The Total Output

And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.  Revelation 4:8 NASB

My friend, time is carrying mankind quickly to the throne of God’s judgement…. We must care for each other, we are to watch out for each other, we are to be alert and aware of those who look and act like they are speaking for Jesus, but inside they are  on the prowl to satisfy their own walk and even unknowingly, follow the lies of the  enemy. 

So how can we see the truth? We get on our knees, we worship God, we praise Jesus, we invite Holy Spirit in , we pray to the Lord most high for discernment to see His truth, knowledge to understand His kingdom, courage to face each moment and wisdom to step forth within His will. 

In this world we often hear the word “fruit” used to speak about results. Fruit of their labour,  Like, “500 people came to faith in Jesus through that person’s ministry; what a lot of fruit.”

And we see similar usage in Scripture, but just as often—if not more often—fruit simply refers to what a person says and does. “Fruit” is someone’s words and behaviour; the total output of their life lived out.

What does Jesus mean by “fruit”? He uses the word fruit in Matthew 12:33-37 NASB ““Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

So think about someone who speaks publicly for Jesus Christ. Maybe it’s a preacher, an author, a pastor or media evangelist or an album recording artist. Jesus says that you will be able to tell whether they are a sheep or a wolf based on their fruits. And that “fruit” is not how many people came to their ministry. That “fruit” is not how many people came to their awesome concert. That “fruit” is the way they spoke to their waiter at the restaurant after the concert. That “fruit” is what they watched on their TV screen during the week. 

And it is by someone’s fruit that we recognize them as a wolf and not a sheep. Just think of what this means. Jesus teaches that we wont necessarily spot a false prophet, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, from their message.

Again, this is really challenging to some of us. We are used to perceiving “false prophets” as those folks blatantly distorting the word of God to suit their pocketbook. 

At the end of the day, what makes them counterfeit is that they are saying and doing these things for their own purposes. They are not there to tend Jesus’s the sheep but they are there to prey on the sheep. Like Judas, for example.  Every indication in the gospels is that Judas preached the same message as the others who walked with Jesus.  inwardly Judas was ravenous yet he still went out preaching repentance like the other apostles, casting out demons and healing like the other apostles But he was out to serve himself, helping himself to the moneybag, and finishing his walk with betraying Jesus. 

By God’s permission satan is lord of this world and seeks to have us believe his lies instead of knowing the truth of the triune God.  

All around us there are enticements, distractions, labels and barriers that man has created with the encouragement of the enemy to divide and destroy, creating hate between people, using the nations we are born in, the color of our skin, political choices,  anything, to blind our sight from beholding the glorious true light of the Saviour Jesus Christ.