Born to Produce

By Dave A. Lewis

I am born to live, born to be fruitful, born to conquer, and born to win.

Born to Produce is a soul-searching, stocktaking, and thought-provoking brochure. It challenges our width and capacity that set us on a journey to find our reason for being. Destiny calls for us to consult with our manufacturer in order to reveal his original intent for our sacred creation.

We are so uniquely made with God-given talents and gifts printed in our DNA. The seed of greatness is planted in our hearts, ready to germinate and produce good fruit. Prayerfully, we seek to help facilitate your journey in becoming good stewards of the grace of God. We are blessed with talents and resources to fulfill our God-given assignments. Jesus, our nobleman, has dispensed to us his goods for us to do business on behalf of the kingdom of God.

This brochure will guide us, step-by-step, in producing from the right vine. Right vine produces right living, and right living produces right fruit; fruit that is profitable to all. We also seek to expose the cunning deceptions of Satan, who comes to kill, steal, and destroy. Those who are deceived by him will produce bad fruit.

Make no mistake: time is not on our side to linger and wait for some convenient season. We must maximize this moment and work diligently to trade with our God-given gifts and talents so as to give a good account of our stewardship. Born to Produce will stimulate your faith to stand on the authority of God’s word so that Christ may be formed in you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 17, 2021
• ISBN: 9781638742555

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Born to Produce

Dave A. Lewis

Copyright © 2021 by Dave A. Lewis

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Born to Produce

Subtle Deception

Born to Be Born Again

Producing from the Right Vine

Chosen to Produce

Producing the Fruit of the Spirit

Mountain-Moving Faith

Sowing in the Right Soil

The State of Work and Business

Produce or Else

To the body of Christ to whom I am moved and inspired to stimulate the seed of greatness hidden in the human heart so that no one will leave behind an unfinished task.

Acknowledgments

I feel humbled to express special thanks and praise to God the Father; Jesus Christ, his son; and the blessed Holy Spirit, who is responsible for this work. He constantly woos me to continue even when I lack the passion. I may have held the pen, but it is God who inspires me to write. Unto him belong glory, honor, and praise. Surely he is everything.

Special thanks to Ms. Cheryl Lewis for her dedication in critiquing and editing. Also to Ms. Sharmaine Lloyd, who assisted with proofreading.

To my beloved wife, Michelle, who is very supportive of this work. May the Lord of all grace, mercy, and peace bless and do well to these yokefellows.

Introduction

Born to live, born to succeed, born to triumph, and born to win. We are people born with a purpose. It is my desire that you will know the exceeding greatness of God’s power that is working in you. It is God at work in us, both to will and to do his good pleasure. We are born with greatness inside of us; this indescribable treasure in earthen vessels is now revealed through Jesus Christ. Truly, you are gifted.

My prayer is that you may use this book to help find your reason for being, to cultivate your life, and to facilitate the fulfillment of your God-given purpose. Creation speaks directly to God’s will and original intent. It reveals a God who made and formed all things with the ability to produce after their kind. We stand in awe to see God’s Word in operation as he has decreed and declared:

…Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds. And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:11–12 NIV)

Surely it was good indeed. It is truly amazing to understand the manifestation of divine providence. We saw an absolute God who made and created all things by the word of his power. With perfect wisdom, he set forth his mode of operation. He laid the foundations of the earth and made a perpetual provision for the products of the earth. They were all made to produce and bring forth fruit after their kind.

Through the ages, the same principles continued to reveal the original plan and purpose of God. In Noah’s day, the pattern of blessings were re-enacted when God told him, While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest…shall not cease… Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth (Genesis 8:22; 9:1 NKJV).

God’s covenant still stands today. The Psalmist reveals the blessedness of those who continually go forth bearing seeds for sowing: they shall come again with rejoicing, bringing his fruits with him. (Psalm 126:6).

It is the law of the seed in operation that reveals the principles of sowing and reaping. We’re God’s orchard—his trees of righteousness—the planting of the Lord born to produce good fruit; fruit that is profitable to all. I hope that this book will stir up your mind, dispel your ignorance, and provoke your thoughts to arise and sow seeds of love, joy, peace, kindness, mercy, forgiveness, gentleness, patience, and all goodness. These are fruits that are acceptable and beneficial to all.

May the eyes of your understanding be enlightened to understand God’s principle of success in sowing and reaping by taking the seed of your idea and bringing it to fruition. To whom much is given, much is required. The greater the gift is the greater the requirement.

Chapter 1

Born to Produce

Born to live, born to be fruitful, born to succeed, born to overcome, born to win, born to have dominion, born to survive, born to solve human problems, and born to die to be born again.

From childhood, I have grown to love and appreciate agriculture. I was born in a family where farming was one of the sources of livelihood. From a tender age, I was exposed to sowing and reaping; planting crops with the expectation of reaping a harvest.

My father, who was both a preacher of the gospel and a farmer, would wait with great expectation to see the fruitfulness of the crops he had planted and the reproduction of the cattle he reared. Oftentimes I would hear him say, The crop didn’t bear. That is to say, the ground did not produce the expected harvest he had desired. Essentially he was saying all his hope rested upon the fruitfulness of his field; otherwise, there will be nothing to reap and no profit to gain. In reality, all his labor would have been in vain.

Indeed, it is vain to sow without reaping and to plant without receiving a harvest. A harvest is defined as the gathering of crop(s) or the end product of what is sown. If no seed is sown, no fruit will bear; and hence, no harvest! Our ideas and possessions are our seeds, and if released or sown and cared for, they will produce our harvest.

What we produce will become our harvest.

To produce is to bring forward; to yield; to give birth; to make or manufacture; make longer; that which can be brought into view.

We are charged to manufacture, give birth, and bring into view the qualities of God’s grace. We are responsible to stretch ourselves to bring forward and utilize our God-given gifts and talents by taking the seed of our idea and bringing it to fruition. To whom much is given, much is required.

Production is the cry! Compete to survive!

Production is a widely used term that is used all over the world. Every company establishes its business on the principle of efficient production. Companies, nations, and people are working hard to manufacture its resources for survival and, ultimately, profits.

It is true that the future of any organization, company, or nation depends primarily on the stabilization and the growth of its economy. It is reported that billions of dollars are spent each year on raw materials, social programs, and technology to advance the human capital to build a healthy society.

Regardless of such huge expenditure, the cries of the human spirit continue to grow louder and louder—from the public to the private sectors: government organizations, schools, hospitals, companies, and other institutions. They’re being asked to produce and make themselves viable.

With the advancement of technology to improve productivity and human life, the world is slowly disintegrating into human deprivation, lack of morality, ethical problems, and social disorder. The call is urgent! We must produce and get it right before it’s too late.

According to human proficiency, mankind is capable of producing more than they’re able to consume. With this reality, people are expected to produce to continue their well-being and existence.

There is a God-kind of fruit that everyone must produce upon which our future depends. Every living thing produces whether good or bad. The manner of fruit that is produced is determined by its quality and not so much its quantity.

Hence, the nature of the fruit which is produced will either be accepted or rejected by God. Therefore there is no excuse or any reason for an individual not to produce good fruit; fruit that is worthy of righteousness to God and his fellowmen. The scripture says we should, Produce fruit in keeping with repentance (Matthew 3:8 NIV), and this is according to God’s will.

The fruit that is acceptable is a lifestyle that reflects an inward change. This change within is displayed by the good works produced outwardly.

The fruit distinguishes the kind.

Jesus declares, Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them (Matthew 7:17–20).

The illustration of this comparison of the fruit and its identification is the discovery of the tree. The fruit is a reflection according to the kind of tree. You cannot always distinguish trees by their bark and leaves or by the spreading of their branches; but by their fruits, you will definitely know them.

Christ insists upon the agreeableness and connectivity between the fruit and the tree. If you know what the tree is, you may know the fruit to expect. Never expect to gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles; it is not