A Fig Tree does not Give Off Olives!
It is clear that the
millenium is the promised restoration of the Kingdom, for the faithful
remnant of Israel, and only God knows how great a remnant that will be.
You may, up to now, have well pleased God and exercised the faith of Abraham,
Isaac and Joseph or you may feel you are uncertain of your position with
God. No man can judge the heart of another man. The Holy Scriptures teach,
however, that you can know a man by his fruits. You can also know your
own heart by examining your own "fruit." Listen to God's Word.
Matthew 7:7-23
7 "Ask, and it will
be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened
to you.
8 "For everyone who
asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will
be opened.
9 "Or what man is there
among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?
10 "Or if he asks for
a fish, will he give him a serpent?
11 "If you then, being
evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will
your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
12 "Therefore, whatever
you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and
the Prophets.
13 "Enter by the narrow
gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction,
and there are many who go in by it.
14 "Because narrow
is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there
are few who find it.
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.
21 "Not everyone who
says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he
who does the will of My Father in heaven.
22 "Many will say to
Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast
out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?'
23 "And then I will
declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice
lawlessness!' (NKJ)
James 3:11-12
11 Does a spring send
forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?
12 Can a fig tree,
my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring can
yield both salt water and fresh. (NKJ)
How do you and I feel
when we find ourselves bearing the "wrong" kind of fruit? If we
say that we love God, yet we are saying and doing things that make us
appear to be totally out of sync with God's expectations of us, what
has happened? I believe the answer is that we have chosen, at least
for the moment, to revert to the power of the flesh. Our inconsistency
reminds us of our situation. We are "in the flesh," yet wish to
be filled with the Holy Spirit. It is a dilemma that has only one solution.
We must "die to the flesh" so that God's Spirit can live in us. We must
crucify the flesh, constantly, so that the Spirit may fill us. We must
not yield to the temptation to let our minds and our mouths serve Satan.
Listen to what the
Holy Scriptures have to say about the fruit one should bear if you say
that you love God.
Proverbs 11:30-31
30 The fruit of the
righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.
31 If the righteous
will be recompensed on the earth, how much more the ungodly and the
sinner. (NKJ)
Proverbs 8:17-21
17 I love those who
love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me.
18 Riches and honor
are with me, enduring riches and righteousness.
19 My fruit is better
than gold, yes, than fine gold, and my revenue than choice silver.
20 I traverse the way
of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of justice,
21 That I may cause
those who love me to inherit wealth, that I may fill their treasuries. (NKJ)
Proverbs 12:12-15
12 The wicked covet
the catch of evil men, but the root of the righteous yields fruit.
13 The wicked is ensnared
by the transgression of his lips, but the righteous will come through
trouble.
14 A man will be satisfied
with good by the fruit of his mouth, and the recompense of a man's hands
will be rendered to him.
15 The way of a fool
is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise. (NKJ)
Proverbs 18:20-21
20 A man's stomach
shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth, from the produce of
his lips he shall be filled.
21 Death and life are
in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. (NKJ)
Isaiah 57:19-21
19 "I create the fruit
of the lips: peace, peace to him who is far off and to him who is near,"
says the LORD, "And I will heal him."
20 But the wicked are
like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire
and dirt.
21 "There is no peace,"
says my God, "for the wicked." (NKJ)
Jeremiah 17:7-10
7 "Blessed is the man
who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD.
8 For he shall be like
a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river,
and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will
not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding
fruit.
9 "The heart is deceitful
above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?
10 I, the LORD, search
the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his
ways, according to the fruit of his doings." (NKJ)
Jeremiah 32:17-19
17 'Ah, Lord GOD! Behold,
You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched
arm. There is nothing too hard for You.
18 'You show lovingkindness
to thousands, and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of
their children after them-- the Great, the Mighty God, whose name is
the LORD of hosts.
19 'You are great in
counsel and mighty in work, for your eyes are open to all the ways of
the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways and according
to the fruit of his doings. (NKJ)
Galatians
5:19-26
19 Now the works of
the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness,
lewdness,
20 idolatry, sorcery,
hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions,
dissensions, heresies,
21 envy, murders, drunkenness,
revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also
told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not
inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of
the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control.
Against such there is no law.
24 And those who are
Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live in the
Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26 Let us not become
conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. (NKJ)
Psalms 92:12-15
12 The righteous shall
flourish like a palm tree, he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 Those who are planted
in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They shall still
bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing,
15 To declare that
the LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness
in Him. (NKJ)
One can ask, moment
by moment, what sort of fruit is my life bearing. Every time you find
yourself angry, depressed, anxious, impatient, unkind and every other
sort of ill mood, just think about the fruit you are bearing. You are
sending the wrong signal to yourself and to others if you are allowing
yourself to yield bad fruit, fruit that makes Satan smile at your circumstance.
Failure of that sort should motivate you to claim the power of the Holy
Spirit in you so that you can have victory over sin. Just focus on verse
Psalms 92:15 above and then enjoy the reality of Galatians 5:22-23.
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