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Words of Life: Weekly Christian Podcast with Testi... - When Nothing Seems to Change: The Parables of Jesus · Life Changing Radio

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  Speaker 1: Life Audio.
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  Speaker 2: Hi, from the Salvation Army, you're listening to Words of Life.
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  Speaker 3: Welcome back to Words of Life. This is our fourth
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  Speaker 3: episode in our series on the parables of Jesus with
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  Speaker 3: Major Cam Henderson. Cam is a Salvation Army officer and
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  Speaker 3: pastor right here in Atlanta, Georgia. And throughout this series,
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  Speaker 3: he's helping us unpack these familiar stories to understand what
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  Speaker 3: Jesus was really saying to his listeners and what those
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  Speaker 3: words mean for us today. In this episode, we're studying
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  Speaker 3: one of Jesus's more challenging stories, the parable of the
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  Speaker 3: barren fig tree.
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  Speaker 1: Welcome back to the parable series. Today we're going to
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  Speaker 1: be talking about a fig tree. Fig leaves are famous
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  Speaker 1: for Adam and Eve, but fig fruit is terrific for eating.
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  Speaker 1: And I don't know if you ever had a fresh fig,
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  Speaker 1: but I have enjoyed that very, very much. We had
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  Speaker 1: a fig tree in our backyard when we lived in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
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  Speaker 1: That fig tree was amazing. First of all, it was huge.
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  Speaker 1: I don't know. 30 feet by 30 feet, top to
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  Speaker 1: bottom and left to right. It was a big, full tree.
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  Speaker 1: And it produced so much fruit, so many figs. The
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  Speaker 1: birds would come by and eat them. The bats would come.
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  Speaker 1: The bees would come. We couldn't eat it all. I
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  Speaker 1: would sit there and study. It was right at our deck.
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  Speaker 1: So I would sit there and study and I'd reach
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  Speaker 1: over and grab a fig and eat it. And they
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  Speaker 1: were so sweet. I'd only had like fig newtons growing up.
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  Speaker 1: So what did I know? And all of a sudden
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  Speaker 1: I'm eating fresh figs. They're incredible. And so I understand
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  Speaker 1: why someone would want to have a fig tree in
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  Speaker 1: their yard. My daughter is a baker. She's a cook
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  Speaker 1: and a baker, but she's a terrific baker. And she thought,
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  Speaker 1: I want to grow some of the plants that I
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  Speaker 1: use in my baking. And so it would be neat
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  Speaker 1: to have a lemon tree. So we bought her a
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  Speaker 1: lemon tree, a small lemon tree for her birthday. that
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  Speaker 1: she could make grow and eventually have lemons from it
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  Speaker 1: and use it to make lemon pie and lemon cake.
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  Speaker 1: And just excited about that. Well, it died. I think
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  Speaker 1: the first year we saw some leaves come to it
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  Speaker 1: and we saw some little flowers the second season, little
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  Speaker 1: tiny things. And I thought maybe that's the bud of
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  Speaker 1: the lemon, but it wasn't. It was just kind of
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  Speaker 1: how the branches formed. So the third season, it kept
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  Speaker 1: fading and then coming back a little bit. We would
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  Speaker 1: nurse it back to health. She would nurse it back
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  Speaker 1: to health. But at one point, I think it was
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  Speaker 1: year four, I think Ellie just gave up and we
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  Speaker 1: just let it die. It was no good. I don't
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  Speaker 1: think it was the lemon tree's fault. It was probably ours.
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  Speaker 1: We have no idea how to raise and prune and
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  Speaker 1: give fertilizer to a lemon tree, but it died in
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  Speaker 1: our hands.
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  Speaker 3: Oh, well.
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  Speaker 1: So we're not good gardeners. We don't have the green thumb.
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  Speaker 1: But in our next parable, it speaks of the owner
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  Speaker 1: of a vineyard who has a fig tree planted in
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  Speaker 1: the middle of his vineyard. And he's very excited. He
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  Speaker 1: wants figs. And now I understand why. First-hand knowledge. They
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  Speaker 1: are terrific. So he plants this fig tree. This parable, though,
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  Speaker 1: is actually a terrible warning shot to God's people if
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  Speaker 1: they listen. They would be saved and they'd bring great
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  Speaker 1: pleasure to the Father if they listened. Would they? Well,
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  Speaker 1: here's the context for what had come just before. It
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  Speaker 1: helps us sometimes in understanding what each passage means. When
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  Speaker 1: we understand what Jesus just talked about before or what
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  Speaker 1: he's talking about after, it helps to understand it in
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  Speaker 1: a way that fits it in with the rest of
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  Speaker 1: the story. Jesus had just learned. I don't know if
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  Speaker 1: the word had gotten around or some kind of newspaper
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  Speaker 1: or some kind of little writings that shares news. But
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  Speaker 1: Jesus was just informed that Pilate had murdered some of
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  Speaker 1: the people from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at
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  Speaker 1: the temple. And right at that time, he decides to
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  Speaker 1: speak on this current event to his people and uses
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  Speaker 1: that as an opportunity to speak to them about life.
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  Speaker 1: He says to them, do you think those Galileans were
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  Speaker 1: worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee? In
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  Speaker 1: other words, why were they chosen to die when they
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  Speaker 1: were worshiping God? 18 people had died in a tower
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  Speaker 1: that had fallen. And Jesus asked, were they sinners? Were
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  Speaker 1: they worse than the others around them? So why those 18? Well,
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  Speaker 1: we know everyone will die. This flesh will die. But
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  Speaker 1: he's indicating to them, he says, but you'll die unless
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  Speaker 1: you'll repent. Unless you repent of your sin, you'll die
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  Speaker 1: a spiritual death. So a warning to them. And he
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  Speaker 1: continues the warning with this parable. A man planted a
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  Speaker 1: fig tree in his garden and came out again and
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  Speaker 1: again to see if there were any fruit on it.
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  Speaker 1: Fig trees are important. And he plants this fig tree
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  Speaker 1: and he couldn't wait for figs. They were important in Israel,
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  Speaker 1: not just for food, but they were also kind of
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  Speaker 1: a part of Israel. It represented Israel. Fig trees could
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  Speaker 1: live hundreds of years and produce so much fruit about
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  Speaker 1: 10 months out of the year. It almost never stopped
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  Speaker 1: producing fruit. In fact, my understanding is that's one plant
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  Speaker 1: that they didn't have to worry about leaving some for
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  Speaker 1: the poor because there was always more for everyone. But also,
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  Speaker 1: the roots would use up a lot of nutrients in
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  Speaker 1: the soil. And it's worth it for all that fruit.
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  Speaker 1: So this man planted a fig tree in his vineyard.
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  Speaker 1: He's waiting for the figs. He patiently comes looking at
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  Speaker 1: the fruit. And he's doing this for three years, watching
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  Speaker 1: this tree and looking for fruit. And will it ever come? Well,
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  Speaker 1: three years is plenty of time in that land for
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  Speaker 1: figs to begin producing. And so he's wondering, will this
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  Speaker 1: ever happen? Will it ever produce? And he never finds any.
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  Speaker 1: It goes on to say he's returning to them for
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  Speaker 1: three years and he's disappointed, it says. Always disappointed in
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  Speaker 1: verse 6. So finally, he says to his gardener, I've
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  Speaker 1: waited three years and there hasn't been a single fig.
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  Speaker 1: Cut it down. It's just taking up space in the garden.
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  Speaker 1: Its roots are using up the soil is what it's
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  Speaker 1: saying there. Fig trees were never cut down because they
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  Speaker 1: were typically so productive. But if not, You couldn't let
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  Speaker 1: it waste all the soil's nutrients. It was hurting the
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  Speaker 1: rest of the garden, so it had to be cut down.
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  Speaker 1: And that was kind of a tragedy for that. Have
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  Speaker 1: you ever had the thought of being replaced because you
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  Speaker 1: were unproductive at work, maybe? That's a disturbing thought and
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  Speaker 1: maybe disappointing. Well, the human race faced this before with
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  Speaker 1: Noah in Genesis 6. God repented that he had made
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  Speaker 1: man and was going to start over with Noah. And
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  Speaker 1: the Jewish people had faced this before too. When they
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  Speaker 1: continued to sin and rebel against God in the days
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  Speaker 1: of Moses, in Exodus 32 verse 10, God said, I'm
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  Speaker 1: going to start again Abraham's family over with you, Moses.
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  Speaker 1: But Moses interceded and convinced him not to do this.
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  Speaker 1: But this is not God's desire. It's not his nature
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  Speaker 1: to just get rid of something and start all over.
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  Speaker 1: 2 Chronicles 16 verse 9 lets us know, that the
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  Speaker 1: eyes of the Lord are searching all over the earth,
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  Speaker 1: looking for someone he can bless, looking for someone who's
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  Speaker 1: completely committed to him. And in that verse, we see
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  Speaker 1: that what prompted him to say that is his people
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  Speaker 1: were not being faithful, and yet he was still looking.
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  Speaker 1: So his nature is to keep looking and hoping one
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  Speaker 1: of us or some of us are going to be
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  Speaker 1: faithful or that what he created is going to be faithful. Well,
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  Speaker 1: in our story, back to our parable here, the vineyard keeper,
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  Speaker 1: intercedes urgently. In verse 8, the gardener answered, Sir, give
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  Speaker 1: it one more chance. Leave it for another year, and
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  Speaker 1: I'll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer. And
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  Speaker 1: if we get figs next year, fine. If not, then
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  Speaker 1: you cut it down. Don't cut it down, he said.
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  Speaker 1: Give me one more year to work on it, he said.
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  Speaker 1: I'll prune it. I'll dig around the roots. I'll fertilize it,
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  Speaker 1: he says. In my study, I found out this is
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  Speaker 1: a real procedure that they use. I don't know if
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  Speaker 1: it's for all plants and all trees, but they certainly
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  Speaker 1: use it for fig trees. They dig around the roots,
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  Speaker 1: dig it deep, and they put fertilizer in there and
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  Speaker 1: hope that it produces fruit the next year. So that's
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  Speaker 1: what he's saying. Let's try it. And if we get
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  Speaker 1: figs next year, fine. If not, cut it down. Well,
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  Speaker 1: they're hoping for the result. They're hoping for the fruit
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  Speaker 1: to let the master enjoy it. But if not, The
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  Speaker 1: answer is clear. Cut it down. It's intentionally left open
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  Speaker 1: in this parable. We don't know what was the result
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  Speaker 1: of this fig tree. It's just kind of hanging there.
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  Speaker 1: In truth, the people he was talking to still had
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  Speaker 1: time to react and respond because this was about them.
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  Speaker 1: Will they produce fruit? One of my favorite books of
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  Speaker 1: the Bible is Titus. I have many favorite books of
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  Speaker 1: the Bible, and you probably do too. But Titus is
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  Speaker 1: a very interesting one. It's a very simple book, very clear-cut,
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  Speaker 1: a leader speaking to a young pastor, this is what
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  Speaker 1: I want you to do, and don't forget the point
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  Speaker 1: of what we are doing. And he speaks about things
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  Speaker 1: that are useless and things that are useful. In Titus 1,
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  Speaker 1: verse 15, He says that everything is pure to those
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  Speaker 1: who hearts are pure, but nothing is pure to those
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  Speaker 1: who are corrupt and unbelieving because their minds and consciences
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  Speaker 1: are corrupted. Such people claim they know God, but they
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  Speaker 1: deny him by the way they live. They're detestable and disobedient,
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  Speaker 1: worthless for doing anything good. Wow. Denying him by the
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  Speaker 1: way they live means they are also detestable and disobedient,
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  Speaker 1: worthless for doing anything good. That's dangerous. But we can
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  Speaker 1: be useful by God's grace. And in chapter 2, we
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  Speaker 1: know that the grace of God, verse 11, the grace
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  Speaker 1: of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people.
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  Speaker 1: And it goes on to explain that. I hate to
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  Speaker 1: skip over it, but it goes on to say in
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  Speaker 1: verse 14, he gave his life to free us from
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  Speaker 1: every kind of sin, to cleanse us and make us
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  Speaker 1: his very own people. Listen to this, totally committed to
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  Speaker 1: doing good. good deeds, totally committed to doing good work.
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  Speaker 1: Titus is very, very clear. This is what we are
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  Speaker 1: all after. In fact, we get to chapter 3. It's
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  Speaker 1: almost all about that, that we should be obedient, always
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  Speaker 1: ready to do what is good. In verse 8, it's
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  Speaker 1: a trustworthy saying, and I want you to insist on it.
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  Speaker 1: Teach your people so that all who trust in God
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  Speaker 1: will devote themselves to doing good. It's good and beneficial
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  Speaker 1: for everyone, he says. And then in the last spot,
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  Speaker 1: in 3 verse 14, he says this, Our people must
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  Speaker 1: learn to do good by meeting the urgent needs of others,
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  Speaker 1: and then they will not be unproductive. Boy, the last
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  Speaker 1: thing I would want to hear the Lord say is
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  Speaker 1: you are unproductive. In fact, we often quote, Well done,
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  Speaker 1: my good and faithful servant. We want to be productive,
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  Speaker 1: don't we? And in the book of John chapter 15 says,
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  Speaker 1: We know the wonderful passage that Jesus would speak of.
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  Speaker 1: I'm the vine, you're the branches. Remain in me and
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  Speaker 1: I'll remain in you and you'll produce much fruit. Apart
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  Speaker 1: from me, you can't do anything. Anyone who does not
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  Speaker 1: remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch
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  Speaker 1: and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to
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  Speaker 1: be burned. But if you remain in me and my
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  Speaker 1: words in you, you may ask for anything you want
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  Speaker 1: and it will be granted. And when you produce much fruit,
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  Speaker 1: you are my true disciples. And it brings great glory
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  Speaker 1: to my Father. So don't take up soil. You're receiving
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  Speaker 1: the grace of God. In fact, you're receiving all of
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  Speaker 1: God himself. Let him produce in you the fruit of
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  Speaker 1: the Spirit, the fruit that blesses others. a fruit that
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  Speaker 1: invites others to eat from the kingdom and find life
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  Speaker 1: just like you have. Holy Spirit, you've given yourself to us.
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  Speaker 1: Let us produce fruit. Help us to please the Father.
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  Speaker 1: We love you, Lord. In Jesus' name.
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• 14:07
  Speaker 2: Words of Life on your favorite podcast store or visit SalvationArmySoundcast.org.
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: Join us next time for the Salvation Army's Words of Life.
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: These are the words.
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  Speaker 3: These are the words of life. These are the words.
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  Speaker 2: These are the words.
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  Speaker 1: These are the words of life.
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  Speaker 3: Thanks so much for listening to Words of Life. We
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  Speaker 3: want to thank the team at Life Audio for their
• 14:36
  Speaker 3: partnership with us on the show. Visit lifeaudio.com where you'll
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• 14:47
  Speaker 3: again for listening. We'll see you next time.