October 4, 2016
Are You Bearing Fruit?
Being a Christian means being obedient to all the commands that Jesus has given us. Some are easy to do, like being baptized when we first believed, others are not so easy. How do we know if we are obedient to God? Take a look at yourself and ask, “Am I bearing fruit?”
To bear fruit, you must “abide in the vine.” In John chapter fifteen Jesus plainly explains this to his disciples,
“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.”
So it is simple; we must abide in Jesus to bear fruit and to abide in Jesus we must be obedient to His teachings. This obedience requires action; James 1:22 tells us we must “be doers of the word, and not hearers only.” In other words, don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Too many Christians get hung up on this point. Many of our favorite persons in the Bible get hung up on this also.
Moses told God he was unqualified to lead Israel out of Egypt, Mordechai told Esther For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, and what about Isaiah? Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips.”
God made all of these people clean and righteous; all we need to do is be obedient. Moses picked up a stick and threw it in water to purify it; it was God who purified the water through Moses’ obedience; Nineveh repented through Jonah’s reluctant obedience; Peter walked on water, being obedient, he got up out of the boat. I encourage you to see God at work, to see fruit in your life, be obedient to what you hear..
The mandate is simple; Jesus didn’t make it complicated, “go make disciples.” Too often, we are looking for a “burning bush” to pull us out of our comfort zone. The burning bush is already there in Scripture. The default is that we should get going, figure out how to make disciples. Take a close look at your “Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the nations” to see where you can have the most significant impact by being obedient and bearing fruit.
Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19
Read more articles, Sharing the Good News
Like us on Facebook!