Earlier in the same chapter of Matthew 6:9-13, is a familiar prayer known as the Lord’s Prayer. It goes like this: 

• “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.
• Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
• Give us this day our daily bread.
• And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
• And do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.
• For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen”. 

Pay special emphasis on, “Your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. Can you see, we can have all of the benefits of Heaven, right now! Heaven is a blessed place, and we don’t have to wait until we pass away to enjoy some of those benefits on earth. This is what abundant life is about, experiencing God’s blessings in our lives now.

Having said all of that, there is a principle that is important to remember, God can’t bless what He does not approve of! So, it is important to know what He does approve of. This brings to mind three verses:

1. Matthew 7:12, “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
2. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails…”.
3. Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control…”

FRUITFULNESS

So, how do I experience the abundant life; how do I enter into it? How will I know that I am on the right path? The key question you have to answer for yourself is “are you a fruitful member of God’s Kingdom”? Fruitfulness is the key to the abundant life or having more than enough. 

Jesus told many parables, stories, and illustrations using agricultural terms like seeds, wheat, tares, vines, grapes sowing, and reaping or harvesting. In essence, Jesus was talking about growing and maturing. In a nutshell, living Mathew 6:33 (“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you”) means that you are being fruitful, and being fruitful is the surest way into the blessings of God.

WE MUST BE FRUITFUL! 

God is looking for people who are holy and sanctified.

Col 1:9-12, “9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light”.

OBSTACLES TO FRUITFULNESS

Jesus promises us an abundant life if we are fruitful. So, what are those things that interfere with our being fruitful? The parable of the sower found in Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-20, and Luke 8:4-15. This parable makes it clear the obstacles to maturity.

Matthew 13 1-17, Parable of the Sower

Four categories of people exposed to the Kingdom Good News…

1. Seed by the wayside- 
2. Seed on the hard ground- 
3. Seed among the thorns- 
4. Seed in fertile ground- 100, 60, 30 fold increase… fruitfulness

The Parable of the Sower Explained

18 “Therefore hear the parable of the sower: 

19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. (the lie)

20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. (loses focus)

22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. (attractions and pleasures of the world)

23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” (hears the word and becomes a doer of the word)

Entering into the abundant life means being fruitful, which means to hear and do the word of God.