What On Earth Are You Waiting For?

We don’t know exactly what is being discussed here. Some believe it is when Pilate took money from the temple treasury to build an aqueduct, and when the Jews gathered to protest, he planted soldiers in civilian clothes withthe mob. They carried out undercover murders of the loudest protestors.

It made the Jews hate Pilate more.

What you need to see, however, is that Jesus needed to answer this situation. They came and told Jesus about this matter. If he failed to reply, the crowd would see him as pro-Rome, and disloyal to his people.

If He defended the Jews and accused Pilate, He would be in trouble with the Romans… and the Jewish leaders who wanted him out of the way would ahve good reason.

Notice how Jesus deals with the issue.... he moves it to another whole level. He didn’t discuss Pilate’s sins.... he discussed theirs. Look:

Luke 13:2 ESV

2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way?

Luke 13:3 ESV

3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

Luke 13:4 ESV

4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem?

Luke 13:5 ESV

5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

Jesus makes it clear that human tragedy is not necessarily divine punishment. It’s wrong for us to play God and pass judgment.

Remembers Job’s friends… they said the affliction of Job was evidence of His sin… but if that’s true in every case, what about the prophets who suffered or Jesus himself?

He points out that there is no good explanation for why the tower fell on 18 people.... they were doing their jobs and they died… they weren’t protesting or causing problems. It happens.

Jesus’ point is not that God does this to people, but rather that if God did punish sinners in this way, well, look out… because everyone’s a sinner. a

The question is not why did these people die… rather, the question is prove why you should live!

No one is sinless, so you better get ready!!

Luke 13:6 ESV

6 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.

Luke 13:7 ESV

7 And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’

Luke 13:8 ESV

8 And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure.

Luke 13:9 ESV

9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’ ”

This parable needs context. Look at Leviticus 19.23-25

Leviticus 19:23–25 ESV

23 “When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, then you shall regard its fruit as forbidden. Three years it shall be forbidden to you; it must not be eaten. 24 And in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. 25 But in the fifth year you may eat of its fruit, to increase its yield for you: I am the Lord your God.

Newly planted trees could not be eaten from for 3 years. The 4th year was God’s. The 5th year the fruit was able to be eaten.

Now listen again to Jesus’ parable in Luke 13.6-9

Luke 13:6–9 ESV

6 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. 7 And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ 8 And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’ ”

The man in Jesus’ parable had waited 7 years. No fruit. You can appreciate his idea… cut them down.

The parable is a direct application to people in general and the nation of Israel in particular. God is always longsuffering and patient with us....see 2 Peter 3.9

2 Peter 3:9 ESV

9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

He does more than enough to move us to bear fruit and repent see Matt 3.7-10

Matthew 3:7–10 ESV

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

God has every right to cut us down.... but in his mercy he spared us. The day of Judgment is coming… we should not presume upon the kindness and long-suffering of the Lord....

Jesus took this from Micah 7:1-4

Micah 7:1–4 ESV

1 Woe is me! For I have become as when the summer fruit has been gathered, as when the grapes have been gleaned: there is no cluster to eat, no first-ripe fig that my soul desires. 2 The godly has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among mankind; they all lie in wait for blood, and each hunts the other with a net. 3 Their hands are on what is evil, to do it well; the prince and the judge ask for a bribe, and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul; thus they weave it together. 4 The best of them is like a brier, the most upright of them a thorn hedge. The day of your watchmen, of your punishment, has come; now their confusion is at hand.

This parable remind’s us of God’s goodness and patience with Israel: Isaiah 5.1-7

Isaiah 5:1–7 ESV

1 Let me sing for my beloved my love song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. 2 He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes. 3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. 4 What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? 5 And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. 6 I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and briers and thorns shall grow up; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. 7 For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an outcry!

See Romans 9:1-5

Romans 9:1–5 ESV

1 I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. 4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5 To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.

God waited on Israel for centuries, through the three years of Christ’s ministry, and the nation did not produce fruit. 40 more years and Roman armies destroyed Jerusalem and the temple.

The tree was cut down.

But that is not the important matter of this parable. If you walk away from Jesus’ parable asking the question, “What happened to the tree?”, you are asking the wrong question. You have missed the point.

The question is not, “What happened to the tree?”, but rather, “What will happen to me?”

God weeps over unrepentant hearts, I know He does. God waits for unrepentant hearts, I know He does. But the time is short for God to weep and to wait. The day is closer than ever.

They say that opportunity only knocks once. But opportunity doesn’t have love, a heart or the grace that our God does. Remember the facts.

2 Peter 3:9 ESV

9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

I wonder about that. Look at our world right now.

Someone asked another, “What’s the death rate in your state?”, and the person replied, “One per person.”

Someone said, “There are people dying now who have never died before.”

Look at our world....

3 million plus displaced in Ukraine.

Putin is bombing theaters that are clearly marked “Children.”

We have three superpowers, not two, who are armed with nuclear weapons that if one of the three leaders in those countries launches his rockets you could see the end of our civilization in less than one hour.

We’ve had crime in america surging. We have more drug related deaths now than in the 70’s.

And besides all that, evil is rampant. Just look at our lives and our choices.

2 Peter 3.9 still holds true. God is patient.

Listen to 2 Peter 3.9 in the message

2 Peter 3:9 The Message

9 God isn’t late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn’t want anyone lost. He’s giving everyone space and time to change.

God’s Patience Is Perfect; Don’t Miss The DeadLine

The Perfect Bottom Line should move you to do something. To Action. Be kinder, gentler, or something of the sorts. Not this one.

This is about you. Nothing you can do to/for someone else. This one’s personal.

God’s patience is perfect.

Why? And the answer is you/me.

2 Peter 3:9 ESV

9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

Hebrews 10:37 ESV

37 For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay;

2 Peter 3:15 ESV

15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him,

God’s Patience Is Perfect; Don’t Miss The DeadLine

I had the strangest thought yesterday. I filled my truck with gas. $80 plus!

Now, set aside your politics for the rest of the story. I try to preach with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other- but these days our partisan politics make it tough. So set aside your republican, democrat or whatever else glasses you have on for just this minute.

Our government said that part of the price increase in gas is a result of taking russian oil out of our supply. So the price of gas went up, and we are told that to defend freedom in the world there is a price tag and you see it at the pump. Ok.

But then I think, I just watched where this theater clearly marked “children” gets bombed to pieces. And I think about this no fly zone that Zelinsky and all of Ukraine want, and I don’t understand how we don’t do anything in that regard to help.

I mean, if I’m paying extra at the pump to defend freedom, why am I not willing to pay a little and let this guy have his Migs to defend his country? I don’t get it, but I do.

But let’s play all of this out. We watch this all go down and it goes down how it does…nuclear bombs maybe, whatever it is… World War 3, maybe..... who knows.

But where is God? Isn’t God just? Doesn’t God see how terrible this is. ?

I’ve got a verse I want you to see. Romans 9.22 says it:

Romans 9:22 ESV

22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,

Listen to it in context: Romans 9.22-28

Romans 9:22–28 ESV

22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25 As indeed he says in Hosea, “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’ ” 26 “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’ ” 27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, 28 for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.”

See Romans 2:4

Romans 2:4 ESV

4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

God’s Patience Is Perfect; Don’t Miss The DeadLine

1 Timothy 2:4 The Message

4 He wants not only us but everyone saved, you know, everyone to get to know the truth we’ve learned:

I know why God is Delaying. Why are you?

In the Book of Revelation, God addresses the 7 churches of Asia. Each of those churches combined, are representative of the church in general. When God gets to the church at Thyatira, he says this in Revelation 2:21

Revelation 2:21 (ESV)

21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent

God’s Patience Is Perfect; Don’t Miss The DeadLine

I know why God is waiting. You do too.

Why are you?

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