The True Vine Part One
John 15:1-8 (9-17) 2
Good Morning everyone- Glad that you have joined us
If you would turn with me to book of John chapter 15
Jesus own words on being the True vine.
In some bibles, these words are in red, Jesus telling us the truth, we should be writing it down because it is IMPORTANT
Prayer-
We have just come out of a series on the armor of God- knowing what the armor is, how to wear God’s armor, who can even have the armor of God because it is for believers to fight off the enemy.
This month we begin a series on connecting with God called “The True Vine” probably 3 Parts
Connection with God
Connection with each other.
Connection with your family and your Church
Each vital connection is important and has its place in our lives.
Illustration-
Years ago in Texas history, towns grew because of the oil business. They were called “boom towns”. They started quickly because of oil strikes in uninhabited areas of Texas and people flocked to get there hoping that they would strike it rich. One boom town outside of Beaumont Texas had four main roads which the oilmen named “That way” “This way” “any way” and “His Way.” The oil dried up and thousands of people flowed out of the town. Many people took “That Way” others took this way, some choose any way and a small group of people chose His way.
In our world today, many are going this way, that way, any way, and few are going His way-
The only way we will go His way is to be intentional and seeking to be connected with Him.
John 15 reveals to us what it is to be connected to Jesus and the importance of being connected.
John 15:1-8 Read from Bible
We know Jesus is the vine, the source the power, the life source
We are to be the branches connected to the vine
God the Father is the vine dresser or gardener or the one who will prune us depending on translations. He prunes the dead stuff away and at times new growth so that the branch will have its source concentrated on the areas of grapes to give and bear much and the best fruit.
We see that the vine in the OT was God and being disconnected from the vine was Israel in disobedience to God.
Jesus in the NT says that He Himself is the vine and believers need to be connected to Him to be able to do the things that He commands us to do as followers of Christ.
Being cutoff (v2) is his judgment should we stay off the vine and do our own thing.
Pruning on the other hand is allowing God to cut out things in your life while being on the vine so that you can bear “much fruit.”
Remain in me is a warning that apart from the true vine you will not bear fruit.
In fact, apart from the vine you will die a spiritual death.
A branch away from the vine is lifeless.
His repetitious wording shows us urgency and necessity to being on the vine where we receive life so we will not die apart from it.
“I am the Vine” (John 15:1) is the last of seven “I am” declarations of Jesus recorded only in John’s Gospel.
These “I am” proclamations point to His unique divine identity and purpose. Jesus said, “I am the True Vine” to the closest people gathered around Him.
It was only a short time before Judas would betray Him; in fact, Judas had already left to do his infamous deed (John 13:30).
Jesus was preparing the eleven men left for His pending crucifixion, His resurrection, and His subsequent departure for heaven.
He had just told them that He would be leaving them (John 14:2). Knowing how disturbed they would feel, He gave them this metaphor of the Vine as encouragement.
Jesus wanted all of us, not only the original disciples, to know that He was not going to desert them.
Even though He was leaving, He would continue to nourish and sustain them just as the roots and trunk of a grape vine produce the energy that nourishes and sustains its branches while they develop their fruit.
Jesus wanted us to know that, even though we cannot see Him, we are as closely connected to Him as the branches of a vine are connected to its stem.
Our desire to know and love Him and the energy to serve Him will keep flowing into and through us as long as (what) we “abide” in Him.
Jesus went on to remove any misunderstandings (John 15:4).
He said that no branch can even live, let alone produce leaves and fruit, by itself.
Cut off from the trunk, a branch is dead. Just as a vine’s branches rely on being connected to the trunk from which they receive their energy to bear fruit, Jesus’ disciples depend on being connected to Him for their spiritual life and the ability to serve Him effectively.
The fruit we produce is that of the Holy Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22–23).
Our source of life and spiritual fruit is not in ourselves; it is outside us, in Christ Jesus.
We can live and serve Him effectively only if we are rightly connected to Him in a faith/love relationship.
Then Jesus even more strongly says, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
This illustration is reality. No believer can achieve anything of spiritual value independently of Christ Jesus.
He also reminds us that there are some who are “in” Him who bear no fruit. But these are not, as some would suppose, true branches that just happen to be fruitless. All true branches bear fruit. Just as we know a healthy, living tree by the good fruit it produces, so do we recognize fruitless branches as having no connection to the True Vine. This is why Jesus tells us, “By their fruit you will know them” (Matthew 7:16–20).
Those who do not produce good fruit are cut away and burned. The reference here is to apostates, those who profess to know Christ but whose relationship to Him is insincere.
Eventually, the fruitless branches are identified as not belonging to the Vine.
So, we depend on Jesus for everything, starting with our very life—“For in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28)—and including our reconciliation with God through Him (Romans 5:10).
No one can serve God effectively until he is connected with Jesus Christ by faith.
Jesus is our only connection with the God who gave life and who produces in us a fruitful life of righteousness and service.
When we reconnect with our creator and we connect back with each other, we will see the power of God working through us and in us to accomplish all that He wants for us.
We do not have to agree with each other on every issue but if we want to see the blessing of the Lord in our life and in our country, we need to agree on the things that the Lord has given us answers for.
Christ is the life-giving vine, and we are the branches that God the Father has grafted into him.
If we are connected to him, we bear fruit. If not, we are dead because our strength and faith can’t live without him.
Our relationship with Jesus is unlike anything else. When it is good it is like nothing else. When it is bad, we struggle and feel disconnected. Anybody relate?
If you abide in me, you have life. Apart from me, you will die.
If you allow me to prune and correct you, you will bear much fruit.
If you do not, you cannot do anything apart from me. (That is bigger than yourself.)
That is where I want to spend a few moments this morning. Being connected with Him and bearing much fruit.
I want you to see something here.
They believe that Jesus said these words to his disciples as he was in the upper room before Judas betrayed him.
Jesus was warning them that to be disconnected from him in the future would be a disaster for their relationship with Him.
Read verses 1-4 again.
“You are already clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.”
This forced me to think about my relationship with the Lord.
These verses made me think of what my prayer life looked like with the Lord.
This verse made me think of our church as we seek God out for the things we want Him to do in our lives and the life of the church.
Thinking about our prayer lives, let’s look at verse seven.
“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Fathers glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
My Prayer-
Father, looking at this verse, we see that if we are connected to the vine that as believers and as your disciples and followers that you promise us much fruit and we today desire to see that promise fulfilled in the life of the people of Rosedale. Amen.
If we believe that- We should have no limitations that fall within the will of God.
“He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto the Father, and whatsoever you shall ask in my name, that will I do, that my Father may be glorified in the Son.”
WOW! WOW! Can you imagine! The exceeding greatness of that promise is overwhelming to me, yet we quote scripture that says;
“He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.”
He tells us that our strength and our fruitfulness depends on our relationship with him and our prayers we offer up to Him.
What is your prayer life like?
I read that and I think that everyone of us could be praying more.
I think that everyone of us has to be honest and see if we even have a prayer life that would bring power and fruitfulness into our lives and others around us.
(Do we have the kind of prayer life with the urgency of a house on fire and we have to get them out)
I think each one of us has to be honest and see if what we are going through and wanting God to intervene can be attributed to the fact that we have not been in communication with God and we ourselves are hindering what God is desiring to do because we do not have the power of God working in our lives.
Fellow-laborers, we should not doubt the power of God! (Repeat)
I would not begin to tell you this morning how much time you must spend in prayer.
I will tell you that if you do not have time in prayer, you are cheating yourself out of a blessing for yourself and your family, AND YOUR CHURCH FAMILY.
I will tell you that if every person in this congregation would pray for the power of God to fall on this community that we would see a difference- GUARENTEED! It is His word, not mine!
I am telling you that prayer works.
Maybe what we are talking about would come to reality if we spent more time talking to God about it.
Praying is a privilege when you think that the God of the universe would listen, a duty for all that desire to do kingdom work and a necessity to see what is done in the power of God and not just limited to our own talents and ambitions.
Only the Holy Spirit of God can stir us up and allow us to take hold of God.
The author of the kneeling Christian writes; “We may work for Christ from morning till night; we may spend much time in Bible study; we may be most earnest and faithful and “acceptable” in our preaching and in our individual dealing, but none of these things can be truly effective unless we are much in prayer. We shall only be full of good works; and not “bearing fruit in every good work.”
To be little with God in prayer is to be little for God in service.”
We all keep saying we want revival to come! On our terms?
Maybe the revival needs to start in each one of us to allow God to work in us and to use us.
Have you ever timed your prayers?
You would be surprised the time you spend.
We all can do better with the time we communicate with God.
Prayer has to be because you want too and it has to be spontaneous and it has to be listening and talking. Not just a recited prayer though they can help.
Prayer-
