Jesus said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.”(1) This verse grows out of the context where Jesus said, “I am the true vine.”(2) In this context, believers are the branches connected to Jesus, the Vine. In vineyards, the fruit grows on the branches. Jesus chose us to produce fruit. What fruit did Jesus chose for you to bear?

Jesus picked us to bear the fruit of His peace. Can you imagine how beautiful this world could be if the peace of Christ filled every heart on the planet? Can you imagine how wonderful it would be in our communities if people were bearing the fruit of Christ’s peace? Wonder why there seems to be so much discontent among members in the body of Christ? Surly where the peace of Christ dwells discontentment would subside.

The peace that Jesus gives is not like the world. He said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”(3) What is the difference between the peace of the world and Christ? Warren Wiersbe suggests “The world bases its peace on its resources, while God’s peace depends on relationships.”(4) Christ’s peace comes through a relationship with him and it does not depend on possessions of material things.

Jesus picked us to bear the fruit of his joy. To be joyful means to have a sense of great internal happiness. Joy does not rise and fall with the tide of circumstances. Jesus was full of joy through out his suffering and even on the cross. He desires to fill us with his own joy. “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”(5) The wonderful thing about Christ’s joy is that it strengthens our faith to trust Christ even when we are in the process of being pruned by the work of the Holy Spirit and Word of God.

Jesus picked us to bear the fruit of his love. By far, love is the greatest of all gifts. Each of these fruits, are gifts from Christ to us. A gift must be received. Jesus said, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”(6) God’s love is a gift we can receive and a fruit we can bear, but it is also a command we must obey.

Jesus shared these words in John chapters 14 and 15 with His disciples on the night before He would be crucified as the Passover Lamb. Christ’s resurrection is proof of his victory over death and that He truly is the Son of God. Christ desires a relationship with you.

The gift of the Holy Spirit will help all who call upon the name of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and help them bear the fruit of love, peace, and joy. If believers will only surrender their hearts to Jesus Christ, as Lord and Messiah, during this Easter celebration of Christ’s resurrection, they stand ready to be renewed by God’s power and bear the fruit of love, joy, and peace. Jesus chose you to abide in him and bear his fruit. May the relationships with your family, friends, and neighbors be renewed this year because of the wonderful fruit Christ desires to produce in and through your lives. To God be the glory in the celebration of Christ’s resurrection and in the hope of His return! May the Church experience God’s love, joy, and peace in all their relationships this Easter.

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(1) John 15:16 ESV
(2) John 15:1   ESV
(3) John 14:27 ESV
(4) Warren Wiersbe, Be Transformed, USA:  Victor Books, 37, 1986
(5) John 15:11 ESV
(6) John 15:12 ESV

Stoney Run PFWB Church, Inc. is located at 12481 Harnett Dunn Hwy., Dunn, NC 28334