 So let's read chapter one chapter 15 verses one through eight I'm the true vine and my father is the vine dresser Every branch of me that does not bear fruit he takes away and every branch that bears fruit He prunes that he may bear more fruit You're already clean because of the word which has spoken to you Abiding me and I in you as the branch cannot bear fruit in of itself unless it abides in the vine either Can you unless you abide in me? I'm the vine and you're the branches you abide to me and I in him bears much fruit Or without me you can do nothing Anyone does not abide in me He is cast out as a branch and is withered and they gathered them and throw them into the fire and they are burned You abide in me and my words abiding you you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you By this my father is glorified that you bear much fruit so you will be my disciples Well, just to start it off. I really believe that verse 8 just sums up everything The father's going to be glorified by us bearing fruit But let's put this in context of what's taking place if you would save your spot will be back in just a minute for me I'm going to turn my page for you if you go over to chapter 13 It's kind of where the story kind of picks up here. We are in what's known as the passion week Chapter 13 we know it's the time of the Passover and We see it was a time where Judas was about to betray Jesus Verse 2 and chapter 13 Supper being into the devil having already put it into the heart of Jesus Judas is scary at Simon's son to betray him And so he does If you if you look down he begins to watch the disciples feet and he has a conversation And the next few verses with Peter he says that you don't need to wash me He says then wash all of me right in verse 8 Simon Peter said to him Lord verse 9 not my feet only but my hands and my head look at verse 10 If you would Jesus said to him he who has bathed needs only to wash his feet But he but is completely clean and you are clean notice what he says then but not all of you For he knew who would betray him therefore. He said you are not all clean You were not all clean Verse 21 he says when Jesus said these things he was troubled in his spirit and testified and said most of surely I say to you one of you will betray me So it happens He has Judas the bread and he betrays him and he says go and do what you're gonna do Chapter 14 we know is a very powerful passage where Jesus says I'm the way the truth in the life And no one comes to the father except through me But then we get into chapter 15 and they had left this place They're on this road most likely head into the garden there Where we know what's about to take place. He's just going to be praying stressed Sweating drops of blood all these things and and yet as they're walking I wonder what everybody's thinking What just happened? One of us betray Who is it I Lord who would do this? We wouldn't do this who would do this? Judas did this. Why would you just do this Judas had why did this happen? And what this is important for us tonight because for all purposes To discuss listen, there was no reason for them to consider Judas none For the fact that all of them are sitting there Is it I who would it be? It wasn't like everybody was like oh here goes Judas is about to right. You know what I mean? It wasn't like oh, oh Jesus and Judas they're going it's going down right now, right? It wasn't that I Mean if it was that then it would be kind of like oh Oh, I'm gonna step back. I'm gonna watch what's gonna happen. So it took place and as they're walking I believe this is an illustration a metaphor that Jesus used to explain that situation That story oh There was the 12 but now there's just 11 and let me tell you about this branch And he goes on and he first starts off by saying I'm I'm the vine. I'm not just the vine any vine. I'm the true vine Why is that so important? Well because in the Old Testament well first of all we know that the vine has two branches One that bears fruit and one that doesn't But when we get into the Old Testament you look in context and stuff of the vine and the branches Know that Israel was the vine Yet what happened? Well What happened was this? God repeatedly used the vine as a symbol of his people Psalm 80 verse 8-9 it says you have brought a vine out of Egypt You have cast out the nations and planted it you prepared room for it and caused it to take deep root and it filled the land oh God was the vine dresser and Israel was the vine and those who were United with Israel were very blessed and all and he would prune and he would do all these things and yet There was also this negative sense that took place For example in Isaiah chapter 5 verse 1 and 2 it says now let me sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved regarding his vineyard My well-beloved has a vineyard on a very fruitful hill He dug it up and cleared it out its stones and planted it with the choices vine He built a tower in the midst and also made a wine press in it So he expected it to bring forth good grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes There in Isaiah chapter 5 also in verse 7 says for the vineyard of the Lord of hosts as the house of Israel and the men of Judah are his pleasant plant he looked for justice, but behold oppression for righteousness, but behold a cry for help or In Jeremiah chapter 2 verse 21 he says this yet I have planted you a noble vine a seed of highest quality How then have you turned before me into the degenerate plant of an alien vine Why a vine? Why a vine rather than other plants? Well, it's a beautiful picture It's a beautiful picture here where he says listen You might have in your mindset Israel and God's chosen people you might have in your mindset when you picture this vine There was vines all around them and so let's use this as an illustration and let's see But he says listen I want you to know that I'm the true vine See where the nation failed God? Jesus had been the complete embodiment of everything we're supposed to be The true vine And we must be rooted in him if we're to bear fruit And of the many pictures of the relationship between God and his people the vine and branch picture Emphasizes complete dependence and the need for constant connection. It was said by a vine dresser this They have a saying it's called growth follows the knife Man when I read that I was just Mesmerized by I'm going that's so true of us sometimes isn't it Lord. What are you doing? That hurts stop it This pruning this cutting away, but this pruning isn't a one-time thing See when you prune a branch there's a time of bleeding the bleeding of the sap, but it's interesting I was reading up on this bleeding and it said it's much better to bleed with the sap than to wither and burn Powerful, huh? It's much better to bleed than to wither and burn see we may look at the pruning as a painful thing But we have to understand that that pruning that takes place has nothing to do with chastening It has nothing to do with correcting as it tells us in Hebrews chapter 12. He says no listen. I'm pruning you to bear more fruit. Oh It's powerful. I have a couple pictures if we put up the first one I was listening to a story about a man who had Interviewed a vine dresser and he said the first thing he said this a mature vine consists of a root system The root system will go down to as much as 40 feet deep and Not only that he said the tips of the roots are Actually very raw and bare because as they dive into the soil They're grabbing that nutrients and bringing them in and as they're coming in They're growing and it grows into what is the trunk and from the trunk The vine dresser would make a trellis usually a post in two wires and on one of those wires are on that wire You could see here even in that picture the vine dresser would actually tie The the the vine would grow out from the trunk into these what is called arms two arms usually two to four arms out on to that that cable that trellis and So of the vine we have the root system the trunk and the arms consisting of the vine And that's where it gets the nutrients from the soil from all these things and Jesus said listen, I'm the true vine See the nutrients flow from the soil to the roots to the trunk to the arms He says I bring you the nutrients And it says God is the vine dresser the husband man It's been said that his arms represent a glorified Christ who is now at the right hand of the father He has every source and every resource we need to produce fruit From there comes what is called the shoots These shoots or buds that come up and if you see them over there on the my right your left the shoots are cane and It looks like if you go to picture number two and Picture number two you see the beginning of these shoots or these buds these spurs they call them Now it's interesting because when you look at that I mean if you're driving you're like oh, isn't that beautiful? You think they're all dead Right? I mean you think there's no life there Oh, man How wrong are we? See there are these shoots that grow And they will take the wrong but here's what happens sometimes These shoots grow and they grow down in a way that they try to begin and grow new roots And they try to begin to grow and and become their own root system Just like our flesh right wanting to do it our way And if we don't cut that out They're gonna grow Into being like these little jesus's Doing what we want what we think is right doing it our way See these buds if you would the next picture grow into branches See the vine itself does not bear the fruit the branches bear the fruit Imagine how it goes from that dead looking plant That dead looking just pieces of wood to this To this what's the next one to eventually this the next one But if you would go back to the second picture See we all need For life and holiness all we need And we all need this Everything we need is found in jesus It starts here It starts with the minima And it's interesting because what we see so often is the world wants to offer us something that looks so much more attractive I'll get it that way I'll take for myself something that looks more that looks better for what I need But in second peter chapter 1 verse 3 his divine power has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness Through the knowledge of him who called us by the glory of the father The nutrients produce this and this is interesting the nutrients produced in this plant Produce something that's almost like an anti freeze that actually keeps it from freezing in cold weather But if it doesn't get the nutrients it needs that water turns into ice and actually freezes and kills the plant God has set this up so that everything and the way it's supposed to work is just perfect for growth But it's interesting for us because the bible says that the enemy comes to steal kill and destroy I don't want you to go after the nutrients that you need. I don't want you in the word I don't want you in fellowship. I don't want you in the word I'm gonna I'm gonna cause chaos in your life I'm gonna do things to keep you away from the word of god and get keep you away from jesus and the church is hypocrites And there's drama in church and there's clicks and there's all they want is our money and all these other things and our hearts And our minds are away from jesus And it's on people and it's on things and it's on but my loved ones dying and god wasn't there And where's god and the earthquakes and the hurricanes and the planes and the fires and all this other stuff And it's like so our hearts and our minds and the enemy's coming to steal kill and destroy and and what should be this nourishment See it's interesting. There's in in these vines There's these like capillary type things these veins that actually take the nutrients and the soil From the trunk into the arms into the chutes and the branches begin to grow But it's interesting because it said if the vine dresser doesn't cut off the dead branches Then the sap the healthy nutrients are going to try to get to that And then the the fruit isn't going to be as healthy isn't going to be as fruitful isn't going to be as big because All the sap all the nutrients that needed to get to that plant Had a detour and was going in the wrong direction to the wrong to dead wood to dead wood Now it's interesting more about this See he says that the vines and the vine dresser have this interesting relationship He says the vine dresser knows his his vines A few interesting things vines usually last from 100 to 200 years old Now vines have to be cut down to this every year Every year gets back to this every year Produce fruit super healthy beautiful healthy grapes and all of a sudden this And for us we can think what are you doing? Why would you do that? Look at how healthy it was But see the vine dresser isn't hurting it. It's helping it. He loves it He knows listen if I do this Next year's fruit Bigger better the vines stronger branches are stronger. Listen. I'm doing When they plant vineyards most Vine dressers do not Try to even get a harvest for the first four years because they went till the trunk is thick enough stronger And so as it grows they just cut it off cut it off cut it off Why it's not ready yet. It's not healthy yet. It's not where it needs to be yet Oh, but it's getting there. Oh, it's getting there and and but here's the thing the vine dresser knows the vine And he knows the branches But think about this go to the third picture if you would If he just let the vine just keep growing always We you know like the fifth picture with the the huge grapes and whatnot. Oh, it's so healthy Let's just keep letting it grow, right? Oh, right think about your ministry, but we had such a Healthy spiritual year such a productive year. So god has been so good, but listen You don't cut that back It's going to keep growing and growing and growing and the further it grows the further away from the vine it is The further away from the vine it is the smaller the grapes The more sour you ever been in the sour grapes. Oh my goodness The smaller the more sour And the the more unhealthy they are Gotta cut them off There's a reason behind all this And jesus is telling this story And he says i'm the vine My father's the vine dresser I got you I know what you need and I know who's mine And I know Who's not My father's the vine dresser and verse two it says every branch in me that does not bear fruit He takes away and every branch that bears fruit. He prunes it and in being bear more fruit When he cuts off the the branches even the healthy ones The technical term that the vine dresser actually has is called old wood There is a term for a branch that bore fruit this past year But he says listen, I got to cut off the old wood And he has a term that he says you have to have what is called rod renewal That is that little stump in picture two if you would Those little spurs if you would He says that's what you need We're going to cut it back to just that Those are about four inches or so in height and we're going to cut it back to just that But there has to be this rod renewal And I wonder how many of you You know when we talk about men's Men's uh study starting up women's studies starting up Men's retreats and all these other things it's so easy to live off the past, isn't it? Ever think back of those amazing times you and god, but how long ago were those amazing times? Yesterday last year five years ago How come it's not fresh anymore? Are you afraid to be pruned? Are you living off the past? Are you living off like oh, I was healthy once and I have these old stories Let me tell you this time where god used me Damn, but god wants to use you even more See the vine dresser knows how healthy it once was but he goes listen You don't see what's around the corner, but next year I want more fruit Healthier fruit. Oh, I got some amazing things in store for your life back. You you don't even know Oh for you it seems scary because you feel like this You feel like I'm dry now Lord or picture three Lord I feel okay I'm watching that that bad But lord, I have a little I'm in church all the time. He goes. Oh, yeah picture five He goes. This is what I have for you this Not not not picture three this I don't want you to have a little branches and whatnot like it's all oh, I'm healthy. I'm a christian. I go to church I'm involved in a ministry. No. No. No. He's like yeah, I gotta prune some of that Don't but lord that was my fruitful part. Oh, yeah Philip Right, he was called right. Paul's like I'm not called to wait tables or not Paul Philip was called right to be in leadership, right and so what happened? Ministry's taken off right God doing some amazing things like I want you to leave Why don't you go down this road? You know It's like what's down there nothing Ethiopian reading the book of Isaiah He's like, what are you reading? I don't know. I don't have anybody explain it to me. Oh, yeah, I got you. Let's talk Jumped in started talking, you know, what's preventing me from being back to nothing Let's do this, right? All of a sudden he's like that's what it was for You didn't know was down this road because you thought there was nothing down this road. Now. I had healthy fruit down this road I have something more for you than you even let yourself have But you're so caught up in yesterday You're so caught up in the here and now you're not letting yourself be pruned. Sorry. Am I yelling? I apologize. I don't mean to But listen, you may feel dry after bearing fruit, but the Lord says I've got much more for you I have this newness It's going to be new wood a new rod a new branch And for those of us that don't understand it God will do everything in his power to get you back to your first laugh So you can't live off your past experiences and don't just live off your memories of the fruitful times But notice he says in verse three that the pruning knife You're already clean because of the word which has spoken to you The vine dresser's pruning knife His word Man, that's powerful, isn't it? See one of the most loving things a vine dresser can do is speak his word into your life And then there's going to be this cutting away The bible tells us things like fleece sin and the weight that easling snares us, right? Run Or not that I've been that not to be conformed to the world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind I'm going to have you start thinking differently. I'm going to have you start living differently I'm going to have you start speaking differently. I'm going to have you start acting differently You know with these hurricanes and all this stuff and so many people going off to Texas and other places and eventually probably florida and as we've done in When we used to go to bay st. Louis mississippi, right and after katrina and and Haiti and different things what caused us to say i'm going to give up my Vacation i'm going to pay my way to go serve other people Where did that come from? Because most of us are selfish But god's beginning to prune that selfishness in us and helping us to see his righteousness And we're beginning to get rid of our self-righteousness and our selfishness And we're starting to be holy and we're becoming more like christ and we're bearing fruit and that fruit is love It's grace is mercy It's long suffering And he says this is what I have for you But I don't just have a little bit because as you're growing i'm going to cut it off so that more can grow More that can grow Oh, and it's going to be so beautiful What is he pruning? Again He's pruning our self-righteousness He's pruning our human effort to produce a righteousness That is pleasing to him and how do we know when we need to be pruned? I think an easy way is often that I could say Look at what i've done Look at the ministry i'm doing and the lord's like oh, yeah Let me get my knife out What you do Nothing more it was you And he goes i'm gonna humble you i don't know about you but that hurts right You ever pray for patience How do you know when you get them? When you have junior hires No And he says what do you need to do? verse four Abide in me And I in you Now word abide means this to to make camp to settle here Here's the thing Picture two I found what i'm looking for Lord, I need to be right there I'm not going anywhere Because lord you're rooted Your trunk is healthy And lord you're just waiting for me to get up there and grow I'm not going anywhere. I found what i'm looking for Found my identity in christ I realize now because the scriptures tell me that I am fearfully and wonderfully made I am saved by grace through faith and not of my works Matter of fact, I am now his workmanship his poem Created in christ jesus for good works That's you that's me Oh, but we might be like paul where the lord told him As he was going from sol to paul i'm going to show him all the things he must suffer from my name's sake But when we read in philippians, man, and if you're struggling read philippians Where he just says listen, I got this lord lord. I want to go I want to go be with you, but lord. I know you haven't called me home yet, so i'm going to press on I'm going to keep moving forward towards you jesus Because you're all I have You're my nurseman. You're my everything. I found what I was looking for. I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to abide in the vine Where else am I going to go because if I leave this place I'm going to wither And if I try to move away from this i'm going to just be sour And the further I am from the vine And healthier i'm going to be So lord i'm going to plant myself right here with you There's no place i'd rather be Remember the old song been in your arms of love Oh Holding me still holding me near Remember that song In your arms of love That amazing that they actually call them arms And lord you hold me so I might rise That I might rise and branch out and blossom and that I might grow healthy and strong in you Because seeing the lord he'll present us faultless He will he will even prune the good things in our life To make them better to to cause us to trust even more and I wonder For some of you who are older in the faith Well, for example I uh this friday i'm doing a memorial and I met with the family this week And I said can you tell me about your loved one? I said, yeah, and they said this right before she passed. This is what she said I love jesus. I know he loves me. I've done everything and seen everything in my life That I wanted to see and do And I'm ready and the family With mixed emotions. There was like this joy And sadness right, you know, they were they were excited. They're like she's in heaven She's in heaven like she looked forward from 18 years old till the day she passed to being with jesus And she loved people and she grew and everyone knew that she loved jesus because she loved them And there was this aroma of Oh my goodness. There was this Listen How fair is your song of solemn in four ten? How fair is your love my sister my spouse? How much better than wine is your love? Listen and the scent of your perfumes and all spices When we're with the lord There's this aroma When we're close to him, there's this aroma. There's something about you There's something in this person's life that says What that makes people go? What is it about you? What is it in your life that is causing this joy in the midst of trials and the midst of suffering and all these things What is it in your life? Oh, it's The fact that I've had the privilege and I have that opportunity and I've learned just to simply abide in the law See, we love him because he first loved us and song of solemn in Chapter seven verse 12. Let us Get up early to the vineyards. Let us see if the vine has budded whether the great Blossoms are open and the pomegranates are in bloom there. I will give you my love Oh If you would verse four or picture four Don't you want to just hang out there? Right I mean from picture two to this Don't you just want to like Walk through there and just rest in this and go this is healthy This is beautiful. This is the way it's supposed to be when it's healthy when it's being nurtured This is what I want in my life low That there would be rows and rows and rows of fruitfulness in my life So whether I'm at church or work or in my house or Or at the store or everywhere I go lord They might see fruit in my life The people might see this healthiness that people might know lord that I'm with you and I'm planted I'm abiding in the vine and the vine in me Oh, it's such a beautiful beautiful picture Abiding verse four abiding me and I in you as the branch cannot bear fruit in of itself I want you to notice again First of all verse picture two There's no fruit here. There's no branch picture three The branches begin and thus this is where fruit begins This is where the fruit comes But as we look at all these things He says Verse four neither can you unless you abide in me See if that if one of these branches is growing we're like, oh, this is nice. I'm going to cut it off No more nutrients No more health Ever met people? Yeah, I'm a christian. I just don't go to church. I don't believe in organized religion I don't you know, I'm just doing my thing Really? You're not in the vine man You can't grow If if you're not with the lord You can't grow here's the problem There are people even in the church that are judices Listen, they didn't they're going back to chapter 13. Is it our lord? Could it be me? There was nothing that gave it away at the time that it was judice There was nothing that said Oh, yeah, of course it's him. Why is this so difficult? Why to bring this up? Well, because here's the thing Because when we do task And we get this mindset, of course, they were the lord they were leaders They served in the church. They were a church all the time. Really? Did they abide in the vine? You thought they did Just like everybody thought judice did and it seemed like They were But even jesus said You went out But you were never of Oh, you came out from our presence But you were never of In verse 5 he says i'm the vine and you're the branches he who bides in me and i and him bears much fruit for without me You can do nothing Much fruit But you got to abide in the lord you got to stay there stay with him Does it get hard? And for those of you who are new christians, let me tell you a story It's simple. It gets harder It gets harder Anybody else man when when you first save you're like You need jesus god loves you god love god loves everybody. Wow this feeling so emotion all this other stuff And i had a friend, uh, we led to the lord and uh used to tell me every time he got saved Seems to me he's a good friend of mine still like every time i got saved get goosebumps He came to me one day. It's like dust in call me up get over here Get over there and come hang out. He's like look at jesus He's literally he's like did he leave me? Gives us life to the lord his wife leaves him lost his business all this other stuff and he's just like what happened And and it's so easy right to turn from our Our attention on the lord going oh goosebumps lord you're so amazing Look at this feeling that i have in this emotion that i have in your presence and he goes But i want so much more for you. I want you to know me I want you to know my character I don't want you to know me by what people say, but i want you to be in my word I want my word to penetrate your heart and i want you to know who i am And what i have in store for you So when people start saying things about how i should move or how i shouldn't move you could say that's not true Because this is who he is Because we know the vine dresser and we know the vine dresser Is invested in the vine and the vine is investing in us You know what's interesting that story with the the man that met with the vine dresser. He said what happens if you would The final picture He said once it gets to this level There's these sugars that grow and and begin to produce and the grapes as well as in the leaves and it sends nutrients In separate capillaries back down into the roots I don't know if you heard me, but abiding me and i and you We're working together here with the lord He's like listen. I'm bringing you some nutrients. Oh, yeah, i'ma send some back We're working and he's like i love you. Oh lord. I love you too Building each other uh I have more for you And god has this picture for us Verse six he says if anyone does not abide me he's cast out as a branch and is withered and they gather them and throw them into the Fire and they are burned The sad part about that is They're not burned for heat or anything else. He says these pieces of wood are what they call simply dead wood It's good for nothing It's just withered and they just toss it It's like that's not what I have for you I have so much more for you And verse seven says if you abide in me and my words abide in you you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you Now it's interesting because I think a lot of people can take that verse out of context But if we read it simply as it is it's not hard to take out of In context if you would if you abide in me my words abide in you you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you See, I'm not desiring the house and boats and cars and all this other stuff, right? Why because my his word is abiding me I'm focused on that I'm focused lord not my will but your will be done. So when I ask for things I'm asking lord in your name Lord this meet the needs of this loved one lord meet the needs of these people lords provide lord save god Grace god your mercy god your compassion and so on. I'm not looking for my selfish gain No, and the lord is like I want to meet your needs. Why because your will isn't lined with mine As my word is abiding is being stored as kept with you And he says in verse eight by this My father's glorified that you bear much fruit. So you will be my disciples When it says my father's glorified, he says it simply means my father is honored That you bear much fruit So you will be my disciples If you would go to picture two It starts with him Picture three He says As you will abide in me And I in you Then the shoots grow out into branches the branches begin to grow leaves and then fruit The vine dresser keeps pruning and pruning and keeping it so that it's in a place Where it can grow healthy and stay as close to the vine as possible and be as fruitful and healthy as possible So that in picture four Our lives would be healthy and grow Because he doesn't have just this for us. He has in picture five He says I have so much more for you than you can ever imagine I have so much more that I want to do in your life than you can ever imagine And you don't even understand and you don't know but it's just around the corner But I have to prune you I have to take things out of your life And I'm going to use my word to speak into your life to say that's not what I have for you because I have so much more That you might fleece then that you might run to him And that he the author and the finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endure the cross That we would see him for who he is That we would be well as the scriptures tell us that we would be rooted and built up and established in the faith picture three Lord, you're the vine And we're the branches And lord, I know that only in you I can bear much fruit So my question tonight is this Are you grafted in Are you abided in the vine? Are you allowing god to prune your life? Are you even in at all? Are you dead wood? Are you old wood that the lord says no listen, I got to cut that off. I have something new and fresh But lord, I feel dry right now. It's okay Because the nutrients are coming as you're in the word as you're as you're i'm replenishing and the branches are coming Spring is here in your heart and your life and god's like I hey for us We might be heading in the fall but in your walk god's like spring's coming Spring's coming and the branches are coming out and god's like I have I have listen your co-workers at work that don't know me I have you in their life for a reason Your loved ones your family your friends that don't know me. I have you in their life for a reason Your family members your home is to be a sanctuary and I have you there for a reason I have you on this earth for such a time as this and listen You might not know exactly what that means But hey, it's just around the corner because the nutrients are there and he's pouring into your life through his word And he wants you to understand. I'm going to humble you. I'm going to bring into you My righteousness and my holiness so that you would be fruitful in your life. Is that you? Oh, it could be Oh, I want it to be for me Lord here. I am Lord, I don't want to just pretend and play church and do things That make me look like a christian or whatever lord. I don't want to live by a title, but lord. I just want my life to be just Abiding in you me and you god Because that is what is going to make my family healthy that is going to make my Relationships healthy that is what's going to make my ministry healthy and everything else that I simply abide in him Where are you at?