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Vine and Branches John
15:1-11
John begins chapter 13 with this statement…
Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had
come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who
were in the world, he loved them to the end.
His time was coming to an end.
He was going to be with His friends only for a short time more.
He was leaving.
He was going to His death, and they were not going to understand it.
But Jesus assures them of the truth (14:6).
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one
comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would
have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen
him."
They could have confidence that they were on the right track, no matter
what is about to happen. Since they knew Him, their life was secure.
They knew the way. They had seen Him. And because of this, they had seen
the Father.
This conversation was rather mysterious. Jesus was talking like He was
leaving. It was so disconcerting and discomforting.
But knowing this Jesus comforts them with a promise (14:26).
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name,
he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I
have said to you.
He was not leaving them stranded. They were going to become men of the
Spirit. They were going to be fully connected to God. They were not
going to forget. They were going to remember all of what was happening.
And they were going to understand it.
Having said these things, Jesus and the disciples leave the Upper Room
and are on the move…
One day a mother found her three-year-old son with the telephone, which
he quickly hung up when he saw her. "What were you doing?" she asked
him.
He said that he had called his Aunty Tara.
"How could you have called Aunty Tara?" she asked. "You don’t even know
her number."
"Yes, I do. I called her," he replied.
She wasted a lot of breath trying to convince him that he didn’t know
her number, but he insisted he had made the call. "Okay," she said
finally. "What did she say, then, if you called her?"
He answered, "She told me I had the wrong number."
So today I am wondering how is your connection?
Are you connected to who you should be?
You know those Verizon commercials…
“Can you hear me now?”
And the answer comes…
“Good.”
We want phones that make good connections. We find it frustrating when
we can’t hear someone, or when a call is dropped. We want to understand
and we want to be understood.
When Jesus leaves the Upper Room and goes to the Garden of Gethsemane,
He wants them to be understanding about the vital connection that they
are a part of.
“I am the vine; you are the branches.”
When He compares us to the world of botany, Jesus reveals something
about the essential nature of our relationship with Him.
That is we are to possess a fruitful relationship with Jesus.
We are made to be fruitful. Throughout today’s passage, we are going to
see Jesus’ concern for us is that we bear fruit.
We know that we are bearing fruit when we support what the Lord is doing
in us. We know that we are bearing fruit when we are being the Christian
God has made us to be. In other words, we are fruitful when we
demonstrate certain qualities, like the fruit of the Spirit. And we are
fruitful when we reproduce ourselves in others.
So today we find in John 15:1-11 three questions Jesus answers about
their relationship with Him.
The first question Jesus answers is WHAT ARE WE TO DO? John 15: 1-5
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. (2) Every branch
of mine that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that
does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. (3) Already you
are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. (4) Abide in
me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it
abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. (5) I am
the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it
is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
We must understand the nature of our relationship.
When my parents moved into their home in Huntsville they were given 6
grape vines to plant around their house. They placed each vine in the
perfect spot and for several years had grape vines that were very
productive. A good plant will produce 80 lbs of grapes in a single
season. And not only that, good roots can produce fruit for nearly 100
years.
But this doesn’t just happen. You see this year they only had one
surviving vine. The vines have to receive constant and attentive care.
In order to produce that maximum yield, vines must be tended, watered,
protected and cultivated. And without that care not only will the fruit
wither and die but the vines will as well.
So, to understand the nature of our relationship with God, Jesus gives
us a picture that He is the vine. God is the vinedresser, the farmer,
and we are the branches.
We are connected and we are in partnership with God through this
connection. In so doing We are designed to bear fruit.
This is simple biology. It is the natural result. If we do not produce
grapes, then something is not right.
The truth is, though, that if the branches are left on their own, they
won’t do the job. So God is active in making us better. He prunes in
order to remove the dead wood that will harbor disease and decay. He
trims because untrimmed vines develop rambling branches that produce
more wood than grapes.
In the same way, God is active in making sure that we are in a position
to produce fruit. We are not fruitful due to any human achievement. We
are fruitful because we are attached to the vine. Our effectiveness is
dependent on receiving the constant flow of life that comes from being
connected to the vine.
But we do have a role in all of this We are to keep the union going.
The command is to abide. We are to remain attached. When we keep our
focus on the Lord and stay at it, we possess those perfect occasions to
produce fruit. But when we lose our focus, Satan gains access, and we
become unproductive. If we are not deliberate, we place ourselves in the
position where we lose the opportunity to produce life.
The second question Jesus answers is HOW DO WE DO IT? John 15: 6-10
(6) If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and
withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and
burned. (7) If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever
you wish, and it will be done for you. (8) By this my Father is
glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. (9)
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. (10)
If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have
kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.
So we know we have to do it. But how do we do this vine and branches
thing? What do we do to keep this organic biological connection going?
First we keep united by the Word.
Never doubt the power of God’s Word in your life!
How do we keep connected?
We spend time around the Word…Bible reading, Bible study, memorization,
meditation. We allow the Word of God to get into our lives. We allow it
to influence everything we think, say, and do, in the realization it is
powerful to change us.
I like one preacher’s advice “There’s a lot of people that knows this
book but they don’t know how to live what’s in it.”
If we are truly united to the vine, we will be living the Word. Not only
that, our prayer life will reflect it. You know, it is not that we can
ask for anything and we will get it. It is that we can ask for anything
that carries with it the purpose of bearing fruit and it is something
that God desires to bless.
Next we are to connect in love.
Jesus states the essential nature of love in this relationship. We are
to continue in His love. He loves us and we respond to His love. He
loves us and we are to show that love to each other and the world around
us.
If we don’t have love, nothing else matters. We can’t be heard. Our
testimony is a shambles. We will bear no fruit. It really is that
simple.
Finally we obey His commands.
When we come to Jesus in humility we are reminded that none of us are
too high and mighty to be obedient.
If the only way to Jesus is by humbling ourselves at the cross we can be
sure that the life at the foot of the cross is filled with that same
humble obedience. It is an essential for us.
We are not to be caught knowing the doctrine and teaching of the Word of
God, and then struggling with the application. Doing what God says shows
that our love is really at work. It is how we demonstrate our love for
Him. And it keeps the connection going.
Now we come to the third question Jesus answers is WHY DO WE DO IT? John
15:11
(11) These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and
that your joy may be full. “
God’s goal for us is joy.
We are not connected to a miserable God, even though many a Christian
may give evidence of it.
Yes, there are too many Christians that sing “Sing and Be Happy” with
huge frowns on their faces.
It is a part of God’s design of fruitfulness to possess joy. So, if you
don’t have it, there is a reason.
If you are disconnected, it will steal your joy.
If you are disobedient, joy will be elusive.
If you are distracted by popularity, fame, riches, recreation, or work,
you are just like Solomon who could find no joy or satisfaction.
The only way to joy is to be connected and to keep the connection going.
APPLICATION:
Can you hear Him now?
This is an issue that is much bigger than Verizon. The vital,
life-giving connection to God must be maintained on our part, for God
will never, ever fail on His part. He will be there for us…always. We
can bank on that. So, we must recognize our dependence, and see to it
that we listening.
Writer Charles Swindoll once found himself with too many commitments in
too few days. He got nervous and tense about it. "I was snapping at my
wife and our children, choking down my food at mealtimes, and feeling
irritated at those unexpected interruptions through the day," he
recalled in his book Stress Fractures. "Before long, things around our
home started reflecting the patter of my hurry-up style. It was becoming
unbearable.
"I distinctly remember after supper one evening, the words of our
younger daughter, Colleen. She wanted to tell me something important
that had happened to her at school that day. She began hurriedly,
’Daddy, I wanna tell you somethin’ and I’ll tell you really fast.’
"Suddenly realizing her frustration, I answered,’ Honey, you can tell me
-- and you don’t have to tell me really fast. Say it slowly."
"I’ll never forget her answer: ’Then listen slowly.’"
Good advice…
Good advice to us as believers in the Lord.
If we want the joy, then we must keep listening to the Word.
If we want the joy, then we must keep loving each other.
If we want the joy, then we must wholeheartedly obey God.
There is to be no half-hearted attempt, for being half-hearted is to get
the worst of both worlds and miss the joy He has for us.
You see Jesus never planned on our failure. He has given us everything
we need in order to have fruitful living. Inside of us is the “sap” of
the Holy Spirit.
Fruitful living is to be the norm.
Is it how you are living?
Be fruitful…remain in the vine…being fully connected to Jesus.
Be fruitful…by listening to His Word, by loving one another, and by
obeying His commands.
Be fruitful…and experience the joy of a productive life.
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