Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Welcome to the Feb. 22 sermon from Clifford Baptist Church, 6:35 Fletcher's Level Road in Amherst. Today's scripture is Luke, chapter 3, verses 10 through 20. And the sermon is entitled A Faithful response, delivered today by Pastor Jeffrey Campbell. I know as we gather week by week, some of us, we can't control what happens during the week. Or maybe you've got a week to come that you, you know, that you've got something stressful that's waiting for you, something that you've got to deal with. And it's important that anything that comes our way and anything that we handle as Christians, we response a faithful response in how we have to handle it. Well, we have opened the book of Luke and we've opened more specifically chapter number three. A couple weeks ago, we talked about that the axe was laid at the root of the tree, of the tree that is not producing fruit.
[00:00:50] And if that tree does not produce fruit, one day that tree will be cut down.
[00:00:55] And not only will it be cut down, it will be thrown into the fire.
[00:00:59] Well, we took a week last week to honor the WMU of our church, teaching the young minds about missions work.
[00:01:06] And then we come today to ponder a question going back to that ax laying at the root.
[00:01:12] And so, as we take a hold of God's word, here's what I want to say. I don't know what you've got going on this past week or what you're going to face this week.
[00:01:21] My prayer is this, that we can just be faithful to our Lord, knowing that our Lord will lead us through whatever we face.
[00:01:28] And so I want to offer a prayer as we begin today and just to humble ourselves before a mighty God.
[00:01:36] Let's join our hearts in prayer, Father. Thank you, Lord. Thank you for your holy word and Lord, which I am very inadequate to even try to proclaim.
[00:01:47] Oh, God, as your people, we desperately want to ponder that question today. What shall we do, Lord? We want to be bearers of good fruit. We want fruit that is worthy of repentance.
[00:02:00] But, oh God, we often look at our own lives and what we face, and we just ask, what shall we do?
[00:02:07] As we open your holy word, God, I pray that you will use your word to teach us and lead us this morning as we look to you. And we want our lives to proclaim your love and mercy and your grace. We, to a world that surrounds us, lead us now. In this study, we pray in Jesus name. Amen.
[00:02:27] Nikki Cruz grew up in a very abusive home in the country of Puerto Rico.
[00:02:34] He was Sent to New York City to live with family members, and he ended up on the streets.
[00:02:41] He eventually found his way into a gang, and he was known for stabbings and beatings and intimidation or on those that he surrounded himself with.
[00:02:51] In 1958, a country preacher named David Wilkerson witnessed to this man telling him how much Jesus loved him.
[00:03:02] Nicky Cruz looked at that old country preacher, mocked him, and threatened to kill him.
[00:03:11] That old country preacher said, you could chop me into a thousand pieces and every piece would still cry out these words, jesus loves you.
[00:03:22] Nikki Cruz was convicted, and a few months later, he surrendered his life to Jesus Christ, saying this. I didn't turn over a new leaf. God gave me a new heart.
[00:03:35] And he walked away from the gangs in which he ran with, and he reconciled with those that he had harmed. And he devoted his life to ministry and. And to be in a voice of hope to those who are in prison, those who are addicted to drugs, and those who were involved in gangs.
[00:03:53] This is a transformation.
[00:03:56] This is a faithful response to the gospel message. As I said a few weeks ago, we understand that the ax lays at the root of the tree, and that tree must produce good fruit. Fruit.
[00:04:11] Throughout the last couple of weeks, I have received calls and emails from you guys questioning what that fruit really looks like and if you are bearers of that fruit.
[00:04:22] And so if you called or you wrote or you asked that question, what about me? What about my life? I pray that you listen to God's word today, because one day we will all stand before a holy God and we will have to give a personal account with what we did with Jesus Christ.
[00:04:41] And I do not want to stand before Jesus, my Lord, and say, I loved you, but I did nothing with my life for you.
[00:04:50] I have no fruit to show.
[00:04:54] I don't know what that day would look like if I stood before my Lord with those words. And so today, as we consider this scripture, as we consider the ministry of John the Baptist and what he was called to do, but the message is. Is vital even to our churches and to our country. Today, Christians must bear fruit.
[00:05:19] My prayer is not only that we will evaluate our own lives of faith.
[00:05:26] And as we look up to a heavenly Father, we look through the branches of our tree that bear fruit as we look to our heavenly Father.
[00:05:36] But everyone must respond.
[00:05:41] It goes deeper than lip service.
[00:05:44] It's more than praying one prayer and going back to your old lifestyle. It's a life that is changed by Jesus Christ and him alone.
[00:05:54] What does that look like?
[00:05:58] Here's your answer. Today, three very simple points as we gather around the word of God. Luke chapter number three, starting with verse number ten this morning. Luke three, verse number ten.
[00:06:14] And the people asked him, saying, what shall we do then?
[00:06:19] And he answered and said unto them, he that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none, and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.
[00:06:31] Then came also the publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, master, what shall we do? And he said unto them, exact no more than that which is appointed to you.
[00:06:44] And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, and what shall we do? And he said unto them, do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely, and be content with your wages.
[00:06:57] Verse number 15.
[00:06:59] And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John whether he were the Christ or not, point number one of a faithful response is this.
[00:07:13] Faith leads to action.
[00:07:17] Faith leads to action.
[00:07:20] As John has asked to see the fruit that is worthy of repentance and not just a family connection.
[00:07:29] You see, what the argument was is our descendant is Abraham.
[00:07:35] And just because you can reach back into your history, into your family ancestry, and say, my mama and my daddy or my grandparents, that doesn't speak for you.
[00:07:47] My two teenage sons cannot ride the coattails of their pastor dad.
[00:07:53] They must have faith as well.
[00:07:55] And so what the argument was is, we are connected to Abraham. We have ties there. And John says, no, it must be more.
[00:08:04] And so they began to respond to what John has said.
[00:08:08] And there are three groups that are highlighted by Dr. Luke that respond all to the same question.
[00:08:16] And I'm going to just go ahead and jump to the end of the sermon.
[00:08:20] At the end of the sermon, you will have to respond to this question. Every single one of you will respond to this question as well.
[00:08:27] What shall we do?
[00:08:30] We understand this. This question is not a desire to save themselves, to work to save themselves. They just simply want to know this. What do we need to do to show that our fruit is worthy of repentance?
[00:08:45] The first group that comes is the crowd.
[00:08:51] And we see that in verse number 10. And the people ask him, that's the crowd that is listening to John as he proclaims this message. The crowd that surrounds him asks, what are we to do here?
[00:09:04] What shall we do that our fruit is worthy of repentance?
[00:09:09] And as that crowd asks, what shall we do? John's Response in verse 11 says this. He answers the crowd to simply say this. If you have two coats, give one to somebody that has a need.
[00:09:24] And if you have plenty of food.
[00:09:28] You can give a little bit to those that have a need.
[00:09:33] A response of faith helps when and where there is a need. And here's what I want to tell you, church. The Holy Spirit's got to be your God.
[00:09:43] You don't have to call up in the prayer line and say, okay, should I do this? No.
[00:09:49] What John says, if you are faithful and you see a need and you can meet that need, just do it.
[00:09:57] Just meet the need.
[00:09:59] How many of us understand James chapter one that calls us to be doers of the Word and not hearers only?
[00:10:07] Man, it would be a shame this week if hundreds of people gathered in a sanctuary and by a live stream in Amherst, Virginia, and heard a good sermon and then walked out the doors and walked by people that were in need of the Jesus that we love.
[00:10:26] And so when we consider our faith put into action, the crowd shows us that we need to do something. And John's answer is this. When you see the need, just meet the need.
[00:10:42] But there's a second group.
[00:10:44] We refer to these as the publicans.
[00:10:47] And you can see that in verse 12, the publicans came to be baptized and said unto him, master, what shall we do?
[00:10:56] I love how they addressed John.
[00:10:59] They addressed him as master, as teacher. They're coming. They want to learn.
[00:11:04] They want to honestly know what they need to do in order to produce or to show these fruits that are worthy of repentance. So these tax collectors, I'm not going to ask you to raise your hand because I know the tax people still have a bad taste in today's time, okay?
[00:11:23] And guess what? It's almost that time, right?
[00:11:26] So when we understand taxes, we can grumble and we can gripe and we can complain about all of those things. But. But here in Jesus days, the tax collectors, they would charge extra and they would put more on what they levied against the people. And what they were doing, they were basically aligning their pockets because of their profession.
[00:11:48] But these are crooked government officials.
[00:11:54] And they're saying, what do we need to do?
[00:11:56] What do we need to do to show that Jesus is our Lord?
[00:12:00] And here is John's response.
[00:12:04] In verse number 13, he said to them, exact no more than that which is appointed to you.
[00:12:09] We understand that as they want to learn and as they want to know what truly they need to do to show this fruit.
[00:12:18] John addresses how they handle people with integrity.
[00:12:24] Don't charge anybody no more than you need to.
[00:12:29] I did a little research.
[00:12:31] Do you know some of the professions that can't Be trusted.
[00:12:38] Don't trust the weatherman. We all already know that.
[00:12:41] We know that you can't trust reporters and you can't trust members of government and you can't trust salespeople and you can't trust lawyers.
[00:12:52] Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry.
[00:12:56] But listen, let me tell you this. There's a Gallup poll that says this.
[00:13:01] There are also other places and people that you can't trust.
[00:13:05] You can't trust medical doctors and you can't trust judges and you can't trust daycare providers and you cannot trust clergy.
[00:13:14] I'm standing in a position today that people's respect and trust in the pastor is sharply declining.
[00:13:25] Why? Because we have lost our integrity.
[00:13:30] We bend the rules to feed our own desires, and God help the pastor that does that.
[00:13:42] I'm not sitting here pointing at the profession, and the profession is not the issue. What John says this don't quit your job just as you're in your job. Be a man of integrity and only charge what you need to charge and nothing more.
[00:14:01] So I challenge you this week, wherever job, you're going to just be a man or woman of integrity and let the Lord speak through you there.
[00:14:11] One of the greatest places that you will be a witness for Jesus Christ is your. Your workplace.
[00:14:21] You must be a man or woman of integrity.
[00:14:24] There's a third group that comes, and we see that third group in verse number 14.
[00:14:33] And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, and what shall we do?
[00:14:39] Now, these soldiers, they were probably connected to Herod, but John's response was this. Quit intimidating folks with violence.
[00:14:49] Don't accuse them falsely for your own gain, and just be content with your wages.
[00:14:57] Uh, oh man, we're stepping all over stuff today, aren't we?
[00:15:02] Just be content with what you make.
[00:15:05] Friends, we're living in a world that is very unsatisfied with a paycheck, unsatisfied with a job.
[00:15:14] And when they go in there as Christians, they don't bleed Christianity, they bleed hatred.
[00:15:20] And so if you can't satisfy somebody with a pay or satisfy somebody with a job, or satisfy somebody with just simply being a Christian, how can you win somebody to Jesus?
[00:15:31] These soldiers, as John addresses them directly, many begin to talk that is this the Christ, Is this the Messiah?
[00:15:43] And so he quickly has to address that in just a second.
[00:15:47] But listen, friends church, the message has not changed for you and I today.
[00:15:55] Faith in Christ changes us and leads us to godly action.
[00:16:02] As we consider what must we do, what must we change that we could bear fruit for our Lord, Faith Changes faith, moves us to action. And there needs to be action in the church in America today.
[00:16:17] Helping your neighbor, being a man or woman of integrity and honor, refusing to take advantage of others.
[00:16:26] John simply says this. If you do these things, you begin to bear the fruit of your father.
[00:16:33] A faithful response to the gospel is faith that bleeds into our actions every single day.
[00:16:42] Not that we make up or not that we put on, or not that we just show off. It's a genuine faith that people recognize, they identify with, and they want more of it. But there's a second point.
[00:16:58] Look at verses 16 through 18 of chapter three.
[00:17:03] John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water. But one mightier than I cometh the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose.
[00:17:15] He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire whose fan is in his hand. And he will thoroughly purge his floor and will gather the wheat into his garner. But the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.
[00:17:32] And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people.
[00:17:38] Point number two today is faith looks to Jesus.
[00:17:44] Faith looks to Jesus. As the people responded, they responded differently to John.
[00:17:52] Some loved what he had to say and some hated what he had to say. That's the life of a pastor. I'm just going to tell you. Some like it and some hate it.
[00:18:00] And here's what you got to realize. Here's what you got to realize. Jesus isn't going to please everybody.
[00:18:07] And so, as he has been preaching faithfully, as God has called him to do, some were incorrectly trying to identify him as the Messiah. And he just says, as people are looking at him, he says, no, I'm not. I'm not the Messiah. He deflects that attention from himself. And it says this. There's somebody that's coming after me whose worth. I'm not even able to stoop down and buckle his sandal. I can't even touch him. I'm that unworthy as a. As a pre.
[00:18:41] Someone that's going and proclaiming the herald of Jesus Christ is coming. I can't even come and buckle his shoe.
[00:18:50] That's what John's doing.
[00:18:52] I don't even deserve to buckle Jesus sandals for him.
[00:18:58] When we understand that faith looks to Jesus, we see that John is looking to someone that's mightier and that he's not worthy. But Jesus is worthy.
[00:19:10] His baptism is one that will transform people's lives. Jesus baptism that he will perform is going to be by Water and by fire. And so what we understand this is John is saying this. He's coming in power and might to change people's lives.
[00:19:29] Where does that change start?
[00:19:31] It starts on the inside.
[00:19:34] It starts on the inside. And when John says this, that Jesus is going to baptize and change lives, he's going to baptize with water and fire. It's a means of purification and inward change.
[00:19:49] Just because you go through the waters of baptism doesn't mean you're saved.
[00:19:54] But when God Almighty baptizes you with His Spirit, that's the true change.
[00:20:01] And so the outwardly baptism should be a sign of the inwardly baptism.
[00:20:07] You should receive Jesus and be baptized by him far before you enter a pool of water.
[00:20:13] And so what we understand is this faith changes us from the inside and it begins to work out, but it's always looking to Jesus.
[00:20:25] I'm grateful that John also offers a word of warning here.
[00:20:32] When we look at what John says about the baptizing and not worthy to buckle the shoe or the sandal, we also see in verse number 17 that there's a fan in his hand and there's a threshing floor at his disposal.
[00:20:49] And there is a pitchfork, if you will.
[00:20:53] Here's what I want you to think of. I want you to think of a pitchfork that has wide forks on it.
[00:20:58] And as that grain harvest comes in, not only did the grain come in, but the chaff came with it.
[00:21:05] And so the job was to on that threshing floor, on that floor was to take that pitchfork and you would just work that grain and you would throw it up in the air. And as you throw that grain up in the air, God, the chaff would blow away by the winds.
[00:21:21] And that's how you separated the good from the bad.
[00:21:25] What John says is this. Right now the chaff and the grain are together, but there's coming a day.
[00:21:33] And I want you to make sure that you see in verse number 17 that the fan is in his hand. It's in Jesus hand. John says, it's not in my hand.
[00:21:43] And whose floor is it? It's his floor and it's his garner.
[00:21:47] And he is going to separate that wheat from the chaff.
[00:21:53] And in verse number 17, these words, the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.
[00:22:01] That fruit that is not being produced, that wasted substance is thrown in the fire. And the fire will never, ever, ever, ever stop.
[00:22:13] The hard part of being a preacher is to preach the balance of God's love, but of God's Judgment.
[00:22:21] And I want you to hear this in a moment of God's love. Guess what?
[00:22:25] His hand is not on the fork yet.
[00:22:28] It's a sign of mercy and grace that there's still time.
[00:22:32] But today, if you feel like your life is not producing the fruit, you are identifying with the chaff.
[00:22:39] And the Bible says very plainly this one day when the Lord takes and he separates the good from the bad, the bad will burn forever.
[00:22:49] Praise God, there's still time. And so today, when we think about a faithful response, it's not just from the people, the crowd, the soldiers, the publican saying, I want to be baptized. I want what you have to offer.
[00:23:06] Jesus is saying this. Has there been an inward change and an outward response, a fruit that shows that Jesus is your Lord?
[00:23:18] I'm grateful today that if you're here and you have been saved, that the Holy Spirit lives within you and that he continues to correct and change us and mold us day by day. I'm not standing before you as judge, and I'm definitely not standing before you as perfect.
[00:23:37] The Holy Spirit, I need him every day. And my prayer is this, that we as believers will look at our own tree and those limbs or those areas that are not bearing fruit, that we will turn them over to the Lord and pray that harvest will come.
[00:23:54] I love verse number 18.
[00:23:56] John continues to preach to prepare the people for the coming of Christ.
[00:24:03] And I'm grateful that when we see that word exhort, it's an encouragement John exhorted.
[00:24:13] He came beside them, not only told them what to do, showed them what to do, walked with them in these changes that needed to take place so that their faith would continue to look to Jesus today. If you're here and you don't have faith, here's what you need to hear.
[00:24:35] Turn your eyes toward Jesus.
[00:24:40] There's one more point.
[00:24:41] Look at verses 19 and 20.
[00:24:45] But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison.
[00:25:02] Not only does faith look to Jesus, and not only does faith lead to action, faith lives to die.
[00:25:12] Faith lives to die.
[00:25:15] I'm grateful that John's preaching reached the ear of the people, but we also see that John's preaching reached the palace.
[00:25:24] And I want to say this, you never know how far your ministry, your fruit will go, bearing the Lord's identity to somebody.
[00:25:36] I got people that I used to work with at BMW that said oh yeah, you're that preacher. I never knew that.
[00:25:43] You've got people that you work with that you can reach.
[00:25:48] And we understand this, that we never know how far. But John's preaching reached the palace because John called for people to change their ways. He called for them to change their words and that their lives would match up to them being Christians. That fruit would be expected if they were to consider themselves believers.
[00:26:10] God is using this man to call people to the Lord, but also to turn from their half hearted devotion and to serve the Lord fully.
[00:26:21] Can I tell you something?
[00:26:23] Truth eventually starts to rub people the wrong way.
[00:26:29] Let that serve as a warning.
[00:26:31] Some people aren't going to like it.
[00:26:33] Some people don't like having their toes stepped on.
[00:26:37] I'm sorry, you're in the wrong church.
[00:26:39] Because look, if the Lord steps on my toes, I just got to preach what he tells me to, okay?
[00:26:47] But the truth rubs people the wrong way and the truth reveals people's heart. And here's what history says.
[00:26:56] History says that Herod took his half brother Philip's wife.
[00:27:02] He left his own wife and took his brother's wife.
[00:27:06] And what did John do about it? Here's what John did about it. John went and told him it wasn't right, that he should not be doing that.
[00:27:14] He asked him to change his ways and he pronounced that his marriage was wrong in the sight of God.
[00:27:21] And for doing that, for just simply proclaiming the truth, guess What? Verse number 20 says this, that John was shut up in prison. But here's what I love about John the Baptist, that he lived his life the same way, the message that he preached.
[00:27:38] And I believe that's the greatest testimony to this world.
[00:27:41] If Christians will just take their lives, that we claim to be Christians and live them in such a way that it shows and bears the fruit of Jesus, we want revival.
[00:27:54] That's got to be the beginning. Revival doesn't start out there. Revival starts here. And it starts by people's lives getting right with God, then showing and modeling that life before others.
[00:28:09] Matthew 14, Mark chapter 6.
[00:28:13] Give the details of John the Baptist losing his life because he had upset Herod and Herod's wife.
[00:28:21] You know the story. Their daughter wanted his head on a platter. And because that's the King's daughter, guess what? She got John the Baptist head on a platter.
[00:28:32] John lived for Jesus.
[00:28:34] John's faith matched up with his actions.
[00:28:39] John simply this. He pointed people and he looked to Jesus.
[00:28:43] And by doing that, his faith that he lived out led to his own Death.
[00:28:52] I'm not saying this morning in the United States of America that you will lose your life for your faith.
[00:28:59] Praise God. We live in a free country.
[00:29:02] But it's going to become harder to be a Christian in this nation.
[00:29:06] And I want you to hear this from this pulpit. We are no longer living in a Christian nation.
[00:29:11] One of these days, something's going to happen to every single one of us.
[00:29:15] Unless the Lord comes back first, we will die.
[00:29:22] I can't tell you how that's going to happen, but I can tell you this. On the authority of God's word, it says this. Unless the Lord comes back first, every one of us will experience death.
[00:29:33] Will your faith live until you die?
[00:29:38] Will it bear fruit until the Lord just simply transitions you to home?
[00:29:43] As I think about an invitation and a response, I think it's important.
[00:29:50] Every week I open an altar and ask you to come and you can come and pray and you can deal with the Lord yourself. You can come pray with a pastor. Here's what I want you to know. As long as I'm the pastor of this church, I think an old fashioned invitation is important.
[00:30:04] But how will we respond to what we've heard today?
[00:30:10] Believers, we're called to put our faith in action.
[00:30:15] We're called to be looking to Jesus.
[00:30:19] And as we live out that life, we're called to live it out until we die, whatever that looks like, and be faithful to the Lord until then.
[00:30:30] If you're an unbeliever in this room today, I want to say this. Praise God. You're not here by accident.
[00:30:37] And God allows me the opportunity to just offer, offer this invitation that he loves you and there's still time.
[00:30:46] And that he desires that you and he have a relationship, one with another.
[00:30:52] In order for to have that relationship, you've got to turn from your sin and you've got to acknowledge him as Lord.
[00:30:59] And in doing that, you look to him as you live out your life day by day by day.
[00:31:05] Some of you in this room, believers, and some of you in this room may not be believers.
[00:31:13] That goes back to the wheat and the chaff.
[00:31:17] They're mixed together right now.
[00:31:20] My prayer is that before you close your eyes in death, that you recognize your need for Jesus as Savior.
[00:31:29] Whether that's today or down the road. The Holy Spirit will work in your life and in your heart. That you understand that you need to turn to him in faith and that you need to live your life for Him.
[00:31:43] He went to an old rugged cross to die in your place. So you didn't have to.
[00:31:48] You can come to him in faith today.
[00:31:51] Church what shall we do?
[00:31:54] What shall we do if we want fruit worthy of repentance?
[00:32:00] What will you do?
[00:32:04] That's your question as you come before the Lord today. Father God, thank you.
[00:32:09] Thank you for a moment of invitation, Lord, where we look within at our own hearts and our own lives.
[00:32:17] God, we look at our own faith and maybe it's not measuring up to where it needs to be. And maybe there's some concern if there's fruit and oh God, maybe somebody's asking the question this morning, what do I need to do?
[00:32:31] I pray this morning in this room that there would be some believers that realize that their faith needs to become an action.
[00:32:39] Their lives need to mesh up.
[00:32:42] Their words need to be modeled in such a way that glorify you, God, for that one that belongs to you but is running from you.
[00:32:54] Lord, the Holy Spirit will convict them, but they know that that's not what needs to be happening.
[00:33:00] Oh God, I pray for that heart that just needs to take a 180 and just turn back and run and fall at the feet of Jesus.
[00:33:07] That one person that needs Jesus as savior, no matter their age, no matter their background, no matter their first love, Jesus Christ can become that love.
[00:33:21] And oh God, today I pray, Lord, that you will convict that heart and show them their need of you as Savior and by the Holy Spirit's power and that alone, God, that you will change a heart of stone into a life that will produce fruit for the kingdom of our Lord. We give this moment of invitation, this moment of response.
[00:33:44] Oh God, what do we need to do?
[00:33:49] Show us our pray in Jesus name.
[00:33:53] Amen. Clifford Baptist Church invites you to join us for worship every Sunday morning at 11am for more information about our church, please call our church office at 434-946-0555.
