Phillip K. Aiken Wrote:
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO "BEAR FRUIT"? : STUDY OF JOHN 15:1-5
http://www.snccc.net/documents/sermon_2006-09-10.pdf
http://www.snccc.net/documents/sermon_2006-09-10.pdf
(John 15:1-5)
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.
2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful.
3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.
4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
INTRODUCTION--------------
1. All vines are designed to bear fruit. Vines are designed to produce grapes.
2. All vineyards are planted for the purpose of producing grapes.
3. Jesus is the one True Vine. Because He is God He possess all the life and characteristics of the Father Himself; because He is man He is truly and permanently connected to us and we to Him. In this way He has become the connection (conduit) through which God’s very life and character is delivered and imparted to us. It is literally through Him that we have become partakers of the divine life. In the truest and fullest sense possible, Jesus through His incarnation, His redemptive work at Calvary and His resurrected life has become the true vine and the source of life and fruit bearing for every believer.
(Colossians 2:9-10) For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.
BASIC OBSERVATIONS-----------------------
1. CHRIST is the VINE, we are the BRANCHES.
2. GOD the FATHER is the GARDENER.
3. Branches receive their LIFE from the VINE.
4. All the branches need is provided by the VINE and its ROOT SYSTEM.
5. Branches receive LIFE from the VINE as long as they are CONNECTED to the VINE.
6. Branches that are SEVERED from the VINE soon dry up and die.
7. Even healthy, growing vines must be PRUNED and kept by the GARDENER in order to bear fruit.
8. Branches left to themselves will INVARIABLY grow in the WRONG direction.
9. Growth, in and of itself, does not assure fruitfulness— fruitfulness is the end product of PROPER growth.
10. Fruitfulness is not the product of the branches’ own characteristics and effort—it is the product of abiding in the VINE combined with the loving CARE of the GARDENER.
11. The GARDENER knows what is best for both the
VINEYARD and the individual BRANCHES. (a) Submit to pruning (b) Bear fruit
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.
2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful.
3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.
4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
INTRODUCTION--------------
1. All vines are designed to bear fruit. Vines are designed to produce grapes.
2. All vineyards are planted for the purpose of producing grapes.
3. Jesus is the one True Vine. Because He is God He possess all the life and characteristics of the Father Himself; because He is man He is truly and permanently connected to us and we to Him. In this way He has become the connection (conduit) through which God’s very life and character is delivered and imparted to us. It is literally through Him that we have become partakers of the divine life. In the truest and fullest sense possible, Jesus through His incarnation, His redemptive work at Calvary and His resurrected life has become the true vine and the source of life and fruit bearing for every believer.
(Colossians 2:9-10) For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.
BASIC OBSERVATIONS-----------------------
1. CHRIST is the VINE, we are the BRANCHES.
2. GOD the FATHER is the GARDENER.
3. Branches receive their LIFE from the VINE.
4. All the branches need is provided by the VINE and its ROOT SYSTEM.
5. Branches receive LIFE from the VINE as long as they are CONNECTED to the VINE.
6. Branches that are SEVERED from the VINE soon dry up and die.
7. Even healthy, growing vines must be PRUNED and kept by the GARDENER in order to bear fruit.
8. Branches left to themselves will INVARIABLY grow in the WRONG direction.
9. Growth, in and of itself, does not assure fruitfulness— fruitfulness is the end product of PROPER growth.
10. Fruitfulness is not the product of the branches’ own characteristics and effort—it is the product of abiding in the VINE combined with the loving CARE of the GARDENER.
11. The GARDENER knows what is best for both the
VINEYARD and the individual BRANCHES. (a) Submit to pruning (b) Bear fruit
The vineyard and the branches do not exist for their own SATISFACTION and PLEASURE, but for the satisfaction and pleasure of the GARDENER.
CONCLUSION----------------------
CONCLUSION----------------------
FIVE STEPS TO BEARING FRUIT
Step One: Be connected
Step Two: Stay connected
Step Three: Grow
Step Four: Be regularly pruned and tended by the Gardener
Step Five: Bear fruit
REQUIREMENTS FOR SUCCESSFUL FRUIT BEARING
1. Bearing fruit takes time!
2. Bearing fruit takes patience and persistence!
3. Bearing fruit takes nurture and care!
BUT IT’S WORTH IT!
It’s worth waiting for.
It’s worth the time and the effort.
The fruit brings delight to all who partake of it!
The vineyard of the LORD Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of his delight. Isaiah 5:7
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