- Joined
- Apr 25, 2006
- Messages
- 17,518
20 June 2007
Part of a special themed week of Reflections based on The True Apprentice" (Matthew 10:38-42) written by Terry Eckersley
John 15 v1-6
"I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn't bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken.
"Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can't bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can't bear fruit unless you are joined with me.
"I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you're joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can't produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is - when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples."
In this passage Jesus describes himself as being "the Real Vine". If you want to be a True Apprentice and bear fruit, Jesus says, you must live in him and make your home in him. Only then can Jesus make his home in you. In Matthew 10 v 40 Jesus says we are "intimately linked in this harvest work". A branch can't produce grapes on its own - it must be joined to the vine. So for you to bear fruit - and do the job properly - you must be joined to Jesus.
Jesus asks us to stay close to him, be intimate with him. Don't do things on your own, relying on your own skills and resources. If you rely on yourself you're likely to burn out, or become smug because you're proud of your own achievements. If you are fully linked in with Jesus, living and resting in him, he promises you will bear fruit. But not because of your effort, because of his work in you. If you are a True Apprentice of Jesus, you are a fruit tree. And fruit trees bear fruit. So stay closely connected to the Real Vine.
Lord, I want to be intimately linked in your harvest work. Help me to live in you and make my home in you the Real Vine, so that I can a True Apprentice and bear fruit. Amen.
Written by Terry Eckersley The True Apprentice
Part of a special themed week of Reflections based on The True Apprentice" (Matthew 10:38-42) written by Terry Eckersley
John 15 v1-6
"I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn't bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken.
"Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can't bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can't bear fruit unless you are joined with me.
"I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you're joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can't produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is - when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples."
In this passage Jesus describes himself as being "the Real Vine". If you want to be a True Apprentice and bear fruit, Jesus says, you must live in him and make your home in him. Only then can Jesus make his home in you. In Matthew 10 v 40 Jesus says we are "intimately linked in this harvest work". A branch can't produce grapes on its own - it must be joined to the vine. So for you to bear fruit - and do the job properly - you must be joined to Jesus.
Jesus asks us to stay close to him, be intimate with him. Don't do things on your own, relying on your own skills and resources. If you rely on yourself you're likely to burn out, or become smug because you're proud of your own achievements. If you are fully linked in with Jesus, living and resting in him, he promises you will bear fruit. But not because of your effort, because of his work in you. If you are a True Apprentice of Jesus, you are a fruit tree. And fruit trees bear fruit. So stay closely connected to the Real Vine.
Lord, I want to be intimately linked in your harvest work. Help me to live in you and make my home in you the Real Vine, so that I can a True Apprentice and bear fruit. Amen.
Written by Terry Eckersley The True Apprentice
