Would you take it and make your way in it to the gospel of Luke? We're carrying on chapter 3 today, verses 7 through 14, in a message that I'm calling Confrontation, Conviction, and Conversion. And verse 7 of Luke chapter 3, really transitions us out of the day of manifestation and into the day of confrontation. We just step straight into the scene of John the Baptist preaching and preparing the way of the Lord. Now Luke leaves John at the end of chapter 1, living out in the deserts, growing strong in spirit until the day of his manifestation. In chapter 3, He's made manifest as the voice of one crying in the wilderness, preparing the hearts of the people, helping them to realize the fact that they are sinners in need of a Savior, exposing high places of pride in their lives, twisted pathways of perversion in their hearts, things that have made for detours that need to be dealt with if The king is to have an all-access pass to the deepest recesses of their hearts. And so the cry... The proclamation, the preaching, well it was unto repentance, a change of mind, a proper perspective, a turning from a life of sin that you might or that they might then turn toward a life lived in submission to God. It was the latest happening. Trust me when I tell you, believe me when I say to you that people were coming out in droves to listen to this otherwise eccentric prophet and his preaching. And his church, his little country church on the edge of town, believe you me, was exploding. And as such, John seemed to set his sights on three things. We mentioned them. Number one, a confrontation. Number two, conviction. And then number three, finally, conversion. And so, verses 7 through 9 in our study today are straight up Confrontation. You don't get a whole lot. A lot of people are good with confrontation. Some people kind of don't really thrive on that. John was evidently one who had no problem with confrontation whatsoever. It's just straight confrontation. Verse 10 then begins to show us some conviction. Verses 11 through 14 will take us on into the signs or the showing of conversion. So now that you're with me, read along will you? Follow with me as I read verses 7 through 9. Then he, that is John the Baptist, said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore, bear fruits worthy of repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, we have Abraham as our father. For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the axe 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." If I could have your attention please, obviously there are a number of things in this particular passage that begin to surface here that we want to kind of take a little time and look at. I guess we should realize, straight out of the chute, that John was not really interested in what we might come to consider a seeker-sensitive environment. I mean, in reality, he seemed to be a little bit more on the seeker insensitive side of things. Because I'm just telling you guys, in my brief, short span of time in ministry, I've baptized quite a few people in my life. But I have never been moved to address the folks coming to the creek beginning with, you brood of vipers. Who warned you to flee from the wrath which is to come? I mean, listen, John was hardcore. I mean, he just got straight. Evidently, God has not been to many marketing seminars because He didn't employ a very slick advanced man for His Son, you know. I mean, I guess I could be wrong, but I would think that as a general rule, if you're interested in church growth and wide-range acceptance, you don't really begin your introduction with, so why are you here anyway? You know, I mean, it's just not one of those real smooth introductions. But it's obvious, at least from the text that we're considering, that John really wasn't interested in large crowds. That wasn't what baited him. That wasn't what really appealed to him. He wasn't really concerned with telling people what they wanted to hear, preaching a soft, seeker-sensitive kind of message, scratching the itching ears of the multitude. John spoke in such a way that if you weren't serious about what it means to be right in the sight of God, you probably wouldn't stick around very long. You'd have your fill real quick. I mean, he did what he could actually, kind of in the opposite of our own mentality, to actually thin the numbers. You know, to separate the wheat from the chaff, the legit from the illegit, those who were serious about seeking the Lord versus those who were maybe simply going through the motions and the mechanics of church without a heart. to really be right in the sight of God. Just quite the opposite of so often what takes place today. Now, not here because I'm thankful to have been discipled and raised up in a movement that just stands firm on the Word of God, but believe you me, there are men standing behind pulpits all across America today with pressure on them from men over them to take it easy, being warned not to be too offensive, Don't say this, don't preach on that, because so-and-so has lots of money, and if you offend him, he's gonna leave the church. So stay away from that, and things will be fine. Guys like me are encouraged to seek out ways to be more appealing, more entertaining, more seeker-sensitive, so that more people will come. Now, don't get me wrong. We want to be wise concerning the culture to which we've been called to minister. We want people to hear the Word of God. We want people to have a change of heart, to learn what it means, to live their life for Jesus Christ, to be surrendered to Him, to take up the cup of salvation through Him. But what we will not do is compromise the Word and the ways of God in order to seek to try and accomplish that. John was just a lay it on the line, let the chips fall where they may kind of a guy. And you know, Jesus was much the same way. As you study through, and we'll see along the way throughout our journey through the Gospel of Luke, when multitudes would amass around Him, He would often say things that would actually discourage them from following Him. And not because He didn't want people to know Him, or experience salvation through Him, because he was seeking to flush those out who perhaps had ulterior motives. He would seek to separate the wheat from the tares. I mean, there he was in the synagogue in Capernaum. Maybe you remember the story. Masses and multitudes, and he was teaching the people as was his custom. And he began to say things like, listen, unless you eat of my flesh, and drink of my blood, you have no life in you. Because indeed I say to you that my flesh is food indeed, my blood is drink indeed. Now picture just for a minute, here we are, and I come on out here and I get real serious with you and I'm like, if you don't eat of my flesh, if you don't drink of my blood, there's no life in you. Because my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed." Well, your initial, your immediate reaction to that might be something along the lines of, this guy's a quack. Maybe we've stepped into a cult or something. I'm not sure what's going on here. And you would begin to catch some concern. And in my case, appropriately so. You should be concerned if I ever said anything like that to you. But you know, in their day, it wasn't a whole lot different. Here was Jesus saying, my flesh is food indeed, my blood is drink indeed, and unless you eat of my flesh and drink of my blood, there's no life in you. And you know what? The people, they thought he was speaking of cannibalism or something. They were like, man, this is hard to absorb. Jesus, what are you saying, you know? Jesus said, listen, it's the Spirit who gives life. The flesh profits nothing, and the words that I speak are spirit, and they are life. But you know, the people couldn't really, they couldn't connect those dots. It was just too tough to take in, and so we read that from that time, many of his disciples went back and walked with him no more. Jesus would say things that would really challenge people concerning their commitment to him. Because it really wasn't a surface commitment. I mean, is the commitment in the surface or does it have, is there deep roots attached to it? Do the roots run deep concerning your commitment to Christ? Because he's just not really interested in surface commitment. Man, Jesus wants the whole of your heart. And that's really what John's getting at here, all these people coming out. I mean, this was a happening hotspot. Believe me, you guys, they didn't run. If they were like, what should we do? It's Friday night, what do you want to do? They didn't run to the movies. They didn't go catch a quick bite at the, you know, whatever restaurant you They didn't go play golf or do any of that kind of stuff. There just really wasn't a whole lot along those lines. And so when they heard things like, hey man, there's this dude outside of town. He is wild. You got to check this guy out. He dresses all funky. He eats grasshoppers and locusts. He's preaching to people. They would go. I mean, believe you me. And so here they are, they're being entertained by what's going on, and John just says, listen guys, I don't know what you're thinking or why you're here, but the bottom line is that you need a change of heart. You know, when he calls them a brood of vipers, that's tantamount to saying you guys are an offspring of snakes. Or another way to understand that, you're children of the devil. That serpent of old. And he's saying, if you guys think that just by coming out here, listening to this and being baptized, that you're securing some sort of fire insurance, you are gravely mistaken. If your life does not make manifest a changed heart, then coming out here to be baptized won't do a thing for you. He's saying, you know what, it's repentance, not baptism that God's looking for in your life. Now, I would never want to undermine the significance of baptism, but if that's what you're anchoring your salvation on, you're in for a very rude awakening. Just going through these motions and these mechanics. John says if you want to be secure in your salvation, then Notice, bear fruits worthy of repentance. Now the words bear fruit are in the active voice, they're in the imperative mood, and what that means to you and me is that John was actually demanding a change of lifestyle in order to prove or demonstrate a changed heart, okay? James said it like this, be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. He said, show me your faith without your works and I'll show you my faith by my works. Demanding a change of lifestyle in order to demonstrate a true change of heart. And that's what John's talking about when he says, listen, bear fruits worthy of repentance. He's saying that your lifestyle, That my lifestyle should, listen, here's the key, my lifestyle should obviously correspond, obviously correspond with my profession of faith, okay? Because fruit in the scriptures is always some sort of manifest behavior, be it good or be it bad. And that's why, you guys, I have a real hard time justifying people who have all the right words. and none of the right actions. I mean, I can't tell you, I cannot tell you the amount of times that I have heard people say, I mean, exactly what they need to say. And it sounds so good. I mean, they're hitting all the spots, they're crossing all the T's, they're dotting all the I's, and then they yield zero evidence of that conviction in their lives when they leave my office or whatever the case may be, you know? And I'm not trying to say that that person wasn't legitimately sorry for their offense or their sin, but I am saying that they weren't repentant over that sin. See, the Bible refers to something that's called worldly sorrow. A particular sin is somehow or in some way exposed, and the individual gets real embarrassed or ashamed You know, perhaps they cry over it, they're not proud of it at all. But then when the dust settles, you know what I mean? When a little time goes by and the dust settles, like the Bible says, like a dog returning to its vomit, they go right back to it. They don't turn from it, they engage and indulge again in it. And all they've really done is regret their actions, not repent of their actions. How can I say that? Well, because there's no change. Now, you guys, here's something else I want to make clear. There is a difference, and I don't want you to think I'm ignorant to this, there is a legitimate difference between someone who's longing to be right with God, looking to be right with God, but they're struggling, they're stumbling, they're seeking the Lord, but they're having a hard time, this thing's gripping them and warring with them, versus simply abandoning yourself to a certain mode of living when you think no one knows or it's not affecting anyone. Which by the way is a complete lie if you believe that because our sin always affects somebody else and generally multiple people. Repentance is made manifest, listen, in a change of attitude inwardly and a change of actions outwardly. I've discovered as well that sometimes people will change their actions perhaps because they have to. Maybe they're in some form of legal trouble, they're bound by law to run a certain course of life, or they're trying to make someone else happy, but their inward attitude remains the same. That's not repentance. Repentance reveals itself in two ways. There's really two dimensions to repentance, or two aspects, I could say. First of all, there is a vertical aspect to repentance, meaning it's between me and the Lord, me and God, you and God. And when you repent between you and God, that will bring about, that will show itself, there will be a change of heart, okay? There will be a change of attitude, There will be a change of, perhaps, motive in the situation. Whatever the case may be, it deals with who you are, what's going on inwardly. But then secondly, there's also a horizontal aspect to repentance. It will evidence itself in my relationships with other people, my actions toward them, the way that I treat them. And so the Bible makes it real clear, and on your own time, just go through 1 John, the Bible makes it real clear that I cannot be right with God and wrong with people. Okay? If I'm right with God, it will show itself by the way I treat, people as well, okay? Now next, John says, listen, we're talking about this stuff. This stuff's hardcore. I'm calling you a brood of vipers. I'm saying, you know, who warned you to flee? In other words, where did you get the lowdown of what's going on and what are you doing here? Why are you here? What do you think you're going to accomplish by being here? That kind of a thing. Bare fruits worthy of repentance. And then he says, listen, don't revolt at the idea of repentance. Don't think to yourself, man, we got Abraham as our father. What are you talking about there in verse 8? That's what he's referencing. You know, in other words, he's saying, don't think to yourself, hey, we're covenant kids. I mean, how dare you presume that we're not right with God? Last time I checked, we're Israelites too, John. And we go to church. What's the deal? And John says, listen, I couldn't care less that you're covenant people ethnically. That means nothing to you spiritually. You guys, this is a don't think that because you were brought up in church, don't think that because your mom is a really solid Christian woman that you automatically make it to heaven kind of an exhortation. And you know, there does seem to be, really, quite a bit, many times, a false sense of security in people who have believers in their family, or go to church regularly, or something like that. I remember a time I was, I don't know, somewhere between 16 and 18, I don't remember exactly. It was so long ago. I remember one time, And there I was, me and a friend, and we were at a mutual friend's house. And it was just us three, and it was real late, I don't know, midnight or after. And we were in town in this radical storm. Commenced. Tornado sirens going off everywhere, wind blowing, rain, just the whole thing. I mean, and I'm just gonna say it, we were freaking out. You know, here we were, and we didn't know what to do. There was no basement, no storm shelter. We're going, what do we do? Where do we go? And we're thinking, I don't know, maybe one of us should hop in the tub, pull a mattress over us, maybe one of us needs to get under the kitchen sink. I mean, I don't know, where do we go? And it was a pretty, kind of a, are we right with God kind of a moment, you know? And I remember it was all said and done, and one of the guys says to me, he says, you know, If anything would have happened, I'd imagine, Jeff, that you'd have probably been okay because, I mean, you've gone to church and stuff, you know? And really kind of the implication was that should I have died, I'd have probably gone to heaven because I was brought up in church, I kind of knew about church and that kind of stuff, and that's exactly the mindset that John is refuting here. You see, it's not about being affiliated with church or having a spiritual heritage. When you get down to the root of the matter, God is not impressed with some sort of religious profession. He's looking for fruit in our lives. And believe you me, at that point I had none. At least none that was any good, if you understand. And we talked a little bit about this last week. In that day, the Jews felt real secure in their salvation just because God had made a covenant with Abraham. That's where this comes from, when he goes, don't say to yourself, we're children of Abraham, and bank on that. And they would bank on that, because God had made a covenant with Abraham and his offspring, and they were of the lineage of Abraham. But in reality, John is saying that being related to someone, does not in any way replace things like repentance, it does not trump, you know, personal faith and fruitfulness. And Paul went on to clarify in the book of Romans that a Jew, as far as being of the covenant, that a Jew was not one who was of the offspring of Abraham physically. but one who shared the same faith and they were bound together spiritually. He said, For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter, whose praise is not for men, but from God, okay? So don't bank on having religious family members or just coming to church and going through all this. It's not about the outward, okay? It's about what's happening in your heart, way down in there, in reality, in the who you are, okay? Now listen, verse 9, and even now, The axe 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." Another way to understand that? God doesn't play games. God's not playing games. He's getting right down to the root of the matter. God is looking beneath the surface issues in your life. You can, you know, I can. I mean, we're all in the same boat. We can come to church. We can, you know, regularly, we can raise our hands and go through all of these motions that look real spiritual in the body. We can say hallelujah and praise the Lord and right on, brother, and all of those things. The Christian vernacular is not a hard language to learn. But in reality, those things are on the surface at best, you see. It's what goes way down underneath that. God is wanting to look at what lies deep beneath the surface. And John says that if our lives are not bearing legitimate, godly fruit, then there's a real problem with the root. Okay? Now, here's the deal. A lot of people think, and I don't know if this is kind of an epidemic across our entire country, or if it's kind of more prevalent in our Midwestern Bible Belt kind of mentality, But a lot of people think that they're making it to heaven on the basis of, well, being a good guy. You know, he was a good guy. Or, you know, I'm just, I'm a good guy. Never really try to hurt anyone. Always try to do right by people. I'm always fair with people. And I figure, you know, God's gonna see that. He's gonna understand that. I'm a good guy and all of that. And there's, a myriad of issues that if we had time I would take with that. But the fact of the matter is that that mentality is an insult, listen, it's an insult to the cross of Jesus Christ. Because if all God was looking for was a certain moral value, if all God was looking for was a particular persuasion on equity, then he would have been a fool to send Jesus Christ to be slain upon a cross and tortured beyond human comprehension. God, listen, God demands sinless perfection. Guess what? We strike out before we ever get up to bat, because sin is a part of our makeup from conception. Somehow, in some way, it's woven into our genetic fiber. We are born with a sin nature, and as such, we need a Savior, so that if I am to be snatched from the clutches of my sin, I need to repent, right? We've established that. The question is, how do I know if my repentance is legit? I mean, this is one of those make your calling and election sure kind of things we're thinking through today. How do I know when my repentance is is legit? The answer is this. What's the fruit of it? What's the fruit of it? You know, we mentioned earlier that just feeling bad and then returning to my previous pattern of life is is not repentance. You can raise your hand at an altar call. You can say a certain prayer. You can go through all these mechanical motions. But at the end of the day, now listen, at the end of the day, if there is not a change in your life initially, followed up by an ongoing growth that demonstrates itself, here's the key, that demonstrates itself obviously, okay? then you have not surrendered your life unconditionally to God. You did not turn from your sin and receive remission or forgiveness of your sin. Why am I saying that? Well, listen, because the bottom line is that Christ changes your life, okay? And I'm not trying to scare anyone who's going, oh, I thought, or anything like that, but also, I mean, let's sweep away any false sense of security. I mean, let's get it on the table. You know, the fruit of repentance is impossible to cover up or conceal. And in reality, why would you want to? I mean, if you've gone from dead in sin to alive in Christ, believe me when I tell you, you're going to want the whole world to know that. Why? Because your heart's going to begin to ache for your friends, for your family members who have not met Christ, who do not know the saving grace of Christ. There's no such thing as a closet Christian, an undercover Christian. You know, you can't hide. Jesus said, you know, you put a light on, you don't cover a light. That's ludicrous, man. You want it to shine. You want people to be able to see by it, to make their way because of it. I guess the bottom line is this, what are you rooted in underneath the surface? Because if you're rooted in Christ, it'll show. But can I say that if you're not rooted in Christ, well, that'll show too. And people are rooted in a lot of things, you guys. Some people are rooted in the pursuit of You know, monetary gain or pursuit of power. A lot of people are rooted, sometimes you can be rooted in bitterness, the Bible talks about. You know, a spirit of unforgiveness. You can be rooted in perversion. I mean, there's all kinds of things that you can be at the root down in there. Here, John gets straight to the point. If you're not willing to repent, if there's no good fruit, then ultimately all that's left. I mean, what's left? Judgment. Destruction. God will give to each individual a span of time. How much time? I don't know. It seems to be a different amount of time for different people. God deals with us individually. He knows who we are, you know, as a man or a woman before Him. But the thing is, is that if we're unwilling to repent, God, listen, God will seal the deal. God has no problem closing the deal. He is a deal closer, okay? Listen, leave Luke chapter 3, quickly flip over Luke chapter 13, just 10 chapters over, make your way to the right there, Luke chapter 13, I want you to follow with me. Luke chapter 13, I'll draw your attention, beginning specifically in verse six. Luke chapter 13, beginning in verse six. We read where Jesus spoke this parable. And he said, a certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Now just to kind of clear through the hmm, who's that? The owner of the vineyard's God, okay? He's looking for fruit. And the vineyard, well, look around, you know? He's looking for fruit. And he came to this fig tree and he was looking for fruit and he found none. And then he said to the keeper of the vineyard, now this would be Christ, okay? He says, look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and found none. Cut it down, why does it use up the ground? It's worthless, it's just taking nutrients pointlessly. It could be used for other things more profitably, okay? But he answered and said to him, sir, just leave it alone, just for one more year, I'll dig around it, I'll do some treatment with it, I'll put some fertilizer on it, and if it bears fruit, great. If it doesn't, then afterward, give me a little time with it, if it doesn't bear fruit, fine, we'll cut it down. Here's the point. God is looking for fruit in our lives. But before He destroys that which is no good, His heart is to expose those areas that aren't right. To get down there into the root and to begin to fertilize and tend to it and seek to yield positive, fruitful, godly results in it. The question is, am I, are you, are we really willing to let Jesus get down to the root of the matter in our heart and let Him really deal with us and work the fruit of repentance in us? If so, good. That's good. Because that's where true repentance takes place, right? I mean, true repentance always takes place beneath the surface. We talked about surface, you know, motions, ulterior motives, you know, going through the right motions, bad attitude, whatever the case may be. True repentance takes place beneath the surface. If not. Well, then, I mean, what's left? Judgment, that's all that's left. Well. I mean, I think we would agree that John's really firing with both barrels here. I mean, he's got both barrels blazing. And what he was saying really shook the people up. I mean, understandably so, appropriately so. That's the endeavor to get people thinking about where they're at with the Lord. Am I right? Do I need to repent? What's going on in my life, you see? And people are shaken, and they're stirred, they're wondering, and they're concerned. Look at verse 10. And so the people asked him, saying, what should we do then? I mean, what should we do? Now, if verses seven through nine demonstrate confrontation, then verse 10 is certainly evidence of conviction, isn't it? I mean, this is what we love to see, a people eager and inquiring of what it means to lead a righteous life. where there's no real interest, where you pour your heart out in confrontation, or you're seeking to give the word, speaking the truth and love and all these things, you're giving the gospel, and people are just like, you know, whatever. Well, now there's cause for concern there. But these people are eager to learn what does it mean to lead a righteous life, verse 11. So he answered and said to them, he who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none. And he who has food, let him do likewise. And then the tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, teacher, what should we do? And he said to them, collect no more than what is appointed for you. And likewise, the soldiers asked him, saying, what should we do? And so he said to them, do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely. Be content with your wages. Well, it's interesting how that in each of these examples, John speaks of either shunning or sharing material things. And that's really a significantly different mindset than our pop American kind of culture. You know, we're all about amassing more, and John is saying, no, we need to be giving more. Now, in reality, there's two things, basically, that's being shared here. Number one is individually. There's two things going on. One is something being shared individually, that is, it's very, it's specifically oriented to a certain group or people or person. And the other speaks of the basic fingerprints on God's life just generally, okay? Now as for the individual, we note here when it came to the people, the tax collectors, the soldiers, that John did not say the same exact thing to each group who questioned him. He was dealing with them, ministering to them individually. Okay, last week we talked about preaching and teaching, how preaching goes out. And it's for basically the non-believer to show them their need for Christ, the fact that they're a sinner and all of that, to share the gospel. But once I come to Christ, once I'm convicted and converted and all of that, I need to learn what it means to walk with Christ, what it means to have a life that's righteous and all that. That's where teaching comes in. So John was preaching, now he's teaching, now he's sharing with them individually practical points on what it means to lead a righteous life as a result of Christ being in your life. And the point that he's talking about here when he mentions each group and he shares something different is that what repentance looks like in your life may be a little bit different than what it looks like in my life, based upon the sin that's most prevalent in my life, compared to the sin that's most prevalent in your life, okay? For instance, if you have a problem, you're a habitual liar, then when you repent, that's gonna look like honesty in your life. You're gonna start being truthful, you're gonna start being tactful, you will begin to build trust, because now you are dealing in truth. If I am a thief, then when I repent, well, that's gonna look a whole lot like a job. You know, it's going to look like honest pay for an honest day's work. If you're a drug addict, it's gonna look like sobriety. I mean, you get the idea. You're addicted to pornography, what that's gonna look like most probably is you just canceling your internet subscription entirely. Or at the very minimum, you're gonna order one of those real strong firewall kind of software programs, and you are going to have your wife install it. If she's not computer savvy, she's gonna sit right there while you install it, and then when it comes time to enter the password, You're going to leave the room, she's going to put the password in, and you're never going to know it. I mean, you get the idea. God will deal with you where you're at. And the fruit of repentance depends upon where you're at individually. But ultimately, It's the same for us all. It looks a whole lot like a turning away from sin and a turning toward the Lord. Because of what He's done for me, I understand. I want Him to have His way in me. And what that amounts to is personal holiness inwardly and practical righteousness outwardly. Okay? Okay. Now, on a general level, and we're not far from finished, you guys. Stay buckled. Okay? On a general level, he says, in the first category, I kind of label it like this. Give generously. Second category, deal with people honestly, with integrity. And third category, if God has given you a platform of authority, don't abuse it for your own gain personally, but live contentedly. Treat people kindly. Now as for giving generously, look at verse 11. He says, he answered and said to them, he who has two tunics, or two, you know, cloaks, two coats, basically, let him give to him who has none, and the one that has food, let him do likewise. Now, listen, John is speaking to an already poverty-stricken people, but know what he says. He says, be willing to give up to half of what God has blessed you with. I realize that talking about money makes people nervous, okay? And it's not my intent to make you nervous. I'm not trying to manipulate you in any way, shape, or form. Feel free to keep whatever you got, okay? But in reality, it happens to be that John the Baptist is speaking about generosity as one evidence of a changed life, good fruit, and so here we are. So I'm just going to share some things with you. You can chew them up, spit them out, soak them in, whatever you want to do. A man by the name of Randy Alcorn of Eternal Perspective Ministries, he wrote a book called The Treasure Principle. He was speaking at a Crown Financial Pastors Conference, and he said this. Now, it'd take me a while to quote everything. I'll quote a couple things. Basically, here are the facts. The average Christian today gives 30% less than the average churchgoer, listen, in 1933 during the Great Depression. He went on to talk about the affluency of the American society, something we all know. And then he said, American Christians control 70% of the world's Christian wealth. The average American Christian gives 2.6% of his income. The average amount of giving by an adult in a Protestant church, and it's just an average, you know, some of you may give a whole lot. I don't know, I don't know who gives what here, and I thank God for that, but some of you may give just generously, above and beyond, you know, giving cheerfully. Others of you maybe give nothing, okay? But the point is, is that when you average it all out, okay, he says the average amount Average amount given by an adult in a Protestant church, $17 a week, $70 a month, or $840 a year. A full 96% of American Christians do not tithe or give 10% of their income. 96% of quote-unquote Christians don't tithe. That means they don't give up to 10%. Now, he went on, so if you do, you're in a 4% little sliver. okay, of the Christian culture in America. Now he went on to speak of the 23% on the average that Israel was to give under the law, and compared their poverty to our prosperity. Now, people are always quick to go, well listen, we're not under law, we're under grace, and that's what all stingy people say. But, come on, lighten up, folks. But the fact of the matter is that being under grace means that we've experienced the redemptive work of Christ, listen, given to us by God, which in reality should teach us to be way more generous than anyone who ever lived under the law. Grace teaches a much higher standard of generosity than does law. You know the heart of God. Not legally, but lovingly. Not religiously, but relationally. You understand that He has so loved you that He's withheld nothing from you. He's given His Son for you. And that will resonate in you. We talked Wednesday night about, what should I render to God for all of His benefits toward me? You know? You start thinking about that. Man, God has done so much for me. So John just says, listen, Give generously. And to the tax collectors, he said, deal with people honestly, with integrity. Tax collectors in that day weren't liked much, not a whole lot different than tax collectors today, except they didn't really have the legal regimen binding them to a certain amount. Basically, Rome, farmed out tax collecting to the highest bidder and they required a certain amount of them or a certain amount from them and anything they could get or extract from people above and beyond that they could keep for themselves. So people hated tax collectors, because they were the law. They had Rome behind them, and they could pretty much tell you whatever they wanted, and many times there was a soldier that stood behind the tax collector's desk, and you start posing problems, you're seen as an insurrectionist, someone who's rebelling against Rome, and you were dealt with swiftly. So people did not like tax collectors. John just says, listen, be honest, don't rip people off. I guess for you and me it would be like this. If you own a business, be fair with people. Don't take advantage of the fact that they don't know what's fair, what's a right price, and therefore you're able to dip them a little bit deeper and they still feel like they got a good deal and all that. Don't do that. Be honest with people. Be fair. Be a person of integrity and deal honestly. So number one, be a person of generosity. Number two, deal with people honestly. And number three is found in the soldiers there in verse 14, treat people kindly and live contentedly. I don't know, maybe God's given you a platform of power or influence. You know, maybe you're just a big strapping guy, and when you walk in the room, people get a little nervous, you know? I don't know. The bottom line is, is he's saying, listen, don't use your platform to intimidate people. Maybe you're the employer, and you've got a lot of employees, or even just a few, or whatever the case may be. He says, don't intimidate people. That's not becoming of a man or a woman of God. I don't recall people fearing Jesus in that way. You know, they weren't afraid of him. They were in awe of him, of his grace and his mercy. I mean, when you talk about a man with authority and power, you don't get any greater than him. But he didn't intimidate people. The Bible declares of him that a bruised reed he wouldn't break and a smoking flax he wouldn't quench. He was tender and full of compassion toward people. So you guys, these are just examples of conversion, okay? There's been confrontation, there's been conviction. This is the fruit of conversion, humility, generosity, integrity, and contentment, okay? So, how's conversion impacted you? Think about it. If you can remember way back when you gave your heart to Christ, I mean, if it was just a couple of weeks ago or a couple of months ago, this may not be too difficult for you. If you've known the Lord for a number of years, think about it. What's the first thing that God changed in you? What was the first way that he dealt with you and you responded to? And then beyond that, as you were growing, what's the first thing that you thought of? Man, you know, this isn't becoming of a man or a woman of God. I need to really work on this. I need to change this. You know, and are you still changing? Are you still bearing fruit? Don't be offended. OK, don't be offended. I know it's been a bit of a harsh and hard, straightforward kind of a of a time spent in God's word today. I hope you're not offended by that. I mean, that's my heart to offend you. I'm going to apologize for God's word. But my heart would be that you would be open. Don't be offended. Be open to the word. of God and to the Lord dealing with you in a beneath the surface kind of way. You know, that you might let Him search your heart and that you might bear much fruit to the glory of His name and that that fruit might remain. You know what I'm saying? Amen? Amen? Amen. Let's pray. Father, we want to be a fruitful people. We want to be a people abiding in Christ. We want to be rooted in your word deeply, Lord. We pray that you would confront us. We pray that you would convict us. We pray for just an eagerness to be obedient to you. And it's our heart. We want to be found well-pleasing in your sight. And so I pray, God, that you would help us to be not hearers of your word only, the doers of your word. And I pray that the evidence of a changed heart would abound in the practical aspects of our lives, that what you're doing in us inwardly would be on display obviously, God, to the world around us. We're open, Lord. We're not only open, we're asking that you would deal with us in a beneath-the-surface kind of way that you would clear away the debris that you might have your way in us completely. And while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed, I just want to give a quick moment here that if while we've been considering God's Word today, maybe He's been confronting you. Maybe He's been convicting you, and you're willing right here and right now, you're saying, wow, I don't know. Maybe I have been resting on the fact that I've just gone to church my whole life. Maybe I have gone through the motions, but I don't know that I've had that encounter with Christ where He's just really changed me. I mean, I was challenged to think of something that God had changed my life. I just, I don't know for sure. But you're willing to let Christ have His way in your heart. You want to turn from your sin and surrender your life to Jesus. Listen, you can do that right here and right now. Maybe we all know the Lord and one big happy family in the Lord. If that's the case, I think that's awesome. But maybe you're here today and you've come with friends or family or you've just kind of strolled in your own initiative and God's dealing with you. He's not looking to play games with you. He's looking to find the fruit of repentance in you, and he's searching your heart. Question, what does he find? Do you have a heart that's soft, ready to receive Jesus Christ? Or as I'm speaking, is your heart kind of hardening in rejection of Jesus Christ? God loves you so much. Listen, don't reject his forgiveness. Don't reject his grace and his mercy. Receive Jesus Christ today. Is God dealing with you in that way? Listen, if so, I want to pray for you. Here's what I'm going to ask of you. I don't care how old you are, how young you are, where you've been or what you've done. But if you're not certain that Christ has come into your heart. And again, this isn't trying to invoke an emotional response from you. I'm getting the facts on the table. Do you know that you're headed for heaven? If you don't, then let's take care of it. Let me pray for you. Would you raise your hand wherever you're at, if that's you? If I see that, I'll say so and you can put it back down. God bless you. Anybody else God's dealing with you, you're just saying, you know what, I'm ready to get real here and to take this confrontation, this conviction real serious. I'm ready to let God change my life. Anyone else I can pray for? Father God, I just want to praise you for who you are and the work that you're doing in this place, God. And I pray, Lord, that we would just continue to be patient in our waiting upon you and focusing on you. And you know what? If you were acknowledging a need for Jesus Christ in your life, I want to lead you in a prayer. You don't have to pray out loud. You're welcome to, more than welcome to. But as we've talked about beneath the surface today, what you need to do is reach way down in there to that deep place, that deepest place you can find in your heart, and from there you can just cry out to the Lord. And just say something like this, you know, because the Bible says that we've all sinned and fall short of God's glory. We all, we're all sinners. But if we'll confess it, that doesn't mean just consent to it, just say it, but if you will agree with God about it, and the results of it, and how it's the result of our sin that His Son was nailed to the cross. We don't want that anymore. We want to turn from our sin and live our lives for Him. Then that's what you mean when you say, Lord Jesus, here I am. Just say that from your heart, Lord Jesus, here I am, and I'm a sinner. I don't want to make light of it or somehow try and, well, you know, excuse it. I confess it, I agree with you about it, I turn from it. And I'm giving you my life. Would you come into my heart? Lord Jesus, come into my life. Fill me with the power and the person of your Holy Spirit. And help me to lead my life from right now forward all the days of my life. for you. May my life correspond obviously with what's taking place in me inwardly right now. And thanks for putting my name in your book of life. Look, I want to encourage you that if you were praying with me, I don't know if I was praying too fast for you, maybe you were having trouble keeping up or something, I don't know, but the bottom line is this, God has heard the cry of your heart. And he has come into you by the power of his spirit. He's forgiven you of your sin. Old things have passed away, all things are made new. Receive it, rejoice in it. Father, we just thank you for your mercy. And Lord, for dealing with us individually. And I pray for all of us, God, that the fruit of repentance would be made manifest in us for your glory. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.