If you brought a Bible with you and you're gonna read from your Bible, I invite you to open it up now. The words will also be on the screen behind me of our scripture passage, a little bit fuller of the whole passage here in John chapter 15, verses one through 11. And before we read that word, let's pray. Father, we ask that you would open our hearts to your Word, to your Holy Spirit, and you would open the Word to our hearts. We might hear, receive, believe, trust, obey, and find our spiritual life and our hope and joy in you. We ask this to glorify you through Jesus. Amen. Brothers and sisters, the grass withers, the flower fades. For me, the scariest verses in the New Testament are Matthew 7, 21 to 23 from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. Here's what Jesus said. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day, Many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do mighty works in your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. Why is that so scary? Listen to what those people did in Jesus' name. They prophesied, they cast out demons, they did mighty works, which is another way to say miracles. How many of us have done those kinds of things? How many people in our churches can make those kinds of claims? And yet, those people were never known by Christ and were sent away from Him as lawless people, sinners. What does that say about us? We've never done miraculous spiritual things. It has to make you wonder. At least it does for me. Do I, who have only done much lesser things, really know Christ? Does Christ really know me? And how can I tell? This is the first and scariest passage, and the second is like undo it. 2 Peter 1. through eight. Peter says, for this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours, and increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Why is that so? Because Peter says that it's possible for us, for you and me, as believers, to be spiritually ineffective and unfruitful. He provides a long list of qualities that can keep us from being unfruitful, but which one of us is ready to boast that we are spiritually mature enough to reflect those kinds of qualities in our life, to possess those qualities in the way that we should? Aren't we all aware that our spiritual life is not all that it could be or should be, Aren't there times when our faith just seems dull and routine and lifeless? Don't we all wrestle at times with discouragement and doubts? So often it seems like we're just lacking spiritual vitality and power. We know what we should do, what we should be like, but we seem helpless to be able to do those things or to be that kind of person. So we wonder, how can my spiritual life be vital, growing, powerful, joyful? If you wonder any of those things, I have good news for you. Because in John 15 Jesus explains how your spiritual life can be fruitful. Jesus speaks to his disciples in this chapter with an analogy. Verse 1 is a preface to the analogy. He says, I am the true vine and my father is the vine dresser. So the imagery is of a vineyard and that was common in the Old Testament. Unfortunately, in the Old Testament, most of the time that analogy was about the relationship between God and the people of Israel, but the context was the nation of Israel being disobedient and wayward and unfruitful. So there are some similarities between how the image is used in the Old Testament and what Jesus says here in the New Testament, some similarities and differences. Jesus includes a description of unfruitful branches, but his emphasis isn't on the unfruitfulness, it's on being fruitful. The greatest difference between Old Testament and John 15 is that Jesus says, I am the true vine. By referring to himself as the true vine, he's saying, All of the promises to the nation of Israel that have been made over the centuries about belonging to God and having a place called home, all of these promises are now being fulfilled in me. Jesus saying, I am the true vine. I am the true Israel. Then in verse two, Jesus states the foundational principle of the analogy. 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. So in spiritual terms, there's two types of people, non-fruit bearing and fruit bearing. And God relates to each of these groups of people in different ways. Who are these types of people? The unfruitful people are non-believers. The fruitful are believers, those who know Christ and are abiding in Him. The unfruitful non-believers are those who do not abide in Christ and they do not and they cannot produce fruit. In verse 5, Jesus says, for apart from me you can do nothing. And by that he means, human beings, all of us, as we're born into this world apart from God, by our own nature and power, have absolutely no ability to produce fruit. Anything of eternal kingdom value or to please God. We are totally incapable of doing that. Non-believers, or can non-believers do good things? Of course they can. And they do many things of earthly and moral value. But those good deeds do not build up the kingdom of God, they only build up the kingdom of self, and in reality are an offense to God because they are a rejection of Him. So in terms of the analogy, it's possible that on the vine, there could be great, big, green, luscious branches, but they produce no fruit, and they're taken off, thrown into the fire, and burned as Jesus says in verse six. It's a picture of the final judgment as described in many places throughout scripture. I think it's significant that Jesus included this in the analogy because he didn't have to. He could have just spoken about how we bear fruit and not mention the non-fruit bearing branches. Jesus is teaching us a truth about judgment which we need to pay attention to particularly in this time and generation because The reality of sin and judgment and hell is being denied not only outside the church but now within the church. We need to know that it is a reality. So here in verse 2, here's the foundational principle. The reason God has created us, the purpose and goal of life is to produce spiritual fruit. So it's important for us to ask, what is this fruit which is supposed to be produced in us? The Apostle Paul in Galatians gives a very clear response to that. Chapter 5, verse 22, but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Peter gave a list of the fruit of the Spirit in the passage I read before. Faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, love, These are fruit of the Spirit. These lists of qualities are not exhaustive, they're just representative. There are other things that could be added to the list. But right here in this passage, John 15, Jesus gives us the ultimate explanation about the nature of the spiritual fruit. He says in verse eight, by this my Father is glorified that you bear much fruit. What is the fruit Jesus is talking about? Anything that gives glory to God. Now, having laid down a foundational principle in verse 2, Jesus speaks directly to his disciples in verse 3. He says, Already you are clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Now, if we don't consider the context in which this is spoken, it's going to seem like this verse just comes out of left field somewhere. Jesus and his disciples are in the upper room. They're about to celebrate the Passover on the very night in which Jesus was to be betrayed before his crucifixion. When they entered the upper room that night, None of the disciples were willing to humble themselves and wash one another's feet as was the tradition and custom. So Jesus seizes that moment to make a spiritual lesson for them about spiritual cleansing and he washes the feet of the disciple. But Peter was resistant. And here's the dialogue in John 13. This is how it went. Peter said to him, you shall never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, if I do not wash you, you have no share with me. Simon Peter said to him, Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and my head. Jesus said to him, The one who has bathed does not need to wash except his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you. For he knew who was to betray him. That is why he said, not all of you are clean. Shortly after that, Judas, one of the 12 disciples, left the room in order to betray Jesus. As the conversation went on, During that evening Jesus spoke this analogy about the vine and the branches and the unfruitful branches and of judgment. And Jesus speaks, verse 3, as a word of assurance to the remaining 11 disciples that they will remain faithful. They're not going to be cut off. They are spiritually clean because of His Word and His ministry, sanctifying the work of His Spirit to them, and they will become fruit bearers. Which leads to another question. How does one bear spiritually glorifying fruit? That's exactly what Jesus addresses in the next section of the analogy. And the simple answer is this. We bear spiritual fruit by abiding in Christ. Jesus says in verse 5, I am the vine, you are the branches, whoever abides in me and I in him, it is he that bears much fruit. Now in the passage, abiding is spoken of in two different aspects. One is Christ abiding in us. You abide in me, I abide in you. This is the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit in every single believer. There's no second or special baptism or anointing that's necessary. Every believer has received the gift of the Holy Spirit and possessed the presence of Christ, His character, of His love, His wisdom, His power, His grace, His mercy, and on and on. Those things are already Ours, indwelling in us through the power of the Holy Spirit as believers, that's Christ abiding in us. The other aspect of abiding is our abiding in Christ. What does it mean for us to abide in Christ? Thankfully Jesus provides three explanations right here in this analogy. Number one, to abide in Christ means dependence upon Him. dependence upon Jesus. Verse 4, the second part. As a branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I've already mentioned that branches have no power of their own to be able to produce spiritual fruit. We have no power of our own to produce spiritual fruit. We don't go out to a vineyard, we don't go out to the apple orchards around us or the cherry orchards and stand there and listen for the branches to be grunting and groaning trying to produce fruit. It doesn't work that way. They can't do it. The branches are passive. It's the life-giving power of the vine, of Jesus, that produces fruit in us. Abiding means simply resting in Jesus and letting Him do His work in us. The second explanation of what it means to abide in Christ is taking God's Word to heart. Taking God's Word to heart. Verse 7, if you abide in me and my words abide in you, that's what he says. So if we abide in Christ by knowing His Word and His will as revealed in the Holy Scriptures, it means that we need to read to study, to meditate upon, to memorize scripture. But abiding is not just knowing scripture, it's trusting the truth that we learn in his word. Abiding is like Jesus when he was out on the Sea of Galilee in the boat in a raging storm, sound asleep. Why was he sleeping? It wasn't because he was so tired and exhausted. It was because he trusted in the character and promises of his Heavenly Father. We can have that kind of peace when we trust in the Word of God abiding in our heart. The third explanation about what it means to abide in Christ is keeping the commandments of God. Keeping the commandments of God. Verse 10, if you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love. In his word and his commandments, God lays out his will for us and how he has designed us to live. Walking according to his words and keeping his commandments is the way of blessing for us. It's the way that we glorify God. Disobedience leads to unfruitfulness, to destruction and death. Obedience leads to fruitfulness and life. There are probably other marks of what it means to be abiding in Christ, but these are the three that in this passage that Jesus gives to us. Dependence upon him, taking his word to heart, and keeping his commandments. What if we were to do that? What if we actually did those three things, if we were abiding in Christ? What would happen in our lives? Well again, Jesus gives the answer. He has seven different characteristics here of a life of a person who is abiding in Christ. One, God abundantly produces spiritual fruit through us. Verse five says, it is he that bears much fruit. Not a little, much. As Jesus described in the parable of the sower, he's going to produce a harvest 30, 60, 100 fold. The more we abide, the more fruit God produces in us. Two, effective prayer. Verse seven, if you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. What an amazing promise. But it's one that can be easily misunderstood. Jesus is not offering to us a blank check to get whatever we want from God. Keep this in context. This promise is for those who abide in Christ, who are totally dependent upon the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, who take God's Word to heart, and who keep His commandments. If you're that kind of person, your sole desire is going to be to see the will of God accomplished. And Jesus says, when that's your mindset, and you don't have a specific command to tell you what you have, and you need to pray for his wisdom and his guidance, go ahead, ask God whatever you wish, because what you wish is for the will of God. Those who abide in Christ are going to see answers to that kind of prayer. Number three, God is glorified. Verse eight, by this my father is glorified that you bear much fruit. God gets the glory when we abide in Christ because it's the life giving spirit of Christ that produces the fruit in us, not us. Number four, our relationship with Jesus is confirmed. When we have those doubts and fears, where am I? Do I really fit in? Do I belong to him? Does he know me? And we're wondering those kind of questions. Verse 8, he said, and so prove to be my disciples. We have all those kind of fears and doubts and things, but they're vanquished in us when we see Christ producing spiritual fruit in us. Those fears and doubts are wiped away And so by bearing fruit, we prove to ourselves that we are loved by and belong to God. Number five, our testimony to others is strengthened. It's not only ourselves that we get affirmed of our relationship to God, but the spiritual produce, the fruit that Christ produces in us testifies to those around us to the power of the gospel. Number six, we will be characterized by love. 9. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Abide in my love. When we abide in Christ, He fills us with His love. He displayed that love most perfectly on the cross. The sinless Son of God willingly suffered death, taking upon Himself the wrath of God that you and I deserved for our sin. giving to us forgiveness and the gift of his perfect righteousness. He loved us while we were his enemies, Paul says in Romans. Jesus' love is gracious, sacrificial, giving, forgiving, seeking the welfare of others for the glory of God. When you and I abide in Christ, our love toward others is going to be the same kind of love. Jesus told his disciples a little bit earlier in that evening, in John 13, 34, a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another just as I have loved you, and that your joy may be full. Not happiness that comes and goes with your circumstances, but the joy of Jesus will be abundantly in us in the good times and in the hard times when we abide in Christ. Brothers and sisters in the Lord, if these are the blessings of abiding in Christ, why wouldn't you want them? It's time to break free from your spiritual doldrums and ineffectiveness. It's time to pursue Christ as the first priority in your life. It's time to reap a new harvest of spiritual fruit in your life. Don't be content with less. Don't be satisfied with anything less than all that God has to offer you. Take this passage to heart. Let me sum it up for you, which you might say, well, why didn't you just do that in the beginning and save time? But here it is. The purpose for which God has created us and for which we exist is to glorify God by producing spiritual fruit. Spiritual fruit is produced in us by abiding in Christ. Abiding in Christ means we are merely branches through which the indwelling Holy Spirit, life-giving Spirit of Jesus does His work. We don't and we cannot produce spiritual fruit on our own. But when we die to ourselves, when there's less of me, so there's more of Jesus in our lives, we will produce fruit. The more of Jesus is in us, the more we will glorify God. Let's pray. Lord, how merciful you are to know our needs and to know that We who belong to you, your children, those who are adopted into your family, who are engrafted into the vine, into you, still have spiritual needs, weaknesses, doubts, fears, ineffectiveness. We get sidetracked, lose our priorities, And so often we are unfruitful for your kingdom. And yet, long before we ever entered into this world, you knew that need and you provided this word for us. That we might be assured in our relationship with you and encouraged in understanding the way that we can give glory to you. not by our efforts, but by getting ourselves out of the way and letting you do your work in us. Lord, help us to take these words of yours to heart, that we might indeed be the vessels through which you produce glorious spiritual fruit to your glory. In your name we pray, amen.