Bear Much Fruit

Now we come to the fourth and final part of our “Discipleship” series. One of the things that made Jesus such a worthy preacher – besides his divine nature – was that he often spoke in such a way that people connected to what he was saying. He used vivid imagery to paint a picture of the message he was giving and the imagery he used was one of both the time and place.

When he described himself as the good shepherd who would lay down his life for his sheep, he was speaking to a culture of people in which shepherding was not only prevalent, but was their livelihood. When Jesus spoke of himself as the living water he did so to a desert people who knew the value of water.

In John 15 Jesus speaks of himself as the true vine. The disciples would have been able to identify with this image of the vine and the branches, of fruit bearing and pruning. They would have been able to identify with this imagery because Palestine was the land of vineyards. But more than this Israel has often been referred to as the vine, and even more, as the vineyard of God. This is part of their identity and perhaps it leaves them feeling a bit superior – a bit smug about all of this so, imagine the surprise of the disciples when Jesus tells them, ‘I am the true vine’.

“I am the true vine. And those who love me, not those who are descended of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, not those who have been circumcised, but those who love me, they are the branches. … My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”

There are three words in John 15:1-8 that lead us back to bearing fruit for God. These three words that I want you to pay particular attention to are: Abide, Apart and Ask.

The first word, abide, is a word we’ve already explored when Jesus gave us the command to abide in his word. 11 times we see this word in the first 11 verses of John 15. This is a crucial word in Jesus’ faith vocabulary and it’s one we need to pay attention to.

What does it mean to abide in Christ? Dr. Maxie Dunham – a Methodist pastor and former president of the seminary I attended once wrote, “to abide in Christ means realizing his presence; responding to his prodding and probing; and resting in his peace.” How do we abide in him? By first recognizing his presence.

To realize Jesus presence is to make him real in our lives. We make his presence real in our lives through prayer, scripture and through worship. Prayer, scripture and worship are core elements to our Christianity and our relationship to Christ.

How often do we neglect to start our day out with prayer? How often do we say to ourselves – I’m too busy? I guarantee it happens to everyone of us – including myself! Yet, it’s in prayer that we bring our focus to who Jesus is in our lives. We bring our problems to Jesus; we share our celebrations with him. We ask him to guide us, to care for us, to shape us, mold us, and make us into the person he intends us to be. In our prayer we remember his love for us and strive to remember the price he paid for our salvation.

But, sometimes we pray and do not feel the presence of Christ. Sometimes our prayer time might feel dry and barren and nothing happens. We may say to ourselves, I’m not realizing the presence of Christ here!

I believe that a big part of the problem with this is we don’t include scripture reading in our regular prayer time. I want to ask you today, do you have a quiet time each day that you set aside for prayer and scripture? Prayer and scripture reading in a quiet time each day helps us to connect to Christ.

Making Christ’s presence felt in our lives is not something that automatically happens. It takes work. It takes dedication and commitment on our part. It’s something we make happen by what we do and how we respond. So we make Jesus presence known among us by prayer and scripture, but we also do this by worship.

We can have private worship in our daily quiet time. We also have corporate worship when the people of God come together to pray together, to sing together, and to receive the forgiving grace of Christ together. When we come together as a people to celebrate what God has done in our lives we no longer bow before the altar of our job, but rather before the altar of God. We make real the presence of Christ by prayer, by scripture and by worship – and we abide in Christ.

The second word I want to talk about is apart. This word apart is a harsh word. It’s a painful word with a sense of finality to it. Jesus says in the 5th verse of today’s reading, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.”

Apart from me you can do nothing is to many of us a word of challenge and a promise as well. It is a word of challenge – because we say to ourselves, I can do it – apart from Christ. And we rely on our own strength, our own wit, our own resources to do it – whatever it is for each of us individually. This is our challenge…

Yet, Jesus gives to us a picture of judgment that when we do not abide in him, the dead branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire and are burned. Now, that’s not a picture we like to think about is it? But I’m convinced it’s a picture we need to think about. The Bible is certain about this and quite clear to us – there will be a judgment day. We will stand before Christ one day in judgment to account for who we are and what we’ve done with the life he has given us.

We may say to ourselves, God is too loving to condemn any person to eternal hell. If this is our thought we are missing the point. God doesn’t condemn us to hell – we condemn ourselves. Jesus Christ is a loving friend and companion and savior to all of us. He does everything he can do – he goes to the limits, pouring out every last drop of blood, suffering in unimaginable ways for us, dying on the cross for us in order that we might be grafted into the vine, sustained and saved.

It is those who refuse him who fail to receive the love and life that he offers. It is those who are condemned by their own deliberate refusal or failure to act that Jesus is talking about when he says, “Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned”.

The third word I want to talk about is ask. In this 7th verse Jesus says if you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish and it will be done for you. This verse is a sermon in and of itself. This is a phrase from Jesus that even when we muster up all our faith and believe, we are still so baffled by it that we don’t respond to it. We don’t lay hold of the promise he offers us.

For today let this word about prayer stand as it is. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. Ask – pray – develop that intimate relationship with Christ as we’ve talked about. Let the rewards of that relationship be a part of your life. Let Christ guide your life into a meaningful, fruitful, fruit bearing daily living.

Bear Your Cross

Two articles precede this one: Love One Another and Abide In My Word. This is the third part of a four part series discussing Jesus’ call to discipleship. My intent in this series is to better understand who Jesus is in our lives. When we begin to understand who Jesus is in our lives I believe we begin to make some changes in the way we think and the way we do things – which is precisely Jesus’ intent.

Perhaps the first thing we must realize is the commands Jesus gives to us as disciples – aren’t something that is easily done or easily followed. In fact I’m sometimes reminded of Mark Twain’s book, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” when Huck Finn says, “Well then, what’s the use of learning to do right when it’s so troublesome to do right and ain’t no trouble to do wrong?”

Ain’t that the truth? It ain’t no trouble to do wrong, but it’s troublesome to do right. It is harder to do right – it is harder to follow the right path, make the right decisions, to live the life Jesus calls us to.

And this is why Jesus tells his followers, if you are going to come to me – to follow me – to be my disciple – you need to be ready to bear your cross.

Jesus doesn’t hide the fact that this is a difficult road to follow. In fact he’s quite straightforward about this with all of his followers. Luke 14:25-35 begins with these words, “Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.””

This command of discipleship that Jesus’ gives is a strong one isn’t it? And I wonder if he perhaps trying to weed out those who are less serious about following him? I’m not sure that is the case, but rather I believe he is being straightforward with everyone as to what it takes to be a disciple of his – so they know the cost of discipleship.

I imagine this great crowd who followed Jesus was made up of the same type of people as you and I – we have hurt and sick children in our lives, we doubt who we are at times, we hunger to feel loved. We feel lost, helpless and hopeless, and frightened at times. We too look for answers, need someone to turn to – and Jesus says, hey! That’s me. Turn to me. Be in a relationship with me. Follow me, and I will feed your hunger.

But know this, when you decide to follow me – truly follow me – I will ask you to do things that are not easy. You must love one another – even when it’s not easy to do so. You must abide in my word and know the truth – even though that takes work and sacrifice. And you must be ready to sacrifice. You must be ready to take up your cross.

I believe that there are those in our world who would say I don’t think we should focus on how hard it’s going to be – how troublesome it is to do right. I believe there are those who may say I don’t want to hear the bad news or the price I have to pay – just tell me about how good it will be in the end.

Yet as Jesus says – if you are building a tower – or are embarking on something big – would you not count the cost first? Don’t you want to know how much material you’ll need, how much labor is necessary, how much wages you’ll need to pay so you don’t get stuck after just laying the foundation? You’ll want enough to finish the job. And I am glad for Jesus’ words – he lays out for us just how difficult it will be to follow him so there are no false hopes or expectations or misleading idea that this is a walk in the park.

I think in particular Jesus spoke to this crowd and his disciples about how hard it is to truly follow him because he knew what was coming. He spoke of the necessity of a total commitment – even to the point of death. And he was harsh in his words – wasn’t he?

Hate your mother, your father, your wife and children and brothers and sisters, and yes – even your own life if you are going to be my disciple – these are harsh, bold words that would catch anyone’s attention.

Why did he speak so harshly? He knew what lay ahead for those who would follow him. Throughout the history of Christianity we have heard story after story of persecution beginning with the disciples of Jesus.

Andrew (Jesus first disciple) died on a cross.
Simon (the Zealot) was crucified.
Bartholomew was flayed alive.
James (the son of Zebedee and brother of John) was beheaded.
The other James (the son of Alphaeus) was beaten to death.
Thomas (Doubting Thomas) was run through with a lance.
Matthias (who was added to the Apostles after Jesus’ resurrection) was stoned and then beheaded.
Matthew (the wealthy tax collector who made the decision to follow Jesus rather than becoming wealthier) was slain by the sword.
Peter (the rock on whom the church was built) was crucified upside down.
Thaddeus was shot to death with arrows.
Philip was hanged.

Only John made it through alive but he was exiled to a small island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea – the Patmos Island.

The demands that Jesus makes upon those who would follow him are extreme. Christianity is not a Sunday morning religion. It is a hungering after God to the point of death if need be. It shakes our foundations, topples our priorities, pits us against friend and family, and makes us strangers in this world. When we take on the responsibility of being a disciple of Jesus we are doing more than just making a decision.

The decision is the first part, the first step of this journey, and in that first step we enter in to a lifelong relationship with Jesus. The decision part of this whole thing might be the easiest of it all!

We must understand that Jesus calls us into a relationship and not just a decision. When we first commit ourselves to being a disciple of Jesus we understand that we have a lifetime journey of learning just what this means. I think we have to understand that we don’t take this decision or relationship lightly. Likewise we must understand there is a cost to being in this relationship. It’s not easy my friends.