December 17 sermon What Must We Do Luke 3 Philippians 4

December 17 sermon What Must We Do Luke 3 Philippians 4

Last week I decided I needed to talk to a councilor on authority and what it means to be a leader. I went to this one office complex. As I walked in, on the right there was a door with “Psycho-analyst” on it, and on the left there was a door with “Psychologist” on it. Well since I didn’t know the difference, I counted the letters in the title and with Psychoanalyst having more letters I went in that door. In the next room I was confronted with two more doors. The first said “with a couch” and the second said “without a couch”. Figuring I had come this far and wanted to be comfortable while talking about authority and leadership I went in the “couch” door. There I was confronted with two more doors. The first said “over $200k a year” and the second said “under $200k a year”. Well knowing I won’t be making over $200k this year of next year, I went in the “under $200k” door. There I found myself outside once again.


John the Baptist has more guts than I do. He has a crowd around him and he starts calling them a bunch of snakes. The scum of the earth. I don’t know if I would want to make a crowd of people angry at me by calling them names like that. Who were these crowds??

They were the Pharisees that Jesus railed against. But also, I think these were people like you and me who want to see what’s going on. They wanted to hear what this wild man wearing animal skin was saying. He speaks with authority, even though he doesn’t look like someone we would normally follow.



Most of the time we will follow those who are like us or those who don’t step on our toes too much or make us question ourselves. I’ve heard some men say about their pastors “thank God it’s not a woman”. I’ve heard some women say “Thank God he’s not a commanding authoritative type”. But authority comes from God.

And those we submit to (ooohhh there’s that word we hate to hear…”submit”). Each of us has to submit to our spiritual leader in the church. I have to submit to God himself. God has authority over me and all my actions.

John the Baptist was the same way. He called out this uncommitted crowd and threw them under the bus.
“Who told you to run from the coming destruction?” That is definitely putting them on the spot. Are you coming to listen to me because you are truly repentant of all the things you have done in your past, or are you doing this because it is popular??

It was not too long ago that Scientology was at the top of the religion craze of celebrities and everyone who wanted to be like a celebrity. I’m not sure who started it going, but Madonna seems to have made Kabala a household name. There’s a teller at my bank that has one of those high dollar red strings on his wrist. There’s always a new fad going around.

John is asking the question “are you repentant, or are you just following the crowd?” The people were saying to each other “how can he talk this way. WE are the chosen ones from Abraham. We don’t need to run from any destruction.” But John overheard them.

“Don’t claim Abraham as your father. These stones scattered around my feet might as well be the children of Abraham the way y’all are acting.” What kind of fruit are you producing? The Christian equivalent of “we have Abraham as our father” is “we have Christ as our savior.”

Now, Christ is necessary for salvation, but if you have Christ, you also should produce good fruit. Another way to say it is “I was raised in the church and have been a member of my church all my life”. Just like I heard not too long ago that “Going to church makes you a Christian like going in a garage makes you a car.” True Christianity is in the fruit production.

The ax is at the root of the family tree now. Your roots are where you get your nutrition and the way you are connected to the proper source. Since this crowd has not produced any good fruit, they will be cut down and thrown into the fire. On the other hand, if their roots and your roots are connected to the proper person, good fruit will automatically be produced.

Root can also mean the hidden parts of our lives. It’s that “below the surface” stuff that eyes around us cannot see. The ax isn’t a pruning tool. It’s going straight to the hidden stuff of our lives and kills it right there.

What should we do, the crowd asks. And I love the answer from John. He does not say 1. Go to church every week, 2. Make sure you give exactly 10% of your money to God, 3. Wear the proper clothes to your gatherings, 4. Pray to God 5 times a day.

No…he says “if you have 2 shirts, share with the man who has none. If you have food, give some to the one who doesn’t have any.” He is telling them what a true New Testament church should look like. To the tax collectors, don’t collect more money than is expected of you. To the soldiers, don’t shake down the people to get more money.

What is he telling these people? Be content with your work and your pay if it will support you. Don’t drop everything and quit your job for some spiritual quest. Use the mundane part of your life (that’s usually work) and do what it takes to help others.

What should we do, they ask? There is a big word in that question. It’s WE. It wasn’t individual, but corporal and communal. WE are in this together. What should WE do?
John says to Buck the system. Do things differently than everyone else around you.

Could John be the messiah?? Overhearing their words, John yells out. Wake up, I’m not the messiah. But he is coming. He is greater and stronger than me, and I am not worthy to untie his sandals. Untying sandals and washing feet was a menial task suited only for slaves, yet John says he is not worthy to be a slave of the coming Messiah, Jesus.

John understood the authority given to him. He had authority to step on the toes of those people around him. But one greater than John with authority over him was coming. And when Jesus comes, he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Just like we talked about last week, those who are righteous will sense the comfort of the Spirit. Those who are unrighteous will experience the cleansing fire.

So what is left…and listen carefully because John says this is the Good News. In Verse 17, Jesus has the fork in hand ready to gather the wheat into the barn. The farmer takes the fork, scoops up a bunch of hay and throws it up in the air. All the chaff, the useless stuff (yes I said useless) gets separated out and blown away from the pile of wheat, and then gets thrown in the fire. The heavy stuff of actual substance stays and gets put in the barn for real use. John is saying the same for us.
If there is real spiritual substance in our lives, we will stay in the barn and be of good use. If our spiritual life is all fluff with no substance, it will be blown straight to the fire.

What should we do today? Have substance in our spiritual lives and how we live that life out. It’s not just having Christ, it’s living Christ. Show unity and be of one mind in following the mission of the church. And what is the mission of the church? To make disciples of Jesus Christ. The spiritual authority above us must be true and must be followed. And we should look to John. Share with those who have none. Give to those who need, without hesitation.

John was the voice calling out from the wilderness, and now Jesus has come. Tonight we will be going thru the whole story. Prophecies fulfilled. An era of grace comes upon us. And a baby is born, who must have authority over all of us. And we submit to his will, to share the Good News. And it is Good News indeed.