The Trees of God

An important reality is given to us in Scripture. It is essentially this. There is life, but there's also death. There is an opportunity in this life that we have been given, a calling, to have eternal life. Many are called to that at this time. But few are chosen for that in this particular time, and thus we have a challenge, don't we? We are buffeted in many different ways to make sure that our calling is genuine, that it's true, it's sure, it's the real thing.

God is not deceived, He's not mocked, He's not going to be deceived by some outward or self-centered condition we have that is not truly of His. In the Bible, this life, this opportunity for life, and also the genuineness of the life that God wants us to live, is demonstrated through the analogy of trees. Today I'd like to talk with you a little bit and show you from Scripture the usage of trees.

We can't cover all of them in this brief message. But usually these are fruit-bearing trees. There are several types that are used, and they are used to show us about life and also about death. The general theme of all the trees that are used in this analogy throughout the Scripture is that trees that are good trees, trees that bear fruit, trees that we can call godly trees, they are rooted and they are grounded in God and in godliness. Others that become disconnected who want another source or desire a different source, they bear a different kind of fruit or no fruit at all. And these are not going to be in the kingdom of God.

And so the Bible is there to encourage us to pursue God, pursue God's tree, pursue being a tree of God, to be a tree of God for others. Various analogies are used throughout the Scripture. So today let's examine what the Scriptures teach us about life and death with relationship to trees.

The title of the sermon today is The Trees of God. Obviously, that's what we want to be, the trees of God. That's what we want to focus on. The Bible is a very positive, focused book. God is a very positive, focused God. And yet there will always be an opportunity for life and a consequent for poor choices, which is death. Beginning in Proverbs 3, verse 18, Solomon, here, through the inspiration of God, introduces us to the source, the source of life, the source of the things that will live forever.

That source, of course, is God. In Proverbs 3, verse 18, it speaks of the wisdom of God. Think about being wise for a minute. You might think, well, that's nice. It's good to have a little bit of wisdom. But if you put it in another category, it's the wise that will inherit the earth, the godly wise. Remember the 10 versions? Five of which were wise joined Christ. So it's this godly form of wisdom from God that leads to life. And so in Proverbs 3, verse 18, she, this wisdom of God, is a tree of life to those who take hold of her. It's not just the wisdom, but it's the wisdom of God from the preceding verses.

It's God who is the source of life, the source of wisdom, the source of right choices, the things that lead to life. And this wisdom becomes a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who retain her. Verse 19 begins, the Lord by wisdom founded the earth.

We're not just talking here about an intellectual prowess called wisdom. This is the wisdom of God that formed the earth, that created life, that is offering us life, and we are to be wise. Wise as we live this life. In Proverbs 11, verse 30, is an interesting statement. Proverbs 11, verse 30 says, the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life.

Is a is in parentheses. It didn't exist in the Hebrew, but it's intended. In other words, the fruit of the righteous equals tree of life. Fruit of the righteous, tree of life. What is the fruit of the righteous? Fruit of the Holy Spirit, love, joy, peace. This becomes a tree of life. But to whom? Let's read on. And he who wins souls is wise. Remember the word wise before? That's wise from God. God created through his wisdom. Wisdom becomes a tree of life for those who hold it. So we have wisdom, righteousness, tree of life, reaching out to others. When it says wins souls, it's those who pass that along, those who embrace others and bring that.

Just as Jesus Christ died for you and me, and now God the Father, through him, brings us life. We are intended to be agents of life. Lights to the world, salt of the earth now. Ultimately, bride of Christ, bringing in more children. This is an important topic for us. Not just think of me getting in the kingdom, but actually participating in this tree of life process that God speaks of from the beginning of the Bible all the way to the end of the Bible.

Kiel and Delich, in their commentary, writes of this proverb, it's the fruit of the righteous, i.e. his external influence, like being a fisher of men, is how it is a tree of life to others. When righteousness and godly wisdom impact others, the fruit of righteousness becomes a tree of life to any who partake of it. So we're there to encourage, we're there to help God, and encourage those who believe and those who don't believe, to come together on the Sabbath, the feast days, and throughout the week, bonding with God and with the rest of the family, and encouraging all whom God may call to join in and have and become part of this tree of life.

We consider the various types of trees in the Bible. We find in Genesis 2, for instance, the two trees, one of them was a tree of life, wasn't it? And there were many kinds of trees in the Garden of Eden, but only one had life. And in that setting, there was a choice to be made. There was a choice. And you and I have that choice. As we'll see, the tree of life, that source that God and Jesus Christ are for us, is something that we actually have to reach out and eat of. We have to eat of the body of Christ. We have to have this daily bread, as it were. It's always there, but do we actually take the time to eat it? Do we take the time to put on the whole armor of God, to take up the armor? It's there, and it can be life if we indeed participate in that. Jesus Christ said that he is the way, the way to life. He is the truth. He is the life. And it's through him that we, as we participate in the Passover each year, remember that he is our life. He is our source, as if he were the tree of life. And we choose to eat of that, not just once a year, but every day with every thought. We choose what we're going to eat. We choose what we're going to do. What's going to pervade our thoughts? Shall I do this? That looks really good for me. Or shall I eat of the fruit of righteousness? Shall I put on love for others, love for God?

Adam and Eve made their choice based on something self-centered. Jesus Christ actually became a tree of life that provides life to humans. We don't tend to think of that sometimes. So let's go to Isaiah chapter 11 and verse 1 and look at how the one who became Jesus Christ has become a tree of life. Isaiah chapter 11, looking in verse 1, there shall come forth a rod, a rod as a shoot, from the stem of Jesse. The word stem is the Hebrew word gezah, also translated stump. The word gezah means to cut down, as in to cut down trees. So it's talking about a stump. So he will come from a stump of Jesse, who is the father David, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. So here we have a tree developing. And who is this individual? Of course, that's Jesus Christ. The trunk of the tree is this righteous line. It's rooted in God. It is rooted in righteousness. And people have been chopped off of that stump, as it were, you might say, since Cain killed Abel. And all the righteous people down through time, the killing of the apostles, the prophets, Jesus Christ, etc., the righteous people, right until the return of Jesus Christ. It's something that gets, in a sense, chopped back. When we see in the New Testament a new covenant brought to us by Jesus Christ, we have a new Israel of God. The church is called the Israel of God. This righteous line continues, and it's now called the body of Jesus Christ. So in a sense, this tree now has a body as well, the church of God. He has grown up out of this righteous line. And who is this tree? Let's go to Romans chapter 11 in verse 16. Romans chapter 11 and verse 16 says, And if the rude is holy, the rude, of course, is God. If the rude is holy, so are the branches. So here comes the church of God. And if some of the branches were broken off, you had the church in the wilderness, the Israelites, they got deceived, they were taken into captivity, the northern house of Israel was taken into captivity by Assyria, the southern house of Judah was taken into captivity by Babylon, some came back, but they did not embrace Jesus Christ, they rejected the Messiah. So some of the branches were broken off, and you, he sang to the Gentiles in Rome, were grafted in among them, and with them became partaker of the root and the fatness of the olive tree. So now we have the olive tree. The olive tree is the greatest of all trees in the Mideast. It doesn't just provide a little bit of fruit, it provides olives, which are not only fruit to eat, but also oil. And that oil is a mainstay. It was a mainstay in that day. It provided so many things. It provided offerings for the temple, provided cooking, of course, through the year. It provided light for which people could see at night and could read.

Oil was a very, very important thing. It was even used in the parable of the Ten Virgins, of how that oil was so necessary. It's been attributed to God's Holy Spirit. We use it when people are ordained or anointed in Scripture. You know, the oil of air and flowing down onto the beard and anointing with oil when someone is sick.

So to come down here, we see a partaker of the root and the fatness of the olive tree.

Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life to us. Paul shows here that all of those involved in the New Covenant are spiritual Israel, the Israel of God. They come from every nation, tribe, and tongue. But notice how God's people are compared to an olive tree. Let's drop down to verse 21. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he may not spare you either.

You know, if the Israelites left and departed from God, you and I, if we do the same thing, we may not be spared. 23. And they also, if they do not continue an unbelief, will be grafted in.

For God is able to graft them in again. So they are able to return and be grafted at a later time when they are called and given the opportunity. Now, verse 24, if you were cut out of the Gentile olive tree, which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree, into the Israelite line? So you see here, we have an olive tree. And we are given the opportunity to be grafted into that olive tree, to be part of that olive tree. And that host trunk with its roots are of God, Jesus Christ. Now, anytime you have a host trunk with roots, you graft onto that something that is like kind. You don't take a pine tree and put a pear branch on it that I've ever heard of and expect to get fruit off of it. But you can take a fruit tree and you can graft other types of fruit onto it, and you can be successful in getting that. For instance, I have an ornamental fruit tree that doesn't produce any fruit, but because it's of a fruit variety, I've grafted onto that ornamental plum pears, apples, various varieties, several varieties of cherry. It's not always a given that it's going to take, but it's just to say you have already a fruit type tree and you can graft into that tree. When we talk about here being grafted in, we have to be of God's kind. Notice in James chapter 1 and verse 18 what God is wanting in his family tree, you might say. James chapter 1 and verse 18.

Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, Jesus Christ is the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. So God is only going to bring into his church and the body of Christ, into this olive tree, those that are truly his. And it's our responsibility to be malleable like clay, to be filled with God's Spirit, to really be tapped into God and to stay tapped into God. Otherwise, we end up as some of those branches that don't produce fruit that get cut off and thrown in the fire. In Galatians chapter 6 and verse 15, Paul makes it very clear that it's not some physical lineage that's involved in this spiritual Israel of God.

Galatians chapter 6 and verse 15, for in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything but a new creation. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them and upon the Israel of God. The Israel of God, we just read, was a type of an olive tree, but they didn't make it at this time. But we are grafted in. They can be grafted in at another time. Spiritual Israelites are actually analogists to olive trees in the Bible, growing with Jesus Christ, being grafted into Jesus Christ. Let's notice in Psalm chapter 52 and verse 8 how David himself said he was one of God's olive trees. Psalm chapter 52 and verse 8. And verse 8.

But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God.

A green olive tree, notice, in the house of God. You can't be apart from the house of God. You can't be apart from the source, from the way, the truth, the life, the spirit.

I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever. David had his sights on eternal life in the house of God, always being part of that tree. The two witnesses in Revelation. Let's go to Revelation chapter 11 and verse 3. Another couple of examples of olive trees in the house of God. Revelation chapter 11 and verse 3. And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy 1260 days, clothed in sackcloth. Verse 4. These are the two olive trees and the two lamb stands standing before the God of the earth. Even I are not only associated with these individuals, we're part of a God family. We're part of, in this sense, an olive tree, a group of olive trees. Again, various analogies used throughout the Bible, but everyone tapped into God. Everyone producing the right kind of fruit. Everyone living through and surviving any kind of persecution, drought, etc., etc. Many are called. Some fall away. Why? They're not rooted in God. Let's look at the houses of Israel and Judah for a moment. Jeremiah chapter 11 and verse 16. Jeremiah chapter 11 and verse 16. We read earlier in the New Testament how Israel was an olive tree, but some of the branches were broken off, obviously. Let's pick this up in Jeremiah 11 verse 16. The Lord called your name. What was his name? The name of Israel and Jacob? The Lord called your name green olive tree. Lovely and of good fruit. Now, we have to pause here because it's going to shift dramatically. The Lord called your name green olive tree. Lovely and of good fruit. What did you do with that? Next, with the noise of a great tumult, he has kindled fire on it and its branches are broken. Verse 17, For the Lord of hosts who planted you has pronounced doom against you for the evil of the house of Israel and the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger in offering incense to Baal. So though they were the green olive tree and they were the good, they didn't stay with it.

God's olive tree grows only when we stay grafted into Christ.

In John 15 and verse 5, Jesus said in a similar analogy, I am the vine. He could have said, I am the tree, but he said, I am the vine. You are the branches. He who abides in me and I and him bears much fruit, for without me you can do nothing. And that's the whole element here of the tree, of the fruit tree, whether it's an olive tree or a different kind of fruit tree. Whenever you graft something in, it's so important to get that graft right, to do it at the right time and then to tightly, tightly wind a covering around it so that it is kept not only healthy, but so that the nutrients from the host plant move into that little branch. If that branch ever gets disconnected from those host nutrients of itself, it can do nothing. Absolutely nothing. How does the tree or the vine graft, excel? How does it grow? How does it thrive? It says in Ephesians chapter 3 and verse 17, Ephesians 3, 17, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you being rooted and grounded in love. See, you start taking those elements away and what do you have? If you're not grounded, if you're not rooted, and Christ is not dwelling in us, we're nothing. We're just a branch, aren't we? Just a dry branch.

The object of each branch is to bear fruit, and a person with fruit trees is always watching and trimming. You go out and you prune and you prune that this branch is going the wrong way. So you trim it so that the little bud takes that branch in a different direction where it can get more light, produce more fruit. The owner of the tree is all about his trees, and if he has an orchard, they go through those orchards and they really give a lot of care, and then they wait and they watch. In Luke 13 and verse 6, Jesus Christ gives another parable. This one's about a fruit tree, and he's desirous for the fruit. Luke 13.6, he spoke this parable, a certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.

Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and found none. See how God looks at us. He's put this effort into us. He wants fruit. He said, cut it down. Why does it use up the ground?

But the keeper of the vineyard said to him, sir, let it alone this year also until I dig around it and fertilize it, and if it bears fruit, well, but if not after that you can cut it down. It just shows that, as it says in 2 Peter chapter 3 and verse 9, God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repent. And sometimes we're a little slow. Sometimes we're a little sluggish or a little distracted, and if we just will kick in and say, oh, I need, I really need God. Now I'm going to pay attention, like David in Psalm 51. Oh, finally, I'm really seeing this. I'm kicking into gear here. The branch abandons God. If it doesn't have its root in God, then it's not fit for the kingdom. And that's not necessarily talking about someone else. It's talking about me. If a tree branch abandons God, his trunk, his root, and wants something else, then it's not fit for the kingdom. Let's notice in Jude, right before Revelation, Jude verse 4.

It's a real interesting statement here concerning trees. Jude chapter 4, Jude chapter 0 verse 4. How's that? For certain men have crept in unnoticed. Now, the way I look at this is, it's kind of like, as you know, the parable of the soil and the seed. Somehow some tares got sowed here, unnoticed. They looked in, they looked like wheat growing up, but somehow they've gotten here unnoticed. And it's a very interesting statement. The only thing I know of that was marked out long ago for condemnation was JudasESSION. You've got to feel for Judas in a way because, you know, that's what was going to happen, and it happened. God has told us that there will be tares in the church, that there will be false teachers in the church. Who are they? Were they marked out? Long ago, long ago for this condemnation? I don't know. But we'll just read on. Ungodly men who turn the grace of our God into lewdness. Or another translation would say, turn the grace of God into licentiousness. Now, let's be careful to understand what this means. The grace of God that caries, what God gives us is, as Thayer's lexicon says, divine favor, which it defines as the merciful kindness by which God exerts his holy influence upon lives, turns them to Christ, keeps them, strengthens them, increases them in Christian faith, in knowledge, love, and kindles them to the exercise of Christian values. So God has taken an individual this way. These are his favors. And then someone comes along and twists God's Holy Spirit into condoning sin. See, so as it says there, they turn the grace of God, essentially the Holy Spirit of God, that concept, into lewdness, licentiousness, or it's okay to sin. They twist it into what Satan's trying to tell us. It becomes an agent of the downfall, not the success of humans. So these are risky people. They're threats to your salvation because it's like Satan the Devil. Oh, did God tell you you need to keep the commandments? Oh, you don't need to keep the commandments. Not that hard. You'll get in anyway. Go have some fun. Kick around a little bit. Have your own ideas. See, you turn the grace of God into licentiousness or into a sinning behavior. Verse 12, these are spots on your love feasts. Late autumn trees without fruit. What should trees have in the late autumn? Fruit. You know, if you come up to the Okanagan in the in the fall, in the autumn, that's fruit season. Fruit stands abound on all the corners. You see fruits in the fields and grapevines. There's so much fruit, it's hard to get rid of it. They truck it. They ship it. But what if you didn't have fruit? Well, going on. Without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots. It's interesting that these are pulled up by the roots. They don't have their roots in God, in Christ. They don't. They're not rooted and grounded in agape love. They've pulled the roots up and they're looking for something else. Different kind of situation. Also, trees periodically get tested by parasites. Parasites are external elements that feed and weaken the host. We look in Matthew 7 and verse 15. Jesus warns us about parasites to our tree. Matthew 7 verse 15.

Beware of false prophets. Or the word there can mean teachers. Beware of teachers teaching something that's partly right, but partly not right. Who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. They're parasites. See, they want to take something from you. You will know them by their fruits. You won't know them by their words. You won't know them by the smooth talk, by the logic, or by the lure. You'll know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Verse 19. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits, you will know them. Something doesn't taste right. Something isn't of the same family. It's not of the godly type. It might look very similar, but you'll have nothing to do with it. You'll just say, this is not of God. Let's go to Isaiah chapter 11 again. Isaiah chapter 11 will begin in verse 4. We've seen in the first verse there that this rod will come from the stump of Jesse. Now, notice verse 4. But with righteousness he shall judge the poor and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth. Verse 5. Righteousness will be the belt of his loins and faithfulness, the belt of his waist. The wolf will dwell with the lamb. The leopard will lie down with the young goat. The calf and the young lion and the fatling together and little child shall lead them. We know this prophecy. This is speaking of a time that's coming when Jesus Christ returns. Verse 10 now. And in that day shall be a root of Jesse. Here's the tree again. Who shall stand as a banner to the people for the Gentiles shall seek him and his resting place shall be glorious. A couple of elements here to keep in mind. Resting place. It's his throne. Will be glorious. That will be in the temple in Jerusalem during the millennium. The Gentiles shall come up to Jerusalem to seek the word of God. He will be a banner to the people. It's Jesus Christ. And those who are the firstfruits will be assisting at that point in time. This prophecy is part of a theme that begins in Genesis and extends all the way to Revelation. Let's notice these elements. Tree in the midst. The paradise of God with a river.

In Genesis chapter 2 and verse 8, we pick up the story of Adam coming into the Garden of Eden. Now the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden and there he put the man whom he had formed.

And out of the ground the Lord made every tree to grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. Notice this. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden. In the middle of the garden. And the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Verse 10. Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden. It came from Eden and it came and watered the garden. Now something you might not have noticed. And from there, from the garden, it parted and became four riverheads. So this little bit of water that goes into the middle of the garden near the tree of life comes out as four riverheads. Let's compare that with the future temple in Jerusalem during the millennium. In Zechariah chapter 14 and verse 4, in that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives.

We find in Revelation 14 that when his feet stand on the Mount of Olives, 144,000, the bride of Christ will stand with him. So this has some important parallels. So he will stand on the Mount of Olives, verse 4, which faces Jerusalem on the east and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west. Now the temple faces the Mount of Olives, which is on the east side of the Temple Mount. The valley of Kidron goes down and it comes up. It's not a, it's just a hill. It's not a mountain. It's called a mount, though, and that is going to be split in two. If you stand on the top of that mount, you can actually see the Dead Sea on the other side. Way off in the distance is the Dead Sea, which is very dead. It's just a big salt brine bit of water that's continually shrinking in size. But here, that's going to cleave in two. Going along now. In verse 8, In that day it shall be that living water shall flow from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea, the Dead Sea, and half of them toward the western sea, the Mediterranean. In both summer and winter it will occur. And the Lord shall be king over all the earth. It's going to be a wonderful time. You can find now some interesting detail about what's the source of that water. In Ezekiel 47, verse 1, we'll zoom in a little closer now on the temple. Ezekiel 47, verse 1. Here's a vision that Ezekiel was given about this very event.

It says, And he brought me back to the door of the temple, and there was water flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east. So here it goes. Through the split in the Mount of Olives, heading for the east. Remember how that one river in the Garden of Eden grew into four? It multiplied. Let's compare that here with verse 3. And when the man went out to the east with a line in his hand, he measured 1,000 cubits. Maybe he measured 1,000 yards or meters. And he brought me through the waters, and the water came up to my ankles. So as it leaves the temple, 1,000 meters out, it's reached ankle deep. Verse 4. And he again measured 1,000 and brought me to the waters, and the water came up to my knees.

And he again measured 1,000 and brought me through, and the water came up to my waist. He again measured the waters, and it was a river that I could not cross. For the water was too deep, water in which one must swim, a river that could not be crossed.

In verse 10, we find that this is going to be teeming with life. It shall be that fishermen will stand by it from Ingeeti to Ingliam. That's the border towns on the side of the Dead Sea.

The people will go down there to fish. Right now you can get in that water, and it's so thick of salt, you actually float high. You can hold your hands and your legs out of the water at the same time. Don't get into your eyes because it really burns and stings.

But it says here, it'll be places for spreading their nets. Their fish will be of the same kinds as the fish of the Great Sea, the Mediterranean, exceedingly many. Now, verse 12, along the bank of the river on this side and that will grow all kinds of trees used for foods. Their leaves will not wither. Their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month because their waters flow from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves will be for, it says, medicine. But according to Thayer's Greek lexicon, for healing. The leaves will be for healing. Now let's compare that scene with one that follows after the new heavens and earth arrive at God's throne. Revelation 22, verse 1. Revelation 22, verse 1. Just as we've seen that God is involved in each type of tree, in each type of source of water, in each type of trees that are producing fruit, we find in the kingdom of God this same theme continues. Revelation 22, and verse 1. And He showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of the street and on either side of the river was the tree or trees of life which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. Just like we saw in the millennial scene with each tree bearing fruit every month, we see this again in the New Jerusalem.

The leaves of the trees were for the healing of the nations.

Note we have throne, water, river, trees, leaves, and healing. All of this emanates from God and we'll know when we are there exactly what it all means. Because some of it may be analogous, some of it may be literal, but we get the sense here that life comes from God, salvation comes from God, and like a tree you have to be tapped into it. And God is the source of food for us, and we need to be participating in that to be part of that.

Going on, verse 14. Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter through the gates into the city. So in conclusion, we've looked at some trees from Genesis to Revelation, trees of God.

Roots in water, symbolic of the Holy Spirit, producing godly fruit, which is developing God's holy righteous character. His Spirit coming in us and developing that fruit of love for God, love for man. It begs a question of me, I'll share it with you, what is my tree? What kind of tree do I have? Where are my roots each day? What is my fruit? Where's my tree? Where are my roots? What is my fruit? It's so vital because this is what Scripture encourages us to ponder. It's the wisdom of God.

Jeremiah 17 and verse 7 will conclude with this passage. Two verses, verses 7 and 8 of Jeremiah 17.

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose hope is the Lord, for he shall be like a tree planted by the waters which spreads out its roots by the river and will not fear when heat comes, but its leaf will be green and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will it cease from yielding fruit. Make it your priority to dwell in God, in Christ, to have them dwell in you. Perform their love in everything and thereby develop godly fruit for the kingdom of God.