What God wants

Stories from the vineyard pt 1 John ch 15 v 1-10 Introduction Deathbed conversation, you never forget a word, Jesus was away to die, this is what he left his disciples, this is what he has left us, in this chapter there are real insights for our Christian walk that perhaps we have missed. At the end the parables and stories were passed this is as clear as it gets! Thursday night upstairs You know all about the upper room, the night before Passover, the prediction that the messiah will come, the disciples know the messiah is here, a nice lovely night chatting, predicting the overthrow of the roman empire, where they will sit in the new kingdom The unravelling John 13 v 2-5, the messiah to be acts as the menial servant, the slave, and washes their feet, it gets worse, one of you will betray me, before sunrise, you Peter will deny me three times, the wheels are coming off, this is of course what Jesus has been telling them along, a cross not a throne, but the disciples heard what they wanted to hear. Jesus says, the world will see me no more, but you will see me, the ruler of this world is coming means Jesus is not ruler, not king. Three years with him, it is unravelling, listen to the words, but see their faces, Little children, I have loved you, let your hearts not be troubled, I will not leave you as orphans Light in the vineyard Lets go from here (Jn 14:31) a garden on the Mount of Olives, not a word spoken? Away from all the Passover parties, sombre, through the kidron valley, through the ancient vineyards, through the rows of grapes, heading for Gethsemane, but here Jesus stops holds up a grape branch, he starts “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener” Jesus reveals their destiny The curtains of heaven Too many of us are standing in the shadows of that vineyard, too often we have discovered that we are following a Jesus that turns out to be totally different to what we expected, we may feel confused, disillusioned even betrayed by God. Your spiritual crisis, or perhaps spiritual apathy is because you have heard the words of Jesus in the vineyard but not understood them. Too often we have settled for spiritual experience that includes disappointment, doubt even anger, too often we think that God will help us on our terms, win our battles for us, too often we have failed to lean in and listen. But these words in the vineyard, they still speak today, it brings freedom and joy, what God wants from you and me is this “ a fruitful harvest for him”, this is what he is at work at in you, in me! Will you listen to what he says, at this crucial time? He is pulling back the curtains of heaven, giving us a glimpse, I think he was thinking of us as he spoke to cautious Thomas, reckless Peter, guileless Nathaniel, he saw and loved you too, and I think he led you here today to hear from him, He wants us to flourish, to follow him into an abundant life. What God wants look to see what Jesus does not have in his hand, not money, not a map for invasion, not a letter home, I am the true vine, the father is the gardener, every branch in me that doesn’t bear fruit he takes away, every branch that bears fruit he prunes that it may bear more, I am the vine you are the branches, he who abides in me and I in him, bears much fruit, by this my Father is glorified that you bear much fruit. John 15 : 1-2, 5-8 are you getting the picture? Smell, feel the grapes? Jesus’ last message is not about angels descending, not about heaven or hell, not parables, but all about fruit! An old vineyard, a new perspective Picture of vineyard, Jesus gives us a picture to see how we are to bear fruit Jesus is the vine. Not the long trailing limb, the vine is the trunk that grows out of the ground, usually kept to waist height, 3-4 feet, the branches grow from this trunk Father is the gardener, the keeper of the vineyard, his job is simple, to let his plants grow as much good grapes as possible, a well maintained healthy vineyard means a bigger harvest. You and I are the branches, they are the focus of the gardener, tied to a trellis, or propped up to let air circulate, get the most sunshine, get full access for tending, the gardener lovingly cultivates each branch so that it will bear as much fruit as possible Lovely picture, but hours before death why did Jesus talk in such detail about grapes? Jesus knew now was the time to let the disciples see things in a new way, from a eternal perspective What is fruit? Often we think this is just about letting people meet with Jesus, and it is, but is also so much more, fruit and good works are used almost interchangeably throughout the bible Titus 3:14, for the disciples would know that fruit symbolized the best in life, the sweetest prize, Psalm 1:3. Fruit then represents a changed life and changed lives around you, thought, attitude, action that brings glory to God, the fruit of your life is how you bring glory to God and give him all the honour. Father is glorified when you bear much fruit. Inner fruit, the fruit of the Spirit, Gal 5:22 Outward fruit, when you allow God to work through you, sharing faith (apostles), but also every area of life, Paul tells us in 2 cor, to abound in God’s grace in every good work, shopping for a elderly neighbour, or a life in the jungle as a missionary, outward fruit appears when your motive is to give God all the glory. How important is fruit bearing then? Jesus tells us that he chose us so that we bear fruit and that fruit remains, it is a permanent deposit, it is the riches that do not rust or fade, it is the reason we are made! Jesus has not redeemed us to whisk us away; he has set us here for a purpose, to bring him much glory as we bear much fruit! Not automatic, all branches don’t react in the same way to the gardener, each branch is unique, each brings a different harvest! In fact there is 4 distinct levels of yield! Baskets of glory Imagine the baskets under the vines, 1st basket, not a grape! Every branch in me that bears no fruit. 2nd basket, some there! Branches that bears fruit 3rd basket, half full, branches bears more fruit 4th basket, overflowing, branches that bear much fruit we are all on the spectrum! From no fruit to too much fruit, and we go through seasons, but there is a time when the harvest will be gathered. The Father wants much fruit from us, so not only that he gets the glory but because we grow and stretch when we give him the glory in all things More is always possible! That is why he tends us, so we keep moving further up and further in, we were created to bear much fruit. How much fruit do you see in your life today? Created for abundance If I was to ask you to describe the level of fruit in your life today, more than half would say little or no fruit, a small percentage would bear much fruit. Part of that is false humility, part of that is that you are not sure what that fruit looks like, but part of that is that you are in a place where either you are struggling with your faith, with your church or with your life, you are built fit for purpose, but too often you feel like a square peg in a round hole. Bearing fruit is not reserved for the super Christian (they don’t actually exist), it is the destiny of every believer. Jesus expects abundance in our lives, we can’t find fulfilment in a half empty basket, as we look through this chapter over the next month in the run up to Easter, we will unlock 3 key points to how God will bear much fruit in you. Conclusion When you realise that God is at work in you, you will see that you do bear fruit, but God wants to bear much more in you. Will you let him in, will you let the Father tend to you? To work in you, to grow you, even when it feels like a stretch and it is painful? You have a choice, let God grow you, or be cut from the vine and thrown on the rubbish heap, I know what I want, I want to give God the glory in all areas, I can only do that with him working in and through me. May you…….