The Vine and the Branches (part 2)

From yesterdays message the questions is: What does Jesus mean when he says he cuts off the dead parts of us? I am going to cheat a little for the answer to this question. I ran across a sermon online about this subject and I think it does better justice to that question then what I can do. In part,it reads this:

The vinedresser looks for any shoots that didn't bear fruit the previous season, due to disease or damage of one kind or another. These he cuts  it off entirely so that the energy of the plant is not wasted on unfruitful or diseased branches, but can go into branches that do bear fruit.

The fruitful branches are pruned back to the first two nodes on the old shoot to form new canes for next year's growth. Without pruning, the fruit for the new season will be dramatically diminished, and the vine will begin to grow wild, producing some grapes, but making it hard for the plant to get enough light and making it difficult to harvest what few grapes are produced. Pruning shocks the plant, to be sure, but in the hands of a skillful vinedresser, the vine remains healthy and produces maximum fruit year after year.

What does "cutting off every branch in me that bears no fruit (15:2a)" refer to? Since Jesus the True Vine represents true Israel, the Father is pruning off those who rebel against the Messiah. We see this expressed in the Parable of the Tenants who refused to pay rent to the owner of the vineyard. Jesus concludes the parable with the words:

"Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit." (Matthew 21:43)

After getting rid of the dead wood, the vinedresser gets down to the exacting work of pruning each shoot or branch. The purposes of pruning are to:

• Stimulate growth,
• Allow the vinedresser to shape the vine,
• Produce maximum yield without breaking the branches with too many clusters for them to bear,
• Protect against mildew,
• Produce better quality wine, with more highly concentrated and flavorful grapes.

Of course, the Father does pruning in our lives, too, so that you and I will become healthy and bear much spiritual fruit. When I had an Internet marketing business, I tried to practice the principle to cut off each year the least cost-effective part of my business, the bottom 10%, so I could free up time and resources for new opportunities.

You may be spending lots of time in activities that are fruitless. I can remember God telling me when I was in college to throw away my cherished notebook of folk music so I could concentrate on music that honored him. Sometimes we suffer losses and grieve about them, but find that God is redirecting and healing us. We can trust the Vinedresser and must be obedient if we want his skill to make us whole and fruitful.

Churches, too, need pruning. How many activities are continued because "we've always done that," long past the time when they are effective in advancing the Kingdom? Sometimes people need to be removed from leadership and others moved into leadership. Some churches suffer severe injury because they tolerate the unspiritual control and direction of "big givers," but are too weak to say, "No." Pruning is needed. Some churches experience a painful time when a number of members leave over some issue. But when this loss is surrendered to God and forgiveness is sought, this "pruning" can become the impetus for new growth. Trust the Vinedresser and be obedient. Don't prune rashly, but seek his season and his way.

source:http://www.jesuswalk.com/john/26_abiding.htm

And so friends, to sum up to bare good fruit in our lives we must abide in God. We can do a lot of great things apart from him, such as helping the needy or rasing money for some cause. However great those things are, they are not bearing fruit for God's Kingdom if we are not abiding in him.


Thanks for stopping by today Friends! May you day be blessed so much that it spills over on to others!