Bible Materials

PRODUCE FRUIT IN KEEPING WITH REPENTANCE

by   08/01/2009   Matthew 3:1~12

Message


Thank God for blessing our 2009 Canadian SBC so abundantly. We could see that the Holy Spirit was working in us revealing the words of God and showing us his beautiful work in the lives of his people. We could know Christ better and have hope and vision for our lives and for our nation Canada. In truth Christ is the life and hope for us and for the world. In today’s passage John the Baptist came as the forerunner of Jesus and preached the message of the kingdom of heaven. Many people came and were baptized. He introduced to them Jesus, who would baptize with the Holy Spirit. Especially he said, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” The point of all human activities is to bear fruit. Life should be fruit-bearing. May we learn how to produce fruit. First, prepare the way for the Lord (3:1-7). Look at verses 1. “In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea.” As we studied, this was a time when Israel was under the power of Roman Emperor Tiberius Caesar, and Pontius Pilate ruled Judea and Herod tetrarch, Galilee (Lk 3:1). People were suffering in poverty and fear under the godless and cruel ruling. Their lives were so engrossed by day to day life. They were hopeless and their hearts were dry like a parched land. Then John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea. His message was, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” What a beautiful message in the hopeless world! The message of the kingdom of heaven was like oasis in the desert. Moses said at the end of his life, “Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants” (Dt 32:2). The kingdoms of this world are not all about the people on the earth. There is the kingdom of heaven. All the earthly kingdoms are temporal, having come and gone, but the kingdom of heaven is growing steadily and forever. Although we live in this world we can taste the kingdom of heaven. At the conference we felt that we were in the kingdom of heaven. One condition for the kingdom of heaven is repentance. Repentance is to recognize one’s sin, big or small, and turn one’s heart to God. A repentant heart is beautiful. There are two kinds of people, repentant or unrepentant. Cain was a representative of unrepentant sinners. He was unrepentant to the end of his life. So was Saul. But David was repentant and contrite and broken-hearted at his sin. Abraham repented of his going down to Egypt in the time of famine out of his calculation and failing in his early life of faith. He built an altar of repentance when he came to back to the land of Canaan, God’s promised land. He could renew his faith and hope in God. God blesses repentant hearts. Look at verse 3. “This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: ‘A voice of one calling in the desert, “Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.”’” In writing about John preaching in the Desert of Judea, the author Matthew was reminded of the words of Isaiah the prophet, and could see that John was the fulfillment of Isaiah 40:3. John came to prepare the way for the Lord. He prepared the way for the Lord as a voice of one calling in the desert by preaching the message of repentance and hope of the kingdom of heaven. Here we see that the work of the Lord needs preparation. Preparation is important for every work, but much more for the work of the Lord. Our God is the God of preparation. He prepared for the coming of the Messiah thousands of years. God prepared one man Abraham for 25 years to raise him up as an ancestor of faith. He prepared Moses through 40 years of wilderness training to be a deliverer of Israelites from Egypt. He prepared David through letting him undergo much suffering so as to make him a shepherd-like king of Israel, who would be the shadow of the Messiah. God prepared prophets, major and minor, to speak the words of God to the people of Israel for the coming of the Messiah. God prepared the people of Israel through human history so that the Lord Jesus would come as a historical figure in the specific land. Finally, he sent John the Baptist as the fore-runner to prepare the way for the Lord. We saw God’s abundant blessing upon our 2009 Canadian SBC. It was because we all prepared together with much prayer and heart dedication and labour. We thank God that he accepted all our preparation and blessed my opening message, Sara’s and M. David’s symposium messages, Rebekah’s short life-testimony and presiding, chorus, Hand Mime participation and orchestra participation, leading GBS, raising prayer servants, and power-point presentation serving. We should learn preparation spirit for the work of the Lord and our own work also. We are going to have Genesis Bible Academy in the following week after club orientation for freshmen. May we prepare this with earnest and much prayer and all our hearts and strength so that we may see the powerful work of the Lord through it. The best way to prepare for the Lord is repentance. Look at verse 4. “John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.” Why are these seemingly trivial things written? What is the importance of John’s diet and clothes? His way of clothing with a leather belt around his waist reminds us of Elijah the prophet (2 Kings 1:8). John the Baptist came in the power and spirit of Elijah (Lk 1:17). Also, we can say that because of his simple life-style centred on mission he could be powerful in spirit. He was one who truly ate and wore for his mission and thus for the glory of God. This was also a part of preparing the way for the Lord. When John centred his life on God’s mission, what happened? Look at verses 5 and 6. “People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.” God worked powerfully through him, a man of God’s mission. Second, produce fruit in keeping with repentance (7-12). Look at verses 7-8. “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” What a fiery rebuke! This is one of the most severe rebukes in the Bible. We remember the risen Jesus’ censure to the church in Sardis, “…you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die…” We also remember Jesus’ rebuke to the church in Laodicea, “…you are neither hot nor cold…because you are lukewarm…I am about to spit you out of my mouth…be earnest and repent…” John’s rebuke was for their pride and unfruitfulness. He said, “And do not think you can say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” It is good to repent, recognizing our sins. But repentance should go further. One’s repentance must be proved in life (“Therefore produce fruit that proves your repentance”: Net). John said, “Produce fruit in repentance.” There should be evidence of repentance by fruit-bearing. Verse 10 says, “The ax is already at the root of the trees and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” There is God’s judgment for all the unfruitful trees of life. Life is not just to go freely. Life demands fruit. This is God’s creation truth. After God’s creating man in his image, he said as blessing, “Be fruitful and increase in number: fill the earth …” Life is to bear fruit and it is God’s blessing. But fruit-bearing life is not natural. It requires much effort. This effort, however, is not outward but inward. John said, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” And we learn one secret of bearing fruit. It is to keep with repentance. True and constant repentance brings fruit in life. The way to keep with repentance is through hearing his words constantly. We heard from Shepherd Kang to what degree we should struggle with God’s word. He explained well the meaning of Revelation 10:10, “I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour.” When we hear God’s word, at first it is very sweet. So many say, “I received much grace. “ However, when we try to digest the word and put it into practice through obedience, it becomes sour to us. The way to overcome sourness is to increase sweetness by deep testimony writing and constant meditation on God’s word (Ps 1:2). Matthew wrote about good soil that produces fruit in chapter 13: “…the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown” (Mt 13:23). To Matthew understanding the word is critical and one who understands God’s word bears fruit. Luke wrote about good soil this way: “But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it and by persevering produce a crop.” (Lk 8:15). As for Luke, retaining the word with perseverance is the way to become good heart soil that produces a crop. The point of hearing God’s word or studying the Bible is to bear fruit in life: “Produce fruit in keeping repentance.” For repentance and bearing fruit God’s word is the tool. Matthew gives us the impression that he was an accurate and thorough person. He could see how in detail he wrote about Jesus’ childhood in the connection of the fulfillment of God’s prophecies: “Out of Egypt I called my son…A voice is heard in Ramah…Rachel weeping for her children…He will be called a Nazarene.” As for him one’s repentance and change must be very clear. His life testified to it. He was a selfish tax collector. But when Jesus called him saying, “Follow me”, he accepted the calling with a clear decision. Then as the expression of his repentance of his selfish life, he opened his house and invited Jesus and all his old and new friends and had joyful fellowship with them, which he never did before. He wrote Jesus’ words in Matthew 18:3, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” May God have mercy on us to produce fruit in keeping with repentance. Look at verses 11. “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” At that time John was so powerful that he was thought to be the Christ. But John knew who he was before God. He said that he was so lowly compared to Jesus that he would not be even fit to carry Jesus’ sandals, meaning he could not be even his servant. Then he introduces Jesus as one who baptizes people with the Holy Spirit and fire. In the Old Testament Jesus’ first coming and second coming was depicted together: the first coming as the Saviour and the second coming, as the Judge. Verse 12 says, “His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Matthew wrote clearly about the judgment in his gospel. At the end of the world there will be a final judgment. He wrote about the fishermen collecting the good fish in baskets but throwing the bad away. Then Matthew 13:49-50 says, “This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Again Matthew wrote in 25:31-33, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on the throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.” The judgment is unambiguous. Jesus is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. How good the Holy Spirit is! Jesus baptizes repentant hearts with the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:22 says, “…the fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Seeing fruit is our joy of life. When we saw some good fruit in our conference, we were very joyful and thankful to God. May God depend on Jesus and be closely connected with him so that we can bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our personal lives and God’s ministry. In this passage we learn that we should prepare the way for the Lord and produce fruit in keeping repentance, especially the fruit of the Holy Spirit. May God bless us.



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