Are You Rooted Below & Bearing Fruit Above?

All of us seek to discern the will of God in our lives because we believe He knows best. I have my fair share of waiting too and sometimes, it is to wait for open doors from the Lord, sometimes it is waiting while in God's calling for our calling to come to fruition, sometimes it's for things and/or us to take shape and sometimes it's for us to complete our God-given task despite how much we may want to bail out. But waiting on the Lord is something that all of us will be familiar with.

The topic of bearing fruit is of particular interest to me. I did a search through the bible on scripture verses with the words "bear fruit" and "fruitful" and it seems that God called us to be fruitful by:

1. being fruitful and multiply - This is a common theme in the Old Testament in which God told Abraham, Noah and various other people that His blessing will cause His people to multiply in number to inhabit the earth and to preserve the generations. This is seen throughout the Old Testament in Gen 1:22, 28; Gen 9:1,7; Gen 17:6; Gen 35:11; Gen 48:4; Jer 23:3; Ps 105:24; Ex 1:7; Ez 36:11. The main thing of being fruitful here is receiving God's blessings and multiplying in numbers.
   
2. being fruitful in self and God - As we go into the New Testament, the focus now is on being holy and righteous in our call to be God's children, bearing the fruit of the Spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:19-24). In fact, Luke 13:1-9, Rom 7:4-6 encourage us to bear fruit for God rather that bear fruit of death; a warning of of what will happen if we do not repent and continue in our lives of darkness. So being fruitful has to also mean to be holy and righteous, living as children of God.
    
3. being fruitful to bless - Perhaps God ultimately wants us to bear fruit to not only bless ourselves but also to bless other through us. Why? Because God has appointed us to bear fruit that will last (John 15: 16) and which will be for the Father's glory (John 15:8). And God longs for His children to return to Him.
   
   Paul is very familiar with this as he mentioned in Philippians 1:22 that he was torn between going back to God and yet remaining in his body to have fruitful labour in the body; to bless others. Ultimately, God wants to make us fruitful so we can be a blessing to others and this one really spoke to me a lot a lot during this period.
   
   Early on in Genesis, the Abrahamic Convenant spoke about being blessed and being a blessing.
   
   
   Genesis 12:2-3 (NIV)
    2 "I will make you into a great nation
          and I will bless you;
          I will make your name great,
          and you will be a blessing.
   
    3 I will bless those who bless you,
          and whoever curses you I will curse;
          and all peoples on earth
          will be blessed through you."

As I struggle with my current job transition (transition out of something which is so comfortable and which is so working well for me), I kept bargaining with God that I am already impacting lives where I am. I further went on to justify that if I move, I am not sure if I am going to be effective for Him, given the new environment and new stresses to come in this new portfolio etc. But the real reason, I have come to realise is that I was so in my comfort zone. God dealt with me and made me realised how He has wanted to re-position me to bless others at a different playing field. Talking about revelation from God bringing about re-elevation.

As I did my QT, God first brought me to the story of Elijah in 1 King 17 and 18. I had previously shared in cell how Elijah is an interesting reminder because he has just popped up suddenly in the bible but every step of the way, he obeyed God and God positioned him from one level of faith to another. Firstly God provided for him as He sent the raverns to feed him and thereby helping Elijah know that God will provide for him and bless him. Then God brought him to the widow, another level of faith, and wanted to bless not only him but also the women and her son as he made it possible for the widow and her son to be fed through his instructions. Then, God brought him to yet another level of faith when the widow's son died and had Elijah working with God to restore the boy's life. Finally God brought him to the showdown with the prophets of Baal to bring people back to Him, as everyone realised that ""The LORD -he is God! The LORD -he is God!" (1 King 18:39). The Lord brought Elijah from one level of faith to another, blessing first himself then others through him.

In the same way, I felt the Lord reminding me how He wants to bring me to a different field to bless others and that my season here is just over. And yes, He will bless as He calls; to bear fruit. The further confirmation came when I was preparing for chapel from Luke 5:1-9 when God showed how obedience brought fruitfulness to both self and others. As Simon obeyed and casted the net (even though he felt it was strange and maybe useless), the result was a catch of fish not only enough for himself but also for the other fishermen. All these is possible just because Simon said "But because you say so, I will let down the nets." (Luke 5:5).

In our round up of the story of Joseph in sermon, we seen how God has worked in his life to make him fruitful (Gen 41:52, Gen 49:22).

As Raymond mentioned, we are all definitely called to serve God's purpose, though in different ways. And all of us have been blessed with at least one gifting and Paul edges us to desire and excel in gifts that will build up the church; blessing others.

At the end of the day, God wants us to be fruitful and to stay with the vine as we are reminded from John 15. But to bear fruit, we need, first and foremost, to remain in the vine (John 15: 4-5); we need to take root below and bear fruit above (2 King 19:30, Isaiah 37:31).

Jeremiah 17:8 (NIV)
8 He will be like a tree planted by the water
       that sends out its roots by the stream.
       It does not fear when heat comes;
       its leaves are always green.
       It has no worries in a year of drought
       and never fails to bear fruit."

Psalm 92:13-14 (NIV)
13 planted in the house of the LORD,
       they will flourish in the courts of our God.

14 They will still bear fruit in old age,
       they will stay fresh and green,

Like Joyce mentioned, you can say we are all different trees bearing fruit at different seasons. It is important to be rooted well and bear the right fruit. Jesus reminded us in Matthew 7:17 that one can also bear bad fruit too. So stay rooted in God's word and plans, which are the soil and water and the tree will grow to eventually bear fruit. And He will keep pruning you for fruitfulness, not giving up on you (John 15:2).

In the end, God gave me John 15:7-8 as a reminder verse as I move to this new chapter; that I need to just choose to remain in Him in all circumstances and He will bless. At the end of the day, many will come to know the Lord through my ministry and work of my hands, not because of what I have done but because of what the Lord has shown Himself to be through me; that I am a disciple of God.

John 15:7-8 (NIV)
7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

The Lord has blessed me these few weeks so hope it blesses you too.