Dear friend!
Do you know that the Lord Jesus wants to be closer to you than to any person on earth that you have ever known? His presence can be so palpable that you can walk in his abundance all the time.
The presence of God is not far from each of us. We can and must experience the reality of God’s presence, because when it descends upon us, we gain freedom from all yoke, sin, and disease.
The Lord’s presence is also necessary if we are to bear spiritual fruit. As soon as the presence of God descends on your life, you will be able to bear fruit. You don’t work for it, you just bring it.
In this chapter “Growing Spiritual Fruit” I will show you how to abide in Christ so that His presence will come upon you. I will explain how God cleanses you so that you can continually bear fruit for His Kingdom. I will also describe three simple but vital steps by which the fruit of the Spirit will be cultivated in your life.
Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. For such there is no law.” Here are nine manifestations of the fruit of the Spirit, which should be evident in the lives of all believers.
Cultivation of Spiritual Fruit
Stay at the Vine branches
Jesus said:
(1) I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He cuts off; and everything that bears fruit, he purifies, so that it may bear more fruit.
You are already cleansed because of the word that I preached to you.
Abide in Me, and I in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it is on the vine: so neither can you unless you are in Me.
I am the vine, and you are the branches; whoever abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. John 15:1-5.
The Lord said, “I am.” He did not say, “I have a true vine”; He said, “I am the true vine.”
This means that the true vine is a person – but not some person – it is the Lord Jesus Christ.
God the Father is a gardener and husbandman, Who makes sure that the vine bears fruit.
This passage shows that every branch that is in Him – every true believer – is constantly being purified. Note that the word “purifies” is present.
There is constant refinement and improvement that enables us to bear more fruit.
According to the Word spoken by our Lord (verse 3), we are able to abide in Him, so He can do this work in us. Jesus said, “Abide in Me, and I in you.” In verse 5 He repeats it again: “He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.” Also in John 15:16, the Lord declares: “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should be, so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give it to you.”
Spiritual fruit is not something you can do. The source of spiritual fruit is the presence of God. You don’t have to work for it; you just have to bring it. He is the true vine, so don’t look for something – look for Him.
I want to share with you three simple steps that will enable you to constantly be in God’s presence, and thus you will be able to bear spiritual fruit.
Step One: Know the Lord better
Jesus was not talking about being in any feelings. He spoke about the presence of the Divine Person in Him.
Begin to seek the Lord through His Word and prayer. Don’t just follow a prayer list, wait on the Lord and invite Him right to where you are sitting. Don’t worry about your schedules and agenda. Say to the Lord, “I want to know You” – then sit down and wait for His appearance. Spend more time with Him and you will know Him more. Jesus is the One who is the fruit and we are the ones who bear it. Therefore, in reality, the fruit of the Spirit is the fruit of Jesus. The fruit of the Spirit is the fruit of the Lord. If you want to bear fruit, you must come to know the special and wonderful presence of the Lord, because He is the source of all fruit.
Step Two: Grow right, don’t let anything wrong affect your life
Psalm 1:1-3 declares:
(1) Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly and does not stand in the way of sinners and does not sit in the assembly of fornicators,
but his will is in the law of the Lord, and he meditates on His law day and night!
And he will be like a tree planted by streams of water, which brings forth its fruit in its season, and whose leaf does not wither; and in everything that he does not do, he will have time.
You cannot be in the presence of the Lord if you live a life that does not meet the requirements. If you get pleasure from being in bad company or watching evil spectacles on TV or from the cinema screen, you will not be able to grow properly and bear spiritual fruit. Only when you enjoy and meditate on the law of the Lord, you will, like a fruit tree, grow by the streams of water.
God executes judgment against bad deeds (Ecclesiastes 8:11-13). That is why it is so important to protect your life from wrong influences. The Bible also declares that the influence of one sinner can destroy many good things (Ecclesiastes 9:18) and that your righteousness can be blotted out by sinful behavior (Ezekiel 3:20).
Step Three: Grow in the right church
Psalm 92:13-14 declares:
“Planted in the house of the Lord, they bloom in the courts of our God; they are fruitful, juicy and fresh even in old age.”
You cannot bear fruit properly if you are planted in something dead. Not only do you have to be planted in the right environment, but you also have to be planted in the right church. In order to bear fruit, it is necessary to be properly connected to Jesus, Who is the Source and the Church.
Make sure you are in the right church when you start feeding from a pastor who is supposed to be “a doer without fault, rightly expounding the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)
The Lord wants you to bear fruit all the time – not fruit that was born 20 years ago, but fresh fruit. The parable of the fig tree in Luke 13:6-9 shows that God is very patient in this process. God will work with you in cultivating spiritual fruit, but He expects you to work with Him as well. He will fertilize you, He will give you energy, He will anoint you. He will let you taste His presence to make you hunger for Him even more. But if you continue to ignore Him, you will eventually fail (Proverbs 29:1).
