WEBVTT 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:03.100 All right, well, good morning to you. 00:00:03.180 --> 00:00:03.780 My name's Tommy. 00:00:03.919 --> 00:00:05.520 I'm the rector here at Church of the Advent. 00:00:06.320 --> 00:00:07.960 Big day in the life of our church. 00:00:08.060 --> 00:00:12.419 First of all, obviously Mother's Day, so congratulations, and we're thankful for all 00:00:12.419 --> 00:00:20.379 of you who are moms in all of the ways that we have mothers, spiritual moms, and as God 00:00:20.379 --> 00:00:27.039 has knit us together into one great family, our hope is that each child here has a lot 00:00:27.039 --> 00:00:30.259 of different kinds of moms loving them and pouring into their lives. 00:00:30.800 --> 00:00:33.219 It's also a big day in the life of our church. 00:00:33.679 --> 00:00:38.460 Maybe the biggest day since we started the church 15 years ago because we're having a 00:00:38.460 --> 00:00:42.939 shortened service because immediately after the service, we're going to be having a special 00:00:42.939 --> 00:00:48.159 members meeting, and we're going to be holding a vote of the membership on whether or not 00:00:48.159 --> 00:00:54.179 to move forward with signing a purchase and sell agreement and to empower the vestry to 00:00:54.179 --> 00:01:00.119 basically do the due diligence and potentially secure a permanent home for Church of the 00:01:00.119 --> 00:01:00.359 Advent. 00:01:01.219 --> 00:01:07.620 And so this is a major, major milestone in the life of our church, and been praying about 00:01:07.620 --> 00:01:10.359 it for years and very excited to be here on this day. 00:01:10.719 --> 00:01:15.719 I think any time you have a major milestone like this as a church, it's really important 00:01:15.719 --> 00:01:23.920 to pause, to take stock, and to remember why we're here and what all this is about. 00:01:24.739 --> 00:01:28.659 And in God's providence, the gospel reading from the lectionary is John chapter 15. 00:01:28.780 --> 00:01:37.340 It's a fantastic passage to lead us through a kind of pausing and reminding ourselves why 00:01:37.340 --> 00:01:37.960 we're here. 00:01:38.039 --> 00:01:40.519 In other words, here's the question we want to ask this morning. 00:01:40.620 --> 00:01:42.659 What does it mean to be a successful church? 00:01:42.659 --> 00:01:45.700 What does it mean to be a successful church? 00:01:45.780 --> 00:01:47.679 What should we be aiming at as a church? 00:01:49.859 --> 00:01:55.840 A lot of people, when I meet people out in D.C. at various things and they find out I'm 00:01:55.840 --> 00:01:58.739 a pastor, the first question they ask is, well, how big is your church? 00:02:00.280 --> 00:02:03.719 And the reason is because a lot of people define success in terms of numbers. 00:02:03.819 --> 00:02:05.039 What's your average Sunday attendance? 00:02:05.199 --> 00:02:06.179 What's the size of your budget? 00:02:06.879 --> 00:02:08.079 Are you a successful church? 00:02:09.159 --> 00:02:11.620 There's a whole other side to that, though. 00:02:11.620 --> 00:02:15.300 There are people who sort of react against that and they say, we shouldn't care about 00:02:15.300 --> 00:02:15.680 the numbers. 00:02:15.800 --> 00:02:16.900 We shouldn't care about the metrics. 00:02:17.240 --> 00:02:17.719 Who cares? 00:02:18.060 --> 00:02:21.780 Even if five people go to my church, it's about faithfulness. 00:02:22.560 --> 00:02:24.159 It's about having the right theology. 00:02:24.740 --> 00:02:28.319 And if I have the right theology and we're faithful to that theology, even if it's just me and my 00:02:28.319 --> 00:02:31.219 family, we're a faithful church. 00:02:31.439 --> 00:02:32.500 We're a successful church. 00:02:32.500 --> 00:02:39.879 If you look at Scripture, Scripture gives us one, I would say, one single clear metric 00:02:39.879 --> 00:02:43.439 for success in terms of being a church community. 00:02:43.900 --> 00:02:48.439 And it's neither the numbers nor is it having the right theology, although those both matter 00:02:48.439 --> 00:02:49.319 in their own way. 00:02:50.740 --> 00:02:51.659 It's fruitfulness. 00:02:53.120 --> 00:02:55.960 Are we fruitful as a community? 00:02:55.960 --> 00:03:00.960 Now, if you're a Christian, you've heard that word a lot, bearing fruit, being fruitful. 00:03:01.560 --> 00:03:06.580 But chances are maybe we don't fully understand exactly what that means or why it matters so 00:03:06.580 --> 00:03:10.760 much, why Jesus would emphasize it so much here. 00:03:11.540 --> 00:03:14.740 If you're not a Christian, it probably sounds kind of bizarre to talk about fruitfulness. 00:03:14.900 --> 00:03:15.939 It sounds like a medical condition. 00:03:16.080 --> 00:03:18.060 It sounds like an odd thing to talk about. 00:03:18.060 --> 00:03:25.420 But when we talk about fruitfulness, what we're actually talking about is the fact that Christianity 00:03:25.420 --> 00:03:28.939 offers a relationship with God that is profoundly intimate. 00:03:29.539 --> 00:03:34.780 It actually says there's a kind of relationship that's possible with God that no other religion 00:03:34.780 --> 00:03:35.980 would claim possible. 00:03:37.480 --> 00:03:42.140 And so whether we're Christian, non-Christian, whether you're a member of this church and you're 00:03:42.140 --> 00:03:47.219 here to vote, or this is your first time walking through the door, John 15 has something 00:03:47.219 --> 00:03:47.659 to say. 00:03:48.259 --> 00:03:50.640 So let's pray, and then we're going to look at fruitfulness. 00:03:50.780 --> 00:03:51.740 We're going to ask three questions. 00:03:52.060 --> 00:03:53.379 Where does fruitfulness come from? 00:03:53.539 --> 00:03:54.379 What does it mean? 00:03:54.460 --> 00:03:55.500 And then how do we get it? 00:03:55.520 --> 00:03:57.479 How do I become more fruitful in my life? 00:03:57.520 --> 00:03:59.860 How do you become more fruitful in your life? 00:03:59.900 --> 00:04:00.319 Let's pray. 00:04:01.900 --> 00:04:06.780 Lord, we thank you for your word, and we thank you for, in particular, this passage. 00:04:07.400 --> 00:04:15.020 We thank you that on a day like today, with the weighty decision that lays before us, 00:04:15.020 --> 00:04:17.959 Lord, we thank you that your word is here to guide us. 00:04:18.620 --> 00:04:20.180 May we always be rooted in your word. 00:04:20.280 --> 00:04:25.480 May it always be a lamp unto our feet and light the way, Lord. 00:04:25.519 --> 00:04:27.319 We pray this in your son's holy name. 00:04:27.519 --> 00:04:27.759 Amen. 00:04:27.759 --> 00:04:32.579 So first of all, where does fruitfulness come from? 00:04:32.639 --> 00:04:36.019 Let me just set the scene for you right now in John 15. 00:04:36.180 --> 00:04:40.719 Jesus has just shared with his disciples the Last Supper. 00:04:41.980 --> 00:04:45.199 Judas Iscariot has been revealed as the betrayer. 00:04:45.399 --> 00:04:48.279 He's gone away to get the authorities. 00:04:48.779 --> 00:04:50.939 Jesus has washed the feet of his disciples. 00:04:50.939 --> 00:04:56.879 He's implied to them that a lot of hardship is about to come, that he's going to go away. 00:04:57.160 --> 00:05:02.500 And at this point, you can imagine his disciples are feeling a great deal of distress. 00:05:02.500 --> 00:05:11.920 And then Jesus stands up, and without a word, he leads them out into the night air, 00:05:12.060 --> 00:05:14.720 and they begin to wind their way through the streets of Jerusalem. 00:05:14.720 --> 00:05:19.660 And as they're walking through the streets of Jerusalem, they would have passed the great temple. 00:05:20.780 --> 00:05:25.340 They would have looked up at the entryway to the temple, and they would have seen a great golden vine 00:05:25.340 --> 00:05:29.380 draped across the entrance to the temple. 00:05:29.760 --> 00:05:32.200 It's a powerful symbol, that golden vine. 00:05:32.199 --> 00:05:35.979 In the Old Testament, God referred to Israel as his vine. 00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:42.719 God was the vine dresser, and he planted Israel as his vine to bear fruit in the world. 00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:46.180 In other words, to bring God's blessing to all the nations. 00:05:47.039 --> 00:05:48.399 So they would have gone past the temple. 00:05:48.539 --> 00:05:52.180 They would have gone out of the city, and then they turned toward the Kidron Valley 00:05:52.180 --> 00:05:55.339 on a path that leads ultimately up to the Mount of Olives. 00:05:55.339 --> 00:06:04.319 Along the way, they would have been passing through rows and rows of ancient vineyards, ancient grapevines. 00:06:05.500 --> 00:06:13.239 And you can imagine them in the night air, walking quietly, single file between these rows of grapevines. 00:06:13.959 --> 00:06:22.000 And then Jesus stops at one point, and he takes one of the small, delicate branches in his hand. 00:06:22.000 --> 00:06:29.360 And at this time of year, if you looked closely, you would just begin to see the first signs of the new spring growth. 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:35.680 And you can imagine him taking this little branch, and all the disciples stopping and waiting to see what he's going to say. 00:06:35.699 --> 00:06:36.899 And he turns to them, and he says, 00:06:37.480 --> 00:06:45.839 I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine dresser, and you are the branches. 00:06:48.360 --> 00:06:49.519 Now, what's he saying? 00:06:49.519 --> 00:06:54.279 On the one hand, he's saying Israel is no longer the vine. 00:06:55.539 --> 00:06:58.539 At one point, Israel was the vine, but they failed. 00:06:58.639 --> 00:07:02.539 Instead of being a light to the nations, they became like the nations. 00:07:03.039 --> 00:07:04.859 But he's saying a lot more than that. 00:07:05.039 --> 00:07:11.240 When Jesus says, I'm the true vine, what he's saying is that he has come to do what Israel failed to do. 00:07:12.219 --> 00:07:15.560 He has come to bring God's blessing to the nations. 00:07:16.359 --> 00:07:18.519 He's come to bring light and life. 00:07:18.519 --> 00:07:23.659 He's come so that all the nations might come to know and worship God who made them. 00:07:23.660 --> 00:07:28.920 And then he goes on in verses 4 and 5 to say, 00:07:30.300 --> 00:07:35.980 He intends to bear this fruit of God's blessing, but he intends to do that through his followers, 00:07:36.940 --> 00:07:39.600 through us, through his disciples. 00:07:40.680 --> 00:07:45.800 But in order for us to bear fruit, we have to be in relationship with him. 00:07:45.800 --> 00:07:49.840 And then he says very radically, apart from me, you can do nothing. 00:07:50.759 --> 00:07:51.520 You can do nothing. 00:07:53.220 --> 00:07:56.620 Now, most of us read this passage at a casual glance. 00:07:56.840 --> 00:08:02.980 We hear the phrase bearing fruit, and we think of good works, doing good things for God in the world. 00:08:03.840 --> 00:08:05.259 God wants us to do good for him. 00:08:05.259 --> 00:08:10.279 So why would Jesus then say, apart from me, you can do nothing? 00:08:11.459 --> 00:08:13.599 Does that mean that I can't go out and do good works? 00:08:13.600 --> 00:08:19.740 What he's really saying here is that not all good works are the same. 00:08:20.860 --> 00:08:22.100 Not all good works are the same. 00:08:22.560 --> 00:08:25.800 When I was a kid, I remember one time being with my mom at a furniture store. 00:08:25.879 --> 00:08:26.740 My brother and I were there. 00:08:27.000 --> 00:08:27.680 We hadn't eaten. 00:08:28.080 --> 00:08:28.900 We were starving. 00:08:28.899 --> 00:08:32.659 One of my great memories of my entire childhood is that I was always hungry. 00:08:33.399 --> 00:08:35.259 And that's actually still true. 00:08:35.720 --> 00:08:39.799 But in my childhood, I remember being hungry, and it was taking forever. 00:08:39.899 --> 00:08:42.620 And I looked over on this table, and there was this bowl. 00:08:42.720 --> 00:08:45.740 And in the bowl was the most beautiful grapes I'd ever seen. 00:08:46.779 --> 00:08:47.600 Beautiful grapes. 00:08:48.039 --> 00:08:51.919 And so the next chance I got when my mom was looking the other direction, I bolted over to the table. 00:08:52.120 --> 00:08:53.100 I reached up with both hands. 00:08:53.179 --> 00:08:57.399 I grabbed the bowl, and I grabbed the grapes, and I realized they're plastic. 00:08:57.399 --> 00:09:06.679 Plastic grapes, complete with little beads of morning dew on them that were made out of God knows what, but they were plastic. 00:09:06.840 --> 00:09:07.879 And I was so disappointed. 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:13.799 See, in the eyes of the world, all good works look the same. 00:09:15.079 --> 00:09:15.299 Right? 00:09:15.419 --> 00:09:16.539 Good works are good works. 00:09:17.360 --> 00:09:19.879 But in God's eyes, there's a massive difference. 00:09:21.000 --> 00:09:27.000 Trying to please God with good works, thinking, well, all God cares about is the outcome. 00:09:27.000 --> 00:09:28.700 Doesn't really matter what we believe. 00:09:29.200 --> 00:09:31.539 God just wants the work to get done. 00:09:32.139 --> 00:09:33.259 And that makes God happy. 00:09:33.980 --> 00:09:37.840 That's kind of like trying to pass off plastic grapes as the real thing. 00:09:39.820 --> 00:09:43.820 The kind of fruit that Jesus is talking about cannot be manufactured. 00:09:45.399 --> 00:09:49.080 It can only be grown out of relationship with him. 00:09:50.840 --> 00:09:53.440 In other words, fruitfulness is not about morality. 00:09:53.440 --> 00:09:56.680 This is not simply about morality. 00:09:57.580 --> 00:10:02.080 What delights God is that the fruit is the fruit of a relationship. 00:10:03.140 --> 00:10:09.160 It's about spiritual life flowing from Jesus through us into the world. 00:10:09.300 --> 00:10:11.920 That, by definition, is what fruit really is. 00:10:11.919 --> 00:10:15.559 So the point here, the first point is this. 00:10:15.620 --> 00:10:21.759 If we want to bear fruit in the world that pleases God, you have to be connected to the vine. 00:10:22.860 --> 00:10:25.719 You have to be in intimate relationship with Jesus. 00:10:27.339 --> 00:10:29.459 So this is the answer to our first question. 00:10:29.799 --> 00:10:32.579 Spiritual fruit comes from relationship with Jesus. 00:10:32.719 --> 00:10:36.079 That's the key to spiritual life and growth. 00:10:36.179 --> 00:10:37.439 It's union with Christ. 00:10:37.440 --> 00:10:41.220 But what exactly do we mean by fruitfulness? 00:10:41.380 --> 00:10:46.080 What does this spiritual life look like as it flows into the world? 00:10:47.560 --> 00:10:55.900 Well, in general, we could say that fruit in the Bible refers to the entire life and ministry of people who follow Jesus 00:10:55.900 --> 00:10:59.640 and experience his presence in their lives through the Spirit. 00:10:59.720 --> 00:11:03.380 It's the entire life and ministry of people who follow Jesus. 00:11:03.379 --> 00:11:09.659 But there are actually various places in Scripture that get more specific about fruit. 00:11:10.120 --> 00:11:15.759 Galatians 5.22, for example, talks about fruit as Christian maturity. 00:11:17.519 --> 00:11:18.059 Right? 00:11:18.159 --> 00:11:25.460 So the Spirit produces love and joy and peace and patience and kindness and goodness and faithfulness and gentleness and self-control. 00:11:25.960 --> 00:11:27.259 So that is a kind of fruit. 00:11:27.259 --> 00:11:35.480 Colossians 1.6 talks about fruit as the ability to discern and obey God's will. 00:11:36.519 --> 00:11:38.039 So that's a form of fruit. 00:11:39.539 --> 00:11:44.639 Hebrews 13 describes fruit as Christ-exalting worship. 00:11:45.960 --> 00:11:47.419 That's also a kind of fruit. 00:11:49.039 --> 00:11:54.399 Romans 1.13 talks about fruit in the form of personal conversions. 00:11:54.399 --> 00:12:00.779 Bearing fruit means that people are coming to know Christ and coming into saving relationship with him. 00:12:02.559 --> 00:12:09.240 If we look back in Isaiah chapter 5 verse 7, fruit means justice for the oppressed. 00:12:10.539 --> 00:12:12.579 It means justice and righteousness. 00:12:13.079 --> 00:12:17.939 A right relationship with God compelling us to put right relationships in the world. 00:12:17.940 --> 00:12:19.180 Right? 00:12:19.240 --> 00:12:25.200 So all of these are ways that the Bible talks about fruit and bearing fruit. 00:12:26.020 --> 00:12:29.660 In other words, y'all, these are the things that God values. 00:12:30.600 --> 00:12:32.720 These are the things that God cares about. 00:12:32.900 --> 00:12:37.920 These are the qualities that he wants to see in us as individuals and as a community. 00:12:39.240 --> 00:12:42.160 And remember, this isn't just about self-improvement. 00:12:42.159 --> 00:12:47.240 God's desire is to bless the nations through his people. 00:12:49.759 --> 00:12:52.980 God's desire is to bless the nations through this fruit. 00:12:54.240 --> 00:12:58.919 In other words, it's about putting God's character on display for the world to see. 00:12:59.019 --> 00:13:02.579 It's about living lives that provoke questions only the gospel can answer. 00:13:02.580 --> 00:13:08.700 So we've talked about where fruitfulness comes from and we've talked about what it means. 00:13:09.080 --> 00:13:10.540 What does all of this mean for us? 00:13:10.560 --> 00:13:13.879 In other words, how do we get this in our lives? 00:13:14.000 --> 00:13:21.400 And this passage shows us that we need three things to happen in order for us to be a fruitful community. 00:13:22.680 --> 00:13:24.440 Number one, we need to be cleaned. 00:13:24.440 --> 00:13:27.160 We need to be cleaned. 00:13:27.240 --> 00:13:32.800 He says in verse 3, already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 00:13:34.280 --> 00:13:37.620 In a vineyard, this is, again, a vineyard metaphor here. 00:13:37.740 --> 00:13:42.840 In a vineyard, some branches, particularly younger branches, they tend to droop down. 00:13:43.840 --> 00:13:51.900 And when they droop down and they lay on the ground as they grow, they start to get covered in mud and mildew. 00:13:51.899 --> 00:13:56.179 And when those branches get covered in mud and mildew, they can't produce any fruit. 00:13:57.399 --> 00:14:00.959 And so vinedressers regularly have to lift the branches up. 00:14:01.039 --> 00:14:02.480 They have to clean them off. 00:14:02.740 --> 00:14:05.419 And then they have to support them so that they can bear fruit. 00:14:05.980 --> 00:14:08.199 And this is the image that Jesus is using. 00:14:09.720 --> 00:14:16.259 What this means, in other words, is that some of us are here as Christians, but there's no fruit in our lives. 00:14:16.759 --> 00:14:18.679 You heard that list that I read earlier. 00:14:18.679 --> 00:14:22.919 And you're thinking about your own life, and you're thinking, actually, I'm not seeing a whole lot of fruit. 00:14:24.159 --> 00:14:27.500 And so Jesus is saying, if this is the case, the first thing you need to ask is, 00:14:27.819 --> 00:14:34.620 am I stuck in the mire, in the mildew of some kind of unrepentant sin? 00:14:36.620 --> 00:14:36.859 Right? 00:14:36.860 --> 00:14:42.320 Is there an area of my life, are there areas of my life where I'm stuck in unrepentant sin? 00:14:43.560 --> 00:14:50.460 Or are there relationships in my life that are broken, that need to be repaired, and there needs to be reconciliation? 00:14:51.379 --> 00:14:55.320 Are there things that are keeping me from bearing fruit that need to be addressed? 00:14:56.300 --> 00:14:59.060 Do I need to repent and be cleansed by the grace of Jesus? 00:14:59.360 --> 00:15:02.700 Do I need to be lifted up to a place where I can grow in Him? 00:15:02.700 --> 00:15:03.700 Do I need to be cleaned? 00:15:03.700 --> 00:15:04.700 Do I need to be cleaned? 00:15:04.700 --> 00:15:04.740 Right? 00:15:04.740 --> 00:15:07.900 And the word that Jesus spoke refers to the gospel. 00:15:08.360 --> 00:15:16.560 You know, the Christian life is an ongoing life of repentance, where we come back again and again to the truth of the gospel, 00:15:17.259 --> 00:15:21.600 resting in God's grace, asking Him to lift us out of the mire. 00:15:21.940 --> 00:15:23.820 That's all of the Christian life. 00:15:23.900 --> 00:15:24.759 It's not just once. 00:15:25.720 --> 00:15:29.780 We have to do it again and again and again in order to bear fruit. 00:15:30.600 --> 00:15:31.280 That's the first thing. 00:15:31.300 --> 00:15:31.920 We need to be cleaned. 00:15:31.919 --> 00:15:34.000 Number two, we need to be pruned. 00:15:35.099 --> 00:15:36.559 Now, what does it mean to be pruned? 00:15:37.740 --> 00:15:44.579 He says, and every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:52.079 And the thing about vines is vine dressers have to prune branches constantly. 00:15:52.759 --> 00:15:54.379 They have to prune constantly. 00:15:54.379 --> 00:16:02.559 And what pruning really means is cutting away all of the extra growth so that all the nutrients go directly into the grapes. 00:16:02.559 --> 00:16:13.120 You have all this kind of growth coming out, and they're clipping away everything that's not fruit so that all of the energy gets focused in on producing the fruit. 00:16:13.120 --> 00:16:18.340 It's maximizing the efficiency and the ability of the branches to produce the fruit. 00:16:18.340 --> 00:16:26.759 So this is talking about Christians who are bearing fruit, and God works in our lives to increase that fruit. 00:16:26.759 --> 00:16:30.919 So God comes into our lives, and He cuts out things. 00:16:31.039 --> 00:16:40.340 Sometimes He removes things that are a waste of our time, a waste of our energy, things that are distracting us from what God is doing in and through us. 00:16:40.340 --> 00:16:41.820 Right? 00:16:41.940 --> 00:16:46.000 So maybe you're the kind of person who prides yourself on being competent. 00:16:46.780 --> 00:16:48.860 You're always one of the smartest people in the room. 00:16:49.060 --> 00:16:51.019 You're the go-to, most reliable person. 00:16:52.120 --> 00:16:55.580 When people think of you, they think, that's an ace right there. 00:16:55.820 --> 00:16:57.259 Everybody wants you on their team. 00:16:58.620 --> 00:17:00.780 And then you make a huge mistake at work. 00:17:01.180 --> 00:17:06.819 And it's very embarrassing because normally you're the competent person, but you make a huge mistake. 00:17:07.039 --> 00:17:10.120 And you ask, well, how would God let this kind of thing happen to me? 00:17:11.339 --> 00:17:13.779 Well, maybe God is pruning you. 00:17:15.139 --> 00:17:22.819 Maybe God is saying, hey, there's a lot of fruit here, but you spend a whole lot of time and energy focusing on making sure you appear competent. 00:17:24.399 --> 00:17:25.919 And I'm going to prune that away. 00:17:26.039 --> 00:17:27.359 I'm going to break that. 00:17:27.839 --> 00:17:29.359 I'm going to break you of this. 00:17:30.099 --> 00:17:37.980 I'm going to begin to teach you how to rely on me because imagine the kind of fruit that you could produce if you didn't spend so much time and energy worrying about what other people thought of you. 00:17:37.980 --> 00:17:43.620 Imagine if I could set you free to rest in my delight and approval of you. 00:17:44.119 --> 00:17:46.759 Then imagine the kind of fruit that would be possible in your life. 00:17:46.799 --> 00:17:47.579 He's pruning you. 00:17:48.679 --> 00:17:54.079 Or maybe you're dating somebody for a long time and you broke up and you've just been stuck on pining away for this person. 00:17:54.199 --> 00:17:55.500 You stalk them online. 00:17:55.639 --> 00:17:58.059 You're constantly wondering where they are and what they're up to. 00:17:58.059 --> 00:18:02.519 And you can't get them out of your mind. 00:18:02.720 --> 00:18:05.819 And then you find out that they've been engaged to somebody else. 00:18:06.980 --> 00:18:10.359 And you just feel that crushing feeling of it's over. 00:18:11.319 --> 00:18:12.599 God, why would you let this happen? 00:18:12.659 --> 00:18:13.779 Maybe God is pruning you. 00:18:14.779 --> 00:18:19.160 Maybe God is saying, you're spending so much time and energy focusing on this. 00:18:20.240 --> 00:18:21.480 And I need to prune this. 00:18:21.579 --> 00:18:27.200 I need to remove this out of your life so that you will become open to what I do have for you over here. 00:18:28.579 --> 00:18:31.819 But this needs to be cut out of your life before you're going to be open to that. 00:18:31.920 --> 00:18:32.740 He's pruning you. 00:18:34.180 --> 00:18:36.139 So pruning is often painful. 00:18:36.140 --> 00:18:41.340 A lot of times when things are happening and we're looking at God and we're saying, why did you let this happen? 00:18:41.360 --> 00:18:44.100 A lot of times it's because God is pruning us. 00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:51.420 He's calling us to confront things, idols, things that are sucking our time and energy away from his purposes. 00:18:53.560 --> 00:18:58.440 So the more a branch bears fruit, the more aggressively it must be pruned. 00:18:58.800 --> 00:19:01.040 God is taking things out of your life. 00:19:01.160 --> 00:19:05.640 But the reason is because he's working to produce more abundantly through your life. 00:19:06.140 --> 00:19:08.900 You're a branch on his vine. 00:19:10.840 --> 00:19:11.980 So we need to be cleaned. 00:19:12.100 --> 00:19:12.860 We need to be pruned. 00:19:13.280 --> 00:19:19.400 Lastly, all through this passage, there's this phrase that's repeated again and again and again. 00:19:20.560 --> 00:19:20.960 Abide. 00:19:21.880 --> 00:19:24.220 Jesus says we need to abide in him. 00:19:25.120 --> 00:19:28.020 So what does it mean to abide in Christ? 00:19:28.560 --> 00:19:31.480 And if we look at this passage, he defines it in a couple of ways. 00:19:31.480 --> 00:19:36.060 In verse 7, he says that abiding in him means abiding in his word. 00:19:37.040 --> 00:19:38.600 Abiding in his word. 00:19:40.880 --> 00:19:49.300 There's a big difference between reading the Bible for a bit of inspiration, reading the Bible as part of a Bible reading plan. 00:19:50.460 --> 00:19:53.840 There's a big difference between that kind of Bible reading, although those things are fine. 00:19:53.839 --> 00:20:00.559 But what Jesus is talking about is really allowing God's word to abide in you. 00:20:00.679 --> 00:20:02.019 That requires study. 00:20:02.179 --> 00:20:05.439 It requires reading and meditating on it regularly. 00:20:05.639 --> 00:20:09.839 It means carrying around in your mind and heart in your daily life. 00:20:11.039 --> 00:20:13.799 Carrying it around so that it shapes the way you pray. 00:20:14.279 --> 00:20:23.180 That's one of the reasons that we use the prayer book in our private devotions as well as to order our worship here on Sundays. 00:20:23.180 --> 00:20:33.059 The prayer book, the entire purpose of the prayer book is to take Scripture and to format it in such a way that we can pray it and speak it individually and collectively. 00:20:33.059 --> 00:20:36.419 So that we can saturate ourselves with it. 00:20:36.519 --> 00:20:39.500 So that we can abide in it and have it abide in us. 00:20:40.700 --> 00:20:41.099 Right? 00:20:41.099 --> 00:20:44.559 So it means carrying God's word around so that it shapes your prayers. 00:20:45.699 --> 00:20:56.939 So that when you're struggling, say, with anger and resentment towards someone, and you're so mad at this person, and you're so filled with a sense of injustice at what they did and what you think that you're owed. 00:20:57.099 --> 00:21:00.779 And then all of a sudden, Paul's words in Ephesians 3 come to you. 00:21:01.519 --> 00:21:07.539 And you recall Paul saying to Christians, let all bitterness and wrath and anger be put away. 00:21:07.539 --> 00:21:12.279 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another. 00:21:13.019 --> 00:21:13.420 Why? 00:21:13.539 --> 00:21:14.420 Why should I do that? 00:21:15.460 --> 00:21:17.839 As God in Christ forgave you. 00:21:19.460 --> 00:21:23.899 And in that moment, the word is abiding in you. 00:21:23.980 --> 00:21:33.559 And you're remembering, however angry I am at this person, I've offended God ten times more, a hundred times more. 00:21:33.779 --> 00:21:36.740 And yet God has forgiven me, and yet I can't forgive this person. 00:21:37.539 --> 00:21:38.099 Right? 00:21:38.339 --> 00:21:40.839 The word is abiding in you at that point. 00:21:41.779 --> 00:21:50.980 Or when people are panicking because the stock market is plummeting and retirement accounts are evaporating, and everybody's like, what are we going to do? 00:21:51.019 --> 00:21:51.799 And look at inflation. 00:21:52.139 --> 00:21:56.240 And you recall Jesus saying, don't be anxious about your life. 00:21:57.680 --> 00:21:58.619 Look at the birds. 00:21:58.740 --> 00:22:03.220 They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. 00:22:04.059 --> 00:22:06.019 How much more is he going to take care of you? 00:22:06.019 --> 00:22:14.139 And those words begin to speak into your anxiety, and you begin to feel your anxiety level slowly coming down. 00:22:14.720 --> 00:22:18.099 The word is abiding in you at that time. 00:22:19.019 --> 00:22:20.240 This is what Jesus means. 00:22:20.559 --> 00:22:23.579 Jesus means that we are taking the word in. 00:22:23.720 --> 00:22:24.619 We're studying it. 00:22:24.819 --> 00:22:29.420 We're internalizing it so that we can preach to ourselves throughout the day. 00:22:29.420 --> 00:22:33.580 So that we can constantly come back to it again and again and again. 00:22:35.100 --> 00:22:36.180 So that's the first thing. 00:22:36.300 --> 00:22:38.259 Abiding in Jesus means abiding in his word. 00:22:38.779 --> 00:22:41.900 The second thing, and really the last point this morning is this, verse 9. 00:22:42.420 --> 00:22:45.180 Abiding in Jesus means abiding in his love. 00:22:45.180 --> 00:22:53.860 The fact that we are talking about bearing fruit makes this last point extremely important. 00:22:53.860 --> 00:23:00.920 Because when we talk about being a fruitful community or fruitful individuals, this could very easily become performative. 00:23:02.140 --> 00:23:08.100 And what I mean by that is that we can start to think that what makes someone a Christian is all the fruit. 00:23:08.099 --> 00:23:11.459 The more fruit you have, the better Christian you are. 00:23:12.179 --> 00:23:14.339 Look at all that person does for God. 00:23:14.419 --> 00:23:15.399 What a great Christian. 00:23:15.919 --> 00:23:21.359 And, you know, in a tongue-in-cheek way, all the time we say, oh, she's such a better Christian than I am. 00:23:22.279 --> 00:23:24.639 Those people are such better Christians than I am. 00:23:25.799 --> 00:23:31.319 Maybe we don't say it, but maybe sometimes we think, I'm so much of a better Christian than that person is. 00:23:32.299 --> 00:23:34.480 I can't believe they call themselves a Christian. 00:23:35.779 --> 00:23:36.819 I'm a real Christian. 00:23:38.099 --> 00:23:42.539 And when we begin to think that way, our fruitfulness is becoming performative. 00:23:43.359 --> 00:23:45.039 And that's a huge mistake. 00:23:45.619 --> 00:23:52.980 Because the thing that makes Christianity unique in all the world is this fact. 00:23:54.059 --> 00:24:00.439 That fruit is evidence of spiritual life and growth, but fruit is not what makes someone a Christian. 00:24:01.579 --> 00:24:03.419 Fruit is not the thing that makes you a Christian. 00:24:03.419 --> 00:24:04.819 It's evidence that you're a Christian. 00:24:04.819 --> 00:24:07.939 But that's not the thing that makes you a Christian. 00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:11.879 In other words, that's not the thing that has secured God's love for you. 00:24:11.880 --> 00:24:19.800 When you come to God and when you ask to be forgiven, when you ask to be cleansed through his word, 00:24:20.700 --> 00:24:24.220 and when you ask that because of what Jesus has done for you on the cross, 00:24:24.640 --> 00:24:30.160 at that very moment, at that very moment, all of your sin is taken away. 00:24:30.160 --> 00:24:38.240 The righteousness of Christ is wrapped around you, is given to you. 00:24:39.200 --> 00:24:43.340 And at that moment, you become adopted as one of God's beloved children. 00:24:43.339 --> 00:24:53.480 What that means is that at that moment, God loves you as much as he has loved the greatest saints throughout all of history. 00:24:54.339 --> 00:24:58.099 It means that at that moment, God loves you as much as he loves his own son. 00:24:58.099 --> 00:25:10.379 It means that at that moment, God loves you as much as he will ever love you in your whole life as much as he has ever loved anyone. 00:25:10.559 --> 00:25:13.899 He will never love you more or less than he loves you at this moment. 00:25:13.900 --> 00:25:24.660 And what that means is that abiding in the love of Christ guards us against feelings of both superiority and inferiority. 00:25:26.180 --> 00:25:31.060 Because no amount of fruitfulness will ever make God love you more than he loves you right now. 00:25:32.600 --> 00:25:39.840 And no amount of fruitlessness will ever make God love you less than he loves you right now. 00:25:39.840 --> 00:25:43.800 So when we talk about bearing fruit, there can be this temptation to compare ourselves. 00:25:43.900 --> 00:25:46.660 And that's not the point here. 00:25:47.759 --> 00:25:54.280 The point is that as we abide in the love of Christ, when you love somebody, you want what they want. 00:25:54.360 --> 00:25:55.759 You care about what they care about. 00:25:56.400 --> 00:26:03.360 And the more we abide in his love and the more we rest in that, the less we're focusing on what other people are doing and keeping pace with them. 00:26:04.360 --> 00:26:08.280 The more we are focusing on God's delight in fruit. 00:26:09.120 --> 00:26:13.720 And what that creates in me is that I desire to produce fruit because I want to delight him. 00:26:14.680 --> 00:26:17.220 Because I want to make him happy because I love him. 00:26:17.420 --> 00:26:19.240 Because that's what you do when you love somebody. 00:26:19.240 --> 00:26:25.940 So I want to take all of this and apply it with a couple of minutes we have left. 00:26:27.279 --> 00:26:30.039 How do we know that we are spiritually alive and growing? 00:26:31.380 --> 00:26:34.759 How do we know, you know, if you want to kind of do a checkup on yourself, 00:26:35.599 --> 00:26:39.160 how do you know that you're spiritually alive and growing? 00:26:39.160 --> 00:26:42.560 Well, think about physical fitness. 00:26:42.680 --> 00:26:44.040 How do we measure physical fitness? 00:26:44.039 --> 00:26:50.159 You can see somebody walking down the street and they're wearing their athleisure wear. 00:26:50.899 --> 00:26:57.799 And they have nice running shoes and a fancy water bottle and earbuds in. 00:26:58.159 --> 00:27:00.200 And they can look like they just went for a run. 00:27:00.200 --> 00:27:01.539 But we all know better. 00:27:02.059 --> 00:27:03.200 They probably didn't. 00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:04.200 Right? 00:27:04.299 --> 00:27:05.900 Because we all love to wear that stuff. 00:27:06.360 --> 00:27:06.500 Right? 00:27:06.580 --> 00:27:08.220 So you can look at that. 00:27:09.620 --> 00:27:13.920 And maybe you can assume that person is in good shape and maybe they exercise all the time. 00:27:13.960 --> 00:27:14.759 But you don't know. 00:27:15.220 --> 00:27:15.340 Right? 00:27:15.339 --> 00:27:16.779 That's not a reliable measure. 00:27:18.199 --> 00:27:21.359 They could just be trying to look the part and spend a lot of money on their tights. 00:27:23.379 --> 00:27:25.879 How do you know somebody is in shape? 00:27:25.879 --> 00:27:31.879 Well, you measure things like cardiovascular endurance, muscle strength, body composition. 00:27:32.619 --> 00:27:35.740 These are accurate measures of fitness that you can't really fake. 00:27:37.179 --> 00:27:45.159 In the same way, it's easy to gauge spiritual fitness by the things that are readily observable. 00:27:46.159 --> 00:27:46.279 Right? 00:27:46.339 --> 00:27:49.559 But spiritual fitness isn't about what books you've read. 00:27:50.579 --> 00:27:53.199 Or what Bible verses you can quote by heart. 00:27:53.359 --> 00:27:55.779 Or how good your theology is. 00:27:56.240 --> 00:27:59.959 Or even the emotional experiences that you've had in your life. 00:28:02.000 --> 00:28:06.259 The question that we need to ask ourselves is, is there fruit in my life? 00:28:07.019 --> 00:28:09.099 Is there fruit in our community? 00:28:09.759 --> 00:28:14.339 When it comes to the spiritual fitness of a church, it's not about the size. 00:28:14.339 --> 00:28:17.480 It's not about the production value of Sunday services. 00:28:17.879 --> 00:28:19.359 It's not about the programs. 00:28:19.819 --> 00:28:21.459 It's not about whether or not you have a building. 00:28:23.039 --> 00:28:24.500 Is there fruit? 00:28:25.720 --> 00:28:26.879 Is there fruit? 00:28:26.880 --> 00:28:33.300 And the closer we get to buying a building, the more we need to keep this question in front of us. 00:28:33.740 --> 00:28:34.300 You want to know why? 00:28:35.000 --> 00:28:38.640 Because D.C. is full of beautiful church buildings. 00:28:38.640 --> 00:28:43.520 That at some point along the way, they cut themselves off from the vine. 00:28:45.380 --> 00:28:47.400 So they're no longer bearing fruit. 00:28:49.400 --> 00:28:51.100 And so they're no longer churches. 00:28:53.100 --> 00:28:54.240 They're museums. 00:28:54.240 --> 00:28:57.859 They're mausoleums. 00:29:00.380 --> 00:29:05.200 A building can greatly enhance our desire to be fruitful. 00:29:05.799 --> 00:29:10.799 It can greatly enhance our ability to bear fruit in D.C. 00:29:10.859 --> 00:29:14.640 It can be a place of spirit-filled, Christ-exalting worship. 00:29:15.299 --> 00:29:18.819 It can be a place where we teach and we preach God's word. 00:29:18.819 --> 00:29:23.679 It can be a place where we cultivate godly character in ourselves and our children. 00:29:23.919 --> 00:29:28.099 It can be a place where we seek to reach the lost with the gospel. 00:29:28.259 --> 00:29:32.519 It can be a place where we do the work of justice and mercy in the community. 00:29:32.639 --> 00:29:34.059 It can be all of those things. 00:29:34.519 --> 00:29:38.119 But only if we remember the truth of this passage. 00:29:38.919 --> 00:29:40.259 Jesus is the vine. 00:29:41.419 --> 00:29:42.419 We are the branches. 00:29:43.619 --> 00:29:46.399 And apart from him, we can bear no fruit. 00:29:46.400 --> 00:29:48.120 Lord, we can do nothing. 00:29:48.980 --> 00:29:49.759 Let's pray. 00:29:51.160 --> 00:29:55.759 Lord, we thank you for your abiding in us. 00:29:56.800 --> 00:30:03.780 Lord, that even the invitation to abide in you is merely a response to what you have already done. 00:30:04.660 --> 00:30:07.640 That you are the God who abides with your people. 00:30:08.620 --> 00:30:12.000 We thank you that we have your word and that we have your love. 00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:21.599 Lord, we thank you that in some great unfathomable mystery that you desire to bear fruit in the world through people like us. 00:30:23.359 --> 00:30:24.660 What an honor. 00:30:27.039 --> 00:30:30.259 Lord, it's almost unthinkable. 00:30:31.819 --> 00:30:33.660 And yet that's our desire and prayer, Lord. 00:30:33.660 --> 00:30:37.400 Lord, that you would do your work in and through us. 00:30:37.680 --> 00:30:39.680 In our individual lives and in this community. 00:30:40.779 --> 00:30:44.320 Lord, we pray that we would delight you and glorify you. 00:30:45.519 --> 00:30:48.080 By being a fruitful community in D.C. 00:30:48.100 --> 00:30:50.920 That your blessing would reach across this city. 00:30:51.980 --> 00:30:53.400 Lord, that people would come to know you. 00:30:54.340 --> 00:30:55.880 We pray this in your son's holy name. 00:30:56.040 --> 00:30:56.240 Amen. 00:30:56.240 --> 00:30:56.340 Amen. 00:30:56.340 --> 00:30:56.400 Amen. 00:30:56.400 --> 00:30:56.420 Amen.