Once again, Lord Jesus, we come to your
feet.
Lord, it is so true that we are
incapable of doing anything without you.
We need you, Lord Jesus.
Lord, if you are in us and with
us, we have everything.
And Lord, if you are in us, we
do not appear to be like those who
are poverty stricken, but we are made wealthy.
Lord, draw nigh unto us as you know
our needs.
Here is, Lord, your holy word.
Speak to us through it, Lord.
And I bring myself to you.
Lord, of myself I cannot say anything, but
I trust in your strength.
So be with us, Lord, in this service.
Amen.
I'm going to read a well-known text
from John 15.
The 15th chapter of John from verse 1.
I am the true vine and my father
is the vine dresser.
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.
You are already clean because of the word
which I have spoken to you.
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.
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.
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.
If you abide in me and my words
abide in you, you will ask what you
desire and it shall be done for you.
Verse 9.
As the father loved me, I also have
loved you.
Abide in my love.
Verse 12.
This is my commandment that you love one
another as I have loved you.
Greater love has no one than to lay
down one's life for his friends.
Verse 13.
You are my friends if you do whatever
I command you.
Verse 14.
No longer do I call you servants for
a servant does not know what his master
is doing, but I have called you friends
for all things that I have heard from
my father I have made known to you.
We will read thus far.
May the Lord bless the reading of his
holy word.
As I've said, this is a well-known
portion of scripture.
Nevertheless, one cannot but be blessed again and
refreshed and revived as the Holy Spirit applies
the scripture to our hearts.
Jesus was speaking to his disciples and he
introduces himself as the true vine.
Now, we know that when Jesus illustrated in
this fashion, his disciples knew exactly what he
was getting at for vineyards were very common.
There were many types of vineyards and all
sorts of varieties.
They weren't all the same.
And also if you go to the market
to buy grapes, there are different varieties on
sale and you will choose the type that
appeals to you.
We find also as this illustration is that
God made his people Israel to be his
vine.
As a chosen nation, as a people with
special love that chose them, God
introduced himself to them and revealed who he
was.
We also find that in the gospel according
to John, that he takes special care to
reveal the nature of Jesus, what Christ is
like to his people.
However, the Jewish leaders were not very impressed
when Jesus called attention to himself and who
he was, that he would say, I am
the bread of life.
I am the truth.
I am the one.
And they would ask questions like, who is
he to say I am?
We only know one who says I am,
and that is God himself.
It angered the Jewish leaders very much that
he had the audacity to say I am.
They said only God himself, the almighty.
So who is this chap to call himself
I am?
But really, one asks, is there any other
way for him to reveal himself than what
he really is?
But if your eyes are dimmed and crusted
over, veiled, even if he speaks of himself
and reveals himself, you will just become harder
and antagonistic to the one who reveals himself.
Now Jesus says, I am the true vine
and the father is the vine dresser.
And then he drives the point home by
saying, and you are the branches.
Every branch in me that does not abide
in me, the father removes.
So here is a question to be examined.
If a person is in Christ, can it
be that he is fruitless?
It is obvious that that is the case.
It is possible.
Then we have to also ask the question,
what brings this condition about?
How is it that a person can be
in the vine and yet be fruitless?
It was before Jesus ascended to heaven.
It had to be that Jesus had to
go back to heaven.
So that upon ascension, he could send the
Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts and
to directly reveal himself to our hearts.
So it is of crucial importance that God,
the Holy Spirit can live inside you and
reveal himself to you, in you.
For by his Holy Spirit inside us, we
being united to him, he reveals himself and
we are able to comprehend and understand who
he is.
But let us get back to this point
of fruit.
Every branch in me that does not bear
fruit is taken away and thrown outside.
Remember once Jesus was walking with his disciples
and he came upon a fig tree hoping
to get figs.
But he found that it was figless.
Jesus cursed that fig tree because it did
not bring forth what was expected of it.
And that is why Jesus expects the fruit
that is available to him.
It is appropriate for a child of God.
We can ask ourselves the question, is the
fruit of God evident in my life?
Should it not be the case then and
there is no fruit, where does the problem
lie?
What causes me to be fruitless as a
child of God?
Well the first obvious question must be, am
I even united to the Lord, to Jesus?
Am I in connection with him, the one
who says, I am the true vine?
Because Jesus said, each branch that is in
me must bear fruit.
Every branch that is connected to him as
the real vine must bear fruit.
It is the spontaneous consequence of him being
the one who produces that life.
But then Jesus does still say, any branch
in me that does not bear fruit is
removed, for it is fruitless.
So what causes that fruitlessness in the life
of a Christian?
There is no other reason.
Sin.
Wickedness.
Whatever manner of iniquity it might be.
Even if that branch has had connection to
him, any sin that is condoned in that
person's life, whatever manner or type it might
be, causes fruitlessness in the life of that
person.
Causes fruitlessness for it to wither.
And then it becomes useless.
And all that branch is good for is
to be removed and thrown away.
And then Jesus says, but every branch in
me that does bear fruit, something happens to
him.
That person, that branch gets pruned.
It gets pruned so that it might bear
even more fruit.
Now this is where we often go astray
or we get mixed up as Christians.
When God comes to us and prunes us,
he comes in his love.
He comes intending good.
He comes denying his life for us.
He comes to his child, the one whom
he loves.
And if he notices that there is some
fruit, but there is work to be done
on it, then he applies his pruning shears.
Now we must discern here, brethren.
Yes, some fruit may be evident.
But that fruit is not yet that quality.
It's not yet marketable.
It's not yet profitable to be sold at
the market.
Maybe there is lots and lots of fruit
on this one tree, on this branch, but
each one, each grape is so small that
it is not satisfactory to the owner of
the vine.
That vine owner cannot be proud of the
quality of his fruit.
He cannot get a high market value for
it because they are so small and he
cannot get what he expects.
Now, as a Christian, you might say, well,
I do show fruit and plenty of it
as well.
The question would be, is it really the
quality?
Are these desired?
Are they attractive?
Or is it the type of fruit that
people give one glance at and move on?
You see now, people will move around a
market place and they will try this bit
of fruit and that bit and they don't
find what satisfies them.
them, and so they just move on to
the next to try it out.
So, if it is not fruit that satisfies
Jesus, then it is applicable here where Jesus
says that I come, even though there is
some fruit, but I prune it.
It must be pruned and cut so that
it would bring forth much fruit and of
marketable value, good fruit.
And so, when the vine dresser comes or
the farmer comes to work in his field,
he does not come wearing gloves.
When the vine dresser gets involved with his
vine, he does not come in a very
nice and nicely dressed way, but he comes
and can be crude, so to say, and
uses the knife and can cut and cause
pain.
It may cause bleeding to that vine.
It might mean that there are tears that
are shed and there is sorrow, but you
need to say, Lord Jesus, because it is
you and you are the one who has
given me life.
If you are applying your pruning shears, then
I want it.
I want to bear good fruit for tomorrow.
Have that goal that you want to bear
good fruit.
You want to be a blessing to other
people.
Maybe you are very conscious of the fact
that you haven't yet fulfilled what God expects
of you.
Maybe you know
that
you are a Christian, but with your Christianity,
you find that you still get upset easily.
You still get irritated.
You get angry.
You hold bitterness and grudges and you don't
know what to do about it.
Maybe also you find yourself at times being
like these very Jewish leaders who opposed Jesus
and said, Who are you to speak in
such a crude manner to us?
They were more conscious of who they were
as being a Pharisee, as being a scribe
or a Sadducee, as being of religious importance,
that they no longer saw themselves before God.
Now, every branch in me that does bear
fruit, the Lord will prune so that it
will bring forth abundant fruit.
It will be lush with abundance and quality.
You could ask yourself as well, well, what
type of fruit do I bring forth to
the people all around me?
Is it the fruit of bitterness and sourness
to them?
What is it that they experience by being
with me?
There are such types of fruit.
We just think of a lemon.
A lemon looks attractive, it looks colorful and
looks appealing, but once you bite into it,
it is awfully bitter.
And whoever bites into that lemon shows by
the expression on their face that this is
sour, it is not appealing to them.
Well, what do people get when they bite
into you?
God can use any instrument He wants to
come and prune you.
It might be in the form of a
child and you become upset and you say,
what are you telling me to do?
How dare you tell me how I should
live my life and you don't realize that
this is God's pruning shear.
God has sent this child to point out
something in you.
Maybe as a husband, your wife comes to
you and says to you as a husband,
you know, that which you said was really
inappropriate.
You shouldn't have said it like that.
Or the way, the manner in which you
spoke was not fitting.
How do you react?
Are you angry?
You're upset?
You don't accept what she says?
How do you respond?
Is there that spontaneous rebellion that rises up
within you that you resist and reject these
pruning shears in the form of whoever that
comes to you?
You need to let that cut you.
You need to be pruned so that you
can bring forth good fruit.
Maybe you child, it's your parent or your
grandmother that comes to you and you need
to hear from them.
And they are the pruning shears that God
is using.
Maybe you get upset and there's a rebellious
attitude and you sour up when you hear
those things and it's evident that you are
rejecting what you have been instructed to do.
You need to accept that cutting, that pruning,
so that you can bring forth good fruit
for the morrow.
Maybe at work.
Maybe you're the one who's in charge.
Perhaps you know how things should run.
It could be that a lesser employee comes
to you and says, but shouldn't it rather
go like this?
How do you react?
Do you accept it?
Some just cannot handle it.
Who are you to tell me what to
do?
And where are you from?
What do you know?
I am the one who knows.
And I'm boss here.
I know everything about this work.
And where are you from?
Now, some don't respond like that verbally.
They keep silent.
But their face tells the story.
You can just see it written all over
them that they reject completely what they told.
Are you abiding in Jesus?
If you are connected to Him, He doesn't
expect this type of fruit if you are
connected to Him.
What proof is there that you are connected
to Jesus if the person who comes to
you and tries to help you or to
instruct you in some way feels rejected and
that you totally ignore what they have to
say?
Well, they don't see any connection in your
life.
If the Lord comes with that pruning knife,
with the pruning scissors, in whatever shape or
form, whoever He uses to do it, let
him do it.
He does it because He wants to produce
good fruit in you.
We asked earlier on, how can a person
be connected and yet remain fruitless?
Maybe you try in vain to pray and
pray more, but it's like you're just beating
the air.
Even when you read the Bible, it's as
if though it's just empty, meaningless.
There is some place where you have gone
astray between you and God.
There is some argument between you and God.
There is some loss of unity and harmony
between you and God where you have got
into a conflict with God.
Otherwise, it shouldn't be like this.
You experienced a time when you knew peace
with the Lord and a close intimacy with
God.
And in your experience of closeness with the
Lord, you knew what it was like to
have Him talk to you, to speak to
you, to send you to go and speak
to other people, and it was a wonderful
experience.
But maybe today you find it is silent.
There is just silence.
Even when you read the Word of God,
it's silent.
There is nothing that blesses you.
There is nothing that attracts you to make
you want to sit more with the Word
of God.
If such is the case, if that's your
condition, what should you do?
Should you just go on with your condition?
No, it should not be the case.
You need to inquire of God, asking Him,
Lord, where have things gone wrong in my
life?
Lord, what has gone wrong in my life?
Where have I gone astray?
I don't feel that peace that I had,
Lord.
I don't feel that sweetness that I had
with you, Lord.
And say, tell Him, Lord, if I continue
like this, not experiencing the sweetness of that
relationship, I will just die.
God who is gracious will show you.
It is important that when He does show
you, that you listen.
So when He speaks, you need to listen
and heed.
You need to do what He tells you.
Your lack of peace, your joylessness, your lack
of sweetness in the Lord is because something
has gone wrong.
So brethren, in
the many things that God has taught us
in this revival, one of these things is
that we should not stay silent with things
in our heart.
If there is something wrong in the heart,
go and make it right.
And if you do that, oh sorry, if
you neglect to do that and you stop
confessing sin, then
things go wrong because you've neglected to do
that.
That is exactly what God has shown you.
On the other hand, when you are willing
to be honest and upfront with God and
confess sin as it really is, you'll find
there is immediate connection with the Lord and
immediately that joy returns.
So brethren, it's not a matter of just
coming to church.
What does it help if you come to
church and you come in and you go
out and things aren't changed and your condition
remains the same?
Maybe you're fully aware of what is eating
you up.
And you know exactly what it is that
is consuming you and eating at the very
heart of life inside you that causes you
to lose all of God's presence and His
image in your life.
Then allow God's pruning shears to cut at
you.
It will be so beneficial to you, to
those around you, to the whole church.
It makes such a difference.
Never fall into the awful habit of coming
with your sin to the service and you
knowingly hang on to it Instead of allowing
the Lord to deal with you to such
an extent that when you get home it
is visible that the Lord has been at
work in you.
There is joy in your life.
There is real fruit that can be tasted
by them.
If we just become habitual pew warmers and
we just come in and go out in
the same condition we will just lose all
life and we get a reputation as those
who have lost the Lord's presence and you've
just dried up and withered away.
But Jesus says, abide in me.
He guarantees us that if we abide in
Him there will be fruit.
If you live in Him, in His presence,
you'll find that this fruit that is spoken
of will be evident.
Otherwise you'll be known as one who's involved
in Christianity but you're not in it.
It's not in you.
Let me direct this at our children.
We are glad children if you come to
church and to the house of the Lord.
But if
yours
is just a coming in and going out
and you never get connected to this vine,
you're never grafted into this vine himself, then
it's utterly in vain that you come to
church.
What are you getting to the age of
13, 14, 15, 16 already and there's no
real evidence of change?
You haven't yet made your decision for the
Lord and it's evident that you're not yet
connected to Him.
Well, let it be evident today.
God doesn't exclude his speaking.
He doesn't exclude his speaking to any age
group.
And if he's able to speak even to
a little child, how much more so to
you who've been listening for 10, 15, 20
years and there's not yet a surrender to
the Lord?
A change in your life?
Some have the excuse, well, I just don't
feel it yet.
I don't feel like it yet.
I liken that response to one who's involved
in the occult.
In the occult tradition, a person says, well,
I haven't yet felt like I need to
be involved yet.
Or I do feel, I feel the urge.
That's what people who go into training for
witchcraft do.
In that traditional way with spiritism, they wait
till they have the spiritual burden.
And when they feel it, then they get
involved in the occult.
Now, you can't do that in being a
child of the Lord.
You don't wait for it just to happen,
for the urge to come.
The word of the Lord is very clear.
There's nothing doubtful or that is unsure about
it.
When it is preached, the word of God
is clear for you to understand.
You don't have to wait for an urge
to get a grip on you.
You don't have to wait for some sudden
revelation at night to get a hold of
you.
You just respond and be obedient to God's
word.
In verse 6 it says, If anyone does
not abide in me, he is cast out
as a branch and is withered.
The person does not abide in Jesus, that
one becomes useless.
They are good for nothing.
And I say to you, if you're not
prepared to make that decision for Jesus today,
yes, even today, then you are just a
useless branch to be cast out, to wither
and be discarded.
And to be burnt in the fire.
But Jesus says, however, if you abide in
me and my words abide in you, you
can ask whatever you want and it will
be done for you.
he will answer, it shall be done for
us if we abide in Him.
What is He expecting of you?
He puts it very simply.
He says He wants connection with you.
He wants you to stay in Him, to
abide in Him, live inside Him.
For how long will you stay outside of
Jesus?
How long will it go on that Jesus
doesn't know you?
How long are you going to let this
go on, that you don't hear anything from
God, you don't hear Him speaking to you,
there's no commands, there's nothing that He speaks
into you, there's nothing.
How long will you just let it go
on like that?
Jesus wants it to happen, wants it to
be evident that you are in Him, and
that the fruit is there as the proof.
For He says, the Father is glorified by
this, that you bear much fruit, and you
will prove that you are My true disciples.
The name of the Lord is glorified, He
is uplifted when the fruit of the Lord
is evident among His people.
The one who gets close to you will
find something from the Lord in you.
He will experience that there is a change
in your life.
They will witness that God Himself has been
at work in your life.
In
Galatians
5, it speaks there of the evidence of
long-suffering and pain and patience and compassion
and love, all there because of the working
of the Holy Spirit in this person's life.
It moves me deeply when Jesus says, you
are My friends.
He emphasizes the relationship of love.
In verse 12, He says, this is My
commandment, that you love one another as I
have loved you.
And greater love has no one than this,
than to lay down His life for His
friends.
Jesus gave His life, He laid down His
life for His friends, so
that He could make us to be much
more intimate to Him than just His servants,
but His friends.
The Lord said, a servant doesn't know what
the master is doing.
But I take from My Father and I
reveal it to you, showing that you are
not just My servants, but you are My
intimate friends.
What a desire!
What a beautiful expression Jesus uses of His
people.
He says, you are not just My servants,
but you are My friends and I reveal
everything to you.
I don't hide anything from you.
Is there a friend like unto Him, who
reveals His heart to you, holds back nothing
from you, and He wants you to know
what's happening in heaven?
He wants to show you the intimacy that
is possible, as He has shown it with
the Father.
So we waste our time and waste our
time, and we lose out on such a
wonderful calling that the Lord has for us.
Are we really His friends?
Am I His intimate friend?
Is there anything that He needs to hide
from me?
Is there something that I am hiding from
Him?
That just wastes and messes us up.
If I can just reveal my heart to
Jesus, He will reveal His heart to you.
If you bring yourself to Him as you
are, He will reveal Himself
and He will show you what is right
and what's wrong in your life.
And He will show you what is right
and what is wrong in your life.
And He will show you how intimate He
will make you with Himself, so that He
will make you His close friend, and will
expect you to show that same love to
those around you.
Is there somebody who is your enemy?
Somebody that you are in conflict with?
That you just can't get along with?
Maybe that's not a person from the world,
an unsaved person.
Maybe he's also a Christian, or she.
If you allow that, you are separating yourself
from this Jesus who has such love for
us.
He who doesn't want to hide anything from
us.
He who wants us to experience that same
intimacy that He has with the Father.
So if there is a lack of fellowship
between you and somebody else, then you've lost
out.
There's somebody that you're in disagreement with or
in conflict with.
As a child of God, that is not
right.
What should be done?
If you allow that, you are separating yourself
from this Jesus who has such love for
us.
After this service, when we've finished here, go
and make right with that person.
Be reconciled, so that we would find in
your life exactly what we have read here.
For Jesus wants good fruit from us.
And the name of the Father will be
glorified through it.
And your true discipleship will be evident.
Those who are truly His and are children
of God will be evident.
Those who remain, who abide in His love.
Let nobody be your enemy.
Let the love of God be evident in
you.
For Jesus reveals how much He loves us.
Let's not disappoint Him in being disobedient to
what He has told us.
Remember when He went up to Golgotha.
Remember how they insulted Him, slapped Him, spat
upon Him.
He had good reason to hate them.
But instead, right to the end, on the
cross, He still said, Father, forgive them for
they know not what they do.
They don't know what they do.
The Lord said, Father, forgive them.
The Lord is showing us that we too
should forgive.
We must forgive others.
If we are to be like Him and
to walk in His steps, then we have
got to be like this.
May God help us that His word would
abide in us.
Shall we pray?
Lord Jesus, we thank You for Your living
word.
Lord, we trust that it is going to
produce life and has already done so in
our midst.
As we are obedient and heed what You
say.
Lord, thank You that Your word is straightforward.
You do not hide it from us.
Thank You, Lord, that You have made the
way possible.
You have laid down Your own body to
be the way.
Thank You, Lord, for laying down Your life
to make us, we who are Your enemies,
to be Your friends.
Lord, fill us with that spirit.
Lord, help us to confess with absolute honesty
everything that is at enmity with that spirit,
with Your Holy Spirit.
Lord, help us to confess with absolute honesty
everything that is at enmity with that spirit.
Lord, help us to do it this very
day.
We will not let the sun go down
on our sin.
Lord, You have called us to such a
wonderful relationship with Yourself and with Your children.
Lord, produce this wonderful fruit in our midst.
Lord, we want to unite in prayer and
say, yes, Lord, we want You to do
it.
We accept Lord Your pruning shears.
We accept Your pruning even if it means
that we bleed.
We thank You, Lord, for the promise of
the fulfillment of Your word.
Amen.