You can bear it! Part 1
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"FRUIT BEARING!"
“You Can Bear It” Part 1
Matt 7:15 "Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves.
Matt 7:16 You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Matt 7:17 A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit.
Matt 7:18 A good tree can't produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can't produce good fruit.
Matt 7:19 So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire.
Matt 7:20 Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.
Matt 7:21 "Not everyone who calls out to Me, 'Lord! Lord!' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of My Father in heaven will enter.
Matt 7:22 On judgment day many will say to Me, 'Lord! Lord! We prophesied in Your name and cast out demons in Your name and performed many miracles in Your name.'
Matt 7:23 But I will reply, 'I never knew you. Get away from Me, you who break God's laws.'
INTRODUCTION
Why do you plant a garden or put in fruit trees? Because you are seeking wonderful crops of fruits and vegetables! No one plants gardens and fruit trees for just the way that they look ... if you wanted just looks they are plenty of other things we can plant like flowers and bushes.
Imagine the disappointment if you planted several fruit trees and all you got was leaves! Or imagine planting a nice garden and getting dandelions!
Fruit trees are suppose to grow fruit, Christians are expected to be FRUIT BEARING ... It is not an optional thing ... it is the expected thing!
In fact, this is the one way we are to know what is really acceptable and what is not.
It is this single thing that enables us to be able to judge true spirituality ... we are not to judge one another in motives, but we are to be FRUIT INSPECTORS!
Jesus bore fruit in His life ... and if His DNA is in us as believers we will also bear fruit in our lives.
Matt 12:33 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.
Jesus said in the Word of God that “by our fruit we will be known” ...
God’s love is the ultimate fruit!
1 Cor 13:1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn't love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
1 Cor 13:2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God's secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn't love others, I would be nothing.
1 Cor 13:3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn't love others, I would have gained nothing.
And then at the closing of the chapter Apostle Paul say this:
1 Cor 13:13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
Nothing is more important than LOVE ... if it is absent, even the gifts of the Holy Spirit are meaningless!
The Bible teaches us that we are to be bearing fruit in our lives ... it is the fruit of the Holy Spirit that will touch people the most and draw them to Christian living.
If we are examined, what kind of fruit shows in our lives?
Matt 7:15 "Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves.
It is interesting that Jesus begins a discussion about being fruitful by describing "false prophets" who only appear to be spiritual; without genuine fruitfulness in their own lives!
There are constant warnings in both the Old and New Testament concerning those who would come to God's people appearing to be "one of the gang" but in reality lack the fruit of one who comes from God.
Appearances or the ability to say the right things should never be the basis of giving someone a place of leadership or authority, proven character should, especially the demonstration of God's love!
The real test is not what appears to be spirituality, but what shows when the tests come ... what flows from the inside out!
There is an old saying, "squeeze a sponge and you only get whatever it has soaked up already!"
And obviously it takes time to witness real fruit; just like a fruit tree ... you don't get fruit the day after you plant a seed!
ILLUS: A WOMAN NAMED ADELE GABOURY TURNED UP MISSING SEVERAL YEARS AGO IN WORCESTER, MASS. THE CONCERNED NEIGHBORS CALLED THE POLICE, AND THEY IN TURN CALLED THE WOMAN'S BROTHER WHO INFORMED THEM THAT EVERYTHING WAS FINE; SHE WAS SIMPLY AWAY IN A NURSING HOME.
SATISFIED WITH THIS, THE NEIGHBORS DECIDED TO BE HELPFUL FOR THIS FINE LADY, AND THEY ARRANGED FOR THE YARD TO BE MOWED TWICE A MONTH, WHEN MAIL PILED HIGH, A NEIGHBOR CONTACTED THE POST OFFICE AND HAD DELIVERIES STOPPED.
DURING THE WINTER THEY NOTICE SOME PIPES MUST HAVE FROZEN AS WATER LEAKED FROM THE HOUSE. THE UTILITY COMPANY WAS CALLED AND THE WATER SHUT OFF.
WHAT NO ONE KNEW HOWEVER, SINCE NO ONE WENT IN THE HOUSE WAS THAT ADELE WAS STILL HOME! WHEN THE LOCAL POLICE FINALLY CAME TO CHECK THE HOUSE OUT AS A POTENTIAL HEALTH HAZARD,
THEY WERE STARTLED TO FIND THAT ADELE WAS STILL THERE ... ALTHOUGH SHE WAS DEAD! -- AND HAD BEEN DEAD FOR THE LAST 4 YEARS!!
ALL THE APPEARANCES HAD BEEN KEPT UP ON THE OUTSIDE WHILE DEATH WAS IN THE INSIDE! IF ONLY SOMEONE HAD CHECKED THE INSIDE! – SOURCE UNKNOWN
The greatest damages to the Kingdom of God have never come from outside sources, it has almost always come from those inside the Kingdom who fail to have good fruit!
History is filled with examples!
We are called upon to be fruit inspectors! And the inspection should be on ourselves first!
2 Cor 13:5 Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.
But we should examine people that are around us and those that are speaking into our lives.
Now Jesus explains the examination process: All living things have fruit, some good, some bad!
Matt 7:16 You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Matt 7:17 A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit.
Matt 7:18 A good tree can't produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can't produce good fruit.
Matt 7:19 So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire.
Matt 7:20 Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.
Jesus explains the examination process: All living things have fruit, some good, some bad!
How can we know if we are where we should be with God and how should we examine those that are speaking into our lives?
By examining the fruit of their lives!
The point Jesus is making here is that "only good fruit can come from good trees," and it can't come from bad trees ... likewise, you don't get a certain kind of fruit from a different kind of plant!
All in good time, every living thing reveals the true nature of its life!
Some plants can look good outside, but have horrible fruit -- and likewise there are some ugly looking plants that produce some really great fruit!
Jesus cautions us to judge by fruit, not appearances! We are not to judge motives, but we certainly are to judge fruitfulness!
Anyone can learn to use the proper vocabulary, learn how to shout "Amen" the right way ... one can even learn to raise their hands and appear spiritual ... but it is the fruit that comes from their lives that tell the real story!
Real fruit for Christians is love; self-sacrificing ... this was Christ's kind of love!
It is important to not only take notice of the tree and what it looks like, but what kind of fruit it produces!
ILLUS: THERE IS A COUNTERFEIT OLIVE TREE IN PALESTINE CALLED THE "OLEANDER" OR "WILD OLIVE." IN EVERY WAY IT IS EXACTLY LIKE THE GENUINE OLIVE TREE EXCEPT ONE ... IT PRODUCES NO FRUIT WHATSOEVER! BY LOOKS YOU CANNOT TELL HOWEVER, IT IS A DUPLICATE IN EVERY WAY! NO ONE PLANTS ORCHARDS THEM, FOR IT MAY LOOK THE SAME, BUT IT PRODUCES NOTHING OF VALUE! – SOURCE UNKNOWN
There is nothing improper in looking for fruit from those we entrust ourselves to, or from those we look to for guidance!
Matt 7:21 "Not everyone who calls out to Me, 'Lord! Lord!' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of My Father in heaven will enter.
Matt 7:22 On judgment day many will say to Me, 'Lord! Lord! We prophesied in Your name and cast out demons in Your name and performed many miracles in Your name.'
Jesus' point here is quite simple ... not everyone that claims to be a Christian is actually one!
There may be those who know the language, know the manners of being a Christian, they may even have prophesied in Jesus' name and done miracles ... however, these things alone don't reveal their true identity ... their fruit does!
Notice that Jesus is not contradicting their account of the number of miracles performed, here described as “many.”
Prophesy here refers to preaching and proclaiming the Word of God!
But how can this be that they could have done these things and be false believers?
Isa 55:11 It is the same with My word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.
God will honor His Word in spite of the vehicles.
Look at Matthew 7:22
Matt 7:22 On judgment day many will say to Me, 'Lord! Lord! We prophesied in Your name and cast out demons in Your name and performed many miracles in Your name.'
It is somewhat disturbing to read in Matt. 7:22 that Jesus says, “Many will say …” ... yet these "many" will be lost!
It is not enough to do ministry, we must display the FRUIT of the Holy Spirit in our lives!
It is not enough to have ministry ... we need holy ministers ... people who have real fruit evidenced from their lives!
ILLUS: HUGH LATIMER, ONE OF ENGLAND'S GREAT REFORMERS DURING THE REFORMATION PERIOD SAID TO HIS LARGE CONGREGATION:
"YOU CAN BUILD A HUNDRED CHURCHES AND FILL THEM WITH GOLD STATUES AND WITH CANDLES AS BIG AS OAKS, BUT IF YOU DO NOT LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AND FEED THE HUNGRY AND CLOTHE THE NAKED, YOU WILL GO TO HELL IN SPITE OF ALL."
THE FRUIT OF GOD'S LOVE COMPELS US PAUL SAYS TO REACH OUT, TO SACRIFICE OURSELVES!
Gal 5:22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Gal 5:23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
The only approved fruit that should come from our lives is that of the Holy Spirit ... and that fruit is a singular thing: LOVE!
In the Greek, the word "fruit" is singular, not plural!
The list that follows is a list of the characteristics of "love" ... these are not "fruits" of the Holy Spirit, but characteristics of the fruit of love!
One cannot possess the Holy Spirit and not demonstrate the fruit of the Holy Spirit!
The singular quality of being a Christian ... LOVE!
These characteristics listed here are those of love:
a. Joy is love's strength
b. Peace is love's security
c. Patience is love's stability
d. Kindness is love's conduct
e. Goodness is love's character
f. Faithfulness is love's commitment
g. Gentleness is love's humility
h. Self Control is love's victory!
This list therefore is not a list of different fruits of the Holy Spirit, it is a list of how the fruit of the Holy Spirit works!
When the Holy Spirit resides in our life ... there will be a growing evidence of this fruit in our lives.
Like all things that bear fruit ... there might be stages toward that fruit maturing:Like a flowering stage, then a green stage ... but finally the sweet fruit matures to bless all!
Our lives as Christians should demonstrate that we are bearing fruit … of the Holy Spirit!
Love is not self-serving, it is self-sacrificing!
Our lives are to be evaluated by the fruit we display!
We are to evaluate others by the fruit they display!
The bottom line to Christianity is that we are to bear fruit! ARE YOU?