Episode #38: Connected to the True Vine: Why Your Desires Matter to God

God wants us to ask Him for what we desire, and we shouldn't feel guilty about bringing our requests to Him because He delights in blessing His children. When we understand our connection to God through the metaphor of the vine and branches from John 15, we recognize that it's natural to receive from Him just as branches receive nourishment from the vine.

• Connected to God as branches to a vine (John 15:1-8)
• We cannot bear fruit or thrive when disconnected from Christ
• God wants us to ask for what we desire - material needs included
• Jesus encourages asking in His name (John 16:23-24)
• God is more generous than earthly parents (Matthew 7:7-12)
• Our joy is meant to be full through answered prayer
• Approach God with childlike confidence, not hesitation
• The Word of God transforms our hearts and aligns our desires with His
• Meditate on Scripture daily to strengthen your connection to God

If you have not accepted Jesus into your life, say this salvation prayer with me: Heavenly Father, I admit that I have sinned. I repent. I believe in my heart You raised Jesus from the dead. I confess with my mouth Jesus is Lord and my Savior. Right now I receive forgiveness by the blood of Jesus. Come into my life. I am saved In Jesus' name, amen.

Transcript

Welcome to Episode 38

Speaker 1 0:02

Hello, my name is Stephanie. Welcome to the All Is Well podcast. My mission is to teach people the Word of God and emphasize its importance in their daily lives. I'm glad you decided to join me today. Let's get started. Hello welcome to episode 38. Hello welcome to episode 38.

The Vine and Branch Connection

Speaker 1 0:28

Have you ever wondered if you should ask God for something or felt guilty about asking Him? In this episode we're going to discuss how we are connected to God and that it's good to ask God what you desire. Let's dive in. Let's turn on over in our Bibles to John, chapter 15, verse 1. It reads you are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to. You Abide in me and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. So let's go back to the beginning.

Speaker 1 1:18

So here is Jesus. He's telling the disciples I am the true vine and my father, god, is the vine dresser. Okay, so Jesus is the true vine, god is a vine dresser. Then it says every branch in me that does not bear fruit. So when he's talking about the branch, we are the branches. And then he says every branch in me that does not bear fruit. He takes away and every branch that bears fruit he prunes that it may bear more fruit. So he wants us to have more. So, verse 3, you are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you Abide in me and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself. This is how to be connected to God, or this is what it's like when we're connected to God, when you have a personal relationship with God and you have accepted Him into your life. You and I are that branch, you are connected to God in that manner. And then when he says in verse 4, we need to abide in him, and it says why? Because as the branch, we are the branches. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, we cannot bear fruit by ourselves, unless it abides in the vine. Neither can you unless you abide in me. So he's telling us that we need to be connected to God.

Speaker 1 2:49

Then let's go on and read verse 5. He says For I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit, for without me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered, and they gather them and throw them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you.

Speaker 1 3:21

Let's go back to verse 5.

Speaker 1 3:22

He says I am the vine and you are the branches, and that's what we have covered, that we, his children, are the branches.

Speaker 1 3:30

He says he who abides in me and I in Him bears much fruit, for without me you can do nothing.

Speaker 1 3:37

So he says that when we're connected to Him, we bear much fruit. He sustains us. We have more than enough. We shouldn't be barely surviving.

Speaker 1 3:47

When the branch is connected to the vine, you're going to have all the nutrients, you're going to have everything that you should have. When we're connected to God in this manner, then we have His Spirit, we have His joy, we have His love, his kindness, forgiveness, his strength. We have all of that because we're connected to him. We cannot be connected to him and not have joy and not have strength and not have peace. It doesn't make sense. He says, because if you don't have those things in the branch, then you are apart from me and then you start to wither, because if we look, it says here if anyone does not abide in me and he is cast out as a branch and is withered, so whenever the branch is cast away from the vine, it withers. When something withers, it's gonna die. It can't function, it doesn't have peace, it doesn't have love, it doesn't have joy and not what the world offers, what God offers.

Ask What You Desire

Speaker 1 4:46

Verse 7, if you abide in me and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you. God wants us to ask. He wants us to ask what we desire. There's no need for us to feel guilty about asking God for something that we should only want His presence. We should only want Him. And while that is true and we do need to come with that heart you need to know who God is. We are His children. We are God's children. So what he wants to do is bless us, and so it's not in His nature not to do anything for us. He wants to. He can help Himself. He desires to give those things to us. He wants us to be fulfilled in every single area of our life. He wants us to be healed. He wants our bodies to be restored, our lives to be financially healed. He wants these things for us. So for us not to think that we can't ask God or we don't think that we deserve them. That's totally incorrect.

Speaker 1 5:54

Just think of if you're a parent and you have your children, if you're an aunt or something like that. You have these neighbor kids whenever you see them. Hey, I think I'm going to give them something. You just have this desire to give them something. If we have that desire to give our own children or nieces and nephews, neighborhood kids or whoever they may be, we want to give them these things without them even asking, or even when they ask, then how much more does our Heavenly Father want to give us those things? Because we are made in the image of Christ. We're made like our Father. So, just like we like to give and we like to bless people, god is the same way, but he does it at a higher and a greater level. And also think of it in the same manner.

Speaker 1 6:42

If your children are with you or you have your family over, and if they just want to come and enjoy your presence, like my nieces and nephews, they'll come and let's say they want to hang out with me. Do you know what I want to do. I want to start blessing them. What do you want to eat? What do you want to do? What movies do you want to watch? What fun thing do you want to eat? What do you want to do? What movies do you want to watch? What fun things do you want to do? I want to bless them. I want to give them things because they bless me. I love them.

Speaker 1 7:12

We have a giving heart, and so does God. Anything that is connected to God, he will supply those things to you. You desire a house for your family, because the one that you have now is not working out for you. He'll supply that for you. You need a better job. He'll supply that for you. A car Supply that for you. Don't think, just because they're materialistic things, that God's not going to supply those things for you. We're here on this earth. We need those things.

God Wants to Give Good Things

Speaker 1 7:40

If your car is not working and it keeps having problems and you have to be spending all this money to get it fixed, and it keeps stopping on the road every time you need to go somewhere, that's not good. That's not living in the blessing. God cares about those things. He wants your car to get fixed. He doesn't want you to have a rundown car that breaks down all the time. So it's okay to ask God for these things and, just like he's telling you here in verse 7, ask what you desire and it shall be done for you. It shall be done. When we're connected to him, it's going to be done for you. That's what God is saying. He says by this my father is glorified that you bear much fruit, so you will be my disciples. God is glorified. He likes when we're connected to him, and Jesus is connected to him and he is pleased with us. We're going to ask for the things. That's in his word.

Speaker 1 8:38

Let's go on over to Matthew, chapter 7, verses 7 through 12. So in Matthew, verses 7 through 12, matthew chapter 7, jesus here is speaking and he's saying Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be open to you, for everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be open. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children? How much more will your Father, who is in heaven, give good things to those who ask him? Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to word. Don't forget the word. Don't forget what his word says. God says. God is saying don't underestimate me. Don't say that I won't bless my children. Don't say that I won't restore your family. Don't say that I won't heal you because I will.

Growing in Your Relationship with God

Speaker 1 9:58

Let's move on over to John, chapter 16, verses 23 and 24. So in verse 23,. And in that day you will ask me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you Right. There again, whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you. Until now, you have asked nothing in my name. You have asked nothing.

Speaker 1 10:25

He knows, if you've asked for nothing, ask and you will receive that your joy may be nothing. He's telling us here ask, ask me for what you desire. He's saying I want you to do it. Nothing is impossible for God. It's not too difficult for Him. Don't think that your situation is too small or too big. He is God. He can handle more than what you think he can Ask and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

Speaker 1 10:57

So as we go back and we're reading these scriptures, we're recognizing that God doesn't want us to be in a stagnant state or to be right where we're at, especially in our relationship with Him. He's always striving for us to go to a higher level and to go to a deeper level with Him, to understand Him more. What does he want for us? What does he desire from us? Asking and receiving it's not a difficult thing. It's something that he wants for us to do. It's almost as if it's something basic to do.

Speaker 1 11:34

Think of it as a child, as a two-year-old, a three-year-old. Do they have any problem whatsoever asking for a toy, asking for food? They don't have any problems. They don't think about how much does it cost. They don't think about anything like that. Just like Jesus says in here. He says come to me as a child, come to me and ask. He doesn't think wrong of you if you're asking him for these things, if you're asking for your joy to be filled, if you're asking for peace, if you're asking for fulfillment, if you're asking for a new job, if you're asking for a better job, if you need more friends, if you need a godly husband or a godly spouse, he's not going to see you in a bad light because he wants these things for you.

Speaker 1 12:21

Remember, think about your children. Do you want them to stay in the same spot? I always hear people tell their children oh I wish that you wouldn't grow up because they're so cute and little. But in reality, do you really want them to stay as a five-year-old their entire lives? No, because you want them to experience life. You want them to grow in their knowledge at school and all the subjects and you want to see the interest that they'll have. You want them to go to college or get a job after high school. You want them to get a home and what businesses they're going to have, where they're going to work, and you want them to keep getting better and better each time.

Speaker 1 13:00

Remember, it's just the same way with God as His children. He doesn't want us to stay in the same spot, especially with Him. We need to grow, we need to elevate, we need to spend more time in the Word of God, and when you do that, then you'll know and you'll be connected to Him, just like how he says I abide in you and you abide in me. Remember we are the branches and he is the vine, and God is the vine dresser. We get our strength from him. He restores us, he fulfills us. That's exactly where we need to be. And when we meditate on the word of God day and night, then we begin to know who we are in Christ.

Closing Prayer and Call to Action

Speaker 1 13:46

And when you're reading the Bible, say these scriptures out loud, don't just say them to yourself. Your spirit needs to hear them, your ears need to hear them. It comes alive. Remember the word of God is powerful. It is sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even through the division of soul, spirit, body and mind. The Word of God, the Bible, is not a history book. It's not just for us to know information. It's a transforming Word. It even says in the Bible that the Word of God is powerful. There's no other book in the world that is powerful like that, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even through the division of soul, spirit, body and mind, which means it can heal every single part of our bodies and our soul and our spirit. That's what the word of God does. Elevate it to that level. Know the power that the word of God has.

Speaker 1 14:44

Meditate on the Word of God. Know what belongs to you. Know what you should not be partaking in anymore. Meditate on the Word of God day and night. Know. What I would recommend for you is to study John, chapter 15, verses 1 through 8, and meditate. When I say to meditate, what that means is to not just to read it one time, but to read it several times. Make sure that you understand it, make sure that you get what it's talking about and let it dwell in your heart. And if there's an area that you still don't understand, ask God to give you wisdom, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in this. Meditate on it. Let the word soak in. Think about when you're eating a good meal you're going to savor in every bite. It's the same way with the Word of God. When you read each word, when you read each scripture, you're going to let that Word of God savor in your spirit. You're going to let it soak in, let it transform you. That's what you're going to do with the Word of God. So just let it sink in. Meditate on the word of God. Let it change your heart, let it change your mind, because the word of God is powerful. Know who Jesus is, know the word of God, know every single part of it. Meditate on the word of God.

Speaker 1 16:16

If this episode helped you in any way, share it with a friend or family member, and if you like this episode, please leave a review. This helps the podcast get more listeners and will help people in their walk with God. Thank you for tuning in and don't forget to tune in to the next episode. If you have not accepted Jesus into your life, say this salvation prayer with me. Heavenly Father, I admit that I have sinned. I repent. I believe in my heart. You raised Jesus from the dead. I confess with my mouth Jesus is Lord and my Savior. Right now I receive forgiveness by the blood of Jesus. Come into my life. I am saved In Jesus' name, amen. I'm glad you prayed that salvation prayer. Make sure that you plug yourself into a spirit-filled church and read the word of God. Well, I hope you enjoyed the message and thank you for tuning in.