Sermon Tone Analysis

*A Fruitful Community of Disciples*

*Read John 15:1-17*

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*You might say that it’s a strange tradition but every year between Christmas and New Years I make it point to watch  Frank Capra’s – It’s a Wonderful Life.

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*Paints a picture of a man named George Bailey who *

* *Loses his hearing because he saved his brother from an icy pond*

* *Does not get to travel the world over the summer before going off to College*

* *Does not get to go to College because his dad dies and he has to take over the building an loan.*

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*When I do this it reminds me of several things

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*Did I give more than I take this past year?

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#. *Every life carries an influence in this world.

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#. *What will be the impact my life has had on those around me?*

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Today I would like to look in John 15 and see how Jesus challenged and strengthened his team of disciples shortly before his death.

*Context *

 Before we do let’s look at the context of this passage.

If a movie was made of John, the first several chapters would be broad sweeping highlights but with each step closer to the cross John slows down the pace and covers the last few day of Jesus ministry in great detail.

Every moment is a teaching moment for Jesus.

Infused within each teaching moment Jesus moves from vaguely telling his disciples that he is going to be leaving to being straight forward.

With that He got their complete attention and so he teaches them profound truths about himself and what it means to be his disciple.

It’s as if every word was going to be his last words dripping with intensity.

Let me recap the happening in the last 2 chapters.

In John 13 we find Jesus modeling servanthood by washing his disciples feet and institutes the Lord’s Supper.

In 14 he tells them that he is the way the truth and the life, and that no one comes to the father except through him.

In last part of chapter 14, the passage right before our text Jesus promises to leave them with the Holy Spirit to be their comforter and their peace for the troubled times ahead.

In chapter 15 Jesus uses a common everyday image that the disciples were very familiar with.

Jesus the master teacher begins by saying:

 

John 15:1-17 (NIV) \\ 1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.

In verse 1,  Jesus uses layers of meaning  that his disciples understood.

At face value Jesus is a life giving vine that feeds his branches.

But the disciple would have also understood that Jesus is contrasting himself with a false or counterfeit vine.

Throughout the Old Testament Israel is referred to Israel as being the vine.

By saying this Jesus is pushing his disciples to see that their future does not lie with the national “vine” of Israel, but with the “genuine vine” (himself).[1]

 

2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you.

No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.

Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches.

If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.

7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.

8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.

Now remain in my love.

10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love

 

As I read this passage the glasses that I read it with it are very different than the lenses the disciples had.

Grapes, dates and olives were and still are plants that are very influential in not only the agricultural make up of this region but is understood by the majority of the people who live there as a part of their culture and heritage.

Not only is there a distance in time and culture but also a difference in was commonly accepted beliefs.

In my home we were raised not to smoke, drink or chew…or go with girls who do.

Needless to say, my understanding of the wine making process is limited.

So while my dad is gone I would like to teach you ….*how a true disciples is connected to the vine*….which is my first point.

And then we will get to the wine making instructions in a minute.

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*True Disciples are connected to the Vine*

Just like Danny said last week about the Holy Spirit being the source of power for sharing our faith, we need to be connected to in a strong relationship with Jesus in order to be fruitful.

/4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you.

No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.

Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me./

In the same way the flow of water and nutrients through the xylem and phloem gives life to the plant, being connected to the vine gives us the spiritual life giving energy we need to produce fruit!

But what happens when we are taking the time to read the bible, pray, give of our time and money, and for some reason we don’t feel fruitful.

Look at verse 2

 

Listen to these two verses

/2 He cuts off every branch *in me* that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful./

/6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned./

Have you ever come to this text and really began questioning your fruitfulness and even your salvation!

I have!!

What is the difference between the two verses?

1.         Verse 2 speaks to the one who is “in me” whereas verse 6 speaks to one who does not “remain in me”.

Judas is an example, or some of the religious leaders at the time.

So those who did not remain in the vine were thrown away and withered.

But what about those who did remain but did not produce fruit?

Why are they “cut off”?

Think about David out in the wilderness running for years from Saul was he producing fruit?

Or consider Joseph stuck in prison for something he did not do was he producing fruit.

In my studies this week I found that often times a vine would grow and would not produce fruit because its leaves were not receiving any sunlight and would end up near the ground struggling to produce.

When that happens the vinedresser would come and take that vine and lift it up to where it would receive the needed sunlight so it could produce.

That makes very good sense doesn’t it?

I looked up the word in its original Greek language and found that it’s second meaning was to “cut off.”

The first meaning was to “lift up.” 

           

*Transition – So  I would contend that God the Gardner comes and lift’s those who are in him and are not producing fruit.

But he also prunes us as well which brings me to my second point.

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*True Disciples are Pruned for an Eternal Purpose *

16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.

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*How to Make Wine*

Wine comes from the juice of the grapes produced by a grapevine.

If left untrimmed, a grapevine will use its available energy to grow long woody branches and extend its territory, while producing a few meager bunches of grapes.

Winemakers learned early on that grapevines could be tamed by vigilant pruning of branches so that comparatively few buds would be allowed to grow.

When this trimming was done, the vine was forced to direct its life-giving sap into the production of grapes rather than territorial expansion.

Under good conditions of both sufficient rain and plenty of sunshine, this resulted in heavy grape clusters and abundant grape juice for wine production.

Major pruning was done in midwinter, when the vine would lose the least amount of its precious sap.

This process of cleaning~/ pruning the vineyard left a bare field with small stumps at the beginning of the spring growing season.

A tidy farmer not only snipped off these old branches, but also hauled them away and burned them so that his vines could grow unhindered from the mature stump each year.

Effective vine dressing required that the farmer continue to prune through the growing season to keep the vine’s energy focused on a limited number of grape clusters.

If left to ourselves we have a tendency to use all our available energy to do what we want to do and produce very little fruit!

Let’s look again at verse 2: 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

*But what kind of fruit is Jesus talking about?* (Invite Jerry Wade 1st Service)  Give him the sledge and ask if he would not mind finding a way to share with as many as possible.

I would contend that since God is the gardener or vinedresser that it is what pleases him, its what he is trying to grow in us.

And I cannot think of anything sweeter than to God than the fruit of the Spirit.

1.

Fruit of the Spirit – At the end of Chapter 14 in the passage right before this text Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit.

When we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, the fruit of the spirit (Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Faithfulness and self control) grows and ripens in us.

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One thing about fruit is always true unless some one finds a way to genetically engineer is that fruit has integrity.

When you plant the seed from a fruit you always get  that kind of plant.

When that plant grows up you always get that kind of fruit.

There are no oranges on apple trees.