I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

John 15:1-2

I had this student who mastered the art of looking busy. You rarely saw him engaged in foolery; his head would be down and he would be writing his heart out…but 90 minutes later he would barely have the 1st two problems completed. I would be flabbergasted every time. Why waste time faking work when you could just do some?!?

So many members of the body of Christ have also mastered the art of looking busy but never producing any fruit. They are so busy trying to “look like” believers (shouting, dancing, laying prostrate in public places, toting bibles) that they never master BEING a believer.

Get into it real quick.

So check it: Jesus was walking by this fig tree looking for figs, right? And the Son of Man goes up to this particular tree that is looking real good—leaves glistening in the sun, all shiny and green, full and ready, okay? He gets up to this tree and is hot fire mad cuz this tree ain’t got fig the first, ya hear me? Now, you might be saying, Well why was Jesus mad? Maybe the tree was just getting ready to drop fruit and was quite ready yet?

Well! Fig trees, in case you ain’t know, give fruit BEFORE they give leaves. If you see leaves on a fig tree you should already see fig fruit. So when Jesus saw the full shiny pretty leaves but no figs, He felt a way. Cuz what that tree wasn’t finna do was lie about its work.

So Jesus cursed the tree.

The word says that you will know a tree by its fruit (Matthew 7:20). In fact, Jesus went soooo far as to show you what happens to trees that play like they fruitful when they not, illustrating in real time what he had taught to us when taught on being THE TRUE VINE:

“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.”

John‬ ‭15:5-6‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Yeah. Uh huh. Burnt up. And so the fig tree that pretended to be fruitful found itself cursed by the Creator and withered away.

Don’t fool yourself. Stop wasting time trying to LOOK LIKE the kingdom and just BE A PART OF THE KINGDOM.

Will you be found cast away from the True Vine, withered and cast into the fire? Will you waste your life—your time pretending like? Looking like you doing but not really? May this not be your portion. May your portion be to do the will of Him who sent you and that you bear much fruit in Christ and that which remains for His glory.

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof:from such turn away.

2 Timothy 3:1-5