Plugged In (John 15:1-8)

Plugged In (John 15)

lesser to greater argument

electricity

plug lamp in

take it away and what do we have

unplug lamp

think back to snowmageden

no lights

no refrigerator/freezer

no oven

no cooktop

no dishwasher

no washer/dryer

no radio

no a/c or heater

whole home generators

much less

smart phones

game systems

make life miserable if we lost power

relationship with Jesus

is life-giving

plug lamp in

yet so many Christians live life without life-giving power

unplug lamp

2 things I want you to remember from text

abide in Me (plug in lamp)

for apart from me you can do nothing (unplug lamp)

pew Bible page # 1071

John 15:1-8

Vinedresser and Vine

Jesus has referred to God as His Father

now Jesus refers to God as the Vinedresser

Jesus is not subordinate to the Father…ever

the Father is God

the Son is God

the HS is God

but Jesus willingly submits to the Father not making Him lesser as God

Old Testament roots

Ἐγώ εἰμι

Exodus 3:14 “God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ””

true vine

OT

vine is symbol for Israel

but Israel is usually disobedient

Jeremiah 2:21

some of the prophets even conclude Israel will be burned with fire

because it is ripe for judgment

John 15

here Jesus is the true vine

Jesus will be the true vine by always being obedient where Israel failed

Vinedresser maximizes fruit production

removes unfruitful branches

not true believers

thrown into the fire, and burned (15:6)

prunes fruitful branches

true believers

prune/clean (15:2)

in order to produce more fruit

the Father cleanses us through the Word

conviction that our life is not in line with the Word

possibly through suffering,

bear fruit —> more fruit (15:2) —> much fruit (15:8) = By this my Father is glorified (15:8)

how does a true believer produce fruit?

abide in Jesus

abide

form of abide = 10 times in whole passage

“to remain in the same place over a period of time”

linger, no hurry to leave

implication: this is only for disciples of Jesus

convinced Jesus is the Son of God who died for their sins and worthy of worship

power comes from the vine

love relationship; not a duty

powerlessness shows we are not fully abiding

only way to bear fruit (15:4-5)

no identity crisis

I am the vine; you are the branches. (15:4)

branch cannot bear fruit disconnected from the vine

neither can the Christian

fruit bearing is 100% dependent on direct connection to Jesus

bearing fruit

primary task of disciple is to glorify Jesus who glorifies the Father

this bearing fruit (glorifying Jesus, not self) indicates a true disciple

apart from Jesus

you can do NO…THING

easy for church people to focus on works

and skip right over how works (fruit) are produced

you can “do” stuff

but it has no eternal value w/o Jesus

if it is done apart from Jesus

if it is done not to glorify Jesus (glorify self)

How does a true believer abide in Jesus?

abide = relationship (Word and prayer)

abiding is about a relationship

a relationship is primarily built on communication

where God speaks to you through His Word

and you speak to Him through prayer

Word

John 8:31–32 “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.””

effective prayer (15:7)

many take this verse and rip out Jesus’s condition…Abide in Me

this is why many have an ineffective prayer life

either praying for wrong things or with wrong motives

truly obedient believer is effective in prayer

because what you ask for conforms to the will of God

it lines up with His Word and is submissive to His will

prayer is not to bend God’s will to yours

but to submit your will to His

Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

Frizzell

“No one’s relationship with Christ will ever rise above the level of his or her praying.”

“If your prayer life is primarily viewed as anything but a love relationship with Christ, then you are missing the whole purpose of prayer, of ministry, and of life itself.”

do you spend time daily in the Word and prayer deepening your relationship with the Lord?

no substitute for Word

the Word is how God primarily speaks to His people

reading the Word is about knowing Its Author

daily

no buffet big enough where you would wait to eat until next Sunday morning

how can I read the Bible?

A man in Kansas City was severely injured in an explosion.

The victim’s face was badly disfigured,

lost his eyesight as well as both hands.

new Christian

one of his greatest disappointments

no longer read the Bible.

heard about a lady in England who read Braille with her lips

sent for some books of the Bible in Braille

discovered that the nerve endings in his lips had been destroyed by explosion

One day, as he brought one of the Braille pages to his lips,

his tongue happened to touch a few of the raised characters

he could feel them

“I can read the Bible using my tongue.”

At the time Robert Sumner wrote his book,

the man had “read” through the entire Bible four times.

reading Bible is about desire

do you desire to know the Author of the Bible???

new options never available historically

read own Bible

phone

listen

not about availability but time

infographic: 30 minutes

how many of you spend 12 minutes playing on your phone each day?

not sure—check your screen time

in just 12 minutes per day, you can read the whole Bible in a year

how many of you spend 3 minutes playing on your phone each day?

in just 3 minutes per day, you can read the NT in a year

it’s not about time

it’s about priority

it’s about need

it’s about abiding

it’s not mainly about reading the Bible

it’s mainly about knowing the Author

hard to understand

may take work

Anayah was enamored how Chris played piano

Chris asked her

do you have 15 minutes a day to yourself?

15 minutes where you can do whatever you want?

practice piano and be amazed what 15 min. per day can do over years

how much more so with spending time in the Word breathed out by God

ESV Study Bible

daily reading Bibles

I have some in my office that I will give away if you will use

How can you make room in your day to prioritize God’s Word, knowing its power to change you?

what time of day do you plan to set aside to deepen your relationship with Lord?

statistics show early morning has most consistency

1. set a time

wake up earlier or just take 15 min of FB scrolling out

2. tell someone (for accountability)

3. plan to share with someone (added accountability)

join us in Mark starting tomorrow (chapter a day)

how can you engage more with the Word of God?

Bible reading plan

plans are helpful

OT—chronological

NT—spread out

whole church reading gives food for discussion

pray as you go

listen to Bible

listen while you read

YouVersion

journal

write down and interact with verses

fight distractions

especially phone

“do not disturb” button

will you spend time daily in the Word and prayer deepening your relationship with the Lord?

Bible reading plan

will you join us?

imagine how your life could be different by spending time with the Lord each day

marriage

family

church

are you doing things apart from Jesus?

apart from Me you can do nothing (lamp is unplugged)

is the Lord calling you to abide in Jesus?

plug lamp in