At our house we have some plastic containers that are used for storing food that was left over from a meal. Now these containers have different compartments in them so that the different foods don’t get mixed up together. And that’s really good for our leftovers, but it’s not good for our life. We like to compartmentalize our life. Here’s what I mean. We keep work relationships separate from home. We keep our family relationships separate from our neighbors. And we keep our Christianity separate from everything. We put our relationship with God in a small area called Sunday morning and that is where we leave Him, so He doesn’t get all mixed in with our other relationships. We’re told not to talk about religion or politics, right? What’s wrong with just going to church and keeping the religious part of your life separated from the everyday life you live? You know, as long as we do our religious duty and don’t kill anyone, we’re good right? This casual attitude towards our relationship with God is very dangerous. Have we broken the third commandment by taking His name and then not living up to that responsibility? Are you churching, but not changing? Are you praying, but not believing? Are you singing, but not set free? Are you speaking in tongues, but not speaking to your neighbor? How did this happen? It’s time to reevaluate how we got here. In my research I found an article at crossexamined.org that said: "Bill Hybels, the founding pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago and the unofficial father of the seeker movement in the United States, recently admitted that seeker churches have done a very poor job of making disciples." The problem is that making disciples is what Jesus commanded us to do! Why has the seeker movement failed in the church’s central purpose? Over the last 30 years, in an effort to draw a crowd, I believe the church has relaxed our stance on sin and turned our services into an hour of lights, lasers and motivational talks instead of fulfilling our commission to make disciples, baptize them and then teach them everything Jesus commanded. And the result of that, is low commitment and little life change. It’s been the creation of a modern “casual” Christian. One with no understanding of the rights, benefits and responsibilities of a true citizen of the kingdom of heaven. Casual Christianity has created casualties in the church. It’s time for us to turn that around.
And we will begin doing that by talking about two very popular topics: Repentance and Judgment. Luke 13:1-5 “There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” Jesus’ point was not that some of those people were more guilty than others, but that we are all equally guilty and need to repent or we will perish. Repentance is just the first step for us as believers. God desires more from us, and for us, than to just repent and accept His gift of salvation. He has saved us for His glory and to spread His kingdom into every area we go into. Jesus continues with a parable to talk about the next steps for His kingdom expansion. And the next step is to start producing spiritual fruit. Spiritual fruit is what God expects from us. The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree Luke 13:6-9 “6 And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ 8 And he
answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’” Let me breakdown the people in this parable. God is the owner of the field, Jesus is the vinedresser or gardener and we are the trees that have been planted. The issue begins when the owner notices that one of the trees is not bearing fruit. It has been barren for at least 3 years. You have been planted in God’s field order it produce fruit, but He allows time for you to mature before He decides you're just wasting His resources. This parable shows the importance of repenting over our unfruitful casual approach to living as Christians. The purpose of a tree is to bear fruit. Without fruit, the tree is just wasting soil and space. The purpose of a Christian is to bear spiritual fruit. Let’s look at what our spiritual fruit is supposed to look like. Galatians 5:22-23 “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” God knows what kind of seed He’s put in you, and He is patiently waiting to see how much fruit you produce. As a Christian, it’s not a matter of “if” you will produce fruit, but how much. It is a natural process that is supposed to take place, but it doesn’t happen over night. There is a reason that the parable says the vineyard owner waited three years to talk to the vinedresser about cutting down the fig tree. When a new fruit tree is planted it can take at least three years for it to produce fruit. And if it does produce some fruit in the first couple of years, that fruit should be taken off so that the tree can have time to develop enough strength to support a greater harvest. As a new believer, God doesn’t expect an immediate harvest of spiritual fruit in your life. He understands the process and is patient with us until He has allowed enough time for us to be strong enough to support a full harvest. The problem arises when we claim to be mature Christians who have been following Jesus for several years...and yet we still struggle to produce any spiritual fruit. Remember what we said last week about taking His name in vain? As people who call ourselves christians, we have taken His name in vain if we are not producing fruit. We are supposed to be replicating ourselves...because that is what it means to be fruitful. In the book of Genesis we see several times that God says to be fruitful. The concept of being fruitful is based on fruit having seed already inside. Everything the fruit needs to replicate itself is already inside. God has already placed everything you need to be fruitful in the kingdom inside you. You were born with it and He put it there for your benefit and His kingdom expansion. But what happens when we just use up God’s resources and don’t provide a return on His investment in us? We can expect there to be a judgment on our life when we ignore god’s will for us to be fruitful. Often, when a tree doesn’t bear fruit it’s because the tree is using the resources it has to produce more wood. Why is that bad?
More branches means less fruit. The tree has spent its energy getting more for itself and less on replicating itself. That is what having fruit does. The fruit has seed and the seed produces another tree...and another tree produces more fruit...and the cycle continues. We were created to be fruitful and reproduce ourself. But this parable clearly shows that there is a limit to how long God will wait for us to become who He created us to be. He does more than just wait, He helps us and gives us every opportunity to mature into fruit bearing believers. Look at what the parable says the vinedresser does to help the tree. LUKE 13:8 “And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure.” Why would the vinedresser dig around the tree? To make the tree unstable and force the roots to go deeper into the soil. Also, to soften the hard dirt on the surface, so it can accept the nutrients from the manure. Notice that the vinedresser didn’t use something He created to fertilize the soil. He used something that He knew had the nutrients inside to fix the problem. Does it sound like fun to go through a “manure” experience that makes you unstable? What will you do when that time comes? Will you dig deeper into God’s word to stabilize yourself or will you give up and fall over? This is what James 1:2-4 means when it says we are supposed to count it all joy when we encounter all kinds of trials.
James 1:2-4 “2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” That trial may seem like “manure” at first, but if you will give it a chance to do what it’s supposed to do in your life, you will find it is working for your perfection. God didn’t make the manure, but He will certainly use it for your benefit and His glory. The only way to bear fruit is to be connected to the source of the nutrients for our life. John 15:1-5 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” In both this passage and the one in Luke we see that what is expected...and that is fruit. And here’s the crazy part. Even if you are bearing fruit, you need to understand this process. God prunes branches that bear fruit so they will bear more fruit. It’s healthy for the branches to be pruned. I didn’t say it was comfortable or fun, I said it was healthy. That’s why I keep saying that this kingdom life is not the path of least resistance. If we are going to be prosperous and successful in the kingdom, we are going to go through some pruning, because that is how God grows us up into maturity.
Being pruned is not the same as being cut off at the base or cut down entirely. Pruning a tree affects how the tree grows. With proper pruning, a tree can be made to grow into a certain configuration of limbs and branches that is better for the strength of the tree. A properly pruned tree will not have compromising branch structures and improper weight distribution that could lead to disaster later on in the tree’s life. This is the result of God’s pruning, plowing and fertilizing. John 15:7-8 “7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” God wants our fruit to glorify him. It’s the proof that we are His disciples. If fruit is not produced, the tree or branch will be cut down or off. But before that judgment, He is doing everything He can to get you to correct your direction. John 15:6 “6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.” Luke 13:8-9 “8 And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’” Clearly, there is a consequence to wasting the soil that God has planted you in. It’s time to take our spiritual responsibilities as citizens of heaven seriously. It’s time to stop compartmentalizing our life and allow our spiritual fruit to feed others who need what we have.
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