Beloved of the Lord,
Today as many of God's children go forth to do His will, a question arises. Will that work be done in the power and life of God, or in the power and life of "man's power, wisdom and ability? A second question arises as well. Could we tell the difference?
A Christian worker that is in right relationship with God realizes he is nothing and truly has nothing in himself to give. They have understood they are absolutely helpless as a branch connected to a vine. The Branch does not do the work, the branch only bears the fruit and the work of the vine.
The vine does all the work. The vine goes down deep into the ground, it's roots looks for the source of the water, dirt, and elements it needs to give to the branch to bear abundant fruit.
The fruit comes forth from the sap that the vine produces through the branches. The sap is like the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He takes the life of the vine (Jesus) and then give us the power of the vine (through the Holy Spirit), all that the branch (us) need to bear fruit. The vine does all the work and the branch is made just to bear the vine's (Jesus) fruit from their lives.
Listen to Jesus words this morning: John 15: 1-5
1. I am the True Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser.
2 Any branch in Me that does not bear fruit [that stops bearing] He cuts away (trims off, takes away); and He cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit.
3 You are cleansed and pruned already, because of the word which I have given you [the teachings I have discussed with you].
4 Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. [Live in Me, and I will live in you.] Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me.
5 I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.
Verse 4 shows us our work, Dwell in him, as a helpless, utterly and entirely depending branch. A branch receiving the life of the vine continually as it's life source to bear fruit for others to eat.
The work of God does not come from the will and effort of men. It comes from our Christian life living and abiding in the vine (Jesus). The vine does all the work through the branches of bearing fruit. The Holy Spirit, (the sap that bring the life of God in us and through us) is the source of the branches existence and it's only source and power to produce fruit.
When this is done in reality the branch gets no praise or honor, nor would itbring any attention to it's own efforts or take the glory that belongs to the vine as their own. The branch is to just simply and humbly bear fruit, and fruit that remains. As others eat that fruit the vine produces. All the glory goes to the vine and the vine dresser not the branch.
Is that what our Christian life looks like today? Is that what our church or ministry looks like today? Is it bearing the fruit of Holy Spirit power and effort, or is it bearing fruit of the will and power of men's effort in the name of God, but not in the power of God?
Eventually the latter will burn out. Eventually the work built in the power of men will become their life, and will drain the workers of all the spiritual life until there is only left a form of godliness in man's best efforts, or that worker or ministry will totally burn out.
Is is said of the saraphim and cheribum in heaven that they are "ministers of fire." That is because they know they are nothing, and they allow God to fill them with His Glory and brightness in them, and they reflect his glory! Can that be said of us? Is God's glory seen in and through us, or own glory, or own boasting of what we are doing and not Gods?
To truly do the work of God we must be positioned rightly in our hearts before God, we must become poorer, lower and more helpless, so the power of God can empower us to do all He desires.
Today, in this day and hour if we are going to be Christian laborers with our Lord, we need to take on his nature, he went lower so we must go lower. He was lowly and meek, we must become lowly and meek. We must take His yoke upon us and learn of him and his ways.
Brothers and Sisters, the man or woman of God that believes he has something, really has nothing, because he or she is not absolutely dependent upon our Lord for everything. Even if one would start out that way, soon they will be doing things that "look like God" filled with the power of human charisma, and not the life and glory of God.
A counterfeit anointing will look just like the real deal, but the fruit won't lie. One will bring glory and honor to the work of men, the other will bring glory and honor to God alone.
One will be filled with "man's glory and strength, the other with God's glory and strength. Though they may look similar now, in the end they will be separated just like sheep and goats. A tare looks like wheat until the time of harvest where it's true identity if finally seen.
Beloved, We must not start out as wheat, depending fully upon the Lord, and then let the enemy bewitch us to do it in our own strength and power in the guise of depending on the Lord. Can a heart truly know the difference unless it continually asks the Lord, "Lord are you doing this, or me?"
The man or woman who has nothing who knows they are truly nothing, depends upon God for everything. Absolute dependence upon God is a must for all true Christian work, the branch must get it's life from the vine alone. The Branch doesn't glory in the fruit, it just bears fruit and fruit that remains.
Others we are sent to, are to the eat the fruit that the vine produced through the branch. In that they to can find the Lord (the vine) and begin to dwell in him the same way the branch they ate from does. This will begin to produce a spiritual house being built up of living stones that have learned the secret of absolute dependence upon God.
They will bear fruit as well because they have learned the secret of abiding in the vine and the vine abiding in them. They will become true disciples and Christian workers of our Lord.
Beloved, in the 2nd day "church system age" we live in there is to much building up of men and ministries today, instead of building up the house of God. The work of the flesh will always build something for God.
For the source of that work will be their own glory seen or unseen. It may be masked behind, "this we are doing is for God, but it was never "WITH GOD!" That is the heart motive of the Babylonian work we find in Genesis 11 when mankind decided to build themselves something in the city of Babel.
In their hearts these words of "counterfeit anointing" were found. They said, "Let us make bricks, let us build a city, let us build a tower that reaches into heaven, and let us make a name for ourselves."
That "let us" in Genesis 11 is a counterfeit voice of "being God" that tried to copy the voice of God in Genesis 2 that said "let us make mankind in our own image and likeness." In Genesis 11 we find in the hearts of a man a desire to be God and create something.
The people of Babel said, "let us make bricks, let us build walls, let us make a city, let us build a tower, and let us make a name for ourselves." That same voice and heart can be heard today in the church by Christian workers or ministry being led by a "religious spirit" and not dependent upon the life and power of the "Holy Spirit!"
When a Christian work or worker stops abiding in the vine they lose everything. The glory that belongs to God begins to slowly go to men instead of the Lord who should be doing the work. We must be very careful in who is doing the work and who gets the glory always.
The subtle change can happen to any man, any christian worker and any ministry. If we do that we will soon find our for ourselves God confusing our language and thwart our efforts as he did in Babel, even up to this day.
Beloved's, absolute dependance upon God is the secret to all the power of God being made available to you and through you to do all God has asked you to do. The branch really has nothing unless it get from the vine. Apart from Me, Jesus said, you can do nothing. That is the truth! You and I can not do, speak, or accomplish anything of Kingdom value unless it comes from the vine itself.
Let us not confuse "work" for "fruit!" There may be a good deal of Christian "work" being done that is not the "fruit" of the heavenly vine. Christian laborers with Christ do not seek to do work only, but they seek to bear fruit. They bring forth a fruit that comes from their abiding in the vine that remains.
That fruit will bear the "life and the very power and the very heart of the Son of God to all in need. It is essential that the heavenly vine Himself comes into our hearts and fills them continuallyto bring forth fruit, more fruit, and a fruit that will remain forever.
Today may we all become true branches of our Lord Jesus Christ on the Earth as it is in heaven.
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