| FRUITFULNESS | Robert Kerr |  | ||
| John 15: 1 - 16 | |
I/ THE VINE AND THE BRANCHES John 15:1-2 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. {2} Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every In John 15:1-2 the Lord Jesus taught about fruit bearing. Christ Himself is the true vine, and we are His branches. He said "Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit". The idea is that every Christian should be in such close touch with Christ that, as the sap comes from the vine into the branch with life-giving, fruit-bearing power, so the Holy Spirit may flow from Christ through us, making us fruit bearing Christians. II/ THE SECRET OF FRUITFULNESS: John 15:3-7 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. {4} Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. {5} I am the vine, ye Again He said, "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches; He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing". There is no way to win souls except by abiding in Christ, being in touch with Him, knowing His will, feeling His heartbeat, being wholly committed to His will and work! Remember that the Lord Jesus wants souls saved. That is what He died for. That is what the Great Commission means. Christ came to "seek and to save that which was lost" again, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners". If I abide in Christ, my aim, my purpose, my burden, my business, my work, will be the same as His! And my fruit will be the fruit He wants. The fruit of a Christian is another Christian. If you are not a witness, then the Bible makes it clear that you do not abide in Christ. Your heart is not at one with His heart. Whatever your activity, whatever your reputation, however sanctimonious you feel, and however much of a Pharisee you are in your life, you do not abide in Christ, if you do not witness. A. First consider what Vine you are tapped into: Ask yourself, How many things do I attach myself to for my well-being? Some people think their vine is their Individual Retirement Account, College degrees popularity, business connections, possessions, or social relationships. Some people think the church is their vine. They attach themselves to a system of religion. But our vine should be Jesus Christ. Attending a church is not necessarily evidence of a vine-branch relationship. In fact, it can be a parasitic relationship. Sometimes people are like parasites because they attend Church only for what it will do for them. If the Church quits doing for them they quit. Not even a Sunday School Class or a Bible-study group or a Church can be a substitute for Jesus Christ as your sustenance for living. B. Second consider the Branches: The branches tapped into the true vine grow rapidly. They must be tended, carefully, which requires drastic pruning on a regular basis. To have a fruitful vine, the vinedresser(The Father) must cut off the fruitless shoots and other things that gather on the fruit-bearing branches that tend to sap the strength of the vine. There are two kinds of branches: 1. The Professing Branches: "Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away" A fruitless branch cannot represent a Christian. Jesus said, "Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so, every good tree bringeth forth good fruit .. Wherefore, by their fruits ye shall know them" Math 7:16-17,20. In verse 2 "in me" sounds like the people who don’t bear fruit are Christians. But these are those who are superficially attached(parasites). In Rom 11:20 Paul pictured Israel as an olive tree However, some of the branches of that tree weren’t saved. Verse 20 says "Because of unbelief they were broken off". In I John 2:19 John says "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us" 2. The Possessing Branches: "Every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit". Every believer in Christ gets purged because "whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth" Heb 12:6 If you could look at your problems as a divine procedure for becoming more fruitful, you might be tempted to pray for trouble! The Greek word translated "purgeth" (kathairo) means "to clean". Extrabiblical Greek literature uses the word to refer to cleansing grain(separating it from the waste material). What instrument does God use to purge us? Jesus said "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you". Have you ever noticed how much more sensitive you are to the Word of God when you’re in trouble? Trouble opens our eyes to receive the divine "purging" performed by the Word. C. Third, consider the meaning of Abiding: The word "Abide" simply means "to remain". The mark of a Christian is that He or She remains (or lasts). Not by their own strength because it would mean that their salvation was based on their ability to "hang in there". Rather, remaining in Christ is evidence that a person is saved. It is like the good soil, the seed remained in the ground and grew, it was not plucked out by the birds, or choked by the thorns, or killed by the heat of the day. Abiding means Lasting. It means keeping the faith. It means being faithful. It means staying true. It means remaining in Christ. The wonderful part of it is that Jesus said "Abide in me, and I will abide(remain) in you". III/ THE MARKS OF A TRUE DISCIPLE John 15:8-11 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. {9} As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. {10} If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. {11} These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and IV/ THE CALL TO FRUITFULNESS John 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and 1. Fruit is produced in all periods of life. - Psalms 92:13-14 "Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. {14} They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;" 2. Spiritual Fruit should be perennial.(lasting) Ezekiel 47:12 "And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine." 3. There are many varieties. - Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, {23} Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 4. It will grow only upon good ground - Matthew 13:8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. 5. Spiritual fruit is without defect - Ephesians 5:9 (For the fruit of the Spirit 6. It is the product of heavenly wisdom. James 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, On a scale of 1 to 5, how fruitful would you say your life is? What do you need to do to abide more closely in Christ? |
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