Every court case involves Evidence. The case “for” or “against” rests upon confessions, forensics and observations. Our Eternal Destiny is determined in a Court as well. There is a Judge. Which means there must be a “Case.” Our “Case” will be adjudicated based upon the Evidence. Jesus used Physical examples to explain this Spiritual Truth. One parable used Fruit Trees to bring understanding...
“You will know them by their Fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every Good Tree bears Good Fruit, but a Bad Tree bears Bad Fruit. A Good tree cannot bear Bad Fruit, nor can a Bad tree bear Good Fruit. Every tree that does not bear Good Fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their Fruits you will know them.”
“Good Fruit” in someone’s life is Evidence something “Good” resides in them. If Christ is truly inside us, then the world will see “Good Fruit” emanating from us. It’s that simple. Nothing complicated here. It’s a Spiritual Law that cannot be violated.
Pastor Charles was bearing Bad Fruit. His behavior was unbiblical, his speech despicable and his family a mess. The marriage was strained to the breaking point. Yelling, arguing, and a spirit of contention were the norm. One of their children is disabled. Which only added to the stress and strain.
Raising a disabled child in such a culture is fraught with peril. A disability is considered “Evidence” of a Curse. Literally. Consequently, a disabled person is a threat to the local community. It is considered better to kill the disabled person. Most are...immediately upon birth. Or permanently imprisoned indoors...in order to avoid Conflict with the community.
Continuous chaos, contention and curses finally brought Pastor Charles to his end. He needed no further Evidence that life was hopeless. He began to plan either the murder of his disabled child or his own suicide. There was no other way out. In the midst of such despair, Charles arrived at the Bible School. Brought by a pastor friend who was very different.
Pastor Ngugi was from the same slum as Charles. Ngugi advised Pastor Charles to come to the Bible School. What convinced Charles was the Evidence he saw in Ngugi’s life. There was Spiritual Maturity, Contentment and a Fruitfulness that was undeniable. Charles wanted what Pastor Ngugi had.
Charles arrived at the DSM Bible Institute while teetering on his personal precipice of disaster. This is not unusual for those living in the slums. Slum life is miserable and hopeless. To be a “Pastor” in a slum involves even greater battles. The Spiritual Warfare is over the top. Witchcraft abounds. And the “Enemy of our souls” has a particular hatred for Pastors/Shepherds. If he can eliminate a Pastor, he will prevail against a multitude...
“Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.”
It was not the DSM Bible School that salvaged Pastor Charles. It was Jesus. He met the “real” Jesus. Almost immediately, plans of murder and suicide vanished. Like demons hurled off a cliff. The “Fruit” began to look much different at home...and in his congregation. It wasn’t Conflict Free...it was now Conflict Effective.
Sometimes we imagine that coming to Christ will reduce Conflict. Green pastures will sprout under our feet, and rainbows will illuminate the way. That’s a false gospel based upon unbiblical expectations, interpretations and conjectures. The Evidence is much to the contrary. As we engage in the “real” Spiritual battle, in the unseen realm, Conflicts will increase. But these are necessary battles. These are wounds that heal. These are struggles that disarm the Enemy and his minions. We should expect MORE battles, not less. More conflict, more contentions...and more Evidence of Good Fruit.
Pastor Charles went through that gauntlet. At the Bible School, he was challenged by the Word of God. He submitted to what God said...rather than what he had merely believed. Bad Fruit fell to the ground quickly: his speech changed, his temper cooled, thoughts of murder and suicide evaporated. And Conflicts with his wife...increased! Contentions at the church blossomed! What in world was going on?!
Good Fruit does not mean an Absence of Conflict. It oftentimes means just the opposite. Jesus’ life was full of Conflict. Paul the Apostle “suffered many things” due to his faithful walk. Eleven of the Apostles were murdered. The Gentile Church was birthed out of the persecution of the Jewish believers in Jerusalem. We should expect no less in our lives...in our communities...and in our families. Jesus said...
“Do not think that I came to bring Peace on earth. I did not come to bring Peace but a Sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s Enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his Cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.”
These are not difficult verses. These are Glorious verses! Jesus has explained what most of us have experienced. We should not be confused or challenged...but rather Comforted! Conflict born of Obedience is Biblical. Righteous Conflict bears Good Fruit. Never Bad. It may be uncomfortable; it may involve us being mocked, accused and rejected. But the resulting Fruit must be Good. It’s God’s Spiritual Law. It cannot be otherwise.
Pastor Charles says bluntly: “My wife became a witch. She would scream, ‘What in the world are they teaching you at that Bible School!’ Our ‘normal’ fights were now on a whole new level. Like the demons from the abyss had entered my house, my wife and my congregation.” They probably had.
Fast forward three full years. Graduation day, December 2018. “Brother Paul, I would like to introduce my wife Alice.” I didn’t meet a “witch.” Rather it was like meeting an angel. The Evidence was clear. The Case had been proven. God’s Word was right all along.
Pastor Charles’ family had come through the Crisis. Contentions for “Good” had prevailed. It was not easy. It was not comfortable. God’s path is “narrow,” and for a long time Charles was the only one on it. But you cannot get Bad Fruit out of a Good Tree. Alice was ecstatic to meet me face-to-face. Not because of me, but because of what God had wrought in their lives. I’ll never forget her first words to me,
“Brother Paul, I knew things in his heart had really changed when he said we needed to get married. I knew only the true and living God could have done that in him.”
Fourteen years of living in fornication were erased in one act of Obedience. She had seen and heard the Evidence. The new Fruit was very Good.
Pastor Charles has been volunteering in the Bible Schools ever since graduating 3 years ago. Every day serving at the Bible School, he foregoes a day of wages at his tailoring kiosk. He cleans the Bible School every Friday afternoon...and serves all day Saturday. His sacrifice is huge. The Evidence accumulating.
When volunteering, there is one student he is watching more than others: his wife Alice. Now in her second year of Bible Studies. After all, God’s desire is for us to be equally yoked. And He does that. In His time, not ours. It may require a season of increasing conflict, strife, contentions and desperation. But if our walk is “Good”, if our heart is “broken and contrite”, our example is “unblemished”, then the Good Fruit must come.
Evidence...of the enduring Mercies of God.
