A farmer must know when to toss bad fruit off the truck.
If he doesn’t, the good fruit that surrounds it will be affect by the decay and stench, and soon, a whole truckload of salable product will be fit for nothing but the garbage heap.
The same is true with the people who surround us. Whether we are a businessman, a political leader, a family scion, or a volunteer in a charitable organization, our good work can be pulled down by one or two bad apples that haven’t been tossed out of the basket.
Acts 13:6-7 reveals just such a situation:
“And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-jesus: which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the Word of God.”
We tend to get wrapped up in the sorcerer and forget about the political leader. Paulus was a pagan, which meant he didn’t know the difference between sorcery and that which was legitimately of God. Yet, in his searching, he reached out to Barnabas and Saul (also called Paul) in his attempts to learn the truth.
Bar-jesus was the bad apple that needed tossed off the cart. Paul was the farmer, and the Holy Spirit was his pitchfork.
Acts 13:11 tells us the sorcerer was cast aside with no recourse:
“And now, behold… you shall be blind… and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.”
Acts 13:12 gives the good result of clearing the crate of the bad fruit:
“Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.”
Today, we’re the farmers for the kingdom, raising up crops of new Christians in the name of Christ. We must realize that some bad fruit simply can’t be redeemed. It’s rotten to the core, and it must be cast aside so that the rest of the crop can be saved.
The power of God is quick and sharp, and his truth is accompanied by power. When we wield the Word in the name of Christ, the victory will be ours.
Copyright © 2017 MyChurchNotes.net
Code: FGO.E.13.17.vp.kjv