By David Phillips
The Fruitful Heart
Jesus makes it clear that the honest and good heart is a critical part of the equation for bearing spiritual fruit. We know how important it is to God that we live spiritually fruitful lives, based on what Jesus said in John 15:8 – By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. One of the things that Paul prayed for on behalf of the church at Philippi was they would be filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ…(Philippians 1:11). More than just eating a spiritual apple a day, this filled with the fruit has a view toward what we do as a result of having this fruit. It’s there in the last phrase of the verse: to the glory and praise of God.
A partial list, as we observed this morning, would include souls won, money contributed, good deeds done, Christian character demonstrated, and worshipful praise offered. These things, and more, are the reasonable expectation of God for us. In the Lord’s illustration, recorded in John 15:1-11, He represents God as the vinedresser, who prunes away the fruitless branches. There is no question about the necessity of fruit, and the connection that each branch (Christians) must have with the vine (Jesus).
Three important questions will help us round out this study:
- When does a Christian need to be fruitful? Tomorrow. Always. Even in quarantine? Yes. In youth? Absolutely. In old age? Certainly. Psalm 92:14 speaks of the righteous: …they shall still bear fruit in old age… I am reminded of Sister Lomis Houston, who many times after a hospital stay or doctor’s visit, would say to me, “David, I invited them to come to worship with us.” Sometimes they did. There is never a time when a child of God does not need to exhibit a fruitful heart.
- What are the qualifications? Follow Christ, 1 Peter 2:21. Abide in Him, let Him abide in you, John 15:4-5. In a word, obedience. That’s what qualifies you and me to be fruitful. It’s also what demands that we be fruitful.
- What is the result? Joy at harvest time. Psalm 126:6 – He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
Proverbs 27:19 – As water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man.