Unlike Old Testament Israel, who failed to produce the fruit of obedience, we have hearts which are cleansed from sin and have the capacity to produce fruit…the question is, will you? In the parable of the True Vine, Christ identifies the Heavenly Father as the vinedresser, who cares and protects the vine and branches (us). The reality is, God expects fruit and is actively involved in our fruit-bearing process. Some folks are simply unaware of God’s desire to bear fruit in their lives but Carl takes the time to share how God does it, in this exciting broadcast…
Here is a complete transcript of the broadcast (below)…
Friend, welcome to our broadcast. And today we’re going to do a chapter exposition. And that chapter is John chapter 15. Now this is a very famous passage. It’s well known in Christendom. I’m going to read the first five verses for you. And then we’re going to talk about its content. Verse one. I am the true vine and my father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that bears not fruit, he takes away. And every branch that bears fruit, he purges it that it may bring forth more fruit. Verse three. Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken unto 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. Friend, Jesus is the true vine. He is the one who provides the nourishment to the branches. Okay? We are the branches in this illustration. Now in the time of Israel, grape growing was well known. It was even exported from that country during this epoch of time. So the disciples were very familiar with the process of vine dressing. And if a branch is dying and it’s not cut from the vine, check this out.
It will actually pull the nourishment from the healthy branches, thus hindering the grape harvest. In this passage, Christ is basically saying that he is the true vine through which all nourishment is received. And we, the believer, are the branches. And the heavenly Father is the vine dresser. He’s the husbandman, someone who plows and cultivates land for fruit. And friend, it’s very evident from this scripture that the Father desires fruit of us. Remember verse two. Every branch in me that bears not fruit, he takes away. And every branch that bears fruit, he purges it that it may bring forth more fruit. Hmm. So fruit in our lives is actually desired of the Father. And remember Jesus said you shall know them by their fruit. Know them what? Them followers in him. Amen? They are to be known by fruit. That’s us.
Not by the gifts of the Spirit. Not by superficial aspects of culture. But by the fruit that we bear, which is a work of the Holy Spirit inside of us. And friend, I really believe the shortfall is revealed in verse five. The shortfall of why often we don’t bear fruit. And it’s right here. Verse five. I am the vine. You are the branches. He that abides in me and I in him, the same brings forth much more fruit. For without me, you can do nothing. Now, here’s the key. Are you abiding in him, friend? Or have you chosen to disconnect yourself from him? It’s time to reconnect in fellowship and nourish your relationship with Christ. You know, the Word of God is sitting on the table. It’s the Logos Word. It’s your Bible. It doesn’t speak very much. It’s quiet.
That Word has to get into your spirit. And I get it into my spirit by speaking it over myself. By declaring the truth over myself. In order to see success in Christendom, you need to have the Word of God abiding inside of you. This is the key, friend. It’s the missing link. You have to have the Word abiding in you. Jesus is already abiding in you. If you’ve received him. If you’re born again. John chapter 3 reveals this, right? But you must have that Word abiding in you. And when that occurs, there’s a powerful change. And not only can you affect yourself, but circumstances. Because the Word of God is so powerful. Now, verse seven. Let’s skip down to that. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you. Friend.
Powerful. There’s a lot of you’s in that verse. If you abide in me, which you are, if you’re in Christ, and my words abide in you, then, and when you’ve met that condition, can you ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you. And again, whatever you’re asking has to conform with the Word of God, right? We’re not sanctioning any petitions outside of the covenant or testament that Christ provided. And then in verse eight, it says, Herein is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, so shall you be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Continue ye in my love. It’s interesting that the aspect of petition is in John chapter 15. And that when we actually ask and receive the things that we desire, we’re bearing fruit also. You know, our God is a good God. He said He’d meet all of our needs in Philippians 4:19, okay? And so asking and receiving is a part of the fruit process, according to John 15. It’s not only about character, which is what we are known by, certainly. The pruning process, sanctification, right? The soul being conformed to Christ through the renewing of our mind. And as we do so, we embrace the mind of Christ, and we can think like Christ does. But we have to be confident.
Confident that the husbandman and the vine dresser is on our side. And they are, friend. We’re connected to the vine. The Father’s watching over the entire process. You know, trees go into dormancy. Dormancy’s a very interesting time. It’s when the sap is being renewed on the inside of the tree, but nothing’s being seen on the outside. We have fallow periods in our life. But internally, it can be some of the greatest works, amen? And then we get pruned. Pruning is like we’re about to get some fruit in our life, and we’re about to break through. And it’s like all of a sudden, it’s like, oh man, I was getting fruit there, and now I’ve been pruned. But listen, the fruit is going to be bigger down the road, okay? This is the practice of viticulture. It’s taking care of the vines for the branches to be pruned back each year in order to cleanse them. Now, a vine produces certain shoots called sucker shoots, which start to grow where a branch joins the stem. If allowed to continue to grow, however, they would dissipate the life of the vine through so many branches that the vine would produce little or no fruit, and would produce many leaves instead, right? We want fruit, not leaves. So you can actually have too many of the branches. So what happens is the vine dresser knows it is important to prune away these little sucker shoots to ensure plentiful fruit. Since the shoots grow right where the branch joins the stem, where the dirt leaves and other debris collect, the pruning is basically a cleansing process.
Oh, did you get that, friend? The Father’s work in our lives is to find a branch that is beginning to bear fruit, and beginning to produce the likeness of Christ, and then to cut it back. He trims off the troublesome shoots that we may bear more fruit. That’s not an easy process, necessarily, and some of you may feel like you’re being pruned right now, okay? I’ve been there. I represent. I’ve been there, friend, okay? But oh, friend, there’s a time of harvest ahead. An abundant harvest for you. Understand that these illustrations were given by Christ to reveal the hidden things and the mysteries of God’s Word in several parables, okay? And this illustration talks about the pruning process involved in the life of a believer. None of us can escape it, okay? We’re all a part of this process. It’s all about maturity and development of Christ’s character. We believe in the character of God being infused in you and processed through you as you conform to His Word. But we also don’t discount the power of God, right? Having the righteousness of God, which is known, and your identity in Christ, and then endued with power from on high, you can then move as Jesus did on this earth, and to do the works of Jesus as He commanded us to do. So we want to embrace the character development side that the Word reveals, and we also want to demonstrate the power of God as well.
We don’t want to discount one, okay? We want to be involved in both and see people move in both aspects of God’s Word in our lives, amen? Now, in verse 9 it says, Friend, the commandment is to love God and love people. As we focus heavenly, we can then serve God and distribute love laterally to our fellow man. We can’t do it in and of our-self. Only when we draw from the true vine, and the nourishment of love from the true vine, can we then give it out to other people. And check this out in verse 11. But notice that petition was also a part of joy as far as the Father was concerned, right? Because in verse 7 He said, So if you’re one of those people, friend, who thinks, you know, I can’t ask God for anything. You know, He’s too busy. There’s people starving around the world. I can’t ask God for anything, you know? That’s not the right mindset, friend. He is all-seeing and all-knowing and all-powerful. He can listen to everybody simultaneously in the world because He’s a spirit being outside of our time continuum. Don’t ask me how that works, okay? But that’s the truth. God loves you, friend. You can be God’s favorite. You know, I met a lady in Houston one time and she said, I’m God’s favorite. That’s why I get all my prayers answered. I’m His favorite. And I was like, theologically, that’s not possible.
You can’t be God’s favorite. He doesn’t have favorites because the Word says, you know, He’s not a respecter of persons. And that’s true. That is true, Carl. Theologically, that’s true. But if you really believe you’re God’s favorite, then you have favor with God, friend. And you believe your petitions are going to be answered. And guess what? This woman had prayers answered back to back to back. She was nailing it. I mean, it was like her prayers were answered. She loved God. She loved people. She prayed all the time. She just loved God. I mean, it was all over her face, man. It was all over the way she carried herself. You know, and I asked the Lord about this one time. This woman says, she’s your favorite, Lord. And this is what He told me. He said, if that’s what she believes, who can stop her? Now, the Lord didn’t say that she is my favorite. He said, if that’s what she believes, who can stop her? And don’t forget Mark 9:23, “All things are possible to him that believes.” And you know, if you believe you’re God’s favorite, who can stop you? And that’s going to help you. It’s going to help your faith. I know that maybe theologically, that’s not the best way to look at it. But I’m trying to make a point here, friend, that God loves you sincerely. And that we shouldn’t have this pious or religious attitude that he’s too busy to hear me. And he doesn’t really care about the small stuff. Friend, he knows the number of hairs on your head, okay? He’s very involved in the details, all right? And he wants to be involved in the details of your life. And here it is.
Here’s the kicker, friend. Verse 12. “This is my commandment,” right? This is Jesus speaking. That you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. And who demonstrated that? Jesus himself. He laid his life down for us. He is our greatest friend. Jesus is your friend. And then he says in verse 14, “You are my friends, if you do whatsoever I command you.” Now notice, there’s a conditional element to being Jesus’s friend. And that is to love God and love people. And in verse 15 he says, “Henceforth, which means from this point forward, I call you not servants, for the servant knows not what the Lord does. But I have called you friends. For all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known to you.” You know, friends share intimate things. You know, I’m not talking about acquaintances. Some people you barely know. I’m talking about friends and intimate and close friends. The BFFs, right? They’re the ones you share the intimate things with. And Jesus is our friend. And he’s chosen to share the intimate things with us, friend. And you should share intimate things with him. As you do so, your relationship will become fuller.
It will become more real, friend. Jesus will no longer be abstract to you. But he will be an intimate friend. And that’s what he desires. The Holy Spirit lives inside of you. You don’t have to go searching on the top of a mountain or go off to some desert to find God. He’s living on the inside of you. So, friend, here’s my takeaway. You are connected to the vine, the true vine Jesus Christ. Are you the branch on the vine that’s bearing fruit? Or are you the branch that’s not bearing fruit? I suggest that you cooperate with this pruning process that God is doing in you to chip away those old impatient attitudes and attitudinal sins. The things that we deal with every day. Get rid of that stuff, friend. Submit to the Lordship of Christ and just break off those old non-producing branches that you may bear more fruit down the road. And friend, I’m believing that you’re a fruit producer.
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