FRUITS OR LEAVES- 15/02/2014
Yesterday’s message was titled “BE STRONG”. Today’s message is titled “FRUITS OR LEAVES” as given by Pastor E. A. Adeboye in Open Heavens Devotional (Adeboye, 2014). In today’s message, we have been asked to memorise
Philippians 1:11 “Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. ” and read Mark 11:12-14. The Bible in one year reading for today has been taken from Isaiah 43:1 to Isaiah 45:13 and Psalm 38 (Adeboye, 2014).
Quoted below is the message. God bless you richly as you contribute to today's discussion
"When hungry, a person instinctively makes moves to have the hunger assuaged, which is normal. I had an experience in my early years when I had to go get firewood to sell to have money for my basic needs (food primarily). One day, l got stung bees after climbing a standing dry tree. I however refused to come down until I felled dry wood from the tree. I endured the terrible pain because I knew that no wood to sell meant no food to eat. May you not be poor in the Name of Jesus. In the morning of a particular day, the Lord Jesus while returning from Bethany to Jerusalem was hungry; needed food. Just at that moment, a fig tree was insight; hope and expectation arose in Him. Food for a hungry tummy is a necessity, a basic one for that matter. However, on getting to the fig tree, it was all leaf and no fruit. This fig tree had taken so many nutrients from the ground, only to produce leaves. It failed to fulfill its basic purpose of bearing fruits. Today, though Jesus is not physically present and A traversing the land of Judah and Galilee as He was then, He is alive and still very much hungry for fruit. Howbeit, not for figs or grapes but for:
(i) Fruits of righteousness - Philippians 1 :1 1.
(ii) Souls—John 15:16.
Just like the fig tree in our reading for today, it IS saddening that rather than Jesus finding the desired fruits on many of His children, they are merely full of leaves. Such leaves are reminiscent of the conditions prevailing in the Laodicean Church (Revelation 3:17-18), which had money and material things to the exclusion of spiritual substance. Some of us have position, titles, fame and material things. We are living big, but the fruits that Jesus really desires are lacking. Some of us have taken so much blessing from Jesus only to consume all on ourselves. We dress in good attires, live large and have created a niche for ourselves in company of the who-is-who in high society, all with little or nothing at all in the area of influencing lives for Jesus. by We need to repent, and like the Laodicean church, consider getting the true riches of Jesus Christ. The verdict of Jesus Christ on the fruitless fig tree is frightening. This should be an example to a leafy but fruitless individual jg (Luke 13:6-9). In Jesus’ Name, you will not be marked for cutting down. May you begin to bear fruit to the satisfaction of the Master henceforth and the blessings of the fruitful will be your portion." (Adeboye, 2014)
Today"s prayer point is to desire to be fruitful and pray to God for all that is needed to make you fruitful. also pray that every force that work against your fruitfulness should be destroyed by fire. (Adeboye, 2014)
May we never be cut down from our position of honour in Jesus Name, Amen.
Reference:
Adeboye, E. A. (2014) Open Heavens: A Guide to Close Fellowship with God, Volume 14, 2014. Nigeria: Open Heavens Media Limited.
Lord I pray that I will be a fruitful servant of yours in my christian journey and that I Will never be removed from my position because of unfruitfulness
ReplyDelete2 Corinthians 5:15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
ReplyDeleteGalatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Truly the Christian lives on borrowed life on a contract terms to apply same to "influencing lives for Jesus" . May we not default in this grave regard! May the two critical FRUITS be found in me!
Sincerely, I am concerned about fruit bearing, particularly in the area of witnessing. I feel I am not doing enough. Although I bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit, I teach and work actively in my parish, all to God's glory who gave an unworthy clay like me the privilege of being used by Him. However, I am no longer going to villages, house to house, hospitals and prisons, making morning cries like I used to do when I was in U.I those days.. Are my not backsliding? People see me as a firebrand but I know I am no longer as I used to be in faith, depth in God's word, open visions and spiritual gifts. Please, advise.
ReplyDeleteYou have to set aside time to let the Holy Spirit show you the priorities HE wants you to fulfil. Sometimes we do things because we've been asked to, or just because that's the way they've always been done.
DeleteHowever God wants us to come aside and receive instructions from His mouth. Psalm 32.
Anytime you meet an expressed need of God, you are bearing fruit whether helping out in your parish or visiting hospitals. But, you need to know what it is God has asked you to do and do it with a willing heart, "as unto the Lord".
God bless you
The Church today is full of 98 percent LEAFY christians and only 2 percent FRUITY christians. And that is why the world can't taste the salt anymore neither do they see the any light from the fold. Even within, the leafy lifestyle has left many hungry whereas some have more than enough to go round. What a betrayal! Who shall stand the just judgment to come?
ReplyDeleteLord,have mercy on us.
ReplyDeleteThat is just the right prayer! God should pls have mercy on us and break every barrier on our ways to fruit bearing,expecially those of us that have willing minds but are being constrained one way or the other.
ReplyDeleteGod i thank you for gift of life, and a new begin of a new day, Father i ask and pray to be fruitful with all my children and everything that we need to be fruitful father give unto us In Jesus name, any force or spirit that are working against our fruitfulness Father destroy it In Jesus name. Amen.
ReplyDelete