John 15:5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; APART FROM ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING.
When one because a Christian…the Lord by and large expects us to bear fruit….righteous fruit. But how as a child of God are you sure that your fruit is borne out of the Spirit or out of self-ambition?
After surfing around the Internet for awhile this morning, I felt really disturbed about one blog which seems to be specialized at looking deeper and scrutinizing every big ministry name out there. And while, it seems the person is very well researched and conversant with some of the ministries mentioned, I still felt really disturbed about it. For one, it made me wonder. How is it possible for one person…to be able to have such deeper and inside knowledge of ministries which are far and wide…some of which are overseas. And based on this knowledge, make some quick assumptions that these ministries are ‘off the mark.’ But, then again…I remember without JESUS, I AM DONE. These were Jesus’ words to His disciples when He sent them out:
Matthew 10:16 I am sending you out like sheep among the wolves. Therefore be shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
The sad thing about it is, the Church is causing it own wounds. And while I agree,it is right and proper to uproot the evil that is within…at times, it comes at the expense of other Christian lives. The other day, I was reading about the Parable of the weeds in Matthew 13:24-30. Jesus knew that even within the Body of Christ, some would rise up who are not bearing fruit after the Spirit but only for selfish ambitions. Yet, He did not advise nor require His disciples to do much about it.
“The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. ‘The servants asked him, “Do you WANT US TO GO and pull them up?” ‘NO,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, YOU MAY ROOT UP the wheat as well. Matthew 13:27-29
And with that statement, I know that Jesus does not require you and me to focus our energies in trying to pull out those elements of falsehood in our midst…but rather, to abide IN HIM and bear much fruit…FRUIT THAT WILL LAST.
God has not called us to take matters in our hands…but rather to put matters…even of other wayward believers in His hands and follow after Him.
Since we live by the Spirit, LET US KEEP IN STEP with the Spirit. Let us not become CONCEITED, PROVOKING and ENVYING EACH OTHER. Galatians 5:25-26
RAINBOW GULF OF LOVE 
“how as a child of God are you sure that your fruit is borne out of the Spirit or out of self-
ambition?”
we talk about this alot here… living in Northern VA, and a part of a large church, it is sometimes difficult to discern what is God guiding towards certain goals, and what is just the rat-race habits of this area that are driving people… your question is a good reminder.
“the Church is causing it own wounds.”
Preach it! just wrote about this today… it is so true!
Jenny,
Thank you. I read your post and can’t agree with you more. Its is indeed sad when the church continue to hurt its own instead of being a place for healing. Let us pray for grace to reach out for the hurting and wounded in and outside our church walls.
Blessings,
Gladwell
I know what you mean by such blogs that seem to specialize on finding fault with nearly every ministry, or minister, that they feature… LIke you I have wondered where they get their seemingly well researched information, and just how accurate they are.
But be of good cheer, Jesus has overcome the world. Have you ever read Gary Wiens’ amazing book Bridal Intercession? He has one chapter there on Esther and Haman, and how worshiping the King will silence the voices from the Kingdom of darkness. The fault finding spirit will not stand when it comes face to face with the spirit of true worship!
I love your deep insights, Gladwell… thank you for faithfully sharing what God puts in your heart.
Love
Lidj
Thank you, Lidj. No…I haven’t read Gary Wien…sounds like an interesting book. The other day, I was thinking about Judas the Iscariot. Jesus knew who he was, yet he allowed him to be around him through out his earthly ministry….and worse still, even when they shared the Last Supper before his arrest, although he did mention about the intention of Judas’ heart….he did not expose him out by name as the one who was about to betray him. Here is a great example from the LORD himself to follow.
Blessings,
Gladwell
Sadly, some people have exchanged the gift of discerning of spirits for the gift of criticism.
Yes, Larry. I agree with you. It is SAD!
Gladwell
Hi Gladwell! Thank you so much! I have been meditating on: “The Glorious Church” the church that is without spot or wrinkle. That is the church that Jesus is coming back for…let’s pray for that.
I’ve learned that when I spot a Blog where people are seemingly off track…that my job is to pray for them. I don’t write them…I’m the quiet visitor sent to hold up the hedge. It is good that you brought this to our attention.
I remind myself that the devil is come to kill, to steal and to destroy and in doing so will cause great deception, distraction and disturbance and that is when I begin to attack in spiritual warfare the father of lies; Satan.
I have begun to bind(forbid) and loose (free) in prayer and plead the Blood of Jesus and pray for Love, wisdom and correction when I see a sheep that has gone astray or a neglected lamb. It took a while for me to do this because originally I did not understand the confusion; but now I just go in my prayer closet.
I am a part of the undercover prayer forces that God uses to go in to raid the enemies camps. This is how I see myself. Hope it’s not too overwhelming for anyone who has never heard this.
I am a prayer intercessor and I thank you for reminding me of this prayer need. We will cover it at our Prayer Pow Wow tomorrow! Love E
Hi Elaine. Yes…prayer is the most powerful weapon to counter attack the schemes of Satan. The church…the body of Christ should and MUST pray for one another. Thanks that you are taking this matter before the throne with your prayer group.
As always…blessings and hugs,
Gladwell
Good word!
Gladwell,
I thank you for this message today, it is truly from the Spirit. I do know through the Spirit that to which you refer, I have sensed it too. I have an analogy that I think applies. A man had a yard that was laden with weeds, his wife said, “you should pull those weeds,” he said No, I am not going to pull the weeds, instead, i am going to concentrate on growing a very healthy yard instead. So he fertilized the yard, watered the yard, and cared for it lovingly, soon, the yard was beautiful, and the weeds had been choked out by the healthy grass, and they were no more.
I would love to see great miracles performed as by Christ and the Apostles, but if God wants me to see that he will put it before me. My role is sowing seed in my area, caring for those near me, affecting those in my circle with God’s love, and encourageing those I can by writing a blog of love and encouragement, and growing a healthy yard. God bless you Sister
Jim
Jim,
The Lord Jesus desires to see us walking in power and might more than ever. I want to know that power. I want to live out my call without intimidation from the enemy whatsoever. Yes…like Janet commented….’We need to test the spirits’ and that takes the wisdom of the mature. Like you, I want to keep encouraging, inspiring and admonishing…where need be, so that the believer may be strengthened and not feeble in their walk with the Lord.
Blessings to you.
Gladwell
Loved this . . .such a good reminder to do what He’s told us to do and not worry about what everyone else is doing. Thank you! And thanks for commenting on my blog today! Blessings, Deb
Thank you Debbie for stopping by and for commenting on mine too.
Blessings,
Gladwell
I know we need to “test the spirits” and not just follow our leaders blindly, but this watching one another suspiciously (and often reaching false conclusions!) is not honouring to God.
Thanks for stating this so well, Gladwell. I’ve been thinking lately about the New Testament verses that ask “who is man to judge me, when I belong to God and He accepts me?” That’s a very loose paraphrase, but I couldn’t locate the reference now.
Hi Janet,
I thought about that scripture when I was writing but I didn’t include it. Thank you for that needful addition. Yes…test the spirits is something the believer is called to do….but not to tear down one another. More over….PRAYER…much be the first place where we take the matter before we send it out. Thank you and may you enjoy your weekend.
Gladwell
Yes , church has weeds…but its not our responisbilty to pull out the weeds…Leave it to our master who is the author of harvest…
Thank you Gladwell for that thought…
God Bless,
Rani
Gladwell – “The sad thing about it is, the Church is causing its own wounds.” Who is the Church? Each of us. So, as you say, each of us needs to love all and pray for the body of Christ to love, not hate or criticize or provoke. –Godspeed, Elizabeth
And, thank you for your kind words on my post today. It meant a lot to me. Bless you.
Thank you Gladwell for your words this morning. I wonder what our world would be like if we as believers in Jesus spent more time bearing fruit and less time inspecting someone elses!
Blessings on you.
Hi Mike,
I have often wondered about that too.