Abide Part 2

Abide Part 2

Trusting the Vinedresser

John 15:2-3

Intro

Abide and Abode

Last week, we set up the image of the vine as the best image to describe our interconnectedness to Jesus and our relationship with Him. It’s the best image of how our relationship with Jesus works, since it is the image Jesus uses. We explored how abiding in Jesus is a deep, intimate, interwoven connection with Jesus that is not easily broken. More than a battery, a handshake, or an embrace by a parent, we are deeply and intimately interconnected with Jesus as our source, just as a branch is connected to its vine.

In this message theme, Abide, we are exploring what it means to abide in Jesus. In English, we have two words that have a similar word relationship as two Greek words used by the Gospel writer, John. In English, these words are abide and abode. One is a verb, and the other is a noun. Anyone know what an abode is?

The noun, abode, and the verb, abide, have an almost identical meaning as to what Jesus is conveying in John 15:4a (ESV) – “abide in me, and I in you.” In fact, John uses this similar word in John 14:2 to describe the sort of dwelling place that Jesus is preparing for each of His followers in God’s house – “in my Father’s house are many rooms [abodes, dwelling places]” (John 14:2 [ESV]). Abiding in Jesus means living and sharing life with Jesus. In one sense, abide means that a house is created for you in Jesus -or- you could think of it like Jesus sets up a house in your life.

Jesus has an abode in your life and you have an abode in Jesus’ life.

The Greek word here in John 14 and in John 15, our main Scripture, for abide, meno, means to abide, to remain, to tarry, to sojourn, to continually be present, to endure, to be held. Abiding in Jesus means that we simultaneously set up an abode in Jesus as Jesus sets up an abode in our lives.

This idea of abiding in Jesus is rich and deep in its meaning. Abiding, in a spiritual sense, is a conscious awareness of the continuous presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It is a matter of the heart and not one of the mind. Abiding is an exercise of the heart and soul as we trust God.

Simply put, abiding means that we are living in Jesus, and Jesus is living in us. We are abiding in Jesus, and Jesus is abiding in us.

Scripture

Let’s reread the beginning of John 15 and also go a little further to our passage today.

John 15:1-5 (ESV) – I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me 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.

Let’s review: who are the people described in our Scripture passage?

Jesus is the True Vine. We are the branches. God is the Vinedresser.

Today we are going to discuss the idea of “Trusting in the Vinedresser.”

Trusting God requires more than a pretty set of words. In other words, trusting God is more than just saying, “Yeah, I trust God.”

Let me ask you this: do you really trust God? Do you trust God when things are going badly? Do you trust God when things are going well?

Trusting God means that you can back up this trust with actions and definitive ways in which you have trusted God.

Today we are going to go phrase-by-phrase through verses 2 and 3. I want to invite you to lean into what God would have for us today.

Application 1

Surrender is the Beginning and the Continuation

v.2a – Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away

Every branch, that means all branches. God is no respecter of persons in this sense (see Acts 10:34). From the Pope to the president, from the preacher to the peasant, every branch has an expectation.

What is that expectation? What does the Vinedresser expect of the branches? The expectation for a spiritual vine and branches is the same as that of a physical vine and branches: bear fruit. Bearing fruit is not a matter of the will, though; just remember that. Bearing fruit is a result of the connection to the Vine, who is Jesus.

Abiding in Jesus requires way more than a physical connectedness with Jesus. “Once saved, always saved” is not enough in this sense. Yes, at the moment we trust in Jesus we have been saved, AND each moment we are continually saved as we abide and trust in Jesus. More than a one-time, physical connection into the Vine, abiding in Jesus requires a continual abiding in the Vine and a trusting in God, the Vinedresser.

Not abiding in Jesus and not trusting in the Vinedresser means you cut off the flow from the Vine. Any time that we choose our way above the way of Jesus, we are blocking the connection with Jesus. Think of this connection like a hose.

When the hose is straight, the flow is open and unrestricted. When we choose anything other than Jesus, we kink the hose and restrict the flow. Over time, that restricted flow, which can also be a stopped flow due to the kinks or even knots that can get in the flow, causes us to dry up from a lack of nourishment. Because of this continued restriction of flow, we cease to bear the fruit of the Spirit.

God’s warning is very clear to those branches that would cease bearing fruit. Not bearing fruit means that God takes you away from the Vine, which we will talk more about next week.

While the interconnectedness to Jesus is a deep and intertwined connection to the Vine, we are able to resist and block the nutrients provided by the Vine. When we resist God’s direction provided through this relationship with Jesus, we are blocking the guidance and wisdom of God for our lives. Our surrender to God’s direction is what gets us connected to the Vine of Jesus in the first place, and it is our continued surrender to God that keeps us connected into the vine.

I want you to remember that (and maybe even write it down): trusting in the Vinedresser (God) requires surrender. Surrender means we give up trying to force things. Surrender means we lay down our defenses and let God win. It is not a matter of the mind but a matter of the heart in a posture of surrender to God that keeps us connected.

Being Pruned by the Vinedresser

v.2b – every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

Trusting in the Vinedresser means that you trust God as God prunes you.

Sometimes we get overextended beyond our own maturity and capacity. It is not that we cannot handle the things we find ourselves in as we are connected to the Vine, but there are times where we can become too far extended and branch out farther than we are able to bear in the moment. In those moments, for the health and sake of our own relationship with Jesus, God prunes us and cuts us back so that we are no longer overextended beyond our capacity.

These pruning moments can sometimes sting as we may lose things that we care about deeply.

Story 1

Story of Tom not letting me play guitar in college and getting passed up for a lot of opportunities

Trusting God in this moment meant I had to leave the thing I thought I was supposed to do to trust Him into something new. God was pruning me and shaping me in those moments, and I knew I had to listen. This pruning hurt because it forever changed my destiny. God continues to use my desire for music, as I am able to lead in worship even today.

Application 2

Just like earlier, I want to encourage you to write this down: Trusting in the Vinedresser (God) requires submission. If we are going to allow God to prune us, then we have to submit. Submission means we yield, humble ourselves, and get under God’s direction for our lives. Submission means that we trust God’s guidance and wisdom above our own. Submission means we follow God even when we feel different.

Cleansed by Jesus’ Words

v.3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.

Jesus’ words make us clean in the sense that we are purified, and made holy and sinless before God. We are able to abide in Jesus because of Jesus’ purification of our sins. The words of Jesus flush out the sickness of sin that is present in our lives, and Jesus’ words make us clean. Simply put, our sinfulness cannot abide in Jesus, so if we are to abide in Jesus, we have to be cleansed and cleaned of our sins.

What are the words of Jesus? What words does Jesus speak to you? Some of Jesus’ words to you are: “Father, forgive them. Peace be still. Come, follow me. I love you. I died for you.”

Deeper than just the words of Jesus, The Gospel of John in the first chapter describes Jesus as the Word. Jesus is the Word, the logos, sent from God to the Earth. This Word, this person, Who is Jesus, cleanses us. It is not merely Jesus’ words but Jesus, the Word, which cleanses and purifies us.

Finally, I want you to write down this third aspect of trusting in God. Trusting in the Vinedresser (God) requires cleansing.

These cleansing words, whether the verbal words of assurance or the presence of Jesus the Savior, keep us healthy and connected to Him. As we allow these words to infill us, we are purified from the inside out.

Trusting in the Vinedresser

Whether by keeping the connective flow to the Vine open through surrender, submitting to God pruning you when you are over extended, or allowing Jesus’ words to clean your soul, abiding in Jesus requires that we trust in God, the Vinedresser.

As those who are connected to God through Jesus for mission, we have a calling on our lives. God does not make this calling on our lives as a suggestion. God calls us to a lifetime of being shaped, molded, and equipped by Him. Until we present a flawless reflection of Jesus, God continues to shape and prune.

As you can see, we each have a role to play in this sort of trusting in God. We are not merely passive recipients in this abiding relationship with God; we have an active role to play that requires a constant trust in God. This sort of trust is an active trust and not a passive one.

In our Scripture, Jesus speaks of an active trust that requires us to trust the flow of God as the Words of Jesus purify us. We actively trust God as God prunes us and reshapes us into a clearer representation of Jesus. In this sense, we trust God as He leads and guides us into situations. Jesus displayed this sort of trust as the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan, and Jesus embodies this kind of trust as He surrendered His body to the death of the cross. It’s the kind of trust God wanted Jonah to demonstrate as he was instructed to go preach repentance to Nineveh. This active trust was displayed by John Newton as he stood up against slavery. This kind of trust is what leads us to fight for justice and peace; it’s what leads us to speak for the widows, orphans, and strangers.

Trusting in the Vinedresser requires this active trust.

Conclusion

Closing Challenge

How well does your life display this sort of active trust? What if the very situation you are in right now is God’s attempt to teach you something? What if the thing you are facing right now is God’s way of pruning and molding you to be like Jesus? Are you willing to trust God in this way?

Abiding in Jesus means that we are subject to the care and control of the Vinedresser. As a good vine is pruned and shaped, we submit to God and trust the wisdom of God through it all. Trusting the Vinedresser means that we receive the goodness and nourishment of our connection with Jesus, and it means we allow God to guide our growth.

As we close, let’s get real as I ask you to answer personally these questions related to your own self.

Where is God leading you? How is God shaping you? Where is God pruning you? Where have you blocked the flow of the goodness of God through your connection with Jesus? Are you submitting to God’s desires for your life? Are you surrendered to God’s will above your own?

God wants you to trust His wisdom as the great Vinedresser in your life today. Will you trust in the Vinedresser?

Pray