Purpose
By
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
OPENING: - When we look at people the condition of the world the desires of society the aspirations and goals of our governing entities, we understand that everything is designed toward the dark side, self-existence, self-promotion, self-acclamation, and everything that God is not. Self-centeredness and greed is killing the growth of people in this country and world-wide. Our society and ones self-worth is based upon likes comments and shares because the social media platform calls this the norm and if you go contrary to this new so-called norm, you are cancelled disqualified outcasted and considered useless and without purpose because this is what is paramount and not purpose.
People’s lives are relegated by what is posted about them on the internet. We see and hear about it all the time how a person is bullied on the internet and either commits suicide or goes on a shooting rampage because of what is posted about them on the internet. Political decisions and outcomes are sadly made based upon what is on the internet. Ministries are destroyed or propelled because of what is posted on the internet. Because the internet now plays such an integral part in our lives people are focusing on trying to make sure they are not cancelled or disqualified on the internet that they fail to live and walk in their purpose. Too often people strive to be accepted popular, approved wondering did I get enough likes and shares, have I gone viral or have I been cancelled and neglect their true purpose.
Don’t get me wrong - Yes, the internet can offer the opportunity of many different resources and open a wealth of information, but we must be aware of our purpose and not let anything interfere with our purpose.
Understand that when you plant a vineyard the purpose is different than when you plant a flower bed. My wife plants flowers around the house and in the barrels, she has going down the driveway so that we can enjoy the beautiful flowers and all the beautiful colors, some attract butterflies, others humming birds, and others are a multitude of colors, they look good and make the house and yard look beautiful through the different season of the year. However, I plant a garden in the back yard for a totally different purpose and that is to harvest a crop in the fall. My goal and purpose for the garden is that our garden will bear a lot of vegetables of different types so we can enjoy them especially through the fall and winter. Now if all the garden produces are flowers and leaves, my efforts in planting it has failed because the purpose for which I planted the garden was not achieved. It may look pretty but it will not fulfill the purpose it was planted.
And such were some of you!
John 15 is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible because of the progression of relationship that unfolds in this chapter especially versus 15-17. However, John 15 falls into three sections that teach our purpose as a church and as individual believers. Our first purpose is God-ward, and verses 1-11 focus on our relationship with Christ. Our second purpose is to love one another, which is the point of verses 12-17. Our third purpose is to proclaim the good news to the world, which is the focus of verses 18-27. But the point of the story of the vine and the branches is that we who follow Christ and would abide in Him and bear much fruit. That’s our purpose as redeemed people. Contrary to popular belief we are not redeemed just to go to Heaven. This is our God-given purpose.
PRAYER
SCRIPTURE: - John 15:1-7 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman (vinedresser). Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you”.
Definition: - Purpose = the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.
In our text, Jesus reveals God’s purpose to the disciples as well as us today: The purpose is to bear much fruit, not to just be saved, go to church and Bible Class and Prayer meeting or to just be flowers to look at but be a harvest that produces and benefits others. Jesus pictures Himself as the true vine, the Father as the husbandman or vinedresser, He is the True Vine and the disciples which are all those that follow Him as the branches.
The Vinedresser / Husbandman: - A vinedresser, or husbandman, is more than a mere farmer or gardener. Grapes are more than an annual crop, it deeper than the vegetables I plant in my garden every year. The vinedresser's grape vines remain with him for decades. He comes to know each one in a personal way, much like a shepherd with his sheep. He knows how the vine is faring from year to year and which ones are more productive or vigorous than others. He knows what they respond to and what special care certain ones need. He understands every vine has its own personality and comes to know it over the years and just how to care for each vine and nurtures it, pruning it the appropriate amount at the right times, fertilizing it, lifting its branches from the ground and propping them or tying them to the fence post, and taking measures to protect them from insects and disease. So, when Jesus calls His Father the Vinedresser, He is describing Him in terms of His relationship and attitude as well as His actions in the lives of the disciples and all that follow Him. To say He is a vinedresser is to tell them and us that He cares personally and is wise to know exactly what to do to make us fruitful. With such a Vinedresser, we the branches can experience complete confidence and security, we can trust Him to take care of us and everything we need.
When Jesus describes Himself as the vine, He calls Himself the “true vine”. By “true vine” He means, “genuine” “real” “authentic”. He describes Himself and says I am “the true vine”, not just “a vine” but the “True Vine” this indicates that He has a specific image in mind not just anything will do.
WATCH THIS: - In the Old Testament, Israel is often referred to as God’s vine that He planted. It became a national symbol that was on some of their coins. There was a golden vine over the entrance to the temple. In Isaiah 5:1-7, the prophet paints a picture of the Lord planting a vineyard and expecting to find good grapes at the harvest, but it only produced worthless wild grapes. As a result, the Lord threatened to destroy the vineyard because it did not fulfill His intended purpose. Psalm 80 uses a similar analogy. God removed a vine from Egypt, planted it, and for a while it was prospering. But now the hedges that protected the vine are broken down and wild animals were ravaging the vineyard. So, the psalmist cries out for God to turn again and take care of this vine that He planted so that it will again be fruitful. Other Old Testament prophets use the same analogy but, in each case, Israel was God’s vine that He planted with the intention that it would bear fruit, but they were disobedient and unfruitful.
But now Jesus claims to be the true vine, He is the perfect example, the perfect obedient one they should pattern themselves after. We take this in comparison to all the falseness, selfishness, egotistical, politicalized, images people portray today we understand that Jesus is letting us know that he is the true vine, He is the image that we are to be portraying, we are not to be striving for popularity, fame, fortune, prestige, or power, but the purpose He has destined for us and that purpose is to bear fruit.
Christ’s purpose for all branches in Him is that we bear much fruit.
Bearing fruit is our God given purpose. We see it both negatively and positively in John 15:2: “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit”.
To bear fruit is to see God produce Christlikeness in you.
Bear Fruit: - refers to whatever the life of Christ produces in and through you and me the believer who lives in close fellowship and relationship with Him. Just as branches draw nourishment and life from the vine, we as believers that are connected and abide in Christ draw spiritual vitality from our relationship with Him. That fruit includes obedience to Christ’s commandments, especially the command to love one another John 15:10-12 “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you”. All conduct that is pleasing to the Lord Ephesians 5:9-10. It is having the fruit of the spirit Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Temperance as stated in Galatians 5:22-23 which is the transformational work of the Holy Ghost in those that are connect to the vine Jesus Christ.
It also refers to winning souls to Christ through your witness John 4:36 “And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together”. This is the ministry we all have been given the ministry of reconciliation 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God”.
To sum it up, fruit is Christlike character, Christlike conduct, and Christlike converts.
God saved you to bear fruit for Jesus Christ. If you profess to be a Christian, but you aren’t bearing fruit, you need to examine yourself and make some course corrections before it’s too late.
The branches that do not bear fruit are cut off and thrown into the fire.
Two verses teach this: John 15:2, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away….” John 15:6, “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned”.
I need to look at these here for a minute. Some do not bear fruit and some bear fruit. Those that do not bear fruit are not fulfilling their purpose. They’re dead wood. They get cut off and thrown into the fire. They represent those who profess to believe in Jesus, but their lives give no evidence of saving faith, they have a form of godliness but deny the power, they come to church, they pay tithes and offerings, but their heart is far from God, they go through the motion but that is it. They are like the Pharisees and Sadducees who John the Baptist rebuked in Matthew 3:7-10 “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire”. They thought that being children of Abraham would get them into God’s kingdom, even though their lives did not bear the fruit of repentance many people today believe well I go to church I do all the things I am supposed to do, but they don’t bear fruit and will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
Time is too short to be playing patty cake and giving sugar coated messages. We don’t have time to debate and say well I don’t think it means this or that let the Word of God speak for itself. If the branch is dead and not bearing fruit it will be cut off and cast into the fire. We can’t be playing church, we can’t be playing around with our God given purpose.
I truly believe when we look and see what is going on with the weather and the controllable fires that God is warning His people make sure you are living within your purpose. He is warning and pruning us. He is letting us know that He is removing things that are dead or dying, that are hindering growth because they are infected or diseased and causing us not to focus on Him.
CLOSING
The branches that bear fruit are pruned so that they will bear more fruit and much fruit.
This is the ultimate goal and purpose to produce much fruit.
Now there is this pruned I need to talk about before we move on. Pruning is a powerful biblical metaphor used to describe God’s process of refining and disciplining His people. Just as a gardener prunes a vine to remove dead branches and encourage healthy growth, God prunes us to shape our character, remove sinful tendencies, and help us grow spiritually. Pruning is not a punishment, but a necessary part of God’s loving work in us to bear more fruit for His kingdom.
Pruning involves refining our lives so that we can bear more spiritual fruit, growing in love, joy, peace, and all the fruits of the Spirit.
There is a progression: In verse 2, the Father prunes the branches that bear fruit that is the Christ likeness so that they will bear more fruit this is all the fruit of the spirit, the boldness of Christ, the endurance, the obedience. In verse 5, the branches that abide in Christ bear much fruit this would be the souls and as Jesus said it Himself John 14:12 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, 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 my Father”.
To accomplish this we must abide in Him and abiding in Him is the only way we will fulfill our purpose.
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
