Pentecost and the Barren Fig Tree

Thank you very much. That was very well done. Really appreciated that.

God is certainly an awesome God. It's wonderful to be here worshiping Him today. I did want to welcome any guests that we might have with us today. I know we have the banquet for the Speech Club, so we have a number of guests coming over for Columbus and perhaps other areas. Some of you, maybe there's someone here for the very first time, we would like to welcome you here, certainly. And also those who are tuned into the webcast. Welcome.

Brother Pentecost, the Feast of Firstfruits is now only about a week away. It's actually a week from tomorrow. We recently observed the Passover, or the second Passover in a few cases. We observed the Days of Unleavened Bread. From the Sabbath, during the Days of Unleavened Bread, we were to count seven weeks. And then on the 50th day, we will keep the Day of Pentecost, which means, in Greek, count 50 Pentecost. Those 50 days are just about up, as I said, one week from tomorrow. So I have a question for you. How much spiritual fruit have you borne since keeping the spring holy days and embarking on your countdown to Pentecost? Can you measure it in bushels? In tons? I know that's a hard question. It's pretty hard to quantify. In fact, impossible to quantify.

But it's a good question to ask ourselves, are we bearing spiritual fruit? As we know, the Passover pictures our acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Savior, as our Lord, our Master, our Elder Brother, our Redeemer, our Messiah. The Days of Unleavened Bread picture Jesus Christ as the unleavened bread that nourishes and sustains us and is to spiritually live in us and aid us in putting sin out and putting righteousness into our lives. We know the Bible in Ephesians teaches that we're all created for good works, that we are God's workmanship, it says, created in Christ Jesus for producing spiritual fruit good works. So let's read that in Ephesians chapter 2. Let's go there and read it together. We'll read three verses beginning in verse 8. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8.

For if by grace, Paul says, you have not say you have been saved, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast. For we are his workmanship, you are God's workmanship, you're Christ's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. God designed us for good works, for doing those things that are good, for producing spiritual fruit. It says that we should walk in them. He's talking about the path that he wants us to take. He's given us his laws. He's given us his commandments. He's shown us how to walk. He's shown us where to go. He wants us to be able to enjoy the blessings that come through obedience and faithfulness to him, and that lead ultimately to eternal life. We simply need to yield and surrender to God. That sounds simple enough, right? You just need to yield and surrender. That's not so easy. That's a process, but that is exactly what we need to do because we need to allow Christ to live in us by the power of his Holy Spirit. So today, I want to go to a parable that Jesus Christ used to teach the vital importance of producing good works, the vital importance of producing a good spiritual harvest, good spiritual fruit. Just what lessons should we learn from taking a look at the parable of the barren fig tree? How does this all also relate to the meaning of the Day of Pentecost? I'm sure you've heard sermons about this parable. I'd like to tie it in a little bit more to the Day of Pentecost today. So how familiar are you with the parable of the barren fig tree? You no doubt remember reading it. It is easy to read right over this parable and not seriously think of the consequences and the implications of not learning the meaning of this parable. So let's go to Luke 13. Luke 13 and we'll read this parable beginning in verse 6. Luke 13.

He Christ also spoke this parable. A certain man had a fig tree. He had it planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it, and he found none. Now you wouldn't think that he came the next month expecting there to be fruit. He likely waited until maybe even three years until there was a likelihood that there would be fruit. I googled this so I know that it's three to five years for a fig tree. Not exactly sure, but it says three to five years. That's when you can expect a fig tree to begin producing fruit. So it may be that he waited for three years and then he started checking the tree. We don't know for sure. It could have been the third year. He started checking it and wasn't happy that there was no fruit that very first year, or he could have been looking at the fourth and the fifth year, and maybe it was the sixth year by the time he saw no fruit. So you know, we can't be sure about that. But getting back to the parable, a certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, look for three years I have come seeking fruit. Again, I doubt whether he came the first year because normally there's no fruit. But he came seeking fruit on this fig tree and found none. Cut it down. Why does it use up the ground? He felt like he had waited long enough. He was in it to make a profit or to have some fruit anyway. He wanted some return on his investment. Verse 8, But he answered and said to him, that is the keeper answered and said to him, Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. He really wanted one more chance. The keeper of the fig tree wasn't giving up easily. He wanted one more chance. Give me another year. Let me really go out of my way as never before. Not that he wasn't taking good care of it. No doubt he was. But he wanted one last chance to help fertilize it and see if it would start producing fruit. And if it bears fruit, well, but if not, after that you can cut it down. So he also realized that there comes a time when it has to be cut down. So it wasn't bearing physical figs. So cut it down and burn it. There comes a time.

So obviously, this is not all about physical figs, is it? This is a parable to teach us spiritual lessons. So the implication is clear. He's talking about us. He's talking about those he calls, those he chooses. Are they bearing fruit? Are they like a good fig tree that bears fruit in season the way it's supposed to? Or are they not producing fruit? The implication is, if they don't produce fruit, figs, then eventually we cut it down, or in this case, the person who does not produce fruit into the lake of fire. Is that what Jesus wants us to learn?

Perhaps that seems harsh, but it seems pretty clear that that is the lesson. One of the fundamental principles of Bible study is to take a look at the context. So let's go back to verse 1 and read the context. What happens prior to this? Luke 13. There were present at that season some who told Jesus Christ about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. Pilate was not a good person. He murdered people. He mingled their blood with sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them, Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered such things?

I tell you no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. So he's saying that they were no worse than anyone else to some degree because we all have to repent. And then he goes on, he says, Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all the other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? Or was it just time and chance that the tower fell when they happened to be nearby?

I tell you no, they were not worse sinners, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. So the message seems to be pretty clear. Jesus is saying that we all need to repent and bear fruit. We need to produce spiritual fruit, good fruit.

So clearly repentance is key here and is the context in which Christ gives this parable. What type of repentance are we talking about? Well, many biblical scholars point out that this is likely referring to God's dealing with the nation of Israel, and that could well be, at least partially. He's saying that if the nation of Israel doesn't accept Jesus Christ as Messiah, as Savior, then they will be destroyed as a nation.

Well, we know that it wasn't long before 70 AD came around. The temple was destroyed, and the nation was basically destroyed as well, scattered, never fully recovered, and has been in disarray all these years. So there may be some fulfillment in regard to a national way, but I think we would all agree that this parable is clearly also addressing the individual sins of the people of God.

People that God is calling out to become holy, even as I am holy, as the sermonette brought out, that is our goal. That's what God wants for us, to become holy as He is holy. So undoubtedly it's addressing also the individual sins and also the individual fruits of the people of God. All must repent or they will perish. He's pointing out that there's one tree, perhaps among many trees, that was not bearing fruit.

The others that were bearing good fruit were fine. You know, they were in good shape, but it was this one tree that was not bearing fruit. So what are the basic elements of this parable? What lessons may we learn from the parable?

Lesson number one. When God extends privileges, He does expect returns. When God extends privileges, He does expect returns. Like the owner, he picked this nice fig tree, planted it in good soil. He invested in the tree. It was in good shape when he bought it. He planted it in good soil. It was given good care by the keeper. It should have produced good fruit. There was no good reason why it was not producing good fruit. That's what the owner of the vineyard expected. He expected the tree to bear good fruit.

That's why it was planted in the first place. When God calls us, He expects us to produce good fruit. He wants us to flourish. He wants us to thrive spiritually, and He gives us the tools to do that. He gives us everything that we need to produce good spiritual fruit. There's an interesting parable in the book of Isaiah, which has quite a bit to do with what we're reading here and talking about today.

Let's go to Isaiah chapter 5, where we consider this parable and how it applies to some degree to what we've just read. Let me sing to my well beloved a song of my beloved regarding his vineyard. So this is God's vineyard. My well beloved has a vineyard on a very fruitful hill. He dug it up and cleared out its stones and planted it with a choicest vine.

He built a tower in its midst and also made a winepress in it, because He was expecting good grapes and good wine to flow from those choice vines. So He expected it to bring forth good grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes.

It didn't bring the type of grapes, the type of fruit He was expecting at all, but these wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, please, between me and my vineyard. What more could have been done to my vineyard, that I have not done in it?

The fault was not God's. The fault was not the owner of the vineyard. The fault had to do with the people, with the vine. What more could have been done, that I have not done? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes? And now, please, let me tell you what I will do to my vineyard. It is His vineyard. He has the right to do with it what He chooses. What will I do with my vineyard? I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned. And I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.

I will lay it waste. It shall not be pruned or dug. But there shall come up briars and thorns. I will also command the clouds, that they reign no rain on it. God has that power. He can do that. He's not happy with His vineyard. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel. Okay, so now we're talking about the house of Israel. Pretty clear. And the men of Judah are His pleasant plant.

God planted Israel and planted Judah. They were to be a chosen nation, a special people. They were to be a light to the Gentiles, a light to the world. That was what God was expecting of them. The point is, they could have done better than they actually did. Sometimes I think we make excuses for them.

They could have done better than they did. Yes, they were carnal, but they didn't have to be that carnal. They didn't have to go to the excesses that they did. They didn't have to go so far down the wrong path when they had a God who revealed Himself to them. So the children of Israel really blew it, you might say.

He looked for justice, but behold, He saw oppression from His people. He looked for righteousness, but behold, a cry for help. You know, a people that weren't, instead of accomplishing and producing fruit, you know, they were helpless, basically. They weren't applying themselves. They weren't doing what they should have done. And so God was not happy with this model nation. And we know that eventually, after many years, the house of Israel first went into captivity to the Assyrians. And then later, the house of Judah went into captivity to the Babylonians. And God had had enough. And time after time, He had forgiven them. Time after time, He had raised up a different king. Sometimes there were some good kings, but they were few and far between. And the people did not follow God. And so they reaped what they had sown. And that is a lesson. That is a law that we can never escape, the law of sowing and reaping. We reaped what we sow. And if you sow bad seed, you're going to reap a bad crop. If you sow good seed, then there will be tremendous blessings that come along with that. So that's an axiomatic law that God has put in motion. Whether you're in the church or out of the church, there's much truth to reaping what you've sown. So let's go now to John chapter 15. And as we consider what Christ says in John 15, and this is something that we read every year at the Passover. So it's a passage of scriptures that we're quite familiar with. In John chapter 15 verse 1, Christ says, I am the true vine and my father is the vine dresser. So see a lot of parallels between what we've already read. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away. In every branch that bears fruit, he prunes that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you, abide in me, and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. So there comes a time when we have to learn to abide in Christ, or to allow Christ to live in us, to do the works in us that he's called us to do. I am the vine and you are the branches, he who abides in me, and I in him bears much fruit, for without me you can do nothing. That's a very important lesson to learn. Without Christ living in us, we can really do nothing that's lasting, nothing that really is all that worthwhile. But when Christ lives in us and does the work in us and through us, that is something that will last for an eternity. If anyone does not abide in me, verse 6, he is cast out as a branch, and is withered, and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. Verse 7, If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this my father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, so you will be my disciples. It's pretty clear that God wants us to bear spiritual fruit. He really wants us to understand that a major part of our calling is to bear that spiritual fruit that He expects in us, just like He expected His vineyard to come up with good grapes or good figs. God wants us to produce spiritual fruit. What kind of return is God getting on His investment in you? We might ask ourselves that. What kind of investment? How much fruit are we producing? Is it tons of fruit? Bushels of fruit? Maybe a little grape or two?

Obviously, this is something that you and God have to wrestle with, and try to get some sense of how you're doing. God certainly loves you, and He's there for you, and He will help you produce more fruit. He will help you produce fruit in an abundance. We must realize that we don't have forever to repent and change. Sometimes enough is enough. We don't have forever. Israel and Judah didn't have forever. Sometimes, I think, they thought they did, but they didn't. They always felt like they were God's chosen nation. That they would always thrive. God would exalt them and bring them up. But they've been pretty unexalted for a long time now.

They've gone by the wayside in many ways.

So, enough was enough. God is still, of course, not done with Israel. God is still merciful. God will bring them back. They will thrive once again, as we know. The millennial scriptures talk about that, about that happening, and people will flow to Jerusalem. The law will go forth out of Zion. It's going to be a beautiful time when God restores Israel and Judah to their rightful place.

But they've reaped a lot of bad consequences along the way.

So, we must realize, too, that we don't have forever to repent and change. Now, we don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. Time and chance could happen to us. The Tower of Siloam could fall on us. We don't know what's going to happen next. So, it does behoove us to always be right with God, to always be close to God, to always be producing the fruit of God's Holy Spirit. If we repent and change, if we've been off the track to some degree, if we repent and change and we start producing good fruit and continue to do so, then God will give us, grant us, His kingdom for sure. But we don't have forever to begin producing good fruit. If we're not producing much now, certainly we're in jeopardy. Now, let me just say that you're here today, so you are producing some good fruit. It's a good work to observe God's Sabbath day, to congregate, to assemble, to be here together. So, I know you're doing that much, and I'm quite sure you're doing a whole lot more than that.

God is producing fruit in you, and we can all be grateful that God is doing that. You know, God loves every one of us. We love Him. We're striving to do our very best. You know, some of us have been in the church a long, long time. Some of us not as long, but we all are in this together. And God loves us all. We're all His vineyard. We're all His orchard. And God will produce good fruit in us. And we're going to talk about some hard stuff today, but there will also be some great encouragement that comes out of all this. This is our day of salvation. You know, God has granted us His Holy Spirit. And those of you who are not yet baptized, it is your day of salvation, too. God is opening the door for you. If you will open the door, if you'll walk in, if you'll repent of your sins, if you'll be baptized, have hands laid on you, then you will also be sanctified, set apart, made holy in that sense. Not that you're perfect. We're not perfect. That was made clear in the Sermon at, but sanctified for a divine purpose. You know, God's calling. We can be that chosen people now. We are a special people, a chosen people, a holy people. And frankly, we are much different than the children of Israel. We are much different. You know, when I look around and see all of you and think about the Church of God for the last 70 years, a lot of faithful people have given themselves to God, dedicated their lives to God, and are still continuing to dedicate their lives to God. This is the most important thing in the week, being here together, assembling together. And then every day we go to God. We pray to God. We consider the example that we set each and every day of our lives. That's all good spiritual fruit that you are producing. Every day when you go to God and you look to Him for His guidance, for His direction, you are producing good fruit. Every time you kneel down to pray, you're producing good fruit. Every time you decide you're going to fast, you're producing wonderful spiritual fruit. It's making you stronger, more faithful, more dedicated. These are all fruits that God wants us to continue to produce on a genuine basis, on a regular basis. Also, our children. When you take care of children, you're producing fruit. You love them. You care for them. You take care of them. Some of you have reared several children. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears over the years. That's all good fruit. You've tried to do the right thing. You've wanted to do the right thing. No matter what direction those children decided ultimately to go, you have been trying to give it your very best. And that's a good thing. That's wonderful. We should keep doing that. When we fall short, what are we supposed to do? What does the Scripture tell us? Repent. Repent. When God makes it clear to you and you understand that you have sinned, then you need to repent. Ask God to give you understanding, to grant you repentance, to help you see your sins so that you can put those behind you. Christ told the woman, taking an adultery, go and sin no more. That's what God wants for us. He wants us to do the right thing. He wants us to repent and move on from there and do the right thing and produce good fruit.

So again, this is our day of salvation. God granted us His Spirit at our baptism, and we are to stir up that Spirit to produce good spiritual fruit on a daily basis. It is something that we should be doing every day and not neglecting a single day. The Bible says to redeem the time. The time is precious. We need to use the time and utilize it wisely. We should not become weary and well-doing, but continue to do well because that's producing spiritual fruit. Good fruit. Abraham Lincoln was once quoted as saying, Die when I may. I want it said of me that I plucked a weed and planted a flower wherever I thought a flower would grow.

The point is that we are to produce something good wherever we go. No, we are to look for the good that we can do no matter where we are. Every day as we go about our everyday lives, what is it we can do? If we can help a neighbor, we help them, right? We go out of our way. We sacrifice a little bit of ourselves knowing that God loves all people, and God is eventually going to call everyone. Eventually, we will be brothers and sisters in Christ. So we help no matter where we are. We try to make things better. We plant a flower wherever we can.

So we produce good fruit wherever we go. Now, the first point, again, when God extends privileges, He does expect returns. There is no greater privilege than being called now. This is the greatest privilege that I can think of. Can you think of anything better? Anything greater than having an opportunity to know who God is and who Jesus Christ is, to be called out of the world, to be given truth and understanding? This is a great privilege. But God does expect a return, and rightly so. Second point, second lesson, God is extremely patient. We already said that, but He does expect results, and we don't have forever to repent and change. Again, we talked about that already to some degree. Let's talk about it a little bit more. The owner of the vineyard, God the Father, wants in this parable to cut down the tree. But He is persuaded by the keeper of the vineyard, His Son, Jesus Christ, to give the fig tree one more year to produce fruit. Jesus Christ is our intercessor. Jesus Christ came and was born of flesh. The Bible says He was tempted in every point as we are, yet He was without sin. So He surely knows how to overcome, unlike any of us, because all of us have succumbed to sin. Jesus Christ is the only one who has not that has ever been human. So Christ is the one that we look to. He's our intercessor. He intercedes for us. He pleads our case before the Father. The Father listens. The Father loves and respects His Son. And Christ understands our struggles. He understands our weaknesses, our frailties. He understands why it's so difficult. Jesus Christ was conceived of the Holy Spirit. He knows none of us were conceived of the Holy Spirit. Yet He was also flesh. So He understands the weakness part. And He realizes we don't have the strength. We don't have the same strength that Jesus Christ had. We fall short. We fall short of God's glory. We all do. But we have an intercessor. We have Jesus Christ. And He wants to see us produce fruit. And He will work with us. He will nurture us. He will live in us. He will motivate us, guide us, direct us, and help us produce spiritual fruit as long as we allow Him to. As long as we want Him to. As long as we ask. It says, Ask and you shall receive. Knock and the door will be opened. Jesus Christ will come in. He will answer that knock. And He will help you produce fruit. And the Father will forgive our sins. God will forgive our sins when we have Jesus Christ going to bat for us. He's on our behalf. And God will look at our hearts. And He will see that we do want to be like Him. So He will grant us repentance for our sins. And He will help us be stronger so that we can produce more fruit and so that we can grow closer and closer to God and to Jesus Christ. Here we see the Father and Son working together to give this person every opportunity to produce fruit. Jesus Christ is our Intercessor and He works with the Father to procure that forgiveness for our sins. They work together for us on our behalf. They give us more time, but we must never take time for granted because we don't know how much time we have. We don't know. So again, it behooves us, obviously, to do the right thing, to choose God and to choose life.

The fig tree had only taken of the nutrients in the soil. You might say it was selfish. Just took things. Never really gave anything back. Took the soil, took the sunshine, took the rain, but it was producing nothing of real value. God was patient with His children, the children of Israel. He was patient in the wilderness. He was patient during the period of the Judges. He was patient during the reign of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah. But eventually, they were all taken captive by their enemies because they would not repent. They would not follow God and His law and live righteously. They were so far off the track, they refused to bear good fruit, and they were on a wide path that was leading them to destruction. They didn't choose the narrow path. They didn't have to be perfect.

How much more would God have poured out His Spirit on them had they just done some fundamental things?

But they were into Sabbath-breaking. They were into idolatry. They were into committing sexual immorality, blatantly, at times. It's no wonder that God finally had had enough. He wasn't going to put up with that any longer. In 2 Peter chapter 3, let's go to 2 Peter chapter 3, and we'll see what God's will is. What is truly God's will for you and God's will for me? Does He want to cast us into the lake of fire? Is that His will? Is that His desire? Obviously not. We know that for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever should believe in Him and obey Him and follow Him should not perish, but should have everlasting life. So it wouldn't make sense that God wants to cast us into the lake of fire. Yeah, there's no sense in that. So in 2 Peter chapter 3, Peter says to people very much like you and me, to God's people, he says to them in 2 Peter chapter 3, beginning in verse 9, he says, The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but He is long suffering toward us. He's very patient toward us. He puts up with us. No doubt we try His patience, but He's long suffering toward us, not willing, not willing that any should perish. That's God's will. He doesn't want any of us to perish. He wants every single one of us to go into His kingdom. That's the God that we serve. That is His desire. That is His will. In some ways, you have to try pretty hard not to be in the kingdom of God, because it's His will to give us His kingdom. That's His desire.

He's not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. There's that repentance again. He still expects us to repent. He expects us to grow spiritually. He expects us to produce spiritual fruit in abundance. That's what God expects. That all should come to repentance. He says, But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat. Both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Now, we know that this isn't going to happen immediately at Christ's return. We know there's going to be a thousand-year period where Christ is going to reign and rule. There will be a time of a great white throne judgment. And then we know that new heavens and the new earth will come. So we have to put this into perspective here. Verse 11, it says, Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved eventually, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness now during the time of your calling? What manner of persons ought you be in holy conduct? Now, realizing that there comes a time when those who refuse to repent will be cast into a lake of fire, and they will become no more. So what type of person should we be? God tells us in his word what kind of people he wants us to be. And notice he says how you ought to be in holy conduct, what was talked about in the sermonette, holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God. Now, I will say that I've seen many of you who do behave in a godly manner. You do behave as though you were holy.

I believe that. I believe that you are people of God who love God and want to become like him. So we can be grateful that we have such a wonderful loving God that puts us all together like this. We have people of like mind. We can help each other. We can help each other grow. We can develop as Christians. And we can know that God desires to give us his kingdom. And he will give us his kingdom. But we do need to realize when we sin, we must repent. That means we have to get our heart right. Because we can't repent on our own, can we? Repentance comes from God. It's not something that we work up on our own. No, it's a gift from God. But God looks at one's heart. How desperately do you want to obey God? How desperately do you want to please God? That's what God's looking for. Someone who really wants to be like him and is willing to surrender himself and yield himself and allow himself to allow Christ in. Let Christ live in you. He is the hope of glory. That's how you will be glorified. Only if you allow Christ to live in you. He does the works through us and in us. You know, Christ is our Savior. He's the Messiah. We need to let him work in us to do these works and not cling to our own understanding or to ourselves. So we should be holy in conduct, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God. Verse 12, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat. Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth. We understand what's coming. We have much to look forward to, a new heaven and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. I'm longing for the day when righteousness is in all of us. When we will no longer be shackled by carnality. We'll no longer be held down. You know, Paul said, O wretched man that I am, who's going to deliver me from this body of death? He said, I thank God through Jesus Christ, my Lord. That's how I will have victory over sin. That's how God will give us his kingdom. So let's go on. Righteousness will dwell. Therefore, beloved, looking forward, verse 14, to these things, be diligent to be found by him in peace, without spot and blameless, and consider that the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation. If we just continue to do the very best we know how with God's help, and when we blow it, we know how to do it. When we blow it, we ask God to forgive us and help us to go and sin no more. There is no limit to God's forgiveness as long as he sees a repentant heart, a repentant mind.

Consider that the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation, as also our beloved Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you. Paul was very frank. Paul was real. Paul was genuine. Oh, wretched man that I am. That's what he said. He said he was a wretched person. I'm glad he put that in there. I can identify with that. I hope you can identify with that as well.

So the second principle, the second lesson, is God is extremely patient, but he does expect results, and we don't have forever to repent and change. Thirdly, another lesson, and again we've talked about all these lessons to some degree, those who remain unfruitful will be cut off. Now if we remain unfruitful, after all that we've talked about, the great calling that we have, the awesome calling, if we neglect such a great calling, then there is the lake of fire that is for those who will continually neglect. You know, David was concerned that God would take the Holy Spirit from him. Finally, it took a while, finally he repented of his sin with Bathsheba and his sin with Uriah the Hittite. Finally, he repented, and he was concerned that God, he pleaded that God would not take the Holy Spirit away from him, because once you've been enlightened by the Spirit and is taken away from you, then there is no turning back. So it is essential that we stay faithful to our calling and to God's Spirit. The keeper, Jesus Christ, agrees after having another year and still not producing good fruit, then it is time to cut the tree down. He agreed that, you know, the Father agreed too. Let's give it some more time. But at the end of that time, enough is enough. And if there's no fruit, we cut that off.

So the central lesson in Christ's teaching is clear, and it's rather brutal in a sense, repent or die. Repent or eventually die.

Change your ways, if necessary, and produce fruit. Produce good fruit, produce an abundance of fruit. And of course, when we talk about fruit, we're talking about the fruit of God's Spirit, right? And you do this every day, you know, right? Love, joy. There are acts of love, I'm sure, that you are producing as you go throughout the day. There are things that you do for your wife, or your husband, or your child, or your father, or your mother, and you are producing certain fruit. And God's Spirit can work with children. God's Spirit does work with children, even though the Spirit may not be dwelling in them. We still have access to God's Spirit. We're called and chosen. We're sanctified by our parents. And so we can grow, and we can do these good works. And God wants us to do these things. In Luke chapter 13, it does have a stark example here. Luke chapter 13 verse 22, it talks about the fact that not everyone will enter God's kingdom. There will be some who will choose because of their unwillingness to repent. Because of their unwillingness to change. Because of their continued neglect. Luke chapter 13 verse 22. And Jesus went through the cities and villages teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. Then one said to him, Lord, are there few who are saved? And he said to them, Strive to enter through the narrow gate. That's a good question that he asked Jesus. Strive to enter through the narrow gate. For many I say to you will seek to enter and will not be able when once the master of the house has risen up and shut the door and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open for us. And he will answer and say to you, I do not know you where you are from. Then you will begin to say, well, we ate and drank in your presence and you taught in our streets. But he will say, I tell you, I do not know you where you are from. I don't know where you're from. Depart from me all you workers of iniquity.

In another place, he said, How be it in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men? No, they were not willing to obey God and follow Christ. He says there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and yourselves thrust out. They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south. They will sit down in the kingdom of God. And indeed, there are last who we first and there are the first who will be last. Now, these are words for us today as well, up until Christ returns. God is continuing to call people now and he will call many later on. Now is the day of salvation for some of us. In Romans 11, Paul warned the Gentile Christians that they would be cut off if they didn't remain faithful. Let's go there and consider what Paul says here in Romans 11. We see a consistent theme throughout the Bible. Romans 11, God is not a respecter of persons. You know, God treats everyone ultimately in the same manner. He's not a respecter of persons. Everyone will have an opportunity to know him, to repent of their sins, to embrace him, to allow Christ to live in their lives, or they'll have an opportunity to disregard that calling and to neglect such a great and wonderful calling. In Romans 11, Romans 11, verse 19, you will say then, branches were broken off that I might be grafted in. So Paul is talking about the fact that the Jewish or the Israelite-ish people, the house of Israel, the house of Jacob, they failed. It says the branches were broken off that I might be grafted in. You will say that. He's talking to the Gentiles in Rome here. He says, well said, because of the unbelief of God's chosen people. They did not have faith. They did not trust in God. Even though God miraculously showed himself on many, many occasions, they still refused to embrace God. He says, because of unbelief, they were broken off and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty. Do not be prideful. Be humble and fear. Have a right fear of God. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he may not spare you either. He's no respecter of persons, whether of Israel or Gentile. We're all the same before God. Therefore, consider the goodness and severity of God. There's a goodness, but there's also a severity at a point. To a point, you know, God is not mocked.

You cannot mock the Creator. No one can get away with that. He says, consider the goodness and severity of God on those who fell severity, but toward you goodness. He's talking about those he's called out now. He's given you goodness. He's called you out of this world and chosen you and given you every good gift. Every wonderful and good gift comes from God. He's given us so much. We should be grateful and thankful for all that. It should motivate us to produce good fruit, wonderful fruit. So how we treat one another, how we take care of each other is so important. We show our love for each other by the way we treat each other, by the things that we do. But the things that we say, there's no small thing. You know, how you treat a child is very, very important. You need to treat them with love and with respect and be gentle and kind toward them. Set that example for them. He says, if you continue in his goodness, otherwise you also will be cut off. Again, we're supposed to produce good fruit. And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in. If they become faithful and believe, for God is able to graft them in again. God can save anyone. He can save everyone. God is not willing that any should perish. But God does not force people. We are free moral agents. We choose. You choose. I choose. Let us choose wisely. And then final scripture, Hebrews 6. Hebrews 6, verse 4.

For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened. It's talking about being enlightened by the Holy Spirit, being sealed by the Holy Spirit of God at baptism, having hands laid on you and receiving the Holy Spirit of God. It is impossible for those who were once enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come if they fall away.

So that says it's possible. It shows it is possible to fall away. Even if you receive God's Holy Spirit, it is possible. If they fall away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance. Since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God. Now God gives us every chance to repent. God gives us multiple chances to repent, to show that we love Him. You know, He's not going to take the Spirit away from someone like that. He's going to look at your heart. He's going to see that you have a repentant heart. He's going to grant you repentance. The Holy Spirit is intact and you will be a part of the firstfruits born into the family of God. Very few, I would hope, and I personally believe, I don't know that many will actually be enlightened and then have that Spirit taken from them. The indication is that some will go to that extreme. Hopefully very few. I would imagine many who were baptized were never received God's Holy Spirit in the first place. They were never truly enlightened or it would not have been so easy for them to leave us. But you know, God's the judge of all that. But getting back to Hebrews chapter 6, For if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put him to an open shame. We must not take Christ lightly. One of the questions we ask is, have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, as the Messiah? We say yes. We need to mean that and to stick with that and never turn away from God or from Christ. For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and briars, it is rejected. God gives the rain. God gives the good soil. God gives everything. But if you choose to be a bramble, to be a briar, then you are cursed, whose end is to be burned. But notice verse 9, But, beloved, we are confident. Yes, the Scriptures do speak about hard things. But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you. Yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. Yes, ministers are to speak in this manner. We're not to get up here and speak smooth things. We are to challenge you and help you grow and help you overcome. For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love, which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints and do minister. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, that you do not become negligent, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. We should set a good example, all of us, for each other. We all need to set that example so that we can all go into God's kingdom together and not become sluggish, and not become weary in well-doing, and not be in jeopardy of God ever taking His Spirit away from us.

Like David, if we ever do, and we will to some degree, I mean, most of us probably have problems with the Spirit of the law rather than the letter of the law. Hopefully, we're not blatantly sinning in the letter of the law, although some do that as well. But it's a struggle with the Spirit of the law that should be our main battleground, producing the fruit of God's Holy Spirit, again, showing love and joy and peace and kindness and goodness and patience and meekness, humility. Those are the fruits that God wants us to produce as His called out ones.

So let us remain faithful, bearing fruit, bearing good fruit. And then I have a fourth point very quickly. Those who produce spiritual fruit, showing their repentance, have nothing at all to fear. We have nothing to fear, yes, of proper respect of God, but other than that, we don't need to fear any man. We don't need to be afraid. I know some people, you know, they tend to be more discouraged and more depressed than others. I have my own issues, but that is typically not an issue for me. I'm not usually one who's depressed. I'm not usually one who's discouraged for long anyway. But I have other issues, but I really feel for those who are discouraged. I never want a sermon like this to discourage you, because God is with you and you are producing good fruit. You've been producing, many of you, fruit for years and years and years, but you may have an issue with discouragement and with depression that weighs you down at times. But know that God is with you through the depression. He's with you through the discouragement. And if you need help from any of us, please count on us to help you as well to encourage you to lift you up, because your struggles are no worse than my struggles. You know, I've known people that have been very discouraged. I'm sensitive to giving a sermon like this because I don't want to discourage people into thinking they're not growing spiritually. Look, the vast majority of us, maybe every single one of us in this room, is growing spiritually, and God is well pleased with his sons and with his daughters. And that's a wonderful thing. We have nothing to fear. We are saved by God's grace, and God rewards us because of our faithfulness, because we do overcome, we do grow, and when we stumble, we get back up, and we keep fighting the good fight. So, brother, now is the time to repent. Now is always the time to repent. Whenever we sin, it's the time to repent. It is the time to produce good fruit, showing our repentance. Anyone who takes these lessons lightly, these four lessons we've talked about and continue to put off their spiritual growth, may one day find themselves in dire straits in the days ahead if they don't take to heart these things. We are the first fruits. We do need to produce good spiritual fruit. So let us be wise, and let us be faithful, and let us not fear. Let us know that God loves us, and it is his desire to give us his kingdom. And he will give us his kingdom. So as we approach the day of Pentecost, the day when God's Spirit is given, the day when the New Testament church was raised up, let us take heart and let us learn the lessons of the parable of the barren fig tree.