Statements of Faith - I Am A Fruitful Branch

 

JOHN 15:4

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. 

    Abide: remain, stay, wait (I wait for, I stay in, I remain with)

    How are we fruitful branches in Christ? 

• Matthew 4:19 When we follow Christ, He teaches us how to become 'fishers of men', how to draw people to The Light and Love of God's gospel of salvation.
• Proverbs 11:30 & James 5:20 Be a soul winner in His kingdom. Tell your testimony: what Christ Jesus has done for you, how He saved you and continues to walk your life's journey with you. 
• 1 John 3:24 Keeping His commandments causes us to be fruitful branches, for by doing so, we remain in Him and He in us. 
• 1 John 4:15 & Romans 10:9 Speaking out loud that Jesus is The Son of God shows they that hear us speak such Truth that God is in us and we are in Him. 

    What is a Christian's fruit?

• Our disposition, our character, our attitude - We are to have, cultivate and exhibit the fruit of The Spirit - Galatians 5:22-23.
• Our life and conversation - Live a life of love - Ephesians 5:2
• Our intentions, motives - Live a life of faith in God - 1 Timothy 1:4
• Honor God, do good - Live a life that is worthy of God's call - 2 Thessalonians 1:11 and Ephesians 4:1
• Be an example of what we say we are - Live a life that is worthy of The Lord - Colossians 1:10

    And now we must consider: are we, indeed, fruitful branches in The Vine which is Christ? If we are, we must endeavor to continue to do so. And if you are not, what are you waiting for? You have received a personal invitation to be seated in Christ and He in you which requires a personal response from you. Come, come to Jesus Christ and be grafted into The Vine. Today is your day of salvation. 

PROOF OF YOUR LOVE - For King & Country 

BUILD MY LIFE - Pat Barrett and Cory Asbury 

LIVE FOR JESUS - Evie Tornquist

A Crucified Life - - Sows Generously Into The Kingdom of God

  

    2 Corinthians 9:6

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 

Sparingly: stingily

From the Greek word 'pheidomenós' (pronounced fi-dom-en'-oce).

    Proverbs 11:25

A generous soul will prosper, and he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. 

    To sow sparingly into the kingdom of God is to be stingy with the finances God has given us. Not only are we commanded to bring a tithe into the house of God, but offerings above said tithe are commended and rewarded. As long as the offering is coming from a giving heart and not a begrudging greedy heart. 

    The 'anything goes' church attendees are besmirching and killing the church. Believers support it because they recognize that they are the church. The self-righteous church sees no need to support missionaries. Believers want to support their missionaries, recognizing the strength of their financial support is multiplied when given over to God: for He causes the increase and makes their little cover many needs.

     Whether we are giving into our church's missionary support system or to other mission-minded groups. For instance, VOM encourages us to provide Bibles to nations where the Bible is prohibited. Gideons Int'l supplies Bibles wherever they are needed. That's missionary support, too.

    Operation Outpour  is building an orphanage and a school, a garden to grow their own fruits and veggies, and helping by its efforts to support the little town in which the orphanage is. They even have a fair trade boutique where you can pick up nifty items for home and garden. 

    Maranatha CR is reaching the unreached in Costa Rica. Both JMM and  Samaritan's Purse are international aid relief ministries. 

    These are just a few of the many, but I used them here because they have remained faithful throughout the years to the cause of Christ: to spread the gospel by sowing seeds into the nations/cultures to which they have been sent. 

    When we listen to the Spirit of God, He directs where our missionary support goes. They covet our prayers, as well. We need to remain faithful in our prayers for them and it helps to know how many of these missionaries want to be prayed for.

    This book changed the way I pray for missionaries and the persecuted church. For me, it was life-changing, because I can see the effect my prayers for someone else are having on me. 

    Don't let the devil make you feel bad if your wallet/pocketbook is full of cobwebs and dust. When I had nothing financially to give, I asked God to make me a blessing. He's still doing that. 

    We are merely commanded to "Seek first the kingdom of God" (Matthew 6:33) and everything we need will be 'added to us'. Worry does not move the heart of God: faith does. 

    Galatians 5:22,23 tells us about the fruit of the Spirit, indicating that it is one fruit with many segments. Should one segment be missing the fruit is incomplete and will not accomplish its purpose. The fruit will rot on the vine and need to be removed. 

    Let us not be rotten fruit on the vine, but Spirit aligned. It is not too late to sow into God's kingdom. Christ has not yet been sent by the Father to bring His people home. There's still time to reach one more person, one more soul.

The Generous Sower 

Seek First - Jason upton

Give Me Your Eyes - Brandon Heath

Give Us Clean Hands - Chris Tomlin

Sow In Tears - Danny Daniels 

To Live Is Christ - Sidewalk Prophets

The Proof of Your Love - for KING & COUNTRY

Happy Day - Jesus Culture

Build Your Kingdom Here - Rend Collective

    

    

A Crucified Life - - Is A Productive Life

 

2 Corinthians 7:11

Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and such a readiness to punish wrong. You showed that you have done everything necessary to make things right.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 2716

Produced: effect by labor, work out, bring to decisive finality, accomplish

From the Greek word 'katergazomai' (pronounced kat-er-gad'-zom-ahee).

    1 Corinthians 12:25

That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. 

    A heart that was not right with God, was not aligned according to the Word of God, is now made clean before God. That's what repentance does. Godly sorrow changes a person's heart, which changes the way we think, the way we behave. Especially the way we behave towards each other. 

    When Isaiah spoke with God in Isaiah 1:18, he heard this phrase, “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool."

  When we answer God call us to Himself, as Isaiah heard that call, only then can He begin to transform a heart of self-involvement into a heart like His. Isaiah 43:25 "I, yes I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake and remembers your sins no more." 

    Ezekiel 11:19 "And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart."

    Permanent change can only be accomplished in us when we repent of our sins against God to God and God changes us from the inside out. 

    Laundry does not get cleaned once and then never again. So it is with the heart of God's people. Every time it gets a little dirty, it needs to be washed again. Unlike laundry, one of these days our souls will be permanently cleansed; it is then we will be made perfect. Perfect in Christ. 

    So, when the Spirit within us convicts our hearts over sin(s) we go to the altar immediately and repent of that sin. We ask God to remove the root of that sin that it may no longer get in our way of growing in Him. This makes it possible for us to function quite well as a body, as the body of Christ. 

     For when one part of the body is broken, other parts are affected, just like in our own bodies. I have Fibromyalgia (Fm). It is a disease that attacks the central nervous system. For me, all my senses are in overdrive when I am going through a flare-up. 

    For instance, with the sense of touch, I can neither be hugged nor held. Taste and smell are so connected that if something I like to eat smells off, I can't eat it. There are times I feel like a canary in a mine: I can smell things no one else can smell. Sight, hearing and balance seem to affect each other, too.

    I tell you this because one thing wrong in the body causes things to go wrong elsewhere in the body. When the foot stumbles, the body falls. The same holds true for the body of Christ. It is why we need to remain whole and complete in Him as He is in us. 

    Therefore, let us draw near to God, repent of our sins, gain renewed strength in His Word and be refreshed with His Spirit, that our witness may be proved faithful, true and all-encompassing. Let us repent of any division we may have caused in our churches, our homes, our worksites, both deliberately and unintentionally. 

    Lord, 

Help us lead a more productive life in You to the glory of God. Give me a fleshy heart, a heart that is moldable and beats for You. Help me to interact with my brothers and sisters in Christ in love, compassion, with mercy, with hope, with peace, with joy, with comfort. Heal Your church, Lord. Make us more fruitful in Your kingdom. 

In Jesus' Name,

Amen

    A crucified life is a fruitful life. It produces positive actions and negates harmful ones. When the body is whole, it is able to accomplish great things. For the Spirit that flows through it produces eternal fruit which enlarges the kingdom of God in every way. 

    Galatians 5:22-24 (NLT)

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to His cross and crucified them there.

 

MORE LIKE JESUS   

More About Jesus - Classic Hymn

Just As I Am

Alive In You - Jesus Culture

Broken Vessels - Hillsong Worship

Love Each Other - Graham Kendrick

Salvation Song - Stuart Townend

River of Love & Everything - Joel Case & Melissa Helser

Unfailing - Andrew Word

Guard Your Heart - - Watch Your Walk

 

Galatians 5:25

If we live in The Spirit, let us also walk in The Spirit.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 4748

Walk: to walk by rule

From the Greek word 'stoicheó' (pronounced stoy-kheh'-o); walk according to The Spirit, walk orderly, to walk in step with The Spirit.

We sing Where He Leads Me I Will Follow, and He Leadeth Me, sometimes without thinking about the HOW we are being led. If we walk in step with The Spirit, it is more than a following after His lead, it is keeping up with Him. Think of boot camp where the private is taught to keep in step with not only the drill sergeant but also the men and women walking with that soldier. One misstep and the whole order falls apart. 

    

    To walk in The Spirit is to 'walk according to His rule' (Galatians 6:16) wherein we walk out this new life in Christ in Truth and Liberty. For The Word tells us in 2 Corinthians 3:17,  "Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where The Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." 

     Liberty to walk unbound by the bondage of sin, which once held us captive, ready to deliver us to death and hell. But now, having been set free from our sinful nature, we walk "in the newness of life" ( given us when we believe that Jesus Christ Is Lord and Savior. 

    If you are not a born again Christian you CANNOT walk in the Spirit of The Lord, for you have no New Life in Christ. You are still walking in darkness, bumping into things you cannot see and are but dimly aware of, if there is any awareness at all. You need to see the Light: the Light of God's Love extended to us through His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. We can only walk in The Spirit if we are living in The Light, for The Light shines on the path of the righteous, wherein The Spirit leads the faithful believer.  I pray you come to know the Love of God and His precious Holy Light. I pray for your salvation, the indwelling of The Holy Spirit within you and an eager joy birthed in you to serve the Lord your God with all faithfulness and urgency.​

   

Romans 6:3-5

3. Or aren’t you aware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 

4. We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of life.

5. For if we have been united with Him like this in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection.

    When we live by, live in The Spirit, we are walking by His lead, walking in His authority, under His rule, in Love. When we truly follow His leading, our lives will show the fruit of walking in The Spirit: Galatians 5:22, 23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. Against such things there is no law."

•     LOVE: Agape Love, Divine Love
•     JOY: The awareness of God's Grace
•     PEACE: God's Gift of Wholeness
•     LONGSUFFERING: Divinely-regulated Patience produced by The LORD 
•     GENTLENESS: Divine Kindness which meets the need(s); Meeting real needs in God's way, God's timing.
• GOODNESS: The Goodness which comes from God and reveals itself as spiritual excellence, moral excellence; a virtuous life.
• FAITH: God's Divine Persuasion, which He inbirths within us through the power of His Holy Spirit and which He refills us with each time we trust in Him and in His Word.
• MEEKNESS: Strength in Gentleness; Uncompromising, but firm; Temperate (Levelheaded, Sober {minded}, Restrained.
• TEMPERANCE: Self-Control from within; Mastering our desires with the power of The Lord through His Holy Spirit. Constraint, self-discipline.

    Let us walk in The Spirit. Let us walk in The Love of God, exhibiting the kindness of God to everyone we interact with. Walk in the Joy of knowing we are saved by the Grace of God. Walk in Peace, God's gift of Wholeness, knowing that we are complete in Him. 

    Let us walk in Longsuffering, in divinely-regulated patience, a long-tempered way of speaking and thinking, instead of  a short-tempered, short-fused way. Let not words of unkindness bleed through our lips when we get frustrated or upset.

    Let us walk in Gentleness, waiting on God to nudge us in the direction we need to go and serve Him in. Sometimes a simple prayer prayed with someone concerning their needs is what we are to do. Other times God reveals the need to someone and they bring what is needed to the person who needs it. (There was a time when I had no money for food. The boys and I prayed. That same night friends showed up at our door with armfuls of groceries for us. I had no phone so I could not call anyone. But I had faith that God would meet our needs and He did).

    Let us walk in the Goodness of God, living morally upright lives which reflect His Word and His Light and His Love to everyone that they may see Christ in us. This is not a 'holier than thou' stance, nor is it  judgmental living. It is letting The Spirit teach the believer how to live according to The Word of God which lives within us.

    Let us walk in Faith, believing, trusting God for His wisdom in making our every day decisions. Let us seek out, pursue and know His will that we may live righteous, holy lives before God.

    Let us walk in Meekness, leading uncompromising lives which shine the Light of God's Love into the darkness of the world around us. We walk knowing we have the mind of Christ: levelheaded, intelligent, wise, sober-minded. But not backing down in the fight against us. Not surrendering any part of our relationship with Christ, but making a steadfast showing of His Love and His Mercy to the unloved and unlovely, to the merciless and the unforgiving, to the hateful and the embittered. 

    Let us walk in Temperance, in the self-control, the self-disciplines, of The Spirit. Let us embrace Wisdom and allow it to be applied to our hearts and our minds. Let us surrender what we want and how we want it to God through His Holy Spirit, who seeks only to perfect us in the righteousness of Christ. 

    Can we be saved and live unholy lives? No. To be saved is to be saved from the punishment for sin. If sin is still ruling in us, then we are not living a holy lifestyle. The two cannot be on the same throne, especially the throne of our hearts. Sin must go when Christ enters in. 

     So let us walk in the newness of Life in Christ. Let us allow The Holy Spirit to lead us through God's Word and walk in The Way of Holiness, the path which God has set for His people to walk in. Come, walk with me.     

    Romans 8:5

Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh; but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

HE LEADETH ME by Candi Pearson

FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT by Hillsong Young & Free

 SPIRIT LEAD ME (Oceans) by Hillsong United

WISDOM IN THE SECRET HEART by Shane & Shane

MOVE THROUGH ME by Charity Gayle 

 

Today's Word -- Patience

 2 Corinthians 6:4 

But in all things let us exhibit ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in tribulation, in necessities, in distresses. 

2 Corinthians 4:8, 9

We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.

Romans 8:35

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 

Strong's describes this word 'Patience' as (1) a remaining behind (2) a patient enduring (3) endurance (4) steadfastness. 

 5281 hypomonḗ (from 5259 /hypó, "under" and 3306 /ménō, "remain, endure") – properly, remaining under, endurance; steadfastness, especially as God enables the believer to "remain (endure) under" the challenges He allots in life. 

And because this patience is God-enable, we are made aware that it truly is one of the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 "But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law."

Patience is endurance. Romans 15:4 "For everything that was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope." Hebrews 12:1-3 (1) "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us. (2) Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (3) Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

Patience is perseverance. Perseverance is constancy, remaining constant with one goal in mind. 1 Timothy 6:11, 12 "But you, O man of God, flee from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made the good confession before many witnesses." Luke 8:15 "And that in the good soil, these are those who, having heard the word, keep it in a worthy and good heart and bring forth fruit by perseverance."

Patience is steadfastness. Steadfast is morally fixed, securely positioned, firm in purpose. 1 Corinthians 15:58 "And that in the good soil, these are those who, having heard the word, keep it in a worthy and good heart and bring forth fruit by perseverance." Colossians 1:22, 23 "But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence ----- if indeed you continue in the faith, established and firm, and not being moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, having been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, of which I Paul have become a minister."

Patience is also longsuffering. Colossians 3:12, 13 "So, as God’s own chosen people, who are holy [set apart, sanctified for His purpose] and well-beloved [by God Himself], put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience [which has the power to endure whatever injustice or unpleasantness comes, with good temper]; bearing graciously with one another, and willingly forgiving each other if one has a cause for complaint against another; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so should you forgive."

Patience like this only comes from God. We already have it when we become believers in the gospel of salvation through Christ and are filled with His precious Holy Spirit, the Comforter Whom God sends to all believers. Patience is a result, a fruit, of the Holy Spirit living in us, guiding us and revealing to us the meaning of God's Word when we read and study it for ourselves. Get you a Holy Bible, ask God to reveal Himself in His Word and get ready for the race of your life. 

Ephesians 4:1-7 

(1) So I, the prisoner for the Lord, appeal to you to live a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called [that is, to live a life that exhibits godly character, moral courage, personal integrity, and mature behavior--a life that expresses gratitude to God for your salvation], with all humility [forsaking self-righteousness], and gentleness [maintaining self-control], with patience (divinely regulated patience, longsuffering) , bearing with one another [a]in [unselfish] love. 

(2)  with all humility [forsaking self-righteousness], and gentleness [maintaining self-control], with patience, bearing with one another [a]in [unselfish] love.]

(3) Make every effort to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the bond of peace [each individual working together to make the whole successful].

(4) There is one body [of believers] and one Spirit--just as you were called to one hope when called [to salvation]--

(5) one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

(6) one God and Father of us all who is [sovereign] over all and [working] through all and [living] in all (who believe).

(7) Yet grace [God’s undeserved favor] was given to each one of us [not indiscriminately, but in different ways] in proportion to the measure of Christ’s [rich and abundant] gift.