WEBVTT 00:00:06.079 --> 00:00:20.079 Luke chapter 3, verse 2. We're going to kind 00:00:20.079 --> 00:00:21.820 of start mid -verse there. We're going to just 00:00:21.820 --> 00:00:24.160 skip all those names at the beginning. We're 00:00:24.160 --> 00:00:26.260 just going to kind of get right down to what 00:00:26.260 --> 00:00:28.960 we're talking about right there in the middle 00:00:28.960 --> 00:00:34.320 of verse 2. Luke chapter 3. Let's pray, and then 00:00:34.320 --> 00:00:37.229 we'll get started. God, we come to you, we thank 00:00:37.229 --> 00:00:39.969 you for your good word, and I pray that you would 00:00:39.969 --> 00:00:42.549 just help us to focus on you for just a few minutes, 00:00:42.670 --> 00:00:45.490 dear Lord. There's a lot of stuff we got going 00:00:45.490 --> 00:00:48.090 on this week, dear Lord. I'm sure everybody's 00:00:48.090 --> 00:00:51.810 busy with school and work, and just life is tough 00:00:51.810 --> 00:00:54.270 sometimes, and there's a lot of things that may 00:00:54.270 --> 00:00:56.689 be competing for our attention today, and I pray 00:00:56.689 --> 00:00:59.670 that in these few minutes that we would just 00:00:59.670 --> 00:01:01.490 try to block all that out, that we would try 00:01:01.490 --> 00:01:03.770 to seek you. I pray that we would listen to your 00:01:03.770 --> 00:01:06.709 word. God, there may be some things in here that 00:01:06.709 --> 00:01:08.730 are good for us, things that we need to hear. 00:01:08.909 --> 00:01:11.310 And it is good for us, God, if we'd listen to 00:01:11.310 --> 00:01:14.250 it. So help your Holy Spirit see the things that 00:01:14.250 --> 00:01:16.310 we need to see. Meet us where we are, dear Lord. 00:01:16.409 --> 00:01:19.189 Take away any pride or fear that's within me 00:01:19.189 --> 00:01:21.609 and just let everything that's said and done 00:01:21.609 --> 00:01:24.829 be for your glory today. In Jesus' name I pray 00:01:24.829 --> 00:01:29.930 it. Amen. In the middle of verse 2, Luke chapter 00:01:29.930 --> 00:01:33.349 3, about halfway through the verse, verse 2, 00:01:33.840 --> 00:01:37.019 God's word came to John, the son of Zechariah, 00:01:37.120 --> 00:01:40.620 in the wilderness. He went into all the vicinity 00:01:40.620 --> 00:01:44.140 of the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance 00:01:44.140 --> 00:01:48.439 for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written 00:01:48.439 --> 00:01:51.379 in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, 00:01:51.700 --> 00:01:54.459 a voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 00:01:54.620 --> 00:01:58.180 prepare the way for the Lord, make his path straight. 00:01:58.540 --> 00:02:01.159 Each valley will be filled and every mountain 00:02:01.159 --> 00:02:04.230 and hill will be made low. The crooked will become 00:02:04.230 --> 00:02:08.250 straight, the rough way smooth, and everyone 00:02:08.250 --> 00:02:12.849 will see the salvation of God. All right, so 00:02:12.849 --> 00:02:15.250 we're introduced to John the Baptist in this 00:02:15.250 --> 00:02:19.030 passage, and the fact that John the Baptist was 00:02:19.030 --> 00:02:21.449 going to come was prophesied in the Old Testament 00:02:21.449 --> 00:02:24.909 that there was coming a day that the salvation 00:02:24.909 --> 00:02:28.580 of the Lord was going to come. had sent a lot 00:02:28.580 --> 00:02:31.580 of people to be priests and to be kings and to 00:02:31.580 --> 00:02:35.300 be judges and people to lead his people and deliver 00:02:35.300 --> 00:02:38.599 his people in a variety of ways in the Old Testament. 00:02:38.639 --> 00:02:42.280 And the priests served to offer sacrifices to 00:02:42.280 --> 00:02:44.840 make at least some level of atonement for the 00:02:44.840 --> 00:02:48.300 people's sin. But all of those people that God 00:02:48.300 --> 00:02:50.780 sent and all of those ways that were established 00:02:50.780 --> 00:02:54.060 in the Old Testament were not, they were just 00:02:54.060 --> 00:02:59.189 not sufficient to cover. our sins. Because as 00:02:59.189 --> 00:03:02.169 people, we just sin continually. And there was 00:03:02.169 --> 00:03:06.449 just this continual need for sacrifice, a continual 00:03:06.449 --> 00:03:09.430 need for deliverance. And while there were some 00:03:09.430 --> 00:03:11.849 good men and women in the Old Testament that 00:03:11.849 --> 00:03:16.789 God used, ultimately they all failed to bring 00:03:16.789 --> 00:03:19.689 about the deliverance and the atonement that 00:03:19.689 --> 00:03:22.389 God's people needed. And so the Old Testament, 00:03:22.509 --> 00:03:25.930 throughout the pages, are pointing us forward 00:03:25.930 --> 00:03:30.039 to a Messiah who's going to come, a Savior who's 00:03:30.039 --> 00:03:32.719 going to come, a King who's going to come, a 00:03:32.719 --> 00:03:35.599 high priest who's going to come, who will be 00:03:35.599 --> 00:03:40.439 able to lead God's people, to deliver God's people, 00:03:40.580 --> 00:03:44.039 to make atonement for God's people once and for 00:03:44.039 --> 00:03:47.379 all. And so Jesus Christ is the one who was talked 00:03:47.379 --> 00:03:50.900 about in the Old Testament. He was the one that 00:03:50.900 --> 00:03:54.120 all that was going to happen through. But before 00:03:54.120 --> 00:03:57.229 he came onto the scene, there was going to be 00:03:57.229 --> 00:04:01.069 one who came and prepared the way for him. One 00:04:01.069 --> 00:04:02.710 who was going to come, and that was John the 00:04:02.710 --> 00:04:06.050 Baptist, to say, okay, the time has come. The 00:04:06.050 --> 00:04:09.310 time has come, get ready, because the Messiah 00:04:09.310 --> 00:04:12.990 is right around the corner. The Lamb of God is 00:04:12.990 --> 00:04:15.650 right around the corner. The one that all these 00:04:15.650 --> 00:04:18.209 things are going to be fulfilled through, that 00:04:18.209 --> 00:04:20.910 we've seen from the prophets, he's right around 00:04:20.910 --> 00:04:24.389 the corner, and in fact, he's here. He's right 00:04:24.389 --> 00:04:27.589 here among us right now. So John the Baptist 00:04:27.589 --> 00:04:30.189 was preaching an important message, a message 00:04:30.189 --> 00:04:35.329 of baptism, but a message of repentance. Repentance 00:04:35.329 --> 00:04:38.889 for what? For the forgiveness of sins. He's paving 00:04:38.889 --> 00:04:42.750 the way. Okay, what's our problem? Our problem 00:04:42.750 --> 00:04:45.269 is the same as everybody in the Old Testament, 00:04:45.350 --> 00:04:47.269 everybody that's ever lived problem, and that 00:04:47.269 --> 00:04:50.379 is... That we sin, we get on this path that we're 00:04:50.379 --> 00:04:52.639 doing these sinful things and we say things and 00:04:52.639 --> 00:04:54.899 we do things and we act in ways that are just 00:04:54.899 --> 00:04:59.160 sinful that God does not approve of. Now God 00:04:59.160 --> 00:05:01.819 tells us, here's how I want you to live. I want 00:05:01.819 --> 00:05:04.180 you to love me. I want you to love others. Here's 00:05:04.180 --> 00:05:06.220 some things that are not good for you that you 00:05:06.220 --> 00:05:09.680 need to avoid. And if we would do those things, 00:05:09.800 --> 00:05:12.279 we'd be a lot better off and most of us can probably 00:05:12.279 --> 00:05:16.230 attest to the fact that when we do right, Things 00:05:16.230 --> 00:05:18.470 go a lot better than when we do wrong, but sometimes 00:05:18.470 --> 00:05:23.029 we do wrong, and the Bible calls that sin. And 00:05:23.029 --> 00:05:25.449 so it's important for us to realize that we can't 00:05:25.449 --> 00:05:29.449 just continue on in that sin, but that God calls 00:05:29.449 --> 00:05:34.029 us to repent. That's very important. It's very 00:05:34.029 --> 00:05:35.870 important that we understand what repentance 00:05:35.870 --> 00:05:39.800 is. Repentance means that we stop... living in 00:05:39.800 --> 00:05:41.939 the sin that we're living in. Now, we probably 00:05:41.939 --> 00:05:45.139 all have some sin, as Hebrews would say, that 00:05:45.139 --> 00:05:48.480 so easily ensnares us. Now, there are some things 00:05:48.480 --> 00:05:50.500 that are sinful that you're not tempted by in 00:05:50.500 --> 00:05:52.540 the least. Those things aren't really a struggle 00:05:52.540 --> 00:05:55.480 for you, but there are some things, maybe one 00:05:55.480 --> 00:05:58.600 or two things, that are really, really hard for 00:05:58.600 --> 00:06:01.620 you to overcome. There are some temptations that 00:06:01.620 --> 00:06:05.120 you know they're sinful and you just give in 00:06:05.120 --> 00:06:07.800 to them. And sometimes we get in this pattern 00:06:07.800 --> 00:06:09.920 where we kind of don't care. We just kind of 00:06:09.920 --> 00:06:12.180 live in that sin and don't really think about 00:06:12.180 --> 00:06:14.160 it. But that's why it's important for us to be 00:06:14.160 --> 00:06:17.579 in God's Word, to read God's Word on our own, 00:06:17.600 --> 00:06:19.439 to come together at church, to come to Sunday 00:06:19.439 --> 00:06:21.660 school, to dig into God's Word, to see what it 00:06:21.660 --> 00:06:25.240 says. And the more we dig into it, the more the 00:06:25.240 --> 00:06:27.819 Holy Spirit can begin to reveal to us, you know, 00:06:27.839 --> 00:06:31.139 that's not the way you should be living. And 00:06:31.139 --> 00:06:33.579 you've maybe experienced some of those convictions 00:06:33.579 --> 00:06:36.449 before. for some things you've said or some things 00:06:36.449 --> 00:06:39.370 you've done or maybe even right now, some things 00:06:39.370 --> 00:06:41.649 that's going on in your life and you just, you 00:06:41.649 --> 00:06:43.629 have an uneasy feeling. You're not at peace because 00:06:43.629 --> 00:06:49.189 you know that that's wrong. Now, we can't overcome 00:06:49.189 --> 00:06:51.750 those temptations and that sinfulness on our 00:06:51.750 --> 00:06:55.069 own. We don't have the power. But praise the 00:06:55.069 --> 00:06:57.389 Lord for Jesus Christ. He came and he lived a 00:06:57.389 --> 00:07:00.850 perfect life and he did say no to temptation 00:07:00.850 --> 00:07:04.360 and he did say no to sin. So he's our source 00:07:04.360 --> 00:07:07.439 of strength. When we see in God's word and we 00:07:07.439 --> 00:07:09.819 feel the Holy Spirit convict us that things we're 00:07:09.819 --> 00:07:12.120 doing are sinful and we shouldn't do those things, 00:07:12.480 --> 00:07:15.819 then John the Baptist tells us what we need to 00:07:15.819 --> 00:07:20.060 do. He says you need to repent. You need to repent. 00:07:20.180 --> 00:07:23.240 You need to say, God, I know this is not right, 00:07:23.300 --> 00:07:26.019 and God, I'm not going to live this way anymore. 00:07:26.100 --> 00:07:28.040 I don't want to live in this sin. I don't want 00:07:28.040 --> 00:07:29.699 to live for myself. I don't want to keep doing 00:07:29.699 --> 00:07:33.220 this sinful thing, God. I don't. want to do this 00:07:33.220 --> 00:07:37.439 anymore. God, would you forgive me for that sinfulness? 00:07:38.240 --> 00:07:41.000 I don't want to give in to the sin, but God, 00:07:41.019 --> 00:07:44.379 I want to serve you. I know that my sin is so 00:07:44.379 --> 00:07:47.439 big and so deep and so ugly and so nasty that 00:07:47.439 --> 00:07:51.279 there's nothing I can do, God, but I see your 00:07:51.279 --> 00:07:54.120 word and I trust and I believe that the one that 00:07:54.120 --> 00:07:56.800 John the Baptist was talking about, Jesus Christ, 00:07:57.180 --> 00:08:01.399 I believe that he did die on a cross. I believe 00:08:01.399 --> 00:08:04.220 that he does have the power to forgive my sins. 00:08:04.620 --> 00:08:06.920 And God, I believe that he has the strength to 00:08:06.920 --> 00:08:10.100 help me. So I repent. I'm turning from my old 00:08:10.100 --> 00:08:12.680 ways. God, would you forgive me for what I've 00:08:12.680 --> 00:08:16.560 done and help me to live for you? Now, this is 00:08:16.560 --> 00:08:19.939 the message that John the Baptist was preaching. 00:08:20.180 --> 00:08:22.459 Okay, there's some sin going on among you, the 00:08:22.459 --> 00:08:25.660 crowd he was talking to and us too. And you need 00:08:25.660 --> 00:08:28.019 to turn from those ways. You don't want to live 00:08:28.019 --> 00:08:30.810 in those ways anymore. You need to repent. and 00:08:30.810 --> 00:08:34.509 find forgiveness. And that message is still true 00:08:34.509 --> 00:08:37.289 for us today. The one he was talking about, Jesus, 00:08:37.509 --> 00:08:40.909 is the one who brings forgiveness to our life 00:08:40.909 --> 00:08:44.029 today. Okay? So he's preaching this message of 00:08:44.029 --> 00:08:47.149 repentance to the crowd who's listening. Listen 00:08:47.149 --> 00:08:51.850 to what he says. In verse 7, He then said to 00:08:51.850 --> 00:08:54.889 the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, 00:08:55.289 --> 00:08:58.850 Brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from 00:08:58.850 --> 00:09:02.889 the coming wrath? Therefore, produce fruit consistent 00:09:02.889 --> 00:09:06.330 with repentance. And don't start saying to yourselves, 00:09:06.809 --> 00:09:10.350 we have Abraham as our father. For I tell you 00:09:10.350 --> 00:09:12.789 that God is able to raise up children for Abraham 00:09:12.789 --> 00:09:16.549 from these stones. Even now the axe is ready 00:09:16.549 --> 00:09:19.789 to strike the root of the trees. Therefore, every 00:09:19.789 --> 00:09:22.889 tree that doesn't produce good fruit will be 00:09:22.889 --> 00:09:27.330 cut down and thrown into the fire. All right, 00:09:27.370 --> 00:09:29.230 so he's coming and he's preaching this message. 00:09:29.740 --> 00:09:32.419 And he's preaching a pretty strong message. Notice 00:09:32.419 --> 00:09:35.820 what he calls the crowd here. He says, brood 00:09:35.820 --> 00:09:39.299 of vipers. Now, this is not a really positive 00:09:39.299 --> 00:09:41.980 term. Like, this is not really what people probably 00:09:41.980 --> 00:09:44.919 wanted to hear. He's preaching this strong message 00:09:44.919 --> 00:09:47.360 to these people. And he's trying to get their 00:09:47.360 --> 00:09:50.000 attention. He's saying, look, the way you're 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:53.779 living is sinful. And you need to recognize what 00:09:53.779 --> 00:09:55.659 you're doing. And you need to recognize, are 00:09:55.659 --> 00:09:59.600 you following God or not? It seems pretty obvious 00:09:59.600 --> 00:10:02.720 he's talking to a Jewish audience here because 00:10:02.720 --> 00:10:06.000 what does he tell them? He says, you better pay 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:08.240 attention and don't come over here telling me, 00:10:08.360 --> 00:10:11.259 oh, we're sons of Abraham. Don't come saying, 00:10:11.440 --> 00:10:13.799 oh, we're Jews, so we can do whatever we want 00:10:13.799 --> 00:10:15.820 to do and it's going to be okay because we're 00:10:15.820 --> 00:10:18.700 God's people. We're Jewish people. And John the 00:10:18.700 --> 00:10:21.899 Baptist says, hold up just a second. That's not 00:10:21.899 --> 00:10:23.899 going to do you any good. The blood that's running 00:10:23.899 --> 00:10:26.620 through your veins will do you no good. If you 00:10:26.620 --> 00:10:30.000 don't repent and trust in the Messiah who is 00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:32.120 coming. Now certainly some Jewish people did 00:10:32.120 --> 00:10:34.480 throughout the scripture and Jesus' ministry. 00:10:34.860 --> 00:10:36.899 But there was many who didn't. There was many 00:10:36.899 --> 00:10:39.779 who did not heed the message of John the Baptist 00:10:39.779 --> 00:10:41.820 here. And John the Baptist says, hey, you better 00:10:41.820 --> 00:10:45.690 pay attention. Because... It's not the blood 00:10:45.690 --> 00:10:47.470 in your veins that's going to save you. It's 00:10:47.470 --> 00:10:49.970 the blood of Jesus Christ that's going to wash 00:10:49.970 --> 00:10:52.950 away your sins. And so you better pay attention 00:10:52.950 --> 00:10:56.610 to this message, repent of your old ways, and 00:10:56.610 --> 00:11:01.269 seek to follow Jesus Christ. Now that's the context 00:11:01.269 --> 00:11:03.389 of what's going on. Now we may not be Jewish 00:11:03.389 --> 00:11:06.769 today, but perhaps we fall into the trap in some 00:11:06.769 --> 00:11:10.639 way of... depending on something else or thinking 00:11:10.639 --> 00:11:13.059 something else is going to be good enough to 00:11:13.059 --> 00:11:16.720 save us from God's wrath. Oh, well, I come from 00:11:16.720 --> 00:11:19.580 a good Christian family. I go to church all the 00:11:19.580 --> 00:11:22.480 time. Oh, I do this, that, and the other. I sing 00:11:22.480 --> 00:11:25.179 in the choir, whatever it may be. We may have 00:11:25.179 --> 00:11:27.340 a lot of things that we just presume and say, 00:11:27.460 --> 00:11:30.240 oh, well, I'm going to be okay because I do X, 00:11:30.259 --> 00:11:34.179 Y, and Z, but John's message doesn't have anything 00:11:34.179 --> 00:11:37.500 to do with those type of things. John's message 00:11:37.500 --> 00:11:39.539 doesn't have anything to do with blood and veins 00:11:39.539 --> 00:11:41.779 or whether we go to church a lot or whether everybody 00:11:41.779 --> 00:11:45.539 in our family follows God. John's message is 00:11:45.539 --> 00:11:49.460 repent because there's sin in your life, and 00:11:49.460 --> 00:11:51.480 if you don't repent of your sin, there will be 00:11:51.480 --> 00:11:54.840 no forgiveness of your sin. And you can't obtain 00:11:54.840 --> 00:11:58.279 forgiveness for your sinfulness apart from Jesus 00:11:58.279 --> 00:12:01.820 Christ. So pay attention to the Messiah, who 00:12:01.820 --> 00:12:05.409 in John's case was coming. who in our case has 00:12:05.409 --> 00:12:09.529 come pay attention to the Messiah. Now, what 00:12:09.529 --> 00:12:13.250 did he say at the beginning of verse 8 there? 00:12:13.289 --> 00:12:16.049 He says, produce fruit consistent with repentance 00:12:16.049 --> 00:12:19.909 or worthy with repentance. He says, everybody 00:12:19.909 --> 00:12:22.110 that's not producing good fruit, pay attention. 00:12:22.529 --> 00:12:25.590 The ax is about to chop the root. The tree that's 00:12:25.590 --> 00:12:27.129 not bearing good fruit is going to be chopped 00:12:27.129 --> 00:12:30.029 down. There's going to be punishment as a result 00:12:30.029 --> 00:12:34.460 of that. Okay, so... Produce fruit consistent 00:12:34.460 --> 00:12:38.139 with repentance. Okay, so when we repent in our 00:12:38.139 --> 00:12:41.320 life, if we say we're going to follow what God's 00:12:41.320 --> 00:12:43.879 Word says, if we're going to follow Jesus Christ, 00:12:44.019 --> 00:12:47.100 if we say, I've repented of my sins and I'm not 00:12:47.100 --> 00:12:49.960 living for me, but I'm living for Jesus, if we 00:12:49.960 --> 00:12:53.779 say that, then there should be evidence of that 00:12:53.779 --> 00:12:57.379 in our life. The fruit that we produce. Okay, 00:12:57.440 --> 00:13:00.620 so how do we live? How do we treat other people? 00:13:01.139 --> 00:13:03.990 How do we... How do we follow God's word? Do 00:13:03.990 --> 00:13:07.029 we do what it says? Are we men and women of integrity? 00:13:07.690 --> 00:13:11.269 Do we do the right thing even when nobody's looking? 00:13:11.970 --> 00:13:14.269 Or do we only do the right thing on Sunday mornings? 00:13:14.690 --> 00:13:17.110 Or do the right things when we see people we 00:13:17.110 --> 00:13:18.789 know? We see somebody from the church in the 00:13:18.789 --> 00:13:20.309 grocery store and all of a sudden we talk in 00:13:20.309 --> 00:13:22.429 one way and we see them coming and we say, oh, 00:13:22.450 --> 00:13:24.429 I've got to change my language up a little bit. 00:13:24.450 --> 00:13:26.830 I can't talk that way in front of the church 00:13:26.830 --> 00:13:31.610 members or the preacher. And so maybe... We need 00:13:31.610 --> 00:13:34.210 to take time to look at our life and look at 00:13:34.210 --> 00:13:38.049 what kind of fruit that we're producing. Or we're 00:13:38.049 --> 00:13:40.970 producing good fruit. Now, if we have a life 00:13:40.970 --> 00:13:43.549 that's been changed by Jesus Christ, if our heart 00:13:43.549 --> 00:13:46.490 has been changed by Jesus Christ, if we're seeking 00:13:46.490 --> 00:13:48.909 to live by the Word of God, then that should 00:13:48.909 --> 00:13:52.169 be evident in some way that we live our life. 00:13:52.269 --> 00:13:54.850 Now, I'm not saying that we'll never sin. Even 00:13:54.850 --> 00:13:56.889 those who have repented and trusted in Jesus 00:13:56.889 --> 00:13:59.720 Christ. There are certainly days that we fail 00:13:59.720 --> 00:14:01.940 and we give in to temptation. I'm not implying 00:14:01.940 --> 00:14:04.940 that we will be free of sin forever once we become 00:14:04.940 --> 00:14:08.519 a Christian. But that pattern of just continual 00:14:08.519 --> 00:14:12.799 sinfulness should begin to kind of wane away. 00:14:12.879 --> 00:14:15.240 The more we walk with the Lord, the more we seek 00:14:15.240 --> 00:14:18.379 His Word, the more we allow the Holy Spirit to 00:14:18.379 --> 00:14:21.460 work in our life, there should be this trajectory 00:14:21.460 --> 00:14:24.279 that's going upward. Now there may be a dip here 00:14:24.279 --> 00:14:26.639 and there where we fail. But there should be 00:14:26.639 --> 00:14:29.179 a trajectory in our life that we are going in 00:14:29.179 --> 00:14:31.159 the right direction to try to seek to be more 00:14:31.159 --> 00:14:33.320 like Jesus Christ and to love him more and to 00:14:33.320 --> 00:14:35.860 live for him more. And that should be evident 00:14:35.860 --> 00:14:40.600 in how we live our life. Now we probably, if 00:14:40.600 --> 00:14:42.679 we're honest, we've probably all seen somebody 00:14:42.679 --> 00:14:46.580 before that's a professed Christian. And we see 00:14:46.580 --> 00:14:48.620 the way they act and the things they say and 00:14:48.620 --> 00:14:52.120 the things they do. And our human nature can't 00:14:52.120 --> 00:14:55.120 help but wonder. or can't help but say sometimes, 00:14:55.519 --> 00:14:59.279 and they're supposed to be a Christian. We're 00:14:59.279 --> 00:15:02.639 not the judger of hearts. God is. But you can 00:15:02.639 --> 00:15:06.279 tell a tree by the fruit that it bears. Now, 00:15:06.299 --> 00:15:08.399 if we say that we're a tree that's planted in 00:15:08.399 --> 00:15:11.100 Jesus Christ and rooted in Jesus Christ, then 00:15:11.100 --> 00:15:13.500 the fruit that should come from that should be 00:15:13.500 --> 00:15:15.700 love and patience and gentleness and kindness 00:15:15.700 --> 00:15:18.879 and compassion and love for God and love for 00:15:18.879 --> 00:15:21.480 our neighbors like that. That should be part 00:15:21.480 --> 00:15:25.009 of our life. John the Baptist says, hey, look, 00:15:25.190 --> 00:15:27.870 you need to repent for the forgiveness of your 00:15:27.870 --> 00:15:31.149 sins, and you need to produce fruit worthy of 00:15:31.149 --> 00:15:35.470 repentance or consistent with repentance. So 00:15:35.470 --> 00:15:39.549 what kind of fruit are you producing today? Well, 00:15:39.590 --> 00:15:42.970 the fruit that you produce, it comes from the 00:15:42.970 --> 00:15:46.929 seeds that you plant. So the better question 00:15:46.929 --> 00:15:49.590 is, what kind of seeds are you planting in your 00:15:49.590 --> 00:15:52.659 life? If you want to produce good fruit, you've 00:15:52.659 --> 00:15:56.559 got to plant good seed. Has anybody in here ever 00:15:56.559 --> 00:15:59.059 put a tomato plant in the ground and it grew 00:15:59.059 --> 00:16:04.080 apples? Or you planted an orange tree and it 00:16:04.080 --> 00:16:08.519 produced lemons? The tree is only going to produce 00:16:08.519 --> 00:16:12.279 what it's going to produce. Whatever seed you 00:16:12.279 --> 00:16:14.320 put in the ground, you put an acorn in the ground, 00:16:14.379 --> 00:16:17.299 it's not going to grow a pine tree. What's going 00:16:17.299 --> 00:16:19.679 to grow is going to come from what's planted. 00:16:21.100 --> 00:16:23.440 So what kind of seed are you planting in your 00:16:23.440 --> 00:16:28.039 life? Maybe if you're not producing good fruit, 00:16:28.480 --> 00:16:32.480 because you're not planting good seeds, because 00:16:32.480 --> 00:16:34.440 you're living in sin and you're living for yourself. 00:16:35.679 --> 00:16:37.799 And maybe, just maybe, after you do a little 00:16:37.799 --> 00:16:40.399 fruit inspecting in your life, maybe you say, 00:16:40.460 --> 00:16:42.960 well, man, I thought I was walking with the Lord. 00:16:43.059 --> 00:16:46.960 I thought I followed the Lord, but maybe I'm 00:16:46.960 --> 00:16:50.190 not. Maybe I've gone to church my whole life 00:16:50.190 --> 00:16:51.830 and I know some scripture and maybe I've kind 00:16:51.830 --> 00:16:55.110 of fooled myself and maybe when I look at my 00:16:55.110 --> 00:17:00.250 life, I need to repent. Maybe I've been living 00:17:00.250 --> 00:17:02.549 for myself and living in my sinfulness the whole 00:17:02.549 --> 00:17:07.549 time. And so John the Baptist says, here's what 00:17:07.549 --> 00:17:10.309 you need to do. You need to repent of your sins. 00:17:11.049 --> 00:17:13.410 You need to start producing good fruit. Now listen 00:17:13.410 --> 00:17:17.470 to what follows in the next verse, verse 10. 00:17:19.340 --> 00:17:21.759 What then should we do, the crowds were asking 00:17:21.759 --> 00:17:24.180 him. Okay, that's a good question. That's a good 00:17:24.180 --> 00:17:28.460 follow -up. He preaches this pretty hard message. 00:17:28.640 --> 00:17:31.119 You brood of vipers. Don't think that God's going 00:17:31.119 --> 00:17:33.180 to save you just because of who you are. But 00:17:33.180 --> 00:17:35.160 you better realize that you need to repent for 00:17:35.160 --> 00:17:37.180 the forgiveness of your sins. And you better 00:17:37.180 --> 00:17:39.279 start producing good fruit. Because if you don't, 00:17:39.279 --> 00:17:40.980 you're going to get chopped down. And they say, 00:17:41.119 --> 00:17:44.480 okay, what do we do? What do we do? That's a 00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:46.839 good question. And maybe some of you are asking 00:17:46.839 --> 00:17:48.960 that question today. Say, okay. Well, there's 00:17:48.960 --> 00:17:51.259 some things in my life that aren't good. I want 00:17:51.259 --> 00:17:54.279 to follow Jesus. I want to get on track. I want 00:17:54.279 --> 00:17:57.839 to do what God wants me to do. So what should 00:17:57.839 --> 00:18:03.039 I do to repent and produce fruit worthy of repentance? 00:18:04.299 --> 00:18:08.240 Now, pay close attention to what he says here 00:18:08.240 --> 00:18:13.920 in verse 11. He replied to them, The one who 00:18:13.920 --> 00:18:16.559 has two shirts must share with someone who has 00:18:16.559 --> 00:18:19.650 none. And the one who has food must do the same. 00:18:20.589 --> 00:18:23.130 Now, who would have thought that was coming? 00:18:23.230 --> 00:18:25.490 Like, if you hadn't read this story and you had 00:18:25.490 --> 00:18:27.950 read those first verses and then you read that 00:18:27.950 --> 00:18:31.190 verse, like, I don't know that I would have expected 00:18:31.190 --> 00:18:34.190 it to say, all right, what do you need to do? 00:18:34.349 --> 00:18:37.049 Share your clothes with somebody and share your 00:18:37.049 --> 00:18:40.789 food with somebody. So this is the type of thing 00:18:40.789 --> 00:18:43.690 that we see is pretty important throughout Scripture. 00:18:43.849 --> 00:18:45.690 It might not be the first thing that comes to 00:18:45.690 --> 00:18:48.759 mind. You may would assume that if somebody says, 00:18:48.839 --> 00:18:51.400 okay, I want to repent and I want to do better 00:18:51.400 --> 00:18:53.140 and I want to follow God and I want to produce 00:18:53.140 --> 00:18:56.440 good fruit, what do I need to do? You would think 00:18:56.440 --> 00:18:58.420 that probably the answer would be, well, you 00:18:58.420 --> 00:19:00.299 need to go to church more and you need to read 00:19:00.299 --> 00:19:02.200 your Bible more and you need to put more money 00:19:02.200 --> 00:19:05.880 in the offering place. That's kind of the message 00:19:05.880 --> 00:19:08.039 that a lot of people would preach or maybe have 00:19:08.039 --> 00:19:10.900 preached or maybe the message we expect to hear. 00:19:11.799 --> 00:19:14.579 But that's not at all what he says. He says, 00:19:14.599 --> 00:19:17.829 hey, you need to produce good fruit. And he don't 00:19:17.829 --> 00:19:19.990 say nothing about going to church. Now, I'm not 00:19:19.990 --> 00:19:21.569 saying that we shouldn't go to church. We certainly 00:19:21.569 --> 00:19:23.250 should do those things. By the way, just for 00:19:23.250 --> 00:19:25.789 clarity, we should read our Bible. We should 00:19:25.789 --> 00:19:28.430 pray. We should gather together. We should do 00:19:28.430 --> 00:19:30.230 all those. Those are good things. I'm not implying 00:19:30.230 --> 00:19:33.930 those are bad things. But sometimes we just do 00:19:33.930 --> 00:19:37.170 those things. We just come to church. Or we pray 00:19:37.170 --> 00:19:39.069 every once in a while. Or we look at our Bible 00:19:39.069 --> 00:19:41.690 every once in a while. And we really miss the 00:19:41.690 --> 00:19:43.670 things that are important to God that God really 00:19:43.670 --> 00:19:47.819 calls us to do. And so obviously, I'm going to 00:19:47.819 --> 00:19:50.960 guess that he's addressing a problem that's going 00:19:50.960 --> 00:19:54.039 on there. Like maybe this was an issue. Maybe 00:19:54.039 --> 00:19:56.519 he's not just picking a random thing. Maybe that 00:19:56.519 --> 00:19:58.160 was a real issue that there were people who were 00:19:58.160 --> 00:20:00.400 poor, that didn't have clothes to wear and didn't 00:20:00.400 --> 00:20:03.279 have food to eat. And he's saying, look, instead 00:20:03.279 --> 00:20:05.099 of acting like you're all high and mighty and 00:20:05.099 --> 00:20:07.200 saying, hey, we're pretty religious and we're 00:20:07.200 --> 00:20:10.880 sons of Abraham. I think he's saying, well, wait 00:20:10.880 --> 00:20:13.160 a minute. Realize that God wants you to love 00:20:13.160 --> 00:20:15.859 other people. And if there's people around you 00:20:15.859 --> 00:20:18.519 that don't have and you do have, you want to 00:20:18.519 --> 00:20:20.980 produce good fruit, here's how you produce good 00:20:20.980 --> 00:20:24.039 fruit. You got two shirts, you give somebody 00:20:24.039 --> 00:20:26.660 one of your other ones. Now, I'd venture to say 00:20:26.660 --> 00:20:28.779 that most of us in here probably have more than 00:20:28.779 --> 00:20:31.619 two shirts. If we're honest, most of us probably 00:20:31.619 --> 00:20:34.299 have a closet full of shirts. And if we're really 00:20:34.299 --> 00:20:36.339 honest, we've probably got two closets full of 00:20:36.339 --> 00:20:38.900 shirts because we filled up our main closet and 00:20:38.900 --> 00:20:40.759 we had to go to our spare bedroom and fill it 00:20:40.759 --> 00:20:43.559 up with clothes. So now you got your summer clothes 00:20:43.559 --> 00:20:45.440 in your main closet, your winter clothes in your 00:20:45.440 --> 00:20:48.779 other closet, right? So most of us have plenty. 00:20:48.960 --> 00:20:52.480 The point is, most of us have something we could 00:20:52.480 --> 00:20:55.859 use to help somebody else. And are we doing that? 00:20:55.920 --> 00:20:58.000 That's pretty important to God. At least I believe 00:20:58.000 --> 00:21:00.259 it is through the scripture. I believe that's 00:21:00.259 --> 00:21:04.339 pretty important that we help other people when 00:21:04.339 --> 00:21:07.079 we have the ability to do it. Whether it be clothes 00:21:07.079 --> 00:21:10.180 or food or... The list is endless. There might 00:21:10.180 --> 00:21:11.940 be lots of ways in which we can help people. 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:14.220 So they say, okay, what do we need to do? This 00:21:14.220 --> 00:21:15.920 is the first thing he tells them. Listen to the 00:21:15.920 --> 00:21:20.000 next thing he says in verse 12. Tax collectors 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:22.799 also came to be baptized, and they asked him, 00:21:22.839 --> 00:21:26.559 teacher, what should we do? He told them, don't 00:21:26.559 --> 00:21:29.619 collect any more than what you have been authorized. 00:21:30.880 --> 00:21:35.339 All right, pretty simple. Don't steal from people. 00:21:35.869 --> 00:21:37.990 Tax collectors, it's good that they're asking 00:21:37.990 --> 00:21:39.950 these questions. It would be horrible if they 00:21:39.950 --> 00:21:42.609 just went away mad, and sometimes we do see people 00:21:42.609 --> 00:21:46.730 that hear Jesus' teaching in the Scripture, and 00:21:46.730 --> 00:21:48.410 they just don't really pay any attention to it, 00:21:48.410 --> 00:21:50.390 and they just go on their way. But at least this 00:21:50.390 --> 00:21:53.289 crowd, they heard the message, and they're asking 00:21:53.289 --> 00:21:56.829 questions. Okay, if this is what's required of 00:21:56.829 --> 00:21:59.410 us to repent and produce good fruit, how do we 00:21:59.410 --> 00:22:01.470 do it? The tax collectors say, how do we do it? 00:22:01.529 --> 00:22:03.369 Well, the tax collectors weren't really honest 00:22:03.369 --> 00:22:07.519 people. They would take what they had to to pay 00:22:07.519 --> 00:22:09.539 to roam, and then they'd just add a little extra 00:22:09.539 --> 00:22:12.160 to it to put in their pocket. So it's a real 00:22:12.160 --> 00:22:14.819 simple message. Okay, the first one, help people 00:22:14.819 --> 00:22:16.500 when you can help them. If you've got extra, 00:22:16.779 --> 00:22:19.960 help others with what you have. And then the 00:22:19.960 --> 00:22:22.220 next group, he says, hey, look, don't take what's 00:22:22.220 --> 00:22:25.240 not yours. Just do your job. Do what's right. 00:22:25.299 --> 00:22:27.440 Do what's honest. Don't take more than you're 00:22:27.440 --> 00:22:31.440 supposed to take. Pretty simple. Next group, 00:22:31.480 --> 00:22:35.480 he says in verse 14. Some soldiers also questioned 00:22:35.480 --> 00:22:39.420 him. What should we do, he said to them. Don't 00:22:39.420 --> 00:22:42.400 take money from anyone by force or false accusation. 00:22:43.039 --> 00:22:48.000 Be satisfied with your wages. Okay, very similar 00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:49.819 to the tax collectors. Don't take what's not 00:22:49.819 --> 00:22:53.700 yours. Don't use your authority. Sometimes people 00:22:53.700 --> 00:22:55.559 do that. That's a trap that we really have to 00:22:55.559 --> 00:22:58.059 look out. We have to be careful about that because, 00:22:58.099 --> 00:23:01.140 man, it's something about when we get a little 00:23:01.140 --> 00:23:04.299 authority. We can go to our heads so quick, and 00:23:04.299 --> 00:23:07.299 some people do okay with it. Other people don't. 00:23:07.359 --> 00:23:10.019 You probably know people. You may be somebody 00:23:10.019 --> 00:23:12.900 that you get a little bit of power, and all of 00:23:12.900 --> 00:23:15.960 a sudden you go on a power trip. Here are these 00:23:15.960 --> 00:23:17.799 soldiers, and they're wanting to know what they 00:23:17.799 --> 00:23:21.420 can do, and he says don't take money by force 00:23:21.420 --> 00:23:26.450 or false accusation. Treat people right. Like, 00:23:26.470 --> 00:23:28.069 just because you've got the power as a soldier 00:23:28.069 --> 00:23:29.869 and you can go bully people around to get what 00:23:29.869 --> 00:23:31.609 you want, like, is that really the way to treat 00:23:31.609 --> 00:23:33.750 people? Like, shouldn't you treat people with 00:23:33.750 --> 00:23:38.190 respect and honor and care about people and not 00:23:38.190 --> 00:23:40.769 just use your power to get what you want? But 00:23:40.769 --> 00:23:44.990 sometimes we have power, but maybe we could use 00:23:44.990 --> 00:23:47.529 it to help others. And listen to what he says 00:23:47.529 --> 00:23:49.410 at the last part of that verse there. He says, 00:23:49.549 --> 00:23:55.099 be satisfied with your wages. Now, that's the 00:23:55.099 --> 00:23:58.839 real key, I think, there. Because if you're satisfied 00:23:58.839 --> 00:24:01.779 with what you have, then you're not going to 00:24:01.779 --> 00:24:03.839 mistreat anybody else. You're not going to take 00:24:03.839 --> 00:24:06.059 from anybody else. You're not going to treat 00:24:06.059 --> 00:24:11.880 anybody else poorly. And so he gives three simple 00:24:11.880 --> 00:24:14.880 things to these folks that ask. He preaches this 00:24:14.880 --> 00:24:18.980 great message, short message, repent for the 00:24:18.980 --> 00:24:23.150 forgiveness of sins and produce good fruit. They 00:24:23.150 --> 00:24:25.930 say, what do we do? He says, if you've got extra, 00:24:26.049 --> 00:24:29.589 help those who don't. Don't take from anybody 00:24:29.589 --> 00:24:34.049 else. Be honest and be satisfied with what you 00:24:34.049 --> 00:24:37.490 have. Be content with what you have. Now those 00:24:37.490 --> 00:24:40.009 three things alone are good things for us to 00:24:40.009 --> 00:24:43.930 ponder in our life today. And maybe if you pray 00:24:43.930 --> 00:24:45.809 to the Lord and you seek the Lord this week and 00:24:45.809 --> 00:24:48.289 you think about this question, and maybe... Maybe 00:24:48.289 --> 00:24:50.450 you have the question. Maybe you hear the message 00:24:50.450 --> 00:24:52.809 today. You hear about Jesus Christ. You hear 00:24:52.809 --> 00:24:57.289 about repentance. You realize you're not producing 00:24:57.289 --> 00:25:01.690 good fruit. Well, maybe some of these things 00:25:01.690 --> 00:25:03.890 apply to your life. Maybe you're taken from somebody 00:25:03.890 --> 00:25:07.230 else. Maybe you're not satisfied with what you 00:25:07.230 --> 00:25:09.910 have. Maybe there's something else going on in 00:25:09.910 --> 00:25:12.029 your life, and maybe you already have a clue. 00:25:12.109 --> 00:25:13.869 It's already kind of eating away at you, and 00:25:13.869 --> 00:25:16.740 you kind of know. That there's something in your 00:25:16.740 --> 00:25:18.880 life that's just not right, some sin that's there. 00:25:20.019 --> 00:25:22.319 Well, today is the day of repentance. You don't 00:25:22.319 --> 00:25:23.920 have to wait. You don't have to wait until tomorrow. 00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:26.339 You don't have to wait until next week. You can 00:25:26.339 --> 00:25:28.039 pray to God. You can seek God and say, Okay, 00:25:28.099 --> 00:25:31.200 God, there's this area in my life that I'm producing 00:25:31.200 --> 00:25:33.380 some bad fruit, and I don't want to do that anymore. 00:25:34.539 --> 00:25:37.420 God, I want you to change my heart. I want you 00:25:37.420 --> 00:25:42.759 to help me make good fruit. And that starts with 00:25:42.759 --> 00:25:44.980 us following Jesus Christ, following the Word 00:25:44.980 --> 00:25:48.720 of God. That may result in us changing our lifestyle, 00:25:49.079 --> 00:25:52.119 saying no to some things we do to stop planting 00:25:52.119 --> 00:25:56.220 some of those bad seeds in our life. It may mean 00:25:56.220 --> 00:25:58.460 saying no to some of the people we hang out with. 00:25:59.700 --> 00:26:02.240 Sometimes the people we hang out with, man, they're 00:26:02.240 --> 00:26:06.640 bad seeds. And that temptation of being around 00:26:06.640 --> 00:26:12.920 them leads us to produce bad fruit. Are you producing 00:26:12.920 --> 00:26:14.980 good fruit today? Well, I don't know the answer 00:26:14.980 --> 00:26:20.039 to that. I hope you are. Maybe you're not. But 00:26:20.039 --> 00:26:22.039 the only way that we produce good fruit in our 00:26:22.039 --> 00:26:28.059 life is through Jesus Christ. The way we produce 00:26:28.059 --> 00:26:31.000 good fruit is by doing what God calls us to do. 00:26:31.700 --> 00:26:34.480 And that's loving Him and that's loving others. 00:26:35.880 --> 00:26:39.140 That's doing right by folks. That's helping people 00:26:39.140 --> 00:26:42.349 that we encounter that have a need. That's not 00:26:42.349 --> 00:26:44.829 living for ourself, but repenting of our sins 00:26:44.829 --> 00:26:50.049 and through Jesus Christ being forgiven. And 00:26:50.049 --> 00:26:53.990 just as John the Baptist was baptizing folks 00:26:53.990 --> 00:26:57.029 in those days, ultimately baptized Jesus himself, 00:26:57.490 --> 00:27:00.769 it's Jesus who commands us that if we followed 00:27:00.769 --> 00:27:05.049 him, that we too need to be baptized. And praise 00:27:05.049 --> 00:27:07.549 the Lord for that. That's representative that 00:27:07.549 --> 00:27:11.009 our sinfulness has been washed away. Not by the 00:27:11.009 --> 00:27:13.930 water, but by the blood of Jesus Christ. Have 00:27:13.930 --> 00:27:16.089 you repented of your sins today? Have you experienced 00:27:16.089 --> 00:27:19.190 forgiveness? And are you producing good fruit? 00:27:19.670 --> 00:27:23.670 Let's pray. God, we come to you today. We thank 00:27:23.670 --> 00:27:28.150 you for your good word. God, I pray that we wouldn't 00:27:28.150 --> 00:27:30.190 fall into the trap of thinking that we can earn 00:27:30.190 --> 00:27:32.529 your grace by our actions or anything that we 00:27:32.529 --> 00:27:36.750 do. But that, Lord, we would examine our life. 00:27:37.769 --> 00:27:40.569 And maybe there are some things in our life that 00:27:40.569 --> 00:27:43.269 are just not good. Maybe we're not producing 00:27:43.269 --> 00:27:46.690 fruit consistent with repentance, God. Maybe 00:27:46.690 --> 00:27:50.309 there are some and they say they're following 00:27:50.309 --> 00:27:52.650 you, but maybe your Holy Spirit's convicted them 00:27:52.650 --> 00:27:55.589 today. Maybe they've been to church a whole lot. 00:27:55.609 --> 00:27:58.269 Maybe they know your scriptures, but maybe they 00:27:58.269 --> 00:28:01.269 just realize they've never followed Jesus Christ. 00:28:01.430 --> 00:28:06.549 I pray that today, that as I pray, That in this 00:28:06.549 --> 00:28:08.410 moment, dear Lord, that they would just pray 00:28:08.410 --> 00:28:11.670 to you. That they would repent. That they would 00:28:11.670 --> 00:28:13.430 ask you to forgive them. That they would trust 00:28:13.430 --> 00:28:15.710 in Jesus Christ. Believe that he is the Savior 00:28:15.710 --> 00:28:18.869 who gave his life on a cross for their sins. 00:28:20.150 --> 00:28:22.029 God, maybe they're some today and they're yours. 00:28:22.190 --> 00:28:25.470 And maybe they've got some weeds that are growing, 00:28:25.509 --> 00:28:27.369 dear Lord. And they're producing a little good 00:28:27.369 --> 00:28:30.230 fruit. But there's some bad stuff kind of inching 00:28:30.230 --> 00:28:32.250 its way up through there. God, I pray today that 00:28:32.250 --> 00:28:33.890 they would repent of those things. That they 00:28:33.890 --> 00:28:36.950 would seek you. seek to draw closer to you. God, 00:28:37.049 --> 00:28:40.150 I pray that we would follow your words, that 00:28:40.150 --> 00:28:43.609 we would seek you, that we would love you and 00:28:43.609 --> 00:28:44.970 that we would love others, that we would help 00:28:44.970 --> 00:28:47.410 those that we can help, that we wouldn't take 00:28:47.410 --> 00:28:50.470 advantage of folks, dear Lord. And I pray that 00:28:50.470 --> 00:28:53.589 you help us to be content with what we have, 00:28:53.650 --> 00:28:58.069 God. And I ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.