The True Vine, Part 11

To the Father's Glory

John 15v8

6^th December 2014

In His teaching on the True Vine, Jesus said:

John 15v7-8
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

The tenth and last question we asked about John 15v1-8 is "Do I really believe that when God answers my prayers, He is glorified, and I am seen to be Christ's disciple?"

Do you want your life to glorify God? Do you want to glorify God more than you currently do? It can happen! In these few words, Jesus tells us how:

• If we continue to live in Christ and the word of God continues to live in us, then God will answer our prayers.
• If God answers our prayers, we will bear much fruit.
• If we bear much fruit, this will show that we are disciples of Jesus Christ.
• If we are shown to be disciples of Christ, God is glorified.

It all comes back to investing time in our relationship with God and the Bible. The more we worship, pray, study, repent and believe, the more effective our prayers will be. Of course! The more effective our prayers are, the more we'll bear fruit for our Saviour. Of course! The more we bear fruit for Him, the more we'll be seen to be His disciples. Of course! And the more all this happens, the more God will be glorified. Of course!

Will we put the time into nurturing our relationship with Jesus, and understanding, believing and obeying the Bible? Perhaps that depends on how important we think it is that we our lives glorify God. Or perhaps it depends on whether we really believe that our lives can glorify God. I've seen both phenomena.

I've known Christians who really just want God, and the church, and prayer, for what they can get out of it. I've heard people say they didn't go to a church gathering because they didn't think it would do them any good. The idea that they might do good to others, or that their worship might glorify God, really hadn't occurred to them, or wasn't important to them.

And I know Christians who suffer from an unhealthy sort of humility that makes them think that they can't possibly do any good, or glorify God, or build the church, or reach the lost. Jesus says here that that's just not true - for any of us.

Both these attitudes - or self-images - are profoundly damaging. If I don't care if I do any good or not, or if I really believe that I can't ever do any good, then I really won't do much good. And my life won't glorify God very much. What a waste!

Every Christian, including you, can bear much fruit for Jesus. The fruit is not the result of our human endeavour; it's the result of continuing to live in Jesus, and allowing the word of God to continue to live in us.

Zechariah 4v6
So he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty.

I pray for myself, and for you, dear reader, that we get a vision for our future lives that would be truly glorifying to God, a passion to see it come to pass, and a real faith that it can. God can do anything in a person who is truly surrendered to Him.

It starts with prayer and Bible study.