Let's walk the talk!
FRUITLESSNESS = HYPOCRISY
There is an incident in one of the Gospels that shows that Jesus was not pleased with fruitlessness.
"Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, [Jesus] went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, 'May no one ever eat fruit from you again'" (Mark 11:13-14)
In the Bible, the fig tree is often used as a symbol for God's people. With a powerful illustration, Jesus was teaching that God curses hypocrites - people who claim to be his but don't bear any fruit for him.
Think about how blessed the Israelites were. Chosen by God, he protected them, cared for them, gave them his law and finally sent them his Son. But rather than live for him in a productive way, they rebelled, resisted and finally rejected the Saviour, Jesus Christ. What a tragedy!
Think about how blessed you are. Are you responding to God's goodness and bearing fruit for him, or are you a hypocrite?
Some Christians look great from a distance. They go to church, read the Bible and do all those easy-to-spot activities. But when you get up close and examine their lives, you just don't find any fruit. They aren't really any different from unbelievers.
Let's not be like that. I encourage you to sit down today with one or two Christian friends. Perhaps we can do this at Youth Group tonight. Ask yourselves, "Are we serious about the Lord and about being productive for him? Or are we just being a bunch of hypocrites?"
Tonight at YG - during 'the spot - we're going to look at how we can demonstrate our faith in action in one of many ways. Let's walk the talk everyday!!!
Stay tuned....look forward to seeing you all tonight.
God bless.
