Rooted and Fruitful

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Rob McFarlane 0:30

Today we're going to look at John chapter 15, verse 1 to verse 8 and verse 16. This was Jesus teaching his disciples, and he said, I am the true vine, and my father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. If any one does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers, and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples. Verse sixteen. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. We are going to unpack these verses, and we'll discover three life lessons from John chapter 15. Let's have another look at a key verse in this passage again, which is John chapter 15 and verse 5. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. We see three life lessons in John chapter 15, verse 5. Number one, we see that Jesus is the source of life. He said, I am the vine, you are the branches. Earlier in the passage, in verse 1, he says, I am the true vine, and my father is the vine dresser. Our relationship with Jesus is vital for life. Colossians 2, verse 7, reading from the contemporary English version, plant your roots in Christ and let him be the foundation for your life. I encourage you to make your relationship with Jesus Christ a top priority. He is the source of life. And through our relationship with Him, we can have peace with God and we can experience the peace of God. Listen to the last phrase in John chapter 15, verse 5, which says, For apart from me you can do nothing. This speaks to me about the emptiness and futility of life apart from a relationship with Jesus Christ. Listen to these powerful lines in the poem Only One Life by C. T. Studd. Only one life twill soon be passed. Only what's done for Christ will last. Our first life lesson is that Jesus is the source of life. Number two. John 15, verse 5, Jesus says, He it is that bears much fruit. God wants our lives to be fruitful. He wants us to bear much fruit. In fact, if we go to Genesis chapter 1, we would see that his first words to humanity was to be fruitful. Look at John 15, verse 8 and John 15, verse 16, in which we're told to bear much and lasting fruit. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples. In verse 16, you did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide. In the New International Version, it puts verse 16 this way: You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you might go and bear fruit, and that your fruit will last. God wants us to bear much and lasting fruit. Now remember, fruit in the New Testament refers to two things. It refers to Christian character, like the fruit of the Holy Spirit, and it refers to effective ministry, fruitful ministry. Let's have a look at John 15, verse 8 again. And we see in this verse that fruitfulness is proof that we are disciples of Jesus Christ. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. There are three marks of a disciple of Jesus Christ that are revealed by Jesus in the Gospel of John. The first, we've just seen, is to be fruitful. The second mark of a disciple of Christ is found in John chapter 8, verse 31, where Jesus says to those who believed in him, if you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. A disciple of Christ holds to the teachings of Jesus. And the third sign of a disciple of Christ or proof of a disciple of Christ is in John chapter 13, verse 34 and verse 35. Jesus said, A new command I give you. Love one another as I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another. So the second life lesson we've seen today from John chapter 15 is that God wants us to bear fruit. Number three, we must abide in Christ. John 15, verse 5, Jesus said, Whoever abides in me, and I in him. Now we're told to abide in him no less than seven times in John chapter 15. What does the word abide mean? Some versions use the word remain. It means to be rooted in Christ, to stay in constant and vital connection with Jesus Christ as the source of our lives. Now in John chapter 15 we see amazing benefits of abiding in Jesus. Let's look at two of these in John chapter 15, verse 4, and verse 7. They are fruitfulness and effective prayer. Abide in me and I in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. And then in verse 7, if you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. What amazing benefits we have being fruitful and seeing our prayers answered as a result of abiding in Christ. Now Jesus invites us to abide in three things. They are abide in Him, abide in His word, and abide in His love. We see in John 15, verse 4 to verse 7, Jesus says, Abide in me. Listen to these verses. Abide in me and I in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. If any one does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers, and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. In John 15, verse 7, we see that Jesus invites us to abide in his word. If you abide in me and my words abide in you. Then in John 15, verse 10, Jesus said that we can abide in his love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. What a wonderful invitation to stay in vital communion and contact with Jesus. So a summary and a prayer. Jesus is the vine. We are called to bear fruit, and we must abide in Christ. Let's bow our heads and let's pray together. Lord, thank you that you are the vine and that you've invited us to be vitally connected to you, to abide in you, to abide in your word, and to abide in your love. We want our lives to be proof that we are disciples of Jesus. We want our lives to be fruitful. Help us to be fruitful by being those who keep your word and those who love one another. I pray for each and every person that we would bear much and lasting fruit, that we would see Christian character developed in us, and that we would remain fruitful in ministry. We ask these things in Jesus' precious name. Amen.