by Mo Obayomi

Meet my friend, Mo. He was born in Nigeria but moved with his family to New York City as a teen. After experiencing years of crippling asthma and nearly dying from a severe attack of the condition, Mo recounts how God “suddenly and completely” healed him. The experience totally changed and redirected his life!
Mo and his wife moved to Tennessee three years ago, where he planted and now leads “His Holy Hill Church” in Murfreesboro. A mutual friend invited him to Timothy Network’s Fall dinner last October, and we’re now blessed to have him participate in our work.

During a recent circle meeting, Mo made a great point regarding the way we measure success in disciple making. As he put it,”There’s a difference between achieving ‘good results’ and in waiting on ‘God’s results.'” The point resonated, so I asked him to flesh it our further for inclusion in this month’s e-letter. (See below)

It’s Mo’s passion to become an effective disciple maker. I think we’ll be hearing more from him. – Mike Stroud

“Be fruitful, multiply, replenish the earth, subdue it and have dominion.” Genesis 1:28

“By this My father is glorified that you bear much fruit; so you will be my disciples.” John 15:8

The first words God spoke to humanity in the beginning was His blessing to be fruitful. We have been wired to be productive and every time we do not have corresponding results to our expectations, there are strong tendencies for dis-satisfaction. God’s plan for fruitfulness is in every aspect of our lives; family, business, career, ministry etc., We all naturally expect results as no one wakes up in the morning wishing failure; we all want to be successful.

Jesus echoed the same thing in John 15:8; we have been called to “be fruitful.” He even emphasized that fruitfulness glorifies God and it’s also a proof of being a disciple of Christ. It is very difficult to divorce fruitfulness from Christianity.

However, it is important to examine our approach to fruitfulness. In the sight of God, the process is equally as important as the product. We live in a performance-oriented generation. This is true both within and outside the church where everyone is “results crazy,” regardless of how the results are accomplished. It is important to ask, “What is God’s perspective?” Is He just impressed with what I produce irrespective of the process?

Consider Numbers 20:7-11 (NKJV)

“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 8 “Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals.” 9 So Moses took the rod from before the Lord as He commanded him.10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank.”

Moses was asked to speak to the rock to provide water for the Israelites; He angrily struck the rock and got the “good results” he expected – only with a compromised process! I am sure the people were excited to have their thirst quenched and perhaps hailed Moses as a deliverer. The evaluation was quite different where it mattered the most; the results were not achieved by God’s directive! If our fruitfulness is born out of disobedience, the results will be hollow. God’s results must be routed through God’s instructions. Whatever God has committed into your hands, it is imperative to build according to pattern. There may be pressure for performance from outside forces to produce quick results. It is important to patiently wait on the Lord, however, and promptly respond to His instructions. This is the only way we can have “God’s results.”

My prayer for you is that you will be fruitful in every endeavor. Most importantly, it will not just be “good Fruits” but really “God’s fruits” which are products of an obedient life.

Wednesday Morning Discipling Circle Co-Lead by Barry Edwards and Mike Stroud Left to right: Jerry Christiansen, Barry Edwards, James Adkins, and Mo Obayomi