Today's Passage - Luke 13:6-9

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Luke 13:6-9   Then he told this parable: 'A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any.  So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, "For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?"  '"Sir," the man replied, "leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it.  If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down."'   Many years ago, when I was studying theology in a little town called Paradise in Pennsylvania, there was a large and flourishing fig tree in front of my house that never had fruits.  It was particularly disappointing because the tree had lots of branches and leaves, but no fruits.  Whenever I think of it, I also think of the parable that the Lord preached here.   Many Christians are like this fig tree, for they occupy land for no purpose.  At the surface, many people look blessed by God in all aspects of life, and they love one another.  But are they preaching the gospel and bearing fruits for the Lord?  Spreading the gospel is actually the primary responsibility of the church; if a church doesn't spread the gospel, it will become a club that only cares about itself, but not caring about others.  That is not the will of God.  When Jesus resurrected and ascended to heaven, He clearly told us to "go and make disciples of all nations."   God asked us to "go", to enter the world and bring people back before God.  The Church Growth Institute in the U.S. has conducted a survey of more than 4000 new believers, asking them how they started attending church.  Six to eight percent said they walked into a church by themselves, two to three percent was attracted by church programs, six to eight percent was drawn by the sermon or fame of the pastor, three to four percentage because of special needs, such as illness, but 70 to 80 percent of the people came to church because they were invited by family or friends.  From the result of this survey, we can see that every one of us is important in the ministry of the gospel.  As long as we can do the best we can, we will be able to see how God accomplish His miraculous work through us.     Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, please forgive us, because for many years we were like fig trees that don't bear fruit.  In the Kingdom of God, many of us have been occupying land with no purpose.  May the Spirit of the Lord encourage us, help us to understand God's will, so that we will actively share your precious good news with the family and friends around us.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!