Scripture: John 15:1-8 (NKJV)
John 15:1-8New King James Version (NKJV)
15 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away;[a] 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[b] 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.
INTRO:
Good morning and what a blessing to be with all of you.
How many this morning have ever read a Dr. Seuss book? Green eggs and ham? One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish? Hop on Pop? Oh See Can You Say? The Cat in the Hat?
No doubt many of you have either read one of those books or had one of them read to you. Dr. Seuss was an absolute genius in both writing and illustrating high quality Children's books. Dr. Seuss had this amazing way with words and images that simply have captured generations of both children and adults. They are timeless and no doubt will continue to be enjoyed by future generations of both children and adults.
One of his most enduring creations was the "CAT" in the Cat and the Hat stories. There is something about the personality and adventures of that cat and the way Dr. Seuss portrays him that is captivating. He is more than just an illustration. His image speaks volumes. Whenever you see his image, your mind goes into over drive. It's one of those images that get stuck in your mind.
Jesus does the same in the allegory that we find in John 15:1-8. In a matter of a few words Jesus takes this simple image of a vine growing and uses it to teach us first about His relationship with His Heavenly Father and with us, as His disciples. He then takes that little metaphor and further shares with us how to experience a life salvation and sanctification.
Jesus' image of the Vinedresser, the Vine and the Branches are relatively simple images to visualize and understand. And yet, the more time you meditate on Jesus' world you quickly discover that Jesus has given us a wealth of material to absorb and contemplate.
There is more here in this little metaphor than could possibly be shared in a single sermon or even in a brief series of sermons. Rev. Andrew Murray (9 May 1828 – 18 January 1917) dedicated an entire book on this passage. Dr. James Rosscup did the same in writing his book, Abiding In Christ. Each author spent over 190 pages doing the best to dig out all the little gems that they could find in this passage.
With that in mind let's limit our approach this morning by looking at just one concept. Let's limit our time to looking at the concept of MENO that we find John using 40 times in His Gospel.1 Meno is the word that is usually translated as ABIDE.
So, let's look at the concept of Abide. In particular what does it mean to abide in Christ?
To help us even further let's take that word ABIDE and create an acrostic that I believe can serve as a way to get a practical handle on this concept. And a handle on how we can allow this word/concept to assist us in living out a Life in Christ.
A
B
I
D
E
A - Abiding in Christ involves both an ACKNOWLEDGEMENT and an ALIGNMENT
+To abide in Christ means first of all that we acknowledge who Jesus is in our world and in our lives.
Jesus shares with us in verse one that He is the True Vine. In pointing out this fact, Jesus attests that there does exists other vines (other ways to live) in our world that we can use in our attempt to discover personal fulfillment and everlasting life. However, Jesus is just as quick to point out that all other adventures will ultimately prove fruitless. Jesus does not deny other vines, he simply and emphatically states that He is the only true way to life in God. He simply states that He is the True Vine. He is the only way to an abundant life. He is the only way to Everlasting Life. To abide in Christ, therefore means that we acknowledge the truth of John 14:6
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (NIV)
C. S. Lewis writing in Mere Christianity, states this about Jesus:
"A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher; he'd either be a lunatic -- on a level with a man who says he's a poached egg -- or else he'd be the devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse."
"You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."
So Jesus was either a madman, a liar, a myth, or He really was -- and is -- the Son of God.
To abide in Jesus is a call to acknowledge Jesus as the True Vine. In acknowledging Jesus as the True Vine we are therefore acknowledging Jesus as the Son of God, Savior of the World. Jesus gives us no other option.
So, to abide in Christ is first and foremost - an acknowledgment of the Lordship of Jesus. It is to believe that it is only through Jesus we can find salvation (John 3:16). While this may cause some concern and be viewed as naive or narrow minded, the reality is this - If we are to abide in Jesus - we must ACKNOWLEDGE THAT JESUS IS LORD, THAT JESUS IS LORD OF ALL, THAT JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD, THAT IT IS ONLY THROUGH JESUS WE WILL FIND AND EXPERIENCE SALVATION.
+And in acknowledging Jesus as Savior and LORD we are therefore committed to aligning our lives with His Life, with His Spirit and with His Words.
Have you ever driven a car that is out of alignment? Several years ago that happened to us with our van. Every time we drove at a certain speed the steering wheel would begin to shake and the whole van would begin to rattle. You could go slow and not really feel the difference, but once you hit a certain speed the shaking would rattle your teeth and your bones. The van would drift towards one side and in looking at the tires we could tell that they were wearing unevenly. Things were not good.
We had the option not to do anything. But we knew if we just left it alone that soon the tires would be ruined. And with all that shaking we knew that we would cause other damage to the van not to mention what it was doing to our backs. Every time we got out of the car it seemed like we had just gotten off of a wild carnival ride.
So, we schedule a time and took the van to our local mechanic. In a matter of minutes they were able to put everything back into proper alignment. They adjusted what they called the "casters", "cambers" and the "toes". When we left, we were able to drive straight, with no pulling and no vibration. Everything was in proper alignment. It made driving so much better and as an extra bonus we started getting better gas mileage and or tires lasted longer.
What that mechanic did for our van, Jesus can do for our lives, if we allow Him to be our Lord and Savior. He can align our lives. Jesus is able to forgive our sins and fill us with His Spirit. Jesus can transform our hearts, our spirits, our minds and our emotions. Jesus can take a broken down heart and life and align it with His to create a person of wholeness. The best thing we did for that van was to allow the mechanic to align it back to its original design. So, too it is in our lives when we allow Jesus to align us to be back into the image of God, when we allow Jesus to transform us from the inside out.
B - Abiding in Christ means involves a BOND with Christ in mind, heart and spirit
+ Jesus invites us to be bonded to Him.
He invites us to experience Him with all of our being. He invites us to bond our hearts, our minds and our spirits with His.
Some years ago I had to undergo a ACDF (anterior cervical discectomy and fusion). One of the things that they did in my case was to use allograft bone chips to assist in the fusion process. What that means is instead of using some of my own bone in the fusion process they used donor bones fragments. Over time the doctor told us that those bone fragments would bond with my own bone and be completely absorb. They would so bond that instead of being many little pieces they would become a part of my own bone structure.
What was once many little parts became a part of a whole bone structure. I think this is exactly what happens to us when we bond with Jesus. He is the vine and we are the branches. We are bonded into His vine. We are bonded into Jesus, we become One.
It is an image that means that we are more than just loosely connected. We are more than just single parts of a jigsaw puzzle that fit together to form a picture Instead, we are more like all those little pieces of bone that were in my neck. They have all been absorbed and are a part of the whole me. When we bond with Jesus, when we abide in Jesus there is more than connection, more than association. There is oneness, there is something sacred and holy that is experienced. There is a simplicity, a harmony and a unity that can only be experienced in Jesus.
I - Abiding in Christ means that I am being remade into the IMAGE of Jesus
+Restoring the image of Jesus in our lives
Saint Augustine writing in his Tractates on John shares this:
"For as the vine and its branches are of one nature, therefore, His own nature as God being different from ours, He became man, that in Him human nature might be the vine, and we who also are men might become branches, thereof"
Genesis 1:27 tells us: "So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."
You and I were made in the image of God. We were to retain that image but sadly sin has marred that image. The Fall of Sin stained what was to be our true identity, our true image as men and women on this earth. Through Adam's transgression, sin and death has come into our world. It has marred the image of God in all humanity.
In Jesus, in abiding in Jesus that image is restored. It is not something that we are able to do for ourselves. But through abiding in Jesus, we are remade, reborn, born from above into the image of God that were created to possess. In Jesus we are redeemed, restored and made new.
2 Corinthians 3:18New King James Version (NKJV) shares this:
18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
And we all know from Colossians 1:15 that Jesus is the image of God, Himself.
So, what does all this image stuff mean? Simply, this - when you and I abide in Jesus we become like Jesus. We begin that wonderful journey of being transformed into His image, into His Likeness, into a "little Christ" (Christian).
Years ago I had the privilege of not only being taught theology but also being taught angling by Dr. H. Ray Dunning while a student at Trevecca Nazarene University. I had always wanted to learn how to fish so when Dr. Dunning offered the class I thought it would be a great way to learn from an expert.
And so, he took the time to teach us all the "book" knowledge about fishing. We learned about the different types of fishing lines and rods and reels. We learned about the difference between live bait and artificial bait. We learn about the different kinds of fish and the different types of topography under the water.
We learn a great deal of "book" knowledge. But we learned even more. We were able to go fishing with him. We were able to watch how he cast, the different techniques he used and how he fished personally.
I remember the day of the final exam. All of the class went to the same place to fish. We were all lined up on the shore. Each one spaced apart and each given a fishing pole and some bait. The idea was that we were to use all that we had learned to catch some fish.
Looking around, I saw Dr. Dunning right there along with us. So, I just did what he did. I just did the best I could to throw the same way, reel in at the same speed and use the same bait. I figured if he was the expert then I would get the best grade by doing exactly what he did each and every time.
It worked like a charm. I caught enough fish to make a great grade. And in the process learned a great deal about looking at an expert and doing all I could to remake myself into their image.
It is the same with Jesus. Only in Jesus' case - He not only is our example, He allows us to invite His Spirit into our lives. He is more than just our image from the outside. He will remake us into His image from the inside as well. Supernaturally, if we will allow His Spirit, His Word to come into us, we will discover over time we will be transformed into His Image. And just like I did with Dr. Dunning and had a great time fishing and received a great grade, if we allow Jesus, He will give us an abundant life and we will experience the joy of everlasting salvation as well.
D - Abiding in Christ means that I am invited to live a life of Discipline
Some years ago I had the opportunity to work as a substitute school teacher. Most of the time I worked in the gym helping with physical education. It was our responsibility to help the children learn how to exercise and use their physical bodies along with their minds.
Most of the children loved to play all the games. But the majority of them did not care for our times of exercise. They wanted to play but were not interested in doing jumping jacks, sit-ups, knee bends, toe touches, running in place or crunches. They were all ready to shoot basketball, play four square or even Simon sez. But doing exercises was quite an ordeal.
And yet, we coaches knew that the better they practiced their exercises the more fun they would have in playing their games. Their bodies would be in better shape and their minds would be sharper. The discipline of the individual exercises would make it possible for them to be better students and athletes.
The same is true in the spiritual world. We all love to rejoice and celebrate in the name of Jesus. We love to experience "spiritual goosebump" moments. However, to abide in Jesus means that we also must discipline our lives.
I John 3:24 is clear when it tells us, "Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and His in Him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us." (NIV)
Hebrews 12:11 tells us "Now no chastening (discipline) seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterwards it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained for it." (NKJV)
John 15:2 tells us: 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away;[a] and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. (NKJV)
Discipline, exercise and spiritual maturity go hand in hand. To not come under discipline and practice spiritual exercise to is to commit the sin of the ancient Corinthian church. The Apostle Paul writes that they were unable to digest spiritual meat and only could sup a little spiritual milk (see 1 Corinthians 3:1-4). They were becoming spiritual malnourished and their walk in holiness was impeded. Their present condition was bad enough but living on such a poor diet opened them up to other spiritual difficulties. They also suffered from envy, strife and division among their ranks. All of this happened because they refused to mature. They refused to do the necessary discipline to abide in Christ.
Abiding in Christ means we come under His discipleship. It means that we take up and practice the spiritual disciplines of Bible reading, meditation, fasting, solitude, simplicity, confession, worship and celebration to name a few. It means that we allow Him to prune the areas of our lives that are unfruitful and harmful.
Can we live without the pruning and the spiritual exercise? Of course, we can. That is not the proper question. The proper question is - Will we grow into the image of Jesus and will we produce the fruit of holiness in our lives without the disciplines and the pruning? No, even as the Corinthians could not, neither shall we.
Abiding in Christ means that we shake off our laziness and we take up our Bibles and read and meditate. It means that we practice the exercise of fasting, simplicity and solitude. It means we become adept in the areas of worship, celebration and confession. Abiding in Christ involves Discipline.
E - Abiding in Christ is Everlasting
+ The beauty of Abiding in Christ is it never ends.
I love Katie Munnik's blog in the Presbyterian Record in writing about this passage she reminds us of the fact that abiding in Christ is everlasting
"It's ongoing, it's pregnant, growing, life-giving."
Abiding in Jesus is not just aligning our lives, it is not just being bonded in Jesus, it is even more than restoring image and discipline, it is ongoing, it's pregnant, growing and life giving.
This was the genius of John Wesley's theology. He possessed this keen insight into this reality of a continual and progressive walk of holiness. For Wesley, to abide in Jesus may mean that there exists a floor but there was no ceiling. One could, is able and is prompted by the Holy Spirit to continue to grow, continue to mature in Jesus. Holiness starts at the cross but where it ends is up to Jesus. Our part is to understand as E. M. Bounds shares, "The Son of God became Man to enable Man to become sons of God."
In other words, Jesus died for us and invites us to abide in Him so that we can continually grow into the image and likeness of God.
Over the years I have watched the career of Jeff Gordon in NASCAR. I have watched him win over 90 races. He recently decided that this season (2015) would be his last. Anyone that has watched him has noticed that he no longer is at the top of his game. Still a great driver but all those laps have taken a toll on his body and mind.
We see this with other athletes as well. We seen the greats like Nicklaus (golf), Jetter (baseball) and Graf (women's tennis) all reach the zenith of their game only to have time wear them down. Their athleticism fades and their careers wind down. It happens to all us in every walk of life.
Except it does not have to happen to us spiritually. When it comes to our spiritual walk with Christ we can experience just the opposite. While we can fade over the years, the potential remains that while the body may fade, the spirit can soar. An example of this very thing happening is seen in the life of at the life of Daniel the Prophet.
Scholars tell us that Daniel was well past 80 when he was cast into the lion's den (under the rule of Darius) and wrote his more mature prayer in chapter nine. While he was old in body, Daniel was alive and well in the Spirit. He was at the top of his game.
Abiding in Christ is everlasting. There is no end. Like Daniel our later years can prove to be our best years. Sure, our physical bodies will grow old. But we can rejoice in the reality that with each chronological year we can grow sweeter and deeper in our walk with the LORD.
Jesus calls us to Abide in Him.
Today -
1. Today, let us acknowledge Jesus as our Savior and LORD?
2. Today, let us allow Jesus to align our lives to His life.
3. Today, let us allow our heart, our minds and our souls be bonded to Jesus.
4. Today, let us rejoice that we are being remade into the image of Jesus.
5. Today, let us be challenged to engage in the different Spiritual disciplines.
6. Today, let us understand that in Christ there are no limits, no boundaries to how deep our love for Him and others can grow. In Jesus there is ever lasting life, everlasting growth and love.
In closing let's sing a song written in 1998 by Susan H. Peterson - using the Irish tune Loundonderry 11.10.11.10 D
“I am the vine; My Father is the gardener.
Each branch that bears no fruit, He cuts away;
While every branch that yields good fruit, He trims and cleans,
So that it will still more produce each day.
Now you are clean because of My Word’s work in you.
Remain in Me, and I’ll remain in you.
Just as a branch without the vine can bear no fruit,
So you must stay in Me if you would bear fruit too.
“I am the vine; if you, like branches, stay in Me
And I in you, you’ll bear much fruit in turn.
Apart from Me, you can accomplish naught for God;
You’re like a branch that withers and is burned.
But if you stay in Me and I in you each day,
Ask what you wish; it will be given you.
God will be glorified because you bear much fruit,
For thus you show yourselves to be disciples true.
“Just as the Father loves Me, so I love you too.
Obey My Word, and you’ll stay in My care,
Just as I too obey My Father God above,
And in His love remain fore’er and e’er.
I’ve told you this so that My joy may be in you,
And that your own joy may now overflow.
Here’s My command: Love others just as I’ve loved you;
To die for friends—this is the greatest love you’ll know.
You are My friends if you do what I now command;
You’re not mere servants, knowing not My will.
I’ve called you friends, for everything I’ve learned from God,
I have made known, and now I tell you still.
You chose Me not, but I have chosen each of you,
To go and bear much fruit that will remain.
Then God will give you all you ask in My own name.
Love one another; hear now My command again.
http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/i/a/m/iamtvine.htm
1John uses the word "meno" (remain, stay, abide; live, dwell; last, endure, continue; trans. await, wait for - see Strong's Greek 3306 and TDNT 4:574, 581).
Suggested Object Lessons to go with Sermon
+Alignment - using an old tire that shows what results from faulty alignment
+Bond - instead of using "bone illustration" - use glue or car bondo
+Image - using a mirror or a picture of Jesus
+Discipline - a set or barbells or exercise bands
+Everlasting - a helium filled balloon that just keeps going up and up and up
