Hidden Roots, Shared Fruit.

Matthew 12
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.

  • Just as a tree is known and identified by its fruit, so God’s people are known and identified by theirs. It is a simple yet sobering truth that there are only two types of tree, and both produce fruit. The good trees produce the fruit of The Spirit, revealing the life and heart of Christ, but the bad trees produce the fruit of flesh and corruption.
  • We do not get to self-identify by name or label. No—a tree is known and identified by those who see and sample its fruit! So we ought to ask ourselves the question, “What fruit am I known for?” Does the world look at you and see the fruit of The Spirit, or do they see dead religion and worldliness?
  • And let’s remember: it is not “judgemental” to call a tree by what it produces—in fact, it is necessary!

Matthew 12
34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

  • How can we speak good things? How can a young man cleanse his way? How can we bear good fruit? These are searching questions, but praise The Lord for He has given us the answers and hope! Hallelujah! As we take heed to His Word, as we abide in Jesus the Vine, as we fill our minds and hearts with God’s Word and seek to be filled by His Spirit, we can be assured of GOOD fruit! Hallelujah!
  • If a man truly cares about the fruit he will produce, he will be prayerfully intentional to filter what he fills his heart with. The Born-Again man, abiding in Christ, will not give himself to worthless things, he will diligently guard his heart and defend the gates—the ear gate and the eye gate. Of course, he will fail and fall at times. But he will not remain there. He will be repentant, confessing to the Lord with grief over what he has allowed in, and he will seek to be transformed by the renewing of his mind. His life and purpose will be this: to fill his heart with The Lord, his God.
  • We WILL reap what we sow. We WILL bear fruit! The question is not “if” we bear fruit—but what kind of fruit? Today, right now, you are bearing fruit. Consider that! It is not the case that we will bear Good fruit or no fruit, but rather, right now, you ARE BEARING fruit! Whether good or bad depends on what you have sown to and what you have fed on. Is your heart full of God’s Word, fellowship with His children, and His praises? Is your heart full of His Spirit? Or is it full of your hobbies, work, bills, and fears? Consider your conversation and your conduct… Do your family, friends, and colleagues hear and see Jesus in you?

Matthew 12
35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.

  • What is the abundance of your heart? What words proceed from your mouth?
  • Oh, may we seek The Lord to be filled with His Word and His Spirit. May our hearts truly treasure Christ above all else! May HE be the abundance of our hearts! There is no end to His glory, to His fullness, to His rest, love and perfect peace! We can have as much as we seek after! Hallelujah! Oh, let’s go to the fountain and drink of His living waters! Come my brother/sister! Let’s go to Jesus together and fill our hearts with Him!

Matthew 12
36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.
37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Why Did You Doubt?

Matthew 14
28 And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”
29 So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.

  • Isn’t it a lovely consideration that Peter, in the middle of this turbulence which tossed their lives about, believed that it was safer to be on the water with Jesus than in the boat! Just imagine his thoughts as he clambered over the side of the boat and lowered his foot… It seems utterly crazy! It goes against all logic and common sense! But to Peter, Jesus was his Master, Shepherd, and Example. Wherever Jesus called, he desired to follow!
  • It’s important to note that Peter didn’t leave until Jesus called. He didn’t step out in ‘blind faith’. He didn’t push ahead with his own will; he asked Jesus to confirm and to call. He sought reassurance that His Master was before him and calling him to come. Until that call, he would remain on the boat.
  • Understand that Peter was far more interested in being with Jesus than walking on the water! In the middle of that storm, tossing their lives to and fro, the longing of Peter’s heart and his immediate physical need was to be with His Saviour! It is precious to remember that when Jesus calls us to a work, He calls us to where He is! He does not send us out alone into the storm but rather, in the storm, He sees our struggle and He calls us to Himself. Hallelujah!

Matthew 14
30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”

  • When Peter realised his need, he cried! Without reservation he cried out for deliverance!! He realised his predicament, he acknowledged his helplessness, he confessed his need. This was not some academic or religious exercise! This was a desperate cry for Salvation and it is precisely this cry that The Lord responds to!
  • However closely Peter had walked with Jesus in previous days, weeks, and months—however intimate their conversations may have been—notice that Peter did not call out a name, as though calling a friend or equal. Peter cried out, “LORD!” That is significant! In Jesus we do have a friend who sticks closer than a brother, we have a precious walking companion along the road, but He is Lord, Master and Shepherd! There is no deliberation or dealing, there is only obedience and trust or disobedience and faithlessness. Let us never lose a reverence for our Lord and willing obedience to Our Father. Let us never forget His holiness, His authority, and His power! May we never underestimate what God can do and desires to do through us!!
  • Jesus responded IMMEDIATELY! Hallelujah! What a precious Saviour we have! The instant that Peter cried LORD, Jesus caught him! He didn’t just take Peter by the hand, but He CAUGHT him. He HELD him! What a lovely picture and reminder of the loving kindness, tender mercies, and compassion of Our Lord and Saviour! He reached down and raised up the weak, failing, untrusting flesh! Oh thank you Jesus! 
  • And then there is that poignant question, “Why did you doubt?”. Why did you take your eyes off me? Why did you stop trusting in me?

Matthew 14
31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

  • Why do you doubt Him? Why do you live in your drowning? Why are you resigned to exist in perpetual storm, struggle, and fear? Why do you feel you need to understand and control everything? Why are you content with anything less than enjoying Christ’s fullness and His promises! Why don’t you trust? Why do you doubt Jesus? Jesus is calling you to HIMSELF! You have been called into the presence of God! You have an invitation to be WITH Him, to LIVE with HIM!! There is NOTHING that compares to being in HIS presence! There is no greater life than a life lived trusting and obeying The Lord! He is the very source of all comfort, all blessing, all joy and satisfaction! HE is perfect peace! Hallelujah!
  • Oh may we be so careful to keep our eyes on Jesus, to keep all of our focus, attention, affection, service and trust on Him! Let us be so careful to avoid complacency, to resist/endure temptation and to run from ANYTHING that would hinder our intimacy with Jesus! What a wonderful and abundant Life He has promised and is faithful to bestow! What a powerful, supernatural life we can live as we continually give our hearts to obey HIS call and walk towards HIM!

TRUST

Isaiah 26
3 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
4 Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.

  • Trusting in The Lord is a truly wonderful way to live. Take a moment to consider what it really means to trust. It is casting EVERY care upon Jesus, literally throwing them off of you and on to Him. It is EVERY weight and care given to Jesus. It is yielding ALL responsibility into His almighty hands! It is FAITH in His Goodness, Mercy and Love!
  • Now consider what are you left with. HALLELUJAH!! Perfect peace ruling in your heart!! Joy Unspeakable and full of glory!! Rejoicing evermore and gratefulness in all things!! The freedom and liberty to look to others and serve them!! Oh, give this MUCH thought fellow believer! Oh how much Christ has won for us!! Oh how great is our salvation!! Oh hallelujah! Bless His Name!!
  • Oh what a precious promise to those who choose to trust. The Lord keeps them! He keeps their hearts and minds in PERFECT peace. A peace full and complete. A peace without question, doubt or fear. It is not earned in daily ritual or claimed by empty repetitions, nor is it simply a mindset to acquire. It is simply a choice!

Colossians 3
15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

  • LET His peace rule!! LET His Word live!! Oh, brother/sister the choice is very much with you!!
  • Faith is a choice. You can choose right now to believe, repent and then rejoice! Or you can choose to keep carrying and living under the weight of your own cares, fears, sin and shame. Choose to enjoy Christ or endure Christianity. Choose to trust your life to Jesus and let Him abide and reign in your heart, the alternative is frustration, anxiety, lust, shame and the wages of sin, death.
  • Oh, may we learn to truly live in trust! Oh how wonderful life with Jesus truly is!! Abide in His presence, throw off all your cares onto Him and live in the Joy, Liberty and Peace of trusting Jesus Christ, the Almighty, Creator and Saviour! 

How Many Loaves Do You Have?

Matthew 14
16 But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
17 And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”
18 He said, “Bring them here to Me.”

  • Jesus says “YOU give them”. What a command to receive. We can understand the disciples feeling perplexed. They didn’t have the resources to fulfil this order, they hadn’t come prepared to serve like this, it was so far beyond their capability. They had a desire to obey but the solution was outside of their control or comprehension! They were given a seemingly impossible task.
  • Jesus did not set them up to fail. He did not leave them to their inability. No, this was a precious teaching moment between The Lord and His disciples. The lesson is the same as one in Matthew 8 when the disciples feared for their lives in the storm. They looked immediately to their earthly circumstance and their inability to save themselves. Now, once again, they are faced with the impossible and their immediate response is to despair over their fleshy situation. In both instances however they failed to realise all that they needed was already with them. Isn’t this so often the case with us too? Oh what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear, all be because we do not realise, Jesus is already there!! Go to Him. He is SO MUCH MORE THAN ENOUGH! He is all and in all. He is the Father of abundance and He loves to bless His children to glorify His name!

Matthew 15
34 Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few little fish.”

  • How many loaves do YOU have? Brother, sister, bring the little that you have to Jesus. It’s not enough, but HE IS!! Bring who you are, bring what you have, cast your rod before His feet, as Moses did, and do not underestimate the “exceedingly, abundantly more than you can ask or think” that The Lord will do. You may not see the results but what does that matter as you rejoice exceedingly in trusting your Father and walking in His will!
  • Give it all to Jesus. Yield every part to Him! Oh the precious, wonderful joy of a yielded life! Oh the peace of a childlike trust in The Father. Oh the joy of obeying His Word and Spirit. Oh be faithful in the little that you have, be faithful in the little that you have been called to, for our God is most greatly glorified in the those little, insignificant, foolish things given to Him. Hallelujah!

The Lord Takes Note

Malachi 3:16
Then those who feared the Lord talked often one to another; and the Lord listened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him of those who reverenced and worshipfully feared the Lord and who thought on His name.

  • What incredible, precious blessing and comfort is promised to those who fear God and fellowship in His presence. It is amazing to think that The Lord takes note of the times we have delighted in recounting His testimonies and promises. He pays attention when we come together and encourage one another in His Word. Not only can we enjoy our hearts burning within us with joy as we fellowship but The Lord is actively listening and sharing in our joy! HALLELUJAH!!
  • They spoke often to each other! They delighted in reminding themselves and each other of the goodness and faithfulness of God. Their conversation was not about their own righteousness or the life of others. They did not give their words to criticism or complaint nor did they glorify a man. Their conversation was not earthly but heavenly, it was not fleshly but spiritual. They spoke together of The Lord and His testimonies, His victories and His provisions! It wasn’t something they only mentioned in church or when they were asked to teach, rather it was the joy of their heart and the outpouring of their personal meditation. They gloried in The Lord! They were looking unto Him, their creator, the author and finisher of their faith!
  • It is precious that we can share our burdens with one another and confess our sins to one another. Confession and transparency are important, hard conversations are absolutely necessary and vital to healthy fellowship. But let the conversation always come to Christ! May we always get to HIM and HIS great Salvation and the beauty of HIS Holiness! It is vitally important to share one another’s burdens… But we do so with hope! We do so with HIS JOY! We talk to one another of JESUS CHRIST! Our Saviour who has forgiven each one of us MUCH!! Hallelujah! Bless His name! Thank you Jesus!

Matthew 12
35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.
36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.
37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

  • Oh, may our hearts produce good fruit for our creator. May we pour out in conversation and conduct the good fruits of HIS Life, HIS Spirit and HIS Word! Let us encourage one another brothers and sisters! Share Jesus with each other. Enjoy HIM together! That is where He is most greatly glorified!
  • Oh may we learn to be careful with our tongues. May our conversation be always in God’s presence, with His listening ear in mind. May we speak with JOY and may we speak with reverence.
  • The Lord is listening and He is taking notes!