What Kind of Fruit Does Worship Produce?

Yesterday we looked to God's Word for wisdom about effective living. We were already aware that serving God is one of three ways that we worship Him. However, we saw in John 15, verse 5, that our service for God is fruitless unless flows from our abiding in Christ. Unless we spend time with God and allow Him to recalibrate our souls each day, we will wander from His purposes for us, trying to do His work our way, and He will not bless our service with fruitfulness. God wants us to anchor our service in abiding.

Let's look at John 15 again today, but this time we'll give our attention to verse 9. Having told us in verse 5 that God wants us to anchor our service in abiding, He calls us in verse 9 to anchor our abiding in God's love. In verse 9, Jesus says, "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love."

Taking verses 5 and 9 together, we see God teaching us to worship Him by loving Him, then abiding in Him, and then serving Him. Done in that sequence, He accepts our worship and we have the fulfilling joy of doing the things we were designed to do. What a privilege that is!

By the way, did you know that you were designed to be fruitful? In verse 16, the words of Jesus Christ to His disciples apply to us as well. He said, "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain."

Ephesians 2:10 reinforces this reality, saying "We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." The Greek word translated here as "workmanship" is the word from which we get the word poem. The word indicates a masterpiece. What does this verse say about you, listening to me today? Ephesians 2:10 says you are a work of God. You are one of His masterpieces. Furthermore, it says He didn't create you just so He could put you on the shelf, collecting dust. He created you, His masterpiece, for good works that He has in mind for you to do. That, all by itself, should be enough to cause you to seize the day and celebrate Him!

Well, back to John 15. Let's move forward now and understand what sorts of fruitful work He has in mind for you to do. First, keep in mind that our fruitfulness is the product of God's work in our hearts. It doesn't come from us; it comes from Him.

Now, just what is this fruit? The New Testament describes 3 kinds of fruit.

• First, godly attitudes are one kind of fruit. In Galatians 5, verses 22 and 23, God says, "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." Enduring love comes from God. Enduring peace comes only from God. Enduring faithfulness comes only from God. These godly attitudes constitute one kind of fruit with which God blesses us.
• Second, transformed and righteous behavior is another kind of fruit. In Philippians 1, verses 9-11, the Apostle Paul prays for the Christians there and says, "I pray that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God." Two things jump out at me from his prayer. First, as they grow in love, they'll grow in knowledge; and this combination of love and knowledge will transform their behavior, bearing fruit in the form of righteous living. God's love leads to new knowledge, which leads to new behavior. Second, transformed behavior may or may not bring glory to the transformed person, but it certainly brings glory to the Transformer: God. So far then, we see that godly attitudes and transformed behavior are two kinds of fruit with which God blesses our lives.
• Third, bringing the story of His transforming love to others is another kind of fruit. In Romans 1, verse 13, Paul writes "I often planned to come to you, that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles." We learn from this that people we lead to faith in Jesus Christ are a kind of fruit, and people we lead to maturity in Jesus Christ are also a kind of spiritual fruit.

In closing, we have learned that God wants to bless us with 3 kinds of spiritual fruit: godly attitudes, godly behavior, and godly influence on others. God's question for you today is this: Will you let Him bless you with spiritual fruit today?

© 2007 John Garmo. If you would be interested in using this article, please contact us at Info@MissionToChildren.org.