I Am the True Vine

We are finishing a series here called "I Am." We're considering seven "I Am" statements of Jesus. Today, we're in John chapter 15, talking about what Jesus says: "I am the true vine." So, open with us to John chapter 15.

Good morning! While you're standing, I have two things to ask. If you have a seat next to you in the middle, can you squeeze in a little bit? We have some more people coming in, and this service tends to get pretty full. When we sit down in a moment, if we can fill the seats on the outside, it makes it easier for everyone.

Now, take out your Bible and open with me to the Gospel of John. If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will gladly bring you one. Turn to about the middle of your Bible and then turn to the right. You will find the four Gospels in the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and then John. We are nearing the end of the Gospel of John, so let's start in John chapter 20.

We'll pick it up at verse 30. John the Apostle writes, "And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name."

Father, we thank you for the life that is found in Christ. Lord, we thank you that by the Holy Spirit, you inspired John to write nearly 2,000 years ago to reveal that life. Jesus, we thank you that you came to give life and that life more abundantly. I pray, God, that as we learn from you and the Scriptures, as we follow you by faith, we would be those who experience more and more of that abundance of life every single day.

May it be evident in us to others—co-workers, neighbors, friends, and family members—so that they would see and desire it as well. We know that the thief has come to steal, to kill, and to destroy, and we see that ravaging work in the world around us.

We praise You, Lord, for being the one who comes to give life and that to its fullest. God, speak to us today. Teach us by Your Word and by the working of Your Spirit. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all those that agreed said, "Amen." You could be seated.

This summer, we have been spending some time in the Gospel of John, considering together what Jesus has to say about Himself. We know that there are a lot of opinions, ideas, views, and thoughts about Jesus. It has been that way for the last 2,000 years. In fact, even when Jesus was here on earth, walking, working, and speaking, there were already many opinions about Him. He asked His disciples in Matthew chapter 16, "Who do men say that I am?" They replied, "Well, some say You're a prophet; some say that You're John the Baptist back from the dead," and all these different things. Of course, He then asked His disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" One of them said, "You're the Christ, the Son of the Living God."

In the passage we have been studying in the Gospel of John, Jesus is revealing Himself to us. One of the things we see as we go through the Gospel of John, which is slightly different from Matthew, Mark, and Luke, is that John writes with a very clear purpose: to reveal the true nature of Jesus. He does so through the things that Jesus has to say about Himself. This Gospel is built around seven sayings that Jesus made about Himself, known as the "I Am" sayings. This summer, we have been looking at each one of them. So far, we have seen six of them, and today we will finish up by seeing the seventh and final "I Am" statement.

We first saw in John chapter 6 that Jesus said, "I am the bread of life." One of the other unique characteristics of the Gospel of John is that it is not only constructed around these seven "I Am" statements, but it is also built around seven miracles or signs that Jesus performed. Some of those signs correspond with the "I Am" sayings. For example, when He says in John chapter 6, "I am the bread of life," He is the one who gives sustaining life to humanity. In that very same passage, He performs one of His miracles, multiplying food and giving bread to the multitudes to eat.

As we move from John chapter 6 into John chapter 8, Jesus says, "I am the light of the world." In the very next chapter, John chapter 9, He gives light to the blind.

A man who had lived his entire life in darkness was blind from birth. Jesus gives him sight. In John chapter 8, Jesus says, "Before Abraham was, I am." Of course, Abraham lived almost 2,000 years before Jesus did, so how could He say, "Before Abraham was, I am"? The Abraham He is speaking of is the father of the Jewish people.

What Jesus is revealing when He says, "Before Abraham was, I am," is His eternality. He is revealing that He has always existed. He is God.

We move from John chapter 8 into John chapter 10, where there are two "I am" statements. Jesus says, "I am the Good Shepherd" and "I am the door." When He says in John chapter 10, "I am the Good Shepherd," He reveals Himself by giving His life for the sheep. Jesus reveals Himself to be the Good Shepherd. The pinnacle of each of the four Gospels is Jesus's death on the cross, where He gives His life for us. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep, which Jesus states in John chapter 15: "Greater love has no one than this, than a man would lay down his life for his friends."

The greatest expression of human love is perhaps that you would lay down your life for someone you love. However, God's love is greater than that because Christ demonstrates His love towards us. Romans chapter 5, verse 8, says, "In that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

He says, "I am the bread of life." He says, "I am the light of the world." He states, "Before Abraham was, I am." He declares, "I am the Good Shepherd." He proclaims, "I am the door." In John chapter 11, Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life." In that very same passage, He authenticates that word when He raises a dead man back to life. Lazarus was dead for three days, four days in the tomb, and Jesus raises him back to life.

Last week, Pastor Jason went through the passage in John chapter 14, perhaps one of the most bold and audacious claims of Jesus—one that offends a lot of people in our day in the United States, Canada, and Western European nations. One of the problems that many people have with the Christian faith is the exclusivity claims of Jesus in the Bible. The most audacious one is found in John chapter 14, where He says, "I am the way, the truth."

And the life, and no one comes to the Father but by me. Living in the culture that we live in, that is one of the statements that a lot of people stumble at. But that's what Jesus says about Himself: "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but by me." This is a pretty serious claim, and John is seeking to introduce us to Jesus in the Gospel of John. Through the words of Jesus, we get to see who the real Jesus is, and His whole purpose is to reveal the true nature of who He is.

Why does Jesus reveal Himself in this way? We are introduced to Jesus, but for what purpose? Ultimately, that's going to bring us to the seventh and final "I am" statement that we're going to be looking at in John chapter 15. But before we do, let's consider a little bit of context about what's going on here in this passage.

A couple of weeks ago, we saw that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead in John chapter 11 after making the statement, "I am the resurrection and the life." When He did that, He was in a small town just to the east of Jerusalem, about two miles away, over what is called the Mount of Olives. Jesus lived most of His life in the northern part of the nation of Israel, around the Sea of Galilee. However, when He would go down to Jerusalem, it seems, from what we can piece together from the Gospel accounts, that Jesus would stay in the town of Bethany, a couple of miles east of Jerusalem, where His friends Lazarus and his sisters, Martha and Mary, lived.

So, we can assume He probably stayed there. After raising Lazarus from the dead, John chapter 12 begins with Jesus coming into Jerusalem in an event that we still remember today and celebrate every single year on a Sunday called Palm Sunday. He comes into Jerusalem in what has been referred to ever since that point as the triumphant entry. As He prepares to enter Jerusalem, the people of the city are anticipating His arrival because news has spread very quickly. They didn't have Twitter, but they didn't need it; news spread really fast, and it was not fake news. Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, and people were blown away by this. They were filled with huge expectation and anticipation for the coming of Jesus into Jerusalem for Passover, the most anticipated feast of the year, the most celebrated festival for the people.

Waiting for Him to come there at the Mount of Olives, when He comes from Bethany on that Palm Sunday, they take palm branches, wave them, and rejoice. They sing one of the Psalms, Psalm 118: "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord." As Jesus enters the city riding upon a donkey, there is joy, anticipation, and expectation.

However, for those who were closest to Jesus in that moment, it’s almost as if He grounded that anticipation very quickly. His disciples, as they come into Jerusalem on that Palm Sunday, are immediately prepared for what He knows is about to happen that week. They don’t understand it; they don’t know it, but He knows what is about to come to pass. Not only does He know how that week is going to end, but He also knows that one of the twelve with Him is going to betray Him into the hands of the religious leaders who have been seeking an opportunity to kill Jesus since John chapter 5.

He says to His disciples, "My hour has come. The time of my glorification has come. It’s my hour to return to the Father." They were hoping that He was going to be ushered into Jerusalem and crowned as king. The people in Jesus's day were looking for a new king, a Messiah who would fulfill all the prophecies of the Old Testament—at least the prophecies they liked—where He would come in and rid them of those who were occupying their nation. The Romans were occupying those territories even today. They hoped He would be this conquering king, but He comes in meek and lowly, riding on a donkey.

Then He begins to tell them that the time of His departure is at hand. This is what happens in John chapter 12. In John chapter 13, we have the great event where Jesus is celebrating the Passover with His disciples. He tells them in Luke's Gospel, "I’ve been looking forward to this celebration. I’ve been looking forward to this Passover." It is at that gathering with His disciples in an upper room in what we call Upper Jerusalem, on the west side of Jerusalem, that Jesus tells His disciples, "One of you will betray me." All the anticipation and joy that had filled their hearts just a couple of days before is now starting to be significantly grounded. One of you will betray me.

Betray me, they all say, "Lord, is it I? Is it I?" He identifies his betrayer as Judas, and Judas gets up and leaves. At that point in time, the disciples do not fully understand everything that is going on, even as this is taking place. One of his disciples, as Jesus says, "Hey, listen, not only will one of you betray me, but all of you are going to be offended by me this night." Peter says, "Not so, Lord! I would die with you." Jesus responds, "Listen, Peter, before the rooster crows in the morning, you are going to deny me three times." They are totally shocked by this and having a hard time understanding how this is going to unfold. This is not the Passover the way they thought it was going to be.

He reveals this to them to the point where their hearts are troubled. That is when he says these words in John chapter 14, verse 1: "Let not your heart be troubled." You only tell people not to be troubled when they are troubled. He continues, "You believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many dwelling places. Were it not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also."

"Don't let your hearts be troubled. You trust in me; trust me. I am going to do something. I know I am preparing you for my departure. I know that there are heavy things coming about, and you are sad and distressed by these things, but you have to see beyond that. I am doing something bigger than that, and you know the way. You know how to get there."

One of the disciples speaks up and says, "Lord, we have no clue what you are talking about. We don't know the way." That is when he makes that great claim that Jason taught on last week: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me."

In that passage, he reveals to them what is going to come to pass within 24 hours—all the events that are going to unfold. He begins to do so in John chapter 14, revealing that the Holy Spirit would come and the presence of God would be with them.

Now, if you are not there, turn to John chapter 14. In the last verses, verse 29, he says, "And now I have told you before it comes. I don't want you to be unaware of this. You are my friends; I want to let you know what I am doing. So, and now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass..."

You may believe I want you to be encouraged. When you see these things come to pass, you'll know, "Wait, this is exactly what He told us would happen."

"I will no longer talk with you much." Verse 34 states, "The ruler of this world is coming, the enemy, the adversary, the devil, but he has nothing in Me." Jesus continues, "But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do." He says the Father has called Him to do what He is about to do—going to the cross. He finishes by saying to His disciples, "Arise, let us go from here."

Now, this is a turning point in this whole event. Up to this point, from John chapter 13 through all of John chapter 14, Jesus has been with His disciples in the upper part of Jerusalem. If you've never been to Jerusalem, maybe you've seen a map of the city. If not, let me describe it a little bit for you.

As you look at the city, on the eastern side, outside the city walls, is a mountain called the Mount of Olives. Coming down from that to the west is a valley called the Kidron Valley. Then you come up another hill, which is called the Temple Mount. You've all seen the pictures of the golden dome on the Temple Mount. Most of those famous pictures are taken from the east, from the Mount of Olives, looking down into the Kidron Valley and onto the Temple Mount.

As you continue west from the Temple Mount, you go into another valley called the Turopein Valley, and then up another hill, Mount Zion, which is in the midst of Jerusalem. From there, you go down into a third valley called the Valley of Hinnom or Gehenna.

So, we have this city, and Jesus is likely with His disciples in the western part of the city on Mount Zion, which was kind of the wealthy area of Jerusalem. They had an upper room where they were partaking of the Passover with His disciples. Then He says, "Alright, arise, let us go," which means they are probably going back to Bethany, where He would stay.

As they go east, they have to pass the Temple Mount. If you follow the story, ultimately they ended up that night in the Kidron Valley and at the base of the Mount of Olives in a little garden called the Garden of Gethsemane. Somewhere between that upper room and the Garden of Gethsemane, we have this passage that we are in, John chapter 15.

Look at it with me, if you will. John chapter 15, verse 1, Jesus says, "I am the true vine, My Father is the vine dresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean."

Because of the word which I have spoken to you, abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered. They gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in 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, and so you will be My disciples. As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you. Abide in My 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. These things I have spoken to you, that your joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full.

Somewhere between the upper room, when He says, "Arise, let us go," and that place in the Garden of Gethsemane, as they walk, possibly passing the Temple Mount, He speaks these words to His disciples. This is one of those famous passages of Jesus, well known even by those who sometimes do not spend much time reading the Scriptures. This statement that Jesus gives here, the seventh "I am," is given: "I am the true vine."

As a Bible teacher, when I come to a passage like this, which is one of the powerful, famous passages of Jesus, I hope that it lays out perfectly and linearly. I want to move through it step by step, and for it to map out clearly. However, this is one of those passages that kind of circles around and circles back a few times, making it a little more difficult to navigate.

I believe that this passage answers five important questions. We are going to go through each of these, but first, what does God desire from you, as answered here in this passage? The second question is: How does God accomplish this in you or from you? The third question is: Why does God do this? Fourth, what then is our work, our task? And fifth and finally, what is the ultimate outcome for us? If you didn't get those down, don't worry; we are going to go through each one of them.

First, what does God desire from you? Look at John chapter 15, verses 1 and 2. There, Jesus says, "I am the true vine; my Father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes, that it may bear more fruit."

Twice in this passage, first in verse 1 and then again in verse 5, Jesus says, "I am the vine." He is the source of life, and in relation to Him as the vine, we are told in verse 5 that we are the branches. So, we have Jesus and we have us pictured, but we also have God the Father here, and He is pictured as the vine dresser. These are the three characters, if you will, that are in this passage: Jesus, the vine; you and I, the branches; and God the Father, the vine dresser.

In this passage, He reveals in verse 2 what it is that God the Father, the vine dresser, wants from you and me. "Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, He takes away." That is what the vine dresser does. "And every branch that bears fruit, He prunes, that it may bear more fruit."

Point number one in your outline: God desires that we bear much fruit. God desires that we bear much fruit.

Now, this word picture that Jesus uses here was not a foreign concept to the people who were hearing this. The idea of God being a vine dresser and His people being on this vine as branches was familiar to them. In fact, about eight hundred years before Jesus spoke these words, one of the prophets of God, Isaiah, spoke similar words using the same kind of word picture.

In Isaiah chapter 5, beginning at verse 1, you can turn there if you'd like. Just turn to about the middle of your Bible; you'll be in the Psalms, and then turn to the right. You'll find the big book of Isaiah, which has 66 chapters. In the fifth chapter, Isaiah, inspired by God as a prophet, writes this: "Now let me sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved regarding his vineyard." Isaiah says, "I'm going to sing to God, whom I love, a song about His vineyard. My well-beloved, God has a vineyard on a very fruitful hill." And He, God the vine dresser, dug it up and cleared it.

Out of stones, He planted the choicest vine. He built a tower in the midst of this vineyard, and He also made a winepress in it. He expected it to bring forth good grapes. The vine dresser, God, has a vineyard that He has constructed, and He was looking forward to it producing good grapes. He was looking for the vintage to come, but it brought forth wild grapes—sour grapes, if you will, in another translation.

And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. This is now God speaking. He says, "Judge between me and my vineyard. What more could have been done to my vineyard that I have not done to it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes?"

And now, please let me tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned. I will take down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will lay it waste; it shall not be pruned or dug, but there shall come up thorns and weeds, briars and thorns. I also command the clouds that they not rain on it.

Well, what's He talking about—vineyards, vines, vine dressers, towers, and wine presses? Verse 7 states, "For the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is 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.

So, there in Isaiah chapter 5, God, through the prophet Isaiah, speaks this word picture. For the first time, God is a vine dresser. He has this choice vine, the branches of which He was hoping would produce fruit. But when He looked for fruit, there was no fruit. He didn't find what He was looking for.

And so, He says, "I'm just going to step away from doing my work among my vineyard. I'm going to leave it unpruned; I'm going to leave it exposed." If you follow the history of the nation of Israel, you see that God plays out this story through the intervening years between Isaiah and the time that Jesus would come.

But what exactly is the fruit that He's looking for? I mean, it begs the question: when God is the vine dresser, and He's got this vineyard, and He's looking with anticipation for fruit to come from it, what is He looking for? Well, Isaiah chapter 5, verse 7, gives us a couple of things that He's looking for. He looked for righteousness; He looked for justice. But instead, He found oppression and a cry.

The fruits that God desires from His branches are righteousness and justice. When we think about the fruit that God is looking for, I can't help but reflect on the words of the Apostle Paul in the New Testament, specifically in Galatians chapter 5. In verses 22 and 23, Paul speaks about the fruit of the Spirit: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering (or patience), kindness, gentleness, self-control, and goodness."

God is seeking from my life and from your life the production and bearing of this kind of fruit: love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, self-control, righteousness, and justice. These are the things that God desires from our lives in abundance.

This leads us to our second question: How does God accomplish this in us? God desires that our lives bear much fruit, but how does He accomplish this? Let’s turn back to John chapter 15 and see what Jesus says. Beginning in verse 1, He reveals, "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 bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, and you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me, you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned."

Point number two: Fruitfulness increases by the pruning work of the vine dresser. How does God accomplish this fruitfulness in my life and in your life? Fruitfulness increases by the pruning work of the vine dresser. The vine dresser is God the Father, working in my life and in your life. He comes in and begins to prune our lives, cutting things away for a purpose. He does this so that we will produce maximal fruit.

However, the reality is that pruning is not fun, especially for the branches. It is not enjoyable. While pruning is essential for fruitfulness, it is not fun. I've told the story many times before, but it's an important aspect to consider.

I have an appropriate story about when my wife and I bought our first house on the East End of Escondido. When we moved into that house, it had been a bank foreclosure, and most of the yard was completely brown and dead. However, there was one very green and vibrant thing still alive in that yard: a giant grapevine. It had branches that shot off into other trees, kind of hanging on there and over the fence. Some of those branches extended 20 feet.

I went out to that grapevine, and there was not a single grape on it. Now, I don't know a lot about grapevines, but I did know that you need to prune and train them for them to grow. So, after we moved in, I pruned that vine to the point that it was completely bare. It was a shamed vine; it looked naked, sad, and dead in every way. As I cut off all the branches, I stood back and thought there was no possible way that thing could ever grow again. It looked totally gone.

But you know what? By March of the next year, little shoots started to come off that vine. I began to train the branches and built a trellis for it to grow on. In that first year, it put off some branches, but I cut it back, and it didn’t produce any fruit. The second year, it produced a couple of little grapes here and there, and by the third year, a few more. However, every year at the end of the season, I would cut all the branches off, and it remained a shamed vine. Finally, about three or four years later, I went out there one day with Ethan around this time of year, and we cut off 50 bunches of grapes—tons of grapes just hanging off of this thing.

How did that happen? It happened because of the pruning work of the vine dresser, even by one who didn’t have a clue what he was doing. I don’t live there anymore, but every single day when I drive from my home now in San Pasquale Valley to here, I pass a huge vineyard. This time of year, that vineyard is beautiful, with bunches of green leaves all over it and all kinds of grapes because the harvest season is right now. Between August and the beginning of October, they’re going to harvest those grapes.

But you know what happens every November? The vine dressers go through and shame those vines. That green, full vine in August, by the end of November, looks like just dead wood, completely stripped. If those vines could speak, if we could hear them when the vine dressers are...

Going through and cutting off all of the branches, you would hear terror; it would be like screaming. No doubt, it's like the rapture for the vine, just completely destroyed. The amazing thing about that work is that there is a very clear picture in that pruning work of kind of a death and resurrection. There is a dying when all of that is stripped off, but it's ultimately so the resurrecting power of God can work in it.

God desires fruitfulness. He desires that you and I would bear much fruit. As the vine dresser, He has to come into our lives and prune the things away. How many of you know that the pruning work is painful? Has God stripped anything out of your life? I know He certainly has. When that takes place, it can be tough for us, but we need to know in the midst of that, God sees beyond it to something He is desiring to do in and through us. He desires fruitfulness, and since He desires that we bear much fruit, fruitfulness only increases through the pruning work of the vine dresser.

So, He comes in to do this. But why? Why does God desire to do this work in us? The third question is answered in John chapter 15, verse 5: "I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me, you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and withered; and they gather them together and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in 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."

Point number three: we bear much fruit for the glory of God. God desires that we bear much fruit, and as the vine dresser, He comes into our lives and clears out those branches that are not bearing any fruit. He cuts them away with His pruning shears, and He does this for His glory. For many centuries, the Christian faith was passed down from one generation to another through what were called catechisms. Catechisms were a way in which the church would give...

Especially to illiterate peoples, for the most part throughout church history, most people were illiterate. They didn't have the Scriptures to read and to understand and comprehend on their own. The way that they would put into their hearts and minds the Scriptures or the understanding of the Christian faith was through catechisms. They would be asked a question and would respond with a biblical answer that they had memorized. One of the most famous is called the Westminster Shorter Catechism. The first question of the Westminster Catechism is, "What is the chief end of man?" The answer is, "The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever."

God desires that we bear much fruit and bring glory to Him. This is very similar to what Jesus said in Matthew 5:16: "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." One of the famous words of Isaiah is found in Isaiah 61. It is famous because it speaks of the Messiah, and it is also notable because Jesus, in Luke 4, when He went into the synagogue in His hometown of Nazareth, was given the scroll of Isaiah. He read from Isaiah 61 and said, "Today these words are fulfilled in your hearing."

What those words say is quite amazing. Isaiah 61:1 states, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me." Jesus would later say, "To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." Jesus stopped reading at that point and said, "Today this is fulfilled in your hearing." However, the passage in Isaiah 61 continues: "And the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness."

Then hear this: "That they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified." Jesus, the Messiah, has come to do a work in your life and in my life, that we would be the planting of the Lord, trees of righteousness, so that God would be glorified.

In the New Testament book of Philippians, Paul was praying for the church. In Philippians 1:9, he prayed, "This I pray, that you may abound in love still more and more, in knowledge and in all discernment, and that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense until the return of..."

Christ is filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. Paul says, "I'm praying for you that Jesus's work would be full in you and that you would bear fruit to the glory of God." God, the vine dresser, desires that we would bear much fruit; therefore, He prunes my life and your life so that we would bear much fruit for His glory.

If it is God who desires this fruitfulness, and if it is Christ's power at work in us that produces this fruitfulness, and if God, the vine dresser, is the one who is pruning us so that there would be fruitfulness, what is our part to play? What are we supposed to do in all this?

Well, again, look at John chapter 15, verse 4: "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, and you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without me, you can do nothing."

If anyone does not abide in me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in me and my words abide in 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 then you will be my disciples.

As the Father loved me, I also have loved you. Abide in my 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.

Is there any word that seems to be repeated in there? What is it? Abide. Do you think Jesus is trying to emphasize something? He says it ten times in the first ten verses of John chapter 15: abide, abide, abide, abide.

Point number four: our fruitfulness is impossible apart from abiding in Christ. We need the work of God the Father, the vine dresser, to prune us so that we would bear much fruit. But there is no fruitfulness on the branch without it being connected to the vine. If you cut that great branch off from the vine, from the part that goes down into the ground, the roots, it can't do anything. It just shrivels, withers, and dies.

One Bible teacher says there is no spiritual or enduring achievement that...

It is possible that outside of Christ, you cannot produce fruit. Outside of the work of Jesus, some may say that people who don't believe in Jesus can do good works. That's fine, but it will not be spiritual or enduring fruit at all. Apart from Me, Jesus says, you can do nothing.

Now, we all want to object to that. I can do some things; I'm sure you've done some things. I don't know how great you feel about those things, and I can guarantee you one thing: they probably didn't glorify God. Apart from Me, you can do nothing.

The opposite of that, or the counter of the other side of the coin, is what we find in Philippians chapter 4, verse 13: "I can do all things through Him who gives me strength." But apart from Me, you can do nothing. Fruitfulness is impossible apart from the abiding work of God.

If that's the case, how do we know if we are abiding, and what does that word mean? To abide means to remain in, to stay in, to be plugged in, to be connected to Christ. Life in connection with Him—how do we know if we're doing that? This passage tells us that one of the ways we will know is that we will produce fruit.

What is fruit? It is righteousness, justice, love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, self-control, and patience. If you begin to see in your life the manifestation of patience, that’s an indication of God's work dwelling and abiding in you as you are abiding in the vine. Because I'll tell you, you're not patient, and I'm not patient apart from the work of Christ.

You might say, "Well, no, I'm a pretty patient person." Alright, let's put it to the test. How patient are you when you're sick, when you're hungry, or when you're tired? That's when you get to see your true nature. Any of you ever waited tables before? There are a lot of patient people when you're waiting on tables because they're hungry. The true nature comes through.

But how do you know if you're abiding in Christ? You will begin to see the produce of self-control, patience, kindness, tenderness, love, joy, and peace. It's a manifestation that you're connected to Him.

Abiding in God means that the Spirit of God is working in you. Another way you know you're abiding is that His Word abides in us. In verse 7, it says, "If you abide in Me, My words abide in you." Perhaps you find yourself in a situation where you are being tempted to be impatient or to not exercise self-control. In those moments, a little word of Scripture may come to mind. Where did that come from? Jesus tells us in this very same passage, John 14, 15, and 16, as He talks with His disciples about the work of the Spirit of God in them. He says one of the works of the Spirit is to bring to remembrance the things that I have spoken to you. If God's Word is abiding in you as you are abiding in Jesus, the vine, then those words of Scripture will come to mind at just the right time. This is an indication that you are abiding.

Another way to know you are abiding is that your prayers are not hindered. Look at verse 7: "You will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you." Some people really love to claim that one. They say, "Hey, He says whatever you desire, just pray for it to be done for you. Jesus said so!" However, there is a caveat. As His Word is abiding in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. What does that mean? It means your requests will be in accordance with His Word. When you are praying in accordance with the Word of God, it will be done for you, and your prayers will not be hindered as you are abiding in Christ.

Furthermore, this passage tells us that you will abide in the love of Christ, which is shown by keeping His commandments. In verse 10, it states, "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love." Those who are abiding have a desire to do what Jesus commands. This is an indication that you are plugged into the vine. God, the vine dresser, desires that we bear much fruit. He accomplishes this increase of fruit in our lives as He prunes us so that He would be glorified. What we have to do is remain in Christ, abiding in Him.

Now, what is the outcome for us? The fifth and final question is, what do we get out of this? Look at verse 11 of John chapter 15: "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full." How many of you want an honest answer? That means you can raise your hands or not raise them.

How many of you would like your joy to be full? There are a few of you not raising your hands. Really? You don't want to be happy? Let's try again. How many of you want your joy to be full? Yes!

These things I have spoken to you so that my joy may remain in you. That word "remain" is interesting because we've already seen ten times in this passage the word "abide." It's the same Greek word translated as "remain." These things I have spoken to you so that my joy may abide in you. You want abiding joy in you so that your joy may be full.

Point number five: the increase of fruitfulness produces the increase of joy in our lives. The more your life produces the fruitfulness of God—righteousness, justice, love, joy, peace, gentleness, self-control—the more joy you will have. We are most satisfied and most joyful in God as His work is working in us, producing the fruit of the Spirit.

We live in a country where it is enshrined in our founding documents: the pursuit of happiness. We are surrounded by 330 million Americans who are pursuing happiness. How wonderful it is to live in a nation where we have the ability to pursue happiness! Yet, in a nation founded upon pursuing happiness, we are the most unhappy and anxious people in the world. How does that work? Is it possible we are pursuing it in the wrong place?

We have a whole bunch of advertisements all around us all the time saying happiness is over here, it's over there. You'll be happy if you get this timeshare. We had that meeting last week, and we said no. I don't think that's where happiness is found. It's a joyful place, but that's not where happiness is found.

How many of you have been to the happiest place on earth? It's only an hour and a half up the road. If you have kids, you know it's not happy by four o'clock in the afternoon at all. There's no possible way that it's still happy at four o'clock in the afternoon when you have kids. Maybe if you're there by yourself, but your joy may be full. I want that, and I think you do too. The increase of fruitfulness produces joy.

The increase of joy is why God, who desires His glory, prunes us so that we would produce fruit for His glory. How does it glorify Him? Because it doesn't come from you. When you're really patient, when you're really self-controlled, when you're really kind, you can't say, "It's just me, just my nature." No, it's not. If you think it is, ask your spouse; she'll say, "No, it's not." It points to Him.

People want that because we want our joy to be full. So, Jesus says, "I am the True Vine. He who abides in Me bears much fruit." I've told you this so that your joy may be full. That is good news!

Would you stand with me as we close in prayer? Father, we thank You for the Scriptures. We thank You for how You reveal Yourself to us. Jesus, You are the Bread of Life, the Light of the World, the Eternal One, the Good Shepherd, the Door, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, the Resurrection and the Life. You are the Vine. When we are plugged into You, connected to You, we experience Your life in us—Your abundant life in us—producing the fruit of righteousness, justice, love, joy, peace, and gentleness. God, make these things abound in our lives for Your glory and for our joy.