This morning, we continue our series on “The Parables of Jesus.” We will seek to glean “Pearls from the Parables.”
Before we get to the parable, let’s look at a scripture we have been looking at all year. This is something I believe the Lord wants us to meditate on.
(Psalm 126:4 TPT)
Now, Lord, do it again! Restore us to our former glory! May streams of your refreshing flow over us until our dry hearts are drenched again.
This is a season of refreshing and restoring for us.
(Luke 13:6-9 NKJV)
6 He also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.
7 Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’
8 But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also until I dig around it and fertilize it.
9 And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that, you can cut it down.’ “
So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. God does not want you to waste His grace.
(a) God extends to you His grace.
— We are under a dispensation of God’s grace.
— The Law was given to us through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17).
— The Law was focused on man working for God. Grace is focused on God working for, in, with, and through man.
— Under the covenant of grace, human effort and power are not the issue because God provides all the power. The main issue under grace is cooperation.
— For God to fully operate in your life, He needs you to cooperate with Him. He will not force you to fulfill your purpose.
(b) God called you by grace, not by works (or your performance).
(1 Cor 15:10 ERV) But, because of God’s grace, that is what I am. And the grace that he gave me was not wasted. I worked harder than all the other apostles. (But I was not really the one working. It was God’s grace that was with me.)
– Paul came to understand God’s grace in an amazing way.
– Paul knew he had messed up more times than he wanted to remember.
– Paul had spent years on the wrong team, doing the wrong things.
– Paul PUT IN WORK, but he was doing the WRONG WORK!
– But God never allowed Paul’s mistakes to disqualify him from the plans He made for Paul from the foundations of the world!
– God looked past Paul’s mistakes and focused on Paul’s purpose.
(c) You get to decide what you will do with the grace God has bestowed upon you.
— The Apostle Paul is my favorite Bible character. I believe this is the case because he was determined to make the most of God’s grace towards him.
— He knew he was not worthy of the call, but God called him anyway.
— He wanted to work hard because he did not want God’s grace towards him to be wasted.
— God’s grace does not come BY work, but it surely comes FOR work!
— If you embrace God’s grace and allow Him to flow through you, you will work harder than you have ever worked without getting frustrated, disillusioned, or stressed out.
— The grace of God comes to empower you to do what God called you to do from the foundations of the world.
(d) The barren fig tree in the parable was wasting the grace of God.
(Luke 13:7 KJV)
Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’
The NIV says, “Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?”
— The tree owner (God, in the parable) was upset because the tree was “using up the soil.” It was wasting the grace.
— The tree was planted in a vineyard where grapes were blooming.
— The fact that the grapes were doing just fine was an indication that the soil was fertile, there was plenty of sunlight, and the rain was sufficient (to water the soil).
— The conditions were there. God had done His part. He provided sunlight, water, and fertile soil. Sadly, the tree was “sucking up” all the water and nutrients from the fertile soil, and the tree was bathing in sunlight, but it refused to produce fruit.
Side note: This tree reminds me of the Dead Sea.
— The Dead Sea is called “dead” because nothing can live in it.
— The reason why nothing can live in it is because of its high salinity.
— The amount of salt in the water prevents fish and aquatic plants from living in it.
— It has so much salt because it has several INPUTS but no OUTPUT!
— It is taking IN, but nothing is coming OUT. As a result, it is DEAD!
Going back to the fig tree:
— God was looking at this tree that He planted in His fertile vineyard, and He was upset because it was TAKING IN, but not PRODUCING OUT!
— God does not want you to be a TAKER, not a GIVER!
— He free gives you His grace, but He expects His grace to cause you to produce FRUIT!
— If you don’t, you are wasting the grace of God!
Now think about yourself:
— Just like God set the conditions for the success of the tree, God set your conditions for success.
— He has given you your own fertile soil, rainwater, and sunlight (whatever those may be in your life).
— Now, you may not like where you have been planted. You may not like your assignment. You may not be happy with your life. But if you allow your dissatisfaction to cause you to REFUSE to produce fruit, then you will have a bigger problem on your hands.
— You may not realize it, but like the tree in the parable, God is checking in on you.
— God is coming to your life from time to time, and He is checking in on your progress (or lack thereof).
— Like the tree in the parable, He is patient with you. But if you continue to REFUSE to produce, His patience will run out, and one day, you will have to give an account for what you did with the ONE LIFE He gave you.
— If you don’t check your attitude, submit to God, and humble yourself to embrace your assignment and the grace to perform it, you may waste God’s grace and your ONE CHANCE at life!
As I close the point, I plead with you. Please don’t waste God’s grace. Don’t let His grace towards you to be in vain!
2. God wants you to make the most of your connection to Him as your source!
God created everything to reproduce after its kind!
(Genesis 1:11,12 ERV)
11 Then God said, “Let the earth grow grass, plants that make grain, and fruit trees. The fruit trees will make fruit with seeds in it. And each plant will make its own kind of seed. Let these plants grow on the earth.” And it happened.
12 The earth grew grass and plants that made grain. And it grew trees that made fruit with seeds in it. Every plant made its own kind of seeds. And God saw that this was good.
— God made the earth, and He put inside of the earth what it needed to reproduce itself.
— Every plant on the earth reproduces after its own kind.
— An apple tree can never produce an orange because trees reproduce after their own kind.
— It’s the same with animals. A lion cannot give birth to an elephant because animals reproduce after their own kind.
(Genesis 1:20-22 ERV)
20 Then God said, “Let the water be filled with many living things, and let there be birds to fly in the air over the earth.”
21 So God created the large sea animals. He created all the many living things in the sea and every kind of bird that flies in the air. And God saw that this was good.
22 God blessed all the living things in the sea and told them to have many babies and fill the seas. And he blessed the birds on land and told them to have many more babies.
— God filled the earth with plants that thrive when connected to the soil. The plants literally come OUT of the soil, and they must stay connected to the soil in order to live.
— God filled the water with animals that thrive in the water. The animals came forth IN the water, so they must stay connected to the water in order to live.
— God filled the air with birds that thrive in the air. While birds can live on the ground, per se, they cannot fulfill their purpose on the ground. Birds are supposed to be in the air.
I believe you get the point.
— When it was time for the earth to produce every herb-yielding seed, God spoke to the earth.
— When it was time for the water to produce all the animals that live in the water, God spoke to the water.
— But when it was time for the earth to have HUMANS on it, to rule, govern, and dominate the planet, GOD SPOKE TO HIMSELF!
(Genesis 1:26-28 NKJV)
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
— When it came time for God to make MAN (male and female), He spoke to HIMSELF!
— We were created in HIS IMAGE and after HIS LIKENESS!
— If you disconnect a plant from the ground, it dies.
— If you disconnect a fish from the water, it dies.
— If you disconnect a bird from the air, it may not die, but it will not thrive.
— So when you disconnect a human from God, we are left with a hole that only God can fill.
Making the connection to the fig tree in the parable.
— The reason why the owner of the fig tree (God) was so upset was because the fig tree was connected to the source (the earth), and it was SUCKING UP resources without PRODUCING anything!
— It was wasting the grace.
— In the same way, when you watch Today’s Word every weekday morning, go to church every Sunday morning, and attend Bible Study every Wednesday night, you are using your direct connection to God as your source!
— Further, when you pray every day, you call out to Him when you need Him, and He responds, you are using God as your source!
— But if God sees you keep SUCKING UP resources without PRODUCING anything, there will come a day when He says, “CUT IT DOWN! It is using up the source!”
In closing,
— Condors your ways this morning.
— Are you TAKING IN from God without producing anything OUT?
— God loves being your source. But He does not want His grace towards you to be in vain.
— He wants you to use Him as your source, but He also wants you to PRODUCE something with what He has given you! Think about that as you go into the weekend!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, this is a season of refreshing and restoring for me! I boldly declare:
I acknowledge that You do not want me to waste Your grace.
I commit to cooperating with You, Father, for I know You won’t force me to fulfill my purpose.
Like Paul, I will not let the grace You have given me be in vain. I will work diligently, recognizing it’s Your grace working through me.
Father, I choose to make the most of the grace You have bestowed upon me.
I will not be a mere taker, but I will also be a giver, producing fruit in alignment with Your will.
I understand that You check in on my progress, and I am determined to show growth and fruitfulness.
I will not waste the one life You have given me.
I am created in Your image and likeness, and I will stay connected to You, my source.
As I reflect on my life, I pledge to make the most of my connection to You, ensuring that Your grace towards me is never in vain.
Living with this mindset, I know GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
