6 Then he told this parable: A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?' 8 'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.' Luke 13:6-9 (NIV)
What the Lord desires is Fruit
Gr work karpos - as in fruit (literally plucked) probably from the base harpazo (to pluck, to take away)
There is something that God desires to take away out of our relationship.
Many people get this confused with the Fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22).
But that is what we take away from our relationship with Him. What is it that God desires to “take away” from our relationship?
harpazo is used in 1 The 4:17 - …we which are alive and remain shall be caught up… (harpazo)
We find from the beginning that God put Adam and Eve on earth, his command was to be fruitful.
28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; Gen 1:28 (NKJV)
When God judged mankind, and started over again with Noah, his command was the same:
So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: "Be fruitful and multiply… Gen 9:1 (NKJV)
The entire purpose of creation is for children to be born. Not necessarily to men, but to God. A child is a product of relationship. It is the one thing that God will not do by himself.
The Lord loves worship – he loves holiness. But these are not for his benefit – they are for ours. What he is asking me today is – do you have any children? Are you fruitful?
It is what the Lord expects.
Not only does he desire it – he expects it. Notice that he instructs the man to cut it down, because it is a waste of good dirt.
'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?'
“But that is not my gift,” you might say. Not so… It is not easy to define, necessarily. Sometimes it is difficult to measure. But indeed the promise of God is:
He who continually goes forth weeping, Bearing seed for sowing, Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, Bringing his sheaves with him. Psalms 126:6 (NKJV)
The Gardener is Jesus
The parable is specifically speaking about Israel. For years God has looked for fruit, and there hasn’t been any. Jesus has been there for three years now – but he says, “Give me one more year…”
But as with any parable – it speaks volumes. You see – my life has been unfruitful. I have fallen short. But I’m thankful for a gardener… I deserve to die –to be cut down and thrown into the bonfire. But Jesus says – “Give me one more year…”
The Solution – Prepare the Environment
Notice that the gardener doesn’t actually do anything to the tree… He simply says, Let me prepare the environment.
You see – everything is in that tree that is required. A seed has been planted, and that seed contained the DNA. There was nothing he could add to or take away from the tree itself. All he could do was prepare the environment.
The gardener isn’t there to change the tree. He’s there change the world that the tree lives in.
3 "Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. 5 Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. 7 And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. 8 But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred." Mark 4:3-8 (NKJV)
In one sense – I am the tree
I wonder – as you look at your life today… Who have you brought to Him? Who are you affecting for Him? I wonder if he has come back year after year, and left disappointed?
- I need Him to stir my world
- I need Him to feed me
In another sense – I am the gardener
I am Christ to this world… I am His hands. I am his feet. I am his voice.
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