Series: Conversations with Jesus
John 15:1-8
September 16-17, 2006
“Living a Life that Counts”
INTRO
PLUM TREE! Ruff
-taping, bonding, sealing—for some it worked—a fusion of sorts took place
-and they went on to bear fruit and become useful
-but for other branches—the sealing did not take—leaving no other course but the burn pile
In John 15-Jesus borrowed from similar imagery to make a point with His disciples
-it was here Jesus gave His final briefing
-a setting where He was calling His disciples to be missional, incarnational
-Go out as world changers—impacting lives—advancing the kingdom
But for this to happen—
1. You will need to IMITATE ME (chapter 13)
-serve as I have served you (John 13:1ff)
-loving one another as I have loved you (John 13:34-35)
-such that people know you are Mine
2. You will need to TRUST ME (chapter 14)
-that My present ministry of ruling and interceding will more than make up My absence
-that the Spirit’s indwelling presence will give you all the power you need
3. You will need to GO DEEP WITH ME (chapter 15)
-if you’re going to abound in this world—you’re going to have to abide in Me
-go beyond viewing me as merely a cause or a religion
-but as a relationship of intimate connection, total incorporation (read 15:1-8)
What is He saying?
1. YOU MUST SEE JESUS AS THE LIFE GIVING VINE (verse 1a)
-Jesus moves from the abstract language of union with Him (chap 14) to the concrete image of vine and branches
-I am the “true Vine”
-not the imitation vines out there—that promise life—and give nothing
-I am the One who gives life
-who permeates and meets the emptiest recesses in your souls
Change of Perception—Jesus is not just our help in time of need
-the reality-we cannot exist for a nanosecond without Him
2. YOU MUST SEE THE FATHER AS THE ALL CARING GARDENER (verse 1b)
-as Owner
-it’s His vineyard—His to plant, protect, care for
-and His aim is to maximize production by tending, pruning (read verse 2)
A Redneck buys a ticket and wins the lottery. He goes to Austin to claim it where the man verifies his ticket number.
The Redneck says, "I want my $20 million."
To which the man replied, "No sir. It doesn't work that way. We give you a million today, and then you'll get the rest spread out for the next 19 years.
The Redneck said, "I want all my money RIGHT now! I won it, and I want it."
Again the man patiently explains that he would only get a million that day and the rest during the next 19 years.
The Redneck, furious with the man, screams out, "Look, I WANT MY MONEY!! If you're not going to give me my $20 million right now, THEN I WANT MY DOLLAR BACK!''

A. THOSE NOT PRODUCING—those diseased, dead, or barren
-He lit “lifts up”, a word that can also mean to “take out”
-in order to give room for the branches that do produce
-as well as keep them from getting diseased
B.THOSE PRODUCING—those branches that are bearing fruit—are also under the knife
-these He prunes—the word means to also cleanse, purge, purify
-for left to themselves—growth can become straggly and tangled
-can become superfluous—growing in all the wrong directions
-sucking strength from where it is best deployed
-blocking light and air that could go to better places
-all leading to fruit that is less than what it could be
-in the context of the garden—there are several kinds of cuts—each increasing in severity—but all aimed to maximize growth
1. pinching-nipping off the tip of new growth-aimed to make a plant thicker,
encourage more flowering
2. heading-removes part of the shoot-stimulates lateral buds, increases bloom
production
3. thinning-most severe—cutting back to the trunk-designed to redirect growth
This is the work of the gardener
-his chief interest is in the fruit—so he cuts—and it is generally severe
-for unless it is severe cut back—fruit will be sparse, poor
App-this is the work of God in our lives
-sometimes God REMOVES shoots of the self life
-when they fail to serve the purpose they were designed for
-when they become decayed or dying—and possibly infect others
-or when they interfere with other branches that are producing
-sometimes God’s pruning comes in different forms as well-each painful—some more severe than others
-it might involve the occasional loss of a material possession—a job—one’s
health--even a relationship- that has too great a hold on us
-occasional setbacks, disappointments—that bring us back to reality—that we
need God
-a demotion—that God uses to prune back our pride—and create the fruit of humility
-a break in a marriage—that God may sometimes use to prune back our self centeredness— and create the fruit of other-centeredness
Not always—but many of our losses in life are nothing less than the divine pruner at work
-using His pruning shears—which often begins with the Word of God—an instrument sharper than a two edged sword-Jesus makes mention of this in verse
-Jesus points to them and says—you’re the evidence of My work
Calvin Miller-studying those saints of old who bore great fruit, St Augustine, Brother
Lawrence, Thomas a Kempis, concluded--“All real saints are fashioned in the crucible of God. To be all they became, they were broken, crushed between mortar and pestle.
Gradually, their soft nothingness was changed to that granite from which God fashions monuments to His own glory”
Here’s what Jesus is showing us of the Father
-He is most interested in our success
Here’s what he is teaching us about loss, in most cases they are about future opportunities.
3. YOU MUST SEE YOURSELVES AS THE EVER CONNECTED BRANCHES (verses 4-8)
-verse 4 clarifies who we are in the metaphor
-we are the branches
-and branches do one of two things—
A. Live Unattached, DISCONNECTED—independent of God—contingent upon yourselves--and here’s what happens—
life will have a BARREN QUALITY to it (verse 4)
No Place for That Sort of Thing
Real life is unpredictable and full of interruptions. The church is not immune to real life. We organize our worship, print an "Order of Worship," and hope that everything goes as planned. But real life doesn't follow a bulletin. In a large and very formal church a particular woman visited one Sunday who just wasn't with the program. She kept shouting out "Amen," during the sermon. One of the ushers hushed her, but she kept shouting "Amen" until finally the usher approached her and, in a loud whisper asked, "Madam, what are you doing?" "I'm praising the Lord," she said. To which he responded, "Well, church is no place for that sort of thing."
-there is an absoluteness in the language
-Jesus does not say “very little”
-rather—disconnected branches are unable to bear any fruit “out of themselves”- (verse 4)
-fruit is impossible when contact is broken—for there is no life in and of ourselves
2. worse--life will have a certain FUTILITY (verse 5)
-Jesus moves to stronger language
-when God is not our chief pursuit, the relationship we want to connect with more than anything else
-not only is there any fruit—
-WE ARE NOT ABLE TO DO A THING
- the utter futility of the attempt of going it alone
App-we know this for—
-most likely—even this past week—we consciously or unconsciously lived life apart from abiding
-at times--we jumped into our day—work and all—without stopping to connect
-we made a purchase, entered into a deal—without praying
-began a task, entered into a relationship, forged ahead—without stopping to talk to our Creator, our Redeemer, our Master
-and found that living self sufficiently is to live dysfunctionally
App-if there is a phrase to memorize in Scripture, it’s this one (If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.)
-if there’s a statement that should be on our desk, the mirror, wrapped around our wrist, in our office, on the fridge door, over the doorpost of our hearts—it’s this, “apart from me, you can do nothing”.
3. Worst of all—life will be so much NOTHING
-Jesus’ warning—though seemingly redundant—is moving each time in a more severe direction (verse 6)
-branches that decide to go it alone—become self contained units— eventually discover that they are on a course destined to wither and die
-for there’s nothing of value to redeem-the wood is not like pine or oak
-cuttings from a vineyard are good for nothing but burning
-so are works apart from Christ
-on the other hand—here’s the other choice—the better choice—
B. Abide, stay connected, ATTACHED—
Loneliness
In his autobiography, Robert Brooke told of a trip he made from England to the United States, aboard the ship C. C. Cedric. When he arrived at the dock, he noticed that everyone had relatives standing there to send them off. In the midst of the embraces he felt terribly lonely. He thus called a young boy over and paid him a schilling to wave at him as the boat pulled out of the dock. And sure enough, the young boy stood there waving with all his might, and Brooke waved back. Everyone needs a community to love them and recognize them.
-the overarching imperative of the passage
-which can take a variety of forms--enter into the solitude, the silence, the deep
-live each day in an intimate relationship with Jesus
-absorb His Word, His power, His energy, His love
-and here’s what happens—
1. life will be FRUITFUL (verse 5)
-for when we’re connected—Christ can pour Himself into us
-the vine bursting forth through the branch—grace busting out as Jesus pours Himself out through us
-the fruit of the Spirit coming to the surface-the aroma of Christ through the fragrance of the fruit
2. praying will be POWERFUL (verse 7)
-for in the absorption of Word—and the conforming to godliness
-prayer will be effective—for it will tend to lay hold of God’s will
-and hence God’s willingness and ability to act
3. God will be GLORIFIED (verse 8)
CONCLUSION
SO ABIDE-that’s the daring challenge—and bear fruit
AVOID THE CONSEQUENCES OF LIVING INDEPENDENT OF GOD-that’s the scary warning because experience futility, imitate, trust, abide in him, go deep with him, study, pray, get in a hous group, get to the prayer meetings, take a risk, for goodness sake, if you don’t step out more, more and more you know what happens, you simply exist, you get by you do your thing and nothing happens, what a waste. God calls us to do more amazing things that Jesus, will we let him do it?
Repentance is a daily task………………

the challenge of Jesus to his disciples in the beginning of this
fifteenth chapter to go deep with him. In John 13, Jesus challenged them to imitate him.
In John 14, he challenged them to trust him. Now, in order to abound these men would have to abide in Christ.
Three ideas are evident in the first eight verses:
1. We must see Jesus as the life giving vine, the one and only true vine.
2. We must see the Father as the all caring gardener.
3. We must see our selves as the ever connected branches contingent upon him.
The vine, the gardener and the branches all connected together in the ongoing task of producing as much fruit as is possible.