The Fruitful Christian Wins Souls

 Proverbs 11:30

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,

and whoever captures souls is wise.

If our attitudes, our deeds, and our words are fruitful, we will be as a tree of life to a barren world
Just like the tree in Bahrain, we will be an attraction to all those whom God is drawing to
Himself.

While in college, I was captivated by two Christian women in my sorority.    The sorority was
probably 180 strong, but those two young ladies stood out.   I would watch them from a
distance.   They talked differently and they lived differently.   The fruit of the Spirit oozed out of their lives so much that you wanted to be near them.

Like a magnet, God was using them to draw me away from the world and into His kingdom.

May God's fruit be so real, so ripe in our lives, that God will use us to capture souls.   Just like
 He captured me.

The Fruitful Christian's Speech

Proverbs 10:11    The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life.

Beloveds, like a flowing fountain, our speech should give life to those around us.     Wisdom, grace, and truth should flow freely from our mouths.

Proverbs 13:14

The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life,

that one may turn away from the snares of death.

Proverbs 15:4

A gentle tongue is a tree of life,

but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

Beloveds, in order to have fruitful speech, one thing is needful:   our hearts and minds must be saturated with the Word of God.......

Luke 6:45

The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Therefore, daily eat the Word of God.   Delight in it, so that it might spring up and overflow into the lives around you.  




May your words provide shade for the weary, food for the hungry, and water for the thirsty.

Matthew Henry:
 A man may do a great deal of good, or a great deal of hurt, both to others and to himself, according to the use he makes of his tongue. 

The Fruitful Christian Engages in Good Deeds

A fruitful Christian is a servant, willing and available to meet pressing needs.   

Titus 3:14

"Our people must also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, so that they will not be unfruitful."

Doing good deeds is usually a sacrifice and sometimes it's even hard.   It means laying down our lives, and our selfish ambition for the good of others and the good of the church.     

Jesus did this well!

Phil 2:3-8 shows us:

"Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

Examples of good deeds are endless.    It can be as simple as taking a meal to a sick family or as complex as crossing the ocean to encourage missionaries.    It can be serving in the nursery or giving money to the poor.    Whatever the deed, God's grace is sufficient and He will give you an abundance of grace for every good deed.

Why does God command us to be zealous for good deeds?  Because it identifies us as His servants to those around us.

Matthew 5:16
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Beloveds, seek to bring God glory by meeting pressing needs, so that you may not be unfruitful.

He will reward you.     

Matthew 25:40
And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

   

The Fruitful Christian's Attitude

Godly attitudes in all circumstances of life is imperative to bearing fruit.    So, what are godly attitudes?    Galations 5 shows us.

Galations 5:22-24

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 

These godly attitudes should characterize all who are in Christ.   And not only should they be present in the good times (that's easy), but they should be present in the bad times as well.    

The John McArthur study Bible offers helpful insights:  

Love:   "agape, is the love of choice, referring not to an emotional affection, physical attraction, or a familial bond, but to respect, devotion, and affection that leads to willing self-sacrificial service".  (Jn 15:13; Ro 5:8; I Jn 3:16,17)

Joy:  "A happiness based on God's unchanging promises.   It is the sense of well being experienced by one who knows all is well between himself and the Lord (I Pe 1:8).   Joy is not the result of favorable circumstances, and even occurs when those circumstances are the most painful and severe.  (Ro 14:17; Php 4:4)

Peace:  "The inner calm that results from confidence in one's saving relationship with Christ.   The verb form denotes binding together and is reflected in the expression "having it all together."   Like joy, peace is not related to one's circumstances (Jn 14:27; Ro 8:28; Php 4:6, 7, 9)."

Patience:   The ability to endure injuries inflicted by others and the willingness to accept irritating or painful situations (Eph 4:2; Col 3:12; I Ti 1:15, 16).

Kindness:  Tender concern for others, reflected in a desire to treat others gently, just as the Lord treats all believers (Mat 11:28,29; 19:13,14; 2 Ti 2:24).

Goodness:  Moral and spiritual excellence manifested in active kindness (Ro 5:7).  Believers are commanded to ex-emplify goodness (6:10; 2 Th 1:11) .  

Faithfulness.   Loyalty and trustworthiness (La 3:22; Php 2:7-8; I Th 5:24; Rev 2:10)

Gentleness:  Better translated "meekness."  It is a humble and gentle attitude that is patiently submissive in every offense while having no desire for revenge or retribution.  In the NT, it is used to describe 3 attitudes:   submission to the will of God (Col3:12), teachability (Jas 1:21), and consideration of others (Eph 4:2).

Self-Control:  This refers to restraining passions and appetites (I Cor 9:25; 2 Pe 1:5,6).

Please meditate on these scriptures, and ask God to fill you with His Holy Spirit so that these attitudes are ever increasing in your hearts and lives.    

The Fruitful Christian is Filled with the Holy Spirit

Ephesians 5:18-21
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father, and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.

Just like wine controls a drunk person, let the Holy Spirit control you.    When He is in control, He will speak through you and live through you.    And consequently, He will bear fruit through you.

How do we be filled with the Holy Spirit?

Once saved, the Holy Spirit comes to reside in your heart.   Permanently.   He will never leave you nor will He ever forsake you.  

However, there is a problem.    When we sin, we quench His Holy Spirit.     We dethrone Him.   So, what must we do?

Breathe Spiritually:

Bill Bright wrote an excellent book on this!

Exhale:

Confess your sins as you do them.    Confess every known sin.   And don't let them get stacked up!  

Inhale:

Once you have confessed, by faith breathe in His forgiveness.

Psalm 32:5

I acknowledged my sin to you,

and I did not cover my iniquity;

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”

and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. 

I John 1:9
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us of all unrighteousness.
 

Jesus blood is sufficient for all our sin.   And His blood keeps on cleansing us until the day we die.


Finally, ask Him to empower you with the Holy Spirit.    Submit to His authority.   Reinstate Him as King of your life.

I John 5:14-15

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

If you ask Him, He will answer you.   This is His will for you.

The Fruitful Christian Abides in Christ

John 15:4-5

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.  I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 

According to John McArthur:

The word "abide" basically means "to remain."

Abiding in Christ evidences genuine salvation. The Apostle John alluded to that when he referred to defected professors who "went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, in order that it might be shown that they all are not of us" (1 John 2:19).

People with genuine faith will remain--they won't defect; they won't deny Christ or abandon His truth. Jesus reiterated the importance of abiding as a sign of real faith when He said, "If you abide in My Word, then you are truly disciples of Mine" (John 8:31).    -----  John McArthur

The Fruitful Christian Meditates on the Word of God

Psalm 1:1-3

Blessed is the man

who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

but his delight is in the law of the Lord,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree
  planted by streams of water
that yields fruit in its season,
  and its leaf does not wither, 
In all that he does, he prospers.

Ask God to give you a hunger and thirst for Him and His righteousness.

Matthew 5:6
For blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Psalm 42:1
As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.



Is the Word of God the joy of your heart?  (Ps 119:111)
Is the Word of God more precious than gold?   (Ps 119:127)

Ask Him to do that for you.

Ps 91:  those who love Him  (JM:  cling to him; long for Him)  Another blog instead.