If It Bears Fruit! Fine – Sermon 3 March, 2013

If It Bears Fruit! Fine

Let as imagine that we are like trees in the Garden of God. The reason I say that is that each of us are planted in this place this morning by God to bring forth fruit in season. We are planted by the Blood of the Lamb, cultivated by the Holy Spirit, and fertilized by the Word of God. Each of us is represented in the parable above in one way or another. God’s greatest desire is that each of us makes the decision to become a fig tree in His garden that will bear fruit. And if we bear fruit then it will be fine.

Let’s look at the parable to see where we are right now. Jesus tells that the owner of the vineyard was passing by this fig tree for the 3rd time. Each time he came by he had hoped to find some ripened fruit that would show that this fig tree was productive but each time he came there was no fruit. It is known that if a tree is planted usually the tree does not bear fruits for three years. Then, the fruits ripened in the next three years are considered unclean according to Jewish tradition and not good for eating. So when Jesus says the owner came for the third time, actually it was when the tree was ninth years old. And the caretaker of the vineyard begged Him to give another chance. Just wat one more year.

I think the point that Jesus is making to each one of this morning is that He is passing by each of us one more time. He has passed by most of us a number of times, seeking for the fruit that we are to bear for the Kingdom of God.

Perhaps on one of those occasions, Jesus may have found that we were thirsty and dry so He watered us with the Word of God that we might obtain the water of life freely from its life giving flow. He has given us His own precious blood to wash us, cleanse us and give us life eternal, but now there must come the works of faith as fruit that we bear.

Sometimes a few of the fig trees respond and there breaks forth some green leaves of good works upon their branches. The fruit begins to form but before it can ripen, the Word that we received slips away through neglect of study and meditation upon it, then the fruit that once held great promise, the green leaves and the life that the water of the Word gave to us are cut off and the fig tree begins to wither and die as it lapses back into its dry and thirsty condition once more.

There have been times when Jesus would pass by and the Word of God would go forth and many of the fig trees in this garden would never receive. We are too caught up in our own circumstances. Our roots are all pulled up around us tightly so that no water can come in. Our focus is not on God or upon His Word, it is on the cares of this life. So, Jesus passes by once again to see if we have fruits.

Perhaps Jesus came by once again and saw that the water of the Word had begun to flow into your life and that your tree of spirituality was putting forth the green leaves. You were showing signs of the springtime of your life when the blooms are bursting forth. The joy of the Lord has come upon you and you seem to be prospering. Then, Jesus notices that the fruit that you are to bring forth really isn’t producing as expected.

This happens because even though we hear the Word and meditate upon it, we must allow the Holy Spirit to change us into the fig tree of God and obey its teaching. The Holy Spirit is a perfect gentleman. He will never push the Word into you. You must accept it freely. You must seek it out with a hungry heart.

Jesus made a point of this in the portion of scripture known as the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:6 when He said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness: for they will be filled.”

A fig tree in God’s garden that isn’t thirsty for the Word of God or hungry for the fertilizing power of the Holy Spirit won’t benefit at all from their provision.

Time after time, service after service, continually, Jesus is passing by to inspect the fig trees in His garden, looking for that ripened fruit of the Spirit. He searches for the fruits of righteousness, good works that we have done or a change in our nature and character for the better.

I wonder how many times He has passed by my fig tree and saw no fruit? I wonder how many times He has passed by each of us and was grieved because there was no fruit and we were still dead in our sin?

Any tree to give fruits must first give leaves, but that does not guarantee the giving of fruits. In our backyard we have fee trees which bloom every year and give plenty of leaves but not a single fruit. We read in Mark 11 and Mathew 21 that Jesus saw a fig tree and he found nothing but leaves. He cursed the tree. Having green leaves is not enough it is necessary to bear fruits to serve the purpose.

In the parable the owner of the vineyard said to his gardener, “It’s time to cut that tree down and get another one planted for this one refuses to yield and bear fruit. We can’t allow it to remain and take space that can be used by another tree to bring forth fruit.”

Paul says that even he was afraid that somehow he would miss the glories of eternal life because of his own failures, even though he had led so many to Christ. If the Apostle Paul felt that he could miss God because his tree wasn’t bearing right, where does that leave us?

Matthew 3:10, “The axe is laid at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down, and thrown into the fire.”

We cannot be unfruitful trees in the Kingdom of God. There will come a time when the Father will say to us, “That’s enough, cut it down and throw it into the fire.” Those are not the words we want to hear! We want to hear our Father say, “Well done thou good and faithful servant.”

There is coming a day when every unproductive fig tree will stand before God’s great judgment throne.

Every tree that doesn’t produce fruit will be cut down permanently. There will be no more room for repentance then. There will be no more opportunities to hear the Word of God as He attempts to water us. There will be no more fertilizing power of the Holy Spirit! The axe will fall and the tree will be cut down.

In John 15:5-7 Jesus said, “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.”

Jesus is passing by this morning. He is coming to see if we have given any fruit for His Kingdom. He is coming to see if we are dry, thirsty or hungry. He is still coming to help us to be productive. Don’t miss this opportunity! We never know when the last one will come.

The question is: What kind of fruits it is expected from us? Paul gives the answer in Galatians. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Gal. 5:22).

Are we productive? Are we willing to hear the Word of God? Will its water bring us life or will we turn it away? Will we allow the Holy Spirit to change us into the image of Christ or will we refuse to allow Him to change us?

The choice is ours. We can either become bearers of much fruit or we can be cut down and cast into the fire – WHICH WILL IT BE FOR YOUR TREE THIS MORNING?

If we bear fruit, then it is fine.

Krikor Youmshajekian