FAITH MAKES THE WORD PREVAIL!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 05, 2023.

SUBJECT : FAITH MAKES THE WORD PREVAIL!

Memory verse: ""So the Word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed." (Acts 19 vs 20.)

READ: Mark 11 vs 12 - 14; 

11:12: Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry.

11:13: And seeing from afar off 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.

11:14: In response Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again. And His disciples heard it.

11:20: Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.

11:21: And Peter, remembering,  said  to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.

11:22: So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God.”

11:23: For assuredly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.

11:24: Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

 INTIMATION:

Jesus Christ is the Word (John 1 vs 1). The Word takes the place of the unseen Christ in the believer. Meditation on the Word is a visit with Him. The Word is a seed (Luke 8 vs 11), and when planted in our fleshy hearts,  germinates and begin to live in us; grows, and gets into our blood. The Word becomes a part of one by mediation. 

Faith in the Word—faith in Christ—makes the Word prevail. Our memory verse says, "So the Word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed." The Word prevailed as it grew mightily because the believers caught the revelation of Christ in the Word when it was preached to them. The apostle Paul preached in Ephesus and a revival ensued and shook the nation. It was not the apostle Paul's preaching; it was not his logic or philosophy; it was the Word of God. It grew in the minds of the people, and gained supremacy over them because of their faith.

Faith comes when the Word prevails over our thinking processes. In the Bible, we see the Word prevailing in Jesus' lips over the laws of nature; "Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. Then the disciples came to Him and awoke Him saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing! But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So the men marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that the winds and sea obey Him?" (Matthew 8 vs 23 - 27.) Jesus said, "O you of little faith." It was the faith of Jesus that made the Word prevail, but the disciples couldn't handle the situation for they had little faith.

Also, the Word prevailed in Matthew 8 vs 5 - 9: "Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed dreadfully tormented." And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him." The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, 'Go ,' and he goes; and another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."

Jesus marveled at the response of the centurion in faith, and said to those who followed Him; "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” “Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you." And the servant was healed that same hour." (Matthew 8 vs 10 & 13.) It was the faith that the centurion manifested that made the Word to prevail in his situation.

In the passage we read today, Jesus spoke the word in faith, and it was done to the fig tree according to His word. His disciples were astonished at the prevailing power of His Word to the fig tree, and when Peter saw that the fig tree which He cursed the previous day has withered away, he called His attention to it, and Jesus responded and said, “Have faith in God.” Jesus response to apostle Peter revealed that the prevailing power in His Word was according to His faith.

The Word takes the place of the unseen Christ. Faith in the Word is faith in Christ because Word and Christ are one. To pray effectively, you need faith in God, not faith in the object of your request. If you claim to have faith without putting it to work in your life, you are like the barren fig tree in the passage we read today. Genuine faith had great potential. It places you in the stead of Christ, and that faith that worked for Him will also work for you. Pray to God to help you bear fruit for His kingdom. The other conditions that must be met for the Word to prevail in your lips include: (1) You must be a believer; (2) you must not hold a grudge against another person; (3) you must not pray with selfish motives; (4) your request must be for the good of God’s kingdom.

Prayer: Abba Father, forever Your Word is settled in heaven. Endue with the spirit of faith in Your Word, that I will speak Your in faith with full assurance that Your Word I speak will prevail, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!