Abiding in Christ. True Fruitfulness Over Busyness. Resting in God’s Love. — Highlight Episode 336

Ray, E.Z., Mark, and Oscar discuss how in our busy lives, it’s easy to mistake productivity for true fruitfulness, but Scripture teaches that abiding in Christ is what truly matters. As John 14:21 reminds us, love for God is reflected in love for others, and our actions should be rooted in His purpose rather than mere busyness. Just as Martha was consumed with tasks while Mary chose to sit with Jesus, we must prioritize our relationship with God over constant activity. While today’s culture celebrates busyness, Scripture warns that it can be a distraction, and true rest should be a time to abide in God, not just recharge for more work. Without love, our efforts are meaningless, and true fruitfulness should be the natural outcome of a deep relationship with Christ. God calls us to faithfulness rather than immediate results, and when we prioritize abiding in Him, He brings forth the fruit in His perfect timing. Resting in the Lord allows us to slow down, reflect on His will, and teach our children to seek fruitfulness rather than mere busyness. Abiding in Christ takes time, and just as in any relationship, we must invest in knowing God’s heart to truly walk in a manner worthy of Him.

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Ray Comfort
Emeal (“E.Z.”) Zwayne
Mark Spence
Oscar Navarro

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
We want to explore, like, what is the difference
between busyness and bearingfruit?
And then how do we identifythose things in our lives that,
though they may be good, reallyshouldn't be a part of our lives
, and then how do we move onfrom there to bearing fruit for
the Lord?
So, ray, why don't we startfirst with well, whatever you

(00:21):
want to start with, do you havesomething you'd like to start
with?

Speaker 2 (00:25):
Yeah, John 14, 21.
Yeah, he that has mycommandments and keeps them, he
that loves me and he that lovesme, beloved of my Father.
I too will love him and willreveal myself to him or manifest
myself to him.
Fruit grows silently.
It's not a big deal if you growlove as a Christian.

(00:45):
And love manifests itself inloving others.
And loving others means you'regoing to warn them there's a
hell and they need to repent andtrust in Jesus because he died
on the cross.
And so there's a busyness.
That's really good.
I love the therefore in 1Corinthians 15, 58.
Therefore, my beloved brethren,be steadfast.

(01:05):
Un.
Therefore, my beloved brethren,be steadfast, unmovable, always
abounding in the work of theLord.
What's the therefore?
Therefore, we ask it and we goto the previous verses.
And if you read the previousverses, they build up to this
corruption.
She'll put an incorruption.
Oh, death, where is your stingGrave?
Where is your victory?
God has destroyed death throughthe gospel.
Therefore, my beloved brethren,be steadfast, unmovable, always

(01:28):
abounding in the work of theLord.
And you see it in the book ofActs.
They weren't busy doinganything starting businesses,
doing buildings or makingbuildings.
Remember when Jesus took to theMount of Transfiguration and
appeared and Peter says, let'sjust start a building program.

Speaker 3 (01:44):
Remember that he said we'll build tabernacles.

Speaker 2 (01:47):
And it says because he knew not what he was saying,
it was out of his mind.
And sometimes we do have thingsthat get us busy building
bigger buildings when Europe'sfull of big buildings that are
empty.
The church is the people andwe've got to remember there's
people going to hell andeverywhere you look.
In the book of Acts, thedisciples were busy seeking and

(02:09):
saving that which is lost, sothere's a busyness that's good
and that is the proclamation ofGod's Word.

Speaker 1 (02:12):
We can, though, sometimes be kind of deceived
into thinking well, I'm bearingfruit because this is on God's
agenda, like I mentioned earlier, but we're neglecting priority.
We neglect our wife, ourchildren.

Speaker 3 (02:26):
It is easy to think that you're doing the Lord's
work because you're doing goodthings, right?
We got to think about that InLuke 10, 38 to 42, we have the
story of Mary and Martha.
Right, martha is busy servingthe Lord.
That's a good spiritual thing.
So she's busy serving the Lord.

(02:47):
Mary is busy sitting at thefeet of the Lord.
One thing was required and thatwasn't going to be taken away
from her.
So here's Mary sitting.
So there's a time for sitting,there's a time for service.
And is it possible to be sittingwhile you're serving, right To
be focused at all times?
And George Mueller, what wasbig on this?

(03:08):
That when he walked he said Iwould pray when I lay down, I
would pray when I would getclean, I would pray.
That he was always in a stateof prayer.
You know Jesus is saying I knowyour works, I know you're busy,
I know all the things thatyou're doing, I know this.
I see all that is going on.

(03:29):
Right, I know your works, youhave the reputation of being
alive, but you are dead, you'remorto.
Right?
Reputation is very important tous and we think that our
reputation is by all the thingsthat we are getting done and
getting accomplished.
When somebody says, how are youdoing, we tend to say all the

(03:51):
things that we have been doing,yeah, it's like it's almost like
they asked us what are youdoing?
I remember easy did this to me,correcting me one time, uh,
several years ago.
He asked me how are you doing?
And?
And I told him what I was doing.
And easy, you responded.
I don't know if you rememberthis.
Your response back was oh, I'msorry, I think you misunderstood
the question.
I didn't ask you what you weredoing, I asked how you were
doing.
And if that's a good pause,that's a good question and it's

(04:15):
a good rebuke all in the same,because we think that our
busyness is attributed togodliness, and that isn't always
necessarily the case.
And that isn't alwaysnecessarily the case.

Speaker 4 (04:25):
We often mistake giftedness for fruitfulness,
that often we'll look at ourspiritual gifts, our gifts and
what we are doing with our livesand productivity.
You know, ministries aregrowing, people are being
blessed I'm involved in churchservice in this way and that way

(04:49):
and we lose sight of thereality that we are not growing
in fruitfulness, we're growingin busyness, and I think that
the reality is well.
Adam Mabry says it like thisancient deities demanded the
ceaseless work of slaves, thebodies of children, the fires of
war to ensure a good harvest.

(05:11):
In our modern age, we laugh atsuch primitive beliefs, but we
are just as pagan.
The God of this world demandsslavish work for our bosses,
undernourished relationshipswith our kids and the fires of
political fervor to keep theharvest of hope.
Basically, he says like we areworshiping the same false idols,

(05:37):
if you will, and the reality isthis.
I think the answer is in John 15, because thank you Mark because
we think.
I think oftentimes busynesscomes from like the hope of
being fruitful.
I want to be fruitful, that'swhy I'm busy, but if you notice,
the aim of John 15 is notactually fruitfulness.

(06:01):
Watch this it says I am thevine, you are the branches.
Watch this it says I am thevine, you are the branches.
If a man abides in me and I inhim, he will bear much fruit.
The aim is not fruitfulness,it's abiding in God.

Speaker 1 (06:30):
When we abide in God, fruitfulness develops and we
don't settle for simply busy.
Yeah, it's not just about thefruit that's being birthed
through us, like especially whenwe're involved in the things of
God.
It's about the fruit that Godwants to birth in us.
So we could be looking to dosomething and we're focused on
that, but our heart isn't right,our attitude isn't right.
I mean, you guys think about 1Corinthians 13, where we're told
about the man who can speakwith the tongues of men and of

(06:53):
angels.
He has all wisdom, he can solveall mysteries, but doesn't have
love.
The man who gives all of hisgoods for the poor.
The man who gives his body tobe burned for other people but
doesn't have love.
So I mean that's an example ofdoing things that seem to be
fruitful.
I mean the guy's sellingeverything he has and giving it

(07:13):
away.
The guy's willing to die forthe sake.
That's fruit?
No, it's not, because it'sabsent of love.
Mark, wouldn't you say that itultimately comes down to that
right?
Loving God and loving people ineverything we do ends up being
true fruitfulness.

Speaker 3 (07:29):
Your best effort without love is as useful as a
flat tire, right, and it getsyou as far as a flat tire can
take you.
You've been designed byoperating with love, so if you
are concerned that you may lackthe love, well, there's probably
love present.

(07:49):
You know, god's probably doinga work inside of you.
That's a good sign.
If you're feeling conviction,it's a good sign that you are
born again, or God's doing awork that only he can do in the
midst of you, right?

Speaker 2 (08:00):
And it should be effortless.
Love for the Christian shouldbe effortless.
1 Corinthians 15, 5,.
I am the vine, you are thebranches, he that abides in me
and I in him.
The same brings forth muchfruit, and that should be
effortless.
If you're a Christian, thefruit should be manifest, and
that if we've got love, weshould easily love people,

(08:20):
because it's the love of Godthat dwells in our hearts by the
Holy Spirit.
And then I love the mostprofound words that Jesus said
straight in that same verse forwithout me you can do nothing.
Isn't that powerful?

Speaker 1 (08:32):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (08:33):
Because if there's anything I don't want to do with
my life, it's nothing, and itmakes me always make sure I
abide in him and don't do my ownthing, because I want to bring
forth much fruit and I don'twant to bring forth much fruit
just so I can say look at me,I'm a fruit-bearing Christian.
I want that love to motivate meto reach the lost.

(08:53):
Love, joy, peace, patience,goodness, gentleness, faith,
meekness and temperance Allthose things can be evolved in
evangelism.
We should have patience withthe ungodly, meekness with the
ungodly, love with the ungodly,because we abide in him and he
abides in us.

Speaker 1 (09:08):
It's good to evaluate our motives, but still do the
right thing right.
So if you're struggling with amotive of, oh am I going to save
this drowning child because Iwant to be glorified as a hero
or because I want to save thechild, deal with your motives
right, like later.

(09:30):
It doesn't mean you stop doingwhat's right, but it means you
take your heart to the Lord sothat he would refine it and work
on it, you know, and bring youto a place where you know you do
it for the right reason.
And I think a part of thatabiding in Christ is
acknowledging the Lord.
In everything you do, yourambition is to do it for His
glory.
That distinguishes it.
Because, back to the whole loveanalogy, right 1 Corinthians 13,
you could seem to be a personwho loves God because you do so

(09:53):
many spiritual things, but itcould be because you want the
attention you may give your bodyto be burned.
But it may be because in theback of your mind you want to go
down as a hero rather than Iwant to lift up God.
I want to let my light so shinein my mind that they may see my
good works and glorify myFather who's in heaven.
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