Luke 6:43-49: Authentic Faith

Introduction

https://www.npr.org/2023/02/21/1158527771/first-gen-iphone-auction-63k - Valuable but has no practical use.

For some of us - this could describe our faith - valuable to us - but no practical use.

You came to worship this morning because you find value in being here - maybe sentimental value - church connects you to your childhood, what you’ve always done, etc. OR, relational value - you like having a community of friends who are relatively moral. OR, familial value - you see the value of having your children in church so you show up each week.

For some, you see value to the Christian life, but you don’t really see any practical use for the Christian life. It’s good for Sunday, but it doesn’t affect the way you live from day to day.

Jesus’ sermon in Luke 6 is not a call to a sentimental faith or a faith that is just helpful for children - or a faith that is just a way to get you some good friends.

Luke 6 - Jesus calling us to an authentic faith - a faith that impacts every facet of our lives.

NOT an easy faith but a Christ-exalting, transforming faith - a faith you need. A faith in which we are called to live distinctively different from the present culture.

As we conclude Jesus’ sermon - a call to decision - will you embrace the authentic faith that Jesus is calling you to. Two ways to live out the authentic faith Jesus calls me to in the sermon on the plain.

I must pay close attention to who I am becoming.

Jesus will send out His disciples into a dying world for the sake of His mission. They need to know what it looks like to live for God’s Kingdom - what it looks like is hard. Jesus words are challenge and seem impossible.

If you were a disciple of Jesus and you heard this message for the first time, you probably would have felt discouraged. Who can do what Jesus asks? The beatitudes - fully depend on Jesus? Endure persecution? Love your enemies? Bless those who persecute you? Not critically judge those who hurt you? This is impossible! That’s the point. You can’t do any of what Jesus calls you to in this sermon without His help.

Jesus getting to the heart - you need heart change to live as a citizen of the Kingdom of heaven.

Heart change - what so many of us resist - and it’s evident. You can know that you’re resistant to the change that Jesus wants to make on the inside of you by looking at the fruit you bear.

Who’s the real you? It’s eventually going to show.

Every person is bearing some kind of fruit with their lives, and the fruit you bear demonstrates something about what’s on the inside of you. Is Christ in you, transforming you, or is the world inside of you, conforming you to the kingdom of this earth that will pass away?

Simple analogy - A tree produces what it is. You produce out of who you are.

Good comes out of a good heart. How do you get a good heart? Repent! (Lk. 3:7-9) An evil person - judgmental, hypocritical, hateful, etc.

What I’m producing in my life is evidence of who I am and who I am becoming, and I need to pay careful attention to who I am becoming. Am I becoming more like Christ or more like the world?

God cares about who you are becoming. (Far more than church attendance, good works, etc.) From the beginning, God desired a holy people - sent His Son to pay the penalty for your sin - to redeem you into His family. Placed His Spirit in you so you might become like His Son - so you might produce FRUIT consistent with who you are in Christ.

What is the fruit that is consistent with who you are in Christ? Fruit of the Spirit. Your character matters - the world NEEDS the good fruit of followers of Jesus. Jesus sending you into the world to BEAR fruit.

How do I KNOW if I am producing fruit that is consistent with authentic faith?

What do I want most in life? What you want most is what you’ll cling to. This is THE issue of your heart. What you want most will determine how you respond when the heat of life is turned up. If what you want is Jesus, you will seek Him with a humble, repentant heart. If what you want most is something else - comfort and ease, my way, wealth, pleasure, etc., you’ll seek that with a selfish heart.

HEAT = circumstances of life. (The disciples were going to feel the heat.) You feel the heat every day when life doesn’t go your way, faced with temptation, when issues in family arise, when health goes bad, every day. How you respond to the heat reveals what’s in your heart.

2. How do I react to the heat of life? If you’re clinging to Jesus, you’ll respond with the fruit of the Spirit even when the heat is turned up. (e.g., love your enemies, don’t be judgmental - that’s fruit of the Spirit at work.) If you’re clinging to something else, when life doesn’t go your way you respond with complaining, judgmental attitude, anger, depression, anxiety, etc. (bad fruit)

3. What do I leave behind after I react? If you respond with the fruit of the Spirit, you leave behind an example for others to follow. You leave behind encouragement, you leave behind godly wisdom that you are able to give. Or, if you respond out of a heart that is clinging to something else, you leave behind bad fruit… Poor decisions, hurt relationships, personal destruction, undesired consequences of sinful choices, etc.

This is all a matter of the heart! What happens in your heart determines the outcome of your life. Who are you becoming? Are you becoming more like Jesus or more like the world around you?

Roots planting outside - couldn’t put the new in - had to replace the old with the new.

I must pay attention to what I am doing.

Am I pursuing ongoing transformation of my heart? I must pay attention to what I am doing.

vs. 46 - “Lord, Lord…” Jesus knows that there are many who call Him Lord, but don’t do what He says. That may describe many of us. If you call Jesus Lord, or Master, you do what your Lord says. If you do not do what Jesus says, you are not His follower.

How do you see your heart transformed so that you see fruit produced in your life that is consistent with who you say you are?

1. Come to Jesus. vs. 47 - The invitation is for you today and everyday to come to Jesus - to come to Him and confess your need - confess your inability to produce good fruit apart from Him (John 15:5).

2. Listen to Jesus. vs. 47 - You’re here most Sundays, but are you listening, or is what takes place on Sunday morning in one ear and out the other? You need to make the most out of every opportunity you have to listen to Jesus - whether in your personal time with the Lord, a small-group Bible study, or corporate worship. What would help on Sunday morning:

Be convinced that God is speaking.

Pray before you gather with the body.

Be on time.

Stay in your seat.

Open your Bible.

Put your phone away.

Take notes.

Ask God to show you what He wants you to do.

3. Obey Jesus. Every time you are under the Word, you should be listening for how God wants you to respond. Often, we’re listening for the voice of God to call us to giant steps of faith or to answer the big questions of life. Should I move and take that job? Should I marry that particular person? Should my husband and I have another child? etc… Often, God is calling you to take small, consistent steps of obedience. To repent of that sin that’s He’s surfacing in your heart, to apologize to your spouse for how you sinned against her, to shift your attitude toward a person, to offer a kind word to a hurting neighbor, to share the Gospel with a coworker, to be more diligent in your pursuit of Jesus.

It’s in the small steps of faith that you see Jesus doing a work in you. In coming to Jesus, listening to Jesus, and obeying Jesus you are building a foundation.

I must pay attention to who I am becoming, and I must pay attention to what I am doing.

Palestine - difficulty of laying a foundation - some areas rocky, some sandy - challenge of finding the right place - and the work of laying a foundation. Tedious. But necessary - around Sea of Galilee or Jordan River - flooding - Or, Dead Sea area, flash floods. If you’re house was going to survive, you needed a firm foundation. If no firm foundation, your house would be destroyed in the floods.

Every small decision for Christ, every step of faith, you are building on the foundation of Jesus Christ (Isaiah 28:16).

It is FOOLISH to NOT build on the solid foundation. Fathers - in your home - it’s FOOLISH to not build on the foundation of Christ with your children. In your own life, it’s foolish to not lay the foundation. Students, an opportunity NOW to build on the solid foundation. If not, you will look back and say, “I wish...”

Why build on a solid foundation? You know from experience - storms are coming. For those of us who are day by day building on the foundation, on Christ the solid rock we stand - a sure foundation that can weather all the storms. The storms come, and the person of faith is NOT swept away but standing. When the storm comes, you’re reminded that all you have is Christ.

Jesus weathered the greatest storm for us. Jesus came to take the storm of God’s wrath for us. He listened to His Father’s voice and obeyed - to the point of death on the cross so we could have forgiveness of sins and life everlasting through His death and resurrection. He has weathered the greatest storm so you can stand in any storm as you allow Jesus to transform your heart.

What you need this morning:

Faith - You have to believe that Jesus is worth following - that He is worthy of your heart. Believe this morning that Jesus is worthy of your heart. He proved that by dying in your place and rising from the dead. Turn to Him by faith.

Help - Help from Jesus and the body of Christ. Do not be afraid to ask for help from Christ or from us. The church exists to help you grow in Christ so that you can weather any storm.

Diligence - You must daily pursue. You must daily endure. You must daily take up your cross and follow Him. Have you strayed in your pursuit of Christ? Today, get back to the task.

Patience - Spiritual growth is a process, not an event. Over time, as you daily make the small decisions to follow Jesus in every area of your life, you will see exponential growth in your faith. Be patient, trust, and obey, as God does a work in you.