John 15:1-8 tells us that the key to bearing fruit that remains is abiding in Jesus. He tells his disciples ‘I am the vine, you are the branches….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.’ The issue I am finding in the American church is that many want to ‘visit’ the vine, but very few contend for ‘abiding’ in the vine. What’s the difference?
Romans 11 bears out how we as Gentiles have been grafted into the Kingdom. I believe that same principal and language is appropriate for how many Christians behave today. The reason millions of Christians are seeing little to no Kingdom fruit is because they graft themselves into the vine on Sunday or when they are around other Christians, but when the experience is over, they cut themselves off again.
They are visiting a vine that they have been called to abide in!
Millions draw off of the life source of the vine for a few hours every Sunday, and because they are still ‘green’ like a branch that is abiding, they think everything is okay. Most will not look at what they are producing, but they will pay attention to what they feel like…and if they are grafting in and grading out they’ll feel fine because after all, they check off the box that they wen’t to church this week.
When you cut a branch off of a tree…it still stays green for a while, but it won’t bear any fruit! They will maintain just enough life to stay green but won’t abide continually to have a truly fruitful life. The only way that you learn the voice of God and bear consistent fruit is by continually abiding in Him, continually maintaining your connection to him. Check out this 2 minute video about it from a recent visit to Impact Church in Miami, FL.
Having trouble viewing this video? Click HERE to watch on Youtube.