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Pastor Mark Mikels – May 17, 2009

“FRUITFULLY ABIDING”

(More To Me Series – Part Five)
(John 15:1-17)

Intro … Well we are past the half-way point in this little “More To Me Series” of messages … Four down and three to go. Once again, here are the three testimony confessions upon which it is based … Confessions that all born-again followers of Jesus Christ should have right on the tip of their tongues …

“There is more to me than meets the eye.”
“My real life is hidden with Christ in God.”
“You cannot really know me unless you know something of my Savior.”

So far we have identified four of those “somethings” about the Savior that directly impact the lives we live here on earth. Series “Key Facts” we have
called them …

Key Fact #1 …
“He Is The Bread Of Life Come Down From Heaven;
I Am Nourished By Him.”

Key Fact #2 …
“He Is The Light Of The World;
I No Longer Walk In Darkness.”

Key Fact #3 …
“He Is The Lamb Of God Who Takes Away Sin;
I Am Completely Cleansed By Him.”

Key Fact #4 …
“He Is The Good Shepherd;
I Am Wonderfully Shepherded By Him”

These are “affirmations” with which we can begin our day – in fact, when we get done, we will have one for each day of the week.

Consider with me this morning …

“More To Me Series Key Fact #5 …

“He is the LIFE-GIVING VINE; I BEAR FRUIT because of Him.”

(John 15:1, 5)

Here again is a captivating image that leads to a powerful affirmation.

Here’s the incredible text from which this image is taken … Jesus and his disciples were no doubt walking through the Kidron Valley on their way to the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane when these words were spoken. Perhaps they were actually walking past some vineyards as he spoke. (Jn. 15:1-17)

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while 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 will 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 am 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 is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, 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, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now 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 have 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 have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and 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.

And arising from that passage has come
Today’s Key Fact …

“He Is The Life-Giving Vine – I Bear Fruit Because Of Him”

This morning I would have us notice several things about “fruit-bearing” …

* Fruit-Bearing Is Christ’s INTENTION (vs. 16)

“I CHOSE you … to go and bear fruit.”

Jesus said to his loyal eleven (and through John’s Gospel to all of us) …
“I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – lasting fruit.”

It is and has always been Jesus’ intention that His Followers live productive
lives – that they be fruit-bearers. There probably is no greater desire in the hearts of his followers than that they do just that … bear fruit!

But how do we know when and if we are doing it? What exactly is fruit? For a preacher, is it the size of his congregation – For a “regular” believer is it the number of people you have led to Christ or the number that you have at least influenced for Christ?

Jesus gives us a few surprising answers right in this passage – but in general terms here is the answer that I would give.

Spiritual Fruit …

“Any action or attitude that reflects positively upon our Triune God”

Here is the specific “fruit” that Jesus identified for his disciples on that evening walk to Gethsemane …

“Believing His Word Is Fruit” …

vs. 3 … “You are already clean (pruned) because of the Word
I have spoken to you. Remain in me (it) …”
vs. 7 … “If you remain in me and my words remain in you …”

Believing that the Word of God is true and seeking to base our life upon it is an incredibly fruitful thing to do! Only a follower of Jesus Christ would consider doing such a thing – it reflects well upon Him.

“Obeying His Commands Is Fruit” …

vs. 10 … “If you obey my commands you will remain in my love”

Actually obeying the Word of God is the natural result of believing and receiving the Word of God and it’s an incredibly fruitful thing to do! When we do a certain thing “only” because the Bible says that we should, our lives burst forth with the kind of sweet flavorful fruit that God delights in tasting!

“Loving His People Is Fruit” …

vs. 12 … “Love each other as I have loved you”

Loving one another – serving one another – is another incredibly fruitful thing to do. Like any parent, our Heavenly Father is delighted whenever His Children truly “get along” – when their love for one another mirrors His own love for them.

Believing His Word – Obeying His Commands – Loving His People … these are tremendously fruitful things. These are some of the most important things
Jesus had in mind when He called us to follow Him in the first place.

Indeed …Fruit-Bearing Is Christ’s Intention

Now here’s another thing about “Fruit-Bearing” …

* Fruit-Bearing Demonstrates Our RELATION

vs. 8 “… showing yourselves to be my DISCIPLES”

Jesus put it like this …
“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit,
showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

Here’s the point … The more fruit we bear the more we demonstrate that we are operating our lives from a different perspective than most.

Our believing and our obeying and our consistent, sacrificial loving (as well as all the other behaviors that flow from those three) demonstrate conclusively (first to the unseen heavenly hosts and then to our fellow believers in the world and then to many of the unbelievers around us) that we truly belong to Jesus Christ.

Fruit-Bearing not only is Christ’s Intention it also demonstrates our Relation …

Now a third thing …

* Fruit-Bearing Requires Our CONNECTION

vs. 4 “No BRANCH can bear fruit by itself”

Here’s how Jesus expressed it …

“Remain in me, and I will 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.” (vs 4)

The key to our fruit-bearing is our “remaining” or as the Old King James version of Bible put it … “Abiding”.

Remaining simply means: “Staying Consciously Connected To Christ”

“Staying” … an on-going continuing situation – not “hit or miss”.
“Conscious” … an intentional, focused action – not accidental or casual.
“Connection” … in touch with, in tune with, defined by …

“Continuing, intentional contact with Jesus Christ” – that’s what it takes if we would be fruitful followers of Christ. That’s our responsibility in this process …
“Remain” – stay consciously connected.

Suggestion: Re-connect every morning with a time of personal communion and reflection.
“He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him”
(John 6:56)

Now here’s something that many even of us completely miss …

* Fruit-Bearing Is An Automatic REACTION

vs. 5 “He WILL bear fruit.”

“I am the vine; you are the branches.
If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit …”

Did you hear that? “He will bear much fruit” …
Fruit-Bearing happens “automatically” when that necessary requirement is met.
Fruit-Bearing is not something that we just sit around and “hope for” …
Fruit-Bearing is not something that we resolve to “work harder at” …
Fruit-Bearing is a natural consequence of our “remaining” or “abiding”.

If we remain connected then we will bear fruit … Simple as that!

So often, though, we get the cart before the horse and everything gets all
messed up. We put such time and focus and energy into our attempts to be “fruitful” that we completely forget about what it takes to “stay connected”.

We so exhaust ourselves in “seeking fruit” that we have no energy left for “seeking Christ”. And we wonder why we see so few tangible results from
our labors.

Jesus revealed the proper sequence … Seek Daily Connection with Christ and
you will never have to seek fruitfulness – fruitfulness will find you.

And now our final comment of the morning …

* Fruit-Bearing Results In God’s GLORIFICATION

vs. 8 “This is to my Father’s GLORY …”

Who better to explain to us the workings of things in the unseen world than Jesus? Here’s how he explained the ultimate result of our fruit-bearing …

“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit …”

In the very first verse of this passage Jesus had identified the Heavenly Father Himself as the Gardener … He is the ONE who established the SON as the Life-Giving Vine – He is the ONE who draws unsaved men and women and grafts them into that Vine. He is the ONE who tends the Vine and prunes its branches through His Spirit-Given Word and thus He is the ONE who receives the Blue Ribbon when choice fruit results.

“We bear fruit so that God can receive Glory!”

Final Thot … We CREATE the HARVEST that the Father ENJOYS!
And all we have to do is STAY connected to the VINE.