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You
did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that
you
should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain,
that
whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give to
you.
These things I command you, that you love one another.
John
15:16-17
Jesus
had been teaching about the true vine, the vinedresser and
the
branches before He spoke these words. Jesus says that He is
the
vine, His Father is the vinedresser and we are the branches.
We
are called to bear
fruit.
This
is often confused with bringing
forth fruit,
meaning that we
ourselves
should produce fruit. We are unable to do this of
ourselves.
Jesus is the vine and it is He who produces all the fruit.
We,
the branches, bear the fruit. We need to bear it, not let it fall
to
the ground. If we bring forth or produce fruit we do it in our
own
strength. If we bear fruit we do it in Jesus’ strength. This is
much
easier, costing much less effort, but the fruit is also much
better
quality and will last. When we try to produce our own fruit
it
mostly falls to the ground. We think Jesus gives us brownie
points
when we produce our own fruit. But, in fact, the opposite is
true.
We wear ourselves out by producing fruit of inferior quality
and
which does not last.
In
Philippians 1:6 Paul writes: being
confident of this very thing,
that
He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until
the
day of Jesus Christ. Paul
means here that when the Father is
the
vinedresser, Jesus the vine and we the branches, the work will
be
fruitful, until the day when Jesus returns for His Bride.
Unfortunately
this was not the case in Philippi. This ancient city is
in
ruins today. This was the first European city where people
tasted
true freedom in Christ. Today Greece is dominated by the
Greek
Orthodox Church system, which persecutes born again
Christians
(who meet secretly underground). God’s works all start
well
– do they all finish well? Or do they finish as they did in
Philippi?
The
foundation of all we do as Christians is our love for Jesus
Christ.
Building His church is a labour of pure, honest love for the
One
who gives eternal life.
As
we journey through life we may lose some of our first love, but
for
the sake of building the church, we continue working in our
own
strength. We bring forth fruit instead of bearing fruit.
That
is very hard work. Psalms 127 says: Unless
the Lord builds
the
house, they labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards
the
city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is vain for you to
rise
up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; For so He
gives
His beloved sleep.
Doing
God’s work in our own strength causes burnout. We are
busy
from morning till night, organizing church, keeping people
happy,
then one day we discover we are completely exhausted.
Many
pastors and church workers are aware of this. This work can
be
overwhelming, and may cause us to ask: “What in God’s Name
am
I doing?”
God
sees it all and is concerned for His dear children; they are
exhausted,
barren and dry. He longs to refresh and renew them.
Like
the parable in Luke 13:6-9 where the gardener cherishes the
barren
fig tree, He tries everything to bring new life into the tree,
fertilizing
it, digging around it. So also our Lord is looking for a
harvest
in His vineyard. He longs to bring renewal and
refreshment,
and sometimes He comes to dig the ground…
Then
the church begins to shake… It looks as though everything
turns
upside down. This is actually a very crucial moment for the
church…
will it sink or swim…
Over
the last few years the Lord has been shaking many
churches,
because they are not as fruitful as He would like them
to
be; because they are laboring in their own strength; because
people
have become self – sufficient in ‘their’ church, regarding it
as
‘their’ social club. There are a variety of reasons why church is
having
difficulties.
Beloved
pastors and elders, thank God for the shaking! His eye is
upon
you and the church He has appointed you to lead. His desire
is
that you bear fruit, more than ever before. He loves you
deeply.
Maybe you are satisfied with the status quo, but the
Vinedresser
is after more fruit, and better quality fruit!
Stop
accusing the devil or people for this shaking. It has nothing
to
do with them. It is your Vinedresser digging the ground,
causing
the ungodly, barren and dead things in our lives to be
buried
and bringing out the good. He loves us; He loves His
church;
and He longs to go forward with us. He wants us to bear
fruit,
much fruit, fruit that will remain. He does not want us to end
up
like the church in Philippi, in a country ruled by false religion.
At
the moment the church He has called you to lead starts to
shake,
fall down on your knees and ask the Lord of the Vineyard
how
He wants you to move forward. Thank Him for the shaking,
for
if you do not harden your heart, you will bear fruit. If your
heart
stays soft and malleable in His loving hands, and you are
not
afraid of people leaving your church, new fruit will appear,
fresh
fruit and much fruit. People will leave, but don’t be afraid of
that.
Give
the church back to God and allow Him to do what is
necessary.
Let Him fertilise it with the Holy Spirit, make room for
Him
to prune the dead branches, and to dig up the ground. Do
not
be afraid, let go of that which you cannot control, and
continue
thanking, praising and worshipping God. His love for His
Bride
is so great!
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