The Fiery Beginning

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
Luke 3 (click the link)


KEY VERSES:
So he began saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘ We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.” (Luke 3:7-8, NASB)

And the crowds were questioning him, saying, “Then what shall we do?” And he would answer and say to them, “The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.” And some tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.” Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, “And what about us, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages.” (Luke 3:10-14, NASB)


REFLECTIONS:
I would have to say in all my MANY, MANY (LOL) years of life I have heard some pretty strong sermons about repentance and a few “hellfire” prophetic types.  I have heard people quote the phrase “you brood of vipers” from this passage, but I have never heard anyone ACTUALLY identify a group of people with this phrase.  So for John the Baptist to address the crowd this way must have been daunting.  If I had been there to hear it, I think that probably my first thought would be “I’m out of here,” and yet the FIRST sermon that John the Baptist preaches is THIS.

I know enough about the Word to know when you see a FIRST thing in the Bible that you need to pay attention.  SOOO… Why does this sermon bother me so much?  I think to steal a line from Jack Nicholson, most people (myself included), “Can’t handle the Truth.”  It always convicts and that is uncomfortable.  Americans and I would venture to guess, most people, don’t want to be uncomfortable.

I think it also says something about our arrogance when confronted by God.  I don’t want to THINK that I am arrogant, but it really does boil down to that.  If the greatest preacher of all time (Jesus said John was the greatest among men) nailed down how to enter the Kingdom of God, and I reject it as archaic, or too over the top… then that says that I know better than God.  Arrogance.   There it is.  I am arrogant and I need to have Jesus change my heart.

These passages go on and continue to dig farther into my heart.  Of all the subject matter that John could have chosen, he settles on a few interesting things.  All of them have to do with our relationship to one another.  He says nothing about reverence to God or making him first or anything like that.  The way to pave the way for the Promised One and HIS Kingdom was to clean up your relationships with everyone around you, even ones who were casual acquaintances.  Here is a list of the items he pinpoints that need our repentance:

Share clothes
Share food
Don’t extort money from each other
Don’t say false things about others
Be content with what you have
Live in sexual purity

It struck me that these things are the basics for treating people with respect.  A verse comes to mind:  

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)

I would like to interject a word also about UNITY… doing the verse above causes unity.  God likes unity in His children.  He moves in unity and shows up in unity.  He speaks with ONE voice.  These things bring that unity that is filled with power.

Another point that I would like to glean from Luke 3 is this: There is a price to pay for walking in Truth. John lost his head for the Truth (Matthew 14:1-12). Jesus lost his Life.  Why is Truth so hated?  It’s because it goes against the grain of our fallen state.  It reminds us that things are not just OK.  There is a moral code that God himself set up and he wants us to see mankind as the potential to bring his Kingdom into being, but in order to do so, CHANGE has to happen… and most people don’t want to take the time and effort it takes to push through to see the Kingdom come… right here, right now.  It will cost us something—time, convenience, clean houses, uninterrupted relaxation, money, family time.  What would happen if we just started saying the truth with a loving heart to everyone, and practice the things I listed above?  Maybe we would see the Kingdom of God come in Power.

POINT OF ACTION:

Look at your relationships with those around you.  Ask God what is needed from you to cause those relationships to be brought into the Kingdom of God.  You might want to begin construction in your heart to build bridges to others that have been burned in the past.  What about family?  Ask God what you can do or say to get that relationship back on track.

PRAYER:

Father, I ask you to send the Holy Spirit to come and convict my heart with the TRUTH.  Let your Kingdom come in my heart, in all my relationships; let your will be done in me as it is in Heaven.  I want to see the Kingdom of God established in the earth.  Start with me!

WHO AM I

I’m June Crier and I just want to say that I am praying for Pedernales River Fellowship.  That means YOU reading this.  I want to see the dynamic work of the Holy Spirit fulfilled in you.  I am so filled with anticipation as to what God will ultimately do in the midst of a surrendered people.  Why not us?  Why not now?