John 15:16 “You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain.”
· Chose (1586 Strongs) = to select, to pick out from among others.
· Followers of Jesus have been chosen, selected by Him for particular purpose.
· Ordained (5087 Strongs) = to appoint, position for particular purpose.
· God has positioned every believer:
(i) Naturally – you have a sphere of influence in the community.
(ii) Spiritually – you have a position/relationship with God.
· God expects every believer to be a channel of His life and blessing to others.
· God has purposed that every believer produce lasting fruit.
o Fruit that remains Ž of lasting value, permanent.
o Fruit that remains Ž souls/lives impacted for Christ.
· Jesus’ command:
(i) Go Ž Take the initiative, move out of comfort zone.
(ii) Bring forth Ž To bear, produce fruit.
· Every believer is both an ambassador and a builder.
o You are called to represent Christ and speak on His behalf (ambassador).
o You are called to build into the lives of people on behalf of Christ.
o No Christian can excuse themselves from the Great Commission.
o You are an ambassador, you are a builder! What are you building?
o Our culture has rejected Christian/Bible values – you speak and build on behalf of Christ and His Kingdom. You need to know what the Word of God says.
· The disciples were the ones called Christians – Christ. (Acts 11:26)
· John 8:31 “If you continue in My word, you are My disciples.”
· Giving diligence (4710 Strongs) = carefulness, speed, hasten to accomplish.
· Add (2023 Strongs) = to furnish besides.
· Your character is who you are, your ways of thinking, acting.
· New believers who have received Christ are urged to add to their lives certain qualities so that they will be fruitful.
· Add Ž take personal responsibility to build qualities into your life.
(i) Virtue – excellence in every area of your life
(ii) Knowledge – knowledge discovered by seeking and experience
(iii) Temperance – self control
(iv) Patience – positive endurance
(v) Godliness – holiness, personal purity
(vi) Brotherly kindness – love for fellow Christians
(vii) Charity – sacrificial love for benefit of others
· Believers are responsible to build these qualities into their life ie, responsible to develop their character.
· Benefits of building/developing your character:
(i) Fruitful (vs8)
· When these qualities abound they ensure you are not barren (inactive, unemployed, useless) nor unfruitful.
(ii) Stability (vs10)
· Developing these qualities ensure you do not stumble and fall away from your purpose and destiny.
(iii) Abundant Entrance into the Kingdom (vs11)
· Peter was motivated by a desire for an eternal reward in the coming kingdom of Jesus Christ.
· You are called not to just ‘go to heaven’, but to be productive in labour for Christ and earn eternal reward.
· You can not add to the work Christ did to save you. You do work to obtain His approval and reward as a servant.
· Note: Every believer shall stand before Christ to be rewarded (or to suffer loss) because of how they laboured to serve Him. (2 Corinthians 5:10)
· (vs9) Failure to build Ž ‘Blind’ = has no vision of eternal values.
· Reward (3408 Strongs) = pay for services, wages, earnings for work done.
· (vs9) We are all builders – we cooperate with God in building into lives.
· (vs11) The foundation of building is spiritual – imparting knowledge of Jesus Christ. The foundation is the Lordship of Christ – who He is, what He did, His work.
· (vs12) Building materials may vary according to their nature.
o What is built under the direction of the Holy Spirit and based on Word of God abides.
o Opinions, human ideas and values, wrong motives do not remain.
· (vs 8 & 14) Builders are all rewarded according to what they have built.
o What are you building into the lives of people of eternal value?
o Sort (3697 Strongs) = what kind, how excellent.
· Picture of two men crossing into eternity, facing evaluations for their service as a Christian and qualifications for reward:
(i) Makes it in having lost everything – no eternal reward.
(ii) Abundant entrance – celebrated as a hero deserving reward.