Growing on the vine
John 15:1-8
Prayer-
Introduction-
We have for a long time been talking about connections.
Connections to God and connections to each others.
Connections to your family and connecting with your church.
Each one is important because God has designed us to need relationship to Him first and foremost and then we need to connect with each other.
This week has been exciting for some and it has been disappointing to others.
I want to tell you something…God is in control no matter who is sent to the Whitehouse.
No matter where you are this week excited or disappointed, the only way that America will be great again is when we let God back in.
When we reconnect with our creator and we connect back with each other.
We do not have to agree with each other on every issue to connect and be a part of each other’s life. I sat with a friend on Wednesday for lunch and without saying it, we agreed to not talk one word about the election and just be friends.
We connect not by agreeing on every issue, but by choice of being a human being and wanting to connect with common ground instead of widening the differences by division.
Hear the words of Jesus this morning about connection.
John 15:1-8
Again, we see red letter words- Jesus own words to us.
We see that the vine in the OT was God and being disconnected from the vine was Israel disobedience to God.
Jesus in the NT says that He Himself is the vine and believers need to be connected to Him to be able to do the things that He commands us to do as followers of Christ.
Being cutoff (v2) is his judgment should we stay off the vine and do our own thing.
Pruning on the other hand is allowing God to cut out things in your life while being on the vine so that you can bear “much fruit.”
Remain in me is a warning that apart from the true vine you will not bear fruit. In
fact, apart from the vine you will die a spiritual death. A branch away from the vine is lifeless.
His repetitious wording shows us urgency and necessity to being on the vine where we receive life so we will not die apart from it.
At the close of the message, I want to show you that John 15:1-8 is Jesus instructing us to model Him and verse 9-17 is the mirror of Jesus modeling God the Father.
Christ is the life-giving vine, and we are the branches that God the Father has grafted into him.
If we are connected to him, we bear fruit. If not, we are dead because our strength and faith can’t live without him.
Our relationship with Jesus is unlike anything else. When it is good it is like nothing else. When it is bad, we struggle and feel disconnected. Anybody relate?
Scripture uses many metaphors to describe our relationship.
He is the King and we are his subjects.
He is the shepherd and we are the sheep.
He is the head and we are the body
If you abide in me, you have life. Apart from me, you will die.
If you allow me to prune and correct you, you will bear much fruit.
If you do not, you cannot do anything apart from me. (That is bigger than yourself.)
That is where I want to spend a few moments this morning. Being connected with Him and bearing much fruit.
I want you to see something here that I have never noticed before. I believe that Jesus is talking to believers, or at least people that thought they were believers.
Read verses 1-4 again.
“You are already clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.”
This forced me to think about my relationship with the Lord.
These verses made me think of what my prayer life looked like with the Lord.
This verse made me think of our church as we seek God out for the things we want Him to do in our lives and the life of the church.
Now thinking about our prayer life with God, let’s look at verse seven.
“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Fathers glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
Prayer-
Father, looking at this verse, we see that if we are connected to the vine that as believers and as your disciples and followers that you promise us much fruit and we today desire to see that promise fulfilled in the life of the people of Rosedale. Amen.
If we believe that- We should have no limitations that fall within the will of God.
“He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto the Father, and whatsoever you shall ask in my name, that will I do, that my Father may be glorified in the Son.”
WOW! WOW! Can you imagine! The exceeding greatness of that promise is overwhelming to me, yet we quote scripture that says;
“He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.”
He tells us that our strength and our fruitfulness depends on our relationship with him and our prayers we offer up to Him.
What is your prayer life like?
I read that and I think that everyone of us could be praying more.
I think that everyone of us has to be honest and see if we even have a prayer life that would bring power and fruitfulness into our lives and others around us. (Do we have the kind of prayer life with the urgency of a house on fire and we have to get them out)
I think each one of us has to be honest and see if what we are going through and wanting God to intervene can be attributed to the fact that we have not been in communication with God and we ourselves are stopping what God is desiring to do because we do not have the power of God working in our lives.
Fellow-laborers, we should not be doubting the power of God if we are not seeking the power of God in our lives. (Repeat)
I would not begin to tell you this morning how much time you must spend in prayer.
I will tell you that if you do not have time in prayer, you are cheating yourself out of a blessing for yourself and your family, AND YOUR CHURCH FAMILY.
I will tell that if every person in this congregation would prayer 10 minutes a day for the power of God to fall on this community that we would see a difference- GUARENTEED! It is His word, not mine!
I am telling you that prayer works.
Leaders, maybe what we are talking about would come to reality if we spent more time talking to God about it.
Praying is a privilege when you think that the God of the universe would listen, a duty for all that desire to do kingdom work and a necessity to see what is done in the power of God and not just limited to our own talents and ambitions.
Only the Holy Spirit of God can stir us up and allow us to take hold of God.
The author of the kneeling Christian writes; “We may work for Christ from morning till night; we may spend much time in Bible study; we may be most earnest and faithful and “acceptable” in our preaching and in our individual dealing, but none of these things can be truly effective unless we are much in prayer. We shall only be full of good works; and not “bearing fruit in every good work.”
To be little with God in prayer is to be little for God in service.”
We all keep saying we want revival to come, to everybody else? On our terms? Maybe the revival needs to start in each one of us to allow God to work in us and to use us.
Have you ever timed your prayers?
You would be surprised the time you spend.
We all can do better with the time we communicate with God.
Prayer has to be because you want too and it has to be spontaneous and it has to be listening and talking. Not just a recited prayer though they can help.
A full friendship with Jesus that brings results.
I am certain of this fact- God wants us to be praying- are you willing to pray?
Last thing as I close;
John 15:9-17
As I have obeyed, I expect you to obey.
This is the mirror image of God the Father with Jesus and Jesus wanting us to model and reflect Him.
I see joy, God’s love and God’s power to accomplish impossible tasks in ourselves but made possible with God.
He says that He chose us to bear fruit and make a difference and to connect to this community to show God’s love.
If we are not bearing fruit, in our lives, in those we come in contact with, we have to at least look at the possibility that we are not praying about it and listening to God for the answers, strength, wisdom and power to do things that are way above our pay grade.
Prayer changes things
Prayer is talking to God about it and waiting for an answer.
Prayer is being on the life supporting vine of God so that we the branches don’t die of starvation.
To understand the importance of being plugged into God is to understand that praying is not the least we can do, but it is the most important thing we can do!
Where do you go to meet with God? Your favorite chair with coffee? A special room that has become your prayer place? A secluded place that brings you comfort and security? We all need a place for God to speak to us and a place where we can listen to Him.
We need to be connected to him so we are engaged with him. We need to be connected to each other so we can help each other journey in this life.
God is the author of connection.
Amen.
