“The Significance of Relationship”
“Grafted”
John 15:1-5 & 15
Every facet in life from nature, the ecological structure, to human development all have one thing in common “Relationship”, there is a song that says “My Relationship with you is all the world to me.”, it goes on to say that “You are my joy, my peace, my happiness, my relationship with you is all the world to me.”
We find in our text Jesus is talking to the disciples in one of the final messages before the fulfillment of prophecy “The Crucifixion”. He was imparting unto them word that would prepare them for the afflictions they would receive in days to come. Understand it takes a lot of word in you to be able to face the afflictions the devil is about to bombard you with in days to come. Jesus was conveying unto them the significance of the relationship between them and the father. He was drilling in them the understanding that they were no longer of this world and because they were not of this world that the world would turn against them just has they would turn against Jesus and they would even lose their lives because of the relationship they had with him. He was preparing them, because he knew that they would face beatings, hangings, crucifixion, and the gallows, because of their relationship with him. He understood that it took a special word in them to be able to face these things and still be able to hold on to God’s unchanging hand.
Whenever you stand and proclaim the name of Jesus. Whenever you profess to be saved and live for God, what you do is sign your name to Hell’s hit-list and when you do that you gotta have the word in you and not just on you. It takes a real word and real anointing, not that cute little practiced Sunday morning anointing, but a deeply rooted in your heart anointing. That’s why it’s so imperative that the children of God to get out of the mind-set that as long as I go to church on Sunday I’ll be alright, and realize that in order to have a true relationship with God and be able to stand against the attacks of the devil they must make Bible Class and Sunday School so that the word may get deep in you, that it feels every crack and cranny of your heart, that you become so full of your destiny because when circumstances challenge your faith you are able to know with assurity your destiny and are able to say “Neither height nor depth, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come shall be able to separate me from the Love of God.” You know that your faith is grounded in the word and is not just a feeling of emotions, you truly understand your relationship with God.
We need to understand the significance of Relationship. How one thing relates to another has the entire world to do with function & productivity. You cannot have reproduction where there is no relationship. Jesus begins to tell the disciples about relationship in the 1st part of this chapter in order to bring them to reproduction at the end.
Jesus says in verse 5: “ I am the vine, ye are the branches:…” (RELATIONSHIP)
*** If you don’t understand your relationship, your place in God, you’ll find yourself trying to do what only God can do. Many people in church today are confused, messed-up, discouraged, depressed, unable to praise God the way they are supposed to because they are spending all of their energy trying to be their own god. They are trying to bless themselves, heal themselves, promote themselves, climb the latter of success themselves, trying to solve their own problems, answer their own prayers, trying to cover up for God, because they feel as if he’s not doing it fast enough, trying to make God look good through their own human efforts and it cannot be done.
He said “I am the vine, ye are the branches.” All you gotta do is stay connected. All you gotta do is trust me to give you what you need. I will supply all your needs not according to your circumstances, not according to your time line, but according to my riches in glory. The important thing is we have a godly connection, not with church, but with God. Many people are so connected with church, not the organism but the organization, the flow, the position, that they are not connected with God. They are like Saul more worried about the position, about who did what or who was doing what, who was going to shine or be promoted, when we need to be more like David who was more concerned with the presence of the Lord than anything else.
“I am the vine, ye are the branches…” He was explaining the relationship.
** What we need to understand is that this saying originally pertained to the Jews and not the Gentiles. Everyone that was not born a Jew is a Gentile, but (Watch this:) Romans 11:17 “And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree.” ) Because Israel was broken off of the vine we have been grafted into the relationship.
** The word “Grafted” means: inserted, transplanted, spliced, embedded, fixed, joined, and attached.
** (This is deep) : In order for something to grafted in what has to happen is the bark of the tree or vine must be removed, then a piece of the tree must be cut so that what is being transplanted can be inserted into the opening and then the cells of the tree or vine attach themselves with the cells of the branch that is being grafted until they become one. (Watch this): Isa. 53:3 “But he was wounded for our transgression, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” Thank God for the Roman solider that pierced him in the side because what he did was open up a way for us to be grafted into the Blessed Vine to be able to receive of the blessing of the convenant of Abraham, now that we have been grafted in we’re blessed, we’re blessed, we don’t deserve but still we are blessed.
Understand we are not blessed because we have a fine home, a nice car, a good job, we are not blessed because prophet so-n-so prayed for us, but we are blessed because we have been grafted into the Blessed Vine. My deliverance is in the vine, my job is in the vine, my strength is in the vine, my peace is in the vine, my joy is in the vine, everything I have need of is in the vine, all I have to do is stay connected to the vine and I’ll see that I’m blessed in the city, I’m blessed in the field, I’m blessed in my going out and my coming in, I’m Blessed.
When you are connected to the true vine and you realize your relationship even though the storms may rage, even though all hell may break lose in your life you know your soul has been anchored in the lord.
Now we are part of the vine we have relationship and since we have been grafted there are some requirements that must need take place.
There are 3 steps that we must go through, Jesus wants us to go from fruit, to more fruit, to much fruit.
He said in verse 2 “ Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away” You don’t have to waste your energy trying to fix that which doesn’t work. You don’t have to fix it God will. The reason why he taketh it away is because it robs the other branches that are bearing fruit of the life source of the vine. If you have become dried up, unproductive, after you have been dungged, cultivated, and still are not reproducing he taketh away.
“…every branch that beareth fruit purgeth it that it may bring forth more fruit.”
1) Purgeth here means to prune it, to cut it back. You’re producing, things seem to be going all right, you’re being blessed, things are going forward in your life and all of the sudden (SNAP) you’re cut back, you had a good job, but now, your relationship was good, but now, life was going along just fine, but now everything is all messed up, things are going backwards. You have to be able trust God when things are going backward. It’s easy to Praise God when things are going forward but it takes real Faith to believe God when things are going backwards, when you had much and now, when you could see the fruit, but now, when you were on the mountain top, but now the question is “Can you stay connected and continue to Praise Him when things in your life have all of the sudden been cut back?
** We spend so much of our energy trying to keep something that God has purged us of.
The reason so many people go through Hell, get depressed, discouraged, stressed out when they are being pruned is because they fail to understand that even if this goes God will give me something else.
Understand though you may be blessed and productive NOW that fruit is seasonal, just because you have it now does not mean you are supposed to have it all ways.
Some blessing (people, jobs,etc.) come into your life at a particular time in your life to help you through a point (or level, or mountain ) in your life and when you have accomplished that level he prunes you, cuts you back in-order that you may produce more fruit. But we want to hold on to the old because it is comfortable. But God is trying to get you from then into the now, from fruit to more fruit, to much fruit. God’s desire is for us to dwell in the blessings of much. I’m not talking about material much, although that’s ok, but I’m talking about spiritual much, much power, much anointing, much wisdom, much understanding. He is trying to have our relationship grow, he wants to take us from glory to glory and faith to faith.
If we could understand the power of release and get to the point that we trust God when friends go, when relationships go, when jobs go, can learn to say I trust you people go, and say Lord if I needed it you would have let me keep it. Lord I trust you do what you want, I’m trusting you. I’ll praise when it comes, I’ll praise you when it goes because, I’ll praise you when I’m up and I’ll praise you when I’m down because I know “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Christ and Righteousness”.
It takes great faith to be able to just let things go. It takes a strong relationship. There is a price to pay in-order to have a strong relationship with the Lord. Sometimes you’ll go through things, you’ll have to cry sometimes, you may feel lonely sometimes, you’ll feel as if your about to lose your mind,
but WATCH THIS: verse 15 Jesus said Now I get to the point of this message: “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things I have heard of my Father I have made know unto you.”
“HENCEFORTH” from this point on, after this after all the mess you have been through, after you had fruit and I cut you back, after you couldn’t understand why you went through what you went through HENCEFORTH (Watch this): He said I had to take you through servant-hood to see if you would stay.
I had to see if you would:
1.) Praise me when people talked about you
2.) Rejoice when ridiculed
3.) Sing when shunned
4.) Say Halleauah when all Hell broke lose
5.) I had to see if you would endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
It was only a test. Henceforth I no-longer call you servant but friend for all things I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
(Watch this): When you were a servant you just functioned without really knowing my mind-set, but now you are my friend. Our relationship has grown and I am revealing unto you the secret of the Lord.
When you know the secret of the Lord things that used to get on you nerves don’t bother you any more, when you know the secret of the Lord, you can hear bad news and still have Joy, when you know the secret, you may be troubled on everyside, but not distressed, perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted , but not forsaken, cast down, but not destroyed why because you know that “No weapon that is formed against you shall be able to prosper.” You understand that your relationship with God is all the world to you. When you understand your relationship with God you can sing the song “I’m going through I don’t care what the rest of the world decides to do I have made up my mind I started with my Jesus and I going through."”
When you understand your relationship with God you get what I called a “Ridiculous Praise”
A normal praise is when you get a blessing you know what the blessing is and you praise him for that blessing, but a Ridiculous Praise is when you understand your relationship with God and all Hell breaks lose in your life and you just begin to Praise God Ridiculously because you know the secret. When you get a Ridiculous Praise what you are actually doing is laughing in the devil’s face saying I’m not worried about the things that you try to do because I know who’s got my back.
If you really want to get the devil upset when he tries to get on your back just begin to praise God, not with that pansy praise you practiced, but get Ridiculous and Praise him and let him know “I know something you don’t know”.
“No weapon from against me shall prosper”
In closing ask yourself do you understand your relationship with God. Are you a servant, that knows not the secret of the Lord or are you a friend that understands that No weapon formed against you shall prosper.
What the significance of your relationship!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Elder Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr
Boanerge Ministries
