The book of Genesis is the book that captures the beginning of all things. So if you want to know the way God created different things to work and function originally, you have to go to the book of Genesis. Chapters 1 to 2 give us a picture of how God designed His creation to work and function. But when you read chapter 3, here Adam and Eve sinned and every plan of God was turned upside down and man is yet to be totally free from the consequences of that singular act of disobedience against God.

From our text, you will discover that after God had created all things, He formed humans both male and female to be the apex of His creation. God had put everything in place before creating man in His own likeness and image. What a privilege! And God blessed man and part of the blessings is to ‘’Be fruitful and multiply and… have dominion over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.’’ Beyond biological multiplication, God intends that everything we do as humans, created in His image and likeness, would be fruitful and multiply. God rejoices when His children are fruitful.

Another word for fruitfulness is “productive.” If you are a child of God and you’re not productive, you won’t bring happiness to God. After Adam and Eve sinned by eating the forbidden fruit against God’s instruction, human relationship with God was broken and it brought about sickness, poverty and the challenges we’ll face today in the world which were not part of God’s original plan for mankind. But the Bible in John 3:16 records, ‘’For God so loved the world, that He sent His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’’ God sent His son Jesus Christ into the world to redeem us from the curses that sin brought into our lives.  Jesus took our place on the cross, redeemed us from all iniquity, made us God’s children by reconnecting us to God.

But we are not yet there, because until Christ comes to take us away from this world, we will not experience everything God wants us to be involved in. John 15: 16 says; ‘’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.’’ So fruitfulness is not optional for a child of God because we were created originally to be fruitful and multiply. The scripture is reminding us that the reason for our existence is to be fruitful and multiply.

In Mathew 3: 8, the scripture says; ‘’Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance.’’ And Luke 13: 5 – 9  also says; ‘’I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruits thereon, and found none…  Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it and dung it; And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.’’  The scriptures above speaks of repentance as a fruit; if you want to begin a relationship with God, the first place to start is to repent of your sins – therefore, you cannot be a member of God’s family without repentance. This message is critical; whatever problems, challenges that individuals and nations are going through today are rooted in sin and so any message of the gospel you are preaching that does not deal with the question and problem of sin is a non-starter.

Secondly, putting the word of God into practice is another fruit that God expects us to bear. In Mathew 7: 15 – 21, the Bible records ‘’… Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.’’

Thirdly, another area that God expects us to bear fruit is having the character of Christ. We are not saved by good works but we are saved to do good works. We are saved by grace through faith on the basis of the finished work of Christ on the cross, by the shedding of the blood for the remission of sin. But, after that, God expects us as brand new people inside to begin to bear fruits of righteousness – speak like Christ, think like Christ and behave like Christ. Galatians 5: 22 – 26. It is only Christ-like people that can change our nation and the church.

Another area that God wants us to bear fruit is winning unbelievers to the kingdom. After we are born again, the greatest assignment that God gives to us is to make ourselves available to Him to use in bringing other people to Christ. That is the number one reason why you are here on earth; if it is not, immediately after being born again you would have been raptured to heaven. But because He has an assignment here on earth for you, you are an extension of the kingdom of God here on earth. God’s highest priority is souls.

The world is not heaven and so no matter what we do, there is bound to be some challenges. The only thing that will matter after we leave this world is what we have done for the kingdom and the greatest thing we can do for the kingdom of God is to win souls. If you are a Christian and has been saved for at-least a week and you are not making any effort to bring other people to Christ – there is something wrong with your salvation. Every other thing you do would not count as much.  for example; making money is not an end itself and so God expect you to use that money to achieve the purpose for which He has put you on the earth. If you don’t, you would have missed the purpose why you are here on earth as a believer. The more you get to understand the meaning of life, the more it becomes clear just like King Solomon said after all his experiments ‘’vanity is vanity, all is vanity.’’ Our fruitfulness pleases and glorifies God, it also shows that we are Christs’ disciples. John 15: 8.

In conclusion therefore, God hates and will judge unfruitfulness [Isaiah 5:1-7].  God had invested so much on the people of Jerusalem and nothing to show forth for it and as a result of that, God decided to bring catastrophe upon the nation. Unfruitfulness breaks the heart of God – especially as Christians for which we must remain eternally grateful to God for our salvation even if He has not done any other thing for us. And so, we must not rob Him of the fruits of His investment. The primary key to fruitfulness is found in John 15:1-8: ‘’I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit… Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing…   When we make God’s priority our priority – God will make our priority His priority. May God help us to be fruitful in Jesus’ name – Amen!