The True Vine and The Vinedresser- John 15:1-11 -Who is Jesus? - Pastor Jason Fritz

well good morning Church if I haven't met you yet if you're new on behalf of myself and the rest of the pastor's in leadership so great to have you with us I'm gonna be hanging out right down here after the the service and again if I haven't met you yet if you want to take a couple minutes and just introduce yourself to me that would be great we have for the last several weeks been studying the life of Jesus actually it's those moments leading up to the cross Jesus is really living in the shadow of the Cross and he's with his disciples they've just shared a very intimate time together sharing participating in the Last Supper right the last meals the Passover meal and Jesus has one very specific thing in mind for them which we'll get to in a moment but before we get there I want to bring you into my world of study over the last week or so by reading a couple of excerpts from some of the more well-known commentaries that I that I read as I prepare just just again just to kind of have you step into my my world this week so here's what one of the one of the commentators said when it comes to this passage in John chapter 15 that we're gonna cover today quote these verses have been the occasion of a great deal of debate concerning their meaning the meaning is in fact difficult so fun right when you sit down you begin to study and that's what you encounter this is my personal favorite do not be afraid but be very careful in preaching these verses okay all right okay mom Wow Wow what I have found very often is that when a text is a little bit more difficult requires a little more thought oh does it reveal some nuggets does it reveal some depth breadth that when applied is absolutely transformational and that's absolutely the case with our text this morning so here's the scene Jesus has just finished sharing the Passover meal with his disciples and the thing on his mind this point is simply this how can I encourage these guys how can I encourage him what words can I use because he's been telling them in just a while I'm going to leave I'm with you just a little while longer and then I'm leaving and this isn't something they want to hear they've been with him for three years they've given up everything to be with Jesus and now he's saying that he's leaving them and last week we saw Jesus say I'm not gonna leave you as orphans I will give you another helper the Holy Spirit he will be with you always that's a tremendous source of encouragement he continues that as he actually leaves the Upper Room with his disciples Judas has already left he's already about to do his thing to betray Jesus so he's with the other disciples they're walking from the Upper Room to Gethsemane and along the way Jesus gives them more encouragement in the form of this beautiful metaphor it's a word picture of a vine and branches now most of you are probably like me in that you were born and raised in the city and what it means to live in an agrarian lifestyle is pretty foreign to you you know if we want something to eat we just go to the grocery store and buy our food we want something special maybe we we go to a restaurant and we order food but if we get our food very easy for us not so back in the day you lived off of the land and so remember Jesus is just a master teacher it's springtime the leaves are starting to bud the flowers are starting to form fruit can be seen and so as Jesus is walking with his disciples he picks up on this imagery which they would be very very familiar with the people in Jesus they knew the art and science of growing things and Jesus says here's how I can encourage them I am going to tell them of the spiritual realities even though I'm not with them physically I'm going to explain the spiritual reality my presence even after my departure so with that in mind John chapter 15 verse 1 Jesus says 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 does bear fruit he prunes so that it may bear more fruit 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 it 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 and withers and the branches are gathered thrown into the fire and burned if you abide in me and my words abide in you ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you by this my father is glorified that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples as the father has loved me so have I loved you abide in my love if you keep my Commandments you will abide in my love just as I have kept my father's Commandments and abide in his love these things I have spoken to you why so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full so right away it's important to note jesus communicates the father's deep deep committed dedicated love towards the disciples you say how do we know that it's interesting that little little word vine dresser in the Greek it's often translated as farmer but here more accurately it is translated as the same Greek word can also be translated as a vine dresser now there's actually a big difference between a vine dresser and a farmer Jesus is using his words very carefully so a farmer plants a crop waters waits a little while and then reaps and then waits until the next planting season the vine dresser is very different a vine dresser is working the vine in every single season there is no offseason in viticulture could find dressers are inspecting the vines daily they're looking for bugs they're looking for signs hey the vine isn't getting the proper nutrients I can tell by looking at this leaf - vine isn't acting like it should in order for it to bear maximum fruit so there's this very personal dedicated time-consuming act on the part of a vine dresser that you don't see on the part of a farmer and so Jesus begins by saying here's what you need to know you have a Heavenly Father that cares for you as if you are a branch and he is the vine dresser and it's not as if God just pops in every once in a while to check on things he's constantly paying attention because he wants something for you the text tells us what does he want fruit he wants fruit so there's this there's this loving care there's this picture this portrait of God coming on the scene and giving this detailed attention to every single one of us and then when Jesus says I am the true vine what he's explaining is this is against the metaphor but here's what he's saying he's saying I am the divine source of lasting spiritual fruit in your life that's me question how do we know we're producing the kind of divine spiritual fruit that Jesus came to produce through us wouldn't it be great if we had you know kind of like a picture right a yardstick by which we could measure that in our own lives well we actually doing it's found in Galatians 5 chapters 22 and 23 Paul writes this there's fruit there's spiritual fruit here's what it looks like love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness and if you have this last one you probably have them all self-control you know so against such things there is no law I'm just guessing but I'm pretty certain every single person in this room you want more of that in your life how do you get it how how does an angry man become loving how does a nervous anxious worry filled woman become joyful how does she have peace how does an impatient person become patient how does one have self-control Jesus is saying I'm the key to that I'm the key to that you want this in your life I'm the one who gives it to you see it's all a matter of what you're connected to right a branch can only take nutrients from what it's connected to the vine you stay connected to me this is the spiritual fruit that will be produced in your life now right away you're thinking huh this is new to me this is new to me I've never really thought about this before because I've really tried to produce these things in my life on my own right so this is why this is why the self-help section of the bookstore is so incredibly large by the way self-help that's an oxymoron right think about it think about it isn't that right so so here's an individual they're standing in front of the self-help section of the bookstore but consider this their best thoughts their best actions have gotten them where they are and where are they how can I find a way to help myself more it doesn't make any sense so Jesus says it's kind of radical now you say you want these things in your life you're not gonna find them internally they have to be found externally what does that mean vine and branches vine and branches take my life into your life and you will see this kind of fruit being produced now Jesus begins with though this is a kind of a secret sauce here Jesus not it's not only what Jesus says but it's how it's how and when he says it it's the placement of the words actually and the sentences when he seeks to encourage the guys because he says look here's what you need to know God loves you God loves you and in fact God is more interested in you than probably what you realize well what picture could I give of that he's the vine dresser wait a minute you mean God is like a vine dresser in my life yes yes he's constantly looking out for you he's constantly paying attention to what's happening to you and as long as you stay connected to the true vine that's mean you're going to have what God offers you that's why he uses this word abide which means remain and we'll talk more about that in a second but let's look carefully at the two ways in which God proves himself to be a vine dresser so what are the primary ways that the vine dresser acts upon the vine in order to help it produce more fruit in order to make it more productive well two things the first one is found in this word IRA in chapter 2 the Greek word every branch in me that does not bear fruit he I IRA that's the Greek word and it's translated as he takes away but this word can also be translated as to lift up to lift up so let's read it that way every branch in me that does not bear fruit he lifts up so this is really interesting and this translation actually fits perfectly with what we know about ancient viticulture and you can even see it today if you visit the grape vines in the areas of Palestine here's what happens when the vine begins to grow and the branches grow from the vine some branches grow low to the ground in fact they'll grow so low to the ground that they will end up sending little tap roots into the soil I guess what happens to those branches that send tap roots into the soil do they produce fruit no they're unproductive why because they're trying to get nutrients from those little top roots instead of getting nutrients from the source of the root of the vine they try to get their own nutrients and so here's what happens a good bit of culturist will come along and they will slowly and gently lift up what that branch lifts up IRA lift it up why so it will become productive and what happens is they'll come along they'll place rocks underneath of it and eventually the vine will be lifted up and you know what happens when the vine is lifted up guess what happens it becomes productive it will bear fruit there are people in this room right now and God is in the process of lifting you up in some way he's lifting you up and so and here's the Johnson you get really comfortable sending those tap roots into the soil don't you and what happens is before you know what your unproductive for days weeks months even years but there's this funny spiritual thing that happens because it seems like you're connected to the vine but there's no spiritual fruit what's happening you're trying to draw nutrients on your own but fooling yourself into thinking I'm still connected to the vine right so herein lies the reason why many of us we're stuck it's like this right let's just be honest we're putting down some of our own roots instead of taking up nutrients from the source of the true vine and the true vines roots and God is in the process of lifting us up and that feels a little uncomfortable but here's the thing there's actually a second way in which a good vine dresser will act upon the vine to help it produce more fruit the text tells us it comes through pruning oh yeah pruning so if you visit even to this day that you visit Palestine you you see it during a prudent pruning season there are branches all over the place and during the pruning season you look at that vine and you think what is the vine dresser doing he's massacring he's killing it that's what it looks like but a good vine dresser knows his vine you know that unlike farmers vine dressers will stay with their vines for decades there's a vine in Slovenia that's over 400 years old and it still produces grapes why because it's had incredible vine dressers even through the war when that area was being bombed the vine dressers went out and protected that vine and it still produces grapes you see this imagery do you see what's happening here this is real this is Jesus is the master what a beautiful word picture and so this pruning comes about and here's the thing you and I will never produce the fullness see when Jesus says I am the true vine know what he's saying to you he's saying do you have any idea at the potential you have to produce fruit to have any idea when you're connected to me do you have any idea the potential you have for those things to appear in your life and to be a blessing to those around you have any idea what it's like so the vine dresser comes in your life and all of a sudden he comes at you with a knife because it's pruning season you're like that looks really sharp well what were you doing with that hey you're getting kind of close Hey [Music] and things get taken away things get cut out in you and I will never be capable of producing the kind of fruit kind of fruit that God wants or the kind of food that were capable without the knife of the Lord coming to us Wow that's what the passage is telling us so now we know why some things have been taken away from us things that we love things we cherish things that we really held dearly because here's the thing that I realized the way for me to know the true source of the vines in my life that I'm connecting my branches to is to ask this question what would it be like if they weren't in your life how devastated would you be if those things were gone that's a you know so people don't give me the respect I deserve and I'm I'm upset about it you know what hey that just shows me unconnected to the wrong vine I'm trying to find my identity and worth in other people that's a you know what that is that's a fine that will produce wax fruit oh you know it's just like how about this you know what's great about child dedications now I have a 22 year old an 18 year old a 13 year old what's great about child dedications is you see these kids and they're so darn cute and you know it makes them cute you can control them when they're little but then they grow you can't control them anymore and then a goofy thing happens my kids are not acting the way they ought to be and they're grown they're adults and they're not acting the way they ought to and it's ruining me it's the wrong vine that you've just connected yourself to we love our kids but they cannot be the source of what's being produced in our lives it's the wrong vine this is a good conversation to have because it is until you stop and you think about hey what am i connecting myself to what is it that's being produced in my life is it wax fruit is it rotten fruit this is why this is why I am where I'm at in life it's been self-help it's been internal Jesus says that's the problem it's external its external it's a matter of connecting yourself to the true vine so this pruning is really a challenge you know I mean it's easier said than done but here's here's the thing as the vine dresser looks at every single branch its determining okay this branch is perfect as it is don't need to touch it now this branch this branch needs to be cut back but only to this point any more detrimental any less detrimental at this point this is exactly where the pruning needs to happen snip that's the perfect spot you know I'm gonna watch it I've been watching it you see the point the vine dresser will only remove exactly what is necessary for you to be more productive no more and no less that's a relief it's is Jesus saying whatever happens in your life it is exactly as it should be for God's good purposes so that we might be productive yeah okay that sounds that sounds really cool but there's pain involved and you know suffering makes us Noble suffering makes us Noble a lot of people would disagree with that right because suffering has not made them more noble it hasn't made them better it's made them more bitter the same Sun that melts the wax hardens the clay it's not just how you experience something it's you your way of experiencing the experience that has everything to know is what you believe about what's happening to you there's everything to know about what you believe about your God right when things are good God is good when things get difficult boy I don't know my circumstances are telling me I don't know that blades kind of sharp and it's coming kind of close and I don't think that that's necessary you starting to Center tap roots down into your own soil and soak up your own nutrients I I spoke with a lady after the service last week and she was sharing just say it was I was I felt for you know it's like my heart was melting inside of me just listening to her talk and tell her story about how she lost someone who's very very close to her but you know she said I'm realizing that God is now enabling me to step into space that I've never been able to step into before I can speak to people who have had the same experience shared experience and I'm not just sympathetic I am empathetic because I've felt that pain and I've been comforted by the ultimate vine dresser I stayed connected to the vine essentially as what she's saying and I'm in that place where now I am able to bear fruit that is a blessing to others and you know I mean look I get it these aren't things you're gonna hear from our culture this is some kind of supernatural fruit bad things come into your life and they actually end up turning you into something great you're able to forgive the people who offend you who hurt you and then you realize me I'm not I'm not so miserable anymore people don't give you the respect you think and you you're able to let it go and you realize man this stay connected to the right vine actually works and I'm totally convinced that we will constantly have circumstances in our lives that are meant to cut us back for more fruitfulness and so Jesus is saying look make no mistake about it you get connected to the right source and you'll be fed well what are you connected to what is it that's feeding you you know the longest grapevine in the world is in London and it puts forth there's a branch that is over 250 feet long 200 and it's remarkable because you know it's produced at the end of that 250 foot long branch the most beautiful grapes 250 feet away from the vine which is soaking up nutrients from the root and it's just such a beautiful word picture for me is such a beautiful mental picture of what can be when we remain connected that's why Jesus uses the word abide which doesn't mean remain and to remain is to stay there is to be settled in and I love the words of CS Lewis in mere christianity he puts it so very well he's like he says it's as if God is saying this give me all of you I don't want just so much of your time just so much of your talents and money just so much of your work I want you all of you and then this is a great line is only CS Lewis can put it he set you up and knocks you down in the best way he says I God says I have not come to torment or frustrate the natural man or woman I have come to kill it it's not about you being frustrated or tormented it's about you dying it's about you dying to yourself hand it all over to me the whole outfit all of your desires all of your wants and wishes and dreams turn them all over to me give yourself to me and I will make of you a new self in my image that's what you think you get tapped in to the right vine and you produce what that vine intends to and what will only produce give me yourself an in exchange I will give you myself my will shall become your will and here's the key my heart shall become your heart so many of us it's like we read the Bible and say okay okay I get the rules I got the list of do's and don'ts and I've tried so many times to apply them over and over and it's just not working see this is why Jesus is the master communicator before he gets to the abide part he hits you with do you know who your do you know who your God is he's like a vine dresser to you see now we're talking about a transformation that's more organic it's from the heart and we of all people living on this side of the cross can look at the cross and say okay I guess that's proof right is that proof that God loves us Jesus death on the cross and so that's where Jesus starts you understand who your God is and what he wants for you and what he does for you and we're compelled to entrust our hearts to people who care for us who care about our hearts right you you're in your working environment and you punch in and you punch out you're like I cannot wait to get out of here and you can't wait to get home to be with what you be with the people who love you you can't wait to sit around the dinner table and you're laughing and you're sharing stories why because those people have your heart what Jesus is saying here did you see that saying you did God is this fine dresser he knows you intimately and he cares for you every detail down the in fact he cares for you enough to bring things into your life that are going to make you uncomfortable but make you better not only internally for yourself but for those around you and so many of us we've tried to make changes based on external forces and we've treated our faith like a business rather than a friendship Jesus says meanwhile I've got one goal for you just one and that is I just want you to be all that you can be you have an incredible potential to produce fruit so some of you are here and you're thinking things will just never change they'll never change for me and you're exactly right they are never gonna change as long as you keep trying to change yourself they've never been change for you it isn't until Jesus comes into your life and connects you it makes the right connection that things change it isn't until you really take stock of your life as many of us have and you said you know what man I've been connected to all the wrong the wrong things and and that's I've been taken in the wrong nutrients all right so how do you want to tease this out everybody so I'm absorbed day in and day out in sin just meditating on seductive images what's the fruit you know I just I'm a slave to what other people think of me what's the fruit you know my way of dealing with things getting my ways to display anger come on now what's the fruit this is one of the most beautiful passages from Jesus because he's giving us what we truly need and is difficult to hear but it's so necessary and it's essentially us saying I can't do it I can't live a good life I need Jesus to live the life for me and through me there's a verse I'm gonna end with this and I love this verse I think of this verse when I read this passage in John 15 from the prophet Isaiah chapter 53 verse 8 he says this is the Messiah but the Messiah would be cut off from the land of the living what does that mean the Messiah is gonna die why for the sins of the people so here's where it begins Jesus was cut off so that you could be cut back catch that Jesus was cut off so that you could be cut back see it all starts with him God has skin in this game he says look at I'm a good vine dresser and for the good life of Jesus to come into your life he's gonna have to die first and I'm willing to do that I'm willing to go there for your benefit and blessing so that you can become so incredibly productive far more than you realize so Jesus is going to be cut off that's where it begins and was why in the world what I want to try to connect myself to any other vine so we need to pray father it's rich it's deep it's so good first of all we thank you for being the good vine dresser for stepping into our lives for paying such careful attention Lord may we see the lifting up may we see the pruning as evidence that you're actually a work in our lives and that you want to produce things that weren't there before and you want us to be lifted higher to be more productive for your glory and for our blessing keep us connected in the right place we ask it and the one who makes it all possible he's the True Vine and his name is Jesus Christ and God's people said

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Length: 31min 34sec (1894 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 07 2018