This ministry was founded on the scripture verses of John 15, and I think it is safe to assume that most of the regulars here are familiar with these verses. Some of the most famous quotes from Jesus come from these verses, Yet it is always amazing how we can continue learning from this area of scripture especially.

As you may have been able to guess from the title of this teaching, today we will be looking at John 15, and specifically the first few verses of it, and we will see a deeper truth in what Jesus was saying here than what we have looked at in the past. So even if you have been coming here for a while, you will still be blessed from todays message.

Let’s read John 15:1-5:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Every branch in me that bears not fruit he took away: and every branch that bears fruit, he purges it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken to you.
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can you, except you abide in me.
I am the vine, you are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing.”

Typically when we have looked at this message in the past we have focused on the finer points of the verses, but today we are going to look at the beginning, the more outward parts of it.

Now already I can see some of you, starting to wonder “but James, I thought you said we would learn a deeper truth today!”… Trust me, it is coming.

Back to the scripture: look at verse one, Jesus gets right to the most important part; He says “I am the true Vine!”

For those of you who are not into gardening, the Vine is what nourishes all of the branches, and the branches then produce the leaves and the fruits from the nutrients provided by the vine.

Now look at verse 5 – the last verse – “… without me you can do nothing.” Jesus doesn’t mince words here, He tells it to us straight. He is the Vine, the one who nourishes us and provides what we need to flourish and produce fruit in our lives and without Him we can do nothing. Many believers although they have been coming t church for years and have read the Bible all the way through many times, they still have not taken hold of this most basic truth. Jesus is more then an after-thought, and more then just a sidekick in our lives, He must be the center, the very core of our being for us to be nourished and to flourish and thrive in all that we do.

So this sounds like an important point, but how do we make Him our root? What does that even mean for Him to be the center of our lives? I know that there have been criticisms in the past of people who say that we are “so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good.” and it seems like a clever thing to say, but it is wordily wisdom which when compared to God is just mere foolishness. Jesus clearly tels us here that He is our source for all that we need and without Him that we can do nothing… that is a big zero, No Thing without Him. So it would benefit us immeasurably to invest time into connecting ourselves to Him properly in order to truly receive all that we need from Him.

So again, how do we do this? Well Jesus tells us the answer in verses two through four… which is why we read all five verses instead of just one and five apart. No we have previously looked at verse two separates, specifically explaining that the word “purge” used there actually means literally to “lift up”. So that if one is not bearing fruit, He lifts that person up, as in off of the ground, one who has fallen. And how does He do that? Look at verse three, He does it through the Word which He has spoken! Praise the LORD!

My friends, as verse four states, we must abide in Him – live in Him every day – it is how we keep Him as our root. The guiding forces in our lives should be the words which He has spoken to us. For His words never fail, and will always lift us up off of the ground and out of whatever ditch we may have fallen in to.

And as verse five clearly states, when we keep Him as our root and continually draw nutrients from His Vine, then we are guaranteed to bring forth much fruit in every area of our lives, from healing to prosperity and beyond!

Stay connected to Him, every day!