Nothing But Leaves
Pastor David T. Elms 8/24/2025
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52:31
Summary
Pastor David T. Elms warns against religious pretense using the story of Jesus cursing the barren fig tree, calling the church to move beyond outward appearances into a life of genuine fruit-bearing and sacrifice.
Key points
- •Jesus' cursing of the fig tree serves as a warning against spiritual superficiality; leaves without fruit represent a religious life that lacks substance.
- •Fruit-bearing is God's measurable requirement for His people; the Lord expects results and contributions, not just attendance or appearance.
- •A church must be a place of transformation and giving, not a 'den of thieves' where people only look to take from God without offering their lives in return.
- •The miracles involving death (the fig tree and the swine) demonstrate that God will eventually judge and remove unfruitful or resistant elements from His kingdom.
- •True discipleship requires discipline and the commitment to help others, especially as the church prepares for moments of substantial revival and impact.
Scripture
Spiritual Fruitfulness
Judgment and Accountability
Discipleship
Church Community
Sacrifice
Life application
Reflect on your spiritual life this week to see if you are a 'taker' or a 'giver' in the kingdom. Commit to the church-wide three-day fast this week to prepare your heart for Family Month and ask God to help you bear fruit that blesses others.
Reflection questions
- In what areas of my life do I have the 'leaves' of religion (outward appearance) but lack the 'fruit' of actual spiritual impact?
- Pastor Elms mentioned that 'equal sacrifice' matters more than the amount given; what sacrifice is God asking of me today?
- How can I transition from being a consumer at church to being a contributor to the spiritual health of my community?
- What does it mean to you that God's 'spirit will not always strive with man' in the context of your own spiritual growth?
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Full transcript
0:00I love these babies. We're going to talk
0:00about family a little bit today. And I'm
0:00going to speak to you on the subject
0:01nothing but leaves. Nothing but leaves.
0:04You may be seated in the name of Jesus
0:07Christ.
0:11Hallelujah.
0:15It is difficult to comprehend all the
0:17beautiful ways
0:20that the Bible speaks to us. And by the
0:23way, I love this beautiful crowd in this
0:24house.
0:26We uh we we celebrate everybody's
0:30kindness when you got to move and allow
0:33people by and come close. I know I know
0:38uh we've got some seats that on the back
0:40of them it says reserved guests and I
0:43was praying for them and I was I went by
0:45them yesterday and I was praying for all
0:47the guests that were going to sit in
0:48them and I looked today and not one
0:49guest. All of them are filled with
0:52people I know. I don't know what they're
0:53doing.
0:55I don't know what they're doing. This
0:57says guests on it. Can people read? I
1:00don't know. Um, but uh it was it's it's
1:04it's great being in the Lord's house
1:06with every one of you. And of course,
1:08there is nobody who owns a seat in this
1:10place.
1:11>> Nobody owns a seat. So, uh, sometimes
1:14people start thinking they do and they
1:15get a little attitude and they got to
1:17move.
1:18Just remember that didn't come from the
1:20cathedral. That's all by themsel. Okay.
1:24Uh but uh we we thank the Lord for all
1:26of our guests in the house and the Lord
1:28is prospering this house and he's going
1:30to prosper us very very much so that we
1:33can make an impact on this community uh
1:36that is substantial and sizable and is
1:41uh powerful by the way of the blood of
1:44Jesus Christ. Not by by way of dynamic
1:47personalities even though my wife likes
1:49mine. uh not way by not by way of
1:53dynamic singing even though we've got
1:55that in our church and good musicians
1:58and we've got that we've got very
2:00intelligent people. None of those things
2:02rise to the measure of what is needed to
2:05make a church a place that is holy and
2:09helpful. Uh all the things that we
2:11organize and try to do your bobas after
2:14church will be made with love. I always
2:17enjoy getting the boba Sunday when the
2:19bobbas go out. And uh there's also many
2:22other programs around here that we have
2:24that are carried and conducted in the
2:27ways of the Lord. Uh we have family
2:30month that is going to be the entire
2:32month of September. And even though
2:34today there wasn't a lot of
2:36announcements, I don't know why Ricky
2:38didn't do it. Um some it's hard to find
2:41good help. I don't know if you know
2:42that. It's really hard to find good
2:45help. And uh we have the whole month of
2:48September is dedicated to family month.
2:51And the first Sunday there's going to be
2:53colorcoded seating around here. Uh
2:58red, green, yellow, and blue. Okay. So
3:02that's the first Sunday. And whatever
3:05section you sit in, you're supposed to
3:07wear that color. So
3:10it's it's always fun and it's crazy.
3:13Everybody doesn't cooperate but I expect
3:15that um but the funsters do and so um
3:20and so we are the other things is that
3:24it's about impacting our kids and it's
3:27really about letting the kids know that
3:29even though we're grown up and and a few
3:32of us are old fogies um we still have a
3:35lot of fun wrapped up in us. Uh we're
3:38going to always have fun. My dad was
3:40having fun. In fact, they were asking my
3:43daughter um what were the last words
3:46that my dad said before he died. And she
3:49struck me with the remembrance that uh
3:52that he was about to die and my mom was
3:56leaning over him and kind of trying to
3:59fall over. She couldn't reach him. She
4:01was trying to kiss him. And he looked up
4:03at the grandkids and kind of looked and
4:06said, "She's trying to kiss me.
4:11Funster till you die, baby.
4:14>> I mean, I if you get to choose what
4:16you're going to say, how about that?
4:17That's a good one.
4:19>> I mean, we I know some of y'all walk on
4:21water.
4:22I know some of y'all are always turning
4:25turning the the the fish and bread into
4:27meals for thousands.
4:29But how about just coming down to earth
4:31and having joy in your heart
4:34>> and understanding there's a peace that
4:37passes understanding
4:39>> and it's rich and it's pure and it's
4:42good.
4:44Uh and so we we are a people that want
4:47to make an impact and it's difficult to
4:50comprehend all the beautiful ways that
4:52the Bible instructs us how to live. If
4:55you're biblically
4:57uh you're not very accustomed to your
5:00Bible, this like brother uh Armando said
5:03today, it would be good for you to get a
5:06Bible and start reading it because this
5:08is not just a tagin catalog that you go
5:12to when you're needing to know the IRS
5:14rules of how to pay your taxes. This is
5:17how the world really works. And this is
5:20how we build our lives. We don't build
5:23it because of style, but of substance.
5:26And the biblical language, even though
5:28it's spoken and written 2,000 years ago,
5:32and even though it was changed to a King
5:35James language, and of course, they've
5:37been reading, I don't know what Armando
5:38read from today. U but I've got a pig
5:41Latin edition of the Bible. You know,
5:43they've got all kinds of editions out
5:45there. uh you can get um but the key is
5:49that you're not playing loose and fast
5:52with the words of God, but that you're
5:55getting them deep in your soul to help
5:59decide what your decisions ought to look
6:02like. Because if I need to know how to
6:05walk, I need to consult with the God who
6:09made life. And of course, the Bible
6:13steers our decisions even when we're not
6:16aware of it. The Bible says, "Whatever
6:18you do in word or deed, do all in the
6:22name of Jesus." And some people think
6:25that means to say in Jesus name after
6:27they do everything. But that's not what
6:29that means. It means you do it as his
6:31son. You do it as a family member.
6:35You're thinking, "This is the family
6:37way. This is how our family does this.
6:41>> Everybody's not in this family. It
6:43really is an exclusive family. Even
6:46though everyone's welcome,
6:48>> everyone is welcome, but everyone will
6:51not be in this family.
6:53>> And of course, uh it's it's the
6:56continual aim of our life. It doesn't
6:59matter the year. I'm aiming towards
7:03walking like the Lord. That's what
7:06disciplehip is. It's derived from the
7:08word discipline. You build your life on
7:11disciplines that are not haphazard.
7:14They're not just the latest uh tick-
7:17tock craze. It is something that is
7:20substantial. How how a mother and father
7:23loves their children, how children honor
7:25their parents, how a husband uh loves
7:28his wife, how a wife respects her
7:31husband. All of that is biblical. It's
7:34not the modern-day parlance of our age.
7:37We get it from the word of God. And so,
7:40as we walk, we go straight to the word.
7:42And it is my duty to try to make it
7:44understandable
7:46and help you grip it. Now, I'm not
7:48saying it's difficult to understand. It
7:50just requires that you care to
7:52understand. If you don't care to
7:54understand, then you'll look at it and
7:56say, "It's above me." That's what I do
7:59with my wife's instructions for me.
8:02I don't understand. You know, she she I
8:05have a special place that I like to put
8:08my pajamas. I wear pajamas and uh it's a
8:11hoodie and some some sweatpants and I
8:14like to um uh put them in a special
8:17place. Uh but my wife doesn't have
8:20respect unto her husband
8:23and she doesn't respect the place that I
8:27like to put my pajamas. and she's been
8:30trying to coach me up recently that
8:33there's a drawer
8:35for those pajamas. But I'm going to get
8:37in them here in a little bit in about,
8:40you know, 12 18 hours. I'll be back in
8:42them. Why? They can stay right there.
8:45You know, I don't understand. Um, and
8:48uh, we had a little hilarious moment
8:51this morning because I was about to get
8:54in the shower. She was in her spot and
8:58uh, she knew what I was about to do
9:05and she went over to my place
9:10and she started spreading her hands over
9:12it like I didn't know what was going on.
9:16I was born at night, but it wasn't last
9:18night.
9:23And I said,
9:26I stood there. I tried to still be in
9:28the Holy Ghost. I got up a long time
9:30before that and prayed, but the prayer
9:32seemed not to be real close at that
9:34moment.
9:38You know, there I am as a good husband
9:42out of his pajamas
9:46about to put him where I'm supposed to
9:48put him in my world.
9:50And she won't look at me. She's
9:55She's just hovering.
9:58Just hovering.
10:00I almost knocked her out.
10:06I mean, I just almost knocked her out.
10:19>> But instead of knocking her out, I
10:21laughed.
10:23I said, "I know what you're doing."
10:27She said, "There's a drawer for those."
10:31And I giggled and I walked that two and
10:33a half miles from that spot
10:37to the drawer.
10:41It might be three miles. It's a long
10:43walk.
10:46And my pajamas are lost right now. They
10:49are They're trying to feel their way.
10:51There's no light where they are. They're
10:55arms for the blind.
11:04You know, I learned how to treat my wife
11:06from the word of God.
11:09That's right.
11:11When you run up to things that you don't
11:13like the way it's unfolded,
11:16you go and layer that scripture over
11:18your attitudes and your responses.
11:21And you have marriages that last and
11:25children that respect their fathers. and
11:28wives that respect their husband
11:32and husbands that love their wife
11:34enough. I got my exercise in just put my
11:37my pajamas away. I don't have to walk.
11:40No, I don't have to ride my bike today.
11:41I walked that three miles to put my what
11:45if it's all layered. See, the Bible
11:47helps you know how to live.
11:51There's nowhere it says put your pajamas
11:54in the drawer there.
11:57>> But there's enough of directives to give
12:00you attitudes and approaches to handle
12:03things when it's not going the way that
12:05you want it to.
12:08>> Now, at 58, I lay all my accomplishments
12:11down in front of my wife and she just
12:12rolls her eyes.
12:15I throw on my badge and my uniform and I
12:18have my key card and I She's got a badge
12:21in her car that she hijacked
12:25trying to take my badge out of getting
12:27her out of tickets.
12:31And not her badge. She hadn't earned
12:33that badge.
12:35Give me my badge back.
12:44I don't think she's used it yet. Thank
12:46God. You know that's illegal. We will
12:48lock you up.
12:53>> I don't own cuffs. They haven't given me
12:55a gun with a bullet yet. But I will lock
12:57you up.
12:58[Applause]
13:06>> Now, now why am I having fun?
13:09>> Why am I having fun? Why are you having
13:11fun at church?
13:13I thought church was wasn't supposed to
13:15have any fun. I thought you were
13:16supposed to be crying all the time.
13:18>> I thought you're supposed to be so
13:19serious.
13:21>> No, let me tell you something about God.
13:22He's the most fun you've ever met.
13:25>> You're He He's going to be the funniest
13:28man in the room.
13:30He's awesome.
13:32There's nothing boring about our God.
13:34There's nothing stupid about our God.
13:36There's nothing dumb about our God.
13:38There's nothing boring about our God.
13:40There's nothing borish about our God. Oh
13:43no. He is the joy of my life. He is the
13:47song of my heart. He's the reason I want
13:50to rise to meet the day. And he's the
13:53reason I'm not afraid of midnight.
14:02As we learn about Jesus, we come to some
14:05things that are not easily
14:08understood at the beginning. And this is
14:10one of those verses
14:12that you probably haven't read in the
14:14same pairing
14:16in a text if you've been around
14:17preaching much.
14:20Only two times does the Lord perform
14:22miracles that result in something dying.
14:26Most of the miracles of the Lord are a
14:28great shouting sermons and messages of
14:31hope and promise and victory over death
14:35and sickness and disease and hunger and
14:37thirst. He's always given sight to the
14:40blind and setting at liberty those who
14:43have been bruised.
14:45Preaching that the kingdom is coming,
14:47the acceptable year of the Lord. That's
14:50biblical language. That means you can't
14:52stop him. And uh he is always doing
14:55that. But there are two miracles. I said
14:58it right. Two miracles that brought
15:00death. One miracle was there was a
15:03demoniac in which is a a person that is
15:06possessed of demons that lived in the
15:09country of Gera which was a heathen well
15:12not heathen but a a gentile nation.
15:16That's me. I'm a gentile which meant I
15:18was probably heathen. In fact I am a
15:20heathen except for the blood of Jesus.
15:23That doesn't mean I'm a sinner. I'm not
15:24like some of these preachers. I'm my
15:26third wife. No. I'm still I got my first
15:29wife.
15:30>> Okay. Had 10 affairs. No, no, no.
15:34>> No, no, no. Not one affair.
15:36>> Not one.
15:39>> So, what am I doing? I'm not trying to
15:40make myself better. But here's the
15:42problem. Even sinners know that if you
15:44don't bring something to the table in
15:47relationships, you're not very valuable.
15:51We live in the society that is so uh
15:56skewed in their thinking that they think
15:59that you ought to be able to have
16:00relationships and bring nothing into the
16:03relationship.
16:05That it's okay to just show up and smile
16:07and your smile's worth all of that. But
16:10that's not the way the Lord works. He
16:12always wants results
16:16that are measurable. And if he doesn't
16:19get them right now, nobody knows it. But
16:22there's coming a day that everybody's
16:23going to know who didn't bring something
16:25to the table.
16:27Everybody's going to know it. I know
16:28they sing all these songs about he did
16:30it all. He didn't do it all.
16:33He did it all so that you could come to
16:35him.
16:37>> But if you don't come to him, you're
16:38going to burn forever.
16:43>> Don't have to come. If you don't come to
16:46him, he's done everything to take your
16:48sins away. But if you don't ask him to
16:51take your sins away, he's not going to
16:53just say,
16:55"I'm going to take their sins away."
16:56Never has it been demonstrated, and it
16:59never will be demonstrated. You got to
17:01bring something to the table.
17:05>> And so the two miracles that resulted in
17:07death, the first one was this demoniac
17:09of Gera who wanted freedom. He was
17:11living in the tombs, cutting himself.
17:14And uh death always follows demons and
17:17suicide always follows Satan. Uh and so
17:21that's that's the way he comes is to
17:23steal, to kill, and to destroy. And when
17:26he cast that demon, those demons out of
17:30that man who was naked running around.
17:32And when he got his freedom, he got
17:34clothed. The Bible says he was clothed
17:37and in his right mind.
17:40And so those demons asked for
17:43permission. Can we go into that herd of
17:44swine over there? Pigs.
17:47And because of that, those pigs decided
17:49it was better to commit hogside than was
17:52to live
17:53with demons.
17:56And they ran and cast themselves into
17:58the sea. That was the miracle.
18:02Second miracle that was a death was this
18:05miracle we read about here today.
18:06Doesn't sound like a miracle because you
18:08don't think miracles bring death. But he
18:12killed a tree
18:14in one moment.
18:16Why? Why? Why would God kill a tree? The
18:20God of Israel is always
18:24referring to fruit.
18:26He's always saying the purpose for a
18:28tree is fruit. And if a tree won't bring
18:32forth fruit, then it's only good for the
18:35fire.
18:37doesn't care how leafy it is, how pretty
18:40it is, how much shade it brings, how
18:43glorious it's perched on top of a hill.
18:46If a fruit tree doesn't bring forth
18:48fruit, then it's no good. Now, here's
18:50the thing. John the Baptist came
18:52preaching a few details about Jesus, and
18:54many of us ignore what John said. He
18:57said he he will thoroughly purge his
19:00floor. He said he's going to lay an axe
19:03to the tree that doesn't bear fruit and
19:07he's going to throw it into the fire. He
19:09He said that he's going to separate the
19:12wheat from the tears.
19:14>> And he said he's going to throw the
19:16chaff, that's the biblical word in the
19:18King James, chaff. He's going to throw
19:21it into the fire. And so all of this
19:23came with John who John never saw a
19:26miracle. John the Baptist never
19:28performed a miracle. In fact, the Bible
19:31says that he never performed a miracle,
19:33but the people heard him because there
19:36was something about John the Baptist
19:38that spoke and rang of truth.
19:41>> And so, here is God, the God of Israel,
19:44who has an affinity for fruit trees. He
19:47wants trees that uh will feed people,
19:50will bless people. And in fact, he loved
19:53him so much that he instructed Israel,
19:55when you go to battle, Deuteronomy 19,
19:58it doesn't matter who you're fighting,
20:00if you surround a city and you bring
20:03against that city a siege, if there are
20:06fruit trees around that city, I'm giving
20:08you a law. You can use any tree around
20:11there to help build your structures to
20:13get in that into that city, but you are
20:17not allowed to touch the fruit trees.
20:20You can eat from the fruit, but if you
20:22need a fire, you can't cut down the
20:24fruit trees. If you need a structure to
20:26get in, you can't cut down the fruit
20:28fruit trees. You leave the fruit trees.
20:32Doesn't matter if the enemy gets them
20:33back. The fruit tree is more important
20:37than your moment.
20:39>> And so, here he is saying, I love the
20:43trees that bring forth fruit. Now the
20:45Bible says that Psalm 1, blessed is the
20:47man that walketh not in the counsel of
20:49the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of
20:51the sinners, nor siteth in the seat of
20:53the scornful, but his delight is in the
20:56law of the Lord. And in his law does he
20:59meditate day and night. For he shall be
21:03like a tree planted by the rivers of
21:06water that does what?
21:09>> Brings forth his fruit in his season.
21:14his leaf it shall not wither and
21:17whatsoever he doeth it shall
21:21>> prosper.
21:22>> Everybody likes that verse.
21:25I want to prosper. I want you to
21:27prosper.
21:29But the prosperity has to do with fruit
21:31bearing.
21:34And so Jesus is striding towards
21:36Jerusalem. And in this walk towards
21:38Jerusalem, he's hungry. And when you
21:41notice the details that are included by
21:43Mark that many times we scan over. Mark
21:46is very specific to tell us. And while
21:49they were on the marorrow when they were
21:51come from Bethany he was hungry.
21:59You ever been on a trip and didn't know
22:00if the people you were with were hungry?
22:05Have you ever been on a trip and knew
22:08where we going to eat?
22:12You let people know when you're hungry,
22:15don't you?
22:17>> I mean, if you're not very hungry, don't
22:18mind it.
22:20>> But you know when you're hungry, when we
22:22going to eat, how far is it? Where are
22:24we going? I mean, you you start I won't
22:28tell what me and my wife trying to
22:29figure out what to eat is all about.
22:32Uh I She wants me to leave her alone.
22:35That is not what husbands do.
22:38And so, uh,
22:40he was hungry. Now, here's the next
22:42point. Seeing a fig tree a far off.
22:46Notice it's a long ways away. He has
22:49seen this tree a long ways away. And
22:53having leaves. This is a point that you
22:56need to know and I'm about to tell you.
22:58It has leaves on it. And while he came
23:01to it, when he came to it, he found
23:03nothing but leaves.
23:06And this interesting little point is
23:08very important for you to understand.
23:11But the time of figs was not yet.
23:14>> Here's the point about fig trees. You
23:17got to know. You don't know them. I
23:19don't Do I have a fig tree, Melanie? Do
23:22I own a fig tree?
23:24>> No. Does anybody here own a fig tree? We
23:27got a fig tree back there. Okay. A fig
23:30tree I'm not familiar with, but I know
23:32they grow plenteously in the Middle
23:35East.
23:36And a fig tree is noted by its fruit
23:40coming even before its leaves. Not ripe,
23:45not complete, but the fruit come either
23:48with the leaves or before the leaves.
23:51And it takes them a while to be fruitful
23:55and and right now Jesus is entering
23:58Jerusalem. What you've got to know about
24:00this context is this is the week he's
24:02going to die. Okay? Jesus is going to
24:04die this week. Jesus was crucified
24:07sometime around April. It was Passover
24:10week. Somewhere around April, a bid, the
24:13month of Abid. And so he is in the early
24:16season. This fig tree is supposed to at
24:20least have the evidence that there will
24:23be fruit. There's going to be fruit. And
24:27that's the reason why when the writer
24:29says it had leaves,
24:32what he was saying is it ought to have
24:35the evidence of having fruit. You
24:39shouldn't have leaves without knowing
24:41that there's fruit already growing. And
24:44he made this point even though the time
24:46of figs was not yet the ripe figs, it
24:49was still supposed to have the evidence
24:52of the promise of figs. And Jesus
24:55answered and said unto it, "No man eat
24:58fruit of thee." He talked to the tree.
25:00I've talked to trees before. You talked
25:02to trees before. "No man eat fruit of
25:06you from this point after forever." The
25:10disciples heard it.
25:13No big detail.
25:16He wasn't talking to them.
25:20He just went to that tree, tried to find
25:23fruit.
25:24There was no fruit. He found nothing
25:29but
25:30leaves,
25:32shade beauty
25:35but nothing for others,
25:40nothing to feed,
25:43nothing to give away.
25:46drinking the the land's water, soaking
25:50the land's sun,
25:52standing around in its spot, saying,
25:54"I'm a healthy tree, but nothing to pass
25:57on."
25:59And so he said to that tree, "Uh, no one
26:03will ever eat from you again."
26:07Well, no big deal. You had to script
26:10skip script. That's what I do sometimes.
26:13I'm sometimes I script down the road. Uh
26:17uh but you have to skip verses 15 to 19.
26:23You know what we skipped? We skipped him
26:26going to the temple and turning over
26:29tables, braiding a cord and driving out
26:32the money changers.
26:34Then after he goes to this temple and
26:38says, "It's supposed to be a house of
26:40prayer and you've turned it into a den
26:42of thieves,"
26:45he comes back and he walks by this tree
26:48again.
26:50And in the morning as they passed by,
26:53they saw the fig tree dried up from the
26:57roots.
26:59And Peter remembered.
27:02He said, "Master, that tree you've
27:05talked to, look at it. That tree, it's
27:10already dead. It's withered away."
27:15And Jesus answered and said,
27:18"God ain't playing."
27:24I know you see what's written up there.
27:26Have faith in God.
27:29But it essentially means God ain't
27:32playing.
27:35>> Everybody's wanting a blessing.
27:36Everybody's wanting a handout. Everybody
27:38wanting free. But the Lord has just
27:41walked out of a temple that is filled
27:44with people who are takers but not
27:47givers.
27:48They like to show up, claim their
27:51blessing, get their open door, but never
27:55bring anything
27:56>> to the temple. A thief is somebody who
28:00comes and takes what is yours and keeps
28:03it for himself. A thief is not a giver.
28:07A thief is a taker. And Jesus goes on
28:11this deal. Now, some people think this
28:13was a petty moment. Maybe he was just
28:15messing around, playing around. No, this
28:19is a huge message on the way to avoided
28:24temple, a church that had been filled
28:28with selfishness.
28:30Most of these miracles of the Lord are
28:33miracles of grace, healing, miracles of
28:37goodness. But there are consequences
28:40that the Lord is saying to an unfruitful
28:44church or unfruitful people. The tree
28:48wasn't the message. He wasn't
28:51threatening all the other trees around.
28:54It was a message to his disciples that
28:56if you're going to be unfruitful,
28:59then you are going to be chopped down,
29:03thrown into the fire like John the
29:06Baptist said. John said, "Him who cometh
29:09after me, he who cometh after me is
29:12mightier than I. His shoelatch I'm not
29:15even worthy to unloose. His fan is in
29:18his hand. Now that's language you and I
29:20don't understand. It wasn't a little
29:22electric fan. It was the way they
29:24separated the wheat from the chaff.
29:28His fan is in his hand and he will
29:30thoroughly
29:32thoroughly purge his floor.
29:37The chaff he will throw into the fire,
29:40but the wheat he will keep. Here's the
29:44challenge of this text.
29:47What does this mean for you and I? What
29:49in the world does it have to do with you
29:52and me in 2025 living for God? Here's
29:57what I'm here to tell you. And that is
30:00if my life doesn't bear fruit,
30:04doesn't matter what I provide, if
30:08everything is about taking but not
30:10giving, I'm going to be cast into the
30:14fire.
30:16Because he goes into a temple and he
30:18said, "My house ought to be a house of
30:20prayer
30:21>> and you have made it a den of takers.
30:29Next month is family month, and I want
30:31to call this church on a three-day fast
30:33this week. You can decide what days to
30:36do it or how to do it, but I'd like to
30:39call this church on a three-day fast
30:42because this next month is one of the
30:44most substantial months in this church.
30:46So many people get the Holy Ghost family
30:48month. So many people pray through
30:50family month. So many lives are made
30:52stable. F we're dressed like crazy nuts.
30:56But the Holy Ghost moves in during this
30:58time. It's a crazy how the Lord takes
31:01people in costumes and pours his
31:04substance out on them.
31:07>> It's because we're building a church
31:08that's not about just us. It's about
31:11giving out to others. It's about making
31:14sure our families are strong, our
31:16marriages are strong, our community is
31:19strong. And it cannot be done with good
31:21decorations. It cannot be done with
31:24great planning. It can't be done with
31:26children's style singing. It can't be
31:28done by bringing in the children's
31:30special evangelist and we always do.
31:33That's not where the power is. The power
31:36is in the God who looks at a church
31:39that's consumed with making a difference
31:42in the lives of others.
31:47If we only have the appearance of being
31:49a church, but we don't have the power of
31:52being a church, then we might as well go
31:54ahead and run to the fire.
31:56>> If we only show up like we can provide
31:59shade for our community, but we can't
32:01provide substance to them. If they can't
32:05walk in here and feel a supernatural
32:07release of the power of God on them,
32:10then there is no no reason to have
32:12church. I'm not in the building business
32:15bu building business. Say that three
32:18times fast. I'm not in the building
32:20building business. I'm not in the school
32:23building business. I'm not in the ad
32:26administrative planning business. I'm
32:28not in the speech making business. I'm
32:30not in the song singing business. We are
32:33in the transformation life change Holy
32:36Ghost power of God business to change
32:40marriages to change families to change
32:43vision to change viewpoints to change
32:46lives.
32:48Change lives you don't need the drugs
32:51you used to have to have to survive
32:53after God gets a hold of your life. You
32:55don't need a bottle of wine to relax
32:58after God gets a hold of your life. You
33:00don't need pornography to have your
33:02release. After God gets a hold of your
33:05life, you don't need all the flinging of
33:07this world into gambling to get your
33:10joy. After God gets a hold of your life,
33:13he changes you. He transforms you. The
33:16things the world offers crutches,
33:18they're no longer in my life.
33:22Not because we sing a neat song. Not
33:25because we've got good musicians, not
33:27because we've got great singers, not
33:29because the preacher preaches on Sunday,
33:31but because God changes lives.
33:37>> Jesus said, "I am the true vine.
33:40>> I'm the true vine." But then he said,
33:42"Every tree which bringeth not forth
33:44fruit is heuned down and cast in the
33:47fire." He was not talking to sinners
33:50when he said that. He was talking to
33:52people that were in the church who could
33:54sound like they were in the church and
33:56sing like they were in the church, but
33:57they had no power. They had no power.
34:00How desperate is it when the church has
34:03church on the sign and church in the
34:05shape of the building and church in the
34:08choice of the song, but no church in the
34:10transformation power of the Holy Ghost.
34:13How terrible is it to be a sinner in a
34:16world where church folk don't even know
34:18how to pray? When church folk are
34:20embarrassed to shout and dance in the
34:22presence of the Lord. When the church
34:24won't even act like the church or talk
34:26like the church. How terrible has it got
34:29to be for a sinner when he's trying to
34:31find somebody that he can say that
34:33buddy, that man has been in the power of
34:36God. How terrible does it have to be
34:38when he walks up to a man who's a
34:40churchgoing man, but that man doesn't
34:42know how to walk in the Holy Ghost.
34:44Doesn't know how to lay hands on the
34:46sick and know that God will recover.
34:48They got a professional preacher up
34:50there to do all that. How sick is it to
34:52be a world in a church where it's filled
34:54with a bunch of takers but no givers.
34:59>> The Lord's one miracle of judgment. He
35:02walked in there and he said, "You see
35:04this tree? It's a symbol of where I'm
35:06headed right now. This tibble is filled
35:09with thieves and I'm going to go and
35:10turn some tables over. They're a bunch
35:12of charlatans. They're preachers dressed
35:15up like preachers, but they have no
35:16power with God. There are people who are
35:18saying, "I I really bring a sacrifice to
35:20the Lord, but I know their sacrifice is
35:22flawed. They're not bringing it with
35:24their heart. They may not even be
35:26bringing it at all. They think they can
35:27tiptoe in and tiptoe out and bring
35:29nothing to the house of God." God said,
35:31"I'm going to cut them off and I'm going
35:34to burn them out." And the thing that's
35:36frightening about God is he doesn't
35:38play. I know we've got them all sweet
35:40right now, but there's coming a day he
35:42said, "My spirit will not always strive
35:44with man." There will come a day for
35:46those who are playing church where they
35:48won't even want to go to church anymore
35:50and they'll think it's just me. I've
35:52moved on. No, you haven't moved on. God
35:55moved on because he was tired of playing
35:58with you playing church when it was all
36:01or nothing. It was eternity. It was
36:04everything. It meant the world to him.
36:07He gave the cross and he's wanting
36:09people to say either make me Lord of all
36:11or not Lord at all. You can come in and
36:15twiddle your thumbs and act like you
36:17love God, but this church is not going
36:19to be built on pretenders. Our youth
36:21group will not have young people. Oh, we
36:23do. We have gone through phases of them.
36:25But young people that don't know how to
36:27pray, that don't know how to worship.
36:29They think they're cool because they
36:31walk in the door and sit there. But
36:32during altar, there's no movement of
36:34their soul. They can't wait to walk to
36:36that foyer. I can just tell you this. As
36:38much as my heart doesn't want it, I'll
36:40see you goodbye because God's going to
36:42walk away from you. It will never be
36:44cool to not want more of God. It'll
36:46never be cool. I watch our youth
36:48services and brother Shawn won't let
36:50there be a service. Our youth team won't
36:51let there be a service where there's not
36:53a move of God. And yet there's some
36:55young people come in act like, "Well,
36:56I'm just tolerating the moment." You
36:58won't tolerate the moment. God will walk
37:00away from you and he you say, "Well, I'm
37:02just kind of moved on. I got another
37:04kind of religion going on. Yeah, you
37:05did. You got another kind of religion
37:07because God said, "I'm through with
37:09you."
37:10>> The Bible said, "Because they did not
37:12bring me sacrifices that were pure, I
37:15removed their teachers from them."
37:18>> Oh, I know some people ready to move me
37:21right now. But I'm here to tell you that
37:24the Lord is not going to always strive
37:26with those who are pretenders in 2025.
37:30>> No, he's not. In 400 BC, at the end of
37:34every great country, there's always
37:37pretenders. 400 BC, the Spartan warriors
37:40fought against the Assyria. And the
37:43battle was 20-1. Over 150,000 warriors
37:48came from Assyria. They were lavishly
37:51adorned. The Persians looked real good.
37:53Uh they were 150,000 of them. And they
37:56come to fight against the Spartan
37:59warriors from Greece. But the Spartans
38:01had a certain strategy. They had bronze
38:03shields. They made a flanks and they
38:06would come and they would move in unison
38:08and stick their short swords through and
38:10they could fight like that. Well, the
38:13Persians said, "Well, we're going to
38:14come." And one of them literally
38:16announced and said, "We have so many
38:19warriors. We're going to shoot our
38:21arrows at you until our arrows blot out
38:24the sun." And those warriors from Sparta
38:29said, "Then we'll fight in the shade."
38:35Now, that's an old historical truth that
38:37comes from history. When you read about
38:39it and study it, go find out how the
38:41Spartans fought because they didn't have
38:44all the garments of goodness and and the
38:47warriors from Persia, they had
38:49embroidered garments. They had they had
38:52literally gold emlazed on their
38:54chariots. They had been fighting so
38:56long. They had a lot to show off. But
38:58the Spartans would show up and they had
39:00their garments blood red. And you know
39:02why their gar their cloaks were blood
39:04red? So you couldn't tell the difference
39:05between those that were bleeding and
39:07those that weren't? Because they were in
39:09it until the end. They had a mind made
39:12up. And if you're going to live for God,
39:14you better get in it to the end because
39:16God's going to weed you out. I'm not
39:20going to do it. God's going to do it.
39:22John the Baptist said he's coming to his
39:24temple and he's got a fan in his hand
39:27and if you're just coming to pretend,
39:29he's going to blow you out. You're going
39:31to be blown right out. He's coming with
39:33a fan in his hand and he's going to
39:35separate the chaff from the wheat. And
39:38I'm not called to do it. No saint in
39:40this church is called to do it. No, no,
39:42no. He said, "Don't you try to separate
39:44the wheat, the sheep from the goats." He
39:46said, "Don't you try to separate the
39:48wheat from the tear. Only the angels
39:50know how to do it. let them grow
39:52together. But I promise you, God's going
39:54to clear the house. And there's
39:56sometimes God comes and he clears the
40:00house. And that's when I stand up and
40:02say, "Oh, God, I want you to look in me
40:05now. Look in me now. I haven't come all
40:08this way to be blown away after all
40:10these years.
40:13>> Not after all these years.
40:16I've watched too many that started well
40:19and ran well and served God well. They
40:22served them maybe 10, maybe 20, maybe 30
40:25years, but I've watched some in their
40:27last few years lose everything.
40:30Why? Because if you're not continually
40:33assessing,
40:35>> am I bearing fruit?
40:37>> Am I bearing fruit? Am I bearing fruit?
40:41You say, "Well, I got the fruit bearing
40:42patch here and the fruit bearing stripe
40:44here and a fruit bearing pen here. I've
40:46been pinned by fruit bearers. I got my
40:48LXM pinned." Let me proclaim to you
40:51something. The judgment of the Lord is
40:53final on that last day. But judgment
40:55preaching doesn't feel good right now. I
40:57know it doesn't. People get squeamish
40:59when judgment preaching starts
41:01happening. But I've got to let you know,
41:03I would rather you judge yourself right
41:05now. I would rather you look at yourself
41:08and say, "What kind of fruit am I
41:09bearing? Am I one of the thieves that
41:12are going to church? Because he said
41:14this whole house has got a full of den
41:16of thieves. You've taken the house of
41:18prayer and you've turned it into a den
41:20of thieves. Why? Because you're just
41:22praying for show. You're just fasting
41:24for show. You're just worshiping for
41:26show. When you walk out these doors,
41:28people may not even know who you are
41:30because you know how to turn it on and
41:32turn it off. And God knows and God sees
41:35and God hears and God comes with his fan
41:38is in in his hand. And he says, "All
41:40right, I'm going to see where the
41:42pretenders are." And I have I have
41:45pastored in the same place 33 years. And
41:48there's people that I used to pastor
41:50that never even have a heart now. Never
41:52even have a heart to come to church.
41:55They're not even bothered. They've
41:56learned how to live on Sunday with not
41:59even missing the house of God. And they
42:02think they think it's because they've
42:06advanced. And I want to tell you, it's
42:08because God said, "Done.
42:11I'll walk away."
42:16An art artificial worship,
42:20artificial famine.
42:22That's what a food desert is. Sister
42:24Elms, come a food desert. They have them
42:28all in different places of America. Food
42:31desert. Dr. Claude Jones, that was one
42:33of his focuses, was going and trying, he
42:36was brought into Cleveland, Ohio, where
42:37there's a food desert up there. It's a
42:40part of the city where the kids can't
42:43get food because the parents are so
42:46messed up in their head. They're either
42:48strung out on selfishness, on drugs, or
42:52other they're they're away. They don't
42:53care. And these kids starve because the
42:56parents don't care enough to get them
42:58food. There's not a lack of food. It's a
43:01problem with the parents.
43:04You know, I don't know, brother Jamie
43:06could tell you. He's he was the homeless
43:07officer for Fort Lauderdale for many
43:09years. And homelessness is a is a
43:11challenge. Okay? It's a challenge. But
43:14one thing you need to realize about
43:15homelessness or what they call
43:16houselessness or whatever they want to
43:18call it nowadays. A lot of those people
43:20want to be there.
43:22And you know, the reason they want to be
43:24there is because they don't want to
43:25contribute to where they've been.
43:28Their family gets tired of it. They want
43:30to take take take, but they don't want
43:31to add to paying for bills.
43:35They don't want to add. They they want
43:37to go get caught up in the things that
43:39they want to do. And some of them are
43:40wasted on drugs and some of them are
43:42not.
43:44They just choose, I want to live
43:46daytoday, however I live. They'll work
43:49for their next hit, and they'll work for
43:51their next drink, but they won't work to
43:53send money to their children.
43:56They won't work to help a house. And I
43:59not all of them. I'm not painting with a
44:01broad brush, but the facts are you got
44:03to understand if you don't bring
44:05something to the table, here's what the
44:07Bible says. If a man will not work,
44:09neither should he eat.
44:10>> I know that's not USA,
44:12>> but that's the Bible.
44:14>> If you will not work, you should not
44:16eat.
44:17>> Why? Because God isn't playing.
44:22>> He's not playing.
44:24>> You got to contribute.
44:26You got to bring love and care and
44:28compassion and and effort
44:31>> and money.
44:34>> Money.
44:35>> You say, "Well, I only get paid a dollar
44:37an hour." God never asked the amount.
44:41>> It's the percentage.
44:44You bring $1 to this church and somebody
44:46brings $10 billion, but they're making a
44:48hundred billion dollars. He didn't bring
44:50one penny more
44:52>> in God's economy
44:54>> than the person who brought $1.
44:58But if you don't bring anything,
45:10not me,
45:12God.
45:16You don't bring real prayer.
45:19You don't bring real praise.
45:22Somebody needs to be prayed for an
45:23altar. You go find somebody to pray for
45:26them. Why? Because you can't pray.
45:31If you could pray, you would go pray for
45:32them.
45:35No. We got professionals. We got altar
45:37workers for that. No, no, no, no, no.
45:39You bring something to the table.
45:45My kids had to bring something to the
45:48table.
45:51It didn't lock. They didn't always like
45:52it.
45:55But you better bring something. You got
45:57chores.
45:58You're not living in this house for
45:59free.
46:01You can contribute.
46:04Well, you're abusing me. No. No. Let
46:07Yeah. Let Let me show you the education
46:09of the bridge. Go sleep in a bridge one
46:12night. Go sleep under a bridge one
46:14night. The education of the bridge will
46:15change your thoughts.
46:18You bring something to the table.
46:20And the Lord said
46:24that temple is fruitless.
46:28It's a den of thieves.
46:30It's people that just take but they
46:34don't bring.
46:36Shall we stand?
46:38Here's the thing that the Bible says. A
46:41food desert like Dr. Jones worked on in
46:45Cleveland and I went and drove around
46:46with him and he was pointing out places
46:49where the kids they had to fight to get
46:51food. There just seems so broken that
46:54parents won't help their kids get fed.
46:56Isn't that broken? Something's wrong.
46:59>> Oh Jesus.
47:00>> Parents won't even feed their kids.
47:04Or kids when the parents get older
47:09forget their parents.
47:12kids forget their parents in this world
47:15gone crazy is we had selfish parents
47:18when the kids were young and now when
47:20the parents get old they're still
47:21selfish
47:23but they think the kid ought to do
47:25everything for them and they did hardly
47:26nothing for them when they were younger
47:28and so we've got this vortex of pain
47:31didn't do anything for you then you're
47:33not doing anything for me now and we got
47:35pain everywhere
47:38and the church is here to have fruit
47:41look for that neighbor who's hurting.
47:44Look for the one in the job that's
47:45hurting. Look for the one who doesn't
47:48have a house that's hurting. Do what you
47:51can
47:54and keep bearing fruit. Because the good
47:59news is that God said, "I will build my
48:02house and the gates of hell will not
48:05prevail against it."
48:07He's always going to have people that
48:10are not thieves,
48:13that are prayer warriors,
48:15that fast and pray and follow in the
48:19word of God. Not because it's rules. Oh,
48:22I got to keep the rules. Got to keep the
48:23rules. No, because fruit bearing is the
48:26most blessed thing you'll ever do. It is
48:31better to give than to receive. You need
48:36something,
48:38go give what you need. It will blow your
48:42mind
48:45how when you start giving, it comes
48:48right back to you. You give and it's
48:52returned. Give and it shall be given.
48:56Press down. I'm talking about money,
48:57too.
48:59>> Give and it shall be given. Pressed
49:02down. shaken together and running over
49:05shall the father give into your soul.
49:09>> Why? Because this process
49:13is the way the world really works. Some
49:17people who are great givers have never
49:19been baptized in Jesus name, never got
49:20the Holy Ghost, never been filled with
49:22God, and yet they're great givers
49:24because they understand it is a biblical
49:28principle for hope.
49:31He never asks the how much. He always
49:34asks a percentage.
49:37So it doesn't matter if it's equal
49:39giving. It's equal consecration.
49:44And so when he sees those that are only
49:46leaves,
49:47[Music]
49:49he curses the tree with only leaves.
49:53[Music]
49:54and those who are going to live for him.
49:57He wants them to have a church,
50:00a church that is filled with givers.
50:04It's a different kind of message. I know
50:07I've preached a few of these lately. I
50:10can't wait till the Lord will let me
50:11stop.
50:14What's going on? I'll tell you what's
50:15going on. We are getting ready for the
50:17most unbelievable breakout of blessing
50:20and revival. We are about to get the
50:23most unbelievable increase. We're about
50:25to get the most unbelievable impact.
50:28God's opening doors in this world that
50:31we got to walk through. And for us to
50:33walk through them, we better make sure
50:34that we remember
50:37why we are where we are and how we got
50:39where we're going. Not because we're
50:42good. Not because we're great, but
50:45because we bear fruit for him who gave.
50:51I give because he gave.
50:54I pray because somebody prayed for me.
50:59>> Somebody had me on their mind. Somebody
51:02opened the church doors for me. Somebody
51:04brought an altar prayer for me. Somebody
51:08gave. So, I've got to bear fruit. I've
51:11got to give forth fruit, more fruit,
51:14much fruit, fruit that remains.
51:18I know sometimes you say, "Well, this
51:20one isn't doing that. That one's not
51:21doing that." Stop looking there.
51:24You look there, you're going to be lost.
51:28If you look up, you're going to be
51:29saved.
51:31You got to look up. You know why a tree,
51:34it doesn't matter what lean the prop the
51:36ground is that it grows on, it always
51:38grows straight? because it's got its eye
51:41on the sun. I know a tree doesn't have
51:45an eye, but you know what I'm saying.
51:47You can have a a hill going this steep,
51:50those trees are going to go straight up.
51:52You can have a hill that's flat, those
51:53trees going to go straight up. Why? They
51:56have their disposition
51:58towards the heavens. If you have your
52:00disposition towards this earth, if
52:02you're trying to figure out the
52:03corporate leaders what they want or the
52:05city or the politics or the tick tock or
52:07whatever, no, you're going to be all
52:09crazy. Get your eyes on the Lord. I'm
52:13opening this altar for you to come and
52:15do a little fruit inspection today. Come
52:17and do a little fruit inspection.
52:20We're here for people that need
52:21deliverance.
52:22We're here for people that want hope.
52:25We're here for people.
52:27I want to bear fruit in my life. Fruit
52:30that remains. I want to be fruitful for