The Divine Purpose of the Sabbath

Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God. But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” As he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame, and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him (Luke 13:10-17).

The Sabbath was made for disciples. Evidence that we are born again is an increasing desire to worship and glorify God. True disciples yearn for the Sabbath because we eagerly seek and enjoy fellowshipping with each other, worshipping the Lord together, and giving God the glory He deserves from His Church. Like this disabled woman, we should expect God to deal with anything that hinders us from fully entering into the divine purpose of His Sabbath because He has commanded us to keep it… “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8) and to enter fully into the blessings of it… “Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience” (Hebrews 4:11). When God works through the preaching, fellowship, and serving of true disciples to grant revelation, healing, deliverance, or any other miracle on His Sabbath, He is reaffirming and confirming the word of His Son… “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27-28). When we obey His commandment to honor His day of rest, God loves to reveal the divine purpose of the Sabbath.

The Sabbath was made for worship. We notice that Jesus was “in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath”. You’ve heard me tell you often that the life of discipleship in its simplest terms is becoming more like Christ. Our Teacher, the Holy Spirit affirms this truth through the pen of the Apostle Paul… “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). Jesus forever connected the Sabbath with the Lord’s Day through His resurrection on the first day of the week and the earliest disciples made it their day of worship and rest… “On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight” (Acts 20:7). Jesus shows us with His presence and teaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath that we should be gathered together in the Lord’s house on the Lord’s Day to hear the Lord’s Word.

The Sabbath was made for glory. Just as everything else, the Sabbath exists for the glory of God… “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever” (Romans 11:36). There are few things that glorify God more clearly and effectively than His Church gathered together, seeking, worshipping, and serving Him on His special day… “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 4:10-11). Maturing disciples have learned that the habit of resting in the Lord on the Lord’s Day encourages the habit of trusting and resting in the Lord every day… “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his” (Hebrews 4:9-10). The resting in Christ life of a true disciple is shaped and maintained by the spiritual discipline of careful and regular observance of a Sabbath on the Lord’s Day.

As we grow up into Christ, we become more like Him as we discover and experience…

The Divine Purpose of the Sabbath.

The Persistence of God's Fruit Bearing Grace

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 vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this 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’” (Luke 13:6-9).

The life of Christian discipleship s all about bearing fruit that glorifies God. Earlier in this gospel, the Spirit inspired Luke to record Jesus’ exhortations to His disciples to bear fruit that pleases and glorifies God. With the Teacher’s help we’ve examined the teaching and the heart that bear fruit. Today we discover more truth about bearing fruit. Today Jesus tells a parable that shows that bearing spiritual fruit is the result of God’s persistent work in the believer’s heart. Scripture often describes the children of Israel like a tree planted by God to bring Him glory… “They may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified” (Isaiah 61:3). The Spirit inspired Paul to teach that like branches grafted into a well cultivated olive tree, born again disciples are part of the children of Israel through faith in Christ… “You, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree” (Romans 11:17). Therefore, the lesson of this parable about a fruit-bearing tree is for true disciples. Jesus wants us to bear fruit that glorifies God… “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples” (John 15:8). Jesus encouraged His disciples with this parable about the persistence of God’s fruit bearing grace.

God is persistent in His planting of fruit bearing disciples. The parable says that it was the owner’s good pleasure and choice to plant a fig tree in the middle of his vineyard. Now a vineyard is a plantation of grapevines, especially one producing grapes for winemaking. It was unusual for someone to plant a fig tree in a vineyard because this kind of tree required lots of nutrients from the ground and would steal those nutrients from the grapevines. This owner must have really liked figs, but when the tree did not bear fruit he was forced to remove it from the vineyard so his grapes could thrive again. What a beautiful picture of God planting His born again children in the midst of a rebellious world, so we might brighten the darkness around us…”That you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15). As we bear fruit that glorifies God we light up our world… “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

God is persistent in His pursuit of fruit bearing disciples. With the words “For three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree” Jesus identifies the owner of the vineyard as God who traveled from heaven to earth and spent three years seeking out true disciples… “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). With the words of the vinedresser Jesus included the nurturing work of the Holy Spirit in helping disciples to bear fruit … “Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure” The Spirit is relentless in exhorting us to grow up into fruit bearing disciples of Christ… “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).

God is persistent in His pruning of fruit bearing disciples. Jesus spoke about the indispensable work of pruning elsewhere in His teaching… “Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (John 15:2). Note that it is the fruit bearing branch that gets the most pruning. Fruit bearing disciples experience the most difficult, faith perfecting trials in this life… “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4).

As we grow up into Christ, we increasingly bear fruit that glorifies God because of…

The Persistence of God’s Fruit Bearing Grace.

The Indispensability of Repentance

“There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:1-5).

John Wesley wrote that repentance is true self-knowledge, in that it shows us, even before we have come to faith, just how corrupt and sinful we are. “Know that corruption of thy inmost nature, whereby thou are very far gone from original righteousness,” Wesley wrote. “Know that thou are corrupted in every power, in every faculty of the soul, that thou art totally corrupted in every one of these, all the foundations being out of course.” When we are confronted by the consequences of sin and the true condition of our soul we gain a heightened appreciation of the indispensability of repentance.

Jesus is patient about repentance. The Spirit inspired Luke to remember and record for us a parable that revealed Jesus as the patient vinedresser… “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 vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this 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.’” (Luke 13:6-9). Christ came into our world to prompt us to confession and repentance that we might be born again and begin to bear fruit worthy of that repentance. That God sent His Son is a revelation of His patience.

Jesus is persistent toward repentance. When the Pharisees ordered Him to leave Jerusalem, Jesus answered with a clear declaration of His persistence toward the repentance of Jerusalem and its citizens… “Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” (Luke 13:33-34). Christ would not leave our world until He was lifted up as a call to repentance and forgiveness on Calvary’s cross. That He was undeterred by any earthly opposition is a revelation of Christ’s persistence.

Jesus is the pattern for repentance. The life of Christian discipleship in its simplest form is becoming more like Christ… “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40). Acknowledging that it’s not easy, Jesus still commands us to imitate His patience and persistence toward others as we prompt them toward repentance and forgiveness… “Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him” (Luke 17:3-4). The pattern for overcoming sin through genuine repentance is revealed through genuine disciples as we stay close to Christ and draw others closer to Him!

The place of repentance in God’s salvation plan is revealed in the great prayer of a humble tax collector… “The tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’” (Luke 18:13). We are saved when God gives us the grace to…

Confess: Agree with the truth that we are infected by sin

Repent: Adjust our attitude and thinking about sin

Believe: Affirm that our sin nature has been buried with Christ and we are raised to a new life in Him!

As we grow up into Christ, our walk with Him should increasingly reveal to a lost and fallen world…

The Indispensability of Repentance.

The Judgment that Belongs to Us

“And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny” (Luke 12:57-59).

Over and over again God’s Word tells us that true disciples have been born again into a whole new life… “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Our baptism is a picture of the end of our old life and the beginning of our new life in Christ… “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). Evidence of the new birth is the grace of God working in us to empower us to live a raised life, a life that is raised above and beyond the corrupt and imperfect ways of the world… “Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.  They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart” (Ephesians 4:17-18). The raised life increasingly reflects the life of our Teacher, Jesus Christ to the dark and needy world around us… “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40). In today’s discourse, Jesus teaches that broken relationships, damaged even to the point of litigation, are opportunities for true disciples to show the difference that walking with Christ makes. Evidence of maturing discipleship is rejecting the imperfect judgment of the world and trusting the judgment that belongs to us.

Because we have confronted and confessed our sin we know the weight of guilt. The cause of brokenness in relationships is sin. Unconfessed sin infects the heart with guilt… “For your name’s sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great” (Psalm 25:11). True disciples agree with the Holy Spirit inspired declaration of David that unresolved offenses lead to the kind of guilt that inhibits our fellowship with God and with each other… “Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me” (Psalm 51:11). The world’s judgment deals with the circumstances of the offense while the judgment that belongs to us deals with the hearts of the offenders and seeks the restoration of relationships as well as the pursuit of justice.

Because Christ lives in us we know the wealth of forgiveness. True disciples never forget the debt that God has forgiven us in Christ… “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Being ever mindful of the great forgiveness Christ has granted to us should compel us to seize every opportunity to share that kind of forgiveness with others… “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). Jesus taught that freely given forgiveness is confirming evidence that we’ve truly experienced His forgiveness… “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15). The world’s judgment is concerned with recompense and retribution while the judgment that belongs to us is an opportunity to show others the depth of forgiveness we have in Christ.

We know the wisdom of the one true Judge. No earthly judge can ever uncover all the details of a case. Each litigant presents the facts with a personal bias… “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him” (Proverbs 18:17). Only God knows every detail and the motivation of the hearts involved in every case… “The Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10). Only God can give perfect justice in every case… “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God” (1 Corinthians 2:12). The judgment of the world in imperfect but the judgment that belongs to us reveals and delivers the wisdom of God.

As we grow up into Christ, we learn to resolve conflicts and preserve relationships by relying upon…

The Judgment that Belongs to Us.