In the book of Genesis, God revealed how He originally intended things
to work, especially in chapters one [1] and two [2]. God intended for us to be
fruitful: “…Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the
fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the
ground” [Genesis 1: 26 – 28].
It is the will of God for every one of us to be fruitful [and productive].
Therefore, a lack of fruitfulness means there is a problem. Anyone that is not
productive or fruitful does not glorify God because everything He created is to
be fruitful and multiply, especially when you consider what it cost God to
redeem us. Given the sacrifice He made for our sakes, God wants to reap the
benefit of His investment in our lives and it would be tragic and wicked if we
deny Him the pleasure.
Jesus gave us the key to spiritual fruitfulness in John 15: 1 – 5, which
says: “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every
branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do
bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and
purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you.
For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot
be fruitful unless you remain in me.” If you desire to be fruitful and produce
results, you have to deliberately put yourself on the path to spiritual growth;
stay connected to God. If you unplug yourself from God, you will die. So you
must take your relationship, communion and fellowship with God very
seriously. The more you spend time with Him, praying, reading the Bible and
meditating on His word, the more you grow and the more you grow, the more
you bring glory and honor to God.
God expects us to be fruitful in the following areas:
1. Character [Matt 7: 15 – 29]. God wants us to bring forth fruits that show
we have repented: “…now the ax of God’s judgement is poised, ready to sever
the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be
chopped down and thrown into the fire.” [Matt 3: 7 – 10]. If you keep coming
to church with nothing to show in your life/character that you’ve been
reformed, then you are a disgrace to the kingdom of God. You cannot
preach like angels and live like demons. One of the reasons why it has been

difficult to win so many people to Christ is because of some Christians who
are living like devils. If we have more Christians that live the way God
wants us to live in our country, Nigeria would have been a better place. One
of the core mandates of this church [ACFM] is to raise Christ-like disciples
to be agents of change in the society. This is why we are involved in both
national and global transformation.
2. Soul winning. The church is not growing as it ought to, and the only way
growth can occur is if we take soul winning seriously, as a matter of life and
death. We are saved to serve and born again to reproduce. We are the
extension of the life and ministry of Christ in today’s world where He is not
physically present. We should pray that God would place unbelievers in
our paths for us to minister to them through our lifestyle and preaching so
that we bear fruits that bring honor and glory to God. Note that nothing in
this world will follow you to heaven except what is done for the Kingdom
of God. It is what you will be rewarded for in heaven and it is what people
will remember you for here on earth. So may God help us make soul
winning a way of life. Don’t spend all your time discussing
politics/business with friends who are on their way to hell without
discussing the salvation of their soul.
3. Through the use of our gift(s), talent(s) and treasure: “In his grace, God
has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given
you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given
you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach
well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it giving, give
generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility
seriously. And if you have a gift of showing kindness to others, do it gladly”
(Romans 12:6-8). Each one of us should add value anywhere we find
ourselves; let other people benefit from us: “God has given each of you a gift
from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another”
[1 Peter 4: 10].
Remember: we are called by God to be fruitful and to add value that
positively impacts the lives of other people: “For we are God’s masterpiece. He
has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for
us long ago” (Ephesians 2:10).

QUOTES:

“It is the will of God for every one of us to be fruitful [and productive].
Therefore, a lack of fruitfulness means there is a problem.”
“If you unplug yourself from God, you will die. So you must take your
relationship, communion and fellowship with God very seriously.”
“If you keep coming to church with nothing to show in your life/character that
you’ve been reformed, then you are a disgrace to the kingdom of God.”