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What's your vine? PDF Print E-mail
Written by David Charlton   

Scripture

John 15:5-8

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.

Summary and Function

Summary: Many people often wonder about God’s will. They want to discover God’s will for their own lives. They want to do what God wants them to do but are not sure what that is. It’s not as if God writes it across the sky or tells us in a big booming voice. So, how do we discover God’s will for our lives? How do we discern what God wants us to do in specific situations?

To begin with, we must remain in Jesus. He’s the vine and we are the branches. If we remain with him, we’ll produce much good fruit. There are other vines we could hold onto but only Jesus will put us in God’s will. So, the first step in discovering God’s will is developing and maintaining a relationship with Jesus.

Purpose: To help the congregation to discover God’s will for their lives by encouraging them to maintain a relationship with Jesus.  

The Sermon

 

I. Introduction: Tarzan movies

1. Clip shown from a Tarzan movie showing Tarzan swinging on vines. .

2. Tarzan didn’t swing from any old vine. He swung from sturdy vines that could
support his weight.
  • There are beautiful yet weak vines that Tarzan avoided.
  • There are also vines with thorns that he didn’t use.
  • Tarzan had to use the right vine that was strong and wouldn’t break
3. Likewise, we must choose which vine we will be attached to. This will determine
what type of people we will become.

II. Jesus must be our vine

1. John 15:5: “I [Jesus Christ] am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in
me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do
nothing.”

2. The other vines we could choose

  • The ‘other’ vines are the worldly attitudes or philosophies that claim to give us peace, happiness and contentment.
  • Some of these other vines are pretty but weak: The ‘do whatever feels right’ philosophy or the ‘get rich’ attitude
  • Thorny vines: These are the painful vines that hurt us. They include thins like anger, hate and addictions

III. How we abide in Jesus

1. Abiding in Jesus is having an intimate relationship with Him

2. Developing a relationship with Jesus through study, piety and service. All this
undergirded by prayer.

IV. Abiding in Jesus results in bearing much good fruit. This fruit gives our life meaning.

1. 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.”
2. John 15:8- “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to
be my disciples.”

V. What is the fruit we should bear as a result of abiding in Jesus?

1. Fruit: The results of our lives

  • How are you influencing those around you?
  • Do you cause love to be more or less prevalent in your immediate surroundings?
  • Are people becoming more familiar with God and His attributes because of how you live?
  • Are people coming to know Jesus as a result of your life?

2. This fruit gives our life meaning. It’s what we leave behind when we go to heaven.

  • Chorus to the Randy Travis song “Three wooden crosses”: There are three wooden crosses on the right side of the highway, Why there's not four of them, Heaven only knows. I guess it's not what you take when you leave this world behind you, It's what you leave behind you when you go.”

VI. Conclusion: What fruit will you be leaving behind when you go?
 
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