The Vine & the Branches

Gospel John 15: 9-17

Tonight’s Gospel is a continuation of last week Gospel. Tonight Gospel was also repeated at least two times during the week both on Thursday & Friday. The message is an important one.

Last week Jesus told us that “He is the vine, God is the vinedresser, we are the branches”. If we break away from the vine, we wither and die, God cuts away , collect & thrown into the fire. If we remain in Him, we live & produce fruits and we will have life to the fullness.

How do we know that we are evidently remaining or in union in HIM and in His Love? When we keep His commandments. “Love God and one another”.

When we are in union with him i.e. like a branch remaining in the vine, we receive from Jesus the effect of the union.

Tonight, Jesus tells all of us, who He calls HIS friends, the effect of the communion with HIM. My friend, if you remain in me & my love, keeps my commandments, you will have my JOY, a JOY that is complete. Jesus talked of JOY, the JOY of making an absolute & complete submission in love to our Father God for the sake of mankind. Just as there is a kind of joy in giving a gift to a friend, so there is a joy in giving one life’s for humanity.

In addition of Joy, a second effect of union with him would be Love.

Love is the normal relation of branches to one another, because all are rooted in the vine. There are no limits to His Love. Not 7 times but 77 times that we should forgive, meaning no limit. Though Jesus called those for whom He died “friends,” the friendship was all on His side and not on ours, for as sinners we were enemies. “He died for us while we were still sinners.” We cannot claim any merits. No merits can justify our salvation. It is God’s Love for us that justify our redemption. He loves us. He chose us first. So tonight, he commissioned us to go forth and bear fruits, fruits that will last.

TONGUE

Mark 7:32-37 Healing of the Deaf man

What is Jesus telling us tonight.

When I was preparing for tonight introduction, I was in front of my desktop, figuring out what is the message. So, I googled “A Deaf man who had an impediment in his speech.” The search result showed 56,300 suggestions on this topic. This is way too difficult!

So, I asked myself, How does “A Deaf man who had an impediment in his speech” operate? So, I concluded two simple understanding. First, it will be complete silence and solitude. Second, hearing problem & speech problem are connected. This deaf person’s speech impediment is probably due to the result of his deafness. We can imagine, a deaf person also having problem speaking.

So, my question is this: What about a spiritually deaf person, will he also have problem with his tongues?

Interesting what Jesus did with this deaf man “He took him aside in private, away from the crowd” before he did anything to the person. So, is Jesus showing us the way here?
Now, we may not have hearing & speech impediment. Physically we are all OK. What a blessing we have received from God. But, what about spiritually? Can we hear the words of God in our lives? Are the words of God dwelling inside us? Filling us out fully? Thus, whatever that we utter from our tongue glorify his name.

Perhaps not……… So what do we need to do? Tonight Jesus shows us the way, Yes, Jesus is literally showing us the way….. “We need to allow Jesus to take us in private, away from the crowd” Then, he will put his words in our ears and touched our tongue with spittle.

In this noisy world, we need to recognize the gift of deafness because in that silence and solitude, away from the noise of the world, our soul is then tuned to the voice of God. The voice of God has the mighty power of healing and curing all of us.

Christopher West: "The Playboy and The Pope"

This Theology of the Body is an Amazing Grace from our Almighty God!

The Parable of the Vine John 15:1-8

Tonight, in Jesus farewell discourses, in the Gospel of the parable of the vine, we are reminded that the vines signifies Jesus inseparable oneness with his own, who through him and with him are all “vine”, and whose calling is to “remain” in the vine.

What a gift it is to be the branches that belong to the true vine. But, this gift also demands constant pruning. Prune, fruit, remain – these are three key words for this drama of being in and with the son in the vine.

The goal of "Prunning" or purification is fruit. What type of fruits does Jesus expect from us? He expects grapes, and thus choice wine, from his vine. The vine is therefore meant to bear choice grapes that through the process of picking, pressing and fermentation will produce excellent wine.
Jesus discourse on the vine is pointing to the new wine that he had already been prefigured at the wedding at cana and which he now gives to us – the wine that would flow from his passion, from his love. Jesus is pointing to the Eucharist. It refers to the fruit that Jesus brings forth: his love, which pours itself out for all of us on the cross and which is the choice new wine destined for God’s feast with man. So, the fruit that the Lord expects of us is love – a love that is expressed through the “suffering”, “purification”, cross, the self giving of oneself – in preparation for the kingdom of God.

So, the process of pressing and fermentation is like the process of purification. It is painful. The process produces choice wine. The fruit is Love. The true fruit is the love that has passed through the cross, through God’s pressing & fermentation.

And through all this process of purification, “remain” is the third key word. The word occurs 10 times from verse 1-10. It means perseverance, steadfastness & patience. This is the way to produce good wine. If the fruit we are to bear is Love, we shall remain in him, clinch to him, do not let go..... Jesus knows that we are too weak to remain in him so HE also asks us to Pray... you may ask what you will, and you shall get it.

Let us all stand and listen to the Gospel.

The Final 4 Interviews with Prof Morrie by Ted Keppel

The Return of Prodigal Son by Rembrant

I first met Dr Jeffrey Goh & Angie during the Lenten period in the year 2006 when the husband & wife team, co-facilitated a Lenten Retreat session with Archbishop John Ha at the Sibu Diocesan Pastoral Centre. The Retreat was entitled "The Return of the Prodigal Son". That retreat's title I did not realise then, also began my own conversion story. That's also the reason why both Dr. Jeffrey & Angie are very dear to my heart. Both of them are really a champion team winning a lot of soul for our Almighty Father God.

I have since then attended another two retreats by Jeffrey and Angie, "Living the Gospel" on the final quarter of 2008 and the most recent one entitled "Biblical Spirituality for Married Couples" which ended yesterday. I love this Champion Couple. Dr. Jeffrey speaks with so much biblical insights and living testimonies that helps lay people to better understand, relate and apply the learning in their lives.

Dr Jeffrey Goh was once a lawyer, not just any lawyer, a big one, having big law firm in the thriving city of Kuching. He gave up this little kingdom in this world that he had built and dedicated his fulltime services to building the kingdom for our Almighty Father God. Despite being a very learned intellectual having deep knowledge and insight in law, Sacred Theology and Canon law, Jeffrey and Angie remain so humble and loving. The Champion couple is truely a living testimony.









In my own business, I have been organising training & seminars for corporations for the past seven years. In that business environment, I came across many trainers & speakers and promoted a handful of trainers, speakers or facilitators. Dr Jeffrey Goh truely belong to the international league, this gifted teacher of faith works for the Almighty God.

It has been three years since the first time that I met this loving couple. Reflecting back, I marveled at the amazing Grace & blessing that our Father in Heaven has bestowed upon me & my family. I thank & Praise God for his love for me, Grace, Karen and Samuel. I thank God Almighty for using so many different people in guiding me back to HIM. I especially want to thank these two angels that God sent, Dr Jeffrey Goh and Angelina Lim, for playing a decisive role in my journey home to our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you "Jeff & Angie". May God Bless both of you & your daughter, Lena abundantly.

PRAISE THE LORD!

INTERVIEW WITH PROF. MORRIE by Ted Keppel (First 5 parts) - "Tuesday with Morrie"