Sent Series: Sent to Bear Fruit

Mission and Vision:

Welcome to Selfless Church where we love God, love people, and make disciples. We invite to you join us as we gather together, grow together, and go together.

Introduction: The Importance of Connections

When we study the Bible, we discover how important connections are. Protecting who you are connected to was one of the most important commands God gave Israel as they were preparing to enter the Promised Land. He did this because he knew how impactful connections are.

Exodus 34:12–16 “12 “Be very careful never to make a treaty with the people who live in the land where you are going. If you do, you will follow their evil ways and be trapped. 13 Instead, you must break down their pagan altars, smash their sacred pillars, and cut down their Asherah poles. 14 You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you. 15 “You must not make a treaty of any kind with the people living in the land. They lust after their gods, offering sacrifices to them. They will invite you to join them in their sacrificial meals, and you will go with them. 16 Then you will accept their daughters, who sacrifice to other gods, as wives for your sons. And they will seduce your sons to commit adultery against me by worshiping other gods.”

This is why who we are in a relationship with matters; who you do business with; where you receive counsel from all matters to your ability to become what God wants you to be.

Premise: I become whatever I am connected to.

In addition to that, what we are connected to impacts what we produce.

Now, I must add that this is not God’s way of demanding seclusion.

John 17:14–16 “14 I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15 I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. 16 They do not belong to this world any more than I do.”

No, we are to exist in the world and go throughout the world making disciples. However, we are to be careful not to come into agreement as to attach ourselves with the agendas of those who are contrary to God’s will. To do so jeopardizes our impact and our fruit.

Understanding the Contextual Background: John 15

So we arrive at our text today—where Jesus describes himself as the true grapevine. The emphasis on true is compelling, because it implies that there is a false grapevine. What Jesus is doing in this text is demonstrating the failure of Israel to be the fruit generating family that they were created to be, and He is now taking ownership of that responsibility.

Psalm 80:8–11 “8 You brought us from Egypt like a grapevine; you drove away the pagan nations and transplanted us into your land. 9 You cleared the ground for us, and we took root and filled the land. 10 Our shade covered the mountains; our branches covered the mighty cedars. 11 We spread our branches west to the Mediterranean Sea; our shoots spread east to the Euphrates River.”

Jeremiah 2:21 “21 But I was the one who planted you, choosing a vine of the purest stock—the very best. How did you grow into this corrupt wild vine?”

Essentially, Jesus is the vine that Israel was supposed to be, and now He states He will produce fruit that Israel never produced. In other words, He will make of His followers the kind of fruit that God always wanted from the beginning. However, the stipulation is remaining in Jesus.

Why would Jesus demand that His disciples remain in Him? It is because He knew there would be a temptation to go back to the vain religion that He had brought them out of after His departure.

The text we are reading is at the end of Jesus’s earthly ministry as He prepares to suffer and return back to the presence of the Father. After His finished work on earth, what would become of the disciples? Jesus understood the temptation they would face to go back to the way things were before He called them. His instruction was remain or abide in me.

The #1 Threat to Producing Good Fruit: False Prophets

While here on earth, Jesus took His disciples through a pruning process that cleansed them of everything that prevented them from being faithful disciples. He taught them to remain in these teachings in order to produce fruit. But there was one thing that could jeopardize their ability to be what God called them to be: false prophets. Jesus taught them,

Matthew 7:15–20 “15 “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. 16 You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 19 So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. 20 Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.”

Point: Fruitless disciples will love fruitless prophets.

This is why the apostles and leaders of the early church warned the believers against false prophets. When it comes to connecting yourself to a ministry and someone who will guide you in your spiritual walk:

Character matters more than performance.

Truth matters more than style.

Actions matter more than mere speech.

When Jude wrote to the saints he argued: Disciples have a responsibility of defending the faith and remaining in the faith.

Jude 3 “3 Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people.”

Jude 20 “20 But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit,”

According to Jude, there were 3 red flags one should look out for in false prophets:

They use grace as a means to live immoral lives.

Jude 4 “4 I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

They use dreams and visions to establish their authority.

Jude 8 “8 In the same way, these people—who claim authority from their dreams—live immoral lives, defy authority, and scoff at supernatural beings.”

They only live for themselves.

Jude 16 “16 These people are grumblers and complainers, living only to satisfy their desires. They brag loudly about themselves, and they flatter others to get what they want.”

Producing Fruit Through Jesus

The earliest followers were transformed by the life and message of Jesus Christ. Bearing fruit cannot come from connecting to a stale religious system or simply joining a church. Producing fruit is about experiencing the living word of God as we live our lives.

Here are a few things we should consider:

We cannot produce spiritual fruit unless we are connected to Christ.

John 15:5 “5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”

Jude 24–25 “24 Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault. 25 All glory to him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time! Amen.”

Fruitless disciples are useless disciples.

John 15:6 “6 Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.”

Fruitful disciples are empowered disciples.

John 15:7 “7 But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!”

Conclusion: The Importance of Discernment

Are you a disciple? Where are your fruit to prove it? What fruit demonstrate Christ is living His life through you? Here’s a great place to start:

Galatians 5:22–23 “22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”

There was a time where I lived my life for people and had none of the fruit a disciple should have. Then, I found Jesus and because of His Word, I produced the fruit I never knew should be produced through a relationship with Christ.