Faith Fruit

Biblical Text: Luke 12:16-21

“[Jesus] spake a parable unto them saying, ‘The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, ‘This will I do: I will pull down my barns and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul , thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou Fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then who’s shall those things be, which thou has provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

I can remember buying a banana that was a little green so it was not ripe yet. So I put it on the counter to let it ripen. A few days later I noticed some fruit flies flying around the house…and it suddenly dawned on me that I had forgotten about my now rotting banna. That’s what happens to fruit that is not eaten. It rots. And when it rots, it’s useless to anyone but the flies.

The man in our text had fruit. He had so much fruit that his barn couldn’t hold it all. So he decided to keep it all for himself. I hope the fruit in his barn were nuts or grains, because if it was fruit like my banana, it was going to rote.

The Greek word for fruit is “harpazo” which means plucked. This man had his servants pluck his fields clean and carry the hoard to his barn. When he realized he had more fruit than room in his barn…what did he do? He built a bigger barn. The more God blessed him, the greedier he got.

Now there’s something to be said about good planning for tomorrow. We make plans for our children’s college; we make plans for vacation; and if we’re responsible citizens, we make plans for retirement. But these plans assume there will be a tomorrow. We make plans as though tomorrow will come. This man did too. He planned as though tomorrow was promised. But, as we saw in the text, tomorrow DID NOT come. And unfortunately, he forgot about the most important plan of all…life after death.

Jesus is telling this parable in our text. It was motivated by a man who approached Jesus and said, “Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.” You see, in those days, the first born received the bulk of the family inheritance. This man who approached Jesus was obviously not first in line, so he wanted Jesus to get involved…to override the Mosaic Law of inheritance and demand what he felt was his fair share of his father’s estate from his brother.

Admit it. We get it. A family’s inheritance can bring out the worst in us too. If we lived in those days, there would be a lot of family fights. When loved ones pass on, grief often gives way to greed. It’s easy to divide up the bank account if there is one. But who gets the China? Who gets the jewelry? Who gets the car? Who gets the house? I’ve even read of a family splitting over who gets the fishing poles! Many a family feuds has been stirred by covetousness or greed.

Before Jesus begins his parable, He says, “Take Heed; and beware of covetousness; for a man’s life consists not in the abundance of things which he possesses.” And then He tells the story of the man who planned for a tomorrow that never came…a man who made NO PLANS for a tomorrow that was certain to come.

Jesus is using this parable as a warning. We’ve all got fruit. You’ve got fruit. I’ve got fruit. We all have fruit. I want preach to you today from this subject, FAITH FRUIT. There are three things about your faith fruit that you need to know.

First, your faith fruit is God’s investment in you.

When you accepted Christ as your Savior, God planted a seed in you that He expects to see grow. But to grow, it needs nurturing. If you put a seed in the ground, and you don’t water it, that seed will rot right where you planted it. And if you water it, but don’t fertilize it, you won’t get much of a yield. The same is true of your faith. Your faith grows as you allow the Holy Spirit to water it and fertilize it. Stagnant fruit just rots.

According to Exodus 12:13, it’s the “blood” that keeps us from falling prey to the rottenness of life. It’s certainly not your good intentions. Life is full of those. There are times you intended to go to church, but something else came up. You intended to go to bible study, but your job is exhausting. You intended to start tithing this year, but your financial priorities have changed. Good intentions, if not attended, can melt faster than ice cream on a hot summer day.

God has invested His Spirit within you. He wants to make some changes in you. He wants to replace your discord with His harmony…. Your darkness with His light… Your poison with His purity… Your miseries with His miracles. But you’ve got to be open to receive all that the LORD has in store for you. He doesn’t just want to wash away your sins; He wants to change your heart. He doesn’t just want to lift you from the gutter; He wants to put you on a pedestal. He doesn’t just want to cleanse you from corruption: He wants to give you a new mind that is fixed on Him. Man can invest in you, but his investment will fall short of God’s glory. No mentor, no matter how earnest his desire, can do what God can do for you. Philosophers can try to endow you with wisdom, but man’s wisdom falls short. Scientists can empower you with knowledge, but man’s knowledge is lacking. Physicians can point you toward good health, but man’s balm is not from Gilead. If you want to receive the most out of this life, only God can set you on the narrow path that leads to a full life in Christ.

Your faith fruit is God’s investment in you.

Second, God’s investment in you is meant to be shared.

The faith fruit God nurtures in you is not meant to be hoarded. It is meant to be shared. In fact, it won’t grow unless it is shared. When we share our faith, God blesses us more abundantly. What we do with that abundance displays our real faith. Fruit is best when it is sliced up and shared with others. It’s best when it’s scattered rather than stashed.

Some Believers who may not have much money still have fruit. In fact, all of us have an abundance of the most precious fruit of all. It’s far more precious than money. We have a whole basket full of fruit. If you are saved the fruit of your faith is “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance.” (Galatians 5:22-23) And there is no law that says we can’t spread this fruit around. When we spread our faith, we fulfill Christ’s command to “Go and teach” or share our faith in Jesus Christ with some sinner who needs to hear a Word from the Lord. (Matthew 28:19).

Let’s get back to this man in the parable. God made an investment in this man. He bestowed great responsibility on him. But this man didn’t do anything to grow the investment God made in him. He sat on his blessing. He could have fed the hungry, but he didn’t. He could have sold his excess and pay his tithes, but he didn’t. He could have given to the poor, but he didn’t.

Sometimes we can be like that. We might have a nice savings account, but we’ve been “tithing” on the pay we made 20 years ago. We might have a nice, new car, but we seldom offer a ride to a to bring someone to church. We throw good food away just because we can. We’ve got lots of excess, but like the man in the parable, we hoard it rather than share it.

Your blessings are your faith fruit. They are meant to be shared…not stored. If you hold too much back, it may just rot.

God’s investment in you is meant to be shared.

Finally, your faith fruit is meant to prepare your future.

Death shows no partiality. It doesn’t care if you are wealthy or poor. It doesn’t matter if you are high on the social ladder or struggling at the bottom rung. When the end comes…and it will…you will GO.

The man in the parable assumed he had a long life ahead of him. He thought his “tomorrow” was promised. But Jesus called him a fool. He wasn’t a fool because he built a bigger barn. It’s okay to plan for your future if you plan right. This man did the unthinkable. He forgot GOD! He willingly put himself in first place and put God in second place, or third place…or no place at all. God does not want to be second place with any man. He must be first in all things.

You can save all your blessings and put them in “barns” of your choosing… social security, investment accounts, insurance policies, real estate, or even your worn-out old mattress. And then you can eat, drink and be merry…for a time. But the time will come when God will require your soul. That’s when God will assess your faith fruit. Did you greedily stash it or did you compassionately scatter it? Did you hoard it, or did you heed Christ’s command to “feed” His sheep?

The man in the parable planned for everything but eternity. The scripture does not spell out where he would spend eternity, but we can guess, because Jesus called him a FOOL. Fools don’t invest in eternity with Christ. They just invest in today.

Your faith fruit is meant to prepare your future.

Acts, chapter 5 tells the story of a couple named Ananias and Sapphira, who had their future all planned. They thought they had many years ahead of them, and they thought they knew better than God what they needed. When it came time to give a portion of God’s blessings to the church, they lied about their assets. They lied to the disciples; they lied to the church; and they lied to the Holy Ghost. When the Apostle Peter called them out for their deception, he said, “…Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.” (Acts 5:4). Ananias and Sapphira died within hours of each other.

If you knew that you were going to die tomorrow, what changes would you make? Have you allowed the LORD to invest in you, by accepting His Son as your Savior? Have you grown that investment by learning, and then sharing with others the goodness of God? Has your faith fruit prepared you for your eternal future? Tomorrow is not promised. We have only right now. With your faith fruit… There is a commitment to be made. There is a goal to be reached. There is a habit to be broken. There is fruit to be shared. There is talent to be used. There is service to be rendered. There is a course to be completed. There is a Savior to be celebrated!

Don’t hoard your blessings. Heed God’s command to “give, and it shall be given unto you.” Don’t store your faith…SHARE your faith…in every form possible. For tomorrow is not promised.