Appointed to Bear Fruit #1 - Fruitful, Frustrated or a Failure?
FROM THE VAULT
A series revisiting previous posts
I’m a pastor. I am planting a church. I am excited about seeing people saved…I should be! I love the stories and watching lives change.
BUT…when I think about ‘mission’ and ‘evangelism’ I immediately feel PRESSURE. I DON’T feel fruitful – rather I feel like a FAILURE at worst, or FRUSTRATED at best! Even those who don’t feel pressure, when you really ask them how fruitful they are…you eventually find out they feel frustrated too! How about you?
I think there are 2 MAJOR REASONS we feel pressure (they aren’t the only ones!) – our FOUNDATION for the mission and our FIXATION on what fruitfulness looks like.
The next few blogs will unpack these. My hope, as has happened in my life, is that you will feel encouraged, liberated, excited and confident about being on mission!
For now, take a read of John 15:16 and think through the following questions
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide…”
— John 15:16 ESV
1. What is your instinctive reaction to this verse?
2. Which part do you focus on?
3. What do you find yourself praying about/for as a result of reading it?
4. What do you think ‘fruitfulness’ is in this context?
Try and make a note of your answers for next time.