Bear Fruit Worthy of the Gospel

As I read the Word of God today it was shown to me how much God talks about bearing good fruit, being doers of the Word, and showing outwardly what you have received inwardly. I was actually blown away when the more I looked for scriptures that talked about action, the more I found. I found over 20 verses throughout the Bible that had this same underlining theme; bearing good fruit. Let me just show you a few of them. Jesus does not take it very lightly.

Luke 8:21 “But He answered and said to them, ‘My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.’”

And again…

Luke 8:15 “But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.”

And again…

James 1:22 “But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”

 And here Jesus gets straight to the point:

John 15:2, 8 “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…By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”

And even stronger words...

Matthew 3:10 “And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

He even repeats Himself later…

Matthew 7:19 “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

But blessings begin to flow as you bear good fruit…

Psalm 1:3 “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.”

And more blessing follows….

Proverbs 11:30 “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.”

James 3:18 “Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

The more I read the more convicted I get that we as disciples of Jesus need to bear good fruit. We are called to bear fruit. It is in our job description, so to speak. When Jesus says go and make disciples, He means take action and bear fruit. I fear that many who may confess Jesus as their Lord and Savior aren’t bearing any fruit, but Jesus is very clear that we should bear good fruit or that tree will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

I ask that the Spirit of God would give us revelation of what this means in our own lives. Examine your own hearts brethren. We will be held accountable for all the things we do and say on this earth. Let it not be in vain or for personal gain. Let us run the race in which we were called with endurance, looking to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.

Lord Jesus, I pray that you will teach us how to bear fruit worthy of repentance. That we would be a people that bear good fruit to shine Your Glory to this world. God I ask that Your Holy Spirit would lead us and guide us into all righteousness. Lead us Jesus by Your Word and Spirit. May You heal this broken world and open the hearts of those that crush Your children to Your unsurpassing Love and Grace. In Jesus name, Amen!

The 18 Inch Journey

Hello friends! I'm back to the drawing board, putting into words what God has put in my heart.  I have felt God's calling on my life for more. More then the average scene. More then what has been done before. More then the American Dream and its false realities. More.

God has given me a vision and it has called me to go deep into His heart. I want to be forever ravished by the heart of God and never to let go. My sole purpose and desire in this life is to be one with my Father as Jesus is one with Him. I aim to do just that and refuse to let anything stand in my way!

I feel a longing to know God better. More than just what I read and hear about Him. I want to spend time with Him, get to know Him, beyond the pages. I feel a provoking that there is something more. I want to know and feel the presence of God. That's what I am after! His presence!

I have the opportunity to go to Sophia, North Carolina this summer to a two month discipleship school called. The 18 Inch Journey. It is the journey between your head and your heart. To go from a place of believing with  just your mind and start believing with your heart. I have included on this blog videos from the founders of the 18 Inch Journey, Jonathan and Melissa Helser. They are incredible children of God devoted to His heart for love.

I ask that you pray about partnering with me so that this can become a reality for me. I have to raise $2,000 before May 1. I know that God will provide, because He has called me to this. If you have any questions or comments feel free to write me.

Tax Deductible Donations May Be Mailed To:

FUMC
P.O.Box 1306
Valdosta, GA 31603

DESIGNATE CHECK FOR JULIAN SUTTON

Or You Can Donate By Credit Card/ Debit Card

You can read more about the 18 Inch Journey at: http://18inchjourney.com/18/Home.html

A Condition of the Heart

"Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.{...}Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day." Matthew 28:1-4, 11-15

It is amazing to me how many times people encounter the Truth of Jesus and still harden their hearts towards Him.  As if they do not need Him.  Countless times the Divine Nature of Jesus was shown to the elders and the Pharisees.  They heard numerous accounts of healing, demons being cast out, and people being raised from the dead!  I do not think they had a problem with the supernatural power of God to do the impossible.  They had a problem with Jesus, the Man.

I wonder to myself, Why?  I then think to myself, would I accept Jesus, the Man, in the flesh, if He were in my streets healing and raising the dead today?  Only God has the power to give life, right?  So what would stop me from believing?

It is quite astonishing really when I think about it.  What is it that hardens the heart?  I ask because I don't know.  And I don't want it!  I rebuke a hard heart in Jesus name!!  I want to feel the tenderness of love and the warmth of kindness.  I want to feel the restlessness of joy and the soothing sensation of peace.  I want a heart that longs for Jesus!

My Testimony

Hey everyone!! My name is Julian Sutton. I am 25 years old and I was born and raised in Valdosta, Ga. If there is one fact about me that describes me and that everyone should know is that I Love Jesus Christ!! So many people would describe themselves by their jobs, relationships, or by the people they are associated with. (Example: I'm a teacher, I used to date ______, I'm ________'s friend or son or brother, etc.) I want to be described simply as a person that loves Jesus. I want my actions and my words to show that love.

    This is probably the hardest story I will ever have to write: My Testimony. I grew up in the church from the time I was old enough to crawl. I was baptized as an infant, went through confirmation when I was twelve, and gave my heart to Jesus when I was 16. I loved everything about the life that I lived when I was living for Jesus and not myself. I could do anything I put my mind to and had a sincere joy about it. However it was short lived. I began to fall into patterns of selfishness. In doing so I fell into Satan's trap of temptations and sin. Soon after I only attended church because my parents told me I had to. I lived a life that was far from what God wanted for me. I was the type that if asked, "Are you a Christian?" I would say yes based on the fact that I go to church. How foolish I had become!

   I went through 7 long years of suffering; fooling myself that I didn't need to live a life for Christ. I knew that He was my savior, but I never made Him the Lord of my life. I dated a girl that I was desperately in love with for 4 amazing years and one lonesome day it all came to an abrupt end. I went through years of partying, drinking, drugs, lust, and lies just trying to fill that void; I found myself miserable. I didn't like who I had become. I was depressed. I was empty inside. I got to a point where I actually considered suicide. Twice. I was to the point of putting a gun to my head and saying goodbye to this world. It was so hard for me to live in pain and regret because I felt I couldn't live without her. I don't know exactly what kept me from doing it, but I feel it had to be God because there was actually something that was put into my mind that made me hold on to my life. It was my family. It was the thought of what my death would do to them. It was the fear of going to hell for killing myself. I was able to come out of that rut of depression but I continued to live with emptiness for at least another year.

     Then one crazy night  at the bar led to an altercation with a friend, cops showing up and writing both of us citations, and me laying on a couch for two days feeling like I was in a car wreck. That immediately set an alarm off with my family. A couple weeks later my sister asked me if I would go on a weekend retreat called Chrysalis Journey. Just seeing the look on her face told me that I shouldn't say no. So I went on the 3 day retreat out at Camp Tygart.

    During the retreat we put all our focus on God and how much He loves us. There was literally no distractions just people constantly praising the Lord and telling you how much God loves you and forgives you. We were told all you have to do is accept Him into your life and He will change you from the inside out. On our second night there I asked God to come into my life and replace the old me and make me new. I could feel a change starting immediately. Jesus took my heart of stone and turned it into a heart of flesh. When I got back home I was absolutely on fire for Jesus. I cried for hours because of the level of joy that had been brought into my heart and I realized just how wretched I had been.

     In 3 days God changed me from a smoking, drinking, lusting, cursing, lying, stealing, and cheating person; into a man of God! I no longer had the urges to smoke or drink or want to hang out with friends that would bring me down and away from Christ, because I didn't want to lose that feeling. I began to get myself involved more in the church and bible study groups. Within weeks I went on my first mission trip. Since then all I have wanted to do is serve others and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.