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.
V) A Study of Contrasts Part 1
Paul was a master of showing contrasts, showing polar opposites in attitudes and in actions.
Paul shows four areas of the sins of the flesh:
Sex
Religion
Human Relationships
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 Now the works (plural) of the flesh are evident, which are:
Adultery,
(this word is not in some manuscripts)
Fornication,
from porneia, from which is derived the English pornography. The term has a broad meaning, referring to all illicit sexual activity—especially, but not limited to, adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bestiality, and prostitution.
Uncleanness,
is from akatharsia, which literally means "unclean" and was used medically to refer to an infected, oozing wound. It is the negative form of katharsia, which means "clean" and is the word from which we get catharsis, a cleansing. In Scripture the term is used of both moral and ceremonial uncleanness, any impurity that prevents a person from approaching God.
Lewdness, It is unrestrained sexual indulgence, such as has become so common in the modern Western world. It refers to uninhibited sexual indulgence without shame and without concern for what others think or how they may be affected (or infected).
All human religion is based on self-effort, on man's sinful insistence that he can make himself acceptable to his humanly-conceived God by his own merits.
20 idolatry (putting things or people before God)
Sorcery, (pharmakuos--drug related worship. Aristotle and other ancient Greek writers used the word as a synonym for witchcraft and black magic, because drugs were so commonly used in their practice.
Human Relationships-- how people relate to others
Hatred, is in the plural and refers to hateful attitudes,which result in
Contentions or strife among individuals, including bitter conflicts. Wrong attitudes invariably bring wrong actions.
Jealousies, is a form of anger and hateful resentment caused by coveting for oneself what belongs to someone else.
outbursts of wrath, sudden, unrestrained expressions of hostility toward others, often with little or no provocation or justification. It is the all-too-common sin of unbridled temper.
selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, animosities between individuals and groups that sometimes continue to fester and grow long after the original cause of conflict has passed.
Murders, (not in some texts) Drunkenness, revelries, and the like;special reference to the orgies that so often characterized the pagan worship ceremonies that many of the Gentile converts of Galatia had once participated in.
of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit (singular) of the Spirit is love,
Joy,
Peace,
Longsuffering,
Kindness,
Goodness,
faithfulness,
23 gentleness,
self-control. Against such there is no law.
24 And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
(NKJ)
