When God first spoke the earth into existence, He commanded the land to sprout with lush vegetation, with every sort of seed-bearing plant, with all sorts of trees that grew seed-bearing fruit. Those seeds then produced the kinds of plants and trees from which they came. And God saw that it was indeed was good! It is like this in His kingdom. Holy seeds grow holy fruit! He then sends rain on the mountains from His heavenly home, watering the seeds, and as a result, He fills the earth with the fruit of His labour.

Wise people who do NOT follow the advice of the wicked, stand around with sinners or join in with mockers, are forever joyful! They are the type to delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night, letting it feed their souls like plant food helps nourish strong saplings from acorns into towering, mature, wizened old oaks. Surely the godly are like trees planted along the riverbank, always watered and bearing delicious fruit each season. No, their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do! Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will always remain spiritually vital and luscious green. Their wives will be like fruitful grapevines, flourishing within their homes, and their children will be like vigorous young olive trees as they sit around the table, feasting on manna and learning the ways of the Lord.

But, this is not the case for the wicked! They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind.Sadly, they will be condemned at the time of judgement. Sinners will have no place among the godly, for the Lord watches over the path of those who strive for holiness, but the path of the wicked always leads to destruction. He can even turn once fruitful land into salty wastelands, because of the wickedness of those who live there. Therefore, the wicked must eat the bitter fruit of living their own way, as they choke on their own evil schemes. Even strangers will consume their physical wealth (that comes by so difficultly and goes so easily), and someone else other than them or their families will enjoy the hard earned fruit of their morally neutral labours. 
It is written that people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labour, for these are gifts from God… but not for the wicked. Yes, even now the axe of God’s judgement is poised, ready to sever the roots of certain trees.
It was Jesus who said that every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown ‘into the fire’. So, we must beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep like us but are really vicious wolves who want to tear us apart. He said we can identify them by their fruit; that is, by the way they act, and the things they say. Can anyone pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? He said that a good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. Yes, always remember that a tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So, every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into that fire that Jesus so often warned us about. Just as we can identify a tree by its fruit, so we can identify people by their actions, regardless of who they claim to be. Do they know Him? Test the fruit. 
The seed that fell among thorns in Jesus’s famous parable in Matthew 13 represented those who do in fact hear God’s word, yet all too quickly the holy message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, the result being that no good fruit is produced. When these types of ‘believers’ eat with us in our fellowship meals as we commemorate the Lord’s love, they are in fact like dangerous reefs that can shipwreck us. They are like shameless shepherds who care only for themselves. They are like clouds blowing over the land without giving any rain. They are like trees in autumn that are doubly dead, for they bear no fruit and have actually been pulled up by the roots. WATCH OUT! They are among us. Examine yourselves, and test to see whether you really are in the faith.

Listen up. The Holy Spirit will always produce this kind of good ‘fruit’ in our lives; from eternal love that finds its source in Christ (and not ourselves), to everlasting joy in any circumstance, amazing heavenly peace that transcends all understanding, a habit of long suffering patience that reflects the Lord’s attitude with each of us, genuine kindness and generosity, real goodness as the Lord sees goodness, faithfulness that is rooted in the Spirit, godly gentleness that fears to hurt others (yet brings discipline and chastisement to those hurting themselves with sinning), and a strong tendency for temperance and a self-control over what the body craves. Don’t you want those sorts of characteristics? There is no law against acting out these things! So strive for them, ask the Lord to inspire you with them, by His grace!

It is just so sad that some secular people do in fact work wisely, with all sorts of knowledge and skill, but then they must eternally leave the fruit of their efforts to someone who hasn’t even worked for it, and they still have no eternal reward, for they are not in Christ. It’s so terribly meaningless, a great vanity, and so utterly tragic. True thieves are jealous of each other’s loot, as they keep up with the Jones’s, but the godly are well rooted in the Spirit and bear their own fruit, the fruit of knowing Jesus and working for His kingdom. As gardeners who tend an orchard of fig trees are allowed to eat the fruit, so workers who protect their employer’s interests will be rewarded. And so it is with the kingdom of the Lord; the harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike! The Father cuts off every branch of the ‘Jesus vine’ that doesn’t produce fruit, and He continues to prune back the branches that DO bear fruit so they will produce even more over time, as they mature and are shaped by the master Gardener. Yes, He chastises those He loves. It is wisdom to remain and abide in Jesus, for then He will remain and abide in us. A branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and we cannot be fruitful unless we remain in Him. If you haven’t figured it out yet, He is the ‘vine’, and we are the ‘branches’. Those who abide in Him, and He in them, will produce much fruit. Apart from Him we can do nothing of any eternal value. When we DO produce fruit, we are actually being His true disciples. This harvest brings great glory to the Father, so what an honour to be a part of it! However we might look at it, it’s important to realise that we didn’t choose Jesus. He in fact chose us, and He has appointed us to go and produce everlasting fruit, so that because we are in line with His will, the Father will give us whatever we ask for, using His name. If we are to live on this earth rather than be taken up into His eternal presence forever, we have this special honour of doing more fruitful work for Christ, however difficult it might be. So, like Paul of Tarsus, I really don’t know which way is better! But whatever it is, may the Lord use us all to glorify Himself!

The ‘good news’ of the gospel is going out all over the world, especially going out far and wide during our age of social media and instant technology. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed our lives from the day we first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace. May we always be filled with the fruits of our salvation, which is the righteous character spiritually produced in our lives by the Lord Jesus Christ, for this will bring much glory and praise to YHWH, our everlasting Father, on that day when everyone is judged. Then the way we live will always honour and please the Lord, and our lives will produce every kind of good fruit! All the while we walk with Him, we will grow as we learn to know Him better and better.

The wisdom we receive from above is first of all (and foremostly) pure, but it is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruits of good and holy deeds. It also shows no favouritism, and is always sincere. Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what He is saying to the church today. To everyone who is victorious over the flesh, the world and the devil, He will give fruit from the tree of life in the eternal paradise of God! Yes! Blessed are those who ‘wash’ their robes in the cleansing blood of the Lamb, for they will be permitted to enter through the gates of the eternal heavenly city and feast on that fruit from the tree of life.