How to Be Fruitful as a Christian

 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.”
– John 15:5

Even as Jesus led His followers to the Garden of Gethsemane, with precious little time left in His earthly life, He was still teaching them. And as He so often did, He used their surroundings to illustrate a point: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener” (John 15:1). And then, in verse 5: “I am the vine; you are the branches.”

As branches on Christ’s vine, we’re called to bear fruit. Jesus says in verse 8, “This is to My Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples.” Jesus highlights three of those fruit in John 14 and 15: love, joy and peace. By abiding in Jesus and producing the fruit of love, joy and peace, we can show the watching world what God is like. We show love to people to show how much God loves them. We display an authentic joy that all the depressed people around us are missing—to point them to the Creator of joy. And when things get stressful, we reflect a peace that our stressed-out friends are hungry for … to draw them to the Prince of Peace. When we bear much fruit, God is glorified through us. People are drawn to Christ through us. And as they accept Christ and begin growing fruit of their own, God is even MORE glorified.

Jesus goes on to make a powerful connection to His illustration about the vine and the branches: “Now remain in My love.” And how do we remain, or abide, in Christ’s love? By obeying Christ’s commands. In chapter 14, Jesus taught that to KNOW Christ is to LOVE Christ. And to love Christ is to OBEY Christ. Here in chapter 15, Jesus makes it clear that knowing Christ and abiding in Christ are one and the same. So, we can say: To ABIDE in Christ is to LOVE Christ. And to love Christ is to OBEY Christ.

Now, how can you tell if you’re abiding in Christ? Look for these five signs in your life:

#1: Daily consistent obedience – you are obeying Christ’s commands (v. 10). 

#2: You experience God the Father’s pruning (v. 2). Useless things and even some “good” things are removed from your life in order to make you more fruitful. Never forget that what is good is often the enemy of what is best. God doesn’t want your “good” fruit or even your “better” fruit. He wants your very “best” fruit. 

#3: You produce much fruit (vs. 2 and 4), especially the fruit of love, joy and peace. 

#4: Others around you are drawn to Jesus (v. 8).

#5: Your life brings much glory to God (v. 8).

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church. Join us every Sunday (including Easter Sunday) at 8:30 a.m. or 10 a.m. at 16209 Kamana Road in Apple Valley, and for our Good Friday service at 7 p.m. March 29. You can also livestream us on Facebook or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

How to Have God’s Peace

 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” – John 14:27

As Jesus prepared to lead His followers to the Garden of Gethsemane, He wanted to prepare them for the days that lay ahead.

The disciples knew they were completely incapable of obeying Jesus’ commands on their own. That’s one of the reasons they were petrified at the thought of Jesus leaving them. Following Jesus was hard enough when He was right there to guide them, protect them and teach them. But it would be impossible without Him. Of course, Jesus already knew this. That’s why He reassured them in John 14:16-17: “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth.”

I love the fact that before Jesus was arrested, He took the time to teach His disciples about the Holy Spirit—a counselor, comforter and advocate to walk alongside them every step of the way. Jesus was God in human form … but the Holy Spirit would come to them as God in spirit form. Incredibly, that’s even better. In His physical form, Jesus couldn’t be with them all the time. Sometimes He was off praying or doing ministry by Himself. At other times, He needed to sleep. But soon, instead of being with His followers part-time, through the Holy Spirit He would be with them full-time—guiding, protecting and teaching them 24/7.

Just before they left for the garden, in verse 27, Jesus promised His disciples something that they desperately needed. It’s something that you and I need as well: true and lasting peace.

Here are three reasons Christ’s followers should be at peace.

Reason #1: We have the Savior above us. In verse 28, Jesus said, “If you loved Me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.” Remember that when Jesus took on flesh, He emptied Himself of much of His eternal power in order to experience life as we experience it. So, in the scope of eternity, Jesus was at His weakest when He was here on earth in the flesh.But now that Jesus is back in heaven at the right hand of the Father, He is infinitely stronger than when He was here on earth..

Reason #2: We have the Spirit within us. When Jesus ascended into heaven, He didn’t leave us as orphans. He sent His Spirit to be with us and in us every step of the way. The Holy Spirit is one of the greatest gifts that Jesus Christ could have ever given us, because when He gave us the Holy Spirit, He gave us the gift of Himself. If you are a believer and follower of Jesus, the Holy Spirit is with you 24/7—permanently.

 Reason #3: We have God’s Word filling and refreshing us. How can we have peace when it feels like our world is falling apart? Because God’s peace transcends our circumstances. It has nothing to do with where we live, how much we make or who’s in the White House. You could be at your best friend’s funeral and still have peace, because the Word of God gives you strength when you are weak and fills you with hope when things look hopeless.

If you follow Jesus, you CAN find peace in the promises of God. He will never leave you nor forsake you. And your present sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory that shall be revealed in you. Find peace in the promises of God! 

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church. Pastor Dane’s daily devotional, “40 Days in Proverbs,” is available on Amazon.com. Join us on Sunday at 8:30 a.m. or 10 a.m. at 16209 Kamana Road in Apple Valley, or livestream us on Facebook or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

How to Pray In Jesus’ Name

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me.”
- John 14:1

Jesus’ disciples had left everything to follow Him. They’d left their jobs and their families and had risked their lives repeatedly over the last three years to stick by Jesus’ side.

Now, at the Last Supper, they had learned that one of their own was going to betray Jesus, and that their lead apostle, Peter, was going to deny Jesus three times. But what worried them the most was Jesus’ plan to leave them—to go who knows where to do who knows what. How on earth could the disciples NOT have troubled hearts? 

Well, according to Jesus, the remedy for their troubled hearts was … trust. One the very night He was arrested, Jesus told them, “Trust in God; trust also in Me” (John 14:1). In this verse, Jesus revealed a beautiful, simple truth: The secret to having a heart at peace is just to trust God. That was true 2,000 years ago, and it’s just as true today. Whatever appearances might suggest, Jesus Christ will never let you down. You can trust Him. You should trust Him.

In verses 12-14, Jesus tells his apostles that after He returns to heaven, they will do “even greater things” than what He Himself had done. And secondly, He tells them that He “will do whatever [they] ask in His name.” Now, don’t misunderstand or twist what Jesus is saying here. Sadly, many people believe in a “prosperity” Gospel, which portrays Jesus as a kind of genie in the lamp. You rub the lamp by using the magic phrase “in Jesus’ name”; you tell Jesus what you want, and if you have enough faith, He will give it to you.

But notice what Jesus gives as the reason why He answers our prayers: “to bring glory to the Father” (v. 13). So, let’s tackle this important question: How can we pray in Jesus’ name?

Guideline #1: Begin your prayers with Jesus’ interests in the forefront of your mind. Chuck Swindoll says it this way: “More often than not, we do not pray in the interests of Jesus’ plans…. In our immaturity, we seek our own interests and for what will improve our situations…. Jesus promised that as we discover the will of God & align our prayers to fulfill His purposes, our prayers will become as powerful as His own.”

Guideline #2: End your prayers with “Your will be done.” Just as we should begin our prayers with Jesus’ will in mind, we should end our prayers with Jesus’ will in mind. In fact, the prayer for God’s will to be done is ALWAYS answered. So, go ahead and ask God to take away your cancer and to bless you with a better job and to protect your kids at school and work. But end your prayers with “Your will be done.” In other words, “God, if I’ve prayed for anything that’s outside Your will, please just scratch that request. Ultimately, I just want Your will to be done.”

Guideline #3: Pray what Jesus Himself would pray—for God the Father to be glorified in your life and in the lives of those around you. You are a servant of Jesus Christ and a soldier for Jesus Christ. So, as you live your life, say what He would say. Do what He would do. And pray what He would pray. Ultimately, that’s what it means to pray in Jesus’ name—to pray exactly what Jesus would pray to the Father if He were in your shoes. 

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church. Pastor Dane’s new daily devotional, “40 Days in Proverbs,” is now available on Amazon.com. Join us on Sunday at 8:30 a.m. or 10 a.m. at 16209 Kamana Road in Apple Valley, or livestream us on Facebook or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.