WEBVTT 00:00:00.239 --> 00:00:00.479 Meet you. 00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:01.840 Uh come say hi after the service. 00:00:01.919 --> 00:00:04.400 I'd love to have an opportunity to uh to greet you. 00:00:04.559 --> 00:00:11.359 I am the discipleship pastor here at Parkside, and it'd just be great to uh get the chance to shake your hand, hear a little bit about you. 00:00:11.599 --> 00:00:20.879 Um I wanted to start today by saying that yesterday, our family had what I'm calling like a true, genuine American experience. 00:00:21.519 --> 00:00:32.560 We we were outside doing some gardening work when all of a sudden, overhead, there's this and five F-16s flew right over top of our house. 00:00:32.640 --> 00:00:37.039 And I was like, and all of us was like eyes in the sky, and we're like, America. 00:00:38.560 --> 00:00:44.560 And so, I mean, I don't know if it gets much more American than that, but um I just wanted to share that with you. 00:00:44.640 --> 00:00:45.920 It was a fantastic day. 00:00:46.079 --> 00:00:55.359 They're all getting ready for the Indianapolis 500, and hopefully today during the opening ceremonies, they're able to make that flight, and hopefully the rain is held off for that. 00:00:55.439 --> 00:00:57.200 But it was just, it was so cool. 00:00:57.359 --> 00:01:11.840 Um, more than that, though, uh I'm just I'm so honored to be able to stand here this morning to open up God's word to all of us, to hear from him and to ask that he would uh teach us as we submit ourselves under his word. 00:01:12.560 --> 00:01:20.879 We ask that the Holy Spirit would begin a work in us and also continue a work that he's already started in us as we submit ourselves. 00:01:21.120 --> 00:01:26.640 As has been mentioned many times, this is our final gathering in this auditorium for the next few months. 00:01:26.799 --> 00:01:33.359 And while we don't know exactly when we'll be back here, hopefully it's before the new year, as if everything goes according to plan, and we'll be before the new year. 00:01:33.439 --> 00:01:36.319 And as your pastors, we just want to say thank you. 00:01:36.560 --> 00:01:42.000 Our church family has been so supportive of us as we've been seeking to lead us in this direction. 00:01:42.159 --> 00:01:47.200 You've been generous, and uh, we just we appreciate you so much as our church family. 00:01:47.359 --> 00:01:58.000 Um, to everyone who's already signed up to be a volunteer, whether it's for setup and teardown, for the extra uh warm welcome people or any other the other needs that we have, thank you so much. 00:01:58.079 --> 00:02:07.680 And if you haven't found a way to use your gifts to like uh get involved in this new season of church life, I just want to encourage you to do it, to just find a way to get plugged in. 00:02:07.760 --> 00:02:15.520 And I can I promise you that your faith will only increase as you find ways to serve the church using your gifts and abilities that God has given to you. 00:02:16.240 --> 00:02:25.120 Um and not only in this season of meeting in a gymnasium as a church, but in all seasons of church life, including in upcoming church plants. 00:02:25.280 --> 00:02:31.840 And as Sunday schools and community groups multiply, I want to encourage you to get involved and see God move. 00:02:32.080 --> 00:02:37.439 Uh, with all that, as we as we turn our attention to God's word, uh I'd like to pray and just ask that you would pray with me. 00:02:42.479 --> 00:03:04.800 Our God, we we humble ourselves now, thanking you that you have given us your word and you did not abandon us to just try to figure out this life on our own, but that you you came down bodily in the form of Jesus and that you've given us your word so that we can know all things that pertain to life and godliness. 00:03:04.879 --> 00:03:09.280 And so, Lord, I ask that as we come under your word, Lord, would you teach us? 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:13.199 Would your word be the thing that would remain in us, in our hearts? 00:03:13.280 --> 00:03:22.080 And we ask that you would not allow us to leave here the same, but that you would continue and start a transformative work in our hearts as we submit ourselves under your word. 00:03:22.240 --> 00:03:23.520 We pray this in Jesus' name. 00:03:23.840 --> 00:03:24.479 Amen. 00:03:26.080 --> 00:03:34.080 Pastor Justin mentioned uh this morning that back in January at our family meeting, we started thinking through this theme of dependence on Christ. 00:03:34.319 --> 00:03:38.400 And as Christians, we all know it to be true that in all things we depend on Christ. 00:03:38.560 --> 00:03:46.560 And while we know this to be true, this year we wanted to specifically focus our attention on this fact over and over and over again. 00:03:47.280 --> 00:03:53.680 One of the main things that we are seeking God's guidance on is the plans that are being made for an upcoming church plans. 00:03:54.639 --> 00:04:02.719 As we seek to develop these plans, we don't want to just make these plans based on what makes sense in our minds as your pastors or as leaders in the church. 00:04:02.800 --> 00:04:07.280 No, we we want to plant a church based on God's leading. 00:04:07.680 --> 00:04:15.039 We've been reminded again and again in our prayer meetings that we don't pray and then get to work, but that prayer is the work. 00:04:16.480 --> 00:04:28.160 You may remember that we had a prayer and fasting four by four, four weeks in the month of January, where we sought to pray and fast one day each of those weeks with this theme in mind of dependence on Christ. 00:04:28.800 --> 00:04:34.480 And at every prayer and family meeting since then, we've been reminding ourselves of this theme of dependence on Christ. 00:04:34.560 --> 00:04:46.319 And so today, as we gather for one final time in this auditorium before it's remodeled, we're turning again to this theme of dependence on Christ. 00:04:47.600 --> 00:04:54.079 It's so humbling for me to think of all of the sermons that have been preached from right here over the years. 00:04:55.360 --> 00:05:04.879 And for you to think of all of the people who have sat where you're sitting right now, under God's word, who have who have prayed where you are sitting right now. 00:05:05.920 --> 00:05:20.639 To think of all the baptisms that have taken place up here, of all of the hands that have been shook and the hugs that have been given, of all of the times that where we have remembered Christ's sacrifice by celebrating communion together. 00:05:21.600 --> 00:05:27.360 Today we get to see a chapter of God's provision in this church close. 00:05:28.240 --> 00:05:31.279 And we look back with great thanksgiving and joy. 00:05:31.920 --> 00:05:38.240 And our challenge today from Scripture is not a new one, but one that's rang true for thousands and thousands of years. 00:05:38.560 --> 00:05:40.480 Abide in me. 00:05:41.920 --> 00:05:46.480 I I don't know what our gatherings are gonna look like when we move to the gymnasium. 00:05:46.800 --> 00:05:51.839 We we don't know exactly what they're gonna look like when we move back into this room and what it's going to look like. 00:05:52.639 --> 00:05:59.199 But what I do know is that Jesus tells us that if we choose to abide in him, he too will abide in us. 00:05:59.439 --> 00:06:03.040 And this way our joy will be made full. 00:06:04.399 --> 00:06:08.560 And so let's let's turn to God's word to hear from him this morning. 00:06:09.040 --> 00:06:14.240 In this passage, we're gonna hear the urgency of Jesus' final words to his disciples. 00:06:14.480 --> 00:06:19.600 And in the sermon, I hope that we come away with these four things in mind. 00:06:20.720 --> 00:06:23.600 That as a Christian, I have to be abiding in Christ. 00:06:23.680 --> 00:06:25.040 That's that's number one. 00:06:25.759 --> 00:06:32.079 Number two, this means that I must be allowing his word to abide in me. 00:06:32.240 --> 00:06:33.680 I must be daily in his word. 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:39.199 Three, as we abide in his word, God the Father does his work of pruning us. 00:06:39.360 --> 00:06:45.920 And number four, all of this is done so that we, the church, can truly love one another. 00:06:46.480 --> 00:06:58.319 Abide in Christ so that his word will abide in us, so that God can prune us, so that we can go on and love one another. 00:06:58.560 --> 00:07:06.639 With that in mind, let's turn to John 15, verse 1, which says, I am the true vine, and my father is the vine dresser. 00:07:07.439 --> 00:07:15.120 For context, it might be helpful for us to know that Jesus says these words in a section of the Gospel of John that is known as the farewell discourse. 00:07:15.439 --> 00:07:22.480 This section is part of the final hours leading up to Jesus' arrest and crucifixion. 00:07:22.720 --> 00:07:33.279 Back in John chapter 13, we see Jesus washing his disciples' feet in the upper room, followed by him outing Judas as the one who's going to betray him. 00:07:33.680 --> 00:07:37.360 Turn back in your Bible to chapter 13, verse 27. 00:07:37.439 --> 00:07:44.639 It says, Then after he had, he being Judas, after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. 00:07:44.800 --> 00:07:49.439 And Jesus said to him, What you are going to do, do quickly. 00:07:50.160 --> 00:07:52.959 Now, no one at the table knew why he said this to him. 00:07:53.199 --> 00:08:00.959 Some thought that because Judas had the money bag, Jesus was telling him, Buy what we need for the feast, or that he should give something to the poor. 00:08:01.199 --> 00:08:06.079 So after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out, and it was night. 00:08:07.600 --> 00:08:16.800 Immediately after Judas goes out from their midst, Jesus begins this discourse that lasts from chapter 14 through to the end of chapter 16. 00:08:17.040 --> 00:08:21.839 And then Jesus has what is known as the high priestly prayer in chapter 17. 00:08:22.319 --> 00:08:29.199 And I wish we had the time to slowly walk through this whole portion of scripture, but we don't this morning. 00:08:29.279 --> 00:08:37.519 But I want to encourage you this week, in your devotional time, to slowly walk through these final words that Jesus gave to his disciples. 00:08:37.759 --> 00:08:47.600 Whether you've never read it or you've read it many times before, to slowly go through and hear Jesus' last words to his disciples, knowing that Judas has just gone out to betray him. 00:08:48.879 --> 00:08:57.840 By the time chapter 15, verse 1 comes along, Jesus and his disciples are no longer in the upper room, but they're somewhere else. 00:08:58.399 --> 00:09:02.720 The last words of chapter 14 are rise, let us go from here. 00:09:03.679 --> 00:09:15.120 And when we get to John chapter 18, at the end of the discourse, we find that Jesus and his disciples, they leave the city limits of Jerusalem and make their way toward the Garden of Gethsemane. 00:09:15.600 --> 00:09:21.039 But between the end of chapter 14 and chapter 18, we don't know where they are. 00:09:22.240 --> 00:09:28.960 Perhaps they left the upper room and they're walking through the city streets on the way to the gate that leads to the Garden of Gethsemane. 00:09:29.200 --> 00:09:41.039 One commentary I read stated that perhaps they went to the temple for Jesus to continue teaching his disciples here, where there was an ornate grapevine that hung from the ceiling over one of the gates. 00:09:42.080 --> 00:09:47.200 That grapevine in the temple was a symbol that represented Israel, God's people. 00:09:47.679 --> 00:09:58.240 First century Jewish historian Josephus records that some of the grape clusters that were made of solid gold were the height of a man hanging from the ceiling. 00:09:59.279 --> 00:10:06.720 Perhaps they were at the temple, or perhaps grapevines were to the people of Israel, what cornfields are to the people of central Indiana. 00:10:07.279 --> 00:10:14.960 And that Jesus just understands what types of images are going to make sense to his people, and so he draws on these things to teach them. 00:10:15.840 --> 00:10:20.480 All this to say that at the end of chapter 14, Jesus says, Rise, let us go from here. 00:10:20.639 --> 00:10:25.679 And then the discourse continues without identifying the location. 00:10:26.559 --> 00:10:33.360 And in 15, verse 1, Jesus says that he is the true vine, and that his father is the vine dresser. 00:10:35.360 --> 00:10:38.559 At this time I want you to turn with me to Isaiah chapter 5. 00:10:38.639 --> 00:10:48.639 Keep your finger in John here, but turn turn to uh Isaiah chapter 5, starting at verse 1. 00:10:49.200 --> 00:10:54.480 This theme of vines and a vine dresser, it's not a new theme in scripture. 00:10:54.720 --> 00:10:59.200 All throughout the Bible, this theme continues to come up again and again. 00:10:59.440 --> 00:11:08.000 But what is new is Jesus claiming to be the true vine, which implies that there are false ones. 00:11:08.799 --> 00:11:13.440 And in this passage in Isaiah chapter 5, we're going to hear of another vineyard. 00:11:16.159 --> 00:11:21.360 It says, Let me sing for my beloved, my love song concerning his vineyard. 00:11:21.759 --> 00:11:25.200 My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. 00:11:25.360 --> 00:11:29.279 He dug it and cleared it of stones and planted it with choice vines. 00:11:29.440 --> 00:11:38.159 He built a watchtower in the midst of it, and he hewed out a wine vat in it, and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes. 00:11:38.399 --> 00:11:45.279 One Bible dictionary looked at this week said that that term wild grapes could be also translated as stinkberries. 00:11:46.159 --> 00:11:57.039 And now, O inheritance inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard, and what more was there for me to do for my vineyard that I have not done for it, done in it. 00:11:57.200 --> 00:12:01.360 When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? 00:12:01.679 --> 00:12:03.039 Stink berries. 00:12:04.639 --> 00:12:07.679 And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. 00:12:07.840 --> 00:12:10.000 I will remove its hedge and it shall be devoured. 00:12:10.320 --> 00:12:12.960 I will break down its wall and it shall be trampled down. 00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:19.039 I will make it a waste, it shall not be pruned or hoed, and briars and thorns shall grow up. 00:12:19.279 --> 00:12:22.480 I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. 00:12:22.639 --> 00:12:28.559 For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting. 00:12:28.799 --> 00:12:35.120 And he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed, for righteousness, and behold, an outcry. 00:12:36.720 --> 00:12:41.120 See, God had already planted a vineyard, and he named it Israel. 00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:44.320 But Israel failed to produce the fruit that the Lord had desired. 00:12:44.720 --> 00:12:48.480 He sought out justice, but behold, bloodshed. 00:12:49.279 --> 00:12:54.399 For righteousness, and he heard an outcry because of its lack. 00:12:54.639 --> 00:13:01.039 And so when Jesus says that he is the true vine, he is contrasting himself against the people of Israel. 00:13:01.279 --> 00:13:06.000 And whereas Israel was a corrupt and a false vine, Jesus is true. 00:13:06.879 --> 00:13:15.120 God was expecting to find choice grapes from his vineyard, especially because of the way that he cared for and tended his vineyard. 00:13:15.360 --> 00:13:20.879 And rather than finding choice grapes, he only found wild ones, stink berries. 00:13:22.080 --> 00:13:25.519 Have you ever planted a garden before and come harvest fine? 00:13:25.600 --> 00:13:27.039 Everything's just rotten? 00:13:27.840 --> 00:13:32.720 You took such good care of it, and to yield nothing come the harvest. 00:13:33.519 --> 00:13:39.519 Israel was chosen by God to be his choice vineyard, but they didn't produce what he desired. 00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:50.240 What Jesus is saying is that in God's vineyard there is only one true vine, and that the people of Israel have to determine whether or not they are attached to him or not. 00:13:51.039 --> 00:13:56.240 And Jesus tells us what happens to every branch from him, from the vine that doesn't bear fruit. 00:13:56.320 --> 00:14:04.879 In verse 2, it says that every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away, he being the vine dresser, God the Father. 00:14:06.080 --> 00:14:07.919 So where are all my gardeners at today? 00:14:08.240 --> 00:14:09.759 Anyone out there planting already? 00:14:10.080 --> 00:14:11.279 Tending your gardens? 00:14:11.519 --> 00:14:13.919 What do you do with a dead limb on a fruit tree? 00:14:14.159 --> 00:14:15.440 You cut it off. 00:14:16.720 --> 00:14:20.960 If there's a section of a plant or a garden that's diseased, you get rid of it, right? 00:14:21.039 --> 00:14:22.480 So it doesn't spread. 00:14:22.960 --> 00:14:35.120 Yesterday, as Katie and I were doing our gardening and the F-16 fighters were flooring over top of us, one of the tasks that Katie did was to trim off all of the dead branches from the rose bushes that are surrounding our house. 00:14:35.440 --> 00:14:38.720 Chop them off and just toss them away of no value. 00:14:39.919 --> 00:14:46.480 Jesus is challenging the people of Israel and is warning them to consider who it is that they belong to. 00:14:47.039 --> 00:14:55.759 And that if Jesus is truly who he says he is, that there's going to be a reckoning for every branch that isn't attached to the vine. 00:14:56.399 --> 00:14:59.279 But notice what he says in the second half of verse 2. 00:14:59.679 --> 00:15:06.080 Says that every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes so that it might bear more fruit. 00:15:06.799 --> 00:15:09.840 I just love the imagery that this metaphor brings to mind. 00:15:10.080 --> 00:15:13.360 If a branch is dead, you cut it off and you take it and it's taken away. 00:15:13.519 --> 00:15:17.759 But a branch that is doing as it's intended to do, it's pruned. 00:15:18.240 --> 00:15:25.440 It sounds kind of like a cute metaphor, but it also involves a very real cutting off of certain parts of it. 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:31.679 Jesus says that it is his Father who does this work of pruning in his branches. 00:15:31.840 --> 00:15:36.559 And in verse 3, he tells us exactly how this work of pruning takes place. 00:15:37.679 --> 00:15:43.360 It says, Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 00:15:46.559 --> 00:15:50.000 Do you notice this shift from verse 2 to verse 3? 00:15:50.720 --> 00:15:57.759 In verse 2, Jesus says that every branch that bears fruit, we should be thinking here of his true disciples, will be pruned. 00:15:57.919 --> 00:16:03.759 And in verse 3, he says that you, again speaking to his disciples, are clean. 00:16:04.159 --> 00:16:11.519 As I was preparing for this message, I came to find out that the word prune and clean came from the same root word. 00:16:11.759 --> 00:16:19.039 And that when we think of the work of a vine dressing, a vine is cleaned as it is pruned. 00:16:20.240 --> 00:16:30.159 And Jesus says that his disciples have already been cleaned or have been pruned through his words spoken to them. 00:16:30.720 --> 00:16:41.840 What this means is that Jesus' disciples, as they submit to his word, it is the work of God the Father who prunes them so that they might be able to produce even more fruit. 00:16:43.039 --> 00:16:47.679 I don't know about you, but I'm gonna assume that for some of us, this is a new idea today. 00:16:47.919 --> 00:16:53.519 That the work of transformation within me isn't accomplished as I try harder. 00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:57.440 Jesus doesn't need you to try harder to be a better person. 00:16:57.600 --> 00:16:59.919 He needs you to listen to his word. 00:17:01.519 --> 00:17:08.079 And that as you submit to his word, God the Father will do his work in pruning you. 00:17:08.640 --> 00:17:10.640 And what does this pruning look like? 00:17:11.519 --> 00:17:17.279 This pruning might look like that long-standing addiction in your life suddenly starts to lose its grip. 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:18.720 Snip. 00:17:20.079 --> 00:17:26.240 It might look like that explosive anger that you have in the home dies away. 00:17:26.799 --> 00:17:27.519 Snip. 00:17:28.480 --> 00:17:37.759 It might mean that you stop rolling your eyes, or that you start bending your knee in prayer, or that you have a sudden overflowing of generosity and hospitality. 00:17:38.079 --> 00:17:38.799 Snip. 00:17:40.079 --> 00:17:53.359 Jesus is telling his disciples and us that as we submit ourselves under his word, that God the Father is going to do the work of pruning us and making us clean so that we can bear even more fruit. 00:17:54.960 --> 00:18:04.000 And at this point in Jesus' discourse, I'm I'm asking the question uh can you please tell me exactly what fruit it is that you're looking for? 00:18:04.240 --> 00:18:08.160 And if you're like me, I want to ask you just to hold on for a few more minutes. 00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:13.359 Because for now, Jesus turns to verse 4 and he says, Abide in me and I in you. 00:18:13.920 --> 00:18:21.359 As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 00:18:21.759 --> 00:18:23.519 I am the vine, you are the branches. 00:18:23.599 --> 00:18:27.359 Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit. 00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:29.519 For apart from me you can do nothing. 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:38.480 I love verses four and five, because in it, Jesus basically says the same thing over and over again, five different times. 00:18:38.799 --> 00:18:46.720 He's really trying to get this through our heads that unless we remain branches attached to the true vine, we can do nothing. 00:18:47.519 --> 00:18:50.880 The word abide can also be translated to remain. 00:18:51.119 --> 00:18:59.200 And John really loved this phrase, this word, because it he repeats it in the gospel of John, but also in all of his letters to the church. 00:18:59.440 --> 00:19:02.559 Remain, remain, abide, abide. 00:19:03.279 --> 00:19:07.039 Our challenge today is to abide and remain in Jesus. 00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:11.039 Jesus says, abide in me and I in you. 00:19:11.200 --> 00:19:12.319 And we nod along. 00:19:12.559 --> 00:19:15.839 It makes sense based off of what he's already said to us. 00:19:16.480 --> 00:19:25.599 But Jesus knows exactly how thick my skull is and says, if a branch, a branch cannot bear fruit by itself, and again, we nod along. 00:19:25.680 --> 00:19:26.720 It's like we get it. 00:19:26.880 --> 00:19:27.599 It makes sense. 00:19:27.759 --> 00:19:30.079 The branch must remain in the vine. 00:19:30.960 --> 00:19:35.279 Jesus says, unless a branch abides in the vine, it cannot produce fruit. 00:19:35.359 --> 00:19:37.359 And we're like, okay, we get we get it. 00:19:37.519 --> 00:19:40.000 You've said it three times now, it makes sense. 00:19:40.160 --> 00:19:41.920 And I can just imagine Jesus slowing down. 00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:44.559 He's like, I'm the vine. 00:19:45.279 --> 00:19:46.319 You are the branches. 00:19:46.400 --> 00:19:49.119 And the disciples are like, mm-hmm, we understand. 00:19:50.240 --> 00:19:51.200 But do we? 00:19:53.839 --> 00:20:08.400 As I was preparing for this weekend, as I was reading through this passage again and again, I was gripped by the truth that so often I can find myself claiming to be abiding in the vine while simultaneously trying to just do it all on my own. 00:20:09.920 --> 00:20:18.799 And I have to ask myself again and again, am I someone who is continually submitting to God's word so that he can do the work of pruning me? 00:20:20.400 --> 00:20:29.599 Jesus tells us that if we abide in him and allow his word to prune us, that we will bear much fruit. 00:20:30.319 --> 00:20:33.359 But there's also a warning here in verse 6. 00:20:34.319 --> 00:20:42.799 He says, If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers, and the branches are gathered, thrown into a fire and burned. 00:20:44.079 --> 00:20:49.279 In the New Testament, especially, fire is associated with divine judgment. 00:20:50.640 --> 00:21:00.720 The people would have likely been thinking about Israel's prophecy over God's people that we read earlier, and God's former judgment on the nation of Israel. 00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:10.400 And here Jesus is reminding his audience that anyone who does not stay, does not remain attached to the true vine is going to suffer judgment in hell. 00:21:12.160 --> 00:21:18.480 This is twice that Jesus has issued a warning for us to consider whether or not we are attached to the true vine. 00:21:18.720 --> 00:21:34.799 If hearing this statement causes you to wonder whether or not you are, you would be receiving pruning from God or be thrown away and burned, I want to tell you that Jesus' desire is that all of us would choose to come to him to be saved. 00:21:35.519 --> 00:21:40.880 That you must put your trust in him to be grafted into the one true vine. 00:21:41.759 --> 00:21:50.799 In this passage, we can hear the urgency in his voice as he speaks to his closest friends and offers a word of caution to those of us who might be distant from him. 00:21:54.559 --> 00:21:58.480 In this passage, Jesus is not telling us to try harder. 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:01.680 He's not saying try harder to belong to me. 00:22:01.839 --> 00:22:05.279 He's asking that we listen to him through his word. 00:22:06.079 --> 00:22:14.480 And as we listen to his word, we come to find that by trusting in Jesus for our salvation and turning from our sin, only through trusting in him can we be saved. 00:22:14.799 --> 00:22:20.160 And if you want to talk more about this, please come talk to me or Pastor Justin, one of the pastors after the service. 00:22:22.400 --> 00:22:31.599 We continue in verse seven, where Jesus says, If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 00:22:32.000 --> 00:22:37.920 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples. 00:22:38.559 --> 00:22:41.599 As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. 00:22:41.759 --> 00:22:43.200 Abide in my love. 00:22:43.519 --> 00:22:50.720 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. 00:22:51.200 --> 00:22:57.920 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. 00:23:00.400 --> 00:23:03.839 There's so much that we could say in this passage here. 00:23:04.559 --> 00:23:09.279 In verse 7, Jesus said is telling us the secret to a fruitful prayer life. 00:23:09.519 --> 00:23:18.160 And the secret is that as we abide in him, which he's clarified, means that we as we abide in his word, that whatever we ask will be done for us. 00:23:19.680 --> 00:23:23.920 Is Jesus here giving us blanket power to ask for anything? 00:23:24.160 --> 00:23:27.200 As if God is suddenly like the genie from Aladdin? 00:23:27.599 --> 00:23:39.039 No, he's saying that as we abide in the true vine and as God prunes us through his word, our prayer life will become shaped and conformed to match God's will. 00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:45.680 Jesus isn't saying that if I pray for a Ferrari, it's gonna happen because I'm a Christian. 00:23:45.920 --> 00:23:54.640 If anything, he's saying that if I'm a Christian, I'll not have a need to pray for a Ferrari because there's far more fruitful things to be bringing before the God of the universe. 00:23:55.200 --> 00:24:00.000 As we abide in Jesus, we will be pruned so that we will bear more fruit. 00:24:01.440 --> 00:24:08.640 Can anyone else feel the urgency in Jesus' words that he's sharing with his disciples, his closest friends? 00:24:09.519 --> 00:24:10.640 Abide in me. 00:24:11.359 --> 00:24:14.319 Stay in my word, bear fruit. 00:24:14.480 --> 00:24:22.160 I'm remembering back in John chapter 13, Jesus says to them, A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. 00:24:22.400 --> 00:24:26.559 Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 00:24:26.799 --> 00:24:33.279 And by this all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. 00:24:34.079 --> 00:24:42.720 I think that Jesus is telling us that the fruit that he is expecting for his branches to produce is this love for one another. 00:24:42.960 --> 00:24:46.960 And that our love should be the same as how Jesus has loved us. 00:24:48.000 --> 00:24:51.759 How different does that sound from how you've possibly heard it said before? 00:24:52.079 --> 00:24:58.960 Perhaps you've heard it explained that the fruit that Jesus demands from you is measured by your good deeds over your bad deeds. 00:24:59.200 --> 00:25:02.799 Or your fruit is the number of people that you have led to the Lord. 00:25:03.759 --> 00:25:11.920 Jesus is telling us here that the fruit he expects from us is a genuine sacrificial love for one another. 00:25:12.640 --> 00:25:18.480 He's pleading with his disciples to abide because he knows what's awaiting him in the coming hours. 00:25:18.880 --> 00:25:26.400 In verse 9, he says that in the same way that God the Father has loved him, that's how much he loves us. 00:25:28.240 --> 00:25:31.039 Have you let that sink into your heart before? 00:25:33.119 --> 00:25:39.279 That the same love that is shared in the Trinity is shared with those of us who are in Christ. 00:25:40.319 --> 00:25:47.359 It reminds me of the lyrics of a song that go, Amazing love, how could it be that you, my king, would die for me? 00:25:47.839 --> 00:25:52.960 Amazing love, I know it's true, and it's my joy to honor you in all I do. 00:25:54.079 --> 00:26:00.640 The fact that the God of the universe would love you and would love me is so incomprehensible. 00:26:01.599 --> 00:26:03.039 How could that be? 00:26:04.559 --> 00:26:14.640 And just as the song says that it's our joy to honor Jesus, Jesus tells us that our joy is made full as we love God by keeping his commandments. 00:26:15.680 --> 00:26:23.039 And at this point, I might fear that like the Jewish audience who would have first been reading John might have been tempted to lean back and say, There it is. 00:26:23.279 --> 00:26:24.960 I knew there was a catch. 00:26:25.200 --> 00:26:28.480 I knew we were gonna have to keep the law and the commandments. 00:26:29.279 --> 00:26:30.319 Not so fast. 00:26:30.960 --> 00:26:35.680 Because in verse 12, Jesus explains just how his people are to obey the commandments. 00:26:35.839 --> 00:26:36.640 Look at verse 12. 00:26:36.799 --> 00:26:42.480 It says, This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 00:26:42.799 --> 00:26:47.519 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 00:26:47.839 --> 00:26:51.039 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 00:26:52.400 --> 00:26:58.240 This scene reminds me of another scene in the Gospels where Jesus is asked, What is the greatest commandment? 00:26:58.480 --> 00:27:02.160 Back in Matthew chapter 22, we read this. 00:27:02.240 --> 00:27:06.079 It says, Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law? 00:27:06.319 --> 00:27:12.240 And he, Jesus, said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 00:27:12.400 --> 00:27:14.480 This is the great and first commandment. 00:27:14.640 --> 00:27:18.720 And the second is like it you shall love your neighbor as yourself. 00:27:19.039 --> 00:27:22.799 On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets. 00:27:23.839 --> 00:27:30.160 The commandment that Jesus is calling us to be obedient to is to love one another just as Jesus has loved us. 00:27:31.039 --> 00:27:32.880 And how has he loved us? 00:27:33.680 --> 00:27:38.079 By laying down his life, by dying a criminal's death on a cross. 00:27:38.880 --> 00:27:49.359 And Jesus is saying that if we likewise live a surrendered life to laying down our lives in love for our brothers and sisters, we're fulfilling this commandment. 00:27:51.920 --> 00:27:58.319 In verse 16, Jesus says that he has chosen us and appointed us to go and bear fruit. 00:27:58.400 --> 00:28:02.960 And he says that we do this as we love one another. 00:28:05.759 --> 00:28:08.400 Can I summarize this passage for us real quickly here? 00:28:08.720 --> 00:28:23.119 Jesus is telling us that the good life, the abundant life that He has prepared for us is found as people choose to submit themselves under God's word and as they sacrificially love one another. 00:28:23.839 --> 00:28:33.119 He tells us that as we submit to his word, God the Father does the work of pruning us and shaping us so that we can go out and love one another. 00:28:34.240 --> 00:28:47.440 It seems like such a simple message for us to get, and yet Jesus makes sure that his disciples hear it as one of the final things that he says to them on the night where he's been betrayed, knowing that it's going to lead him to the cross. 00:28:49.359 --> 00:28:53.039 If you have a pencil or a pen, I look at look at your copy of God's word. 00:28:53.680 --> 00:28:58.480 I want you to circle every time you see the word abide in your Bible. 00:28:59.039 --> 00:29:10.799 In verse 4, it shows up three times, in verse 5 once, in verse 6 once, in verse 7, two times, down in verse 9 it happens, and in verse 10. 00:29:11.839 --> 00:29:16.240 Abide, abide, abide 11 times in 17 verses. 00:29:16.480 --> 00:29:19.839 Jesus is calling his closest friends and his disciples. 00:29:20.079 --> 00:29:23.920 Abide in me, remain, stay close, stay in my word. 00:29:26.160 --> 00:29:31.680 I think it's because Jesus knows just how prone we are to abide elsewhere. 00:29:32.880 --> 00:29:40.319 This week, as I took time to reflect on this passage and to work through different material, I kept coming back to this word again and again, abide. 00:29:42.319 --> 00:29:59.680 Parkside, not only because we're about to go into a season of church ministry life that might be a little bit difficult in some ways, of learning how to do church in a gymnasium, but in all seasons, in church life and in our individual walk with the Lord, we have to be continuing to abide. 00:30:00.400 --> 00:30:03.759 And our theme this year has been the exact same thing: dependence on Christ. 00:30:04.079 --> 00:30:07.839 You cannot depend on Christ without abiding in Him. 00:30:08.079 --> 00:30:13.920 And as we abide in Christ, we come to find just how much we truly depend on Him. 00:30:15.119 --> 00:30:29.680 If your pastors are gonna go into this auditorium remodel or a new discipleship pathway, or a church plant or a ministry model because it's the trendy thing to do, Jesus tells us it's gonna be burned. 00:30:31.039 --> 00:30:38.720 But only if we depend on Christ by abiding in him and his word will we continue to be fruitful for God's kingdom. 00:30:40.400 --> 00:30:45.119 Jesus is challenging us about true and false vines. 00:30:45.440 --> 00:30:53.279 He's making the claim that he is the true vine, which means that there are other false vines that are seeking to graft us in. 00:30:53.519 --> 00:30:54.960 Maybe it's your career. 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:57.200 Maybe it's a love of money. 00:30:57.519 --> 00:31:00.000 Maybe it's sexuality or leisure. 00:31:00.480 --> 00:31:03.359 Are we abiding in the one true vine? 00:31:03.920 --> 00:31:05.920 Or a vine that will die? 00:31:07.920 --> 00:31:14.319 Each of us have to ask this question: Am I abiding in Jesus or am I just living adjacent to him? 00:31:16.799 --> 00:31:25.119 Can I say that I'm abiding in his word so that God the Father might prune away in me the things that are inhibiting my fruitfulness? 00:31:26.880 --> 00:31:33.599 What's getting in the way of your ability to sacrificially love your brothers and sisters in the church? 00:31:34.880 --> 00:31:42.319 This morning we're going to do something that we don't often do, and it's going to take a little bit of time, but that's okay. 00:31:43.039 --> 00:31:51.680 What we're going to do is we're going to take some time to reflect on this theme of dependence on Christ and this call to abide in him. 00:31:52.240 --> 00:31:54.720 And I want to give us a tangible way to remember it by. 00:31:54.960 --> 00:32:01.440 What you may or may not have noticed on the ends of the pews is a small stack of three by five cards. 00:32:02.160 --> 00:32:03.680 You can begin passing those on. 00:32:03.759 --> 00:32:06.400 Everyone in the room should have one of those with you. 00:32:07.440 --> 00:32:12.240 If your pew doesn't have them or if the kids have doodled on them already, uh raise your hand. 00:32:12.319 --> 00:32:15.759 There's some more at the at the welcome desk, and we can we can run some to you. 00:32:16.880 --> 00:32:26.480 But but what I want us to do is I want us to think of something specific in this season of life that you would say you haven't yet depended on Christ for. 00:32:27.519 --> 00:32:37.279 Or another way to say it could be what is something in your life that you know God would seek to prune off of you so that you could be more fruitful for his kingdom? 00:32:37.680 --> 00:32:40.319 Maybe it's an unhealthy desire for status. 00:32:40.880 --> 00:32:42.880 Maybe it's a covetous longing that you have. 00:32:43.039 --> 00:32:52.319 Maybe you're stuck in a sin pattern and you just need to submit yourself under God's authority of his word so that he can prune you and do his work. 00:32:53.759 --> 00:32:59.519 I'm gonna call Pastor John up here, and he's gonna lead through the singing of the of the song, Abide. 00:32:59.599 --> 00:33:09.759 And I want to just encourage you to just sit and listen to the words as he sings, to take some time to reflect, to write something on that card, to prayerfully consider it. 00:33:09.839 --> 00:33:16.880 And and as you've prayed and as you've as you've written on the card, we have three baskets at the front of the sanctuary here. 00:33:16.960 --> 00:33:25.599 And I want you to do that work of standing up and as a as a memorable act to remind yourself of this day, to lay it in the basket. 00:33:26.160 --> 00:33:33.039 To say, on March, or sorry, on May 24th, 2026, I said, Lord, I need to depend on you for this. 00:33:33.680 --> 00:33:44.319 And as part of the remodel, as a way for us as a church to remember this, what we're gonna do is, because this platform's gonna be looking a whole lot different, and they're gonna be pouring a new concrete slab for it. 00:33:44.480 --> 00:33:51.200 We're gonna put all these cards under the concrete as a way to commemorate that on this day I said, Lord, I need to depend on you for this. 00:33:51.440 --> 00:33:59.920 And when we gather back here, whenever that day might come, we can say, I remember that time, I need to depend on Christ that day, and I still need to depend on him today. 00:34:00.400 --> 00:34:06.319 And so I want to encourage you to take some time to write something down and to come lay it at the front. 00:34:06.480 --> 00:34:18.159 And after Pastor John is is finished leading the song, we will um we will be taking communion, and so take a few moments to reflect as well, to prepare for communion, and then I'll come back up here to lead us through that. 00:34:18.239 --> 00:34:21.440 But take a few moments now, reflect and pray.