FruitfulGod’s desire for you is that your life will be fruitful.  We have seen in our previous blogs that there are a number of hindrances to fruitfulness in our lives:  the enemy seeks to take away the truth, there may be hardness in our lives, or there may thorns in our lives that hinder fruitfulness.   You need to be aware of those hindrances and how they can affect fruitfulness in your life.

You also need to ensure that your life is good soil.  Jesus gives us a picture of the good soil,

Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.  (Mark 4:8)

Jesus then explained the characteristics the good soil,

And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.  (Mark 4:20)

What are the characteristics of the good soil?   We see that the good soil hears the word.   What does it mean to hear the word?  We actually hear when we understand what is being said (Mark 4:12).  Too many times we think we hear when we are simply rearranging our opinions.  We not only need to hear God’s word but we must also accept God’s word.  The word “accept” conveys the idea to receive or admit with approval.  When I allow His word to take root in my life then He will bring forth much fruit –  thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.

You may be thinking, “This sounds good but you don’t know all the junk in my life – I’m not good soil”.   A characteristic of good soil is it has a lot of fertilizer in it (and I use the word fertilizer euphemistically).   So if your life has a lot of “fertilizer” in it then you’re a good candidate to be good soil!

Stay close to Jesus and you will bring forth much fruit. 

I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.  (John 15:5)

 

RickAssociate Pastor – Discipleship.  The Church at LifePark

Professor of Discipleship, Columbia International University

Follow me on twitter:  rickhiggins5