The Vine: What does it mean to abide in Christ?

Mary 23, 2021
Series: Loved By Jesus
Speaker: Philip Miller
Here in John 15, Jesus teaches his disciples and us about the secret to a fruitful life is abiding in Him.
At the heart of this discourse is an extended metaphor 1-8 which Jesus then expounds upon in 9-17.
1. The Vine: “I am the true vine” is the 7th and final “I AM” statement in John. The vine is used as a symbol for God’s covenant people, Israel. And whenever this comparison is made, the emphasis is always on Israel’s failure to produce the fruit that God desired. Now we have Jesus applying this metaphor to himself. Jesus is saying that He is the “true” vine, and the fruit Israel failed to bear He will bear in Himself when he is crucified. He provides true access to the living, pulsating, abundant life of God. When we try to find life in everything else, it never really satisfies.
2. The Vinedresser: God the Father is caring and tending for the vine through pruning. If Jesus is the vine, and his disciples are the branches, He’s letting them know that a cutting is coming. They will feel the Vinedresser’s knife. The question is: Will they abide and become even more alive and fruitful? Or will they fall away, wither and die? The Father’s pruning cuts away what’s dead and fruitless and cultivates what’s alive and fruitful.
3. The Branches: The secret to a fruitful life is abiding in Jesus. Everything hinges on the strength of our connection with Him. That’s what makes us alive! That’s what makes us fruitful! Apart from him we wither and die; not only is there no fruit, but there is no life either. The abundant, self-giving love of the Father for the Son now overflows from Jesus into us. He invites us to make our home in his love, to settle down and abide in it. So, His love for us becomes the most real thing about us. How do we abide in the love of Jesus? Abiding is to dependently welcome Christ’s life into ourselves so that his word, love, obedience, peace, and joy become our very own.
4. The Fruit: If we abide in Christ, if his life is flowing in and through us, we will bear much fruit. All kinds of people claim to be followers of Jesus, but it is the fruit that will prove them out in the end. Note: Bearing fruit does not cause us to be disciples; bearing fruit characterizes us as disciples. Fruit naturally and necessarily flows from a life-giving connection with the Vine. What fruit does Jesus have in mind here? Love one another as Jesus loved us. Only Jesus’ life in us can produce the abiding Christlike fruit of loving obedience, joyous self-sacrifice, and faithful mission.
5. The Sap: If the branches draw their life-nutrients from the vine, what carries it along? That’s the role of the sap. If the sap enables the nutrients to flow from the vine into the branches, what is it that enables Christ’s life to flow into ours? Prayer is the sap. In prayer, we open ourselves up to the abundant life of God for us, in us, and through us.
Takeaway: Jesus is Life.
• Do you know His life?
• Are you abiding in His life?
• Is His life bearing fruit in yours?
John 15:1-17
Sermon Q&A here: • The Vine Sermon Q&A: M...
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Thanks to God and to moody church,pastors, and all the staff of moody church,who are working hard to gives us spiritualy sport and how. To support and attend Sunday service, continue to pray, read the Bible and be incontact with our Jesus Christ feeling better today to stand our difficulties of poverty, sickness and continuing to obeying our god , love each other as Jesus Christ loved us in the name of our Jesus Christ Amen

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Thanks to you my Lord for taking care of me because of my severe sickness and help us in this life to overcome the difficulties of our life successfully depending on our Jesus Christ Amen, thanks to moody church in Sunday service, pastors and all the staff they give us spiritualy supporting to be able to stand the difficulties of our life successfully depending on our Jesus Christ Amen thanks again for your help AMeN

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Thanks to you all in moody church to this marvelous service at Moody Church, Sunday service. We need your support suppressionally to continue our life successfully and concure the sickness and continuing our life in good health thankful to our pastos and all the people of moody church,hoping to become more healthy and comfortable with our love, best wishes to you all from Dr Shackour and his wife who are so sick but we believe in our Jesus Christ who will continue to help us in our lives and we will continue to pray and obey the wards of our Jesus amen

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The sickness and difficulties in our life depends on our Jesus Christ who is helping us continuing for the best of our life thanks to pastos and all the people who are working in moody church through the Sunday,s services,and Thursday, Saturda cervices Jesus is continueing to help us in this hard life and poorness and sickness thank you so much our Jesus Christ for your help continuing for the best in our life successfully