Iwas talking to a guy that I’ve known for a long time the other day. He is back in what we call “regular” church attendance after being AWOL for a while. He told me how he was enjoying his experience at his new church and how he was growing spiritually.
All of that made me think about how we measure spiritual growth? Where’s the fruit in my friend’s life (Colossians 1:10)? It could be that he is super submitted to the Holy Spirit, and he is allowing the Holy Spirit to produce the fruit of the Spirit that we read about in Galatians 5:22, “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
If that’s true, that’s a good thing but what about using his spiritual gifting, his skill set and his talents for the Lord at his church? Is he making himself available to serve by teaching or leading a weekly discipleship event or maybe showing hospitality by inviting neighbors into his home to show the love of Jesus? Is he giving financially to the Lord through his church or contributing to the local food bank?
My friend is probably like many in our churches today. People that study church data and trends would call him a “consumer.” Consumers attend a worship service and consume the “religious goods and services” that the local church has to offer but they fail to actually grow, become a mature Christian and become a “contributor.” In other words, they never contribute to the kingdom or that local church, they take but do not ever give. Please don’t misunderstand. We are all glad these people are there but we also long for them to fulfill God’s plan for their life which includes producing fruit.
Jesus told us in John 15 that we will “bear much fruit.” So again, where is the fruit? Fruit production it says in John 15:8 brings God glory, and it proves us to be “disciples.” Whoa! Did Jesus just tell us we might need to check to see if our salvation is authentic if we are not bearing fruit? I think He did. That might be something for some to contemplate right now. It could be that the relationship is there but it’s time to confess and repent for how some have been living.
Fruit is about a person’s outward actions that come as a result of where their heart is. So where is our heart? Are we having a spiritual heart attack, and do we need some stents to get the spiritual blood flowing again? Is that it?
We gather early on Sundays where I pastor and we pray for what is about to happen, we are about to worship and so we go before the throne to ask God for His help and for the Holy Spirit to move in the service. I told you that to tell you this - have some maybe stunted their growth by quenching the Spirit, have some grieved the Spirit (Ephesians 4:3032) to the point where the Spirit has quit working in some people’s lives.
In 1st Corinthians 3 we are told our works will be tested one day. So is our foundation hard core or is it “wood, hay and straw” and therefore will that stubble burn up when it’s tested?
Are you wasting your life with religious activity or focused on a personal, very real, intimate, deep, abiding relationship with Jesus? And if you are staying in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25) you should have works that produce fruit and that makes Jesus smile. Is Jesus smiling at you?
He asked me to ask you that.
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