How many followers of Jesus do you think there are in the world today? At a guess, how many
would you say? Well, according to the most recent figures, which have been published by
Operation World in their book, the figures, and these are their statistics, are there are 546 million
people. That's about 10% of the world's population are active disciples of Jesus Christ. It's staggering.
The growth has been amazing. In China, over 10,000 people repent and turn to Christ every single day.
In Kenya, almost 50% of the population are committed followers of Jesus. The highest rate of growth in the
world today, not with the highest number, but the highest rate of growth is in Iran and Afghanistan,
where persecution is at its worst. But it's not just other parts of the world. Ireland has also
seen growth. 70,000 people, that's about 1% of the population, have turned to Jesus as their Lord
and Saviour. It's incredible. Now, why is this? Well, it's all because of Jesus' promise to his disciples
over 2,000 years ago. Listen to this promise. It's in verse 16. You did not choose me, but I chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. That promise has been taking effect ever
since, as disciples of Jesus around the world have taken his word seriously.
Now in John's Gospel chapters 13 to 17, we have what commentators call the last discourse.
It's the last few days of Jesus before his death, which he spends with his disciples. They chat, they have meals together.
It's a very intimate and close time. It's just Jesus and his disciples. And throughout, Jesus is preparing his disciples
for his going back to the Father. But as Jesus is going back to the Father, so he sends his people out. As Jesus leaves the world,
the disciples begin to move out into the world. We see this at the very beginning and the end of this section. So in chapter 13,
verse 20, Jesus says, I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me, and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.
And we see the same in chapter 17, verse 18. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.
So there's this movement taking place. Jesus going, Jesus leaving, but the disciples going and being sent.
And in chapter 15, at the very centre of this conversation, Jesus makes it crystal clear.
Chapter 15, verse 8. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Jesus sends out his church to be fruitful. That people within our communities and all around the world would believe and trust in Christ.
That's the fruit that Jesus is looking for. And that's the fruit that he has promised. People who will follow him.
Now to help us understand what Jesus is saying, he uses three horticultural metaphors to explain it all.
The first is the vine. In verse 1. I am the true vine. Jesus is the vine. That's the first metaphor.
Then also in verse 1. We have the gardener. I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.
So Jesus the vine, the Father, the gardener. And then down at verse 5.
I am the vine, says Jesus, and you are the branches. The church are the branches in the vine.
Now we're going to look at these three metaphors and see how we can go and bear fruit. Fruit that will last.
First then, the vine, which is all about expanding mission.
Jesus identifies himself very clearly as being the vine. Look at verse 1.
I am the true vine. And verse 5. I am the vine.
Now when we think of vine, don't think wine and all types of grapes.
Think mission.
Vine equals mission.
To see this, have a look back at Isaiah chapter 5.
Isaiah chapter 5, starting at verse 1.
This is a picture of a vineyard.
I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard.
My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside.
He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest of vines.
Well, who is this vine?
Well, we're told down at verse 7.
The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the house of Israel and the people of Judah.
So the vineyard is God's people.
And what's the purpose of this vine?
Well, go back up to the rest of verse 2.
He built a watchtower around it.
Cut out a winepress as well.
Then he looked for a good crop of grapes.
But it yielded only bad fruit.
God had rescued Israel from Egypt, from their slavery.
He had taken them out of there.
And now he had planted them amongst the nations in a new land, a fertile land.
So as to bring his salvation to others.
They would be the means of bringing others, other nations, other peoples into that relationship with God.
But they bought only bad fruit.
Look at the end of verse 7.
He looked for justice, but saw bloodshed.
He looked for righteousness, but he heard cries of distress.
And in response, God judged the vine.
Look at verse 4.
What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it?
When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad?
Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard.
I will take away its hedge and it will be destroyed.
I will break down its walls and it will be trampled.
I will make it a wasteland neither pruned nor cultivated.
And briars and thorns will grow there.
I will command the clouds not to rain on it.
A judgment of God upon his people.
Because they fail to be the fruit-bearing vine that he had called them to be.
Now it seems from this that the vine, the vineyard, has been a failure.
But God doesn't give up on his promise to reach the nations and bring his salvation.
Flick on to Isaiah chapter 27.
Because here we see a further promise.
We could go to many different places, but this one I think helps sums it up.
Isaiah 27 verse 2.
Here is a promise of restoration.
In that day, verse 2, sing about a fruitful vineyard.
I, the Lord, watch over it.
I water it continually.
I guard it day and night so that no one may harm it.
And verse 6.
In days to come, Jacob, that's the people of Israel, will take root.
Israel, my people, will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit.
It's a wonderful picture of this vineyard spreading out its branches into all the world so that it bears fruit.
Now that promise became a reality with the coming of Jesus.
Jesus said, I am the true vine.
Jesus came as the true vine sent by God and planted in the world.
He came to replace or fulfil what Israel were meant to be.
Now when we say Jesus has replaced Israel, it's not more of the same.
It's completely different.
Jesus is everything that Israel were not.
Israel had been sent into the nations.
They were planted there.
They were to be a blessing to the others.
But they had failed.
Rather than lead people to God, they turned people away from God.
And in contrast, Jesus the vine was sent into the world.
Jesus came to die for us.
And through his death, the way is now open for people from every race and every culture and every background, whoever they are,
to receive the blessings of God, to receive forgiveness for all of their sin,
to find peace with God and the hope of eternity with him.
So Jesus comes as the true vine planted in the world,
welcoming all who will come to him to find the new and eternal life.
Jesus as the true vine comes into the world and he expands the mission of God out to the world and to the nations.
So that is the true vine, the first metaphor.
The second metaphor is of the gardener working among the vine.
We can picture the gardener coming along, walking down through the vineyard and cutting and snipping away.
That's what we have in verse 2.
The Father cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit,
while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
Now can you see how all of this relates to us?
Remember in verse 5 it says,
We are the branches.
The Father is the gardener, walking amongst his people.
He's working in us.
And it seems he has two roles, which is all about producing more fruit.
First he is a negative one.
He cuts off.
Look at verse 2 again.
He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit.
If we want to see growth and we want to see fruit,
then all the useless parts must be cut off and cleared away.
Any gardener will tell you that.
In winter and in spring all the dead branches,
the ones without any life,
are simply cut away, gathered, taken off,
and then thrown away.
The image is repeated for us in verse 6.
If anyone does not remain in me,
he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers.
Such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire, and burned.
Now it's quite a stark picture,
but it's a very clear picture of what God will do
with those who claim to be followers of Jesus,
but are actually not.
Now within this context here,
the obvious example is Judas.
Look back at chapter 13.
He claimed to be a follower of Jesus.
Chapter 13, verse 20.
I tell you the truth,
whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me,
and whoever accepts me
accepts the one who sent me.
After he had said this,
Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified,
I tell you the truth,
one of you is going to betray me.
Down to verse 26.
Jesus answered,
It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread
when I have dipped it in the dish.
Then dipping the piece of bread,
he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon.
As soon as Judas took the bread,
Satan entered into him.
What you are about to do,
do quickly,
Jesus told him.
You see,
Judas looked like a believer.
He had been with Jesus for the last few years.
He had been with the rest of the disciples.
He read his Bible.
He went to church like the rest of them.
He did all kinds of good things.
And they all thought he was a true disciple.
But God knew his true heart.
It was like he was cut away from the vine.
Now this, of course,
raises a very big question for us.
Which is simply this.
Can people who say they are Christians
fall away from God?
Can I be a Christian this year
and then next year not be a Christian?
Well, this cutting off
is not meant to cause us doubt.
Remember what Jesus has already said
back in chapter 10
verse 20
Sorry, John chapter 10 verse 28
Jesus says,
I give them eternal life
and they shall never perish.
No one can snatch them out of my hand.
My Father who has given them to me
is greater than all.
No one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.
You see there, it's quite clear, isn't it?
Jesus gives eternal life
and he will keep those
who he gives eternal life to.
Nobody can take them away.
They can't fall away.
He will keep them.
So the purpose of John chapter 15
is not to cause us doubt
and wonder,
I wonder if I'm going to fall away as a Christian.
But to remind us
that all true disciples
bear fruit.
You can't be a disciple,
you can't claim to be a disciple
and not bear fruit.
It's two sides of the one coin.
Disciple and fruit.
You can't have one without the other.
As it says in 15 verse 8
This is to my Father's glory
that you bear much fruit
showing yourselves
to be my disciples.
So if you have trusted Christ
and you are following him
the promise is
people will come to Christ
people will trust Christ
because of you.
We'll come back to that
in a little while.
But that's the first rule.
He cuts away.
It's a negative one.
Then there's a positive one.
Look at the rest of verse 2.
He cuts off every branch
in me that bears no fruit
and while every branch
that does bear fruit
he prunes
so that it will be
even more fruitful.
Now being fruitful
is not about perfection.
He doesn't call us
to be perfect.
It's about pruning.
And again
the imagery is striking.
Where the gardener
sees life
where he sees
bunches of grapes
where he sees
a lot happening
he works on it
even more.
He cuts it back.
He snips away
all the bits
that are no good.
He cuts it back
so that it will be
more fruitful.
But notice how he does it.
Verse 3.
You are already clean
because of the word
that I have spoken to you.
The word of Christ
has already cleaned
the disciples.
We'll come back to that
in a minute.
But that's what the word does.
It cleans us.
The gospel has taken effect
in their lives.
But it doesn't stop there.
God's word also
has a pruning effect
in our lives.
We see this in
chapter 17
verse 17.
John 17
verse 17
it says
sanctify them.
That word means
to make holy
to set apart
to purify.
So he says
sanctify them
by the truth.
Your word
is truth.
You see
God's word
not just
cleans us
and makes it right
with God
but it goes on
working in us
cleaning us
pruning us
purifying us.
God's word
works in our life
taking away
the bits
that are useless
the bits
that are no good
so that we
become more
like Christ
so that we
become more
fruitful.
So if we want
to see more
fruit in our lives
if we want
to see more
people come
to Christ
then we must
be people
who take
God's word
seriously.
It's not just
something we turn
to in a time
of trouble
or just on a
Sunday.
It's got to be
part of our
appetite
part of our
diet
every day.
of course
pruning is
painful
isn't it?
If you could
ask a branch
what it's like
when they get
cut
it's painful
and so it
is
when God's
word takes
effect in our
life
nobody likes
the spirit
of God
showing us
through his
word
the areas
of our lives
that need
cleaned up
and cut
off.
It's not
nice to be
shown things
that are wrong
and how we
should be
but as the
word of God
takes effect
in our lives
the positive
is that he
is changing
us and
transforming
us so
that we
can become
more fruitful.
So the
father comes
as the
gardener
walking
amongst his
vine
walking
amongst his
people
cutting off
those who
do not
bear fruit
because they
are not
true disciples.
and pruning
those who
are fruitful
so that
they can
be even
more fruitful.
So we
have the
vine
we have
the
gardener
and the
last metaphor
is that
of the
branches.
Look at
verse 5
Jesus says
I am
the vine
and you
are the
branches.
Now while
the branches
are important
they must
be seen
in relation
to the
vine.
they're
connected
and first
we must
see that
we the
branches are
connected
through Christ.
Jesus as
we've seen
is the
true vine.
He has
replaced the
old.
So it's
our response
to Jesus
that determines
whether we are
actually connected
to the vine.
We have to
ask that
question am I
in the vine
or am I
not?
What's my
response to
Jesus?
And how
can I be
in the vine?
Well look
at verse 3
You are
already
clean because
of the
word I
have spoken
to you.
It's the
word of
God that
cleans us
that makes
us acceptable
to God
that makes
us part
of the vine.
Let's have
a look at
this in
more detail
go back
to chapter
13
verse 6
You see
this whole
section
13 to
17
is all
intertwined
chapter 13
verse 6
This is at
the Passover
meal
and they're
just about
to sit down
and have
dinner together
and as was
custom
after their
walk and
their dirty
feet they
would be
washed.
So Jesus
came
verse 6
to Simon
Peter
who said
to him
Lord are
you going
to wash
my feet?
Jesus
replied
You do
not realise
now what
I am doing
but later
you will
understand.
No said
Peter
you shall
never wash
my feet.
Jesus
answered
Unless I
wash you
you have
no part
with me.
Then Lord
Simon Peter
replied
not just
my feet
and my
hands
but my
head
as well.
Jesus
answered
A person
who has
had a
bath
needs
only
to wash
his feet
his whole
body
is clean.
Of course
Jesus
didn't mean
here a
physical
cleaning.
As he
said
it wasn't
about
having a
bath
or a
shower.
He was
talking about
being
spiritually
clean.
And the
cleaning
that Jesus
would do
would happen
when he
goes to
the cross
where he
would clean
them of
their sin.
He would
take their
sin,
their failure
upon himself
and he
would take
the blame
for that.
And through
trust in him
we could be
clean.
So it's
how we
respond to
Jesus and
his death
for us
that determines
whether we are
connected to
Christ.
Those who
trust Christ,
those who
look to him
for that
cleaning,
that inner
cleaning,
are connected
to the
vine.
They become
the branches.
They are
like grafted
in.
So we are
connected
through Christ.
Now the
purpose of
being connected
to the vine
is fruitfulness.
So the
question we
need to ask
is, well
how can we
be fruitful
if we're
branches in
the vine
how can
we bring
about fruit?
Well fruit
bearing is
ultimately the
responsibility and
work of
Jesus.
It's not
us.
Look at
verse 4
chapter 15.
Remain in
me and I
will remain
in you.
No branch
can bear
fruit by
itself.
It must
remain in
the vine.
Neither can
you bear
fruit unless
you remain
in me.
I am
the vine,
you are
the branches.
If a
person remains
in me and
I in him,
you will
bear much
fruit.
apart from
me you
can do
nothing.
Now we
don't need
to know
anything about
gardening to
get the
point here.
A branch
that is
connected to
the vine
will be
fruitful,
but a
branch that
is disconnected
will be
fruitless.
Look what it
says in
verse 4.
No branch
can bear
fruit by
itself.
End of
verse 5.
Apart from
me you
can do
nothing.
vine.
In
other
words,
it's
the vine
that
produces
the fruit.
That's
where the
life comes
from.
It comes
from the
vine,
from the
main part.
The
source of
life is
Christ.
He is
the one
who brings
salvation
into people's
lives.
It flows
out through
the branches
to others,
but it
comes from
Christ.
So is
that it?
What do
we do?
If Christ
is the
one who
does it
all,
what do
I do?
Well,
again,
we can't
miss the
point in
these verses.
Look at
verse 4.
It says,
remain in
me.
Remain in
the vine.
It's
repeated over
and over.
It's vital
that we
remain close
and intimate
in our
relationship
with Christ.
And how
do we do
that?
Well,
we have a
clue,
don't we,
in verse 7.
if you
remain in
me and
my words
remain in
you.
You see,
there's the
clue to
remaining
in Christ
is connected
with remaining
or being
dependent upon
his word.
If you
like,
God's word
is the
nutrients,
the
fertilizer
that will
cause us
to grow
and be
fruitful.
Just like
a gardener
will put
down all
kinds of
compost to
make his
garden grow,
so the
word is
the nutrients
that will
help us
to grow.
And so
if we
remain,
if we
stay close
to Christ,
if we
are taking
him,
absorbing
him,
we will
bear fruit.
In fact,
there's a
promise.
If we're
remaining in
Christ,
we can
pray to
God for
people to
come to
Christ.
Look at
verse 7.
If you
remain in
me,
and my
words remain
in me,
you,
ask whatever
you wish,
and it
will be
given you.
The
whatever you
wish here
doesn't
mean,
well,
I can
ask for
a car
or for
a new
job.
We can
ask for
those things,
but it's
not guaranteed.
He's not
saying,
you know,
whatever you
like.
No,
the whatever
you wish
has to
be related
to the
fruit that
Jesus has
promised.
In
prayer,
we ask
God to
work through
us so that
people will
come to
Christ.
it's the
same in
verse 16,
where he
tells them
to go and
bear fruit,
fruitful last.
That will
last.
Then the
Father will
give you
whatever you
ask in
my name.
It's about
fruit.
That's the
promise.
Ask him
to work in
people's
lives,
and God
will do
it.
The
church
around the
world
has seen
huge growth.
We saw
that at the
beginning from
just a few
people who
are following
him.
At his
death,
they all
deserted.
Whereas
today,
546
million people
around the
world,
such huge
growth.
Disciples
are and
have been
through the
centuries
bearing fruit
as he
promised.
But as
encouraging as
that is,
over 60%
of the
world's
population
has never
been introduced
to Jesus
Christ.
Not that
they've heard
and not
responded.
They have
never been
introduced.
They don't
know anything
about him.
In
Ireland,
while
thousands
have turned
to Christ,
we can
say that
millions
have not
yet
turned to
Christ.
And
closer to
home,
we have
friends,
don't we?
People
within our
family who
are not
yet
disciples
and
followers
of
Jesus.
What's
going to
happen?
Well,
we have
been sent
by Jesus.
We have
been planted
out into
the community.
We are the
branches that
are spreading
out into
the vine
in all the
different
places where
we are,
our work,
our neighbourhoods,
the families
where we are.
We are
branching
out.
We have a
purpose where
we have been
sent.
And with
that purpose
comes a
promise.
It's not
a mistake
where each
one of us
are planted.
And here's
the promise,
verse 16,
you did
not choose
me,
but I
chose you
and I
appointed you
to go
and bear
fruit,
fruit
that
will
last.
That's the
promise that
each one of
us has
wherever we
are.
This is
ultimately
God's
mission.
this is
his
work.
But yet
he works
through people
like you
and me
with all
our ups
and downs
and our
failures
and all
our
difficulties.
And he
will work
through us
to bring
about that
fruit.
But yet
he calls
us to
remain in
him,
to stay
close to
him,
to follow
him,
to obey
him,
to absorb
through our
roots the
very nutrients,
the words
of God,
so that
we become
more like
Christ,
so that
more fruit
will come.
We
mightn't
see it
for ourselves.
We
might not
even see
it in
our own
lifetime.
That's
the way
God works
at times.
But the
promise
remains
true.
I
chose
you,
I
appointed
you,
I've
cleaned
you,
I'm
pruning
you,
to go
and bear
fruit,
fruit that
will last.
So let's
go,
let's
be sent,
and as
we go,
be full
of confidence
that we
will bear
fruit,
fruit that
will last.
well,
and as
we're
선
and so
are
Thank you.