Give it Another Year (7-Jan-2024)

Ps Leo T Mukumba

Give it Another Year (7-Jan-2024).pdf

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Title: Give it Another Year (Luke 13:7-9)

Introduction:

• In the garden of our lives, many find themselves entangled, caught off guard, or even caught sleeping amidst life's overwhelming challenges.

• As we cultivate the Garden of Faith we need to watchful of the Trap of Hypocrisy.

1. The Trap of Hypocrisy:

• Recognize the tree of hypocrisy in our lives. A hypocrite, despite religious pretense, lacks true virtue and belief.

• Challenge ourselves to inspect our hearts, seeking the Lord's grace to praise Him genuinely with both lips and hearts.

• Many people don’t live life as they ought because they’re overwhelmed, surprised, or preoccupied with the things they face in life.

• They get caught up, caught off guard, or caught sleeping.

• This tree has got hypocrisy.

• A hypocrite is someone who pretends to have religious belief and virtue but doesn’t.

• There are a lot of professing Christians who claim to know God but can’t tell you much about Jesus or what he demands.

• Our challenge is to avoid being one of them.

• We must inspect our hearts for any measure of hypocrisy.

• We should ask the Lord to prevent us from praising him with our lips while our hearts are far from him.

• Let us ask him for grace to praise him with our hearts first and also with the fruit of our lips.

• Martin Luther wrote that when Jesus said “Repent,” he meant repent and keep on repenting.

• Acknowledge the need to continually work on ourselves, preventing harsh judgment and cultivating a spirit of repentance.

3. Time for Grace:

• Understand the significance of not abusing the time for grace. Time is a gift; let's use it wisely to foster spiritual growth.

• Commit to working the garden of our souls – watering, adding spiritual nutrients, and loosening the soil through prayer and devotion.

• This probable reminds of the work that we need to keep on doing to ourselves to prevent harsh judgement on ourselves.

• It reminds us not to abuse the time for grace.

• It reminds us to keep on working the garden, watering it, adding manure and loosening soil to produce fruit.

• When Christ comes, he will look for fruit in us.

4. The Fig Tree Symbolism:

• The fig tree symbolizes religious people in Jesus’s day.

• They were given opportunity to produce fruit.

• They were only worth something if they did produce fruit.

• A good tree produces good fruit, but if it doesn’t, it will be cut down.

• Good tree produces good fruit, and fruitlessness may lead to spiritual consequences.

5. The Patience of the Lord:

• The Lord is being patient. He gives more time.

• He waits for his servants to bear fruit.

• But he will not always wait.

• He will not always be patient.

• One day he will inspect us for fruit.

• The question is: Will we be fruit bearing, or will we be fruitless?

• The Lord is patient and allows time for His servants to bear fruit.

• His patience will not last indefinitely; one day, when he inspect us.

• The fruit needs be cultivated.

6. The Call for One More Year:

• There are some trees that the Lord have send me for at our assembly.

• I have asked that he give me one more year preaching and praying for you.

• Recognize the specific trees the Lord has entrusted to our care in this assembly.

• Embrace the plea for one more year – a call to preach, pray, and work together in the garden of faith.

7. Joint Efforts for Fruitfulness:

• Some needs to say I will work on the garden.

• We will see fruit because we are working the garden.

• Commit to working collectively on the spiritual garden.

• Understand that our joint efforts will yield fruit as we dedicate ourselves to the labor of love and devotion.

• Let us respond to the call to give it another year, cultivating our faith, and producing the fruits that will stand as a testament to our genuine connection with the Lord.

• Together, as we work the garden of our souls, we shall see abundant fruitfulness.