Mensa Otabil - What Kind of Fruit? (10/03/2025)
We've been discussing fruitfulness and started by addressing the fact that God has made the earth a fruitful place. Wherever we are, we can be fruitful. Then we talked about the notion that God has placed within us something we call the seed or the potential to be fruitful. Now we're continuing from there to discuss what kind of fruit to produce.
Genesis chapter 1, verse 24: "Then God said, 'Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth, each according to its kind.' And it was so." Our minds produce ideas, our hands manufacture things, our lips produce words, and our spirits produce morality and ethical behavior. These are some of the areas in which we can be fruitful and productive.
In the passage today, it states that everything produces after its kind. So if God places a seed within us, what kind will it produce? When a farmer wants to grow a crop, he plants a seed specific to that crop. If the farmer wants to cultivate corn, he plants corn seed. Why? Because the corn seed will produce corn fruit. Everything produces after its kind.
The fundamental idea is that when God imparts something within us, the potential we refer to as the seed will only produce after its kind. For example, if someone wants to create music, what seed must they sow? Of course, they can't sow corn or apple seeds expecting to get apples; they must produce from something within them that is musical—the musical gift or potential that God has given them. We produce after our kind. For a person to be a doctor, the seed of a doctor must be within them. For a person to be a nurse, the seed of a nurse must be present. For someone to become a pastor, the seed must be there.
Typically, we call the seed a calling—whether it is a calling, a gifting, a talent, or an ability. Regardless of what we call it, we mean that the person has the potential to become that thing. If a pastor has a calling, it reflects the potential to be a pastor. If a nurse has a calling, it reflects the potential to be a nurse. So everything produces after its kind. God has given each of us something within us; what He has planted will produce after its kind.
The issue sometimes arises when we possess something within us but desire to produce what someone else is creating—producing their kind—when we lack the seed for it. As a result, our lives become a meaningless pursuit, trying to mimic or imitate others. God has designed us so that each of us can excel somewhere. We may not all excel equally in the same field, but each one has a place of excellence they must pursue.
It's great to go to school and learn something; it provides training. However, it's better if your training aligns with your potential because, when you do that, you become fruitful. The seed God has given you and your training will be in agreement. Don't be discouraged. I know sometimes people ask, "What if I train for the wrong thing?" Most of the time, we don't end up going the wrong way. The reason is that the seed God has given you, the calling placed on you, regardless of the field, is so strong that it drives you without your conscious awareness.
It guides you, and you find that your aptitude, your thought patterns, and your passions—in addition to the things you gravitate toward—lead you one way or another to the place God has called you to be. Unless someone deliberately interferes with your development process and misguides you, you're likely to end up doing what God has called you to do. However, just going with what they say, going with the flow, you may find yourself where God has intended.
So the earth is a fruitful place. God has given us the potential, the seed, and whatever God has placed within us can produce what it is intended to produce. It will produce after its kind. So don't fear whether your life can be fruitful; it will be fruitful because God has invested so much in you.
Let us pray. Say with me: "Heavenly Father, help me fulfill the assignment for which You created me. I want to be the best for You." In Jesus' name, Amen and Amen. Yes, God wants you to be the best, and you will be. I'm Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.