Welcome!
Today: Role models in bearing fruit
Passage: Colossians 1
9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying
for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all
spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, (Col 1, NIV)-emphasis added
4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. (John 15, NIV)
A tree does not bear fruit independently. It receives water and nutrients from the ground, sunlight through its leaves and produces fruits
We can’t bear fruit for God, all by ourselves. We need to abide in God
The “fruit”mentioned here is not just the fruit of the spirit mentioned in Gal 5
It is about the various ways in which others get blessed through us, our works
We are created in Christ for good works
10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph 2, NIV)
We have to produce that which is good, as we receive from the Lord
The life of Jesus was all about doing the most good
38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil,
because God was with him. (Acts 10, NIV)
Jesus went around doing that which was good. That was the fruit
I read the story of a priest once. This happened few decades ago
One cold, rainy night, while preparing his sermon in candle light, he was called to offer “last rites” to a dying patient, who has been an alcoholic all his life
It was so hard to drive, yet the priest reached the hospital in the midnight
As the priest asked the man to confess any sins he wanted to, he slowly opened up his heart with hesitation and started speaking. He shared his “shocking”story As a rail switch man, he was so drunk one day, and put the switch wrong
The train hit a car killing a young man, his wife and two daughters!
The priest told the young man: “If I can forgive you, God definitely will”
That were the parents and sisters of this priest!
Jesus prayed for those who killed him. He loved them from his heart!
There is so much good things we can do for others. Forgiveness is just one
God bless you in your endeavor to do that which is good
BG
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for being good and for doing the most good for us-dying on the cross so that we can “live”. Help us to live the good life so that others will be blessed because of our life. Amen
“If we don’t bear fruit, we are likely to “die” spiritually because of all that is going in”