LUKE 13:6\u20139<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cIf it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
(Luke 13:9)<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Jesus told a parable about a landowner who had been looking for figs on a certain tree for three years. Finally, he told his vineyard keeper to cut down the tree. \u201cWhy should it use up the soil?\u201d exclaimed the owner. The vineyard overseer, however, said, \u201cSir, leave it alone for one more year, and I\u2019ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down\u201d (Luke 13:6\u20139).<\/p>\n
The application of this parable to Israel at that time is fairly clear. God was ready to judge Israel, but Jesus was asking the Father to give Israel one more chance. We need to consider the meaning of this parable for us today.<\/p>\n
This story shows that God requires fruit from us. Because of the aggressive character of modern enterprise and the numbers orientation of some churches, we find many Christians who hold that God does not care about fruit. All He cares about, some choose to believe, is that we try. It would take some pressure off of us if it were true. Bearing fruit, however, is one of the main emphases in Jesus\u2019 ministry. To be sure, we are not to become caught up in our society\u2019s fascination with shallow and quick results, but we dare not become so peaceful that we lose interest in bearing fruit.<\/p>\n
God calls us to make our labors fruitful. The parable shows us that God is patient and gives second chances. We need to understand that there is a limit to God\u2019s patience and mercy. It is urgent that we get our lives in order.<\/p>\n
In our day, a common philosophy is that human generosity demands that we give people a second chance. But as unpleasant as it may be, we must realize that it is ultimately God\u2019s prerogative to cut down unfruitful trees. Any second chances are evidence of God\u2019s mercy and we dare not presume upon it. We don\u2019t know when we will die. But when we do, there are no<\/i> second chances.<\/p>\n
CORAM DEO<\/b><\/p>\n
Psalms 79\u201381<\/p>\n
Romans 8:1\u201317<\/p>\n
Dawson Trotman of the Navigators said, \u201cEmotion is no substitute for action and action is no substitute for production.\u201d God wants each one of us to bear fruit. Today, reexamine the parable of the sower. Evaluate your productivity in light of Jesus\u2019 admonition to bear fruit 30, 60, or 100 times what was sown.<\/p>\n
For further study: Matthew 13:1\u201323; tape #B57INT.62\/63<\/i><\/p>\n
wednesday<\/p>\n
august<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LUKE 13:6\u20139 \u201cIf it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down\u201d (Luke 13:9). Jesus told a parable about a landowner who had been looking for figs on a certain tree for three years. Finally, he told his vineyard keeper to cut down the tree. \u201cWhy should it use up the soil?\u201d … Continue reading “BEARING FRUIT FOR GOD”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11246"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11246\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}