Discerning between the promise and the command

The bible stated in John 15:1-5..

I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 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. 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. “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.

Some preachers like to interpret this verse in the way that if you do not bear fruit, you will be cut away. As a result of that people go away feeling condemned, thinking that they are not good enough because they are not bearing enough fruit. I believe that verse is misinterpreted. The focus was never on the fruit. If we are so focused on the fruit all the time, the fruit becomes the idol. If a focus is continually on growth, or success, then if you are not careful..you make growth and success to be the idol. I believe that was never God's intention.

The words, "takes away" or in some other versions "cut off" in the Hebrew meaning is really "lifted up". In Israel's vineyards, when a branch is not bearing fruit, the branch is lifted up to a higher position so that it can be exposed to more sunlight and bear fruit. That is the proper translation of the words "cut off". There would be preachers around that would say that you need to bear fruit, and use the negative experience of being cut off as a tool to get you to work harder. But that is not scriptually accurate. Therefore people who say things like we need to chop off those unfruitful has got it all wrong. Those unfruitful Jesus will lift up and edify so that they can be fruitful as you abide in Him.

We need to discern between the promise and the command. The promise is "bear fruit" and the command is "abide in me". As you abide in Jesus, you would bear fruit in the right season and at the right time. Therefore you are not working for the promise, but rather you are entering into a promise. We make bearing fruit to be a law, a system of rules and regulations if we focus that as the command. We turn the gospel of salvation upside down by saying that you need to bear fruit to be qualified. These are erroneous teachings that put people into bondage. 

Therefore in the same way, we are not blessed because we give to God but we are already blessed by God. This was the Abrahamic promise that was given thousands of years ago. A will once it is given, in this case a covenant, cannot be nullified. Therefore you are not working for the promise of the blessing but you are entering into that promise. 

In the right season, at the right time you will enter into these promises.

 

 

Xue 'en

pictures!

here's some pics to spice up the new blog!

felicia's 1st post!

Felicia here! my first post!
hey guys! jus wanna tell u that i've read all the posts but i cant figure out who wrote what! lols! so pls leave ur name behind after u post sth. ( dont know who say te mick's eatplugs thing). lol random but funny kinda. haha..and i cannot see the tagboard and links of our blogs. i keep refreshing but nth appear, is it suppose to be visible?

of all the posts, i love chorlin's story on spca dog! the biogrraphy or biblography of the dog ida is simply so touching! i wanna visit someday too! although i keep saying wanna go, didnt go. but pls chorlin, arrange wiv me a day when u r gg. so that i can join u after my sku on weekdays =D

wanna visit ida! maybe our cg can be a blessing by commiting ourselves to spca weekly? and also, we can "adopt" an elderly home and commit ourself to help and talk to the elderly there weekly =) i dont know which home to go to, anyone got ideas, pls suggest =)

im sick today and ytd. got flu so stayed home the wholeday. kinda bored cus i keep slping..

btw me xue en birthday coming! donno who still ask when's xue en bday ah.. its 16th! after that is chorlin's amd more...heard frm my mom that today's srv with dr niko was a loooooong one. didnt went wiv my mom so as to join u guys tmr! =)

bs is open to reg now!! pls log on to chc.org.sg to reg for ur various bs. weekdays oso got! every wed 7.30pm at riverwalk. i suggest all of us sign up. this is a great chance for us to meet during weekdays to fellowship and catch up! =D  every wed b4 bs we could fellowship and eat. and after bs can go home tgt. =)

btw for those who are still schooling like melvin,mick,grayson,eugenia,sam, chin hee, qi yin, ajay and vincent, here's a little encouragement for u guys! i know chorlin, chormay and bob r gg to poly soon and now no need to study, but u guys can read too. its quite inspiring that eugenia ask me to write one copy for her, so as to remind her to study hard and well for God. i learnt all these in my sku during a mini biblestudy given by an ex senior. she come back every fri frm (singapore youth for christ council) to give bs to me and the rest. anyway, here goes!

STUDYING IS FOR GOD TOO

- we are christians by chance students, not students by chance christians.

( therefore we must bear in mind that school is just a little portion of our life, our life is not build upon sch life, our life is made for God, to glorify him. while we are in sku, we study hard so as to glorify him, to glorify his creation! )

-studying is a God-like activity.

(cus God is a magnificent engineer who created all things on earth, we study to be more like him, an engineer)

-do ur best! let God do the REST!

-don't adopt a compartmental life

(compartmental = in church having this "holy- attitude", but out of church, another attitude. only when in church then love God. Love God all days of ur week not onli on sunday! xD )

-process matters, results is only the bonus.

(even thou u wana get to ur goals, the result, but bear in mind that process of ur hardwork matters too, as God looks at it)

-think about how God look at u, rather than how other ppl look at u

-have a spirit of excellence

(adopt this spirit an excel in wadeva u do to glorify Him)

-if u honour Him, He will honour you!

(honour his works; creation of studies by studying well, and he will honour u and bless u )

-God deserves OUR best

(thats why we study hard cus He deserves our hardwork)

-all things are created BY him and FOR him!

-CHRIST IS THE SOURCE OF ALL WISDOM!

( therefore when u are afraid of ur tests, bear in mind that christ is the source of all wisdom, pray and receive it from Him. infact, He knows alot better than ur teachers! why be afraid of ur teacher and subjects at times? fear God!)

i hope these encourages all of u to study hard for God! even thou u felt that u did badly in ur studies and it turns out to be unexpected, rmb that God looks at the process. results is the bonus.

but no matter wad, still study hard. give it ur best! :) CHEERS!
-felicia-

Note, please...

For this week's Cell Group Meeting, is going to Little India, Tekka center, to eat!
It is going to be pretty fun, I think.



We will be meeting at 7.45pm at Little India station!
Xueen has found a great spot to eat some spicy Indian food!
But those who cannot take the heat, NO WORRIES,
there would be others to choose from!



Let's go and make this party a day we cannot forget!

A story to be told.

Ajay, latest member of N411 btw, told me a story.
It set me wondering for awhile.
So, I will tell to you, Well, summarise it.
It is pretty long.


A man, also known as a very wise prophet, lived in satisfaction. One day, he thanked God for letting him be the wisest man on the earth. But, to his horror, God replied," You are not the wisest." And He told him in order to find him, get a bucket full of water, and the moment it is lost, he will be there.

The wise man was jealous and angry, but he knows that in order to BE that wisest person is to learn from the man himself. And so, he began his quest. After tedious searching, the prophet and his servant stumbled upon a beautiful beach, but due to the important task, they left in a hurry. But they found out the bucket was left back at the splendid beach, so they hastily returned. Beside the spilled water bucket was a man with long white mane and beard. He was in robe was snow white as his hair. The only contrast was dark complexion.

" W-wise man?" The prophet said in between heavy pants. The man simply nodded. He immediately went to his knees, knowing he was losing his dignity in front of his servant. " Please be my master!"

" I will be," The man's voice was withered and tired. " But you must not question whatever I do. By the third time, you will NOT be my student anymore." After all agreements was established, they continued their journey.








will be finishing it soon............