Pruned or Removed

John 15:1-11

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. ² Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. ³ You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. ⁴ Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. ⁵ I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

⁶ If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. ⁷ If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. ⁸ By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

⁹ As the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. ¹⁰ 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. ¹¹ These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”

In the times we are living in, many people are rushing to asking, even before establishing a relationship with Jesus. Before we even ask anything from each other, we should ensure we have established a relationship with one another, and love each other. We should first establish relationships with one another, before even asking anything from each other, as that will come with simplicity. Jesus Himself said that before we ask anything from Him, we should first of all abide/ remain in Him.

If as Christians we want to be a people who will have productivity, show why we are living, accountable for the hours we are living, we should be a people who abide in Christ. Abiding in Christ is the only way we will remain productive in life. We may not be perfect or clean yet, but as long as we are in Christ, He will continue working on us gradually, and we will not be cut off. As long as we are in Christ, we cannot be cut away. At whatever point of bearing fruit we are at, Christ will continue to work on us, making us more and more fruitful each day.

It is out of love that God makes us and gives us different talents, expecting us to bear fruits. From the time He brought us forth into the world and the time He gave us salvation as a gift, what we needed to do is to surrender to Him, to walk in His direction. Once we surrender, He keeps pruning us to ensure that we remain humbled and bearing fruits. For example, God may look at you and see that you are at 5% of bearing fruits, and pride is making you not bear 30% and 50%, He will prune the pride off you, humble you so that by the time you’re done then you will bear more fruit. Whatever you are going through is not for destruction, it is the only way we will be made to be who God wants us to be.

How else would have Abraham been made to be a man of faith, but for him to be asked to sacrifice his son, after waiting for so long for the same son. How else would Daniel been a great and uncompromising leader if he never spent time with the lions? How else would we have known there is a fourth man if Shadrack, Misheck and Abednego were not thrown into the fire? How else would Sarah have been made into a woman of faith if she did not wait, contrary to what she could see, for a son at an old age?

Celebrate your trials, they are there to make you bear fruits of patience. How else would God have made us wait on Him, but take us through times of waiting on Him and trusting in Him? How else would you have known how to trust in God, but to go through the trials and temptations, to make you produce the fruits of patience? How else would have God shown us Who He is, but to allow us to go through what we are going through?

Are we being pruned or being cut off? Those who refuse to remain in Christ are the ones to be cut off. Those who choose to remain in Christ are to be pruned. The people who have been cut off have their conscience seared, such that they can sin without feeling anything, sin with ease. If you are going through fire, rejoice as that reflects that you are still in Christ. Those people who have been cut off are in a worse situation, not even knowing how to come out of the situations they are in.

In this season of celebration, show your commitment of abiding in Christ, abiding in His word, which is what will make you bear fruit even in seasons when no one else is bearing fruit. You are much better placed that those people who have been cut off, who have been removed, and who do not know what it means to be pruned. If you are being pruned, do not complain. Choose to be a person of thanksgiving, as we saw last week.

These fruits we are talking about are seen when you are speaking words that have life, when everyone else is speaking words of death and problems. These fruits are seen when you hold on to God when everyone else is giving up. What fruits are you bearing?

Be a person who will tell God you want to continue to bear fruits, no matter how painful the pruning will be. Are you being pruned, so that you bear more and more and that which will last? May God help our hearts. Get back to the cross of Calvary, if you are not bearing fruit, lest you remain cut off. We have a second opportunity, to repent regarding complaining when being pruned, to be cleansed once again, for our lives to be pruned away by God and made fruitful one more time.

Psalm 1:1-3

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; ² But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. ³ He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper

The above text gives us the definition of the blessed person. As Christians, we tend to keep ourselves away from blessings. If we are people who will always search ourselves to ensure that our company is that of people who remain in Christ, and always meditate on God’s word, we will remain blessed.

If you abide in Christ and His word and love abide in you, you will be like a tree planted by the rivers, whose leaves will not wither, but will remain green, in dry and wet seasons. When you abide in Christ and His word abides in you, you will remain best friends with God. You will be so energetic, strong, courageous etc. so that everyone will want to know your God to worship Him, when you abide in Christ and allow His word to abide in you. You will have fruit all season. All that you do shall prosper. Do not run looking for prospering; run to look for how you will abide in Christ, and prosperity will look for you, search for your address.

John 15:11 (AMP)

“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”

When you abide in Christ and His words abide in you, your joy will always be full. It is not about the circumstances that surround you; it is about the joy you can get from the choice of abiding in Christ. Overflowing joy comes when you choose to remain in the Lord, and His words remain in you.

Joshua 1:1-9

After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying: ² “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. ³ Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. ⁴ From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. ⁵ No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. ⁶ Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.  

⁷ Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. ⁸ This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. ⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Joshua was so faithful to Moses, abiding with him. It was about Moses then, not about God. When Moses departed, God knew that the only way Joshua will bear fruit is when he abides in Him, not in Moses anymore. The only way Joshua could bear fruit is if he abided in God’s word, meditating on the word of God, not allowing this word to depart from his mouth. God spoke to Joshua directly for him to understand that it was not about Moses anymore, but about Joshua and God. Maybe you have lost a Moses in your life, but it does not matter anymore. The word of God is all you need, it will take you where you need to be.

Let us purpose that we will be a people who will abide in God, go through whatever it will take for God to prune. The departure of Moses was like a pruning to Joshua. If you are not standing on God’s word and are courageous, then you are being stubborn and proud; if you are standing on God’s word, then you are courageous. Rejoice in the pruning, for it will leave you fruitful. 

Amen.

-- Pastor Mary Mugo.

15/12/13 Sunday service sermon, Teaching Transformation Ministry.


Pastor Mary Mugo is the Senior Pastor at Teaching Transformation Ministry. We are located along the Thika-Ruai Flyover Junction (at the Thika Rd./ Bypass intersection), Next to Eastgate Restaurant.