Author: Ekko Church

Jesus says that He is the true vine and we are His branches.

“If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.” (John 15:5-6)

Often we read passages like this and feel the pressure.

We are commanded to be fruitful, and Jesus continues by saying,

“…my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful…”

Whether we are fruitful or fruitless, there will be a cut.

So often we feel unqualified. We fear that we will be cut for being fruitless. What if we can’t produce anything of worth?

Like Moses when God calls him to lead God’s people out of slavery, we think God chose wrong.

We believe we are the wrong kind of branch.

But the truth is, we are all the wrong kind of branch. We have all been disconnected. In Isaiah 59, it is written that “iniquities have separated you from God.” All of us are sinners and have been disconnected from the Vine.

It is only by His grace that we have been grafted in.

Like the Samaritan woman at the well, the most unlikely branch, she abides and connects with Jesus and produces lasting fruit: she ministers to the whole town about Jesus!

This is not an anomaly. Jesus regularly qualified and dignified the most discarded and disrespected branches in society. And He bore fruit through the most unexpected and undervalued branches because He is the true Vine.

In the Gospel of Luke, Mary sat at His feet and listened to what He said. When Martha, her sister, rebukes her, Jesus responds with, “Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

“…think of the shock to his followers when Jesus not only allowed Mary of Bethany to sit at his feet and learn (in the posture typical of rabbinic students), but even encouraged her to do so…”

— Alice Mathews, Gender Roles and the People of God

Because Mary chose to believe in Jesus and sit at His feet, she abided in Him. She even anoints Jesus for burial (John 12:1-3).

She is the first to witness and see the risen Lord and the first to be commissioned and sent out to tell others about the resurrection (to the disciples). ‣ Jewish Rabbinic Law stated that 100 women testimonies didn’t even equate to 1 man’s testimony. But Jesus still used her to preach the Good the News of the Resurrection first! That’s how much He believes in being the Vine!

She soon became known as the “Apostle to the Apostles” in Church History!

She may have been the first to influence and inspire other women who came behind her.

During this time, women were often: the wrong gender, had the wrong economic status, the wrong education, were the wrong fit.

What did these women do that made them so fruitful?

They remained in Jesus.

Because Jesus is the True Vine, we are able to practice His commands:

12 | Practice Secret Disciplines
“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:1–18).

17 | Ask, Seek, Knock
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7–8).

39 | Love the Lord
“Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.” (Matthew 22:37–38)

44 | Love the Way I Loved
“If you love me, keep my commands… My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. This is my command: Love each other.” (John 14:15, 15:12,13, 17)

47 | Baptize My Disciples
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…” (Matthew 28:19).

48 | Receive God’s Power
“I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49).

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You can listen to the sermon I AM the Vine from the I AM series that inspired this post here.

All images and materials are copyright protected and are the property of EKKO Church unless otherwise noted and credited to their maker. Please do not copy or distribute without permission.

In the gospel of John, Jesus tells us that He is going to prepare a place for us in His Father’s house. He says, “I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” (John 14:1-7)

But we often mirror the question of Thomas when he responds with, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

Sometimes we feel lost and disoriented.

We doubt ourselves and wonder if we actually know the way or whether we’re on the right path.

But Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life.”

Jesus is not only the Light that illuminates the path, He is the path.

Jesus not only guides us, but he accompanies us.

We are no longer lost and alone.

Len Sweet says it like this in Jesus Manifesto, “In all the religions and philosophies of the world, a follower can follow the teachings of its founder without having a relationship with that founder… the teachings of Jesus cannot be separated from Jesus Himself.”

Ekko believes Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. And because of this, we can follow Him no matter how narrow the path or arduous the journey. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life, therefore, we can submit to Him and trust His direction. Where He leads, we will follow.

Because we believe He is the Way, the Truth and Life, we can follow His leadership and practice these commands of our Lord: 1, 2, 5, 15, 19, 25, 29.

1 | Repent
“From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matthew 4:17).

2 | Follow Me
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” (Matthew 4:19).

5 | Honor God’s Law
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:17).

15 | Judge Not
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:1–3).

19 | Choose the Narrow Way
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13–14).

25 | Take My Yoke
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28–30).

49 | Make Disciples
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19–20).

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You can listen to the sermon I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life from the I AM series that inspired this post here.

All images and materials are copyright protected and are the property of EKKO Church unless otherwise noted and credited to their maker. Please do not copy or distribute without permission.