Title Let's Please God (Matthew 7:15-20)
Contents
A couple of months ago, I planted a few tomatoes on the veranda of my apartment. It has grown so well and is now cut as tall as a child. A flower blooms but does not bear fruit. It upsets the heart of the owner who is waiting for the fruit. It's probably 10 stories high, so bees and butterflies should come and fertilize them, but they couldn't. So, not long ago, I planted lettuce seeds under the tomato tree. After lettuce, the intention is to weave a tomato tree. Now, I was hoping for only lettuce, but when I looked carefully, I saw that there were several pea-sized tomatoes hanging where the flowers had fallen. I would almost have weaved that tree. Do you know how happy I was? In fact, if you pick all the tomatoes that grow there, it won't cost you less than $10. But I have more than 10 dollars of joy. Why would you? That's because I'm the owner. The tomato bore fruit, which made me, the owner, happy.
God is our master. A saint can please his master by surely bearing fruit. He cursed the unfruitful fig tree and it withered. When God demands fruit, we must give it up. What kind of fruit are we bearing? And what kind of fruit will our Lord provide when he asks for it? All of us believers must give faithful fruit. So, how can we give this faithful fruit?
First, it must be planted in good soil.
Good land can be good or bad depending on who manages the land. Once upon a time, there was a servant, and a diligent servant cuts grass in the mountains and puts it in the paddy field and puts manure in it to make the land good, but the lazy servant does not give any manure. After a year or two, the land becomes a wasteland, no crops can grow, and only weeds. A seed sown in good soil must bear abundant and beautiful fruit, but good fruit cannot be expected in a wasteland.
Therefore, in order to bear beautiful fruit, the saints must distinguish whether the prophet who manages the fields and trees is a false prophet or a true prophet. A false prophet is one who does not lead people in the narrow way, but leads them in the broad way. Outwardly, they are humble and have love, so they wear sheep's clothing, but they do not have life or the Holy Spirit in them, but are full of ambition for themselves. That is like a “wolf that plunders” the church of God.
Second, it must be a good tree.
It is important to meet a good prophet, but you must also have the qualities of a good tree yourself. “Will you pick grapes from thorns or figs from thistles?” The thorn and thistle are the result of man's sin (Genesis 3:18), and these two are symbols of iniquity. “Grape” and “fig” compare righteousness and goodness.
The tree here refers to ourselves. It refers to our character, character, or habits. Our nature has been corrupted by sin. He said that all have sinned and cannot come to the glory of God (Romans 6:23). However, the saints have become new trees in Jesus. From the tree of sin to the tree of doing good, from the tree of hate to the tree of love, from the tree of pride to the tree of humility. When a believer is baptized, it means to be born again through Jesus Christ. We were all stone olive trees. It means that it was a being that could not bear valuable fruit. It has yielded only disappointment. But now we, who are stone olive trees, have been cut down and grafted into true olive trees. And we are receiving the sap of the true olive tree (Romans 11:17). Therefore, of course, it bears the fruit of the true olive tree.
Nevertheless, the old disposition, old personality, and old habits are still not broken and remain as a stone olive tree. Our old things must be broken. And there should be new shoots, new flowers, and new fruits.
To say that our old things are broken here means being born again by water and the Holy Spirit. It is only when you are born of water and the Spirit that you boldly confess, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17). It can bear fruit, and we must completely cast off our filth.
Third, you need to eat well.
Just because it has been planted on good soil and has become a good tree does not necessarily produce good fruit. There are germs and bugs that prevent you from getting your nutrition. Trees take in water and nutrients through the root of the thread and receive carbon dioxide through the leaves. However, if a disease or insect cuts off the root and eats the leaves, the tree is threatened to wither and die, let alone the fruit. In order for a tree to grow well and bear fruit, disease and insects must be prevented and killed. That way, you can take in nutrients and bear fine fruits.
The pests and diseases of our faith are brought by the devil. Avoid the devil's approach. Just as there are germs in filthy places, so the devil visits places where there is filth of sin. Saints must absolutely avoid places where sin reigns, where the devil rules. If the devil controls our heart, we cannot receive the word, the nourishment for faith, and the devil takes it away. When the devil controls our hearts, it grinds leaves and eats beautiful fruits, causing them to bear rotten fruit. Therefore, we believers must thoroughly win the battle against the devil and prevent them from accessing the fruits we are bearing.
Also, diseases and bugs attack weak spots, destroying and grinding them. Likewise, the devil recognizes the weak points of the saints and attacks them. Lazy people tempt with laziness. A proud person makes them more proud and prevents them from receiving the Word. Those who have a lot of greed use that greed for the devil. Above all, the nourishment of our faith life is the Word of God. When God's Word is given, only those who say Amen, Amen and eat well will grow. It bears fruit.
Jesus cursed a tree that did not bear fruit, and it withered to death. The text says that every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire (John 7:19). Please keep in mind the warning that there is no salvation if there is no fruit, no matter how hard you work and how many years you have lived your faith life, please God with abundant fruit and bless your religious life.