Speaker 1: The following resource is brought to you by Real Life Community Church in Richmond, Kentucky.
Speaker 1: We hope you're both challenged and encouraged by this message from Pastor Chris May John 15, 1-11.
Speaker 2: I am the true vine and my Father is the vinedresser.
Speaker 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 Already.
Speaker 2: You are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.
Speaker 2: Abide in me and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine.
Speaker 2: Neither can you, unless you abide in me.
Speaker 2: I am the vine, you are the branches.
Speaker 2: Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit.
Speaker 2: For apart from me, you can do nothing.
Speaker 2: 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.
Speaker 2: If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.
Speaker 2: By this my father is glorified that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
Speaker 2: As the father has loved me, so have I loved you.
Speaker 2: Abide in my love.
Speaker 2: 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.
Speaker 2: These things I have spoken to you that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full.
Speaker 3: Well, if you are like me, the older you get, the more aware you become of how quickly time passes by.
Speaker 3: Many of you know that last week my family celebrated 10 years of ministry at this church.
Speaker 3: I mean, it seems like just yesterday we were coming into the parking lot greeted by about 37 cats, and they used to be infested by cats.
Speaker 3: It seems like that was yesterday for the very first time that we walked in these doors.
Speaker 3: And to think this morning that I mean this is so surreal that I just dedicated my granddaughter to the Lord and I was thinking about that and I thought I'm not old enough to be a grandparent and then I thought, actually I'm approaching 50, which means I'm less.
Speaker 3: I'm thinking about what, nine, eight and a half, nine years away from being in our young at heart group, I mean I, like you all but good gracious Is anybody with me, listen does time not just absolutely fly by?
Speaker 3: It's unbelievable.
Speaker 3: And so the more aware I've become of of how quickly time passes and let's say that the breath, the brevity of life, it's like a vapor here today, gone tomorrow the more that's become real to me.
Speaker 3: At the same time, I've had this greater awareness, I've become more cognizant of the fact that I want my short life to count Like.
Speaker 3: I want to live with meaning and I want to live with purpose.
Speaker 3: And somehow, in some way, deep down, I just know I want the work that I do, the toiling, the laboring, the suffering, I want it to matter well beyond my lifetime.
Speaker 3: I want my life to not be lived in vain, and I don't think I'm alone in this aim.
Speaker 3: Think if I were to ask any of you today, I hope that you would say yes, I want to live my life with purpose.
Speaker 3: I want my life to have meaning and substance.
Speaker 3: And even the world out in the world, apart from the church, people are after purpose.
Speaker 3: They're looking for purpose and meaning and they're looking everywhere.
Speaker 3: But what's so interesting?
Speaker 3: They're looking for purpose and meaning and they're looking everywhere, but what's so interesting?
Speaker 3: It seems to me that, no matter what people accomplish, once they accomplish it they realize this thing does not satisfy me, it doesn't bring the ultimate purpose, and so it becomes a very frustrating pursuit.
Speaker 3: Let's say, let me just give you an example of this.
Speaker 3: After attaining his educational aspirations and getting to the top of his career, former atheist Jim Tickner found himself in what is a commonly experienced existential crisis.
Speaker 3: After all of his accomplishments and accolades, here's what he said on the radio.
Speaker 3: He said, quote I found myself slumping on a park bench and just stopping.
Speaker 3: I had concluded that life was meaningless.
Speaker 3: Nothing inspired me.
Speaker 3: There was no place for me to stand, end quote.
Speaker 3: And I've heard this story time and time again no matter what I do, I just don't feel like I'm, that I know my purpose, that I'm living up to that purpose and my life, on some level, is void of meaning.
Speaker 3: Well, jesus validates those feelings today in our text.
Speaker 3: In verse 5, he says a rather shocking line.
Speaker 3: He says apart from me, apart from me, you can do what?
Speaker 3: Nothing.
Speaker 3: Now, that's a bold statement.
Speaker 3: Does that take anybody else back, apart from me?
Speaker 3: Jesus says you can do nothing.
Speaker 3: And you could argue.
Speaker 3: Well, chris, what about unbelievers?
Speaker 3: What about unbelievers?
Speaker 3: Is it true this morning, let me ask you Is it true that unbelievers?
Speaker 3: They get prestigious degrees, graduate with honors?
Speaker 3: Is it true that unbelievers, people not connected to Christ in any way, don't they raise law-abiding citizens who contribute greatly to the world?
Speaker 3: They love their kids?
Speaker 3: Isn't it true that unbelievers start businesses?
Speaker 3: Isn't it true that unbelievers have contributed greatly to the beauty of this world through art and music and other means.
Speaker 3: Are all of those statements true?
Speaker 3: I would say yes and amen.
Speaker 3: That's not what Jesus is saying.
Speaker 3: Sure, people accomplish all kinds of things.
Speaker 3: Here's what he's saying.
Speaker 3: When he says through me, you can do nothing.
Speaker 3: Here's what he means.
Speaker 3: You can do nothing of lasting significance.
Speaker 3: You can do nothing of lasting significance if it's not done through me.
Speaker 3: You can see this, you can read this later if you go to 1 Corinthians, chapter 3.
Speaker 3: Paul's writing and I'm going to paraphrase.
Speaker 3: But he says if you don't build your works upon the right foundation, he said, in the end it's going to all be burned up with hay and stubble like hay and stubble.
Speaker 3: But he says listen, if you'll build your works, if you'll live your life with meaning and built on the right foundation, he says actually, in the end you will receive eternal rewards.
Speaker 3: So when you read verse 5 and you hear, apart from Jesus, you can do nothing, it's like like it sounds kind of bleak.
Speaker 3: But the good news if we flip it through him, we can do anything Right.
Speaker 3: Here's what the text teaches If you're looking for purpose and meaning in your life.
Speaker 3: Here's what it teaches.
Speaker 3: It's great news A meaningful, purpose-driven life is cultivated by bearing spiritual fruit through Jesus.
Speaker 3: That is great news.
Speaker 3: You can bear spiritual fruit.
Speaker 3: Your life can have meaning through Jesus.
Speaker 3: Now, what does it mean?
Speaker 3: This phrase bearing fruit is used in different derivatives many times throughout this text.
Speaker 3: What does it mean to bear, let's say, spiritual fruit?
Speaker 3: Well, we've got to start.
Speaker 3: I want to point your attention to verse 1, give you some biblical context.
Speaker 3: Jesus said I am the true vine and my Father is the vinedresser.
Speaker 3: Jesus loves to talk in metaphors and parables, but this is not a new parable.
Speaker 3: That is just our metaphor, that is just pulling out of the blue.
Speaker 3: As a matter of fact, if you were to go back to the Old Testament, god's people, the people of Israel, were often pictured as a vine.
Speaker 3: So let me just give you an example.
Speaker 3: I'll just read this to you Psalm 80, verse 8.
Speaker 3: The psalmist says talking of God, you brought a vine.
Speaker 3: Everybody hear that.
Speaker 3: You brought a vine out of Egypt.
Speaker 3: Who was brought out of Egypt?
Speaker 3: Israel?
Speaker 3: You brought a vine out of Egypt.
Speaker 3: You drove out the nations and you planted it.
Speaker 3: So here's the story Because of sin, you go all the way back to Genesis.
Speaker 3: The world became chaotic, dark, embittered with all kinds of trouble.
Speaker 3: It was a barren land.
Speaker 3: The world became a very barren place because of sin.
Speaker 3: And we feel still the weight of that barrenness, don't we?
Speaker 3: The spiritual darkness upon the land.
Speaker 3: Thank God that he, in his goodness, did not settle to leave the world in that state.
Speaker 3: But he said I'm going to again bring order out of chaos.
Speaker 3: I'm gonna bring life to the deadness, light to the darkness.
Speaker 3: And so what he did in the Old Testament you go all the way back to Genesis, chapter 12, and he made a covenant God did with Abraham Abram at the time.
Speaker 3: He made a covenant with Abraham and he said listen, I'm going to make a covenant with you and I'm going to bless you.
Speaker 3: You're going to be the father of many, many people and through you here's what he says all the nations will be blessed.
Speaker 3: So, abraham, I'm going to use you and your family in such a way that all the nations will somehow be blessed through you.
Speaker 3: And then what happens here is the psalmist picks up this covenant and uses this vineyard language.
Speaker 3: He says what God did when the Israelites were in Egypt.
Speaker 3: They were under the tyranny of Pharaoh, they were experiencing horrible circumstances, so God sent Moses and he brought his people, by his grace, out of Egypt as a vine, and he took them to the promised land and he planted them down.
Speaker 3: In a very barren, pagan, dark world, god planted the vine of Israel in the promised land, and what was the purpose of that?
Speaker 3: The purpose was is that Israel would, as a vine of God, would start to bear spiritual fruit to the surrounding pagan nations so that they could eat and taste and see that the Lord is good.
Speaker 3: But how did Israel do it that?
Speaker 3: The same as Adam and Eve, the same as us, they failed miserably.
Speaker 3: As a matter of fact, you can read this later, but if you read in Isaiah, chapter 5, you'll find that Isaiah, in a prophetic word, says to the people of Israel he says you have born, he says you're bearing.
Speaker 3: What is it?
Speaker 3: Wild grapes rather than proper ones.
Speaker 3: In other words, you've become apostate.
Speaker 3: You're supposed to be breathing life into the nations around you, but instead you've allowed their corruption to come up on you and influence you, bowing down to false idols, not living by the covenant that I've given you.
Speaker 3: And so that's the backdrop to this story.
Speaker 3: And now what happens is Jesus.
Speaker 3: Jesus comes on the scene and he says I am the true vine.
Speaker 3: This is profound.
Speaker 3: This can only mean one thing I am the true Israel.
Speaker 3: It's exactly who Jesus is.
Speaker 3: Here's what he's saying.
Speaker 3: God planted a vine in the Old Testament in Israel and they did not produce the fruit they were called to produce.
Speaker 3: But Jesus came as an Israelite, god the Son.
Speaker 3: He took on flesh.
Speaker 3: And he came down from heaven Rich with spiritual blessings, and he left heaven.
Speaker 3: He took on flesh, became God with us as a vine and he became planted in this barren land.
Speaker 3: And so what happened?
Speaker 3: I mean, you read the gospel accounts.
Speaker 3: Everywhere Jesus went, fruit was being produced, people were saved, people were forgiven, people were healed, people were delivered, people were set free.
Speaker 3: Everywhere he went, people were able to taste and see that the Lord is good.
Speaker 3: He pointed them through his teaching, through his life, through his covenant, keeping who God is.
Speaker 3: They pointed them to God, showed them about the greatness of our God, bearing spiritual fruit every place Now.
Speaker 3: Bearing spiritual fruit every place Now.
Speaker 3: What we learn is that it is only Jesus who can truly produce spiritual fruit.
Speaker 3: He is the only one in whom we can find spiritual sustenance.
Speaker 3: Jesus did not say I am a way to heaven.
Speaker 3: He didn't say I'm a way to the Father.
Speaker 3: He said, no, I am the way, the truth and the life.
Speaker 3: No one comes to the Father but said, no, I am the way, the truth and the life.
Speaker 3: No one comes to the father, but what?
Speaker 3: Through me, he is not a way, he is the way.
Speaker 3: Well, if that is true, then we might have a problem here, because jesus is not physically here.
Speaker 3: True, it?
Speaker 3: It's not a trick question.
Speaker 3: Yes, his spirit's here, if you're wanting to argue with me.
Speaker 3: But he rose from the dead and he ascended to the right hand of the Father.
Speaker 3: And if you read, continue reading in John, he tells his disciples I'm going away.
Speaker 3: And they've got to be thinking Lord, what in the world?
Speaker 3: Finally, a vine has been planted.
Speaker 3: Like, you're doing pretty good, you should probably consider staying Right.
Speaker 3: Like, do you want to raise what do you want?
Speaker 3: We'll do anything we can to keep you here.
Speaker 3: Jesus says no, I'm going away, but here's what he said.
Speaker 3: I love this In this text.
Speaker 3: He says, matter of fact, look at it with me.
Speaker 3: Look at verse five.
Speaker 3: I am the vine, you are the what.
Speaker 3: Oh, I love this.
Speaker 3: You are the branches.
Speaker 3: He says to his disciples, whoever you get what Jesus is saying.
Speaker 3: He's saying to his disciples listen, I'm the vine that Israel was supposed to be, I am the true Israel, but I'm going away.
Speaker 3: But listen, if you go to John 16, he says listen, I'm sending you my Holy Spirit, the helper, and he's going to dwell in you and he's going to empower you.
Speaker 3: And now you've watched me, all disciples, you've watched me, minister, and you're going to carry on that work.
Speaker 3: No pressure, now let me really blow your mind.
Speaker 3: Go back with me to John, chapter 14 and verse 12.
Speaker 3: Watch this Truly.
Speaker 3: I say to you Jesus speaking whoever believes in me Amen, in me, he says, will also do the works that I do and this is curious.
Speaker 3: And greater works than these will he do, because I'm going to the Father.
Speaker 3: Anybody gasp?
Speaker 3: Truly.
Speaker 3: I say to you that whoever believes in me will also do the works I do, and greater works.
Speaker 3: What's he talking about?
Speaker 3: I mean Jesus kind of rose people from the dead and healed blind eyes and rose from the dead himself.
Speaker 3: When he's talking about greater, what's he mean?
Speaker 3: I don't think he's talking about greater in quality.
Speaker 3: I think Jesus has us beat there.
Speaker 3: I think he's talking about quantity.
Speaker 3: Here's the thing.
Speaker 3: When Jesus was on the earth and doing his earthly ministry, he was bound by space and time.
Speaker 3: He would minister in one place at one time and then he'd go to one place at one time.
Speaker 3: But when he says, hey, listen, disciples, you're going to do even greater works than me.
Speaker 3: You know why that is.
Speaker 3: It's greater in quantity Because right now Jesus, if he were literally physically here, he could be in this church.
Speaker 3: But you know, if it were long ago, he wouldn't.
Speaker 3: You know, in his earthly ministry he wouldn't be in the church down the street.
Speaker 3: But right now we have people that are connected to Christ, filled with his spirit, all over the world, who are branches, connected to the vine, and are continuing the work of Jesus.
Speaker 3: And you say, okay, sure, I get it.
Speaker 3: So pastors throughout the ages are to continue being the branch and produce spiritual fruit.
Speaker 3: Right, that's not what it says.
Speaker 3: Did you catch in John 14, 12 what it said?
Speaker 3: Anyone who believes in me, any of my followers, pastor or not, I hope this is great news to you today.
Speaker 3: You, if you are in Christ, you have a purpose beyond anything you could ever imagine, and you may not be called to preach from a pulpit.
Speaker 3: You may say, well, I'm not the most gifted public speaker or the best singer, or I'm not great with children, okay, fair enough.
Speaker 3: But you have something that God has uniquely gifted you with.
Speaker 3: And listen, it never goes away.
Speaker 3: I was just somebody from this church told me just the other week I didn't even know it that somebody in their late 70s from this church is serving at the homeless ministry every Friday.
Speaker 3: Every Friday We've got people who can't get around, they're not mobile but they pray for us.
Speaker 3: We got people who cook meals for those in need.
Speaker 3: I mean, there's something that God has called you to do and listen, there's something unique to you that God has called you to do.
Speaker 3: In Ephesians, chapter 2, I believe, in verse 10, paul writes and he said actually, god has prepared good works for us to do before the foundations of the world.
Speaker 3: Like God has specific works, purpose, ministry for you that he gave to you long ago.
Speaker 3: And just think about this.
Speaker 3: What would happen?
Speaker 3: Let's look at the negative first.
Speaker 3: What might not happen If you don't use what you're gifted and called to do?
Speaker 3: What would happen if you didn't use that for the glory of God?
Speaker 3: What happened?
Speaker 3: But let's think of it positively.
Speaker 3: What might happen if this week, you started saying Lord, what is it you've asked me to do?
Speaker 3: How can I bear spiritual fruit?
Speaker 3: What might happen if this week, you started saying Lord, what is it you've asked me to do?
Speaker 3: How can I bear spiritual fruit?
Speaker 3: What would happen if you actually did it?
Speaker 3: I'm here today because I had a godly heritage, had a family that took me to church, a mother committed to prayer and raising me in the admonition of the Lord.
Speaker 3: Dad was at church every Sunday alongside me.
Speaker 3: But then I had a Sunday school teacher I don't even remember her name In 1987, she shared the gospel with me in such a way that I gave my heart and life to Jesus Christ.
Speaker 3: I've been encouraged by multiple people through the years.
Speaker 3: Last week, kenny Speaks is the one who gave me a chance.
Speaker 3: You know, kenny Speaks preached here for me and he was the first one who really believed in me as a pastor and gave me a job and offered me his pulpit when I knew nothing.
Speaker 3: And I just looked through the years at the pastors and the lay people, people that don't even know they've contributed to who I am today Because they were bearing spiritual fruit in some way.
Speaker 3: Shape or form.
Speaker 3: You VBS leaders.
Speaker 3: You have no idea how the kingdom's going to change because of your work.
Speaker 3: You're serving a meal, you're playing games with the kids, you won't even know, on this side of eternity, the difference that you might have made made it's unbelievable.
Speaker 3: So here's what it is to bear fruit.
Speaker 3: It means to simply continue the ministry of jesus.
Speaker 3: That's what it is.
Speaker 3: Well, what did he do?
Speaker 3: What did he do when he was on the earth?
Speaker 3: Well, matthew 4 tells us he went around proclaiming the gospel.
Speaker 3: It's really hard to bear spiritual fruit if you're not telling people about Jesus.
Speaker 3: That's one way.
Speaker 3: Just by talking about Jesus, sharing the gospel, that's one way to bear spiritual fruit.
Speaker 3: Jesus went around healing.
Speaker 3: I mean, everywhere he went, people were healed and, to be sure, I believe in that type of physical healing today and we've had those kind of miracles in this church.
Speaker 3: However, there's something much deeper that Jesus did than just heal the body.
Speaker 3: He's the one who said come to me all you who are labor and are heavy laden, and I'll give you rest for your souls.
Speaker 3: He's the one who went to the poor in spirit and said the kingdom of god is for you.
Speaker 3: The ones who were outcast had been rejected, thought of as cursed by god.
Speaker 3: He's the one who set the captives free, restored the leper to community.
Speaker 3: Jesus on this earth.
Speaker 3: He was a healing presence to people.
Speaker 3: And so you and I, yes, we should pray for people's physical healing, but every day, at work, at school, everywhere we go, the supermarket, listen, we ought to be a healing presence.
Speaker 3: People are broken and people are hurting.
Speaker 3: You want to bear fruit.
Speaker 3: You be a healing presence in people's lives.
Speaker 3: Broken and people are hurting, you want to bear fruit.
Speaker 3: You be a healing presence in people's lives.
Speaker 3: Jesus went about meeting needs very practically.
Speaker 3: He fed the 4,000, then the 5,000.
Speaker 3: You think that giving someone a cup of cold water is insignificant?
Speaker 3: It's not trivial.
Speaker 3: You think buying somebody a sandwich is not trivial?
Speaker 3: It's trivial.
Speaker 3: It is not.
Speaker 3: Let me tell you why.
Speaker 3: Because Jesus said on the last day.
Speaker 3: He said I'm going to separate the righteous from the unrighteous and I'm going to say to the righteous Welcome to my kingdom.
Speaker 3: I was thirsty and you gave me a drink.
Speaker 3: I was hungry and you fed me.
Speaker 3: Naked.
Speaker 3: You clothed me, a prisoner and you visited me.
Speaker 3: I was naked, you clothed me, a prisoner and you visited me.
Speaker 3: I was sick and you tended to me.
Speaker 3: And they're going to say jesus, when did we ever see you naked, thirsty, hungry, sick, in prison?
Speaker 3: And what's he going to say?
Speaker 3: What you've done to the least of these, my brothers?
Speaker 3: You've done to me, those of you who served in our homeless outreach, and you gave up your sleep and stayed all night long to to manage a homeless ministry.
Speaker 3: As they slept in our fellowship hall, you helped bring them out of the cold and give them shelter in a warm place to sleep.
Speaker 3: You did it to jesus.
Speaker 3: You gave jesus a bed.
Speaker 3: You put food in Jesus' stomach.
Speaker 3: I mean, it's just unbelievable and you don't know the difference those things make.
Speaker 3: We don't do them for our glory, but we do them for the glory of God.
Speaker 3: And then we reap eternal rewards.
Speaker 3: Our lives begin to carry eternal significance.
Speaker 3: So fruit bearing looks like gospel proclamation, healing, meeting needs.
Speaker 3: And then let me say let me give you one more sacrifice.
Speaker 3: I mean that was kind of what Jesus came to do to give his life as a ransom for many.
Speaker 3: And we're to follow him in that.
Speaker 3: He said if you're not willing to carry your cross, you're not worthy to be my disciple.
Speaker 3: Didn't he say that?
Speaker 3: He said he who loves his life will lose it, but he who loses his life for my sake will find it.
Speaker 3: So that's what it means.
Speaker 3: That's the essence of Christianity, truly, that's what it is.
Speaker 3: It's to lay down your life for the glory of God and the good of other people.
Speaker 3: So you want meaning, you want purpose, you want joy.
Speaker 3: Here it is Lay your life down every day, lord, not my will, but yours, and you go.
Speaker 3: Okay, why should I do that?
Speaker 3: Fair question why should I do that?
Speaker 3: What's the cultural narrative right now?
Speaker 3: It's that you're a sweet little victim, poor little thing, and everybody owes you something.
Speaker 3: Okay, why should you not believe that narrative?
Speaker 3: Well, my response would be go ahead, believe it.
Speaker 3: I'll tell you this it's the road to hell, and I mean that in quite a literal sense.
Speaker 3: But mean it even more so.
Speaker 3: It's hell on earth.
Speaker 3: How many narcissistic, victim mentality people do you know that walk around smiling all the time?
Speaker 3: No, they're mad, they're angry.
Speaker 3: They're all over Facebook.
Speaker 3: They're always mad at somebody that everybody owes them.
Speaker 3: Everybody should agree with them about everything.
Speaker 3: That's not the road to happiness.
Speaker 3: Quit listening to the media.
Speaker 3: Quit listening.
Speaker 3: Quit listening to the faculty in our secular schools.
Speaker 3: You're not a victim.
Speaker 3: Now, some of you have been victimized and I don't want to downplay that.
Speaker 3: But you know what I'm talking about that everybody owes you something.
Speaker 3: Listen, life is suffering on some measure for everybody.
Speaker 3: Do you want to work through that?
Speaker 3: You want to work through that.
Speaker 3: You want joy in the midst of suffering.
Speaker 3: You want purpose and meaning.
Speaker 3: You lay your life down, as Christ did, and you say, lord, not my will, but yours be done.
Speaker 3: Spend and be spent for the glory of God and the good of others.
Speaker 3: That's what it is to bear fruit.
Speaker 3: Okay, how do we do it?
Speaker 3: How do we do it?
Speaker 3: Because it sounds really good.
Speaker 3: I hope I've sold you and you want to bear fruit now.
Speaker 3: How do you do it?
Speaker 3: Well, let's look at verse 4.
Speaker 3: Jesus says Abide in me and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine.
Speaker 3: You know what's interesting here.
Speaker 3: You see this phrase.
Speaker 3: You know bear fruit, bearing fruit over and over again.
Speaker 3: But you see another phrase even more, and it's abide in me.
Speaker 3: Do you know that?
Speaker 3: The imperative in this text?
Speaker 3: We don't ever see this idea of bearing fruit as an imperative or a command.
Speaker 3: It's necessary, says it's necessary, but we're not commanded to bear fruit.
Speaker 3: What are we commanded to do?
Speaker 3: Abide in Jesus.
Speaker 3: That's significant.
Speaker 3: So here it is.
Speaker 3: Jesus isn't saying you know, dig down deep and try to be better, and then maybe God will let you be attached to the vine.
Speaker 3: Think about a tree.
Speaker 3: How many of y'all have fruit trees, anybody in your yard?
Speaker 3: We have a peach tree out there.
Speaker 3: The branches, if they're detached from the vine, can they bear fruit?
Speaker 3: If they are falling on the ground?
Speaker 3: What do you do with branches that are falling on the ground?
Speaker 3: You sword, fight right?
Speaker 3: No, you throw them away.
Speaker 3: You burn them.
Speaker 3: You use them, you know, for kindling or whatever.
Speaker 3: Listen, if a vine, if a branch is attached to the vine in this complex root system, if the branch is rightly connected, it will bear fruit.
Speaker 3: So here's what Jesus is saying.
Speaker 3: He said I'm not telling you to bear fruit, I'm telling you it's necessary to bear fruit and if you'll be connected to the vine, if you will connect to me, you're going to bear fruit.
Speaker 3: You're going to bear fruit.
Speaker 3: Well, how do we abide in Jesus?
Speaker 3: Well, the starting point is to receive Christ.
Speaker 3: If you've not done that today, oh, I would Listen again, this is not something you just conjure up.
Speaker 3: You have to.
Speaker 3: The first step in bearing fruit is to abide in Jesus, which means being engrafted into the vine and, by grace, that's what Jesus offers.
Speaker 3: In John, chapter 1, it said all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave them the right to become children of God.
Speaker 3: In other words, he gave them the right to become part of this vineyard.
Speaker 3: If you're here today and you don't know the Lord, listen, you're invited If you'll receive Christ.
Speaker 3: Well, what's that mean?
Speaker 3: That means that you turn from yourself and you turn to the Lord and you say God, I believe in the Lord, jesus Christ.
Speaker 3: I believe in his death, burial and resurrection.
Speaker 3: But that's just an intellectual belief.
Speaker 3: It's got to go beyond that.
Speaker 3: Lord, I want him to be the Lord of my life.
Speaker 3: Jesus, I surrender to you, save me, change me, fill me with your spirit.
Speaker 3: It is to repent and to be baptized.
Speaker 3: That's how.
Speaker 3: That's the first steps in following the Lord.
Speaker 3: And what happens when you put faith in him?
Speaker 3: You become engrafted to that vine so unbelievable and you now are abiding in Christ.
Speaker 3: And here's what happens His life begins to flow through you.
Speaker 3: Listen, so many people think of Christianity like the relationship between Christians and Jesus as a student mentor or, yeah, student teacher relationship.
Speaker 3: And sure, jesus is our teacher, but that does not go nearly deep enough.
Speaker 3: Jesus, for a Christian, is not just a teacher.
Speaker 3: When, for christians, what happens is we become connected to christ in such a way paul said in galatians 2 20 is I've been crucified with christ.
Speaker 3: It's no longer I who live, but it's christ who lives in me.
Speaker 3: When we become christians by faith, we become become connected to Jesus in such a way that, organically, his life begins to flow from us.
Speaker 3: Everywhere you go, christ's life is flowing through you.
Speaker 3: Jesus, to be sure, has Stephen hands and feet in heaven.
Speaker 3: He has real hands and feet.
Speaker 3: But we are the hands and feet of God on the earth.
Speaker 3: Okay, we are doing his work, we are continuing his work, and what a blessing it is.
Speaker 3: His life, it's what he wants to flow through you.
Speaker 3: How can you gain any more purpose than that?
Speaker 3: I mean, think about that when you get up tomorrow morning.
Speaker 3: You just think.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 3: If you're kind of rolling out of bed dreading monday morning, how?
Speaker 3: How would your attitude change if you said my goal today is to do more than work and come home and pick up the kids and fix dinner.
Speaker 3: Today jesus wants to his life to throw flow through me that I'm a vine, part of this, I'm a branch connected to the vine.
Speaker 3: So everywhere I go, barren people, hungry people, spiritually thirsty people can eat of the grapes of God's love.
Speaker 3: Unbelievable, unbelievable.
Speaker 3: How do we do this?
Speaker 3: We abide in Jesus, so we come to Christ.
Speaker 3: But then here's the thing I want to maximize the fruit production in my life.
Speaker 3: I want to maximize the good that I do for the glory of God.
Speaker 3: Like some people want to get by, I don't get this at all.
Speaker 3: I don't even think this is probably a real Christian who would look at life like this.
Speaker 3: But I just want to be saved.
Speaker 3: But I want to get away with this.
Speaker 3: You know, little work as possible.
Speaker 3: It's like, really, that's how you want to live your life Really, really.
Speaker 3: No, I want to produce as much.
Speaker 3: I want God to produce in me as much fruit as possible.
Speaker 3: And here's how I do that.
Speaker 3: A branch connected to the vine has to continually draw nutrients if it's going to live, which means I've got to daily sit at the feet of Jesus and draw nutrients by communing with him through prayer and the word he says in verse 7.
Speaker 3: He says uh, if you abide in me and I in you.
Speaker 3: He says if my word abides in you, ask whatever you wish and I'll give it to you.
Speaker 3: His word has to abide in us.
Speaker 3: His word produces fruit.
Speaker 3: Then we've got to pray.
Speaker 3: He says ask whatever you want and you'll have it.
Speaker 3: And you think, well, that's a good deal.
Speaker 3: Wait a minute.
Speaker 3: He said if my word abides in you, ask whatever I want.
Speaker 3: I read this the other day and I was like outie, right, I want an outie Lord.
Speaker 3: And then I read the rest of it.
Speaker 3: It says no, if my word abides in you, if God's word abides in you, what are your prayers going to be?
Speaker 3: God, your will be done, not mine.
Speaker 3: Lord, help me to bear spiritual fruit today.
Speaker 3: That's a prayer that God will answer, amen.
Speaker 3: And then you can see, you got to read the word.
Speaker 3: You got to pray, but you've got to obey the word.
Speaker 3: Look at verse I think 10 here.
Speaker 3: Yes, if you keep my commandments, you'll abide in my love.
Speaker 3: So this idea that you can be saved and live for the devil, live however you want, it's not from the Bible.
Speaker 3: We're not saved by good works.
Speaker 3: But listen, somebody who does not have a heart to follow God's law is not a Christian.
Speaker 3: Because when you get saved, you are as he says in John 3,.
Speaker 3: Jesus tells us that you've got to be born again.
Speaker 3: You're made new, you're a new creation in Christ.
Speaker 3: Your heart of stone's been taken and your heart's now sensitive to the commands of God.
Speaker 3: So you've got to daily draw nutrients through Christ's word and prayer and you've got to obey the word.
Speaker 3: You've got to depend on the power of the spirit.
Speaker 3: And then let me give you this one.
Speaker 3: I'm almost done You've got to live in community.
Speaker 3: You've got to live in community.
Speaker 3: Let me just read you a text here Hebrews, chapter 10, 24 and 25.
Speaker 3: Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together.
Speaker 3: There's a lot of people out this morning, so call them and give them this verse, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
Speaker 3: You know this idea that you can be a rogue Christian, an isolated Christian, is not biblical.
Speaker 3: This is the Lord's day.
Speaker 3: You ought to be here every week with the people you say.
Speaker 3: Why?
Speaker 3: Well, for many reasons.
Speaker 3: One, because the Bible says to but two.
Speaker 3: One of the ways that we maximize our ability to bear fruit is by being connected one to another.
Speaker 3: All right, so we've got to be together, and it says here in Hebrews 10, let us consider how to stir one another up to love and good works.
Speaker 3: Every Sunday, I hope you're encouraged to bear more and more spiritual fruit.
Speaker 3: And then, finally, how do we maximize our fruit bearing?
Speaker 3: We do it through and this is not a fun one submit to the pruning process.
Speaker 3: How many of y'all ever have to prune outside in the garden, right, yeah, this is something I mean.
Speaker 3: Let's just read look again at verse one or verse two Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, god takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes that he might bear more.
Speaker 3: How many of you think that that's a comfortable process?
Speaker 3: It's not Beloved.
Speaker 3: Life is suffering for everybody.
Speaker 3: But here's the thing I love about Christianity Suffering has a purpose, and sometimes we aim to live such a comfortable life.
Speaker 3: But it's in life's most painful moments and tragedies that we learn.
Speaker 3: I don't often hear somebody say well, you know, I won the lottery and I learned the most in my life.
Speaker 3: I mean it's like try me, but or you know what this was.
Speaker 3: 2012 was the easiest year ever, and it's the man that's the year I grew the most.
Speaker 3: It's always, I think, without exception this year, this week, whatever was the most painful of my life, but God did something in me and I've changed.
Speaker 3: He's transformed me through that suffering.
Speaker 3: It's the pruning process that causes us to bear even more fruit.
Speaker 3: Why does this matter?
Speaker 3: I'm closing.
Speaker 3: Why does this matter?
Speaker 3: Well, it's not optional.
Speaker 3: Look at verse 6.
Speaker 3: If anyone does not abide in me, he's thrown away like a branch and withers, and the branches are gathered, thrown in the fire and be burned.
Speaker 3: I hope I don't have to unpack this a lot.
Speaker 3: Can we just say that we probably don't want to be that branch?
Speaker 3: Cut off and thrown away, thrown into the fire.
Speaker 3: Listen, jesus is giving this discourse in the upper room to his 12 disciples right before he'll be.
Speaker 3: He'll go to the cross the following day.
Speaker 3: Judas is in the room.
Speaker 3: First and foremost, this this is a message to Judas, who has decided not to lay down his life for Jesus, not to live for the glory of God, but he's using Jesus.
Speaker 3: He's exploiting Jesus.
Speaker 3: He was taking money from the treasury, and how did that work out for Judas.
Speaker 3: What happened to him?
Speaker 3: He hung himself.
Speaker 3: It's like, okay, so why should I listen?
Speaker 3: Because I think I'd rather be like the other 11 disciples than Judas.
Speaker 3: I mean, it's not even close, and if you're sane I think you would like the same.
Speaker 3: But it's not just.
Speaker 3: This is not just fire insurance.
Speaker 3: Jesus actually says, he tells us look at the very last verse in our text, verse 11.
Speaker 3: Why does Jesus say all this?
Speaker 3: Not to scare us.
Speaker 3: He says these things I've spoken to you that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full.
Speaker 3: You want to live a joy filled, meaningful life.
Speaker 3: Do what Jesus says.
Speaker 3: Do what Jesus says Now.
Speaker 3: If you're not a Christian, I just invite you to come to Jesus today.
Speaker 3: Very simply, that's your to do and I'd love to help you with that.
Speaker 3: If you are a Christian and I invite you to come to Jesus today, very simply, that's your to-do and I'd love to help you with that.
Speaker 3: If you are a Christian and I hope you are I want to challenge you.
Speaker 3: I want to give you a very practical application here.
Speaker 3: If you have your bulletins and you open it up, you'll see you have some questions there.
Speaker 3: I want you to do two things.
Speaker 3: I want you to aim.
Speaker 3: Everybody say aim and evaluate.
Speaker 3: Okay, aim and evaluate.
Speaker 3: Why aim?
Speaker 3: So here's what I mean by that Every morning, if you don't aim, you're not going to hit anything.
Speaker 3: Ryan, you're in archery, you got to like, you got to aim.
Speaker 3: Okay, I can aim and still don't hit anything in archery, but you've gotta aim and so what I would say?
Speaker 3: Well, the reason I tell you to aim is that when you get up in the morning, pray and think through your day and say, listen, I know I've got a busy day, but I want to aim to produce as much spiritual fruit as possible.
Speaker 3: Lord, not my will, but yours be done, okay.
Speaker 3: I want to ask you to do this for five days, the five work days this week at least.
Speaker 3: Okay, will you do that In the morning?
Speaker 3: I don't care if it's a 30 second prayer, lord, not my will, but yours be done and just think about.
Speaker 3: So raise your hand if you're with me, don't lie to me.
Speaker 3: Will you do that this week?
Speaker 3: Second thing at the end of the day, I want you to do a little evaluation and just keep this little paper with you.
Speaker 3: And here's what I want you to ask.
Speaker 3: Number one evaluate.
Speaker 3: Did my life produce spiritual fruit?
Speaker 3: Number one did people learn more about Jesus today because of my presence, yes or no?
Speaker 3: Number two healing.
Speaker 3: Did my presence bring peace and healing to those around me today, or did my presence leave people feeling wounded and torn down?
Speaker 3: Number three Jesus was a friend of sinners, wasn't he?
Speaker 3: Did I invite sinners into a better life by showing them the love of God, or did I avoid them, ignore them, judge them, sacrifice?
Speaker 3: Number four did I use my time, talent and treasure to meet the needs of others today, or did I only attend to my own needs and desires?
Speaker 3: I'll ask the praise team to come forward and I'll illustrate this with one final story.
Speaker 3: This year, our church gifted our graduates with a book called Don't Waste your Life by John Piper.
Speaker 3: It's a very compelling book, and so in the short book he tells the story of two missionary women their names are Ruby Alason and Laura Edwards who, in April 2000, were killed in a car accident while on a missionary journey in Cameroon.
Speaker 3: And here's what Piper said in this book, and he said this in a message at a Promise Keepers conference that changed lots of lives.
Speaker 3: He said that their death, the death of these two missionaries was not a tragedy, because what better way to go than giving your all for the Lord Jesus Christ, taking the gospel to the ends of the earth, meeting the needs of other people in the name of the Father, son and Holy Spirit?
Speaker 3: So then he shares a contrasting story published in the Reader's Digest in 1998.
Speaker 3: Listen to this, which he tells about a couple who quote this is right out of the Reader's Digest took early retirement from their jobs in the Northeast five years ago when he was 59 and she was 51.
Speaker 3: Retirement from their jobs in the northeast five years ago when he was 59 and she was 51.
Speaker 3: Now they live in Punta Gorta, florida, where they cruise on their 30-foot trawler, play softball and collect seashells end quote.
Speaker 3: So upon first reading those words in the Reader's Digest, piper thought it was a joke, kind of a spoof, on the American dream.
Speaker 3: The Reader's Digest Piper thought it was a joke, kind of a spoof on the American dream.
Speaker 3: And here's what he writes.
Speaker 3: He said tragically this was the dream.
Speaker 3: This wasn't a joke.
Speaker 3: He says come to the end of your life, your one and only precious God-given life, and let the last great work of your life before you give an account to your creator.
Speaker 3: Be this playing softball and collecting shells picture.
Speaker 3: Then he says before Christ, on that great day of judgment look, lord, see my shells.
Speaker 3: Now.
Speaker 3: The point is not that there's anything wrong with collecting seashells, nor is's anything wrong with collecting seashells, nor is there anything wrong with retirement.
Speaker 3: But that should never be the aim of our lives.
Speaker 3: To one day put our feet up and never do it.
Speaker 3: Listen, we're here for one reason To glorify God by continuing the work of Jesus, to bear spiritual fruit.
Speaker 3: So, working or retired, your job is to bear spiritual fruit, not to collect seashells.
Speaker 3: If you listen, here's the summary If you abide in Jesus and you will aim to maximize your fruit-bearing works, you can live your life in such a way.
Speaker 3: You can live your life in such a way if you'll do this and your life will carry significance not for just a day or a week, or a year or a lifetime, but for all of eternity.
Speaker 3: Let's pray, god.
Speaker 3: We love you.
Speaker 3: We thank you for the great gift of being engrafted into Christ, this invitation to be part of the kingdom.
Speaker 3: Thank you, lord, for your goodness, your kindness, your faithfulness towards us.
Speaker 3: Thank you that Jesus came as a vine planted in a barren land and we're here today because of his sacrifice and the fruit that he bore.
Speaker 3: Father, we give you praise and honor and glory for that.
Speaker 3: Today, lord, we want to be fruit-bearing Christians, so help us, lord, aim every morning and evaluate every night, and may we, day by day, bear more and more fruit for your glory.
Speaker 3: Thank you that you infuse our life with meaning and hope and satisfaction.
Speaker 3: There's one here that doesn't know you today.
Speaker 3: May this day be the day of salvation.
Speaker 1: We pray it in Jesus' good name, Amen.
Speaker 1: More about how you can have a relationship with Jesus Christ or if you have questions about our church, you can email us at info at myrealchurchorg.
Speaker 1: Real Life Community Church is located at 335 Glendon Avenue in Richmond, Kentucky.
Speaker 1: We invite you to join us for worship Sunday at 1045 am or Wednesday at 7 pm.
Speaker 1: Visit us online at myrealchurchorg.