I Am A Fruitful Ambassador For The Kingdom
“Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.” (John 15:8, 16 KJV)
All Christians are required to “bear fruit.” This fruit-bearing refers to (1) spiritual virtues, such as the fruit of the Spirit mentioned in (Galatians 5:22-23), and (2) working for the conversion of others to Christ.
“But the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its varied expressions: joy that overflows, peace that subdues, patience that endures, kindness in action, a life full of virtue, faith that prevails, gentleness of heart, and strength of spirit. Never set the law above these qualities, for they are meant to be limitless” (Galatians 5:22-23, TPT).
The fruit that God looks for in His people is Christlikeness. Peter lists the virtues a Christian must develop to be spiritually victorious and fruitful. “So, devote yourselves to lavishly supplementing your faith with goodness, and to goodness add understanding, and to understanding add the strength of self-control, and to self-control add patient endurance, and to patient endurance add godliness, and to godliness add mercy toward your brothers and sisters, and to mercy toward others add unending love. Since these virtues are already planted deep within, and you possess them in abundant supply, they will keep you from being inactive or fruitless in your pursuit of knowing Jesus Christ more intimately” (2 Peter 1:5-8, TPT).
If we are not producing fruit in our lives, it is because we are not abiding in the Word. “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).
The Greek word “Meno” means to remain, continue, abide or live. The branch has life only if the vine flows into it. Believers have Christ’s life flowing into them if they remain in Him. The branch that bears no fruit because it does not abide in the vine, it will be destroyed John 15:, 6).
If you feel like these qualities do not naturally flow from your life presently, take courage because the Holy Spirit lives inside you! And as you yield to Him, He will cause the fruit of His Spirit to flow out of you in an ever-increasing demonstration of His unconditional, compassionate love!
Father, we earnestly desire to be ambassadors that bear the fruit of Your Spirit and that the character of Christ is fully formed in us. Cultivate the fruit that Jesus displayed as He went about doing good. Holy Spirit teach us how to display the Father’s heart and character to those who need Your love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness and gentleness the most. Today we confess that we will let our roots grow deep into Christ so that His life in us will enable us to bear fruit. We choose to yield to the Holy Spirit and let Him do His work us in Jesus’ name!
Bettie Davis
