This morning we come to the last “I am” statement of Jesus. Jesus said, “I AM the true vine”.  There are many false hopes, false saviors, and false resources for life. They will disappoint you. Jesus said, I AM the true source of life, and wholeness, and fruit. If you stay connected to me like a branch to a vine, you will thrive and bear fruit. 

Apart from me you are like a withered, dead branch. But if you stay close to me, the very life of God will flow into you! My life, my joy, my power, my love will flow into you, LIKE the flow of life from the vine to the branches. 

To be a Christian is to be in a living union with Jesus. Romans 7:4 “We were JOINED to Him who was raised from the dead so that we might bear fruit for God.” We’re to believe we are actually connected to Him every moment of every day, like a branch to a vine. Any way of life that is not essentially drawing upon Jesus own LIFE and power daily, is not the life Jesus died to give you.  

If you are joined to Jesus, life is never just you! It’s never just you and your problem. It’s never just you and your computer problem or car problem or relationship problem. It’s never just you and your inward heart or emotional problem. It’s never just you and your weakness or temptation. Jesus is ALWAYS there, right with you, to strengthen you, to solve your need, to give you wisdom, to work all that HE is into you. He is always sufficient for you! 

*Jesus said, “Abide in Me!”  That means stay close to me. One author called it an “intense, loving, demanding, fruitful relationship that Jesus intended for His followers”. It’s not seeking an occasional spiritual high. It’s not doing a Christian activity, then living life as if you belonged to yourself.  It’s living your whole life in fellowship with Jesus, so that His strength, wisdom, joy and peace will flow into you. 

AM said, “The Christian way of fixing men, is not tinkering with this, that, and the other individual qualities. The secret is that total excellence comes through communion with Him.”  It’s not self help or self improvement working on this or that to become a better person, it’s communion with Jesus and THAT fixes us, heals and restores everything about us.

It’s important to see that Jesus produces fruit in our lives NOT by demanding things from us, but by calling us to come close to Him and remain there. Every fruit comes from living connection to Jesus. Joy and peace, the ability to love people, bless people, reach people, all come from Him. To talk about winning people or having a ministry, without remaining in this spiritual closeness to Jesus, just won’t work!  It’s only abiding in Jesus that brings a vibrant life full of fruit.

This is the kind of relationship you CAN have, it’s the kind of relationship Jesus desires for you. Indeed he COMMANDS it!  Which raises the question, is this the kind of relationship with Jesus you are living in, and pursuing more of?  Is this the kind of relationship with Jesus you are showing to your children and teaching to your children?  Is this the kind of relationship with Jesus you are showing your spouse? Are you showing the people in your life, that life flows from Jesus. So they see the fruit of that connection? 

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*Jesus talked a lot about fruit here. Verse 5 “Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit”  So, what IS fruit? It’s everything God wants in your life! It’s everything that brings glory to Him! 

-Phil 1:11 Paul prayed that we’d be filled with the FRUIT of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. 

-Gal5:22,23 says the FRUIT of GOD’S Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. 

-In Colossians 1:10,11 Paul prays, “that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing FRUIT in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God”.    

-Hebrews 13:15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is the FRUIT of lips that give thanks to His name. 

The fruit in the Bible is not some grandiose activity, but it’s supernatural graces like love, joy, peace and patience. It’s taking the lower place, turning the other cheek, being subject to one another, keeping the unity of the Spirit, bearing with one another, putting away anger, praising God instead of complaining. It’s giving thanks in all things. 

And there is no substitute for true fruit that flows out of intimacy with Jesus.  Busyness is not a substitute for fruit. A hectic, frantic pace of life, CAN actually hinder true spiritual fruit in your life. Success in business or ministry is not a substitute for fruit. Conservative morals, conservative politics, Bible knowledge, fitting in with the Christian culture, NOTHING takes the place of living in this vine/branch relationship with Jesus.  

And then there’s this great liberating truth that abiding with Jesus WILL produce fruit. This relationship with the Vine produces a deep peace and rest in the way we live.  We’re not frantic, striving, to become something we are not. We are NOT laboring under the burden of feeling it’s all up to me.  Pushing without life is legalism! It’s hard.

We are simply to abide and MUCH fruit will come forth out of that. Live life in Jesus and you will manifest Jesus whoever you are with, whatever you are doing, every day. 

*Jesus said, and “My Father is the vine-dresser”. (the Gardener) The Father oversees the this whole process. He works in your life with carefulness and perfection, with wisdom.  

*Then Jesus said in verse 2 “Every branch in me that does not bear fruit the Father takes away” That warning is meant to provoke us to seriousness, faithfulness, to a tenacious vigilance in remaining in Jesus.  Beware of having a superficial relationship with Jesus that doesn’t bear fruit, that doesn’t make you a new and different person. 

The entire NT shows there can be a tremendous amount of self-deception about a person’s relationship with Jesus. And  fruit is always the test of genuineness.  John said, “If anyone says I know Him, but doe not keep His commandments, he is a liar and the truth is not in him. WHOEVER claims to abide in Him, MUST walk as Jesus walked. 1 John 2:4-6  

*Then Jesus said, “every branch that does bear fruit the Father prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” Pruning is the pain and suffering God takes us through, so that we may bear more fruit. Hebrews 12:11 says It’s painful things, that “produce the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” More and more I’ve learned to assume that when things happen to me that hurt, I am being pruned to be more effective, so that I would bear more fruit. 

Our trials and troubles aren't always due to sin, or God's discipline, or attacks from the enemy or the consequences of our own bad decisions. It may be because you are actually fruitful. And so that you will be more fruitful!

Paul said it’s our suffering that causes the life of Jesus to manifest in us. “For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. 2 Cor. 4:11 Without affliction, failure and pain, we can become cold, hard, unsympathetic and unfruitful. It is often trials or suffering that moves us fro spiritual barrenness to spiritual fruitfulness. 

The first time I had coffee with Greg, we were sharing some pain we’d had in our past. And he said I never trust anyone unless I can smell smoke on them. He said that because, he’s learned that if someone has been through the fire, they will have genuine fruit. 

*Verse 3 “Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.” This seems to be an assurance to us who are pruned, that we aren’t being rejected, but just undergoing the work of the Father’s hand to make us more heavily laden with fruit. 

Verse 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, for apart from me you can do nothing.”  We can do nothing of spiritual value without Him. He’s warning us against all forms of self-sufficiency, living life by ourselves and for ourselves. We can do a lot of things, be very active, and yet end up with nothing. 

*Then we come to this warning in verse 6 “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.”  I heard someone say recently, “We live in morally serious universe”.  That is so true. Life is serious. Every person, whether they know is or not, is dealing with the heavy truth of either being saved from the wrath to come or facing the fires of judgment. If anyone wants to be saved from the fires of judgment, then come to Jesus and remain close to Him. A true believer is always one who comes and remains and bears fruit.

*Verse 8 “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”  So we should desire to bear MUCH fruit!  And therefore pray for much fruit.

Verse 7 “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. Abiding results in freedom to ask whatever we wish and it the path to answered prayer. AM “If our whole inward nature is influenced by the words of the Lord, then our desires will be granted.”

That doesn’t necessarily mean if you DON’T receive the answer you wanted, to one prayer, you aren’t abiding.  I’ve had seasons in my life where I’ve seen some pretty amazing answers. I’ve also prayed for things that didn’t happen in the way I wanted or prayed for. Paul the apostle had that experience. Jesus cried out a prayer in the garden that wasn’t answered. 

But generally abiding in Jesus results in a life of answered prayer! IF you abide in Him, you have faith to ask and receive because you know you are living near to Him. As the scripture says, “Delight you self in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

*Verse 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. Abiding in Jesus is abiding in His love. Jesus loves you with the very same love that the Father loves Him. Very seldom will you experience faithful love in this world. But you get that from Jesus. He commands you, “Keep yourself in My love”. Keep yourself in the experience of My love. Believe you are greatly beloved. Think about His love. Walk in His love. Enjoy His love.

Then He gives us the key to that. Verse 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.” The ultimate way to abide in Jesus’ love is careful obedience.  Obey Him in your home, when you are with your spouse. Obey Him in your attitudes and thoughts and words! If we complain, and use sharp angry words, or live in bitterness, and walk in attitudes that are clearly disobedient to the commands of scripture, we won’t have the full experience of His love! Jesus said, “Keep my commands and you will abide in my love.”

Then Jesus reveals WHY he gave us this message of the Vine and the branches. Verse 11 “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. Jesus WANTS you to have full joy!  And it’s abiding in Jesus that produces JOY. It’s God’s presence, or the presence of Jesus, that brings joy to me or you or anybody. My brother Paul asked me how I was doing. And I said I still have grief and sadness, but I’d have to say I’m as happy as I’ve ever been. I really don’t understand it, but I know it’s the presence of Jesus.  

So how is this message to affect us and change us:

*It should drive us to remain in Jesus, as the main focus of life. It should press us into fellowship, closeness, oneness, agreement, loyalty to Jesus.  The Christian life IS Jesus. It’s not merely good morals, or correct doctrine, or miracles, or experiences, or prophecies, or conservative politics, or feeling good about myself, or having a picture perfect life or a picture perfect marriage or family.  It is abiding in Jesus and bearing fruit to the glory of God. When people watch your life, they are to see Jesus. When they hear you talk they are to hear the words of God. Abide in Jesus and you will bear much fruit! 

*Jesus as the Vine, takes the burden out of being a Christian. The Christian life is a fight, it’s a race to run, but it is NOT oppressive or burdensome.  And that’s because of the power of the Vine that flows into us day and night without ceasing.  Several years ago I walked into a store and saw a painting of work horse, straining every muscle to pull a wagon of coal.  And I almost bought it because that was how I felt about my life at that moment. But I didn’t because I felt the Lord rebuke me  for thinking like that. “I” was making life and work and ministry feel that way.  I was bringing that down on myself. That wasn’t the frame of mind Jesus wanted me to have. 

Sometimes we try to uphold something that we just need to let go of. Sometime we try to carry something that we need to let God carry for us. Sometimes we try to be something that God didn’t intend us to be. Our job is to abide. Jesus will produce the fruit. 

*Abiding in Jesus is a choice, an action of your heart. A.W. Tozier said, “Each of us is about as full of the Spirit as we want to be.”  Likewise we live about as close to Jesus as we want to be. Choose to abide. 

*Jesus as the Vine does produce joy. Whether we are living in joy, or not, is a really big tell. It reveals a lot about our connection to Jesus. That is not to condemn any one but to help us examine our lives. Abiding in Jesus will result in substantial joy IN him and WITH Him. Joy is in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.    

*This life of the Vine, is experienced by believing. John said these things are written so that you may believe and that by believing you may have life in His name. Paul said “It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live, I live by faith (by believing) in the Son of God. He believed in a flow of life from Jesus to him, that was continually available.  Believe this and you will experience the Life of Jesus flowing to you, like the vine to the branch.