Disclaimer:
Due to the large amount of sermons and topics that appear on this site I feel it is necessary to post this disclaimer on all sermons posted. These sermons are original to the author and the leading of the Holy Spirit. While ideas and illustrations are often gleaned from many sources including those at Sermoncentral.com, any similarities and wording including sermon title, that may appear to be the same as any other sermon are purely coincidental. In instances where other minister’s wording is used, due recognition will be given. These sermons are not copyrighted and may be used or preached freely. May God richly bless you as you read these words. It is my sincere desire that all who read them may be enriched. All scriptures quoted in these sermons are copied and quoted from the Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Pastor James May
Your Source Determines Your Fruit
Matthew 7:16-21
7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit; neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
John 15:1,2
15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
You shall know them by their fruits. What a powerful statement that truly is. In all of our dealings with man, this is the guiding principle by which we can judge character and see into the window of the heart, mind and soul of every man. By looking at the fruit that is brought forth from the life of an individual, we can truly see whether they are rooted and grounded in the True Vine, Jesus Christ, or connected to the wrong vine.
In the 15th verse of Matthew chapter 7, Jesus warns us that there will come into our midst, ravenous wolves, hungry and hunting for those who are weak in the faith and susceptible to every wind of doctrine. Whether we survive their attacks, or fall prey to their onslaught will be determined by our ability to recognize their wolf spirit when they come around.
It is a fool hardy Christian who will trust everyone, including every preacher, who comes into the church. It is a wise Christian who will “try the spirits to see whether they are of God or not”.
The kind of spirit that we portray and the fruits that we bear will be totally dependent upon our source. From that source we get our attitudes and disposition.
Jesus said that we getting our behavior from either one of two sources:
John 8:42-44
8:42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
8:43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
So then we come to the crux of the matter. How can we know those among us who are ravening wolves and those who are lambs in God’s pasture?
The answer is very plain and simple. We must become fruit inspectors. We must look at the things that are brought forth from the life of an individual to determine whether they are connected to the True Vine or to the Root of Bitterness, the devil himself.
Understand this, the Scripture says in no uncertain terms that he that is connected to the True Vine will bring forth fruit that shows forth the condition of the repentant heart that loves Jesus because that person has the love of Jesus within and is striving to become more like Jesus everyday.
You won’t have to worry about that one who truly loves Jesus becoming a backbiter, a gossiper, a trouble-maker, or a thorn in the side of the church body. That one who loves Jesus is too busy being about the Father’s business. They are listening to the voice of God; they are following the leading of the Holy Spirit; they don’t have time or the inclination to cause problems for anyone else. They are focused on getting the ministry of the Lord in operation. They are concerned about the church, their community and lost souls. They are consumed with the work that Jesus has called them to do and don’t have time to sit and think of ways to get even with those who hurt them. They don’t have time to plan and scheme on how to have their own way. They don’t have time to think of things to complain about.
If there is something that needs repairing; if there is a situation that needs correcting; if they have differences with other Christians, they won’t stew over it and fire up a spirit of contention and division, they will bend their knees before the Lord, asking God for wisdom and for direction in what should be done so that no one is hurt in the process.
If there is work to be done, they won’t sit over in the corner hiding from it. They will jump in with both feet and put all of their energy and ability to work to get the work done.
I am convinced that lazy, uninspired people are not connected to the True Vine. While I know that everyone deserves and must have a time of rest after the work in done, I don’t believe that God ever called one person to be a “couch potato”. There is always too much to done for anyone to sit around doing nothing.
Luke 2:49, “And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?”
John 9:4, "I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work."
Those are the words of Jesus. How do I know? Because they are printed in red in my Bible! Jesus is the True Vine. Those who are connected to the True Vine must live upon the same source, principles and life of the Vine. If Jesus had to be doing the Father’s business and had no time to lie around but had to be working while it is day, what makes us think that we can do any less? Are you connected to the True Vine? We will all know whether you are or not by the attitude you have toward the Word of the Lord.
I cannot but believe that those who are totally self-centered; who live their lives day-to-day only to get things and brings pleasure to themselves; without ever giving of their time and talents to the work of Jesus Christ; are not connected to the True Vine.
Either they have allowed the cares of life to sever their branch from the Vine or they are connected to the wrong vine. I am also convinced that we are always connected to either one or the other. Let me remind you again of John 15:1,2.
15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
The Father in Heaven is constantly trimming and working with the branches of the True Vine. Those branches are you and I, if we love Jesus. We are not a finished work but a work in progress. We will never be perfect but will be growing in grace and in the knowledge of the True Vine every day.
The second verse tells us that the Father will remove every branch that doesn’t bring forth fruit. He will also purge, or purify and sanctify, those branches that are bearing fruit so that they can be even more productive.
Have you felt the pruning shears of the Father lately? Have you felt him cutting away a rotten attitude here, a festered temper there, a sore head here, a lame excuse there, a swollen head here, or a sour disposition there?
Just think of it this way, the ministry for the Lord that you are doing now is producing some fruit. The Father is just getting rid of those parts of us that hinder our own growth and development into useful and productive branches. He is getting rid of every hindrance. Little by little, line upon line, precept upon precept, or as Paul said it in 2 Corinthians 3:18, "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." If we are connected to the True Vine, we will be growing, we will be changing, and we will be in the process of becoming more like Christ.
There are many examples of those who enter the doors of the church who are not connected to the True Vine. They are connected to the lying vine of their father the Devil. These are self-proclaimed “saints of God” who walk into a church claiming to be Super Christians. While it is entirely possible that these wolves can walk about devouring the weak, the inattentive and the unlearned in a quiet manner, most of the time the opposite is true. They are very outspoken and boisterous, bragadocious and self-proclaiming of their great "spirituality" and they want everyone to know just how great they really are.
Just look around, in almost any church and almost any service and you will see those who are in one of three conditions:
1)Those whose connection to the True Vine is strong – they will be working, praising, doing whatever is necessary and won’t care about recognition because they are doing it unto the Lord.
2)Those whose connection to the True Vine is weak and dying – they will come to church but they won’t be involved in any ministry. They are too busy with their own lives and the things they want to do. If they are busy, they will want to be noticed. They will want to have the praise and acclamation of the people and God gets very little glory from their sparse fruit. Some of these are self-proclaimed “prayer warriors” and they make sure you know it. Some are convinced that their great talents are God’s gift to the world and that the whole world should be ever so thankful that they exist for certainly the church could not exist without them. There are those who are convinced that they know more than any preacher or teacher could ever know and yet, they don’t know how to interpret what they know to help other people.
3)Then there are those who are definitely connected to the wrong vine – these “dear Christian brothers and sisters” are in the church only to see and be seen; to have their own way at all costs; don’t care much at all for any type of real ministry. They love to gossip, to backbite, to gripe, to complain, to see every fault and find every excuse not to get involved or be a part of anything that requires something of them.
Those in the first condition, I thank God for you all. I know that you love Jesus, you love your Pastor, you love your church, you love your fellow Christians and you love the Work of the Lord. I can see your fruit and so can everyone else who cares to examine your life. God is continually changing you and you are constantly getting better. You are connected to the True Vine and it shows. Stay close to God and allow the Holy Spirit to lead you and Heaven will be your reward.
Those in the second condition, I thank God for you also. I know that deep within your heart there is the heart of a servant for Christ. The battle that rages within you is the battle for your very soul and only you can decide the outcome. Even in all of your faults and failures, Jesus loves you. The Father is even now doing all He can to prune those bad habits and attitudes from your life. If you chose to follow Christ, you will, one day, become connected completely and the fruits that you bear will be plentiful and sweet. Hold on to the Lord and never give up. But, there is a warning. Unless you repent of your ways and turn back to Jesus, the Father will have no option but to cut you from the Vine and allow you to die. He will not allow you to continue in sin and failure without consequence. The consequence of sin is always death. Don’t let that happen. Get back to your first love and come to Christ with all your heart.
To those in the third condition, those connected to the wrong vine – I thank God that you are here too. You are treading on dangerous and deadly ground. Satan is going to ultimately destroy you if you don’t change your ways and come to Christ. Come quickly! Don’t wait. Each day you stay connected to the vine of the Devil his connection grows stronger. The only power that can cut you from Satan’s vine is the power of the Cross. Jesus died for you. He does not desire than you should perish with your father, the Devil. I know that these are strong words but your soul is too important to not tell the truth. If you haven’t been cut off from the True Vine yet, you shall be cut off soon. God will not tolerate bitterness and confusion to come from wolves in the church for long. He will cut you off and the word “Ichabod” shall be written across the door of your heart meaning that the “Spirit of the Lord has Departed”!
I am happy that you are here in church, for at least here you can hear the truth. Jesus said in John 8:32, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
Do you wish to be really free from the bonds of a bad attitude, a gossiping tongue, a backbiting spirit and a sinful heart? You have heard the truth. This message has been for you more than anyone else. If you will heed the call of the Holy Spirit as He is calling you to an altar of repentance and acceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ, then the truth that you are hearing will make you free. Freedom from the production of rotten fruit and freedom from the bonds of Satan will be yours if you will obey God right now.
Finally, I want to ask everyone this question, “Which of these conditions are you in right now?” Are you fully connected to the True Vine and bearing the fruits of righteousness that come from a repentant heart? Are you losing your grip on Christ and feeling the Hand of the Father as He is gently pruning you and trying to make you productive? Have you lost your connection to Christ without even realizing it and now you find yourself bound to the life that Satan is dictating for you?
Thank God if you are connected, pray for a stronger and more productive connection or seek God with all you heart so that He may sever you from sin and bring new life and a more productive life.
Which of the vines are you connected to right now? Make sure it is the True Vine and that your life is bringing forth much good fruit in the Kingdom of God.
