I Am The Vine
The Gospel of John • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 6 viewsNotes
Transcript
Imagine a vine with many healthy branches, but one branch is just… flopped over, barely attached, and complaining. It says, "Ugh, it's so much work to stay connected to the main vine, and that Vinedresser (the Father) is always messing with me! I'm just going to hang here and be a branch, but like, a really independent one." This branch doesn't produce a single grape. It just hangs there, getting mildew and attracting bugs. Eventually, the Vinedresser has to cut it off because it's not contributing anything and is just getting in the way of the other branches producing fruit. You can't be a branch and expect to bear fruit by yourself; you've got to be connected to the vine! This highlights that we have free will, but we can't be spiritual "free-agents" or expect to bear spiritual fruit apart from Jesus. We need to stay connected to the "True Vine" to receive life and produce good things in our lives.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 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. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. 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. 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. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be my disciples.
Let’s pray!
When Jesus says, "I am the vine," He is explaining that He is the source of all spiritual life and that His followers, as branches, must remain connected to Him to bear spiritual fruit, such as love, joy, and good works. This metaphor, highlights an intimate relationship with Christ that provides the necessary nourishment and guidance for believers to live a life pleasing to God, emphasizing their complete dependence on Him.
Jesus as the True Vine
Source of Life: Just as a vine provides life to its branches, Jesus is the source from which all spiritual life flows for believers.
In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
Without Him we are just like the branch in our story.
Dependence on Jesus Christ: Believers are entirely dependent on Jesus for their spiritual existence and ability to produce anything in our lives.
Unless the Lord builds a house,
its builders labor over it in vain;
unless the Lord watches over a city,
the watchman stays alert in vain.
Without being attached to the source of all things, we start to think we do not need the vine.
Father as the Gardener/Vinedresser
Care and Purpose: The vinedresser's work shows a deliberate and loving action to produce fruit.
Do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you; I will help you;
I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.
Pruning for Fruitfulness: God prunes believers to help them become more productive and effective in their spiritual lives, similar to how a vinedresser prunes a grapevine to produce more and better fruit. We will look at this more a bit later.
Connection to God's Will: Through this process, believers are made more useful and aligned with God's purpose, which is to bear spiritual fruit for His delight.
“Therefore, you should pray like this:
Our Father in heaven,
your name be honored as holy.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Endurance and Trust: Believers are called to "abide" or remain in Christ, trusting the vinedresser (the Father) to do His work in their lives, even when pruning involves difficult times.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own understanding;
in all your ways know him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Believers as the Branches
Connection is Essential: Like branches that must be attached to the vine for nourishment, Christians must remain connected to Jesus to receive the spiritual life they need.
He answered, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
Abiding in Christ: Staying connected means "abiding" or dwelling in Christ through prayer, obedience to His teachings, and spending time in His Word.
Then Samuel said:
Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the Lord?
Look: to obey is better than sacrifice,
to pay attention is better than the fat of rams.
Bearing Spiritual Fruit: This connection allows believers to produce spiritual fruit, which are the actions and attitudes that reflect Christ's character and bring glory to God.
According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts: If prophecy, use it according to the proportion of one’s faith; if service, use it in service; if teaching, in teaching; if exhorting, in exhortation; giving, with generosity; leading, with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness.
The Purpose of Pruning
And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.
Purification and Refinement: God, the vinedresser, prunes branches that bear fruit to help them become more productive.
Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
Removing Dead Weight: Branches that do not bear fruit are removed or cut off because they are dead and will be discarded.
They will throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Increased Productivity: Pruning by God helps to remove the deadwood and distractions in a believer's life, allowing them to focus on bearing more significant and sweeter spiritual fruit.
Jesus replied to them, “Have faith in God. Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, everything you pray and ask for—believe that you have received it and it will be yours.
