Keys to Fruitfulness

The dictionary defines being fruitful as “producing good results; beneficial; profitable”. It also defines it as producing an abundant growth. God wants you to be fruitful, to bear fruits and produce results that show that you are His child; that you are saved; that you are a believer.

The Bible says in Matthew 3 verses 8 – 10:

"Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire". (New Revised Standard Version)

Jesus said in John 15 verses 1 – 2:

“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. (New Living Translation)

Patterns we see in the two verses above:

1. The command to be fruitful is for believers, people who have repented and have made Jesus the Lord and Saviour of their lives. After all, sinners are not “branches of Jesus”, only children of God are.

2. God desires for you to be fruitful.

3. He cuts off and throws away any tree or branch that doesn’t bear fruit.

4. He prunes the branches that bear fruit so that it can bear even more fruit.

God is so amazing.

So how can you be fruitful, and bear good fruits? Let us explore keys to fruitfulness.

Keys to Fruitfulness

1. Abide In Jesus:

To bear fruit, you need to abide in Jesus. See what the Lord says in John 15 verses 4 – 6:

"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. 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. 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”. (New King James Version)

How do you abide in Jesus? Let us look at what the Bible says.

1 John 3 verse 6:

“Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him”. (New King James Version)

You abide in Jesus by obeying His Word, being Holy and staying away from sin.

1 John 2 verse 24:

“Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you,you also will abide in the Son and in the Father”. (New King James Version)

What did you hear from the beginning when you believed, surrendered to Him, and made Jesus your Lord and Saviour? It was the Word of Truth, the Word of God. To abide in Jesus you should let the Word of God abide in you. Read it, meditate on it, practice it, do it, and live it.

John 15 verse 10:

“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love”. (New King James Version)

1 John 2 verse 6:

“He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked”. (New King James Version)

To abide in Jesus, you ought to walk as He walked. Let Jesus be your example. You know the best way to get to know Jesus so you can walk as He walked? Study His Word and spend time talking to Jesus in prayer. It is usually recommended that new believers study the New Testament over and over again. As they study the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), Acts and the Epistles they get to know Jesus more.

So to bear fruit, stay rooted in Him, stay planted, stay focused on Him looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith (Hebrews 12:2).

2. Good Soil:

Read the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13: 1 – 23 and you will understand something about fruitfulness. For a ground to receive seed and bear fruit it has to be a good soil.

In the parable, the seeds that fell on the wayside, stony ground, and among thorns did not bear fruit.

However, the Word says in Matthew 13 verse 8:

“But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty”. (New King James Version)

In Jesus’ interpretation of the Parable of the Sower, He explained that the seed sown by the wayside is someone who hears the Word but does not understand (Matthew 13: 18 – 19).

He further explained that the seed sown on stony places is a person who hears the Word and immediately receives it with joy, but has no root in themselves (Matthew 13: 20 – 21).

He explained that the seed sown among the thorns is one is receives the Word, but cares of the world and deceitful of riches makes the Word unfruitful (Matthew 13: 22).

Finally, he explained in Matthew 13: 23 – 24 that the one who received the Word on good ground is the one who heard the Word, understands, and bears fruit.

Bringing It All Together: To be fruitful you need to understand the Word, have root in yourself, and focus on the things of God rather than the cares of the world and deceitfulness of riches. God does want to bless you and He will. He said in Matthew 6 verse 33:

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you". (New King James Version)

We are told to seek first His Kingdom and righteousness. He will bless us with the good things we need.

3. Pray for an Understanding Heart.

You need to pray to God and ask Him to give you understanding of His Word (Matthew 7:7 – 8). When you ask, you will receive.

To have root in yourself, you need to study the Bible and apply yourself to it, and spend time in prayer. These actions build you up and you develop root.

4. Fellowship:

Joining a local church where the true Word of God is preached and taught, and where you fellowship with brethren will help you to be fruitful.

5. Study the Word, Meditate on It, and Practice It.

See Psalm 1 verses 2 – 4:

1 Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.

4 The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. (New King James Version)

The Word of God tells us that a person who neither does what sinners do nor takes advice from the wicked will be blessed in their ways, and the person who continually meditates on the Word of God will bear fruit.

Pray about the word you have read/heard today and ask God specifically to help you to be fruitful.

(c) 2018 Love, Faith and Miracles.