06AM March 26 John 15 1_11
March 26, 2006—Morning Worship
Cleansed by the Word
The Different Facets of the Lord’s Word
John 15:1-11
Intro: Jesus told His disciples, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you & appointed you that you should go & bear fruit, & that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.” & since we are disciples of Jesus Christ today, those words apply to us just as they did to Jesus’ original disciples!
That means that you, as a believer in the risen Lord of Glory; you, as a believer in the Son of God; you as a believer in the Way, the Truth & the Life; you have been chosen by Him, you have been commissioned by Him & you have been comforted by Him! You have been chosen for the purposes of God. You have been commissioned to participate w/God in those purposes. & you have been comforted w/the precious promises of God Himself.
But, do you ever wonder how you could be more effective? Do you ever feel like your life is "dry;" & that you don't really accomplish much? Today we concentrate on the words of Jesus as He walked w/His disciples, teaching them how to remain fruitful. & maybe that’s just what you need to hear today.
This passage is the last of the 7 "I am" statements in John's Gospel. These statements show that Jesus is equal w/the "I am" of the OT. They show that He is God the Son & equal w/the Father. In this passage Jesus teaches us the importance of fruitfulness in the Christian life. Let's look at this together from...
John 15 1 "I am the true vine, & My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; & every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean b/c of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, & I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, & I in him, bears much fruit; for w/o Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch & is withered; & they gather them & throw them into the fire, & they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, & My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, & it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. 9 "As the Father loved Me, I also have 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 & abide in His love. 11 "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, & that your joy may be full.
- So here we can see the different facets of the Lord’s word as we are cleansed by the word.
- Let’s break that passage down into manageable pieces so we can clearly understand & apply the passage to our lives today.
- Notice the 1st facet of the Lord’s word is that Jesus uses…
1. A word illustration as a teaching tool. (vv. 1-2)
- It’s usually easier to understand a new concept if we can relate it to some concept w/which we are already familiar.
- So Jesus uses a word illustration as a teaching tool for His disciples.
- Did you notice that the illustration begins with…
A. The principal Performers. (vv. 1-2a) 1 “I am the true vine, & My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me….”
- He gives us the principal performers in this illustration & says that He is the “true vine;” that His Father is the “vinedresser,” & that believers are the “branches.”
- Jesus declares Himself to be the vine.
- & that means that He is our Source. Only the vine has roots that supply the branches w/moisture & nutrients.
- It is the source for all the branches & all the fruit they bear.
- & in the same way, Jesus is our Source. He alone has the roots of the power of eternal life through which He supplies everything that we need to be all He desires.
- IOW we have all we need through the supply of Jesus Christ our Lord.
- But notice also that Jesus says His Father is the vinedresser.
- That means that God the Father is the One who cares for the whole vine. He is the One who ensures its growth.
- He is the One who cultivates around it. He is the One who sees that it’s watered &/or fertilized as needed. He is the One who does the necessary pruning.
- IOW Jesus is resting in His Father’s ability to care for Him as the true vine.
- & again, the believers are the branches.
- As branches, our job is just to “hang out in the vine.”
- We are to bear the fruit that the vine’s supply produces in us & therefore we glorify the vine & the vinedresser w/the abundance of fruit we bear.
- Now w/those thoughts firmly in our minds – as they would have been in the minds of the disciples, who were familiar w/the vineyards of their day – let’s look at…
B. The stated Purpose. (v. 2) 2 “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, & every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”
- On June 29, 2003 when I last preached on v. 2, I spoke about…
1. The principle of Purity. (v. 2a)
- Jesus said that every branch in Him that does not bear fruit the vinedresser takes away.
- & we said back then that the word translated “takes away” has as its primary meaning, “to raise up, to elevate, to lift up or to raise from the ground.”
- & so we said that the unfruitful branch could have been weighed down by wind, & gotten caught in the mud & was unable to bear fruit in that condition.
- Therefore the vinedresser would come & lift it up & prop it up until it was strong enough & healthy enough to bear fruit.
- & I still believe that can be the meaning of this verse.
- But as I was studying this verse this week, I revisited the meaning of the word translated “takes away.” It also literally means “to bear away what has been raised, to carry off, to remove, or to take away from the living, either by natural death or by violence.”
- Now before you get nervous, let me quickly say that this verse in no way teaches that a true believer in Christ can lose their salvation! That would be in direct contradiction w/so many other vv. in the Bible that it could not be true!
- So what then, does this verse teach us? Do you remember the parable of the wheat & the tares?
- A land owner planted his field w/wheat, but at night his enemy came & sowed tares among the wheat.
- When the plants came up, & it was evident that some plants were in capable of bearing fruit, his servants asked the land owner, “Did you not plant good seed in your field?” & the land owner replied, “An enemy has done this!”
- So his servants asked him, “Should we tear them out?” But the land owner said, “Let them grow lest when you take away the tares you also uproot the wheat.”
- Now in that illustration the wheat & the tares were planted in the same ground & had their roots intertwined together. & that would make it impossible to just to uproot the tares.
- But in the illustration before us today, Jesus is the vine – the only One w/roots.
- Those branches that are unfruitful are what are known as sucker branches.
- They are incapable of bearing fruit, although they look healthy & have beautiful leafs, they do not & will not bear fruit.
- These branches come directly out of the vine & therefore zap the fruit bearing potential of the other branches by taking up valuable sustenance just to bear leafs.
- So those branches are cut off & removed from the vine.
- In the body of Christ, there are some who come into our midst w/o a vital, personal, love relationship w/Jesus.
- They may look like branches on the outside – but God looks at the heart!
- All they do is zap the fruit bearing potential of the others by their negative, critical spirits & by their constant complaining.
- It may be low keyed so that it’s not obvious – kind of like a sore spot on your hand.
- It’s not a major problem, but you always know it’s there!
- So Jesus says, “My Father will remove those branches. He takes them away.”
- So there is the principle of purity but also…
2. The principle of Necessity. (v. 2b) 2b “…& every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”
- The pruning process is painful & sometimes we don’t understand why it takes place.
- But the pruning process is necessary, b/c w/o it, we would never bear the large, beautiful, ripe, sweet, abundant fruit that God desires for us.
- So if you are a child of God, & you are not bearing fruit, He lifts you up & cleans you off & props you up until you are strong enough to bear some fruit.
- & as soon as you begin to bear fruit, He begins the pruning process to enable you to bear more fruit.
& so, His stated purpose is to care for the vine in order that the branches produce the most fruit possible to the glory of the vine & its vinedresser.
- The word illustration that Jesus used as a teaching tool, helps us to see…
2. The word of God as the cleansing agent. (vv. 3-4)
- Notice what the word of God does…
A. It Purifies your life in Christ. (v. 3) 3 You are already clean b/c of the word which I have spoken to you.
- Jesus was speaking to the 11 disciples that were walking w/Him on His way to the garden of Gethsemane.
- Judas had already left to betray Jesus for the 30 pieces of silver.
- & so He says they are clean b/c of the word which He spoke to them.
- Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:26 that the reason Jesus loved the Church & gave Himself for her was; 26 that He might sanctify & cleanse her w/the washing of water by the word.
- IOW you are cleansed by the word of God. You are washed, sanctified & cleansed by the word!
- Jesus asked the Father as He prayed in John 17 17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
- So the word of God is the cleansing agent as it purifies your life in Christ & as…
B. It Unifies your life w/Christ. (v. 4a) 4a Abide in Me, & I in you.
- Jesus had already told His disciples that He was One w/the Father & Jesus was about to pray for them that they may be one w/Him as He was one w/God!
- The word abide means “to remain, to continue, to tarry.” & it’s worded in the original as a command.
- & it literally means that there is never to be time when we are not abiding in Him b/c He has promised there will never be a time when He is not abiding in us!
- As a believer, you are in Christ & you are have the Holy Spirit of God living in you as proof of your union w/God!
- Therefore, remain, continue, tarry w/your Lord & Master as He will always be in you!
- The word of God purifies your life in Christ & unifies your life w/Christ, but notice also…
C. It Simplifies your life in Christ. (v. 4b) 4b …As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
- When you truly grasp the truth that you cannot bear fruit through your own efforts, it will free you from the guilt trips & pressures to perform that others may place on you & that the devil does lay on you as a great burden.
- YOU ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE TO PRODUCE FRUIT IN YOUR LIFE – BUT YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE TO BEAR THE FRUIT THAT GOD PRODUCES THRU YOU!
- IOW you’re just to concentrate on being what God wants you to be & let Him concentrate on working through you as He pleases.
- Don’t get hung up on trying to do what others are doing or trying to do something that will please other people.
- You will only stand before God & give account of yourself to Him & no one else! So it makes more sense to please God by being what He wants you to be; than it does to worry about doing what someone else wants you to do so you can please them!
- JUST FOLLOW JESUS!
- So we’ve seen the word as a teaching tool & as a cleansing agent & that brings us to…
3. The word of Christ as a warning system. (vv. 5-6)
- Jesus plainly tells us in v.5 that if you want to bear fruit for the glory of God…
A. You must Be part of the whole. (v. 5) 5 "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, & I in him, bears much fruit; for w/o Me you can do nothing.
- IOW Jesus is saying there can be no Lone Ranger heroes in the kingdom of God!
- No one can accomplish anything w/o the power & Person of Jesus Christ!
- In fact, if you are not in Him & bearing fruit, then you are in danger b/c you look like a sucker branch which the vinedresser will take away b/c of its utter uselessness to His stated purpose – which is to care for the vine in order that the branches produce the most fruit possible to the glory of the vine & its vinedresser!
- If you are not part of the whole vine then you are not abiding in Him.
- & if you are not abiding in Him then you cannot bear fruit.
- & if you are not bearing fruit then there is nothing you can do – period!
- So you must be part of the whole vine &…
B. You must Remain part to be whole. (v. 6) 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch & is withered; & they gather them & throw them into the fire, & they are burned.
- Burning a branch that is cut off & withered from the vine utterly destroys the branch.
- & so, those that do not abide in Christ were never really part of the body of Christ.
- They were sucker branches that may have fooled men but they will never deceive God!
- IOW these people that are playing church; that attend when they “feel like it;” or come b/c they think “it’s the thing to do;” those who give of their time if they have any “left over;” those who give their money as an occasional “tip” to God; those people need not think they are safe!
- They need to heed the warning of the words of Christ & realize their own sinful state & the jeopardy in which their eternal soul now stands.
- You must BE part of the whole & you must REMAIN part to be whole!
- But not only is the word of Christ a warning system, we also see…
4. The word of promise as an encouraging motive. (vv. 7-11)
- I really believe that the majority of our church has come to understand that, “Your attendance is a poor substitute for your participation in the things of God!”
- I really believe that the majority of our church views the word of God as a positive, encouraging word.
- The majority understands the word motivates them & gives them…
A. The formula for Fruit-bearing. (vv. 7-8) 7 If you abide in Me, & My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, & it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
- vv. 7-8 are really a recap or a summation of the previous 6 vv.
- Jesus says here that if you want to prove yourselves as disciples, abide in Me & live out the word which I have implanted in you.
- If you do that, you will be walking by faith in Me, learning from Me, living in Me & then you will understand My mind & My hearts desires for you.
- If you do, then you will ask for those desires to be granted to you & it will be done!
- & if you do all that, you will be bearing much fruit & glorifying God the Father & proving yourselves to be followers, learners, disciples of Mine!
- IOW you’ll have the mindset of the Apostle Paul who wrote in Philippians 3 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, & count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.
- I really believe that the majority of our church grasps that truth & has that motivation to know Him & to make Him know & they do so from…
B. The foundation for Faith. (vv. 9-11) 9 "As the Father loved Me, I also have 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 & abide in His love. 11 "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, & that your joy may be full.
- Jesus loves you in the same way that His Father God loves Him! Oh, what a wonderful, mind-boggling thought!
- But notice that Jesus commands you to remain in that love! How do you do that?
- He tells you in v. 10 (READ)!
- IOW if you live your life like Jesus lives His; if you honor Him as He honors God; if you obey Him as He obeyed God; if you love Him as He loves God; if you follow Him as He follows God, you can remain in His love!
- & Jesus told His disciples all that, so that the joy of knowing Jesus & following Jesus & obeying Jesus & loving Jesus would fill their hearts & that their lives would be & could be a compelling testimony of the Person & power of Jesus Christ!
- Ladies & gentlemen, boys & girls, He wants to do the same in you & through you for the glory of God!
- He challenges us today to walk w/Him by faith that others may see the foundation of faith on which we stand – secure in Him!
- What an encouraging motive to serve the Lord w/gladness! To know Him & to make Him known! Finding direction in life through the Cross!
Conclusion: We’ve talked today about being cleansed by the word; about different facets of the Lord’s word & how it does what it does & why it does what it does. & I want to encourage you today to walk w/Jesus by faith! Stop looking at the way things are or the way you think things will be & start trusting the invisible hand of the unshakable God!
Ask God to help you grasp His word & to be cleansed & warned & encouraged by what He reveals to you! & let me remind you that, “Your attendance is a poor substitute for your participation in the things of God!”
Invitation: In just a moment we’re going to stand & sing Hymn 282 Living for Jesus. The 1st verse of that hymn says:
Living for Jesus a life that is true,
Striving to please Him in all that I do;
Yielding allegiance, glad hearted and free,
This is the pathway of blessing for me.
I wonder; will you be able to sing those words from your heart & mean them w/all your heart today? If not, I invite you to come & give yourself to Him so that you can begin to walk w/Him by faith every day.
If you’ve come to see Jesus as God & yourself as a hopeless sinner w/o Him, would you come today in repentance & faith to Jesus Christ as your Lord & Savior?
Or maybe today, God has challenged you to a walk w/Him that’s closer than ever before. Would you come today & offer yourself to Him as a living sacrifice?
Or maybe God is calling you into full time Christian service as a missionary or pastor. Would you come today & surrender to that call?
Or maybe God is telling you to serve Him here at Brookleigh as part of the body of Christ here. Would you respond to Him & serve Him as one of us?
Or maybe you’ve received Christ as your Lord & Savior, but you’ve never been baptized. Would you come today in obedience & submission to the Lord’s command to follow Him in believer’s baptism?
How ever God may be speaking to you, will you hear Him & heed His voice today?
Hymn 282 Living for Jesus