But we are rooted in Christ. He will be the life our soul needs.
Look at what Colossians chapter 2, verses 6 to 7 says. It says this: "In the same way you received Jesus our Lord and Messiah by faith, continue your journey of faith, progressing further into your union with Him."
So, He says grow into your relationship. Become more in unison with Jesus Christ. Become more connected to the vine and grow in your union with Jesus Christ.
The same way you want to grow in your career, the same way you want to grow your business, the same way you want to grow your family, the same way you want to grow and go into a better neighborhood and want a better life for yourself, in the same way, you need to grow in your union with Jesus Christ.
It shouldn't be the thing that we neglect the most because we give attention to all other things but the union in Christ, which is the most important thing we neglect. We say, "When I have a chance, I'll get there." It should take priority in our life.
If it's not a priority, if life in Christ is not a priority to the church, that means the church is not connected to the vine. The branch is not connected to the vine. It should be a priority.
It continues to say, "Your spiritual roots go deeply into His life as you are continually infused with strength, encouraged in every way, for you are established in the faith you have absorbed and enriched by your devotion to Him."
Your spiritual roots go deeply into Him, and if it's not there yet, then it's time. Today is the time where we grow more our spiritual roots so that when the storms of this life come, when the challenges of this life come, when the devil goes to the Lord and says, "Listen, give me permission to challenge this one because I want to see how deep their faith is in you," then the Lord would say, "Ah, don't waste your time with this one. This one is rooted in me. Rather go with those ones there."
So that when the storms of life come, we would not fear because we know where we are rooted.
We would not fear when the business is not doing well and when the economy of the world is not doing well, and if the economy of the country is not doing well. Because I am rooted, my substance doesn't come from the government. My substance doesn't come from the economy of this world. My substance doesn't come from things of this world, but my substance comes from Jesus Christ.
And as long as my relationship with Christ is fine, and as long as I'm rooted in my relationship with Christ, come hell or high water, we will be victorious in everything we do. Hallelujah! Because we are rooted in Christ, our substance is formed from Him.
Hallelujah! We continually progress further into our union with Him. Our spiritual roots go deeply within Him.
So that's the role of the vine. We need to be connected to the vine.
Now, let's go to point number two. He talks about the role of the Father.
Now, remember, He said the parameters: "I am the vine; the Father is the vine dresser." That's the parameters in which we now operate.
He goes further and talks about the role of the Father in John 15:2. He says, "Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes that it may bear more fruit."
That's the one thing. Now, in the English Standard Version, that's that translation.
Look at the Passion Translation. What it says there is, "He cares for the branches connected to me by lifting and propping up the fruitless branches and pruning every fruit branch to yield a greater harvest."
Now, the Passion Translation adds something that I couldn't find in any other translation. So, what I normally do is, in an instance like this, I go and research what the custom of the day was pertaining to what the text is talking about.
Because I need to understand this. Because once I understand, I can explain it to someone to understand it better as well. It's just part of public interpretation.
Don't just go in revelation. "Lord, what are you saying?" God gave us a mind to apply to the word of God so that whatever I'm saying here, there's evidence of it in the word of God.
Sometimes we hear a lot of preachers saying things that you can't find in the word of God.
So, I'm explaining to you the process of how I go about this.
Now, usually when the potential text comes up, I go and research to see what the custom of the day was pertaining to what the text is talking about.
Then, once that is established, I understand the custom of the day, how they would prune vines and work the wine dressing and all these things. Then I would test whether this is in line with what I've learned.
Now, is it in line with the character, the personality, the lifestyle, and the teaching of Jesus and the teaching of the early church?
So, that's my litmus test. I need to test what I've learned, whether it's by revelation or whether it's by reading commentaries. I need to test this to see whether this is aligned with the character of Jesus, the character of God, the personality, the lifestyle, and the teaching of Jesus and the teaching of the early church.
Now, in this case, it was true. It is aligned, and I'll explain to you now.
And only then, when it is aligned, I will share the information with you. But if it's not aligned, I would simply not even mention it to you, no matter how impressive it looks on paper, because I cannot prove that what I'm saying is the truth.
So, John explains now, back to the text. John explains two things here when we put these two texts together.
These two texts: number one, he explains, if firstly in the ESV, we see one text says that it takes the fruitless branches away.
And secondly, in the Passion Translation, he lifts them up.
Now, when I test this statement in the Passion Translation against the character of God and Christ, and I do the litmus test both in the Old and in the New Testament, then I see that He is a God who doesn't just cut off things but gives chances after chances after chances.
We look at the Old Testament, how Israel messed up so many times, and He would give a chance, and He'll give a chance.
We see the nation of Israel making things right with Him, getting a chance, and things would come right. And they would backslide again, and God is slow to anger and is rich in love.
The process would happen again. They would come back. God would raise up a judge. The judge would save them. Salvation would come to Israel. They would live soft lives. They would forget about the Lord their God. They would backslide again.
He does this until what I would assume His patience runs out completely and allows them to be captured.
What usually happens, according to the Old Testament, is He becomes quiet. He doesn't talk to the nation of Israel anymore for hundreds of years. The voice of God would be quiet.
We see in the New Testament the same thing. And yet the same thing of how people are mocking God and going against everything that God did, and yet still He sent His Son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.
Those who do not accept Him initially, He gives them many chances, even on their deathbed, to make the choice for Him.
He keeps on knocking. He keeps on seeking. He keeps on asking. He keeps on pursuing. He keeps on, no matter how many times we were sitting here, have rejected Him, have rejected Him when He was knocking and seeking and asking.
He pursued us relentlessly. And those who do not accept Him, He will go on with us until His second coming when it's too late.
When we hear the trumpets blow, it will be too late to say, "Lord, I give my life to You," because we had all the chances.
So, when I look at this, it tells me that there's a process to which the vine dresser dresses his vines before He finally cuts them off.
There's a process before you completely cut off all these branches that do not bear the right fruit. He wants to make sure the vine dresser has done everything in His power to help these vines bear fruit before He finally cuts them off.
And so, even with our lives as well, that God is so gracious and just that even because we are in Him, and there are areas and things in our life that do not bear fruit, He goes to the extreme to help us so that this area can bear fruit before He cuts those things out of our lives.
Sometimes it means we have to go through a painful season. Sometimes it means we have to go through a disappointing season. Sometimes it means things don't work out the way they're supposed to work out.
But I can tell you this today, that Romans 8:28 says that all things work together for the good of those who love Him and trust Him.
You need to trust the vine dresser while He's dressing you and pruning you because He wants you to bear fruit in that area of your life.
Don't run away from the vine dresser. Don't resent the vine dresser because you are going through a time of pain, because you are going through a time of loss, because you are going through a time where things aren't going according to the plans that are established for you.
But I can tell you this now, as God is my witness through His word, that the vine dresser knows what He's doing.
And you need to have faith knowing that your Father is in control. Your Father knows what He's doing, and your Father will never leave you nor forsake you.
But because your Father wants to see His Son in you, He has to prune you.
That's why He talks about the passage in Greek that says this: that He takes up to Himself every fruitless branch.
So, usually, they are on the floor. What they do is they pick it up, and then you see these branches. It's quite short.
So, these branches would have been on the floor, so He picks it up to Himself, and then He cuts them so that they can stand up straight.
So, the Greek says He takes up to Himself every fruitless branch. He doesn't remove these branches, but He takes them to Himself as the wise and loving farmer.
He lifts them up off the ground to enhance their growth.
Now, when they are off the ground, the sun will get hold of them, and then the sun will do its thing, and science will happen as God ordained it.
And then hopefully, they would start to bear fruit.
So, the lesson we learn here is that in Christ's endless love, God the Father comes and He picks us up and moves us to His Son when we are going through a place where we need to bear fruit.
Because the Son is the vine, we need to be moved closer to the vine. We need to be plugged into the vine so that we can have the sustenance of the vine.
So many times, we make the mistake of thinking that God has left us. The devil will come and tell you, "Ah, this God of yours, you did this and this and this wrong, and that's why you are paying the price now. He's punishing you."
That is not the case. That is not the case.
Yes, we bear consequences of our actions. We might see it as punishment, but it's not punishment.
What happens is that He is just the vine dresser, which is the Father. He's just moving us into the sun, closer to the vine, so that the sustenance from the vine, the juice, the minerals can come into us as the branch so that we can bear fruit.
Because He wants us to obey the fruit.
We see this even in so many examples in the Bible. We are a people of second chances. We cannot even count anymore how many chances the Lord has given us in our own disobedience and fruitlessness.
We even have the audacity to say, "Even if only, Lord, You can get us through these things."
And we make all these sorts of promises: "I won't do this, and I won't do that, and I will do this, and I will do that, and I'll go to church every Sunday, and I'll worship in the church, and I'll take up a ministry in church, and I'll start giving my tithe, then I'll start doing this."
We make all these kinds of promises.
But let's also heed to the warning this morning that a time is coming when He won't be lifting those fruitless branches up into the sun anymore.
Because He saw that these branches are not carrying fruit anymore.
So, what is He going to do? He's simply going to cut them off because they take energy from the vine. Nothing happens with it.
For those of you who have fruit trees at home, same principle. If you see this branch is not carrying anything and you've tried, you cut it off because it takes too much energy.
And then let the tree rather focus the energy on where the fruit is so that you can have a good harvest.
He will simply take them off.
So, we need to heed to the warning of being fruitless.
He will simply, after He has tried everything He could, He will simply take them and cut them off and focus on the branches that bear fruit.
Just as a gardener prunes a plant, removing dead or unproductive branches to encourage healthy growth, our Father God prunes our lives, cutting away sinful habits, worldly attachments.
He cuts it off, self-centeredness that shapes us. He cuts it off to shape us into the fruitful disciples that we need to be when it comes to Jesus Christ.
Or better yet, He does this to shape us into His image.
Hebrews talks about what does a father that loves his children do? He disciplines them.
So, don't think God doesn't love you because you are going through a time of discipline.
But rather know that because there's a time of discipline in your life, not necessarily because you did something wrong, but just to be disciplined.
The fact that you are going through a time of discipline in your life, see it as the Father loving you, caring about you. Hence why He disciplines those He loves.
Hallelujah!
The same could apply to either pruning or cleansing.
Then there's a second point within this point where He talks about, then John says that the gardener prunes every fruit-bearing branch that it can produce much more fruit.
Now, the word for prunes is the same word translated in cleanses. He cleanses, He cleans up, He sanctifies.
Thank you!
The same would apply to either pruning or cleansing. Even in Greek, it talks about saying to Frank.
So, the vine dresser cleans up the fruit-bearing vine so that it will bear more fruit.
So, even if you think you are right and you are good with God, He's still dressing you. He's still cleansing you because He wants more of a harvest out of you.
He wants more of His harvest in you.
Hallelujah!
He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
He lovingly tends to His vineyards, which is us.
He prunes the branches. He removes anything and everything that hinders growth and fruitfulness.
This pruning process may involve challenging circumstances. In fact, it does involve challenging circumstances or trials in our lives, but it is ultimately for our benefit.
So, what I always do is when I go through a time of pruning, I start with the ending mind. By the time I realize, "Hey, things are not like I would think," I say, "Lord, what is Your purpose with this? Why is this thing happening?"
And as soon as He talks, I always have peace that it's in His hands.
And then I let go. I stop fighting. I say, "Ah, God, do You. I will come. I will follow."
And usually, I don't have to write the exam over again because I don't like writing exams.
Hallelujah!
So, if God didn't even spare to discipline His own, then He surely wouldn't even spare us from being pruned so that His fruit can live in our lives.
Let's go to the final point: abiding in Christ for fruitfulness.
This is very, very, very beautiful.
He says, "You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you."
You are already clean. This is Jesus talking here.
And through the word I have spoken to you, in verse 3, Jesus reveals the key to bearing abundant fruit.
He reveals the key to having a harvest, a successful—not a missed harvest, but to have a successful harvest every time.
Excuse me.
He says that every time, He says, "Through the word of God, Jesus cleans and purifies and prunes us."
Abiding in Christ requires a deep personal relationship with Him, rooted in His teachings and guided by His Spirit.
And that's why you will always hear me and every preacher that we train in this assembly preach about Christ.
Because we understand the importance that it is that our church needs to be rooted in His teachings, guided by His Spirit.
It is in this abiding that we find true purpose and fulfillment in Christ.
Because we are rooted in Him, His word cleanses us.
How does His word cleanse us? Because we now change our behavior after learning what we need to do and what we don't need to do.
We apply His word in our life, and when we apply the word of Christ in our life, we become more holy.
We become a disciplined people. We become a pruned people.
And that's how His word cleanses us.
Because the deeper I'm rooted in Christ, the more I know of His word, the better I get to know Him through His word.
The more I repent of what I'm doing wrong because that is not who I am anymore.
The old me dies more and more, and the new life in Christ—in other words, Christ's word is now in me, and so His life is in me, and so He lives through me.
Now, that's what happens when we go.
When we bring harvest, John chapter 13, verse 10 says, "Jesus said to him, 'You are already clean.'"
Now, just a few verses previously, you've been washed completely, and you just need your feet to be cleansed.
But that can't be said of all of you, for Jesus knew which one was about to betray Him.
He was talking to Peter there when Peter said, "No, but you know, let me—how can you wash me?"
And Jesus said, "You are already clean because they did what He told them to do."
The word Ephesians chapter 5, verse 26 says, "To make us holy and pure, cleansing us through the showering of pure water of the word of God."
The word of God is the cleansing agent.
The word of God is the one that takes the stains away.
The word of God—not the prophets, not the apostles, not the man of God, not the woman of God, not this, all these titles, the bishop, and however it is—the word of God that has the ability to clean His people.
The word of God!
Abiding in Christ, once I'm abiding in Christ through His word, His word automatically begins to cleanse me like never before.
The word of God condemns sin. It inspires holiness. It promotes growth, and it reveals powerful victory.
It is in the word.
So, in other words, whenever I am going, as a born-again believer, whenever I am going through a trying time, I need to abide in Christ more and abide in Him by pursuing Him through His word so that His word can speak to me through His word, the written word.
And He can edify me, and I can understand why I am going through what I'm going through.
Abiding in Christ!
Hallelujah!
It is important to apply the word of God in our lives.
Just as a branch draws its sustenance from the vine, we draw strength, our wisdom, our purpose from Jesus Christ through His written word.
Don't let anyone tell you anything else.
Through the word is the ultimate authority for spiritual life here on Earth.
Not the words of the person preaching, not the words of the apostle or the prophet, even if he can tell you your ID number and what's in your fridge and how many chickens you have in the village at home.
It's not his word.
It's not here that he has the authority.
It's the word of God that has the authority.
We abide in Christ through prayer.
We abide in Christ through scripture.
We abide in Christ through fellowship with other believers.
We are connected to the source of life itself, and His life, the life of the vine, flows through us, producing through us and in us the fruit of the Spirit, the harvest of the Spirit.
Hallelujah!
Are you with me?
I want to conclude.
The metaphor of Jesus as the true vine teaches us that our sustenance, our growth, and our fruitfulness can only be found in Christ Jesus, nowhere else.
Just as a branch cannot survive or bear fruit apart from the vine, we must abide in Christ to experience His transformative power in our lives.
We cannot live this life without Jesus.
We can argue as much as we can, but at the end of the day, He's coming again, and whatever He said will be true.
Let us remain firmly rooted in Him, allowing Him, as difficult as it might seem, to prune away anything that hinders our growth and embracing His word as the source of our cleansing and nourishment.
As we abide in Christ, we will experience the joy of bearing fruit that brings glory to God and blesses those around us.
They will enjoy the harvest. They will want to know, "How can I bring forth a harvest like that?"
May we seek to abide in Him daily, knowing that apart from Him, we can do nothing of lasting value.
Let us surrender our lives to Jesus again, the true vine, and experience the abundance of life that He promises us in His word.
And so, I'm not going to make an altar call this morning.
In fact, I'm going to challenge you.
I'm going to give you homework and challenge you.
Those of you who are going through something, those of you who know of someone who's going through something, whether it's a friend, a family member, whoever it might be at this very moment.
Obviously, we will pray for you in our personal prayers itself, but this week, encourage those people to go and abide in Christ.
Encourage those people to go and abide in the word of Christ.
Encourage those people, even if it's you yourself going through something.
I encourage you. I challenge you. I dare you to go and abide in Christ through His word, through prayer, through communion with Christ, and see how He delivers you by letting you understand what He is currently doing and why He is allowing what He's doing in your life at this very moment.
So that we can connect to Him, reconnect to Him.
He can cleanse us more, and we can bring forth the harvest that He wants us to bring forth.
Stand with me, and I will pray, and then we can go home and do the homework that God promises us.
Father, we come to You in the name of Jesus.
Lord, You are the vine; the Father is the vine dresser. We are the branches.
Sometimes the wind comes and blows the branch. Sometimes animals would come in the vineyard and hurt the branches.
Sometimes sickness or disease would come, sit on the branch, and avoid the branches from bearing fruit because it disconnects the branch from the vine.
But Lord, this morning, I bring each and every branch of Yours here before Your throne this morning.
Lord, those areas that are not bringing forth a harvest, that are not carrying fruit, there's no fruit of the Spirit.
Lord, I pray that You would come and that You would discipline us and that You would prune us so that we can carry the fruit of the Spirit, so we could bring forth the harvest of the fruit of the Spirit in Jesus' name.
Lord, I pray that You would give us the strength. I pray You give us the boldness that we would not run away and be angry because of the work of the vine dresser in our lives.
But Lord, may we embrace the vine dressing.
May the presence of the vine dresser give us peace because we know that the vine dresser knows what's best for the vine, and the vine dresser will do what He needs to do in order for the vine to carry a harvest.
Father, we don't want to be a generation that avoids being disciplined by You.
We don't want to be a generation that runs away from the vine dresser.
But Lord, let us be a generation that embraces the discipline of the Father.
Let us be a generation that embraces walking, being pruned by the vine dresser, Lord, because our purpose and our priority is to bring forth a harvest by Your Spirit.
Lord, may Your life flow through us.
Reconnect us this week again with Your Spirit, Lord.
Reconnect us again with the vine, Lord, so that we, as branches, can bear fruit in season and out of season.
We bless Your name, Lord.
We pray that each person that is going through something may they understand what You are doing in their lives from this point forward.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Amen!
Let's give Jesus a round of applause, family!
on Nov 05, 2023
