Lumley 12 -- John 15.1-8

John 15:1–11 ESV

1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

As we read through the Bible, we continue to bump into these two corresponding and competing storylines:

Isaiah 5:1–7 ESV

1 Let me sing for my beloved my love song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. 2 He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes. 3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. 4 What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? 5 And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. 6 I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and briers and thorns shall grow up; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. 7 For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an outcry!

God has called Israel to be a blessing to all the nations

Though called to be a blessing and bring a remedy to the sickness of sin and the pain of suffering, they, too, are infected and need to be cured.

Thus, God sends Jesus to take Israels place — to bring healing and forgiveness to the nation and neighbor alike. Whoever they are; wherever they are from; whatever they have done.

The OT frequently uses the image of a vine or vineyard for Israel.

and have perhaps the two most powerful vineyard passages in the OT depicting God’s love for and investment in the Vineyard of his people…

Isaiah 5:4 ESV

4 What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?

God wants God’s vineyard to bear glorious fruit… sweet — not sour! — grapes.

The Disappointment of Fruit and Sour Grapes...

The OT tells the story of how Israel — as both vine and vineyard — did not bear “good fruit.”

Jesus say, “I Am the True Vine”…

He brings fourth the fruit Israel could not, would not, and did not.

God is a fearless Gardner of His Vineyard to ensure the vines in the vineyard bear the maximum amount of fruit.

Every branch that does not bear fruit...

He takes away — in the Winter he will cut the branch back to the stalk

Every branch that does not bear fruit...

He prunes — in the Spring he will trim back the new sprouts

This is the cleaning work of gardening to ensure a strong spring after Winter… and a robust harvest into the Summer...

That is how the Word of God serves the vineyard… it keeps it and us clean as we the aged are taken away and the buds are pruned...

You’d think in our lives we would long for God to TAKE AWAY and PRUNE… but we don’t.

We fall in love with our budding, beautiful branches.

Hold onto your branches long enough and they become UNRULY… and eventually become useless...

John 15:6 ESV

6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

Ever had that happen? Ever fall in love with a budding, beautiful branch and God cuts it off?

The Bible calls this… idolatry. We fall in love with the vineyard rather than being in love with the Gardner.

Our concern and focus is never to be the fruit and the flowers… our concern is to be ABIDING IN JESUS — the vine.

John 15:4–5 ESV

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

John 15:4-5

John 15:

John 15:7–8 ESV

7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

You have one minute of abiding in Christ and your thorns and briars are replaced by fruit and flowers…

Before long you are hoarding and protecting rather than pruning, taking off, distributing and blessing...

Think about your life… right now… of a branch in your life that you have put a hedge around… “not this one, God.”

I’ve done it… I’ve done it with several branches at once.

You can’t imagine — unless you have been through it (and many here have been through it) — how fearless God is as a Gardner to have the branches in His vineyard that will bear the maximum fruit.

The story of a 13 years of gardening...

The fear when you are pruned isn’t that you won’t grow into something more beautiful — the fear is that you can’t or won’t grow into something more beautiful.

So… we resign. We pull back.

You think the removed branch can’t be regrown… replaced… resplendent to the degree of the last branch?

As you try to contrive and construct how to get your old branch back or make sure the branch which needs pruned stays where it is...

You fear God doesn’t have the answers

You fear God will abandon you… or those you love...

But the vine — JESUS:

Overwhelms our fears with… LOVE…

Woos our questions with... JOY… and

Assures our insecurities and inferiorities that our hope for glory has died that when we ABIDE in the Jesus, God will be glorified.

John 15:8–11 ESV

8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

The branches are not your life; Your life is the vine.

Lay down your worries about the branches, that they can’t or shouldn’t be cut… that they won’t or can’t grow back:

Let me invite you today — lay down your worries about the branches, that they can’t or shouldn’t be cut… that they won’t or can’t grow back:

They aren’t yours

They were never yours

They next ones aren’t yours

The next ones will never be yours

God is a fearless Gardner of His Vineyard to ensure the vines in the vineyard bear the maximum amount of fruit.

Anything you are doing that is done apart from him is vanity and idolatry.

God is good… all the time… and we need to trust him.