Transcript of The Vine - #5 - The Fruit
- 1. The Vine - #5 - The Fruit John 15:2 John 15:2 (KJV) Every
branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every
branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth
more fruit. There is a two fold lesson to be learned from the
fruit. The first is the seven fruits of the Spirit, and the second
is the fruits of our labors for God. Can we have the one without
the other? Paul describes the seven perfect fruits of The Spirit in
his letter to the Galatians. He then summarizes them in his letter
to the Ephesians. Galatians 5:22 (KJV) But the fruit of the Spirit
is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Galatians 5:22 Amplified Bible (AMP) But the fruit of the [Holy]
Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love,
joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance),
kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, Ephesians 5:9 (KJV)
(For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness
and truth;) It is through an ongoing daily relationship with Jesus
(through Bible study and prayer) that we are able to develop those
perfect fruits.
- 2. Notice that they are NOT OUR FRUITS, but are the fruits that
are imparted to us as a gift from the Holy Spirit. When we are
given these fruits, they can then be enjoyed by all those who we
come into contact with. There are also many 'flavors' in the fruits
we can produce through the workings of God in our lives, and we'll
get into those in the next lesson. Lets take a look at some of the
things the earthly husbandman must do to insure that the branches
of the vine will bare fruit. Let's watch this short video, (3:03)
Summer Grape Pruning and Care with Tricia, at Peaceful Valley.
[You'll find the live link #1 at the bottom of the page.] What did
we learn? 1. Excessive vegetative growth forms a large dense canopy
over the fruit blocking out the sunlight & breeze. The early
rain of each season, as has all rain in general, is always
correctly perceived to be a blessing from God. However, even Gods
blessings when used without his guidance can produce bad results,
just like the video demonstrates. 2. Retain 6-8 shoots per foot of
canopy. God picked just twelve disciples for Jesus to develop from
tender shoots into branches that could produce fruit. God's wisdom
is amazing, and all of his plans have perfect purpose. Twelve, and
multiples of twelve are numbers that show up all the time in Gods
word as part of plans in His designs. Is it a coincidence that the
New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:12-14) has twelve gates, three on each
of it's four sides, and they are named after the twelve tribes of
Israel? Which gate do you suppose that your mansion is closest to?
It doesn't end there though, because the city also has twelve
beautiful jewels for foundations that are named after the twelve
Apostles of the Lamb, Christ Jesus! If you've never seen the video
depicting the colors of the foundations then click the link at the
bottom. [link #2]
- 3. 3. Remove all suckers from the trunk. They're called suckers
for a good reason. They suck the nourishing sap away from the
branches that are producing fruit. They are easily compared to
distractions that interfere with our spiritual development.
However, it is important to note that it is The True Husbandman who
is removing these things from our lives! Likewise the branches with
no clusters of fruit are sucking away the sap that could otherwise
be used to grow fruit. The distractions aren't always 'bad things',
but they are things that suck up time that could be better spent,
with much greater long term benefits and rewards. These 'better
things' can be things that further our spiritual development and
strengthen our relationship with God. Our verse for this lesson
talks about The True Husbandman taking them away. John 15:2 (KJV)
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: 4.
Sunlight (Light from the Son) improves the flavor & quality of
the fruit. It is the Light, or knowledge that we gain from our
daily experience in the ever growing relationship we are developing
with Jesus that has the greatest positive affect on the fruit we
that display. 5. Too much shade and lack of air circulation creates
conditions that breed diseases such as 'powdery mildew' that
creates 'bunch rot'. Fruit produced in darkness turns into rotten
fruit. There is fruit produced by wild vines that isn't healthy
like the fruit that is cared for by the husbandman. The expression
we all have heard many times, Sowing my wild oats, is a good
example of this principle. I lament that this was a life style I
took on for more years than I care to think back on. The results
were the exact opposite of the fruits of The Holy Spirit. I must
admit that those fruits were beyond rotten most of the time, but I
thank God that He is patient and long suffering, and that He didn't
allow me to continue in that destructive lifestyle. I was baring
diseased fruit, in darkness, that made many around me sick!
- 4. 6. Take the long shoots (branches) and tuck them into the
trellis away from the fruit. It eliminates the crowding around the
fruit that blocks the light. Even the leaves that block the Light
are removed. I liken those leaves to the kind of books &
information that do not aid in the development of good fruit. 7.
The leaves are what draws the sap up into the branch so that it
reaches the clusters of fruit and helps them to grow. I like to
compare these leaves to the pages of God's word whereby we may be
strengthened and nourished to bare fruit. 8. When the fruit begins
to ripen it is too late to do any more pruning. There is a parallel
that we can make here that really struck me as to the depth of this
amazing parable Jesus taught his disciples. If you've watched all
of the videos in the first 4 lessons, you may have noticed that it
takes three years for a new vine to bare fruit. Jesus spent a
little over three years with His disciples, before His willing
sacrifice on the cross, and then he sent His Holy Spirit back to
continue to work with them throughout their lives. We also have
that advantage. But, I believe it was late in His life with them
here, before he sent them out on their own, to share His fruits
with the people (Read about the missionary journeys in Mark
6:7-13). In some cases, they failed in their efforts due to a lack
of faith (Mt 17:16). In a moment of weakness their faith wavered.
9. And finally, just one cluster per branch? Ah yes, but on that
cluster are many fruits! In this next lesson we get to discover
what is ment my the last line in John 15:5 where it mentions, More
Fruit! My prayer is that God will bless us ALL with much fruit!
link #1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0t6uXc2xEww link #2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=uvNR5i4Keg8&src_vid=EKh_U2NnIs8&feature=iv&annotation_id=annotation_866244