I put on a new PA system. I think I'm allergic to those things. And normally they're screening when I put them on. Not too long ago, I was at a place where the PA system didn't work. One of the most unusual things I've ever seen. Luckily, it was a number of ex-teachers, or teachers and ex-teachers. And the guy who was talking was a fairly good friend of most of the audience. And there was someone back up in one of the back tiers of the auditorium, and he kept yelling louder. louder. The PA system wouldn't work and so he was doing this without any extra help, without any electronics. And after about the third or fourth time, well, another fellow that was sitting in the front row, he said, he says, can't you hear him? And the guy said, no. He says, well, you're lucky because from down here I can hear him. So I'm not sure whether you're lucky that this thing works or not. Several weeks ago, or I guess several days ago, I should say, I came home from the West Coast and I was relating to my children, some of the things concerning the camp out there, and I was telling them one of my stories that had happened to me. And so I mentioned how that I had told this to the camp. And my daughter said, Dad, don't you ever tell any stories that have a happy ending? And I paused just for a moment because I was sure that I could think of one story or two that I had told that had a happy ending. And my five-year-old son says, Oh, Pam, they get happy when he's done preaching. Well, that may be the case, I guess, this afternoon. This afternoon I'd like for you to turn in your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke, Luke chapter thirteen. We'll begin reading in verse six. In case you're interested in the title for my talk this afternoon, it says, Behold the tree, but where is the fruit of study and limiting God. Behold the tree, but where is the fruit of study and limiting God. The Gospel of Luke chapter thirteen in verse six. He spoke also this parable. A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and it came, and sought fruit on it, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none. Cut it down. Why combereth it at the ground? And he, answering suddenly to him, Lord, let it alone this year, till I shall dig about it, and fertilize it, and if it bear fruit well, and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down. I think it's interesting to go through the Word of God and to see how Christ taught the people that came in contact with Him. So different sometimes in the way that we would like to teach. But often Christ found it necessary to take the everyday things of life and to explain a spiritual principle through them. And so it is on this particular occasion. He has been reminded at this time of a group of people that I believe were not right in their heart as they sought to sacrifice to God, and their blood was mingled with the blood of sacrifices. Next, he spoke to those in which the power of Shalom had fell, and his warning to the group of people, just before he spoke this parable, in verse five is this, nay, but except you repent, you shall all likewise perish. That's pretty strong language, isn't it? I'm not going to try to get away with saying that this afternoon. I'm just going to read to you that verse again. Nay, but except ye repent, ye shall also perish. So often we come to the teachings of Christ and we say, well, you know, really what he's doing, he's talking to the Pharisees, he's talking to the Jews. And we kind of say, I'm glad he didn't say that to me. And then we say, you know, that's the way he had to speak to the disciples because the disciples, they couldn't understand any other language. I'm sure glad that he's not talking to me. But one of the things that I set for myself as a goal this summer was to read through the gospel. And instead of trying to interpret them in the light of how the disciples might have looked at it, to ask God to show me how the gospel applied to me in the nineteen eighty one. And as I came to Luke chapter thirteen this summer, I began to look especially at the parable of a tree concerning a tree with no fruit. And so this afternoon I wanted to consider the tree with no fruit. The suggestion that he has, the command that he gives is this. Repentance is necessary. A change, a turning about. And if there was ever a time in this country, if there was ever a time, I believe, when the assembly of God's people needed to turn around and to find God, it's today. It's nineteen eighty one. I want you to notice three things about the little lesson that he presents here. First of all, concerning the tree, it was a planted tree. Isn't it encouraging to know that when God saved you, it was not an accident. It was not something that just happened by chance, but instead I believe it was by divine planning of God. I take courage in that. A week ago, or I guess ten days ago, I was on the West Coast in Seattle. My brother was showing me the fair state of Seattle and bragging about all of its beauty, knowing, of course, that he had someone from Kansas. And in Kansas, I think we have three or four trees, and every one of them we have made into a state park. And so as we were driving along the edge of the ocean there, he said, now he said, when we come up to this next place, he said, I want you to notice how that the trees are growing on rocks and they're several hundred feet from the shore. And so sure enough, as we pulled the corner, the site was breathtaking. And I said, Kurt, I said, how in the world did the trees get there? And so we began to muse on how the trees might have gotten there. I know it's possible to say, well, it could have been an accident. There could have been a bird, and he picked up a branch, or he picked up a seed, and as he was flying with it, he saw something better. A worm, I expect, to a bird is better. And so he drops the seed to get the worm. And so by chance, that tree gets planted there on the rock. Or it could have been that, since this particular place was an Indian reservation, that it could have been that maybe... Some of the Indians at one time or another had decided to make this into a garden and therefore they came and they planted some trees there. I don't know why the trees were there, but isn't it nice to know that God has no children by accident? Every single person is planned according to the promise of God. I thrill in that. The wind didn't drop us there. We're not saved by chance, but an intelligent plan and a purpose came and included us in the family of God. It was a tree that was planted. And then I want you to notice that it was planted in a special place. It was in a vineyard. And I look around in America, and I want you to know we live in a very special place, don't we? A tremendous place. But added to the aspect of being planted in a special place in a vineyard, there would be care year-around. There would be additional attention by someone who was to run the vineyard. there would be pruning of the tree and there would be extra food and there would be an abundance of water and I look at the church in America today and you know we're planted in a special place aren't we we have food really to spare in many ways we have many blessings and yet my question still is the same I see the tree but where is the fruit and I'm confident that as the Lord spoke he was attacking an outward form a shell of religion and religion bears no fruit. That's how you distinguish religion from those that are children of God. Children of God bear fruit, and religion is only a tree. And then I want you to notice the third thing. Not only was it planted, not only was it planted in a special place, but as well, the tree had a purpose, and the purpose was this, it was to bear fruit. There was no other reason for that tree to exist than for the bearing of fruit. You know that God has never saved a single one of us for ourselves. But he has saved us that we might bear fruit and bring glory to God. I think one of the things that has hurt Christianity more than anything else is the desire for people after they come to know Christ to be on the sideline. Or maybe to be a critic. Or maybe just to be a very attractive tree. But the plan of God is this bear fruit. Or he says, except you change, I will cut you down. Pretty strong language, isn't it? And I'm glad I can read it and not be the author of such strong language. What kind of responsibility does living in America in nineteen eighty one bring to us as God's people? Well, several months ago, I should say in the spring of this past year, I was talking to a young fella and he was involved in a program that that brought Bibles. And to some countries in which Bibles, I guess, at least the best I understand, they're illegal. And they began to tell me how that during the course of this time, I think they brought in thirty Bibles. And during that time, evidently word had gotten out to the church that was underground, that there would be Bibles available at a certain house. And so one by one, people began to arrive and they began to distribute these Bibles. And the evening had not worn on very long until they recognized that regardless of the number of Bibles that they had, and I think the statement was that there were three times more Bibles in that room than the person who owned the apartment had ever seen in their life. And I think it was thirty, but I could be wrong on the number. And before long it was obvious that they were going to have more people come and show up for Bibles than they had Bibles. And so they began to do this with the Word of God. They began to take the Word of God and they began to tear it apart and give portions of it to various people as they came. And I guess as the evening wore on they were down to parts really of two Bibles and several people came. One was an older man. And this man was very quiet and very patient, but very determined to have at least a part of the Word of God. And when the Bible, the last Bible they had was finally divided up, all that he had left was the Gospel of Mark. And some of those that were at the tail end of receding the Word of God agreed that they would meet back in seven days, one week later. And they would exchange portions of the Word of God. And this young man told me how that this man took the Gospel of Mark, he tucked it into his shirt. He came back one week later, and at that time the man knew the Gospel of Mark by memory. And I began to think in my library where, as best I can tell, I've got twenty-three different editions of a Bible. What responsibility we have to be planted in a vineyard. The same young man told me of a woman who came the day after. She had traveled almost three hundred miles, was not able to get there. in time for the giving out of the Bibles and she was heartbroken. She had been a Christian for about twenty years and her prayer for over ten years was that she might own a Bible. And so he went back to the place where he was staying in official capacity and the process of getting a Bible was they decided that they would take their own Bibles and they began to cut away at their own New Testaments and they pieced together a New Testament for her. And they came and they began to pray together And that lady's thrill was that for the first time in twenty years she had seen the whole New Testament at one time. Well, we have the New Testament and we have Bibles. We have a tremendous responsibility, I believe, because we are chosen by God. We're planted by God. And furthermore, we have a responsibility because we live in a vineyard that allows us access to the Word of God literally day and night. There are no laws that bar us from studying, from enjoying the Word of God. And yet for some reason, it seems that we have trees but so very little fruit. Why was there failure in the case of this tree? Why might there be failure in the case of our own life to bear fruit? Well, first of all, I want you to notice that the tree, because it bore no fruit, was useless. And sometimes we get the idea that if we are useless, it means that we must be living an outrageous sin, and that's not the case. I am convinced that for the most part, useless people in the church are not people who are living so much an outrageous sin, although that is a shame. But I find it to be respectable people. And yet these respectable people, even though they may be enraged when sin comes, they have decided that they are not going to bear fruit, and they are useless. to the plan and to the cause and the purpose of God. I want you to know that that not only is a waste but it is a sin. God speaks on another time through his Son the Lord Jesus concerning five virgins that were wise and five that were foolish and the five that were foolish were not foolish because of outrageous sin in their life but because of waste and because of unbelief. Another occasion he speaks of a man and a man is given a talent. And that man, because he does not want to lose that talent, well, he goes and he hides that talent. And I believe, based on the words of God, what he does is not only a waste, but it is a sin. The tree was useless. And then I think from this story, it would be fair to say that the tree not only was useless, but the tree was a hindrance. You see, because of its position there in the garden, it was in the way. It took up ground that could have been used for other trees. It took up water that could have gone to nourish the roots of other trees that were to bear fruit. It took up food. It took up time. And I think it can be said that it was a hindrance in the vineyard. So often in those days when a tree was planted in a vineyard, often below the tree, they would also plant grapes. And I am convinced that if they would have cut that tree down... and allowed the sunshine that fell on the branches of that tree to fall on the grapes. There would have been a better harvest of grapes with no shade there. There would have been more rain for the grapes, and the grapes would have been better. That tree was a hindrance. And finally, that tree invited disaster. The verdict was this, cut it down. Now God has a plan, and God's plan is that as trees we might bear fruit. And yet, for the most part, We live one day after another, one week after another, one year after another. And the question is, we see the tree, but where is the fruit? Could I ask you just for a moment or two this afternoon to take an inventory in your life? And can you honestly say, yes, there is fruit in my life. I look at my life now, and I look back several months, and indeed I see the hand of God working with me. And I see fruit that is being born for the cause of Christ. That's not bragging. I believe that is taking inventory based upon the word of God. And so the command was, all right, leave it here one more year. I wonder how many of us are in our last year. And how many times has he said, all right, leave them there one more year, and this time I will dig around them, and this time I will feed them, and this time I will care for them in a special way. And the goal and the purpose is, I want them to bear fruit, and if they don't bear fruit, all right, then I'll have to cut them down. You know, the reason why there is not fruit on every single Christian? We limit God. Can God be limited? Maybe that's a question that at first seems almost unethical to ask. But let me pose it to you because I think there are several places in Scripture that indeed bear us to at least put this idea into our mind this afternoon. Can God be limited? Well, you see, I believe as we go back and we begin to examine, especially in the life of Israel, you will find that God was limited by Israel. I'm not saying that the power of God was limited, but I'm saying that because of the way Israel acted, God was limited by their unbelief and by their actions. And you see, the plan of God for you and I is to bear fruit. God wants to bless us. God is not the concept that many have, and that is that there is an old crank in heaven. And if he has to, all right, he will bless us. But really, He just assumed not. And I'm glad that that's not really the way God is. Do you know that God delights when His people bear fruit and when He can bless them? And so what I would like for you to do this afternoon is to turn with me to the book of Psalms, chapter seventy-eight, to get a little picture. Our brother quoted this morning from first Corinthians chapter ten. Now that the things that happen to Israel were for our example, we'll be looking at that passage in just a moment, but I want to read for you several verses in Psalms chapter seventy-eight. And keep in mind this, it's not the size of the tree, although you have to admit so often we get taken up with the size of the tree, don't we? We look at a building and we say, you know, look at the size of that building and look at the number of buses they have parked there and look at the... And we get impressed with the size of the tree, don't we? God's not impressed with the size of the tree. Sometimes we look at the leaves and we say, those leaves look good. God's not interested in leaves. They fall. Sometimes we look at a tree and we admire the floral beauty. And again, God is not interested in a display. God wants fruit. And so we have recorded in Psalms chapter seventy eight, I believe, a little lesson concerning bearing fruit. and limiting God. Beginning in verse one, Give ear, O my people, to my law, and climb your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable. I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, showing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord in his strength and his wonderful works that he has done. For he established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers that they should make them known to their children. that the generation to come might know them, even the children, who should be born, who should arise and declare them to their children, that they might set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments, and might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that set not their heart aright. And the spirit was not steadfast with God. The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying those, turned back in the day of battle. They kept not the... covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law, and forgot his works and his wonders that he had shown them. Marvelous things did he in the sight of their fathers in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zome. He divided the sea, and caused him to pass through. He made the water to stand as in heat. In the daytime also he led them with a cloud, and all night with a light of fire. He split the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out of the great depths. He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused water to run down like rivers. And they sent yet more against him, by provoking the most high in the wilderness, and they tested God in their heart by asking food according to their desire. Yea, they spoke against God. They said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness? Behold, he smote the rock that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed. Can he give bread also? Can he provide flesh for his people? Verse forty-one. Yea, they turned back and tested God and limited the Holy One of Israel. Verse fifty-seven. but turned back and dealt unfaithly, making like their fathers, they were turned aside like a deceitful bow. Verse seventy-two, yet he fed them, or so he fed them, according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skillfulness of his hand. First Corinthians chapter ten, or an additional passage. First Corinthians chapter ten, beginning in verse one. Moreover, brethren, I would not say you should be ignorant, that all our fathers were under the cloud and all passed through the sea, and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and did all eat the same spiritual food. And did all drink the same spiritual drink, for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples to the intent that we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them, as it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. What a description of America we find in verses six and seven. And then skipping down to verse nine, neither let us put Christ to the test, as some of them also tested him and were destroyed by serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now unto all these things happen, and all these things happen unto them for our examples, and they are written for our admonition. upon whom the ends of the age are come. You see, they limited God and what God could do for them. And because they limited God and what he could do for them, now they would find that God was also going to limit his blessing to them and what he would do through them. I want you to know that as they stayed, as they stopped in the wilderness for that period of time, it was not God's original plan for them. God was not done blessing. God was not taxed in blessing the nation of Israel. He was not taxed as he brought them out of the land of Egypt. But Israel, for some reason, thought that if they were independent of God, they would be better off. The enemy of bearing fruit in the Christian's life is the attitude of independence. As you go and begin to examine every portion of Scripture concerning bearing fruit, it warns against being independent. It puts it this way, abide in me. That's the secret to bearing fruit. And Israel serves as an example of a people that would limit God, limit his blessing to them. They wanted their own way. And the result of wanting their own way, and of trying to be independent, they were to wander in the wilderness, not making progress, but wandering for a whole lifetime. That's bearing no fruit. I think it is possible for us to get so taken up with activities, even with conferences and with seminars and everything else that we don't bear fruit. Bearing fruit is an individual thing. Bearing fruit is not something that is noisy, is it? Often it's done at night, I understand. Always it's done when people are not noticing. And God's plan for you and I is that we might bear fruit. You know, as you come to the Psalm, it's a remarkable thing that three times it records it, they turned back. It's almost as if they said, listen, we know that God is a God of blessing. Isn't it amazing that the world would take the name of God and they would use the name of God to damn this thing and to damn that thing? And you go to the Bible and you find that our God is a God of blessing, isn't he? He's a blesser. And yet the children of Israel turned back. Verse nine, it says this, they turned back. Verse forty-one says this, they turned back. Verse fifty-seven says this, they turned back. Notice who it was that turned back. And verse nine, it says this, the children of Ephraim. Ephraim is the word, is the name that means twice fruitful. On several occasions before, and we won't take the time this afternoon to look at why they were named that, but it's a beautiful reason. On several occasions before they had been blessed by the blessings of God. They knew what it was. They had God's hand upon them and to bless them. And for some reason, these people that had been blessed before, they said, no, we're going to stop. We're going to turn back. We are not going to be a part of His continual blessing. Do you know that if you decide not to bear fruit, for the most part you choose that as your way of life? The people that are missing blessing are sometimes those that in the past have enjoyed the blessing of God. And often their life is lonesome for that, and they will try, they will pursue things in a variety of ways, hoping somehow to find satisfaction. And there is none. Israel would find none as they wandered for those forty years. And then I want you to notice not only who, but as well when. When would they turn back? And it says this, they turn back in the day of battle. Today is the day of battle. I think we have never had so many things to sidetrack the people of God from very fruit. We have substituted everything for fruit, hoping somehow or another, God will be displeased with our floral display, or God will be pleased with leaves, or God will be pleased with the size of the tree, and God wants fruit. They turned back in the day of battle. I think before they went to battle, there had to be a lot of talking. There had to be a lot of planning. There had to be all types of preparation. And on the very day of the battle, at the critical moment, these people would decide, we're going to turn back. Instead of being able to say, amen, they're yelling, oh, me. They're talking about how hard it is to live for Christ in nineteen eighty-one. I had a young man at the last camp I was at, come to me and said, you know, to be honest with me, he says, this Bible camp is killing me. I said, well, how in the world is this killing you? I said, I'm having a good time here. Learned a new game called Pickleball. They had skiing there, swimming there. They had food. What more could a guy want? He said, well, he said, just to put it mildly, he said, if I don't get a smoke, he said, I'm going to die. I said, well, I'll tell you what. Why don't you sit down in that chair and you die? Because if anything has got a hole in the child of God where he says, if I don't have it, I'll die, then he might as well sit down and die. He didn't take kindly to that advice, but by the time he finished talking to me, instead of being able to say amen, all he could say was, oh, me, oh, me. And no one had a life near as hard as he had, except for probably every other Christian in America. You know, we sing onward Christian soldiers marching as to war with the cross of Jesus going. You ever thought about how ridiculous it is for us to sing that? When was the last time you ever saw a bunch of Christians that look like they were going to war? About the only time is when someone says amen and they head for the parking lot, and then we look like we're going to war. Onward. Not very often do we leave the meeting and go onward, do we? We normally go home and recuperate. I guess it's true that the cross of Christ is going on before. In some cases it's so far in front of us that no one would recognize that we're even associated with it. Listen, I think we ought to look around and see indeed it is the day of the battle. And because of that, we ought to be involved in that battle and not be like the children of Ephraim and turning back. And next I want you to notice why they did it. It says this, they had weapons. They were armed in offense and defense. And yet they turned aside like a deceitful bow. The word deceitful is an interesting word. In the Hebrew language, there are no less than eighteen different Hebrew words that are all translated. That word deceitful. And this particular one is really the word for a slack bow. Have you ever seen what happens when someone has a bow and it's slack? They have all the pieces there. They have the wooden shanks. They have the string and the string hangs limp. And whenever a bow hangs limp, there's no power in that bow. The arrow simply falls out of it. It's not shot. Several years ago, when we were at the camp in Des Moines, we decided that we would try to do archery one afternoon. I'm not sure if I would recommend that again, but we tried. It was a girl's camp, and there were, I think, three targets there, and the girls were lining up the bows. And one of the arrows that one of the girls had was... was bent a little bit and I remember she pulled it back and she shot it and it didn't hit her target but it hit the target down the road and and the girl on the end yelled she said I hit the target and I haven't shot yet so I thought you know that's just about the way we are in the church every once in a while we see a little bit of room we say wow look well I'll tell you a slack bow has no power another thing about a slack bow it has no purpose it never shoots true And finally, a slack bow can never bring pleasure. There's no satisfaction with a life like that. How is slackness in coming into our life? Well, several ways. One is prayer. Have you noticed what happens to the power meeting, or sometimes we disguise the power meeting because we don't want it to get too full and we call it the prayer meeting, but really we ought to change the name and we ought to call it the power meeting. That's what the power is. And I've noticed that maybe we're a little slack in a power meeting, aren't we? And then another thing that I notice, and that is slackness sometimes when it comes to reading the Word of God, to studying the Word of God. We cannot be well fed unless we are feeding upon the Word of God. And finally, slackness and our belief that God is actually able, strong and able, to carry out every promise that He makes. Someone has said that the best way to backslide is to slack abide. And Christ says to bear fruit, he said, abide in me. Now, why would it be so unusual for Israel and for Ephraim to turn back? Well, as you go back to the chapter that we were looking at, notice especially verse twelve, marvelous things did he in the sight of their fathers? He begins to describe how that he divided the seed. He literally took Israel to the bank of that sea, and as Moses laid the rod down, the sea was bunched back, and Israel walked across that sea. Next, they said, you know, there's no water here. And so God would smite the rock, and out of the rock would flow water. They said there's no bread, and so God would rain upon them literally tons of bread every day. They said there's no meat, and he would give to them a quail dinner. He said He reigned on them flesh like dust. It was everywhere. He said He was full of compassion. And finally it says this. He forgave their iniquities. And he fed them according to the integrity of his heart. And he guided them by the skillfulness of his hand. And then you know what it says about Israel? It begins to describe why Israel wandered for forty years. It begins to describe why you and I are tree and no fruit. First of all, in gratitude. Notice verse ten. They kept not the covenant of God. God gave them a covenant for their good, and they said, no, we're not going to live that way. We know a better way. And I am shocked to see that there are actually people who are proposing, you know, in our style of living, it probably is not practical for Christians to read every single day. I don't know where they get that, but it's not from the Bible. They mentioned this. We're thinking of going to a once a month prayer meeting. I said, what do you plan to do? Well, they said, you know, the trouble is in our town, Little League is on Wednesday night. Well, that's a shame, isn't it? That Little League would be more popular than the power meeting. It says this. They refused to walk in his way. They forgot his works. They were devil-hearted, and they spoke against him. There was ingratitude. No fruit begins with ingratitude for what God has done. I'm convinced if we ever go back and see what God has saved us from, there will be a desire for fruit. Next, I think the sin that came into these people was the idea that they were selfish. God blessed them every time they turned around. God was in the business of blessing them. They expected more and they demanded it. They actually prayed to God. They said, is it possible for God to spread a banquet for us? And the answer was, yes, he could. And they got the banquet, and they wanted more selfish. Brother Carl was sharing with me before the meeting when he found out that I was going to be speaking on bearing fruit. And I hope I'm not going to use an illustration that he's going to use later. But he was talking how that he had a guest stay with him on one occasion. And... And the man offered to trim a tree that he has in his yard. And so he was out there trimming the tree. And finally he called for the coral out there and he began to show him the technique for pruning the tree. And he said, it becomes necessary to prune, to trim away every branch that turns back on itself, turns back on the tree. And you know, one of the sins of Israel is they were selfish. In an island in the Pacific Ocean. They grow a number of gourds there, and in one particular gourd the natives have found a very unique use for them. These gourds normally grow very long, and after they've grown to their full size as far as length goes, then they begin to grow larger and larger. They become meaty, in fact. And the navies have found that if you will come toward the end and if you will tie a restriction there, a very tight restriction, that the front part of the gourd will grow, continue to grow and become very large, while the back part will remain very narrow, very thin. And so what they do, they will go and they will restrict those gourd so they can't grow to their normal size. Instead, there's a large growth at the front of the gourd. And then they take that gourd and they cut it off, they hollow it out, and they cut off the end and there in that fat part of the door they put a handful of rice and the monkeys of the island come and they stick their hand down that narrow passage and they get in there and they grab a handful of rice and then their hand is so fat full of rice that they can't pull it out and do you know that those monkeys instead of letting go of the rice and getting their hand out will be captured and sold to zoos instead of letting go of a handful of rice. Well, I don't want to say that we're a bunch of monkeys, but we sure have our hands in a goer, don't we? And for some reason, we would rather have an ineffective life come and capture us and wait us down than to let go of a little bit of rice that seems to be holding us back from bearing fruit for God. Israel was selfish. Next, I want you to notice, verse twenty-two, there was unbelief. It says, because they believed not in God and trusted not in his salvation. Verse thirty-two, for all this they sinned still and believed not for his wondrous works. Verse forty-four, again they turned back. They limited God. They did not believe in him. Can you imagine these people did not believe God? Verse twenty-two says they did not believe in God. They said, is there a God? Those people that came to the edge of the water and the water parted, those people begin to question, is there even a God? Next they said, and if there is a God, could he deliver us? Well, there are giants in the promised land. We're not sure that he could, we don't know if he could, you know, we're beginning to even doubt the provision, the salvation of God. Well, we're living in those days, aren't we? They questioned God. Verse ten, disobedience was another reason for no fruit. Verse eight was pride. It said this. that they begin to be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation. When was the last time you saw someone broken over their own sin? When was the last time you saw someone broken because they said, there's no fruit in my life. Next, verse nine, laziness. They are armed for battle. And on the day of the battle, they say, you know, I've got something that I could do. Will you excuse me? And so they leave. Proverbs twenty six deals with the sluggard the sloppel man and remember the excuse of the sloppel man in Proverbs twenty six we don't have the time to turn to it this afternoon the lazy man is laying in bed and he begins to think to himself he's kind of half awake and half asleep and he begins to think to himself and earlier in the book he said you know what there's a lion in Jerusalem now just to be honest with you I don't think that there was a lion in Jerusalem you have to excuse me for doubting that but But what would a lion be doing in Jerusalem anyway? And now the slothful man is laying there on his back and he's tossing over and over. It's high time that he's been up and been about his business. And as he's laying there, you know, he says, he says, there's a lion in the way and there's two lions now, he says. He said, there's no sense to get up. If I got up and went out to do what I'm supposed to do, I would be devoured. Well, often we lay in our most comfortable position. And we say, there's two lions in the street. To begin with, why would the lion even bother to eat such a lazy man as a sluggard? And then another reason is ignorance. Verse eleven, they forgot his works and his wonders that he showed them. Can you imagine this people forgetting the works that God did? Can you imagine the people of God in nineteen eighty-one forgetting how God has delivered us out of sin and given to us the hope that other people don't have? And verse fifty seven, finally it says this, they turn back from God. I think out of fear they left him. Those are reasons why fruit may not be in our life. I want you to turn very quickly to John chapter fifteen just for several verses. If you look at a reason why fruit may be non-existent in our life, let's look at a positive inclination. So indeed we can end on a happy note and you'll be glad when I'm done speaking. John chapter fifteen. Notice what it says in verse one, I am the true vine. My father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away, and every branch that beareth fruit he purges it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine, no more can ye except ye abide in me. Verse five, I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him the same bringeth forth much fruit. Verse six, if a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch. Verse seven, if ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Verse nine, toward the end of the verse. It says this, continue ye in my love. That's what abide means. Verse ten, if ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love. At the end of the verse, abide in his love. Do you get the idea? It's a bear fruit. We must abide in him. We must actually settle down and allow God's word, God's priorities, God's rules to govern us. Next, we must keep his word. Abide in him. Keep his word. And finally, we are to love him. Last night our brother Stuart directed our attention towards the church at Laodicea. I wonder if we might just go to Revelation chapter three. Brother Carl looked at the church at Ephesus, how they had left their first love. We looked last night at the church at Laodicea. I want you to notice the characteristic of another church. The church at Philadelphia, chapter three and verse eight. He says this, I know thy works. Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it, for thou hast a little strength. and has kept my word and has not denied my name. You know, the church at Laodicea, as we were looking at last night, they were people that were going to be spewed out of the mouth of God, weren't they? Their tree with no fruit was obnoxious to God. God is still looking for those that would bear fruit. He says to these people in verse seven, and he says, you are poor, you are blind, you're naked. The people at Laodicea, they were known because they sold all over the world a black wool. They said, we're setting the fashion for today. Don't you like our apparel? Next they had a fool's gold, an artificial gold. Some people think that it's much like our plastic. The only trouble is it would deform if you put it into fire. They thought they were rich. He says, no, you're poor. They thought they were clothed. He said, no, you're naked. And finally they said, you know, we have come up with an ice bath. to save your sight. And he says, no. He says, not only are you poor and not only are you naked, but he says, you're blind. But to the little church at Philadelphia, these people admitted we're small. We have but a little bit of strength. Isn't it nice when people are honest about themselves? You know, God is not looking for great big numbers. He's simply looking for fruit. Are we bearing fruit? Next, these people were commended because he says, Thou hast kept my word. They were abiding in him. They were keeping the word that he said. And finally they loved him. Thou hast not denied my name. So simple, isn't it? It is so simple that sometimes we wonder, why don't we bear fruit? And I think maybe the answer is this. We read in Corinthians that Israel begin to lust, not sex sin. They begin to have a desire to do things in their own way, and so they begin to live for the moment. They begin to play. They begin to be entertained in every possible way. And finally, it was to a point that they had crowded out of their life. Prayer and the Word of God. Go and examine the wanderings in the wilderness and find out, did Israel pray? And the only time you will find Israel praying is when they needed one more meal. or another drink of water, there was no fruit. Behold the tree, but where is the fruit? Let us pray that we not limit God in our life, in our walk for Him.