BEARING FRUIT
Kenneth Walker
John 15: 4, 5, 7, 8; Psalm 1: 1-3; Genesis 26: 12-19; 22, 32, 33;
Joshua 14: 6-15; Psalm 92: 12-14; Ephesians 3: 17-21
In this brief time together I had in mind with the Holy Spirit’s power to speak about bringing forth fruit with patience. I believe it is something that is very much needed at the present time. This current dispensation is the time for bearing fruit, bringing forth fruit. We have had a good two days together, I think we would agree that. We have discussed some of the most wonderful things, the glories of Christ, the One who is Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace (see Isa. 9: 6). What wonderful things they are to discuss, what wonderful things have come down to us! I think it was in the reading yesterday that our brother touched upon the grace that has come out towards us. Think of the grace that has come out towards you and me and brought us into the most wonderful things! God has blessed us, “blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ”, Eph 1: 3. He has blessed us with the most wonderful things, He has blessed us in Christ, He has given us that Man, the Man who has been here for the pleasure of God, who has done His will in its fulness – no other man was like that Man. He has been here for the pleasure of God, He has laid down His life, shown love in its fulness, like none other. He has died, He has given His all. What a Person to be occupied with! One who as I have said is risen, glorified, a Man in the glory, what an occupation we have as Christians, dear friends! We have been brought into the most wonderful things, to be occupied with things that are wonderful, things that are superlative, things that are beyond comprehension. Think of the grace of God that He has moved to bring you and me into these things. I feel the exercise as speaking about fruit: we are in the time when God is looking for fruit. The question would be whether we have enjoyed these things, whether we have enjoyed all these wonderful things. (I trust from these occasions we have all had a greater apprehension of Christ, we have had another glimpse of His glories), what will be the yield? What will be the yield for God out of it, that is my exercise: what will be the fruit out of this occasion in your life and in my life for God? If the Lord will and we are left here for another day, or another week – we may be left here in the Lord’s will and we will go back to our localities. What will be the difference, what will be the fruit in our localities? What will be the fruit in our lives? If we are left here until tomorrow morning we will be involved in a wonderful service, remembering our Lord Jesus then having part in the service of God, a wonderful time. What will be the result? Will there be a greater increase, greater fruit out of it for God? God has blessed us, He has brought us the most wonderful things, and I would bring it before us that fruit is for God. Fruit is for God: what is in our life for God? We were affected recently in Dundee in reading in Luke’s gospel of a man who had much fruit; and what did he do? He said, “I will take away my granaries and build greater” (Luke 12: 18) – for himself – there was no mention of God in it at all. The man was concerned about himself and it goes on to say, “Fool …” and it speaks about certain consequences that will come about because he was “not rich toward God”, Luke 12: 21. My simple exercise in this time together is that there may be riches for God out of it. I leave it with each one in this room and with myself: life is so hectic, life is so busy, things take up our lives so much – we have mentioned that – but what will be in it for God? Dear young one, dear old one, what is in our lives for God? Will there be a response for God out of our lives? Maybe some young one here is saying, ‘What can I bring for God? I do not have very much’. I am sure I am right in saying the only thing you can bring for God is what is of Christ. What is of that blessed Man is all you can bring: you cannot bring anything else, you cannot bring anything of yourself, you cannot bring anything of your natural prowess, you can only bring what is of Christ, what is of that blessed One. I venture to suggest that if you have an appreciation of Christ in your heart, an appreciation of love (the children sing – Jesus loves me), if you have an appreciation of that love, the love that has moved towards you, I believe that you can respond, you can bring something for the service of God, you can bring something for the heart of God, you can bring something for Christ, I believe you can. Christ is all that is acceptable, nothing else. You cannot bring anything of yourself, you can bring only what is of that beloved One, that is all that is acceptable to God. Think of that!
That is why I read in John’s gospel, to get that before us. It says there, “for without me ye can do nothing” (v 5); without that blessed One we can do nothing in God’s things. Men in the world build up their empires, they spend a lot of time in building up things for themselves – where is it going to end? Dear friend, it ends in destruction. We get caught up in these things ourselves: we may get occupied with our jobs, our houses and our cars and all these things, and in a way some of it is probably right, but these things do not compare with what we have in Christ, what we can draw upon in Christ. What fruit are we bearing towards God? What will be for the heart of God? We are often told that God’s purpose in the gospel is that He desires men for Himself, worshippers for Himself. He desires souls to be brought to Christ, He desires souls to know the power of the Holy Spirit, but He desires that men and women, boys and girls, may be brought into relationships in nearness with Himself, that He may have them for His pleasure eternally. He will have it so, there is no doubt about it; Christ has been here, and as I could have read, “Except the grain of wheat falling into the ground die, it abides alone; but if it die, it bears much fruit”, John 12: 24. That glorious One has come and died, He has been alone in death and out of His death has sprung, as we often sing:
Out of Thy death has sprung,
A wondrous living throng (Hymn 152)
Only part of it is here, perhaps one hundred and sixty people in this room, only a small part of that wonderful living throng. Think of the hosts, the millions, the myriads that belong to Christ, all the fruit of His death; they will be there in that eternal day. Each of those as putting their trust in Christ, as accepting Him as Saviour:
Can point to the atoning blood
And say, This made my peace with God. (Hymn 357)
They, as you, have access to Christ, can go into His presence fully justified. Think of that, wonderful thought: you can be brought into the most wonderful things, and there will be fruit out of that for Christ, but my exercise is, what is the fruit we are bearing, because I believe there is a need for exercise at the present time. Fruit does not just happen, there needs to be exercise, there needs to be the right soil, the right roots, the right watering, and it is all available. But you and I have to go in for these things, we have to make it an exercise in our souls to go in for these things and take it on for ourselves. So, it is only as abiding in Christ you can bear fruit, it is only as centering your life around that One. What does abiding mean? I was interested to read the book on the last meetings in this place; in one of the first readings there was quite a conversation around abiding in Christ, I think, around this actual scripture. One brother brought in the matter of communion and dependence and I just want to bring that before us, how often do we depend on that blessed One? How near are we to that One: abiding in Christ? We have spoken about Him as a Counsellor, we could speak about Him as a Friend, I suppose that is fairly similar, “a friend that sticketh closer than a brother”, Prov 18: 24. One you can come near to, One you can open your heart to. Only in that order of manhood can fruit be provided for God. It says, “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abide in the vine, thus neither can ye unless ye abide in me”. You cannot bear it of yourself, you have to link on with that One, have a close relationship with that One, but of that order of manhood that is like that One. We are of Him and like Him and for Him: What a thought! “He that abides in me and I in him, he bears much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing”. We can do nothing without that One; I would just like to leave that thought with us. Then it goes on to say, “If ye abide in me” (abiding is walking with Him, talking with Him, praying with Him, being near to Him) there is exercise in that, “and my words abide in you” – it is not just walking and talking with Him, it is hearing what He is saying as well. He is communicating things at the present time, the Lord Jesus is speaking, He continues to speak. We had that scripture in the Revelation about speaking to the assemblies, and the Holy Spirit would be there delighting to speak. He delights to communicate things at the present time, things from heaven, not ordinary things, and the words are to abide in us. I feel the exercise of these thoughts for myself, to take in what is being said – do we put ourselves in the way of the speaking? Do we put ourselves in the way of His words, do we have attuned ears to hear what Christ is saying at the present time? Then it says, “ye shall ask what ye will and it shall come to pass to you. In this is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit”. It is in view of the glory of the Father. Christ would delight to bring us before the Father that there may be results for that blessed One. May we just be encouraged by this thought, that without that One we can do nothing. You cannot bring anything before God without it being in that One. Dear young one, dear old one, what are you going to bring? Are you bringing anything at the present time? The scripture in Leviticus 1 encourages me. It speaks about different sizes of offering, a bullock and other things, but it speaks about a turtle dove and a young pigeon (see Lev 1: 14). You may have a small appreciation of Christ; others may have a large appreciation of Christ but what I would say is, if you have an appreciation of Christ bring it forward into your local gatherings. I feel often I may not have moved forward, but think of the service of God! What a rich service, all these blessings have come to us, the cost has been great. Is it worth something to respond and give fruit to the Lord Jesus and to God, indeed to the Holy Spirit, too? What cost has gone into the movements of divine Persons and the way they have operated. It should touch our hearts, we should be able to bring something. What are you bringing? I would just leave that thought before us.
In Psalm 1 I wanted to bring before us being “planted by brooks of water”. In the second Psalm Christ is presented to us, “I have anointed my king upon Zion, the hill of my holiness” (v 6), that distinctive One, distinct from any other. But here, in Psalm 1, I would just like to apply it to the Christian, to you and me, as a tree planted by books of water. You need to be planted by brooks of water. You are planted there, God in His ordering has put you there, but I believe as I have said there should be an exercise to draw the water, to draw upon the resources we have in the Holy Spirit of God. I think that would be the allusion in the water, something there to draw upon. There is a similar scripture in Jeremiah which speaks about a man like a tree planted by waters, “and that spreadeth out its roots by the stream” Jer 17: 8. I just wanted to bring that thought before us. In God’s ordering He has placed us by the water, but how exercised are we to draw upon the Holy Spirit? How near are we to Him? We need the Holy Spirit; without Him, as we were reminded in the reading yesterday, we can do nothing. You cannot go on without Him. As has been said in ministry, He is the best Friend we have down here. That Man in the Glory is our Friend above, but the blessed Holy Spirit here, One who is our best Friend down here. Do we commune with Him enough? Do we depend upon Him enough? I feel the exercise of that myself. In verse 2 of Psalm 1 it says, “in his law doth he meditate day and night”: that is an exercise for us all, meditating in Jehovah’s law; that is Christ’s things, God’s things, the things that belong to our Lord Jesus Christ. How many have meditated on the things of Jesus Christ day and night, been exercised about these things, you think over them and go over and over them. There is much to meditate upon. I trust that as we go away from these occasions there may be something to meditate upon. I believe it is one of the habits a Christian should have. I came across a booklet the other day which spoke about four habits that belong to a Christian and one of them was meditation. (Just for the interest of the brethren, the others are prayer, praise and conversation). These are the normal habits of a Christian: are these the things that occupy our lives? I feel the exercise of meditation, how often do we mediate? Life is busy and I believe there is a need for taking time and sitting down in quietness, maybe at the start of the day or in the night season. One of our brothers speaks about the night season, he cannot sleep and he is up and reads the scriptures or some ministry. How often do we do that, or do we just turn over and go back to sleep? It is an exercise for me. I lay these thoughts on my own heart as well as on the hearts of the brethren. I trust we may be exercised to draw upon the supply that is there in the Holy Spirit: “which giveth its fruit in its season”. I trust there has been fruit out of this season together and as we go back to our localities, if it be the Lord’s will to leave us here, there will be fruit in its season. In the gatherings together in the week ahead of us, what will be the fruit out of your locality in the prayer meeting, or the ministry meeting or the readings. What is the fruit out of all our times together? Are we just coming along in a casual manner, a bit like those in Laodicea that we talked about yesterday, neither cold nor hot, a bit half-hearted about things; is that what we are like? Dear friends, I trust we are those who are bearing fruit, we are those who are drawing from the Holy Spirit, “whose leaf fadeth not; and all that he doeth prospereth”. The world is a sad place, sorrow and pressure are found in it, but in the Christian way we have been brought into the most wonderful things, an area of prosperity, an area of safety, an area where things can be vitally enjoyed together. May we just be encouraged to think on these things.
I move on to Genesis, and as thinking over what has been said in some of the readings, I thought about Isaac and of him coming to the wells that his father had dug, and I thought maybe we could take the liberty of applying it to what has gone before us. There is much exercise – our brother talked about that in the address and it has been mentioned quite a bit recently – the much exercise that has gone on over the years into the recovery of the truth, Paul’s ministry and what has come out of it, the truth of Christ and the assembly, the Head in heaven, the body here, many other things have come out, ministries of the recovery in the 1800s, 1900s, wonderful ministries. But have human thoughts come in and our minds perhaps blocked them up? That is like the Philistine, he would think in human terms. In the world today there has been a lot of talk about the Person of the Christ and a lot of wrong teaching. I trust it has not come in amongst us, but I just feel the exercise that those that have gone before, those who have been exercised to bring things before us, have dug wells. They have made way for the Spirit so that the truth was kept flowing. They have brought out truths from each of these wells, but I trust we can all be exercised to dig a well, to be exercised to go through each of these wells, to have a look at them. As I say, much has come out in ministry on various features of the truth and I feel exercised as to how much I have looked into the teaching over the years, but, dear brethren, there is much there. They are not to be changed, the names are to remain the same, it says, “he called their names after the names by which his father had called them”. There is no change to the names, the same principles are there. I think that is something that has been brought before me recently, that God has set things on and, although centuries may pass by, different governments come, things change in the way we do things and the age of technology has come in: but God’s things have not changed, God’s principles remain the same, He has still the same Man in His thoughts. That is something we should lay hold of, the assembly is still here, He still has Christ and the assembly in mind.
So Isaac came, think of his feelings as he came. In natural terms he may have thought ‘They have filled up the wells, what shall I do?’ But then he is exercised: ‘I am going to dig them again, I am going to find out what was there’, to allow the Holy Spirit, we may say, to give a fresh living touch for the present moment, fresh ministry to come through. May we be exercised to bring it out. The servants dug in the valley “and found there a well of springing water”. Dear brethren, you cannot go in for these things in any natural way, you have to be exercised to dig and find the Spirit’s voice and mind in the matter. May we just be encouraged, it is in view of being fruitful in the land. It is in view of his fruitfulness, but in view of him providing much, as in Genesis, for the heart of God.
In Joshua I was encouraged to read of Caleb. We often speak of him but what drew me to him was that he “wholly followed Jehovah my God”. We read yesterday about Laodicea, I was touched by that, “neither cold nor hot”, Rev 3: 15. A bit lukewarm, you could say they were a bit half-hearted or casual about things. Not Caleb – he was whole-hearted. He was not a half-hearted Christian, he was wholly in things, think of the exercises he went through. He had been to the land, he had an appreciation of the fruit of the land, the heavenly inheritance was before him. I do not think he was caught up with the troubles of the day. He would have had exercises like everyone else, but I am sure he would not have got too caught up in the thoughts of the day. He wholly followed Jehovah his God. As we know, he had brought back Eschol’s grapes. I think he had had a taste of the fruit of the land. Are we like Caleb, have we had a taste of the land? There have been many meetings recently, much ministry, have we had a touch of the fruits of the land?
The heav’nly land we love (Hymn 50)
Do we love it? Do we appreciate it? Are we like Caleb wholly following Jehovah? We have seen many before, many beloved brothers and sisters who have wholly followed Jehovah, they have been committed and had another land before them, another thought before them, they lived in another place. They went through this scene down here and came along to the meetings, but they brought out what was of another land, they brought out the fruits of another land, they were like Caleb, and what did he get? He got a reward for this exercise and I would like to commend that to us, that if we are whole-hearted I believe we will be rewarded. It says of Caleb, “Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance”. What does that mean? I believe it means he enters into the purpose of God, does it not? Hebron was before Zoan in Egypt, before anything of man’s thoughts, God’s purposes were there and it is a blessed thing to get an insight into that. I feel exercised as to it, do we look at things from God’s viewpoint or do we look at it from our viewpoint? I would like to look at things from God’s viewpoint, be like Caleb, to look upon and be in the enjoyment of Hebron. As one has said, it is the treetops of eternity, that is a wonderful thought, I cannot say much about it, but it is an elevated thought without a doubt – above this scene down here. We are drawn into an eternal scene, a heavenly land, an area of prosperity and enjoyment. Think of the land that the children were brought into, a land flowing with milk and honey. I do not know if it is a similar thought, Hebron might have that in mind as well, it is living and vital, the purpose of God. It is the enjoyment of God’s things, of relationships with God. I trust we could say that, it is the enjoyment of God, just to be there with God. May we just be encouraged to go in for these things.
I make a similar connection in the Psalms; “those that are planted in the house of Jehovah shall flourish in the courts of our God”. Caleb was whole-hearted, but this would perhaps be like a local meeting. There are those who we know who are planted there, their lives are in the things of God and Jesus. We have seen brothers and sisters who have gone before; it speaks about those who are “vigorous in old age”, those who are feeling the burdens of the body, illness, weakness comes in , even at a fairly young age we feel it, and we have seen many older brothers and sisters who struggle physically; but, dear friend, when they came into the courts of God you see them “vigorous in old age … full of sap and green”, living in another scene, “welling forth with good matter … touching the king”, Ps. 45: 1. Their hearts were full. (Many of the brethren will remember Mr. Gaskin in Aberdeen, now with the Lord, I remember much how, although aged, you could see something in him; he would come in amongst the brethren and delight to speak of the things of Christ. In the service of God he had fresh energy, fresh vitality, something welling forth in him that was of another order). May we enjoy these things, may we appreciate our older brethren, may we all take something from them, those who are “full of sap and green”, those who are “planted in the house of Jehovah”, who have an appreciation of the things of God, those who have an appreciation of the testimony, who are determined to carry it through and have carried it through over many years, those who have had an appreciation of the assembly, of the wonderful service of God, of God’s things, who have maintained things. We look round this room, how may localities are represented here, many small localities, some large localities, there are those there who are “full of sap and green”. There are those who have gone before, we could name them, I am sure. Everyone in this room could look around and see someone or could speak of someone who they gleaned something from. We spoke about fathers in the reading, those we have gleaned something from, those who have provided a word of encouragement, a touch, a word, a scripture, a thought for the moment, which helped you on the way. May we be like them, those who in a way were like Christ, they came out like Christ. May we take on these features like Caleb, whole-heartedly moving forward, like our Lord Jesus without a doubt – what a model He is, what an occupation He is! May we just be encouraged to yield something from our lives for God. I feel the edge of these thoughts myself, dear brethren.
I read in Ephesians – I feel tested in speaking of Ephesians, it is such a wonderful book. It starts with the doxology, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ”, (1: 3). What a thought! “Taken into favour in the Beloved”, what an elevated thought! What can we say about these things? We are blessed in another Man. I think that would be in view of divine pleasure, we are “taken into favour in the Beloved”, we are in that standing before God. God would look upon us like He looks upon Christ; Christ distinct, of course, but He would look upon and love those sons like He loves Christ! The assembly is being built up at the present time, too, we read of that “glory in the assembly in Christ Jesus unto all generations of the age of ages”. I can hardly take it in, the breadth and length and depth and height. What things: “to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge”; I cannot say much about them but I think they are to be enjoyed by experience, rather than having a knowledge of them. It is not mental knowledge, it is an inward knowledge: “that ye may be filled even to all the fulness of God”. What can we say about these things?
I trust we may be encouraged by these few simple thoughts. If we are left here and gather again on the morrow to remember our Lord Jesus (what a precious occasion on the Lord’s Day, a privileged day), gathered together to show our allegiance to Him. I trust everyone in this room will be there in love and affection for that One, who has done so much. Can you do something for Him? Remember Him in the breaking of bread. Think of the service: He comes in His glory, and as we are exercised He comes, as has been said, where love is. Where love is, those who love Him, He would come in and manifest His glory and He would lead us on into the Father’s presence. What will be your response? He will have a response eternally and He will have a response on the morrow: will we be part of that response, will you be part of that response? Will you be exercised to provide something different, or will it be the same brothers taking part, the same sisters involved in things. When you go back to your locality, will it be the same brothers and sisters carrying things on? Of course, there is the matter of respect and you respect older brothers and sisters who have carried things, but I am sure the older brothers and sisters would like to see you take part if you are a young one, would like to see another evidence of life and vitality and fruit coming out.
May we be encouraged to go in for these things, to abide in Christ, to draw upon the supplies in the Holy Spirit, to enjoy the things of Christ. I think it was in one of the prayers at the start of these meetings, somebody said, He has opened the windows of heaven and He has poured out a blessing. I think we could say that in these times together, in these gatherings together, there has been a blessing poured out from heaven. We have enjoyed things that no-one out there in the world can enjoy; any ordinary gathering of men may gather together in their football teams or whatever it may be out there, but nothing like that can compare to the things of Christ. May we enjoy them and may there be a real and true response to the heart of Christ and the heart of our God and Father.
May He bless these thoughts, for His Name’s sake.
MALVERN
27 August 2005