Be Strong And Bear Fruit

Open your Bibles and turn with me to the book of John 15:1-16. A fruit tree has to be cleaned. It must be watered. The tree has to be taken care of in order to produce as much fruit as possible. In this passage, Christ is telling us He is the vine and we are the branches. God is the laborer. So he is saying if we abide in him and he in us, then we will bear much fruit. But we, alone, cannot produce any fruit. We must be connected to Jesus. Sometimes we need to be peeled and the bad parts that have grown in us need to be removed or cut off. That way, we can produce even more fruit. God does all the cleaning, pruning, cutting, and peeling. Christ compares us to tree branches. But unlike tree branches, we have a mind, a heart, and a soul. So we are emotional beings. When the cleaning process takes place, it hurts. It isn’t an easy process. But, it is a necessary process so we can grow in the Lord. I remember a sister in the faith once said, “My process (situation) may be nothing (easy) for you but it’s something big to me. Likewise, your process may be nothing to me, but it’s something to you.” So we cannot compare what I may be going through to what you may be going through. We are different. We came from different walks of life. We each have different gifts and talents, but we’re all a part of the same body of Christ. We are all servants of the same God to bring honor and glory to his holy name. So we must work together. What I lack, perhaps my sister has. And what she lacks, perhaps our brother has. But just because my brother stops serving doesn’t mean that I stop. I must keep going. We cannot be worried about what each other is doing. We must stay in our area. But we are called to pray one for another and encourage one another.

Philippians 2:12 says to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. You see, salvation is individual. We all have to make our own decisions. Verse 7 of the base text (John 15) says, “If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask what you will and it will be done unto you.” How powerful! Jesus wants us to be obedient. A lot of times we are so close to receiving our miracle - our victory - but then we look at our circumstances and we think it’s impossible. We become tired, weary, and heavy laden. We forget that Jesus said, “Come to me all ye weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” Instead of bending our knees in prayer, we surrender to our situation. But, Jesus says in John 15:9, “…continue in my love…” Verse 11 says, “These things have I spoken to you, that my joy might remain in you, and your joy might be full.” He exhorts us, my brothers and sisters, because he loves us. Turn with me now to Proverbs 3:11-12. We, as parents, correct our children because we love them. We desire a good life for them. God does the same with us. He is our good Father. He wants us to grow. No one likes correction, but it’s necessary so we can grow in the Lord. So we can advance. We want to see the glory of God, but oftentimes we reject trials. Go with me now to Hebrews 12:9-13. After the process is over, we will bear more fruit. So we must be strong and endure. If we do not endure the trials, then we will regress instead of progress. God wants us to go forward.

In closing, I want to read Jeremiah 17:7-8 with you. If we are completely trusting in the Lord then we will be like a tree that’s planted by the waters. We won’t see when dry heat comes. We will flourish and continue to produce fruit regardless of our circumstances. Be strong and of a good courage. God is with us and He will provide. He always does.