Don't Give Up

Don’t give up. Don’t say, “Well, why should this happen to me? I’ve sincerely tried to serve the Lord. I’m really doing my best, and I’ve done this, this, and this.” That’s why it’s happened. You’ve borne fruit, now you’re going to be purged. Can you take a sigh of relief and say, “Praise God”?

Praise God. It’s a good sign. See? But the message I want to bring out is, it’s not effort. All your effort won’t do it. No effort will produce one grape in a thousand years. It’s what? It’s union.

See, there’s a beautiful parable there. I’ve been talking about the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. All three persons of the Godhead are in there. The Father is the vine dresser, Jesus is the vine, and the Holy Spirit is the sap that flows up through the vine and into the branches. And that’s what brings forth fruit, the fruit of the Spirit. Not the fruit of our best efforts, not the fruit of religion, but the fruit of the Spirit.