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1
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I
am the Fruit of God's Harvest
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2
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[ Matthew 7 :
17~18]
Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad
tree bears bad fruit.
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,
and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.
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3
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When Jesus was on earth, there were people who
claimed to be a prophet.
People simply looked at them and thought they were
all true prophets.
But in the eyes of Jesus, who is God, He could see
who was real and who was fake.
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4
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Jesus taught people to beware of false prophets.
¡°Beware of false prophets.
They come to you in sheep's clothes. But inside it
is a hungry wolf.¡±
He said false prophets had a completely different
appearance on the outside and on the inside.
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5
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Jesus taught people how to distinguish false
prophets.
¡°You will see their fruits and you will know them.¡±
He said.Fruit is the result of their actions.
He said that if we look closely at what false
prophets do, we can see that they are not from God.
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6
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Jesus asked a question of those gathered to explain
why false prophets could not produce
good fruit. ¡°Can you pick grapes from the thorns?¡±
¡°Can you pick figs from thistles?¡±
Jesus asked people two questions that could never
happen.
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7
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This means that thorns can never have grapes as
fruit, and you can never get figs from thistles.
On the same principle, a good tree cannot produce
bad fruit.
If a tree is a good tree, the fruit must produce
good fruit.
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8
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Conversely, good fruit cannot be obtained from a bad
tree.
Bad trees that do not absorb nutrients properly will
only produce bad fruits that are of no
value and of little value.
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9
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By looking at the fruit, you can tell what kind of
tree it is. The same goes for people.
Some people produce good fruit, while others produce
bad fruit.
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10
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Jesus said that those who produce good fruit are
those who do God's will.
They listen to Jesus and do what they say.
The book of
Galatians tells about the fruit that comes from them.
¡°But the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no
law.¡± [Galatians 5:22-23]
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11
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The characteristic of those who bear bad fruit is
not doing God's will.
They act on their own greed. They do not live
according to the guidance of the Holy Spirit,
but they like to live according to their wishes.
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12
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About the bad fruits they bear, Galatians also says:
¡°The acts
of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;
idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish
ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.
I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit
the kingdom of God.¡± [Galatians
5:19-21]
These fruits are embarrassing to put in your mouth.
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13
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Jesus, who came to this earth in the same body as
ours, did completely according to the will
of God. He accomplished all of God's will without
any deviation.
He himself glorified God by being an example of a
life bearing all good fruit.
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14
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We, who believe in Jesus and become children of God,
must produce good fruit.
Jesus told us exactly how to produce good fruit.
¡°"I
am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him,
he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do
nothing.¡± [John 15:5]
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15
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As children of God, we must be attached to the
branches of Jesus, the good vine.
Branches that have fallen from a tree cannot produce
good fruit or live.
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16
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When we are attached to Jesus, we can produce good
fruit.
Being attached to Jesus means keeping the words of
Jesus in your heart and obeying them.
To those who do this, the good fruit of the Holy
Spirit will be produced.
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17
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Once a year we celebrate Thanksgiving Sunday.
Thanksgiving Sunday is a day when we are grateful
for the grace of God for protecting us
and for giving us a bountiful harvest to eat. Fresh
and good fruits bring us great joy.
When we produce a lot of good fruit, God is
glorified because of us.
Have you ever produced a fruit that is ashamed of
giving to God?
I hope that you can renew your heart and bear a lot
of good fruit by being completely
attached to Jesus, who is a good vine.
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(This
is the sample conclusion provided by CTM. Please feel free to change the
conclusion to best suit the listeners of your sermon.)
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I am the Fruit of God`s Harvest
