4-28-24 Sermon "Connected" - 17 Minutes

John 15:1-8

This morning I'll be reading John chapter 15 verses 1 through 8. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. John 15:1-8 This morning we will look at the words that Jesus gave to them comparing their walk with Him to a vineyard,,, vines,,, and fruit. And we can see how these words apply to us today. John 15:1–8 (HCSB) 1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vineyard keeper. 2 Every branch in Me that does not produce fruit He removes, and He prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me. 6 If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown aside like a branch and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be My disciples. The word of God for the people of God,,, thanks be to God! God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ___________________________________ Last Sunday we looked at Acts 4:5-12,,, and we learned that just like the disciples,,, we must speak "boldly and with confidence"!

We seen how Peter and John were able to speak without hesitation or fear,,, even in front of the same council that had condemned Jesus earlier!

They weren't afraid any more,,, since they knew that Jesus was alive,,, and they had the help of the Holy Spirit giving them the strength that they needed.

Today,,, we might not be asked to speak to a courtroom or council,,, but we still run the risk of opposition in the world that we live in.

And when we face that opposition,,, we have been given the same power that was given to the disciples,,, and we should be ready to speak out with the same confidence that they did.

Relying on God's guidance as to the correct words and response to wrongs that we try to correct!

Peter and John's words weren't filled with hate as they confronted the religious leaders,,, but they were filled with confidence,,, because they knew that they were using the words given to them by God!

And God has given us everything that we need to face any problem that this world gives us,,, if we just take advantage of His help going forward,,, and use His power,,, to help us speak "boldly and with confidence",,, no matter what we are facing,,, each and every day,,, of our life!

This morning we will look at these verses in John,,, and see how they help us in our walk with God this week.

___________________________________ Verses 1-2 said: 1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vineyard keeper. 2 Every branch in Me that does not produce fruit He removes, and He prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit.

In this chapter,,, Jesus gives the disciples instructions on three vital relationships.

First,,, in the verses that we will look at this morning,,, He tells them that they must be rightly related to Jesus.

In verses 11-17,,, they are to be related to one another.

And in verses 28-16:4,,, they are to be related to the world.

Disciples have three respective duties: to remain,,, or abide,,, to love each other,,, and,,, to testify.

In the Old Testament,,, the nation of Israel was portrayed as a vine planted by God.

But the nation proved unfaithful,,, and unfruitful,,, so Jesus presented Himself as the true vine,,, the perfect fulfillment of all the other types and shadows.

Jesus says that,,, God the Father is the vinedresser.

Scholars can't agree as to what is meant by the branch in Him that does not bear fruit.

Some think that this is one that pretends to be a Christian,,, but has never really been united to Christ by faith.

Others think it is a true Christian who loses his salvation because of his failure to bear fruit.

But then you have the argument that this is clearly impossible because it contradicts so many other passages which teach that the believer has an eternal salvation.

And then there are those that think that it is a true Christian who becomes a backslider.

He gets away from the Lord and becomes interested in the things of this world.

He fails to manifest the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.

Exactly what the Lord does to the unfruitful branch depends on how the Greek verb airo is translated.

It can mean “takes away” as in the King James tradition (also translated that way in John 1:29).

Then it would refer to the discipline of physical death (1 Cor. 11:30).

However, the same word may mean “lifts up” (as in John 8:59).

Then it would be the positive ministry of encouraging the fruitless branch by making it easier to get light and air,,, and hopefully,,, to bear fruit.

The branch that bears fruit is the Christian who is growing more like the Lord Jesus.

Even a fruitful vine needs to be pruned or cleansed.

Just as a real vine must be cleaned from insects,,, mildew,,, and fungus,,, so a Christian must be cleansed from worldly things that cling to him.

___________________________________ Verse 3 said: 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.

The cleansing agent here,,, is the word of the Lord.

The disciples had been cleansed by Jesus' words,,, at least all of them,,, but possibly Judas.

We know from John 13:10–11that says: “One who has bathed,” Jesus told him, “doesn’t need to wash anything except his feet, but he is completely clean. You are clean, but not all of you.” For He knew who would betray Him. This is why He said, “You are not all clean.”

___________________________________ Verses 4-5 said: 4 Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me.

A branch is unable to produce fruit unless it remains on the vine,,, and one that isn't connected to the vine,,, dies.

Jesus is saying that we must remain connected to Him,,, and we do that by reading God's word,,, prayer,,, Bible study,,, Sunday school,,, worship,,, all of the things that keep us in our relationship with the Lord.

Because it's through our connection to Him that we produce the fruit that we need to live out a fulfilling life here on earth.

And if we aren't connected to Him,,, we can do nothing at all.

___________________________________ Verse 6 said: 6 If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown aside like a branch and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

Jesus is referring to those who choose not to accept Him as Savior.

The dead branches are people who are useless to God’s work — people like Judas,,, who chose to reject Jesus when faced with the truth.

___________________________________ Verse 7 said: 7 If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you.

Staying connected to Jesus is the key to having our prayers answered.

This means that if we stay connected to Him,,, our will becomes more like His will,,, and our wants change,,, to become more of what Christ wants.

This doesn't mean that we can just ask for anything and receive it just because we ask for it in Jesus' name.

It must be in tune with what God wants,,, not our wants!

___________________________________ Verse 8 said: 8 My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be My disciples.

When we stay connected to Christ like we should,,, we begin to exhibit a Christ like attitude that is visible to the world,,, and that makes those around us want what we have.

That is our best witness to those that don't believe,,, because they are searching for it,,, they just won't admit it,,, or maybe,,, they don't even realize it yet.

But it's the practice of staying connected to Christ,,, "staying connected to the vine",,, and producing more fruit,,, and by doing so,,, proving ourselves as Christians,,, all of this,,, is what glorifies,,, the Father.

___________________________________ So we can see that it is very important to keep our relationship with the Lord strong!

Jesus gave us these words and expects us to honor them.

And we can't do that if we don't put Christ first in our life!

It is so easy to allow us to get complacent with our relationship with God.

I've seen days where I'll think that I'm just too busy to read my Bible like I need to,,, or spend time with God as long as I should,,, and then the next day I'm still behind,,, so I let it slide again,,, and before I know it,,, it becomes easier and easier to ignore!

When we missed church,,, years ago,,, at first for just one weekend,,, then two,,, then we might make excuses,,, we don't know what they are doing this Sunday,,, they might do something special,,, it doesn't matter the excuse,,, I know that it just became easier to miss,,, the longer that we stayed away.

God knows that this can happen and that's why He wanted us to stay in contact with Him.

We can continue to grow when that happens.

___________________________________ It's also important for us to associate with each other as a congregation so that we can help one another stay focused and heading in the right direction.

When we watch out for each other,,, spending time together,,, learning together,,, we are stronger than being alone all of the time.

We can help each other if one of us drifts off in the wrong direction,,, if we have been spending time together the way that we should.

This helps each of us to stay connected to Jesus the way that we should!

___________________________________ So as we finish here this morning,,, remember these verses and the words of Jesus.

Remember that we must stay connected to Him because we cannot do anything on our own.

Remember that it's easier when we are connected as well!

Remember that God is with us through all of our trials,,, and He will get us through them.

And also remember that whatever we are going through,,, might be part of a pruning process that God is using to make us able to bear more fruit.

But no matter what,,, we need to stay connected to Jesus as much as we can,,, so that we can produce the fruit that we need,,, so that others,,, can see "Jesus" in us!

___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Hymn: 337 - Oakdale Hymn: 337 - Seminary Benediction -----------------------------------------------------------