Are You Wild Fruit?

You are a branch. He is the true Vine.

We, the branches cannot produce godly fruit when we are independent from the Vine. And yet, we try. We think we can handle life our way, all by ourselves.

Life only works when we depend on the Vine to live through us, giving us all we need to produce the fruit He intends. He is God. Without Him, we can do nothing.

But, sometimes we get it all wrong. We want to be the vine. We want to take the place of God and run our own lives. And our fruit shows that we are not abiding. Not resting. The result: the fruit does not look like God’s fruit.

Isaiah 5 tells how God he nurtured his people Israel (“his vineyard”) and gave them ideal conditions where they could grow and produce fruit. But in spite of all the care and protection, the vine brought forth “wild grapes” or ungodly fruit, independent and different than what God had planted.

“And now…judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard. What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I had not done to it? Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?”

“Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto Himself” Hosea 10:1

Is the fruit that you are producing “wild” or is it the the fruit of the working of the Holy Spirit in your life?

Wild fruit/Works of the flesh:

• Anger
• Wrath
• Evil plans toward others
• Bitterness
• Enmity
• Strife
• Jealousy
• Factions
• Envy
• Drunkenness
• Fornication
• Uncleanness
• Unforgiving

Fruit from the Holy Spirit:

• Patience
• Kindness
• Gentleness
• Goodness
• Meekness
• Love
• Joy
• Peaceable
• Easy to be entreated
• Full of mercy
• Self control

We live in an age of unprecedented access to the gospel. We have churches all over the place, Bibles are sold in Wal-Mart in practically every town. We have access to millions of sermons online and books galore, and yet even in the most nurturing conditions we can sometimes be callous, uninterested or bored with the things of God.

“This is not just a parable of Israel, but of ourselves! What could have been done more to us that God has not done for us? Many of us look back on a good and godly upbringing, when we were spared much that has spoiled other lives. Then came the day when, hearing the message of grace, we received Jesus Christ as our Savior. We were taught, perhaps by teachers well versed in the Scriptures; we enjoyed fellowship of other saints…our God poured innumerable blessings into our laps…and yet when He looked for grapes, the fruit of the Spirit, that would glorify Him and bless others, we brought forth only wild, bitter grapes, the ugly works of the flesh.” Roy Hession

Do some fruit inspecting. Which lists above looks more like your life?

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