Alright, cool. John chapter 15. So last week we only covered the first two verses, but that is totally fine. We had a really good conversation, so I am thankful for that. So as you're turning to John 15, I'll pull these slides up. Okay, so as we've been discussing, we are still in the upper room discourse, Jesus talking to how many of his disciples? How many are remaining? Eleven. And why only eleven? He said twelve. He didn't kill himself. Yep, yeah, Judas had gone to betray Jesus. So he's gathering that mob that we're going to read about in probably like three months. But he went to gather the mob, the Pharisees, the scribes, the elders of the people, and they are going to seize Jesus. So Judas is out doing that, rallying the troops, if you will, and Jesus is now addressing the 11. They've been in the upper room for a little while. We talked about all that happened in John 14 with Jesus promising the Holy Spirit, and now we're in chapter 15. He introduced this passage talking about the vine. What was his reason for using this illustration of a vine. Why a vine? Nicholas? Because of grapes. Okay, can you expand a little bit? The Israelites used to drink a lot of wine. Okay, the Israelites did used to drink a lot of wine. That was one of their primary drinks of choice, okay. But I think there's a little bit deeper reason why he chose a vine illustration in particular. How was the illustration of a vine used throughout the Old Testament? We talked about that a little bit last week. Did it refer to times of prosperity, times of famine, times of war, times of peace, good times, bad times? a vine usually signify? It signified the profitability, something like that. It was a symbol for being profitable. Good, yeah, a symbol of prosperity, of times being good. If we remember, we looked at a few Old Testament passages specifically concerning Israel as a vine. So God likened Israel to a vine. It was this chosen race of people in order to be set apart to make Yahweh known to the nations. And like a vine, he planted them in a certain area, the Promised Land, and wanted them to bear fruit, to have children, who would then have children, who would have more children, all being raised to worship the one true and living God, Yahweh. That was Israel's role. Did they fulfill their role well? No, I mean, we're not even talking about fulfilling it perfectly. They didn't even do it well. Remember, we talked about the cycle of, I mean, even before the cycle of the judges, we talked about the exodus. How long was it supposed to take the Israelites to go from Egypt to the promised land? A couple of weeks. Yeah, just a few weeks, not very long at all. And how long did it take them? 40 years. 40 years, so my life plus seven. That's a long time to just be wandering around the desert. Like, can you imagine, like, however old, How old are most of us, like 14, 15? Maybe 16? 16. Oh, high roller. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. 16. So for up to the last 16 years, so you would have been born into Israel's wandering, and we wouldn't even be halfway there yet with your entire lifetime. So think back on your entire life, all the experiences you've had, progressing all the way up from pre-K until high school, ninth, 10th grade now, and we're not even halfway done with the wilderness wandering. It's a long time. It's a very long time. So the Israelites forsook God. They turned their backs on God all throughout the wilderness wandering. Then we get them into the promised land. They turn their backs on Yahweh again, start intermingling with the cultures around them, worshiping their false gods. And then they decide that they want a king. And they turn their back on Yahweh because Yahweh is supposed to be their king, right, and then just Bad to worse, like they experienced good kings for a little while. Well, first it was a terrible king, then a couple of good kings, and then a bunch of bad kings, a couple of decent ones mixed in there, and the cycle continues of just sin, judgment, repentance, and the cycle continued. So Israel did not follow Yahweh. So John chapter 15, this vine that was supposed to produce good grapes had produced what kind of grapes? Bad grapes, or another way that scripture says, look at this word right here. See that? Wild grapes. Yeah. Israel went crazy. And so now Jesus says, I am the true vine. And my father is a vine dresser. He's expressing to his disciples that everything that Israel was supposed to be doing is now completed perfectly in Jesus. Make sense? OK. So we're gonna pick it up there. So John chapter 15, we're gonna go three through 11. And let's see. Blake, in a nice loud voice, could you read verses three through 11 for us, please? Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine. Neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he is that bears much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch that withers. And the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words are abiding in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. but this is my father is glorified that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the father has loved me, so I have loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love just as I kept my father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full. Awesome. Thank you, Blake. OK. So that brings us up to the current. We have talked about this. There's two. We ended our conversation last week with this discussion about pruning. What, again, just so that it's fresh in our minds, what's pruning in terms of gardening, dealing with plants, trees? To take care of a plant or to clean it up? Yeah, to clean it up, right? It's snipping away all the dead stuff. all the useless stuff in order for the good fruit to have a chance to grow and grow in abundance, to multiply. Okay, we talked about how God brings believers. So, Jesus opens up verses one and two with this illustration of a vine saying that he is the true vine and that the Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Jesus that does not bear fruit he takes away and those who are in him bearing fruit he prunes trims away all the dead stuff, all the junk, so that it can bear more fruit. And then, verse three kind of seems like it hits out of the blue. It's kind of weird, because we've been talking about vines and branches and gardening, pruning, all that, and then what does Jesus say in verse three? What does he tell the disciples? They're clean. Does that make sense? Clean of their sins? So, if you and I were talking about gardening, And then I said, okay, you're clean. That would not seem like a weird transition to you. That would seem like a weird transition to me. And it's okay to recognize these things in the Bible. A lot of times, Jesus will kind of just seamlessly transition to speaking about something else that the disciples really should be asking about, they should be understanding. He'll make connections for them that they should have been making the entire time. But right now, the disciples aren't making this connection, and it kind of seems out of the blue. I'm the true vine. My father is the vine dresser. He takes away all the branches that don't bear fruit. He prunes the branches that do bear fruit. Already, you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you." So, why in the world is he telling them they're clean? He's transitioning from talking about vines and branches to talking about cleanliness. What in the world is happening? What do we think? Has Jesus used this kind of language before? Similar language, but not exactly this. Okay, where was that similar language, Benjamin? When they were talking about the Holy Spirit and how it would abide in them, and how they were already like... How they were already like... supposed to receive them? All the words talking about how they're already clean, it's kind of tying in with the same thing. Okay, good. Very good. Bella? Jesus told them they were clean in chapter 13, verses 10 through 11, when Jesus was washing the disciples' feet. Very good. Yeah, everybody go ahead and turn there. Chapter 13, we're gonna start in verse 6, and then we'll go all the way through verse 11. Very good, Bella. Do you mind reading that for us, 6 through 11? He came and signed unto Peter, who said to him, Lord, do you wash my feet? And Jesus answered him, what am I doing? What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand. Peter said to him, you shall never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, if I do not wash you, you have no share with me. Simon Peter said to him, Lord, not my feet, only my hands and my head. Jesus said to him, the one who has bathed does not need to be washed except for his feet, but is completely clean. and you were clean, but not every one of you. And for he knew who was to betray him, that was why he said not all of you were clean. Good, very good, thank you. Okay, so he's kind of making a reference back to something that he had just told the disciples, right? That's how this whole scene opens up. When they're in the upper room, Jesus washes the disciples' feet, gets to Peter, Peter's like, no, Lord, you're doing the job of the lowly servant right now. ought to be reclining, kicking back, and having your feet washed, and you're gonna wash my feet? And then Jesus explains to them that this is necessary. Those who do not have cleansing done by Jesus have no part with him. And so, one second. Yeah, so Jesus, in that instance, knowing what his disciples needed, he washes all of their feet to signify that he was setting them apart, that something greater, a greater washing, a greater cleansing was going to be coming. So he was using something physical to speak about a physical reality. He was using physical, or a spiritual reality, rather, physical washing of the feet to represent the spiritual washing of their sins by his own blood that he was getting ready to shed. So when we get back to verse 3 of chapter 15, we're supposed to be reminded of this. So why would Jesus be reminding them then that they are already clean? What has he just said in the first couple of verses that might cause some concern for them? So Jesus in verse two, everybody look at verse two with me? He says, every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he does what with? Takes it away. So hearing this, imagine you're one of Jesus' disciples, you're at supper with him, and he has already, just a little bit ago, said, tonight, one of you is going to betray me. And you're gonna betray me to death. And everybody is concerned. They're wondering who it's gonna be. Okay, Judas left. They didn't understand that it was going to be Judas betraying him, because what did they assume that he was doing? Do you remember? What was Judas's, like, kind of secondary job amongst the disciples? Yeah, he was in charge of the money bag, right? So what did the disciples think that he was doing when Jesus told him, what you're about to do, do quickly? Yeah, they thought he was gonna go buy something, go do something related to kind of his financial role within the disciples. Okay, so Jesus has said that somebody's gonna betray me, they don't know who it is, and now he's saying every branch in me, so people who follow me but don't bear fruit, what's gonna happen to them? Yeah, they're gonna be taken away. So what do you think would be going through the disciples' minds at this point? Like, if you were one of the disciples and Jesus is saying this to you, like, okay, we'll just kind of set the scene here. Today, around noon, one of you is going to betray me. I don't know, well, I know who it is, you don't know who it is, but one of you is going to do something that is going to lead to my death. My children are going to have no father. My wife is going to have no husband. My dog is going to have no master because of what you were going to do. One of you is going to betray me. Call out the dude, wear it all black. No, Isabella. Oh, Isabella. She's left. Almost all black. She's black and blue, like bruises right there. Yeah, boom. Joking aside, one of you is going to betray me, and then we get to talking, we send Benjamin out to go, sorry Benjamin, to go grab donuts. And now I'm having another candid conversation with you. Okay, you guys have heard what I've been teaching you. You've heard the message that I've spoken to you. Everybody who believes in that message, you're gonna bear fruit, but anybody who doesn't, you have no shot at life. You have only eternal hell to look forward to. If you bear no fruit, you have no hope. But you're already clean. So, what would be going through your mind? Because we're talking. Like, what question would you be asking? Is it me? Is it me? Yeah! Am I the one that's gonna betray? Yeah, what else? Pointing fingers? Yeah, that actually did happen. Sorry, Bella. They did point fingers right at you. Several people. No, I'm joking. OK. What other questions would you be asking? Wouldn't they know? Like, that would be the end of it? I mean, it hasn't happened yet. Maybe, but I mean, and I see what you're saying, absolutely. But the Bible does say that the heart is deceitful and wicked above all else. Who can know it? And so if I told you that you have no shot at living eternally, that you have no shot at life if you don't bear fruit, would you be asking what kind of fruit you're bearing, or if you're bearing fruit? I would, like, Lord, please tell me, like, every type, every kind, every amount of fruit that I've ever borne, what is it so that I can know? But Jesus doesn't even let them ask that question. He instantly reassures them, you're already clean. So I would assume if, like, he just told everyone, hey, if you, like, bear fruit, you know, you're good. If you don't bear fruit, you're done. By the way, all of you guys in the room are clean. Yeah. I'd probably think, oh, So if we're all clean, the one guy who left probably isn't. Yeah, maybe so. So I would think that's probably what they're thinking. Yeah, yeah. Very, very possible, Elijah. Yeah, absolutely. Or, you know, this kind of wave of relief. Okay, he says I'm clean, so I'm good. So what I want you guys to see is that Jesus is looking beyond just the physical. He's looking beyond just what we do. Because it's possible to fake what we do, to do all these things, to be busy with activity, yet with our hearts far from God. I mean, that's what Judas has been doing. For three years, he's been walking with Jesus, and nobody instantly pointed the finger at him like, okay, it's gonna be that guy who betrays me. Did they? No, they didn't. So he's faked it all the way up to this point. He looked like a disciple. He looked like a follower of Jesus, but his heart did not belong to Jesus. And then Jesus, knowing the disciples' hearts, pronounces them clean. Like after doing the physical act of washing their feet, now he's telling them the spiritual reality, that they are clean because they have faith in him. So let's not miss that. So the question for us, are we bearing any fruit that's genuine fruit? Not just do we serve or do we attend church regularly, do we open up our Bibles and read them from time to time or pray from time to time, But when we measure our lives, do we consistently bear fruit that's in keeping with what God says good fruit is? Which we'll talk about that in just a minute. So keep that question in the back of your minds this week. Am I bearing fruit? If so, what kind of fruit am I bearing? And is it genuine? Is it me trying to obtain salvation by doing good things? Or is the fruit being born out of me because I'm saved? You guys see the difference there? One is works-based righteousness, and the other is the naturally spiritual outflow of what the Holy Spirit is producing in you. And I don't say natural in terms of, like, the flesh. I say natural in terms of, that's what the Spirit produces, is good fruit. If the Spirit dwells in you, He produces that fruit in you. Did you have a question, Blake? Yeah, does it? So, are you saying that Judas has a head belief instead of a heart belief? Like, he knows that Jesus is real, but he doesn't believe in the heart. Yeah, yeah. And we could kind of dissect that. And like, Scripture doesn't tell us directly, okay, Judas had this kind of belief. But we can see and kind of piece the puzzle together. He walked with Jesus. He saw every single miracle that Jesus did. He showed enough trustworthiness to take charge of the money bag. But then when we look at that, he used to help himself to what was in the money bag. He called out Mary for anointing Jesus' feet with an expensive oil because he wanted the money that he could get from selling it. So his God was not Jesus. His God was what? Money. So we can kind of put those pieces together. So there is a difference between acknowledgment, like saying with my mind, I believe that Jesus is real. I believe that he's the son of God. But all throughout chapter 14, how did Jesus tell his disciples that they would know him? That they would Demonstrate their love for him Obedience. Yeah, so throughout scripture Faith is tied to obedience. We have faith and we love God. Therefore we obey his commandments We have the spirit living in us. Therefore we produce good fruit. Does that make sense Blake? Okay, good deal. Great question. Very very good question. Okay verse 4 Jesus says abide in me and I in you As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine. You are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing. So what do we notice in those couple of verses? I've given you some help here. The word abide pops up multiple times. Yeah, the word abide pops up multiple times. What else? The entire set of verses is about connection of the source to the input and output. Yeah, input and output. OK, can you explain what you mean? So it is pretty much like a plug. You need the battery or the source of energy, and you have to plug that thing into it so the source gives you the energy. Yeah. Very good, yeah, and in that analogy, Jesus would be the outlet, we would be the plug being plugged into the outlet, right? Very good, okay, what else? What other repeated words or phrases or ideas? Abide. Abide, okay, that's a big one. And then, like you mentioned, Elijah, we see this input and output, so branch and fruit, okay? and then the branch abiding in the vine. I didn't even take the time to highlight vine, but vine comes up all throughout this passage. So, let's talk about abide. What does that word mean? Because that's not a word that we use a whole lot. Okay, stay with, stay by, hold fast. Submit, yeah. To reside within, did you say? Okay, very good. Yeah, you guys are right on the money. So, I don't think we need to Belabor this point. So the way this word is used in the Bible It has those ideas like to remain with or there at the bottom number three a state or a condition remaining as one Not becoming something else or different. So you guys are right there on the money It essentially means to remain a part of so Jesus says remain in me and I remain in you Just as the branch can't bear fruit by itself, you can't either unless, or excuse me, it can't bear fruit unless it's, but, wow, back up, slow down. The branch can't bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine. You can't bear fruit either unless you abide where? Okay, and then he says, I am the vine. I am the source of life, the source of vitality, the source of strength. You're the branches. I am giving you the nutrients, the water, everything that you need in order to produce good clusters of grapes. I'm that branch. I'm that vine, that foundation, that steady, strong part that will not change. And you're the branches. You bear the fruit. Whoever abides in me, whoever remains with me, and I in him, that person is the one that bears much fruit. You can't do anything apart from that. So with this analogy of vine, branch, and fruit, what is Jesus communicating? Because he's not just talking about like, hey, wouldn't it be cool if I was like this vine, and you guys were all these like branches just producing grapes, like wouldn't that be cool? He's talking about something deeper. What's he talking about? He's talking about how with the bearing fruit part, how they're going to be more spiritually active and more renowned in that aspect of bearing the fruit spiritually. OK. Good. Very good, Benjamin. I think he means making more disciples as the fruit, and then he's divine, then more believers grow. OK. Can you explain a little bit what you mean, Mason? Like? Okay, good. So part of the fruit of a believer then is to make disciples? Is that what you're saying? Okay. Okay, no worries. No, good, good, good. What else? What's Jesus communicating? We can look back at it. Without a vine, they can't grow. Yeah, without a vine, they can't grow. Yeah, if we go back to our illustration here, our picture, so this kind of knobbly little woody part down here, that's the vine. And I know we talked about it a little bit a couple weeks ago, but grape vines, they're not like these little wispy vines that we often think about when we think of vines. They're robust. They're strong. And then these are the branches. And each one of these little knobs right here, if you guys can see, like right here and here, I mean, these are unhealthy, but these are healthy ones. That's actually where the grape clusters are gonna form. And so when they're pruning, they're gonna come back stronger because they're being forced to. So Jesus is saying, this is me and this is you. In the same way, if you believe in me, if you remain in me, if you don't fall away, If you don't betray me, if you don't stop believing in me, you're going to produce good fruit. That is the mark of a believer, is to believe. We're not called believers because we believed once. We're called believers because we believe today, we believed yesterday, we will believe, by God's grace, tomorrow. You keep on believing. You remain in Christ. You remain attached to him. Like this branch right here, let's go with even this one that's been pruned. Can this just one day decide, ah, I'm kind of done with the branch, I'm out? No, no, it remains part of the branch, it's inseparable. There has to be an outside force, this is kind of where the metaphor breaks down, but there has to be an outside force like the pruner's shears here to remove that branch from being part of the vine. In the same way, if we remain in Christ, Paul says there is nothing that can pluck us out of his hand. Neither height, nor depth, nor nakedness, nor danger, nor sword, nor peril, nor anything else will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. So, to be a branch, remaining in the vine that is Christ, is security. You guys see what I'm saying? And, in a like manner, the vine tells the branches what to produce. Like, if that's a grapevine, what's going to grow on those branches? Grapes. Can it produce figs? No. Can it, like, sprout oranges? No. Is one of them going to be like, I have a pumpkin? No. No. Like, it's impossible. That is not going to happen. The vine gives the instructions, and it determines the fruit that's going to be produced. So in the same way, Jesus dictates the kind of fruit that we bear. So what kind of fruit do believers bear? is the next question. What fruit do believers produce? And how would we even know? Fruit of the Spirit. Fruit of the Spirit! Very good, very good. And where do we find that? Where? Okay. through our actions, that's where we can see it. Where should we go in the Bible to find out what the fruit of the Spirit is? Galatians 3, not quite 3. You're close, 5? 5, 20. Taylor Swift. 22, there you go. Alright, I'm glad somebody picked that up. Very good. Okay, Galatians 5.22. Go ahead and turn there real quick, and this is where we'll kind of end our time for today. Galatians 5.22. So I will go ahead and read kind of the opposite list here. So the context here, Paul is writing to the church in Galatia, and in this section, He's talking about freedom in Christ, and particularly freedom to live like Christ, to do the things that please Christ, rather than the slavery that we used to be under, living like the world. And how did the world live? Well, I'm glad you asked. Like this. Verse 18, Paul says, but if you are led by the Spirit, you're not under the law. Now the works of the flesh, the way the world lives, 19, is evident. Sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do these things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Verse 22, but the fruit of the Spirit is, say it with me, love, joy, Peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things, there is no law. So, what type of fruit should believers be producing? Yeah, all of that. We ought to be characterized by love. We ought to be characterized by joy, by peace, by patience, which all of these fruits don't necessarily appear in the same measure in every individual, I need to work on my patience. Some of you need to work on your kindness. Others need to be a little bit more joyful. But these are fruits, these are evidences of Christlikeness that should be visible in us to some degree. This is what we should be known by. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. So what does that look like then for us? So for you guys as ninth, 10th, and 11th grader, what does that actually look like in your life? And think about the contexts that you find yourself in on a weekly basis with your family. If you have siblings, your parents, extended family, school, work, church, what does it look like to have love in those situations? What does it look like to be peaceful? What does it look like to be patient? For instance, I just mentioned that I struggle with patience. Well, right now my five-year-old is a chatterbox. From the time his eyes open, his mouth does not stop doing this. And often, that means that he'll just be kind of stringing words together for the sake of talking. Like, when he learned the word and, I was doomed. But it's okay. But sometimes I'll lose my patience because he'll want to tell me a story and I'm trying to get him out the door to go to school or to go to church or wherever we're going. And it's like, okay, buddy, I don't have time for you to tell me a 20 minute story about how you saw a caterpillar on the sidewalk. Can we just go? I'm not being patient in that time. I'm not showing my son the love that our father has for us. I'm being a poor example to my own son when Christ was the perfect example for me. He didn't not have time for the disciples. He walked with them for three years. In all of their brokenness, all of their sinfulness, him being perfect, walked with them in all their junk. So the way that I ought to have patience and reflect Christ to my son is by having patience with my son. So for y'all, and you don't have to answer, but think, what does it actually look like to produce these fruits in my own life, in your own lives. So, takeaways for today. Jesus is our source of life if you're a believer. And the way to tap into that source of life is to remain in it, to keep believing, to keep the faith, to keep the trust. A branch doesn't have to grit and bear everything to try to produce fruit. It's like, okay, I gotta produce grapes today, I gotta do it, otherwise I'm gonna be cut off. No, it happens naturally. It can't help but to produce grapes because it is one with the vine. It can't be separated. So if you're in Christ, recognize that you can't be separated from him, keep believing in him, and examine the fruit that he's producing in you, okay? Recognize that you can't be separated from him if you believe in him. Keep on believing in him and examine your fruit. Father, thank you for this time, and I pray, Lord, that you would produce in us good fruit in increasing measure. Lord, where we're not producing, I pray that you would prune us so that we would produce more, that you would make very, very clear to us the areas where you are producing good fruit and that you would increase it. And I pray that you would make equally clear to us those areas that we really need work in. And I pray, Lord, that we wouldn't just try to bear fruit on our own, that we would recognize our responsibility in acting, but we would recognize that the fruit actually comes from you, that it comes from your Holy Spirit doing his perfect work in and then through us. And so I pray, Lord, that you would allow us to examine ourselves carefully this week, that we would remain in you, that we would take time to spend in your word, deepening our relationship with you, deepening our knowledge of you, and that you would keep us in you. In Jesus' name, amen. All right guys, see you next week.