Message:
Just this week I got a call from someone saying they work for the Canadian Revenue Agency like the I.R.S. in the States. The man sounded like he knew what he was talking about he made a claim that alarmed me since I had been dealing with the C.R.A. the last couple of years.
This supposed government worker told me I had committed tax evasion and that he needed my Social Insurance Number to verify who I was to check me against the claim. I could hear what sounded like a call center in the background and began to get suspicious. It is at this time that my self-control was beginning to slip and my remote control was taking over.
I began to argue with this man over the phone and told him he had the wrong person. He assured me that he did not and I told him that there was no way on earth he was going to get my Social Insurance Number over the phone. Once I said that he threatened me with an Arrest Warrant to be issued in my name and carried out by the R.C.M.P.
I let him know I was an ex-cop and that I was pretty sure what he was doing was illegal. I invited him to send the police but his obvious false threat still upset my spirit. I realized then that I needed to take to heart the words of St. Peter from 2 Peter Chapter 1. I also needed to apply all the previous lessons about the fruit of the spirit if I was to walk in peace and confidence in a world that is opposed to those who would follow Jesus. So in short this is part of the inspiration for this week’s message.
Last week we talked about Peace and discovered that real peace is dependent on the presence of Jesus Christ in our lives and not the absence of our troubles that assures the Christian of a “Peace that passes all understanding”. Philippians 4:7
I want to put it all together for your today as it may serve as a good message to carry you through the summer break. What comes after the Fruit of the Spirit?
All this talk of fruit and vines, of peace and love, of kindness and charity, and of long suffering and gentleness is meant to remind each of us that we are meant to be a living growing human being that has the fruit of the Spirit spilling out of their lives in a variety of ways and at a variety of times.
Not all fruit is ripe at the same time.
Plants that get a proper balance of sunshine and rain do well and plants who have a Gardner looking after them do even better.
You see our Gardener has a vested interest in the harvest He is working to produce within each of us.
You just might be a blue ribbon peach in the eyes of Jesus or maybe a lovely plump plum. Others here may represent a full sweet cluster of grapes.
It can sometimes take time for fruit to ripen within each of us and different fruits require different care and ripen in different seasons.
But the underlying lesson we learned last week from Jesus was to “Remain in the vine” … “apart from me you can do nothing”. John 15:5
Today we listen to the words of a man whose life produced much fruit but not all at the same time. It was spread out throughout his life as he walked with Jesus and as he encouraged others to walk with the Lord.
Peter the oldest of the Disciples tells us how all our Christian living comes together as a fruit basket that we can present to Jesus.
Growing all this fruit will take time and effort but even when it’s fully grown we are not finished with it.
Once this Spiritual fruit is developed within us it is time to add to it.
This does not occur by remote control but rather requires self-control.
We get to a place in our faith where we have grown and where the things of faith are ripe and rich within us. It is at this time of our lives that Jesus can add even more to the spiritual produce that is our life.
I like apples but I like them much more when they are added to other things to make a pie.
Pie is meant to be shared. You can even add to pie buy putting ice cream on the top. Friends Jesus wants to take the fruit of our spiritual lives and He wants to turn it into pie or maybe a fruit parfait. Now that you and I have some great looking spiritual fruit in our lives Jesus wants to take it and add to it just as Peter tells us here in 2 Peter 1:3-11.
Now to get from here to there is going to take self-control.
Boy that is a subject that St. Peter spent much of his adult life learning about. Peter was a man of emotion, of passion and of impulse and spontaneity. His willingness to dive in was a great attribute but just like the lifeguards tell us we need to check for rocks first or else we can get injured badly. So Saints now that you know the things of God real well and now that you have lived a full and productive life how are you using the fruit that Jesus has brought to ripen in you?
Maybe some of you prefer to be wax fruit and just sit out looking pretty or do you prefer the real thing?
I think most of you are the real thing by the way you have added to the fruit of your life just as St. Peter has suggested.
Many of you have demonstrated that you never stop growing for Jesus. You continue to bear fruit and add to that fruit by allowing Jesus divine power to continue to live and grow within you. 2 Peter 1:3
As a result you have grown in knowledge of the Lord and the things of the Spirit of God. That knowledge has allowed you to acquire the wisdom to escape the evil desires of this world. 2 Peter 1:4
You look for and work for a new world, the one that Jesus wants to usher in. 2 Peter 1:11
In your life you have added goodness and self-control, to that you have added perseverance and godliness, and to that you have added mutual affection for Saints and sinners and on top of it all you have added love. 2 Peter 1:5-7
The love of Christ.
Your fruit filled lives are for many of us are an example and a living lesson of what we are to be as mature Saints. 2 Peter 1:8
Peter challenges all of us to desire these things in increasing measure. With the increasing measure of your fruit filled, spirit filled lives you become a colorful, sweet, delicious example of how a dead seed can be turned into a living garden that can produce an ample harvest for years and years to come.
My prayer for you this summer is that your life will become a victory garden for Jesus. Give the seed of your life over to the Master Gardener and let Him care for it and grow it. Trust His gentle hands with the stem and leaves of your life and the result will be beautiful fruit. With the fruit of your life Jesus will add to it the kind of things that make pie and then top it off with ice cream. It will become a life to be shared and enjoyed by others as they experience the good things God has made from the seed that is your life. Amen.
