Transcript

Thank you for being here this morning, and if you have your Bible with you, would you take it out please and turn to Luke chapter 13.

Luke chapter 13 in your New Testament. That's where we will be for the beginning of our lesson, at least as we consider some things. . That pertain to our congregational focus for 2023. Our, our focus has been rooted and grounded, taken from Ephesians chapter three in verse 17, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you being rooted and grounded and in love may be able to comprehend all of these things that Paul's talking about there in the third chapter of Ephesians.

And for each of our quarters over the course of this year, we've had a, a focus that comes from that very verse as we think about Christ and the faith and love that we are to be rooted and grounded in these things. I am rooted and grounded in Christ, for example, which means I am convicted that Jesus really is who he claimed to be, and I am steadfast in that faith.

And when I became a Christian, I received Christ on his terms, not my own. As the promised Messiah, my Savior and my Lord, and now I strive to live my life as do all who wear his name following Christ's direction, imitating his steps, which gives all of us purpose, direction, belonging, and hope. Even as we sung about just a moment ago, I am rooted and grounded in the faith as we all strive to be.

That objective faith, which refers to the gospel that. Divine absolute standard that is revealed in the New Testament, which embodies the Christian doctrine that is once for all delivered to the saints. And it is my prayer and Christ will, that we should all seek fervently the one faith and that we should hunger and thirst for it.

That we should search the scriptures daily and diligently in order to find it. And when we do find it, when we see the truth. That we would be willing to give up anything, make any change, perform any act of obedience, to be a part of that truth, of that faith. And I pray that we are all rooted and grounded in love.

Love for God, love for others, like God loves them. And this provides the grounding that we need to stay firm, but also the rooting the nutrients we need in order to grow. Love is the soil into which our Christian roots are rooted, and that's, that's when and why we can grow. Well, when we have this root in love and these three roots are so inter intertwined, so interdependent, so close to one another that it really is impossible to fully separate them.

And though we focused on each one at, at each of these quarters, Really, there was so much overlap as we consider those three things being rooted and grounded in the faith in Christ and in love, and I pray, I pray that's where our roots are. But we have one more quarter left and we're fresh out of things that are found in Ephesians chapter three.

So what is this fourth quarter all about? Well, let's begin this quarter with the question why? Why? Why are we rooted and grounded in these things and in these ways? What is the purpose, the goal, the desired or even demanded outcome of this reality? I pray that this is true of us. I pray that this is true of you this morning, that you truly are rooted in Christ, that that's where you find your identity, that you're rooted in the faith.

That's where you find your direction, and that you're rooted and grounded in love. That's where you find your motivation to do all of these things. I hope that is true of you, but if it is truly, if it is, how does that show itself? What is the outcome of that reality? Is it, put it another way. Is it just, I don't do bad things?

Is that enough? If we are rooted and grounded in these ways, well, it is that we shouldn't do bad things, but I wanna suggest this morning that that's not all, it can't be all if we are going to be who Christ has called us to be. If you're there in Luke chapter 13, let's read together verses six through nine.

This is a parable that Jesus gave in probably his second year of ministry. Luke chapter 13, beginning in verse six. He also spoke this parable. A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, look, For three years, I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and found none.

Cut it down. Why does it use up the ground? But he, the keeper of the vineyard, answered and said to him, sir, let it alone this year also until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well, but if not, after that, you can cut it down. Here's my question. Was the fig tree in this parable rooted and grounded?

By all accounts, it seems as though the tree was big enough, healthy enough that it should have borne fruit, that it was rooted and grounded at least on appearance. And I can't help but think about Matthew chapter 21, verses 18 through 22. In fact early in my Christian life, I always kind of got these two things confused.

In Luke chapter 13, there's a parable about a fig tree that's barren. And then at the end of Jesus's ministry, in fact at the last week of his life, in Matthew chapter 21, there is a fig tree that Jesus really actually sees. And he goes over to it because it's, it's fully leaved out. I don't know if that's the right term.

It has lots of leaves on it, which means that it should have had figs on it as well. And so he goes over there and he finds none, and he curses that fig tree for being barren, for not producing fruit. And the disciples are amazed because one day it's in full bloom, everything looks great. The very next day they come and it is withered.

We are told withered down to the roots. And I can't help but think that maybe the disciples on that occasion would've thought back to this parable and thought to themselves, Hey, remember a year ago, remember when Jesus told that parable about a fig tree and how the keeper of the vineyard, which in my judgment, that's Jesus, and God says, I'm gonna come in judgment.

And Jesus says, give me another year to work. And a year later, there's an actual real life fig tree that's there, and Jesus curses it. And it withers because it didn't bear fruit.

Brothers and sisters, there is nothing better that we can do for our spiritual life than to be rooted and grounded in Christ and the faith and in love. But if we do not bear fruit from that rooting, we can never be who Jesus calls us to be. We must bear fruit. And I think there are some people who have the very unfortunate misconception, a lot of young people have this misconception that Christianity is primarily a do not religion.

Do not do this, do not do that. Thou shalt not. If you want to put it in the King James way. . And while there are plenty of do nots, Christianity is primarily a do religion. It is active, it is working. And if we as Christians have believed that lie, that being a Christian is just not doing a bunch of things that are bad, we cannot be satisfied with that.

We cannot be satisfied with just not doing bad things. We need to get busy doing, working in the Kingdom of God. and one of the metaphors that Jesus uses very frequently to express this idea is the concept of bearing fruit. And that brothers and sisters loved ones is the reason why we are rooted and grounded.

We are rooted and grounded so that we might bear fruit and Jesus makes clear here and a number of other of places in the New Testament. That fruit bearing isn't just a nice perk of Christianity. Fruit bearing isn't just something that you do when you retire and you get everything else figured out.

Fruit bearing is essential to living the truth of the Christian life. Jesus says Of the barren fri tree of three years in this parable, cut it down. Why should it use up the ground? Ground? That no doubt could have been used for something else. Something else that would've borne fruit. Something productive.

And what a waste it is for someone to become a Christian and then bear no fruit. How grateful we should all be for God's patience with us as we seek to grow into people who can bear fruit, but eventually that fruit must be born. And if we have produced no fruit, how can we truly say we are part? Of Christ Vine.

We know of course, that our fruit reveals who we really are. This shows that we are who we claim to be. Turn to Matthew chapter seven, if you would. Matthew chapter seven. In Matthew chapter seven, beginning in verse 15. Jesus uses this analogy, uses this illustration of fruit.

And in verse 15, he says this, beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly, they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles even so every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.

Every tree that does not bear good fruit is what? Cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by your fruits, you will know them. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven. But he who does the will of my father, who is in heaven, fruit reveals us good or bad. As we do God's will and all Christians must bear fruit.

Recently we studied from Matthew chapter 13 on Sunday mornings, and Matthew chapter 13 in verse 23, at the end of that parable of the sower, which is maybe Jesus's best known parable, in verse 23 of Matthew 13, it says this, In explaining this parable of sowing and bearing fruit, Jesus says He who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it.

Mark says he hears the word and accepts it. Luke says he hears the word and he holds it fast. You know what that is? That's someone who is rooted and grounded in Christ. In the faith and in love, what happens who indeed bears fruit and produces Psalm a hundred fold. Psalm 60 and some 32 points to keep in mind from this parable.

Number one, we all bear the same kinds of fruit. Now they're in different amounts based on our talents and our abilities and our opportunities. Just like different sized or aged or nourished trees bear different amounts of fruit as well, but it's all the same of fruit from the same kinds of trees. We have a tree beside our driveway.

If you come here in a couple of weeks to our fall party you'll see it as you walk in. And when we moved in, in fact, the very time we moved in, it had all of these little pairs on this tree at, at the beginning of our driveway. So I asked you a very simple question. What kind of tree is at the beginning of our driveway?

A a pear tree, right? That's. It's so simple, Jesus's illustration that everybody can see it. Everybody can understand it. That image is so effective because it's so simple. A plant bears that kind of fruit and no other kind. So as a Christian, if we're that kind of tree rooted and grounded a Christian tree, that means that we produce Christian fruit and no other kind.

Secondly, we see here that all of us must produce some fruit if we are truly rooted and grounded in good soil, if our hearts are right. Back to my pear tree again. When we moved into the house, we were so excited because we had a fruit tree and a fruit tree that was already bearing fruit. We had this pear tree.

And then I got really disappointed in that because the fruit that that our tree made seemed like a total dud. It made these hard little pears and there were a ton of them. It was bearing much fruit a hundred fold, but they were hard and so hard that you couldn't even really eat them. I mean, you could.

We tried, but it wasn't really good when we ate them. And I dismissed the tree as unproductive, not a good tree, until I learned two things from other people who know . Trees and horticulture better than I do. Apparently our true tree produces what the old timers called canning pears. Raise your hand if you've ever heard of a canning pair.

Okay, well, you knew I didn't. Okay. A canning pair. Apparently these kind of pears are especially good for that because they're harder than other payers. And the thing is, as soon as somebody told me that, I said, these are my favorite kind. Because my great-grandmother used to make pear preserves from those so-called canning pears.

I didn't even know what they were. And so this tree that I assumed was just so ineffective, unproductive, so bad, turned out to be much better than I anticipated. It was bearing fruit and bearing good fruit. I just didn't see it. And, and maybe we can even think about it this way. The fruit even wasn't just for me.

I, I think a lot of times that's the way we think about those sorts of things. The only fruit that counts is the fruit that I benefit from. But it was interesting looking at this tree. I promise. This is my last illustration with this tree, and we'll move on. Looking at this tree, it was weird because it had all this fruit.

They would fall to the ground and they disappear. And I'm like, that's too fast for them to ride away. So what's happening? . Well, one day as I was driving home, I see this squirrel with a pear in its mouth running off to a tree, and I realized this fruit, this fruit's going to all sorts of other things besides me.

Here's the application to my little parable. Not as good as Jesus's. Maybe others don't recognize the value of the fruit you bear. , maybe others see your fruit and say, that's not important. That's not great. That's no big deal, but they're not the ones that count. Does God see the fruit that you bear? Does he appreciate the fruit that you're bearing?

Whether it is a hundred fold, 60 fold, or 30, and maybe, maybe it's not for them, that you bear that fruit. Perhaps it is up for others. God knows and sees when you produce good fruit, and so the question that is just begging to be asked at this point in the lesson. . It's what is good fruit? What does that fruit really look like?

What kind of fruit should we produce as Christians? Well, our fruit is manifested in several different and visible and practical ways, and I'm about to give you a list. Don't worry, we'll go through this list quickly. It's seven fruits that we can and should bear. And this is not something that is just groundbreaking.

You know, I've never heard this idea before. In fact, all this is, is a very simple search of this idea of fruit. And we see these seven specific ways in the New Testament that Christians bear fruit. These seven things are referred to as fruit that we bear in the New Testament. So here's what I want you to do as we go through this list very quickly, some more quickly than others.

As we go through this list, I want you to ask yourself two questions. Two questions. Am I bearing this fruit? How can I bear this fruit? So let's consider these and look at these together. And for those of us who ask, what can I do? Where can I start? This is a good place for us to start in thinking about the dues of what we should be doing as Christians.

Number one, the first fruit that we should bear is the fruit of holiness, the fruit of sanctification being set apart. Turn to Romans chapter six. Romans chapter six. A couple of images are being used by the Apostle Paul in Romans. The sixth chapter one is of slavery, being a slave to sin or a slave to righteousness.

But we also see him sneak in as Paul so often does he. He loves using mixed metaphors. We see him sneak in this idea of bearing fruit as well. Notice with me Romans chapter six and verse 21. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? He's asking the brethren in Rome to be to, to reflect reflective on the things that they did before, before they were Christians, and say, what kind of fruit did you bear when you were living this life that you used to live in sin for the end of those things, whatever fruit you bear, the end of those things is death.

That's where it leads. You will be cut down by God, verse 22. But now being set free from sin and becoming slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness and the end everlasting life. And so the fruit that we bear as Christians begins with this idea of holiness or sanctification. Living like a Christian should live is bearing fruit to doing what I should do, not doing what I shouldn't do.

That's the transformed life. I'm holy, I'm sanctified, I'm set apart for the, from the world to God's service. And so I'm different than the world, and I have a different purpose than the world. Over this past weekend we were doing some tree trimming. My father-in-law was in town. If you have to guess why we're doing that.

Very helpful. Doing some tree trimming. And so we were going to Mike's burn pile and we were putting some branches on the burn pile. And along the way we see some cows in the pasture and there's a donkey out there, and it seems like Mike always has a donkey or two in with the cows. And Steph asks, why is there a donkey out there?

Well, you have to ask Mike to see if this is really the reason or not, but . But I know a couple of things about donkeys and why you would put them with other animals. You put 'em with cows because donkeys provide protection for the cattle, protection against predators and so forth. A donkey is tough.

A donkey is gonna be one that steps up in the face of danger, and so it's there among the cows. But it set apart for a different purpose. Growing up we had horses and my granddad used to put a donkey with the horses. He said it was to settle the horses down. That horses don't get as skittish when there's a donkey with them.

Again, maybe it looks more like those other animals, but it's still set apart for a different purpose. And for us, we're in the world and sometimes the world is way different from what a Christian ought to be. And so it's like that donkey among the cows. We stick out like a sore thumb. We're totally different, but that's okay.

That's what we're supposed to be. We're supposed to be sanctified, set apart for a different purpose by God than everybody else. And maybe sometimes we as Christians are pretty similar When the world is, is close to what God would have it to be. Maybe it's like a donkey among horses, and at first glance, maybe you don't see much difference at all.

But in those moments of truth, in those moments of danger, in those moments when everybody else is fleeing like the horses, that's when we truly stand out. Are we set apart from the rest of the world? Are we the donkey among the cows? I'm different than the world I should be because I'm a Christian and this is a standard that is unchanging and unchanged since God established it.

Whatever else is around us, we should be staying the same. My fruit is staying with the standard God has set as the world changes all around me. But if I talk exactly like the world and dress exactly like the world and act like the world, and worst of all, if I think like the world, if my priorities and goals and decisions are all made on the same basis as the rest of the world, you know what my fruit says?

My fruit says that I am of the world, that I'm not sanctified, that I'm not set apart. Instead, I am apart. I'm just like everybody else. But that's not God's will. God's will is for us to bear the fruit of holiness and sanctification. We are called to be that way, and this is the will of God, your sanctification, one Thessalonians four, three through eight talks about specifically in regard to sexual immorality.

In that passage, the rest of the world can be consumed with those sort of, of lust. But you as Christians, you cannot be. And whether that's the church in Thessalonica or the church at Timberland Drive, we must be set apart from the world because this is the will of God and this is the first fruit. Maybe this is the closest in this list of what we would call the do nots in regard to the fruit we bear, but the rest of the fruit deals with the dues.

The second fruit that we should bear is the fruit of righteousness through discipline. Turn to Hebrews chapter two, or Hebrews chapter 12, excuse me. Hebrews chapter 12, notice verse nine. Hebrews chapter 12. So chapter 11, we have all these people who lived by faith and did the things that they should do.

Beginning of chapter 12. Jesus lived that way too, and we should look to him. They're all set apart, they're sanctified, they're holy. But then he says, you know that you're gonna have to go through some difficulties. You, you might even have to shed blood. They're gonna be some things that you are gonna be chastened in, disciplined in, have trials in, and notice what he says beginning in verse nine.

Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the father of spirits and live for they indeed for a few days chastened us as seen best to them, but he that is God for our prophet, that we may be partakers of his holiness.

So God is allowing us to go through the things that we're going through to produce in us his holiness. Verse 11, no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful, nevertheless, afterward, it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it to therefore strengthen the hand switch, hang down, and the feeble knees.

Make straight paths for your feet so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. Righteousness might be described as the positive, practical manifestation of our holiness. When we endure hardships and persecution with Christ-like patience, it produces in us a righteousness. A righteousness that only grows through difficulty.

I, I mean, I mean, it's hard for us to wrap our minds around maybe, but difficulty can be the fertilizing that God gives us, so that though we are rooted and grounded now, we can produce fruit, we can produce the fruit of righteousness through the fertilization of difficulties in our life. And what are the qualities of righteousness that we should all have?

Well, they are summarized well in Galatians Chapter five A, a passage you're probably familiar with, but will you turn there with me please? Galatians chapter five, beginning in verse 22. The fruit of the spirit is what we call this, well, we don't call it that. Paul does as he is writing to the church in Galatia.

He talks about the works of the flesh. You can inherit the kingdom of God, but verse 22, the fruit of the spirit. Love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control against such, there is no law. And those who are Christ's rooted in grounded have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

If we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit. How are you bearing fruit in this way? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. I mean, that's, that's a song that the kids sing sometimes, right? But that's a lot for us to take in. How am I bearing fruit in this way?

And we say, well, why is it called the Fruit of the Spirit? That's lots of different fruits. May I suggest that that's really intentional what Paul does there. He talks about the works of the flesh, and that's plural in both Greek and English. Then he talks about the fruit of the spirit, and that is singular, not plural, singular.

And that's clearly seen in Greek that it's a singular fruit, fruit of the spirit. And yet he lists all of these different things. May I suggest that it really is just one fruit of the spirit. This is the one result of being truly converted and growing into maturity. The one result of that is that all of us will all produce love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and self-control.

That is how. That is how a Christian is seen and known with this Christ-like character. If we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit. And in some ways this shows the completion of the process. We are a different tree. We're rooted in, grounded in these things, and now we bear a different fruit than what we bore before.

And so bearing fruit is the natural purpose of, of a tree. Sure. But also for a Christian. Not just in what we don't do, like the works of the flesh, but fundamentally who we are from the inside out, characterized by this list of things. And so again, the question is, does this describe me? Does this describe you?

Is this the fruit that I'm bearing? Number four, we're supposed to bear the fruit of praise and Thanksgiving. Turn again to the book of Hebrews. This time to the 13th chapter. Hebrews chapter 13.

In the context of talking about being sanctified, and you're gonna have to be outside the camp, sometimes you're gonna have to be separated from the world in that kind of holiness and righteousness. Notice verse 15. Therefore by him, that is Christ. Let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God.

That is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name, the fruit of our lips. What comes out of our mouths as Christian? That's a good way to think about the fruit that we bear. What fruit is coming out of my mouth? Is it the fruit of praise to God because of who he is and who I've become? Is it the fruit of thanksgiving to God because I see the blessings that he's given me in my life.

In my prayer, in my song, in my Thanksgiving. This kind of a acknowledgement and dependence and worship of God is just a part of who I am. And yeah, that's manifested in coming to the assembly because I want to worship God with my brethren collectively, but it also shows up in my day-to-day life. I wanna produce this fruit not just a few times a week when we're all together.

I want to produce this fruit throughout my week. I wanna find purpose and meaning and encouragement in the fact that I worship and praise and give thanks to my God. I should be producing that fruit. Number five, we should produce the fruit of good works and growth in knowledge. Turn to Colossians chapter one, Colossians chapter one.

This is a passage to which we've referred as we've thought about this idea of bearing fruit and being rooted in grounded Colossians chapter one.

Notice beginning there in verse nine, Colossians chapter one and verse nine. For this reason, we also since the day we heard it did not cease to pray for you and ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will and all wisdom and spiritual understanding that you may walk worthy of the Lord fully pre pleasing to him.

How being fruitful in every good work. Increasing in the knowledge of God strengthened with almight according to his glorious power for all joy and patience and long suffering, giving thanks to God the father, who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. We know that God prepared works from before the foundation of the world, that we should walk in them.

And so what good works are you doing for God and for others? May I just as an aside for just a moment. I see so much of this good fruit being produced among the Christian trees that I see planted here in this congregation. I see your growth. I see your love. I see the good works that you perform, and sometimes I'm in a position to even see good works that other people do not.

But if, if you struggle to say, what good works am I doing? Where am I growing, then maybe this is a good place for you to start. Our vine starts with Christ. He is the vine and we are the branches. But he is supposed to direct us in knowledge, a knowledge of who he is and what he desires, so that then we can bear this kind of fruit that he desires from us.

The good works that he prepared for us to do from before the foundation of the world. Then number six, we're supposed to bear the fruit of sharing and receiving material things with the brethren. Turn to Romans chapter 15. Romans chapter 15.

Notice with me verses 25 through 28. Romans chapter 15 in verse 25. But now Paul says, I'm going to Jerusalem. To minister to the Saints to serve. The Saints to give to their needs is the idea. And it pleased those from Macedonia and Akea to make a certain contribution to the poor among the Saints who are in Jerusalem.

It pleases them indeed, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things. And so here's the image. The Gentiles are receiving primarily from Jewish Christians who are going and preaching the gospel.

These spiritual blessings that they're receiving, that's fruit that's being born. And we'll talk about that more here in just a moment. But then on the other end, the, the poor Jewish Christians back in Jerusalem, now they are receiving fruit material blessings from these gentiles. Who have received these spiritual blessings, and this is the way he describes all of that in verse 28.

Therefore, when I have performed this and sealed to them this fruit, I shall go by, by way of view to Spain. It's obscured in some of the translations, like the English standard version and others their word for this material gift. What has been collected. Some of those translations say in verse 28.

But you know what word is actually there? It's the word for fruit, what a tree produces. And sometimes our fruit is to give, sometimes our fruit is to receive. It's all fruit from the Christian tree. And in regard to material things, those of us in this congregation, those of us who live in America, are mostly on the giving end.

And praise God, because Jesus said it's more blessed to give than to receive. Isn't it beautiful how the church works in the way God intended? We take care of one another and fulfill God's promises that if we seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, all these things will be added to you. And then finally, you probably thought of this one.

First of all, you said Reagan, you got six things up there, and you're missing maybe the most important one. Maybe we should bear the fruit of preaching, the Gospel of Christ. Turn to Romans chapter one and verse 13,

Romans chapter one and verse 13. I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often plan to come to you but was hindered until now that I might have some fruit among you Also. Just as among the other Gentiles. So Paul's preached to the Gentiles all over the Roman world. He says, I want to have fruit in Rome as well.

I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. Again, that's that giving and receiving. It's not as though Paul wasn't getting great things out of that spiritually in preaching the gospel. So as, as much as in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome. Also, for I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.

For it is the power of God. Do salvation for everyone who believes for the Jew first and also for the Greek. Now, I want us to be very explicit here. There's a sense in which we're bearing fruit. When someone obeys the gospel, when somebody becomes a Christian, and praise God, praise God when that fruit is born.

But notice it is not just the fruit of those who are converted. There is fruit being born whenever the gospel. Is preached when it is preached to those who are outside of Christ when it is preached to those who are in Christ. Paul in writing to these Christians says, I'm gonna preach the gospel to you who are in Rome.

Also writing to those who are already Christians for, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes. For the Jew first and also for the Greek. Our desire should be to preach. To make other disciples, but also strengthening those who are disciples through the word and fruit is born every time the gospel is preached in sincerity and in truth, the word of God does not return void.

And I am grateful for your support in allowing me to bear this fruit with you and allowing me to bear this fruit with others. This gospel meeting season right now, I've gone to other places. You have fellowship in that work. Whenever I go somewhere else, it is because all of you have rooted and grounded me in such a way that I can go and do that work.

And praise God. Praise God that the gospel is preached. But this, this fruit is not six things for all Christians and one thing for a preacher. This fruit is to be born by all of those who are part of the vine. So let us strive to bear this fruit in sharing and proclaiming, in showing the gospel to those who are in Christ and those who are outside of Christ, and rejoice that this fruit is born.

So there's the list. Have these fruits become a part of our character? We really are all the time, not just the image perhaps that we project to other Christians, not that we're just full of leaves, but on closer inspection. There are no figs on it, but is this who we really are in public and in private, among Christians and non-Christians?

And if we look at this list, and consider this list for just a moment. What a well-rounded, joyous life. This is holy and set apart, but also righteous, actively that I can be Christ-like in my character, full of love and joy, and peace, and patience, and kindness, and goodness, and faithfulness, and meekness and self-control.

That we can praise God and worship him regularly while seeking to grow in our knowledge of him that we do good works toward all, and specifically we share in physical blessings with our brethren and share the good news of Jesus with everyone, both our brethren and those in the world. We are those as Christians who don't just follow the do nots.

We are rooted and grounded so that we might produce the fruit of the dues, the active, fruitful result of Christian discipleship. I wanna be like this. I wanna be able to say that I bear this fruit in my life, whether it's 30 fold or 60 fold or a hundred fold. I bear this fruit, don't you? Don't you want to be able to say that?

You can and we all can be if we are truly rooted and grounded in Christ, in the faith and in love. And if you're here this morning and you're not yet a Christian, you have the opportunity to be grafted into the vine, to find your strength and courage and direction and hope in Jesus Christ. If you'll come and put Christ on in baptism, you can rise to walk in newness of life.

And begin bearing the fruit that a Christian ought to bear. And if you're already a Christian and you realize that maybe there's some do nots that have snuck their way into your life, that you need to make right, because you need to be holy and sanctified, we're here to help with that. And maybe you realize that some of the doss are missing.

Now is the day, the day of salvation, the day that we have opportunity from the Lord to be who he has called us to be. And if your brothers and sisters in Christ can help in any way, why don't you come now while together we stand and while we sing,