Satisfaction (Proverbs 18:20)

It is interesting that the Bible not only identifies physical sustenance, but it also identifies spiritual sustenance.

"A man's moral self shall be filled with the fruit of his mouth, and with the consequence of his words he must be satisfied [whether good or evil]." Proverbs 18:20, Amplified

The New King James version differs greatly from the Amplified translation. In the New King James we find that a man's stomach will be satisfied, but in this version it speaks of the moral self. Now the moral self seems to be the most logical way to go since it is more parallel to the spiritual aspects of our lives.

We are not only fed and nourished by what we take into ourselves either physically or spiritually, but we are nourished by what comes out of us. Think of it like a business. When a business is first established, it is at its weakest point of existence. But as it continues to produce product, the company expands and becomes stronger in its existence. It is the process of supply and demand at work. Believe it or not, there is a spiritual supply and demand as well. The human spirit needs to be filled with something and as we produce fruit, not only do we benefit others, but we in turn nourish ourselves.

We are told, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9, NKJV) Jesus, Himself said, "What comes out of a man, the defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All evil things come from within and defile a man." (Mark 7:20-23, NKJV) Now it seems a little counter productive to look at the verse of today and to look at these two other verses. But there is a point to these two verses.

It is within the nature of man to be evil and do evil. We naturally produce bad, but as we exercise our freedom in the Lord, we begin to produce fruit. It is process that we grow in and become stronger at. Think of it like exercising. My body is in the shape of a sphere; I am lumpy and frumpy. But I know if I took the time to exercise, my body would come back into shape and I would have more energy, all around it would be more beneficial for me.

It is our job to produce the fruit of the spirit which is "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23) So how does one produce such fruit? The answer is found in the next chapter of Galatians. "For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life." (Galatians 6:8, NKJV) If we are to nourish our sprits, we must then operate in the realm of the Spirit. Let the consequence of your words be everlasting life.

The Winning of Souls (Proverbs 11:30)

It is our soul purpose of Christians to win souls to Christ. We are called to spread the Gospel. Long before Christ came to the earth, Solomon understood the saving of souls.

"The fruit of the [uncompromisingly] righteous is a tree of life, and he who is wise captures human lives for God [as a fisher of men] - he gathers and receives them for eternity." Proverbs 11:30, Amplified

Every tree is known by its fruit. One can walk up to a tree and partake of its fruit. At the first bite he can ascertain if he fruit is good or not. The same goes for the Christian. There are those who don the title of Christian and those who actually live the life of a Christian. "Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit." (Matthew 6:17, NKJV)

Solomon understood the importance of bearing good fruit. But he also understood the mission of the one belonging to God. That mission is to save souls. "The He said to them, 'Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.'" (Matthew 4:19, NKJV) Jesus called the twelve just as He calls us, for His purpose. "For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more..." (I Corinthians 9:19, NKJV) "Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins." (James 5:19-20, NKJV)

As a good tree, we must use our fruit to win over those who are lost, turn the stray back to the past of the truth. Fish bite the hook simply because they want what is on the end of it. Live your life like you believe and others will want what you have. My analogy is a little misguided because these fishermen that Jesus called used nets. If the net is thrown, we must understand that something will always be drawn in. We must, however, have the faith to throw the net.

A Tree Shall be Known by its Fruit (Proverbs 10:30-32)

For the righteous good things will come. It may not be an immediate inheritance, but it will come. King David wrote of how the wicked are prospering and how the righteous are suffering. This is a very true statement. You have to remember that the earth incurred a curse after the fall of man. This world has been tainted by the fall of man. But in the end, if we were to skip to the end of the book, we would find the the righteous prevail.

"The [consistently] righteous shall never be removed, but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth eventually." Proverbs 10:30, Amplified

The righteous shall not be removed removed because our foundation is on Jesus Christ. He is the truest foundation for us to built upon, the firmest rock. The Word was before this world and will exist long after this world has ceased to exist. And there will be a time when the wicked will be removed from the earth. The Bible tells us about a 1,000 year period where the earth is restored to her original state, before the fall. 1,000 years the Lord will reign upon this earth and after that time, He will destroy it and create a new heaven and a new earth. Until then, we wait patiently on the Lord and remain consistently righteous.

"The mouth of the righteous [those harmonious with God] brings forth skillful and godly Wisdom, but the perverse tongue shall be cut down [like a barren and rotten tree]." Proverbs 10:31, Amplified

We are told in the Sermon on the Mount that a tree will be known by its fruit. A tree that is barren of rotten is good for nothing, not even for shade. It must be cut down because all it is doing is leeching nutrients from the soil around it. This bad tree takes what it cannot use and leaves less for the better trees to survive on. It is a wonderful thing, though, that we have a Ground's Keeper who will take care of His orchard. Our Master knows what trees are bad and which are good. But if we read Matthew 13, one of the Kingdom Parables is about the wheat and the tares. An enemy came over night and sowed tares in our Master's wheat field. When His angels found this out they told the Master. He decided to wait for harvest to separate the two for fear of destroying the good with the bad. My friends, out time is coming.

"The lips of the [uncompromisingly] righteous know [and therefore utter] what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked knows [and therefore speaks only] what is obstinately willful and contrary." Proverbs 10:32, Amplified

The fruit of either tree is evident. As righteous Christians, we know what is right and true and therefore our speech should signify that. I know that this is not always the case. Look at king David. He committed adultery and then killed his lover's husband and he was still called a man after God's own heart. Our fruit is a testimony of our heart. If it be bitter and rotten, then the heart of the tree is bitter and rotten.

It is high time for us all to do a heart check. The easiest way is to check the fruit on the tree. Is it good? Is is wholesome? Is it nutritious? Our lips should know and therefore utter one truth, Jesus Christ and Him crucified.