John 15:1-8 Series Part 5
John 15 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 37:11
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Happy Father’s Day
Happy Father’s Day
Introduction
Introduction
Good morning and welcome to First Community Church were we worship The Lord in Spirit and in Truth, one Book at a time, one verse at a time.
We are so glad that each one of you have joined us, both here at the church and online.
To our brothers and sisters that cannot be with us today, know that we love and miss you, and that you are in our thoughts and prayer.
Happy Father’s day to all our Father’s and your father’s, ands the father’s of the Valley.
We are a Bible teaching church that believes what Jesus said, “Sanctify them by your Truth, your Word is Truth!”
This means that the more of the Word we get inside of us, the more we do the Word, the more we will be like Jesus. Amen!
Prayer
Prayer
Lord Heavenly Father, maker of all things visible and invisible thank you for this day, this is the day you have made, we will rejoice and be glad in it! Lord, we give thanks for the father’s in our lives at all levels, whether it be our dad, our step fathers’, our grandfather’s, our uncle’s, or our best friends dad, maybe a teacher or a coach, maybe even a pastor. Many here today have lost their father’s and yet in your rich mercy you seem to bring other men alongside the fatherless to walk with the orphan. We ask for Your blessings for them all – This Father's Day we remember the many sacrifices fathers make for their children and families, and all the ways – both big and small .
So too, we remember all those who have helped fill the void when fathers pass early or are absent.
For those who are fathers, we ask for wisdom and humility in the face of the task of parenting. Give them the strength to do well by their children and by You.
Now Lord as we open up your Word, we have come with expectation needing to hear from you. Teach us Father, to be doers of the Word, and what it really means to love you with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Lord feed your sheep this morning and make us more like Jesus. IN JESUS NAME, Amen!
Read John 15:1-8
Read John 15:1-8
Review
Review
We have been tabernacling in this text for several weeks now. Why??? Because the Lord desires to teach us that we must abide to not backslide.
Churches all over this great nation are dying because they are not abiding in the Vine. And we must remember, that the church is not a building, but rather a people. Therefore, churches die, because the people are not abiding.
We know that we are in the middle of what is called the upper room discourse that started back in John 13.
Jesus will be crucified in the next 24 hours and I find it amazing that right in the middle of one of the greatest sermons every preached Jesus shares with the boys that they must abide.
Tragically, he was also teaching them what dead religion does for people as it causes them to whither and die.
Up to this point we talked in detail about the different types of fruit we should bear in our lives and also how the Word of God makes us clean.
Today, lets pick up where we left off:
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.
What does abiding or remaining mean? How do I do this?
Abide- meno- to continue v. — to continue a certain state, condition, or activity. Not to depart, to remain as one, to be held, kept, continually. To dwell, to reside, to remain.
The verb “abide” (or, “remain”) is used 12 times in John 15, 40 times in John’s Gospel, and 27 times in John’s epistles
Can you name any other section of Scripture where the Lord repeats a word 12-15xs to get our attention? Ok, maybe in 1 Corinthians 13, but where else?
Jesus is gettin ready to die for the sins of the world, for your sins and mine.
He is telling the 11 disciples what is most important because Israel had failed at this. They thought they were abiding, but they were sliding.
Going through the motions, is not enough.
The Lord in this text is telling us that we need to have a vital union with Jesus.
Jesus is the Vine and we are the branches. He is pleading with us to have a personal relationship with Him.
Not with a church, not with a movement, but with the living Christ!
Preaching the Word: John—That You May Believe Abiding for Fruit (vv. 4–5)
To me (although the text doesn’t explicitly say it), the sap that runs between the vine and the branches is suggestive of the Holy Spirit. So remaining or abiding is parallel to being filled with the Holy Spirit. We have already seen that abiding in Christ produces the fruit of the Holy Spirit. We must set aside everything from which we might derive our own strength and merit and draw all from Christ.
“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.
Did you see that Jesus said, “For without me, you can do nothing?”
What does he mean by this?
Actually, there are many things we can do without Christ, right?
We can have a career, earn a living, raise a family, have a home, have a car, and even practice generosity in our lives.
It is possible church, for a pastor to pastor without abiding.
It is possible to walk alongside people and counsel them with out abiding.
The list goes on and on, and on.
So what is Jesus saying here?
He means that we cannot bear spiritual fruit apart from abiding in Him, for He is the Vine and we are the branches.
We can do nothing without him!
We cannot be loving, patient, faithful, or holy without him.
Abiding involves an on growing sense of weakness, dependance, and humility.
Dr. Howard Hendricks tells of a small town in Texas where 1 year the school burned to the ground with the loss of more than 200 lives, because they didn’t have a sprinkler system. They began to rebuild after the initial shock had passed and called in the foremost company in fire prevention equipment to install a sprinkler system. When the new school was opened for public inspection, guides pointed out the new sprinklers in each room, to alleviate fears of another disaster. The school operated without incident for a number of years, then they needed to add on to the existing structure. As work progressed, they made a startling discovery. The new fire extinguishing equipment had never been connected to the water supply! They had the latest in technology and equipment, yet it was entirely useless!
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
So what does abiding in the Vine look like?
Ordering your life in such a way Jesus Christ is the center. This means that he is number one in your life, above all else.
Spiritual disciplines like:
Prayer
Word
I know it is difficult to open up a book, read, and not understand what it is teaching.
I totally get it! I struggle academically as well.
But here is the deal.
Do you want the deal today? Free , no charge!
If we pick up the Word and start reading in the Gospel of John so we can get to know Jesus, we may walk away from learning just one thing.
Maybe we retain 3% of what we read.
But guess what? When we read and study it next time, we will retain and learn a little more.
So do not loose Hope.
Fellowship
Witnessing
Devotional reading
Watching and listening to sermons
Fasting
Yearly retreats with family or others to get with the Lord
Monthly retreats by yourself, spend a day alone with the Father in the mountains or?
Serving one another
Reading other Christ centered books that help you to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, books that help you to grow and mature in Christ.
Let us always do something church that will give King Jesus preeminence in our lives.
Guess what happens?
By abiding in Him, you will bear much fruit.
We are not called to produced fruit church, but abide.
John 3. As branches in the true vine, we must abide in Christ.
In other words, “Live in such a manner that you are at home in Me and that I am at home in you.”
Church, Jesus is looking for the overall direction of our lives.
To know Him as Savior and Lord means that we invite Him to move into our lives and live there as the permanent Lord of all we are and do.
Jesus wants to be the love of your life.
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.
Cast out- ballo- to be thrown (state) v. — to be or become cast away or discarded.
Jesus has stressed throughout this allegory that the disciples must be fruitful.
The reason for these branches to be cast out is simply that the are not bearing fruit.
The wood from a vine/ branches is soft and good for nothing.
A tree might be cut down, sawed into planks, and then used to build a house.
But a branch is twisted, its brittle and nothing can be built from it.
Branches that do not produce fruit are cast away
They whither and are thrown into the fire and are burned.
The Gospel of John, Volume 4: Peace in Storm (John 13–17): An Expositional Commentary Chapter 192: Remaining and Not Remaining (John 15:6–7)
William Barclay points out, in his commentary, that at certain times of the year it was stipulated by law that the people were to bring wood offerings to the temple to supply the fires for the sacrifices. But it was also laid down that the wood of the vine must not be brought, because it was useless for that purpose. It burned too quickly. The only thing that could be done with it, save letting it lie around, was to make a bonfire and destroy it quickly.
Jesus warned His disciples that failing to abide means that life fails.
A branch only has life as it is connected to the stock of the vine; a disciple only spiritually lives as they are connected to the Master.
These verbs describe a progression for the one who doesn’t abide: cast out, withered, gathered, thrown, and burned. Yet the progression described is a sober and significant warning of the danger of not abiding.
The phrasing Jesus used here was important. He didn’t say, If anyone does not bear fruit he is cast out.
He said, if anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out.
He knows who abides and who does not church!
Can you imagine what the eleven were thinking, especially that Judas just betrayed Jesus?
Have you ever thought that Judas put Jesus up for sale? Judas sold out?
What have you sold Jesus for? Or what have you traded Jesus for in your life?
Judas got 30 pieces of silver
This passage is interpreted at least three ways regarding the security of the professed disciple’s position in Jesus.
·The first view believes cast out branches are ones who, though once true believers, end up in hell for lack of abiding and fruit. They were once disciples, but are now cast out·
The second view is that the cast out branches are ones who only appeared to be disciples, and who never really abided in Jesus, and therefore go to hell (like Judas)·
The third view sees the cast out branches as fruitless disciples who live wasted lives that are in effect burnt up, and this passage doesn’t refer to their eternal destiny (like Lot, Abraham’s nephew)
Even with these three views the emphasis seems plain: there are no true disciples who do not abide.
The branch must remain connected to the vine or it has no life and is of no lasting good.
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 have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.
If we abide not only will we bear fruit like:
The fruit of the Spirit
The fruit of repentance in our lives
The fruit of winning souls to Jesus Christ
The fruit of holiness and obedience
The fruit of giving and serving, etc..
But we will reap amazing benefits like:
If we abide in the vine church, we will have a fruitful prayer life
One evidence that we are not abiding is that we are not spending time in prayer
And if we are not spending time in prayer, there is a good chance that we are not spending time in His Word.
Jesus is simply saying that if we abide we will know the mind and heart of the Father, therefore, we will pray his will.
We will ask what we desire and it will be done.
Charles Spurgeon said, “Tp pray well, is to study well!”
“My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.
Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
2. If we abide in the Vine, the Father will be glorified!
3. If we abide in the Vine, you will bear much fruit
4. You will prove to be his disciples. You become his disciples church!
Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.
Are you a disciple of Jesus Christ? Are you struggling to be? See, a by-product of abiding, not sliding, or hiding is you will be his disciple!
“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.
5. If you abide in the Vine church, you will not only abide in his love, but that love will enable you to love others.
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.
6. We cannot keep His commandments if we are not abiding, therefore, if we abide we will keep his commands! Obedience is better than sacrifice
“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.
7. If we abide in Him, guess what? Our joy will be full! Joy is naturally produced while abiding.
You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
8. If we abide, we will not only love God, but we will love others by laying our life down for them.
This depicts Jesus going to the Cross, but for us it means that we are crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who lives, but Christ lives in me.
If we abide in the Vine, we will die to self and serve others.
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.
9. If we abide in the Vine, we move from Sonship to friendship. We move from being a servant to being a friend of Jesus Christ!
Do you get the picture?
Jesus has called us to abide because he desires to have an intimate love relationship that will not only produce fruit for the Father’s Kingdom, but fruit for others. After all, Jesus’ ministry is all about others!
Are you tired of not bearing fruit? Do you desire to abide?
With every head bowed and eyes closed, I want to ask you a question:
If you are not bearing the kind of fruit that we have talked about the last few weeks, then raise your hand. If you are tired of not having an intimate realtionship with Jesus then raise your hand. If you desire to re-commit and surrender your life today to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, then raise your hand!
Prayer
Lord, thank you for John 15 and the great conviction and yet encouragement it has brought over the last few weeks. Lord you saw our hands, you know our hearts, we are tired of living in defeat, not bear fruit in our lives, we confess individually and corporately our lack of abiding. Father please forgive us this day. We surrender our lives to you and ask that you would fill us with your Spirit. Through the power of your Spirit may you teach us how to abide. Our desire here at FCC is to bear much fruit, so please prune what you must and cultivate the soil of our hearts so we can be your disciples.
In Jesus Name
Announcements
Does anyone have any announcements?
Please continue to pray for Barbara Goodenough sister and Gary Hendricks mother
Please reach out to those that are not here
Please abide in the Vine church, so we can thrive fro Jesus and win souls to Him
Happy Father’s day
Benediction
Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.
The Lord Bless you!
Your Mission Starts now!