GOD IS SAYING SOMETHING
John 15: 5-8 (p764) February 26, 2012
INTRODUCTION:
I ‘ve got these roses that are on my Island in the Middle of our Kitchen…here’s a picture of them. (show picture)
Our Valentine’s banquet here at church was on the 11th…the speaker, Tony did an excellent job…towards the end all the guys got up on stage and sang “you are my sunshine”.
And then each of us get to give our wives, girlfriends, friends a rose from a vase on the table…They told us if we have daughters at home we could take one to them…So I did (I’m cheap, huh?)
After a couple of days they opened up and were beautiful…but not too long after that…bad things started to happen to the Roses…I had water….I even put an aspirin in there (whatever that does)…but here’s what they looked like just 2 weeks later…(picture)
Cut flowers begin to die the minute they are separated from the stalk…at the very minute the clippers snip, and the resources stop flowing…roses begin to decline for 2 or 3 days they’ll look amazing…at their peak…but separated from the source of real life…they begin to die.
It’s exactly that truth Jesus is trying to communicate in John chapter 15….
I A PART FROM ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING
Jesus makes a bold statement…”I AM the true vine…it’s so important he repeats it again… “I am the Vine” (v5)
The picture Jesus paints is a simple one He is the main Vine of the vineyard…He is the original and essential source of life.
The original disciples…branches…anyone who’s come to accept Christ is Savior and Lord through their message…branches.
And God the father…He’s the gardener…He’s the one who’s going to plant, prune, and water…He’s the one who’s going to lay out the garden and tend to it…His purpose, like any real gardener or farmer is have the most plentiful and healthy crop possible.
The reason the garden exists…the purpose for planting a vineyard is…are you ready for this amazingly deep truth….To produce a Crop…whether it’s roses or fruit…the gardener’s goal is to harvest a crop.
The world is God’s garden…he planted it and the purpose for planting this garden was the same! He wants a harvest, a crop…
And Jesus…The true vine is the source of all the crop…”through him all things were made. Without him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life… (John1: 3, 4)
Does anyone remember how the Garden of Eden came to be? How everything that was created came into existence?
God said…”Let there be…” He spoke the word and it was created…
That’s exactly why John says that Jesus is that word…”In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God He was with God in the beginning” (John 1:1)
That same word according to John 1:14 “Became flesh and made His dwelling among us.”
The word that created all life…the true Vine… (Original) that produces all the fruit in the garden…Jesus…God’s purpose for the garden hasn’t changed! Bear fruit…produce a crop… And what is the crop of the Church...God’s field? Disciples! What grows out of disciple of Jesus...other disciples of Jesus.
“No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain connected to the vine…disciples cannot produce other disciples unless we remain connected to Jesus.
[Here’s a picture of one of the oldest grapevines in the world after 400 years its branches are still producing grapes…why? They/re still connected to the Vine] (Slovenia, the town of Maribor)
SHOW PICTURE
It’s been over 2,000 years since the word of God walked this thorn infested garden in the flesh…since the seed died on Calvary was buried in a tomb and became the first fruit of the resurrection…the resurrection is indeed God’s harvest…I Cor 5: says on Easter Sunday it’s what we were created for”
But fruit is still being produced in and by those who remain connected to the true Vine.
How do we remain connected?
II WE MUST RELY ON THE WORD TO DO THE WORK
I love to read…I think David Platt, Frances Chan, Jim Cymbala and Mark Lucado are amazing, Holy Spirit lead godly authors…but none of their books are “radical” enough to be called “the Word of God”
They contain words from God…they motivate and challenge us to become biblical people.
But only the Bible is “Living and Active” only the word of God is “Breathed by God” Only the words of Jesus are words spoken by God through a human mouth.
Isaiah 40 verse 6 through 8 we hear “A voice says, ‘CRY OUT’ And I said what shall I cry?”
All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall because the breath of the Lord blows on them…surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of our God stands forever.”
What makes us so arrogant that we think we can answer people’s questions…that the word of God isn’t enough…We say the Bible is important and that we are Biblical people but the real question is…How often do we seek it in our decision making times? How often do we study it together as leaders of the garden? We talk about unleashing God’s people in the power of God’s word…but we want to make sure it doesn’t offend too many or cost us too much.
Here’s my favorite quote so far from Radical Together…It hit me right in the face on page 49.
The Bible is not in a church leader’s hands so he or she can give people answers to every question they have and guidance for every situation they face. Instead, the Bible is in a church leader’s hands to transform people into the image of Christ and to get people in touch with the Holy Spirit of God, who will not only give them counsel for every situation they face but will also walks with them through those situations. And when church leaders use God’s word for this purpose, then church members develop a healthy dependence on God’s Spirit and a healthy admiration of God’s glory.
I don’t know how many angels can dance on the tip of pin, I have no idea where Cain and Seth get their wives…I do not know why this child died, or if the dinosaurs were on the ark. But what I believe with all my heart is “God has given us all we need in his Word.” He doesn’t need me to supplement His intelligence with mine.
God has not designed his Word to provide answers for every situation that Americans in the 21st century will face specifically.
Instead, the purpose of god’s Word is to transform people in every country and every century into the image of Jesus…The word of God is more than sufficient to accomplish this task…and the Gardner knows this is what people need most!
How can we know as leaders in the church what God is saying to us through his Word…There needs to be a healthy dependence on God’s Spirit, and urgent bond of prayerful seeking, an on our faces admiration of God’s glory. Remember this amazingly deep and complicated Theological concept from Romans 8 last week? “Those who are children of God are lead by God’s Spirit.”
One last comment about the Word of God at work in the people of God…Disciples are made by Disciples…but that won’t happen by osmosis…disciples are made by people who are being transformed themselves…and it’s the word of God that teaches, corrects, reproves, encourages, matures, trains….the man or woman of God for every good work. (2 Tim 3:17)
The only way I can be more than a cultural Christian…really living out my beliefs in the worlds is when I study and learn God’s word and then listen when the Holy Spirit reminds me of the principles in my daily life.
I don’t want to be shaped by someone advice or opinions about me…I don’t want to be motivated by the newest and flashiest. I don’t believe this world or anyone in it will be transformed by the innovative and creative …None of those are mentioned as qualifications for leadership in the church….instead Jesus tells me in order to make disciples I must be able to teach them his word…And I must be setting an example that’s worth imitating.
People didn’t follow Jesus because he was rich and powerful…they followed Him because He loved them and He had the words of life.
[Here’s what I know…if you followed me around and worked with me for 3 ½ years you’d know me! If we spent every night together for 3 ½ years around a campfire or sleeping in someone else’s home together…you’d be more than an acquaintance…You’d see the whole picture… from my breath to exhausted tired and cranky end of the day. And the original branches (the 12) did that with Jesus…every single day…He taught, he worked, he talked, he hung out…He lived.
And other than Judas, they were all there with Him at the end…yes they ran after the arrest…yes one denied even knowing Him…but after 3 ½ years they hadn’t left…Even after he clearly identifies himself as “The Son of God” they stay…His Word always…always match His life. And the resurrection proved it all…The Holy spirit became the force of power behind these original 12 branches…branches still remaining, still connected, still clean by His Word….and still producing fruit through His Word…they knew as we can know…We are never without the revelation from God…At all times we have His message to us in all its power, authority, clarity and might…We don’t have to work to come up with a word from God; we simply have to trust the Word He’s given us… when we do the word of God will accomplish the work of God among the people of God.
We never have to wonder if God is saying something!
