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John 15 -
If/Then Statements
from Doug Perry - (www.FellowshipoftheMartyrs.com)
- download printable PDF file here
God does not
change. What irritated Him then, still irritates Him now. What
pleased and honored Him then, still pleases and honors Him now. These
If/Then statements are guarantees! IF you do these things, then
He WILL do what He said He would do – sooner or later, one way
or the other. He reserves the right to manifest it in whatever way He
wants, but He WILL do it.
It's
equational. Like math. Just insert the quantity.
IF you do Behavior
X THEN Consequence Y will result. Quantity N is the only variable.BX(N)
= CY(N)
Positive Behavior
= Positive Consequence OR Negative
Behavior = Negative Consequence
Get it? Doesn't
even require faith. It's just a guarantee from God. Now, it may not
manifest like you expect or when you expect, but it WILL happen
because God's promises are good. He is faithful and just.
So here we go.
Let's look at the guarantees. (Scripture quoted from the
Amplified Version.)
John 15
1 I AM the
True Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser. Just so we're
clear who is who. God is the one doing the pruning, with whatever
tools He wants to use.
2 Any branch
in Me that does not bear fruit [that stops bearing] He cuts away
(trims off, takes away); and He cleanses and repeatedly prunes every
branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer
and more excellent fruit.
If you are
stagnant He will spew you out. He repeatedly prunes EVERY branch.
Don't think you're exempt and don't think the pruning you just went
through is the last of it! And know that the ONLY reason He is doing
it is so the you and the Vine will bear more fruit.
3 You are
cleansed and pruned already, because of the word which I have given
you [the teachings I have discussed with you]. The disciples
to whom Jesus is speaking are currently in pretty good shape. That
isn't always the case. Peter, in particular, requires additional
pruning later on.
4 Dwell in
Me, and I will dwell in you. [Live in Me, and I will live in you.]
Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being
vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you
abide in Me. Here we begin the setup for the recipe book of
conditional statements that follow. It's very important to not that
“abiding” is not at all the same as “believing
in”. It's not a one time acceptance of a truth, it's a constant
relationship. Abiding infers constant and deep symbiotic
relationship, not just an acknowledgement.
IF you remain
in ME, THEN I will remain in you.
5 I am the
Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears
much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital
union with Me] you can do nothing. Just so we're clear on who
is who. I'm the Source. You're the twig. You're the fruit bearers,
but you CANNOT do it without a constant relationship with Me. If
ANYTHING interupts the flow or nourishment from me, you will NOT be
able to bear good fruit. Just so we're clear.
IF a man
remains in Me AND I in him, THEN he will bear much fruit.
IF you are cut
off from Me, THEN you can do nothing.
6 If a
person does not dwell in Me, he is thrown out like a [broken-off]
branch, and withers; such branches are gathered up and thrown into
the fire, and they are burned. It's possible to be a
fruit-bearing branch, stop bearing fruit and be thrown into the fire.
This ought to scare the pants of off all of us!! Why else do we need
to work out our salvation with fear and trembling?! If our acceptance
of Jesus resulted in permanent, unchangeable salvation, how is this
possible? These aren't branches that stay attached to the Vine and
are refined by fire and then made useful again. The clear implication
is that these are trimmed off, hauled off and burned. There is
nothing here that indicates that it is for medicinal value and they
eventually return to the Vine. I know this disrupts a lot of people's
theology. I'd sure like somebody to tell me how else to interpret
this! Not these are not some other kind of branch that is pruned off.
These are not non-Christians. These are people that WERE connected to
the Vine and stopped bearing fruit.
IF you stop
dwelling in Me, THEN you will be cut off, hauled off and burned in
the fire.
7 If you
live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you
and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it
shall be done for you. As long as we're in relationship and
you are producing good fruit, I'll listen to you and answer you.
IF you abide in
Me AND My words in you AND they continue to live in your heart
(active and operating, not passive), THEN ask whatever you like and
I'll do it for you.
8 When you
bear (produce) much fruit, My Father is honored and glorified, and
you show and prove yourselves to be true followers of Mine. The
Vinedresser is pleased with you when you effectively accomplish that
for which you were designed. You are like the Vine when you take what
the Vine feeds you and produce that which defines the Vine. If you
produce nothing OR make olives on a grape vine, you're not pleasing
to the Vinedresser. You must do as you were designed as as the Vine
and the Vinedresser desire. You must obey THEIR design for you, not
your own plans and goals.
9 I have
loved you, [just] as the Father has loved Me; abide in My love
[continue in His love with Me]. The Vinedresser lovingly
cares for Me and I will lovingly care for You. Please don't do
anything to screw it up. Please make good fruit so nothing bad will happen.
10 If you
keep My commandments [if you continue to obey My instructions], you
will abide in My love and live on in it, just as I have obeyed My
Father's commandments and live on in His love. The
Vinedresser is pleased with Me, so He will be pleased with you if you
are like Me and do as I instruct. Make the fruit in the time and in
the way and in the proportions that I tell you to, or else.
IF you keep My
commandments, THEN you will abide in My love and live on.
11 I have
told you these things, that My joy and delight may be in you, and
that your joy and gladness may be of full measure and complete and
overflowing. I want everybody clear on the expectations and
requirements. I don't want you to have to guess about what I'm
expecting of you. This should be pretty clear. If you mangle it all
up later, don't say I didn't warn you. You will not have joy and
gladness in full measure, complete and overflowing, unless you
operate within My guidelines. You and I both have to do it the way
the Vinedresser designed it.
12 This is
My commandment: that you love one another [just] as I have loved you. Just
so we're clear. If you don't keep My commandments, I'm not going to
abide in you and you're in danger of being pruned, cast out and
burned. So please obey Me on this. Love one another, just as I love
you. What the Vine feeds you should flow THROUGH you and on to all
the other members without interruption. Don't clog up the flow and
don't add your own spin or flavor or virus to it. Just let what I do
for you flow on through you to others. If not, then you're a wart and
a cancer and you're keeping others from bearing fruit and the
Vinedresser is NOT going to be happy. Nothing personal. I love you.
I'm just saying so you're clear and there won't be any
surprises. If you try to prune parts off yourself, you're going
to be in big trouble. That's not your job. You need to love and feed
all your members and let the Vinedresser take care of the rest.
13 No one
has greater love [no one has shown stronger affection] than to lay
down (give up) his own life for his friends. This is what I'm
doing for you. I'm serving and upholding and feeding and sacrificing
so that YOU can bear fruit. For a little while I was the Vine AND the
Branches, but it was only a one-man show for a tiny sliver of time as
it was growing. Now I'm the support mechanism so that you can grow
and prosper. And I love doing it! It would sure be great if you would
be willing to do it too. Lay down your own desires and just feed and
love your members as they grow. And if they produce more fruit than
you, that's OK, that was the plan. What you don't get is that even
though I'm the Vine, when a branch gets pruned, that's part of Me too
– and I willing to let that part of Me die for the sake of the
whole. Be willing to lay down whatever is necessary for the sake of
Me or for those around you. If you do, the Vinedresser will be REALLY
happy with you.
14 You are
My friends if you keep on doing the things which I command you to do. A
reminder of verse 10. Not just producers, not just branches, but
FRIENDS if you KEEP ON doing what you are commanded. This is active
and ongoing. Constant acknowledgement, listening and obedience
results in friendship.
IF you want to
be My friends, THEN keep constantly doing what I command you to do.
15 I do not
call you servants (slaves) any longer, for the servant does not know
what his master is doing (working out). But I have called you My
friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have
heard from My Father. [I have revealed to you everything that I have
learned from Him.] You're not flying blind here, I've given
you plenty of information about what the plan is. You are partners
and team members, so long as you don't deny Me by going your own way.
16 You have
not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed you [I have
planted you], that you might go and bear fruit and keep on bearing,
and that your fruit may be lasting [that it may remain, abide], so
that whatever you ask the Father in My Name [as presenting all that I
AM], He may give it to you. I picked you, I grafted you, I
grew you, I feed you, I instruct you, all with one goal – that
you will constantly bear good fruit that is lasting AND so that
whatever you ask the Vinedresser, He will give you. We have an
open heaven over us when we don't make it about us, we abide, we obey
and we bear much lasting fruit.
17 This is
what I command you: that you love one another. Remember verse
12? I wasn't kidding. Do this or else. You CANNOT abide in me without
this. You will surely be pruned sooner or later if you don't do this.
And I'm not defining who “one another” is, but it's a lot
wider sphere than you think. For sure it includes EVERYONE connected
to the Vine. I'm talking to the whole lot of you. If ANY of you are
not loving ALL the others, you're going to be in big trouble and you
need to wonder if I'm abiding in you.
18 If the
world hates you, know that it hated Me before it hated you. You're
not alone. The more you get to be like me, the more you need to
expect this stuff.
IF the world
hates you, THEN be comforted in knowing that it hated me first.
19 If you
belonged to the world, the world would treat you with affection and
would love you as its own. But because you are not of the world [no
longer one with it], but I have chosen (selected) you out of the
world, the world hates (detests) you. This is pretty clear,
isn't it? If the world is in love with you, you need to wonder how
much you are like me. If you fit right in with them, you are a lot
more like them than you are like Me. The world cannot produce the
fruit My vine bears, so you might be in danger of pruning at any
moment. Better turn.
IF you belonged
to the world, THEN the world would love you as its own.
IF you are no
longer of the world because I have chosen you, THEN the world hates you.
20 Remember
that I told you, A servant is not greater than his master [is not
superior to him]. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute
you; if they kept My word and obeyed My teachings, they will also
keep and obey yours. You will endure what I endured if you
seek to be like me. You will not surpass me, but you should expect
the same treatment. I find that last phrase to be one of the most
depressing sentences in the Bible. Since they DIDN'T keep His word
and obey Him, we really shouldn't expect anybody will listen to us
either! Ouch.
IF they
persecuted Me, THEN they will also persecute you (assuming you're
like me).
IF they obeyed
Me, THEN they will also obey you.
21 But they
will do all this to you [inflict all this suffering on you] because
of [your bearing] My name and on My account, for they do not know or
understand the One Who sent Me. Don't be ashamed, they're
doing it because you are like Me! That's great. They would love you
if you looked like them. The don't understand the Vinedresser and how
He works – or they do and they hate the whole idea – it's
not your fault they're mad at you.
22 If I had
not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin [would
be blameless]; but now they have no excuse for their sin. Without
my voice and my commands, they could really be expected to produce
fruit at all or produce the correct kind. But now they have no
excuse. If they expect to abide, then they need to obey.
IF I hadn't
explained sin to them, THEN they would not be guilty.
23 Whoever
hates Me also hates My Father.
IF you hate me,
THEN you hate My Father as well.
24 If I had
not done (accomplished) among them the works which no one else ever
did, they would not be guilty of sin. But [the fact is] now they have
both seen [these works] and have hated both Me and My Father. They
saw miracles. They saw undeniable proof that I am who I say I am.
They have no more excuse to deny that they need to obey me. I am
greater than you and that's just all there is to it. But instead they
saw and hated both the Vine and the Vinedresser.
IF I had not
done miracles, THEN they would have an excuse to disobey – but
they do anyway – and by it show their hatred of Me and the Father.
25 But [this
is so] that the word written in their Law might be fulfilled, They
hated Me without a cause.I saw it coming. They saw it coming.
There's no avoiding it. Had to happen.
26 But when
the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor,
Strengthener, Standby) comes, Whom I will send to you from the
Father, the Spirit of Truth Who comes (proceeds) from the Father, He
[Himself] will testify regarding Me. The Holy Spirit will
explain it all later and help you hear My voice so you can produce
good, abundant, lasting fruit forever. Hang loose, it's on the
way. He will be your teacher, not Man.
27 But you
also will testify and be My witnesses, because you have been with Me
from the beginning.You will tell the world. You will be
witnesses (martureo from martus – meaning martyrs) because you
can hear Me, are abiding in Me and are obeying Me. Big fruit comes
when you are witnesses, no matter how much persecution comes, no
matter how much the world hates you, even unto death.
SUMMARY
Below is a list of
the If/Then's in this amazing chapter. These are straight from the
mouth of Jesus. These are conditional statements and promises. It is
a recipe for success and fruit bearing and a road map to know what to
expect. The thing you need to see is the equational nature of these.
They aren't just On/Off switches, they are Dials. It should be
obvious that some people bear more fruit than others? Why? Because
they did these to a greater degree, they poured out more of
themselves, they dialed it up higher. They've learned how to let
Jesus flow through them without getting in the way. They have a
bigger cup of Jesus. However you want to think about it. It's
all math, just plug in the quantities.
IF you remain
in ME, THEN I will remain in you.
IF you remain in
20%, THEN I will remain in you 20%.
IF you remain in
me ALL, THEN I will remain in you ALL.
IF a man
remains in Me AND I in him, THEN he will bear much fruit.
IF you are cut
off from Me, THEN you can do nothing.
IF you stop
receiving from Me, THEN you WILL stop growing.
IF you turn the
valve down to 50% of capacity, THEN you will grow 50% of capacity.
IF you try to grow
on your own power, THEN nothing that looks like MY fruit will result.
IF you stop
dwelling in Me, THEN you will be cut off, hauled off and burned in
the fire.
IF you shut the
valve all the way off and walk away, THEN you are in big trouble.
IF you abide in
Me AND My words in you AND they continue to live in your heart
(active and operating, not passive), THEN ask whatever you like and
I'll do it for you.
IF you do this
stuff a little bit, THEN you can ask for help with your headache.
IF you do this
stuff all the way, THEN you can ask to raise the dead.
IF you keep My
commandments, THEN you will abide in My love and live on.
If you keep some
of my commandments, THEN you are abiding SOME.
IF you want to
be My friends, THEN keep constantly doing what I command you to do.
IF you don't want
to be my friends, THEN just do some of them sometimes.
IF the world
hates you, THEN be comforted in knowing that it hated me first.
IF the world hates
you once in a while, THEN you're probably like me a little bit.
IF the world boils
you in oil and kills you, THEN you're probably like me all the time.
IF you belonged
to the world, THEN the world would love you as is own.
IF the world loves
you 40%, THEN there's probably 40% of you that's not obeying Me.
IF the world can't
tell you apart from it's own people, THEN you're probably not much
like Me.
IF you are no
longer of the world because I have chosen you, THEN the world hates you.
IF I chose you AND
you choose to let me, THEN I will make you someone the world despises.
IF they
persecuted Me, THEN they will also persecute you (assuming you're
like me).
IF they obeyed
Me, THEN they will also obey you.
IF the vast
majority ignored me, THEN don't expect any different.
IF I hadn't
explained sin to them, THEN they would not be guilty.
IF you understand
the equational nature of this chapter, THEN you need to give ALL.
IF you abide and
obey 50%, THEN the other 50% is sin and you are guilty.
IF you hate me,
THEN you hate My Father as well.
IF the world hates
me and won't receive from me, THEN they won't receive from the Father either.
IF you abide in me
70%, THEN you hate me 30% - and the Father too.
IF I had not
done miracles, THEN they would have an excuse to disobey – but
they do anyway – and by it show their hatred of Me and the Father.
IF you have EVER
seen Me work, ever heal or transform or redeem, THEN you have no
excuse – and any disobedience is hatred toward Me and the Father.
Sing it like
you mean it this time.
I Surrender All
by Judson W. Van
DeVenter, 1896:
ALL to
Jesus, I surrender; ALL to Him I freely give; I will EVER
love and trust Him, In His presence DAILY live.
I surrender ALL,
I surrender ALL, ALL to Thee, my blessed Savior, I
surrender ALL.
ALL to
Jesus I surrender; Humbly at His feet I bow, Worldly pleasures ALL
forsaken; Take me, Jesus, take me now.
I surrender ALL,
I surrender ALL, ALL to Thee, my blessed Savior, I
surrender ALL.
ALL to
Jesus, I surrender; Make me, Savior, WHOLLY Thine; Let me feel
the Holy Spirit, Truly know that Thou art mine.
I surrender ALL,
I surrender ALL, ALL to Thee, my blessed Savior, I
surrender ALL.
ALL to
Jesus, I surrender; Lord, I give myself to Thee; FILL me with
Thy love and power; Let Thy blessing fall on me.
I surrender ALL,
I surrender ALL, ALL to Thee, my blessed Savior, I
surrender ALL.
ALL to
Jesus I surrender; NOW I feel the sacred flame. O the joy of FULL
salvation! Glory, glory, to His Name!
I surrender ALL,
I surrender ALL, ALL to Thee, my blessed Savior, I
surrender ALL.
So what's it
gonna be? How far are you willing to go? What still needs to be laid down?
Could you do it now?
Maybe pray this
prayer, if you have the guts for it - (See
warning first!)
Lord, I really
WANT to surrender ALL. I really do, but I don't know how. I know I'm
not there and I'm sorry I ever held anything back. Please help me.
Please? If there is anything that stands between me and You, anything
that I love more than You, whether I realize it or not, whether I
like it or not, no matter where it came from or how long it's been
there, would You just rip it, tear it, shred it, burn it, crush it,
kill it, tear it out of my hands, even if I like it. Whatever You do,
DO NOT stop breaking me until You are finished, no matter how much I
whine. YOU have your way with me. Right now in as big as measure as I
can handle. I trust You. Please don't leave me like this, I stink.
I'm sorry I didn't pray this sooner. I love You, Jesus. Do it
now! Amen.
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