RCCG Tabernacle of
Peace
Elders
Week – 11.09.2021 - Bible Study - Dr. Omolola Omoteso
Topic: FRUITFULNESS
Bible
Text: Psalm 92:14 (KJV) Memory Verse: John 15:8
§ Chorus: I know
that God never fails… Ancient of Days as old as you are… Then Pray (Psalm
122:1)
§ They shall
still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing,
§ This is to my Father’s
glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Introduction: What is
fruitfulness?
Fruitfulness is a metaphoric theme throughout the Bible and refers often to character, attitude, words, and thoughts. By their fruits we shall know them (Mathew 7:16). You cannot plant grapes and reap thorns neither can you plant figs and reap thistles. Though born with sinful nature, all humans have been bestowed with the liberty and grace to choose abundant life by the A B C of salvation – Accept. Believe. Confess. Hence life, like fruitfulness, is a matter of choice. The Bible clearly says, without Jesus Christ, we can do nothing (John 15:5). Jesus Christ taught so much about bearing fruit (Matthew 7:20). These fruits include love, faith, kindness and righteousness. Paul, the apostle, also taught extensively on fruit (Galatians 5:22-23).
What does fruitfulness mean to you in terms of your roles and responsibilities. Why roles and responsibilities? When we have rights and expect rewards, we must do our part.
Fruit refers to good and bad. What to you is the
difference between good and bad fruits?
Difference between negative fruit by satanic indwelling and positive fruit produced by Jesus Christ in us as the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27) is clearly stated in Galatians 5:19-24. Believers are to produce the fruit of the Holy Spirit. The fruits we bear must stem out of glorifying God after salvation and transformation through renewing of minds (Romans 12:2). To be fruitful means to follow Jesus Christ and carry out the purpose for which we are created, which includes worship and service to humanity with a joyful spirit. What fruits are you bearing in your home, marriage, among family and friends? Colossians 4:6 tells us to let our speech always be seasoned with grace. Use courteous words with believers and unbelievers. Do not be like unbelievers who greet selves with curses.
It is by God's grace as we abide in Jesus that we produce good fruit (John 15:1-5). The fruit is good because God is good, and we ascribe all the glory to God (Philippians 1:11).
Who can bear fruit or who can be fruitful?
We are all called to bear fruit. The fruit expected of children is obedience to their parents as unto the Lord. When they run to you, offer them counsel. For adults especially the married, it is mutual honour and submission. God gave us individual lives and blood stream just to let us know you cannot run on another person’s gas. To bear fruit, you must NOT stop others from bearing fruit… We are called to bear one another’s burden, not break one another’s backs.
I was elated to hear Pastor Olajumoke Arasanyin speak about our responsibility to one another during the Morning Prayer. Our responsibility is first to God, then to yourself then to those in the household of faith, hopefully that starts with your family. If they are not believers, you have a responsibility to PRAY. Galatians 6:10 tells us expressly that, “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto everyone, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”
Who can bear fruit? Male and Female. God created He them. We can draw
lessons from the Ultimate Husbandman (worker of the soil). To
husband is to manage something well, showing prudence and economic sense. 2
Timothy 2:16, “The
husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.” Jesus is our
example because he is called husbandman in John 15 and has the work of cultivating,
pruning, investing, even burning. Our Heavenly
Father, the Divine Husbandman, seeks to produce fruit through us as we abide in
Jesus Christ. Just as God is a good husbandman, bringing forth fruitfulness in
our lives, so should we be good husbandmen and stewards with the resources He
has entrusted to us.
Why should we bear fruit?
This is so we can tap into the full essence of the reward here on earth and there in heaven… God commanded us as his children to be fruitful; to trust him, obey him and make disciples. Ephesians 2:10 - For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Let’s open to Deuteronomy 28:1-15 (someone to read verse 1): And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
What are these blessings of FRUITFULNESS?
Blessings in the city and field, blessings in/of procreation of humans and animals, blessings of farm produce, fruits, beautiful flowers and basketful of harvest. Blessings of safe travel withersoever you go… just don’t go where God’s light is absent. Be assured that wherever God leads, God is there. Can someone read Psalm 139:8 - If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. God is everywhere because He lives in mortal bodies. The condition is clear, hear and heed God’s Word. Blessings including slaying enemies and adversaries or causing them to flee, no matter how strong and powerful they are.
Storehouse blessings. In these days of transitioning into full time ministry and mission work, I have been seeing myself in dreams healing stores, huge stores that were locked up received life as soon as I stepped in. Blessings of fruitfulness promised believers is on all you lay your hands upon. Is your child unwell or in rebellion, lay hands while you can. Please ensure you do NOT lay your hands on what God has not chosen for you or associate yourself with people God do NOT approve. Verse 8 specifically says He shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. Did God give you America or you forced yourself here? Abram became extremely wealthy after he relocated in obedience to God. God blesses what and where He directs. Lot chose the choicest portion of land. Rather than fruitfulness, he experienced fruitlessness, harassment, crisis and eventually recorded losses. Do NOT just pack your bags, if you are facing adversity here, adversity could be because the devil wants to derail you. Inquire of the Lord. Fruits you will bear, which I also have been referring to as blessings include that God will establish you as a holy person, if you keep his precepts and walk in his ways.
Your fruitfulness will be seen in the fact that people
will identify you as a Jesus baby or bobo, Jesus senior, Jesus CEO and they
shall revere you; the good ones shall revere you, the bad ones shall fear you.
Without earning a professorship, I have those who call me Prof. Why? The wisdom
they see in me is beyond the Dr. title – this is the blessing of fruitfulness.
When people start calling you into a place of relevance, that you ordinarily do
NOT deserve, know that God in you is speaking forth your fruitfulness.
You will enter into a season of PLENTY. My Grandma had a special
prayer for me , my MOTHER had too. Grandma’s own was, “Wa ni owo l’owo, wa ni
l’apo, a tun se ku si e l’owo.” Overflowing blessings! MAMI’s prayer remained, “Wa
ni owo ti e l’owo.” You will have your own money. She will add that my husband
would be wealthy, but that I would have my own wealth. Now I see the value in
that prayer. Things owned by your spouse without your name on it, may never be
yours. In Deuteronomy we were told that our own bodies, cattle, fruits, and
lands, sworn to our progenitors and handed over to us, would be plenteous in
our ownership. In Numbers 27, the daughters of Zelophehad stood before Prophet
Moses, Priest Eleazar, Princes and entire congregation to demand JUSTICE to
avoid being disinherited because they had no sons. What did the Lord say to
Moses in verse 7, “What Zelophehad’s daughters
are saying is right. You must certainly give them property as an
inheritance among their father’s relatives and give their father’s
inheritance to them.” Your fruitfulness may be questioned, if you leave no
inheritance for your children, and I daresay your spouse who is your
co-labourer in the journey of life. The Bible in 1 Peter 5:8 says the man who does
not provide for his family is worse than an infidel, meaning an unbeliever.
Your fruitfulness should NOT end when your life ends.
Still talking about fruitfulness, to all of us,
especially as it relates to our elders celebrating this week
Verse 12 of Deuteronomy 28 is particularly exciting – The
Lord shall open unto me his good treasures. If you have a land and you suffer
drought it means everything that is meant to grow will die but here we are
assured of rain in due season and blessings upon our land and that we shall
lend unto nations. Our fruitfulness includes that we will be the head. Let
there not be contention about this for those who are married, it means that we
are all called into leadership or relevance as inheritance from God the Father.
As we were growing up, whenever any of my siblings quarrel my MOTHER would say,
this is happening because you are all leaders and have great ideas, now sit and
discuss your ideas together.
Verse 14 nails the consequences for the rewards and awards of fruitfulness - Thou shalt not go aside from some, few… NO, ANY of the WORDS I command you! This is stringent! You have zero liberty to serve other gods – be it mammon, thunder, iron, food, booze… You CANNOT. God is JEALOUS and would fight you! If God says give to B and you don’t, you will suffer the consequence. If God says honour your spouse and you don’t, you will suffer the consequence; one of which is that your prayers may receive no answer. I heard the story of a man who maltreated his wife and all she did was report to God in prayers and suddenly without remedy, he fell to his death. His death released her to fulfil destiny. May that not be your portion. The Bible already warned in Proverbs 29:1 that, He, that being often reproved (a man who refuses instructions and) hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. Verse 15 seals the deal, if you fail to hear God, if you fail to be fruitful, if you fail to obey God’s statues that are laid down to wire success in you and serve you increased greatness, curse will come upon you and overtake you. This will never be your portion in Jesus name!
We are commanded to be fruitful, to be the servant with the talents that serves profit to The Master, with consequences for doing otherwise... We are commanded in Genesis to multiply and bear fruit.
Where should we bear fruit?
I will do the where before the when… Everywhere. Church, home, office, market… Matthew 28:19, Acts 1:8, Mathew 25:13, 2 Timothy 4:2-4. Fruit in your office means diligence. When I was working as a Programmes Manager in a broadcast house around 2001, while others arrived late, I would be at my desk between 8.00AM and 8.30AM. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, I would be at RCCG Early Riser Service by 7.00AM. After the service, I would counsel those under my watch. Then I would go to the office. Every Tuesday when anyone is looking for me after 5PM, the owner of the private television station will say, you are looking for Anne, what time is it? Once they say 5 or any time after 5PM, he will tell them Anne, has gone to church. He was NOT a believer, but he called me my Bible name and acknowledged the God I serve. I applied myself to work diligently but never hid the fact that I am a Christian. To the glory of God, those I nurtured then are today managers, directors; some of them are heading units in media houses including one who now serves as a Press Staff in Governor’s office. What fruits are you bearing? You cannot do deals and be able to bear fruits of sharing the gospel truth. If there is any faulty block in your life, ask the Great Rebuilder to fix it. If your papers happened through an illicit measure, ask God to correct the error, so that shame will NOT fall upon you when celebration arrives. So that your fruits would endure beyond your lifetime. Some live a life that appears fruitful but once they die, those who step into their space will dig out cankerworms. If you leave your phone in church without setting the password, can you sleep knowing that nothing illicit can be dug up?
When should we bear fruit?
Anytime. Ecclesiastes 11:6 - In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening withhold not your hand: for you do NOT know which will prosper, either this or that, or whether both alike will be good.
It is not a coincidence that our theme verse says clearly that they shall still bear fruits when? In old age. In Exodus 7:7, Moses was 80 and Aaron was 88! For two weeks last month into this month, I found myself in a Mission House where I served missionaries between the ages of 70 and 95. One of the 95-year-old still had a full day schedule working in the office! How could you have lost all your teeth at 50! How come your eyesight be failing at 60? How come you have allowed diabetes, hypertension to redesign your destiny at 70! Take back your life by signing into obedience which serves fruitfulness.
How can we be fruitful or how can fruitfulness happen?
By sowing. When some hear sow, their minds lock up. Let me announce to you that sowing is beyond money. I was at the Feast of Esther Conference in September and was honoured to be one of the Preachers. I spoke on Mental Wellness the Jesus Way… Jesus was depressed but he sowed certain seeds to get out of it – 1. Jesus Prioritised Personal Soul Care 2. He opened up and asked for prayers. How can you bear fruit when you bottle up your issues? You are jobless but you close your mouth and keep pretending all is well. There are times you do that when led NOT to share, but it won’t be a deliberate pretense. You must guard yourself so as not to open up to enemies. 3. He sought counsel, prayers and set boundaries 4. He created a safe community. 5. When what he wanted was not granted as requested, He surrendered to God’s Will and Wisdom. God may withhold something from you because he is NOT your Genie but your God. Do not on account of this stuck up your nose like let God hold his heaven and I will hold my earth. News flash my brothers and sisters, daddies and mummies, you own NOTHING! As someone who have had her belongings taken more than 5 times with 5 homesteads taken at will, I can tell you that all you truly own is your soul BUT even that belongs to God. One thing you must not neglect as you look forward to increased greatness and surpassing glory with regards to fruitfulness is that Jesus prioritized soul care and sowed into having a Safe Community. This church is safe community. I was super elated to see people in church on Sunday. Let it not be a monthly Thanksgiving show. I was also so excited to see many members at the wedding on Sunday, where are they now? To be fruitful we need one another. If God ever locates me to the area, RCCG Tabernacle of Peace is my home church. That mega church you are going to, could be the labour of fruitfulness by some; bloom where you are planted. Sow and reap a bountiful harvest you can point to. No one running from pillar to post can truly build. I do not run from pastor to pastor online because they are NOT sent to me. I go where I am sent, I plant where I know there is assurance that my seed would be watered by DIVINITY. All prophets are not for everyone. God sent a prophet to Saul but that was NOT the same prophet for Mary and Elizabeth.
Let me tell you a short story. In 2016 I met a woman of God, a Prophetess, and God led me to be close to her. She was guided and guarded and well above my grade in age and other areas… but God was leading me. I sought not to be equal but to serve and celebrate. We met again and again and when in the middle of homelessness in 2019, God led me to sow, I did. It was a painful sacrifice. I did NOT hurry to share my story with her. In 2021 I was invited to a committee where she is a big part of. When I needed help, for an unrelated issue, guess who God sent to me? The Prophetess! Habakkuk 2:3 “For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” Invest in people and the parish to which you are sent. I have been away from my parish but anytime I am in Nigeria, I submit to my Pastor’s leadership.
Based on the mental health message I preached during the conference in North Carolina, I developed an e-book accessible on amazon. I’ll draw from it to speak briefly on how you can be fruitful in wellness by sowing Seeds of Wellness acronym is SOW. I’ll use the acronym of SEEDS to break it down. Sleep well. Jesus slept. Eat well. Jesus dined… When you read about dinner, it is an elaborate meal with others. And when we talk about eating it is feeding everything in you that needs to be fed but do not give room for gluttony. Feed your mind with God’s promises and prophecies so depression will have no room. Exercise well, this includes sex for the married. If Abraham had stopped delighting in the wife of his youth in old age, they would not have experienced fruitfulness in procreation.
How else can we be fruitful? James 5:7 says Be patient therefore,
brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the
precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive
the early and latter rain. The sermon MAMI preached to me the most was PATIENCE.
Now I know why I need it as a transformational strategist, biblical counsellor
and soul care specialist. Still, I do NOT have the patience for pastoring, so I
always commend the woman of God over this parish my sister and her supportive
husband. Being fruitful is the work of grace
Philippians 2:13 For it is God which
worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. I decree and declare that time and season will align to translate your
seeds to overflowing harvest in JESUS name.
5 core things are important for us as souls to reap other souls with a
focus on fruitfulness:
1.
Soul – Yours and others. The
Bible says the soul that sinneth shall die (Ezekiel 18:20, John 3:16)
2. Season – Time and seasons
matter. You are in that season. Psalm 1:3, Ecclesiastes 3:1… I was “sisters” between
70 and 95 years who could no longer travel from to share the gospel.
3.
Soil – What happened to the
seeds sown on different grounds in the Bible? (Matthew 13)
4. Seed – What are you sowing? Can
you share the gospel with someone you propositioned for illicit affair? The
seed must be good, for the harvest to be bountiful (2 Corinthians 9:6).
5. Scripture – Our barometer is
the Bible. 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness.
Prayer
The ROI of fruitfulness is Righteousness,
Obedience and Inquiry. To strengthen the harvest expected, you must do your
part and let God do His part (1 Corinthians 3:6). O
Lord help me to yield to your will.
Feedback, Comments and Appreciation (ahead of
handing over to Pastor).
Conclusion:
Matthew 20:1-16, emphasis 13-16. Perhaps you have spent
50 years less concerned about bearing fruit for The Master. You have gathered
wealth or worry; it is time to look to THE WORD. The assurance is that God can
choose to reward you more or as much as others. When Abraham had no child, he
was told he’ll have as many as stars. When He surrendered to the will of God,
the prophetic manifested.
Hymn:
|
ABIDE WITH ME |
WA BA MI GBE |
|
Abide with me: fast falls the eventide The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide When other helpers fail and comforts flee Help of the helpless, O abide with me |
Wa ba mi gbe, ale fere le tan Okunkun nsu, Oluwa ba mi gbe Bi oluranlowo miran ba ye Iranwo alaini, wa ba mi gbe |
