Fruit in keeping with repentance

Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 30:44
0 ratings
· 11 viewsFiles
Notes
Transcript
Satisfied with life?
Satisfied with life?
Do you ever get the feeling of being dissatisfied with the situation you’re in?
Some of you might want to give a hearty - Absolutely - to that. Life just throws you one lemon after another.
Some of you might give a more nuanced yes. Yes, there are parts of life that cause great dissatisfaction, but then, there are also lots of parts of life which are quite satisfying.
Other’s might even be in the camp where overall, you’re quite satisfied with life, but even so, there are just those parts of your life which remain frustrating. For the most part you don’t let it get you down, but it does often hang over you.
Which ever one it is, there’s a good chance you want to make some changes to address those dissatisfying parts.
The big question is: how do you go about doing that?
Now, you likely all have different answers to that. Obviously it will differ because that which is causing dissatisfaction is going to vary among us.
But let me suggest that for many, a big part of the dissatisfaction is often put down to other people. Perhaps you can even name the people that just make your life so difficult. There might even be a type - you’ve learnt to stereotype people pretty quick, and you know the ones that are just going to cause you grief.
And so here’s the thing… we’ve often come to the conclusion that the change that has to occur is to just stop being with that type of person.
We want change and we want it to be effective.
Now this morning, we’re going to look at the Jewish people around the time of Jesus and we’re going to consider their desire to change things. I want to examine their desire, and explore it from the framework of being in God’s kingdom.
As we do that, I want to apply the same sort of framework to our own desire for change. So what is change going to look like? How are we going to improve our situation?
Well, let’s go back in time to look at the Jewish people.
The Jews
The Jews
I want you to try and place yourself as a Jewish person living 2000 years ago.
You would know the history of your people quite well, because it’s something that was talked about.
You would be very familiar with the stories of Abraham and how God made a promise through him, and it’s from his line that you now descend.
You’d be familiar with King David, when he ruled over the great Kingdom of Israel.
But you’d also have heard how far things have fallen. How Israel was taken into captivity for 70 years. And how even after they were released, the kingdom was never the same.
As a Jew of this time, you would have heard the prophecies. That though things were under foreign rule, it would not always be like this… That there would be a new kingdom… a restored kingdom.
You long for it… but then, your people have been longing for it for over 400 years.
But here you are. You’re a Jew now living under Roman rule. Things aren’t quite right. You want things to change. But what does change look like?
People have started dreaming about an uprising. Somebody who can stand against this power. Most people are too scared though - the Roman’s don’t tend to like rebel rousers.
These people are dissatisfied, and they want change.
Now, some people did actually rise up… trying to make a bit of a difference. But then there was this someone who was a bit different. He didn’t fit the normal stereotype, but yet, he seemed to be pointing to something new.
And so the crowds go out to see him.
His name is John, and he would hang out around the Jordan River baptising people. Hence he became known as John the Baptist.
The Sermon
The Sermon
John loved to preach to the crowds.
If you have your bibles open, you can look at verse 7 where John starts his sermon:
“You brood of vipers!”
Now, that is quite the introduction to a sermon!
His second line: “Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?”
Now this is where our background starts to make sense of this line. Now, I’ve just been describing these Jewish people as trying to flee the dissatisfaction of their situation.
They want someone who can make everything better.
John’s actually putting a bit of a different spin on what they are fleeing from.
They’re actually fleeing from the coming wrath.
Now, sometimes we don’t like talking about God’s wrath. It’s much nicer to only think about God as a loving and merciful God. These are very true attributes about God, and our picture of God would not be complete without them, but God is also a holy and righteous God. A God where justice and truth matter.
God’s wrath is not a reactive type of anger that flares up when things don’t go his way. It’s a controlled and measured response to sinful behaviour.
The dissatisfaction that these people are feeling - while it is easy to point the finger at the foreign powers that are over them, the reality is, it was a result of their unfaithfulness.
A reckoning is coming. To flee from the dissatisfaction, you need to flee from the reckoning - in other words, flee from the wrath that is to come.
This opening of John’s sermon is really harsh and direct to the point, but it is what they needed to hear.
The dissatisfaction they are feeling is because they’re all vipers - that is to say, spiteful people that care more about themselves.
Fruit in keeping with repentance
Fruit in keeping with repentance
But then in verse 8, John gives the phrase that I want to use as the key phrase that we’ll cling on to in this message. He says: “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance”.
Now, you could imagine he could just say at this point - repent.
Repentance is of course the act of admitting what you do is wrong and that you need to do a 180 degree turn and aim for something different different.
A change of action is implied in the word - but yet, it is very easy to just use the word repentance in a very insincere kind of way.
It’s a bit like when one sibling harms another sibling, and then the parent tells the offending sibling to say sorry to the other.
Regardless of whether you are a parent or not, you all know what I’m talking about. Usually after a bit of grumbling, you get them to utter the word sorry, which might come out as a sarcastic ‘sorry’, or possibly a ‘sorry’ so quiet you can hardly hear it. Or a really grumbly ‘sorry’. Either way, there’s basically no sense in which they feel they need to change.
Sometimes, when we repent, we can do the grown up Christian version of this. That is, we know in theory we’ve not lived the way God intends, we know that we’re meant to repent, and we know how to add that to our prayers.
John could have told these people that they need to repent, but he doesn’t want them to go into autopilot and just go through the motions that they’ve been taught to do - the religious stuff.
That’s why he says: produce fruit in keeping with repentance. He’s saying, I want to see a real difference. I want to know that you don’t just think you should act in a different way, but you’re convinced that you should.
Not resting on heritage
Not resting on heritage
Now, it’s interesting at this point that John anticipates one of the objections that they might come up with.
You see, these Jews know very well that they belong to the people of God. They are God’s chosen people. They don’t need to prove themselves. Their spot in God’s inheritence is assured.
John says: not so fast. If you’re part of God’s kingdom - it will show.
The same is for us. We can say - but I’ve accepted Jesus - I’m saved! We even know to quote that we’re not saved by works but by grace. That is very true. But if you have allowed Jesus into your life, it will show.
This is one of the tensions that we need to hold as believers. Your works are not what saves you, but Jesus in your life will result in works.
What the fruit looks like
What the fruit looks like
Okay, so surprisingly, you might have thought at this point, the people listening would have got really offended after being called a viper, and then told that their status as Jews can’t be relied on for favour with God. But, they actually stick around.
More than that, they seem convinced that actually they need to change.
And so they ask (v10) “What should we do then?”
Now, I actually find it very interesting how John answers them.
You see, I think if I was asked what might the fruit in keeping with repentance looks like, I might say things like, work on your sexual purity, be less angry, stop being envious, stop being greedy.
Now, I’m not going to suggest that answer would be wrong. Those things I just mentioned are things we should work on. They are negative things in our life that eat away at us.
But John answers in a different way.
Look at his answer in verse 11 - “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same”.
It’s not just, get rid of the bad stuff, it’s start living like your part of God’s kingdom. Start being the one who’s going to make a positive difference.
This is the opposite of selfishness. This is selflessness. It’s saying, I’m going to give of myself to lift others up.
And it’s saying, I’m going to do this with no expectations of anything in return.
This is actually the hard part in this. You see, there is kind of a fake helpfulness that many people do. On the surface, it looks like someone is being really selfless. If you want to know if really is being selfless, just wait and see how they respond when they get nothing in return.
Fruit in keeping with repentance is saying: “I’m going to live like I’m going to bring heaven on earth”.
I’m going to love and care for others like Jesus did before me.
Well, the tax collector speaks up next - and remember, these are the people that are pretty much on the bottom of the social pecking order.
John’s reply to them is simple: “Don’t collect any more than you are required to”.
In other words, just be fair.
There’s actually nothing wrong with being a tax collector, as long as you do it fairly and equitably.
Some soldiers than also speak up.
The reply to them is initially similar, that is, be fair in the way you conduct yourself.
But he adds something else to the reply to them: “be content with your pay”.
You might not think this is producing fruit in keeping with repentance - but let’s think about it. What’s the opposite of being content with your pay?
It’s a desire to have more and more. It’s the same selfish desire that so often becomes the root of many many sins.
It’s a funny thing actually. Almost everyone will agree that money won’t buy you happiness. But we all seem to think, if only I had a bit more, then I’ll be happy.
I was talking about being dissatisfied earlier - and sometimes, deep down, we gain this belief that if only I had more money, then I would be less dissatisfied.
But let me tell you now - your satisfaction levels are not going to change with how much money you have in the bank. Yes, you might be able to live with more creature comforts if you get more money - but that is different to being satisfied.
Being content with you pay is actually to say, I’m going to find my contentment in Jesus Christ.
I want to encourage you, as you seek to make changes in your life to escape the dissatisfaction you’re facing, are you producing fruit in keeping with repentance? Does your fruit look like what John is telling the crowds here?
Is there more?
Is there more?
Well, this teaching was quite something for the crowds.
It would seem that it started to resonate with them. They started to see something different that they haven’t heard before.
And so the suggestion started floating around - could this possibly be the messiah. Is John the one?
Now when you see them starting to ask this question, you need to recognise what they are actually thinking. You see, this is not just about the identity of an individual. You see, the rise of a messiah for them was more about a restoration of the kingdom.
What they really want to know is whether they are about to see something more.
In some ways, it’s very similar to our expectation of a second coming of Jesus now. We’re longing for that time when all things will be made right.
John tells them quite clearly - he is not the Messiah. But… “one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit”.
You know, I just want to pause here really breifly, particularly as we are about to have a baptism of our own shortly after this service.
You see, the baptism I give will have power only in as far as it connects the recipient to their identity with Christ. The actual real power is not with me submerging someone under water, rather it is the Holy Spirit who enters that person.
The point John is saying is that you are to produce fruit in keeping with repentance, but this is only the beginning, because the true power is when you receive the Holy Spirit.
The arrest
The arrest
Now, hopefully there is something in all of this which is really energising you to make a positive difference in the world around us.
It’s an exciting passage in many ways. But that all comes to a grinding halt when we get to verse 19.
We’ve already talked about John’s bold preaching. Well, apparently that boldness also extended to the way he spoke to Herod, who was the political leader of this region.
As you might imagine, Herod didn’t take the bold rebuke very well, and so he had John locked up in prison.
So, just as we start to get excited about a restored kingdom that is to come, where suddenly thrust back to reality where suffering continues.
And as much as we don’t like it, this is a reality we face. Suffering is going to continue. And producing fruit in keeping with repentance is not a way to stay out of trouble.
I’m actually not giving you a picture of an easy and comfortable life. But I am showing you a way to a better way.
Jesus
Jesus
Ultimately that better way is found in Jesus.
I’m going to end our passage this morning looking at verse 21 and 22.
This is the baptism of Jesus.
This is a baptism like no other.
Now, we can ask, if John is doing a baptism of repentance, why does Jesus even need to get baptised when he was without sin?
That’s actually a great question, and one that many people have pondered over.
Ultimately, however, it was about Jesus’ identification. He is not repenting of his sin, but he is showing us the model of what to do.
When he is baptised, a voice comes from heaven.
Now, I’ve baptised quite a number of people in my time. Never, however, have a had a voice from heaven or the holy spirit descending like a dove. That’s because Jesus stands separate from everyone else.
Jesus is the something more that these people so desperately seek.
And he is the one that we so desperately seek.
Conclusion
Conclusion
I started speaking about the changing from that dissatisfaction that we feel.
Well, let me tell you plainly… no matter how many self help books you look through… no matter how much self-improvement you try to do… no matter how good your new rules for life are… the only way you are going to find satisfaction, is if you look to Jesus.
When you allow him in, you can be baptised with the Holy Spirit. I’m not talking about any specific experience you might have, like speaking in tongues. I’m talking about the Spirit who will start a transformation process in you. One that will actually result in the fruit that is keeping with repentance.
There actually is satisfaction to be found.
Yes, the frustrating parts of your life will continue. We are subject to frustration.
But the satisfaction will be deeper than that. Because the satisfaction is centered on Jesus.
Let me pray...