Saturday March 11, 2017, Women’s Conference, “Simply Jesus”

Kelly Minter taught at our church on John 15: 1-17 and shared the benefits of bearing fruit.  Additionally, we’ve  been doing an in-depth study on 2 Corinthians, also taught by her. 

The Lord has been pruning my heart lately with old convictions, but He’s also offering new ways to apply them in my present state.  

For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you.

-2 Corinthians 1:12

Last time I read this verse, it made me sorrowful.

A pastor had recited this passage to me as an admonishment for my lack of godly sincerity.  I didn’t understand what he meant when he said I had attained simplicity, but needed to work on the latter.  I kept asking him for more clarification, in fact, I wanted specific examples of circumstances that drove him to this conclusion.  If someone calls me insincere, they better give me the details, the dates and the times, but he gave me nothing to sustain his claim.

He simply asked me to meditate on the verse and do some introspection.  Clearly, he had pinched a nerve in me, but I needed to sink deeper into my soul in order to understand why I felt offended at his revelation.

My indignant reaction towards this verse already told me something about myself I didn’t like and proved this to be right.  I knew I always struggled with wanting to make everyone happy around me, getting a perfect GPA at school, avoiding conflict at all cost, and appeasing controversies, even if it meant compromising my core values… all in the name of “love.” This pastor’s rebuke felt like I had disappointed him.   I wasn’t truly repentant yet, if anything, I was more ashamed and upset my cover had been blown and I couldn’t keep hiding anymore.  But I later came to find wearing a mask upon a mask isn’t the solution as that’s when our relationships with others suffer mistrust between both parties.  I maintained friendships on the surface to avoid creating disagreements, but my attempt to do so didn’t stop them from shattering without getting a chance to repair them.

The people of Corinth questioned Paul’s motives when he had promised them to visit, but failed to do so at the exact time he promised he’d be there.  In their eyes, he was flaky, insincere, and untrustworthy; however,  Paul’s response to them explained why he had missed the last trip and his expression of love refuted every accusation they made against him.  His last letter wasn’t received well and Paul felt it was for their and his own best interests to give it some time and distance himself before making amends.

There’s nothing wrong with taking distance to lower some of the high emotions we feel when we are involved in any kind of conflict with someone we care about (or don’t really care for–but should).  But Paul didn’t handle this time to talk negatively about the Corinthians nor he resented them for how they were feeling.  He had every intention to clear any miscommunications there may have been between them for the sake of the Gospel and everything he had preached to them in the past.  He knew they had a genuine transformation and responded to the Gospel with an open heart, but they’ve been struggling to keep aligned to what they believed to be true.  They weren’t fully abiding in the presence of Christ.  Paul didn’t care to maintain reputation or good standard, but he had an authentic care to nurture their faith into maturity.  He was willing to be associated with them despite their sinful behavior.

I’m certain we’ve all been through both positions at one point or another.  We’ve been frustrated like Paul because we see the potential our friends have but they choose not to live up to it.  It doesn’t matter how many letters we write or how many conversations we have, but it seems nothing is changing.  And we’ve also been like the Corinthians who lived aimlessly and benefited from keeping busy in a city with all kinds of distractions.

But if there’s any guideline on how to handle the complexities and distractions our cities bring into our daily lives, Paul serves as an excellent standard and John 15 as the perfect reference.  Simplicity and godly sincerity are merely results of abiding in the true vine…

I am the true vine, and My Father is the vine dresser.  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. 

-John 15:1-2

1. Remember, He IS the TRUE vine!!!

I don’t know about you, but this first statement brings me peaceful reassurance and tremendous relief in midst of those days I waver and doubt how real this all is.  Our nation has now coined the terminologies “Fake News” and “Alternative Facts,” but we should be filled with gratitude for having the opportunity to intimately know the ONE TRUE GOD and letting him be the focus when circumstances get the best of us.

Our mistrust in our government, the media, or any authoritative figure isn’t new.  In fact, when Jesus proclaimed to be the true vine he was turning a negative term into a purpose-filled one.  The vine was the symbol of Israel in the Old Testament, but it was used to represent God’s disappointment in His people for not always producing good fruit.  (Read Psalm 80:8-9; Isaiah 5:1-7; Jeremiah 2:21)

We should not root our identities in Israel– our nation, our politics, our race, our religion, our career, our college degrees, or our gender–but in the TRUE vine, simply Jesus.

The moment we place all our emphasis on these, we need to re-focus our vantage point and center ourselves in the Word.

2. If we do not abide, we will wither

Like in Isaiah 5, God tells us the consequences if we don’t abide.  The rebellious branches will wither and will be put into the fire to be burned.  But how do we practically know if we are not abiding?  What are the symptoms of withering?

We wither when:  His Word isn’t abiding in us (2 John 9); we cease loving one another (1 John 2:10); sin becomes the defining characteristic of our lives (1 John 3:9); our hearts and resources are withheld from the poor (1 John 3:17); we stop confessing that Jesus is our Lord & Savior (1 John 4:14-15); we stop believing God is love (1 John 4:16); and we stop obeying God’s Word. (1 John 2:3-6)

The relationship between the branches and vine is vital for productivity and essentially for sustainability.  Without the vine, the branch dies and the vine dresser must cut it off as to maintain the vitality of the other branches so they can produce fruit.

3. If we abide in the vine, we will produce good fruit

By abiding in Him, Jesus promises we will be pruned along the way.  There are areas in our lives we need to discard in order to be much more effective and productive in our walk.  Be warned, pruning requires pain and discipline which must then lead us into correction and repentance, but pruning isn’t punishment.  It will certainly feel like it because it hurts us to the core to get rid of pride, selfishness, and pretty much all the words which start with “self.”  It is pleasant, at first, to be muddied in our sin and pretend we are nowhere near the mud.

Have you ever eaten a beautiful piece of fruit that was at best… sub par?  That’s exactly what we are when we choose to impress others by our appearance and not the potential quality we could actually offer, if we abide in Him.  Joey from Friends was right when he said “When the package is this pretty, no one cares what’s inside.” No one cares as long as we look the part and we portray the good Christians we are.

But Jesus does care.  

He cares about our hearts a lot more than our good deeds.

Because our hearts are innately wicked.  But..

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

-Ezekiel 36:26-27

By abiding in the true vine: we get to enjoy Christ’s love for us (John 15:9-10); our joy is not based on our circumstances (v.11); we gain the supernatural ability to love others to the point of death to self (v.12-13); we grow our intimacy with Christ (v.14-15); and our prayers are always answered (v.7 & v.16-17).

This is when our sincerity and our humility will then be tested.  These aren’t checklists for us to keep up with so we can feel good about ourselves and show others how godly we are.  Don’t be fooled, Jesus doesn’t answer our prayers how we want Him to just because we’ve been “good.”  He already gave us the grace we needed, there’s no need to live our lives as posers who only want to impress in order to obtain what we want.  This is why we must always keep 2 Corinthians 1:12 as our litmus test and our foundation when we achieve personal gain in the name of Jesus.

4. We are already clean…

The verse that really stands out in this chapter is verse 3, “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.”  Jesus claims us already clean, which is another word for “pruned” in ancient Greek and was used interchangeably.  When Jesus was having this conversation with the disciples, it was right before He’d be enduring the cross and He was preparing them for what was to come.  This was an odd verse to add in between what he was already saying.  He was telling them to abide in Him in order to be cleansed, but by the way, *wink* you are already clean.  Jesus knew we didn’t need a gardener’s shears, but a sacrificial lamb to be cleansed… and He knew the lamb would be Him.  The disciples were probably a little confused by what they were hearing because they didn’t understand the severity of their leader’s sacrifice until it really happened.

5. Our goal should be to bear fruit

What I want isn’t to achieve goals, but to bear fruit.

-Kelly Minter, Simply Jesus

Lastly, this point sums it all up.  We all have personal and professional goals and ambitions we hope to achieve, but we must always examine when these are solely to bring glory to our name.  Our heart’s desire as disciples should always be to glorify His name in everything we do, even when what we do feels mundane and unimportant.

When I worked in the church restaurant with my husband, we had to tell each other this multiple times.  It also served as a good encouragement to our co-laborers when it felt like what we did was below ministry.  We were always confronted with the idea that we were serving the “important” people doing the actual ministry.  We were simply the means to an end, but we never really got to experience the fruit of our labor.  But that was a lie.  If it were to be true, then what would you say to most biblical figures who never got to witness all of God’s promises come into fulfillment? (Read Hebrews 11)

Living in a complicated and chaotic world makes us want to also complicate the Gospel.  But that goes against what Jesus wanted.  He wanted to simplify His message to reach all the hearts of those who intently listen to His words.  It can take time for a word to pierce our hearts.  It took me months to understand why God decided it was time for me to leave the restaurant to fully dedicate myself to our son.  He was cutting something good off the branch to bring something better.  These are referred as “sucker” branches because they literally suck nutrients out of the growing fruits.  They are not necessarily “bad” per se, but the fruit will taste better when they are cut off the vine.  Surrendering came with sacrifice and a lot of pain, but eventually it has turned into a freedom I thought I’d never get to taste.  It’s been a sweet, juicy bite.

This is just a sliver of the fruit and what is yet to come…

the harvest.

This verse was on the compact mirror they gave us.  Everyone received different verses, but mine reflected the message I received that day.

and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

-Colossians 2:10

Our Father, as we await for Your promises to come into fruition, let us not waste any more time or any of Your resources but continue to labor in love, in simplicity, and most importantly, in godly sincerity.  Thank You for sustaining us with life and for providing a sacrificial Lamb to cleanse us from our sin.   Thank You for calling us Your children when we abide in Your presence and when we are not worthy of Your love.  Thank You for making us worthy.  Teach us Your ways now and forever, for Your Kingdom come.  Amen!