“Our Lord Expects Spiritual Fruit This Year”
(Sunday Morning December 29th, 2013)
Passage: Luke 13:6-9
O.S. When I Think of Spiritual Fruit, the First Thing That Comes to My Mind
are the Fruits of the Spirit That Paul Tells Us About in Galatians 5:22-23
-> These Include: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness
Gentleness and Self-Control
-> But Spiritual Fruit Actually Involves Much More Than This
-> Spiritual Fruit Also Involves Practical and Productive Christian Living
-> It Involves Moving Beyond Religious Rituals, and Religious Ceremonies,
and Religious Legalism to the Point Where…
…At the Level of Being, We Reflect God’s Character
…And at the Level of Doing, We Reflect God’s Mission
-> This is Why God Has Never Been Exceptionally Impressed by Religious Rituals
and Religious Ceremonies
-> Because It is Quite Possible to be Outwardly Religious and Inwardly Corrupt
-> When the Scribes and Pharisees Came to be Baptized by John the Baptist
at the Jordan River,for Example, John Said This to Them; He Said,
“7…’You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
8 ‘Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, …” (Luke 3:7-8)
Q.n = Now, Listen to Me, are You Listening?
Ans = The Fruit That Our Lord is Really Referring to Here in This Passage of Scripture
is the Fruit of Repentance?
-> And the Word “Repentance” is a Military Term That Literally Means “To Do
an About Face” or “To Turn Around and Move in the Opposite Direction”
-> And Frankly, No One Will Ever Get Into Heaven Without “Repentance”
vs 3 (Read)
St = Now, After John Told the Pharisees That They Needed to Repent, He Got Into
a Conversation With Some People in the Crowd, and He Revealed to Them
What It Meansfor a Person to Bear the Fruit of Repentance
-> After John Said This, Some Others Who Were Present Spoke Up and Said,
“Then, What Shall We Do?” (Luke 3:10
-> And John Said This to Them; He Said,
“The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has
food is to do likewise”(Notice = Radical Change in This Person’s Behavior) (Luke 3:11)
-> After This, Some Tax Gatherers Spoke Up and Said,“Teacher, what shall we do?”
-> So, John Said, “Collect no more than what you have been ordered to” (Luke 3:13)
-> I Wish Someone Would Share That Verse With the Brazoria County Tax District,
Don’t You?(That Kind of Behavior Among Tax Gatherers Was Not Common in Jesus’ Day)
-> After This, Some Soldiers Spoke Up and Said, “…what about us, what shall we do?”
-> And John Said to Them,
“Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content
with your wages”(Luke 3:14)
-> Now, if You Want to Know What is Needed the Most in Christianity in America
Today and in Our Churches; I Believe It is the Fruit of Repentance
-> For You See, There is Very Little Difference in the Character of Most of Those
Who Profess to be Christians in Our Society and Those Who do Not (Elaborate)
Pt = The Spiritual Fruit That God is Looking for in Our Lives is That Which Makes
a Practical Difference in the Way We Live and Relate to Others
-> God Wants Spiritual Fruit From Us, and This Means, in Other Words, That…
… At the Level of Our Being, He Wants Us to Reflect His Character
… And at the Level of Our Doing, He Wants Us to Reflect His Mission
-> And That is What This Parable of the Fig Tree is All About
-> So, With That in Mind, I Have Divided This Sermon Into Two Parts
I. Our LordProvidesAdequately for Spiritual Fruit
1) Some Observations
a. The Location of This Tree
-> The First Thing That I Believe We Should Take Note of is the Fact That This Tree
Had Been Planted in an Ideal Location
-> Most Fig Trees Were Found by a Roadside or Out in the Wilderness Somewhere,
But This Fig Tree Had Been Planted in a Vineyard
-> It Was Located in a Place Where the Ground Was Regularly Watered and Tilled
-> I’m Sure That It Towered Above Everything Else
-> There Were no Other Trees Competing for the Sunlight Above It, and It
Was Cultivated and Guarded Daily
-> These Were Ideal Conditions
-> And So, the Owner Had Every Right to Expect Fruit
-> Especially, When We Consider the Fact That Fig Trees Were Normally Very
Productive in That Region
-> Ten Months Out of Twelve, Fig Trees Normally Bore Fruit
-> And for This Reason, the Fig Tree Was Often Seen as Being the Most Reliable
Source of Fruit
-> This is Why the Prophet Zechariah Described the Millenial Reign of Christas Being
a Time When
“…every one …will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and under his fig tree”
(Zechariah 3:10)
-> That is a Picture of Great Prosperity and Great Security
-> Because Even if the Vineyard Produced Nothing, They Could Usually Count
on the Fact That the Fig Tree Would Come Through
______
b. The Patience of This Man
-> We are Also Told That This Man Had Waited Three Years for This Fig Tree
to Produce Fruit, But It Still Hadn’t Come Through
-> In Reality, He May Have Been Waiting Even Longer Than That
-> Because According to Leviticus 19:23-25, the Fruit on a Fig Tree Was Considered
to be Unclean for the First Three Years
-> So, This Man Had Probably Been Waiting for Over Six Years for This Fig Tree
to Bear Fruit, and It Still Had Produced Nothing
______
T.S. 1) Some Observations
2) Some Implications
______
2) Some Implications
-> There is No Doubt in My Mind About the Fact That the Fig Tree Had Become
aSymbolfor the Nation of Israel
-> The Prophets, for Example, Had Sometimes Used the Barren Fig Tree as a Symbol
of Judgment Upon the Nation of Israel for Her Unfaithfulness in Times Past
(Joel 1:7,12)
-> And Jeremiah Described Some of the Evil People in Israel as “Rotten Figs” in Jer 24:2
-> And as We All Know, Israel Had Been Given Numerous Spiritual Blessings
and Advantages
-> God Had Granted Them a Whole Line of Spiritual Heroes Like: Abraham,
and Moses, and David, and Isaiah, and Daniel, and Elijah
-> They Had Been Given Spiritual Mentors, and the Law of God Had Been Given
to Them as a Tudor Designed to PrepareThem for the Coming of Their Messiah
-> And for Over 2000 Years, God Had Been Waiting for Spiritual Fruit to Emerge
But It Still Had Not Come
-> What He Found Instead Was Only Religious Ritualism, and Self-Righteousness,
and Legalism, and a Gigantic Self-Serving Institution
St = Let Me Show You Some Verses in the Gospel of Mark That I Believe Relate Very
Well to This Parable
Mark 11:12-14, 20-21 (Turn and Read)
-> Now, Please Take Note of the Fact That What Happened Between the Time When
This Fig Tree Was Cursed and When This Fig Tree Withered is Significant
Q.n = What Happened Between This Time?
Ans = Jesus Cleansed the Temple
-> He Went Into the Temple, and He Saw That His House Which Should Have Been
a House of Prayer Had Become a Den of Robbers
-> The Court of the Gentiles Had Even Become a Market Place, a Place Where
Sacrificial Animals Were Sold at Inflated Prices(Elaborate)
Q.n = Now, Did You Notice That This Fig Tree Was “In Leaf”?
Ans = That Means That It Had Leaves But No Fruit
-> And This Was Very Unusual, Because Normally theFruitAlwaysPrecededthe Leaves
-> And So, the Problem With This Fig Tree is That It Was All Show and No Substance
-> And This Was a Perfect Description of What Judaism Had Become at the Time
of Christ
-> Their Religion Had All of the External Signs of Life
* The Crowds = People Literally by the Thousands Came to Jerusalem Every Year
* The Architecture - We Would Have All Been Impressed, Because the Temple Was
One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World(Elaborate)
* The Worship - Their Priests Came to the Temple Wearing Their Elaborate
Garments and They Offered Multiplied Thousands of Sacrifices
- Their Scribes Could Quote Volumes of Scripture Verbatim
- The Pharisees, That Elite Group of Only 6,000,Were Held in High
Esteem, Because They Were Fastidious About Keeping the Law
of Moses
-> But Jesus Saw All of This for What It Really Was: All Show and No Substance,
Profession Without Productivity, aWhole Lot of Leaves But No Fruit
App: Now Listen, I Believe It is Just as Important for US to Understand and to Apply
What Jesus is Teaching in This Parable NOWas It Was for THEM Back THEN
-> Because We Too Have Been Given a Lot of Spiritual Advantages
* 94% of All of the Christian Workers in the World are in English Speaking Countries
* There are More Ordained Ministers of the Gospel in the United States
of America Than There are in the Rest of the World Combined
* We Have More Christian Broadcasting; We Have More Christian
Literature; We HaveMoreBibleSchools and Seminaries
-> But Even So, I Believe That It is Not at All Uncommon for Christians in This
CountrytoSpend a Lot of Time Involved in Religious Activities Without Ever
Producing Any Real Spiritual Fruit
-> For You See, You Can Come to Church and Sing Hymns to God; the Scribes
and Pharisees Did That
-> And You Can Listen to Preachers Read From the Scriptures and Expound
on the Scriptures, the Scribes and Pharisees Did That
-> And You Can Put Some Money in ThatOffering Plate Every Sunday When It
Comes By, the Scribes and Pharisees Did That
-> You Can do All of That and Still Finish the Year 2013 Without Ever Producing
Even One Ounce of Real Spiritual Fruit(Pause)
______
Q.n = We Tend to Think, for Example, That a Person is Spiritual Just Because They
Have a Lot of Bible Knowledge, Don’t We?
-> But in 1 Corinthians 8:1, Paul Warned Us About the Fact That “…knowledge
makes arrogant…”– Another Translation Says “…knowledge puffs us up”
-> So, Coming to Church Every Sunday and Sitting and Soaking Up the Scriptures
Might Make You and I Nothing More Than a Bunch of Arrogant Egg Heads
if, Listen to Me Now, if We Never Apply What We Learn in Our Every Day Life
______
Pt = Every Church is Supposed to be Something More Than a Self-Serving Institution
-> What We do Here is Supposed Motivate Us to Impact Our World in Some
Practical and Some Spiritually Productive Ways
II. Our LordUltimatelyConfronts Spiritual Fruitlessness
1) More Observations
a. This Tree’s Presence Was a Liability
-> At First, the Owner of the Vineyard Was More Inclined to Cut This Tree Down
-> Because as He Saw It, This Tree Was Occupying Space and Depleting Resources
That Could Have Been Used by a More Productive Grapevine, or Vegetable
Garden or Fruit Tree
-> In Other Words, This Fig Tree Was Seen, Not Only as Something That Failed
to Produce, But Also, as Something That Hindered Productivity
-> Especially in That Area, WhereFarm Land Was at a Premium
-> Every Postage Stamp Sized Field Was Cultivated
-> Therefore, the Owner Was Inclined to Cut It Down and Plant Something Else
-> And He Would Have Done That if the Vineyard-Keeper Had Not Intervened
-> But Notice What the Vineyard-Keeper Said in Verses 8 - 9 (Read)
______
T.S. a. This Tree’s Presence Was a Liability
______
b. This Man’s Patience Was Limited
-> Thanks to the Intercession of the Vineyard-Keeper, the Owner Agreed to Grant
the Tree More Time, But I Want You to Notice That It Was Limited to One Year
-> And by the Way, the Greek Here Associated With the Word “If” That Appears
Hereis Very Specific and Very Interesting
-> The First “IF” That Appears in Verse 9 is a Third Class Conditional Clause
Which Indicates That This is Something That Was UNLIKELY to Happen,
and the Second “IF” is a First Class Conditional Clause That Indicates That
This is Something That is LIKELY to Happen
Pt = The Vineyard-Keeper, in Other Words, Was Not at All Optimistic(Elaborate)
2) More Implications
a. History Tells Us How This Parable Applied to the Jews
-> God Was Patient With Them, Not for Just for One More Year, But for Almost
Forty More Years
-> Because It Was Not Until A.D. 70 That the Jews Did What Jesus Warned Them
Not to Do, They Tried to Overthrow Rome
-> And as a Result of This, the Romans Conquered Jerusalem; They Destroyed Their
Beautiful Temple, and They Crucified Thousands of These Jews
b. I Believe That There is a Solemn Warning Here for Us
-> Because This Parable Reminds Us of the Fact That God Not Only Wants Spiritual
Fruit From Us, He Expects Spiritual Fruit From Us
-> And if We are Not Producing Spiritual Fruit, We May Actually be More
of a Spiritual Liability Than a Spiritual Asset
-> And Even Though We Have a Wonderful Advocate by the Nameof Jesus Christ
Who Intercedes for Us at the Right Hand of the Father, God’s Patience With Us
is Still Not Unlimited
Q.n = Are You Familiar With the Expression “Being on Borrowed Time?”
-> If Someone Survives a Major Heart Attack, or They Come Through a Life
Threatening Event, or Something Like That, We Use That Expression
-> We Say That He or She is on “Borrowed Time”
Q.n = Well, Listen to Me Now, are You Listening?
-> The Point of This Parable is That We are All on Borrowed Time
-> And What We All Need to be Reminded of is This
-> God Planted Me Where I am for a Reason, and God Planted You Where You
are for a Reason: in This Church, in Your Home, in Your School, in Your Place
of Employment Etcetera, andHe Expects Us to Produce Some Real Spiritual Fruit
-> And to Fail to do so is to Invite His Divine Judgment Upon Us
Ill: Over in Isaiah Chapter 5, for Example, We Find What Bible Scholars Refer
to as “One of the Trojan Horse Parables”
-> The Reason It is Called a Trojan Horse Parable is Because It is a Parable That
Was Designed to be Disarming
-> And Then, as Soon as the People of Israel Let Their Guard Down, the Prophet
Shocked Them by Confronting Them With a Very Solemn Spiritual Warning
-> The Prophet Isaiah Began His Parable by Saying
“Let me sing now for my well-beloved a song of my beloved concerning His
vineyard”(Isa 5:1)
-> Now, We Can be Sure That Isaiah Had the Attention of the People at That Point
-> Because, After All, People Enjoy Being Entertained, and This Was an Agrarian
Society; So, They Were Probably Intrigued by His Theme
-> Then, Isaiah Went on to Paint a Picture of Incredible Investment and Industry;
He Said,
“…My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill. 2 He dug it all around,
removed its stones, and planted it with the choicest vine. And He built a tower
in the middle of it and also hewed out a wine vat in it;…”(Isa 5:1-2)
-> Any Israelite Would Have Been Impressed by This, and They Must Have Said
to Themselves:
“This is My Kind of Man; He is Ambitious, and He is Industrious; He is Going
to go Far in Life; He is Going to Enjoy IncredibleFinancial Success!”
-> Then, at That Point, Isaiah Knew That He Had Them Where He Wanted Them
-> So, He Took Out His Sharp Dagger of Truth, and He Stabbed Them With It;
He Said,
“…Then He expected it to produce good grapes, but it produced only worthless
ones. 3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge between
Me and My vineyard” (Isa 5:2-3)
Pt = Isaiah’s Point Was That God Had Made a Spiritual Investment in His People,
and That He Had a Right to Expect Some Spiritual Fruit From Them in Return
App: Now, if I Were Sitting Where You are Listening to This, I Would Want
the Preacher to Get Specific and Tell Me What This Spiritual Fruit Is
-> I Would Want Him to Tell Me What God is Looking for in My Life
-> So, I’m Going to do That for You This Morning
-> This is Not a Comprehensive List; We Don’t Have Time for That, But I Think This
Will Help Us All to Get Off to a Good Start as We Enter This New Year
a. The Fruit of HolyLiving
-> God Has Always Wanted This From His People
-> In Fact, He Said to the Nation of Israel “Be Ye Holy for I am Holy” (Lev 20:7)
-> And God is Never Content With People Just Going Through the Outward Forms
of Religion if It Does Not Produce Holiness and Godliness and Righteousness
in Our Lives
-> This is Why It is Disturbing to Read Reports From the George Barna Institute
That Reveal That Religion is Up in America But Morality is Down
-> It is Disturbing to Read That There is Very Little Difference Now Between
the Morality of Those Who Attend Church and Those Who Do Not
b. The Fruit of LovingService
-> I Have Already Eluded to This; So Now, Let Me Spell It Out
-> God Wants More From Us Than Just Our Church Attendance
-> He Wants Us to Serve Others in Practical Ways
-> There are a Lot of God’s People Today Who are Long on Studying the Bible
and Going to Religious Meetings, But They are Short on Loving Service
-> But if All You and I Do is Study the Bible and It Never Ushers Into Loving
Service; Then, We Become Like the Priest and the Levite in Jesus’ Parable
of the Good Samaritan
-> Who Were so Preoccupied With Getting to Their Next Meeting That They
Failed to be of Any Practical Help to Their Fellowman(Booth – Others)
c. The Fruit of a FerventWitness
-> God Doesn’t Want Us Just to Sit Around Here and Love One Another
-> That’s Important - to Have a Loving Fellowship Within the Body of Believers
-> But the Real Fruit is to Get Beyond Our Fellowship and Out Into the World
Where People Are
______
Ill: I Heard About a Pastor One Time Who Was Called to the Bedside of a Dying Man
-> This Man Had Been a Very Active Member of His Church, But This is What He
Said to His Pastor; He Said,
“Pastor, I’m Not Afraid to Die, But I am Ashamed to Die. I am Ashamed to Die,
Because I Have Never Led a Single Person to Faith in Christ”