Fruitfulness Through Intimacy
Jesus says in John 15:1-11,16 “I am the vine, and My Father is the husbandman.
Every branch in Me that bears not fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears
fruit, He prunes it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now you are clean through the
word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you, as the branch cannot
bear fruit of itself, except it abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches, he that
abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit, for without Me you can do
nothing. 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. If you abide in
Me, and My words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done to
you. Herein is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; so shall you be My
disciples. As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you, continue you in My love.
If you keep My commandments you shall abide in My love, even as I have kept My
Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things have I spoken to you
that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. You have not chosen
Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit,
and that your fruit should remain, that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father, in My
name, He may give it you”.
Fruitfulness flows from intimacy with Christ. When you cut off a branch from the vine,
it can no longer bear fruit, in fact it will wither, because the source of life is separated
from it. Jesus tells the devil when tempted in the wilderness “man shall not live by
bread alone, but by every word of God. Paul writes “for in Him we live, and move, and
have our being” in Acts 17:28.
Following Christ will yield fruitful results. Christ is the vine, and God the Father is the
gardener who cares for the branches to make them fruitful. The branches are all
those who claim to be followers of Christ. The fruitful branches are true believers who
by their living union with Christ produce much fruit. But those who become
unproductive, those who turn back from following Christ after making a superficial
commitment will be separated from the vine. Unproductive followers will be cut off and
tossed aside.
Apart from Christ, there is no real fruitfulness. Many people try to be good, honest
people who do what is right, but Jesus says that the only way to live a truly good life is
to stay close to Him, like a branch attached to the vine. Apart from Christ our efforts
are unfruitful.
When the Holy Spirit controls our lives, He will produce this kind of fruit in us, love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control
(Galatians 5:22-23). The fruit of the Spirit is the spontaneous work of the Holy Spirit in
us, we only have to yield ourselves to Him. If we want the fruit of the Spirit to grow in
us, we must join our life to His. Remember that we are washed by the water of the
word.
There is intimacy with God, when we learn to understand the very heart of God. God
created us for intimacy. We should strive to know Him, love Him, and imitate Him.
Psalms 1:1-3 shows us that blessed is the man that walks with God, and delight in His
ways; that meditate day and night in His word. That they shall be like a tree planted
by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season. Daniel says the people
that know their God shall be strong and do exploits. The Bible says “The eyes of the
Lord Yahweh run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the
behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward Him”.
God reaches out to us, offering an intimate relationship, a commitment that is forever,
a love relationship such as we have never known before. Enoch walked with God in
such a way that God took him that he did not see death. Enoch enjoyed a close
relationship with God throughout his life Genesis 5:24 says that he walked with God
300 hundred years. He lived the way God wants us to live, a life of faith.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 22:37 “you shall love the Lord your God, with all your heart,
and with all your soul, and with all your mind”. God is passionate about His
relationship with us, and wants us to worship no other god. Matthew 5:8 says
“blesses are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Intimacy involves coming to
God with a clean heart and pure motives.
Jesus had such a relationship with the Father, He would arise early and go to a
special place and commune with the Father, and His disciples asked Him to teach
them to pray in Luke chapter 11; in which He replies we are to have daily communion
with God.
As we present our bodies a living sacrifice and draw near to God, He will draw near to
us. Psalms 145:18 says “the Lord is near to all them that call upon Him, to all that call
upon Him in truth”.
Our part is to stay connected to the vine; you do that by letting the word of Christ
dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And
whatever you do in word, or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks
to God and the Father by Him.
All relationships require spending time with each other, getting to know each other’s
likes and dislikes, and sharing heart to heart all their burdens, fears, and joy with
each other. They delight in doing everything the Lord wants, day and night.
Spending time with God leads to intimacy.
The Bible tells us to beware of false prophets, that we shall know them by their fruits
(Matthew 7:17-20). I John 4:1 tells us to believe not every spirit, but try the spirits
whether they are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
Galatians 5 lists for us the fruit of the flesh (world) and the fruit of the Spirit. James
says “but if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not and lie not
against the truth. This wisdom descends not from above, but is earthly sensual,
devilish. For where envying and strife is there is confusion and every evil work. But
the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be
entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, with partiality, and with hypocrisy. And the
fruit of righteousness is sown in peace to them that make peace”.
Now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God, all because of what
our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in making us reconciled to God.
Sermon by: Harriet Bond
Date: January 11, 2009
Jesus says in John 15:1-11,16 “I am the vine, and My Father is the husbandman.
Every branch in Me that bears not fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears
fruit, He prunes it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now you are clean through the
word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you, as the branch cannot
bear fruit of itself, except it abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches, he that
abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit, for without Me you can do
nothing. 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. If you abide in
Me, and My words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done to
you. Herein is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; so shall you be My
disciples. As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you, continue you in My love.
If you keep My commandments you shall abide in My love, even as I have kept My
Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things have I spoken to you
that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. You have not chosen
Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit,
and that your fruit should remain, that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father, in My
name, He may give it you”.
Fruitfulness flows from intimacy with Christ. When you cut off a branch from the vine,
it can no longer bear fruit, in fact it will wither, because the source of life is separated
from it. Jesus tells the devil when tempted in the wilderness “man shall not live by
bread alone, but by every word of God. Paul writes “for in Him we live, and move, and
have our being” in Acts 17:28.
Following Christ will yield fruitful results. Christ is the vine, and God the Father is the
gardener who cares for the branches to make them fruitful. The branches are all
those who claim to be followers of Christ. The fruitful branches are true believers who
by their living union with Christ produce much fruit. But those who become
unproductive, those who turn back from following Christ after making a superficial
commitment will be separated from the vine. Unproductive followers will be cut off and
tossed aside.
Apart from Christ, there is no real fruitfulness. Many people try to be good, honest
people who do what is right, but Jesus says that the only way to live a truly good life is
to stay close to Him, like a branch attached to the vine. Apart from Christ our efforts
are unfruitful.
When the Holy Spirit controls our lives, He will produce this kind of fruit in us, love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control
(Galatians 5:22-23). The fruit of the Spirit is the spontaneous work of the Holy Spirit in
us, we only have to yield ourselves to Him. If we want the fruit of the Spirit to grow in
us, we must join our life to His. Remember that we are washed by the water of the
word.
There is intimacy with God, when we learn to understand the very heart of God. God
created us for intimacy. We should strive to know Him, love Him, and imitate Him.
Psalms 1:1-3 shows us that blessed is the man that walks with God, and delight in His
ways; that meditate day and night in His word. That they shall be like a tree planted
by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season. Daniel says the people
that know their God shall be strong and do exploits. The Bible says “The eyes of the
Lord Yahweh run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the
behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward Him”.
God reaches out to us, offering an intimate relationship, a commitment that is forever,
a love relationship such as we have never known before. Enoch walked with God in
such a way that God took him that he did not see death. Enoch enjoyed a close
relationship with God throughout his life Genesis 5:24 says that he walked with God
300 hundred years. He lived the way God wants us to live, a life of faith.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 22:37 “you shall love the Lord your God, with all your heart,
and with all your soul, and with all your mind”. God is passionate about His
relationship with us, and wants us to worship no other god. Matthew 5:8 says
“blesses are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Intimacy involves coming to
God with a clean heart and pure motives.
Jesus had such a relationship with the Father, He would arise early and go to a
special place and commune with the Father, and His disciples asked Him to teach
them to pray in Luke chapter 11; in which He replies we are to have daily communion
with God.
As we present our bodies a living sacrifice and draw near to God, He will draw near to
us. Psalms 145:18 says “the Lord is near to all them that call upon Him, to all that call
upon Him in truth”.
Our part is to stay connected to the vine; you do that by letting the word of Christ
dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And
whatever you do in word, or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks
to God and the Father by Him.
All relationships require spending time with each other, getting to know each other’s
likes and dislikes, and sharing heart to heart all their burdens, fears, and joy with
each other. They delight in doing everything the Lord wants, day and night.
Spending time with God leads to intimacy.
The Bible tells us to beware of false prophets, that we shall know them by their fruits
(Matthew 7:17-20). I John 4:1 tells us to believe not every spirit, but try the spirits
whether they are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
Galatians 5 lists for us the fruit of the flesh (world) and the fruit of the Spirit. James
says “but if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not and lie not
against the truth. This wisdom descends not from above, but is earthly sensual,
devilish. For where envying and strife is there is confusion and every evil work. But
the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be
entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, with partiality, and with hypocrisy. And the
fruit of righteousness is sown in peace to them that make peace”.
Now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God, all because of what
our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in making us reconciled to God.
Sermon by: Harriet Bond
Date: January 11, 2009
