Abiding in the Vine - John 15:1-11

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every [branch] that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye [are] the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast [them] into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and [that] your joy might be full. -- John 15:1-11, KJV, emphasis mine

First of all, it's clear here that Jesus is talking about believers in the whole passage. After all, he says "every branch in me" and you can't be in Him and not in Him. So let's get that much over with and move on. We're not talking about salvation, we're talking about sanctification, and the bearing of fruit.

What sort of fruit will we be bearing? The fruit of the Spirit, which is listed over and over again throughout the New Testament, by more than one author. Although evangelism could be considered a fruit, I don't think it's the fruit that Jesus is talking about.

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

Jesus is the only vine wherein we can be grafted; all others are imitations and will not cause us to bear the fruit of His Spirit. Jesus is the vine through which we receive the life-giving sap of the Holy Spirit, and God the Father tends the vineyard.

Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every [branch] that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

Every member of Christ that doesn't bring forth fruit of the Spirit is taken away from the place of fruit-bearing. Whether that be taken out of life, taken out of the ministry, whichever, God will not be mocked of His children especially. Even the branches that bare fruit must be purged (cleansed) in order that they can bear more fruit. No one in the vine gets out of being cleansed in some way, because the purpose of the vine is to bear fruit.

Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

We are cleansed, or purged, by the Words of Christ. The Spirit is going to bring to remembrance the truth in order to cleanse us.

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye [are] the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Jesus reiterates: the only way we are going to bear fruit is by abiding in Him. Period. Abide in Him, and you will bring forth the fruit of the Spirit. Don't abide in Him, and you won't.

If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast [them] into the fire, and they are burned.

Again, Jesus warns of the consequences of not abiding in the vine. The branch withers without fellowship in Christ, and men easily gather us up and burn us with false doctrine when we do not abide in Him.

If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

A powerful promise from Christ -- if we abide in Him and are filled with His Words, our prayers will be answered.

Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

God is glorified when we bear the fruit of the Spirit.

As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

How do you abide in the vine? Keep His commandments. Pretty straightforward, huh? You remain in life-giving fellowship with Christ by obedience. Just as you don't remain in a close relationship with your parents or your boss if you routinely disobey their orders, you will not remain in fellowship with Christ if you persist in disobeying Him. If you want to bear the fruit of the Spirit, you are going to have to obey the commands He gives you.

These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and [that] your joy might be full.

Jesus told us these things, not to scare us, but to give us instruction that would keep us safe and give us joy.

Memory Problems?

One of the things that irks me the most is that I have given back ground that I had previously won victory in. A passage that has urged me to be diligent this time comes from the second epistle written by Peter:

And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and the temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you and abound, they make you that ye shall be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fail. -- II Peter 1:5-10

Did you catch that? It says right there in the scriptures that if we do not give all diligence to continue to add to our faith, that we will be blind and will forget that we were purged from our old sins. We will begin to doubt our position in grace if we do not diligently seek after God to add to our faith. Notice, it doesn't say that we will no longer be purged; it simply says that we will forget that we were purged. So, let us be diligent, lest we forget we were purged and stumble around in the wretched darkness of fear and doubt.

Where Does Your Faith Rest?

The biggest problem I have seen with OCD is that we can't rationalize it away. Not just that we can't rationalize it away, but that we literally are angry with ourselves for believing the OCD, but we can't make it stop.

I have been told that OCD is a "smart person's" disease, and so when I came across this passage in my studies, it hit me square between the eyes. Today, instead of taking an expository position, I'd like to let the scripture speak for itself.

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many might, not many noble, are called:

But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are might; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yeah, and things which are not, to bring to nought things which are: That no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God, For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling, And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth now man, but the Spirit of God.

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of Christ.

And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. - I Corinthians 1:18-3:2, emphasis mine

Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. - I Corinthians 3:18-20

Casting Down Imaginations

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. -- 2 Corinthians 10:3-6

Myth: Christians should not suffer from mental illness.
Fact: Christians are human beings that have physical bodies which are imperfect thanks to the fall of man. Therefore, a Christian can suffer a mental disease as easily as he can catch the measles.
Myth: Because we are in physical bodies, there is nothing to be done for mental illness save treating physical symptoms, physical triggers, and maybe therapy.
Fact: Christians are not ONLY physical beings. We are also in possession of a new, spiritual nature. As a result, we war on more than one plane, and we have weapons on more than one plane. In the battlefield of the mind, we have very powerful weapons with which to defeat the enemy when he attacks us.

We are all of us sinners. Every one. We all have fallible, imperfect bodies. We are susceptible to disease and injury. This includes brain injury; your brain is part of your body! However, we are not just physical. We are also spiritual. Unfortunately, because our spiritual natures are housed in physical vessels, we are affected by physical things. We get tired. We get ill. We stub our toes. We are affected by what we eat, how cold it is outside, and whether we're fighting an infection. We have emotions that can distort our rational thinking, and thinking that can distort our emotions. Whether we like to admit it or not, we are complex critters, and you can't very well expect to heal a complex critter by completely ignoring one of its sick parts.

Mental illness is tricky, because it affects our thinking. Organic illnesses, like syphilis, create a sort of dementia resulting from the deterioration of brain tissue. One would be foolish to deny physical relationship to the loss of cognitive reason.

Then there are mental illness that have symptoms involving chemical imbalance in the brain. Now, I'm not a psychiatrist, neither have I any weight with respect to opinion on this subject. I do, however, have a theory. I believe that in some cases, the imbalance is caused by the problem, rather than the problem being caused by the imbalance. That, of course, is my opinion, and is based entirely on conjecture, so you get that one for free.

But let us consider the Christian, who is under a completely different set of natural laws than the non-Christian. Or perhaps I should say, additional set of natural laws. Because as physical critters, every human on the planet is subject to natural laws that the Lord set into motion at the dawn of creation. For instance, a human being is subject to the law of gravity, which is what draws us "downward" toward the surface of the earth, causing things dropped from high distances to go splat (based on Newtonian physics, etc). However, having been born into a new creation, being born of the spirit, we are additionally subject to spiritual laws.

Now, historically speaking, spiritual critters have been known to bend a few natural laws -- , say, walking on water, being bitten by venomous snakes without dying, and being raised from the dead, to name a few. In fact, there are two recorded humans who walked with God closely enough that they got to break the most fundamental law we know: people die. I don't mean being raised from the dead; I mean, they didn't die. They were "translated", as the King James puts it, from a corruptible body to an incorruptible body and spirit and brought into the eternal presence of the Lord without having to see death. However, natural laws are not going to be broken or bent without a whole lot of that spiritual dynamite, faith, and our Lord tells us that the sort of faith that defies natural law, such as commanding a mountain in Israel to move its rear over and leap into the ocean, only comes to us as a gift by prayer and fasting.

Let's look at one particular illness for a moment, objectively, and see how many facets of our being it touches. I'm going to go with OCD, because it's the disease I know most intimately. Physically speaking, obsessive compulsive disorder compels us to act a certain way in order to avoid the pain we experience from our obsessions. For some people, the compulsion is physical (handwashing, checking, cleaning), while in others, the compulsion is mental, verbal, or even "absent." Emotionally, we are disturbed by these thoughts (which consequently, usually fall into the worst fear category: more on this later), and want to escape from them. Mentally, we are locked into a holding pattern we cannot seem to break out of, and as a result, we feel spiritually defeated because of our inability to "snap out of it." In many circumstances, the inability to escape from the thought pattern results in the appearance of panic attacks, the experience of having our adrenal glands kick into high gear and present all the symptoms of inexpressible horror and inescapable fear.

In generalized anxiety disorder, the physical body can have a panic attack without the presence of an obsession. The body overreacts to an uncomfortable situation by producing the fight or flight response, which frightens the sufferer because of its severity, creating a worsening cyclical physical response. When I became able to separate the physical symptoms of my anxiety attacks from my mental OCD symptoms, I could experience a physical panic attack without any mental anguish; I knew that the attack was a result of my overactive adrenaline response, and that the symptoms would pass in time -- faster if I could relax.

However, when a panic attack is triggered by an OCD attack, the situation is devastating. The mind is so consumed by the inability to relieve the anxiety of the obsession that any ability to reason out the physical symptoms becomes unattainable. I have personally experienced panic attacks that lasted for hours. Bear in mind that the typical panic attack lasts less than 10 minutes, and you'll understand the depths of misery that an OCD sufferer has when they are unable to control the effects of the mind on the body.

Now, the devil is a mighty old fellow, and he happens to be an excellent statistician. He keeps up with all of our weaknesses, because the minute we become born of the spirit, we become his enemy. We are officially at war with an old expert in warfare, and he fights dirty. Christian, do you see that it is precisely the devil's delight to take our physical weaknesses and turn them against us? He's dirty old booger! If you study warfare, you know that all great generals study the enemy to find his weakness in order to use it against him; if we recognize the devil as he is pictured in First Peter, we'll know that he's always spoiling for a fight. So let us at once dismiss the idea that he has any sort of sense of decency and therefore will let our physical weaknesses alone and fight us only on a physical level.

However, there is hope for the believer today who suffers from a mental illness. The spirit that the Lord has given us is not one of fear, but of a sound mind! (2 Tim. 1:7) Additionally, the Lord has given us weapons with which to defend ourselves against spiritual attack, particularly when the battlefield is the mind. Here is where the text of 2 Corinthians comes into play.

In verse 5, the procedure has three parts:

1. Knock down
2. Tie Down
3. Repent/Correct

Allow me to take on an expository style for a moment, and you'll see what I mean.

Stop any thoughts, imaginings, ideas, false doctrines, fantasies, or fears that are opposed to the wisdom, truth, and word of God dead in their tracks. Knock'em down out of the sky. Yes, they're still there, but you have recognized that they are lies and utterly refuse to let them proceed any farther.

Tie that thought down. It's not going to keep you captive any more; no, you will bring that thought as your prisoner of war to Jesus for safe keeping. You tie the thought with ropes of scripture, ropes of truth. Find a verse for the problem. Find two verses. Find as many passages of scripture as you can that either directly attack your thought or render it useless, and then meditate on those verses. Bring those thoughts to Jesus as your war prisoners, and ask him to make renew your mind, making it obedient to His truth.

Once you have fulfilled your obedience to Christ to bring Him your disobedient, unruly, and unwelcome thoughts, be ready and willing to rectify any wrongdoing on your part in relationship to the thoughts. Is there something you need to ask forgiveness from a friend for? Someone you need to forgive, living or dead? Do it! Confess your sins to the Lord, and then do your part to correct the damage.

The key here is consistency and patience. Declare to the spiritual realm that you are no longer going to take any shenanigans on this issue, and stick with it. This is not a fight for the half-hearted. Any half-hearted attempts to thwart the enemy only serve to make his next attacks harsher and more painful. Remember that your strength in this fight doesn't come from you; it comes from the Lord Jesus, and only by submitting and surrendering your own kicking and screaming will in obedience to Him will you be able to receive the benefits of being filled by His Spirit.

The shield of faith that we will be able to hold up against the attacks and quench the darts before they touch us is a gift. We cannot work it up within ourselves. No amount of sheer grit, determination, and willpower will heal us. We can only humbly submit in obedience, and then wait on the Lord to fulfill His promise. The Lord Jesus also knows our weaknesses. After all, he was in a physical vessel once, too. Ask him to help you submit, and He will. Put yourself in the position of obedience, and then wait on his deliverance.

The prayer of my heart today comes from Psalm 119, a beautiful poem exalting the Word of God itself:

(71) It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.
(75) I know, O Lord, that thy judgements are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.
(153) Order my steps according to thy word: and let not iniquity have dominion over me.

If God has commanded it, you can pray with full assurance for His grace in obeying it. My afflicted brothers and sisters, pray!

Sunday Ebb and Flow

Today has been a difficult day. This morning was refreshing, which, as usual, meant that the rest of the day was very difficult.

I have been told that OCD is a smart person's disease; it is said that it takes a lot of brain power to even sustain OCD. In my case, my OCD stems from the irritating inability of human minds to conceive all the wonders of God. So the first scripture in Sunday School this morning hit me fresh:

Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. -- Jeremiah 33:3, KJV

Look there it is again, things that I don't know! But the next passage for Sunday School was from Jeremiah 18. Granted, in this passage of scripture, the observation of the potter is meant to be a warning to Israel that if it refuses to go in the direction that God chooses, He can simply tear it down and rebuild it with a different leadership. However, can we not take the context in a positive manner as well? Can not the potter take our own marred pots and rebuild them as well?

The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make [it]. Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay [is] in the potter's hand, so [are] ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. --Jeremiah 18:1-6

Then as I was playing the keyboard for morning worship, the words of one of our hymns caught my attention and my heart was comforted.

’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise,
And to know, “Thus saith the Lord!”

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er;
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
Oh, for grace to trust Him more!

-- "Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus" by Louisa M. R. Stead, 1882 (Public Domain) --

Because OCD is about trust. We don't like to admit it, but it's true. We get so caught up in the cycle of obsessive thought that we forget to trust. In fact, we are so captivated by those thoughts that we can't even fathom HOW to trust. I look forward to resting in Him again, and could make the prayer of my heart for the moment, "Oh! For grace to trust Him more!"

But it didn't end. No, two of the texts from the morning sermon stood out to me, as well.

Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. -- Romans 12:21, KJV

Don't let the attacks overcome you! We overcome evil with good. The best part is, we don't even have to acknowledge the evil; we just continue on doing that which we know is good. The passage here is talking about forgiveness and revenge, but the precept is the same for all aspects of our life: we overcome evil by filling ourselves with good.

This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. -- Lamentations 3:21-26, KJV (emphasis mine)

I highlighted verse 25 because that was the actual verse that the pastor mentioned in the service this morning. However, you have to see the full passage before you get the full effect of the message. Jeremiah starts out by reminding himself of the truth about the Lord, about his hope; then we have the promise -- that the Lord is good to those who wait for him and seek him out. Then we have a statement of fact: it is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.

It is good.

Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

Just one more way to stand against the attacks of the evil one: wait quietly on the salvation of the Lord. Because He IS good to those who seek him out.

OCD takes time; spiritual warfare takes energy. Rest in the comfort that your efforts are not in vain. Let me again remind you of Galatians 6:9:

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.