shalom all messages
SABBATH · AUG 2

Be Fruitful

Errol Martin

Originally streamed on YouTube

God isn't waiting for more preachers—He's waiting for ordinary people willing to walk alongside someone struggling.

Be Fruitful · Errol Martin
0:00
0:00
--:--
Questions this message meets
  • Why do I feel like my faith isn't making a difference in anyone's life?

    God isn't looking for leaves—religious activity that looks alive but bears no fruit. He's looking for fruit th...

    God isn't looking for leaves—religious activity that looks alive but bears no fruit. He's looking for fruit that contains seeds, the capacity to reproduce His life in others. If no one is being drawn closer to Christ because of your influence, it may be time to ask: Am I pouring into someone the way Jesus poured into His twelve? Fruitfulness begins when we stop performing and start investing in one person God has placed in front of us.

  • I'm not a preacher or teacher—how can I make disciples?

    Discipleship isn't a program; it's a posture. Jesus said 'as you go'—as you live, work, stop by the store—make...

    Discipleship isn't a program; it's a posture. Jesus said 'as you go'—as you live, work, stop by the store—make disciples. It can be as simple as a text to someone who's been absent, a smile that warms a hard day, a note with a verse slipped to someone struggling. You don't need a pulpit. You need proximity, a willingness to walk alongside one person. That's how the kingdom spreads—one friend telling another, until we're all family.

  • What if I've been hurt by the church and don't feel like reaching out to anyone?

    The enemy loves to isolate us—it makes his targets stronger. When you've been wounded, the last thing you want...

    The enemy loves to isolate us—it makes his targets stronger. When you've been wounded, the last thing you want is more closeness. But God's design is family, and families grow through shared life. You don't have to be besties with everyone. But ask: Is there one person I can check on, one struggling soul I can walk with? Sometimes the healing begins when we stop protecting our pain and start pouring into someone else's.

  • I've been a Christian for years but never discipled anyone—is it too late?

    The modern church has raised a generation of consumers—people who come to receive but never invest. If you've...

    The modern church has raised a generation of consumers—people who come to receive but never invest. If you've sat under teaching for years but never taught, received mentorship but never mentored, you're not alone. But God isn't waiting on 'someday.' He's asking: Who has He placed in front of you right now? A new believer? A younger person searching? The command to 'be fruitful and multiply' is still in effect. Start with one.

  • How do I know if I'm really bearing fruit or just going through the motions?

    Jesus cursed the fig tree because it was full of leaves but had no fruit—it looked alive but bore nothing. Fru...

    Jesus cursed the fig tree because it was full of leaves but had no fruit—it looked alive but bore nothing. Fruitfulness isn't measured by Sabbath attendance or religious performance. It's measured by whether lives are being transformed through your investment, whether someone is being discipled, whether your life is drawing others to Christ. If no one's life is changing because of yours, it's time to ask: Am I abiding in Him, or just performing for Him?

Read the heart of this message

When God said 'be fruitful and multiply,' He wasn't just talking about having children. He was talking about reproducing His character in others—filling the earth not with bodies, but with image-bearers who know Him, reflect Him, and help others do the same. Jesus' call to 'make disciples' wasn't launching something new; it was restoring something original. The proof that you are His disciple is that you bear fruit—not just leaves of religious activity, but real fruit that draws others closer to Christ.

Discipleship isn't a program. It's a posture—the way a Jesus-follower moves through the world. Jesus was strategic: He invested in twelve, poured deeply into three. We can't disciple everybody, but we can disciple one. The question isn't 'Do I have capacity to disciple the world?' but 'Who has God placed in front of me?' It might be a new believer, a struggling colleague, someone who's been absent from church for months. Discipleship happens in ordinary spaces—a late-night text, a smile, a meal shared, a note with a verse slipped to someone hurting.

God's heart is a Father's heart, always oriented toward increase. He's not building institutions; He's building a family, and families grow. When a life is transformed and that life begins transforming others, heaven breaks into applause. The harvest is ready. God isn't waiting on just more preachers—He's waiting on more disciples. Will you look around and ask: Who is God calling me to walk with? Who needs someone to invest in them the way someone once invested in me?

The Scriptures Pastor opened
  • GENESIS 1:28 · KJV
    And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
  • MATTHEW 28:19-20 · KJV
    Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
  • JOHN 15:8 · KJV
    Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
  • GALATIANS 5:22-23 · KJV
    But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
  • HABAKKUK 2:14 · KJV
    For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
If this spoke to you, also hear…