John 15:1-8
“I am the true vine, and my Father
is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every
branch in me that bears no fruit,
while every branch that does bear
fruit he prunes so that it will be
even more fruitful.
3 You
are already clean because of the
word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in
me, and I will remain in you. No branch
can bear fruit by itself; it must remain
in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit
unless you remain in me.
5 “I
am the vine; you are the branches.
If a man remains in me and I in him,
he will bear much fruit; apart from me
you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does
not remain in me, he is like a branch
that is thrown away and withers; such
branches are picked up, thrown into
the fire and burned.
7 If
you remain in me and my words
remain in you, ask whatever you wish,
and it will be given you. 8 This is to my
Father’s glory, that you bear much
fruit, showing yourselves to be my
disciples.
“I Am the True Vine” –
Knowing God’s Power
John 15:1-8
It’s hard when we think we are alone
It’s easy to give up
Today we are going to talk about the
fact that we are never alone
God is with us
He is our source of spiritual power
Into the Word
Jesus is preparing his disciples for
his departure
Chapters 14-17 “Farewell Discourse”
Preparation for the disciples
after his death
He knows it will be easy for them
to give up
He wants them to know the importance
of staying connected to Him
He gives them an illustration on how to
tap into His spiritual power
An illustration from Israel’s history
The vine is symbolic of Israel
The OT refers to Israel as a vine
that God planted:
Psalm 80:8-9
You brought a vine out of Egypt; you
drove out the nations and planted it.
You cleared the ground for it; it took
deep root and filled the land.
Hosea 10:1
Israel was a spreading vine; he
brought forth fruit for himself.
As his fruit increased, he built more
altars; as his land prospered, he
adorned his sacred stones.
Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel
all use the image of Israel as the vine,
but one that has turned wild.
John 15
“I am the true vine, and my Father
is the gardener.
Jesus refers to himself as the
“true vine”
In contrast to Israel, which became
unfaithful and incurred God’s judgment,
Jesus remains faithful and fulfills Israel’s
calling to be the vine of God.
(Jirair S. Tashijian)
Jesus said, “I am the true vine.” (John 15:1)
Jesus is like that strong vine.
He is rooted in the true source of
Israel’s strength – God the Father.
Likewise, we are challenged to stay
connected to God through Christ as
the branches connect to the vine.
4 Remain
in me, and I will remain in
you. No branch can bear fruit by itself;
it must remain in the vine. Neither can
you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
“Remain in me” (NIV)
“Abide in me” (NKJV)
“Stay joined to me” (CEV)
The vine is our source of nourishment.
We are only as strong and fruitful as
our connection to the vine.
“We stay connected to God’s power
by staying connected to Christ.”
(Rob Fuquay)
How do we stay connected?
Personal devotional time
Study, prayer and meditation
Stay connected to other believers
Seeing God around us
Living to glorify God
Christ is the vine…
We are the branches.
We grow out from the vine.
Like the vine, the gardener (God)
prunes and shapes us.
2 He
cuts off every branch in me that
bears no fruit, while every branch that
does bear fruit he prunes so that it will
be even more fruitful.
5 “I
am the vine; you are the branches.
If a man remains in me and I in him,
he will bear much fruit; apart from me
you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does
not remain in me, he is like a branch
that is thrown away and withers; such
branches are picked up, thrown into
the fire and burned.
It’s taken me several years to get used
to seeing pruning in the orchards…
And doing it in my garden.
But I’ve come to see the results:
Stronger trees and plants
WIth better fruit!
Often we just want to skip to the fruit,
but we short change ourselves.
Pruning –
When we are on the right track but
things need some tweaking
Cutting off –
When we are not “abiding in” God and
doing our own thing
What are some of the things in our
lives that need pruning or cutting off?
Negative thoughts
Fear
Worry
Unforgiveness
Resentment
Habits that pull us down
Time wasters
Good things that aren’t
the best thing
Spreading ourselves too thin
Busy-ness that isn’t productive
Take an honest look at ourselves
Follow God’s leading
We can be proactive and be involved
in the pruning
Or we can be blind or stubborn and
suffer more serious consequences
Pruning and cutting off is critical
If we put our trust in the vine,
we will bear fruit in due time.
It is not our job to make the fruit!
When we “remain in” Christ, He will be
with us strengthening and encouraging.
He will work through us to produce good
fruit as his disciples –
even in difficulties.
“Shepherd of My
Soul”
7 If
you remain in me and my words
remain in you, ask whatever you wish,
and it will be given you. 8 This is to my
Father’s glory, that you bear much
fruit, showing yourselves to be my
disciples.
What does it mean to be the branches—
And letting Him be the vine?
On one end is the fruit – whatever it is
that makes us feel productive,
successful, secure.
On the other end is the vine – our
source of life.
Which way do we look for strength?
Litany
When we feel isolated, we can
remember that Jesus said,
“I am the True Vine; abide in me.”
When we feel powerless, we can find
strength in remembering that Jesus
said,
“I am the True Vine; abide in me.”
When we are tempted to try to go
it alone, we can reach out to other
believers, remembering that Jesus
said,
“I am the True Vine; abide in me.”
When life becomes so busy that
time with God seems impossible
to find, we can regain our focus
by remembering that Jesus said,
“I am the True Vine; abide in
me.”
When we stress about the quality
of the fruit we are or are not
producing, we can relax and trust
the source of our life and growth,
the One who said,
“I am the True Vine; abide in me.”
Amen.
We are the Federated Church.
Our Mission is to…
Seek Christ, Serve Christ and Share Christ.