WITH THE LORD - WE WILL BEAR MUCH FRUIT

At times without even being aware of it, we may be attempting to live our Christian lives and carrying on our ministries in mostly human energy. That happens when for whatever reason we are not vitally relating with Jesus. He says, “If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”(a) It takes the Lord working in and through us to bear spiritual fruit. One would think, most of us should be producing bumper crops on a regular basis, but that is probably not happening for many of us. What could be the problem?

I am sure you are aware there is a spiritual warfare going on. Paul tells us, “we are fighting against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”(b) And these forces are determined to keep us from bearing fruit.(c) They are continually at work trying to hinder love, joy and peace from growing in our lives. They discourage us from practicing patience, kindness and goodness. They make faithfulness, gentleness and self-control seem not all that important.

Without a close relationship with our Lord we are not going to win too many victories over our enemies. It takes a real partnership with Him - abiding in Him and He in us. Abiding means “living with” – not just coming for a visit once in a while. To have that kind of a relationship requires a continual focusing on Jesus – faithfully feeding on God’s Word – praying without ceasing – doing everything as unto the Lord. Such a life can’t be lived by human effort. It takes our full reliance on God’s power working within us, and we must be consistently obeying the Holy Spirit’s prompting. It’s a partnership! “With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies.”(d) Our enemies are our own human nature, and evil forces, which hinder us from having a close relationship with the Lord. Facing these foes by our-selves ends in defeat over and over again, but when we team up with the Lord, He gives us the victory. Without Him, we are fruitless losers, but with Him we are fruitful winners!



Let’s Pray –
Lord, thank you for making it possible for us to partner with you so we can bear much fruit. At times we act as if we were able to do it by ourselves. Forgive us for such foolish pride. Please help us to remain in you.
Amen.


Footnotes:
(a) John 15:5 NIV, (b) Ephesians 6:12 NLT,
(c) Galatians 5:22-23 NLT, (d) Psalm 60:12 NIV,


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