Untitled Sermon (4)

Connected

New Living Translation Chapter 15

“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

Abide in me and I in you. To abide means to stay, and what Jesus is saying, is we need to understand this great I am. Jesus says I am the Vine and by father is the gardeners.

During this season many of us have become disconnected from what we viewed as Normal. Abide means we stay in Jesus, hear jesus, connect with jesus. Even before tradition, or theories and denominations, or church names, or whether we are virtual or in person. we need to abide in Jesus.

Branches have to abide with the vine because without the vine they are useless, or they can do nothing

Abiding means we stay where Jesus is.

For eight times, Jesus makes use of the word abide. But we need to stay with jesus. It does not matter what we are doing, what our economic may be, it does not even matter who many times we have messed up, but we need to stay with Jesus. We need to stay with Jesus because he is the way, the truth and the life.

This God we serve cuts off every branch that does not produce fruit. There is a process called pruning. Pruning is a practice involving the selective removal of certain parts of a plant, branches, buds or roots.

All os us need pruning. We all have behaviors, and we all have characteristics are are destructive. We hall have areas, that will pull us down, so every day, each and every day we have to examine ourselves. I know we look at t what is going on on the outside is what is important. so we have to make sure we have a haircut, or our hear done, and our nails done, that we make sure our clothes are clean, and that externally everything is in perfect order. Matter of fact I am sure that even on a Zoom line you look good, but pruning involves something on the inside.

Pruning is a painful process, I think it is painful for us, as well as for the gardener. It is painful to take pieces of what looks good and throw it away. It is painful to take what looks good, but for the sake of the growth of the plant, we will purposefully sacrifice a piece of it in order for it to get stronger and more fruitful.

Let to ourselves we become top heavy, or leggy, cut when we take the time to cut back, we see that there is strength in the vine.

Pruning may be seen as a temporary set back. God prunes the life of everyone who abides in Christ. God trims and cleanses every branch. Pruning might be painful. Pruning has to be done. The branches need to be pruned. Pruning produces a better harvest.

And that is what spiritual pruning does, the word prunes us, by removing the unfruitful parts so that the vine can focus its energy of fruitful parts. So it can grow.

He prunes the branches that do bear fruit so that they will produce even more. God cuts off every branch that does not produce fruit.

You have already been pruned, and purified by the Word. The word prunes us. You are already clean because of the Word. Pruning removes unfruitful parts so the vine can focus its energy of fruitful parts.

Remain in me and I will remain you you.

For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine. We cannot do church apart from christ. because the word says apart from God we can do nothing.

You cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. So we cannot be a quitter.