Morning Message Text: Luke 13: 1-9
Repent or Perish
1 Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.
2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way?
3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.
4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?
5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any.
7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’
8 “ ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it.
9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’ ”
Morning Message:
We begin with your Lenten Devotional. If you have been reading daily you will recognize what I am reading to you; if not, then you can hear it for the first time. It starts with this scripture, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4: 7). We become true followers of Jesus Christ each time we take his words on our lips and say to the tempter, “Be off, Satan…you must worship the Lord your God and serve him alone.” (Henri J. M. Nouwen) Think about that for a moment. We are all tempted every day, how do we respond?
The devotion continues: We are true followers of Jesus. We are also becoming true followers of Jesus, as we engage in the spiritual disciplines that help us mature in faith. Foundational to our being and our becoming is the Word of God. The scriptures lead us to Jesus. As Jesus said, “You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life, and it is they that testify on my behalf.” (John 5:39) That word engage sticks out to me. To engage means: “To occupy the attention or efforts of; involve. To enter into conflict with.” Here is where we need to focus our attention. We are true followers of Jesus because we have confessed him as Lord and Savior of our lives, but are we becoming true followers of Jesus? Are we engaging on a regular basis?
Some of you are sitting here this morning thinking to yourselves, “Why does he go on and on about our need to be in and know God’s Word? Why does knowing God’s Word matter so much?” That’s a fair question. This devotion gives us the answer. By the way, you should study your devotions not simply read them. Listen for the answer. “Our Lenten journey leads us to Jesus. In practice, our own words are useless against evil. We must use Christ’s words.” Did you hear that? Just because you are a Christian, that in and of itself doesn’t give you any power over evil. Our words are meaningless to the devil, but he flees from the Word of God. “Jesus used the Word to ward off Satan’s temptations.” In order to become true followers of Jesus we must know God’s Word. know God’s Word.
What do you think today’s morning message text is talking about? Maybe I should try that some Sunday. You always get to hear my perspective; maybe I should hear yours. Today’s text is easy. Pilate had proven himself capable of killing Jews who displeased him or who somehow opposed his policies. The crowd wanted to see Jesus’ response to Romans slaughtering righteous Jews as they performed their Jewish religious duty. A prevalent belief during this time was that severe calamities happened only to people who deserved God’s judgment; the truly righteous were spared this suffering. This belief is still ingrained in our society to a certain degree. Even sometimes we Christians can start to judge in our hearts that bad things only happen to bad people. We know that in this fallen world the only certainty that we have is in our faith in Jesus and of eternal life through him. There is a very clear and simple message here. Nothing in this life is secure; so repent and save your souls. That’s not His exact words, but that is His point to the Jews of that time and to the world today. Repent, God is patient, but there will be judgment.
Okay, I want to quickly touch on verses 12 and 13 of 1Corinthians chapter 10. “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” Don’t take your faith and your spiritual strength for granted. Don’t be surprised when you find yourself in a spiritual battle due to a temptation of some kind. Stay ready for the battle because it is constantly raging all around you and at some point, if you are a follower of Jesus, you will be forced to engage.
I found this in my study Bible, and I believe it can be useful for all of us. Dr. David Jeremiah says, “In the front of my Bible I have written five simple words that summarize what Paul and the other biblical writers say about the subject of temptation:
1. Fight. Battle the temptation; this is not the time for passivity. Here are some Bible verses to help you. (Ephesians 6:11; James 4:7; 1 Peter. 5: 8, 9). Too often it just seems easier to us to try and ignore the temptation that is eating away at us. It will not go away on it’s own, you must be willing to fight.
2. Follow. Follow the example of Jesus (James 4:7, 1 Peter 2:21). What is the example of Jesus? We just talked about this today. Jesus used the Word of God to ward off temptation. In order to use it, you need to know it.
3. Flee. Do not remain in the presence of temptation. There are many examples in the Bible that show us that temptation can and will overtake us if we try to abide with it. This one is so obvious. If you have an addictive personality, don’t leave yourself exposed to that which you know you can’t resist.
4. Fellowship. Isolation is the ideal environment for temptation. The community of believers is a safe harbor. I laugh when people tell me they don’t need the church. It’s just a building, they will say. I can be a good Christian without the church. First, there is no such thing as a good person or Christian, and second, we were created for fellowship with God and one another; the Christian life is difficult enough; why would you want to walk alone?
5. Feed. The Word of God is the Christian’s daily bread. It’s like a great big circle that always leads back to God’s Word. If you are trying to walk with Jesus and not reading God’s Word, it’s like going through life with a blindfold on. And as we said earlier, you can only battle temptation with God’s Word.
Being a Christian, that is the most important decision you can make. Eternal life hangs in the balance with that decision. Becoming what God has called you to be, becoming the mature Christian soldier that God needs you to be, that takes work and dedication to the Word of God. That’s what we practice in the season of Lent.
In Christ’s Love and Peace,
Pastor Bob
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