Oct. 19, 2003 John 15
“Getting out of the empty basket”
NOTE: All quotes unless otherwise specified come from Bruce Wilkinson’s book, Secrets of the Vine
Introduction
A young boy went to the local store with his mother. The shop owner, a kind man, passed him a large jar of suckers and invited him to help himself to a handful. Uncharacteristically, the boy held back. So the shop owner pulled out a handful for him. When outside, the boy’s mother asked why he had suddenly been so shy and wouldn’t take a handful of suckers when offered. The boy replied, "Because his hand is much bigger than mine!"
I believe that many of us have not yet learned the lesson that this young man had learned. We are trying to reach into the sucker jar of life and pull out all that we can get rather than allowing God to hand us all the blessings that He has in store for us.
Last week, we began a study of John 15 which is all about how we can receive the blessings that God has for us. In this passage, John puts those blessings in terms of fruitfulness in our lives – achieving all that God has planned for us and getting to enjoy the sweet flavor of His working.
We talked about the different participants that are necessary in order for there to be a harvest of fruit:
Vine – Jesus – provides resources
Gardener – Father – prevents problems
Branches – Us – produce fruit
Gal. 5:22-23 “fruit of the Spirit” Titus 3:14 “good works...not unfruitful” (KJV)
Is it normal for a grapevine to produce grapes? Yes. Now, we all go through times in our lives when we are producing little outward fruit. But if there is no fruit over the long-term – if unfruitfulness is the pattern of your life, that means that something is wrong. Let’s think through the possibilities. Is the Vine – Jesus – doing His job? Yes. Is the Gardener – the Father – doing His job? Yes. Then the problem has got to be with the branches. The problem of why you are not bearing fruit over an extended period of time is you. You are in the empty basket because something is wrong.
Last week, many of you expressed a dissatisfaction with being in the empty basket. You said that you didn’t want to be there anymore. That’s good, because it means that you are ready to take some steps to bring about change.
1. What prevents a Christian from bearing fruit?
“Sin is not hurtful because it is forbidden, but it is forbidden because it’s hurtful.” - Benjamin Franklin
"Most of us spend the first six days of the week sowing wild oats, then we go to church on Sunday and pray for a crop failure." -- Fred Allen
Peter Marshall said, “We are too Christian really to enjoy sinning, and too fond of sinning really to enjoy Christianity.”
Self-will Being unwilling to do God’s work in God’s way
“If anyone does not remain...” (vs. 6) “If you remain...” (vs. 7)
Self-reliance Being unwilling to do God’s work in God’s power
“No branch can bear fruit by itself...” (vs. 4) “apart from me, you can do nothing.” (vs. 5)
Self-love Being unwilling to do God’s work for God’s motivation
“remain in my love” (vs.9) “Love each other as I have loved you.” (vs. 12) “Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends.” (vs. 13) “If I speak...but have not love...If I have the gift of prophecy...if I have faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess...but have not love, I gain nothing.” (1 Cor. 13:1-3)
Self-glorification Being unwilling to do God’s work for God’s glory
“This is to my Father’s glory that you bear much fruit...” (vs. 8) “...whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Cor. 10:31)
2. What actions does God take in order to get Christians to bear fruit?
Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for...
Lift up “teaching”
“...don’t you think the phrase ‘every branch in Me should prove the main point here? ...salvation was never a work on our part to begin with. – p. 32-33
“How is ‘takes away’ related to ‘cleanness’? And what could ‘cleanness’ have to do with ‘no fruit’? – p. 33
“airo ... would be ‘take up’ or ‘lift up.’ ...both the Bible and in Greek literature, airo never means ‘cut off.’ ... ‘Lift up’ suggest an image of a vinedresser leaning over to lift up a branch. But why? – p. 33
“New branches have a natural tendency to trail down and grow along the ground, but they don’t bear fruit down there. When branches grow along the ground, the leaves get coated with dust. When it rains, they get muddy and mildewed. The branch becomes sick and useless.
“What do you do?” I asked. “Cut if off and throw it away?”
“Oh, no!” he exclaimed. “The branch is much too valuable for that. We go through the vineyard with a bucket of water looking for those branches. We lift them up and wash them off. ... Then we wrap them around the trellis or tie them up. Pretty soon they’re thriving.”
“When the branches fall into the dirt, God doesn’t throw them away or abandon them. He lifts them up, cleans them off, and helps them flourish again. ...sin is like dirt covering the grape leaves. Air and light can’t get in.
Clean off “rebuking, correcting”
“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.” (Hebrews 12:5-6)
“If your life consistently bears no fruit, God will intervene to discipline you. – p. 35
“He will use painful measures to bring you to repentance. His purpose is to cleanse you and free you of sin so that you can live a more abundant life for His glory. The Bible calls this process discipline or chastening. ... Discipline is what happens when our loving Father steps in to lift us away from our own destructive and unfruitful pursuits. ‘As a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you’ (Deut. 8:5)
“What does God do to wayward believers? ...He takes necessary measures to correct them just as the vinedresser takes necessary measures to correct a wayward branch. Why would a loving God want to bring us pain, even a small dose? To get our attention and to gain a highly desirable result from our life. (Heb. 12:10-11) ... God’s actions are all intended to nudge you – lovingly, wisely, persistently – toward the life and character you desire but can’t reach without help.”
Level 1 - Rebuke
“Consider the power of a mother’s eyebrow. ... The truth is, my mother’s eyebrow wielded great influence because I knew from experience what would happen next if I didn’t pay attention.” – p. 43 In Tammy’s family, her dad would say, “That’s two.” When my family went on bus tours, my siblings and I knew if we were using poor table manners because we would receive a good kick under the table from my mother.
“My son, do not...be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him” (vs. 5) A rebuke is a verbal warning.” Bruce says that if he did not wisely respond to His mother’s eyebrow, his dad would clear his throat as if to say, ‘Bruce, is it possible you didn’t notice your mother’s eyebrow?’ Still no response, and dad would firmly say his name.
“These rebukes were a result of my poor choices and were meant to spare me further pain. ... God can make Himself heard in many ways: a prick of our conscience, a timely word from another person, a Scripture, the preaching of God’s Word, or conviction by the Holy Spirit. – p. 46
Level 2 - Chasten
“For whom the Lord loves He chastens” (vs. 5) ...Chastening is something you feel as emotional anxiety frustration, or distress. What used to bring you joy now doesn’t. Pressures increase at work, at home, in your health or finances. For young Bruce at the dinner table, chastening might have meant being sent ot his room until the meal was over. No more food. No more enjoying the company of family. The rebukes hadn’t worked. Hopefully, an unpleasant feeling would.
“Many Christians bump along in this level of discipline, yet fail to read the signs. They feel unfulfilled at church, critical of their Christian friends, and ‘on the outs’ with God. When they pick up their Bible, it feels like a lead weight instead of welcome relief. Their relationship with the Lord, ... seems blighted by a sadness or lethargy they can’t quite trace.
“If any of these symptoms sound familiar, you don’t need to go to church more or try to read your Bible with a better attitude. You need to look for ongoing sin in your life, the dirt crusting over your leaves and cutting you off from God’s best.
“If you don’t respond, love will compel your Father to take more drastic measures.”
Level 3 - Scourge
“And scourges every son whom He receives” (vs. 6) – “to whip, to inflict punishment. ...the same word the Gospels use to describe what the Romans did to Jesus... At this level of discipline, you are living in open sin with a flagrant disregard for what you know is right.
“Pain – everyone hates it, but it sure does get your attention, doesn’t it? ...Paul said that unconfessed and unrepented sin in the Corinthian church had cast an alarming pall over that little community. ‘That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died’ (1 Cor. 11:30)
“If the personal cost of long-term, serious sin can become so great, you have to wonder, What keeps so many Christians from dealing with it and moving on into fruitfulness?
Don’t connect the pain to their sinful actions.
Don’t see that God’s punishment can escalate trying to bring them to repentance.
Don’t see that the positive benefits of repentance outweigh the pleasure of sin.
Don’t see a way out.
Don’t see the need.
Don’t see it as a sin, but a weakness.
“Face the fact that the longer you stay in discipline, the more you are asking God to turn up the intensity of His corrective actions.
Tie in place “training in righteousness”
RESULT: FRUITFULNESS! “so that the man of God may be thorougly equipped for every good work.”
“…God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:10-11)
“The discipline doesn’t have to continue! It’s all up to me. I will only experience pain as long as I hang on to my sin. ...As soon as the branch is cleaned up and ready to thrive, the need for intervention ends. – p. 39
“Satan would love to convince you that because your Father is dealing firmly with you, you’re a worthless, unlikable loser. The opposite is true. Only if you’ve never received discipline should you doubt His favor. ... ‘If you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons’ (Heb. 12:8)
“Christians can suffer from fatigue, illness, and even death because of long-term, unheeded disciplining.
“...understanding how He goes about this – and how to respond to Him so that His correction can end – is the part of the secret that can take you to the next level of fruitfulness. That’s where you get to trade in your empty basket for clusters of luscious grapes. – p. 41
3. What response must you give in order to bear fruit?
Admit
Submit
Repent
“Repentance is a turning away from the sin that ails you to the bounty God promises you.
“Neither is repentance a one-time act. It is a lifestyle, an ongoing commitment to keep putting aside our rebellion and receive God’s forgiveness. Some sins leave us in such bondage that we need ongoing help and accountability.
“Each of us is invited to give God permission every day to shape and cleanse and redirect us.” – p. 53
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 1:9
CONCLUSION
Sammy was a young boy who lived in the Deep South. His summer days were filled with times of walking through the woods, playing with friends, and fishing in the pond down the road. Fishing was by far his favorite thing to do. Just about every day during his summer vacation, he would dig up some worms and head off, pole in hand, for a day of fishing.
This steamy hot day was like most others during Sammy’s summer break. Waking early, he could hear the pond calling him to come fish. Sammy quietly walked out the front door, grabbed his pitchfork and worm pail and walked into the woods to search for bait. He turned over old stumps and dug under leaves hoping to find worms. Under one old stump he hit the jackpot. The ground was writhing. In 2 minutes he had all the bait he needed, and in 15 minutes he was at the pond.
Reaching into his bait bucket, Sammy pulled out a big worm. He double hooked it and tossed in into the water. He noticed a stinging in his hand, but filled with the excitement of the moment, he paid no attention to it. Within 30 seconds, Sammy had a strike and pulled in a nice catfish. Wow, he thought, a fish in the first minute.
He put the catch on his stringer, hurried to rebait his hook and tried his luck again. Once again he felt a stinging sensation in his hand as he threw his hook into the pond. He didn’t have time to worry about it. Within just a few seconds, he had another huge fish. He fumbled the next time he baited his hook--his hand felt numb and stiff. But Sammy was too excited about catching another fish to give it much thought.
At the end of only an hour, Sammy had caught 8 large fish. This was definitely his best fishing day ever. He was so proud of his accomplishment that, even though there was plenty of day left to fish, he threw the heavy stringer of fish over his shoulder and dashed down the road toward home to show off his catch to his parents.
The local sheriff happened to drive up alongside Sammy and started to congratulate him on his catch of fish. With a smile and a victory whoop, Sammy held up the stringer. The sheriff gasped, parked his car and ran over to Sammy. His eyes hadn’t deceived him--Sammy’s arms really were red and swollen to about twice their normal size. “Exactly where have you been and what bait did you use to catch all those fish?” the sheriff asked Sammy.
“I found some special bait under an old stump,” Sammy boasted. “These worms really wiggle good,” handing up the bucket for inspection. After a close look at the worms, the sheriff went into fast-forward. Putting the bucket in the car, he swooped up Sammy made a U-turn on the dirt road and sped off to the hospital, but Sammy was already dead.
What the sheriff had discovered was that Sammy had been fishing with baby rattlesnakes. Sammy’s deadly bait brought him a good morning of fishing but cost him his life. Had Sammy stopped fishing after that first sting, he could have been saved. But Sammy was having too much fun and didn’t bother himself with the small voice of pain in his hand. Then, as the hand grew numb, even that voice was silenced.
Playing around and not dealing with sin is like using baby rattlesnakes for bait. It may seem harmless but it’s putting its venom in you. It will steal your fruitfulness first, and then it will steal your life.
