“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. John 15:1-8 NKJV
Jesus is my Master and I am a student – a MATHETES – a disciple. Jesus’ school of the Word and the Spirit is open 24/7/365, and the classes are individualized. Lately we have been working the lessons of HONOR ALL MEN (1 Peter 2:17). I believe people die prematurely from a lack of honor, and what they are dying from is a broken heart. Cultures that worship youth and beauty kill their old, weak and infirm from lack of honor; whereas, cultures that honor their elders, the elders tend to live longer and happier lives, and all are blessed. The beauty of that culture is that all people get older, and honor sustains all from their birth to the grave. When honor is the culture of our EKKLESIAS, our brethren from birth through their passing to glory live longer, happier lives. Honor must be the culture of the Church…
I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser…
The way of the Master is set forth for us here in the analogy of the vine, the vinedresser and the branches. As we study this our hearts should be drawn back to Ephesians, where we are told that Jesus is the Head of the body, and that we are members of that Body. As members of the Body we have eternal life, so the consequences here cannot refer to the loss of eternal life, but rather to rewards and effectiveness.
Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
Have you ever wondered why ministers and ministries fail? As I was reading John, I was arrested by this statement. Jesus says that ABBA takes away the branches that don’t bear fruit. Psalms tells us that believers are to be bearing fruit even in old age.
Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing, Ps 92:13-14 NKJV
Believers and ministries, and congregations are to bear fruit, and they are to go through pruning processes continually so as to bear more fruit. The pruning process removes that which is dead or worthless so the whole person, or ministry or church can flourish. What’s involved in the pruning process? In the pruning process we are looking for two things: cleansing and purifying.
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-9 NKJV
The pruning is going to involve the confrontation with and the confession of sin. The lessons involving honoring all men began with the Holy Spirit using an article like this one to confront my lack of honor. The article asked, “How can you lead people to the Lord if you despise them?” Honest question. The question led to confession, forgiveness and cleansing. The cleansing process is also mentioned in Psalms. The psalmist sought God with his whole heart and hid the Word in his heart, that he wouldn’t be defiled by sin.
How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. 10 With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! 11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You. Ps 119:9-11 NKJV
This confirmed what Jesus said next…
3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
The Spirit of God can do an amazing work of cleansing us when we pray much in tongues. He will burn up the worthless things in our lives as you allow the Holy Spirit fire to burn. He will help you put to death the things of the flesh by the mighty fire of the Spirit of God. Compare Matthew three with Romans eight. Are you ready to burn?
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Matt 3:11-12 NKJV
Therefore, brethren, we are debtors — not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Rom 8:12-13 NKJV
We can choose how we receive the Word that has been sown in our hearts. Jesus detailed four responses to the spoken Word.
“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. 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. 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. 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.” Matt 13:18-23 NKJV
At our church in Tucson, when the pastor is preaching, a QR code appears in the screen above him inviting people who have questions about the sermon to text in their questions. Brilliant! We don’t want to be ‘wayside’ folks who don’t understand. If you have questions about what I write, respond in the ‘reply’ to this email. I love questions, and even contrary opinions. Right now, ask the Lord to help you remove the ‘stones’ and ‘thorns’ in your heart – He knows what they are and He can show you – so that you can be ‘good ground’ for the seeds of the Word to germinate and grow in you. Do you understand?
4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
What does it mean to abide in Him? Two years ago, we bought a house in Arizona to be close to our children and grandchildren. It could have been quaintly described as a ‘fixer-upper.’ We moved in January with no furniture and the heater in the house was not working yet. Brrr! We have spent much of the last two years fully moving into and ‘abiding’ in that house. To abide in Him is to let Jesus fully move into every part of your house. His pictures need to on your walls and His toothbrush needs to be in your bathroom. Anything that takes away from His abiding in your house needs to move out! No home can have two masters…are you hearing me?
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
To abide in Him is the way of the Master. Cultures that honor fathers are very concerned that each member of the family is taught and trained to walk in the ways of the father. This is very wise, as the fathers have gained wisdom from their fathers whom they honored and then pass down that accumulated wisdom to each member of the family. This process is very wise as it imitates the relationship of YESHUA(Jesus) to ABBA, and then YESHUA to us. When we abide in this relationship then we have the power to do anything. Do you believe that? One of the great steps in the pruning process is to honestly evaluate what I truly believe and then compare that to the Word. If what I believe does not agree with the scope of the Word, then throw it out and seek new understanding. I’ve had to change almost everything I was taught in Bible college from a doctrinal perspective. If I had held on to the old stuff, I might have been a branch thrown in the fire!
If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
This is what happens many times to Christian leaders. They don’t lose their salvation but they lose their effectiveness and are disqualified.
But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. 1 Cor 9:27 NKJV
Listen to me. There are five levels of Christian growth – baby, young child, teenager, adult and father or mother – and many stages that must be mastered at each level. At each stage, and certainly at each level, ABBA reveals a different side of Himself to you. The God you loved at the new birth level and baby level will be quite different than the God you know and love as an adult or a spiritual parent…and you must change, adapt and grow. Ministers who won’t grow and won’t abide in Him at their new level of spiritual growth, will be cast out and disqualified, not from salvation, but their effectiveness will be over!
The way of the Master is serious. Exciting, adventurous, fun…but serious!
If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
Of all the gods and religions of the world – they are all frauds – our God is the only one who says, “You pray, you believe, I will answer your prayer specifically.” I know a couple who were childless for twenty years and they prayed faithfully for twins. Finally, ABBA sent me to help them with their faith – He does that for all of us…He calls them ‘intercessors’ – and each year on November tenth we celebrate the birth of the Twins who are now eight years old. Just this last weekend the ‘girl twin’ spiritually rocked the conference she was in with her parents and brother when ABBA showed her what the angels were doing, as she wept. Yes, when you abide in Him, when you walk in the way of the Master, you can ask what you will and it shall be done for you.
By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
As we walk in the way of our Master, as true students, true disciples, we will bear much fruit. If you haven’t been bearing much fruit, you may need to make adjustments in how you are walking in the way of the Master. I try to teach my students to discern how much time they need to spend praying in tongues six days a week to effectively walk in the power of God – it’s an individual thing – then making it a priority to do it. We all have twenty-four hours daily. When we make excuses, they only reveal our priorities. Leave your schedule at the foot of the Cross dear one and trust Him. Let’s glorify Him, have a lot of fruit, have a lot of fun, and walk in the way of our Master as His disciples. Amen? Love you!
Remember dear ones, we must be about our Father’s business…