“Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also 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 so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.” John 15:9-11.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
Jesus is the Vine and you who believe in Him are the branches and I am the vinedresser. I prune you and watch over you as your helper to raise you to new levels of fruitfulness. Ever increasing in your knowledge of Me and Jesus by My Holy Spirit. New levels of revelation in My Word give you new levels of joy and fruitfulness. Joy produces activity, and when you are on the Vine, it is divine activity, that is, fueled by divine resurrection power. Attached to the Vine you have attached to the source, the dynamo.
When you have attached to Jesus as the Vine, drawing grace, that is, divine life, from and through Him, it is a constant flow from My divinity through Jesus as totally One with Me as God and totally one with you as man, fitting My divinity into your humanity and your humanity into My divinity the flow can move without hindrance in Me or My Son, the only possible constriction or stoppage of the flow would be on your end.
Jesus explained this to you. He told you that every branch in Him that is not bearing fruit, I lift up off the ground as onto a supporting trellis to see if it will bear, and every branch that is bearing fruit I prune, and the word used there in the Greek language in which it was written is “katharos” which means to cleanse or purge, so it bears more fruit. I use this same word in saying, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.”
So here you see that I am at work to lift up those that are falling and increase those who are producing to new levels of fruitfulness in bringing My divine nature, the fruit of the Spirit and all the wonderful things that go with that, into the earth.
Jesus then tells you that you who have listened to His Word as His disciples, that is, those of you who have abided, continued, and remained in My Words and know the truth which sets you free, are already pruned (cleansed) because of the Word which He has spoken. John 15:3. My Words are pure Words, Psalm 12:6, and Jesus washes you in the water of My Word when you are a member of His Body, the church upon the earth. Ephesians 5:26. He nourishes and cares for you. And you draw all you need for life and godliness from the Vine, from My grace flowing into you through Jesus. Grace and truth come through Him to you. And He is My Word made into flesh. So the life is in the Word. My Words are Words of eternal life. They produce the fruit of eternal life in you.
Then Jesus tells you the secret of a joyful, fruitful life. You must abide in Him and He in you. A branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Jesus. A branch has no life or fruit apart from the Vine. The branch produces and has the glory of the flower and fruit to give to the world, you and others can take joy in the works of your hands, but without being attached to your source from which you came forth, you cannot produce. Like a fish out of water or a fruit tree pulled out of the dirt. And you came forth from Me, in My image and according to My likeness, and out of Me you are out of your source and you wither up and die, unfruitful and cluttering up others’ lives and destinies. Barren branches, the living dead, are dangerous to themselves and others. That is why Jesus tells you that anyone who does not abide in Him is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. John 15:4-7.
Do you remember the parable of the unfruitful fig tree that was cluttering the ground? I gave it another year of pruning it and fertilizing it but if it still remained unfruitful clutter to the production of the vineyard it was cut down. The wicked person cuts short his life. He has to be removed, like Herod, if after many attempts to turn him he remains unfruitful clutter that is oppressing others into the same unfruitful behavior. I had sent John to Herod, Jesus to Herod, and even some of his own stewards, but he would not listen and continued captive to doing Satan’s will, that is to steal, kill, and destroy life. As he did so by his order to behead John the Baptist and his participation in the crucifixion of Jesus. He finally had gone too far and was cut off and thrown in the fire.
This is serious. But for you who know My Name and abide in My Word, this is pure joy. Why? Your answer on how to have a joyful life is simply to attach to the Vine. Then the fruit will come and the deeper you are attached, the more you remain in My Word, the more fruit you will bear and the more joy will come. When Philipp went to Samaria to preach the good news of Jesus, and miracles were performed at his hands so that the lame walked and demons departed, the joy in that city reached fever pitch.
Attached firmly to Jesus, My divine nature is freely flowing into your spirit and the Holy Spirit is producing fruit together with your spirit (giving you skill like He did for Bezalel to construct the intricate and amazing work of the Tabernacle) that grows outwardly after it is conceived inwardly. Remember? The Holy Spirit hovers over you and power from on High overshadows you and Jesus is formed in you, the first fruit of your redemption. The mystery of Christ in you, your hope of glory.
But how does this produce perfect joy that no one and nothing can take from you? The more deeply you attach, that is, the more you grow by the revelation of My Word into deeper and deeper depths of My inmost being, the more like Me you become. And who am I? Love and Light.
So the more of Me that pours into the unique you that is you, the more love and light fill you until all hatred, malice, ill will, offense, rude answers, and those things that steal your joy and turn you into a bitter anxious mess, are purged out as I purge you by My Word. I never purge you by painful toil, sickness, and pain, as some people say I do, those things are from Satan and teach you nothing fruitful unless they help you learn how to put them down and take the victory Jesus already gave you.
Primarily I teach you by pulling you into a closer and closer relationship with Me. But even here, you control how deep you want to go. As you draw close to Me I draw close to you. I call your name and I knock at your door, but it is up to you to answer that call and to open your door. Revelation 3:20. Many are called, in fact, you all are, but few are chosen. By that I mean, I can only choose those who will respond and open to My call.
Jesus told the religious leaders of His day, “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you seek to kill Me, because My Word has no place in you.” John 8:37. You kill our relationship when My Word finds no place in you.
To Me, our relationship is a precious treasure. Your love for Me means as much as My love for you in My heart. For your joy and My joy to be complete in our relationship you must abide (remain) in My love. And that is what the Vine is all about. For My vineyard, the vineyard of the LORD of hosts, is the house of those who love and keep My Word, and the members of that household of faith are My delightful plant. Isaiah 5:7.
Jesus put it this way as the road to complete joy, “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.” John 15:9. But then He goes on to tell you how to abide in His 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 so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.” John 15:10-11.
You abide in the love of Jesus, and in His hand you abide in Mine, when you keep His commandments, just as He kept Mine and stayed in the house of My love. But what commandment is He talking about? He tells you in the very next line in this teaching, “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.” John 15:12.
How did Jesus love you? He loved you enough to never take offense at you, but to act with compassion to give you the grace to make you whole. He saw you as I do, He saw a champion in each of you. “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” Love loves you enough to make you the person you were meant to be. Love edifies, exhorts, and encourages the best out of everyone of you. And love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.
As you have so freely received, freely give. Love is free, it cannot be flooded out, burned out, or starved out. Love is stronger than death. Love raises you out of the grave.
Do not let your hearts be troubled by depression, hate, anger, vengeance, lust, looking at others’ faults and failings, and offense. These things will trouble you and produce bitter roots with poisonous fruit.
There is no peace with hatred in your heart, it will not let you see any good. It will separate you from Me and others. In will not permit you to settle down in My love. You will be lonely and afraid.
Do not let your hearts be afraid of sickness, disaster, lack, pain, condemnation, abandonment. These all trouble you with fear. They don’t let have any rest.
But you have found your rest. His Name is Jesus, let Him be your joy. He has given you His peace and His joy. And He told you how to have them, by keeping His commandment to love. And you can do that by abiding in His love. Give love and you will harvest love. Give grace and you will have abundant grace. I have poured My love in your heart to enlarge it so you can run in the way of My commandments, which all are summed up in two Words—Love Me and love your neighbor as I love them.
And love never resents helping another to wholeness. Jesus came to serve not to be served, to give His life to you. So how do you love one another as He loved you? It means you do not allow yourself to have ill will towards another but to desire they be saved and come to know the truth.
A good example is Joseph, the son for Jacob. He did this for his abusive brothers who sold him into slavery out of jealousy, hoping they would never see him again. But he sought their welfare. He served them in a time of famine and it gave him joy to be generous to them.
Being generous is a joy. Quick to forgive and slow to anger as you share the work of your hands.
I am love. Bow your knee to Love and not to hate.
If you remain in loving obedience to the One who is Love you will be fruitful.
I love you. At the night of that Last Supper, when He gave you the bread and the wine of His body and blood, Jesus told you how to be fruitful as branches on the vine. He said, “Love one another as I have loved you, when you do this you’ll be fruitful in everything you do. So love one another as I have loved you, then My joy will be within you and your joy will remain true.” And to love is not an option, when I spoke it, I spoke as command, so that when you shall fulfill it, grace will flood your land. Love does not seek its own interests, it is patient and gentle and kind, love isn’t jealous or angry, love renews your mind. You are known as My disciples, when you faithfully keep My command, and when you love one another you stay in My Hand. Do you want joy? Love one another as I have loved you, when you do this you’ll be fruitful in everything you do. So love one another as I have loved you, then My joy will be within you and your joy will remain true.