-it’s the third week of Advent and we’re going to continue with our stories of John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus.
-last week we had the background of when John was doing this and the prophecy from Isaiah of his job. Today, we get to hear a little about how John prepared the way.
**Luke 3:7-18 -> 7Here is a sample of John’s preaching to the crowds that came for baptism: “You brood of snakes! You are trying to escape hell without truly turning to God! That is why you want to be baptized! 8First go and prove by the way you live that you really have repented. And don’t think you are safe because you are descendants of Abraham. That isn’t enough. God can produce children of Abraham from these desert stones! 9The ax of His judgment is poised over you, ready to sever your roots and cut you down. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.” 10The crowd replied, “What do you want us to do?” 11“If you have two coats,” he replied, “give one to the poor. If you have extra food, give it away to those who are hungry.” 12Even tax collectors—notorious for their corruption—came to be baptized and asked, “How shall we prove to you that we have abandoned our sins?” 13“By your honesty,” he replied. “Make sure you collect no more taxes than the Roman government requires you to.” 14“And us,” asked some soldiers, “what about us?” John replied, “Don’t extort money by threats and violence; don’t accuse anyone of what you know he didn’t do; and be content with your pay!” 15Everyone was expecting the Messiah to come soon, and eager to know whether or not John was He. This was the question of the hour and was being discussed everywhere. 16John answered the question by saying, “I baptize only with water; but Someone is coming soon who has far higher authority than mine; in fact, I am not even worthy of being His slave. He will baptize you with fire—with the Holy Spirit. 17He will separate chaff from grain, and burn up the chaff with eternal fire and store away the grain.” 18He used many such warnings as he announced the Good News to the people. (LB)
-I love that last verse. I wonder what other “such warnings” John used to proclaim the Good News.
-and I can guess what you’re first reaction to this was, it would have been the same as mine. This doesn’t sound like a Good News type message.
-but I want to take a look at it. Two thousand years later there are issues in here that we steal deal with. Like:
1. GRANDHILDREN OF GOD
-it’s a term that I heard many years ago that John the Baptist is dealing with here.
-the people John was talking to here seem to have this idea that they are God’s simply because of their ancestry. They are children of Abraham, so they are therefore God’s.
-but John is challenging that thinking. He’s saying all sorts of crazy things like truly turning to God and repentance.
-Paul said the same thing in Romans:
**Ro. 2:28-29 -> 28For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision. 29No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by God’s Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people. (NLT)
-what makes a person a true follower of God is by a change of heart, nothing else.
-and I know that seems basic and simple to most people, but in the world that we live in, a lot of people do not understand that. Tony Campolo, a professor of sociology talked about this one day, how a lot of people don’t know what being a Christian means. People think “I’m a Christian because I was born in America, a Christian nation” just like these people John was talking with thought they were children of God because they were born in Israel.
-I bet you’ve noticed this at work or wherever. I love talking with students at the schools. Almost every single one is a Christian or an atheist. And I talk to some people there who don’t go to church, don’t read their Bible, don’t pray, they don’t have a clue who God is. But they’re Christian. I’m American or my mom goes to church or we celebrate Christmas.
-the expression that keeps coming back to me. God has no grandchildren.
-no one is going to be able to stand before God whenever that happens and when God says “I never knew you” they can reply “But you know my mom, so I’m in. Right?”
-and realistically, when it comes to spreading the Gospel or explaining about having a relationship with Jesus Christ, it is by far way harder to explain that someone with this mindset. They don’t understand why they need to know God if they’re already in.
-but it doesn’t mean we stop trying. Really, this is who John was speaking to, Jewish people who thought they were already in. Hey, at one point they told people they were safe from God’s wrath simply because the Temple was on Jewish soil. “We have God’s building, so we don’t need to worry.” Jeremiah had to talk to them:
**Jer. 7:4-7 -> 4But don’t be fooled by those who promise you safety simply because the Lord’s Temple is here. They chant, “The Lord’s Temple is here! The Lord’s Temple is here!” 5But I will be merciful only if you stop your evil thoughts and deeds and start treating each other with justice; 6only if you stop exploiting foreigners, orphans, and widows; only if you stop your murdering; and only if you stop harming yourselves by worshiping idols. 7Then I will let you stay in this land that I gave to your ancestors to keep forever. (NLT)
-how many times do we still hear that today? We don’t hear “Fishers has the temple”, but what about, “I wear a cross” or “I have a Bible on my shelf” or “I go to church once in a while”.
-God is trying to say through people like John and Jeremiah, it’s not about what you have, where you’ve been, but it’s about what you are actually doing.
2. REPENTANCE IS AN ACTION
-too often we turn following God into a feeling.
-I look at it like this. What would you think if I told you I was a painter. I’ve never painted anything, never taken an art class, don’t own any painting supplies, I don’t even like to paint, but in my heart of hearts, I feel like a painter, so I must be a painter right?
-you’d all think I was nuts. Because as much as we don’t like to admit it, the true measure of what is in your heart is not in what you feel but in what you do.
-a friend of mine on his Facebook info under religion has this: “If Christ is Lord of your life there must be a visible difference.”
-here with John, three different group of people come up and ask what they need to do to repent? They see it right away. I want to repent, I cannot simply be a grandchild of God, I need to know Him personally. What do I need to do?
ALL TO HELP EACH OTHER
-the first group of people to ask John were the common people, the crowds. His stipulation was very simple. If you have more than you need, share it.
**Luke 3:10-11 -> 10The crowd replied, “What do you want us to do?” 11“If you have two coats,” he replied, “give one to the poor. If you have extra food, give it away to those who are hungry.” (LB)
-one way to show repentance is to show love to others. After all, it’s the love we show to others that shows our love for God.
**I John 3:17-19a -> 17If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? 18Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. 19Our actions will show that we belong to the truth. (NLT)
-this was something for everyone, the entire crowd knew they could do this. Out of our abundance give to those who are without.
-it is less than two weeks before Christmas. We who have a lot in the world, what are we spending our money on?
-last year the average person spent $431 on Christmas gifts. What’s scary, that’s half of the year before. From 1998-2006 the average person spent just under $1000 on Christmas gifts. Per person in the United States according to the American Research Group.
-I don’t know when Christmas became about what we can get or how much we can spend on people who already have enough, but is it really the way to honor Christ’s birth? Don’t get me wrong, I like presents too. But I don’t know. Lorie and I have been talking about the family gift exchange. It’s almost like we each take $20 bills and just trade them. We don’t even buy gifts any more, we buy gift cards. We have so much stuff that a gift may not be what we want or already have.
-this Christmas, why don’t we help each other. Just a thought.
**I Tim. 6:17-18 -> 17Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. (NIV)
-the first group of people, they were told to repent by sharing what they have.
THOSE MAKING MONEY TO BE HONEST
-the next group to ask John how to repent were the tax-collectors.
**Luke 3:12-13 -> 12Even tax collectors—notorious for their corruption—came to be baptized and asked, “How shall we prove to you that we have abandoned our sins?” 13“By your honesty,” he replied. “Make sure you collect no more taxes than the Roman government requires you to.” (LB)
-those who were making money repented by being honest with those they dealt with.
-realistically, tax-collectors were paid by whoever they collected the taxes for. At the time they would simply up the number and pocket the rest. If you didn’t pay the full amount they asked for, they’d not take your taxes and report you.
-now we can make this a little broader than just the tax-collectors, since we don’t really do it like that today.
-but there are lots of people in this church who sell goods and services, and they have to make a profit so they can feed their family. That’s not necessarily bad. But what if you are making more of a profit than you should, cheating the system?
-this isn’t a new thing. Amos spoke to a group of people about this:
**Amos 8:4-6 -> 4Listen to this, you who rob the poor and trample down the needy! 5You can’t wait for the Sabbath day to be over and the religious festivals to end so you can get back to cheating the helpless. You measure out grain with dishonest measures and cheat the buyer with dishonest scales. 6And you mix the grain you sell with chaff swept from the floor. Then you enslave poor people for one piece of silver or a pair of sandals. (NLT)
-these people were going to holy festivals, living as proper people of God while inside wishing the Sabbath was over so they could work again, and work at ripping people off.
-in Leviticus, God made it a law to use honest weights and measurements. If God took the time to make that a law, it must have been important to Him!
-but that’s another way we can truly live out our repentance, simply treating people fairly when it comes to money. You don’t have to be a tax-collector or a business owner to do that.
THOSE IN POWER TO BE CONTENT
-and the last group, the guards:
**Luke 3:14 -> 14“And us,” asked some soldiers, “what about us?” John replied, “Don’t extort money by threats and violence; don’t accuse anyone of what you know he didn’t do; and be content with your pay!” (LB)
-the first part, don’t extort people, I think we’d generally agree with. But what about the idea of contentment?
-that’s really what it boils down to. All this do I have enough, sharing, cheating people out of their money so I can have more, it all boils down to contentment. Are we happy with what we have and what God has provided for us?
**Phil. 4:11a-13 -> 11I have learned how to get along happily whether I have much or little. 12I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of contentment in every situation, whether it be a full stomach or hunger, plenty or want; 13for I can do everything God asks me to with the help of Christ who gives me the strength and power. (LB)
-if we have Christ, we should be able to be content with what possessions we have, even thankful for what we have because we realize there is more to life than what is in this physical world. I know that’s easier said than done in our consumer culture, but we should be content.
-John was pushing these people to change their actions when it comes to repentance, just like we need to do. There are some days it’s easier for me to be content than others, I live in the real world, but it’s by my actions I show I want to follow God and love Him.
-after all, as John also says in his speech:
3. WE NEED TO BEAR FRUIT
-the image of the tree should really ring true with us, since we just changed our church logo to be a tree. But John says the same thing Jesus says later, a tree that doesn’t produce fruit is good for nothing but firewood.
-I don’t know about you, but I don’t like the idea of being firewood. But it’s even more serious to God.
**John 15:8 -> 8When you produce much fruit, you are My true disciples. This brings great glory to My Father. (NLT)
-we are not considered disciples unless we are producing fruit.
-there are a lot of people who think they are more than grandchildren of God. They love God, they have that nice feeling inside of them. And Jesus is saying here unless there is fruit, something that is visibly seen and nourishes others, you are not a true disciple.
**Matt. 5:16 -> 16In the same way, you should be a light for other people. Live so that they will see the good things you do and will praise your Father in heaven. (NCV)
-the world needs to start seeing our love. In this time of year, a Christian holiday, a remembrance of when our Savior, True Love, entered the world, are people seeing that love? Are they experiencing it? Or are we cutting in line to get that one gift first?
-are we living as a community of healing and serving rooted in Jesus Christ? We can put that line on all our brochures, all our flyers, every bulletin, but until we are actually living it people outside these four walls are not going to notice.
-from Paul’s prayer for the Philippians:
**Phil. 1:11 -> 11May you always be doing those good, kind things that show you are a child of God, for this will bring much praise and glory to the Lord. (LB)
-we need to be doing things that show we are a child of God, that show we have His Holy Spirit of Love dwelling in us.
-so this Christmas season, listen to the words of John the Baptist. Repent. Turn back to God. I don’t know how far away you are from Him, but I know I don’t know God perfectly yet, and I never will in this life, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to quit. I’m still going to try and get as close to Him, to know Him as best I can, to be repentant and live as much as I can like His Holy Spirit is in me. I can’t rely on anyone else’s faith or actions towards God but my own, I need to be living my own repentance each day.
-go out and be beacons of God’s love, during the holiday that is meant to honor Him. Before we go and after this we’ll go into our time of personal reflective prayer, I want to close in prayer with a prayer from the Psalms.
**Ps. 92:12-15 -> 12The godly shall flourish like palm trees and grow tall as the cedars of Lebanon. 13For they are transplanted into the Lord’s own garden and are under His personal care. 14Even in old age they will still produce fruit and be vital and green. 15This honors the Lord and exhibits His faithful care. He is my shelter. There is nothing but goodness in Him! (LB)
