WE ARE BRANCHES OF THE TRUE VINE; JESUS
John 15:1-17
JESUS, THE TRUE VINE
V:1-2 \”I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 \”Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.\”
A. God the Father is the owner of the vineyard.
1. He takes full responsibility of the vineyard.
2. He is the creator of the vineyard.
3. God the Father is the cause that vineyard has vines
4. God the Father is the good steward of the vineyard.
5. God the Father Loves His vineyard.
B. God the Son is the true vine.
1. In other words, there are other vines that are
imposters.
2. There are other vines that are not the Fathers vines.
3. Jesus is the root of all fruit.
4. Jesus is the one through which all fruit is produced.
C. The church is the branches of the vine.
1. Each believer in God the Son, is a branch of the true
vine.
2. There are two types of branches, those that bear fruit
and those that do not bare fruit.
3. Those branches that bear fruit, the Father prunes to bare
more fruit
4. Those branches that do not bear fruit, the Father removes
them from the vine
D. The objective for every believer is to bear fruit.
1. We were call out of the world and given the gift of
salvation because of God\’s divine love.
2. Every believer is call and equipped to produce fruit.
3. Spiritual growth and development of each believer can be
measured
by the volume of fruit produced.
4. There are three levels of fruit; fruit, more fruit and
much fruit (verse 5).
5. The fruit of the spirit are found in Galatians 5: 22-23:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-
control.
CLEANED BY THE WORD
V:3 \”You are already clean because of the word which I have
spoken to you.\”
A. Any time you buy fruit from the market you should wash it to
rinse of any dirt and impurities.
1. God called us out of the world in our sinful and impure
state.
2. It is the Word of God that cleans us from our impure
state.
3. The washing is continuous as we study and meditate on the
Word.
4. Positionally, our sins have been washed clean by the
blood Jesus shed on the cross.
5. But experientially, there is much washing to be done to
present us in the image of Christ.
B. Any man in Christ is a new creation.
1. Our desire to sin is being constantly replaced with the
desire to be righteous before Christ.
2. We have the potential to be like Christ when we first
believe.
3. We have to continue to work on our soul salvation.
WE CAN DO NOTING GOOD WITHOUT CHRIST
V:4-5. \”Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so 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, he bears much fruit, for apart
from Me you can do nothing.\”
A. If you take a branch from a tree, it is no longer connected to it\’s source of nutriments
and it soon will dry up and die.
1. A branch cannot exist on it\’s own.
2. A branch cannot produce any fruit on it\’s own.
B. The word abide means to continue, remain or dwell.
1. If we continue in Christ, He will continue in us.
2. The more we study and meditate on the Word, the more we
learn about Christ.
3. Abiding means constant communication with Christ.
4. When we take our focus off Christ, we put our focus on the
World.
C. We can do no deeds acceptable to Christ outside of the body of Christ.
1. If you disconnect a limb from the tree, it can no longer
receive the life giving sap from the tree.
2. If we separate ourselves from God we cannot do the work
of God.
3. The life giving sap for the believer is the Holy Spirit.
4. Any spirit operating in us other than the Holy Spirit is
the spirit of the devil.
D. If we submit ourselves to the guidance and direction of the
Holy Spirit, we will produce much fruit.
1. Without the guidance and direction of the God that dwells
in us, we can produce no fruit.
2. Galatians 5:22-23 list nine fruits of the Holy Spirit,
which cannot be manifested in us without a connection
with Jesus.
3. For example; we can say we love, but without Jesus true
love does not exist.
a. True love is unconditional.
b. By the world\’s standard, love exist if someone has an
acceptable behavior.
c. By the world\’s standard we can select those we want
to love.
d. By Jesus standard, love is commanded for everyone,
and is unconditional.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF UNBELIEF
V: 6 \”If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and
they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are
burned.\”
A. There are two ways looking at this verse.
1. A outward confession of Jesus without belief in Jesus,
keeps one in a state of condemnation. (Judas for
example)
2. A believer that has no spiritual growth. One who is
backsliding.
a. He has no good works which will tested by fire at the
judgment day.
b. He is a branch that has no fruit.
3. Christ does not abide in a non productive believer.
B. In either case, there is a judgment for one who fails to
abide in Christ.
1. A believer who abides in Christ leads a successful life.
2. A believer who does not actively continue in Christ will
lose blessings God has for him.
THE BENEFIT OF ABIDING IN CHRIST
V: 7 \”If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask
whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.\”
A. You are assured that your prayers will be answered.
1. Your will and the will of Christ will be the same.
2. Your desires will be the desires of CHRIST.
B. The success of your mission is assured.
1. God will work on your behalf.
2. All your needs and desires will be supplied.
3. You will have confidence when you call on the Lord.
OUR JOB; GLORIFY THE LORD WITH SERVICE
V:8 \”My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit,
and so prove to be My disciples.\”
A. Life is not all about you.
1. Our lives were designed to give God glory.
2. When our desire is to bear fruit, we will please the
Father.
B. Abiding in the Lord demands;
1. Prayer: We must be in constant communication with the
Lord.
2. Worship: We must honor the Lord in all that we do
giving Him credit for our well being.
3. Meditation: We must study the Word but also meditate on
the Word for enlightenment by the Holy
Spirit.
4. Sacrifice: Jesus sacrificed His life for our sins,
therefore we must make sacrifices for the
good of others.
V.9.-10. \”Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also 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.\”
A. A prerequisite for abiding in Jesus love, is keeping His
commandments.
1. We must reverence God enough to keep His commands before
we can love Him or anyone else.
2. Jesus is our role model for love and obedience.
a. He loved us enough to sacrifice His life for our
salvation.
b. He love the Father enough to keep His commands.
B. God\’s love for us is shown in what He did to His Son.
1. Even though Jesus knew no sin. It pleased God to bruise
Him for our sins.
2.. Jesus delighted in the task of the cross; He did not
fail or get discouraged, Isa 42:1-4
EXPERIENCING JESUS JOY
V:11. \”These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be
in you, and that your joy may be made full. \”
A. Jesus wants us to have the complete joy in Him that He
has in the Father.
1. His objective of teaching the Word is that we have
knowledge of Him,the Father and have complete joy.
2. The road to complete joy begins and continues with
abiding in Jesus.
B. Life presents us with trials and tribulations each day.
1. The key is to renew your joy in Jesus each day.
2. The world describes joy as being happy with your
circumstances.
3. Jesus Joy has nothing to do with circumstances.
4. Jesus Joy is joy in mist of your circumstances.
5. Abiding in Christ gives us confidence that our
circumstances are there for our benefit and will work
out for our good.
THE GREAT COMMAND; LOVE EACH OTHER
V:12-13 \”This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. 13 \”Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.\”
A. Jesus spoke to His disciples about His sacrificial death on
the cross.
1. True love always require a sacrifice.
2. We have to give up something of ourselves to love our
brothers and sisters in Christ.
a. We may have to sacrifice some time to listen and
encourage.
b. We may have to step in and help one that is in
need.
c. We may to have give council and direction.
d. We may have to use our hard earn money to assist
another person.
e. We have the mission to proclaim Jesus as Lord and
Savior.
B. Jesus loves us by taking time to teach us the truth.
1. Jesus loves us by showing us compassion in times of
need.
2. Jesus loves us by opening closed doors.
3. Jesus loves us by His protection, provisions and
forgiveness.
4. Jesus greatest love for us is His death on the cross.
a. Jesus death on the cross elevates us to a new level;
friendship.
b. Since Jesus is our friend, we can call on Him
anytime.
c. Since Jesus is our friend, we can ask him anything.
WE HAVE A FRIEND IN JESUS
V:14-15 \”You are My friends if you do what I command you. 15
\”No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know
what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for
all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known
to you.\”
A. The prerequisite for friendship with Jesus is obedience to
His commands.
1. Relationship and friendship are two different things.
2. Our relationship with Jesus was established when we
confessed with our mouth and believed in heart that
Jesus was our Lord and Savior.
3. Friendship with Jesus is developed as we commit to
obeying His commands.
B. Jesus owns us with His payment of His life to satisfy God
demand for justice for our sins.
1. Legally we are His slaves.
2. Legally we have an obligation to do what He tells us to
do.
3. But Jesus don\’t want slaves, He want friends.
4. A slave is kept in the dark about the desires of the
Father.
5. But Jesus tells us everything we need to know about the
plans of the Father.
C. One of the commands of Jesus is that we study the Word to
show ourselves approved.
1. When we study the Word, we are abiding in Jesus.
2. When we study the Word, we gain knowledge of Jesus and
the Father.
3. When we study the Word, we gain knowledge about the plans
of the Father.
4. When we study the Word, we know what the Lord expects of
us.
4. As friends of Jesus, we know how our story ends.
D. Jesus said you are my friend IF, IF you do what I command.
1. How unfriendly have you been to Jesus?
2. What are you going to do about your friendship with
Jesus?
CHOSEN BY CHRIST
V:16-17 \”You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed
you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit
would remain, so that whatever you ask of the
Father in My name He may give to you. 17 \”This I command
you, that you love one another.\”
A. We were chosen by Christ to be His disciples.
1. Our salvation has noting to do with our goodness.
2. Salvation is a free gift from the Lord according to His
grace and mercy.
a. It is mercy because He look past our sins with the
atoning blood of His Son.
b. It is grace because He favored us before the
foundation of the World.
B. Jesus appointed us the mission of bearing fruit.
1. The fruit that we bear is though obedience to His
commands.
2. The fruit that we bear is through abiding in His Word
and Jesus abiding in us.
3. The fruit that we bear is through submission to the
will of the Father.
C. There is a promise that our fruit will remain.
1. As we serve the Lord we are storing up treasures in
heaven.
2. Because we are serving according to the will of the
Father, our fruit will stand the test of the fire on
judgment day.
D. Jesus gives us promise of a successful prayer life.
1. What we ask in Jesus name will be done for us.
2. The Lord reemphasizes His command that we love each
other.
THANK YOU JESUS FOR CHOOSING ME
Rev M. Mitchell
Asst Pastor of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church
5510 West Sam Houston Toll Way
Houston, Texas 77040
For more lesson, follow me on facebook and visit my blogs;
www.revmitchell.com and goodnewsrevmitc.blogspot.com
