1

The Autumn Leaves

Driving here this morning, the leaves were so colorful—red and

yellow and orange and gold—all so vivid. The colors of autumn are just

so incredibly beautify. But have you ever wondered what it is that

makes leaves change their color this time of year? Well, I’m not much

of a scientist, so I did a little studying to find out. As it turns out, the

light from the sun plays a primary role in making this all happen. It all

has to do with the way that leaves serve to make food for the tree. And

this is done by the way that sunlight interacts with something called

chlorophyll that is found within the leaf itself. In fact, it is this

chlorophyll that gives leaves their green color during the spring and

summer. But as the days grow shorter in the fall of the year, and the

sun’s rays come in more slanted, trees react to that by stopping their

food production. And when they stop making food, the chlorophyll

goes away—it just disappears from the leaves. And when that happens,

we can see the orange and yellow colors that were in the leaves all the

time—the green chlorophyll had just been blocking them from view.

And the red colors—well, they are produced by some for food

substances that become trapped in the leaves this time of year. The

2

brown colors, on the other hand, come from wastes that are simply left

in the leaves. Now, it’s true that temperature, precipitation, soil

conditions—they can also contribute to the amount of color in autumn

leaves, but the main determining factor is sunlight. It is the amount of

light that makes all the difference. And when you think about this, it all

makes good sense—a tree couldn’t wear the same coat of leaves all the

time—the leaves would eventually be worn out. So, God created this

process to get rid of the old leaves and to make room for the new ones

in spring—in so doing, we are provided with the gorgeous colors of fall.

Considering the beauty God gives us in these colorful displays, it is

no accident that leaves and trees and fruit are mentioned in God’s

Word to teach us many things. In the Scriptures, trees and falling leaves

are sometimes used to show some very somber things. For example, in

the Old Testament, Jeremiah compared the unfaithful to “withered

leaves” when he quotes God as saying: “I wanted to gather my

people, as a farmer gathers a harvest; but they are like a vine

with no grapes, like a fig tree with no figs; even the leaves have

withered. Therefore, I have allowed outsiders to take over the

land." Jeremiah 8:13 (TEV) And even the New Testament looks upon sinners in

3

the same light as trees stripped bare of their leaves from the winds of

autumn. For example, the Book of Jude tells us: “They are like trees

that bear no fruit, even in autumn, trees that have been pulled

up by the roots and are completely dead.” Jude 1:12 (TEV)

But, leaves are not always used to point to sinners or the

consequences of sin. Rather, there are other passages of Scripture in

which leaves and trees are used to point us in the right direction. In this

regard, they are used to remind us that God expects us to be spiritually

productive—to produce the right spiritual fruit. And that’s a problem

for many church people throughout the country today—they don’t bear

much at all. Yeah, there may be a few leaves that give some evidence

that they are a tree of the Christian variety—but there’s no Christian

fruit. And those same people might say, “Well, I know God’s Word, or I

go to church on Sundays, or I like to read the Bible,” and so on. Yes,

they are good things to be sure, but they are not enough in and of

themselves. If they are the only things that identify us as Christians,

then we are in trouble. If they are the only things that we can claim as

Christians, then we are like an apple tree that produces a lot of leaves,

but no apples. Or if you grew an orchard in Jesus’ time, you would

4

probably have a few fig trees to pick from. But a fig tree that has

nothing but leaves is as useless as an apple tree with no apples—after

all, you can’t eat the leaves. The same is true for us spiritually—to be of

any use to Jesus, to serve Him, we’ve got to bear some fruit. There’s a

lot of different fruit to bear in the spiritual sense.

Paul describes this Galatians, Chapter 5 when he tells up about

spiritual fruit. A relationship with Jesus and experiencing the Holy Spirit

doesn’t only produce bible verses to think about, but rather produces in

us new qualities that we never truly experienced before. Paul describes

these new qualities of life when he writes about the “fruits of the

spirit.” Paul tells us: 22 “But the Spirit produces love, joy, peace,

patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 humility, and self-

control.” Galatians 5:22-23 (TEV) They are the things that are produced in our

lives as we cultivate the things of God—these are the fruits that reside

in true followers of Jesus. If a person looks inside themselves, but fails

to see at least some evidence of these fruits—well then, something is

definitely wrong. And that’s true regardless of whether a person

claiming to be a Christian is 8 years old or 98. When we think about

fruit trees, bear in mind that God expects fruit regardless of age. The

5

Psalmist reminds us that we can’t just bear fruit for a while and then

coast. In Psalm 92, we find: 12 “The righteous will flourish like

palm trees; they will grow like the cedars of Lebanon. 13 They

are like trees planted in the house of the LORD, that flourish in

the Temple of our God, 14 that still bear fruit in old age and are

ALWAYS green and strong.” Psalm 92:12-14 (TEV) Whatever your age—

young, old or in between, Jesus expects good spiritual fruit to manifest

itself in your lives.

Of course, we have to be mindful of the fact that not all fruit

bearing is desirable. And the reason for this is that some people seem

to insist upon bearing the wrong kind of fruit. Jesus said that: “Every

tree is known by the fruit it bears; you do not pick figs from

thorn bushes or gather grapes from bramble bushes.” Luke 6:44 (TEV)

Now let’s think about that. Let’s think about two kinds of fruit

producers. First, let’s consider what happens to those who remain

content to bear only leaves, and no apples or no figs. Maybe they are

not bearing thorns and thistles, but in the final analysis they are not

producing anything by the way of fruits—maybe one time they did, but

not anymore. What is their fate? God Himself answered this question

6

when He proclaimed: “I, the LORD, once called you a thriving olive

tree, one that produced beautiful fruit. But I will set you on fire,

fire that will blaze with a mighty roar. Then all your branches

will be good for nothing.” Jeremiah 11:16 (NET1)

And just in case there is any doubt about this, Jesus in Matthew’s

Gospel, pretty much tells us the same thing. Matthew describes Jesus

reaction to a certain fig tree—one presumably like those people who

have a lot of Christian leaves, but no spiritual fruit. This is what

Matthew said: “[Jesus] saw a fig tree by the side of the road and

went to it, but found nothing on it except leaves. So he said to

the tree, "You will never again bear fruit!" At once the fig tree

dried up.” Matthew 21:19 (TEV) We don’t want to end up as dried up fig trees

that are tossed in the fire. So what can we do if we find ourselves

headed in that direction? Well, from time to time we need to inspect

our Christian branches, and if those branches are bearing nothing but

leaves and no fruit—well, the best thing to do is to start some pretty

intensive re-cultivation measures through prayer and repentance and

re-dedication and recommitment. Lingering on with nothing but leaves

to show is not an option for those who follow Jesus.

7

Now there is a second group of people to consider. Bearing fruit is

not a problem at all for these people. In fact, they bear a ton of fruit.

The problem is it’s the wrong kind of fruit—because the only fruit that

they produce are those thorns and brambles that Jesus mentioned

earlier. What happens to those godless people who do nothing but

bear those un-heavenly fruits? Well, it’s not a pretty sight—whether

viewed in the context of the Old Testament or the New. In 2 Samuel

23:6 (TEV), we read: “But godless people are like thorns that are

thrown away; no one can touch them barehanded.” Similarly, in

the Book of Hebrews, it tells us: 7 “God blesses the soil which drinks

in the rain that often falls on it and which grows plants that are

useful to those for whom it is cultivated. 8 But if it grows thorns

and weeds, it is worth nothing; it is in danger of being cursed by

God and will be destroyed by fire.” Hebrews 6:7-8 (TEV)

You know the sad thing is that there some Church leaders in this

country today who simply ignore these warnings. And the reason that

they ignore them is because they apparently don’t know the difference

between apples, figs and fruit, as opposed to thorns, thistles and

bramble briars. Rev. Laura Young, who is a minister in the Methodist

8

Church, runs a counseling group that provides advice to women who

have had abortions. Earlier this month, she actually went out and, in

the name of God, led a prayer rally to bless an abortion clinic. She

explained her actions this way: “Christianity . . . is founded on love.

Watching protesters shouting judgment and hate based on what

they call religion is horrible. Is that loving God? Is that loving

your neighbor as yourself? It breaks my heart to know women

are sitting in pews across the country feeling shamed, believing

that they’re cursed for making this decision. That’s a question I

get a lot on the phone, ‘Am I going to hell?’ When God instead is

there to support women through it all.”1 Interesting how some

who are supposed to be God’s leaders can so easily exchange fruits for

thorns. Yes, God is love. Yes, God supports us even through life’s

worse experiences. And I agree—angry shouting matches and hateful

words are not consistent with the love of Jesus. But, Rev. Young might

well consider this: Where is the love for those babies who are

slaughtered by the hundreds and thousands in abortion clinics each

week? How is killing them showing love for our unborn neighbors who

are yet very much alive? Or is it enough for those babies to know that

9

the facility in which they were murdered was blessed by someone who

holds to Rev. Young’s understanding?

And as the echoes of that question, “Am I going to hell?”,

reverberate in the minds of those women with their guilty consciences,

I wonder what solace they’d have if they knew the truth—the truth that

Rev. Young, and those like her, couldn’t tell the difference between an

apple tree and a bramble bush.

And some will claim that I’m being judgmental—that I shouldn’t

condemn a fellow Church leader like that. But I will judge her—and this

is my judgment: I judge her to be a caring and compassionate woman

whose heart is motivated by a legitimate concern for these women who

are so badly in need of comfort and direction. I’m not telling you to

condemn Rev. Young; I’m asking you to pray for her, others like her—

that their eyes might be opened, that their compassion for these

women might be turned into mercy for their unborn children—that the

yelling and screaming of words of hate between pro-choice and pro-life

groups might be replaced by a reconciliation forged in God’s Word and

with His love.

10

Do those pregnant women need help? Of course they do. Is God

there to support them? Yes, He most certainly is. But that support

does not come in the form of condoning the slaughter of the most

innocent and the most vulnerable among us. Rather, the support that

they so desperately need comes with the grace and mercy of a forgiving

God who comes to those who confess their sins and repent—a God who

meets them with open arms and offers them—and you and me—the

only true healing that can meet our needs.

The killing of the innocent is so very sad. Sadder still is the fact

that there are those in the church who would overlook such a thing and

mistakenly offer their misguided fruit in the name of God’s love. And it

is to those who Jesus says: “And so I tell you, the Kingdom of God

will be taken away from you and given to a people who will

produce the proper fruits.” Matthew 21:43 (TEV)

So, how do we go about bearing this “proper fruit” that Jesus

refers to? Can we do this on our own—just pick up our Jobe Tree Spikes

and pruners and start going about it yourselves? Well, that is good to

the extent that it shows a willingness on our part to work in developing

fruit. We certainly need to be willing to work. But, work on our own—

11

trying to develop spiritual fruit from nothing more than our efforts

alone will never work. Yet, there are a lot of people like that today.

They claim that they are “spiritual”—they read all the best-selling self-

help books that teach them how to be their own personal gurus. They

try to satisfy a spiritual longing, but they try to do it apart from Jesus

and apart from His Church. And their efforts don’t achieve anything

that is truly satisfying or lasting. When the chips are down—when the

things of this life that cause suffering and pain descend upon them—

they have no spiritual fruits to rely upon. Why?—because they went on

their spiritual quest apart from the only one who can provide spiritual

fulfillment—Jesus Christ. Jesus warned against this when He said: 4 A

branch cannot bear fruit by itself; it can do so only if it remains

in the vine. In the same way you cannot bear fruit unless you

remain in me. 5 "I am the vine, and you are the branches. Those

who remain in me, and I in them, will bear much fruit; for you

can do nothing without me. 6 Those who do not remain in me

are thrown out like a branch and dry up; such branches are

gathered up and thrown into the fire, where they are burned. John

15:4-6 (TEV)

12

If we want proper fruit, we need to grow it in the love of Jesus—

and in so doing become the branches of His Vine. We can’t do that

alone, but it is made possible through the power of the Holy Spirit. We

need to surrender our hearts to God and pray for the Holy Spirit to help

us cultivate that fruit in Christ. For those who refuse to do just that—

well, they’ll go the way of the branches that are thrown into the fire.

Now, I know that I have made several references to branches and

briars and bramble bushes being thrown into the fire. But, I want to

assure you that it is not my intention to scare or coerce anyone with

threats of fire and brimstone. But, I didn’t make these Scriptures up.

Each one is right there in your Bible—they are part of the Word of God,

and the fact that they are repeated time and time again should tell us

something. But, what it should NOT tell us is that God is just waiting to

throw sinners into Hell. In fact that is completely contrary to what God

wants for you and for me. God doesn’t want anyone to go to Hell.

That’s why Paul told Timothy, “God wants everyone to be saved.” 1

Timothy 2:6 (TEV) That’s why Peter said: “[God] doesn't want to destroy

anyone but wants all people to have an opportunity to turn to

him and change the way they think and act.” 2 Peter 3:9 (GW)

13

But God’s Word is equally clear that no one will be saved who fails

to obey His commandments—whether those commandments deal with

murder, or immorality or social injustice. Now people like that

Methodist minister might try to convince you that following God’s

commandments doesn’t matter—they will argue that all that matters is

God’s love and our love for Him—for them “love” trumps everything.

But that’s not true—at least it’s not true according to Jesus who said we

can’t love Him if we don’t obey Him.

This week, when you are out and about—take a look at those

brilliantly colored autumn leaves. Remember all the things that the

Scriptures teach with reference to leaves, trees, fruits and branches.

And don’t forget the fact that those autumn leaves get their bright

colors primarily from the way that they react to light—which is also a

special lesson to us. In fact, it may be the most important lesson

because we too need to react to the light. Jesus said: “I am the light

of the world. Whoever follows me will have the light of life and

will never walk in darkness.” John 8:12 (TEV) Is it any wonder then that the

Light of Jesus produces marvelous things within us? For as Paul

14

confirms: “It is the light that brings a rich harvest of every kind of

goodness, righteousness, and truth.” Ephesians 5:9 (TEV)

What are the colors of the leaves in your life? Are they beautiful

and vibrant in color, or do they seem as if they are withered and brittle

and dead? It doesn’t matter who you are, or where you’ve been, or

what you’ve done, or how broken you may feel—Jesus is there for you.

And the last thing in the world He ever wants to see you is you falling in

with those dead branches that are thrown in the fire. Jesus wants to

flood you with His Light and restore you to what He always intended

you to be—more brilliant, more alive, more full of His fruit than you

could ever imagine. As Paul assures us: “Therefore if any man be in

Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold,

all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)

Just like the trees of autumn that react to His Light by shedding

their old, dead leaves to make room for the new living ones—that’s

how Jesus wants to restore you—with His new leaves in His tree of Life.

The question is: How will you respond to His Light today?

Let us pray.

Forest Hill Baptist Church / October 18, 2015

Darvin Satterwhite, Pastor © 2015

15

1 Amanda Casanova, Religion Today Contributing Writer, Tuesday, October 13, 2015, “Methodist Clergy Lead Rally in Support of Abortion,” http://www.christianheadlines.com/blog/ methodist-clergy-lead-rally-in-support-of-abortion.html.