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THIS IS ENTIRELY ABOUT RELATIONSHIP LONGEVITY
The one Jesus has with the Father is the paradigm.
RELATIONSHIP IS THE PRIZE OF BOTH PARTIES!!
Fruit, hatred, and witness are the by-products.
God’s glory is the outcome.

How our relationship is actually founded, formed, and preserved... Jn. 14:23-24, 31! “if anyone loves me...like I love the Father.” So, what does that life look/live like and that kind of believing mean?

Israel is repeatedly pictured in the Scriptures as God’s Vine—growing by God’s grace in His garden (Ps. 80:15-19; Is.5:1-13; Jer. 2:21; Ezk. 15, 19:10; Hosea 10:1)

I am the true vine!

A person can only have spiritual life and grow spiritually from this point forward as that person is vitally connected to Jesus.

What does all of this mean to you and me today?

1. You are “appointed” (15:16) to be Abiders/Connected—“life in His name” (15:1-16)

Jesus appointed twelve TO BE WITH HIM. (Mk. 3:14)

- The goal of God is to have people to love who will love Him Abiding/Remaining (Matt. 22:37; Deut. 6:5) and bear fruit to God’s glory (Jn. 15:8).

- The key to fruit is remaining (attachment). Attachment begins with believing.

- The key to remaining is obedience (following Jesus’ teaching). The reward for obedience is experiencing the love of God and joy of Christ.

- The key to obedience is love for Christ.

- The key to much fruit is pruning and praying from the script of Scripture.

Removing “strength-sapping stuff” that wastes the time and energy needed for fruitfulness.

Through prayer in Jesus’ name fruit happens—continuous dependence, effective (Elijah) word- informed/Jesus-endorsed prayer produces much fruit in our lives.

Much fruit is…doing the will of God always and growing in Christlikeness, engaging the world around us daily in the way of Jesus, upholding His word in attitudes and action, impacting others with the righteousness of Christ inside and outside of the church.

Those in whom Jesus remains are those who bear fruit because they remain in Him. He gives them life in the HS (14:17). Dead branches/fruitless are cut off (never shown signs of life) and thrown away to be burned because they have demonstrated to the gardener that although they had some sort of connection to the vine, it was not vital, it had no life/HS connection. They may have known of Jesus but they never loved Him. They tried to copy Christianity but didn’t actually have it themselves. (Mind [flesh] must move to the heart will [soul spirit]) That became obvious when they didn’t obey His word or become fruitful. 

2. The world hates fruit-bearing Christians because it shows the fruit of the world to be toxic.

People prefer the posture of blind oblivion toward idolatry and morality.

3. Those who remain are indwelt by the Spirit of Truth, and are empowered through direct connection to Christ to be fruitful and faithful to the calling to be witnesses to the reality of Jesus as the Saviour and Lord (15:26-27).

Those who are His friends are also the ones He entrusts to be His witnesses— “spreading everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ” 2 Cor 2:14. Our triumphal procession. Sent ones. Look what God can do with and for a discouraged, depressed, destructive, damaged, desperate, and dead (existing but not really alive) life!

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