We may be seated. If you have a copy of God's Word, I invite you to turn this evening to Luke's Gospel, chapter 13. Luke chapter 13. We never can prove the delights of His love until all on the altar we lay. The devil hates to see people saved. He endeavors to blind the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel shines onto them. And of course, when we are saved, He endeavors to make us to be indolent, half-hearted, compromised. This is His desire so that we are, number one, not much use to the Lord, And number two, miserable. Miserable. There are few things more miserable than a backslidden Christian. Someone who's not going on with the Lord. And so, may we ever, for the glory of God and the sake of our own joy, put all on the altar for Christ. And stay there. Stay where He would have us to be. Do be much in prayer. for Logan and Amelia as they're in Orlando, and again for the camps and preparation and travel, that the Lord will be with each one laboring in various ways and other ways as well. But tonight we come to Luke 13. We commenced in this chapter last Lord's Day. We continue on, but we're going to read again from verse 1. I trust the Lord will have a word for us, and that we will hear it. Luke chapter 13 verse 1, that we're present at that season, some that told him of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answering said unto them, suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans, because they suffered such things. I tell you, nay, but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Are those eighteen upon whom the tower in Siloam fell and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, nay, but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. He spake also this parable. A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard. And he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none. Cut it down, why cumberth it the ground? And he answering, said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about and dung it. And if it bear fruit, well, And if not, then after that, thou shalt cut it down." Amen. We'll end our reading at verse 9, trusting that we are aware that this is the living Word of God, and we are to receive it as such in our hearts tonight. Let's pray. Let's seek the Lord. Our God, we pray for hearing ear always for Thy Word. Grant Thy grace to us. Enable us to enable us to be aware that this Word is more precious than anything else that we might possess. And yet we find ourselves trying to be satisfied with other things, with other people, with the words of those in this world with the commendation of our peers. God, give us a love for Thy Word. Deepen it every day. Grant tonight that it may be received in power to the extension of Christ's kingdom, the saving of souls and the edification of Thy people. Deliver us from the evil one. We have an adversary who tries to steal away the seed of the Word. We beg thee, hinder his every endeavor and give a liberty in the preaching and receiving of the Word tonight. We ask all this in Jesus' name. Amen. Standing before a proud, intellectual, and somewhat religious assembly, The Apostle Paul, before the Athenians, presented to them the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and warned them that God now commandeth all men everywhere to repent, because he hath appointed the day in the which he will judge the world. Of that crowd we are told that some mocked. We're told of others, basically they procrastinated, they wanted to hear again of these matters, and some believed. And so it is with every crowd. In every crowd you have varied responses, but there isn't much diversity in those responses. Some will mock in some fashion, others will procrastinate in some fashion, and others will believe, and we might even say in some fashion. And no doubt that was the case. with the occasion that is before us in Luke chapter 13. We are coming to the end of a long discourse that goes right back to the beginning of Luke chapter 12. It's a long chapter of 59 verses, rather, and it continues into chapter 13. Next time, we'll come to a kind of change in the scene. Verse 10 tells us, he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath, and behold, and so on. So, the scene will shift next time, but we're still standing before this multitude of people this huge gathering of souls there for varied reasons, and among them there is this varied response. Some, no doubt, they are mocking. They have no interest. Others are procrastinating, and others may be being moved to believe in some fashion. This last section that we're looking at this evening gives us a parable. A parable that has the intention of bolstering and building upon the warning just given by the Lord Jesus Christ in the opening five verses. We read those opening verses along with what we are looking at tonight, in which we are told, just to remind you of this intervention that there was by some who came and raised this matter of an event that had taken place sometime in the recent past where Pilate had commanded the deaths of Galileans that were assembled in Jerusalem to worship. And such is the graphic scene, their blood mingles with the blood of the sacrifices. It's a ruthless scene of great kind of cruelty in one sense, and it has left an impression upon the community. People aren't ignoring it. It's like one of those headlines that everyone's talking about. And they come to the Lord Jesus, they ask Him about this matter, and we get the response, we looked at it last time, when He says, suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans because they suffered such things. He goes right to the default response of the Jews, and we dealt with that last time. His message to them is, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. And it is repeated again when he gives another scene, when the tower of Siloam fell and slew eighteen individuals, and again their tendency was to question why, and maybe they sinned or their parents or some judgment is upon them. And he says, stop thinking that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem. I tell you nay, but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. And then we get the parable. the parable that is given, as I say, to bolster and build upon the warning. The warning is, repent! Repent! Make sure you repent! Now, as I said last time, we have a tendency to hear that in a negative way, as if repentance is a bad thing. But repentance, true repentance, is repentance onto life. It is the way we obtain life. It is a believing repentance, a believing turning from sin that changes how we stand before God. It's a glorious experience to be able to say, I have known the grace of repentance. When you think about it, that the entire kind of nature of man, that which he is in his fallen condition, refuses to repent, wants nothing to do with repentance, like Cain that would rather run and be a vagabond than respond to the appeals of the Lord to repent, to turn from sin. So to be able to testify to genuine repentance, the grace of repentance, is a marvel. And let me say this, if you're struggling for reasons to be thankful, but you're able to say, I have known the grace of repentance, you have much for which to be thankful, so much. This huge crowd is being appealed to by none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. He is calling upon them, stop thinking about others, stop considering how great sinners they may have been or may not have been. You must repent. I say, it is a wonderful thing to know that you have been brought to repentance. And not just one-off repentance, but the grace that enables you to continue to repent. The grace that when you have your sin and shortcomings pointed out to you, you're able to say, yes, you're able to stand in agreement with God about your sin. that you're not at enmity, you're not rebelling against your Creator, you're not rebelling against the lawgiver, you are in agreement with what He says. That is a great gift. We dealt with the believing side, the fact that repentance isn't just a turning away, it's a turning onto. There must always be a believing repentance, not just believing the horribleness of our sin, but believing that there's an answer for us in Christ. And turning to Him that we might receive the eternal life that He promises to those that turn from their sin and turn on to Him. But tonight, as I say, we're looking at verses 6 through 9, where we have this parable, a parable that is simple. Again, there are details. We may start looking at details and asking ourselves what precisely is this, and we may overthink the whole issue. I think the message, as usual in a parable, is fairly simple. The man that owns a vineyard, who plants his vineyard, is a depiction of God. He has authority. He has a certain sense of what ought to be expected. The vineyard dresser probably represents the Lord Jesus Christ as He mediates and seeks to call for mercy for a period of time. And the vineyard itself depicts Israel or the church of the world in some fashion as well. And so we're looking at this tonight under the heading or under the title, The Limits of Mercy Without Repentance. The Limits of Mercy Without Repentance. There is a limit, and that's the bottom line. If you get nothing else, it is to realize there is a limit. God is merciful, very merciful. His mercy endures forever, but there is a context in which it must be understood that there are limits, and that's what we are told at the end of it. Verse 9, if it bear fruit well, and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down. It will come to an end. The mercy no longer will be enjoyed. Just two main points, the first of which is the mercy of great privileges. The mercy of great privileges. And looking at this text, the first mercy, or privilege rather, that we can see here, draw from this passage is simply the privilege of life, the privilege of life. There is this fig tree that exists that's been planted in this vineyard. It lives. It has life. I've made mention already, there's a need for us always to be thankful, and there's a huge temptation in life to be unthankful and to express a lack of gratitude for where we are and what we have. You know, to think that us living in the world that we do, and listen, This is a great country. There are also lots of horrendous things about what's going on in this nation as well. There are parts of it you wouldn't want to be near. But there are many blessings, many privileges. And certainly we can look across the world and say, there's a mercy that we're here. I've made mention of that many times. We don't want to fall into the temptation, and it is. Satan loves to lead us into the place of ingratitude. He loves it. It's a mark. Of an increasingly wicked generation, Romans 121 speaks of those that are marked by being unthankful. This is repeated by Paul in 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 1 and following, he said, This know also that in the last days perilous times shall come, for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, and so on. Many of those things you can understand. Love of self, covetousness, boasting, pride, blaspheming. disobedient to parents, that is all authority, there's just a complete rebellion against all legitimate authority, unthankful. It's not what you might put in there yourself, but it is a mark. It is a mark of a generation that is bowing to the leadership of the Prince of Darkness himself. See, Satan is the commencement of all ingratitude. given his lofty position and the status that he possessed, it wasn't enough. It wasn't enough. Ingratitude and pride filled his heart. And he spreads it like an evil leaven across generations that will receive it, that wish to receive it, that long for it, you're here. God has made you, and that fact alone demands gratitude from you. Psalm 100 verse 3, "'Know ye that the Lord, He is God. It is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.'" But even the fact that He has made us and not we ourselves, what an awful thing to be those that would say we've made ourselves. No, God has made us, and He has given us life We are told in Acts 17, 28, for in Him we live and move and have our being. He is governing over our lives, controlling and sustaining all that we are and have. The prophet Malachi in chapter 2 verse 10 says, have we not all one Father? Hath not one God created us? And this ought to draw a gratitude, a spirit of gratitude from us all. Be thankful that you're alive. Be thankful that you're still here. I mean, this, especially in light of the passage that we looked at last week, where the stories given, the history given, the events given, you know, one of the Galileans and their demise, and those upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, their demise, they were brought to an end. And I wonder, did they live their lives filled with gratitude? I wonder. We know nothing about them. Wouldn't it be sad that these people lived their lives constantly angry, constantly filled with ingratitude, always complaining, couldn't see good in anything, and then their lives come to an end? Don't be that person. But more to the point, there is the privilege of gospel access, not just the privilege of life, but the privilege of gospel access. Verse 6, he spake also this parable, a certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came and sought fruit thereon and found none. The fig tree was planted in a vineyard. It was placed there by God, God being the owner of the property, had the fig tree planted in the vineyard in the most privileged position. Vineyards take care, require protection. They need to be tended to and constantly pruned and looked after. There are areas at times where a fig tree might be planted in order to make more fit the location or whatever. It tends to not need as much attention. But being in the vineyard, it's going to have attention. It's going to have the best possible soil, the best access to care. And so it is for this fig tree. The Lord, as it were, went out of His way to place the fig tree in His vineyard, that it might have the best opportunity to bring forth fruit and live for His glory. Turn for a moment to Isaiah chapter 5, just so you see how the Lord illustrates the sad state of Israel in imagery that is similar, imagery of vineyard. Isaiah chapter 5. One of the heartbreaking scenes that Isaiah has to communicate to this people. Isaiah 5 verse 1, "'Now will I sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard, my well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill.' And he fenced it and gathered out the stones thereof and planted it with the choicest vine." Sound familiar? built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein, and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard, what could have been done more to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes, And now go to, I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up, and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down. And I will let waste, it shall not be pruned nor digged, but there shall come up briars and thorns. I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant. And he looked for judgment, but behold, oppression, for righteousness, but behold, a cry." This is the sad state. people greatly privileged. Depicted here is a vineyard cared for, preserved, protected, provided for in every conceivable way. What more could have been done to benefit her? Nothing. No more could have been done. It was highly privileged. This nation of Israel to whom the Lord now is ministering as a prophet giving to Him a word and illustrating with scenes or depictions that would raise in their minds and memory passages such as Isaiah chapter 5. He is driving toward their conscience, seeking to prick their hearts, as it were, that they might recognize that they're on the brink of a similar judgment. Yeah, even worse. Paul writes about the privileges the Jews had. In Romans, Romans chapter 3 verse 1, he says, What advantage then hath the Jew? What profit is there of circumcision? Much every way, chiefly, like much could be said, but chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God. God gave His Word. He sent prophets. He communicated it to them as mind. He showed them His love, all of His promises, every hope that they could wish for was given to them and they wouldn't hearken, they wouldn't listen, they wouldn't obey. So they entered into their misery, they didn't learn trust and obey for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey. Instead they rebelled and it brought great destruction upon them. elaborating a little more on the privileges that they had in Romans 9. Paul writes in verse 4, "'To whom pertaineth the adoption and the glory So that as God took them to be His own, He gave the glory of His presence in their midst, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises, whose are the fathers, and of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ Messiah came." These are privileges, privileges, privileges that ought to have brought forth fruit in their lives. They ought to have been that light to the Gentiles that they were supposed to be, constantly beaming the truth to nations without the truth, without the oracles of God, without the knowledge of God. They had all these privileges, yet they spurned the mercy of God. They had access to the gospel continually, yet they turned their ear from it. That gets to the point for those of you here tonight. Many of you are no different. Really. I mean, in specifics, you could talk about the distinctions. You're Gentile, you're not Jewish. But the privileges chiefly, the oracles of God, having the Word, access to the gospel, sitting under the privilege of hearing God's truth. Oh, no, you haven't been planted in a perfect church, and perhaps you haven't been given a perfect home in which mom and dad perfectly reflect everything they're meant to be. You haven't got perfect preaching and perfect instruction. It's not perfect, but it's sufficient. And there's an expectation, a divine expectation that you bring forth fruit. Now that fruit begins with repentance. That's the point. Bring forth evidence of a changed heart, of a changed life. You can't say you don't know. You can't say that you have been underprivileged in some way. You can't. And you may name certain things that have happened and difficulties you've faced and hardships you've come through. Life is tough. It is tough for us all. And God certainly can bring some people through great trials and furnaces of affliction, and they can be brought to face things they never imagined they would ever have to face, and yet, yet you're sitting under the Word. He has not cut you off from His truth. He has not brought a tower upon you. or cause a tyrant to come in and bring a swift end to your life. It is clear that moving from what he has just said, dealing with repentance and the importance of repentance, and then to the parable of the fig tree where he's expecting fruit thereon and finds none, that the repentance will show, there'll be evidence of the repentance. So, if there's a question in your mind as to whether or not you have repented, ask yourself, is there evidence of repentance? I mean, I'm not talking perfect evidence. I'm not saying that your repentance will be marked with a complete turning away from all forms of sin forever in the rest of your life. But is there anything of change in your life? Has there been any change of how you think about sin? I mean this is the thing, people going to heaven, the multitudes that are in heaven and are going to heaven and will go to heaven, they're all imperfect. They're imperfect like the rest of those who aren't going to heaven are imperfect. The difference is how they look at sin. They look at sin and they may still perform sin. They still may engage in forms of sin, but they don't like it. They don't want it. They want stripped of it. They want delivered from it. And the prospect of going to a place where there's no more battle with sin brings joy to their hearts. They're looking forward to it. They want that changed body, that transformed mind, renewed in perfection. They desire it. But to those who are, yes, imperfect, just like the other group going to heaven, they don't want it. Now, they may like the idea of heaven and have a desire to be in heaven, but let's be honest. To the person who still loves sin, heaven would be a living hell. You still love sin. You love sin. You don't want to give it up. You don't want change from it. You don't want to have the transformation that God works in the heart through the grace of repentance. You don't want it. You enjoy lust. You enjoy the other thoughts and actions and deeds. You cultivate it. You have no restraint. And that's the difference. That's the difference. Grace works in the heart, a change with views towards sin. It doesn't always work a perfect change in their performance of obedience, but it does work a change in your view of what sin is and the ugliness of it. So ask yourself, is there at least that? Has there been a change in my view of sin? Do I want a lasting, eternal deliverance from it? Do I desire to be in a place for all eternity where it is stripped of all of its wickedness, not that the files enters in, only the pure are able to go in there, made pure by the blood of Jesus? The privilege of gospel access. certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came and sought fruit thereon and found none." God planted you. He planted you in a vineyard. He planted you in a church, in a family, in a community with access to the gospel, and He is going to call you to account Make no mistake. Look at it. He came and sought fruit thereon. That's his expectation. He expects to see fruit. I put it in a place where it ought to bring forth fruit, and I will come at a certain time and see, is there fruit? So it will be. Again, this is the Lord taking the attention of the crowd off the Galileans and the tragedy that happened there, and those in Jerusalem, and the tragedy that happened with the Tower of Siloam. He's getting their eyes off of that. He's getting their eyes onto themselves. endeavoring to make them think, I've been planted by God in a vineyard, and my time will come when God will test, when God will determine whether I have brought forth fruit. Which brings us in to the mercy of great patience. Not just the mercy of great privileges, but the mercy of great patience. And you have here in verses 7, 8, and 9 things to consider. First, there is patience received, verse 7. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree. Why three years? I don't know. It's roughly the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, perhaps. Maybe his round figures here. These three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down. Why cumbereth it the ground? Why is this worthless plant still here? Get rid of it. There has been much patience shown to you already. Three years is the figure given here. But oh, how many more years have you received such patience from the Lord? The Anglican 19th century preacher J.C. notes in the preceding passage, he says, how much more ready people are to talk of the deaths of others than their own deaths. The fact that some tragedy had not yet overtaken the questioners was missed by them. The curiosity was Why did they die rather than how come we're still alive? And this goes on to this day. We are no different. I said last week that we, as a generation, no more generation is more aware of great tragedies as our own. Global media puts before us information and imagery of wars, genocides, earthquakes, hurricanes, landslides, mass shootings, building collapses, traffic accidents, executions, gang crime, house fires, and on and on it goes. You don't even have to be on the news. You can follow the social media and there'll be all sorts of ways in which news will come to your attention there, sometimes even faster than the mainstream media. The headlines are filled with death. Filled with death. Constantly we are told of those dying. The tragedies that occur across our world. And yet while the headlines are filled with death every single week, almost every day, we are blind, we are blind to our own death. Understand, the state of your own soul is of primary concern to you. The state of your own soul. Jesus points this out twice, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. He repeats it. The Son of God should not have to repeat Himself, but He does. He repeats because man is so hard of hearing. He doesn't want to hear language like this, and yet this is the very language that promises hope and life. Stop looking at the news and being aware of the knowledge of the deaths of other people and start thinking about your own. The previous chapter gave us, he's already put before us another parable if you go back there, Luke chapter 12 verse 16, when Jesus spake a parable unto them saying, the ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, what shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, this will I do. I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, sow thou as much goods laid up for many years. Take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, thou fool, this night, this night, sudden death. Sudden death like those that were in the temple, the Galileans that were killed by the order of Pontius Pilate. Sudden death like those upon whom the Tower of Siloam fell. Sudden death. It happens all the time, friends. It happens all of the time. For some reason, we are lulled into a thought, and maybe it's a certain survival mechanism. We can't bear the thought that we could constantly be faced with the possibility of our own swift demise. But, but there ought to be serious, sober, and frequent enough musing over the fact that I may die suddenly with no warning. Am I ready? The rich man had everything prepared except for his soul. Everything was in order. Enough money to live throughout however long he might live. He had it all. Had it all. The retirement 401k was packed to the hilt. He had no question about whether or not he had enough, but he had not thought about a soul, do you ever think about the possibility of sudden death for you, and what that might mean when God comes and discerns whether or not there is fruit You say, preacher, do you have to deal with these themes? This is why I like just moving through verses in this way, because I let the Lord guide where we are next. And here's where we are. Here's where we are. From all eternity planned right here, right now, this night with you here, He ordered this text to be declared in your hearing as a warning. God forbid, God forbid it be the final warning you ever hear. God's described as waiting these three years. Oh, what patience already received. How many years has He waited for you? How many years? years slipping by, and you barely remember a time when you didn't know that the Lord says to you, my son, give me thine heart. You don't remember a time when you were ignorant of the fact that He called you to Himself. You don't remember not knowing the command to take up your cross and follow Jesus Christ? You've always known about it. Years, friend, years. And Jesus is standing before a crowd, and He's been ministering for years now, and He is communicating with them, and He's issuing a warning. In this parable, He's painting a scene. Three years. Three years, friend. You've had three years. God in flesh has walked in your midst, communicated the mind of God. You've been called to repentance. It's the first message of John the Baptist, the Son of God. Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand. You've heard it over and over again, and still, still no fruit of repentance in your life. Now that's you. That is you. I am endeavoring by the grace of God to make sure you do not leave here asking the question, what was that about? You will know what this is about. This is the eleventh hour, friend. This is God saying, I've given you years. I've been patient. We are warned in the parable of the sower. He also that receives seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word, and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful." That's the thing, you see, unfruitful. And so what is the warning? What is the warning? Galatians chapter 5 verse 7, hear it, hear it now. Be not deceived. Now, that's an awful thing, because to be deceived, you wouldn't know that you're deceived, would you? I mean, if you actually were deceived, you wouldn't know it. If you're sitting here tonight deceived, you don't even know it. Oh, God help you. God help me. To be here, to be deceived, and not know! Be not deceived, God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man soweth, whatsoever a woman soweth, whatsoever a boy soweth, whatsoever a girl soweth, young person, older person, middle-aged person, rich person, poor person, whatsoever you sow, that shall you reap. He that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption, and he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. Yes, the prophet says, ye have ploughed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity. That's where you're going to get more judgment. So patience received, but there's also patience continued. Verse 8. Here we believe our Lord Jesus depicts Himself here, because He is standing here as a mediator, as the messenger sent by God, and He is walking among a people who will not hear the prophets, and yet He is still, He is still calling them to come. The time hasn't yet come to an end. Verse 8, He answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it and dung it. Just wait another year. I've still more work. I still want to bring the message. I still want to try to plow the ground and get the seed in. Try to do the work that needs to be done so that this, this fig tree will bring forth fruit. Oh yes, it has a depiction for Israel. It was a, it was a, it was a warning. What a warning it was to the nation. But it has an individual application, doesn't it? You can't ignore it. The Lord Jesus yet calls upon there to be more time given for you. Christ is the only reason you haven't yet died. The law of God calls for your immediate death. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. You eat the fruit, you die. Why didn't Adam die immediately? Christ immediately comes, mediating grace to spare him. And he is mediating grace in sparing you. You have broken the law. We all have. Why have you not yet died? He is calling for yet more time. Lord, let it alone. He's asking for things you're not even asking for yourself. Oh, you may ask for more time. You may ask for a long life. God, give me a long life. But you want a long life so you can live it in lasciviousness, so you can live it doing your own thing. The only purpose to be spared is that you might bring forth fruit onto God. 2 Peter 3, verse 9, "'The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness.'" That is, he is going to bring it to an end. It's going to come to an end. You're looking on, you're thinking, oh, well, the Lord hasn't come back yet, and he hasn't renovated the world yet. We're still careering on through the passage of time. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise. but is long-suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. He will ensure all his are gathered in, of that there is no doubt. Let it alone this year also." What a message of mercy. What an evidence of the patience of the Lord. Let it alone this year also. Maybe people are praying like that for you. There are people in your life that know. They know you're not ready. You're not prepared to meet God. They know it. And they're praying. that God will spare you, that God will spare you. They are being Christ-like in that way. They're exhibiting the same spirit of Christ who's saying, let it alone this year also. God, give them more time. Don't let them perish. That brings us finally, in the mercy of great patience, we have seen patience received, patience continued, but there is patience ended. Verse 9, if it bear fruit, well, and if not, then after that, thou shalt cut it down. There comes a time where there will be an end to all of this, friends. There will be an end. Dear church, know it. It's all coming to an end. Everything, all that's passing on, everything you imagine seems so rock-solid, so cemented in, it's not. No, it's all going to come to an end. But what our Lord wants each of us to think about is how we will end. You're going to die. The question is, will you perish unforgiven? There comes an end. Noah, Noah, Noah, he preached and he preached. He preached and God had said, God had said, My spirit shall not always strive with mine. What a word. My spirit shall not always strive with mine. It will not always be at work among men. This truth is not just an Old Testament truth, it is a New Testament truth. We have it here in Luke 13. We have it again in the letters to the churches. Warnings, warnings given to people like you. People like you sitting in a vineyard with all their privileges. You've had the Word of God, you're enjoying the Word of God, you have responded to the Word of God in some fashion, you say you're a Christian, and in some way you make profession. And the Lord Jesus comes, for example, to Sardis and He says, I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard and hold fast and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. I'm going to come and I'm going to take you by surprise. My spirit will not always strive with you, and I'm going to bring it to an end. It will come to an end. Listen, listen. To Laodicea, he says, because thou art look warm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth. It will end. Go for a moment to Deuteronomy 32. Deuteronomy 32. A recent reminder of Jonathan Edwards' sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. And he takes for his text. It's found here in Deuteronomy 32. But I want to read how the Lord is speaking of the folly that Israel had shown And he speaks of them, Deuteronomy 32, 28. These are people, they have the privileges, they have the Word of God so much in their favor. Deuteronomy 32, 28, "'For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them. Oh, that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end.'" Yes. You don't want to do that. You have to force yourself to think of your latter end. How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their rock had sold them, and the Lord had shut them up? For their rock is not as our rock, even our enemies themselves being judges. For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah, their grapes are grapes of Gaul, their clusters are bitter, their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of ass. Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures? To me belongeth vengeance and recompense. Their foot shall slide in due time. That's the text that Edwards took. For the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste. For the Lord shall judge His people. Oh, what a word. It's a warning. It's a warning. It doesn't get to go on forever and ever and ever in the way that it is. It doesn't get to stay as it is. There comes an end. There comes an end. And what's the Word of our Lord Jesus and all of His love and compassion as God is coming ready to judge the fig tree to see there's no fruit here. There's no fruit here. The fig tree having the peculiar kind of characteristic where it brings fruit and then leaves. And so as you look at the fig tree and you see leaves upon it, you're brought to think, well, there must be fruit on it now. because the fruit comes before the leaves. And so he's seeing there the leaves, but every time he pulls apart and seeks to look in the branches, there's no fruit there. And year after year he comes and he looks and examines, there's no fruit. Friends, this is for all of us, every last one of us to just come back and examine our hearts and ask ourselves, do we understand the words of our Lord Jesus Christ when He says, herein is my Father glorified that ye bear much fruit. I'm looking for fruit. I'm looking for evidence of grace manifest, that my Word lives and abides in your heart, that my kingdom is your priority, that you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. I'm looking for the evidence that you have understood the cross, that the love of God shown forth on Calvary's tree moves you, moves you to love God, serve God, and tell your neighbor The gospel of redeeming love. Bare fruit. Bare fruit. Oh, what a warning. What a warning. What a word. If it bare fruit, well, The thief on the cross, he had much time to bear fruit, did he? But he had enough time. He had enough time. And he stands as an encouragement to us all that maybe I don't have long left. Maybe I'll not see the end of the summer. But from this moment, I can live bearing fruit to the glory of God. If I say, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom, he'll say to me, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. It's okay. There's fruit of your love and your affection for me. Yes, you're even making public testimony to the crowd standing watching the life seep out of your body, the breaths coming to an end in your lungs, but you're using your last breaths to cry in repentance. But lest we should imagine we all will have such an opportunity, there was another thief, and he saw all that the other thief saw. and heard all that the other thief heard, and he's looking death in the face, and he refuses to prepare to meet his God." There will come a cutting down. God calls you to bring forth the fruit of repentance this very night. Let's bow together in prayer. as your heads are bowed, as you're before the Lord. I wish you had a perfect church. I wish you had a perfect preacher. You don't, but do you really have any excuse? Do you have an excuse to still go on unrepentant? These are my last words this night. Prepare to meet your God. Prepare now. God, we pray, bless your word. We thank thee for thy patience. If I had died at 18, I would have went to hell. Thank You, Lord, for saving my soul. Thank You, Lord, for making me whole. Thank You, Lord, for giving to me Thy great salvation, so rich and so free. God, I pray that I and each one here will show forth fruit. fruit of genuine repentance, evidence of Thy work in our hearts. If there's one here hanging on, holding on for all of their strength, they're holding on to a world and a life that's promising so much, but hides from their view the certainty that they will perish without Christ. God, help them not to be deceived. Remove the scales. Save their souls this night. We thank Thee for Thy Word and Thy love in such Messages as these, may it be heard and received as loving, sharp, serious, sober, but yet coming from such a tender heart. Give them more time. So bless thy word. Be with those who go downstairs and the food that's provided, bless it too, each one. Grant that this word will not quickly dissipate from our hearts and may we carry it with us this week especially because it's the message for this world in which we live. May the grace of our Lord Jesus, the love of God our Father and the fellowship of the Spirit be with all thy people now and evermore. So,