Producing Fruit
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”
We shall be known by the fruit that we produce. Matthew 7:21, The Lord Jesus says: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”
In these terrible times in which we are living where there is so much suffering, so much fear, people are very, very sensitive. We really need to produce the fruit of the Spirit when we call ourselves Christians. A man who produces the fruit of the Spirit is definitely a child of God.
Because a person says he loves Jesus Christ, that does not make him a Christian. In fact, that was always my alibi as an unbeliever - I would look around and men who would say, “I am a believer”, I would see them with their hands raised, crying out, “Hallelujah, Praise The Lord!” But back at the ranch the wheels were coming off!
Their family had no food to eat, they would not work, they were just lying around at home and yet, they said they loved Jesus.
They were lazy and they were critical. He might say he is a follower of Christ but if he cannot take care of his family, cannot love his fellowman, irrespective of his office in life or his color or gender, then that man is not a believer. That is what Jesus says.
You know, my oldest son is a strawberry farmer and one of the most important things he has to watch out for is the quality of his fruit. If one drop of rain falls on those strawberries, they go soft and they are rejected by the market. Those strawberries, when they go to market, must be fully ripened - a nice, bright red, right up to the base of the stalk. They must have a shelf life, they must be able to sit on that shelf for at least a couple of weeks. They must be sweet to the taste, they must have a pleasing appearance.
You and I need to be exactly the same - go out today and display the fruit of the Spirit. You don’t have to tell people you are a believer, they will see that you are a believer from the fruit you are producing.
God bless you and have a wonderful day.