Christmas Tree Christians

MATT.12:33 "CHRISTMAS TREE CHRISTIANS"

A) A tree is known to be corrupt or good not by its leaves, but by its fruit!

* Notice what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount in Matt.7:17-20 "Even so every ......."

* The truth given here is that we judge a man by the words he speaks and the works he does!

B) We cannot say that a man is in the league with Satan if his works are righteous!

* If he is one of Satan’s workers, his works will be unrighteous!

* Sweet and bitter water do not proceed from the same fountain, and righteous works cannot

proceed from an evil heart! * Background of the text .......

C) The Pharisees had just accused Jesus of casting out demons by Beelzebub, the prince ...

* Certainly it was a good thing to deliver a man from blindness and dumbness!

* No one could deny that the miracle performed on the man was indeed good and wonderful,

but they accused Jesus of being corrupt!

D) If He had performed a righteous deed, He could not be corrupt in His heart!

* If the tree is good, the fruit is good ... If the tree is corrupt, the fruit is corrupt!

* So He said, "Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and

his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit."

E) Christ was making a demand! * "Decide! Make Christ either good or bad!"

* "Quit swaying with the wind ... Judge Me to be good and My fruit good, or else judge Me to

be corrupt and My fruit corrupt!"

* "I am either good, that is, I am who I say I am, the Messiah, the Savior of the world,"

* "Or else I am bad, a deceiver and a liar, out to lead people away from God!"

* "Who am I? Judge, decide, for I am known by My works even as a tree is known by ... fruits!"

F) Christ was saying that "you are either with Me or you are against Me!"

* "There is no middle ground, so quit playing the hypocrite and being half hearted with me!"

* So, with all this in mind, I want to talk to you about being a "Christmas Tree Christian!"

* There are several things that I want to compare a Christian to with the Christmas Tree.

* There are some things that a Christmas Tree has in common with the Christian!

(1) THEY ARE GROUNDED! * On Martin Camp Rd. a Christmas Tree farm ... In the ground!

* They have their roots growing in the ground and they are standing firm!

A) Christians are also grounded! * Col.2:7 "Rooted and built up in ... and stablished in ..."

* One reason why some Christians are wishy-washy is because they don’t get grounded!

* They are in and out, up and down, and they are so undependable!

B) Turn to Eph.3:17-19 * Paul says Christians are "Rooted and grounded in love!"

* It makes no difference how much knowledge or wisdom we may have concerning the things

of God, if we don’t demonstrate love, we are worthless to the cause of Christ!

* Paul says in 1Cor.13:1-3 "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have ......."

C) Regardless of what we are and what we do, if we do not possess the love of God,

* And if what we do is not saturated by the love of God, then spiritually speaking, we are just

one big nothing! * There are some that really need to get rooted and grounded in love!

D) Love for lost souls! * Some of you never witness to lost souls!

* Psalm 142:4 "I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know

me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul."

E) Love for the church! * Why is it we can’t get people to be faithful to the church services?

* Because they are not rooted and grounded in the love of God!

* If you’ll really fall in love with God, you’ll fall in love with the church!

F) Love for one another! * God’s Word commands us to "love one another."

* 1John 4:7-8 "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and everyone that loveth is

born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love."

G) Love for God’s Word ... Love for communion with Him ... Love for the work of God!

* I want people to just fall in love with Jesus and let their lives revolve around Him!

* Col.1:23 "If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the ..."