"You did not choose Me but I chose you to go and bear fruit...fruit that will last" John 15:16
For the longest time, I thought the "fruit" I was to bear was associated with evangelism and the "fruit" was each person brought to salvation because of my "efforts".
But the next part of that verse confused me saying, "THEN, the Father will give you whatever you ask in My name" I know that I cannot save anyone. It is the Father who calls them, and Jesus, the Savior, who saves them, so how can I bear this fruit first before asking or receiving what is outside my control or ability?
More searching for Truth...then the Spirit revealed to me that this "fruit" we are to bear is the "fruit" of the Holy Spirit spoken of in Galatians 5:22: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self Control.
We have been chosen to bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit, Who has been sent by the One who saved us. However, we have free will before and after salvation.
Before salvation, we have the freedom to choose our eternal destination. We have the freedom to choose to come to God through His only begotten Son, Jesus. After salvation we still have the freedom to choose. We can choose to walk in obedience to the Spirit of our Christ. We can choose to surrender to His Spirit, to be fruitful and victorious or we can choose to surrender to our flesh and live defeated unproductive lives.
The Holy Spirit calls us to surrender and allow Him to produce the fruit we are to bear. We cannot generate the fruit, we can only bear it because it is His fruit.
Vs 17 says, "this is My command, Love one another". Love is the first fruit mentioned on the list of the fruit of the Spirit. Jesus also said, "by this all men will know you are my Disciples, if you love one another".
The Lord is a "fruit inspector" What will He find when He inspects our fruit today?
Can you hear the Spirit? He is calling.
For the longest time, I thought the "fruit" I was to bear was associated with evangelism and the "fruit" was each person brought to salvation because of my "efforts".
But the next part of that verse confused me saying, "THEN, the Father will give you whatever you ask in My name" I know that I cannot save anyone. It is the Father who calls them, and Jesus, the Savior, who saves them, so how can I bear this fruit first before asking or receiving what is outside my control or ability?
More searching for Truth...then the Spirit revealed to me that this "fruit" we are to bear is the "fruit" of the Holy Spirit spoken of in Galatians 5:22: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self Control.
We have been chosen to bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit, Who has been sent by the One who saved us. However, we have free will before and after salvation.
Before salvation, we have the freedom to choose our eternal destination. We have the freedom to choose to come to God through His only begotten Son, Jesus. After salvation we still have the freedom to choose. We can choose to walk in obedience to the Spirit of our Christ. We can choose to surrender to His Spirit, to be fruitful and victorious or we can choose to surrender to our flesh and live defeated unproductive lives.
The Holy Spirit calls us to surrender and allow Him to produce the fruit we are to bear. We cannot generate the fruit, we can only bear it because it is His fruit.
Vs 17 says, "this is My command, Love one another". Love is the first fruit mentioned on the list of the fruit of the Spirit. Jesus also said, "by this all men will know you are my Disciples, if you love one another".
The Lord is a "fruit inspector" What will He find when He inspects our fruit today?
Can you hear the Spirit? He is calling.
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