Christian Living
Abundance in the Vine
By Kelly McDermott
Lean forward, come closer….Have you ever had the opportunity to be with a dying loved one or friend when they are dying and they have pregnant words they must share with you, words so important that you will remember them the rest of your life?
Jesus likewise knew the imminence of His death. He carefully chose the words in John 15. These final words would serve the disciples, as well as you and me the rest of our lives. These words are for those closest to Him. Jesus takes them to the vineyard on a moon lit evening and picks up a gnarled branch of a grapevine and tenderly looks at its knotted bark, the fuzzy leaves and the first inkling of budding fruit. It is at this Holy moment in time when Jesus says lean in, come closer I have something very important to tell you.
In John 15, Jesus holding the gnarled branch says I am the true vine, you are the branch, and My Father is the Vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it might bear more fruit. Jesus is telling us He wants an abundant fruitful harvest from us.
Too many Christians are standing in the shadows of the vineyard message feeling confused and disillusioned about their walk in Christ. Perhaps you haven’t fully understood these next few words Jesus imparts. So again I urge you lean close and listen. Jesus wants to pull back the curtains of heaven to show you, like He showed the disciples His amazing plan is to help us live a fruitful life of abundance.
Jesus goes on to say “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 kind of fruit is Jesus talking about? Fruit of the spirit, love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. God wants us to have an abundant crop of this fruit.
God identifies different levels of fruit production; In Jesus eyes fruit baskets will be called baskets of glory. As you walk through the Vineyard the first basket has no fruit. A barren basket- every branch that doesn’t bear fruit He takes away. The next basket has some fruit this is where Jesus says every branch that bears fruit he prunes. In the next row you see another basket which has more fruit, the basket is overflowing. Jesus refers to this as much fruit. More fruit is always possible with Jesus. I ask you, what kind of fruit do you have?
First, for those of you have no fruit I will show how many Christians get stuck in an invisible net struggling with their faith and wanting for joy. Some people get stuck in sin, either known or unknown. Perhaps you are feeling pain, guilt and feel you have nothing of spiritual significance, you are in turmoil and think your life isn’t amounting to what you want it to be. You are dwelling in dry season of no fruit. If this is you, you are the one Jesus was thinking of first that night in the vineyard, so lean close, listen to what Jesus says. “Every branch in Me that doesn’t bear fruit He takes away.” Many think this means Jesus cuts you off and throws you away, but oh listen to what I have found.
Every branch in Me, proves that a believer is the one in Christ or in Me, so you can be a Christian but not bear fruit. Jesus goes on to say you are already clean because of the words I have spoken to you. What does cleaning have to do with no fruit? Let me explain. I believe this is what Jesus is talking about. The Greek word for take away in John 15 actually means lift up. Take away and lift up was also used by the disciples when they of take up twelve baskets of food after feeding thousands. It is also used when Jesus says take up your cross and follow me. It does not mean lift up and throw away but lift up and go forward.
I visited a vineyard this weekend and this is what the Vinedresser shared with me. He talked about how immature vines tend to trail along the ground which is disastrous because they get dirty and when it rains they get mildew and are unable to produce fruit. So I asked “Do you cut them off when they are on the ground?” He says “no they are far to valuable for that,” He goes on to say “the vinedresser lifts it up, cleans it off and tie it up the trellis to train it the way it should grow so they can flourish again.” For a Christian sin is like the dirt. The Lord needs to lift us up out of sin, cleans us off and train us so we can grow fruit.
If you are in sin God will do whatever he has to get your attention. God whispers in pleasure and shouts in pain. Oh how I urge you and invite you to give God permission every day to shape, cleanse and direct your life.
Next some of you have some fruit. Jesus says every branch that bears fruit He prunes. What does he prune from us? Self. In a vineyard as a vine grows the leaves can get in the way of growth as they prevent sun from hitting the vine, so the leaves and dead branches need to be pruned so that it can bear more fruit.
Misunderstanding God’s methods can be disastrous. Pruning can feel like being disciplined like when you were in sin. The purposes of discipline and pruning are entirely different. This became so difficult for me as I strived to satisfy God. I was not sinning and wondered what was wrong with me, why do I not have more fruit. This grew into bitterness and even contempt, anger and even mistrust for God. Now I was back in sin. If I hadn’t figured this out I could have been at odds with God for the rest of my life. I believe that misreading God’s actions and motives is the number one reason many Christians are not joyfully producing fruit.
How do we know if we are being pruned or disciplined? In discipline you have pain, in pruning you have pain. In discipline you yield no fruit- your goal should be to get out of sin and bear some fruit. In pruning enables some fruit, to yield a greater harvest. During God’s chastening, rebuke and discipline sin needs to go. When God is pruning us our "self" needs to go. In sin repent, in pruning release more room for God to operate, give God permission to do a great work in you.
God loves you so much that He won’t stop tending you, the branch, you are precious and He wants you to produce much fruit.
Some of you are mature fruitful Christians let me share some agriculture info about mature vines. You need to prune vines more intensely as they mature. The vine increases its ability to produce fruit, but can only do it if it is intensely pruned. Early pruning is about your outward activity and priority. Later pruning it is about personal values and identity. This is where we have the most pruning when we put any priority, family, children, job, retirement, etc… above God.
If you do not see God’s true loving kind character motivated to help you live a life of abundance then perhaps you are like I was, a Christian not overflowing with joy. You do not genuinely see God’s true nature. You need to ask God to reveal Himself to you so that you will know Him and His nature. Your ability to delight in God is what prevents you from having the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4 tells us: Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. 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. The vinedresser trains us, tends the environment, plants us where we are to bloom, but the branch is the focus because the branch bears the fruit, not the vinedresser. Fruit comes from the nature of the vine and the life comes from the sap of the vine. We are to abide in the vine so we can get the living sap that helps us produce a basket of glory, full of fruit. Some of Jesus’ final words in John15 were Abide in Me and I in you, that you may bear more fruit.
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