SPEAKER_00: Me to John chapter 15, the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: And really, right here where we are, Jesus has now turned his attention to his disciples to prepare them for his departure.
SPEAKER_00: Now, like I said, we've already had a lot going on this morning in our service, the youth testimonies and our missionary spotlight, and so we want to dive right into this.
SPEAKER_00: So John chapter 15 comes in the shadow of the cross.
SPEAKER_00: It comes, Jesus is speaking to his disciples on the night of his betrayal.
SPEAKER_00: He's preparing them for his departure and teaching them how to live when they can no longer see him, when he's no longer tangible to them.
SPEAKER_00: He's about to leave.
SPEAKER_00: And so what does Jesus do?
SPEAKER_00: He strategizes about programs to grow the church, right?
SPEAKER_00: No, no, this is not what he does.
SPEAKER_00: He does something far better.
SPEAKER_00: Far better.
SPEAKER_00: He offers himself.
SPEAKER_00: He offers himself to the church, right?
SPEAKER_00: It's not not that there's anything wrong with programs, but it's not the starting point of the people of God.
SPEAKER_00: It's the church.
SPEAKER_00: And what does he say to him right here?
SPEAKER_00: He says, I am the true vine.
SPEAKER_00: I am the true vine.
SPEAKER_00: This is why context matters when we read the scripture, when we study the scripture.
SPEAKER_00: This is the reason, week after week after week, my goal is to open the text to you and to reveal, reveal clearly to you and communicate to you through the power of the Spirit God's revealed intentions in the Scripture, not my own.
SPEAKER_00: It's not about me, it's not what I have to say, but it's about what God has to say.
SPEAKER_00: And so what I want to remind you of this morning is where we've been, where we are, and where we're going.
SPEAKER_00: Real quickly, chapter one, we see the incarnation.
SPEAKER_00: We see God Himself come.
SPEAKER_00: Then we see John the Baptist proclaiming to prepare the way for the Messiah.
SPEAKER_00: He says, Behold the Lamb of God.
SPEAKER_00: And then in chapter two, we see him reveal, Jesus reveal himself to a small group at the first miracle we see in the wedding, where he changes the water into wine.
SPEAKER_00: And then Jesus goes to the temple and he cleanses the temple.
SPEAKER_00: He awakens the people of this of their greed and their misrepresentation of this place of worship.
SPEAKER_00: And then we see in chapter three, he reveals to Nicodemus that he came to save.
SPEAKER_00: And then from chapter four all the way to chapter 11, we see six more signs.
SPEAKER_00: Six more signs that Jesus is trying to say, I am the Son of God.
SPEAKER_00: He's trying to reveal to the Jewish people who he is, so that they may believe, which is his purpose.
SPEAKER_00: We see in John chapter 20, verse 31, where he says, I have come to reveal myself through these signs, that you may see that I am the Son of God, and that you will believe and have eternal life.
SPEAKER_00: And so this is the idea of what John is trying to pin to the people in the life of Jesus as he moves through these signs.
SPEAKER_00: And then we come to chapter 6, and really chapter 6 through chapter 15, we get seven I am statements.
SPEAKER_00: And he says this, I am the bread of life in chapter six.
SPEAKER_00: And then he says in chapter eight, I am the light of the world.
SPEAKER_00: In chapter 10, I am the gate of the sheep.
SPEAKER_00: I am the good shepherd.
SPEAKER_00: And then in chapter 11, he says, I am the resurrection, the life.
SPEAKER_00: Chapter 14, he says, I am the way, the truth, and the life.
SPEAKER_00: And then we see today in our passage in John chapter 15 that I am the true vine.
SPEAKER_00: I am the true vine.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is the source of spiritual nourishment for those who remain connected to him.
SPEAKER_00: And those who remain connected, they will produce spiritual fruit because they have a genuine faith.
SPEAKER_00: And so this doesn't mean that one can lose their salvation.
SPEAKER_00: Don't hear this.
SPEAKER_00: This is not what he's trying to say.
SPEAKER_00: It means that they never had it.
SPEAKER_00: It means they never had it.
SPEAKER_00: And so let me give you a little more context as we move into our passage this morning.
SPEAKER_00: In the Old Testament, Israel was often described as God's vine or his vineyard, yet Israel failed to bear the fruit God required.
SPEAKER_00: And so Jesus now declares that he is the true vine, the faithful Israel, the covenant head, the only source of life for his people.
SPEAKER_00: And the Christian life is not a self-improvement with religious language.
SPEAKER_00: It's not the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel.
SPEAKER_00: It's not the name it or claim it gospel that turns Jesus into our personal genie, but it is a life in union with Christ.
SPEAKER_00: That's what it is.
SPEAKER_00: And so what is our union with Christ?
SPEAKER_00: What does this look like?
SPEAKER_00: It's a deep-seated joy that's rooted in the finished work of Christ for the glory of God and for the good of those who believe.
SPEAKER_00: This is the crucified life.
SPEAKER_00: This is our union with life.
SPEAKER_00: And that joy of knowing God will produce in us fruits for the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_00: Spiritual fruits for the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_00: And so union with Christ is the center of our salvation, it's the center of our sanctification, and it's central to all of our deepest joys.
SPEAKER_00: If you want to live a joyful life, remain in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Remain in Him.
SPEAKER_00: And so we see this throughout the scripture.
SPEAKER_00: There's plenty of evidence that it's overwhelming matter of fact when you look at the New Testament about this theme, this deep-rooted joy found only in God.
SPEAKER_00: And that includes our text this morning.
SPEAKER_00: As we move and we look to Christ as the true vine, the all-saving life, the sanctifying grace, the fruitful obedience, the lasting joy that flows from our union with Him and Him alone.
SPEAKER_00: This is what I've already mentioned, the crucified life, a new life, unite it with Christ and not this world.
SPEAKER_00: And so John's intention in this passage is to identify the genuine believer from those who are fake.
SPEAKER_00: The genuine believer will abide in him by faith.
SPEAKER_00: The genuine believer will receive the Father's pruning, that we always want that, but we will receive his pruning.
SPEAKER_00: Not only that, the genuine believer will bear fruit for the glory of God.
SPEAKER_00: And the genuine believer will rest in Christ's joy.
SPEAKER_00: Now, what does that mean?
SPEAKER_00: We hear that all the time.
SPEAKER_00: Rest in the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: This is what it means.
SPEAKER_00: It is the peaceful assurance that your salvation, that your worth, that your security is complete in Christ alone.
SPEAKER_00: It's not in us.
SPEAKER_00: We're not secure in and of ourselves.
SPEAKER_00: You heard it from Abby this morning.
SPEAKER_00: We're not perfect.
SPEAKER_00: We're not claiming to be perfect, but we're claiming to trust and follow and obey the one who is perfect.
SPEAKER_00: And so this is a beautiful picture of what it means to rest in Christ, to let that burden be lifted off you, the anxiety of trying to have it all together.
SPEAKER_00: And you say, No, I don't, but I want to trust in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: And so we rest in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Now remember, I told you that context matters, so let me give you a few more a little more context as we read and study this passage this morning.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus has just identified Judas as the betrayer, the one who would not remain, the one who would not abide, the branch that would not remain to the vine.
SPEAKER_00: And so we see this, and then he looks at uh the eleven and he says to them, little children.
SPEAKER_00: So he's identifying to those, those who will remain, the other disciples, the ones who are in the upper room with him, and he says, Little children, for those who remain, the overarching uh character of my people will be love.
SPEAKER_00: It will be their love for one another.
SPEAKER_00: And so he's explaining this to them while they're in the upper room.
SPEAKER_00: We love the world.
SPEAKER_00: Now, we love the world in a salvific way by loving one another the way Jesus loved us.
SPEAKER_00: This is the key.
SPEAKER_00: It's the key.
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't mean we don't love the world.
SPEAKER_00: We're focusing on loving one another, the saints, so that we together, united in Christ, can be a reflection, an influence to the world that doesn't know him.
SPEAKER_00: And so our love for them is salvific.
SPEAKER_00: We want them to know Christ.
SPEAKER_00: We want them to experience the love that we've experienced.
SPEAKER_00: But we do that by loving one another.
SPEAKER_00: Now, Jesus, knowing that they could not come with him in this moment, knowing that they were unable to bear the weight of the cross, he says to them in chapter 14, he says, Let your hearts not be troubled.
SPEAKER_00: Believe in God, believe also in me, for I am preparing a place for you in my Father's house, and in my father's house there are many rooms.
SPEAKER_00: And so not only am I preparing a place for you, but I'm also going to give you a helper, the Holy Spirit, the one who will lead you and give you peace until I return.
SPEAKER_00: And guess what?
SPEAKER_00: By him you will do greater things than I have.
SPEAKER_00: So Jesus is saying to him, You're going to do greater things than I have, spiritually speaking, because the presence of God will dwell in the believers who are scattered out through all the ends of the world.
SPEAKER_00: And spiritually speaking, we will be able to do far greater things than Jesus Himself could do, spiritually speaking.
SPEAKER_00: And so those who are of the true family of God will abide in me, and the power of my spirit will bear fruit, and everyone else will be cut off.
SPEAKER_00: Pray with me this morning.
SPEAKER_00: Father, we thank you for your word.
SPEAKER_00: May we see it in a new and a fresh way.
SPEAKER_00: God, that it may change us and shape us to be more like you, for it's in your name we pray.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Would you read with me, starting in verse one, chapter 15?
SPEAKER_00: It says, I am the true vine, and my father is the vine dresser.
SPEAKER_00: 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.
SPEAKER_00: Already you are clean because of the world, because of the word that I have spoken to you.
SPEAKER_00: 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.
SPEAKER_00: I am the vine and you are the branches.
SPEAKER_00: Whoever abides in me and I am him, he is he it is that bears much fruit.
SPEAKER_00: Apart from me you can do nothing.
SPEAKER_00: If any one 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_00: If you abide in me and my word abides in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
SPEAKER_00: By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.
SPEAKER_00: As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.
SPEAKER_00: Abide in my love.
SPEAKER_00: If you keep my commands, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's command and abide in his love.
SPEAKER_00: These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: What a beautiful passage.
SPEAKER_00: And so this morning, as we look to our first point, Christ is the true vine, our covenant source of life.
SPEAKER_00: And we see this in verse one, the first part of verse one.
SPEAKER_00: We see it also in the first part of verse five.
SPEAKER_00: Now, we're gonna see four characters throughout this passage as Jesus is painting a picture for us of what it looks like to be connected to our life source, to our covenant source of life, Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: And so immediately the question that is raised by Jesus' statement is this in this metaphor, this word picture is if Jesus is the true vine, then who is the counterfeit or who is the false vine?
SPEAKER_00: And so when Jesus says, I am the vine, giving us his his last I am statement.
SPEAKER_00: This is the seventh one, this is the last statement that identifies him as God, as deity, uh, he says this to his disciples.
SPEAKER_00: He's implying that there is a false vine.
SPEAKER_00: And so one appears fruitful but fails to give life to the branches.
SPEAKER_00: Who is this?
SPEAKER_00: Well, this is Israel.
SPEAKER_00: Israel is the vine that failed to be fruitful to God's will.
SPEAKER_00: Israel was meant to be God's instrument to bring his truth to the nations, but instead it became fruitless, it became faithless, it produced corrupt fruit and idolatry and immorality.
SPEAKER_00: Hosea 10 1 through 2 says this Israel is a luxuriant vine that yields its fruit.
SPEAKER_00: The more his fruits increase, the more altars he built, and his country improved, and he improved his pillars.
SPEAKER_00: Their hearts is false.
SPEAKER_00: Now they must bear their guilt, and the Lord will break down their altars and destroy their pillars.
SPEAKER_00: Jeremiah 2 11 says, I have planted you a choice vine.
SPEAKER_00: He called them his choice vine, a holy pure seed.
SPEAKER_00: How have you turned degenerate and become a wild vine?
SPEAKER_00: And so Jesus, by Jesus' day, the religious leaders were outwardly, outwardly religious, but they lacked a true relationship with God.
SPEAKER_00: And it could not lead others into a living fellowship with him.
SPEAKER_00: And so unfortunately, many people today, we have been deceived to think, like the Jews, that our religious activity and good deeds are enough to satisfy God's wrath.
SPEAKER_00: And it's not.
SPEAKER_00: And so in his final I am statement, Jesus calls himself not merely the vine, but he says to them, I am the true vine, the only one through whom sinners can enter into a relationship with the righteous and holy God.
SPEAKER_00: And so as the true vine, Jesus feels everything Israel failed to do through their disobedience.
SPEAKER_00: He accomplished God's redemptive purpose for sinners.
SPEAKER_00: And so the second thing we see is Jesus is the true vine that brings salvation to those who believe.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus knew that his disciples would soon be excluded from the temple worship.
SPEAKER_00: He knew that they would be persecuted, they'd be banned from the synagogue.
SPEAKER_00: He knew that they'd be cut off from their tradition of Judaism for standing for him, for following him.
SPEAKER_00: And so he declares to them in this moment, in the upper room, he says, I am the true vine.
SPEAKER_00: Do not be deceived.
SPEAKER_00: It's not Judaism, it's not religion, it's me.
SPEAKER_00: It's me.
SPEAKER_00: I am the true vine that brings life to all who believe.
SPEAKER_00: Isaiah 4, 2 says, In the day and the branches of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel.
SPEAKER_00: That there will be a remnant that God will raise up in the midst of Israel that will be beautiful in that day.
SPEAKER_00: And so Jesus is the only true vine that offers salvation and redemption to those who will believe.
SPEAKER_00: And John states this at the very beginning of his gospel.
SPEAKER_00: He says this in chapter 1, verse 9.
SPEAKER_00: If you want to make a note, he says, the true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
SPEAKER_00: He was in the world, and the world had made him through, had made through him, yet the world did not know him.
SPEAKER_00: He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
SPEAKER_00: But to all who did receive him, he believed in his name.
SPEAKER_00: And he gave the right to become children of God, who were born not of the blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but born of God.
SPEAKER_00: And later on in verse 17, he says, For the law was given to Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus, God in flesh and blood, the incarnate one, came as the perfect reflection of God, that we might glorify the Father.
SPEAKER_00: And those who believe in Christ, those who believe will follow his pattern.
SPEAKER_00: They will follow his pattern.
SPEAKER_00: They will bring glory to God.
SPEAKER_00: And this is where they will find their deepest joy.
SPEAKER_00: I love it.
SPEAKER_00: Paul says it this way in Colossians 2 9.
SPEAKER_00: He says, For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily that have that you have been filled in him who is the head of all rule and all authority.
SPEAKER_00: The fullness of God and his grace and his life is found in Christ, and we are rooted in him if we are connected to him, if we believe in him, it's not by our human effort or our covenant privilege.
SPEAKER_00: It's only by Christ.
SPEAKER_00: And so, do you measure your Christian life first by participation, by emotion, by visible success?
SPEAKER_00: Is that how you measure it?
SPEAKER_00: Here's the question Am I resting in Christ's finished work on the cross?
SPEAKER_00: Am I resting in that?
SPEAKER_00: And how do I do this?
SPEAKER_00: You begin each day.
SPEAKER_00: You begin each day by confessing your dependence upon Christ, not yourself.
SPEAKER_00: It's easy for us to try to depend and figure things out on our own.
SPEAKER_00: That's what we've been taught.
SPEAKER_00: That's what we've seen in the world.
SPEAKER_00: But we need to begin our day and confess, Lord, we want to depend on you more than ourselves.
SPEAKER_00: And how does that happen?
SPEAKER_00: Prayer in the word.
SPEAKER_00: Communication with God.
SPEAKER_00: How do we communicate with God?
SPEAKER_00: Through prayer and through his word.
SPEAKER_00: And so we must seek him daily.
SPEAKER_00: Our union with Christ is the foundation of every spiritual blessing.
SPEAKER_00: We are justified, adopted, sanctified, and preserved because we belong to him.
SPEAKER_00: The second thing we see here is this the Father is the vine dresser.
SPEAKER_00: His pruning is sovereign and gracious.
SPEAKER_00: Now that sounds foreign to us, or we don't like that idea, but it's so true.
SPEAKER_00: And so we see here in the second part of verse one, it says the father is the vine dresser.
SPEAKER_00: Now we come to the second character in the picture that Jesus is painting for his disciples.
SPEAKER_00: The first was the true vine, Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: The second is the vine dresser who is the father.
SPEAKER_00: Now the vine dresser is the chief work, right?
SPEAKER_00: His chief work is to produce fruit.
SPEAKER_00: That's his job.
SPEAKER_00: To produce the fruit.
SPEAKER_00: To do so, he cultivates, he nourishes the soul, he controls the pests, he removes the weeds, he waters the roots, he tends the vines, he cleanses the fruit, he prunes whatever is necessary.
SPEAKER_00: A fruitful vine depends on the careful work of the vine dresser.
SPEAKER_00: Now let's be clear about this picture that Jesus is painting for his disciples.
SPEAKER_00: It's not that one believer loses their salvation, for we know that scripture is clear.
SPEAKER_00: We know that scripture is very clear that God keeps those to whom he calls.
SPEAKER_00: One's salvation is not earned and therefore it cannot be lost.
SPEAKER_00: And so I believe that scripture teaches us that there are four types of people who are personally connected to the vine.
SPEAKER_00: Yes, I said personally connected.
SPEAKER_00: Personally connected.
SPEAKER_00: A lot of times we think in our lives, we even share this, and this isn't necessarily a wrong idea, but I know the intentions.
SPEAKER_00: We say, well, I have a personal relationship with Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Let me inform you, everyone here, everyone that's ever created has a personal relationship with Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Not a saving one, but a personal relationship with Christ.
SPEAKER_00: And so we see four people.
SPEAKER_00: We see four types of relationships here.
SPEAKER_00: One in verse 2a, it says that there are there is no fruit, right?
SPEAKER_00: There are people who are personally connected through God because of his creation.
SPEAKER_00: He created us all in his image.
SPEAKER_00: And this is a way that we use in our language to go and be missionaries in this land and across seas to go and say you are created in God's image.
SPEAKER_00: He loves you.
SPEAKER_00: He desires for you to come to know him and to trust him and surrender your life to him.
SPEAKER_00: And so we use this in a missionary way to say you're connected to God.
SPEAKER_00: But ultimately, if they do not bear fruit, if they do not trust in faith, they will be cut off.
SPEAKER_00: The second thing we see is there's minimal fruit, right?
SPEAKER_00: The initial stage of belief.
SPEAKER_00: We believe and we love the Lord, and so we start to grow spiritually.
SPEAKER_00: And then in verse 2c, it says we see a growing faith, right?
SPEAKER_00: There's more faith.
SPEAKER_00: And then we get to verse 5 and it says there's much fruit, right?
SPEAKER_00: It's the discipleship process.
SPEAKER_00: At some point, we become disciples who make disciples.
SPEAKER_00: We're maturing in our faith.
SPEAKER_00: And so these are the four types of people.
SPEAKER_00: Now the Father owns the vineyard and he tends it with perfect wisdom, and fruitless branches will be exposed and they will be removed.
SPEAKER_00: Fruitful branches will be pruned for greater fruitfulness.
SPEAKER_00: And so listen, church, it's crucial that you understand this.
SPEAKER_00: Pruning is not a punishment.
SPEAKER_00: It's not a punishment.
SPEAKER_00: It may seem that way, it may seem hard, and you may not understand or comprehend all that's happening in your life, but God is sovereignly working through his providence to shape you into being his representatives in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: And so pruning is not a punishment in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: It's a fatherly discipline, it's a sanctifying mercy, it's a perfect purposeful refinement.
SPEAKER_00: And this happens in parenting, also, by the way.
SPEAKER_00: Side note, this is how we parent the same way.
SPEAKER_00: And so we see this beautiful picture of the Father who is pruning in his sovereign and gracious love.
SPEAKER_00: And so the word of God is what cleanses his people, right?
SPEAKER_00: By cutting off false confidence that in and of ourselves we have the ability to please God, to satisfy God.
SPEAKER_00: And so in his word we see this.
SPEAKER_00: They cut off this false confidence.
SPEAKER_00: Not only cutting away a false confidence, we cut away the hidden sin.
SPEAKER_00: There's sin in our lives, and we think it's hidden, but it's not.
SPEAKER_00: It's not hidden from God.
SPEAKER_00: And so we confess sin quickly, and God cuts it off and he removes it, and we begin to mature in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Not only does he, not only false confidence, but hidden sin, but also worldly attachments.
SPEAKER_00: There's worldly attachments in our life that need to be proven.
SPEAKER_00: Now, that doesn't mean it's a bad thing, but in light of God's kingdom, do they really matter?
SPEAKER_00: This is where conviction comes, is where the Holy Spirit says he looks at your life and he says, What is unnecessary?
SPEAKER_00: What is keeping you from sharing the gospel?
SPEAKER_00: What is burdening you down in this world that you need to get rid of?
SPEAKER_00: There's a lot if we're going to be honest.
SPEAKER_00: And so sanctification is God's gracious work in the believer, whereby he's conforming.
SPEAKER_00: Us to be in the image of Christ through his word, through his spirit, through his providence, through his discipline, and through suffering.
SPEAKER_00: And so here's a few texts that support that.
SPEAKER_00: Hebrews 12, 5 through 11 teaches us that the Father's discipline, his children for their holiness, producing what it says, a peaceful fruit of righteousness.
SPEAKER_00: James 1 and 2, he says this shows us trials as an instrument of steadfast maturity, right?
SPEAKER_00: We don't often think of that that way, but it does.
SPEAKER_00: These trials, the things that come in our life, they're maturing us.
SPEAKER_00: They're building in us a maturity, a steadfastness to stay connected.
SPEAKER_00: John 17, 17 says this, connects us to the cleansing and sanctifying, uh sanctification of his word, saying, Sanctify them in truth.
SPEAKER_00: Your word is truth.
SPEAKER_00: This is how we become sanctified.
SPEAKER_00: We hold and we cling to God's commands, to his truth.
SPEAKER_00: And this is what it says in Romans 2.28, which we've already mentioned, anchored our pruning, uh, God's sovereign purpose to conform his people to the image of his son.
SPEAKER_00: That's what he's doing.
SPEAKER_00: And so understand this, church.
SPEAKER_00: When the Father prunes, faith says he is not destroying me.
SPEAKER_00: He's not destroying me, he's making me more fruitful.
SPEAKER_00: That's what faith says.
SPEAKER_00: He's not destroying me, he's making me more fruitful.
SPEAKER_00: One author says it this way: the knife in the hand of a loving vine dresser.
SPEAKER_00: God loves you, He's pruning, He's shaping, He's molding you to be like His Son.
SPEAKER_00: So, how do we remain steadfast in this life?
SPEAKER_00: In the midst of seasons of loss, in the midst of correction, conviction, and hardship, when trials come before us, how do we remain?
SPEAKER_00: Well, we pray and we ask, Father, what sin are you exposing?
SPEAKER_00: There's things we gotta say, what what sin are you exposing in my life?
SPEAKER_00: Or what grace are you growing in my life?
SPEAKER_00: Or what fruit are you seeking for me?
SPEAKER_00: This is how we grow.
SPEAKER_00: We ask those things, Father, when things aren't right, when things aren't, and our spirit is is not comforted anymore, there must be something he's doing.
SPEAKER_00: Is he exposing sin in our life?
SPEAKER_00: Is he uh trying to grow us in a grace?
SPEAKER_00: Is he trying to produce more fruit in us?
SPEAKER_00: And we must continue to ask those questions and submit to the experience of scripture rather than our own experience.
SPEAKER_00: This is tough.
SPEAKER_00: This is tough to do.
SPEAKER_00: A lot of times we say this, well, I think this is what it says, or I know this is what it should be, or I feel this way.
SPEAKER_00: It's tough for us to submit to the things of scripture.
SPEAKER_00: We must interpret our pain through the lens of God's eyes, which is his scripture, and not our own.
SPEAKER_00: And not our own.
SPEAKER_00: That's difficult.
SPEAKER_00: And so we must trust.
SPEAKER_00: We must trust that the Lord is doing a work in us greater than ourselves.
SPEAKER_00: And so we respond with repentance where needed and patience, where purpose is not yet clear.
SPEAKER_00: Third thing we see is this the people.
SPEAKER_00: The people are the branches.
SPEAKER_00: They will remain or wither.
SPEAKER_00: All branches are connected to the vine, but not all branches will remain.
SPEAKER_00: Let me say it again.
SPEAKER_00: Right?
SPEAKER_00: All branches are connected to the vine, but not all will remain.
SPEAKER_00: What does that mean, and why is this significant?
SPEAKER_00: Well, it means that all people are created in the image of God, which we've already spoken about, and God knows them very personally in a very intimate way, so much that he is able to know from the foundations of the world who will reject him and who will by faith come and receive him.
SPEAKER_00: And so it's significant because our mission is to share the gospel because we don't know.
SPEAKER_00: We don't know.
SPEAKER_00: We don't know who God will accept him and who not.
SPEAKER_00: And we're not called to know that.
SPEAKER_00: God just calls us to go and be a light and be a messenger for the Lord and trust that the Spirit will work in the heart of the people.
SPEAKER_00: That's our job.
SPEAKER_00: It's not our job to know or to transform hearts.
SPEAKER_00: It's our God, it's our job to deliver the message.
SPEAKER_00: And so we believe this in John 3.16.
SPEAKER_00: We see it, right?
SPEAKER_00: We see the mission.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus came and he said this in John 3.16.
SPEAKER_00: We all know for God so loved the world that he gave his only God's son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, have eternal life.
SPEAKER_00: But yet in verse 17, he continues, and this is where we we kind of we bear down or we or we um we focus in on this.
SPEAKER_00: It says, For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
SPEAKER_00: Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
SPEAKER_00: And so our job is to be messengers, that they might be saved.
SPEAKER_00: And then John in 640 says, This, for this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day.
SPEAKER_00: And so, why or this is our love for the world in a salvific way.
SPEAKER_00: We love them because we want them to know God.
SPEAKER_00: We want them to experience Him.
SPEAKER_00: We want, we have a desire that they come to a saving knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: This is why our love for one another matters.
SPEAKER_00: It matters.
SPEAKER_00: And so John gives us a picture of two branches that stay connected to the vine, or that are connected to the vine, which is Jesus, and the result of that.
SPEAKER_00: And so the first one is this abiding in Christ brings life that bears fruit for God's glory.
SPEAKER_00: We see this in verse 4.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 4 through 5.
SPEAKER_00: To abide is to remain, right?
SPEAKER_00: It's to remain in Christ, it's to live by faith, meaning we continue our dependence upon Christ.
SPEAKER_00: We commune with Christ, we trust in Christ, we obey Christ.
SPEAKER_00: And in verse 4, it says this the branches cannot bear fruit by itself.
SPEAKER_00: It cannot produce life in and of itself.
SPEAKER_00: You cannot, you are not the source of life.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is the source of life.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is the true vine.
SPEAKER_00: And so spiritual fruit is not manufactured by human strength, right?
SPEAKER_00: But it's produced by Christ's life and his people, the vine, we get life from the vine.
SPEAKER_00: We get nourishment, we get strength, encouragement from the vine, not the branch.
SPEAKER_00: In and of ourselves, we can't do that.
SPEAKER_00: We can't nourish ourselves.
SPEAKER_00: And so, continuing in verse 4, Jesus says to his disciples, as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
SPEAKER_00: Meaning his truth directs our desires, it directs our prayers, our priorities, our obedience.
SPEAKER_00: And when Christ governs these things, we will ask according to his word, according to his will, and for his glory.
SPEAKER_00: This is what the verse of the end of verse 5 means when he says, It uh he it is that bears much fruit.
SPEAKER_00: When you start bearing much fruit, your prayer life looks a lot different.
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't look like just give me, give me, give me, help me, help me, help me.
SPEAKER_00: It looks like, Lord, show me how to be connected to you.
SPEAKER_00: I want your kingdom to come.
SPEAKER_00: I want your will to be done.
SPEAKER_00: Your prayers are shaped around the vine and not around the branch.
SPEAKER_00: The second thing we see is this abiding in self gives a false impression one is alive.
SPEAKER_00: It's a false impression.
SPEAKER_00: The world does a great job of fooling us to think that we're alive by certain things that that weigh on our emotions and our feelings, and we feel like, yeah, we got it all together.
SPEAKER_00: We're doing good in this life.
SPEAKER_00: But it's false.
SPEAKER_00: It's false.
SPEAKER_00: If we're not, if you're abiding in yourself, in your own confidence, in your own strength, you are not alive.
SPEAKER_00: And so anyone that does not abide in me says here in verse 6, if being the third class conditional statement indicating that there's this potential action, right?
SPEAKER_00: There are those who are abiding, who are those who are in the oh connected to the vine, then there will be those who will abide, and there will be those who will not.
SPEAKER_00: And so this is referring to John 15, verse 5, where our union in Christ is inseparable.
SPEAKER_00: And so the covenant, the covenant with Christ is it's unbreakable, and he gives us eternal life.
SPEAKER_00: So believers do not fit this description right here in verse 6.
SPEAKER_00: We don't fit this description.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is describing the unbelievers, those who do not abide in him, and therefore have no lifeline, no connection to his spiritual nature, his life.
SPEAKER_00: And so he says, he throws them away like a branch that withers or is dried up, literally meaning to be cast out of the vineyard.
SPEAKER_00: And so he's referring to those who do not abide in the vine.
SPEAKER_00: And this parallels to John 15, verse 2.
SPEAKER_00: And so this description of the dead, the useless branches that wither away because it has no access to nutrients provided by the vine.
SPEAKER_00: It cannot be fruitful, it cannot produce fruit.
SPEAKER_00: And so, therefore, perseverance is not bare human endurance, like the saints persevere because Christ persevered in them, and they continue in him through means of grace.
SPEAKER_00: Colossians 2.6 says this, therefore, as you receive Christ Jesus, also walk in him, rooted, built up in him, established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
SPEAKER_00: You hear it over and over in Christ, in Christ, in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: This is our life.
SPEAKER_00: This is the saints.
SPEAKER_00: These are the ones who abide.
SPEAKER_00: 1 John 2.24 says, let what you heard from the beginning abide in you.
SPEAKER_00: If you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you will abide in the Son and in the Father.
SPEAKER_00: And this is the promise that He made to us, eternal life.
SPEAKER_00: And so the question is, how do I abide in Christ?
SPEAKER_00: How do I remain connected to the vine?
SPEAKER_00: Well, you build your week around the Lord's day rather than treating worship as an add-on.
SPEAKER_00: That's how we do it.
SPEAKER_00: We worship God every day.
SPEAKER_00: We worship God in many different ways.
SPEAKER_00: It's not just when someone picks a guitar up or plays a piano.
SPEAKER_00: That's not just worship.
SPEAKER_00: That's a form of worship.
SPEAKER_00: That's praising God, that's giving thanksgiving and adoration to God.
SPEAKER_00: Worship is our lifestyle, it's everything we do.
SPEAKER_00: It's our, it's reading God's word, it's praying, it's praising, it's fellowship with saints.
SPEAKER_00: Like this is worship.
SPEAKER_00: And so we don't build our day or our week around coming here to do that.
SPEAKER_00: We do it every day.
SPEAKER_00: It's not an add-on.
SPEAKER_00: This is how we remained.
SPEAKER_00: We remain connected.
SPEAKER_00: Meaning, we should not, this should not be the only time you open God's word, right?
SPEAKER_00: If this is the only time you're opening God's word, or you have to ask yourself, am I really building my life around God?
SPEAKER_00: Am I really abiding in the vine?
SPEAKER_00: Am I remaining in the vine?
SPEAKER_00: So we must commune with God daily and do life with his people often.
SPEAKER_00: The fourth thing we see here is this fruitfulness glorifies the Father and confirms genuine faith.
SPEAKER_00: Look at verse 8.
SPEAKER_00: It says, By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciple.
SPEAKER_00: Fruit is necessary evidence of living union with Christ.
SPEAKER_00: So how is Christ-like fruit displayed?
SPEAKER_00: Well, it's in character, it's in our character, it's in our repentance of sin, it's in love for God and one another, it's in our obedience, it's in our witness, it's in our endurance, it's in good works done by faith.
SPEAKER_00: So let me give you a key doctrine about fruit in the life of the believer.
SPEAKER_00: Fruitfulness glorifies the Father because it displays the life of the Son through the power of the Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: Here's another way I say it.
SPEAKER_00: We are justified by faith alone, but faith that justifies is never alone.
SPEAKER_00: Trust, uh, true faith bears fruit because it is joined to the living Christ, the true vine.
SPEAKER_00: Our faith is not alone.
SPEAKER_00: And this is what James is saying, and he's affirming what Paul said in Galatians.
SPEAKER_00: Our faith is not alone.
SPEAKER_00: And so examine yourself honestly, but do not look to your fruits first as Savior.
SPEAKER_00: Look to Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Don't look to your works first.
SPEAKER_00: Look to Christ.
SPEAKER_00: He's the one that saves you.
SPEAKER_00: And in him, he will make you fruitful.
SPEAKER_00: He will make you fruitful.
SPEAKER_00: The last thing we see here is abiding in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Uh abiding in Christ's love leads to obedience and full joy.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 9 through 11.
SPEAKER_00: It says, As the Father's loved me, so I've loved you.
SPEAKER_00: Abide in my love.
SPEAKER_00: If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my father's commands and abide in his love.
SPEAKER_00: These things I've spoken to you that my joy may be full in you, and that your joy may be full.
SPEAKER_00: And in these verses, we see we see the love of Christ for his people is a pattern after the Father's love for his son.
SPEAKER_00: It's eternal, it's steadfast, it's gracious.
SPEAKER_00: And so let me be clear about our obedience, for the scripture is clear on this.
SPEAKER_00: Obedience does not earn Christ's love.
SPEAKER_00: Obedience is the path of communion with his love.
SPEAKER_00: You hear that?
SPEAKER_00: Obedience is not how Christians make Jesus love them.
SPEAKER_00: Instead, obedience is how Christians live in close fellowship with the love Jesus has already given them.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, we do not obey to earn Christ's love.
SPEAKER_00: We obey because we already love, we are already loved by Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Obedience is the pathway where believers experience ongoing closeness, joy, assurance, and fellowship with him.
SPEAKER_00: A simple way to say this is our obedience does not purchase Christ's love, it expresses our life within his love.
SPEAKER_00: And even more plainly, we obey not to become loved by Christ, but because we are loved by Christ.
SPEAKER_00: So then when we come to verse 11 here, Jesus says to his disciples, No great, and he says this because he knows that great persecution is coming to them.
SPEAKER_00: He knows that they're about to be persecuted.
SPEAKER_00: And he says, I'm telling you these things.
SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm painting this picture for you that you may realize that your joy can only be full in this life when you remain or when you abide in the true vine in me.
SPEAKER_00: Abide in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Do not separate joy from holiness.
SPEAKER_00: This is what this is what the the devil, this is the devil's tactic, right?
SPEAKER_00: This is what he's trying to do.
SPEAKER_00: He's trying to trying to separate your holiness.
SPEAKER_00: When you're pursuing holiness, this is what truly brings joy.
SPEAKER_00: He's trying to separate it, he's trying to say, ah, it's just a bunch of rules.
SPEAKER_00: You got to give up a lot of this and this life.
SPEAKER_00: He's trying to separate your look what you're giving up.
SPEAKER_00: There's so much, there's better things in the world that the world has to offer.
SPEAKER_00: And so his job is to try to separate holiness and joy, but it comes together.
SPEAKER_00: When we pursue holiness, when we pursue Christ and His commands, we become joyful, become joyful people.
SPEAKER_00: And so don't fall away from holiness, pursue holiness, that it may bring the fullness of Christ's joy in us.
SPEAKER_00: And so the main idea is this true believers abide in Christ, submit to the Father's pruning, bear fruit by the Spirit, and rejoice that Jesus never fails his children.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus never fails.
SPEAKER_00: As the band comes back up, and as we close out or as we look to the Lord's table this morning, John 15, 1 through 11, it calls the church, it's calling us away from self-reliance.
SPEAKER_00: It's calling us to live in communion with Christ, the true vine.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is the true vine, and the Father is the vine dresser, and we are the branches.
SPEAKER_00: Apart from Christ, we can do nothing.
SPEAKER_00: But in him we bear fruit that glorifies God and enjoys the fullness of his joy.
SPEAKER_00: And so as we look to the Lord's table this morning, if you are a believer, come and partake in the vine, the one who unites us to the Father now and forever.
SPEAKER_00: But before you come, ask God, pray, identify any command in your life, any command that Christ has given us, identify why you are resisting that command.
SPEAKER_00: Do you find that there's greater joy in resisting that?
SPEAKER_00: That the that the world has a greater joy for you?
SPEAKER_00: Pray and say, Lord, free me from that thought.
SPEAKER_00: The greatest joy is in knowing you and resisting the evil one, resisting the things of this world, that I may have a deep fellowship rooted in you, and that I may experience a joy that is that cannot be described or filled within this world.
SPEAKER_00: And so, and then pray, Lord, teach me how to keep your commandments and not fear the things that I may have to give up.
SPEAKER_00: Pray with me, Father.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for this picture that John has painted for us in his gospel in chapter 15 of the vine.
SPEAKER_00: Father, let us trust in you that you are the one who cares for the vineyard, that you that you want fruit to be produced in our lives for your glory and for our good.
SPEAKER_00: Father, continue to teach us how to remain in you, how to remain in in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: And trust that he has all the deepest treasures and joys of this life found in him and not the things of this world.
SPEAKER_00: Father, show us how to remove the unnecessary things in our life.
SPEAKER_00: Teach us to give us the spirit of repentance, that we that we confess our sins of where we have failed you, where we have looked to pleasures and joys and things that really fully destroy us.
SPEAKER_00: So, Father, as we look to your table, Father, we pray this morning.
SPEAKER_00: God, that as we are united in you, that we will continue to mature in Christ, that we may experience the fullness of his joy.
SPEAKER_00: For it's in your Son's name we pray.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.