The next day, when they had come out from Bethany, he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came to see if perhaps he might find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. Jesus told it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” and his disciples heard it. (11:12-14)
My disciples were very surprised by the harshness that I had concerning this fig tree. As I was going to the temple I knew what the Father wanted me to do. He wanted me to pronounce a judgment against the leaders of Israel. My words against this fig tree were a prophetic announcement of the Father’s judgment. Israel was expected to bring fruits, so that the blessings they received from the Father would flow to many others. God’s love is like a river, if you don’t let it go through you to others, you will become a stagnant water that dies. We want people to let rivers of living water flow through them. I welcomed fully the love of the Father, letting His love flow through me to many others, showing you the way to follow, the path to fruitfulness.
The problem with this fig tree was that, since the leaves were supposed to come when the fruits are also coming, it was deceiving people. It was giving the impression that it had fruits, yet it had none. This is the problem of many people, who pretend that they can quench your thirst and give you a fruitful direction, while they have none. Don’t look only for leaves, but learn to recognize the fruits. By doing this, you will avoid many pains and frustrations. A good tree brings good fruits, but a bad tree cannot bear good fruits. If a tree brings bad fruits, the Father will cut it and trow it into the fire. The Father has called all the creation to enter into his dance of love and grace. You are invited to enter in this living flow, we want to guide you so that you learn to love us and love your neighbor. Learn to let our love flow through you, to love the whole creation and to manifest our grace and truth all around you. All the rules we give are designed for this express purpose, to lead you to this life filled with our grace and truth. Remain in me and I in you, and you will bear much fruit.
And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. And he was teaching them and saying 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 den of robbers.” And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. And when evening came they went out of the city. (11:15-19)
I went to stop the evil fruits of the temple to continue. All the peoples were supposed to come to worship the Father, not only the Jews but also the Gentiles. The Father is not only the Father of Israel, but of all humans. Israel is His firstborn people, and he wants to lead all the nations to him. The outer court was supposed to allow the nations to come and pray there. God wanted His love to flow through Israel to all the nations. Yet, Israel wanted to hoard his grace and love, and to see the other nations crushed before them. That was not the plan of the Father, that will never be his plan. I came to show the example, not keeping for myself the love of the Father, but leading all I could to this love. This is the call of all children of God, of all the people who proclaim that God is their Lord.
In the temple the place for prayer had been replaced by the location for the money-changers and those who sold animals for temple sacrifices. This was not the right place, it was a way to let money replace prayer in a very important part of the temple courts. You cannot serve both God and money, and you cannot receive God’s grace and not let it flow through you to others. Either you learn to love your neighbor that you see, thus manifesting your love for the Creator, or you try to hoard the blessings of God and you will end up being cut off from the tree of life and thrown into the fire.
I came to stop this shameful business, this replacement of prayer by money in this sacred place. I stopped everything for a short while. This was just a prophetic sign of what the Father would do. About 40 years later, the temple would be destroyed and the Father would use the pagan Romans to carry out His judgment on this place. In order to carry the words of the Father, I had to accept that those who rebelled against him would persecute me. This has always been a price that prophets have to accept. When people don’t have the love of God in themselves, they will reject Him and reject all those He sends.
I knew that my actions, like what I did in the temple, were going to lead me to much pain and to death. Yet, I also knew that it was the Father’s will and that he would take care of me, not letting my body see corruption. In your world, you cannot please everyone. At one point you have to choose whether you want to learn to listen to the Father and to me, to let the Holy Spirit guide you, or to choose the voice of men and your own voice as your guide in this world. You will reap the consequences of your choices, and that is a basic principle that the Father has established in the creation. If you sow the wind, you will reap a tempest. If you follow my path of love, you will see fruits of this love appear under each of your steps, you will see flowers of our grace burgeon and shine all around you. Trust in me, trust in the love of the Father, and your life will be like a ray of light leading to the source of light. I am the light of the world, and all those who come to me will find real peace and real joy.
As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered ways to its roots. And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (11:20-24)
The withered fig tree was a sign of what would happen to the temple, to this hypocritical leadership that pretended to do God’s will while rejecting Him and all those He sent. I did not want the disciples to focus on judgment, but on the authority that the servants of God receive from Him. As my disciples were learning to listen to me and to obey me, they were learning to listen to the Father and do the Father’s will. Whoever sees me sees the Father, and whoever hears my voice hears the Father. I did not do anything without being led by the Father. I modeled through my example how my disciples would then learn from me, by following me in all they say and all they do. This is not theoretical, it is very practical. You can walk with me all the days of your life, you can speak to me and listen to me. We sent the Holy Spirit so that as you welcome our Spirit, you will be able to hear my voice and see me guide your steps. This is why I told my disciples that I would be with them until the end of the age, and that where two or three are united in my name, I am in their midst.
I encouraged my disciples to have faith in God, to trust God. As you learn to trust the Father and to trust me, to do what we tell you to do, to say what we tell you to say, all you do will succeed. As you learn from me, as you drink from the continual flow of the love of the Father, from his teachings and his grace, our river of love will flow through you and bring many good fruits. You will be like a tree planted by streams of water, bringing fruit in its time. All you will say and do will happen.
It is not because you will have found a specific technique, a magical trick to get your way. To the contrary, as you deny your self-centeredness and let our grace flow in you through your faithfulness, you will be with me, you will take my yoke upon you, you will carry your cross, and you will learn to love. You will then be able to let our love flow through you and transform those around you. It is the power of our love that will transform you and those around you. You will not fear anything, because perfect love casts out fear.
You will learn to pray with confidence, certain that as you learn to speak the words we put in your heart, these words will come to pass. The flower fades and the grass withers, but the word from the Father will not return to him empty. Our words, as you welcome them, will bring their fruits in you and around you. Learn to enter in the flow of our grace, learn to remain in this flow, and you will be amazed at the works the Father will do through you. You will dance of joy, when you see how our love will transform many through your faithfulness. Have faith in me, have faith in the Father. Welcome in you the same faithfulness that was in me. Learn from me to serve and love. I am man and I am God. I came to show you what faith is, what faithfulness to the Father can do. As you follow my path, as you imitate my faithfulness, as you let my words rule in you, as you listen to me and do what I show you, you will do even greater things than what I did. This should not be a subject of pride, but of gratefulness. This is what the flow of our love and grace will do in you and through you.
Learn to walk by faith in us, learn to obey our guidance, learn to shine of our light in this world. Then, the trees with rejoice and the birds will sing of joy. All the creation is eagerly awaiting for the revelation of the sons and daughters of God. Take your place as a child of God, learn to follow me in all you say and all you do, and you will see the power of love flow through you and bless many. That was my promise to my disciples, that is still my promise to you today.
Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father, who is in heaven, may also forgive you your transgressions. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your transgressions.” (11:25-26)
As you learn to follow my path of love, you cannot continue to judge people. Even those who have harmed you deeply, you should forgive them. It is a key rule in your relationship with us. When you come to us in prayer, this is the first thing to do, to forgive and to ask for forgiveness if you have done something wrong. The more violent a person has been toward you, the more important it is for you not to let the venom of unforgiveness go through your veins. When you don’t forgive, when you want to condemn someone who harmed you, you are taking the position of judge, you are thus rejecting your identity of son of God, and you therefore hinder significantly the flow of our love for you. You need our love, you need our grace, you need our blessings to move forward in the plans of life that we have for you. When someone refuses to forgive, it is like if this person says that he does not need our blessings. It is foolish and harmful.
When I was on the cross, I showed the way, forgiving those who crucified me. It is very important. To forgive means that you renounce to judge the person for the harm they have caused you, and that you hand this judgment over to the Father. Do not judge and you will not be judged. Do not condemn your brother for his faults, because you are often not aware of how much you have harmed others. The Father did not send me to condemn humans, but to show the way of deliverance, that many would find life through me. Forgiveness does not mean that you will be very close to the person who harmed you, in fact sometimes it will be wise for you to stay away from someone who harmed you. Yet, don’t let the poison of unforgiveness harm your heart, don’t let an offense lead your life toward darkness.
Let our love for you be and remain more important that any offense you suffer, let the fellowship with us remain the strongest relationship in your life, and you will be happy. I came to bring real happiness, a happiness that overflows in eternal life. This happiness is not self-centered and judging, it is humble and joyful. This happiness receives the love of the Father and learns to follow me, to listen to me and to the Father, full of the Holy Spirit as a temple of God. Do not let any harm or impurity rule in the temple of your body, forgive and welcome fully the love of the Father. You will then discover the pure power of faithfulness, the joyful transformation of an obedient faith in God.
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