How To Bear Fruit For Our Heavenly Father Series

How to Bear Fruit for Our Heavenly Father

The Gospel of John

John 15:1-8

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church - August 30, 2017

(Revised March 4, 2020)

BACKGROUND:

*Most of you know that for a long time we have been studying the night before Jesus died on the cross for our sins. That's because God's Word puts a great emphasis on the events of that night, all the way from John 13 to John 18:27. As we start John 15 tonight, the scene has shifted from the upper room of the Lord's last supper with His Disciples to the road that led to the Garden of Gethsemane.

*At the end of John 14:31, Jesus spoke to His disciples and said, "Arise, let us go from here." John Phillips explained that those "words implied haste. Evidently as Jesus spoke, He rose to his feet. The time for action had come. The Lord had decided to go out now and meet the enemy head-on. He was resolved to carry out the purpose of his Father for the redemption of mankind. The rest of the words in this private conversation were spoken somewhere between the house where he had kept the feast and the crossing of the brook of Kidron on the edge of Gethsemane.

*With the solitude of the upper room now over and the agony ahead, Jesus talked as he walked, first to his followers, then to his Father. His talk with his followers gave them revelations about God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, and God the Heavenly Father. (1)

*In tonight's Scripture, Jesus stressed how crucial it is for us to be fruitful followers of Christ. Thank God, He also shows us how to bear fruit for our Heavenly Father. Please think about that as we read John 15:1-8.

MESSAGE:

*Do you like fruit? Well, maybe not, but God surely does! The Lord made this truth clear in vs. 8, when He said, "By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so shall you be My disciples."

*Jesus Christ certainly cares about His followers bearing fruit for God. But what kind of fruit was the Lord talking about here? As we go through the New Testament, we can see at least 4 different types of Christian fruit:

[1] THE FIRST KIND OF FRUIT IS HOLINESS AND GOODNESS, THE CHARACTER OF JESUS CHRIST.

*For example, Galatians 5:22-23 tells us that the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT in our lives is "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance." Ephesians 5:9 tells us that "the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT" in all Christians is "goodness, righteousness and truth."

[2] THE SECOND KIND OF CHRISTIAN FRUIT IS OUR FINANCIAL GIVING.

*In Philippians 4:15-17, Paul said:

15. Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only.

16. For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities.

17. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the FRUIT that abounds to your account.

[3] A THIRD KIND OF CHRISTIAN FRUIT IS OUR HEART-FELT PRAISE TO GOD

*Hebrews 13:15 says, "Therefore by Him (i.e. by Jesus) let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the FRUIT OF OUR LIPS, giving thanks to His name."

[4] THE FOURTH KIND OF FRUIT IS REACHING MORE PEOPLE FOR JESUS CHRIST.

*It's seeing more people get saved by hearing and believing the good news of about Jesus, the good news of God's forgiveness and eternal life through the cross of Christ.

*That's why in John 4:35-36, Jesus asked His disciples, "Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers FRUIT for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together."

*Think about the people who helped lead you to saving faith in Jesus Christ. You are part of their fruit for eternal life! And now God wants us to bear more fruit for His Kingdom.

*How can we do it? How can we bear more fruit for our Heavenly Father? Church: It can only be done by Jesus Christ working in our lives.

1. THAT'S BECAUSE JESUS IS THE ESSENTIAL CONNECTION FOR US TO BEAR FRUIT.

*No one can have a fruitful life without being truly connected to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As Jesus said in vs. 1-2:

1. "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.

2. 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."