Sermon – “The Vine and the Branches”

15 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away;[a] and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 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. 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. 6 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. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will[b] ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. 9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 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. 11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.

7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You[i] to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” 16 So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped. 17 Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.” 19 So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

1 Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. 4 The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

It’s more of a message the title divine in the branches and since we are working our way through John in the readings I’m going to be preaching from John actually I have a whole lot from John. I have made some major adjustments to my sermon yesterday evening. Divine in the branches beginning with John Chapter fifteen verses one through eleven. Even this time find him in the Bible John fifteen verses one through eleven hear the word of the Lord this is this is Jesus speaking I. Am the true vine now I’m going to pause right away he says I am the true vine because there were many false christ many false teachers but he says 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 a 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 so you say in Jesus saying 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 and they gather them and throw them into the fire and they are burned if you abide in me and my word abides 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 that you will be my disciples as a 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 death my joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full May God out his blessings to the hear and read of his holy word let us pray Father God we thank you praise you so much for your love we thank you that you demonstrated your love and that you sent Jesus your only begotten Son We thank you Father for your written word they guides us it helps us to teaches us and Father God we just sank you thank you that you are the vine dresser drawer Jesus we thank you that you are the vine and it we must remain in you I thank you father that you disallow your spirit to come and help us and by the way your spirit be present today may or hearts be open to receive what you have for store today May we grow in our relationship with you father may we glorify you with these lives that you have blessed us with in Jesus name Amen. Jesus audience in that day that Jesus was speaking we have no problem understanding. What he was teaching about they would have no understanding probably understand no problem understanding the principle of vine and branches because the Palestinian area back in that day was a vast vine growing country and it from the earliest times there have been countless one presses that have been unearthed and found then in and around these areas it is known that the great and that day was largely cultivated as a source of sugar. The Jews was extracted from the grapes and put into the wine press and it was then it was further reduced by Borlaug boiling say that word today boiling and. Into a liquid tracheal like consistency. And it was known as Great Pani. So many of the times that we would read about Honey in the Old Testament it was probably referring to this great Pani This was before the days of cane sugar as a chief chief source of sugar. War and Where’s B shares in his commentary that during one of his trips to the holy land of Gary was here I could ask him if he ever saw all the great binds over there but Warner is where’s the shares that while they’re in the Holy Land he was able to see some of the great binds grown in that area and he said now our great vines in this area compared to theirs is small and fragile the great vines grown in that area are our very large and very strong great binds they know how to grow great binds in that area and he said that it would be very next to impossible to break a branch off of one of those great binds without injuring the vine itself you’re going to break or destroy the trunk or the vine if you try to break a branch off of it. So now looking at our passage we know we understand the spiritual mean that we know that Jesus Christ is the vine God the Father is the vine dresser and we believe or as are the branches so we are the branches so spiritually looking at thinking of what where and where is B was teachin a commentary a branch cannot be broken off we cannot be broken off and disconnected from Jesus. Because the vine is strong Jesus is strong we cannot be broken off John seventeen to twelve says While I was that with them in the world I kept them in your name those. Whom you gave me I have kept and none of them is lost except the son of perdition that the Scripture might be fulfilled. So my friends fellow believers nothing in this world can separate you from the vine nothing not the powers of hell will not prevail against it nothing in this world can separate you from Jesus Christ. Not one single branch can be separated from the barrage from the vine. But here’s a key. A branch can be disconnected if they choose to walk away. A branch a believer can be disconnected from Christ if they choose to walk away from the Lord Jesus Christ and it does happen. But separating from Christ is certain death because as a branch that is cut off and cast away from the vine completely withers up and dies so likewise will the person that separates themselves from Christ perish they will wither up and die they will be burned because a life comes from the vine Yes there’s a lot of people walking out there they do have life but they do not have eternal life because they are separated from Jesus Christ a branch cannot produce life of itself. We can only produce life when we are connected to the source of life and that is Jesus Christ the vine Jesus said I am the way I am the truth and I am the life there is no other source of life but Jesus Christ. I want to look up John six and. You have to bear with me this is one of my big changes David doesn’t have this one so in are. Begin in verse fifty three then Jesus said to them most assuredly I say to you this is one of the hard teachings unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day jumping down the verse sixty therefore many of his disciples when they heard this said this is a hard saying who can understand it jumping ahead now to verse sixty six from that time many of his disciples went back and walked with him no more then Jesus said to the twelve Do you also want to go away. But Simon Peter answered Lord to whom shall we go you have the words of eternal life also we have come to believe and know that you are the Christ the Son of the Living God. He is the Christ the Son of the Living God As I said. Many turn and walk with him no more. That his love their God gives us the choice do we want to walk with Him Do we want to follow him. Just talking with a fellow employee yesterday and there’s a lot of changes going on and a lot of bumping around going on bump into jobs and this was one of the employees over the storm a female and she’s going to get bumped come in next week and I said Where are you going she said I’m going to help I don’t change my ways. God open the door I said But isn’t that the wonderful thing about God you get to choose you get to choose do you can choose a life. You don’t have to go there you can choose life or you have to do. Believe in Jesus Christ. We get the choose that is love. You know that Jesus mentions a word maybe I should have titled this abide he mentions abide ten times in our passage from Chapter fifteen I believe he was trying to get a point across. That we must abide abide means to await it means to remain and means to Lodz sojourn to dwell with to continue in and yes to endure because many times brothers and sisters it isn’t Dorrance we have to endure it’s not always easy following his ways. In our relationship with Jesus it means that we keep in fellowship with him. So that his life can work in and through us to produce fruit it is He in us that produces the fruit in our lives. Did you notice in the reading that no branch was left untouched. No branch was left on touch every branch that there’s not bear fruit the father will cut away and it will be removed is a dead branch every dead branch is severed and removed but even the branches that did produce fruit would what they did say the father will prune it that it will make more and better fruit he will prune it revelations fourteen fourteen through tonic twenty speaks of the harvest at the end of the age says then I looked and behold a white cloud and then McCloud set one like the son of man having on his head a golden crown and in his hand a sharp sickle and another angel came out of the temple crime with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud thrusting your sickle in reap for the time has come for you to reap. Harvest of the earth is ripe so he who sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth and the earth was reaped then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven he also having a sharp sickle and another angel came out of the altar out from the altar who had power over fire and he cried with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle seign thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth for her grapes are fully ripe so they knew all thrust in his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth and threw it into the great wine press of the wrath of God and the wine press was traveled outside the city and the blood came out of the one present up to the horses’ bridles for one thousand six hundred for long so. Those who abide in Him will not experience the wrath of God. Every branch that bears fruit he will prune so that it again that it will bear more fruit. Vines you know occasionally. Will yield a nonproductive fruitless branch. When this happens a gardener must immediately go to work. Merel Tenney notes in his commentary. That a culture consists mainly of pruning in pruning a vine to principles are generally observed First of all all dead wood must ruthlessly be removed and a second principle with that live would must be cut back drastically dead wood harbors insects and disease and many other causes that would cause the vine to rot to say nothing of being a productive an unsightly live wood must be trimmed back in order to prevent such heavy growth that the life of the vine goes into the wood rather than into the fur. The vineyards in the early spring look like a collection of barren blue. Being stumps but in the fall they are filled with luxury and purple grapes as a former wields a pruning knife on his vine so God custard deadwood out from among his saints and often cuts the living would so for back that his method seemed cruel never less from those who suffered the most often comes the greatest fruitfulness. Those who suffer the most often bear the best fruits. The unrighteous branches. The unrighteous and the church can infect. The other righteous people. So at times they have to be removed you’ve heard one bad apple spoils the whole bunch. That can happen in a church. It must be removed. I found another story that a woman shares she didn’t give her name but he gave she gave her husband’s name she shares that she and her husband Larry had a peach tree stand and peach trees in her backyard and they were left on prune for many years because her husband Larry just didn’t have time so the trees grew and became very large and very leafy he said they were loaded with pages but they were very very small and tasteless he said them when your husband was out of work he lost his job so why had some extra time he went to work on those trees she said that she came home from school one day and saw how far he had prune them back and she just stood there in shock she said you’ve killed them. You’ve killed the trees now we won’t have any peaches at all. Well when Spring rolled around she realized she was wrong because those peach trees just burst. With fresh new blooms on them just a just a blanket. Paint. When soon little green peaches began to replace the blooms and she begged him to leave them alone don’t touch him but he ignored or he went out and he thin the bloom. By the end of summer those branches were so heavy laden. That they had to be propped up with props because the peaches were so large in so tasteful. There’s no denying that the tree was better off to experience that pain of cutting back. Than if they would have been left alone. And she says looking back Larry and I can only say Thank You Lord for pruning us thank you for teaching us to trust you thank you for drawing us together as a family and well being us in a way that never happened in happier times thank you that after seeing each other at our worst we still want to be together. That con alludes to what Karen was saying sometimes it’s in the worst of times that we trust him the most more than in happier times. How does the father prune our lives will Larry had to lose his job. For us we don’t know there’s various ways sometimes he simply uses his word to bring conviction. To cleanse us. Sometimes he may have to chest chasten us Other times the Holy Spirit will bring the conviction. And you know whenever these things come they often hurt we don’t like it it’s all just goes along with what we say and we don’t like change. We don’t like her we don’t like crisis we don’t like these things that come into our lives but often times God uses them to create us to bring us into a better character a stronger character. One that understands him more. Or that loves him more that trust him more because we trust that the vine dresser knows what he is doing the god knows what he’s doing. Whenever a branch produces fruit. That branch itself does not eat of the fruit true. That branch that great branch doesn’t eat the fruit the same way in our lives when we produce fruit we do not consume the fruit ourselves we produce fruit for others. If we think we’re just want to grow to help ourselves then we’ve got the wrong idea others eat the fruit of the branch. That they may eat we are to produce fruit that they will grow that they will come to know the Lord Jesus Christ. What is the fruit that we bear the lation is five. Twenty two three twenty six says but the fruit of the Spirit. Is Love. Do you have love in your heart and your life it is joy it is peace it is long suffering it is kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness self-control against sets there is no law all and those who are Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires if we live in a spirit let us also walk in the Spirit let us not become conceited provoking one another or ending one another. Not every branch will bear a bumper crop just as every field does not produce a bumper harvest but there is always fruit there because where there is life there is fruit if there is no fruit the branch is dead if we do not have fruit in your life the branch is dead it is considered worthless it will be cut off and burn. And. When we remain in him abide in Him We are blessed in so many ways. It may not be great material blessings but it is the greater blessing is seeing others grow in their faith. Through our walk with the Lord it is seeing others coming to the knowledge of Jesus Christ through seeing the fruits in our lives that is the greater blessing is greater than anything this world has to offer because it’s for eternity Soames one vs one through six says bless it is a man who walks not in the counsel of the young godly nor stands in the path of centers nor sits in a seat of the scornful but his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law he meditates day and night he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in season. Whose leaf also shall not whether And whatever he does shall prosper the young godly or not so but our like chat which the wind drives away therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous for the Lord knows the way of the righteous but the way of the young godly shall perish the dead branches shall perish when we abide in Him we can be like that tree planted by the rivers of water because the life the nourishment comes from Christ never ending flow. The flow that Christ brings is never ending. I’m remind of the passage in John were Jesus speaking to the woman at the well I won’t read the whole thing but you know the story Jesus was study was tired he was going away the disciples went into town they’re going to go buy food and here comes a Samaritan woman and she comes with her bucket to draw water from the well and Jesus says to her Give me a drink she says how is it. That you being a Jew even speak to me. How do you even speak to me. And he says if you would drink the water that I give you will never thirst she’s We don’t have a thing to draw with. But he was speaking of the water of life the water of life that he gives freely to all those who ask. You could drink of his water in Never Thirst whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst but the water that I shall give will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. That’s the fruit that we should be bearing the source will never run dry in us it should be a well springing up into everlasting life. The woman said Search give me this water. Pray that those who see our lives will say friend give me this water show me how I can have this water we as believers the branches have the privilege of sharing his life because he is the source that we draw from but we also have the responsibility. Of abiding in Him It is a responsibility to remain in him that is on us it is on us to remain in him and not walk away as those that could not receive his hard teaching Don’t let his hard teachings cause you to walk away but draw nearer. He will not force us to stay. He warm up force one of us to stay close to him we must choose to do that. No sometimes we might wonder and bearing fruit in my life how can we tell for bearing fruit is there some kind of special feeling you know it’s not about feeling. But there will be unmistakable evidence that appears in our lives. Back to John fourteen versus six through fourteen Jesus said to him I am the Way the Truth and the Life no one comes to the Father except through me if you had known Me you would have known the Father also and from now on you know him and have seen him Philip said to him Lord show us the Father and it is sufficient for us Jesus said to him Have I been with you so long and let you yet you have not known Me Philip he who has seen Me has seen the Father so how can you say Show us the Father do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me the words that I speak to you. I do not speak on my own authority but the Father who dwells in Me does the work believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves Most assuredly I say to you he who believes in Me the works that I do he will do also and greater works than these he will do because I go to my father and whatever you ask in my name that I will do that the father may be glorified in the Son If you ask anything in my name I will do it so how will we know how do we know can we know that we are bearing fruit which Jesus told the disciples are saying show us the Father we want to see he says Your see in the Father in May because I abide in the Father I do nothing outside of the will of the Father so what I am doing reflects the father you see may your seeing him so Church the branches should read the resemble the vide we should resemble the work. Christ. How will they know how do we know if we’re bearing fruit because we’ll be doing what Jesus did. We will be a reflection of him others will see and know Christ through our lives. We are his representatives here on this earth. Let’s bear fruit. Are we willing to say Father if there’s anything in my life that needs prune the way do it. Do it I could get back to our discussion in Sabbath school but now we want to say no don’t take that. Don’t take that from me. Are we willing to give it up say Yes Lord. Whatever you want you take whatever you want to give our receive say Yes Lord I’m willing but willing to do that to take that step. And trust in Him trust Him to. Shape and mold us into the kind of Christian that he wants us to be. To be the kind of branch that bears great fruit. Profitable fruit will know a tree by the fruit it bears. In the true you walk up to an app that you How do you know an apple tree it’s going to have an apple on it it’s not going to have plums on it. How do you know a Christian. It will look like Christ little Christ we will do the things that he did we walk in the ways that he walked we will follow the Father’s Commandments we will walk in His ways. We will ask whatever we will and he will do it we will ask in faith we will ask. That his will be done. We will know his will when we abide in Him. Amen. Amen.