How is the Fruit? | Ps. Maegan Pittman

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I'm so excited to see you guys this morning.

Look at your wonderful faces.

It was kind of cold this morning.

I'm glad it's heated up.

But uh thank you for um everyone being here today.

Welcome to our online audience.

We're so glad that you guys are here, whether you're joining us in person or online.

Uh just know before you leave here, Jesus loves you and he sees you.

He sees everything that you're going through.

The good, the bad, he's there for you.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, I found it an honor to be on this platform uh today.

I know this is a sacred place that God, when we're sharing something with people, that God wants to do it with his truth and not our own truth.

Amen.

So I'm excited to be here, but I'm also it gives me an opportunity to talk about my husband.

You know, there's many times I'm used as the message, and there are some untruths.

But guess what?

I have the microphone today.

I finally get my payback.

Your booths don't matter.

Um yes, I am here today to just share a message that's over uh on my heart.

And you know, over the past couple of weeks, we've been journeying through uh the Sermon on the Mount.

And here Jesus has been laying out what it looks like to be citizens of the kingdom of God.

Jesus is also challenges, challenging us uh to not only modify our behavior, but also to transform our hearts.

And so last week, Pastor Vinny, uh, can we give it up for him?

He did such a good job last week.

I was watching in the car and I was like, oh my gosh, I just want to throw some money at him, like the old school used to do in the church, but um, it was a phenomenal message.

So if you missed it, uh please make sure you go back and look at it on the YouTube.

Um we have the Church Center app and we also have our podcast where you can catch back up on that.

But today I believe uh God has a word for this house.

So if you have your Bibles, um, let's turn to Matthew 7, 15 through 23.

And if you don't, there's a Bible in the sky.

So I'm gonna read that starting now.

Um Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves.

You can identify them by their fruit.

That is the way they act.

Can you pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?

A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit.

A good tree can't produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can't produce good fruit.

So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire.

Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so can you identify people by their actions.

Not everyone who calls out to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven.

Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.

And on judgment day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord.

We prophesied in your name, cast demons in your name, and perform many miracles in your name.

But I will reply, I never need you.

Get away from me, you who break God's laws.

And today I want to talk to you about the importance of discernment.

And I've entitled this message, How's the Fruit?

Let's pray.

Lord Jesus, thank you for your word.

Thank you for your truth that not only informs us, but it transforms us.

I ask that you speak to me through me today.

Open our hearts, open our eyes, and help us to see your truth clearly.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, a few years ago, I have to share this story with you guys, but a few years ago, um, a friend of ours shared some wisdom with Keith and I.

Um, and it was with regard regarding into how we view time.

And this friend said, buy your time back.

And I was like, what does that mean?

And this friend said, Life is busy, and if there are ways to invest into something that frees up your time, consider it self-care.

And I was like, Oh, I like self-care.

Sign me up.

So, one of the ways that we implement like we benefited from that advice over the years, and one of the ways that we continue to benefit most from it is through our grocery delivery service.

So for$9.99, right?

$30 worth of groceries, you get the delivery for free.

Hello, we all like free in here.

And uh, and so we we started by doing that, and let me tell you, it has changed our lives in weeks and seasons that there have been very busy, it was very, very helpful.

And then there were moments where it wasn't helpful, right?

That's when they pick out the fruit for you.

Terrible! I feel like every time I feel like it's I don't know, I feel like it's a joke that they keep giving us bad fruit.

And so uh Keith and I said, Okay, like we appreciate our delivery drivers.

I'm not talking bad about you, I'm just saying, like, we're very selective on how we like our fruit.

You know, even the way that I eat my banana is kind of like, you know, after it turns green, it's kind of, you know, after it turns green and then starts to turn yellow, I kind of like it in that vein.

Give me about one or two days after that, I'm done.

No mushy bananas for me.

So um at in this case, we had them select some apples for us, and I was so excited about having these apples.

We're gonna use them for juicing, but we also were gonna use them for eating.

And this apple was shiny on the outside, it looked good.

Um, but there was some point when I've been into the apple and it was very mushy, it tasted old.

I was like, I don't understand how I was deceived by the outer part of the apple.

Surely this is just one apple.

And so I went to the next one, it was bad.

The next one.

And you know, the saying, one bad apple spools the bunch.

That's what I felt like.

One of the bad apples spooled the whole bunch.

And so for Keith and I, we continue to be like more particular about um picking out our items.

Um, and so it's it's one of those things where sometimes you're inspecting a little bit more than the average person, right?

You don't grab just an apple and hope for the best.

You check it out, you make sure there's no bruises, that uh it hasn't been overly ripened.

Uh, you squeeze it to see if, okay, is there is it caving in in certain parts?

That's how you can tell that the apple is not good.

And there's a science to it.

And so one day when that happened, we went through that process.

And here's the thing if it looks good on the outside, but when you take a closer look, it's spoiled on the inside, then it's not good for you.

And there's so many things in life that look good on the surface, but don't hold up upon closer inspection.

And so think about a beautiful house that you buy, but it's hiding finite uh foundational issues.

You can't see it, it looks so good on the outside, but they may have some foundational problems that you can't see with the naked eye.

Imagine applying for a job, man.

It's your salary, you're having a good salary, is that a good place, but then you get closer and you get in the inside, and it's a toxic environment.

A relationship on Instagram.

Hello, how many of us have been deceived?

Sometimes we see those relationships on Instagram.

I'm in there, this is my boo, like everything's on there, it looks like they're perfect, they're taking all these good photoshops, and in the inside, there's been trouble brewing behind the scenes.

But we're looking after something that looks good on the outside that's probably not good on the inside or behind closed doors.

And Jesus, knowing that we would live in a world where not everything is as it seems, warned his followers about the same exact thing when it came to people.

And so in Matthew 7, 15, 23, Jesus is speaking to a culture that was already familiar with the danger of false prophets, people who they were actually people who claimed to speak for God, but whose hearts were far from him.

They looked the part, they had influence, they knew the right words, but their fruit, their fruit revealed the truth.

And in those days, prophets had enormous power in society.

They guided communities, they gave spiritual direction and influence kings.

Come on.

A person can influence a king, that's a lot of power.

And so, but Jesus knew not all who claimed to represent God actually do.

Some were driven by selfish ambition, others by deception, and some outright evil.

And here's the sobering part Jesus didn't just warn about false prophets in the past, he warned that they would continue to exist today.

Which means it's not just a historical issue, it's a right now issue.

We live in a world where influence is currency.

Social media has made it easier to look wise, sound spiritual, seem like a person of good fruit, but Jesus gives us a measuring stick in Matthew 716.

He said, You will recognize them by their fruit.

Wow.

You will recognize them by their fruit.

Okay, well, tell us more.

Not by their words, not by their platform, not by their popularity, but by their fruit.

Wow.

I just think about that and I'm like, wow, sometimes we are deceived by what we see on the outside.

So let's go further.

There are modern-day false prophets, and they're not just in the pulpit.

Today, false prophets don't always show up in church, they show up in our newsfeeds, our entertainment, our relationships, our culture.

And Jesus' warning is not just about bad theology, it's about any voice we allow to shape our faith, our values, and our identity.

Our identity should be rooted nothing but in Christ.

Just in Christ.

Nothing else.

Not what we can see, not what we can have, what we can possess, what gives us a platform.

It's just in Christ.

False prophets promise peace without repentance.

And so, yeah, you can promise all these good things, but like, are you living a life of repenting?

Because we all, it says, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

All of us have sinned.

So if someone promises us peace without repentance, that doesn't go together.

They promise us success without obedience.

Obedience is a foundation for our faith.

And if we're more obedient to the things that we want instead of what God's will is for our lives, we've missed a mark.

And if we're not careful, we will allow these things to shape us in places and shape us to who we were never meant to be.

It allows things to shape us to the things that were never meant to lead us.

They were never meant to lead us.

And so, where do these false prophets exist today?

Okay, let's get into it.

Social media, the highlight.

It's you know, people say things like, follow your truth.

If it feels good, it must be right, or God just wants you happy.

But Jesus said, never said, Blessed are those who do whatever makes them happy.

That's not a scripture.

I don't know what Bible that is found in, but it's not in the Bible that my God serves.

It says, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.

Everything points back to Him, as it says in Matthew 5 and 6.

We also find it existing in our cultural narratives that prioritizes feelings over truth.

False prophets don't always speak with a microphone.

Sometimes they whisper through culture, politics, and our entertainment, and culture tells us if you feel it, it must be true.

If you want it, you should have it.

If it makes you uncomfortable, you should reject it.

But the kingdom of God doesn't work that way.

We don't build our lives on what feels good, we build our lives on what is true.

That's all our foundation.

It's built on truth.

The word of God is truth.

He is truth.

Another way that we can find this existing is in self-proclaimed experts who replaces God's words with opinions.

And in 2 Timothy 4 and 3, the Bible warns about people who will gather teachers to tell them what their itching ears want to hear.

What they want to hear.

I have seen people leave ministry because they didn't like what the pastor said.

And here about at Celebration Church Orlando, we're gonna preach the things that are encouragement and hopeful, but we're also gonna preach the things that are gonna challenge us as individuals because he wants us to be transformed from the inside out.

So we can't separate the things that we do like in the Bible and take out the things that we don't like.

We have to change if we're gonna model the characteristics of God and live this life.

And just because someone has that plan platform doesn't mean that they're always speaking truth.

You can find someone on the internet to justify any way that you want to live.

So, say for instance, I don't want to forgive someone.

I can find one person, I can find many people that say, you don't need to forgive them.

You don't have to forgive them.

That's not the what the Bible says, though.

And I'm not talking about being a doormat, okay?

I'm talking about forgiveness.

Forgiveness really is about freedom in yourself because a lot of times, when if people, if you don't forgive them, you're the one wrestling, you're the one toiling, you're the one that's struggling with the thing.

Um, but how do we release that so we can experience true freedom in Christ?

And so I always think about that.

I'm like, I can find anything to justify my feelings, but what is the truth?

And the last thing I will say where we can find that false prophets can exist is in prosperity preaching that promises um blessing, that promises blessing without surrender.

Oh, you're gonna be blessed.

Yes, we have all that in hand.

Um, we may live in a world that equates to God's favor with success and comfort, but many false teachers will tell you that if you have enough faith, you won't struggle, you won't suffer as much, and you'll always be blessed.

But Jesus didn't promise a life without struggle, he promised his presence in the struggle.

Like, I think about Psalms 23 when it talks about, yay, I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will feel no fear no evil.

Like he's talking about that in the Psalms.

People are lamenting.

Was their life blessed?

Yeah, we can find a blessing in that, but it doesn't mean without struggle.

He didn't say, take up your blessing and follow me.

He said, take up your cross and follow me.

And when I think about that, I think about the disciples.

They were fishing, trying to make a living for their families, and they got up and followed Jesus.

No matter what they were doing, like they had a plan they had they had set up for their family.

I'm gonna go out here, I'm gonna make some fish, I'm gonna probably sell it, we're gonna be able to eat off of it.

And yet, he said, take up your cross and follow me.

That is what it means to live a life of surrender unto God.

So, with that being said, be careful about what you let speak into your life.

Jesus warns us that false prophets, um, about these false prophets in Matthew 7, 15, he says, beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

Not everyone looks like a spiritual leader.

And they may not be actually producing fruit.

Not every voice you follow is a voice from God.

2 Timothy 4 3 says, For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but they don't want to listen to the truth of the word.

Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

This is not Burger King, we can't have it our way, unfortunately.

We do want that, right?

We want to have things our way in our own timing, the way that we want it, done in said way.

We want those things, but it doesn't always work that way.

But I promise you, his timing is perfect, and his ways are better than their ways, they're higher than ours, and sometimes even better when we can't even see it.

So, the question for us today is how do we discern kingdom fruit?

What does Jesus want us to look for when we examine not only the fruit of others, but also the fruit in our lives?

Hey, he's telling us beware, beware, and yet also examine yourself.

None of us are exempt, and we can all fall into this trap.

None of us are exempt.

And so, what is fruit?

Let's talk about it.

When Jesus speaks about fruit, he's not just talking about a random metaphor, he's pulling from a deep biblical theme that runs throughout scripture.

And in the both the old and the new testaments, fruit is a symbol of spiritual maturity, signs of one's connection to God, and the result of what is cultivated in a person's life.

Fruit is also the evidence of what's happening on the inside of us.

You can say you love Jesus, but if there's no evidence of transformation, something's missing.

So let's put it this way.

Say, for instance, you were put on trial for being a follower of Jesus, and the prosecutor comes forward and says, Hey, this person is being put on trial to be to determine if they're truly a Christian.

Wow, I'm being put on trial for that.

And then they call witnesses, and the witnesses are your friends, your family, and your coworkers.

Would there be evidence?

Would there be proof that reflects Jesus?

Would they say, oh yeah, they're full of love and grace?

They're patient even when things are frustrating, but they love Jesus?

Or would they just struggle to find the evidence?

You know, I have been to a lot of funerals.

I don't like personally attending them because even if I don't know you, I'm gonna cry at your funeral.

So um, but that's just one of the things.

I'm emotional.

But what I do love about them is hearing the stories of the life that they've led, the impact that they've had on other people, the things behind the scenes that even other people didn't know about.

And then there's other moments where I feel sadness at funerals because there's not a lot of good things to say about the person that's being married.

And so, which story do we want to choose?

And this is why um evidence is not just what you say, it's what you show.

It's what you show.

What's in you will come out of you.

And this is why Jesus uses the metaphor of.

Fruit because fruit is something visible, it's tangible, it's undeniable.

You can't fake real fruit.

But sometimes the fruit can be fake on the outside, on the inside, I mean nice on the outside, and on the inside, there's some spoiling going on.

So there's three practical points on how we can discern kingdom fruit.

And the first one is examine the roots, not just the fruits.

Examine the roots, not just the fruits.

If you want to know the health of a tree, you just don't look at the fruit, you examine the roots.

The fruit is a symptom, but the root is a source.

And in our lives, the fruit, excuse me, in our lives, the root is our relationship with God.

Are we genuinely connected to the vine?

Are we drawing from the life of Jesus?

Because if the roots are shallow, the fruit will be short-lived.

Did it die?

And so roots do determine the fruit.

Jeremiah 17, 7 through 8 says, Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord.

They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.

It does not fear when heat comes, its leaves are always green.

I want some green leaves.

John 15, 5 says, I am the vine, you are the branches.

And if you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.

Apart from me, you can do nothing.

There is nothing you can do without the vine.

And I don't want to be apart from God.

I want to be so close to God.

I want to bear fruit.

I want to resemble and model him and his characteristics so the fruit that's in my life can in my life can benefit others.

We are the change agents in this society.

And what we do for God and how he transformed and changes us can impact so many more.

Kingdom fruit comes deeply from planted roots in Christ.

If you want to discern kingdom fruit, start by examining the roots of your relationship with God.

Are you abiding in him?

Are you just occasionally checking in on him?

Are you feeding your spirit with his word?

Or are you trying to survive on spiritual fast food?

Now listen, don't get me wrong, I love fast food fries.

They're greasy and good.

Add a little salt, they're good.

It's not healthy for us long term, right?

We want to bear some fruit, so that means we have to eat some healthier things.

So ask yourself: am I deeply rooted in Christ or am I just maintaining an appearance of faith?

What happens when life gets hard?

Do I bear the fruit or do I break?

The second point is measure the fruit by its impact, not its appearance.

And in the world where we celebrate appearance over authenticity, Jesus challenges us to measure fruit by its impact rather than its image.

Just because something looks fruitful doesn't mean it's healthy.

True kingdom fruit is not just about visible success, but about lasting significance.

So sometimes we won't see the fruit until years later.

Last week, Keith and I, we went to Jacksonville.

We were with our church family in Jackson, and we loved being there.

We were so filled by people that we have seen for 15 to 20 years.

Keith and I started in the youth ministry together, and we still serve together now.

And I just remember doing so much serving in different places, guest services with kids, you know, youth, outreach, just so many different things.

And to see so many people come up to us bearing fruit, them sharing memories with us about how we prayed for them and they got their breakthrough, or um just different memories as far as maybe we did something for them, slung something into their life, whatever that case may be, to see the fruit in their lives and to see them serving to this day and having a hunger and a thirst after God, like nobody's business.

It it just meant a lot to us.

And I think when you're in ministry like for a long time, you want to you want to hear the assurances.

Am I doing the right thing, Lord?

Can I get a pat on my back?

That's not of God.

Um, and we don't see the fruit of that, and sometimes we'll see it now, sometimes we'll see it later, sometimes we'll never see it.

But the thing is, when our hearts are focused on truly serving God, it doesn't matter if we see the fruit in our life because our role is only to plant the seed.

That is our only responsibility is to plant the seed.

We are not fixing people, we are not trying to change their lives.

Only the Holy Spirit can do that job.

So, in that obedience, we just kept saying, you know, we had one person say, you know, I'm bearing fruit over what I you did a decade ago, but it was not about us, it's what God did in and through us.

And that's what we shared, so that we don't take the glory and get the ego that comes with that.

And so um, the fruit of the kingdom isn't measured in quick results, it's measured in endurance.

The work we do today may not be seen until next year, next decade, or even our lifetime, but kingdom fruit will withstand the test of time and seasons.

We have to focus on impact and not appearance.

There's a story of the fig tree in Mark 11, and Jesus approaches the fig tree that appears healthy from a distance, full of leaves, but when he gets closer, he finds no fruit and he curses it.

Why?

Why does he curse it?

Because the tree had all the signs of life, but none of substance.

We can do the same thing, can't we?

We can create an appearance of fruitfulness, going to church, saying all the right things, serving in ministry, but when you look closer, there's no real fruit, no joy, no love, no peace, no patience with the fruits of the spirit.

We can put on the leaves of performance while hiding the emptiness in our hearts.

And listen, I'm not talking about perfection.

That's not what we're talking about here because we can never achieve that.

What I'm talking about is striving to better ourselves and allowing the Holy Spirit to transform us, and that comes through our obedience and doing the things that God has called us to do.

So when we talk about performance versus presence, performance is about what we produce, and presence is about who we're becoming.

Who do I want to become?

True fruit is not just about the output of our lives, but the overflow of our relationship with God.

It's not about looking apart, but living the truth.

It's not about looking apart, but living on the inside.

Is that being reflected on the inside, which is being shown on the outside?

The third point is evaluate the process, not just the product.

We live in a culture obsessed with results, me included.

We measure everything, followers, revenue, success, but the kingdom of God often values the process over the product.

Jesus is not interested in what we produce, but in how we get there.

And so I'm thinking about Keith and I.

I get to talk about him now, you guys.

Keith and I, we're foodies.

People around us know that we love like eating different foods, good food.

I'm very picky when it comes to food.

Don't call me bougie, be quiet.

Um, but when we go out, there's a spot where we um tend to, I'm gonna look on Yelp.

Any of Yelpers out here who looks at Yelp first before they go to the restaurant, oh, this would change your life.

We talked about discernment earlier.

It helps you to determine what you're gonna get that's gonna be good.

Um, so I typically um I have a system where I look at the pictures and then I determine, okay, I'm gonna get these couple things.

But then there's another step when I go to the restaurant, I have to talk to the waitress or waiter and say, hey, well, I'm deciding between these three things.

Tell me which one is more popular.

And like I'm asking all these questions.

Oh, it takes me a long time to like just to decide what I want, so I just let everybody go first.

Um, but we evaluate what looks on the outside, the picture, and sometimes it's not right.

So Keith, my husband, he kind of strikes out a little bit more in this area.

Um he kind of gets it wrong.

His food is terrible, he wants to go his own way, you know, he wants to go his own way with his my way.

Um he wants to eat my food.

You know, with his dry, overcooked, tasteless food.

Um and so he's learned his lesson, and he's been doing a better job.

We get the same thing practically when we go everywhere.

Um, but it looks good on the outside, but on the inside, as we taste it, there's something that's not good about it.

And so don't be so easily impressed.

Look deeper.

Just because something looks impressive doesn't mean it's healthy, and just because something is popular doesn't mean it's anointed.

This can be the same for us.

There's a danger in performance-based faith.

Matthew 7, 21, 23 says, Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven.

Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?

And in your name drive out demons, and in your name perform miracles.

Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you.

Let that not be your story.

We have work to do.

Yes, discipline is required.

Man, giving of ourselves is hard.

But do your best as much as you can to serve the Lord.

Because at the end of the day, Jesus doesn't just just want results, he wants a relationship.

And so don't be impressed by the big platforms, be impressed by lasting faithfulness.

Does this fruit come from a place of obedience or just ambition?

Obedience is better than sacrifice.

That's the word what the word of God says.

If this person's character aligned with their character or calling, you want to make sure that that person's character is aligned with their calling.

Sometimes it's not.

And this is not us to inspect everybody and oh, I'm judging people or anything like that.

Just make sure when you're looking at things on social media or you have these cultural narratives, that you are filtering out the things that's not of God.

Because yes, we could want certain things, but it may not be God things.

Jesus said, nevertheless, not my will, but your will be done.

So we always want God's will in every situation that we face.

After too many disappointing grocery deliveries and um deciding to pick out our own fruit.

Um we now know what fresh vegetables are.

We can pick them out pretty good.

We squeeze them, make sure they don't have any dents.

We check on the outside, we take the core, we check the bottom to make sure that we're getting good fruit.

And that's what Jesus is calling us to do.

Inspect the inside.

Allow him to show you those places so that you can be whole and healthy and producing the fruit that he's calling for your life and that he desires for your life.

Not everything that looks good is good.

Not everyone who sounds spiritual is speaking truth, not everything that shines is gold.

Jesus tells us plainly, you will know them by your fruit.

The question we all have to ask ourselves today is what kind of fruit is growing in my life?

Is it the fruit of love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, as it states in Galatians.

Or is it the fruit of pride, selfishness, resentment, hypocrisy, and performance?

But here's the truth: fruit doesn't lie.

You can't fake patience when life tests you.

A moment to surrender, to reflect, to ask God to prune what doesn't belong and to plant what will truly last.

Let's pray.

Lord Jesus, I thank you for today.

I thank you for your word that you, God, want to challenge us to bear the fruit in our lives so that it benefits others, so that it glorifies you, so that we model who you are, not after what the world says, or what the world thinks we should have, or what the world thinks that we should model after.

But Lord, we want to model after you.

We know in you there is freedom.

We know in you their healthy things grow and they do not die within us.

Allow us to be the person that people see on the outside, and that is reflected on the inside as well.

We just thank you for your word, and it's in Jesus' name that we pray.

Amen.

Thank you for joining us to learn more about Celebration Orlando, a church devoted to reaching the lost, equipping the found, and helping the hurting.

Follow us on social media using the handle at celebrationorl or visit our website, celebrationorl.org.