BEARING FRUIT
LESSON 1
We are all called to bear fruit according to John 15:1-5. Fruit should be a natural function
emanating from our lives because we are branches connected to a fruit bearing Vine (Jesus
Christ). Jesus said this Himself in John 15:5, “I am the Vine, ye are the branches. Those who
remain in me and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” Here,
Jesus reminds us to remain in Him (abide in Him), because we are the branches and we cannot
bear fruit of or by ourselves. This can only be done as we remain united to Him, the Vine. If we
cut a branch off a tree, that branch cannot and will not ever bear any fruit. Instead, what happens
to it? It shrivels us and dies. Good only for firewood to be burned up.
Now of course there is always a time when the Gardner has to come along to trim and shape us.
This hurts and is painful at the time, but the good news is that after we come out on the other side
of the pruning, we will find that our character is stronger, we have obtained a high level of
endurance in our lives, we can turn and strengthen others who are going through the same things
we have just gone through and that we will bear even more fruit.
How many of us begin to get disconnected and begin to do things in our own strength? It’s quite
easy to do. All we have to do is begin to let our prayer life slip a little. The Lord may wake us up
early some mornings, and what do we do? We say to ourselves, “Oh, I’ll pray when I get up.”
Then the morning comes and we’re up. Suddenly we begin to pick up the house, the phone rings,
Satan reminds us that we NEED to wash, buy groceries, bank, help someone and so forth. And
sure enough, the day slips through our fingers and we’ve never gotten around to prayer or
spending any time to read the Word and spend intimate time with our precious Lord. We didn’t
have time to wait before Him or listen before Him for our instructions for that day, nor did we
cease the opportunity to draw our strength from HIM (as our Vine) to face whatever that day may
have brought.
Then the next days comes! And it is a repeat performance. Finally we find ourselves operating
each day in our OWN strength! Not really remaining connected to the Source of our fruitfulness.
And we are not equipped to overcome the daily temptations of sin and trials that come our way.
We wonder “why am I not living victoriously?” The Bible says in Revelation, “He who overcomes
shall receive a crown of life.” And John says in chapter 5 verse 6, “Anyone who parts from me is
thrown away, like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be
burned.”
So, let us get back to ground zero. Let us start remembering that we cannot do ANYTHING
successfully for very long apart from being connected to our Lord. We cannot be good wives,
mothers, relatives or even friends and we cannot minister effectively in ANY ministry unless we
are constantly every minute of every day united to and abiding in our everlasting Source.
The Devil goes about “as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.” He may not eat you up,
but he can mall you up pretty good! We MUST stay united to Jesus, our lives are at stake, our
crown is at stake, our families are at stake, our ministries are at stake and our witness is at stake.
We simply cannot afford to let a day go by without drawing from the Source. We MUST spend
time with Him. He is our very LIFE source. Remember Jesus said to us, “I am the way, the truth
and the life.” We as born again Christians can live in newness of life, but we MUST draw upon
that new LIFE that Jesus gives to us by staying connected to the Vine. So let us resolve, right
now, to once again get back into our prayer closets and get to the place where He becomes the
One in whom we live, and move and have our being. HE is EVERYTHING TO US!
Next we shall learning about the wonderful virtues that I Peter tells us to add to our faith, as we
yield to the Holy Spirit and give Him total control of our lives.
LESSON 1
We are all called to bear fruit according to John 15:1-5. Fruit should be a natural function
emanating from our lives because we are branches connected to a fruit bearing Vine (Jesus
Christ). Jesus said this Himself in John 15:5, “I am the Vine, ye are the branches. Those who
remain in me and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” Here,
Jesus reminds us to remain in Him (abide in Him), because we are the branches and we cannot
bear fruit of or by ourselves. This can only be done as we remain united to Him, the Vine. If we
cut a branch off a tree, that branch cannot and will not ever bear any fruit. Instead, what happens
to it? It shrivels us and dies. Good only for firewood to be burned up.
Now of course there is always a time when the Gardner has to come along to trim and shape us.
This hurts and is painful at the time, but the good news is that after we come out on the other side
of the pruning, we will find that our character is stronger, we have obtained a high level of
endurance in our lives, we can turn and strengthen others who are going through the same things
we have just gone through and that we will bear even more fruit.
How many of us begin to get disconnected and begin to do things in our own strength? It’s quite
easy to do. All we have to do is begin to let our prayer life slip a little. The Lord may wake us up
early some mornings, and what do we do? We say to ourselves, “Oh, I’ll pray when I get up.”
Then the morning comes and we’re up. Suddenly we begin to pick up the house, the phone rings,
Satan reminds us that we NEED to wash, buy groceries, bank, help someone and so forth. And
sure enough, the day slips through our fingers and we’ve never gotten around to prayer or
spending any time to read the Word and spend intimate time with our precious Lord. We didn’t
have time to wait before Him or listen before Him for our instructions for that day, nor did we
cease the opportunity to draw our strength from HIM (as our Vine) to face whatever that day may
have brought.
Then the next days comes! And it is a repeat performance. Finally we find ourselves operating
each day in our OWN strength! Not really remaining connected to the Source of our fruitfulness.
And we are not equipped to overcome the daily temptations of sin and trials that come our way.
We wonder “why am I not living victoriously?” The Bible says in Revelation, “He who overcomes
shall receive a crown of life.” And John says in chapter 5 verse 6, “Anyone who parts from me is
thrown away, like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be
burned.”
So, let us get back to ground zero. Let us start remembering that we cannot do ANYTHING
successfully for very long apart from being connected to our Lord. We cannot be good wives,
mothers, relatives or even friends and we cannot minister effectively in ANY ministry unless we
are constantly every minute of every day united to and abiding in our everlasting Source.
The Devil goes about “as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.” He may not eat you up,
but he can mall you up pretty good! We MUST stay united to Jesus, our lives are at stake, our
crown is at stake, our families are at stake, our ministries are at stake and our witness is at stake.
We simply cannot afford to let a day go by without drawing from the Source. We MUST spend
time with Him. He is our very LIFE source. Remember Jesus said to us, “I am the way, the truth
and the life.” We as born again Christians can live in newness of life, but we MUST draw upon
that new LIFE that Jesus gives to us by staying connected to the Vine. So let us resolve, right
now, to once again get back into our prayer closets and get to the place where He becomes the
One in whom we live, and move and have our being. HE is EVERYTHING TO US!
Next we shall learning about the wonderful virtues that I Peter tells us to add to our faith, as we
yield to the Holy Spirit and give Him total control of our lives.
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