Barnabas Bulletin ~ 0152
CHRISTIAN: WHAT ARE YOU PRODUCING?
By Rodney Francis
I have been challenged of late of the need for us Christians to be more productive in our Christian faith. When we have a daily, living relationship with Jesus we will always have something to show for it. New Testament Christianity is all about a daily walk with a Living Christ Jesus! When He influences our lives things have to be different! People see the difference and will want to know what makes us different.
So, the question is: What are we producing? When we are working together with God we will produce things that will last throughout time and into all eternity. Why? Because we are now motivated by a Living and Eternal God, indwelled by the Resurrected Jesus Christ, and filled with the same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead!! We cannot help but be different when we align ourselves up with the truth of God’s Word! Our bodies are now the temples of the Holy Spirit ~ and that means God the Father, God the Son and God The Holy Spirit all live inside of US! Do you know this? Do you know that God has personally hand-selected and chosen YOU for His dwelling place? When we believe the truth of Who God is, where He now dwells, and who we are in Jesus Christ ~ we will produce some mighty good fruit to the glory of God!
GOD INHABITS US!
God inhabits us so we can be His witnesses to a lost world that desperately needs what Jesus has given to us. We can share what the Lord has given; in fact we should be sharing what the Lord has given us. We are told not to hide our light but to let it shine (Matthew 5:13-16). We need to know that we are all that God has got! He has chosen us for that purpose, so that we should go forth and bring forth much fruit (John 15; Galatians 5:22-25). When we are yielded to the Lordship of Jesus Christ we cannot help but be productive in the Kingdom of God. There is something wrong if we believe in Jesus Christ and there is no change, no difference in our lives. It is the Christ within that makes us different to every other person in the world. We cannot be the same when He is Lord of our lives.
KNOW HIS WILL FOR YOUR LIFE!
The key to producing good fruit is to know what God’s will is for us; where and what He would have us give our time and attention to. When we do what He asks of us then we will produce good fruit to His glory. Whatever He says to us is RIGHT! Every time God speaks to us He is desiring us to obey so that we can see His promises released and fulfilled through us. Obedience is an action, something we do in a practical way. Obedience demonstrates to God that we have heard His voice and, because of our love for Him, we want to obey what He asks of us. He never asks us to do anything we cannot do. We can always do what He asks us. We may not have done that particular thing before, but when we obey and step out in faith, we release God’s hands to fulfil what He has promised us. And the result of that is that we become more productive in His Kingdom. We produce good fruit that will last throughout time and into all eternity.
God is blessing The GFM Ministry because it is built upon what He has asked of us. Most departments (if not all) in this Ministry began as a result of God speaking to me to do something ~ and I had not thought of doing that before He spoke. Every time I have obeyed He has opened the doors around the world for us to impart the Holy Spirit Ministry into many other lives. Those who are following Jesus Christ, listening to His voice and have a heart to obey Him, will always produce fruit to the glory of God. That is God’s heart for us. He desires to use us in ways that are far better than our own ideas. Knowing that we are doing what God has asked us to do ~ and seeing the resulting fruit that comes out of such obedience ~ is very satisfying and fulfilling. It also motivates us to want to do the will of God more. He is the Expert at knowing how things can be achieved by the Holy Spirit in a supernatural way ~ and there is always a good testimony on the other side of our obedience! Obedience produces fruit!
There is no greater challenger to our lives than Jesus Christ Himself. Listen to His words that He gave to Philip, which are also His words to us: “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father Who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that l am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it” (John 14:9-14, NKJV).
I don’t know about you, but these words greatly challenge me. Are we doing the “greater works”? We seem to fall so far short on what Jesus desires for us. He has given us authority to do things, to be producers of works that glorify God! Works that carry the God-factor in them! Why do we limit Him in our lives like we do? Jesus wants us to be producing much more than we are, so that those outside of His Kingdom will see, hear and know that Jesus Christ is alive today in and through His people ~ people who are demonstrating what Jesus told us we would.
None of us are saved to just “drift through life” achieving nothing. We are called to be people of purpose, on a Divine Mission with Almighty God, His resurrected living Son, Jesus Christ, and the Mighty Holy Spirit Who raised Him from the dead all living within us! Surely we have to be different when we are truly walking with Him! ~ Rodney W. Francis.
Bible Readings: John 15; Ephesians 3:14-21.
Prayer:
“Dear Lord, I come to You in the name of Jesus Christ Your Son, and I ask You to help me to break free from everything that causes me to disobey Your voice. Help me to discern Your voice much more clearly, so that I will be quick to obey You, and that I might have the joy of bringing forth much more fruit ~ of being truly productive in Your Kingdom. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for hearing my prayer. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
The Gospel Faith Messenger Ministry,=, New Zealand. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.