The fig tree: Jesus
hungered on his journey and went to this beautiful tree. The fig trees could have fruit on them all
year long in Palestine. They had early
figs, and there is a heavy fig bearing season.
As Jesus went, He undoubtedly knew already that there would be no figs
and knew what He would teach the disciples from this.
Mat 21:17 And he left them, and went out of the city
into Bethany; and he lodged there.
Mat 21:18 Now in the morning as he returned into the
city, he hungered.
Mat 21:19 And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he
came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And
presently the fig tree withered away.
Mat 21:20 And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig
tree withered away!
Mat 21:21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye
shall not only do this which is done
to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain,
Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.
Mat 21:22 And all things,
whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
If you have faith:
Everyone on this audience has the ability to read scriptures and know scriptures. I have been studying trying to understand the
book of 1 Corinthians. If you have faith:
it takes faith to bear fruit. Fruit is
born spiritually by us obeying the Word of God that is revealed to us or the
Word of God that we understand. We
continue to bear more fruit as we understand more.
Not only will you bear more fruit but you will see mountains
removed.
All things whatsoever you shall ask in prayer: It is a very important thing that we grasp
how God has made the promise and qualified it in this thought. As you and I are praying, not the ushering up
of, “God I want this and I want that.”
When you have gone into the closet and shut the door.
It is marvelous that we can identify with that in our
day. How real it is to us that there is
a real truth of getting somewhere alone with God and getting our mind, the
pressures of the world, the troubles that we know about, and the fears of ‘what
if this happens’, the fears that are the making of our own mind, shut down.
When you have entered into the closet and shut the door,
when you pray to the father which sees in secret. There is something about knowing that we are
in the presence and audience of God. Life and prayer take on a total different
thought pattern than before.
Yes, if there are tangible needs and needs for the
necessities of life, yes we are definitely going to pray that they be met. But when we were in the closet, there is
something past the tangible things of life.
whatsoever you desire. There is
something in the heart of every individual that was born, they have or had the
desire to bear fruit for God.
There is something about us that even before we are aged, we
don’t want what the selfishness of life has to offer. Selfishness is one of the ugliest traits that
is in the world.
“God, I want to please you and bear fruit for you.” We have all seen lives that were beautiful on
the outside but when you got to examining the fruit you found it without valor
and virtue.
Jesus taught the disciples that He hungered to see their
fruits. Brother and Sister Green sang
the song, “There is an All Seeing Eye Watching You.” There is an eye that is looking for fruit in our
lives.
For all these precious children that are here this morning,
we are happy and thankful that you are all here. The parents desire to see the children mature
and bear the fruits of manners, of being well trained, of following whatever
the rules of the house are.
That is the same way with God the Father and Jesus the Son
with you and me. After we are saved, He
desires to see real fruit in our lives.
The healthy fig tree bears fruit year around in Palestine. John the Baptist said, “Bring forth fruit
worthy of repentance.” Remember John
gave a very strong introduction to that text.
He was dealing with people that were trusting in their self-righteousness. Self-righteousness doesn’t make us
righteous.
John taught people to come to Jesus repenting. The reason that is important for our day is
that it is vital that every child learns the value of repentance toward
God. Every sin is toward God. Rom 3:23 teaches that we have all sinned and
come short of the glory of God. God
requires that in order for us to be right with Him, we confess our sin and turn
from our sin.
Jesus finding the fruits of repentance on an individual
life: It is difficult for me to grasp
that there is something in the personality of some people that find it very
difficult to ever be wrong. I was a
child that grew up in trouble in school, at home, and in other places. I got a lot of correction.
John the Baptist teaches that there are definite fruits of
repentance: humility. How beautiful humility is. How beautiful it is when we come before God
and say, “At this exact season of my life I really need you.” There will not be true humility without
repentance. It is what allows us to be
right with God and to bear fruit.
I think of how many are crying out for direction for the season
of their life in this audience. Through
the eyes of a parent and a grandparent I can see how the job that my daughter
has applied for is a really good job.
God alone knows what would be best, whatever it would be: spiritual,
material, a job, or a season of being a parent and grandparent.
Jesus found people at the temple that were interested in
utmost seats and buying and doing business in the house of God. The saddest
thing was that they were not teachable.
Being wrong is not the issue, it is: Are you teachable?
The problem that Jesus had with most of the religious people
of the day was that they were not teachable.
They were interested in it being their way. Humility was not one of the fruits that were
on their tree.
Other fruits are faith, honesty, and obedience.
If you have faith, Rom 12:3 God has given us all a measure
of faith. Vs 1 present bodies a living
sacrifice. Vs 2 don’t be conformed to this world. Vs 3 to every man is given a measure of
faith.
Think soberly. We are
all given a measure of faith. Ps 19
teaches us that because every eye has seen the creation of God, they have a
measure of faith. Everyone is
accountable to God because of this and God created it beyond a shadow of a
doubt.
Paul told the Romans “Think soberly.” I am too old to have any unbelief in my
life. Yet it is an old battle. Unbelief got Adam and Eve in real
trouble. In Matthew 13 you can see where
Jesus couldn’t do many mighty works because of their unbelief.
It comes to work on a lot of people. Think soberly about this measure of faith. Faith is under attack, Paul wrote in Romans,
faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
There is something about drawing close to God and how alive
the Word of God comes to us. I thought
of when I awoke Saturday morning. I
remember my first thought was, Colossians 3, “Ye are dead and your life is hid
with Christ in God.” Every day you and I
awake we have the blessing and the opportunity of dying to self, to the world,
to the many voices that would try to attract us here or there. You are alive in Christ.
The Word of God becomes alive over and over again.
2Pe 1:1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of
Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through
the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
Peter was humble here and wanted us to know that he was a
servant. We were given a measure of
faith as a child. I cannot remember the
grocery list but I remember some things about my childhood. I wanted to know where I came from and what
would happen to me when I died. Now as I
look back I understand that it was that something within hungering after God.
They have obtained like precious faith. We come to the realization that, “That which
was given to me is so precious.” Don’t
let anything mine it away. The devil
comes to steal and destroy.
Those that have obtained like precious faith: the affects:
2Pe 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you
through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
There is something that is so amazing about grace. Amazing grace how sweet the sound! God has a very special grace for you in
seasons of your life. We receive that
grace by having like precious faith of you and me coming to God, “God you know
where I am.”
Sometimes our minds doubt that anyone one understands, but
God understands. You can open your heart
and God fully understanding. Grace
multiplied: when you start dealing with
doubling things, 2X2=4; 4X4=16; 16X16=?
There is something about God, He knows His times tables.
Peace: there are some
things that you and I have never experienced.
With cancer, the disease reaches a certain place…, whatever you dread
the most, if it happens, if you are rightly related to God and His Son and the
Holy Spirit, and you exercise your like precious faith, peace can be multiplied
past 16X16.
Through the knowledge of God: Oh that we can know God and how great He is! In Psalms 1, I read that some commentator
said, “This book starts with a benediction:
Blessed.” Usually the blessings
are given at the end. Jesus started the
beatitudes with a blessing.
If we can have a knowledge of God, how great He is, how
blessed God is, how often times before we are at the end of something He gives
a great blessing. It has happened over
and over again: The blessing of peace,
of confidence that God will see us through.
Think of the confidence: Moses with millions came to the red sea and
before they got through it, God gave the blessing of opening up the sea.
2Pe 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto
us all things that pertain unto life and
godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and
virtue:
2Pe 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and
precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature,
having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
This was written for every one of us. Peter failed God, was converted, found that
place of repentance, and got it all right with God. He was there in Acts and received the Holy
Spirit of God and knew what it was like to have the divine nature of God.
We are undeserving but we are blessed.
2Pe 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to
your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
2Pe 1:6 And to knowledge temperance; and to
temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
2Pe 1:7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to
brotherly kindness charity.
You may have faith in God; begin adding virtue: moral
excellence, doing right. Know about God,
about what the Bible teaches, and about prayer.
Know about secret prayer and the secrets that God gives us in
prayer. It is no secret what God will
do.
To knowledge add temperance.
Have a balance in your life in everything. Temperance toward yourself, toward those that
you have to do with, toward those things that you enjoy in the world, a balance
toward everything.
To temperance patience:
Patience is a wonderful trait to be added. Your faith will be put to the test on
patience. There is an epidemic in the
world that does its best to try your patience almost every day. When Jesus comes looking for fruit, have moral
excellence, knowledge, temperance, and then patience.
I will be patient.
Maybe it is patience in understanding the Word of God. Maybe you feel that no one understands
you. I want to encourage you that God wants
you to have patience. Sometimes we fall all over ourselves trying to explain
ourselves, patience.
To patience brotherly kindness: Not just because of what we went through
Thursday. Don’t rush out of here this
morning. Show brotherly kindness to your
brother and sister. The last opportunity
I had to see one of my brothers that is in eternity, I didn’t take the
time. I should have stopped.
I have time to be kind.
As I age, things bother me more. You
probably know someone that is old enough that get urgent things in the mail,
pre-sorted with stamps on it, “Urgent, open at once.” Brotherly kindness: You will probably reach that age that you
call someone up, “I have something urgent come over.”
Know brotherly kindness as a child. It is amazing how long it takes us to get to
be a teenager and it is then amazing from 20 to 21, it gets to be 30. For some it is a journey accepting 40. Then 50 comes and you think, “Oh my fifty!” I was so happy that I made it. Brother Herb would say, “Fifty, that is nothing.” Then 60 comes: Brotherly kindness in every
age.
To know how to share, to know how to enjoy and how to be
enjoyed: If you are going to have a
party with certain people there, make sure that you have Jesus there and then
you will feel that it is a perfect party.
Add to godliness brotherly kindness. To brotherly kindness add charity, holy love
in action. Before you try to make any
expression to anyone, “My brother I think you ought to do this or that, or I
see a shortcoming in your life.” Until
you have added all the previous things, your ability to instruct and add
charity will not get anywhere. But when
your tree has these fruits and your brother has a need and you go with all
these things and love, then you will be described:
2Pe 1:8 For if these things be in you, and abound,
they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
2Pe 1:9 But he that lacketh these things is blind,
and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old
sins.
I have been so challenged by the eye of faith. I want to have the eye of faith. Not that I am totally blind, but I want to
have a clearer vision of what God can do.
My father is glorified, my father is honored, when you bear
much fruit. My disciples bear fruit.
The saddest thing in the world is a life without spiritual
fruit. The most beautiful sight in this
world is a life bearing fruit for God.
Fruit begins with repentance followed by obedience, followed
by adding faith.
Blessed is that man that is as a tree planted by the
rivers. He bears fruit. His testimony is sure. God takes care of him.
The greatest miracle ever seen is the miracle that God does
in our own personal individual heart because we know that miracle.
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