Are you Fruity?
Asking someone, are you fruity? is usually thought of as being are you a bit crazy or silly!
When I’m saying, are you Fruity? I’m asking are you producing fruit!
Matthew 7:15-20
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
So there’s an idea here that Christians bear good fruit, and non-believers are either fruitless or bad fruit. The verse even claims that good trees can’t produce bad fruit and bad trees can’t produce good fruit! Finally it says: you will know them by their fruit!
So, are you fruity? If you say no, then… um…
James 2:14-26
14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.
25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
So again, deeds proves or is an indicator of your faith in God! Deeds doesn’t get you saved, it’s when you’re saved that you start doing deeds because of your faith.
Many people get the cart before the horse. They think good deeds save them.
Instead, they have to be saved first and then because they are saved they want to and start doing good deeds. So again deeds indicates your faith!
Do you have a lot of faith, then maybe you’ll have a lot of deeds? I guess so!
If you have deeds it shows your faith. If someone says show your faith and you have no deeds, what will you be showing them then?
Matthew 25:14-28
14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’
21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’
23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
It’s crazy but I’m told that 1 talent was 75 pounds. How much is that in wages? Well currently one ounce of gold is like $4000! So a pound is 16 ounces (give or take troy oz)! So 4000 times 16 times 75? SO, 1 talent equals almost 5 million! It was said that 1 talent was worth 20 years of wages! So like 50 million dollars, 20 million dollars, and 5 million dollars? What would you do if someone handed you that kind of money knowing that a day of reckoning would be coming?
Why would the wicked servant bury the money?
Like if the master never returned he’d know where the money was?
If he didn’t risk it, then he wouldn’t lose anything?
Not true, every year there is inflation so if you don’t have your money invested, it’s losing value!
People think if they just don’t do much wrong then they will be OK with God?
I didn’t murder anyone so God must be pleased with me and let me into heaven!!!
You don’t have to do anything wrong to be doomed to hell. We are born doomed!
It’s not about not getting yourself doomed because you are born that way!
It’s about getting yourself undoomed!
The first servant and second servant doubled their money! Wow! Either they did really well, or the master was gone for a really long time. Most people at best rarely get over 6% to 10% increase per year! Only scams like insurance do better like 18%! Of course factoring in compounding, the master must have been gone for like 7 or 8 years at least to double the money!
The master does not agree with the wicked servant’s assessment, instead, he basically says if his assessment were true then his behavior makes even less sense - why not put it in the bank?
The wicked servant wanted the benefits of the master’s household without any of the responsibilities.
My daughter loves living under our roof but when you ask her to do the dishes, she gripes about it but finally does it. If you like living under our roof, you are going to have to do some chores and not do it with griping and complaining!
Now we know we are not saved by works so Jesus is not saying if you don’t do enough you won’t get saved.
Instead, we know that if you are saved, you will produce fruit, and if you are not saved, you likely will not produce fruit! Therefore the person of God will be known by their fruit.
What fruit did the wicked servant have? What does that mean? Likely it points to the fact that the wicked servant wasn’t saved. He was like a Judas among the Apostles.
Are you faithful with what God has entrusted to you?
Are you committed to serving God and do it without griping or complaining?
Does your life produce good fruit or bad fruit?
The third servant didn’t lose his salvation. He never had it and his fruit proved it.
If someone claims to be a Christian and has no fruit or even bad fruit you have to wonder if they are really saved, right?
John 15:1-17 The Vine and the Branches
15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
Without Jesus, we can do nothing, and we can’t show true love. We love others because God loved us first! Love comes from God! God is love!
Because of God’s love, we love others and do these good deeds.
This power (love) comes from God and we can share His love because He loves us! If we are not connected to God, how can we share His Love!
Barna research says 69% of Americans identify as Christian but only 9% hold to what’s called a biblical worldview and the other 60% hold to a view that is contrary to the Christian doctrine.
Out of the 69% the research says that only 24% identifies as a Christian, attends church regularly, and agrees that faith is important in their life are actually practicing Christians?
What proof would demonstrate your allegiance to Christ?
Do you use your time, your talents for God?
Are you praying and spending time with God in the Bible?
Are you communing with other believers?
Don’t bury your gold! Gold is not fruit - the interest is the fruit!
I didn’t say don’t bury your fruit! That’s sort of weird because fruit usually has seeds inside. You need to bury those seeds to produce more fruit so yeah, maybe you bury your fruit (interest) but not like you bury the gold (not fruit) if that makes sense! Lol!
Mark 11:12-14 & 20,21
12 The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14 Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.
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20 In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21 Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”
It’s a little scary that Jesus did that! Basically the tree had no fruit so was like the wicked servant who had no fruit! It’s really a sobering thought for us as His servants to not be wicked slothful servants.
Out of time but… Proverbs 24:30-34 - Sluggard’s vine field - is this also about spiritual fruitlessness?
Revelation 22:12
12 “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done.
Will you have fruit when Jesus comes back?
Matthew 24:42-51 The Faithful Servant and the Evil Servant
42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what [g]hour your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what [h]hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
45 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. 47 Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. 48 But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, 51 and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
John 13:35 You will know them by their love
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
