Sermon Tone Analysis

I consider myself as a student.

I am always trying to learn something new from every situation.

I have always asked a lot of questions, I want to how something works and why.

In school I drove my teachers crazy because I was always asking questions, as a young man beginning as a mechanic I learned by watching and asking questions, just yesterday a learned a better way to install laminate flooring,  and as a pastor I’m still asking questions…

 

I never want to stop learning about Jesus… When it comes to church I still like asking the question WHY!!!

 

I have found that if I could understand the why of something it was easier to apply it in different situations.

However, if something is done just because that is the way it was always done, then forget it.

That kind of information is wasted on me.

The same has been true in my Christian life...

I want to know the why... Tradition is good if there is a reason for it...

 

Why do we take communion?

Why do we have baptism?

Why do we go to church?

I need to know why… I don’t like doing things just for the sake of doing them...

 

I want to know the purpose behind, What I do...

 

Today we are beginning a new series on the Commandments of Jesus, called “Life according to Jesus”…

 

We are going to spend almost a year looking at what Jesus commanded His disciples to do… and hopefully in the process we will answer some of the Whys so that we can apply those commandments to our own lives and our own circumstances…

 

Our theme verse for the next year is

 

*John 15:10 (ESV) \\ *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.

I want to be a type of person that abides in the love of Christ… I want the Church to be a church that abides in the love of Christ… and we abide in His love by doing what He says….

We experience the fullness of God, We experience the fullness of Joy, When we abide in Christ.

WE abide in Christ when we obey what he said… ITS PRETTY SIMPLE

Jesus gave at least 126 commandments in the New Testament… We are going to focus on 40 of them… I’m excited to see how God is going to work as we focus on what Jesus said and then start applying it in our lives and in the life of the church.

This morning we are going to begin our time by looking at John 15:1-17…

 

And since we are talking about staying connected to the vine,  I wanted to find out the why behind pruning grapes, the more I studied what it takes to grow a vineyard, the more my thoughts and Ideas where expanded…

 

*And the more I understood why Jesus used a grape vine to illustrate our relationship with him...*

 

* *

*Let me share with you some facts about grapes...*

1. Grapes are the most widely grown fruit in the world…

2. Australia produces 200,000,000 tons of grapes a year…

3. The oldest know living Grape vine is in England...

4. Grape Vines can produce grapes for over 400 years if properly maintained,,,

5. We know for sure that vineyards have been cultivated and maintained for at least 4500 years

6.

Grapes have always been a vital part of Israel’s Economy and the Grape vine is part of there national symbol...

 

 

*IF YOU HAVE YOU BIBLE OPEN WITH ME TO JOHN 15*

* *

In our passage this morning Jesus uses the grape vine to illustrate our connection to Him…

*I think we need to look at four things from this passage:*

1.

What type of branches does Jesus talk about?

2. What is the fruit God is looking for us to produce?

3.

Where does the fruit grow?

4. How do we stay plugged into or how do we abide in Jesus?

 

\\ *1.

WHAT TYPE OF BRANCHES DOES JESUS TALK ABOUT?*

* *

As we try to determine what kind of branches there are and relate it to our own spiritual lives we must first understand a little about grape vines...

 

A domesticated grape vine… the type you see in a vineyard must be trained from the very beginning if you want it to produce fruit...

The first cane is allowed to grow for a year with out pruning, after the first year the cane is pruned and all but a few branches are removed from the cane... those branches are supported on a wire or trellis...

 

A grape plant will grow up to 6 foot a year an unpruned grape plant soon will have several trunks and to many branches producing so much foliage that good fruit can not be produced because the plant is spending all its energy keeping the leaves and stems alive...

 

I want to stop here for just a moment...

That sounds very familiar to me...

We can spend all our energy on stuff that doesn’t produce fruit...

Even stuff that looks good and healthy can keep us from producing the kind of fruit God desires us to produce.

So our lives and our Churches left unattended will sprout many things that look good, even look authentic but unless we stay focused on our purpose we end up not being effective for the kingdom at all ….

We will talk about that a bit more later...

 

Let’s look at

 

*John 15:2-6 (ESV) \\ *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.

*There are only TWO GENERAL TYPES OF BRANCHES!*

Branches that Bear fruit and branches that don’t...

* *

*Now keep in mind as we are talking…  Jesus is using the grape vine to describe His relationship to believers...

He is the Vine, Christians are the Branches, and God is the Vine Dresser...*

\\  

1.

There are only two types of branches that bear absolutely no fruit!

 

1.

The first kind of branch that bears no fruit is the Suckers

a.

All suckers do is take from the vine, they rob nutrients from the branches that are trying to produce good fruit… and in the end cause the whole vine to produce poor quality fruit…

                   b. Suckers take and take and Take and never produce fruit

         

2.

The second kind of branch the produce no fruit are Dead Branches that are still attached to the vine… we have all seen a tree that has a dead branch that is still connected to the tree but is dead...

a. these branches put the whole vine at risk of disease from fungus and insects…

b.

These branches require invasive pruning…

 

2.

So dead branches and suckers bear no fruit… All other branches bear some sort of fruit... But

                    1.

God wants us to bear much fruit...

                   2. God wants us to bear good fruit...

 

I’m not going to spend much time here... If you are a sucker or if you are dead you know it and it is not my job to judge the branches...

That is the job of the vine dresser, and the vine dresser always looks for fruit producing potential...

Not just actual fruit...

It can take up to three years of pruning and training before a grape branch will produce fruit...

A vine dresser is also know for cutting a branch way back and letting it start over again...

So we will leave the pruning up to the vinedresser this morning ...  But we still need to look at a couple of other things...

 

* *

*2.

WHAT IS THE FRUIT WE ARE TO PRODUCE?*

* *

*Now here is something I bet you didn’t know… Grape Vines produce grapes... *

* *

If you were to plant the seeds you would have a new vine... besides Grape vines are usually started from live starts not seeds...

And Jesus is referring to us as branches... New branches don’t come from grapes...

The reason I point this out is that the fruit we are to produce is not necessarily new converts at least not from this passage… I do believe however that as our lives start to produce healthy fruit we will see people come to know Jesus…

* *

*John 15:7-17 (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.

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.

12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.

15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

* *

*What is the fruit that Jesus is talking about?*

*          1.

Obedience to Gods Word ~/ Love for God*

* *

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.

Now remain in my love.