The Fruitful Christian

John Chapter 15

• 1"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

1"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener…

2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit,

…while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful.

John 15

What did Jesus mean…

• God wants us Christians to be fruitful. There are three main ways for a Christian to be fruitful

• a. Bearing Fruit of the Spirit• b. Bearing Fruit for the Ministry• c. Bearing Fruit for yourself

Bearing Fruit of the Spirit

• Galatians 5• 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,

peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control.

• As Christians we can receive and then bear fruit of the Spirit…

. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.Jesus was talking to His disciples

when Jesus said this.

In John 15 Jesus said…

Jesus lived with them and had been teaching them.

…AND THAT MADE THEM CLEAN BECAUSE THEY LEARNT FROM HIM AND ABIDED BY HIS TEACHINGS…

We have access to His teachings and directives to us in the gospels…

By reading …understanding and abiding by His teachings we too can be clean in the presence of the Lord

One can read the Gospels like reading a novel….

or Read it because you have accepted Jesus

Christ as your personal savior and you want to diligently learn and abide by His teachings!

This is what makes the difference between a good Christian and a Name sake one

We at most times live in denial

If we read and abide by His teachings then we can reap the benefits of the spirit…

love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control.

IT WILL COMPLETELY TRANSFORM YOU TO BE A DIFFERENT PERSON ALTOGETHER

In John 3: 5Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no

one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.Yes born again…dead to the old you and

the beginning of a new you!

A true Christian who will receive Gods blessings to bear the FRUIT OF THE

SPIRIT TO LIVE A LIFE FULL OFlove, joy, peace, patience, kindness,

goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control.

A Change from being ordinary to being Gods child…A light in a dark world!

In Mathew 5

• 14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

By bearing fruit of the spirit which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control and living righteously

Christians can be different… be a good example to others …make a difference and

even change the world!

Just imagine…How can evil exist in a world full of

love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness

and self-control

The other type of Fruit that we can bear as Christians is the

Fruit of the Ministry

The Fruit of the Ministry• Most of our Christians have become “Sunday Christians”• Diligently attend church on Sundays as a ritual rather than driven

by a need to experience Gods presence and might. • Churches springing up like mushrooms and even resorting to

squabble among each other• Instead of moving our congregations towards reading,

understanding and abiding by God's word, most churches adopt standard and ordinary worship which does little to develop a higher degree of spirituality and intimacy with God

• As a result the required intimacy with our God is minimal in most Christians due to lack of spirituality development

• Due to these reasons the ministry of God which should grow from strength to strength and bear much more fruit and expand in fact dwindles downward.

4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain

in the vine.

By developing a high degree of spirituality through reading and abiding by Jesus'

teachings, will enable us to be attached to the great vine called Jesus Christ and bear much

fruit!

Jesus said…

We would want to share our intimate experience with others who would also

observe us living a good life with the Fruit of the Spirit. This will prompt them to be

inquisitive and through witnessing to them we can cause faster expansion of the ministry

of God.

Bearing Fruit for yourself

Bearing Fruit for yourself• In John 15• 5"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man

remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.

• By being attached to the great wine called Jesus He will remain in us and we will bear much fruit!

We can be certain of this… because Jesus said…

7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.

Therefore by reading understanding and abiding by the Goodness of Jesus' teachings we can experience

the true might of our LordAND

Bear the good fruits of the Spirit Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,

faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control and living righteously Christians

Bear Good fruit for the MinistryAn upwardly mobile Church

Bear good fruit for our selves!Gods blessings and a happier contended life!

AS EXPECTED BY GOD FROM US CHRISTIANS!

16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will

last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17This is my command: Love each other.

Thank you