Praise the Lord for another opportunity to minister His anointed, powerful and unchanging word to all those who have decided to tune in. This year we are going to be moving at a much slower pace with the bible studies due to the fact that we want the Lord to give us lessons to teach on and communicate them appropriately. So without further to do, lets get to it:
Fruit! Its how Jesus indicated that people would come to know that we are Christians. By our fruit, or by our attitudes, words, comments, way of doing things. Whatever we produce and emit from our lives is a direct result of what we really are. Remember that those who are not saved on our jobs, in our schools, in our neighborhoods will see the real you sooner or later, no matter how much one tries to put up a front. Jesus knew this and communicated this to His disciples so that they could live for God with the right attitude of the heart. Lets look at some scriptures.
John 15:1-8
[1] I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
[2] Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
[3] Now ye are clean through the word, which I have spoken unto you.
[4] Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
[5] I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
[6] If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
[7] If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
[8] Herein is my Father glorified that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
Okay, here we see that Jesus is speaking to His disciples, giving them insight on the relationship between God the Father and the Son and the believers (disciples). The Father is the Husbandman or Farmer. Jesus is the True Vine. We (the believers) are the branches. Now recognize this, in order for us to bring forth some fruit we (the branches), must stay connected to the True Vine. The True Vine (or should I say the Word of God) supplies us with what we need to bring forth the fruit that pleases God the Father. We must abide in the True Vine; we must stay attached and connected to God so that we can prosper in whatever we do.
Jesus also indicated that if you were not bringing forth some fruit that eventually you would become severed from your connection with the True Vine. Dont forget God the Father is the Farmer. If He notices a unfruitful branch on His fruit bearing tree, He has the right to cut it down or suffer the consequence of that non-producing part to effect the fruit bearing part. God the Father being the hardworking Farmer that He is knows that He must separate the two. The non-bearing branch must be tossed to the side. Let us not be unfruitful branches.
Now if you are asking yourself, well what type of fruit should we as Christians be bringing forth? To properly answer your question: there are many different types of fruit described by the Lord in the Bible that Christians should bring forth . But, I am only going to deal with the fruits that should be coming out of your new born spirit. In the book of Galatians Paul explained how believers can walk in the spirit and not in the flesh. He then described the fruits of the spirit. Which are indicated below:
Galatians 5:22-23
[22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
[23] Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
These are the types of fruits that should be produced and evident in our lives, so that the world will know that we are Christians.
Love: Translated charity meaning benevolent love. Its benevolence, however is not shown by doing what the person loved desires but what the one who loves deems as needed by the one loved; For example: For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, and whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
Joy: To rejoice, cause or matter of joy or rejoicing. Good cheer, gladness of heart. A state of delight or gladness that God provides. For example: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. 1st Peter 1:8
Peace:(Rest) In contrast with strife, denoting the absence or end of strife. A state of untroubled, undisturbed, well-being. Calm and quiet; lack of interruption or annoyance from worry, problems, noise or unwanted actions For example: And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7
Longsuffering:Having the God given ability to suffer long. In other words a long-suffering person is patient despite being annoyed or insulted regularly over a period of time. For Example: The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 2nd Peter 3:9
Gentleness:Excellence (in character or demeanor): good, kindness. Forbearance: One who is calm, kind or soft; not violent or severe; For example: Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you. 2nd Corinthians 10:1
Goodness:Active goodness, morally right or based on religious principles; behaving well; kind and helpful; For example: Or despisest thou the riches of His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? Romans 2:4
Faith:Conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), total reliance upon Christ for salvation. Assurance, belief; For example: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Ephesians 2:8
Meekness:Quiet, gentle and (too) willing to do what other people want you to; not giving your own opinions in a strong or noticeable way; For example: In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;"2nd Timothy 2:25
Temperance:If someone's behavior is temperate, it is calm and controlled. For example, [5] And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; [6] And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 2nd Peter 1:5&6
When our lives produce this type of fruit, people will know that we are Christians because of the demonstration of our fruits as we walk in the spirit and not in the flesh. Know and understand that since you are born again that you can bring forth the fruits of the spirit in your life. They are apart of you, inside of you, but you need to learn how to cause them to flourish in your life.
Now in order for us to get more understanding about how to bring forth fruit that is pleasing to the Father. We need to understand the process of seedtime and harvest. We need to understand what kind of seeds to plant. We need to know where to plant those seeds. In what type of soil to plant those seeds? Let us look at some more scripture to get a better understanding about the process of seedtime and harvest.
Genesis 8:22
[22] While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
Above are different facts that God instilled in the earth and we just cannot get around them, no matter what we do. As long as the earth is here, there will be cold and heat. There will be summer and winter. There will be day and night. But the main one we are emphasizing in this lesson is that there will be seedtime and harvest. Whatever you plant is going to going to bring forth some fruit.
Mark 4:14-20, 26-32
[14] The sower soweth the word.
[15] And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.
[16] And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;
[17] And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.
[18] And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,
[19] And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
[20] And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.
[26] And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;
[27] And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.
[28] For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.
[29] But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.
[30] And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?
[31] It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth:
[32] But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.
Here, the Lord was showing the disciples that there are many different types of soil (conditions of the heart) that the word of God can be planted in. They are by the wayside, on stony ground, among thorns and on good ground. The only one that can bring forth fruit is the good ground (soil or heart).
By the wayside, the enemy would take away the word that was sown because the believer did nothing with it.
On stony ground the word couldnt penetrate the harden heart and take root, therefore when persecution and affliction arose, the believer had no word to stand on. Why, because it wasnt rooted and grounded in the believers heart.
Among thorns, the word would be of none effect due to the believer letting others things be planted in their heart instead of the word of God.
But on good ground, the believer receives the word and actually does something with it. I pray that you allow your heart to be good ground and receive the word of God into it.
Understand this about the word of God. The word of God is a seed that you must plant in your heart (spirit). That seed has an opportunity to grow and bring forth fruit. You must spend time nurturing and caring for it. In laymens terms, renewing your mind with the word of God by day and by night (Psalm chapter 1:1-3). Speaking the word out of your mouth.
You have to get the word of God into your heart using your eyes (reading it), your ears (hearing it), and your mouth (speaking it). You have to water that seed. You have to keep it in the right atmosphere so it to grow properly. Meaning you cant subject your spirit to go places or do things that will intentionally try to harm its purpose. That means you become a guardian over what goes into your heart through your ears, eyes and mouth. You must watch what you let enter into your heart because it will produce a harvest of some kind, whether its a good one or a bad one. So stay sensitive to the Holy Spirit.
Supporting Scriptures:
Matthew 7:15 20
[15] Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
[16] Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
[17] Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
[18] A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
[19] Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
[20] Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Luke 6:43-45
[43] For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
[44] For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.
[45] A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
Matthew 12:33-35
[33] Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.
[34] O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
[35] A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
I pray that you were blessed by this in-depth bible study on Where Is Your Fruit?. If you have any questions, comments or concerns please hit me up with some email at Beridox@verizon.net
Your Brother in Christ
Beridox
Fruit! Its how Jesus indicated that people would come to know that we are Christians. By our fruit, or by our attitudes, words, comments, way of doing things. Whatever we produce and emit from our lives is a direct result of what we really are. Remember that those who are not saved on our jobs, in our schools, in our neighborhoods will see the real you sooner or later, no matter how much one tries to put up a front. Jesus knew this and communicated this to His disciples so that they could live for God with the right attitude of the heart. Lets look at some scriptures.
John 15:1-8
[1] I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
[2] Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
[3] Now ye are clean through the word, which I have spoken unto you.
[4] Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
[5] I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
[6] If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
[7] If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
[8] Herein is my Father glorified that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
Okay, here we see that Jesus is speaking to His disciples, giving them insight on the relationship between God the Father and the Son and the believers (disciples). The Father is the Husbandman or Farmer. Jesus is the True Vine. We (the believers) are the branches. Now recognize this, in order for us to bring forth some fruit we (the branches), must stay connected to the True Vine. The True Vine (or should I say the Word of God) supplies us with what we need to bring forth the fruit that pleases God the Father. We must abide in the True Vine; we must stay attached and connected to God so that we can prosper in whatever we do.
Jesus also indicated that if you were not bringing forth some fruit that eventually you would become severed from your connection with the True Vine. Dont forget God the Father is the Farmer. If He notices a unfruitful branch on His fruit bearing tree, He has the right to cut it down or suffer the consequence of that non-producing part to effect the fruit bearing part. God the Father being the hardworking Farmer that He is knows that He must separate the two. The non-bearing branch must be tossed to the side. Let us not be unfruitful branches.
Now if you are asking yourself, well what type of fruit should we as Christians be bringing forth? To properly answer your question: there are many different types of fruit described by the Lord in the Bible that Christians should bring forth . But, I am only going to deal with the fruits that should be coming out of your new born spirit. In the book of Galatians Paul explained how believers can walk in the spirit and not in the flesh. He then described the fruits of the spirit. Which are indicated below:
Galatians 5:22-23
[22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
[23] Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
These are the types of fruits that should be produced and evident in our lives, so that the world will know that we are Christians.
Love: Translated charity meaning benevolent love. Its benevolence, however is not shown by doing what the person loved desires but what the one who loves deems as needed by the one loved; For example: For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, and whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
Joy: To rejoice, cause or matter of joy or rejoicing. Good cheer, gladness of heart. A state of delight or gladness that God provides. For example: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. 1st Peter 1:8
Peace:(Rest) In contrast with strife, denoting the absence or end of strife. A state of untroubled, undisturbed, well-being. Calm and quiet; lack of interruption or annoyance from worry, problems, noise or unwanted actions For example: And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7
Longsuffering:Having the God given ability to suffer long. In other words a long-suffering person is patient despite being annoyed or insulted regularly over a period of time. For Example: The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 2nd Peter 3:9
Gentleness:Excellence (in character or demeanor): good, kindness. Forbearance: One who is calm, kind or soft; not violent or severe; For example: Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you. 2nd Corinthians 10:1
Goodness:Active goodness, morally right or based on religious principles; behaving well; kind and helpful; For example: Or despisest thou the riches of His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? Romans 2:4
Faith:Conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), total reliance upon Christ for salvation. Assurance, belief; For example: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Ephesians 2:8
Meekness:Quiet, gentle and (too) willing to do what other people want you to; not giving your own opinions in a strong or noticeable way; For example: In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;"2nd Timothy 2:25
Temperance:If someone's behavior is temperate, it is calm and controlled. For example, [5] And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; [6] And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 2nd Peter 1:5&6
When our lives produce this type of fruit, people will know that we are Christians because of the demonstration of our fruits as we walk in the spirit and not in the flesh. Know and understand that since you are born again that you can bring forth the fruits of the spirit in your life. They are apart of you, inside of you, but you need to learn how to cause them to flourish in your life.
Now in order for us to get more understanding about how to bring forth fruit that is pleasing to the Father. We need to understand the process of seedtime and harvest. We need to understand what kind of seeds to plant. We need to know where to plant those seeds. In what type of soil to plant those seeds? Let us look at some more scripture to get a better understanding about the process of seedtime and harvest.
Genesis 8:22
[22] While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
Above are different facts that God instilled in the earth and we just cannot get around them, no matter what we do. As long as the earth is here, there will be cold and heat. There will be summer and winter. There will be day and night. But the main one we are emphasizing in this lesson is that there will be seedtime and harvest. Whatever you plant is going to going to bring forth some fruit.
Mark 4:14-20, 26-32
[14] The sower soweth the word.
[15] And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.
[16] And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;
[17] And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.
[18] And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,
[19] And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
[20] And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.
[26] And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;
[27] And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.
[28] For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.
[29] But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.
[30] And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?
[31] It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth:
[32] But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.
Here, the Lord was showing the disciples that there are many different types of soil (conditions of the heart) that the word of God can be planted in. They are by the wayside, on stony ground, among thorns and on good ground. The only one that can bring forth fruit is the good ground (soil or heart).
By the wayside, the enemy would take away the word that was sown because the believer did nothing with it.
On stony ground the word couldnt penetrate the harden heart and take root, therefore when persecution and affliction arose, the believer had no word to stand on. Why, because it wasnt rooted and grounded in the believers heart.
Among thorns, the word would be of none effect due to the believer letting others things be planted in their heart instead of the word of God.
But on good ground, the believer receives the word and actually does something with it. I pray that you allow your heart to be good ground and receive the word of God into it.
Understand this about the word of God. The word of God is a seed that you must plant in your heart (spirit). That seed has an opportunity to grow and bring forth fruit. You must spend time nurturing and caring for it. In laymens terms, renewing your mind with the word of God by day and by night (Psalm chapter 1:1-3). Speaking the word out of your mouth.
You have to get the word of God into your heart using your eyes (reading it), your ears (hearing it), and your mouth (speaking it). You have to water that seed. You have to keep it in the right atmosphere so it to grow properly. Meaning you cant subject your spirit to go places or do things that will intentionally try to harm its purpose. That means you become a guardian over what goes into your heart through your ears, eyes and mouth. You must watch what you let enter into your heart because it will produce a harvest of some kind, whether its a good one or a bad one. So stay sensitive to the Holy Spirit.
Supporting Scriptures:
Matthew 7:15 20
[15] Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
[16] Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
[17] Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
[18] A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
[19] Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
[20] Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Luke 6:43-45
[43] For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
[44] For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.
[45] A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
Matthew 12:33-35
[33] Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.
[34] O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
[35] A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
I pray that you were blessed by this in-depth bible study on Where Is Your Fruit?. If you have any questions, comments or concerns please hit me up with some email at Beridox@verizon.net
Your Brother in Christ
Beridox
Navigation
