Yes, I am the Vine…

May 17, 2024 Cathy

Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches [John 15:5a]

This is part two of Jesus, the True Vine. I believe the Lord put this on my heart to study and talk about this message in depth because there is so much fluffy teaching out there right now. People are confused about who God is, or they are mocking Him, or they are claiming to be a “Christian” when they are not true believers.

NOTE: This post is only an outline, more is shared on the podcast…

In the first four verses of John 15, we learned some important key points. You can find that post and podcast here.

Jesus is the only source of life.
The Father is the one who cares for the vineyard.
God does not bring sickness or hardship in our lives to teach us.
We pruned and cleansed by the Word of God.
To bear fruit or have life we must remain with Jesus.

Now let’s hop into the next passages, hopefully, we will receive some revelation about what Jesus is showing us here also.

Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father. [John 15:5-8]

Breaking this down, verse by verse is so powerful and there is so much more that could be gleaned from these words…

[5] Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

Right out the gate there is so much in this passage, it is really clear our position with the Lord. We are the branches! We are not the vine, and we are not little gods. It’s Jesus who supplies us with everything we need to do what we are called to do.

As we learned in John 15:4 we must stand firm/abide in Jesus. It is emphasized again in this very next verse.

Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit [John 15:5b]

Most believers know they need to spend more time in the Word and with the Lord, but they don’t feel they have the time. The thing is, if we only could see ourselves as worthless as a detached branch without Jesus, we would make the time. The more things we have going on in our lives, the more we need to be with the Lord and in His Word.

I love what it says in Psalms 91, that the Lord promises divine blessing and intervention to those who DWELL [LIVE] in the secret place of the Almighty.

Those who LIVE in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. [Psalm 91:1]

Did you see what that said about those who LIVE in the shelter of the Most High? In order to remain in the Lord and Him in us, this requires intimacy that cannot be achieved without spending time in His Word on a consistent basis. Remaining in Him isn’t just setting aside time for our Holy Appointment, but it is also allowing Jesus to be part of our everyday life and activities and communicating with Him throughout our entire day.

This is what is amazing my friend, we are not required to live in this world trying to fight things on our own. No, we can have a personal relationship with God Almighty. Not only that, but He has also given us everything we need to fight against the evil in this world and to keep our minds focused on Jesus.

We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. [2 Corinthians 10:3-5]

What would happen if a branch could come to a vine for fifteen minutes at a time? It wouldn’t survive being apart from the vine and a few minutes a day would not be sufficient either for its survival. So why would a “believer” think a fifteen-minute devotional would sustain them or is the same as abiding in the vine? We can’t just visit the Lord. We have to LIVE in His presence.

I know this last part of this verse is hard for people to accept, but again it is really clear – without Him we can do nothing.

This is the foundation of being a true believer. We must realize that without Jesus, we are a dead branch lying on the ground. We are useless for the kingdom of God, we will have no power, no authority, no anointing, and no defense against the enemy.

Even though it’s true, that we cannot do anything without Jesus, what is so awesome is we are never without Jesus [as a true believer].

Let’s take a look at some of the promises regarding this…

Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age. [Matthew 28:20]

No, I will not abandon you as orphans, I will come to you. Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. [John 14:18-20]

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. [John 14:16-17]

Remember, there needs to be somewhat of a balance regarding this. We do need to recognize our total dependence on Him [the True Vine]. However, we shouldn’t be so focused on our inability, but our focus should be on Jesus’ ability, and with Him we can do all things.

For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. [Philippians 4:13]

Ok, this next verse is a bit scary, and should be eye-awakening for some so-called “Christians”.

[6] Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.

Even though it is scary, it makes sense. If we are not living with the Lord and allowing Him to live within us – we will wither away. We become useless for the Kingdom of God if we do not remain or stand firm on God’s Word, or have that intimate relationship with Jesus.

This is where the rubber meets the road if you will. You are either LIVING for Jesus and allowing Him to live inside of you/abiding OR you are not. There is no middle ground here. This is a choice every single person must make. What is sad is the religious world and fluffy teaching is sending people straight to hell.

Now, this is NOT what God wants or is His will.

The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed but wants everyone to repent. [2 Peter 3:9]

***Please read this full chapter…

The entire message in John 15 is trying to emphasize that just saying a simple prayer one time does not make you a believer. The religious world would tell you to recite what is known as the sinners’ prayer, and then you are good to go, you are heaven-bound. Nowhere in scripture is this prayer documented and this is what is deceiving many. These people believe they are now “Christian”, yet they keep living the same as they always were.

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! [2 Corinthians 5:17]

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. [Romans 12:2]

As we have been learning, we are to ABIDE in Christ. There is to be a transformation, a new person, a renewing of the mind, a filling of the Holy Spirit, and an obvious difference between those who abide in Jesus versus someone who is living like the world.

You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that! Evil people and impostors will flourish. They will deceive others and will themselves be deceived. [2 Timothy 3:1-5, 13]

He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire. [Matthew 3:12]

Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name. But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws. [Matthew 7:21-23]

Sadly, as a result of not abiding in Christ, not everyone who thinks they are believers will remain with Jesus forever.

[7] But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!

This is another scripture that is frequently taken out of context. Everyone wants to get whatever they pray for, but few people are willing to abide in Jesus. They want prayers to be like a fast-food drive-through.

This is not a promise that if we meet certain conditions, the Lord will give us whatever we want. Nothing will be given to us by God that doesn’t line up with His Word, as God will NEVER violate what He has spoken.

What this means and I experienced this personally in a profound way just recently. When we abide in Jesus, we make Him first in our lives, and are in the Word, our desires change. God gives us the desire for things that line up with His will for our lives.

My personal example of this is in the podcast…

This promise that we will receive anything we ask is conditional on our abiding. It’s not God who fails to answer our prayers if we aren’t abiding in Him. What we do is open the door for the enemy to sneak in and hinder our prayers. Then our flesh or carnal thoughts and actions render us powerless to do anything about it, when we aren’t abiding by Jesus.

[8] When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.

I don’t know about you, but I desire to produce much fruit and to be a true disciple/follower of Jesus. I want to hear those words, welcome home my good and faithful servant.

A true disciple of Jesus bears much fruit. Those who are not bearing much fruit are not yet disciples. John 8:31-32 says that if we continue in His Word, then are we His disciples and we shall know the truth and the truth shall make us free. It could be said that when we come to really know the truth, the freedom we experience bears much fruit, and we become the true disciples of Jesus.

Jesus said to the people who believed in him, you are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. [John 8:31-32]

Some people have ignored this scripture to justify their failures. They proclaim that God willed them not to succeed so that they would be humble or some such foolishness. However, this verse settles, once and for all, that lack, poverty, and being unfruitful does not bring glory to God.

It is God’s will for us to have the fruit that God’s Word promises.

The key takeaway gems for John 15:1-8

Jesus is the only source of life.
The Father is the one who cares for the vineyard.
God does not bring sickness or hardship in our lives to teach us.
We pruned and cleansed by the Word of God.
To bear fruit or have life we must remain with Jesus.
Jesus is our vine – our lifeblood.
We are the branches and must stay connected to the vine.
If we abide in Him, we WILL produce fruit.
Without Him we can do nothing.
If we do not abide in the Lord, we are like a useless dead branch.
These useless branches are gathered and burned up.
When we abide in Him, He gives us His desires and we will receive anything that we have asked for according to His Word
Bearing MUCH fruit is the sign of a true disciple.
When we are bearing fruit, this brings glory to the Lord.

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. Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father. [John 15:1-8]