I AM – 7
I AM THE VINE
… based on John 15:1-8
My home Church, the one I grew up in, was very mission minded. For every $ spent on themselves, they gave an equal amount to missions. And as a result, we regularly had missionaries come & speak. One, I remember, lived in a little cottage next to the Church. Because there was no electricity in the village, he had a small generator that supplied current for his home.
One day some natives from an outlying mission came to visit.
He invited them into his house, & as they were talking, they noticed the electric light bulb hanging from a cord in the ceiling of the room. When evening came, they watched wide-eyed as he flipped a switch & the light bulb began to shine! They had never seen anything like it.
As they were leaving one of the visitors asked if he could have a bulb.
The missionary, thinking he wanted it as trinket, gave him one.
On his next visit to that remote village, the missionary stopped at the hut of the man to whom he’d given the light bulb. To his surprise, he saw it hanging from an ordinary string in the middle of the room. To the native’s disappointment, the bulb wasn’t shining. Obviously, it needed to be connected to a power source so that the electricity could flow into it.
I remember as a kid thinking how silly that native was.
But, pondering that story now,
I wonder if some people today are doing a similar thing … spiritually?
In our Gospel lesson Jesus tells a story concerning the importance of being “connected” to the true source of life.
Our Lord uses the analogy of a vine & branches.
Just as electricity provides the power necessary for a bulb to produce light, so the vine provides the flow of life necessary for the branches to produce fruit. Jesus is giving another of His “show-n-tell” illustrations to teach an important spiritual truth.
So, listen now to Good News from Jesus, as recorded by John,
to us who have gathered here for worship.
Within our hearing comes the Word of the Lord …
“I am the real vine, and my Father is the gardener. He breaks off every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and he prunes every branch that does bear fruit, so that it will be clean and bear more fruit. You have been made clean already by the teaching I have given you. Remain united to me, and I will remain united to you. A branch cannot bear fruit by itself; it can do so only if it remains in the vine. In the same way you cannot bear fruit unless you remain in me.
“I am the vine, and you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without me. Those who do not remain in me are thrown out like a branch and dry up; such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, where they are burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, then you will ask for anything you wish, and you shall have it. My Father’s glory is shown by your bearing much fruit; and in this way you become my disciples.” (John 15:1-8)
Jesus said, “Heaven & earth will pass away,
but my words will never pass away.” (Mark 13:31)
May the Lord grant that we may engage in contemplating the mysteries of His Heavenly wisdom with really increasing devotion, to His glory and to our edification. Amen
Jesus said, “I am the real vine & you’re either connected to me, or you’re not … & if you’re not, then spiritually speaking, you’re dying, or dead.
And if you don’t watch out, the time will come when you’ll be completely cut off & thrown into the fire.”
A couple of introductory comments about this,
the last of the 7 “I AM” statements.
It was made while Jesus was on the move,
& He made it to His closest followers,
unlike the other 6 “I AM” statements which were said to large crowds.
Jesus & His disciples had just finished eating the “Last Supper” in the Upper Room. They’ve stepped out of the house & are passing through the Eastern Gate of Jerusalem. They’re going down a ravine to a familiar place where Jesus has gone before … a garden, Gethsemane, which was located at the base of the Mount of Olives. (Mark 14:32) This is not a long walk, about the distance from the Hotel Nashville to CVS. And as they go through a vineyard Jesus says to His disciples … “I am the real vine.”
Then the 2nd thing, by way of introduction, this is the only I AM statement in which Jesus draws His Father into the imagery.
“I am the real vine, & my Father is the gardener.”
It’s another way of saying, “the Father & I … we’re the God-team.” (People who insist that Jesus makes no claims about being God are just missing it.)
So, with that as background, we’re going to be looking at this passage
by way of a promise … a challenge … & a warning.
1st of all, the promise. When reading a passage of Scripture, we can discover the author’s major theme by noting any repeated words or phrases.
If the author writes something again & again & again, he wants to make sure that we don’t miss his point. So, as we think about our Gospel lesson,
what word was repeated 7 times in those 8 verses? … (fruit)
In fact, Jesus even says that we’ll bear “much fruit.”
So, the question is, would we like to bear fruit? …
Do we want to bear much fruit? …
“Well, I’m not sure, what does ‘fruit’ mean?”
When Scripture uses the word “fruit” in this way, it has 1 of 2 things in mind. It’s either talking about character … the “fruit” of our personality, (Matthew 7:16) or the “fruit” we produce in the lives of other people … the influence that we have on others. Jesus is saying that He’s the source of life that produces character & makes an impact upon others.
So, would we like to be fruitful like that? …
The Apostle Paul writes that when we come to faith in Jesus,
His Spirit takes up residence in our lives, & that will begin to produce certain character fruit. It’s what God wants to see in us.
“The Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, & self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23)
That’s the fruit that God wants to work into the fabric of our character.
If we remain in the vine, connected with Jesus, He’ll produce His character in us. So, can you see that happening in your life? … If Jesus is our Lord & Savior, if we’re connected to the vine, there should be a sense of His peace in our life … a sense of joy … a kindness … a goodness … faithfulness … love … patience … humility … That’s the character fruit that Jesus is speaking of.
2ndly, fruitfulness also indicates the impact we have on other people.
Later Jesus will say to His disciples … I chose you & appointed you to go & bear much fruit.” (John 15:16) In this instance, He’s not talking about character fruit, but rather the impact we have on the lives of others.
Evidently Jesus’ early followers took Him seriously, because less than 30 years later the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Church in Colossae, writes …
“This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world.
It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives.” (Colossians 1:6)
This brings another question, have you ever been “fruitful” in this sense of the word? … Have you ever helped someone discover who Jesus really is? … Because there’s nothing in this life that holds a candle to the significance of having that sort of impact. Nothing!
In fact, Jesus on one occasion underscored this truth to His disciple Peter.
When Jesus 1st called Peter to follow Him, He used “fisherman” language …
because Peter was a fisherman. Jesus said, “Peter, leave your nets & come & follow me, don’t be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” (Luke 5:10)
“Instead of fishing for fish you’ll now fish for people.”
And so, Peter & Jesus, for the next several years spent time together throwing out the net & drawing people in. Peter saw people healed,
he saw people forgiven, he saw people restored in a relationship with God,
& he saw people being taught spiritual truths … it was exciting!
Then we come to the last chapter of John’s Gospel. Jesus has died & been resurrected & is just about to return to Heaven. And of all the times for Peter to lose focus … he goes back to fishing for fish again!
And he takes 6 of the other disciples & they fish all night …
& catch absolutely nothing. Morning comes & there’s a person on the shore.
They can’t quite make out who it is because of the early morning fog.
But this individual calls out to them, “haven’t you caught anything?”
They yell back, “Not a thing.”
So, the man on the shore instructs them,
“Throw your net out on the right side of the boat, & you will catch some.”
(Who’s this guy instructing professional fishermen?)
But they throw their net out on the right side.
And it’s so full of fish they can hardly pull it onboard! John looks at Peter, “It is the Lord!” (John 21:5-7) So, Peter dives into the water,
(paddling the boat in would take too long) … he can’t wait to get to Jesus.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with fishing.
Jesus just wanted to underscore something with Peter … “Peter, you’re called to a much higher vocation. And if you try to replace that pursuit with anything else, it’ll prove to be worthless & futile.” There’s nothing wrong with fishing, just like there’s nothing wrong with teaching school, or carpentry, or working in an office, or selling stuff, whatever.
But if we get so preoccupied with these daily tasks that we lose sight of our higher calling; if we forget that God mixes us up with people every day so that we can draw them to Jesus … our lives will be fruitless. We’ll miss out on the opportunity we’re given to impact people for all eternity.
“I am the vine, & you are the branches.
Those who remain in me, & I in them, will bear much fruit.”
Jesus wants you & me to bear fruit.
And maybe one of the easiest ways to do that is to invite people to come to Bear Creek Church.
I know it can be uncomfortable to talk to friends/neighbors about Jesus.
But it’s not uncomfortable to invite someone to come here.
And this is a great place to learn about God, & come to faith in Jesus.
Lastly, let me encourage you to pray for opportunities.
Each one of us are surrounded by people who need Jesus. They’re everywhere. Standing in line at the Post Office, when we’re pumping gas, when we’re out in our yard, walking, there are people around us. Our Lord is bringing opportunities to us. And to be honest, that’s what God has called us here at Bear Creek Church to do … it’s our primary mission. (Matthew 28:19)
This brings us to our 2nd point … the challenge.
I noted several moments ago that the word ”fruit” pops up 7 times in these verses. Let me point out a 3-word phrase that we see just as often … “remain in me.” In fact, the word “remain” is used in some way 8 times.
This has got to be really important for it to be repeated so frequently by Jesus … “remain in me, remain in me, remain in me.” It’s a challenge.
But this doesn’t just happen; it requires intentionality.
And if we don’t do it … we don’t bear fruit. If we don’t remain in Christ,
the character He wants to produce in us doesn’t take shape. If we don’t remain in Christ, then the impact He wants us to have in the lives of people doesn’t happen. Jesus will produce fruit.
He’s the vine. Our responsibility is to “remain” in the vine.
“Remain united to me, & I will remain united to you.
A branch cannot bear fruit by itself; it can do so only if it remains in the vine. In the same way you cannot bear fruit unless you remain in me.”
Let me illustrate this. I cannot produce music out of this boombox,
but I’ll tell you what I can do. I can plug it in.
Now watch this, I’ll do it in slow motion … There’s nothing in me that can produce music from the boombox … but if I plug it in … the music happens.
I can’t bear fruit in myself. I can’t produce fruit in myself.
There’s no spiritual power in my life apart from Christ.
But I do have a responsibility … & that is to “plug in” … to remain in Him.
Okay, we get the boom box illustration ...
but the question is, how do I “plug in” to Christ?
Fortunately, Jesus tells us how. He gives us 2 activities to do. “If you remain in me & my words remain in you.” … “If my words remain in you.”
Okay, so where do we find Jesus’ words? … (the Bible)
Scripture records not only the words of Jesus, but also,
the words of His closest followers, who tell us what Jesus taught.
If we want to “remain in Christ” we must “ingest” these words.
When Jesus uses the expression, “my words remain in you” …
He has far more in mind than just listening to a 25-minute sermon on Sunday morning. Now certainly this is a great start,
but having His Word “remain in us”, means reading the Bible during the week.
And it means applying what we read to our daily life.
This is so critical … let’s go back to the boombox illustration again.
We’re either plugged-in or we’re unplugged with regards to God’s Word.
What describes you this morning? …
Are you a plugged-in believer? Or are you unplugged?
The concept of remaining suggests time spent in God’s Word. You guys are coffee drinkers. So let me explain how to make a cup of tea. Pour water into a kettle, put it on the stove, bring it to a boil, & pour it in a cup. Then drop a tea bag in for 1 second … then take it out … & we have a cup of tea, right? … No, not if we dip it for 1 second. We must do what the British call “steeping.” And for tea to steep the bag must soak for at least 3 or 4 minutes. We must steep in God’s Word if we expect it to “color” our lives.
Jesus goes on to say, “Then you will ask for anything you wish,
& you shall have it.” This is the flipside to the 2-way communication.
God’s Word speaks to us … we speak back to Him in prayer.
We ask, we present our needs, we talk to Him about a problem,
we share our disappointments, frustrations, & hurts.
Now understand … this isn’t a “genie” promise to get whatever our whim is.
Please note the context. We’re remaining in Christ; we’re steeping in His Word. And when that happens, what kind of prayers do you think we’ll pray?
… We’ll pray the kind of prayers that God will delight in answering …
certainly not self-centered types of prayers.
This is what Jesus tells us we’ve got to do if we want to remain in Him.
We soak in His Word; we spend time in conversation with Him regularly.
We live today with all kinds of digital devices that are battery operated & need recharged regularly. But most of the time we’re in such a hurry we don’t wait for them to get a full recharge. We grab them & run.
What happens? … The charge runs out; the device is worthless.
The battery needs a full charge if it’s going to be useful.
We won’t get charged up by God on a fly.
If we run in & out of His presence, if we take just snippets of His Word,
if it’s always “hurry-up” prayer … we’ll never get the charge,
we’ll never have the vine producing fruit in us. All of this takes time.
Okay, we’ve looked at the promise, we’ve looked at
the challenge, now let’s look at the warning Jesus gives.
“I am the real vine, & my Father is the gardener. He breaks off
every branch in me that does not bear fruit, & he prunes every branch
that does not bear fruit, so that it will be clean & bear more fruit.”
There are 2 parts to the gardener’s job, (& these are the warnings).
“He breaks off every branch in me that does not bear fruit.”
The 1st job of the gardener is to eliminate any branch that’s not doing its’ job. Those are strong words. What it means is that if our lives aren’t marked by the character of Christ, if we’re not having an impact upon others through our personal witness, if there’s no fruit in our lives …
then the gardener is going to come & cut us off.
Horticulture Lesson #1 … gardeners can’t tolerate dead branches.
They must be cut off. They destroy the beauty of the bush or tree.
Which is what Jesus is teaching. God does not tolerate dead branches.
Now the 2nd warning is a little more encouraging. It’s for those who are bearing fruit. Actually, it’s more of a gentle reminder.
“He prunes every branch that does bear fruit,
so that it will be clean & bear more fruit.”
Fruitless branches are cut off … & fruitful branches are pruned.
That means that God allows disappointments, & hardships, & trials,
& sickness, & other things in our life … not because He’s a mean God …
not because His desire is to punish, but because, as our gardener,
He wants us to be even more fruitful.
When our Heavenly Father looks at our life & sees that we’re too busy to spend time with Him, when He looks at our life & sees that it’s become too crowded with stuff, or there are relational conflicts going on un-mended, when He looks at our life & sees patterns of sin that we persist in …
out come the pruning shears.
“I’ve got to do some cutting back. Not because I want to hurt you,
but because I want you to be fruitful.”
This has happened in God’s relationship with me.
Looking back running was a big part of my life for many years.
In fact, I was a very competitive runner. I competed regularly in road races. I’ve got a bunch of trophies in my garage from races I won, or did well in.
But, over those years, at certain times when running became my #1 priority,
when it became the most important thing, God would do some “pruning” & allow me to have stress fractures or pulled muscles. God was getting my attention, slowing me down, so that my focus would get back in line.
So, what kind of branch are you? … Are you a branch that’s unconnected … there’s no character fruit; there’s no impact fruit? …
If that’s the case, you need to get connected.
Or are you an existing branch that’s not drawing life from the vine? Then, get back into God’s Word. Reacquaint yourself with Him through prayer.
But if you’re a fruitful branch … then your life is significant because,
as Jesus says, “My Father’s glory is shown by your bearing much fruit.”
God loves it when His people bear fruit.
So, my friends, let’s be about it.
MARANA THA