God has called us to be doers of the word no matter where we are or what we are doing.
Throughout the New Testament, we are commanded to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We do this not only through our speech but through the lifestyles we implement as disciples of Jesus. The Gospel isn’t just something we do but who we are. And It relies entirely on the Vine of Life: Jesus.
In John 15:1-8, Jesus explains what it looks like to bear fruit as believers and non-believers. But He isn’t talking about the kinds we eat. It holds much more significance than that.
4 Meanings of Fruit in John 15
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No Fruit (John 15:2)
Jesus declares that some branches connected to Him are not bearing fruit, and those will be taken away.
What does Jesus mean? Bearing fruit in the Kingdom of God is winning someone for Jesus. But if we are merely taking from the vine and not flourishing by making disciples, we will be cut off.
What about you? Are you bearing fruit?
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Some Fruit (John 15:2)
Jesus also says that those who are in Him will bear at least some fruit. Simply put, you can’t be connected to Jesus and not bear fruit pleasing to Him. Through His Spirit, His power and love are made perfect in our weakness.
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More Fruit (John 15:2)
The good news is that as we are connected to Christ and bear fruit through His might, He promises to prune away the things that do not align with Heaven so that we can bear more fruit!
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Much Fruit (John 15:8)
God desires His name to be glorified and exalted, which happens when we bear much fruit.
As we desire to be instruments for God to use and surrender our agendas for his will so that we may win many souls for Christ, we are bearing much fruit for the Kingdom.
Where are you in your faith journey? Do you desire to be a branch grafted into His holy vine?
How to Abide in the Vine
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The Power of the True Vine & The Gardner (vs. 1)
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.”
John 15:1, NKJV
Jesus is declaring to us that He is our trustworthy source of power, and He is able and capable of being our source of life! Furthermore, as the Father is taking care of Him, the vine, we are also being cared for as the branches.
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The Danger of Being an Unproductive Branch (vs. 2, 4-6)
“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”
John 15:2, NKJV
However, you do run the risk of being an unproductive branch. You do this by not bearing any fruit; once this happens, your branch will be cut off.
Now, if you aren’t bearing fruit, be careful not to pin that on God. As believers, we know God is fully capable of winning people’s hearts, and He wants you to be the instrument He can use to impact lives for Jesus!
Are you willing to surrender your branch to Him?
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A Branch Cannot Bear Fruit of Itself (vs. 4)
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”
John 15: 4, NKJV
You cannot bear fruit in your own power, mindset, or ideas, so you must rely on you’re the One who can: Jesus.
It is through the Holy Spirit that we can win people over to God, bring change to other people’s lives, and live as examples of the goodness of God.
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An Unproductive Branch Is An Indication of NOT ABIDING (vs. 4)
What does it mean to abide in God?
It is when you live with Him, walk with Him, and pray to Him! It is when you live a lifestyle connected to Jesus Christ!
Don’t be someone who shows up on Sunday; be someone who relies and abides by the faithfulness and power of God in all aspects of your life.
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Without Christ, We Can Do NOTHING (vs. 5)
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
John 15:5, NKJV
Without Christ, we are empty and void. There is not one thing we can accomplish for Him without Him!
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An Unproductive Branch Gets Cast Out (vs. 6)
“If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”
John 15:6, NKJV
It is not the shepherd’s job to make the church grow; healthy sheep produce sheep.
To be an unproductive branch is to be cut off, withered away, and cast away from the Presence of God.
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The Blessing of Being A Productive Branch (vs. 2, 7-8)
However, there is a benefit to thriving in the vine of Jesus Christ!
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A Branch That Abides in Christ Will Get Pruned (vs. 2)
“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”
John 15:2, NKJV
When you are productive, and God sees you bearing fruit, He prunes you. This is good news!
He will take some things away so that you can bear more fruit. I challenge you not to be discouraged because God is making room for you to be more productive!
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A Branch That Abides in Christ Will Get Their Prayers Answered (vs. 7)
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”
John 15:7, NKJV
I discovered that as I abide in God, He not only answers my prayers but also has a record of doing so before I even ask Him! How incredible is it that we can see God moving in our lives, answering the desires of our hearts, and we haven’t even muttered one word to Him yet!
God leans in and hears our thoughts. He knows the desires of our hearts because He placed them there. And what comes from God will be made possible in His perfect timing and provision.
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By This My Father is Glorified (vs. 8)
“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”
John 15:8, NKJV
By abiding in Jesus, having His word abiding in us, and bearing much fruit, God always gets the glory!
You may need to evaluate what is choking the word out of you.
What is causing God’s word not to get in your heart?
What is causing you not to be able to hear from God?
What worldly standards are you justifying in the Kingdom?
Some of you have filled your minds with words, music, and philosophies of the world that you have no space to memorize Scripture.
I love the musical group The Temptations. Years ago, I remember singing their songs as if they were second nature. It was then that I realized there was a problem.
You see, I had to lay their records down because it was draining me. In His faithfulness, God took it out of my life, and what He replaced it with is so much better and so much more.
So what is it that God needs to prune out of your life so that you can be filled with the word and abide in Him?
Who Do We Reach Out To in Order to Bear Fruit?
Statistics tell us that most Americans don’t attend church and are not engaged in spiritual affairs. Unfortunately, many in our culture are involved in ungodly spiritual matters such as wickedness, tarot cards, and horoscopes.
Many people you encounter daily need the life-giving message of Jesus. I challenge you to make a prayer list of people you know who need Jesus. And for simplicity’s sake, let’s call it our F.R.A.N.C.E.S. list.
F.R.A.N.C.E.S.
F – FRIENDS
Everyone has people in their lives that they are in a relationship with. These are those they care about and spend time investing in.
One of the biggest problems we have in the church is that we are so busy serving, attending bible studies, and focusing on the congregation that we don’t see the unreached people in front of us. Lord, please slow us down so we can win our friends to Jesus!
R – RELATIVES
We all were born into a family. Maybe you need to spend time with that drunk uncle, a cousin in the cycle of having multiple children out of wedlock, or a brother addicted to drugs.
People need the Lord, including those who are related to us!
A – ACQUAINTANCES
Acquaintances are the people you may not be close to, but you see them occasionally. They could be the people you pass on your morning walk, the clerk at the local grocery store you frequent, or even your local mail carrier.
How can you invest in an acquaintance?
N – NEIGHBORS
Do you know the names of the people who live right next door? God calls us to develop and cultivate relationships with our neighbors and show them love and concern.
C – CO-WORKERS
Years ago, when I worked for the government, a co-worker of mine was in the hospital with a cancer diagnosis. And when I went to see Him, Holy Spirit convicted me that I never shared the Gospel with him. Ouch.
I wonder how many of us have never mentioned the faithfulness of Jesus to those we share an office with.
E – ENEMIES
The Bible tells us to pray for our enemies! This is an important safeguard to protect your heart from fostering the same hate they hold in theirs for you.
S – STRANGERS
Prayer for those you don’t know personally. These could be the people you are stopped next to a red light, those shopping at the same time as you, or even the people in your office building who work on another floor.
The Process of Evangelism to Reach the Lost
Once you have compiled your F.R.A.N.C.E.S. list, begin to abide in the vine of Christ.
How to B.L.E.S.S. Others
B – Begin With Prayer
Put those who are lost on your prayer list and talk to God about them!
L – Listen to Them
Ask God to open a door of opportunity for you to listen to what is going on in their lives. The truth of the matter is that people are hurting, and often no one cares.
When someone begins sharing a pain point they are experiencing, why not make it a rule to use that time to engage in spiritual conversations? (Remember, sometimes you must wait for a crisis in order to open up about God.)
E – Eat a Meal With Them
Breaking bread with others is powerful! There is something about eating a meal with someone that takes the relationship to another level. In fact, in Biblical times, eating a meal was a special occasion that cultivated relationships.
S – Serve a Need They Have
Don’t be so busy that you can’t make time to see a need of someone and serve them. This could be as simple as buying someone groceries, mowing their lawn, or babysitting for an hour or two.
S – Share a Story
The last step in meeting someone where they are is to share your testimony.
How has God shown Himself faithfully in your life? What can you share that is similar to what the other person is going through?
Abiding in the vine and bearing fruit for the Kingdom of God is a holy process. However, as you remember to keep your eyes, heart, and mind focused on Christ, He will sustain you.
And after a while, abiding will become second nature, and flourishing branches will result.