Participants: Pr. Carlton P. Byrd
Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000533A
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00:02 BREATH OF LIFE MINISTRIES PRESENTS:
00:06 SERMON B533 - FRUIT OR LEAF: WHAT ARE YOU? 00:12 [music] BREATH OF LIFE THEME MUSIC 00:20 PB: Mark chapter 11, verse number 12. 00:27 The Word of God says, “And on the morrow, 00:28 when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: 00:32 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, 00:37 he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: 00:41 and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; 00:47 for the time of figs was not yet. 00:51 And Jesus answered and said unto it, 00:53 No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. 00:57 And his disciples heard it.” Go to verse number 20: 01:02 “And in the morning, as they passed by, 01:04 they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 01:07 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, 01:10 Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst 01:14 is withered away. And Jesus answering saith unto them, 01:18 Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, 01:23 That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, 01:25 Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; 01:27 and shall not doubt in his heart, 01:29 but shall believe that those things which 01:31 he saith shall come to pass; he shall have 01:33 whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, 01:38 What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, 01:41 believe that ye receive them, 01:42 and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, 01:45 forgive, if ye have ought against any: 01:48 that your Father also which is in heaven 01:52 may forgive you your trespasses.” 01:56 Fruit or leaf? What are you? Bless us now, 01:58 God, for the next couple of minutes. 02:07 Move by your power and your Spirit 02:11 in this place. Let the words of my mouth 02:15 and the meditations of my heart be 02:17 acceptable in thy sight, oh Lord, 02:18 my strength, my redeemer. 02:20 It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 02:23 Aud.: Amen. PB: Now, people often 02:26 read this text and they shout on verse 22, 02:30 when Jesus says, “Have faith in God.” 02:35 And yes, that's something to shout about. 02:38 We need to have faith in God. Faith is 02:43 the substance of things hoped for, 02:45 the evidence of things not seen. Without faith, 02:49 it is impossible to please God, 02:51 because God is a rewarder of those that 02:55 diligently seek him. Which means those 02:58 that need God, those that want God, 03:02 and those that ought to have God must 03:05 first come to God. But then we shout 03:09 louder on verse 23, when Jesus says 03:13 that if you have a mountain in your 03:15 way in your life, don't climb up the 03:18 rough side of the mountain. 03:20 Jesus never told you to climb up 03:22 the rough side of the mountain, 03:25 but Jesus said, speak to that mountain, 03:26 and say to that mountain, be thou removed. 03:30 So stop trying to climb your mountains 03:34 and start speaking to your mountains. 03:37 Do I have a witness in this place? 03:38 But the true context of this text is 03:42 not solely rooted in verses 22 and 23, 03:45 but in the larger context of this passage, 03:47 Jesus is talking about fruits and leaves. 03:52 You see, in Mark chapter 11, Jesus and 03:56 his disciples are entering the final 03:58 week of Jesus' earthly life. Jesus and 04:00 the disciples are traveling from Bethany 04:03 to Jerusalem by foot. But just before Jesus 04:06 gets to Jerusalem, he tells disciples to go 04:10 get a donkey that has never been ridden 04:12 and bring the donkey to him. 04:15 Now, the Bible says of that donkey in verse 04:17 number 13 that the Lord hath need of him. 04:21 Now, it's interesting that our Lord would 04:24 need anything. Jesus is God. Jesus is our Creator. 04:31 Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords. 04:34 Why would Jesus have need of anything? Of 04:39 all the things that he would need, 04:41 would he really need a donkey? 04:44 But when Jesus was born into this world, 04:46 he laid aside his heavenly glory for a 04:49 time to live in this world as a man. 04:52 Then the one who then made all things 04:55 became dependent on the things he made. 04:58 The Creator became a helpless infant 05:01 dependent upon his mother for everything. 05:04 The Creator created the stars, but he had 05:08 nowhere to lay his own head. The Creator 05:11 created everything out of nothing, but he 05:15 had to borrow a boat from which to preach his gospel. 05:19 The Creator created every drop of water that 05:22 exists in the world, but yet he cried, 05:25 “I thirst,” when he was dying on the cross. 05:28 He created every tree, but he had to die on 05:32 a borrowed tree. He created every rock, 05:35 but he had to borrow a tomb to be buried in. 05:38 He used the clouds as his chariot, 05:41 but he had to borrow a donkey on which to ride. 05:45 When Jesus was born into this world, 05:48 he remained fully God, but he also became fully man. 05:53 Two natures harmonized but never completely blended. 05:58 As man he got tired, but as God he said, 06:00 “Come unto me, all ye that labor and 06:02 are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” 06:04 As man he wanted companionship, but as God 06:09 he had to tread the wine press alone. 06:12 As man he got hungry, but as God he fed 06:15 5,000 with two fish and five loaves of bread. 06:18 As man he got thirsty, but as God he said, 06:22 “Drink of living fountains and living 06:23 waters that shall never run dry.” 06:26 As man he wept at Lazarus' grave. 06:29 But as God he resurrected Lazarus from the grave. 06:35 Jesus leaves Jerusalem, goes back to Bethany. 06:40 The next day he leaves Bethany to go 06:44 back to Jerusalem. And this, my friends, 06:47 is by foot, not in a car. So stop complaining, 06:51 young people, when you have to walk from 06:53 the dorm to the church or class. 06:57 It could be much worse. Are you hearing 07:00 what I'm saying? Jesus and his disciples 07:03 go back from Bethany now to Jerusalem, 07:08 and the Bible says he gets hungry. 07:10 As he walks, the Bible says he sees a 07:13 fig tree afar off. The tree is full of leaves; 07:18 so because it's in full leaf, Jesus goes 07:20 to the tree hoping to find some figs to eat. 07:25 But when Jesus gets to the tree, 07:27 he finds nothing but leaves. 07:30 Now, this is important, because if a 07:33 fig tree has leaves, the fig tree is supposed 07:36 to have fruit. Are you hearing what I'm saying? 07:38 But not only is it supposed to have fruit, 07:40 it's supposed to have a lot of fruit. 07:43 Because fig trees can grow to a height 07:46 of 20-30 feet, having branches between 07:49 25-30 feet, which means fig trees are very, 07:53 very large. Fig trees can produce as many 07:56 as three crops in a single year. 07:59 So, because fruit then grows as the 08:03 fig tree produces its leaves, 08:05 it was only reasonable for Jesus to assume 08:08 that there would be fruit on the tree when 08:10 he saw all the leaves on the tree. 08:13 Somebody's going to get this in a minute. 08:15 But when Jesus searched the tree, 08:19 all he saw were leaves. No fruit. Just leaves. 08:26 Just leaves. This fig tree was deceptive because its 08:30 leaves promised something it couldn't deliver. 08:34 The leaves promised fruit, but there was 08:38 no fruit on the tree. There was nothing 08:41 wrong with the soil, nothing wrong with the sap; 08:45 there was simply no fruit. This tree had 08:50 been given everything it needed to flourish. 08:52 It sat in a good location, it grew in good soil, 08:57 it enjoyed the sunshine and the rain, but still 09:00 there was no fruit. When we consider this text, 09:04 we must take the text in its context. 09:07 Israel was just like this fruitless fig tree. 09:11 Israel had all the signs of spiritual life, 09:14 but they had no fruit. They were keeping 09:17 the letter of the law, but they had no fruit. 09:21 They were carrying out temple ceremonies, 09:23 but they had no fruit. They were observing 09:26 the ancient feasts and sacrifices, 09:28 but they had no fruit. They were religious 09:31 in every detail, but they had no spiritual fruit. 09:35 Israel had been given every advantage that 09:38 could be afforded to a people, but still no fruit. 09:42 They had received the personal attention and 09:44 redemption of an almighty God, but still no fruit. 09:48 They had been planted in good land, but still no fruit. 09:52 They had the Word of God, the prophets of God, 09:55 the temple of God, but they had no fruit. 09:57 They had everything they needed for a 10:00 spiritual bumper crop, but they still had no fruit. 10:06 Israel promised all who saw her that she 10:09 could show them the way to God, when in reality 10:11 all Israel could show them was the way to religious 10:14 bondage and the way to hell. Israel had gone to leaf; 10:20 no fruit, just leaf. Israel looks alive, 10:25 but Israel was spiritually barren. 10:28 And so today there's a message in the text for us. 10:32 When the Lord examines our lives, 10:36 what does the Lord see? Does he see us bearing 10:40 fruit to the glory of God, or does he see just 10:44 a tree that has gone to leaf? Does he see 10:49 fruit or does he see leaves? Can we be 10:54 honest and real today? Like Israel of old, 10:58 we have been given every spiritual advantage 11:01 that God has to offer. We have his word, 11:04 we have his church, we have his Holy Spirit. 11:07 He has blessed us in abundance. There is no 11:11 excuse for us being fruitless leaves. 11:15 We have the appearance of life. We use the Bible. 11:19 We sing the right songs, we preach the right message, 11:24 we walk in the right path. When people 11:27 look at this church, they can see our leaves. 11:31 But do they see our fruit? Are we really 11:35 in love with Jesus? Are we really in love 11:39 with one another? Is Jesus really the center 11:43 of all that we do? Is there a real 11:46 commitment to the Lord, or do we merely 11:48 give him lip service? Is the Oakwood church all leaf, 11:55 or do we have fruit that honors the Lord? 11:59 But then let's not stop at the church collectively. 12:02 Let's look at the church individually. 12:04 What about in your individual life? 12:07 Are you all leaves, or do you have some fruit? 12:12 Is Jesus the first priority in your life, 12:15 or is his will, his worship and his work 12:17 just an afterthought? So you have the 12:20 symbols of religion and salvation but 12:22 no real commitment to God? Do you sing, 12:25 shout, clap, say Amen, stomp your feet, 12:30 testify and pretend to worship while you 12:34 hold things in your heart against somebody else? 12:37 Do you look and act holy in church, 12:40 but look and live like the devil everywhere else? 12:44 Do you plan your life around all the 12:47 things you want to do, but you don't 12:48 see the need to plan your life around 12:50 the Lord's work? Do you sing “Sweet Hour of Prayer,” 12:54 but content yourself with five minutes 12:57 of prayer each day? Do you sing 12:59 “Onward Christian Soldiers,” 13:02 but wait to be drafted in the Lord's army? 13:05 Do you sing “I Love to Tell the Story,” 13:08 but never tell it to your next-door neighbor 13:10 or your coworkers? Do we sing, “We Have This Hope” 13:15 but have doubts about his second coming? 13:17 Today, are you fruit or are you leaf? 13:22 And because the fig tree was barren of 13:24 the promised fruit, the Lord pronounced 13:26 a curse upon the tree. The Lord declared 13:30 the tree to be fruitless forever. 13:32 Some people read this text in Mark chapter 11, 13:35 and they think that Jesus operated in rash anger. 13:37 The phrase at the end of verse number 13 says, 13:40 “For the time of the figs was not yet come.” 13:43 Israel is led then, to conclude that Jesus 13:47 was expecting something from the tree that the tree, 13:52 my friends, could not do. And they believed 13:55 this because if there were leaves on the tree, 13:58 there should have been fruit on the tree as well. 14:02 But Jesus cursed the tree. Why did Jesus 14:06 curse the tree? He cursed the tree for its hypocrisy. 14:13 Listen to me. The lack of fruit was not the reason 14:18 for the curse. The lack of fruit was not the 14:22 reason for the curse. The reason for the curse 14:25 was the deception of the leaves. The tree was 14:31 making promises it couldn't keep. And when 14:35 you pretend to be something you're not, 14:38 that's hypocrisy. That's pretense. 14:43 That's duplicity. That's two-facedness. 14:48 That's fake, that's phoney, that's hypocrisy. 14:52 Again, this is a picture of Israel: 14:56 because Israel promised life but only delivered 14:59 bondage and dead religion, they were cursed. 15:02 Israel was judged for their rejection of Jesus. 15:05 The Israelites didn't acknowledge Jesus as Messiah. 15:09 They didn't acknowledge Jesus as King of 15:12 kings and Lord of lords. But before we're 15:15 too quick to judge Israel about being hypocritical, 15:21 make sure you're not living in a glass house. 15:24 You can point the finger at somebody else, 15:29 but you got three fingers pointing 15:31 right back at you. The story is told of 15:34 a young couple who moved into a new neighborhood. 15:36 One morning when they were eating their breakfast, 15:39 the young wife saw her neighbor next door 15:41 hanging her wash outside on the clothesline. 15:44 “Their laundry is not very clean,” the woman said. 15:48 “That lady doesn't know how to wash correctly. 15:51 Maybe she needs better laundry soap.” 15:54 The woman's husband looked on, 15:58 but the man remained silent. 16:00 The husband didn't say a word. 16:03 But every time the young wife's 16:04 neighbor hung her wash out to dry, 16:06 the young wife repeated the same thing 16:09 about the dirty laundry. About one 16:11 month later the young wife was surprised 16:13 to see a nice clean wash on her 16:16 neighbor's clothesline. She said 16:19 to her husband, “Look, honey, 16:20 she has learned how to wash correctly. 16:23 I wonder who taught her how to do that.” 16:27 The husband then looked at his wife 16:28 and he said, “Sweetie, I got up early 16:31 this morning and I cleaned our windows.” 16:36 [Aud. Reaction] Moral of the story: 16:39 before you talk about somebody else 16:41 being dirty, you need to clean your 16:43 own windows. Do I have a witness in this place? 16:46 [Aud. Reaction] Don't judge somebody 16:49 else just because they sin differently 16:52 than you do. Everybody up in here is a 16:56 hypocrite about something. You've got 16:59 some kind of contradiction in your life. 17:02 You've got something in your life that you 17:05 don't want everybody else to know about. 17:07 Tell the truth. Shame the devil. 17:10 If I were lying, you would tell your business. 17:13 But you don't tell your business because 17:15 you've got something in your life that 17:17 you don't want anybody else to know about. 17:19 Oh, you don't believe me? Let me call the roll today. 17:23 Everybody up in here's got a contradiction. 17:25 You're teaching on health and fitness, 17:28 but every now and then you eat ice cream 17:30 late at night. You're telling somebody else 17:33 to take off their jewelry, but you're 17:35 eating out on the Sabbath. You're telling 17:37 everybody that you're a vegetarian, 17:39 you're a vegan, but as soon as you can, 17:42 you get your hands on some pot pies. 17:44 [Aud. Reaction] Don't act like you 17:49 don't know what I'm talking about. 17:51 I'll call you out. I got the mic right now. 17:53 I know you do it. How do I know? I ride by 17:58 on Jordan Lane, at the corner of University, 18:03 and I see you. [Aud. Reaction] 18:06 Every now and then you slip up. Oh, 18:10 you don't know I know. I see you slip. 18:14 Some of you try to do it late at night. 18:16 You can be holy all day long, eating beans 18:20 and lettuce, haystack, that's what we call it. 18:24 All day talking about healthy campus, 20/20. 18:27 But at midnight, when everybody's supposed 18:31 to be asleep, you slip out to the drive-thru, 18:34 talking about, can I have a two-piece snack? 18:37 [Aud. Reaction] I know what I'm talking about, 18:40 because I can catch the latest flight 18:43 coming into Huntsville during the week, 18:45 11:00, and I'll ride by the church to 18:49 pick up something from my office, 18:51 and then I make my way on Jordan Lane 18:53 going home, and I see you. [Aud. Reaction] 18:58 I smile. And you know what? You can't hide, 19:02 because 50% of us have an Oakwood University plate, 19:05 license plate, come on, say Amen. So I know it's you. 19:09 When it's pot pies, it's funny. 19:18 But when it's a man beating his wife, it's not. 19:24 When it's a child being abused, when it's a 19:29 dysfunctional marriage, when it's a 19:31 spouse acting one way in public but 19:35 another way at home in private, 19:38 it's not funny anymore. Are you fruit 19:44 or are you leaf? Jesus curses the tree 19:49 because of its hypocritical leaves. 19:53 I just want to remind you that the same 19:55 scenario can be played out in our lives today. 19:58 When we have the appearance of life but 20:00 bear no fruit, we can expect a visit from the Lord. 20:04 Verse 13 tells us that the fig tree was afar off. 20:08 But Jesus made an effort to get to the fig tree, 20:12 and just like he went to that tree, 20:13 Jesus will come to our lives and he 20:15 will examine if we have any fruit in our lives. 20:18 If we're hypocritical and we don't bear 20:20 fruit as he desires us to, 20:22 he might just set us aside too. 20:24 But before I sit down, I love this text 20:27 I was reading this week. This is not 20:30 all the text teaches. Verse 14 teaches 20:33 that the disciples heard Jesus when he 20:36 cursed the fig tree. The next day, 20:38 according to verse 20, when they passed 20:40 by they saw the fig tree, the Bible says, 20:42 was dried up from the roots. 20:46 Everybody say dried up. Aud: Dried up. 20:49 From the roots. All right, in verse 21, 20:50 Peter calls the Lord's attention to this miracle. 20:55 Understand, this miracle was a clear 20:58 demonstration of the Lord's sovereignty 21:00 over all things, including nature. 21:03 What am I talking about? You see, any gardener, 21:06 any biologist, any biology student, 21:12 any landscape specialist, any horticulturist 21:17 will tell you that when a tree dries up, 21:21 it's supposed to dry up from the top down. 21:28 That the root system will be the last part 21:32 of the tree that dies. You're all not hearing me. 21:36 But not this tree. Jesus cursed this tree, 21:42 and the tree died from the roots up. 21:47 This, then, is a picture of total destruction. 21:51 From the root up. From the ground up. Again, 21:55 this tree is a picture of Israel. 21:58 They have been judged by the Lord for their 22:00 hypocrisy and their rejection of the Messiah. 22:02 They would now then be destroyed from the roots up. 22:08 They boasted of their knowledge, but they were 22:10 ignorant of the love of God and they were full 22:12 of hypocrisy. Just like the fig tree, 22:16 they spread their pretentious branches 22:19 in the air, which, in appearance, beautiful 22:22 to the eye, but they yielded nothing but 22:25 leaves because they died from the roots up. 22:29 Here is Jesus, preparing the minds of the 22:33 disciples for what's going to happen in this 22:35 final week of his life on Earth. 22:37 Israel would reject him as the Messiah. 22:41 Which means the same people who had just 22:45 shouted hosanna were the same people 22:50 who would later shout, “Crucify him.” 22:55 That's why you can't put your trust in people. 22:59 Some trust in horses. Some trust in chariots. 23:05 But I will trust in the name of the Lord. 23:11 The disciples saw what happened and 23:13 took it to heart, or should I say, 23:15 some of them did. Because one in their number, 23:20 Judas, he was like Israel. 23:24 He was all leaf and no fruit. 23:28 He preached, he healed, he cast out devils, 23:30 but it was all leaf. There was no 23:33 sincerity in what he did. 23:35 It was all hypocrisy. He didn't know the Lord. 23:41 So as I take my seat, be sure you know the Lord. 23:50 Make sure you've got some fruit on your leaves. 23:58 The Lord is looking for fruit in the 24:02 lives of his people. The Lord is looking 24:07 for fruit in the life of this church. 24:12 When God examines us, what does God see? 24:17 Does he see all leaf and no fruit? 24:22 What does God see? An apple tree must bear apples. 24:28 A peach tree must bear peaches. 24:32 A cherry treat must bear cherries. 24:35 And a fig tree is not fulfilling its 24:38 purposes until it produces figs. 24:41 In this church, sheep produce other sheep. 24:46 Disciples produce other disciples. 24:49 People should produce other people. 24:53 The fig tree was not what it appeared to be. 24:56 The leaves were attractive, they served 24:59 certain purposes, they were valuable 25:01 in some sense of their own, but the leaves 25:03 alone promised something they couldn't deliver. 25:07 They were deceitful. They were hypocritical. 25:10 Church, young people, the Lord is looking 25:16 for fruit in our lives. If he finds us, 25:21 he will bless us and cause us to be more fruitful. 25:24 But if he doesn't find fruit in our lives, 25:30 he will take whatever steps necessary to 25:34 make us fruitful. Today somebody said, 25:38 Pastor Byrd, what about your theology here? 25:39 Listen to me. I know somebody is saying, 25:43 “But Pastor, we're saved by grace, not our works.” 25:48 And that is true. But our works are evidence 25:53 that we're saved. It is by your fruit that 26:00 people will know you. So you may be the pastor, 26:05 you may be on television, you may be the 26:10 greatest preacher in the world, but if you 26:14 don't bear any fruit, then you are a phoney. 26:19 You are fruitless. You may be a doctor, 26:23 you may be a lawyer, a professor, a president, 26:29 you may own the biggest company in Huntsville. 26:32 You may have the biggest house in this church. 26:36 But if you don't bear any fruit in your life, 26:39 then you're a phoney and you're fruitless. 26:43 You may be on the dean's list, you may have 26:47 a full scholarship, you may have a promising 26:50 career right in front of you. 26:52 But if you don't bear any fruit, 26:55 you are a phoney, you are fruitless. 27:00 You may be a vegetarian, you may be a vegan, 27:06 you may drink Silk, you may drink soy milk 27:11 and eat Grillers. But if you don't bear any fruit, 27:17 then you are a phoney. You are fruitless. 27:21 Because when God plants and God nourishes, 27:26 God expects some fruit, not just leaves, but fruit. 27:35 Let me close this way. Have you ever heard 27:40 the expression “Face the music”? 27:45 Time to face the music. Here's how 27:50 that phrase came about. Many years ago 27:54 a man wanted to play in the imperial orchestra, 27:56 but he couldn't play a note. He couldn't 27:59 play any instruments at all. But since he 28:04 was a person of great wealth and influence, 28:06 he demanded to be allowed to join the 28:08 orchestra so that he could perform in 28:10 front of the king. So the conductor agreed to let him 28:14 >: Thank you for joining us for another 28:15 exciting Breath of Life television broadcast. 28:18 Tune in next week at the same time, 28:20 as Dr. Byrd will deliver another 28:22 dynamic message from the Lord, just for you. 28:25 Until next time, may God bless you. 28:27 END |
Revised 2016-09-14