A&D Biker Ministries - "Growing the Kingdom of God . . . one Biker at a time"

April 20, 2024

Spiritually Fruitful Living

(A mini-sermon series looking at the challenging truth that

God expects fruitfulness from Christians)

“How Much Spiritual Fruitfulness Does

God Want To Have Through Your Life?”

Matthew 13:18-23 (NLT)Bottom of Form

¹⁸ “Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: ¹⁹ The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. ²⁰ The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. ²¹ But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. ²² The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. ²³ The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

This message looks at how God wants to bring a BIG harvest of spiritual fruitfulness, through your life and mine . . . and what exactly that means for our lives.Top of FormBottom of Form

Does your life’s “spiritual fruitfulness” resemble an overflowing orchard basket or a Charlie Brown Christmas tree?

Let’s talk about that, for a moment. The first image is an overflowing orchard basket. You’ve gone out into an apple orchard with a basket and you can’t contain all that is there for the picking. Your basket is overflowing!

The second image is a Charlie Brown Christmas tree. Now, let me quickly say that I realize that a Christmas ornament is not the same thing as an apple. I recognize that ornaments don’t grow on trees! I just want to use that image because it’s so well-known. It's a great image of scarcity, a pathetic little tree, so small and weak, bending over under the relatively light weight of a single bulb. It substitutes for our image of an apple tree with a single apple - simply because the Charlie Brown tree is more iconic and memorable.

What does it mean when Jesus speaks of “the good soil?” (The four different soils represent different kinds of spiritual hearts.) The good soil represents a “good heart.”

In Luke 8:15 (Luke’s version of this same parable), Jesus says, “. . . the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart . . .”

How do we get a good heart? Well, it happens through Christ’s work in our lives. We do not have a good heart in our natural state because we’re sinful creatures, but Christ regenerates us and makes us into new creatures in Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

A truly saved person is “good soil” because of what Christ has done in Him.

In John 15:5, Jesus says that it is the plan that we would bear “much fruit.” John 15:8 says that when we bear “much fruit” we bring glory to the Father.

In our text today, what does “thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted” mean?

²³ The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

Historians tell us that the average “planted seed to harvested seed” ratio in Palestine, at the time that Jesus spoke these words, was eight times what was sown. So, Jesus is talking about a spiritual fruitfulness that is in the range between impressive to overwhelming!

Jesus, in this parable, is talking about harvests of thirty times, sixty times, and a hundred times! Getting too caught up in these specific numbers can obscure the larger point . . . which is, Jesus is not planning on moderate spiritual fruitfulness from his followers.

I just used the words impressive and overwhelming. Seeing someone produce four times the average would be impressive. Seeing someone produce twelve times the average would be overwhelming. Here’s the point: Jesus doesn’t want to do something small through your life. He wants a great harvest; he wants “much fruit.”

The thirty/sixty/hundred statement is meant to leave hearers thinking, “Wow! That much?” Jesus meant it to impress us.

Consider that this is what God wants to do in the life of every Christian, not just super-Christians. The point of the entire parable of the seed is that Christians Produce Spiritual Fruit.

What does “30, 60, or 100 times what was sown” look like? Two things: (1) obvious and significant change in your life, to literally become more like Jesus in character and behavior; and, (2) seeing many people drawn closer to God because of your presence in their lives.

We said earlier in this series that spiritual fruitfulness can generally be divided into two categories: internal and external. Internal fruit is me becoming more like Jesus. External fruit is me pointing people to Jesus.

So, when we talk about spiritual fruitfulness that ranges from “impressive to overwhelming,” we’re talking about these two areas.

NOTE: This is not always an immediate & obvious thing. Sometimes it takes time. Sometimes you may not realize the impact you’re having . . . right away.

I have gotten a few phone calls and letters over the years, from people in churches where I pastored years earlier, saying, “I was someone who changed their life.” What did I do? I faithfully preached the Gospel, week-after-week, and I tried to live out an honest Christian life. I didn’t know, at the time, that I had that kind of an impact on those lives . . . but I had.

In spiritual fruitfulness, overall there is an obvious sense of people being able to see Christ in you.

If you are being faithful to Christ’s commands, the spiritual fruitfulness will come. John 15 assures us of that. But, we have to be doing Jesus things if we expect to see Jesus results!

Here are some prayers to pray, if you’re desiring to experience more of God’s spiritual fruitfulness in your life . . .

1. “I WANT TO BE CLOSER TO YOU, GOD”

John 15:7-10 (NIV)

⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. ⁹ As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.

The key to greater fruitfulness is not “trying harder,” but “getting closer.” When we are closer to Jesus, he is able to work more powerfully through us.

Is it a sincere prayer in your life that you want to be closer to God? That’s an easy question to say a vague “yes” to, so let me throw out couple of follow-up questions:

a. Do you want God to reveal your sins to you so you can actively work to get rid of them?

b. Are you willing to start reading the Bible daily and incorporate what you learn into your life?

c. Are you willing to obey the teaching of Jesus - the parts you like and the parts you don’t?

2. “PUT STRUGGLING PEOPLE IN MY PATH”

Much of our greatest impact comes with people who are hurting and struggling. Why is that? Because those are the moments in our lives where we’re the most open to help from people and from God. Most of the time, most of us like to think of ourselves as self-sufficient and in control.

I’ll prove that. Do people pray more after getting a big bonus check or when they’re in the ER? No doubt it’s in the ER. Why? Because when you’ve just got that big bonus check you don’t need any help! You have got everything under control all by yourself (or so you think). In the ER we’re in a situation where we know things are bigger than us and we need outside help.

A big open door for spiritual fruitfulness is with people who are going through a tough time. We can listen to them and offer some comfort. When appropriate, we can listen and offer advice . . . or help them in some practical way to lighten their load.

Certainly we should we tell them about the God’s love for them through Jesus Christ! There may be a lot of different things we do, but the main thing is to point them to Jesus through our love and actions.

We need to do this more often!

3. “BRING WORKERS TO MY CHURCH”

Matthew 9:37-38 (NLT)

³⁷ Jesus said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. ³⁸ So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”

Jesus is saying that there is a lot of “fruit” (or, in his analogy, grain) ready to be harvested. He says that our prayer to the Father should be for him to send us workers . . . to produce more spiritual fruitfulness (people accepting salvation in Christ)!

There’s a phrase that I like and have used before that is worth mentioning here: “Holy Discontent.”

There is good contentment - that’s when we’re thankful and satisfied with the grace and provision that God has given to us.

There is also bad contentment - that’s when we’re apathetic and unconcerned that things are not the way that they should be.

Like when we look at the mediocre spiritual impact of our lives . . . and we shrug our shoulders and say, “Well, what more could you hope for?” (Actually, we could hope for A LOT more. Actually, we should expect a lot more!) God does not want us to live below his blessings, or live below God’s power.

If you look at your life today and think, “Man, this thirtyfold, sixtyfold, or a hundredfold harvest is not true in my life right now” . . . then don’t stay where you are. Consider the truth we’re talking about in this sermon series and expect more. I’m not talking about shallow self-help, “you-can-do-it” efforts. I’m talking about holding onto the blessings that God wants to give you. I’m talking about asking God to unleash in your life the power of the Holy Spirit that God said in his Word that he wants to release into your life.

Be discontented if you’re not experiencing that in your life.

Resolve today to pursue ALL That God is offering.

April 13, 2024

Spiritually Fruitful Living

(A mini-sermon series looking at the challenging truth that

God expects fruitfulness from Christians)

“Is Spiritual Fruitfulness HIDDEN OR OBVIOUS?”

We began this mini-sermon series last week, asking the question, “What Exactly Do We Mean By Spiritual Fruit?”

Spiritual Fruit is a result from the life of Christ being within us, and we are talking about two kinds of spiritual fruit: internal and external. (The two are interconnected and ultimately inseparable, but let’s talk this way for simplicity’s sake.)

Internal soul transformation . . . this is God shaping you into Christlikeness.

Galatians 2:20 (NIV)Bottom of Form

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

God wants us to reflect the character and love of Jesus. He is constantly working to move us in that direction.

It’s not that we become a different person; it’s that we become a better person, with Christ in us.

External people impact . . . .is touching the lives of those around you, helping them to move closer to God.Top of Form

Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)Bottom of Form

²² But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of (spiritual) fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Not only is God working in us . . . he’s also working through us. Accomplishments are nice (degrees, promotions, achievements), but the things that will outlast this world are the things that have an impact on people. People are God’s prized creation!

Our co-mission from Jesus - do you remember IT?

Know Christ, Grow in Faith, Go Witness. Our goal is to move people either toward knowing Christ (those who are not saved) or growing in Christ (those who are saved).

In general, these things happen as we do things for others which allow us to show the love of Jesus to them . . . or, things that encourage / strengthen the faith of another Christian. Almost always, these things are done one-on-one and one-by-one.

Sometimes we might think that it’s impossible to know if you’re having an impact or not. That simply doesn’t line up with Jesus’ teaching about spiritual fruit that we studied last week in Luke 13:6-9. (Remember the parable about the fig tree?)

Now, the spiritual fruit you bear may not always be immediately obvious. But, if you look at the general spiritual fruit of someone’s life, it is obvious whether they are a “good tree” or a “bad tree.”

I’ve heard Christians say, “There’s no way to know whether you’re having an impact or not.” And, “We won’t know until we get to heaven if we’ve done any good.”

It is true that we won’t know the FULL extent of our impact on others until we reach eternity. But, the fact is that the general type of spiritual fruit that our life is bearing should be pretty obvious to any attentive observer. One of the fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5 is gentleness. In Philippians 4

It says . . .

Philippians 4:4 (NIV)

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

The fruit reflects the tree; the fruit reflects the heart.

This almost makes it sound like spiritual fruitfulness is required for Christians. YES! Spiritual fruitfulness is a defining characteristic of true Christian faith.

That doesn’t mean that we’ll never make a mistake or mess up. We do fall short sometimes. It means that the general spiritual fruit of our lives will be a reality . . . to God and to others.

The problem is that we’ve come to excuse the “fruitless Christian life” as being the norm . . . there’s no outward or inward sign of a change in your life, but somehow we think that’s OK. That’s like saying, “Jesus just wants us to believe in him . . . and we’ll be changed in eternity.” NO!

Jesus wants us to be transformed, here and now. The B-I-B-L-E tells us so . . .

Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)

¹ Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

2 Corinthians 5:16-17 (NIV)

¹⁶ So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

So, Why Don’t Most People Expect Spiritual Fruitfulness In Their Lives?

I think one of the biggest reasons is that we have dumbed down Christian “belief” to where it only means a verbal agreement to what a church believes / a list of doctrine.

Hear me clearly.

According to the Bible - the idea of being a Christian with NO change in our life is a faulty or bad Belief System. (You can abbreviate that to simply - faulty / bad B.S.)

Matthew 7:16-20 (NIV)

¹⁶ By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Likewise, every good tree bears good (spiritual) fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good (spiritual) fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

Maybe there’s an objection that may be brewing in your mind: “Aren’t most lives a mixed bag of fruit? Isn’t Jesus’ statement here an exaggeration?” Those are fair questions.

These were tough / challenging for me to answer. I gave this quite a bit of thought, and .S. here’s what I believe the Bible is telling us - for the good being good and for the bad being bad.

1. We underestimate what Jesus’ power can do in and through us.

I said a moment ago that we tend to “dumb down” faith to just a list of doctrine. We don’t expect genuine life change. We especially don’t expect transformative life change. I think we’re aiming too low; we’re expecting too little.

We have been given a new heart, a new nature. We’ve been given the Holy Spirit to guide and direct us. We have the ear of our Father in heaven, ready to give us all the resources we need for what we’re facing. We have all that we need to live victorious lives!

It's God’s intent for us to be the representation of what his powerful grace can do. He intends for our lives to be transformed and impressive!

We live below our blessings. We have lost sight of how incredible God’s salvation is meant to be! It’s a salvation that can produce a tree (our life) with an overwhelmingly good Spiritual Fruit!

2. We overestimate the importance of being nice or accomplished.

It does seem harsh for Jesus to say that someone is bearing bad fruit. Again, wouldn’t most lives be a mixed bag?

Many non-Christians that we know are nice. They have degrees, make good money, or have other accomplishments. How can Jesus say that they are bearing bad fruit?

It’s key to go to back to the definition we gave earlier about what spiritual fruit is. Spiritual Fruit is not just being nice or just being accomplished.

Do you remember what the definition is? Spiritual Fruitfulness is: becoming like Jesus ourselves and pointing other people toward Jesus. That’s important to understand! Having spiritual fruit is not just being pleasant or accomplishing things. It’s becoming like Jesus and pointing people toward Jesus.

When we understand that, it becomes clearer. Even if a person is accomplishing a lot in their life, if it’s not things that make them like Christ or point people to Christ, that’s not good spiritual fruit. Even if a person is generally nice to be around - if they’re not pointing people to Christ, that’s not good fruit.

Good spiritual fruit is about things that are eternal; things that will last beyond this life. It’s not “a good life” the way we usually define the “good life” . . . “I had a decent marriage, got some kids raised, worked a job, and lived the American Dream.” We’re to live for the Kingdom of God, not the American Dream.

Do you think this is an overstatement? Apparently not, because the rest of Matthew 7:21-27 is Jesus talking about false believers (that’s faulty BS Christians)!

Jesus concludes the Sermon on the Mount with more talk about false believers. He says that not everyone who claims him is a true believer. True believers obey his teaching.

With all that we’ve been talking about with spiritual fruitfulness, it’s easy to think that the problem is that you’re not trying hard enough. The Gospel of John, chapter 15, tells us that that’s NOT the right answer.

Spiritual Fruit is something that flows naturally from who God has made us to be. We’ll talk about that more in an upcoming sermon, but suffice it now to say that spiritual fruitfulness comes from who you are . . . who God has transformed you into.

Let me just point you in the right direction with a challenge question tonight:

Answer this either True or false, for your life:

“I am passionate about knowing AND obeying Jesus’ teaching.”

That is a crucial question when it comes to spiritual fruitfulness! Are you passionate about knowing and obeying Jesus’ teaching?

If you’re not reading the Bible every day, the answer is probably “No.”

If you’re not eager to have God reveal where you’re falling short so you can grow in that area, the answer is probably “No.”

If you don’t believe that Jesus was smart and wise and therefore it’s not always a good idea to do what he said, the answer is probably “No.”

Notice I didn’t say, “Do you come to church?”

I didn’t say, “Do you think Jesus is great?”

I didn’t even ask, “Are you a Christian?”

Because when it comes to spiritual fruitfulness, those are not the main questions. The main question is whether you’re passionate about knowing and obeying what Jesus taught.

John 14:15 (NIV)

“If you love me, keep my commands.”

- Jesus -

If you love Jesus and you are keeping his commands, then you’re on the path to spiritual fruitfulness. If you don’t / you aren’t . . . then you’re almost certainly not on the path to spiritual fruitfulness.

How will YOU take this truth? It will either be depressing or exciting for you.

If you’re depressed by this sermon, I want to encourage you to take a different approach today. A better way to think about what I’ve shared tonight is to see it as exciting. How is it exciting?

Simple: this truth (that God wants great spiritual fruit in our lives) is truth that he wants for your life!

Think about that! God wants to partner with you to make your life one that doesn’t just bear a little fruit, but is overwhelmingly fruitful. That’s exciting! How can I be a part of that? How can I tap into that?

If you want to leave a legacy, if you want to make a difference, if you want to touch lives, if you want to be like Jesus . . . then this truth means that God wants to help you to do that. So, stay tuned in this sermon series.

Now, That’s exciting!

April 6, 2024

Spiritually Fruitful Living

(A mini-sermon series looking at the challenging truth that

God expects fruitfulness from Christians)

“Is Spiritual Fruitfulness A Necessity,

Or Just A Nice Bonus?”

Here’s an important question for you, as we begin this mini-sermon series: Is spiritual fruitfulness really necessary or just a nice bonus?

Luke 13:6-9 (NLT)Bottom of Form

⁶ Then Jesus told this story: “A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed. ⁷ Finally, he said to his gardener, ‘I’ve waited three years, and there hasn’t been a single fig! Cut it down. It’s just taking up space in the garden.’ ⁸ “The gardener answered, ‘Sir, give it one more chance. Leave it another year, and I’ll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer. ⁹ If we get figs next year, fine. If not, then you can cut it down.’”

Let’s start by briefly defining “spiritual fruitfulness.” A tree bears fruit . . . let’s say apples. Apples are the product / produce of having an apple tree.

In the spiritual realm, we’re talking about a life of spiritual fruit bearing. This is a result from the life of Christ being within us.

Galatians 2:20 (NIV)Bottom of Form

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

We are talking about two kinds of spiritual fruit: internal and external. (I realize the two are interconnected and ultimately inseparable, but let’s talk this way for simplicity’s sake.)

Internal spiritual fruit is becoming more like Christ in our own lives.

External spiritual fruit is touching the lives of those around you, helping them to move closer to God.

The answer to our earlier question is NO. Spiritual fruitfulness is not optional. Spiritual fruitfulness is a defining characteristic of genuine faith.

Luke 13:6-9 is a parable / a story from real life with applications of truth relating to our spiritual life.

The man came to his garden looking for fruit on his trees that he had planted. This is an important truth that can be easily overlooked: The man comes looking for fruit . . . it’s what he expects to find!

⁶ Then Jesus told this story: “A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it . . .

God created you. He has given you spiritual life, through Jesus - and he is looking for spiritual fruit from your life. Just a few scripture examples are:

Matthew 3:10; Matthew 7:19; Luke 3:9;

Luke 13:7; John 15:2; 1 Corinthians 3:10-15; etc.

Scriptural Truths about Spiritual Fruitfulness

Having NO Spiritual Fruit Leads To Being “Cut Off” And “Thrown Into The Fire”

Let’s look at three of the scriptures just listed . . .

Luke 13:7 (NIV)

So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’

Matthew 3:10 (NIV)

The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

This is John the Baptist speaking to the Pharisees and Sadducees (the religious people) of his day.

Matthew 7:19 (NIV)

“Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

This is Jesus speaking, when he was preaching the Sermon on the Mount.

Obviously, these are all images of hell (fire), and the point that is being made is that spiritual fruit is a defining characteristic of a genuine Christian life.

We’ll get more into this in a sermon later in this series, but it’s important to mention this truth now: Scripture is not saying that we’ve got to go out and manufacture some kind of spiritual results or God is going to cut us off. It’s not a “produce or I am going to kick you out” deal. Rather, spiritual fruitfulness is what real faith looks like. If I have truly accepted the life-changing truth of Jesus into my life, there will be a change. There will be results. It’s a (this is important) natural result of having made that choice.

We’ll talk at length later in the series about how spiritual fruitfulness actually happens. Just know this: it’s NOT by us manufacturing results.

Scriptural Truths about Spiritual Fruitfulness

Jesus Gave The Kingdom To Someone New Who Would Produce Its Spiritual Fruit

Matthew 21:33-43 (NIV)

³³ “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. ³⁴ When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. ³⁵ “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. ³⁶ Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. ³⁷ Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. ³⁸ “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ ³⁹ So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. ⁴⁰ “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” ⁴¹ “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.” ⁴² Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? ⁴³ “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.”

This parable of the tenants, in Matthew 21, speaks to the need for spiritual fruitfulness.

In v. 34, again we see the Master coming (or in this case, sending someone on his behalf) to look for fruit.

Verse 43 is what I really want to concentrate on. Jesus notes that the Kingdom has been taken away from those who used to have it. (In this case, that would be the Jewish leaders.) And who is God giving it to? To “a people who will produce its fruit.”

That’s significant! God is making the change because he wants someone who will produce the spiritual fruit of the Kingdom. This shows that spiritual fruitfulness is really important.

Jesus could have said that God will give it “to a people who will revel in grace.” He could have said that God will give it “to a people who will be more thankful.” He could have said that God will give it “to a people who are more deserving.”

There are some merits in each of those potential statements . . . but the point to be made right now is this: that’s not what Jesus said. He said, “to a people who will produce its fruit.” That tells us just how important, how essential, how crucial this spiritual fruitfulness business is to what God is doing.

Scriptural Truths about Spiritual Fruitfulness

It's So Essential That Jesus Can Use It To Separate The Believers And Non-believers

Matthew 25:31-46 (NIV)

³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. ³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ ³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ ⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ ⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ ⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ ⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ ⁴⁶ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

This is a challenging passage for many people. I think our spiritual fruitfulness discussion can help.

At one level, this is a relatively straightforward passage: Jesus desires that we would help the less fortunate. Those who are hungry, thirsty, sick, etc. are people we should be there for. That’s easy to understand and to appreciate the importance of.

At one level, this is a challenging truth that Jesus is to be found in the “least-of-these” that we encounter every day. Helping the helpless is our way of showing our love of Jesus. This, while challenging, is also pretty straightforward.

At another level, though, this is an extraordinarily troublesome passage, to me. Why?

Because Jesus is separating the “sheep” and the “goats,” - the believers and unbelievers. Where is the mention of grace? Where is the mention of the Cross? There’s none of that. Instead, there is only a mention of seeing whether we helped those in needy situations . . . and then dividing out on that.

What is this? Salvation by works?

The ideas that we’re talking about tonight help to bring things into focus. When we understand that spiritual fruitfulness is not an optional quality for a Christian, and when we understand that spiritual fruitfulness is part-and-parcel of what it means to be a Christian . . . it makes more sense.

How can Jesus divide the believers and non-believers based on the spiritual fruitfulness of their lives? Because spiritual fruitfulness is a defining characteristic of genuine faith.

That’s where the mystery disappears!

The simple point is: God expects spiritual fruitfulness.

I know that I’m repeating myself, but, God expects us to be spiritually fruitful. Go back to the title of this sermon: “Is Spiritual Fruitfulness A Necessity, Or Just A Nice Bonus?”

This is essential to understand. Christians often ignore these passages that speak of the necessity of spiritual fruitfulness. To define “genuine Christian faith” only in terms of saying you believe in Jesus and perhaps occasionally go to church . . . is WRONG! It’s so much more than that.

And, part of the definition of a Christian is spiritual fruitfulness. We’ll talk more in upcoming sermons about why that’s true, but suffice it for today to say that IT IS!

WHAT IF I DON'T HAVE ANY SPIRITUAL FRUIT IN MY LIFE? God is patient, but not without limit. Remember the last two verses of our scripture text tonight?

Luke 13:8-9 (NIV)

⁸ “The gardener answered, ‘Sir, give it one more chance. Leave it another year, and I’ll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer. ⁹ If we get figs next year, fine. If not, then you can cut it down.’”

That’s the challenging part. We will go through in detail, in the course of this sermon series, the specifics about living a spiritually fruitful life. Tonight, though, I just want to close with a word of encouragement.

Really look at Luke 13:8-9. What do we see here?

God is patient. When he doesn’t find spiritual fruit, he doesn’t just give up immediately on us. He works with us to try to bring about more spiritual fruit.

God is patient. But, that patience is not without limit. (The man gave it another year of work.) We will discuss this more, later in the series.

If you have accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, it still may be that you’ve not understood God’s expectations concerning spiritual fruitfulness. NOW is the time to get on track to what God desires to do through your life!

March 30, 2024

Easter Celebration

“The Nail, The Hand, The List”

John 20:1-18Bottom of Form

John 20:1-18 (NIV)Bottom of Form

¹ Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. ² So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” ³ So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. ⁴ Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵ He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, ⁷ as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. ⁸ Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. ⁹ (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) ¹⁰ Then the disciples went back to where they were staying. ¹¹ Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb ¹² and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. ¹³ They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” ¹⁴ At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. ¹⁵ He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” ¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). ¹⁷ Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” ¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

Suppose your past sins were made public! Suppose you were to stand on this stage while a film of every secret and selfish second of your life was projected on the screen behind you?

Wouldn’t you want to just tear up the carpet and crawl underneath it? Wouldn’t you scream for heaven to have mercy? And yet, you would feel just a fraction of what Jesus felt on the Cross - the displeasure of a sin-hating God.

This is Easter Day, but when Jesus Christ died on that Cross, 3 days before, he carried all of our sins in his body . . .

1 Peter 2:24

Jesus carried our sins in his own body when he died on a cross. In doing this, we may be dead to sin and alive to all that is right and good. his wounds have healed you!

Can you see Jesus on the Cross? That’s a gossiper hanging there. See Jesus? Embezzler. Bigot. See the crucified Carpenter? He’s a wife beater. A porn addict. A murderer. See Bethlehem’s boy? Call him by his other names - Adolf Hitler, Osama bin Laden, Jeffery Dahmer.

You’re probably thinking, Hold on! Don’t lump Jesus with those evildoers. Don’t place his name in the same sentence with theirs.

I didn’t. HE DID! Indeed, and, he did more. More than place his name in the same sentence, he placed himself in their place! And yours. And mine. With hands nailed open, he invited God, “Treat me as you would treat them!” And God did.

In an act that broke the heart of the Father, and honored the holiness of heaven, a sin-purging judgment flowed over the sinless Son of God. Everything HIS story had been building up to landed at this moment . . . with one final phrase.

Stop and listen. Can you imagine the final cry from the Cross? The sky is dark. The other two victims are moaning. The jeering crowd is silent. Perhaps there is thunder. Perhaps there is weeping. Perhaps there is silence. We don’t know. But, Jesus draws a deep breath. He pushes all his weight down on that Roman nail through his feet, and . . .

John 19:30

. . . Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Jesus didn’t quit. But, don’t think for one minute that he wasn’t tempted to. Watch him wince as he hears his disciples backbite and quarrel. Look at him weep, as he sits at Lazarus’s tomb. Hear him wail as he claws at the ground in the garden of Gethsemane.

Did Jesus ever want to quit? You bet! That’s why his words are so splendid . . . “It is finished!”

God’s history-long plan of redeeming humanity was finished. The message of Almighty God to humans was finished. The works done by Jesus as a man on earth were finished. The task of selecting and training the first disciples was finished.

His “job” was finished. The song had been sung. The blood had been poured. The sacrifice had been made. The sting of death had been removed. It was over. Was “It is finished!” a cry of defeat? Hardly!

Had his hands not been nailed down, I believe that Jesus would have punched the dark sky with a triumphant fist, when he said, “IT IS FINISHED!”

No, this was not a cry of despair. It was a cry of completion. A cry of victory! A cry of fulfillment. And maybe . . . even a cry of relief.

Like Simon & Garfunkel’s song, The Boxer, says “. . . the fighter still remained.” And thank God he did. Thank God that he endured, because we cannot deal with our own sins. Only God can forgive sins . . .