Jesus used the picture of the vine to illustrate our dependency upon Him for fruitfulness. He explains the picture saying: I am the vine, ye are the branches. (John 15:5)
We would do well to learn the lessons Jesus teaches us through the parable of the vine that we might have joy, as Jesus concludes the parable by saying: These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. (John 15:11)
Just as a branch of a grapevine has the purpose of bearing fruit, so each Christian has a purpose to be fruitful. Jesus says: I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit. (John 15:16)
To those who do not seek fruit the word of God is severe, as Jesus said of His Heavenly Father: Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away. (John 15:2) God has no use for Christians who do not want to be fruitful. So God may even take away their life.
Jesus makes this clear in His parable of the fig tree: A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it. And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down. (Luke 13:6-9)
When judging ourselves regarding our own fruitfulness, we should not compare ourselves with others because God expects more of some than of others. It depends upon the abilities, resources and teaching which He has given each of us. Those who are not fruitful God gives space until He has given them further encouragement to be fruitful.
But they must respond to Him, as our purpose on earth is to bear fruit in association with abiding in Christ. Otherwise Jesus warns: If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. (John 15:6) This does not mean, however, that such people go to hell, although they will lose out in the next life: If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. (1 Corinthians 3:15)
The most important type of fruit of which the grapevine speaks is souls, saved and perfected. These will be caught up into the clouds to meet Christ at His return: what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye are our glory and joy. (1 Thessalonians 2:19)
But how can we bear fruit. The first essential is cleanliness. Just as a vine branch must be clean from disease, so for us, a prerequisite is that we be free from sin. This was already the case with the disciples. Jesus had washed their feet symbolising their cleanliness from sin and now says to them: Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. (John 15:3)
To bring forth good fruit, it is important that we lead good lives. Jesus said: every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. (Matthew 7:17)
Jesus warns that there will be many bad trees who think to justify themselves by much activity. On the day of judgement they will say to Jesus: Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (Matthew 7:22,23) Note that they are rejected, not for their beliefs, but for their evil practices or deeds.
To those who are clean, the way to fruitfulness is to utilize the power of God working through us, which is done by abiding in Christ.
The kernel of Jesus' teaching on fruitfulness is His words: without me ye can do nothing. (John 15:5) Just as a branch is not able to produce fruit without sap from the vine, so we cannot win or build souls without the Spirit of Christ working in and through us. Jesus said: As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. (John 15:4) Fruit comes not from us, but from Christ. We are merely channels:
Channels only, Blessed Master
But with all thy wondrous power
Flowing through us, thou canst use us
Every day and every hour
We cannot do the works of God in our strength because the work of God is done: Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. (Zechariah 4:6) For true growth and revival of the church, God must work as He did with persecuted, scattered disciples who were: preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord. (Acts 11:20,21)
The apostle Paul utilized God's power. Therefore he could say: I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. (Philippians 4:13) But this power was not just for apostles. Paul prayed for all believers that they would: be strengthened with might by his Spirit (Ephesians 3:16) and says that God is: able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. (Ephesians 3:20)
Jesus said we are fruitful by abiding in Him. This means that we must be one with Him, and not independent of Him. I will now discuss how we should obey this instruction, which leads to God's power working through us, which leads to fruitfulness.
We do not obtain God's power by trying to be weak, or passive, or super-spiritual. It is by faith and by obedience to God's ways, by prayer, and by meditation upon God's word that we are strengthened. And this enables us to obey 1 Peter 4:11: If any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth.
An example of one being strengthened by faith is that of Caleb, who was made strong after putting his trust in God's power to fight against a foe that was stronger than he. (Caleb and Joshua were the only two faithful, of the twelve who spied out the land of Canaan.) Caleb's faith is shown when he: stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. (Numbers 13:30,31)
As a result of his faith Caleb was strengthened by God so that at the age of eighty-five he was as strong as at forty. Caleb said: Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadeshbarnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart . . . And now, behold, the Lord hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years . . . and now, lo, I am this day four score and five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war. (Joshua 14:7,10,11) Such Old Testament examples of faith are relevant to us. Hebrews 11:32-34 lists many, and says of some: who through faith . . . out of weakness were made strong.
Note that God did not replace Caleb’s natural faculties but rather enhanced them. We do not become remote controlled robots even though God supplies us with the necessary wisdom, strength and skill to perform our ministry.
The next step in abiding in Christ is to work in God's way rather than our own. Jesus is our example of this. He said of Himself: The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. (John 5:19) As Jesus followed His Heavenly Father's example, we must follow Jesus' example. I will now give some examples.
Although all may not be called to be evangelists, those that are can follow Jesus' example to lift up their voice in the streets, promising a heavenly reward to the hearers: Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. (John 7:37) Our way might be not to be so obvious, although preaching in the street is not the only way to evangelise. Unfortunately, however, many of those involved in evangelism do not have sound doctrine; but it is a pity that those who do have sound doctrine, are not involved more in evangelism.
Another example of Jesus' way was that He did not hide the cost of discipleship from His followers: And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. (Luke 9:23) The result of such speaking was that: From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. (John 6:66) Although there is value, and forgiveness for those prepared to live a life of righteousness without too much hardship, to be fruitful disciples must deny themselves. Our way might be to hide the cost of discipleship, so as to increase numbers in the ministry. I think, however, that it is good to show the rewards God has for the faithful, and the love of God, before dwelling on the cost. Then, hopefully many will answer like Peter when: Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. (John 6:67,68)
Jesus' way also, was to spend much time in teaching a small group, often withdrawing from the crowds. This is relevant to us. It is not always the showiest works that are the most fruitful. God has commanded us to: make disciples of all the nations (Matthew 28:19 NASB), not just to attract large crowds to church. Paul told Timothy: the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. (2 Timothy 2:2)
By following Christ's example in these and other ways, and by following the instructions of the word of God we become, not independent, but as the apostle Paul: workers together with him (Christ). (2 Corinthians 6:1)
We must realise when speaking to souls, that it is God who does the work in their hearts, by His Holy Spirit. We are merely messengers. Therefore we do not try to force souls to obey. Instead we encourage them. For example, new souls should not be forced to evangelise. Instead it would be better to encourage them, by showing them the word in Daniel 12:3, of the reward for evangelism: they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. Alternatively they could be shown Jesus' words in Luke 9:26: For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels. However, whether a soul evangelises should be their own decision, not the result of continued pressure to do so much evangelism a week. (To force souls to obey is our own work, not God's.) To abide in Christ and let God work through us is to hold up the standard of the word of God and then let God work with His Spirit in the hearts of the hearers. Anyway, I do not know whether all are called to street evangelism. There are other ways of witnessing.
To be one with the Lord, or to abide in Him, we must spend time in prayer and in meditation upon God's word. Jesus said: If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit. (John 15:7,8)
It is important to spend time every day reading God's word. It is also good to spend time thinking or meditating upon it at other times. Colossians 3:16 says: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. When the word of Christ thus dwells in us, we are able to speak it to each other as the word continues: teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. We also acquire greater boldness to speak to the unsaved.
God also works with us and makes us fruitful if we think upon His word: his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season. (Psalm 1:2,3)
We must also spend time in prayer, praying for fruit for God, and also praising and thanking God. We must be like Samuel, and pray for the souls to whom we minister, that they would be built up in their most holy faith. To do otherwise is to sin, as says Samuel: as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way. (1 Samuel 12:23)
By prayer also, we receive courage to speak the word, as did all the disciples, not just the apostles. The early church prayed: Lord . . . grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word . . . And when they had prayed . . . they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. (Acts 4:29,31)
When we, like this example of the early church, are concerned with the increase of the kingdom of God, and this is our desire, that souls would be added to the kingdom, Jesus promises that our prayers will be answered. He says: that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. (John 15:16)
If we are one with Christ, by living clean lives, by faith and obedience, by meditating upon God's word, and by prayer, we can trust God to work through us. But we must allow Him to do this.
We should rely upon God to find His message for the audience. Jesus did not rely upon Himself when speaking His message, but He relied upon His Heavenly Father. He said: The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. (John 14:10)
Although we cannot expect to speak exactly the right message with the accuracy of Jesus, God is still willing to give us a specific message for a specific audience. That God is willing to put His words in our mouth, is clear from Matthew 10:19,20: it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. This promise refers to facing persecution, but I believe that its application is more general; that God can give us the right message. Otherwise it would seem strange if God who sometimes gives us the right message, did not do so when preaching.
When facing persecution, God can inspire us with what to speak at that time. However I think that for preaching, God will give us what to say some time before, when we are preparing ourselves. At other times God puts the exact words in our mind moments before we need to speak them. All we then need to do is to open our mouth and utter them. I have sometimes found this to be the case when speak to a soul about salvation, but have less conscious of this when writing these articles. But God often gives me the understanding and the ideas, and brings verses to mind when I am working on a particular chapter. (I also get ideas from reading books. For this chapter I drew from "The True Vine", an excellent book by Andrew Murray.) I find that as my understanding increases I need to completely rewrite sections. Writing is not only a preaching exercise for me, but is also a learning exercise.
So how should preachers prepare their sermons? It is important that they wait upon the Lord in prayer. God may then put a burden upon the heart of the preacher that there is a specific need of the church, or He may bring a specific verse to mind. Whilst there is nothing wrong with referring to books or other people's sermons or last year's sermons, it is important that the reliance is not on these, but upon the Lord.
As a note of qualification, although I believe God gives us His message, I do not believe that every word a preacher preaches is direct from God. Also God works through our hearts and minds, not independent of our hearts and minds. So what seems to our minds to be the best way of explaining a topic, probably is so. And what seems to our minds to be a good idea for a sequence of sermons probably is so. The fact that a particular topic has not been preached for a while is also a good reason to preach it, for Jesus said: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. (Matthew 28:20)
To those who thus abide in Christ by praying for God's message, then speaking it, Jesus promises that: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. (John 15:5)
Not only in preaching the word, but in all our works, our part in abiding in Christ is to do things in God's way. By this I mean not so much that we keep God's commandments such as adult baptism (these are prerequisites for abiding in Christ); but rather that we are led by His word, and sometimes more specifically by His Spirit, as to how to perform our ministries.
To abide in Christ, we should commit all our works to the Lord, asking for His help and direction: Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. (Proverbs 3:5,6) God will then both direct our paths and make them to prosper. Be mindful that God does not always lead by a voice. He may simply increase our understanding.
A story of how Jesus taught His disciples to rely upon Him is recorded in John 21:3-7: Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a-fishing. They said unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Then Jesus saith unto them, Children have you any meat? They answered him, No. And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fish. So, being led by Christ, the fishing became fruitful.
An application of this story is that we should seek God, to find His will before making important decisions such as building a church hall, to determine its location and capacity. The way in which we acknowledge our need of God's help and indeed obtain it is by prayer.
Whilst Jesus promises joy to those who abide in Him, sorrow awaits those who are independent of God. There are those who are careful to keep the commandments of God such as not committing adultery, but who never learn to rely on God. For some this is the missing ingredient. They do things independent of God and in their own way. These are spoken of in Isaiah 50:10,11: Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God. Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow.
Trying to do the work of God independently from God will quench joy. Whilst we must make the sacrifices God asks of us, working independently often involves making sacrifices God has not requested. This might be going without sleep to do some work that God does not even want us to do. So in summary we must find out what work God has for us and pray for His grace to perform it.
Those who abide in Christ can say with Him: My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. (John 4:34) Food brings strength and satisfaction. So also does obedience to the word of God, and in particular doing the work of God by the grace of God, bring both spiritual strength and spiritual satisfaction by the power of the Holy Spirit.
We also will experience the love of the Lord if we keep His command to abide (as well as His other commandments). Jesus promises: If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. (John 15:10) Then also we may hear the Father's voice from heaven saying to us as He said to Christ: Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (Mark 1:11) We will not hear this voice in our ears but in our spirit.
Those who lead clean lives and seek to bring forth fruit for God, however imperfectly at first, God the Father teaches to adapt according to Jesus' words: "My Father is the vine-dresser . . . and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit". (John 15:1,2 NKJV) Too much foliage on a grapevine reduces the amount of sap going to increase the grape yield. Therefore the vinedresser prunes off this excess. This excess foliage represents our own strengths and our reliance on them. The Heavenly Father takes away our self-confidence (but not our true confidence) and teaches us to rely upon God and His strength.
God does this by putting us into difficult situations. Paul said: Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. (2 Corinthians 12:10) All these difficulties are God's pruning tools.
Pride makes us weak, but humility makes us strong. So that the apostle Paul could continue strong in the Lord, God made him weak in the flesh by allowing a great difficulty to continually assail him. We are not told what this difficulty was. It is merely described as a thorn in the flesh. It may have been some type of sickness, but it must have been very unpleasant as Paul pleaded with God that it might leave him: And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:7-9)
Paul so desired the power of Christ that he would gladly suffer infirmity so that he might: know him, and the power of his resurrection. (Philippians 3:10)
Difficulties and troubles teach us to abide in Christ because they turn our confidence away from ourselves and towards God. Paul said: we would not brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life: But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead. (2 Corinthians 1:8,9)
To be fully fruitful, or in other words, to bring spiritual life to others, we need to abide in the power of Christ's life which is only learned through suffering. Paul said: We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body . . . So then death worketh in us, but life in you. (2 Corinthians 4:8-12)
The life Paul speaks of here, is spiritual life and power, in the souls of those to whom he ministered. The more Paul suffered, the more power his ministry had in influencing lives, and thus the more fruitful he became. We should tell the Lord we are also willing to pay the price to be fruitful, because we shall be rewarded in eternity for the fruit we bear. As the apostle Paul was imprisoned and finally killed for the sake of the church, we also must be prepared to face the same. This is an expression of our love according to Jesus’ words: Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)
It may not seem like joy to be pruned, but the Lord comforts us, saying: ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. (John 16:22)
Whilst the Lord perfects us through suffering, we must be willing also to learn through all other means which He employs.