July 23, 2024

Mark 11:20-21

²⁰ Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. ²¹ And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.”

Have you ever run over a yellow jacket nest with your lawn mower? It is not a happy experience. Yellow jackets are aggressive and mean. Even though their nest is below ground and is not damaged by the lawn mower, they go on the warpath when something disturbs them.

Unfortunately, I have had the “pleasure” of doing this. In fact, I have done it numerous times with different nests. You would think that I would learn my lesson. But yellow jacket nests are nearly impossible to see. Until you have disturbed one, you will not know that it is there.

But I guarantee that WHEN you disturb one, you will know. And this knowledge will be quite painful.

Now I wanted to share my experience with yellow jacket nests because of the way that I have learned to kill them. I kill them with my words!

Now you might think this sounds preposterous. Or perhaps prideful. But I can assure you, there is nothing special in what I am doing. I have learned to use the Word of God.

Jesus, Himself, cursed a fig tree. And the fig tree He cursed withered away. And if you continue reading this account, He taught His followers that they could do the SAME THING.

Jesus used words to curse the fig tree. He said, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.” The account of this in Matthew shows that the roots died immediately. This account in Mark shows that it was the next morning when the physical evidence of the fig tree’s death was visible.

But the point of the matter is that Jesus spoke words with authority. And great power flowed through that authority. The power was voice activated. And this is very important to note because the power was not thought activated. He didn’t think a silent prayer in His head. He actually spoke words, out of His mouth, with great authority.

Now this wouldn’t be that exciting if this principle only worked for Jesus. But He instructed His followers that they also could speak to the mountain (a reference to any problem you might have) and that the mountain would be removed and cast into the sea.

He was giving us full permission to speak with the authority of God!

Now Solomon, in Proverbs, tells us that “death and life are in the power of the tongue.” This principle was powerful even under the Old Covenant. But under the New Covenant, our words have been restored to the same dominion (authority) that was given to Adam by God.

Mankind was given the dominion of the Earth. And Jesus has restored that dominion in man. So our words have much more power than we realize.

When I understood what Jesus was telling us here in Mark 11, I realized that I had the authority to speak with the power of God over yellow jackets. And so I have learned to command them to die.

And they do! Jesus said that if I don’t doubt in my heart, but believe that those things that I say will be done, I will have whatever I say. You can read this for yourself in verses 22 through 24.

Now some people might think that what I am saying is crazy. But it’s working for me. And it would work for you too, if you would believe it.

And it doesn’t just work on Yellow Jackets. It works on woodpeckers, squirrels, and other animals that would try to attack my house or disturb my sanctuary. I have even used this principle to send snakes away.

Christians speak with authority. And what they speak to has to respond. Unfortunately, most of them don’t know they are speaking with authority and so they often curse themselves with their own words.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue. This is a universal principle, whether or not you know it.