Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has passed the test, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. James 1:12.
“If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.” John 14:23-24.
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. Matthew 13:23.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God says:
It is in your nature to be fruitful and to be generous, for you are made in My image and according to My likeness. And that is why you are frustrated if you are living an unfruitful life and are unable to give to others. And you know from the parables of My Son, and from the lives of those you read about throughout the Bible, I reward a fruitful life. And I define a fruitful life for you. It is a life lived in My love, by which you partake of My love and others partake of My love through you by your love, which is actually the overflow of the love I pour into your heart by the gift of My Holy Spirit. But there is more. A fruitful life is one that eagerly anticipates and hastens the return of My Son. 2 Peter 3:12.
And today we conclude our series on living a fruitful life with Life Lesson No. 12: The Crown of Life. If you will note from the visions of Heaven that John had a glimpse of in the Spirit while he was in exile on the island of Patmos for preaching the good news of Jesus, believers have crowns. Beautiful crowns, but some brighter than others, like the differences in the stars, and some more than others. I speak of three crowns in the Bible that are given to believers: the Crown of Righteousness, the Crown of Glory, and the Crown of Life. I crown a fruitful life. The crown of righteousness, which Jesus, the righteous Judge, will award to all who have loved His appearing. 2 Timothy 4:8. And for those who shepherd My flock, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to My will; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those I have allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock, when your Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. 1 Peter 5:2-4. And you who persevere under trial; you will receive the crown of life which I have promised to those who love Me. James 1:12. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. Revelation 2:10. All three are based on love. Love of My presence and return (appearing). Love of those who I entrust to you as your “flock” to shepherd to eternal life. And the love of Me that makes you faithful through any persecution or trial.
The work, that is, your fruit, that you produce on earth when you come before Me is tried by the fire of love, whatever is of love remains as solid gold, silver and precious stones, tried and refined by the fire of Love it only comes out brighter and better, forming into your glorious crowns. Whatever is not of love, that is, the wood, hay, and straw, burns away and is gone as ashes in the wind. 1 Corinthians 3:11-13. A wasted, unfruitful life. For, even though you will not come under the condemnation of great white throne judgement because your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, you must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 2 Corinthians 5:10. Do not let anyone rob you of your crown by deceiving you into living a greedy, bitter, offended, barren and dissolute life.
To be fruitful you must first attach to the vine of Christ or you are like a dead and withered branch that bears no fruit no matter how much material assets and worldly fame you produce. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world yet suffer the loss of his soul? But, also consider that those who keep My Words are heirs of the world along with faithful Abraham. For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. Romans 4:13. And it all starts, that is, a fruitful life of good deeds, when you receive Jesus as your Lord and all your sins are imputed to Him and you are made righteous with My own righteousness by faith. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the refining fire of love itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. 1 Corinthians 3:11-15. But the unfruitful one does not receive the crowns or the Kingdom position that the good and faithful servant does. You are kings and priests unto Me in My Son, but you have chosen to serve Me. There is a difference in the reward between the children who serve Me by releasing and doing the good works of the Kingdom on earth and those who do not, those who bury the treasures of My manifold grace in the earth but never sow and grow them.
If you speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, you are a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If you have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if you have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, you are nothing. And if you give all your possessions to feed the poor, and surrender your body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits you nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3. You know if you are not a cheerful giver but serve others with an attitude of resentment and dislike, they feel it, and your service to them will not be fruitful for you or the person served but will develop into strife. Love alone brings you securely to My throne. And My Son told you those are the two greatest of the commandments: You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
If you love Me, your ambition is to be pleasing to Me. 2 Corinthians 5:9. That is the way love is between persons in the world and it is the same with Me. And I tell you that I love a cheerful giver and that I have no greater joy then when my children are walking in the truth. 3 John 1:4. And what is the truth you must walk in? My Word is truth. John 17:17. My Word sanctifies you, and My Word, if you will receive the implanted Word into your heart, saves you. I send My Word to heal you and to deliver you from your destructions. My Word is a light to your path and a lamp to your feet.
Jesus told you that, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.” John 14:23-24. If you love Me, you will keep My Word. You will value it, write it on the tablet of your heart, and you will obey it. And if you will do that, your life will be fruitful. And the amount of commitment and diligence you apply to that will determine the amount of fruitfulness.
Let Me share with you by the first parable told by My Son. For if you do not understand this one, you will not understand any of His many parables. “Behold, the sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.” Matthew 13:3-9. His disciples then got together with Him and asked Him to teach them the meaning of this parable. And this is included in My Word for your benefit as well. Jesus explained it, “Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.” Matthew 13:18-19. This is the person who is not interested in My Word and is easy prey for the devil. He keeps their attention on the distractions along the busy thoroughfares of life. But you will note the primary thing the devil is out to snatch from you is My Word. He knows that if you get full of My Word he will not be able to entrap you to do his will. He will be unable to defeat you and to ruin your life. That is the first thing he took from Eve. He made her doubt My Word and he took it away from her so she fell under his control. And once he gets the Word out of you, he knows you will not be fruitful for My Kingdom.
But let My Son continue to explain the parable further, “The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.” Matthew 13:20-21. This is the person who loves My promises but does not pursue a relationship with Me. As long as he is having a good time, all is well, but to make a long term commitment to stand on and obey My Word no matter what comes is not agreeable to him.
And My Son continues, “And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.” Matthew 13:22. My Son told you that you would have trials in this world but to cheer up and take courage because He has overcome the world. And you must stand in faith with Me and My Son to have the true peace and the true wealth. Do not get overwhelmed with your problems. Make a determination to cast your care on Me and walk it out together with Me. I am for you and nothing is impossible for Me.
And to conclude My Son explains the good part, “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.” Matthew 13:23. Out of the four types of ground where the seed was sown, only one proved fruitful and that in various amounts depending on the diligence and the patience with which they pursued and kept the Word. Joshua meditated upon My Word day and night and spoke nothing else and he had the hundred-fold harvest and so did those with him. There is great reward in keeping My Word. My Words are not idle words, they produce a harvest. My Word is living and working, sharper than a two-edged sword. My Words are life, your very life. You were made by the Word, so live by the Word.
If you want a fruitful life, plant the seed of My Word in your heart and let it grow to harvest. The promise contained in that seed will grow and manifest if you just do not give up and draw back. And a merited crown awaits you. But remember, the crowns you receive are formed by the works of your life tested and refined by the fire of Love. Make sure what you are doing each day lines up with love so that it will turn out to be gold, silver, and precious jewels for your crown.
I love you. I reward a fruitful life. And I define a fruitful life for you. It is a life lived in My love, by which you partake of My love and others partake of My love through you by your love, which is actually the overflow of the love I pour into your heart by the gift of My Holy Spirit. Do everything you do in love and do not harbor resentment and hatred hidden in your heart. But there is more. A fruitful life is one that eagerly anticipates and hastens the return of My Son. 2 Peter 3:12. And how do you do that? Well, I tell you He will only return once the gospel of the Kingdom has been preached to all the nations. And wherever you are, you can be sharing the good news of the Kingdom, just let Me guide you to the people who are ready to hear.