Open Heavens 18 June 2016: Saturday daily devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Be Fruitful

Topic: Be Fruitful [Saturday 18, June 2016]
Memorise: And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. – Mark 16:15
Read: John 15:1-7 (KJV)
 1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
 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.
 3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
 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.
 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
 7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Bible in One Year: Nehemiah 9:1-11:24, Ecclesiastes 9:1-6
MESSAGE:
 In Mark 16:15, Jesus didn’t give His disciples a piece of advice but a direct command. This instruction was not without any backing, He promised them His presence even unto the end of the world. This is why we need to be bold in carrying out this instruction. We have been anointed to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ (Isaiah 61:6). The greatest of all fruitfulness is the ability to win lost souls to the Kingdom of God. There is no achievement that surpasses this. You may have the anointing to raise the dead or carry out signs and wonders, but if the ability to win souls is missing in your calling, then you are not yet fully obedient because this is the greatest of all instructions; to win souls back to the kingdom. One of the most fruitful persons in the Bible is John the Baptist, not for the miracles in his ministry but in calling people to repentance. Are you fruitful? Are you wining souls to the Kingdom or you are satisfied seeing unbelievers in their hopelessness? You are fruitful when you can’t allow the chronic fornicator to go without knowing Jesus. You are fruitful when you don’t allow thief to end up in hell. You are fruitful when you don’t allow that smoker to continue in his sin. You are fruitful when you stop that liar from being a vessel in the hand of the devil. In the mind of God, there is no sinner without a future and there is no saint without a past. It is God that helps in transforming our lives, yet there is the need for people to bring sinners to the cross so that the flesh can be crucified.
 It is privilege to be called disciples in the vineyard of God. God can get results without us but it pleases Him to include us as co-labourers in the vineyard. God wants you to be fruitful. He wants you to do greater works than He did. You cannot afford not to have results to show despite the opportunities and abilities He invested in you. There are many people going to hell on a daily basis and God wants to use you to deliver them from perdition and eternal condemnation. The only people who will be fruitful in this end time are those who choose to remain and abide in Christ. From time, God has always taken away those who are not fruitful. Judas was taken away because he did not produce any fruit. This is why you need to allow Christ to specially cultivate you so that you can bear fruit. You must submit to the Word of God and become obedient to His ways. It is not knowledge of the Word that saves but obedience of the Word. To produce fruit that is profitable to the kingdom of God and relevant to one’s spiritual development, one must abide in the source from which all spiritual life emanates. The gospel is for the entire world, hence, we should preach it everywhere we find ourselves.
Action Point: Look for someone that is not saved in your place of work and begin to share the gospel with him or her.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.