Growth, Boldness, Vine & Wine

Currently I have been trying to grow some red grapes in our backyard. We bought a grape vine early this spring, dug a hole and planted it in some good soil and covered and surrounded the area with a layer of mulch. It has been watered everyday and gets plenty of sunshine but so far it has only grown about 4 feet and is covered with leaves. Come to find out while reading a magazine, grape vines need poor soil to produce grapes… and if you coddle them you’ll get just what we got… lots of leaf and vine and little else. Grape vines I guess thrive in gravely, sandy, calciferous soil that hardly retains moisture and holds little if any fertile soil. Sounds a lot like the natural surroundings we have here in Texas… in short we tried too hard and got poor results.

Who would of thought a grape vine would grow fruit in such poor conditions?

This reminded me of Jesus:
“Yes I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who parts from me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you stay joined to me and my words remain in you, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted! My true disciples produce much fruit. This brings great glory to my Father.” John 15:5-8

Jesus came to earth to face what kind of conditions? You might say the soil conditions were pretty stony, hard and unfertile. In fact it lacked the soil type to keep people from getting thirsty and satisfied. Some would even agree the conditions were extremely turbulent.

Jesus is the vine of life. A person who tries to grow on any other vine or a counterfeit won’t just produce any good fruit but will suffer greatly and will even suffer eternity if they don’t find Christ before they leave this life.

Jesus says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned for greater fruitfulness by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine and you cannot be fruitful apart from me.” John 15:1-4

Without Jesus we can do nothing of good in this world. This world’s soil type is a hard, gravely, sandy, unfertile and certainly keeps many thirsty - metaphorically speaking.

The world being so however…. Is a great place to grow “Christ-centered fruit.”

It is a great place to mature us, Christians, as we remain “connected” to the “Vine” and are empowered by the Holy Spirit. The conditions regardless if they are favorable or not in our eyes, will have a favorable moment if we are willing and listening to what God has us to speak at the precise moment he wants us to speak or act. Sometimes it takes boldness but that boldness is not dependent on our perception of ourselves or those we are speaking to but God’s understanding of that person or people we are to speaking/witness to.

Witnessing should come as natural as breathing… but as human beings we like to THINK too much! Agreed??? Witnessing should come from a Christ-centered love that is not based on self-perception or a pre-determined, laid out plan but you merely being a vessel of Christ’s love.

Sometimes we are blessed by being this vessel but this vessel shouldn’t get any credit for merely doing what it was designed to do.

“And the servant is not even thanked, because he is merely doing what he is suppose to do. In the say way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are not worthy of praise. We are servants who have simply done our duty’.” Luke 17:9

God did not make you into a robot or some copy of someone else. He doesn’t want you to follow some “Way of the Master” method. He made you, the person you are, to witness to the people he had planned for you to come into contact with long ago. (Remember God knew his people in advance.) God wants you to be yourself not someone you are not and God will do the rest.

Building on the WORD:
“But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere –“ Acts 1:8

“For it won’t be you doing the talking- it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” Matthew 10:20

“This will be your opportunity to tell them about me. So don’t worry about how to answer the charges against you, for I will give you the right words and such wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to reply!” Luke 21:13

“For when we brought you the Good News, it was not only with words but also with power, for the Holy Spirit gave you the full assurance that what we said was true. And you know that the way we lived among you was further proof of the truth of our message. “ 1 Thessalonians 1:5

“With my authority, take this message of repentance to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: There is forgiveness of sins for all who turn to me.’ You are a witness of all these things. And now I will send you the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised.” Luke 24:47

“For in him we live and move and exist. As one of your poets says, ‘We are his offspring.’ Acts 17:28

“For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.” James 1:3.

Fruit into Wine: When it comes to the moving of God, God can make water into wine. (John 2) He can do the same in us. Fruit is instant and wine is quickly created and poured out of an individual for all to see and enjoy. Often it defies and challenges human understanding and rational.

Our lives are changed in a moment. We, as vessels, once used for things we were no intended for, found our true purpose. The transformation from old wine skin to new wine skin was instantaneous when we surrendered our life to Christ. (Everything was made new again.)

The old was replaced by a new spirit and heart -for the old would not hold up during the fermentation process of the new wine that is made with the new fruit that grows under the watchful eye of the master gardener.

The fruit is tested and tasted and turned into wine to be shared with the less fortunate. The taste is either sweet to those seeking a better life or it bitter to those who have given up conscious, morality and life is self. (Matthew 9:17, Luke 5:38-39)

And let us remember with every taste/test of a wine thief, we know we are becoming aged to perfection.

Let us make the most of every opportunity for doing good. Let us not act thoughtlessly but try to understand what the Lord wants us to do in every opportunity or changing condition…. Let the Holy Spirit fill and move us in the correct manner and action. We are God’s ambassadors, God’s perfected wine in Christ, so let us ask that he give us the boldness to speak - as we should and pour out God's love. (Ephesians 5:15-18, 6:19-20)

I am not a wine drinker but I enjoy the good wine that is poured out of others. It is full of character and glimmers with beauty.