Remember the Lord and Bear Lasting Fruit
November 20, 2024 · 1:46:05 · Watch on YouTube ↗
Summary
The service opens with a reminder from Proverbs that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and that this fear means hating evil, pride, and arrogance. The first message centers on Paul's charge to Timothy: "Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead" (2 Timothy 2:8). People are prone to forget - Israel forgot God's miracles again and again and turned to idols, even after deliverances like Gideon's victory with only three hundred men.
The preacher walks through the life of Joseph: sold into slavery at seventeen, bound and carried into Egypt, imprisoned for years, yet sustained by the teaching and prayers he received from his father. What carried him through the unknown was remembering God's faithfulness to Abraham, Noah, and his own family. As Psalm 105 describes, his trial lasted only until God's word had proved his purity before heaven, which watches over His children and rejoices when they hold fast to the end.
A second message takes up sowing and reaping (Genesis 8:22) in the spirit of Thanksgiving. Through faith God plants the seed of His word in our hearts, and like fruit it grows and is meant to be enjoyed - often by others, not only by us. Drawing on Isaiah 55, the parable of the wheat and tares, and Paul's call to sow generously, the preacher urges the church to give thanks, to let the fruit of the Spirit show in daily life, and to remember that whatever a person sows, that he will also reap.
Key Points
- The fear of the Lord, which hates evil and pride, is the beginning of true wisdom.
- We are quick to forget, so we must deliberately remember Christ and all God has done.
- The teaching and prayers of godly parents become strength for children in their hardest days.
- God's testing lasts only until His purpose in us is fulfilled and our faith is proved.
- Heaven watches over us and rejoices when a believer stays faithful to the very end.
- God plants the seed of His word in us so it will grow and bear fruit for His glory.
- Whatever we sow we will reap, so live in the fruit of the Spirit and give thanks.
Devotional
Like Joseph in the pit and the prison, you may be walking into an unknown season with more questions than answers. What will hold you is not your own strength but the word and faithfulness of God stored up in your heart. Remember His past mercies, give thanks even before the harvest comes, and let the seed He planted grow into the fruit of the Spirit. There is an appointed hour when He will bring you out, so stay faithful to the end.
“We are quick to forget, so we must choose to remember the Lord and all He has done.”
“Joseph's prison lasted only until God's word had proved his heart before heaven.”
“Whatever you sow, that you will reap - so live in the fruit of the Spirit and give thanks.”
