Bearing Fruit

 Bearing Fruit

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

“Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

            As Jesus begins to conclude his sermon, he gives us three points that are familiar to most of us and often quoted and talked about – The Golden Rule, The Narrow Road, and The Fruit Principle. And to tell you the truth, I wish he had left it at that. For his last point in this section is downright scary, in fact I have a friend who calls them “The Scary Scriptures.”

            For it is a frightening thought that some of us who are doing ministry in Jesus’ name – preaching, teaching, praying, even prophesying, casting out demons, and performing miracles – might one day see Jesus face-to-face and be flat-out rejected by Him. “I never knew you…get away from me…” he might say to some of us who minister in His name.

            The question that immediately comes to mind is, “Could this happen to me? Am I doing the work of the ministry for me, for my sake, or for Jesus? Am I more interested in the accolades, the ego-strokes, and the offerings than I am in blessing others and pleasing God? Have I been so busy doing the work of the ministry that I haven’t taken the time to get to know Jesus?”

            These are questions that we must all ask ourselves, and the answer is not one that is found solely in our feelings about ourselves and Jesus but in an honest assessment of our behavior and the corresponding results. In other words, rather than simply relying on our emotions, let’s look at our lives and see what kind of fruit we are bearing, what road we are on, and how we are doing in living out The Golden Rule.

            The Fruit Principle – “By their fruit you will recognize them,” says Jesus. You will know who is really living for God and who isn’t by the fruit of their lives. Is their life – is your life – marked by an obvious harvest of the fruit of the Holy Spirit? When people are around you, do they notice the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control that are the fruit of a strong relationship with God? Or are the fruit of an unbridled sin nature there instead, things like hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, sexual immorality, dissensions, drunkenness, witchcraft, and other things like this?

Don’t be deceived, my friend. Don’t be deceived by others and especially don’t deceive yourself. A good tree doesn’t bear bad fruit nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Watch out for those whose lives are full of bad fruit, for inwardly they are ferocious wolves. And if your own life is bearing bad fruit, repent and turn to the Savior. He will forgive you, and as you spend time with Him, the Holy Spirit will help you to bear good fruit. (For more help along these lines, read Galatians 5:16-26 and ask the Lord to help you apply it to your life.)

The Narrow Road – “The road that leads to life is narrow, and only a few find it,” says Jesus. You will know that you are really living for God when you are on a narrow path, going against the grain of the culture and against the flood of people flowing the other way. You will know that you are on the narrow path when you take a stand for righteousness and others think you are a religious nut. You will know you are going through the narrow gate when you offer Jesus and the life he brings to people who not only reject you but persecute you as well. I could give many more examples, but you get the idea. As the Apostle Paul says, “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” (2 Tim. 3:12)

And when you are going along with everyone else, when there is no persecution, no discomfort from the culture around you, when everyone is slapping your back and agreeing with you, then maybe that is the time to do a double-check and see if you are still on the narrow path. For broad is the road that leads to destruction, and when you are on the same road as everyone else – living the same way, having the same values, holding the same worldview – then look to see whom you are following. Are you following the Savior through the narrow gate that leads to life? Or are you just following everyone else as they go down the broad road to destruction?

The Golden Rule – “Do onto others as you would have them do onto you,” says Jesus, summing up the Law and the Prophets as well as the Sermon on the Mount. Be merciful, just as you would like to receive mercy. Love those who are hard to love, just as you would like to be loved. Give to the poor, just as you would like to receive when you are in need. Mourn with the sinner, forgiving their sin rather than condemning them, just as you would like to be forgiven and restored rather than condemned to hopelessness. Go the extra mile, give to him who asks, loan out your stuff, do good deeds so that others will be blessed and your Heavenly Father glorified.

Like so much of the Sermon, The Golden Rule of doing onto others is easy to preach but hard to live out. If you don’t always do onto others as you would have them do onto you, join the club. Most of us have been there, done that, succeeded sometimes, failed at other times. It all goes to show you and me that we’re not perfect and we need a Savior. We need Someone to atone for our sins; we need Someone to keep us on the straight and narrow; we need Someone to come and live inside us, giving us the ability to bear good fruit.   

            That Someone is Jesus, the Almighty God who took on flesh and became a man who not only walked among us and taught us how to live but also gave His life for ours, dying on the cross so that our sins might be forgiven.

            Turn to Him today; turn to Him again and again and again, no matter how many times it takes to keep you on the narrow road and bearing good fruit. Turn to Him today, before it is too late.

Pray with me:

            Lord Jesus, I am turning to you once again. I confess that as I look at my life there isn’t as much fruit as I would like. And as I look at my life and the people around me, I confess that my life isn’t that much different than those of people who are living for the world and don’t even know you. Help me to live for you. Help me to live according to The Golden Rule. Help me to bear good fruit. I love you, Lord, and invite you to come and live inside of me and fill me once again with your love, your mercy, your peace. I confess my sins to you now and ask for your help in these areas of my life…continue praying as you are led…

For further study, meditate on these Scriptures:

           

Gal 5:16-26 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;  idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Luke 6:43-45 "No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.

John 15:1-8 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

Please use this blog for personal devotional use and feel free to share it with friends and family. However, all publishing rights are reserved. No reproduction or publication of this blog is permitted without the permission of the author, Pastor Randy Brockett of New Song Foursquare Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. To contact Pastor Randy, email him at randybrockett@yahoo.com.