This sermon emphasizes the importance of bearing fruit in one's spiritual life, highlighting God's grief over unfruitful branches and the consequences of not producing fruit. It delves into the concept of purging or pruning by God to bring forth more fruit, even though it may seem cruel or painful to us. The message encourages trust in God's process of refining and purifying believers to produce the desired fruit of holiness and faith.

If you're not here for God, what are you doing here? Is that you Christ is speaking to? And I believe when he says these words, you've never heard such grief from any man. You've never seen such grief as for God to say these words of a man. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit. You don't need to turn, but listen just briefly to these words. Luke 6, 13 verse 6, he spake also this parable. A certain man had a fig tree planted in the vineyard. Came and sought fruit thereon and found none. And said to the dresser of the vineyard, the keeper of the vineyard, I, these three years I came seeking fruit on this fig tree and I find none. Cut it down. Why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, not at all, this year, and also till I dig around about it and dung it. Listen, if it beareth fruit, well, if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down. You may see the judgment of God here. I see the patience and the mercy and the longsuffering. God is not cruel. God is not cruel. Oh, the patience, the longing, the longsuffering of God and so on. But tragically, there comes this moment. Tragically, every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away. I don't know about you, brother, sister, friend. I don't think I can think of any more tragic words that could ever be written across my life or yours by God in all eternity than these words at some point to be written across me or you. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit. With God's grief to say that in some terrifying moment of a man, he taketh away. I don't know what that means, sir. I wish I could honestly stand here and give you a theological understanding and doctrinal definition of that statement alone, he taketh away. I don't know what that means. I know I've heard some people talk of what it means, but I don't know. I grieve when I hear some people try to doctrinally explain it. What God means when there's no fruit, he taketh away. That terrifying moment. But I'm going to leave it between you and God, what he means there if there's no fruit in your religious life. Religion isn't fruit. Most religious people are going to hell. Don't doubt it. They're the same as they walk out of that door as everyone else that doesn't come near the house of God. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away. For thy life and mine, Lord, I've thus been comparing. Shame covers me. Filled with amazement that thy heart's still sparing this barren tree. Be careful, religious soul, where there's no fruit. He taketh away. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away. And every branch that beareth fruit, suddenly points to you and me where there's vital reality. If any man be in Christ, he's a new creature. All things are parted away. Behold, look, God says. You can say it to the devil. You can say it to your worst enemy. You can say it to your wife, your father, your mother. Look, behold, all things have become new. If any man be in Christ, he's a new creature. He looks to these people, now we terms as branches. There's reality. There's change. He can point to the whole world and say, look, behold, all things have become new. Even the devil won't argue, let alone your worst enemy. And suddenly he talks to these people, he refers to these people. Every branch that beareth fruit, there's fruit, there's life. What does he do with that? Oh, the next little phrase says, he purges it. The moment there's fruit, he purges it. Why? That it may bring forth more fruit. Now that word purging, many theologians will say it means cleanseth. That's basically the meaning if you take it from the Greek to today's modern language. But it's far more than cleanseth. There's something in this word here that speaks of cruelty. It's cruel, this word. There's something that cuts. It's not just like the blood cleanses in a moment of faith, you cleanse from sin. Here there's something that cuts, that hurts in this word. In the actual Greek, if you take the full meaning, it's not just as some people say cleanseth. No, there's something deeper here. Why would God say he does something that hurts if there's fruit? Something that looks cruel and seems cruel to the human mind. That whose thoughts are not in line with God's thoughts, who cannot see. Oh, if you go to the vineyard in our country, the vineyards, they're massive. And you watch them, what they do to that vine. You won't believe the treatment the vine receives. You won't believe what the man who understands what will bring forth fruit. He cuts. He doesn't spare anything in his eyes. It shouldn't be there, the way he cuts and cuts. You stand there and think, will this thing ever survive? Could anything survive this? It's like there's no mercy on anything. There's just a stump left there. You and I are in ignorance. We stand there in fear. What will ever happen to this? With such cruel treatment, with no sparing. But he knows what you and I don't know in his wisdom. This will bring forth more fruit. More wonderful fruit than anything could ever have happened in this life. This treatment, this pruning, this purging. Oh, purging is not easy, but all the fruit that God knows will come. Fruit you and I don't know God wants. You and I, when we get saved, you would never think this is what God is looking for. You and I look for other changes and transformations and things in our life. Fruit. God is looking for things you and I aren't looking for. God's ways are so beyond and purging. The trial of your faith is more precious than of gold that perishes. Though it be tried with fire, it bringeth forth the peaceable fruit of holiness. God knows it's the trial of your faith, not the comfort. I don't know about you and me. I don't know about you sitting there, but I can say you might believe it's easy when you come to Christ. But I haven't found it easy. The moment you're saved, He purges it. There's no time for God to waste. Life is a moment. It's a brief moment. In eternity it's God who started. You think I'm exaggerating? Just give yourself a little moment and you'll be looking back on life. That's the way it's going to take you. Life is, God hasn't got long. Do you know what He's got to accomplish in you? And the ease of life is not going to do that. The moment you put God in your heart and do what He knows will bring forth much more. Trust Him. Trust Him. It's not easy. I wish I could stand up here and tell you all sitting down there that I have shouted Hallelujah every step of the way, you know. I'd be lying. I've wept most of the way. Sir, does a preacher dare to say in the year 2001 when negative is not tolerated in any pulpit that he weeps? Oh, I have wept. God told me long ago, please be honest in the pulpit or get out of the pulpit. You're useless.