And we'd like to thank our brother Paul for his ministry and song this evening. And that's certainly where we intend to go tonight, to the foot of the cross, to bring before you the matters of life and death and of eternity itself. Would you turn with me, please, to the Gospel of Luke, to the chapter 13? And as you're turning to your places, could I thank your minister for the invitation to come along this evening and to take part in your Harvest Weekend and to share with you the Gospel. We do count it a privilege to be amongst the Lord's people here in Crossgar. And we do look to the Lord Himself to bless us even as we come to the preaching of His Word this evening. Luke's Gospel, chapter 13. We're just going to read a couple of verses together, commencing at verse 6. Luke's Gospel chapter 13 reading from verse 6. Let us give our attention to the Word of God. 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 cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it and dung it. And if it bear fruit, well, and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down. And he was teaching in one of the synagogues. on the Sabbath. This parable focuses on a fig tree, a barren fig tree. Fig trees were a familiar sight in the land of Israel. And the Lord Jesus Christ once again takes something that is a common scene of life in order to illustrate some important spiritual truths. The Lord Jesus, of course, is a master at using the ordinary things of life to teach great spiritual lessons. And to that end, we want to pray this evening that the Lord would use this illustration of the barren fig tree to reveal great spiritual truths to us. Let's bow in a moment of prayer. Father in heaven, we do ask for thy blessing upon the Word of God as we have read it. We are reminded of the testimony of Scripture, that Thy word is truth, and may Thy truth be written deep upon our hearts, that we might not sin against Thee. We ask for help in the preaching of the gospel this night. We pray that Thy Spirit, who has penned and preserved these words, might come and with great power apply them to our hearts, lest we be found like the barren fig tree, cut down and carried off to the fire, we ask for Thy blessings now in Jesus' name. Blessings for both preacher and for hearer, that Thou would give me the very words that I ought to speak, and that Thou would give us listening ears and open hearts to receive the good seed of the Gospel. Bless us now, we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen. as we consider this evening this barren fig tree, this illustration given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ. One thing is very clear from the outset that what we have before us is a fig tree that is occupying a place within the Master's vineyard that has not borne fruit for a number of years. And the good Master of the vineyard has decided that it is now time to cut down the barren fig tree. You see, we have here a performance that is worthy of punishment. This fig tree is not producing fruit. The owner of the vineyard, by his own testimony, has sought fruit thereon and found none. And to him, this is not acceptable. Not acceptable at all. Neither is it normal. The normal behavior of a healthy fig tree is to produce fruit. Not producing fruit tells us that there is something wrong with this particular tree. Now, the Lord Jesus, when he was originally teaching this parable, it was applied primarily to the Jewish people that were round about. They were the fig tree. And like this fig tree in the Savior's story, they were not bearing fruit in a spiritual sense. The religious leaders of the day were not functioning as they ought to have been, teaching the law of God and leading men through grace and through repentance to a faith in God. They were not functioning as they ought. And as such, the general population of Israel were apathetic to the things of God. As a nation, they were bearing no fruit for the Lord God of heaven. They were not a good testimony for God. They were His chosen people, His representatives to the nations round about. But because of their unbelief, they were evidencing no fruit for the glory of God. They did not live the Word of God. They were not serving God. And when the Son of God came to this earth and lived and laboured amongst them, well, the Bible tells us that He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. Come the end of our Saviour's ministry, those to whom He had come unto in particular were crying, Crucify Him, Crucify So while primarily it is the Jewish nation that is identified here in this parable, yet I believe there are wider applications, not just to the Jewish people, but it can be applied perhaps to every nation in this world. And certainly it can be applied individually to our own lives. This is a parable that has an application both to the believer and to the unbeliever. Those who are not trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ are barren. They are fruitless in the sight of God. We read in Luke 3, verse 8, that we are to bring forth fruits worthy of repentance. So there is a fruitfulness that God expects even from the unbeliever. Fruits of repentance. Failure to bring forth such fruits Well, we read in Luke 3 and verse 9 that they will be hewn down, just like this tree, cut down. But there's an application to believers also. It is the normal behavior of the Christian to produce spiritual fruit. And if we are producing no fruit for God, then there's something wrong. And it is apparent from our churches today that they are filled with those who profess the name of Christ, but give no evidence of a fruitfulness for Him. And that's worrying. What is the fruit of the Christian? Well, there are many things that we could list as being fruit for the Christian. Paul prayed for the Colossians that they might be fruitful in every good work. Colossians 1 and 10. The book of Hebrews tells us of the peaceable fruit of righteousness. Then we have the fruit of the Spirit that are listed for us in Galatians chapter 5. Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance. These are things that ought to be evident in the life of the believer. And if they are not there, then there must be serious questions raised as to the genuineness of their profession of faith. This fig tree had something wrong with it. There was no fruit to be found upon it. Maybe you're thinking to yourself, well, it's just a one-off. It's just something that happened this year. Well, let's look at what our text tells us in verse 7. He said unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and found none. Now, three years here doesn't mean three years since the tree was first planted. I had the wonderful privilege of being brought up in the orchard county of Armagh, and I know that when you plant an apple tree, that it takes a considerable time for that tree to develop to a stage that is ready to bring forth fruit. The three years that the master of the vineyard is speaking of here are three years that ought to have been fruitful and weren't. Three years in which this tree should have been producing fruit. It has an ample opportunity to be fruitful. By the fact that it hadn't been for three years, there was a failure in its performance. He came and sought fruit thereon and found none. I come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. It's like a fruitfulness was very quickly discovered by the owner of the tree. He came purposefully to examine this tree. Yes, it had beautiful branches and a lovely green foliage and leaves, but he wasn't interested in those things. He wanted to see fruit upon the branches. And as he pulled back the leaves, he found none. This was a searching and a seeking that was done repeatedly for three years. Year after year, the discovery was just exactly the same. No fruit, no fruit, no fruit. Year after year, he is disappointed as he seeks for fruit upon this tree. Tell me, my friend, Is God disappointed when He looks at your life? Maybe it looks well from a distance, healthy and strong. Maybe there is a flush of vibrancy about your life like the green leaves on the tree, but when you are examined more closely, there is no substance. It is just an outward appearance. It is not something to disguise the inner bleakness and barrenness of our heart, our lives will be inspected by God. Nothing is hidden from His sight. And I wonder if God were to examine our hearts tonight, would He say again, no fruit, no fruit. We have nice leaves and branches, No fruit. We make a good profession of faith, but there's no fruit. We put on a good show on a Sunday. We put on our Sunday vest and carry a nice big Bible to church, but no fruit. And all of our boasting might deceive those around us, but God looks upon the heart and He sees no fruit. We can buy artificial fruit and tie it to the trees, but that won't fool God. He can tell the difference between the false and the true. And you know, really, as far as this tree is concerned, it's without a defense. Look at what it says there in verse 6. A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard. This fig tree has had the best possible start to its life that it could possibly have. It is impossible to defend the lack of fruit within this tree. It has had every advantage in order to produce fruit. It finds its location within the master's vineyard. It has had opportunity to send down its roots into the choicest of soils. Every care and every pain had been taken to make sure that it had the best possible situation and circumstances to be fruitful. By and large, fig trees just grew in the wild in the land of Israel. But even the wild fig trees, with all of the rocks, with all of the hard earth and the stones that were around about, they still brought forth fruit. But this tree planted in the vineyard, and brought forth none in spite of all of its advantages. If I can apply that thought for a moment, it reminds me of those who have been, by the care and providence of God, been allowed to grow up within the sphere of the church. Those who have been brought up under the sound of gospel preaching, Those who have found, like the tree in the Master's vineyard, that there's been a wall around them to keep the wild beasts at bay. And they've enjoyed special privileges from the Lord to be fruitful. The nation of Israel, pictured here in this tree, here's what Paul said, What advantage then hath the Jew? Chiefly, that unto them were committed the oracles of God. They had every privileged policy. They had the invaluable advantage of possessing the Word of God, of being God's chosen people, the nations round about being hemmed back by God that they might enjoy His signaled blessings. And to what avail? What of ourselves, men and women, in this land that has known great spiritual privileges. Let us never forget that. You are well aware, I am sure, that this incoming year marks the 150th anniversary of the 1859 revival in Ulster, hundreds of thousands being saved by the grace of God. We have lived on the coattails of that revival. We have enjoyed spiritual privileges far beyond many other countries in this world. We have had great churches. We have had great preachers. We have had an abundance of Christian literature. We have had evangelistic outreaches and open-air meetings. We have been brought up in churches right from the earliest of our days. We have had Sunday school teachers, children's workers that were faithful to our souls. We have had loved ones who prayed for us earnestly before the throne of grace. We had gospel ministers that warned us of judgment to come and of hope in Christ. Maybe you haven't thought too much about the spiritual advantages that you have enjoyed. You haven't perhaps realized that like this fig tree you have been planted in a place of privilege. You've been allowed to grow up under the influence of the gospel Like this tree, there's no fruit evident in your life. The land of Ulster has been greatly blessed by the gospel. And it is a fearful thing to go through the towns and the cities of our land. And instead of seeing great fruitfulness, we see a land that is degraded and defiled because of sin. You can go through the streets of our towns and cities and find all kinds of debauchery every night of the week because the great spiritual privileges that have been given to us by the Lord have been squandered and they have been wasted. And there is little evidence of any fruitfulness. Those who fail in spite of the great advantage that God has given to us Let me assure you of something. Their judgment will be more severe than for those who have not had such opportunities. You see, we will all stand before God one day, and we will give an account to the Lord according to the advantages that he has given to us. The greater the privilege, the greater our responsibility. And the greater the privilege, the greater the punishment if one fails to take those privileges and to turn them to fruit. So there is a performance here that is worthy of punishment. There is a barren fig tree that in spite of all of the best privileges that it could have, has no fruit. And the good Master, having witnessed no fruit, makes a decree He says, cut it down. He's not happy about the failure of this tree to produce fruit. So he speaks to the caretaker of his vineyard and he says to him, these three years I've come seeking fruit on this fig tree and found none. Cut it down. Why cumbereth it the ground? Now there's two reasons why he wants this tree cut down. Firstly, It's poor productivity. I've come seeking fruit on this fig tree and found none. It was wasting space. It ought to have been producing fruit, but it wasn't producing any. Its sole purpose was to provide figs for the Master, and there were none. Fig trees weren't grown to provide shade. They were grown to provide fruit. They were there for the sole purpose of providing fruit, the fig trees, for the Master. The fruit is lacking. The tree is useless. And men and women, if we fail to produce spiritual fruit for God, then we are not doing what He intended us to do. And God will chase us. God is not interested in having non-producing fig trees within His vineyards. But you know, there is a second reason why He wants this tree cut down. Not solely for the reason that it is not producing fruit, but a second reason. And it is found in those words, Why combereth it the ground? It combereth it the ground. This barren fig tree, sterile by itself, not producing fruit, it is sucking up the juices from the earth. This useless tree by itself is making the ground round about it sterile. It's taking all of the nutrients and goodness from the soil that other plants could benefit from. It's preventing the growth of the neighboring vines. It's not merely useless by itself, but it's doing mischief to the trees and plants round about it. It is cumbering the ground. That's what that little phrase means. It is having a harmful influence on the trees round about. It's wasting good soil. It's hindering the growth of the vines. The presence of this tree in the vineyard is harmful to the environment round about it. So the good Master says, cut it down. Cut it down. It's not profitable to me. It's not providing fruit. and is doing harm and mischief to the trees round about. And this removal will be profitable for everyone. We sometimes forget that this is the reason why we have courts of law in our land. Why we seek the punishment of the criminal. Yes, there must be a due justice wrought to the one who has perpetrated the crime, but it is also a benefit to society. It removes the influence of the criminal from those round about. Those who do not produce fruit are not only of no use to God, but they are a hindrance to those who are round. Those who do not produce fruit for the Master are an influence for evil on those who are next to them. I remember one time I was in charge of a youth fellowship. And there was a young girl that used to come. Well, she didn't come. She was sent. And she sat through the meeting like this. She sat in the middle row. And you could see the influence that she was having on the girls either side of her. And those in front of her. And those behind her. And it soon got to the stage that there were three or four that were sitting going... Until finally she was asked not to come back. Do you know what happened within a matter of weeks? Those that she had been having an influence for ill upon started to blossom. Started to grow. Became fruit bearing Christians. and became the joy of my heart to see them go on with God. My friend, those who do not bear fruit, for the Lord will be cut down because of your lack of fruitfulness, because of your evil influence on those around about. Cut it down, the Master said. Cut it down. Pull it out of the vineyard. And the tree that is removed from the vineyard, as well as being cut down, would eventually be cast upon the fire, burned to ashes. John the Baptist, speaking against the unrepentant Israelites of his day, said in Luke 3 and 9, Every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. Those who know not Christ, those who are not bringing forth the fruits of repentance and faith, those who are not bringing spiritual fruit before God will be cut down. And the end will be the fire, the fire of God. Many people complain, you know, about the punishment of this fig tree. Oh, it's too severe, they say. There's nothing unjust happening here. It has had ample opportunity to produce. It has had every advantage to be fruitful. It has failed miserably itself. It is a detriment to the vines round about. It couldn't possibly complain that an injustice was being done against. J. C. Ryle, the Bishop of Liverpool, once said, it is a most dangerous thing to be unfruitful under great religious privileges. The rejection of Christ will bring about a severe but a deserving judgment. You cannot misuse the blessings of God. If God has blessed you with spiritual privileges, been born in a land where the Gospel is freely preached, been brought up in a home where the Saviour is loved, been brought to a church where the Gospel is expounded and you still have no fruit, you are without excuse. I shudder at the thought of what our land will experience at the hand of a holy, judging God. A failure to produce fruit will bring judgment. And when judgment comes, you will have no right to complain that God is unjust. You have had every privilege. You have failed to perform as Christ expected. And you are cutting down and you are casting in the fire. It will only be fit. But there is a plea that comes forward. Yes, the judgment is merited. And it's only right and proper. But there's a cry for mercy comes up from the dresser of the vineyard. He's seeking a delay in the punishment of this tree. He asks for another year of grace. Lord, let it alone this year also till I shall dig about it and dung it and if it bear fruit, well. And if not, then after that, thou shalt cut it down. Let it alone this year also. The cry is for a day of grace. Yes, the tree has had three years already to produce fruit. I know we should have been expecting fruit before now, but give me one more year. Give me one more opportunity. And this plea is in place to demonstrate for us just the grace and mercy of God, how longsuffering He is toward us. Tell me, my friend, how many years have you squandered the privileges of God and are still not saved? Three years? Maybe thirty-three years for some. Or sixty-three years. Let it alone this year also. One last opportunity. Give them one more day of grace. And if they repent, then we will rejoice. And if they fail to repent, they will have no one to blame but themselves. The Scriptures are full right from its very beginning. full of illustrations of God's pity and long-suffering and grace toward us. Back in the book of Genesis, when you read of that flood that covered the whole of this earth, God gave the wicked men of that day 120 years to repent. But they would not. When judgment was pronounced upon the city of Sodom, There was yet opportunity to repent if ten righteous could be found, but they would not. Again and again throughout their history, the people of Israel were given opportunity to prove the mercy and grace of God. Following the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, the people complicit in His crucifixion, the Lord in mercy waited forty years before Jerusalem would be destroyed. Time and again, God has been long-suffering to those who have been fruitless in His sight. And the cry goes forward, I'll dig about it and dung it. I'll take care of it. I'll do extra work around this tree. I'll fertilize it. And the picture here is of one that is putting in the extra effort and help in order to turn this tree from its fruitless ways and make it profitable for the Master. And I have no doubt that God in His mercy has digged around you, my friend. That there have been times of special providence in the sight of God where the gospel message has been real to your soul. That you have said in meetings, And the Spirit of God has whispered to you, now is the accepted time. Today, the day of salvation. There have been times when God Himself has drawn especially near. The children of Israel have to testify. The Lord has sent unto you all His servants, the prophets, rising early and sending them, but ye have not hearkened. nor inclined your ear to hear. In the grace of God, He has sent people to cross your paths to bring the message of Christ to you. That colleague at work that shared a word of testimony, that loved one that prays for you, that minister who has shown you clearly from the Word of God not only how you can be saved, but why you must be saved. There have been special times of visitation for your soul. You have been digged about. What the vine dresser asks for is just a postponement of judgment. Just a postponement. If it bear fruit, well. And if not, Cut it down. Just a postponement. Just a little time of grace. Just another opportunity to make this tree fruitful. And if it didn't change, cut it down. There would be no one to argue. There would be no one to say that grace was not extended, or that every opportunity had not been given. The vine dresser did not plead for an indefinite time. All He asked for was a postponement for one more season of grace. Could it be that you are in that one last season of grace? Time and again we are warned in the Scriptures. The Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man. There will come a day when for you the grace of God will be no longer extended. The day of opportunity will come to its close. The door of salvation firmly shut. And no matter how hard you bang upon it, that it will never be opened again. Could such a thing happen? My Bible tells me of a man by the name of Esau. that sought repentance with bitter tears and found it not, the door was closed. The day of gospel opportunity finished. My friend, when that door closes for you, oh, you might live on many more years after it. But there will come a day when you will be cut down and cast to the fire. Do not boast of tomorrow. We know not what another day will bring forth. Do not think to yourself that you have plenty of time to get saved. You may have many more years of life, I don't know, but perhaps God may not call you again. God may not call you. If you do not respond to the grace that is given to you by God when he calls, then do not presume to come another time. You read in the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 8, verse 11, it says, Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of Ben is fully set on them to do evil. They think that because there's been a postponement of judgment, that they've gotten away with it. That they'll never be held accountable for their transgressions. But there's coming a day when you will stand before God. You may have escaped the courts of men, but you'll not escape the court of God. His books shall be opened. The account of your life will be read, and the sentence pronounced guilty. Take them away. Take them away. And every moment you spend in the fires of hell, you'll remember that Sunday school teacher that told you of Christ. That gospel tract that you crumpled and threw away. That message of the preacher that you said, I'll hear again another day. You'll remember the time that you walked out of this church and said, not tonight, not tonight. Do not spurn the grace of God. Do not presume upon it. We are to call upon Him while He is yet near. And if God is speaking to you this evening, Harden not your heart. Harden not your heart. Come while He calls. Put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Be prepared for that great day when we stand before God to know that our sins have been accounted for in Christ, that we have been forgiven, and that we will have fruit for the Saviour. Glorious fruit. Eternal fruit. And instead of hearing the words, depart from me, ye cursed, may we hear the well done, good and faithful servant. May the Lord bless these few thoughts to our hearts again this evening. Thank you.