WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.459 Welcome again. Good morning. I'm Tommy. I'm one of the pastors here. We're looking at the gospel 00:00:05.459 --> 00:00:12.820 according to Luke, and we come this week to a very interesting place, Luke chapter 3, 00:00:12.919 --> 00:00:18.879 looking at a very strange man, quite frankly, named John, a man whom we refer to as John the 00:00:18.879 --> 00:00:27.760 Baptist. Even though this is a guy who lived 2,000 years ago and in any society would be considered 00:00:27.760 --> 00:00:36.420 odd, his message is incredibly relevant and vital. His entire ministry was about preparing the world 00:00:36.420 --> 00:00:42.800 for the coming of Jesus, preparing the world for the coming of Jesus. And what his message and 00:00:42.800 --> 00:00:49.480 ministry, what they show us is that Christianity is not simply a set of beliefs that we adopt 00:00:49.480 --> 00:00:56.560 or a set of life principles that we build into our daily lives. Christianity is ultimately about a 00:00:56.560 --> 00:01:03.240 spiritual event, a spiritual event that impacts everything, the way we see the world, the way 00:01:03.240 --> 00:01:08.159 we see ourselves, the way we think about what it means to live a good life, the way we think about 00:01:08.159 --> 00:01:14.599 things like politics, a spiritual event that radically reshapes all of that. And because it's 00:01:14.599 --> 00:01:21.180 a spiritual event, it requires of all of us a spiritual response. And so that's what we're going 00:01:21.180 --> 00:01:26.880 to look at this morning, Luke 3, 1 to 22, the message and the ministry of John the Baptist. 00:01:27.120 --> 00:01:36.480 What does Jesus' coming mean? Why are we unprepared to receive Him? Even many of us here who call 00:01:36.480 --> 00:01:43.320 ourselves Christians. And then finally, how do we get prepared to receive Christ? What does the coming 00:01:43.320 --> 00:01:49.160 of Jesus mean? Why are so many of us unprepared to receive Him? And how do we get prepared? Let's pray. 00:01:49.159 --> 00:01:57.039 Lord, we thank You for Your Word, but Your Word alone as written text on a page is not enough. 00:01:57.719 --> 00:02:03.780 We need Your Holy Spirit to illuminate Your Word, and we need Your Word to point us to the living 00:02:03.780 --> 00:02:11.199 Word, Jesus Christ. It is because He has come and is here in our midst that is the source of our hope. 00:02:11.780 --> 00:02:16.539 The entire reason we've gathered here this morning is not simply to see one another or to sing or to 00:02:16.539 --> 00:02:24.479 pray, but ultimately to see You, to receive You. And we pray that You would prepare us through Your Word 00:02:24.479 --> 00:02:35.219 to do just that. In Your Son's name, amen. So what does the coming of Jesus mean? Luke opens by telling us 00:02:35.219 --> 00:02:41.899 a little historical context. He tells us that all these events are taking place during the reign of 00:02:41.900 --> 00:02:50.860 Tiberius Caesar. He says that this is Tiberius' 15th year as Caesar, meaning that this is right around 00:02:50.860 --> 00:02:57.259 A.D. 28 or 29. So this isn't the kind of story that begins once upon a time in a far-off land. 00:02:58.080 --> 00:03:04.000 We know from history that this is right around A.D. 28 or 29. And what we need to understand is this 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:09.240 society is very similar to our own society in a number of ways. It's a very diverse society. 00:03:09.240 --> 00:03:15.780 It's a highly multicultural society. And it's a very religiously pluralistic society. Lots of 00:03:15.780 --> 00:03:22.080 different religions that coexist in the same space in the Roman Empire. But this is a point in history 00:03:22.080 --> 00:03:29.379 where many of the old religions and traditions and ways of doing life are dying. There's a 00:03:29.379 --> 00:03:34.840 generational divide. There's the older generation that wants to keep to the ways of the forefathers. 00:03:34.840 --> 00:03:41.259 And then there's the kind of new generation that is rising up. And they're questioning all of those 00:03:41.259 --> 00:03:48.680 old mores and traditions and superstitions, some might say. They're wondering if there might be a 00:03:48.680 --> 00:03:55.240 different way, right? A different source, a different place to put their hope. Many of the old religions 00:03:55.240 --> 00:04:01.860 are dying. And so people are looking for new sources of hope, new places to find meaning. So it's just 00:04:01.860 --> 00:04:07.020 like today, right? And what we need to recognize is that that kind of thing is always happening 00:04:07.020 --> 00:04:13.880 in every generation. But one of the fastest growing religions, one of the new religions that was 00:04:13.880 --> 00:04:19.920 attracting a lot of followers at this point in history was the cult of emperor worship. 00:04:21.259 --> 00:04:28.360 People worshiped the Roman emperors as divine beings. This only started happening about 20 years 00:04:28.360 --> 00:04:35.120 before Jesus was born. So it's a very new religion, and yet it's the fastest growing religion in that 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:41.500 society. So all of these terms that we think of as Christian terms actually originated there. 00:04:42.480 --> 00:04:51.280 Caesar was the son of God who came as the one who could offer salvation, the Lord and Savior of the 00:04:51.280 --> 00:04:58.060 world. Caesar was the one who had brought peace on earth by establishing the Pax Romana, 00:04:58.060 --> 00:05:04.339 which up until that point in history it was unheard of to have such a vast swath of the known world 00:05:04.339 --> 00:05:11.780 be essentially peaceful, where various people groups under Roman occupation were at peace with 00:05:11.780 --> 00:05:17.360 one another, which allowed for all kinds of infrastructure and commerce to develop. If you 00:05:17.360 --> 00:05:25.220 asked the Roman people, who is Lord, they would say without hesitating, Caesar is Lord. Caesar is our divine 00:05:25.220 --> 00:05:33.980 Lord. And before it was a Christian idea, the day of the Lord, what we think of as Sunday, the day of the 00:05:33.980 --> 00:05:40.460 Lord's day, the Lord's day was actually a day that was regularly set aside in the Roman calendar to 00:05:40.460 --> 00:05:48.280 worship and give thanks to the emperor as the divine bringer of peace on earth. So emperor worship was a 00:05:48.279 --> 00:05:55.459 quickly growing religion. So at this point in history, many people are worshiping Tiberius as their 00:05:55.459 --> 00:06:02.379 Lord and Savior, which is hard for us to get our minds around in some ways. And into this milieu, 00:06:02.599 --> 00:06:09.639 emerging from the wilderness like a ghost from Israel's past, comes this mysterious man named John, 00:06:09.919 --> 00:06:15.319 who begins to preach, I hope you understand, a very politically charged message. 00:06:15.319 --> 00:06:25.360 He quotes from Isaiah 40, prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. And Isaiah 40 is all 00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:32.259 about the promise that one day God is going to send a king unlike any king anyone has ever seen. 00:06:32.480 --> 00:06:40.379 Because when this king comes, all of the valleys will rise up to meet him. All of the mountains will bow 00:06:40.379 --> 00:06:50.819 down before him. All of creation will unfurl itself like a red carpet to welcome this king home. And then 00:06:50.819 --> 00:07:00.600 he says, all flesh will see the salvation of God. This is no ethnic king or regional king. This is a global 00:07:00.600 --> 00:07:10.259 king who comes to offer salvation to everyone. In other words, this king is the true Lord and 00:07:10.259 --> 00:07:18.539 Savior of the world. God's king. And that's the meaning of Jesus' baptism at the end of this passage, 00:07:18.539 --> 00:07:26.959 when God speaks those words to Jesus. You are my son. With you I am well pleased. He is identifying 00:07:26.959 --> 00:07:37.699 Jesus as his chosen king. Lots of implications here. Right? Underneath all of the problems of the world 00:07:37.699 --> 00:07:44.179 that we care so much about, all of the broken relationships, all of the systemic injustice, 00:07:44.759 --> 00:07:50.439 all of the violence and oppression, all of the sickness and the suffering and the natural disasters, 00:07:50.439 --> 00:08:01.379 the core problem of the world is that it needs its true king. It needs not just a king or a good king, 00:08:01.920 --> 00:08:09.060 but the true king. And in our society, we have to admit that's a very hard idea to connect with, 00:08:09.180 --> 00:08:15.500 because in our country, the idea of monarchy is something to be rebelled against. That's why we 00:08:15.500 --> 00:08:21.720 exist as a country. And so we think of a monarch, we think of a king, and we immediately, we cannot 00:08:21.720 --> 00:08:29.860 imagine a king without thinking of tyranny, without thinking of a totalitarian regime, without thinking 00:08:29.860 --> 00:08:36.220 of someone who will undoubtedly abuse their power. So the idea of a good king or a true king is very 00:08:36.220 --> 00:08:44.320 alien to us on one level. And democracy in our country is necessary. I very much believe in the 00:08:44.320 --> 00:08:50.820 necessity of democracy because human beings are evil. And none of us are really fit to rule. 00:08:51.600 --> 00:08:58.360 And so we need monarchy. But underneath that, the Bible says that we actually need a king, 00:08:59.000 --> 00:09:09.760 that we were built for a king. And if you look at the old myths, the old myths, myths like the 00:09:09.759 --> 00:09:16.740 Arthurian legend, right, about a king who is lost, who will one day return and put the world right. 00:09:17.279 --> 00:09:22.360 Or if you look at the new myths, you say, what are the new myths? Well, look at the popularity of, 00:09:22.480 --> 00:09:31.159 for instance, superhero stories. I mean, what are superhero myths, if not modern retellings of the 00:09:31.159 --> 00:09:37.860 Arthurian legend? There is a good and true and powerful being, and when that being comes, 00:09:37.860 --> 00:09:43.940 they will have the ability to fix all that is wrong in the world, to rescue us, to offer hope to humanity. 00:09:43.940 --> 00:09:49.460 That is the longing that we have for our true king expressed in myth. 00:09:51.460 --> 00:09:58.460 There's inside us all this ancient collective memory of a once and future king. 00:09:58.460 --> 00:10:04.280 I think that at some point we all, in our kind of collective psyche, 00:10:05.240 --> 00:10:10.320 know instinctively that at some point long ago there was an ancient king who ruled with justice 00:10:10.320 --> 00:10:17.259 and mercy and compassion and power, and that the only hope we really have is for that king to return. 00:10:18.220 --> 00:10:20.080 The philosopher Peter Kreeft says, 00:10:20.080 --> 00:10:27.480 Though we do not have kings in America or want them, our unconscious mind both has and wants them. 00:10:27.879 --> 00:10:34.060 We all know what a true king is, a real king, an ideal king, an archetypal king. 00:10:34.280 --> 00:10:41.520 He's not a mere politician or soldier. Something in us longs to give him our loyalty and fealty and 00:10:41.520 --> 00:10:48.460 service and obedience. He is lost but longed for and will someday return like Arthur. 00:10:48.460 --> 00:10:50.879 The once and future king. 00:10:52.740 --> 00:10:57.220 So the Bible would say that in our hearts we are longing for the true king to come. 00:10:57.680 --> 00:11:05.460 And I believe this is why human beings have such a tendency to put other human beings up on a pedestal 00:11:05.460 --> 00:11:07.200 and to worship them. 00:11:08.139 --> 00:11:11.240 Right? This is why you say, well, why would people worship Caesar? 00:11:12.540 --> 00:11:14.940 Well, it's because we're longing for a true king. 00:11:15.780 --> 00:11:17.340 And he'll do. 00:11:18.460 --> 00:11:26.480 This is why when we look a little bit later in our passage in verse 15, people start to ask themselves 00:11:26.480 --> 00:11:28.800 if John the Baptist is the Christ. 00:11:29.400 --> 00:11:32.960 Right? Here's another really good guy, really good leader, love what he has to say. 00:11:33.180 --> 00:11:34.780 Maybe I can put all my hope in him. 00:11:35.900 --> 00:11:36.920 Maybe he's the Savior. 00:11:37.280 --> 00:11:37.480 Right? 00:11:37.800 --> 00:11:41.879 This is why I think in our country some people can tend to worship our political leaders. 00:11:42.660 --> 00:11:44.379 It happens on the left and the right. 00:11:44.379 --> 00:11:45.620 It happened with President Obama. 00:11:45.939 --> 00:11:47.679 It happens certainly with President Trump. 00:11:48.600 --> 00:11:52.159 This kind of religious ardor, this devotion, this kind of worship. 00:11:52.320 --> 00:11:53.139 He will save us. 00:11:53.399 --> 00:11:54.399 He's God's man. 00:11:54.759 --> 00:11:56.500 He will do what this world needs to be done. 00:11:56.500 --> 00:12:00.500 It happens also with celebrities. 00:12:01.679 --> 00:12:04.000 It happens with self-help gurus. 00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:07.759 It happens with religious leaders and pastors. 00:12:08.019 --> 00:12:10.779 Somebody's a particularly effective speaker, particularly charismatic. 00:12:11.279 --> 00:12:12.500 People adore that person. 00:12:12.580 --> 00:12:14.940 They travel across the country to hear that person speak. 00:12:15.200 --> 00:12:16.620 Maybe to touch the hem of their garment. 00:12:17.960 --> 00:12:22.559 But the thing that we really need, what's under all of this longing, the reason we're so quick 00:12:22.559 --> 00:12:28.500 to worship and elevate other people to a kind of idealized status is because what we really need 00:12:28.500 --> 00:12:30.399 is the rightful king to return. 00:12:31.479 --> 00:12:35.419 But the question that John raises is the one that we really need to wrestle with. 00:12:35.859 --> 00:12:39.779 When that king comes, will we be prepared to receive him? 00:12:41.559 --> 00:12:45.500 In other words, why are so many of us unprepared to receive Jesus? 00:12:45.500 --> 00:12:48.000 And the answer is this. 00:12:48.080 --> 00:12:54.100 In order to receive Jesus, we have to recognize that Jesus is a king. 00:12:54.500 --> 00:12:57.399 And we have to treat him like a king. 00:12:58.039 --> 00:13:01.919 And if you're anything like me, that's where the problem starts. 00:13:02.840 --> 00:13:06.059 John uses very strong language with the crowds coming to see him. 00:13:06.740 --> 00:13:13.419 You know, you can imagine this man coming out of the wilderness eating locusts and he starts 00:13:13.419 --> 00:13:17.539 to preach and he has crowds of people coming to him and saying he might be the Christ. 00:13:17.759 --> 00:13:19.299 And how does he respond to them, right? 00:13:19.719 --> 00:13:21.979 He doesn't start a megachurch there at the Jordan. 00:13:23.059 --> 00:13:26.339 He calls them a brood of vipers, right? 00:13:26.360 --> 00:13:28.159 Which is not a seeker-sensitive response. 00:13:28.919 --> 00:13:32.679 And what he's essentially saying is he's calling them children of the serpent. 00:13:33.740 --> 00:13:35.719 He's calling them children of Satan. 00:13:36.719 --> 00:13:38.620 You're the offspring of Satan. 00:13:38.759 --> 00:13:40.459 You're a brood of vipers, right? 00:13:40.460 --> 00:13:50.160 And to be a child of Satan means that your life is rooted in the great lie of Satan. 00:13:50.300 --> 00:13:53.080 In other words, your life is the offspring. 00:13:53.300 --> 00:14:01.740 It is shaped by, it has inherited the lie that Satan planted in humanity all the way back in creation. 00:14:01.740 --> 00:14:13.019 If you go back and you read the account of the fall, the serpent does not come to Adam and Eve and try to convince them to go out and do all kinds of bad things. 00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:18.120 The serpent doesn't say, don't hang with God. 00:14:18.259 --> 00:14:24.320 Go, murder, steal, kill, do violence, oppress, right? 00:14:24.440 --> 00:14:26.879 That's not what happens in that conversation. 00:14:27.440 --> 00:14:28.580 It's much more subtle. 00:14:28.580 --> 00:14:32.320 All the serpent essentially says is this. 00:14:33.759 --> 00:14:35.440 Do you really need God? 00:14:37.040 --> 00:14:39.259 Do you really need God? 00:14:40.780 --> 00:14:44.000 Do you really need God to rule your life? 00:14:44.580 --> 00:14:46.560 Do you really need God to be your king? 00:14:48.020 --> 00:14:52.500 Why don't you decide for yourselves what you believe is good? 00:14:53.160 --> 00:14:55.700 What you believe is evil? 00:14:55.700 --> 00:14:58.360 Why don't you make those determinations? 00:14:58.520 --> 00:15:04.620 I'm sure God would appreciate it if you could make those kinds of decisions on your own. 00:15:04.700 --> 00:15:06.259 He's got better things to think about. 00:15:07.220 --> 00:15:09.640 So the serpent doesn't say, go do bad things. 00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:13.960 The serpent says, go do good things your way. 00:15:15.360 --> 00:15:17.100 Go do lots of good in the world. 00:15:17.360 --> 00:15:20.000 God will appreciate it if you go do good in the world. 00:15:20.180 --> 00:15:21.540 And he doesn't have to oversee it. 00:15:22.440 --> 00:15:23.500 Go do good in the world. 00:15:23.580 --> 00:15:24.300 Do it your way. 00:15:24.299 --> 00:15:26.659 On your terms. 00:15:27.439 --> 00:15:30.240 You know, it's noteworthy that the woman looks at, she doesn't look at the tree and say, 00:15:30.639 --> 00:15:32.039 now I'm going to stick it to God. 00:15:32.879 --> 00:15:34.179 In your face, God. 00:15:35.359 --> 00:15:38.120 She looks at the tree and sees that it's good for food. 00:15:39.179 --> 00:15:40.379 This is a good thing. 00:15:41.000 --> 00:15:41.979 I'm going to do good. 00:15:42.699 --> 00:15:43.859 God will appreciate that. 00:15:45.339 --> 00:15:50.639 And so we need to understand that human beings are alienated from God for different, very complex reasons. 00:15:50.639 --> 00:15:54.740 And there are certainly people out there that do bad things by most people's standards. 00:15:54.980 --> 00:15:57.720 They hurt others or steal or murder, certainly. 00:15:58.860 --> 00:16:03.799 But most people are alienated from God, not for those reasons. 00:16:04.580 --> 00:16:08.000 Most people, if you look at their lives, live good lives. 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:14.700 There are lots of people out there, especially in places like Washington, D.C., who live good lives by the world's standards. 00:16:14.940 --> 00:16:16.620 You know, they want to love their neighbors. 00:16:18.100 --> 00:16:19.960 They want to be kind. 00:16:20.500 --> 00:16:21.940 They want to do good in the world. 00:16:22.940 --> 00:16:24.779 They want to relieve suffering. 00:16:25.039 --> 00:16:28.279 They want to lift people out of poverty and oppression. 00:16:28.480 --> 00:16:29.240 They want to do that. 00:16:29.320 --> 00:16:30.779 That's why a lot of people come here. 00:16:30.779 --> 00:16:37.319 So there are a lot of people who do good, but they simply do good on their own terms. 00:16:39.120 --> 00:16:44.639 And this essentially describes, I think, what has happened in the West over the last few centuries. 00:16:45.779 --> 00:16:49.419 You know the very well-known passage from the Old Testament, Micah 6, verse 8. 00:16:50.699 --> 00:16:52.939 He has told you, O man, what is good. 00:16:52.940 --> 00:17:00.400 And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God? 00:17:01.740 --> 00:17:05.799 Go to a Christian conference and you're very likely to find people with that tattooed on them somewhere. 00:17:07.799 --> 00:17:09.759 It's a favorite verse, maybe in Hebrew. 00:17:10.420 --> 00:17:12.180 It's a very favorite verse of many people. 00:17:14.180 --> 00:17:16.299 Here's what it is to do good, right? 00:17:16.799 --> 00:17:21.360 Do justice, love kindness or mercy, and walk humbly with your God. 00:17:21.359 --> 00:17:27.019 Wim Wright-Kirk, who's the president of Labrie, was reflecting on this passage at one point. 00:17:27.139 --> 00:17:34.039 And he says, the basic problem with people in the West is not that we do not know what justice is. 00:17:34.500 --> 00:17:35.599 We do know. 00:17:36.039 --> 00:17:37.759 And we know what mercy is. 00:17:38.419 --> 00:17:43.059 But we believe that we can achieve them without walking humbly with our God. 00:17:46.099 --> 00:17:50.939 Pope Benedict once said, in the West, we try to have the fruit of Christianity. 00:17:51.359 --> 00:17:54.679 Like justice, equality, universal human rights. 00:17:54.979 --> 00:17:56.259 But without the roots. 00:17:58.079 --> 00:18:07.979 And he said that when we do this, he predicted, this is ten years ago, society will inevitably collapse into a loose collection of shrill special interest groups. 00:18:09.939 --> 00:18:10.759 It's prophetic. 00:18:10.759 --> 00:18:11.759 Right? 00:18:12.759 --> 00:18:18.039 So now we live in a society where everyone has their own concept of justice and mercy. 00:18:18.140 --> 00:18:19.160 Everybody loves justice. 00:18:19.319 --> 00:18:20.759 Everybody wants to do mercy. 00:18:21.559 --> 00:18:22.740 But what does that mean? 00:18:23.440 --> 00:18:26.480 And everyone believes that he or she is on the right side of history. 00:18:27.240 --> 00:18:30.379 And everyone wants to claim the moral high ground. 00:18:30.539 --> 00:18:34.359 And so much of our society is like a gigantic battle of King of the Hill. 00:18:34.980 --> 00:18:37.079 Where everybody wants to claim the moral high ground. 00:18:37.079 --> 00:18:40.679 And everyone is happy to signal their virtue. 00:18:41.579 --> 00:18:43.119 Here's how I'm doing good in the world. 00:18:43.899 --> 00:18:47.439 But almost no one really believes they need a savior. 00:18:49.139 --> 00:18:51.500 No one really believes they need a king. 00:18:51.879 --> 00:18:55.500 It's as though at some point in history we said to God, thanks, we'll take it from here. 00:18:57.179 --> 00:18:59.240 We'll do a better job without you. 00:18:59.240 --> 00:19:05.339 And so many people think, and I think a lot of Christians think, as long as we're doing good in the world, what does it matter? 00:19:06.039 --> 00:19:07.779 The end justifies the means. 00:19:07.980 --> 00:19:09.519 Who cares how we get there? 00:19:09.559 --> 00:19:12.299 If we're doing good in the world, isn't that all God cares about? 00:19:13.440 --> 00:19:16.240 And so we're happy to see Jesus as a spiritual sidekick. 00:19:17.019 --> 00:19:20.000 We are happy to see Jesus as a social justice warrior. 00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:22.420 Or as a source of personal inspiration. 00:19:22.920 --> 00:19:24.120 But not as our savior. 00:19:24.559 --> 00:19:25.900 And certainly not as our king. 00:19:25.900 --> 00:19:34.740 And what we need to understand is, in the words of Pope Benedict, when we desire the fruit of Christianity without the roots of Christianity, 00:19:35.740 --> 00:19:41.840 that's evidence that we are actually rooting our lives in the lie of the serpent. 00:19:43.160 --> 00:19:46.340 That we are children, offspring of vipers. 00:19:47.280 --> 00:19:51.360 Because we have come to believe that we don't actually need God to be our king. 00:19:51.359 --> 00:19:55.859 And that we can do a better job of doing good in the world without him. 00:19:57.319 --> 00:19:58.959 And so John's message is this. 00:19:59.279 --> 00:20:00.419 The king has come. 00:20:00.959 --> 00:20:03.339 So now is the time to prepare your heart. 00:20:03.699 --> 00:20:05.199 Prepare the way of the Lord. 00:20:06.579 --> 00:20:08.500 So this leads us to the final question. 00:20:08.839 --> 00:20:11.639 How do we get prepared to receive Jesus? 00:20:11.819 --> 00:20:13.939 Not just the bad people, so to speak. 00:20:14.079 --> 00:20:16.500 But the good people. 00:20:17.299 --> 00:20:19.659 How do good people prepare to receive Jesus? 00:20:19.660 --> 00:20:21.540 It's a lot more complicated. 00:20:22.560 --> 00:20:24.800 The word John uses is the word repent. 00:20:26.060 --> 00:20:34.920 And repentance means a total 180 degree turn away from your old way of life in order to embrace a new way of life. 00:20:35.240 --> 00:20:40.279 And repentance requires two things that we see in John's message. 00:20:41.000 --> 00:20:44.019 It requires putting down new roots. 00:20:44.420 --> 00:20:47.500 And it requires bearing a new kind of fruit. 00:20:47.500 --> 00:20:50.019 So new roots and new fruit. 00:20:50.720 --> 00:20:52.319 So I'll just describe these briefly. 00:20:53.160 --> 00:20:54.000 New roots. 00:20:54.140 --> 00:20:55.619 We see this in verse 9. 00:20:55.779 --> 00:21:00.680 John says, even now the axe is laid to the root of the tree. 00:21:01.420 --> 00:21:01.859 Right? 00:21:01.920 --> 00:21:10.359 And he's talking to people who are assuming that because of their heritage, because of their bloodline, that they are automatically in with God. 00:21:10.359 --> 00:21:20.879 And so John essentially says in this passage, listen, if God merely wanted children of Abraham, he could raise children of Abraham up from the stones. 00:21:21.579 --> 00:21:22.819 It's not about that. 00:21:22.819 --> 00:21:29.200 Likewise, if all God cares about is justice. 00:21:29.679 --> 00:21:40.220 If all God cares about is justice, God could end poverty or racism tomorrow with a snap of his fingers. 00:21:40.939 --> 00:21:43.099 He doesn't need us to do that. 00:21:43.099 --> 00:21:45.799 And that's hard to hear. 00:21:46.299 --> 00:21:49.579 But what we realize is that God doesn't just want those things to end. 00:21:49.859 --> 00:21:51.659 There's much more going on here. 00:21:52.919 --> 00:22:03.240 God is after a 180 degree heart level turn away from our own plans and agendas and toward God and his plan of salvation and renewal. 00:22:03.240 --> 00:22:14.680 You know, there's that great story that N.T. Wright tells from Josephus in the first century when the Jews are planning a revolt against the Roman occupiers. 00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:16.599 And he hears of this. 00:22:16.720 --> 00:22:20.400 And Josephus is in good with the Roman aristocracy. 00:22:20.779 --> 00:22:25.240 And he knows that if these Jewish rebels actually rebel, they're going to get slaughtered. 00:22:25.259 --> 00:22:26.380 They're going to get wiped out. 00:22:26.380 --> 00:22:30.560 And so he goes to the leader of this rebellion. 00:22:30.700 --> 00:22:34.980 He meets with him in secret to try to convince him not to go on this suicide mission. 00:22:35.340 --> 00:22:36.480 And he uses this language. 00:22:36.940 --> 00:22:38.440 Repent and believe in me. 00:22:39.520 --> 00:22:43.820 In other words, you have a way that you think you want to do good in the world. 00:22:43.900 --> 00:22:47.160 But that road, as good as it seems, is going to lead to disaster. 00:22:48.800 --> 00:22:50.400 Abandon your plan of goodness. 00:22:51.080 --> 00:22:54.060 Abandon your agenda and trust my way. 00:22:54.059 --> 00:23:00.460 And Josephus had a different plan, a different way that he believed would be more effective in dealing with the Romans. 00:23:00.639 --> 00:23:02.220 And so he said, don't do this. 00:23:02.279 --> 00:23:03.200 It will lead to disaster. 00:23:03.619 --> 00:23:04.759 Repent and believe in me. 00:23:04.879 --> 00:23:07.240 And this is the message I think that we need to hear. 00:23:08.679 --> 00:23:10.539 Absolutely God wants to end justice. 00:23:11.099 --> 00:23:12.079 I mean, bring justice. 00:23:12.240 --> 00:23:14.519 Absolutely God wants to end oppression. 00:23:15.519 --> 00:23:17.799 Absolutely God wants to put the world right. 00:23:18.879 --> 00:23:21.379 But what God is ultimately after is our hearts. 00:23:21.380 --> 00:23:28.040 And the first thing the gospel does is to tear out the lie of the serpent by the roots. 00:23:28.420 --> 00:23:30.680 It puts the axe to the root of the trees. 00:23:32.540 --> 00:23:35.360 It tells us God doesn't need our good works. 00:23:36.440 --> 00:23:38.200 God desires our hearts. 00:23:39.600 --> 00:23:41.580 He desires our love and devotion. 00:23:41.579 --> 00:23:45.879 And here's the hard, complicated, but necessary truth. 00:23:46.539 --> 00:23:57.259 If the good works that we are doing in our lives lead to us needing God less, then they're not good. 00:23:58.619 --> 00:24:06.000 If the good works that we do make us more independent, more autonomous from God, then they are in a way evil. 00:24:06.000 --> 00:24:08.619 They may lead to good outcomes. 00:24:10.559 --> 00:24:13.099 But we've lost sight of the forest for the trees. 00:24:14.059 --> 00:24:14.480 Right? 00:24:14.539 --> 00:24:16.839 We feel like we're winning a battle, but we're losing the war. 00:24:17.539 --> 00:24:19.099 Because our hearts are lost. 00:24:19.099 --> 00:24:28.519 In Jesus' earthly ministry, while he did many good things like heal people and cross racial and social barriers 00:24:28.519 --> 00:24:32.879 and demonstrate all of these evidences of what the new kingdom, the new creation would be like, 00:24:33.699 --> 00:24:36.819 there are many, many, many other good things that he didn't do. 00:24:37.699 --> 00:24:42.259 There's a whole lot that Jesus could have done in terms of social good that he didn't do. 00:24:42.259 --> 00:24:48.279 Because the reason that Jesus came was to give his life for his people. 00:24:48.680 --> 00:24:51.220 To save us from the lie of the serpent. 00:24:51.539 --> 00:24:54.940 The reason he came is to pour out his love into the world. 00:24:55.160 --> 00:24:58.879 To restore the kind of relationship that God desires to have with his people. 00:24:59.319 --> 00:25:07.660 Somehow, for some reason, God's way of renewing the world is to partner with people who love him and work through them. 00:25:08.299 --> 00:25:09.839 That's how he desires to do it. 00:25:12.259 --> 00:25:15.859 So, the gospel puts down new roots in our hearts. 00:25:17.079 --> 00:25:23.859 You know, we realize that in order to win our love, God poured his love into our lives through Jesus. 00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:29.420 And then we begin to realize that because that's what happened on the cross, 00:25:29.559 --> 00:25:34.539 there's nothing that we can do to make God love us any more or any less. 00:25:34.539 --> 00:25:40.819 And that because of the cross, just as God said to Jesus after his baptism, 00:25:41.159 --> 00:25:42.680 so he says to us, 00:25:43.119 --> 00:25:44.480 This is my beloved child. 00:25:45.259 --> 00:25:46.740 And you, I'm well pleased. 00:25:48.200 --> 00:25:51.779 And when you hear those words, not just applied to Jesus, but applied to you, 00:25:51.839 --> 00:25:53.240 when you hear God's voice saying to you, 00:25:53.480 --> 00:25:54.639 You are my beloved child. 00:25:54.740 --> 00:25:55.839 And you, I'm well pleased. 00:25:55.899 --> 00:25:56.659 And you, I delight. 00:25:56.660 --> 00:25:59.460 That begins to put down new roots in your heart. 00:26:00.740 --> 00:26:01.600 New roots. 00:26:03.279 --> 00:26:04.660 And then, John says, 00:26:05.060 --> 00:26:07.200 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 00:26:07.420 --> 00:26:10.060 Now that you have this root that came through your repentance, 00:26:11.140 --> 00:26:13.620 now bear fruit out of that new source. 00:26:14.800 --> 00:26:18.740 Out of that place of love and assurance, new fruit begins to grow. 00:26:18.980 --> 00:26:19.680 And here's the key. 00:26:19.960 --> 00:26:21.960 It may look exactly like the old fruit. 00:26:23.140 --> 00:26:23.300 Right? 00:26:23.299 --> 00:26:26.079 It may look indistinguishable from the old fruit. 00:26:26.980 --> 00:26:28.279 You want to do justice. 00:26:28.500 --> 00:26:29.839 You want to love mercy. 00:26:29.960 --> 00:26:31.299 You want to liberate the oppressed. 00:26:31.419 --> 00:26:33.500 You want to see society become more adjust. 00:26:34.559 --> 00:26:34.639 Right? 00:26:34.779 --> 00:26:37.019 You want soldiers to be content with their wages. 00:26:37.200 --> 00:26:41.159 You want tax collectors not to abuse and extort money from their own people. 00:26:41.279 --> 00:26:41.460 Right? 00:26:41.839 --> 00:26:43.619 You want all of these things to be true. 00:26:44.879 --> 00:26:46.839 But the motivation is completely different. 00:26:47.779 --> 00:26:49.240 And that actually matters. 00:26:50.379 --> 00:26:51.639 The motivation is different. 00:26:51.639 --> 00:26:52.700 The roots are different. 00:26:53.299 --> 00:26:57.720 Because all of those good works are flowing out of a love and dependence on God. 00:26:58.779 --> 00:27:02.919 And when your motivation is different, it changes everything. 00:27:04.180 --> 00:27:07.119 Because it means you can do good works in the world, 00:27:07.240 --> 00:27:11.139 but there's no desire or temptation to signal your virtue. 00:27:11.140 --> 00:27:14.920 Because the gospel is tremendously humbling. 00:27:15.740 --> 00:27:17.020 It's tremendously humbling. 00:27:17.360 --> 00:27:20.240 And so we can do good works, but from a place of humility. 00:27:21.300 --> 00:27:28.800 And it means that when we do good works, we don't look down or judge people who don't seem as concerned as we are about this or that said issue. 00:27:28.799 --> 00:27:33.220 Because, again, we're coming from a place of humility. 00:27:33.220 --> 00:27:37.559 And we don't go and do good in order to glorify ourselves. 00:27:37.680 --> 00:27:41.259 We don't go and post when we go and serve at some place of need. 00:27:41.419 --> 00:27:44.460 We don't post a dozen pictures of it online for everybody to see. 00:27:44.519 --> 00:27:45.579 We don't feel that need. 00:27:45.579 --> 00:27:50.359 Because the only glory that we desire is to see God glorified. 00:27:52.059 --> 00:27:52.460 Right? 00:27:52.539 --> 00:27:57.799 So this is John's message, I think, that we in a place like D.C. need to hear. 00:27:58.759 --> 00:28:02.779 The true king of this world has come, and his name is Jesus Christ. 00:28:03.779 --> 00:28:05.579 And one day he will come again. 00:28:06.279 --> 00:28:10.899 And all of creation will unfurl itself like a red carpet to receive him. 00:28:10.900 --> 00:28:15.140 So the question that we need to wrestle with is, am I prepared to receive him? 00:28:16.700 --> 00:28:25.400 To use the imagery from the passage, will the valley of my longing for the true king rise up to meet him? 00:28:26.519 --> 00:28:30.980 And will the mountain of my pride bow down before him? 00:28:32.080 --> 00:28:32.900 Let's pray. 00:28:35.120 --> 00:28:38.780 Lord, these are, as we said at the beginning, spiritual realities. 00:28:38.779 --> 00:28:41.759 We have a spiritual event of the coming of Christ. 00:28:42.559 --> 00:28:45.119 And that requires of us a spiritual response. 00:28:45.759 --> 00:28:49.940 So I pray that we would respond to Jesus not just with our intellect, not just with our heart, 00:28:50.519 --> 00:28:53.079 but that there would be a spiritual shift in us. 00:28:53.379 --> 00:28:56.000 A desire to be free from the lie of the serpent. 00:28:56.759 --> 00:29:02.559 A desire to root our lives in your love and your assurance and your adoption of us as your children. 00:29:03.200 --> 00:29:05.639 And that that would be the seedbed and the source. 00:29:05.640 --> 00:29:12.100 That would be the headwaters of all of the love and the justice and the mercy that flows out of us into this world, Lord. 00:29:12.220 --> 00:29:16.740 So that ultimately, when all is said and done, your name will be glorified. 00:29:17.680 --> 00:29:19.600 And it's in the name of your son, Jesus, that we pray. 00:29:19.860 --> 00:29:20.100 Amen. 00:29:20.100 --> 00:29:20.200 Amen. 00:29:22.420 --> 00:29:23.100 Amen. 00:29:23.100 --> 00:29:24.100 Amen. 00:29:24.100 --> 00:29:24.160 Amen. 00:29:24.160 --> 00:29:24.200 Amen. 00:29:24.200 --> 00:29:24.259 Amen. 00:29:24.259 --> 00:29:24.340 Amen. 00:29:24.340 --> 00:29:24.400 Amen.