"Are You Prepared?"
Luke 3:1-10
John 1:6 onwards the baptism of Jesus
Mark 1:1-11
A time of preparation
Prepare the way
The way for what?
· John made ready "a people prepared for the Lord" BY AROUSING THEIR ATTENTION
Charles Spurgen said, ‘Now that is the meaning of what John said, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand! Repent ye! He is coming who wields the axe of divine Justice; bear fruit, or else be cut down. He is coming who uses the great winnowing fan; be the true wheat, or else be blown away." He put the truth so pointedly, and so earnestly, that he did by that means make ready "a people prepared for the Lord."’
· John made the people ready for Christ BY AWAKENING THEIR CONSCIENCES
When you know you have sinned, then you are prepared for change
If you think you are safe like the religious people, then you are in grave danger for you have turned way from the gospel message
No one will come to the Saviour unless they know that they need a Saviour; and no one will feel that they need a Saviour until they feels that they are a sinner
It is no use pretending to grieve over the past, and then continue to sin
The preacher who would "make ready a people prepared for the Lord" must come out with the axe, and lay it to the root of the trees
They must be definite in indicating that sin is wrong, and crying to all men, "Repent of these sins
You may have been a Christian or years, but examine the fruit
Give it up
Be washed
Allow Him to lay the axe to the root
Why?
Illustration: the Central News report of the couple who had a tree removed but the roots were not destroyed and the tree began growing in the house and cracking the walls
Luke 3:9-10 And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."
So the people asked him, saying, "What shall we do then?"
Matt 3:10 And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire ä-ksç’-nâ
Axinç (ä-ksç’-nâ)
Occurs twice in NT Matt 3:10 & Luke 3:9
1) an axe
· John had "to make ready a people prepared for the Lord" BY POINTING OUT THE NATURE OF TRUE RELIGION
People proud of their family connections
How many hang onto, "My father was a Christian."
Others may say, "Well, I live in a Christian country."
They think there is something in the very race from which they have been born
Whatever external privileges you may have had, they are not sufficient to secure your salvation
Preachers have forgotten that the law is the schoolmaster to bring men to Christ
No we re not under law, but it cannot be removed because it still serves a purpose today
It is because of the law we recognise we fall short and we are in need of someone to save us
If neglected, they sow on the unbroken fallow ground and forget that the plough must break the ground first
We have seen too much trying to sew without the sharp instrument of the Spirit’s convicting power
It may be our duty to preach Jesus to self-righteous also, but it is certain that He will never be accepted by them while they hold themselves in such high regard
Only the sick will ask for a physician
It is the work of the Spirit to convince people of sin, and until they are convinced, they will never seek the righteousness that is from Christ
Where there is a real work of grace, it begins with a pulling down and a clearing out
The Holy Spirit does not build on the old foundation: Wood, hay, and stubble
1 Cor 3:9-13 Read
What are building for God?
Take a look at the foundation, is it His or yours?
And do you think you should only repent once in your life?
Why are you afraid to see yourself and your works in the light of Him?
Because it is painful!
It is hard work clearing the ground
It is hard work chopping down a tree, let alone trying to get to the roots!
Jean’s vision of the roots, the golden axe and the silver trowel
Silver trowel: silver is a soft metal, gold is harder; gold represents God’s glory
The trowel a symbol of our own works in our roots
Also a symbol of Freemasons (charities)
The axe must be sharp
"If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success." Ecclesiastes 10:10
You may say, "Is this the answer to my prayer? I prayed the Lord to deliver me from sin and self, and is this the way in which he deals with me?
I asked for healing in my spirit, and yet I feel broken
I want clothes of righteousness yet I feel like I have filthy rags
How can you be healed while the proud flesh is in you wound?
It must come out, like a lanced boil; the poison has to be removed
It is the only way to heal you permanently: you cannot cover over the sore, or heal your flesh, and leave the disease within your bones
The great physician will cut it with his sharp knife till the corrupt flesh is removed
It’s not of the devil when you are disciplined, but God, because he wants you to be ready for the King’s return!
Do you want a perfect healing?
Dost you not see that it is divinely wise that before you are clothed you should be stripped?
Would you have Christ’s righteousness outside and your own filthy rags concealed within?
They must be a putting away; not a single thread of yours must be left upon you
God cannot cleanse you till he has made you see your defilement or you would never value the precious blood that cleanses you from all sin
If you haven’t first been made to mourn that you are unclean then do so now
The convicting work of the Spirit, wherever it comes from, is unexpected, and even to the child of God in whom this process still goes on, it is often astounding and painful
We can build on that which the Spirit of God has destroyed or is destroying but at our own peril
Having begun in the Spirit, we act as if we would be made perfect in fleshly things
Then when our mistaken up building and programmes have to be levelled and broken down we are almost as astonished, as we were when the scales fell from our eyes in the first instant
But God look what I’m doing for you?
You can’t take it away, it’s my life! It’s my calling, it’s my ministry!
Who are you to tell the gardener what He can and cannot do?
You have your self-glory, pride, self centeredness etc.
It’s not about you
If the tree has bad roots, the fruit is rotten
It has to be cut away, lopped off, chopped away
Unrighteousness vs righteousness
Righteousness = stewardship
What was there in the beginning? Originally, nothing
When he ordered the earth it was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep."
There was no trace of anyone else’s plan to interfere with the great architect and builder
Illustration: Phil’s vision of the rubble and building blocks
When the Lord renews us, he borrows nothing from the old man, but makes all things new
He does not repair and add a new wing to the old house of our depraved nature, but he builds a new temple for his own praise
The heirs of heaven are born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of man, but of God
If the work in us is not the Spirit’s working, but our own, it will wither and die
The grass, what does it do? Droop? No, it withers
There is no reviving it with showers, it has come to its end
Can you improve the old nature? No; "ye must be born again." Can it be taught heavenly things? No
If the fruit is bad because the tree is corrupt, then the tree must be cut down and roots destroyed
"The natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."
There is nothing to be done with the old nature but to put it in the grave; it must be dead, and buried, and when it is, then the incorruptible seed that lives and abides will forever develop gloriously, the fruit of the new birth which will come to maturity
Grace shall then be exalted in glory
The old nature will never improve, it is as earthly, and sensual, and devilish
The old nature called "the flesh, lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other," neither can there be peace between them
The work in the soul is very painful
This is a mournful work, but it must be done
In Church, people who move in the Spirit will be against those who mpve in the flesh
Cain hated Able because God accepted his gift
The Lord will not accept your gift of works to attain life
The natural building must come down, the walls, the plaster, the roof and the foundation, and we must have a house not made with hands
Illustration: It was a great mercy for our city of London that the great fire cleared away all the old buildings which were the lair of the plague. A healthier city was then built
It is great discomfort for anyone when God sweeps away all their own righteousness and strength, when God makes them feel that they are nothing and can be nothing, and drives them to confess that Christ must be all in all, and that their only strength lies in the eternal strength of the Spirit
Sometimes in a house of business an old system has been going on for years, and it has caused much confusion, and allowed much dishonesty
He comes in as a new manager, and we have to adopt an entirely new plan
Stop comparing this Church with others
Try if you can to graft your method on to the old system
Carry on and you will say in a year’s time, if only I had swept the old away and started afresh, clear from the beginning, it would not have given me one-tenth of the trouble
" God does not intend to graft the system of grace upon the corrupt nature, nor to make the new Adam grow out of the old Adam, but he intends to teach us this: "Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." Salvation is not of the flesh but of the Lord alone; that which is born of the flesh is only flesh at the best; and only that which is born of the Spirit is spirit
It must be the Spirit’s work altogether, or God will not accept it
Observe, Christian, that although it is painful, it is inevitable
We will be judged first before the world
We must allow Him to prepare us for the coming Jesus
The root grows in soil, which the curse has fallen on
Every supposed good thing that grows out of your own self, is like yourself, mortal, and it must die
The seeds of corruption are in all the fruits of manhood’s tree
They may seem good to eat, but Christian, eat and you will die
Though thou cleanse and purge thyself as thou mayst, thou art to the core corrupt though thou labor unto weariness, thou buildest wood that will be burned, and stubble that will be turned to ashes
Give up your own self-confidence and let the merit be where the honor shall be, namely, with God alone
It is inevitable, there will be withering, even death if need be
It is not the devil that kills my self-righteousness
Better to be broken in pieces by the Spirit of God, than to be made whole by the flesh!
How ever low you are brought, if the Spirit humbles you, he means no evil, but he intends infinite good to your soul
The only word that can bless you and be a seed in your soul must be the living and incorruptible word of the eternal Spirit
Before the seed can grow in your soul, it must be planted there by the Spirit
God is wanting to strip away so He can rebuild
Who stops him?
This is a word for us as individuals and for the Church
God said to me, ‘you want to see new life? You want to watch the Holy Spirit move in power? Then get rid of the trees that have a bad root and do it now! Before the corruption, which has been allowed to grow effects the other trees in the field.’
Who do we obey? Man or God?
Rev 22:16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, [and] the bright and morning star
Jesus is the root
Jesus is the vine
Jesus gives us the fruit when we abide in Him
Make sure you are yielding good fruit and not bad fruit
A tree that has bad fruit but a healthy root has hope, but the tree with a rotten root is good for nothing but the fire
