"Be Fruitful"

Scripture Reading: Matthew 7:15-20

“Be Fruitful”

Genesis 1:27–28 (NASB95)

27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

When Humanity was Given the Purpose/Mission…

To Bear God’s Image in the World…

They were Told to:

“Bear Fruit”

“Become Numerous”

“Fill the Earth”

God Wanted His Creation Filled with Image-Bearers…

Who would Be Like Him & Rule Like Him

This was a Literal Mission for Adam & Eve

But I Want to Look at These 3 Commands…

And Make More of a Spiritual Application

Christianity is About Bearing Fruit

In the Sermon on the Mount…

Jesus Spoke about Bearing Fruit

Matthew 7:15–20 (NASB95)

15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 “So then, you will know them by their fruits.

Such a Simple But Accurate Test:

You will Know Them By Their Fruits

Good Trees Bear Good Fruit

Bad Trees Bear Bad Fruit

Good Trees Don’t Produce Bad Fruit

Bad Trees Don’t Produce Good Fruit

What Kind of Fruit are You Bearing?

Let’s Us the Fruit of the Spirit:

What Fruit Characterizes You?

Loving or Hateful?

Joyful or Sorrowful?

Peaceful or Stressed/Argumentative?

Patient or Impatient?

Kind or Mean?

Good or Bad?

Faithful or Unfaithful?

Humble or Prideful?

Self-Controlled or Self-Indulging?

The Fruit Don’t Lie

The Kind of Fruit You Bear is the Kind of Tree You are

Christians are to Bear Good Fruit

Christianity is About Multiplying

Matthew 28:19–20 (NASB95)

19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

It is Our Responsibility to Multiply By Making Disciples

Preach - Baptize - Teach

Christianity is About Filling the Earth

Isaiah 11:1–10 (NASB95)

1 Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. 3 And He will delight in the fear of the Lord, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear; 4 But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. 5 Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist. 6 And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them. 7 Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. 9 They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord As the waters cover the sea. 10 Then in that day The nations will resort to the root of Jesse, Who will stand as a signal for the peoples; And His resting place will be glorious.