IAmweek2

again the words before us Have their origin. back in God's conversation with Moses

god revealed his Again in my mind his ultimate being is the source of all being always was is and always will be has no beginning and has no end. Jesus picked up on that is true. God and true man as he tried to again reveal himself tell something about himself. Both as God and man so last week he said I am the bread of life. He's the one who nourishes Us in so many different ways he cares for us. He comes to us in Bread and Wine even in the Lord's supper and just one facet of of who Jesus is. Look at mail this morning we take another of the I am statements when Jesus says I am the vine. You are the branches. I've always loved these words because this verse was given to me. I'm pretty much at the end of or spring of my 8th grade when I stood before the congregation and a church in Saginaw, Michigan and was confirmed in the faith. Confirmation day and as always been our custom were given specific verses from scripture as our confirmation verse. This is mine. From John chapter 15. Jesus said I am the vine you are the branches. He talks about that relationship that he wants to have not only with me but with you certainly as well. As we consider these words this morning. It's good to understand the context in which they were said. So Jesus has with his disciples, of course and at this particular time in John's gospel. We know that he is making his way to the Garden of Gethsemane. Okay. This is pretty much at the end of Jesus human life. Because after he says these words in a very short time, Jesus is going to be arrested and he's going to be taken to stand before the high priest in the Sanhedrin the council for basically his first trial. Now we don't know for certain. But Scholars over the years think that when Jesus said these words more than likely he and the disciples were passing a Vineyard. How many Vineyards were pretty common in that part of the world? They passed the vineyard as they made their way to the Garden of Gethsemane. And Jesus then takes that moment to teach the disciples another lesson. Jesus knows what's before him. He knows what's going to happen the disciples, even though they have been told many times what was going to happen never seem to quite grasp. What Jesus was saying? So here's another opportunity to teach them an important lesson. And he uses the vineyard. as an object lesson and I can imagine maybe you can to Jesus stopping to the disciples being near this Vineyard and being near not just any Vineyard, but I healthy Vineyard a Vineyard that has been well cared for a Vineyard who's Gardner whose owner took special care for the vineyard. A Vineyard that was full of promise for the coming Great Harvest. Until you use that as a backdrop as he would speak these words.

Are you and I are some 2,000 years removed. from Jesus words that night and yet I'd like to think that they remain as powerful today as they did back then. There's an eternal proof that Jesus gives us this morning. When we consider his words. I am the vine. Jesus says you are the branches if you remain in me and I in you you will bear much fruit. But apart from me you can do nothing. Turn your outline this morning. There are lots of lessons, but I just want to share three of them with you in the next few moments. The first one would be that in this particular portion of scripture. Jesus tells us it's what I would call the on authenticity of the vine again, he is saying he's the True Vine. And what do I mean by authentic? It means simply he's the real thing. He is the real Vine. He is the one from whom is produced everything else. So it's helpful to understand the context of his statement and all that's going on. Again, this is toward the end of Jesus time on Earth. He's lived and ministered and Totten healed and preached all around Jerusalem. It's been what three years maybe three and a half years some think and he's been revealing himself here in there as the Christ. The Christ who is the Messiah the promised one? The one to whom Adam and Eve were told would come one day to defeat Satan. He and the disciples while they had been pretty much the center of of all of the religious talk pretty much the center of religious life among the Jews. Send all of Jerusalem. And if you go back in scripture go back into the Old Testament you find that very often Israel are God's chosen people from whom Jesus came. We're often referred to as the vine. That's how God referred to as Old Testament people. No, the Jewish people of the day and I'm guessing probably still pretty much today, many were very serious about fulfilling or keeping the Old Testament law. M8 they felt at least many of them did particularly the Pharisees kind of the more senior religious teachers that the Pharisees that Jesus was always seeming to be in battle with in keeping the Old Testament law feeling as if they were doing what was required. Be acceptable to God to earn God's favor to deserve God's favor by what they did and what they didn't do according to the Old Testament law. And Jesus basically is telling the disciples in this particular setting. That all the approaches to God that all the things that people try to do or not do to be found acceptable to God really are inadequate to earn God's favor. That he alone was the True Vine the just by being an Israelite just by being a member of God's chosen people wasn't automatic acceptance to God would rather it was through him. And again, we know from some of those other phrases that we saw up on the screen in the I am the Jesus is the way the truth the life the Jesus is the one through whom we find access to the father. I'll bring that up this morning because and that we were talking a little bit about it in our morning Bible study. Is that Jesus? I would remind us today that as much as the world tells us. All religions are the same. Or that there are a multitude pads to God. A Jesus this morning is telling us that that just isn't true. The world would have us believe that what people believe in. These other religions are the same then we all serve the same God. They're all going to the same Heaven that we're just heading there on different paths. And that's a popular philosophy many people believe that sometimes we tend to as well, but it isn't consistent. It isn't according to what Jesus teaches so many times. Jesus is the true vine that what we also said, we talked a little bit about it and viable class. Your white guy ultimately does with the other religions of the world are up to him that we dare not play judge. FAQ were told that judge not lest ye be judged. So we don't have the ability or authority to be the ultimate judge. Only God is But while God can do what God wants to do what we have in his word is why we have this is all we know so from our human standpoint from our view from right now today. This is all we have and when Jesus says, he's the True Vine. He's the way the truth and the life no one comes to the father except by him. Then we just have to accept that and we want to bring as many people to heaven with us as we can. That's also what scripture says. It's only Jesus says I'm the True Vine. He's talking about authenticity. He's the authentic one. He's the real one. He's the one. Who does the way to the father? Okay, so I see that in here and he says it so many times. I am the vine you are the branches. so it goes on and then he says A little bit about how God cares for the vineyard then again. He's standing I'm guessing in front of a Vineyard as they make their way to look at it. So well cared for Vineyard. It's one that have been tended it has been taken care of. It was probably pretty obvious. So he talks about the attention that God give to the vineyard now, that would be us. He's the vine where the branches and the vine is what gives the branches life. We are the branches that come from that vine being attached to the Vine. now if you think of a Vineyard and none of us are and Dentures, I guess we do know that it's not the vine that produces the fruit, right? It would be the what? The branch the vine gives the nourishment and life to the branches but it is the branch that bears the fruit. Just keep that in mind because that's why Jesus was telling the story are using that as an object lesson. So the branches are attached to the vine. They're responsible for bearing fruit and they're expected to do so. Are quite often when Jesus saw something that was supposed to produce something. He often got angry over the Fig Tree and there were no figs. What did he say? Cut it down and throw it into the fire right in the same way. He's passing this Vineyard. He's saying, you know a healthy Vine that has these branches. Are to produce fruit and now he's not talking about grapes and and how to make wine or jelly. He's talking about you and me. He's talking about our relationship our health to the vine. Who is Jesus. He says I am the True Vine. So this particular section Jesus talks about the practice of gardeners when they sometimes have to prune the vine to cut off parts that weren't healthy or weren't producing. So is telling us is that the gardener just like the gardener Watches Over The Vineyard. So the heavenly father watches out for in cares for his people The Vineyard he's involved in every aspect of the vineyard he cares for every detail and the branches are designed their purpose is to bear fruit. In the fruit that isn't obvious from a particular brand is taking off or prune in a makes sense. When you think about it, I mean quite often the branch doesn't produce fruit and The Gardener has no use for it. It is probably not healthy for the vine. So he prunes it and it goes away. Jesus is not talking about growing grapes. He's talking about you and me. You saying that God does care about his people he does care that we are bearing fruit. That was last year sometime. I think it was last year man might have been the year before. What do we spend a whole long series on The fruit of the spirit member from Galatians talked about how we are to be bearing this fruit. Well, and that perhaps was St. Paul's way of talking about how you know, we are to be bearing fruit other we are to be producing good things in life. And that sometimes when our lives are maybe misdirected or our lives become unhealthy, what does God do as it is the good father that he is. Sometimes he kind of prunes are branches. He might you might do some things in our life that it will get our attention somehow allow things to happen that draws back to him so that we might be healthy and when we're healthy, we're doing the kind of things that please him. Those are the kind of things that Jesus seems to be referring to here. And that's not easy. If you really do think about what he's talking about. For a branch to be prune. I mean a branch. In reality doesn't feel the pain but it's losing part of itself. Sometimes we have Painful times in our lives. and what the father is doing with those times perhaps his is allowing them to happen again, maybe to gain our attention. Maybe to draw us closer to him. I mean Saint Paul even said that when he had some kind of a physical ailment probably left over from his being blinded initially on his maybe way to Damascus memory was blind for several days. My belief is he probably experience I'd call it residual I damage I think his Thorn In the Flesh was bad eyesight and that's my guess and opinion can be proven that Paul says 3 times and probably more. I asked God to deliver me from this. I want to have better eyesight than three times. God says no. And why? Paul says so that I turn to God's strength. Now that was a pruning in Paul's life a reminder of his relationship with God. There without him I could do nothing. So in the second point in this story that Jesus tells God gives attention to his Vineyard now. I think we can take great joy and comfort in that God's concerned about how we are how healthy we are spiritually. He just doesn't leave us to our own devices. He cares about us much like a gardener would care about his Vineyard. So that Vineyard could be the best it could be. Okay, that's Point. Number two point number three. in this story Jesus tells us something about our attachment to the Vine. Jesus says I am the vine. You are the branches if you remain in me and I in you you're going to Bear much fruit because apart from me you can do nothing. Jesus here again isn't talking about growing grapes. He's talking about a relationship. He's telling his disciples as he tells us he wants us to abide in him. And so that he may abide in US. There we are too dependent. We are to count on him. We are to go to him. And as close as a healthy branch is to its Vine. So Jesus wants that relationship for you and for me because he tells it very clearly. If we're not in that abiding relationship, then really we can accomplish very very little if anything at all. In fact, he talks about the impossibility of bearing fruit apart from him. That are for our lives are to be productive and pleasing to God. They must continue to abide in Jesus. That's what Jesus expects. That's what he wants for you and for me. And then he says those words which I guess him. Then the words that have always caught my attention in the most cuz I think about my confirmation verse. Is what he says apart from me. You can do nothing.

I thought about those words over the years. and sometimes I'll be honest. I don't always like that part of them the verse. Jesus says apart from me you can do nothing. They say that I guess with all due respect. Because I believe what he said, I believe it's true. I just don't like the fact that he said it. I mean Jesus says we can do nothing apart from him. There's no fruit that is pleasing to God that we can produce if the branch Jesus says has no ability to produce on its own. It's simply reveals. What is produced by the Vine? That if there's any fruit that is born by Our Lives. It's only there because the Lord produced it now it gets again to those words of Saint Paul, and it's a little bit about what we're going to sing in just a few moments in the song that we sang before this message. You and I have nothing to boast about. You and I can do nothing apart from Christ. But sometimes that sounds again like a negative. Like there's nothing that we can do. That it's all because of Jesus. But rather than being a negative thing. We try to think of it as a positive thing. but even though we have nothing to boast about God has provided everything that we need. in life and in eternal life there once a Paul says it is by Grace you have been saved not by works, but by faith so that what no person can boast. He's got his done at all. He's given us again by his grace everything. We need not only for this life, but in the life I had and when Jesus says, he's the vine where the branches are comfort in that is that God wants that relationship to continue forever. And while there's nothing we can do about it we can thank God that Jesus did something about it on the cross that he took our place and became sin in our place. He provided the means of our selves a shirt and he's given it to us. There's nothing we can do to earn it or deserve it and if our lives bear any fruit at all is because the Lord has produced it in US and that is something we can take comfort in he wants that relationship. So is it consider these words again where Jesus says I am the vine you are the branches you can do. Nothing apart for me. The opposite means we can do anything with him. Kind of like those words at the end of that series we did in Philippians where Paul says I can do all things in Christ is my strength. And I have the feeling he thought of Jesus words that disciples when he wrote those words because we can do all things in him no matter what the challenge. No matter what the concern. If we have that close relationship with the Vine with Jesus, there's nothing we can accomplish or overcome. So Heavenly Father, we thank you for these words and especially of that picture that we have of Jesus. Videos of the True Vine we are the branches and apart from him we can do nothing. We thank you that you have called us to be your own to be the ones to can carry out your will here in this earth that we can be the ones to spread the message of your love to take Comfort Inn in the fact that you love us so dearly that you want it have a relationship with us and we pray these things in Jesus name and as again,