“God blessed them and said to them, be fruitful and increase in numbers” – Genesis 1:28
Pastor Luis’s opening scripture was Genesis 1:28. We need to be fruitful and multiply. Fruitfulness shows Jesus Christ in our lives. To be fruitful we need to understand the things that can hinder this: Satan, Persecution in our lives and Love of the world.
In Mark 4:1-20, in the Parable of the Sower; Jesus talks about the seeds that fell along the path where the birds came and ate it up; some fell on rocky places; whilst it sprang up quickly, it also withered quickly and came to nothing. Some fell among thorns which grew quickly and choked the plants; whilst other seeds fell on good soil and produced crop, thirty, sixty or even a hundred fold. If we don’t create roots there will be no growth. There is fruit in a person’s life when the person shows the qualities of Jesus as in John 5:1-9. The only way to bear fruit is to allow Jesus (instead of us) to be in control and choose to be around people who are also bearing fruit.
In further understanding the parable of the Sower, we see that ‘The Sower’ is anyone who shares the word (including people from Remar) and we also see what hinders fruitfulness. The birds symbolise Satan – they come and peck away at the seeds, while suffering and persecution causes us to fear, not allowing us to bear fruit. And lastly, the love of the world deceiving us to think that material possessions are what’s most important in our lives.
How are we to deal with these aspects that hinder our fruitfulness?
- Submit to God; resist the enemy and he will flee from us (James 4:7). The enemy tries to condemn us. He is real and the battle is in our minds. By putting on the full armour of God (Ephesians 6:10-12), we need to be ready, take every thought captive, pray, and ask Jesus to break every stronghold.
- When we are persecuted and have negative things spoken over us, we are less fruitful. The enemy can use words spoken by people to intimidate us. If we chose to go our own way; the enemy wouldn’t bother us but when we take a stand for Christ; we will have resistance. Don’t be afraid of being laughed at or getting singled out in the workplace. Let this not be a hindrance to producing fruit in your life.
- Don’t agree with this world (Romans 12:2). His perfect will is in being fruitful for Jesus Christ. Worldly desires make us lose our focus. Seek God first (Matthew 6:33) – there is a Godly order in how we live our lives and being faithful in the little things. It is important to produce a crop and continue to be Fruitful for our Lord Jesus Christ.
Take the time to think, “Are we prepared to walk with Him in every area of our lives?”
By Mary Brown