Imagine for a moment, you're an apple tree. Yeah, I know, I know – just humour me. You're an apple tree. You grow tall and strong – you look very impressive. But in all your years in the orchard, you've never yielded a single apple. How do you feel? How does the owner of the orchard feel? The whole point of an apple tree is that it bears … Well, you know – apples, right? The whole point of a fig tree is that it bears figs. You don't need me to tell you that. And the whole point of my life and your life, is that – with our rots planted deep in the good soil of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, with the Spirit of God flowing through us, is that our lives too should bear fruit. Good fruit. But what if we don't bear fruit? Jesus once told this story to His disciples – Luke 13:6–9: 'A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, 'See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the good soil? ' He replied, 'Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.' So, the owner of the vineyard wanted to cut it down. But the worker, the worker said … let's give it one more chance. Let's aerate the soil, fertilise it, water it, and see what happens. Now the first question I have is this – what was a fig tree doing in a vineyard? Have you ever wondered that? All the other plants in the vineyard were grapevines, right – that's why it's called a vineyard. And yet the owner of the vineyard figured, well – I've given this tree more space than all the rest of the plants. It's taking up valuable real estate and yet, it's not yielding any fruit. What a waste – get rid of it and stick another one there in its place – one that will give me some figs. After all, that's what fig trees are supposed to do, just like the grapevines are meant to yield grapes, for winemaking. Have you ever felt like a fig tree in a vineyard? The odd one out? You look different, you feel different to everybody else. Perhaps people consider you a bit odd or eccentric, and so all too often, the others seem to poke fun at you, they shun you because you're different. Have you ever been in that situation? I have, many a time, and I can tell you that your natural reaction is to want to crawl down your rabbit hole and shrivel up and die. Your natural reaction is to want to give up bearing fruit, because quite obviously, any fruit that you can bear is worthless, compared to all these other people from whom you are different. But that's not the owner's expectations. If you're a fig tree, he expects you to grow figs. If you're a grapevine … grapes. If you're an apple tree … apples. Plum tree … plums. Just because we're different to everybody else, doesn't mean that we shouldn't be bearing the unique fruit that God made us to bear. The evidence that a fig tree is healthy and functioning as it was always intended, is that each year, in due season, it bears a bountiful harvest of figs. But who is the worker in this story, this parable? Who encourages the owner of the vineyard to give the fig tree another chance? Well, that's Jesus. He is – the Bible tells us – our intercessor – He pleads our case with the Father. Hebrews 7:25: Consequently he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. Jesus came and sacrificed for you, and for me, so He has a heart to perform miracles in our lives, miracles that transform us and get us back to where we should be, bearing fruit for Him. In other words when it comes to the wrath and the punishment of God – Jesus stands in our stead, in our place, He shields us from the coming judgement, because He's already died to pay for our sins. He wants to see our lives transformed so that we end up bearing fruit. The fig tree, figs, the apple tree apples. The grapevine, grapes. The olive tree, olives. Our own, unique brand of fruit. And not just any fruit, but good fruit. Jesus again – Matt 7:15–20: Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the 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 cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits. The plan of Jesus for your life is that as you come to the end of it, both you and He will be able to look back together at the bountiful harvest of fruits that your life has born in due season, season after season after season. Because the fruit, the good fruit, is the evidence of a healthy relationship with Jesus. That's why in that first parable, Jesus the gardener, said to God the Father, the owner of the vineyard – hang on a minute. Leave it alone for another year so I dig around it, and feed it. And in a very real sense, that's what we're doing right now. We're having our hardened ground, our hardened heart's turned over, the barriers broken down, so that the Word of God can penetrate and feed us. Are you being fed right now? Do you hear the call of Jesus – the gardener who's on your side when it comes to your ultimate judgement and destruction because we've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Can you hear this Jesus speaking to you and saying – this tree is you? This gardener is me. And my plan is to feed you and water you so that you will bear much fruit. He wants to give you a helping hand. So – how does He do that exactly? How? Well, we're told later by Paul in His letter to the Galatians as he speaks about the fruit of the Spirit – Galatians 5:16–26: Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to one other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another. So the long and the short of it is, that instead of putting our roots down in bad soil – the things of this world, all that rubbish that Paul lists there that's so obviously bad, instead of that … put your roots down in Good soil and drink in the Holy Spirit. Drink in the Word of God to feed you. And when you do that you are going to produce the fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control – not because you worked hard at it. Not because you had to struggle to deliver goodness, but because you have the very goodness of God flowing through your trunk, your limbs, your leaves … and yes, your fruit. Do you expect a good tree planted in bad soil to produce good fruit? Or do you expect a bad tree, planted in good or bad soil, to produce fruit? Of course not. My friend when you take the Word of God seriously, when you let it into your heart, the Holy Spirit takes it and performs a miraculous transformation on the inside, and then – let me tell you, you simply won't be able to help it. You'll be bearing good fruit not through your hard work, but because it comes naturally. All the time, the Spirit and the Word of God working in you and through you. Is that a miracle, or what? Is that something you want, or not?
