The Cause of Bearing Fruit: The Father's Loving and Forgiving Heart vs. the Savior's Shepherding and Seeking Spirit

 

The Cause of Bearing Fruit: The Father's Loving and Forgiving Heart vs. the Savior's Shepherding and Seeking Spirit

Introduction

According to the revelation of the Bible, the primary reason for fruit-bearing is not knowledge, gifts, eloquence, or methods, but possessing the Father's loving and forgiving heart and the Savior's shepherding and seeking spirit. Luke 15 unveils these two divine aspects: the Father receiving the prodigal son and the Shepherd seeking the lost sheep. Together they reveal God's way of gaining people and producing fruit for His kingdom and the building up of the church.

Comprehensive Comparison Table

Item	The Father's Loving and Forgiving Heart	The Savior's Shepherding and Seeking Spirit
Meaning	God's unconditional love, acceptance, and forgiveness toward sinners	Christ's active seeking, caring for, and shepherding of lost people
Source	God is love  (1 John 4:8)	The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10)
Representation in Luke 15	The father receiving the prodigal son	The shepherd seeking the lost sheep
Nature	Love, mercy, forgiveness, acceptance	Seeking, shepherding, nourishing, caring
Attitude toward People	Does not condemn	Does not give up
Function	Receives returning sinners	Brings back wandering sinners
Focus	Restoring relationship	Restoring condition
Motivation	Love for people	Concern for people
Expression	Embracing, forgiving, receiving	Visiting, caring, shepherding
Effect on the Gospel	Gives confidence to return	Creates opportunity to be saved
Result	Recovered sons	Recovered sheep
Goal	To gain children for God's family	To gain members for God's flock
Church Practice	Receiving people	Shepherding people
Contribution to Fruit-bearing	Causes people to turn back to God	Causes people to be practically gained
Danger if Lacking	Becomes legalistic and condemning	Becomes cold and inactive
Ultimate Outcome	Expresses the Father's heart	Carries out God's salvation
Key Scriptures	John 3:16       The Father's love Romans 5:8      God's love toward sinners Luke 15:4-7   The shepherd seeking the lost sheep Luke 15:8-10 The woman seeking the lost coin Luke 15:20-24            The father receiving the prodigal son Luke 19:10     Seeking and saving the lost John 4:4The Lord must pass through Samaria John 10:11    The Good Shepherd John 21:15-17            Shepherd My sheep Acts 20:28   Shepherd the church of God 1 Peter 5:2     Shepherd the flock of God  John 15:16            Bear remaining fruit

 

Spiritual Sequence and Relationship

Sequence	Spiritual Reality
1	The Father loves mankind
2	The Savior seeks the lost
3	The Savior shepherds them
4	People repent and turn
5	The Father forgives and receives
6	They enter God's family
7	They grow and shepherd others
8	The church bears fruit and multiplies

Spiritual Formula

The Father's Love
↓
The Savior's Seeking
↓
The Savior's Shepherding
↓
Human Repentance
↓
The Father's Acceptance
↓
Growth in Life
↓
Fruit-bearing and Multiplication

Spiritual Illustrations

Illustration	Father's Heart	Savior's Spirit
Family	A father welcoming home a prodigal son	An older brother searching for the lost one
Hospital	A doctor willing to heal	A nurse caring daily
Farm	Soil receiving seed	A farmer watering and tending
Mother and Child	Unconditional love	Daily care and nourishment
Sheepfold	Receiving sheep into safety	Seeking lost sheep

 

Spiritual Secret of Fruit-bearing

Unfruitful Condition	Fruit-bearing Secret
Condemning people	Receiving people
Demanding from people	Shepherding people
Managing people	Supplying life
Criticizing people	Caring for people
Waiting for people to come	Going to seek them
Emphasizing work	Emphasizing life
Emphasizing activities	Emphasizing personal contact
Emphasizing doctrine only	Emphasizing love and care

 

Biblical Examples

Example	Father's Heart	Savior's Spirit
Prodigal Son (Luke 15)	The father runs to receive him	The shepherd seeks the lost sheep
Zaccheus (Luke 19:1-10)	Salvation came to his house	Jesus purposely sought him
Samaritan Woman  (John 4)	The Lord accepted her despite her past	The Lord intentionally went to Sychar
Peter (John 21)	The Lord restored him	The Lord shepherded him through fellowship
Paul	God forgave a persecutor	Christ shepherded and perfected him

 

Practical Application Today

Area	Practice
Gospel Preaching	Contact people personally
Gaining New Ones	Focus on people, not programs
Home Meetings	Shepherd instead of requiring
Caring for Weak Saints	Supply life rather than condemn
Recovering Backsliders	Visit and seek them
Perfecting Saints	Support them in love
Bringing People to Salvation	Long-term care and companionship
Church Increase	Through shepherding rather than activities

 

Burden of the Ministry

Burden	Explanation
From Condemnation to Shepherding	Be shepherds, not judges
From Meetings to People	Meetings exist for people
From Work to Caring	Gain people before accomplishing tasks
From Preaching to Visiting	Practice personal shepherding
From Events to Relationships	Build long-term human connections
From Large Campaigns to Personal Gospel Work	Follow the Lord's example
From Knowledge to Love	Truth must operate through love

 

Prophesying Guidelines

1.      God's salvation originates from the Father's loving and forgiving heart.

2.      God's salvation is carried out through the Savior's shepherding and seeking spirit.

3.      Luke 15 reveals the complete picture of God's salvation.

4.      The Lord gains people through personal shepherding.

5.      Shepherding is the key to church increase.

6.      Love and shepherding are the spontaneous expression of divine life.

7.      When we have the Father's heart and the Son's spirit, fruit-bearing becomes spontaneous.

One-Sentence Prophesying Summary

Fruit-bearing depends not on our gifts, knowledge, or ability, but on possessing the Father's loving and forgiving heart and the Savior's shepherding and seeking spirit, through which people are gained, nourished, and brought into God's family.

Ultimate Conclusion

The Father's loving and forgiving heart is the source of salvation, and the Savior's shepherding and seeking spirit is the execution of salvation. When the church is filled with the Father's heart and the Son's shepherding spirit, lost sinners are recovered, believers are nourished, and the church naturally bears fruit, multiplies, and is built up as the Body of Christ for the fulfillment of God's eternal economy.

 

*Please refer to the 2026 Memorial Day Special Conference theme: The Urgent Need for a New Revival, Part One: Cooperating with the Lord to Bring a New Revival to End This Generation.