John 15:1-5
Why is Jesus taking time to give this message about a vine?
Because He had done told them that He was going away, but that His message would continue thru them but how was that going to happen, so Jesus is giving them the tools they need to get the job done!!
Verse 1-“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
There are some other vines that we get interconnected with and if not careful we begin to draw life and energy from these false vines.
Such false vines can be our job, our country, our favorite team, our city, our state, our recreation, our hobbies, our religion, even our families.
Jesus is the one we are to draw strength and energy from, all these other things draws strength and energy from us, He is the one we are to be connected to!
Verse 2-Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
In Me-Jesus isn't speaking about those who profess Christ and yet have never possessed Christ
Jesus is talking about those ones that are His!
He Takes Away-Bruce Wilkinson wrote a book called The Secrets of the Vine, in it he says, “Greek word used here for “cut off” can also be translated as “lift up” and then he told a story about a guy he met that owned a vineyard.
“As we sat across the restaurant from each other, he began to talk about
the life of a grower — the long hours spent walking the vineyards, tending the
grapes, watching the fruit develop, waiting for the perfect day to begin harvest.
‘New branches have a natural tendency to trail down and grow along the
ground,’ he explained. ‘But they don’t bear fruit down there. When branches
grow along the ground, the leaves get coated in dust. When it rains, they get
muddy and mildewed. The branch becomes sick and useless. ’‘What do you do?’
I asked. ‘Cut it off and throw it away? ’‘Oh, no!’ he exclaimed, ‘The branch is
much too valuable for that. We go through the vineyard with a bucket of water
looking for those branches. We lift them up and wash them off.’ He
demonstrated for me with dark, callused hands. ‘Then we wrap them around the trellis, or tie them up. Pretty soon they’re thriving.’”
When we read Galatians 5:22-23-But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
I know that sometimes we may see one or two of those things in our life but not all of them, (not a cluster of them, to use a grape illustration).
God is not coming at you with shears to cut you off, but with water to cleanse you and purify you and to lift you up, so that you can produce fruit!!
Remember the vinedresser doesn’t do this one day and come back the next day expecting fruit, it takes time, so do not give up on yourself, if you are tapped into the vine the fruit will come!
Philippians 1:6-being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
He Prunes-When we allow things into our lives that hinder our walk with the Lord, then get ready for a pruning.
Remember that if we do not do on our own, the Lord surely will!
Vinedresser removes things from the branch that sap it vitality and strength.
Things like sucker branches, useless buds, misdirected shoots, spots, discolored leaves, etc. Anything that consumes life but produces no fruit must go!
It is beneficial for us for God to remove those unhealthy routines, unhealthy habits and relationships which keep us from being fruitful.
What are those unhealthy routines from your life that need to be pruned back so that your life can be more productive?
Think for a moment of your unhealthy habits that needs to be eliminated.
What are those unhealthy relationships that need to be pruned back and changed?
Verse 5-“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
Abides In Me-Pray, study His word, witness, draw close to Him, then His life will flow thru me!
Webster defines Abide as: remaining.
Remaining is something foreign to our society and culture. Yet, our world has placed so much emphasis on being upwardly mobile the very thought of remaining with someone or
something is almost frowned upon today.
So, Americans move….from relationship to relationship / state to state / company to company /spouse to spouse / church to church.
While these moves may or may not be beneficial, the tragedy is that fewer and fewer people today are finding God and then remaining in a lasting relationship with Him.
When H. B. Macartney, an Australian pastor, visited Hudson Taylor in China, he was amazed at the missionary's serenity in spite of his many burdens and his busy schedule. Macartney finally mustered up the courage to say, "You are occupied with millions, I with tens. Your letters are pressingly important, mine of comparatively little value. Yet I am worried and distressed while you are always calm. Tell me, what makes the difference?" Taylor replied, "I could not possibly get through the work I have to do without the peace of God which passes all understanding keeping my heart and mind."
Macartney later wrote, "He was in God all the time, and God was in him.
