Grow as a Disciple

Speaker: Ps. Darin Browne

John 15:1-13 (ESV)
“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.

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

GROWING OLD

Growing old is compulsory, but maturity is optional. This applies to all of us, and also to Christians. People ask me how we sleep, and we tend to answer, “I slept like a baby”, but that means I woke up every hour screaming, soiling my clothes and wanting a feed. Being a baby is cute, but if you are an adult, who behaves like a baby, that’s not cute at all, it is weird! Yet, many Christians seem content to remain spiritual babies!

DI-VINE GROWTH

Isaiah likened the people of Israel to a vineyard, one that sadly produced little or no fruit. Jesus, in contrast, is the true vine, and we as Christians can bare fruit, and lots of it, but only if we abide in Him.

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.

Growing is a part of living and, as Einstein once said, “When you stop growing you start dying.” When Pablo Casals reached 95, a young reporter threw him a question: “Mr. Casals, you are 95 and the greatest cellist that ever lived. Why do you still practice six hours a day?” And Mr. Casals answered, “Because I think I’m making progress.”

What did Jesus say in this passage about growth?

JESUS IS THE TRUE VINE

John 15:1
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.

Jesus Himself is the true vine, and apart from Him, there is no life. If you have not asked Jesus into your life, I don’t care how much money or fame or blessing you think your have, you are missing the very source of life. I see people all the time taking meaning from politics, or football, or business success, or fame, but it it all worthless in eternity!

The Father is the gardner, and He removes and also prunes.

REMOVING

John 15:2
Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away,

God cuts away fruitless branches. Sometimes He removes unfruitful people from your life. He’s done it with me a time or two. Not bad or evil people, just unfruitful, and they are removed.

Removing of branches is not in reference to salvation, but to production. The Greek verb translated removes in this verse can also be rendered “takes away” or “lifts up.” The branches in a vineyard can become heavy and drag on the ground easily, spoiling any fruit. God the gardener “takes them away” from the ground by lifting them up. God will, therefore, seek to make you fruitful by lifting you up, encouraging you, and motivating you – for example, through his Word and through the people of God.

PRUNING

John 15:2
…and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

Either way, there’s a cutting back. Not to hurt us, but to increase out productiveness.

Why does God allow difficulty in the lives of those who love and serve Him? Because the believer is like a branch that receives its nourishment from the Living Vine – Jesus Christ. When we abide in Him, He produces fruit through us. However, sometimes we allow things in our lives that diminish our impact for His kingdom. So, God prunes all the extraneous things, and extraneous people, that are hindering us so we will be free to bear a better harvest.

WE MUST ABIDE IN HIM

John 15:5
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.

What does abide mean? In Greek it is MENO, which means to remain, stay connected to, to wait, to continue with or stay attached to. If we stay attached to Jesus, the true vine, we will be fruitful and grow. From our intimate relationship with God flows everything of consequence. Apart from His presence in our lives, we can do nothing of eternal significance.

When we remain connected to the vine, Jesus, we will experience the joy of growing fruit. I am a terrible gardner, but from the few veggies I haven’t killed, I have received some fruit, and there is a special joy to growing it yourself. It might be cheaper to buy the fruit, but it’s not the same. Real growth is real satisfying and brings great joy.

Abiding is not occasional contact, it’s not attending church once a month, it is staying connected every day, always praying, listening and obeying. Abiding is doing life with Him, every moment, and the more we do this, the more we bare fruit.

John 15:6-7
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.

Failure to abide causes spiritual barrenness. If you disconnect, you wither away. Cut flowers might look good for a time, but hey are dying, and so will you if you fail to abide. If your life with Jesus is withering, you need to reconnect with the vine today.

THE FRUIT OF ABIDING

John 15:7
If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

We love that because we think it means we can name it and claim it. We can ask for anything and get it, but guys, this is not a blank cheque you can fill in with whatever you want. If you abide in Him, your will abides in His will, and your desires become His desires, and then they come true. Human effort doesn’t produce this fruit, on God can.

So, what does divine fruitfulness look like? It’s not the gifts of the Spirit, and wonderful as they might be, it’s the fruit of the Spirit. It’s something you can’t fake, because your lack of fruit will eventually be found out. We are told not to judge one another, lest we be judged the same way…

Matthew 7:1-2
“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgement you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.

FRUIT INSPECTORS

We can and indeed must be fruit inspectors. If I offer you a nice, ripe, beautiful banana, you’d say yes, I’ll have some of that. But if I offer you a filthy, putrid, rotting banana, you will likely refuse my offer. We must be discerning about each others fruit.

Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

If you produce this kind of fruit, there’s no law against your character. In fact, Jesus said…

John 15:8
By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

Your fruitfulness glorifies God. So, what fruit are you producing?

ROOTED IN THE FATHER’S LOVE

John 15:9-10
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.

Vines take root and climb up a trellis or wire. Jesus is the vine, firmly rooted in the Father, and we are the branches that grow from Him. The church is the trellis, and I reckon we have a pretty good trellis right here. The trellis preserves the fruit, but remember, you and I are the vine, and the way we abide in Him is by obeying Him. We cannot hope to be fruitful if we refuse to obey Him.

Obedience is not legalism; it is not shoving our self-righteous piety down some rebellious person’s throat! Love is the key here. He commands us to love one another, and that’s how the rest of the world knows about Him. Not through our righteousness, not through our preaching, not through our arguing, but through our love. Love conquers all. The Beatles said, “All you need is love”, then they broke up. So, not the kind The Beatles peddled, but pure, holy, righteous and true love.

We live in a world that says, if you love me, you’ll let me do whatever I want, however destructive it may be. True love embraces everyone, but not every action – it speaks the truth, especially when someone is headed for destruction.

GROWING AS A CHRISTIAN

1 John 4:16
So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides (MENO) in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

Growing as a Christian is reflected in how we love people, both within the church and beyond the church. The fruit we grow is the fruit of the Spirit.

ABIDING IN THE VINE

There’s a favourite old hymn usually sung at funerals called Abide with Me, written by Henry Francis Lyte in the early 1800s. It was the last song played by the band on the Titanic before they shook hands, and were thrown into the icy waters of the Atlantic. Verses three and four talk about Christ abiding with us in death.

If we can ask Jesus to abide with us in death, why can we not abide with Him all though our life? Why wait until death, as if you can even predict that, why not abide right now.

In 1912, the sinking of the Titanic claimed 1500 lives. Outside the White Star Line in Liverpool were two giant chalkboards, labelled those known to be saved, and those known to be lost. Saved. Lost. If similar chalkboards were erected outside Heaven, which side would your name be written on? Saved or lost? If you are not certain of where you are going, why not pray now.

And finally, who wants to abide with Christ today? To have His Spirit live in you, causing you to grow spiritual fruit in your life? I want to challenge you to respond if you truly want to abide and grow with Him. And instead of singing a dirge about death, celebrate by singing a beautiful song of thankfulness for our lives. Respond to Him as you sing about the goodness of God.