7 Amazing Truths Found In the Vineyard of God
As chapter 14 of John closes, Jesus had declared it was time to leave the upper room. There was so much He needed the apostles to understand. As they walked along the road, He continued to talk and to teach. Along the road, undoubtedly were grape vines or perhaps it was a vineyard that they passed along the way. Jesus gently, passionately began to speak again,
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away;[a] and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will[b] ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
Love and Joy Perfected
9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. 11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. 12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (John 15 NKJV)
ISAIAH’S WORDS FULFILLED
Isaiah 5 begins with the words, “Now will I sing to my well beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My well beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill:2 And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes” (NKJV). That vineyard had been the Israelite nation. Yet, they had turned their eyes away from God so often. He had wooed her, cared for her; yet, selfish pride centered hearts had led to their turning their back to God’s truth. How often they sought after idols or cherished desires of their own hearts instead. They did not recognize Jesus as God’s son; the awaited messiah. Sin had filled the heart of man; blinding him to the truth.
THE SERPENT IS DESTROYED
Yet, that was not the end of the story. Jesus is preparing His apostles that He is about to go to the cross and die to pay the price for mankind’s sin; so that, all who believed in His Word by faith would become the fruit bearing branches of the vine. The dead branches which were never a part of the real vine would be cast aside and burned. The new branches would bear much fruit. “In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.2 In that day sing ye unto her, A vineyard of red wine.3 I the Lord do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day” (Isaiah 27).
7 TRUTHS OF THE VINEYARD
1. All who are have accepted the truth of the word are cleansed already. That is good news!! The life flowing sap of the vine will sustain us.
2. God will make us fruit bearing through pruning us. He will cut away the chaff, the wild shoots and will sustain us.
3. He has promised to sing over us, “I will keep you, I will water you every moment, and I will care for you day and night that no one will harm you.”
4. As we abide in the truth of His Great Love for us as shown upon the cross, He will teach our hearts how to love Him as we should. That love will then overflow to a world in need of His Heart of Love and we will bear fruits.
5. Everything good that you or I might do is through the power of the vine which feeds our branches. The Word of the Lord is our source, our strength and our power for love, joy, and peace. Jesus is the life source and we can do nothing truly righteousness without His Blood flowing through us. “6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away (Isaiah 64).
6. As we abide in Him and His words, our hearts are transformed step by step into hearts that are like His. We learn how to love and by thus, we learn how to pray with unselfish hearts closely attuned to God’s will and with the desire for God’s Glory.
7. Abiding in His Love is where our joy is filled. It is not filled by all the counterfeit joys that our humanity searches after. In Christ, wrapped within His arms of love; we have fullness of joy.
CONCLUSION
As we learn to abide in His Words of truth to our hearts, we grow in the knowledge of His love. We find joy in Him. When our hearts need pruning we learn that it is His love which prunes us and which waters our hearts again. To abide is to rest in His immutable word of truth, to trust in His Love, and to Know that He will make all things work together for our good.
The song I chose for you today, Abide with Me
New King James Version (NKJV)Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
©Effie Darlene Barba, 2015
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.