How fruity are you?

John 15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

John 15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

John 15:3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

John 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

John 15:6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

John 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

John 15:8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

--Prayer--

John 15 : 1 – 17 talks about 3 things

1.           Husbandman

2.           The True Vine

3.           The Branches

All 3 of these are symbols of something else

1.           The Husbandman is God

2.           The True Vine is Christ

3.           The Branches are Christians

In John 15:1 Jesus states that I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman

A husbandman is one whose business it is to cultivate the ground.

John 15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

In Verse 2

Part 1 – Taking Away

John 15:2a Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away:

The word Taking away comes from the Greek word - Airo

This word Airo means to raise up, elevate, lift up to raise from the ground,

Reasons to lift up

a.           For Growth

b.           Detanglement

-- Explain Lifting Up --

Part 2 – The Purging Process

John 15:2b and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

Pruning, is God’s way of trimming away unwanted distractions

Things that tend to rob the branches of the nourishment they need to survive

Some of our friends fit this description

Even though we start out intending to influence them, they wind up exerting more influence on us.

Instead of drawing us closer to God, they lure us away

They rob us of the life-giving nourishment that results from intimate fellowship with the Father

For some our Cars fit this descriptions

Other’s it our jobs

So God has to start the purning process

When God starts trimming away pieces of your life, this process will not be comfortable.

The more shuff that needs removing the more painful the process

John 15:3 

Verse 3 says Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you

-- Explain the Word of God’s washing ability

Ephesians 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

John 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

Jesus said Abide in me

In this verse the word abide is a command not a suggestion

The word abide means - to remain,

not to depart, to continue in

Abiding is our Christian responsibility

In order to be a fruitful Christian, we must learn to abide and depend on Christ

John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

This verse seems to suggest the much fruit will come as a result of use abiding in Christ

We also see Jesus saying that without me you can do nothing

Some of us, if we would be real, we live every day without Him

What is being said here is that without Him, we can do nothing that's pleasing to God

We can do nothing that's acceptable to Him

We can do nothing to further our spiritual growth without Him

Our human effort without divine enablement is fruitless and frustrating

John 15:6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

This verse is not speaking of a Christian losing their salvation

But this verse is saying, Christians who try to survive without abiding can look forward to fiery trials

Sometimes trials is the only way for God get our attention

Some trial it involved your job, our kids, your other relationships

But God’s only desire is to get you reconnected to the vine so that you can bear fruit

John 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

This verse is likened unto Psalm 37:4 which says, ``Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.''

A person who is delighted in the Lord may very well desire a house or a car or some other amenity.

But he will pray, ``Lord, give me this house, car, so it can become yours. Meet my need so I can build your kingdom.''

So the benefits of abiding is Christ is answered prayer

John 15:8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

Now about the Fruit

The ultimate purpose of a branch is to produce fruit that contain seeds that will produce other like fruit

This fruit serves as bribes to animals

Enticing them to eat the fruit and carry the seeds to new territory

Animals eat the fruit to satisfy its hunger

The seed which is in the fruit is  ingested but not digested by the animal

The seed later leaves their digestive tract and deposited in a new territory and the process begins fruit bearing begins again

Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

Galatians 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

But the fruit.  Singular in number; not nine fruits, but one fruit composed of nine elements. 

The first three are in relation to God (love, joy, peace);

The next three are in relationship to man (longsuffering, gentleness, goodness);

And the last three are in relation to one’s own inner life (faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law)