V:3 N:98

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

John 15:5-8

The original birth of the Spirit is from death to self. How do you know that you are connected to God’s Spirit and to Jesus’ Spirit? There are so many spirits out there, and someone willing to die to their desires is very vulnerable to powerful evil spirits that can take over the mind and the body. The terminology used to describe people who have been taken over by evil spirits is “schizophrenic” or “manic-depressive” or “psychotic”, etc. Everyone may have small bouts of these conditions before giving themselves fully over to God, but when someone fully gives themselves over to the evil spirits, it becomes very obvious.

So how do you know who you are connected to? The answer is by the FRUIT. Galatians 5:22-24 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.”

You also will have a growing love for God until your spirit cries out “Abba Father”. As it says in Galatians 4:6, “Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’” “Abba” is Aramaic for “father.” But even if you have been born again and have experienced this Spirit, Jesus warned in John 3:6, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” What this means is that you have to completely stay connected to the commands of Christ and of God. If you start obeying your own flesh again, then you are pushing the “disconnect” button.

So how do you stay connected? Obedience connects you to the Vine, and disobedience disconnects you from the Vine. There is no greater example than to look at how Jesus was connected to God. John 5:16-30 says, “So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.” For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.”