I AM the True Vine

Romans 8:11. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

Worship Set: Micah

Congregational Prayer: Kevin

Children's Message Video: Lydia

Scripture Reading: John 15:1-8

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

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Messiage Intro/Review:

Alright my friends, if you're just tuning in with us for the first time, over the last 2 months or so we've been studying together and learning about Jesus' seven great I Am statements from the Gospel of John. So let me review the themes we've covered already:

Jesus said, "I Am the Bread of Life".

Jesus said, "I Am the Light of the World."

Jesus said, "I Am the Gate for the Sheep."

Jesus said, "I Am the Good Shepherd."

Jesus said, “I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”

Jesus said, “I Am the Resurrection and the Life."

That brings us, at last, to number seven, found in John 15:1, where Jesus said, “I Am the True Vine.”

Illustration:

Message Point 1: To say Jesus is "the true vine" is to see him as the true source of all vitality and fruitfulness in our lives.

Ref. John 15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener."

About four years ago, back in 2016 I taught on this passage, so some of you may remember that for a short season back then we spent some time thinking about the meaning of spiritual vitality. I'm thankful for the opportunity to revisit my notes from that occasion, and have another opportunity to share with you about this amazing analogy today.

Spiritual vitality is the state of having a strong, active and energized personal relationship with God. It’s a lively or energetic quality to your spiritual life. It’s the opposite of complacency, or apathy. It's goes together with fruitfulness.

Synonyms: livliness, life, energy, spirit, vivacity, exuberance, bounce, zest, sparkle, dynamism, passion, fire, vigor, drive, and punch.

Spiritual vitality is not a phrase found anywhere in the Bible, but the concept is found in many places. For example, as John 10:10 puts it, spiritual vitality is a life of abundance in Christ.

Yet, even if we know what it is, the real question is, 'Where does it come from?' What is it's source in our lives?

Have you ever known someone that just captured your attention because of the spiritual vitality and fruitfulness they walked in? Perhaps you've even asked yourself, "How did they get that way?... What makes this person so alive?"

The short answer is Jesus. Spiritual vitality and fruitfulness can't be manufactured by any human being, even with our best efforts. His life can only come to us from him.

Jesus is the supreme example of living a life marked by abundant spiritual vitality. He was consistently and intimately connected to the Father, and filled with the Spirit. He was thoroughly receptive and obedient to God's guidance. His life was marked by a holy zeal that energized him no matter what the demands placed upon him.

What was his secret? Was it just that he was the Son of God, which makes his example less attainable for us? Or could it be that Jesus actually intended for us to learn from and emulate his example?

What John 15 speaks to is not just the identity of Jesus. It speaks to the role of Jesus as the source of our fruitfulness. The source. The origin. The beginning point.

Think of all the news this week regarding the origin, or source of the coronavirus. Everything that's happened around the globe... every person that's become sick, every person who has died, and every family that has lost someone, is wondering about where it came from. Some say it was from the wet market in Wuhan, where people buy bats to eat as a delicacy. Others, especially this week, have begun to claim the virus originated in a laboratory in Wuhan, and was actually man-made.

I offer you that example merely as a point of comparison and contrast. All the bad things that the coronavirus has caused originated somewhere, and then there was a chain reaction of events that has traveled around the globe.

Here's my point: the same is also true of all the good things that have been done by Christians over the last 2000 years. Every good and fruitful work that has been done is part of a chain reaction of events that traces back to our patient zero: Jesus Christ. That, my friends, is what Jesus had in mind and understood about himself when he said, "I am the true vine..."

But obviously, this passage isn't just about the identity and role of Jesus. It's also about us, and the nature of our relationship to Jesus. So let's shift our attention down to verse five, where that vital connection is described.

Message Point 2: To be fruitful in following Jesus, we have to abide in him like branches in a vine.

Ref. John 15:4-5 “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain (or abide) in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.

Ref. John 15:8 "This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

First and foremost, let's be sure we understand all the key parallels in this analogy.

God is the gardener, or vinedresser.

Jesus is the true vine.

The Holy Spirit is the sap that flows from vine to the branches.

And finally, we are the branches, which are meant to produce fruit by way of remaining connected to the vine.

What does it mean to live a fruitful life in Christ? Fruit is simply a metaphor for Christlikeness, in attitude and action. It’s a life marked by godliness in character and in behavior. It’s also a life marked by servanthood and ministry to others.

Picture a big bunch of ripe and juicy grapes like the one on the screen behind me as a visual representation of the vitality and fruitfulness that God wants to produce in your life. This is not only for your own benefit and enjoyment. More importantly, a fruitful life of spiritual vitality has a greater impact on others. And most importantly, it’s for the glory of God. As verse 8, puts it, "This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples."

This is a winning combination! Fruitfulness is good for us, good for others, and good for the glory of God all at the same time!

In fact, here's an "I am" statement you might practice reciting about yourself (a-la Dave Jackson's devotional exercise):

I am in Christ, therefore I am meant to glorify God by bearing much fruit!

Now, notice with me that there is a progression of fruitfulness represented in these verses. It goes like this, in progressive stages: from fruitless to fruitful, from fruitful to more fruitful, and finally from more fruitful to much fruit, or abundant fruit.

Picture it like as a Spectrum of Fruitfulness: 0=Fruitless...........5=Somewhat Fruitful..........10=Abundantly Fruitful.

Now, here's a test of your self-awareness. Where do you place yourself currently on that spectrum? How would describe the measure of your spiritual vitality and fruitfulness right now? Is it negligible? Is it ok, but not very high? Is it growing? Or is it abundant and overflowing?

Think about it, and come up with an honest answer. Then consider this: Wherever you are now, are you on board with moving up the scale?

Do you have a clear desire and vision for your life to become increasingly and abundantly fruitful in Christ?

If so, the secret of the vine, as David Wilkerson described it, is learning to abide, or remain in Christ.

To abide is to stay connected... or better yet, to stay dependent on Jesus. In verse 4, the verb used here is “meinate”, which speaks of staying continuously connected.

It's to know and constantly remember the truth of Philippians 4:13

Ref. Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Quote from Charles Stanley, The Wonderful Spirit Filled Life, p.56.

“The vine is Christ, and I am the branch. The Holy Spirit is the sap that runs from the vine into the branch. The branch lives, grows, and bears fruit not by struggles and effort, but simply by abiding.”

How do we do this? Staying connected to Jesus and dependent on Jesus is about using the various practices that he's given us, namely worship, study of the Word, stewardship and prayer, to remain in Him and to break the habits of our own self-reliance. I love how John Wimber used to call these habits of righteousness, that are meant to replace the habits of unrighteousness in our lives. These practices are intended and designed to remind us of and to break us of our self-reliance. They're meant to draw us humbly into the presence of God, so that we can hear from him and receive from him whatever he has for us each day.

When you consider that Jesus was about to go the cross, and not be physically present with his disciples any longer, you begin to see the real significance of this object lesson. Jesus was saying to them, and to us, just because I am not physically present with you does not mean you cannot remain connected to me. For this connection is in and of the Spirit, not in and of the flesh.

The real key to the so-called spiritual disciplines is to see these activities as ways to meet with Jesus and continue cultivating our love for him, as we receive his love for us. We need to be careful not to make simply having our devotions as something we check off the to do list. We need to think about being devoted to Jesus, not having devotions for Jesus. We need to find ways to draw near to him in the Spirit, so that we can receive his grace and his guidance. Think of this as finding joy in spending time with someone very dear to you. In the same way that might enjoy a dinner date with your spouse, or coffee with a dear friend, think of how you can spend meaningful personal time with Jesus. And then be inspired to make that practice a part of your daily routine. Being vitally connected to the vine is more than a spiritual reality. And it’s more than turning up for church once a week, or even a few times a month.

With that idea in mind, let's look at one more insight from this analogy in John 15 that I find absolutely fascinating and revealing.

Message Point 3: Greater fruitfulness only happens by yielding our will to the Gardener's work in us.

As we learn to practice abiding in him, what does he do in us? There's actually a progression of things he does that John 15 indicates.

Increased fruitfulness is a great and godly ambition to have, but it doesn't result from our effort. It results from more of Jesus flowing in us and through us. As John the Baptist put it in John 3:30, it's about more of him and less of us.

Think about the spectrum of fruitfulness I shared with you a few moments ago. How does one move up the line?

Let’s start by exploring what God would do with a branch that’s not presently bearing fruit at all. To help you think about that possibility, let me share with you the story of a Christian woman named Catherine.

Illustration: Catherine’s Story - The Power of Repentance & Forgiveness, from Bruce Wilkinson's Secrets of the Vine, p.29-31

So what does Jesus have to say about what the gardener does with a branch like this?

Step 1: To make a branch somewhat fruitful the Gardener has to lift it up (off the ground).

Look with me at the first part of verse 15 to see how Jesus addresses this.

Ref. John 15:2a "He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit,..."

"Now wait a minute!" you might be thinking. “That verse doesn’t seem to say what you just said it would!” If you’re wondering about that right now, congratulations on paying close attention.

Let me explain. You see, this is a classic case where the meaning of the original Greek word is obscured, at least in the NIV translation. Some other translations use the phrase "take away”, which is better, but still not the most accurate.

Is this how you think of God? If you have no trouble with the idea that God would just cut you off if you’re not bearing much or any fruit, than lets reexamine your mindset about God. Let me tell you, there’s actually some really good news here for those of you who are feeling your spiritual life has been barren and fruitless. Let me encourage you with the simple truth that God has grace for you, and does not intend to just cut you off the vine to let you wither and die. That’s the fate of those who are not in Christ at all.

The key word here, translated by the phrase “cuts off” at the beginning of verse 15, is the Greek word “airo”. So the critical question is how best to translate this word. And truth be told, the best translation in my estimation is not “cut off”, or “take away”. It’s actually, as Bruce Wilkinson explains in Secrets of the Vine, “take up”, or even “lift up”. So you might read John 15:2 like this instead: “He takes up (or lifts up) every branch in me that bears no fruit.”

In other words, this verse is meant to be an encouragement to those of us who feel like we’re in a fruitless season. Imagine Jesus walking through a vineyard with his disciples, and eyeing a low hanging branch that’s down in the dirt. Would he just break it off and pitch it. No! He would lift it up, wash it off, and reconnect it to the trellis where it can get the sunlight it needs to grow and bear good fruit again.

Wilkinson explains how he first discovered this secret when he had lunch with a man who owned a vineyard. As they discussed the meaning of this passage, the man said to him, “New branches have a natural tendency to trail down and grow along the ground. But they don’t bear fruit down there. When branches grow along the ground, the leaves get coated in dust. When it rains they get muddied and mildewed. The branch becomes sick and useless. But we don’t cut it off… the branch is much too valuable for that. We go through the vineyard with a bucket of water looking for those branches. We lift them up and wash them off. Then we wrap them around the trellis or tie them up. Pretty soon they’re thriving again.”

So friends, if you’ve been in a season of fruitlessness, God wants to lift you up and wash you off so that you can bear fruit again. The key to that, as Catherine’s story indicates, is repentance. It’s allowing God to lift you up and wash you up, getting you up out of the dirt. That means recognizing whatever it is in your life that may be keeping you from bearing fruit. If it’s some secret sin that has hold of your heart, confess it and allow the grace of God to wash you clean. Or if it’s some sin that another person has committed against you, maybe it’s time to choose forgiveness. You can’t be free from anger, bitterness and resentment until you choose to forgive those who have sinned against you.

Now if you’re bearing some fruit already, but ready to move from somewhat fruitful to abundantly fruitful, what does Jesus have to say about that? Notice again the second part of verse 2.

Ref. John 15:2b "while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”

Step 2: To make a branch abundantly fruitful the Gardener has to prune it.

What effect does pruning have? It dramatically increases the fruit of any vine, but particularly older vines.

On this subject, Wilkinson tells another story that’s humorous to imagine.

Illustration: The Bad Neighbor - Wilkinson, Secrets of the Vine, p.55-57

As Wilkinson goes on to explain, pruning is an annual practice observed by any caring and attentive vinedresser who truly wants to maximize the abundance of his yield. As I’ve often heard my dad say when he thinks I’m overly busy, the secret of the vinedresser amounts to this simple axiom: “Less is more!”

So at the beginning of the growing season, this is what a wise vinedresser does with branches that show rampant growth. He prunes them back, by thinning or reducing the number of shoots on the branches. He takes out the sheers and cuts away at that which will actually rob growth from the fruit.

You see, the object here is greater fruitfulness. Some fruit is better than no fruit, but more fruit is better than some fruit. So the question amounts to this: If we want to be more fruitful for God… if we really want both our individual lives and our life together as a church to become abundantly fruitful, the question is, “ What needs to be pruned?” What is it that God wants to trim or thin from our lives that will actually make us more fruitful.

Maybe it’s time spent on a particular hobby that you find enjoyable, but that has no great spiritual value. Or maybe it’s time spent watching television, or engaging in social media. Maybe it’s working extra hours to get ahead on the job, or obsessing fastidiously about how your lawn looks.

What I’m saying is that God may want to help trim some things out of your life that are keeping you from becoming more fruitful.

This is the process that brings us to a place of abundance and vitality in life, where the evidence of God’s work in us is overflowing with good fruit.

How does this happen? Remember: The answer is counter-intuitive. It’s not so much about working harder, or simply doing more. What Jesus was trying to convey to his disciples with this analogy was really about the nature of their dependence on him…. It was about letting him be the source of their fruitfulness, even after he would be gone from their lives. It was about teaching them to live lives that would be Spirit-filled and Spirit-led.

Branches themselves don’t produce fruit. They bear fruit, because it’s the fruit of the vine... It’s not fruit of the branches. Christlikeness is the fruit of Christ in our lives. The more his Spirit fills us, the more fruitful we become. As branches rightly connected to the vine, we are simply a conduit for the Spirit of Christ and the life of Christ to flow freely.

What Jesus was illustrating for his disciples is simply that a life of abundance, or spiritual vitality, marked by the evidence of much fruit, comes from a genuine and thriving personal connection with him. This is a connection that has to be valued and protected.

Conclusion

Illustration: Hudson Taylor’s breakthrough, from “They Found The Secret” by V. Raymond Edman, (retold in Charles Stanley’s “The Wonderful Spirit Filled Life, pp.58-59).

My friends, if this principle of abiding in the vine has proven to bear much fruit in the lives of great men of God like Hudson Taylor and Charles Stanley, it can certainly work for us.

So the invitation from Jesus this morning amounts to this: Abide in me, as I also abide in you. Draw near to me, and I will draw near to you. Let me show you what a life of spiritual vitality, a life of abundant fruitfulness, can actually look like. This is not an unattainable dream. This is my invitation, says the Lord, to each and every one of you: Will you let me show you the way to a life of greater fruitfulness?

Important Reminders/Announcements:

Prayer Focus for April - Prayer Ministry

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Communion: Kevin

Benediction:

The Aaronic Blessing from Numbers 6:24-26

The Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;

the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”’

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