Statements of Faith - Grafted Into The Vine

 

JOHN 15:1-8

I am The True Vine, and My Father is The Husbandman (Vinedresser: worker of the soil, farmer). Every branch in Me that bears no fruit He takes away: and every branch that bears fruit, He purges (cleanses, prunes) it, that it may bear more fruit.

Now you are clean through The Word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can you, except you abide in Me. 

I am The Vine, you are the branches: he that abides in Me, and I in him, will bring forth much fruit: for without Me, you can do nothing. If a man does not abide in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and withers; and men gather them,  and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; so shall you be My disciples. 

    My prayer after studying this out is, "Lord, make me more fruitful.", knowing full well that having a more fruitful life sets God's hands in motion to prune from my life that which is not fruit-bearing. I asked for this because I feel unfruitful. There are days I feel useless and discarded. I don't feel fruitful at all. Am I where God wants me to be so that He can use me efficiently and effectively?

    My prayer life is vital to my fruitfulness: it is the rain and the sun on my fields. My Bible study time is vital to my fruitfulness: it is the Seed that gets planted in my fields. My social life is vital to my fruitfulness: it is the companionship of working side by side in my fields. What fields are these? The fields which are ripe unto harvest: the fields of souls who are searching for something to satisfy their hunger and thirst for Truth. 

    I live in Christ. I am able to live in Him because He lives in me. How is this possible? By faith in His Name for my salvation. His Name is Savior, Redeemer, Reconciler. His Name is Faithful and True. His Name is Living Water and Fountain of Life. His Name is Bread of Life and Mana From Heaven. 

    He satisfies the hunger of my soul. He slakes the thirst of my soul. He saved my soul when He died on the cross. He gave my soul new life, when He conquered death and walked out of the grave. He leads me, He feeds me, He strengthens me. In Him I am found and in me He shines His Light and His Love all through me and out of me, that all may see that Christ is alive in me. I am renewed in Him and now, I am strong again. 

    I am being made more fruitful even as I write this. And it is good to be in The True Vine where The Father can work on me with His loving hands, removing dead weight and giving my branch more bounce to carry sweeter fruit. 

A Crucified Life - - Is A Productive Life

 

2 Corinthians 7:11

Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and such a readiness to punish wrong. You showed that you have done everything necessary to make things right.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 2716

Produced: effect by labor, work out, bring to decisive finality, accomplish

From the Greek word 'katergazomai' (pronounced kat-er-gad'-zom-ahee).

    1 Corinthians 12:25

That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. 

    A heart that was not right with God, was not aligned according to the Word of God, is now made clean before God. That's what repentance does. Godly sorrow changes a person's heart, which changes the way we think, the way we behave. Especially the way we behave towards each other. 

    When Isaiah spoke with God in Isaiah 1:18, he heard this phrase, “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool."

  When we answer God call us to Himself, as Isaiah heard that call, only then can He begin to transform a heart of self-involvement into a heart like His. Isaiah 43:25 "I, yes I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake and remembers your sins no more." 

    Ezekiel 11:19 "And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart."

    Permanent change can only be accomplished in us when we repent of our sins against God to God and God changes us from the inside out. 

    Laundry does not get cleaned once and then never again. So it is with the heart of God's people. Every time it gets a little dirty, it needs to be washed again. Unlike laundry, one of these days our souls will be permanently cleansed; it is then we will be made perfect. Perfect in Christ. 

    So, when the Spirit within us convicts our hearts over sin(s) we go to the altar immediately and repent of that sin. We ask God to remove the root of that sin that it may no longer get in our way of growing in Him. This makes it possible for us to function quite well as a body, as the body of Christ. 

     For when one part of the body is broken, other parts are affected, just like in our own bodies. I have Fibromyalgia (Fm). It is a disease that attacks the central nervous system. For me, all my senses are in overdrive when I am going through a flare-up. 

    For instance, with the sense of touch, I can neither be hugged nor held. Taste and smell are so connected that if something I like to eat smells off, I can't eat it. There are times I feel like a canary in a mine: I can smell things no one else can smell. Sight, hearing and balance seem to affect each other, too.

    I tell you this because one thing wrong in the body causes things to go wrong elsewhere in the body. When the foot stumbles, the body falls. The same holds true for the body of Christ. It is why we need to remain whole and complete in Him as He is in us. 

    Therefore, let us draw near to God, repent of our sins, gain renewed strength in His Word and be refreshed with His Spirit, that our witness may be proved faithful, true and all-encompassing. Let us repent of any division we may have caused in our churches, our homes, our worksites, both deliberately and unintentionally. 

    Lord, 

Help us lead a more productive life in You to the glory of God. Give me a fleshy heart, a heart that is moldable and beats for You. Help me to interact with my brothers and sisters in Christ in love, compassion, with mercy, with hope, with peace, with joy, with comfort. Heal Your church, Lord. Make us more fruitful in Your kingdom. 

In Jesus' Name,

Amen

    A crucified life is a fruitful life. It produces positive actions and negates harmful ones. When the body is whole, it is able to accomplish great things. For the Spirit that flows through it produces eternal fruit which enlarges the kingdom of God in every way. 

    Galatians 5:22-24 (NLT)

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to His cross and crucified them there.

 

MORE LIKE JESUS   

More About Jesus - Classic Hymn

Just As I Am

Alive In You - Jesus Culture

Broken Vessels - Hillsong Worship

Love Each Other - Graham Kendrick

Salvation Song - Stuart Townend

River of Love & Everything - Joel Case & Melissa Helser

Unfailing - Andrew Word

Guard Your Heart - - Watch Over Your Fruitfulness

 

John 15:5

"I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing."

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 2590

Fruit: deed, action, result, profit, gain

From the Greek word 'karpos' (pronounced kar-pos'). Extended definition: everything done in true partnership with Christ, i.e. a believer (a branch) lives in union with Christ (the Vine). By definition, fruit results from two life-streams – the Lord living His life through ours – to yield what is eternal. 

    Our fruitfulness in the kingdom of God depends on our inclination, our leaning, into Christ. Can the branch of a fruit tree bring forth fresh fruit unless it is attached to the tree? No. Neither then can a born again believer produce fruit alone. We need Jesus Christ living in us to "bear fruit". 

    Just what kind of fruit does a Christian bear when Christ (the vine) lives in us and the Spirit (the sap) flows through us?

FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT

I liken the fruit of the Spirit to a single fruit, like citrus, which has many segments yet remains an individual fruit.

    Galatians 5:22, 23

22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

23. Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

    When these things are evident in a person's life, when you can see them, then you know that there stands a fruitful Christian. From the inside (where the Spirit works on us) to the outside. 

    Sometimes though the Master Gardener (our heavenly Father) sees the need for our trees, or vines, can be made more fruitful, so He prunes us. Does this hurt? Briefly. But then after a season our branches grow heavy with even more fruit than we think we can bear. Unless the Master Gardener sees there is no fruit, then He removes a branch or two from the tree or the vine. 

FRUITFUL FAITH

    The fruit in the Father's garden is not for physical  consumption, it is the result of a single Seed: the Seed of Righteousness: Jesus Christ, The LORD My Righteousness. This seed is the result of Faith in God which Abram had when God called him to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. (Genesis 22:1-19 and Hebrews 11:17 "By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac on the altar. He who had received the promises was ready to offer his one and only son). 

    It is only by Faith in the promises of God that we are able to spread the gospel of God's plan of salvation, the Seed of righteousness, in His fields. Sometimes, this seed does not take root, as told in the Parable of The Sower. Only when the Seed reaches the heart does it take root and begin to grow. 

    It wasn't just one person telling me about God and Jesus Christ, it was many. The Word says "some plant, some water, some harvest". At some point in my life, someone planted the Seed in my heart where it took root. Others watered my heart with their tears, when they prayed for me. Now the Word grows in me and I'm growing in the Word. When I am perfect, I'll be harvested by the Master Gardener. 

FRUITFULNESS

    Every time I tell you about my Jesus and what He's done for me, I'm planting the Seed. It's up to you whether or not you receive it into your hearts. The tears of my prayers water not just my plantings, but the plantings of others when I pray for their gardens/fields. 

    I grew up singing classic hymns in church, like Bringing In The Sheaves which speaks of the harvest of grain sheaves as compared to the souls which are being saved through the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ.

Bringing In The Sheaves

~Knowles Shaw~1874~Psalm 126:6

He that goes forth and weeps, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

1. Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness,

Sowing in the noontide and the dewy eve;

Waiting for the harvest, and the time of reaping,

We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

2. Sowing in the sunshine, sowing in the shadows,

Fearing neither clouds nor winter’s chilling breeze;

By and by, the harvest and the labor ended,

We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

3. Going forth with weeping, sowing for the Master,

Tho’, the loss sustained, our spirit often grieves;

When our weeping’s over, He will bid us welcome,

We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

(Refrain)

Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,

We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves;

Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,

We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

    And so we pray. We pray for the Lord's perfect will to be done, not what we want or how we want it. We pray for our families, our friends; for our spouses, our children, and our children's children. We pray for the people our children associate themselves with and for their families. 

    First and foremost, we pray for their salvation. We pray that they be filled with the Holy Spirit, that they all may walk empowered in the strength of the Lord. We pray that their hearts would be filled to overflowing with the joy of the Lord; that their fruit would be evident and sweet. 

    Lastly, we pray that they would remain strong in the Lord and in the power of His might all the days of their life. That they would be a blessing not only to their Lord but to everyone they meet. That's our prayer for fruitfulness in the kingdom of God.

FRUITFULNESS MEDLEY

So Will I

Gratitude

When I Pray

No Other Name

Graves Into Gardens

Give Me Faith

Build My Life