Scripture Reading: John 15: 1-8: Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”

How can we become more fruitful? I am going to give you three steps to becoming more fruitful, and in this you will find true JOY!

First, Jesus told us to follow his commands. He told us to love one another as He has loved us. The only way to do this is for us to be attached to him. Because He is the vine and we are the branches growing from Him. In Matthew 28, Jesus gave us the great commission or command, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” So, Jesus has commanded us to go and tell others about Him. If we are in Jesus we will produce the good fruit that Jesus produced.

Second, we need to go in Jesus’ name for Other people who may or may not know about Jesus and what He did for them on the cross. When we are taking the risk for Jesus other people benefit from our risk taking. They see our faith in action, and Jesus can use this time to plant some seeds in the lives of people who see us taking the risk for Jesus. Someone might just come to Jesus for the first time due to your actions and presence. How cool would that be.

Third, you need to do this for Yourself. I have never been on a mission trip or heard someone come back from a mission trip and said, “ I did not get anything out of that trip and I wish I never went”. But I have heard this, “I went on this trip to give to other people, but I received more than I gave”. Also when you go out in Jesus’ name, either on a mission trip or to witness in His name we receive blessings from God we can not hold or contain. We also gain the friendship of those you are with and those you witness to.

So when you put these three steps together you find your true JOY.

J = Jesus
O = Others
Y = Yourself

You must put Jesus first in your life, and then you put others before yourself, then you will have true JOY. In John 15:11 Jesus said, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” I want to leave you with this last scripture from Paul in I Thessalonians 2:19: “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? For you are our glory and joy.”

So are you being fruitful for Jesus. If not, you can be, all you need to do is take the first step of faith and just GO as Jesus has commanded and he will be with you.