Let Us Become the Lush Branches by the Spring
Bible passage: Genesis 49:22-26
“22. "Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall. 23. With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility. 24. But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, 25. because of your father's God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of the breast and womb."
As a pastor leading a church, like any other pastor, I pray and hope that our congregation will enjoy the blessings of prosperity in the Lord.
Recently, when I pray for our congregation to live prosperous and blessed lives, I often include Genesis 49:22 in my prayers, which says, “Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine by a spring, whose branches climb over a wall.” When Jacob’s death drew near, he called his twelve sons together. Among Jews, when death approaches, it is customary to offer a blessing prayer to their children. Genesis 49:1 says, “Then Jacob called for his sons and said, ‘Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.’”
Such Jewish prayers are not mere prayers but are offered under the inspiration of God, meaning that God’s will is being proclaimed through Jacob’s lips. A servant of God has the authority to bless or curse, and a single word from their lips can bring about significant outcomes. The content of Jacob’s blessing and prayer for Joseph is found in Genesis 49:22, which says, “Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine by a spring, whose branches climb over a wall.” This one verse contains three points: 1, Joseph is like a fruitful vine. 2, The vine is planted by a spring. 3, And it grows to become so fruitful that its branches climb over the wall. Today, through this service, I hope all of you will become people of blessing and go a step further to become those who share the blessings you receive with others so that others may also be blessed through you, becoming incredible channels of blessing.
Through today’s message, let us examine how Joseph received the blessing of bearing abundant fruit and became a channel of blessing to many others. I sincerely hope that you, too, will become like Joseph, “a fruitful vine by a spring.”
1. The first reason for Joseph’s fruitfulness is that his life was “planted by a spring.”
Joseph’s life bore abundant fruit. What was the secret to him bearing such abundant fruit?
Looking at verse 22, it says: “Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine by a spring”. This means that Joseph, by his very nature, was like a tree planted near a spring, receiving plenty of water. The term “fruitful vine” refers to a vine with clusters of abundant fruit. Think of a grapevine, and you’ll understand. The important point here is not that the vine itself was exceptional and bore abundant fruit, but that it was planted near a spring, enabling it to bear abundant fruit. This signifies that Joseph was connected to God and received abundant spiritual grace. In other words, it shows that Joseph maintained a strong spiritual relationship with God. Humans are not independent beings. From creation, we were made as beings who must rely on God to receive life and grace.
However, by betraying God and committing sin, humanity became cut off from its relationship with God. As a result, the supply of life and grace was cut off. Being independent of God is not beneficial; it is, in fact, the starting point of spiritual death and destruction. The one who came to resolve this tragic problem is Jesus Christ. Though He is the Son of God and righteous, He bore the sin that cut off humanity’s relationship with God and was crucified. Those who believe in the atoning blood of Christ are forgiven of their sins and reconciled with God. Their relationship with God is restored, and they enter into a spiritual union with Him.
When this happens, they receive spiritual life and grace, and like a tree that bears fruit, they experience the blessings of God in their lives. Similar teachings are found in the New Testament, particularly in the parable of the vine and branches: John 15:4-5 says, “Remain in Me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.”
What is the best thing a branch can do? It is to remain firmly attached and not fall away. Similarly, we need to stay firmly connected to God and Jesus. This is the best way to live a faithful life and, at the same time, the best way to live a meaningful life. Do you truly desire a blessed life? Then there is no other way: you must stay connected to God. Like a branch near a spring, you must continually receive spiritual grace from God. Only then can you bear abundant fruit. That is what it means to be "a fruitful branch." “How can that person be so prosperous? How does everything they do turn out so well?” It is not because that person is particularly intelligent but because their life is rooted near the unending spring of the Lord. Their roots and foundation are in Him.
So, what exactly does the "spring" in which Joseph was planted refer to? Firstly, the LORD God is the "spring." In the book of Jeremiah, God is described as the "source of living water." Jeremiah 2:13a says, “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken Me, the spring of living water……………....” Secondly, Jesus also declared to the Samaritan woman at the well that He is the living water that quenches thirst forever. John 4:14 says, “but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Therefore, Joseph, even in the arid and barren environment of a desert, did not despair but continued to bear fruit steadily. Thirdly, the “spring” was the dreams God gave to Joseph.
Joseph had two dreams: one where his brothers' sheaves of grain bowed to his sheaf, and another where the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed to him. Because of these dreams, Joseph never forgot them but kept them deep in his heart throughout his life. Each time hardships came his way, these dreams came alive again, inspiring hope within him. Fourthly, another "spring" for Joseph was the land of Canaan, promised by God to his ancestors. Even though he endured much suffering and eventually rose to the position of prime minister in Egypt, Canaan always remained in his heart. Although his body was in Egypt, his heart always looked toward the promised land of Canaan.
Thus, he was not swept away by the secular waters of Egypt but continued to drink the pure waters provided by God. Even though you live in this polluted world, if you always look toward the New Jerusalem in Heaven, that heavenly kingdom becomes your "spring," enabling you to live a clean life, untainted by the sins of this world, and guiding you in the right direction with the living water it supplies. The “spring” is the river of grace. Even in times of drought, a branch near the spring does not wither. But a branch that has left the spring dries up. In the heart of London, England, the River Thames flows. At one point, a severe drought occurred. The drought was so severe that the River Thames nearly dried up to the point where the riverbed was exposed.
However, strangely, a grapevine next to a local courthouse near the Thames continued to bear abundant fruit despite the drought. The courthouse staff, puzzled by this, called in a botanist to investigate why the grapevine remained unaffected by the drought and continued to bear fruit. The botanist examined the trunk, branches, and leaves of the vine, but found nothing unusual compared to any other grapevine. Finally, when they examined the roots, they discovered that the roots had grown so deep that they reached the riverbed of the Thames. The vine absorbed water from the riverbed, allowing it to bear abundant fruit despite the drought. What are you nearby?
According to stress management consultants, the best way to manage stress is to surround yourself with positive people. If you are surrounded by negative, critical people, you will unknowingly become negative and critical. If you are surrounded by positive, proactive people, you will naturally become positive and proactive. This is the life of “a fruitful branch by a spring.” Being near good water, good people, good teachers, good friends, a good church, good teachings - these are all “springs” that can transform your life into a fruitful, flourishing branch. Jeremiah 17:7-8 says, “But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” Here, the word begins with "But". Jeremiah Chapter 17 contains the prophet Jeremiah’s rebuke of the people of Judah, who had abandoned God to worship idols. After rebuking their sins, the passage goes on to say that those who trust in the LORD and place their hope in Him will be like a tree planted by the water, with its roots extending to the stream. Such a person is like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. Its leaves are always green, and it has no worries in a year of drought nor fails to bear fruit. Dear congregation, I sincerely hope that in the new year, you will receive abundant grace from God, so that even in times of scorching heat or severe drought, you will not worry but always bear much fruit like Joseph, “a fruitful vine by a spring”.
2. The second reason is that Joseph had faith that overcame barriers, a faith that surpassed limitations.
Let’s read Genesis 49:22 again: “Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine by a spring, whose branches climb over a wall.” Here, the “wall” is the Hebrew word “shur,” referring to a wall that surrounds or confines - a barrier that is unconquerable. It symbolizes human limitations. In life, we often face such limitations. We encounter the barriers of poverty, feel the limits of our abilities, and endure hardships that weigh heavily on us. Many times, we find ourselves crying, discouraged, and defeated before the high walls of life. What walls are you facing today? Are you standing helpless and defeated before the walls of frustration, pain, and sorrow?
We need the faith and strength to overcome these walls. Joseph’s “branches climbing over a wall” represent the beautiful fruit that comes from surpassing extreme limitations. Genesis 49:23 says, “With bitterness, archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility.” The “archers” symbolize enemies. Joseph faced two significant, grueling trials at the hands of his enemies. His brothers hated him and sold him to slave traders. He served as a slave in Potiphar’s house, and just as things seemed to improve, he was falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife and thrown into prison. Yet Joseph overcame all of these trials and emerged victorious. Looking back, those adversities led to his greater success. Being sold and imprisoned became part of the process that led him to become the prime minister of Egypt.
When we overcome limitations and climb over walls, God guides us through trials to a path of prosperity. If we compromise with limitations and settle for mediocrity, the path to prosperity will remain blocked by the wall of stagnation. When Potiphar’s wife falsely accused Joseph and sent him to prison, Joseph overcame that wall with gratitude. In prison, he met high-ranking officials of Egypt, whom he would not have encountered as a slave. This encounter became a stepping stone that led him to become the prime minister of Egypt. A life without God sees prison as just a prison and hardship as mere suffering. But when we trust in God and overcome the walls of trials and hardships, those very trials become the ingredients for prosperity.
A prison turns into a palace, suffering transforms into blessings, pain becomes gratitude, and broken hearts are filled with joy. David, too, faced countless limitations in the form of hardships but looked to God, who protected and strengthened him, and sang, saying in Psalm 18:29, “With Your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.” To climb over high walls, we need a stepping stone, a foothold. In moments of limitation, God becomes our hope and foundation. Amid the limitations of pain and difficulty, when we meet God and use His Word as a stepping stone, we can firmly step on His promises and leap over even the highest walls. In the book of 1 Samuel, Israel faced the limitation of the Philistine giant Goliath.
While King Saul and David’s brothers were paralyzed by fear before the giant, David used the Word of God, “The LORD is my shepherd; I lack nothing,” as his stepping stone. With this faith, he hurled a stone with his sling, and God strengthened David’s arm, enabling him to bring Goliath down. Genesis 49:24 says, “But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,” Joseph’s bow remained steady because his arms were strong, and his arms were strong because the Shepherd of Israel, God, upheld them. There is a saying, “Trying to break a rock with an egg,” which describes an impossible situation where the outcome is certain - 100% failure. If you throw an egg at a rock, the egg will undoubtedly break, not the rock.
However, while our egg would break if we threw it, if God throws the egg, the rock can break. Likewise, the reason David’s small slingstone could kill the giant Goliath was not because of David’s strength but because God’s hand was with him. David’s tiny slingstone was like an egg compared to Goliath, who was like a rock. Yet, because God empowered David’s hand, the slingstone flew with force, and this small stone was enough to bring down Goliath. Like Joseph and David, who relied on God’s Word as their stepping stone and overcame countless limitations and challenges, I hope you too will rely on God’s Word and His hand to leap over walls, overcome obstacles, and become a fruitful vine planted by the spring, bearing abundant fruit.
3. The third reason is that Joseph lived a life of positive influence beyond the walls.
In this passage, Joseph’s blessed life is described as “a fruitful vine that climbs over the wall.” Looking at the latter part of verse 22, it says “whose branches climb over a wall.” Jacob blessed Joseph, saying, "Your life will be so fruitful that its branches will climb over the wall." “The branches climbing over the wall” means extending beyond one’s domain to take on a greater role. This is the kind of life we should aspire to. Joseph not only received blessings but also shared those blessings with others. During the famine, he shared the blessings he had received with the people of Egypt and even neighboring nations, positively impacting many lives.
This demonstrates that when we receive blessings, we should not stop at being blessed ourselves but share those blessings with others. This leads to blessings becoming more abundant, expanding further, and growing greater over time. In Korea, there is a YouTuber in his mid-30s named “Park We,” who runs a channel called “Weracle,” with nearly 1 million subscribers. He experienced a major accident over a decade ago, leaving him with severe paralysis. However, with God’s miraculous help, he survived.
Combining his name “We” with the word “miracle,” he named his channel “Weracle.” Through this channel, he inspires many people with the message, “Anyone can experience miracles like I did.” In 2014, at the age of 28, he worked at ZARA, a global fashion company, as a contract employee. When he was promoted to a full-time position, his friends threw him a celebration party where he drank excessively. Although he attended church, his faith was weak, and he had a habit of drinking every weekend. That night, after drinking too much, he left the bar alone, staggered, and fell from a two-story building, becoming trapped between two buildings.
The fall broke his neck, and his spinal cord was completely paralyzed. He became fully paralyzed, unable to move even a single finger. Doctors gave up on rehabilitation, declaring that recovery was impossible. However, through years of excruciating rehabilitation efforts and prayer, he experienced God’s miracle. While he still uses a wheelchair, he now drives a car and even got married, living a relatively normal life - a true miracle. What this young man did best was accepting the reality he faced. He did not blame God, despair over his situation, or give up on life. He acknowledged that it was entirely his fault. He repented thoroughly for drinking every Saturday under the pretext of relieving stress and for enjoying worldly pleasures despite being a Christian.
He said, "This happened because of my mistakes. I blame no one and do not resent God." Some people in such situations blame God despite their own mistakes. “God, why didn’t You protect me? I resent You, God.” Such people find it difficult to escape the tunnel of despair. This young man also did another remarkable thing: even in this situation, he chose faith and hope, saying, “I must live. I can rise again.” Rather than just surviving as a simple life of eating three meals a day, he prayed to God, asking, “What can I do in this situation to live a valuable life, a life that gives hope and courage to others?” “God, I want to live. But not just an ordinary life - please let me become someone who gives hope and courage to those who are in despair and feel like giving up on life.”
And miraculously, his body began to recover and come back to life. Though he still has to use a wheelchair and has physical limitations, he became convinced that the best way to help others in his situation was to become a YouTuber. One time, a woman who came across his YouTube channel, “Weracle,” left a comment saying, “I was in a car accident, and I can no longer walk. I became disabled. The shock brought on depression, and I had multiple suicidal thoughts. But after coming across the ‘Weracle’ YouTube channel, my mindset changed. I have now regained hope, am pushing forward with rehabilitation, and am dreaming of a new life.” She also wrote, “My life is divided into two parts: before I came to know Brother Park We and after I came to know him.”
Brother Park We overcame his limitations and became a fruitful vine by the spring. Through his YouTube channel, “Weracle,” he now gives hope and courage to countless people, living a life that positively influences the world. As we live our lives, if someone gains strength and hope from you and begins a new life, then you have become a fruitful vine by the spring, a person who exerts a positive influence on your neighbors and leads a successful life. Our church must also become such a church. If God has poured out unimaginable grace and blessings upon our church until now, it is not just for us to enjoy them. Like Joseph’s branches that climbed over the wall, we must also extend those blessings outward and share them. After successfully building our church together, we must help build church sanctuaries for our branch churches and then construct church sanctuaries across all 54 African nations to establish branch churches. We must not stop at building our church sanctuary.
With plans and prayers to establish branch churches in Kenya and throughout Africa, we must allow God’s blessings for African missions to overflow across the entire continent. For this to happen, you must be blessed. You must receive blessings in your businesses, your finances, and your children. We are not earning money or seeking prosperity merely to live better lives ourselves. It is so that God’s blessings can flow across the entire continent of Africa. I believe that God will surely bless your businesses, workplaces, and families for this purpose. Indeed, stagnant water becomes foul. We must not stop at being a reservoir of blessings but must become rivers of blessings. Like a fruitful vine, may we extend beyond walls to all of Africa and the world, becoming fruitful vines by the spring that bear abundant fruit. We can expect this with faith because God is the One who “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.”
Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,” When we ask God for 10, He is not a God who only gives us 5. When we ask for 10, He gives us 30, 60, or even 100 times more. Therefore, like Joseph, we can become fruitful vines planted by the spring, climbing over walls, surpassing limitations, and becoming people who exert positive influence on the world. Conclusion Blessings were proclaimed upon Joseph, who lived such a life. The blessings Joseph received were described as the blessings of the heavens above, the blessings of the deep springs below, the blessings of the breast, and the blessings of the womb. Genesis 49:25, latter part says, “…...Blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep springs below, blessings of the breast and womb.” Firstly, the “blessings of the heavens” refer to miraculous blessings that come from God’s intervention. In life, there are many things we cannot accomplish with our own strength, which is why we need miracles.
Secondly, the “blessings of the deep springs” signify reaping abundant fruit from our efforts. This blessing includes receiving 30, 60, and 100 times the results of what we sow. Many times, our labor and efforts seem futile. When we start a business, a trade, or even small tasks, we need the spring of blessings to burst forth. For Joseph, as he labored, strove, and made efforts, springs burst forth, and water flowed to bless his family and business. Thirdly, this blessing extends to future generations. Joseph saw his children and descendants, received the blessing of faith being passed down, and witnessed the continuation of his lineage.
At this moment, may each of you, like Joseph - a fruitful vine planted by the spring whose branches climbed over the wall - overcome limitations and become someone who positively influences many in the world. May you receive the blessings of the heavens above, the deep springs below, and abundant blessings for the generations to come. - END -
