Proof of Discipleship – Fruitfulness.

Messages for July 2018: Our Month of Excellence

Message for Sunday 15^th July, 2018 – By Pastor Alero Nanna

Theme: Understanding the Benefits of Discipleship

Topic: Proof of Discipleship – Fruitfulness.

Introduction: From the beginning of this month, we began to examine this great topic. So far we have learnt that the reason we are saved is that we may be enabled to bear fruit that would abide for the Lord. Before His departure after His earthly ministry, the Lord told His disciples the importance of fruit bearing in the Kingdom. In fact, He made them to understand that he chose and ordained them to bear fruit that would abide and also made them to know what they stood to benefit if they would bear fruit.

The vine and the branches: His disciples this great lesson on discipleship when He sought to show them the need for discipleship and the benefit it holds for anyone who would take responsibility to be a disciple indeed like he offered those Jewish converts in John 8:29-31. His main demand was that the converts continue in His word so as to indeed become His disciples. The main understanding of discipleship is clarified by the Lord with this analogy of the vine and its branches. His lesson goes thus:

Jesus Christ is the true vine: The vine is the plant that produces the fruits we call grapes. They are sweet juicy fruits that come in green and purple color variables. The special feature of this plant is that the vine releases nutrients to its branches so that the branches can bear fruits. The branches are productive to the extent that they stay connected to the vine. Staying connected to the Lord is therefore the key to effective discipleship and guarantee that we would become branches bearing much fruit. See Jn.15:5-8

The father – God is the vinedresser: As the vine dresser, the father is responsible for determining which branches were fruitful and which branches were not. What he does with the fruitful ones is to prune them so they would bear more fruit and what He does with the unfruitful ones is to cut them off the vine so as to prevent corruption of the vine. Please understand that it is therefore not in the place of any man to judge especially against God’s counsel who is fruitful and who is not. To stay protected from judgment, it is therefore safe not to be judgmental. See Jn.15:1-5 and Mt.7:1-5

The disciples are the branches: Anyone who becomes a disciple of the Lord by continuing in the word of God to hear and do it, would be able to produce fruits in abundance. When we bear fruit this way we would be fulfilling our purpose for being born again. See Rm.7:4; Jn.15:8, 16; Isa.5:1-7 and Gen.12:2.

The disciple and their fruit: The means by which God has ordained that the quality of life people live is measured is the kind of fruit they bear. According to the Lord, a good tree would bear good fruits and a bad tree would bear bad fruits. See Mt.12:34-37. In our particular study here, the tree is the disciple also likened to the branch of the vine in this analogy of the Lord’s vine and branches. The fruit usually borne by the vine is the grape through the branches attached to the vine. As Disciples of Christ, the fruit God looks for in us is the Lord’s quality. This is why Apostle Paul teaches that we should let the mindset of the Lord Jesus Christ be our mindset. See Philippians 2:5 so that our lives will turn out exactly like His and we would be able to bear much fruit like Him. See Jn.15:5-8.

What fruit do we bear that make us like Christ? The fruit we bear is called the fruit of the spirit. These are the character traits of the recreated human spirit. It is summed up in the word of the only commandment that the Lord has given to the Church found in John 13:34-35 thus:

“A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

This explains why the fruit of the spirit is mentioned in the singular in Galatians 5:22-23 where the Apostle Paul begins his sentence by saying: “The fruit of the spirit is …” and goes on to list nine Character traits of love drawn from describing the fruit of the spirit. In the amplified version of the bible the text is taught this way (– the work which the presence of the Holy Spirit within us accomplishes is…) What are these traits?

1.     Love: The full description of love is found in 1Cor.13:4-8 in the amplified version of the bible. love

2.     Joy: gladness, does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness but rejoices when right and truth prevail

3.     Peace: peace

4.     Longsuffering: patience, an even temper, forbearance, endures long bearing up under anything and everything that comes and is ready to believe the best of every person.

5.     Gentleness: kindness, takes no account of evil done to it.

6.     Goodness: benevolence – does not pay attention to a suffered wrong.

7.     Faith: faithfulness

8.     Meekness: humility

9.     Temperance: Self-control, self-restraint and continence.

A look at the full description of love in the account below is actually a description of the fruit of a true disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ because they are people who have learnt to be controlled by their recreated human spirits instead of the flesh. Thus they behave like the Lord Jesus Christ. See also 1Cor.13:4-8 in the amplified bible translation.

However, the first step we must take to bearing fruit is the subscription to the new birth experience through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. If you want to subscribe today, please do so at once by saying the following prayer out loud in faith and you will be saved:

Heavenly Father,

Have mercy on me a sinner. Today, I believe that Jesus died for me and you raised Him from the dead for my Justification. I therefore declare that Jesus Christ is my Saviour and Lord and from today, I renounce the fatherhood of Satan and embrace Jesus Christ as my Saviour and Lord. Thank you for this father in Jesus’ name! Amen.

Congratulations! For more information and resources that would help you grow in this new life, please visit our website at www.kingdomheirsministries.org and our blogs at www.flourishinggirl.blogspot.com and follow us on twitter at alero_nanna and on face book on www.facebook.com/flourishinggirl www.facebook.com/khmii2015; www.facebook.com/thewellbeingcenter. Or www.facebook.com/kingdomjointheirsfamily email:  jointheirsfamily@gmail.com.