I Am The True Vine

Jn 15:1-8

Someone emailed me a story last week about a lady who was sitting behind a man at an intersection. The light turned green, but the man wasn’t paying any attention and didn’t notice. The lady got so irritated that she blew the horn and started screaming obscenities out the window at him and even flipped him off. Finally the man realized what happened and gunned it through the intersection, but the light turned red before the lady could do the same. She was fuming away when suddenly a knock on the window caught her attention. There stood a police officer with his gun drawn demanding that she exit the car. He frisked her, handcuffed her and hauled her to the jail. About an hour later she was released and the officer met her at the door. He apologized for the inconvenience, but was behind HER at the light. He saw the fish sign, the stop abortion sign, the WWJD sign, and the Christian radio sign and then saw how she was acting and assumed that she must have stolen the car!

As we understand Jesus better, it isn’t simply good enough to know him, understand who he is, and then go about our daily lives as if he doesn’t matter. That would make us no better than the crowds who followed him in his day. Once we understand who Jesus is, our lives must begin to be transformed or we will be cut off and thrown into the fire as worthless wood.

PRAYER

I. The Vine

A. It is a quickly spreading plant.

1. Grape vines especially, grow quickly.

2. People often recommend planting grape vines on trellises because they will cover the whole trellis in just a couple of years!

3. Jesus is like that vine in that his message of salvation would spread throughout the whole world.

B. He is the true vine.

1. Jesus says in our text that he was the true vine.

2. The idea here was that most vineyard started from a single vine brought in from someplace.

3. He is that first vine. The true vine.

4. I saw a movie several years ago that illustrated this point wonderfully. The vineyard owner bragged how he had brought a single vine from his family’s vineyard in the old country to start a vineyard in the states. From it grew one of the best vineyards in California. One night a fire started and all the vines were burned down, even that original. But, because it’s roots were so deep, they were able to again start a new vineyard from that single vine.

5. Christ’s roots are so deep in God that no matter what happens, we can rebuild our lives around him.

II. The Branches

A. Branches resemble the vine.

1. You wouldn’t expect to see apple branches on a grape vine.

2. If we are going to be the branches we need to make sure we look like the vine.

3. From the day we moved here, I have been amazed at how much one of our sons looks and acts like his father. Matthew was about 4 years old when we first came and I remember how one Sunday he and Steve stood side by side in tee-shirt, jeans and cowboy books. They had the same face, the same haircut, the same walk. It’s like Matthew is a mirror of Steve. Even today, there is no denying the fact that Steve and Matthew are father and son.

4. We need to be the same way with Christ. We need to be a mirror image of the vine as we humanly can.

B. Branches grow and need to be pruned

1. In the old parsonage, we used to have a wild grape vine growing along the fence line. One thing I learned with that grape vine in the back yard is that it’s branches grow. I had to keep trimming them back every year and still they seemed to grow faster than I could trim them.

2. To get the fruit to grow well a vine tender must cut back the branches so more nutrients go where they are needed to produce the best fruit.

a) It make the fruit sweeter and bigger.

b) The pruning actually helps the branches bear fruit.

c) It won’t be long before we’re at the time of year that many people start getting their lawns ready for next summer by using weed and feed. For the lawn to look good, you have to kill the crabgrass and weeds. At first, it doesn’t look too nice, but soon is a rich full lawn.

d) We need to weed out the sins in our lives to have a fuller, richer spiritual life.

e) It’s an ugly process, but it produces a beautiful life.

C. Branches bear fruit.

1. It is the purpose of each branch to produce fruit.

2. It does no good to be attached to the vine and never produce any fruit.

3. Eventually the head vinesman will come and prune it off.

a) The wood they cut off of grape vines was for the most part, useless for anything else. That’s why it was thrown into the fire.

b) We have some of us in this very audience that are in danger of being cut off because you are not producing fruit for the lord.

c) If you aren’t producing fruit, you are useless to God.

d) Don’t let that happen. Make sure you are producing fruit.

e) In Atlanta, the main thoroughfare running through the heart of the city is named "Peachtree." Other lesser streets are called "Peachtree Circle, " "Peachtree Road," and "Peachtree Place." In keeping with that name, one of the leading department stores places a row of live peach trees in front of the building every spring. They are neatly boxed and trimmed, and their bright green leaves are a welcome sight as one drives down the avenue. But all of this loveliness is little more that outward adornment. No-one has ever picked a single peach from any of the branches. Why? There aren't any! There's a lot of foliage, but no fruit.

f) Christians ought to bring forth fruit in keeping with their profession.

D. Good examples

1. When N. Korea fell to the Communists, the soldiers severely persecuted the Christian churches. In one small village they gathered the Christians in their small church, tore down a picture of Jesus they had on the wall and told anyone who would come and spit on the picture would live, anyone who wouldn’t would be shot. The first four people went and spat on the picture. The next was a young teen girl, walked to the picture and wiped the spit off and said, “Jesus, I love you so much.” The soldiers dragged her out and a minute later they heard the gunshot that ended her physical life.

2. That is bearing fruit.

3. Most of us aren’t called to be a martyr for Christ.

4. We simply need to lives our lives in a way that no one doubts we are Christians.

E. Above all we must be attached to the vine to do anything.

1. READ vs 5-6

2. Cordless screwdriver - great when charged, useless when battery is dead.

3. We need to be attached to a power source -- Christ.

4. I love the story about Dr. Kelly. He always wore a rose in his lapel. Whenever someone commented on it, he would reply, it’s a Christian rose. Obviously that stumped most people. He would then flip his lapel over and show the rose was in a miniature vase to keep it fresh and alive. “Christians need to be just like this rose. We need to be connected to a life giving source. Jesus.”

5. Jesus is the True Vine, we are the branches

6. He’ll provide everything we need to produce fruit.

7. God will help us produce the best fruit we can.

8. The question is; will you produce fruit or be a useless branch.