Latest / Meadows Baptist Church Podcast / The Parable of the Fig Tree - 12/7/25 - Bro. Andrew Patterson

Transcript

The Parable of the Fig Tree - 12/7/25 - Bro. Andrew Patterson · Meadows Baptist Church Podcast

0:01
[music]
0:04
Welcome to Meadows Baptist Church
0:05
[music] of Walnut Cove, North Carolina.
0:08
We're so glad you joined us today. If
0:11
[music] you enjoy today's message, be
0:13
sure to subscribe, follow, and share
0:16
with your [music] friends. Now, let's
0:18
join Pastor Charlie Branch with a word
0:20
from God.
0:29
Amen. All right,
0:33
we'll go ahead and get started this
0:35
morning. And uh All right, I've assigned
0:39
him a scripture. He's going to teach to
0:41
us out of Revelation 13.
0:48
>> I didn't do that. I just want to see
0:49
what his reaction would be. Amen. No, he
0:52
asked they asked last night. I was It's
0:54
funny. I I didn't even talk to him
0:56
directly. we just let our wives do all
0:57
our talking for us. And so, uh, I told
1:00
Abby, I said, "Ask Andrew if he'll teach
1:02
for us tomorrow." I said, "I'm I said, I
1:04
need some help." And I know he's got
1:05
something on his heart anyway cuz he's
1:07
preaching today. And she asked he would.
1:10
I said, "So," I said, "Good." He asked,
1:11
"You got a subject you want him to teach
1:13
on?" I said, "No." I said, "Just tell
1:14
him teach something good." Amen.
1:18
Amen. I appreciate him. I love him and I
1:20
appreciate his heart for the Lord. And
1:22
you be attending this morning. I'm sure
1:24
he'll share something that'll help you.
1:25
Amen, brother. Go right ahead. Love you,
1:28
brother. There's your wife.
1:29
>> Thank you. Thank you.
1:32
>> Yeah, it's easier just to have your
1:33
wives do all the talking for you.
1:36
>> They're a lot better at it than we are,
1:38
but uh now I appreciate the opportunity
1:42
uh just to be able to come back, be able
1:43
to be here at Meadows Baptist Church. It
1:45
really is a blessing. And uh I I love
1:48
your pastor. I love my brother-in-law.
1:49
He's been a blessing to me, been a help.
1:51
and uh he's it's just good to have a
1:54
family uh that is serving the Lord and
1:56
doing the right thing. And uh he's
1:59
definitely definitely taken on a a lot
2:01
bigger challenge than what I've got.
2:03
Pastoring a church ain't easy. Uh and uh
2:05
I know that it's a it's it's a difficult
2:08
thing, but it's a needed thing. Uh and
2:11
I'm thankful that the Lord's given him a
2:12
heart to pastor and that he's uh got a
2:15
heart for you. He loves all of you here.
2:17
I know that uh firsthand. And you've got
2:20
a good pastor. Uh he doesn't take this
2:23
lightly. He really doesn't. And uh I'm
2:25
just trying to comb comb through some
2:27
nerves right now. So you just pray for
2:29
me. Uh but uh really you you do have a
2:32
good pastor here. I want you to get
2:33
behind him and support him, love him. Uh
2:35
take care of him and his wife because he
2:37
loves you. Uh I promise you the heart of
2:40
a pastor is uh it's it's a lot of times
2:43
a heart in turmoil because the fact that
2:45
they care so deeply and pour so much
2:48
into people and a lot of times that that
2:51
effort gets uh it gets trampled on and
2:54
it gets broken and it hurts and uh
2:56
because there's we're people people
2:58
aren't perfect. Uh people deal with
3:01
things. People people quit, people get
3:03
out and you know it's it's a hard thing.
3:05
Uh but uh but there's there's no nobler
3:08
job, I believe, than than that of a
3:10
pastor. It really is a noble job. Uh you
3:14
don't do it for the accolades or the
3:15
glory. You do it for people. You do it
3:18
for people. And uh that's why we preach.
3:21
That's why we're that's why we that's
3:22
why we're in the ministry. God placed us
3:24
in the ministry is because of the fact
3:26
that God when he saved us and he put
3:28
that calling on our heart, he gave
3:30
[snorts] us a heart for people and to
3:33
love people. And that's what it's about.
3:36
I don't I want you to know that this
3:37
morning. I don't know why the Lord just
3:39
laid that on my heart. Uh but I guess
3:41
it's just we've got I've I've got a
3:42
little bit of a difficult lesson to
3:44
teach you this morning. Uh so I want to
3:46
just uh ask you to open up your heart.
3:51
Be receptive and uh just see what God
3:54
has for you and how we can grow closer
3:56
to him. Um this this lesson that I'm
3:59
going to teach, we're going to be in
4:00
Markap 11 uh this morning. So, if you
4:03
want to start turning there, this lesson
4:05
has been a convicting lesson for myself
4:08
and I've taught this at my home church
4:12
in Sunday school. Uh we went through
4:16
recently we went through teaching on the
4:18
miracles of Christ and that's what we're
4:20
going to be looking at this morning is
4:21
one of his miracles. Um but this miracle
4:24
is a little bit different than most the
4:26
ones that we hear about, preach about
4:29
and learn about. Um, this one is a
4:32
little bit different than any of the
4:33
miracles that Jesus performed during his
4:35
earthly ministry.
4:37
And, uh, what we're going to be looking
4:39
at this morning is the miracle of the
4:42
fig tree in Mark chapter 11 and also in
4:45
Matthew chapter 21. Uh, it's a very
4:48
difficult lesson to really um, be able
4:51
to try and get your thought thought
4:52
across sometimes. Uh but I've I've I've
4:56
studied it in a great deal, preached on
4:58
it uh a few times since I've studied it.
5:01
And um and I really I believe that it is
5:04
very needed. This lesson that I'm
5:06
teaching this morning, I really believe
5:08
that it's very needed in our time that
5:11
and day that we're living in. Um I've
5:14
I've had this thought on my heart and on
5:16
my mind a lot lately. Uh I know that uh
5:19
I' I've been thinking about what I'm
5:21
going to teach on and preach on today.
5:22
And really, I've got two different
5:24
things, very different things I'm going
5:26
to be teaching on and preaching on a
5:27
little bit later. I believe that God
5:29
wants me to preach at uh at Love Thy
5:31
Neighbor Baptist Church there. Uh but
5:33
this morning, I really just want to come
5:36
to you with a heart that is not to hurt,
5:39
but to help. And I want to be uh uh help
5:42
us grow closer to the Lord and really
5:44
take self-inventory, really look in the
5:47
mirror and really uh evaluate ourselves
5:50
this morning and where we stand and our
5:53
relationship with God and in our service
5:56
for God. Uh so I want us to really
5:59
really really just kind of zone
6:02
everything out, just tune everything
6:03
out. We we're all coming in after the
6:05
ladies meeting last night, which is a
6:07
blessing. I'm thankful that the Lord
6:08
blessed in that meeting. Now, I know
6:10
it's been a busy week. Everybody's had
6:12
work. Everybody's had things that
6:13
they've dealt with and it's been a busy
6:15
weekend and now we're here at church
6:17
this morning. Uh we're all tired. We
6:19
have some I mean, we we we've traveled
6:21
this weekend. We've had we've we've done
6:23
all sorts of things. And uh so I want us
6:26
to just really just kind of tune
6:27
everything else out for a second. Focus
6:29
on the Lord and focus on our standing
6:31
with God and really try to evaluate
6:34
ourselves this morning. But in Mark
6:37
chapter 11, let's take a look at this
6:38
miracle and look at verse number 12 of
6:41
Mark chapter 11. The Bible says, "And on
6:43
the marorrow when there when they were
6:45
come from Bethany, he was hungry. And
6:48
seeing a fig tree a far off having
6:50
leaves, he came if happily he might find
6:52
anything thereon." And when he came to
6:54
it, he found nothing but leaves, for the
6:56
time of figs was not yet. And Jesus
6:59
answered and said unto it, "No man eat
7:01
fruit of thee hereafter forever." and
7:04
his disciples heard it. Now skip down to
7:07
verse number 20. [snorts]
7:09
The Bible says, "And in the morning, as
7:11
they passed by, they saw the fig tree
7:13
dried up from the roots." And Peter
7:16
calling to remembrance saith unto him,
7:18
Master, behold the fig tree which thou
7:20
cursest is withered away. And Jesus
7:23
answering saith unto them, Have faith in
7:25
gone. For verily I say unto you, that
7:27
whosoever shall say unto this mountain,
7:29
Be thou removed, and be thou cast into
7:31
the sea, and shall not doubt in his
7:33
heart, but shall believe that those
7:35
things which he saith shall come to
7:36
pass, he shall have whatsoever he saith.
7:39
Therefore, I say unto you, what things
7:41
soever you desire when you pray, believe
7:43
that you receive them, and ye shall have
7:45
them. And when you stand praying,
7:47
forgive if you have ought against any,
7:50
that your father also which is in heaven
7:52
may forgive you your trespasses.
7:55
[snorts]
7:56
But if ye do not forgive, neither will
7:58
your father which is in heaven forgive
8:01
your trespasses. And let's pray real
8:02
quickly this morning. Lord, we thank you
8:04
so much for the opportunity to be in
8:05
your house. Lord, I'm thankful just to
8:07
be able to be in the in the house of God
8:08
this morning, be able to uh teach and
8:11
I'm thankful for the opportunity. Lord,
8:13
I thank you for this church and the
8:14
people that are here. I thank you, Lord,
8:16
for the pastor. I thank you, Lord, for
8:18
his wife and his family. And Lord, I
8:20
thank you so much for giving us another
8:22
day to come and to worship you and to
8:25
magnify the Lord Jesus Christ. God, I
8:27
pray that you bless this this this
8:29
Sunday school lesson. I pray in Jesus
8:31
name. Amen. So, again, this is a very
8:34
interesting uh miracle that Christ
8:36
performs here. It's different than any
8:38
of of Jesus's other miracles. You know,
8:40
often we we hear preaching and teaching
8:43
on the miracles of Christ as uh Christ
8:46
has helped somebody. He has healed the
8:49
lame. He has uh caused the blind to see.
8:51
He has made uh the sick to be healed.
8:54
And all of these different things that
8:55
Jesus has done. You have the feeding of
8:58
the 5,000 and of the 4,000. You have
9:01
many miracles that Jesus did. And so
9:03
many in fact that John at the end of his
9:06
book says says that the the amount of
9:08
miracles I'm going to paraphrase that
9:10
the amount of miracles that Jesus
9:11
performed are so great that the books
9:13
wouldn't even be able to contain the
9:14
miracles that Jesus had performed. So
9:17
there's many miracles that we don't even
9:19
know about that Jesus did during his
9:20
earthly ministry while here on this
9:22
planet. But here in this one, it's
9:25
different than the other miracles that
9:26
we studied and that we see that Jesus
9:28
performed because instead of helping,
9:30
the Lord is pronouncing judgment. And
9:33
so, it's interesting how how this this
9:35
miracle plays out and and that there's
9:38
definitely uh many lessons that we can
9:40
glean from. And I'm going to go through
9:42
a few of them this morning. And I pray
9:44
that it will be a help to us today to
9:46
grow closer to the Lord. That's what I
9:48
want for us today. I want us to grow
9:50
grow closer to God and to really take
9:52
inventory of our own relationship and
9:55
our own work in the things of God. Uh
9:58
but I want to notice firstly the setting
9:59
that this that this miracle takes place.
10:01
Notice the path that he takes. The Lord
10:04
Jesus Christ was initially in Jerusalem
10:08
before this miracle takes place. Now the
10:10
day before was what we would call Palm
10:12
Sunday, the triumphant entry of Jesus
10:15
into Jerusalem. and uh everybody there
10:18
saying hosana, hosana and proclaiming
10:20
him to be the Messiah and all of these
10:21
things. And again, that's a fulfillment
10:23
of prophecy there and all of these
10:25
different things that Jesus does. But
10:27
Jesus at the end of that leaves
10:29
Jerusalem and goes back to Bethany. And
10:33
then he goes and then now on the when
10:35
this miracle takes place, he's returning
10:37
from Bethany to Jerusalem. And this
10:40
miracle takes place the week, this is
10:42
the week prior to the crucifixion of
10:45
Jesus Christ. And so this is coming up
10:48
really close to the time when Jesus is
10:51
going to go to the cross and he's going
10:52
to be crucified for our sins. But this
10:55
this what Jesus does here is interesting
10:57
because Jerusalem is the religious
11:00
epicenter of the nation of Israel. You
11:03
would think that Jesus would want to be
11:05
in that place. But in that place, the
11:08
people of Jerusalem don't exactly like
11:10
Jesus very much. The religious crowd,
11:13
the Pharisees and the scribes and all of
11:15
those that don't want anything to do
11:16
with Jesus, want to hurt Jesus, want to
11:17
harm him, want to try and put him to
11:19
death and to kill him. And there's so
11:20
many been so many attempts on his life
11:22
already. And so Jesus leaves Jerusalem
11:25
and goes back to Bethany. And what do we
11:27
know about Bethany? Bethany was a place
11:29
where Jesus was warmly welcomed. You
11:32
have Lazarus and Mary and Martha that
11:34
were there in Bethany. And that doesn't
11:36
say that that that he stayed with them
11:38
there, but it could be inferred that
11:39
most likely he did. But needless to say
11:42
that they that that Bethany was a place
11:45
where Jesus was welcomed. And so as a
11:47
result of that, Jesus leaves Jerusalem
11:50
and goes back to Bethany. And the lesson
11:51
that we can glean from that is, is Jesus
11:53
welcome in our life? Is he welcome in
11:56
our homes? because often times it's easy
11:58
for us to be able to put on the front at
12:00
church, but when we get to the house,
12:02
are things the same uh at our house as
12:04
they are at the church house. And so
12:07
Jesus's path that he takes takes him two
12:10
miles out of the way from Jerusalem uh
12:13
before this miracle takes place. And so
12:16
Bethany is a place where they had
12:18
adoration and love for Jesus. And
12:20
Jerusalem was a place where they had
12:22
where they had angst and they had hatred
12:24
for Jesus. But not only do we see the
12:26
the path that Jesus takes, but the
12:28
product of his humanity. The Bible says
12:30
that he hungered, which again shows the
12:33
human frailties that Jesus had to deal
12:35
with in that human body. So Jesus was
12:38
very much God, but at the same time, he
12:40
still was very much man. He was a
12:42
perfect man. He was a he was a sinless
12:44
man. And but it showed that Jesus was
12:47
still dependent upon uh some human
12:49
things. He still needed rest as we know
12:51
that he was asleep in the ship on the
12:53
Sea of Galilee whenever the disciples
12:55
and Jesus were caught in the storm. He
12:56
was he's hungry here in this text and he
12:59
he he he's looking he's wanting to get
13:02
something to eat. And so Jesus is sees
13:05
this fig tree a far off and it's got
13:07
leaves on it and he's going up to it
13:09
that happily he might find something to
13:11
eat. But you see Jesus, it also shows
13:14
his zeal as this is early in the
13:16
morning. He was zealous about performing
13:18
the work of his father. He was zealous
13:20
about trying to to do what his father's
13:23
will was. And and and we see that
13:26
throughout Jesus's life. But uh are we
13:29
as zealous as Christ is when it comes to
13:31
serving the Lord in our own lives?
13:33
Because in the scripture is very clear
13:36
that that uh whenever we find Jesus
13:39
performing miracles or when he's
13:41
teaching in the temple or doing these
13:42
many things often times you're f it's
13:45
found that Jesus is there early in the
13:48
morning. And so Jesus is about the
13:50
Lord's work from the time that he gets
13:52
up to the time that he goes to sleep.
13:54
And listen, we need to be about the
13:56
Lord's work in our own life from the
13:58
time that we get up to the time that we
13:59
go. We should not wait until the end of
14:01
the day to finally seek out the Lord. Uh
14:04
listen, I've done that. I've been there.
14:05
I know how that is. You go throughout
14:07
your day, you think, I well, I I I
14:09
wasn't able to read my Bible this
14:11
morning, so I'll read it this evening.
14:12
You get through the day. You get to the
14:14
end of the day, and you you're you're
14:15
exhausted. You've had a hard day or
14:17
things have come up or situations have
14:19
have taken place, and you get to the end
14:21
of the day, and you find yourself so
14:23
tired that you really you're reading
14:24
your Bible, but you're really not taking
14:26
in what you're reading. Right.
14:28
>> And so the Lord, it says even in the
14:30
book of Proverbs, I believe in Proverbs
14:32
chapter 18 that uh he loves those that
14:35
love him. And he says, and he says,
14:38
"Those that seek me early shall find
14:40
me."
14:40
>> Right?
14:41
>> So we need to seek the Lord early in our
14:43
day, not at the end of the day. The end
14:45
of the day, we've got so many things
14:46
flooding our minds. Whereas in the
14:48
beginning of the day, we're able to have
14:49
a clear mind and able to focus on the
14:51
things of young. But Jesus was zealous
14:53
about the work of the Lord. been so
14:55
zealous in fact that he didn't even eat
14:57
breakfast before he left Bethany. Isn't
15:00
that something? Most of us can't even
15:01
function until we have breakfast, right?
15:04
But Jesus was more concerned about
15:06
performing the will of the father. So
15:10
much in fact that he was willing to skip
15:12
out on meals to make sure that the will
15:14
of God is performed. You find that in
15:17
John 4 dealing with the woman at the
15:18
well. What does Jesus say there? In John
15:21
chapter 4:es 31-34 he says in the
15:23
meanwhile while his disciples prayed him
15:25
saying master eat. This is when the
15:27
disciples returned from from the city
15:29
there in Samaria. It says in verse 32
15:31
but he said unto them I have meat to eat
15:33
that you know not of he goes on to say
15:36
therefore said the disciples one to
15:37
another hath any man brought him ought
15:39
to eat. See that the disciples weren't
15:41
getting what Jesus is trying to lay out
15:42
for them. And Jesus says in verse number
15:45
34, it says, "And Jesus saith unto them,
15:47
my meat is to do the will of him that
15:49
sent me and to finish his work."
15:52
>> He's saying, "The what's more important
15:55
to me is is performing the will of my
16:00
father. What's more important to me than
16:02
my physical needs is trying to perform
16:05
the will of God." You see, Jesus often
16:09
emphasized the spiritual over the
16:11
physical. Now, that doesn't mean that we
16:13
don't take care of our bodies as we
16:14
should. We ought to try our best to take
16:16
care of the vessel that God has given us
16:18
on this earth to be able to better serve
16:20
the Lord throughout our life. But Jesus
16:22
is saying when it whenever
16:24
[clears throat] it comes to whenever it
16:26
whenever it comes to spiritual and
16:28
physical, the spiritual is more
16:30
important than the physical. which may
16:33
mean that sometimes we might have to
16:35
miss out on something that we that we
16:36
might want physically in order in order
16:39
to further the spiritual in our life.
16:42
And so the emphasis that Jesus is making
16:44
here, the precedence is that the
16:46
spiritual needs to take precedence over
16:48
the physical. And so that's a product of
16:51
Jesus's humanity was that he was hungry.
16:53
But he was hungry because of the fact
16:55
that he was so zealous about serving the
16:57
Lord and making sure that he was
16:58
performing the will of his father. And
17:01
notice the approaching here as Jesus
17:03
comes up to it. It says in verse number
17:04
13, "And seeing the fig tree a far off,
17:07
it's far away. Having leaves, he came if
17:11
happily he might find anything thereon.
17:14
And when he came to it, he found
17:16
nothing." So Jesus is coming up to the
17:18
tree and he discovers that there's no
17:21
figs on it. There's nothing. There's no
17:24
but the the fig tree, it's it's these
17:26
fig trees, they'll grow to be 20 to 25
17:29
feet. So often times in that time
17:30
period, they would use them as shade and
17:33
they would use them to be able to uh to
17:35
they would use them to be able to get
17:36
food and and to have shade and to be
17:38
able to and so they were very very
17:40
useful in that time period. But Jesus,
17:43
he saw it a far off and it had leaves
17:45
and that was a great indicator that it
17:47
was supposed to have fruit. But when
17:49
Jesus came up to it, it didn't have any
17:51
fruit. And this wouldn't have been a
17:53
breach of the law of Jesus e of of this
17:57
wouldn't be a breach on Jesus's part of
17:59
the law either because in Deuteronomy
18:01
23:24
18:02
it says when thou comest into thy
18:04
neighbor's vineyard then thou mayest eat
18:06
grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure
18:08
but thou shalt not put any in thy
18:09
vessel. So at that time the law of Moses
18:13
had things in place for the poor. And so
18:15
as a result of that, they said that you
18:17
could go into somebody's vineyard if you
18:19
were hungry and you could eat, but you
18:21
just couldn't take any with you because
18:22
that would be considered stealing. Isn't
18:24
that right? But you see that the the
18:26
emphasis here is not like our welfare
18:28
system where we give to the poor and
18:29
they don't have to do anything for it.
18:31
What they had the the emphasis here on
18:33
this welfare system that God had in
18:35
place for the poor was that they had to
18:37
work in order to get what they needed.
18:39
>> And so it was it was it was a they had
18:42
to get out. They had to pick the grapes.
18:43
They had to pick the figs. They had to
18:44
they had to actually put some effort
18:46
into getting what they needed to be able
18:47
to survive. It's not like how it is
18:49
today where we just, you know, you give
18:51
give give until you don't have anything
18:52
more to give and then and that all
18:54
they're just doing is take take take and
18:56
they're not doing anything to be able to
18:58
get to to get what they've been given.
19:00
>> And so it was a better welfare system
19:02
that we have. But Jesus was not
19:04
breaching the law and and trying to find
19:06
some fruit on this fig tree even if
19:07
somebody else had owned it. But you see
19:09
Jesus, he approaches it and there's not
19:11
anything on there. So you see the
19:12
absence of the fig of the figs. There
19:14
were no fruit on the fig tree. It
19:18
appears like it has fruit as the as a
19:21
fig tree. It it grows leaves before uh
19:24
the fruit buds. And so as a result of
19:26
that, whenever a a tree a fig tree would
19:29
have leaves, it would indicate that it
19:31
would have some fruit on it. And I'm
19:33
going somewhere, so just hang with me.
19:34
I've got to try and hurry here. But uh
19:36
the the the as it says in the also here
19:39
in the book of Mark says the time of the
19:40
figs was not yet. And so the fig tree
19:45
was had the appearance of fruit but it
19:47
wasn't the time of the figs. So it's
19:49
also kind of interesting that it wasn't
19:51
exactly the time that it was supposed to
19:53
have fruit but it would have indicated
19:54
all indicators would have said that it
19:57
would have had some fruit. And Jesus
19:59
when he comes up to it he sees that it
20:01
doesn't have any fruit. And as a result
20:02
of that, he sentences the fig tree. He
20:06
said, he says there in verse number 14,
20:08
it says, "And Jesus answered and said
20:10
unto him, no man eat fruit of thee
20:11
hereafter forever." And his disciples
20:14
heard it. And the lesson here really,
20:17
and I'm I'm going to get to where I'm
20:18
going here in just a second, but that I
20:20
want to preface this too real quickly
20:22
before I get to where I'm going. That in
20:24
all reality, this this miracle that
20:26
Jesus is performing is really a type and
20:29
a picture of Israel. Israel at the time
20:33
had all the religious accolades. They
20:35
had everything down to the letter when
20:36
it come to the law. So much so that they
20:38
even added to the to God's law to the
20:41
point that they were they were they were
20:43
phariseical and hypocritical in their
20:45
religion and in their faith. And so
20:47
Jesus is saying that they have all
20:49
everything that that would indicate that
20:51
they would have fruit, but they don't
20:52
have anything. They're hypocrites.
20:55
>> They're hypocrites. That's what the
20:57
that's what the religious crowd in
20:58
Israel was at this time. And the lesson
21:00
that we can glean from this is are we
21:02
hypocrites?
21:03
>> Good.
21:04
>> Are we hypocrites? Do we have everything
21:07
on the outside? All we dress the right
21:11
way. We speak the right way. We come to
21:13
church. We come to Sunday school. We
21:15
come we're we're we're faithful to our
21:17
place in the house of God.
21:19
But is it really real on the inside? Is
21:22
our life producing fruit in the work of
21:26
God or is it all just leaves?
21:32
Is it leaves?
21:34
>> And it really got me thinking about my
21:36
own life whenever I was studying this
21:38
out and really thinking about myself. I
21:39
I started to wonder. I was like, am I
21:41
really is this thing really real in my
21:44
own heart and in my own life? Am I
21:47
really trying my best to try and serve
21:50
the Lord because it's coming from an
21:51
attitude and a motive of sincerity and
21:54
love and adoration and faith in the
21:56
things of God? Or is it because of the
21:58
or am I becoming laxidasical in my flesh
22:00
and thinking that I am just doing what
22:02
I'm supposed to do and that I that I I'm
22:05
able to perform the work of God and not
22:07
really have the right motive or attitude
22:09
in doing so because I don't want to get
22:11
to the point in my life where [snorts]
22:14
I'm I everything looks good. I wear the
22:17
suit. I I I preach and I I have my
22:20
Bible, but it's not really real in my
22:22
own heart. Now I'm saved and born again,
22:25
and the spirit of God is going to
22:27
convict me if I'm not where I'm supposed
22:28
to be with the Lord. At least it should.
22:30
It should. But, you know, my flesh is
22:33
wicked. My flesh wants to It wants what
22:35
it wants. It doesn't want what God
22:38
wants. So, I've got to be careful in my
22:40
own life that I'm not being hypocritical
22:42
in my faith and I'm not being
22:43
hypocritical in my in my work for the
22:45
Lord and that it's not all just leaves,
22:47
but I'm producing some fruit. The
22:48
Bible's very clear that that we that you
22:51
shall know them by their fruits. Yes.
22:54
>> So, are you per are you producing fruit
22:57
in your own life or is it all just
22:59
leaves?
23:00
It's very easy for us in the flesh to
23:03
get complacent and laxidasical in a
23:06
Christian walk in life with Christ.
23:09
But Jesus, he pronounces judgment on
23:11
this tree because of its hypocrisy.
23:14
And you know, eventually the nation of
23:16
Israel is going to have to go through
23:17
judgment because of their hypocrisy. And
23:20
you know what? Eventually, you and I
23:22
will have to go through judgment if we
23:24
are hypocritical in our own life. You
23:26
notice the the rapidity, the rapidness
23:29
of this pronouncing of judgment. The
23:31
Bible says in Matthew where you find the
23:33
the other account of this, you find in
23:36
the book of Matthew, it says, "Presently
23:37
the fig tree withered, withered away."
23:40
And and in this text, you find soon. And
23:43
so those two words both mean the same
23:45
thing when you translate them from the
23:47
Greek, which means immediately.
23:49
Immediately. It happened quickly and
23:52
judgment when it comes it often comes
23:54
swiftly and quickly. The world whenever
23:58
the Lord comes back for his church and
24:00
we have the tribulation period all these
24:02
different things the the judgment that
24:04
comes is going to come quickly.
24:06
>> It's going to come quickly. Even Psalm
24:08
the book of Psalms chapter number 34
24:11
speaks of that.
24:13
But the the rapidity of it it's quick.
24:15
It happens. It happens very quickly. In
24:17
1 Thessalonians 5:3 it says, "For when
24:19
they shall say peace and safety, then
24:21
sudden destruction cometh upon them as
24:24
travail upon a woman with child and they
24:25
shall not escape." And then in Proverbs
24:28
20 29:1 it says, "He that being often
24:30
reproved hardeneth his neck shall
24:31
suddenly be destroyed and that without
24:35
remedy." So judgment comes quickly.
24:37
Destruction comes quickly.
24:41
The the tree as it says in the book of
24:44
Proverbs, it says without remedy. Jesus
24:46
when he pronounced judgment on this fig
24:48
tree, it was not able to produce fruit
24:50
ever again.
24:51
>> Right?
24:52
>> Ever again. If you and I aren't careful,
24:55
we stiffen our neck against God when
24:57
he's trying to correct us and trying to
24:59
get and trying to trying to get us to go
25:01
in the right direction and get things
25:02
right with him. And we we stiffen our
25:04
neck as the nation of Israel did here.
25:06
And we say, "No, I'm not I'm not
25:07
budging. I'm gonna do what I want to do.
25:09
I'll let you do this much with me, but
25:11
I'm not going to let you do this with
25:12
me." me and I the Lord is very clear
25:15
that whenever he's done, he's done,
25:18
>> right?
25:19
>> He's done. And we know according to
25:21
scripture and have seen in many people's
25:23
lives that have gotten away from God
25:24
that are born again Christians if
25:26
whenever they get away from God and they
25:28
decide that they're not going to do
25:29
anything else and that they're going to
25:30
stay away from the Lord that stay away
25:32
from the things of God that the Lord
25:34
often times whenever they start to hurt
25:35
the the the name of the Lord more than
25:37
they help the name of the Lord that
25:39
God's like, "All right, we're going
25:40
we're going to have to take you out now.
25:42
We're going to bring you home because
25:43
you're hurting more than helping." So,
25:45
we've got to be careful about that. But
25:47
notice the reciprocation of the of the
25:49
of the sin here. McLaren, he writes
25:52
this. He says, "There's a lesson that
25:53
the punishment of any sin is to bind the
25:55
sin upon the doer of it. And Christ
25:58
perpetuated the condition which he found
26:00
and made the sin its own punishment."
26:02
And what he's saying is this is that
26:05
because of the fact that the tree had
26:07
the appearance of fruit but had no
26:09
fruit, the punishment was that it will
26:11
never bear fruit again. And so often
26:14
times the sin that we participate in or
26:17
have in our life is the very sin that
26:21
God will use to destroy our life. It
26:24
will be the judgment of our the very sin
26:27
that we to that we partake in is is
26:30
oftenimes the very sin that that causes
26:32
our own destruction in our life. We see
26:34
an example of that with with Adonisc if
26:37
I'm saying that name right. In the book
26:39
of Judges, it says, "And Adoni fled and
26:42
they pursued after him and caught him
26:43
and cut off his thumbs and his and his
26:45
great toes. And Adonai said, three score
26:48
and 10 kings having their thumbs and
26:50
their great toes cut off gathered their
26:52
meat under my table as I have done. So
26:55
God hath reququitted me." The very same
26:58
thing that he did to all those other
27:00
kings was the very same same thing that
27:02
happened to him. You're
27:04
>> right. So, we need to be careful about
27:06
sin that creeps up in our life.
27:09
>> And it doesn't have to, Listen, you
27:10
don't have to be out partying, drinking,
27:11
or doing all those things that the world
27:13
does. All it takes is a root of
27:15
bitterness.
27:16
>> All it takes is some pride to get to
27:18
take root in our heart. All it takes is
27:21
a little bit of an arrogant attitude and
27:22
thinking that we're right when in
27:24
reality we're probably not. and and and
27:26
those sorts of small things that we we
27:29
think are small, we think are small, can
27:32
grow into great things that will be
27:34
destructive to our very own self. So, we
27:37
need to be careful. Listen, I I'm I'm
27:39
wanting to warn you this morning,
27:40
church, that we need to be careful about
27:43
these things that are in our life that
27:44
shouldn't be there. Isn't that right? My
27:48
mind is a wicked thing. My heart is
27:50
deceitfully wicked above all things. I
27:52
said I am not a good person. The only
27:56
goodness in me as you've heard preached
27:58
time and time again is the righteousness
28:01
that was imputed upon me by the blood of
28:03
the Lord Jesus Christ.
28:06
>> So if I'm not careful, I can find myself
28:09
like this fig tree. I can have all the
28:12
things right on the outside, but on the
28:15
inside there's no fruit.
28:18
>> There's no fruit.
28:20
And Jesus pronounced judgment on this
28:23
tree because of its hypocrisy.
28:26
John Butler writes this. He says, "It
28:28
was the falseness of the tree and making
28:30
it appear there was fruit which provoked
28:33
the sins of death."
28:35
Psalms 101:7 says, "He that worketh
28:37
deceit shall not dwell within my house.
28:41
He that tellth lies shall not tarry in
28:43
my sight." In 1st Samuel 16:7 it says,
28:46
"For the Lord seeth not as man seeth.
28:48
For man lookth on the outward
28:50
appearance, everybody sees the leaves,
28:53
but the Lord lookketh on the heart.
28:56
>> Right?
28:57
>> God sees the inside.
29:02
>> As the Bible says, the eyes of the Lord
29:03
are in every place, beholding the evil
29:05
and the good.
29:06
>> Right?
29:06
>> The Lord knows. We can't hide anything
29:09
from him. And until we really grab a
29:12
hold of that and realize that in our
29:13
heart, we'll allow these little things
29:16
to slip in, this hyp hypocritical
29:18
attitude, this this prideful attitude
29:20
and this and this sinfulness that should
29:22
not be. We'll allow those things to slip
29:24
in until we really realize that God
29:26
knows the intents of our heart.
29:30
Jeremiah 17:10 says, "The Lord, I the
29:34
Lord search the heart. I try the reigns
29:37
even to give every man according to his
29:39
ways and according to the fruit of his
29:42
doings. So if we're sowing bad fruit,
29:45
you can expect that bad things will
29:47
come. And listen, you can and I want to
29:50
emphasize this and again like I said,
29:51
this is a hard as the Bible says, this
29:53
is a hard saying this morning. I'm not
29:54
trying to do this to try I don't know
29:56
what's go I have no idea about anybody's
29:59
life in here. I just want to preface
30:00
that.
30:02
But the Lord's very clear
30:04
that the fruit that we bear is the fruit
30:07
that we will reap. As the Bible says,
30:09
what you sow, you'll reap.
30:10
>> Isn't that right? So, if we're sowing
30:13
this hypocritical lifestyle, you can
30:16
expect to reap of that hypocritical
30:19
lifestyle.
30:20
>> Right?
30:21
>> But the Lord is very clear that he is
30:24
going to give according to the fruit of
30:27
his doings.
30:29
The rigorousness. real quickly and I've
30:31
got to try and wrap it up. But the
30:33
rigorousness of this sentencing that
30:35
Jesus has, the tree lost its place of
30:40
service.
30:41
Service is a privilege and a blessing.
30:45
>> Right?
30:46
>> It is not a place of prestige
30:49
and position.
30:51
This is a stark warning to you and I
30:54
that those steeped in hypocrisy bearing
30:56
no fruit, for Jesus himself even said in
31:00
John 15:2, "Every branch in me that
31:02
beareth not fruit, he taketh away. And
31:04
every branch that beareth fruit, he
31:05
purgeth that it may bring forth more
31:07
fruit." So if we're not bearing fruit,
31:10
the Bible says that it'll purge us and
31:11
take it away.
31:13
If we allow this stuff in our li in our
31:16
life, you know what we risk?
31:19
We risk the privilege of service. That's
31:23
>> right.
31:24
>> Serving God.
31:26
You and I have the greatest privilege in
31:29
the world today as born again believers.
31:32
We have the greatest privilege of
31:34
serving the God of heaven, the God of
31:38
this world, the God of this universe,
31:40
the one that spoke everything into
31:42
exist. We have the privilege this
31:44
morning of serving the God that saved us
31:48
by his grace through the shed blood of
31:51
his only begotten son, the Lord Jesus
31:53
Christ. That is a privilege this
31:55
morning. I praise God that he counted me
31:58
faithful as Paul said, putting me into
32:00
the ministry. You know that Paul's
32:02
saying that. Yes, he's talking to
32:03
Timothy, a young preacher, but you know
32:05
that's for the child of God this
32:07
morning. God counted you faithful and
32:09
put you into the ministry today.
32:13
>> Isn't that amazing?
32:16
>> And if we allow this petty little sin in
32:19
our heart,
32:21
>> it can destroy everything that we've
32:23
done
32:24
>> for the cause of Christ.
32:28
>> Seen too many people get just throw in
32:30
the towel and quit. And I'm not very
32:32
old. And I' I've seen people my age.
32:34
I've seen people that I've that that
32:35
I've looked up to just just quit on the
32:37
things of and just walk away because
32:39
there was something that they allowed in
32:41
their life that derailed them and
32:43
destroyed their Christian walk with God.
32:45
And it caused them to have a
32:46
hypocritical lifestyle. And God said,
32:48
"You know what? We're not going to use
32:50
you anymore."
32:51
>> Good.
32:54
>> And everything that they had done up to
32:57
that point
32:59
was destroyed.
33:00
>> You're right. That's right. the churches
33:03
that they had built, the sinners that
33:06
they had reached.
33:09
You realize this morning that our
33:11
testimony and our walk with God is so
33:14
gravely important. It's not just about
33:17
ourselves. It's about others today,
33:19
>> right? And if we quit on God and we
33:22
allow sin to keep us from serving God
33:25
and we walk away from the things of God
33:27
or God takes us out of the service of
33:29
the Lord, then it hurts everything that
33:32
we have done for God up to this point
33:37
and I've got to hurry real quickly
33:42
because the emphasis that Jesus puts on
33:44
the disciples after this is he gives
33:47
them a little sermon there in verse
33:49
number 20.
33:51
Let's look in verse number 21 for time's
33:53
sake. It says, "And Peter calling to
33:54
remembrance saith unto him, Master,
33:55
behold the fig tree which thou cursest
33:57
is withered away. And Jesus answering
34:00
saith unto them, have faith in God."
34:05
>> Right?
34:08
>> You know why people quit?
34:12
There's a lot of things that you could
34:13
put into this, but I think it boils down
34:15
to one main factor,
34:18
>> and it's that they don't or quit have
34:20
having faith in God.
34:23
>> Right?
34:26
>> When John the Baptist was doubting in
34:28
that prison there when he was put when
34:29
he was placed in prison,
34:33
Jesus said, "Blessed is he whosoever
34:35
shall not be offended in me."
34:39
When things go don't go our way,
34:43
when circumstances change, and when
34:46
things get hard, are we going to keep
34:49
having faith in God, or are we going to
34:52
allow the circumstance to override our
34:56
faith?
34:58
>> Good. Come on.
35:00
I found that that seems to be the key
35:02
thing in a lot of people quitting on God
35:04
and leaving the church and leaving the
35:05
things of God and just giving up and
35:07
throwing in the towel is the fact that
35:08
they allow the circumstance to override
35:12
the goodness of God in our life.
35:15
>> Amen. Right.
35:16
>> And they get focused on the physical
35:20
more than the spiritual.
35:22
>> Amen.
35:23
>> The Bible is very clear in Colossians
35:25
chapter 3. It says, "Set your affections
35:26
on things above."
35:28
>> Yeah. Come on. not on things on the
35:32
earth.
35:32
>> Right?
35:34
>> When somebody does me wrong, God's still
35:36
good.
35:38
>> When somebody says something that kind
35:40
of offends me, you know what? God's
35:42
still good.
35:45
>> Whenever somebody has hurt me deeply and
35:47
I've poured my life into them and
35:49
they've walked away, God's still good.
35:55
>> You know why? Because I'm not looking at
35:58
this earthly thing that's going on here.
36:00
I need to keep what's the Bible say?
36:02
Looking unto Jesus, the author and the
36:04
finisher of our faith.
36:06
>> I'm looking for a better home, a better
36:08
country, a place that God has promised
36:10
me in heaven. I'm looking to be with my
36:12
savior for all of eternity. Sure, things
36:14
get hard down here, but what do I have?
36:17
Amazingly, maybe 60, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80
36:20
years. If I'm really blessed, 100 years
36:22
down here, and then I'm with heaven in
36:24
heaven with God. Amen.
36:27
>> That hundred years pales in comparison
36:30
to eternity.
36:32
>> I'm looking I need to keep my eyes up.
36:37
>> That's where I need to keep my focus
36:38
this morning because if I get focused
36:41
down here, I get focused on the
36:43
circumstance, I get focused on the hurt,
36:45
and I'm not I'm really I'm I'm kind of
36:47
just butchering this thing this morning,
36:48
but you know, I get focused on things
36:50
down here, I will quit because I in my
36:52
flesh am weak. Yeah.
36:55
>> But when I have faith in God,
36:58
>> you know what the Bible says? And I I'll
37:00
say this and I'll quit because it's time
37:01
to quit.
37:03
But you know what the Bible says in
37:04
Ephesians chapter 1 and verse number 19.
37:07
It says the B it says that the power of
37:10
God is to usward who believe.
37:14
>> So you know when I have faith in God,
37:16
I'm not relying on my own strength when
37:18
things get hard.
37:19
>> Right? When I have faith in God, I'm not
37:21
relying on my own ability when things
37:23
get hard. When I have faith in God, I'm
37:27
looking to him and his strength and his
37:30
ability. And you know what? No, no
37:32
circumstance, no situation, no problem
37:35
is too big or too great for my God.
37:38
>> It might be too big for me.
37:40
>> I might not be able to handle it. But
37:42
God is great. He's He is a He has done
37:46
exceedingly above abundantly above all I
37:48
could ask. He is the one that is able to
37:49
handle my problem and my situation.
37:52
>> Right.
37:55
>> The least that I could do this morning
37:57
is live a life that [snorts] pleases God
38:00
and is unhypocritical in the motives and
38:03
the attitude and how I serve him.
38:05
>> Amen.
38:07
>> God is still good this morning.
38:09
>> Amen.
38:09
>> So if I can encourage you in something
38:12
this morning, I want to encourage you.
38:14
Have faith in God. Right.
38:19
>> Have faith in God. Don't f Don't focus
38:22
on the circumstance, the problem, the
38:24
situation. That's too hard for it's too
38:27
hard for us in our own ability, our own
38:29
power, our own our own mind. Let God
38:32
handle it. Have faith in God. He's able
38:35
to deliver you out of all of your
38:37
troubles. That's what David said. David
38:40
said that in Psalm chapter 34.
38:42
And I think that David had probably I
38:44
think I know David had way more troubles
38:46
than I I have had or ever will have.
38:51
>> Have faith in God this morning. Let's
38:52
pray. Lord, we thank you for the
38:53
opportunity once again to be able to be
38:55
in the house of God. Lord, thank you for
38:57
the word of God. How helps us, grows us,
38:59
encourages us. Lord, I pray that you'd
39:02
help us to be more like you. God, help
39:04
us focus on you this morning. Bless the
39:06
preaching hour. Bless the preacher. God,
39:08
I pray that you'd use him mightily. Give
39:10
him strength this morning. and he's not
39:11
feeling well. God, I pray that you'd
39:13
give him liberty and power. God, I pray
39:15
that you'd help us to have an open,
39:17
receptive heart to the word of God this
39:18
morning. Lord, I pray that you'd help
39:21
have help us to have a willing spirit to
39:23
want to change to be better Christians
39:25
for you. God, help us not be
39:27
hypocritical, but to be real. God, help
39:29
us of all most of all to have faith in
39:33
God. We love you. Thank you for all that
39:34
you do in Jesus name. Amen.
39:36
>> Thank you for joining our service today.
39:38
We'd love it if [music] you'd join us in
39:40
person the next time you are able at
39:42
Meadows Baptist Church. Our physical
39:45
address is 2988 Stewart [music] Road in
39:48
Walnut Cove, North Carolina. Our service
39:52
times are Sunday school [music] at 10:00
39:54
a.m., Sunday morning worship at 11:00
39:56
a.m., Sunday evening worship at 6:00
39:59
p.m., [music] and Wednesday evening
40:00
Bible study at 700 p.m. For more
40:03
information, visit us at [music]
40:05
meadowsbaptisturch.com.
40:07
Thanks again for tuning in.