WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.259 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christchurch. 00:00:05.259 --> 00:00:15.419 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, redistribution, or any other use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christchurch. 00:00:15.419 --> 00:00:22.620 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristChurchEastBay.org. 00:00:23.500 --> 00:00:27.460 Good morning. My name is Sarita and I am part of the CC Kids. 00:00:27.980 --> 00:00:31.500 A reading from the Gospel according to John chapter 15. 00:00:32.119 --> 00:00:35.640 I am the true vine and my father is the gardener. 00:00:36.079 --> 00:00:39.060 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit. 00:00:39.399 --> 00:00:44.299 While every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 00:00:44.299 --> 00:00:48.619 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 00:00:49.059 --> 00:00:52.119 Remain in me as I also remain in you. 00:00:52.780 --> 00:00:55.319 No branch can bear fruit by itself. 00:00:55.859 --> 00:00:57.739 It must remain in the vine. 00:00:58.259 --> 00:01:01.640 Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 00:01:02.539 --> 00:01:04.840 I am the vine. You are the branches. 00:01:05.459 --> 00:01:09.420 If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit. 00:01:09.939 --> 00:01:11.939 Apart from me, you can do nothing. 00:01:11.939 --> 00:01:18.899 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers. 00:01:19.399 --> 00:01:23.159 Such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire, and burned. 00:01:23.599 --> 00:01:30.319 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. 00:01:30.920 --> 00:01:36.819 This is to my father's glory that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. 00:01:36.819 --> 00:01:47.139 As the father has loved me, so have I loved you, you will remain in my love. 00:01:47.559 --> 00:01:58.019 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my father's commands and remained in his love. 00:01:58.019 --> 00:02:05.399 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 00:02:05.859 --> 00:02:10.719 My command is this, love each other as I have loved you. 00:02:11.219 --> 00:02:16.680 Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. 00:02:17.240 --> 00:02:19.819 You are my friends if you do what I command. 00:02:19.819 --> 00:02:26.239 I no longer call you servants because a servant does not know his master's business. 00:02:26.840 --> 00:02:28.840 Instead, I have called you friends. 00:02:29.259 --> 00:02:34.379 For everything that I learned from my father, I have made known to you. 00:02:34.840 --> 00:02:44.159 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. 00:02:44.159 --> 00:02:50.300 And so that whatever you ask in my name, the father will give you. 00:02:50.520 --> 00:02:52.939 This is my command, love each other. 00:02:53.240 --> 00:02:54.859 This is the gospel of the Lord. 00:02:55.439 --> 00:02:58.620 Thanks, Sarita. 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:06.840 Let's pray. 00:03:06.840 --> 00:03:06.879 Let's pray. 00:03:11.759 --> 00:03:13.000 Lord, would you speak? 00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:14.719 Speak to us. 00:03:16.319 --> 00:03:20.560 We want your words to abide within us, in our hearts. 00:03:21.360 --> 00:03:25.639 Not just so that we have information, but so that we might abide in your love. 00:03:26.680 --> 00:03:31.039 Your words of love and grace and truth to us in Christ. 00:03:32.520 --> 00:03:33.659 So hear our prayers. 00:03:33.780 --> 00:03:34.780 Be present to us. 00:03:34.780 --> 00:03:45.979 Lord, would you affect us by this thing we come to listen to every week, by the preaching of your word. 00:03:47.259 --> 00:03:50.080 Not because of me, but because of your spirit. 00:03:51.000 --> 00:03:53.000 Because of your heart for us and for your people. 00:03:54.340 --> 00:03:55.420 So hear us, Lord. 00:03:55.699 --> 00:03:57.080 Be present to us in your word. 00:03:57.080 --> 00:03:58.620 And bless us with it. 00:03:59.060 --> 00:04:00.100 In Jesus' name. 00:04:00.640 --> 00:04:00.860 Amen. 00:04:02.580 --> 00:04:06.960 You know, when I was living in Orange County, that's where I went to undergrad. 00:04:06.960 --> 00:04:11.879 I remember just thinking about my future and my sense of calling. 00:04:11.980 --> 00:04:13.120 What does God want me to do? 00:04:13.760 --> 00:04:22.040 And one of my strategies was to surround myself with thoughtful people, Jesus-loving people, and also ambitious people. 00:04:22.040 --> 00:04:24.860 And there's this one guy in particular. 00:04:25.040 --> 00:04:25.879 His name was Edwin. 00:04:26.640 --> 00:04:28.580 He had just started his medical residency. 00:04:28.879 --> 00:04:30.220 He was a doctor. 00:04:30.980 --> 00:04:31.720 Super sharp. 00:04:32.300 --> 00:04:34.379 Incredibly critical thinker. 00:04:34.820 --> 00:04:36.600 And I just really looked up to this guy. 00:04:37.360 --> 00:04:38.980 Particularly, though, because of his ambition. 00:04:39.140 --> 00:04:43.200 He had a huge vision for what he hoped God would do in his life. 00:04:43.820 --> 00:04:46.300 What he hoped that God would help him accomplish in the world. 00:04:46.480 --> 00:04:49.500 Like poverty relief and racial reconciliation. 00:04:49.500 --> 00:04:51.660 He wanted to go on medical missions. 00:04:51.939 --> 00:04:53.639 And he had all these kinds of dreams. 00:04:53.939 --> 00:04:56.759 And I remember just being mesmerized by this guy. 00:04:57.060 --> 00:04:58.680 We had dinner one night. 00:04:59.300 --> 00:05:03.259 And we were talking about the brokenness in our world, our sense of calling. 00:05:03.759 --> 00:05:07.579 We were talking about the families that God might give to us one day. 00:05:08.180 --> 00:05:12.959 And then he said something to me that's really stuck with me for almost 20 years now. 00:05:13.680 --> 00:05:19.079 He said, I just want my kids to give more than they take from the world. 00:05:20.180 --> 00:05:21.339 And I ate that up. 00:05:21.699 --> 00:05:23.620 I started praying that for my future children. 00:05:24.100 --> 00:05:26.920 As soon as I had children, holding them in the hospital as newborns. 00:05:26.980 --> 00:05:28.439 I prayed that over each of them. 00:05:28.519 --> 00:05:30.220 I prayed that over nieces and nephews. 00:05:30.959 --> 00:05:35.560 It's what I want for my kids, for our kids, for all of us. 00:05:36.899 --> 00:05:39.399 For us to be people who give more than we take. 00:05:39.939 --> 00:05:43.319 For us to be people who leave the world better than we found it, right? 00:05:44.019 --> 00:05:45.300 And isn't that what Jesus said, right? 00:05:45.360 --> 00:05:47.819 It's more blessed to give than to receive. 00:05:48.879 --> 00:05:56.139 And so wouldn't the world be so much better of a place if all of us devoted ourselves more to giving than to taking? 00:05:57.039 --> 00:05:59.139 I think at some level we all feel this, right? 00:05:59.279 --> 00:06:02.079 We all have this urge to make an impact. 00:06:03.560 --> 00:06:09.019 But, you know, while I want this for myself and for my children and for all of us, all the people of the world, 00:06:09.079 --> 00:06:10.519 that we would be fruitful people, right? 00:06:10.519 --> 00:06:12.359 Contributing more than consuming. 00:06:13.259 --> 00:06:20.219 What I've also begun to find is that this standard, this aim to give more than I take, this urge to make an impact, 00:06:20.680 --> 00:06:27.359 you know, I feel like for some reason this drive to bear fruit has begun to feel less like divine design 00:06:27.359 --> 00:06:30.000 and more like pressure to perform. 00:06:30.879 --> 00:06:31.819 Does anyone else feel that? 00:06:33.180 --> 00:06:35.019 Like on the one hand, you feel ambitious. 00:06:35.199 --> 00:06:36.680 You feel like you have something to give. 00:06:36.740 --> 00:06:38.459 You feel responsible to give it. 00:06:38.459 --> 00:06:42.919 And so you wake up and you pursue growth and fruitfulness and this excites you. 00:06:43.000 --> 00:06:45.339 This is what gets you up out of bed every day. 00:06:46.039 --> 00:06:49.899 And yet on the other hand, these ambitions also come with anxieties. 00:06:50.060 --> 00:06:52.620 Anxieties about whether or not you'll succeed. 00:06:52.799 --> 00:06:58.279 Insecurities about whether or not you're performing up to your potential or meeting that certain standard. 00:06:58.419 --> 00:07:02.359 And you fear that you're wasting your life because you're not contributing enough. 00:07:02.759 --> 00:07:06.299 Not making the impact in the world that you feel you were made to make. 00:07:06.299 --> 00:07:08.319 Are you familiar with this? 00:07:09.399 --> 00:07:13.639 The inspiration to make an impact and yet the pressure to produce. 00:07:14.919 --> 00:07:16.199 Now where'd this come from? 00:07:16.779 --> 00:07:24.639 Why has this drive to bear fruit begun to feel like more of a drag than a delight for so many of us? 00:07:25.779 --> 00:07:28.240 Well, the scriptures themselves teach that this drive is from God. 00:07:28.339 --> 00:07:30.219 It's what God designed us with. 00:07:30.459 --> 00:07:32.159 His very first words to us were what? 00:07:32.639 --> 00:07:33.579 A command and a blessing. 00:07:33.579 --> 00:07:34.680 Genesis 1.28. 00:07:35.079 --> 00:07:36.779 Be fruitful, he said. 00:07:37.319 --> 00:07:41.459 It's like from the beginning he wrote this basic fundamental code into the human operating system. 00:07:41.759 --> 00:07:42.459 Be fruitful. 00:07:42.579 --> 00:07:44.099 It's literally how we're wired. 00:07:44.219 --> 00:07:47.019 With this instinct to cultivate, build, multiply. 00:07:47.319 --> 00:07:50.560 This drive not just to lounge and consume but to love and contribute. 00:07:50.799 --> 00:07:52.139 To bear fruit. 00:07:52.139 --> 00:07:56.139 So our drive to bear fruit, it isn't the problem. 00:07:57.219 --> 00:08:00.879 But what the scriptures also teach is that this drive can get misdirected. 00:08:00.919 --> 00:08:03.259 And in fact, it has because of sin. 00:08:03.399 --> 00:08:07.019 Because of the way that humanity has broken off our connection with God. 00:08:07.019 --> 00:08:15.240 You see, whether you're religious or not, and whether you're conscious of it or not, we're all designed to live out of three basic questions. 00:08:16.339 --> 00:08:17.359 What gives my life meaning? 00:08:18.159 --> 00:08:20.099 Where do I get the power to live that life? 00:08:20.719 --> 00:08:24.219 And what fruit or outcomes am I hoping to produce with that life? 00:08:24.500 --> 00:08:27.240 We're all looking for meaning, empowerment, and fruit. 00:08:27.240 --> 00:08:32.299 And so we all tend to organize our lives around whatever we believe will help supply these things to us. 00:08:32.320 --> 00:08:38.120 And we're quite willing to attach ourselves to that which we think will give us meaning and power and fruit. 00:08:39.120 --> 00:08:42.299 But see, this is where the pressure creeps in when we get the source wrong. 00:08:42.539 --> 00:08:45.799 When we get the power wrong, the standard of fruitfulness wrong. 00:08:46.379 --> 00:08:51.519 That's when fruitfulness stops feeling like a gift and it feels a lot more like a grind, right? 00:08:51.519 --> 00:08:59.480 So the question we need to consider this morning, whether you're interested in Jesus or not, is what is the true source of our meaning? 00:09:00.379 --> 00:09:02.019 What is the true source of our power? 00:09:02.759 --> 00:09:07.519 And who sets the standard for what fruit should actually look like in our lives? 00:09:08.079 --> 00:09:11.559 That's what our passage, that's what Jesus' words speak to us this morning. 00:09:11.659 --> 00:09:12.639 Look with me at verse 1. 00:09:13.299 --> 00:09:13.759 Jesus says, 00:09:13.759 --> 00:09:17.519 I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. 00:09:17.539 --> 00:09:19.620 Now remember when and where Jesus is saying this. 00:09:19.620 --> 00:09:25.560 These words were spoken on the last night of Jesus' life, after the Last Supper, after He said that someone was going to betray Him, 00:09:25.779 --> 00:09:27.500 after He said Peter was going to deny Him. 00:09:27.879 --> 00:09:31.539 And the last words of chapter 14, right before this verse 1, were, 00:09:31.980 --> 00:09:33.179 Come now, let us leave. 00:09:33.240 --> 00:09:33.899 So picture this. 00:09:34.379 --> 00:09:41.639 They're either walking to Gethsemane or maybe they're just standing in the dark, hours before the cross, but only He knows it, right? 00:09:41.639 --> 00:09:49.220 And in this moment, shortly before He is lifted up on a cross as a supposedly failed, defeated, and powerless Messiah, 00:09:49.319 --> 00:09:54.179 right before everything in Jesus' life will look like it's about to end in failure, 00:09:55.000 --> 00:09:56.580 Jesus wants to talk about fruitfulness. 00:09:57.559 --> 00:09:57.759 He says, 00:09:57.899 --> 00:09:58.840 I am the true vine. 00:09:59.559 --> 00:10:03.360 Now you have to understand what this would have meant to the Jewish disciples. 00:10:03.580 --> 00:10:08.919 Throughout the Hebrew Bible, it was always the people of Israel whom God identified as His vine. 00:10:08.919 --> 00:10:10.899 You are my vine, He would say about them. 00:10:11.000 --> 00:10:16.039 If you look at just the call to worship that we had earlier on page 1 of your liturgies from Psalm 80, 00:10:16.079 --> 00:10:17.659 you can see this quite clearly in Movement 2. 00:10:17.759 --> 00:10:18.360 The psalmist writes, 00:10:18.459 --> 00:10:20.099 You transplanted a vine from Egypt. 00:10:20.559 --> 00:10:22.279 You drove out the nations and planted it. 00:10:22.519 --> 00:10:24.000 It took root and filled the land. 00:10:24.839 --> 00:10:30.319 And God's intentions, according to His promise to Abraham, were for this people to be a blessing to the world. 00:10:30.459 --> 00:10:36.159 All the mountains of the world, all the mighty cedars were to be covered by the shady branches of this vine. 00:10:36.159 --> 00:10:43.839 And so this was the most, like, idyllic way that every pious, self-respecting, hopeful Jewish person viewed themselves and their nation. 00:10:44.199 --> 00:10:46.120 God called us to be His vine. 00:10:46.399 --> 00:10:50.659 He Himself has planted us in a vineyard at the center of the universe. 00:10:51.719 --> 00:10:55.500 So significant was this concept of the vine to the people of Israel that, you know, in their temple, 00:10:56.000 --> 00:10:58.919 which they believed, again, to be the center of the world in the holy place, 00:10:59.579 --> 00:11:03.399 there was this massive grapevine made of pure gold. 00:11:03.399 --> 00:11:10.000 And it represented Israel, and wealthy citizens would come and bring gold, gifts of gold, to add to the vine. 00:11:10.439 --> 00:11:11.199 Add a leaf here. 00:11:11.500 --> 00:11:12.379 Add a grape here. 00:11:12.600 --> 00:11:13.919 Add a whole cluster of grapes. 00:11:14.399 --> 00:11:19.659 Ancient historians tell us that there were clusters of grapes that were, like, the height of human beings. 00:11:19.899 --> 00:11:20.500 These were huge. 00:11:21.759 --> 00:11:29.419 For the Jewish people, this vine image at the temple represented their understanding of their place and purpose in the universe as the people of God. 00:11:29.419 --> 00:11:36.559 Israel viewed itself as God's vine, the vine that everyone else in the world needed to be connected to in order to be connected to God, 00:11:36.679 --> 00:11:40.699 and in order to live a meaningful, fruitful life for the kingdom. 00:11:41.839 --> 00:11:50.159 But see, the Old Testament psalmists and prophets also teach us that the people of Israel, they failed to be the fruitful vine that they were meant to be. 00:11:50.679 --> 00:11:53.039 The prophet Jeremiah called them a degenerate vine. 00:11:53.039 --> 00:11:58.079 The prophet Ezekiel noted that they had become like a common piece of wood, only useful for fire. 00:11:59.259 --> 00:12:05.599 And so it's into this, like, thick Jewish context that Jesus is here saying, I am the true vine. 00:12:06.079 --> 00:12:12.480 Where Israel failed to be God's source of fruitfulness and blessing to the world, Jesus has come to be the true and better Israel. 00:12:12.480 --> 00:12:18.700 So see, while many of his Jewish contemporaries found their source of meaning in their heritage and culture, 00:12:18.860 --> 00:12:24.560 their source of power in the temple, their standard of fruitfulness and eventual, like, international prominence, 00:12:24.800 --> 00:12:28.159 Jesus came to subvert all faulty attachments. 00:12:29.240 --> 00:12:31.620 So basically, he's saying to them and to us, 00:12:31.620 --> 00:12:49.480 Look at verse 2. 00:12:49.480 --> 00:13:02.220 So you know what he's saying here? 00:13:02.720 --> 00:13:09.659 He's saying that, hey, you and your life and your agenda, they're actually supposed to be subject to me and my Father. 00:13:09.779 --> 00:13:10.539 You aren't the vine. 00:13:10.759 --> 00:13:11.279 I am. 00:13:11.360 --> 00:13:12.180 You aren't the gardener. 00:13:12.379 --> 00:13:13.300 My Father is. 00:13:13.920 --> 00:13:15.860 And all the initiative is mine. 00:13:16.159 --> 00:13:18.180 I'm the one who cleans you by my own words. 00:13:18.179 --> 00:13:20.139 I'm the one who sets you up for fruitfulness. 00:13:20.379 --> 00:13:26.019 What he's saying here is that your source of meaning, your source of power, the standard by which you will measure fruitfulness, 00:13:26.539 --> 00:13:29.639 all of that starts with me, the true vine. 00:13:29.979 --> 00:13:32.279 And it starts with your Father as well, the gardener. 00:13:33.319 --> 00:13:38.859 Now, I want us to consider that metaphor for a second, this organic image of the vine and the gardener, right? 00:13:39.459 --> 00:13:40.199 Think about that. 00:13:40.959 --> 00:13:43.819 Does the vine depend on the branch or does the branch depend on the vine? 00:13:44.919 --> 00:13:48.159 It's the vine that gives life and fruitfulness to the branch. 00:13:48.679 --> 00:13:51.039 Also consider the branch's relationship to the gardener. 00:13:51.079 --> 00:13:52.899 The branch doesn't get to set the agenda. 00:13:53.239 --> 00:13:55.079 The branch doesn't get to define success. 00:13:55.239 --> 00:13:59.779 The branch doesn't get to determine the timing of the harvest or what should or what shouldn't get pruned. 00:14:00.019 --> 00:14:01.059 That's the gardener's job. 00:14:01.379 --> 00:14:02.359 That's the gardener's call. 00:14:02.360 --> 00:14:17.659 And I think one big reason why many of us are filled with so much performance anxiety is that we've mistakenly believed that we need to be both fruit-bearing branch and vine and gardener all at the same time. 00:14:17.659 --> 00:14:34.059 And we set these goals and expectations on ourselves as if we were the ones to make our own meaning, as if we were the ones that were meant to generate our own fruitfulness, and as if everything we pursued was for our own glory, our own worth, our own value. 00:14:34.059 --> 00:14:42.059 But here, when Jesus is saying that I am the true vine, my Father's the gardener, what He's saying is, it's not about you. 00:14:42.799 --> 00:14:43.739 It's about my glory. 00:14:43.819 --> 00:14:44.679 That's what He says in verse 8. 00:14:44.719 --> 00:14:45.979 It's about my Father's glory. 00:14:45.980 --> 00:14:58.800 And while that might sound, you know, kind of demeaning to us, the whole point of my life, of your life, of our lives, the whole point of bearing fruit, it's got to be the glory of God. 00:14:59.519 --> 00:15:02.580 And this is not some egotistical deity saying that to us. 00:15:02.800 --> 00:15:15.620 It's actually a liberating truth that we need to hear, that you are not your own, and that the weight of glory doesn't rest on you but on something, on someone far stronger, far wiser, far more capable, and far more secure. 00:15:15.620 --> 00:15:17.759 than you would ever dream to be yourself. 00:15:18.480 --> 00:15:25.799 This is what one of my favorite current thinkers, his name is Alan Noble, he's an author, he's written this book, You Are Not Your Own, highly recommend. 00:15:26.700 --> 00:15:35.399 He basically argues that we live in a secular culture that tells us that because there is no transcendent, sacred source of authority to tell us how to live, 00:15:36.440 --> 00:15:42.500 we can and we should make our own meaning, define our own standards of success and fruitfulness, 00:15:42.500 --> 00:15:47.320 and accomplish this somehow on our own, in our own strength, in our own wisdom. 00:15:48.179 --> 00:15:52.500 But, he says, this outlook, it's only ever going to crush us. 00:15:53.120 --> 00:16:02.539 For who of us can bear such a weighty responsibility to define our own meaning and then to execute all with our limited wisdom and strength? 00:16:03.340 --> 00:16:04.980 No wonder we're all anxious. 00:16:05.259 --> 00:16:07.159 No wonder we're all hustling and grinding. 00:16:07.159 --> 00:16:11.240 And look, this is why Jesus' words here are so life-giving. 00:16:11.339 --> 00:16:11.819 Verse 4. 00:16:13.319 --> 00:16:14.319 All he says is, 00:16:14.919 --> 00:16:15.919 Remain in me. 00:16:16.879 --> 00:16:19.059 Remain in me as I also remain in you. 00:16:19.139 --> 00:16:20.839 No branch can bear fruit by itself. 00:16:21.339 --> 00:16:22.559 It must remain in the vine. 00:16:23.179 --> 00:16:25.679 Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 00:16:26.199 --> 00:16:28.259 I am the vine, you are the branches. 00:16:28.799 --> 00:16:30.360 If you remain in me and I in you, 00:16:31.079 --> 00:16:32.139 you will bear much fruit. 00:16:32.659 --> 00:16:34.579 Apart from me, you can do nothing. 00:16:34.580 --> 00:16:39.960 This is how you will bear fruit in your life, Jesus says. 00:16:40.540 --> 00:16:43.200 Not by striving harder, but by staying closer. 00:16:43.600 --> 00:16:44.440 Staying closer to me. 00:16:44.920 --> 00:16:46.700 This word remain, it's so key. 00:16:46.860 --> 00:16:47.639 It means to stay. 00:16:47.820 --> 00:16:48.540 It means to dwell. 00:16:48.860 --> 00:16:50.980 It means to abide, right? 00:16:51.320 --> 00:16:54.040 It's not a hustling, try harder, productivity word. 00:16:54.400 --> 00:16:58.360 It's a restful, organic, dependence, trustful word. 00:16:59.200 --> 00:17:03.580 It's what a branch by its very nature does in organic relationship with its vine. 00:17:03.580 --> 00:17:05.620 A vine doesn't yell harsh commands at the branch. 00:17:05.840 --> 00:17:08.880 Try harder, blossom faster, give me more nectarines. 00:17:09.860 --> 00:17:15.079 No, a branch yields exactly as much fruit as the vine and gardener intend. 00:17:15.779 --> 00:17:17.860 Not less and not more. 00:17:18.660 --> 00:17:21.740 And apart from that vine, a branch can do nothing. 00:17:22.700 --> 00:17:26.519 Think of those Valentine's Day roses that you received or that you gave. 00:17:26.519 --> 00:17:33.660 Sure, maybe they were beautiful, but no amount of water, no amount of that powdery stuff that 00:17:33.660 --> 00:17:35.099 you add to the water, right? 00:17:35.799 --> 00:17:37.799 Nothing will keep those roses alive forever. 00:17:37.960 --> 00:17:39.059 They've been cut off. 00:17:39.660 --> 00:17:44.019 They may look beautiful and they may look beautiful for longer than you imagine, but they will die. 00:17:44.500 --> 00:17:46.240 And they will certainly not multiply. 00:17:47.180 --> 00:17:51.579 This is the image Jesus gives us to understand the way to fruitfulness and that there are only 00:17:51.579 --> 00:17:53.319 two options, he says in verse 5. 00:17:53.819 --> 00:18:00.980 Either you bear much fruit in Him or, apart from Him, you can do nothing. 00:18:02.059 --> 00:18:03.059 And that's nothing. 00:18:03.240 --> 00:18:06.839 Not less fruit, not slower fruit, not like less juicy fruit. 00:18:06.939 --> 00:18:08.519 No, it's just nothing. 00:18:09.879 --> 00:18:12.359 And perhaps that's hard for many of us to believe, right? 00:18:12.399 --> 00:18:16.639 Because look how much humanity has accomplished without God, right? 00:18:16.640 --> 00:18:21.720 Look at all our tech, all our towers of Babel tricking us into thinking that we are more 00:18:21.720 --> 00:18:23.140 like God than we were meant to be. 00:18:23.240 --> 00:18:27.280 We live in a culture and society that believes almost anything can be engineered. 00:18:27.820 --> 00:18:30.840 We live for life hacks and productivity systems. 00:18:31.040 --> 00:18:32.259 We have AI assistants. 00:18:32.620 --> 00:18:34.240 There are more robots that are on the way. 00:18:34.740 --> 00:18:38.520 And in the meantime, we'll continue to monitor on our dashboards, right? 00:18:39.000 --> 00:18:43.100 Our sleep, our steps, our serving sizes, our screen time. 00:18:43.520 --> 00:18:45.560 We know how to manufacture output. 00:18:45.559 --> 00:18:47.339 Look at all that we produced. 00:18:48.359 --> 00:18:52.000 And so when Jesus says, apart from me, you can do nothing, it's hard to take that statement 00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:53.039 seriously. 00:18:53.799 --> 00:18:55.579 It's hard to feel the weight of it, right? 00:18:56.639 --> 00:19:00.440 But maybe that's because we've confused activity with life. 00:19:00.859 --> 00:19:02.079 Zoe, life. 00:19:02.779 --> 00:19:04.679 Jesus isn't saying you can't build companies. 00:19:04.819 --> 00:19:06.359 He's not saying you can't innovate. 00:19:06.519 --> 00:19:08.819 He's not saying you can't accomplish impressive things. 00:19:08.940 --> 00:19:13.700 What He's saying is that apart from Him, you cannot produce the kind of fruit that lasts. 00:19:13.700 --> 00:19:16.259 You cannot generate eternal life. 00:19:16.940 --> 00:19:19.360 You cannot manufacture Christ-like love. 00:19:19.440 --> 00:19:22.140 You cannot engineer joy that survives suffering. 00:19:22.539 --> 00:19:25.860 You cannot fabricate a soul that is alive to God. 00:19:26.960 --> 00:19:30.640 And listen, this isn't a put-down on human accomplishment and potential. 00:19:30.759 --> 00:19:34.960 This is just a reminder of the way we were designed to be in relationship with our Maker, 00:19:35.120 --> 00:19:35.620 our Sustainer. 00:19:35.700 --> 00:19:36.740 We need Him. 00:19:36.740 --> 00:19:41.640 Notice Jesus doesn't just say, remain in me, as if it's all on us, like this is just 00:19:41.640 --> 00:19:45.480 some magical technique that Christians call abiding in order to be fruitful. 00:19:45.960 --> 00:19:47.400 No, this is not a spiritual hack. 00:19:48.079 --> 00:19:51.900 No, He says, remain in me as I also remain in you. 00:19:52.480 --> 00:19:54.079 It's always been about relationship. 00:19:55.319 --> 00:20:00.000 And man, you have to understand what a profound relationship He's inviting us into. 00:20:00.120 --> 00:20:01.880 This isn't just a command, it's a promise. 00:20:01.880 --> 00:20:06.980 And not just any promise, this is the promise of God's very presence, His life, His power, 00:20:07.420 --> 00:20:10.200 desiring to dwell within us. 00:20:10.300 --> 00:20:14.420 Remember how sacred and holy and significant the temple was to the Jewish people? 00:20:14.760 --> 00:20:17.560 Because God's presence was thought to abide there. 00:20:17.660 --> 00:20:24.260 Well, here, Jesus is saying this nearness of God can abide not just with you, but in you. 00:20:24.259 --> 00:20:29.599 And in you in order to bear fruit, in you in order to fulfill your potential and calling 00:20:29.599 --> 00:20:32.279 in you to be everything that you were made to be. 00:20:33.339 --> 00:20:34.339 Don't you want that? 00:20:35.640 --> 00:20:38.839 Union and communion with the living God is on offer here. 00:20:39.079 --> 00:20:44.500 The source and power behind all lasting fruitfulness, that's what Jesus is offering. 00:20:44.900 --> 00:20:51.980 He's offering us Himself as divine, and He invites us to simply abide in Him as He longs to abide 00:20:51.980 --> 00:20:52.920 in us. 00:20:54.259 --> 00:21:00.099 But see, this generous invitation to abide in Him as a branch to a vine, it also confronts 00:21:00.099 --> 00:21:02.140 and possibly exposes all of us. 00:21:02.220 --> 00:21:08.819 Because see, even if we don't accept Jesus' invitation, the question isn't just whether 00:21:08.819 --> 00:21:14.700 or not we'll abide in Jesus or not, but where we'll abide otherwise. 00:21:15.819 --> 00:21:18.440 Because everybody builds their life onto something. 00:21:18.920 --> 00:21:22.779 Everybody plugs into something for meaning, power, and fruitfulness. 00:21:22.779 --> 00:21:25.039 We know this well in the Bay Area. 00:21:25.399 --> 00:21:31.980 Many of you have come to abide in the vine of UC Berkeley, of Salesforce, of Meta, of this 00:21:31.980 --> 00:21:35.119 or that network, opportunity, lifestyle, or relationship. 00:21:35.960 --> 00:21:39.119 And these vines, in various ways, they do give identity. 00:21:39.619 --> 00:21:41.160 They allow us to make an impact. 00:21:41.299 --> 00:21:42.339 They provide stability. 00:21:42.339 --> 00:21:43.720 They allow us to make an impact. 00:21:43.720 --> 00:21:47.839 But when Jesus says, I am the true vine, He's forcing us to consider, does any other vine 00:21:47.839 --> 00:21:50.259 bear fruit that ultimately lasts? 00:21:50.579 --> 00:21:53.980 Does any other vine sustain eternal, abundant life? 00:21:55.559 --> 00:21:59.919 So maybe now you're listening and maybe you're even intrigued by the prospect of abiding in Christ 00:21:59.919 --> 00:22:04.099 as the vine, but this seems super spiritual and abstract and metaphorical. 00:22:04.179 --> 00:22:05.939 And you're wondering, what does this actually mean? 00:22:05.940 --> 00:22:07.860 What does this actually look like? 00:22:08.160 --> 00:22:12.160 Like, how do we actually stay connected to Jesus as our vine? 00:22:12.900 --> 00:22:16.100 Well, look at verse 7, where He alters the metaphor a bit. 00:22:16.200 --> 00:22:20.539 He says, if you remain in me and my words remain in you. 00:22:21.580 --> 00:22:26.700 See, what it means to abide in Christ is not just to have some vague spiritual relationship 00:22:26.700 --> 00:22:31.120 with God, but to let His words, the Scriptures, dwell within us. 00:22:31.160 --> 00:22:34.880 Remember, His words created and constituted all of creation. 00:22:34.880 --> 00:22:38.860 So imagine what they're supposed to do in and through us. 00:22:39.600 --> 00:22:45.700 Abiding in Christ and He in us and His words in us means allowing His authority to take precedence, 00:22:45.800 --> 00:22:50.140 to take residence, not just in our behavior, but in our hearts and our minds and our desires, 00:22:50.240 --> 00:22:54.340 hiding His word in our hearts, meditating on it day and night, letting it correct what we 00:22:54.340 --> 00:22:59.140 believe, expose what we love, confront what we fear, and rewire what we desire. 00:23:01.020 --> 00:23:04.320 And that's what leads to real power, friends. 00:23:04.880 --> 00:23:09.500 That's what leads to real power and fruitfulness in our lives when we are so saturated by God's 00:23:09.500 --> 00:23:10.560 word and will. 00:23:11.080 --> 00:23:14.680 When our operating systems are so in sync with the owner's manual, right? 00:23:14.700 --> 00:23:18.880 That everything we do is shaped by thy kingdom come and thy will be done. 00:23:19.500 --> 00:23:25.440 And man, if that is our heartbeat, if that is how we approach God in prayer, if His word 00:23:25.440 --> 00:23:29.960 is what has shaped what we wish and ask for, well, we better believe that it will be done 00:23:29.960 --> 00:23:30.539 for us. 00:23:30.900 --> 00:23:32.000 We can take that to the bank. 00:23:32.059 --> 00:23:37.320 Verse 7, if you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it 00:23:37.320 --> 00:23:38.480 will be done for you. 00:23:39.000 --> 00:23:43.940 This is the incredible power of prayer reserved for those who abide in the vine. 00:23:43.940 --> 00:23:50.100 This is how we were always meant to bear fruit, by prayer, by dependence. 00:23:51.400 --> 00:23:52.200 Like, think about that. 00:23:52.259 --> 00:23:56.799 Think of all the frustration you've ever experienced, things not going the way you wanted. 00:23:56.920 --> 00:24:01.500 You've tried so hard to tend your own vine, generate your own produce, but the crop that 00:24:01.500 --> 00:24:03.600 comes out, it's never as great as you want. 00:24:04.759 --> 00:24:08.100 But what if we actually believe that apart from Him, we can do nothing? 00:24:08.759 --> 00:24:10.839 And what if we actually let His words remain in us? 00:24:10.879 --> 00:24:14.659 And what if those words shaped our aims and our prayers for fruit in this world? 00:24:15.799 --> 00:24:18.599 Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care? 00:24:18.699 --> 00:24:20.179 Oh, what peace we often forfeit. 00:24:20.480 --> 00:24:26.199 Oh, what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. 00:24:27.339 --> 00:24:29.819 So this is the way to the fruitful life. 00:24:29.819 --> 00:24:31.899 It's abiding in Jesus as our vine. 00:24:32.019 --> 00:24:36.740 It's Him abiding in us, and specifically His words taking root, His words directing us to 00:24:36.740 --> 00:24:43.680 live rightly, but also His words emboldening us to ask, and to ask confidently for a fruitful 00:24:43.680 --> 00:24:44.220 life. 00:24:44.839 --> 00:24:48.980 Again, not striving harder for Him, but simply staying closer to Him. 00:24:50.120 --> 00:24:52.940 And the promise is that we will bear fruit. 00:24:53.620 --> 00:24:54.579 What does Psalm 1 say? 00:24:54.579 --> 00:25:00.019 Those who meditate on God's Word day and night, they will be like a tree planted by streams 00:25:00.019 --> 00:25:02.259 of water, yielding fruit in season. 00:25:02.880 --> 00:25:04.099 What does the Apostle Paul say? 00:25:04.099 --> 00:25:10.059 We are His masterpiece, His workmanship created to do good works, which He prepared in advance 00:25:10.059 --> 00:25:11.259 for us to do. 00:25:12.199 --> 00:25:18.699 See, if we are abiding in Christ, we will naturally, organically, in due time, in season, we will 00:25:18.699 --> 00:25:19.219 bear fruit. 00:25:19.319 --> 00:25:23.339 We need not fret about wasting our potential or underperforming. 00:25:23.399 --> 00:25:25.199 Our gardener is too good for that. 00:25:25.200 --> 00:25:31.779 And nothing, not even we, can get in the way of Him receiving the glory that He's due. 00:25:32.160 --> 00:25:37.500 Verse 8, this is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to 00:25:37.500 --> 00:25:38.360 be my disciples. 00:25:39.940 --> 00:25:45.420 But look, this is not just about doing the right thing or reaching our potential. 00:25:45.420 --> 00:25:50.380 Jesus adds another layer onto what it means for us to abide in Him and He in us and His 00:25:50.380 --> 00:25:51.620 words in us. 00:25:52.160 --> 00:25:52.940 Look at verse 9. 00:25:54.240 --> 00:25:55.519 And this is incredible stuff. 00:25:55.640 --> 00:25:57.759 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. 00:25:58.160 --> 00:25:59.200 Now remain in my love. 00:25:59.259 --> 00:26:00.480 Notice the layers. 00:26:00.680 --> 00:26:01.940 First, remain in me and I in you. 00:26:02.420 --> 00:26:04.160 Then remain in me and my words in you. 00:26:04.380 --> 00:26:07.420 But now, remain in my love. 00:26:07.420 --> 00:26:13.000 You know, I think when some of us here abide, we can easily think, oh great, another spiritual 00:26:13.000 --> 00:26:15.500 habit to master and kind of suck at. 00:26:15.640 --> 00:26:18.539 You know, another discipline to try to optimize and then fail at, right? 00:26:19.660 --> 00:26:23.300 But Jesus isn't offering a spiritual technique here. 00:26:24.259 --> 00:26:25.680 He's offering a relationship. 00:26:26.500 --> 00:26:27.640 And not just any relationship. 00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:31.279 He says, as the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. 00:26:31.420 --> 00:26:33.800 And please, let that hit you for a second. 00:26:34.740 --> 00:26:36.220 It's almost like it shouldn't be in the Bible. 00:26:36.220 --> 00:26:38.460 Like, theologically, it sounds incorrect. 00:26:39.240 --> 00:26:43.299 Because do you have any idea how much the Father loves the Son? 00:26:45.279 --> 00:26:49.000 And He's saying that He loves you with that kind of love. 00:26:49.980 --> 00:26:54.960 The love that has existed between the Father and Son from all eternity that did not need 00:26:54.960 --> 00:26:56.299 you in that love circle. 00:26:57.339 --> 00:27:00.000 Jesus is saying, I'm bringing you into that. 00:27:00.539 --> 00:27:02.940 So abiding isn't you climbing up to God. 00:27:02.940 --> 00:27:06.279 It's you staying inside the love that's already coming down to you. 00:27:07.039 --> 00:27:13.299 And isn't this so much better, so much more inspiring than the pressure to produce and perform? 00:27:13.799 --> 00:27:17.279 Isn't this so much more liberating than the notion of having to define my own meaning, 00:27:17.559 --> 00:27:19.120 self-generate my own fruitfulness? 00:27:19.259 --> 00:27:23.799 Isn't this so much more sure than having to guess at whether or not I have value in this world 00:27:23.799 --> 00:27:25.860 based upon my impact? 00:27:25.859 --> 00:27:32.479 A child of God in the embrace of their Father doesn't get more loved on their productive days, 00:27:32.959 --> 00:27:35.319 nor less loved on their slower days. 00:27:36.099 --> 00:27:39.199 A branch does not become more beloved by producing more grapes. 00:27:39.299 --> 00:27:42.679 It simply receives what is already flowing into it. 00:27:43.779 --> 00:27:45.279 That's why Jesus says in verse 10, 00:27:45.279 --> 00:27:52.539 That's not him saying, earn my love. 00:27:52.579 --> 00:27:55.839 He's saying, live in the love you already have, just like I did. 00:27:56.539 --> 00:27:58.339 Consider that for a second, please. 00:27:59.119 --> 00:28:03.079 That Jesus, like everything that Jesus ever did, 00:28:03.599 --> 00:28:06.220 all the obedience he ever rendered to his Father, 00:28:06.339 --> 00:28:08.920 every single act, whether hard or costly, 00:28:08.920 --> 00:28:11.060 everything that Jesus ever did, 00:28:11.600 --> 00:28:14.860 he did it fueled by the love of his Father. 00:28:15.519 --> 00:28:19.380 He did it sensing and feeling the love of his Father in heaven, 00:28:19.480 --> 00:28:20.600 every single action. 00:28:22.019 --> 00:28:23.779 Can you imagine living a life like that? 00:28:25.120 --> 00:28:26.580 How different things would be? 00:28:27.400 --> 00:28:29.840 How different our world would be if we all lived like that? 00:28:30.480 --> 00:28:33.259 A life so secure in the love of God 00:28:33.259 --> 00:28:36.060 that you live differently than everyone else 00:28:36.060 --> 00:28:38.120 and change the world. 00:28:39.640 --> 00:28:42.259 See, this is what his words and commands are for. 00:28:42.740 --> 00:28:43.900 This is how they connect to his love. 00:28:44.240 --> 00:28:45.820 And all he wants is our joy, guys. 00:28:46.360 --> 00:28:46.800 Verse 11, 00:28:47.259 --> 00:28:49.940 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you 00:28:49.940 --> 00:28:51.460 and that your joy may be complete. 00:28:51.700 --> 00:28:54.080 God wants our obedience because he wants our joy, 00:28:54.420 --> 00:28:55.980 joy and fruit that lasts. 00:28:56.420 --> 00:28:58.360 And the only way we'll experience that 00:28:58.360 --> 00:29:00.019 is by abiding in his love, 00:29:00.019 --> 00:29:03.180 which basically means preaching the gospel to ourselves 00:29:03.180 --> 00:29:05.000 again and again and again. 00:29:05.080 --> 00:29:06.880 Preaching the gospel to myself when I'm criticized, 00:29:06.880 --> 00:29:09.460 when I fail, when I'm overlooked, 00:29:09.720 --> 00:29:10.600 when I'm disappointed, 00:29:11.160 --> 00:29:11.680 is to say, 00:29:11.940 --> 00:29:13.840 I'm already loved with the love of the Father, 00:29:14.200 --> 00:29:15.680 the love that he has for the Son, 00:29:15.880 --> 00:29:17.780 and in that love my joy is complete 00:29:17.780 --> 00:29:19.840 and I shall not want. 00:29:20.520 --> 00:29:23.460 That's how a Christian handles and even bears fruit 00:29:23.460 --> 00:29:25.840 in the face of fear and rejection and disappointment, 00:29:25.980 --> 00:29:27.000 not by denial, 00:29:27.140 --> 00:29:29.880 but by deeply anchoring themselves in the love of God. 00:29:29.880 --> 00:29:34.220 See, bearing God's fruit in the kingdom of God 00:29:34.220 --> 00:29:35.860 is not about more and more output. 00:29:36.220 --> 00:29:37.760 It's not about fighting against the clock, 00:29:37.920 --> 00:29:40.480 battling against scarcity and insecurity. 00:29:40.640 --> 00:29:42.560 No, it's about bearing witness to the kingdom of God, 00:29:42.900 --> 00:29:44.060 bearing the fruit of the Spirit, 00:29:44.400 --> 00:29:46.400 the first of which is love. 00:29:47.440 --> 00:29:49.620 That's what the fruit is, love. 00:29:50.480 --> 00:29:50.900 Verse 12, 00:29:50.980 --> 00:29:51.760 My command is this, 00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:54.340 Love each other as I have loved you. 00:29:55.340 --> 00:29:57.940 Jesus isn't being vague here about what fruit is. 00:29:57.940 --> 00:29:59.400 He doesn't let us fill in the blank 00:29:59.400 --> 00:30:01.259 about whatever fruitness might look like 00:30:01.259 --> 00:30:03.480 according to what we desire to make it. 00:30:04.900 --> 00:30:05.860 In the Bay Area, 00:30:06.019 --> 00:30:07.420 fruit usually means achievement, 00:30:08.100 --> 00:30:09.440 influence, metrics, 00:30:09.860 --> 00:30:11.100 promotion, options, 00:30:11.600 --> 00:30:11.920 network, 00:30:12.779 --> 00:30:13.660 brand, followers, 00:30:13.799 --> 00:30:15.080 being indispensable, right? 00:30:15.140 --> 00:30:15.799 Being impressive. 00:30:16.259 --> 00:30:16.980 Even in the church, 00:30:17.059 --> 00:30:19.100 fruit can get twisted into numbers and visibility, 00:30:19.640 --> 00:30:20.279 having it together, 00:30:20.400 --> 00:30:21.980 looking spiritually productive, right? 00:30:22.799 --> 00:30:24.740 But Jesus defines fruit in one word, 00:30:24.820 --> 00:30:25.799 and it's just this, it's love. 00:30:26.460 --> 00:30:27.360 And not just any love, 00:30:27.359 --> 00:30:28.879 but the highest kind of love. 00:30:28.959 --> 00:30:29.579 Verse 13, 00:30:30.139 --> 00:30:32.119 Greater love has no one than this 00:30:32.119 --> 00:30:34.639 to lay down one's life for one's friends. 00:30:34.939 --> 00:30:36.159 That's fruit, Jesus says. 00:30:36.519 --> 00:30:37.279 Not output, 00:30:37.979 --> 00:30:38.659 not influence, 00:30:38.759 --> 00:30:39.579 it's sacrificial, 00:30:40.159 --> 00:30:41.379 self-giving love. 00:30:41.899 --> 00:30:43.699 And don't miss when he said this, right? 00:30:43.740 --> 00:30:45.959 This is the night he was walking toward Gethsemane, 00:30:46.539 --> 00:30:47.859 walking toward Calvary, 00:30:47.979 --> 00:30:49.779 toward the place where he wouldn't just teach love, 00:30:49.819 --> 00:30:50.519 but show it. 00:30:51.639 --> 00:30:52.139 But Jesus, 00:30:52.419 --> 00:30:53.619 he even goes even further than this. 00:30:53.639 --> 00:30:54.559 He says in verse 14, 00:30:54.559 --> 00:30:56.659 you are my friends if you do what I command. 00:30:57.359 --> 00:30:58.059 Then verse 15, 00:30:58.159 --> 00:30:59.619 I no longer call you servants, 00:30:59.720 --> 00:31:00.859 instead I have called you friends. 00:31:00.899 --> 00:31:01.720 You know what he's doing here? 00:31:02.839 --> 00:31:04.679 See, love isn't just sacrifice. 00:31:05.559 --> 00:31:06.980 Love elevates people. 00:31:07.119 --> 00:31:08.579 Love transforms relationships. 00:31:08.779 --> 00:31:10.299 It restructures hierarchies. 00:31:10.379 --> 00:31:12.500 The king looks at his disciples and says, 00:31:13.399 --> 00:31:13.679 friends, 00:31:14.399 --> 00:31:15.539 the Lord of the universe 00:31:15.539 --> 00:31:16.980 lets you in on his heart. 00:31:17.079 --> 00:31:18.359 Everything I have learned from my father, 00:31:18.460 --> 00:31:18.839 Jesus says, 00:31:18.899 --> 00:31:20.159 I have made known to you. 00:31:20.160 --> 00:31:22.420 Unless we hear this command to love 00:31:22.420 --> 00:31:24.460 as another crushing standard, 00:31:24.960 --> 00:31:26.700 Jesus anchors it in his grace. 00:31:26.840 --> 00:31:27.300 Verse 16, 00:31:27.560 --> 00:31:28.519 you did not choose me, 00:31:28.980 --> 00:31:30.560 but I chose you and appointed you 00:31:30.560 --> 00:31:32.140 so that you might go and bear fruit, 00:31:32.380 --> 00:31:33.400 fruit that will last. 00:31:33.440 --> 00:31:34.080 In other words, 00:31:34.880 --> 00:31:36.440 fruit doesn't produce belonging. 00:31:36.660 --> 00:31:38.600 No, belonging produces fruit. 00:31:39.960 --> 00:31:41.180 See, you don't love your way 00:31:41.180 --> 00:31:42.279 into friendship with God. 00:31:42.700 --> 00:31:45.700 You love because you've been given friendship 00:31:45.700 --> 00:31:48.400 with the maker of heaven and earth. 00:31:48.400 --> 00:31:51.300 And that's why Jesus returns to prayer again here 00:31:51.300 --> 00:31:51.740 when he says, 00:31:52.100 --> 00:31:53.280 whatever you ask in my name, 00:31:53.360 --> 00:31:54.460 the Father will give you. 00:31:54.580 --> 00:31:55.400 Because abiding 00:31:55.400 --> 00:31:56.780 and deep communion 00:31:56.780 --> 00:31:57.700 and friendship with God, 00:31:57.759 --> 00:31:59.000 it reshapes what we want 00:31:59.000 --> 00:32:00.840 and gives us boldness to ask. 00:32:02.200 --> 00:32:03.400 And to ask for anything, 00:32:04.300 --> 00:32:05.440 even for the most fruitful, 00:32:05.840 --> 00:32:06.580 impactful life. 00:32:06.680 --> 00:32:07.759 This is what Jesus himself 00:32:07.759 --> 00:32:09.060 wants for his disciples. 00:32:09.759 --> 00:32:10.720 This is what he wants 00:32:10.720 --> 00:32:11.720 for his branches, 00:32:11.980 --> 00:32:13.340 friendship and access, 00:32:13.680 --> 00:32:14.720 joy and life, 00:32:15.019 --> 00:32:15.380 meaning, 00:32:15.780 --> 00:32:16.180 power, 00:32:16.660 --> 00:32:17.820 and fulfilling fruit, 00:32:17.819 --> 00:32:18.819 the fruit of love 00:32:18.819 --> 00:32:20.819 modeled after his love. 00:32:21.619 --> 00:32:23.619 A love that gives more than it takes, 00:32:24.480 --> 00:32:25.639 but not out of guilt 00:32:25.639 --> 00:32:27.019 or trying to prove its worth, 00:32:27.099 --> 00:32:28.619 no, a love that gives more than it takes 00:32:28.619 --> 00:32:29.799 from the world 00:32:29.799 --> 00:32:31.579 because of its ultimate source, 00:32:32.419 --> 00:32:33.919 the vine who gave his life 00:32:33.919 --> 00:32:34.839 for the world. 00:32:35.779 --> 00:32:36.519 In truth, 00:32:37.220 --> 00:32:38.899 we will never outgive 00:32:38.899 --> 00:32:40.639 what we've received in Christ. 00:32:41.639 --> 00:32:42.839 But abiding means 00:32:42.839 --> 00:32:44.879 we are always receivers first 00:32:44.879 --> 00:32:46.379 before anything else. 00:32:46.380 --> 00:32:47.680 So really, 00:32:48.420 --> 00:32:49.440 the only people 00:32:49.440 --> 00:32:51.580 who ever truly give 00:32:51.580 --> 00:32:52.700 more than they take 00:32:52.700 --> 00:32:54.700 are those who never stop 00:32:54.700 --> 00:32:55.880 receiving from the vine 00:32:55.880 --> 00:32:57.220 who is Christ. 00:32:58.520 --> 00:32:59.180 Now to close, 00:32:59.340 --> 00:33:00.620 just imagine that 00:33:00.620 --> 00:33:01.320 for a second again. 00:33:02.200 --> 00:33:04.100 Imagine that for yourself, 00:33:04.860 --> 00:33:06.480 that for our church, 00:33:06.620 --> 00:33:07.200 our world. 00:33:07.920 --> 00:33:09.720 Imagine a world full of such people, 00:33:10.440 --> 00:33:10.720 right? 00:33:10.720 --> 00:33:12.600 So secure in Christ, 00:33:12.940 --> 00:33:14.660 abiding in the vine. 00:33:14.720 --> 00:33:15.440 Imagine a world 00:33:15.440 --> 00:33:16.720 that defined fruitfulness 00:33:16.720 --> 00:33:18.519 as if Jesus 00:33:18.519 --> 00:33:19.660 were the most perfect, 00:33:19.920 --> 00:33:20.319 ideal, 00:33:20.500 --> 00:33:21.380 optimal way 00:33:21.380 --> 00:33:22.200 to be human. 00:33:23.799 --> 00:33:24.200 Like, 00:33:24.460 --> 00:33:25.200 what if fruit 00:33:25.200 --> 00:33:26.319 wasn't defined by scale, 00:33:26.960 --> 00:33:27.839 but sacrifice? 00:33:28.539 --> 00:33:30.160 What if the most productive person 00:33:30.160 --> 00:33:30.620 in the room 00:33:30.620 --> 00:33:31.180 was the one 00:33:31.180 --> 00:33:33.000 who loved most deeply? 00:33:34.120 --> 00:33:35.100 What if we trusted 00:33:35.100 --> 00:33:35.759 that fruit 00:33:35.759 --> 00:33:36.600 ripens 00:33:36.600 --> 00:33:37.600 in season 00:33:37.599 --> 00:33:38.339 and stopped 00:33:38.339 --> 00:33:38.939 trying to, 00:33:38.959 --> 00:33:39.159 you know, 00:33:39.259 --> 00:33:39.699 microwave 00:33:39.699 --> 00:33:40.779 what God intends 00:33:40.779 --> 00:33:41.259 to grow 00:33:41.259 --> 00:33:42.419 at His own pace? 00:33:42.759 --> 00:33:43.219 What if we 00:33:43.219 --> 00:33:43.799 slowed down 00:33:43.799 --> 00:33:44.319 to the pace 00:33:44.319 --> 00:33:46.139 of the three-mile-an-hour God? 00:33:46.819 --> 00:33:47.299 The God who 00:33:47.299 --> 00:33:48.219 became flesh, 00:33:48.679 --> 00:33:49.359 became vulnerable, 00:33:49.559 --> 00:33:50.819 became interruptible, 00:33:51.279 --> 00:33:52.219 became arrestable, 00:33:52.339 --> 00:33:53.539 became crucifiable. 00:33:53.719 --> 00:33:54.139 What if we 00:33:54.139 --> 00:33:54.659 proceeded 00:33:54.659 --> 00:33:55.339 at the pace 00:33:55.339 --> 00:33:55.980 of love, 00:33:56.079 --> 00:33:56.839 love for strangers, 00:33:57.319 --> 00:33:58.139 love for our enemies, 00:33:58.659 --> 00:33:59.819 love for our oppressors, 00:33:59.939 --> 00:34:00.639 love for people 00:34:00.639 --> 00:34:01.339 who we feel 00:34:01.339 --> 00:34:02.299 are slowing us down 00:34:02.299 --> 00:34:03.159 and keeping us 00:34:03.159 --> 00:34:03.959 from the fruitful lives 00:34:03.959 --> 00:34:04.719 we're so convinced 00:34:04.719 --> 00:34:05.939 were meant to live? 00:34:06.740 --> 00:34:07.380 What if instead 00:34:07.380 --> 00:34:08.119 of hustling 00:34:08.119 --> 00:34:08.700 to figure out 00:34:08.700 --> 00:34:09.280 how we might 00:34:09.280 --> 00:34:10.340 expedite God's 00:34:10.340 --> 00:34:11.639 process of fruitfulness 00:34:11.639 --> 00:34:12.940 through innovation 00:34:12.940 --> 00:34:14.119 and technique 00:34:14.119 --> 00:34:15.059 and superficiality, 00:34:15.099 --> 00:34:15.679 what if we simply 00:34:15.679 --> 00:34:16.480 stayed connected 00:34:16.480 --> 00:34:17.539 to the true vine 00:34:17.539 --> 00:34:19.400 and let the gardener 00:34:19.400 --> 00:34:20.139 do his work? 00:34:21.599 --> 00:34:22.159 Fruitfulness, 00:34:22.360 --> 00:34:23.079 it doesn't come 00:34:23.079 --> 00:34:24.099 from striving harder. 00:34:25.099 --> 00:34:25.880 It doesn't come 00:34:25.880 --> 00:34:27.240 from optimizing yourself 00:34:27.240 --> 00:34:28.220 into exhaustion. 00:34:28.420 --> 00:34:28.880 It doesn't come 00:34:28.880 --> 00:34:30.800 from manufacturing meaning. 00:34:31.039 --> 00:34:31.639 It comes from 00:34:31.639 --> 00:34:32.559 staying closer, 00:34:33.360 --> 00:34:34.260 closer to the vine, 00:34:35.039 --> 00:34:35.920 closer to His Word. 00:34:36.740 --> 00:34:37.659 closer to His love. 00:34:38.840 --> 00:34:40.059 The pressure to produce 00:34:40.059 --> 00:34:41.539 dies when you realize 00:34:41.539 --> 00:34:43.139 you were never the vine, 00:34:43.960 --> 00:34:45.280 you were never the gardener, 00:34:45.820 --> 00:34:47.300 and you were ever only 00:34:47.300 --> 00:34:48.880 meant to be a branch, 00:34:49.700 --> 00:34:51.240 abiding in the I am 00:34:51.240 --> 00:34:51.740 who says, 00:34:51.880 --> 00:34:52.659 I am the vine, 00:34:53.119 --> 00:34:54.139 you are the branches. 00:34:54.720 --> 00:34:55.960 If you remain in me 00:34:55.960 --> 00:34:57.260 and I in you, 00:34:57.920 --> 00:35:00.099 you will bear much fruit. 00:35:01.220 --> 00:35:01.960 Apart from me, 00:35:02.559 --> 00:35:03.679 you can do nothing. 00:35:03.679 --> 00:35:05.460 let's pray. 00:35:05.460 --> 00:35:21.360 Lord, teach us 00:35:21.360 --> 00:35:23.980 how to be faithful branches, 00:35:25.260 --> 00:35:27.079 how to be rested branches, 00:35:27.960 --> 00:35:28.860 joyful branches, 00:35:29.760 --> 00:35:31.639 delighted that the vine 00:35:31.639 --> 00:35:32.880 has made a place for us, 00:35:32.880 --> 00:35:33.980 that the vine 00:35:33.980 --> 00:35:34.760 has attached Himself 00:35:34.760 --> 00:35:35.480 to us, 00:35:36.200 --> 00:35:37.300 that He invites us 00:35:37.300 --> 00:35:38.780 to abide in Him 00:35:38.780 --> 00:35:40.119 and that He desires 00:35:40.119 --> 00:35:41.240 to abide in us, 00:35:42.320 --> 00:35:43.440 that He invites us 00:35:43.440 --> 00:35:44.619 to abide in His love. 00:35:44.740 --> 00:35:45.180 Oh God, 00:35:45.599 --> 00:35:46.640 make us so secure 00:35:46.640 --> 00:35:47.400 in Your love. 00:35:47.400 --> 00:35:49.740 every problem in the world, 00:35:49.820 --> 00:35:50.220 oh God, 00:35:50.840 --> 00:35:51.619 is because people 00:35:51.619 --> 00:35:52.380 are not convinced 00:35:52.380 --> 00:35:53.099 of Your love. 00:35:54.559 --> 00:35:55.420 So start here 00:35:55.420 --> 00:35:56.099 with Your church, 00:35:56.240 --> 00:35:56.420 Lord. 00:35:57.480 --> 00:35:58.280 Convince us 00:35:58.280 --> 00:35:59.160 that Your love 00:35:59.160 --> 00:35:59.760 is enough, 00:35:59.980 --> 00:36:01.000 that we are secure 00:36:01.000 --> 00:36:01.579 in it, 00:36:01.820 --> 00:36:02.720 and that we will 00:36:02.720 --> 00:36:03.380 bear fruit 00:36:03.380 --> 00:36:04.280 in season, 00:36:05.119 --> 00:36:06.860 that You are the source, 00:36:07.480 --> 00:36:08.480 the source of our meaning, 00:36:08.639 --> 00:36:10.099 the source of our power, 00:36:10.500 --> 00:36:11.119 and Your Son 00:36:11.119 --> 00:36:12.059 has shown us 00:36:12.059 --> 00:36:12.980 what fruitfulness 00:36:12.980 --> 00:36:14.039 looks like. 00:36:14.039 --> 00:36:14.460 Oh God, 00:36:14.880 --> 00:36:15.900 forgive us 00:36:15.900 --> 00:36:18.340 for all the false fruit 00:36:18.340 --> 00:36:19.179 that we pursue, 00:36:19.719 --> 00:36:20.539 all the fruit 00:36:20.539 --> 00:36:21.679 that we try to staple 00:36:21.679 --> 00:36:22.840 onto our branches, 00:36:23.099 --> 00:36:23.579 Lord God. 00:36:26.820 --> 00:36:27.639 Let us choose 00:36:27.639 --> 00:36:28.539 Your way instead, 00:36:29.480 --> 00:36:31.059 even when it's slow, 00:36:32.340 --> 00:36:33.139 even when it doesn't 00:36:33.139 --> 00:36:33.679 make sense, 00:36:33.779 --> 00:36:35.239 even when it's costly. 00:36:36.719 --> 00:36:37.860 Let's trust Your Word 00:36:37.860 --> 00:36:38.960 that we will bear fruit 00:36:38.960 --> 00:36:39.900 in season, 00:36:41.340 --> 00:36:42.159 much fruit, 00:36:42.599 --> 00:36:43.779 Your Son says to us. 00:36:45.039 --> 00:36:45.440 And God, 00:36:45.519 --> 00:36:45.960 convince us 00:36:45.960 --> 00:36:46.679 of the other side 00:36:46.679 --> 00:36:47.139 as well, 00:36:47.980 --> 00:36:48.920 that apart from You, 00:36:49.719 --> 00:36:50.679 we can do nothing. 00:36:52.420 --> 00:36:53.559 Let us feel that, 00:36:53.719 --> 00:36:53.880 Lord, 00:36:54.440 --> 00:36:54.880 deeply. 00:36:56.099 --> 00:36:57.679 Make us a dependent people 00:36:57.679 --> 00:36:59.559 that You might receive 00:36:59.559 --> 00:37:00.079 the glory 00:37:00.079 --> 00:37:02.619 and that we might enjoy 00:37:02.619 --> 00:37:04.420 Your presence and power 00:37:04.420 --> 00:37:05.300 in our lives 00:37:05.300 --> 00:37:06.019 more than we could 00:37:06.019 --> 00:37:06.699 ever imagine. 00:37:08.219 --> 00:37:09.440 Make our joy complete, 00:37:09.539 --> 00:37:09.920 oh God, 00:37:10.579 --> 00:37:11.539 in Jesus' name. 00:37:12.380 --> 00:37:12.639 Amen. 00:37:12.639 --> 00:37:12.759 Amen. 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:14.480 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:44.460 Thank you.