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[00:00:04] Well, hello, everyone, thank you so much for joining us today. I’m super excited and welcome to this next session of Get Sellers Calling You with Beatty Carmichael. Beatty is the CEO of Master Grabber, the creator of Agent Dominator and one of the top marketing experts in the real estate field. Beatty, I am super excited about our call today. What do you have for our listeners?
[00:00:28] Well, I am very excited about it as well, Penny, because I get to do today what I love doing. And sometimes I pinch myself saying, Lord, do I really get paid to do this stuff? And the answer is yes, ultimately. So we’re going to do not a real estate marketing call. We’re going to do a radical face call for those who may be new to us. As a reminder, we do two types of calls. So if you’re here for real estate marketing, that’s not going to be the topic of today’s call. The topic is going to be living as a Christian, and what all of that type of stuff means. So if you want to enjoy that, please continue listening. Otherwise, you can turn off this episode and come back to our next one. So what I want to do when we talked last time, Penny, on the topic, Do all who accept Christ go to heaven? Do you remember that topic?
[00:01:26] Yes, I do. I do.
[00:01:28] Ok, well today we’re going into part two, OK? And next time when we do, another radical faith call will be it part three. And I’m not sure if it’s going to be three or four parts, but is this really incredibly exciting for me and very interesting. And I think there are a lot of deep application in terms of what we do with our lives that come out of it. So I want to go into that. So this is a quick review. We started last time with some statements that Jesus made and now we’re going to test your memory. Do you remember what those statements Jesus made that we started?
[00:02:11] It was something that has to do with we were talking about do all people go to heaven if they get saved or the all believers go to heaven? And it was something it was something along the lines of, all right, that’s OK.
[00:02:27] That’s OK. Yeah, no, that’s OK.
[00:02:30] Hey, I got it written in front of me. You don’t. So that’s the key. Oh so the gospels have four times God found is so important. They put four times in the gospel, the basic statement by Jesus that the one who endures to the end will be saved. Yes. Yes. The one who endures to the end by your endurance, you will gain your lives. Okay, so the question was. What in the world has Jesus talking about? So let me ask you a question. When Jesus teaches that you must endure to the end to be saved, does that mean that some people don’t endure to the end?
[00:03:11] Yes.
[00:03:13] And therefore they don’t endure to the end. They’re not saved.
[00:03:18] That’s correct. They’re not going to go to heaven.
[00:03:20] Yeah, and that interesting and yet we think. Huh? OK, so we talked last time on the parable of the Sower, one of the most important parables, because it’s the only one that is in all three synoptic gospels. Matthew, Mark Luke is the only one that is in its entirety in all three gospels is the only one that is fully interpreted by Jesus in all three gospels and is the only one that Jesus says, if you don’t understand this one, how can you understand any of the parables? So it’s kind of like the key, the master key that unlocks every single parable if you dig into it. And what we learned in the parable of the Sower is several things just in a quick review. OK, so you have a sower, we assume the soldiers us, OK, it’s not very clear, but go out and you sow the seed everywhere. The seed is the word of the kingdom. And do you remember who the word of the kingdom is? If you were to put a name Jesus. Right. So where it is. So Jesus everywhere and some falls on the path and birch take it away. It’s rejected. Some fall in on Iraqi soil. They accept it with enthusiasm. And as soon as the sun comes up because there’s no root, it withers. Then some falls on the thorny soil.
[00:04:44] Ok, we call that soil number three. If we do soil one, two, three, four. So the stony soil falls among the thorns. It grows up into a plant. It grows up with the thorns, but there’s no fruit. And then there’s the for soil good soil that it produces some 60, some 30, some 100 salt, OK? And Jesus and Jesus says only the see that falls in the good soil is good. And you have to produce fruit and so what we kind of came through with all of that is that three soils accepted Jesus to some degree. You know, the rocky soil accepted the seed enough that it produced something. But there were no roots. The thorny soil accepted the seed. It actually went in the ground. It produced roots because we know now plant grew, but it was bad. And then the fourth soil, the soil accepted the seed, accepted Jesus and produced fruit. And so what we start to understand is put this parable is telling us, I believe, is that not everyone who accepts Jesus goes to heaven. Not everyone who accepts Jesus actually produces fruit. We also describe that fruit is the womb of a seed is for the seed is formed. And so what Jesus is telling us and we’re going to get into this today a little bit more, that unless you’re unless Christ is formed in you and you’re producing more of Christ, then you’re not good. Okay, so that’s kind of where we ended up. Any questions or any thoughts on that before we move forward?
[00:06:33] No, just such a good reminder. Such a good refresher from last week. So I’m looking forward to this week.
[00:06:41] Good. I am too. So we covered one quick topic last time and wrapping up. And I want to I want to focus on this more today. And that’s the difference between converts and disciples. So let me just cut in that. What we talked a convert is one who accepts Christ. A disciple is a convert who pursues Christ. Does that make sense?
[00:07:10] Yeah, yeah, OK.
[00:07:12] And and so it’s kind of like a two step process. First, you accept Christ, but accepting Christ. Doesn’t mean you go to heaven, it’s what happens after there, so you accept Christ and then you pursue Christ. Now, this is not saying we’re going to kind of touch on this maybe in a later session, OK? The question is, if you’re currently a bad soul, can you become a good soil? That’s not the topic of this call, OK? This isn’t the topic of once I accept Christ, do I have to do something special? That’s not the topic. All I’m saying is very clearly there is evidential difference between good soil, bad soil. And so let’s look at it and then let’s also analyze it within our lives. So what we find is not all converts go to heaven. But all disciples do all right. And then, John, 15 eight, this is Jesus, and he says by by this, my father is glorified, that you bear much fruit. And so can you finish this sentence on that?
[00:08:21] And so go and bear fruit and so prove to be my disciples, right, when you bear much fruit, you prove to be my disciples.
[00:08:31] And this is what Jesus is talking about. This is, by the way, the great commission go and make converts of all the nations. Now go and make disciples of all the nations. And so there’s something there about this mandate. So with that, I now want to move in to where we’re going to be talking about today and it’s really quite fascinating. I like to look at what John the Baptist had to say about frit. By the way, this is now trivia. Do you recall anything John the Baptist said about fruit?
[00:09:08] So. Wow. Mm hmm.
[00:09:12] I don’t know, off the top of my head, so let’s turn to Matthew three verses eight, nine and 10 and let’s see what he says about fruit.
[00:09:25] Bear fruit in keeping with repentance and did not presume to say to yourselves, we have Abraham is our father, for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now, the axes laid to the root of the tree. Every tree, therefore, does not bear good fruit that does not bear good for it. Cut down and thrown into the fire.
[00:09:52] Ok, just a little back. Back up. Scripture uses the metaphor trees a lot as representing men. OK, so that’s why you see this. The access to the trees, every tree that does not bear fruit when he’s talking to people and he says bear fruit with keeping with repentance. So when you see the word tree, typically that’s going to be speaking about men when there are different types of trees, is talking about different types of men or the human race. Not always, but that’s one of the things. So what does this say that what type of fruit are we to bear? Fruit that keeps with resentence fruit that keeps with repentance, so let’s go back and cover one thing that’s really important. When we read the Bible, the Bible is a book written by a single author, God himself. And when we when we see common terms throughout, there are always going to have something. They’re always going to mean about the same thing or typically. OK, so you have just as we talked about last time, you have characters in a book. And if a character named John is introduced at the beginning, the book, then when the author calls out John toward the end of the book is the same. John is the same person. In this case. We have the character of fruit. The last time we talked about with a state in the sower that the good soil produces fruit, we had to understand what fruit is. But here John the Baptist is talking about fruit bear fruit in keeping with repentance. So we kind of understand that what John the Baptist is talking about is the same thing Jesus has been talking about. Does that make sense? Mm hmm. Yeah. OK, so this fruit is fruit in keeping with repentance. Here’s something also interesting. What was the message that Jesus came preaching to you? Remember what that message was?
[00:11:58] The kingdom of God is here or now, but there’s one one part right before that.
[00:12:03] Do you remember what it was? It was an action and love, love one another now repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. OK. Oh, so close your so close. So there’s something about repentance that’s really important when we talk about healing later, whenever the Lord guides me in that direction, repentance is really a key part of of that. So so we are to bear fruit of repentance, OK, if we don’t bear fruit.
[00:12:38] What does John’s passage say is going to happen.
[00:12:43] Hmm.
[00:12:46] Well, if we don’t, it says that every tree or person that is not very good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
[00:12:54] Ouch. You think what do you think that’s actually going spiritually? What is he communicating?
[00:13:03] Going to heaven, crash and crash and burn.
[00:13:05] Yeah, OK, right, OK, so we see this thing about trees. We see this thing about fruit. We see this thing about an axe cutting down a tree and we see this thing about being burned. OK, do you recall any other parables that Jesus uses about a tree being cut down?
[00:13:30] I do not.
[00:13:32] All right, turn with me to Luke, 13 versus six through nine. This is the parable of the barren fig tree, OK?
[00:13:45] Oh, now you remember, right? OK, yes. So let’s read the parable of the barren fig tree and what we’re looking for. OK, this is let me kind of give you the Cliff Notes version of all this. God works in patterns. You see the same pattern throughout scripture in all kinds of areas. Last time we saw this pattern of something about fruit is important to being, you know, going to heaven. If we want to use that term, that’s really to being part of the kingdom of God is the better term.
[00:14:15] And we saw that a lot of people produce something, but they didn’t produce fruit. The soils produced a plant to some degree. And so we see this pattern. And I want you to be looking for the patterns as we go through. So let’s read about the parable of the barren fig tree, OK?
[00:14:33] And he told this parable a man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vine dresser, Look, for three years now, I have come seeking fruit on the fig tree and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground? And he answered him, sir, let it alone this year also until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good. But if not, you can cut it down.
[00:15:08] Hmm. Wow. OK, so it’s not bearing fruit. John talks about bear fruit with keeping with repentance or you get cut down. This is talking about it’s not bearing fruit. Let’s cut it down. All right. So we have some patterns and similarities there. Here’s the question. Does a good tree produce good fruit?
[00:15:28] Yes, and how do we know that?
[00:15:34] Well, that’s a good tree. Then that’s its nature, its nature is to produce. OK, all right, so nature is wrong with it. It’s going to it’s going to reproduce itself, right?
[00:15:48] Ok, so seed reproduces after kind. Good. All right. Let’s go real quickly. You don’t have to turn there, but let’s look at what Jesus says. It’s in Luke 643 and he says for no good tree bears, bad fruit. Nor again, does a battery bear good fruit for each tree is known by its own fruit. So does a good tree produce good fruit according to Jesus? The answer is yes. OK, so now we’re using trees. OK, keep in mind, the metaphor is mankind. Jesus is saying no good man produces bad fruit. Every man will be known after the fruit he produces. OK, there’s a way to look at it. So if a tree produces no fruit, is it a good tree?
[00:16:37] No, and why is that how do we know that because Jesus just said it, a good tree is going to produce good fruit, right?
[00:16:47] Yeah, yeah. Parable of the sower. Only the good soil. The good soil is known because it produced fruit. Jesus said that. By this, my father’s glorified that you bear much fruit and so proved to be my disciples, so we know that a good tree will always produce good fruit. A tree without fruit is not good. That’s soil number three. If you recall, the plant grew up but produce no fruit. OK, so that’s kind of where we are here. Let me give you a little background also. This is interesting, the background on the fig tree. So throughout scripture, the fig tree, in fact, do you know what the fig tree represents throughout scripture? Did you know that? Did you know that it represented something?
[00:17:39] I know I did not.
[00:17:41] All right, so there are two trees that are used all throughout scripture, sometimes are used in the same passages, sometimes are used differently. One is the fig tree. Do you remember what the other one is?
[00:17:52] My guess would be an olive tree.
[00:17:54] Yeah, so you have fig trees and olive trees. The question is, what are they? OK, so here we go back to patterns again. Same thing as Paul talks about. The pattern of not all who are descended of Abraham are Abraham’s descendants. You remember him saying that? I think it’s in Romans. OK, what is he talking about? Abraham had a physical bloodline and Abraham had a spiritual bloodline. The physical bloodline is a shadow of the spiritual, but it’s not the spiritual. And we see this thing with fig trees. So throughout scripture, the fig tree represents the chosen people of Israel, of the natural. OK, you can call it the physical descendants of Abraham. And within that physical descendants, it’s in a sense, it’s death. OK, that’s that’s why you see all the time the fig tree without any fruit. That’s why this parable is the fig tree that’s going to be cut down. But then you have the olive tree and the olive tree represents the chosen people, a betrayal of the promise. These are the spiritual descendants of Abraham. And in a sense, the olive tree is always represented with life.
[00:19:11] All the fig trees always represented with death and saying, yeah, and an interesting.
[00:19:18] So just as the natural the natural world is a shadow of the spirit world, then the people of Israel, the fig tree is a shadow of the people or the promise represented by the olive tree. So that’s kind of what we’re seeing here. We’ve got this parable, the bear and fig tree. The fig tree, by the way, is there do you recall any other place in the Gospels where there’s a barren fig tree?
[00:19:51] Hmm, I do feel like this story is brought up again, but I don’t remember where Jesus is going into Jerusalem.
[00:20:01] Oh, yes, yes. You see the fig tree and leave. He walks over to get some fruit and there’s none there and there’s none.
[00:20:09] And it’s not the season of fruit. It’s not the season of fruit. And he curses it. Why do you think he curses the fig tree?
[00:20:18] When it’s not the season for fruit, I don’t know, I’ve always wondered that because I’ve always just thought that that was one of those moments in Scripture where it’s just showing the sense of humor of God.
[00:20:32] Ok, so if we if we say I digress, but this is important, is fun. So the fig tree represents the natural Israel and sin and death, even though it’s not the season for figs, as a believer, it’s always the season for fruit. This is why you read through revelations and and other passages like in Psalms and other places where you have visions of the heavenly realm and the trees and the plants are always producing fruit all the time. There is no season without fruit. It’s always the season for fruit because there’s always a season for life. OK, and so Jesus curse, is it the same as the natural descendants of Abraham had been cast with death because they’re in bondage to sin, ruled by death, made a covenant with death when Adam fell. OK, and and so you see all these all these patterns, imageries and all these concepts kind of coming together in this one image of Jesus cursing the fig tree. And so we kind of have something similar here. OK, so we have this fig tree. So Israel had been chosen and set apart by God from among all the nations. OK, so this is where you have kind of the chosen people. And Israel had been given gods promise of salvation. Right in that tree, an issue with God’s own people, but yet here’s what’s interesting. Turn with me real quickly, John, 111, so so I want I want to give you this picture, it all ties back into this barren fig tree parable we’re talking about here. So the picture is. God had chosen Israel, God had given Israel the promise. Israel was God’s people, OK, and now let’s read what happens, John, 111, can you read that?
[00:22:50] He came to his own disguise, right?
[00:22:54] So Jesus came into his own OK, now, now finish it and his own people did not receive him.
[00:23:00] Hmm. OK, so his own people did not receive him. So we have kind of this this thing. This is the victory. OK, so now let’s move back to the parable of the barren fig tree, 13, six and nine. What do you think this parable is telling us?
[00:23:22] Oh.
[00:23:27] Well, if we’re relating it to what you just kind of give that description, the fig tree and the physical nature of the descendants of Abraham and bondage to them, then the fig tree. Who was in bondage, bondage to sin is not going to produce fruit.
[00:23:48] There’s no loss almost that that may be a little too much, so so the parable is going to be giving basically one simple point that Jesus trying to make. Let’s look at the let’s look at the key aspects of the parable first. OK, man has a fig tree. The man comes seeking fruit. There is none. He says, cut it down. OK, those are the basic elements of the parable. So what this tells us is that if you don’t produce fruit, you get cut down.
[00:24:18] Right? OK, yeah.
[00:24:21] And cut down. What do you think that means?
[00:24:28] Removed from your purpose, yeah, is it you think this is similar to what John the Baptist was saying just a moment ago? The axe is laid at the root of the trees, and if you don’t produce fruit, you’ll get cut down and thrown into the fire, right?
[00:24:42] Yeah. Yeah.
[00:24:43] Ok, so that’s I think it’s what’s talking here is you can get cut down and discarded that purpose that you’re talking about for which you’ve been there, you’re going to lose. All right. So but what about the vine dresser? This is real interesting. It says that a man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard. Where do we where do we hear about a vineyard and a vine dresser? Does anything come to mind?
[00:25:12] Yes. Jesus. He says, I am the vine dresser and we are the vine almost. No, sorry. I’m sorry. We are his the vine. The father is a vine dresser.
[00:25:24] That’s right. There are the branches. We are the branches, not the fruit that. Yeah. So John, that’s John Tuffin one. So let’s go there real quick. I want to show you something. OK, we’re just going to read what you just said, basically, John, verse one.
[00:25:41] Yeah, I am the true vine and my father is the vine dresser.
[00:25:46] Ok, so now we have again characters. The olive tree is planted in the vineyard and the owner comes and talks to the vine dresser. Do you see all these pictures coming together now? OK, so in the vineyard, Jesus is the true vine. He’s the olive tree is in the presence of Jesus. The Vineyard, who is the father is there. And the owner says to the to the father, God, the father cut it down. Now read what the vine dresser says. I want you to see this. This is really cool.
[00:26:25] This is verse eight, right? Yeah, OK. And he answered him. The vines are the the dangerous, right? Yeah. He answered him, sir.
[00:26:36] Let it alone this year also until I dig around it and put on the newer.
[00:26:44] Yeah, then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good, but if not, you can cut it down.
[00:26:52] Oh, so this is the vine dresser. This is God, the father saying, hey, before we cut this down. Let me work on it special, let me give it special attention, let me let me dig around it, put in manure, let me really do everything I can to give it every opportunity to produce fruit and then if it does well and good, but if it doesn’t, then let’s cut it down. And that interesting. The heart of the father.
[00:27:23] Yes, he’s the God of second chances.
[00:27:26] He’s got a second chance for us. That’s right.
[00:27:30] And we actually see this same picture. And John, 15. So Rejon 15 first to.
[00:27:41] Ok.
[00:27:43] When they get back, they’re looking to all right. Every branch and me that does not bear fruit. He takes away in every branch that does bear fruit. He pretends that it may bear more fruit.
[00:27:59] Okay, perfect. So every branch that does not bear fruit he takes away. There’s actually different ways to translate that takes away. And when we look at scripture, it’s always multidimensional. Sometimes there’s a lot more meaning than just one simple meaning. And so one way to translate in which most Bibles translate as he takes away. But another way you can translate that same word that’s been used takeaway is to lift up. So you get kind of the image of if I’m a vine dresser and I’m in the vine is very valuable. This is business. This is what produces livelihood. So I’m not going to just willy nilly, you know, get rid of a branch just because it doesn’t produce. I’m going to work with it. Tender care, because if I can get it producing fruit, it’s worth a lot. So one way to interpret this is the vine dresser. Every branch that does not bear fruit, he lifts up the idea. You pull it up out of the ground, out of the dirt, you take the dirt off and wipe the dirt off the leaves so they can have sunshine and then you tie it up on the trestle so they can be in the sun and give an opportunity to produce fruit. But then if it doesn’t produce fruit, he takes it away.
[00:29:17] Does that make sense? Mm hmm. Is that cool? Yeah, it’s a great picture.
[00:29:22] So that’s the same thing we see with this parable of the barren fig tree. Hey, let me give it more time and let me work with it to see if it can produce fruit. It shows the heart of the father really wants to give us every opportunity to produce that fruit. So so now with that, let’s start looking a little bit deeper into some questions about this barren fig tree. Did the barren fig tree look like a mature, a mature tree? In other words, had it matured?
[00:29:59] No.
[00:30:01] Ok, so let me ask you, do you think it was standing tall like a normal tree?
[00:30:10] Possibly.
[00:30:12] Ok, yeah, OK, if for the owner to come look for the owner to come looking for fruit, should there have been fruit there? Yes, OK, it should have been, which means it’s mature enough to have been producing fruit, does that make sense? Yes. OK, so it’s mature enough by age and by visual appearance to be producing crude. So. So it’s probably at the normal height of other trees that produce fruit, other fig trees, right? Mm hmm. Do you think it has limbs and leaves?
[00:30:51] Yeah, probably.
[00:30:52] Ok, so appearance wise, it looks like a mature plant. But the problem is there’s no fruit. OK, so here’s what I think Jesus is also teaching on this.
[00:31:08] The same thing we get from Parable of the Sower and some others will say if it’s possible for someone to look like a Christian, think he’s a Christian because he accepted Christ at some point and may even do Christian like deeds, OK, but still be dead and not born again. That’s what you have with this this fig tree. It looks like a healthy fig tree. The only difference is there’s no fruit, but everything else about it visually is it looks like it’s like a normal fig tree. Does that make sense?
[00:31:44] Yeah. Yeah, OK.
[00:31:46] And the problem is there’s no fruit.
[00:31:48] If we use to take this metaphor out and kind of convert it to what seems to be saying how we would phrase it based on the parable of the sower is. There’s no Christ being formed in that person. And and if there’s no Chrispin been formed in that person, then spiritually that person is dead.
[00:32:11] Makes sense.
[00:32:12] Yeah, it does OK, because we’re only alive in Christ. So based on the four soils of the parable of the sower, which soil would you say that this tree is planted in or represent?
[00:32:28] I would say three because yeah, yeah, it’s growing and it has leaves and branches and like you said, looked fully mature and like it should have fruit on it.
[00:32:40] Yeah, exactly. So this is that soil. Number three, this is why the fig tree is used throughout scriptures that barren, that barrenness. How many people would you think there are who call themselves Christians and look like this fig tree? They look like a Christian, but they bear no fruit while.
[00:33:04] I hate to say there’s probably way more than.
[00:33:08] Then I would want to admit that there are yeah, do you think they think that they’re Christians?
[00:33:15] Yes, absolutely, yeah, we see this even with Israel.
[00:33:19] They thought they were the chosen race, we’re all going to heaven because we’re part of Abraham. Paul says no. You know, you’re not. OK, so I want to share just a little personal comment on this, because this is actually how all of this study got started for me. So I have a personal friend, a dear family friend whom I’ll call Tom. His parents and my parents have been best friends. His parents were in my parents’ wedding. I believe it goes back that far. We’ve done things with Tom and his family. We’ve been really close. They’ve been down to our family farm a lot. And what happened is in high school, Tom was way a column kind of a hoodlum hurdle may be the wrong word, but he was just way off track. He was chasing the girls, chasing the drugs, chasing, you know, chasing everything. And he was absolutely not a Christian. He gets into college. He goes even more over the deep end there, and then something happens. He’s presented with the gospel, he hears it, he receives it with joy, and there’s life change in his life, he starts to pull back and stop some of these abhorrent behavioral type of activities he’s been doing. And then he gets married and he’s later on after college, he starts a Bible study at his home. Lots of people come. They share the gospel. Lots of people claim he claims to accept Christ. And then we start to work together.
[00:35:06] He actually worked here with our business for about a year, just over a year, and during that entire time, I saw no evidence at all of Christ being in him. He lives a life of extreme bitterness. He pursues women even now.
[00:35:28] He doesn’t touch them, to my knowledge, but he sure does pursue them. He pursues riches and wealth that he cannot get, that he cannot get. And everything is very kind of superficial. And so he’s even suing me. OK, believe it or not, I’m on something. And through all of this, there’s no bitterness in my heart for him. There’s only this love and compassion. And as I pray for him and as I analyze what’s going on and constant the thing that keeps coming to mine, Lord, is my friend saved. I know he accepted Christ. I know there was a change in lifestyle, but I see no evidence of Christ. And so my it was my concern for my friend that started me digging, taking a deep dive. And what does the scripture say? Does everyone who accept Christ go to heaven? Okay. And and so that’s kind of where we are today. And that’s what prompted all this. So let me yeah, it’s really interesting. So the Lord takes even difficult circumstances in your life and produces good from it. That doesn’t mean he’s the orchestrator of just like we talked about a while back with the story of Joseph. Okay. You know, if God is sovereign and control, does that mean everything that happens is his will? OK. And even though God did not orchestrate the evil that happened in Joseph’s life, he leveraged it to produce the good that he had for Joseph. So that’s kind of how this came out. Let me talk as we’re talking on this topic of. People who believe they are Christians, people who have accepted Christ at some point, and, you know, my friend Rich, you know, he received a gospel with joy, just like soil number two on the stony ground.
[00:37:29] And it actually produced a plant that looked mature. But but my perception of what’s going on is it’s being choked out by all of the other thorns in life, by the way, sawn OK, in small number three, if you look at thorns as a metaphor, as a character throughout the Bible, it’s usually used to on what chokes out life. All right. Everywhere you see Soren’s, you can kind of translate somewhat loosely, but translate something is choking life out of this. And if you go back and read, you’ll see that you see that common theme. So so the thorns choke out the life of of what’s there. But I want to talk on this. There’s another parable called I Never Knew You, or at least that’s what I call it. Let’s turn to Matthew seven versus 21 through 23. So there’s word on this topic of the fig tree. The fig tree thinks it’s a good tree, but it’s not because it produces no fruit. My friend Tom calls himself a Christian, and he may be I’m not I’m not rendering judgment, but I’m rendering observation observationally. I see no fruit. The question is, is it possible to accept Christ and not go to heaven? And so let’s read another parable. OK, keep in mind, the parable of the sower unlocks all the parables. So you will see this pattern. Are you ready to read it?
[00:38:57] Yes. All right. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my father, who is in heaven. On that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name. And then will I declare to them, I never knew you depart from me. Workers of lawlessness.
[00:39:27] Ouch.
[00:39:28] That’s pretty painful in it, that’s stinging words, that’s what we call the stinging words.
[00:39:34] Yeah, so so let’s ask a real simple question on this one. OK, were these people focused on works or fruit?
[00:39:45] Works. How do we know that?
[00:39:49] Because everything it talks about them doing is they work, oh, did we not prophesying your name, cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name. All right. So what’s the difference between works and.
[00:40:06] What do you think, um.
[00:40:10] Work is to me, this is just my personal opinion, which to me is what you can benefit or gain for yourself, whether it’s notoriety or a favor. And then fruit to me comes from the overflow. It’s just what’s in you and it comes out by itself.
[00:40:32] Ok, I think that’s very accurate. Very fair. I was summarize it slightly different. Not that that it’s a different understanding. It has a different route of of source works is what you do. But fruit is Christ formed in you. Does that make sense? Yeah. And if crisis formed in you, then he lives through you. And therefore, what you do in action, what you do is from him and not you, and that’s the difference between works and free. It’s what you do versus Christ doing it through you. And the other thing about works in fruit, as I start to think about this deeper think about this works is created in this in this topic of what we’re talking about with this terrible works is created by pursuing the activities of Christ. While fruit is created by pursuing the person of Christ. Yeah, yeah. And so when we look at what we do in a lot and I’m going through this series because, you know, the Lord has called me in ministry, I’m a full time minister, secretly describes disguised as a business owner.
[00:41:55] And he has called me to do these radical faith podcasts and teachings to teach his people that they may step more boldly out by faith, solidly on God’s word and produce fruit. OK. And and that’s kind of why all this comes up and why this is, quote unquote, intermingled with business, because the whole purpose for the businesses to do this stuff.
[00:42:22] And but what’s interesting is. I was going somewhere with that, let me back up, let me figure out where I was going to work. This created by pursuing the activities of Christ. And fruit is created by pursuing the person of Christ and. When you pursue Christ. Then fruit is automatically produced, so we need to take an introspective look at ourselves and our loved ones and ask, what are we really doing? Are we pursuing the Christian activities?
[00:42:58] Oh, I want to go kill. I want, you know, give me this gift of healing. I want to tung’s gift of tongues or I want to, you know, go help the poor and serve the widows. Are you doing those because you want to be found in favor with the Lord or are you doing those because they emanate from the Lord pulling you through it, wanting to do it through you, because you’re pursuing the Lord as opposed to pursuing the work? I think that’s kind of really where I want to go and hit on with this is we have to say, you know, what’s what’s driving us? Are we the tree with no fruit? Are we these people that Jesus says, I never knew you. So let me now let’s have some questions about this parable. Back to the parable. So, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out demons in your name. Too many mind works in your name. And Jesus said, I never knew you depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. So do you think these people looked and acted like Christians?
[00:44:06] Absolutely.
[00:44:08] Yeah. They even did the activities that Christians do. Dendi Yeah.
[00:44:12] I was going to say they did activities that a lot of Christians can’t do.
[00:44:17] That’s right. Yeah. So they saw a lot of times you see someone who prays for healing and the person’s heal and you think that guy is really spiritual or someone who gets a, you know, prophecy or does somebody we think they’re spiritual, but according to this, they could be dead. Right? So they looked and acted like Christians. Were they born again?
[00:44:42] Oh, well, according to Jesus, no.
[00:44:46] Well, according to Jesus is a good place to be according to you, right? OK. Yeah, OK. So no, how do we know that they’re not born again?
[00:45:03] I don’t know. OK, so back to this so parable, the sower in the seeds, OK, the seed is shown by the sea, produces fruit in good soil, and when it produces fruit, what’s inside the seed? I mean, what’s inside the fruit? Yeah, the seed is inside the fruit, right? OK, and so the seed is born again.
[00:45:31] Does that make sense, yes.
[00:45:33] Yeah, OK, and so born again, born again within the fruit, we know these people are not born again because there’s no fruit for all who produce fruit are Jesus’s disciples and a disciple knows their teacher. In fact, the definition of disciple is one who studies and follows their teacher to become exactly like that teacher. OK, that’s kind of technically the definition of disciple. We know these aren’t disciples because Jesus says, I never knew you.
[00:46:09] There’s no fruit. So if I were to ask, were these converts or disciples, what would you tell me? Converts. Hmm, yeah, converts, they receive the Seiver joy, they receive the good news, they look like Christians. But there’s no fruit, there’s no fruit because they’re not disciples, so did they obtain eternal life?
[00:46:36] No, no.
[00:46:38] So do you see this pattern again, it’s possible to call yourself a Christian, even to those Christian type works? But not truly be born again. Do you think maybe at some point these people that Jesus is talking about had actually, quote unquote, accepted Christ?
[00:46:57] Yes, I do. So then what happened?
[00:47:05] Too focused on works and doing instead of getting to know the Lord and being transformed by Jesus in them.
[00:47:15] Yeah, to focus on works, to focus on themselves and Jesus. So if we go back to our last session on this topic, again, the parable is sweet and sour. We use a word called stewarding the soil that stewarded the seed well is the good soul that produced fruit. But when it’s stewarded it poorly, it didn’t produce fruit at all. And I think we can use that word here. These people accepted the seed, but they did not steward the seed because they weren’t pursuing Christ, they were pursuing Christlike activities. Do you see the difference? Yeah, yeah. So now let’s look at two more parables. That tie in, we’re going to see a similar pattern and what I’m looking for here. I want to make sure you and everyone else sees this. There’s this pattern and it’s not a single time pattern over and over and over and over again. We start to see what the Lord is telling us by looking at the patterns of the parables. And as we move into our next session later, we’re going to pull away from the parables and actually go into the epistles and what Jesus says, what Paul and Peter says.
[00:48:33] And we start to start to see these things and now we start to piece together. These things have been really tough to understand. Now we start to see the pattern. It all starts to make sense. And now we see what the Lord is trying to tell us. So I’m going to read these because they’re long and I’m just going to truncate some things along the way. But these are going to be the parables of the miners and the talents. OK, we’ll start with the miners. You can open up your Bible to it if you want. I’ll read it, though. It’s 19 and we’re going to basically read 19 verses, 12 through 26. So, Cirlot, the parable of the miners and the talents are two completely different parables, but they are very similar. And I think we’re going to see some similar truths here. So starting with Luke 1912, he said. Therefore, Jesus says a nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return, calling ten of his servants.
[00:49:29] He gave them ten miners and said to them, Engage in business until I come to the first came before him saying, Lord, your miner has made ten miners more. And he said to him, Well done, good servant, because you’ve been faithful and have very little, you shall have authority over ten cities. And the second came saying, Lord, your miner has made five miners. And he said to him, and you were to be over five cities. Then another servant came and said, Sir, here is your miner. I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. I was afraid of you because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not. So his master replied, I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant. You knew, did you, that I’m a hard man taking out what I did not put in and reaping what I did not. So why then? Then you put my money on deposit. So then when I came back I could have collected it with interest. Then he said to those standing by, take his mind away from him and give it to the one who has ten miners. Sir, they said he already has ten. He replied, I tell you that to everyone who has more will be given. But as for one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away. All right. So let’s ask a few questions about this parable to understand who is the nobleman being represented in this parable, do you think?
[00:50:56] Jesus, yeah, so Jesus is a nobleman who are the servants? US, us as people and what was his command?
[00:51:09] His command was to be about his business, to engage in his business until he tried to engage in business until I come.
[00:51:18] And so does engage in business mean.
[00:51:24] It means.
[00:51:26] Do the business that I have given you to do.
[00:51:30] Very good, I’m going to clarify just a little bit, if you don’t mind, engage in business means to take what a noble men gave them and produce more of it for the nobleman’s benefit.
[00:51:45] Oh, does that make sense?
[00:51:48] Mm hmm. Do you see do you see that as represented here? Yeah, yeah. OK, so how does this pattern resemble the parable of the sower?
[00:52:02] Well, taking the seed, yeah. And producing more, so, yeah, producing more.
[00:52:10] Yeah, you take the seed, you accept it, you steward it well, you produce fruit that has more seed in and we’re producing more of what’s been given to us. OK, so for the servant who did nothing, why was he called a wicked servant?
[00:52:27] Because he didn’t do what Jesus asked him to do, he didn’t engage in business, he didn’t engage in business.
[00:52:34] Why do you think he did not? What do you think is the fundamental difference between the wicked servant versus the good and faithful servants? What is the primary difference?
[00:52:47] Oh, well, the first word that comes to my head is laziness.
[00:52:51] Ok.
[00:52:53] I don’t think that’s it, so go back to what we just finished talking about with some of the other just a few moments ago, what did we do? What did we discuss in terms of the difference between a disciple and a convert?
[00:53:08] What what causes the difference works versus someone who’s pursuing their relationship, pursuing the growth.
[00:53:18] Ok, yeah. So if we were to take that, here’s what I would say. The question is.
[00:53:25] For the servant who did nothing, why was he called Wicked? He was in my what I understand he did not value the noble man enough to work on his behalf. In other words, he he merely took but he did not serve in pursuit. Does that make sense? Yeah.
[00:53:44] Yeah. It’s only when you serve and pursue. You become a disciple if you’re simply looking at it for what you get out of it and you treat it with contempt. You don’t serve them per se. Does that make sense?
[00:54:00] Mm hmm. OK, so then if we used. So then what happened to the one who did not serve and pursue but merely took and hid?
[00:54:14] What happened to him? His his portion was taken from him and given to the one who had more, so what he had been given had been is now taken away.
[00:54:25] Mm hmm. Is this this talking about spiritual things? Right. Yeah, wow, that’s pretty scary, isn’t it? It is, yeah.
[00:54:34] Ok, so since this is a parable about Jesus and his servants, here’s a question. Did all of the servants accept what Jesus gave them? Yes, ma’am, did all who accepted it enter into Jesus’s blessings?
[00:54:52] All that, the one.
[00:54:55] Oh, OK, so if we lose so so if we go back to all who accept Jesus, go to heaven.
[00:55:05] Base, if we’re using this parable and the pattern we’re seeing. I say there’s a difference between merely accepting what Jesus gives and stewarding it, well, does that make sense? If we use the terms, convert and disciple on this, which of the servants would be converts and which of them would be disciples?
[00:55:30] The first two would be Disciple’s and the last one who didn’t do anything with his portion would be the convert.
[00:55:37] Yeah. All right. So let’s we wrap this up. Let’s read about the challenge. So this comes from Matthew, 25 versus 14 through 30. We’re going to see the same pattern. OK, so Matthew, 25 versus 14 for he’ll be like a man going on a journey who called his servants and entrusted to them his property to one. He gave five talents to another, two to another, one to each, according to his ability. Then he went away. He received the five talents win at once and traded with them, and he made five Tallas more. So also the one had the two talents made to tell us more. But the one he received, the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. Now, after a long time the master, those servants came and settled accounts with them. He you five talents came forward bringing five talents, more same master you delivered to me five talents. Here I made five talents more. His master said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little. I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master. And he also, who had had the two talents, came forward saying Master, you deliver to me to talent. Here I have made two talents more. His master said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant.
[00:56:57] You’ve been faithful over a little. I will set you overmuch enter into the joy of your master shortie. He also, who had received the one talent, came forward saying, Master, I knew you to be a hard man reaping where you did not. So in gathering where you get scared or no seed. So I was afraid and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is here. But his master answered him. You wicked and slothful servant. You knew that I where I have not sown and gather where I gather no seed over our shadow, no seed. Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers and that my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him. Who has the ten talents for to everyone who has will more be given and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not even what he has will be taken away and cast the worthless serpent servant into the outer darkness. And that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth now again. So when the master gave the talents his servants, did he expect them to work on his behalf to bring increase?
[00:58:14] Did each of those servants accept the talents?
[00:58:17] They did.
[00:58:19] And so what’s the difference between the servants?
[00:58:24] We have disciples and we have a convert again, yeah, yeah, one love the master and it says Win at once and traded with them. They eagerly worked on his behalf and eagerly came to the master, said, Look, Master, I got you even more. Sure. Like when you have a young child that comes and said, Daddy, Daddy or Mommy, Mommy, look what I did for you all eager because they want to please you, right? Mm hmm. The last one simply dug a hole and hid it in the ground, doing nothing to benefit his master, not master, always demanding of me. He gives me this money, says do business. I I don’t care, I’m going to throw it in the ground and give it back to them, right.
[00:59:12] No concern for his master. So did the servant who did nothing. Look like the other servants of the master, do you think?
[00:59:23] Yes, yeah, he probably dressed the same. So these are servants of the master, so they probably had uniforms, they had probably protocols, they probably had some prestige among the community because they work for the master. And looking at them, you couldn’t tell any difference. But what happened to that servant, the wicked one? What happened to him?
[00:59:45] He was cast out. What was what was given to him was taken away. Then he was cast out and then he was cast out.
[00:59:52] So do you see any parallels with all these other parables? Mm hmm.
[00:59:57] A lot of a lot of patterns here. Right. And they all point to the same thing. So this is the key. When you start to see everything point to the same focal point, you start to pick up. This is important, right? This is something God is saying over and over and over again. We’re going to see this a little bit more on the next sessions. But let me just kind of wrap up some things I think are the takeaways. All right. So the parable of the summer shows that the key. Is we have to steward what we’ve been given. We see that in the parable of the talents, in the parable of the miners. We see this throughout scripture. We’ve got a steward it if you value something a lot, you’ll steward it. Well, if you value it little, you won’t steward it at all. Does that make sense? Yes. OK, that’s what we see in all of these parables. Are you stewarding what you’ve been given and both of these parables? The servants who value the master. Took what the master entrusted them. And worked on the master’s behalf, you know, the question I saw like to ask is, are we taking what the Lord has given us and working on his behalf or are we taking what the Lord has given us and simply using it on our behalf? That’s I think that’s kind of the critical point here that that’s being communicated. Those who did all the Christian like things, they were working on their behalf.
[01:01:27] Did we not heal the sick, cast out demons, do all these mighty works? So. So if we were to then go back to kind of summing this up, a convert is that person who accepts what is given without valuing the giver. A disciple accepts what is given and values the giver so much that they steward well, that which was given them. So we it comes back to where is your focus? We see this in the parable of the merchant of fine pearls or the parable that the treasure in the field where they sell everything they’ve got because they want it so much, they pursue it. If we use kind of Christian these terms, you know, they’ve all been given like if we just look at the talents in the minus, they’d all been given the million minus or talents. They’ve been given the gift of salvation. They all accepted the gift. But only those who stewarded it obtained the gift. And the gift was removed from those who did not. So same thing we saw in the poor soils. So kind of the big take away. A couple of other things we see on this actually. Now the big take away. Yeah, but there’s one more pattern that we see in these two parables. So the minus and the talents. One more thing. Do you know what that one thing that they have in common is?
[01:02:58] Hmm.
[01:03:02] There were three every time.
[01:03:05] Oh, that’s a good pattern, yes, there’s three three is three is a whole number, right? OK, so there’s there’s something there. OK, it’s a whole truth with holy.
[01:03:17] No, the thing I saw it and saw is they all occur over a period of time. OK, in other words, I think this is what Jesus is saying, telling us. You can’t assess the heart immediately. It takes time to see the fruit of the heart and over time. OK, what one does? Well, evidence what their heart is truly like. And it’s only the ones with a true heart for Jesus who will enter his kingdom. And and so I think that’s kind of the message here. A lot of it is is the one with a true heart. The other thing that’s been convicting of me as I go through this is the focus of discipleship. And if you think about discipleship, so a lot of times a lot of us, you know, we want Converse, go share the gospel list, bring in, you know, bring people to salvation, which is good. Definitely not criticizing that, but it’s a focus is sharing the gospel, bringing people to salvation.
[01:04:24] Then what’s happening afterwards, the way I see it, this is a low image the Lord gave me, not a vision, but just kind of well thought in my mind is it’s like raising kids, OK, you birth a child and then for the next 18 or 20 years, you’re nurturing and training that child and disciplining them and helping them grow to maturity. And all your focus is on those few children. And then they go do the same thing. OK, but it’s not you just go berserk, you know, 30, 40, 50 kids and just, you know, have at it and hope you do well. OK, so I think there’s a time to, you know, really focus on making sure that we’re raising disciples and not just converts.
[01:05:11] Yeah, that’s really good.
[01:05:13] All right. So we got to wrap up. But any thoughts? Anything hit you?
[01:05:19] Oh, gosh. Just so Eye-Opening, you know, I mean, I know these passages. I recognize them all, but it’s just so good to kind of dig a little deeper and really get to the heart. I love how the heart of the father was portrayed with the same tree that was producing fruit. I love how I think that would be my encouragement to anyone who’s listening, who feels like I’ve messed up. I can’t. I was too late for me, that kind of thing. I’ve just created way too many things, that kind of thing that the heart of the father is always to restore. And I just love how that was evident in that scripture. You know, that he is the God of second, third, fourth, fifth chances, you know, because his heart just wants you to be connected with him.
[01:06:06] So you lost that and he gives time. I’ve got to read one saying this. This is a bonus, Jeremiah. Eighteen. Okay, because it talks on that. Jeremiah Yeah. For those people who may be saying it’s too late for me, I’ve done so much bad, I’ve known the good, but I’ve kept going after the bad. Let me share what Jeremiah God says. And Jeremiah, he says, this is Jeremiah starting with FF7 If at any time I declare to a nation that I will pluck it up and break it down and destroy it because it’s been evil and wicked, and if that nation then turns from its evil, I will relent to the disaster I promised it. What God is saying is judgment is coming. But if you simply relent or repent, this is what John the Baptist said at the, you know, bear fruit. In keeping with repentance, the Lord says, I am quick to relent if you will simply repent. And he keeps relending.
[01:07:11] Yeah, he does. And that relenting is changing his mind. He changes his mind. I think there’s actually a translation of scripture that reads it that way, that he will change his mind. And I love that I do, too.
[01:07:24] All right. Well, let’s wrap it up.
[01:07:26] Well, baby, thank you so much for today. This was so great. And I’m just encouraged by, again, just all the time and effort that you put into studying and preparing for all the listeners. And I hope this has been an encouragement to everyone. And I look forward to our next call and I hope that everyone can join us again.
[01:07:47] Amen. We all have a great day.
[01:07:49] Thank you so much. Bye.
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AllAcceptChrist
