Month: January 2015
Fruitfulness through Abiding, Part 2 – By Bart Hadaway
I want to begin this aspect of being fruitful by making a very simple and yet profound statement. It is the will of God for us to be fruitful! Consider the words of Jesus in John 15:16. “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain” (NKJ). Now, depending on your perspective of this statement, there are a couple of responses we could have. One would be to feel intimidated and began the dangerous journey of comparing ourselves to others. This perspective would come from a place of putting pressure on ourselves to “do” what God has asked us to do. On the other hand, if we see this as it really is, a passionate invitation from God to have an intimate relationship with Him, we begin to understand more fully that this comes from His initiative and not ours. He chose us! John 15:1-8 makes it abundantly clear that the key to being fruitful comes through “abiding” (i.e. having an intimate relationship with Jesus) and not by just “doing.” He is much more interested in our “being” rather than our “doing.”
From Genesis to Revelation, it is clear that the reason for our existence is to first and foremost have an intimate and loving relationship with God. God IS love! The One Who is love created us for that purpose. I remember hearing my great friend Robert Hotchkin say that “Jesus did not die on the cross just to get us to heaven. He died on the cross so that He could restore us to relationship with the Father.” If we don’t know the heart of God, we could easily miss a statement like that. But if we do know Him as the loving Father that He is, we understand that we don’t have to wait until we get to heaven to enjoy the loving relationship that He wants to have with us!
As we approach our relationship with God in this way, the results will be inevitable. We WILL be fruitful! By simply making the priority of our lives seeking the heart of God through loving relationship, fruit WILL happen. Even when we go through the loving discipline and pruning of the Lord above ground, our root systems will be multiplying and growing stronger underneath. The manifestation of the fruit will quickly follow. Let me encourage you to make sure that the priority of your life is always loving first and doing second.
There are so many distractions vying for our attention. We live in a very “loud” world. Ps. 46:10 says that we are to “be still (or cease striving NAS) and know that I am God.” Being silent is as challenging for most of us as anything we attempt. Let me encourage you to learn to love and embrace silence. It is there that you will cultivate “ears to hear” the voice of the Father. As we abide in Him and hear His voice, we will discover that our fruitfulness will abundantly increase.
Michael Molinos was a monk during the 17th century whose writings I would encourage you to read. He speaks of 3 kinds of silence that we are to pursue. 1. Silence of words 2. Silence of desires 3. Silence of thoughts. As we learn to live in silence in the secret place, we will discover the heart of God as He reveals Himself to us. Out of that intimacy, fruit will come.
Father, I pray for those reading this. I pray that you will reveal Yourself to them with fresh revelation of Who You are. I pray that You help them to find the secret place with you in new ways. And out of that, I decree over them that they will bear much fruit and You will be glorified (John 15:8 NKJ), in Jesus’ name. Amen!
Keys to being Fruitful, Part 1- By Bart Hadaway
You would have to be blind to not be aware of the troublesome and sobering times that we are living in. Yet for believers in Jesus Christ, there are wonderful promises in the Word of God that inspire us with the assurance that we can remain fruitful in the Kingdom of God no matter what the circumstances of the world may be. Within these promises, we can find keys to encourage, strengthen, and propel us to live fruitful lives all for the glory of God.
There are four keys that I want to look at over the next several days. We will look at several scriptures as we go deeper into each of these individually. They are:
1) Abiding in Him
2) Trusting in Him
3) Meditating on His Word
4) Living in Purity
It is so encouraging to know that God has been and is increasingly raising up a host of believers who will walk and operate in levels of true kingdom authority and power. This company of believers will not be recognized by the size of their gatherings, but rather by their Christ like character that produces the kind of fruit that brings glory to God everywhere they go (John 15:8).
But for now, let me say that this is not the time to be in fear, retreat, and above all lose hope. In fact, these are the most exciting times for the body of Christ who will listen to and heed what the Spirit of God is saying. It is time to be bold in our faith, advance the Kingdom of God, and live hope filled lives in a dark world that is groping for answers.
“But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.” (I Cor. 1:30 NAS).
This is what we have and who we are because of Jesus’ finished work on the cross. It is truly what the world is looking for. Let’s get ready. Let’s go!
