Sermon Tone Analysis

THE TRUE VINE AND THE BRANCHES

Study Text: John 15:1-16

1 I am the True Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser.

Joh 15:2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away.

And every one that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bring forth more fruit.

Joh 15:3 Now you are clean through the Word which I have spoken to you.

Joh 15:4 Abide in Me, and I in you.

As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.

Joh 15:5 I am the Vine, you are the branches.

He who abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

Joh 15:6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered.

And they gather and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

Joh 15:7 If you abide in Me, and My Words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done to you.

Joh 15:8 In this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, so you shall be My disciples.

Joh 15:9 As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you; continue in My love.

Joh 15:10 If you keep My commandments, you shall abide in My love, even as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.

Joh 15:11 I have spoken these things to you so that My joy might remain in you and your joy might be full.

Joh 15:12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

Joh 15:13 No one has greater love than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Joh 15:14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.

Joh 15:15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master does.

But I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.

Joh 15:16 You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatever you shall ask of the Father in My name, He may give it to you.

- Jesus is pictured for us as the True Vine and His disciples as the branches

- If His deciples were to carry on the work of the Lord, then they needed to know how to produce tthe right kind of fruit in their lives.

- God is still working through the followers of Jesus Christ to accomplish His work and will in the world today.

- Many of us may sit idle and wonder how we are supposed to do the work of the Lord and how we can produce fruits in our own lives.

- Well, the answer is found in these verses.

Because this passage is all about being becoming a genuine Disciple and about how to bear fruit for the glory of the Lord.

- Let's take some time to view this portrait of Jesus: The True Vine and see how we can become more like Him.

- We shall discuss this study under three sub-headings:

1.

The Personality of the True Vine

2. The Purpose of the True Vine

3. The Promise of the True Vine

I. V. 1-3 THE PERSONALITY OF THE TRUE VINE

A. The Genuineness Of The True Vine - Jesus and Jesus alone possesses life within Himself, John 14:6.

All other vines are counterfeit.

He alone is the true source of everlasting, abundant life.

B. The Gardener Of The True Vine - The word "husbandman" refers to the vine dresser, the gardener, the one who has the responsibility of caring for the vineyard.

Jesus says that the Heavenly Father is the Gardener.

- The key phrase in verse 2 is "in me".

This lets us know that we are dealing with genuine believers.

Jesus is n't speaking about those who profess Christ and yet have never possessed Him, He is not talking about wheat and tares, but only wheat.

- The Gardener is involved in everything that has to do with the Vine.

This verse zeros in on three specific duties the Gardener in regard to the Vine.

1. Protection - That is, the Gardener provides tender watch care and protection for the Vineyard.

- Aren't you glad that the Lord sees it all?

I praise the Lord for the sure knowledge that nothing passes the gaze of my heavenly Father - Pro. 15:3

2. Purifying - The Gardener uses three primary methods of purifying his vineyard.

a.

He Challenges The Branch - "Taketh away" means to lift up or to raise higher.

That is, the Gardener will take the unfruitful branch and lift it from to dirt into which it has fallen giving it a better chance to be productive.

- On a personal level, this means that when we get to a place in our Christian lives where we are unfruitful and barren, the Lord will have to reach into our lives, disturbing our slumber and He will lift us up in an effort to challenge us and shock us to growth.

- There are times when the Lord can only accomplish this through chastisement.

Which, if responded to with repentance, will help us to be fruitful for His glory.

If, however, we choose to go on in our sins, there is a sin unto death, 1 John 5:16.

- Has the Lord been challenging areas of your life?

If so, do not run from His challenge.

-- Instead of running from God, turn and run to Him.

After all, His chastisement is always a proof of His love, Rev. 3:19, and of your relationship to Him, Heb.

12:8)

b.

He Cleanses The Branch - That is, the Gardener removes things from the branch that sap it vitality and strength.

- Things like sucker branches, useless buds, misdirected shoots, spots, discolored leaves, etc. Anything that consumes life but produces no fruit must go!

- So it is in the life of the believer.

When we allow things into our lives that hinder our walk with the Lord, then we are in danger of a pruning.

- "Pruning" by its very name sounds painful, and it isn't always easy to cut the junk from our lives, but if we do not do, the Lord surely will!

Notice the advice given in Hebrews 12:1.

- How is this pruning accomplished?

By the Word of God - v. 3.

1.

Like a mirror, the Word of God reveals problems - James 1:23-24.

2. Like a knife, the Word of God cuts to the heart - Heb. 4:12.

- The question is this, has the Lord been speaking to you through His Word?

If so, have you been heeding the call from the Lord?

- If not, then I challenge you to allow the Lord to prune your life with His Word.

If that is not accomplished, then he will take further and far more drastic measures.

II.

V. 2-8 THE PURPOSE OF THE TRUE VINE

A. V. 2 There Is A Distinct Purpose - The Vine has but one purpose: to produce fruit.

The Vine exists for that purpose alone.

- Without the fruit, the vine and all of its efforts are wasted.

The True Vine has a singular purpose and that is to bear fruit to the glory of the Lord.

B. V. 8 There Is A Distinguished Purpose - The reason the Vine desires to produce fruit is so that the vine dresser might receive the honor.

When fruit is yielded in a vineyard, the Vine, the branches, the soil, even the fruit does not get the credit.

- All the glory passes on to the Gardener.

So it is with the Lord Jesus.

Everything He did and does was and is to glorify His Father.

- This ought to be the burning desire of every child of God.

That is, to so live our lives that every waking minute is bringing glory to the Father in Heaven, 1 Cor.

10:31.

- There is something wrong in any life when there is no desire to bring glory and honour to the God who loves us, sustains us and cares for us along the way.

C.

There Is A Delegated Purpose - Notice this truth.

The Vine itself does not bear fruit!

Its fruit are the branches.

The branches have the obligation of bearing the fruit.

- The Vine supplies its life to the branches and they take that life and use it to bear fruit.

Here is a word to the branches about our fruit bearing.

1.

The Qualifications For Bearing Fruit :

a. V. 2 The Branch Must Be Attached To The Vine - If you are not in the Vine, then there is no way for you to share in the Vine's life.

This is all about a vital union between the believer and the Lord Jesus Christ, the True Vine.

- We need to recognize our standing in the Lord.