Growing in Christlikeness: Bearing Fruit

Intro:

Ill:

God created us from the beginning to be Fruitful (). Their ability to be fruitful came from the connection they had with the Lord, but sin destroyed.

I) Fellowship with the Son ()

A) Abiding in Jesus

We have a tendency to over-complicate Spiritual Maturity.

How do we grow close in our relationship with others? We spend time with them!

How do we grow close in our relationship with God? We spend time with Him!

How do we grow close in our relationship with God? We spend time with Him!

Jesus simplifies Spiritual Maturity to one thing… “ABIDE!”

To ‘Abide’ means ‘to make our home in;’ ‘maintain a close fellowship with the Vine.’

B) What does it look like to “Abide?”

We Fellowship with Christ

We have Faith in Christ—The branch is dependent on the vine. Without the vine, the branch is useless, lifeless, powerless!

In Him: We Bear Fruit ()

Apart from Him: We can do nothing ()

A) We must be Attached to Jesus ()

There are two types of branches: First, The Branches that fails to Bear Fruit. These branches are:

The Branches that fails to Bear Fruit. These branches are:

Spiritually Dead—“Every branch in me that does not produce fruit he removes” ().

Spiritually Dead—They are individuals who claim to be believers, but have never experienced genuine salvation.

This is not a reference to individuals who lost there salvation, but Jesus stated, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand” (). These branches Jesus is referencing are individuals who claim to be believers, but have never experienced genuine salvation.

Please heed the warning: Many religious people who walked an aisle, was baptized in the creek, a lifetime member at a church, and went on a mission trip are spiritually dead and will never enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Listen to the warning from Jesus:

“Be on your guard against false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves. You’ll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So you’ll recognize them by their fruit. Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name? Then I will announce to them ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers’” ().

Jesus is warning us many religious folks who come to church every week will spend eternity separated from God! Jesus is warning us eternal judgement is coming! He gives the same warning in John 10:6:

Eternal Judgement—“If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown aside like a branch and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned” ().

Eternal Judgement—

Jesus gave a picture of the judgement awaiting all those who were never were truly saved.

How do we know? Jesus answers the question in v8: “My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be my disciples” ().

Ex: Judas the betrayer ()

Jesus warns us that many individuals believe they are saved, but have never experienced genuine conversion. Jesus writes:

After we trust Christ as our Savior, through the work of the Holy Spirit our life should produce fruit. The fruit in our life is the evidence for our salvation. Look at how John explains it in 1 John: “This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commands. The one who says, ‘I have come to know him,’ and yet doesn’t keep his commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word, truly in him the love of God is made complete” ().

Take heed to the warning: Many religious people who walked an aisle, was baptized in the creek, a lifetime member at a church, and went on a mission trip will never enter the kingdom of Heaven.

“This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commands. The one who says, ‘I have come to know him,’ and yet doesn’t keep his commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word, truly in him the love of God is made complete”

Evaluate your life to see if you have genuine salvation! Is your life producing fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control? If not, put your trust in Christ!

The Branches that Bear Fruit:

The Branches that Bear Fruit:

This is the individual who knows Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.

Where do you stand this morning with the Lord?

Are you attached? You have placed your faith in Jesus and have a life that is bearing fruit, or...

Are you detached from the vine? You are not genuinely saved! Right now, if you were to die then you would spend eternity separated from God.

If we are to bear fruit, we must be attached and...

B) We must be Abiding in Jesus ()

As believers we are called to Abide in Jesus! To ‘abide’ means ‘stay around;’ ‘reside,’ ‘to make our home in’. Jesus means we are to keep fellowship with Christ so that His life can work in and through us to produce fruit.

C) We must be Available to Jesus ()

II) The Blessings of Bear Fruit ()

A) Unhindered Prayer ()

B) Unending Love ()

C) Uncommon Joy ()

Conclusion:

Ill: There are two ways to drink tea. Some people are dippers. They dip their tea bag up and down in the mug. A lot of Christians are like that. They dip in on Sunday morning then dip back out. They dip back in on Wednesday night then they dip back out. But there’s another way to drink tea and that’s to be an abider. It involves the act of just dropping the tea bag in the water and letting it stay there. Without touching the bag an amazing thing will happen. The color of the water begins to change as the influence of the bag in the hot water effects change in the cup. A person can just sit and watch the transformation take place because of the act of abiding. When you are a dipper you’ve got to make things happen by your own effort. You’ve got to move the bag up and down, dip a spoon in and out of the cup, wrap the string around the spoon, jerk, and then pull. It can require a lot of human effort. But when you are abiding, the water changes all by itself.

Once I was meeting with a guy and we were both drinking tea. He was dipping and pulling away. I just let my tea bags it. He told me that he couldn’t let his tea bags it in the bag like that because his tea would get too strong. That’s exactly what happens when you abide. The depth of your abiding will determine the rate of your progress in the spiritual life. Jesus wants you to stay there and experience the full strength of His presence.

Once I was meeting with a guy and we were both drinking tea. He was dipping and pulling away. I just let my tea bags it. He told me that he couldn’t let his tea bags it in the bag like that because his tea would get too strong. That’s exactly what happens when you abide. The depth of your abiding will determine the rate of your progress in the spiritual life. Jesus wants you to stay there and experience the full strength of His presence.