All right, well, we're continuing on this morning
with the teaching of Jesus in John chapter 15.
This morning's message is a part two
flowing out of what we talked about last Sunday.
If you missed last Sunday,
you can listen to the sermon audio online
on our website under sermons.
So I'm just gonna read John chapter 15,
verse one to six again,
and then just quickly recap the main things
that we talked about last Sunday.
And then we'll move on to explore this passage
a little deeper.
So this is Jesus talking in John chapter 15.
I am the true vine,
and my Father is the gardener.
He 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.
You are already clean
because of the word I have spoken to you.
Remain in me
as I also 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 you remain in me
and I in you,
you will bear much fruit.
Apart from me,
you can do nothing.
If you do not remain in me,
you are like a branch that is thrown away
and withers.
Such branches are picked up,
thrown into the fire,
and burned.
So we talked about how God is the gardener last Sunday.
God is at work,
like a gardener is at work,
to bring about a fruitful vineyard,
a people full of good fruit.
And we talked a little about
what good fruit means last Sunday.
It means things like righteousness,
justice,
love,
compassion,
honesty,
peace,
and so on.
And these things stand in contrast
to the bad fruit,
injustice,
oppression,
deceitfulness,
bloodshed,
greed,
and so on.
And we talked about
how Jesus is the true vine.
We looked at a couple places
where God spoke about
the people of Israel
in the past,
in the Old Testament,
with the metaphor of
vineyard,
and vines,
and fruit.
And we saw how Jesus
stands out.
Up until now,
the vineyard God has planted
has,
on the whole,
brought forth
bad fruit.
fruit.
And it had to do
with the people themselves
who were sinners
just like us.
But now,
God has planted
the true vine,
Jesus,
into his vineyard.
And he is the true
source of life
and of all that is good.
God has planted
the true vineyard.
And we talked a little
about how
we are the branches,
those of us
who believe in Jesus.
We talked about
how branches
are secondary shoots
coming off
the primary shoot.
And I encourage us
to think about
whether we have that
straight in our hearts
and minds.
And finally,
we talked about
our utter need
to remain in Jesus,
to abide in him,
which means
to stay closely
connected to him,
walking in close
relationship with him.
So now we want
to continue meditating
on these words
of Jesus.
Let's come back
to what we talked
about last Sunday,
that God is the gardener
at work,
tending
and pruning.
we see this
in verse
chapter 2.
We see this
in verse 2.
He cuts off
every branch
in me,
that's the gardener,
he 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.
As I said
last Sunday,
Jesus wants us
to come to terms
with the mindset
of God,
the gardener.
Just like when I go
to all the work
of planting plants
in my garden
and tending them,
like some of you
did this past summer,
what do I want
from those plants
after all that work?
Well,
I want as much
delicious fruit
as possible.
God has that
same mindset
toward us,
he wants to see
as much good fruit
as possible
come from our lives.
Now,
we have to be careful
here
that we don't
misunderstand Jesus.
Jesus is not saying
that we need to do
enough good works
in order to be saved.
The Bible is clear
on this.
We are saved
and we are joined
to Christ
by faith,
by believing in him
and not because
of good works.
God's saving
love comes to us
while we are
still sinners,
still guilty,
still people
who have sin
and do sin.
But then once
we are joined
to Christ,
we begin to
grow like
a branch
of a plant
grows.
we begin
to change
as we drink
from the nourishing
sap of the vine.
We are now
connected to the
source of all
life
and of all
goodness.
And now
because of that
connection to Christ,
we become
able
to bear
good fruit.
and God,
like a gardener,
begins to work
on us
and in us
and through us
by the power
of his Holy Spirit.
And good things
begin to come
out of us
like never before.
Our overall
mindset
and attitude
begins to change
from living
for myself,
for my own
pleasure,
to now
living for you,
Jesus,
for your
pleasure.
We begin
to pray
more and more
that same
prayer that
Jesus prayed.
Not my
will,
not what I
want,
but your
will,
what you
want,
be done,
Father.
We begin
to let go
of that
impulse that
we had
to store
up for
ourselves
treasures
here on
earth
and instead
begin to
store up
for ourselves
treasures
in heaven.
We begin
to let go
of that
desire
to get
more and
more,
to establish
our own
little kingdom
here on
earth,
and instead
we desire
to see
God's
kingdom
established.
Once we
are joined
to Christ,
good fruit
begins to
grow.
But here's
the truth
that we see
coming out
of Jesus'
words here.
God doesn't
just sit
back and
watch this
happen.
Now some
people do
their garden
in that
way.
They plant
the seeds
in the
ground,
they give
it one
good soaking,
and then
they just
leave it.
From then
on, if it
rains, it
rains.
If a late
frost comes,
it comes.
If the
plant shoot
is about
to snap
off without
some kind
of supporting
stake or
cage,
oh well.
We might
call this
passive
gardening,
or hands-off
gardening.
And as it
usually goes,
the hands-off
gardener gets
from their
plants what
they put
in, often
a meager
harvest.
But God
is not like
that with
us.
He is
an active
gardener,
says Jesus
here in
verse 2.
He is
hands-on.
He is
pruning
and tending
because he
is not
content for
a meager
harvest from
our lives.
Let me
say that
again.
God is
not content
for a
meager
harvest
from our
lives.
He wants
much fruit,
much good
fruit.
Let's fast
forward for
just a second
to verse
8.
Verse 8,
Jesus says,
this is to
my Father's
glory,
that you
bear much
fruit,
showing
yourselves
to be
my disciples.
So,
what brings
glory to
God the
Father?
That you,
that I,
bear much
fruit,
not that
you and
I bear
slim pickings,
but that
we bear
much fruit.
What brings
glory to
God the
Father?
That you
and I
show
ourselves
to be
a disciple
of Jesus,
that we
make it so
obvious to
the world
that we are
joined to
him by
our lives,
by our
many good
words,
by our
many good
actions,
by our
many good
attitudes.
And now
the wonderful
truth here
in verse 2
is that we
are not
left all
by ourselves
to do this,
to make this
change in
ourselves
happen,
to bear much
good fruit
for God.
Jesus says
here in
verse 2
that God
himself is
at work
on us,
on each
branch of
the vine
to ensure
that our
fruitfulness
increases,
that the
good coming
from our
lives
grows.
And so
this is why
I often
cringe inside
when I hear
people say
things like,
you know,
it's good to
be religious,
it's good to
believe in
Jesus,
so long as
you don't
get carried
away with
it,
so long as
you don't
become too
religious.
Sometimes we
here in the
church are
even tempted
to have the
same mentality.
Let Christ
have a place
in your life,
but don't let
him take over
your whole
life.
That mentality
is the
complete opposite
of what God
desires for
his people,
for those
who are
joined to
Christ.
If we're
trying to be
content with
just bare
minimum fruit
in our
lives,
bare minimum
Christianity,
bare minimum
obedience to
Christ,
bare minimum
Bible reading,
bare minimum
prayer,
bare minimum
fellowship,
bare minimum
church involvement,
if we're trying
to be content
with bare
minimum
Christianity,
we are
completely at
odds with
what God
is looking
for and
working toward
in our
lives.
He doesn't
want bare
minimum fruit.
He wants
much fruit.
Think about
this.
Whenever you
feel that
temptation,
and we all
feel it,
to do bare
minimum
Christianity,
know this.
God wants
the exact
opposite for
you,
and he is
going to work
on you.
He is
going to
work in
you,
he's going
to work
around you
to make
you more
fruitful.
He's going
to bring
his pruning
cheers to
bear on
you.
Well,
that doesn't
sound good,
that sounds
kind of
scary,
but deep
down inside,
we know
it's good.
I mean,
what kind
of person
do you
want to
be?
Do you
want to
be like
the Lord
Jesus?
Loving,
compassionate,
doing what's
right,
joyful?
Do you
want your
life to
be full
of that?
Or do
you want
to be like
everyone else
in the world,
where it's
just all
about me,
selfish,
stubborn,
greedy,
often miserable,
doing whatever
I want and
whatever I feel
like?
hear this,
God's
pruning
comes,
not because
he's harsh,
not because
he's just
utilitarian,
not because
he's like
that commercial
grower that
only cares
about the
profitability
of the
plant,
no,
God's
pruning
comes because
he is
good,
because he
is loving,
because he
is kind,
because he
wants from
us what
is what's
actually best
for us,
what someday
we'll realize
is what we
really wanted
and needed
all along
in our
lives.
God's
pruning
makes the
difference
between us
getting to
the end
of our
lives
and being
filled with
regret
at a
wasted
life
as we
watch
everything
slip away
from us,
realizing
that it
doesn't
last,
that we
didn't do
anything
for the
life to
come.
God's
pruning
makes a
difference
between
that
and us
being able
to look
back
and see
that our
lives
made a
real
lasting
difference
for
eternity.
So let's
talk about
pruning.
When it
comes to
ordinary
plants,
there are
different kinds
of pruning.
Probably the
one that
most of
us have
done or
are most
familiar with
is like
the kind
we do
when we
prune the
hedge or
when we
prune the
bush.
We do
it so that
it has a
nice shape
and so that
it looks
good so
it's not
all gangly
and straggly.
That's not
the kind of
pruning that
Jesus is
talking about
here.
He says
that the
kind of
pruning
God does
is for a
very specific
purpose.
It's to
maximize
fruit production
on each
and every
branch.
Every branch
that does
bear fruit
he prunes
so that
it will
be even
more
fruitful.
So we
might wonder
how does
pruning
lead to
more fruit?
Well I'm
going to be
honest with
you.
I'm not a
plant scientist
or an
expert on
plants but
the gist
of it is
something like
this.
As a
plant grows
it will
often put
energy and
resources into
other smaller
branches and
leaves that
are not
necessary for
fruit.
It's a
plant.
Being a
plant it
doesn't have
a mind.
It just
kind of does
what plants
do.
It's not
thinking about
maximizing the
fruit.
It's just
following the
programming that's
inside of it
for the kind
of organism
that God
made it to
be.
It's like
a complex
living
automated
machine and
it just
kind of
unfolds and
does what
it does.
But then
when you
introduce an
intelligent
mind, a
gardener, into
the picture, a
gardener can
take this
automated
living
machine and
tweak it and
make changes to
it and tune
it so that
this machine is
more beneficial,
produces more
fruit.
That's the
kind of pruning
that God
does on
us.
If the
goal is
maximum
fruit, then
not every
little branch,
not every
little leaf is
needed on
the plant.
In
unscientific
terms, some
of the
plant's energy
and resources
are going
towards more
green growth
rather than
fruit.
But there's a
way to channel
more of the
plant's energy
and resources
into the
production of
fruit.
How?
By cutting
off those
smaller branches
and leaves
that are not
needed for
fruit production.
According to
Jesus, this is
the kind of
pruning that
God is doing
for his
people.
He wants
much fruit
and so he
is cleaning
off from
each branch
the unnecessary
shoots and
leaves.
at the
least, this
means that
God is at
work on
us and
in us,
making
changes to
our lives.
Now, I
would have
loved to have
been there
with the
disciples and
Jesus and
probably at
this point
just put up
my hand and
ask the
question,
so Jesus,
what exactly
does the
pruning of
God look
like in
our lives?
What kind
of changes
does he
make so
that we
bring more
fruit?
But since I
wasn't there,
we're left to
kind of take a
guess at how
God prunes
his people.
It doesn't say
right here in
the passage.
And I see
two different
ways that God
prunes his
people.
The first way
is the way
that most of
us, most
teachers, most
pastors probably
think of first.
And the second
way is in
verse 3.
So let's
start with the
first way that
God prunes
his people.
Most Christians
look at this
and agree that
God prunes his
people by his
sovereign work
in them, on
them, and
around them.
Now what do I
mean by that?
Let me give you
some examples.
Just like with
a branch of a
plant, God
sometimes removes
and strips off
unnecessary things.
from our
lives.
Maybe he sees
that our energy
and our resources
are going towards
this and that
and this way
and that way
instead of toward
producing fruit.
And so
sometimes he
takes away
things that
would become a
hindrance or a
distraction for
us.
Sometimes he
closes the door
on an opportunity
that we'd only be
taking for earthly
gain, for
ourselves, for
our own benefit.
there was a
young man who
loved to play
high school
football and
football became
the most important
thing in his
life.
Jesus was
secondary.
One day when he
was playing, he
was badly
injured.
It was bad
enough that he
would not be able
to play competitively
again.
Yet in the midst
of his crushed
ambitions, God
was at work in
his life, drawing
his heart closer,
closer to
relationship with
him.
And this young
man gave himself
more fully, more
deeply to Jesus
and to following
him.
He had a totally
different path than
he thought he would
go on.
He ended up serving
the Lord in all
kinds of wonderful
ways, directing a
Bible camp, serving
as a pastor.
just like when you
prune a branch on
a plant.
It forever changes
the direction of
the growth.
I know another
young man who
deeply longed to
be married, but
after his first
relationship didn't
work out, he was
crushed.
God used that
also in the same
similar sort of
way to draw his
heart closer, to
get his attention, to
make him into a
compassionate young
man.
Then he started
dating another gal
and that didn't
work out either.
Then he started
dating a third
young lady and by
that time he longed
so much to be
married that he
would have married
her if she would
have had him, but
then all of a
sudden she broke
up with him.
Finally, he tried
one last time with
a fourth young lady
and this time it
all worked out.
And to this day
this individual would
tell you that he
is so glad God
didn't let him
marry any of the
first three girls
because the wife
that he has now
he recognizes is
the perfect companion
for him and for
the kind of ministry
that they're doing
together.
Just like with a
plant, we sometimes
don't know what
changes need to be
made in our lives to
bring more good
fruit.
Truly, only God
the gardener knows
what's best for each
one of us.
Think about this.
If we were in
charge of writing our
own life story from
beginning to end,
we probably, most of
us, wouldn't include
any of those pruning
kinds of things.
Things that are
painful.
injuries,
sicknesses,
loss,
hardships,
failures,
broken relationships.
Maybe you're going
through some of those
things right now.
But could it be that
the very trouble in
your life that you're
facing is the pruning
work of God?
God working on you
and in you,
in his love,
to set you up to
bear more good
fruit in your life
for higher joys
than you ever thought
possible.
Does God do this
sort of thing?
There are other
passages of
scripture that tell
us yes.
The author of
Hebrews is likely
talking about the
same sort of thing
with a different
metaphor,
with that of the
father-child relationship
and discipline.
This is what he
says in Hebrews
chapter 12,
verse 5.
He says,
have you completely
forgotten this word
of encouragement
that addresses you
as a father
addresses his son?
It says,
my son,
do not make light
of the Lord's
discipline.
And do not lose
heart when he
rebukes you because
the Lord disciplines
the one he loves.
And he chastens
everyone he
accepts as his
son.
Endure hardship
as discipline.
God is treating
you as his
children.
For what children
are not disciplined
by their father?
And if we skip
down to verse 10,
they are earthly
fathers,
disciplined us for
a little while as
they thought best.
God disciplines us
for our good
in order that we
may share in
his holiness.
No discipline
seems pleasant
at the time,
but painful.
Later on,
however,
it produces a
harvest of
righteousness
and peace
for those who
have been trained
by it.
It's a similar
sort of idea.
God uses things
that are difficult
and painful
hardship
to bring
loving correction
for our good,
for our benefit,
so that there
will be a harvest,
so that there
will be fruit
that comes from
our lives,
that we may share
in his holiness.
James,
in his letter,
says a similar
sort of thing.
James 1,
verse 2,
he writes,
consider it pure
joy,
my brothers and
sisters,
whenever you face
trials of many
kinds,
because you know
that the testing
of your faith
produces
perseverance.
Let perseverance
finish its work
so that you may
be mature
and complete,
not lacking
anything.
Here,
God speaks of
how we should
welcome trials
in our lives
because God
produces good
character.
He produces
maturity
in us
through them.
Good fruit,
much good fruit.
So yes,
God will at times
bring the pruning
shears
to bear on our
lives.
Jesus says so.
Every branch
that does bear fruit,
he prunes,
so that it will
be even more
fruitful.
But isn't it a
comfort to know
that God is the
one who holds
the pruning shears
of hardship
in his hand?
Isn't it a
comfort to know
that God is the
one who allows
loss and
difficulty and
illness for a
purpose?
purpose,
not just
willy-nilly,
but for a
purpose,
to cut off
the right
leaves and
the unnecessary
shoots in our
lives,
for maximum
fruit,
maximum good
to come from
us and for
us.
And it
isn't easy to
go through
this,
to be pruned
by the
gardener.
Think about
the story of
Job.
what did
he say?
He said,
the Lord
gives and
the Lord
takes away.
Job was
pruned.
Look at all
that he lost.
He lost
everything.
God took it
away from him
and no,
Job didn't
know in the
midst of it
why,
what God's
purpose was.
Not until the
very end when
God finally
brought about
all the good
that he intended
through it.
And he was
able to look
back and say
that his
life was
far more
blessed
after
than it
was before.
So that's
the first
kind of
pruning.
The kind
that we
usually think
of when we
read Jesus'
words here.
Our minds
often go to
trials and
hardships,
difficulties
that God
uses in our
lives,
to the ways
that God
sovereignly
directs our
lives to
keep us on
track,
going in the
right direction.
But then we
come to
verse 3.
Jesus,
speaking to
his disciples,
says,
you are
already clean
because of
the word I
have spoken
to you.
Maybe you're
wondering like I
was this week,
what on earth
does that mean?
What does it
have to do
with all
this talk
of pruning
and branches?
You might
be wondering.
If you have
the latest
NIV in
front of you,
you'll notice
that there's
a footnote
that goes
with the
word prunes
in verse 2.
You can look
down to the
bottom of the
page and it
says this,
the Greek
for he
prunes
also means
he cleans.
So in
Greek,
the verb
that they
used to
describe pruning
was just
simply clean,
to clean.
They didn't
have a more
specific word
like we do
in English.
So what
Jesus says
here in
verse 3,
it is
connected to
what he
said in
verse 2.
God prunes
each branch
to bear
more fruit.
Literally,
he cleans
each branch
of its
unneeded
growth so
that it
bears even
more fruit.
But now
Jesus says
to his
disciples,
you are
already
clean
because of
the word
I have
spoken to
you.
Now I'm
going to
just be
honest with
you.
I'm not
100% sure
what Jesus
means by
this.
I looked
at some
good
commentaries,
I checked
out some
other sources
and other
teachers and
what they
say,
and it
seems that
they're somewhat
unclear about
it as
well.
Jesus has
been known
already in
this gospel
to kind of
make a play
on this
word clean.
We saw
that already
when Jesus
washed the
disciples'
feet and
Peter talked
about getting
a whole bath
and Jesus
says,
no,
you're already
clean,
but not
every one
of you,
referring to
Judas.
So there's a
couple different
ideas that
people have
about these
words.
Some think
that this
means that
the disciples
are already
saved,
that they're
already made
righteous through
faith in
Jesus.
Of course,
Judas is not
with them at
this moment.
He's gone
out of the
room to work
out his
betrayal.
Another idea
is that this
is a figure
of speech.
Not that
Jesus is
saying,
you are
already pure
or you are
already free
from sin,
but that
Jesus is
saying,
don't worry.
You guys,
as you are
right now,
are already
in the place
that God
wants you
to be.
He's
pleased with
you because
you've
accepted and
believed my
word.
A third
idea is
that we
should
translate
this word
clean in
verse 3
as pruned.
You are
already
pruned.
Not that
you'll never
need more
pruning,
but that for
now,
God has
been doing
that pruning
at the
right moments
in each of
your lives.
And for
right now,
you are
ready.
You are
set up
to bear
much good
fruit.
Again,
these are
guesses at
what Jesus
means when
he says,
you are
already
clean or
you are
already
pruned.
But one
thing we
can say
for sure
is why
and how
they got
that way.
Jesus
says,
you are
already
clean or
pruned
because of
the word
I have
spoken to
you.
At the
very least,
I think
Jesus means
to say that
God's
pruning
work doesn't
just come by
altering our
circumstances
sacrifices or
by taking
things away
in our
lives.
It seems
that Jesus
is pointing
to a
second way
that God
prunes his
people,
that he
prunes them
through the
words of
Jesus.
Perhaps we
might say it
this way,
not all
change in
our lives
has to
come the
hard way.
Could it
be that
Jesus has
often spoken
and commanded
and corrected
and rebuked?
And these
disciples,
they have
often believed
and embraced
and obeyed
and accepted
his words,
leading to
real change
in their
lives.
If this
is what
Jesus means,
then God's
pruning work
in our lives
can come also
through the
words of
Jesus and
us simply
believing them
and obeying
them,
doing what
he said,
putting our
energy and
our resources
into the
things that
he's told
us to
do.
And this
makes sense
when we
hear Jesus
say things
like he
did in
the Sermon
on the
Mount.
Do not
worry about
your life,
what you
will eat
or drink,
or about
your body,
what you
will wear,
but seek
first his
kingdom and
his righteousness
and all
these things
will be given
to you as
well.
If you
think about
these words,
this word
right here
is a
pruning
word.
It's God
speaking through
Jesus,
telling us
that we
should put
our energy
and our
resources
over here
towards fruit
production and
not over here
to the things
that are
unnecessary.
And so if we
simply accept
this and
believe it
and obey it,
God is at
work in us
doing the
pruning,
bringing about
the good fruit
that he desires
in our lives.
and if we
disregard these
words,
if we don't
listen to
these words,
well,
maybe God
then might
bring the
other sort
of pruning
into our
lives and
put us in
a situation
where we
can no
longer look
to these
things.
So let me
recap a little
bit and just
bring this to a
close.
God is not
content for a
meager harvest
from our
lives.
When we
believe in
Jesus and
are joined to
him, he
wants our
lives to
overflow with
goodness.
And we
can and we
will so long
as we remain
in close
relationship with
Jesus, the
source of that
goodness,
walking closely
with him.
And praise the
Lord.
Lord, we're
not left to
ourselves to
do this.
We often
falter.
We often
fail.
But the one
who never
falters and
never fails is
at work in
us and on
us and
around us,
carefully pruning
us through the
words that he
speaks and the
ways he directs
our path.
Let's pray.
Father in
heaven, thank
you that you
do not leave
us to
ourselves.
We know
that we
would fall,
we would
falter, we
would flunk
out of it.
Thank you
that you love
us enough to
do the
pruning, to
allow the
hard things to
come into our
lives.
thank you that
one day every
single one of
us who
believes in
your name and
belongs to
Jesus will get
to the end of
our lives and
look back and
not see that it
was all a waste.
we love you and
we pray and ask
that you would
produce much
fruit in each
one of us through
our church.
We pray that this
whole community
would see that we
are your disciples
Jesus.
We ask this for
your glory and
your name.
Amen.