Untitled Sermon (2)

Discipleship Essentials

Week 6 – Abide and Produce Fruit

John 15:1-8

INTRO:

§ We’re in a preaching series called “Discipleship Essentials” focusing on what it means to be a true follower of Jesus

§ In the past weeks we’ve talked about what it means to enter into a life of discipleship, to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, give him priority over everything and follow Jesus

§ Today, we’re going to look at one of Jesus’ most vivid metaphors regarding discipleship

§ It’s in this illustration that Jesus uses four elements to describe what it means for us to abide in him and to bear fruit that leads to faithful living

§ So let’s go through the four and then we will make some connections to our lives of abiding in Christ which leads to bearing fruit which proves we are disciples of Jesus

1. The Vine

§ The metaphor of the vine didn’t originate with Jesus

§ It was actually a common image in the OT to represent the nation of Israel

§ Yahweh planted, cultivated, and protected his people and expected fruitfulness in return

§ The metaphor carries with it both blessing and judgment

§ Israel is depicted as a vine planted in fertile soil where it took root and flourished (Ps. 80:8-16)

§ God watches over the vineyard regularly and protects it night and day (Is. 27:2-6)

§ God expected good fruit, but received worthless ones instead (Is. 5:1-7)

§ So God removes the vineyard’s protection, allowing it to be trampled, abandoned to thorns and briers, and deprived of rain

§ The vine metaphor therefore summarizes Israel’s covenant relationship with God—promising abundance for obedience but threatening destruction for unfaithfulness

§ So when Jesus uses this image to describe himself (I AM the Vine) he redefines this metaphor by making himself as the source of life

§ Jesus, with all believers “abiding” in him, is the true vine, he is the true fulfillment of God’s plan for his people (see Psalm 80:8–17)

§ True believers originate from Jesus and his disciples are united to him as branches to a vine

§ ILL: New Coke vs. Original Recipe

§ Jesus is the “true” vine, he is the original not a substitute

§ There is no other than can take his place or provide a greater, lasting fulfillment that Jesus

§ Without the true vine, the branches can do nothing

§ The only way that we will ever be fruitful in this life is to remain connected to the true vine

§ To have the power of Christ, through his Spirit dwelling in us

§ So Jesus is the divine and second, we are (da) branches

2. The Branches

§ Once a branch is broken off or removed from the vine, it immediately begins to die

§ It may still be useful for a little while but pretty soon, it will dry out and the only use that remains for it is to be thrown into the fire (v. 6)

§ The branch cannot produce its own life; it must draw that life from the vine

§ It is our communion with Christ through the Spirit that makes possible the bearing of the fruit

§ The sooner we as disciples discover that we are but branches, the better we will relate to the Lord

§ Only then we will know our own weakness and confess our need for His strength

§ The key word in this passage is the word remain or abide; it is used 7 times in John 15:1-8

§ What does it mean to “abide”?

§ It means to keep in fellowship with Christ so that His life can work in and through us to produce fruit

§ This certainly involves believing the Word of God that Jesus is God’s Son (1 Jn. 4:15)

§ Receiving him as our personal Savior and Lord (John 1:12)

§ Obeying and living out what he says (1 John 3:24)

§ Continuing to believe and daily demonstrate that the gospel is active in us (1 John 2:24)

§ Relating to others believers in love (John 15:12)

§ And confessing our sin so that nothing hinders our communion with Him (John 15:3)

§ How can we tell when we are “abiding in Christ”? Is there a special feeling? Sometimes

§ But there are special evidences that appear in our lives that are unmistakably clear

§ For one thing, when we are abiding in Christ, we produce fruit (v. 2)

§ What that “fruit” is, we’ll talk about in a few minutes

§ The disciple who is abiding in Christ has his prayers answered (v. 7) and experiences a deepening love for Christ and for other believers (vv. 9, 12-13)

§ We also will experience joy (v. 11)

§ This abiding relationship is natural to the branch and the vine, but it must be cultivated in the Christian life, it’s not automatic

§ Abiding in Christ demands worship, meditation on God’s Word, prayer, sacrifice, and service, but what a joyful experience it is

§ Once we have begun to cultivate this deeper communion with Christ as his disciple, we have no desire to return to the shallow life of the careless Christian

§ So Jesus is the vine, we are the abiding branches and the Father is the Gardener

3. The Gardener

§ The gardener is in charge of caring for the vines, and Jesus said that this is the work of His Father

§ It is He who “purges” or prunes the branches so they will produce more fruit

§ Note the progression here: no fruit (2), fruit (2), more fruit (2), much fruit (5, 8)

§ Many Christians pray that God will make them more fruitful, but they do not enjoy the pruning process that follows

§ ILL: Successful gardeners know that pruning, cutting back the branches, increases fruit bearing. Each spring vinedressers cut back each vine to its root stock to enhance its fruitfulness

§ The gardener prunes the branches in two ways: he cuts away dead wood that can breed disease and insects, and he cuts away living tissue so that the life of the vine will not be so dissipated that the quality of the crop will be jeopardized

§ In fact, the gardener will even cut away whole bunches of grapes so that the rest of the crop will be of higher quality, God wants both quantity and quality

§ When we’re abiding we will also experience the Father’s “pruning” so that we will bear more fruit

§ Sincere believers, the fruitful branches, will be “pruned,” meaning that God must sometimes discipline us to strengthen our character and faith

§ But branches that don’t bear fruit are “cut off” and completely discarded because they are worthless and often infect the rest of the plant

§ People who won’t bear fruit for God or who try to block the efforts of God’s followers will be cut off from his life-giving power

§ Some may think this is harsh and unloving of God, but the harshest thing that God could ever do to us is to leave us alone, to let us have our own way

§ Because God loves us, He “prunes” us and encourages us to bear more fruit for His glory

§ If the branches could speak, they would confess that the pruning process hurts; but they would also rejoice that they will be able to produce more and better fruit

§ How does the Father prune us? He uses the word of God & the Holy Spirit to convict us & cleanse us

§ The word “removes” in v. 2 is the same word as “clean” in John 13:10, “One who has bathed,” Jesus told him, “doesn’t need to wash anything except his feet, but he is completely clean.”

§ Pruning is for true believers and disciples of Jesus, it is evidence that we belong to God and that the Father truly loves us (Heb. 12:5-7)

§ At the time, it hurts when He removes something precious from us; but as the “spiritual crop” is produced, we see that the Father knew what He was doing and this brings joy (v. 11)

§ Jesus is the vine, we are the branches, the Father is the Gardener and the result of abiding is the fruit

4. The Fruit

§ Fruit is not the same thing as results: a machine can produce results, so can a dutiful employee or even a legalistic Christian, but it takes a living organism connected to a source of life to produce fruit

§ It takes time and cultivation to produce fruit; a good crop does not come overnight

§ We must remember that the branches do not eat the fruit they produce: others do

§ We are not producing fruit to please ourselves but to serve and nurture others

§ We should be the kind of people who “feed” others by our words and our works

§ Several different kinds of spiritual fruit are named in the Bible

§ We bear fruit when we win others to Christ (Rom. 1:13)

§ As we grow in holiness and obedience, we are bearing fruit (Rom. 6:22)

§ Paul considered Christian giving to be fruit from a dedicated life (Rom. 15:28)

§ “The fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22–23) is the kind of Christian character that glorifies God and makes Christ real to others

§ Even our good works, our service, grow out of our abiding life (Col. 1:10)

§ The praise that comes from our hearts and lips is actually fruit to the glory of God (Heb. 13:15)

§ A true branch united with the true vine will always produce fruit, but not all branches produce the same amount of fruit or even the same type of fruit

§ But there is always fruit where there is life

§ And no matter how much or what kind of fruit we produce, it’s only possible as we abide in the vine

§ Our response to all this is to remember that Jesus gives us a specific way that we can abide in him and bear fruit: (READ v. 7)

Our Response: Abiding in Jesus’ Words

§ How do we let Jesus’ words abide in us?

§ When Jesus’ word abides in us, we have access to an intimate knowledge of what he has said

§ We also believe that his words become a vital part of the way a disciple lives

§ So Jesus’ words abide in us when we know what he said and did, and when we allow those words and actions to affect the way we live

§ By reading, studying, and memorizing, we take in God’s Word

§ By obeying, we prove that his words abide in us and that we are his disciples (v. 8)

§ We learn from Jesus’ actions and teaching what we should do

§ We learn from his responses to people, how we should respond

§ We learn from his compassion how we should love others

§ We learn from his obedience how we should submit to the Father

§ We learn from his self-control how to stay pure and strong

§ In other words, when we read Jesus’ words and live them out, he abides in us and we in him

§ This is the key to living a life of discipleship

§ So we should all ask ourselves: Am I abiding in Jesus? Is my life bringing him glory? Is my life an example of discipleship?