The parable of the unfruitful fig
Contents
The saints who are called in the Lord must live with sincerity and diligence every day.
We must spend every moment more carefully and meaningfully
A month passes and a year goes by in the meaninglessness of life, thinking that no one is watching, but there is someone who is watching everything.
He is the living God.
Even today, there is someone waiting and watching us to bear fruit.
There is not much time left now to bear fruit in the years that are not enough to love each other and live.
But didn't you just pass the time as if there was never a day to settle it? The owner came expecting fruit from us, but isn't it in a state where we can't give any fruit at all? Isn't it in a situation where God expects fruit from us again this time, and will judge them as those who only abandon the earth and cut them down?
The parable of today's text is this.
A man planted a fig tree in his vineyard.
Then he visited the tree several times to see if there was any fruit, but each time he was disappointed.
So he tells the vineyard keeper to cut down the tree.
'I've been waiting for three years and not a single fig has opened. Now, if you uproot that tree and plant another tree, the land will be better used.'
Then the vineyard keeper speaks. 'Please be patient one more time. Let's wait another year.' I want to learn a few lessons from this parable.
First, it must bear fruit
Verse 7 says, 'I have been looking for fruit on this fig tree for three years, and I have not found it'.
There are many kinds of fruit. The fruit of the Spirit that bears fruit after receiving the Holy Spirit (Galatians 6:22-23) The fruit of righteousness that is sown after refinement and peace (Hebrews 12:11, James 3:18), the fruit of light that comes from becoming a child of God (Galatians 6:22-23) Ephesians 5:9-), the fruit of the righteous (Proverbs 11:30), good fruit (James 3:1617), the firstfruits born of the truth (James 1:18), the fruit of eternal life (John 4:36), etc.
How do you get these fruits?
In John 15:4-5 our Lord says this:
'Remain in me. I will abide in you.
Just as a branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it is attached to the vine.
Neither will you, unless you are in me.
I am the vine and you are the branches; if he is in me and I in him,
This man bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
Here we need to know two things. One is the place where the saints will live.
As a child or brother, as a parent, as a wife or husband, or as a minister, there is a place for benefits by staying in my position, and a place for harm if you stay.
There is a place to dwell and a place not to dwell. All thoughts and actions of the saints are to bear fruit when they are in the Lord. Where the Lord dwells You must be in the place where the Lord dwells. Then it bears fruit. That place becomes a place that bears fruit.
Where is your place in life? Are you bearing fruit on the spot? Or will the Lord rebuke you again this year, saying, 'Why are you throwing away only the land?'
Another is the fact that the subject of fruit is trees.
In the Bible, Israel is said to be a fruitful vine (Hos. 10:1). If you look at the whole vine, who was that tree? He said that he was Jesus (John 15:5-6).
Second, we must not neglect the opportunity of salvation that God has given us.
Look at verse 8
“He said, ‘Lord, let it be this year as well, and I will dig it all around and fertilize it, and after that, if the fruit is opened, if not, cut it down.’
In the Bible, the season of harvest is autumn.
Autumn is the season of fruit. It is harvest season. It is the season to reap what you have grown in summer and enjoy it.
You must become an ant that works diligently for that joy and great harvest (Proverbs 6:6).
We must fear the One who set the harvest time (Jeremiah 5:24).
Unless I myself become the sons of heaven at the harvest (Mt 13:38) or the wheat at the threshing floor (Mt 3:12), I am cut down and thrown into the fire. Cutting it down means the end and judgment. There are two kinds of end times. It is a global end and a personal end.
A personal end is more important to us than a global end.
We must know that the rest of our life is an opportunity God gives us, and we must never forget that it is an opportunity for salvation. Even today, you must not be the one who neglects the worship, word, hymn, prayer, evangelism, and mission that is digging and fertilizing all of you today, so you don't miss the opportunity you have been given and say, 'Do not miss a good opportunity and do not regret it sadly' in hymn 251.
He called us at the time of harvest (Matthew 13:39) and the time of fruit (Matthew 21:33-43) and raised us up as children of God. (John 15:16) Why did He establish us? It was the Lord's choice to bear fruit.
As the Lord has called you and has given you grace and the Holy Spirit, it will naturally become transformed into good land and bear fruit. If we receive grace, we cannot fail to show filial piety to our parents who have been spiritualized through faith and understanding.
Faith comes from hearing (Romans 10:17). We must listen and learn diligently.
You must hear it, understand it, have the spiritual power and authority you receive from God, and work hard to bear fruit.
We, who have received such love, must preach the gospel with the heart of debtors (Romans 1:14).
He who sows to the flesh will reap corruption, but whoever sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life (Galatians 5:18). Let's put aside the work of the flesh, which is futile, and work for the Holy Spirit.
Let's throw away the glory of the world and work hard for the eternal hope of heaven Let us not waste the opportunity of salvation granted to us as a time to pursue only our own interests and lives, but work hard knowing that He is the Lord who waits and watches for the fruit.
All of our thoughts and all things must become believers who are with the Lord.
When that happens, the Lord becomes the subject and can bear precious fruit.
I sincerely pray that you will become a saint who will surely repay the expectations of the vineyard owner.