I AM. Part 6

Have you been pruned lately? Pastor Deb's sixth message of the I AM sayings of Christ

I am the real vine and my Father is the farmer. He cuts off every branch 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 cannot 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 your 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.
So, what does Jesus possibly mean when He starts talking about vines, grapes and farmers? People of this time and day were familiar with vines and growing grapes and they were also familiar with the scriptures that had earlier mentioned vines, like in Genesis when Joseph interpreted the dream of the cupbearer; In my dream I saw a vine in front of me, and in Jeremiah when it says, I had planted you like a choice vine of sound and reliable stock, how did you then turn against me into a corrupt wild vine? And also in Psalm 80:8 you brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. So, here is this very understandable visual that He gives us; but what EXACTLY was He trying to say? First the good news– that He was the promised Messiah that they had been waiting for. Not unlike He spoke to them earlier; when He mentioned that He was THE shepherd, the gate, the light. He was the real thing, the actual one, the genuine article, He was the TRUE VINE.
He was telling them and telling us right now from His word that there may be other vines, counterfeit vines, that are out there – but there is only one that is offered to you with God the Father as the farmer. This IS Great news! They disciples had chosen the right bread of life, the right light of the world. The right gate and shepherd, there was resurrection in Him, He was the way, the truth and the life… and He is the TRUE VINE; but then He goes on to elaborate…and He speaks a more harsh statement. The next thing Jesus tells the disciples ….is that God the Father cuts off every branch that doesn't bear grapes.
To prune means to cut off, remove, or take away.
To prune in the Greek language also means to clean off and cleanse from filth and to purify.
This is what Jesus meant when He said that "You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken." This is the cleansing that happens when we've truly accepted Jesus as our Savior; He has cleansed us, removed our sins from us and purified us. But then what?
God the Father cuts off every branch that doesn't bear grapes.
The most important thing for all of us to understand and grasp here is – that He's not just speaking to those who haven't accepted this vine – it's for those who have… He is talking to those who are already an existing branch that is attached to the vine; the branches that are IN CHRIST. Jesus is saying that it's not enough to just be part of the tree - it's that we then need to become a fruit bearing, grape producing branch.
He goes on to say in the message translation:
Live in me; make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch cannot bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you cannot bear fruit unless you are joined with me.
God the Father (the farmer)… expects ALL OF US, those who are outgoing, and those of us who are shy, those who are out in front and those who hide out in the back; He expects each and every one of us to bear fruit. We don't like to speak in black and white, right and wrong, but God pretty much makes it clear here that we are either:

1. Fruitful branches

2.  Fruitless branches

Live in me; make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch cannot bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you cannot bear fruit unless you are joined with me. I think this verse has great signification… we think that it's just all about letting Jesus live inside of our hearts but Jesus says that we need to live in Him - like He does in us. This comes with some work and dedication on our part. We have to be joined with Him; attached, with Him being the vine and us as the branches. When we truly do that, then we will begin to produce fruit; because it's then that we are attached to the life flow.
What are you attached to… what flows through you?
For a lot of branches they seem to be connected closer to their friends, families, a sport, a school, than they really are to God. We need to be more intimately connected to God.
How we'll do that is by being cleansed by His word. As His followers we need to read and study the Word of God so that it can change us into fruit bearers. I've told you before that God's word is living…it points out to us those areas that need to be cleaned up and changed. It also encourages us when we need it, comforts us when we need to feel His love, and helps us to grow…. Good FRUIT. His word says when our relationship is intimate; then the harvest will be abundant; but separated - we cannot produce a thing. In Galatians 5:22 the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. In Jesus' day a grape grower or a fruit grower would not tolerate a tree that doesn't produce fruit. It would be a waste of space,
Jesus spoke of this himself in: Luke 13:6, 7 a man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but didn't find any. So, he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, for three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any, cut it down. Why should it use up the soil? And then another time when Jesus walked up to a fig tree and found nothing on it but leaves and He said to it, May you never bear fruit again. And the tree withers.
If we do not remain in Jesus keeping Him as the true vine – sustaining ourselves from Him, being watered and fed by Him, then we will become like withered branches that will have no use whatsoever to us or anyone else except as firewood. And Jesus uses this point in the very next chapter telling us "I've loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourself at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you'll remain intimately at home in my love. That's what I've done, kept my Father's commands and made myself at home in His love. God the father loves His son Jesus.
Some Christians believe that Jesus loves them no matter how they live or what they do.
I kind of see it like this; I don't think God ceases to love us - but I think that we lose our intimacy with Jesus when we don't keep God's commandments, our sins begin to cause us to feel indifferent to Him, and soon we don't feel like praying and if we do pray we don't think He is hearing our prayers and so we begin to lose our desire for Him.
We need to stay connected to the vine…like Jesus says … I've kept my Father's commands and made myself at home in His love.
Our sins disconnect us from the vine. We become nothing but firewood.