John 15:1-17 [NLTse]
“I am the true grapevine, and My Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of Mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and He prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. 4 Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in Me.
5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing. 6 Anyone who does not remain in Me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. 7 But if you remain in Me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! 8 When you produce much fruit, you are My true disciples. This brings great glory to My Father.
9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved Me. Remain in My love. 10 When you obey My commandments, you remain in My love, just as I obey My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. 11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with My joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 12 This is My commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. 13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are My friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are My friends, since I have told you everything the Father told Me. 16 You didn’t choose Me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using My name. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
Last week we read from John 6 and Jesus feeding the 5,000 only we talked about it as “the boy who did the miracle with Jesus by giving Him his five loaves and two fish”. And we talked about what miracles we might do with Jesus if we put our stuff and our time and our abilities into His hands each day as that boy did with his fish and bread?
Since last week I’ve had a number of people approach me to find out about Bible studies they could begin attending and ministry teams they could join. And you’ll see a special insert in the Bulletin that tells about all the Study Groups – some that are going on now, others that will be starting in September – and some of the Ministry Teams needing gifted servants to join them now. In addition, I also had several of you approach me asking if I would spend more time talking about how we can do our work and be at school and live our lives amongst our friends and neighbors in ways that put our selves into Jesus’ hands. And for that reason we’ve jumped from chapter 6 in John here to chapter 15.
When asked about the greatest commandment Jesus said, “To love God with all we have, do, and are, and to love those around us the same way we love ourselves.” Wanting to put our selves into Jesus’ hands, to live our lives in at His direction, to enjoy such close fellowship, and to be the instruments of His miracles has us going beyond just a knowledge of the Scriptures and Christian doctrines: This desire among you is at the heart of abiding in Christ, remaining in Christ, dwelling with and in Christ, seeking to achieve the goal the Scriptures and Christian doctrines are all pointing to: That is, loving God, and our neighbors as ourselves. And that’s where abundant life is found – loving our Father and each other as the Lord teaches us about true love in the Scriptures and Christian doctrine.
At the heart of remaining in Christ is commitment: Have we committed ourselves to Hiim? Are we willing to be boldly known as being Christians at work, at school, and around our communities? Too many Christians are known to live one way in church and when in the company of Christian friends and a completely other way, depending upon who we’re hanging out with at the moment. And too many Christians are known for not acting any differently than unbelievers in the face of hardship or calamity: Giving into worry, anger, greed, controlling people and situations, and never repenting or even hinting that they believed any of these things might be wrong!
But in remaining in Christ, in dwelling in Him, the Lord is calling us to commit to Him alone and to renounce everything that doesn’t lead to Him: No matter who we’re with, and always focused on the prize of growing to be daily more and more like Jesus, Who alone across history perfectly loved God with all He had, did, and was, and Who perfectly loved all those around Him the same way He loved Himself!
Commitment and renouncing all else might lead us to unpopularity, not getting promoted, those we love thinking we’re fools, etc… Yes, sometimes that’s what trusting our loving Father and Savior can lead us to. (It led Jesus to be crucified.) Of course, because He calls us to honesty, pleasantness, excellence, and trustworthiness (among so many other good things), living committed to Jesus may result in great popularity and many promotions as well as all the fun and wonder of doing miracles with Him as we put our lives into His hands!
But regardless, the first thing is, Are we committed? When people around us ask us why we’re doing something or behaving in a certain way, or ask us why we refuse to do something or won’t join in with the rest, are we committed to say, “Because I’m a Christian, and Jesus Christ wants me to be this way, and He forbids me to be that way…” Will we abide in Him? Are we committed?
Our commitment is the foundation because only once we’re focused on pleasing Him in all we do will we start to find that our doubts begin to fall away. Only after we’ve determined to suffer consequences for Him, if necessary, do we find that our long-held fears and apprehensions start to fade. Although at the beginning this kind of commitment can get us thinking that dwelling in Him and with Him is all about obligation and denying ourselves, as we live it daily we experience such peace and pleasures that it all becomes so easy and such a joy!
It’s important to begin with commitment to Christ and renouncing all else because doing everything because of God’s love and out of love for God transforms even the most hated of responsibilities and work into joys and pure pleasure! And, as we become more and more aware of God’s goodness and gifts, we grow less and less anxious and insecure, growing instead to expect His presence, protection, provision, and care. Remaining in Him, abiding in Him, dwelling with and in Him.
So, the first thing is to commit to making all the business we’re about His business, giving ourselves to all things in His name and with the intention of acting in His place. And entrusting to Him every outcome and completion, no matter how easy or impossible the task!
The second thing for remaining in Christ and putting our selves into His hands is to “feed upon” and nourish ourselves on the high and awe-inspiring realities of God’s character: His love, His joy, His peace, His patience, His kindness, His goodness, His faithfulness, His gentleness, His self-discipline and resolve. That way, during those times when we question our commitment and have doubts about our chosen path, we will be so filled with the knowledge of His absolute goodness, His unconditional love toward us, that He is all-knowing, has perfect wisdom, that He is all-powerful, and, so-filled-with-all-the-wonders-we’ve-read-about, heard-about, and-have-experienced-Him-doing-in-our-lives that it will all lead us away from any questioning to begin celebrating our devotion to Him!
After His resurrection, as a part of commissioning those first disciples (and us who follow after them), the Lord Jesus said, “Be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20) So after committing to Him, and after “feeding on” His goodness and lovingkindness and all that He is, the life of remaining and abiding and dwelling with and in Him is simply establishing ourselves in His presence. “I am with you always,” Jesus has promised: We need to keep our minds aware that God is always with us and within us!
He is Emmanuel – “God is with us,” that means. And the apostle Paul wrote to the Colossians, “Christ lives in you to give you assurance of sharing His glory.” (Colossians 1:27) That’s the wonder! That’s what makes Jesus Christ different from all others who would claim our lives: He is with us; He is within us. And so to love Him with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves, and to live putting our very selves into His hands to do miracles with Him, we simply need to keep our minds aware that He is always with and within us.
One way of doing this is by continually talking with Him throughout our days: Thanking Him in the morning, and for the day ahead and those He’s given us to share it with; perhaps in the shower we thank Him for our baptisms – for washing us clean!; giving Him thanks and asking His blessing on our food, even our snacks, as we eat our different meals; praying for situations we watch on the news; praying for the drivers around us on the road or the students around us in the bus; asking His forgiveness if we lose our temper or take some selfish action; sitting next to and befriending the kid nobody wants to sit next to, and giving the Lord thanks for opportunities to be like Him in loving and making friends of the outcasts; seeking His empowering grace for each project or assignment, His help to listen and do our work well…
We’re not talking about flowery talk; not pretty-sounding prayers: Those often just cause our minds to wander. We’re talking about plain words, simple prayers, to the point, just like talking to a friend.
When we find ourselves doing, or about to begin, something difficult – remaining in Him, focusing on His presence – is then askin Him for empowerment. And how joyful we’ll be when we find Him giving it! We too often pray, “Take the difficult things away!” But so much better to ask, “Lord, take it away or grant us the grace to do it well,” or “to bear up under it well, so that You’ll look good in us, Lord!”
Maybe we’ll realize that a good bit of time has gone by without our thinking about God or remembering Him with us. Don’t make too big a deal out of it – don’t let it distract you, don’t condemn yourself over it or worse, even, give up! No, just confess it as part of your sinfulness, accept and believe Him for your forgiveness, and go on to begin enjoying Him with you again!
When you go to read your Bible, set your mind on going because you love Him and know you will meet Him there! Again, as you’re praying and worshiping, talk to Him and adore Him, knowing He is right there with you! Too many “faithful” Christians don’t grow very much because they are stuck in the performance of the spiritual disciplines – like reading their Bibles and praying and attending Worship – but have lost sight of the goal of these precious practices, which is loving God!
Remaining in Him; abiding with Him; dwelling with and in Him: It’s all about recognizing that He’s present with us always, offering Him every act before we do it and thanking Him for it all afterwards; it’s all about having endless conversation with Him filled with endless praising, adoring, and loving; it’s all about asking for His grace (and not letting ourselves be distracted and doubt because of our sins, but trusting the love He’s shown us and all He’s done for us in of Jesus)…
At the end of the day, if we carried out our responsibilities and duties well, then we thank God. If we made many mistakes and fallen very short of all He’s called us to, then we ask His forgiveness and then trust His forgiveness, and have a good night’s sleep as forgiven as if we’d never sinned and committed to give ourselves to Him more fully the next day…
As we repeat these acts, as we think and live in these ways – God with us; Christ in us – just as in other areas of our lives, they’ll become habit, and so more and more a part of our daily activities and awareness. It may take much work and concentration at the beginning, but after a while we will find His love within us enabling us to it without much difficulty at all.
You see, Christ tells us that the secret of our sanctification – growing holy, growing to be more like Christ – isn’t primarily about us changing our words or our deeds (though we may find ourselves needing to do a good bit of that), but it’s primarily about beginning to do for Christ’s sake – for the love of God – what we used to do for ourselves.
And as we keep Him our focus, keep Him our center (as we sang in one of our songs last week) – as we abide with Him and remain in Him and dwell with and in Him and welcome His presence with and within us – we will experience joys and delights … well, like those described in the Psalms and elsewhere in Scripture…
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him!” (1 Corinthians 2:9)