For those not familiar with an Anglican Service; there are four Scripture Readings before the Sermon.
The Scripture Readings for this day were: Acts 8:26-40; Psalm 22:24-30; 1 John 4:7-21 and John 15:1-8.
A missionary in Africa ....lived in his central mission ....which had a small generator ....to supply current ....for the church ....and a small rectory.
Some natives from an outlying mission ....came to visit the pastor.
They noticed the electric light.... hanging from the ceiling ....of his living room.
They watched wide-eyed ....as he turned the little switch ...and the light ....went on.
One of the visitors asked ...if he could have ...one of the bulbs.
The priest,... thinking he wanted it ....for a sort of trinket,.... gave him one of ...the extra bulbs.
On his next visit to the outlying mission,.... the priest stopped at the hut of the man ....who had asked for ...the bulb.
Imagine his surprise ....when he saw the bulb ....hanging from an ....ordinary string.
He explained that one needed to have electricity ....and a wire to bring the current ....to the bulb.
We may share an understanding smile ....at the innocence of the African native, .... but we may not .....be much better. (Pause)
In our text for today, .....Jesus tells a story..... concerning the importance.... of our connection..... to the true source of life.
To our continued source.... of power.
Our Lord uses the analogy..... of the vineyard ......of the vine .....and the branches.
Just as the electricity .....provides the power necessary for a bulb to produce light,.....
So the vine ......provides the flow of life .....necessary ....for the branches .....to produce fruit.
Jesus is the vine, ....God the Father is the vine grower, ...and the true believers.... are the branches.
As branches ....we are spiritually alive; ....yet we can only grow ....if we are connected to Jesus, ..... If we are connected .....to the true vine.
As long as we are connected to Jesus ....the power of the Holy Spirit.... can run in us...... and keep us spiritually alive... producing fruit.
Our Gospel reading ...has three primary messages.
Pruning, ....Fruit-bearing, .....and Abiding.
(1 Finger) First Pruning
It is interesting ....that the text discusses pruning..... .....as the first item.
Here again the words from the Gospel, BIBLE "He removes.... every branch in me ....that bears no fruit. ....Every branch ....that bears fruit ....he prunes ...to make it bear ....more fruit." END
Jesus says that God the Father prunes the branches that ........bear fruit ...... to allow the branch to do what? ........ To bear more fruit.
Vines left to themselves ....will sprawl in every direction ....and produce huge canopies...... of shoots, .....leaves and branches.
Unless that canopy is controlled, ....the vine..... will not .....yield much fruit.
Pruning at first glance ....may seem to be a counter-intuitive activity.
For what you are pruning .....would seem to most ......as a very healthy vine.
A vine ....that In fact,.... may look healthy .....but it is not bearing.... As much fruit as it can.
All show ......and no tell.
It seems to me ....that Jesus was concerned ....that the disciples ...might be facing this same problem.
Jesus ...was not interested in showy disciples ....any more than he is interested in.... showy Christians .....in this post modern world.
What Jesus is interested in ...... is fruit. (Pause)
Now .... My initial experience .....of pruning.... comes from the time ....when I had a summer job .... working for .....the Painesville Township Road Dept.
Part of our responsibility ....was to prune the fruit trees ...in the ....township cemetery.
The foreman ....explained the importance ....of trimming the suckers.... from the trees.
A sucker ....is a very small branch.... that usually grows ....on the main trunk.... of the tree.
Which if left alone ....will sap the resources ....from the ....fruit-producing branches.
So ... in order to have a flower filled tree .....and a better crop of fruit,... we were instructed... to remove ....the suckers.
Beloved... There are suckers... in this world... that seek to draw .....the spiritual life from us.
That seek to rob us .....of our.... Daily quite time ....with our Lord.
They must be removed.... They must be cut away... in order ....for us to bear fruit .....and to be transformed.
This pruning is not punishment, ..... it is done so that the vine ......can be ....even more productive ..... so that it will be .....more fruitful.
Pruning sounds destructive,.... but it is actually creative.
My second encounter with pruning..... came from Walt Disney World.
While visiting there with our children, .....I noticed ....that there were hedge-type plants .....growing in amazing shapes.
They had one .....that looked just like Mickey Mouse ..... another .....like Donald Duck.
By trimming the bushes regularly, ....they were able to shape the plants... into the form..... that they were seeking.
In a similar fashion, ..... God prunes our lives ....to shape us ....into the image..... of his son.
Sometimes this pruning involves..... removing sin .....or other distractions ....from our lives.
Sometimes God's pruning is painful, .....but over time ...God is changing us ....to be more like his son.
Remember the Father.... Is the vine dresser.
Because God loves us, ....He "prunes" us ....which allows us .....to bear more fruit .....for His glory.
If the branches could speak, ..... I am sure they would confess ....that the pruning process hurts.
Yet I am convinced they would also rejoice ....that they will now be able to produce ....more and better fruit.
Beloved ......hear me on this.... You will never see a branch ..... pruning another branch! (Repeat)
The responsibility of pruning,.... shaping and trimming the vines .... is not that ....of the other branches.
That responsibility... is the Fathers ...and His alone.
(Slow) And Beloved... Have comfort.... Your Heavenly Father ....is never nearer to you ....than when He.... is pruning you. (Repeat) Amen!
At times ....He will cut away the dead wood..... that might cause us trouble.
But often ....He will cut off the living tissue ....that is robbing you ....of spiritual vigor.
Pruning ....does not simply mean spiritual surgery .......It is not ...just the removal ....of what is dead.
(Slow) It can also mean cutting away the good.... and the better ....so that we might enjoy .... the best. (Repeat) (Pause)
First (1 Finger) There is Pruning and Second (2 Fingers) there is Fruit-bearing
What is meant by fruit ....in our Gospel text?
Some suggest that fruit-bearing ....means leading others ...to Jesus Christ.
And that is a worthy application, .... but the text ....does not seem to imply .....that meaning.
It seems ....that the application ....is speaking of the spiritual life .....flowing through ...the vine.
And this spiritual life ....produces a spiritual fruit ..... The Fruit of the spirit.
Hear these words to the believers gathered in Galatia Galatians 5:22:
BIBLE "By contrast, ....the fruit of the Spirit... (Fruit it is singular one fruit with these attributes) ...."The fruit of the Spirit is.... love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. ....." END
Also Remember ......the branches ....do not eat their own fruit: .......others ....receive and eat the fruit.
We are not producing fruit ....to please ourselves ....It is produced to give to .... And to serve.. others.
And A true branch, ..... One united with the vine, ....will always ....bear fruit. (REPEAT)
Not every branch bears a bumper crop, .....just as every field.....does not have a bumper harvest (Matthew 13:8, 23), but there is always fruit .....where there is life.
A branch should have the same DNA ....as the trunk.... As its Source.
If God's DNA is love, ....then our DNA should be love.
(1) There is Pruning (2) There is Fruit and (3) there is Abiding
The paragraph that follows our text today in the Gospel of John speaks about.... abiding in love.
BIBLE " As the Father has loved me ....so I have loved you ..... abide in my love." END
God's Word is clear .....we are called to be transformed into the image of Jesus, ....and to abide in his love.
The more we abide in the Vine, .....the more fruit we will bear.
The more fruit that we bear, ....the more the Father will prune us ..... the more he prunes us ...the greater the quantity ....and the quality ....of fruit is produced..... In us.
The biblical image of a vine ....conveys a deep sense ....of the connectedness .....of our lives.
The better ....we are connected ..... the more we are transformed.
And this spiritual transformation .....comes from connectedness, .....not .... Not from effort. (Pause)
Suppose someone were to walk up to one of those vines and yell,...... "Start Producing Fruit!"
Nothing would happen!
Once the vine grower .....has done His work,.... all the branches have to do ....in order to bear fruit, ....is What?
Stay connected to the vine. Abide to the vine.
Did you notice..... the passive response..... on our part ......is the production ....of fruit ?
Jesus said.... BIBLE "I am the vine, ...you are the branches; ....those who abide in Me, ....and I in them,.... bears much fruit;.... because apart from Me.... you can do nothing." END
The command is not to produce fruit,..... The command is...... to abide.
When we are abiding in Christ ....the fruit comes ..... naturally.
God produces the fruit..... in us.
If ......we abide in Christ ..... we will bear fruit.
We do not have to ....work at it.
We do not have to ....agonize over it.
We do not have to struggle.... to produce fruit.
The Vine brings the fruit about naturally... if ..... if we abide.... in the vine.
When we abide in Christ ....we stay at the center ....of God's will.
When we abide in Christ, ....He opens our spiritual eyes ....and we see where He is working.
"Apart from Me, (Slow) you can do nothing!"
We must grasp.... this truth.
Beloved....We cannot conform ....to his image ..... ....We cannot produce His likeness ....unless ....we abide in the vine .... Unless we abide in Jesus.
It is through the branches ....that God offers the grapes .....of heavenly Canaan. (Pause)
May the loving hands of the Father.... prune you ....that much fruit ....may be produced in you.
Beloved..... abide in the Vine ....and let the power of the Holy Spirit ...transform you.
And if you do the Holy Spirit will take you ....from Glory to Glory.
Amen and Amen!
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