A Cornucopia for Our Father in Heaven

Father’s Day

A Cornucopia for Our Father in Heaven

 

 

We spent time last week looking at what it means to bear fruit for the King. We spent that time because no one wants to arrive emptyhanded before His Throne and – more importantly, Jesus told us: John 15:8 “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.” And so, I thought it would be helpful for us to spend a little more time again today looking into what we must do to produce for Him a glorious cornucopia of fruit.

 

My message today centers around the first three verses of Psalm 1. If you were with us in our Bible study several months ago, you may remember we studied this psalm for several consecutive weeks. I now read the entire psalm for context:

 

(Psalm 1) How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.The wicked are not so, but they are like chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.”

 

The key to our fruitfulness for Christ is there in those first three verses: How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.

 

And age does not matter when it comes to our ability to be fruitful for Christ. Listen to Psalm 92:12-15 - The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; Planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”

 

So, let’s unpeel these first verses in Psalm 1, first to look at God's warnings about what to AVOID if we want to be fruitful. Verse one: How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!

 

The basic point and in simple terms is this: If we want to be fruitful for Christ, we must stay away from the wrong friends and the wrong paths. Why? Because one bad apple spoils the whole bunch.

 

Why do parents tell their children to avoid certain ‘friends’ and places? It’s because we know the inevitable result of a child getting mixed up with the wrong people and places.

 

And so, all the more the Christian should expect our Father – who loves us from eternity and back, who loves us from the Cross and back – we should expect Him to warn His children how to walk and with whom to walk. He does so not only to enable those who WANT to bear fruit for Him to do so, but – and I imagine much more importantly – when we obey His warning, we avoid experiencing first-hand what all ongoing sin inevitably does to a person.

 

The ultimate cost of sin is, of course, the dark and ever pervading agony of eternal separation from God in the Lake of Fire. Please do not let anyone try to talk you into thinking that the fiery Lake is a fictious place. Do a simple internet search and you’ll discover a multitude of theologians and pastors scoffing at the idea of eternal judgment – despite how often the Lord Jesus and His apostles spoke about that destiny for those who die in their sins.

 

That is the ultimate cost of sin. But during our lifetime, the cost of persistent and willfully rebellious sin often results in painful loss of health, finances, and enduring relationships with others – including our parents, our spouse, and our children.

 

You may have heard the true and sober adage: Sin will take you where you do not want to go, it will keep you longer than you want to stay, and it will cost you more than you want to pay.

 

Yet, in contrast, “How blessed – how happy, how contented, how favored – how blessed are those who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!”

 

When Scripture speaks of the ungodly, of sinners and scoffers, it refers to those who actively live in disobedience to God. It refers to those who live by the sentiment summarized by Frank Sinatra’s signature song: ‘My Way.’ Here are only a few of the lyrics:

 

Regrets, I've had a few/But then again, too few to mention/I did what I had to do/And saw it through without exemption/I planned each charted course/Each careful step along the byway/And more, much more than this/I did it my way.

For what is a man, what has he got?/If not himself, then he has not/To say the things he truly feels/And not the words of one who kneels/The record shows I took the blows/And did it my way.

 

And please also understand this: The ungodly are not only found outside the Church. They’re also found in pews and pulpits across this city and around the globe. Such imposters claim to be Christians, but in truth are wolves in sheep clothing. They are Judases in fine suits and dresses, some who sit next to us in the pews and who sing with us the hymns. Some also stand in pulpits and at the front of seminary classrooms.

 

Beware of them. The apostle Paul wrote about such people to Titus: (Titus 1:16) “They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.”

 

What are some irreverent and ungodly counsels and mockeries the spew from imposters and seduce men and women? The list is long, but all godless counsellors will have several things in common, those being a disregard for Jesus as God incarnate; Their disdain of His claim that He alone is the door to eternal life; Their satanic-inspired opinion that ALL religions lead to eternal life. Godless counsellors scoff at the idea that the Scriptures are fully inerrant, infallible, and inspired by God. And you have surely noticed that their mockery and dilution of Biblical truth typically manifests itself in immorality – especially sexual immorality.

 

Such depravity is as old as the Garden. Listen to the apostle Paul state the obvious. You’ll find this in the first chapter of Romans:

 

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools . . .

Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them . . . [F]or their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind . . . and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. (Romans 1:18ff)

 

Do you want to bear fruit for Christ? Then NEVER take the council of anyone who advises about faith and morals when they themselves do not believe or adhere to the clear teaching of God's word and the historic teaching of the Christian Church that dates back to the first century. Don’t be swayed by their popularity, or academic and theological degrees, or their positions in or outside the Church. Do we need reminder of St Jude’s warning: (Jude 1:4) “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness [sexual depravity] and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

 

“Certain persons have crept in unnoticed.”  Crept in where? By context of Jude’s letter, they crept into the Church. And even to this modern day there are clergy even in this town who affirm the sins among their congregations and leadership, sins that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.

 

You want to bear fruit for God? Then be ever alert to the very real possibility that any one of us can be led astray by smooth-talking liars. Sin is deceitful. And THAT is precisely why the Psalmist says what he does in the next verse about the godly: “But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law, he meditates day and night.”

 

Such counsel of the Holy Spirit should not surprise anyone who seeks to faithfully and fruitfully follow Christ. God told Joshua: (Joshua 1:8) “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.”

 

Psalm 1 reiterates the message: “In His law he meditates day and night.” Isn’t that a great strategy to employ in the morning and before bedtime? Do you read God's word in the morning? Do you read it before retiring for the night?  If not, why not start today? God’s Word ALONE changes our lives for the better.

 

Listen to the apostle Peter (1 Peter 2:2) “Like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.”

 

And to the apostle Paul: (Romans 12:2) “Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

 

A couple of years ago, I read a post on one of my social media sites from someone who has maintained a consistent habit of reading and meditating on the Bible. He wrote: “I read an average of three chapters each day. Doing so means going from Genesis through Revelation in a year. Been doing this for over three decades. As a result, every passage has become both familiar— and fresh— in subsequent years. Every verse is known— yet new. Every chapter is a well-travelled territory as well as terra incognita (unexplored territory).

 

And what is God's promise to those who hunger for the milk of the Word and whose minds are transformed by the Scriptures? Look at verse three of this first Psalm: “He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.

 

The prosperity Scripture speaks of here and elsewhere has absolutely NOTHING to do with the prosperity touted by some televangelists, authors, and pastors. Prosperity, in God's view, transcends such carnal materialistic things. God's view of prosperity has much more to do with eternal things. It has to do with FRUITFULNESS for Christ. It has to do with not appearing emptyhanded at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

 

Listen to Jesus: (John 15:5, 8). “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. . . . This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

 

Look again with me at the first part of that verse: [“And he] “will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water . . . .”

 

‘Planted by water’ carries the idea of CONSTANT quenching of spiritual thirst with life-giving water. Remember what the Lord told the woman at the well in Samaria: (John 4:13) “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”

         

Being planted by streams of water implies the digging down of deep roots – and that reminds me of the Parable of the Sower in which the Lord taught His disciples: (Matthew 13:23) “And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

 

The Lord Jesus told us: “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.” And I believe there is not a Christian in this sanctuary who has not from time to time looked back over your life and asked yourself at least one hard question: “What have I done with my life for my Lord Jesus?”

 

As I stated last week, no one wants to arrive empty-handed at the Father’s Throne. How awful that day will be for those who wasted their time, talents, and treasure on things that were ALL doomed to disappear into ashes.

 

What are you now doing with your life? What do you WANT to do for your Lord for the rest of your life? If you’ve already been offering Him your time, talent, and treasure – then continue to do so. Indeed, I urge you – I urge all of us, including myself – to excell still more.

 

But if the Holy Spirit is nudging you, making you feel uncomfortable because you know how much time and talent and resources you’ve wasted on yourself for all those years – then repent. And be assured of His forgiveness if you asked with a humble and contrite heart.

 

And then ask Him what He wants you to do now and for the rest of your life. We cannot go back in time and change what we’ve done or haven’t done. But today, on this day in June 2025, we can change our tomorrows.

 

We ought to seek to be fruitful for Christ because we love Him and want to give back to our Lover what He has abundantly given to us. We ought to seek to be fruitful because we do not want to show up at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb empty-handed. And, as we saw last week from that passage at the end of Matthew 25, we ought to seek to be fruitful because there is a judgment for those who are willfully, selfishly, lazily unfruitful.

 

“How blessed are those who do not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But their delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law they meditate day and night. They will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; And in whatever they do, they prosper.”

 

We all know time is slipping through our fingers even as we sit here. So, as we listen to this closing song, may we each, in the silence of our hearts, ask the Lord how we can do better with whatever more time He has ordained for us. Ask Him what we can do to bring Him a cornucopia of our fruitfulness.

 

Amen.