[The following is a full manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 15th of April, 2018. Look for the video of the service on our Vimeo channel: http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]
Our little series on some of the “I am” statements Jesus made was interrupted for just a bit as we celebrated Holy Week and the resurrection of our Lord. Today I’d like to return to that series and we’ll wrap it all up next week.
Just to refresh our memory, we’re looking at how Jesus described Himself by starting out with the words “I am”. As professed followers of Jesus, we should want to be more like Him and one way to do so is by following the example He set. We can try to be more like Him by knowing how He thought of Himself.
So with that in mind, please listen and follow along as I read from chapter 15 of the Gospel account of the Apostle John, verses 1 through 10, from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…
Just to refresh our memory, we’re looking at how Jesus described Himself by starting out with the words “I am”. As professed followers of Jesus, we should want to be more like Him and one way to do so is by following the example He set. We can try to be more like Him by knowing how He thought of Himself.
So with that in mind, please listen and follow along as I read from chapter 15 of the Gospel account of the Apostle John, verses 1 through 10, from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…
1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 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. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 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.
5 “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. 6 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. 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. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 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."
--John 15:1-10 (NKJV)
Let us pray… Father God, You watch over the vine that is rooted in Jesus. You tend it and prune its branches so that it can be ever more fruitful. Thank You, Father, for allowing us to abide in You, to live within Your love, as Jesus did. Please help us better understand just what that means. Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice and better know Your will. In the precious name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
In Disney's animated movie "Toy Story", the toy cowboy Woody confronts the toy astronaut Buzz Lightyear with reality. Early in the movie Woody shouts, "You're not a space ranger! You're an action figure — a child's plaything." Only after failing to fly does Buzz realizes the truth of Woody's statement. Grief-stricken and disillusioned, Buzz hangs his head in resignation, declaring, "I'm just a stupid, little, insignificant toy."
Later on, Woody seeks to comfort his friend by underscoring the love of the boy who owns them both. "You must not be thinking clearly.", Woody tells him. "Look, over in that house, there's a kid who thinks you're the greatest, and it's not because you're a space ranger; it's because you're his."
As Buzz lifts his foot, he sees a label affixed to the bottom of his little shoe. There in black permanent ink is the name of the little boy to whom he belongs. Seeing the image of his owner, Buzz breaks into a smile and takes on a new determination.
Can we look in a mirror and see the image of our Owner? Can anyone else looking at us see Jesus, can they see the image of our Father God reflected in us?
Woody understood how God works. Our Father thinks we’re the greatest, not because we’re some kind of hero or the very best at anything, but because we’re His, He created us, we belong to Him. That sense of loving and belonging can indeed give us a new determination - to be more, to serve more, to love more, to more closely follow the example of Christ Jesus.
Jesus said, “I am the true vine”. Close your eyes a moment and envision a vine, any kind of vine. In His example, Jesus is probably talking about a grape vine, which the people would have been familiar with. A vine is simply one plant, one stalk that comes up from one location and can just keep growing longer and longer. A heart-leaf philodendron can grow all around a room if you let it and keep it watered.
Going back to the grape vine, though, individual vines can branch off from the main vine trunk, the true vine. If one of those branches is cut off from the main trunk, it will no longer grow or bear fruit and will quickly wither and die. Jesus is comparing Himself to that main trunk, if you will, and notes that if we don’t stay with Him, with the true vine, then we cannot bear fruit.
There’s also the point about God the Father pruning the vine, removing those that don’t bear fruit, so that the rest of the vine can be fruitful. That’s one reason we prune any plant, isn’t it? We remove dead or diseased branches so that the rest of the plant can thrive.
Now if we look at that vine, even with some branches being pruned away, what we can see is a sense of belonging. Every branch and fruit on that vine belongs there, otherwise it will wither and die. So Jesus is saying when we abide in Him, when we live in and for Him and allow Him to live in us, then we belong to Him. And like I mentioned to the kids, this sense of belonging has both the meaning of us being His, and that we are where we are supposed to be – we belong with Him.
The Apostle Paul understood this sense of belonging. Aboard ship on one of his missionary trips, a storm came up and threatened the very lives of them all. But Paul was visited by an angel, who delivered a message from God saying the ship would be destroyed but no lives would be lost. Listen to how Paul started describing this visit, from the Apostle Luke’s Book of Acts, chapter 27 verse 23…
“The God to whom I belong and whom I serve”. When we abide in Jesus, when we follow His word, then we belong to God, we are His, and we should serve Him.
Now there can be a bit of danger if we take this sense of belonging and try to make it too exclusive. I’ve known of some church families that have come right out and said if you don’t attend worship there, then you aren’t really believers, not true Christians, so you don’t belong to Jesus.
I believe Jesus Himself told us something they may have missed. Listen to a brief exchange between Jesus and the Apostle John, as recorded by the Apostle Mark in chapter 9 of his Gospel account, verses 38 through 42…
Even though this man was not one of those following Jesus in His walk and ministry, he was still doing the work of Jesus, acting under His authority by using His name. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t part of the same church as John as long as he was acting in the name of Jesus. He was abiding in Jesus, so he belonged.
But note that Jesus says woe be upon anyone who causes a believer to stumble. In other words, if someone is preaching heresy in the name of Jesus and it causes a believer to stray from the truth, then that person will be pruned from the vine and will no longer belong.
Now if we believe in Jesus, abide in Him and in His word, and allow Him to live in us, then we belong. And I would add that we all belong together. I know I’m “preaching to the choir” when I say this, because you are here together this morning, but we belong together to worship together. We are part of the same vine, and in this church family we are all part of the same branch of the vine. When we come together to worship, to serve, even to play, as a family, then we can bear even more fruit than we can individually.
The author of the Book of Hebrews tells us why we should assemble together, in chapter 10, verses 23 through 25 of his letter…
We belong together, so we should come together, often, so that we can encourage one another, so that we can do thoughtful things together, so that we can increase the effectiveness, the fruitfulness, of our service to our Lord Jesus!
As our Father God loves Jesus, so does Jesus love us. He invites us to abide – to live – in that love. If you have not yet allowed Jesus into your heart, into your life, given Him full authority over you and accepted Him as Lord and Master, then it’s not too late to become part of His vine. Just as God prunes off the diseased and dead branches, He will graft on new growth, new life, to those willing to abide in Jesus, His Son. God is the vinedresser, after all. While we still draw breath, it is not too late to abide in Jesus, and belong. And it is not too late for us to help others know this same sense of belonging.
We belong to Jesus, and in that belonging, we are all part of Him, part of the same vine. Here in this family, here in Jesus, here in His love, here on the true vine… we belong. In the beautiful name of Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, You watch over the vine that is the body of Christ Jesus. You prune those branches that do not bear fruit, that are diseased or dead, so that the rest of the vine might flourish and be fruitful. Forgive us, please Father, when we fail to fully abide in Your Son Jesus. Forgive us when You are forced to prune some branches away that we might have been able to save had we only spent time with them, encouraging them, teaching them all the goodness that is Jesus. Please help us be better servants, be more fruitful.
Please hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, speaking from our hearts, thanking You for Your many blessings, promising to turn from our sin, and asking for Your help as we do so…
Lord Jesus, when we accept You as our Lord, we become Yours. You own us. And as long as we abide in You, abide in Your word, then we continue to belong to You. Help us, please Lord, to always follow you, to always abide in You and in Your love. Help us to make other people feel the same sense of belonging that we feel. Help us show them that they belong to You, they belong with us, here in Your love.
This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope, all our trust, all our faith. Amen.
In Disney's animated movie "Toy Story", the toy cowboy Woody confronts the toy astronaut Buzz Lightyear with reality. Early in the movie Woody shouts, "You're not a space ranger! You're an action figure — a child's plaything." Only after failing to fly does Buzz realizes the truth of Woody's statement. Grief-stricken and disillusioned, Buzz hangs his head in resignation, declaring, "I'm just a stupid, little, insignificant toy."
Later on, Woody seeks to comfort his friend by underscoring the love of the boy who owns them both. "You must not be thinking clearly.", Woody tells him. "Look, over in that house, there's a kid who thinks you're the greatest, and it's not because you're a space ranger; it's because you're his."
As Buzz lifts his foot, he sees a label affixed to the bottom of his little shoe. There in black permanent ink is the name of the little boy to whom he belongs. Seeing the image of his owner, Buzz breaks into a smile and takes on a new determination.
Can we look in a mirror and see the image of our Owner? Can anyone else looking at us see Jesus, can they see the image of our Father God reflected in us?
Woody understood how God works. Our Father thinks we’re the greatest, not because we’re some kind of hero or the very best at anything, but because we’re His, He created us, we belong to Him. That sense of loving and belonging can indeed give us a new determination - to be more, to serve more, to love more, to more closely follow the example of Christ Jesus.
Jesus said, “I am the true vine”. Close your eyes a moment and envision a vine, any kind of vine. In His example, Jesus is probably talking about a grape vine, which the people would have been familiar with. A vine is simply one plant, one stalk that comes up from one location and can just keep growing longer and longer. A heart-leaf philodendron can grow all around a room if you let it and keep it watered.
Going back to the grape vine, though, individual vines can branch off from the main vine trunk, the true vine. If one of those branches is cut off from the main trunk, it will no longer grow or bear fruit and will quickly wither and die. Jesus is comparing Himself to that main trunk, if you will, and notes that if we don’t stay with Him, with the true vine, then we cannot bear fruit.
There’s also the point about God the Father pruning the vine, removing those that don’t bear fruit, so that the rest of the vine can be fruitful. That’s one reason we prune any plant, isn’t it? We remove dead or diseased branches so that the rest of the plant can thrive.
Now if we look at that vine, even with some branches being pruned away, what we can see is a sense of belonging. Every branch and fruit on that vine belongs there, otherwise it will wither and die. So Jesus is saying when we abide in Him, when we live in and for Him and allow Him to live in us, then we belong to Him. And like I mentioned to the kids, this sense of belonging has both the meaning of us being His, and that we are where we are supposed to be – we belong with Him.
The Apostle Paul understood this sense of belonging. Aboard ship on one of his missionary trips, a storm came up and threatened the very lives of them all. But Paul was visited by an angel, who delivered a message from God saying the ship would be destroyed but no lives would be lost. Listen to how Paul started describing this visit, from the Apostle Luke’s Book of Acts, chapter 27 verse 23…
23 "For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve..."--Acts 27:23 (NKJV)
Now there can be a bit of danger if we take this sense of belonging and try to make it too exclusive. I’ve known of some church families that have come right out and said if you don’t attend worship there, then you aren’t really believers, not true Christians, so you don’t belong to Jesus.
I believe Jesus Himself told us something they may have missed. Listen to a brief exchange between Jesus and the Apostle John, as recorded by the Apostle Mark in chapter 9 of his Gospel account, verses 38 through 42…
38 Now John answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us.”--Mark 9:38-42 (NKJV)
39 But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. 40 For he who is not against us is on our side. 41 For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.
42 “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea."
But note that Jesus says woe be upon anyone who causes a believer to stumble. In other words, if someone is preaching heresy in the name of Jesus and it causes a believer to stray from the truth, then that person will be pruned from the vine and will no longer belong.
Now if we believe in Jesus, abide in Him and in His word, and allow Him to live in us, then we belong. And I would add that we all belong together. I know I’m “preaching to the choir” when I say this, because you are here together this morning, but we belong together to worship together. We are part of the same vine, and in this church family we are all part of the same branch of the vine. When we come together to worship, to serve, even to play, as a family, then we can bear even more fruit than we can individually.
The author of the Book of Hebrews tells us why we should assemble together, in chapter 10, verses 23 through 25 of his letter…
23 We must hold tightly to the hope that we say is ours. After all, we can trust the One who made the agreement with us. 24 We should keep on encouraging each other to be thoughtful and to do helpful things. 25 Some people have gotten out of the habit of meeting for worship, but we must not do that. We should keep on encouraging each other, especially since you know that the day of the Lord’s coming is getting closer.--Hebrews 10:23-25 (CEV)
As our Father God loves Jesus, so does Jesus love us. He invites us to abide – to live – in that love. If you have not yet allowed Jesus into your heart, into your life, given Him full authority over you and accepted Him as Lord and Master, then it’s not too late to become part of His vine. Just as God prunes off the diseased and dead branches, He will graft on new growth, new life, to those willing to abide in Jesus, His Son. God is the vinedresser, after all. While we still draw breath, it is not too late to abide in Jesus, and belong. And it is not too late for us to help others know this same sense of belonging.
We belong to Jesus, and in that belonging, we are all part of Him, part of the same vine. Here in this family, here in Jesus, here in His love, here on the true vine… we belong. In the beautiful name of Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, You watch over the vine that is the body of Christ Jesus. You prune those branches that do not bear fruit, that are diseased or dead, so that the rest of the vine might flourish and be fruitful. Forgive us, please Father, when we fail to fully abide in Your Son Jesus. Forgive us when You are forced to prune some branches away that we might have been able to save had we only spent time with them, encouraging them, teaching them all the goodness that is Jesus. Please help us be better servants, be more fruitful.
Please hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, speaking from our hearts, thanking You for Your many blessings, promising to turn from our sin, and asking for Your help as we do so…
Lord Jesus, when we accept You as our Lord, we become Yours. You own us. And as long as we abide in You, abide in Your word, then we continue to belong to You. Help us, please Lord, to always follow you, to always abide in You and in Your love. Help us to make other people feel the same sense of belonging that we feel. Help us show them that they belong to You, they belong with us, here in Your love.
This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope, all our trust, all our faith. Amen.
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