21: Bible Study With Mari - John 15

Speaker: 00:00:06

Hey, I'm your host, Mari Wagner,

and you're listening to the ever be

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podcast where faith meets lifestyle.

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I'm so excited you're here, whether you're

a new listener or a longtime follower,

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I know there's something here for you.

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Pull up a chair and listen in for

insightful real life conversations

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and actionable steps on how to claim

the full life God created you for.

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If you're a woman desiring to live

a Christ centered life in today's

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modern world, then this is for you.

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Welcome to Ever Be.

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mari-host816_2_08-07-2024_075033:

Good morning everybody.

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It's Wednesday yet again and today

I'm not recording from my house.

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Um, I also just realized I said good

morning and it is morning for me right

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now, but maybe it's not morning for you.

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And the most Catholic

thing just happened to me.

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I flipped over my Bible and literally

all of my prayer cards just fell out.

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So if you are Catholic, you

too understand, and have

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probably had this experience.

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Um, anyways, I'm not

recording from my house today.

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I don't know if you can hear it

if you're just listening, but if

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you are watching, you can see the

beautiful Caribbean sea behind me.

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I am actually on vacation

in Turks and Caicos.

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And I am recording here in the

morning, just out on the patio.

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With the warm breeze, the sun is rising.

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I mean, it's already in

the air, but it's like 7 a.

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m.

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And it's, it's got that like golden

morning light coming through.

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And the ocean is just so beautiful.

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I am just in awe, continually just

in awe of God's creation as I'm here.

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And I think being at the beach,

but I think specifically just

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like gorgeous tropical beaches

has just allowed me to see God's.

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Uh, artistry in a new way.

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I think there's so much creativity

that the Lord has that is shown to

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us through the sand and the ocean

and the sceneries, the multitude of

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sceneries that can be found near.

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The water in like near a beach, it can

have so many different, uh, looks to it.

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And right now I, the house that we're

on is on like a rocky kind of, it's

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not really a big cliff, but it's kind

of like a rocky hill with a bunch of

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like, jungle y greenery around it, like

super tropical plants, super bright

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green, and then it just drops into the

teal, teal, clear waters of the ocean

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and perfectly, perfectly white sands.

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So,

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Anyways, I'm here right now.

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Today's podcast is going to

be a little bit different.

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I'm excited.

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We're going to pray together.

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I'm going to be doing a little Bible

study, a little scripture study, um,

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on John 15, the vine and the branches.

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Now, if you know the Bible, well,

you've probably read this, but don't.

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Don't go rolling your eyes and being

like, Oh my gosh, I've already read this.

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I'm going to skip this.

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Don't skip it.

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The Word of God is alive, and if you have

read the Bible already, or if you've read

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this chapter already, promise you the

Lord has something new for you today.

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And if you haven't read much of the

Bible or much of the gospels, or maybe

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you just haven't read this specific

gospel, then I'm so excited for you to

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hear this right now for the first time.

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I would say it's a fundamental passage

that it says a lot, um, shows us a lot

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about God, how he interacts with us,

um, what he desires for us in our life

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and shows us a little bit of our world.

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Into, I think the genius behind his plan,

and I say that lightly because we could

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never know the full genius behind what

God does, why he does what he does, why

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he allows certain things in our life.

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Um, but I know that we're all often

looking for answers like that.

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We're all often trying to figure out,

God, what are you doing in my life?

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What is the purpose?

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Why are we doing this?

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Um, and I feel like this.

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passage just kind of like pulls

back the curtain a little bit.

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Um, and the Lord willed it.

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I mean, the, the, the word of

God is inspired or word of God.

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And if it's in this book, he

desired for us to know it.

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And so I think it will bring, it can

bring a lot of us comfort, um, as

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well as a little bit of tough love,

which The father is known to do

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sometimes and I think it's a good thing

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because any good father that

loves his children Has to

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give tough love at some point.

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So let's just start out in a prayer

and see what the Lord has for us today

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In the name of the Father and

the Son and the Holy Spirit.

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Amen.

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Come Holy Spirit

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come be present in this room

right now Um, be present in the

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heart of all of our listeners.

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I thank you Lord for the gift of this

daughter or son of yours that is tuning

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in and desiring to hear your word and to

grow in their faith in some way today.

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Um, please bless these desires that

we have to grow closer to you, to know

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you more, to love you better, just to

open ourselves, open our hearts, our

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lives, our minds, to welcome you in

deeper, to let you in, um, in a more

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profound way, in a more transformative

way in our lives, Lord, so much so

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that it would change who we are.

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I in the word, uh, we know that your

word is your inspired word, your living

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word, and there's always something

that you want to share with us today.

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Um, there's always something that you

want us to hear, uh, some way that

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you want to speak into our lives.

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So I just pray that you just make this

word living into our lives, that you

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make this word incarnate, um, that

we would truly hear your voice and.

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Allow this word today to transform us

today to really resonate in our hearts

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and have it be something that we can take

with us and ponder it throughout our day.

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Yes, it's all in your most holy name.

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Amen.

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Okay.

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I'm going to get comfy here.

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First of all, I'm going to put all

these prayer cards away because

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they keep floating away in the wind.

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I got my water bottle

so I can stay hydrated.

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Okay.

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So I'm going to do what the church

likes to call Lectio Divina, which

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is basically a form of Praying with

scripture and approaching scripture,

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and it means you read it several times.

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You maybe use your senses, your

imagination to kind of engage the

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scripture and maybe put yourself

in the scene or really just like

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attentively listen to each word and

see if a certain word or phrase lingers

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on your heart or resonates with you.

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Then we just kind of go into like a

more, more reflective period of the

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prayer where we kind of take those

things apart and Usually if you're

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praying with someone either a friend

or a family member or a group It would

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be a space for everybody to share.

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Right now It's just you and me and while

you can hear me, I can't hear you So

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you're just gonna get my reflection today

But if there's anything that resonates

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with you from today's prayer and scripture

study, please send me a DM You don't

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know how You Amazing it is how much I

love seeing your DMs when you listen to

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a podcast and come back and share with

me what you thought from it, what you

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got from it, how you were encouraged,

um, how you're taking it from just, you

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know, It's what you're hearing on in your

AirPods or in your car to like real life.

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So if you feel like something resonates

with you or something stood out to you

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or you have a question or you just loved

this kind of podcast today of just like

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praying together through scripture,

please drop it in my DMs and let me know.

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Okay, let's dive in.

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I'm going to, I'm going to read it.

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So this is John chapter 15 verse 1.

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And I think we're going to go chapter 15

verses 1 through 11 in the book of John.

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The vine and the branches.

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I am the true vine and my

father is the vine grower.

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He takes away every branch in me that does

not bear fruit, and every one that does

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he prunes so that it bears more fruit.

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You are already pruned because

of the word that I spoke to you.

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Remain in me as I remain in you.

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Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on

its own unless it remains on the vine, so

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neither can you unless you remain in me.

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vine, you are the branches.

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Whoever remains in me, and I

in him, will bear much fruit.

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Because without me, you can do nothing.

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Anyone who does not remain in me will

be thrown out like a branch and wither.

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People will gather them and throw them

into a fire and they will be burned.

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If you remain in me and my words

remain in you, ask for whatever you

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want and it will be done for you.

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By this my Father is glorified, that you

bear much fruit and become my disciples.

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As the Father loves

me, so I also love you.

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Remain in my love.

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If you keep my commandments,

you will remain in my love,

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just as I have kept my father's

commandments and remain in his love.

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I have told you this so that my joy may

be in you and your joy may be complete.

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Okay, so that time we read it kind of just

to get an overview, just to understand

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what the passage is about, what.

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The Lord is saying, like, what are

we actually getting in here today?

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This time I'm going to read it again.

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If you are in a space where you can just

like put down what you're doing, it's just

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sit down for a few minutes while we do

this together, I encourage you to do so.

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If you can like close your eyes and

enter into the scene, this time,

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um, put yourself in the scene where.

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Jesus is saying this to his

disciples, or he's saying this to you.

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Uh, I would love it if you could do that.

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Um, if you can't do that

right now, if you're driving,

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please don't close your eyes.

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If you're doing something else, um,

and you can't really step away from it.

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No worries.

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Just allow these words from.

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You know, scripture to sink in and to

feed your soul, to feed you in the way

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that you need to today and just allow it

to kind of resonate with you throughout

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the day and try and come back to it.

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Come try and like pray

with it throughout the day.

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If you can, if you don't have

space right now to really sit

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down, close your eyes and let

this, um, really sink in right now.

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So.

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I'm going to read it again.

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Like I said, if you're in a place where

you can just like put down what you're

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doing, close your eyes, enter into

the scene and engage your imagination.

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Um, and it's going to be different

for everybody, but just, um,

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Um, just engage your imagination

and put yourself in the scene.

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Where are you?

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Where is Jesus?

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Where is he speaking?

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How is he speaking?

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Um, and what from what

he's saying is lingering.

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I want you to notice this.

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What words from this passage do you

feel like really resonate with you?

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Do you feel like your soul

just kind of like pauses on?

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So just take note of that.

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I'll read it again.

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I am the true vine, and my

father is the vine grower.

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He takes away every branch in me that does

not bear fruit, and every one that does

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he prunes so that it bears more fruit.

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You are already pruned because

of the word that I spoke to you.

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Remain in me as I remain in you.

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Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on

its own unless it remains on the vine, so

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neither can you unless you remain in me.

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I am the vine, you are the branches.

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Whoever remains in me, and I

in him, will bear much fruit.

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Because without me, You can do nothing.

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Anyone who does not remain in me will

be thrown out like a branch and wither.

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People will gather them and throw them

into a fire and they will be burned.

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If you remain in me, and my words

remain in you, ask for whatever you

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want and it will be done for you.

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By this is my Father glorified, that you

bear much fruit and become my disciples.

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As the Father loves

me, so I also love you.

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Remain in my love.

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If you keep my commandments,

you will remain in my love,

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just as I have kept my Father's

commandments and remain in His love.

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I have told you this so that my joy may

be in you, and your joy may be complete.

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I love this passage because I feel like it

just reveals our great need for the Lord.

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This deep need that we have as

human beings, as his sons and

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daughters, uh, for our God, for For

us to be in union with him, for us

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to, like he says, remain in him.

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I know that some, um, versions of the

Bible, some translation also use the

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word abide for us to abide in him.

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And that's a very unique and specific

word that I feel like we don't

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necessarily use in like a day to day.

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We don't.

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We don't say like, Oh my gosh,

I want you to abide in me.

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You know what I mean?

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Like, it's not like part

of our common language.

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And so I think it holds

a special weight to it.

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Like, what does it mean to

abide with God, to abide in God?

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And this passage kind of just reveals

The truth of that, I mean, it says

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just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its

own, unless it remains on the vine, so

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neither can you, unless you remain in me,

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whoever remains in me and I in

him will bear much fruit because

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without me, you can do nothing.

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Oh gosh.

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I mean, as somebody who like

prides themselves sometimes on

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like how much they can get done in.

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Um, how good they are multitasking

and handling a lot on their plate and,

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you know, achieving a lot of things.

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I don't know if this is you, if you

can relate to this, but I feel like our

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culture is so obsessed with our to do

list, with productivity, with filling

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our plate, with kind of out doing each

other on how much we have going on.

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Um, this can be kind of hard to read.

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It can be kind of hard to read.

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Jesus's words that say,

without me, you can do nothing.

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Imagine just like knowing you are

powerless, knowing any of your

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efforts are a waste and mean nothing.

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Um, if not without the Lord,

that can be kind of a hard truth

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and a hard pill to swallow.

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Because if I'm being honest with

myself, There are absolutely times

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where I feel like I am trying to

do the work myself, and I'm not

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actually welcoming Jesus into it.

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I'm not actually actively

inviting Jesus into it.

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So therefore it's, it's

kind of like wasted effort.

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So I think that's the first takeaway

that we need to take from this

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passage is just that baseline

understanding of like, we are human.

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And we have a great need for the Lord.

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We are mind, body, and soul, and our

soul is a very active part of who we are.

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I think we forget that sometimes.

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I think that because our soul is

this hidden piece of us that we

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can't physically see, and a lot of

us maybe not be in tune with it.

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We kind of can easily just Push it to

the side and feel like it's not there or

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like the things that we do or don't do

don't actually affect it or don't play

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into Just our spiritual life But I want

us to keep that at the forefront and just

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realize like we're a body, mind and soul

Everything that we do in our life informs

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and Each one of those components and the

Lord wants to be present in all of it.

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He wants to be present, not just in your

prayer, but he wants to be present in

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what you physically do in your life, in

your thoughts and your hopes and your

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dreams, um, in your conversations and

your work and in all that you do and.

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And let's just remember like in everything

that we do, let's invite the Lord into it.

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Let's not try and do it ourselves.

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Let's be that fruit on the branch

because we know if a fruit falls off

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the branch before it's ripe, right?

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It dies.

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Um, so let's be that fruit on the branch.

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Let's gain our strength, our nutrients,

our knowledge, our courage, our patience,

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whatever it is, you're trying to grow in

right now or need more of in your life.

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Draw it from the source of life,

draw it from your branch, right?

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That gives you everything you

need to grow and bear fruit.

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Don't try and do it alone.

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Next thing I want to look at, that

always stands out to me, is verse 2.

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He takes away every branch in me that does

not bear fruit, and every one that does,

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he prunes, so that it bears more fruit.

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Honestly, I feel like this passage,

like, seems nice when you read it the

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first time, and then when you really dive

into it, you're like, Ah, this is hard.

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Verse 2 literally says,

like, the Father, right?

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Like, in His love, in His goodness,

He takes away certain branches.

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He cuts them off if they're dead, if

they're not bearing fruit, maybe if

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they're poisoned, if there's an illness

that's creeping up on the plant.

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Like, he does not hesitate in cutting

branches off that are not bearing fruit.

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And then, he goes even further

than that, and then, even the

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ones that do bear fruit, he prunes

so that it bears more fruit.

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Now, I'm no gardener.

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Okay.

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As much as I'd love to be, I am not yet.

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Maybe one day, but I know that pruning

means that you are Like cutting off

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certain leaves or certain flowers or kind

of like trimming the plant, even though

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it is already bearing fruit, even though

it is growing tall and strong, like

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you are cutting parts of the plant off.

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You're trimming it in order

for it to thrive more.

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And

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okay, you guys I have Google pulled

up on my phone right now and I looked

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: 00:20:19

up why does pruning help plants

grow more and First article that

297

: 00:20:24

comes up is from fine gardening.

298

: 00:20:27

com Pretty credible source in my opinion.

299

: 00:20:30

I don't know a lot about gardening, but

looks like this site does and it's called

300

: 00:20:33

the science of pruning and it says The

result of pruning is more vigorous spring

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: 00:20:40

growth from those remaining Growing

points, so I think this is talking about

302

: 00:20:44

like pruning specifically in the winter

But it's saying like think of pruning

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: 00:20:49

like holding your thumb over the end of

a garden hose With the same amount of

304

: 00:20:52

pressure, but a reduced opening you get a

much more forceful spray And then the next

305

: 00:21:00

article says by removing the apex, which I

think is like, kind of like the top part.

306

: 00:21:07

Um, pruning temporarily destroys

apical dominance and stimulates the

307

: 00:21:12

growth of lateral buds into shoots.

308

: 00:21:15

I'm going to translate this

in my very layman terms words.

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: 00:21:19

Um, but it sounds like by pruning the

top, you're almost telling the plant

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: 00:21:26

to like produce more to fill that gap.

311

: 00:21:31

Um, you're encouraging more growth.

312

: 00:21:37

And the Lord does this very

thing in our lives too.

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: 00:21:41

The Lord sometimes needs to trim

certain parts of our lives that may not

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: 00:21:46

necessarily be helping us bear fruit.

315

: 00:21:50

And then even the ways that we are, he

might be trimming them to be even better.

316

: 00:21:54

Right?

317

: 00:21:55

You might be trimming parts of us that

is growing, that is trying, that is

318

: 00:21:59

doing well to encourage even further

growth in whatever it is that we are

319

: 00:22:05

trying to strive for, to grow in.

320

: 00:22:10

And I think that we can just

relate this back to sin.

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: 00:22:13

We know that sin, um, It's

a darkness in our lives that

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: 00:22:17

pulls us away from the Lord.

323

: 00:22:19

And sometimes certain sins can

really take root in our lives, right?

324

: 00:22:23

You can almost look at it as like a

weed that's growing in the garden that

325

: 00:22:27

can slowly take over if you don't pull

it up from its root, if you don't.

326

: 00:22:32

Try and remove it.

327

: 00:22:33

It spreads and it grows stronger

the longer you let it go on.

328

: 00:22:37

I think the same goes for sin.

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: 00:22:40

And sometimes the Lord

snips these things away.

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: 00:22:44

Often times he does.

331

: 00:22:45

And so this can look differently in your

life if there's maybe Something as, you

332

: 00:22:50

know, severe as like a vice that you

have or something that's continually

333

: 00:22:54

drawing you into mortal sin like,

uh, drunkenness or premarital sex or,

334

: 00:23:00

some sort of addiction

335

: 00:23:02

be Something that is more subtle that

maybe you don't notice right away, but

336

: 00:23:06

maybe a bad relationship, a bad friendship

that's leading you away from God.

337

: 00:23:12

Maybe it's a career path

that's actually making you put.

338

: 00:23:16

Other things above the Lord are making you

change your morals or change your values.

339

: 00:23:22

Maybe it's something even smaller that

you might have not noticed before, but

340

: 00:23:25

it's a show that you're watching that's

actually making you act differently or

341

: 00:23:30

maybe you don't even realize it, but it's

kind of making you think of the world in

342

: 00:23:34

a different way, think of relationships

in a different way, think of yourself in

343

: 00:23:39

a way that's not Christ like or making you

desire things that are not Christ like.

344

: 00:23:43

These are branches that the Father

will slowly try and strip away.

345

: 00:23:49

Why?

346

: 00:23:49

Because this is just the

process of sanctification.

347

: 00:23:52

This is just journey that we are on as

human beings, quite literally, just like

348

: 00:23:56

this is the journey that we're on on earth

to be sanctified, to be stripped of sin so

349

: 00:24:02

that we can one day come face to face with

the Lord and say, I am completely yours.

350

: 00:24:08

There's nothing in this

world that has hold over me.

351

: 00:24:11

There is nothing that I am attached

to that I desire more than you.

352

: 00:24:16

My greatest desire and my

entire heart belongs to you.

353

: 00:24:19

And my greatest desire is

to be with you for eternity.

354

: 00:24:22

And while we may say that out loud,

there are things, there are layers

355

: 00:24:26

in our heart that can pull us away

from that ultimate desire of heaven.

356

: 00:24:31

And that ultimate commitment to live

a Christ centered life, to live a life

357

: 00:24:35

that is completely oriented towards

God, where you put him as a priority

358

: 00:24:40

above anything else in your life.

359

: 00:24:42

So then the second part of this

line and everyone that does, he

360

: 00:24:45

prunes so that it bears more fruit.

361

: 00:24:48

This one's tough, I feel like, um,

again, because we might continually

362

: 00:24:53

experience like, okay, Lord, I know

this is a lesson you're trying to

363

: 00:24:57

teach me and you're going through it

and you are sticking through with him.

364

: 00:25:01

And then it comes up again a few years

later, like, The same struggle, the same

365

: 00:25:06

thing the Lord's trying to teach you.

366

: 00:25:07

And you're like, Lord, I

thought we already learned this.

367

: 00:25:09

Like, I thought we already

went through this together.

368

: 00:25:12

I thought I already overcame

this sin, or I thought I

369

: 00:25:14

already learned this new virtue.

370

: 00:25:16

And like I said, the process of life,

just like the journey of life that we're

371

: 00:25:21

on is continual, pruning, continual

sanctification, continual stripping

372

: 00:25:25

away of what we know the world to be,

and continuing orienting our hearts

373

: 00:25:30

and minds and soul towards God.

374

: 00:25:33

And so, for me personally,

I'll just give an example.

375

: 00:25:37

Um, I just think of surrender.

376

: 00:25:39

I just feel like there's been several

times in my life, even though I haven't

377

: 00:25:43

experienced great, great, great suffering

throughout my life, I would say just

378

: 00:25:48

like the cross that my husband and I are

going through right now of infertility

379

: 00:25:51

is biggest suffering that I have

experienced and no, there is no question

380

: 00:25:58

that it requires so much surrender.

381

: 00:26:01

I look back into my life and I see

all the little ways God asked me

382

: 00:26:06

to surrender and sort of taught

me what surrender looks like.

383

: 00:26:11

What letting go and letting God really

really looked like that led me to this

384

: 00:26:17

moment and Not that's not to say that

I'm like living this out perfectly right

385

: 00:26:23

now But I know that once we started going

through this struggle, I kind of looked

386

: 00:26:28

up at the Lord and I was like Really?

387

: 00:26:31

We're going to do this again?

388

: 00:26:32

Like, I thought I already

learned surrender.

389

: 00:26:34

I thought I already

learned like how it goes.

390

: 00:26:37

And I even remember a few months

in, even a year in, I was like,

391

: 00:26:40

okay, I know how to play this game.

392

: 00:26:43

Like I've done it before.

393

: 00:26:45

It looks like me just going to the

chapel, opening my hands and being

394

: 00:26:48

like, okay, Lord, I surrender, do

what you will, your will may be done.

395

: 00:26:53

I will do whatever you ask.

396

: 00:26:56

And at first that was easy to say,

but it was easy to say because it

397

: 00:27:02

wasn't actually the way my heart felt.

398

: 00:27:04

Actually mean those words when

I said it, I was just kind

399

: 00:27:07

of trying to play the game.

400

: 00:27:09

And I think this is an example of

the Lord pruning even what does bear

401

: 00:27:13

fruit so that there can be further

growth, deeper faith, more trust.

402

: 00:27:19

Um, I know how to surrender.

403

: 00:27:23

I've experienced surrender in

my life time and time again,

404

: 00:27:26

in small ways and bigger ways.

405

: 00:27:29

And yet we're at a crossroads once

more, where in a very big way, the

406

: 00:27:33

Lord is asking, will you trust me?

407

: 00:27:37

Will you surrender your will?

408

: 00:27:39

Maybe you can relate to

your life in this way.

409

: 00:27:42

Maybe it's not the same kind of struggle,

but lot of people's experience like, Lord,

410

: 00:27:46

I do not know what you're doing here.

411

: 00:27:47

I do not know why you chose

me to suffer in this way.

412

: 00:27:51

I do not know how it plays into your big

plan, your overall picture of my life.

413

: 00:27:57

But within that, the Lord asks for our

trust and our surrender, no matter what,

414

: 00:28:04

no matter how big, no matter how small.

415

: 00:28:08

And that's pruning this continual journey

of surrender that I feel like I've been on

416

: 00:28:13

each time is honestly deeper and deeper.

417

: 00:28:17

And I'd be lying if I said there wasn't

growth coming from it because there is.

418

: 00:28:23

That's where what we just read on

Google that when you trim parts of

419

: 00:28:28

the plant it Spurs deeper growth it

spurs more Growth within the plant

420

: 00:28:35

because it's trying to shoot up.

421

: 00:28:37

It's trying to fill that gap It's

trying to replace what was once there,

422

: 00:28:41

but with the Lord, we hope to replace

it with something better, right?

423

: 00:28:46

so don't be surprised when The

Lord continues to trim your leaves

424

: 00:28:51

when the Lord continues to chisel

away at you, to perfect you, to

425

: 00:28:57

make you more holy, because that's

just the life that we're on.

426

: 00:29:00

And truly you can look at it in a way

that is negative, and you can look at it

427

: 00:29:04

in a way that is hard, and it is hard.

428

: 00:29:08

But it is also such a beautiful

journey, such a purifying

429

: 00:29:13

and honestly can be joyful.

430

: 00:29:16

It can be a joyful journey.

431

: 00:29:17

And I say this from firsthand

experience of what we're going through

432

: 00:29:21

right now for some reason, right?

433

: 00:29:24

Because of God's perfect plan and

the way that he has orchestrated who

434

: 00:29:28

we are as human beings, body, mind,

soul, and relationship with him.

435

: 00:29:31

This pruning that I have experienced

the past few years has brought

436

: 00:29:34

joy in the most unexpected ways.

437

: 00:29:38

Why is that?

438

: 00:29:39

Because through this experience,

I have grown, I have grown in

439

: 00:29:43

deep intimacy with the Lord.

440

: 00:29:45

I know the Lord in a new way

that I didn't know before.

441

: 00:29:51

I know his heart in a deeper

way that I didn't know before.

442

: 00:29:56

I feel like in my inability to understand

God's reasoning through things.

443

: 00:30:05

I have sort of come to a place of peace

and understanding of his heart of his

444

: 00:30:12

desire to do everything for love for us

to bring us closer to him, which is the

445

: 00:30:18

ultimate goal that we have here on earth.

446

: 00:30:22

And I wouldn't have come to these

places, I wouldn't have found this

447

: 00:30:25

depth and this joy in my relationship

with God if it wasn't for this

448

: 00:30:29

pruning that I've been going through.

449

: 00:30:31

So I just challenge you to view whatever

season of pruning you may be in, or you

450

: 00:30:36

might experience or might've experienced

in the past with fresh eyes, with new

451

: 00:30:40

eyes and recognizing that it comes

from a place of love from the Lord.

452

: 00:30:44

Okay, and the last thing that I feel like

I want to touch on it kind of circles back

453

: 00:30:47

to our first point of Remain in the Lord,

allow him to remain in you without him.

454

: 00:30:53

We can do nothing.

455

: 00:30:54

I want to talk about like, what does it

actually practically look like to remain

456

: 00:30:58

in the Lord, to abide in the Lord, to.

457

: 00:31:02

Live so closely intertwined to

the branch that you can bear fruit

458

: 00:31:07

constantly and that your whole life is

oriented towards the branch, towards

459

: 00:31:12

the Lord, towards the source of life.

460

: 00:31:15

And truly where I feel like

this comes down to is prayer.

461

: 00:31:19

Prayer is a gift that we are given.

462

: 00:31:22

To be in relationship with the Lord, to

be in a deep personal relationship with

463

: 00:31:27

the Lord, besides the sacraments, which

have a supernatural grace that brings

464

: 00:31:32

us closer to God and sanctifies us.

465

: 00:31:35

Besides that prayer is truly

the only way that we have.

466

: 00:31:42

To come to know and speak to the Lord

and be in deep relationship with him

467

: 00:31:47

So let's use it right like if this

is the main avenue that the Lord has

468

: 00:31:52

given us To be in relationship with

him to be in communion with him.

469

: 00:31:56

We need to be drawing from

that every single day.

470

: 00:31:59

We need recognizing that to abide in him,

we need to literally abide in his word.

471

: 00:32:05

We need to let our soul rest in his.

472

: 00:32:08

We need to be constantly

drawing from him, from his.

473

: 00:32:13

love from his grace, from his mercy.

474

: 00:32:17

And so this looks like daily

prayer, you guys, to abide

475

: 00:32:21

in him, to remain in him, um,

476

: 00:32:24

to experience what he says in verse 11.

477

: 00:32:27

I have told you this so that my joy may

be in you and your joy may be complete.

478

: 00:32:32

We only experience that when we are

in perfect communion with the Lord.

479

: 00:32:35

And I say perfect loosely, I

don't say perfect as in like, you

480

: 00:32:39

are sinless, you are blameless.

481

: 00:32:41

Um, you never, you know, stray away.

482

: 00:32:43

That's, that's not realistic

for our humanity because we are

483

: 00:32:47

human and the Lord knows that.

484

: 00:32:48

And he doesn't expect that.

485

: 00:32:49

I mean, perfect in.

486

: 00:32:52

A perfect will to be in the Lord,

a perfect striving to be with him.

487

: 00:32:57

It really comes down to striving.

488

: 00:32:59

Are we striving to spend time with him?

489

: 00:33:02

Are we striving to put him above

our phones, above our work, above

490

: 00:33:06

our boyfriend or girlfriend or

family, even, or spouse, like that?

491

: 00:33:10

Can he be number one in our lives?

492

: 00:33:12

And what does that look like?

493

: 00:33:13

Can we go to him and just bear our hearts

to him and invite him to bear everything

494

: 00:33:20

with us that we're going through

and invite him to have a say in the

495

: 00:33:24

decisions that we're making in our life.

496

: 00:33:26

Um, maybe just to really even just

grow in friendship and come to know,

497

: 00:33:30

like, Jesus, what is your heart?

498

: 00:33:32

Like, who are you?

499

: 00:33:33

Who are you?

500

: 00:33:33

Who are you in my life?

501

: 00:33:35

Who do you want to be in my life?

502

: 00:33:37

The more that we.

503

: 00:33:38

Seek him out and go to him daily,

the more you're going to feel.

504

: 00:33:43

His presence in your life, the more

you're going to acknowledge his work

505

: 00:33:47

in your heart and the more your eyes

are going to be open to the way that

506

: 00:33:50

the Lord is working in your life.

507

: 00:33:51

I think that's a misconception a lot

of us have of like, Oh, well, like God

508

: 00:33:55

just doesn't really work in my life

the way he does and other people are

509

: 00:33:57

like, I don't really like see these

like God winks or like God coincidences.

510

: 00:34:02

These are just different terms

people use, um, to describe how

511

: 00:34:06

God is working in their life.

512

: 00:34:07

And some people might just be

like, well, those things just

513

: 00:34:09

don't really happen to me.

514

: 00:34:11

I would argue.

515

: 00:34:13

That if you are not in prayer with

the Lord, if you are not seeking a

516

: 00:34:18

relationship with him through prayer every

day, yeah, it's really hard to see the

517

: 00:34:22

way he's working in your life because.

518

: 00:34:24

You don't know him well enough to

recognize how he works in your life,

519

: 00:34:29

and it's going to look different

in different people's lives.

520

: 00:34:31

The way that he works in your

friend's life might not be the

521

: 00:34:33

way that he works in yours.

522

: 00:34:35

And until you get to know him and how he

wants to reveal himself in your heart and

523

: 00:34:40

in your life, you won't see it outwardly.

524

: 00:34:45

So prayer, you guys, I think this goes

back to prayer time and time again.

525

: 00:34:49

Um

526

: 00:34:50

and doing so will Allow you to bear much

fruit because we can't continue union

527

: 00:34:56

with him in communion with the Lord and

not bear fruit That's just impossible.

528

: 00:35:02

Like once you experience what the

effects of being united to Christ in

529

: 00:35:09

your life, the effects of trying to

orient every part of your life towards

530

: 00:35:14

Christ and starting your day with

prayer and rooting your life in prayer

531

: 00:35:20

in God and relationship with God.

532

: 00:35:23

You can't not bear fruit when you do that,

because the Lord himself is fruitful.

533

: 00:35:29

The Lord himself is abundant

and is an overflowing spring

534

: 00:35:34

of life and love and grace.

535

: 00:35:37

And it pours forth into those who seek it.

536

: 00:35:40

It pours forth into those who are

drawing from him as the source of life.

537

: 00:35:46

I hope that this was

encouraging to you guys.

538

: 00:35:48

I hope that this was a nice break

in your day to actually spend some

539

: 00:35:53

time in prayer and in the word.

540

: 00:35:56

And

541

: 00:35:57

I hope that you can take

what you heard today.

542

: 00:35:59

Into your life into your day throughout

the day and just let it resonate

543

: 00:36:04

with you and kind of continue to chew

on How am I abiding with the Lord?

544

: 00:36:09

How am I trying to do things with

him or maybe without him in what

545

: 00:36:14

ways is the Lord asking me to?

546

: 00:36:16

Further be pruned or to cut off certain

branches in my life that are not

547

: 00:36:20

bringing me good that are not bringing

me fruit Take these and Reflections and

548

: 00:36:26

questions into prayer, into your life.

549

: 00:36:28

And just allow the Lord to speak into it.

550

: 00:36:31

Just notice the way that he

is working in your heart.

551

: 00:36:33

Notice the way that your heart feels

after this time of prayer together.

552

: 00:36:37

Um, and just invite him to continue to.

553

: 00:36:40

Reveal himself to you to continue

to reveal maybe what specifically in

554

: 00:36:45

your life he's trying to point you to.

555

: 00:36:48

This has been fun.

556

: 00:36:48

You guys, this has been such a

different type of podcast today,

557

: 00:36:51

but it's been a blessing for my

morning to start it out in the word.

558

: 00:36:54

And I hope that it's been a blessing to

your day, whether you're hearing this

559

: 00:36:58

in the morning, in the afternoon, in the

evening, um, whatever it might be for you.

560

: 00:37:01

Um, I just pray that it was a blessing.

561

: 00:37:03

And with that, um, I'm going to go

have a wonderful beach day today.

562

: 00:37:07

I hope you have a wonderful day

and we'll see you next week.