Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Good morning, everybody.
[00:00:03] We're going to be in John 15:1 8. So if you don't mind turning there while I turn there.
[00:00:12] Quickly. Do. Do.
[00:00:15] All right, so John 15.
[00:00:20] I'll give you a little bit of context. This is Jesus farewell discourse. At this point, Judas has already left. They've already had the Last Supper. He's going to go betray Jesus. And Jesus is giving teachings to his disciples before he goes to the cross.
[00:00:39] So let's read through this passage. So we're going to be in verses one through eight.
[00:00:46] I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. Every branch in me that does not produce fruit, he removes. And he prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit.
[00:00:59] You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me and die in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me.
[00:01:16] I am the vine, you are the branches, the one who remains in me, and I in him produces much fruit. Because you can do nothing without me. If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown aside like a branch, and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you.
[00:01:43] My Father is glorified by this, that you produce much fruit and prove to be my disciples.
[00:01:51] So first question, why a vine? We see that Jesus, through the Gospels, is recorded using the word produce in Matthew 7. But why a vine? Well, obviously during this time, vines were common, made olives for for oil, olives for food, made wines, made grapes, vineyards. Very common thing throughout the day.
[00:02:19] But another thing that this vineyard vine analogy relates to is in the Old Testament, in Isaiah 5, if you don't mind, let's turn there. It's going to be in Isaiah 51. Just hold your thumb in 15 because we'll be back there momentarily.
[00:02:37] But here in this passage of Isaiah, Isaiah is speaking to the people of Israel.
[00:02:46] So I'm going to read this passage and follow along. We're in Isaiah 51, and we're going to go to seven, to the end of seven. So I will sing about the one I love, a song about my loved one's vineyard. The one I love had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He broke up the soil, cleared it of stones and planted it with the finest vines. He built a tower in the middle of it and even dug out a winepress there. He expected it to yield good grapes, but it yielded worthless grapes. So now residents of Jerusalem and men of Judah, please judge between me and my vineyard. What more could I have done for my vineyard than I did?
[00:03:28] Why, when I expected a yield of good grapes, did it yield worthless grapes? Now I will tell you what I am about to do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed.
[00:03:38] I will tear down its wall and it will be trampled. I will make it a wasteland. It will not be pruned or weeded. Thorns and briers will grow up. I will also give orders to the clouds that rain should not fall on it. For the vineyard of the Lord of armies is the house of Israel and the men of Judah. The plant he delighted in. He expected justice, but saw injustice. He expected righteousness, but heard cries of despair. So in that Isaiah passage, we see that God is relating to Israel as his vineyard. He's the one tilling it. He's the one taking care of it. But the fruit being produced is not good. It's sour. It's. It's a wasteland. And so God's bringing judgment. So as we look here in John 15, going back, let's look at the first two verses. I am the true vine and my father is the gardener.
[00:04:33] Jesus is saying he's the true vine.
[00:04:36] You guys may be aware of it, but as you keep studying the New Testament, you'll see that a lot of the New Testament authors, Paul, the disciples, they're talking about how Jesus is the true Israel. Jesus is the one to be connected to, not the people group of Israel, but it's Jesus. So, you know, we get that where in times they're saying it's not by the dates that you keep or the laws that you keep, it's about your faith in Christ and following his commands.
[00:05:08] So that's why Jesus is saying, I am the true vine. And little fun fact, I am, that's God's name. This is the last use of the I am statement. Well, except for verse 5 here that Jesus used to say that he is God. And so when he says it, and my Father is a gardener, he's just relating that God is the caretaker. God is the caretaker of his people. He tends to the garden, he takes out the weeds, he provides the rain, provides the food.
[00:05:36] So what does that mean for us?
[00:05:39] If we want to be part of the vine, we need to look for.
[00:05:44] We need to look to God for our caretaking, and we need to look to Christ as being the only true one. So as we Continue.
[00:05:55] In verse two, it says, every branch of me that does not produce fruit, he removes and he prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit.
[00:06:04] Analogies are fun. But let's explain what is the fruit?
[00:06:10] If you guys were from a couple summers or. I can't remember, was it last summer or summer before?
[00:06:17] There's a fruit of the Spirit, right? Is it at a cantaloupe? No. Is it a watermelon? No. The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.
[00:06:29] It's being the image of God, being like Christ. That's the fruit we're talking about here. So as we're looking at these, a branch that does not produce fruit, he removes. Talking about God, God's the one removing the branch that does not produce fruit. So remembering this context of the Israel and now today, the church, if you're not producing fruit, you're not a part of the vine.
[00:06:56] So for us today, we may go to church, we may be in church, we may even give, we may serve. But if you're not trusting Jesus as Lord, you cannot produce fruit.
[00:07:09] And if you're not, if you're not producing fruit, you're removed. So don't be mistaken.
[00:07:15] So the second half of verse two talks about pruning the vines that do produce fruit so that it'll produce more fruit.
[00:07:23] Pruning is a great process to create more produce. It keeps the plant healthy. It makes.
[00:07:32] Sometimes the plant even tastes, or, sorry, the fruit tastes even sweeter and better.
[00:07:38] But pruning does put some, I'd say, like hurt on the plant. It puts some stress on the plant. That's the word I'm looking for.
[00:07:47] In the same way Jesus tells us that we are to take up our cross and deny ourselves and follow Him, So there are things in our lives as Christians that we need to cut off.
[00:08:03] Jesus talks about, if your eye causes you to stumble, cut it off so that you may not sin, so that you may go into the kingdom of God without an eye. But you're not casting your whole body into hell. Cutting off your hand if it causes you to sin, cutting off your foot if it leads you to evil.
[00:08:18] These things in our lives that God is calling us to remove is what's going to create more fruit in us, right? If we're doing things, if we're in sin, if we're hanging out with friends that are causing us to speak badly of others or to just go and be disrespectful or just Have a bad mentality. Right. We want to set our mind on things above, not things below.
[00:08:44] So, you know, whether that's with friends, books that we read, movies, video games we play.
[00:08:52] We want to be aware that the fruit that we're gaining from these things, that they're good things.
[00:09:00] So as we continue on there, one of the things that Jesus talks about with fruit was from Matthew 7 on Sermon on Mount Matthew 7, 1520, he talks about being on guard against false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly ravaging wolves.
[00:09:23] You will recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit. But a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can't produce bad fruit. Neither can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that doesn't produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So you'll recognize them by their fruit.
[00:09:46] So that's why Jesus is telling us, as Christians, as his followers, to be looking at what we're producing. Are we doing things that are like Christ? Are we actually imaging him, or are we acting like the world?
[00:10:03] Because you can't be of Christ and not produce good fruit, and you can't be of the world and produce Christ like fruit.
[00:10:15] Ultimately, God's the judge, but we know how the Spirit leads and convicts us.
[00:10:22] So in verse three, it's kind of a weird change. It's kind of a verse that sticks out that doesn't really match the rest of the context. So in verse three, he says, you are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.
[00:10:38] So why is Jesus saying this?
[00:10:41] He's pointing disciples back to the gospel.
[00:10:45] We are so quick to put our works as our judgment of our salvation. We're so quick to think that I did this thing. God hates me. I deserve to be judged. I deserve to be condemned. Romans 8:1 speaks, Therefore now there is no condemnation of anyone who is in Christ Jesus.
[00:11:04] Jesus is saying, you are clean because of the word I've already spoken to you. He's just going back to John 13 before.
[00:11:12] Excuse me, before Judas leaves.
[00:11:15] He's saying in this passage, he's talking to Peter and he says, I'm going to wash your feet. And Peter's like, what are you going to wash my feet for?
[00:11:28] Jesus saying, I don't. You know, you don't know what I'm saying, but. Or you don't realize what I'm doing now, but afterward you'll understand.
[00:11:34] So Peter says, you'll never wash my feet.
[00:11:37] And Jesus tells him, if I don't wash you, you have no part in me. And so Peter, like he typically does, going over the top, he says, lord, not only wash my feet, but also my hands and my head.
[00:11:47] So Jesus responded with this, one who has bathed doesn't need to wash anything except his feet. But he is completely clean. You were clean, but not all of you talking about Judas.
[00:12:01] So the fact is that our faith in Christ is what makes us clean.
[00:12:09] Don't forget the gospel. Don't let your actions make you think that you're not saved. Don't let yourselves be caught up in the lie that a Christian would never do, that you're unredeemable.
[00:12:23] Now you gotta pay back God.
[00:12:25] Christ paid it all so you can just live for him.
[00:12:30] So always when you're thinking of the stuff that's coming out of your life, the words that you use, how you treat others, it should reflect Christ. If you see that it's not reflecting Christ, repent. Say, God, that's wrong. I'm going to cut that off so I can be more like you.
[00:12:52] So this next passage, this next section four through seven, I'm going to read through it. It's going to sound like Jesus is repeating himself.
[00:13:04] And this is a very Jewish way of teaching. He's going to repeat himself, but he's going to make different changes. Okay, so I'm going to read through it. You guys just notice what stays the same, what changes. And I will state, my version says, remain in me. Your Version will say, abide in me. They mean the same thing. Okay, so looking here at verse four, remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me.
[00:13:39] I am the vine, you are the branches, the one who remains in me, and I in him. Produce as much fruit because you can do nothing without me.
[00:13:49] If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown aside like a branch and he withers.
[00:13:54] They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you.
[00:14:05] So the repeated phrase there is, remain in me, abide in me.
[00:14:12] And what changes is in each verse. So in verse four, we are looking and it says, you cannot produce fruit by yourself.
[00:14:24] You guys were going through Genesis, right? And Sunday morning, Genesis 2:18 says, it is not good for man to be alone. Therefore I'll make a helper suitable for Him. God makes it clear it's not good for you to be alone.
[00:14:39] You were meant for others.
[00:14:43] It doesn't mean you have to have millions of friends, but it means that you should have other people in your life. Because when we're alone, it's just us and our flesh and the evil one.
[00:14:52] But when we have Christ, it's us, Christ, and then other Christians against our flesh.
[00:14:59] But you cannot produce fruit. Like I said earlier, if you're not in Christ, you can't produce good fruit.
[00:15:06] Like I said earlier, like Jesus said in Matthew 7, no good tree can produce bad fruit. No bad tree can produce good fruit. You need to be attached to Jesus to produce fruit.
[00:15:19] So don't be alone.
[00:15:22] Have a community. That's what we're here for, right? We're here on Sunday mornings, we're here on Wednesday nights. You guys hang out. You have friends that are other Christians in other areas. Those are good. You need to have those relationships through all your life. Because as we gather together, we're able to encourage one another to love and to do good deeds, and we can keep looking forward to Christ.
[00:15:45] So now looking at verse five, I am the vine, you are the branches, the one who remains in Me, and I in him, produces much fruit because you can do nothing without me.
[00:16:00] When you're in Christ, it's going to be obvious. You're going to notice things. It's going to take time. You're not going to know it in like 24 hours. And sometimes you kind of notice in a day like, oh, wow, this has made a change.
[00:16:13] You're going to produce much fruit. So being in Christ, walking with him, being in His Word, being in prayer, you're going to produce much fruit. It's actually going to stand out in the world.
[00:16:28] That's why in First Peter, it talks about when people come up and ask you, why do you have this hope? Why are you this way? He says, be ready to give an answer for why.
[00:16:40] Be ready to give an answer for your faith.
[00:16:44] So producing much fruit comes from God. It's not of this world.
[00:16:51] But you have to abide in Him. You have to remain in Him. You have to be meditating on His Word, praying His Word and obeying His Word, being together with other Christians, encouraging them.
[00:17:04] And you're going to have so much fruit that people are going to notice something different about you. You're going to notice it.
[00:17:11] Take it from me, after following Christ for, I don't know, I guess about 10, 11 years since I started taking it seriously in my freshman Year of college, I've noticed changes. I used to be super angry. I used to have very little patience for my parents and just for just some really bad stuff. But now I actually have. Strangely, I can. What people say doesn't affect me, or at least not rationally. Like, I go to God in prayer, so seek to be like Christ, and then you will see the fruit. You will see that it's worth it.
[00:17:51] So now verse 6.
[00:17:53] If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown aside like a branch, and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire and they are burned.
[00:18:02] We all know if you go out, you got a green branch with green leaves on it, which now everything's turning colors.
[00:18:11] If you were to cut it off and throw it into a pile, in about a week it's going to be brown, right?
[00:18:18] And if anybody likes to light fires, that's when it's the time to light it on fire. When it's green, it's hard to burn, but you can light it on fire because it's withered, it, it's dried out. There's no life in it.
[00:18:32] That's what happens when we don't remain in Christ, when we remove ourselves and follow the ways of the world, sticking to the mentality. Like, now, buy this, buy that, it's Christmas time. So that means you're going to get stuff rather than remembering, hey, what's the reason you're going to wither? And you're going to be more.
[00:18:54] You're just going to be more. I guess the way to say it is discouraged, more angrier, more like the world.
[00:19:02] And Jesus is saying that's what happens. And here's the results of those who are going in the world. They're going to be gathered and they're going to be thrown into the fire. They're going to be burned.
[00:19:13] Once again, remember verse three. Remember the Gospel. If you find yourself in a withered state where you're just desperate need of being with God. For me, when I spend time out of the Word, it's like when I go, it's like I'm just thirsty. I am. It's like drinking water on a hot day.
[00:19:34] I need that. And when I go to God, reading your word, being in prayer, it's like taking a good drink and it's so refreshing.
[00:19:43] So if you find yourself withering, ask yourself, are you in Christ? Are you following him? Are you in the Word? Are you in prayer? Are you in a good community?
[00:19:53] Are you obeying what he's leading you to do?
[00:19:56] So now, looking at verse seven. Yep.
[00:20:01] If you remain in me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it'll be done for you.
[00:20:10] I'm going to acknowledge we're in Tulsa.
[00:20:12] There's a lot of bad theology, which. Bad theology hurts people.
[00:20:19] If you just take this verse out of context, you're going to say, ah, whatever I say, in Jesus name, He'll give me. So in Jesus name, I want that red Ferrari, or in Jesus name, I want that new pickup.
[00:20:34] That's not how he works.
[00:20:36] You can't ask God to do anything that goes against His Word.
[00:20:42] James is great for this kind of thought. James talks about, you ask and do not receive because you ask with the wrong motives.
[00:20:53] So whenever you're praying, whenever you're seeking God, what are you asking for? Is it something that actually glorifies him, or is it something that glorifies you?
[00:21:04] Because the key here is that second phrase, and my words remain in you.
[00:21:14] If you have God's Word in your heart, just as Psalm 119 speaks of, your paths will be made straight. You are going to speak as God would speak. You're going to live as Christ lives. You're going to pray for those around you. How often are you actually praying that God has mercy on your friends or on the people around you who are just. Who despise God, who hate the Gospel?
[00:21:42] Because the more that people reject, the more their hearts get hardened.
[00:21:46] Jesus is always interceding for us. Are you interceding for your brothers and sisters in Christ?
[00:21:51] Are you asking that God can work in their heart to remind them of God's goodness?
[00:21:58] So the more that you abide in Christ, the more that you remain in him, the more you're going to be like him, the more your prayers are going to represent Him. And there are physical needs. Pray for the sick all the time. And what's awesome is seeing God do miraculous things. But are you praying for those things? Are you praying for the sick to be healed? Are you praying for those who are in need?
[00:22:20] Because if you're not seeking those things, then are you really seeking after God?
[00:22:28] Wednesday, Jacob talked about a Timothy Keller quote, which was great.
[00:22:32] He says, God does not give us exactly what we asked for. Instead, he gives us what we would have asked for if we had known everything he knows.
[00:22:42] So when you ask for things and don't receive, what is your heart doing?
[00:22:47] Are you starting to hate God? Are you starting to reject God?
[00:22:52] Or are you like, okay, God, what's going on here?
[00:22:58] So being mindful of these Passages where we are able to come together with Christ, be co laborers in Christ, be mindful that we're seeking after God's glory, not after ours.
[00:23:13] Which brings us to our last verse here.
[00:23:16] My Father is glorified by this, that you produce much fruit and prove to be my disciples.
[00:23:25] By following what Jesus taught here, we're glorifying God.
[00:23:31] Not only does God see the change and see our relationship with him, but also the fruit that we produce impacts the world we live in once again. If you're in Christ, the only, the next best thing is heaven, right? Which really is kind of now because you're in Christ, but ready already, but not yet.
[00:23:53] But we're still here for a reason.
[00:23:57] We're here to share the gospel. We're here to show God.
[00:24:01] We all know talk is cheap. If I say, hey, I can fly, you guys would be like, prove it.
[00:24:09] I can shoot a half court shot and say, prove it. Right? That's all we do. Because we all know that anybody can say anything they want.
[00:24:21] But that's why that fruit that we produce, that life that we live, those characteristics of peace, patience, gentleness, goodness and self control, that proves that God is who he says he is. That God takes people who are in the world, redeems them, brings the dead to life, and actually changes lives.
[00:24:46] So that's the point of why we're here. We're here to glorify God. Because the more glory that we bring to God, the more our light shines before men.
[00:24:56] So what are you doing with your life? What is the main focus?
[00:25:01] Are you seeking to glorify God in what you're doing?
[00:25:05] Many of us play sports, play video games, read books. Is what you're doing bringing glory to God?
[00:25:11] Is that bringing the fruit that actually shows that God is who he says he is.
[00:25:22] So the point of all this is to show that being in Christ is where we have life.
[00:25:33] Being in Christ is where we were meant to be from the beginning, right? Talked about the garden, dwelling with God in our midst.
[00:25:41] If you are a Christian, if you believe, as Romans 10 states, that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus says Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
[00:25:53] If you believe that, then you're a Christian and you can be the light of the world. You can be that beacon of hope for others.
[00:26:05] As a good friend of mine says, God has put you exactly where you're at for the people that you're around.
[00:26:13] So the people that you interact with daily, God has put you in their lives for a reason. Are you trying to be like Christ? That doesn't mean you're sharing the gospel every time you see him. It might. It means, are you living like Christ?
[00:26:29] So one illustration I want to end with growing up in the woods in southeast Oklahoma because the city is weird.
[00:26:39] Me and my brother were bored a lot. And we didn't have video games yet, hadn't been invented.
[00:26:46] We didn't have Internet. We didn't even have cell service. Anyways, we were bored and so we lived in about. We lived in the woods and there was no fences and stuff like that. So me and him would just go out and mess around. And sometimes we throw dirt clods at each other. And sometimes those dirt clods had rocks and they hurt.
[00:27:03] But a lot of times when we went foiler riding or just walking in the woods, we would go push trees down, right? Being this tall and like weighing 90 pounds, the best thing you could do is take down something bigger than you.
[00:27:17] So as we're walking in the woods, you know, you're around pine trees that are huge. But sometimes you'll have some dead trees that are huge and you can go over and you can just tap them and they'll just fall right over. Sometimes you'd have to run and hit them with your shoulder, but. And then you'd have to watch the top and they'll echo on you.
[00:27:35] But those big trees would just fall.
[00:27:42] And sometimes we'd go around and there'd be these pine trees that are about this big, have green branches and everything. And you can go and do the same thing, you know, just fall right over. You would think, wow, it's green. But that was cool.
[00:27:56] And sometimes those nice dead trees, you'd go into a shoulder, you know, like a football player, and you'd hurt yourself because that tree was solid.
[00:28:09] That's kind of how our lives are.
[00:28:12] We look around, we see that people look like they have such a good grasp on everything and that they have life figured out and they know what they're doing. They got, you know, they're living their best life.
[00:28:25] But really if you go and you just kind of push on them a little bit, push on their, on their thoughts, like how they think the world really works, they fall.
[00:28:33] And sometimes those who seem like they are getting the roughest of times and are not able to, you know, they don't look like they're driving the car or they're not. They don't have the video games, they don't have the phones, they don't have the things.
[00:28:48] But they actually have a really good outlook.
[00:28:52] See, I had that idea growing up in college. And then as I've gotten following Christ, I realize that it's easy to understand that the world always looks big, always looks like they are the boss. They know what they're doing.
[00:29:05] But if you just push a little bit on their thoughts, they fall. If you challenge them a little bit on those areas where a Christian is secured, they tumble.
[00:29:17] So for Christians, our greatest hope is being in Christ.
[00:29:23] It's solid and we don't have to fear the things of the world.
[00:29:29] So I'd encourage you guys be in the Word, read it, pray through it like we just did with the Psalms, and obey the Word.
[00:29:42] One short verse in John 14:15 that I love is if you love me, you will keep my commandments. Do you love God? Then keep his commandments.
[00:29:54] So on that note, I just encourage you guys remain in Christ and remain together with other believers. Let me pray for y'all.
[00:30:07] Father, just thank you for this time. And God, I thank you for these students and just how just watching them grow up is just such a blessing. And watching them grow to be more like you is just encouraging. Father, I pray that they'll continue to be looking to you as their source of life. And God, I pray that you'll continue to guide them to be lights in their world that they're in to be lights in the darkness. And God, that as they're walking with you daily, that they will see the fruit that comes with knowing you, that they'll be more patient, that they won't have fear of things of the world because they know that you are God and God, that they'll just find that their value is found in you and that they're secured in your love. So Father, I just pray for all these students as we go into Thanksgiving and going into different homes and visiting different families and contexts. Father, I just pray that you'll give them peace and patience and that they can just love their family as you love us and God, that that can just reflect your love and grace. So, Father, thank you for this time and ask that you keep everybody safe and praise you in Jesus name. Amen.
