Dear BPCWA worshipper, This week, we want to consider walking as Christ walked in our relationships and in increasing fruitfulness. This is the “R” and “I” of IN CHRIST.

Relationships. In 1 John 1:5-7, we are reminded that since God is light, “He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him” (1 Jhn 2:10). The Apostle John chided the believers because loving the brethren had departed so far from what God expects, so much so that the old and existing commandment sounded new to them. Hence, he said, “Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning” (1 Jhn 2:7). We are in the same situation today when we talk about love because we too have imbibed the world’s ideas. 1) We must be ready to lay down our lives for our brethren (1 Jhn 3:14-18). This love concerns physical help. Do we have a genuine care for others? For starters, do we even make others feel welcome and comfortable in church? Or are we so self-occupied that we do not even want to help when we can? 2) We are not to hate and hold grudges. If we fail to love rightly, we are not walking as Christ walked because, “he that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now” (1 Jhn 2:9). You must be ready to forgive your sibling, spouse, and some Christian who has offended you. Christ’s walk in this aspect was so perfect that He would lay down His life for us, His enemies so that they would be forgiven. 3) We must be willing to suffer, like Christ did as our propitiation, for the good of others. What if God intends for you to suffer for the spiritual good of others? God may allow trials into our lives so that we may experience Him, “who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God” (2Co 1:4). Christ suffered infinitely so that others would benefit. What if God allows cancer, the loss of a child, the loss of your job, or the loss of certain possessions so that you can be effective in bringing the comfort of your experience with God to others one day when they experience the same thing? Are you willing to go through something “negative” for someone else’s benefit, like Christ? 4) We must not stumble others, because “He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him” (1Jhn 2:10).  A loving Christian will not give any occasion in their life to stumble others. To stumble is also about triggering a trap that will ensnare someone. So, I must be very conscious not to cause someone to fall into sin and be trapped in it. I must not have anything or do anything in my life that causes someone to be introduced to sin, experience sin, begin to delight in a certain sin, and then be snared by it. We cannot say, “As long as I know what I and my family are doing, I do not bother what others think.” Love means I must consider how it may stumble my brethren. Paul made it clear, “And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ. Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend” (1 Cor 8:11-13). We must be ready to give up our personal rights. Christ surrendered His rights. It was His right not to suffer for us. But He loved us and suffered for our good. Ask yourself, “What message am I sending by how I live, my attitudes, and my choices?” Remember God’s warning in Matthew 18:6, “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” The word offend is stumble! Parents, this is a grave warning to you especially in your choices and in your marriage relationship. Likewise, to siblings, as it is to all Christian brethren. Teen, will you stumble another teen to be worldly? Worse of all, do not stumble others in the church so that you can have company to live the way you want! Remember the millstone!

Increasing. Christ reminds us that, “every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit” (Jhn 15:2). We ought to walk as Christ walked if we are in Christ. And when we abide in Christ, we will bear more i.e., increase in fruitfulness. Bearing fruit is more than just about evangelising. We must bear the fruit of the Spirit of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. Those who do not bear these aspects of the spiritual fruit of the Spirit must check their salvation. There were false professors whose lifestyle and ideas were of another Christ (1 Jhn 2:18-19). More fruit means we cannot say, “This is as far as I will go in growing in Christ as a single, elderly, individual, or family”. We must not compare ourselves with other Christians and think that we are better and so need not bear more fruit. There must also be the growth of fruitful labour in service. Christ laboured tirelessly and accomplished so much in His 3.5 years on earth. How can we be lazy when we have so many modern amenities in our times compared to Christ’s day? Am I and my family growing in labour for the Lord or are we keeping low key to avoid sacrificing too much to serve Him? Christ being 100 percent man means that He got tired physically too. We must remember that when we are physically tired when bringing up godly seeds, when serving God, and when studying God’s Word as a student. The Father’s pruning can mean painful cutting to prevent a sin disease from spreading and to remove spiritual impurities. It can mean bending us to conform to His Son. Will you refuse God’s pruning knife and tell God to stay away from an area you refuse to change in? All the other aspects we have learned thus far about walking as Christ are certainly not easy. For example, are you willing to change and stop saying, “It is my right”, and not bother if you stumble others? Remember that the ones who let us know about our sins are the ones who love us, not hate us. Purging will only bring much fruitfulness if we humbly submit to God’s pruning. Are you willing to give up what is needed to bring you closer to Christ’s walk? The Husbandman will prune. And it can be painful. God prunes firstly by using His Word (Jhn 15:7). But if we refuse to respond, He will work through chastisements as well. We do not like to read God’s Word because it will tell us how to live and reveal our sins. But the Christian who desires to walk as Christ walked will love to study the Word to know how to walk. God plans specific pruning through our quiet times and sermons. The more we sincerely expose ourselves to God’s Word, the more pruning we will receive that points out how we should walk. There will be more fruitfulness when you respond rightly. Hence, you must not skip these if you want to increase in fruitfulness. The test of how much you want to be pruned to walk closer and closer to how Christ walked in fruitfulness is also found in your prayer (Jhn 15:7, 16). How strong is your impetus of love for God will be reflected by your willingness to pray for God to chastise you severely if you refuse to walk as Christ walked. Finally, walking like Christ walked is to bring glory to God. Bearing much fruit and lasting fruit has a high cost since it will require us to respond to God’s pruning. But it will bring much glory to God when we respond aright (Jhn 15:8). It is easy to say we want to glorify God like Christ glorifies God in His walk. But when the pruning comes, we must be ready to deny self, bear our own cross, and follow Christ to walk the talk. Let us be careful not to seek fruitfulness so that we can glorify self. Pride is the killer infection that the Husbandman seeks to prune out.  Pride immediately negates and slays any fruitfulness. You may steer conversations to talk about yourself. If Christ was humble, who are we to boast? And don’t take God’s patience as approval. Repent immediately when pride swells in our hearts. We can start walking genuinely humbly, but pride can grow. If you want to walk as Christ walked in fruitfulness, then hate pride and love humility!

Yours in our Lord’s service,
Pastor