Remain in the Vine

Well, as we may realize, we undergo troubles in life, don't we? It doesn't matter if you're young, teenager, and you've got troubles with schoolwork, or a parking ticket, or if you're a teenager, 95 years old. And I'd say that because I know our bodies may be old, but in our head, because I have this in many authorities out here, that you still feel like a teenager in here. The body just hasn't caught up with the idea. But no matter our age, and no matter where we live, no matter where we're from, we will all face troubles. That is just a fact of life. There will be difficult times in our lives. And Job was very much aware of that. Job said many centuries ago, thousands of years ago, he said in Job 14 verse 1, he said, man who is born of woman is a few days and full of trouble.

Full of trouble. And he certainly knew. But even Job persevered through the troubles, and he did well, God says. And so every human being has and will have troubles, and we know this, or we should know this. Yet sometimes, even as followers of Jesus Christ, our burdens in life do weigh heavy on us. I do not say they don't. They absolutely do. And we have very tough times we face. And sometimes our suffering, our distress and frustration, we may think in our hearts, or may even say, as we've heard something about in the sermonette, you know, God, this isn't fair. This doesn't feel fair. Or we might even say to ourselves, why me? Why us?

And of course, the opposite question is, well, why not us? Why not me? And that also is a truism.

You see, we human beings want to believe the mirage that life is always supposed to be good.

Or at least not so bad. That would be nice, too. But it is as it is.

God allows us to experience both the good and the difficult, Scripture tells us.

And yet at all times, it also tells us the best thing we will ever do, the best thing we will ever do in times of trial and tribulation, is to remain faithful to our Heavenly Father and Christ, His Son.

Our only hope of salvation. True life. True joy.

Today we're going to spend time looking at a parable in John 15. In John 15, we find recorded for us one of the last parables told by Jesus Christ. It's often called by scholars, you'll see it in different books, maybe in the heading of your Bible, it's often called the parable of the vine. The parable of the vine.

And in it we find Christ's instruction to His disciples, it's His instruction to His disciples to help them be faithful to God at all times, at all times, yes, but especially in times of trouble. And so today we're going to take time to consider this parable and to draw out some lessons, lessons both of warning and lessons also of hope. You see, both the warning and the hope needs to be balanced to help us stay on the right path and to remain faithful to God and focused on God. And so I've entitled the sermon, Remain in the Vine. Remain in the Vine.

So as you can guess, let's turn, I had to ask, let's go ahead and turn to John 15, John chapter 15. As we begin to delve into the meaning of this parable, and as you get there, I'm going to almost just as quickly ask you to put a bookmark there, and we're going to turn someplace else, but we have to first things first here. Let's look at John 15 verse 1. It's a short sentence, but it seems rather simple, but there's a lot of meaning here, and that shouldn't surprise us, so it is with God's Word. John 15 verse 1 reads, these are the words of Christ Jesus is speaking. Jesus says, I am the true vine, and my father is the vine dresser.

Now rather quickly, quickly, I'm sure we notice that Jesus has declared himself to be not just any vine, not just any old vine. He says, I am the true vine. Now the Greek word for true is alethinos, and it's Strong's G228, and I could spell it for you, but it's rather long.

But it does mean true, and the meaning true has various synonyms. Those synonyms include real, the real vine, the actual vine, the genuine vine, and the words together suggest that Jesus Christ is the superlative vine, the absolute pest, and the most important, the most superlative vine, unlike any others. Now as you may know and recall, there are many references to vines and vineyards throughout the Bible, throughout Scripture, even New Testament, of course, and Old Testament.

But Christ is a true vine, especially contrast with the vine that was untrue, with an untrue vine, we might say. And so if you put your bookmark here in John 15, and let's turn back to read a little bit about this contrast to Christ, something, another vine called the untrue vine. Let's look at Isaiah chapter 5 verse 1 through 7. Isaiah chapter 5 verse 1 through 7.

And my thumbs are going everywhere, but there I go, where I want to be. Isaiah 5 verse 7. Of course, the untrue vine here, the, we might say the unfaithful vine, the vine that did not bear good fruit, is a reference to Judah and Israel. Judah and Israel.

And here Isaiah conveys Isaiah 5 verse 1 through 7. Here Isaiah conveys God's rebuke to all Israel, Isaiah speaking, inspired of God. And we read, now let me sing to my well beloved a song of my beloved, my beloved regarding his vineyard, his referring to God's vineyard. Continuing on, it says, my well beloved has a vineyard on a very fruitful hill. Verse 2, he dug it up and cleared out its stones and planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst and also made a vinepress in it. And so he expected it to bring forth good grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes.

Continue in verse 3, and here if you notice the quotations marks appear maybe in your edition and suggesting that this is God now speaking himself through Isaiah directly. And it reads, and now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, please, between me and my vineyard, God says. What more could have been done to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes?

And now please, let me tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned, and break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will lay at waste, it shall not be pruned or dug, but there shall come up ryres and thorns. I will command the clouds that they rain, no rain on it.

For the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but behold, oppression. For righteousness but behold, a cry for help. And so we see depicted here how God had given special care to Israel and Judah. Remember, as we do, God had delivered Israel, the children of Israel, from Egypt, from slavery, and he placed them in this beautiful land he had promised to their fathers, and yet they did not produce the fruit.

God had expected the fruit they said they would produce. They produced worthless fruit. Let's also turn to Jeremiah chapter 2. Jeremiah chapter 2, it's a little bit, it's much shorter selection of verses, but it gets, same way it gets to the point of Israel not being that good and fruitful vineyard that God had expected them to be.

And so Jeremiah 2 verse 20 through 21. God again uses this imagery of a vine to condemn Israel's disloyalty. They're not being true to their calling, to their agreement with him, their covenant with him. Jeremiah 2 verse 20. For of old I have broken your yoke and burst your bonds. Reference to no doubt being freed from Egypt. And you said, you Israel said, I will not transgress, but when on every high hill and under every green tree you laid down plain the harlot. Yet I had planted you a noble vine, a seed of highest quality.

How then have you turned before me into the degenerate plant of an alien vine? It's rather harsh, harsh condemnation of what Israel had done, what the people had done. Now scripture records, of course, that God did indeed punish Israel and Judah for their disloyalty. And he allowed the Assyrians and the Babylonians to take them into captivity each at their own times and places, took them into captivity in exile, and all according to God's will. And they will have a chance. Prophecy also tells us so that they will have a chance to be right with God once again.

And they will become a beautiful vineyard but that is a time for the future time of the kingdom. So now let's turn back to John chapter 15. So just setting up this contrast between Jesus Christ here in John 15 chapter 1 saying that he is the true vine. And so unlike Israel, Jesus Christ was and is the faithful and true vine of God. And for us to also be faithful and true to God, as we're going to find today, we must remain in Christ the true vine. And so it is in John 15, the parable of the vine, that Jesus instructs us how to do that, how to remain in the vine, the true vine, which is Christ.

Well, let's begin. Just let's going to read now the entire first four verses here. We're just going to read straight through it, and then we'll come back and elaborate a little more on certain words and phrases. So again, Jesus said, I am the true vine, and my father is the vine dresser. And 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. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

And here Jesus seems to be speaking more directly to the disciples that are there with him at that moment. And then verse 4, Jesus says, abide in me. He tells him, abide in me, and I in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.

Now, I'm sure by now you recognize, oh, we read these verses every every Passover. This is part of our reading selection after we've washed one other's feed. After we've taken the bread and wine, we read the selection. But I explicitly state that because I wonder how much how many times do we actually stop and read and think more deeply about what it is saying.

The challenge we have in our studies of anything, we can become so familiar with words. And you've heard me say this before. Words and phrases can become rather cliched. And it could be that we think we know what it says or we go, yeah, yeah, I get it, I get it.

But we need to pause from time to time. And it's a good thing to pause and do a more deeper read into what's being said. And that's what we're going to do right now. And so when Jesus declares in verse one, I am the true vine, my father's vine dresser, he is announcing that he is the true, the actual, the genuine, the ultimate, and vine of God. Christ fulfills what Israel did not and could not do.

They could not be faithful to God. He is true, and he is faithful. He is also just and righteous, something that Israel was unable to be, and he will bear God's blessings to all peoples. Whereas Jesus Christ is a true vine, he says that God, his father, is the vine dresser. The Greek word here for vine dresser is georgos. It sounds like georg, George. In fact, the English word George, that name George does mean farmer. Sometimes translations will have farmer instead of wine dresser, excuse me, vine dresser, and or even gardener.

But in announcing that he is the true vine and God the Father is a vine dresser, Jesus is also revealing his subordinate role to the Father. He is subordinate to the Father. Continuing verse two, he said, every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he, he, meaning the Father, takes away, and every branch that bears fruit, he, the Father, prunes.

Why? That it may bear more fruit. So we have this analogy being set up. Jesus is the vine. His disciples are the branches, and the branches draw their life from the vine. The vine produces its fruit through the branches. Here we also learn that the Father is directly involved in the fruitfulness of the vine's branches, and he's directly involved in the fruitfulness of the vine's branches by doing two things, and we just read that. One, the Father takes away every branch in Christ that doesn't bear fruit. Notice Jesus said every branch, every branch.

No fruitless branches will be exempt from being cut off. He removes the useless, we might call it, he removes the useless deadwood from the vine. It's not producing fruit. Second thing the Father does directly to improve the fruitfulness of the vine's branches, he prunes every branch that bears fruit.

Why? That it may bear more fruit. All right. But again, notice, again, Jesus says every branch is exempt from pruning, so that it might bear more fruit.

And so we begin to understand pruning, and the Father is involved in this, and the pruning may look like it harms the plant, but it really doesn't. And I'm looking at this crowd, I know we have some professionals here that know all about pruning far more than me. And we have many of us that have done our share of pruning, that's for certain. And when we prune cut back plants, it could look like we're harming them. But that's not the case. Now at this point, I understand it would probably be good to cover a few details about pruning. Pruning was something most people in ancient times would have readily understood, but that's probably not much the case today. Most of our society, most people now live in urban areas, cut off from agriculture. If they have plants in their homes, chances are they're cacti, cactus, or silk plants.

You know, there's just no room for a vineyard on your balcony, up 10 stories on the apartment building. And so let's understand why was pruning a vine's important, and why is it important? Why do it? Well, pruning involves cutting off dead wood and trimming living branches. The branches are alive that you're trimming. It's critical in promoting growth and production of more fruit. And so let me read now from an article from backgardener.com, because this article will help us understand an analogy, the analogy Jesus Christ is developing here in this parable. Here's what it says. backgardener.com says about pruning vines, quote, pruning grape vines during the winter season, during the dormant season, is a critical step in maintaining the health and productivity of the vineyard. By removing dead, diseased, or damaged wood, grape growers can promote heavy growth, increase yields, and protect the vine from disease and pest. Winter pruning also allows growers to shape the vine, control its size, and encourage protein.

I begin to see here echoes of what Jesus was talking about in his parable.

Now listen to these two sentences. By pruning at the right time and using the correct techniques, growers, or we could say vine dressers or farmers or gardeners, growers can set their vines up for success and enjoy a bountiful harvest. In fact, pruning is one of the most important practices in grapevine management and, when done correctly, can lead to significant improvements in vine health and productivity. Unquote. And so you just had a real quick lesson on why pruning. But it also helps, I believe, helps us to understand, to get beyond the cliche level, to understand more about what Jesus Christ is talking about, more about this analogy he is setting up. Because this directly involves us, you understand. We have been called and we are living branches. We are living branches on the vine of Christ. We want to remain as living branches on the vine, that true vine. And so just as pruning grapevines is critical for the fruitfulness of the branch, so is the Father's pruning of the living branches, those faithful followers of Christ, who draw life from the true vine. The branches have to be attached, unified with that vine.

And so God's pruning in our lives likely happens when we are suffering troubles, or hurts, or sorrows. And like we just read, God, like a good gardener, the Father, allows us to undergo difficulties at just the right time and in just the right way to better benefit us spiritually. Why? So that we might bear more good in spiritual fruit. That spiritual fruit he wants us to bear.

The sort of spiritual fruit we find listed in Galatians 5, 22, 23, you can jot that down.

Those fruits here listed include love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. And there are many other fruits, spiritual fruits, godly fruit like repentance, justice, righteousness, godliness. That's a big, broad one. But I think we get the point. These and many others are godly fruit that Christ exhibited, Jesus Christ himself exhibited. He's the true vine. And these are also the fruits Jesus Christ exemplified. He lived and taught, and that he wants us to heed and follow.

Now God's pruning may be very painful, but it's important to remember that the Father's purpose is not born of cruelty. He has never been a cruel God. Never will be. It's impossible. He is a God of love, and the pruning is done out of love so that we might bear more good fruit.

Now God's pruning may also happen when God needs to correct or chasten us due to our our sins, due to our own willfulness, which can often be contrary to him. We can be disobedient, and like a loving Father, he has disciplined us in an appropriate way. But the desired outcome of chastening is the same. It's like the pruning. God wants us to choose to be faithful and loyal to him and his way. He wants us to bear good fruit. And ultimately, he wants us to be holy, for he is holy. Now we find God's similarity of purpose between the pruning or with the pruning and chastening, we find God's similarity of purpose and we find it expressed in Hebrews 12. I'd like for us to put a bookmark here in John 15. We're coming back. Let's turn now to Hebrews 12.

And again, I think we'll read a little more of that. Let's go ahead and turn to Hebrews 12. Let's begin in Hebrews 12 verse 4. We'll read the bigger context.

In here, the writer of Hebrews is breaking into the thought a little bit here in verse 4, speaking, addressing followers of Christ, disciples, you and me as well. He writes, you have not yet resisted the bloodshed striving against sin, and you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons. And then he quotes here from Proverbs 3. He quotes, my son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by him, for whom the Lord loves, he chastens and scourges every son whom he receives.

Continuing on, the writer says, if you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons, for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.

It almost begins to sound like those are not attached to the vine. Maybe that's why you're not being chastened. Maybe you've totally rejected God. Let's continue in verse 9.

Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the father of spirits and live?

And here is a verse I wanted to really focus on a little bit more. Draw attention to you. Verse 10. For they indeed for a few days, chasing us as seemed best to them, but he our heavenly Father, but he for our prophet, that we may be partakers of his holiness. There's a goal, in other words, for the sufferings, for the prunings and chastenings we go through. Verse 11. Now no chastening, and we might also add no pruning, seems to be joyful for the present but painful. Nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it, who had allowed themselves to be shaped and to adjust their course in life, to be obedient, submissive, willingly obedient, submissive to God. So again, we see that God's pruning and chastening, though often unpleasant, are indeed meant to help God's faithful ones to be even more faithful, to be even more fruitful in the ways of God's righteousness. Now let's go back to John 15. We haven't proceeded very far, but we're going to move a little more quickly once we finish laying the groundwork here. Back in John 15, there's this other aspect. We've just talked about the pruning, but in verse 2 Jesus also says that God removes every branch, every disciple, in other words, who does not bear spiritual fruit.

Now these are individuals, apparently, who appear to be connected to Christ, but they in fact do not bear the spiritual fruit of God's righteous character. I don't know, is it possible? They're busy, they're involved, but they're not actually developing God's character. They're not producing that fruit. They are dead wood. Though they are among the fruit-bearing branches, they will not remain, but they will be removed by the Father. Now to find an example of someone who could be attached to Christ and yet bear no fruit, perhaps we need to look no farther than to the example of Judas Iscariot. Judas Iscariot. Jesus, by the way, told this particular parable after that final Passover was over, and he and his disciples were walking, apparently, walking across to the Garden of Gethsemane. Judas, by the time, according to its scripture, the chronology of scripture here, by the time Jesus was delivering this parable to the 11 disciples who remained with him, Judas had already left them to betray Jesus. He had already left to have Jesus arrested to work out that plot, that intrigue. Judas was dead wood, and God removed him according to his will and time and purpose. Now in verse 3 through 4, Jesus tells these disciples this, and again he's telling them this in this particular context, he's telling them this, these 11, and Judas is absent. He tells them, rather directly, verse 3, he says to his disciples, you are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

Now, Christ's meaning here, most scholars seem to concur that it seems rather unclear in some ways, and it's open to debate, but the word clean here is the Greek word katharos, katharos, strong G2513, and it can mean literally or figuratively clean as being purified by fire, as purified by fire, but there's Greek lexicon also adds this. It can be clean, quote, like a vine cleansed by pruning, and so fitted to bear fruit. And so, he's speaking to the 11 disciples who had remained faithful to him. They had not turned aside as Judas had, and because they had been faithful in striving to understand and heed Christ's words, his words, his instructions, it would seem, it could be that Jesus is indicating that the Father had already been pruning them. The Father had already been working with them, making them more spiritually fit to bear more fruit, and that would make sense. For three, or near most of three and a half years, they've been traveling and working with Christ, learning from him. They had suffered things together. They had undergone distresses together. They had remained faithful. And then in verse 4, Jesus urges them to remain connected to him, to be living fruit-bearing branches. And so he says, here again we read verse 4, Jesus tells him, it abide in me, and I in you, as a branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine. Neither can you, can you what? bear fruit of yourself unless you abide in me.

The Greek word here for abide is meno, M-E-N-O, and it means to stay. It means to remain, to continue, to endure, remain, continue, endure. Or a word we don't use as often anymore, it can mean abide. So to bear godly fruit, Jesus is telling them, he's telling us, one must hear and obey Christ's word, his instruction. And of course we recall, Jesus said a number of times, he did not speak his own words, he spoke the words of his father, the words that his father had given him. And so he's making the point we have to follow God's instruction, Christ's instruction, it's one and the same. Those branches must remain in union with the true vine, or otherwise they will die. And again, it seems then, it'd be right to say, fruitfulness is a mark of Christ's disciples. Fruitfulness is a mark of Christ's disciples. Now at this point, Jesus further develops and emphasizes the importance of remaining connected to him. So let's read now in verses five through six. Jesus continues, he says, 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. Now I want to pause here, because one of the challenges in studying, I found, one of the challenges, I'll stick with me, one of the challenges I find, and I think it's echoed by other scholars, Jesus Christ does a lot of repetitive wording through here. And it can become confusing to us as we read this. But what strikes me is each time as he repeats something, it's as if he's circling, but as he repeats, he also brings us to something more. Each time he repeats, he's adding a little bit more information that's very important to us. And so sometimes reading this, we can feel like we get what he's saying, but if we pause and study closely, there's something important he's adding. And so when he says, he who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit, he's adding something here in verse 5. For without me, you can do nothing. Without me, you can do nothing.

And then he adds verse 6, for if anyone does not abide in me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered, and they gather them, gather those branches as dead wood and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. And so we see that we can only bear that good and godly fruit when we remain connected and in close relationship with God, with Christ. Of course, elsewhere in Scripture, we know Scripture explains how that the connection, how we stay connected with God is ultimately through God's gift of His Holy Spirit. It's through God's gift of His Holy Spirit. The very essence and power of God must be in us as that guarantee, as that down payment, as it were, of salvation and eternal life, down payment of salvation, eternal life to come at Christ's return. And it's the Father, again, it's the Father who gives us His gift of the Spirit. It's a Father who helps us to develop more of His, more of that good fruit, and receive the Spirit, of course, we know and mustn't forget, through the laying on of hands, after we've repented of sin and committed ourselves to God through baptism. And so Christ is emphasizing, and something people may not remember or don't remember, don't know, that on our own we are incapable of bearing the fruit God expects us to bear.

And that means we'll also fail, then, on our own, in repenting. We'll fail in overcoming sins. We will fail in persevering in faithfulness to God through all those difficult times, whatever happens. And so it's vital that we remain attached to Christ with the help of God's Holy Spirit.

But those who choose not to abide or remain in Christ, Jesus again comes back to that part. He says they are, in essence, the deadwood. They'll be cut off, and here He adds that they'll be burned up in fire. This would seem to be referring to the second death. The second death is of those who refuse, absolutely refuse, to repent and to submit to God. Now let's continue on verses 7 through 8. Verses 7 through 8, Jesus next tells His disciples, shares with them in this parable these encouraging words. He says, if you abide in me, in my words abide in you, and here He adds something more, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this, He says, my Father is glorified that you bear much fruit, so you will be my disciples. And so there's another aspect of being part of this living vine, being part of Christ. There's this aspect to begin to bring in now about asking God. We would say about going to God in prayer. Knowing that you could do nothing of your own, we need some help. We are to go to God. Now Jesus explains how we and of course all of His disciples are to bear fruit that pleases and glorifies God, and it requires, it's becoming clear now, it requires two fundamental actions on our part. There are two fundamental actions on our part that we need to be doing to ensure that we remain attached to the vine. And quite simply, you can summarize it down to obeying God and praying for His help. We need to be obeying God and praying for His help. Now as soon as I say that, it sounds so simple, doesn't it?

Yeah, just obey God and pray. But again, as we start unpacking this, it is, well, it's pretty much almost what I would say it's pretty much what the whole Bible is about. It's very involved. But let's go back and read verse 7 a little more carefully, and we'll flesh this out a little bit.

Now pull out more meaning. So Jesus said again, verse 7, if you abide in me, in other words, if you choose to remain faithful to me, and if my words abide in you, in other words, if you willingly submit to my words, Christ says, to my instruction, if you make my words your instruction an active, vital, living part of all that you are and all that you do and all that you want to be, then you will ask what you desire. You will ask what you desire. That suggests you will humbly pray. You will seek God's help. And what then? Well, because we're already busy, we're already engaged in obeying God, being humble and repentant, it shall be done for you. It tells us, Jesus is saying, you will receive an answer from God. God will respond. And by this my father is glorified. This is how you bear much fruit, and you will be my disciples if you do these things.

And so it is when we choose to remain in Christ the life-giving vine, and we choose to allow Christ's life-giving words to remain in us, and we remain in him, then we are choosing to conform to Jesus Christ. We're allowing that living vine that we draw life from to change us from within to change us from within. And Christ lived and taught. He lived, excuse me, he lived what he taught, and he taught the way of God's love. That is the goal of our conformity to Christ, of staying attached to the vine as branches to be built, to be producing fruit that good fruit. We're to be conforming to Christ. It's necessary to remain in the vine, to remain connected to him. And so it is that we truly abide with God when we humble ourselves. We're going to be repenting of our sins. We're going to be striving to make God's ways, our ways. And God will hear our prayers because of our sincere choice and willingness to be like Christ, to be like the true vine. And so unless we are in Christ, in Christ in us, we can do nothing to overcome sin, to overcome the penalty of death. You see, when Christ says nothing, we can do nothing on our own. You could say it comes down to the fact we cannot save ourselves. We, on our own, cannot achieve salvation. We cannot achieve eternal life. We're absolutely helpless.

We have to be attached to that living vine. And then finally, if we wonder exactly how, exactly what Jesus is talking about, obeying God, and many people throughout the world, they read the Scripture, and suddenly they can get to these verses we're about to read here, verses 9 through 10 and 11. They suddenly say it's obscure what Jesus is talking about.

But we come here to verses 9 through 10, because Jesus makes it very clear to us the answer of what he means we're to be doing to obey God. We don't come up with our own rules. We don't come up with our own principles to live by. We don't have a select committee of important people to decide for us what it means to obey God. We turn to Scripture. Verse 9, as the Father loved me, Jesus says, I have also loved you, you my disciples. Abide or remain in my love. That's a choice we make.

We choose to abide. He wants them to choose to abide in my love, he says. In verse 10, he says, if you keep my commandments, you will be abiding in my love. That's how we do it. And just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. It's all about staying connected with Christ. Christ is of the Father. There's this unity, this beautiful unity.

Verse 11, these things I've spoken to you that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. Of course, joy is one of the fruits of this, one of the fruits were to be producing.

And so Jesus, we understand, is saying he kept his Father's commandments, and we know he kept the commandments perfectly. He was without sin. He was the Lamb of God without blemish.

Our willing obedience and submission to God is also vital to be bearing godly fruit. And as verse 11 makes clear, persevering and submission to God will maintain our joy in our relationship with Christ and the Father. True joy requires that we stay connected to God. We remain in that vine. And that's what Christ does. He does everything he can. He does all. He always strives to do what pleases God. Let's turn to John 8 verse 29. Just one Scripture here, but it's a very powerful Scripture, and it's one we should thank on and dwell on and work our lives, make choices to work our lives to do as Christ did, the true vine.

John 8 verse 29, Jesus again speaking here, and he says, And he who sent me is with me. Here's his sense of unity, this union, oneness. And he who sent me is with me. The Father has not left me alone. For I always do those things that please him. That is a wonderful goal for us, that we would always do what pleases him.

That's a life changer. And so no matter our predicament in life, we must always strive to do what pleases God. That's what the true vine did, and that's what we, as branches in the vine, will likewise be striving to do. That beautiful unity, that beautiful connection.

And so Jesus, we can understand, wanted his disciples to hear what we now call the parable of the vine. He wanted them to hear this, and it was directly addressed in the context originally from what we see in scriptures, directed towards those 11 disciples. Judas had already left the scene at that point.

And no doubt, again, as I said, no doubt in following and serving Christ during his ministry, his disciples had already suffered many trials and troubles. They had their way to burden of woe, as you might say. And at the same time, those trials and troubles had also surely helped them to be humble and repentant and obedient to God. And yet, we know the larger story, don't we? At that point, those disciples did not understand that worse times were about to come, matter of fact, in just a few hours' time. The moment they heard, according to what we see in scripture when they first heard this parable. John 1431 indicates that Jesus told the parable, again, as I mentioned, while they were walking to the Garden of Gethsemane. It was that very same night when Jesus had washed their feet. It was on that same night that they had just finished their final Passover together with Christ. Just a few hours later, these same disciples would be undergoing the most difficult and terrible time that they would have yet experienced in their lives.

And so the events surrounding, and of course that would be the events surrounding, Christ's crucifixion. And so Jesus told this parable, fully aware that their faith was about to be tested to the extreme. And sometimes we might, as we read these verses, we might forget the context of when his disciples were hearing this. And so as we read this, as I read this, you know, it's very humbling. It's very humbling and sobering to consider how Jesus was facing the greatest test of his life, and he was about to fulfill the ultimate purpose for his father sending him, for sending him with his gospel, and sending him to take this next huge step in the plan of salvation, the saving of humanity.

And yet, isn't it amazing that Jesus paused to teach this parable? To teach this parable. It is just that important for the disciples then and for his disciples today.

God and Christ want all of us to remain in Christ. It's a choice. He wants us to choose to abide in him, the true vine.

We must forever abide and remain in Christ, no matter what happens to us, no matter the troubles we are facing right now, or the troubles that will surely come sometime, in some way. It's just the right time, and God knows we need to be pruned a little bit. We need to be having an opportunity to grow more fruit. They're going to come. And when they come, we keep obeying God, and we ask God to help us. And we can be assured that he absolutely is going to help us.

He has been, whether we know it or not.

So let's review. What did Jesus want his disciples to do and to know? Break it down. Make it small and tight here. What did Jesus want his disciples to do and to know?

In the parable of the vine, we could say it comes down to four things. It comes down to four things.

Number one, remain in Christ and bear godly fruit. Remain in Christ and bear godly fruit.

Don't stop. Don't ever stop. Number two, we probably remember this part, don't be dead wood.

We do not want to be dead wood. We must be producing fruit.

And number three, obey God and pray for his help always.

Obey God and pray for his help always.

And then finally, number four, and this is so important. They all are, but this especially.

Remember, you can do nothing to save yourself.

Yes, there are things we must do, but we don't save ourselves. Christ does.

You, we, me, I, you can do nothing without Christ. In that sense of trying to save ourselves, trying to achieve eternal life on our own two feet.

And so, as a conclude, we need to remember, then, we won't always know the reasons for the troubles we have in life. But it is encouraging to know that our loving God has given us his instruction about what we need to do. We must, in faith, persevere in prayer and obedience, an obedience to our loving Father in Christ so that we may enjoy and receive eternal life in his kingdom.

So, brethren, I encourage us, please, to know and remember that God is faithful to help us.

And let us be faithful to do our part to remain in the vine, the true vine, Jesus Christ.