This morning, we continue our series on “The Parables of Jesus.” We will seek to glean “Pearls from the Parables.”
Before we get to the parable, let’s look at a scripture we have been looking at all year. This is something I believe the Lord wants us to meditate on.
(Psalm 126:4 TPT)
Now, Lord, do it again! Restore us to our former glory! May streams of your refreshing flow over us until our dry hearts are drenched again.
This is a season of refreshing and restoring for us.
(Luke 13:6-9 NKJV)
6 He also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.
7 Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’
8 But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also until I dig around it and fertilize it.
9 And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that, you can cut it down.’ “
So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. God predestined you to a specific calling. For you to fulfill it, you must be committed to being productive.
I recently spent weeks teaching you about the parable of the talents, and now we are looking at the parable of the barren fig tree. Here are some thoughts related to both and our topic today.
— God is a God of increase and advancement.
— With God, the mentality is “Forward ever, backward never. The best is yet to come!“
— God predestined you. This means He established your destiny (your destination) beforehand (before you were born).
— This destiny requires you to be productive, and God has given you the grace to be just that.
— You have the grace for your calling. You have the grace to do what you are destined to do.
— Productivity isn’t just a human or selfish desire. It is an innate passion that is connected to your divine purpose.
— God made plans for you to do certain things, and since He planned for you to get them done before you die, you say, “I am destined to prosper. I was born to win!”
— Being productive on a daily basis is part of your destiny; you’re calling.
— In the parable of the talents and the parable of the fig tree, the master, in each parable, expected productivity.
— The master was unsatisfied when the expectation wasn’t met.
— The power (or grace) to be productive was present, but the subjects (unfaithful steward and barren fig tree) failed to produce.
In today’s message, “Destined to be Productive” or “Called to Productivity,” I want you to consider both sides of this token.
— You are destined with plans God made for you from the foundations of the world (that’s God’s part).
— You must be willing to put in the work to be productive (that’s your part).
In these parables, you should be learning:
— You’re not called to sit; you’re called to serve.
— There’s specific work God has called you to do.
— God expects you to complete this work during your short time on earth.
— God is patient during moments of disobedience, idleness, or laziness. However, His patience has limits. There will come a day when you will be called to give an account.
— There are consequences to inactivity. For the unfaithful steward in the parable of the talents, the master said, “Cast this servant away from me into the utter darkness.” For the barren fig tree in the current parable, the master said, “Cut it down! It is wasting what it is receiving from the ground!”
— The Bible warns against laziness, stubbornness, and idleness.
— God is looking for daily productivity and success.
— You are destined by God to be productive. Productivity is part of your destiny.
— Failing to put in the work and achieve potential productivity leads to consequences.
2. You have specific WORK to do that is directly tied to your divine calling.
(Ephesians 2:10 ERV)
God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us new people so that we would spend our lives doing the good things he had already planned for us to do.
(Ephesians 2:10 TPT)
We have become his poetry, a re-created people that will fulfill the destiny he has given each of us, for we are joined to Jesus, the Anointed One. Even before we were born, God planned in advance our destiny and the good works we would do to fulfill it!
(a) You are called by God’s grace, not your performance.
— God looked past your faults, flaws, and failures in order to call you to your divine assignment. He knew all the mistakes you were going to make, and He called you anyway. This is the grace of God.
— God ordained you to a specific assignment before the world began. He did this with foreknowledge of your decisions. He knew what you would do right and what you would do wrong, and He called you despite your shortcomings. He called you based on His goodness, not your own.
(b) Your destiny is tailor-made just for you!
— You have a preordained destiny. Your destiny is tailor-made just for you. In order to fulfill your divine destiny, our text makes it clear that you must perform specific good works. In other words, you cannot fulfill your destiny without performing the “work” that is connected to it. So, if you are Born-Again but lazy, you run the risk of wasting the grace God placed on you and in you.
— There are “good works” God planned (before the world began) for you to do. You are predestined for your divine purpose and destiny.
— When you are led by the Holy Spirit, He produces change IN you and fruit FROM you. Part of the fruit the Holy Spirit produces FROM your life is the good works you are destined to perform.
— We are not saved BY works, but we are saved FOR works. Once you are saved and filled with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God will lead you to do things that are good in God’s eyes. These are actions that are pleasing in God’s sight. As a result, the world will see Jesus IN you!
(c) You are pre-wired for your purpose and the good works that are tied to it!
— The text says that even before you were born, God planned in advance to use you in a special way. Part of the fruit the Holy Spirit produces in your life is work, good work, work that advances God’s Kingdom. This is work you are preordained to perform. Therefore, you were predisposed to it.
— All your life, God has been preparing you for this work. Don’t fight it.
— As you are led by God’s Spirit, you will be led to do things you were born to do, and you will enjoy it because you have the grace for it.
— t may be “work” to others, but it won’t feel like work to you because it is part of your destiny. This is your purpose. It is your assignment, and when you walk in it, you get to enjoy the grace of God to perform it.
(d) You have the grace for it!
— When you live #TheGraceLife, you wind up working harder than you have ever worked in your life, but it doesn’t feel like it.
— Your body does not break down. Your soul does not get drained. You don’t find yourself stressed out. You get sweet sleep. Why? Because you are doing what you were born to do, and the grace of God is on you to do it. You are doing it, but then again, God is doing it through you.
— When you live this way, the Holy Spirit produces fruit from your life that everyone will see. You make a Kingdom impact on this planet. You leave a mark in this world that will not easily be erased. Why? Because you have yielded your life to the Holy Spirit and the grace of God!
— But none of this will happen if you are lazy, idle, or disobedient.
(e) When we do the works we are destined to do, it helps draw people to God.
— People see God in you by the work you perform. Jesus said that we would be known by our fruit (Mat 7:16). In other words, the fruit our lives produce should help identify us as children of God. Good works are part of that fruit.
— People without the Holy Spirit are not spiritual people. They don’t have God’s Spirit, and they don’t hear God’s voice. So, they are looking for things they can see (things they can validate with their natural senses). When you claim to be a Christian, they look at your life, and they judge your faith by your works. If your life is not “producing” something that the lives of non-Christians produce, then they will see no difference between you and the world. In other words, the world is looking for your life to show them your faith. When you are led by God’s Spirit, your life will produce “works” that will do just that.
— I am convinced that the fig tree was moved from an orchard into a vineyard, because the master wanted to change the vineyard into an orchard. In other words, he did not want the surroundings to change the fig tree. He wanted the fig tree to change the surroundings. This is what God does with us. He plants us in His Kingdom, He plants His Kingdom down inside of us, and He then plants us places where He wants us to be the agents of change. Once He does, He expects us to BLOOM where we have been planted. But we won’t, if we fail to be productive.
(f) When we do the works God has called us to do, we bring glory to His name!
(Matthew 5:16 NIV)
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
(Matthew 5:16 ERV)
In the same way, you should be a light for other people. Live so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven.
— Never be afraid to do what you were born to do, and never be ashamed of whom God called you to be.
— When you walk in your divine purpose and fulfill your divine assignment, you bring glory to God on earth.
— You can never be a success in life without doing what you were sent to this planet to do. For example, I can use a pen for many things, but if a pen does not write, it is not a success because it was designed to write. My point is that you were designed for a specific purpose. You will never be a success, in God’s eyes, until you discover it and walk in it.
— Part of being a success, in God’s eyes, is actually DOING what you were sent to this planet to do. There are “good works” that you are ordained and predestined to accomplish. When you perform these works on the earth, you bring glory to your Heavenly Father in heaven.
— When you do the things you are called to do, you allow God’s LIGHT to shine through you for all the world to see. To be clear, this may or may not have anything to do with the church. You may be called to be a captain of Industry, a leader in business, a trendsetter in finance, a trustworthy mechanic, a dedicated teacher, a public servant, a loving nurse, a kind doctor, an honest lawyer, etc. Whatever you are called to do, you have the grace for it!
— When you do what you are called to do, you are doing the GOOD WORKS God planned in advance for you. As you do it, you bring glory to God and His name. You don’t have to be a Pastor or Missionary to glorify God. If you run a beauty salon and you are doing what God called you to do, or if you are a kindergarten teacher and you are walking in your purpose, you are no less anointed for your assignment than a Pastor, Evangelist, or Missionary. You are doing what God called you to do. So, as you do it, you bring glory to His name. This is YOUR good work. Do it with all your might. Do it as you are led by God’s Spirit. Do it as unto the Lord. Do it by God’s grace! Do it for God’s GLORY!
That’s enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, this is a season of refreshing and restoring for me! I boldly declare:
You have predestined me for a unique calling, tailor-made just for me.
I understand that You are a God of increase and advancement, always leading me forward.
I declare, “Forward ever, backward never! The best is yet to come!”
I am destined to prosper. I was born to win!
I am not called to sit; I am called to serve. Every day, I will be productive in my calling.
I am grateful for the grace You have given me for my calling. This grace empowers me to do what I am destined to do.
I understand that productivity is not just a human desire but a divine purpose You have instilled in me.
I am committed to the work You have set before me, knowing that it is directly tied to my divine calling.
I am pre-wired for my purpose, and I embrace the good works tied to it.
I am planted by You, not to be influenced by my surroundings, but to influence and change them for Your glory.
I will let my light shine before others, so they may see my good deeds and glorify You, Father, in heaven.
I am committed to bringing glory to Your name on earth by walking in my divine purpose and fulfilling my divine assignment.
Living with this mindset, I know GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
