Untitled Sermon (4)

Kevin Sermon

John 15 SLIDE

This morning I want to share a teaching from Jesus in John 15 that has captured my imagination and continues to transform my heart, soul, mind, and actions. It is full of truth that can also change you.

For me, I have had times that I have been comfortable in life. Comfortable with my family, my work, my possessions, my faith and my relationship with Jesus.

Sometimes life is hard and we want help because our health is broken, relationships are broken, finances are broken.

When I felt these ways this passage challenged me. Do I want God’s stuff more that I want God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit?

Do I love Jesus and truly want to be transformed to be like Jesus?

Open with me to John 15 if you have a Bible.

Pastor Erik  READ John 15:1-11

Followers of Jesus Bear Fruit SLIDE

Jesus begins with the statement I am the true vine my father is the vinedresser or gardener.  For the original people Jesus was talking to they were very familiar with the process of a gardener or vinedresser tending to the grape vines in a vineyard.

So this was a powerful picture. For us to understand this passage we must understand this process Jesus is describing.

I have a picture to help us see what Jesus is talking about.

God the Father is called the vinedresser or gardener.

Jesus calls himself the The True Vine. The vine is the part that comes from the root. The branches shoot off of the vine.

A branch- is a disciple of Jesus  someone who has repented who believes who is born again a believer a Christ follower.

What then is fruit? We could say that fruit is who we are as humans and what kind of life we live.

Every life of every person produces fruit. What kind of character do you have? Kind, mean, honest, gentle, angry are a few ways we describe this. A person may make money, do good thing, lie, cheat, and make many moral choices.

All of those fruits depend on what vine a branch is attached to. The vine is the source of growth. Good vine, good fruit, bad vine bad fruit.

Jesus says I am the true vine. The word true is key because this means that Jesus is the best vine that produces the truest fruit.  The vine is the source of nourishment because through it flows all that is needed for growth and production of a fruitful life that is pleasing to God.

So Jesus is saying that if you are connected to him you are a branch. Tsay with me I am a branch. Tell the persons next to you “You are a branch.”

Say with me I am made to bear fruit. Tell the person next to you, You are made to bear fruit. That’s our first point today. Followers of Jesus bear fruit.

So what is fruit? Jesus says there can be fruit, no fruit, more fruit and much fruit.

No fruit as we will see in a moment are branches that are dead, they have not trusted in Jesus for salvation and forgiveness of sins. There is no change, no fruit, no evidence of belief in the Gospel.

As I read this I wanted to know what is fruit and how do is more and much fruit produced. I want a fruitful life.

If we look around the Bible we learn that fruit can be inward transformation like the fruit of the Spirit love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness and self control.

Fruit can also be outward loving Jesus and loving others. Fruit comes from how we treat one another.

Finally, fruit is also described as making disciples. Sharing the Gospel and seeing lost people get connected to Jesus the true vine.

So if you are a follower of Jesus you are a branch.  Say I am a branch.

Look at the person next to you and say you are a branch.

What are you made for?  You are made to bear fruit.

How is fruit produced?

God the Father is a loving gardener who prunes us. SLIDE

Look at verse 2. ERIK READ IT

This passage says that the vinedresser the gardener God the Father cuts off and prunes the branches.   What do you think of when you think of pruning?

Pruning sounds bad, it sounds painful, and like punishment. Why would God the Father do that?

We need to understand what Jesus meant by pruning and how people understood the role of the vinedresser.

In 2005 my family moved to as I was hired to be a lead pastor of a church in Texas. As I preached through the Gospel of John I began to study this passage.

I found out there was a vineyard near our church call Messin Hof and one of the owners gave tours explaining the role of the vinedresser and connecting it to John 15.

Prior to this tour my thought of pruning came from my brothers job at a Christmas tree farm when I was young. He would take a machete and slash the branches to shape the tree.

The tour guide at the vineyard pointed out that the tool of a good vinedresser is a pair of handheld shears. With these in hand the gardener walks down the rows of the vineyard and stops to inspect each plant personally.

He or She then clips off dead branches, infected branches, or when there are too many branches clips the overcrowded branches.

The purpose of the pruning was to allow a deeper connection between the branch and vine which would send nutrients and strength to the branches allowing fruit to be produced. Without pruning fruit could go bad or decrease the harvest.

Let’s answer three questions. Who get’s pruned? How are we pruned? Why are we pruned?

Who get’s pruned? All branches, all believers.

How are we pruned? This is our second point.

God the Father lovingly prunes us through discipline and trials. SLIDE

Two key methods for pruning identified in the Bible are discipline and trials.

Discipline is action taken by God as a result of Sin in our lives.  God understands that if left alone  sin will eat away at our spiritual growth and health.

Practically in our lives we may have sin that is causing bad growth or harmful growth of character qualities that separate us from the true vine.  If a branch shoots out away from the vine out of control it will not have the nutrients needed to sustain growth.

If part of a branch becomes weak and lays on the ground it can become infected with disease it must be pruned and tied back into the trellis to protect the rest of branch for future growth.

God reveals sin in our lives through his Word, the Holy Spirit and his people.

So for many here today there could be a sin issue that you need to deal with in your life.  There may be circumstances, attitudes, and even relationships that are going bad because of the consequences of that sin.

The New Testament tells us that God disciples those he loves. Love is God’s motivation not punishment, but relationship and transformation. He does it for our good and His glory.

Now there is another side to pruning one that we probably talk more easily about as believers.  Another way God prunes us is through trials.  Trials are difficult circumstances in life that shape and mold our character.  Natural disasters, disease, sickness, loss of job, persecution……other difficult circumstances.

The book of James says Consider it pure joy when you face trials of many kinds.  Look at verse 11.  Jesus shares these things so we have joy.

How will you respond to pruning in your life? SLIDE

If we look at verses 4-8 we see that we are commanded to Abide in Jesus. Pruning is designed to cause the branch to Abide in Jesus.

To Abide means to Remain in Jesus, endure with Jesus, stay with Jesus, pursue Jesus, cling to Jesus continue with Jesus, obey Jesus, survive with Jesus.

Jesus says apart from him we can do nothing.

So back to my first question. Do I love God’s stuff more than God? Do I truly love Jesus and want to have a relationship with Jesus?

Jesus says that he shows his love for God the Father by doing His will. Obedience is the evidence of love. We do not obey to earn salvation we obey because we know God loves us and wants to transform us to be like Jesus and help others know Jesus.

The answer to why God prunes us is because he loves you and personally cares for you not with a machette, but with his hands.

The year I took the tour of that vineyard we were in a long draught. That summer there were over 30 where the temperature was over 100 degrees. So I asked how bad the harvest would be because of these trials.

The vinedresser paused and then responded. Yes there will be less fruit produced this year, but the grapes that are made will be the sweatest because they had to rely more on the vines reserves for growth. When rain is plentiful or when gardeners today use drip systems grapes grow to look plump, but have less flavor due to the overabundance.

She then said isn’t that true in your life? When trials are the hardest and all you have is abiding in Jesus, obeying and trusting in Jesus the vine can you look back and see the sweat transformation and fruit the Spirit has produced?

Pray