Introduction: In Hampton Court, near London, there is a grapevine that is about 1000yrs old. It has one root that’s at least 2 feet thick and some of the branches are over 200 ft long. Despite it’s age the vine produces several tons of grapes a year. Some of the smaller branches are 200 feet from the main stem, and they still bear the sweet and delicious fruit because they are connected to the vine. Life flows from that single root and through out the vine bringing nourishment and strength to each of the branches. (D. Greg Ebie)

The vine provides nourishment to the branches so that they can produce fruit. Jesus promises to do the same for us, as that 1000yr old grapevine does for all it’s branches, …bring life, sweet life to all who remain connected to the vine.

Why is this important? Have you ever struggled in your journey of faith? Have you ever found yourself asking ‘How can I make Christianity work in my life?’ There is no passage in the Bible that better answers these questions than John 15.

Transition: Open your Bibles to John 15:1 (pg. 824 in the Bible under the chair in front of you) It’s here we’ll be encouraged to stay the course and be fruity.

1. Jesus is the Vine        John 15:1-3
Read: John 15:1-3

Background: Jesus and his disciples have left the upper room and are traveling through the city and out to the Mt of Olives. As they left the city gates they would have walked past the many vineyards that were located outside Jerusalem. Being night, I bet the moon was full so it’s light shined down on the vineyards.

Jesus uses this for his next lesson on how to live the Christian life.

Jesus uses the imagery of the vineyard and grapevine to describe the new relationship that his disciples (past and present) will experience with him and the Father.

First the big picture. Let’s check your knowledge of this text. I will tell you the symbol and you tell us what you think it represents. Do you have your thinking caps on? 

•    The vine is ?   
            God the Son, Jesus Christ
•    The gardener is?   
            God the Father
•    The branches that bear no fruit are?   
            Those while looking like a Christian on the outside have not received Jesus as their Savior on the inside.
•    Cutting them off means?    
            They will not have access to eternal  life in heaven.
•    The branches that produce fruit are?   
            Those who have received Jesus as their  Savior.
•    The pruning is the work God the Father does in our lives to?
            Stimulate growth and produce a better crop of fruit.
•    The fruit is the product of?
            God the Holy Spirit in the Christians  life.
•    Being clean is a figure of speech for?
            Being saved.

Great! Got the overall picture? Now let’s jump into the text and look at it phrase by phrase. This text in John is so instrumental to understanding how we live the Christian life, it deserves a slow and close examination.

Jesus said
Vs 1: ‘I am the true vine’
John 1 told us that Jesus is the ‘true light’ who created all things. Walk in his light and live.
John 6 told us that Jesus is the ‘true bread’ which comes down from heaven. Eat his bread and live.
John 15:1 Jesus said he is the ‘true vine’. Remain in me and live.

I have heard many times by those who have not placed their faith in Jesus that Christianity is all about guilt, punishment, condemnation and hell. Notice, however what Jesus says about the Christianity…it’s all about life! Who are you gonna believe?

Jesus said
Vs 1: ‘my Father is the gardener’
God the Father is a hands on farmer. He doesn’t plow the ground, and plant the seed then let someone else tend to the crop. He’s actively and intimately involved in every aspect of the crops growth…of your growth.

Jesus said
Vs 2: ‘He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit’
Plan and simple…but devastating. God sends those who do not bear fruit to Hell. Remember Jesus is about life, we are about death, in fact we choose death.
    •    People choose to sin
    •    People choose to separate themselves from God
    •    That separation causes them not to bear fruit
    •    Because God is a holy God, he can not tolerate sin in his presence.
    •    Therefore, sin, not bearing fruit, is punished by death and hell.
    •    Follow the logic, people then choose death and eternity in Hell by choosing to reject God and his Son Jesus.
    •    God is just giving them what they want.

Key and perhaps troubling here are the words ‘in me’.  Jesus seems to be saying those ‘in him’, Christians, will go to Hell if they are not productive as Christians. But the Greek implies that ‘in me’ can also be widened in it’s meaning to encompass ‘with me’.

Read: Matt. 7:21-23 ‘Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

I think Jesus in Jn 15:2 is referring to Judas as a example of this kind of person. He was with Jesus but he was never in Jesus, he never believed in him as the Son of God and the only one who could forgive his sin and grant him eternal life.

Today this person goes to church, seems to say and do all the right things, but has never asked Jesus into their heart. He/she knows God here (head) but not here (heart).
    •    Please understand something. This is a personal matter. We are not called to be fruit police.
         Each person must search themselves to see if their faith is just intellectual or head and heart.

Jesus said
Vs 2: ‘While every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful’

Question: What are some of the things that God can prune from a Christian’s life?
    •    Bad habits
    •    Misplaced priorities
    •    Destructive attitudes
    •    People who would hinder our spiritual growth and walk

Have you ever seen a vineyard pruned after a harvest? It’s ugly and the vine looks nothing like it did when the fruit was on it…but then next year it blooms and produces more beautiful and sweet fruit.

    •    Perhaps you’re in a pruning stage in your Christina life.
    •    Perhaps God is working on areas that need to be removed.
    •    Perhaps you don’t see your Christian life going well.
    •    Perhaps God’s pruning hurts
    •    Perhaps it involves trouble, even failure in some area

Christian, God wants you to hold on to him…spring is coming. And when you’ve gone through God’s pruning process, you won’t be the same as you were and there’ll be sweet fruit in your life. And not just fruit, but more fruit, abundant fruit. Listen again to Jn 15:2.

Vs 2: ‘While every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful’

God never settles for just enough, he gives in abundance.

Question: Why does God prune his children?
    •    To remove dead or dying growth: Sin, bad habits or attitudes.
    •    To expose the branches to sunlight: some of our dead wood needs to be removed so we can bask in God’s grace and glory to promote healthy growth.
    •    To increase the size and quantity of fruit: Greater dedication will yield greater fruit.
    •    To encourage new fruit to develop: God may need you to branch out into a new area of ministry and service. You will need to be equipped so
         God prunes to allow new growth.

Question: What is the Christians’ fruit?

Christlikeness, a life of praise, and New Christians.

    •    Christlikeness: The Christian’s fruit is the character of Christ displayed in their lives. Perhaps the best text showing this is 

Read: Gal. 5:22-23a ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.’

    Nine godly character traits gathered together     as one cluster just like a cluster of grapes on     the vine.

Christian fruit is Christlikeness. It is also

    •    A Life of Praise: The fruit of a Christian’s life is praising God with their life…sometimes verbally, sometimes by our actions.

Read: Heb. 13:15 ‘Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name.’

    Don’t be embarrassed to openly praise God     for what he has     done in your life. Praise is     the fruit God produces in us when we are     thankful for what he has done in and for us.

Christian fruit is a Life of Praise. It is also

    •    Kingdom Building: The Christians fruit is also building the Kingdom of God by reproducing saving faith in others.

Read: Romans 10:13-14 ‘for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?’

Read: Col. 1:6b ‘All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth.’

The Christian’s fruit is the Gospel finding its way on fertile soil and blooming into a new branch connected to the vine who is Jesus.

Understand, we don’t produce this fruit in others. We are only the agents God uses to lead people to faith. The fruit of faith is the salvation of lost souls.

Jesus said
Vs 3: ‘You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.’

Jesus is saying that the disciples are already clean, saved, because they have believed the Word Jesus spoke to them. What words? The words of God.

Read: John 14:24b ‘These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.’

Read: John 5:24 ‘I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.’

The Word of God is the ultimate cleansing agent.
•    It convicts us of sin
•    It promises the forgiveness of sin
•    It promises power to resist sin
•    It give life instead of death.

Conclusion

Pastor Richard Tow writing on this text challenges us to think about the life of a branch. All it is, is an extension of the vine.

    •    It doesn’t produce life. It just receives life from the vine.
    •    It doesn’t have to decide what kind of fruit to produce. As the life of the vine flows through it, it naturally produces the fruit consistent with what the vine is.
    •    The life is in the vine. The vine does it all.
    •    It is impossible for the branch to function as a vine.
    •    The great mistake we make is to try to be the vine when all we have to do is be a branch.
    •    Life is frustrating for a branch trying to be a vine.
    •    Life is fruitful for a branch who concentrates on being a branch.

Jesus is telling us that we can effectively and successfully navigate the Christian life by staying close to him so he can produce fruit in us.