Fruit In Season - Psalm 1:3b

He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

Jesus said, "You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?" Matthew 7:16

The blessed - joyful - free man yields fruit, which is from the beautiful Hebrew word "nathan" which means to give or to place and conveys the idea that the tree produces an offering. In fact, one of the acceptable offerings to the LORD is of our fruit and indeed our "first fruits".

The idea of "offering" changes the whole picture of the blessed man. This joyful person's life produces fruit that is then offered back to God in worship and obedience and offered to others in service and love. So often we are tempted to look at this from the idea of "prosperity", if I obey God then He is obligated to "prosper" me, IE. give me blessings. Instead, the picture shifts to one who is blessed in order that he might return or offer up the blessing to the LORD. Does that sound familiar? It should! The LORD promised Abraham blessings upon blessings. Those blessings were never intended to be used up just for Abraham and his family but so much more was intended. God blessed Abraham that he might become a blessing. He has done the same for us.

Let's take a closer look at the word "fruit." The promise of Psalm 1:3 is that the blessed man will yield fruit (periy - 6539 - TCWDOT - page 919) that which is naturally produced, can be used figuratively of one's offspring or the result of one's deeds or manner of life. One key concept for the restoration of Israel is the hallmark of fruitfulness.

So much of Old Testament promises, Jesus' teaching and the Apostle's writings well up in my heart as I think about what it means to be fruit bearing.

• You shall not eat the fruit of the tree that is in the center of the Garden...lest you die....

Be fruitful and multiply...

• I will make you fruitful...
• You will eat fruit that you did not plant...
• A good tree cannot produce bad fruit...
• A bad tree cannot produce good fruit...
• By their fruits you will know them....
• But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty fold and sixty fold and a hundredfold.....
• Every branch that does not bear fruit is thrown into the fire...
• Every branch that bears fruit, I prune it that it may bear more fruit...
• By this is My Father glorified that you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples....
• You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide...
• But the fruit of the Spirit is love....
• Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God....
• For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it....

The Lord has much to say about fruit and most of it has to do with fruit being the absolute witness of our lives. Jesus said it in multiple ways but the bottom line is this, we can talk all day about what we believe and what we hope but the veracity of our testimony is proven by the kind of fruit we bear. A couple of more observations about the text before we close today. God makes powerful promises to the free man. Promise one: you will yield fruit in season. The phrase "in season" is always determined by its context; for example, an orange tree doesn't begin to produce edible fruit for about three to four years. In other words, when the right amount of time has passed to to accomplish the pre-determined purpose then fruitfulness comes. There is a right season for fruitfulness and often we are guilty of accepting the world's timetable instead of waiting on the Lord's "season." Promise two: your leaf will not wither. Withering carries with it the idea of languishing, fading, wearing out or drying out. How is it that this tree doesn't wither? Its root system. The tree has been planted right by the water in order to avoid this dangerous condition of withering. Promise three: whatever the free man does shall be caused to prosper. The word for prosper is saleah - to rush, to break forth, to come mightily, and is often used to describe the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. It can also mean to be victorious in battle or the picture of a powerful weapon turning the war from defeat to victory. One more key to this word is that it is in the "causative" tense of the verb. Why is that important? You don't cause your self to prosper, Someone works on your behalf, Someone brings the victory for you and to you. I have to ask the question of myself...if you walk through the grove of my life what kind of fruit will you see, how does it taste (is it bitter or sweet), am I producing "in season" (remember the fig tree Jesus cursed because it should have been producing fruit and it wasn't), and most importantly does the fruit of my life cause others to give God much glory?