Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that I wanted to tell you a little story.
There are many people who like to maintain their own gardens, raising their own vegetables to feed their families. But a lot of times you have to go out and water the garden regularly in order to bring forth fruit. A lot of people will have a green garden hose that is stretched out across the front lawn for this very reason. A garden hose works really well, delivering a steady flow of water to the garden as long as they stay connected to the main spigot, but if somebody decides to disconnect the hose from the house, the water isn’t going to flow any longer, denying the garden of the precious water that it needs to bring forth fruit.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
God wants us to have a fruitful life, but in order to do that we must abide in Him. To abide means that we must stay connected to Him each day, continuing in a close relationship with Him. When we do, just like a green garden hose, His Divine purpose can continue to flow through our daily lives.
John 15:4-7 (KJB) 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.
To abide in Christ means to have a continuing and close relationship with Him, one that denotes endurance, perseverance and a determined effort to stay connected with Him. Some of the closest relationships that we can share here on this Earth is with our own parents and siblings as we grow up at home. But as the years pass by, there are many things that can come in between those relationships. For example, when children grow into adults they might move away from home and get a job in another part of the country. Although they might try to keep in touch occasionally, those relationships are never really as close as they once were in the past.
Another example is when a woman gets married, she might have a really close relationship with her husband, but as the years pass by, she becomes more interested in other things instead. Rather than working hard at keeping close by her husband’s side, she will drift out into the world, get a job, and develop closer relationships with other people instead. Our relationship with the Lord Jesus is very much like an earthly marriage, because Jesus is the husband and the church is His bride. Just as a faithful wife must follow and seek diligently after her husband, the church must follow and seek diligently after Jesus. We must always put forth a concerted effort to keep close to Him by seeking Him out regularly during our day.
Psalms 27:8 (KJB) When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.
Psalms 63:1 (KJB) O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
God wants His disciples to be fruitful, but in order for this to happen one must continue in a daily relationship with Him. After all, strong relationships are determined by how much time that you invest in them. Just like a marriage, we must abide faithfully by the Lord’s side no matter what things we might have to endure. We must have perseverance which means to be very persistent in doing something, even when there might be a delay in achieving success. It is to be very dedicated to a certain endeavor, continuing an activity with great determination. It is also to stay fervently focused on one’s task. There are many things that can come in between our relationships with others here on the Earth, but if we desire fruit unto life eternal, we must continue in Christ and patiently endure whatever things we might have to go through
Mark 4:14-20 (KJB) The sower soweth the word. And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended. And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.
But like any relationship there are many things that can come in between us and God, and it basically comes down to what you love most. This is why the first commandment is first, because to be successful in the Christian Life He has to be our greatest Love of all. When our relationship with him is greater than all others, nothing else in this world is going to be able to influence us away from what He wants to do with our lives. Like shutting off the water flow through the hose, having a greater love for other things can disconnect one’s relationship with God and distract and uproot one’s continued growth in the teachings of scripture.
1 John 2:15-17 (KJB) Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
Just like an earthly wife, we must keep extremely close to Jesus, never departing from Him, or allowing anything else to come in between our relationship. We must keep closely connected to Him through our prayer life, worship, and our faithful obedience to the teachings of scripture. Sometimes a branch isn’t going to produce any apples simply because it becomes separated from the tree during a wind storm. This is why we must always remember to stay closely connected to our Lord Jesus Christ, because when we do, the fruitful water of His purpose can flow through our hearts, just like water flowing through……
………..The Green Garden Hose
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.
tlkjbc.com♥️
Note: Any copies may be printed and freely distributed among those who have no internet service. There is no AI creative involvement in my writings, and must be left intact because they are very personal to me. These are not to be sold, and are made public only for the free benefit of Spiritual knowledge to those who are genuinely seeking the will of God.
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 