"I am the true vine, 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 it so 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, so 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, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can
do nothing."If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch
and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are
burned.
Insights: This week we have looked
at God’s sovereign control and authority over all creation. We next examined how God has not left the
world abandoned. In other words, He is
actively involved in the day to day of life.
Nothing happens without His permission or will. The third truth we uncovered was the
expectation God has regarding those of us who born again. When we entered into that eternally changing
life with Jesus, we became attached to the Vine. As branches growing out of the Vine we are commanded
to bear fruit. We specifically looked at
the fruit of character which is cultivated in our lives as we go through the
spiritual discipline of sanctification.
The second fruit we concluded was actually souls entering into a
relationship with Jesus. In other words,
if our character is being pruned to become more like Jesus, then we will be
compelled as a result of such a change to share Jesus with people who do not
know Him. The second part of this third
truth really lead to the final thing we learned this week and that is hell is
very real place. Because hell is real,
there ought to be urgency in our lives to share the love of Jesus with as many
people as possible. In verse five we are
told that if we attempt to do anything apart from the Vine, we will fail. Specifically, Jesus said, “apart from Me you can do
nothing.” The reciprocal side of this
statement is that if we remain in the Vine, we will bear much fruit. Life in the Vine is not always what we think
we need or want, but I can tell you it is always best. Beloved, let me encourage you to abide with
Jesus. Grow in Him and let Him be Lord
of your life.
Questions:
- Are you abiding in the Vine?
- Does your life reflect the fruit of one in the Vine?
Prayer: Lord, I know I am often times sinful. Prune my life so that I might bear much fruit
to Your glory. Amen.
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