©2004 David
Drury
Back to David's Writer’s Attic
The Fruitful
Life
Week
Six
THE
FRUIT OF MULTIPLICATION
36
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Adding Fruit and Multiplying It
God wants you to multiply what he’s given you.
If you are connected in the vine God will add
fruit to your life. If the conditions
are right, fruit is a natural and expected thing. If you believe and apply the previous five
weeks of concepts, the fruitful life will be eventually be automatic for
you. But it doesn’t stop there.
Here’s a little math test for you:
What’s 4 + 4 = ________
What’s 4 x 4 = ________
Which is better?
Even an elementary schoolchild that has
learned multiplication will take the bigger number. Bigger is better. Well, you might say, if it’s four pimples
times four junk e-mails, then I’ll take the lesser one. But what if the “4 things” are good
things? You’d always choose the bigger
number. More of a good thing is always a
good thing. When it comes to good
results, less is never more.
There are many good things in life. But we’ve spent 5 weeks talking about the
best thing: fruit. What will you be
remembered for? How much fruit you
produced in the vine for Christ. If more
of a good thing is always a good thing then more of the best thing is the best
thing. That’s where multiplication comes
in.
When the early church was meeting house to
house in small groups and in the temple courts as a larger group they were
doing all sorts of things that produced fruit (Acts 2:42-47). They were devoted to the teaching of the
Word. They lived in constant fellowship
and hospitality. They broke bread in
communion with one another. And they
prayed continually. Do these things
sound familiar to you? They are many of
the chief things we have studied that produce a fruitful life. But perhaps the most important thing they did
that relates to us is their multiplication.
They didn’t just do a lot of good things and keep to themselves. They multiplied.
In Matthew 25 we find the Parable of the
Talents. This fascinating story that
Jesus told reveals a lot about the nature of our Father in heaven. The story goes like this: A wealthy man was
going on a long business trip. He called
three of his servants in to him and gave 5 gold bars called “talents” to one of
them, two to another and just one to a third.
Then he left.
The man with 5 talents immediately put his to
work and doubled his money to 10. The
man with 2 talents did the same and ended with 4. But the man with just 1 talent went and
buried it in the ground.
A long time later the wealthy master came
home and called his servants to him. The
first two men showed up with a doubling of their money. The master replied with the same statement to
both of these servants: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I
will put you in charge of many things.
Come and share your master’s happiness!”
But the man who received one talent came before
the master and said, “Master, I knew that you were a hard man, harvesting where
you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your
talent in the ground. See, here is what
belongs to you.”
The master was livid! He called him “wicked and lazy” and confirmed
that he was the kind of master that reaped where he didn’t sow and gathered
where he didn’t plant seeds. He took the
man’s one talent, gave it to the one with 10, and tossed the good for nothing
servant out “into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of
teeth.”
There are many factors related to
multiplication we should note in this story:
1)
Whatever we’re given we’re expected to multiply it
2)
Simply holding onto what we’ve got doesn’t cut it
3)
God expects returns through us in places he hasn’t
even personally planted seeds
4)
God rewards the man greatest numerical gain—even
though it was the same percentage growth as the man with two talents
5)
The place the servants that multiplied went to
obviously refers to heaven
6)
The place the servant that didn’t multiply was
tossed into obviously refers to hell
God reaps where he does not sow. He gathers people into his fold because of
our multiplication. He counts on us to
do this while he’s away on “business.”
What do these two pictures add up to? [Warning: very corny illustration alert]
Pic of a bowl of fruit Pic of several “pliers”
That’s right, it means “Fruit Multipliers”
So, what are the things with multiply your
fruit, rather than simply adding to it?
I’ve thought long and hard about this question. It’s a tough call. There are so many good things that you can
spend your life doing. There are many
noble and God-honoring activities that are fruitful. But the question we’re asking now is not just
what is fruitful—we’re now asking what multiplies fruit.
I believe there are four things which have
the potential to multiply your kingdom fruit exponentially. By this I mean expressly spiritual
things. There are plenty of ways to
multiply worldly things. Rabbits and the
stock market are the first things that come to my mind. But what multiplies spiritual
things? What multiplies eternal
fruit? And by this I mean truly
multiplying—as in more than simply adding fruit to your life. These four things are inherently
multiplication oriented. And finally by
this I mean exponential. Each of these
four things eventually leave your control and multiply all by themselves. This is the key to multiplication. Once you multiply a multiplier it becomes
exponential. In mathematics, which was
always the lowest grade on my report card, I still learned that when there is a
number like this10 at the end of something that means
it is multiplied that many times against itself. It is math shorthand for multiplying long
numbers.
Each of these four fruit multipliers have
that exponential power for your life.
For that reason I’ve added that little “to the tenth” power number
behind them in each chapter. There is
also a short review of the exponential potential of each of these multipliers
in each chapter. It’s there to help you
be more intentional about the multiplication factor in your own fruitful life.
The four things which have the potential to
multiply your kingdom fruit exponentially are:
Making
disciples at home
Intentional
mentoring
Group
multiplication
Starting
new churches
The thing you are passionate about might not
show up directly in the title of these four things. However, in the next 4 days, try to see the
connection between what you’re most passionate about and how it may fit into
the broader spectrum of producing fruit within one of these four fruit
multipliers. God may have given you that
passion for the express purpose of multiplying kingdom fruit. Because that is his top priority.
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Multiplying Disciples in Your Family10
If you’re looking to make disciples, start
under your own roof.
There is no domain more painfully slow to
produce fruit in than the family. But there
is no more ripe an opportunity to deeply develop disciples of Jesus Christ than
in your family. The family is often a
place of complexities too thick for outsiders to understand. But it is also the incubator for nearly ever
person’s future. We’ve forgotten the
power of a family in making and multiplying disciples.
The central spiritual unit of faith for the
Jews of Jesus’ day was the family. This
is partly what made the religion of Judiasm and then
Christianity such portable religions.
Nearly all other religions were so focused on “place” that they lost
everything when moved around. However, Judiasm was nearly always a religion on the move, and
therefore centered in the moving family.
And even more so Christianity has almost never been a place with a
“hometown.” We’ve largely lost this
centering role for the family in the life of faith. Recapturing that dynamic is the key to
multiplication.
God’s first command to Adam and Eve was
simple, “Be fruitful and multiply.”
Their to-do list was pretty simple there back in the garden of
Eden! From the very beginning it was
primary in God’s plan for us to have children and have them know and follow
Him. We trivialize today how crucial
raising Children up in the way they should go is. We outsource the responsibility to make
disciples of our children to our churches.
We must wrest that primary responsibility back and take ownership of
that role. We don’t have to be Bible
scholars to disciple our children.
That’s the great thing about children… they have no clue that we don’t
really know that much. Children are
your very best opportunity to make disciples.
Start there.
Every marriage is a work in progress. But you may find that you have become a
disciple but your spouse is either not yet a follower of Christ or they are
just beginning. Don’t worry – someone
had to go first. It just happened to be
you. That may be a part of God’s
plan. You accepted his grace first or
began to get serious about following him first.
So now it’s your role to have the patience to let your spouse catch up
while being intentional in making a disciple out of them. Here’s how to pull off this little dance with
your spouse:
1)
Don’t guilt them into it. That’s not going to work. They need to become a true disciple (follower
of Jesus) for the right reasons. You
know this but double-check the things you do that might make them feel too
guilt-ridden to actually respond. The
best thing to do is be honest and actually ask them: “I want to encourage you
in your spiritual life, but am I doing anything that’s making you feel guilty
rather than encouraged?”
2)
Your actions speak louder than your words in this
phase. The way you follow Jesus will rub
off on your spouse more than your speeches about what they should be
doing. Remember the beam in your own eye
and don’t start judging the specks in your spouse’s eye. Saint Francis of Assissi
said something once that you ought to think on frequently: “Preach the gospel
at all times—if necessary use words.”
3)
Let them go at their own pace—but don’t let
up. Be consistent and don’t let them
drift off. It may get frustrating when
you’re growing so much faster than they are, but they may have a different pace
than you do.
4)
Start growing together. Do a study together—of any kind. Ask questions about they way your spouse is
growing already. Cheer on the little
steps. But slow yourself down enough to
do it with them instead of around them.
5)
Put the ball in your spouse’s court. Ask them what their next step is
spiritually. Wonder aloud with them when
they’ll think they are ready. Ultimately-their
decision is not your responsibility, but it would mean the world for you if
they really got fired up about their faith.
6)
Get other people involved. They may just need to hear it all from
another perspective than you. Get your
spouse in the same room with other Christians you trust somehow. Make your Christian friends his or her
friends too. Don’t live a double
life. Include your spouse in your life
with Christ.
Luke 3:8-9 says, “Produce fruit in keeping
with repentance. And do not begin to say
to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’
For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for
Abraham. The ax is already at the root
of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down
and thrown into the fire.”
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Multiplying Mentors10
You haven’t fulfilled your role till you
filled your shoes.
What will you be remembered for? We’ve been asking that question over and over
again in this journey. Today let’s
consider what you shouldn’t be remembered for.
When you are gone, they shouldn’t say, “those will be hard shoes to
fill.” That kind of legacy makes you
feel great about yourself, but it is short lived. Far better for them to say, “he left big
shoes to fill, but his successor is poised to take us to the next level.”
There are many people that have been
effective and successful in history – but those that have had the most lasting
impact have been those that established a successor to take over for them. Successors are raised up in multiple
ways. Sometimes they are
hand-picked. Other times they are
biological (sons and daughters). Many
times they are completely random. But if
you want to truly multiply the kingdom, then you need to think about who comes
after you as much as you think about what you’re doing today.
Elijah was one of the greatest mentors ever
as he picked Elisha to be his successor. Elisha ended up
asking for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit
at the end of Elijah’s life. In a
facinating answer to that request—Elisha
ended up doing twice as many miracles as Elijah as recorded in the Bible.
John the Baptist understood what it meant to
multiply through a successor. When he
had the attention of the people and even the king he knew he needed to
eventually step aside for his cousin Jesus.
He famously said, “He must become greater, I must become less.” That’s the ultimate motto for someone who
wants to multiply the kingdom even after they are gone.
Two early church saints are a good example of
hand-picking a successor. St. Ambrose
built a relationship with
There are two presidents of the
In
Perhaps you think your life is too full to
really mentor other people. Or maybe you
think you have little to offer. Gain
some motivation to make the time by reminding yourself that this is what you’ll
really be remembered for. You won’t be
remembered as much for what you did as who you invested in. And gain motivation to use what you’ve got by
starting small.
The pattern of Jesus was to increase down to
a small circle of individuals he wished to have the most impact on in
life. There were thousands of people
that came to hear him tell stories, answer critics, and perform miracles. There were more than 100 people who were his followers. 12 of those were hand-picked as
disciples. Then three of those were his
inner circle. As great a guy as Andrew
was, and even being Peter’s brother, he still didn’t make the cut on this inner
circle. Jesus knew he needed to multiply
his time to mentor by focusing his efforts on a few.
If you are married or have children, these
people must be in your inner circle no matter what kind of a relationship you
have with them. This was the focus of
the prior chapter. But you may have 4 or
5 in your inner circle. If single, you,
like Jesus, have the opportunity to choose all those you mentor, even your most
inner circle.
What will you be remembered for? I hope you’ll be remembered for who came
after you and filled your shoes.
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Multiplying Community10
The ultimate power of a group is its
potential for growth and multiplication.
There is a good amount of confusion about
small groups in church life. Two main
problems exist: churches often have too narrow a definition of what a small
group is, and church people think small groups might be a fad in church programming
that will pass with time.
A narrow definition of what a small group is
can really hamper the community of a church.
And community is what it’s all about.
“Fellowship” might be the word you would use. Small groups are not a narrow program of the
church. The church will always function
best when smaller groups of people are getting together. In fact—I would question whether an
organization with a huge crowd but no one ever getting together in some kind of
smaller groups is really a church at all.
It would be more like a rally for people of similar tastes. Not the body of Christ. Smaller groups in the church are not a fad. Even calling them “essential” is an
understatement. Without them we wouldn’t
be who we are in Christ.
But groups are not an end unto
themselves. There are many benefits and
purposes to getting together in groups: studying the Bible, encouragement,
worship in song, teaching, service, fun, sharing meals, prayer, sharing,
accountability, making disciples, reaching out in community, challenging one
another, support, loving relationships, etc.
These are all the reasons we are inherently drawn to a smaller group of
people in church. But for some reason
the most strategic and powerful purpose and benefit of your group may seem less
attractive to you than all these things.
And that most powerful thing is your group’s potential for it’s growth
and multiplication.
A church is only as open as its smaller
groups. Many times in theory we want our
church as a whole to be open to outsiders and newcomers. But when it comes down to opening our tight
circle in our group to outsiders and newcomers we’re not too keep to add people
and we’re downright negligent in inviting and including others into our
groups. The church as a whole becomes
ingrown when its smaller groups are ingrown.
Instead of biblical community we then become ingrown cliques. None of us wants to become that – but we do
by default when we forget the powerful potential our group’s growth has for
Kingdom fruit.
This is never truer than when it comes to
including those that do not yet know Christ in our groups. We often look for mature Christians that are
“like us” when looking for new people.
In fact, the people we should seek out are those brand new Christians or
seekers in the church. Or even those
people in our workplaces and neighborhoods that might be included into our
groups before accepting an invitation to services.
[Insert my “hypocrites” teaching on this
portion of Matthew 22 – closing the door to heaven and its consequences.]
If it’s hard for you or other members of your
group to be motivated to grow and perhaps mutiply
your group, then consider this: someone had to invite you in or start a new group
in order for you to experience the group you’re in. So why should others not get what you’ve got?
There are three ways that each group can
ensure that they are not shutting the door to heaven for others. Think of them as a balanced three-legged stool
for community. If you keep these three
practices in mind as a group, then you lock into the strategic power of group
life.
From God’s perspective smaller groups are a
great thing—but I suspect He sees us missing the strategic benefit of these
groups. So often we’re satisfied to make
the groups all about us instead of all about Him. When we do make our groups about glorifying
Him we see the left out the way he does—and we leave the 99 to go find just one
of them.
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Multiplying Churches10
You are the church, and the church must
multiply.
You might wonder what you have to do with multiplying the church. That may seem like
an outlandish idea. You’re just one
person. “How could I multiply
churches?” But the catch is that you are the church. The church is not the building you worship
in. It’s not some idea that you are a
part of. It’s not a group of people you
show up to see. It’s you.
You’re the church.
So if the church should multiply then you
should multiply the church.
WHAT
IT WILL TAKE TO REACH YOUR COMMUNITY?
If you have a fruitful life then you want to
see your community reached for Jesus.
You not only want those in your neighborhood or workplace to come to
know Christ—you want everyone to know Him.
The people at the grocery store, everyone in the cars on the streets,
the masses of neighborhoods all throughout town: you want them all to have what
you have in Christ. Everyone!
But how are you going to do that alone? You can’t.
In your whole lifetime you couldn’t meet everyone in your
community. So the church has to do it in
one big effort. But even more… how is
just your one church going to do that alone?
Even if your church had 10 services every Sunday there will still be so
many that couldn’t fit. It’s not just
about your church—its about The Church.
All four levels of multiplying fruit work
together to really reach every single
person where you live. Multiplying families,
multiplying mentors, multiplying community and multiplying churches all work
together to reach what you can’t alone.
Children can reach kids you’ll never meet. Those you mentor will reach people long after
you’re dead. Groups you send out can
open up and include people that would never fit with your group. And new churches can reach entire people
groups and neighborhoods that your church will barely penetrate. Be a personal encourager and pray about being
a personal part of starting new churches in your community. Until the multiplication makes it to that
level many people won’t even have a chance to know Christ.
WHAT
IT WILL TAKE TO REACH YOUR COUNTRY?
But it’s not just about your community. What about the entire country? Here in the
We are seeing a decline in church attendance
in the generations. 54% of our oldest generations still living attend
church. Whereas 49% of the Boomers
attend church. And the number drops all
the way to just 30% of my own generation, the Busters. [1]
Our country needs a turn-around when it comes
to reaching people for Jesus. How will
that happen? More churches are the
answer. God won’t be able to use you
much where you don’t live. And your
church can only do so much. We need more
and more fruitful churches to stem the tide in the opposite direction.
WHAT
IT WILL TAKE TO REACH THE WORLD?
In the same light—it is more churches that
are needed to reach the world. We
shouldn’t just send money and prayers around the world, we must send
people. And we must send all these
things in order to see more churches led by and fill up with people from those
countries. On all its levels this adds
up to a fruitful multiplication movement that can really reach the world.
THE CHOICE:
So what can you do
about it? How can you help multiply
churches? You must ask this question: Are we an
The
The Jerusalem Council, as it has come to be
known, comes to a compromise position after a committee debates the
issues. The
The
What’s more in Acts 13 we find that the people
of this church are worshipping the Lord and fasting, and the Holy Spirit speaks
to them. He tells them to set aside Paul
and Barnabas and send them off to multiply the church. After testing the leading with more fasting
and prayer, they do just that and sent them on their way.
Surely there were troublesome things
happening in
It took massive persecution for the
Now What?
Ì
The Master’s Plan for Multiplying Fruit
What is the ultimate fruit of an apple tree?
Is it an apple? That’s the obvious answer. It’s right in the name, right? But think about it a bit longer. Look at that word “ultimate.” That one word changes the question. The first visible fruit of an apple tree may
indeed be an apple. But what happens to
that apple? It is eaten by someone or
something and eventually goes into the ground again. Or it falls to the ground and the apple rots
and the seeds are deposited in the ground.
Inside that apple-fruit is a more intentional fruit: the seed.
But that seed is not the ultimate fruit, is
it? The seed has a purpose—to grow into
yet another apple tree. So is the
ultimate fruit of an apple tree another apple tree? Close.
But not quite.
Is there just one seed in an apple? No—there’s several. And is there just one apple on an apple
tree? No—there’s hundreds. So each apple tree when it produces fruit has
the potential to produce many apple trees.
And over time as each generation of trees also produces fruit the
ultimate fruit of just one apple tree is and apple orchard!
So, now what is your ultimate fruit? Is it just that one friend who you would love
to see come to Christ? Is it just your
children? Is it a handful? No—there’s several people who you have
planted seeds in and will continue to if you live a fruitful life. But they are not the only fruit in your
life. They too have seeds they will
plant. And those around you in your
family, your group, your church, your community, if they are fruitful too (and
I hope you’ll encourage them every day of your life to be) then they’ll be
planting seeds as well. That’s how
orchards get started. That’s how just
one fruitful life affects everyone’s lives.
Have you heard of Johnny Appleseed? There are few fold stories that seem more
sweet and American as that of Johnny Appleseed. Originally John Chapman, the man that became
known as “The Apple Man” or “Johnny Appleseed” left
When I was growing up about 45 miles south of
Johnny Appleseeds final home in
We learn from the Johnny Appleseed
way that just one fruitful life can leave behind a legendary influence. You the question “What will I be remembered
for?” The seeds you planted in this life
will be most remembered in the next.
The Master’s Plan for multiplying fruit
really does begin…
How would you finish that sentence? Don’t finish it by saying… “with people like
me.” That lets you off the hook a little
bit. If it just begins with “people like
you” then that’s everyone. And if
everyone’s responsible usually no one takes responsibility. If Johnny Appleseed
had simply planted one seed in his back yard and hoped everyone else was doing
the same he wouldn’t have been remembered at all, and if so we would just call
him Johnny Useless Oneseed.
The key to living a life worth remembering is
taking the responsibility yourself.
Assume no one else is doing it—and act accordingly. Because that’s closer to the reality than
assuming everyone else really is doing it.
They’re usually not doing it.
Are you?
That’s the question. Finish that
sentence now… The Master’s Plan for multiplying fruit really does begin with …
_______________
(Write “me” in
your own handwriting in this blank)
The plan for multiplying fruit really does
begin with me. Just one person,
planting seeds!
“I
am the vine; you are the branches. If
you remain in me and I remain in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me
you can do nothing.” – Jesus in John 15:5
Week Six
36.37.38.39.40
Group Questions
1) How good was everyone in school when it came to math?
2) Review: What are the four key fruit multipliers?
i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
3) How are you at multiplying disciples in your own family?
4) Report to the group those people you are currently mentoring or have
decided to invest in. Think of someone
that is a non-Christian that you might be able to mentor or invest in.
5) How is our group doing with the “Three Legged Stool” of community?
6) How can our group be a part of multiplying churches?
7) Share stories or dreams about real life fruit in the lives of people in
the group.
Acknowledgements:
Ì
©2004 David
Drury
Back to David's Writer’s Attic