We know that Jesus, the Messiah, came to redeem His people, yes? We are told that ‘He came unto His own…and His own received Him not.” (John 1:11). Do you belong to Jesus? Are You looking for His return? “Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1 John 3:3; 2 Cor. 7:1)
We read in Matt. 3 where there were some church folks who were looking for the Messiah to come for them as well. And John the Baptist had some pretty strong words for them. Look at what he told them:
“You snakes…who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? You better bear fruits worth of repentance and not be trusting in your past heritage!” (7-8)
(What did Jesus say would happen if we did not repent? - Luke 13:1-5)
John goes on…”Even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees and every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” (10)
Now flip over a few chapters and let’s read what Jesus said on the matter: “Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” (Matt. 7:17-20)
John 15 might be good for our next stop. This is where He teaches His disciples to “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me, you can do nothing.
If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” (4-8)
We have read in the past, repeatedly, that IF…we are abiding in Him…we no longer sin. (1 John 3:6). I have no doubt every time you read or hear that verse, your mind gets assaulted with a slew of ‘but’s…’.
So yesterday we were talking about what happens when ‘men sleep’ and how an ‘enemy comes and sows bad things’. (Matt. 13:25). Jesus later explains what happens after this takes place. We are told who that enemy is (the devil) and how at the end of the age, or the harvest, the ‘reapers or angels’ are sent out to ‘gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness (sin) and will cast them into the furnace of fire.” (13:39-42). Now go back and read John 15:6 again.
Now let me ask you…how important or serious do you believe this ‘fruit thing’ is to God? I hope you said ‘serious’. And if you feel your ‘fear of God’ picking up some, that is not a bad thing.
Here’s an easy question to answer: Where does fruit come from? A seed, of course. This was all part of God’s initial design back when He created the earth. (Gen. 1:11-12)
The reason we all had a ‘bad fruit’ problem was because we all had a ‘bad heart’ problem, which was what we were discussing yesterday. It’s not a mouth issue…it’s a sinful heart issue. The mouth just makes it easy for anyone to recognize what’s in a person’s heart. Maybe that is why Jesus said: “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matt. 12:35)
Fruit matters!
Which is why Paul stressed we better ‘give no place to the devil’ (Eph. 4:27) and we better guard our hearts by ‘bringing into captivity EVERY thought to the obedience of Christ’. (2 Cor. 10:5)
Satan is constantly sowing bad seed. We make his job easy when we are ‘at ease in Zion’ and ‘asleep’. Have you read where Paul said regarding his ministry in preaching the word, that ‘one man plants and another waters but God gives the increase’? (1 Cor. 3:7). Well…the enemy has a similar operation going too. It’s not uncommon for him to mimic or try to copy what God does. He plants…others water and his seed increases as well…in our hearts.
Let me use an illustration I bet many can identify with. Have you ever known someone who is really ‘thin skinned’? That means they are very sensitive and ‘easily offended’. You feel like you are always walking tiptoe around them as if on eggshells. Perhaps you are willing to confess that YOU are like this? Ps. 119:165 says that ‘great peace have they which love Thy law and Nothing shall offend them.”
Believe me…I’m not throwing stones or trying to condemn anyone…on the contrary…if you read this with an open heart and humble yourself before God, you can find healing and deliverance…Today!
I’m going to assume here you are a professing ‘believer’ in Jesus. But you have struggled in your walk of faith…it’s been like a roller-coaster for you and it feels like ages since you experienced all that genuine joy and peace and love that washed over you early in your walk with Him. But by golly…you have ‘hung in there…trying your best to represent God well’. You attend church faithfully…tithe…help out in the nursery or kids church and even sing in the choir. But deep down, you know something is missing in your heart. What happened? It’s not supposed to be this way. Why are you often irritated and angry with others?
When you first come to the Lord with all your heart, He welcomes you and surrounds you with His hedge of peace and acceptance. It is joy unspeakable and people can be amazed over the transformation that is evident when a person truly turns to God. But then He begins to lead you to purify your heart…or ‘clear the land’ as I like to say. This is where our teaching in the past has gotten off track in not stressing the importance to abiding in Him and how we do this.
Now let’s say that God sees an area in your heart where you were truly hurt in your past. It may be a very deep wound that has festered for years. Yet, it seemed early on that God’s peace truly overrode that wound. But it is still there and God wants to gently remove that ‘spirit of offense’ from your heart. It’s bad and needs to come off. There’s a good chance that it did when you repented and professed Christ as your Lord. You saw immediately the need to ‘forgive others as Christ forgave you’.
In fact, Jesus was talking about the need to forgive others and that it was imperative that forgiveness is to take place in our hearts. (Matt. 18:35). So God cleansed you of that wound and the spirit that was associated with it. But we also know that when an unclean spirit goes out of a man, it seeks to come back and bring with him seven other spirits more wicked than itself. (Matt. 12:43-45)
Somewhere along the way…when you were least expecting it and had ‘led your shield of faith down’…it happened. The enemy drew near to ‘sow some seed’. All it had to be was one suggestive thought. Maybe you were watching a movie or TV show and saw something that was similar to a ‘trigger’ of how you were hurt in the past by this individual. It was…an ‘opening’ to ‘give place to the devil’. (Eph. 4:27). And because you had ‘grown at ease’ you did not bring into captivity that very thought. And it lingered. “Remember when so and so did that to You?” And then there was a sliver of pain associated with that past offense and it went right through you. Satan was watching how you would respond and he saw that you ended up welcoming that thought. So he sent another demon to water it. And the root started to grow. You couldn’t shake it…or rather...you chose not to. You did not ‘stand against the wiles of the devil’ (Eph. 6:11) and ‘resist him’ as we are admonished to do...coming before the throne to obtain grace in our moment of need and temptation. (Heb. 4:16)
He was ‘in’. And that root found its way in to your heart…which was the objective of the enemy. You welcomed the darkness back in. There was something oddly ‘familiar’ to this old pain that you started to hold on to and nurse. (that first line of an old song comes to mind- ‘Hello darkness my old friend…)
Then came more triggers…more memories…more images. And next thing you know…those ‘seven other spirits worse than the first’ have found lodging within your heart. The peace is gone and the enemy ‘came in like a flood’. And instead of running to Jesus for mercy, you let darkness overtake the light in you and here comes the fruit. That person’s name comes up out nowhere in a conversation and out comes how you really feel …about this person…who at one time…you had forgiven. And the moment that ‘fruit came out from the abundance of your heart’, you hear the faint voice of the Holy Spirit pleading with you from the distance once again to run to Him. And you didn’t. You knowingly…or unknowingly perhaps…were conveying to God that you loved this resentment and bitterness more…than you did Him. Jesus says if we love Him, we’ll do what He says. Something else took precedence in your heart. Before you knew it…you were again…taken captive…by the enemy. And Jesus let you go your own way. Which then brought the ‘tormentors’ Jesus warned us about there in Matt. 18:34-35.
I know…bad place to leave off today. God is knocking…calling to you …to come to Him. My prayer is for you to ‘be willing this time.” (Matt. 23:37) I’m praying for you…and hope you come back tomorrow.
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