2011 ADVENT SERIES

THE PURPOSE OF HIS COMING

JESUS, THE VINE OF HIS PEOPLE

JOHN 15.1-12

John 15.1 I am the true (real, genuine) vine, and my Father is the husbandman (keeper of the vineyard).

• In the OT, the nation of Israel was called a vine, of which Jehovah was the Vinedresser.
• In Isaiah 5: Israel is likened to a vineyard that brought forth wild grapes. Jer. 2:21 I have planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed, how then art then turned into a degenerate plant of a strange vine unto Me.?" Hosea 10:1 Israel is an empty vine.
• There were people who thought that because they belonged to the nation of Israel, they were a branch of the vine of God. But Israel was a degenerate, fruitless vine. No man is a branch in the of God’s kingdom by race or religion or works…but by the new birth.
• In His eighth “Ego Eimi” or “I AM” statement, Jesus says, “I am the True (real, genuine) Vine.” Since Jesus is the True Vine, the implication is that there are false vines that people are prone to cling to for life. There is the false vine of religious systems. There is the false vine of self improvement. There is the false vine of philosophy. There is the false vine of forbidden pleasure. There is the false vine of materialism.
• Since Jesus Christ states that He alone is the only True Vine, the only true source of life that a person can have must come from Jesus Christ. To reject this statement from Jesus that He is the True Vine is to call Him a liar. Because Jesus is The True Vine of His people, this means that Jesus Christ is our source for life and fruit.

John 15.2 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 purpose of being a branch is to bear fruit for the glory of God (vs. 8). The word translated purge is kathairo from which we get our word “catharsis,” referring to a cleansing process. Kathairo is used in John 13 when Jesus cleansed the feet of His disciples.
• Once we come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, God cleanses us by removing those things in our lives that are displeasing to Him and hinder our bearing fruit.
• God cleanses us in order that we might bring forth fruit in our lives. What is the kind of fruit that The Lord is looking for in our lives?
• Romans 1:13 and John 4 identify fruit as winning lost souls.
• Romans 6:22 defines fruit as holiness.
• Romans 15:28 names financial giving as fruit.
• Hebrews 13 tells us that the fruit of our lips—giving praise to His Name—is fruit.
• And ultimately, most importantly, Galatians 5:22 teaches that the fruit of the Spirit is love. Love is the ultimate fruit.

John 15.3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

• Please note beloved that it is the word itself is the instrument of cleansing. The word of God has a cleansing effect upon our lives. Psa.119:9 asks, How shall a young man cleanse his ways? It then answers, By taking heed to Thy word.  "This book will keep you from sin, and sin will keep you from this book."
• The word of God gives strength to the believers. I write unto you young men, because you are strong, because the word of God abides in you.
• Listen to these insightful words from D.L. Moody about how faith grows as we hear The Word of God: “I prayed for faith, and thought that some day faith would come down out of heaven and strike me like lightning. But faith did not seem to come. One day, I read in Romans 10 that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. I had closed my bible, and prayed for faith. I now opened my Bible, and began to study and faith has been growing ever since.”

John 15:4 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.

• Abide- to stay in a given place, state, relation or expectancy):-- continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry.  
• Abide in Me and I in you- We abide in Jesus by faith in Him, love for Him, and obedience to Him.
• The only way that you and I really bear fruit is by abiding in Christ. The only way that we can have God glorifying marriages and families is when a husband, wife and children are abiding in Jesus Christ. The only way that we can be a God glorifying congregation is to the extent that each and every one of us abide in Jesus Christ.

John 15.5 I am the vine, ye are the branches:

• The branches of the vine are many, yet, meeting in the root, are all but one vine; thus all true Christians, though in place and opinion distant from each other, meet in Christ. Matthew Henry
• Jesus has already declared (John 15:1) that he is the True Vine, but here Jesus declares that every disciple is a branch of the Vine. Because no man is born into this world with the nature of a vine, it stands to reason that we owe our being branches to the saving grace of God through faith in The Vine, Jesus Christ.
• Observe that, not denominations, but all those who are born again and regenerated by The Spirit of God, 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.

• It is futile for us to think that we can bring forth fruit in our life apart from Jesus Christ. It is futile to think that we as a body of believers can bring forth fruit apart from being Spirit led and Spirit filled.
• There is scarcely any one who is ashamed to acknowledge that every thing good which he possesses comes from God. The fallen nature of man is unfruitful and destitute of anything of eternal, Christ glorifying good.
• So long as we are acting apart from Christ and His empowerment and direction, we are incapable of bearing any  fruit that is good and acceptable to God, for apart from abiding in Jesus, we are unable to do anything good. I can do nothing of any value fore the kingdom of God without Him. Remember this beloved, your life is your ministry and all true ministry is simply an overflow of your personal fellowship with and obedience to The Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, the importance of abiding in fellowship with Jesus Christ.
• When we are walking in fellowship with Jesus Christ, and by that I mean that we are in the Word daily, living a life of prayer, walking in the light as He is in the light, staying in fellowship with and accountable to other saints and sharing the gospel with the lost, the fruit that comes forth from our lives is a very natural thing; it’s not forced.  That apple hanging on the tree is not out there struggling and striving and pushing and doing its best to get ripe.  All it has to do is just hang-in-there, and it is going to ripen.  And it’s going to come to maturity.  And I just need to hang-in-there, just to abide in Christ and the natural result of abiding in Christ is that my life is going to bring forth Spirit directed, Spirit led fruit.
• The disciple, without Christ, can do nothing. But Paul the apostle also declared, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

John 15:6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

• The lifeless, fruitless branches in the vineyard are lopped off and carried out, and wither and are burned.
• Is it possible for a person not to abide in Christ? It is Jesus who suggests this possiblilty, and I do not believe that the Lord ever warns us needlessly. The withered here indicates death as the branch is cut off from it’s source of life.
• There are three ways in which a person can become a withered or useless branches.
• We can refuse to listen to Jesus Christ at all.
• We can listen to him, and then render him a lip service unsupported by any deeds.
• We can accept him as Master, and then, in face of the difficulties of the way or the desire to do as we like, abandon him.
• One thing we must remember. Uselessness invites disaster, and what renders us useless is when we turn away from our first love, Jesus Christ. The fruitless branch is on the way to destruction.

John 15.7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

• Here Jesus speaks of His word abiding in us, and the effect that it will have on our prayer life. Please note who is he addressing this broad promise to?  Those who are abiding in Him and those who have the Word of God abiding in them.
• 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 that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
• Remember, Jesus taught us that the ultimate purpose of prayer is that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

John 15.8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

• Know this tonight beloved, our heavenly Fathers desire is that every single one of us in this room have a loving, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ and be fruitful. We have been given a blood bought, Christ wrought redemption in order that we might be Father glorifying believers.
• And once again, how is this Father glorifying, fruit bearing accomplished? By simply abiding in Jesus Christ. He is The Vine, you are the branch. Cut off from the vine, you and I are dead.
• Please note the progression of growth in grace here loved ones. I start out as I receive Jesus Christ as Lord (John 1.12). At that very moment, I am sealed by the Spirit of God and am grafted as a branch into The True Vine, Jesus Christ. Immediately, I hunger for the milk of His Word and I begin to draw nourishment from Jesus Christ. As I learn how God wants me to live, I begin to walk in obedience to The Lord, and my life begins to bring forth fruit of intimacy with Jesus Christ. As I continue to walk with The Lord, His Word continues to cleanse me of the old ways and the things of the flesh in order that I might bring forth more fruit.  And as I continue in this process of cleansing and abiding in Him, I begin to bring forth much fruit.  And herein is my Father glorified; this is what my Father wants, that my life bear much fruit for Him.
• The best comment on this is the Savior's injunction; Let your light shine before men, that they, seeing your good works, shall glorify your Father who is in heaven. Matt 5.16

John 15:9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.

• Now Jesus begins to talk about the fruit of abiding . Note that Jesus ties in abiding with love. The fruit of the Spirit is love. 
• This is what God is seeking from each and every one of us is love. Love of course is a verb, not a noun. God is looking for expressions of love within our church family.  He is looking for verbal expressions of love, but even more importantly, He is looking for deeds that express love.
• Remember how Jesus rebuked the Ephesians congregation in Rev 2 because they were doing al of the right things for the wrong reasons…that is always a word in season for any one of us and for KF as a community of believers.

John 15:10 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.

• We abide by obeying, and the fruit of abiding is love. This once again proves that The Father desires to have a loving relationship with His children, not a legal one.

John 15.11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

·      It is Christ’s joy within us, because it is a joy that is not of this world and is given to us by Him. Our Vine, Jesus Christ is both the Author and the Cause of joy in our lives.

• John 16:24  Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. Joy in prayer. Prayer being fellowship with God.
• 1John 1:4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. Joy is reading what Scripture tells us about Who Jesus Christ is and what He has done for us.
• This does not mean that believers will be entirely free from all sadness, trials, or adversities in life. It means that the ground for joy is the gospel of Jesus Christ, compared to which, no dread, no anxiety, no grief, can swallow up or take away.
• Rom 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
• Ac 20:24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
• Php 2:17 Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all.
• Jas 1:2 ¶ My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations
• 1Pe 1:6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.
• 1Pe 4:13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

Tonight, Jesus Christ, The True Vine is calling you to come and abide in Him…..pure Christianity is following Jesus Christ, living for Jesus Christ, and bearing the fruit of loving Jesus Christ. Trust Him tonight!

• Luke 15:7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.