top of page

Every day pray that everyone you know will either become a Christian or influence others to become a Christian, and please share this online book with others - www.areyousureyouaresaved.com 

                               

Worship music - Please click the links and sing along if you know the words (You can also click skip ad to go straight to the songs) -

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxLA1NX9gxY                 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBoVaby29A4&list=PLuU9dUau1tXFM0cgfeNuImsN7qH1mdrQa

 

For Sunday evening services, the Lord has lead me to do a Bible study for practical Bible verses in Mark. Please come back to these Bible lessons in order to review them and learn them. Whenever we have learned the meaning of Bible verses and think about them throughout each day, we will be in perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3). Not only that, but when we are in a situation in our daily lives and are tempted to sin, we can think back to what we have learned from the Bible and say to ourselves, "The Bible says not to do what I am tempted to say, think, do, and/or desire right now, so I am going to refuse to give in to this temptation." This is what Romans 12:2 means, and it says, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." This is also the pattern that Jesus used when the devil tempted Him to sin in Matthew 4:1-11.

 

Chapter 11

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

Mark 11:12-14

12And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: 13And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. 14And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.

Mark 11:20-26

20And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away. 22And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. 23For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. 24Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. (This is referring to things according to God's will, such as praying for someone to become a Christian, be healed, and get back on their feet after financial problems, etc.) 25And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. 26But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.  

 

(If you ask God to heal you and others, help you make the right decisions when you don't know what to do, and save people who are not Christians, etc., God will hear you. He won't necessarily answer prayers that aren't according to His will. First John 5:14 explains this, and it says, "And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:"

So, what if we are not totally sure that God will answer our prayers? The Lord has revealed to me a very simple and effective way to be sure. Many times each day, we sit in chairs and do not even worry if they will be able to hold us without falling apart and dropping us to the floor. The same kind of worry-free faith can literally be used when we ask God to heal us and others, help us make the right decisions when we don't know what to do, and save people who are not Christians.

 

For example, if your friend has cancer, and you want Jesus to heal him, you can imagine that the cancer is the chair you are sitting in. You have faith (are confident) that the chair is not going to fall apart while you are sitting in it, and since the cancer is the same part of the chair you know will not fall apart while you are sitting in it, you believe that Jesus will heal your friend of cancer. Since you believe the chair is not going to fall apart, that is all the faith you need. Since the cancer and the chair are the same thing, your only job is to believe that the chair is not going to fall apart while you are sitting in it, and tell this to God. As a result, your friend will be healed of cancer by Jesus’ healing power (Matthew 21:18-22).

 

However, if you are a Christian, but you have sinned and have not asked God to forgive you for that sin, God will not answer your prayers until you have asked God to forgive you for saying something sinful, thinking something sinful, doing something sinful, or not doing something the Holy Spirit urged you to say or do. Also, you should ask God to forgive you for sinning in ways you didn’t realize you have sinned. Another point is described in Matthew 5:23-24 which teach the necessity of apologizing to people we have sinned against. These concepts are taught in Psalm 66:18 which says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:" Mark 11:26 goes a step futher and teaches that you need to be able to forgive people (even those who shot and killed your family members, and do good things for them (Luke 6:35). Few people would do that, but that is what Jesus expects you to do).

If you have asked Jesus into your heart, believed that Jesus is your Savior, or trusted Jesus' death on the cross and His shed blood to erase your sins and let you into heaven, etc., but you have not forgiven someone, and you are upset because of that (Revelation 3:19), ask God to forgive you, and follow the directions that were just given. Try your best not to do it again. Continue this pattern in the future if necessary.

If you are unable to stop disagreeing with and being angry with someone or many people in your thoughts, and you have prayed or made a decision to become a Christian, this is a perfect opportunity for you to please God by obeying the Bible and try to imitate the Lord Jesus Christ (your hero and the One who died so you can live in heaven for eternity) by being happy and thankful to God when your enemy or anyone else is rude and mistreats you (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). The devil wants you to get angry and think bad thoughts about the people who are rude to you, but that would be an opportunity to defeat him and glorify God. Also, you will know that you are truly saved if you live that way (Matthew 5:45), and since these people are giving you these opportunities, you can develop a major love for them and pray for them. God is using these people to make you a stronger Christian. Believe me, a big weight was lifted off my shoulders when the Lord helped me realize this! So, these are huge reasons to be glad when others mistreat you and you face trials (James 1:2-4).

If you have never prayed or made a decision to become a Christian, please follow this website - http://chriswaug5.wix.com/howtogotoheaven         

If you have prayed or made a decision to become a Christian, but you are not sure you are really a Christian (Hebrews 11:6, Matthew 21:18-22, 1 John 5:14, and Hebrews 11:1), please follow this website - http://chriswaug5.wix.com/howtogotoheaven

bottom of page