A Tree ( a study of growing in him)

[L.A.M.B.]

There is much in scripture to mark the growth of a believer in God. Let's compare it to the growth of a tree.

The word talks about the roots, the soil, the water that supplies our nutrients and the fruit that is born.
Nature's creation reflects the thoughts of God, the love, the beauty and even the humour.
Many times Jesus used the analogy of nature and the things that are natural to man in his parables, to teach.

John 14:6
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the LIFE: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

There is NO other way to the Father's kingdom but through Jesus. The gift of salvation was purchased by his shed blood. Our assurance & hope is in the fact of his death, burial and resurrection! He alone is the vine that we must remain in.
John 15:5
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.

Jesus must be whom we are grounded in for he is the root of the New Covenant with God, to ALL WHO WILL BELIEVE.
Isaiah 11:10
And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his REST shall be glorious.

In both Luke 8 and Matt 13, Jesus tells “The Parable of the Sower.” In the passage, Jesus describes someone planting seeds into four types of soil; the hard path, rocky, thorny, and good soil. Every soil was CAPABLE of producing a plant of some sort EXCEPT THE HARD GROUND!

The seed represents the word of God, and the four soils represent four different ways people react to God's word.

Hopefully as we get into this study, we will explore the growth of the seed, the water it takes to nourish it ,how to keep our soil tilled by his truths so that we may grow strong as a tree that bears much fruit for Jesus!

 

[L.A.M.B.]

Let us look at the seed which is to be planted from which our growth happens.

What is the seed ? It is a representation of the word of God in Jesus' parables.
Matthew 13:3
3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

The seed has to be sown into the ground to germinate or die. By this only is a seed able to become a plant, and grow to its fullest measure or maturity.
John 12:24 - Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

We are all appointed once to die and then the judgment.Hebrews 9:27.

Jesus said in John 3, that to be a part of him we must be "born again". How can we have new birth; only through his word and by his Spirit!
Romans 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: FOR IT IS THE POWER OF GOD UNTO SALVATION to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

We are born again by the testimony of Jesus, ( no other way,) and the measure of faith given unto every man. Romans 12:3
Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

John 12: 48-50
He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.

His words are an invisible force and power because, if we believe His words, they begin to work in our lives because we use them. They begin to produce what God intends them to produce.One cannot dwell in Christ apart from his word and you cannot truly dwell in his word and remain apart from Christ. One feeds naturally into the other.

2 Corinthians 5:17 -
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Colossians 3:3 - For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

Galatians 2:20 - I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Luke 9:23 - And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

The seed or word of God must be what we receive to die to sinful flesh, that is in rebellion against God, ( we cannot do this in our own power) and be born new creatures in Christ.

Thus our journey begins.......

 

[amadeus]

There is much in scripture to mark the growth of a believer in God. Let's compare it to the growth of a tree.
View attachment 37406
The word talks about the roots, the soil, the water that supplies our nutrients and the fruit that is born.
Nature's creation reflects the thoughts of God, the love, the beauty and even the humour.
Many times Jesus used the analogy of nature and the things that are natural to man in his parables, to teach.

John 14:6
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the LIFE: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

There is NO other way to the Father's kingdom but through Jesus. The gift of salvation was purchased by his shed blood. Our assurance & hope is in the fact of his death, burial and resurrection! He alone is the vine that we must remain in.
John 15:5
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.

Jesus must be whom we are grounded in for he is the root of the New Covenant with God, to ALL WHO WILL BELIEVE.
Isaiah 11:10
And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his REST shall be glorious.

In both Luke 8 and Matt 13, Jesus tells “The Parable of the Sower.” In the passage, Jesus describes someone planting seeds into four types of soil; the hard path, rocky, thorny, and good soil. Every soil was CAPABLE of producing a plant of some sort EXCEPT THE HARD GROUND!

The seed represents the word of God, and the four soils represent four different ways people react to God's word.

Hopefully as we get into this study, we will explore the growth of the seed, the water it takes to nourish it ,how to keep our soil tilled by his truths so that we may grow strong as a tree that bears much fruit for Jesus!

Jer 4:3

For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not

Ho 10:12

Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

 

[Jay Ross]

Jer 4:3

For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not

Ho 10:12

Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

Jer 4:3-4: - 3 For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:

“Break up your fallow ground,
And do not sow among thorns.
4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,
And take away the foreskins of your hearts,
You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
Lest My fury come forth like fire,
And burn so that no one can quench it,
Because of the evil of your doings.”​

 

[L.A.M.B.]

The sower of the seed is the Holy Spirit of God; the inspiration of the written word; the seed!
2 Peter 1:20-21
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came NOT in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

John 16:
8. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
The biblical use of the word translated here as reprove is complex. It can mean to dispute, judge, chasten, argue, correct, prove or convict.

2Tim. 3:
16. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17. That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

John 16:13
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear,that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

This was the promise to the disciples Jesus made, and to as many as would come, that we would have a guide out of the darkness of sin into his marvelous light.

2 Corinthians 4:
6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

The sower works through those whom are called to carry the word and preach.
Romans 10:
14. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear except there be a preacher
15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things.

We are ALL vessels of God created for his purpose to be a worker in the vineyards of the world, to preach & teach the word of God to WHOSOEVER WILL LISTEN; ......LET THEM COME!

 

[L.A.M.B.]

The seed or word must be sown by the sower into the ground.
Let's look at the types of ground to receive the seed.

The ground represents our heart and the condition of the heart / mind when the word is heard!
In Scripture, the Lord compares our hearts to a garden (Jer. 31:12 Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their souls shall be a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.)
In one parable, Jesus says your heart is like soil; if you plant the seeds in the right soil, they will bring forth good fruit-some thirty, some sixty, and some a hundredfold (Matt. 13:23)

The seed is always the same-it is the Word, but the condition of your heart determines how much you produce. Some hearts are hard, stony ground. Some are shallow and look good for a little while, but don't last. In Matthew 15:13, Jesus says, "... Every plant which my heavenly Father has NOT PLANTED will be uprooted."

Matthew 13:3
4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
8 But other fell into GOOD GROUND, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Luke 8:
[5] A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.
[6] And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.
[7] And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.
[8] And other fell on GOOD GROUND, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.............
11] Now the parable is this: THE SEED IS THE WORD OF GOD.
[12] Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
[13] They on the rock are they, which, when they HEAR, RECEIVE THE WORD with joy; and these have NO ROOT, which for a while believe and in TIME OF TEMPTATION FALL AWAY.
[14] And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they heard, go forth , and are CHOKED WITH CARES AND RICHES AND PLEASURES OF THIS LIFE, and bring forth NO FRUIT TO PERFECTION.
[15] But that on the GOOD GROUND ARE THEY ,WHICH IN AN HONEST AND GOOD HEART, HAVING HEARD THE WORD, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

Proverbs 12:11-
11 He that TILLETH his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that followeth vain persons is void of understanding.
12 The wicked desireth the net of evil men: but the ROOT OF THE RIGHTEOUS yieldeth fruit.

Hosea 10:12, "plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord." Our hearts are a field of deception and sin that only God, our Gardener, can soften. When we allow sin into our lives, our hearts begin to harden towards God and His Word. In order to seek the Lord diligently, we need to give our hearts over to Him and ask Him to "plow up" the hard soil and remove the weeds that are choking our full surrender to Him. We are called as His beloved children "to work at living holy lives" Hebrews 12:14

Different people will produce different levels of fruit in their lives.

Every day we need to come before the throne of God and ask Him to cultivate our hearts. To prepare the soil in our hearts and plant seeds of righteousness so that we can produce a vast harvest of fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23)

 

[L.A.M.B.]

Changing a heart that has been choked, stolen by the thief, withered from lack of the watering of the word, or is hardened by sin must be through the Spirit as an act of God!

We are ALL born spiritually dead, away from God, we cannot & do not have the power to save ourselves. Jesus said WITHOUT ME ye can do nothing. Only can we receive the cultivating needed to keep our hearts in spiritual order through his Spirit. We receive the circumcision of the heart when we come to him with a broken heart & a contrite spirit, that he may break up the fallow grounds of our hearts.

Ephesians 2:
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

He takes out the heart of stone and puts in the heart of flesh (Ezekiel 11:19). We should be encouraged that God can take out any hardness of a heart, and change it by his word & his Spirit. In other words, salvation isn't a mingling of human resolve and God's resolve. It is a powerful sovereign work of God replacing hearts.

Romans 2:25
28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Jeremiah 17:9- The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (GOD KNOWS)

Hebrews 4:12 - For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Colossians 2:11
In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:

Circumcision of heart implies humility, faith, hope, and charity.
A contrite ( full of godly sorrow) heart, will give us a right judgment of ourselves. Then we can be cleansed in our minds from those high conceits of our own perfection or righteousness and from that undue opinion of our own abilities and attainments, these are the genuine fruit of a corrupted nature, but we can be changed.

Only the Spirit revealing, implanting and stirring up the word of God in our hearts can keep them cultivated into newness of life.

 

[L.A.M.B.]

Our root is beginning to grow into the good ground of a freshly cultivated circumcised heart. Now the little tree begins to push upwards to the SON, from which it will receive all things!

We must have nutrients from the source of our root which is the word. ( Jesus)
John 1 NIV.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

The principles of the word is where our foundation is laid.

Dying to self, living to Christ's glory.
Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

2 Thessalonians 2:13 But we
are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the SPIRIT and BELIEF OF THE TRUTH :

1 Thessalonians 4:3 - For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, .................:

Salvation is our belief in Jesus as the propitiation of our sins, bringing us into a right relationship with the Father. Being repentant of our sins, forsaking them and turning towards God.
Sanctification is by the word of truth and the Spirit, renewing our minds daily, setting us apart as vessels of honor for his use. This is our discipleship with the Lord, displayed to a lost, dying world.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 - And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

John 17:17 - Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

2 Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

The principles include: the Lordship of Christ over all our life and thoughts; the responsibility to love God with our whole being and to love our neighbor as ourselves; the responsibility to pursue righteousness and practice justice and mercy to everyone, and love the household of faith.

Sanctification involves more than a mere moral reformation of character. Brought about
by the power of the truth: it is
the work of the Holy Spirit
bringing the whole nature more and more under the influences of the new gracious principles implanted in the soul in regeneration. In other words,
sanctification is the carrying
"on to perfection the work
begun in regeneration", and it
extends" to the whole man".

(Rom. 6:13; 2 Cor. 4:6; Col. 3:10;
1 John 4:7; 1 Cor. 6:19).

It is the special office of the Holy Spirit in the plan of redemption to carry on this work (1 Cor. 6:11;2 Thess. "2:13).

Faith is instrumental in securing sanctification, in as much as it
(1) secures union to Christ (Gal.2:20),
(2) brings the believer into living contact with the truth, whereby he is led to yield obedience to the commands, trembling the threatenings, and embracing the promises of God for this life, and that which is to come.

"Perfect sanctification is not
attainable in this life (1 Kings
8:46; Prov. 20:9; Eccl. 7:20;
James 3:2; 1 John 1:8). See
Paul's account of himself in
Rom. 7:14-25; Phil. 3:12-14; and 1 Tim. "1:15;
The more holy a man is, the more humble, self-renouncing, self-abhorring, and the more
sensitive to every sin he becomes, and the more closely he clings to Christ, striving to overcome. Believers find that their life is a constant warfare, and they need to take the kingdom of heaven by storm, and watch while they pray. They are always subject to the constant chastisement of their Father's loving hand, which can only be designed to correct their imperfections and to confirm his grace. It has been notorious that the best Christians have been those who have been the least prone to claim the attainment of perfection for themselves.

Hebrews 6:1
Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

 

[L.A.M.B.]

GROWTH in spiritual understanding is our required discipleship unto the Lord.
In Christ we have our connection to the root of the vine. Now the word & the Spirit will bring us into subjection whereby we mature to produce fruit !

Many times in this journey our soil must be tilled and our branches pruned, John 15:2
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.; bringing forth the good fruit of the Spirit ;
Galatians 5:22-24
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
and of the word;
2 Peter 1:5-7 "For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love."

Colossians 1:9-
9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding ;
10 That ye might WALK WORTHY OF THE LORD unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
11 STRENGTHENED with all might, according to his glorious power,........................

Paul admonished the church at Corinth for there lack of growth and explained unto them the why.

1 Corinthians 3:1-23
1 And I, brethren, could not
speak unto you as unto
spiritual, but as unto carnal,
even as unto babes in Christ.
2 I have fed you with milk, and
not with meat: for hitherto ye
were not able to bear it, neither
yet NOW are ye able. 3 For ye
are yet carnal: for whereas
there is among you envying,
and strife, and divisions, are ye
not carnal, and walk as men?

James 1:22
But be ye doers of the word,
and not hearers only, deceiving
your own selves.

Ephesians 4:11-14
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the
sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

Hebrews 5:12-14
12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
13 For every one that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
14 But strong meat belongeth unto them that of full age, even those who by reason of USE have their senses exercised to DISCERN BOTH GOOD AND EVIL.

A spiritually mature person actively honors all beings and recognizes we are all interconnected, diverse and unique. We are all created in the "image" and "likeness" of God/the sacred, according to Genesis 1:26, with the capacity to discover that potentiality.

In order to grow spiritually and mature in our faith, we must drawn near to God. We cannot mature on our own. Without him, our works and efforts are worthless. However, he makes us clean, gives us the strength and ability to grow and put aside sin.

Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Philippians 1:6 - Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

2 Peter 3:18 - But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

Ephesians 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

1 Corinthians 2:13
Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

 

[L.A.M.B.]

The fruit is NOT JUST the fruit of the Spirit in our lives but his fruit is the nutrients that produce the motivation in us to produce good fruit unto God.

Go ye into all the world; to bear the fruit of a disciple.
Mark 16:15
15 And he said unto them,Go ye into all the world, and preach the GOSPEL to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

The first fruit clearly that God wants us all to produce is the fruit of repentance. In chapter John 3:8, John the Baptist had rebuked the Pharisees and Sadducees saying, "Produce fruit in keeping with repentance."
This is the godly sorrow we have when the Spirit reveals unto us how truly far our sins have separated us from God.

Ezekiel 18:30-31 says, "I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. RID yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. REPENT AND LIVE".

Secondly, God wants the fruit of faith. When both John and Jesus started their public ministries their message was the same: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near" (3:2; 4:17). Along with repenting, people must BELIEVE the message of the kingdom of heaven. John's message did not stop with the kingdom of heaven. John pointed to Jesus, the one coming after him.

God wants us to repent and believe the GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST.

Third, God wants the fruit of obedience. The religious leaders flunked Jesus' pop quiz with a lame reply, only to justify their refusal of believing Jesus words and having to repent, "We don't know ", they said. So Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things."

Obedience has a RESULT:
1.Two outcomes;
Psalms 128:2 it says, "You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands." Thus fruit here is the result of one's labor in the Spirit.

A second, this time of bad fruit, is in Proverbs 1:31:
"They will eat the fruit of their
[evil] ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes."

2. Prosperity of the soul. In Psalms 1 the righteous man who delights in and meditated on the Word of God is "like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth fruit in its season." And what is that fruit? The last line of verse three tells us: "And whatever he does shall prosper." And I take it here that this type of prosperity is godly and holy; it is a prosperity that would result from meditating on the Word of God.
Likewise, in Prov. 8:1-20, describes the fruit of wisdom
as riches, honor, enduring wealth and prosperity.
Here again it is not speaking of earthly riches; it is the true riches and wealth that comes from God's wisdom.
The fear of the Lord, is the beginning of wisdom.


3. The identifier or ones name tag, if you will. Is that which allows us to recognize or be recognized . Jesus said in Matthew 7:16, NIV "By their fruit you will recognize them". Fruit is like an identifier. It is what is on the outside, which is the visual actions, and what one speaks, that reveals what is on the inside. I like this saying: "Fruit is the outward expression of the inward nature."

4.Our attitudes and actions. I would say that our fruit starts with attitudes and then immediately grows into behaviors. In Galatians 5:22-23 Paul gives us a list He calls the fruit of the Spirit: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law." So, as I see it, these good fruits are godly and Christ-like attitudes of the Spirit-filled !
When we get these attitudes from the Holy Spirit, good actions and behaviors
follow; for all the fruit of the
Spirit, since they begin as CHRIST- LIKE attitudes, must also result in Christ-like behaviors ,or the attitudes wouldn't be true.
Therefore, when we have a loving attitude, we also will love others; when we have joy, we also will help others to be joyful; when we have peace in our heart, we also will do things to seek peace with others.
There are also bad fruits that
come from our fleshly lusts, out of our sinful heart. These also start as attitudes and proceed to actions.
For instance, the sin of
anger may proceed to murder;
and the sin of sexual lust may
proceed to adultery (Matthew
5:21-31). It should be easy to
recognize bad fruit in a person.
Just look at the way they act and WHAT they say.
Paul gives us a list of the works of the flesh in Galatians 5:19-21.
Notice that the list contains both the fruits of attitude and behaviors.

5. Praise to God is an outward fruit of our lips as we open our mouth to worship Him and give thanks to Him. But, as we see in Isaiah 57:19, this fruit does not come from ourselves; it is created in us by God. However, this can be counterfeited by the fake or pretentious in the churches whom say one thing, yet live the other.
Matthew 15:8
This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.

6. Witnessing is is a fruit of both attitude and action. It is a fruit of love and of the actions of love. It is also the fruit of obedience to God and of the work of our purpose in him. It is the outward expression of the nature of Christ in us. Christ was always witnessing to his Father's will and glory. John. 15:16). God's intent for our lives is to progress from barrenness to fruitfulness, to spiritual abundance in him. Jesus also repeats His command for believers to love each other. In this context, He goes so far as to refer to those who follow His teachings as His "friends."

7. Converting the lost of the world into Christ. Converts are new believers and they are our fruit. When you are the one who leads them to Christ they may be considered as your fruit. For as we see in Romans 1:13, Paul had often planned, and was eager to come to Rome so that he "might have some fruit among [them]." In other words, he wanted to lead many to Christ, and he regarded those converts as his fruit.

Philippians 1:6 - Being confident of this very thing, that he that hath BEGUN a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

 

[L.A.M.B.]

In Conclusion,dear readers;

We are examples, imitators of our Lord and Savior; Jesus, the Son of God.

We have a choice in our growth, the strength of our foundation built upon and the fruit of our spiritual maturity in Christ.

Do you CHOOSE to be an unfruitful branch in the vine without fruit to the glory of God; easily uprooted , bundled, cast aside and burned........WEAK!


As this barren shallow rooted tree appears, with out depth, easily pulled from the earth

Or, do you choose to be fruitful ,strong in the Lord and multiply the believers and fellow servants in Him, resulting in this: deep roots, spreading widely, with branches full of leaves bearing fruit........ITS OUR CHOICE!
Thank you for forebearing to read; this study has undertaken weeks of time in searching the word and my thoughts

 

[strepho]

Good post.
Jesus gave analogy in Matthew chapter 13:21. Parable of the mustard seed.

What's interesting is. It's meant for garden.
So when the gardener planted the mustard seed. He/she had no expectation for it to grow as other trees.

But this seed grew to were bird's rested on it. The gardener was ecstatic and perplexed.

We're talking about christianity. Jesus was crucified. And the apostles brought forth much good fruit for God. People didn't have much expectation for Christians.

Lot of people converted to christianity. And those seeds kept germinating.

In genesis chapter 12 . God promised abraham his descendants would be as sand of the sea. Kings would come from your loins. Abraham is father of many nations. Were talking Christian nations.

Jesus mustard seed is promise and truth. God made covenant with abraham. And another covenant with Moses and Israel.

We see the injection of God's promise to abraham and Jesus mustard seed.

 

[L.A.M.B.]

Good post.
Jesus gave analogy in Matthew chapter 13:21. Parable of the mustard seed.

What's interesting is. It's meant for garden.
So when the gardener planted the mustard seed. He/she had no expectation for it to grow as other trees.

But this seed grew to were bird's rested on it. The gardener was ecstatic and perplexed.

We're talking about christianity. Jesus was crucified. And the apostles brought forth much good fruit for God. People didn't have much expectation for Christians.

Lot of people converted to christianity. And those seeds kept germinating.

In genesis chapter 12 . God promised abraham his descendants would be as sand of the sea. Kings would come from your loins. Abraham is father of many nations. Were talking Christian nations.

Jesus mustard seed is promise and truth. God made covenant with abraham. And another covenant with Moses and Israel.

We see the injection of God's promise to abraham and Jesus mustard seed.

Thank you.
To God be the glory.

The unction of the Holy Spirit led me through the word for over a month to compile into thought how we grow with the seed to beyond milk unto the meat, to produce fruit.
If we do not grow, we die. Growth means change & vice versa.

To grow from that small seed of " mustard seed faith" into a place of rest and refuge for others takes the seed, the good ground, the water of the word , the fruit of the Spirit, and the humble open submission of the one seeking God!

Amen.