Remain

Sermon Bumper: Vine Twining Time Lapse

// Recap

Week 1: Where are your roots?

The Parable of the Sower (really the parable of the soils)

The Seed = the word of God

The Path = people hear, but are so beaten down by life, they can’t receive anymore.

Rocky Ground = people hear, are excited about the word, but haven’t owned for themselves. They find their salvation through friends, parents, pastors.

Thorny Ground = people hear God’s word, but also the world’s word. Their ground is too fertile, allows everything to grow.

Good Ground = people hear, produce 30, 60, 100 times what was planted.

** Not about how much we produce, but simply that we are producing

The first root to break through is the radicle

We are changing the fundamental way we have been doing things, in order to get somewhere we haven’t been!

Week 2: Dormant Destruction

Seeds need 3 things to grow:

Light, Food, Water

Seeds are dormant! Meaning they are inactive and can be awakened simply by adding a little water!

Food

WaterSeeds are incredible because they are dormant! This means that they are inactive and can be awakened simply by adding a little water!

Jesus is...

Light of the World

Living Water

The Woman at the Well

We understand again, that as we are rooted in Jesus, it is not meant for us to keep for ourselves only.

Dormant Destruction

Inaction = we remain dormant and the destruction comes to us

Action = we activate ourselves and become a destruction to the enemy

To Remain

John 15:1–9 MSG

“I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn’t bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken. “Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me. “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples. “I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love.

Remain = to abide, stay

Real Fruitfulness is proven over an extended period of time.

We have become so accustomed to an “instant” culture, that the idea of remain or abide almost seems impossible.

Fruit: We don’t have to wait for our fruit to grow, before we can eat it. We (parents) simply go to the grocery store and buy the fruit and we eat it.

We don’t have to wait for our fruit to grow, before we can eat it. We (parents) simply go to the grocery store and buy the fruit and we eat it.

Frozen Dinner: we can put a frozen dinner in the microwave and 5 minutes late have a hot, delicious meal.

Friendship: we don’t even have to meet up with someone and have a real conversation with them before we call them “friend” - we can simply click a button and we have a new friend.

Fruit doesn’t pop up instantly, it is grown over time.

The Vine

Not the first time the vine was used in Israel’s history. Many times it would’ve been used with negative connotations, or to give a great warning to the Israelites if they were straying from the “vine” of Israel.

The True Vine is Jesus himself, not Israel, and not the church.

Other Vines

Boyfriend/Girlfriend Relationships

Video Games (not real, fun, but not real)

Church

Work

Social Media

All these vines will produce fruit if you are attached to them. The goal is produce fruit for God though - fruit that will last longer than a moment.

The Branches

We are the branches - not the source, but rather the proof of life in the vine.

If there was just a vine with no branches coming off of it, you would say there is something wrong with that vine.

Our lives are proof that God is living and active in the world today - if we are connected to the vine.

John 15:2 MSG

He cuts off every branch of me that doesn’t bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more.

Removal/ Take Away

Removal/ Take Away

John 15:

John 15:2 MSG

He cuts off every branch of me that doesn’t bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more.

Jesus is saying here that if you are not producing fruit, that God will remove you from the vine, or another way of saying it is: He will let you go on your own.

Romans 1:28 MSG

Since they didn’t bother to acknowledge God, God quit bothering them and let them run loose.

Some commentators have looked at the Greek word Jesus used and taken a different perspective.

airō; to raise, take up, lift:̆

Some believe that instead of fully removing the fruitless branch, that God will “raise them up, give them more light” so they can grow.

I believe it is a balanced blend of both ideas.

If a branch is not producing, God’s grace and mercy will step in and give space for growth to occur.

If no growth occurs after a period of time, I believe becomes a real thing…God turns them over to their own ways.

I’ll show you this in a minute with two different guys in the Bible...

Pruning

The idea of pruning is that you cut dead or live branches from the plant in order to promote growth to the healthy parts of the plant.

The word prunes can be interchanged with the word cleanse. That said, reading it as God will cleanse those that are bearing fruit, seems like a good deal.

No one is perfect, we all have little parts of us that are dying and need to be removed from our life:

Respect & Honor are lacking

Filthy language (cussing)

Stealing

Gossiping or Lying

Selfishness

Jonah & Judas

Both were selfish

Jonah was pruned

Judas was removed

Jonah

Called by God to call the City of Nineveh to repentance

Had some bad fruit in his life, disobeyed and did the opposite - selfish

God’s grace and mercy extended towards Jonah and gave him another chance

Jonah took that opportunity and God allowed fruit to come from him - pruning

Judas

Called by Jesus, Himself

Spent 3 years learning and doing ministry with Jesus

Had some bad fruit in his life, and valued money over his relationship with Jesus - selfish

God’s grace and mercy had been in Judas’ life that whole time

Judas took advantage of God’s grace and mercy and was removed from the vine - removal

Final Instructions

Jesus’ discourse about the vine and branches comes a few hours before he is turned over to be crucified.

At this point they had just shared the last supper and were most likely enroute to the garden.

Jesus knowing these were some of the final words he would share with His disciples before meeting them again on the other side of the cross - this passage carries some weight.

I have to imagine that, as the events over the next couple hours unfolded - these words got a lot heavier.

Closing thoughts

John 15:

John 15:5 MSG

“I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing.

The action of abiding isn’t just one-way - but rather as we abide in Jesus, He also abides in us.

John 15:5 MSG

“I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing.

The relationship with Jesus is intimate and organic

Intimate meaning that you know Him and He knows you. You are sharing life and not trying to hide anything.

Organic meaning it is a natural process. Nothing forced or religious about it.

Reading the Bible isn’t going to seem forced, but rather it will become a craving. You’ll go through a day and not be able to go to bed without reading your word.

Worship wont be about a song or person, but it becomes the time when you bring a joyful sound to God ().

Prayer becomes a conversation, not a religious recitation.

The result is a harvest that is abundant

James 4:8 ESV

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Jesus came to give us abundant life, , and He gave us the choice to accept it.

Next Steps

Salvation

The Problem

We’ve All Sinned ()

The Consequence

Sin’s penalty is death ()

The Solution

Jesus took on our sin, and died in our place ()

Our Response

We must confess Jesus as our Lord (Master and Controller) & Savior (The One that Saves Us) ()

Share the Gospel (Plant some seeds)

How many shared the gospel with at least one person this last week?

Goal: have a conversation with 1 person this week about God.

Share your testimony

Ask them if they need prayer for anything, then pray for them

Reading Plan

Join our YouVersion reading plan - get the link in the Fortress Hub (bit.ly/fortresshub) No app, no problem: Read 5 minutes a day in the book of Mark — take a Mark Life Book at the Red Table

Memorize Key Scripture

Memorize the key scripture of , recite it in your Huddle NEXT WEEK, get a free cafe item!

John 15:9 ESV

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.