I am the True Vine

We’ve been going trough the “I am” statements of Jesus in the gospels.

Each “I am” statements reveals his sufficiency for our deepest questions and desires.

Jesus is the Bread of Life. He truly satisfies our hunger for deep relationships.

Jesus is the Light of the World. He gives us hope in a dark-filled world.

Jesus is the Door for the Sheep. Jesus offers safety and rest for their souls

Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Jesus is the gentle shepherd who rescues us by laying down his life for us.

Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. Jesus gives life and now and forevermore.

Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Jesus is the entry point in order to experience life how it was meant to be.

Today’s “I am” statement is “I am the true vine.” Jesus offers a life-giving relationship to his followers.

Let me tell you why I came to Jesus.

I became a follower of Jesus when I was 14.

I grew up in a non-religious home.

Prior to placing my trust in Jesus I remember experiencing two strong feelings: a feeling of loneliness and a feeling of emptiness.

Basically I felt like something was missing in my life and I didn’t know what it was.

Jesus makes a bold declaration, “I am the true vine.” That is, Jesus offers a life-giving relationships to his followers. A life marked by a vibrant prayer life, gospel-motivated obedience, overflowing joy and sacrificial love.

Friends, there are a lot of false vines out there that promise you life and meaning but at the end of the day they leave empty.

Jesus declares in John 10:10, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

I’m the true vine out of which life flows.

How do I tap into this life?

Keyword: abide

John 15:4, 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.

This is so significant because we are not called to produce spiritual fruit on our own, but to abide on the one true vine that is full of life and then as we are connected to him, life flows through us like a branch connected to a tree.

This is the whole concept of abiding in Jesus: Connected to the source of life.

Why is it important to abide in Jesus?

1. The Purpose of Abiding

Abiding in Jesus produces spiritual fruit.

“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. 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.” (John 15:4–5, ESV)

I got good news for you: Jesus is the vine; we are the branches. Why is this so significant? Because our call is not to produce spiritual fruit, but to be connected to the source of life. Spiritual fruit is the result of you and I abiding in Jesus.

This is such good news because....

But often times we are tempted grow spiritually without being connected to Christ.

What part of “apart from me you can do nothing” don’t we get?

We need to stop trying harder and let the Holy Spirit flow through us.

Like tree sap, the Holy Spirit flows through us giving us life. That’s why it is called, “The Fruit of the Spirit”

I find it fascinating that Jesus speaks of love and joy in John 15 and then the Apostle Paul in Galatians 5:22 writes that “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy….”

Let me share with you a story about Hudson Taylor, missionary to China and how he applied this passage to his life.

Hudson Taylor opened the interior of China to the gospel as no missionary had done before, but the effort brought him to the brink of collapse. A letter from fellow missionary John McCarthy turned the tide. The secret to inner victory, said McCarthy, is “ … abiding, not striving nor struggling; looking off to Him, trusting Him for present power.”

Taylor read those words in a little mission station at Chin-kiang on an autumn Saturday in 1869, and … as I read, I saw it all. I looked to Jesus; and when I saw, oh how the joy flowed.

John 15 took center stage in his life as he realized the joy of abiding in Christ. He later wrote: As to work, mine was never so plentiful or so difficult; but the weight and strain are now gone. The last month has been perhaps the happiest in my life; and I long to tell you a little of what the Lord has done for my soul.

As I read [McCarthy’s letter], I looked to Jesus and saw that He had said, “I will never leave you.” Ah, there is rest. For has He not promised to abide with me? As I thought of the Vine and the branches, what light the blessed Spirit poured into my soul! (Morgan, R. J. From this verse : 365 scriptures that changed the world )

2. The Process of Pruning

This spring I went to a vineyard. I was shown the process and the why of pruning. The vinedresser would take a pruning shear and cut branches out. She told us that the reason is simply for the vine to produce more fruit. Some branches were dead and other were unnecessary.

“If you are connected to the vine, God is going to do whatever it takes to cause you to bear fruit. God will cut you and prune you and trim you and chop you. He is not content to let you stay on the vine bearing little fruit. God is ruthlessly determined to shape you into something much better and more beautiful than you are right now.” Matt Carter and Josh Wredberg, Exalting Jesus in John

A. God uses people to prune us

1. This involves all the ugly things people do to us and say about us

2. God will send people our way to correct us. They’ll point out areas you need to improve.

B. God uses problems to prune us

1. The problems that we bring on ourselves

2. The problems that come upon us outside our control—we are dealing here with the circumstances of life

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28, ESV)

God uses problems to prune us thus working out all things for our good.

Pruning is painful and necessary.

1. God has purposes for everything He allows to come our way

2. Nothing comes by accident or “chance”

3. Pruning is necessary in producing the fruit of the Spirit

4. Notice the progression in John 15—fruit, more fruit, much fruit.

Conclusion: Abiding in Jesus takes intentional time.

I believe the primary means the Holy Spirit uses are the Word, prayer and the community of believers.

Read with me…

Verse 7 , “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”

Verse 11, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

Verses 15-16. “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.”

Small group discussion questions.

What is your favorite fruit?

If Jesus is the true vine, what are the false vines that offer life but leave empty and lifeless?

What should followers of Jesus expect if God’s commitment to our fruit bearing is greater than our commitment to comfort?

How might God’s commitment to your fruit bearing change how you respond to difficult events in your life?

Read Galatians Galatians 5:22-23. Why do you it’s significant that is called The “fruit” of the Spirit and not the “fruits” of the Spirit.

Pastor Hector mentioned that abiding in Jesus takes intentional time. How will you intentionally abide in Jesus during the rest of the week? The rest of the year?