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Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Good morning.
[00:00:03] We are continuing on in our series in Matthew, the title this morning's message is a tree and its fruit. So go ahead and turn in your bibles to Matthew, chapter twelve, starting in verse 33.
[00:00:19] So in our previous weeks, we have seen the opposition of Jesus. Or against Jesus. Increase. Priests from the scribes and the Pharisees and the religious elite. They continue to manufacture reasons to accuse, judge, and just discredit Jesus. In the hopes of dissuading the crowds from following him. Wanting them to believe that he is not anyone of significance, but an imposter. These men were serious about upholding the law of Moses. Even to the point of developing a system of 613 laws. For the people of Israel to follow. Every detail in life, big and small. Had some law or rule that was to be followed. And I can't imagine living that way.
[00:00:56] Jesus indicted them for lording over the people in a harsh and legalistic way. Laying burdens on them that were never meant to be. While at the same time blindly refusing to see the grace of God. That now had entered the world through him.
[00:01:09] They first indicted Jesus for allowing his disciples to pick grain in the fields to satisfy their hunger. Stating that it violated the Sabbath law to avoid work on that day. To pick grain was to do work. Jesus, you're allowing the disciples to break our laws. Then they accused Jesus of violating Sabbath law. By healing a man with a shriveled hand.
[00:01:29] How dare he violate the law of God. By doing such a wonderful thing for this man on the Sabbath? See, because healing on the Sabbath was also a work that must be avoided. And it's at the end of this encounter where Matthew writes. The Pharisees went out and plotted against him. How they might kill him.
[00:01:47] And last week, we saw in Sam's message. How Jesus had delivered a man from demon possession. Who, because of it, could not speak or see. And the Pharisees were so hard hearted. That instead of praising God who heals and delivers. They accused Jesus of doing this by the power of the devil. Not by the power of God.
[00:02:05] Earlier, Jesus had revealed to these hard hearted, arrogant, self righteous religious elite. That God desires mercy, not sacrifice.
[00:02:13] What God is looking for in those who would follow him. Is not performing a bunch of laws in attempts to impress him and others. But a heart full of mercy, grace and love towards God and others.
[00:02:24] Jesus is going to get to the root of what the Pharisees are all about. Which is true for all of us. That with God, the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart.
[00:02:35] We learned this early in the Old Testament, when the prophet Samuel was sent by God to the family of Jesse in search for the one God would choose as a king, a man who would be after God's heart. And if you remember, Jesse has eight sons, seven of which he parades before Samuel, one by one, the oldest to the youngest. And Samuel was certain that if God was to choose a king from Jesse's boys, it must be the oldest, the tallest, the strongest, the most accomplished, the most mature of all.
[00:03:02] After son number seven meets Samuel, the oldest to the youngest, the prophet is convinced the future king is not in any of these and asks Jesse, do you have any sons that I have not yet seen? And Jesse replies, well, my youngest is out in the field tending the sheep. And Samuel tells him to have him come in so he can meet him.
[00:03:21] And as soon as David arrives, God indicates to Samuel that he is the one. And the reason God gives is found in one Samuel 16 seven, where it says, the Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.
[00:03:36] God can see into the heart of every person, including yours and mine.
[00:03:41] What would he find there in David? He could see a young man who was after God's own heart, a man who would love God, who would seek heart after him, who would serve God with an integrity of heart, a man who would seek God's glory and not his own, a man who would rule over the people with righteousness, justice, and mercy.
[00:03:59] You see, in the Bible, the heart represents command central in a person's life. And when the Bible speaks of the heart, it is speaking of our mind, which is our intellect, our emotions, which involves our feelings and our will, which is reflected in the decisions and the choices that we make.
[00:04:17] I love what author John Eldridge writes in his book waking the dead when he says the heart is central. That I would even need to remind you of this only shows how far we have fallen from the life we were meant to live, how powerful the spell has been. The subject of the heart is addressed more in the Bible than works or serve, more than believe or obey, more than money, and even more than worship. All those things are matters of the heart, he says. Consider but a few passages. Deuteronomy six five love the Lord with all your heart. One Samuel 16 seven. Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. Luke 1234. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Proverbs three five trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding psalm 19 111. Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Matthew 15 eight. These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And two chronicles 16 nine for the eyes of the Lord reigns throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.
[00:05:24] Throughout the gospels, we see in Jesus ministry. Whether it's a hated tax collector. Or a rich young ruler, or a woman caught in adultery, or a disciple like Peter and even these pharisees, that he is always after the heart, exposing what is wrong in the heart. That is preventing that person from fullness of life in him.
[00:05:44] This leads us to today's text, and we continue in taking a closer look. At the life, teaching, ministry and miracles of Jesus. And I believe that as we look at Jesus'encounter. With the Pharisees. God wants to reveal to us where our hearts are actually at with him what might be in our hearts. That are hindering the full to each of us. So pray with me. Church heavenly Father, we come before you to offer our hearts. Continue in praise, but also, Lord, to ask you to speak into our hearts, to speak into our minds. And, Lord, as we focus on the issues of the heart, Lord, we want to ask you, Lord, show us what is in our hearts. Show us what might be in our hearts that is holding us back from you. That might be hindering our walk with you. That might be hindering us receiving the fullness of life that you've promised through your son Jesus. And I ask that in your name. Amen.
[00:06:45] Let's go ahead and read Matthew 1233 through 37.
[00:06:49] Either make the tree good and its fruit will be good. Or make the tree bad and its fruit will be bad. For a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers. How can you speak good things when you were evil? For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. A good person produces good things from a storeroom of good. And an evil person produces evil things from a storeroom of evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment, people will have to account for every careless word they speak. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.
[00:07:20] Jesus is in the middle of a conversation with the Pharisees. Who had made a serious accusation in front of the crowds following him that day, claiming Jesus had just delivered a demon possessed man, not by the power of God, but by the power of the devil. Jesus addressed them with these words. Either make the tree good and its fruit will be good. Or make the tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is known by its fruit.
[00:07:44] There are several instances, both in the Old Testament and new, where trees and fruit are used as analogies for a man or woman's life, the tree representing a person's life, and the fruit representing what is produced through their life as they live each day.
[00:07:59] In Matthew seven, in Jesus sermon on the mount, when teaching the people on how to recognize a false prophet, someone he describes as wolves in sheep clothing, and when it seems to you that they look like sheep and they talk like sheep, he says, you can only recognize them through the fruit of their lives.
[00:08:21] Jesus, in our text today, as he addresses the Pharisees, says good trees produce good fruit and bad trees produce bad fruit.
[00:08:30] But the interesting thing here to me is how Jesus uses the word make.
[00:08:35] If you make a tree good, it will produce good fruit. If you make a tree bad, it will produce bad fruit.
[00:08:43] That word in the Greek means to bring something, to pass, to be the cause of something.
[00:08:50] When it comes to yours and my life depicted as a tree, what is the causal factor in us becoming a good tree?
[00:08:59] Let's move on, because I believe the next verse will give us some insight to better answer that question.
[00:09:05] Verse 34 Jesus calls the Pharisees, you brood of vipers.
[00:09:12] When's the last time you've used that word brood?
[00:09:17] Maybe never.
[00:09:19] For coffee enthusiasts, you're thinking, well, I brewed a cup of coffee this morning before I came to church.
[00:09:25] But that's not the same word.
[00:09:28] When someone is reprimanded or punished, you could say Johnny's in the corner brooding, which means he's over there pouting because he's just been punished. But this word here that Jesus uses for the Pharisees, brood in the Greek, means the offspring of born or begotten of. This word brood, that Jesus speaks is like saying, as a child of seven, my mom and dad had a large brood representing the large number of children they had.
[00:09:54] Jesus is calling the Pharisees, you offspring of vipers, you snakes, you children of the devil. How can you bring anything good out of your mouths?
[00:10:05] It's what John records Jesus saying to the Pharisees in John 844, where he says, concerning the Pharisees, you are of your father the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie. He speaks from his own nature because he is a liar and the father of lies.
[00:10:27] In essence, what Jesus is saying is when someone rejects the truth of God, rejects the purpose of God and the will of God for their lives, ultimately rejects him as messiah, that that person is looked at by God as a child of the devil, a bad tree that will produce bad fruit.
[00:10:45] It speaks to every person who believes in their own self righteousness and goodness, who trust in their own good works and religious observance, their law keeping their lives being lived independently, apart from God and his grace. They cannot produce good fruit, and they cannot produce anything of eternal value.
[00:11:02] Nothing of eternal value can come from their lives.
[00:11:06] If you remember, the Pharisees diligently studied the Old Testament scriptures. They taught the scriptures in the synagogue, and they discipled young men in Judaism. They prayed and they fasted. They gave a tithe of all they owned to God. They attempted to refrain and abstain from what they believed would violate God's law and an outward appearance. That's a pretty sincere religion, I would say.
[00:11:29] But we must remember that God looks at the heart, and because of their pride in their own religious lives, they rejected God's provision of a savior. They rejected a messiah who would save them from their sin, because to them, their sin was not the problem in all the religious activity.
[00:11:49] They never had a change of heart.
[00:11:52] God says to people like this, away from me, I never knew you.
[00:11:57] Every person who has ever existed is born into sin, born. Separated from God, born into the brood of vipers, looked at as a child of the devil, is born as a bad tree.
[00:12:09] How does a tree become good?
[00:12:12] How does a person move out of the brood of vipers into the brood of God?
[00:12:17] Well, it says in John 112, but to all who receive him, to those who believe in his name, he gives the right to be children of God, who are born not of natural descent or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.
[00:12:32] How someone becomes a good tree is by placing their faith in Jesus Christ as the sole provision for the forgiveness of their sin and eternal life.
[00:12:44] If you have placed your faith solely in Jesus and received him into your life as your savior, then you are a child of God. You are a good tree.
[00:12:53] But the question for you this morning that is most relevant is, is your tree producing good fruit?
[00:13:02] Move on in verse 35, for the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.
[00:13:10] A good person or a good tree produces good things, good fruit, from a storeroom of good, and an evil person, a bad tree, produces evil things, bad fruit, from his storeroom of evil.
[00:13:24] This is where Jesus gets to the point I made earlier. That the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart.
[00:13:31] Jesus says to the Pharisees that out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks, which means our words and our actions and our behaviors emanate from what we have stored in our heart.
[00:13:42] This is what we've been telling you almost every week, that as Jesus pours into you, he pours out of you to others.
[00:13:49] And when Jesus spoke of the Holy Spirit in whom we receive at the point of salvation, he says, the Spirit is his living waters welling up to the overflow.
[00:13:58] In Paul's letter to the Galatians, he describes the nine fruits of the spirit, that as you are full of the spirit, these nine fruits overflow from your life.
[00:14:06] And as I read them, I want to ask you, are there some that have not been evident in your life lately?
[00:14:13] Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self control.
[00:14:27] These are the fruits of Christ's likeness that should be overflowing from your life through your daily connection and surrender to Christ.
[00:14:34] As you allow Jesus to pour into you as you seek him in relationship, each day your heart becomes full of his spirit that in turn you can pass on to others as you love, serve, witness and sacrifice on behalf of others.
[00:14:47] The key for the Christian is abiding in Christ. Do you want to bear good fruit in your life?
[00:14:53] You got to stay connected to the vine.
[00:14:57] In John 15 five, Jesus says, I am the vine, you are the branches. The person who abides in me and I in him will bear much fruit apart from me. You can do nothing.
[00:15:09] In verse eight in that same chapter, he says, my father is glorified by this, that you produce much fruit and prove yourselves to be my disciples.
[00:15:16] Verse 16, I chose you and appointed you to go and produce fruit, fruit that will last.
[00:15:23] A person that bears lasting fruit, fruit of eternal value, can only do so through their daily connection with Christ.
[00:15:31] Christian, your life purpose is to bear fruit that glorifies God.
[00:15:37] So what kind of fruit are we talking about? What kind of fruit does the scriptures say that means that we are producing the kind of fruit that is represented by a good tree?
[00:15:48] Well, the first is the fruit of christlike character that's exemplified in the fruit of the spirit.
[00:15:54] And the second is the fruit of lives impacted for Christ through your love, sacrifice, service and ministry. And witness that in your homes, your extended families, your neighborhoods, your workplaces, your friendships, and in this church, these are the fruits that last forever. And this is God's purpose for your life, to produce this kind of fruit. He saved you that you through him would produce fruit.
[00:16:20] There's an important point tucked in chapter 15 of John's Gospel that should speak to us all.
[00:16:26] In verse eleven, he says, I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.
[00:16:34] I believe that word joy represents a deeper, lasting, abiding form of happiness that cannot be found in the world.
[00:16:40] And I see people every day all over the world in a desperate search for happiness.
[00:16:46] I see people in this church in a desperate search for happiness.
[00:16:52] I just want to be happy.
[00:16:54] I believe God wants me to be happy.
[00:16:59] And happiness is most often defined by a life where the people and circumstances of my life lead to my comfort, my pleasure, my enjoyment, my safety, my security, my ease. They're there to make my life better.
[00:17:13] Happiness is often attached to something or someone other than Jesus. Oh sure, Jesus can be an add on to my happiness, but not really the perceived source of my happiness. When it's all said and done. If I could only get that person's love, admiration, appreciation, affection, attention, commitment, then I would be happy.
[00:17:32] If only my circumstances would change for the better, then I would be happy.
[00:17:38] Happiness can be attached to a dream, a desired accomplishment or achievement. It could be attached to a place or status in life that is believed will give me the happiness that I have always desired.
[00:17:51] We were made for heaven. And down deep I think that it's what we're really searching for is a heaven on earth.
[00:18:01] You know, a life with no more tears, no more crying or suffering or pain or conflict or rejection or stresses or pressures or hassles.
[00:18:12] But in this life prior to Christ's return, we can't find heaven on earth.
[00:18:20] That's why the Bible says we're to long for a heavenly home. And when we hear that heaven everlasting happiness cannot be found through the people and circumstances on earth, rather than giving up on happiness is our supreme goal, we continue our search.
[00:18:34] There's got to be someone or something out there that will finally make me happy.
[00:18:40] So we change spouses, our wife or husband doesn't make us happy. We leave and find another one.
[00:18:48] Our friends hurt us, we write them off in our heart and we find new friends.
[00:18:54] We change jobs, we change careers in search for happiness. We change living situations, we move somewhere else, we acquire bigger, better, newer in search of happiness. We change churches believing a new church will make me happy.
[00:19:08] And when I finally get to retire and live the easy life, happiness will finally be mine.
[00:19:15] The problem Christian is, and this may surprise you, is that happiness has never been God's highest purpose for your life.
[00:19:27] Let me say that again so that you get it. Happiness has never been God's highest purpose for your life.
[00:19:37] Holiness is.
[00:19:41] Listen, there are times when a change is necessary, when people or circumstances are just too painful or toxic. But make sure the change you are seeking is God's will and not just based on your unhappy emotions. He will never ask you to stay in abusive situation. He may want you to stay in a difficult situation you're in because it's there that he will develop the greatest amount of holiness in your life, the greatest amount of christlike character in your life.
[00:20:07] In my 42 years of walking with Christ, I have found it is through the trials and the challenges and the pressures and the stretches of life that he has produced the greatest fruit in my life. It's those things that he's make me the most like Christ. It's those things that has caused me and enabled me to persevere when I'm in difficult relationships and difficult circumstances and difficult environments and difficult times.
[00:20:31] I always tell young parents that marriage and raising kids is God's most effective school for character development.
[00:20:39] Amen.
[00:20:42] Amen.
[00:20:44] The development of genuine holiness in your life comes to being married and having kids.
[00:20:52] And sometimes, as all three of my sons are around 30, I forget how difficult it was. And so my hearts go out to you guys.
[00:21:01] But young parents do not miss out on the beautiful fruit God wants to produce in your life in this very challenging season, because he wants to use your spouse and your kids to make you more holy, to make you more like Jesus and how you live and how you love.
[00:21:21] Here's the main point I want you to get when you pursue holiness, God throws in happiness in ways that you never expected.
[00:21:34] Let's move on to verse 35.
[00:21:39] A good person tree produces good things, fruit from his storeroom of good. And an evil person tree produces evil things, fruit from his storeroom of evil.
[00:21:53] Producing good fruit is not automatic just because you're a born again Christian.
[00:21:58] Jesus says that the kind of fruit your life is producing is dependent upon what you have been storing in your heart.
[00:22:05] As I mentioned earlier, biblically speaking, the heart is command central for our lives, and it consists of our mind, our emotions and our will.
[00:22:13] And Solomon writes in proverbs 423, above all else, guard your heart for is the wellspring of life.
[00:22:20] And another version says, above all else, guard your heart, for out of it the issues of life flow.
[00:22:27] We are to diligently guard what we place in the storerooms of our heart and it's easy to be a Christian when everything in life is running smoothly.
[00:22:38] But then something happens, like someone cuts you off on the highway, or a coworker says or does something rude or unkind, or your spouse is insensitive and uncaring, or your kids are out of control, or you're doing a house project and you hit your finger with the hammer.
[00:23:00] Are you realize you have to go back to Home Depot for the fifth time in the last 4 hours because you need something else to finish the project.
[00:23:08] That is my life experience.
[00:23:14] And then all of a sudden, things come out of your mouth or gestures with your hand appear that you haven't seen or heard in quite some time.
[00:23:23] That's not me. That's not the person I am. Where did that come from?
[00:23:29] Well, Jesus says that those unkind or profane words or gestures, those fits of frustration and anger, come from what you have been storing in your heart.
[00:23:39] And I've shared this quote with you before. Circumstances in people don't cause your sinful reactions.
[00:23:45] They reveal what is stored in your heart.
[00:23:49] So when we have a fit of rage, we want to blame that other person for how whatever they said or whatever kind of thing they did, or whatever rude thing they did, or the circumstances are not going well, or the environment at work is toxic, or somebody at church is ignoring you. And it's like, so we have these responses and we want to blame them in the circumstances. But what Jesus is saying right here is they don't come from that.
[00:24:11] Your sinful reactions come from what you have been storing in your heart.
[00:24:17] Because Jesus says, from the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. He says you produce good things from the good that's stored up in your heart, but you also produce bad, bad things.
[00:24:31] Jesus not only telling the Pharisees this, but every one of us, that your words and behavior are a window to what you have stored in your heart.
[00:24:39] You see, that's why external changes do not change the internal condition of your heart. They may not be exposed as much because things have gotten better, but they are just lying dormant in your heart until the next rude, unkind, frustrating, or hurtful thing invade your life.
[00:24:58] Earlier in Matthew's gospel, Jesus instructs us to build treasures in heaven, not on earth. And then he says this, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
[00:25:08] The truth of the matter is that what comes out of us is always connected to what we treasure the most in our hearts.
[00:25:15] In appearance, they can be good things, but in our hearts have become self centered and selfish things. Things that I want for my happiness, not for my holiness. Things like I want and demand peace and order in my home, or I want obedient children, or I want a spouse or a friend who behaves the way I think they should. Or I don't want any interruptions or disruptions to my agenda or plans for the day.
[00:25:39] I want financial security.
[00:25:42] I want my ambitions and dreams realized. I want recognition, respect and admiration.
[00:25:49] It's what we treasure the most, apart from Jesus. When denied becomes the bad fruit that manifests in itself, in our words, behavior and actions.
[00:25:59] So how do we turn this bad fruit that's coming from our hearts into good fruit? Well, we need a change of heart.
[00:26:08] And when possible, you go to the person who received your sinful reaction or response, and you start there and admit you're wrong and you ask for forgiveness.
[00:26:17] But then you stop and analyze.
[00:26:20] When a sinful reaction or response comes out, you stop and say, God, I know this is revealing that there's something bad stored in my heart.
[00:26:28] And you go on that journey of searching. Lord, show me what's there. Because understanding is the very first step towards change.
[00:26:37] Then you bring what you have found, what God has revealed to God himself. And you ask God, search me and expose what's there. God, help me understand what has been stored there. And then you confess it as sin. You seek his forgiveness and cleansing, and then you start turning to God each day through the word and prayer. And you start intentionally guarding your heart each day from storing bad things there.
[00:26:59] And that's when God begins to change the very things in your heart that are producing that bad fruit.
[00:27:08] As a side note, sometimes when we keep shoving things into our storage rooms, stuff that we placed there a while ago, it gets pushed back and covered over, and you kind of start forgetting that it's even there.
[00:27:22] Sometimes it's those unresolved conflicts or hurts from the past, things that have not been faced or dealt with that are the very things that need to be uprooted from our hearts to see some of the bad fruit of bitterness and anger removed.
[00:27:36] And if you believe that's you, that you have unresolved things in your heart, let one of us pastors know and we will support you in seeking out and help getting help through counseling.
[00:27:49] Because it's those very unaddressed things. It's those very unresolved things. It's those very things that you've stuffed, you've pushed back, that you've covered over, that are probably the very things that are keeping your heart bound from really the good fruit that Jesus wants to produce.
[00:28:10] To close this morning, let's look at the last two verses, verses 36 and 37.
[00:28:19] He says, I tell you, on the day of judgment, people have to account for every careless word they speak. For by your words, you will be acquitted, and by your words, you will be condemned.
[00:28:29] First, let me say that since we know Jesus is addressing the Pharisees here, and we know that from a scripture, that the believer will not be judged for their sin, nor will they be condemned. For in romans eight one, it says, for therefore, now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
[00:28:45] The sobering words about the judgment of God for every careless word, and that by your words, you will be condemned, does not apply to the person who has a saving faith in Christ.
[00:28:55] The scriptures repeatedly speak of a final judgment for all people. After Christ's return and defeat of his enemies and his millennial rule, and crushing of the final rebellion, and casting Satan into the lake of fire, Jesus Christ will be the judge of all.
[00:29:11] And the one judgment for the unbeliever is found in revelation 2011 through 15 and is called the great white throne judgment, where every person who has rejected Christ will be judged for their sin, for the wrath of God still remains on them.
[00:29:26] Christ will determine the degrees of punishment according to the extent of the bad things each unbeliever has done in this life. And that should be sobering for us who have been saved from the wrath of God because of Christ, because we have family and friends and coworkers and neighbors who are still under the wrath of God because they have not placed their faith in Jesus Christ.
[00:29:48] The second is called the judgment seat of Christ, which is found in two corinthians 510, and is where Jesus will determine the degree of rewards for every believer in him according to how they lived for him and served him in their life.
[00:30:01] The believer in Christ will not be judged for their sin, because through their faith in Jesus, their sin has been forever judged. Through the cross. They are spared the punishment of God, because Jesus took the punishment of God the Father for our sin and our place.
[00:30:15] There's a passage of scripture that I want to close with this morning that I believe really connects us to Sam's series on stewardship and to the message this morning. And so turn over to your bibles, to one corinthians 311 through 15.
[00:30:49] And Paul writes, for no one can lay any other foundation than what has been laid down. That foundation is Jesus Christ.
[00:30:56] So what he's telling us that those who have faith in Jesus Christ, that are believers in Jesus Christ that he serves as the foundation for our life from which we are to build our lives upon.
[00:31:08] He goes on. If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, each one's work will become obvious, for the day will disclose it because it will be revealed by fire. The fire will test the quality of each one's work. If anyone's work that he has built survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will experience loss, but he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
[00:31:35] So it's interesting here that the term, the day that he speaks of here, the day when this is occurring, is the very judgment that I just spoke about. The white, the judgment seat of Christ, where every believer stands and he is given rewards and treasures and crowns depending upon how they live their life in this earth. And when he says that we can build our lives with wood or hay or straw, and it goes to the refining fire of Christ on that judgment day, what happens to wood and to hay and to straw? When it's in a fire, it's burned up. There's nothing left that remains.
[00:32:07] But then he says, if you build it with gold or silver or costly jewels, those are the things that actually goes through a refiner's fire, and the dross is skimmed off. And what remains is this precious, spotless, unstained, untainted gem or stone or silver. And he's saying that these are the works that you do for Christ, in the power of Christ, in the strength of Christ, as you live your life for Christ in this world, and you surrender your desires and goals and dreams and ambitions for his.
[00:32:35] It says, these are the things that when you stand there before Christ on Judgment Day, those are the things that will last eternally. Those are the things he's going to look at and say, well done, my good and faithful servant. Those are the things that he will give you, rewards and treasures and crowns for those very things.
[00:32:53] And there's a number of you that are with us this morning that this should excite you, because you know that you're surrendering your life to Christ. You know that you're serving Christ. You know that you're sharing the gospel for Christ, and you're not doing it for yourself, but you're doing it to please your master. You know that he's going to reward you for that because you're living for him. And there's going to be some very special rewards and treasures and crowns that he's going to give you because of how you're living your life in this world for him, for his kingdom, not for yourself and your kingdom.
[00:33:27] But then for other of us here this morning, this should sober us that we could actually stand before Christ as christians, been saved by his shed blood, knowing that he paid it all for us. And now we are saved from the wrath and the pit of hell because of what he's done. And we're going to stand before him and he's going to basically say, your life has been wasted.
[00:33:48] I have no treasures or rewards or crowns to give you because you were saved, just barely. You escaped through the fire of judgment, but you have nothing to show for it.
[00:34:02] And that should sober you up because of all that he's done for you, because he shed his blood for you, because you have forgiveness in him by that. Shed blood because he laid it and paid it all. That man, I want to live for him. How can I live for anything or anyone else when he did that for me?
[00:34:21] Because we see that the judgment for unbelievers, what's going to happen there, eternal punishment. They're going to get a degree of punishment according to how they live their life, separated from Christ.
[00:34:30] But he saved us from that.
[00:34:35] And because he did that and because he loved us that much, we should want to just give everything in this life for him. And you know, the cool thing about Jesus is it doesn't matter how you start it. It matters how you finish.
[00:34:48] So if your life has been kind of in that mediocre land and you're kind of wasting your life and you're living for the american dream and you're doing other things, but you're still a Christian, maybe you show up to church, you get the opportunity to finish strong and have a change of heart and repent of living for yourself and choosing to live for him instead, and I tell you what, if Jesus says, I got some rewards and treasures and crowns for you, then we should want those. Because if he's telling us that should be our motivation in life, then it's going to be something pretty special.
[00:35:25] But even if we received nothing, we should still, because what he's done for us, we should be compelled to want to give him everything.
[00:35:41] You guys, the band, you can come on up.
[00:35:47] We're going to have a time of reflection now, and I want the words of Christ and of Paul to both excite you and encourage you, but also to sober you up a little bit this morning and this time right now is just between you and the Lord.
[00:36:09] You know, the cool thing about wherever we are hearing the word preached, or wherever it is that we're worshipping Christ, whether it's on Sunday or whether it's at a conference or a convention or retreat, God needs us, just you and him. Even if you're in a large group of people, be 100, it could be 10,000. And he still wants to be that personal with you that after you've heard the word preached, to sit there and spend some personal time with him.
[00:36:40] And I want you to ask him, Jesus, tell me what is in my heart that so often leads to bad fruit coming out in my words, behavior and actions.
[00:36:52] And then, Jesus, tell me if the majority of my life I live each day is full of worthless things that have no eternal value and will burn in the end and bring what he reveals back to him and cry out to him in confession and sorrow and repentance, asking him to change your heart and to help you start living fully for eternal things.
[00:37:18] Go ahead and spend some time doing that, and then we'll have communion close.
