Now, if you would, please, tonight, if you take your Bibles with me and open to Matthew chapter 17, or rather, Matthew chapter 21, and I'll begin reading there in verse 17. Matthew 21, beginning in verse 17. And it says there, And the Lord Jesus left them and went out of the city into Bethany, and He lodged there. verse 18. Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered. And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it and found nothing thereon but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward forever. And presently the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away? Now when one reads this portion, The question that comes to mind is this. Why did the Lord curse the fig tree? Why did the Lord curse the fig tree? So that we see and read here and understand that it died almost immediately. I mean, was he mad at it because he woke up in the morning and he was hungry? And when he came to the fig tree, it didn't have any fruit on it to satisfy his hunger. And so he cursed it. Is that why? Just because he was mad? Well, that's not what we're seeing here tonight. You see, the Lord cursed this fig tree to preach the gospel to us. That's why He cursed the fig tree, to preach the gospel to us, to show us a picture of how salvation is in Him and Him only. You see, salvation is by faith in Christ, not by our works of the law. And that's the lesson we may take from this fig tree being cursed. Remember, this fig tree is a picture of salvation by man's works. And the reason why it's cursed is because there can never be salvation by man's works. I mean, what's the first thing that you think about when you hear about a fig tree or fig leaves? I trust what's brought to mind is Adam and Eve in the garden after the fall. Remember how they fell and they knew that they were naked? And they made themselves aprons out of fig leaves. And they did that because they'd fallen in sin and they were ashamed. Now they knew that they were naked, and that brought them shame because of their nakedness. And so they tried to cover their bodies, but what they soon discovered was this, how that they couldn't cover their guilt, nor the shame of their sin, And even though they made themselves aprons to cover the nakedness of their guilt and shame, and yet their sin still remained. And their attempt to cover their nakedness by what they could make from those fig leaves, well, that's a picture of endeavoring to save oneself by the works of the law. Fig leaves. Scripture represents man trying to cover his shame, trying to cover his guilt and hide it from God with thick leaves. But my friend, that's utterly impossible for you and me to do. You see, our sin just doesn't need to be hidden. It needs to be taken away. It needs to be put away. And we've got the shame and guilt of our sin, but we can't take them away. And why is that? Because, my friend, we don't have pure, innocent blood to wash it away. I mean, we can't make an atonement for our sin because we don't have the pure, precious blood that's required to pay our sin debt to God's justice. By the sacrifice of ourself, we can't make an atonement for the soul. You know, when we're doing fleshly things, the very best we can, well, that can't make atonement for the soul. The best thing that we can try to do is cover our sin and try to hide our sin. And we try to hide our guilt from God's sight. And that, simply put, cannot be done, my friend. We cannot hide our sin. We cannot hide our guilt or our shame of our own accord. Because God sees everything. He's got, in a manner of speaking, an all-seeing eye. And He sees everything. And our problem is we're trying to hide our sin instead of put it away. We're trying to hide our sins rather than beg for forgiveness from them. And that was Adam's problem. and that's our problem just the same because we've got his fig leaf fallen nature in that through our works we try to cover up our sin or try one way or another to make up for our sin and my friend that will never get the job done any more than Adam's apron of fig leaves could do. You see, these aprons couldn't hide their shame before God. That's what we read there. That's why the Lord made coats for them. Because those aprons that they made couldn't hide their shame before God. And we read there just a moment ago in Genesis 3 that they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. And why did they hide themselves from God's presence? Why were they hiding in the bushes? I mean, they had aprons on, right? So why didn't they go out and meet God? Or talk to Him? Or walk with Him in the cool of the day like they'd always done before? because those fig leaf aprons didn't work. It didn't take away their sin. It didn't take away the shame of their guilt. They knew their fig leaf aprons didn't work. And more importantly, God knew those fig leaf aprons didn't work. God saw through those things because God wasn't looking on the flesh. He wasn't looking on an outward thing. Now, you and I look on the flesh, but that's so much of our problem. We look on the flesh. But God looks past that to the very heart. You see, the Lord God looks past those fig leaves right to the very heart. And that's where the issue is settled. And those fig leaves on the flesh, well, they couldn't hide the sinfulness of the heart. Those fig leaves couldn't hide the soul that was defiled. Those fig leaves couldn't hide the deadness of the heart. And remember, that's what those fig leaves represent. And we try to cover our sin with the fig leaves of our works. just like the fig tree in our portion, if we try that, if we come to God in our filthy, ruined, ragged righteousness, just like the fig tree in our portion, we'll get cursed every time. If you come to God in your own fig leaves, it's just... how can I put it? You'll be cursed every single time because God won't accept dead fig leaf righteousness. He just won't. And we see here, the Lord came to this fig tree. Evidently, after he woke up, he was hungry, and he came to this fig tree. Now, he already knew there was no figs on it, but a person would naturally think he's going to find fruit on that tree, because the leaves are all grown in. And if the leaves are grown in, well, the fruit must have already been grown in, because often the fruit grows first on a fig tree. But the Lord got to this fig tree full of leaves, and what did He discover? Humanly speaking, what did He discover? Well, He discovered there's no fruit thereon. I mean, it was fruitless. And being fruitless, it was lifeless. In the sense it could produce leaves, it was alive. But in the sense that it couldn't produce any fruit, it was lifeless. I mean, it couldn't produce anything that would sustain life. And so the tree was useless, utterly and completely useless. And since the tree was already useless, the Lord cursed it and it died. And the disciples were amazed that this tree that the Lord had cursed, well, almost immediately it withers and dies, and they were amazed at that. Now, this fig tree with its leaves and no fruit, well, that's a picture of you and me trying to earn salvation by our works instead of just trusting Christ. You see, our sinful works are pictured by the leaves of this fig tree in that they cannot produce any life. Our sinful works can't produce any fruit. They can't produce any fruit of righteousness or fruit of the Spirit, that fruit of spiritual life. Now, our own works do, in fact, produce fruit. And you know what Scripture calls it? The fruit of death. The fruit of death. In Romans 7, verse 5, the Apostle Paul calls our works fruit unto death. You see, left to ourselves by nature were trees full of leaves and no fruit. In Romans 7, verse 5, he writes there, For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins which were by the law did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. By nature, we have leaves just for show. And those leaves are when somebody tries to produce something in the flesh. And in all those fig leaves of their works, they try to show everybody how righteous they are. saying, this is the evidence of my salvation, or that's the evidence of my salvation. But here's the thing. The Lord knows those leaves are just for show, because there's no fruit. There's nothing to give life there. There's nothing to sustain life, and we may have lots of leaves, and men might be impressed and say, look at that tree. It's got lots of leaves, but here's the thing of it, beloved. There's no fruit that God requires. And you and I know people just like that. And God forbid that we would be like that. Because somebody that's got lots of leaves, well, that's just a religious pomp. It's just a show in the flesh. That's all it is. You know, it's somebody that's trying to produce all those leaves. But, you know, they can't produce fruit by themselves. And we'll get to that in a moment. You see, they're just trying to produce lots of leaves to impress people. And that's just being a hypocrite. That's all it is, being a hypocrite. And you know, that's the only thing you can call it. It's being a religious hypocrite. You see, they have a profession of religion, but with no knowledge of Christ. They have a profession of religion, and yet no profession of our Lord and God, Jesus Christ. And they have a profession of life, but no spirit. They have a religion of works without faith in Christ. And here's why they have no fruit, is because they're trusting in themselves instead of trusting Christ alone. And the Lord will curse that every time. Now, the Lord Jesus of Nazareth slept out in Bethany that night. He comes back to town and he saw this fig tree with all its leaves and no fruit, and he cursed that tree. This man, Jesus of Nazareth, did that. Now, that shows us again that this man has power over creation. Even over the trees, when he cursed that tree, it demonstrates that he's sovereign over creation. Remember in Matthew chapter 8, we read there how that the men marveled saying, what manner of man is this that even the winds and the sea obey him? You see, this man, Jesus of Nazareth, shows us over and over again that he's God manifest in the flesh. And it wasn't just to show he's God over creation, but so to, let's remember, he's showing us a picture of the gospel to us here, how he's sovereign over salvation. You see, he showed us he's God. He showed us who has the power and the right to judge and to curse. He's got the power and the right to condemn. And it's his power and right because he's God. And him cursing this fig tree is an illustration of his justice in condemning the useless. This man, Jesus of Nazareth, God's given all judgment to him. And what he did to this useless tree, well, he'll do the same with useless people someday. And yes, they've got all the leaves of religion, but they have no fruit, and they'll be condemned. And as the Lord goes on talking to his disciples, the story doesn't end there. Further, he shows them not only does he have the right and the power to condemn and to judge, but so, too, he's got the right and the power to give life. He's got the power to bless and to forgive. And so, second, let's look at salvation that's in Christ, that's received by faith. Now, since salvation cannot be earned by our works, salvation has got to be earned by the works of another. I trust you understand that, beloved. Our salvation has to be earned by the works of another. It's got to be earned by the works of somebody else. Somebody else has got to earn it. You see, God's justice demands that something must be earned. And since we can't earn salvation by our own works, somebody else has got to earn it by his works. And he's got to do it for us. And so, my friend, we need a representative to come and obey the law for us. You see, the representative's got to do something for us that we can't do for ourselves. And that's the only way a sinner like you and a sinner like me can be made righteous, and that's through a representative. You see, it's by somebody else keeping the law for us, and that representative is the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, the Lord Jesus Christ, Mary's firstborn son, this man who walked the earth, and you know, those religious Pharisees, all they ever saw was a man. And yes, he was a real man, but here's what they didn't see. They didn't see that he's the Son of God. John the Evangelist, when he wrote the Gospel of John, he talked about this man being God, how that God was made flesh and dwelt among us. And God's people see it, how that he's a real man like you and me, who got tired. And since he's a real man, he can be our representative. And you know, he got tired. He had to sleep just like you and me, because he had a body just like you and me. And that's why he went to Bethany. And here, he's in town, and everybody else is out there shouting, Hosanna, and throwing their coats and throwing these palm leaves before him, right down in front of him, as he rides that donkey, that ass, into town. And all those religious people are hailing him. And they really do sound religious, don't they? They're shouting, Hosanna to the son of David. And you know, not one person offered him a place to sleep. Not one person said to him, come to my place to eat tonight. Why don't you come over to my house and have dinner? Not one person said to him, we've got a place to sleep. I've got a spare bed. Not one person said that to him. And so the point is this. He was a real man who got tired. He needed a place to sleep. He was a real man who got thirsty. He was a real man that got hungry. I mean, that's why he sat on Jacob's well, was it not? He was thirsty. And he sat on the well and asked that Samaritan woman, give me to drink. You see, he was thirsty. Can you imagine walking around for however long that took him to go through Samaria and not have anything to drink? And so we see he's a real man who got thirsty out there in Bethany, and he got some sleep there from his camp, and he's out there sleeping, and he woke up hungry. That's what we read here. He's a real flesh and blood man, just like you and me, a real human being. He's 100% man, and you who know him, you know he's also 100% God. So he woke up hungry and he walked back to town to that fig tree to get something to eat because he's hungry. He's a real man and he suffered all the weaknesses and all the needs of this flesh just like you and I do. But the difference between him and us is he'd get tired, he'd get hungry, he'd get thirsty, And He'd do all that without sinning. Without sinning. That's the difference. And that makes Him the representative we need. Because we need Him. And He's got to be a real life flesh and blood man. He's got to be bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. So that He can come and be our representative. But He's also got to be God. So He can be holy and righteous and establish righteousness for His people. And that's exactly what He did during His earthly ministry. And sinners are saved through faith in Him. You see, He did all the work, and all we do is believe on Him. That's a miracle of God's grace. He did all the work in our salvation, and all we do is believe on Him. We believe that His work is enough to save us. And that's what He tells us in Matthew 21, verse 21. Jesus answered and said unto them, this is our Lord in God speaking here, and our Lord answered and said unto them, verily I say unto you, if ye have faith and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to this fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea, it shall be done. And all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. Now the Lord here tells his disciples about the power to perform miracles and they'll perform great miracles in the future after the Lord's resurrection and ascension. It was apostolic power that was given to these apostles and to some others in the early church. Now these miracles, these men were able to perform. They were able to perform things like heal the sick, even raise the dead, and do things like that. But remember, that was while the Scripture was being written. The Old Testament Scripture was written, and these were the men who would be writing the New Testament Scripture. And so while they were writing the New Testament Scripture, They had the power and ability God gave them to perform these miracles, so that when they performed a miracle, the people would sit up and listen. They'd sit up and pay attention, how that this person just performed a miracle that only God could do, and so this man's got a message from God, and so we ought to listen to him. See, this is how God would authenticate His message, the gospel, to the people. That's why the apostles had the power to perform miracles. But now nobody's doing that in our day. Nobody's performing miracles like that to authenticate the message. And you know why somebody doesn't need to perform a miracle of healing or tongues? Or you know why moving a mountain into the sea is not required? Well, nobody needs to perform miracles like that today because those miracles were given as evidence that this man or that man was sent of God. And how that this man's got a message from God, this man's preaching the very gospel of God concerning his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. But you and I don't need somebody to perform a miracle to tell us if they're preaching the gospel or not, because we've got the completed Word of God. We've got all the scripture that these men were writing. And so now, If you want to know if a man is preaching the gospel or not, we may know that by the word of truth, by God's own word. And so now if you want to know if a man's preaching the gospel or not, we may know it by the word of God. Does his message match the word? If he's saying what God's saying, he's preaching the word. And so you and I don't need miracles to authenticate the gospel, not in this time. We read in 1 Corinthians chapter 14. Turn there with me. 1 Corinthians chapter 14. I'll begin reading in there in verse 22. Just the one verse. It says there, 1 Corinthians 14 verse 22. Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not. But prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe." Notice, those that believe don't need that sign because they've got the Word. But it's a sign to them that believe not. But prophesying, notice, preaching Christ, preaching the Word made flesh, serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe. And so they need a sign or a miracle to have them to listen, those that believe not, but preaching is for them which believe, and so that's the way it is today. We don't need somebody to perform a miracle to know if they're preaching the Word of God. Preaching Christ and Him crucified is all it takes for somebody that believes, because they check it by the Word of God and they say, that's the gospel, that's what God says, and I'm going to believe it by God's grace. I suppose if we could perform miracles like give sight to the blind, or heal the sick, or make the lame to walk. If we were honest, we might think, well, that would be a wonderful thing for us to be able to do. But here's the thing, beloved, we've got to remember the whole point of those miracles was to have people to look to Christ. And so that's good for us to remember. Those miracles were to point people to Christ. Because enabled by the Spirit, all of God's people are going to perform a miracle greater than healing the sick, greater than moving mountains and healing people and speaking in tongues. And every one of God's people will be able to do that miracle. And it's not like performing some sort of party trick, you know, like you've got to move a mountain into the sea. But rather, by God-given faith in Christ, we move the mountain of our sin. And by that God-given faith, we believe that Thou, O Lord, will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea." Isn't that what we read or was read to us earlier from Micah 7, verse 19? Beloved, He will turn again and He will have compassion upon us. He will subdue our iniquities and that will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Just think of it, beloved. By faith, the mountain of your sin is going to be moved to a place where God can't see it. Now, God can see everything, but if your sin has been taken to a place where God can't see it, you know what that means? It means all your sins are gone. It means that all your sins don't exist. God's not just pretending they don't exist. Rather, God can't see them because they're all put away, completely and utterly put away because the blood of Christ made it to disappear, made it to not exist anymore. And we hold on that glorious gospel truth by faith. And yes, some religious Pharisee might say, but that's impossible. That's impossible. You, perfect, complete in Christ? My friend, to believe on Christ and that all my sins have been put away to be remembered no more, that all my sin is gone, put away and out of God's sight. Well, you're right. With men, that's impossible. But with God, all things are possible. And believing in Christ, well, that's a greater miracle than physically moving a mountain or cursing a tree and making it die. That's the power God gives us in giving us God-given faith in Christ. And that's a miracle we cannot perform by our own power. Look what it says in Colossians chapter 2. In Colossians chapter 2, I'll begin reading there in verse 9. This is a portion of scripture. Like all the portions of scripture, they testify of Christ. Isn't that what our Lord said? These are they which testify of me. And when he said those words, he spoke about Genesis to Malachi. if I'm not mistaken. And then now, in our time, in this gospel dispensation time, that's also true of Matthew to Revelation. The whole book has one message. It's Christ and Him crucified. And God give you the grace to hear the testimony of our Lord and God. And not only hear it, but to believe it, to receive it, and rest in it. Colossians chapter 2, I'll begin reading in verse 9. For in Him In Christ, God's dear Son, dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power. In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, and putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through faith of the operation of God. who hath raised him from the dead, and you being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, with Christ, having forgiven you all trespasses, blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross, And having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it, in the atonement, in the propitiation for our sins. He made an open show of them through His doing and dying, through the gospel of substitution and satisfaction, through the gospel of Christ and Him crucified. You see, the Spirit of God blows where he listeth. He blows through you, beloved, and you don't know when or where he's come from or where he's going. All you know is he's been here, and the evidence that he's been is that I believe on the one God sent. And that's a miracle that only God, the Holy Spirit, can perform, to make you believe on Christ. Just think of it, beloved. It's an utter miracle that a sinner like you and a sinner like me believes God's Son. I mean, just simply believes, trusts, and rests in the Lord Jesus Christ and His blessed person and His finished saving work. It's a miracle, truly. It's a powerful miracle that God's performed for you and me to believe the gospel and its complete foolishness to the natural man. We know that. It's complete and utter foolishness to the natural man. And yet, it feeds your soul. And that's by faith. And that's a supernatural, powerful miracle that a person in the flesh, like you and me, can believe is spiritual. And we can't see that anything but the truth of it, that it's a miracle. It's a miracle that a sinner like you and a sinner like me would believe Christ and believe on Him and love Him. It's not seeing Him in the flesh. It's not seeing Him with carnal eyes, but with spiritual eyes. Most people saw Him with carnal eyes. What did we learn about the most people that saw Him with carnal eyes? Well, most people that saw Him with carnal eyes despised Him. And they rejected Him, did they not? My friend, you can only love Christ and believe on Him by the miracle of God-given faith. And the Holy Spirit gives that, and you believe on Christ. You can't help but believe on Christ when the Holy Spirit gives you faith. Left to yourself, you can't believe on Him. Left to yourself, you can't love Him. where you see it's a miracle for you and me to believe on a man that we've never seen before with our physical eyes. And you believe on him so much so that the entirety of our internal soul depends on him and him alone. That's a miracle, is it not? You see, truly, it's a miracle that any sinner believes Christ Jesus, God's well-pleasing Son. And I'll tell you what else is a miracle. It's that His people keep believing on Him. We keep believing on Him. No matter the trial He sends, no matter the trouble He brings our way, trials and troubles don't produce faith, beloved. They just reveal faith. They just reveal God-given faith. They don't produce faith. They just reveal it. You see, not only is the faith of His people a miracle, but so too their perseverance. You see, that trial didn't run you off, and it's a miracle of God's grace. And the troubles He sent your way, they didn't cause you to stop believing on Him. Rather, it was because of those troubles that you continue to trust in Him all the more, saying, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. And you were made to rejoice and rest in Him all the more, knowing that you're kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. Knowing surely, goodness and mercy shall follow you all the days of your life, and that you will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." What a miracle of faith it is to know Him who keeps us. I mean, why haven't you and I just gone off and become apostates? because, beloved, of the miracle of God-given faith, that faith that is by the gift and operation of God Himself. What a miracle to behold all the mountain of sin you are and look to the Lord to cast all your sins into the depths of the sea. And there's another miracle, and it's still through faith, and it's the power of prayer. Every believer has power in prayer, and that the Father hears our prayers. We read in verse 22, in our portion of Matthew 21, our Lord speaking. He tells us in Matthew 21, verse 22, and all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." Remarkable, is it not? That our Lord would be so gracious to His people, so as to instruct us in this way. Beloved, there's power in prayer and it's through the blood of Christ. There's always power in the blood of Christ to cleanse and forgive sin and make us accepted before the Father and the Beloved. You see, the Father always hears a prayer that's for Christ's sake. Indeed, He always hears a prayer on the basis of the blood of His only begotten Son. And that's because the blood of God's Son is so precious to Him. And so He always hears a prayer based on the merits of Him that loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. You see, the Father always hears a prayer that's for the sake and glory of His Son. Now remember, the Lord's not saying you're going to get everything you ask for in prayer. We must remember the topic that we see in our portion. The topic of this message is saving faith. The topic's not getting trinkets in this life. Oh no, the topic is saving faith. And sinners are always saved by the Lord Jesus Christ through faith in Him and Him alone. And every sinner that believes Christ, believes on Him to be their everything, in salvation. The believer believes on the Lord Jesus Christ for everything in their salvation. And they believe it so fully that they don't think they've got to add one blessed thing to him. They don't think that for a moment. They know that it is simply what the message of the Old Testament says, salvation is of the Lord. And it's the same in the New Testament. We call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins. Everyone that believes Christ for all their salvation is saved. Remember, it's through faith in Christ. It's not the fig leaves of our works of the law. It's through faith in Christ. So this is what the Lord's saying. All things whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing on me, ye shall receive. Believing fully, trusting completely on the Lord Jesus Christ. And so when we pray, whatever spiritual blessing it is, we ask for spiritual blessings, do we not? And believing whatever it is we ask for, the Father will always give these things by faith in Christ. We ask for forgiveness of our sin for Christ's sake, and because of His blood, the Father hears that and He forgives us. And because the blood of His Son is so precious to Him, we ask for righteousness for Christ's sake, a righteousness that's based on His obedience, not mine, and that for His glory. And the Father always gives it. We ask for spiritual life for Christ's sake, because Christ died the death that I deserve. And the Father always hears that prayer, because the death of His Son is so precious to Him. And we ask for salvation. We pray, Lord, save me, else I perish. You see, Scripture sets forth how that the Father determined to save a people that He elected to save. And we read in Scripture how that God's Son died for those people, and He shed His blood to put away all their sins. And we read in Scripture how that the Holy Spirit comes and gives life to them. And so when I cry to the Father, Save me for Christ's sake, I'm saying, Apply the blood of Christ to me. Choose me. Save me. Keep me. And when we ask for salvation based upon the doing and dying of the Lord Jesus Christ, I'm asking not because I've got the right doctrine, or because I did this, that, or the other thing. Rather, I'm begging God to save me in spite of me, in spite of everything that I've done, and that He save me purely based upon the doing and the dying of the Lord Jesus Christ. My friend, the Father always saves because His children are precious to Him. I mean, I trust you hear that when we quote Malachi 3.6. The Lord tells us, ever so blessedly, I, the Lord, changeth not. My love for you doesn't change. That you're precious to me doesn't change. And because of that, ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. So we asked that the Father accept us for Christ's sake. That He would accept us in the Beloved. And not because of what we've done, not because I preach, not because you're faithful to attend or faithful to give and support the gospel and live your life in a certain way. Rather, Father, accept me purely for Christ's sake and totally for His sake." And the son says to the father's children, I love this little detail in this portion in Matthew, "'Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit.'" Inherit, not merit. not merit, inherit, ever so blessedly inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. I'd rather have the miracle of faith in Christ to be able to believe on Him and come before the Father in prayer, believing on His Son to cast the mountain of my sins into the depths of the sea. I'd rather have that miracle performed than to merely move a mountain. And I hope you just the same have that same hope that you'd rather have the Lord move your mountain of sin than just any old mountain. Because that's the very lesson the Lord's teaching us here with this mound, this cursed withered fig tree. Such a blessing to be able to thank him in prayer. Lord, thank you for casting the mountain of my sin into the depths of the sea to be remembered no more. Not one time, but two times in Scripture. The Lord speaks to a sinner like you and a sinner like me. It's recorded for us two times because we're so prone to forget. But He'll have us to remember. I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. Hebrews 8.12 and then again in Hebrews 10.17. And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. How is that possible? Because they're all put away by the blood of Christ. They're all put away. All put away. Amen.