A Fruitful LifeSmakprov

FRUITFUL LIFE

INTRODUCTION

When God created the world, He also created a garden overgrown with trees and fruits for human food at that time. We know that fruits are healthy food for us until this day. In the Bible, the Lord Jesus Himself speaks of fruit: John. 15:16, "...  that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My Name He may give you." If we notice, there is a promise to those who bear fruit that is the definite answer of prayer!

The Word of God is a wonderful seed that is placed in the lives of believers. God's Word must teach you every day. Then the Holy Spirit will manifest, guide, protect you from sin and encourage you to do the righteousness. Christ will be reflected in your lives and you will do great things for Him.

You live in the guidance of the Word of God and live only to glorify God. That is the reason why you are sent to serve and bear fruit. By always having intimacy with God, meditating on His word, testifying, then your lives will bear fruit. Struggles or problems will be persisting, but your life is unaffected by it and still bears fruit (Psalm 1:1-3).

DISCUSSION

The fruit of a Christian's life must attract the people around him. To bear good fruit, there are obstacles to be cleansed (John 15: 2), among others are as follows:

1.   The gods of this age (2 Corinthians 4: 3-4). The gods of this era refer to the excitement spirit to rule humankind in this day. “god” is an object to be worshiped which is called an idol. An idol is an object that is worshiped and considered worthwhile which will bring pleasure, happiness, and luck. Usually in the end it is related to material and prosperity. And the worshipers focus his life on the idol. When in fact idol is an inanimate object, we cannot communicate with it, create a fear feeling, and there is an obligation. Whatever controls the mind, life on the things worldly is considered the god of this age. And all that will disturb the tree to be able to bear fruit.

2.  Greed. If all desires become “needs”, people will become greedy. Our prayers surely will be answered by God, if what we pray is a necessity. But it will be fulfilled in God’s time (Kairos). We recognize the price and the value. Value is always talking about the quality of an object while price is about measurement given to an object. Often man puts too high of a price for the world, which can create us to become worldly Christians. Yet the world and its pleasures and everything in it is mortal and will perish.

God will seek the fruits of your life. The fruits that God wants to get from you are as follows:

1. The fruit of repentance (Mt 3:8). Be a Christian who keeps on repenting, repentance is not when we step to faith, be baptized, and after that turn back to our old lives. We are entering a new season, that is to bear fruit. Produce the fruit of repentance. Continue to love and serve God, and people can see the changes in our lives.

2. The fruit of good works (Col. 1:10). Do not do things that can cause misery and make others fall into sin (dirty or haram business). God will bless us, so that we may be a channel of blessing. Do not let our work inhibit evangelism and not glorify God

3. The fruit of souls (Romans 1:13). We can produce this fruit by sowing in our prayers, money, and works, then so many souls will be harvested for the Kingdom of God.

4. The Fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22). The seed of Christ and the Holy Spirit that is in us will bring out the character of Christ, this is the fruit of the Spirit. In Christianity, the greatest value is the measure of love. The pure love is from the Cross. In love there is no demand for justice, otherwise, there is forgiveness.

5. The fruit of righteousness (Philippians 1:9-11). To be able to bear the fruit of righteousness, we must abide in Christ because He is the Truth. The world is full of false values and principles of life, but in Christ, we surely find the right value of truth.

Bearing fruit is not an easy thing, but it does not mean that we cannot do it. By His grace, we will be able to be fruitful. If today we have not found how to bear fruit, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the first step of what we need to do (this kind of surrendering is the fruit of our faith).

DISCUSSION

1. As a Christian who has received the Divine seed of the Lord Jesus who died for our redemption, it is appropriate for Him as the master of our lives, asking for the seed not to be vain, but to bear fruit constantly. Do you think you have been fruitful in your life this day?

2. What are the challenges and obstacles for us to bear fruit?

3. How to keep God's eternal seeds well preserved? (Read 1 John 3: 9-10 as a reference)