KEEPING CONNECTED
John 15:1-11
S: Relationship with God
C: Connection with Jesus
Pr: WE ARE TO POSSESS A FRUITFUL RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS.
?: What, How, Why
KW: Questions
TS: We will find in John 15:1-11 three questions Jesus answers about their relationship with Him.
Type: Propositional
The ____ question Jesus answers is…
I. WHAT ARE WE TO DO? (1-5)
II. HOW DO WE DO IT? (6-10)
III. WHY DO WE DO IT? (11)
PA: How is the change to be observed?
• Be fruitful
Version: ESV
RMBC 07 August 05 AM
INTRODUCTION:
While sitting in the Upper Room with His disciples…
1. Jesus knew that His time had come (13:1).
John begins (in what we call chapter 13) with this statement…
Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
His time was coming to an end.
He was going to be with His friends only for a short time more.
He was leaving.
He was going to His death, and they were not going to understand it.
But…
2. Jesus assures them of the truth (14:6).
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him."
They could have confidence that they were on the right track, no matter what is about to happen.
Since they knew Him, their life was secure.
They knew the way.
They had seen Him.
And because of this, they had seen the Father.
This conversation was rather mysterious.
Jesus was talking like He was leaving.
It was so disconcerting and discomforting.
But knowing this…
3. Jesus comforts them with a promise (14:26).
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
He was not leaving them stranded.
They were going to become men of the Spirit.
They were going to be fully connected to God.
They were not going to forget.
They were going to remember all of what was happening.
And they were going to understand it.
Having said these things, Jesus and the disciples leave the Upper Room and are on the move…
TRANSITION:
ILL Connection: Call of the Child
One day a mother found her three-year-old son with the telephone, which he quickly hung up when he saw her. "What were you doing?" she asked him.
He said that he had called his Aunty Tara.
"How could you have called Aunty Tara?" she asked. "You don’t even know her number."
"Yes, I do. I called her," he replied.
She wasted a lot of breath trying to convince him that he didn’t know her number, but he insisted he had made the call. "Okay," she said finally. "What did she say, then, if you called her?"
He answered, "She told me I had the wrong number."
So…
1. How is your connection?
Are you connected to who you should be?
You know those Verizon commercials…
“Can you hear me now?”
And the answer comes…
“Good.”
We want phones that make good connections.
We find it frustrating when we can’t hear someone, or when a call is dropped.
We want to understand and we want to be understood.
When Jesus leaves the Upper Room and goes to the Garden of Gethsemane, He wants them to be understanding about the vital connection that they are a part of.
“I am the vine; you are the branches.”
When He compares us to the world of botany, Jesus reveals something about the essential nature of our relationship with Him.
That is…
2. WE ARE TO POSSESS A FRUITFUL RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS.
We are made to be fruitful.
Throughout today’s passage, we are going to see Jesus’ concern for us is that we bear fruit.
We know that we are bearing fruit when we support what the Lord is doing in us.
We know that we are bearing fruit when we are being the Christian God has made us to be.
In other words, we are fruitful when we demonstrate certain qualities, like the fruit of the Spirit.
And we are fruitful when we reproduce ourselves in others.
So…
3. We will find in John 15:1-11 three questions Jesus answers about their relationship with Him.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. (2) Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. (3) Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. (4) Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. (5) I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (6) If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. (7) If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. (8) By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. (9) As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. (10) If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. (11) These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. “
OUR STUDY:
I. The first question Jesus answers is WHAT ARE WE TO DO? (1-5)
1. We must understand the nature of our relationship.
This past week, Dondra and I were driving along the Thruway between Buffalo and Erie and noticing the volume of fields of grapes.
Grape vines can be very productive.
Good plants will produce 80 lbs of grapes in a single season.
Not only that, good roots can produce fruit for nearly 100 years.
But this doesn’t just happen.
The vines must receive constant and attentive care.
In order to produce that maximum yield, vines must be tended, watered, protected and cultivated.
So, to understand the nature of our relationship with God, Jesus gives us a picture that He is the vine.
God is the vinedresser, the farmer, if you will.
And we are the branches.
We are connected and we are in partnership with God through this connection.
In so doing…
2. We are designed to bear fruit.
This is simple biology.
It is the natural result.
If we do not produce grapes, then something is not right.
The truth is, though, that if the branches are left on their own, they won’t do the job.
So God is active in making us better.
He prunes in order to remove the dead wood that will harbor disease and decay.
He trims because untrimmed vines develop rambling branches that produce more wood than grapes.
In the same way, God is active in making sure that we are in a position to produce fruit.
We are not fruitful due to any human achievement.
We are fruitful because we are attached to the vine.
Our effectiveness is dependent on receiving the constant flow of life that comes from being connected to the vine.
But we do have a role in all of this…
3. We are to keep the union going.
The command is to abide.
We are to remain attached.
When we keep our focus on the Lord and stay at it, we possess those perfect occasions to produce fruit.
But when we lose our focus, Satan gains access, and we become unproductive.
If we are not deliberate, we place ourselves in the position where we lose the opportunity to produce life.
Now we come to…
II. The second question Jesus answers is HOW DO WE DO IT? (6-10)
So we know we have to do it.
But how do we do this vine and branches thing?
What do we do to keep this organic biological connection going?
First…
1. We keep united by the Word.
Never doubt the power of God’s Word in your life!
ILL Bible: The Living Word
A Christian university student shared a room with a Muslim. As they became friends, their conversation turned to their beliefs. The believer asked the Muslim if he’d ever read the Bible. He answered no, but then asked if the Christian had ever read the Koran.
The believer responded, "No, I haven’t, but I’m sure it would be interesting. Why don’t we read both together, once a week, alternating books?" The young man accepted the challenge, their friendship deepened, and during the second term he became a believer in Jesus.
One evening, late in the term, he burst into the room and shouted at the long-time believer, "You deceived me!"
"What are you talking about?" the believer asked.
The new believer opened his Bible and said, "I’ve been reading it through, like you told me, and I just read that the Word is living and active!" He grinned. "You knew all along that the Bible contained God’s power and that the Koran is a book like any other. I never had a chance!"
"And now you’ll hate me for life?" queried the believer.
"No," he answered, "but it was an unfair contest."
How do we keep connected?
We spend time around the Word…Bible reading, Bible study, memorization, meditation.
We allow the Word of God to get into our lives.
We allow it to influence everything we think, say, and do, in the realization it is powerful to change us.
I like one preacher’s advice…
“There’s a lot of people that knows this book but they don’t know how to live what’s in it.”
(Terry Vaughan)
If we are truly united to the vine, we will be living the Word.
Not only that, our prayer life will reflect it.
You know, it is not that we can ask for anything and we will get it.
It is that we can ask for anything that carries with it the purpose of bearing fruit and it is something that God desires to bless.
Next…
2. We are to connect in love.
Jesus states the essential nature of love in this relationship.
We are to continue in His love.
He loves us and we respond to His love.
He loves us and we are to show that love to each other and the world around us.
If we don’t have love, nothing else matters.
We can’t be heard.
Our testimony is a shambles.
We will bear no fruit.
It really is that simple.
Finally…
3. We obey His commands.
ILL Obedience (General)
As an Army dentist, Col. Elton treated a general on base. During his visit the colonel made impressions of the general’s teeth, and the putty-like substance he used smeared all over his lips and cheeks. After the colonel was done he invited him over to the sink, gave the general a moist towel and asked him to "clean up the mess I made" while he filled out the lab report. When the colonel turned back around, his heart skipped a beat as he watched the general wipe up the counter around the sink.
Well, none of us are too high and mighty to be obedient.
It is an essential for us.
We are not to be caught knowing the doctrine and teaching of the Word of God, and then struggling with the application.
Doing what God says shows that our love is really at work.
It is how we demonstrate our love for Him.
And it keeps the connection going.
Now we come to…
III. The third question Jesus answers is WHY DO WE DO IT? (11)
It is a great reason…
God’s goal for us is joy.
We are not connected to a miserable God, even though many a Christian may give evidence of it.
Yes, there are too many Christians that sing “I’m So Happy in Jesus” with huge frowns on their faces.
It is a part of God’s design of fruitfulness to possess joy.
So, if you don’t have it, there is a reason.
If you are disconnected, it will steal your joy.
If you are disobedient, joy will be elusive.
If you are distracted by popularity, fame, riches, recreation, or work, you are just like Solomon who could find no joy or satisfaction.
The only way to joy is to be connected and to keep the connection going.
APPLICATION:
1. Can you hear Him now?
This is an issue that is much bigger than Verizon.
The vital, life-giving connection to God must be maintained on our part, for God will never, ever fail on His part.
He will be there for us…always.
We can bank on that.
So, we must recognize our dependence, and see to it that we listening.
ILL Listen: “LISTENING SLOWLY”
Pastor and writer Charles Swindoll once found himself with too many commitments in too few days. He got nervous and tense about it. "I was snapping at my wife and our children, choking down my food at mealtimes, and feeling irritated at those unexpected interruptions through the day," he recalled in his book Stress Fractures. "Before long, things around our home started reflecting the patter of my hurry-up style. It was becoming unbearable.
"I distinctly remember after supper one evening, the words of our younger daughter, Colleen. She wanted to tell me something important that had happened to her at school that day. She began hurriedly, ’Daddy, I wanna tell you somethin’ and I’ll tell you really fast.’
"Suddenly realizing her frustration, I answered,’ Honey, you can tell me -- and you don’t have to tell me really fast. Say it slowly."
"I’ll never forget her answer: ’Then listen slowly.’"
Good advice…
Good advice to us as believers in the Lord.
If we want the joy, then we must keep listening to the Word.
If we want the joy, then we must keep loving each other.
If we want the joy, then we must wholeheartedly obey God.
There is to be no half-hearted attempt, for being half-hearted is to get the worst of both worlds and miss the joy He has for us.
You see…
Jesus never planned on our failure.
He has given us everything we need in order to have fruitful living.
Inside of us is the “sap” of the Holy Spirit.
For…
2. Fruitful living is to be the norm.
Is it how you are living?
COMMUNION:
I and the Father are one.
I am the bread of life.
I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever lives and believes in me will never die.
I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
I am that vine; you are the branches…This is to my Father’s glory that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold, I am alive for ever and ever!
Those of us that know Jesus are invited to share in the elements of the table.
You do not have to be a member of this church to partake, but we do ask that you have a relationship with Jesus.
If you do not know Jesus, that is, you have not received Him as your Savior and Lord, you do not trust Him with your life, that is, you have not been changed by the message, just let the elements pass by.
Please wait until the time comes when you do have that personal relationship with the Lord Jesus.
We practice “communion” because we are to remember the death of the Lord Jesus.
We take the bread to remind us that it was by the body of our Savior that our salvation came.
He died in our place.
He became our substitute.
We take the cup to remind us that it was by the blood of our Savior that our salvation came.
He died for our sins.
He became our sacrifice.
Being led in prayer by ___________________, let us take a moment and thank Him for being our sacrifice.
(Prayer)
The apostle Paul writes, "The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."
Let’s partake together.
__________________ will now come and lead us in prayer.
Again, the apostle Paul writes, "In the same way, after supper he took the cup saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."
Let’s partake together.
BENEDICTION: [Counselors are ]
Be fruitful…remain in the vine…being fully connected to Jesus.
Be fruitful…by listening to His Word, by loving one another, and by obeying His commands.
Be fruitful…and experience the joy of a productive life.
Now may your love abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best; and may you be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Amen.
RESOURCES:
John: That You May Believe, R. Kent Hughes
NIC: John, Leon Morris
Sermoncentral:
Christians that Produce Christ-Like Fruit, Terry Vaughan
I Am the Vine, K. Edward Skidmore
Finding Joy in a Storm-Torn World, Gene Gregory
The Vine and the Branches, Robert Leroe
The Crisis of Dependence, Jerry Vargo
Experiencing Joy, Kevin Higgins
