September 03, 2018
I AM PERSUADED THAT HE IS ABLE:
TO CUT DOWN OUR TREE
Matthew 3:10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I,…
In this chapter, John the Baptist is busy about being the forerunner to Jesus, preaching and baptizing. I obviously do not know John, and have never met John, but I like him. John was just who he was, no show or thrills, and his only agenda was pointing people to Christ. John probably never read “How to Win Friends and Influence People”, and he did not take a course on how to act and dress like a Baptist, but John told it like it was. While John was ministering and baptizing, he noticed that some Pharisees were showing up at the baptism, and when they did, John let those religious hypocrites have it.
These Pharisees were pretty proud of their religious accomplishments. They were proud of the reputations they had built. They were proud of their knowledge and education. They had built quite a little religious portfolio. Then John really ticked them off. John said, “the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire”. No, he didn’t! John told them they had grown and built a nice “tree” that was producing fleshly fruit. John also told them that Jesus was going to take an axe to their little tree and cut it down, along with any other tree that was not bringing forth good fruit. God would rather see repentance and humility than any religious or moral accomplishment you could think of. We cannot trust in our self-built “trees”. We need to get over our pride saturated religious formalities, and get back to true, Holy Ghost repentance.
John tells them that if they do not like what he is saying, just wait. “He that comes after me is mightier than I.”
I want to remind you today, fellow believer, God can chop down your tree. We get pretty proud of the fruit that is coming off of our trees but is it Godly fruit or flesh generated fruit. God knows the difference, so may we repent in humility, and allow God to bring forth “good fruit” in our life.