Luke 6:43-49

Instead of trying to figure out why maybe he didn’t really mean what he said, we looked at how we can only obey such a seemingly impossible command by the power of the Holy Spirit and with the understanding of the gospel.

Jesus’ direct and unapologetic truth continues this week.

Let me again ask you to have the courage to deal with what Jesus says.

Some of you aren’t going to like it.

((Story of chick who said her niece who had nothing to do with the church but prayed the prayer at 12 was really saved so it was okay.))

If we are going to deal honestly with what Jesus tells us today, we are going to have to rid ourselves of that comforting self-deception.

Some of us are masters of self-deception.

For instance, consider new year’s resolutions...

Buying a gym membership that you don’t use is a silly waste of money,

but...

it is not nearly as harmful as the self-deception that allows you to keep quiet about the gospel around your lost friends and family.

(When I was reading this to Cat...waxed nose hairs)

So, if you really get what Jesus is saying in this passage, you may have the unpleasant experience of being hit in the face with some hard truth.

That’s okay though, because hard truth from Jesus is better than comforting self-deception.

We will read our passage one bite at a time, because these are big bites that have to be thoroughly chewed.

Remember where we ended last week.

Jesus told us to keep the logs out of our eyes so we could see to remove the specks from our brother’s eye.

Last week, Drew had a little metal shaving go under his safety goggles and into his eye.

The brother literally had a speck in his eye and I didn’t use it as an illustration...

That was a missed opportunity - (to Drew) We’re going to need you to take one for the team and do that again when we preach this next time, okay?

So, remembering that is where we left off, let’s continue.

First, we will see that...

What is on the inside shows on the outside.

Luke 6:43–45 ESV

43 “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, 44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

The apostle John learned the truth of this lesson well.

Let’s see how he described this same truth.

He wrote

1 John 1:5–7 ESV

5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

We know, both from Scripture and experience, that neither Jesus nor John is describing sinless perfection.

John goes on to write...

1 John 1:8–10 ESV

8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

So, not perfectly all the time, but in the big picture, good trees bear good fruit and bad trees bear bad fruit.

The reason some of us do not like that, is that we know and love some people who do not bear good fruit.

The objection that always comes is…My niece is a nice person. She loves her family, and she is good to me.

Remember last week when we read...

Luke 6:32–34 ESV

32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount.

Someone being a decent individual who cares for their family, pays their taxes, and is not a criminal, is not displaying definitive proof of good fruit.

Although those who produce good fruit spiritually also do these things.

Look with me again at what Jesus said in v. 45

Luke 6:45 ESV

45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Notice Jesus talks about the good person...

What is the definition of a good person?

It is a person who has been made into a new creature.

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

It is a person who has been given a new heart.

Ezekiel 36:22–27 ESV

22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. 24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

Jesus means a person who has been saved.

We tend to think of a good person as someone who is like us, or maybe a little better behaved.

When we compare ourselves to one another, that is like one skunk deciding if another skunk stinks or not.

We are not the standard!

Jesus is speaking about those who have been saved and those who have not.

The saved person bears good fruit, the unsaved bears bad fruit.

?Can’t a lost person do good things?

Philanthropy?

conservative values?

be a good politician?

Yes, absolutely!

Here is the problem...

During WW2, a really good general in the German Nazi army, who cared about his troops and was a conscientious and efficient leader, would be doing a good job for the wrong side.

Being a good and conscientious soldier in the wrong army still has you in rebellion to God.

So, how do we tell if someone is bearing the good fruit that Jesus is speaking of?

I am glad you asked.

Luke 6:46 ESV

46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?

If you want to bear good fruit, do what Jesus tells you to do.

First thing is first though.

You have to be saved.

Being a thornbush trying to produce figs is no good.

Let Jesus make you into a new creature.

He can change you from a thornbush into a fig tree… then making figs will come naturally, won’t it?

Luke 6:46 ESV

46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?

That is a profound and convicting question, isn’t it?

((Paper))

Lord = master

there is no saying no...

If you say “no” to him then you do not treat his as Lord.

If he is not Lord, he is not Savior.

We said earlier that in this life we will not obey perfectly, but if Jesus is your Lord, you will be trying your best to obey him.

When you learn about an area in which you are not obedient you will change that.

((Me and loving my enemies))

(back to the paper) Make a choice.

You can have Jesus as Lord and Savior, or you can reserve the right to say “no” to him.

Choose wisely.

If you choose wisely, let me show you what that will mean for your life.

Actually, Jesus will show us.

Luke 6:47–49 ESV

47 Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. 49 But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

Build your life on the Rock.

Do you want your life to be a fortress or a sand castle?

I mean all of your life, not just the part you experience now.

Tell Jim Elliot’s story.

The Complete Book of When and Where: In the Bible and throughout History 1956—American Missionaries Are Martyred in Ecuador

1956 AMERICAN MISSIONARIES ARE MARTYRED IN ECUADOR

American missionaries Nate Saint (1923–1956), Jim Elliot (1927–1956), Peter Fleming (1928–1956), Ed McCully (1927–1956), and Roger Youderian (1924–1956) had spent three months preparing for a face-to-face meeting with the primitive Auca Indians of Ecuador. It was to be the first step in establishing relationships that the men and their families hoped would eventually lead the Aucas to Christ. Instead, on January 6, 1956, after the men reported landing and meeting with a few Aucas, they were ambushed and killed. Nevertheless, within two years, Elisabeth Elliot (1926–), Jim Elliot’s widow, and Rachel Saint (1914–1994), Nate Saint’s sister, were living among the Aucas. Over time, many of the Aucas repented, turned to Christ, and became ministers to their own people. The martyrs’ story became a touchstone for the modern Protestant missionary movement.

Except for what Jesus did for me, this is the clearest example I know of, of loving your enemy.

Jim and Elizabeth Elliot both, clearly, built their lives on the Rock of the Lord Jesus Christ.

One had a short life that ended in martyrdom and the other had a very long life and got to see the fruit of her labors.

Jim Elliot, though, is experiencing joy and peace in the presence of his Savior, and awaiting that glorious day of resurrection.

We are tempted to see his short life as a shame and a waste, but here is what he thought about it.

Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 828 Jim Elliot’s Diary

In a diary entry, Jim Elliot, the Auca Indian martyr, wrote, “God, I pray Thee, light these idle sticks of my life, that I may burn for Thee. Consume my life, my God, for it is Thine. I seek not a long life, but a full one, like You, Lord Jesus.”

Probably his best known quote is...

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”

Even if you make the wrong choice and decide to build your life on the sand, you may have a long life, but to what end?

Matthew 16:26 ESV

26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

We must not waste the time and opportunities we have been given!

Go all in!

3 stages of the life cycle of a church

risk-taking

care-taking

undertaking

As a church let’s get back to where we can dream big dreams and take risks for the advancement of the kingdom of God.

As individuals let’s desire a full life, fully devoted to Jesus,

because...

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”

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