The Apostle Peter provided a summary of the miraculous
ministry of Jesus in one simple verse, and that verse really is
helpful as a synopsis of the substance of Christ,
unparalleled power touching the lives of needy, sin bound
people. It's found in Acts 1038, when
Peter stood before Cornelius and his household to proclaim the
gospel, and in that proclamation he included this description,
this report of the person of Jesus Christ, how God anointed
Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power.
He went about doing good and healing all who are oppressed by
the devil, for God was with him. Now this would have been fresh
to the ears of these Gentiles, who were eager to know how it
was that they could be saved. But these words are a reminder
to us who know Christ, that the ministry of Jesus Christ,
particularly in his miraculous power and deliverance, whatever
he did with that Spirit anointed authority, was always, always,
always for the good to heal, to set free, to rescue, to make
whole, to revive. This is what Peter is indicating
and declaring. And the reason why I bring this
up to you is because we are about to read of a miracle that
does not fit Peter's description.
This particular act of God is easily one of the most
perplexing manifestations of divine power in all of Christ's
ministry, and there are a variety of reasons for its
perplexity, including this important feature.
This is the only miracle that Christ performs with the intent
to destroy. This unique act of God in the
Son of God, as we're about to discover, is not going to be to
restore, but to ruin. It's not going to be to bring
life, but death. It's not going to be a miracle
of mercy, but instead of miracle of judgement.
And if the outcome of the miracle is not bewildering
enough, the reasons for it are equally a challenge for many
students of the Bible. Why did Jesus do this?
How could Jesus do this? And so our time together will be
spent answering this question. Why did Jesus Christ curse a fig
tree? And that may not seem
immediately relevant to you, but shouldn't you be intrigued to
know the lesson behind this miracle that is in a category of
its own? What does God want to say If the
only time with his power he brought judgement in his first
admin advent? What is he trying to convey?
Why only that time? What does that say about his
character, his heart? And that's what we're going to
discover by the grace of God. And the way that's going to
unfold before us is very simple. We're going to look at three
things. The first thing is the timing of
this miracle. The second thing will be the
predicament of this miracle. And lastly, the message of this
miracle. So meet me in Mark, Chapter 11.
Beginning in verse 12, we only have two verses for our time
together, but very important ones nonetheless, Mark 11, verse
12 reads. On the following day, when they
came from Bethany, he was hungry, and seeing in the
distance a fig, tree and leaf, he went to see if he could find
anything on it. When he came to it, he found
nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.
And he said to it, may no one ever eat fruit from you again.
And his disciples heard it. Verse 12, the timing of this
miracle. This is only mentioned in one
other place in the four gospels, and it's in Matthew's account
and in Matthew 21, verse 18 we learned that this was in the
morning, and this was in the morning while Jesus was making
his way toward the city of Jerusalem.
Now according to Mark 11, we read verse 12, but look at verse
1111, eleven. We learned that after Jesus
entered with jubilance into the holy city around him, the
excitement and the thrill, he had come into the temple.
And then we read here in the second part, when he had looked
around at everything as it was already late, he went out to
Bethany with the 12. Now, it's very likely that Jesus
went to Bethany because that was the village of a special family
to him, Mary, Martha and Lazarus.
Not explicitly stated, but it could very well be that they
hosted Jesus and the disciples that evening.
But here's the opening verse for us.
The Lord Jesus Christ early in the day, with holy ambition,
making his way to fulfill the Father's will for that day.
A simple and yet profound picture of Christ on the move
yet again, but not just on the move.
He is perfectly In Sync and in step with the Father's schedule
for his life. And there's another simple yet
profound detail that Mark includes here in verse 12.
Not only was it Jesus making his way towards the city of
Jerusalem to fulfill a very important thing, 3 words.
Words that you're familiar with, maybe.
Words that you're actually experiencing while I'm
preaching. He was hungry.
That may not seem mysterious to you, that may not seem profound
to you, but it is when you contemplate who it's connected
to. He was hungry.
Who was hungry? The creator of everything.
The Sustainer and the supervisor of every molecule in the
universe. The one who in the beginning
created a world that would sprout vegetation and raise up
plants, yielding seeds and providing different bushes and
landscapes that would give out food for us.
Such is the one we are told was hungry, such as the one in this
historical portrait who is walking and enduring A grumbling
belly, a growling stomach. The more you think about it, the
more profound it really is, the more you actually meditate.
You realize this is incredible. He's sustaining himself, Christ
and entering into this world tasted much suffering in order
to secure our salvation, and that suffering includes the
pains of hunger and understanding Jesus.
Being hungry here is not just helpful for us to set up what's
about to take place. It is helpful for us to prepare
and to know how to experience him today saying what do you,
what do you mean he tasted what it's like to be hungry, he
shared in so many levels of pain and affliction.
And the reason why that should not just inform you but
encourage you is because the one that you serve, the one that you
call upon, the one that you depend on every single day,
listens not just with his ears, but with his heart.
He gets it. He understands, he shared in our
experiences. He knows what it's like to go
about life day by day, week after week, month after month,
year after year, and to experience the challenges or the
demands that each moment asks for.
And so when I come to this Christ and I describe to him my
weak condition or my deficiencies, I'm not coming to
one who lacks sympathy, but who can with a heart filled with
compassion. Listen.
He gets it. He understands.
Here's what I'm trying to tell you.
Under this category, this heading of this message, you
don't serve an insensitive savior.
It's not like we're coming to this cosmic being who's so full
of power. We acknowledge that, and we try
to convince him with our begging if he's willing to just hand out
something to give us a little bit more fuel for life.
His heart is swollen with compassion.
He knows he can empathize and relate to what it is that we are
enduring, truly human, yet without sin.
This is the one that shepherds me.
This is the one who guides you. This is the one who invites you
to lock your door, Go into that room by yourself, sit at his
feet and commune with. And he is sitting at the other
side of that table with eyes and ears and a heart that is
connected to your experience. And so I see something about the
timing of this miracle that says something about the character of
my God. But that's not the main heading,
because we have to get to what this is really about, the
predicament of the miracle. That's verse 13.
Let's read again. And seeing in the distance of
fig tree and leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on
it. When he came to it, he found
nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.
So here's Christ now in his true humanity, seeing a fig tree on
his journey and making his way to it to find what?
Breakfast. Breakfast.
The King of heaven needs breakfast.
And you know what he doesn't do? He doesn't, in his grand palace,
summon his servants to prepare something that he's never had
before. He does not even make his
disciples come up with a menu because he's a little bit picky
with his appetite to put something together before he
goes into the temple to deal with the false religious system
of his time. You know what this king does
with contentment and humility? I'll tell you what he does.
He is glad to pick a few fruits and eat it in the shade of a
tree. What am I trying to paint for
you? The absolute humility and just
how attractive Jesus Christ is. The maker of heaven and earth is
happy to stand in the shade and nibble on some fruit to calm his
stomach so that he can serve his father.
I'm sorry, I can't help but move from that scene, but we have to.
He comes to this tree and the Holy Spirit makes very
descriptive comments about this one verse and we have to
consider them first. It says here that he saw in the
distance a fig tree in leaf. That's important.
He wasn't close. He was far.
That says something about this tree.
It was advertising itself in a certain way.
Hey, there's a life here. There's vitality here.
And so even from a distance, you can tell this isn't a tree
suffering in life, suffering to exist.
This is a tree that seems to be promising something promising,
sustenance, promising, some content.
And that's not the only thing, though it appeared strong,
though it appeared promising. The second thing here is how the
Lord, on approaching this tree, looks through it and discovers
that it was nothing but leaves. That's very important.
That's very important when you understand what a fig tree does.
A fig tree often will produce fruit at one stage before it
presents its leaves. And so this was not a tree that
presents its leaves, indicating to you, hey, fruit is coming.
No, those leaves are there declaring, hey, there's some
stuff still here and there will be fruit to come.
So these leaves are saying, hey, someone's home.
There are some things here that you can take advantage of and
the scriptures are very clear, especially in the Hebrew
scriptures about this development.
How before the natural normal crops arrive you can have edible
but immature figs present even before the leaves show up.
So let's go to a couple because listen, people have great
challenge in understanding this text.
They they think it's out of character of Christ.
They think it's he was in a bad mood.
There are people who find trouble with this particular
miracle. So we need to we need to wire
ourselves. Well, look here in Isaiah 28
verse 4, we can believe we can begin actually in verse three of
Isaiah 24. Here's one example for us.
Isaiah 28, verse three reads. The proud crown of the drunkards
of Ephraim will be trodden under foot, and the fading flower of
its glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley,
will be like a first ripe fig before the summer.
When someone sees it, he swallows it as soon as it is in
his hand. Do you see that the first ripe
fig before the summer? There are stages here to how
this fruit develops. And obviously this first ripe
fig could be eaten even before the summer time.
When is the time where the the normal crops, the harvest
arrives? We'll go to Hosea, another
prophet. Hosea Chapter 9 and verse 10.
Hosea 910. Like grapes in the wilderness, I
found Israel like the first fruit on the fig tree.
In its first season I saw your father's, but they came to bell
peor and consecrated themselves to the thing of shame and became
detestable like the thing they loved.
Notice again the first fruit on the fig tree, again indicating
that there are stages to how this fruit produces.
And if you have any doubt, I spoke to one of our elders who's
an expert with figs. He has fig trees, so this is how
it works, this is how it functions.
And understanding that simple truth, the truth that even the
Bible sheds light on, helps us clarify what many are confused
about with this Texan mark. Because again, Jesus comes to
this tree. He looks to the leaves, but then
Mark says. But he found nothing since it
was not the season for figs, right?
It was not the summertime when again the expected normal crops
and its maturity would present itself.
But that does not negate the reality of the first ripe figs
that are there even at times before the leaves appear.
When did this miracle occur? The last week of Jesus life on
earth? What feast was about to be
celebrated? Passover.
When is Passover celebrated? Spring.
So everything fits the chronology, what scripture says,
even what science has to say. But even if you did not get that
extensive explanation and you read these verses at face value,
it still makes sense. Think about it.
It was not the season for figs. OK, but what's happening here?
You have a tree that has leaves and seems to present itself in a
way as though it does have figs. In other words, hey, I have
fruit here. So in reality, if you just
again, you just dismiss all that was just said and you take it at
face value. What you have here is a tree
making an unusual proclamation about itself.
It's not the season of figs, but here's a tree was saying I got
some figs. So what do we say about this
tree? It's lying.
What do you say about this tree? It's making claims, but the
profession is not met with substance.
This is what Jesus perceives and understands and helps us
understand the message of the miracle.
So Christ here and realizing that there is nothing but
leaves. And in verse 14 he said to it,
may no one ever eat fruit from you again.
Jesus was not upset because he was hungry and this tree didn't
meet his needs. Jesus, primarily in righteous
indignation, was upset because this tree was deceptive.
That's the idea. And this pronouncement, this
judgement, seems severe. But let us never forget, the
Creator of all things has every right to exercise judgement
against His creation. And there's nothing here of
cursing right? Where do we get the idea of
cursing? Well, it's when you read verse
21 and Peter remembered and said to him, Rabbi, look, the fig
tree that you cursed has withered.
And when you read verse 20, you notice how significant this
judgment was. As they passed by in the
morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots.
This was permanent judgment. This would cancel its potential
in the days to come. This is serious.
And that is precisely what this miracle is about.
It's not about Jesus on the morning wanting food and didn't
get it, so he exercised his power to express his
frustration. This is a parabolic lesson.
This is Jesus using and performing a miracle to teach
something to his disciples. So what do you mean, What does
disciples have to do with it? Look back at Mark 11 verse 14.
And he said to it, may no one ever eat fruit from you again.
And his disciples heard it. His disciples were to listen,
perceive and register what this is all about and in reality.
When you consider Mark's authorship inspired by the Holy
Spirit and you look at where he places the story, you will not
only see the brilliance of the mind of God, you also will have
clarity on what this message behind this miracle is all
about. Let me ask you this question You
don't have to answer out loud. In fact, please don't.
What happened right before Jesus did this and what happens right
after he does it? Let's read again verse 13, mark
11/13 and seeing in the distance of fig, tree and leaf, he went
to see if he could find anything on it.
When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was
not the season for figs. Here's the question now, is this
the only instance in this context where Jesus examined
something? And is this the only instance in
this context where Jesus realizes that there is a veneer
of fruitfulness, but when the veil was removed, in reality
there was a decorative deception instead of true substance?
You don't have to guess. Look at the last verse we read
last in last week's sermon, verse 11 once more, and he
entered Jerusalem and went into the temple.
And when he had looked around at everything as it was already
late, he went out to Bethany with the 12.
And then now we have the story of Jesus going to Bethany and he
goes to Jerusalem again. He sees this fig tree and it
seems to have fruit, but looking into it only leaves cutscene
verse 15. And they came to Jerusalem, and
he entered the temple, and began to drive out those who sold and
those who bought in the temple. And he overturned the tables of
the money changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons.
And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the
temple. And he was teaching them, and
saying to them, it is it not written.
My house shall be called a House of prayer for all the nations,
But you have made it into a den of robbers.
Do we see where Mark places the story?
It is in between Jesus's examination and his disciplinary
verdict against the temple and the spiritual condition of the
nation of Israel. Like the fig tree, the nation of
Israel boasted of having what others did not have, a covenant,
a roster of prophets, a special connection to the true God,
which included a temple with a history of God's glory in it.
And within that system, in that temple, you had this eloquent
and elaborate array of priests and robes and sacrifices and
ceremonies and readings and confessions.
But in reality it was nothing but leaves.
And like the fig tree, the temple and the religion of the
nation was all show, and it lacks substance.
There was no true worship. There was no true repentance.
There was no true righteousness. There was no true devotion.
There was no fruit from a distance, a beautiful structure
unlike anything they've ever seen.
Herod really contributed to the beautifying of this place.
But when you went in, it was empty and bare.
So you see the fate of this fig tree.
It is meant to prepare you and I and point us to the fate of the
temple destruction down to its roots.
And that judgment begins here with Jesus cleansing the temple,
Though he did it before, but it would know its ultimate
fulfillment in about four decades when the Romans would
come surrounded and destroyed in 70 AD.
Do you see the message of the miracle now?
This fig tree speaks of the fruitlessness and the false
presentation of a bankrupt nation who claimed to have true
religion. And this is not the first time
Jesus uses a fig tree as a parable and as a metaphor for
the people of Israel. I want you to see this just so
we can confirm this point and have no shadow of a doubt that
this is what this means. It's another gospel.
In Luke 13 and verse 5. Jesus looks to a Jewish crowd
and he says something that you don't hear often these days.
Repent, he says in Luke 13 verse five.
No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you all will likewise
perish. 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. And he said to the vine dresser,
look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig
tree, and I found none. Cut it down.
Why should it use up the ground? And he answered them, Sir, let
it alone this year also until I dig around it and put on manure.
Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good.
But if not, you can cut it down. What's the connection?
He's looking at this generation of Israelites and he says, you
repent you, you think you're not sinners.
We're a devastating thing can happen to you.
No, you need to be ready for whatever comes your way.
And then He provides this parable to depict, yes, the
nation of Israel, who were not bearing fruit, and even during
Jesus three years, who did not acknowledge him as the Messiah,
who did not submit themselves, who do not see him as the
fulfillment of what they claim to believe in for centuries.
And in this parable we see the patience of God, do we not?
It's using up the ground. It's soaking up all the other
nutrients. Let other trees benefit from
what is taking place on this field, and there's a delay,
which is a picture of God's patience for us when we have not
yet repented. Maybe you are here in this place
today, and you're like that tree.
You have heard enough of Jesus to make 1000 people come and get
saved, and you still have not allowed Him to change your
nature so that you can be the one who bears the fruit that
would bring him glory. And here you are, still with
service 2567 and you still haven't repented.
God is patient, but guess what? His patience is not permanent.
One more year, one more year, and then I'm going to cut down
this tree. Which again reminds us, yes, God
is gloriously slow to judge. We heard it from the opening
verses of the service, but there is an expiration date on it.
Fig tree depicting the nation of Israel.
The Old Testament also uses much imagery to describe the people
of God, including that of figs. Both positively.
You heard it from Isaiah. You heard it in Hosea, but also
with Jeremiah. You don't have to turn there.
But listen to this reference and this quotation in Jeremiah 2917.
Thus says the Lord of Hosts. Behold, I'm sending on them
sword, famine, and pestilence. And I will make them like vile
figs that are so rotten they cannot be eaten.
I will make them like such figs. Another correlation, another
connection to what Jesus is doing with this tree in Mark
Chapter 11. OK, let's not be mistaken here,
right? This is a clear illustration
about the condition of Israel then and what would come about?
The nation of Israel. But let us not be fooled.
This is something to say to those in the Church and
Christendom in 2024, verse 14. Remember, what do we hear?
The disciples heard it. I wonder what crossed through
their minds when they saw Jesus cursing this fig tree that had
no fruit. What past parables, what past
teachings rush through their minds as I saw now a physical
picture of fruitlessness and Jesus desire for fruit.
Now think about this, right? I mean, I'm going to go back to
what I said in the beginning for God to provide us this as the
only miracle where he and the person of Christ pronounces
judgment. He doesn't do that with his
power while on earth in any other in any other moment except
this one. What does that say about his
character? That's what I was thinking
about. Like for this to be the only
miracle of its kind. A miracle of judgement, a
miracle of destruction. What does that say about his
heart? I think it's clear the only
destructive miracle that Christ performed was against one thing.
One thing. Not prostitution, Not murder.
Not fraud, so to speak. The only destructive miracle
that Christ performed was against empty religion.
Says much, doesn't it? Here's I want to ask because
there's so many ways to apply this, and I believe with my
heart that this local church is a fragrant spiritual garden.
There is fruit here. I'm not talking about here.
I'm talking about there. Here, there's fruit.
But I don't know all of you and I have a duty.
I'm bound to this text to ask this question.
If the Lord Jesus on an individual basis, were to come
to you and comb through the leaves and examine through the
weekly church attendance and the brief Christian conversations
and the singing, when you're in the mood and even some level of
service, would he find fruit? If he were to just peel away the
surface and reach into the depths of that tree, the heart
of it, your heart? Would he find what He's looking
for in that heart? This is what Jesus is conveying.
This is what he is illustrating. Or, like the fig tree, is there
false advertisement going on? We see here that Jesus, you want
to know the message of this miracle.
Jesus is hungry for fruit, spiritual fruit.
Let's put the Lord aside, if I may say the soul respectfully.
If a person who like Jesus on this road to Jerusalem, who
knows you at a distance, right? Who doesn't really know you, but
knows you at a distance, and at a distance is convinced this is
a fruit bearing tree. I can see it.
Just a person. Not the all knowing one, not the
one who searches the hearts of all mankind.
Just a person. What would he discover if he got
closer and spent time with you beyond the two hours on a
Sunday? Followed you around throughout
the week. Sat with you long enough where
eventually you would, out of the abundance of your heart, speak.
What would he discover as he would follow?
What would he discover as he fellowship?
What would he discover in that time?
Would he find fruit or just leaves?
I remember the story a long time ago, early in ministry, nowhere
near here, so you don't have to figure it out.
A very, very, at that time at least ambitious zealous youth
group. And I was told at that time by
the leaders of that youth group. That youth group was very gifted
musically and they were very fond of some of these big names
and contemporary Christian music.
And they were able to get big names come to their retreat one
year and they were just stoked. They were so excited.
I can't believe we have these guys coming to our local church.
This is what the leaders are telling me and after the
professionalism and after the songs that they heard on the on
the radio or online that they downloaded and all the excited
they were able to. Specifically, the worship team
of that church spent time with these big names, and it didn't
take very long that during those times of fellowship, limited
fellowship from these big names came out questionable comments.
The leaders were saying, you know, these guys were telling
our youth kids about the parties that they go to, the vulgarity
that was coming out of their mouth.
It was like we were shocked to see that these people that we
looked up to, they looked and sounded so different because on
the stage there were leaves, but when you got closer, no fruit,
no fruit. One of my favorite examples of
this is found in Second Kings chapter four of a man named
Elijah, and I brought this as an example before, but repetition
doesn't hurt. And in Second Kings Chapter 4,
verse eight, we read of Elijah, who also was on his own journey.
We're told here one day Elijah went to Shunham where a wealthy
woman lived who urged him to eat some food.
It's very Middle Eastern of her, so whenever he passed that way,
he would turn in there to eat food.
So you have this wealthy woman who knew of Elijah and he would
travel by her village and she would not let him go.
You have to try my food. I have the best I'm going to
start. I'm not going to start naming
dishes here. I have the best.
This I have the best. Who knows how she did?
I'm so sure it was a lovely invitation.
Lovely persuasion. Elijah, you have to eat with me.
Come spend time whenever you come by, know that there's an
open house for you, wonderful servant of God.
But it's verse nine that stands out to me.
After a few of these trips where Elijah would come by and spend
time with her and her husband, verse 9 says.
And she said to her husband, Behold, now I know that this is
a holy man of God who is continually passing our way.
I heard about Elijah, maybe heard some of his sermons, heard
about his miracles. But now after I sat with him and
he was here, apart from the stage, in my dining room, eating
with me, talking with me, Now I know in this context, in the
home, he's a man of God. Now I know Not only was she
hospitable, she was discerning. And here's the thing about
Elijah. The closer people got to him,
the more they were convinced he's the real deal.
Not leaves without fruit with this man leaves.
Oh yes, a public minister, a powerful man of God.
But when you got close, you can smell the fakes.
This is the real deal. Jesus was hungry and his
humanity. Jesus today longs for fruit.
He desires true spirituality, passion for conformity to
Christ's character, authentic worship, intimacy and prayer
service that is stimulated from a place of gratitude for the
grace of God. This is what he is looking for.
And this kind of a message may irk and disturb those who prize
the gospel of grace, who have surrendered their efforts, who
have abandoned their self righteousness, who have realized
that there is nothing they can do.
There's no amount of fruit, there's no amount of baskets,
there's no amount of fields of obedience that whatever satisfy
God's righteous demands, it's all by grace.
Yes. Amen.
Hallelujah. Can I ask you a question though?
Why did Jesus save you? Why did he shed his blood for
you? Why did he leave heaven come to
earth to redeem you? Let me borrow the words of Titus
214, and I encourage you to turn there with me as we are prepared
to close. Who gave himself for us to
redeem us from all lawlessness, and to purify, to purify for
himself a people for his own possession?
He could have stopped there. He doesn't, right?
Who are zealous for good works? We're talking about grace here.
We're talking about redemption here.
We're talking about mercy here. We're talking about gospel here.
And on this thought, Paul ends by saying, yeah, he did.
He did come and rescue and redeem and deliver.
For something that is people. Purified would be zealous.
You know what the word zealous is Burning for good works, Not
for salvation as a result of it. Not for grace.
Because you tasted grace. Maybe you're not convinced that
this is about grace. So let's rewind it verse 11.
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for
all people. Now what does this grace do?
Verse 12, It trains us to renounce ungodliness and worldly
passions. That's what true grace does.
So anybody who's operating under a grace that quiets their
conscience and legitimizes their rebellion and disobedience and
worldliness hasn't drank from true grace, because this grace
trains us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions
and to the self controlled, upright and godly lives in the
present age. Now look at this.
Look what else this grace does. It causes us to wait for our
blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and
Savior Jesus Christ. And here it is who gave himself
for us to redeem us from all lawliness, some lawlessness.
The woman who was caught in adultery in Jesus, the only one
in that story who had the right to stone her, He was without
sin, cast the first stone. Who had the right to do that?
Christ. Everybody else was sinful.
The only one who had the right to cast the first stone was the
Son of God. And he didn't do it.
Instead, he puts his hand underneath that chin, lifts up
that face, and assures her that she's been forgiven.
Does the story end there, or does he Commission her with
this? Go now.
And what? Sin less, Sin no more.
And here's an infusion of my Holy Spirit.
And here is the library of my truth that has supernatural
power to do so, to live a life that says I renounce it, a
grace, that great hymn says grace that has taught my heart
to fear and the fears that it is also relieved.
And so we see here that this grace should produce in us
something new in terms of desire and pursuit.
I want to be adorned the way my Savior wants me to be adorned.
In other words, what Jesus is not looking for here is sinless
perfectionism. What Jesus is looking for here
is a nature that produces something as a result of its
nature. If we're still not convinced of
this, look at Titus 3 verse 8. The saying is trustworthy.
And I want you to insist on these things so that those who
have believed in God. Do we believe in God?
Yes. Is it by faith?
Yes. Is it by trusting in his
promise? Yes.
For those who have believed in God may be careful to devote
themselves to good works. These things are excellent and
profitable for all people. Here's how I'm ending.
Very simple. Strong.
Well, it's a it's a strong miracle.
It is not arrogant to answer this positively.
It is not arrogant for me to ask this question, for you to be
able to say Amen. Brother, keep preaching for me
to ask you. If Jesus the vine dresser, were
to come and look through and find fruit, would he be able to?
You know, it's not proud to say I believe he would, because I
know who I was and I know who I am today.
And that's not for me to boast, except in Christ.
I do not fear him. Not because I had a good few
months as a Christian, because down deep inside I know that
I've been changed. When you look at an apple tree,
an orange tree, whatever tree do you hear grunting while you walk
by those trees, it would be very strange.
You might have to go see a doctor if that was the case.
You don't hear trees screaming and pounding and exerting
strength to produce. No, no, no, They just do by
nature. And yes, how do you correlate
that with the commands to do good?
It's possible we can't take that analogy too far to disobey God,
even as a person who has known God and experienced his grace.
But oh, there's an ease and oh, there's a new change of
thinking. There's there's something that
happens. There's a shift.
Your appetite is different. Your longings, your desires,
your goals, your dreams have been altered.
Can you say yes to that? Or if Jesus were to examine,
would he find hollowness? Would he find barrenness?
Would he find spiritual nakedness?
And all that's there are leaves. Presentation show you convince
people at a distance, but when they get close, they go, Wait a
minute. If that's you today, God wants
to do a different miracle in you.
God doesn't want to curse you. God doesn't want to judge you.
God wants to deliver you and God wants to save you.
And God wants to renew you so that you can be the miracle of
grace and add it to his trophy case of marvelous mercy.
That's why I present this to you.
I want to ask the guy here today in the ServiceNow who can
confess. Look, I've been show.
I've been. I've been a show.
I fooled people long enough, but now I sense God pressing my
heart. Why don't you give up and know
the joys of what the gospel can do in your life and so renew you
that you wouldn't be able to recognize yourself leaving this
place and growing in him? And for the people who are a
tree that does bear fruit, rejoice in that miracle today.
Give God glory that he did do that in you and listen, He wants
to produce more fruit. Now this is how I was
challenged. I let me put it this way.
I did not read this and study this this week and feel
condemned. But I was challenged on the
bedrock of knowing that I've been saved by his love my Jesus.
I see my Jesus in these scriptures who has a desire.
You know what he desires? Fruit.
To convince him that I'm worthy
to be his. No, I'm his.
That's it. It's done.
It's secure. I go to bed every night
rehearsing that truth that if I don't wake up for whatever
reason, I'm going to be in the presence of my Savior.
But, oh, he, He still longs for fruit as a new tree.
So, Lord, do more miracles than me and let me be what you want
me to be. Let that be the goal of my life.
That whether people from a distance or up close can testify
something happened to that guy and the only explanation is the
truth that he claims to believe that Jesus Christ of Nazareth
resides within him. That's how you should be moved
by this message today. If my Savior is hungry, then may
he be fed by the work that he does in me and he'll do it.
So my invitation is 2 part here. Listen, I know what it's like to
have the leaves. I know what it's like.
I know what it's like, OK? It's such a terrible way to
live. It's such a misery to try to
convince people of something that you yourself know is not
true. Just so you can satisfy mommy
and Daddy and don't get in trouble with your relatives, the
people in your family that serve God.
Just so you can avoid those awkward conversations.
Just so you have enough of Jesus that when things get bad, you
can call upon him because you're somewhat still connected to him.
Like Peter in the final moments of Jesus following him at a
distance, not too close so that you get arrested with Jesus, but
not too far so that you cannot lose sight of Jesus leaves.
Aren't you tired of it? Like, aren't you tired of a life
where you don't know God's spirit, working in you in a way,
where you step beside yourself saying what's going on here?
Why am I convicted about the way I speak now?
Why am I now all of a sudden disturbed by how I've been
treating my spouse? Where is this coming from?
Why am I now all of a sudden hungry for this?
I want to eat this word. I want to spend time with the
Lord. I want to be around people who
also been changed. Don't you want that?
Ultimately, don't you want the Saviour, the Savior that I just
proclaimed to you to now write your name in the Lamb's book of
life? And not just for that future
appointment, but for for him to walk with you and every
appointment in life? Will that be the terrifying
doctor's report where you're sitting on that cold table and
he diagnosis you and you can be rushed with comfort knowing my
Savior's with me, with all the trials with your children, with
all the trials with your finances.
To know my Savior is with me. People don't like this stuff.
Don't tell people Jesus does something for your life.
But why not? He says.
I've come to name I have life and life more abundantly.
This is the Savior that I proclaimed to you, and I want
you to know him. I'm going to choose to stop now.
I think I said enough for the time being.
And now I invite you, whether you're a tree only with leaves,
to ask God to uproot that and to replace it with new life, or you
are a tree that's bearing fruit, and you are Glee to know that
your master longs for greater fruit and for you to say, Lord,
do it in me. I have No Fear of condemnation.
I know I'm new. But, oh God, in order to please
you out of great delight, do a miracle in me again and he'll do
it. Father, we thank you for this
time. We thank you for giving us
clarity with this miracle. Not merely do you have deeper
understanding of the word, but to know what it is that you
desire of us today. Thank you, Lord, that the
miracle of the gospel is that you change our nature, that with
faith you do something remarkable.
And many of us in here are confident that that happened to
them. And for those who are
questioning, not that this message, Lord, you know the
heart behind this message, to try to cause people to doubt.
But for those who genuinely only have leaves to see the
terrifying condition that is, and to look to the master who
provided this miracle to provide another one.
That they would know salvation. They would know forgiveness.
They would know the love of God for them.
Lord, you love the one even now who does not have fruit but only
leaves. And just like in Luke 13, you
wait and you wait and you wait until they would call upon you
so that they can know salvation. And so, Lord, let there be an
urgency by your spirit. Men cannot produce that urgency.
Lord, only you can do that. And we pray that you would.
In these difficult trying times where we feel like the clock is
ticking closer to midnight, may we not waste time to say, oh
God, we need you. We worship you today.
Thank you for this message. Thank you for the insight.
Thank you for showing us who you are.
In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Well, let's worship the King of
Glory.