S1 E32: Abiding in the Vine

Good morning, church.

Great to be here this morning.

Thank you, Pastor Bob, for that beautiful presentation.

It's a joy and a privilege anytime I get to bring forth God's word.

And thank you for affording me this opportunity this morning.

If you have your Bibles, go ahead and turn to John chapter 15, verses 1 through 11.

John 15:1–11

We're going to get to that in just a little bit.

But I want to start off this morning by asking a question.

And that question is do we value relationships?

Stop and think about that for a second.

Something that I've come to understand, especially the older that I get, is the importance of having relationships.

My kids, my wife, everybody teases me and accuses me of not having a best friend.

Okay.

That's one relationship that I guess I haven't done quite too well yet.

But there are other relationships that I do value and I never want to take for granted.

One of them being my relationship with my wife and the relationship that I have with my beautiful daughters.

One of the lessons, a lot of the lessons that I've learned in good healthy relationships is that they require a lot of give and take, right?

You got to give, you got to take, it requires a little bit.

Also, I've learned that good, healthy relationships require sacrifice.

They require trust and they require time.

If you're going to make a good, strong, healthy relationship, you must give of your resources, you must give of your time.

Now, human relationships are awesome.

They're needed.

Another relationship that I cherish is my relationship here with some of you here at the church.

The relationship with the church as a whole.

As dysfunctional as we may be in the church, I love coming here on Sundays.

I love coming here on Wednesday.

I love worshiping with my brothers and sisters in Christ.

I love doing life together.

And while human relationships are important, I believe God designed us for relationships.

I believe He, I wholeheartedly believe that He did not make us to be a Lone Ranger Christian.

He designed us to be in relationship.

And at the end of the day, let's admit it.

I need you and you need me.

But above human relationships, earthy relationships, I want to ask you this morning about your relationship with Jesus Christ, which is one of the greatest relationships we can ever have.

And I want you to stop and just think about that for a moment.

That you and I have been afforded the opportunity to enter into relationship with Jesus.

Not just any relationship, it's an intimate personal relationship with the Lord of the universe, with the creator of all things, with the redeemer of humanity, we get to have relationship with Him.

I have a question about that though.

If I was to be able this morning to take a mic and walk around and ask you, how would you describe, how would you characterize your relationship with Jesus Christ?

What words would you use?

What applications would you be able to give me?

If a neighbor or co-worker came to you and realized that there's something different about you, and it's they know that you're a Christian and a believer, and they said, Tell me about your relationship with Jesus.

How do you have a relationship with the living God?

How do you interact with him?

What does he do for you?

What do you do for him?

What does that look like in everyday living?

And maybe we've never stopped to really stop and think about that.

So I want to challenge you this morning.

What would you describe?

What words would you use to describe your relationship with the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?

I hope it's different than the words you would use to describe with your human relationships.

I hope it takes a greater priority.

Jesus desires for us to be in relationship not only with one another, but he pursues us for a relationship with him.

In John chapter 15, which we're going to be in in just a little bit, he uses an illustration of a vine and its branches to illustrate to his disciples what abiding in Jesus Christ looks like.

John 15 · chapter mention

Essentially what a relationship in Christ looks like.

Relationships are important to Jesus.

As a matter of fact, in John chapter 15, he covers three different realms of relationships.

John 15 · chapter mention

I'm just going to share them with you really quickly.

In John chapter 5, verses 1 through 11, which we are in to this morning, he talks about the relationship of believers to Christ.

John 5:1–11

That's going to be our focus today.

But in John 15, verses 12 through 17, he focuses on the relationship of believers to others.

John 15:12–17

And in John 15, 18 through 25, the relationship of believers to the world.

I'm going to work my way backwards, and in each one of these relationship topics, he has a theme word that he uses.

When he talks about our relationship, believers' relationship to the world, he uses the word hate eight times in referencing this type of relationship.

Now, relax.

He's not saying that because we're believers, we're not to associate with the loss.

We know opposite the Great Commission tells us to go out and to preach the gospel.

But what he is reminding us there is that if we go back to verses 1 through 11, if we are abiding in Christ, we are serving Christ, our lives are looking different, the world is going to hate us.

And Jesus says, hey, relax, chill out, don't worry.

They hated me long before they hated you.

In our relationship, believers to others, the theme word is love.

He uses the word love four times.

And that's the way that we should relate to one another.

I don't think many of us struggle with that if we're in Christ.

The word even says, How will they know that you are my disciples?

And the answer to that is by the way that we love.

And then we come to the relationship between believers and Christ.

And the theme word that he uses 10 or 11 times, depending on your translation, is the word abide.

Ten times in 1 through 11, he tells us and uses this word abide, abide and abide.

And we're going to look at what that word means and what it looks like in our everyday lives.

Let me give you some context as we approach the text this morning.

Number one, the author is John, obviously by the title of the gospel.

He's a disciple of Jesus Christ, and we know him more readily as the beloved disciple.

While this discourse was directed to the disciples, its timeless message extends over to us.

Jesus is specifically talking to 11 of the disciples.

You're saying 11, where's the twelfth?

I think Pastor Bob filled us in on that last week.

Judas Iscariot by this time had made his decision to betray Jesus Christ for 30 pieces of silver, and he was no longer in the picture.

He was doing his deed.

But if you look over in John 14, 31, we see Jesus at this moment, and they're in the upper room.

They're having an intimate moment where Jesus is sharing with them.

Jesus has washed their feet.

He's partaken in the Lord's Supper.

He's promised them the Holy Spirit.

He's talked about, He's revealed his death.

All these things are taking place in the upper room.

And then in John 14, 31, we see Jesus arise and he says these words.

So there's a transition.

They're leaving the upper room and they're heading somewhere.

Where are they headed?

They're headed towards the Garden of Gethsemane.

They're making their route there.

Just remember that in less than 24 hours, Jesus will be crucified.

And at the Garden of Gethsemane, we know that Judas will come and complete his betrayal by kissing Jesus on the cheek, and Jesus would then soon be arrested.

But on their way to the Garden of Gethsemane, I'm willing to bet that Jesus either passed a grape vine, a vineyard, or they were passing by the temple, which was richly ornated with a gold grapevine at the entranceway.

Either way, Jesus saw an opportunity to look at an object and present a spiritual truth to his disciples.

And he was the master at doing so.

In John 15, 1, when we get to it in just a moment, he's going to open up with a word that says, I am two words.

He says, I am.

And this statement that he makes, this is not the first time he's made an I am statement.

As a matter of fact, in the book of John, he makes this I am declaration seven times.

These seven declarations reveal things about Christ.

They reveal his authority, they reveal his deity, they reveal his provision, and they reveal his sufficiency.

I say this to declare that any of us who are in a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ, that he is sufficient to fulfill all our needs and all our desires.

We don't have to go outside of Christ to fulfill anything that we want.

If we are in Christ, he is sufficient for us.

Let me briefly share the I am statements that Jesus says about himself.

In John 6, 35, Jesus says, I am the bread of life.

In John 8, 12, he says, I am the light of the world.

In John chapter 10, verse 7 and verse 9, he says, I am the door.

John 10:7

Verse 7, verse 9, he says, I am the gate for the sheep.

John 10, 11, he says, I am the good shepherd.

In John 11, 25, he says, I am the resurrection and the life.

In John 14, 6, one that we're probably all very familiar with, he says, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

John 15, that we're in today, he says, I am the true vine.

Again, each one of these statements was a reference to his deity, but now he's being quite direct when he says, I am the true vine.

What does he mean by that?

Jesus said that we must abide in him.

Ten times he tells us to abide in him so that we will do what?

So that we will bear much fruit.

So abiding in Christ equals the production of fruit.

But if we don't abide in Christ, it equals a fruitless life, a fruitless branch, if you will.

There's four questions that I hope to answer as we go through our text this morning.

Number one is what does it mean to abide in Christ?

What the second question is, what kind of fruit are we expected to bear if we are abiding in Christ?

Number three, what are the consequences of being a fruitless branch?

God gives a strict warning about that in verse 6.

What are the benefits of abiding in Jesus?

Our text this morning again is John chapter 15, verses 1 through 11.

John 15:1–11

I would invite you at this time to stand, join me in the reading of God's word, and then we'll open up in prayer.

John chapter 15, verses 1 through 11.

John 15:1–11

I am reading from the New King James Version.

And it says, I am the true vine, and my father is the vine dresser.

Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away, and every branch that bears fruit, he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

Abide in me and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.

Verse 5 I am the vine, you are the branches.

He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit, for without me you can do nothing.

If any one does not abide in me, he is cast out as a branch and it is in it and is withered, and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, so you will be my disciples.

As the Father loved me, I also have loved you.

Abide in my love.

If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I has just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.

Verse 11, these things I have spoken to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.

Join me in prayer.

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we are praising you and thanking you for the truth of your word this morning.

God, now we ask that you open up our hearts and minds as we investigate and look at what this word abide means, to abide in the vine.

I pray that you uh make the scriptures clear, Lord God, that you use me as an instrument to present the truth, Lord God, and that you would challenge us in our lives and to look out in our branch.

Are we bearing fruit?

And if we're not bearing fruit, what is the reason that we're not, Lord?

That you would show us, lead us, and guide us by your Spirit.

In Christ's name we pray.

Amen.

You may be seated this morning.

John 15, verses 1 through 3.

John 15:1–3

The first thing I want to share this morning is the key participants that are involved in this discourse, in this dialogue that's taking place.

He opens up, Jesus opens up in verse 1 and says, I am the true vine.

Jesus doesn't just simply say, I am the vine, or I am a vine, I am one of many vines.

He says very emphatically, I am the true vine.

Now we must understand Jesus' words here, and what he is trying to convey is that he's not a copy, he's not a symbol, he's not an imitator, he's not a poser.

I am the real thing.

He describes himself as the source of life, the source of nutrients, the source of power, contrasting himself with the Old Testament imagery of Israel as a degenerating and wild vine.

See, as Jesus looked at that vine, they're standing there looking at that great vine, looking at the branches that extend from it, and he starts to speak of a vine, the disciples would have instantly known what he was talking about because Israel was always referred to as being the vine.

So instantly they would have connected with Jesus in these comments.

But Israel, sadly, lost sight of the calling and the purpose which God had chosen for them.

They forgot that real spiritual life is found exclusively through an intimate connection.

That word abide is going to keep popping up to him.

As they had been misled or misled themselves, and they got to believe that the way that they were made right was because of their lineage, because they were of Jewish descent, because they kept the law, because they performed works and things of those natures.

Listen to what the Old Testament writers said about the nation of Israel.

And most of the time they spoke about them as a vine or as a vineyard, it was in the negative terms.

So Isaiah chapter 5, Isaiah explains that the vine, the vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the house of Israel, but instead of finding justice in the house of Israel, the house of God, he finds bloodshed and cries for help.

Isaiah 5 · chapter mention

Ezekiel chapter 15, verses 1 through 8, Ezekiel refers to the nation of Israel, God's chosen people, as a useless, I'm sorry, as degenerate and wild vine, despite being planted as a choice pure seed.

Ezekiel 15 · chapter mention

So we look at this vine that's represented by the nation of Israel, and it's not producing the fruit that God intended them to produce.

And Jesus is looking at this at this vineyard, he's standing there with the disciples, and the message he wants to relate to them is as you look at a vine and you look at the branches, what should be produced on those branches?

And fruit.

If it's a grape vine, it should be producing fruit.

But in this case, Israel, as the chosen vine, failed to fulfill their purpose.

They were not bearing the fruit that pleased God.

But now, here in John chapter 15, we have a brand new vine.

John 15 · chapter mention

He refers himself as the true vine that is guaranteed to bear fruit, and that vine is Jesus.

What makes Jesus the true vine?

Very simply put, his obedience to the Father in contrast to Israel's failure and disobedience.

What Israel was not able to accomplish, Jesus will fulfill.

So we have the true vine, which is Jesus.

The next participant in verse 1 that is revealed to us is the vine dresser.

God the Father.

He says, I am the true vine, and my father is the vine dresser.

The father has a responsibility.

Sorry, guys.

I'm teaching core group before this, and my mouth is not not enough saliva.

All right.

The vine dresser is God the Father.

He says, I am the true vine, and my father is the vine dresser.

What does the vine dresser do?

What is his responsibility?

The father actively cares, cultivates, and oversees the vineyard.

His main responsibility is to make two types of cuts depending on the branch.

Okay?

We're going to become experts at viticulture here today.

What is viticulture?

The art and the science and the process of tending to grape vines.

The vine dresser has one responsibility: cultivate and care for the plant so that it produces luscious fruit over and over and over again.

And one of the ways he does that is by making cuts to the branches.

And he makes two types of cuts.

For the branch that bears fruit, he makes, he prunes and cuts back.

Any gardeners, people that do their own yard landscaping and stuff, you understand the process of cutting something back for the hopes that it will grow even better, stronger, and more luscious.

So that's one of the cuts that the vine dresser makes.

The other one is he cuts away or takes away the branches that are not producing fruit.

Okay?

That's the vine dresser's responsibilities.

Grapevines are aggressively growing climbing plants.

I knew nothing about grapevines before preparing for this.

I studied a lot about grapevines.

Grape vines are aggressively growing plants.

If we don't cut them off, they just kind of sprawl out and they grow and they go until someone stops them and cuts them off, right?

And if left unpruned, if they just allow those branches to just continue to grow out, the plant diverts its energy and nutrients into massive vegetative growth.

So in other words, you'll have a vine with beautiful branches, lots of foliage, big juicy green leaves.

Everything looks good, but there's absolutely no fruit.

And if they allow those branches to continue to grow, the nutrients and that the branches that are producing fruit need will be wasted on the ones that are not producing anything.

So the vine dresser steps in and cuts those away and removes them so the energy can be put back to the ones that are producing fruit.

Now, the pruning process.

How does God use pruning in our lives?

God uses discipline.

The word chastening comes to mind, discipline.

He sends challenges our ways, trials into our lives for the purpose of shaping a believer.

That is God's method of pruning.

The process may be painful.

We may not like it, but it stops wasted energy and helps the person grow closer to God and produce better character.

See, God the Father, our vine dresser, cuts away unneeded habits.

He takes away distractions.

He convicts us and breaks us of sin in our lives, in the life of the believer, so that we can produce more fruit for the glory of God.

But we have to understand that this trimming, pruning, cutting back is part of the process and not a punishment for the believer.

We're not talking about you going out and committing a sin and paying the consequence for that sin.

That's a different type of pain that you've brought upon yourself.

But God, because he is a good father, a loving father, he treats, he wants his sons and his daughters and children to To go up, grow up and give him glory, honor, and produce as much fruit as possible to represent him, because in the fruit that we produce, we are representing the character of God, and he desires nothing more that we do so in a powerful way.

So those are the characters, those are the participants, if you will.

The vine, which is Jesus, the vine dresser, which is God the Father, and then the branches, which are his followers, right?

Believers.

Those are the branches.

Then he steps out in John 15, verse 3, and he says a verse that when you take a look at the whole picture, verses 1 through 11, you ask yourself, why is it in there?

John 15:3

It almost seems like it doesn't fit the mood, the theme of what he's talking about.

And look what he says in John chapter 15, verse 3.

John 15:3

He says, You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

He looks at the 11 disciples and he says, You're already clean because of the word.

Okay?

The word clean here obviously does not mean personal hygiene or washing.

What he's referring to here to the disciples is that you've already been forgiven of your sins.

You've already been washed.

You've already been declared spiritually pure before God.

Now, as Jesus made that comment about being cleansed by the word, John must have recollected just a few, actually a couple of chapters back, remembering a conversation that took place among the eleven in the upper room.

And in this case, Jesus came to his disciples and said, I must wash your feet.

And then we have a guy named Peter.

Most of us know Peter.

Peter is just Peter.

He, poor guy.

He did his best.

He represented Christ well at the end.

That's all that matters.

It's how you finish the race.

But in this moment, Jesus says, I must wash your feet.

And then Peter, being Peter, looks at Jesus and says, No-u-uh, you'll never wash my feet.

At that Peter telling, he rebukes Jesus and says, No, you're not going to wash my feet.

And then Jesus responds to his comment and says, Peter, if I don't wash you, you can't be a part of me.

You won't be a part of me.

And then Peter, of course, I mean only Peter could come up with an answer like this.

Well then, if that is the case, not just my feet, he says, Wash me from head to toe.

Bathe me, Jesus.

From head to toe, I need to be cleansed.

To that reply, Jesus in verse 10 of John chapter 13 says, Jesus said to him, speaking to Peter and the eleven who were present, he who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean, and you are clean, but not all of you.

John 13 · chapter mention

Okay?

That's what John was probably thinking when he heard Jesus mention John chapter 15, 3, that says, You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

John 15 · chapter mention

Why would he say not all of them were clean in John chapter 13, verse 10?

John 13:10

Because in the middle, in the midst of them, there was still Judas Iscariot who had not betrayed.

So Jesus was already predicting that one of them would betray him.

But in John chapter 15, Judas is already gone to do his deed, and Jesus says, You were all clean.

John 15 · chapter mention

And this verse, this must have been comforting and encouraging for them.

We've got to remember this is Jesus' passion week.

There's a lot of events taking place, a lot of things happening.

There's ups, there's downs, there's highs.

Jesus is talking about leaving.

Jesus is promising the Holy Spirit.

He's promising to leave his peace.

He's predicted his death.

All these things are taking place, and they needed some comfort and some encouragement.

So Jesus drops this on them and says, You're ready.

You're ready to produce fruit.

You've already been cleansed.

You've been purified.

You have followed me faithfully.

You, 11, have been abiding in me.

I'll take care of the rest.

This is exactly what they needed to reassure them in their walk with Jesus Christ.

So we have the participants, we have the cleansing of the word, and it is the word that transforms us.

It is the word of God that changes our lives.

Everybody in this room who claims to be a believer in Jesus Christ was transformed the same way by the preaching and the teaching of God's Word.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is what has the power to cleanse us.

It is his word that is active and that is alive and has the ability and the power to change us.

We move from there in verses four through six, and we are given the command now to abide.

The command to abide.

Verses four through six.

And it says this in verse four.

Abide in me and I in you.

As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine.

Neither can you unless you abide in me.

Verse 5, I am the vine, you are the branches.

He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit, for without me you can do nothing.

And in verse six, he gives a very stern warning if anyone does not abide in me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered, and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

Okay?

So we hear this word multiple times.

We need to define it.

What does the word abide mean?

I'm gonna say several words that define it.

It's really more of synonyms that define the word.

The word abide means generally to be in continual connection, continuously connected to something.

And when he says abide, remember what is the object lesson?

What is the picture that they're looking at?

They're looking at a vine, they're looking at its branches, and they're seeing fruit.

And what the pieces there is the vine.

The branches are attached to the vine.

As long as they are attached to the vine, they are attached to the source of life, which produces fruit.

They are continuously connected to the source of strength, to the source of nutrients.

The Greek word for the word abide is the word meno, which means to and listen to these words, to remain, to stay or to dwell.

Continuously connected, remain, stay, or dwell.

When a person is saved, they are described as being in Christ.

And I'm sharing this because for me personally, this is my humble opinion, I think the best word here is the word dwell.

And you'll see where I'm getting at in just a moment.

But Romans 8:1 reminds us, therefore, there is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

Romans 8:1

Second Corinthians chapter 5, verse 17 tells us, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.

2 Corinthians 5:17

All things have passed away.

Behold, all things have become new.

So not only is an abiding believer already in Christ, but they are also held secure, permanent relationship with Jesus.

John ten, verses twenty-eight and twenty-nine says, And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.

Neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand.

My father who has given them to me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of my father's hands.

So therefore, abiding in Christ is not a special level or place that we get to.

It's not something that we work towards or work towards to.

To be in Christ, to abide in Christ, is a position for all true believers.

When we enter into relationships, and by the way, when we're talking about this 1 through 11 here, John chapter 15, and abiding in the vine, we're not talking about a means to salvation.

John 15 · chapter mention

This is not a salvation passage.

This is talking to those who are already in Christ, and now we are being challenged that now that we are in Christ, we must stay connected.

We must dwell, we must stay, we must abide in him.

Verse 4 and 5 teach us total dependence to the vine.

For us, total dependence on Christ.

Again, he says, abide in me and I in you.

Here's why the word dwell to me has a better fit.

This idea of abiding in me and Christ, Christ in me, me in Christ is that we're taking up residence.

Christ has taken residence up in me, and I am electing to take residence up with Christ.

Christ becomes my home.

He becomes my comfort zone.

He becomes my refuge.

Listen to these verses that speak about dwelling in God.

Psalm 27, verse 4, the psalmist says, One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.

Psalms 27:4

Psalm 91, verses 1 and 2 says, Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

Psalms 91:1

I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.

Do you see the indwelling, the taking up residence in God?

Deuteronomy 33, verse 27 says, The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.

Deuteronomy 33:27

Tell me when you don't hear those three passages right there, you don't want to run home to Jesus.

You don't want to seek Him for your place of refuge, your place of strength.

That's what abiding is putting full dependence on God.

And if I'm gonna put full dependence on God, that means I've got to let go of my security blankets.

I gotta let go of what used to be my comfort, what used to be my go-to thing, and put my complete weight, my complete faith, my complete, complete trust in the vine.

As we read earlier through the I Am statements, or even if you're just looking at the vine in itself, the vine is connected to the roots.

The roots run deep.

All the source of strength and power and nutrients flow up through that root and out to the branches to supply everything that branch needs to produce fruit.

The branch does not stand out there on its own going, let me produce some fruit.

Oh, if I muster up the strength, if I just think it, if I think big, plump, juicy grapes, they're just gonna come out of my branch.

No, it doesn't have to do that.

It just sits, abides, it stays, it remains, it abides in the vine, and it naturally produces the fruit.

Fruitfulness is the natural outcome of remaining connected to the living source.

And with that, let me say that statement again.

Fruitfulness is the natural outcome of remaining connected to the living source.

Should have had an amen out of there because this is what that verse tells us, or what the statement says right here.

That should take a huge weight off of our shoulders.

As believers in Christ, if we're attached to the vine, the natural outcome of being attached to the vine is the fruit of the Spirit.

It's fruit naturally.

I don't, Jesus is not asking me to go hang out there on a branch and produce something that I'm incapable of producing.

He says, remain in me, dwell in me, connect to me, stay connected, and in that connection, the natural outcome is gonna be fruit.

What fruit is he talking about?

Let's let's look at that.

Galatians chapter 5, something that we're all familiar with.

Galatians 5 · chapter mention

I want to start though with verse 19.

In 1920 and 21, it shows the opposite of good fruit.

It's the bad fruit, it's worldly things, it's it's life apart from Christ.

And then in verses 22 and 23, we can see the contrast and see the beautiful fruit of the Spirit that God is able to produce in us when we abide, when we stay, when we dwell, when we trust in Him.

Starting in verse 19.

Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are adultery, fornication, uncleanliness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissentions, heresies.

Verse 21, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like, of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But, verse 22, but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control against these, there is no such law.

The fruit that God wants to produce through us represents Christ-like character for others in our obedience.

When we are producing the fruit that only can be produced by being attached to the vine, we are representing the characteristics of God.

So being abiding in the vine should be a representation of who God is.

When people look at you, they should understand the characteristics of God because you were living those out.

So complete dependence on the vine for the growth.

The branch cannot do it alone, it must remain attached to the vine.

But then in verse 6, he gives us a danger, he gives us a warning of being disconnected.

We all get the concept of connecting to the vine.

Makes sense as long as it's attached, it's getting nutrients, everything that it needs to supply to the branch to bear beautiful fruit.

But what if you're disconnected from the branch?

He says in verse six, if anyone does not abide in me, he is cast out as a branch and is and it is and is withered.

And they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

First, God bless you.

The first thing I want to make abundantly clear here is what John is not teaching, and he is not teaching a loss of salvation.

Remember, this is to the eleven disciples, this is to the believers in Christ, and if he were to be preaching loss of salvation here, he would be contradicting his very own words in John chapter 10, verse 27 through 29, in John 6, 37 through 39, John 5, 24, and John 3, 16.

John 10:27–29

John is not teaching loss of salvation, he actually teaches the opposite, eternal security.

So what do we do with this?

And I will say that this is a verse that is debated among scholars, even among church people have different views.

I'm gonna share what I humbly think is my view on what God is saying here, and I'm gonna try to use scripture to support my statement.

So branches that do not remain in vital union, continuously connected, become what?

They become lifeless, they become useless, and are discarded.

Where am I getting that from?

John, chapter John 15, verse 2 says, Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, what does the scripture say?

John 15:2

He says he takes away.

Now when I get to heaven, I'm gonna have a discussion with Jesus or John and say, why couldn't you have picked a more clear and decisive word?

And what do I mean by that?

The word here, that phrase to take away in the Greek is the word iru, and that word has two meanings.

It can mean to cut away, cut off, or it could mean to lift up.

So in viticulture, if you're if you're taking care of vines, if a vine, typically they would they just kind of grow and they scatter, they go and they they go low.

So they have to be lifted up.

So the vine dresser must lift up that um that branch, put it on on some sticks or something to get it up, some trussels, get it off of the ground, right?

So it's not in the mud and the dirt and it gets the nutrients and the sunlight, they clean it off, they tend to it.

So the phrase being used here, take away, has two meanings.

One cut off, one to lift up.

Which one do you want to pick?

How do you choose?

Is it to lift up?

Because listen, if the scripture says it's taken away in verse six, it says not only is it cut off, it's piled up, they're taken up together and cast into the fire.

How are you gonna cast into the fire a branch that's lifted up and still attached to the vine?

So for me, the interpretation is clear.

Take away for me means to cut off.

And because of verse six supports that, that those that are cut away are taken, put into a pile, and burned.

Okay?

Now, this is a metaphor.

I think a metaphor uses the word like, right, to compare something.

Now, what he's saying is that the people who are abiding in Christ, that branch is fruitful.

We get that.

But those who don't abide, they don't produce fruit.

Therefore, diverting useless, wasted energy towards that branch that is not doing anything.

It's taken, it's cut off, and it's thrown into the fire.

So what he's saying is like the believer who does not produce fruit is like a branch that does not produce fruit.

And that branch, the only thing it's good for, is to either use for kindling for a fire, or simply to be consumed in a fire.

Um, I think here this uh represents believers, or I'm gonna use the word loosely here, represents someone who claims to be a Christian and is not really living for the Lord.

And here's my example.

Judas Iscariot, I think, is a perfect example of this.

Judas Iscariot was in with Jesus.

Judas Iscariot was part of all the Bible studies, he was part of the ministries, he helped feed the thousands, he was at every sermon, he was at every parable, he was in with God, and for all intents and purposes, from anybody looking outside in, Judas looked like he was one of the disciples.

But we know the outcome of his heart.

This also reminds me of the parable of the soils.

Remember of the four soils, there were two soils that never took root.

The rocky ground, the seed immediately sprouted, but because it wasn't deep enough, it died off, and then the thorny ground, where it took some root, it kind of came up for a little while, but the distractions of life came in and choked it out and eventually died away.

So I do not believe that John here is teaching loss of salvation.

Um there's another argument that says that the the one that he is talking about here is a believer.

They stay a believer, but when they no longer produce fruit, and I'm not on this camp, but I wanted to share another option, is that they are removed from the branch, they are removed from fellowship, but don't lose relationship.

And that fire that they're thrown into is the judgment fire that will reveal the works that they have done.

Either wood, hay, or stubble is going to be consumed in fire because they did that on their own, or the gold that they sent up will be purified through the fire.

So it's a judgment fire.

So those are a couple of the views.

I tend to look at this as one who is not a true believer, who went through the motions, who played the part, but at the end of the day, he was in, but he was not abiding.

He was not trusting, he was not committed to the things of the Lord.

So we have the participants, we have the cleansing power of the word, we have the command to abide, and then we have the results of abiding.

I'm gonna have to go through these a little quickly.

So the results of abiding are found in John 15, verses 7 through 11.

John 15:7–11

Verse 7.

If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

See, there it is, Pastor George.

There's the verse that tells me I can ask God anything I want, and he gives it to me, right, Pastor Bob?

That's what that verse says.

He's a Santa Claus in the sky.

Just lift up your prayers to him, he'll grant them all.

Is that what he's saying?

Obviously, no, that's not what he's saying, because there are many diehard veteran believers in here who have prayed for many things for their entire life and have yet to see God answer them, not in the way that they would like.

So, what is he saying here by this?

I think it's very simple.

When a believer's life is anchored in Christ, when he is attached to the vine, his words, Christ's words, shape their desires and their petitions align with God's will.

So, what you begin to pray for, the longer you stay abiding in Christ, the longer you stay attached to the You begin to think like God, act like God.

The more you know His Word, you begin to pray for the promises of God to be revealed through your life.

You begin to pray for those fruits of the Spirit to be manifested through your life.

You pray for God to use you and take you to places that you would have never thought to go before.

And it's not a grocery list of God, give me this, give me this, give me that.

It's God, make me more like you.

Continue to remove the the old me, the old nature, and replace it with the new nature.

I want no mistake that when people look into my life, that they know and understand that I'm a believer of Christ.

And Lord, help me to pray about those things that will make me more like you, that will shape my character into your character.

So effective prayer life is one of the results or byproducts of abiding in Christ.

The next one is in verse 8 is proof of discipleship.

Verse 8 says, By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, so you will be my disciples.

The evidence of abiding in Christ is a fruit-producing Christian.

Bearing much fruit validates a genuine inward transformation and brings glory to God the Father.

Verse 9, we see another benefit.

Stimulated love.

As the Father loved me, I also have loved you.

Abide in my love.

Abiding keeps believers grounded.

Abiding keeps us in a mutual love shared between the Father and the Son.

That should be humbling to us.

It should be overwhelming to us to understand that the way that Jesus and the Father loved one another and looked out for one another is the same way that He loves us and that we can love Christ.

So it's a stimulated love.

As the Father loved me, I also have loved you.

Jesus loves you the same way that the Father loved him.

Fullness of joy is the last one.

There's many more.

Obviously, I can't give you an exhaust list.

But the fullness of joy, look what it says in verse 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.

Verse 11 These things I have spoken to you that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.

Obedience to his commands keeps the believer in his love, resulting in things like a deep and complete and unshakable joy.

I want to share with you real briefly here Psalm 119.

I don't know if anybody's ever really taken the time to study it or read it.

The longest chapter in the Bible, Psalm 119, is filled with why we should be excited about God's commands.

And I can only read a portion because I could read the whole thing, but we'd be here over time.

I don't want to do that.

But starting in verse 9, it says, How can a young man cleanse his way by taking heed according to your word?

With my whole heart I have sought you.

Oh, let my let me not wonder from your commandments.

Your word I have hidden in my heart that I may not sin against you.

Blessed are you, O Lord, teach me your statutes.

With my lips I have declared all the judgments of your mouth.

I have rejoiced in the way of your testimonies.

As much as in all the riches, I will meditate on your precepts and contemplate your ways.

I will delight myself in your statutes.

I will not forget your word.

The believer in Christ who is abiding should never look at God's word and feel burdened.

But they should be the opposite.

You should feel joy, excitement to keep God's word.

And the only way we're able to keep his commands and rejoice in his commands is to stay abiding in the vine.

It gives us the proper perspective we need.

It reminds us for what purpose God has saved us and invited us to be in part of the family.

In closing, I want to share a couple of uh quotes regarding abiding in Christ.

Andrew Murray, the Christian often tries to forget his weakness.

God wants us to remember it, to feel it deeply.

And what's our weakness?

Not being able to produce fruit apart from him.

But what is our strength?

Abiding in Christ and allowing his strength, his supply to help us produce that fruit.

Warren Waresby said, the Christian who abides in Christ and shares his life will produce the fruit of holiness.

You cannot manufacture holiness.

John McCarthy, missionary, says abiding, not striving nor struggling, looking off onto him, trusting him for present power, trusting him to subdue all inward corruption, resting in the love of an almighty Savior.