Are you producing the fruit of the Kingdom?

"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 15:4

Our fruitfulness depends on the realm we choose to dwell in.

When I started to play the bassoon I began to take part in an annual orchestra course for young people. Everyone auditioned and based upon one's abilities, one was put into one of the orchestras - A-,B-, or C- orchestra. The C-orchestra was for beginners, the B-orchestra for intermediate players and the A-orchestra was for the best players. When I was placed in the C-orchestra I was happy to be part of a bunch of enthusiastic players my age but I quickly realised that there was a long way to go to get to the A-orchestra. I stood in awe of how the bassoonists from the A-orchestra could play. For me it was a different realm. The remarkable thing however was that when I had the privilege of spending time playing with the bassoonists from the A-orchestra and being around them, I made significant progress in a very short space of time. Somehow being in the A-orchestra realm produced something in me beyond my normal abilities!

The C-orchestra is like the natural realm whilst the A-orchestra is like the Kingdom of God - Jesus' realm. If I had stayed in the C-orchestra all my life and had never been aware of the A-orchestra, I would never have made it to the A-orchestra. I would have assumed that my standard of playing was enough since everyone around me had the same standard of playing as I did. However, the moment I came in touch with a different standard of playing, my expectations changed. I now had the evidence of what I hoped to one day achieve. Although my father was a professional bassoonist at the time, his example did not inspire me as much as the example of the young people who were just a few years older than I was - it became more tangible and in my mind, achievable. Dad was out there, one day I can play like that. These A-orchestra guys were nearer.

Sometimes, when we look at the life of Jesus and the miracles, signs and wonders he did, we can also think He is out there, one day I will be able to do that...perhaps. However, when we look at the lives of the men and women of God in the Bible or in our contemporary world, the Kingdom of God seems nearer! Jesus' realm becomes tangible and achievable. We have a "great cloud of witnesses" (Hebrews 12:1) as well as the "author and perfecter of our faith" to encourage us to dwell in the realm of the Kingdom so as to produce the fruit of God's Kingdom.

When Jesus becomes our reality, we can expect to see miracles, signs and wonders. We produce the fruit of the realm we dwell in!

I want to encourage you to hang out with the guys from the A-orchestra - those who dwell in the realm of the Kingdom and produce its fruit. Read testimonies and begin to expect the same fruit in your own life as you meditate on the possibilities of God. Don't stay in the C-orchestra. The Kingdom of God is near. It is tangible. It is achievable. Hallelujah!

Do you have faith?

"When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" Luke 18:8

God expects His people to have faith.

The Holy Spirit says,

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Hebrews 11:6

It is man's responsibility to believe in God and in His promises. The woman who had been subject to bleeding for 12 years was healed because of her faith! Jesus commended her and said, "Daughter, your faith has healed you." Mark 5:34

Jesus also commended the centurion's faith and said about him,

"I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith." Matthew 8:10

Faith pleases God and releases God's will on earth as it is in heaven.

How can the believer strengthen his faith?

In the account of the woman at the well in John 4, Jesus reveals how the believer can receive from God.

In response to the Samaritan woman, Jesus replies, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." John 4:10

The key to strengthening one's faith is to grow in the knowledge of God and in the knowledge of that which God freely gives. It is as the believer fixes his eyes on Jesus that his faith is strengthened and "perfected" (Heb. 12:2).

The greater the revelation of God, the greater the faith to believe for the impossible!

If the Samaritan woman had known who it was that was speaking to her and knew what He wanted to give her, she would have had the faith to ask and receive! Faith releases the glory of God - the manifestation of His presence and power.

Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" John 11:40

The believer must understand that faith is required. "If you believed.." There is a condition to the revelation of God's glory - faith!

Unless the believer grows in his knowledge of God and the will of God, his faith will not grow. For this reason the apostle Paul prays,

"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. 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. 1:9,10

The believer needs spiritual revelation of God and His will!

I encourage you to spend time in God's presence and in His Word so that you grow in the knowledge of God and in the knowledge of His will. It is as we grow in our knowledge of Him and His will that we will be able to pray with faith and confidence and then see the glory of the Lord!

"When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" Luke 18:8

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What are you waiting for (part 2)?

Many Christians are waiting for God to touch their lives. They either seek His touch in prayer or they attend meetings where they hope to be touched by God in the meeting or through somebody. God certainly wants His people to seek His face but I believe that many believers don't have a clear idea of exactly what they are looking for and what they will do once they have found it. Whether we call it "a touch from God" or "a move of God" or "revival" I think we need to have a clear understanding of what that looks like and what it will mean for our lives, once we've experienced it.

I believe we need to honestly ask ourselves why we want to experience God. Here are a few common reasons:

I want to know for sure that God exists
I want to know personally, that God loves me
I want to experience God's power so that I receive His power to do His work
I believe I need an experience to know that I have been filled (baptised) with the Holy Spirit

Unfortunately these reasons are derived from wrong teaching, our interpretation of others' experience, unbelief and a lack of knowledge of God and His Word. Let's have a look these reasons more carefully.

I want to know for sure that God exists

God expects His creation to believe in Him even though we don't see Him in the physical. Creation is evidence enough of His existence.

"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." Rom. 1:18-20

"Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Heb. 11:1

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Heb. 11:6

"We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen." 2 Cor. 4:18

"Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.." 1 Peter 1:8

"Jesus told him, 'Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.'" John 20:29

"For we live by faith, not by sight." 2 Cor. 5:7

Clearly then, seeking a touch from God for proof of His existence is simply unbelief and doesn't please God.

I want to know personally, that God loves me

Many of us have been in meetings where some people are clearly touched by God in a glorious way and we wonder why God doesn't give us the same experience. Consequently we leave disappointed and left out. However, that kind of thinking is based on the assumption that an experience like that is proof of God's love. It isn't!

God has already proven His love for us in giving us His Son. He demonstrated His love for us when He lay down His life for us.

"God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Rom. 5:8

If we seek an experience from God for proof of His love for us, we are again walking in unbelief. God has already demonstrated His love for us. Why do we need more proof? Was John lying when he wrote,

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are." 1 John 3:1

Either we believe or we don't.

I want to experience God's power so that I receive His power to do His work.

Somewhere along the line many of us have come to believe that the believer needs a "second blessing" or needs to be "baptised in the Holy Spirit" before he can do the works Jesus did. Let me ask you, "Can you receive God without His wisdom?" Then why do some of us believe we can receive God without His power? Jesus said that the believer will receive power when he receives the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8) - we cannot receive the Holy Spirit without His power. Either we believe we have received the Holy Spirit and are therefore able to do the work of Jesus or not. Paul reprimands the Galatians for thinking that they had to earn God's power.

"Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?....Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?" Gal. 3:2-5

Seeking God for something you have already received is unbelief. We have received the fullness of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

"..you have been given fullness in Christ.." Col. 2:10

The believer is united to Christ and has therefore received every spiritual blessing in Christ, including His power (see Eph. 1:3; 1 Cor. 1:24; 1 John 4:15; 2 Peter 1:3 etc).

Believe you have received!

I believe I need an experience to know that I have been filled (baptised) with the Holy Spirit.

This is a similar reason to the one just discussed. Jesus baptises the believer into His Spirit - into God! The Christian does not still need more of God but needs to learn to manifest the fullness of God by faith. The believer's life is about "..attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4:13) and not receiving more of God as though God gives Himself in bits and pieces.

Through faith in Jesus we are joined to Him and immersed into His fullness. Believe you have received!

So we can see that many of us may have the wrong reasons for wanting a "touch from God!" God wants us to seek His face and He wants us to experience Him because we believe in Him and have received His fullness and not in order to believe in Him and in order to receive more from Him.

I want to encourage you to begin thanking God for what you have received and trusting Him to use you as you step out in faith, believing you have received.