Remain

All right, well this morning we're continuing on with Jesus and his teaching on the night of his betrayal.

We're in John chapter 15. If you have a Bible with you, you can open it up to that passage.

John 15 · chapter mention

Or there's the black Bibles in front of you there under the seats, or it'll be on screen this morning.

We've been exploring some of the different elements of Jesus' analogy here with vine and branches and fruit.

We've talked about how God is the gardener, how he's at work like a gardener to bring about a fruitful vineyard, a people full of good fruit.

We've talked about how Jesus is the true vine, how he is the source of life and of all that is good.

We've talked about how we are the branches, those of us who believe in him.

And we talked at length two weeks ago about pruning and how God does that pruning work in our lives so that we will be even more fruitful.

Well, this morning we're going to come back to this passage, but we're going to come at it from yet another angle.

Our focus this morning is going to be on this word that we see in verse four, remain, or as some translations that you may be more familiar with, abide.

In verse four, Jesus says, 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.

What does it mean to remain or abide in Jesus?

How do we do that?

What is Jesus wanting these men to do?

This will be our focus for this morning.

And then we'll end by reflecting on this sweet reality that Jesus remains in us.

I suspect that many of us wrestle with this simple command that Jesus gives.

Remain in me.

It's so easy to say it.

But what does it mean?

How do we do it?

We're looking for clues to this right here in this passage in what Jesus said.

And the first one comes to us here in verse four.

Jesus says, 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.

So Jesus uses this analogy from the vineyard to explain a little of what it means to remain in him.

He says, it's like with the branch of a plant.

Of course, Jesus is referring to grapevines.

But most of us are not too familiar with grapevines.

So let's imagine something similar grown in our climate.

Tomato plants.

Picture in your mind a tomato plant.

Imagine that main shoot.

The vine.

And then the branches coming off of that main shoot.

Jesus says, no branch can bear fruit by itself.

So just picture one of those branches of your tomato plant by itself just lying there on the ground.

Broken off.

Separated from the vine.

Will it produce fruit like that?

No, says Jesus.

In order for the fruit to grow, it must remain in the vine.

It must stay connected.

It must continue to be attached.

Now let's translate the metaphor of vines and branches to people.

That's what Jesus does here.

He says, just as it is with the branch and the vine, so it is with you.

Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

So God, the gardener, wants to see good fruit come from our lives.

Things like I mentioned a couple weeks back.

Love.

Honesty.

Faithfulness.

Self-control.

Gentleness.

Compassion.

Forgiveness.

Holiness.

But just like the branch of a plant,

you cannot bring forth these good things

by yourself.

On your own.

I was thinking about this this week.

You know, if all this stuff I just mentioned

is the stuff that God wants to see in our lives,

if that's what pleases Him,

can we please God on our own

without Jesus?

Can we live that loving life

with God's kind of love

that He wants us to live

towards others

without Jesus?

Your pride may tell you,

yes,

but Jesus says, no.

No branch can bear fruit by itself

on its own.

We need Christ

to live a life that pleases God.

We need Jesus

and what He gives

and what He does in us

to bring forth that good fruit

that God is looking for in our lives.

And so Jesus says,

you must remain in me

like a branch.

You must remain in the vine

to bear fruit.

Now this word remain

in the original language

that John wrote in,

it simply means to stay

or to continue.

There's nothing out of the ordinary

about the word.

Its meaning comes from the analogy

here

as Jesus uses it.

To remain in Jesus

is like a branch of a plant

staying connected

to that plant,

continuing to be

enjoined

to the main shoot.

In other words,

Jesus is saying,

don't leave off from me.

Don't walk away from me.

Stay fastened to me.

Stay joined to me.

What is this command

in this analogy

really about?

It's about relationship.

Stay in relationship with me,

says Jesus.

This is what it's all about.

And in case there's any doubt,

we need only look a couple verses

down to verse 9

and Jesus will say it

loud and clear.

As the Father has loved me,

so have I loved you.

Now remain in my love.

If that's not an invitation

or call to relationship,

I don't know what is.

This whole analogy

of vine and branches,

it tells us something

of the kind of relationship

that God desires

with his people.

It's meant to be

a permanent

and ongoing

relationship.

Think about the connection

between a plant

and its branches.

How are the branches

connected to the plant?

Well, it's not like this.

There's some kind of

an interlocking mechanism

here that allows him

to stay connected

for a time.

But the way this is designed,

it can connect

and disconnect

and connect

and disconnect

as much as you want,

as much as you need.

These things, though,

are only meant

to be together

when this thing

runs out of battery.

Is that how our relationship

with Jesus should be?

We come to him,

we relate to him,

just when we're really

in need of something

from him.

The rest of the time,

though,

we're kind of off

on our own,

living as independent

agents,

not too worried

about him.

No.

The branch of a plant

is meant to be

connected

all the time.

Ongoing.

Permanent.

It's a part of the plant.

And it has to stay there.

In the same way,

we're meant to be

in a continual,

ongoing,

permanent relationship

with Jesus,

our Savior.

We also see here

in this analogy

that this is meant

to be a very deep

and intimate

relationship

between Jesus

and us.

Think again

about how

the branch

is attached

to the tree.

It's not

plug and play

like your iPhone.

There's a real sense

in which that branch

is a part

of the tree.

It's one

with the plant.

In fact,

sometimes we don't

even bother

to distinguish

between the branch

and the tree.

We just say

that whole thing,

the tomato plant,

the whole thing,

it's all a plant

or that tree.

It's all the tree.

And this is a picture

of the kind

of relationship

that Jesus desires

with these men

and with you

and with me

where we are

one with him.

We are so deeply

joined with him

that we are a part

of him

and he

of us.

We're not just,

you know,

loosely affiliated

with him.

We're not just

in today's vernacular

subscribe to his channel.

It's not as though

we've just clicked

the like

and the follow button

on Jesus' profile

and we just

take our regular updates

and that's about it.

No,

this kind of relationship

that Jesus has

for us,

it's a deep,

it's an intimate

relationship

where we become

one with him,

united with him.

Paul,

in his letters,

didn't even hesitate

to refer to all

who belong to Jesus

as members

of his body,

that is the body

of Christ.

Just like your hand

or your foot

is a member

of your body.

And so,

remain in me

like a branch

remains in the vine.

It speaks of this

deep and intimate

relationship

that we have

with Jesus.

Again,

verse 9

leads us

in this direction.

As the Father

has loved me,

so have I

loved you.

Now remain

in my love.

As Jesus

calls these men

to a certain

kind of

love relationship

with him,

he thinks about

the love relationship

that he has

with his Father.

And it is a rich,

deep,

and intimate

relationship.

That's the kind

of relationship

that he is

pulling and

calling his

followers to.

And so,

when Jesus says,

remain in me

like a branch

remains in the vine,

he's calling us

to continually

give ourselves

to him,

to this kind

of relationship

with him,

this ongoing,

intimate,

love relationship.

relationship.

Now we might

wonder,

why does Jesus

seem to emphasize

this so much?

If you

have kind of

skimmed through

the whole passage,

you'll notice

that he talks

about this

quite a bit.

Remain in me.

Neither can you

bear fruit

unless you

remain in me.

Verse 5,

remain in me.

Verse 6,

if you do not

remain in me.

Verse 7,

if you remain

in me.

And verse 9,

how many times

he says it,

it's amazing.

Why is this

such a big deal?

What's the

temptation

or the danger?

Well,

according to Jesus,

there is a real

danger

if you do not

remain

in him.

Verse 6,

if you do not

remain in me,

you're like a

branch that is

thrown away

and withers.

Such branches

are picked up,

thrown into the

fire,

and burned.

That's stated

pretty strongly,

isn't it?

But if we're

following this

analogy,

it makes

perfect sense.

It's not just

that we can't

bear fruit

without Jesus,

it's that

without Jesus,

we will wither,

we will die

spiritually.

That's how it

goes with the

branch of a

plant or the

branch of a

tree.

When it gets

separated from

the tree,

what happens

to it is it

just sits there

on the ground.

Eventually,

the life that

was in it

disappears.

Its flexibility

and greenness

just fades

away.

The leaves

turn brown

and crunchy.

The branch

itself becomes

gray and

dry and

brittle.

And it's

now good

for almost

nothing

except for

getting a

fire going.

It kind of

amazes me

just how

relevant Jesus

is 2,000

years later.

I think about

this all the

time when I

go out into

my backyard.

We have a

huge poplar

tree in our

backyard and it

seems like

every time I

go out there

there's at

least one or

more branches

that have

broken off,

that have

fallen down on

the ground.

And guess what

we do with

them.

We pick

them up,

we put

them in a

trash bin,

designated

sticks,

and I

drive them

out to

the dump

and dump

them in

the burn

pit.

there's a

very real

danger to

leaving off

from Jesus,

to walking

away from

him.

You will

wither.

You will

die, says

Jesus.

If you

choose to

walk away

from Jesus

and go and

live for

yourself, do

things your

own way,

rejecting him,

you won't be

connected to

Jesus, the

vine.

And if

you aren't

connected to

him, then

you won't

have what

he gives,

what the

vine gives

to the

branch, which

is life.

We need

a continuing

relationship

with Jesus,

an abiding

relationship, and

without that,

we're in real

danger.

Now, I know

there's some

debate about how

we should take

these words of

Jesus, and the

question rolling

around in some

of your minds

is, well, can

we lose our

salvation?

Are you saying

that?

Is Jesus

saying that?

Jesus says a

similar sort of

thing at the

beginning of this

section in verse

two.

He says, the

Father cuts off

every branch in

me that bears no

fruit.

This is a really

important discussion,

and so we're

actually going to

save that question

for next Sunday.

I don't want to

rush it.

I don't want

anybody to get

any funny ideas.

we'll talk about

it next week, but

for now, I hope

you don't just

dismiss this

warning of

Jesus here in

verse six.

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.

Jesus said this to

Peter, to James, and

to John that

night, and so we

ought to take it to

heart as well.

The relationship

that we have with

Jesus is everything.

It is our life.

Not just our

earthly life, not

just abundant life,

but it is our

life, eternal life.

It comes in and

through our

continuing relationship

with Jesus.

Listen again to

how John said it

back in chapter

three, verse

thirty-six.

He said,

whoever believes

in the Son has

eternal life, but

whoever rejects the

Son will not see

life, for God's

wrath remains on

them.

Listen again to

how John will say

it many years later

in his first letter

to the churches.

First John, chapter

five, verse eleven.

He writes, God

has given us

eternal life, and

this life is in

his Son.

Whoever has the

Son has life.

Whoever does not

have the Son of

God does not have

life.

life.

Why is Jesus so

concerned that we

stay in this kind

of a close,

intimate, connected

relationship with

him?

Because just like

the branch of a

tree, our life

depends on it.

If we remain in

him, we will have

life.

We will have all

the good things that

come through Christ.

Christ.

But if we do not,

we will perish.

So remaining in

Jesus, this is of

the utmost importance

for every follower

of Jesus.

And this relationship,

it's not just a

one-way street.

Jesus doesn't say,

no matter what you

do, I will remain

in you, and you

will bear much

fruit.

No, it's a real

relationship that

Jesus is after.

It's a two-way

street.

He urges and

commands us,

remain in me.

There's something we

must do for our

part in this

relationship.

And it's not a

big list of good

works.

And it's not that

we must bear our

own fruit.

It's a relational

thing.

We must give

ourselves to

him continually

for the rest of

our lives.

Remain in me.

Stay in me.

And this is not

just something that

we do automatically.

I mean, think

about that.

If every single

follower of Jesus

just does this

automatically, Jesus

wouldn't need to

say this.

He certainly

wouldn't emphasize

it so much.

He wouldn't warn

us about what would

happen if we don't

do it.

it's not

automatic.

It's not

something that we

do without even

intending to or

thinking about.

We do need to

make some sort

of effort.

Jesus tells them

to remain in

him because it's

something they

must intentionally

decide to do

day after day,

year after year.

And so we come

now to this

final question.

How do we do

relationship with

Jesus?

We might be

tempted to think

that the disciples

had it easy.

After all, they

were with Jesus.

They could see

him face to

face.

They could just

talk to him and

ask him questions

and they could

listen to his

responses.

They could walk

with him on the

road.

But it's

here I think we

must realize Jesus

doesn't say remain

with me, but

remain in me.

He doesn't say

remain with me.

We've been hearing

Jesus talk this

very night about

how he's about to

leave his disciples

and they will not

be able to follow

him.

Jesus is about to

be taken from

them.

crucified.

And yes, he

will have several

visits with them

after he rises

from the dead, but

not long after that

he will be taken

up to heaven and

the disciples will

no longer be with

Jesus, at least

not like they

used to.

And I think it's

here that we

realize what these

words in John 15

are all about.

Jesus is preparing

them for a

different way of

relating to him.

than they have

right now.

Even though they

cannot remain with

him, they can

remain in him.

This relationship

he has with them

is going to

continue even

while he's

away.

But it's going to

look different.

And here's the

wonderful truth about

how it will be

different.

Jesus will not

be with them.

He'll be even

closer.

He'll be in

them.

Remain in me

as I also

remain in you.

Do you hear

that?

if you remain

in me and I

in you, you

will bear much

fruit.

Do you hear

this?

Yes, Jesus is

calling them to

remain in him.

But Jesus is

also assuring

them, I will

remain in you.

Do you hear

this?

Jesus will be

doing his part

of the relationship

with us.

He'll be like a

vine does to

the branch,

giving us all

that we need

for life.

He'll be giving

us everything

that we need

to bear much

good fruit.

He'll be

continuing to

love us just

as the father

has loved him.

And the truth

is the part

that he plays

on his side

of this

relationship

is far

greater because

he is the

vine.

Yes, we

need to

remain in

him, but

no, we're

not left

completely to

ourselves to

do it.

He remains

in us.

at times

we do

drift away,

give into

temptation,

blow it,

sin,

but Jesus

remains in

us.

He draws

us back.

He

disciplines

us lovingly.

He forgives.

there's a

sense in

which we

could go

back to

the beginning

of the

message and

look at

this whole

thing now

through Jesus

side of

this

relationship.

I will

remain in

you,

says Jesus.

Like a

tree holds

and nourishes

and gives

life to

its branches.

I will

stay connected

to you,

says Jesus.

In

relationship

with you,

I will

not let

you go.

I will

not abandon

you.

I will

not leave

you.

I will

not just

let you

fall to

the ground.

He's the

one that

desires this

permanent,

ongoing,

intimate,

and deep

relationship

with us.

And so

as long as

you remain

in me,

I will

remain in

you,

says Jesus.

I will

see to it

that you

bear much

fruit.

And all

of this

Jesus will

do in

them and

he does

in us

through

his spirit,

the Holy

Spirit who

he gives

to us.

So yes,

the relationship

between Jesus

and his

disciples will

change from

here on

out,

but not

for the

worse.

It will

change for

the better.

So how

do we

do

relationship

with

Jesus?

How do

we

remain in

him?

I want

to get

down to

the

practical,

but I

want to

connect it

to the

story that

we're

reading

here.

We do

it the

same way

these

eleven

men

learned

to do

it

after

Jesus

left.

No

longer

could they

see his

human

face

right there

in front

of them,

but they

learned to

trust in

his unseen

presence

within them

by his

spirit.

No longer

could they

see him

walking down

the road

right there

in front

of them.

So they

learned to

walk by

faith,

obeying the

commands and

the instructions

that he had

given them

about all

kinds of

things in

life,

wherever they

were,

with whomever

they were

with.

No longer

did they

see him

right there

in front

of them,

just open

up his

lips and

start

teaching,

but they

learned to

listen to

the Holy

Spirit he

gave later

and his

reminders of

what Jesus

said,

even leading

them to

write down

the very

words that

Jesus spoke

to them.

In one

sense,

doing

relationship

with Jesus

is unlike

any other

relationship

that we

have.

He lives

in us

by his

spirit.

He's

unseeable

with our

eyes,

he's

untouchable

with our

hands,

and yet

we are

commanded

to believe

in him,

to trust

him,

to speak

to him,

to listen

to him,

to serve

him,

to obey

him,

this one

living in

us who

we can't

see.

But in

another

sense,

doing

relationship

with Jesus

is very

much like

other

relationships

that we

have.

We talk

to him

when we

pray,

we listen

to him

as we

read and

reflect on

the words

that he

spoke.

Like the

disciples,

we learn

from his

example and

his actions

as we read

and reflect

on the

things that

he did

and how

he lived

when he

was here.

We serve

him and

we do

his work

by obeying

his commands

wherever we

are with

whoever we're

with in

anticipation of

the day when

he returns

and we will

see him

face to

face.

This is how

we do

relationship

with Jesus.

This is how

we remain

in him.

we could

boil it

down

really

simply

to just

a few

words.

Words of

some of

those familiar

songs.

Trust

and obey.

Or the

kids song

read your

Bible,

pray every

day.

And it

might irk

you to hear

that this

is it.

That this

is how we

do it.

Like that's

it.

Trust and

obey.

Read your

Bible, pray

every day.

That's how

we do

relationship

with Jesus.

I mean,

come on.

Reading a

book,

talking to

the air.

But that's

the secret.

It all

comes down

to what's

in your

heart as

you approach

this book.

As you

get down

on your

knees to

pray.

What's in

your heart

as you sit

down and

read your

Bible?

Are you

there just

to check

off another

box?

And be

a good

Christian?

Or do

you sit

down to

read this

book with

a hard

attitude of

Lord, I

am here

to listen

to you

speak for

your servant

is listening.

That's the

hard attitude

of relationship.

What's in

your heart

as you get

down on

your knees

to pray?

I guess

I'll have

to pray

again here.

I'm

supposed to

do that

to be a

good Christian

even though

I don't

really feel

like it.

It kind

of feels

like I'm

just talking

to the

air.

Or do

you come

with this

heart

attitude?

Lord

Jesus,

I'm tired.

I'm worn

out today.

I don't

even feel

like praying

but I

know that

you are the

one that I

need to

talk to

now.

And you

pray.

That's the

heart attitude

of relationship.

And it

makes all

the difference.

If you're

wondering why

this doesn't

feel like

relationship,

could it be

that you

haven't been

treating these

things like

relationship?

Reading your

Bible.

Prayer.

prayer.

That's how

we talk

to and

listen to

Christ today.

He speaks

today through

his words.

The same

words he

spoke long

ago.

This is how

we remain

in Jesus.

Doing the

things he

has commanded

us to do

day after

day.

Serving

our king

even while

he's away.

This is how

we remain

in Jesus.

And so I

want to

encourage you

today simply

in this way.

Give

yourself

wholly,

completely

to him.

To that

relationship

with him

through his

word,

through prayer,

through

obedience,

through worship,

through complete

surrender.

He is the

vine.

And we are

the branches.

God

let's pray.

Father in

heaven,

it's a

wonderful

relationship

you have

made for

us with

our Savior

Jesus.

And there

are depths

to it that

we long

to grow in

and understand.

And I pray

that that

would be what

happens for

each one of

us here.

Whether

young or

old,

that we

would never

grow tired

or disinterested,

but that we

would continue

to know the

depths of

your love

for us.

That we

would continue

to find

sweet

joy

in walking

with you

day by

day.

Help us

to remain

in you.

Protect us

from anything

in our

world,

in our

own hearts,

that we

try to

separate us

from you.

Thank you

for the

assurance that

you remain

in us.

In Jesus'

name,

amen.