Fruit

 We have a wonderful inheritance-so good, it's a "double share." When we enter it, we'll dive into & (as Spurgeon puts it) "bathe forever in the bottomless sea of infinite blessedness!" No wonder we're called to be content. What hasn't God given us? That brings us to today's message. Contentment is at its heart. An ancient king was really suffering. His wise men found a cure. Find & wear the shirt of a contented man. He sent emissaries to find one. Far & wide they searched. After a long time, they finally located the man. He was content. But there was a problem. He was content; but he had no shirt! The point? We can't find contentment in anyone, in anything, or in any possession. Where can we find contentment? Let's turn to Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16. Hebrews 1-12 told us about the superiority of Christ & His covenant. We saw how to enter His covenant by faith. We heard examples of faith & encouragement to faith. Now, we'll hear how to walk in our faith. How do we know if we are walking in faith? Whenever we are, there are 4 signs. The 1st sign? We'll 1keep on loving each other as brothers. Each other = all. We all know someone hard to be with. We wonder: how can we love them? 1 Cor 13:4-8a teaches us that love. Love for the sake of the beloved (each other). Keep on choosing to be patient & kind. Even when provoked. Keep on choosing not to envy. Keep on choosing not to boast. Keep choosing humility (not to be proud). Keep choosing not to be rude. Keep choosing not to be self-seeking. Keep choosing not to be easily angered. Keep choosing to keep no record of wrongs. Keep choosing not to delight in evil but to rejoice with the truth. Keep choosing always to protect, always to trust, always to hope, & always to persevere. We will be tempted to "unlove." In faith, love sets its face to keep on choosing to act loving & commits to keep doing so. By continually making the choice, 8love never fails. 1Keep on loving each other. That's the 1st sign of walking in faith. Hospitality is the 2nd sign. 2aDon 't forget to entertain strangers. 1st C. roving preachers needed lodging. Jews hated Christians. And inns were miserable. (Which has the fewest fleas?) But need isn't the reason. Jesus is. In Jn 13:35, He says "All men will know you're my disciples if you love one another." One another? Our neighbor. The one in front of us, brethren or no. Strangers? Just friends we haven't met yet. We may feel unsure how to meet someone whose culture seems strange. We may not know their language. Our discomfort makes them easy to forget. But reach out with Christ's love to that stranger. Redraw our circle & include them. We may make a friend. 2bBesides, by so doing people have entertained angels (lit., messengers) without knowing it. That stranger might be God's messenger of blessing for us! It's easy to forget strangers. It's even easier to forget prisoners, the 3rd sign. 3aRemember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners. Nero's empire tortured some Christians & put others in prison. If members cared for them, they risked being next! But 1st C. prison food & care was bad at best. Often, there wasn't any. Without help, people starved. It was much easier & safer to forget prisoners. Same with those tortured & the sick. Christ's love demands the same. Extend hospitality even to those sick, tortured, or in prison. Remember 3athose who are mistreated as if you were suffering. What if we were in prison or sick? Wouldn't we want help? Want others to remember us? Then do unto others as we want others to do unto us. Pray for those in prison, those tortured, & the sick. In any way we can, help them. That's the 3rd sign. The 4th sign? Those walking in faith are enjoying spiritual fellowship. Two sins break fellowship: sexual sin & greed. For one, 4aMarriage should be honored by all. How? Singles honor marriage by reserving sex for marriage between one man & one woman. Spouses honor marriage 1st by remaining loyal to their mate in thought, word, & actions. 2nd, spouses keep their thoughts, words, & actions pure of intimacy with everyone except their mate. 4bThe marriage bed should be kept pure. Why? Sex within marriage deepens intimacy between spouses. Keeping sex within marriage honors God. Sexual sin breaks spiritual fellowship with God & without His Spirit also with others. Marriage is sacred, so 4cGod will judge the adulterer, the married spouse who sins sexually. But 4dGod will also judge all the sexually immoral. God judges all sex outside marriage between 1 man & 1woman. No matter what "kind." He may judge it in our bodies now. Remember STDs? AIDS? Divorces after adultery? We may not see God judge the sexually immoral. But Scripture says God will judge them. Sexual sinners can be forgiven. But they lose reward in heaven. And without repentance, there's no salvation. The other sin that breaks spiritual fellowship is greed. So, 5akeep your lives free from the love of money. Rich or poor, love of money is poison. The antidote? 5bBe content with what you have. It's another choice. We keep choosing, no matter how we feel. As we keep prayerfully doing so, our feelings will follow. On what basis can we be content? 5cGod said, "Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you." Think about that. Is there anything we should fear more than God? No!! And He's not just with us. He's for us. 6So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper. I won't be afraid. What can man do to me?" Nothing anyone says or does to us can keep us out of heaven. Our inheritance is waiting for our arrival in heaven. Between now & then, we can keep laying up treasure. How else should our walk show the fruit that pleases God? 7aRemember your leaders. Those who 7bspoke the word of God to you. Those who steered us toward God & Jesus at key points in our lives. Not all our former leader, but the godly ones. 7cConsider carefully the outcome of their way of life. What was the outcome of their lives? Much fruit? What did it look like? What in their faith enabled it? If they've already gone to glory, remember the faith that got them there. What did that look like? Those godly leaders? 7dImitate their faith. The real duty of a pastor is much more than preaching. Or even preaching Christ. Our real duty is to show Christ in our own life, work, & being-our faith. And remember. 8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday & today & forever. All His promises to us? He's as faithful to them now as He's always been. Walking in faith should keep moving us in toward praise. 15aThrough Jesus, therefore, let's continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise Why's praise a sacrifice? I had to learn to praise Him during my Bonnie's & my bouts with cancer. When we struggle, praise doesn't come easily. But guess what! Start praising God, anyway. Paul did, in jail. We can too. Keep praising God even in the dark. Maybe we too will experience Paul's earthquake & our jail cell doors will fly open, too. 15bPraise is the fruit of lips that confess God's name. God cherishes our praise. Like any Father whose children respond in joyous praise. Lastly, 16adon't forget to do good & share with others. 16bGod is pleased with such sacrifices. Our good deeds are the fruit of our actions. Everything we've talked about is the fruit that shows if we're walking by faith. 4 signs will show we're walking by faith. 1st. keep loving each other. 2nd, keep offering hospitality to all, especially strangers. 3rd, keep remembering & helping those in prison or sick. And 4th, don't allow sexual sin, greed, or anything else to break spiritual fellowship. Walking by faith is cultivating those 4 habits. To encourage us in our walk, remember spiritual leaders who guided us on our way toward Jesus. Imitate their faith, knowing that Jesus is faithful. Let our faith draw us into looking for reasons to praise God. Beautiful sunrises / sunsets. Glorious stars, the Milky Way, & other nighttime glories. Faithfulness & Jesus' likeness in others. Blessings God gives us. Keep looking for reasons to praise. The more we look, the more we'll find. As we do, ask God for chances to do good & share. The Father will be doubly pleased. Pleased that you asked, & also pleased to answer that prayer. Let's pray... Fruit - Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16 Page 1 of 1