The Fruit from the Root of Evil

English Standard Version Chapter 5

Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. 4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.

{Tell the story about money. Josh wanted to know which car I would buy if I were rich}

Why did I have to make this conversation so serious? Why did I have to take all of the fun out of it?

We live in a Utilitarian Culture; meaning that a person or an object is only as valuable as its usefulness. There used to be a time when if the sole of your shoes began to wear down, you would go to a shoe repair shop and get them resole. But shoes are so cheap and cheaply made, it makes more sense to just throw the old away and get new ones. If your phone breaks or old, don’t fix it throw it away and get a new one. Marriage breaks get a divorce and find a new one. To replace all of this broken stuff, it takes money. The more money we get the more we can replace what’s broken. Then greed creeps in and it all falls apart.

In greed, you learn to love money and use people. In Christ its the other way around!

Well here’s the thing. Greed doesn’t pop up out of the blue. When we are toddlers, greed is cute. When we are kids, greed is worrisome. When we are teens, greed is troubling. When we become adults, greed is downright evil.

I could have ignored the conversation. But if I let my son explore the boundaries of a selfish desire for wealth, I would have let that corrupt vine grow that would be easy to pluck from his heart today. In the future that bad vine will produce bad fruit.

In greed, you learn to love money and use people. In Christ its the other way around! You love people and use money!

We pick up in , where the hard work of Spirit-led heart surgery is beginning to happen. So let me say ahead of time. This is a crowd-thinning, convicting sermon and let me tell you that the blade cuts both ways. Trust me when I say, that I am a work in progress too. That should keep me from preaching, but I’ve learned that God uses crooked sticks to draw straight lines

Pastor Brian couldn’t have picked a more difficult body of text to give me. Somebody remind me to drink a soda in front of him the next time I see him. Better yet, I’ll put a case of water on his desk as a welcome home present.

You’ the way you handle your business/personal relationships, and what you do with your stuff. Those are very difficult topics that some people get very defensive about.

James 5:1–6 ESV

Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.

English Standard Version Chapter 5

5 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. 4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.

to

You may be thinking I picked a bad Sunday to come to church. Here we go talking about money. Let me give some disclaimers:

I am not getting paid to deliver this message

In order to get a better grasp of , let’s begin with . Why? The words are inspired by God, chapter and verse isn’t. By God’s grace we have them to help us better navigate scripture. And if you’re not careful, you will find yourself cherry-picking scripture out and forming bad theology. When it comes to money, the last thing we need is bad theology.

English Standard Version Chapter 4

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Warning to the Rich

5 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. 4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.

Paul says in that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. What happens in these verses are the fruit that comes from the person who has allowed selfish greed take over… and let me tell you that greed isn’t limited to those in certain tax brackets. Selfish greed is prevalent in all race and socioeconomic classes.

Let me do some housekeeping. I believe that before we set off on any journey that starting from the same location helps.

The title of my sermon is The Fruit from the Root of Evil

Let me do some housekeeping. I believe that before we set off on any journey that starting from the same location helps.

Let us pray

Let me do some housekeeping. I believe that before we set off on any journey that starting from the same location helps.

The worst thing to happen to Christianity is the Prosperity Gospel. How do I know? I was a part of a church in it. Name it, claim it. Blab it and grab it. That was me. I understand the subtle way scripture is twisted and used to manipulate people to put some distance between them and their money. Let me say that Jesus didn’t die so you can have your best life now. He died so you may have eternal life and life more abundant, not in riches but in more Jesus.

The prosperity gospel is a false gospel because it feeds our fleshly desire for health, wealth, and more stuff. When Jesus is preached in that way, we take Him off the cross as savior and put Him in a bottle as our personal genie.

Does God bless us in those areas? Yes. Pray and believe. But as you see it scripture, it is as He wills not as we demand.

Then on the flip-side of prosperity gospel is the poverty gospel. This pendulum-swing away from prosperity to poverty is just as destructive and just as unbiblical. Solomon was the richest man to ever live and David was rich also and was called a man after God’s own heart. In the early church, wealthy people were a part of the reason the gospel had spread all over the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Europe.

Let me state the obvious by saying that you don’t have to be rich to be greedy.

So let’s start in the Gospel Middle where God’s will is. The Gospel Middle is where Paul says that we learn how to be content, because in reality the very person that is popping bottles today may be the person asking for change on the corner tomorrow. So no matter where you fall in the spectrum of being in the upper or lower class, we all need Jesus and if you have him then you already have it all. Amen

The w

To better understand what James addresses, let us go back to the gospels. Let’s go to

To better understand what James addresses, let us go back to the gospels. Let’s go to 2

Matthew 19:16–22 ESV

And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Point 1: Beware of Making Bad Investments

The rich young man asks a question, get a honest response, but doesn’t like what he has to do next.

To better understand this text, it is important that we look at it from the full counsel of God’s word.

English Standard Version Chapter 19

16 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

The rich young man asks a question, get a honest response, but doesn’t like what it means.

Jesus quotes six of the 10 commandments. He more than likely gave him the commandments he kept. One of those missing commandments is the first; which is “You shall have no other gods before me”.

He comes to Jesus because he wants to go to Heaven. He wants to live forever. He has found the right person, asked the right question, but didn’t like the answer.

Jesus knew that on the pedestal of his heart was an idol called money…

What is that thing that controls your thoughts, your actions, your checkbook?

Coming to Jesus

English Standard Version Chapter 6

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:24 ESV

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

English Standard Version Chapter 6

24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

Point 1: Money is a great servant and a terrible master

One of the more recent inventions of Christianity from the late 1800 to early 1900 was the invention of The Sinner’s Prayer. On the surface it seems pretty harmless. Believe in your heart and confess with your mouth and botta bing botta boom you’re saved. You’ve locked God into a verbal contract, found the fine print, and now he has to honor the fact that said the right series of words to get into Heaven. I’m being sarcastic, but the good new is that the Sinner’s Prayer acknowledges that Jesus is Savior. The bad news is that once they walk away from the emotional response to the gospel, Jesus demands that you obey him as Lord.

Jesus is both Savior and Lord. You don’t get one without the other. He saves us from our sin, but the story doesn’t end there. He saves us for His plans and purposes as He commands.

The rich young man accepted Jesus the Savior, but walked away from Jesus the Lord.

Lets look at the different ways money tries to lord over us and what Jesus says:

Money says, I will provide security. Jesus says, I will fight your battles.

Money says, I will make you happy. Jesus says, I will give you joy.

Money says, the more of me you have, the more you will enjoy life. Jesus says, I will give you life and life more abundantly.

Money says, protect me from being taken away. Jesus says, I will never leave you or forsake you.

Money says, I can put you on top. Jesus says, I am above and before all things

Back to . This person characterized here is much like the the rich young man. This person has let their greed take control of their life and it has even effected the people around them.

English Standard Version Chapter 5

5 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days.

English Standard Version Chapter 5

5 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. 4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you

This person has chosen to serve money and in the end they have left a trail of destruction behind them because money was their master.

The following verses

Let’s look at Matthew 24:45-51

Matthew 24:45–51 ESV

“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

5-51

English Standard Version Chapter 24

45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 47 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know 51 and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

English Standard Version Chapter 24

44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 47 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know 51 and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth

The wicked servant beat his fellow servants as if they were his. He ate and drank, living life for himself, setting his own rules… who should blame him. Maybe he was thinking to himself this is my time to do what I want, my body to get as hammered as I want, my life to do what I want, and my co-workers are getting on my reserve nerve. Not your last nerve, but the one good nerve you had left for a special occasion. That’s the reserve nerve. They were working my nerves so I had to take matters into my own hands.

What right does anyone have to tell him what to do with his stuff?

Recently my dad brought a candy apple red Cadillac CTS. He gave me the keys to drive it to Walmart. I drove that thing like it was covered in 24 karat gold. I parked in the back of the parking lot, you know near the RVs. Needless to say, I was extra careful.

Point 2:

Recently my dad brought a candy apple red Cadillac CTS. He gave me the keys to drive it to Walmart. I drove that thing like it was covered in 24 karat gold. I parked in the back of the parking lot, you know near the RVs. Needless to say, I was extra careful.

Recently my dad brought a candy apple red Cadillac CTS. He gave me the keys to drive it to Walmart. I drove that thing like it was covered in 24 karat gold. I parked in the back of the parking lot, you know near the RVs.

It’s amazing how you treat things when you realize they belong to someone else. I believe that is true for my earthly father and more importantly my Heavenly Father.

Point 2: Treat creation as if it belongs to the Creator

The wicked servant beat his fellow servants as if they were his. He ate and drank, living life for himself and setting his own rules… who should blame him. It’s his time, his body, his life, and his fellow servants were probably getting on his nerves.

This point sounds real spiritual, but it is real challenging.

The master's wrath was poured on this servant for mishandling his stuff. But before I get all self-righteous and think to myself I’m better than the wicked servant. I have to ask myself, “am I mishandling the Master’s stuff.”

Let me invite you into my prayer closet. Prayer for me is a two-way conversation for me and it should be for you. I’ve prayed:

How differently would you

Lord, do I make financial decisions as if my money belongs to You?

Lord, do I spend my time as if it belongs to You? Do I commit time in fellowship with you?

Lord, am I taking care of my body as if it belongs to you?

speaks about how money can be used in ways to hurt themselves and others. Please indulge me as I spread this idea of God’s stuff to other things.

Lord, am I loving my enemy and my neighbor as if they belong to you?

Lord, am I raising my kids as if they belong to you?

Lord, do I love my spouse as if she belongs to You?

This is my prayer list, you should decide yours. You should pray as ask God about how you’re treating His stuff. Read scripture and look for what He already has said. Next, I want you to spend time listening for Him to give you the answer via the Holy Spirit. You need both because the word and Holy Spirit are one and will not contradict each other. You will be amazed by what the Spirit of the Lord will reveal.

When I reflected on whether or not I’m looking at things the right way, God led me to this verse from it read:

The words of Job from read:

The person in loves money and uses people

What do our

The words of Job from read:

Job 1:21 ESV

And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

English Standard Version Chapter 1

Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”

No truer words have been spoken. My time does not belong to me. My money does not belong to me. My body doesn’t belong to me. My children do not belong to me. My wife does not belong to me. All that I have are gifts from God to be stewarded, not my stuff to play with however I want. Because naked I came into this world and naked shall I return.

Point 1: Beware of Making Bad Investments

Near the end of the Civil War, the Confederacy was running into a fiscal crisis. With the high cost of war and dwindling revenue, the Confederates were left to issue bonds to fund their government. Counterfeit bonds and an inability to honor their currency with gold reserves, sent the rate of inflation in the Confederacy to 9,000 percent. Now, if you were living at that time knowing the outcome of the war, would you advise people at that time to buy Confederate bonds?

Investing

Steve Jobs was worth $10 Billion dollars before he died. Michael Jackson was the highest paid entertainer dead or alive in 2017, I’m not lying. He made $825 million last year. But guess what. Steve Jobs and Michael Jackson can’t spend a dime of it. Naked they came and naked they went.

Knowing that Jesus will return, it will not be water but fire next time, should you invest all of your time, talent, and treasure in this life? What about living now, for eternity… for where your treasure is, your heart will be also!

I have seen a lot of things in my 40 years on God’s green earth, but I’ve never ever seen a U-haul following a hearse. The dime you make today will the dime somebody else spends when you die.

If you walk away from this message treating your money and others as if you are the immortal, master of your fate and the captain of your own ship, you will come face to face with a God that will say “Give me back my money… and while I’m at it. Give me back my breath”.

Please know that I’m not badmouthing investing. The Parable of the Talents speaks to God’s will for us to wisely invest our finances. In Proverbs it says that a wise man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children. This person in only thinks about themselves and

Please know that as long as the death rate continues to hover right around 100%, you should live life as if the Master will return at any moment because he may return at any moment. This way of living is radically different than what every one else is doing in the world.

How do we invest into the kingdom?

Neither tomorrow or the next five minutes are promised.

We must live and love as if God is watching how we treat his stuff and will return at any moment to reward or punish us. That sounds tough, but there is so much grace in this verse. God doesn’t just let you disobey. He gives us opportunity to repent and live a life that is pleasing to Him.

If you feel like you’ve failed in some areas, believe me when I tell you that there is grace to get it right.

We must live and love as if God is watching how we treat his stuff and will return at any moment to reward or punish us. That sounds tough, but there is so much grace in this verse. God doesn’t just let you disobey. He gives us opportunity to repent and live a life that is pleasing to Him.

God doesn’t believe the lie that you tell yourself about how perfect you are. When God convicts us about our wrongdoing, He is revealing the stupidity we have in doing things our way and grace He provides by empowering us to do it his way. Let me say that one more time.

He is revealing the stupidity we have in doing things our way and grace He provides by empowering us to do it his way.

One of the reasons why I love this church is in the name. Hope Church. It reminds me of this verse in .

Hebrews 6:19–20 ESV

We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

In we find judgments on the wicked, rich person. There are words in the text that remind me of where my hope is anchored from The Book of Revelation.

English Standard Version Chapter 6

19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

Point 3: Stay anchored

James 5:1–4 ESV

Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.

Our soul must remain anchored beyond the veil. God desires that we long and thirst for Heaven. Money has the ability to rob us of this hope, if we let it.

Revelation 19:6–8 ESV

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

In we find judgments on the wicked, rich person. There are words in the text that remind me of where my hope is anchored from The Book of Revelation.

God has a better plan for us. Let’s compare James with Revelation

James 5:1 ESV

Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.

Revelation 19:6-

James 5:1

revelation 19:6

The church is the Bride of Christ. Our good works will be rewarded in Eternity. The way we use our money and treat people matters.

James 5:1-

James 5:1–6 ESV

Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.

In James, the wicked rich weep and howl and anguish. In Revelation the multitude stands before the throne and sing out in joy the praises of the Lamb. In James, the gold and silver erode. In Revelation the streets are paved with gold, the walls are covered in precious stones. In James, the rich live on the earth in luxury and self-indulgence. In Revelation there will be in the New Jerusalem where we will eat and drink with our Savior and there will be no more pain or suffering. He will wipe the tears from our eyes. In James the rich rejoice when an animal is slain for their dinner. In Revelation, the Lamb that was slain has a Book of Life.

We have to ask ourselves, “Who owns what?”

This Lamb did the walk of shame carrying that old rugged cross up to Calvary. The Lamb will return as a Lion, not doing the walk of shame. But returning to do a victory lap. Will you join him in victory or hold on to your greed in defeat.

Is life about the things I can own and accumulate? Or is life about the one who owns my soul and died on my behalf?

Beloved, the issue isn’t whether or not you can possess things, it is whether or not the things possess you! and no man can serve God and money.

The title to my sermon was The Fruit from the Root of Evil and if the love of money is the root of all evil. reveals the fruit that comes from the life a person that misuses their money and mistreats other people.

If the love of money is the root of all evil. If the fruit of the evil is the way we use our money and treat other people, we have to mention an uncomfortable truth about God’s character. His wrath.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news. God is not that flustered young mother in the grocery store that cannot control her bad babies. God put his hand on his cheek and shakes his head in frustration. God is love. But this God of love is also a God of wrath. He does not take kindly those who bear bad fruit. I will close with 7-20

Will you be ready when the Master returns?

Matthew 7:15–20 ESV

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

John 15:1–17 ESV

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

Matthew 7:17–20 ESV

So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

Soul Tattoo: To Be a True Follower of Jesus, I Must Be FAITHFUL & FRUITFUL

I think its great that out of faithfulness to God you show up here every Sunday. But fruitfulness says that we do it out of joy.

We must bear good fruit. Amen!

Let us pray

The Fruit from the Root of Evil

Welcome