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Central Thought: A flourishing Christian life is dependent on abiding in Christ.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hymn: \u201cI am Thine, O Lord\u201d<\/p>\n Text: John 15:1-17<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Our LORD JESUS CHRIST used everyday happenings and situations to illustrate very lofty spiritual truths. The agrarian society of Jesus\u2019 day had very good knowledge of the vine and its branches, and the farming techniques usually adopted by the vine dresser to optimize the production capability of the vine.<\/p>\n This illustration of the vine and the branches reveals the secret of fruitfulness in the life of a believer. It also indicates that the LORD detests unfruitfulness in the life of a believer.\u00a0 It also indicates that the LORD detests unfruitfulness in the life of any believer.\u00a0 Essentially our Lord makes us to realize that stagnation in any sphere or our endeavors runs contrary to His will.\u00a0 It is not spirituality to remain at one level of development in our professional educational careers for many years, hiding under the cover that it is one\u2019s cross.<\/p>\n This illustration also makes us to realize that we just cannot live the Christian life without a deep and vibrant relationship with Christ. It will be no different from that of a fish attempting to live outside water.\u00a0 Those who once were in Christ, and thought they had matured enough to live apart from Him know better now that it is just not possible.\u00a0 Fruitfulness lies in keeping the vital link with Christ, strong and unbroken.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lesson Objectives:<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jesus, being the narrator in John 15:1 affirms that He is the true (real, genuine) vine. It is significant that Jesus uses the adjective \u201ctrue\u201d to describe the kind of vine that He represents.\u00a0 He knew that his audience was aware that there are wild species of vines which produce bitter grape juice.\u00a0 The true vine which produces sweet and refreshing fruit is the Lord Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n The Lord Jesus made it clear to His audience, comprising His disciples, that they are the branches. \u201cI am the vine; you are the branches\u201d, John 15:5a.\u00a0 Every believer who has come into a saving relationship with Christ by faith in His finished work at Calvary is branch of the true vine.\u00a0 Because no branch of a tree can exist on its own, so it is that the vital life of the believer is sustained only when he is in lively union with Christ.<\/p>\n The husbandman, or the vine dresser, or the gardener, is our Father in Heaven. He uses the angels to tend the branches so that they can produce optimally.\u00a0 The Father does not experience any lapse from the true vine, Jesus Christ, and so His primary focus is on the branches which have to be carefully nurtured so that they do not ever get to be unfruitful.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n To be fruitful, in the biblical sense, implies being resourceful in every area of human life \u2013 the spiritual, physical or material, and the soul or emotional aspects. A fruitful individual is indicative of one who is supplied with resources from an inexhaustible source, and this manifests in the individual blossoming on the outside.\u00a0 One of the phrases commonly used in association with an individual who is fruitful is BLESSED, and it suggests a state of deep-seated joy and fulfillment.\u00a0 To graphically illustrate the state of the fruitful individual, the Psalmist indicates in Psalm1:3 that \u201cHe is like a tree plant4ed by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose fruit does not wither; whatsoever he does prospers\u201d (NIV).\u00a0 Being continually supplied from a source of abundance of water, the fruitful individual can be depended upon to yield its fruit in due season.<\/p>\n Fruitfulness must be complete, and that means that it should be evident in all areas of the life of the believer. A believer with enormous amounts of material resources (large bank account, and numerous houses and cares) but who in the last 5 years has not made an attempt to win a soul to Christ cannot be said to be fruitful.\u00a0 The believer\u2019s state is more pitiable if his enormous wealth serves just the interest of his immediate family.\u00a0 Fruitfulness that is complete indicates that the believer is rich in spiritual and material things.<\/p>\n Fruitfulness also suggests the ability to reproduce one\u2019s self. That encompasses being able to reproduce the indwelling life of Christ in others by witnessing and sharing of the faith with others, and also in having children from the matrimonial home.\u00a0 This meaning of fruitfulness is seen in the injunction of the Lord to man at creation: \u201cSo God created man in His own image; in the image of God he created him; male and female He created them.\u00a0 God blessed them and said to them, \u201cBe fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth, and subdue it\u201d, Genesis 1:27 NIV.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Fruitfulness can only be achieved when one is anchored continually to resource of life \u2013 the Lord Jesus Christ. \u201cI am the vine; you are the branches.\u00a0 If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit\u201d, John 15:5 NIV.\u00a0 Thus abiding in Christ is the secret of fruitfulness.\u00a0 Our concern then should be how we can abide in Christ.<\/p>\n Abiding in Christ is closely linked with abiding in His word. \u201cIf ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you\u201d, John 15:7.\u00a0 The Word of God reveals the mind of God for His people. When we live in obedience to the word of God, we come into an active relationship with Christ.\u00a0 We are friends of Christ when we obey His commandments which are expressed in His word.<\/p>\n A life of sustained prayer, intimate fellowship with the Father, makes it possible for the believer to continually abide in Christ. Such a life suggests the dependence of the believer on the Lord, and an indication of total surrender to the Lord.\u00a0 As we maintain a life of prayer, we are delivered from doing our will to that of doing the will of God alone.\u00a0 Being in the will of God is a sure way of having a fruitful life.<\/p>\n Abiding in Christ involves living a life that is holy and honors the Lord. As we abide in Christ, we seek those things that He (Christ) loves, and abhor those things that He hates.\u00a0 By so doing, we maintain our vital link with Him.\u00a0 Jesus said, \u201cYe are my friends, if ye do whatever I command you\u201d, John 15:14.\u00a0 There is no way we can maintain union with Christ, except there is a burning desire within us to always please Him.\u00a0 When we do, our friendship with the Lord is strengthened, and we become more fruitful.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Lord who is the Husbandman, seeks always that we be more fruitful, and that brings Him much joy and fulfillment. To achieve this, the Lord prunes us.\u00a0 By this, the Lord takes away from the branch dead leaves and smaller branches which stand in the way of the fruitfulness of the branch.\u00a0 How does the Lord achieve this?<\/p>\n One way by which He achieves this is by taking us through the school of discipline. \u201cMy son, do not make light of the Lord\u2019s discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes everyone that He accepts as a son\u201d, Hebrews 12:5-6 NIV.\u00a0 It is the same school of discipline that Moses went through for 40 years in the wilderness of Sinai when God tamed his heart to know that his ability rests not on himself but on the Lord solely.\u00a0 As e walk with the Lord, the Lord rebukes us when we sin, he smoothens our rough edges so that we can better live in harmony with others, and He tames our pride and ego.\u00a0 In many cases, He used day-to-day experiences to remold our person into the form He desire.\u00a0 Sometimes, He takes us to our human breaking-point so that we can spring forth to the knowledge that He is our all-in-all.<\/p>\n The Lord also uses trial and persecutions to make us more fruitful. Persecutions usually toughen our resolve in the Lord, and that is particularly needed to face greater challenges in life.\u00a0 Trials in our finances, for instance, may cause us to know that we may need to supplement our regular income from formal employment with a small-scale business.\u00a0 Persecutions have a way of making us bolder in declaring our faith in the lord.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n First we must understand that a Christian does not just get detached from the vine because he fall into a sin. It is usually a gradual process; he falls into a sin and refuses to confess it, and then continues in that sin which eventually leads to other sinful acts.\u00a0 In his private walk with the Lord, the joy to study the Word diminishes, his enthusiasm to pray dwindles, and he then begins to give excuses for not attending weekday Bible studies and prayer meetings.\u00a0 This process developing a cold and cynical heart for God and His people may drag on for years, and may go un-noticed even by the Pastor.\u00a0 The outcome is that he gets detached from the vine, the Holy Spirit departs from him because He is no longer comfortable in that vessel, and the individual loses the joy of salvation.\u00a0 Continuing in that state leads to eternal damnation if such an individual fails to repent before he dies or before the rapture occurs.\u00a0 One of the rewards of a fruitful life is the perpetual joy and fulfilment that such an individual has.\u00a0 He has within himself a sense of accomplishment, being in the center of the will of God and doing that which is dear to heart of God.\u00a0 There can be nothing as fulfilling.\u00a0 It is a common experience to abandon food when a soul comes to know the Lord through one\u2019s witness, and that is so because of the accompanying joy.\u00a0 Another reward of the fruitful life is an eternal reward which the Lord bestows on all who have faithfully served Him.\u00a0 It is a reward which every believer should yearn for, and which should spur us to being more yielded to the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n We all frown at stagnation and retrogression in life. It is never comforting when a child ceases to grow, or when a business does not bring returns, or when crops do not bring a good harvest.\u00a0 That is how uncomfortable our God becomes when we fail to be fruitful in our Christian race.\u00a0 Our God would love to see us share the word so that lost souls get saved, make progress in our professional career pursuits, grow in the knowledge of our Lord, and be fruitful materially.\u00a0 To\u00a0 make us more fruitful, the Lord draws us closer to Himself, and uses experiences, trials and persecutions to optimize our productivity in all our endeavors.\u00a0 He does not prune everyone, but those who are dear to His heart.\u00a0 As we yearn more for the Lord, the more fruitful we will become.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n John 15:4 \u2013 \u201cAbide in me and I in you, As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Fruitful Life Central Thought: A flourishing Christian life is dependent on abiding in Christ. Hymn: \u201cI am Thine, O Lord\u201d Text: John 15:1-17 Our LORD JESUS CHRIST used everyday happenings and situations to illustrate very lofty spiritual truths. The agrarian society of Jesus\u2019 day had very good knowledge of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sundayschool"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1305"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1305\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1309,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1305\/revisions\/1309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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Daily Living Application:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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