Mrs Titi Obishai

Today, we will talk about one of the most precious thingsJesus gave to us before leaving the earth.  That gift is JOY. 

'I am the vine, you are the branches: he who stays in Me,and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without Me you can do nothing' John15:5

Dearly Beloved, as we walk with God, I believe it is important to stop and consider what the Spirit of God is saying for the hour, allowing Him to shine His light into all areas of our lives. I believe the Lord will have us examine our relationship with Him. 

Colossians 3:12-25 Last week, we began our study on holiness. We established that holiness is expected by God from every one of His children. We also looked at sanctification; we saw that it is a process by which God removes the root of sin and sinful desires from our hearts and that sanctification is an important key to holiness. It precedes holiness. The last 2 points under our consideration in this important and inexhaustible title are:

(Hebrews 12:12).  In our journeys through life there are times we simply feel overwhelmed and exhausted. One can feel battle weary and totally out of strength. The compassion of the Lord comes out to us at times like this. It is wise to know how to deal with these times; if not for the present time, certainly you will need it in the future because these times will come to every Christian. There are three things worthy of consideration at such a time, which I have enumerated below:

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 As we enter the second half of the year of God’s manifestation, it is a good time for us to take stock and look back at where we are now and how far we have come. How much of God’s manifest presence have we experienced in our lives? The Bible records often that when Jesus visited an area, some special people got their miracles by refusing to keep quiet. They made sure they got the Saviour’s attention, even when circumstances hindered them. It is good for us to look at the following: 

'And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war'. Revelation 19:11

Last week we looked at the topic, ‘Faithful to the Uttermost’. We talked about God’s timing and the importance of staying focused. This week, God would still have us focus on this area. The Lord is exhorting His people to lift up their heads in the face of adversity, tough times and periods of delay. He urges us that delay is not denial. We will look at three sub topics:

'I am the vine, you are the branches: He that stays in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing'. John15:5 When the Lord Jesus Christ was preparing to leave the earth, he gave a description of the relationship between the believer, Jesus and God the Father. This relationship is compared to the vine, its branches and the farmer. Why would Jesus make this sort of comparison? I believe the Lord wants us to understand how dependent on him we are for our wellbeing and existence. We will go through our study in two parts:

'Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit'. Mathew 12:33