Vineyard Church of Knox County
Breakthrough of True Power
Sermon Audio from Sunday, March 26, 2006 — We're all here today because we have faith. Some of us have a great deal of faith and some of us have little faith. We're all here because we've had some kind of encounter with God or with Jesus and we're trying to work out that faith in our everyday lives. All of us have prayed, asking God for something that has not come to pass. We deal with the tension of trying to live a Christian life that is impossible to live in our own power.
Our Breakthrough series continues today in the Gospel of Mark as Jesus enters Jerusalem, his final stop while on earth. He had been serving and healing and preaching for three years around the sea of Galilee and around the Jordan River, and now in this section of Mark, Jesus finally arrives in the city that will crucify him in just a few days time. And it is during this final week of his life on earth that he teaches his disciples about true kingdom power. Jesus showed them what a life of true power looked like over the previous three years. He demonstrated authority over sickness by healing diseases. He demonstrated authority over demons by casting them out. He demonstrated authority over creation by calming storms and walking on water and cursing fig trees. Cursing fig trees? Jesus had finally entered Jerusalem during Passover Week then goes out of town to Bethany for the night. The next day as he was walking with his disciples into Jerusalem Jesus sees a fig tree with leaves but no fruit and says to the tree, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard him say it" (Mk. 11:14). He demonstrated power and authority over the whole religious system by cleansing the temple. After passing the fig tree, Jesus enters the temple, which has a large open air porch area where men are selling things to sacrifice - animals and grains, etc. Jesus freaks out, turns over all the tables and proclaims judgment on that whole system. Then he goes out of the city for the night again. The next morning he again walks into Jerusalem with his disciples and when they come to the fig tree that Jesus cursed the day before they see that it has died. And they are amazed! Look at that, boys, it actually withered! To this amazement Jesus responds with words that have huge implications for us in the Christian life. We're tackling a passage that has huge implications to it, a passage that has been used to the detriment of millions of people, a passage that is very easily misinterpreted. It's a tough passage, but it's a vital passage if we are truly going to live the kingdom life. The title of this lesson is "Breakthrough of True Power."
