3 Marks Of A True Disciple

"I am the true vine, 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. 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 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. 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."

Jesus is dealing with the Upper Room Discourse.

It's that last speech before He goes to the cross.

Why does Jesus suddenly launch into an analogy, about a a vineyard?

It’s believed Chapters 15 and 16 are spoken by Jesus as they are walking, because in Chapter 17, they are in the Garden of Gethsemane.

So they leave the southwestern portion of upper Jerusalem walking down toward the Kidron Valley and eventually be in the Garden of Gethsemane.

It could be Jesus and his disciples pass by a vineyard along the way or as they were going down, on their left would be the Temple.

One of the most noticeable features were two huge bronze doors embossed with golden vines and grapes from top to bottom. They were made in Greece. Estimated value of those doors to be at $12 million if remade today.

They were there for a very important reason, because the vineyard in the Old Testament depicted the nation of Israel.

So they have always lived under the impression that we are God's vine, we are God's vineyard, here comes Jesus and says, "I am the true vine," not Israel.

Why that is important?

Because in context they were God's fruitless, degenerate vine and Jesus says, "I am the true vine. The only one that's ever been rightly connected to God is me His son. And the only who can connect you rightly to God is me His son."

Something else is going on.

There's a drama that is unfolding this very night. Judas has left and at that very moment is plotting the betrayal of Christ.

For our purpose, we want to look at three distinguishing marks of those in relationship with God. If you're a Christian, a true Christian, these marks will be in your life.

1. You are connected to Christ

I know that sounds very obvious but it needs to be explored.

"I am the true vine, my Father is the vine-dresser."

"I am the vine and you are the branches."

You're a branch.

Do you know what a branch is? It's a little twig. You're a little piece of wood.

I put that way because sometimes we get this inflated idea of our importance.

In fact, grape branches were utterly useless.

They couldn't even be used to heat your house. They would just be used as kindling to start the real wood.

It has no value unless it was connected and when it was connected, that's when life flowed through it.

Your life takes on real significance as long as you're connected to Christ.

Any lasting significance, certainly any spiritual significance, you and I are worthless unless we are connected to Him.

Eleven times in these eight verses, Jesus uses the pronoun "You"

That means it's got to be personal

A second word that Jesus repeats six times is the word "Fruit"

So the connection that is made must be personal and it has to fruitful. It has to have evidence of new life.

Some people think that all they need is a ceremonial connection.

In those days, many would say, "Well, I've been circumcised as a Jewish youngster and I keep the Sabbath Day and I go to the festivals several times a year. I'm in the temple worshiping.

Like a person today, when you ask them about their connection with Christ, all they can say is, "Well, I've been baptized when I was a baby." They will name the rituals that they've been through, not the personal connection.

John the Baptist

It also can't just be a genetic connection.

They boasted in that fact, their genetic connection to their forefathers.

A person today would say, "I was raised in a Christian home. My grandpa was a preacher."

Your connection to God must be more than your heritage or your religious experiences.

I find a lot of people that really don't want to surrender their lives to God, but they'll allow a little bit of God to come in their lives. It's never a total commitment.

Wilbur Rees: "I would like to buy $3.00 worth of God please. Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. I want ecstasy, not transformation. I want the warmth of the womb, but not a new birth. I want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack.”

The first distinguishing characteristic of a true disciple is a real connection to Christ, it's a personal connection and the result is new life.

2. You are cared for by the Father

In Verse 2, Jesus tells us of the Father’s work, He strips away the false branches and burns them, and he tends by pruning the true branches.

Here's a picture of God as caregiver. Picture somebody with delight bending over the vine wanting to grow prize grapes. I don't know if you know any real gardeners. They got the boots. They got the tools. They got the lingo. They're good at it. To them it’s never a chore. Now I want you to picture your God, the creator of Heaven and Earth with that kind of care on your life. He tends you. He looks to see what needs to be fixed or taken away or added. And with meticulous care, every single branch He knows and you're one of those branches. Even though He's got a pretty big vineyard.

I was studying this week about a bird called the "Guillemot."

Now if God can engineer that kind of honing device in a bird brain -- am I right? It is a bird brain. Then certainly can God's mind keep track of every single twist of every single branch in his vineyard? And my point is simple. You are never off God's radar screen. He knows every twist and turn in your branch

"Every branch in me that does not bear fruit He takes away. Every branch that bears fruit" here's the word we don't like, “He prunes that it may bear more fruit."

"Kathairo" is the Greek word. It means "to cleanse by cutting."

The word "clean" is the same word as "Kathairo" and to prune, to clean by cutting. That's the idea, to take excess foliage off of the branch to make it more fruitful. So I did a little bit of studying on this and I discovered that grape growers most important part of their job besides planting and watering and fertilizing, the most important thing they do is pruning.

What does pruning mean to us?

I can sum it up in one word, "Ouch!"

Pruning always hurts. Anytime God applies the knife and cuts away at our life, we don't like it.

In fact, if branches could talk, they might say, "How can a farmer of love allow this to happen to his poor little branch.”

Why would God do it then? Is it because God gets off on seeing us hurt? No. Jesus said, "That it might bring forth more fruit."

Why do bad things happen to God's people?

It's a better question than why do bad things happen to good people because the Bible says, "There's none who are good, no not one."

Answer: Be very careful what you call bad, because it actually might be good.

Joseph is an example.

How does God prune us?

By scripture

Sometimes you read through the Bible and you come across the passage, it is very comforting to you.

Then you at other times read to the Bible and you read something you don't like, because it confronts you.

That's why the writer of Hebrews says the word of God is living in active, sharper than a two-head sword or a better translation, "Sharper than the sharpest knife that cuts deep into our inmost thoughts and desires.

It exposes us for what we really are."

Do you let the Bible cut you?

By suffering

Pain cuts away fleshly desires and sinful habits that we have. What do you think about when you're suffering? You got plans then this huge episode of suffering comes in your life. And what are you thinking about now? Nothing else but the pain. It helps you think differently about life and what you thought was big yesterday isn't so big today and it helps you reevaluate and it cuts away what doesn't need to be there.

C.S. Lewis: "Pain plants the flag of truth in the fortress of a rebel soul." Chew on that for a moment.

David stated it this way in Psalm 119, "Before I was afflicted, I went astray. But now I keep your word."

If you're a parent, you get this. God doesn't want his kids to be brats, so he disciplines us.

By stupidity.

Sometimes we suffer because of the stupid choices we make, but even then, God uses it to prune you.

Romans 8:28

So whether it's by scripture that confronts you or suffering that is from the outside or stupidity from inside, God can use it all to prune.

That's why James writes "Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, you're endurance has a chance to grow, so let it grow. For when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything."

3. You are consistent over time

8 times here, the word "abide" is used.

The immediate context.

Who's the guy that left? Judas. Only eleven disciples are left. Judas is a fake branch. He's a non-believer. He's a pretend believer. He’s a branch, but God will take him away. He's called the son of perdition. There's no hope for Judas. He is lost.

There are eleven remaining and Jesus says, "Abide in me."

The word "abide" -- "meno" is the Greek word. It means "stay put" or "remain" or "stay around."

Here's the point, true disciples stay disciples.

One of the distinguishing characteristics of a true disciple, is continuing in connectedness with Him.

That's part of the evidence. The only legitimate believer is the abiding believer.

John was taking this walk and recorded what Jesus said. He would also write another letter later on, 1 John 2:19 "They went out from us, but they we're not of us, for if they had been of us, they would've continue with us. But they went out that it might be made manifest or seen clearly that none of them were of us."

That does not mean a person who leaves our church and is fellowshipping at another church.

It's speaking about people who leave the connection with Christ. They were never really of us. A true disciple abides, continues, stays put.

Closing

Are you connected?

Is it your own personal connection is your own personal conversion?"

Are you close?

Are you close to the Lord? Is your relationship intimate or distant and aloof?

Are you cut?

If you're the real deal, you'll stay put for the pruning. You'll hang around even when that farmer comes with the shears.

Of all of the acts that a viticulturist does to the vine, he is closest to the branch when he's pruning.

See, you can fertilize and water from afar, but you have to get right on that branch, hold it in your hand and meticulously cut at the right spot.

The very times when you suffer, when you're being pruned and you say, "God, where are you?" He's closer to you than ever.

What is he doing? Well, a true pruning leaves not much of the branch but you can see the vine more clearly. The vine is more prominent than the branch.

And when we get pruned by scripture, suffering, stupidity, the aim of God is more of Jesus would be apparent in our lives and less of us. It's called fruit.

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