The Key to Producing Fruit

2 Kings 19:30

And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.

There is a key to bearing fruit. The key is to take root downward, but then to keep your direction in an upward direction. Before a tree can ever bear fruit, it must have a deep root system to allow that tree to get the nutrients it needs to bear fruit. The believer is no different. If a believer is going to bear fruit for Christ, they must take root downward so that they can bear fruit. However, not only must they take root downward, but they must make sure their direction is an upward direction. Never should we change our direction to get more fruit, but we should keep our direction the same as we take root downward so we can bear fruit.

So what does it mean to be rooted? It means being embedded, fixed, and firmly established so that you are unable to move from your position. There are several areas where we should take root downward.

First, get rooted in prayer. Your prayer life helps you to be rooted in faith and trust in God. You ought not just to have a prayer time, but you need to have a prayer life. Those who are rooted in prayer will find God is powerful enough to help them with any situation they face when they live the life of faith. No person has had a steady, fruitful life who did not have a great prayer life.

Second, get rooted in God's Word. The more you read God’s Word, the more you will know what you believe. It is hard to get fruit when you don't know what you believe. God's Word needs to be a great part of your daily life. Those who spend much time in God's Word will find sin to dissipate from their life. I have always found that people who struggle spiritually or with sin also struggle with reading God's Word daily. Taking root in God's Word comes from studying it so that it takes root in your heart to change your life to become more like Christ.

Third, get rooted in your faith. Know what you believe. If you know what you believe, you will waffle back-and-forth on what is right and wrong. The Scripture teaches that a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. Therefore, we must be rooted in our faith, which is what we believe, and that will help us to be able to bear more fruit for Christ.

Fourth, get rooted in your church. I have never seen a productive believer who jumps from church to church. Those who become deeply rooted in their church are the ones who bear the most fruit. Stop looking for greener grass and get rooted in your church. Get rooted by getting yourself involved in the ministries and making your best friends those who attend your church. I've always noticed that those who arrive the last minute and leave quickly have a very shallow root system in their church. Likewise, those who refuse to get involved in their church will never be deeply rooted in it and will not produce much fruit as a believer.

Fifth, get rooted in reaching the lost. Soul winning has a way of forcing you to become rooted in what you believe, in your prayer, life, and in your church. You cannot have fruit if you are not involved in the harvest of reaching the lost for Jesus Christ through soul winning.

These five things are critical to bearing fruit. Never let any of these five things be absent from your Christian walk, and you will find that you will be able to bear fruit upward.