who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law[b] of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away." Psalm 1:1-4
The Kudzo vine -- in 1972 declared a noxious weed. It can grow 60 feet a year; a foot a day -- will overtake everything!
Not all vines, not all fruit is good. We are to produce fruit for the Kingdom.
"So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food." Genesis 1:27-29
They were to produce more humans like them!.
"And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth." Genesis 9:1
Again God told Noah to be fruitful and multiply. He says the same thing to Abram and Jacob later. He wants us to produce and multiply our kind. It is still our command:
"By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full." John 15:8-11
"16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you." John 15:16
How do we bear fruit? By living in and making our home in Christ --
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:1-5
If we're not producing fruit for Jesus Christ, we are living wrong. Bear fruit -- be worthy of God's investment in you.
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits." Matthew 7:15-20
So, you are gooiung to bear fruit -- good or bad.
The only way to produce good fruit is through Jesus Christ. The world has its own trees -- their fruit is obvious. Bad apples might look great on outside, but inside they are tasteless and mushy and gross. World fruit is rotten fruit.
43 “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, 44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." Luke 6:43-45
Evil produces evil.
What do you spend your time, your money and your attention on? Bear fruit for Jesus.
10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;" Colossians 1:10
15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name." Hebrews 13:15
Tap into Jesus. Increase your knowledge of God by getting into His word. If you want to grow in Christ you must be in His word. God wants the good to multiply. More good...We need to be different than the world.
Fruit of the Spirit
4 Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. 5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death." Romans 7:4-5
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." Galatians 5:22-24
If you live according to the world's "rules" or way of living or culture (etc) you will get world junk and world fruit.
Who doesn't want to have an abundance of the fruit of the Spirit traits! The only way to get them is abiding in Christ.
In the Galatians 5 passage above, "have crucified the flesh" is a continual dying to self, an intentional choice. This takes effort.
Questions:
1. Are you producing fruit?
2. Are you hanging around those with rotten fruit?
3. How much?
You want an abundant life? Bear abundant fruit!