The truth about Mark 11:23

January 16, 1996

We left our last lesson with Mk. 11:22-24, which says:

• (v22) And Jesus answered saying to them, "Have faith in God.
• (v23)Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it shall be granted him.
• (24) Therefore, I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they shall be granted you."

Verse 24 is further qualified when compared to 1 Jn 5:14. What we ask for must be in accordance with God's will. God's desire for an unsaved world is salvation. His will for His children is spiritual maturity, and this, Christ hungered for. Yes, he wants us to prosper but as our soul prospers or matures (3 Jn 2). Soul or spiritual maturity is to be our priority. And our above scriptures address this.

Keeping Mark 11:23 in context

So Mark 11:23 is a powerful scripture when kept in the context of Mk. 11:12-26. For these scriptures describe the cornerstone of the spiritual life which is faith in God. But within these scriptures we learn that sin, and namely, unforgiveness, causes the loss of the filling of the Spirit and prevents residency within the Sphere of Faith to continue. But it doesn't stop there. It also offers the solution for recovery of the spiritual life, 1 John 1:9 . This we shall see as we go.

Now Mark 11:23 was never intended to stand on its own. It was not to lend itself to be the rock by which ministries would be founded and built. But sadly, this has been the case. Torn from its context, ministries have preached Mark 11:23 to excite the greedy and tap into those who seek something for nothing. Some go so far as to say that Mark 11:23 is tantamount to God telling us to "write your own ticket." You merely then present Him your wish list and He then will graciously open the storehouses of heaven and fill your order exactly as written. My friends, nothing could be further from the truth. "Seek not God's hand, but His face." Ask yourself, "Is my affection for God, one of love or lust?"

The example I have given of "writing your own ticket" to receive God's blessings is not fiction. It is a doctrine by a very popular so-called word of faith teacher. Such doctrines I have previously refered to as spiritual junkfood. The concept that we can have what we say or write your own ticket is not biblical, but diabolical. It is new age heresy. It is the results of taking scripture out of context, disregarding the whole counsel of truth, and twisting and torturing to the point of heresy.

God's Word: The True Treasure

The entire Word of God speaks of doing what God says, not having what we say. It speaks of God's glory, not personal glory. It speaks of treasures in heaven, not a materialistic lifestyle. Yet, these flippant purveyors of sugar-sweet doctrines shrewedly point out that God doesn't want us in rags, for what child of a King ever went around in rags, they would argue. But they miss the point. God's Word Itself is the treasure; His Words have eternal value. His thoughts transform our thinking above and beyond the temporary and material. His intimate counsel teaches us to be focused, balanced, and poised. It is not whether we wear rags and or the latest fashions. The Apostle Paul taught us that contentment is the sign of the mature and spiritual. Contentment is a product of our thoughts. And it is what we think that makes us wealthly. God has promised already to clothe and feed and shelter us. We are to seek God's kingdom and His righteousness (Mt. 6:33). Our focus is to live the spiritual life, redeeming our time on the path of righteousness, and advancing in time upon the spiritual life line.

In our next lesson, we will discuss the interpretation of Mark 11:23 from a biblical, objective, and spiritual viewpoint. Such an interpretation will be crafted with God's glory in mind, not as a means to excite the crowd's desires for riches, wealth, and prosperity.

Copyright ©1996 Robert W. Case Jr.,

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