Do you want to bear fruit in the coming year? You should if you’re a Christian. Bearing good fruit is all about staying attached to the true vine, hopefully today we can get some insight on how to stay attached to Jesus and begin some new growth in our physical as well as our spiritual lives.
How many of you set some new year’s resolutions? How many have already broken some of those?
The sad truth is most people fall short of their New Year’s resolution before the month of January has passed.
Well a couple of Sundays ago I talked about new beginnings and starting the year fresh and new, forgetting about the past and moving forward in our relationship with Christ. So, how do we do that? How do we become a new creature? How do we move closer to the prize and live into a life of joy that Christ has for us?
We must start out believing and trusting that God wants good things for us, we must put our trust in Him.
How many of you believe that God has a plan for your life? He does have a plan and we need to trust in what the scriptures tell us. How many believe that God is gonna do what he tells us he is gonna do?
Scripture tells us that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God (Rom. 8:28) God told Jeremiah “I have plans for you, plans of good and not bad, to give you a future of Hope (Jeremiah 29:11)
Scripture has told us that when we trust in God good things are gonna happen, scripture tells us that God has plans for our lives.
We can do better, we can be better; we can be part of that true vine and bear good fruit.
I know you’re sitting on the edge of your pew and your brain is shouting out, Tell us preacher, tell us how can I be a better person, how can I receive the joy that Jesus can give me, TELL ME, TELL ME!!!
Ok, Ok I’ll tell you, it’s no secret, and the first thing you have got to do is Pray Daily.
You have got to establish a relationship with Christ and that requires having conversation with our savior talking as well as listening for that still small voice. Philippians 4:6 tells us to be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God.
Prayer is what helps us build a relationship with God. And we all know the story about the persistent neighbor who wanted to borrow some bread and he just kept asking and asking and finally his neighbor gave him some bread so he would just quit asking. We must pray earnestly, persistently, humbly and daily. If you establish a regular prayer life I guarantee you that your life will change.
Now you need more than just prayer alone to help you grow closer to God, you also need to study, we must study and read our bibles daily get into the word of God and see what it says to you. You will find promises that God has given you; you will read scripture about how to conduct your family life, your business life and your spiritual life.
Here is what scripture says in 2nd Timothy 3:16-17 says about study, it says all scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, reproofing (rebuking those in sin), for correction, and for training in righteousness so that we may be adequately equipped for every good work.
When we study the word of God it helps us be a better witness, it helps us cope with things of the world.
Think about this, when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness he used scripture to avoid the temptations of Satan. Those same scriptures can help us avoid the snares and temptations that the devil uses against us.
Last but not least we need to make worship a priority:
Hebrews 10:24-25 tells us let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together as is the habit of some, and encouraging one another.
Basically the Apostle Paul is saying get yourself to church, spend some time in corporate worship, lifting each other up and encouraging each other.
Make it a priority to come to church on Sunday, if you come once a month try and come twice a month. If you come twice a month try and come three times a month. Make it a habit, if you come every Sunday try and make some Wednesday nights. Worshiping with others is important. We must make it a priority.
So how do we do it? How do we get better at these spiritual disciplines?
If you aren’t praying daily, or studying scripture regularly start slowly set aside a time when you can meditate and be alone with just you and God. Start with 15 minutes a day, pray (just have a conversation with God) then read a few verses of scripture and meditate on it, end with prayer and thanksgiving. If you already have a good prayer and study life try and increase the time you spend with God and study with a group. The main objective is to establish a sound relationship with God and grow that relationship just like you would any other relationship that is important to you.
The truth is if we want a better relationship with Christ, if we want a closer walk with God we have got to give our lives fully and unconditionally to God. And when we surrender to God we begin to live into the great life that God has planned for us.
We must stop doing what we want and start doing what God wants
We have got to turn our lives over to Christ that means our family life, our work life, our church life and any other part of our life that our flesh is still hanging on to.
I encourage you to start this new beginning by getting closer to God.
