Let The Sap Flow...and Don't Be A Sap! Series

Let The Sap Flow...And Don't Be A Sap!

John 15:1-11

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.

3 "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

4 "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.

5 "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.

6 "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.

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.

8 "By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

9 "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.

10 "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.

11 "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. (NKJ)

Here's an excerpt from Leadership magazine:

On a plaque marking Abraham Lincoln's birthplace near Hodgenville, Kentucky, is recorded this scrap of conversation:

"Any news down t' the village, Ezry?"

"Well, Squire McLains's gone t' Washington t' see Madison swore in, and ol' Spellman tells me this Bonaparte fella has captured most o' Spain. What's new out here, neighbor?"

"Nuthin', nuthin' a'tall, 'cept fer a new baby born t' Tom Lincoln's. Nothin' ever happens out here."

Some events, whether birthdays in Hodgenville (or Bethlehem) or spiritual rebirth in a person's life, may not create much earthly splash, but those of lasting importance will eventually get the notice they deserve.

Today, we return to our study which we started last week in John 15, and look to the metaphor that Jesus used again--the True Vine.

I) Review

Jesus is the True Vine, the Genuine Article

Jesus saves, God prunes.

God prunes those things out of our lives and our manner of being so that we may bear more fruit.

Abiding in Jesus--which means to "be at home in Him, or better spoken for Him to be at home in you is what it means to abide.

II) Can You Bear Fruit On Your Own?

5 "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.

Roy Hession once wrote: Victorious living and effective soul-winning service are not the product of our better selves and hard endeavours, but are simply the fruit of the Holy Spirit. We are not called upon to produce the fruit, but simply to bear it.

III) What Is Fruit?

The Bible shows two different types of fruit

Action Fruit (spiritual fruit produced through believers)

Praise of the Lord

Hebrews 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

Winning converts to Christ

1 Cor. 16:15 I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,)

Godly work in general

Col. 1:10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

Attitude Fruit (Galatians 5:22-23)

Without Attitude Fruit, You Cannot Produce Action Fruit

IV) Don't Let The Dead Chicken Run Rampant!

In Galatians 5, we see how Paul shows how the unsaved act, and teaches us:

Gal 5:16-26

16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

Walk means how you conduct your life, how you live day to day. It speaks of your habits.

17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.

Have you ever done something that you didn't want to do, and then wondered why? It's because you didn't Walk in the Spirit closely enough.

John MacArthur gives the illustration of a chicken with it's head cut off. It runs around, flops around but sooner or later it stops. Such is the life of the flesh in the life of the believer. When we are saved, the old life is put to death, but sometimes raises it's ugly head. The more closely that you walk with the Lord, the less often the old dead chicken of the flesh will run rampant.