Appointed To Bear Fruit: A 90 Day JourneySample

Chosen to Bear Fruit

It’s a great honor and blessing to be chosen by God. Even though we were once rebels rejecting Him, He loved us and called us to Himself, giving us salvation through Jesus Christ. We are no longer enslaved by our sins and under the authority of Satan. Before Christ, our debt of sin was increasing every day. There was no way that we could free ourselves from the penalty of the sin we were under, death and destruction were waiting for us. But God did what no other could do: He chose us. He paid our debt. He did all of it because of His great love for us. Now we can live with Him forever.

Not only did God desire us by choosing us for salvation, He also set us apart. He chose us for a special service. Our salvation is not the goal; giving glory to God’s name is the goal. Our salvation is just one step in fulfilling God’s plan to glorify His name through the redemption of those held captive by Satan. The second step is participating in His mission. Jesus clearly tells us what that mission is: We are to go, bear fruit, and have fruit that abides. Our mission is not completed when we bear fruit. It is only completed when the fruit that we bear abides in Christ for themselves. The fruit of our ministry must abide in Christ just as we abide in Christ. 

All believers are on a mission. We have been chosen to go out into the world for Christ. As we abide in Christ, His life will flow through us so that we produce fruit. Our words and actions should point people to Christ, so they too might confess their sins and become children of God. Our going should directly result in visible fruit. As we do the greater works that Jesus promised us (John 14:12), many will come to faith in Christ. It’s our witness that draws them to salvation in Christ. 

Believing in Christ is different from joining a club. It’s not a matter of being a member, it’s having a spiritual rebirth. When we hear the gospel, the Spirit of God works in our heart, so we are convicted of our sins and bow at Christ’s feet in worship of our Great Redeemer. God will call people to Himself for salvation, when we carry out God’s mission His way. We are not to be bearing fruit through our own trickiness or creativity. To do so, would result in fruit that’s not abiding and is eventually cutoff. When we proclaim God’s Word, we can have confidence that Jesus will use it to draw people to Himself.

When someone responds to the gospel, they become a new branch abiding in the vine, and the life of Christ begins to flow through them. They realize that their salvation wasn’t the goal. Now they will have a desire to see God glorified as a result of many coming to faith in Christ. They, too, are to do the works that Jesus did by proclaiming God’s salvation to the lost. Our mission is all about multiplication. We go, we bear fruit, and this fruit abides. Through abiding, this new fruit goes forth and bears fruit which will in turn abide. This is how the gospel has spread throughout the world and how it will continue to spread in your area. Making disciples that will abide in Christ is God’s plan to fill the world with His glory.

We must boldly ask God that we bear fruit and that this fruit abides in Christ. Pray about this today, because it’s God’s will. Ask the Father in Jesus’ name to give you disciples that will multiply. All the resources of heaven are available to you, so that you will bear much fruit and do greater works than Jesus did. Don’t stop asking until God gives you fruit that will abide and that many will come to faith in Christ through the ministry that you do.

Application:  Is the fruit of your ministry abiding in Christ?