The Fruit Test That Reveals Where You Really Stand | Ep. 39

You can pray every day, read your Bible cover to cover, and still feel like something in your life isn't working. This conversation exists for that exact frustration.

Rahul and Van Pillay return to the subject of abiding — not as a theological concept, but as something you can actually test. Van introduces the checkpoint she uses in her own life: if your life isn't producing peace, health, or freedom, the question isn't whether you're trying hard enough. It's whether you're actually connected.

Rahul adds a teaching that reframes the whole conversation: the old wineskin can't hold new wine, and if you're praying for a new level of blessing without being willing to change internally, you may already know why it isn't landing. Van gets honest about a season where she did everything "right" and still felt distant, and what actually shifted it.

This is a conversation for anyone who's tired of performing faith and wants to know what it actually feels like to be connected — whether you grew up in church or you're just starting to wonder if any of this is real.

Find us on Spotify @pillayplacepodcast

https://open.spotify.com/show/6yDlDhEWsh21t2zeg7f5AC?si=B7-HfM0VR6SJuI2i7l4Kdg

YouTube: @pillayplacepodcast 

https://www.youtube.com/@PillayPlacePodcast

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

The key to testing if you're abiding in Jesus is to see if you have fruit. What does fruit look like? Fruit could be financial freedom. Fruit is living in health. Fruit is being in utmost peace, even when there's chaos around you.

SPEAKER_01 0:16

I remember being in this rut. It's like, Lord, I prayed, I studied the Bible, I praised you, but I was still not connected.

SPEAKER_00 0:28

Hi, everybody. Welcome back to the Play Place podcast. Um, here at our podcast, what we talk about is faith, family, and finance. And really about leaving a legacy. Um, just just leaving a legacy that's ingrained in faith, family, and finance. Um, with me is my beautiful wife, Van, and I'm Rahul. And today we're gonna talk about um what did Jesus mean about abiding in him? And I know we've done one podcast just like this, but this particular one we'll talk about another aspect of this that's more important. Um, not more important, but as important, which is you know, what is living with God or in God and having having a life with him looks like?

SPEAKER_01 1:11

Like the the practical aspect of it.

SPEAKER_00 1:14

The very practical aspect of it, yeah. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 1:17

Well, can you give us a little bit of abide and not have to go through the whole episode from last time, but just a slow snippet of the city?

SPEAKER_00 1:28

Yeah, the best the the um the scripture that I would like to quote is in the book of John, chapter 15, verse 5. Um, scripture says that I am the vine, you're the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit, for without me you can do nothing. And um you put it best last time. Like you can't be part of a tree and say, I don't want to, I don't want the fruit that this tree has, right? Like you can't be part of an apple tree and say, I just refuse apples. I just refuse making apples as a branch, right?

SPEAKER_01 2:01

Yeah, I think I was like if you're the apple, you're the fruit. Like you just have to have the nutrients when you're attached to this to the stem, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:15

And that's what it really is, is that the life nutrients that anyone needs comes from Jesus Himself. And that's what he's saying. He's saying that you can't live your best life that I've actually created you to live without actually being with me, right? Abiding in me. And that's what abiding means. But today we're gonna talk a little bit different about uh or add a few things to abiding. Um, what abide means to is to really dwell, to endure or to live if in a given place or state or relation or expectancy. That's what abide actually means. You know, and and I've um I received Jesus about 10 years ago. And abiding to me, it it makes a lot more sense what abiding means now. Okay, right? And and the highlight of, I think if I look back at my life, the highlight of abiding is if you're truly abiding in Jesus, there's gonna be a lot of changes internally and externally. Just the way I think, right? That was the first thing that changed, right? And the moment I accepted Jesus, things just started changing in my mind on how I thought about life itself. Okay. Okay. Two was how I the how I my decisions, right? It was very much based on long-term, life-based. There was a lot more blessing in the decisions because it was not calculated but prayed over, right? And reality is there were things that I chose to do that I never thought I would, like marrying you, right? I didn't know. I didn't mean it in a bad way, I meant it in a good way. So, but like I didn't think this was possible. One, two is I didn't know how, right? But I didn't realize all I needed to do was make a decision. Right? And I talked about this last time. Abiding really comes down to a choice.

SPEAKER_01 4:15

Did you at that time did you think you were abiding in him?

SPEAKER_00 4:20

I I knew what abiding was. At the time, abiding was just okay, I will follow Jesus. Right? Now abiding is like, okay, there are certain things in my mind that is stinking thinking, and I need to change the way I think.

SPEAKER_01 4:39

Yes. I uh I see abiding as, well, I think it's a good like checkpoint. Like if you don't see fruit in your life, then you go back and see if you abide in him or not.

SPEAKER_00 4:53

Yeah, can I can I pause real quick? Because what you just said is so important. The key to testing if you're abiding in Jesus is to see if you have fruit. Yes. What does fruit look like? I mean, immediate fruit we talked about was this the you know, peace, joy, love, long-suffering, these characteristics that God gives us. But more importantly, fruit is, you know, fruit could be financial freedom. Fruit is living in health, fruit is being in utmost peace, even when there's chaos around you. Right? So when those things are not present, then like basically if you're not happy with your life.

SPEAKER_01 5:34

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 5:35

I mean, that's one practical way to think about it. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 5:38

Like if you're not happy with your life, if you don't like how things are going, or how you're feeling about yourself, about your circumstances, whatever that or you're caught up in a rut. Yeah, or you're caught well, yeah. Who likes to be caught up in a rut?

SPEAKER_00 5:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:53

Right. But if you basically, if you're just miserable, you go back to checking, am I connected to the father? Am I connected to to the branch?

SPEAKER_00 6:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:02

Right? And then are you getting nutrients from there? Right. Are you feeling, are you receiving it? And if that's a no, then get to it. I guess it's pretty like.

SPEAKER_00 6:14

Well, you know, the the piece that I think that a lot of people sometimes struggle with is the the most important decision, which is, well, I do, I do think Jesus is Lord, but maybe, maybe I'm I'm not sure, or whatever. And I think that that right there, if you could just change that and just just ask for clarity versus make a decision to not look for clarity, right? Because when we say, well, I don't know what the truth is.

SPEAKER_01 6:43

Well, I think there's a yield to it, like when you're connected.

SPEAKER_00 6:46

Well, it there's an openness, right?

SPEAKER_01 6:49

Uh sure.

SPEAKER_00 6:51

I think for me it was openness. I had to be open to the possibility that Jesus is God.

SPEAKER_01 6:57

Okay, well, I think you that's great. I think openness is part of it, and then yielding to what the word is saying so that you can live it out.

SPEAKER_00 7:10

Sure.

SPEAKER_01 7:11

Right? Yes. Versus versus like you just know it and you're like, I know I should be connected, you know. Right. And and I should like know the word and we're going to devotion. And I'm all for prayers and devotion. But if you know it and you don't use it, well then how dumb is that?

SPEAKER_00 7:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:34

You don't you don't get to uh you don't use it, like it's not practical.

SPEAKER_00 7:38

Right.

SPEAKER_01 7:39

And then it just then it doesn't work, and you're like, well, it doesn't work. I was in prayer and I was in devotion and and it's not working. Well, it's not working because it's actually on you, not him.

SPEAKER_00 7:50

Well, that's I think that's the problem though. Okay. I think one of the reasons that we that we fail to truly abide in the Lord in all areas of our lives is because we would have to take responsibility that we are wrong in something.

SPEAKER_01 8:06

Yeah, and nobody likes to accept false.

SPEAKER_00 8:08

Nobody likes to accept false, right? Yeah. Uh another big thing is it's also blindness. It takes humility to know that I was blind to something. Right.

SPEAKER_01 8:23

Yeah. Because you can also be stubborn and be like, it's definitely not me. I did everything I did. I did everything right. I mean, I mean, I remember being in this rut that's like, Lord, I prayed. I like read your, you know, I study the Bible, and Lord, I I praised you, and but I was still not, I'm not connected. Because what happens when you're connected is that you actually don't have to do anything, you just receive. What does the apple have? The apple doesn't have to do anything to receive. The apple just needs to be stuck there. Yeah. Not stuck there. Or like the abide to to the branch, right? And so the it the apple doesn't go, okay, I'm hope I hope I'm getting nutrients. I hope I'm I'm working really hard, looking really cute on this apple tree. No, it doesn't do any work, it's not working.

SPEAKER_00 9:24

Can I can I pause here? Oh go ahead. Yes, this is this is very important because um if you're new to the faith and if you're new to Christianity, then I think it's very important to understand what Van is saying because um this is the one faith, and you you know, some people call it religion, but it really is faith. This is the one faith which will actually which which where you can have a personal relationship with God Himself.

SPEAKER_01 9:53

And a relationship with God is very different than him being a little genie that you ask for things.

SPEAKER_00 10:02

Yeah, but let me let me just try to try to recap my point. My point is if you're new to Christianity, you may think that there are things that you have to do to please God. And what Van is talking about is actually there's nothing to do, it's just more to receive. Well, that's what abiding is. Abiding is you live a life with Jesus, let him guide you, and in this guidance, you get to live an amazing life of receiving. That's receivership is, right? And because you're connected to the vine, that's what abiding really is. And if there's if your fruit soft, then go abide. And also, what does practically abide look like? Because we've talked a little bit a lot about abide. What is for a new believer, what does abide look like? We talked about living, right? When I live with you, right, I get to know you more and more and more. Now, do I know everything about you? I know you as a person, as a human being, as my wife, right? But then we get to live another day together in a journey. That's what I truly believe a bite is. A bite is it's another day, and I'm gonna live it with Jesus. I'm gonna get to know him, and he's gonna get to know me more. It's conversation, it's knowledge, it's wisdom, it's revelation, it's relationship, it's relationship and it's a journey, right? And that's what a bite looks like. And that's why I think in the last 10 years, it's completely just a change after change after change for me. Because the more I abide, right, like live my life with him, I feel like he's constantly having me change, right? And and you know, it's for the better, but like that's that's what I have noticed.

SPEAKER_01 11:47

You said all areas.

SPEAKER_00 11:49

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 11:49

There are areas, I feel like, that we want to do it ourselves and that we don't abide in him.

SPEAKER_00 12:00

Yes, this is where you got passionate earlier. This is where I get passionate because because um a lot of- I calm down. I calm down. A lot of people well want financial blessing, right? Okay, and they and they're like, well, you know, I'm I'm just gonna believe God, which is fine, right? But they choose not to take responsibility or make changes in their lives that will require, right? God said in the scriptures, in order for you to receive new wine, I need a new wineskin. What does that even mean? Back in the days when you when you need new wine, you couldn't just put it in the same old container, the wineskin.

SPEAKER_01 12:39

Do you know why?

SPEAKER_00 12:41

It would burst.

SPEAKER_01 12:42

If you put new wine in old wine, first of all, you probably have to educate me on this. Is why would it burst? Like, what is the old wine skin? Something about is it symbolic or is it an actual wineskin?

SPEAKER_00 12:58

It's actually wineskin, and it's something to do with the fermentation about the wine that would actually break the old wineskin. The old wineskin could not handle it.

SPEAKER_01 13:07

What is it made of?

SPEAKER_00 13:08

Like animal you're getting into technicalities. I don't know. Like back in the days, probably animal skin, right? So without as much technology as today. So, and then I didn't like this is just coming out, so I didn't study this. On the new wineskin, it would be able to handle the new wine. Right? It was specifically able to handle the new wine. In other words, like if you want to get an increase in your pay and you want this blessing from the Lord, you kind of have to change something about you internally, right? And you can ask the Lord and He'll help you go, okay, you need to learn this, this, and this, right? Because that's how I can give you the new wineskin, the new blessing, the new pay increase, or whatever. Sometimes for us, it's just the way we think. You know, we're going around, you know, maybe we're mad at something or and it has nothing to do with work, but that actually impacts our heart and the way we approach work and our attitude. You know, a lot of people a lot of people think work sucks. And reality is, according to the Bible, work is a blessing. Like this, like work does not suck.

SPEAKER_01 14:19

Well, I think it does suck if it's not where you're supposed to be. It's not your intended place to be.

SPEAKER_00 14:28

Yeah, if you're not supposed to be there, sure. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:30

Sure. Like along the way, you've made the decision because you were not abiding in him. And so you made your own decision to go and do something, and now you're miserable.

SPEAKER_00 14:39

Well, for for the new, for the new person that just showed up that just click subscribe and said, I'll believe in Jesus, right? Like they you can't you can't.

SPEAKER_01 14:50

If you're new to Jesus.

SPEAKER_00 14:52

Because I was there and you were there, right? Like, point being is you the moment you receive Jesus, the moment you get to abide.

SPEAKER_01 14:59

Yes, and you can abide at any moment.

SPEAKER_00 15:02

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 15:02

So at any moment you can start over.

SPEAKER_00 15:06

Yeah, that's right. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 15:09

Um, okay, can you tell me a little bit more about living like living the word versus knowing the word?

SPEAKER_00 15:19

Yeah, so um the the the one of the things that I that I that I started to experience was that um, well, I read the Bible a lot. Okay, and what I what I expected reading from the Bible was some sort of a knowledge about Jesus, because that was new to me, right? I'm like, okay, who is this Jesus? Um I was I was a Hindu for many, many years. So um, as I learned about Jesus through the Word, the Word became way more real to me. What does that even mean? That means that as I read the Word, it wasn't just me reading these these words on a in a book in the Bible. It actually seemed like that my heart was getting enlightened more and more and more. And I had a lot more peace. And then all of a sudden, as I developed a habit of studying the word and knowing Christ more, I realized that the way I thought about life was different. You know, I used to walk around with a lot of anxiety. Oh, what if this happens? What if this happens? Like I had this what if thoughts a lot. Well, that started going away. And it was more like a life of possibility. It was like, okay, it's gonna be okay. You know, Jesus said he's not gonna leave me nor forsake me. It means that God is with me. I mean, this what could go wrong? Even if things went wrong, he could be there. And then when things went wrong, he was there. Like there was, you know, there was this blessing aspect. There was always an answer to a solution or an impossible solution situation. So abiding looked like that for me. Okay. This is probably a few years ago. Today, I feel like abiding is could completely changing my belief systems, like meaning that there were these ideas that I would have about people, right? There were these ideas I would have about, you know, this group of people or this religion or whatever. I feel like that is getting eradicated. Like the Lord's changing those for me. Okay, you know.

SPEAKER_01 17:28

Um for me is actually very simple.

SPEAKER_00 17:36

Okay, please tell. I don't know, I didn't mean to be complex. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:41

Um I I think when we like read the word and we know the word and we focus on this is what the word says, and we know it, right? And so now when it comes to living it out, it's simply like how do I explain this? Like putting myself aside, my own thoughts aside, my own ideas, my own solutions aside, and I just go, okay, this is how this is how this is what the word says. And so I follow that, and I don't follow my own stuff.

SPEAKER_00 18:23

Right.

SPEAKER_01 18:24

Because my own stuff is not always a good idea.

SPEAKER_00 18:30

Yeah, and we've and you know, we've done life quite a bit, and we're like, okay, we've done our own way, let's do it God's way. Yeah. Right. Another another aspect.

SPEAKER_01 18:39

Right? It's like you have you have like two options, like your way or God's way.

SPEAKER_00 18:47

Right.

SPEAKER_01 18:48

And when you have a relationship with him, you have this trust and that you have this trust and you know that it's gonna work out if you just believe. Right. And then it and then it does. And it the first couple of times where I'm like, okay, Lord, I I'm trusting you in this, and then it actually happened, I have more confidence for the next time I have to rely on on him again.

SPEAKER_00 19:16

Yeah, so and so this is to this is to those that are new to faith, but like this is, and I keep going to new to faith for some reason. But um, I think that it's important to understand that God speaks and we can hear. The Bible says that my sheep hear my voice, meaning that if you have chosen Jesus, you are one of his sheep, and he will speak to you and you will hear it. You won't hear it in your ears, that would be a little weird, oratory. Some people do, but my experience is it's in the heart. It's in the heart, and I call it inner promptings, and those inner promptings will guide you and lead you, and it'll give you ideas and ways to go. And I think that's very important. That is abiding. And abiding is not just hearing and not doing anything. Abiding is hearing and doing something about it. Faith without works is not helpful whatsoever. So faith with works is what you want to do.

SPEAKER_01 20:09

Yeah, it reminds me of maybe we'll close up with this one is one of the methods that I use to help somebody like renew the way they think is a double standard method. Okay. Okay, and what and how that looks like is we have our these negative thoughts, like, oh, my way isn't gonna work out, or this this business isn't gonna work out, this relationship isn't going to work out, right? And it's because um you know, family doesn't like me, or all these reasons. And now you're and what that means, it means I'm maybe it means I'm not good enough. It means I need to do more. Okay, so you have these these thoughts. Then a a very simple way to kind of challenge that is having a friend. Like what would what would you what would you tell your friend if your friend is telling you this? You know, like say, I don't know, can you tell me some negative thoughts you might have?

SPEAKER_00 21:15

I'm not good enough.

SPEAKER_01 21:16

I'm not good enough. Okay. So you call this friend and and I'm your friend, and you go, okay, like tell me if it's true. Is it true that I'm not good enough? I'll be like, well, you know, I feel like that sometimes too. And you're absolutely right. There are some things that I'm not really good at. But what is true is that I can learn, I can work really hard, and I can better myself. Am I gonna be the best person? There's always somebody better than me.

SPEAKER_00 21:54

Sure. No one's perfect.

SPEAKER_01 21:56

No one's perfect, and you know, it's also true that there's probably gonna be people that's not not as good as me. Yeah, you know, but and so is it true that you're not good enough? No, it's not true because how are you even measuring that? Yeah how do you even measure enough? Right. And so we are talking, you're you're you're talking back to this thought. Anyways, do you wanna do you wanna close up?

SPEAKER_00 22:28

Yeah, well, I thanks for thanks for joining us. And um I hope you got something about from abiding in him. This is the second one we have done, and really the key point here is um it's not I don't I think the the key point that we made here is it's not enough to just one, if there's no fruit, then the question is, what is it what am I abiding in? Two is it's not enough to just know of Jesus. Are you living your life with him? Because that's what abiding truly means. Well, if you um enjoyed this, please subscribe. Thanks for joining us, and we'll see you next week.