Bearing Fruit

God's will has called us to do a work; this calling is for God's purpose. This work will be done by God, through us, his children. God's Holy Spirit will enable us to do this work for him. The life of the spirit is: The desire and the power to help other people, not just ourselves. We have been anointed by his Holy Spirit to rebuild the souls that have been destroyed by darkness; Satan's darkness of spiritual blindness, lies, sin and yes, even death.

The anointing power of the Holy Spirit will continue to grow as long as we continue to Abide in the Vine. Jesus is the vine and we are the branches.

God's process, known as pruning, allows him to cultivate the fruit necessary for continued growth in the Lord. This pruning process is found in low points, dry spells, trials and tribulations within our lives.

The "Fruit of the Spirit" given to us by the indwelling Holy Spirit must continually grow in order for us to effectively witness for Lord Jesus Christ. Our Faith allows God to cultivate this fruit within us according to His purpose. As long as we Abide in the Vine, exercise our faith and continue within God's will, growth of the fruit is guaranteed.

"But, the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness
and self-control"
(Gal 5:22-23)

The single most important evidence that Jesus is real to the non-believer is the "Fruit of the Spirit". Also, Christians look for this fruit in other Christians. If they see this fruit in our lives they know that Jesus is real and alive within us. Abiding in the "True Vine" (Jesus Christ)is the only way the growth and manifestation of these fruits can become a reality in our lives. As these fruits ripen in our lives we will realize that we are equal heirs with Jesus Christ, our testimony will have more authority and our witnessing will have more impact. Then, and only then, will our testimony and witnessing have the power necessary for Jesus Christ to win souls to himself through us.

Remember! The Holy Spirit is perfect and his fruits are perfect. Therefore, by letting the Holy Spirit have his way, as we strive for perfection in our lives, results are certain.

When God's grace was extended to us Gentiles and we accepted Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives, the spirit of our inward man was, and is, considered perfect in the sight of God; at that very moment Christ's Righteousness was imputed to us. Even if our flesh hinders the outward projection of this righteousness we are still considered righteous in the sight of God as we grow in the Lord. Knowing this is true, we must die to self on a daily basis so that the light of God's perfect Holy Spirit can shine through us more and more each day.

We, by dying to self daily, allow the Holy Spirit to cause the outward projection of perfection necessary to do the work God has given us to do. As we continuously abide in the vine God's grace will allow us the time to become more perfect in testimony and in witnessing. We have been called to be witnesses that produce results! Effective witnessing is directly proportional to our fruition; is a direct manifestation of our abiding in the vine which is a direct result of a life of prayer and faith.

The daily prayer that continually seeks the will of God will allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to us that which is the perfect and acceptable will of God.

And be not conformed to this world:
but be ye transformed
by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is
that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.
(Rom 12:2)

Prayer that sincerely forgives others and seeks God's will on a daily basis will assure us of the continuous cleansing of the Holy Spirit and the forgiveness of our sins. Sincere prayer and the application of our faith will cause us to: Abide in the vine, cultivate the fruits of the spirit, become effective witnesses for Christ and make our testimony believable.

"Abide in me, and I in you.
as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine;
no more can ye, except ye abide in me., and I in him,
the same bringeth forth much fruit:
for without me ye can do nothing".
(John 15:4-5)

"Herein is my Father glorified,
that ye bear much fruit:
so shall ye be my disciples.
(John 15:8)

The essence of a christian is his fruit. Therefore,we must decrease and the Holy Spirit must increase...the Christ in us must increase if we are to bear fruit unto the Lord.

We must sincerely appreciate God's Grace in order to come to fruition for Christ. When fruit of the Spirit is not present in our lives then there is some question to our Christianity. God's grace allows to make mistakes but we must learn from our mistakes so that our liberty in Christ is not lived in vain. Once we have a proper understanding and appreciation for God's Grace then God through us can extend His Grace and Gospel to others.