Word #4: Produce
Finally, John the Baptist had these words for those coming to be made ready for the coming of the Lord. He said this, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” What fruit are we talking about? Well, John is referring to the fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5. True confession and repentance lead to love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control naturally flowing out of our lives.
How many of you have ever met a person who called themselves a Christian and yet was mean, bitter, unhappy, and generally unpleasant. Most of the time, this person is one who has gone to church all of their lives. Their parents went to church and their parents before them went as well. Instead of relying on confession, repentance, and producing fruit, these people are banking on church attendance to get them to be with the Lord.
Finally, John the Baptist had these words for those coming to be made ready for the coming of the Lord. He said this, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” What fruit are we talking about? Well, John is referring to the fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5. True confession and repentance lead to love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control naturally flowing out of our lives.
How many of you have ever met a person who called themselves a Christian and yet was mean, bitter, unhappy, and generally unpleasant. Most of the time, this person is one who has gone to church all of their lives. Their parents went to church and their parents before them went as well. Instead of relying on confession, repentance, and producing fruit, these people are banking on church attendance to get them to be with the Lord.
The Pharisees were doing the same thing, and John saw
right through them. They were Jews. That meant that they had Abraham as a
descendant. Of course, God had made a covenant with Abraham and his descendants
that He would be their God, so most of the Jews relied on this to save them.
But John the Baptist explains that this pact was not necessarily with the
physical descendants of Abraham. It is with everyone who acts and believes like
Abraham did. Then, he goes on to say that the Lord is ready to cut down every
tree that does not produce good fruit. To me, God is saying that church
attendance and family history does not save you. Only true faith in Jesus Christ!
Think about the real world. If you have a job and don’t do anything, you are going to be fired. If you play for a football team and don’t produce, you are not going to play. If you go out on a date and don’t do anything to try to earn respect or show love, you are not going to get a second date. Now, John is telling us that if we don’t produce fruit in our Christian lives, He is not going to have any part in our lives.
So again I ask you: “Are you ready for Christmas?” Are you ready to meet the Savior and Lord in an up-close and intimate way? You must start by preparing and clearing out all that is in the way. You do this by confessing your sins both to God and to your fellow man. Then, this confession must result in repentance in which we turn from our previous ways to keep from falling into the same traps. Finally, we produce fruit in keeping with our repentance. I don’t know where you are right now spiritually, but I do know that there are those that need to make a decision to make a change in their lives. Maybe you are not a Christian or do not know if you are saved. You need to ask Christ to clean out the things in your life that are in the way from you meeting Him. Maybe you are a Christian and have unconfessed sin in your life. You need to confess before the Lord, and you may want someone with you to pray with you. Maybe you are tired of the game in which you have to confess the same sin over and over again. You need to seek the Lord to repent. Or maybe you just need more help from the Holy Spirit to produce more good fruit. Whatever the case may be, let’s ask the Holy Spirit to come and speak to each one of us. The Lord is waiting to meet with you. You are loved!
Think about the real world. If you have a job and don’t do anything, you are going to be fired. If you play for a football team and don’t produce, you are not going to play. If you go out on a date and don’t do anything to try to earn respect or show love, you are not going to get a second date. Now, John is telling us that if we don’t produce fruit in our Christian lives, He is not going to have any part in our lives.
So again I ask you: “Are you ready for Christmas?” Are you ready to meet the Savior and Lord in an up-close and intimate way? You must start by preparing and clearing out all that is in the way. You do this by confessing your sins both to God and to your fellow man. Then, this confession must result in repentance in which we turn from our previous ways to keep from falling into the same traps. Finally, we produce fruit in keeping with our repentance. I don’t know where you are right now spiritually, but I do know that there are those that need to make a decision to make a change in their lives. Maybe you are not a Christian or do not know if you are saved. You need to ask Christ to clean out the things in your life that are in the way from you meeting Him. Maybe you are a Christian and have unconfessed sin in your life. You need to confess before the Lord, and you may want someone with you to pray with you. Maybe you are tired of the game in which you have to confess the same sin over and over again. You need to seek the Lord to repent. Or maybe you just need more help from the Holy Spirit to produce more good fruit. Whatever the case may be, let’s ask the Holy Spirit to come and speak to each one of us. The Lord is waiting to meet with you. You are loved!
No comments:
Post a Comment