Bear Fruit

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 1st of November, 2026 - All Saints Day.  We also brought three new members into our church family this morning.  If all went well, a recording of the service may be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams for the older services or https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch3115/streams for later services.]

Have you ever visited a working orchard?  Some of the best apples you’ll ever eat come from our NC mountains.  The climate is just ideal for their sweet, crisp development.

Running an orchard can be a lot of work, and it’s not just in picking the crop.  The orchard managers constantly inspect the trees, pruning off branches that no longer produce.  

The same goes for vineyards, where even more pruning is done, including those little new growth suckers.  The trees in orchards eventually get too old to produce much fruit any more.  But the main vines of vineyards can be hundreds of years old, and transplanted from far off lands.

Jesus often used grape vines and vineyards in His parables and sermons.  Like the time when He told us, “I am the true grapevine, and My Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch of Mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and He prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.  Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing.”   For a craftsman whose “Dad” was a carpenter, Jesus knew a lot about farming, and shepherding, too, for that matter.

There was this one incident, though, when Jesus was looking for a certain crop not yet in season.  This occurred right after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on what we now call Palm Sunday.  Jesus and His disciples had left the city and walked just up the road to Bethany, where they lodged for the night.

Please listen and follow along to what happened the next morning, as recorded for us by the Apostle Matthew in verses 18 through 27 of the 21st chapter of his Gospel account, and I’ll be reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible this morning…

18 In the morning, as Jesus was returning to Jerusalem, He was hungry, 19 and He noticed a fig tree beside the road. He went over to see if there were any figs, but there were only leaves. Then He said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” And immediately the fig tree withered up.

20 The disciples were amazed when they saw this and asked, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?”

21 Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. 22 You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.”

23 When Jesus returned to the Temple and began teaching, the leading priests and elders came up to Him. They demanded, “By what authority are You doing all these things? Who gave You the right?”

24 “I’ll tell you by what authority I do these things if you answer one question,” Jesus replied. 25 “Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human?”

They talked it over among themselves. “If we say it was from heaven, He will ask us why we didn’t believe John. 26 But if we say it was merely human, we’ll be mobbed because the people believe John was a prophet.” 27 So they finally replied, “We don’t know.”

And Jesus responded, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I do these things.”

--Matthew 21:18-27 (NLT)

Let us pray…    Father God, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of each of our hearts be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, our Strength and our Redeemer.  And now, Father, please open our hearts to receive Your message this morning.  Touch each of us with Your most Holy Spirit that we might keep our faith alive and well, bearing fruit in service to our Lord and Master Jesus.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.

Author and psychiatrist Dr. M. Scott Peck once wrote that, “Sacrificial love has transforming power.  Genuine love is volitional rather than emotional.  The person who truly loves does so because of a decision to love.  This person has made a commitment to be loving whether or not the loving feeling is present.  If it is, so much the better; but if it isn't, the commitment to love, the will to love, still stands and is still exercised.  ...  True love is not a feeling by which we are overwhelmed.  It is a committed, thoughtful decision.”

This is about volitional love, the love that we purposely decide to share.  True love, as Jesus commands of us, is the expression of our faith, a sign of our belief, a mark of our discipleship.  It is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.  It is the purest fruit we can bear.

So after a busy day in Jerusalem, clearing the sellers and moneychangers out of the Temple, and a good night’s sleep, Jesus was hungry.  On their way back to the city, He notices a fig tree off to the side and checks to see if it has any fruit.  The Apostle Mark also reported on this incident from his interviews of the disciples, and he reported that the season was still too early for fruit.  But Jesus cursed the tree anyway and it withered up right before their eyes.  And of course He then had to explain to His astounded followers how powerful faith can be.

Now this part all about faith is very important for us to learn and understand, and is fairly well known.  But what might not be so well known, and can be easily overlooked, is the part about the consequences of not bearing fruit.  And really, this is about faith, too.  For our faith in Jesus allows us to bear good fruit, and avoid being cursed, wither up, and die eternal death.

In his letter to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul encourages us to let the Holy Spirit lead us in our daily walk so that we might bear fruit.  Please listen to what Paul wrote in chapter 5 verse 16 and verses 19 through 26 of that letter…

16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 

19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to His cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.

--Galatians 5:16,19-26 (NLT)

Let us follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives, not being conceited, not provoking one another, not being jealous of one another.  This is how we bear fruit.  Following the Spirit's guidance, we will not wither away, but will continue to bear good fruit.

Much earlier in His ministry, during what we call His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus again speaks of fruit, and of the trees that bear the fruit.  Please listen as Jesus warns about not bearing good fruit, as recorded by Matthew in the 7th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 17 through 20…

17 “A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 19 So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. 20 Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.”

--Matthew 7:17-20 (NLT)

A little earlier, right before Jesus walked up to His kinsman at the River Jordan, John, whom we call the Baptist, warned the Pharisees – and us – about the consequences of not bearing good fruit.  Matthew recorded John’s words in the 3rd chapter of his Gospel account, in verses 8 and 10, when the Baptist said…

8 “Bear fruits worthy of repentance. 10 Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.”

--Matthew 3:8, 10 (NLT)

This follows the same pattern as Jesus’ parable of the tares and the wheat, where the tares are cut down and bundled up to be thrown in the fire.  And of course, we know that all three cases refer to the lake of fire, the place of eternal torment and punishment, the place we want to avoid at all costs.

So let’s follow the Holy Spirit’s leading and do our very best to bear good fruit.  And remember that love is one of the fruits of the Spirit.  When we love all others, the way Jesus loves us, we are bearing good fruit.  And we show the best form of love by not wanting people to end up in that eternal fire.  So let’s help save some souls.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for inspiring Your Son and His disciples to warn us about what will befall those who do not bear good fruit.  These poor souls are doomed.  Thank You for giving us the faith to believe in Jesus as Your Son and our Lord, the faith that can move mountains.  And thank You, Father, for blessing us with Your Holy Spirit.  Sadly though, Father, we don’t always follow His guidance.  Please remind us that Your Spirit will lead us in the way that does bear good fruit, the fruits of the Spirit, if we only let Him.  And Father, encourage and strengthen us to be effective witnesses so that others might come to know Jesus, too.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment so that each of us can speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your and our Lord’s commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, thank You for showing us the power of faith, and explaining it when we fail to fully understand.  Thank You for inspiring us to bear good fruit, the best fruit, the fruit of love.  But Lord, You know how much we struggle to speak to folks about our faith.  We have trouble getting up the courage to approach others, especially strangers, to tell them about You.  Please help us be a witness of Your mighty deeds and love.  Help us love as You love, loving selflessly, unconditionally, sacrificially.  Help us show Your love and God’s love as we reach out to others, sharing Your words and Your works, telling them all about You.  Help us carry out the mission You gave us, seeking the lost sheep and leading them to You.

Holy Spirit, please lead our lives that we might bear only good fruit every day.  Prod us and push us to love others as Jesus loves us.  And please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this world might offer.  All this we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.