Sunday, January 25th​
Who You Are In Christ

Welcome to The Journey Church. I'm Pastor Ben Tims.​

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With God’s prompting and leading, Pastor Paris has set a course for us in 2026 at The Journey Church. 2026 will be The Year To Bear Fruit.

It sounds like a great idea to bear fruit, but do we really understand what the phrase means? Pastor Paris, Pastor Brannen, and myself, will do our very best to help you throughout the year ahead. As believers, we can and should bear fruit in fact we should bear MUCH fruit.

John 15:5 NIV “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Before you can bear fruit, there are some prerequisites. One of the important ones is, do you know who you are in Christ? In Christ, you are a new creation, chosen, adopted, forgiven, and redeemed. You’re not defined by your past but by God's love, you are a child of God, a joint-heir with Christ, a temple of the Holy Spirit, and an ambassador for Him. With Christ you are destined for a transformed life of righteousness, purpose, and victory, even while battling the old sinful nature within your earthly body. 
 

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

Producing much fruit is how God the Father is honored and glorified, and how believers prove or show they are Jesus' true disciples. 

John 15:2 NIV “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”

The metaphor of the vine and branches means believers must stay connected to Jesus (abide in Him) to be fruitful. Fruit refers to a life of good character, actions, and spiritual growth. Love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, that’s the “fruit” that should be present in every believer’s life. Staying connected to Jesus is God’s plan and desire for us.

What are some of the requirements for a natural tree to bear healthy, delicious fruit? Trees need nourishment (fertilizer), water, sun, good soil and roots, and pruning when needed. As spiritual trees what do we need to bear healthy and delicious fruit? The very same thing! We need nourishment, the Word of God (our Bible), we need springs of Living Water, we need the Son, we need our roots growing deep in healthy fertile soil, and then we need the Master Gardner to prune us now and then.

Psalm 1:1-3 NIV “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.”

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The streams of water mentioned, are our reliable source of life-giving water, symbolizing God’s constant provision. Deep roots signify a strong, unshakeable foundation in faith and God’s law, the Bible. The tree’s ability to produce fruit and stay healthy in harsh conditions reflects the success and resilience of living a righteous life.

The first 3 verses in Psalm 1 are a promise to believers, but the last 3 verses of Psalm 1 are a promise to non-believers. 

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Psalm 1:3-6 NIV “Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.”

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As believers, how do we develop a deep root system so we are capable of bearing much fruit? Our roots grow when they are deeply planted in God’s Word. His Word is the foundation on which we build and stand. I’m not an “arborist” by any means, but I do know a tree that is uprooted and moved frequently will never develop a good root system that enables the tree to bear fruit. Typically, it can take 3-5 years for a tree to put down new roots and start producing fruit again after being moved.

I have seen many people accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and put down new roots in their lives. They are hungry for God’s Word, and they want to grow in Him, but then the enemy comes in and confuses them. They start having second doubts about their salvation, and they “uproot” themselves from God. A little time passes, they return to Him, put down “new” roots, and expect to just pick up where they left off, but that’s usually not the case. Their growth has been impeded and they need to start over again.

There is a chorus to a hymn, “I shall not be moved” that goes like this: “I shall not be, I shall not be moved. I shall not be, I shall not be moved. Just like a tree planted by the water, Lord, I shall not be moved.” What moves you? People will say, “That song really moved me.” Or “Wow that speech was so moving.” There are countless channels through which we can be moved. Media, News, Government, all telling us what we should think or know.

Only you know what moves you. When we are stuck in the wilderness of our circumstances, wondering when God will rescue us, there is an opportunity to practice not being moved in our faith. We need to literally practice the discipline of anchoring ourselves to the Tree of Life. Can you hear the words from that hymn? I SHALL NOT BE MOVED!

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Jeremiah 17:8-9 NIV “They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

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I’m going to paraphrase a few scriptures about not being moved.

1) Psalm 21 Through the steadfast love of the Lord, we shall not be moved.

2) Psalm 121 The Lord is my Keeper. He will not let you be moved.

3) Psalm 55 He will never allow the righteous to be moved/ shaken.

4) Hebrews 12 We are receiving a Kingdom that cannot be shaken/moved.

To be moved doesn’t mean we are sitting around idly waiting for our circumstances to change. We might be confined to our physical space or our particular set of circumstances, but we are not confined in our worship, love and faith. To not be moved means you are not swayed, shaken, or swept away from the source of your faith and the assurance and promise of God’s provision.

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In James 1:6-8 NIV “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.”

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That unstable person is easily influenced by others, his own feelings, and circumstances. When we are truly rooted in the Word and love of the Lord, WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED.

Imagine you were walking down the street, texting someone, head down, and as you are busy texting and walking, someone walks by you with a check for a million dollars. He extends it to you as he passes by, but because you weren’t looking, you miss receiving it. You didn’t see any good coming, you missed out on the blessing that could have been yours. Same is true in our spiritual lives. If we are not being watchful in prayer, reading the Word, with our eyes and hearts looking up to the source of good, we won’t see any good come in the midst of crisis or trials.

When we talk about deep roots, green leaves and bearing much fruit, there are some who might think that attending church, and being “involved” in different ministries will accomplish that. While regular church attendance and ministry are good things, they have a shallow root system. We need to be rooted in Christ and His Word, He is the source of our life.

Let’s talk about pruning trees for a little bit. What is the condition of your tree? Do you need some pruning done? The purpose of pruning is to enhance a plant's health, structure, and appearance by selectively removing parts like buds, branches, or roots, which encourages new growth, improves air circulation, increases sunlight penetration, manages size, and removes dead or diseased wood for long-term vitality and safety. It directs a plant's energy, leading to better flowers, fruit, and a stronger form, while preventing hazards and maintaining aesthetic appeal. 

Our spiritual trees need the same kind of care that natural trees need. God is the Master Gardener in our lives. He knows exactly what we need to remain healthy fruit bearers. Sometimes all we need is a good pruning, but sometimes dead branches need to be removed. When He removes dead branches, He doesn’t just cut them and then leave. He wants us to bear much fruit so He will graft a new branch into His vine.

John 15:4-5 NIV “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

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At the point of the spiritual grafting between believer and Savior, the sap of the Spirit flows into the branch, transforming the once dead branch into a fruit-producing branch of blessing for others to enjoy. Fruit is the result of the once dead branch being grafted into the vine, Jesus, from which the branch receives initial life, experiences continual life, and eventually, inherits eternal life. Bearing fruit is the evidence that we have a relationship with Christ and are connected to the vine. “He is the vine, we are the branches.”

A tree is known by the fruit that it bears. You don’t go to an apple orchard to pick oranges. You don’t walk up to tree that’s full of beautiful apples and then wonder what kind of tree it is; It’s an apple tree. Are our spiritual trees recognizable to the world around us? The phrase "a tree is known by its fruit" means you judge the quality of something by its results, actions, or character, not just its appearance.

Matthew 7:16-20 NIV “You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”

A good tree produces good fruit (good actions/character), while a bad tree yields bad fruit; similarly, a person's true nature is revealed by their behavior and words, not just their claims. Actions really do speak louder than words. Once our “trees” have an established, deep root system, grounded in the Word of God, then we will begin to bear much fruit.

Over the course of 2026 you will probably hear this next passage repeatedly. People are always curious about this fruit production we should have as believers. What is the “fruit” we should be bearing?

In Galatians 5:22 we can find the Fruit of the Spirit. Notice that the Bible states that it’s Fruit of the Spirit, not fruits, it’s singular. While "Fruits of the Spirit" is commonly used, the singular form emphasizes a complete expression of Christ's character in a believer's life. 

The fruit refers to nine qualities; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control as one unified product of the Holy Spirit. One tree bearing many aspects of His nature, not separate "fruits". Look at an orange as an example of this Fruit of the Spirit. When you peel an orange there are many segments that make up the whole orange. The Fruit of the Spirit is similar, there are nine segments that make up the whole.

As believers we don’t just pick and choose the fruit we bear. We should reflect the whole character of Christ. This fruit grows naturally as a result of being connected to the “vine” (Jesus Christ), not something manufactured by effort. This connection to the vine and bearing fruit comes from the condition of the heart, not the mind or will power from the head.

Luke 6:45 “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”

Our speech and deeds are a reflection of what's truly stored inside us—whether good or evil—acting as a window into our hearts. What you do and say shows what you value and think about most. "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" means a person's words and actions reveal their true inner character, thoughts, and feelings, much like a tree's fruit shows what kind of tree it is.

Let’s make 2026 the year for a bumper crop of fruit.

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    Message Questions

1. What does it mean to abide in Christ?

2. How does the depiction of the righteous contrast with the wicked in Psalm 1?

3. How can we “not be shaken” by the world around us while not disengaging from the world?

4. How has God used “pruning” in your life to deepen your faith and increase your spiritual fruit?

5. Why does Paul call it the “fruit of the spirit” rather than plural, “fruits of the spirit?”