A Tree And Its Fruit (Teaching)

SERMON OUTLINE:

• All Trees Bear Fruit (vs 43-44)

• All People Bear Fruit (vs 45a)

• Your Words are the Fruit (vs 45b)

SERMON BODY

Quote:

"Remember God wants spiritual fruits and not religious nuts!"

Quote:

• Dr. Martin Kaonga,

• Director of Science & Conservation for Christian conservation charity

• “Trees are an invaluable part of our world.

• In fact, there would be no life on earth without trees and other plants.

• They produce oxygen for us and other animals to use,

• And they absorb the carbon dioxide we breathe out!

• Trees also provide habitat and food for countless animals,

• And food and medicines for people.

• Forests are the nurseries of life;

• They contain more species per hectare than any other kind of land-based habitat”

• TRANSITION: you don’t need me to tell you that tees are important,

• Just recently we have heard and seen on the news stories of raging fires,

• That have ripped through the Amazon rainforest for weeks.

• Yet people seem to care more about a burning Cathedral in Notre Dame,

• Than a forest known as “the lungs of the earth”,

• More than 20% of the world’s oxygen is produced by the Amazon rainforest.

• It is also home to about 3m species of plants and animals,

• And one million indigenous people!

Now this morning’s sermon is not about the ecosystem,

• Because the trees mentioned in this passage of scripture,

• Are symbolic not physical.

• They are part of a parable Jesus told.

Ill:

• Jesus did not invent parabolic or teaching through stories and metaphors.

• It was common among Jewish Rabbi’s and teachers.

• And there are many stories and metaphors in the Old Testament part of the Bible.

Ill:

• Whenever we see a word starting with ‘Para’ it has a common meaning.

• ‘Para’ is a Greek word that we have transliterated into the English language.

• (instead of translating it, with have just included it as it is)>

• ‘Para’ always means ‘alongside.’

• e.g. A parachute is a chute alongside.

• e.g. Parallel lines are one line alongside another.

• e.g. The Para-Olympics is one event alongside another event.

• TRANSITION: So, Jesus told a story about two trees,

• But always don’t forget to look for what Jesus is teaching ‘alongside’

Ill:

• I explain a parable to children this way.

• Think of a jam doughnut.

• The story is the dough and the meaning is the splodge of jam in the middle!

(1). All Trees Bear Fruit (vs 43-44)

“‘No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognised by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn-bushes, or grapes from briers.”

• The statement by Jesus is not complicated or confusing,

• In fact, it is fairly obvious, and it doesn’t require much explanation.

Ill:

• Even a sick and weak tree will produce a crop

• What it produces may be measly and tasteless; maybe even bitter.

• But even a sick and weak tree will produce some fruit,

There are often three reasons your trees, plants or vegetables will not grow:

FIRST: Malnourishment

• Lack of nutrition in the soil can cause a tree to be bad or produce poor fruit.

• So, if your fruit tree or vegetable plants persistently keep refusing produce,

• You should apply a fertilizer to see if it improves.

SECOND: Watering and General Care.

• Healthy growing is a time-consuming venture.

• If you are not taking proper care of your trees or vegetable plants,

• They will not give fruit.

• For instance, if you are neglectful of the plants’ needs,

• Don’t plant them with enough space,

• And don’t remove weeds regularly;

• The plants will just not give their finest produce.

THIRD: Sunlight and temperature.

• Sunlight is an important necessity for good healthy growing,

• Strong sunlight will give you great, tasty fruit and vegetables.

• Gardeners use Greenhouses in cold weather for young saplings or vegetables.

• To protect them.

• Sunlight and temperature can be very important when it comes to production.

• TRANSITION: Now those three general principles regarding gardening,

• All have a spiritual application.

• FIRST: Malnourishment

• You all know the statement, “You are what you eat!”

• What we feed on will determine how we grow and the fruit we produce!

Ill:

• True not just in trees but also with people.

• Just recently on the news we had the story of a teenage boy from Bristol,

• Who has gone blind and partially deaf because of his poor choices regarding food.

• For the last ten years the seventeen-year old boy;