Heart Issues - Part 4 ~ Fruit to Root

Heart Issues – Part 4
Fruit to Root

By Pastor Gary Wayne

Luke 6:43-46 Matt.7:16-20

Every one of us produces fruit of in our lives of some sort.

Rom.6:22 “But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

When there is fruit being produced in our lives, it WILL ALWAYSE point to the root system.
Remember the basic of a root system? The hidden underground way we drink from God and others that are usually hidden from our mind.
A MAJOR system in our lives that we don’t realize is there.
From the abundance of the heart – from the kind of root system – the mouth speaks.

If I recognize a pattern of bad fruit, then there are roots that need to be dealt with.
One instance of sin is not a pattern, but repeated behavior indicates a pattern from the past.
And unless we deal with the root – the fruit will continue to grow.

One of our tendencies is to try and deal with the fruit or the plant.
But if the root system is allowed to stay – things will come back.

It is very much like knap weed or dandelions – you can cut off the flowers, you can mow the plant short – you can even cut it off below the ground where it can’t be seen – but without dealing with the roots, it will come back and produce more weeds.

But God wants to get to the root of the problem – not just destroy the fruit or the leaves.
He doesn’t just want to change our behavior patterns, He wants to change our whole nature – and to do that, we must go to the roots.

We tend to justify and defend our bad fruit – This is just the way I am.
I’m just outspoken – I’m just not afraid to speak my mind – I have always been this way - It’s just my culture, my family is all this way.

What is it Jesus is wanting to produce in us? Fruit of rightness.

TOO OFTEN I am simply content to live with this flaw. Holy Spirit conviction.

Christian living is simply a series of character tests – when we flunk our present test, we don’t move forward until we pass this test.

When is it we tend to show bad fruit? When we are under stress.
HALT - four risk states to be aware of. HALT = hungry, angry, lonely, tired.

When I’m under stress, if there is bad fruit present what does it point to?
So God allows us to undergo pressure from different places to do what? Identify and Deal with the roots I don’t even realize are there.
Until I become Christ-like under pressure, I get to go through the test again.

It usually has to do with my defense mechanisms.
Through various circumstances, I have learned to defend myself in different ways.
If those way are not Christ like, we don’t pass the test.

We learn to defend ourselves in different ways, hoping to protect and empower us - We are in control – we are the source of our strength – protection.

Remember, it’s not what happened to us that produces bad roots, it’s our sinful – ungodly response to what happened.

God demands to be in control.
And until I give in to His will – I go through character tests again.
(Jam.1:2-4, Deut.8:1-3, 16)

I love the illustration of the training animals – horses.
When a horse is in a round coral, it depends on the horse as to how much useless work it must do before it gives in to the will of the trainer.
The quicker the horse responds on a regular basis to the will of the trainer, the fewer times the horse has to run in circles.
Until those character flaws are worked out – does the trainer stop?

I believe the quicker I learn to respond to pressure like Christ would, the quicker I pass the test.

It doesn’t mean that my life is going to be problem free now, but I will have the presence of God in a greater measure with a greater harvest of good fruit – multiplied back to me and those around me.
Who benefits? I do, my family does, my community does, God does.

Remember – if there is fruit – look for the root.