...from the desk of Rande Wayne Smith D.Min., Th.M., M.Div.

I AM - 6

I AM THE VINE

John 15:1-8

“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.”

May the Lord grant that we may engage in contemplating the mysteries of His Heavenly wisdom with really increasing devotion to His glory and our edification.  Amen.

Jesus said, “I am the real vine” “and you’re either connected to me, or you’re not … and if you’re not, then spiritually speaking you’re dying, or dead. And if you don’t watch out, a point will come when you’re cut off and thrown into the fire.”

A couple of introductory comments about this I AM statement. first of all, it was made while Jesus was on the move, and He made it to His closest followers, unlike the other I AM statements which were said to large crowds. Jesus and His disciples had just finished eating the Last Supper in the Upper Room.

They’ve stepped out of the house and are passing through the gate of Jerusalem. They’re going down a ravine to a familiar place that Jesus has been to before … a garden, Gethsemane, which was located at the base of the Mount of Olives.

This is not a long walk, about the length of Kirchoff Road from Wilke to Plum Grove. So imagine Jesus walking and telling His disciples, “I am the real vine, and my Father is the gardener.”

Then the second 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, and my Father is the gardener.”

Jesus is alluding to His deity.

It’s another way of saying, “the Father and I … we’re the God team.” (People who suggest that Jesus makes no claims at 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 … and a warning.

first of all, the promise. When we read a passage of Scripture we can discover the author’s major theme by noting any repeated words or phrases. If the author says something again and again and again, they’re trying to get a point across.

So, as we read our Gospel lesson, as you look at it now, what word is repeated 7 times in those 8 verses? (fruit) In fact, in verse 5, Jesus is not just talking about fruit … He is talking about “much fruit.”

Question, would you like to bear fruit? Would you like to bear much fruit? … “Well, I don’t know, it depends upon what you mean. What does ‘fruit’ mean?”

When Scripture uses the word fruit in this way, it has one of 2 things in mind. It’s either talking about character … the “fruit” of your personality. Or the “fruit” you produce in the lives of other people … the impact that you have on others.

Jesus is saying that He is the source of life that produces character, and makes an impact upon others … so, would you like to be fruitful like that?

The Apostle Paul says that when we put our trust in Christ, and His Spirit takes up residence in our lives, Jesus will begin to produce certain character fruit. This is what God wants to produce in you. “The Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control.”

That’s the fruit that God wants to work into the fabric of your character. If you remain in the vine, with Jesus, He’ll produce His character in you. Can you see that happening in your life?

When you got connected to the vine, what changed in your life? Is there a sense of peace in your life now that wasn’t there before? Are you more patient now than you were before you came to faith? More joyful? More kind? That’s the character fruit that Jesus is speaking of.

secondly, fruitfulness also indicates the impact we have on other people.

Later Jesus will say to His disciples, “I chose you and appointed you to go and bear much fruit.”

In this instance, He’s not talking about character fruit, but rather the impact we have in the lives of others.

Evidently Jesus’ early followers took Him seriously. Because less than 25 years later the Apostle Paul is writing his letter to the church in Colossae, and he says, “The gospel keeps bringing blessings (fruit) and is spreading throughout the world.”

Let me ask you this morning, have you ever been fruitful in this sense of the word? Have you ever had the privilege of directing someone into a personal relationship with God through Christ? Because there is 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 first asked Peter to follow Him He used “fisherman” language … because Peter was a fisherman. Jesus said, Peter leave your nets and come and follow me, “don’t be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.”

“Instead of fishing for fish you will fish for people.” And so Peter and Jesus, for the next several years spent time together throwing out the net and drawing people in. Peter saw people healed, he saw people forgiven, he saw people restored in a relationship with God, and he saw people taught spiritual truths … it was exciting!

Then we come to the last chapter of John’s Gospel. Jesus has died and been resurrected and just about to return to Heaven. And of all of the times for Peter to loose focus, he decides to go fishing for fish again!

So he takes 6 of the other disciples and they fish all night … and catch absolutely nothing. Morning comes and there’s a person on the shore. They can’t quite make Him out because of the early morning fog. But this person calls out to them, “haven’t you caught anything?” They yell back, “Not a thing.”

So the man on the shore calls back, “Throw your net out on the right side of the boat, and you will catch some.” (What a ridiculous thing to say to professional fishermen.)

But, they throw their net to the other side of the boat … and it gets so full of fish that they can hardly pull it onboard.

John looks at Peter and said, “It is the Lord!” So Peter dives into the water, (paddling the boat in would take too long) … he wants 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 vocation with anything else, it will prove to be worthless and futile.”

There’s nothing wrong with fishing, just like there’s nothing wrong with teaching school, or building homes, or working in an office, or selling a product.

But if we get so preoccupied with these daily tasks that we lose sight of a 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 fruit-less. We will miss out on the opportunity to impact people for all time.

“I am the vine, and you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will bear much fruit.” Don’t you want to bear that kind of fruit? I do!

I have been asked by our Deacons, and some of you, to lead a class on some ways to share our faith. (Some of you would like to do this but you have never been taught how). So, some Sunday evening after Easter I’ll give you some hints. So, if you’re interested in becoming “fruitful” in this way, plan to attend.

The second thing I would suggest is that you start using our Sunday worship services for something more than yourself. This is a great place to come and bring family and friends to learn about God … but it’s also a great place to introduce a friend, a neighbor, a work associate to Christ in a personal way. So, I encourage you to bring a friend with you.

Lastly, let me encourage you to pray for opportunities. This is something that I’ve got to do because I’ve got one of those jobs where I hang out with all the wrong kinds of people all day long. I’m usually with believers, and helping them move along with their faith. That’s exciting, but it gives me little opportunity, like many of you have, to be in an environment where you’re surrounded by people who really need Christ.

So I’ve got to pray all the time, “Jesus, give me those opportunities, when I’m standing in line at Jewel, when I’m pumping gas, when I’m out in the yard, wherever ….” You know, when I pray that, and really mean it, opportunities come.

That’s something that I’m praying for us as a congregation … because it’s the one thing that we really need to do, more than anything else; it’s our primary mission.

Many of you are being so very faithful to that “12x2x5” challenge that I gave back on December 3first. I’m proud of you … but let’s begin to look for opportunities to take that prayer to the next level.

What would happen if we all started praying for opportunities to share our faith?

What would happen if we looked for opportunities to do this at CORNFEST? What would happen at our Christmas tree sales? What would happen at the Resale Shop? We have people, lots of people, coming onto God’s property here all the time, what would happen if we used these opportunities that God gives us to fulfill our mission to bear fruit?

That brings us to my second 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 you will see about ½ dozen times … “remain in me.” In fact the word remain is used in some way 10 times. This has got to be an important concept for it to be repeated so frequently by Jesus … remain in me, remain in me, remain in me. It’s a challenge.

But, this is not something that just happens. 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 is the vine. Our responsibility is to remain in the vine.

“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.”

Let me illustrate this for you.

I can’t produce music out of this boom box, but I’ll tell you what I can do. I can plug it in. Now watch this, I’ll do it in slow motion … Do you want me to do it again?

Okay, remember this visual aid. There is nothing in me that can produce music from the boom box … but if I plug it in the music happens. I can’t bear fruit. I can’t produce fruit. There is no spiritual power in my life apart from Christ.

But I do have a responsibility … and that is to “plug in” … to remain in Him.

Some of you are thinking, I understand the boom box illustration … but how do I “plug in” to Christ?

Fortunately Jesus tells us how. He gives us 2 activities to do.

“If you remain in me and my words remain in you …” if my words remain in you. Let me ask you, where do you find Jesus’ words? (the Bible)

The Bible 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 more in mind than listening to a 20 minute sermon on Sunday. Now certainly that’s a great start, but having His word remain in us, means reading the Bible during the week.

It means taking a piece of paper and a pen and jotting down things that speak to you as you read.

It means being in a Bible study of some kind where you can discuss what you are getting out of a passage and how to apply it to your life.

That’s all part of what it means to have His words remain in you. This is so critical … let’s go back to the boom box again. You’re either plugged in or you’re unplugged with regards to God’s Word. What describes you this morning? Are you a plugged in believer? Or are you unplugged?

This concept of remaining suggests time spent in God’s Word. Think about making a cup of tea. You take a cup, fill it with water, and put it in the microwave for a minute. Okay? Then drop a tea bag in for one second … then take it out … and you have a cup of tea, right?

Well, not if you dip it for one second. You have to do what the British call “steeping.” And for tea to steep the bag has to soak for 2 or 3 minutes.

We have to 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, and you shall have it.” This is the flip side 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 and hurts.

Now understand … this is not a “genie” promise to get whatever your whim is. Please note the context. We’re remaining in Christ; we’re steeping in His Word.

And then 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 kinds 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.

A lot of people have digital cameras that are battery charged. The battery runs down quickly … and needs recharged. But most of the time we’re in such a hurry we don’t wait for it to get a full recharge. We grab it and run. What happens? The charge runs out; the camera 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 and 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. It 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, 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 not bear fruit, so that it will be clean and bear more fruit.”

“I am the real vine.” In the original text it is even more emphasized, “I am the real vine, the real one.”

And the reason Jesus was emphasizing “real” was because His listeners, knowing their O.T., understood there was a false vine to be contended with.

Time and again God says that His people are like a vine that has been fruitless, no grapes, just woody branches. (Psalm 80:8-9; Isaiah 5:1-4; Jeremiah 2:21; Hosea 10:1) It’s a false vine that hasn’t lived up to its’ “vineness.”

His listeners would be familiar with that O.T. concept, and now Jesus turns to them and says, “I am the real vine.” If you’re connected with me, fruitlessness will be a thing of the past.

Understanding that, what Jesus says about His Father the gardener and the gardener’s job makes sense.

There are 2 parts to the gardener’s job, (and these are the warnings). “He breaks off every branch in me that does not bear fruit.”

The first job of the gardener is to eliminate any branch that doesn’t bear fruit. Those are strong words. What it means is that if our lives are not marked by the character of Christ, if we’re not getting transformed into His likeness, if we’re not having an impact upon others through our personal witness, if there is no fruit in our lives, then the gardener is going to come and cut us off.

Some years ago I had a neighbor who had a scraggly hedge in his backyard. A professional landscaper came and cleaned house. He cut out all the dead stuff, and within a year that hedge was beautiful. What that taught me was that gardeners don’t tolerate dead branches.

This Scripture says … neither does God. So, if you’re “dead” … you better do something real quick. If you’re not open to Jesus making His transformations through you, if you’re not open to becoming a witness to His saving grace … watch out, because that lack of fruitfulness will be seen and dealt with.

Now the second 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 and bear more fruit.”

Fruitless branches are cut off … and fruitful branches are pruned.

That means that God allows hardships, disappointments, and trials, and sickness, and other things in your life … not because He is a mean God … not because His desire is to punish, but because, as your gardener, He wants you to be even more fruitful.

He wants you to make a bigger impact in the lives of others. He wants you to become more like His Son Jesus Christ.

When your Heavenly Father looks at your life and sees that you’re too busy to spend time with Him, when He looks at your life and sees that its’ become too crowded with stuff, when He looks at your life and sees there are relational conflicts going on un-mended, when He looks at your life and sees patterns of sin that you persist in … out come the pruning shears.

“I’ve got to do a little cutting back here. This needs your attention. Not because I want to hurt you, but because I want you to be fruitful.”

Over the years, running has been a big part of my life. 10, 15, 20, 25 years ago I was a very competitive runner. I ran races a couple times a month. I have a lot of trophies in my exercise room at home from races I won, or did well in.

But, looking back over those years, I notice that at certain times when running became the #1 priority in my life, when it was the most important thing in my life, God would do some “pruning” and allow me to have stress fractures or pulled muscles in order to slow me down. God was getting my attention so that my focus would get back in line.

Let me ask you, what kind of a branch are you? Are you a branch that is unconnected … you’re not remaining in the vine, so there is no character fruit, there is no impact fruit. If that’s the case, I need to warn you with as much urgency as I can … get connected with the vine.

Are you an existing branch that’s not drawing life from the vine? Please get connected. Begin today by getting back into God’s Word. Reacquaint yourself with Him through prayer.

If you are 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.

MARANA THA