“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me” “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. ”
Few days ago, I heard a lady at my job swearing and using Jesus in her swear. I turned to her and said, “Did you notice you have just used the name Jesus as your swear?” She stated , “I am ‘atheist’ . It does not matter.” To be honest, this is not the first time I have heard people say they don’t believe in God. But this one melted my heart and I could feel my heart weeping. Externally , I was just numbed and could not speak. In my heart, I said, “Lord have mercy on this one.” Whether or not man is aware, man was created as a desperate human being in need of a savior.
A tree and a fruit have an interesting relationship. A fruit can never just show up. Each time one sees a fruit, it is often easy to know the kind of plant it came from. From the book of Genesis, we see that God has always been interested in relationship, fellowship, interaction, and connection with man. In the John 5, Jesus provides a very interesting analogy of a relationship. Jesus introduces himself as the true Vine and we his church, his people, as the branches, and his father as the gardener. The evidence of this relationship is the outcome, which is fruitfulness. Jesus is the true vine, meaning there can be a kind of a vine that is false, so we have to always be careful. We are called branches, which means by nature we cannot live or make it in life on our own. We were created as dependent beings. God shows up in this whole analogy as the gardener and the role of a gardener is to ensure the relationship between the vine and the branch is fruitful, else he will not be wasting time investing. God begins to watch the interaction between Jesus and man. When he sees that man is trying his best, he assist him through a process called pruning- aeration, so that man is able to absorb more from the vine which is the source of life. In this process there is no time for unfruitfulness. Any unproductive branch, is cut off to give space to the first producing branches. The principal of productivity lies on fact that the branch must always remain connected to the vine, thus there will always be a fruit to harvest.
1. To bear fruits, we must recognize our position of desperation and must be interested in conviction and transformation. Our connection to Christ is initiated from an initial place of repentance. We cannot be passive. We must be genuine believers as there are consequence of faking. Pray that God will help us: Luke 3:8-9 “8Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. 9Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
2. To bear fruits, we must walk in a manner that is worthy of who we are connected to: Jesus is the true vine; we must also be true branches. Pray for the grace to walk worthy of the call: Colossians 1:10 “so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;”
3. To bear fruit, one must go through a pruning process. Sometimes this may be very painful. That process may be the loss of a job, an illness, etc. But God will use that process to produce a great fruit out of your pain. Pray that you will surrender to this process of pruning: John 5: 2 “ He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful”. Psalm 23 4 “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
4. To bear fruits we must remain in him all the time. It a choice to remain in him, for that is the only way to be fruitful. Pray that the spirit of obedience will be your portion: John 5:4 “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me”.
5. To bear good fruits, we must also have a revelation of the fact that there are false vines. Jesus says he is the true vine. When you connect to a false vine you will produce bad fruits. Many of us have fallen prey to all kinds of deception in the name of prophecies. Pray for the grace of discernment and revelation upon you: Matthew 7:15-20 “15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits’.
6. To bear fruits, we must walk in obedience to his word. Most often we walk in the ways that seems right in our own eyes, but only to end up in destruction. Pray that God will grant you the grace to walk in obedience: 1 Samuel 15:22 “And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.
7. To bear fruits, we must forsake the gathering of mockers of God, and desire the presence and word of God. We cannot say we are just hanging around them. Most often, you find Christians doing the same things that unbelievers do, and you wonder why they can’t ministers to them? They see us as hypocrites. We drink and sometimes get drunk like them, we swear, gossip, and tear down one another etc. Oh pray that God will help you as you transition into 2023; to be a different kind of a person: Psalm 1:1-3 “1Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers”.
8. To bear fruits, we must trust the Lord with every aspect of our being. We must see him as our all and all. Pray that God will grant you the grace to trust him and nothing else: Jeremiah 17:7-8 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
9. To bear fruits, we must daily crucify the flesh and everything the flesh loves, or else we will be constantly producing the fruit of the flesh instead of that of the Spirit: Come to the Father and surrender your flesh, and ask the Lord for help: Galatians 5:22-26 “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.26Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another”.
10. When we bear good and much fruit, God is gloried. Each time God is gloried, the church is blessed: Pray that in all and all, we will seek to bear more fruits: John 15:8 “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples”.
11. God has given us another chance to reflect on our fruit production. Take some time to ask God for forgiveness. You know yourself and the kind of fruit that has been coming out of you. Pray that after these prayers, and by the time the Lord is bringing this topic again, you will be a well-watered garden, producing in season and out of season: God is granting grace so tap into that: Luke 13-6-9: “6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?8 ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.”
12. Thank the Lord for doing a new thing in your life. You have been transformed and molded in the time of prayer and granted grace for something new-a fruit producing believer: Isaiah 43:19 “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”