WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:28.940 I've said something to you like, you're religious aren't you? You might like my friend over here or maybe you like this particular book or this television program. You're religious aren't you? How do you respond when someone says something like that? I confess I always find it quite difficult because I know when people use that word religious, there are all sorts of ideas in their minds. Often they're thinking that religion is really just kind of, it's your lifestyle choice. You like religion, I like sport. 00:00:28.940 --> 00:00:50.420 You like going to church or watching the rugby matches in the Rugby World Cup or the football or whatever. But that's okay, it's harmless, that's your choice, this is my choice, we just like different things. And there's another assumption behind that I think. And that is that what you choose ultimately isn't important, just a matter of preference. 00:00:50.420 --> 00:00:59.340 So, you know, I like sport, I like movies, you like religion, it's okay, it gives you pleasure, that's alright. It's just a lifestyle choice, it doesn't really matter. 00:00:59.340 --> 00:01:05.640 However, what I want us to see as we look at this last claim of Jesus. 00:01:07.500 --> 00:01:14.340 Is that what we make of him, what we choose to make of him is not just a lifestyle choice. 00:01:16.060 --> 00:01:24.740 How we relate to Jesus will determine not just the course of our lives now, but the course of eternity. 00:01:24.739 --> 00:01:33.000 It will determine whether we have fruitful, joyful lives, even amidst the pain and pressures of this world now. 00:01:34.039 --> 00:01:38.339 Whether we'll live forever, or whether we'll face God's judgment. 00:01:39.539 --> 00:01:42.159 This is not about a lifestyle choice, it's about life. 00:01:43.159 --> 00:01:44.179 Now why am I saying this? 00:01:44.759 --> 00:01:46.679 Well, let me try and simplify things a little bit. 00:01:46.680 --> 00:01:53.960 In the passage I've just read, Jesus is using a metaphor, he's introducing a picture in verses 1 to 8. 00:01:54.620 --> 00:01:58.920 And then in verses 9 to 17 he's unpacking that, explaining it a bit for us. 00:02:01.900 --> 00:02:05.540 He's explaining what it means when he says, I am the true vine. 00:02:06.219 --> 00:02:11.960 Now, to understand this properly, we first need to think ourselves into the shoes or the sandals of those disciples 00:02:11.960 --> 00:02:13.740 who first heard Jesus say that. 00:02:14.120 --> 00:02:17.560 What does it mean for them when he says, I am the true vine? 00:02:17.840 --> 00:02:22.020 Because I imagine to most of us, it doesn't really make much sense at all, right off the top of our heads. 00:02:22.879 --> 00:02:26.120 But to these disciples, brought up as they were in the Jewish synagogues, 00:02:26.439 --> 00:02:30.300 well versed in the Old Testament scriptures, this would have meant something. 00:02:30.900 --> 00:02:35.500 See, throughout the Old Testament, God had referred to his people Israel as a vine. 00:02:35.500 --> 00:02:40.819 For example, in Jeremiah chapter 2 verse 21, he talked about planting a vine. 00:02:41.159 --> 00:02:46.620 Or in Psalm 80 verse 8, the psalm says, you brought a vine out of Egypt. 00:02:47.099 --> 00:02:49.159 You drove out the nations and planted it. 00:02:49.819 --> 00:02:53.800 But the vine or the vineyard is a picture in the Old Testament of God's people. 00:02:54.939 --> 00:02:57.039 Now, why does anyone plant a vine? 00:02:58.139 --> 00:03:02.759 I've never planted a vine myself, but I imagine if you plant a vine, you do it for grapes. 00:03:03.099 --> 00:03:05.000 You do it for that lovely fruit we have over there. 00:03:05.000 --> 00:03:06.819 You want it to bear fruit, don't you? 00:03:07.939 --> 00:03:13.280 And yet, if you read through the Old Testament, you'll find the story of Israel is a story of a failure to produce fruit. 00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:16.340 They were a bad vine, a rotten vine, if you like. 00:03:18.460 --> 00:03:22.439 They never showed what the fruit should have been, a love for the God who saved them. 00:03:22.699 --> 00:03:25.659 It should have been obedience to the God who rescued them. 00:03:26.219 --> 00:03:31.020 It should have been shown in a moral life that reflected God's beauty and moral truth. 00:03:32.099 --> 00:03:33.080 But Israel failed. 00:03:33.080 --> 00:03:40.740 So now when Jesus says to these disciples, I am the true vine, he's making outstanding claim. 00:03:41.640 --> 00:03:45.480 He's claiming, I am the reality of God's people. 00:03:46.040 --> 00:03:48.080 I have come to be the true Israel. 00:03:48.260 --> 00:03:50.900 I've come to be the one who did what Israel never did. 00:03:51.200 --> 00:03:54.460 I've come to be the one who is obedient, who does bear fruit. 00:03:54.460 --> 00:03:57.320 But not only that, he's going one stage further. 00:03:58.620 --> 00:03:59.980 He's saying, I'm the true vine. 00:04:00.060 --> 00:04:07.439 If you want real spiritual life, if you want real life, if you want real joy, you can have it in me. 00:04:07.900 --> 00:04:10.260 You can have it through being connected to me. 00:04:10.819 --> 00:04:16.139 If you want to be part of God's people, it's now not about keeping religious rules, doing religious things. 00:04:16.139 --> 00:04:19.439 It's about being connected to me, being in me. 00:04:20.899 --> 00:04:22.539 And I think that's clear if you look at verse 4. 00:04:22.620 --> 00:04:24.399 It's really the central message of this whole section. 00:04:24.979 --> 00:04:25.979 What does Jesus say there? 00:04:27.180 --> 00:04:29.240 Abide in me and I in you. 00:04:29.819 --> 00:04:38.079 As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:42.719 Now there is a vine on my journey to school with our children. 00:04:43.219 --> 00:04:44.859 I looked at it yesterday, there wasn't any fruit on it. 00:04:46.099 --> 00:04:47.959 I don't eat vines growing in my garden though. 00:04:48.099 --> 00:04:49.979 What I do have is a dreadful thorn bush. 00:04:50.379 --> 00:04:52.959 It's down the bottom of the garden next to the shed where I keep my bike. 00:04:53.339 --> 00:04:54.740 My bike is the way I get around. 00:04:55.099 --> 00:05:01.439 So I hate this bush because it was often responsible for punctures in my bike tyres. 00:05:02.139 --> 00:05:05.259 So sporadically I get my shears out and chop things off it. 00:05:05.259 --> 00:05:11.560 But because it's got so many thorns on this bush, I don't always very successfully actually remove the branches I've cut off. 00:05:12.259 --> 00:05:18.219 But after a couple of weeks, it's quite clear which branches I've cut and which are still connected to the trunk of the tree. 00:05:19.599 --> 00:05:22.019 Because of course the branches I've cut have withered. 00:05:22.740 --> 00:05:24.159 There's no life in them anymore. 00:05:25.060 --> 00:05:29.539 Whereas those that are still connected still have their green leaves, they still have their nasty sharp thorns. 00:05:29.540 --> 00:05:37.200 There's no ones that come off, I just get my gloves out and throw them, not in the fire so I can't burn things in my back garden. 00:05:37.540 --> 00:05:43.260 But I put them in the Hounslow Council Garden Waste Recycling, which is the nearest we come to the fire. 00:05:44.600 --> 00:05:45.660 You see the image, don't you? 00:05:46.020 --> 00:05:47.140 It's the image Jesus is using. 00:05:48.580 --> 00:05:53.160 If branches are connected to the trunk, connected to the vine, they will be fruitful. 00:05:53.160 --> 00:05:56.460 Because that's where their life, that's where the nutrients come from. 00:05:57.480 --> 00:06:02.439 As soon as that connection is cut, as soon as they're no longer connected, they're useless. 00:06:02.980 --> 00:06:03.980 There is no fire. 00:06:04.900 --> 00:06:05.900 There is no fruit. 00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:06.780 There is no life. 00:06:07.400 --> 00:06:09.960 It's the ones that are connected to the trunk that have life. 00:06:10.460 --> 00:06:16.500 If they don't abide in the trunk, if they don't remain in the trunk, there is no life and they're worthless. 00:06:16.500 --> 00:06:24.819 But what does it actually mean to abide in Jesus, or remain in him, as other translations could it? 00:06:26.319 --> 00:06:28.500 Well, basically the heart of it is this. 00:06:29.639 --> 00:06:32.160 The heart of it is to depend upon Jesus. 00:06:32.680 --> 00:06:37.740 Just as a branch depends on the trunk for life coming through it, coming to it. 00:06:37.740 --> 00:06:44.460 So the Christians, those who believe in Jesus, depend on him for life. 00:06:44.860 --> 00:06:47.079 For spiritual life, for vitality, for fruit. 00:06:47.519 --> 00:06:50.939 The Christian life is not about doing things to look fruitful. 00:06:51.540 --> 00:06:53.720 It's about depending on Jesus. 00:06:54.639 --> 00:06:59.139 Just like the branches on my thorn tree need to be connected to the trunk if they're going to be alive. 00:06:59.879 --> 00:07:04.379 So those who believe in Jesus, we need to be connected to him, remaining in him, abiding in him. 00:07:04.379 --> 00:07:08.399 To have his life flowing into us, causing fruitfulness. 00:07:09.680 --> 00:07:13.000 Now, what does it look like then, to depend on Jesus? 00:07:14.819 --> 00:07:16.560 It's easy to say, isn't it? 00:07:16.579 --> 00:07:18.339 But what does that actually mean in practical terms? 00:07:20.240 --> 00:07:23.139 Well, it doesn't mean just, does it just mean going to church? 00:07:23.540 --> 00:07:24.980 Does it just mean praying? 00:07:25.560 --> 00:07:27.959 Does it just mean coming to lunchtime talks? 00:07:28.339 --> 00:07:29.659 And doing religious things? 00:07:29.660 --> 00:07:40.320 Now, as Jesus unpacks it here, he shows us it means something far deeper, far richer, far more liberating. 00:07:41.860 --> 00:07:45.580 Really, three views he gives us on it. 00:07:45.640 --> 00:07:49.640 Three pictures he uses for what it means to depend on him. 00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:54.879 It means staying in his word, obeying his commandments, and praying in his name. 00:07:55.580 --> 00:07:57.240 Staying, obeying, praying. 00:07:57.240 --> 00:08:00.060 Look at verse 7. 00:08:00.519 --> 00:08:01.879 Staying in his word, first of all. 00:08:01.900 --> 00:08:03.160 Look at verse 7, what he says. 00:08:05.420 --> 00:08:09.900 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you. 00:08:10.740 --> 00:08:14.660 So remaining in Jesus, abiding in him, means having his words in us. 00:08:14.939 --> 00:08:16.180 Staying in his words. 00:08:17.960 --> 00:08:20.620 Now, some words get in our heads and affect us, don't they? 00:08:20.620 --> 00:08:26.259 I don't just mean those terrible jingles that you hear on the radio or on TV for adverts. 00:08:26.879 --> 00:08:30.500 They just stick in your mind and can't shake them, much as you'd love to. 00:08:32.039 --> 00:08:38.580 But I mean, those words that people speak to us, that just get in our heads and our hearts and affect our lives. 00:08:38.580 --> 00:08:45.020 I have a very good friend who, when she was much younger, her mother, who's a very good loving mother, 00:08:45.540 --> 00:08:47.460 but in a moment of exasperation said to her, 00:08:48.320 --> 00:08:50.800 you are so difficult to love sometimes. 00:08:52.340 --> 00:08:57.320 That one kind of throwaway comment has shaped her in many ways. 00:08:57.560 --> 00:08:58.600 She can't let go of it. 00:08:59.800 --> 00:09:02.840 See, words, when they remain in us, shape our whole lives, don't they? 00:09:03.700 --> 00:09:05.840 Maybe some of us have got words like that in our heads. 00:09:05.840 --> 00:09:10.460 But Jesus says, if you're depending on me, then my words will remain in you. 00:09:10.680 --> 00:09:12.759 It means my words will shape you. 00:09:13.139 --> 00:09:17.220 They'll shape your view of who you are, of what reality is, of who God is, who I am. 00:09:18.180 --> 00:09:20.080 And Jesus' words are not harsh. 00:09:22.120 --> 00:09:25.600 Jesus' words, as you follow his teaching throughout his life, 00:09:25.840 --> 00:09:30.440 Jesus' words communicate to us that, yes, we are sinners in need of rescue. 00:09:31.040 --> 00:09:32.759 For none of us live up to God's standards. 00:09:32.759 --> 00:09:34.360 And yet we are loved. 00:09:35.100 --> 00:09:38.559 The good shepherd, who looked at a few weeks ago, lays down his life for his sheep. 00:09:39.360 --> 00:09:40.100 He loves. 00:09:41.679 --> 00:09:45.860 Jesus' words teach us we're accepted by God, not because of what we've done, 00:09:46.519 --> 00:09:47.980 but because of what Jesus has done. 00:09:50.159 --> 00:09:53.460 Jesus' words tell us that whatever other people say, we can be loved, 00:09:53.759 --> 00:09:56.799 we can be accepted, we can have fullness and forgiveness and joy 00:09:56.799 --> 00:10:01.039 in this life, whatever has happened to us because of him. 00:10:01.039 --> 00:10:04.860 So Jesus' words teach us who we are, who God is, 00:10:06.459 --> 00:10:08.039 and how we're to respond. 00:10:10.199 --> 00:10:14.279 But the trouble is sometimes hard to remain in Jesus' words, isn't it? 00:10:15.899 --> 00:10:20.759 There are so many other words that we hear as we live our lives. 00:10:21.399 --> 00:10:23.559 And you may remember the days before we had digital radios. 00:10:23.919 --> 00:10:25.939 When you try and tune a radio in, you turn the dial. 00:10:25.940 --> 00:10:30.000 And you'd be trying to listen to a station and then, especially if you're in a car, 00:10:30.360 --> 00:10:32.320 the reception would change, you'd have to turn the dial again. 00:10:32.540 --> 00:10:35.060 Because all these conflicting messages come across when you're trying to listen to 00:10:35.060 --> 00:10:37.140 the music or the program or whatever it is. 00:10:38.220 --> 00:10:40.080 And that's kind of the story of the Christian life, isn't it? 00:10:40.400 --> 00:10:44.400 It's hard to remain in Jesus' words with all these other messages coming at us. 00:10:44.800 --> 00:10:45.560 Contrary messages. 00:10:45.559 --> 00:10:49.679 So our world will tell us, actually, you're basically a good person. 00:10:49.739 --> 00:10:50.779 You're basically nice. 00:10:51.339 --> 00:10:53.319 Don't be so hard on yourself talking about sin. 00:10:54.299 --> 00:10:58.099 Or other words will say, don't take this Christianity thing too seriously. 00:10:58.799 --> 00:11:00.239 You don't want to be a fundamentalist. 00:11:01.199 --> 00:11:02.779 Religious fundamentalism is dreadful. 00:11:02.839 --> 00:11:03.579 Look at this world. 00:11:05.179 --> 00:11:07.879 Or maybe there are words from our past that shaped us. 00:11:07.879 --> 00:11:09.099 Like my friend I mentioned earlier. 00:11:09.100 --> 00:11:13.600 Maybe you have a word ringing in your head for a parent or a school teacher. 00:11:13.720 --> 00:11:15.220 Say, you're not good enough. 00:11:15.740 --> 00:11:16.659 You're not worth it. 00:11:16.720 --> 00:11:17.480 You'll never make it. 00:11:17.519 --> 00:11:18.120 You will fail. 00:11:19.940 --> 00:11:22.080 So which words are we going to remain in? 00:11:22.779 --> 00:11:24.460 Which words are we going to abide in? 00:11:25.639 --> 00:11:26.779 Is it going to be Jesus' words? 00:11:26.840 --> 00:11:28.300 Are we going to let them shape our lives? 00:11:29.440 --> 00:11:30.720 Or is it going to be other messages? 00:11:33.360 --> 00:11:36.000 So we can't claim to depend on Jesus, can we? 00:11:36.860 --> 00:11:38.240 If we ignore his words. 00:11:39.100 --> 00:11:42.420 Depending on Jesus means staying in his words. 00:11:43.240 --> 00:11:45.000 But his words also tell us what to do. 00:11:45.139 --> 00:11:48.500 So secondly, depending on Jesus means obeying his commands. 00:11:48.580 --> 00:11:49.800 Look down to verse 10 for a moment. 00:11:50.259 --> 00:11:51.700 Jesus makes this very clear, doesn't he? 00:11:52.700 --> 00:11:56.159 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love. 00:11:58.860 --> 00:12:04.639 So is Jesus saying, you need to obey me perfectly, or you're not abiding in me? 00:12:05.600 --> 00:12:07.220 Pull your socks up, do better. 00:12:07.220 --> 00:12:09.980 No, he isn't saying that. 00:12:10.460 --> 00:12:11.200 He isn't saying that. 00:12:11.259 --> 00:12:12.180 He can tell that in this passage. 00:12:12.259 --> 00:12:14.060 He can tell that throughout the course of the Bible. 00:12:14.879 --> 00:12:18.100 For example, in John's first letter that he wrote. 00:12:18.840 --> 00:12:20.379 The same gospel writer writes, 00:12:20.379 --> 00:12:24.220 If anyone says he is without sin, he deceives himself. 00:12:24.700 --> 00:12:28.340 But if we confess our sin, God is faithful and just and will forgive us. 00:12:28.860 --> 00:12:31.700 So obeying Jesus' commandments doesn't mean perfect obedience. 00:12:32.039 --> 00:12:33.580 It doesn't mean we have to be perfect people. 00:12:34.919 --> 00:12:35.899 That's the first thing to say. 00:12:35.899 --> 00:12:40.480 But also, we need to notice where obedience comes from. 00:12:41.679 --> 00:12:45.120 We don't obey Jesus in order to earn his love. 00:12:45.759 --> 00:12:47.919 We obey him because he loves us. 00:12:48.579 --> 00:12:50.439 Just look over the page for a moment. 00:12:51.299 --> 00:12:52.340 Over the column even. 00:12:52.639 --> 00:12:54.340 John chapter 14 verse 15. 00:12:55.299 --> 00:12:56.840 Jesus says this, just a little bit earlier. 00:12:57.319 --> 00:12:59.799 If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 00:12:59.799 --> 00:13:02.539 And we know that in life. 00:13:02.639 --> 00:13:05.799 If we love someone, we do what they want us to do, don't they? 00:13:06.740 --> 00:13:09.899 Why in the world would I ever have gone to watch a chick flick in the cinema 00:13:09.899 --> 00:13:12.419 if that wasn't what my wife wanted to do sometimes? 00:13:12.500 --> 00:13:14.039 She does like other things as well, I should add. 00:13:15.099 --> 00:13:19.399 Why did she ever put up with watching thrillers and political dramas 00:13:19.399 --> 00:13:21.559 if it wasn't that she loves me? 00:13:21.799 --> 00:13:22.279 Poor girl. 00:13:23.559 --> 00:13:25.939 We do things for other people because we love them. 00:13:27.099 --> 00:13:28.779 And it's important to get this clear. 00:13:28.779 --> 00:13:32.500 Yes, we obey Jesus because we love him. 00:13:33.139 --> 00:13:37.039 But we don't love him because we're really good and figure out how to love him. 00:13:37.240 --> 00:13:39.419 We don't love him in order that he'll love us. 00:13:40.519 --> 00:13:41.480 Rather, the Bible is clear. 00:13:41.539 --> 00:13:43.480 We love him because he first loved us. 00:13:44.100 --> 00:13:47.639 So John, in his letter again, 1 John chapter 4 verse 10 says, 00:13:48.059 --> 00:13:52.919 In this is love, not that we love God, but that he loved us 00:13:52.919 --> 00:13:56.139 and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. 00:13:56.139 --> 00:13:59.259 We can only love Jesus because he loved us first. 00:13:59.879 --> 00:14:00.899 He goes first. 00:14:01.899 --> 00:14:02.840 He goes first. 00:14:03.220 --> 00:14:05.779 But because we love him, because he's loved us first, 00:14:06.159 --> 00:14:09.639 we will want to do what he wants us to do. 00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:13.620 So abiding in Jesus, remaining in him, 00:14:15.500 --> 00:14:18.699 means staying in his words and obeying his commands. 00:14:18.700 --> 00:14:23.100 But how can we obey his commands? 00:14:23.100 --> 00:14:25.360 I mean, look at his commands, for example. 00:14:26.280 --> 00:14:26.840 Verse 12. 00:14:27.000 --> 00:14:30.900 This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 00:14:31.900 --> 00:14:33.520 How did Jesus show his love for us? 00:14:34.780 --> 00:14:37.100 He raised the agony of the cross for us. 00:14:38.040 --> 00:14:40.980 Utterly self-sacrificial, utterly empty in love. 00:14:42.060 --> 00:14:43.440 Now who of us wants to put a hand out and say, 00:14:43.500 --> 00:14:45.000 yeah, I love other people like this? 00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:47.940 We don't, do we? 00:14:49.919 --> 00:14:50.679 We don't. 00:14:52.019 --> 00:14:53.480 So what does that cause us to do? 00:14:54.639 --> 00:14:56.519 It should cause us to pray, shouldn't it? 00:14:57.399 --> 00:14:58.860 I have a four-year-old son, 00:14:59.360 --> 00:15:01.740 and the cry we often hear around our house these days is, 00:15:02.139 --> 00:15:05.600 can somebody help me put my shoes on? 00:15:05.659 --> 00:15:07.659 Can someone help me put my socks on? 00:15:07.899 --> 00:15:09.659 Can somebody help me, please? 00:15:09.659 --> 00:15:12.360 Why does Joel shout out like that? 00:15:13.039 --> 00:15:15.179 Because he knows he needs help to do things. 00:15:15.439 --> 00:15:17.100 He's dependent upon our help. 00:15:17.899 --> 00:15:19.819 Sometimes, of course, he tries to be completely independent, 00:15:19.980 --> 00:15:21.299 and things go quite horribly wrong. 00:15:22.799 --> 00:15:25.059 But he cries out because he knows he's loved, 00:15:25.439 --> 00:15:26.559 and he knows he needs help. 00:15:27.379 --> 00:15:29.000 And that ultimately is what prayer is. 00:15:29.399 --> 00:15:30.559 It's a cry for help. 00:15:31.079 --> 00:15:33.399 And so that's why Jesus talks about prayer. 00:15:33.779 --> 00:15:35.240 We cannot change ourselves. 00:15:35.779 --> 00:15:38.379 We cannot do something that is naturally impossible for us, 00:15:38.379 --> 00:15:41.019 and actually cause us to cry out and pray. 00:15:41.080 --> 00:15:42.399 Look at verse 7 for a second. 00:15:43.700 --> 00:15:46.799 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, 00:15:47.139 --> 00:15:49.820 ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 00:15:51.039 --> 00:15:51.980 You will pray. 00:15:52.220 --> 00:15:54.460 If you're remaining in me, if you're abiding in me, 00:15:54.539 --> 00:15:55.419 you will pray. 00:15:56.960 --> 00:15:58.279 But hang on, you may think. 00:15:58.919 --> 00:16:00.659 That's quite a big promise there, Stuart. 00:16:01.480 --> 00:16:04.159 Ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 00:16:04.159 --> 00:16:06.620 I have a friend, Catherine, 00:16:06.819 --> 00:16:09.319 who is currently kind of wrestling with issues of faith. 00:16:09.419 --> 00:16:11.139 She grew up in a Catholic, 00:16:11.299 --> 00:16:12.779 very traditional Catholic background, 00:16:13.159 --> 00:16:13.819 at home in Ireland. 00:16:14.579 --> 00:16:15.620 And she often says to me, 00:16:16.039 --> 00:16:17.519 Stuart, you know, all through my life, 00:16:17.579 --> 00:16:19.419 I've prayed for things, and God has never answered. 00:16:19.600 --> 00:16:20.839 How can I know he's there? 00:16:22.019 --> 00:16:22.699 So I'll say to her, 00:16:22.719 --> 00:16:24.240 Catherine, what sort of things have you prayed for? 00:16:25.379 --> 00:16:26.839 I have prayed about my work. 00:16:27.079 --> 00:16:28.439 I've prayed about our daughter. 00:16:28.440 --> 00:16:31.280 You know, and just God doesn't seem to answer. 00:16:33.460 --> 00:16:36.200 Maybe that's our experience as well. 00:16:36.280 --> 00:16:37.560 Maybe you read a verse like this, 00:16:37.620 --> 00:16:37.960 and think, well, 00:16:39.080 --> 00:16:40.880 is Jesus really speaking the truth here? 00:16:41.860 --> 00:16:43.360 My prayers never seem to be answered, 00:16:43.440 --> 00:16:44.800 at least certainly many of them aren't. 00:16:44.860 --> 00:16:45.620 What's going on? 00:16:46.720 --> 00:16:47.940 Well, that of course is a big topic, 00:16:48.140 --> 00:16:49.700 and maybe it's something we need to go for a coffee 00:16:49.700 --> 00:16:50.980 to talk about at greater length. 00:16:51.520 --> 00:16:52.580 But I want us to notice first, 00:16:52.640 --> 00:16:54.020 if we look at verses 7 and 8, 00:16:54.460 --> 00:16:56.680 we get, if you like, a condition, 00:16:56.679 --> 00:16:58.439 and a purpose behind our prayers. 00:17:00.019 --> 00:17:00.819 Do you notice the condition? 00:17:02.419 --> 00:17:03.839 If you abide in me, 00:17:03.899 --> 00:17:05.639 and my words abide in you. 00:17:06.559 --> 00:17:08.819 Now, that's not so much a condition to be fulfilled, 00:17:08.940 --> 00:17:11.220 but describing the conditions 00:17:11.220 --> 00:17:12.339 in which prayers are answered. 00:17:13.279 --> 00:17:15.440 See, if we are truly abiding in Jesus, 00:17:15.639 --> 00:17:17.599 if Jesus' words are shaping us, 00:17:17.859 --> 00:17:19.639 if we're longing to obey him, 00:17:20.059 --> 00:17:21.500 and follow in his ways, 00:17:21.799 --> 00:17:24.480 then that will shape our hearts. 00:17:24.480 --> 00:17:25.879 It will shape what we want. 00:17:26.680 --> 00:17:28.720 To use a slightly silly example, 00:17:29.500 --> 00:17:34.060 I won't be asking for a nice new Ferrari, 00:17:34.560 --> 00:17:36.620 if Jesus' words are shaping me. 00:17:37.320 --> 00:17:40.759 Or I won't necessarily be asking for a new job, 00:17:40.980 --> 00:17:42.180 where life will be easier. 00:17:44.500 --> 00:17:45.200 Or I may be, 00:17:45.279 --> 00:17:46.320 but I'll be content, 00:17:46.460 --> 00:17:47.400 if Jesus is shaping me, 00:17:47.660 --> 00:17:50.019 to understand that his answer to that may be no, 00:17:50.320 --> 00:17:51.600 for all sorts of good reasons. 00:17:51.599 --> 00:17:54.759 But so is the condition, 00:17:54.919 --> 00:17:56.859 that we're actually abiding in Jesus, 00:17:57.079 --> 00:17:59.079 that he is the one shaping our lives, 00:17:59.139 --> 00:18:01.240 that we're seeking to obey his ways, 00:18:01.659 --> 00:18:03.679 and so praying to that end. 00:18:05.019 --> 00:18:05.959 And then look at the purpose 00:18:05.959 --> 00:18:07.939 for which prayers will be answered. 00:18:08.759 --> 00:18:09.839 At the end of verse 7, 00:18:09.839 --> 00:18:10.919 Ask whatever you wish, 00:18:11.319 --> 00:18:12.399 and it will be done before you. 00:18:12.759 --> 00:18:14.839 By this my Father is glorified, 00:18:15.099 --> 00:18:16.639 that you bear much fruit, 00:18:17.039 --> 00:18:18.419 and so prove to be my disciples. 00:18:19.559 --> 00:18:21.000 So the goal of this prayer, 00:18:21.779 --> 00:18:23.539 is that we will be fruitful, 00:18:24.059 --> 00:18:25.199 in our lives. 00:18:25.799 --> 00:18:27.159 Now that doesn't mean fruitful, 00:18:27.159 --> 00:18:29.220 in terms of business success, 00:18:29.359 --> 00:18:30.399 or material prosperity, 00:18:30.679 --> 00:18:32.159 or having a large family, 00:18:32.799 --> 00:18:34.399 or any of those things necessarily. 00:18:35.400 --> 00:18:36.240 It means fruitful, 00:18:36.380 --> 00:18:38.500 in terms of the character, 00:18:38.720 --> 00:18:39.640 God wants for us. 00:18:40.700 --> 00:18:42.060 Fruitful in terms of, 00:18:42.259 --> 00:18:43.680 being able to love other people, 00:18:43.780 --> 00:18:44.900 as Jesus has loved us. 00:18:45.660 --> 00:18:46.660 Fruitful in terms of, 00:18:46.880 --> 00:18:48.580 being able to share the good news of Jesus, 00:18:48.700 --> 00:18:49.240 with other people. 00:18:49.900 --> 00:18:52.000 That's what Jesus refers to, 00:18:52.040 --> 00:18:52.860 down in verse 16. 00:18:53.040 --> 00:18:53.220 He says, 00:18:53.259 --> 00:18:54.320 You did not choose me, 00:18:54.680 --> 00:18:55.540 but I chose you, 00:18:55.620 --> 00:18:56.380 and appointed you, 00:18:56.640 --> 00:18:57.580 that you should go, 00:18:57.920 --> 00:18:58.900 and bear fruit, 00:18:59.240 --> 00:19:00.400 and that your fruit should abide. 00:19:01.440 --> 00:19:02.200 The fruit there, 00:19:02.200 --> 00:19:03.640 seems to be the fruit of other people, 00:19:03.640 --> 00:19:05.560 coming to know the Lord Jesus, 00:19:05.720 --> 00:19:06.920 and having a true life, 00:19:07.240 --> 00:19:08.620 that is only available in him. 00:19:09.400 --> 00:19:10.400 It describes the mission. 00:19:12.800 --> 00:19:13.740 So you see the purpose, 00:19:13.860 --> 00:19:14.300 and the condition? 00:19:14.640 --> 00:19:15.400 The condition is, 00:19:15.820 --> 00:19:16.460 if Jesus, 00:19:16.660 --> 00:19:17.720 if we're abiding in Jesus, 00:19:18.280 --> 00:19:19.940 if he's shaping our goals, 00:19:20.060 --> 00:19:20.620 and our attitudes, 00:19:20.860 --> 00:19:21.620 by his words, 00:19:22.900 --> 00:19:24.580 then our prayers for fruitfulness, 00:19:25.240 --> 00:19:25.960 will be answered. 00:19:26.480 --> 00:19:27.280 And that's the purpose. 00:19:27.880 --> 00:19:28.960 The ultimate purpose being, 00:19:29.060 --> 00:19:30.100 that God will be glorified, 00:19:30.100 --> 00:19:30.640 through that. 00:19:31.759 --> 00:19:32.320 Do you know what? 00:19:32.319 --> 00:19:35.000 That is the actual purpose, 00:19:35.139 --> 00:19:36.319 for which you and I were created. 00:19:38.319 --> 00:19:40.659 That we might glorify God. 00:19:41.599 --> 00:19:42.579 It's astounding, isn't it? 00:19:45.460 --> 00:19:47.519 Little people like us, 00:19:48.480 --> 00:19:49.659 little lumps of clay, 00:19:49.759 --> 00:19:50.419 molded together, 00:19:51.200 --> 00:19:52.439 can somehow bring glory, 00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:54.119 to the God who created the universe. 00:19:56.039 --> 00:19:57.519 And you'll answer those prayers. 00:19:58.099 --> 00:20:00.079 Because we are that significant to him. 00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:01.259 So, 00:20:01.399 --> 00:20:04.119 Jesus isn't giving us a blank check here. 00:20:04.379 --> 00:20:04.819 He's not saying, 00:20:04.899 --> 00:20:05.619 wish for whatever you like, 00:20:05.639 --> 00:20:06.179 and I'll give it to you. 00:20:06.199 --> 00:20:07.000 It's not a blank check. 00:20:07.559 --> 00:20:08.960 It's for those who are trusting in him, 00:20:09.059 --> 00:20:09.679 remaining in him, 00:20:09.799 --> 00:20:10.740 depending upon him. 00:20:11.399 --> 00:20:12.000 And I see that, 00:20:12.019 --> 00:20:13.460 as I look around people I know. 00:20:14.619 --> 00:20:16.439 Think about my daughter's swimming coach, 00:20:16.980 --> 00:20:18.179 whose two-year-old daughter, 00:20:18.699 --> 00:20:20.099 has been going through cancer treatment, 00:20:20.199 --> 00:20:21.339 for about the last ten months. 00:20:21.379 --> 00:20:22.319 She's coming to the end of it, 00:20:22.579 --> 00:20:23.679 in Great Ormond Street Hospital. 00:20:23.680 --> 00:20:25.620 And how in the world, 00:20:25.960 --> 00:20:27.860 is Jose persevering as a believer? 00:20:29.220 --> 00:20:29.680 Remember this? 00:20:30.400 --> 00:20:32.080 Because God is at work in his life. 00:20:32.340 --> 00:20:33.279 To God be the glory. 00:20:34.779 --> 00:20:35.960 Think of another friend of mine, 00:20:36.019 --> 00:20:37.400 let's call him Bob for the sake of argument. 00:20:38.100 --> 00:20:39.900 Suffering chronic pain all the time. 00:20:40.680 --> 00:20:41.519 Yet still smiling. 00:20:42.279 --> 00:20:43.060 Still hopeful. 00:20:43.720 --> 00:20:44.360 Still honest. 00:20:45.360 --> 00:20:46.160 Not naive. 00:20:47.680 --> 00:20:49.100 How in the world is that possible? 00:20:49.220 --> 00:20:50.320 I couldn't be like that. 00:20:50.319 --> 00:20:53.899 That's because he's abiding in Jesus, 00:20:54.039 --> 00:20:55.559 and God is answering those prayers. 00:20:56.500 --> 00:20:57.720 To God be the glory. 00:21:00.339 --> 00:21:01.519 Or I think of a friend of mine, 00:21:01.619 --> 00:21:04.259 he started with more or less nothing. 00:21:04.720 --> 00:21:05.599 More or less no people. 00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:08.299 And now, four years later, 00:21:08.359 --> 00:21:10.339 has quite a thriving church in West London. 00:21:11.359 --> 00:21:12.980 Many of them people who've come to the Lord 00:21:12.980 --> 00:21:13.740 over the last few years. 00:21:13.799 --> 00:21:14.679 How is that possible? 00:21:15.559 --> 00:21:16.720 Because God is at work. 00:21:16.859 --> 00:21:18.319 To God be the glory. 00:21:18.319 --> 00:21:21.720 See, this is what it means to abide in Jesus. 00:21:22.419 --> 00:21:24.619 It means to depend upon him every day. 00:21:25.339 --> 00:21:26.779 Being shaped by his word. 00:21:27.039 --> 00:21:28.000 Staying in his word. 00:21:28.599 --> 00:21:29.740 Obeying his commands. 00:21:30.359 --> 00:21:31.700 And praying in his name. 00:21:32.980 --> 00:21:34.139 It means knowing that without him, 00:21:34.200 --> 00:21:34.960 we can do nothing. 00:21:35.559 --> 00:21:36.639 Like the branch of the tree, 00:21:36.720 --> 00:21:38.079 that if it's not connected to the trunk, 00:21:38.339 --> 00:21:38.960 it is useless. 00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:40.700 It is useless. 00:21:42.359 --> 00:21:44.299 That leads us to two very quick questions. 00:21:44.299 --> 00:21:47.119 So what? 00:21:47.720 --> 00:21:48.500 Well, that's one question. 00:21:48.599 --> 00:21:48.919 So what? 00:21:49.019 --> 00:21:50.519 So what if I don't abide in Jesus? 00:21:50.579 --> 00:21:51.339 Does it really matter? 00:21:52.180 --> 00:21:53.019 And so what if I do? 00:21:53.519 --> 00:21:54.480 So what if I don't? 00:21:55.720 --> 00:21:56.779 See, Jesus is telling us 00:21:56.779 --> 00:21:57.460 that believing in him 00:21:57.460 --> 00:21:58.819 is not a lifestyle choice. 00:21:59.099 --> 00:22:00.399 It's not a matter of personal preference. 00:22:01.019 --> 00:22:02.119 But it's deadly serious. 00:22:02.200 --> 00:22:03.539 Can you look back to verse 6 for a moment? 00:22:03.539 --> 00:22:06.859 If anyone does not abide in me, 00:22:07.379 --> 00:22:09.359 he is thrown away like a branch and withers. 00:22:10.059 --> 00:22:11.019 And the branches are gathered, 00:22:11.220 --> 00:22:12.119 thrown into the fire, 00:22:12.359 --> 00:22:13.079 and burned. 00:22:15.359 --> 00:22:17.639 That is a sobering picture 00:22:17.639 --> 00:22:19.099 of God's judgment. 00:22:22.700 --> 00:22:24.159 It's a terrible thing, isn't it? 00:22:25.399 --> 00:22:27.099 We can look from the outside, 00:22:27.359 --> 00:22:28.879 a bit like the branches on the form bush 00:22:28.879 --> 00:22:30.159 that I cut off but hadn't removed. 00:22:30.700 --> 00:22:32.079 Like we're actually still part of it. 00:22:32.079 --> 00:22:33.599 We can be at church, 00:22:34.039 --> 00:22:35.720 we can be doing religious things, 00:22:36.639 --> 00:22:38.519 yet ultimately not have a living connection 00:22:38.519 --> 00:22:39.299 with Jesus. 00:22:39.839 --> 00:22:41.240 Not actually depending on it. 00:22:43.500 --> 00:22:45.379 And the result is horrible. 00:22:46.319 --> 00:22:47.720 It's to face God's judgment. 00:22:51.139 --> 00:22:52.259 Judgment is real. 00:22:53.919 --> 00:22:55.179 The flip side of it is 00:22:55.179 --> 00:22:56.439 if we are abiding in Jesus, 00:22:56.579 --> 00:22:57.359 what does he give us? 00:22:58.819 --> 00:22:59.339 Fruitfulness. 00:22:59.339 --> 00:23:02.319 It says that in verse 5, 00:23:02.379 --> 00:23:03.359 Without me you can do nothing. 00:23:03.519 --> 00:23:05.199 With me you can bear fruit. 00:23:06.879 --> 00:23:07.939 Fruit is beautiful, isn't it? 00:23:07.959 --> 00:23:08.879 What would you prefer to look at? 00:23:08.899 --> 00:23:10.959 An apple tree in full blossom, 00:23:11.240 --> 00:23:12.039 or not blossom, 00:23:12.199 --> 00:23:13.019 because that's where fruit comes from, 00:23:13.299 --> 00:23:15.059 but in laden down with apples, 00:23:15.779 --> 00:23:16.819 there's some trees for it there. 00:23:18.179 --> 00:23:19.559 Fruitfulness is beautiful, isn't it? 00:23:19.619 --> 00:23:20.299 It's what we want. 00:23:21.139 --> 00:23:22.480 He also promises fullness of joy. 00:23:22.539 --> 00:23:23.279 Look at verse 11. 00:23:23.279 --> 00:23:25.879 These things I've spoken to you 00:23:25.879 --> 00:23:27.160 that my joy may be in you 00:23:27.160 --> 00:23:28.720 and your joy may be complete. 00:23:29.859 --> 00:23:31.379 Yes, life can be hard. 00:23:32.339 --> 00:23:33.680 Life will involve suffering, 00:23:34.079 --> 00:23:35.599 and yet we can have fullness of joy 00:23:35.599 --> 00:23:36.559 connected with Jesus. 00:23:37.779 --> 00:23:39.740 Finally, fruitfulness, fullness, 00:23:40.420 --> 00:23:41.319 also friendship. 00:23:41.799 --> 00:23:42.799 Look at verse 15. 00:23:43.460 --> 00:23:45.000 No longer do I call you servants, 00:23:45.559 --> 00:23:47.059 for the servant does not know 00:23:47.059 --> 00:23:48.019 what his master is doing. 00:23:48.660 --> 00:23:49.740 I've called you friends, 00:23:49.839 --> 00:23:51.220 for all I've heard from my Father, 00:23:51.220 --> 00:23:52.700 I've made known to you. 00:23:53.400 --> 00:23:54.700 We all want friends, don't we? 00:23:55.339 --> 00:23:56.559 We all need friends. 00:23:58.019 --> 00:23:59.400 You know what Jesus offers us? 00:24:00.839 --> 00:24:01.620 The friendship. 00:24:02.000 --> 00:24:03.740 We can be friends with the living God. 00:24:05.380 --> 00:24:07.100 Fruitfulness, fullness of joy, 00:24:07.400 --> 00:24:07.759 friendship. 00:24:09.220 --> 00:24:10.299 So are you religious? 00:24:12.559 --> 00:24:14.620 I hope your answer is not a simple yes, no. 00:24:15.079 --> 00:24:16.279 I hope your answer is not, 00:24:17.019 --> 00:24:19.339 we're not doing religious things for Jesus, 00:24:19.339 --> 00:24:21.339 but we're depending on Jesus, 00:24:21.939 --> 00:24:23.199 and so being transformed. 00:24:23.859 --> 00:24:25.179 So our lives bear fruit, 00:24:25.659 --> 00:24:26.959 fullness of joy, 00:24:27.439 --> 00:24:28.399 and our friendship with God. 00:24:28.480 --> 00:24:29.159 Let me pray for us.