What is under your leaves?

“¹⁸ Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry. ¹⁹ And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away. ²⁰ And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?”” (Matthew 21:18-20)

Just to provoke thought: “Why do fruit trees bear fruit?”

It seems a ridiculous question to ask, seeing as the answer is in the question. Fruit trees bear fruit because they are fruit trees. On a deeper note, they bear fruit to spread their seed (lineage so to speak). Their fruit is not only beneficial to the plant, but it is also beneficial to the creatures and beings that depend on it for sustenance.

Fruit trees are found on every continent (with the exception Antarctica) and are an integral part of the world’s food chain.

So it’s not hard to imagine that the LORD would refer to His church and His people in terms of fruit and fruit bearing plants.

It is made very clear in Genesis as to what God purposed fruit trees to do:

“¹¹ Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. ¹² And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.” (Genesis 1:11-12)

Adding to our review on fruit trees, a fruit tree will only bear fruit according to its kind of tree. Meaning an orange tree bears oranges, fig trees produce figs, banana trees grow bananas……..

So what kind of fruit are God’s people supposed to bear? And what does He say about our fruit? What warnings does He give regarding our fruit?

I love the scripture in Matthew 21 (also in Mark 11:12-25) where Jesus comes across a fig tree on His walk between Bethany and Jerusalem. The scriptures say that he was hungry and spied the tree in the distance.

Just to note, Jesus would not have approached the tree if it didn’t have leaves. A fig tree only has leaves when it is bearing fruit.

Seeing the leaves, Jesus figured the tree would have figs to quench His hunger, but as we find out, the tree does not have any fruit.

And Jesus goes on the curse the tree that it may never deceive anyone ever again.

This is so profound for us as Christians! 

It is a warning to those of Christ who proclaim their Christianity to the world. Be wary that you have the fruit to back up your claims! Jesus is coming very soon and He will only call up those who bear His fruit!

CHURCH, if you are indeed of Christ, then you should have the fruit of the Spirit bearing in your lives.

Paul tells us in Galatians 5:22-23 that “ ...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”

And there is so much more! The fruit we as Christians bear are the characteristics of God. Meaning God produces in us Righteousness, Holiness, Wisdom, Faith, Mercy, Compassion, Strength……

Read the scriptures to see the characteristics of God. And yet, that does not even begin to touch the entirety of Who He Is!

The symbolism of Fruit is similar to that of Light! Fruit attracts those who are in wanting and who are hungry. Light attracts those who are lost. These things draw in, as God draws the hearts of His creation to Him!

So that is why the state of our fruit is of the upmost importance!

We need to inspect our fruit to see whether we are producing what we’re supposed to.

Jesus said in Matthew 7:15-23 “¹⁵ “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Therefore by their fruits you will know them. ²¹ “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. ²² Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”

Be warned CHURCH! No matter the mask put on, whether it is the illusion people put on for others or the delusion they put on for themselves, God knows if you are really His or not!

It is time to be real!

Jesus says again in John 15:1-8 “ ¹“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.  ² Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. ³ You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. ⁴ Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. ⁶ If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. ⁷ If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. ⁸ By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”

Are we abiding in Christ? Or are we too busy abiding in the world?

The CHURCH has been so busy trying to please the world that it has become distasteful. It is rotten! And it’s stink rises up to the nostrils of God every time we offer tainted praises and tainted worship!

It isn’t hard to recall the smell of rotten fruit. Let’s be honest, it stinks! And no one wants rotten fruit!

Worse yet, no one wants to be deceived! A tree that claims to have fruit, but doesn’t, is a great deception. That is why Jesus cursed the fig tree. It appeared at a distance to be good, but close up it was not.

Is that not modern Christianity?

So many people claim to be a Christian but so few are actual followers of Christ. Many have masked themselves in religion, whether through deception or self-righteousness. And religion is a rotten fruit! It stinks!

Peter says this about false teachers “¹⁸ For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. ¹⁹ While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. ²⁰ For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. ²¹ For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. ²² But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”” (2 Peter 2:18-22)

The mask of religion always has been and always will be distasteful to God. Not only does it rot the follower through deception and self-righteousness, but it deters those searching for the truth. Religion deters the lost. Because even the lost can smell rotten fruit!

Think on this: You’re driving down the road and you see a sign advertising “Fresh Local Peaches.” Your mouth begins to water as you imagine the fragrance and taste of fresh, right-off-the-tree peaches. You decide to stop by the produce stand mentioned in the advertisement. You’ve already got your heart set on those peaches, maybe you’ve already made a peach cobbler in your mind! So you walk up to the vendor confident you are about to partake of something delicious, but the closer you get, the stronger the smell of rot grows. At first you think they must have a garbage area near by containing the remains of last week’s harvest, or maybe it’s the remains of another fruit or vegetable. Surely it can’t be those peaches you’ve been fantasizing about. The ones advertised on the bright, beautiful signs that attracted you here. But as you walk up to the section marked “Peaches” you know something isn’t quite right. Sure enough when you reach the peach section, the skin on the peaches is wrinkled and discolored. That is if you can see them past the frenzy of flies hovering over them. Quickly you turn to the vendor and ask “How fresh are those peaches?” The vendor assures you they were just picked that morning. But something in you knows this to not be right.

Just wondering, how many of you would go ahead and purchase those peaches?

After all, the vendor SAID that the fruit was fresh and good to eat. Would you take that person by their word? Or would you follow what you witnessed? You saw the fruit, you smelled the fruit, and if you were brave enough, you touched the fruit. It was rotten! Would you still buy it?

The same goes for the testimony of the Christian. I can talk the talk ALL DAY, but if my actions and my life do not fall in line with what I claim, then it’s all rubbish.

The same can be said of the Pharisees in Jesus’ time. In Luke 18:9-14, Jesus speaks on the mask of religion:

“⁹ Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.¹² I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ ¹³ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’¹⁴ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.””

Better that we humble ourselves than to have to be humbled by God. We are nothing without the LORD, and no matter how holy, righteousness, and pure we try to be, it is all in vain if God is not the one leading.

The pastor said something the other day that confirmed what the LORD has impressed on me. He recalled a dream he had where there was a large, beautiful tree sitting in the middle of a field. Suddenly a large hand came down and shook the tree. Lots of fruit fell off the tree. When he looked at the fruit that had fallen off, it was all “bad” or “rotten” fruit. But there was still fruit hanging in the tree and that fruit was the good fruit.

CHURCH, wake up! Are we not that tree? Are we not that which God has placed here and redeemed that we may bear witness of Him and His majesty? Again and again the scriptures warn us of God’s coming judgement on this world, and guess where it starts?

In the CHURCH!

“²⁵ See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, ²⁶ whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” ²⁷ Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. ²⁸ Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. ²⁹ For our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:25-29)

Yes, let us serve God “acceptably and with reverence.” Let us walk according to His word, His counsel, and His teachings.

The more we abide in God, meaning the more we entrench ourselves in Him, the more we will bear His attributes. We will be anchored by Him, unmovable, and unshakable.

So let us not trust in ourselves, CHURCH! We are supposed to be the body of Christ. How can we be the body of Christ if we do not know Him or live a life abiding in Him? The simple fact is, we can’t. And if we try to, we will be found lacking.

CHURCH, Jesus Christ is returning. He is returning for a church that embodies Him. He will not accept anything less than that.

Ask yourself, ”What’s under my leaves?” “Am I ready if Jesus comes back today?”

I hope and pray that this has brought revelation. It sure has changed me! I have searched myself and asked God to reveal the “lacking” places in me. I pray that you see the need to search yourself and ask God to search you! He is merciful, faithful, and forgiving. He will not turn you away if you seek Him with all your heart, your soul, and your strength. Let the LORD do the work in you that must be done, so that on that day of judgement you may hear those precious words “Well done, My good and faithful servant.”

May God bless you all!

Love,

Kelly