Jesus is the key to success in all things!

I want to thank the LORD for the privilege to share this Bible study with you because it is truly an honor to be used by Him in this way. Thank you Father, Bless this study in Jesus precious name, Amen! Turn with me in your Bibles, please, to the book of John 15:1-10, and let’s read it together:


I am the true vine, and My Father is the Husbandman. Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples. As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you: continue ye in My love. If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His Love.

The LORD is teaching us many things here in this portion of scripture, but the obvious should be that the key to success is the stay connected to Him, because He is the source of all things would. In John 1: 10 the Bibles says: He (that is Jesus) was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. And Ephesians 3:9 says: God created all things by Jesus Christ. You see Jesus is the thread that holds together the fabric of our universe, and He is the generator that supplies the power to all things. So how could a man or a woman function without the Christ? Can the lamp in the room glow unless it’s plugged in first? Can the gas stove be lit unless it’s connected? Can the washer be filled with water without being hooked to the pipe? This is why so many people are so unhappy because they’re trying to function without being connected to the source. The Prophet Jeremiah realized how bad man needed God. This is why he wrote in Jeremiah 10:23: O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walks to direct his steps. The Bible tells us in the book of Proverbs 14: 12: There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

You see there is no man who can keep himself from aging and dying. This and this alone should be proof enough that we need God. Death is a sad thing last time I checked! No one is happy about losing someone they love! Unless they know that person received Jesus Christ. Death is a heavy burden to bear. But those who know the Lord Jesus understand that death is nothing but a door; a door in which we all must enter to get to the other side. The Apostle Paul tells us in Hebrews 9:27: It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment. Paul also tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:10: For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. But death isn’t the only reason we need Christ. We also need Him to help us with the struggles we face in everyday life. This is why Jesus said in Matthew 11: 28-30: Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light. You see man has set up one government after the next, trying to do what only God can do, and that is to bring peace to this world full of confusion, sorrow, and suffering. It amazes me how man tries to exclude God from the decision making process, and yet still can’t comprehend why he doesn’t succeed. Well, it’s just like the prophet Isaiah said so many thousands of years ago, it is not in man that walks to direct his steps.

Tell me, who here on this earth is wiser than the Creator? The prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah 40: 13 -16: Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being His counseller hath taught Him? With whom took He counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of judgment, and taught Him knowledge, and shewed to Him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, He taketh up the isles (islands) as a very little thing. And Lebanon is not sufficient for a burnt offering, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering. All nations before Him are as nothing; and they are counted to Him less than nothing, and vanity.

You see the fact of the matter is this until people acknowledge God for who He is; they will never have any peace. And not only that, they will grow old and one day die, and if they haven’t accepted Jesus as Savior they’re going burn in hell. The Bible tells us at Proverbs 13: 13: Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded. You see Jesus is the only hope for man, and what many fail to realize is that God doesn’t need us. The fact of the matter is we need Him! In Acts 17: 24, 25 the Bible says: God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, seeing He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things.

You see it is the LORD who provides all things! There are some people who think when we gather here in the sanctuary that they’re doing God a favor. Well, according to Acts the Lord doesn’t dwell in temples made with man’s hands; neither is He worshipped in that way.

Jesus said in John 4:24 that: “God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” That means to worship Him without the effect of any visual aid, and to worship Him the way He says to worship. You see the Samaritan woman Jesus was speaking with thought worshipping God had something to do with a certain place, but we are suppose to worship God all the time. There is no one place to worship the Lord; neither is there a certain time or day. God deserves our praise all the time, and those who think otherwise. Got it wrong! The Bible clearly teaches that worship is a 24 hour a day, 7 days a week thing. In Revelation 4:8 the Bibles tells us the four beasts around God’s throne: Rest not day or night, saying, “Holy, holy, holy, LORD God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” This is why the psalmist wrote in Psalms 150:1-6: Praise ye THE LORD. Praise GOD in His sanctuary: Praise Him in the firmament (expanse) of His power. Praise Him for His mighty acts: Praise Him according to His excellent greatness. Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet: Praise Him with the psaltery and harp. Praise Him with the timbrel (or drum) and dance: Praise Him with stringed instruments and organs (pipes). Praise Him upon the loud cymbals: Praise Him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let every thing that hath breath praise THE LORD. Praise ye THE LORD.

You see true worship of God in a constant thing and God deserves it because He made all things. In Revelation 4:11 the twenty elders say in heaven: Thou art worthy, O LORD, to receive glory and honour and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created. Like I said before God doesn’t need us, we need Him! In Psalms 50: 10- 12 the Lord says: For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are Mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is Mine, and the fullness thereof.

So here God tells us all things are His, and that if He was hungry He wouldn’t come to us. People need to understand that God isn’t some sickly old grandfather sitting in some lonely nursing home in heaven, saying, “Now, now children. Please be good!” God is not in heaven saying, “Let’s make a deal!” God is up in heaven saying, “This is the deal!” And there are some in the Church who think they have obtained some kind of special favor with the LORD. You see there are some who believe that their money will get them into heaven. Well, I hate to be a party pooper, but that just isn’t so. You see God isn’t impressed with riches! He says in Haggai 2: 8: The silver, and the gold is Mine. So tell me, how can we give God something He already owns? And besides, riches can’t save us anyway. If money could get you into heaven then all the rich would go to heaven and all the poor would go to hell. The Bible teaches that the poor are favored over the rich because the wealth of the wealthy in most cases is their God.

In Matthew 19:21- 24: There was a rich young ruler who asked Christ what he needed to do to have eternal life. And when Jesus said keep the commandments. He said, “Which?”So Jesus named a few, and he said, “I’ve kept those since my youth up: what lack I yet?” Jesus said unto him, “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come and follow me.” But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto His disciple,“Verily, I say unto you, that a rich man shall; hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” So why did Jesus say this? Proverbs 10:2 tells us why! It says: Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death. You see in many cases the wealth of the rich is obtained by illegal means, and if their riches weren’t obtained by “Hook or Crook?” We have another scripture in Proverbs 11:4 which says: Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.

You see God is not going to judge us based on our worldly goods. God is going to judge us according to how we’ve lived our lives, and whether or not we have received His Son Jesus’ sacrifice, when He shed His precious blood for us at Calvary. John 3:16 -18 says: For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. You see there’s only one way for us to be saved, and that’s through God’s Son the Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 4:12 says: Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. In John 8:12 Jesus says: “ I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” In John 10: 9 Jesus said: “ I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” In John 10:11 Jesus said: “ I am the good Shepherd: the good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep.” In John 11:25, 26 Jesus said: “ I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.” (that is, the second death because it is appointed unto all men to die once.- Hebrews 9:27).In John 14:6 Jesus said: “ I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” This is why in John 15:5 Jesus said: “ I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.” Now let’s break down John 15: 1-10. In John 15:1 Jesus says: I am the true vine and My Father is the Husbandman. And what Christ was saying here in the same thing He had Paul write in 2 Corinthians 5: 17-21: Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

In John 15:2 He says: Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. You see we were called to labor in the vineyard; God expects us to produce fruit. Our job is the make disciples until the Lord of the harvest comes. This is why in Matthew 28: 19, 20, Jesus says: Go ye therefore, and teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

In John 15:3 He says: Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you! What did Jesus mean by this? We find our answer in Psalms 119:9 which says: Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to Thy word. And in 1Timothy 4:14, 15 we read: Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

Then in John 15: 4 Jesus says: Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. This is why the Apostle Paul said in Philippians 4: 13: I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. You see Paul relied solely on Jesus as his source of strength and because he did God was able to use him to his fullest potential. It was Paul he used to take the gospel to the Gentiles, and establish churches all throughout their land. It was Paul he transported to heaven, and used to write the majority of the New Testament. God wants to use us to do great things!

In John 15: 5 Jesus says: I am the true vine ye are the branches: He that abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing. Colossians 1: 16, 17 says: For by Him (that is, Jesus) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him and for Him; And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.

Then Jesus says in John 15:6: If a man abides not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. Psalms 9:17says: The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all that nations that forget God. What Jesus is saying here is without Him not only will we die as a men or women. We will also die as souls in hell. This is why he said in Matthew 10:28: And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

You see the body and soul are two separate parts of a man or woman. The body is the house of the soul, and the soul is who you ready are. It’s the soul (which is who you ready are ) that will be judged in Ezekiel 18:4 God says: Behold, all souls are Mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is Mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. You see the death of the soul will take place in the lake of fire, that’s why the Bible calls it the second death (Revelation 20: 6, 14). Jesus then says in John 15:7: If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. In Deuteronomy 6: 6, 7 the Bible says: And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walketh by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou riseth up. James 1:22 says: But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only deceiving your own selves. Romans 2:13 says: For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. And 1 Peter 3:12 says: For the eyes of the LORD are over the righteous and His ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the LORD is against them that do evil. If we want the blessings of God we must be obedience because God will not bless us if we don’t obey. Psalms 66:18 says: If I regard iniquity in my heart, The LORD will not hear me.

Then in John 15:8 the Lord says: Herein (in this) is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples. In John 14: 12 Jesus said: Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father. The reason Christ made this statement is because he only preached to those in Jerusalem, but we are to preach to the entire world. You see Jesus was like a match that was thrown into a forest, and once the fire started it spread throughout the earth.

Jesus then says in John 15: 9: As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you: continue ye in My love. In John 13: 34, 35 the Lord said: A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye love one another. You see true Christians have love for one another, and not the kind that’s just words, but the kind that can be seen. You see love is not necessarily what you say, but love is what you do.

Next the Lord says in John 15: 10: If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love. 1 John 2:4-6 tells us: He that saith “I know Him,”and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not is him. But whoso keepeth His word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him. He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. Luke 4:46 Jesus said: And why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? 1 John 5:3 tells us: For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous (burdensome). Romans 13: 8-10 says: Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, “Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet;” and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

I truly hope that you study these scriptures and meditate upon them, asking the Father in the name of Jesus for His Spirit to help you understand this lesson. May the good Lord bless you and keep you all your days upon the earth
God bless you!


Your Brother-in-Christ!
Minister Barton Aaron Porter