Disciples of Jesus Produce

All living things have one huge thing in common - they grow and produce.

Plants, animals, and humans grow and produce if they are living.

Disciples, if they have a living relationship with the source of life will produce.

Jesus shares that truth with us in John 15:4-5. He says, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

So, as disciples of Jesus, we are to produce.

We are to produce fruit.

John 15:8
By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples.

We are to produce fruit.

When Jesus speaks of fruit He has two things in mind.

Fruit is other lives changed as our lives have been by the power of God’s Spirit.

Paul asks some very important questions in Romans 10:14. He asks, “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?”

People come to surrender their lives to Jesus when they are made aware of the need. The need is made aware to them by the words and actions of those who follow Jesus.

In Acts 1:8 we are commanded to be witnesses of Jesus. A witness is one who shares the truth of what he knows.

Jesus didn’t die for my sins just so I could go to heaven. He died for my sins so I could be forgiven and in gratitude spend my life telling others how they could experience forgiveness.

A second fruit is found in Galatians 5:22-23. It says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control; against such things there is no law.”

The law cannot produce those characteristics. Only God’s Spirit can produce those characteristics.

Those characteristics are the characteristics of Jesus.

So fruit is the Holy Spirit reproducing in us the image of Jesus.

The fruit that we as disciples are to produce is a life changed by the Spirit of God that results in other people’s lives being changed by God.

We are also to produce alertness.

In Luke 12:1 Jesus tells His disciples “to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”

We as followers of Jesus need to be alert.

1 Peter 5:8
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

The enemy is always on the offensive and we need to be alert to his attacks.

In Matthew 10:16 Jesus tells us to be as “wise a serpents and innocent as doves.”

We are not to just walk through life and not pay attention to what is going on around us. We are to have some “spiritual street smarts”.

In 1 Chronicles 12:32 we are told that there were men of the tribe of Issachar who understood the times and thus knew what Israel should do.

We as disciples of Jesus are to have an understanding of life and the circumstances in life so we can be people who can counsel others.

Disciples are to produce obedience.

In Matthew 21:6 and 26:19 it says that the disciples did what Jesus told them to do.

Obedience is the key to allowing God work in your life.
Obedience is the key to allowing God to use you.
Obedience is the key to allowing God to bless you.

John 14:23-24
Jesus replied, “If anyone loves Me, he will obey My teaching. My Father will love him and We will come to him. He who does not love me will not obey My teaching. These words you hear are not My own; they belong to the Father who sent Me.”

Jesus makes it very clear that our obedience is the measure of our love for Him. He always says that our obedience is the determining factor as to how much God can work in and through us.

Jesus never ever blesses disobedience.
Jesus always blesses obedience.

Obeying Jesus is not always easy. It will lead to:
Sacrifice
Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone
Rejection
People Misunderstanding You

Obeying Jesus is always the best. It will also lead to:
Joy
Peace
Hope
Security

Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls is about producing.

Many times in our American church culture when we talk about disciples of Jesus producing, three things are focused on: Buildings, Budgets, Baptisms.

I think producing will lead to baptisms. Producing is about people finding Jesus, connecting with Jesus, surrendering to Jesus and becoming His disciples and that involves baptisms. But we have to stay focused on the fact that baptisms are only important as they represent changed lives.

Producing is about changed lives.

Lives that were without purpose or meaning now become lives that are led to an eternal purpose building the Kingdom of God.

Lives that were aimless and just wandering through life now become lives that are going somewhere and help others to get there also.

Lives that were in disobedience to the Lord and Creator of all creation now become lives that focus on obeying and glorifying King Jesus.

Let God remove your roof and your walls so He can produce His life through you.

Producing with Jesus Raised Roofs and Removed Walls
Joe