Episode #55: Abide In Jesus And Bear Good Fruit

If you’ve been trying to “do better” but still feel stressed, dry, or stuck, there’s a good chance the real issue is connection. I’m Stephanie, and I’m taking you straight to John 15 where Jesus calls Himself the true vine and calls us the branches. That picture is simple but it’s also confronting: branches don’t strain to produce fruit, they stay connected. When we abide in Christ and let His Word live in us, our lives start to produce something different, and God gets the glory.

From there, we define what that “fruit” actually is by walking through Galatians 5:22-23, the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We slow down and put scripture around each one, including 1 Corinthians 13 for what real love looks like, Nehemiah 8:10 for joy as strength, and Philippians 4:6-7 for peace that pushes back anxiety. This is practical Bible teaching for everyday life, not theory.

We also talk about how gentleness changes conflict, why self-control is protection, and how prayer and thanksgiving shift what’s happening in your heart and mind. At the end, I pray over you and invite you to meditate on these scriptures and ask God where you need growth, plus a clear invitation for salvation for anyone ready to come to Jesus. If this encouraged you, subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the All Is Well Podcast.

Transcript

Welcome And Why Connection Matters

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Hello, my name is Stephanie. Welcome to the All Is Well Podcast. My mission is to teach people the Word of God and emphasize its importance in their daily lives. I'm glad you decided to join me today. Let's get started. Hello. Welcome to episode 55. Did you know that we need to be connected to God? How is that so? What would that look like? Well, Jesus tells us to abide in him and he'll abide in us. And when we do that, we will bear fruit because we're connected to him. So what would that look like for us, for you and I in our lives? So let's dive in and let's talk about the true vine and how we need to be connected to

John 15 And The True Vine

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God. Let's turn to our Bibles to John chapter 15. And if you listen to the last episode, episode 54, I did talk about this at the end, the true vine, but I wanted to talk a little bit more about it in this episode. And so when I talked about it in the last episode, I connected it with trust. In order for us to trust God, we need to know who He is. And so to know who He is, we need to spend time in the Word. We need to be connected to Him because He is the vine and we are the branches. So that's what I'm going to continue discussing right now. So in John chapter 15 verse one, it reads, I am the true vine and my Father is the vine dresser. 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. So we are the branches, Jesus is the true vine, and God is the vine dresser. 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. So he says here, as the branch, and this is Jesus speaking, it says as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, we are the branch. Unless it abides in the vine. Who is the vine? Jesus is the vine. So when the branch abides in the vine, then we're able to produce fruit. Then it reads in verse five, 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. So with God when we connect ourselves to Jesus, we bear much fruit. 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, that means when it says here, if you abide in me and my words abide in you, that means the word of God, the things that He's told us and instructed us, if they're in our heart, he says, then you will ask what you desire, because He wants us to do that, and it shall be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, so you will be my disciples. So if we're looking here, it's talking about the fruit. Of course we know that it's not about apples or oranges or anything like that, but it's things that we produce in life. We can also either produce good fruit or bad fruit. If it's bad fruit, we're definitely not connected to the vine, which is Jesus. Because when we're connected to Jesus, we will produce good fruit. Because he says, if you abide in me and I abide in you, then you will bear much fruit. But what is this fruit? And how do I know if I have it or not? I'm abiding in him, but what is this fruit? So let's talk more about this fruit.

Defining Fruit Of The Spirit

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Let's go to Galatians chapter five, and this will be the fruit of the Spirit. So let's go to Galatians chapter five, verse twenty two. And it reads, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, against such there is no law, and those who are of Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. So now here it tells us what the fruit of the spirit is, what it should look like, what should we have? When we look at some of them love, oh I love this person, but I don't love that person over there. That's not what the Bible says. So we need to know what does it look like for each and every one of these fruits. So let's dive into those areas.

Love That Mirrors Christ

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The first one, let's turn to our Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 13. So 1 Corinthians chapter 13, verse 4. And this is love. Love suffers long and is kind. Love does not envy, love does not parade itself, is not puffed up, does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. So that's what love is. That is what our love should look like.

Joy And Peace Over Anxiety

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Now the next fruit of the Spirit was joy. To have joy. Because it doesn't matter our circumstances, when we're connected to God, we can have joy. He gives us joy. So in Nehemiah chapter 8, verse 10, it reads, The joy of the Lord is your strength. The joy of the Lord is my strength. So that joy that I have in the Lord, it gives me strength to face whatever I'm facing. Then in Philippians 4 4, rejoice in the Lord always. I say it again, rejoice, be happy, be joyful. Say it with your mouth. Say thank you. Thank you, God, for what you're doing in my life. Be happy, be excited, rejoice, praise him, worship him. The next one, let's go to peace. On this one, let's go to Philippians chapter four. In Philippians chapter four, verse six and seven, be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. So, what does it say here? It says not to be anxious for nothing at all. It doesn't matter what it is, no matter how small or how big. It says, But in everything we pray. And when we pray and when we're thanking God, then it says, and then the peace of God will come over us, which surpasses all understanding. That means that I don't know why I have peace about the situation. It's crazy, it's wild, things are all over the place, but I have peace. That's God's peace. That's the peace of God. And without God, you're going to feel stressed, have anxiety, feel chaotic, but still dealing with everything. But with God, it says, but the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, what will that peace do? It guards your heart and your mind. When you're anxious and you're worried and you're fearful and you're trying to make a good decision, it's hard when you're feeling like that. But when you have peace, it's easier to go forward. It's easier to move. Next is patience.

Patience Kindness Goodness And Faithfulness

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So in Colossians chapter 1, verse 11, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might, so you may have great endurance and patience. So with him, he strengthens us, he gives us the strength to give us endurance, and we can have patience in that situation. Kindness. Galatians 6 10. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. If you're wondering, should I be kind to this person? It says here, let us do good to all people. And then in Proverbs eleven seventeen it reads, Those who are kind benefit themselves, but the cruel bring ruin on themselves. Goodness. Psalm twenty three verse six. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. That is the goodness of God that will follow us, that will be with us, not just some days, not just on holidays or on special occasions, but his goodness will follow us when all the days of our life. When we're connected to the branch, we'll have goodness. Goodness will follow us. Next is faithfulness. In Proverbs chapter three, verse three through four, let love and faithfulness never leave you. Bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. And faithfulness and to have faith, it's the thing that pleases God. And he also says too that without faith, it is impossible to please God. Faith is believing God and taking him at his word. And we're connected to him. I may say it a lot, but it's important. When we're connected to him and we're attached to him, we can have faith in him. We know that he'll do what he says he's going to do in our lives. Next is gentleness.

Gentleness In Conflict Self-Control

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Ephesians chapter 4, verse 2. Be completely humble and gentle. Be patient, bearing with one another in love. So if you wonder how you should be, it says be completely humble and gentle. It's the way that we should talk to other people, to strangers, to our neighbors, to family members, coworkers. It says to be completely humble and gentle. Proverbs 15, verse 1. A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Just think about it. This is to be gentle. Think about it. And it's not, oh, they're gonna think this of me, they're gonna think that of me. That's not the idea here. You need to have a different mindset on these types of things. With God, he responds to things differently. Think about when they were crucifying him. He could have fought back, but he didn't. So in Proverbs chapter 15, 1, it says, a gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Think about an argument that you had with someone. Whenever they spoke gentle, it was a calm voice, they gave a calm response, gave a calm solution. It could have been someone at a restaurant, anywhere. If you notice, pay attention closely, the situation de-escalates immediately, right away. The situation gets resolved quickly. But if someone starts to yell and get angry, yell curse words at the person, what happens? It's just going to stir up anger and be mad and gonna start blaming each other. Jesus doesn't react that way. That's not his character, that's not who he is. So he's telling us how to respond to people and what to do and say to others in difficult situations. And in Philippians 4 5, it says, Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. God says to be gentle, that's the fruit of the Spirit. Next is self-control. Titus 2 12, it teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age. Proverbs 25, verse 28, like a city whose walls are broken through, is a person who lacks self-control. So it compares those two things as the same thing. And also let's turn to 2 Peter chapter 1, verse 5. And here the section is titled Fruitful Growth in the Faith. It reads, but also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness, brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is short sighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

Reflect Pray Share Salvation Prayer

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So now that we've read all of that and the thing is that we are the branches, Jesus is the vine, God is the vine dresser. So he says that when we abide in him and he abide in us, then we will bear much fruit, and we can't do anything without him. Then we went over in Galatians chapter 5, the fruit of the Spirit. What does that even look like? How does our life look like in every situation and everything that we do? So we went over all of those scriptures, and there's of course more for you to go over too. So what I would recommend for you to do is to meditate on these scriptures that we went over in this episode and to and ask God if there's any area in your life that you're lacking or any fruit that you're lacking or you need help in, ask him to help you. Ask God to lead you so you can do better in that area. So before we close, let's say a prayer. Thank you, God, for this message on being connected and abiding in you. Thank you, God, that we will abide in you and follow you all the days of our lives. Thank you, God, that the fruit of the Spirit will be evident in our life. And if there's anything that we need to correct or change, thank you, God, for bringing that correctness to us in the name of Jesus. Amen. So if this message helped you in any way, share it with a friend or family member. And thank you for tuning in. If you have not accepted Jesus into your life, say the salvation prayer with me. Heavenly Father, I admit that I have sinned. I repent. I believe in my heart you raised Jesus from the dead. I confess with my mouth, Jesus is Lord and my Savior. Right now, I receive forgiveness by the blood of Jesus. Come into my life. I am saved. In Jesus' name. Amen. I'm glad you prayed that salvation prayer. Make sure that you plug yourself into a spirit filled church and read the Word of God. Well, I hope you enjoy the message and thank you for tuning in.