with the leaves right up until it is almost ripe. Therefore, when Jesus and His disciples saw from a distance that the tree had leaves, they would have expected it to also have fruit on it even though it was earlier in the season.
Now you need to understand that…
There were many trees with only leaves, and these were not cursed.
There were many trees with neither leaves nor fruit, and these were not cursed.
This tree was cursed because it professed to have fruit but did not.
Symbolically, the fig tree represented the spiritual deadness of Israel, who while very religious outwardly with all the sacrifices and ceremonies, inwardly were spiritually barren.
It also teaches us the principle that mere outward religious observances are not enough to guarantee inward salvation unless there is the fruit of genuine salvation evidenced in the life of the person.
The lesson of the fig tree is that we should bear spiritual fruit (Galatians 5:22-23), not just give an outward appearance of religiosity. God judges fruitlessness and expects that those who have a relationship with Him will “bear much fruit” (John 15:5-8).
Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’” (Matthew 21:12-13)
And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer
First, this statement reveals that our Father has a spiritual residence. His dwelling place is the house of prayer.
All of us were at one time foreigners spiritually, separated from the Father by our sinful nature. It is God's desire to bring us into intimate relationship with Him and bestow upon us the right of unrestricted access to His presence: "
That at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ" (Eph. 2:12-13).
Those who were previously spiritual "foreigners" will have a place in this house and will be given a new name:
Even to them, I will give in My house
And within My walls a place and a name
Better than that of sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
That shall not be cut off (Isaiah 56:5).
Through prayer, we can enter into a relationship with God that is superior to that of the natural father-child bond. A natural relationship can be broken by misunderstanding and conflict. The relationship that our heavenly Father offers is permanent. It is everlasting, and God declares it cannot be terminated.
The Father wants to give you a new name and adopt you into His family. The name He longs to bestow upon you is better than that of the father-child relationship in the natural world because it is an everlasting name: "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!" (1 John 3:1).
God also reveals that these spiritual sons and daughters will be brought to His "holy mountain," which means they will have intimate access to Him. Through this familial relationship, His children receive the prayer anointing, and their offerings and sacrifices are accepted on His altar (Isa. 56:7).
Prayer is not hard The truth is, prayer is a delightful thing for every true child of God because it takes us into the presence of our Father. What Isaiah prophesied in Isaiah 56:7 NKJV has come to pass for us. "Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations."
Robbing Thieves
The second truth evident in Jesus' declaration as He cleansed the temple is that there are "thieves" who would rob us of this experience (Matt. 21:13).
There are thieves who would rob us and prevent us from entering into the prayer anointing.
1Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?”
And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read,
‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have perfected praise’?”
Immediately after the dramatic confrontation in the Jerusalem temple, the Scriptures record how people who could not see or walk came into the temple, Jesus healed them, and the children began to sing praises, saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" The sonship of Jesus was acknowledged when the temple became a house of prayer and an arena for the demonstration of God's power.
Your own sonship relationship with the Father will be revealed to the world only when your spiritual temple is cleansed and you become a house of prayer where God's anointing and power are demonstrated.
First, Jesus cleansed the temple, causing it to become a house of purity (v. 12). Jesus then made the declaration that it would be called a house of prayer (v. 13). Next, the temple became a house of power as people who could not see or walk came to Him and He healed them (v. 14). Finally, the temple became a house of perfected praise (vv. 15-16).
a)1 Corinthians 3:16 onwards
b)Psalm 127:1
c)Genesis 28:16-17; 1 Timothy 3:15
All these three houses must have prayer.
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