Fruit Inspectors For The KING!

We have been blessed to be a part of a significant move of the Holy Spirit called the ‘Father’s Blessing’ for close to 30 years. I remember getting so excited the first time I read about what happened in the Book of Acts. Later, an elderly gentleman in our church loaned me a book explaining what happened in other revivals. I didn’t have a grid in which to understand everything that took place in those meetings but it did seem to be an exciting time to be alive. I just didn’t realize how ill-prepared I was for the Holy Spirit to come in power.  I also thought everyone would be excited about what was happening so I really was unprepared for how upset some people became about what was happening. It wasn’t just the manifestations of the Holy Spirit that caused people to struggle though that didn’t help. I’m sure tongues of fire resting on the heads of people or speaking in tongues also caused quite a stir back in the day. Most of the congregation was excited about what was happening; however, a few, (When we say a few, we typically mean 1 to 2% of the church body), were not so sure what was happening was from God.

After a while we noticed a pattern in these cases. For the most part, those who were opposed had never gone to or only attended a few of the meetings where the alleged excesses occurred. They also never took the time to follow the Biblical mandate Jesus left his disciples concerning inspecting the fruit in these cases. They did not study past moves of God to see what happened when the Holy Spirit came in power so they didn’t have any references to go by. The Bible describes what good fruit looks like and serves as a guide for spiritual fruit inspection. Jesus thought being a fruit inspector was important enough to warn us to be aware of what we should look for.

Now, you need to understand that in the following text, we find the Pharisees had just come to Jesus and accused him of driving out demons because he was “possessed by Beelzebub” or Satan. Jesus then goes into a discussion in which he states that a kingdom cannot survive and be in direct opposition to itself. Then, he goes on to say that attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan’s works has perilous eternal consequences. Mark 3:22-29, “So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house. Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”

 What is considered blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? The sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit is essentially the sin of rejecting Christ. By continually rejecting God’s free gift of salvation in Jesus, a sinner sears his conscience (ignores the voice of the Holy Spirit) and stiffens his neck. Eventually, he gets to the place where genuine repentance is no longer possible. ‘In essence’  I believe it is when a person continually says ‘no’ to the conviction of the Holy Spirit to receive Him (Jesus Christ) as Lord and Savior. The person has hardened their heart so many times by saying no until they no longer are convicted of sin. This is when it is unforgivable—God will not ever reject us- it is our continuance in rejecting Him.  

             In the same token may we always be cautious when inspecting the fruit in the lives of individuals and corporate bodies. We must not attribute the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan; likewise, we do not attribute the work of Satan to the Holy Spirit. We are all called to be fruit inspectors. In many places, people are doing things in the name of Jesus, which falls somewhere between two extreme ends of the spiritual spectrum. What they are doing seems so far out there as to seem ludicrous or so well packaged that we do not question them. The truth of the matter is that we need to inspect (all) the fruit of those who are around us.

         Out on a Limb: The True Measure of Spiritual Fruit            

In the past, when we spoke on this subject, we often used the illustration of a California fruit inspector who was dismissed from their job because of incompetence. It seems they would drive down the freeway going well over the speed limit, stereo blaring, messaging back and forth to their friends, with the windows rolled up while periodically glancing across the other lanes of traffic at the fruit orchards zipping by him. Using this inspection method, he would either fail or pass an orchard.

            In stark contrast is the fruit inspector who pulls off the freeway, drives into the orchard, turns off their engine, gets out of their vehicle, walks up to the tree or vine, and then climbs out on a limb to inspect the fruit. They found that they had to go out on a limb to get an honest look to determine how good the fruit was. That is the only way I know how to inspect the fruit of any move of God or in the life of any individual who comes in the name of the Lord. You have to get involved in the revival by putting yourself in a position to closely examine the lives of those God has placed before you. That is why we learned that the outward manifestations that a person may be experiencing are often the physical bodies reaction to an inward work of the Holy Spirit.

          We are mandated by our Lord to be fruit inspectors. In Luke 6:44 it says, “Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes or grapes from briers.” Also, Matthew 7:18 says, “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.” In verse 20, “You will recognize them by their fruit.”

Jesus and His Father are the original fruit inspectors. In one of his final sermons, Jesus explains that God is constantly examining people according to their fruit: “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” (John 15:1-2) If examining fruit is essential to God, how much more should it be necessary to us.

This means submitting our lives to Him as we are being transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit and the fruits of His spirit are manifested in our lives continually—such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—and may we be used of Him to bring others to know and experience a true relationship with Jesus Christ and be His example of light in a world that is filled with darkness and spiritual captivity.  

Lord, Grant us the wisdom and patience to recognize and cultivate the fruits of the Holy Spirit within ourselves and be used to bear much good fruit. Just as a vinedresser carefully tends to each branch, may we be diligent in our spiritual growth and be used as His vessel of love to bring abundant, lasting fruit for the glory of God.