Charles W. Holt
cholt@gt.rr.com
Community of Grace
Vinton, LA
Feb. 17, 2008
FRUITFULNESS
(A definition: fruit·ful ( fr›t“f…l) adj. 1. a. Producing fruit. 2. Producing something in abundance;. 3. Producing results; profitable. See note at fertile (American Heritage Dictionary)
I want us to read what I believe is a very familiar passage of Scripture that is found in Psalm 1:1-3 (NKJV).
1 Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
I will not use this passage as a text for today’s message but I want to bring it to our attention because it expresses the heart and soul--the essence--of what I want to speak on this morning.
+ Walk not in the counsel of the ungodly
+ Stand not in the way of sinners
+ Sit not in the seat of the scornful
+ Delight in the law of the LORD
+ Meditate in his law day and night
The unmistakably obvious results that will be manifest by observing that kind of lifestyle is described as:
+ Being like a tree planted by rivers of water
+ Bringing forth fruit in its season
+ His leaf will not wither
+ Whatsoever he does shall prosper
There is not a person here today who does not wish that these blessings of health, usefulness, mental, physical and spiritual prosperity would be the story of their life. And the beauty is that these blessing can be ours. Meet the conditions: walk not; sit not; stand not; delight in the word of God; mediate in His word continually and it will happen.
A few Sundays ago I spoke on the subject of BARRENNESS. I keep thinking of those various Scriptures that provide such encouragement and hope for what would otherwise be considered as hopeless, discouraging situations.
For example we learned how the Lord touched the barren wombs of five women of the Old Testament and from their barrenness came some of history’s greatest leaders. There was --
+ Abraham’s wife Sarah (Gen. 11:30)
+ Isaac’s wife Rebekah (Gen. 25:21)
+ Jacob’s wife Rachel (Gen. 29:31)
+ Manoah’s wife who gave birth to Samson (Judges 13:2)
+ Hannah who gave birth to the great Samuel (1 Samuel 1)
+ This is to say nothing of Mary the mother of Jesus or Elizabeth the mother of John the Baptist (Luke 1:7ff & verse 27ff.)
+ We found, if you remember, a veritable goldmine in Isaiah 54 and 2 Kings 2:19-22.
But it is not my purpose today to revisit those powerful passages. Instead, I want us to look at a few Scriptures found in the New Testament that reveal God’s will and purpose for believers whose aim and purpose today is to live the Christian life as the Holy Spirit has made it known through the words of Jesus and the Apostolic writers of the New Testament. You will notice, as with the opening verses from Psalm 1, that these verses have a single theme: FRUITFULNESS.
After we read a few of these Scriptures I want us to look at a parable given by Jesus that will serve to illustrate what it will take for us to become fruitful and remain fruitful.
Let’s begin in John 15:1-8 (READ this passage)
Turning now to 2 Peter 1:5-9 -- noting especially verse 8 -- (READ this passage)
Let’s hear Paul’s exhortation in Colossians 1:9-12 –noting especially verse 10 – (READ this passage)
And finally from Titus 3:14 we hear the Apostle Paul say: “And let ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful” (KJV). This verse supplies us with a simple and concise commentary on the meaning of being fruitful.
To be fruitful means to “maintain good works for necessary uses.” This can be easy enough to believe but may pose quite a challenge to practice. But practice it we must—and will—if the Lord has His way in our daily living.
Listen now to what Jesus says in the parable found in Luke 13:6-9 (NKJV).
(6) He also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. (7) Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’ (8) But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. (9) And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after thatyou can cut it down.’”
(Note: To be accurate and fair about this parable of Jesus it first has a direct application to the nation of Israel and it should be interpreted in that light.)
However, while this parable does have a direct bearing and application to the Jews of Jesus day I believe there is a principle here that we can find that makes clear God’s intention and plan of action for our lives regarding our being fruitful.
1. Understand first that the fig tree was chosen by the vineyard owner to be purposefully planted in the vineyard. It was a “fig tree planted in the vineyard.” It was no accident that it was there.
a. You are a Christian today; you are in church today because God has a plan and a purpose for your life. His plan and purpose is for you and me to be a fruit-bearing tree.
2. It is good to think of where the tree is planted – “in the vineyard.” This is basically a safe and secure place because in that day the vineyard would be surrounded by some kind of protection and patrolled by those who could guard the trees and their fruit from all kinds of predators.
a. There is safety and security in the Lord. The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run into it, and is safe (Pr.18:10 KJV).
BUT WAIT . . . despite these otherwise ideal conditions something is missing. The plant is not bearing fruit. In fact it has a history of not bearing fruit. It is not fulfilling its purpose for being there in the vineyard. It is wasting space. It is wasting the ground. Something must happen to turn it around.
The caretaker has a plan.
+ Dig around it
+ Fertilize it
+ Water it (although this last act is not directly mentioned we know that nothing grows without water.)
In his use of these three elements we can see the design, the plan, of the Holy Spirit to make us fruitful.
Let’s begin with the WATER.
For most everyone WATER MEANS REFRESHING. This is an element that brings relief or satisfaction. In a spiritual sense we know that the water represents the WORD OF GOD.
--Paul went to Corinth and planted the seed. He preached the gospel. He planted “the word.”
--Apollos followed and watered the planted word (1 Cor. 4:6-8).
--The Lord will often use various people to “water” us. Paul was “refreshed” by his friend Onesiphorus (2 Tim. 1:16 and see 1 Cor. 16:17).
It is not always pleasant when the Lord chooses TO DIG AROUND US. We are exhorted to “break up the fallow (untilled) ground” (Hosea 10:12). The promise that follows this action is the coming of refreshing rain.
How does the Lord dig around us? As he often does, he uses other people. It can be friends or strangers. It can be done by a spouse; family member; church member; or a total stranger at the department store or supermarket.
+ They dig us with sarcastic remarks.
+ They jab us with unkind words.
+ They poke us with criticism.
+ These otherwise unkind and hurtful words and deeds can send us to our knees in prayer. We can learn from them if we choose to respond in a more positive way.
+ Do we recognize these as presenting a greater opportunity to grow and produce fruit of kindness, gentleness, patience, self-control, meekness and a forgiving spirit?
+ As surely as the Lord plants you with the purpose of producing fruit, He is going to dig around you. He is going to stir things up.
+ Jesus teaches us to return good for evil; “bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you (Mt. 5:44 (KJV).
But I have saved the worst until last. The steward of the vineyard said, “I’ll dig around the tree and then “dung it,” i.e., I WILL FERTILIZE IT. In a not so nice way he is saying, “I will put a generous amount of manure around the tree.”
This is a very sensitive area. I want to be as careful as possible. I don’t want to be offensive in any way. But it is something we need to talk about because Jesus talked about it in His parable.
Jesus said that if there is any hope that the tree might live and produce the desired fruit it would be necessary to take this final action—as distasteful as it might be.
Modern day chemical fertilizers are far removed from our Father and Mother’s day when the only fertilizing element available was manure. This was certainly true in Jesus day.
Let me quote from a writer (unknown to me) who writes:
“Manure means dung, of course—a very down to earth term. The term “dung,” and particularly the product, has a certain pungency. Yet, because of the rich nutrients found there, trees like dung.
“Dung,” says our writer, “is the symbol of our experience of daily life and of our constantly recurring faults. The dung represents our experience of daily prayer as one of going nowhere, or even the inability to pray at all, and of the endless flow of unwanted thoughts. Dung also represents the psychological experience of how disagreeable daily life often is, and that nothing we do really helps to improve the situation.”
Being as cautious as we can we must nevertheless point out the fact that there are some circumstances and situations that come into our life that is distasteful and as undesired as can be imagined.
+ Sometimes someone will say or do something that REALLY HURTS. It doesn’t just hurt—it REALLY HURTS.
+ Sometimes someone will say or do something that REALLY STINKS. It doesn’t just stink—it REALLY STINKS.
+ Sometimes we will say or do something that has the same effects that I have just described and we therefore are the recipient of our own stinking words or deeds.
+ As difficult as it may be for us to acknowledge this as contributing to our growth and fruitfulness it is important that we do recognize this.
+ As strange as it may sound we must believe—as our Scripture in this parable teaches us—even what we can only describe as “dung-like” situations and “dung-like” circumstances contribute to the development of a fruitful life.
Now, if at this point you may be thinking. . . you may be forming a question. . . something like, “How can this be? How can I handle this?” How can I make sense of all this.”
I want to offer a final passage of Scripture that is found in Jeremiah 17:7,8 (KJV). It is very straightforward and easy to understand. We really do not need an interpretation of these verses.
“Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.”
That’s the key. Get hold of that and everything else will make sense. In fact there is a powerful promise that is attached to this exhortation.
“For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out his roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.”
In closing:
Don’t despair when the Lord “waters” you.
Don’t despair when the Lord “digs” around you.
Don’t despair when the Lord dumps “dung” around you.
Remember: we are here to grow. We are here to be FRUITFUL.
