The Fruit Connection : Bishop Tony Samuels
When God does something in your life, it’s not temporal; it’s eternal. God desires for our lives to be fruitful. But if you don’t understand that fruit comes from connection, then fruitfulness will only be an event in your life; it won’t be a way of life. Now, when I talk about connection, I am talking about two places to stay connected. One is being connected to the Lord Himself, through your relationship with Him. Second, I am talking about connection to the Church.
Look at what Jesus said in John 15:4 concerning being connected to Him: So you must remain in life-union with me, for I remain in life-union with you. For as a branch severed from the vine will not bear fruit, so your life will be fruitless unless you live your life intimately joined to mine. Notice, it says He is in relationship with us…but if we don’t cultivate that relationship from our side, it will be like a branch removed from its life source, and it will be fruitless. Verse 4 further reiterates the point: I am the sprouting vine and you’re my branches. As you live in union with me as your source, fruitfulness will stream from within you—but when you live separated from me you are powerless. You see, connection is recognizing that Jesus is the Source. Without Him, we are nothing; we are powerless.
You see, I have seen fruit deceive people. Instead of becoming humble, they exalt themselves and think it’s because of them that there is fruit in their lives. This is the mindset that will get you disconnected from the Lord. Because of this, I have seen lives that were once fruitful go into a state of barrenness.
Your connection to the Lord will also connect you to His Church. Many people have viewed Church as something that we do out of tradition. Somehow, people think that Church is man’s ideal. Church is not an ideal; Church is all a part of God’s Plan for man. Church is a physical manifestation of the Kingdom of God on the earth. The Church is the embassy for the Christian. Philippians 3:20 says, For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. So if you are truly connected to God, He is going to connect you to a Church family.
Some people really battle with this! They think they can represent the Church without connecting to a local body of believers. They are missing out on some amazing fruit. Look at what Jesus said about His Church in Matthew 16:18: That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. That word Church is of course not talking about a building; it is talking about the gathering together of believers. Jesus is saying that when you gather together, you become the Church, and in that order, in that connection, the gates of hell will not be able to prevail against you! It’s a corporate action with individual benefits. When you come to Church, anything that hell was trying to bring against your life will be defeated in the gathering of the saints of Jesus Christ.
Psalm 133:1-2 says this about the gathering: Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments. You see, when we come together in unity, the anointing begins to flow. The anointing is the burden-removing, yoke-destroying power of God. Now I understand why the enemy attacks people that come to Church! He will use offense, rejection, even a global pandemic; he will use anything to get us disconnected from the Church. You see, it’s never really about the actual issue; it’s about the connection. What can he do to get you disconnected from the Church?
So, my brothers and sisters, stay connected to the Lord, which will empower you to stay connected to His Church. Because He desires for you to have a life that has fruit that remains.
Be Blessed!
