The Heart & The Fruit
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Introduction
Introduction
[Illus] It seemed like a normal traffic stop.
On June 26 in Guthrie, Oklahoma, police noticed a car with expired tags, so they hit the lights and pulled over a man named Stephen and his passenger.
The officers immediately spotted an open container of Kentucky Deluxe whiskey.
After asking the occupants to exit the vehicle, they turned up an unregistered firearm.
Then they found a rattlesnake in the backseat!
Then they found a canister of powdered uranium!
A private company was called in to handle the uranium, and the two occupants were hauled off to jail.
The officers said neither person could explain why they had a canister of uranium, but judging by the whiskey, the illegal gun, the rattlesnake, and the uranium—they were obviously up to no good!
In our passage this morning, Jesus said that when one is judged by their fruit (i.e., their words and deeds), we learn something deeper.
When the fruit is good, we learn that the tree (i.e., heart) is good.
When the fruit is bad, we learn that the heart is bad.
When our fruit is bad, it’s not that we’ve just been up to no good.
When our fruit is bad, it is in fact that we are no good.
But specifically, what fruit is Jesus talking about?
What fruit is Jesus talking about?
Major Ideas
#1: The Heart
#2: The Treasure
#3: The Fruit
What fruit is Jesus talking about?
In Jesus used the same metaphor of tree and fruit as he called his disciples to judge between true and false teachers.
Twice he said, “You will recognize them by their fruits,” (, ).
Perhaps that is what Jesus has in mind here in Luke as he employs the metaphor once again, but I think its more likely that here Jesus is calling his disciples to examine themselves.
But I think its more likely that Jesus is calling his disciples to examine themselves in
He is perhaps especially calling them to examine themselves in light of what he has already taught in this sermon.
When we look back to the beginning of this sermon in , we see that good fruit is understanding that your poverty, your hunger, your sorrow, and the rejection you experience are actually all blessings from God if they make you desperate for God.
It’s understanding that riches, full stomachs, merriment, and the praise of others are actually all curses if they make you numb to your need for God.
Beginning in , we see that good fruit is loving your enemies, doing good to those that hate you, blessing those that curse you, and praying for those who abuse you.
It’s turning the other cheek when you’re struck, giving and not expecting anything in return.
It’s doing to others as you would have them do to you.
It’s being merciful as your heavenly Father is merciful.
Then in Jesus said that good fruit is remembering that you’ve received grace and never believing that someone is beyond the reach of grace.
It’s refusing to judge and condemn a person as unworthy of the Gospel.
It’s examining yourself, before you examine others.
Now, based on everything that Jesus has said in this sermon so far, how are you doing?
Are you bearing bad fruit or good?
Are you a good tree or bad?
[CIT/PROP] Revealed to us in God’s word this morning is this truth: Unless our hearts treasure Jesus, we will not bear good fruit as his disciples.
Unless our hearts treasure Jesus, we will not bear good fruit as his disciples.
[TS] Those are the BIG IDEAS we will focus on this morning—the heart, the treasure, and the fruit.
Unless our hearts treasure Jesus, we will not bear good fruit as his disciples.
Major Ideas
Major Ideas
Big Idea #1: The Heart—has your heart been changed by Jesus?
Big Idea #1: The Heart—has your heart been changed by Jesus?
[Exp] I think we understand Jesus’ metaphor here, so I won’t dwell on it too long.
A fig tree produces figs.
A bramble bush produces thorns.
A thornbush does not produce figs.
A bramble bush does not produce grapes.
A simple way to say this is like produces like.
[Illus] When I was a boy, my family picked oranges for a living.
Early in the morning we would go to the orange grove, shake the orange trees, pick up the oranges that fell, and pick those oranges that remained on the tree.
I knew what an orange was, so I didn’t need to ask what kind of tree that was.
I knew it by its fruit.
It was an orange tree.
Like produces like.
Orange trees produces oranges.
Apple trees produces apples.
Grapevines produce grapes.
And the Spirit-filled produce spiritual fruit.
[App] We see that Jesus said in v. 45 that, if we are not producing good spiritual fruit, then our hearts are the problem. He says...
The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
Luke 6:45
But in response to Jesus we might then ask, “Well, if my heart is the problem, how do I change it?”
Well, we don’t change our hearts.
We trust Jesus to change our hearts.
You may recall on the night before Jesus was crucified, he shared a Passover meal with his disciples.
During that meal, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and said in ...
And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
And then after they had eaten, he took the cup and said in Luke 22:20...
And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
The new covenant that Jesus spoke of was a promise that God made to his people—the promise of hearts made new by the Spirit of God.
In , God said...
Ezekiel 36:26
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
Apart from God’s grace, our hearts are hard toward God.
We don’t care what God thinks, what he commands, or what will happen to us because we’ve disobeyed those commands.
But God knows this hard-heartedness will lead us straight to hell.
That’s why in the blood of Jesus God graciously keeps his promise to us of hearts made new by the Spirit—spirit-filled hearts that produce spiritual fruit.
says it like this...
he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.
Jesus came to shed his blood as the payment for our sins. He did this because God decreed that apart from the shedding of blood their could be no forgiveness of sins.
He lived perfectly, died sacrificially, rose triumphantly, ascended in glory, and sent his Spirit to fill all those who trust in him for salvation.
He still sends his Spirit to fill all those who trust in him for salvation!
says...
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
And then notice the fruit produced by faith in Jesus...
Romans 5:1-2
Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Romans 5:3-
And then notice how this fruit is produced in the rest of ...
says that since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ like this…
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
The venerable Anglican preacher, J. C. Ryle, said...
Luke: Crossway Classic Commentaries Warning against False Teachers (6:39–45)
Let it be a settled principle in our religion that when people show no fruit of the Spirit, they do not have the Holy Spirit within them. Let us resist as a deadly error the common idea that all baptized people are born again and that all members of the church, as a matter of course, have the Holy Spirit. One simple question must be our rule: What fruit do people bear? Do they repent? Do they believe with the heart on Jesus? Do they live a holy life? Do they overcome the world? Habits like these are what Scripture calls “fruit.” When such fruit is lacking, it is profane to talk of people having the Spirit of God within them.
Through faith in Jesus, we receive the promise of the new covenant—hearts made new by the Spirit of God!
Ephesians 5:18
Through faith in Jesus, we received the promise of the new covenant—hearts made new by the Spirit of God!
And hearts made new by the Spirit of God produce good spiritual fruit.
Has your heart been changed by Jesus?
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,
[TS] {on to Big Idea #2}
Big Idea #2: The Treasure—is Jesus your treasure?
Big Idea #2: The Treasure—is Jesus your treasure?
[Exp] You’ll notice that in Jesus not only emphasizes the heart that must be changed if we are to bear good spiritual fruit, he also mentions treasure.
The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
The heart that has been changed by Jesus; the heart that produces good spiritual fruit is a heart that treasures Jesus above all else.
[Illus] Forrest Fenn is an art dealer and author in Santa Fe, New Mexico, but his biggest claim to fame is the treasure (an estimated $2 million dollars in gold nuggets, rare coins, jewelry, and gemstones) that he supposedly hid in the mountains somewhere north of Santa Fe.
In 2011 Fenn wrote a self-published memoir called, The Thrill of the Chase, and included in it a poem that he said contained clues to the treasures location.
But so far, no one has reported the treasure found, although four people have died searching for it.
Randy went missing while hunting for the treasure in January 2016.
His body was discovered in July that year.
Jeff was found dead in Yellowstone National Park.
His wife told park authorities that he was searching for Fenn’s treasure when she first reported him missing.
Paris was a pastor from Grand Junction, Colorado.
His body was found 5-7 miles from where he parked his car to search for the treasure.
Eric moved to Colorado in 2016 to search for the treasure.
He was last seen alive rafting on the Arkansas river; the raft overturned and Eric’s body was found in July 2017.
Here we have all these men dying for temporary treasure; treasure that would have disappeared like straw in the wind even had they found it
But Jesus is an eternal treasure; and what’s more, he is an eternal treasure that died for us!
[App] Besides Jesus, Solomon was the wisest person to ever live. And he may have been one of the wealthiest as well.
But listen to what Solomon says about all his temporary, earthly treasure...
I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I got singers, both men and women, and many concubines, the delight of the sons of man. So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me.
Ecclesiastes 2:8-
Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 2:
Solomon knew what many people will be astonished to discover when they die—earthly treasure means nothing when you’re facing eternity.
Everyone of us is facing eternity this morning.
It may not feel like that to you this morning if you’re feeling good.
Maybe you’re in the prime of life, a long way from having to think about frequent doctors visits and multiple medications.
For some of you, however, frequent doctors visits and multiple medications have become facts of life.
You understand better than most that eternity might only be one missed heartbeat away.
But the truth is, life could be over for any one of us in the blink of an eye.
Marathoners have died of heart attacks.
People in their 20’s and 30’s have died of strokes.
Children have gone down to sleep never to awaken.
Your life is a vapor that will vanish in an instant and then comes the judgment!
And at the judgment, what will matter most is your treasure!
You know, James talks about this in .
He mentions the rich and how they should weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon them because they’ve stored up for themselves the wrong treasure.
He says in light of the eternal judgment of Jesus, their riches have rotted and their garments are moth-eaten. Their gold and silver have corroded. They have laid up treasure in the last days, but it is the treasure of greed, fraud, luxury, and self-indulgence ().
James said they have only fattened their hearts for the day of slaughter, the day of judgment at the coming of the Lord Jesus ().
If your heart treasures the wrong treasure, you won’t produce good spiritual fruit and you’ll end up in hell.
Later in Luke 12:33-34, Jesus will say...
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Where is your heart?
Is it with Jesus in heaven?
Or is it here on earth?
[Illus] In , we have the record of the rich young ruler who came to Jesus asking about eternal life.
If not, there won’t be any good spiritual fruit.
Jesus laid out the commandments related to the love of neighbor and the young man said, “All these I have kept from my youth,” ().
Jesus knew, however, that the rich young ruler didn’t have a neighbor problem, but a treasure problem.
If not, there isn’t any eternal life.
Jesus said, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me,” ().
And there it was—the moment of judgment.
Would the rich young ruler trade the temporary treasure of earth for the eternal treasure of Jesus?
Or would he cling to a treasure that would fail him in eternity?
gives the answer...
But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.
Luke 18:23
Jesus is the treasure of heaven.
All those whose hearts have been changed by Jesus treasure him above all else!
And because we treasure Jesus the treasure of heaven, we store up treasure in heaven, which is also known as bearing good spiritual fruit.
Are you bearing good spiritual fruit?
If not, perhaps your heart hasn’t been changed by Jesus.
Or perhaps something has replaced Jesus as the treasure of your heart.
[TS] One final Big Idea— we’ve talked about heart and treasure, now let’s circle back to fruit...
Big Idea #3: The Fruit—are you bearing fruit?
Big Idea #3: The Fruit—are you bearing fruit?
[Exp] We know the importance of belief when it comes to following Jesus.
Jesus said to some unbelieving Pharisees, “…unless you believe that I am (i.e., the Christ) you will perish in your sins,” ().
But maybe we’ve come to the place from time to time where we’ve had to pray, “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief,” ().
Or we’ve had to pray like the apostles, “Lord, increase our faith,” ().
Maybe we’ve even wondered if we believe at all or had any faith at all.
How we can know if we’ve truly trusted Jesus or not?
One answer is fruit.
“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
We’ve already talked about the fruit of faith in Jesus in the context of . Just go back to the beginning of Jesus’ sermon and read up to this point and you’ll see the fruit that he talking about.
But other passages in the NT speak about the good spiritual fruit that we must bear as followers of Jesus.
says that the fruit we bear leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.
says we belong to Jesus, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.
says the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
tells us to walk as children of life for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true.
says that we are to be filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
commands us to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God...
says that God lovingly disciplines us so that later our lives will yield the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
And then , which I think helps us understand , says...
Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.
“…for out of the abundance (i.e., the overflow) of the heart the mouth speaks,” ().
[Illus] Cheryl and I have figured out that Lydia will likely take care of us when we are older. Our twins, Dalton and Madelyn, will love us and visit us and provide for us, but we figure Lydia to be the caretaker because she already does some of that now.
One particular morning I was not feeling well and Cheryl had to go off to work, so Lydia leaped into action taking care of me.
The first thing she did was bring me a glass filled with water
What overflows your heart?
What fills your heart to overflowing?
You may say, “How can I know what fills my heart to overflowing?”
The answer is in what comes out of your mouth.
[Illus] Every now and again Lydia will bring me a cup of water. She does this because she’s on Team Cheryl and they’ve conspired together to get me to drink more water. (I, however, remain firmly committed to Team Dr. Pepper.)
Lydia will bring me a big cup filled almost to capacity. As she journeys from refrigerator to recliner, some of the water spills out.
She can’t help it.
The cup is big and full and the water just sloshes out.
Our hearts work the same way.
Whatever they are full of will spill out.
We can’t help.
If our hearts are full of children or grandchildren, then everyone we meet will get to hear about our babies.
If they are full of football, then everyone we meet will get to hear about football.
If our hearts are full of politics, then everyone we talk with will get to hear about those callous conservatives or delusional democrats.
If our hearts are full of entertainment, then everyone we talk with will get the latest on the popular TV show, movie, musical artist, or celebrity in general.
But if our hearts are filled to overflowing with love for Jesus, then everyone we come into contact with get Jesus spilled on them.
We won’t be able to help it.
He has made our hearts big and full and his praise is just going to come sloshing out of our mouth!
[App] Think for a moment, what do you talk about most?
Whatever that is,that is what your heart is full of.
Out of the abundance of your heart your mouth speaks.
And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.
Jesus had a lot to say about bearing fruit in John’s gospel. In
[TS]
Conclusion
Through Jesus, then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his Name!
[TS] {see below}
The Heart - J. C. Ryle said...
Luke: Crossway Classic Commentaries Warning against False Teachers (6:39–45)
Let it be a settled principle in our religion that when people show no fruit of the Spirit, they do not have the Holy Spirit within them. Let us resist as a deadly error the common idea that all baptized people are born again and that all members of the church, as a matter of course, have the Holy Spirit. One simple question must be our rule: What fruit do people bear? Do they repent? Do they believe with the heart on Jesus? Do they live a holy life? Do they overcome the world? Habits like these are what Scripture calls “fruit.” When such fruit is lacking, it is profane to talk of people having the Spirit of God within them.
Conclusion
Conclusion
{prayer}
Father, Well, I pray your heart has been changed by Jesus.
I pray Jesus is the treasure of your heart.
The apple tree produces apples.
That’s the only way we will bear good spiritual fruit as disciples of Jesus.
The Spirit-filled produce spiritual fruit.
But maybe we’ve come to the place from time to time where we’ve prayed, “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief!”
But maybe we’ve even wondered how we can know if we’ve truly believed or not.
Conduct and conversation