FBCWest 431 | The Vine and the Vinedresser
Recorded On: 12/27/2020
Bulletin
FBCWest
December 27, 2020
“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him
must worship Him in Spirit and truth.”
“It is Well with my Soul”
Praise and Worship
SCRIPTURE READING – Psalm 47
“Yours is the Kingdom”
“Same Power (Camp)”
“Our God”
“God of This City
Giving of Selves and Our Offerings
OFFERTORY PRAYER
SPECIAL MUSIC – By Pru Hungate
Proclamation of the Word
Message by Pastor Joe
“The Life and Ministry of Jesus The Messiah”
“The Vine and the Vinedresser”
PRAYER TIME / Time of Reflection
“Build My Life”
Acknowledgements and Announcements
Benediction “Won’t Stop Now”
Sermon Notes
John 15:1
Jesus is the vine and the Father is the vinedresser
John 15:2
Branches taken away and branches pruned
John 15:3
You are clean because of Jesus’ word
John 15:4
Abide in Jesus and Jesus abides in you
John 15:5
Produce a lot of fruit
John 15:6
Dried branches are burned up
John 15:7
Conditions for asking
John 15:8
Producing a lot of fruit glorifies God
John 15:9
Stay in Jesus’ love
John 15:10
Keeping Jesus’ commandments
John 15:11
Told us so His joy will be in us and that joy be full
Scritpures
Transcript of Service
As I have shared in the past.
Some sermons are easy to preach.
Jesus loves you.
Some of them can be misleading, he's just loves. You would have the wonderful.
Plan for your life.
When you read on that the world will hate you and you lose your friend.
But we never talked about that.
And then there are hard messages because.
Up
people get comfortable with the life they're living and you try to.
Move them out of it and.
Sometimes you just irritate people.
An in sometimes.
It's difficult because.
Tradition and church tradition.
Gets in the way with what?
Is going to be happening and so as an example.
In all the nativity stories scenes and in all of the movies, then things that you'll see about that Holy Christmas night you will see.
Three Wiseman
we're never told how many were told that there are men, so we know that there's more than one.
We know that there were three types of gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh, but
search people could have brought gold. Three people that have brought frankincense, and two guys brought myrrh. We don't know. But but tradition says 3.
And they're put in the.
The stable and yet the scripture says that they went into the house.
So our.
Because we just like our tradition, we just.
Ignore it.
And so there is a tradition here that.
We have
and so I'm going to ask you.
To listen to the entire message.
Which is quoting Jesus.
So if you have a problem with the message, you're going to have a problem with Jesus, 'cause I'm just going to quote him.
But in our tradition we talk about.
Growing in the Lord.
And what seems to be the goal is to grow in the Lord, and we have this kind of if you will. Mental mental picture that someday will be like an Oak tree, mighty and big and tall, with green leaves reaching to the Sky and that were strong and grown in the Lord.
And you can get go to Christian bookstores and you can find all kinds of ways to grow in the Lord.
Now, I'm not saying you shouldn't grow in the Lord, but that is not the goal.
Jesus is going to tell us what the goal is, and he's not going to use.
Nope.
And so if you will turn in your Bibles to John, Chapter 15.
Will start with verse one.
The context.
Of this passage is that it's still the night.
Of the last Passover that Jesus spent with his disciples, when he instituted what we commonly called the Lord Supper or Communion, there is some debate as to whether he still in that upper room teaching, or whether he's left and their walking out of Jerusalem down the Kidron Valley, up into the Mount of Olives and his teaching in that way. But the situation is, is that it's getting closer and closer.
To the time that he will be taken from his disciples. And So what he is saying is important.
Which is discouraging.
Because since it's important, you think that the tradition of the church would be what Jesus taught.
And now we keep.
And so it says in in Chapter 15 of John Verse one I that Jesus speaking I am the true Vine and my father is the vinedresser
now.
The.
Symbolism and metaphor of Israel being a vineyard is throughout the scriptures as Isaiah another Jesus uses it in a parable when he talks about the.
Owner of the vineyard sending prophets and people an ultimately his son, and so the idea of the vineyard being Israel. But Jesus says it's not just Israel. I am the true Vine. I'm the one that is essential.
Who says I am the true Vine and my father is the vinedresser my father is the one who is going to expertly care for the vineyard and Vine.
He says every branch in me that does not bear fruit. He takes away and every branch that bear fruit. He prunes it, so that may bear more fruit.
So we have this picture of God the Father who's the vinedresser and he's going through the vineyard. He takes a look at the branches that are in the Vine. Vine is that which is in the ground and grows up and he takes look an if there are.
Branches.
That does not bear fruit.
He cuts them off.
Now, First off, let me tell you.
That would be painful.
And it's painful in our lives when God starts.
Illuminating things that cause us not to bear fruit.
Now that may be.
That we have worldly things that were putting in priority in our spiritual thing. It may be that we're so intent on growing in Jesus that we don't bear fruit.
So he does those things to cut off an branches.
So in our lives, when God does that, I'm not saying that's fun.
And that's probably why we avoid the tradition and use the tradition instead of this because it's not pleasant for God to eliminate things that are unhelpful and unfruitful in our lives.
But he says.
But those that bear fruit, he prunes it.
Which means he cuts them.
Again, it's painful.
It's a lot of times when God is pruning our lives and it's been, we think, well, why are you mad at me? God, why is it hurting? Why is these things happening and God is this essence saying?
I want you to be more fruitful.
And the way for you to be more fruitful is for me to prune the branch.
Because.
Lance
typically.
Ben
find.
Or like people.
They would rather grow.
Then bear fruit.
A lot easier to grow.
And to produce leave that then get more sunlight so that we can grow some more and grow some more than to be pruned back.
So that we might bear fruit.
But what I'm saying is whether you are not doing what God wants you to do, and he eliminates some branches or you are doing what God wants to do and you're bearing fruit. But he's been poons you to produce more fruit. Sometimes that hurt can get in our way of saying God as the.
Vineyard has that vinedresser.
Knows what he's doing in my life, so that I might bear more fruit.
One of the things.
The Vinedresser does, along with pruning, is that he will take the lower branches as they are growing and he will wash the leaves.
So that they might receive the ample supply of sunshine to produce, and then he will take those young tender branches and put him on the trellis so that they stay out of the dirt so that they might.
Produce fruit and notice. It says you are already seen because of the word which I have spoken to you.
You saying God doesn't need to do that?
Just as Jesus, when he told them as he washed their feet, they are already clean. The word of God.
Cleans his senses at football and right.
The fact that we're in the vineyard in doing the Word of God tells us that we've been cleaned.
Abide in me.
And I knew.
Now that word abide, we don't use a lot.
And the word that we do use when we use the by the meaning is more of why can't abide by that or will abide by that? It is kind of the I'm willing to accept.
And not object.
To these things.
But that's not what Jesus is not saying. I want you to accept or not object, but Jesus is saying is that we are to continue on in the place or to stay, or did well or to endure. So we are to stay.
In Jesus.
We are to abide in him an I in you, so not only do we.
Abide in Jesus, Jesus abide.
AIDS in us there if you will.
Where Jesus ends and we begin isn't noticeable.
Because there is no distinction.
Wearing him, he's enough.
We're the same.
As the branch.
Cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the Vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me.
The Jesus tells us the only way you can produce fruit.
Is if you will bite if you remain if you stay. If you dwell in his presence and he in turn well by stays with us.
You know what this used to be?
Used to be a branch.
You know water now is.
A stick, right?
In a in a child's imagination is the sort of gun. It's all kinds of different things, but it's a stick.
It's no longer a branch because it's no longer attached to the tree that it was in it, and so therefore there is absolutely no hope of this branch.
Producing any.
Because it's no longer attack.
To the tree.
And Jesus, saying there is no way for you to produce fruit unless you're in me and I mean you were abiding together.
He doesn't want us to be fit.
No matter how big the stick might be.
I am the Vine and you are the branches.
Notice he didn't say and you are the Oak tree.
I am the Vine, you're the branch, we're connected.
And apart from me you can do well.
I am in him. He bears much fruit for when we abide in Jesus, we bear fruit. When we're not, there is no hope for us to do so. And then he says.
Or apart from me you can do nothing.
He says this stick and not produced fruit.
He's saying when we're not abiding in him, we cannot produce.
Route.
And again, the goal is not for us to produce more branches. The goal isn't for us to be bigger branches.
The goal is not for us to have more lead.
The goal for us is produced fruit.
Her thick.
If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away as their brand and rise up, and they gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
When it comes to.
Branches.
A Vine no one makes anything out of it.
The only thing that they're good for is to produce fuel.
And Jesus.
If if you're not producing fruit, which is your purpose?
Now we just eliminate.
So the release will have some purpose. Now is an interesting.
There are all kinds of books and all kinds of questions that people have about. What is my purpose?
And everyone ever says, well, your purpose is to abide in Jesus, to produce proof.
Is that, as it sounds, thrilling much more.
Awesome to be a big Oak tree.
This is the beer brand.
That produces fruit now, unfortunately.
The only people who have kind of an idea about.
Grapes and vineyard.
People who like to drink a lot of wine and then go to wine countries and look at.
The vineyard.
An you there are times when you go and look they just look like gnarly pieces of wood.
You going? Why would anybody planting?
But when there properly.
Chrome.
And their property taken care of.
Rape is coming.
It's not just a great pier or great there. There are multitude of grapes that are clustered from a single point of contact on the bridge.
That's what I want for you. I want you not to produce a grape grape.
We should have produced a cluster of grapes, and so yeah, there are times I'm going to prune you and it's going to hurt, but it's before the purpose of you.
Developing more fruit.
For seven, if you abide in me, and my word abides in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
Notice again the conditions everybody wants to block and ask God anything that I want and he'll do it for me.
But here's the condition that you abide in him, and he abides in you.
Most of the time when we want God to do something, we have no inclination of what biting and him. We just want what we want.
My father.
Is glorified by this.
That you bear much fruit.
And so it proved to be my disciple.
Again, tradition keeps telling us we're supposed to grow in the Lord and grow in the Lord and grow in the Lord.
In Jesus has told us our second thing that lets people know that we're his disciple.
We're to love each other as he is loved us.
And that will prove that were his disciple an if we bear much fruit, that tells people we are his disciples and hit glorifies done.
Which is what we're supposed to be doing any.
Very much fruit.
You proved to be his.
Now thus far I don't think Jesus is stumble.
He said pretty plainly.
Bear fruit.
Father is going to see to it that you bear much fruit.
And bearing much fruit.
Glorifies God.
And demonstrate that you're his design.
Why is this such a strange message?
Why isn't it not? Yeah, I've heard that about 87 times in the last month.
This bearing fruit can be hard.
Because it denies.
Comfort because we have to be pruned that eliminate the dead and unprofitable would.
No, we're not that Oak tree standing magnificently.
In the.
Ash.
Just as the father has loved me, I have also loved you.
Abide in my love.
He's the same stay in mind.
When it's hurting. When you're being pruned, when you have the the Deadwood and the unprofitable would eliminate it from, you know that it's being done because God and Jesus loves.
Not to punish you.
Not to make you feel that your left somehow, but that because of his love he seemed to it that you become very productive in fruit.
If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love.
Yes I have. I kept my father's commandments and abide in his love.
Well, Jesus has told us a couple of commandments.
Where to have faith in God?
Have faith in him. We are to love one another as he is loved. This is a new commandment. He is given to.
And he is giving us this commandment to produce.
If.
You do that.
Well by his love.
Now.
Question becomes
well, I finished.
This chapter, this part of the chapter name will go on.
These things I have spoken to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be made.
Sometimes we need to stop looking at circumstance and look at what God is doing in real.
After Jesus is.
Resurrection.
The disciples go from being fearful of being persecuted.
Do jumping for joy have been considered worthy to suffer for?
They had a whole change of attitude.
And when we are confident and secure in the love of God.
Then we know that nothing happens to us. That's outside of his will. And what happens to us? Maybe the pruning necessary to produce more.
So rather than being distressful or sorrowful or angry that God has done or not done what we think he should do, we need to be made full of joy as God is at work in her life.
Or we are?
His work.
He's working on.
We keep thinking well, I need to grow and cry.
God is doing that through us already.
Bowl is to produce fruit.
So the question is what is fruit?
When I was a younger man.
You tend to hear more evangelist.
Evangelist tend to emphasize evangelism.
If you have somebody who.
Thanks a lot about spiritual gifts done phycis spiritual gift.
If you have someone who who's more pharisaical and emphasize on the right things in the wrong things to do, and the don'ts that they emphasized the do's and the don't and whatever.
And so there will be times when I'd feel very.
This press.
Because I.
I'm not producing a lot of fruit because.
Yeah, there's people I witnessed too, and sometimes they come the Lord. Most times they don't.
I feel like a failure. Obviously I'm not producing a lot of fruit.
Evangelism.
Making baby.
Not making fruit.
God is birthing newborn. You've been born again.
And then where to raise?
But here's the fruit.
In Galatians Chapter 5, verse 22.
But the fruit of the spirit.
Is love.
Then stop.
Joy.
Peace.
Patient
find.
Goodness.
Faithfulness.
Gentleness
self control.
Against such things there is no law.
There is an awesome cluster right there of fruit.
Some of us
produce a little more love.
Another
but the fruit of the spirit isn't just love.
The fruit of the spirit is love enjoy.
If people would become Christian.
Based on our facial expressions.
It end up in hell.
Because we never look like we're having any joy in her life with worshipping God and being a part of his family. So while we're in here, will sing and I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God and and whatever, and we call each other brother and sisters.
But her face never says that.
Life like woe is me.
Times or.
I just don't know if I could take another step, but you Lord willing and the Creek don't rise to my lap.
That ain't joy.
Joyous.
You know?
I don't care what they think.
Not my business.
All I care about is what God thinks to me and Hallelujah I'm here is an bring it on.
Peace.
Is this the world that need that?
What if you buy producing piece?
Native more easy for somebody else to produce.
And to understand that it's not just a lack of opposition.
And the one nobody ever wants to pay for. Pray for patient.
See, there's miracles happening here if you're patient.
Not I want to produce fruit and I want to do it right now.
Yeah, OK, well we'll forget the patients part, just be Lovejoy and peace.
Faithfulness.
Oh Lord, we need that 'cause.
We're kind of like the.
The husband divorcing his wife, saying I've been faithful to that woman servant.
That's kind of how we are to God. God is always faithful to this and we were faithful to him several.
But that's the fruit of the spirit.
Gentleness
unique?
Not demanding.
Not being the bull in the China shop.
Jenn.
I love that word.
When, when our son?
Little.
He was.
We were at one of my aunts and uncles and they had a.
The poultry business and that thousands of chicks that would come in so.
No, they would fit in a in a 18 month old hand.
He started ripping know Ann.
The greatest word is gentle, 'cause you can't say that harsh.
Gentle.
That's how we are to be.
Self control.
Doesn't mean there's somebody else controls.
We control ourselves.
Against such things there is no law. No one can command you to love.
And no one command you not to look.
No one can determine for you to have joy.
If they were, we could pass a law.
Tell Shell have joy.
Everybody would do it fully, obey it like they dutifully obey the speed limit.
Or to be patient with one another, or to be kind to one another.
In our world.
Everybody is all jazzed about random acts of kindness.
Why can't we be systematic?
These are the fruit that Jesus talking about to be produced, and the only way to produce them is to abide in him and his love for him. Who will buy dinner.
When?
The children of Israel left Egypt.
And before they started wandering in the wilderness.
An opportunity to.
Investigate the land, the promised land.
Now you all know there was a majority and minority report. The majority report with 10 people said we can't take it to big data whatever. Let's not go minorities. That yeah God gave it to us that.
Let's take a look.
But when they came out.
For the investigation.
Two men
hearing a poll between them.
At Bard
enormous rape.
Showing them how.
Bountiful
the promised land was.
When God says, let us.
As a fruit of spirit, he's not talking about little things.
Big beautiful rate.
Big, so much so that it takes two people to carry it.
So.
The ball we ought to have is not.
I'm going to be this big powering up.
But God is going to give such.
Bountiful harvest of the fruit of the spirit.
He's gonna take you to help me care.
I wouldn't be off.
And if we had that kind of fruit.
If we had the fruit of love and joy and peace and patience and kindness and goodness, and faithfulness and gentleness, and self control.
I suspect our evangelism would be just a little bit easier.
Because they would see it reflected in all.
And that they would know that word disciples. And then we take him serious. We take his commandments serious because we are producing fruit.
And hitting.
Deeper.
In his knowledge.
Is not the ultimate goal.
The glorify God and what he is doing in us and through us by Jesus.
It.
So the song we're going to sing as a time of reflection is build my life.
We are too.
Build our lives.
On his life.
Now on his teaching.
And this is his teaching.
And it must be serious.
Because he has very few hours left to tell them anymore.
And if it's serious enough for him to tell them it was serious enough for them to write it down, so we might know it, then we should take it serious.
And we should stop.
In influenced by tradition.
Big influence.
By the Word of God.
All God's people say.