Joseph Prince - Let Go and Flow in the Vine Life
Praise God, are you excited to be in the church? This church, amen. And I just want to let you know that even though Singapore is a tiny red dot, we are exporting the gospel of grace, amen. For some reason, God loves to use weak and small and seemingly insignificant things, amen, to confound the great and the mighty. It’s the grace of our Lord Jesus. To him be all the praise and glory, amen, praise God. John 15, «I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser,» our Lord says. «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». «I am the true vine,» why did Jesus say, «I am the true vine»?
Now, remember that he was talking to his disciples. At this point in time they were all Jewish disciples. Now, obviously, the Upper Room Discourse, which this is part of, the Upper Room Discourse is for the church, amen. The Sermon on the Mount, strictly speaking, is for the kingdom of God that was suspended because they rejected the King, all right? But the Discourse of the Upper Room, just before he was crucified, the night that he was to be crucified, right, the day after, he gave to the church what we call the Upper Room Discourse. The entire thing is for the church. But do keep in mind that the Gospel of John, this is the Gospel of John, the Gospel of John has seven miracles or signs recorded in it. The miracles are called signs, and these signs is for the nation of Israel.
For example, the first sign, now the Bible says that John himself said by the Spirit that Jesus did many miracles, of which if every one of them was written, of the things which he said and did, «I suppose,» John says, «even the books in the world cannot contain all that was said and written,» all right? But the Holy Spirit chose seven signs, seven miracles, why? For whom are these signs given to? The nation of Israel. The very first one, six water pots of water for the purifying of the Jews, amen, six. The six water pots, number of men, and Jesus turned the water into wine, amen.
So, Judaism is like water, but Jesus’s grace will turn the water into wine. The first miracle of Jesus turning water into wine, the first plague of Moses, who represents the law, was to turn water into blood, resulting in death. Jesus, the first miracle of grace is to turn water into wine, resulting in celebration and life. So, the law was given by a servant, Moses, but grace and truth came by our Lord Jesus Christ, amen? And Jesus said that «the servant does not abide forever in the house, but the Son abides forever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed,» amen.
So, the Lord says, «I am the true vine,» why? Because in the Old Testament, Israel was a type of vine to supply the knowledge of God, the wisdom of God, the fruits, all right, for all the nations round about, but they failed. And in Psalms 80 we see that the psalmist says to God, «You have brought a vine,» that’s Israel, «out of Egypt; You have cast out the nations, and planted this vine,» Israel. But Israel failed. The prophet Isaiah refers to Israel as a vine in many places in the book of Isaiah. You find him talking about Israel as a vine, but Israel failed. So, Jesus came in John 15, Jesus says, «I am the true vine,» John 15, «and My Father is a vinedresser». Okay, in verse 5 now, «I am the vine, you are the branches,» verse 5. «I am the vine, you are the branches».
Now, as believers, we are all connected to the Lord Jesus. We are the branch of the living vine. The problem is that we are trying to be the vine when the Lord has made us the branch. Which part of the tree does the fruit grow on? The branch, all right? Like the grapes, for example. These luscious grapes that you see up here, can you see the branches? We are the branch. All of us are the branches of the true vine of our Lord Jesus. The vine and the branches are one. In fact, the vine tree is a very interesting tree. It is not a tree like a trunk with branches, okay? It literally has no trunk. It is made of winding and clinging vine branches.
Jesus says, «I am the vine, I am the supplier, you are the fruit bearing part. You are the part that bears the fruit. You are not to be the supplier, you are not to be the producer, you are not the one responsible. I am the one responsible. Your part is just bear it, bear the fruit, manifest the fruit». You look at the fruits, people say, «Wow, what luscious fruits that grow on this branch». You may get the credit, but the life, the sap, the fatness, the riches come from the vine. But the same life, the same fatness that flows in the vine flows in the branches. And all that the Lord tells us to do throughout this entire discourse back in John 15, the entire thing, look at verse 5. «I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing». «He who abides in Me,» «He who abides in Me».
Verse 4, «Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me». Notice the recurring word, abide, abide, abide, abide. All you got to do is abide. You know what’s abide? Now, this has never happened before, and I pray it will never happen where I’m preaching to you halfway and I need to go to the restroom. Come on, people. All right, sometimes when you gotta go, you gotta go, amen. A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do. All right, imagine I am about to go, and I don’t know how long. It all depends on the supply, you know. So, it may be 15 minutes.
So, imagine I say, «You guys abide here. I’m going off». What does that mean, abide? Stay, stay here. Is that hard? You’re already there. Abide is not a place you’re trying to get at. Abide means stay where you are. Stay as a branch. Don’t try to be the supplier, amen. Who is responsible for the fruit that you see just now? Who is responsible for the fruit? Talk to me, it’s okay. It’s not a trick question, all right? Who is responsible? You sure? Again, who is responsible for the fruit? The vine, the vine. Then why is it that we are acting like we are responsible? The true attitude of a branch is that of restfulness and carefree attitude, because all the supply should come from the vine. My part is to abide. My part is remain as a branch. And there’s nothing easier than to remain in a room I’m already in.
If I say, «Stay here, Justin, don’t go off,» what am I telling him? I’m not telling him to try to make an effort to go to the next room. That means just stay where you are. One of the easiest things to do is to rest, amen. So, the only criteria for the branch here in the entire discourse on the vine and the branches is that of the Greek word meno, which is abide, abide in Christ. If only you and I can interview the little branch, and we ask the little branch, «All right, little branch, tell me how is it you bear such luscious grapes, such luscious fruits, all right»? What do you think the branch will say? «I mean, I do my best, and I think I’m smarter than you. I look better than you, oh little branch, and yet, you have such wonderful results, such abundant fruit, luscious fruit. Tell me your secret. Tell me your secret».
What do you think the branch will say? The branch will say that «You are just too smart. You people are just too smart. And we are not as smart as you. We just remain as a branch. We know who is supplying». You see, he put us in the vine. We didn’t put ourselves in the vine, by the way, 1 Corinthians 1:30 says, «Of him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom».
Now, «Of him are you in Christ Jesus,» means it is of God’s doing, not your own, that you are in Christ. The moment you put your trust in Christ, God put you in Christ, and there you are abiding forever. You’re, like, connected to the living vine, amen, and yet we think of ourselves, back to the little branch, the little branch says, «The supply constantly flows, and all I gotta do is not restrict the supply, allow myself to be a branch. But I have no care, I have no worry. In fact, I have no responsibilities, because all the responsibility is on the vine,» amen. «My only part,» you can call it a responsibility, which is not a responsibility, but it’s just, you know, a rest is to abide, because all the care and responsibility comes from the vine.
«You know, when it’s time to bring forth fruits, I just trust the vine that he will supply the bud, the leaves, and the fruit. If there has been no rain for some time, I trust the vine that its root system will bring me moisture, will bring the moisture into the branch. I don’t worry about water. The vine will supply. When harvest time comes, I don’t care about the kind of grapes. It’s not my concern about what kind of grapes I produce, because the vinedresser will not blame me for the grapes, whether it’s good quality or bad quality, all right, or no grapes. He will put the responsibility on the vine. As long as I abide, all the responsibility is on the vine».
Imagine what kind of life you will live from this day forth. If you are faced with a stressful situation, you say, «Lord, your peace». And imagine his peace being supplied at that moment. When you are faced with a decision-making process that you need to have there, and there you say, «Lord, your wisdom,» amen. You feel tired and you’re about to, you know, tackle a task before you, and you just get up and you step forward and say, «Lord, your strength,» and act like he’s supplying. Imagine what a life it will be. It’s a life of rest, amen. And your restfulness is a greater testimony, all right, than the words you speak. A restful Christian is a wonderful testimony. It glorifies the Lord. Can I have a good amen?
In fact, there is an oxymoron in Hebrews 4 that says, «Let us labor to enter the rest». You see? It’s an oxymoron. You know what’s an oxymoron? It’s a moron that uses Oxy on his pimples, all right? Oxymoron is a contradiction of terms, all right, where you find that it says, «Let us labor to enter the rest,» it’s like saying work at not working. Now, I’m not talking about outward working. You can be outwardly working, but inwardly you are at rest. You’re always laboring to enter the rest, because you know the more you rest, the more the supply flows. The more you rest, the more you abide. Your task as a believer is to enter into restfulness, more restfulness, deep restfulness. And don’t think for one moment it’s a lazy life, because you are connected to the vine.
The vine has a zeal that is not fanatic, and yet it’s a holy zeal, a powerful zeal. When you are connected with him, there will be zealousness in you. You’ll be doing, yet not expiring. You’ll be like the burning bush, burning, but not burning out. Can I have a good amen? You cannot be connected to the living vine and be lazy. There’s no way it can happen, amen. Yet, many of us, we are trying to produce the fruit. It’s like we are the branch and we are struggling to produce. Then, pop, a little grape comes out. I don’t think that even happens, amen. The more you struggle, the more you are restricting the sap, the life, the riches and the fatness of the vine, it cannot flow because the hindrance is that you are resisting. And that’s why I’m very particular about the New Testament, the New Covenant reality for the believer is that you don’t live by the law, you live by grace.
You live by resting in the power of the Holy Spirit, who worketh in you, both giving you the willingness and the performance of his good pleasure. God gives you the desires, all right, to do what he wants you to do, and then he gives you… even the performance doesn’t come from you. He gives you the performance just like he gives you the desires. It is God who works in you. You work out your salvation, not work for salvation. Work out, because it is God who works in, in you, both giving you the willingness and the performance of your good pleasure. Somehow we have this idea, the more we struggle, then, pop, you know, there’s one grape. No, in fact, the more we struggle, the worse it is.
In Galatians 5, it tells us very clearly in Galatians 5, «You have been severed from Christ». The old King James says, «Christ is become of no effect». The New King James says, «You have been estranged from Christ». Here it says, «You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen». Fallen indicates a higher ground that you fell from. In the Old Testament it’s backslide. Backslide can be on the same ground, same level, you just go behind. But in the New Covenant, grace is high ground. Grace is heavenly. Grace is where God is. And how you fall from grace, by sinning? You cannot find a verse in the New Testament that says when you sin, you fall from grace.
Now, I’m against sin, all right? I said I’m against sin, come on. But long before someone fall into sin, they fell from grace. Remember from where you fell, amen. Like Israel, when Israel says, «Kol asher diber Adonai na’aseh» at the foot of Mount Sinai, «All that God commands us, we can do it,» they fell from grace. They are depending on themselves now. They are no more depending on God’s grace. The next thing you see, you see sin, the golden calf, idolatry. Long before there’s the works of the flesh, there is a falling from grace. Long before there’s idolatry, there’s a falling from grace. And that’s why, you know, we are preaching where it really matters. Can I have a good amen? I want to read to you a testimony from a lady, she’s from America, from Texas. And she said this.
I grew up with a church background, but did not understand that Jesus had already paid the entire price for all my sins. When I was 19 years old, I went down the wrong path and began to smoke marijuana and cigarettes, which ultimately led to fornication, heavy drinking, and severely abusive relationships, simply because I was trying to find friends and blend in with others. I did not realize that I was giving away my blessings and great opportunities. When I was 27, I was on the brink of becoming a great singer and was offered a great career in show business. However, because of the smoking, the one gift that could have taken me there began to fail me. I was losing my voice slowly. It would fade in and out, and eventually my dreams were smashed when I received no more offers. After that, I fell into a great depression for eight years, and I moved away to start life over. Even so, I was still struggling with smoking while watching my contemporaries excel, and I felt bitter about being left behind. This was until Father God sent me the wonderful message of grace. I have since, I have since quit smoking altogether, and because of Joseph Prince Ministries, I have found my true love, Jesus Christ. No more abusive relationships.
Think about this, this is how dangerous my teaching is, all right? This is the teaching that your friends warned you about.
I am also pleased to report that the Lord has healed my voice, and it is now even better than before. I have also been blessed with a new opportunity to work with a well-known talent manager, so even though I am now 36, 10 years older than when I first started, the Lord has restored my soul, my youth, and given me a fresh start. Pastor Prince's message of grace really transformed my whole way of life and my entire way of thinking. I now understand that it’s not by my own works, but by his grace that I have been saved. Thank you, Lord Jesus.
Come on, church, praise the Lord. This is what the sap, the vine life can do for this lady, amen? In fact, the more you struggle, she said, «It’s not by my works». The more you struggle, the more you are hindering. How do you fall from grace? How do you fall? Those of you who are sinning? No, «Those of you who are seeking to be justified by law, you have fallen from grace». Now, it doesn’t mean you lose your salvation here. It means at that moment you are cut off from that supply. You are cut off from all that Christ can be to you. In fact, when you look at Jesus Christ when he was on earth, sinners could receive from him. Tax collectors, prostitutes, social outcasts, lepers could touch him and receive. He was of effect to them.
The only ones that he had no effect on, and it seems like they are cut off from his supply of healing and his supply, that vine life, were the Pharisees, the self-righteous religious people who are trusting and seeking to be justified by the law. Are you following what I’m saying so far, people? Because here, back in John 15, the Lord actually said this in verse 5, the last part. «He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me, you can do nothing». You can do nothing. You see, you must understand one thing, church.
You say, «But there’s a lot of things that we can do without Christ». I mean, the world is full of it, isn’t it? The world is full of people who are doing things without Christ, so how come the Lord himself said, the Lord who cannot lie, this thrice holy Lord, amen, not that he will not lie, he cannot lie, how can he say, «Without Me, you can do nothing»? What he’s saying is that look at some of the greatest men in the world today, all the greatest men in the world that have ever lived, all that they have accomplished without Christ, what does it avail at the end? It comes to nothing, but only what’s done for Christ will last forever. Remember this, church, just remember this. Heaven’s economy is not like ours, amen. We run for gold, and down there they walk on it.
You know, our priorities are all, you know, we don’t realize that what’s done for Christ will last forever, amen. So, when he says you can do nothing, what he means is that without him, you can do nothing of value, of substance, and of eternal consequence, of permanency, of eternal quality that has results in this life and in the life after, amen. «Without Me, you can do nothing». So, the more we realize that, we interview the little branch, the branch says, «When harvest time comes, you know, I don’t worry, because the vinedresser won’t blame me if there are no grapes. As long as I’m abiding as a branch, the responsibility is the vines». Can I have a good amen?
Come on, church. Praise the Lord. And that’s a Christian life. We always think that, «Okay, now I’m the righteousness of God in Christ,» amen. God has made you the righteousness of God in Christ, but somehow we still have this thinking. «When I’m praying, I’m doing something righteous. When I am reading my Bible, I’m doing something righteous. When I’m in church, I’m doing something righteous. But on Monday, all right, when I’m driving my car, brushing my teeth,» friend, because you are the righteousness of God in Christ, there’s no menial task. Everything you do, you are still connected to the living vine. The same supply of wisdom in the vine is supplied into the branch, amen.
When you brush your teeth, it’s a righteous act. When you drive your car, it’s a righteous act. When you kiss your children, that’s a righteous act. When you love your wife, that’s a righteous act, amen. When you’re doing your work, it’s a righteous act. There’s no such thing as a righteous act being only prayer or giving money to the poor or doing some charitable work, then it’s righteous acts. No, your whole life is righteous, because it emanates from the righteousness of God, that’s you. If a tree is good, then whatever comes out of the tree, whether it’s a branch or the leaf or the fruit, will all be good. If a tree is bad, even though the leaf looks green now, come back next week, next month, you will find it becomes brown, why? The tree is bad.
Friend, the thing is this, because God has made you the righteousness of God in him, you might not do anything significant at the moment, but let me tell you this, everything in your life is now permeated with the life of Christ. You do not know an expression, a gesture, speak volumes to your colleagues. You do not know that a little, you know, they look at you and they see you peaceful and your face shines, you don’t even know your face is shining, and it speaks volumes to your relatives. Friends, your entire life, don’t think of life as, you know, we think of life as segments and where we need God’s little doles of wisdom and little impartation of strength. We think of God like this. God is in heaven, we are down here, so we wake up in the morning, «I need a good dose of favor today. God, give me favor».
Then God says, «Okay, here comes favor,» a pail, psshh. That’s how we think. All right, it’s separate, it means God, the Lord Jesus, and us are separate. He is at the Father’s right hand, we are over here. We are separate from him. We need wisdom. «Today, man, I got a task before me, I got to present this. I got this presentation I must do, you know, in my company. And my boss really wants me to do a good job. Oh God, give me wisdom. Lord, give me», here comes wisdom, pour it, psshh. We always think prayer is like that, but friend, that’s not true. Prayer is a realization of what you already are, that you are connected. Prayer, right now, for example, you say, «Lord, your wisdom, you believe right now that you are connected to the living vine».
I did not say it, Jesus said it, «I am the vine,» verse 5, «You are the branches». He didn’t say, «Try to be a branch». He says, «You are». The Lord says, «I am the vine, you are the branches,» amen. So, what do you do? You just say, «Lord, I thank you, the same life that flows in you, flows in me. The same wisdom that flows in you, my living vine, flows in me. The same strength, I feel weak today, but the same strength that flows in you, flows in me». «Pastor Prince, I don’t feel it». Friend, the Christian life is not a life of feeling, it’s a life of faith. Your feelings can deceive you. In fact, how many of you have been on a cruise, you know, for a week or so, and then when you step on board land after a few days on the huge boat, on the cruise, or even a small boat, you know, you step on land.
For the first few hours, you feel like the land is shaking and moving, heaving. Do you feel that? Now the reality is what? You are planted on solid ground. The land is not moving. So what’s moving? Your feelings. Always remember this: the devil wants you in the realm of feelings. The devil, though he’s a spirit, he wants you in the realm of feelings. He’ll give you feelings of pain in your body, feelings of depression, suicidal feelings, feelings of blah, feelings of self-pity, feelings of being unloved, he wants you in that realm. God wants you in the realm of faith, amen. Faith says, «I am connected. The same fatness in the vine flows in me right now. The same strength, the same life, the same health flows in the branch right now, amen». Amen, praise God.
So right now, even as I’m preaching, I’m resting in him because I know that it’s from Joseph Prince, it will not benefit you. It’s from the living vine, it’s from Christ in me, the hope of glory. And he’s speaking, he will bless you. You’re listening people? Then our life becomes a life of rest. God can expose the branch anywhere and we’re not worried. We don’t look at the insurmountable challenge in front of us, you know, and we just rest and let the supply flow, amen. So, many of us, when we look at the circumstances and the obstacles in front of us, or the deadlines, or the challenges that we are faced with, whatever we are exposed to on a given day, the daily grind of daily living. What do you think of? Do you think of yourself as being responsible?
«I have to resolve this, I have to look into this. If I don’t look into this, the whole thing will collapse». Hm? Many of us are acting like everything depends on us. We go up the plane, all right, and we help the pilot fly the plane. You can see some people, they grab the side of the plane and God forbid you should let go that armrest because the plane might just fall. You know, because our life is filled with, «I am responsible, I am the one making it happen». We don’t even realize that we are even helping the plane fly. If I grab really tight, you know, when it takes off, I’m helping it take off. Rest. Some people, before the plane even takes off, I hear this chainsaw buzzer sound. They are in deep coma, they trust.
«And Pastor Prince, I want so much to abide but I’m trying my best to abide». There you go again. Abide is not working, now you’re trying to work to abide. Just abide, just rest, amen. «I’m trying my best to believe God’s Word». You know, when someone tells me that, «Pastor Prince, I’m trying to believe your word». You know how… you know, it’s an insult. «I’m trying to believe your word, I’m doing my best to believe your word». And some of these people, when they board the plane, right, they sit on their chair, they hear a voice, they don’t even know where it came from. «This is Captain Lim Peng Sun, we’re now cruising at an altitude of 25,000 feet above the air. Just sit back, relax and,» for all you know, the real captain is unconscious in the storeroom back at the airport and there’s somebody else flying but you don’t even check, you don’t even worry, you just believe, you just trust.
And this is the word of mere man. Not only that, you relax. And we don’t even know who the pilot is, we don’t care. We trust the word of man and yet when it comes to God’s Word, I’m trying to believe his Word. Imagine someone telling you, «I’m trying to believe your word». You either do or you don’t, amen. You got to know the person that spoke it. He cannot… I didn’t say he would not, he cannot make a mistake. Pilots can, hm. He cannot fail. Pilots can. I pray that you still fly, okay, now, let me just tell you this, all right? In fact, when you live the vine life, you don’t worry about the planes, where you fly and all that, you know, the world is so full of fear today that people are afraid to step out. Is this how God wants us to live life, no. He wants us to face life with gusto, you know, to trust that he is caring for us wherever we go. We must have this attitude, amen? It will not happen to me.
The devil is saying, «But what happened to so and so, he’s a Christian. That lady is a Christian». Just have this attitude: they are all good people, they are all wonderful people. My brothers and sisters in Christ, but I know one thing, a thousand may fall at my side and ten thousand at my right hand, it will not come near me. I live the life of the branch. I’m not going to be responsible for myself. He’s going to take care of me. What’s the worst that can happen when a believer dies? He graduates, he changes locations, he sees Jesus face to face.
Many of you are afraid to even travel to Israel because you’re committing the same sin of Kadesh Barnea, when God told the people of Israel to go into the land flowing with milk and honey, God never mentioned the problems, God never mentioned the walls, the thick walls, God never mentioned the giants over there, God never mentioned that there will be these obstacles. God just said, «The land is flowing with milk and honey. And I have given you the land». All right, so the 12 leaders of the 12 tribes went in, and only 2 of them came out with this report, «God is right, we are well able to take the land». Ten of them said, «Didn’t you see the walls? It was so thick. Didn’t you see the giants? They were so tall». And God said to Moses, «All the ten that don’t believe my Word, they’ll drop dead».
Oh, were there giants? There were. But God said, «The two that said, 'God is right, we are well able to take the land, ' they will go in,» why? They compared God to the giants, and the giants lose. Anytime you compare God with a problem, your disease, your trial, whatever, you know, the devil is trying to threaten you with, let me tell you this: with God all things, all things, not some, not most, all things are possible, amen. So Joshua and Caleb had this attitude. The devil wants to bring fear right to your doorstep. He wants to be afraid right where you are sitting at home watching television. He wants you to be afraid just by watching all the images you see on TV, by what you are hearing, he wants you in fear. Are you listening people?
And that’s why it’s important you hear sermons like this. God wants us to have the attitude, a thousand can fall at my side, ten thousand at my right hand… I didn’t say people don’t fall, all right? But they may fall at my side, it will not come near me. «Well, do you think you’re better»? No, I just know what my God said to me. I’m just a branch. I am nothing, I can do nothing, I know nothing. All I know is abide in the living vine, he will take care of me. And he wants me to have this attitude, all right? A thousand will fall at my side, it will not come near me. Amen church? Are you with me so far? Are you learning, amen. So let’s go on, John 15, verse 2, «Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away».
Now, this is something that I used to be very concerned about, in fact, yesterday I was looking at a commentary from an 1800s, you know, from the period of the 19th century. A commentary from one of the scholars, a well-respected Bible scholar. And he commented on this and he says, «Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away,» he said that that means God will take them home to heaven. And it’s quite frightening, he’s not the only one, many of them believed that, in that day, in the 1800s, many of them believed that this verse refers to, if anyone does not bear fruit, all right, God will take him home. Now does that frighten you? Like I said, it should not frighten you because you know, you’ll see Jesus face to face, but that’s not what this verse is talking about.
Now we have more and more people realizing the truth and I’ve shared this down through the years, the word «takes away» in the Greek is the Greek word, airo, which actually is to lift up. You see a vine, when it’s on the ground, it’s supposed to cling. Show them the trellis, all right, this is a vine tree. In fact, it’s very early, it’s very early, you can’t see the thick branches yet. But these are trellis, by the way, you can see the trellis look like a cross, amen. So the nature of the vine, all right, the branches will curl around the trellis and that’s how it bears fruit. It must be lifted to bear fruit. If a branch is on the ground and there is no trellis, okay, it cannot bear fruit.
The reason why many believers cannot bear fruit is because the devil has cast them down and they are depressed, they are wallowing in the dust, by the way, the number one enemy of Israel in the Old Testament are the Philistines. Goliath was a Philistine, and the word Philistine in Hebrew means wallowing in the dust. The serpent’s food is the dust. And as long as the branch is on the dust… by the way, some years ago when I was in Israel, I was walking down the road of Emmaus with some of my pastors and we came across a vine tree. And one of the branches fell, no one was taking care of it, it was a wild vine, but it was a grapevine.
All right, and this is the branch of a vine tree that collapsed. And look at the branch, it’s drying up, it’s not bearing fruit, no one is caring for it, it’s on the ground. The nature of the branch is that it clings to something. Sometimes it clings around the pillar, sometimes it clings around a tree, and by the way, when you roll up, when you roll in a straight line the vine tree with other vine trees in a straight line, when the branches come out, they will inevitably twirl around each other, keep that in mind, they will twirl around, branches will twirl around branches. It’s like all of them are holding hands. That’s the nature of the church, amen. We love each other, we are interdependent, amen. And it’s the branches, it’s not just a branch, it’s branches. You are the branches, all of us. Can I have a good amen?
So you are meant to be lifted up. So the Lord says, if a branch is not bearing fruit, God does not kick the branch, God does not slap the branch, God does not say, «Ah, too bad you fell». No, what the Lord does to help it bear fruit is the Lord lifts up. Isn’t the Lord Jesus always lifting up? He lifted up the woman of Samaria when no one bothered to care for her. She came alone to the well. He cared for the woman of Nain when her son died. He cared for the tears of Martha and Mary. He’s always lifting. The Bible says he went about doing good, healing all, always lifting up, always restoring, always. And he raised Jairus’s daughter, he lifted her up. And he raised Peter’s mother-in-law, he raised her up. He’s always lifting up. And the boy fell to the ground and the demon was foaming.
And Jesus says, «Leave him alone. Come out of him and enter no more into him». The demon left and Jesus lifted up the boy. He’s always lifting up. When you don’t bear fruit, he lifts you up. Not he takes you away. And the same word, airo, lifts up, is used of the ten lepers when they saw Jesus from afar, the ten lepers lifted up their voice and said, «Jesus, have mercy on us»! The word, lift up their voice, is airo in the Greek. In the book of Acts, when the elders and the priests threatened the apostles, okay, to stop preaching in the name of Jesus, they went back to their company and all of them lifted up their voice to God. Airo, lift up their voice. John 11, at the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus came to the tomb and Jesus lifted up his eyes. Jesus lifted, airo his eyes. It’s the word, airo. It is not take away, it is lifts you up.
A sermon from God should lift you up, not throw you down the dust, make you feel sin-conscious. Are you listening, people? And how does God do this, after he lifts us up, watch this. «Every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit». By the way, we have fruit, right? We have more fruit, and then later on, verse 5, we have much fruit. Say fruit, say more fruit, say much fruit. You know what’s more and much, right? Much you can’t count no more. It’s much, amen. So be patient with yourself by the way. And if you start a church, or you start a ministry, or you start a company, or whatever, give yourself two to three years.
All right, because a vine tree, by the way, does not produce grapes immediately after you plant the vine. You don’t have results in the same year. In fact, it takes about three years before the vine produces grapes. About three years, amen. Now some people get impatient, «Where are the grapes? The first year, second year, third year,» but you know what’s happening during this time, during these three years? The root system is going down deep and the branches are going out wide and strong, so that when the grapes come, they are in position to hold the grapes and to supply the nourishment and the water. Amen.
But look, if you start a ministry, if you start a company or whatever, it’s now 10 years, still not producing fruit, cut it down. Don’t waste your time. Your life is too precious. Make sure, number one, God spoke to you. Then, number two, give yourself the first three years. It might not have any results but hey, if it’s from God, it will bear fruit. Amen. But even then, in the third year, it bears the grapes. It’s really not grapes of wine quality yet. Okay, you gotta wait for another five to six years. Five, number of grace. Five years, all right? Then you have quality grapes for wine production, okay?
And you all know that even then, wine is only really good as it matures. The older the wine is, it’s like men, the better it gets. And all the men said, «Amen». Ladies as well, amen. Ladies who are under grace, praise God, hallelujah. You know it gets better and better. The longer it is, yeah. Age becomes a friend, amen. You get better. And the Lord says, «I am the vine». He didn’t say, «I’m the durian tree and you shall bear thorny fruit. Some will love thy smell and some won’t». No, thank God he used the analogy of the vine. And by the way, when Jesus turned the water into wine, he actually compressed time. Because we all know that it takes about 5 to 6 years to have quality grapes for wine. And then even really good wine, years, 5, 10 years to 20 years even, quality wine. The longer it is, the better it is.
Jesus compressed all that to save a wedding couple from humiliation when their wine ran out. Jesus did a miracle of turning water into wine so that the master of ceremony, not knowing where the wine came from, when he tasted it, he says, «Wow». He called for the bridegroom. He says, «You know something? Most people give good wine first because when their taste is still there and they are coherent about what they are drinking, they give them good wine. After they are drunk, they can give them anything. They will drink it. But you have kept the good wine until now».
Jesus gave that credit to the wedding couple. His first miracle was showing himself in this sign from John as the Lord of time. The second miracle, he healed from a distance, also from Cana, okay? He’s the Lord of space. And these are the two foundations of science, time and space. He’s the Lord of time and space. What it’s saying is this. You don’t have to ask Him to come down from heaven to touch you. He’s the Lord of space. You don’t have to say, «The doctor says I’ll recover in 9 months». He’s the Lord of time. He can compress time. He can do things in an instant what takes man a long, long time, all right. The question is that do we believe? Because man’s system is so opposite that of the Lord. Man says that you have to work before you can rest. God says you rest, then you can work effectively. Unless you are a branch, you cannot produce. You cannot bear the fruit.
I hate to use the word produce because it gives you the idea you are producing the fruit. The vine is producing the fruit. You are the bearing fruit part of the vine. Amen? Once in a while, it’s good to sit down and just think. Even right now, his vine life is flowing. It does not flow intermittently. It does not flow, then stop. It flows and then stop. No, it flows consistently on a continuum. Even right now, it’s flowing. Keeping your eyes open. Keeping your mind alert so you don’t sleep when the pastor is preaching. Believe it. When you don’t have strength, all right, you feel like everything is telling you you’re tired. Give it a break, give it a break, all right? Say, «Lord, your strength». And then step up and act on it. Act like it. And say, «Forget these feelings. I am not tired because I am a branch of the living vine».
«Well, Pastor Prince, what about sickness? What about sickness»? Well, let me just tell you about sickness. Many a times, the devil gives you lying symptoms. Recently, one of my leaders was supposed to go overseas and all of a sudden he had a bad condition that nearly immobilized him. And he talked to me about it. He was calling to question whether he could travel for that preaching engagement. And I had a word from the Lord. It was on the 10 lepers who saw, just now I told you about it. They shouted to the Lord Jesus to have mercy on them. And Jesus says, «Go show yourself to the priest».
And that’s amazing because you don’t show yourself to the priest in those days unless you are clean already. There’s no such thing as going to the priest and the priest healing you. The priests have no power to heal. Only Jesus can heal. But Jesus, in those days, the law in Leviticus says, when you are clean from leprosy, then you go to the priest. But that law was always there and nobody could ever see the priest to fulfill that law. That law was designed for the Son of God to come to fulfill. So that it would be a testimony to all the priests that the Messiah has come. So, Jesus said, «Go show yourself to the priests». And the Bible says, as they went, they were healed. As…they…went. They acted like the responsibility is his. He tells me to go, I go. As they went. Not as they… nothing happened.
«I’m standing down here. I won’t go until I’m well, show myself to the priest and say I’m clean. Look at me. I’m still all white with leprosy». No, as they went, based on what the Vine said, the Living Vine, they were healed. So, I told this brother, «I believe the word is go». He came back and he told, «Pastor Prince, as I went, all the symptoms left». And he came back stronger, amen. That’s one of the latest testimonies. Let me just tell you this. By all means, the doctors tell you, you know, take your medicine, do this. Medicine keeps the symptoms down. But really, God heals. You want healing or you want removal of symptoms. Panadol may remove the headache and the pain, but doesn’t remove the root cause of the headache. Remember that. So, don’t depend on medicine the way you depend on God. God is complete dependence. Use medicine, depend on God.
Friend, listen carefully. I used to teach this very strongly. 1 John 4:17, if there’s any nine monosyllables you must memorize and put it in your heart, it is this: «As…He…is, so-are-we-in-this-world». These nine monosyllables are the most powerful in the universe. It’s going to change your life. «As He is». Even if it says, as Jesus was when he walked by the shores of Galilee, cleansing the lepers, casting out demons, opening the eyes to the blind, unstopping deaf ears. It’s wonderful. But no, it is the risen, glorified, ascended, enthroned Christ. «As He is at the Father’s right hand, so are we»! Where? When we die and go to heaven? No! In this world! Look at that! «Because as He is, so are we». We believers! Where? «In-this-world»! As-he-is!
Do you suppose he is healthy now? Okay, a few of you agree with that. Have you ever been to the Lord, maybe this morning you prayed, you heard the Lord cough. «khm-khm-khm.». «You were saying»? Have you ever heard the angels singing and then all of a sudden, you know, they go, «Ah-ugh… Blessed be the Lord God. I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Half the angels are down with a raspy throat. Hey, don’t laugh. We’ve been doing this for millions of years, even before you were born and you laugh. Cut us some slack, man». Have you ever heard that about heaven? You never hear God cough. You never hear angels having problems or Gabriel appearing, say, «Excuse me, I was saying,» never right? All I’m saying is that there’s no sickness in heaven.
So whatever you want to argue about, some people are angry when you preach on healing because they say, you know, they say that people are suffering and when you preach on healing, you condemn people who are… No, I’m not saying to be sick is to fail God. I didn’t say that. The problem is that the devil wants many preachers to preach at the level where people are and they will never rise above where they are. All right? God wants us to preach his standard so that he will airo, lift us up to his standard. We are transformed by beholding the glory, not the gory, you know? And I was sharing many a times down through the years.
In fact, my first testimony that came in after I preached this was many years ago in our church. A lady went for examination because they found a lump in the breast and they said their concern and all that. Must come back for another test. When she came back, she already confessed, «As He is, so am I in this world». She wrote down there, «Does Jesus have lumps in His breast? No, as He is, so am I in this world». So, she went in and the doctors cannot find the lump. But the story, that testimony has spawned numerous testimonies from this one verse. All right? Say, «As Jesus is, so am I in this world. As he is healthy right now, so am I». The pain may scream and say, «No, you are not»! The devil wants you in the realm of feeling. God wants you in the realm of faith. Are you listening people? As he is. I want to read to you a testimony. This is the most recent testimony that came in. And this is from a lady called Michelle from Minnesota, U.S.
In September 2012, I was diagnosed with throat and neck cancer. After a series of treatments, I recovered and tests showed that there was no more cancer. However, in September 2014, the doctors found a mass in my throat again. At that time, I’d been watching Pastor Joseph Prince on Trinity Broadcasting Network. He shared a testimony of a woman who had taken hold of 1 John 4:17, «As He is, so are we in this world».
It’s another way of saying, «I am the vine, you are the branches». It’s not like Jesus separate from us. He’s in heaven, we are down here. All that he is, do you know something? Let me tell you something very, very heartwarming for me. He’s there not for himself. He’s there for us. Everything that he is, his position, he is using for us. His status, his glory, he is using for us. His sitting down, he is using for us. All power is given unto him in heaven and earth, he is using for us. The Bible says he sat down not because he’s the Son of God, that he always is. Hebrews 1 says, «He sat down having purged our sins». It’s all in our interest. If our sins were not purged, he cannot sit down. The priest in the Old Testament never sat down. There’s a table of showbread in the tabernacle but no seat because their work was never finished. Our Lord sat down having cleansed our sins. So, this lady, the doctors found a mass in her throat again and at that time she’s watching me on TBN and I shared about this 1 John 4:17, «As He is, so are we in this world» So after she watched this she said:
I took hold of this scripture for myself as well. My first thought after hearing the doctor’s diagnosis was, «As Jesus is, so am I. And since Jesus does not have cancer, neither do I». Fear tried to enter my thoughts over the next several days, but I hung on to those words as I was being told that I might have cancer again. I was advised to have a biopsy done and was also told that a bilateral tonsillectomy, a procedure to remove the tonsils, would be needed. As I was being prepped for surgery, I was asked if I had anything to say. I said, «Yes. When the doctor comes in to do the surgery, the doctor will say the surgery is not needed and there is no cancer». That was exactly what happened when the doctor came in. The tonsillectomy was cancelled as the biopsy showed that I did not have cancer. When I was told the good news, I smiled and said, «Thank you, Jesus». I have the book, «100 Days of Favor», which has a page that teaches on 1 John 4:17. I keep a bookmark on that page and I read it often. I’m continually being set free by the gospel of grace. Thank you.
Praise the Lord. Hallelujah. Amen. Now, whatever stage you are at, all right, don’t throw away the medicine, don’t throw it away. But just start confessing, «As He is, so am I in this world». Don’t put your complete trust in a doctor doing a surgery. Don’t put your complete trust in medicine, but put your trust in the Lord. Use medicine, use the know-how of all the doctors, all right? Thank God for doctors, but put your trust in the Lord. He is your living vine. And the same health that flows in the vine, flows in the branch.
I feel that people are being healed even as I speak right now. People watching are being healed right now because there is that abiding going on right now. And the same resurrection life that flows in the vine flows into your body creating health, creating new parts, removing obstacles, removing growths, removing hindrances, removing obstruction in your arteries, creating a new organ. Hallelujah! Creating new cells, readjusting your DNA, programming it for health and wholeness and longevity. Right now, the same vine life that flows in the vine, flows in you the branch. Receive in Jesus’s name. Don’t struggle, just receive. «Lord, I don’t have the faith to believe. I want to believe. Lord Jesus, your faith. Even faith I need, your faith». «I’m so poor, I cannot, I don’t have the strength. Lord, your strength».
What do you need? «I need faith, pastor». Lord, your faith. Do you know that his faith is not our faith? So, even faith he supplies. It’s the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Amen? Okay, I want to bring this to a close. Look at this. Go back to John 15. «Every branch that bears fruit, He prunes that it may bear more fruit». Now, the word prunes gives you the idea, you see a lady because of, you know, movies or pictures that we watch. You know, Singaporeans especially, many of us don’t have gardens. But when we see these gardens, we see a lady with a cutter, right? A garden pruning cutter, like a scissors, right? And she cuts off all the branches, all the tips of some flowers and all that. We see that. That’s our idea.
So, when we read prunes, we have this idea that the vine dresser is cutting branches, you know, and it’s idea of affliction, painful discipline, chastisement, and that was what was preached years ago and that’s what some scholars believe is talking about but what they fail is that they’re comparing this with with other plants that you use the cutter. But this must be compared with the vine life of the farmers of the day of Jesus in ancient Israel. During that time, when they pruned… by the way, the word prunes here is the word kathairo in Greek, which is cleanses. Cleanses with water. What they do in those days is that they pour water on the branches to cleanse the branch of the deposits of pests, insects, and moss.
So, that it will not obstruct the branch from bearing fruit. They literally wash the branches. It’s not cutting, it’s washing. That it may bear more fruit. And then to confirm that, verse 3, «You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you». And the word clean is katharos. Kathairo, just now, «Every branch in me, he cleanses every branch that bears fruit, he cleanses with water that may bear more fruit,» is the verb kathairo. You are already katharos, clean is the adjective. Same word. How does Jesus cleanse us from all these lying symptoms, from all these deposits of depression, self-pity, you know, envy, jealousy, bitterness, resentment, you know, impatience, irritability, sleepiness during the pastors preaching. How does God cleanse us from all this? By the preaching and the washing of the water. «You are clean because of the word which I have spoken to you,» Jesus said.
So, the more you sit under anointed teaching that lifts you up and washes you, the more fruit you will bear. You gotta see this whole thing in the context people. In fact, this is the upper room. This is John 15. Do you know what happened in John 13? While in the upper room still, it began with Jesus washing the disciples’s feet. And there was a lesson there. It’s not like we tried to do washing the disciples’s feet and all that. I take off, you know, Lawrence’s boots, which wow, looks like it’s been trapped there for a long time. And then I remove his socks after that. And if I’m still conscious, I bring the bowl of water and then I wash, you know? But Jesus says, «What I do now, you don’t understand, but you will know later».
Obviously, they understand the physical foot washing. So, he was referring to a symbolic act of something that they will understand later. So, let’s go to that story, same upper room. Jesus says something. When it came to Peter, Peter says, «Not only my feet, Lord, my head also». And the Lord said, «Jesus said to him, 'He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean.'» Now, he who is bathed, bathed is saved. Once you are regenerated with the washing of the Holy Spirit, washed from all your sins by the blood of Jesus, you are bathed all over. You cannot be rebathed. Once you are saved, you are saved forever. From then on, every day, you need to wash your feet.
So, «He who is bathed,» louo in Greek, «needs only to wash,» nipto in Greek. When they say, ladies, when you wash your face, they don’t use the word louo, they use the word nipto. Washing a part of your body is nipto. Bathing completely is louo. The first one, he who is bathed is louo. He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet but is completely clean. And you are clean but not all of you. Next verse. What does it mean? «For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, 'You are not all clean.'» So forget about that. Last part, okay? Don’t worry about that. It’s referring to Judas Iscariot. He’s saying, «You’re not all clean,» referring to Judas Iscariot. But the rest of them, once you are bathed, you are completely clean. You only need to wash your feet every day.
What do you wash your feet with? Water. What does that mean? You must get into the Word. Somewhere in your day, you must have time in the Word. You must have at least a daily devo. Mine is a good one. Don’t use mine. There are many others, all right? But make sure it’s scriptural, make sure it’s grace-centered, Jesus-centered, and start reading the Word in the portion of the day and start washing. Start listening to the Word, if you can. The more you listen, it’s like the branch is being washed all over from all the deposits of the insects and the pests, and you will bear much fruit, amen? It’s not a matter of trying to, «Ah, Pastor Prince, I’ve heard this sermon. I know this sermon now». No, faith doesn’t come by having heard. Faith comes by hearing. You cannot psych yourself or think yourself out of fear, but you can hear yourself out of fear. Provided the sermon doesn’t put more fear, amen?
So, are you all learning this? Okay, two more portions, and we’re gonna close. Now, I pray that you’ll be blessed richly from all this portion. Recently, I was reading «They that wait upon the Lord». Okay, before that, let’s show the portion. «Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength». Recently, the Lord spoke to me, and the Lord says, «Many of my people are studying the word 'health' in the Bible». And if you study the word «health,» you will find that the word «health» appears only a few times, and actually, in the Hebrew, in the Old Testament, the word «health» is actually the word «medicine,» so there’s no word for «health,» as such.
So, the Lord says, «Study the word 'strength.' Tell my people to study the word 'strength, '» because «strength» appears all over the Bible, Old and New Testament, 'cause strength… what is sickness and weakness? The absence of strength. What is «growing old»? The absence of strength. You become infirm. Are you listening, people? So, here it says God doesn’t get tired. «He gives power to the weak. To those who have no might He increases strength». And some of you admire people who are young. You say, «Wow, they are so young, they are so energetic, they are so young, and I wish I was young again. They are vivacious. They are full of energy». But look at the next verse. «Even the youths shall faint». God says, «Don’t envy the youth. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall». But if you wanna envy, envy these people: those who wait on the Lord.
«Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint». Even youths run and they get tired. They walk and they faint, but if you wait on the Lord, and the word «wait» is the Hebrew word «qavah,» which I told you just now. Remember the word «binding together,» «binding together»? You and the Lord are intertwined. It’s the idea of the vine and the branches. And the word qavah is the word… you get the word «rope». By the way, the word qavah is also the Hebrew word for «hope». And Bible hope, people, is not the way we use, in our English vernacular we use the word «hope».
Hope means maybe it happened, maybe it might not happen, but Bible hope is certainty of good happening in your future. Hope is a certainty, in the Bible. Bible hope is certain of good. When you wake up in the morning, especially, the devil will shoot the first thought with negative thoughts about the day, about your body, about your family, about your job. Straight away put on the helmet of hope and say, «It’s gonna be a great day because I’m a branch of the living vine. There’s nothing that I’ll face today that the supply will not be there from the vine. I may not know what to do initially, but I’ll stop and remember I’m just a branch. I’m not the supplier. I am the suppliee,» amen. «I refuse to worry. There is no care. There is no concern. All the care is Christ,» amen.
Straight away, put that thought in your mind, and the word, you know what? Israel today, the nation of Israel, our national anthem is «Majula». Theirs is «Hatikvah». «Ha» means «the». «Tikvah» is the noun for qavah. It means «The Hope,» «The Hope». It’s a beautiful music. It’s really… very haunting. It’s called «Hatikvah,» which means «The Hope». It’s the noun for this verb, qavah. When the spies told Rahab of Jericho, the prostitute, «When we come into your city, remember to put out a rope of scarlet thread». The word «rope» is the word «tikvah». Stretch out your hope.
Your hope is in the blood of Jesus, the red blood of Jesus. Because of his bloodshed, you can be expecting good things in your future. You know this week? It’s gonna be great, okay? And the Lord showed me this: «They shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint». And the Lord said to me, «Son, the world has it opposite». First of all, here it says you shall mount up, first. That means you will soar with wings like eagles. In fact, the Bible says God renews your youth like the eagle’s, and the eagle’s renewal of its youth is the molting process, it’s literal. So, we will mount up with wings like eagles. First of all, when you wait on the Lord, spend time in that Word either late at night or early in the morning. Find time to spend time with the living vine.
Stay close, stay in touch with Jesus, and then you will soar. You will soar first. Second, you will run and not be weary. Third, you will walk and not faint, and the Lord said this to me, and I wrote it in my notebook. The Lord said this to me: «The world has it upside down. The world always walk first, and then they run, but they never soar». God says, «You start, your strength will be like this… You start with me in the heavenlies, you’ll soar with wings like eagles first, and then you will run and not be weary, you will walk and not faint». Can I have a good amen, church? Do we have that in the Bible?
God who cannot lie, the thrice holy God who cannot lie tells us we will run and not be weary. He will renew our youth like the eagles. There is a man in the Bible, and I’ll close with this, a man who has forgotten to grow old. His name is Caleb, and we’ll close with this: Caleb was with Joshua, remember? When they came out of spying out the land for 40 days, he was one of them who said, «Let us go up at once! We are well able to take the land! Their defense has departed from the giants! They are bread for us»! They saw their difficulties as food. Every day, if there’s difficulty, it’s food for me because I’m connected to the living vine. There is no situation that I’ll be faced with that the Lord will not have a supply or an answer for, and even if I don’t have an answer for it, I can rest in the living vine, knowing that he’s taking care of it. I don’t have to worry about it. The devil will come to you and say, «What are you going to do about it»?
You say, «Me, moi? Not me. Go check with Jesus». If you don’t do it, it will fall! «If it fall, fall». You must have this attitude, and I gotta keep on reminding myself because it’s a battle. I was sharing with Pastor Darren, just the other day, that I even forgot my message for a while on «Live the Let-Go Life». I preached a message years ago called «Live the Let-Go Life». The more you let go, God holds. You hold, God let go. God says, «Go ahead». You let go, God holds. You hold, God let go. «Which one do you want? You want me to hold or you hold»? Let me tell you, his hand is bigger, his hand is more powerful, his hand is more loving. He sees the end from the beginning, and he knows the way ahead. Let go, all right? With all your… you cannot… anyway, back to this story of Caleb.
When he went into the Promised Land, he was 40 years old. And 45 years after, he went into the land as a spy. He is now in the Promised Land, and he came to Joshua and he said this: «Joshua, remember how the Lord preserved us»? Let’s see his own words. «Now, behold», he’s talking to Joshua, Caleb, «The Lord has kept me alive». Who has kept him alive? The Lord. So, why worry? Who will keep you alive? The Lord. You know when you switch on the radio, be careful when you switch on the radio, all right? Instead of listening to Pastor Prince, you listen to radio, okay. Sometimes you will hear an expert saying, «One out of five Singaporeans will suffer this». Switch it off because the more you create that expectancy, for a moment you forget that you are not of the world.
If that lady acted, the testimony I shared just now, like she is of the world, she will never be where she is. With the harvest that she had, the fruits, the abundant fruit of health that she had. We are in the world, but we are not of the world. The world is part of the thousand that fall, we will not fall. So, watch it when people have health bites and health this and health that in the magazine, periodicals, and many a times the health portions are actually sickness consciousness portion. You can run every day and be fit, but fit is not health. Health comes from the Lord. Strength comes from the Lord. You can be fit and not be healthy. Meditate on that.
Anyway, I’ll close with this… time. «Behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. As yet,» he told Joshua, «I’m as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me». How old was he then? Forty years old, and this old man forgot to grow old because he didn’t read the magazines that we read. He does not watch the programs that we watch. He does not listen to the radio that we listen to. He’s only conscious of the Lord and what the Lord said, and he says, «The Lord kept me alive. And I am as strong this day», and by the way, these people don’t lie, okay?
These are people under the law. They are under the law at that time, amen? I mean, it’s a sin for them to bear false witness, and he’s saying to Joshua, and Joshua can tell whether he is or not, he said, «I’m as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war and for going out and coming in». Now, I mean, he’s not saying, «It’s a spiritual strength, Joshua». It’s not like, «Joshua, I’m strong today, but you can’t see it, but it’s a spiritual strength,» all right? He’s saying, «I’m strong this day for war»! He can take anyone on. I mean, it’s a literal renewal. Just like, this is not playing games with words.
Just like Sarah at 90 years old, God, the Bible says she was past the age of childbearing, but she counted God faithful. She didn’t count herself faithful. She counted God faithful. Even when you don’t have faith, he is faithful. It is not you holding on to him. See that he’s holding on to you. If you hold on to him, you might let go; he holds on to you, never. So, when your faith runs out, rest on the faithful one. If we abide faithless, he abides faithful. So, he says, «I’m strong this day as on the day Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, for going out and for coming in». Look at the next verse. «Now therefore, give me this mountain».
At 85 years old, there was a mountain, and you know who was at the mountain? The Anakims. There were the giants, the same giants that were in the Promised Land in Jericho, the Anakims, were also at Hebron, the mountain of Hebron. It is still there, by the way, the mountain there. In fact, some of the pastors visited there last month in Hebron, the mountain of Hebron. And he says, «Give me this mountain, for you heard in that day how the Anakim,» the giants, «were there, and the cities are great and fortified. It may be the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said». And watch what happened. «Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb». That means he went in, conquered the giants, and cast them out, and the mountain became his. The world will say you are over the hill.
God’s people say, «No, give me the hill, give me the mountain,» amen. I tell you this: You will surprise yourself when you live the vine life. There will be people ten years younger than you and you are stronger than them, and they are perpetually fatigued and tired, even the youth will utterly fall, but you are kept strong. That is, if you don’t accept the lies of the devil, and the moment you start forgetting things, don’t say, «I’m getting old,» and don’t accept when doctors tell you it’s part of the aging process. In your heart, «I reject that in Jesus’s name,» amen? Even young people forget, or else all of them will excel in their exams. If only that gift is given to our children. But, people, you are different. You are connected to the living vine.
When I look at the world, it’s all dead branches, all dead branches, withered branches. When I look at you, living branch, and the devil hates it because you are a living testimony. You are bearing fruit, more fruit, much fruit, and the devil hates it, so you bring accusation. You feel that pain? See that symptom? You see you’re getting old. You feel the aches? You feel the pains? That’s what happens when you become 40 years old. You see? Notice that? Ah, you heard what the radio said just now, all right? That’s very normal for you to feel this way. You feel the hot flashes? Yeah, menopause. You see that? All I know is that we are sons and daughters of Abraham, and you are daughters of Sarah, and the Bible says you are a daughter of Sarah if you are not given to fears and hysterical, you know, fears and worries. And it says that: You are daughters of Sarah.
And I asked the Lord one time in that verse. I said, «Lord, why do you say daughters of Sarah? Why do you say daughters of Sarah and not daughters of Esther or Ruth? They are wonderful ladies». And God said to me, «Because Sarah was the only woman in the Bible who had her youth renewed and her menopause reversed,» amen, and I’ll tell you this: Just look out. You get pregnant, don’t blame me. If you keep on listening to the Word, let me just tell you this, you keep on listening to this Word, you keep on washing, washing, washing, washing, you never know what’s gonna happen, you know? You bear fruit, more fruit, much fruit, all right, please don’t come after me, okay? Praise God. Give Jesus the praise. Come on, church. Hallelujah, hallelujah.
Yes, you are the branches of the living vine, amen? Friend, it all begins with being connected to the living vine. This vine, once upon a time, was alone, all alone. But God sent him, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, a hundred percent man, a hundred percent God, God-man. As man, he came to die. Yes, friend, he came to die. He was the only baby born to die. God sent him in the body, in the likeness of sinful flesh, not in sinful flesh but in the likeness of sinful flesh, like you and I, so that he would die, and why? Because all of us have sinned against God.
All of us have turned every man to his own way. We’re like sheep gone astray. We didn’t care about a God that loves us. We didn’t care about a God of faithfulness, a God who cannot lie, a God who has our best interests at heart. We’re like sheep gone astray, and God cared for us, even when we didn’t care for him. He loved us before we knew him. It was while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Christ bore your sins, and he gave you his righteousness. He was cursed that you might be blessed. He was forsaken that God will always be with you. You’ll have God’s constant presence. He will never leave you nor forsake you. If that is you, wherever you are, and you want to be connected to the living vine, pray this prayer right now with me, and if you’re watching this by way of television, if you want this to become real in your life, say this after me from your heart, say:
Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of Jesus Christ, your Son, who died on the cross for my sins. He bore my sins that I might bear his righteousness. He was cursed that I might be blessed. He was raised from the dead without my sins, and I was raised in him, and today I sit with him at your right hand, resting, living a life of rest where Jesus does everything and all the rest. Thank you, Father. Jesus Christ is my Lord. I’m completely saved, totally forgiven, and greatly blessed, in Jesus’s name, and all the people said amen, amen, amen.
We love you, and I pray in Jesus’s name that as you look forward to us this week, you look forward with hope, confident expectation of good. The world out there won’t understand us. They think that we are just, you know, people who are greedy about money and success and that kind of thing. They do not know the beauties of Jesus that we see. Let’s be understanding towards them, let’s be patient, because many of us were damned before he saved us, amen? And go out there and share the good news with them. Lift up your hands all across this place.
The Lord bless you and your families for this coming week. The Lord bless you right now with strength and renewal of youth like the eagles. It happens right now in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. God renews every cell of your body from the crown of your head to the soles of your feet, reprogramming every defective DNA in your genes, and the Lord renew your strength like the eagles, and may you soar like the eagles. Run and not be weary. Walk and not faint throughout this week. The Lord grant you the grace to constantly abide and realize that you are just but a branch, and all the responsibilities is his. The Lord bless you, and the Lord keep you and your loved ones this week from all danger, from all accidents, from adversity, from sickness, from the powers of darkness, and from the evil one. The Lord keep you. He who guards Israel guards you and your families from all harm and evil throughout this week. The Lord lift up his face and his countenance and grant you and your families his supernatural favor and his shalom, rest, peace, strength, and health. In Jesus’s name, amen.