Abiding

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Well, good morning to the three of you. Good morning. It's good to have Kim here. I feel a lot more support and for those who are dependent upon Kim's translation, if you don't like the sermon it's not my preaching it's her translation or something like that anyway. Let's pray. Father God, day by day three things we pray to see you more clearly, to love you more dearly, to follow you more nearly day by day. Amen. Well, if you've got your Bibles here I hope you do whether it's the old paper one or the on your device. John chapter 15. I hope you do have your Bibles. We can be almost like a Bible study today. It's a bit sad sometimes we have our Bibles and we take them too much for granted and for a couple of reasons I guess that we need to continually hang onto the Bible. It's a Word of God. One of the questions that Christians often ask is that how can I increase my faith? Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. So if you want to increase your faith what should you do? Get stuck more into the Word of God. Some things last for a while the grass withers and the flowers fade but the Word of God what endures forever and so this is truly we call it God's Word. We call it Bible which is just the old word Biblos just meaning book but it's come to mean this book but we often call it God's Word and we need to remember and understand that that this is God's Word to you and to me and so we do well to to to read it to study it to meditate on it and to put it into practice. Well I'm going to read John 15 and thank you Doug for filling in for part of the sermon this morning. I appreciate that. We hadn't planned that but it's good to have that aspect of love because this comes up with Doug shared with us in the devotion round the community table comes up in this passage. So John chapter 15 and from verse 1 says I'm the true vine and my father is the gardener he cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit. Well every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me and I'll remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself it must remain in the vine neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I'm the vine you are the branches if a man remains in me and I in him he will bear much fruit apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me he's like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches have picked up and thrown into the fire and burned. 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 father's glory that you bear much fruit show yourselves to be my disciples. As the father has loved me so have I loved you now can remain in my love. If you obey my commands you will remain in my love just as I have obeyed my father's commands and remain in his love. I told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this love each other as I have loved you greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead I've called you my called you friends for everything that I learned from my father I've made known to you. You didn't choose me but I chose you and appointed you to go and to bear fruit fruit that will last. Then the father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command love each other. Well his exhibit a my vine probably what Jesus was talking about was probably more a great vine and when I went to that great fantastic place we buy plants place called Bunnings. I did see that there were grapes there but grape vines there but I thought probably I'm not a good gardener. It's probably just just sort of make the past mark which means this is a passion fruit vine. It's got about a 50-50 chance of surviving. So I went and bought one and I had actually asked we do have a gardener in our church well his horticultural store or whatever and I actually asked whether he would be able to be if he's going to be here today to come and tell us all about how to grow vines and what it all means. As you know it's a long weekend and the family's away this weekend so it's unable to be here. So I thought well I get someone else and I thought well Jesus talking about vines we don't know what most of the disciples were but a lot of them were fishermen. So if Jesus talked to fishermen about vines you can get a poor preacher to talk to you about vines. I put this here because it's it is it what Jesus was talking about just taking something which was fairly common for disciples to observe although it's a say probably more great vines and he said just looking at these vines there's a lot we can learn about the relationship between your father me God father me as Jesus and you and I guess if we were just to explore for the next while we can't do that because of how many people here in our time but we'd be able to we'd be able to come up with a lot of examples a lot of illustrations about this vine that that would help us to understand the Christian life. For example we'll expect passion fruit off of this next week. No because it takes time and we often in this age of instant everything want our instant spiritual maturity the fact that takes time. We could talk about the root system and how we need to go down deep and we need to do that to go down deep in Jesus. We could talk about fertilizer and water and tenure and all sorts of things that we could we could look at and it's helpful for us when we think about vines to think about that but also just to realise that in everyday life right about us or object lessons for us to learn about the Lord Jesus and so it's going to stay here for the remainder of this service so as nobody steals it I'll take it home and plant it and if it survives and gets passion fruit who knows I didn't bring some to church sometime but if you see a bag of maybe I just bought them down at Woolies or something anyway just to impress you. It's always a bit of a danger when we approach a passage of scripture just to pluck something out and to get it something out of context and so it's helpful for us to to get the context in what every passage is being spoken about. There's various ways in which we could understand the context of Jesus talking about this statement I am the true vine make sure we put in that word true I am the true vine. We could look for instance at the seven statements in in John's Gospel because seven times in John's Gospel seven times Jesus used the started off a statement I am and that makes a good series in fact I think we've done that as a church previously we've looked at these I am statements about what Jesus said bread of life the light of the world the door the good shepherd you see is just taking everyday lessons and said out of from all of these we're able to learn things about our spiritual life the resurrection and life the way the truth in the life and I am through on the true vine. Generally it's understood the introduction of the word true is that when you go to the Old Testament often Israel is reflected or is interpreted or is used as a vine and so it's an illustration that's a vine. Now Jesus comes on the scene he's saying I am the true vine not that there's anything false about Israel of course but this is the epitome of the vine is to be found in Jesus. So that's one way we could understand the context but another way we could understand the context is this is that John chapters 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 is often referred to Jesus teaching as the upper room discourse that is this is Jesus final teaching before he goes to the cross. So he's gathered with all his disciples Judas is there at beginning and leaves partway through as you're aware but these are Jesus final teaching to his disciples and so while Jesus all of Jesus teaching of course is important there's this added weight given to these these few chapters here that just before Jesus is going to go the cross and to die for us that he gives these this important teaching the upper room discourse and it's worthwhile reading it in that context and so today we're just looking at a section of the upper room discourse looking at this seventh saying I am the true vine it's helpful for us to be be thinking about that and when we read a passage of scripture like this what immediately comes to mind or we become aware of as we're reading it and I guess you may have realized this as we're reading it is that there are some words in this passage that are repeated again and again and again and so Kim can verify this look at my Bible I've got all words shaded in in different colors and so there with my pencil and highlighting a whole pile of different words which occur again and again and again so I've listed them there for you and I'd encourage you I've also got it on my iPad where I've got the got the Bible on the iPad going through there if can highlight the different words in different colors there as well because when words are occurring frequently in a small passage we understand that there's added weight or significance to that and so we'd expect the word vine to appear so it appears in verses one four and five branch which is this main part here of the vine it's not too many of the branches here but just some of them are just starting to come out from from the vine other than the leaves there so branch occurs twice twice in verse two verse four five and twice in verse six that's how you understand it so vine branch fruit remain or abide look how many times that word occurs to abide to remain to stay connected how many times that that occurs there and command also occurs frequently as well and associated with the word with the command is the word so put it there beside it verses three and verse seven and then not surprisingly the word love occurs many times as well from verse nine on it shouldn't take us by surprise that the word love occurs so many times I because we know God is love God is love and his continual message is one of love we know that God is love because that phrase itself God is love occurs twice in the Bible and it's easy to remember where you only have to remember one John chapter 4 one John chapter 4 you double the 4 and you get 8 so one John chapter 4 and verse 8 it says God is love and you double the 8 you get the 16 that says God is love there but it again and again throughout the Bible we have this overwhelming sense that the God of love has communicated to us and in his created us and invites us to enter into this relationship with him and this terms in which this is described here is in this term of abiding so we have this vine we've got these currents of these words occurring again and again vine branch fruit remaining or abiding or connecting command and the word love but what about the identity of each of these things so once again this passage is quite clear about what's being spoken about here Jesus right from verse one says I am the true vine says then in also in verse one that Father God is the gardener and the disciples not only the disciples which Jesus was addressing right there but you and me as disciples that he's talking about us as the branches and then there's this idea of fruit now fruit occurs several times there and let me just duck ahead and come back you would have seen in the previous slide when it's talking about fruit that it starts off talking about fruit and then in verse three it talks about more fruit and then in verse five it talks about much fruit so there's fruit more fruit and much fruit so there's even this progression of fruit and so when you read people and say the commentators and so and so what exactly is fruit you get a variety of opinions they're all very very similar the fruit is often doing as the fruit of the Spirit or the mission of Jesus and a few other things as well and it's not so much a case of one being right and the others are wrong in my view but they are all right that they are all correct because it seems to me that that when we're talking about fruit here that what is being talked about is becoming like Jesus and doing the mission of Jesus put those two words in italics for emphasis becoming and doing and in that order for a reason as well becoming it's important that we as disciples of Jesus are becoming like him but not only are we becoming like him but we not only are becoming in our character but we're becoming becoming involved in the mission of Jesus why am I saying that because if we look down in chapter 15 and verse 8 it says this in verse 8 this is to my father's glory that you bear much fruit showing yourselves to be my disciples so fruit has this idea of bringing glory to the father and if we were to go back still a part of the upper room discourse but back in chapter 13 Jesus is saying this is this now is the son of man glorified and God is glorified in him so Jesus is saying I'm being glorified but but not only am I being glorified but the father's being glorified in me and now he's saying in chapter 15 and verse 8 this is to my father's glory that you bear much fruit showing yourselves to be my disciples what's glory Mike mentioned earlier something's happening this evening I can't remember what it was is it something important or not I guess most of you are not interested in the grand final this afternoon tonight or the grand final last week with the lions but the celebration is one of expressing glory to the winner to the victor that there's this great celebration of of how good are we and others pointing to the winning teams winning champions and saying how good are they now I want you to multiply that that giving glory to those teams multiply by about a million and you get the idea of bringing glory to God the father that Jesus is bring glory to the father saying what a great father that we have in the father God by the way that Jesus has lived and it's about to up his life and now he's saying are you too by the one that you live in who you are and the things that you do the things who do who you are and the things you do your glory to the father you see ultimately life is not about you it's not about me but it's about God and it's about our bringing attention to bringing attraction to God and so this brings about this purpose in in this fruiting is that this fruit of of becoming like Jesus of becoming and doing the mission of Jesus that in so doing that we are bringing glory to the father so what's the process about how this comes about well one of the words which occurred again and again is this word abiding this whole word about being connected and it says here in the verse in verse 5 if a man or woman young person whatever if a person remains in me and I in him he will bear much fruit that's what abiding is all about the abiding is is being connected is being connected me in Christ and Christ in me and and how that comes about by the way it's not about what we are doing what we're about able to do but our surrendering to him can you just take his back one slide please yep no back there that's the one thank you the process for fruiting is the abiding about remaining connected with with Jesus and as the verse says I in him and him in me and what that's about is not about me striving and me doing but rather me surrendering to God surrendering to the spirit surrendering to Jesus cooperating cooperating with him I'll never be able to do it but to allow the spirit to work in me you know that verse Galatians 2 20 goes this way I have been what crucified with Christ it's no longer I that live but Christ who lives in me see this is the crucified life which we as Christians need to learn we need to understand we need to live to live the crucified life the life surrendered to Jesus you see sometimes we as Christians can become so exhausted by endeavoring and trying to do things in our own strength striving I'm going to do it this way I'm going to be better I'm going to do whatever when what God is asking what Jesus is saying to us don't strive but abide to rest remain stay connected remain in the sphere of God's love what do I mean by remaining in the sphere of God's love well let me put it this way is that any relationship that you involved in whether it be husband or wife parent child or just good mates good friends an expression of that love is what spending time together remaining in the sphere of influence of that person you spend time together you want to spend time together talk together share together to work together to do all sorts of things together and that is not too dissimilar that's the same actually about our remaining in Christ about spending time with him about being conscious about living in his presence about allowing him and his spirit to work both in us and through us well what are the results of all of this well I want to mention just five the father want to mention of these firstly the result of abiding is that we are producing fruit producing fruit that is we're becoming more and more like Jesus does that mean that from day one that we're going to be producing fruit no however what the Bible says we're going to produce fruit then what did that slide say produce fruit what the Bible says then we're going to produce what more fruit then we're going to produce much fruit so as we continue living in the sphere of God's love as we continue living with him abiding with him so too that Christ's likeness both becoming and doing becomes more and more evident in our lives so it's producing fruit secondly we know we're abiding in Christ when there is discipline applied by God pruning there's two different words talked about in this passage one that says there's dead branches which are just thrown away dead branches are thrown away as one thing but there's also the pruning which takes place as well so what of gardeners prune well they print to bring about the particular shape but they also prune because they know that right pruning means that that plant is going to produce more fruit in fact there's some plants that you once it's fruit you cut off whatever has fruited and so on so that will fruit again and so Jesus in looking at the grapevine thinking about the pruning he says you know the father's going to do some pruning in your life and one of the questions that we need to understand to address and perhaps even to ask each other is what work is God doing in your life right at the moment because often we will find mostly will find that God is doing a work in our lives is doing some pruning pointing out some things that are in our lives that shouldn't be there or some things that aren't in our lives that should be there and we don't regard that excuse me we don't regard that as punishment the God is not punishment but in love is what pruning us so that we will produce more fruit more able to to reflect or to bring glory to God thirdly we know that we are abiding in Christ because our prayers are answered verse 7 says that if you remain in might me and my words remaining in you ask whatever you wish and it will be given to you it's going home to pray for a Mercedes Benz or whatever when you read that a bigger house a mansion of course that's not what the Bible is saying here but what is it saying you see my passion fruit vine if it survives if one of the branches let's make it the person for a while says I don't know whether I want to produce a passion fruit on this branch I think I might produce a bunch of grapes what's going to happen is it going to no of course it's not because it's remains in and is connected to the vine it's only going to produce fruit which is consistent with with the vine that's the DNA the sap or whatever plants have in the same way when this verse says ask whatever you want and it will be given to you once again it's within that DNA within the sphere of God's love consistent with bringing glory to God and so there are immediately some things that we can dismiss and we can say well that's really not a part of it if God's plan but the what God is saying what Jesus is saying here whatever you want to ask for within the sphere of my love within as abiding in obedience to to him wherever you want within all of that you're going to get it and so we know that we're abiding where we have our ants their prayers answered love we know we're abiding when we love others and Doug has already helped us to understand that in a good way and finally number five we know that we're abiding when we know that we have the joy of God in our life verse 11 I've told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete so that mean that Christians are always happy it doesn't mean that remember that dirty happiness depends on happiness but joy depends on knowing that Jesus is in control happiness depends on happenings whatever's going on around about us and that's good when good things are happening but joy depends on knowing that Jesus is in control so no matter whatever our circumstances are how tough they are we can have that deeper joy of knowing well I don't understand this it's really tough what I'm going through let's not let's not understate that whether it be something emotional spiritual physical whatever it might be we're doing it really tough but we know this Jesus understands and knows and we know that he's never going to allow anything to come our way it's never going to happen without his knowledge or his permission so I've tried to summarize this passage and I don't know how good a job I've done if you can do better please let me know our primary aim in life is to bring glory to Father God through living Christ-like lives in both our being and our doing this is similar to how a vine grows we abide or remain connected in Christ and he and us just like a vine and its branches surrendered and interdependent the father then see sets about doing his transforming work in us in the same way a gardener looks after his or her garden this is beyond our comprehension it's a mystery I've added that in because about this whole sense of mystery is because there are some things some ways that God operates seems so different to to what we have we want to operate we want to try harder do it more whatever but Jesus saying hey no just rest rest in me abide in me and again and again throughout the Bible we we had this whole idea that people could operate this way but God says no do it this way in our own devotions with and I have together each morning it's the last few mornings has been about this guy called Jehoshaphat said to him yesterday can you just imagine this couple sitting there the wife says oh I'm pregnant I'm expecting oh good what's the name and then coming up with the name Jehoshaphat for your kid surely could do better than that something like David or something like that anyway Jehoshaphat but this morning's reading was about the battle and the armies were assembled to come against Jehoshaphat what did Jehoshaphat do something totally stupid in that said about all his people as a choir to go out and sing and they won the battle won the Psalms and some trust in charity some trusted horses some trust in charities but we will trust in the name of our God you see it's this mystery again and again and again we see about how God seems to operate quite differently to what seems natural to you and to me so we want to bring glory to God we want to be more Christ like we want to reflect God more and more in our lives is that really what you want to do sure it is for everyone of us our natural instinct is say try hard and do it more do it more regularly Jesus says what abide remain connected with me can I conclude with the poem if I can find it it's a fairly long one but it's written by a lady by the name of Freda Hambry who I can't find out too much about lived about a hundred and bit years ago and she wrote this this poem it's called only a branch it's only a little branch a thing so fragile and weak but let that little branch has a message true to give couldn't only speak I'm only a little branch a live by a life not mine for the sap that flows through my tendril small is the lifeblood of the vine no power indeed have I the fruit of myself to bear but since I'm part of the living vine it's fruitfulness I share does they ask how I abide how this life I can maintain I'm bound to the vine by life strong band and I only need remain where first my life was given in the spot where I am set up born and upheld as the days go by by the stem which bears me yet I fear not the days to come I dwell not upon the past this moment by moment I draw a life which forevermore shall last I bask in the sun's bright beams which with sweetness fills my fruit yet I am not the clusters hanging there for they all come from the root a life which is not my aim but another's life in me this this is the message the branch would speak a message to you and me I struggle not to abide nor labor to bring forth fruit but let Jesus unite you to himself as the vine branch to the root so simple so deep so that union with him shall be his life shall forever replace your aim and his love shall flow through you for his spirit's fruit is love and love shall your life become and forevermore on him on his heart of love your spirit shall have her home let's pray father we start with the prayer three things we pray to see you more clearly to love you more dearly to follow you more nearly day by day help us to realize that this comes about not by striding but by abiding connected with you you in me and me and you thank you Lord Jesus for that army