Was that by that careful pruning, we did
get an abundance of fruit.
Maggie and I made raisins, we had so
many grapes.
I think we've still got some of them
after 25 years.
Now, pruning is not pleasant to the vine,
but mandatory to the fruit.
And the pruning of the vine dresser is
a form of judgment.
Our father says, I'm not liking it when
you're not bearing a whole lot of fruit.
And you've allowed a lot of things to
grow up in your life that are really
robbing you of the kind of fruit I
want.
So I'm here now, and I've got the
pruning shears, and I'm going to go after
you.
Well, Lord, can you just do a little
bit?
And do it in, now, there's kind of
an ugly area over there, I don't care
much for that.
How about a little pruning?
But not here, I mean, look at how
I flourish here.
But no, no, the vine dresser knows what
needs cutting.
So I want to close by making a
few simple suggestions to you.
Number one, remember Judah.
Will you take this seriously?
Remember Judah.
He never bore any fruit.
Heard everything that the others heard, saw everything
the others saw, but he never bore fruit.
Remember Judah.
You may be approaching right now one of
those fruitless seasons.
There may be an awful lot of suckers
that have grown up in your life, a
lot of stuff that's nothing but dead wood
that needs to be pruned away.
But you like your life the way it
is.
Remember Judas, and set your heart never to
be a fruitless vine.
Number two, learn to love the
pruning.
Sure, at the time of the pruning things
do look pretty awful.
But oh, the fruit that comes when the
pruning is done right.
Learn to love the pruning.
Stop objecting to what the Lord is dealing
with in your life.
Learn to say, oh God, go to it.
Let me have the full treatment.
Cut away everything that's going to keep me
from being fruitful.
I have only one great priority, one great
overwhelming ambition, and that's to bear much fruit
that I might bring glory to you and
demonstrate to all around me that I'm one
of your disciples.
And learn to fear the bugs and the
blights that affect the vine, and plead with
God to keep you a healthy vine.
Become totally intolerant of anything that is destructive
to the real work of God in your
life.
And then cultivate and live in a spirit
of rejoicing.
What is more wonderful than being a fruit
-bearing Christian, bringing glory to God, demonstrating his
presence in the light?
The judgments of God that enable us to
be the very people that he created us
and redeemed us to become.
Now, Father, bless your word to our hearts
and lives.
And may there come out of every believer
in this assembly abundant fruit to the glory
of King Jesus.
Amen.