Connected to the Source
Week 12: "I Am the Very Vine"
John 15:5
Introduction
Church, we have walked through eleven weeks tracing the I AM declarations from the burning bush to Bethlehem. We have seen God reveal Himself as the Provider, the Healer, the Shepherd. Tonight, we come to the twelfth revelation in our series, and I tell you, this one will transform how you live every single day of your life.
Jesus stands before His disciples in John 15:5 and declares, "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." This is not poetry. This is not religious language. This is the declaration of your absolute dependence on Jesus Christ for everything that matters in your life.
Look at what Isaiah wrote hundreds of years before Christ walked on earth. In Isaiah 5:1, the prophet sings, "Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill." God planted a vineyard. He gave it everything. He expected fruit. But what did He get? Wild grapes. Sour grapes. Worthless grapes. Israel failed. The vine became corrupt.
But praise God, Jesus stands up and says, "I am the true vine." What Israel failed to be, Jesus became. What the law demanded but people never produced, Jesus accomplished. Tonight, you will discover that your fruitfulness, your joy, and your effectiveness in the kingdom all depend on one thing: staying connected to Jesus Christ.
I. Israel the Vineyard
Before we understand what Jesus means when He calls Himself the true vine, we need to understand the failure of the first vine. God had a vineyard. That vineyard was the nation of Israel. The story of this vineyard teaches us something critical about human nature and divine expectation.
The image of the vine was everywhere in Israel. A golden vine decorated the temple door. Vines grew along the city walls. Every Jewish person knew what Isaiah meant when he sang about the vineyard. The vine was the symbol of Israel, just as an eagle represents America or a lion represents Britain. When you saw a vine, you thought of God's chosen people.
But here is what breaks your heart when you study the Old Testament. Every single time the prophets mention Israel as a vine, they describe failure.
• Isaiah speaks of wild grapes. Isaiah 5:1-7
• Jeremiah calls it a degenerate vine. Jeremiah 2:21
• Ezekiel shows it burned and trampled. Ezekiel 19:10-14
• Hosea describes it as empty, running to leaves but producing nothing of value. Hosea 10:1
• Psalm 80 cries out for God to restore what has been destroyed. Psalm 80:8-19
This pattern matters because it shows us something profound. Human effort, religious activity, and national privilege cannot produce what God requires. Israel had everything. They had the law, the prophets, the promises, and the covenants. They had God's protection, His presence, His provision. But they still failed to produce good grapes.
A. God's Careful Planting
Look at the detail God gives us in Isaiah 5:2. "He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well." Every single action here demonstrates careful, loving attention.
God brought Israel out of Egypt like a gardener transporting a precious vine from hostile soil. Psalm 80:8 tells us, "Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt; thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it."
• Egypt was killing them.
• The waters of the Nile were death to their shoots.
• Pharaoh trampled them underfoot.
• But God delivered them with signs and wonders, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.
Then God prepared the land. He cleared out stones. He removed the Canaanite nations. Archaeological evidence tells us that about fifty years before Moses, Egypt launched a massive campaign against the Canaanites. God was already preparing the place for His people before they even knew they would need it. When Joshua led Israel across the Jordan, the work had already been done. The soil was ready. The enemies were weakened.
God chose the best location, a fertile hillside with perfect drainage and sun exposure. He planted choice vines, the finest stock. He built a watchtower to protect against thieves and wild animals. He cut out a winepress in anticipation of an abundant harvest. Nothing was left to chance. Nothing was overlooked. God gave His vineyard every possible advantage.
The nation spread from the Mediterranean Sea to the Euphrates River. Psalm 80:11 describes how "she sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river." Under Solomon, Israel reached its peak. The hills were covered with their shadow. This vine overshadowed the mighty cedars. Foreign nations came to see the glory of Israel and departed amazed.
God invested everything in this vineyard.
• He gave them His law to guide them.
• He gave them His presence in the tabernacle and later in the temple.
• He gave them prophets to warn them and priests to represent them.
• He gave them judges to deliver them and kings to lead them.
What more could have been done?
B. Disappointment with Wild Grapes
After all that investment, after all that care, God came looking for good grapes. Isaiah 5:4 records His heartbreak: "What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?"
Wild grapes are not just inferior grapes. The Hebrew word speaks of grapes that stink, grapes that are rotten, grapes that repel you with their smell. God expected justice but found oppression. He looked for righteousness but heard cries of distress. The very things that should have flowed naturally from a people who knew God were completely absent.
• Israel turned to idols.
• They worshipped on every high hill and under every green tree.
• They oppressed the poor and denied justice to the needy.
• They made alliances with pagan nations instead of trusting God.
• They kept the outward forms of religion while their hearts were far from God.
• They offered sacrifices while living in sin.
Jeremiah 2:21 expresses God's confusion: "Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?" God used the best seed. He planted them in the best soil. He gave them the best care. How did they become so corrupt? How did they turn into something unrecognizable?
The answer reveals a fundamental truth about human nature.
• External advantages do not produce internal transformation.
• Religious activity does not create spiritual life.
• Rules and regulations cannot change the heart.
You can give people.
• Every advantage.
• Every opportunity.
• Every resource.
And they will still fail without a new nature.
This is why God pronounced judgment in Isaiah 5:5-6. "I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: and I will lay it waste."
For over five hundred years, God protected Israel from the great empires. He kept Assyria and Babylon at bay. He was the hedge around His vineyard. But when He removed His protection, the enemies poured in. Syria was attacked from the north. Assyria carried away the northern kingdom. Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and the temple. The land lay desolate.
Even the rain stopped falling.
"I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. (Isaiah 5:6)"
For more than a thousand years, the former rains and the latter rains ceased. The land became a wasteland of briers and thorns, the biblical symbol for cursed ground under threat of destruction.
C. The Need for a True Vine
The failure of Israel as the vine created a desperate need. If God's chosen people, with all their advantages and privileges, produced only wild grapes, what hope exists for anyone? If the best human effort under the best conditions yields only failure, where do we turn?
This is where the story becomes glorious. The failure of the first vine points us to the necessity of the true vine. Israel was meant to be a picture, a shadow, a symbol. But shadows fail. Symbols break. Pictures fade. What we need is not another attempt at human righteousness, but a completely new vine planted by God Himself.
Every reference to Israel as a vine in the Old Testament carries a tone of mourning. What could have been glorious became a tragedy. What should have brought joy brought only grief. What was planted to glorify God brought Him shame instead. The vineyard lay ruined, the walls broken down, the tower abandoned, the winepress unused.
But God had a plan. He always has a plan. The failure of Israel set the stage for the coming of the true vine. Someone had to succeed where Israel failed. Someone had to produce what God required. Someone had to be the perfect vine from which all other vines are mere shadows.
II. I Am the True Vine
When Jesus declares in John 15:1, "I am the true vine," every Jewish listener knows exactly what He means. He is claiming to be what Israel was supposed to be but never was. He is declaring that He will succeed where the nation failed. He is announcing that in Him, God will finally have the fruitful vineyard He always desired.
The word "true" does not mean "real" as opposed to "false".
• The word means genuine as opposed to shadow.
• Essential as opposed to copy.
• Perfect as opposed to imperfect.
Jesus is the one perfect, enduring vine before which all other vines are temporary pictures. He is the substance of which Israel was only the shadow.
This declaration comes right after the upper room discourse. Jesus and His disciples have just left the place where He washed their feet and instituted the Lord's Supper. Judas has departed into the night. As they walk through Jerusalem, they may pass the golden vine on the temple door. They certainly see vines growing along the city walls. The image is everywhere around them.
But now Jesus takes this familiar symbol and transforms it. "John 15:1, I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener."
Everything changes with this statement. The focus shifts from a failed nation to a perfect Savior. The emphasis moves from human effort to divine accomplishment. The hope transfers from religious activity to a vital connection with Christ.
A. What Israel Failed to Be
Israel was supposed to be a light to the nations. They were called to demonstrate what it looks like when people live under God's rule. They were meant to show the world the character of God through their justice, mercy, and faithfulness. They were planted to be a testimony that serving God brings blessing and fruitfulness.
But they failed at every point.
• Instead of being a light, they became like the darkness around them.
• Instead of demonstrating God's character, they misrepresented Him to the watching world.
• Instead of drawing nations to worship the true God, they drove them away with their hypocrisy and sin.
Jesus became what Israel was meant to be. He perfectly revealed the Father. John 1:18 tells us, "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." Every word Jesus spoke glorified the Father. Every action demonstrated God's character. Every miracle revealed God's power and compassion.
• Where Israel complained in the wilderness, Jesus fasted forty days and refused to turn stones into bread.
• Where Israel worshipped idols, Jesus worshipped the Father alone.
• Where Israel broke the covenant, Jesus fulfilled every requirement of the law.
• Where Israel produced wild grapes, Jesus produced perfect righteousness.
Isaiah 53:2 prophesied that the Messiah would grow up "as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground." Jesus came from the same soil that produced Israel's failure. He faced the same temptations. He lived under the same law. But He grew straight and strong where others grew twisted and weak. He produced fruit where others produced thorns.
The Father declared His pleasure in Jesus three times in the Gospels. At His baptism, on the Mount of Transfiguration, and in John 12, the voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
Matthew 3:17
Mark 1:11
Luke 3:22
John 12:28
God finally had the vine He desired, the son who brought Him joy, the perfect plant that produced exactly what He expected.
B. The Source of All Fruit
Here is the revolutionary truth that transforms everything: Jesus is not just an example of fruitfulness. He is the source of all fruitfulness. You are not called to imitate His fruit. You are called to receive His life so that His fruit appears in you.
John 15:4-5 makes this crystal clear. "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
Look at the progression.
• In John 15:2, there is no fruit.
• By the end of John 15:2, there is fruit.
• By John 15:5, there is much fruit.
How does this increase happen? By abiding.
• Not by struggling.
• Not by striving.
• Not by trying harder.
By staying connected to the source.
Think about an apple tree. I have never in my life seen an apple tree struggle to produce apples. I have never heard a branch complaining about how hard it is to bear fruit. The branch does not strain or sweat. The branch does not make resolutions or create programs. The branch simply stays attached to the trunk, and the life flowing from the roots produces fruit naturally and inevitably.
But I have seen Christians struggle and strain to control their temper. I have watched believers work themselves into exhaustion trying to manufacture love, joy, and peace. I have observed people creating elaborate systems and rules to force themselves into holiness. And none of it works in the long run. Sooner or later, the old nature emerges again.
The secret is not self-improvement. The secret is abiding in Christ. The life of Jesus flowing into you produces the character of Jesus flowing out of you.
• His love becomes your love.
• His joy becomes your joy.
• His peace becomes your peace.
• His patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control appear in you not because you manufactured them, but because you received them from the vine.
Galatians 5:22-23 calls this the fruit of the Spirit. Notice it says fruit, not fruits. This is one fruit with nine characteristics. You do not pick and choose which aspects to develop.
You receive the whole package as Christ's life flows into you.
• Love is defined by joy.
• Joy is protected by peace.
• Peace expressing itself in patience.
• Patience demonstrated through kindness.
• Kindness rooted in goodness.
• Goodness empowered by faithfulness.
• Faithfulness is exhibited in gentleness.
• Gentleness is maintained by self-control.
C. Branches That Bear
When Jesus says in John 15:5, "for without me ye can do nothing," He is not exaggerating for effect. He means exactly what He says. Zero. Zilch. Nothing. Every activity done apart from abiding in Christ counts for nothing in eternity. Every deed performed in your own strength amounts to nothing.
You may volunteer for worthy causes. You may join service organizations. You may donate time and money to charitable work. But if these things are not done while abiding in Christ, for the glory of Christ, because you are led by Christ, they count for nothing. You may be applauded on earth, but you will receive no reward in heaven.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:12-15 that our works will be tested by fire. Wood, hay, and stubble burn up. Gold, silver, and precious stones remain. What determines the difference? Not the apparent value of the work. Not the impact it had on Earth. But whether it flowed from abiding in Christ or from human effort alone.
This truth should humble us and encourage us at the same time. It humbles us because it strips away all our claims to self-generated goodness. We want to believe we are capable of producing something worthwhile on our own. We want to maintain some small area of independence. But Jesus destroys that illusion. Apart from Him, we do nothing of eternal value.
Yet this truth also encourages us because it means the pressure is off. You are not responsible to produce fruit through your own effort. You are responsible to stay connected to the vine. As long as the connection remains strong, the fruit will appear inevitably. The branch does not worry about producing apples. The branch just hangs in there, day after week after month after year. In due season, the blossoms come, the apples appear, and there is fruit, all because it stayed connected.
III. Staying Connected
Now we come to the practical application.
• How do you stay connected to the vine?
• How do you maintain this vital union with Christ?
• How do you ensure that His life flows freely into you so that His fruit appears naturally in you?
The word "abide" appears ten times in John 15:1-10. This repetition tells us that abiding is not automatic. It requires intention and attention. You must choose to remain connected. You must guard against anything that would sever or weaken the flow of life from Christ to you.
Colossians 2:6-7 gives us the key: "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving."
Notice the simplicity. Walk in Him the same way you received Him. You did not receive Christ by your own effort. You did not earn salvation. You did not achieve righteousness. You simply believed, and He came into your life. Now continue in that same attitude of dependence and faith.
The passage uses three images.
• You are rooted in Christ, drawing life from Him as a tree draws nutrients from the soil.
• You are built up in Christ, adding layer upon layer as a building rises on its foundation.
• You are established in Christ, standing firm because He is unshakable.
But notice that all three images assume an ongoing connection.
• The root must stay in the soil.
• The building must remain on the foundation.
• The structure must stay anchored to the rock.
A. Daily Abiding
Abiding is not a one-time decision. Abiding is a daily discipline. You must come into the presence of Jesus every single day. You must spend time in His Word. You must pray and listen for His voice. You must worship and remember His sacrifice. You must fellowship with other believers who will encourage you to stay connected.
Look at John 15:7: "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you."
The connection between abiding and the Word is direct and essential. You abide by letting His words abide in you. Scripture cleanses you.
Jesus said in John 15:3, "You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you."
Psalm 119:9 asks, "How can a young man keep his way pure?"
The answer: "By living according to your word." Nothing else will keep sin from you. Nothing else will cleanse you. Opinions, philosophies, psychology, and self-help programs all fall short. Only the Word of God has the power to transform you from the inside out.
Daily Bible Reading
This is why daily Bible reading matters so much. This is why memorizing Scripture changes your life. This is why meditation on God's truth produces fruit. The words of Jesus abiding in you maintain the connection through which His life flows. When you neglect the Word, you are like a branch that has been partially cut. The flow diminishes. The fruit withers. The connection weakens.
Prayer
Prayer is the other essential discipline. Prayer is not religious duty. Prayer is the breath of the soul. Prayer is communion with Christ. Prayer is the conscious acknowledgement of your dependence on Him. When you pray, you are saying, "Apart from you, I am nothing. Apart from you, I have no wisdom, no strength, no power, no love. Everything I need flows from you."
Acts 20:32 tells us that God's Word "is able to build you up."
2 Peter 3:18 commands us to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
Ephesians 4:13 sets the goal that we would come "to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ."
All this growth happens as we stay connected through the Word and through prayer.
B. Pruning for Growth
Abiding does not mean comfort. Abiding does not mean ease. John 15:2 reveals something that surprises many believers: "Every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful."
The Father is the gardener, and He prunes His branches.
The Greek word translated "prunes" means to cleanse, to purify, to remove everything harmful. A gardener prunes by cutting away dead wood, diseased limbs, and excessive growth that would drain strength from the fruit-bearing parts of the plant. The pruning process is not punishment. The pruning process is preparation for greater fruitfulness.
God removes things from your life that hinder your growth. He cuts away habits that drain your spiritual vitality. He eliminates relationships that pull you away from Him. He reorders your priorities. He changes your values. He strips away your dependence on anything other than Christ.
This pruning hurts. No one enjoys the cutting knife. No one welcomes the removal of things that feel comfortable and familiar.
But the alternative is worse.
• Without pruning, the branch produces less and less fruit.
• Without pruning, the life of Christ flows to areas that produce nothing of value.
• Without pruning, you waste your potential and miss your purpose.
Lifts Up
Here is the beautiful order that God follows. First, He lifts the branch up. The word translated "cuts off" in some versions of John 15:2 primarily means "lifts up." When a grapevine trails on the ground, it produces no fruit. The gardener first lifts it up, exposing it to the sun, allowing it to hang free. God draws you closer to Himself. He creates in you a genuine devotion. He awakens your desire for Him.
The Pruning Process
Then He prunes. He removes the harmful elements. But because He has first drawn you close, you hardly feel the loss. When a girl falls in love, she stops playing with dolls. No one forces her to give them up. She simply outgrows them. They become unimportant compared to the new relationship. In the same way, as you grow close to Christ, the things that used to attract you lose their appeal. You do not give them up. They give you up.
This is far better than trying to lop off so-called unspiritual practices without first being drawn closer to God. That approach produces hypocrisy. You imagine yourself saintly when you are not. You look down on others. You create a vacuum that something worse rushes in to fill. But when the pruning follows intimacy, you grow into genuine holiness. The external change reflects internal transformation.
C. Joy as Fruit
Jesus concludes this teaching with a promise that should capture your attention. John 15:11 says, "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full."
The purpose of abiding is not just fruitfulness. The purpose includes fullness of joy.
• Joy is one of the fruits of abiding.
• Joy flows from the vine into the branch.
• Joy is not manufactured by circumstances.
• Joy is not dependent on external conditions.
• Joy is the natural result of staying connected to Jesus Christ.
When His life flows into you, His joy flows into you.
This joy remains even in difficulty. This joy persists through trials. This joy sustains you when everything around you falls apart. Why? Because the source of joy is not your situation but your Savior. As long as you stay connected to Him, joy flows into you regardless of what happens around you.
This is what makes Christianity different from other religions and philosophies.
• Buddhism seeks to eliminate the desire to achieve peace.
• Stoicism trains you to accept whatever happens without emotion.
• Positive thinking tries to convince you that everything is fine.
But Christianity gives you genuine joy rooted in a relationship with the living God.
• The joy is real.
• The joy is deep.
• The joy is lasting.
Philippians 4:4 commands, "Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice."
This is not fake happiness. This is not pretending everything is fine when it is not. This is authentic joy based on who Christ is and what He has done. You rejoice in Him. You find your delight in Him. You discover that He satisfies your deepest longings.
The progression is clear. Abiding produces fruitfulness. Fruitfulness brings glory to the Father. Glory to the Father results in joy for you.
John 15:8 ties it together: "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples."
When you abide in Christ, you bear fruit. When you bear fruit, God is glorified. When God is glorified, your purpose is fulfilled. When your purpose is fulfilled, your joy is complete.
Conclusion
Church, we have come to the end of our journey through the I AM declarations. From the burning bush where God said, "I AM THAT I AM," to this upper room where Jesus says, "I am the true vine," we have seen God reveal Himself in power and glory.
But today, you face a personal question. How connected are you to the vine?
• Are you truly abiding in Christ day by day? Or are you trying to produce fruit through your own effort?
• Are you staying close to Jesus through His Word and prayer? Or are you operating on yesterday's connection?
Romans 11:17-18 warns Gentile believers, "If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not boast over those branches."
You have been grafted into the true vine. You have access to the life of Christ. But you must guard that connection.
1 John 2:6 sets the standard: "Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did."
2 Corinthians 5:17 declares, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come."
Ephesians 2:10 reveals, "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
But all of this depends on maintaining your connection to Christ. Apart from Him, you are nothing. Apart from Him, you produce nothing. Apart from Him, your life counts for nothing. But in Him, connected to Him, abiding in Him, you will bear fruit, more fruit, much fruit that remains for eternity.
Altar Call
I want you to examine your life right now. Where is the fruit? Where is the evidence that Christ's life flows through you? Where is the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control?
If you see little fruit, the problem is not your circumstances. The problem is not other people. The problem is not a lack of effort. The problem is a weak connection. You have drifted from the vine. You have substituted activity for intimacy. You have tried to produce in your own strength what only Christ's life can produce in you.
The solution is simple. Come back to the vine. Return to daily time in His presence. Get back into His Word. Resume your prayer life. Reconnect with the body of believers. Stop trying to do it on your own. Stop struggling and striving.
• Just abide.
• Just stay connected.
• Just hang in there with Jesus, and the fruit will appear.
Maybe you are here tonight, and you have never been grafted into the vine at all. You have never received Christ as your Savior. You have been trying to live a good life, but you have no source of spiritual life. Jesus says to you tonight, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6).
• You need to be born again.
• You need to receive Christ.
• You need to be grafted into the true vine.
John 1:12 promises, "As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name."
I am going to ask you to respond. If you need to recommit yourself to daily abiding in Christ, come forward. If you need to receive Christ for the first time, come forward. If you need prayer for specific areas where you see no fruit, come forward. The altar is open. The Father is waiting. The true vine stands ready to receive you and fill you with His life.
Do not leave this place the same way you came. Do not go back to struggling in your own strength. Connect to the vine. Abide in Christ. And watch as His life produces in you the fruit that brings glory to God and fullness of joy to your soul.
Come now. Come while the Spirit is drawing you. Come and be connected to the source.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE:
Your feedback matters!
If this message resonates with you, please take a moment to rate it on Sermon Central. Ratings help me know what's working and inspire me to keep creating fresh content.
Here's how to rate:
Look for the star rating system above the sermon text. Click the number of stars that reflects your experience (5 being the highest).
Thank you for your time and support!
In addition to ratings, feel free to leave a comment to share what impacted you or ask questions.
Blessings,
Pastor JM Raja Lawrence
Andaman & Nicobar Islands
email: lawrencejmr@gmail.com
Mobile: +91 9933250072
* If you need This Sermon in Tamil with my other personal Notes, please email me, and I will send it to you in a PDF Format. Thank You.
