What kind of tree are you?
Notes
Transcript
We have been looking at a sermon from Jesus. Important to remember what He has been speaking of this whole time and not disconnecting it from the rest of the message. He has been speaking of being merciful towards others, be gracious, don’t be condemning others and not looking at your own life. Today we begin to look at where this all comes from. Today we are looking at the condition of the heart.
Tree is known by its fruit
Tree is known by its fruit
You know what type of tree it is by what it produces. Many times trees are named by the type of fruit that they produce.
People are like this. Jesus speaks of a few terms here; Tree, treasure, abundance.
Good Person
Good Person
A good person that is being spoken of is your core, your heart.
When it speaks here of good person, this isn’t moralistic deeds where you are trying to be a good person.
We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
The best you can do apart from the righteousness given to you by Jesus is as good as a filthy rag.
People want to believe that everyone is good on the inside and that we just slip up, just make mistakes. That’s why we hear the statement “they have a good heart.”
This is the idea that man is basically good, and it’s wrong.
Jeremiah tells us:
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
Not that our heart is good, but that it’s deceitful.
David says in Psalms
God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.
No one is good, we are corrupt at our core, this is why we don’t need a little bit of behavior adjustment, we need a full heart transplant.
This is where religion fails, religion is a system of faith, it is actions that we go through to worship God but it becomes actions that we do to appease God. But if we are trying to go through actions in order to appease God we haven’t dealt with the heart of the issue, we haven’t dealt with our heart. What we are is mistletoe, dressed up, pretty berry that people use during Christmas for decorations, but it’s toxic.
We need a relationship with Jesus, when we have a relationship with Him he does as He promised in Ezekiel.
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.
We don’t follow the rules in order to be changed, we follow the rules because we are changed.
Treasure
Treasure
Treasure is something that you place value on. We think of gold and gems but to hoarders it can be newspaper or McDonald's wrappers. I’ve heard Anabelle express pocket lint as being a treasure.
It is the thing that you think is valuable enough to hold onto.
This is the treasury, where you store habits, actions, words that end up making you who you are.
The things that motivate your actions.
Are the things we are treasuring good things to bring glory to God, or sinful?
But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
The wrath of God coming down on those who treasure was sinful and unrepentant.
What is it that you are treasuring?
What others think of you
is it security through money or a good job
is it your desire to control all circumstances around you
is it your good deeds
All of these treasures are not obeying the truth, but obeying unrighteousness. For all of them ignore what God has told us in His word.
The only treasure is it the truth of scripture, the promise that God will never leave you, the gratitude from the mercy you have recieved.
Abundance
Abundance
Whatever your treasure is, out of the abundance of that, is what you will act upon.
If our treasure is:
others opinions, we will be nervous about the decisions we make wondering how it will affect others view on us
Security through money or work, you will do maintain that security including stepping on others to make sure that you look the best to your boss or aren’t beat out of a deal for the mighty dollar.
If it’s control, you will be an angry person with a short temper berating anyone who doesn’t follow what you say needs to happen
If it’s your good deeds, you will make sure people know that you have done good deeds and will be seeking the praise of man and not God.
If your treasure is God, you will feel at ease knowing He’s in control, you will not need the praise of others knowing He will give you praise and He’s the one you did the deed for, you will know that it’s foolish to put your security in things of this world and trust in God for provision, you will be merciful and gracious knowing that what God has done for you.
What does your life show?
What does your life show?
If your life doesn’t show your relationship with God, your confidence in God. Maybe your still in need of a heart transplant.
If God is working in your life, it is time for that to be clear to those around you.