The Inspector General
Mark 11:1-26
1. Entering the City (verses 1-10)
2. Looking for Fruit (verses 11-26)
In 1949, a film came out entitled, "The Inspector General." It was a humorous film about an illiterate, wandering gypsy, named Georgi, who was mistaken to be a city inspector. In the movei, the city is corrupt to the core. The mayor is corrupt. All of the city employees are related to the mayor. They are all equally corrupt. The police chief is corrupt. The city treasurer is corrupt.
So, the city employees all know that they are in trouble with the Inspector General in town. They attempt to wine and dine Georgi and poison him. When they fail in their attempts to kill him, all of the city employees attempt to bribe him, that he might bring back a good report to headquarters. But then, the real inspector general shows up.
To make a long story short, their fraud is exposed. The city officials are put away. Georgi is appointed mayor. He gets the woman that he loves. And all live happily ever after.
Well, this morning, we see the true "Inspector General," the Lord Jesus Christ. He will come into Jerusalem, amidst the accolades of men. Then, He will inspect the city, looking for fruit. And, it will be found wanting.
That great Jerusalem, the city on a hill for all to see; that great Jerusalem, where God chose to put His name, was a poor reflection of God to the world. That's why Jesus came. He came to judge the place. He came to save His people.
Let's consider the text.
Mark 11:1-26
As they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples, and said to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. If anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' you say, 'The Lord has need of it'; and immediately he will send it back here." They went away and found a colt tied at the door, outside in the street; and they untied it. Some of the bystanders were saying to them, "What are you doing, untying the colt?" They spoke to them just as Jesus had told them, and they gave them permission. They brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it; and He sat on it. And many spread their coats in the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields. Those who went in front and those who followed were shouting:
"Hosanna!
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord;
Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David;
Hosanna in the highest!"
Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late.
On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. He said to it, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again!" And His disciples were listening.
Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves; and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple. And He began to teach and say to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'? But you have made it a robbers' den." The chief priests and the scribes heard this, and began seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching.
When evening came, they would go out of the city.
As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. Being reminded, Peter said to Him, "Rabbi, look, the fig tree which You cursed has withered." And Jesus answered saying to them, "Have faith in God. 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 will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. [But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions."]
So that my message this morning isn't merely a lesson in history, looking to the error of the ways of Jerusalem, let me form a parallel thought for you to keep in mind as we look at Jerusalem.
Jesus Christ isn't merely an Inspector General for cities. Jesus Christ is the Inspector General of our souls. He knows what's going on in our hearts. As Revelation 2:23 says, "I am He who searches the minds and hearts." Hebrews 4:12-13 says, "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do."
There are many people in this world (and there are many people in the church, especially), who miss this. They think that it's all about externals. They think that it's all about performance. They think that it's about looking good on the outside.
This may be how men look at the world. But, it isn't the way that God looks at the world. God's eyes are focused far beneath our skin, into the depths of our hearts. As God told Samuel, so many years ago, "God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7). Indeed, the Lord Jesus Christ is the Chief Inspector General.
Now, those who have something to hide will resist this and try to keep up a good front. But, those who walk in integrity will know their sin, will want to reform, and will say, "Bring it on! Inspect my life!" They will say this not because they will surely pass the inspection. Rather, they will say this because they have nothing to hide. They are not putting on a show for others to see. And when their sin is exposed, they will repent.
Do you remember David? Look at Psalm 139. The Psalm begins with the affirmation, "O LORD, You have searched me and known me" (verse 1). The Psalm speaks of how God knows all about us. He knows where we go, what we do, what we say, what we think -- even in the secret places. God knew us in the womb. He is "intimately acquainted with all [our] ways" (verse 3).
And so, David says at the end of the Psalm, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way" (verses 23-24). Such is the cry of those who know the Lord.
Jesus Christ is the Inspector General. At the end of time, He will judge the world (Acts 10:42; 17:31). Everyone's deeds will be exposed! There will be no hiding. Nobody will survive a veneer of righteousness. He will rightfully judge everyone who has lived upon the earth. And the good news of the gospel is that the humble, who have believed on the name of Christ, because He took our sin upon His shoulders on the cross.
This morning, in our text, we see a preview of the coming judgment upon the city of Jerusalem. So, as we work through our text this morning, don't merely look back at Jerusalem, and see how fruitless they were, and become smug in your own righteousness. But instead, realize that Jesus is the Inspector General of all of our hearts.
Mark, chapter 11, is a climactic point in the gospel of Mark. The first 10 chapters of the gospel of Mark cover the course of three years in the life of Jesus. The last 6 chapters of the gospel of Mark cover a week's time. Two of the last 3 chapters cover less than 24 hours in time. Mark is speeding up His account of the life of Jesus, because he is headed to a climax -- The crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
This is where Jesus is headed. He is headed to His death. When Peter said of Jesus, "You are the Christ," (Mark 8:29), Jesus began to tell them of what would take place. He began to tell them of the suffering and death that awaited Him (Mark 8:31). Jesus knew that this would come in Jerusalem. In the text we looked at last week, Jesus said, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles. They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again" (Mark 10:33-34).
Here's my first point, ...
1. Entering the City (verses 1-10)
In verse 11 we read that "Jesus entered Jerusalem." Verses 1-10 tell of how that took place. We see the approach in verse 1, ...
Mark 11:1
As they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples,
At the end of chapter 10, we find Jesus in Jericho, healing a blind man. And in chapter 11, Jesus is approaching Jerusalem from the east.
As I mentioned last week, this was a 20 mile walk, with an ascent of 3500 feet in altitude. Jerusalem was just up and over the ridge called, "The Mount of Olives," appropriately named because of the number of olive trees in the vicinity. On eastern side of the Mount of Olives lay two villages, Bethphage and Bethany. We know very little about Bethphage, other than the meaning of its name, "House of figs." We know a bit more about Bethany. It's located about two miles to the west of Jerusalem, up and over the Mount of Olives (John 11:17). It's the hometown of Lazarus, who was raised from the dead, and his sisters, Mary and Martha (John 11:1). And Mark tells us that Jesus would retire to Bethany at night, perhaps staying in the home of Lazarus and his sisters (Mark 11:11), probably because of the danger Jesus would face in Jerusalem.
Now, before entering Jerusalem, Jesus wanted to make sure that all was as planned. He wasn't simply going to stroll in with His disciples. No, Jesus had another plan. He wanted a grand entrance. He would ride in on a donkey to the praise of the people, according to the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey."
Jesus would enter Jerusalem as their king, not riding on his royal steed (that will come later in Revelation 19), but riding upon a donkey. This would show the character of this king. He wasn't coming for the praise of Himself. Rather, he was coming humbly to serve the people (i.e. Mark 10:45).
From the best we can tell, Jesus didn't own a donkey. So, he had to borrow one. In verses 2-3, we see Jesus instructing His disciples on how they might borrow this donkey.
Mark 11:2-3
and said to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. If anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' you say, 'The Lord has need of it'; and immediately he will send it back here."
At this point, people talk back and forth about whether this was divine foreknowledge, or whether Jesus had made some advance planning. It's really impossible to know. But, what we do know is that it went down exactly as Jesus said it would. Verse 4, ...
Mark 11:4-6
They went away and found a colt tied at the door, outside in the street; and they untied it. Some of the bystanders were saying to them, "What are you doing, untying the colt?" They spoke to them just as Jesus had told them, and they gave them permission.
And so, the disciples brought this donkey to Jesus. It had never been ridden before (verse 2). Therefore, it didn't have anything upon its back. And so, ...
Mark 11:7
They brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it; and He sat on it.
While all of this was planned, what happened next was entirely spontaneous.
Mark 11:8
And many spread their coats in the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields.
This is what you do when a king comes to town. When the LORD anointed Jehu to be king over Israel, he came to his servants and told them that he would be the next king of Israel, "Then [his servants] hurried and each man took his garment and placed it under him on the bare steps, and blew the trumpet, saying, 'Jehu is king!'" (2 Kings 9:13). Sure enough, a short time later, Jehu rode his chariot to Jezreel, and shot Jehoram with an arrow in the chest. And Jehu became king.
When the servants had taken their garments and allowed the king to step upon it as a sign of their submission to the future king, they were following Jehu. Likewise, spreading branches in the way is a way to show honor to the one upon the donkey. You might liken this to rolling out the red carpet. The garments in the road were an act of worship. They were an act of respect. They were a declaration of submission.
This is what the people were doing. They were welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem with the welcome of a king! They were anticipating that Jesus would come and save them from the Roman tyranny. You can see that in the words that were sung.
Mark 11:9
Those who went in front and those who followed were shouting:
"Hosanna!
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord;
Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David;
Hosanna in the highest!"
These words come from Psalm 118, one of the songs that the Jews would often sing during the Passover week. They come from Psalm 118:25 and 26, ...
Psalm 118:25-26
O Lord, do save, we beseech You;
O Lord, we beseech You, do send prosperity!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord;
We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.
Some of the words are recognizable. Others are not. But, if I speak them in Hebrew, you may recognize them, "Ana Adonai hoshiah-na." Do you hear, "Hosanna"? The "Hosanna" is a Hebrew word, which means, "O save now!" And this is what the crowds were crying out! "O Lord, do save, we beseech You."
A slight change in the words from Psalm 118 comes in verse 10, "Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David." These words demonstrate that the crowds were seeking a reformation. They were seeking a revolution! They were anticipating a new king and a new kingdom. They were expecting Jesus, the king, to come and topple the Roman government.
And this was no small crowd. Whereas Jesus made the trip from Jericho with His 12 disciples (and perhaps a few more), they now were greeted by many. Verse 8 says that "many spread their coats in the road." Verse 8 continues by mentioning how "others spread leafy branches" in the road as well. Verse 9 tells of how there was a group in front of Jesus, as well as a group behind Jesus. The sense that we get is that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people were welcoming Jesus into the city of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was ready for a reformation.
They knew full well who Jesus was. They had seen His miracles. They had heard His teaching. They sensed that something big was soon to happen. And they were ready for it. This wasn't the first time that Israel wanted to make Jesus the king. After feeding the 5,000, the crowds of people, "were intending to come and take [Jesus] by force to make Him king" (John 6:15). They wanted a miracle worker to rule over them.
Luke's account of this same event says this, "As soon as He was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, shouting: "Blessed in the King who comes in the name of the Lord; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" (Luke 19:37-38). The time was right. The people were seeking a revolution.
Jesus was Entering the City (verses 1-10) to a welcome crowd. Little did they know that they would turn on him in less than a week's time (see Mark 15:13). Little did they know of God's plan. Jesus would "be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes." And they would "condemn Him to death." They would "hand Him over to the Gentiles." They would "mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him." But, "Three days later He will rise again" (Mark 10:33-34).
How many people are like the city of Jerusalem. At one moment, they are worshiping the Lord, hands held high. And then, they go home and reject Him as their king? They live their own way. Jesus isn't the Lord of their lives. They may look good on Sunday. But upon inspection, something else is seen. And you may be able to fool people here at church. You may be able to fool me. But, you won't be able to fool the Inspector General.
Though Jesus encountered much praise in Entering the
City (verses 1-10), when Looking for Fruit (verses 11-26), Jesus found little. This is
my second point.
2. Looking for Fruit (verses
11-26)
This is the thrust of verses 11-26. Verse 11, ...
Mark 11:11
Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late.
Jesus was in Jerusalem, in the heart of the city in the temple. He looked around and returned to where He was staying, in Bethany. As He looked around, I believe that He was looking for fruit in the lives of those in the temple.
This was not the first time that Jesus had ever been in the temple. As a baby, Jesus was "presented ... to the Lord ... according to the law of Moses" (Luke 2:22). As a young boy, Jesus was in the temple, asking questions of the teachers (Luke 2:46). Surely, He traveled to Jerusalem three times each year, celebrating a feast to the Lord, according to the law of Moses (Exodus 23:14-17). Jesus was very familiar with what went on in the temple. But, I'm sure this night, "after looking around at everything," the spirit of Jesus was provoked within Him, as He saw the barrenness of everything that was taking place in the temple, and it wasn't good.
At this point, Jesus was the Inspector General, who was coming to look for fruit in the temple. But, He was finding none. Look at what Jesus did the next day.
Mark 11:12-14
On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. He said to it, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again!" And His disciples were listening.
Fig trees were abundant in those areas. They were near Bethphage, "the house of figs." It was the spring of the year, during the time of the Passover. This was the time of year when the fig trees put out their leaves, but weeks away from the time when the trees would begin producing figs.
Jesus saw this tree from a distance. It was full of leaves and looked healthy. Jesus was Looking for Fruit (verses 11-26). But, when Jesus approached the tree, He found nothing on it to eat. And so being without fruit, Jesus cursed the tree, saying, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again" (verse 14).
This is a picture of Israel. They had a show. They had much religious activity. They had leaves. They had foliage. But, they had no fruit. And so, just as Jesus cursed the fig tree, Jesus will condemn the activities of the temple. Verse 15, ...
Mark 11:15-17
Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves; and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple. And He began to teach and say to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'? But you have made it a robbers' den."
This was the reality of what was going on in Israel. Lots of activity. Lots of people. Lots of animals. People buying. People selling. Money changing hands. Many sacrifices. But, ultimately fruitless. Jesus pointed out the problem with their activity. The temple was to be "a house of prayer for all the nations." But, instead of "a house of prayer," it became a den of robbers.
And the religious leaders should have known better. Jesus pulls two Old Testament quotes to describe the evil of the circumstances. The first is from Isaiah 56:7, a verse describing the place to which even the Gentiles will come: "Even those I will bring to My holy mountain And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples."
But, the environment created by all the hustle and bustle defeated everything that the LORD had envisioned for this place where He would place His name. The second quotation comes from Jeremiah 7:11 in which Jeremiah (some 600 years before Jesus) describe the errors of his day, exactly what was taking place in the temple in Jesus' day.
Jer. 7:8-11
"Behold," (Jeremiah said), "you are trusting in deceptive words to no avail. Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery and swear falsely, and offer sacrifices to Baal and walk after other gods that you have not known, then come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, 'We are delivered!'—that you may do all these abominations? Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Behold, I, even I, have seen it," declares the Lord.
Those of Jeremiah's day were living sinful lives. And yet, when they came into the temple, they declared, "All is well! We are delivered!" only to continue in their sinful ways. The Lord said, "I have seen it" (Jer. 7:11). And now, ... up close and personal, Jesus was able to witness it first hand. The Inspector General had come, and those in the temple were found wanting.
Now, fundamentally, I don't believe that the problem with those in the temple was with the buying and the selling of animals for sacrifice. God commanded the men of Israel to travel to Jerusalem to worship three times each year (Exodus 23:17), for Passover (Feast of Unleavened Bread), for Pentecost (Feast of the Harvest), and for the Feast of the Ingathering. Pilgrims coming to Jerusalem to worship needed to offer up animal sacrifice. If people were coming from Galilee or from across the Jordan, it was extremely difficult for them to bring animals. And so, they designed a place where you could purchase animals for your sacrifice. I think that such a system was entirely reasonable.
However, the way they carried out this system was terrible. Their problem was two-fold. First of all, it was the location they chose to do the selling. They chose to do their business right there in the temple! They could have chosen to do it outside the temple, a couple of hundred yards away, and all would have been fine. Instead, they chose to do so in the court of the Gentiles. So, the place where all nations could come and see what the Lord of the universe is like, was filled with the sounds and smells of animals. It was filled with the greed of those given to watch over the worship of the Lord.
This was their second problem: they were extorting the worshipers with their high prices. Jesus calls them, "robbers." They were charging outlandish prices. You know what that's about. You go to a ball-game. They tell you that you can't take food or drinks into the stadium. And when you are in, they charge big money for food and drinks.
That's what was taking place in the temple. They were gouging people with the price of their sacrifices. The Inspector General saw it, and He wasn't happy. He turned over the tables. He turned over the chairs. He disrupted the entire place. He shut down the temple operations that day.
You want to know what get's God angry? It's false worship. See, the Jews of Jesus' day were just like the fig tree. They had a lot of show. They had a lot of activity going on. But, upon closer inspection, they were bearing no fruit. Oh, the temple operations were going fine. Worshipers were coming. Sacrifices were being offered. But, apparently, there was no heart. There was no prayer. There was no earnest seeking for God. The entire temple enterprise was corrupt, and Jesus had come to change it.
But, there were those who didn't want it changed -- namely the chief priests and the scribes. They had the power. They enjoyed their power. And they didn't want anyone rocking the boat. So, we read in verse 18, ...
Mark 11:18
The chief priests and the scribes heard this, and began seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching.
This has been the aim of the religious leaders for the entirety of the ministry of Jesus. When they saw that He was going to disrupt their system, they wanted nothing to do with it.
In the early days of Jesus' ministry, they thought that He was a blasphemer, when He forgave the sin of the man let down through the roof (Mark 2:1-12). They despised the fact that He ate and drank with tax collectors and sinners (Mark 2:15-17). They were offended that Jesus didn't fast like the other religious folk did (Mark 2:18-22). And they especially hated that He was breaking their rules for the Sabbath (Mark 2:23-3:6). So, "the Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him" (3:6).
And now, heightened by the Hosannas that were sung to Him, angered by His overturning the tables, fearing the crowds who were hanging on His every word, they sought to kill Him.
Next week, we'll see them challenging the authority of Jesus (Mark 11:28). Then, in following weeks, we'll see them bombarding Jesus with questions, trying to trap Him in His words (Mark 12:13ff). At the beginning of chapter 14, we read, "Now the Passover and Unleavened Bread were two days away; and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to seize Him by stealth and kill Him" (Mark 14:1). All of this just exposed their hearts. The Inspector General had inspected their work and had rejected them. Rather than reform their ways, they tried to kill the Inspector.
And if you really get down to it, this is what the unrepentant will attempt to do in their lives. God tells them to change. But, they don't want to change. So, they reject God. These religious leaders were rejecting Jesus and attempting to kill the Inspector General. That's why we read in verse 19, ...
Mark 11:19
When evening came, they would go out of the city.
I believe that it was too dangerous for Jesus to be in the city. He had to escape each evening. Presumably, they stayed again in Bethany, as they walked the same route to the city in the morning. Verse 20, ...
Mark 11:20-21
As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. Being reminded, Peter said to Him, "Rabbi, look, the fig tree which You cursed has withered."
Well, yeah! If Jesus said, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again!" (verse 14), then well might we expect the tree to die. One commentator said it well. "Within twenty-four hours, the tree on which Jesus had pronounced his curse had changed from a seemingly vigorous woody perennial in full foliage, to a shrunken corpse, the ghost of its former self" [1]
This tree was a picture of what would happen to the Jews. It was a picture of what would happen to the religious system of Israel. It was a picture of what would happen to the temple mount. Look carefully at Jesus' reply.
Mark 11:22-23
And Jesus answered saying to them, "Have faith in God. 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 will be granted him.
To what mountain was Jesus referring? Upon saying these things, Jesus was at the crest of the Mount of Olives. From this unique vantage point, you could see the temple mount. You could also see the Dead Sea in the distance to the east.
Now, it may be that Jesus was referring to the Mount of Olives upon which they were standing. But, it may also be that Jesus was referring to the temple mount as well. It was sometimes referred to as "Mount Moriah." We don't have the film to see where Jesus was actually pointing. If that's the case (that He is referring to the temple mount), then Jesus, in some way, is predicting the destruction of the temple mount. Upon the cross, Jesus destroyed the need for the animal sacrifice, becoming the ultimate sacrifice. He made the Old Covenant "obsolete" (Hebrews 8:13). And in forty years of Jesus saying this, Jerusalem was sacked by the Romans, and the temple was completely destroyed (Mark 13:2).
This may be what Jesus was saying. "I'm coming to destroy this mountain. I'm coming to cast this mountain into the sea." It may not be. It is a bit of speculation on my part. But, ultimately, Jesus is bringing everything to personal application. He is calling us to have faith -- to believe (verse 22). He is calling us to pray (verse 24). He is calling us to forgive (verses 25-26).
Mark 11:24-26
Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. [But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions."]
This is truly what the Inspector General is looking for in our lives. He is looking for faith. He is looking for believing prayer. He is looking for a forgiving heart. This is true fruit that will last. Do you have fruit in your life?
This sermon was delivered to Rock Valley Bible Church on
September 23, 2012 by Steve Brandon.
For more information see www.rvbc.cc.