10.16.2011 How to Bear Fruit Like Jesus

SermonAudio

Lord, we are reminded what a cost it was to You to shed Your blood for us. You bring us to You. Help us to understand how much You love us and have done for us. Help us to be like the one leper who returned to say thank You. You have cured us and healed us of so much – brokenness, sin, sorrow – may we always come back to our God and say thank You for what You have done for us and in us. Help us to hear from You this morning that Your word might open our hearts in a new way. In Your name we pray.
We are going through the Story of Jesus – and How to Live Like Jesus Lived. Today we are going to share another parable – last week we looked at Mike Maffei’s story – a very powerful story. You can find that online.
Matt. 13:24 He presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 "But while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away. 26 "But when the wheat sprang up and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. 27 "And the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?' 28 "And he said to them, 'An enemy has done this!' And the slaves ^ said to him, 'Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?' 29 "But he ^said, 'No; lest while you are gathering up the tares, you may root up the wheat with them. 30 'Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn."' "
Now, in Matthew, he focuses on the Kingdom of Heaven and how true disciples of Christ produce fruit of the Kingdom. If you are truly a follower, your life will be transformed. That is what God does when we come to Christ – He transforms us, changes us on the inside. Matthew contrasts those in the Jewish nation who believed themselves to be followers of Yahweh, but were not, with those who were true followers.
Jesus explains the parables – they had never heard messages like this before.
Matt. 13:36 Then He left the multitudes, and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field." 37 And He answered and said, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 38 and the field is the world; and [as for] the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil [one;] 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. 40 "Therefore just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. 41 "The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 "Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
This is a very simple parable. I’d like to focus on v. 38 38 and the field is the world; and [as for] the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom;
He is saying – we, as disciples, followers of Christ – are planted in the world. Think about it – you have been planted by Christ in the world. That is where He has placed you. And as much as we might want to, at times, NOT, be in the world. Or to be separate from all that is going on – we have been planted there – and the weeds are growing up all around us. And our hope and desire is to get out of the weeds of the world. But Jesus is saying – no, that is where you will be until the end of the age. This is a simple reality of life. The Kingdom of God is planted in this world and is to grow in the midst of the world – but it continues – where we are planted in the world is where God wants us to bear fruit. He has planted us there – so that in that condition – where we are planted, we might bear fruit for the kingdom. I believe that each of us is strategically planted. With all that is going on – your socio-economic condition – your wounds – all that has gone on in your life, all that is happening now, GOD, in His sovereignty, has strategically put you in this part of the world as a disciple of the kingdom in order that you might bear the most fruit for His kingdom. And we have to ask ourselves, do we really believe that? We might think if we were in a different situation, we might be better at being fruitful. But Jesus is saying – you are living among the weeds that you might bear the most fruit. Too often in life we forget that God has called us to bear fruit. IN the circumstances you are in right now. That doesn’t mean you can’t move or get a different job – whatever it is – take your talents to South Beach – but what it is saying – when you look at your life now – whatever it looks like – there is fruit that God wants you to bear – and no matter what mistakes you have made – however you have messed it up – God has you here – now – at this moment – that you might grow. If you are a follower of Christ – you are in good soil – you have all you need to grow. And as you grow – to make your life fruitful for His kingdom in such a way that your life really matters – it counts for the kingdom of God. It may sound cliché, but it is true – and God has something significant in your situation. But sometimes we lose that sense. God has called us to something big – not defined by the world.
If we are to bear fruit, we need to understand fruit. Matthew talks about living with kingdom ethics – summarized by the Sermon on the Mount – it is to live it out. You see a description of the disciples of the kingdom. Read Matthew 5-7 – and ask – how do I live this out. It is radical and extreme. There is some hyperbole in there – He tells us to pluck out our eye if it causes you to stumble. He doesn’t mean that literally.
Matthew is balancing – in one sentence he tells you to let your light shine – so men can see your good works and glorify God – but then He says to not do anything to be seen by men.
“Modern interpreters must let Jesus radical demands confront us with all the unnerving ferocity that it may have struck the first hearers.”
First – it depends on a humble dependence on God. Blessed are the poor in spirit – we need to have a sense of our poverty in this world – our spiritual poverty – and allow it to bring us to a trust in God only.
Second – this must drive us to relationship with others – peace and reconciliation. It is summed up in 7:12 – the Golden Rule.
Third – This kingdom ethic is not simply practicing religion – but getting to the heart of Scripture.
The first way to bear fruit is to understand fruit (as seen in the Sermon on the Mount)
The second way to bear fruit – to demonstrate the life of Jesus.
Matthew 5: 14 "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 "Nor do [men] light a lamp, and put it under the peck-measure, but on the lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
You’ve all been on the highway where you can see a city off in the distance – that is what we are. Now let your light shine so people can see your good deeds – that through our lives, people would honor God.
Tim Winton – Australia – one of the most celebrated novelists in Australia today – on ABC ( not American Broadcasting Company, but Australian Broadcasting Company) – is known for his faith.
He has more than a dozen bestselling books in Australia. Once interviewed on the television show Enough Rope, - Hosted by Andrew Denton - At one point in the interview, the conversation turned to Winton's well-known Christian faith.
Denton said to Winton. "When you were…about five, a stranger came into your family and affected your family quite profoundly. Is that right?"
- Tim Winton told how his father, a policeman, had been in a terrible accident in the mid-1960's, knocked off his motorcycle by a drunk driver. After weeks in a coma, he was allowed home.
Winton said, "My father was like an earlier version of my father, a sort of augmented version of my father. He was sort of recognizable, but not totally my dad. … Everything was busted up and they put him in the chair. … I was horrified."
Winton's father was a big man and Mrs. Winton had a great deal [of trouble] bathing him each day. There was nothing that Tim, five-years old at the time, could do to help. News of the family's situation got out into the local community and shortly afterward, Winton recalls, his mother got a knock at the door. "Oh, g'day. My name's Len," said the stranger to Mrs. Winton. … "I heard your hubby's a bit crook [not well]. Anything I can do?" Len Thomas was from the local church, Winton explained. This man had heard about the family's difficulties and wanted to help. "He just showed up," [Winton told Denton in the interview], "and he used to carry my dad from bed and put him in the bath and he used to bathe him—which in the 1960's, in Perth, in the Suburbs, was not the sort of thing you saw every day."
According to Winton, this simple act of kindness from a single Christian had a powerful effect. "It really touched me in that, regardless of theology or anything else, watching a grown man bother, for nothing, to show up and wash a sick man—you know, it really affected me."- Len Thomas's love was an act of the will that promoted the good of another.
These good deeds need to come out of our ordinary circumstances. You have ordinary circumstances like this. Wherever you are – you have opportunities like this – and while it may seem small – it can have extraordinary fruit as a result for God’s kingdom. It may be helping an elderly neighbor for several years. But He says to let your light shine so they may see your good deeds. What good deeds am I doing – I was at the library and I wanted to kick myself. Cindy wanted to watch Amazing Grace – the story of Wilberforce. And I hear this kid screaming – somewhere off in the distance – and it keeps getting closer. And in my mind, I am thinking – what do I do – she is trying to get the kid and she spills her purse. It all happened so fast – and then it was my turn to check out – and I wish I had said – Can I help you? Is there anything you need – I didn’t want to put her purse back together…but there are people all around us – and there are needs. It is an opportunity to lend a hand.
1 Peter 2:12 Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may on account of your good deeds, as they observe [them,] glorify God in the day of visitation.
John Dickson – how good deeds conquered an Empire – Jesus’ call was taken seriously – they devoted themselves to quiet heroic acts of godliness. The Church in Jerusalem set up a large daily food kitchen – seven devoted to the ministry. In response to a famine that ravaged Israel from 46-48 A.D. – read Acts with that in mind – that Paul is collecting money to take for these people who have been hit by this.
These good deeds continued long after the New Testament era. 1500 destitute helped each day – hospitals and orphanages… - The reason we have hospitals today – the reason we care for our poor – it is because of Christianity. Those things did not exist – the church did this.
Historians often point to ancient Israel as the start of a comprehensive welfare system to care for the poor and marginalized. Nothing ever seen like it before…
Things got so bad – by the 4th century - Julian was fearful that Christianity would take over the world by the stealth of good works.
Julian the Apostate, recognized that the Christian practice of compassion was one cause behind the transformation of the faith from a small movement on the edge of the empire to cultural ascendancy. Writing to a pagan priest, he said, “We need to effect a cure for Christianity. [W]hen it came about that the poor were neglected and overlooked by the [pagan] priests, then I think the impious Galilaeans [i.e., Christians] observed this fact and devoted themselves to philanthropy. As a result, they have led many to their Christianity.”6 To another, he wrote, “[They] support not only their poor but ours as well, all men see that our people lack aid from us.”7In fact, Julian proposed that pagan priests imitate the Christians’ charity in order to bring about a revival of paganism in the empire.
When we look for solutions today – they are not coming from the government – or Wall Street – or banking systems – or big business. God wants the church to stand up and allow our good deeds to shine in such a way to glorify God.
Next time – in our small groups – we are talking about Jesus and the poor.
The last question – each group will think of a project to do – just one to engage people in need. Someone in your world – where the weeds are growing – in your community – and I encourage creativity and time to think about it so you can come up with something.
The first way to bear fruit is to understand fruit (as seen in the Sermon on the Mount)
The second way to bear fruit – to demonstrate the life of Jesus.
The third way we bear fruit is by proclaiming:
Matt. 9: 36 And seeing the multitudes, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and downcast like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then He ^said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 38 "Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest." 10:1 And having summoned His twelve disciples, He gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.
10: 5 These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them, saying, "Do not go in [the] way of [the] Gentiles, and do not enter [any] city of the Samaritans; 6 but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 "And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'
We have to bring all three together to bear fruit for the kingdom. The preaching of the message without the first two never works.