CCMI Wednesday Video

In Mark 11:21, Peter notices the cursed fig tree withered from the roots and points it out to Jesus, and the Lord turns it into one of the most misused teachings in the New Testament. Have faith in God. Not faith in faith. Not presumption but faith in a Person who hears and answers. The mountain-moving promise isn't a blank check for claiming cars and diamonds. Jesus is talking to disciples who've denied themselves and taken up the cross, so their desires have become His. Then comes the part most people skip. Verse 25. If you have anything against anyone, forgive, or don't expect the Father to forgive you. Pastor Malcolm walks through King David's famous encounter with Shimei, the man who cursed him and threw rocks, and shows how David's surface forgiveness was really just a file in the revenge drawer. He didn't strike back, but he didn't forget either. That's not forgiveness. That's image management. The Eskimo missionaries couldn't find a word for forgiveness, so they built one. It means not being able to think about it anymore. Free fully. God doesn't keep an account. Jeremiah 31:34 Hebrews 10:17. When He forgives, it's finished. And because you've tasted that, mercy runs in the family. You can't help but be forgiving. It's not a rule you follow. It's who you are.

Jesus drives out the money changers and overturns the tables — righteous indignation against a temple turned into a den of thieves. The high priest owned the concessions, worshippers were forced to buy "unblemished" sacrifices at inflated prices, and temple tax could only be paid in Tyrian shekels at exploitative rates. They were fleecing the flock, just as Ezekiel's false shepherds did.

But this act fulfilled prophecy — Psalm 69, "zeal for your house has eaten me up," and Malachi 3, "the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple." Jesus acted with the authority of the Son of God, calling it "my Father's house." And no one lifted a finger to stop him — the same power that made the arresting mob fall backward in Gethsemane.

Pastor Malcolm asks: what barriers do we put up that keep people from God? Dress codes, self-righteousness, legalism, or misused liberty that offends the weaker brother. Like Nehemiah throwing Tobiah's furniture out of the temple, we're called to grieve our compromises, cleanse the rooms, and throw out anything that doesn't belong — because we ourselves are the temple of the living God.

Last time, we followed Jesus into Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday — hailed as Messiah, fulfilling Daniel's seventy-weeks prophecy to the very day, and riding in on a donkey just as Zechariah foretold. But the same crowds shouting Hosanna would soon cry Crucify Him, and the leafy branches they laid at His feet become the picture for what follows. The next morning, hungry on the road from Bethany, Jesus curses a fig tree full of leaves but bearing no fruit — and it withers from the roots. It's a sobering parable of Israel, and of every professing believer: all show, no substance. Pastor Malcolm presses the point home — God isn't after religion, ritual, or outward display. He's after fruit. The fruit of the Spirit. Christlikeness. Real transformation that comes only from abiding in Him, dying to self, and walking in love. A call to stop only laying leaves at His feet — and start bearing fruit that lasts.

In Mark chapter eleven, Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey — fulfilling Zechariah's prophecy to the day, and Daniel's seventy-weeks prophecy to the very day, April sixth, thirty-two AD. The disciples dream of power, the crowd cries Hosanna, the Pharisees plot his death, but Jesus has a different agenda — and Jesus weeps over the city as they do not recognize the day for what it is. A message about selfish agendas versus the one agenda that mattered: salvation for the world.

In this message, Pastor Malcolm Wild walks through Mark 10, where James and John ask Jesus for the seats of honor — right after He predicts his suffering. He turns their ambition into a lesson on servant leadership: greatness in God's kingdom means serving, not being served, just as the Son of Man came to give His life as a ransom for many. Then the scene shifts to Jericho, where blind Bartimaeus cries out, "Son of David, have mercy on me." Despite the crowd trying to silence him, he presses through — and Jesus stops for him. The message draws out seven lessons from Bartimaeus: recognizing our need, knowing who Jesus is, persisting against discouragement, and following Him once our eyes are opened. The heart of it: without the cross, there's no crown — and the same Jesus who paused for a blind beggar is still passing by today.

A wealthy young ruler runs to Jesus asking how to inherit eternal life, but walks away sorrowful when told to sell everything and follow Him. Jesus uses the moment to teach His disciples how dangerously easy it is for riches to grip our hearts and keep us from the kingdom. We explore why wealth makes trusting God so difficult, the difference between having money and trusting in it, and the beautiful truth that while it's impossible with man, all things are possible with God. A powerful reminder that the things we cling to most are the very things that can cost us everything.

What does it really take to inherit eternal life? In Mark chapter 10, we meet the rich young ruler — a sincere, moral, enthusiastic young man who runs to Jesus asking the most important question anyone can ask: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” What happens next might surprise you. Jesus doesn’t give him the easy answer many expect. Instead, He lovingly confronts the one thing holding the young man back — his wealth. The encounter reveals the difference between wanting salvation and truly surrendering to Christ. This message challenges modern “easy-believerism” and explores what the Bible actually teaches about conversion, repentance, and following Jesus. Through the story of the rich young ruler, you’ll discover the Jesus style of evangelism — one that starts with the holiness of God, uses the law to reveal sin, and calls for total commitment.