Sunday
07/14/19 - Sidney UMC
Sermon Title: “Bearing fruit”
Old Testament
Scripture: Psalm 82
New Testament
Scripture: Colossians 1:1-14
Gospel Lesson:
Luke 10:25-37
Friends,
brothers and sisters in Christ, welcome once again on this the Fifth Sunday after
Pentecost. Five Sundays after the Holy Spirit moved nearly two-thousand years
ago, and the Christian Church was born. We who are here today, are part of that
legacy and the faith that goes all the way back to Jesus Christ, and beyond.
This morning, I want to talk about fruit. For some of us
here, we love fruit. Especially this time of the year. Some of us love fresh
watermelons, strawberries, peaches, and etc. Growing fruit, is not a new
venture or vocation. In fact, having vineyards for wine is biblical, and it
goes back far beyond even when Jesus walked the earth. Sometimes we can pick
wild berries, or find fruits in nature, but often they are grown by us.
Perhaps we grow them ourselves on a farm, in a garden, or perhaps
buy them from a farm stand or a grocery store. Fruits are very important to
many of us. In the gospel of John, Jesus even says in one of his “I Am”
statements that:
“I am the true vine, and my Father
is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every
branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit” (Jn. 15:1-2,
NRSV).
Jesus is the vine that connects us to God the Father,
through the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus also says that God removes the branches
that bear no fruit, and that he prunes the branches so that they might yield
more fruit.
For any of us that have plants, or a garden, we know about
pruning, weeding, and making sure that a plant is watered, healthy, and able to
produce fruit.
The scriptures talk about separating the wheat from the
chaff, as Jesus tells us in Matthew 3:12. Jesus says the wheat, the good part
is preserved, and that bad part, the chaff, is removed, pruned, or even burned.
Jesus
tells us the parable or story of “The wheat and the tares: in Matthew 13:24-30,
and how weeds or tares grew around the wheat. Jesus was using this a comparison
to the righteous and wicked, but still a useful reference for this morning.
In
the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus tells us the story or the parable
of “The Fig Tree”. Jesus was of course using a fig tree (a fruit tree) to
discuss the kingdom of God, and his second coming.
The
Bible is full of agricultural references. We live in a culture nowadays
however, where many kids are estranged from farms and from where there food
comes from. As a result, some of the scriptures talking about agriculture, and
some of the parables of Jesus talking about agriculture, might not make as much
sense to some as they once did. Yet, there are lot of references to farming,
growing, harvesting, and best practices for caring for plants and animals in
the bible.
This
morning, in our reading from the Apostle Paul’s Epistle or letter to the Colossians,
the Apostle Paul talks about “Bearing fruit”. In fact, he says once again
starting in 1:3:
“In our prayers for you we always
thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for we have heard of your faith
in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of
the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the
word of the truth, the gospel that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit
and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves
from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God” (Col. 1:3-6, NRSV).
The Apostle
Paul tells the church in Colossae that the gospel of Jesus Christ is “Bearing
fruit” in them and through them. This fruit is seen in growing faith, a growing
church, understanding the grace of God, and the spreading of scriptural and
social holiness. The fruit of their faith and works can be seen, like fruit on
a fruit tree.
This reading
from Paul’s letter to the Colossians once again ends with:
“For this reason, since the day we
heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled
with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and
understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to
him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of
God. May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious
power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while
joyfully giving thanks
to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the
saints in the light. He
has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom
of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col.
1:9-14, NRSV).
So the idea of bearing fruit biblically speaking, usually
has nothing to do directly with actually growing actual fruit. The references
in the bible to growing fruit and producing fruit, having nothing to do,
generally speaking, with actual farming or agriculture. Instead, these
references have to do with us, with God, with Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.
Generally, the biblical references to “Bearing fruit” or other references to growing
fruit and productivity in the growth of fruits, are examples designed to speak
to us.
We are then in biblical terms like fruit trees. Jesus and
the Apostle Paul is not telling us to plant apple trees to bear fruit. Although
we could. The Apostle is not telling the Colossians this morning that the
orange trees that they have planted are growing well, rather he is talking
about spiritual fruit. Generally, when the bible talks about bearing fruit, it
is talking about spiritual fruit. This means, that if faith is growing, if
people are coming to faith in Christ, if the church is growing, if the community
and the world is being changed and transformed through the gospel of Christ
working within us, then we are bearing fruit.
If a pastor of church has served a church for years for
example, and if no one has come to Christ, no one is growing in faith, and the
community or the world is not being transformed, then that pastor is not
bearing fruit. They may personally own many fruit trees that are bearing literal
fruit, but they are not bearing spiritual fruit. The scriptures talks about God
cutting branches from us and pruning us, as if we were actual trees. If we are
not bearing fruit, then sometimes God has to come in like a master gardener and
cut and prune us, so that we might produce spiritual fruit.
I am sure that we all have went through times of cutting
back and pruning in our lives, where God really took the pruning shears or the cutter
to us. It was painful, we didn’t like it, but as a result of it all, God was
able to grow us, so that we could better produce more spiritual fruit. If we
allow God to do what he does best, sometimes he is going cut and prune us, like
a fruit tree that has grown wild and to free. He will shape us, trim us, and
while it might be painful, he then will be able to use us to bring forth new
spiritual fruit.
I would like to share a story with you briefly about “Bearing
fruit”. This story is called “A lesson I
learned about bearing fruit as a Christian,” by Katherine Kehler. This story, taken from www.thoughts-about-god.com,
and begins with a scripture from Psalm 1 verse 3. Here is the story, beginning with
the scripture:
“They
(people who delight in everything God wants them to do) are like trees along a
river bank bearing luscious fruit each season without fail” (Psalm 1:3)
“The
timing couldn’t have been better. My husband was home for a few days between
trips, the weather was great, the grandchildren were out of school an hour
early and the apples were ripe and ready to be picked”.
“As Marvin
started the tractor, our daughter and granddaughters stepped into the front
scoop and they all headed off to the big old apple tree in the middle of our
pasture. Picking apples from the elevated scoop is so much easier than using a
ladder. I watched them for a while and then decided to join them. I couldn’t
stay in the house working on the computer when they were having so much fun”.
“We were all laughing. The girls loved picking the apples
and we ended up with a large container full. I was amazed at how many apples
that old tree produced. It was old when we first moved to the property 14 years
ago. The trunk of the tree was almost completely rotten. How did it get its
nourishment to produce leaves and fruit, I wondered? I came to the conclusion
that because it was so old, its roots had grown very deep into the soil and
they nourished the tree”.
“Christians also produce fruit in season and out of season,
not just when we look and feel good. My brother had Lou Gehrig’s disease and
spent his last two years in a long-term care hospital. Even though he was
confined to a wheelchair and couldn’t speak, he radiated Christ. People would
come to see him just so they could sit in his presence. He prayed all the time.
At his memorial, his nurses all came. They openly shared that they would come
to his room and tell him more than they told their significant other. Several
of these nurses came to faith in Christ. Even though Frank’s body was decaying,
he was rooted and grounded in Christ”.
“How are you doing today? Feeling a little discouraged
because you cannot “do” all the things you used to be able to do? Let me
encourage you to “be.” Abide in Christ and He will produce the fruit in and
through you. Rest in Him and He will cause you to bear much fruit”.
The founder of the Methodism Movement, John Wesley, when he
was looking at someone who wanted to be a pastor, or a current pastor, among
other things, he always wanted to know if that person was “Bearing fruit”. It’s
not a competition, but if we know Christ, if we are serving him, if we are
allowing God to prune and to shape us, then we should be bearing fruit. Churches
and pastors that are “Bearing fruit,” who are serving, loving, healing,
forgiving, and caring for each other, are churches that I believe do and will
have strong futures. We will because we are living our faith.
In our gospel reading from the gospel of Luke for this
morning, once again, Jesus tells us the parable or the story of the “Good
Samaritan”. Once again this gospel of Luke lesson says:
“Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he
said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is
written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the
Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your
strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said
to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live” (Luke 10:25-28, NRSV).
Jesus tell us, that we are to love God
and love our neighbor as ourselves. How does this “Bear fruit” though? I think
that through living the gospel of Jesus Christ, that we will indeed “Bear fruit”.
The
gospel once again finishes by saying:
“But
wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus
replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the
hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half
dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he
passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place
and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came
near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and
bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his
own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took
out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and
when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ Which of these
three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the
robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and
do likewise” (Lk. 10:29-37, NRSV).
We
bear fruit, when we live, teach, love, and act like Jesus. You want this church
to continue to grow, transform Sidney and the world, and “Bear fruit”? Then
continue to allow Christ to work in you and through you.
God
still prunes and shapes me from time to time, but I pray, I hope, I strive, I
labor, with God’s help, so that I might “Bear fruit” for the kingdom of God,
through Jesus Christ. Brothers and sisters, may we “Bear fruit” for and through
Jesus Christ. Amen.
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