Episode #70 - Fruit Doesn't Grow In A Day

I spent the day building cabinets again, which I found very rewarding. At the end of the day, we got to sit back and see all that we had accomplished over a few days. Instead of boxes stacked on boxes, there were dozens of cabinets we had constructed and worked hard to build. It's nice to work hard on something and see immediate results. Well...in our Kingdom work, it doesn't always go that way. Fruit is not born in a day, either in others or ourselves. Sometimes you work hard, but do not get to see the fruit of your labor immediately or even at all. Be patient, stick at it, and know God is working through you and on you through it all. 

#SetYourMindAbovePodcast

Transcript

Welcome back to all of our listeners! I’m BJ Sipe, and you’re listening to the Set Your Mind Above podcast – where everyday ordinary events teach us extraordinary eternal truths. I’m so glad that you’ve tuned in today, I am excited to share my life and my faith with you, and I sure hope that you’ll do the same with me along the way. 

Today was my second day going over to the Leber’s new home to help Jonathan put cabinets together as they prepare to move in within the next few weeks. I don’t have the time to devote to it through the rest of this week, but I cleared my schedule today to be able to go over and offer my assistance for as long as I could. I’ve got to be honest, I was really excited about it too! My work mostly consists of burying my head into not only the good book, but all kinds of different books, studies, lessons, etc. It involves a lot of sitting, a lot of reading, and then even more after that. Please don’t misunderstand me, I love my work and what I do – I would not do anything else in the world but preach, regardless of what it might be. That being said, there is something so satisfying with working with your hands like we spent the day doing. You spend the day measuring, constructing, fixing warped pieces and coming up with solutions for pieces that were damaged in transit. It’s hard work, but what is so rewarding about it is that at the end of the day you get to step back and see all that you accomplished. After our work yesterday and today, we finally have completed putting together the bases & drawers for the cabinetry for the dining room, laundry room, and bathrooms. Instead of stacks of boxes upon boxes, we sat back in our chairs and admired dozens of cabinets that were now complete and ready for instillation in the next week. That is extremely satisfying and rewarding. I mentioned that to Jonathan as we finished crafting our last few cabinets, and that one of the most challenging aspects of preaching is that many times at the end of the day it is hard to measure what you have actually accomplished. Maybe you spent the day in study, but there isn’t a whole lot of tangible evidence to show for it. Maybe you had a teaching session with a non-believer, but there wasn’t immediate action on their part by the end of the day. You’re working hard, but sometimes you can get discouraged because you don’t see the fruit of your labor immediately like when you are working with your hands. Jonathan understood exactly what I was saying, but took a moment to remind me of some important truths and edify me. He said, “the work we do in the kingdom might not have immediate results, but is by far more rewarding than anything we can do with our hands. Fruit is being born, even if you don’t see it at the end of the day.” We spent the next few minutes talking about that. How when you work diligently for the kingdom of God, the benefit comes in looking back over a period of months or years and seeing how individuals or the church has grown as a whole. It’s a slow process, but that does not mean that good things are not taking place. 

Jonathan reminded me of an important lesson today that I wanted to share with the rest of you. This does not merely apply to preachers of the gospel, but for any kind of work that we as Christians are involved in regarding the kingdom. And the lesson that we have to learn is this: fruit does not grow in a day. Consider Psalm 1:1-3, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” The one who is righteous and constantly reflects on the word of God is likened to a tree planted by the water. Such a tree you would anticipate to grow rapidly, as it is primed for success due to it’s location. It has everything it needs to be healthy and produce good fruit. However, notice what it says about how it prospers: that it will yield fruit in it’s season. The tree does not produce fruit overnight, naturally, but it takes time to develop, mature, and ripen. It is an unrealistic expectation to expect mature fruit overnight. Even consider the parable told in Luke 13:6-9, “And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’” While there is a lot to unpack in this parable, I want you to notice the vinedressers response to the owner of the vineyard: just give it a little more time. Fruit had not yet produced on the time table that the master of the field had desired, but the vinedresser knew that it was not yet time to call it quits. It needed some more nurturing, some more patience, and some more tending to before they would see the fruit of their labor. So what is the point to all of this? I think that many times we have unrealistic expectations of ourselves or of others when it comes to our growth in Christ Jesus. We want to bear fruit for Jesus, but I think sometimes we expect that to happen overnight when that’s not the nature of how this works. It’s the person you are studying the Bible with who has not yet obeyed the gospel, and you wonder what it is that you’re doing wrong – why haven’t they come to Jesus yet? Be patient. Fruit is not born overnight. You cannot expect someone to be shaken to the core and come to faith after merely a few sessions – many times it is a process, some longer than others. It’s the elder who is trying to mentor other young men to step up and take the reins on several things, but they don’t seem to grasp the concept and certainly do not accomplish to the task with the skill that a mature Christian would. Be patient – young men do not mature overnight. It is going to take years of time, effort, and teaching to develop them into leaders themselves. It’s the man or woman who is struggling to put a stop to ungodly behavior that they are exhibiting in their lives. They expect to be able to wake up the next day and suddenly never be tempted again, or somehow undo all the damage they have done over years of destructive behavior. Be patient – the fruit of the Spirit is not born overnight in our lives. Our struggle against sin is not won in a single moment, but in steadfast endurance over time. You will grow, you will overcome and conquer, but recognize that often takes time. All in all I guess I’m really encouraging us today to have realistic expectations of ourselves and others, especially when it comes to spiritual matters. Good things are happening and in the works, and if you stay at it in due time and in the right season you will finally get to sit back and see all that God has accomplished in you and through you and just how far you’ve come.  

Thank you so much for listening to today’s episode. Tune in, Tuesday-Fridays, as a new podcast episode will be uploaded each day. Also, be sure to follow the Facebook page for the Set Your Mind Above podcast for future announcements and video sessions. As you have the opportunity, share these thoughts with your friends and family, and share with me what important lessons you are learning from every day, ordinary events. Until next time know that I love you, that God loves you, and may we all each and every day set our minds above.