A Tree is Known by Its Fruit

Matthew 12:33-37, John 15

Take time to pray before reading. Ask God to reveal the sin in your life through His word.

If you have been in the church or grew up in it, you have probably heard the phrase “abide in Jesus and you will bear much fruit.” I have even heard the phrase “abide or die.” These are important and true phrases, but often we miss the weight of what it truly means to abide in Jesus. I know that I often do. This can also lead to misunderstanding of what fruit is. The enemy wants us to not abide or dwell in God, because he knows that we will experience the true joy of knowing Jesus, and, as a result, not live into the life of following Jesus that is necessary to produce fruit. 

In John 15:5 it says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”  

Read that again. 

Jesus doesn’t want us to dwell in our sin. Abiding and remaining in Jesus means remaining under his lordship, not the lordship of our sin. Apart from Him we can do nothing.  Y’all, God simply wants us to be with Him. To come and say to him Lord, teach me more about who you are.  

What do you need to repent of? Draw near to Jesus and be with Him. Ask Jesus how you can become more like him. 

Now that we have laid down our burdens at Jesus’s feet, it could be easy to go back to the business of our lives, but, surrendering our lives to Jesus is an active and ongoing process. We can go through the motions of reading our bible, serving the church, leading villages without truly dipping into the beautiful supply of Living Water that Jesus has to offer. We can base our success on how many people we have in discipleship groups, if our village has multiplied, or if our site plants a church.These are all good things to track growth and celebrate what God is doing. But, true fruit comes from a true relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ.  

 I think Jesus sees the fruit of abiding as Paul defines them in Galatians 5:22-23, which is very different than we can think of fruit in the modern church. If the Bible defined the fruits of the Spirit as love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, then why are we spending so much time focusing on something that isn’t in scripture? 

Church, let us have a true abiding relationship with Jesus, and be known by fruits of the Spirit, not the fruits of our labor. Let us listen to God and follow Him. 

One of my favorite ways to listen to God is to open up His word. The Holy Spirit uses each moment, and all Scripture is God breathed (2 Timothy 3:16). Revelation 3:23 says “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” God wants us to sit at his feet, and talk to him. God desires this because he knows that when we knock at his door he is there waiting for us. God desires to dwell with us. 

Take some time to allow your heart and mind to dwell with God. 

Jesus came to fulfill God’s promise of a great High Priest. God knows what goes on in our hearts (Matthew 12:34). Let’s continue to lean into Him throughout our entire day. He knows us and wants us to lean into Him. A way that I practically do this is to try to pray before every meeting, coffee date, or discipleship group. I try to pray during each interaction and ask God for me to be slow to speak, quick to listen, and for the opportunity to glorify Him. Then, I try to pray after each interaction, talking with God and reflecting on what happened. I challenge you to try this action step today. 

My prayer for our church is that we lean into God and be like the person that David describes in Psalm 1:3: “That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither, whatever they do prospers.” 

As you end your quiet time with Jesus, pray Psalm 23:5 and reflect on how abiding in Jesus not only is the source of our fruit, but the reason for our joy. Abiding in Jesus is the reason that our cups overflow. 

You prepare a table before me

    in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil;

    my cup overflows.