God brings us to a point in our life where we have to decide if we're going to allow Him to reign and have control over our whole life, or if we will go back to our comfortable ways, "back to Moab." We have to acknowledge that God has done great things in our life, and for us to be fruitful, we must rejoice in our Lord and Savior; to be obedient and follow after all of His ways. Luke 1:53 says, "He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away." We have no idea what lies ahead but if we trust God, and His faithfulness, and do not turn back to the old ways, he will take us places and cause us to bear fruit we never thought possible. Are we ready to truly understand, follow, obey the Word? If we allow God - he will show us. What kind of song will you sing (O barren)? What kind of life will you lead?
In John 14:15, Jesus says, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." These words of Jesus speak directly to the heart of what it means to be a disciple. The simple command is the key to our lives "bearing much fruit!"
John chapter 15, verse 2, tells us that God is the husbandman which means vine dresser or gardener. As a loving, vine dresser, he will come and either “take away” the dead branches or prune the fruitful ones. Which will you be?
In John 15, verse one, Jesus declares himself to be the true vine. This means He alone is the source of strength, grace, and divine nourishment that believers need in order for our lives to produce spiritual fruit. The question is, "Are you being fruitful?"
In the face of coming storms there is no time for casual christianity. God desires to take each of us into a deeper relationship with Him where His heart is formed in us. We bind the works of the enemy by simply walking in obedience to God's Word.
In the days of Micah and Isaiah, the people of God were losing sight of the church - where callousness replaced compassion. People had become so ‘self-focused,’ they were teaching compassion and love but were not living it. The passion for the poor and needy in heart, was lost. Church goers today, as in times of old, are more like consumers, walking into church asking, “What can I get from God?” But we were created by God for His purposes. Everything we do should be for and unto Him. In Matthew 16:24, Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” When we ask, “How can I do more?” God gives His answer in Micah 6:8, “to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.” We are a reflection of His character, our voices, lives, are models of His mercy, love, justice, grace, and kindness.
“For the Kingdom of God is not in word, but in power,” 1 Corinthians 4:20. When we’re willing, God can use us in changing the lives of others. Jesus came to save the lost, bring them into the body, so they may have eternal life. God heals our lives, bodies, and hearts. We are sure to be in union with God when we keep His word and do it; be determined to know God’s will and to do God’s will. To do things God’s way – we must stay spiritually minded, read Colossians 3:2. Know and live the Word, be “Word-conscious,” the Bible is the living Word of God, read James 1:22. Stay flexible – be ready to make essential changes in our lives so when God speaks – we go. We battle to know and do God’s will for us and become overwhelmed. God’s ways are much higher and greater than our ways. Pray for knowledge of His will, all wisdom, and spiritual understanding, read Colossians 1:9-10. Why do we ask for the knowledge? So we can prove we belong to the Lord, please the Lord, and be fruitful. Jesus instructed us to continue to knock and ask, read Matthew 7:7-8.
In James 1:2, it says to “count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations.” We usually worry, scramble, and try to get out of the situation of difficulty, pressure, or stress. Read 1 Peter 1:6-7, “Wherein ye greatly rejoice though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth.” God uses trials to try and prove our faith, but out of the trial, there is a forming and developing of patience. Our days are not always wonderful. Paul stated in Philippians 4:11, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” He learned to let patience rise and do a work. So why should we joy in trials? Because we’re going to receive a measure of patience which does an inner work for us. Patience develops confidence in God, His Word, His promises, and how we believe. Many times we are instructed to be still and wait upon the Lord (patience develops). We have the need to receive patience before we receive the promises of God.
God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Read 1 Corinthians 1:25 to 31. God sees us for what is inside us. He calls ones with seemingly no talent, average, and who are low-esteemed. God uses people who are not perfect but who need mending. He takes our situations, cleans us up, mends us, and completes a work in us until we are perfected even to the stature of Jesus Christ. In order to be used by God, we must allow our wounds to be turned in scars. Our scars are reminders of a wound that has been mended. God uses people who are willing to fit together in the body. Read Ephesians 4:16, God knits together people who have been mended and are working towards one purpose – accomplishing great works for the Kingdom of God. God uses people who are faithful. We must allow God to mend us, to work together, to speak the truth in love, and stand in faithfulness.
God is in process of restoring His Church. We are subjects of the Kingdom of God. In John 17:16, Jesus said, “They are not of the world even as I am not of the world.” We need to move under direction of the Holy Spirit while operating in the manifested life of Jesus Christ. Above all, we should put the things of God first in our life and set our minds on the things of Heaven. In Romans 14:17, Paul tells us, “For the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” We have and makeup the Kingdom of God - by being restored - to living in the manifested power of Jesus Christ.
