Well, greetings to each one of you, and worth the name of the Lord Jesus. I wanted to give a plug on the Wednesday night Bible study. Forgot to do it in the announcements. Wednesday night, we want to begin our study in 1 Peter chapter 3. So, if you would like to read up on that and prepare for that. 1 Peter chapter 3 verses 1, probably through about verse 6 will kind of be the text for our Wednesday night study. Well, if you would, for today, as we continue in the Gospel according to John, if you would, we're ready for chapter 15. John chapter 15. And today's text will be verses 1 through 8. John 15. This is a very well-known passage and a very Very beautiful passage. And I want to title the sermon, Fruit-Bearing in Christ. Fruit-Bearing in Christ. Let's read the text. John 15, beginning in verse 1 through verse 8. I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that bears fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered. And they gather them, and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, so you will be My disciples." Beautiful passage, isn't it? Wonderful passage. I would like to set this up a little bit by reading in Psalm 80, if you would turn back in the Old Testament. I want to look at Psalm 80, probably without comment, but I want to read this and then I want to read a passage in Isaiah. But Psalm 80, beginning in verse 8, If we think about this metaphor that Christ used here in John 15, the children of Israel or the Jewish people were familiar with this metaphor of a vine. So Psalm 80 in verse 8, you have brought a vine out of Egypt, you have cast out the nations and planted it. You prepared room for it and caused it to take deep root and it filled the land. The hills were covered with its shadow and the mighty cedars with its boughs. She sent out her boughs to the sea and her branches to the river. Why have you broken down her hedges so that all who pass by the way pluck her fruit? The boar out of the woods uproots it, and the wild beast of the field devours it. Return, we beseech you, O God of hosts. Look down from heaven and sea and visit this vine, and the vineyard which your right hand has planted, and the branch that you made strong for yourself. It is burned with fire, it is cut down. They perish at the rebuke of your countenance. Let your hand be upon the man of your right hand, upon the son of man whom you've made strong for yourself. Then we will not turn back from you. Revive us and we will call upon your name. Restore us, O Lord God of hosts. Cause your face to shine and we shall be saved. Isaiah five. Isaiah 5, verse 1. Now let me sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved regarding his vineyard. My well-beloved has a vineyard on a very fruitful hill. He dug it up and cleared out its stones and planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst and also made a winepress in it. So he expected it to bring forth good grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, please, between me and my vineyard. What more could have been done to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes? And now please let me tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burnt, and break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will lay it waste. It shall not be pruned or dug. but there shall come up briars and thorns. I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain on it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are His pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but behold, oppression, for righteousness, but behold, a cry for help." And then lastly here, Jeremiah 2. Jeremiah 2, verse 21, "...Yet I had planted you a noble vine, a seed of highest quality. How then have you turned before Me into the degenerate plant of an alien vine?" It's as if the Lord is saying, Why? Why have you turned against me? That is what he says here in Jeremiah. An alien mind. Why have you become an alien to me? Why are you other than what I have planted? Why are you other than what I have desired? And if you go back up to verse 13 of Jeremiah 2, he says, for my people have committed two evils. They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and have hewn themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water." You see, He calls them, My people. But in verse 21 He says, Why are you a degenerate plant of an alien vine? You're bringing forth fruit of another kind. You're bringing forth fruit of a different planting. And he laments how that they've committed two evils, turning away from the fountain and making themselves their own fountain, a cistern, which is just a collect a basin to collect runoff. It's not a fountain at all. It's a basin of sometimes dirty water that just gathers. and that was a sin of His people, of His vine that He had planted, of His vineyard that He was dealing with. Now here in John 15, the first thing we see in our text in John 15 is another I am statement. This is the seventh I am statement and the last one in the gospel according to John. He says, I am the true vine. I am the vine. It is here that, well let me continue, Jesus says, I'm not an imposter. And what he does is he solidifies this claim that he is the vine, that he's the vineyard. He solidifies that claim by the statement of the latter part of verse one. And my father is the vine dresser. That it is on this vine that my father has all his attention focused on. that it is, I am the vine, and this is where it's happening. This is the garden that my father is intent upon. This is the planting of the Lord, in other words. This, I am the true vine, and all of my father's focus and attention is on this vine. Think about the implications of that. That if he is the true vine, Then this is a very exclusive statement. He's the only authentic vine. He's the only authentic planting of the Lord. And my father has put all his emphasis here. And as we think about that, there's a illustration of this I want to bring in. out of Psalm 128, you don't have to turn there. I want to read this as an illustration of what the Lord said, I am the true vine and my father is the vine dresser. Here he says about a man, blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways. When you eat the labor of your hands, you shall be happy and it shall be well with you. Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine. in the very heart of your house. This is the picture of a fruitful vine with the exclusive focus of a dedicated husband. This is a vine in contrast to the hundreds that he has out in the orchard. Now here is a vine that is in the very center of your house. Here is a vine that you give attention to. This vine will be a fruitful vine. Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine. The man who walks in the ways of the Lord and who fears the Lord, blessed is he and he will your wife will be like this, a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house. In this center, in this place of intimacy, that is where the attention is. And this I would give as an illustration of this point in John 15.1, I am the true vine and my Father is dedicated to this vine. All other vines are excluded from the attention and the intimacy and the fellowship of my Heavenly Father. I am the true vine, you see. It is here that it's happening. This is a statement of exclusivity. All other vines are reprobate. All other vines don't count. There is only one vine that has the heavenly Father's attention, and that vine is the Lord Jesus Christ. He says in Matthew 15, 13, but He answered and said, every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. It will be uprooted. And so we have again this statement of I am. I am the true vine." Well, I think that focus then of the Heavenly Father on this vine should narrow our focus as well. That we should have then, if He is the true vine, then we should be all about this vine. And He says in verse 2, and here in this verse, in verse 2, two kinds of branches are identified and described. This is the makeup here of this, or two different branches are illustrated. And this metaphor is, I think we understand this concept of fruitful branches and unfruitful branches. Branches that don't bear fruit and branches that do bear fruit every branch in me that does not bear fruit He takes away and every branch that bears fruit. He prunes it that it may bear more fruit Think about That it is this verse also describes What the vine dressers work is doesn't it? The vine dresser is all about the branches, about the vine, but he's dealing with the branches. The branch that is not fruit bearing is taken away, and the branch that bears fruit, it is pruned. Non-fruit-bearing branches are taken away, every one of them. Every single one of them. Do you see that? In verse 2, that the kind of branch they're dealt with by the nature of that branch, everyone alike. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit is taken away. Every branch that bears fruit is pruned. There are no exceptions. You see, every branch in both cases. That if you are bearing fruit for Christ, then you will be pruned. Every branch. Every branch that is not bearing fruit will be taken away. In both cases, every time. fruit-bearing branches he prunes or purges. And this is the work, brothers and sisters, of the all-seeing, all-knowing Heavenly Father as He dresses the vine." You see, it's not about one branch licking at the other one, is it? No, the Heavenly Father is vine dressing. He is the one who's dressing the vine and the branches that are attached to the vine are dealt with. He is dealing with it. Verse 2 also reveals that fruit bearing is the reason for the existence of the branches. It's a very simple metaphor that The branches exist to produce fruit. That's the point of the branches. They are fruit bearing. I want to look at this a little bit more here. The Father's love As I kind of run past this point, I wanted to point out that in verse 1, I am the true vine and my Father is the vine dresser. That in verse 9, as the Father loved me, I also have loved you. Abide in my love. The Father's love is on this vine. as the Father loved me." The Father's attention, as I said earlier, is on this vine. His love is on this vine. His care and provision are on this vine. Notice verse 7. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you. His glory is revealed in this vine." Notice verse 8, "...by this my Father is glorified, that ye bear much fruit." You see, all the attention is on this vine. These things are tied up in this vine. And so fruit bearing is the very reason for the existence of the branches. And as they are, as their status is in relation to fruit bearing or not, that's how they are dealt with by the vine dresser. Barren branches are not pruned. Neither are fruitful branches taken away. barren branches are not pruned, they are taken away. And then the fruitful branches are pruned and are not taken away. Now I want to notice something in verse 3, and we'll have to come back to verse 2, because there's a bit of a controversy on how this is interpreted. But in verse 3, I want to point out What He says there, you are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. In John 13, in verse 10 and 11, at the foot washing of the disciples, you remember Jesus said to him, to Peter, he who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean, and you are clean, but not all of you. For he knew who would betray him, therefore he said, You are not all clean." Well now, in John 15, Judas is not in their presence. He says, You are already clean. Now you are clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. This is, this word, clean, in verse 3 is in the same family, and I think this is important for us to understand, it's in the same family of words as prunes in verse 2 in relation to the fruit-bearing branch. That in verse 2, it's either the old King James says, he purges it, which is the idea of cleansing it. That it is in verse 2, He takes off of the fruit bearing branch whatever is hindering the fruit bearing branch. Whether it's a disease or a mold or some sort of mildew that is attached to the vine. And he cleans that vine and he takes away the dead things that are hindering this vine. And so he says, you are already purged or you already pruned because of the word which I have spoken to you. And here's an important point is that it is by the word of the Lord that we have this pruning and purging and cleansing going on. That it is a practical, it is not just some theory out here, but it is through the washing of the Word of God that we are being purged and pruned. And we notice that down in verse seven, if you abide in me and my words abide in you. You see, there's a practical way that the Lord Jesus is abiding in us is as if His Word is abiding in us. You know, it's not just a theory, it's a concept of practice. That if we give ourselves to the Word of God, then that means that the Lord is abiding in us. His will becomes clear to us, you see. And actually verse 7, if you abide in me and my words abide in you, then that will, the very nature of that and what that does to our lives and hearts, the pruning that it does and the washing off of that, makes so that we request the things that are the will of God. Do you see that? that it is when we are exercising the Word of God that our minds and will is conformed to the will of God, then we will ask what we desire. And the Word of God says you can ask then whatever you desire and it will be done for you. Because you're going to ask according to the will of God. And that is the nature of this pruning of verse 2. That every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it that it may bear more fruit. Now I want to, you might ask, How do we understand verse 2? Where it says, every branch in me that does not bear fruit. You might ask me, please don't skip over that. Because that's something that must be dealt with in dealing with this passage. Every branch in me, he says, that does not bear fruit, he takes away. I want to go down to verses 4 and 5 and continue in this metaphor as we try to understand what the Lord is saying. In verse 4, He says, Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, Neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing." Which is what he is saying in verse 4. The branch cannot bear fruit disconnected or severed from the vine." We understand that. If you cut a limb off a tree, it is promptly withered. It will wither very shortly. If you cut a vine off of a a branch off a vine, that branch will utterly lose out, it will wither away, the sap will no longer flow up through the vine and nurture and nourish the branch. And so, He says in verse 5, He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit. The one that is being pruned in verse two is one that is abiding and fruit bearing in verse five. That is the one that is being pruned in verse two. The one who is being taken away in verse two is the one who is not abiding. Notice in verse six, if anyone does not abide in me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered. and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burnt." Well, how does this metaphor make sense if there could be a branch in the vine that is not bearing fruit? How did the branch get there? Well, I understand this passage from, if you think about it, Wherever there's something going on, there are people joining themselves to it. If there's something happening, people will join up to it without being spiritually or vitally attached to the vine. I believe this passage Let me flip back to... I don't think I wrote this reference down. I meant to. Let me see. It's in Matthew 7. He says in verse 17, I should probably read verse 15. Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, and here's the point I want to really focus on. He says, even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. If there is no fruit by someone who professes to be in Christ, if there's no fruit whereby to gauge that profession, as 1 John says, he is lying. He is lying. There's a possibility that, well I know there's a lot of, there can be a lot of responsibility, there is a lot of responsibility on us to abide in Him and to bear fruit, but you will not, you will not be fruit, you will not be attached to the vine because you bear fruit. You will bear fruit because you are attached to the vine. I think this is absolutely important. We know this makes sense, but we tend to think in spiritual, that someone can actually, actually has to bear fruit in order to be attached to the vine. But it's actually the other way around. If you are attached to the vine, then you will bear fruit if you are vitally connected to the vine where there's spiritual nutrients and life coming up from the root. The thing that we see here is in Matthew he says, Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not done this? Many will claim, many will make a profession that I am in the vine, that I have been dealing with the true vine. But it is not the truth if there is no fruit to show for it. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered. And they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burnt." I want to look at the parable in Matthew 13, if you would turn to that. In Matthew 13 we have this very interesting parable of the tares among the wheat. Matthew 13, 24 and following, another parable He put forth to them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares? He said to them, An enemy has done this. The servants said to him, Do you want us then to go and gather them up? But he said, No, while you gather up the tares, ye also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. And at the time of harvest, I will say to the reapers, First gather together the tares, and bind them in bundles, to burn them. But gather the wheat into my barn. Now this is very similar to the verse 6 of John 15. That there are tares among the wheat. There are those who look like wheat, They gather with the wheat, they're assembled with the wheat, but they are not wheat. They will ultimately show themselves up to be what they are, and that is tares. And at that point, in this sense of the John 15 metaphor, it is us who have a struggle with who's a branch and who's a living branch and who's not. It is simply from our perspective that we struggle with this concept, that we struggle with this metaphor. The Lord knows those who are His. And we, because of this idea of being mechanically attached, just simply attached in a mechanical way or a physical way, is not meaning that you are a branch that is vitally and spiritually attached to the vine. And that is how I understand this passage, is that it is speaking about those who have joined themselves to the church of God. Those who have, who profess to be a branch, who profess to belong to the true vine, but there's no genuine fruit that is being evident. There's no fruit, as it says, every good tree will bear good fruit. Now is there, there is obviously here the command for us to abide in Him. If you abide in Me. And that we are to give attention to that. We are to give diligence to abide in Him. But if you are not planted, then all of your Efforts to graft yourself in will not suffice. You must be planted. Every planting which my Heavenly Father has not planted, He will uproot. And that is what we see in the parable of the tares. An enemy does come and he doesn't mind, the enemy doesn't mind if his followers are gathered with the church. He doesn't mind that. It is when they are converted to the church that He minds it. Well, I want to consider here, what is this fruit? What is the fruit that is being talked about here? Jesus said, if you abide in Me, and I in him, this one bears much fruit, for without me you can do nothing." There's a few passages that I want to turn to as we think about what is fruit. This passage in John 15 should make us examine ourselves. What is going on in my life? Is there fruit in my life? Am I bearing the fruit of the vine? Am I becoming more like Christ? Am I bearing the fruit of following Christ? In Philippians 1 it says this way in verse 11, Verse 9, it says, In this I pray that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense to the day of Christ, being filled, get this, being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. These fruits are fruits of righteousness and they are many-faceted. We see that in Galatians 5.22, but here it calls them the fruit of righteousness. In Galatians 5.22 we have, and this is of course a very familiar passage, But it's called here in Galatians the fruit of the Spirit. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited. provoking one another, envying one another. And so these fruits that the vine produces are all these lovely attitudes that we see in Galatians 5.22. These lovely attitudes of love, this of joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, etc., etc. They are the fruit of the Spirit. A very interesting verse in Colossians 1 that I've thought about many times. Paul says this in relation to the gospel. He says in verse 3, We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of your love for all the saints, because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you have heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel. which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit." This word of truth that is coming through the gospel. Paul says in verse 6, this word of truth, as it has come to you, is bringing forth fruit. It's bringing forth fruit as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth. You see, if we have truly comprehended and grasped and met the grace of God, then that truth is bringing forth fruit in our lives. Paul says it happened the day you met it. The day that you knew the grace of God in truth, that fruit began to be developed. That fruit began to grow. Amen. Absolutely, this is where it comes from. And Jesus said in, Now are you clean, now are you purged, now are you pruned through the word which I have spoken to you. Paul says here to the Colossians, that I thank God for your faith, having heard of it. and for the hope and the love that you have toward all the saints, and the hope that is laid up for you." And then he goes on to say that this fruit was coming and being built ever since you knew the grace of God in truth. The gospel is the means of fruit bearing in your life. The Word of God is the means of fruit bearing in your life. Here in John 15, it is called abiding in the vine. Abiding in the vine. This is fruit bearing. I find it interesting what Paul, the great apostle, called fruit. I would like to show you that in Philippians 1. If you would turn to Philippians 1, you have to kind of follow along to keep the train of thought here. But in Philippians 1, as we endeavor to get an idea or an understanding of what this fruit of the Spirit is, this fruit bearing that the vine produces, here was Paul saying, In chapter 1 of Philippians, in verse 19, "'For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. According to my earnest expectation and hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor." And I think sometimes we don't want to say that our labor is bearing fruit, because it reflects on us. We think that it reflects on us. But it is God working in us, you see. But we have an obligation to bear fruit, brothers and sisters. We have a privilege of bearing fruit for Christ. Because it is in this state of fruit bearing that Christ is glorified in our lives. Sadly, sometimes in our desire to be humble, we simply deny the fact that we're called to bear fruit. Paul says, if I live on in the flesh that will mean fruit for you. That will mean fruit from my labor. Yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. He's saying that I would rather die, but if I stay, I know that's going to be fruitful. For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless, to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. You see, what was good for the Philippians was fruit for Paul. You see that? That his labor with the Philippians was actually a spiritual fruit. Practically speaking, that means that what you do for one another, what we do for each other in service and for the cause of Christ is fruit for us. You might not think that there's much for you to do, but there is. Minister grace to one another, that's fruit bearing. He says, nevertheless, to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith. that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Christ Jesus by my coming to you again." What is Paul calling fruit? He is saying that their progress and joy of faith is a result of his labor with them. Is that fruit coming out of our lives? Is someone progressing? Is someone growing in their joy of faith because of your labors? Are we being fruitful in every good work? As he says in Colossians 1, being fruitful in every good work. And I know that The fruit of the Spirit is exactly that. It is fruit by the working of the Holy Spirit on us. But we are to walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God. In this exhortation in John 15, I had to think of 2 Peter 1, where it says we're to add to our faith virtue, et cetera, et cetera, to virtue, knowledge, to knowledge, self-control. Then he says, if these things are lacking in our lives, then we become barren and unfruitful. And we have forgotten the purging of our former sins. But if we add to our faith virtue, then the entrance into glory will be supplied to us in accordance with our adding. That is 2 Peter 1. You're to add these things, and if these things are added, then there's a glorious homecoming for you. You can go and read that, 2 Peter 1. And that is the exhortation here, is to abide in me. He says, I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit. But outside of me you can do nothing. The same way that the branch cannot, a broken off branch cannot bear any more fruit. Verse eight. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit." Notice what he says in verse 2. He says, you bear fruit. He's pruned to bear more fruit. And my Father is glorified if you bear much fruit. It is in this place of fruitfulness, this place of bearing fruit, that we evidence that we are His disciples. Notice what he says. By this my Father is glorified that you bear much fruit, so will you be my disciples. It is in this state of fruit bearing, what does it say? By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another. When the fruit of love is in our midst and we love one another, that is evidence to all the world that we are His disciples. And so this is saying the same thing that If you bear much fruit, you evidence to all around you that you are My disciples. This is what My disciples are all about. This is why we are branches. This is why we're attached to the vine, is to bear fruit for the glory of God. Brothers and sisters, I just want to challenge us here today. If you look at the parable of the sower, there are those who in the parable of the sower who make a good start. They are very interested in what is being spoken. They receive the word with gladness, it says. But because the soil is not prepared, It doesn't bear fruit. It germinates maybe, but it doesn't bear fruit. And I think the illustration of the soil with the thorns in it, Mark 4, I want to close with this, this exhortation in Mark 4. In verse 18 it says this way, now these are the ones sown among thorns. They're the ones who hear the word. These are the words of Christ. These are the ones who hear the word and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things. Enter in and choke the word and it becomes unfruitful. Notice what it says there. The cares of this world, all those things that are clamoring for your attention, and the deceitfulness of riches. You know, there's a word out here in our culture about prosperity, and that if we, you know, it's this idea that riches are the answer. Money is the answer. Brothers and sisters, it's not. It's not the answer. And it's actually the deceitfulness of riches that if you buy into it and you pursue riches, it will deceive you. These riches are deceitful. They do not supply what we need. They do not deliver on their promises. But then notice the other thing that is mentioned here, and the desire for other things. These other things, whatever it is, you can lay that whatever it is that's clamoring for your attention. The desire for other things entering in choke the word and it becomes unfruitful. But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit, some 30 fold, some 60, and some 100. The question is not so much, how much fruit are you bearing? Is, are you bearing fruit? Because some fields are more fertile than others. Some soil produces 30, some 60, and some 100. But there is no reproof here for the 60 or the 30. No. It is calling them good soil. It is calling them good soil. Some branches are more fruitful than others, but all branches are fruitful. It is just simply saying here in the passage that those sown among thorns, that there are things that are coming in and they threaten to choke out and at that point, it becomes evident whether or not we are actually good soil or not. And so I want to close with that word of exhortation that we simply give heed and ask ourselves, are we bearing fruit? Are we truly, vitally, spiritually attached to the vine? Let's close with a word of prayer. Father, we thank you for John 15. Lord, we thank you for this great word that tells us where your attention is, that it is in the true vine. Father, thank you for attaching us through the Spirit to the vine, the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, I pray that we would simply consider our own lives, that we would look and see whether we are in the faith, that we would examine ourselves to see whether there is fruit being born for Christ. or whether Christ is bearing fruit in our lives, whether the Word of Christ is producing these good fruits. Father, thank You for bringing us into this planting that we might be attached to the vine, and that we might be delivered from all of the unfruitfulness and barrenness of our former life. Father, I pray you would bless each one here with this passage of scripture and that you would you would cause it to bear fruit in each of us by your grace and by your spirit. We pray this through Christ. Amen.