What is the Lord, really expecting from us? That we yield fruits continuously, throughout our life. Though we get old in terms of numbers, we are exhorted, to flourish like a palm tree, like a cedar tree, flourishing and being evergreen, with full of sap and yielding fruits, continuously. There is a promise of God, we see in Psalms 92:12-14.
In Psalms 92:12-14, ‘12 The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree, He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 13 Planted in the house of the Lord, They will flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They will still yield fruit in old age; They shall be full of sap and very green’. We know that, palm trees can survive in desert in dry and harsh conditions and produces more sweet dates as it gets old. Similarly, growth of righteous man should also be full of sap. Sap is like the blood of tree. In John 10:10, ‘..I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly’ we see here that through Jesus, it is possible in our life. In John 15:5, ‘5 I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.’ We see here, ‘apart from Jesus we can do nothing’. It emphasizes us, to abide in Jesus, so that we can glorify God in all situations. God wants us to have that intimate relationship, a complete dependency on God, so we can have an abundant life, bearing fruits through Holy Spirit.
In John 5:30, ‘30 “I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.’ and John 14:10, ‘10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works’, the Holy Spirit is helping us to do his work in us. All spiritual sap with complete dependence on Gods word yields godly fruits.
In Galatians 5:22, 23, ‘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. ‘, verse 19 we see, ‘19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.’, we see if we don’t abide in Jesus, it will result in producing worthless fruits. In our practical life also, we need to abide in him continuously. Why is it important to abide in him? In John 15:6, ‘6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned’ – shows the seriousness of why we need to abide in Jesus, we are not in rest in God. There is a danger that, there comes a question mark of our salvation, losing our salvation. We will be thrown into the fire and our salvation will be in jeopardy, if we don’t abide in Him.
In Mathew 7:15-23, ‘15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, you will know them by their fruits. 21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’ We see if we don’t abide in Jesus, we will be thrown into fire. Jesus will say, ‘I don’t know you’, if we don’t abide in Him. We measure our life through the fruits we bear. We need to abide in Jesus. Restore our relationship with Jesus. We need to come to God with a repentant heart, longing to have abundant life in our Christian life.
In Jeremiah 17:7-8, ‘ “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord And whose trust is the Lord. 8 “For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That extends its roots by a stream. And will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield fruit.’, we see irrespective of situations and conditions, the blessedness of a righteous man is yielding fruits, throughout his life. He will not fear of any condition, like a root that reaches deep into water, he stands firm in all situations, his trust is only in God, fully dependent on God. Such a man’s life is evergreen and always bearing fruit. When we do this, we can be a testimony to others, as true disciples of Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father will be glorified in our lives.
I John 2:28, ‘28 Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.’ We are encouraged to abide in him. Let us have that longing always in our life. In 1 John 2:6, ‘6 the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.’ We are encouraged to walk like Jesus walked. We can experience the sap. The Holy Spirit will help us to be fruitful in all situations by abiding in Jesus. May God bless us.
