Who is God?
I AM the True Vine
John 15:1 I am the true vine, and my
Father is the gardener. (NIV)
Farmers take great care in tending to their farms.
Anyone who has ever had a farm or a garden can attest to the fact that it takes
great diligence to ensure its proper maintenance and upkeep. Farmers have to
plant crops in the right season, ensure that the soil’s tillage is adequate,
protect the crops from pests and possible weather damage, as well as keep weeds
from choking out the crops – especially,
at their beginning growth stages. When I
AM first created Adam, he was to be the keeper of the garden. However,
after Adam’s fall, his work became more complicated in that it would take pain
and sweat to do what was once an easy job. Genesis 3:17-19 To Adam he said,
“Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I
commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will
produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the
ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will
return.” (NIV) Adam failed with regards to living up to I AM’s expectations, but where he
failed, Jesus succeeded.
Jesus lets us know that He is the True Vine and his
Father is the Gardener. I AM does
the pruning and discards any branch on the Vine that is not productive. John
15:2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch
that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. (NIV)
A branch that is loose on the ground will not grow any fruit on it, but if it
is attached to the vine, it will flourish. Jesus tells us that we are to stay
attached to Him because He is the True Vine and therefore, all that we need to
be productive spiritually is found in Him. John 15:4-5 Remain in me, and I will
remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.
Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the
branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart
from me you can do nothing. (NIV)
As believers in Christ, we are supposed to be the
fruit that is attached to the Vine. What characteristics are we to have as
fruit attached to the True Vine? Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of
the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (NIV)
If we lack in these areas, we must ask I
AM to help us to be the fruit that we are supposed to be. Let’s break each
one down so that we can have a full understanding into the characteristics of
the fruit we should be as an extension of the Vine.
a.)
Love – For those who wish to be attached to the True Vine of I AM, love is a must. Without love, we
cannot truly be in Christ because I AM is
love. Therefore, we must exhibit this quality and understand that even if we do
everything else right, without love, I
AM will cut us off the branch. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (1)If
I speak in the tongues of men and have not love, I am only a resounding gong or
a clanging cymbal. (2)If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom
all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains,
but have not love, I am nothing. (3)If I give all I possess to the
poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
(NIV) Therefore, the text lets us know that it doesn’t matter how well
you flow in other spiritual gifts, if you cannot love, your gifts are useless
and therefore, your branches will be cut from the Kingdom of I AM. So what exactly is love? 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 13 (4)Love is
patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. (5)It
is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no
record of wrongs. (6)Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with
the truth. (7)It always protects, always trusts, always hopes,
always perseveres. (8)Love never fails. But where there are
prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled;
where there is knowledge, it will pass away. (13)And now these three
remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (NIV)
b.)
Joy – I AM desires for us to
have joy regardless of whatever circumstance we may find ourselves in. In
having joy, it is a sign to I AM
that we have released to Him all of our worries and cares. Nehemiah 8:10 Nehemiah
said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who
have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the
joy of the Lord is your strength.” (NIV) There are situations in life
that we will not have control over such as death, illness, lost of employment,
or some other unfortunate circumstance. However, Jesus let us know not to worry
and to cast all of our cares on Him. Philippians 4:4-7 (4)Rejoice
in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! (5)Let your
gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. (6)Do not be anxious
about anything, but in everything, present your requests to God. (7)And
the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts
and your minds in Christ Jesus. (NIV)
c.)
Peace – I AM wants all His
children to be in a state of peace. That peace is only found in His son Jesus
Christ. The Bible lets us know that we are not to worry about anything, but to
rely totally upon I AM. Colossians 3:15 Let the peace of
Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to
peace. And be thankful. (NIV) The worries of life can cause you to be
in a state an anxiety. The bills have to be paid, the children need new
clothes, the doctors have bad news, or the job may be about to issue you a pink
slip, but in all situations know that I
AM is in control and He will care for you. Matthew 6:25-27
“Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or
drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than
food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air,
they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father
feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying
can add a single hour to his life? (NIV) Jesus is the True Vine of
peace. He is the I AM that gives
peace to all who abides in Him.
d.)
Patience – We are to be patient in the Lord. This is a virtue that many
people do not have, but as fruit of the Vine, we are called to be patient with
others, and in doing so, we show the love of Christ. Ephesians 4:2 Be
completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
(NIV) We are all recipients of I
AM’s patience. He could have judged us in our sins and condemned us to a
devil’s hell. However, He has given us chance after chance to get right with
Him, and sent His Son to die for us instead of giving us the punishment that we
deserved. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some
understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but
everyone to come to repentance. (NIV) We in return are to display the
same patience with others and with God. There are times when you may feel that
God is being slow in keeping His promises. Nevertheless, I AM desires that we put our trust totally in Him and even if what
we wait for is not done right away, I AM
will keep His word. Habakkuk 2:3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it
speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it
will certainly come and will not delay. (NIV)
e.)
Kindness – Treating people kind is characteristic of the Vine’s fruit
that represents Him. Rather that is helping someone in need, fixing a sick
person a plate of food, or changing someone’s flat tire, I AM loves for His children to display acts for kindness. Luke
6:35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without
expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be
sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. (NIV)
There are many people in the world who are focused only on themselves. However,
when we show the world acts of kindness, we are also showing them Jesus. For
many people, the only I AM they will
see is through YOU. Be kind to all you meet for this is a fruit of the Spirit. Colossians
3:12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe
yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. (NIV)
f.)
Goodness – I AM wants us to
be good to all people because He is good to us. Psalm 31:19 How great is
your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you
bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you. (NIV) I AM provides for His children even
when we are undeserving. Because we are His, I AM gives us a taste of His goodness daily and we are to be good
to others in return as part of His Vine. We can never do enough to pay for the
goodness of I AM nor should we boast
about what we’ve done for others. But our debt has already paid for by the
blood of Jesus Christ our Lord and our works are just a seed of appreciation
for what He’s done for us. Isaiah 64:6 All of us have become
like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we
all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. (NIV)
g.)
Faithfulness – I AM is
faithful to His children. He never turns away from us, but there are times when
we have turned away from Him. I AM
expects us to be faithful to Him as a wife is to be faithful to her husband. 1
Samuel 12:24 But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all
your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. (NIV) We serve a faithful God
who is unwavering. He stays consistent with us in His undying love even when we
fail to do the same. I AM expects us
to have the fruit of faithfulness, so that we do not turn away from Him and are
in good alignment with Him to receive all that He has in store for us. Lamentations
3:22-23 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his
compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
(NIV)
h.)
Gentleness – Jesus told
us to learn from Him for He was gentle. Matthew
11:29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble
in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (NIV) Jesus never raised a
hand to do harm to anyone, but only to heal. Even when He turned the tables of
the money changers, it was not to do them bodily harm, but to bring respect to
the House of I AM. Matthew 21:12 Jesus entered the
temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned
the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is
written, “ he said to them, “ ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but
you are making it a ‘den of robbers.’ ” Today’s society glorifies violence
and brutality, but I AM wants His
children to glorify Him. We are to live as such in our homes, at school, work
and play. Being of a gentle and not quarrelsome Spirit is of the Lord. Titus
3:1-2 Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be
obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be
peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men. (NIV)
i.)
Self-Control – Jesus
exhibited self-control during His ministry here on earth. When the religious
leaders called Him names, he never retaliated. Luke 11:15-16 But some of
them said, “By Beelzebub, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.
Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven. (NIV) When He was
beaten and insulted, He never said one wrong word. 1 Peter 22-23 “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in
his mouth. When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he
suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges
justly. (NIV) When He was mocked, spit on, and humiliated in the worse way,
He never uttered one curse against those who wronged them. Instead, He asked
the Father to forgive them. Luke 23:34 Jesus said, “Father,
forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up
his clothes by casting lots. (NIV) Jesus also used self-control when
the devil tried to tempt Him prior to beginning His ministry. This is why we
have the power in I AM to resist
temptation because Jesus did it first. James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to
God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (NIV) We must use
self-control in all areas of our lives, so that I AM gets the glory in all that we do. If we allow anger, greed,
lust, selfishness, and other manners of evil to make us lose focus, we will be
cut from the True Vine because I AM will
prune us off of His Vine. No branch will remain on the Vine that is not
producing fruit. Just as Jesus cursed the fig tree because it did not produce
any figs, we too will be cursed into the eternal fire if we fail to stay
connected to the True Vine. Mark 11:12-14 (12)The next
day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. (13)Seeing in
the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When
he reached it, he found nothing but leaves , because it was not the season for
figs. (14)Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from
you again.” (NIV)
I AM is the True Vine. We must stay connected to Him in order to be in alignment with His will. Within the Vine, we receive all the nutrients that we need to sustain us spiritually. To fall away from the Vine means that we will no longer be spiritually sound in order to survive and therefore, our capability to produce fruit will diminish. As a result, dried branches are only good for firewood and those who remain disconnected will have a fiery end.
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