This are the transcript notes of the devotional I gave for my church, Alliance Bible Fellowship. The video is below, and feel free to watch the other devotional videos from the amazing pastors at ABF! Find out more at ABFboone.com
We are now over a month into the forced isolation brought by COVID-19, which has caused the entire world to slow down. The things that used to take all our time and attention like sports, social obligations, children’s extracurricular events, etc… have all come to a screeching halt.
I still remember the week before this all started to escalate when my wife, Kelly, and I were talking about how to handle the family calendar with all the things we had going on. We were pretty worn down with nearly every weekday night being filled, and then all of a sudden, everything stopped.
We now have most of those nights back. We have more time on our hands. Now, even though we are busy still getting used to life where we work from home while also trying to our 3 kids on track with their school work, there is a very real sense in which we have time available to us that wasn’t there before this all happened.
Now, I know that the immediate reaction of many to this new pace of life and social distancing is to go the extra mile to ensure others are being cared for, especially for those who are more at risk in our communities. We want to be about the business of helping others during this time of uncertainty. I’ve seen so many people from this Church rise up to action to help those most vulnerable among us. Alliance Bible Fellowship became a studio overnight to ensure ministry continues. It is an amazing thing to see the body of Christ spring into action. It truly is!
It has drummed up similar emotions and inspirations in my own heart to do something beneficial and help others in Jesus’ name. And as I think through what it is I want to do, it has also caused me to step back and think about something else.
It makes me ask myself if that in the midst of extra time and the desire to act, if I am also taking the time to Abide in Christ.
I think it’s easy for many of us to jump in to do, work, and help, but admittedly, I think it is a harder task to focus on sitting at the feet of Jesus and abide in his presence.
Do you feel that way?
This brings me to our text for today:
John 15:1-11
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, 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, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”
As Jesus often did, he is giving us spiritual truths through imagery.
Now there are like 5 or 6 sermons right here in these 11 verses. My intent isn’t to do a full exegesis here or identify who the cut and withering branches are that are tossed and burnt. What I would like to focus in on is simply the nature of the branch and its relationship with the vine and hopefully provide a few things for us to chew on throughout the week.
The core of this passage is in John 15:4 – “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 remember years ago learning a valuable lesson about abiding. I used to be a Building Contractor, but lost my business in the wake of the economy crash in 2008-2009. It was a very dark time in my life and one I do not want to re-live. For about a year and a half, I was angry and bitter at God. Why did this happen to me? We were a Christian company that held to Christian values in the workplace. I didn’t understand.
During that time, I knew I needed to be consistently in the Word, but I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to read about or speak to God because I was angry, but since my parents brought me up in a godly, Christian home, I knew I had to.
And so I did.
At first, it was hard. I won’t downplay that. But I had plenty of time on my hands, so I continued on, so slowly (months) I began to have a sense of joy that grew into a full-fledged joy that I couldn’t explain or had experienced before, and that in the midst of my unchanged circumstance. I still had no job, no income, and no prospects. Yet, God filled me as I continued to abide.
I remember this so vividly, because:
- It was so sweet to my soul. It was restorative.
- It’s something, that if I’m honest, I haven’t experienced a whole lot since.
So, in an effort to honor Christ’s words and strive to achieve and maintain an abiding relationship with Jesus, here are 4 little nuggets that we can glean from this passage:
FIRST
Nothing of any spiritual significance can happen apart from Abiding. Abiding is not optional to bear fruit, in fact, it is a prerequisite. Look at verse 5 again: apart from me you can do nothing. Think about it. We are compelled to go and help meet people’s spiritual needs through fleshly efforts. It doesn’t work that way. Spiritual fruit forms through spiritual sap that comes from the vine.
If we try to help people under our own power and strength, we will not have the Kingdom impact we desire to have. We have to be the knee that bows to Christ in prayer before we can go and be the hands and feet that bring good news.
SECOND
An attached branch receives everything the vines gives. I don’t have the time to unpack the significance of that statement, but just think for a moment about the power that comes from having all that Jesus is and provides. We are IN CHRIST. In this short passage, we see that many things are available to us if we abide:
(v7) Words: God breathed scripture, Jesus as the logos.
(v9) Love: the same love the Father has for the Son is given to us by Jesus.
(v11) Joy – not a self-manufactured joy, but the joy that comes from fellowship with Jesus.
The fullness of these things come to us because the vine’s life-giving sap courses through us. Now, more than ever, the world needs to see joy-filled Christians who are contagiously filled with the enjoyment of God in these uncertain times. Am I right? You want to impact others? Then show them how, as John Piper says, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”
THREE
As an expansion on #2, we, as Branches, are being cared for from within and from without. Jesus opens the story with not 1 but 2 branch influencers: the vine, and the vine dresser. This is significant, because both God the Father (vinedresser) and Jesus (the vine) and an argument could be made that the Holy Spirit is in there as well as the sap which works in and through us.
We being cared for internally through the life-giving sap from the vine AND the vinedresser by being pruned (this is the fullest possible impact). Now, pruning is uncomfortable and is another sermon for another time, but the point here is that we are cared for and get to enter into the fellowship of the Trinity. Before creation, the Trinity enjoyed a perfect union and fellowship among the Father, Son, and Spirit, and here, we see that we also get to enter into and enjoy that same fellowship as we abide and allow ourselves to be pruned.
FOUR
Abiding proves our authenticity as real branches. Abiding proves discipleship and a desire to bring honor to God. Verse 8 says this: By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
Real kingdom impact will come as a natural overflow of the time you spend at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Is our mission to go and meet the needs of those around us? ABSOLUTELY. Will our actions show the reality of our relationship with God. 100%.
My encouragement isn’t to stay at home, reading and praying only.
My point is simply this. Don’t do it without first being filled with the life-giving sap from the vine. Don’t try to produce fruit without the vine’s nutrients pulsating through you or else it will be lacking and your impact will be a shadow of what it could be.
Abide in Christ. Spend time in prayer and in his word. Let the goodness of the vine flow through your spiritual veins so that when you do go out and put for faith into action, your impact be great because it is God’s power that goes before you and you will bear much fruit.
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