A lifestyle of intimacy. That is what I want from you. That is what you can offer Me. Your life. Your all. Your whole heart. I want all of you with nothing held back. Then I will pour out My blessings on you. Then you will see Me glorified. Then you will have purpose and meaning in your life. Then you will bear much fruit.
Tag Archives: Fruit
For This Hour
I have appointed you for this hour. You are My example, My representative, My light to a lost and hurting world. I am using you in ways you can’t imagine and cannot see right now, but you will see the fruit. Stay attached to Me, your Vine. I flow through you when you remain in Me.
Worship from your heart
My child, I desire worship, not just from your lips, but from your heart. I will change your heart if you give it to Me. I will come in and inhabit you and live through you. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. This is My desire for you so that you will bear much fruit. I will never force My will on you, but you will sense My gentle nudging. Yield to me immediately when you sense that nudge. Do not hesitate or hold back. For I desire a yielded vessel that I can pour My Spirit into. I will fill you up to overflowing. This is My joy. This is how you will please Me in worship. this is how you will bear much fruit.
Be Absorbed
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My child, do not neglect the spiritual gift within you. Take pains with these things. Be absorbed in them so that your progress will be evident to all. Be absorbed in My Word. I am equipping you for good work. Be on your guard and obey My Word. Then you will bear much fruit and fulfill your destiny.
1 Timothy 14-15
Fruit
My child, walk by My Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. Walk in love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. For whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.
Galatians 5:16, 6:7
God’s Game Plan
Are we able to bear fruit without being meaningfully transformed? Yes, in scant quantity and meager quality we can. But without a true metamorphosis we’ll never be successful in bearing the kind Jesus wants—“much fruit.” For this reason transformation is absolutely essential to fruitfulness in God’s kingdom.
There’s no question that God wants to see us radically changed. And since we know we can’t transform ourselves, He must have a method to accomplish it. But the big question is just what that plan consists of; how do we get from here to there? Well, God has His part in the process, and we’ve got ours.
If transformation is ever to become a reality in us, we must cooperate with God as He goes about working in our life. The beauty is that freedom from the power of sin makes choosing to walk out our faith in this way possible—in spite of the weakness of our flesh. Because God has done what He has through Christ, it’s now all about choice! But submitting ourselves to God for what is likely to be a very arduous journey is never an easy choice to make. Nevertheless, we can do it! Aided by His power, we can become the kind of Christians we intuitively want to be as a result of our redemption. God Himself has put that desire there.
Yet truth be told, we often have to come to the end of ourselves—finally fed up with failure—before we can actually bring ourselves to make that commitment. You may be at that point in your life right now! If so, unconditionally give yourself over to God, and then take action by submitting to His will. Sometimes we think that giving over our will to God is a one-time event. Not so. Rather, it’s a choice we make day by day. And making daily progress toward transformation entails following well-defined steps: God’s Game Plan. We’ll be talking about what that involves.
Fruit’s Proof
What’s encouraging is the fact that somewhere along the line we come to a point where it’s virtually impossible to get mired once again in the pit of the old self. Why? Because our character has been permanently altered—who we are has changed. Once our character is transformed, we truly no longer are our former self.
Yes, we’ll continue to be confronted with the issues of our old nature (our old self). That’s why we must always be vigilant. But though we may slip, we won’t turn back! My guess is that those who throw in the towel have never experienced any meaningful degree of transformation in the first place.
The “fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control”—firmly entrenched within provides bona fide proof that metamorphosis has taken hold.(Galatians 5:22-23).
It’s true that God can cause one or more of these virtues to sporadically spring forth according to the need of the moment, even before they become the rock-solid foundation of our character. But just stop and think what it must be like to enjoy the advantage of the fruit of the Spirit deeply-rooted and dominant in your life.(Galatians 5:24)
Seeds of Transformation
Isn’t God’s plan of redemption incredible? In Him we enjoy all the advantages of absolute security. As the old hymn says, He is our refuge and our strength. But even so, we must not let it stop there, for the Lord has called us to even greater purpose—wholehearted submission to His will.
Such intentional commitment to Him demands that our life be squarely aimed at two very important targets: to serve Him in whatever capacity He desires, and to embrace spiritual growth through personal transformation. Dedication toward the pursuit of these goals provides the catalyst for bearing “much fruit.” And because these objectives are intended to compliment each other, we can’t be truly effective in one without the other.
Yet personal transformation is the key to serving God with a whole heart, so we must ask a very important question: What does it mean to be transformed? Is this the change that takes place instantaneously when we’re saved? Yes, in one very real sense it is, since being born again results in a dynamic transformation of our life. How could being brought from death to life—from the domain of darkness to being firmly planted in Christ’s kingdom—be anything but utterly transformational? Still, there’s a whole lot more to it than that.