FRUITFULNESS

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

In the days to come the people of Israel, the descendants of Jacob, will take root like a tree, and they will blossom and bud. The earth will be covered with the fruit they produce.

Isaiah 27:6 (GNT)

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The people of Israel were God’s chosen people. There is no disputing this as we read the scriptures, particularly in the Old Testament.

There is also no disputing that God did not intend for the Israelites to solely remain His chosen people. No, instead, He wished for a new promise, a new covenant, a new testament to arise and not necessarily replace the old as much as revise it to a fresh and higher standard.

He did this through His one and only Son Jesus, the One we are to model ourselves after as Christians, the only One who can lead us to a life everlasting with God, His Father and ours.

Our verse for today speaks to this truth and tells of the expanded blossoming of Israel to come through Christ Jesus. Look at these words from Isaiah 27, verse 6:

In the days to come, the people of Israel, the descendants of Jacob, will take root like a tree, and they will blossom and bud. The earth will be covered with the fruit they produce. (from the Good News Translation)

Although written in the days of the prophet Isaiah, these words speak of the days to come, the days when the predicted Messiah would come to bring salvation and open up the opportunities for people to be fruitful for God to expand beyond the Israelites to all the people of the world. That Messiah, Jesus, would come to say this about Himself and those who would place their belief, faith, hope, and trust in Him, the One who is the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6):

“I am the real vine, and My Father is the gardener. He breaks off every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, and He prunes every branch that does bear fruit, so that it will be clean and bear more fruit. You have been made clean already by the teaching I have given you. Remain united to Me, and I will remain united to you. A branch cannot bear fruit by itself; it can do so only if it remains in the vine. In the same way, you cannot bear fruit unless you remain in Me.”

“I am the vine, and you are the branches. Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without Me. Those who do not remain in Me are thrown out like a branch and dry up; such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, where they are burned. If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, then you will ask for anything you wish, and you shall have it. My Father's glory is shown by your bearing much fruit; and in this way you become My disciples.”  John 15:1-8 (GNT)

The words prior to this verse in Isaiah 27 speak about the church being the vineyard, the place where God would “water” His people so that they could bear the fruit born from serving Him in accordance with His will and way. Verse 6 speaks of the day to come when there would be great blossoming and budding, a time when the earth would be covered with the fruits they produce.

In Jesus, the One who is the Vine, we find the source of fruitfulness for as long as anyone stays attached to Him (those referred to as the branches), they will produce fruit and be seen as His disciples. Disconnect yourself from the Vine and you will die off spiritually, a branch that dries up and unable to produce fruit. Such branches are useless for much of anything except using for fire as they are easily burned.

The concept is simple.

Be in Christian, fully in Christ, and you will produce fruit, fruits of the Spirit that are described as love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). You’ll be able to produce this fruit on earth on every day the Lord grants until that time when He chooses to call you to be with Him forever, fulfilling His promise of eternal life (John 3:16).   

Choose to live apart from Christ and you will bear no fruit. Instead, you will bear the acts of the flesh described in the scriptures as being sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like (Galatians 5:19-21). These acts will get you nowhere but on the path of destruction and away from inheriting the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:21).

So where are you today in your life? Are you living your life for Jesus or are you living it without Him?

As you choose, consider carefully. For we, the people of God, have been called to be fruitful and the only way we’ll fulfill that expectation is if we are attached to Jesus, the true Vine.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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