So grateful week after week for the faithful ministry of our praise team and John as he selects the songs, the music that we will sing, kind of leading our hearts to the throne of grace and helping to prepare us for the message of the word.
It's a unique opportunity to be able to be brought into the presence of God through his word and singing songs that testify of the wondrous work of Christ.
It's a blessing.
Well, several years ago, or at least I should say a couple years ago, I ran across this story of something that happened in Pontiac, Michigan.
There was a, I don't want to be morbid, but there was a woman who was found dead in her car in her garage.
Now, that wouldn't seem to be so significant or unusual except for the fact that she had been dead for six years in her car, in her garage.
You might ask, how in the world could anything like that go unnoticed for so long?
Well, partly because this woman often went on road trips, was often traveling about the country and traveling about the world, and her neighbors never really saw her much anyway.
And so they didn't think anything was unusual, the fact that they hadn't seen her.
And this woman, knowing that she often traveled, set up special deposits that were made from her bank account to all of the various places where she needed to pay her bills.
The utilities and the mortgage and all these other areas as well.
And her neighbors, really trying to make sure that they kept appearances, often mowed her lawn for her so that no one missed this woman.
Except for the fact that the bank, after the funds began to run dry, decided that they needed to foreclose on the house, as you would expect.
And after a period of time of this home being foreclosed and notices being made and things showing up in the mail,
they sent a person to the house to prepare it for sale.
And the worker who went to repair the roof, peering into the garage, noticed that there was not only a car in the garage,
but a figure seated in the front seat.
And this mummified woman who had been there for six years was finally discovered.
Now, you might say, what in the world does this have to do with our message for this morning?
Except for the fact that it's an interesting story.
This morning, we're going to look at the significance of fruitfulness.
It's easy for us to play games.
It's easy for us to have the appearance of life and activity and progress
when all the while there is lifelessness and emptiness in your heart.
There is the moving through rituals.
There is the appearance of service and function and duty and coming to church
and being involved in ministry and doing your devotions and praying and having things to share in Sunday school
and participating in small group and all of the things that have the appearance of life
when actually there is deadness in your heart.
There is barrenness spiritually in your life.
There is this moving through the spiritual life that has the appearance of fruitfulness,
but at the end of the day, it really is deadness.
Jesus, in our passage this morning in John chapter 15,
wants to help emphasize the fact that fruitfulness is not only something that God expects for our life,
but fruitfulness is possible through the ministry of God into our lives.
Jesus does such a tremendous job at making things simple.
And if you're anything like me, you appreciate things that are simple.
Jesus, who helped us consolidate the law and the prophets in two simple phrases,
love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself,
wants to help us understand the significance of fruitfulness
and realize the simplicity of fruitfulness and, as we'll see,
results in or comes from a life that is abiding in Him.
As this first point notes,
fruitfulness is demanded by the Father.
So turn with me, if you would, to John chapter 15.
If you're visiting with us this morning,
it's on page 901 in the Pew Bible in front of you.
I want to read these first 11 verses for us,
and I want us to make some observations,
and then we'll work through this passage to see
that fruitfulness is only possible as you are connected to Christ.
Let me read this for us.
Beginning in verse 1, it says this,
I am the vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.
Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, He takes away.
And every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes,
that it may bear more fruit.
Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.
Abide in me and I in you,
as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine.
Neither can you unless you abide in me.
I am the vine, you are the branches.
Whoever abides in me and I in him,
he it is that bears much fruit.
For apart from me you can do nothing.
If anyone does not abide in me,
he is thrown away like a branch and withers.
And the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
If you abide in me,
and my words abide in you,
ask whatever you wish,
and it will be done for you.
By this, my Father is glorified,
that you bear much fruit,
and so prove to be my disciples.
As the Father has loved me,
so I have loved you.
Abide in my love.
If you keep my commandments,
you will abide in my love.
Just as I have kept my Father's commandments,
and abide in his love.
These things I have spoken to you,
that my joy may be in you,
and that your joy may be full.
As we've seen through the gospel of John,
John is no stranger of repetition.
John actually gives himself to repeated phrases,
and thoughts,
and ideas,
that courses through the entire book of John.
And here we find again,
John continues to come back to the same kinds of themes.
Can you see what he's trying to emphasize in these verses?
The two phrases or words that come to the surface consistently
are the words abide,
and the word bear fruit.
God demands that we bear fruit.
He expects it to be true of the life of everyone
who is connected to Christ.
Now just by way of background,
I want to remind us where we are in the flow of this study.
We are in the last few hours of Christ's life.
We are moving ever closer to the point at which
Jesus will be taken captive.
He will stand trial.
He will be crucified and killed on the cross.
These are the final moments of Jesus' time with his disciples.
And so the things that he wishes to express to the disciples at this point
are the things of utmost significance.
We find at the end of chapter 14,
Jesus, using these words,
says,
Rise, let us go from here.
They had previously been in the upper room,
enjoying this Passover meal together,
and now they are moving out of this upper room
through the city of Jerusalem,
perhaps down into the Kidron Valley at this point,
viewing the vineyards that is populating or dotting the landscape,
and moving their way over into the Garden of Gethsemane,
where Jesus will be taken captive.
And the thing that seems to be on Jesus' mind as he is providing these parting words to his disciples
is the significance of the Father.
Now, the Apostle John is caught up and blown away by this concept of God being the Father.
In the Gospel of John,
John alludes to the fact that God is the Father 122 times.
One time for every 10 verses in the Gospel of John,
John alludes to this incredible concept of God being Father.
And in these final parting words,
these chapters 14, 15, and 16,
John uses the concept, the idea of God being Father 45 times in 82 verses.
One time for almost every two verses,
John is helping us to understand that Jesus is trying to emphasize and focus on the fact that God is Father.
Why is that significant?
Well, it's significant because Jesus has just told his disciples
that he is going to be moving away.
He's going to be departing from them,
and the only thing that will help to secure them,
will keep them enduring through the hardship that they will face,
is the understanding that God is Father.
That God will uphold them and help them and keep them through
the mission that Christ has put them on.
How will that take place?
What is that mission?
And how will it be accomplished?
Jesus, right out of the gate here in John chapter 15,
wants to help his disciples understand that fruitfulness is significant,
and fruitfulness is only accomplished in the Son.
Fruitfulness is accomplished in the Son.
Jesus here at the beginning of verse 1 says,
I am the true vine.
We'll dig into this as we move through this passage.
But a cursory look of this passage helps us understand the significance of fruitfulness,
and Jesus wants his disciples to understand that if they will be fruitful,
they need to rest in Christ.
He is the vine.
Although this is the first time that Jesus has really dealt with this subject of him being the vine,
and the whole concept of fruitfulness in relationship to the vineyard,
this was not a foreign concept to the Jews.
As a matter of fact, through this Passover week,
they would have read Psalm 80.
And Psalm 80 helps to illustrate the fact that God had commissioned Israel to be his vine.
It says in Psalm 80, you're welcome to turn there if you like.
Psalm 80, verse 3 is where it begins.
Again, if you're visiting with us, you can find that passage on page 491.
Psalm 80, verse 3 says,
Enemies laugh among themselves.
Verse 8,
You brought a vine out of Egypt.
You drove out the nations and planted it.
You cleared the ground for it.
It took deep root and filled the land.
The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches.
It sent out its branches to the sea,
and its shoots to the river.
Why then have you broken down its walls,
so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
Verse 14,
Turn again, O God of hosts.
Look down from heaven and see.
Have regard for this vine.
This concept of Israel being the vine
was not foreign to the people of Israel.
And yet God had rejected his vine
because the vine had not only been unfruitful,
the vine had rejected God's commands.
Coming to the forefront of this is Isaiah chapter 5.
Isaiah chapter 5,
verses 1 to 7.
We won't read the whole thing,
but it's on page 569.
It says,
Let me sing for my beloved,
my love song concerning his vineyard.
My beloved has a vineyard on a very fertile hill.
He dug it and cleared its stones
and planted it with choice vines.
He built a watchtower in the midst of it,
and he hewed out a wine vat in it.
He looked for it to yield grapes,
but it yielded wild grapes.
Jumping down to verse 7.
For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts
is the house of Israel,
and the men of Judah are his pleasing plant.
He looked for justice,
but behold bloodshed.
For righteousness,
but behold an outcry.
Although God had desired
that Israel would be this fruitful vine,
would be a reflection of fruitfulness in the land,
they had actually rebelled against God
and had rejected his commands
and had gone the way of the nations.
So Christ, in coming to earth,
was not only the fulfillment of the law,
was not only the seed of Abraham,
but here we find he was the vine.
He was the ultimate fulfillment
of what God expected for Israel.
He was the only one who satisfied
God's demands for his people
and said that those who want to experience
the blessings of being fruitful
as God had commissioned them to be
will only be able to experience that
as they are in Christ.
Those who would be fruitful vine
must recognize the imperative
of life with Christ,
trusting in him,
relying on him.
He is the only one
who meets the demands of the Father.
Christ is the vine.
This morning, I would ask you this question.
I'll continue to ask as we go along.
Are you a fruitful vine?
You can only be a fruitful vine
if you are placing your only hope
and confidence in the work of Christ
as being the only one
who can satisfy God's demands.
It's accomplished in the Son.
Second of all, we find that it is
assisted by the Godhead.
It's assisted by the Godhead.
We find that here in verse 2.
Every branch in me that does not bear fruit,
he takes away.
And every branch that does bear fruit,
he prunes that it may bear more fruit.
Now this is an amazing concept.
This ought to blow you away.
God has given himself
to specific and unique ministry to you.
Those of us who are recipients of grace of God,
forgiveness for sin,
called into fellowship with him,
we should be serving him.
And yet here we find in this verse,
the Godhead is serving you.
The Godhead is working on your behalf
through Christ and through the Father
to create fruitfulness in your life.
Isn't that amazing?
And here we find not only the Son
as being the life source,
the vine for the branches,
but now we find that the Father
is intricately involved in your life
to help you produce more fruit.
There is this dual ministry of the Father.
It says,
Every branch in me that does not bear fruit,
he takes away.
Every branch that does bear fruit,
he prunes.
What is taking place there?
What is happening?
We find that God is involved in cutting off
or cultivating.
He's involved in destroying or disciplining.
The Father takes special interest in the vine,
determining its fruitfulness
and acting as a result.
Now one of the things that may cause
a bit of concern in your mind,
we run up against a theological wall
in this verse.
Maybe something that is confusing to you
as it was to me.
The language here says,
Every branch in me that does not bear fruit,
he takes away.
What in the world is Jesus talking about?
Are people losing their salvation?
And he's judging them because of a lack of fruitfulness?
Is that what's happening here?
Who are these branches?
Can those who are in Christ be fruitless?
Can those who are in Christ be taken away
and thus lose their salvation?
Well, as we look at the Gospel of John,
we need to understand that Jesus is dealing
with his disciples before the era of the new church.
Jesus is dealing with the disciples
in an old covenant understanding.
Where connection to Christ
and association with Christ
was understood as being in something
rather than this union
that we'll find out about Christ later on
once the Holy Spirit comes.
We can see this throughout the Gospel of John.
Turn with me back to John chapter 8
and you can see how this plays out
in people who supposedly believe in Christ.
You can be a person of faith
and not be a person who is saved.
Notice this in John 8 verse 30.
As he was saying these things,
many, what is the word there?
believed in him.
Verse 31.
So Jesus said to the Jews
who had believed in him,
if you abide in my word,
you are truly my disciples.
Does that sound familiar?
But clearly,
as we move through this passage,
we find
that this group of individuals
who supposedly believed in Christ
were not receptive to his word.
so that we find here in verse 44,
Jesus makes a very clear statement
that says,
you are of your father,
the devil,
and your will is to do
your father's desires.
He was a murderer from the beginning
and has nothing to do with the truth
because there is no truth in him.
There was no abiding relationship with Christ.
There was no abiding relationship
with Christ's words
and their initial belief
was evidenced by the corruption of their heart.
We find back in chapter 6,
another group of individuals
who were also connected to Christ
but who abandoned him.
We find that in chapter 6,
there's this great interest in Jesus
because of him feeding the 5,000.
But once we get to verse 60,
we see this.
When many of his disciples
heard his sayings,
they said,
this is a hard saying.
Who can listen to it?
But Jesus,
knowing in himself
that the disciples
were grumbling about this,
begins to confront them
over the issue.
We find in verse 66,
after this,
many of his disciples
turned back
and no longer walked with him.
Even those who were followers of Christ,
who even were considered
disciples of him,
who followed him wherever he went,
abandoned Christ
once the word
confronted their hearts.
And what could be said of Judas?
Judas,
who was one of the 12,
and Jesus helping the disciples,
the 11,
understand how to reconcile
how this could happen.
We find even here in chapter 6,
Jesus deals with that issue.
Simon Peter in verse 68 says,
Whom shall we go?
You alone have the words of life.
And we have believed
and have come to know
that you are the Holy One of God.
Jesus answered them,
Did I not choose you,
the 12?
And yet one of you
is a devil.
He spoke of Judas,
the son of Simon Iscariot,
for he,
one of the 12,
was going to betray him.
Jesus knew Judas' heart.
He knew that his allegiance
to Jesus was temporary.
He knew that when the rubber
met the road,
that Judas would betray him.
And he would show
the true nature of his heart
as being one
who had no fruit.
The father
is interested
in fruitfulness.
He will either
judge those
who have no fruit
or he will nurture
those
who are bearing fruit.
It says he prunes
their life.
He says
he cultivates them
and seeks to help them
bear more fruit.
There are so many ways
that God seeks
to do that for us.
His ministry
to us
to help nurture
more fruitfulness
in our life.
And he often uses
difficulties
in our life
to not only show us
the nature
of our abiding
relationship with him,
but to help us
to see how much
we need
him in life.
I had an experience
like that
and by the way
we're probably not
going to finish
all of these
notes for today.
We'll just hold it off
to next week.
So don't be nervous
if we're not
going to finish.
On Friday
I was going to go
pick up my daughter
in Cedarville.
She had spent
the night
there.
And I had the
opportunity
that morning
as you know
it snowed
on Thursday night
and so I went
out to the car
and tried to clear
the snow
off the front
windshield
and as I was
lifting the
wiper
in order to
get the snow
underneath
the wiper
fell off.
That was frustrating
trying to put
the wiper
back on
and then
I wanted
to listen
to a sermon
on the way
and realize
that the cord
wasn't in the car.
So I went
into the house
to try to find
the cord
and all
to no avail.
Well I remember
maybe the cord
is here
at the church
and so I made
a trip here
to the church
and sure enough
there it was
all was great.
I get out
on Trayview Road
I take a right
and for whatever
reason the traffic
was nuts
on Trayview
trying to get
over to Wilson.
Well to try
to shortcut
the system
a little bit
I turned right
on Angaro
and the roads
were slippery
enough that I
nearly collided
with the car
that was stopped
there at
the stop sign.
And then I
finally got on
Wilson
it's three lights
before I can
finally get
on to the 70.
I finally get
on to the 70
and I realize
that the reason
why the traffic
is so nuts
is because
right there
where the 70
and the 270
meet
there was
no way
to stay
on the 70
I either had
to get off
on the 270
north
or the 270
south.
Well I figured
if I go
up to
Roberts Road
it's going
to take me
a little extra
time
and I happen
to remember
there's this
little pass
through
on the 270
south
little dirt
road
that gets
from the
270 south
to the
on ramp
of the
270 north
you've done
that right
but as I'm
taking the
270 south
I realize
I can't
do this
I shouldn't
do this
so I
stayed on
the 270
I didn't
use the
pass through
and I
didn't realize
I forgot
that Broad
Street was
so far
down
the road
well I get
off
and as you
can well
imagine
everyone else
was doing
the same
thing
and so
it was like
gridlock
on Broad
going
west
well then
there's finally
the way
to get to
this 270
and I had
to kind of
merge over
three lanes
because I was
in the wrong
one and
had to get
over so I
could take
a right
and I
get down
the road
maybe a
quarter of a
mile and
it's a dead
stop
I get so
frustrated
I make a
U-turn
I get back
on to Broad
I'm booking
it down
I won't tell
you how fast
I was going
and I
finally get
on the
70
it has
been 50
minutes
since I
first left
my house
I wish
I could
say
that
my life
demonstrated
that it
had a
great
abiding
relationship
with Christ
this past
week
but God
puts us
through these
situations
of pruning
and exposure
to help us
realize
how far
away we
are
from the
kind of
fruitfulness
that God
wants us
to have
I could
tell you a
similar
experience
that happened
yesterday
here at the
church
trying to
make copies
for the
bulletin
but I won't
go there
because we
don't have
enough time
God the
Father is
interested in
your fruitfulness
he takes
special
delight
in messing
up your
day
so that
he can
help you
see what
is most
important
he takes
special
delight
in
exposing
your heart
fruitfulness
so that
you know
where you
stand
in terms
of
fruitfulness
and so
that you
can
step back
you can
reevaluate
and you can
say oh I have
so much
work to do
for Christ's
life to
flow through
me
well
it takes us
to this
third point
here
it's
assisted
by the
Godhead
and it
is
accompanied
by
a
changed
life
accompanied
by a
changed
life
notice
what it
says
here
in
verse
three
it says
already
you are
clean
because
of the
word
that I
have
spoken
to
you
now
you
might
wonder
what
in
the
world
is
this
verse
doing
here
how
does
this
fit
in
the
flow
of
what
we're
talking
about
it
almost
seems
to
be
disconnected
in
every
way
yet
Jesus
is
not
only
trying
to
reassure
the
disciples
of
where
they
stand
but
he's
helping
them
to
recognize
the
trajectory
the
focus
the
product
of
fruitfulness
what
does
it
yield
what
does
fruitfulness
look
like
in
a
life
so
often
when
we
hear
the
idea
of
fruitfulness
we
think
of
outward
success
we
think
of
converts
that
we
have
had
some
way
of
helping
to
bring
to
Christ
or
we
think
of
some
impact
that
we're
making
in
the
world
we
think
of
some
ministry
that
we're
involved
in
and
it's
had
some
sort
of
benefit
to
the
people
who
have
been
part
of
it
but
when
Jesus
is
talking
about
fruitfulness
he
wants
them
to
understand
that
it
focuses
on
cleanness
change
life
it
has
nothing
to do
with
externals
it
has
everything
to do
with
what's
happening
inside
what
has
God
done
to
change
your
life
not
just
to
change
your
behavior
but
to
change
the
person
that
you
are
that's
what
he
cares
about
that's
what
he's
interested
in
and
Jesus
has
already
addressed
this
particular
subject
earlier
you might
remember
in
John
chapter
13
during
this
feast
time
this
Passover
meal
Jesus
he
puts
on
the
towel
and
he's
washing
the
disciples
feet
and
he
gets
this
protest
from
Peter
says
Jesus
you're
not
going
to
wash
me
and
Jesus
wants
to help
him
understand
that
washing
him
is
significant
in
verse
10
we
see
this
it
says
Jesus
says
to him
the
one
who
has
bathed
does
not
need
to
wash
except
for
his
feet
but
is
completely
clean
and
you
are
clean
but
not
every
one
of
you
for
he
knew
who
was
to
betray
him
that
was
why
he
said
not
all
of
you
are
clean
Judas
was
not
clean
his
heart
was
not
pure
there
was
not
a
change
in
his
life
there
was
not
fruitfulness
that
was
showing
it
was
barrenness
it
was
emptiness
it
was
deadness
and
yet
for
the
rest
of
the
disciples
who
still
had
much
to
learn
and
much
to
grow
in
there
was
there
was
cleanness
and
forgiveness
and
repentance
and
faith
and
moving
in the
right
direction
they
were
clean
and
Jesus
reemphasizes
that here
in
verse
2
or
excuse
me
verse
3
of
chapter
15
you
are
clean
they
had
experienced
the
repentance
from
sin
experienced
forgiveness
that
God
gives
they
had
been
sanctified
by
the
truth
that
Jesus
had
preached
!
They
had
given
their
lives
to
follow
him
desire
to
surrender
themselves
to
doing
what
he
had
said
they
had
witnessed
!
His
power
and
witnessed
!
working
in
their
own
life
the
disciples
had
shown
themselves
that
there
was
inward
change
that
had
taken
place
we
see
through
Christ's
ministry
that
the
Pharisees
were
really
great
about
external
behavior
they
went
to
the
right
places
at
the
right
times
they
said
the
right
things
they
knew
all
of
the
right
scriptures
and
they
performed
the
right
duties
but
inwardly
their
heart
was
so
far
from
Christ
it's
not
a
fruit
of
external
righteousness
but a
fruit
of
a
changed
life
one
that
is
sanctified
one
that
is
showing
the
fruit
of
repentance
that
John
talks
about
John
the
Baptist
talks
about
in
Matthew
chapter
3
one
that
shows
the
fruit
of
the
good
soil
in
Matthew
chapter
13
the
word
is
taking
root
and
it
begins
to
grow
and
flourish
in
a
life
there
is
transformation
there
is
purity
this
morning
I
would
ask
you
again
are
you
a
fruitful
vine
one
that
has
allowed
the
word
of
God
to
settle
in
and
to
produce
a
harvest
the
Holy
Spirit
is
producing
a
harvest
of
love
and
joy
and
peace
and
kindness
and
goodness
is
there
a
changed
life
we're
moving
from
here
in
verse
4
there's
not
only
a
demand
of
the
father
for
fruitfulness
but we'll
touch on
this
and get
to it
the
remaining
time
next
week
but
fruitfulness
is
dependent
on
the
son
fruitfulness
is
dependent
on
the
son
there
is
a
demand
for
fruitfulness
but
there
is
a
life
source
for
fruitfulness
there
is
a
means
for
fruitfulness
in
your
life
how
does
it
come
we
find
the
answer
in
verses
4
and
5
abide
in
me
and
I
in
you
as
the
branch
cannot
bear
fruit
by
itself
unless
it
abides
in
the
vine
neither
can
you
unless
you
abide
in
me
I
am
the
vine
you
are
the
branches
whoever
abides
in
me
and I
in
him
he
it
is
that
bears
much
fruit
for
apart
from
me
you
can
do
nothing
apart
from
me
you
can
do
nothing
let me
just
close
with
this
thought
what
does
it
mean
to
abide
in
Christ
what
does
it
look
like
and
we'll
develop
this
more
next
week
how
does
remaining
and
being
steadfast
and
existing
in
the
life
of
Christ
how
does
that
play
out
in
your
life
and
I
might
ask
you
two
questions
that
will
answer
whether
or not
it's
happening
in
your
life
the
first
question
would
be
how
do
you
respond
when
you
have
done
all
the
right
things
and
you
get
the
wrong
result
for
example
you
have
followed
the
scriptures
teaching
as it
relates
to
training
up
your
children
in
the
way
they
should
go
but
then
you
turn
them
loose
into
the
world
and
they
turn
their
back
on
God
how
does
that
affect
you?
How
does
that
frustrate
you?
Or
you
have
done
all
the
right
things
you've
played
by
God's
rules
in
your
workplace
and
for
whatever
reason
it
doesn't
matter
how
much
you
try
to
do
to
please
God
you
can't
ever
seem
to
get
that
promotion
you
can't
ever
seem
to
get
that
raise
you
can't
ever
seem
to
get
the
recognition
that
you
feel
you
deserve
when
you're
doing
the
right
things
but
you
don't
get
God
to
answer
the
way
you
expect
how
does
that
affect
!
your
life
that
would
mean
that
you're
not
abiding
in
Christ
that
all
the
things
that
you're
doing
to
please
him
you're
doing
for
yourself
and
not
doing
for
him
the
second
question
would
be
what
is
connection
with
Christ
worth
to
you
what
is
a
connection
to
Christ
worth
to
you
is
a
deeper
relationship
with
Christ
an
abiding
relationship
with
him
worth
the
risk
of
losing
other
things
that
you
value
like
could
you
ever
find
yourself
saying
Jesus
I
want
to
abide
in
you
so
much
that
I'm
willing
to
give
you
full
control
of
every
aspect
of
my
life
so
that
I
can
learn
to
abide
in
you
completely
what
is
an
abiding
relationship
worth
we'll
talk about
that more
next
week
come
back
we'll
discuss
that
let me
pray
for
us
and
we'll
close
our
service
this
morning
Lord
we
want
to
be
fruitful
people
we
want
to
be
a
fruitful
vine
we
understand
that
it's
only
possible
as
we're
connected
to
Christ
God
we pray
that
as we
make
our way
through
the
Christian
life
that
there
would
be
such
a
dwelling
such
an
abiding
relationship
with
you
that
we
find
you
as
all
satisfying
we
find
you
as
our
life
source
we
find
you
as
the
only
one
that
is
sufficient
to
really
make
us
happy
and
that
pleasing
you
and loving
you
is
the
delight
of our
life
regardless
of the
disappointments
we may
experience
regardless
of the
hiccups
and bumps
in the
road
God
we
find
that
as
the
challenges
nudge
up against
us
from day
to day
that
what
pours
from
our
life
is
the
evidence
of
fruitfulness
of a
changed
life
God
we know
this is
not
something
that we
can
do
on
our
own
and
even
though
you
have
commanded
us
to
abide
in
you
that
the
ministry
of
the
Godhead
the
father
who
prunes
and the
son
who
gives
us
life
to
begin
with
and the
spirit
who
empowers
us
for
obedience
is
so
necessary
and
essential
we
need
you
to
work
this
out
and so
Lord
this
morning
wherever
we
may
be
whether
we
are
fruitful
vines
that need
to be
pruned
or we
are
unfruitful
branches
that need
to be
connected
to the
life
source
God
I
pray
that
you
would
do
what
is
necessary
for
us
so
that
we
can
be
fruitful
and
not
just
casually
fruitful
but
that
we
can
be
abundantly
fruitful
do