Can We Stop Bearing Fruit?

To Hear Audio: Can We Stop Bearing Fruit?

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. John 15:2

This verse has been used by preachers my whole life to threaten us with. But let’s dissect the Truth and see if this verse should frighten us or encourage the daylights out of us. The first Truth to be considered here is that to be one with Christ is a gift. Salvation is a free gift from God, Ephesians 2:8. 

The second Truth that our Father tells us is that He never takes His gifts back once He gives them. For God's gifts and His call are irrevocable. [He never withdraws them when once they are given, and He does not change His mind about those to whom He gives His grace or to whom He sends His call.] Romans 11:29

The third Truth to consider, if someone wants to threaten you that you may stop bearing fruit can be found in Ezekiel 36:27: And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall heed My ordinances and do them.

Now taking all of these verses together we can see that if we are saved, we are only saved because our Father gave it to us. And our Father will never take it back, because He never withdraws a gift once He gives it. We also can see that because we have been given the gift of salvation, or in other words the gift of being one with Jesus, that our Father will place His Spirit within us and cause us to bear fruit. So there is absolutely no chance that if we are saved that we can ever stop bearing fruit and be cast out of our perfect union with Christ. 

So why did Jesus say this? Jesus often spoke in parables and in ways that seemed to confound. He did this because the Truth is not for everyone to know, Mark 4:10-12. It is not a lie that if a born again person would stop bearing fruit, that they would be cast out of Jesus. But the greater Truth, the whole Truth, is that it is impossible for a true child of God to not be used by our Father to bear fruit. The wolves in sheep’s clothing will use this verse to try to keep the focus on man and not on Jesus. They will use it for fear instead of sharing the glorious Truth that it is impossible for us to not continually be used by our Father to bear luscious and everlasting fruit. 

John 15:2 is a glorious verse and there is no fear in it at all. The Truth is that our Father will constantly do whatever is needed so that He can always cause us to grow and be used in more and more powerful ways!  

We Possess And Give Unconditional Forgiveness

Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Romans 4:6-7 

Our Father tells us that we are righteous without ever doing anything to be righteous. Our Father forgives us our sins regardless of what we have done. This is why we are blessed. We have complete freedom and redemption and we never did anything to earn them. We didn’t pray to earn this freedom. We didn’t attend church to receive it. We didn’t even perform the work of asking for it. It was all just grace, our Father just decided, for whatever reason, to give it to us. The glorious Truth is that we did absolutely nothing on our own, there was no work at all that we ever did, that brought this glorious state of righteousness on us.

Now here is the power of this Truth for us, we now have the mind of Christ, 1 Corinthians 2:16. So if this is how our Father acted towards us, this is how our mind now acts towards others. This is why we are able to live in so much peace, even when all Hell is breaking out around us. We forgive before people ask us to forgive them. We are empowered by the very thoughts of our Father to intercede for others whether they know it or not. Peoples sins are covered and forgiven by us regardless of what they have done and apart from any work that they have done. 

Our Father causes us to sow this unconditional forgiveness so that we reap this unconditional forgiveness. You and I are now empowered to think and act just like God. We are our Father’s instruments of forgiveness. He uses us to forgive all, apart from any works that they have done. This is our gift to them and this is what causes us to see beyond all the evil of the world and see the perfect righteousness of our Kingdom. 

We Are Perfectly Blessed To Be Perfectly Holy

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love: Ephesians 1:3-4

Our Father has held absolutely nothing back from us. We have been blessed with every blessing that He has. Everything that makes our Father God, has been given to us. Our Father gave everything to Jesus and then He made us one with Him, so that we too could have it all. 

Our Father chose for us to have all of His faith, all of His peace, all of His joy, all love, all glory, all wisdom, all knowledge, all forgiveness, all power, all hope, and all of His compassion. We are one with all of these things and everything else that our Father has right now. The Truth is that there is no waiting on all of these spiritual things. We have been blessed with all of them right now. Faith come from hearing this Truth and this Truth is what sets us free!

So many times a person will say, "yeah but that was Jesus, that is why He could do that" This belief is flat out wrong. The Truth is that we have everything and are one with everything that Jesus has and is. There is nothing that made Jesus Lord that our Father has not imparted to us. Our Father has held nothing back form us. He has made us one with all that He has right now, Galatians 2:20. And He has done this so that we can be just as perfect as Jesus is, Matthew 5:48. We have been born again into perfection through the grace of our Father. It's all a gift. It's all unearned and it's all operating in us right now. 

We are right now just as Holy and Blameless as Jesus. This is why our Father can use us right now just as powerfully as He uses Jesus, John 14:12. Christians are perfect because we have been chosen by God to be perfect. He has forgiven us all of our trespasses and in the process of His grace He has made us perfect as well. No in the power of our Father's might we go and serve the world, just as gloriously and victoriously as our Head, Jesus, serves the world! 

We Are Recession Proof

Stop toiling and doing and producing for the food that perishes and decomposes [in the using], but strive and work and produce rather for the [lasting] food which endures [continually] unto life eternal; the Son of Man will give (furnish) you that, for God the Father has authorized and certified Him and put His seal of endorsement upon Him. John 6:27

I then heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out from her, my people, so that you may not share in her sins, neither participate in her plagues. Revelation 18:4

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Matthew 6:25

Our Father plainly tells us that we are to not labor for earthly things. Jesus tell’s us to take no thought for food and clothing and that we are to come out of Babylon, the worlds economic and political system. How can we do these things? How is it that we can actually take no thought for food when we need food to live? How is it that we can live on this earth and not be part of its corrupt system? The answer is that we reap what we sow. Our Father is greater in us then anything that is in this world and He is causing us to sow things that are not of the world’s corruption. He is doing this through us  so that we can live apart from this world while we are still in this world.  

The sower sows the Word. Mark 4:14

Jesus answered him, If you would be perfect [that is, have that spiritual maturity which accompanies self-sacrificing character], go and sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; and come, be My disciple [side with My party and follow Me]. Matthew 19:21

External religious worship [ religion as it is expressed in outward acts] that is pure and unblemished in the sight of God the Father is this: to visit and help and care for the orphans and widows in their affliction and need, and to keep oneself unspotted and uncontaminated from the world. James 1:27

Judge not [neither pronouncing judgment nor subjecting to censure], and you will not be judged; do not condemn and pronounce guilty, and you will not be condemned and pronounced guilty; acquit and forgive and release (give up resentment, let it drop), and you will be acquitted and forgiven and released. Luke 6:37

The Holy Spirit causes us to share the Truth that sets people free. He causes us to give to those who we can receive nothing back from. Our Father drives us to the needy to be there for them as friends and He empowers us to forgive everyone everything! Because our Father does all of these things through us, we actually live in the perfect peace of taking no thought for the cares of this world. 

Remember this Truth: when Jesus called His disciples He had them leave their earthly jobs. He took them out of Babylon so that they could serve The Kingdom of God. Our Father had Paul serving mainly from prison cells or on the run. Yet all of the disciples were taken care of and rejoiced that they were not part of the worlds corrupt system. They had real peace and joy even though they were living in what the world would call hardships. Our Father never left them and He never forsook them and they were always taken care of because our Father always had them sowing His Heavenly possessions to others. They all reaped what our Father had them sow.   

You And I Are Now Blameless

According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love: Ephesians 1:4

And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are One. John 17:22 

I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me. John 17:23 

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 

Our Father chose us and we are holy and without blame before Him. God’s Truths are awesome! The Blood of Christ is working so strongly for us that we are now blameless. No work can justify what the Blood of Christ, shed on the cross, has so freely given us. The Holy Spirit gives us the strength and confidence in the Truth that through Christ we are living a life without any blame! 

We tend to talk about this lifestyle of perfection and blamelessness in the future tense, when Jesus returns. But the Truth that will set us free is that our Father is more than willing and able to cause us to live this way right now! We can never earn this perfection own our own, through our own efforts, but through Christ we freely have it. It’s an easy yoke to be borne, because we have been empowered to simply look unto Jesus to Author and Finish our faith! Through Christ we stand before our Father blameless, apart from any work, with free and complete redemption through the power of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior! Our Father chose to have us because He is able and willing to do these glorious things through us! Our Father knew the way to make us glorious and holy, and our Father gave us the way, the Light, and the Truth, and Jesus is the only way!

"Now He which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts." 2 Corinthians 1:21-22

Asking To Be Filled With Our Father's Guarantee

For Podcast: Asking To Be Filled With Our Father's Guarantee

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed you were marked with Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, Who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession-to the praise of His glory. Ephesians 1:13-14 

If you don’t believe these verses that teach us that we are guaranteed eternal salvation, that we can never loose it, I want you to ask yourself this? When exactly were you filled with the Holy Ghost? If you cannot answer yourself with a specific time and place, a time when you knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that you were, then you need to get with God and ask Him why? I can tell you that for me it was at the Brentonel Church of Christ, when I was eleven years old, with my Aunt Linda, in a cold metal chair beside the baptismal, where I had just been dunked! My mom reached over, touched my lips, and I was filled! 

I had believed in Jesus before that night, but that was the time in my life that I was filled with the Holy Spirit. That is the exact moment that I realized that I was guaranteed eternity with our Father. If you have not had such an experience, if you struggle with what we have discussed in these postings, there is no condemnation here, just an honest question to ask yourself, have you been filled with the Holy Spirit? Our Father will reveal to you the answer! I have never met anyone who can tell me of an exact moment when they were baptized with the Holy Spirit, who ever questions their eternity. They don't question because the confidence of Jesus has been born into them. They have a guarantee that is directly of God! No wavering, no questioning, it’s just in them! And if it’s not in you, it can be, and it’s God’s will that it is. 

Our Father loves us so very much! He wants us to have no questions about who we are in Him and who He is within us. We should not be tossed to and fro and to insure that we aren't, our Father has given us Himself to bear witness with our spirits, so that we can be confident and bold in our eternal salvation! Don’t just take my word for it, go and read in the Book of Acts, every time the Holy Spirit came to men, there where no doubts! The baptism of the Holy Spirit brings confidence and boldness, because He bring assurance as He cries out from our hearts that God is our Father. If you are desiring this experience it is only because our Father is causing you to want it and that means that He will absolutely give it!

No one is able to come to Me unless the Father Who sent Me attracts and draws him and gives him the desire to come to Me, and [then] I will raise him up [from the dead] at the last day. John 6:44

Father I ask You in Jesus’ Name, that all who read this study will know beyond any shadow of a doubt that they are eternally with You! That they know that they are preserved by You until the Day of Jesus’ return, the Day of Redemption! I thank You Father that they know that they are included in the exact same anointing that You gave to Jesus: which is Christ! I thank You Father that we all come into fellowship, with one heart, one accord, and one mind, as we are used by You to be doers of the Word! You are greater in us than anything that is in the World Father and Your will be done as You use us to do all things through Christ Who strengthens us!

The Wheat And The Chaff

His winnowing fan (shovel, fork) is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear out and clean His threshing floor and gather and store His wheat in His barn, but the chaff He will burn up with fire that cannot be put out. Matthew 3:12

His winnowing shovel (fork) is in His hand to thoroughly clear and cleanse His [threshing] floor and to gather the wheat and store it in His granary, but the chaff He will burn with fire that cannot be extinguished. Luke 3:17

According to Wikipedia: Chaff is what is left of wheat fruit after the removal of the kernels.

Notice that chaff is actually part of the wheat, it is a coating of the wheat. Chaff is not another plant, it is part of the wheat. So our Father had John tell the people that the unusable part of us is going to be removed from us and burnt up. Our sin and all of our shortcomings and weaknesses will be thrown into the Lake of Fire and will be destroyed, eternally separated from us. The chaff of our life’s will never be able to return to us. The farmer doesn’t burn the wheat, just the unusable part of the wheat and that is what our Father is going to do for us.

But if any person's work is burned up [under the test], he will suffer the loss [of it all, losing his reward], though he himself will be saved, but only as [one who has passed] through fire. 1 Corinthians 3:15

I was always taught that the chaff was those who never accepted Jesus as Lord. But that is not what our Father is having John tell us at all. Our Father is telling us that everything that does not glorify our Kingdom, our Father’s Kingdom, will be removed from us and only the good will remain. We all have chaff and it will all be removed from us and separated from us, never to return again.

Jesus Alone Is In Charge Of The Dead

And the Ever-living One [I am living in the eternity of the eternities]. I died, but see, I am alive forevermore; and I possess the keys of death and Hades (the realm of the dead). Revelation 1:18

When Jesus raised Himself up, He said to her, Woman, where are your accusers? Has no man condemned you? She answered, No one, Lord! And Jesus said, I do not condemn you either. Go on your way and from now on sin no more. John 8:10:11

For I am the Lord, I do not change; that is why you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed. Malachi 3:6

Our Lord never changes and our Lord is Jesus. He alone holds the keys of death and Hades. This is really powerful because we see that when Jesus was confronted on this earth with a situation where He was to judge, He forgave and did not condemn. Remember this glorious Truth, Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, Hebrews 13:8. Jesus forgave the adulterous woman, when the Law said that she should be stoned, and He never changes.

Jesus was crucified and when He died He went to Hades for 3 1/2 days. When He was there He preached to the captives and set them free, 1 Peter 3:19-20. What does all of this mean? We see the Truth that our Lord forgave the penalty of death to the living and we see that He forgave the penalty of death to the dead and Jesus never changes. Whenever our Lord was asked to judge He forgave and did not condemn and now all judgement has been placed under His control.

Even the Father judges no one, for He has given all judgment (the last judgment and the whole business of judging) entirely into the hands of the Son, John 5:22

If that doesn’t just set you free, I don’t know what will!

Kingdom Will Rise Against Kingdom (Sept 11)

And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not frightened or troubled, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in place after place; For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in place after place; Matthew 24:6-8

A couple months ago a gunman in Norway killed almost 100 people by himself. The news reports are that the man believed that he must start a European civil war to remove Muslim’s from the continent. Tomorrow is the tenth anniversary of September 11, where radical Muslim’s believed that they must kill those who they have labeled to be infidels. Our Father clearly tells us the Truth that these kind of events must and will take place. These types of terror attacks are just the beginnings of kingdoms verses kingdoms. We are going to see so called “Christians” beginning to go after and attack Muslim’s and we are going to see Muslim’s continuing their attacks on non-muslims. These groups are not nations, but kingdom’s, they are ideologies, and they are going to begin to fight each other and with 24/7 news coverage, we will hear about every little detail of what is happening.

Here is what brings us peace now: the Holy Spirit is always with us and because we are saved death has no grip on us, 1 Corinthians 15:55. While these terror attacks are horrible, they are relatively small. These terror acts are only the beginning’s of what will come during the Great Tribulation. Before the huge attacks, that will kill millions are allowed to come upon the earth, we as the Body of Christ, must first be empowered and used by our Father to serve in a way that will allow the world to say peace and safety.

When people are saying, All is well and secure, and, There is peace and safety, then in a moment unforeseen destruction (ruin and death) will come upon them as suddenly as labor pains come upon a woman with child; and they shall by no means escape, for there will be no escape. 1 Thessalonians 5:3

We are going to be empowered by our Father to do the works that Jesus was used to do and He will also empower us to do greater works, John 14:12. Our Father is going to use millions of us, all at one time and in every nation, to miraculously serve. We are going to be stronger in Christ’s power and might then we ever have before, Ephesians 5:27. We are going to be so glorious that the world will actually begin to say that there is real peace. Not only will we be empowered to serve as never before during the last 3 1/2 years of this age in earth’s history, we will be empowered with all of Jesus’ peace as we serve, John 14:27. The Great Tribulation will not bring us fear, but joy, because we will be able to see and believe as our Lord believes. We will know that the end is near and we will see the uncountable numbers of people who are being saved during these horrific events, Revelation 7:4-14,, and we will have the peace and joy of our Lord strengthening us.

The world is going to have an increased number of terror attacks and the news is going to show us images that will attempt to bring panic and fear. Then our Father is going to empower us with His end time anointing and the world will seem to come into a moment of peace and safety. Babylon, which is the worlds business and government leaders, will all take credit for what our Father is doing through us. When they do this, sudden destruction will come on them. However millions of people will be saved during this time of great tribulation, then our Lord will return. We are only at the beginning of the end, the power has not yet come on the church, but it will. Faith and peace comes for us by hearing the Truth and the Truth sets us free. Look for the anointing of the Church as an indicator of the end, not kingdom rising against kingdom.

Also the Truth for us is that the Holy Spirit empowers us to pray for them that curse us and He empowers us to bless them that despitefully use us, Luke 6:28. We have not been given a spirit that fears, but one that has faith, 2 Timothy 1:7. These are Truths that allow us to stand when the world is trembling. Pray for all that are believing a lie and earnestly seek our Father's help to set these people free. Our weapons are Spiritual and they are powerful in the bringing down of strongholds!

Our Father Created Satan

For it was in Him that all things were created, in heaven and on earth, things seen and things unseen, whether thrones, dominions, rulers, or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him [by His service, intervention] and in and for Him. Colossians 1:16

You are of your father, the devil, and it is your will to practice the lusts and gratify the desires [which are characteristic] of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a falsehood, he speaks what is natural to him, for he is a liar [himself] and the father of lies and of all that is false. John 8:44

The Truth is that satan was created by our Father and it is also the Truth that satan was created by our Father to be a murderer and a liar. Satan was created to rebel and he does not have a free will to just go and do whatever he wants. Satan was created to bring us closer to our Father.

And to keep me from being puffed up and too much elated by the exceeding greatness (preeminence) of these revelations, there was given me a thorn (a splinter) in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to rack and buffet and harass me, to keep me from being excessively exalted. 2 Corinthians 12:7

But He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness. Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me! 2 Corinthians 12:9

If satan had a free will then he would have caused Paul to glory in what our Father had revealed to him. Satan would have had Paul bragging and boasting and belittling those who had not seen and heard what he had. But satan was created by our Father and he does what our Father directs him to do. Look at Job, satan was given parameters as to what he could and could not do. Our Father created all things and He created satan. All things exist through our Father and by our Father, so satan exist through our Father and by our Father. If satan had a free will to do as he pleases, this world would have been destroyed a long time ago.

The Truth is satan is a tool of our Father. He is an instrument that our Father uses to bring us closer to Him. When we are attacked, we become weaker and when we are weaker, our Father becomes stronger within us. My father had things that he used to discipline me when I was a kid. Dad was always in control though and my disciplining was always done in love and for my betterment. This is the same way that our Father uses satan. Satan may have come to kill, steal, and destroy, but he can only do what our Father allows and permits him to do.

Simon, Simon (Peter), listen! Satan [a]has asked excessively that [all of] you be given up to him [out of the power and keeping of God], that he might sift [all of] you like grain, Luke 22:31

If satan was strong and had a free will, why did he have to ask?

Happy Labor Day Weekend

Thus David congratulates the man and pronounces a blessing on him to who God credits righteousness apart form the works he does: Blessed and happy and to be envied are those whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered up and completely buried. Blessed and happy to be envied is the person whose sin the Lord will take no account nor reckon against him. Romans 4:6-8

David was called the friend of our Father. Our Father used him to slay the giant Goliath to save all of Israel, and when he was only sixteen, the man who pleased God so greatly with His faith, that our Father promised him Jesus would be one of His descendents, says that we are blessed. Think of what God showed David about salvation and then think of David’s life. When he messed up, there were sacrifices, shed this animal’s blood, offer this grain offering, and then wear sackcloth and throw some ashes on your head to show that you was sorrowful for what you had done. Then after you did all of these physical acts of repentance, you still were separated from God. This is the life of an Old Testament believer, the power and sole responsibility of faith and righteousness was based on their ability to keep a set of rules called the Law, which included the Ten Commandments. The people had absolutely no ability to succeed, it was up to their own human strength, which was weak because of their flesh; they were continually living this vicious cycle! Even the very best under the Old Covenant, never enjoyed unity with God!

David came to God with a pure heart and he dearly loved the Lord. So our Father showed him how it would be with us and God showed David that He was going to use one of his descendents to accomplish it! David saw what we would be and he glorified God for it, writing that we are blessed, and praise God we are blessed, blessed beyond expression! Our Father has made us righteous, we didn’t make ourselves righteous, it is a gift of Father! Think of the freedom that David saw for us through Christ! Our sins are forgiven and covered by the Blood of Jesus and our Father will never count them against us. David saw that through Jesus we would be righteous. He saw that our sins would be buried and completely covered up, and he wrote that we are to be envied because of the freedom that we now enjoy in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior! David saw that through Christ the continual process of messing up and then coming back was going to be done away with. He saw that once a person said yes because they were empowered by the Holy Spirit to accept Jesus as their Lord, it was finished. He saw that the called and chosen would be forever righteous through salvation! David saw that we would actually be united with God through Christ and would never be left alone or forsaken!

“At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.” John 14:20

“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Hebrews 13:5