Category Archives: Branches

God Makes Us Fruitful

Posted on by
Reply

Through An Encounter With Jesus

No one has a genuine encounter with Jesus Christ and walks away unchanged! The deaf were made to hear. The blind were made to see. The lame could walk again. The hungry were filled. The ignorant were instructed. The guilty were forgiven. And sinners were set free from their sin!  There is nothing in Scripture to support the “cheap grace” religion so prevalent in the Western church—that someone can be saved without becoming Jesus’ disciple. Repeating words in some kind of “sinner’s prayer” is not a “get out of hell free” card!

Saved From A Self-Absorbed Life

Jesus didn’t save us to live a self-centered, self-absorbed life. He didn’t just die on the cross so we could listen to a good sermon and some worship music every Sunday morning. This post is about fruitfulness! God makes us fruitful when we enter into a genuine salvation relationship with Him. Just as you anticipate that an apple seed planted in the ground will grow into an apple tree that produces more apples, so God will produce the fruit of the Spirit in us when the seed of the Gospel is planted and His Spirit begins to indwell us. Always. Every time. Let me tell you why that’s important. It’s important because if you don’t get this right, it could lead to eternal judgment and condemnation.

Gotta Get This Right

If you’re holding on to some prayer you repeated in third-grade Children’s Church as proof you’re going to heaven, you may have been misled. The Scriptures never encourage us to hold onto something we did or said—or something our parents or pastor did or said—as proof of our salvation. God’s Word focuses on a changed life and a progressively changing life now. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17) “If you love Me,” Jesus said, “you will keep My commandments.” (John 14:15) Our life will be marked by a love for obedience to God’s Word and a hatred and abhorrence for all sin we stumble into. The Apostle John wrote: “I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:13) The written Word, inspired by God’s Spirit, was given to act like a mirror to reflect back to us our spiritual condition.

Test Yourselves

Seek proof of your conversion from the Scriptures! “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves,” the Apostle Paul wrote, “Or do you yourselves not recognize that Jesus Christ is in you? Unless you fail the test.” (2 Corinthians 13:5) Test your life according to God’s Word. Examine yourselves. Is there any evidence of a changed life? Is there fruit in your life that can only be produced by a genuine encounter with Jesus Christ? Listen to Jesus’ words: “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” (John 15:1–2) Evidence of genuine faith is produced by life in Jesus!
 

You Can’t Do Anything Without Jesus

Posted on by
Reply

A Regular Rhythm Of Your Life

The beauty of Christ’s Commission, to us, is in its simplicity— “Go…make disciples of all the nations.” As you “go” through life, be “making disciples.” Making disciples needs to be a regular rhythm of your life. That’s what Jesus was getting at! It’s hard to imagine how that could be misunderstood. As a teenage convert, to Jesus, the hard part was not understanding it; but, doing it! I understood the command perfectly well; but, carrying it out terrified me! I’d nearly go into a cold sweat every time I thought about sharing my faith with my high school friends. How could I ratchet up the strength and courage to do it? How would I know the right things to say?

It’s Not About My Ingenuity

It wasn’t until many years later when someone finally shared with me, from Scripture, that I didn’t have to depend on my ingenuity to convince people they needed Jesus! I couldn’t arm-wrestle anyone into the Kingdom if I tried! In John 15, Jesus tells us that plan will never work! No one has ever come to Christ because of a big beautiful church building; or, a “professional” Worship Band; or, a multi-media experience! The work, of regeneration, is God’s work ALONE! We cannot do the work of God in our own strength— “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” John 15:5.  This is at the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry; and, He’s preparing His disciples for His departure.  “I will build My Church,” He told them, “And, I’m going to use YOU.”

You Can’t Do It Without Me

But, they had to get one thing straight— “You can’t do it without ME! I am the Vine, you’re just the branches,” He taught them.  All the LIFE & all the POWER & all the RESOURCES to fulfill His Great Commission came from Him! And, the key to being a branch that produces fruit,  Jesus said, was to be connected to Him, the Vine! If we’re not abiding in Him we’ll shrivel up and die, Jesus says in v.6.  We can’t make disciples in our own strength— by reading books about making disciples; or, witnessing to 5 people a week; or, memorizing Scripture; or, making ourselves accountable to someone else. That’s NOT where we find the POWER to do Jesus’ work! He alone is the source! This is one of the most devastating mistakes any Church ministry can make— doing God’s work “in the flesh.” Man’s effort won’t get it done!

God Is Glorified When We Ask Him To Do It

The work of God gets done; and, He is glorified when we ASK Him to do it! Back to John 15, vs. 7-8 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified,” Jesus says, “that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” Jesus does the work, of God, for us & through us! Making disciples is HIS WORK! Every spiritual work is a supernatural work & only Jesus can do the supernatural! We’re just a branch; but, when we’re tapped into Jesus Christ, the Vine, He does great things through us; and God is glorified! “Ask what you desire,” He says. God is pleased when we pray for things according to His will! “And it shall be done for you,” Jesus says. The work of God can only be done by God! God answers when we ask Him for leading to & wisdom in communicating with unbelievers! It’s God who draws those to Himself who will be saved!