Towards a Fruit-Bearing Life
(John 15:1-8)

Disciple Peter did not realize that Jesus was the Son of God even when He borrowed a boat from Peter to preach the gospel to the crowd listening to Him on the shore. But when he caught such a large number of fish following Jesus’ command to put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch, he finally realized that Jesus was the Man of God and he himself was the sinner. Then he bowed down before Jesus confessing his sins. After that, he left his boat and followed Jesus as a saved disciple. Still, human beings like Peter only begin to take the steps to grow mature after experiencing such a wonderful salvation of being reborn.

1. The stage of joy
1) The joy of being freed from sin
2) The joy of having a heart renewed
3) The joy of communicating with the God of Trinity, Jesus the Savior, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit the Counselor

2. The stage of conflict
1) When we grow away from an earthly life and have a new life, we face conflicts against the former way of living, making our hearts troubled and distressed.
2) The trial of heart wishing to serve both the earthly world and the heaven

3. The stage of struggle
1) A struggle for leadership between the kingdom of God and the earthly world to seize one’s heart
2) A fight to overcome the world

4. The stage of despair
1) Who will rescue me from this body of death? * (Romans 7:19-24)
2) Realizing how weak a man’s determination is * (Romans 7:14-18)

5. The life to rely on the Holy Spirit * (Romans 8:1-2)
1) Help from the Holy Spirit, the Counselor * (Romans 8:9-11)
2) Branches which cling to Jesus, the vine ? Not because we make efforts but because we cling to Jesus and remain in Him, we can bear fruits by the power of the Lord

6. The stage of victory
1) Realizing the grace of Jesus who redeemed us
2) Being certain of hopes and dreams for the heaven
3) Standing firm on and believing in the word of God
4) Being sure of confession of faith
5) Living a life as a witness and representative of the heaven on earth

We go through numerous gales and torrential rain until being matured after believing in Jesus and being born again. To this end, we must be a member of a church being engaged in social relationships with church members and serving the church.