GROWING FRUITFUL FOLLOWERS
John 15:5-13
INTRO:
Give every child an apple as they enter, with instructions not to eat it…
As I talk this morning, I want each of you with an apple to be thinking about what this apple has to do with who Jesus wants us to be, what Jesus wants us to do.
We’re calling this little series “Mission Possible.”
Anybody here remember the old TV series Mission Impossible?
[Show ‘Mission Impossible’ image and play sound clip]
What a great show. It always began the same way. Every week, in a format that has been copied endlessly since, Linc and the gang would be given an assignment that was deemed impossible because of it’s danger and unlikelihood of succeeding. And every week they faced insurmountable odds as they attempted to turn mission impossible into mission possible.
I wonder if Jesus felt that way. I think Jesus may have been in the same boat. Imagine this scene: It’s the night that Jesus would be betrayed, arrested, and then killed. He knows it, but his 12 followers don’t. He’s having his last supper, his last conversation with them. They don’t know it, but he’s charging them, preparing them for life without him there. His band of followers has shrunk to these 12 rag tag guys and few of their relatives. They are about to be plunged into grief and fear like they’ve never known. The Jewish nation and the Roman empire were both about to swing their mighty hammers to smash their little movement. With Jesus about to be taken out of the picture, the mission of changing the world would belong to these 12. Sounds like mission impossible, doesn’t it?
Let’s listen in on some of his final words for them. As we read them today, we will discover the seemingly impossible mission he gives them. And it will greatly help us understand our own mission. Mission impossible? You be the judge…
Turn with me to John 15. As I read John 15:5, notice how Jesus begins by describing his relationship with his followers.
A. He is the vine; we are the branches
Jesus emphatically states the he is the vine, we are the branches. He uses the language of the vineyard to picture their relationship, and also our relationship with him. When he hear the word “branches” we’re tempted to think of trees, and that’s probably close enough. But he’s really talking about a vineyard, where the vines have shoots, or branches, coming out of them.
The point of this is he is making sure they all understand their roles: “Guys, I am the vine, you are the branches, connected to me.”
B. The purpose of branches is to bear fruit
Now, let’s talk about the apples some of you have. We have to talk about apples, because I thought it would be too messy to give you all grapes. So apples will have to do. Tell me about your apple. Where did it come from? [Take responses, leading them to the answer “from a branch.”]
That’s right. Fruit comes the branch, whether its apples from a tree or grapes from a branch.
Jesus says, since he is the vine, and we are the branches, we can produce fruit. As long as we ‘remain in him,’ or remain connected to him, we can produce fruit, like a branch would. Jesus says that’s natural – branches produce fruit. But only if they are connected to the vine. If I sawed a branch off of an apple tree, would it produce any apples? No, of course not. It has to be connected to the tree. Jesus says, “Stay connected to me and you will produce fruit.”
Now let’s read John 15:6. Those are pretty strong words. They make an important point – the purpose of the branches is to bear fruit. If you have a vineyard, or an orchard, and there is no fruit being produced, you are going to do some pruning, aren’t you? The only way you can not produce fruit is to not stay connected to Jesus. Jesus is talking about spiritual things. Just a like a branch’s purpose is to produce literal fruit, our purpose is to produce spiritual fruit.
Producing fruit is a good thing – it’s something you should want to do. It sure beats the alternative – getting thrown out. Jesus gives us a glimpse of the good things that happen when we produce fruit. Look at John 15:7. Jesus says if you stay connected to me, you will see your prayers answered in amazing ways. That’s because you will be so connected to him that his life will literally flow through you, like the life of the vine flows through the branches. What you pray for will be more and more aligned with his will, because you will be so close to him. You will pray what he would pray, and he will surely answer. Pretty cool. So producing fruit is a good idea. But there’s more. Look now at John 15:8. Notice what Jesus says.
C. When we bear fruit, we prove we are followers
Jesus says two remarkable things happen when you stay so connected to him, like a branch to the vine, that you have this vital, close union with him, so that his life is in you. First, he says you glorify God. When you produce fruit, you bring glory to God. That’s a good thing. That is in fact the ultimate end, isn’t it? Did any of you grow up with the Westminster Shorter Catechism? That document has defined Christian teaching for many for a long time. It begins “the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. How do you glorify God? By producing fruit.
The second amazing thing Jesus says is that when you produce fruit we prove that we are disciples of his. The word ‘disciple’ means ‘follower.’ Jesus says this is the proof that you are a disciple – you are fruitful.
Kids, look at your apples again. Jesus is saying this is your mission. This is your goal. Produce some of this stuff. He also says the opposite – if there’s no fruit, there’s no proof that you are a follower of Christ.
1. Jesus calls us to produce fruit
Jesus wants us to be fruitful followers. Jesus wants us, individually and corporately, to remain so connected to him, that he literally produces fruit through us.
This is our mission. If you read our official documents, you will find that our mission statement reads “Growing Fruitful Followers of Jesus Christ.” That’s the big, overall goal of the church. Sometimes we forget that. Sometimes we talk so much about the 4 pillars of our vision – engaging God in authentic worship, experiencing community in small groups, empowering families to pass on their spiritual heritage, and extending the good news around the world, that we forget those items serve the bigger purpose. They are our vision of how we will fulfill our mission. So our mission is to grow fruitful followers. To be fruitful.
How fruitful do you think you are? How much and what kind of fruit are you producing?
That’s a tough question to answer, isn’t it? That’s because we don’t really know what fruit is. We don’t really have a definition of what fruit is. What exactly is it that Jesus wants us to produce?
A. Fruit is growing Christian character
Broadly speaking, fruit is the qualities of Christian character. Christian character are the actions and attitudes that define being a Christian. It’s the attributes that help you know a person is a Christian. For instance, look at Galatians 5:22-23. These virtues are the fruit that the Spirit of Christ produces in us. Turn to Ephesians 5:8-9. Here is more of this kind of fruit. But fruit also has to do with our actions. Look at Matthew 3:8. Here Jesus talks about the fruit of repentance – when you repent you stop doing something and start doing something. There are actions and activities that are fruit. Like prayer, and worship, and sharing your faith, etc. Fruit is also faith, and is shaped by what you believe. Kids, hold up your apples. How do you know you are holding an apple? Because of it’s color, shape, smell, taste, etc. Christian character is like that – it’s the things that show your are a Christian.
B. Fruit is growing other followers of Christ
But fruit is also something else. In Matthew 28:19, Jesus said to go and make disciples. Or followers. Followers make other followers. Kids, look at your apple again. What’s in the very center of your apple? Seeds, right. Have any of you ever planted the seeds from an apple you ate? What happened? Yeah, me too. But let’s say you planted your seeds in a place where the soil, and the weather, and the water was perfect for apples. What would happen? It would grow. That’s right – it would make more apples. That’s one of the things that characterizes fruit – they have seeds in them, or on them like strawberries. Their purpose is to make more fruit. That’s how more apples grow. One apple releases it’s seeds to make more. It’s the same with Christians. God’s plan for making more Christians is you. That’s right, you. You are fruitful when you help grow other Christians.
2. Fruit is growing Christian character and other followers of Christ
Our mission is to be fruitful – to let the life of Christ be formed in us, and to help grow other fruitful Christians. We think this is so important, that we are going to introduce a helpful tool for all of you to use. It’s called the Christian Life Profile. This tool creates a profile of what it means to be a follower of Christ. [slide or insert of the 30 competencies] It lists 30 key elements to the Christian life, divided into three categories: 10 essential beliefs of a Christian; 10 key practices of a growing Christian; and 10 virtues you have to pursue to be a growing Christians. It isn’t everything. But it is the basics. And we’re going to make these available to all of you. Here’s how it works: Once a year or so, so fill out the profile – it’s a self-evaluation based on the 30 key elements. You rate yourself by answering a series of questions. When you’re done, you get a glimpse of where you need to focus. It helps you set an agenda for your own spiritual development. Each year, you can pick one or two things to work on. Each year, you can share this with your home group, and they can become your accountability and your encouragement as you grow.
We are also going to use the 30 key elements in the profile to help us form sort of a spiritual formation calendar to help us, over time, make sure we cover all of them in our worship services. In each of our services, whatever the theme, we will connect it to one of the core elements. And we will integrate this with our adult community groups, and our new personal adult bible study material. In other words, each week, they will all focus on the same core element of the Christian life.
So our mission is to produce fruit, the fruit of Christian character and the winning of others to follow Christ. Let’s focus more on exactly how we accomplish that.
A. We produce fruit when we are connected to Christ
We’ve already focused on the importance of our connection to Christ. John 15:5 makes it clear that we only produce fruit when we are vitally connected to Christ. The branches have to stay connected to the vine. We’re hoping our Christian life profile, our spiritual formation calendar, our personal bible study all will help you stay more vitally connected to Jesus, so that you will be fruitful. Our new adult community groups and our new children’s workshop rotation model will all help that as well. [explain both]. But there is another element vital to producing fruit. It’s found in John 15:9-13.
B. We produce fruit when we are connected to one another
Did you notice the emphasis on love? Did you see the command in verse 12: That you love one another. Jesus charges them in the strongest terms that they must love one another, as he has loved them. Why? Because their world was about to blow up and they were going to face severe persecution. They needed the undying commitment of love to see them through. You see, we also produce fruit when we are connected to one another in love. Producing fruit is not a solitary endeavor. God has knit us together in this marvelous things called the church. We are so connected, the Bible describes us as a body. The difficulty and pressure of living for Christ in our culture requires the love of others to see us through. Like it or not, Christianity is a group experience. Always has been, always will. The development of deep, loving relationships is key.
3. We produce fruit when we are connected to Christ and to one another
We must be connected both to Christ and to one another if we hope to be fruitful.
The reality is, you can’t accomplish this in one hour on a Sunday morning. If you want to be a fruitful follower of Jesus Christ, you need the time and space to develop meaningful relationships. That’s why we are pursuing some new things this fall. [Explain fall schedule and adult community groups.]
CONCL:
