You're Not The Vine Series

You're Not The Vine

John 15:1-11

OKAY – today we are going to conclude our series, ‘Powerful Passages…’ NOW – we will no doubt pick this up again and have a few powerful passages sequels sometime in the future, because there are so many passages that I would have loved to for us to dive into and unpack…

SO – this morning we will wrap this series up by unpacking John 15:1-11… In a conversation I am calling, “Not The Vine!”

OKAY… let’s do this, “Not The Vine…”

AND – you may want to turn in your bible or fire up your bible app to John 15…

IT’S – Thursday night and Jesus is walking with His guys (minus one) to the garden.

IN – mere hours He will be arrested, beaten, mocked, tried and nailed to a wooden cross, where He would hang for 6 hours, from 9 am – 3 pm.

UNDERSTAND – Jesus has been with these guys for over 26,000 hours, and now He is down to the final handful.

WOW – it had to be a very emotional time for Him.

AFTER ALL – Jesus not only knows what is about to happen to Him, but also knows what is about to happen to them,

SO – I am sure that His mind is racing trying to determine what words He can say to both help and prepare them for days, weeks, months and years ahead.

YEAH – these are very powerful few hours without a doubt.

AND – check this out, the apostle John devotes about 1/3 of His entire Gospel to them…

OKAY – so here is how I see this thing going down….

JESUS – is leading His guys from the upper room to the garden, AND – as He does, He gives them (and us) a powerful illustration based on something that was very common in first century Palestine, Vineyards…

YOU SEE – Vineyards were one of their major cash crops.

THEREFORE – the lessons drawn from them would be both obvious and familar to the Eleven.

NOW – as we look at this illustration, as distant as we are, by time and culture, we need to focus on the key components. The vine, the branches and the gardener.

The job of the VINE is to provide the necessary “juice” to the branches so that they can produce fruit.

The job of the BRANCH is to stay connected to the vine so that it will just naturally produce fruit.

The job of the GARDENER is to cut off “fruitless” branches and to “prune” fruitful branches.

AND MGCC – within this passage is both a great promise and a warning…

A promise - about the power and fruitfulness of connecting, and

A stern warning that they (His guys, the 11) must be careful that neither they or their converts become “dead wood”

I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that produces no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. – John 15:1,2

NOW - grapes only grow on new branches not on woody stocks. So every year the excess stock was cut off (by the gardener) SO THAT - the vine could spend its strength on growing fruit rather than use it up its resources on dead, unfruitful wood.

AND MGCC – the warning (that Jesus wants both the 11 and us to understand) is that like a good gardener, God refuses to allow “deadwood” in His Vineyard.

AND SO – here’s the deal…

THOSE - who may by external appearances look like Christians, but bear no fruit will be cut off.

AND UNDERSTAND – even those who do bear fruit, are subject to the painful but essential process of pruning.

NOW - sometimes pruning takes place through the trial and difficulties that we are forced to undergo…

QUESTION – have you ever been pruned by hardship?

Are you being pruned even now?

BUT UNDERSTAND B/S – in the very next verse we see that pruning is also is done through the words of Jesus.

You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. – John 15:3

QUESTION – have the words of Jesus, has the word of God ever pruned you?

Jesus continues…

Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can produce fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you produce fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will produce much fruit; apart from me you can produce nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. – John 15:4-11