How many of you have something in your life that you desire to see changed? Do you want to be more fruitful in your life? I would assume that most everyone in the Body of Christ desires to grow and bear more fruit in their lives. For some of us, we desire to see more of the gifts of the Spirit or the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. For others, we desire to see our bodies healed or a turnaround in our finances. Still others desire to see their children and grandchildren serving the Lord and fulfilling the purpose God has for their lives. Everyone likely has something that they desire to be more fruitful in.
 
So, since there will always be things that we, as believers, desire to grow in and see changed, it is imperative that we learn how things work in the kingdom of God. Yes, there are spiritual principles that we must learn to abide by if we are going to see consistent fruit borne in our lives.
 
So, we began looking at a passage of Scripture which I believe perfectly describes to us how to receive the fruit that we desire in our lives—John 15:1-8. And we began a new series on these verses which we are calling “The True Vine,” which is essentially a teaching on “How to be Fruitful in God’s kingdom.”
 
But, as we learned last time, the fruit that Jesus was speaking of here in John chapter 15 is what brings glory to our Heavenly Father. Again, Jesus said in John 15:8— “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” Yes, Jesus said here that our Heavenly Father is glorified when we bear much fruit, not when we bear little fruit. In other words, what glorifies God is not when we are struggling and lacking, but when we are thriving and flourishing.
 
Now, as we saw, you can certainly glorify God in your infirmities by bearing the fruits of joy, peace, etc., when you are struggling in these physical areas, but it is not our trials and tribulations that glorify God; it is being fruitful that brings Him glory. 
 
We used the example of our heart’s desire regarding our own children to describe this: How many of you are proud and blessed when you see your kids barely getting along and struggling in their life? No! You are “glorified” when your kids are successful in life—when they are doing well in their careers, in their choices, in their family, etc. This is what blesses you and what you are proud to share with people—when they are bearing much fruit. Amen?
 
But regarding Jesus’ teaching in these verses, it is important for us to realize that Jesus’ teaching in John 15:1-8 is part of His last words of exhortation to His disciples. Therefore, these verses must be of extreme significance as they were likely referring to something they would need to know with Him leaving their side. Amen?
 
Just think about it: If you were running your own family business and had employees working under you, and then you were moving on and planned to hand this business over to those employees, don’t you think your last set of instructions would be your most important? You bet they would! You would probably give them the information that they needed to remember the most there at the end.
 
So, I believe this is what Jesus was doing here in John chapters 14-16; He was giving them the instructions that they most needed to hear with them being on their own. And in John 15:1-8, I see Jesus giving His disciples the specific instructions as to how to be fruitful even after His departure.  
 
So, the question we asked was: How do we bear this fruit that He spoke of? How can we practically apply this truth to our lives so that we can produce His fruit in and through us? The answer is found in verse seven. Yes, John 15:7 teaches us the two steps to receiving what we desire from God. Now I am hesitant to even say it that way because receiving from God is not in a formula; receiving from God is like receiving fruit. It just comes as a result of our position and by submitting to kingdom principles. Amen.
 
In John 15:7, Jesus says, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”
 
Again, notice that this verse begins with “If.” If you have an “if” then what is being said is conditional and is based on what you choose to do. You see, the Lord is not in the business of violating the spiritual laws that He has set up, just like He is not in the business of violating physical laws like the law of gravity. The law of gravity will work 99.9% of the time, barring a miracle. But that is exactly what so many Christians are trying to do—to live on that “one in a millionth” time where the Lord suspends natural laws to perform a miracle. That is not the way God wants us to live.
 
We used the example of a farmer who buys a field out there because he desires some corn. But instead of planting corn seed during the time of the year where the seed is to be sown, he says, “Naw, I’m not going to do that. I’m going to ask God for the corn and hope that He gives me corn come harvest time.” Well, what is going to happen come harvest time? Is any corn going to grow in that field? No, he is going to be “fruit-LESS.”
 
Now that seems comical to talk about it from that perspective but that is exactly what most of the Body of Christ is doing: They are asking the Lord for a harvest when they have not planted any seed. It doesn’t work that way in the natural; nor does it work that way in the spiritual. So, yes, there is a cooperation with the promise contained in this verse, and we will get more into these conditions throughout this series.    
 
But can John 15:7 really be true? Are there any other stipulations made or are there any conjunctions that tie this promise to other verses? No and no! This verse is TRUE! So, notice that in this verse, we have both a description of what it means to be fruitful and the means by which we get to this place of bearing much fruit in our lives.
 
Now the asking what we desire and it being done for us by the Lord is the bearing of fruit spoken of in this parable. But let me ask you a question: Have you ever asked God for something you desired and it wasn’t done for you? I’m sure we all have. So, does that mean this verse is not true then? Absolutely not! The bottom line is that His Word is true no matter what our experiences are. And that concept right there is one that we must adopt if we want to learn to consistently receive from God.  
 
But what I want you to see in John 15:7 is that there is an absolute, concrete, positive way to receiving all of these desires that we ask the Lord for 100% of the time! In other words, there is fool-proof way to getting 100% results at always receiving from God.
 
Notice that Jesus tells us two things at the beginning of verse 7:

1. “If you abide in Me”
2. “And (if) My words abide in you.”

 
So, if we want to receive what we desire from the Lord, we need to find out two things: What does it mean to abide in Him? And what does it mean for His Words to abide in us? Because Jesus said if these two things are a reality in our lives, we will ask what we desire and it shall be done! How many of you want this? Amen! So do I! So, as we go through this series of teachings, we will answer these questions.
 
But again today, let’s go back to the beginning of this chapter and look at what Jesus taught that led up to John 15:7 in order to get the proper foundation laid:
 
We saw last time that in verse one Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.”
 
Again, by Jesus referring to Himself as the “True” Vine, He is implying that there are false vines out there too—that is, there are people, belief systems, all sorts of things that man tends to see as their source of life, peace, joy, etc. Likewise, there are things that we can tend to rely on, thinking they will make us fruitful and produce what we desire, such as our church, our pastor, a new teaching or ministry, etc. But the truth is that there is only one “True Vine” that can supply us with the “Way” to fruitfulness, the “Truth” that makes free, and the “Life” that we desire because Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Therefore, there is no other vine that can give us eternal, abundant, resurrection life but Him. Amen!
 
And so our King—the Lord Jesus Christ—has given you and I the very laws of how His kingdom operates. Yes, the True Vine has taught us the very principle of His kingdom and we will see today that again, the physical laws of seedtime, harvest, & fruit-bearing are involved. And that is why I call this “The Kingdom Principle (for bearing fruit)” because it is only going to come by our connection to the True Vine Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
We looked last time at one particular parable that the Lord taught us in Mark 4:26-29—the Parable of the Growing Seed. And we learned some very basic, practical ways in which Jesus said that His kingdom operates. In other words, we looked at the overall process of the kingdom. If you missed that, I would highly encourage you to go back and listen to it. It was powerful!  
 
But this week, let’s move on to verses 2&3 of John chapter 15 and see what the Lord went on to tell His disciples next:
 
 
 
HOW DOES GOD PRUNE US?
 
JOHN 15:2-3
“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.”
 
But here is another thing we must guard against: Some go from having that normal desire to get out of their fruitless situation to having an abnormal affection for those trials, tribulations, etc. We might call that a love affair with “pruning.” Yes, some Christians embrace their circumstances saying that the Lord is “pruning” them, causing them to lose their job or stripping them of this or that. Friends, this is not what it means to be “pruned.”
 
You see, we must be careful to not let our experiences and things we’ve seen in others form our interpretation of what it means to be “pruned.” Many interpret this “pruning” to be sickness, disease, tragedy, suffering, etc., but we need to let the Scriptures interpret the Scriptures. In the next verse (vs. 3), we see Jesus telling His disciples that they are “already clean…” The word for “clean” here is from the same Greek word translated “prune” in verse two! So, Jesus was telling His disciples that they were already pruned. How? Because of the word which He had spoken to them. In other words, His Words are what purge us—not circumstances and situations. So, His Word has a cleansing effect on us and what causes us to grow!
 
Therefore, it is the Word of God that makes us fruitful—not circumstances, like some have interpreted these verses to mean. No, church, it is not circumstances that bring the fruit of faith—the Word does (see Romans 10:17)!
 
For example, many Christians incorrectly assume that if they had seen more fruit that they would believe. But the opposite is actually the truth: If they would just believe, they would see more fruit.   
 
I remember when the Lord taught me this early in my Christian walk: I was sitting in a Bible class and we were studying the children of Israel’s journey in the wilderness. And as we read the continuous unbelief & rebellion that the children of Israel persisted in, the teacher asked—How could they constantly doubt God when they saw all of His miracles first in Egypt and then in the wilderness? The Lord spoke up on the inside of me and said, “It is because faith does not come by seeing and seeing by miracles; faith comes by hearing and hearing by God’s Word.” Amen!
 
We see this principle in Jesus’ story of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke chapter 16: While being in torment in Hades, the rich man begged Abraham to send Lazarus to his family’s house to testify to them. But Abraham said, “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them” (verse 29). In other words, Abraham was saying, “They have the Word. They need to hear it!” But the rich man responded— “No, Father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent” (verse 30). But Abraham’s response here is very telling: He said, “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead” (verse 31).
 
So, the lesson here is that even the greatest signs and wonders such as someone being raised from the dead WILL NOT cause people to believe. The only thing that breeds faith is hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). You see, faith does not come by seeing signs and wonders, miracles, supernatural manifestations, etc. Faith comes by hearing the Word.
 
Therefore, we will not yield more fruit—of faith or any other godly virtue for that matter—by our circumstances or what we go through in life. The way God grows us is through the Holy Scriptures! In fact, Psalm 119:9 tells us— “How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to your Word.” Again, how are we purged, pruned or cleansed? By taking heed according to His Word!
 
And that is what I would like for us to camp on this week: Last time, we discussed the process; this week, I want us to talk about the seed itself from this seedtime & harvest process. And in this message, you will learn how His Word brings forth the fruit that we desire in our lives.
 
So, let’s go back over to Mark chapter 4 again and look at another fundamental, foundational parable that the Lord gave us that shows us the basic building blocks of God’s kingdom in our lives. You see, we need to first be established in this foundational kingdom principle in order to grow to this place of abiding in Him.
 
THE SOWER SOWS THE WORD
 
Now this leads me to the message for this week: If you go back to Jesus’ kingdom parables, what does He say the seed is? In Mark 4:14, He says that the seed is the Word. Therefore, if all fruit began with a seed, and the seed is specifically referred to as the Word, then how on earth (and in God’s kingdom) do we suppose we will ever bear any fruit without God’s Word? It’s just not going to happen! The Word is the most critical element in us bearing the fruit that we desire in our lives. Amen.
 
So, if you are not currently a “Word-man” or a “Word-woman,” you need to adopt a new priority in your life, and begin to base it on His Holy Word. Become a sower today!
 
You see, I believe it is significant that Jesus described the one doing the sowing here as "a sower (who) went out to sow" (see Mark 4:3,14).
 
There is a difference between one who sows and one who is a sower. For example, a farmer is different than one who farms occasionally. Why? Because a farmer is one who does this for a living and one who simply farms might just be doing it as a hobby or for fun. In other words, it is his or her lifestyle. Anyone can plant seed here and there, but if we are a sower—meaning, we do this as an occupation or a profession—then we are living our lives focused on sowing & reaping.
 
Perhaps this is why when the apostle Paul said that God gives seed to the sower in Second Corinthians 9:10 that some Christians don’t ever seem to have any financial seed to sow even when they have given occasionally in their life. The truth is that He indeed does give seed to the sower, so if we don’t have any seed to sow, it might be because God doesn’t see us a sower. Sure, we might sporadically give here and there, but what God is looking for is the “sower”—that is, the ones who live their lives being givers. Amen or Oh me?
 
No, the fact is that this sower in Jesus’ parable was intentional. In other words, He went out specifically for the purpose of sowing to get a harvest. Therefore, we need to see ourselves as “sowers” and live purposeful lives of going to and fro sowing seed wherever we go.   
 
SPECIFIC SEED
 
Now regarding being deliberate and purposeful sowers, I believe there is another important lesson to learn in this parable:
 
Although in Mark’s Gospel the seed is simply referred to as “the Word,” in Luke’s Gospel Jesus says it is the Word of God (Luke 8:11). And in Matthew’s Gospel, he describes it a little differently: He calls it, “the word of the kingdom” (Matthew 13:19). So, when you combine these three accounts together, Jesus was saying the seed is “the Word of God’s kingdom.”
 
Now I bring this out because it sparks a very good point: We need to know specifically what kind of seed we are planting. In other words, what is the specific Word that we are planting? You see, it is not good enough to just be general. We need to be specific and sow specific seed that we want a specific harvest in. In other words, we need to purpose in our heart to sow seed to where it’s not a passing thought of “Oh yeah, I guess I need to sow something today. Let’s see what I have left.” No! You need to purpose in your heart what you are sowing and guard that seed that’s in the soil. Amen!
 
And this example of how Jesus specifically described the seed is very apropos because people have all kinds of squirrely ideas as to what Jesus preached: If you ask the average person what Jesus preached, you would hear things like “love, acceptance, mercy, etc.” And a lot of times what you’ll find is people will throw this out there when they want you to not judge them, but rather to accept and love them. “Don’t throw stones at me!”, they say. But while Jesus certainly did talk about these things, they were not His message.
 
So, what was His message, you ask? It was the gospel of the kingdom of God (see Matthew 4:23, 9:35, Mark 1:14-15, Luke 4:43, etc.)!
 
I bring this up about what Jesus preached because it reflects the fact that sometimes people don’t receive what they need because they are not specific enough. You wouldn’t go into a nursery and just grab a bunch of miscellaneous seeds to sow in your garden or field, would you? You wouldn’t say, “Oh, this looks like a seed. That’s what I need” and take it to go plant. No, you would search out specific seed that you need.
 
You know, many Christians say things like, “Well, I’m just trusting God.” Trusting Him to do what? How are you trusting Him? What is your trust based on? We need to be specific in our faith and not just general. When we do that it just shows our ignorance of how His kingdom operates.
 
No, when we are planting a garden, we prepare the ground. We buy specific seed. We systematically sow it. We then guard our garden—sometimes with some pretty extreme measures. We go through certain concentrated and calculated steps to get the fruit, flower, vegetables, etc. we want.
 
So why would we do it any different in God’s kingdom? Saints, I’ll tell you, we need to become more deliberate, purposeful and intentional in what we are sowing into our lives—because as a general rule our lives are a fruit today of what we planted yesterday! Amen!
 
But have you ever noticed that you don’t have to be calculated, purposeful, deliberate or intentional to grow weeds, briars and other unwanted plants in your yard, field or garden? All you have to do to produce undesirable fruit is nothing! 
 
But how many of you have ever seen good things like cotton, wheat, watermelons, grapes, etc. grow by accident in your yard? It just doesn’t happen! But things like weeds, thorns, tares, etc. just grow supernaturally without any intentional planting, don’t they?
 
Saints, always remember: bad fruit comes naturally; good fruit comes intentionally. In other words, things we don’t desire come naturally; things we do desire come deliberately. So, we see that God’s Word is seed, and if we want a specific harvest, we need specific seed to sow!
 
FIRST THE NATURAL, THEN THE SPIRITUAL
 
Now there is both a spiritual and a natural side to this: Many like to get in one ditch or the other when it comes to these things. Either they will get totally spiritual, believing that all that is important is God’s Word and it doesn’t matter what they do in the natural or they will put all their hope in their observance of natural laws.
 
First Corinthians 15:46 teaches us the natural comes first and then after that the spiritual. Of course, the context of this is the resurrection & glorification of our bodies, but I believe there is an important biblical principle contained in this concerning our topic: We need to make sure we are abiding by the natural laws the Lord set up here on the earth and not just expect the spiritual laws of God’s kingdom to override the natural working order of the things of this earth. 
 
The subject of healing is a great example of this: Some Christians will run to healing meetings to get their miracle, but it would be a miracle if you ever saw that person running for exercise. Others will spend hours and hours ingesting the Word of God, believing that His Word will bring health to their bones, but they spend little to no time eating healthy food in the natural.
 
My point is if we need healing in our bodies, yes, we need to sow God’s Word concerning healing, but we also need to sow good seeds of nutrition & exercise too. Now if you have gotten behind the 8-ball on these physical things, don’t condemn yourself and accept your infirmities because you haven’t sown the best seed for a good portion of your life. Simply repent, and receive healing mercies today.
 
I just say this because there is both a natural and a spiritual side to many of these things that we desire to see fruit of in our lives. Yes, what we need faith for and we want to see produced in our life, we need to sow in that specific area. In this case, finding God’s promises concerning healing and sowing that specific “word” into our situation while asking the Holy Spirit to show us how we can sow better seed in the natural as well.   
 
Another good example of this is if we need a turnaround in our finances. In this case, we need to, of course, sow in the natural by both learning how to be good stewards with our finances on the earth and also by cooperating with other spiritual laws like giving towards the kingdom of God. But we also need to then camp on God’s promises concerning our needs being met and God’s will concerning our finances and sow those specific Words into our hearts.
 
So, I use these examples to demonstrate that there is certainly a natural side to this kingdom principle. We are not going to prosper in our finances just because we spend time looking at promises of prosperity in the Bible. We also need to use wisdom and be givers. Likewise, we are not going to walk in divine health just because we quote a bunch of healing Scriptures. We need to cooperate with natural laws and sow good seed in our bodies through both nutrition and exercise. Amen?    
 
HOW TO PLANT THE WORD
 
But as important as these natural things are, just doing them will in no way guarantee one that they can’t lose all of their wealth or their health. The reason is because we live in a fallen world that leaves us subject to economy crashes and sickness & disease that do not come because we did something wrong. This is where God’s kingdom principles come in!
 
So how do we sow the seed of God’s Word? Practically, how do we plant it so that we can receive the fruit we desire in these specific areas.
 
Let’s use the example of our mental & emotional state: Say, you deal with a lot of depression and anxiety, and even have been diagnosed with some sort of sickness of the soul. You can find plenty in God’s Word that specifically promises you “prosperity of the soul.” Amen!
 
And that’s the first thing you do: You get in the Word and find the specific seed that holds the fruit that you desire to see in your soul.  
 
In this case, God’s Word promises us that He restores our soul (Psalm 23:3). It tells us that just as much as Jesus paid for our sins and sickness, He also paid for our peace (Isaiah 53:5). He has given us not only a spirit of power & love, but also of “sound mind” (Second Timothy 1:7). These are His promises for a healthy soul!
 
But then you also pay attention to the Scriptures that give you “prescribed promises” of how those Scriptures yield the fruit you desire. For example, we have His seed in Psalm 19:7 that teaches us that His Word—the seed itself—has the power to “convert the soul, make wise the simple, rejoice the heart & enlighten the eyes.” Amen!
 
James 1:21 also tells us that when we receive with meekness the implanted word, it is able to save our souls! Amen!
 
So, here we see how God’s Word is again likened to a seed because James calls it the “implanted” Word. The word “implanted” (or, “engrafted” in the KJV—which is poor translation) comes from two Greek words. The first word en describes “in, inner or inside.” The other word phyo literally means “to grow up or spring up in reference to plant growth.” So, I think “implanted” is a very good translation because this describes the Word of God as something that grows or springs up like a plant inside of us.
 
So, when you “receive with meekness” (that’s a whole other sermon) the Word of God, it is like you are allowing the Word to be planted inside of you and its job is to grow or spring up in your heart like a seed’s job is to grow after it is planted. Amen!
 
Then James goes on to describe what this “implanted Word” will do: He says, “which is able to save your souls.”
 
Now there are varying opinions on what the soul is. I personally have a different take on it than you commonly hear in our circles. Most of time you will hear people define the “soul” as our mind, will and emotions. And while I certainly believe that these are included in our soul, I don’t believe this is all there is to our soul.
 
In studying the Scriptures, you will find that many of writers of the New Testament seem to use the term “spirit” and “soul” interchangeably. And while Paul made it clear that they are different, the writer of Hebrews says that it takes something as sharp as the Word of God to distinguish between them.
 
If you look up the word “soul” you will find it comes from the Greek psuche which is where we get our word “psyche”—referring to the mental aspect of man. This is likely where that definition of “soul” is derived from. But in First Peter 3:20, Peter referred to the eight who were saved from the flood as “eight souls were saved through water.” Now we know that this is not referring to eight “mind, will and emotions” right? Of course not! No, if you look at how this word psuche is used, you will see that it is translated “life” almost as many times as it is translated “soul.”
 
So here is my definition of the soul: It is our inner life—that is, the life, who we are, and what makes up who we are—personality wise, emotionally, mentally, etc. Just like our outward life consists of natural things, situations, and circumstances, our soul is the core of who we are.
 
Some of us have damaged, broken or ill souls—depending, not on the circumstances but how we responded to and allowed them to mold and shape or view, mentality, etc. So, when James says here that the Word of God has the power to “save our soul”, what he is saying is that the Word has the ability to do to our souls what it did to our spirits when we responded to the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation. Amen!
 
His Word has the power to deliver our mind, to restore our emotions, to preserve our personality, to heal our heart, to change our will! Yes, His Word has the power to save our life! Amen!
 
But James 1:21 says that it is the “implanted Word” which we have received with meekness that has the power to save our souls. So, how do we plant it? In other words, how do we take this seed and sow it into our lives in order to experience the fruit of salvation in our souls?
 
Well, we have already gathered the specific seed that pertains to the prosperity of our souls. And we have also seen other promises in the Bible of how His Word itself is what brings forth the fruit we desire in our mind, emotions, etc. So, now we need to take that seed and plant it in our hearts first. This comes by biblical meditation—which includes taking those promises and keeping them before our eyes and in our ears both day and night. For example, this can be done by writing those promises on an index card and carrying it around with you throughout the day and looking at it every chance you get. It can be by regularly popping ear buds in and listening to either good, anointed teachings on this subject or audio versions of the Scriptures being read. The possibilities are endless. The main key is how you hear it and how you look at it. In other words, the heart you have while you keep His Word ever before you. That is the key—receiving the Word you are reading or hearing with a teachable and hungry heart.
 
But one more very important key to truly meditating the Word is to speak it. Speaking these promises is a way in which we sow those seed both in our hearts and into our lives. Remember this: sowing is saying! We will get more into this throughout this series.     
 
CONCLUSION
 
So what have we seen? His Word cleanses us from things that hinder our fruitfulness and His Word is seed that good fruit comes from. Therefore, not only does God’s Word cleanse us from bad fruit; His Word plants in us good fruit. Saving us from the inside to the outside. Amen!       
 
So, it is not only the Word of God that prunes us that we might bear more fruit, but it is His Word that gets this whole seedtime & harvest principle started in the first place. The lesson: If we want to start bearing fruit and to abound in more fruit, we must put a priority on God’s Word in our lives.
 
You might ask: “How do I start, pastor?” You can begin by setting aside some daily time reading your Bible and studying to show yourself approved. Then you can also mix in listening to good, anointed, Word-based (and I emphasize the “Word-based” part) teaching. But the main point is to daily immerse yourself in the Scriptures to start sowing God’s Word in your heart. If you begin to receive with meekness the implanted Word, it will eventually produce fruit in your life. Amen!

INTRODUCTION
How many of you have something in your life that you desire to see changed? Do you want to be more fruitful in your life? I would assume that everyone in the Body of Christ desires to grow and bear more fruit in their lives. For some of us, we desire to see more of the gifts of the Spirit or the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. For others, we desire to see our bodies healed or a turnaround in our finances. Still others desire to see their children and grandchildren serving the Lord and fulfilling the purpose God has for their lives. Everyone likely has something that they desire to be more fruitful in.
So, since there will always be things that we, as believers, desire to grow in and see changed, it is imperative that we learn how things work in the kingdom of God. Yes, there are spiritual principles that we must learn to abide by if we are going to see consistent fruit borne in our lives. And that is what we are going to learn in this series—how to bear the fruit of God’s kingdom in our lives.
So, let’s go over to John chapter 15 and take a look at one of these spiritual laws that teaches us one very important kingdom principle for bearing much fruit:
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE FATHER’S BUSINESS
Now it is important for us to realize that Jesus’ teaching in John 15:1-8 is part of His last words of exhortation to His disciples. Therefore, these verses must be of extreme significance as they were likely referring to something they would need to know with Him leaving their side. Amen?
Just think about it: If you were running your own family business and had employees working under you, and then you were moving on and planned to hand this business over to those employees, don’t you think your last set of instructions would be your most important? You bet they would! You would probably give them the information that they needed to remember the most there at the end.
So, I believe this is what Jesus was doing here in John chapters 14-16; He was giving them the instructions that they most needed to hear with them being on their own.
For example, one of the main topics that he covered in these chapters was that the Helper—their advantage—would be coming in His place to teach them all the things they couldn’t bear while He was with them, to guide them into all truth, and to even remind them of the things He had taught them. Therefore, He was encouraging them that even though He was leaving them, they wouldn’t be alone.
But I believe that these words in John chapter 15, were likewise significant. I see them as equally as important as the Promise of the Holy Spirit because in these verses, Jesus teaches His disciples how to stay in His presence even though He would soon not be present. 
We will get more into this in this series, but let’s look at these verses and see the example that Jesus gives them to illustrate this vital message.
 
(Read John 15:1-8)
 
WHAT GLORIFIES OUR FATHER?
 
JOHN 15:8
“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”
 
Notice that Jesus said here that our Heavenly Father is glorified when we bear much fruit, not when we bear little fruit. In other words, what glorifies God is not when we are struggling and lacking.
 
However, there are many Christians who believe this. They think God is glorified in their sickness, poverty, etc. but that is not true! Now you can certainly glorify God in your infirmities by bearing the fruits of joy, peace, etc., when you are struggling in these physical things. But it is not our trials and tribulations that glorify God; it is being fruitful that brings Him glory. 
 
You see, we need to understand that our Heavenly Father wants to give to us good things and wants for us to be fruitful! It is super important to understand this—that God desires, wills and is pleased with us being fruitful, not fruitless. He is not glorified when we aren’t reaching our full potential and being successful in life.
 
Just look at your heart’s desire regarding your own children: How many of you are proud and blessed when you see your kids barely getting along and struggling in their life? No! You are “glorified” when your kids are successful in life—when they are doing well in their careers, in their choices, in their family, etc. This is what blesses you and what you are proud to share with people—when they are bearing much fruit. Amen?
 
And notice that Jesus says at the end of verse 8— “so you will be My disciples.” What is a disciple? It is one who follows their Master and has duplicated their example. So, being fruitful can best be described by being just like Jesus and following His own example in what we do and experience. Amen! 
 
HOW TO BEAR MUCH FRUIT
 
But there is a way—Yes, there is a specific way to being fruitful in God’s kingdom and glorifying Him in our lives. And that is what I want to begin talking to you about today: How to be fruitful!  
 
So, this is the question: How do we do this? How can we practically apply this truth to our lives so that we can produce His fruit in and through us? The answer is found in verse seven. Yes, John 15:7 teaches us the two steps to receiving what we desire from God. Now I am hesitant to even say it that way because receiving from God is not in a formula; receiving from God is like receiving fruit. It just comes as a result of our position and by submitting to kingdom principles. Amen.
In John 15:7, Jesus says, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”
Notice that this verse begins with “If.” If you have an “if” then what is being said is conditional and is based on what you choose to do. You see, the Lord is not in the business of violating the spiritual laws that He has set up, just like He is not in the business of violating physical laws like the law of gravity. The law of gravity will work 99.9% of the time, barring a miracle. But that is exactly what so many Christians are trying to do—to live on that “one in a million” time where the Lord suspends natural laws to perform a miracle. That is not the way God wants us to live.
It is like a farmer who buys a field out there because he desires some corn. But instead of planting corn seed during the time of the year where the seed is to be sown, he says, “Naw, I’m not going to do that. I’m going to ask God for the corn and hope that He gives me corn come harvest time.” Well, what is going to happen come harvest time? Is any corn going to grow in that field? No, he is going to be “fruit-LESS.”
Now that seems comical to talk about it from that perspective but that is exactly what most of the Body of Christ is doing: They are asking the Lord for a harvest when they have not planted any seed. It doesn’t work that way in the natural; nor does it work that way in the spiritual.
So, yes, there is a cooperation with the promise contained in this verse, and we will get more into these conditions through this series.    
But can this verse really be true? Are there any other stipulations made or are there any conjunctions that tie this promise to other verses? No and no! This verse is TRUE! So, notice that in this verse, we have both a description of what it means to be fruitful and the means by which we get to this place of bearing much fruit in our lives.
Now the asking what we desire and it being done for us by the Lord is the bearing of fruit spoken of in this parable. And I suppose that everyone reading this is doing this—asking the Lord and desiring to be fruitful for His glory, right?
You see, most Christian’s petitions revolve around their own glory. They read verses like this and get off track on what it means. They think “Oh okay, whatever selfish, carnal, and even sinful desire I have will be given to me!” No, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that is not what Jesus was saying.
In fact, we see in Psalm 37:4 that if we delight ourselves in Him, He will give us the desires of our heart. This doesn’t mean that if we simply are successful in “delighting” ourselves in Him that He will give us all the selfish, carnal desires that our heart lusts after. No, it simply means that when we are indeed “delighting ourselves in Him”—that is, having a desire to love and honor Him and are simply enjoying our personal relationship with Him—that He will give us those desires that are in our hearts as they are obviously in line with His desires for us. Amen?
So yes, we are not talking about asking for things that are outside of God’s will for us. These are desires that line up with His will for our lives and that will both make us more fruitful and glorify our Father. 
Now this obviously describes asking the Lord to make us more fruitful in our spiritual walks and to grow us up spiritually. But it also describes asking the Lord for physical things like healing in our bodies, the salvation of our children, financial prosperity, etc. Yes, the Lord wants us to prosper in every area of our life and in our physical bodies, just as He wants our souls to prosper (see Third John 2).
Now let me ask you a question: Have you ever asked God for something you desired and it wasn’t done for you? I’m sure we all have. So, does that mean this verse is not true then? Absolutely not! The bottom line is that His Word is true no matter what our experiences are. And that concept right there is one that we must adopt if we want to learn to consistently receive from God.  
But what I want you to see in John 15:7 is that there is an absolute, concrete, positive way to receiving all of these desires that we ask the Lord for 100% of the time! In other words, there is fool-proof way to getting 100% results at always receiving from God.
 
Notice that Jesus tells us two things at the beginning of verse 7:

1. “If you abide in Me”
2. “And (if) My words abide in you.”

 
So, if we want to receive what we desire from the Lord, we need to find out two things: What does it mean to abide in Him? And what does it mean for His Words to abide in us? Because Jesus said if these two things are a reality in our lives, we will ask what we desire and it shall be done! How many of you want this? Amen! So do I!
So, as we go through this series of teachings, we will answer these questions. But today, let’s go back to verse one of this chapter and look at what Jesus taught that led up to John 15:7 in order to get the proper foundation laid.
 
THE TRUE VINE VERSUS FALSE VINES
JOHN 15:1
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.”
By Jesus referring to Himself as the “True” Vine, He is implying that there are false vines out there too—that is, there are people, belief systems, all sorts of things that man tends to see as their source of life, peace, joy, etc. Likewise, there are things that we can tend to rely on, thinking they will make us fruitful and produce what we desire, such as our church, our pastor, a new teaching or ministry, etc. But the truth is that there is only one “True Vine” that can supply us with the “Way” to fruitfulness, the “Truth” that makes free, and the “Life” that we desire because Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Therefore, there is no other vine that can give us eternal, abundant, resurrection life but Him. Amen!
So, always be careful in both putting your trust in anything or anyone for the fruit you desire to see in your life. Along these same lines: be careful in what you state that you “need.” We like to say, “I need them, I need that, etc.” but the truth is, there is only one thing you need, only one person you need, and His name is Jesus. That is the Truth—namely the True Vine!
But people will say, “Well, I’d be happy if this would change or if God would give me this…” No, you’re deceived if you think that way. The truth is—if you do not have joy, peace, contentment, etc., in your current situation, then you won’t even if your situation changes. The only source to your happiness is found in abiding in the True Vine! Jesus and Jesus alone is where all of the fruit we desire comes from, and that includes the satisfaction and contentment that we have even in adverse circumstances before the fruit we desire comes. Amen!
THE KINGDOM PRINCIPLE
And so our King—the Lord Jesus Christ—has given you and I the very laws of how His kingdom operates. Yes, the True Vine has taught us the very principle of His kingdom and we will see today that again, the physical laws of seedtime, harvest, & fruit-bearing are involved. 
It is for this reason that I believe the Lord would have us to spend today talking about what I call--The Kingdom Principle. I emphatically call what I am about to share with you the kingdom principle and not just a principle of the kingdom because the Lord has taught us again and again in His Holy Word that there is a specific process that the kingdom of God operates by, and that is the law of seedtime & harvest.
We see this all the way back in the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth and all that is within them. Repeatedly, the Lord said that everything was to reproduce after its own kind. Therefore, we saw in the Book of Genesis that everything with life in it reproduces after this eternal, kingdom principle. Amen!  
Therefore, since we all have things we desire to see change in our lives and want to experience the kind of life that God has for us, the best and most consistent way to experience the God-kind of life in our lives is by operating according to this kingdom principle. Amen! This means that if we want to see change in our bodies, our finances, our marriages or even in ourselves becoming the fruitful believers we are called to be, this kingdom principle is the best way to get there!
Now I know we all have our own ideas about the way God does things, but we would be wise to let the Word dictate and determine our beliefs—not our experiences, our traditions, or our own understanding. But what we must understand is that similarly to how we have natural laws that govern how things work here on the earth, there are also laws that govern how things work in this kingdom of God. Therefore, this kingdom principle is how we see God’s kingdom come and His will be done in our lives.
THY KINGDOM COME
You know, Jesus taught us to pray this way in His model prayer (see Matthew 6:10). Therefore, it is certainly God’s will that His kingdom comes in our midst—that is, that we see people set free from the influence of the kingdom of darkness (this including ourselves). It is also God’s will that His will be done in our lives.
Now let me ask a question here: Why would Jesus tell us to pray for this if God’s will was automatically going to happen in our lives? You understand that many people think this, don’t you? They think God’s will just automatically happens in all of our lives irrespective of the choices we make, but that’s simply not true.
The fact that we are told to seek for His kingdom to come and His will to be done in our lives proves that it evidently does not just automatically happen. Amen? No, if you want to see God’s kingdom come in your life, you have to operate according to the laws of God’s kingdom. 
You see, this is a major misunderstanding in the lives of many Christians—that if God wants our needs met, they will be met. How many of you know that if this is how it worked then all of the needs of the world would be met? Why? Because it is clear in the Word that God wants us to walk in victory, wholeness and success more than we do!
No, friends, it is evident that God is not moved by need; however, what His Word does teach us is that God is moved by seed. More accurately, God is not moved by need; we are moved by seed. I say “we are moved by seed” because, although there are those who teach that we “move” God through things like prayer and fasting, that simply is not true! Saints, God is not the one who is stuck and needs moving; we are the ones who need to move in order to line ourselves up with the will of God. Sure, things like prayer and fasting certainly can get results, but the belief that we are somehow twisting God’s arm to doing something is absolutely wrong.
No, if we want to consistently see God’s kingdom come in our lives, we have to operate according to the laws (or, principles) of His kingdom. It is that simple. Let me say it this way: God’s kingdom does not come by hoping & praying; God’s kingdom comes by sowing & reaping. Amen!
Now sure, there are times where God will suspend natural laws in order for His kingdom to come and His will to be done in a situation, but these are the exception and not the rule.
For instance, God extended the day one time in order for Israel to win a victory; but that is not going to happen every day. Sure, the Holy Spirit might desire to manifest one of His various gifts in a situation, but we can’t live off that fruit. And, don’t get me wrong, it’s great when that happens, but just as a parent does not want his or her children to always wait for them to bail them out of every crisis they have, likewise God wants us to grow up spiritually to where we recognize how God has arranged His kingdom and operate according to its principles. Amen!
And this is why I believe that Jesus’ kingdom parables—specifically the ones contained in Mark chapter 4 that refer to this seedtime and harvest principle—are (for a lack of a better example) the “skeleton key” of God’s kingdom. In other words, this kingdom principle is the key to unlocking the consistent and abiding fruit of the kingdom of God in our lives. Amen?
Well, this week, I would like us to discuss this kingdom principle by looking at a parable that Jesus taught us in Mark 4:26-29 because I believe it concisely illustrates to us this kingdom principle:
THE PARABLE OF THE GROWING SEED
In this, what is traditionally called the Parable of the Growing Seed, Jesus uses a similar example to the Parable of Sower. But this time, the lesson to be learned is not about the condition of the ground; the focus of this parable is how the ground (i.e. the heart) and the seed (i.e. the Word) already have programmed in them what to do when the seed is planted in the ground.
So let’s look in depth at this parable and pick out some of the powerful nuggets contained in it: Verse 26 begins by saying- “And He said…”
Now by using the conjunction “And” here, we should see our need to understand what He had just said before moving on into this parable: Of course, Jesus had just taught the Parable of the Sower, and then, in verse 23-25, He says, “’If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.’ Then He said to them, ‘Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you, and to you who hear, more will be given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, but whoever does not have, even what has will be taken away from him.”
Basically, what Jesus was teaching here is that we need to both take heed to what we are hearing and how we are hearing it. Why? Because this is evidently how the seed of God’s Word is sown into our hearts and can greatly determine both the quantity and quality of fruit that we produce. Amen! So, we need to be extremely vigilant concerning what we allow to be sown into our hearts because, as Solomon taught us, out of our hearts flow the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23).
Then Jesus went on to say in verse 26--“The kingdom of God is as…” In other words, Jesus was saying, “This is how the kingdom of God operates! This is a law of the kingdom, and it will work this way every single time!”
So, let’s look at this kingdom principle as illustrated in Jesus’ Parable of the Growing Seed and find out how His kingdom works so that we can see it working in our lives! Amen?
NO RESPECTOR OF SOWERS
Again, Jesus says in verse 26— “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground,” Now notice that He used the word “if” here.
By using the word “if,” Jesus is saying that this principle of the kingdom is conditional. Conditional on what? Conditional as to whether or not this man should scatter seed on the ground! What this means is that it is not up to God! It is our responsibility if this kingdom law will become effective in our lives or not. Amen? 
Now I believe this point needs to made again here—but did you know that if everything that happened in our lives was the will of God, we could have no “if?” Absolutely! If there is an “if” in a passage of Scripture like this one, then that indicates that there is a part we have to play in seeing God’s will come to pass in our lives. Amen? 
Now we understand from the previous parable in Mark chapter 4 (the Parable of the Sower) that the seed is the Word of God (Mark 4:14) and the ground is our hearts. So, the condition to seeing this kingdom principle becoming effective in our lives is if we are going to take the time to sow the Word in hearts that are good, noble and pure (see Luke 8:15).
But I find something very interesting here in Mark chapter 4: In His interpretation of the Parable of the Sower, Jesus tells us what both the seed and the ground represent, but He never told us who the sower was? And do you know why? Jesus doesn’t tell us who the sower is in these parables because it does not matter who the sower is! Amen!
You see, a seed will produce when sown into good ground every single time! It doesn’t matter how the seed got there or who it was that sowed it! The seed is programmed to work no matter whose hands it was scattered through. For example, even if a bird were to grab a seed in its beak and drop it into the ground, that seed will still produce in the ground. Or what if that bird swallowed the seed and then (pardon the example) “pooped” it out on the ground? Did you know that there have been many seeds that have produced even when they were sown like that? This should teach us that even if you are convinced that you are the offscouring of the earth, if you will just sow the seed, it will produce like it would for the most professional farmer.
Did you know that there are those out there who preach what I consider to be a perverted prosperity gospel? They preach those things for selfish gain and with impure motives. But guess what? It works for a lot of them! And do you know why? Because they are simply being the sower that sows the seed and it is producing fruit. 
So, no, who the sower might be is irrelevant. The only thing that truly is relevant is will he or she cooperate with this kingdom principle of seedtime & harvest or not.  
But I know some people might argue this point, saying, “No, brother, I believe the sower here is the Lord Himself!” I differ from that interpretation, however, because notice what Jesus went on to say that the sower did next in His Parable of the Growing Seed (verse 27): He said, “and should sleep by night and rise by day…”
Do not the Scriptures teach us that God neither slumbers nor sleeps (Psalm 121: 3-4)? Don’t they teach us that there is no night time in the kingdom of heaven (Revelation 22:5)? Therefore, the man in this parable that did the sowing cannot be symbolic of God; it has to be a man since God does not sleep, correct?
But the fact of the matter is, it does not matter who that sower is because the seed and the ground do their thing whether one person sows it or another person sows it.
Saints, even if it was God who was doing the sowing here, it still would not matter because (Get this now!) God’s Word coming out of our mouth is just as powerful as God’s Word coming out of His mouth! Amen! How can I make such a bold statement? It’s because it is God’s Word and it is a seed! Therefore, if we just take His Word that He has already spoken and plant it in good ground, it will produce the same results! Amen!
Friends, the seed and the soil are no respecter of persons or we could say that they are no respecter of “sowers!” Praise God!
ENTERING INTO HIS REST
But the point of this parable is that this man (whoever he happens to be) just simply scattered seed on the ground and then went about his business. He didn’t stay up all night, wringing his hands, fretting over whether he was going to get a harvest or not. No, Jesus told us that after he scattered the seed on the ground, he just went to bed and rested. 
You know, whenever we begin to fret, get anxious and worry about the things that we need or desire to see change in our life, we are not operating according to this kingdom principle. No, when we are abiding in this law of the kingdom, we will enter into His rest.
Friends, this is such a super important part of kingdom living—entering into the Lord’s rest! Yet this is so hard on our flesh. No, I am not talking about “resting” from a natural perspective, but “resting” from a mental, emotional and spiritual perspective.
Do you remember the words of the Master in Matthew 11:28-29 when Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you… for My yoke is easy and My burden is light”?
I would venture to say that every one of us has to learn this at some point or another once we become Christians. Why?  It is because it is so easy to try to make things happen in the arm of the flesh and lean to our own understanding. When we do this, what this causes is undue stress as opposed to living in the rest that Christ has afforded us. 
You see, we cannot bear fruit in God’s kingdom by “white-knuckling” it. What I mean by that is that the fruit that comes according to this kingdom principle will not be produced by the will of man or the will of the flesh (see John 1:13). No, the transformation of life in God’s kingdom only comes by resting in the work of another—namely, the Grace of God Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ! Amen!
So, with this said, does this mean we can just kick back and relax and let God do everything? Does it mean that we have no part to play? Of course not, or else every born-again believer would be bearing a bunch of fruit, right?
So what part do we have to play? It is found in these kingdom parables, in Mark chapter 4—just sow the Word! Our only job is to sow the Word into our situation and sit back and watch God be God! Hallelujah! Now on the flip side of this, there are some seeds that we don’t have to plant, and those are bad seeds. If you notice in your yard or in a field, no one has to plant weeds. They just spring up all by themselves.  Likewise, if you don’t plant good seed in your heart, undesirable fruit will grow all by itself. There is no standing still in the kingdom. You are either moving forward or moving backwards. I like to say it this way - bad and undesirable fruit comes by itself, or naturally, but good and desirable fruit comes deliberately - by you taking the time to plant the seeds in your heart.
Jesus was telling us here that His Word already has programmed in it to produce what it was sent to perform (Isaiah 55:11) and the good and noble heart that is not full of the weeds, thorns and rocks of this world will germinate the seed. All we have to do is spend time meditating on His Word till it becomes planted in our hearts and then just rest from trying to force fruit in our lives! Amen! 
The Word is the source of our fruit, not us. This is why Jesus went on to say in this parable-- “and the seed should sprout and grow…” Amen! It’s the seed that does the sprouting and growing all on its own, without any of the sower’s help! He can just kick back and rest knowing the seed is working behind the scenes! Thank you, Lord!  
Now that leads me to what I consider to be the most significant phrase in this parable:
UNEXPLAINABLE GRACE!
Notice what Jesus said in the rest of verse 27: “he himself does not know how.” I believe this is the most powerful statement in this parable and I also believe that it is the point Jesus was trying to convey:
Again, this sower simply planted the seed in good ground and then there was nothing else he could do to help the process! He could just rest! Then, after the process of time, the seed began to sprout and grow and he couldn’t even explain how it happened.
You see, this is the only way God will allow you to grow spiritually. He is not going to let you try and force fruit in your life. Actually, if you try to force fruit, the Bible teaches us He will actually oppose you (see Proverbs 4:6)! Why? Because He wants all the glory! He does not want you to be able to take credit for your growth. He wants you to be like this sower who would have had to say if asked about the harvest he had in his field, “You know what? All I did was put the seed in the ground. I couldn’t tell you how those little seeds produced all this. It just happened on its own. I can’t figure it out. I don’t know how this happened!” Thank you, Lord!
You see, in verse 28 Jesus goes on to say, “For the earth yields crops by itself…”
Here, Jesus reiterates that the earth produces by itself—not with any help from the owner of the ground. The crop just comes forth independent from his help.
Friends, the earth—being the heart of man—will produce whatever you sow into it. As Proverbs 23:7 says, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” Never forget this one thing: you will become in your actions whatever you have allowed yourself to become in your heart. Therefore, when you meditate on the Word of God and allow those seeds to be planted in your heart you will eventually produce the fruit of the Word. You become transformed by the renewing of your mind (see Romans 12:2). The only thing you need to be fruitful in your life is a relationship with Christ and the willingness to plant seeds. We are living on the fruit today of the seed we sowed yesterday. If we don’t like the fruit, we can plant better seed today and have better fruit to live on in the future. If someone is being fruitful in an area of their life that you also want to be fruitful in, go to them and ask them how they got there.
Finally, notice that Jesus gives us the steps that take place in the harvest in the remaining part of verse 28: He says, “first the blade, then the head, and after that the full grain in the head.” What this is speaking of is patience! Hebrews 6:12 says that we inherit the promises through faith and patience. A very interesting word picture is painted here, because the Greek word for faith is considered a “masculine” word and the Greek word for patience is considered a “feminine” word. So when the man (faith) and the woman (patience) get together, the harvest is conceived and birthed. Amen!
Most believers, when they get a hold of this principle, will begin to read and meditate the Word and then when they don’t see any results in a month (for instance) they quit and say it doesn’t work. Well, how ridiculous would it be for a farmer to plant some seed and then after a week or two, when it hasn’t produced, dig up the seed and say this farming stuff doesn’t work? That would be ridiculous, right?
No, reaping a harvest is a process! Eventually, we will start seeing some results as we abide by this kingdom principle, but don’t expect the full harvest to come quickly. We have to go through stages one and two first (i.e. “first the blade, then the head”)! And then, don’t quit—knowing that the full grain in the head is coming in due season if we faint not!
This is why Jesus said in His Parable of the Sower, that the good ground—the one that produced some thirty, some sixty, and some a hundredfold—bore fruit with patience (see Luke 8:15). There will be an element of patience involved in whatever God gives increase in. Although there are certainly the “immediately’s” and the “suddenly’s” in God’s kingdom, this is not how the fruit that endures is generally produced. In God’s kingdom, abiding fruit is produced through patience. Amen! But this abiding fruit comes when God’s Word is sown into our hearts, and as we allow God’s Word to spring up in our hearts, then we will begin to see the production of it in our lives.
So, when it comes to us to seeing the fruit of God’s kingdom coming in our lives, sow the Word! When it comes to situations and circumstances in our lives that we know need to change, sow the Word! Find Scriptures that promise what we want to see and begin to let God perform His good Word and let it prosper in the thing for which He sent it (Isaiah 55:10-11)! 
It works every time, my friends! It is a law! It is the kingdom principle! Amen!