Date: January 7, 2024
Time: 11:00 am
Song: Open My Heart by Yolanda Adams
Hi friends!
Sundays are one of my favorite days of the week.
I enjoy sipping my matcha tea latte from Starbucks in the mornings as I write in my prayer journal and study my Bible. I also enjoy going to worship service at church.
I want to share my sermon notes from this Sunday with you. I believe it will bless your life:
Date: January 7, 2024
Title: Be More Fruitful
Speaker: Bro. McClain
Scripture: John 15:1-8 NIV
““I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
We need to be more fruitful in 2024.
God wants to prosper us.
And sometimes we skew what that means. We think it means cars cash and clothes.
But that’s not what prosperity is just about.
There’s more to prosperity.
God favors us!
In our connection to him he favors us.
He wants the very best for each of us.
Our prosperity is to glorify God.
God wants to prosper us because it all goes back to him.
What do you do when you find yourself in a season where you don’t feel as prosperous?
Have you ever been frustrated by certain things?
Have you been confused? Where what you believe for is not happening in your life?
What do you do when you feel barren?
What do you do when you feel frustrated?
When this time comes in your life, you need to take a self evaluation.
And you need to change your perspective and stop trying to do things on your own.
You will never prosper by yourself.
There is a difference in trying to be successful and being fruitful.
There are a lot of people who are successful and miserable.
God’s desire is not for us to just be successful but prosperous.
God wants us to produce fruit in our lives.
When we produce fruit in our lives it should bring glory to God.
It’s not easy trying to be fruitful.
It’s more than saying I want to bear fruit.
Do you want to endure the process of fruitfulness?
The book of John gives a more intimate look at Jesus and his disciples.
In the text, Judas has left and it’s Jesus and his eleven disciples and Jesus is getting ready to go to the garden of Gethsemane before he dies.
On his way there Jesus had to go through the Kidron Valley and this valley is filled with vineyards.
Reference scripture: “When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it.”
John 18:1 NIV
Don’t confuse your resource with your Source. God is your source, everything else that you have is a resource.
God is our provider.
Jesus says in order for us to be more fruitful:
God corrects us based on our lack of production.
Part of fruitfulness is being able to submit to correction.
If you don’t bear fruit you will be cut off.
Reference scripture: “If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.”
John 15:6 NIV
That doesn’t mean that if you aren’t producing fruit that God doesn’t want you.
As a vinedresser, they cut off branches that aren’t producing fruit.
It’s not that the branch doesn’t have the ability to produce fruit. But its environment is dirty and it can’t tap into the inside of it that has potential.
As people, we have to ensure that we are in the right environments to produce fruit.
God will not allow our fruit to come out if we aren’t in the right environment.
But God still loves us.
There are sometimes dirty places and people that we like to stay in even though we aren’t being fruitful in those environments.
God sometimes has to force us to leave places and people because we are not where God wants us to be.
God wants us to be lifted and to be in better places and environments.
This season and this year God wants to take us higher!
Realize your potential and leave those bad environments.
When God wants to lift you, he will get you to where you need to be.
God wants to lift us out of the dirt and keep us out of the dirt.
God will do things that you don’t want him to do but he knows what’s best for you.
God sends us through things so that he can prune us and we can produce more fruit.
God will cut us externally to make us internally strong.
God will get rid of things that we think we need to show us that it is God that we need.
Reference scripture: “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” John 15:2 NIV
God cleanses us based on our larger potential. God has to do things that aren’t comfortable to make us more fruitful.
A good vine dresser knows how deep to cut to bring out the best results and produce the most fruit.
We had to be cut to be better even though it didn’t feel good.
Have you ever wondered why God still puts up with you? In reality, we don’t deserve God’s goodness. But we have to remember that God loves us no matter what we do.
God’s love lifts us!
In the text, Jesus said that whatever branch is mine will be fruitful.
In the text, there is cutting and cleansing that takes place.
Reference scripture: “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.”
John 15:3 NIV
God has to cleanse us.
He washes us with his Word.
God wants us to be the people he created us to be.
God will supply all of our needs.
Reference scripture: “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 NIV
Let’s raise our expectations and expect God to do more in our lives.
XO,
Dr. Rich 💋
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