Producing Fruit Without the Tree

"Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." Acts 2:41-42 (NIV)

Being set apart for God's purpose and allowing Jesus to live His beautiful life through us is what will lead to a great harvest of souls. When unbelievers see something different about us--something different in our attitudes toward money and the things that money can buy, something different in the way we face adversity and show love to our enemies, they will be drawn to the Christ in us. They will recognize that there is a power at work in our lives that they cannot explain, yet they are drawn to it. Not only that, but we will want to share what we have with others. Today, our focus in the church is on the wrong thing. Vance Havner said it this way:

"If the time, money, and effort spent in trying to work up evangelism in lukewarm churches were spent in calling the churches themselves to repentance, confession, cleansing, and empowering, evangelism would be the natural result. We are trying to produce the results without the cause, the fruit without the tree. The New Testament epistle writers concentrated not on stirring up Christians to evangelize but rather on developing healthy Christians through spiritual food, rest, and exercise. Healthy Christians are naturally soul-winners, by life and by lip."

Quotation taken from Repentance as a Church Priority by Vance Havner. For more information on the author, visit www.vancehavner.com.