OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL - SATURDAY - 15/2/2014 - FRUITS OR LEAVES BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

FRUITS OR LEAVES

MEMORISE

Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

Philippians 1:11

READ

Mark 11:12-14

Mark 11:12 And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry:

Mark 11:13 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.

Mark 11:14 And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.

MESSAGE

When hungry, a person instinctively makes moves to have the hunger assuaged, which is normal. I had an experience in my early years when I had to go get firewood to sell to have money for my basic needs (food primarily). One day, I got stung by bees after climbing a standing dry tree. I however refused to come down until I felled dry wood from the tree. I endured the terrible pain because I knew that no wood to sell meant no food to eat. May you not be poor in the Name of Jesus. In the morning of a particular day, the Lord Jesus while returning from Bethany to Jerusalem was hungry; He needed food. Just at that moment, a fig tree was in sight; hope and expectation arose in Him. Food for a hungry tummy is a necessity, a basic one for that matter. However, on getting to the fig tree, it was all leaf and no fruit. This fig tree had taken so many nutrients from the ground, only to produce leaves. It failed to fulfil its basic purpose of bearing fruits.

Today, though Jesus is not physically present and traversing the land of Judah and Galilee as He was then, He is alive and still very much hungry for fruit. Howbeit, not for figs or grapes but for:

(i)            Fruits of righteousness - Philippians 1:11.

(ii)           Souls – John 15:16.

Just like the fig tree in our reading for today, it is saddening that rather than Jesus finding the desired fruits on many of His children, they are merely full of leaves. Such leaves are reminiscent of the conditions prevailing in the Laodicean Church (Revelation 3:17-18), which had money and material things to the exclusion of spiritual substance. Some of us have position, titles, fame and material things. We are living big, but the fruits that Jesus really desires are lacking. Some of us have taken so much blessing from Jesus only to consume all on ourselves. We dress in good attires, live large and have created a niche for ourselves in company of the who-is-who in high society, all with little or nothing at all in the area of influencing lives for Jesus. We need to repent, and like the Laodicean church, consider getting the true riches of Jesus Christ. The verdict of Jesus Christ on the fruitless fig tree is frightening. This should be an example to a leafy but fruitless individual (Luke 13:6-9). In Jesus’ Name, you will not be marked for cutting down. May you begin to bear fruit to the satisfaction of the Master henceforth, and the blessing of the fruitful will be your portion.

PRAYER POINT

Desire to be fruitful and pray to God for all that is needed to make you fruitful. Also, pray that every force that works against your fruitfulness should be destroyed by fire.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR

Isaiah 43:1-45:13; 

Psalm 38