Gifts do not guarantee heaven, but the fruit does. So, if someone has the gift, that does not guarantee that they will make it to heaven. But if they have the fruit of the spirit, heaven is guaranteed.
How can we develop the fruit of the Spirit in our lives?
The Bible begins and ends with fruit. In Genesis 2 and Revelation 22, we see fruit.
John 15:5-6: “I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”
Jesus clearly stated that we are to bear fruit for His kingdom.
1) We have to be planted properly before we can bear fruit for the Lord.
Our lives must be planted properly to bear fruit.
Psalm 1:3: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law, he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.”
You cannot be planted properly if you are living among sinners. Come out from among them and be separate, and God will receive you. What fellowship does light have with darkness?
It is impossible to be planted rightly if we are associating with the world and if we have fellowship with darkness.
Delight in the law of the Lord and meditate on it day and night, and you shall be planted properly.
2) Take a full step away from the world
Do not be halfway in Christ and halfway in the world. Be either all in or all out. Walk away from the world. Say no to the world, the sins of the world, and the ways of the world.
Begin to meditate upon the word as you receive it. Study it and read it, and it will become a light to you.
God’s word becomes our delight. When you open the Bible, joy fills your heart, and peace fills your heart.
Jesus said that when we are planted, when we abide in Him, we will bear fruit.
3) Growing in fellowship with the saints
Psalms 92:13: “Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.”
It is wonderful to read and love the Bible, but we also have to love God’s people. We have to be among the right people—the fellowship of the saints. That is why it says, “Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together.” Going to church is very important because it gives us fellowship with the saints.
Remember that in the book of Acts, it says how the new disciples were learning the doctrine and going from fellowship to fellowship, and from house to house. There was fellowship in the church, and that is what kept them together, because fellowship strengthens what God gives us, and fellowship keeps what God gives us. Without fellowship, we could not survive. We need the fellowship of the saints and the strength we receive from one another. The comfort we receive from one another is very important.
So not only is it important to have the word in you, but to also have the fellowship of the saints as part of your life.
4) Be Planted in the House of the Lord
Those that are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing.
The word fat, means full of spiritual health and flourishing. I know people who left the church actually became weird and became distant from God. They were so with the Bible and so in the world, and had no fellowship with the saints. They could not really participate in the life of the Spirit and the life of the church, because Jesus is the head of the church, and so they went dry.
We need each other. We need the body. People are neglecting the house of the Lord. They say things like, “I do not know where to go. I cannot find the right place.” Of course, you can. Look for where Jesus is loved, glorified, and the Gospel is preached fully. Not all churches are bad, full of politics and wayward teachings. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you locate a good church.
There are many good churches all over the world, both large and small. Just find the one that fits you. Find the one that you are comfortable with, and you will flourish.
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5) Cooperate with the Lord
Jesus is the vine, while you are the branches. When the fruit begins to manifest, Jesus is the one who truly produces it. We bear it; He gives it. We show it. So, the fruit of the Spirit is the fruit of Jesus. It is all Jesus coming out and Jesus being revealed. Your life is like His mirror.
Once you are in the vine, you will bear fruit. When people love the Lord, love His Word, and love His people, it changes lives. When people see Jesus, it changes them completely.
John 15:1-2: “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”
Every branch in the Lord that does not bear fruit, God will take away; and every branch that bears fruit, He will purge, He will prune it, and He prepares it for growth, basically.
God’s responsibility is to keep you productive. But we have to cooperate with the Lord for that to happen, and God gives us grace enough to cooperate with Him.
6) Respond to God’s Correction
Luke 13:6: He also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’ But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’”
God works with us. God Almighty is responsible for productivity, but we have to cooperate with Him for that to happen. He will give you grace and time. But that time is limited—four years, five years, and even seven years for some people. If, after all these years, you are still not bearing fruit, God will cut you down.
God gives us time to do a little extra work on ourselves, to dig around our lives, and to put some fertilizer (the Word of God and righteous living). God often gives us time to produce fruit.
Do not neglect the Lord, or neglect the house of the Lord, or neglect the Word of the Lord. Maybe you are wondering why your life is in a mess. You can fix all that quickly because the Lord has not left you. But be careful: if you neglect the Lord too many times, if you do not cooperate with Him, seek Him, read His Word, and go to church, eventually there will be no strength in you to return because too many strongholds will have been built in your life by the enemy to keep you away.
Have you drifted back to the world, and has your heart grown cold? It is time to come back to the Lord, lest you be cut off. The last thing the Lord wants is to cut anyone off from Himself. The Lord is clear that if anyone does not bear fruit in time, He will cut him off.
Proverbs 29:1: “He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.”
Neglect has a very high price. In our school days, I remember a lady preaching that when the Lord returns, our tears will be too late. Those tears will be ignored, and repentance will be too late. This is the time to repent. This is the time to come back to the Lord and live for Him. Be watchful, be alert, and pray, as the Lord Jesus urged us.
7) Allow the Fruit of Love to Flow
Galatians 5:22–23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”
There are nine gifts and nine clusters of fruit. The key to all others is the first one, which is directed toward the Lord and given supernaturally. The fruit, called love, is given by the Holy Spirit.
Romans 5:5: “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
Once we are abiding in the vine and properly planted, meditating on the Word of God and fellowshipping with brethren, love begins to flow. Love is the foundation of all the other fruits of the Spirit.
A lack of love will bring the rebuke of the Lord. And once that love is in us, it will bring us into the fullness of God. The love of God produces the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:18–19: “May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
The love of God, given by the Holy Spirit, brings us into the fullness of the Lord.
It is possible to miss heaven having the gifts, but it is not possible to miss heaven having the fruit.
Prayer
Dear Jesus, thank You for Your Word. I pray that the fruit of the Spirit will be in all of us. Lord, that we will always abide in You, the true vine. That we will abide in You, and Your Word will abide in us, that we might bear fruit for Your glory and honor for the rest of our days. To You be all the glory, precious Jesus. Amen.
Inspired by Benny Hinn’s Sermon
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