Day 12 - Staying Fruitful And Understanding Pattern by Pastor Philip Olubakin: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

God Is Looking for Fruit

Mark 12:1-9

Jesus told the parable of a man who planted a vineyard, built a wall around it, dug a winepress, and handed it over to tenants. At harvest time he sent servants to collect the fruit — and they were beaten, rejected, and killed. Finally he sent his son, and they killed him too.

This parable is a picture of God's relationship with his people. He has invested in your life — he planted, he built, he protected, he handed things over to you. He is not passive about the outcome. He is coming back looking for fruit.

John 15:16 — he sent you to go and bear fruit, and that your fruit may abide.

God is not just looking for growth. He is looking for fruit.

Growth is beautiful, but fruit is what gives value to growth. The tree in Luke 13 was growing — but there was no fruit, and the master wanted to cut it down. Growth without fruit is merely occupation of space.

• Fruit is what perpetuates the harvest.
• Fruit is what feeds the next generation.
• Fruit is the evidence that God's investment in your life is returning.

Hosea 10:1 says Israel is an empty vine because she bore fruit to herself — everything was for personal consumption, nothing was going back to the kingdom. The question every believer must sit with is: am I bearing fruit for God, or only for myself?

Everyone has something. Some gifts are more visible than others. But everybody has a gift. The real question is what you are doing with it that is returning value to the kingdom of God.

Understanding Patterns in Your Life and Family

Mark 12:18-25

The Sadducees — who did not believe in resurrection — brought a scenario to Jesus about a woman who married seven brothers in succession, all of whom died without leaving children. Whose wife would she be in the resurrection?

The interesting thing is not the theological riddle. It is the pattern underneath the story: seven brothers, one woman, no children from any of them. That is not coincidence — that is a pattern.

Do not be blind to patterns in your life or family. Do not be casual about them.

A pattern is a signal. If you look at your family and see that people are not getting married, or not having children, or marriages are not lasting, or businesses always fail at a certain point — these are not random. They are patterns. And patterns must be addressed.

• The Bible says be sober and vigilant. The first step is to be awake — you cannot fight what you refuse to see.
• Christ has already purchased the victory at the cross, but victory must be enforced. As in law — even after a judgment is obtained, it must be enforced. The judgment exists. You must apply it.
• Once you identify a pattern, address it quickly. Do not allow it to continue to the next generation.