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Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Known by Our Fruit


A little boy went over to a pastor's house, where the pastor was doing some carpentry in his garage. The boy simply stood there and watched him for quite a long time. After a while, the preacher wondered why this boy was watching him and was finally so curious that he stopped and said, "Son, are you trying to pick up some pointers on how to build something?"
The little boy replied, "No. I am just waiting to hear what a preacher says when he hits his thumb with a hammer."

Often, we will find out what we are made of by what comes out of our mouths in both good and bad circumstances. When we have a change in conduct and character in our lives, it is a type of spiritual fruit.

Galatians 5:22 says, "But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness" (NLT). A Christian's life should be characterized by these things.

Some people think it’s just their testimony – what they say. But that’s not true. If somebody just says they are a Christian, it doesn’t mean necessarily that they’re a Christian. Just because you say “I know the way to Montgomery”, doesn’t mean that you’re in Montgomery right now. In the same way a person can say “I’m a Christian” even know the way to be a Christian, but this doesn’t mean necessarily that they’re a Christian. So what are the things that can identify a person as really being truly a Christ follower?

Jesus said, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:4-6.

So Jesus says essentially two things: Remain in Him. The person that hangs in there with Jesus, having faith, believing in Him and staying attached to the vine – that’s a mark of a Christian. And then the second one is bearing fruit.

The "fruit" the Bible talks about is the "fruit of the Spirit," character qualities that the Holy Spirit wants to develop in your life. He will not force you to have the qualities, but when you accept Jesus as a Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to live in you. Only He has the power to put your old nature to death, giving you a new nature that produces good fruit, or good character traits. Your life will continue to bear good fruit only when you stay connected to the source of growth.

So these are two markers that you can recognize in a Christian. In your life, you can recognize that you truly are a Christian if you have abiding faith and you are bearing fruit. Not perfectly. Not necessarily all the time, but on an ever-increasing basis as your life unfolds over time, you are bearing more and more fruit as you grow up into Jesus Christ. You become mature in Jesus. So Are you producing fruit? Or is the opposite true?

Instead of love, is there hatred, bitterness, or even prejudice in your life? Instead of joy, is there constant gloom? Instead of peace, is there turmoil? Instead of gentleness, is there a short temper? Instead of faith, is there endless worry? Instead of meekness, is there pride and arrogance? Instead of self-control, are you a victim of your own passions?

If so, then either you don't know God at all or a recommitment to Christ would be in order.
If you are a Christian, then people should be able to look for-and find-fruit in your life. Why? Because a disciple of Jesus Christ will produce spiritual fruit.

Jesus said, "When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father." (John 15:8). Jesus also said, “... just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions." (Matthew 7:20 ).

The metaphor of bearing fruit is used quite often in the Bible. In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus spoke of seed that falls on different types of ground, representing different reactions to the truth of the gospel message. The final category He mentioned in Mark 4:20 was good ground: "And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!"

In other words, those who have spiritual maturity are those who embrace this truth and produce fruit. The Bible tells us that we should bear fruit that shows we have repented. Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. (Matthew 3:8).

The Bible gives us different pictures as to what "bearing fruit" means. For example, praising and thanking God is a way of bearing fruit in our lives. Hebrews 13:15 says, " Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." (NIV). When you praise God, that is bearing fruit.

We don't praise God only when we are in the mood. Rather, we praise God because He is worthy of our praise.

Therefore, we don't praise God because we feel like it. We praise God because He deserves our praise. When we do this, we are bearing fruit.

What we say is also a type of fruit in our lives. Jesus said, “A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart. (Luke 6:43-45 NLT).

When you are a true Christian, it will be reflected by what you say. This is bearing fruit as well.
Can others identify spiritual fruit in your life? Remember, people are watching you. They are listening to you. Hopefully you are pointing them to Jesus.

For prayer requests, comments or to be included in our email ministry, email us at: whosoever@cottagehillbaptist.org.

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