Why Some Christians Fail To Receive Their Healing Part Four: The Message Of The Barren Fig Tree By Dennis Lindsay

Recap of Parts One, Two, and Three
I shared the miracles I witnessed as a child in Part One, and the truth I learned at an early age from God’s word—that healing is always for His children. I also learned that it’s possible for people to remove themselves from God’s protection, allowing the enemy to put sickness on their bodies.

In Part Two, we examined why “Everyone Loves a Magic Show,” even skeptics, and it’s why people love to go see a healing evangelist: they want to witness the power of God first-hand. We also learned that God blesses those who trust in Him and His Word, regardless of their youth and immaturity. God is patient with our immaturity for a season, and He rewards young evangelists when they exercise faith in His Word.

The basic test for a great ministry is not the gifts that are in operation, but the character of the individual and the fruit of their life. Power gifts are not given for good behavior, so our judgment of greatness must be based on character and not on spectacular displays.

We discovered in Part Three that God’s Kingdom has two sides: a power side, which includes the supernatural gifts of the Spirit, and a character side, which includes the fruit of the Spirit. Scripture reveals that where there is balance, there is life, and where there is imbalance, death and judgment result. Which side of God’s Kingdom do you live on: the side of the magic shows or the side of the fruit-bearing orchards? It is much easier to live on the power side than to tend to the orchards.

It is here that God revealed to me why so many Christians in the Church are sick and fail to receive their healing. Now I understand why some anointed ministers who operate in the supernatural may suddenly experience an unexpected tragedy. Power in the Kingdom of God is not based on character; it is based on faith. Yet, without character in a person’s life, tragedies could occur that might have been avoided.

In the conclusion to “Balanced Christian Living: Why Some Christians Fail to Receive Their Healing,” we will examine the words of Jesus and His take on the significance of growing fruit in our lives. We shall take a Spiritual Sobriety Test and see how we measure up to a balanced Christian life.

Jerked out of the Game
Have you ever known of an athlete with tremendous talent who does stupid things on and off the field? If he does something stupid during a game, the coach jerks him out and makes him sit on the bench. If he continues his brainless acts, the coach sidelines him for the season, and the athlete may become a second or third-string player. We sometimes read about these all-star athletes and their follies in the news. The same thing happened to key stars in the Bible: Samson, King Saul, and even King David were sidelined—some longer than others. From time to time today, we hear of well-known ministers of the Gospel who are sidelined or become “third-string players” in God’s “game of the ages.”

Why do we do stupid things sometimes? The answer is simple: we all love instant pleasure, and often sin and instant gratification go together. Sadly, after the pleasure may come dire consequences. The world offers opportunities for instant pleasure at every turn. Power is instantly gratifying, and that’s why we love the power gifts of the Spirit—because they bring instant gratification and acclaim. Yet, the Kingdom of God is not just about power; it’s about character: the two must go hand-in-hand or there will be disappointment. As unfortunate as these reports from the worlds of sports and religion are, they echo Christ’s words to the barren fig tree.

Jesus Curses ...
In the Gospel of Matthew we find a curious story: Jesus, being hungry, sees a fig tree in the distance. Arriving at the tree, he finds no fruit and curses it.

“Early in the morning, as he was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, ‘May you never bear fruit again!’ Immediately the tree withered. When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. ‘How did the fig tree wither so quickly?’ they asked.”

Imagine for a moment: you come home tired and thirsty, you go to the kitchen to get a soda, and there are no cold drinks in the fridge. So you go to the garage and get a sledgehammer, pull out the cord, knock the fridge on its side, and begin bashing it with the hammer, all the while stating, “You will never carry cold drinks again.” What was Jesus up to? Did he lose it for a brief moment? Even more disturbing is a bit of additional information we find in the story as related in the book of Mark: there was not supposed to be fruit on the tree, as it was not yet the season for figs.

“The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again.’ And his disciples heard him say it” (Mark 11:12-14, 20).

In other words, there weren’t supposed to be any sodas in the fridge. What was Jesus attempting to teach the disciples? That God will sacrifice something temporal to get across an Eternal Principle, as in the story of the pigs in Matt. 8:30. God sacrificed the pigs to teach the spiritual lesson that followers of Christ have the power to cast out demons.

The Message of the Fig Tree
Jesus was giving His disciples a lesson on the need for balance between power and character. My sister Shira, who lives in Israel, helped me understand the nature of the fig tree. Some species of fig trees develop their fruit along with the leaves; in fact, the fruit actually begins to blossom before the leaves appear. In this passage of Scripture, Jesus, seeing a fully-leafed out fig tree, expected to find fruit. Finding no fruit, Jesus knew something was wrong with the tree.

In the parallel Gospel of Luke, we find another part of the puzzle—the principle of character development:

 “Then he told this parable: A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’” ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’” (Luke 13:6-9)

Missing the Message
Most people who preach messages on the fig tree emphasize the power Jesus reveals to the believer in Mark 11:19-24, but they often fail to see that in verse 25 Jesus is talking about character. This is where many Christians become unbalanced. Verse 20 begins with the power:

“In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!’” “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

Yet, after power (verse 24), comes character (verse 25):

“And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
 This verse connects us to the passage in Luke 13:6-9, where Jesus is declaring that a show of character that is only external makes a man a hypocrite and of no value to the Kingdom of God. From the message of the fig tree we learn that gifts without fruit eventually lead to disaster. On the other hand, fruit without gifts—that is, character without power—leads to frustration.

But godly character alone is of little help without the miraculous power of God to free people from satanic bondage. There are times during our Christian walk when we need a miracle from Heaven. The fruit of the Spirit may be wonderful, but it has little effect on a demon who is unwilling to leave. Only a Divine rebuke in the Name of Jesus and faith in God’s power to deliver and heal can set captives free.
“When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. ‘You deaf and mute spirit,’ he said, ‘I command you, come out of him and never enter him again’” (Mark 9:25).

Be Fruitful John 15:16
Eight times God tells us to be fruitful in John l5. What do you think He is after? Fruit!

1. John 15:2, “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no FRUIT, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more FRUITFUL.”
   
2. John 15:4, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear FRUIT by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear FRUIT unless you remain in me.”
   
3. John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much FRUIT; apart from me you can do nothing.”
   
4. John 15:8, “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much FRUIT, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
   
5. John 15:16, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear FRUIT—FRUIT that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.”

Fruitfulness means developing character, not winning souls; furthermore, the seed comes from the fruit. Key: God is looking for depth of ministry, not breadth. The Bible does not say, “Well done, thou good and famous servant.” God judges not on who we are, but what we are.

Connecting the Dots ...
Have you ever connected Mark 11:24 with John 15:16?
 “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you receive it, and you will ...” (Mark 11:24).

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name” (John 15:16).

Both of these Scriptures confirm that we can believe—we will receive—whatever we ask for in prayer, in Jesus’ Name, but the key is for us to bear fruit.

As we read about in part three, the pomegranate symbolizes the fruit of the Spirit. Scripture reveals that God designated the priest to “Make pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn around the hem of the robe, with gold bells between them … Aaron must wear it when he ministers” (Ex. 28:33-35).

The pomegranate is a perfect symbol of what is needed in a balanced Christian’s life. It has power in the context of the priest’s robes when they minister, and according to His Word, all God’s children are His priests.

Spiritual Sobriety Test
Long ago, a grocer would take a small box with a hole on top to put a candle inside to give off light. Eggs would then be held over the hole to ensure they were good. Against the light, bad eggs showed plainly. Galatians 5:22, 23 are what we call the great egg candler verses of the Bible: they are our spiritual sobriety test.

By these verses we can test any teaching, any group, and any movement in the Church as well as in a marriage; it’s the same for us corporately as well as individually. The fruit revealed is not the work of man, but of God’s Holy Spirit in us, and that is why we need to check ourselves constantly.

THAT YOUR JOY MAY BE FULL
“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you” (John l5:7). “Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name” (John l5:l0, 11). “And receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him” (1 John 3:22).

 Keep in mind that we live in a fallen world where Satan seeks whom he may devour. We may not be exempt from his attacks, but we are exempt from being devoured. God is our giant-slayer, and He is able to avert the most devilish attack on His children to keep us from the enemy’s hands.

 “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38, 39).

Fruit-bearing Christians who walk in the faith of God’s miraculous power and anointing yield a balanced Christian life.
 Although this article discusses Biblical principles for healing and why some Christians do not receive their healing and may even suffer an untimely death, it may not be related to personal sin. There will always be questions in our hearts and minds as to why God answered one person’s prayer for healing, but not another’s.

The writer of Hebrews reminds us of many saints who suffered and died without receiving the help they needed. (Heb. 11:36-40) One of the great lessons we learn from the book of Job is that despite pain, sorrow, sickness, and tragedies, Job continued to trust God? Will we? Our response must be like Job’s, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15 NKJV).