One of my friends in Logan County, who I witnessed to for over three years, had acquired some old Indian superstitions about protective spirits and sympathetic magic. He fully believed that by invoking a curse on his enemies, he could cause them duress. Of course if you mentioned the irreligious phenomena of the New Age, he became poetically profane about the unchristian aspects of such nonsense. But strangely he seemed unable to comprehend the pagan nonsense of his own opinions. He attended our Logan County Mission for a few months and then decided his private prayers and curses were just as adequate and less than the trouble spent driving fifteen miles to pray in the midst of a public worship service. While he may have believed that the work of the Church was necessary to the improvement of society, he never realized that he was in need of a spiritual make over as well.

Of course, he was not alone in our county. I had witnessed to and challenged over thirty families who had left the liberal church because of what was taken away from Scripture. Most had visited charismatic or fundamentalist churches who added something to the same Scripture. After a while, most of these families decided rightly that the only sensible thing was to stay away from both aberrations. However, they could not be persuaded to participate in a denomination that purposely tries to obey the Scriptures without adding to or taking away from the very Word of God.

Whenever and wherever such unbiblical organizations exist we may be very certain that the Lord, whose prerogative it is alone, will curse such humanistic excesses as they reach the nadir of their existence. Such a situation existed when our Lord Jesus Christ came to Zion's Holy Hill. Many of the liberal commentators have supreme difficulties with the passage before us. William Barclay doubts that this parable of the fig tree is true unless it be an enacted parable and he would rather not have to deal with it. A more conservative commentator sees the true unity of the section before us. Let us divide the lessons here between tree, temple and Old Covenant Church. And as we comprehend the relationship of these, then perhaps we can come to a proper vision of what Christ would have us see even as we endeavor to be His own congregation.

First, there is the prophetic parable of the fig tree. Now the fig tree was one of the symbols of the Jewish nation. Certainly, the time of spring when these events take place was not the season for figs. This is what so thoroughly confuses the commentators about this passage. Yet, there are leaves on the tree and the promise of fruit in season. However, to prove a prophetic point of what was to happen, Jesus promised that no one would ever eat fruit from that tree again. With that said, Mark follows Peter's memory on into Jerusalem.

At the Temple, in the Court of the Gentiles, Jesus cleaned out the dishonest bazaar of temple business dealings. The corrupt nature of these dealings was well known and we have many sources for the necessity for His actions. Doves used for sacrifice were available outside of the Temple, but the priests would usually declare them unacceptable so as to encourage the Temple traffic. Only Jewish money was accepted as an offering and the exchange rate could easily consume half a days wages for the average working man. Even more scandalous was that this very activity took place in that part of the Temple set aside for the prayers of the nations, those gentiles who were attracted to the simple Monotheism and spiritual power of the worship of the One True God. Imagine if you will the worst advertisements of the televangelists brought to the entry of the local church.

To His disciples, this wrath of the Lamb, was a new experience and it made a vivid impression upon them. It was many many generations before the Lord's New Covenant Church indulged in fund raising schemes to pay for St Peter's Cathedral in Rome. Now, I do not mean to belittle the construction of viable visible buildings. We have just completed a necessary phase in that regard. The point of Jesus' actions here was to focus the attention of His followers upon His expectations for the New Testament congregations. While the chief priests and teachers plotted to kill Jesus, He and His disciples returned to Bethany.

On the way, they passed by the Fig Tree of the day before. Peter pointed out that the tree had withered. So immediately had His word come to pass that the disciples were surprised. Jesus does not explain what He had done, but insists that they must learn to trust more in prayer. Remember all of the vain financial preparations and tourist entrapments at Jerusalem had just been condemned. Doubly, in tree and in temple, they had been surprised and did not comprehend His true authority or power. Here in twenty-four hours He had established both His material control over nature and His spiritual control over the Covenant faith. If they believed that He could move mountains and prayed within His will, it could happen. Do you believe that God can move mountains? Is it not the prerogative of a land owner to redecorate his property? I once read of a wealthy man who either had a large hill built or removed just for his own pleasure. The earth is the Lord's we sing, islands, volcanoes and entire continents are at His command. At Jesus' word a tree died within twenty-four hours. That just does not happen in our human experience. So it was with the disciples. Okay, Jesus says, if you have faith in me, then pray expecting your prayers to be answered. Well, there is no earthly reason for us to pray away mountains. But there are just as difficult tasks to remember in prayer. What can be as difficult as moving a mountain? How about moving a heart and having loved ones come into Christ's kingdom. There is a project worthy of much prayer. There is a project that we may well think nigh impossible for some of our acquaintances! But would you consider such a project? We did the first year we were worshiping and a third of the people prayed for showed signs of spiritual growth and our congregation increased! Will we turn our house of worship into a house of prayer as well? This is Christ's vision for us.

Now, I am going to do something that I do not ordinarily do, and ask for two or three people to take the responsibility of gathering a list of people who need salvation from within the friends and family of the congregation and I would ask that the list gathered be kept in the confidence of the extended group while we all individually, and at studies and in the prayer meeting hold these individuals up before the Lord of all the earth. I would ask that this program proceed and last for at least six months. Then we can re-evaluate to see what the Lord has done or is in the process of doing. If you wish to volunteer for this ministry - see me after church. But, sometimes it is difficult to pray for some people. I know from personal experience, so let us turn over to our friends the names of those we find difficult.

The last lesson for us in this passage is in verse twenty-five. There are things that can stand in the way of our prayers and that is to be unforgiving of others. If the new life of faith is truly ours, we all have to learn to treat other people as the Lord treats us. If He can forgive us our multitude of sins, can we not learn to forgive each other? For His sake, for the glory of the gospel, and to demonstrate the sincerity of our own calling, we need to learn how to forgive others even as the Lord forgave us. May the Spirit enable us in this difficult calling. Amen.