Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be

my disciples. John 15:8

How to Diagnose Barrenness in the Church
One way to diagnose barrenness is to really understand it based on how
the dictionary defines it. If you apply these definitions to your church, you
will know whether you are barren or not. God will show you if a spirit of
barrenness is in operation.
Let us now look at the dictionary definitions of barrenness and see how
they apply to ministry.
Twenty Definitions of Barrenness
1. To be barren means to be unfruitful.
2. To be barren means to be sterile.
3. To be barren means to be childless, heirless and issueless.
4. Barrenness means you are non-productive.
5. To be barren means to be deficient in production.
6. Barrenness means you are not conceiving at all or producing at all.
7. A barren person is someone who produces in very small quantities.
8. A barren land is a wasteland.
9. Barren trees do not produce the normal fruit.
10. Barrenness speaks of bleakness.
11. To be barren, is to be depleted.
12. To be barren, is to be deserted.
13. Barrenness speaks of dryness.
14. A barren thing can be described as not being copious.
15. A barren land is a scanty land.
16. Barrenness is sometimes dullness.
17. A barren individual does not produce after his kind.
18. Barrenness speaks of wanting or needing the power of conception.
19. Barren places are impoverished.
20. Barren places are un-tillable.
Let us now look at the symptoms of barrenness within the church context.
Examine your ministry and see whether barrenness exists.
Barrenness in the Church
Barrenness can be said to exist in a church if any of the following exists:
1. If there is no growth in the number of your church members.
2. If there are no converts, or no growth in the number of converts.
3. If there is no growth in church attendance.
4. If there is no growth in the number of full- time staff.
5. If there is no baptism, or no growth in the number of people baptized.
6. If there is the absence of healings and miracles.
7. If there is no growth in the number of leaders in the church.
8. If there is no increase in the knowledge of God.
9. If there is no growth in the depth of relationships.
10. If there is no growth in the number of visions and dreams given by the
Holy Spirit or none at all.
11. If there is no programme to send out missionaries or, no increase in
the number of missionaries sent out.
12. If there is no growth in the finances of the church.
13. If there is no increase in the number of Scriptures you know.
14. If there is no growth in your experience in the ministry.
15. If there is the absence of or, no growth in the outreaches of the
church.
16. If there is no growth in the length and depth of your prayer or no
prayer at all.
17. If there is no increase in challenges and mountains to overcome.
18. If there is no challenge and inspiration to a greater vision.
19. If there is no growth in understanding.
20. If there is no growth in fellowships and branches.
Now that you have diagnosed the problem, receive the prophecy of the
Lord for your ministry! Believe that these words are coming to pass in
your life!
Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry
aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the
desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD. Enlarge
the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine
habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;
For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed
shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.
Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for
thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy
youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.
For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy
Redeemer the Holy One of Israel;
The God of the whole earth shall he be called. For the LORD hath called
thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth,
when thou wast refused, saith thy God.
For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I
gather thee.
In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting
kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.
Isaiah 54:1-8
Jonathan Togonon
New Life Harvest Community
Sermon • Submitted 7 months ago
0 ratings · 215 views
Share
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
View more →
Intro
Text - Galatians 4.26-27
Galatians 4:26–27 NKJV
26 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.

27 For it is written: “Rejoice, O barren, You who do not bear! Break forth
and shout, You who are not in labor! For the desolate has many more
children Than she who has a husband.”
Title - The Cure for Barrenness
The Problem of Barrenness
What is “barrenness”
barrenness is infertility; the inability to produce;
barrenness was considered a tragedy, a big misfortune, and a curse in
Bible days
a barren womb is considered a dead womb.
It cannot produce a child to continue the name/life of a family
ex - Abraham’s body and Sarah’s womb were considered dead at their age
barrenness is worse than being “unfruitful” - it is a condition similar to being
dead
unfruitfulness - can be resolved by careful farming
good soil - by cultivation
good seed - by choosing the best seed
good attitude -
barrenness - needs life; needs a miracle;
a barren land cannot be cured by cultivation
Spiritual barrenness is a big tragedy
We should never take it lightly.
Indications of barren Christians
a powerless testimony - when your testimony is despised and spurned
a stagnant knowledge of the truth - when you are not growing in your
understanding of Bible truths
a useless/non-functioning life - when your life have no useful function in the
body of Christ
a defiled Christian life - when you have been influenced by worldly
principles and ideas
The Cure to Barrenness
Ideally, no Christian should be spiritually barren because he/she has the
Spirit in him/her.
It is like Canaan, the “Land of Milk and Honey.”
Deuteronomy 11:11–12 NKJV
11 but the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and
valleys, which drinks water from the rain of heaven,

12 a land for which the Lord your God cares; the eyes of the Lord your God
are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year.
Deuteronomy 7:12–14 NKJV
12 “Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and
keep and do them, that the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant
and the mercy which He swore to your fathers.

13 And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless
the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new
wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock,
in the land of which He swore to your fathers to give you.
14 You shall be blessed above all peoples; there shall not be a male or
female barren among you or among your livestock.
But when it happens, we need to find the root cause in order to find the
cure.
The cure to barrenness depends on the type of barrenness that is going on
in one’s life
generally, barrenness are of 2 categories
first, those that God uses to serve a purpose in His plans; this is entirely in
the hand of God
second, those that cannot be cured without the proper action on our part
Questions
Types of Barrenness
1./ Sarah type of barrenness
God is waiting for the right time to open the womb and make it fruitful
however, the person involved must be actively living in faith
Examples
Sarah herself - she gave birth to Isaac at exactly God’s time Genesis 18.10
Genesis 18:14 NKJV
14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to
you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”
Manoah’s wife - she gave birth to Samson at exactly God’s season
Elizabeth - she gave birth to John (the Baptist) at the right time
The CURE - just wait for God’s time
Do what God tells you to do
be there when God does His work
2./ Rebekah type of barrenness
God is waiting for someone to claim the promise
Example
Isaac - he pleaded with the LORD Genesis 25.21
Genesis 25:21 NKJV
21 Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren;
and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
Isaac’s situation was different from his father’s
he was not an old man
The CURE - plead with God; PRAY
"take God at His Word”
Isaac claimed a promise of God, and God granted his prayer
3./ Hannah type of barrenness
God is waiting for a commitment, a vow
Example
Hannah - she made a vow to God 1 Samuel 1.10-11
1 Samuel 1:10–11 NKJV
10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in
anguish.

11 Then she made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look
on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget
Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will
give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon
his head.”
unlike Isaac’s prayer, Hannah did not receive answer from God until she
was desperate enough to make commitment before God.
The CURE - your commitment; when God answers your prayer, what will
you do for God in return?
commit - make a promise to do something
desperate people make promises
Hannah was desperate, but her promise was faithful and true
The Firstfruits of the Barren Womb
What you do with the firstfruit is important to God.
The firstfruits of the barren womb have special roles in the plan of God
Notice - all children born by barren women served God in special ways
Isaac - he became the seed of Abraham in the natural
Jacob - he produced the 12 tribes of Israel
Joseph - he became the savior of their family and the whole region in a
time of great famine
Samson - he judged Israel
Samuel - he became a judge, a prophet, a kingmaker
John the baptist - he became the forerunner of Christ
The firstfruits belong to God
Exodus 13:1–2 NKJV
1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

2 “Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the
children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine.”
Numbers 18:15 NKJV
15 “Everything that first opens the womb of all flesh, which they bring to the
Lord, whether man or beast, shall be yours; nevertheless the firstborn of
man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall
redeem.
The firstfruits must be set apart for God
Galatians 4:30 NKJV
30 Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the bondwoman
and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of
the freewoman.”
Isaac was separated from the rest of Abraham’s children
4./ Idleness type of barrenness
God is waiting for your action

Signs of a barren Christian life

a powerless testimony
2 Peter 1:5–8 NKJV
5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue,
to virtue knowledge,

6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance

godliness,

7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.

8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor
unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
a stagnant knowledge of the truth
a useless/non-functioning life
a defiled Christian life - influenced by worldly principles and ideas
2 Timothy 3:5–7 NKJV
5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people
turn away!
6 For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives
of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts,

7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
barren - grk. ARGOS; useless; having no beneficial use; incapable of
functioning usefully
having a form of godliness but without power
ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth
Example - the fig tree parable: it was the only one in the field that would not
bear fruit; the problem was not the ground, but the itself.
a Christian SHOULD BE fruitful in his/her understanding
useless/unused in the kingdom
2 Peter 1:5–8 NKJV
5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue,
to virtue knowledge,

6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance

godliness,

7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.

8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor
unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
barren - grk. ARGOS, useless, idle, incapable of functioning usefully
Christians who do not function to become useful in the body of Christ are
unfruitful
Titus 1:10–12 NKJV
10 For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers,
especially those of the circumcision,

11 whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households,

teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain.

12 One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil
beasts, lazy gluttons.”
Idleness is a sickness of spirit; a disease of attitude
Cretans are said to be “lazy gluttons”
Titus 1:13–16 NKJV
13 This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be
sound in the faith,

14 not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn
from the truth.

15 To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and
unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled.

16 They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being
abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.
its cure lies in the person himself
Idle/barren Cretans are “defiled”
The CURE - time for some action
they have been influenced by non-apostolic ideas, making them useless in
the body of Christ
2 Peter 1.5 - giving all diligence
Proverbs 4:23 NKJV
23 Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.
2 Timothy 2:15 NKJV
15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not
need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Hebrews 4:11 NKJV
11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according
to the same example of disobedience.
Paul warned Titus not to appoint Cretan elders who were insubordinate and
“idle” talkers
Example - defiled/contaminated soils
Conclusion
Back to the text -
The Church is the freewoman from heaven
The joy of the church is her children - not her material possessions.