The Pruning Work of God

All right, well, we're continuing on this morning

with the teaching of Jesus in John chapter 15.

John 15 · chapter mention

This morning's message is a part two

flowing out of what we talked about last Sunday.

If you missed last Sunday,

you can listen to the sermon audio online

on our website under sermons.

So I'm just gonna read John chapter 15,

John 15 · chapter mention

verse one to six again,

and then just quickly recap the main things

that we talked about last Sunday.

And then we'll move on to explore this passage

a little deeper.

So this is Jesus talking in John chapter 15.

John 15 · chapter mention

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.

So we talked about how God is the gardener last Sunday.

God is at work,

like a gardener is at work,

to bring about a fruitful vineyard,

a people full of good fruit.

And we talked a little about

what good fruit means last Sunday.

It means things like righteousness,

justice,

love,

compassion,

honesty,

peace,

and so on.

And these things stand in contrast

to the bad fruit,

injustice,

oppression,

deceitfulness,

bloodshed,

greed,

and so on.

And we talked about

how Jesus is the true vine.

We looked at a couple places

where God spoke about

the people of Israel

in the past,

in the Old Testament,

with the metaphor of

vineyard,

and vines,

and fruit.

And we saw how Jesus

stands out.

Up until now,

the vineyard God has planted

has,

on the whole,

brought forth

bad fruit.

fruit.

And it had to do

with the people themselves

who were sinners

just like us.

But now,

God has planted

the true vine,

Jesus,

into his vineyard.

And he is the true

source of life

and of all that is good.

God has planted

the true vineyard.

And we talked a little

about how

we are the branches,

those of us

who believe in Jesus.

We talked about

how branches

are secondary shoots

coming off

the primary shoot.

And I encourage us

to think about

whether we have that

straight in our hearts

and minds.

And finally,

we talked about

our utter need

to remain in Jesus,

to abide in him,

which means

to stay closely

connected to him,

walking in close

relationship with him.

So now we want

to continue meditating

on these words

of Jesus.

Let's come back

to what we talked

about last Sunday,

that God is the gardener

at work,

tending

and pruning.

we see this

in verse

chapter 2.

We see this

in verse 2.

He cuts off

every branch

in me,

that's 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.

As I said

last Sunday,

Jesus wants us

to come to terms

with the mindset

of God,

the gardener.

Just like when I go

to all the work

of planting plants

in my garden

and tending them,

like some of you

did this past summer,

what do I want

from those plants

after all that work?

Well,

I want as much

delicious fruit

as possible.

God has that

same mindset

toward us,

he wants to see

as much good fruit

as possible

come from our lives.

Now,

we have to be careful

here

that we don't

misunderstand Jesus.

Jesus is not saying

that we need to do

enough good works

in order to be saved.

The Bible is clear

on this.

We are saved

and we are joined

to Christ

by faith,

by believing in him

and not because

of good works.

God's saving

love comes to us

while we are

still sinners,

still guilty,

still people

who have sin

and do sin.

But then once

we are joined

to Christ,

we begin to

grow like

a branch

of a plant

grows.

we begin

to change

as we drink

from the nourishing

sap of the vine.

We are now

connected to the

source of all

life

and of all

goodness.

And now

because of that

connection to Christ,

we become

able

to bear

good fruit.

and God,

like a gardener,

begins to work

on us

and in us

and through us

by the power

of his Holy Spirit.

And good things

begin to come

out of us

like never before.

Our overall

mindset

and attitude

begins to change

from living

for myself,

for my own

pleasure,

to now

living for you,

Jesus,

for your

pleasure.

We begin

to pray

more and more

that same

prayer that

Jesus prayed.

Not my

will,

not what I

want,

but your

will,

what you

want,

be done,

Father.

We begin

to let go

of that

impulse that

we had

to store

up for

ourselves

treasures

here on

earth

and instead

begin to

store up

for ourselves

treasures

in heaven.

We begin

to let go

of that

desire

to get

more and

more,

to establish

our own

little kingdom

here on

earth,

and instead

we desire

to see

God's

kingdom

established.

Once we

are joined

to Christ,

good fruit

begins to

grow.

But here's

the truth

that we see

coming out

of Jesus'

words here.

God doesn't

just sit

back and

watch this

happen.

Now some

people do

their garden

in that

way.

They plant

the seeds

in the

ground,

they give

it one

good soaking,

and then

they just

leave it.

From then

on, if it

rains, it

rains.

If a late

frost comes,

it comes.

If the

plant shoot

is about

to snap

off without

some kind

of supporting

stake or

cage,

oh well.

We might

call this

passive

gardening,

or hands-off

gardening.

And as it

usually goes,

the hands-off

gardener gets

from their

plants what

they put

in, often

a meager

harvest.

But God

is not like

that with

us.

He is

an active

gardener,

says Jesus

here in

verse 2.

He is

hands-on.

He is

pruning

and tending

because he

is not

content for

a meager

harvest from

our lives.

Let me

say that

again.

God is

not content

for a

meager

harvest

from our

lives.

He wants

much fruit,

much good

fruit.

Let's fast

forward for

just a second

to verse

8.

Verse 8,

Jesus says,

this is to

my Father's

glory,

that you

bear much

fruit,

showing

yourselves

to be

my disciples.

So,

what brings

glory to

God the

Father?

That you,

that I,

bear much

fruit,

fruit,

not that

you and

I bear

slim pickings,

but that

we bear

much fruit.

What brings

glory to

God the

Father?

That you

and I

show

ourselves

to be

a disciple

of Jesus,

that we

make it so

obvious to

the world

that we are

joined to

him by

our lives,

by our

many good

words,

by our

many good

actions,

by our

many good

attitudes.

And now

the wonderful

truth here

in verse 2

is that we

are not

left all

by ourselves

to do this,

to make this

change in

ourselves

happen,

to bear much

good fruit

for God.

Jesus says

here in

verse 2

that God

himself is

at work

on us,

on each

branch of

the vine

to ensure

that our

fruitfulness

increases,

that the

good coming

from our

lives

grows.

And so

this is why

I often

cringe inside

when I hear

people say

things like,

you know,

it's good to

be religious,

it's good to

believe in

Jesus,

so long as

you don't

get carried

away with

it,

so long as

you don't

become too

religious.

Sometimes we

here in the

church are

even tempted

to have the

same mentality.

Let Christ

have a place

in your life,

but don't let

him take over

your whole

life.

That mentality

is the

complete opposite

of what God

desires for

his people,

for those

who are

joined to

Christ.

If we're

trying to be

content with

just bare

minimum fruit

in our

lives,

bare minimum

Christianity,

bare minimum

obedience to

Christ,

bare minimum

Bible reading,

bare minimum

prayer,

bare minimum

fellowship,

bare minimum

church involvement,

if we're trying

to be content

with bare

minimum

Christianity,

we are

completely at

odds with

what God

is looking

for and

working toward

in our

lives.

He doesn't

want bare

minimum fruit.

He wants

much fruit.

Think about

this.

Whenever you

feel that

temptation,

and we all

feel it,

to do bare

minimum

Christianity,

know this.

God wants

the exact

opposite for

you,

and he is

going to work

on you.

He is

going to

work in

you,

he's going

to work

around you

to make

you more

fruitful.

He's going

to bring

his pruning

cheers to

bear on

you.

Well,

that doesn't

sound good,

that sounds

kind of

scary,

but deep

down inside,

we know

it's good.

I mean,

what kind

of person

do you

want to

be?

Do you

want to

be like

the Lord

Jesus?

Loving,

compassionate,

doing what's

right,

joyful?

Do you

want your

life to

be full

of that?

Or do

you want

to be like

everyone else

in the world,

where it's

just all

about me,

selfish,

stubborn,

greedy,

often miserable,

doing whatever

I want and

whatever I feel

like?

hear this,

God's

pruning

comes,

not because

he's harsh,

not because

he's just

utilitarian,

not because

he's like

that commercial

grower that

only cares

about the

profitability

of the

plant,

no,

God's

pruning

comes because

he is

good,

because he

is loving,

because he

is kind,

because he

wants from

us what

is what's

actually best

for us,

what someday

we'll realize

is what we

really wanted

and needed

all along

in our

lives.

God's

pruning

makes the

difference

between us

getting to

the end

of our

lives

and being

filled with

regret

at a

wasted

life

as we

watch

everything

slip away

from us,

realizing

that it

doesn't

last,

that we

didn't do

anything

for the

life to

come.

God's

pruning

makes a

difference

between

that

and us

being able

to look

back

and see

that our

lives

made a

real

lasting

difference

for

eternity.

So let's

talk about

pruning.

When it

comes to

ordinary

plants,

there are

different kinds

of pruning.

Probably the

one that

most of

us have

done or

are most

familiar with

is like

the kind

we do

when we

prune the

hedge or

when we

prune the

bush.

We do

it so that

it has a

nice shape

and so that

it looks

good so

it's not

all gangly

and straggly.

That's not

the kind of

pruning that

Jesus is

talking about

here.

He says

that the

kind of

pruning

God does

is for a

very specific

purpose.

It's to

maximize

fruit production

on each

and every

branch.

Every branch

that does

bear fruit

he prunes

so that

it will

be even

more

fruitful.

So we

might wonder

how does

pruning

lead to

more fruit?

Well I'm

going to be

honest with

you.

I'm not a

plant scientist

or an

expert on

plants but

the gist

of it is

something like

this.

As a

plant grows

it will

often put

energy and

resources into

other smaller

branches and

leaves that

are not

necessary for

fruit.

It's a

plant.

Being a

plant it

doesn't have

a mind.

It just

kind of does

what plants

do.

It's not

thinking about

maximizing the

fruit.

It's just

following the

programming that's

inside of it

for the kind

of organism

that God

made it to

be.

It's like

a complex

living

automated

machine and

it just

kind of

unfolds and

does what

it does.

But then

when you

introduce an

intelligent

mind, a

gardener, into

the picture, a

gardener can

take this

automated

living

machine and

tweak it and

make changes to

it and tune

it so that

this machine is

more beneficial,

produces more

fruit.

That's the

kind of pruning

that God

does on

us.

If the

goal is

maximum

fruit, then

not every

little branch,

not every

little leaf is

needed on

the plant.

In

unscientific

terms, some

of the

plant's energy

and resources

are going

towards more

green growth

rather than

fruit.

But there's a

way to channel

more of the

plant's energy

and resources

into the

production of

fruit.

How?

By cutting

off those

smaller branches

and leaves

that are not

needed for

fruit production.

According to

Jesus, this is

the kind of

pruning that

God is doing

for his

people.

He wants

much fruit

and so he

is cleaning

off from

each branch

the unnecessary

shoots and

leaves.

at the

least, this

means that

God is at

work on

us and

in us,

making

changes to

our lives.

Now, I

would have

loved to have

been there

with the

disciples and

Jesus and

probably at

this point

just put up

my hand and

ask the

question,

so Jesus,

what exactly

does the

pruning of

God look

like in

our lives?

What kind

of changes

does he

make so

that we

bring more

fruit?

But since I

wasn't there,

we're left to

kind of take a

guess at how

God prunes

his people.

It doesn't say

right here in

the passage.

And I see

two different

ways that God

prunes his

people.

The first way

is the way

that most of

us, most

teachers, most

pastors probably

think of first.

And the second

way is in

verse 3.

So let's

start with the

first way that

God prunes

his people.

Most Christians

look at this

and agree that

God prunes his

people by his

sovereign work

in them, on

them, and

around them.

Now what do I

mean by that?

Let me give you

some examples.

Just like with

a branch of a

plant, God

sometimes removes

and strips off

unnecessary things.

from our

lives.

Maybe he sees

that our energy

and our resources

are going towards

this and that

and this way

and that way

instead of toward

producing fruit.

And so

sometimes he

takes away

things that

would become a

hindrance or a

distraction for

us.

Sometimes he

closes the door

on an opportunity

that we'd only be

taking for earthly

gain, for

ourselves, for

our own benefit.

there was a

young man who

loved to play

high school

football and

football became

the most important

thing in his

life.

Jesus was

secondary.

One day when he

was playing, he

was badly

injured.

It was bad

enough that he

would not be able

to play competitively

again.

Yet in the midst

of his crushed

ambitions, God

was at work in

his life, drawing

his heart closer,

closer to

relationship with

him.

And this young

man gave himself

more fully, more

deeply to Jesus

and to following

him.

He had a totally

different path than

he thought he would

go on.

He ended up serving

the Lord in all

kinds of wonderful

ways, directing a

Bible camp, serving

as a pastor.

just like when you

prune a branch on

a plant.

It forever changes

the direction of

the growth.

I know another

young man who

deeply longed to

be married, but

after his first

relationship didn't

work out, he was

crushed.

God used that

also in the same

similar sort of

way to draw his

heart closer, to

get his attention, to

make him into a

compassionate young

man.

Then he started

dating another gal

and that didn't

work out either.

Then he started

dating a third

young lady and by

that time he longed

so much to be

married that he

would have married

her if she would

have had him, but

then all of a

sudden she broke

up with him.

Finally, he tried

one last time with

a fourth young lady

and this time it

all worked out.

And to this day

this individual would

tell you that he

is so glad God

didn't let him

marry any of the

first three girls

because the wife

that he has now

he recognizes is

the perfect companion

for him and for

the kind of ministry

that they're doing

together.

Just like with a

plant, we sometimes

don't know what

changes need to be

made in our lives to

bring more good

fruit.

Truly, only God

the gardener knows

what's best for each

one of us.

Think about this.

If we were in

charge of writing our

own life story from

beginning to end,

we probably, most of

us, wouldn't include

any of those pruning

kinds of things.

Things that are

painful.

injuries,

sicknesses,

loss,

hardships,

failures,

broken relationships.

Maybe you're going

through some of those

things right now.

But could it be that

the very trouble in

your life that you're

facing is the pruning

work of God?

God working on you

and in you,

in his love,

to set you up to

bear more good

fruit in your life

for higher joys

than you ever thought

possible.

Does God do this

sort of thing?

There are other

passages of

scripture that tell

us yes.

The author of

Hebrews is likely

talking about the

same sort of thing

with a different

metaphor,

with that of the

father-child relationship

and discipline.

This is what he

says in Hebrews

Hebrews 12:5

chapter 12,

verse 5.

He says,

have you completely

forgotten this word

of encouragement

that addresses you

as a father

addresses his son?

It says,

my son,

do not make light

of the Lord's

discipline.

And do not lose

heart when he

rebukes you because

the Lord disciplines

the one he loves.

And he chastens

everyone he

accepts as his

son.

Endure hardship

as discipline.

God is treating

you as his

children.

For what children

are not disciplined

by their father?

And if we skip

down to verse 10,

they are earthly

fathers,

disciplined us for

a little while as

they thought best.

God disciplines us

for our good

in order that we

may share in

his holiness.

No discipline

seems pleasant

at the time,

but painful.

Later on,

however,

it produces a

harvest of

righteousness

and peace

for those who

have been trained

by it.

It's a similar

sort of idea.

God uses things

that are difficult

and painful

hardship

to bring

loving correction

for our good,

for our benefit,

so that there

will be a harvest,

so that there

will be fruit

that comes from

our lives,

that we may share

in his holiness.

James,

in his letter,

says a similar

sort of thing.

James 1,

James 1:2

verse 2,

he writes,

consider it pure

joy,

my brothers and

sisters,

whenever you face

trials of many

kinds,

because you know

that the testing

of your faith

produces

perseverance.

Let perseverance

finish its work

so that you may

be mature

and complete,

not lacking

anything.

Here,

God speaks of

how we should

welcome trials

in our lives

because God

produces good

character.

He produces

maturity

in us

through them.

Good fruit,

much good fruit.

So yes,

God will at times

bring the pruning

shears

to bear on our

lives.

Jesus says so.

Every branch

that does bear fruit,

he prunes,

so that it will

be even more

fruitful.

But isn't it a

comfort to know

that God is the

one who holds

the pruning shears

of hardship

in his hand?

Isn't it a

comfort to know

that God is the

one who allows

loss and

difficulty and

illness for a

purpose?

purpose,

not just

willy-nilly,

but for a

purpose,

to cut off

the right

leaves and

the unnecessary

shoots in our

lives,

for maximum

fruit,

maximum good

to come from

us and for

us.

And it

isn't easy to

go through

this,

to be pruned

by the

gardener.

Think about

the story of

Job.

what did

he say?

He said,

the Lord

gives and

the Lord

takes away.

Job was

pruned.

Look at all

that he lost.

He lost

everything.

God took it

away from him

and no,

Job didn't

know in the

midst of it

why,

what God's

purpose was.

Not until the

very end when

God finally

brought about

all the good

that he intended

through it.

And he was

able to look

back and say

that his

life was

far more

blessed

after

than it

was before.

So that's

the first

kind of

pruning.

The kind

that we

usually think

of when we

read Jesus'

words here.

Our minds

often go to

trials and

hardships,

difficulties

that God

uses in our

lives,

to the ways

that God

sovereignly

directs our

lives to

keep us on

track,

going in the

right direction.

But then we

come to

verse 3.

Jesus,

speaking to

his disciples,

says,

you are

already clean

because of

the word I

have spoken

to you.

Maybe you're

wondering like I

was this week,

what on earth

does that mean?

What does it

have to do

with all

this talk

of pruning

and branches?

You might

be wondering.

If you have

the latest

NIV in

front of you,

you'll notice

that there's

a footnote

that goes

with the

word prunes

in verse 2.

You can look

down to the

bottom of the

page and it

says this,

the Greek

for he

prunes

also means

he cleans.

So in

Greek,

the verb

that they

used to

describe pruning

was just

simply clean,

to clean.

They didn't

have a more

specific word

like we do

in English.

So what

Jesus says

here in

verse 3,

it is

connected to

what he

said in

verse 2.

God prunes

each branch

to bear

more fruit.

Literally,

he cleans

each branch

of its

unneeded

growth so

that it

bears even

more fruit.

But now

Jesus says

to his

disciples,

you are

already

clean

because of

the word

I have

spoken to

you.

Now I'm

going to

just be

honest with

you.

I'm not

100% sure

what Jesus

means by

this.

I looked

at some

good

commentaries,

I checked

out some

other sources

and other

teachers and

what they

say,

and it

seems that

they're somewhat

unclear about

it as

well.

Jesus has

been known

already in

this gospel

to kind of

make a play

on this

word clean.

We saw

that already

when Jesus

washed the

disciples'

feet and

Peter talked

about getting

a whole bath

and Jesus

says,

no,

you're already

clean,

but not

every one

of you,

referring to

Judas.

So there's a

couple different

ideas that

people have

about these

words.

Some think

that this

means that

the disciples

are already

saved,

that they're

already made

righteous through

faith in

Jesus.

Of course,

Judas is not

with them at

this moment.

He's gone

out of the

room to work

out his

betrayal.

Another idea

is that this

is a figure

of speech.

Not that

Jesus is

saying,

you are

already pure

or you are

already free

from sin,

but that

Jesus is

saying,

don't worry.

You guys,

as you are

right now,

are already

in the place

that God

wants you

to be.

He's

pleased with

you because

you've

accepted and

believed my

word.

A third

idea is

that we

should

translate

this word

clean in

verse 3

as pruned.

You are

already

pruned.

Not that

you'll never

need more

pruning,

but that for

now,

God has

been doing

that pruning

at the

right moments

in each of

your lives.

And for

right now,

you are

ready.

You are

set up

to bear

much good

fruit.

Again,

these are

guesses at

what Jesus

means when

he says,

you are

already

clean or

you are

already

pruned.

But one

thing we

can say

for sure

is why

and how

they got

that way.

Jesus

says,

you are

already

clean or

pruned

because of

the word

I have

spoken to

you.

At the

very least,

I think

Jesus means

to say that

God's

pruning

work doesn't

just come by

altering our

circumstances

sacrifices or

by taking

things away

in our

lives.

It seems

that Jesus

is pointing

to a

second way

that God

prunes his

people,

that he

prunes them

through the

words of

Jesus.

Perhaps we

might say it

this way,

not all

change in

our lives

has to

come the

hard way.

Could it

be that

Jesus has

often spoken

and commanded

and corrected

and rebuked?

And these

disciples,

they have

often believed

and embraced

and obeyed

and accepted

his words,

leading to

real change

in their

lives.

If this

is what

Jesus means,

then God's

pruning work

in our lives

can come also

through the

words of

Jesus and

us simply

believing them

and obeying

them,

doing what

he said,

putting our

energy and

our resources

into the

things that

he's told

us to

do.

And this

makes sense

when we

hear Jesus

say things

like he

did in

the Sermon

on the

Mount.

Do not

worry about

your life,

what you

will eat

or drink,

or about

your body,

what you

will wear,

but seek

first his

kingdom and

his righteousness

and all

these things

will be given

to you as

well.

If you

think about

these words,

this word

right here

is a

pruning

word.

It's God

speaking through

Jesus,

telling us

that we

should put

our energy

and our

resources

over here

towards fruit

production and

not over here

to the things

that are

unnecessary.

And so if we

simply accept

this and

believe it

and obey it,

God is at

work in us

doing the

pruning,

bringing about

the good fruit

that he desires

in our lives.

and if we

disregard these

words,

if we don't

listen to

these words,

well,

maybe God

then might

bring the

other sort

of pruning

into our

lives and

put us in

a situation

where we

can no

longer look

to these

things.

So let me

recap a little

bit and just

bring this to a

close.

God is not

content for a

meager harvest

from our

lives.

When we

believe in

Jesus and

are joined to

him, he

wants our

lives to

overflow with

goodness.

And we

can and we

will so long

as we remain

in close

relationship with

Jesus, the

source of that

goodness,

walking closely

with him.

And praise the

Lord.

Lord, we're

not left to

ourselves to

do this.

We often

falter.

We often

fail.

But the one

who never

falters and

never fails is

at work in

us and on

us and

around us,

carefully pruning

us through the

words that he

speaks and the

ways he directs

our path.

Let's pray.

Father in

heaven, thank

you that you

do not leave

us to

ourselves.

We know

that we

would fall,

we would

falter, we

would flunk

out of it.

Thank you

that you love