Connected in Christ

I still remember driving up the entrance. Sprawling green grass and topiary bushes dotting the way. Once at the entrance I found a place to park and made may way through the door. My gaze was met with an entryway that screamed opulence. From the dining area down to my left, and a richly comfortable library up and to my right. As I was driving up I noticed the swimming pool out and around the corner from the entrance, the sprawling fairways of the 18 hole golf course surrounding this impressive building, and the pristine tennis courts I passed while driving up. Membership at this country club meant perks! Membership meant others will serve me! Must be nice! Just pay the going rate and enjoy a life of leisure! Granted there was no way I could afford the dues at this country club, I was just there to clean some carpet, but it didn’t stop me from dreaming. Come and be served.

Tragically this is how too many people understand membership of the church.

This is my church, you need to play the music like I like.

Preach the length of sermon I like, or I will withhold my offering.

I have been a member here for 30 years, I have a right to get what I want.

After all my grandparents came to this church.

Now, I am so grateful to say that I have never heard any of these statements in this church!

But I have heard them in churches I have attended.

For too many people in churches across this country view their affiliation with their church more like a country club than the biblical view of membership.

One pastor wrote, “For them membership is more about receiving instead of giving, being served rather than serving, rights instead of responsibilities and entitlements instead of sacrifices.”

You see, An improper view of the church causes people to see their tithes and offerings as dues rather than an unconditional, cheerful gift to God.

No, membership means we are a vital part of the whole body.

Romans 12:4–5 KJV

4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: 5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

Far too often the church is seen as a modern business or organization that they come to in order to obtain something

Rather than the biblical view of a symbiotic cooperation of individuals that God has placed together to accomplish His will in a particular geographical area.

Someone said, “Membership means we are different but we still work together.”

In a Country Club you pay others to do the work for you, but with a church membership everyone has a role to fulfill to allow the big picture to be accomplished.

If one part is left undone than the whole body suffers.

Unfortunately too many see the work that needs to be done in the church as a drudgery.

But this membership, this cooperation, It’s a privilege!

Because membership to Jesus’ church is identifying with Him as His bride.

It is a joy to be able to work together through Christ to accomplish His will for our church.

This privilege that is given to us is only made possible through Christ.

Truthfully it is more about the identity we have in Christ rather than the responsibility we have.

If we know our identity in Him, we are the Child of God, we will abide in Him so that God can do a work in and through us.

As Christians there is a difference between “going to church” and gathering around and learning at the feet of Jesus.

There is a difference between “church membership” and remaining in Jesus.

Christ’s death, burial and resurrection prepared the way for His Church to carry His kingdom to the ends of the earth.

So it’s no wonder that during his last moments with His disciples, His last parable stressed the importance of remaining in Him.

Jesus and the disciples have finished their last supper.

They are now walking, on their way to the garden, in the Mount of Olives.

I imagine they pass a vineyard, and are all silently looking at the fruit growing when Jesus speaks up.

The conversation is recorded here in John 15:1-10.

This is the last major teaching concerning Himself and His relationship with the church, right now the embryo of the church, that is his disciples.

The dire warning is for all who follow Him to remain in Him.

Jesus in these verses speaks to four vital truths regarding us as His church.

First He speaks to our...

I. Identity

1; 4-5a

We are an extension of Jesus Christ.

He is the vine and we are the branches!

This whole passage seems to be just a passing statement as they walk.

These disciples just left the upper room where they held the passover meal.

A very poignant time that has rich, deep meaning to the Jews.

The passover blood on the mantle was what saved their family from being visited by the Death angel.

In the passover meal four cups of wine are consumed commemorating the four “I will...” statements by God in his promise to deliver them.

Exodus 6:6–7 KJV

6 Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: 7 And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

And there in that upper room Jesus applied the significance of that cup to Himself.

He would shed his blood as a New Testament, a new covenant.

Now that cup has great meaning to us and our identity in Christ, and as the church of Christ.

To them the first cup, the Cup of Sanctification symbolized Israel’s deliverance from the burdens Egypt, to us it symbolizes our deliverance by the Blood of Christ from burden of our sin.

To them the second cup, the Cup of Deliverance symbolized Israel’s deliverance from their bondage, for us it symbolizes our deliverance from the bondage of sin.

To them the third cup, the Cup of Redemption symbolized God’s promise to redeem Israel with an outstretched arm.

To us this cup reminds us of our redemption by the blood shed with Christ’s outstretched arm on the cross.

And the fourth cup, the Cup of praise symbolized the fact that God took Israel to be His people, and to us it is the symbol of praise for grafting us into his family.

We don’t when this tradition began, but we know that the juice was a part of the passover meal.

Now walking beside this vineyard Jesus takes the imagery often used for Israel, the vine and branches, and puts Himself in place of the nation.

Isaiah 5, Jeremiah 2, 5 and 6 all speak of them in this imagery.

Something that would have been well known to these disciples.

These disciples were going through an identity change.

Their identity was shifting from a national identity as Jews to a Christian identity in Christ.

The Messiah who was prophesied for years is now there before them, It’s all about Jesus.

He is the vine!

The Pharisee’s had become the very image of this people, the pinnacle of what they should be as a people.

But Jesus distanced Himself from the religious elite.

Don’t miss this!

There is a difference between going to church and just participating in church and abiding in Christ.

Your identity is not Baptist, or Member or Mills Memorial Baptist.

Your identity is not mother, father, son or daughter.

All of these things can change!

Your identity is in Christ.

You are the child of God, and that cannot ever change!

My identity as Pastor

Now we need to abide in Him!

It doesn’t matter what the church looks like or who the pastor is, It’s about Jesus!

But let me remind you, a branch can only identify with the vine to which it is attached.

What are you attached to today?

Are you attached to this world, or are you fully attached to Christ?

If someone were looking at your life, let’s say your last 7 - 24 hour days, what would they say your identity is?

If Christ is our identity, they we will be busy learning from Him, sitting at His feet in:

Faithful Church Attendance

Bible Reading

Prayer

Yielding to His Spirit

He speaks of our Identity, Secondly, he speaks of our...

II. Responsibility

There is an expectation from Jesus Christ

verse 2

This is the responsibility, He expects us to live for Him.

And in so doing we will produce fruit!

God is continually at work around us pruning away, cutting off the dead branches.

Why?

More fruit will grow, if the dead branches are not pruned they will sap the nutrients from the growing branches.

God desires to use us in this life to make a difference in this world.

He wants to use us so that the world will know who He is.

Are you fruitful?

If we are walking with Him like we ought, we will be productive for Him!

Colossians 1:10 KJV

10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

Are you fulfilling the work you have been called to do?

Ministry naturally flows from a right relationship with Christ.

He gifts us each with unique gifts that naturally flow out of us, if we are connected to the vine.

Are you using your gifts and fulfilling your responsibility?

He speaks of our Identity, and our Responsibility, then He speaks of our...

III. Cooperation

verses 4,6

We become useless separated from Jesus Christ

Jesus gives a warning here, If we chose not to remain in Him, then God will cut us off.

The branch that is not producing fruit is cut off and thrown into the fire and burned.

This shouldn’t be understood as losing your salvation and going to hell.

There are far too many verses throughout the Bible that speak to the eternal security of the believer.

This is not speaking of our position, but our effectiveness.

Dead vines are completely useless for bearing fruit, and end up sapping the strength from the whole plant.

I have heard before that the fruit it’s talking about is new Christians, but I do not believe that this is true.

The idea is given that the fruit of an apple tree is another apple tree, but the fruit of an apple tree is an apple.

An apple does not equal an apple tree, but rather it bears within it the seed that can be planted to bear another apple tree.

The Christian bears within it the seed that can bear another Christian.

The only place in the Bible that talks about the fruit of a Christian, is the fruit that is born through yielding to the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 5 tells us that as the Christian is in cooperation with God, we will see love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and a Spirit controlled life.

When we live a yielded to the Holy Spirit we will bear the fruit of the Spirit and shine forth and plant the seeds of the gospel every where we go!

If we abide in him and He in us we will bear fruit!

So Jesus speaks the truth of Identity - we are in Him!

He speaks the truth of Responsibility - we are to live for Him!

He speaks the truth of Cooperation - we are to bear fruit in Him!

and then draws them to the fourth truth, the truth of...

IV. Reality

We can do nothing without Jesus Christ.

verses 5; 7-10

Just as a vine cannot produce anything unless it is attached to the vine, we cannot produce anything unless we abide in Christ.

It doesn’t matter how old or young; long or short; beautiful or gnarly...the branch cannot bear fruit without the vine.

Verse 9 says, As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue in my love.

Jesus obeyed and was fruitful through the will and power of the Father.

We will only be productive if we continue in Him.

If you find yourself powerless, or without the fruit that is promised take stock of your walk with God today!

Has it become stale?

Are you just going through the motions?

Or are you truly abiding in Him?

Confess any unconfessed sin, ask God to break any spiritual strongholds that allow the Enemy to have victory in your heart and life, and abide in Him!

There is one more verse in our text today.

Verse number 11, it begins with “These things have I spoken unto you...”

This is the purpose, this is the result!

“That my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”

Could you use more joy in your life today?

Perhaps we ought to take stock of our life and see where we need change.

Does your view of church membership need to change?

Is your identity in Christ?

are you more concerned with the things of this world rather than the things of God?

When someone looks at your life what is the predominant feature?

What is the most important thing?

spouse

parent

employee

boss

Christ follower?

Are you fulfilling your Responsibility in Christ?

The christian life is not to be coasted through watching others do the work.

What have you done lately for Christ?

Are you working in Cooperation with Christ?

Are you seeing the fruit of the Spirit in your life today?

If not we need to yield our lives to Him, and abide ever more closer to Him!

Are you trying to do things in your own strength?

We do not have the ability to live this Christian life on our own!

The good news is we don't have to!

Galatians 2:20 KJV

20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

We need Jesus, we need His Holy Spirit’s Power!

Abide in Christ today!

Get Busy for Him today!

Church membership is not about being served, it is about serving!

The First Pledge

I am a church member.

I am a Member not like in a civic organization or a country club. It’s the kind of membership given to us in 1 Corinthians 12:27 “27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.” Because I am a member of the body of Christ, I must be a functioning member, whether I am an “eye,” an “ear,” or a “hand.”

As a functioning member, I will give. I will serve. I will minister. I will evangelize. I will study. I will seek to be a blessing to others. I will remember that if “...one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.”