This is a preview of what I am going to speak on this upcoming week at my friend's BCM service. When Jesus says in Matt 21:21 that if we have faith we can move mountains, we can't make a blanket statement across all of our prayer requests and say, "If I have faith it will happen." As a kid I had my heart crushed several times because certain prayer requests weren't answered although I believed beyond a shadow of a doubt that God would answer them. I didn't receive swords, pet dragons, a brother, or anything of the sort despite my impeccable record for having faith as small as a mustard seed.
We have to take verse 21 and see the context of chapter 21 in Jesus' ministry. Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphantly in verses 1-11. In verses 12-17 he cleanses the temple of the money-changers and the salesmen proclaiming that it is a house of prayer, not of thieves. In verses 18-22 he curses a fig tree and teaches on prayer as a kind of afterthought (this afterthought is my main text). From verses 23 and onward to the end, most crucial to understanding what is going on, we see Jesus and the religious leaders arguing over who has the authority to do what. Jesus pronounces a parable on them that builds until verse 43 with the statement "the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits."
That statement is the most important for understanding the passage on prayer, because we see the teaching on prayer hanging on the end of an incident where Jesus curses a fig tree because there is no fruit. In the scheme of chapter 21, the fig tree becomes an enacted parable where Jesus, seeing the fruitlessness of Israel symbolized in the fruitlessness of the fig tree, curses it as a sign that Israel will soon be cursed and withered, and as he teaches later the "vineyard" or Kingdom of God will be given to another nation.
So the teaching on prayer is right on the heels of this enacted parable. The context of chapter 21 is that Israel is rejecting Jesus' authority, and thereby showing the root of the fruitlessness; rebellion to God. This rebellion will not thwart the kingdom, because it will be given to another nation who will bear fruit unto God. So no sane person in this context would think God is teaching me how to ask and believe in order to get a big mansion or a nice car. This isn't a teaching on "Santa" God.
What it means for the church is that if there is a mountain between you and the fulfillment of Jesus' mission on earth (to bring all nations into Him), then that mountain will be traversed or moved for the sake of Christ. If a mountain of opposition comes against your mission to spread the name of Christ throughout the world, God's inexhaustible power will meet and defeat that mountain in order that Christ's name will be spread.
It doesn't mean I can get what I want from God for no reason except that I asked in faith, it means my requests must be in line with Gospel ends in order for it to apply.
An army is in my way? No big deal, God moves mountains. I don't speak the language? No big deal, God can teach it if I need it now or He can allow me to learn it. A stubborn, fruitless church has possession of all the money to send out missionaries and they are sitting on it? No big deal, God can shake it out of them.
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2 comments:
Thanks for the reply.
Talking about prayers, I see in every culture its different "modes", for instance, my mom used to pray to heaven (chinese culture) - to her, her gods are there.
It takes a lot of faith to pray prayers that will "move mountains". The faith issue might need some strengthening, I guess....
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