Scripture: Ephesians 5 v 6 - 12: "Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them.
8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret."
It is necessary for us to audit our life in Christ as often as possible to ensure that we are doing that which pleases God. Preferably not just something that is a sop to our conscience. We may get deceived by vain words as Eve was in Eden, which affected Adam who then plunged the whole human race into Satan's domain. The World.
The world is not a place, nor this planet, it is a prison for the souls of people. In this prison sin is glorified, made into fun and games. In fact anything to distract us from Jesus Christ and His salvation. But God loved everybody in the world prison. He wanted to set them free.
If any remain in this world prison when Jesus returns they will remain in Satan's domain forever. We who have been released from sin need to keep ourselves clean so we don't fall back into the world. We walk and live amongst them but we are free and they are in chains.
So, if we are walking in the Spirit with God, we have what Adam and Eve had before they fell. That same wily serpent with his oily, lying tongue, will try that profitable deception on all the children of God, and we must make sure we are not victims of it.
The Word of God is a lamp to our feet, and we need to keep it shining by reading, understanding and doing what is written. Jesus cursed a fig tree in Mark 11 v 13 - 14: "And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet.
14 And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it."
The following day the disciples noted that the fig tree was shrivelled from the roots up and totally dead. Jesus cursed this unfruitful tree and He does the same to anything that does not bear the right spiritual fruit, as the priests of the Pharisees were discovering.
Jesus saw that tares or weeds were growing amongst the healthy wheat and He said at the time of harvest - separate the tares from the wheat and throw those weeds onto the fire. He is talking about the souls of men who refuse to listen to truth and continue to walk in darkness. He is warning us not to follow them for a very good reason. He loves us.
He loves them too, died for them too! If they choose not to believe Him but mock, scoff and blaspheme His name, then they must accept their fate which is worse than death. Eternal suffering in unquenchable fire because they reject His salvation. Hell of a gamble.
All religions are unfruitful works. They are the devil's alternative to fill the need for humans to worship God. The devil has a false god, an idol, for every occasion to dangle before our eyes to distract us and entangle us in things that displease our Father. He knows how to entice us through promises of great sensory pleasures. We are so gullible that warnings of consequences of abusing drugs, or getting drunk or having unprotected sex with a one night stand, fall on deaf ears.
Satan's biggest lie is that "It will never happen to me" that echoes through our minds. It goes right alongside peer pressure. He whispers "Everybody is doing it!" Followed by "They will laugh at you if you walk away!" The small nagging voice of your mother saying, "Don't listen to them, rather come home and be safe!" This gets swamped by fear of rejection. Our God is behind the warnings. He knows how devastating the consequences can be. He loves you and wants to spare you the pain. He gives you free will to choose but hopes that choice does not eventually cost you Your place in Heaven.
The only true and fruitful way is that which our Father created and gave to us, His highest and best gift, Jesus Christ, His Son, in whom He was well pleased. God said, Hear Him! Follow Jesus and do as He did, speak the truth in love, live the abundant life. Not that we live in luxury but in an abundance of God-given blessings.
To enter in to that which is highly fruitful in the Kingdom of God, is to be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. It is not just speaking in tongues but a demonstration of all His gifts working in and through us that draws people to the Cross. The crowds followed Jesus to receive healing and deliverance from demons. Jesus gave that power to His disciples which got people listening to what they had to say.
1 Corinthians 2 v 4 - 5: "And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."
Bring forth fruit worthy of Him. Be separated from the world and its pretty traps. Be sober, clean-minded, shunning everything that is unholy and unclean, choosing wholesome speech over spiteful jesting. Our character is built on the choices we make.
We may have lifelong friends who mock Jesus and demean Christians as those who need a crutch, or worse. We may pretend to like it so as not to rock the boat and be the wet blanket that spoils their fun. But when we have a need, Jesus will look away and leave us to struggle in that pain or loss or problem, because He responds to the way we treat Him. We should reprove and rebuke those mockers, bound in the prison of the world.
Unbelievers, infidels, idols, false doctrines, false prophets, the unclean, alcoholics, addicts, liars, fornicators, pornographers, blasphemers, unholy, unthankful people want to bring us down to their level. Or they try to do so because our light and truth and witness forces them to confront their own empty sinful condition and they hate that feeling. It's easier to persecute and reject the voice of truth and carry on enjoying life in the world.
But at what cost? Revelation 21 v 6 - 8: "And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."
Every time I write this blog I feel the urgency of the Holy Spirit to not hold back but to speak the truth in love, whether it is accepted or not. I may be the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the paths of the Lord for He is coming.
Every time you say Amen to what you read here you are responsible before God to live it and be fruitful in it. He is sending words to you to bring forth fruit for His Kingdom which is people you witness to about Jesus and who submit their lives to His Lordship.
Our God has given us the Holy Spirit to bring His pure fruit into our damaged souls. Galatians 5 v 22 - 23: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."
Prayer: Heavenly Father, please remove and destroy all unfruitful works from my life and change me into Your likeness so I can be a fruitful witness to those around me who are in darkness. Forgive me for anything I accept in my life that You say is unclean. Father cleanse me with the Blood of the Lamb and remove all pretence of righteousness from me. I want to be a pleasing child doing that which You love. In Jesus' name. Amen.