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- P L U N D E R E R
- Nov 18
- 1 min read
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A fruitful vineyard produces plenty of fruit for its owner, and that is what the Lord expects when He looks at us who believe in Him. He sent His Son to die for us, setting us free from death in hell. That freedom, plus God's Word in the Bible and the deposit of His Holy Spirit, means we have all we need to do greater works just as Jesus said believers would. We're equipped to be fruitful.
The Parable of the Fig Tree revealed that any tree in God's vineyard that fails to produce is at risk of being cut down. It reinforced that God won't even allow the soil a tree is planted in to be put to waste if that tree fails to bear fruit. The parable also highlighted another reason why we need to be grateful to Jesus as our intercessor, because He stands advocating for us to receive more chances to prove fruitful to the Lord.
Long before Jesus told the Parable of the Fig Tree, the Bible revealed what would happen to an unproductive vineyard of trees. Prophet Isaiah issued a warning in a time when God's people no longer served Him faithfully. They lived as they wanted and bowed to other gods. The vineyard produced bad grapes. Instead of justice, the 'fruits' produced were injustice, bloodshed, and unrighteousness (Isaiah 5:4 & 7).
This caused the Lord to pronounce a judgment. Isaiah 5:5-6 - Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. /I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it.”
This prophetic word reveals that an unproductive vineyard loses its protection and will be abandoned by its owner. When that happens, an enemy can enter to destroy it. God's blessings - the rain - will no longer fall. That will ensure that the trees within shrivel up and die. By implication, the favor of the Lord, which is a shield from destruction, is removed. These are but some of the consequences that await a tree or a vineyard that does not produce fruit pleasing to God.
As individual Christians and as members of the Body of Christ, this warning in Isaiah 5 must not be ignored. God expects us to produce fruit worthy of our placement in the soil of His vineyard. We have to honor the mercy we've received from God through Jesus by the way we live (Luke 3:8). We must spread the aroma of Christ wherever we go (2 Corinthians 2:15). Shining God's light into the world's darkness and not producing sinful fruits and their resulting scars.
What does God see when He looks at you? Also what fruit are you producing? Are you like those the Prophet warned because their fruits were bad? Or are you bearing the fruits of the Holy Spirit such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness/humility, and self-control as stated in Galatians 5:22-22? If not, today is a good day to start, my brother and sister in Christ.
Intentionality is required because the fruits of the Spirit don't always come naturally. We have to fast and pray so we receive and maintain them. We have to reject pride and the desire to satisfy our flesh so we starve satan of what it wants from us - sin. And as we rely on Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Word, we improve daily.
God wants us to be fruitful for Him. That way, we enjoy His rewards and don't endure what becomes of the trees in an unfruitful vineyard. He will help anyone who wants His assistance in this. Tell Him you desire to be a profitable tree in how you live and the lives you influence for His glory. God will help us become increasingly fruitful for His glory and pleasure, and by His grace, we will avoid the consequences of unfruitfulness, IJMN, Amen.
As you wait for fellowship at 12 Noon EST, consider reading the following previous P&P messages:
Has it ever occurred to you that God is focused on profit like any wise business person? He wants His investments to be productive and thus fruitful and He expects to reap something good from them all.
In Luke 13, Jesus shared the Parable of the Fig Tree. In it, He pointed out that the owner of a farm looked at a fig tree, then complained to his caretaker because it had borne no fruit for three years in a row. He demanded that it be cut down so it stops using up the soil. The caretaker, however, pleaded, saying he'd fertilize the three and that if it remained barren in a year, then he'd get rid of it (Luke 13:6-9).
You and I are the fig trees the Vineyard Owner was inspecting. The Vineyard Owner in the story represents the Lord, and the Caretaker is Jesus. It is easy to forget, what with our busy lives, that God is checking on the trees in His vineyard to see whether or not they are producing fruit for Him.
If they aren't, then like any other wise farmer, those trees hold no value and should not take up the soil, sun, water, and care that are spent on them. Another, more productive tree would do better to receive those benefits.
The realities of life must not make us forget that we, believers, are the trees in God's vineyard. It is our responsibility and should be our very nature to produce fruits that are pleasing to our Owner. If not, then why are we taking up valuable space that could benefit another believer who would produce more returns for the Lord?
Thank God for Jesus, who, just like the Caretaker in the parable, is interceding on our behalf when we aren't producing fruit. He gets us more chances to do what the Lord desires, giving us more time to get it together and produce the fruit that will make us profitable and thus valuable to God.
We should not forget that with trees, time is a crucial factor. Think about it, trees blossom and bloom with the seasons. When a tree fails to produce in its season, there's a long wait to see if it will bring forth fruit again. Our fruitfulness is also impacted by time. If we miss our season to produce, there is a great likelihood we might have to wait a long while for another chance to be profitable.
Time is a limited resource, so we must be prepared for when the Vineyard Owner shows up to inspect us for profitability. We truly do not know when that day could be, and we don't want to be the tree that stands there, barren in a field of productive trees. Remember, Jesus once cursed a fig tree that was barren during a season when it should have been fruitful (Matthew 21:19). The tree shriveled and died. That shall not be our portion, IJMN, Amen.
As you wait for fellowship at 12 Noon EST, consider reading the following previous P&P messages:
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