John 15:1-14 "Abide in The Vine"

1:03I bring you greetings from Grace Church in San Diego. I don't, you know, you don't know us, but we feel connected with you. And I'll mention that why in just a moment. But I just want to say, I've really enjoyed seeing the grace of God in you as a congregation already. We experienced Friday and Saturday just the warmest, warmest welcome. Your hospitality. Beginning with John and Brianna, Wyatt, and extending to all of you. You've so welcomed us. And then we've beheld your sincere care and love for each other. It's just wonderful to see.

1:45And then we've experienced you just leaning into God's Word and eagerly applying God's Word and wanting to grow and glorify Christ. And that's the work of the Holy Spirit in you. You know that? That's the Spirit of God at work in the people of God. So I have just been delighted to be here. It can be kind of sad to leave. Wish I could come back next Sunday and see you again, but we can't do that.

2:13We've enjoyed it so much. A big reason why we wanted to come is, first of all, to see the Morgan family because we love them and miss them. So it's been a delight to see all six of them, see Joshua and Donna and hang out together. But another reason, in all honesty, why I wanted to come is to say thank you to you. I want to say thank you because the Lord sent you our best. The Lord sent you our best in Joshua and Donna.

2:46And you have so warmly received them. And you've welcomed them. And you've befriended them and loved on them and cared for them and positioned them. Them to serve and use the gifts God has given and to see the difference they're making brings me and us so much joy. I've lost track of the number of conversations I've had with people telling me about the difference Joshua and Donna have made. I'm going to go back to San Diego, honestly, next Sunday, and I'm going to relate that to them.

3:27Your many comments about the difference they're making to the glory of God. So I say thank you, and I want to thank Alan and the elders for letting us come and letting me open God's word this weekend and today. Thank you, Alan. It's been a privilege to do so, brother. Thank you so very much. Well, I was asked to preach a sermon that might be a bit of a capstone to the weekend on marriage, but also fully apply to and relate to students here or youth or single adults, and I'm glad to do so. And that's why we're here in John 15. So keep that Bible open or your Bible app on, if you would. This is just kind of a meditation on this passage. It's not a model sermon. None of my sermons are model sermons, but this is kind of a, that would be a first, right? This is kind of a meditation on this passage. It was part of a vision casting series we did in the fall, really to build on. Some things that Joshua helped kick off for us a couple years, a few years ago now. So it was really building on that. So may I pray briefly with you one more time and let's open God's Word together.

4:47Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we pray now with the psalmist: open our eyes to behold wondrous things out of your law, out of your instruction, out of your word. Meet us, we ask you, in and through your word. Amen. Tabiti Anubwelli has written: quote: A perennial challenge to Christians is the temptation to live for God rather than to live with God. Let me read that again. Let's just take this in. A perennial challenge, a common challenge, an ongoing challenge to Christians is the temptation to live for God rather than live with God.

5:49How does that land on you? Can you relate to that at all? I can. Now, is it good? To live for God? Sure, absolutely. But are you living for God rather than living with God? That's what I want to ask you this morning. Here's how you might know. Here's how you might know. Do you feel like you are kind of spinning your wheels spiritually? Kind of stuck in the mud spiritually? You feel stuck in some harmful pattern in your marriage or some harmful pattern with your roommates or your friends?

6:40Or do you feel like you're on this kind of spiritual merry-go-round? Just round and around and around, and you don't know how to get off that repeating cycle, that harmful habit you keep going back to. Is that you? Or, or has life become a constant activity? It is go, go, go, go, go, from sun up to bedtime with little spiritual rest. With little rest or no rest for your soul. Or are you just plain weary, kind of spiritually fatigued?

7:31Look, those are common experiences, and I can relate to many of them, but they're possible indicators, possible indicators of living for God rather than with God. And Jesus has a one-word solution for me and you. He says in this passage, abide. Abide in me, he says. Remain in him. Stay connected to him. I would summarize the point like this. If you like one-sentence summaries, here's my attempt. The pathway to become more like Jesus is through communion with Jesus. That's what I want to think about with you.

8:31The pathway of becoming more like Jesus is through communion with Jesus, fellowship with Jesus, living with God in Christ. Not just working for God, but living with God. The pathway to become more like the Savior is through that communion or fellowship with the risen. Savior. Let's break that up into two parts, two main parts. First, become more like Jesus. Become more like Jesus. Let's see that here. We are in what's called the farewell discourse in John's Gospel. Jesus is saying, as it were, farewell to his disciples. He's about to go to the cross for your sins and mine. And here he gives his last of his I am statements in John's Gospel in verse 1. Look at verse 1. He says, I am, I am the true vine.

9:35The prophets referred to ancient Israel as a vine, but a vine typically that didn't bear the fruit that God intended. Now Jesus comes on the scene with that background and makes this loaded statement, I am the true vine. In other words, I'm here to fulfill what ancient Israel was meant to be. I am the true vine, he says in verse 1, and my father, my father, is the vine dresser. I don't know much about vines, but I think a vine dresser is kind of like a farmer who tends to the vines. Notice what the vine dresser does in verse 2.

10:19Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away. And Jesus later in the passage says, those branches are. thrown into the fire and burned. You might think maybe of Judas Iscariot as an example, someone who makes a kind of acknowledgement of Jesus, a profession of faith perhaps, but bears no fruit whatsoever at all of actually following him. And I don't know if that applies to anyone here, but if it does, flee to Jesus this morning.

11:03Flee to him, run to him by faith. Surrender and hope in him. Experience his love and his goodness. I urge you to do so. He goes on. And every branch that does bear fruit, every branch that does bear fruit, he, the Father, prunes, prunes that it might bear more fruit. So the Father's pruning those, catch this, who are already bearing fruit. He prunes those who are already joined to the vine. Why? Why does he do so? That it might do what? Bear more fruit. Thank you. More fruit as a single adult. More fruit as a college student. More fruit as a teenager or youth or young person or. Child and more fruit in your marriage. If you left the marriage conference, maybe feeling discouraged, I want you to catch this.

12:16The Father's purpose in pruning is for more fruit. Now, what's this fruit about? Well, skip down to verse 8. Skip down to verse 8. What's this fruit about? Verse 8: By this, my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove, prove to be my disciples, my followers. So the fruit is not how you make yourself worthy of Jesus. The fruit is not how you get connected to Jesus. The fruit just shows that you already belong to Jesus. The fruit shows that He's already made you His.

13:00A few years ago during COVID, when the interest rates were so low, Sung and I refinanced our house. We've got a little 1960 California ranch-style house. And the notary came to our house to do this. It was during COVID. We sat on our back patio, and she brought all the documents for us to sign. She looked at our driver's licenses and Looked at our pictures and looked at us. We had to give a thumbprint on her ledger. She didn't make us who we are. She didn't make us tab and sung. She confirmed who we are. She verified who we are. That's what the fruit-bearing is doing, he's saying. It confirms, just verifies. It should encourage you. It verifies that you are Jesus.

14:01And then the Father, in his love, prunes. I know that might sound painful. He trims this habit and he cuts some of that practice. And he might bring hard circumstances. He might bring a challenging life situation that you might bear more fruit, being joined to his son. So, what does that fruit look like specifically? Like, we're under the banner of become like Jesus. Right? I'm getting there. What's that fruit look like specifically? Look at verse 10. Now we get there. Verse 10.

14:47If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my father's commandments and abide in his love. Love. Verse 11, these things I have spoken to you, that my joy, my joy, may be in you, and your joy, notice this, may be full. So a kind of joy-filled obedience, reflecting Jesus' joy-filled obedience. That's a piece of fruit. That's part of it. And so is love. So is love that reflects Jesus' love. Look at verse 12. This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. And I think you do this well, new life. There's a piece of fruit present in your church, evident in your church. This is my commandment, he says, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. So catch this. Here are at least a couple pieces of fruit, right? Love for others, reflecting Jesus' love, a kind of joy-filled obedience, reflecting Jesus' joy and obedience, he says. That's why I call this pathway becoming more like Jesus. Do you see it there in the passage? Becoming more like Jesus. It's not mere external behavior. Okay, this is about transformation. From within. That's what the Holy Spirit does. This is about a renewed heart and renewed mind to think more like Jesus would think and to feel more like Jesus would feel and to desire more of what Jesus desires. Do you want more of that fruit in your life? I do, right? Sign me up. Is there a sign-up sheet in the back where I can get this?

16:55Isn't that what you need as a single adult or a student or a teenager? Isn't that what you need in the workplace tomorrow morning? Isn't that what you need in your neighborhood this week? Isn't it what you need in your marriage? This fruit of discipleship, this fruit of following Jesus to the Father's glory. What my marriage most needs is me becoming more like Jesus, like this. Thank you for not amening that, honey. I appreciate that. I really appreciate the self-control there.

17:33So, how do we do that? That's what I'm trying to drive at. How do we do that? A friend of mine, mutual friend of Joshua and mine, has said to me, We are not transformed by just having another birthday. I'm 57. I wish that was the pathway of transformation. I wish the aging process alone would transform Tab's life. My wife. Wife wishes the aging process would transform my life. The aging process does not do so. We become more like Jesus down this pathway of communion with Jesus. That's the second piece, right?

18:20The pathway of becoming more like Jesus is through communion with Jesus. So, second, let's think about communion or fellowship with Jesus. Skip back up to verse 4 with me. Again, we're kind of just meditating around. Verse 4. Verse 4, Jesus says, Abide in me, and I in you. Remain in me. Stay connected to the true vine. Just take a breath. Take a deep breath. And take in the beauty and simplicity of that command. Abide. Abide in me, the true vine. And then he continues, as the branch cannot bear. fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, stays connected to the vine. Neither can you, brothers and sisters, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit.

19:57For apart from me you can do nothing. Now notice a couple things there. Notice the mutual indwelling. Mutual indwelling. We in him and he in us. Just prior to this, Jesus has promised another helper, the Holy Spirit. So in context, he indwells us by the Spirit of God. And notice also our utter dependence on him, our utter dependence. Did you catch it? He says, apart from me, you can do nothing. Nothing of spiritual value. Oh, I need to hear that. This is why we can't just work for Jesus.

20:43We need to be with Jesus. Because you and I are a branch. And we can do nothing apart from him. Brothers and sisters, you are completely dependent on the vine. You need the life. Giving sap of the true vine flowing through you. And with Jesus abiding in you by his Spirit, and you and Him, you will bear much fruit. Do you believe that? If you do, you will abide. So, what does this mean? Abide. One of my favorite New Testament scholars is D.A. Carson. He has described it as follows. We've got this quote for you.

21:34He describes abiding as continuous dependence on the vine. Constant reliance upon him. That's helpful. Continuous dependence on the vine. Constant reliance upon him. Anglican J.C. Ryle said it means, quote, a habit, a habit of constant close communion with him. Catch this. To be always leaning on him, resting on him, pouring out our hearts to him. Oh, I like that. This is Jesus' invitation to you this morning, new life. Take in his invitation. Continuous dependence on him.

22:30Constant reliance, close communion with him, always leaning on him, resting on him, pouring out your heart to him. It's kind of like, it's not a probably great analogy, but it's kind of like the umbilical cord connection between an unborn child and his or her mother. The child in utero cannot grow and develop on its own. The child needs the constant nourishment of his or her mother through that umbilical cord. Think of abiding kind of like a spiritual umbilical cord. Communing with Jesus, leaning on Jesus, resting on Jesus, pouring out your heart to him.

23:24It's bringing you this constant nourishment that you might bear the fruit he intends. Maybe a better analogy is an electric light. I've got on my desk an electric light. You might as well. If I don't plug that light into the light socket, will it light up? Not at my house. I don't know about your house. It don't work that way at my house. No, it won't light up. I don't plug it in. It will never light up on its own. It cannot light up. Light up on its own. It needs to stay plugged into the power such that it's getting the power from the power plant. Jesus' point is saying: look, spiritually speaking, apart from him, you're like a dark bulb. But staying plugged into him, you will light up and bear fruit progressively to the Father's glory. It might be because I'm getting older, but every time in my email I get an article that says five ways to do something or six steps for doing something. Oh, I love these. Ten keys for doing something. I just hit delete. You know, I can't keep doing five, six, seven, eight, ten things for this and that and this and that and this and that. But I can do one thing: abide.

24:59His invitation to you to abide can be like fresh, cool water for a parched, dry thirst. It can be like having an asthma attack. And Jesus' invitation to abide is like your inhaler to keep you from suffocating under the pressures of your Life. He just says, abide. So, how do we do that? What does that look like practically? Well, that's, we could take weeks, perhaps, but verse 7 helps us. Verse 7 here helps us. Jesus says, if you abide in me, in verse 7, if you abide in me and my words, catch this, and my words abide in you. Did you notice the subtle switch? Verse 5 says, whoever abides in me and I in him by the Holy Spirit. Verse 7 says, if you abide in me and my words abide in you. The implication seems to be one way, listen, one way Jesus abides in his people is through his words, his living and active word. Certainly we can expand that to all of Scripture. The Holy Spirit communes with us, meets with us, feeds us through Scripture. God in Christ communes with us through his word. So with God's Word abiding in us, renewing our minds, shaping our desires, Jesus goes on in verse 7, ask.

26:46Ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. A profound promise for prayer. Now, this is no name-it, claim-it thing. This is God's Word abiding in you, revealing God's will, and you asking for God's revealed will to bear fruit as a disciple to the Father's glory. Oh, that prayer, he says, yeah. I'm going to hear that one. Ask for God's revealed will to bear that kind of fruit, and help is on the way. And don't miss something here. This is happening through a personal relationship with God in Christ. Jesus calls his disciples here friends. Do you see that, verse 14?

27:41You are my friends if you do what I command you. Only Abraham and Moses are called friends of God in the Old Testament. Jesus now extends that privilege to disciples then, I think by implication, disciples now, because he laid down his life for us. Your Lord and friend invites you to abide here through his word and prayer, particularly. So what does that look like? Well, I like to say practices can and will vary. Practices can and will vary. For me, of late, just to give you an example, I found myself struggling in ways of late, emotionally, kind of rather down at times. I've got a buddy of mine, another Josh I used to pastor with, a different Josh in a different state, and he said to me recently, he said that he was experiencing some small D depression. And I thought, you know, I kind of think I know what that's like now. Maybe you can identify.

29:02So for me, this has just looked like praying the Psalms. Catch what I said there. Not just reading the Psalms, praying the Psalms. Letting the psalmist give me words to pour out my heart to God. So it's often a lament, lots of laments in the Psalms. Prayers of pouring out your heart that you might trust Him. And then just waiting on Him and really surrendering to Him, surrendering my agenda and my preferences and trying to rest in His love.

29:41That's how I'm trying to lean on Him, rest on Him, pour out my heart to Him. Pray a psalm. We could add corporate practices that help us to abide. Coming here for gathered worship like you did today, singing with. Worship forms you as you engage with God through the truth of the lyrics. Thank you, John. Sitting under the preaching of God's Word forms you. As Alan is preaching here week after week, friends, that ministry forms you. It's a form of abiding. Celebrating the gospel, the good news through the Lord's Supper forms you. We could add fellowship with other believers in your life groups. I mean, go to your next life group meeting, thinking about this is one way I want to abide in Jesus. It'll change how you view that meeting. We could add means like solitude and fasting and Sabbath. The point is learning to abide, becoming a fruit-bearing, dependent disciple, a branch that can do nothing on your own. But abiding in Him, He says you'll bear much fruit.

31:10So I want to ask you again: are you living for God rather than living with God? It's a constant activity, constant activity, little or no communion. Union with Christ. Is it go, go, go, go, go without dependence on Christ? Do you feel like you're spinning your wheels stuck in the mud spiritually or on that merry-go-round, round and around and around in that destructive habit or pattern, and you don't know how to get off? I mean, do you find yourself, I don't know every situation here, but do you find yourself in kind of middle-aged malaise, I call it, which I relate to, been there, done that, doing that.

32:16You might be an empty nester looking back on life with some regret. Been there, done that, doing that. You might be a teenager, a young adult. You feel the envy of Instagram comparison. FOMO is real for you, the fear of missing out. You might be a parent, maybe a parent of young children, especially, and you're just here physically exhausted. You barely got here. Thank you for coming. You might be a 20-something or a 30-something, unsure of what's next, maybe facing significant decisions. Real uncertainties, anxious about what has happened or what has not happened in life.

33:08You might be married and you went away from this conference discouraged or overwhelmed. Listen, for that area or whatever you're thinking about right now, if I didn't name it, the perennial challenge for you is to live for God rather than with God. And the antidote is to abide. I want you to take this home with you. Your Savior promises: whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit. The pathway to become more like Jesus is through communion with Jesus. So hear that invitation.

34:01Abide in him. And over time, in fellowship with Christ, you will bear much fruit. Much fruit in your marriage. Much fruit in your parenting as a parent. Much fruit as a single adult or a teen. Much fruit as a child. Much fruit as a 20-something or a 30-something. Much fruit where you're discouraged right now. Much fruit where you feel beaten up or beaten down or weighed down. Much fruit, much fruit, showing yourself to be Jesus' disciple. That Jesus has made you His to the Father's glory. Because the key is not what you can do, but what He has already done for you.

34:56Did you remember verse 13? Did you catch verse 13? Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. Jesus is talking about what he's about to do, what he's done for you. The true vine has obeyed fully in your place already. The true vine hung on a cross and then died sacrificially for your sins. The true vine has risen triumphantly from the grave. The tomb is empty. The true vine is reigning sovereignly over your life and your circumstances right now, though they might be a pruning shear in your life. He's reigning over them for your good and his glory, and his spirit dwells within you. He just says to you this morning, abide.

36:00Let's pray together. And let's abide right now, friends. Back home, maybe you do the same. We like to just take a moment of silence to process anything the Holy Spirit's been speaking to you about. So, would you do that right now? If you are thinking, I'm not sure I'm a branch because there's no fruit at all of following Jesus, just flee to him right now in the silence of your heart, believing, trusting in Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.

36:54Or if you are aware of where you're stuck or where you're exhausted, or where you've been living for God rather than with God, bring that to the Lord, even this moment. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I thank you for this church. I thank you for the difference they're making. I thank you for your evident work in their lives. I pray you'd encourage each person here with a hope-giving promise of your power, true vine, and your presence by the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. We thank you. In Jesus' name, amen.

38:12Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.