John Came Preaching

Q: What does the Bible say about repentance?

The Bible teaches that repentance is a change of mind towards God and an acknowledgment of sin. Repentance, as preached by John the Baptist, is paramount in understanding our relationship with God. The call to 'Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand' (Matthew 3:2) emphasizes a turning away from sin towards God. Paul further affirms this when he states he preached 'repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ' (Acts 20:21). True repentance involves not only sorrow for sin but also a transformation in how we perceive ourselves and God, recognizing His sovereignty and grace.

Q: Why is preaching important in Christianity?

Preaching is vital because it conveys the gospel and calls sinners to repentance, revealing Christ to them. Preaching is fundamental to the Christian faith as it is the means by which God sends His message of salvation. As shown in Matthew 3:1-2, John the Baptist was sent by God to preach in a barren world, calling sinners to repentance. A true preacher is like a forerunner who prepares the way for Christ, embodying the responsibility to remove obstacles that hinder people from seeing the Savior. The gospel's effectiveness depends on faithful preachers who point to Christ and proclaim His righteousness. As the apostle Paul states, 'How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?' (Romans 10:14).

Q: How do we know true preachers?

True preachers point others to Christ and do not glorify themselves but focus on the gospel message. Identifying true preachers requires discerning their message and demeanor. John the Baptist serves as an example; he said, 'I am not worthy to carry His shoes' (Matthew 3:11), demonstrating humility and a clear focus on Christ rather than himself. True preachers will call sinners to repentance and will not seek to attract crowds with flattery or self-promotion. They will preach God's Word plainly, revealing the stark reality of sin and the grace available in Christ. The fruit of their ministry is ultimately a reflection of Christ’s glory, confirming their role as true heralds of the gospel.

Q: What is the significance of baptism according to the Bible?

Baptism symbolizes a believer's public confession of faith and identification with Christ's death and resurrection. Baptism holds great significance in the Christian faith as it acts as a public declaration of one's faith in Jesus Christ. John the Baptist baptized with water unto repentance, meaning that baptism signified a recognition of sin and a commitment to follow God. As stated in Romans 6:3-4, baptism represents being buried with Christ and raised to new life, affirming the believer's transformation through faith. It serves as an outward expression of an inward change and is closely tied to the act of confessing one's sins and acknowledging the grace of God that comes through repentance. Baptism does not bring salvation but is an essential step reflecting one's faith in Christ.

Q: What does it mean that 'the axe is laid to the root' in preaching?

It means that God's Word cuts to the core issues of sin, exposing the need for genuine repentance and faith. The phrase 'the axe is laid to the root' (Matthew 3:10) illustrates the cutting nature of God's Word as it addresses the heart of the matter regarding sin and human condition. This metaphor emphasizes that true preaching does not merely address surface-level issues but penetrates deeply into the soul, calling individuals to examine their hearts and their standing before God. A faithful preacher will not shy away from the hard truths that God’s Word reveals, and this stripping away of false securities is essential for the work of genuine repentance. When God’s Word is preached in truth, it lays bare the necessity of depending entirely on Christ for salvation.

Q: Why is it important to have a new heart and mind in Christ?

A new heart and mind enable believers to perceive God's truth and live in accordance with His will. Having a new heart and mind in Christ is crucial for the Christian journey, signifying a transformation that aligns a believer with God’s truth. As discussed in Ezekiel 36:26, God promises to give His people a new heart and a new spirit, enabling them to understand and love the truth. This change is reflected in how we think about ourselves and view salvation, moving from self-reliance to realizing our complete dependence on God’s grace. John the Baptist's message emphasized that true repentance involves a changed perspective where sin is acknowledged, and Christ becomes the focus of our faith. In this way, the new heart leads to a life that bears fruit, displaying love, joy, and faithfulness in our relationship with God and others.

This is my story, this is my
song, praising my Saviour all the day long. Thank you, Gabe and Jeanette. Alright, go back to Matthew 3 with me. Matthew 3 begins this way. In those days came John the Baptist
preaching in the wilderness of Judea. It had been a long time since
the Lord had spoken. Four hundred years since Malachi. And it was a dark and sinful
day. God in mercy. God had mercy on
Israel. How? He sent a preacher. And boy, did he send one. John,
in those days, God's good time. He will send the gospel to his
people. You remember we looked the last
time that John was waiting in the wings for 30 years like the
Lord Himself, doing whatever he was doing faithfully. And
then he came. It says, In those days came John. Why did John come? Well, he didn't
decide to just go start preaching. The Lord sent him. How shall
they preach except they be sent? The Lord sent John. That's true
of every preacher. Either he's sent or he's not.
It says he came preaching in the wilderness of Judea. He wasn't preaching out in the
desert, as most people think, but in the cities and outlying
regions outside of Jerusalem. God sent him outside the camp. He didn't send John to organize
religion. People came to him, scribes and
Pharisees, but he was out preaching to people in the wilderness. And the wilderness has always
been a picture of this world, those who live in the world.
It's barren and godless. and sinful. That's who the Lord
sends His preacher and His gospel to. Sinners. Sinners. And they're mostly outside the
camp. And verse 2 says He preached, this is what He preached, Repent
ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. We looked at that,
I think it was last Wednesday, I think. Repent ye. That means godless sorrows, what
it means. And this repentance is toward God. We don't repent
to men. We repent toward God. That's
what Paul said. I preached repentance toward
God in faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. And John preached
repentance. God is angry. That's what he
said. Who hath warned you, to the Pharisees
anyway, to flee from the wrath to come? And this is a true preacher. He preaches repentance. He preaches
the wrath of God But God is merciful. He preached that too. God is
merciful. If we confess our sins, he said, he is faithful and just
to forgive us our sins. And the blood of Jesus Christ,
God's Son, cleanses us from all sin. To every repentant sinner. He says repent. And repentance
means also change of mind. Change of mind. Now, you and
I cannot change our mind. It's a change of heart too. It's
a new heart. God said in Ezekiel 36, He said, I will give them
a new heart and a new mind. God changes our way of thinking. You remember He said in Psalm
50, Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such one as Thyself.
But I'll put things in order before you. When God gives us
repentance, He changes our mind about what we thought about God. Many in here were in religion
before you heard the truth. And you had your thoughts about
God, what you thought God was like. And it was all wrong when
you heard the gospel. And not until you heard the gospel
did you find out that God was not like you thought He was.
You had the wrong God, didn't you? And He changes your mind
about what you think about yourself. What do you think about yourself?
I talked to a fellow on the phone one day, and he was religious,
and I think one of the first things I asked him was, what
do you think about yourself? What do you think about yourself? And he said, well, I think I'm
a pretty good fellow. Well, right then, immediately,
I knew he hadn't heard the truth yet, because when God reveals
himself to us, then we will see ourselves for what we really
are. I mentioned Sunday Daniel and
Job. Well, Job, he said, I've heard
of you. Now I see you and I hate myself. Daniel was a fine, fine man,
as fine as they come. But he said, my covenants melted
into corruption. It goes. Everybody whom God gives
us repentance, he changes their mind about what to think about
themselves. They quit talking about everybody else's sin. They
start talking about their own. And God changes our mind about
what we think about salvation. Man, most people think it's up
to man. God, you find out, don't you,
when you hear the truth, that it's up to God. It's completely
His will and His choice, and it's completely the work of Jesus
Christ. You find that out. That's repentant. And that's the gift of God. It's
the goodness of God that changes our mind, our way of thinking,
and our hearts. And we love the truth. You might
have heard the truth when you were in religion, and you might
have despised it when you heard it, didn't you? At first. But
God gave you a love of the truth. And that's the goodness of God.
Change your mind. So John came preaching repentance,
but the kingdom of heaven is at hand. You see that? And we've
already looked at this. I need to go on. But he changes
our mind, too, about the kingdom of heaven. It's not, doesn't
come with observation. It's not a place. It's not, you
know, you were looking to go to heaven and now you're looking
to see Christ. You know, the kingdom is not a place. The resurrection
is not an event. It's a person. It's a person. So he says the kingdom of heaven
is at hand. In other words, you're looking
at him. Christ said, it doesn't come
with observation. It's right in front of you. Like Pilate,
he's looking for the truth. Truth was a person. So in verse
3, the scripture says, this is he that was spoken of by the
prophet Isaiah in chapter 40. Start to read that, and you can
read it for yourself later. But this is what Isaiah said.
It's the voice of one crying in the wilderness. Prepare ye
the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight. This
is he. Our Lord said that. The Lord
said, John, he was commending John to the people. And he said,
this is Isaiah. I mean, this is Elijah. This
is Elijah. Of whom Malachi said. And of
whom Isaiah prophesied of too. This is Elijah. Malachi 4 says,
I'll send him, Elijah, before the great and coming day of the
Lord. And he'll prepare the way. He's
a forerunner. That's what John was, and that
was to fulfill Scripture, to identify the Christ. To him,
give all the prophets witness. And John was the last. John was
the last Old Testament prophet. And to him, to Christ, give all
the prophets witness. And you know, really, every preacher
is, in a sense, a forerunner of Christ. That is, prepare the
way and appoint men to Christ. Look at verse 1, it says, In
those days came John. And right beside it, verse 13,
says, Then cometh Jesus. So when God sends the gospel,
Christ is right behind. Wherever God sends the gospel
to and a gospel preacher to, that's where he is. That's where
he is. He said, Where two of three are
gathered, that's where I'll be. And it's true of every prophet,
every apostle, every evangelist, every preacher for that matter,
the fulfillment of Scripture. Our Lord said, my sheep will
hear my voice, though it's a man speaking. Christ said, they hear
you, they'll hear me. He prayed that in his high priestly
prayer. He said, I've given them thy
words and blessed are they that believe through their word. They're
going out to preach, and they need to hear. They're going to
have to listen to a man, but they're going to have to hear
more than a man's voice. They're going to have to hear Christ Himself
speak, and that's how He speaks. And the Scripture says here of
the forerunner that he will prepare the way of the Lord and make
his path straight. See that? He'll prepare the way
of the Lord, make His paths straight. In Isaiah it said that every
valley shall be exalted and every high place or mountain will be
brought low. Remember that? And the crooked
made straight and the rough made plain. And this is what John did, and
this is what a true preacher does. He removes obstacles or
the hindrances, things that get in the way of people seeing Christ,
looking to Christ. Now, he's not making it easy
for the Lord to come to them, but rather for them to come to
him, he said. And he needs to remove everything
that men look to in order for them to look to Christ only. Remove everything, especially
himself. Nothing and no one should obstruct
the view of Christ and Him crucified, His glory. You remember when
Christ came riding into Jerusalem, what did He ride on? A big white
steed? A big charger, fiery charger,
you know? A Frisian, or what people think,
or noble horses, you know? What did He ride on? a donkey. Why? Because nobody was talking
about that donkey. Nobody paid any attention whatsoever
to that donkey, did they? They were smitten with the Lord
Himself. That donkey, that ass, if you
will, its whole purpose was to lift up Christ for the people
to see. Christ said, if I be lifted up,
I'll draw all people to myself. And that's who the true preacher
wants the people to be drawn to. And so that's his sole purpose. Like the pole that lifts up the
serpent in the wilderness. That's the sole purpose of that
pole. It's just a pole. Just a common
old pole. But it's purpose, and it serves
no purpose except that. To lift up the remedy for those
bitten And so we remove. We endeavor to remove ourselves.
John did. They came to him. They wanted
to hear about his credentials. He wouldn't even tell them his
name, would he? I'm just a boy. Just a boy. So we need to remove
everything that gets in the way of people coming to Christ, looking
to cry. We don't need a parade. We don't
need pageantry. We don't need pomp. Let's get
rid of that. We need to see the King. We don't need a float. We need to see the King, don't
we? We need to remove the difficulties. When the Scriptures talk about
the simplicity of Christ, that means this, not that salvation
is something easy. It means this, that it's Christ
alone, that it's nothing else, nothing plus or minus, nothing
added to or taken away from, it's just Christ. That's what
that means, simplicity. or the singularity of Christ
and Him alone. That it's faith in Him. That's
what it is. So when we bring the valleys up and the mountains
low, preacher, true preacher, and the crooked straight and
the rough places, we make them plain, that is, what it is, is
we don't need to make people crawl through the valley of tears,
but just look to Christ. You don't have to go through
a long period of repentance and all that. Just look to Christ.
We'll never repent sufficiently. Never. Look to Christ. That's
a form of repentance, isn't it? You look into Christ and say,
I'm nothing, but He's all. God knows that, sees that. He
looks on the heart anyway. We're not to make people climb
Mount Sinai. Look to Christ. Look to Christ. We're to make the crooked straight. That is, don't make people go
this way or that way or roundabout way. Just go straight to Christ.
Don't look to the left. Don't look to the right. Look
to your eyes. Look straight forward. Look to Christ and Him alone. And the rough, don't make it
difficult. Don't make it difficult. Make
it plain. So that's what he tells the preacher
to do, and that's what the true preacher does. That's what John
did. Verse 4, and the same John had his raiment of camel's hair
and a leather girdle about his loin. His meat was locust and
wild honey. You know, the Scriptures devote
a good bit to John and others like Elijah and these preachers. Why is that? Because we need to know that
these men were truly God's preacher. Because if they're not, we're following a false prophet,
right? It's vital that we know. It's vital that we know. And
our Lord commended John and made it plain to the people who John
was. And though he doesn't tell us
audibly, yet the Scriptures do. The Scriptures can point out,
do point out, the true creature. And here there are several things
about John. Number one, he was a plain man,
even rough. How do you picture John? You
picture a man out there wearing camel's hair and a leather gurgle. You picture him as kind of a
rough fellow, don't you? He wasn't a wild man. I know
that. He was a brilliant man. Nevertheless,
he was very plain in other words. He's preaching it in the open
air. How do you perceive that John may have preached? What
do you think of when you think of John preaching? If you're going to preach out
in the open air to a big crowd of people, you've got to lift
up your voice. Spurgeon used to say, well, he
had a fellow in his preacher's class that he said was hollow-chested. And he told him, you'll never
make a preacher's son. You can't lift up your voice.
And back then, nobody had PA systems, didn't they? But I picture
a man, a very, very even rough-looking, but certainly a gentle man. But nevertheless, a loud and
even boisterous fellow, don't you? The point is, God uses different
men, doesn't he? Different men. John the Baptist
was quite different than John the Apostle, who was always found
with his head laying on the Lord's bosom. Simon Peter was quite
different than Paul, wasn't he? Quite different. Those men had
no education. Paul was a brilliant theologian,
scholar. And the Lord used those men where
He put them. And it's the same today, isn't
it? It's the same day. Don Bell is
quite different than Clay Curtis. But they have the same message.
Here's the thing. God equips men, different men. He uses them as they are, but
they have the same message. John drank no wine and did nothing
that could offend anyone. He depended on the Lord and ate
whatever the Lord provided him, but he drank no wine. He was
really a Nazarite. But they said of John, he has
a devil, didn't he? Our Lord came eating and drinking
and dressed normally, like if he was with us today in a service,
he'd probably have a coat and towel. But they said, he's a
glutton and a whiner. But wisdom is justified of her
children. God's people will hear the man
that he sends them. Look at verse 5. But anyway,
John revealed that he really wasn't out to please anybody,
either with the way he dressed or the way he spoke. But the
Lord sent him. Then went out to him. Here's
proof that God uses whom he will and how he will and the people
will hear him. They went out to him, Jerusalem. Sounds like
the whole city went out to hear him. And who was in Jerusalem? Well, scholars and educated and
the rich and everybody, all high and low, rich and poor, male
and female, religious, irreligious, all Judean, all the region around
about Jordan. They went out to hear him. You
see, we don't have to go begging for an audience. God's not a
beggar and neither is His church, His preacher, God will send His
people to hear the gospel? Yes, He will. That doesn't keep
us from telling people and talking to people. We're all forerunners
of the Lord. We're all to go out and tell
men of the Lord, like the woman at the well. When she had Christ
revealed to her, like John, she went, ran, and said, come see
a man. She didn't point to herself and
didn't wear religion on her sleeve, but she said, why don't you come
see a man? This is the cry. All God's people
are, as it were, forerunners and point the way to Christ and
remove the obstacles and so forth. But they all came out to hear
John and it says in verse 6, they were baptized of him in
Jordan, confessing their sin. Peter preached at Pentecost and
says everyone that gladly received the Word were baptized. Baptized
of John. Confessing. Confessing. They weren't confessing to John.
We're not to confess our sins to men. We're told to confess
our faults, which are many, but not our sins because we can't
do anything about one another's sin. We can't do anything about
our own. But I'll tell you who can. He can put them away. We confess
our sins to the Lord, but in baptism, baptism is a confession
of sin. That's what baptism is. This
is the public confession of sin that our Lord gave us. Baptism. What we're saying when we're
baptized is, when Christ was crucified and died, I should
have been crucified. When Christ was crucified, That
was me. I died. I was crucified with
Christ. When Christ was buried, I deserved to be buried and put
out of sight. And hopefully by God's grave,
He took my sin and put them away, cast them out of God's sight. And when Christ rose from the
grave, I was raised with Him. I was
quickened together with Christ. And hopefully by His grace, I'll
rise to walk in newness of life. That's what baptism signified. It's a confession. And so they
came to John. The Lord brought them and they
came to hear him, all Judea. And everybody must hear the gospel.
Everyone must hear the gospel and be baptized. It's a command.
Our Lord said, he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. It's a command and it's a confession. And John down here in verse 11,
John said, Now I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance,
that he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes
I am not worthy to bear or carry. He shall baptize you with the
Holy Ghost and with fire. There are several ways that we
know John was a true preacher and every other man who is a
true preacher, number one, is he did not glorify himself, but
pointed men to Christ. And number two, he said, I can't
do anything for you. This baptism that I'm baptizing
you with, it's just water. I can't do anything. The work
of salvation is Christ's alone. Only He can do this work of regeneration. He must, and the scripture says
he shall, he shall baptize with the Holy Spirit. We're going
to look more at that Sunday, the baptism of the Holy Spirit
and fire. But he said, I don't have any
special power. And significantly, John did not
perform one miracle. Not one miracle. Not one. Oh, boy. But the Lord sure did
use his preaching. And I want the same power, not
for the sake of power, but for the sake of the gospel going
forth in power. And God has promised a blessing.
Now, look at verse 7. The Pharisees. He saw many Pharisees
and Sadducees come to his baptism. He said unto them, O generation
of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Bring forth fruit, therefore fruits meet for repentance. Vipers. I'll tell you what kind of man
he was. He wasn't afraid to say it like
it is. He wasn't a man pleaser. Remember
Paul said that in Galatians. He said, if I seek to please
men, I'm not the servant of Christ. And these religious fellows,
these Pharisees and Sadducees came to him, just out of curiosity
I believe. I don't think they were being
baptized at this time. But he said, oh, vipers. That's not a way to attract a
crowd, is it? If you wanted to attract a crowd,
would you get up and start calling people snakes? Well, John's not
trying to attract a crowd. I remember hearing my pastor
years ago preach a message on the trail of his sheep. on the
trail of his sheep. And he said, we're not out to
see how many people we can bring in to the church. We're not out
to get church members. Church members, just that, are
nothing but trouble. Christ's people. Sheep. He said, we're on the trail of
God's sheep. We're not out to argue with goats. I don't have
to fill up the building. We're on the trail of His sheep.
Because Christ said, My sheep will hear My voice. And there
in Isaiah 40, He said, Lift up your voice. Lift it up with strength.
And cry. What shall I cry? Isaiah said.
Cry this, All flesh is grass. And cry this, Behold your God. Behold your God. was not a man pleaser. He's not
trying to please people. He's trying to preach the truth.
Well, he was preaching the truth. Not promoting himself. He said,
I'm a voice. I'm not important. I love what
George Whitefield once said. It's things like this that prove
those men to be true. The Lord used him greatly. It's
very evident. He's still being dead, yet speaketh. I still am greatly blessed by
George Whitefield's preaching. But he said this, he said, let
the name of George Whitefield perish from the earth. Let the
name of Jesus Christ be praised. I like that. I like that. And
John didn't promote himself. He called sin, sin. He called sin what it is. He
wasn't afraid to call it what it is. Remember when he came
and said something to Philip? About Herodias? Well, many of
them. Remember that? And he got his
head cut off for it. Well, he preached the wrath of
God to it, as well as the Lamb of God. Nobody needs a lamb who
doesn't perceive and hear and feel like they're under the wrath
of God. And he renounced all religious security, all heritage. Look at verse 9. He said, Don't
think to say within yourself, we have Abraham, our father.
I say unto you, God is able of these stones to raise up children
of Abraham. Well, we're Abraham, see, we're
Jews. That doesn't mean a thing, John said. Don't trust him that. God said, God said through John, He said, in John, He said, it's not of
blood, not of heritage, not of the will of the flesh, not of
the will of man, but born of God. And we don't make ourselves,
we're not born into the kingdom of God, that is by blood, we're
born of God into the kingdom. And He said, you can't make yourself.
He said, God can make a rock into a son of Abraham. And so it's not, that's nothing
to look back on, nothing to trust in, carnal security, religious
security. I'm a Baptist. I'm a Jew. Well,
big deal. That's what John would say, big
deal. God can make a rock, turn a rock into, he did you, your
hard heart and our hard hearts. And then he got to the root of
the matter. He got to the root of the matter. The root and the
fruit. He talked about fruit. Bring
forth fruits, meet for repentant. And here in verse 10, he said,
Now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees. Therefore,
every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down
and cast into the fire. The root and the fruit. What
is it? Go with me to John 15. John chapter 15. Root and the
fruit. This is the root of the matter.
Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down. Our Lord said this Himself. He
said, every tree that my heavenly Father hath not planted shall
be rooted up. Now, how do you know? How can
you tell a true tree, a good tree, how can you tell? How can you tell if the root
of the matter is in me? I want to know if the root of
the matter is in me. Don't you? Job, he said, why persecute you me,
seeing the root of the matter is in me? The root of the matter. Well, I want to know that. We
need to know if the root of the matter is in us and whether we
bear fruit. If we don't bear fruit, And John
said this, he said, if you repent, there's got to be some evidence
of that. There's got to be some fruit that are fitting with repentance. No change. No change. No root. Well, how can you tell? All right, look at John 15. Here
it is. Here's the source. Here's where
it comes from. Verse 4. Our Lord said, Abide
in me, and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself,
except it abide in the vine. No more can ye except ye abide
in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I
in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. Without me, you can
do nothing. What's the root of the matter?
Christ. Job said, the root of the matter
is in me. What is it? He said, I know my
Redeemer liveth. The root of the matter. You know,
a fruit tree, Christ is that tree of life. Christ is that
tree of life, the leaves of which for the healing of the nation
bear all manner of fruit. You know the fruit of the Spirit
in Galatians 5? All the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace,
gentleness, goodness. That describes Christ. Long-suffering,
temperance. That describes the Lord Jesus
Christ. He is that tree of life. He was there in the beginning
and He's going to be there in the end. And everyone who is
in Him, only those in Him Bring forth fruit. Without me you can
do nothing, he said. There is no fruit. No matter
what people do, no matter what they do, no matter what it seems
like to man, if it's not by faith and pride, it's sin. Isn't that
what it said? I thought Becky was in here.
You and I know that verse. It says, what serves not of faith
is sin. That is, God doesn't accept anything
outside of Christ, no matter what it seems like, no matter
how... Well, 1 Corinthians 13 says that,
doesn't it? Huh? Do I speak with the tongue
of men and of angels? Have not love? Love? What do you mean
love? Love to God. Love to God's Word. Love to God's
truth. Love to God's Christ. Love God's
salvation. Love God's people. The first
four commandments are toward whom? God. Right? The first four commandments
of the Ten Commandments are toward God. The last six are toward
man. So that's where it starts. This
love, this fruit is toward God. And when God puts you in Christ,
now you're going to bear fruit. You're going to be concerned
about the glory of God, like Christ was. Just like Christ. He was concerned with the glory
of God, wasn't he? God's truth. God's word. God's name. God's Sabbath. Him. Incidentally, that's our
Bible study Sunday morning. Sabbath. Rest. Cry. And so this
fruit comes from Christ. Those in Christ. Fruit. Now, here's three things about
fruit. Here's three things about fruit. Do I bear fruit? Do you
bear fruit? that fruit comes from Christ.
We can't produce it. A tree, if you plant a tree and
it grows up and brings forth fruit, I guarantee you it came
from a fruit tree. The seed that you plant has got
to come from a fruit tree, doesn't it? Well, Christ said this seed,
we're born of incorruptible seed, which is Christ in you. The Gospel. Okay? It's got to be in Christ. It's
got to come from Christ. Born of His Spirit. Secondly,
the seed has got to come from Christ. And secondly, fruit is
produced by growth and maturity. three fruit trees in my yard.
The first two years, they didn't bear any fruit. What am I going
to do? Cut them down? No, hold on. Don't
do that yet. It takes a while, doesn't it,
to bear fruit. We've got a wisteria vine on
our porch. And we planted it five years ago. And it hadn't
bloomed yet. And I'm so aggravated with that
thing. Well, I went online. And it said in one of these places
that a wisteria takes from seven to ten years to start blooming. I thought, well, okay. I'll wait
a while. I'll wait a while. So you don't
expect too much fruit from a new believer. But you wait and it
will come. It will come. Didn't our Lord
say some bring forth ten and a hundredfold and so forth by
degree? But it's fruits, the glory of
God and love to His Word, love to His people. And how does growth
come? How does maturity come? Well,
through trials and experience. That's pruning is what it is. You've got to prune a fruit tree,
don't you? You've got to prune it. I cut mine back a long way. And all of these vintners and
people on orchards every year, they cut their trees way back,
don't they? Or they won't produce much fruit.
And so it is. That God's people must go through
trials. A trial of our faith where it's
patience and patience, experience. Experience, hope, and we bring
forth fruit. Thirdly, you remember when the
Lord came to a fruit tree and He said, it cumbers the ground. Cut it down. And they said, no,
wait. Let's dung it. Remember that? Let's dung it and then see if
it brings forth fruit. I've been thinking about that
a long time. I've never really preached on that by itself. Dung
it? In other words, you're going
to put some awful manure all around this thing, stinking,
rotten manure around this thing and that's going to make it bring
forth fruit? Yep. What's that got to do with us? Remember, David said, my wounds
stink. My loins are filled with a loathsome
disease. God's going to have to show us.
This whole life is a humbling experience, bringing us down
to see ourselves for what we are. And you know what that does?
It humbles us and makes us bring forth fruit. We've got to see
how rotten we are so we can see how sweet the Lord Jesus Christ
is. That's the only way. Christ is
not sweet to good people. But He sure is sweet to sin.
Dung. And you can't force fruit, can
you? You can't force fruit. I want to grow faith. You can't
do it. Faith is a gift of God. I'm patient. I'm going to be
patient. I'm going to be patient now. You can't do it, can you? You can't do it. It comes with
age and trials, and my, my, I think you've got to get about 70 or
so to have that. My, my. But anyway. Anyway. Hosea 14, verse 8 says, "...from
me is thy fruit found." Now, the axe, John said, the axe is
laid to the root of the tree. Now, I've got to quit. The axe
is laid to the root. What's the axe? It's God's Word.
And it's sharp. He said it's a two-edged sword. And Lord will find out who loves
God. All things work together for
good to them that love God. Well, who loves God? I mean the
God of the Bible. And when the Word is preached,
in its truth, in its plainness, telling who God really is, sovereign,
holy, just, saving whom He will because He will. It's His will.
It's His choice. It's His world. You know, it's
up to Him completely. Sovereign God. You're going to
find out real fast if the root of the matter is insubordinate. With one fell swoop, behold your
God, it's going to get the root of the matter. Those that God
planted on stand. The root of the matter. His Word. Who really believes
His Word? Who loves His Word? Who loves
the truth? Well, preach it, and you'll find out, won't you? His
salvation. Let such as love thy salvation
say, the Lord be magnified. Salvation is of the Lord. Who
loves God's salvation? Who loves salvation God's way?
God's people do. That's the root of the matter.
And when the truth is preached plainly, boldly, it will get
to the root of the matter and it will hue down. In Psalm 37,
David said, I've seen the wicked like a green bay tree and his
power spreading himself. That's religion. It's just growing
leaps and bounding like a big green bay tree all over. It's
coming down. Our Lord said, it's coming down. You just wait. Babylon is falling. How? The sword of his mouth. The word of his mouth. And John
said this, and I'll close with this. John said, now how is the
true preacher known? Verse 11, he said, I baptize
you with water unto repentance, but he that cometh after me is
mightier than I. And this is our message Sunday,
the Mighty One. He's mightier than I. And John
said, I'm not worthy to carry His shoes. I'm just a servant.
I'm not worthy to buckle His shoe. I just baptized with water
and He will baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.
He's the Almighty, the Mighty God, the Mighty Redeemer, and
He shall do what is needed for us. Well, the Lord commended
John to the people, and so do I. So do I. And I thank God for raising up
John the Baptist, and I thank God for raising up other men just like him. Just
like him. And for sending the gospel. If
he hadn't, I'd be lost. I'd be lost. All right, stand
with me. Our Lord, we thank You for Your
blessed Word. It's so plain to them that understand
it, right to them that find knowledge, those whom You've given an understanding
that they might know the You and know the truth, and those that have found out the
knowledge, the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the person
of Christ. Thank You, Lord. Thank You. It's all plain when You make
it plain. Lord, thank You for giving the love of the truth
to Your people. Thank You for creating in them
a clean heart and a right spirit and a new mind, a new heart.
Thank You. Thank You for revealing Yourself
to them and in them. Thank You, Lord, for raising
up men to preach the gospel. Just men, but we esteem them
highly for the works of Satan. Thank You, Lord, for sending
the gospel in due time to us In these dark days, we thank
You. We ask that You continue to send
it forth in power. Bless Brother Gabe as he preaches
this Sunday. Bless all who preach and teach
Your Word. Bless those who speak to our
children. Give them ears to hear, Lord.
Arrest their minds and hearts. Put the yoke upon them and their
youth. We ask and pray for Your glory and honor according to
Your will. Pray for your church everywhere, Lord, heads it about
in these evil days. Bind us all together in love
and faith in Thee, in love to Thee, in love to one another.
It's the tie that binds. We pray these things and ask
in forgiveness of sin, in the name above every other, Jesus
Christ. Amen.

John Came Preaching

What does the Bible say about repentance?

Why is preaching important in Christianity?

How do we know true preachers?

What is the significance of baptism according to the Bible?

What does it mean that 'the axe is laid to the root' in preaching?

Why is it important to have a new heart and mind in Christ?

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