“How To Have A Fruitful Life”
John 15:1-17
Sermon Series: “Getting Acquainted With Jesus”
Introduction: The main theme of Christ’s teaching is that the only way to have a fruitful life is to be connected to Him and allow His life to flow through us.
Jesus identifies 3 characters in these verses: He is the vine, the Father is the vinedresser, and believers are the branches. Verse 3 tells believers that Christ has already cleansed them so they are in a relationship with God, but abiding deals with our fellowship and usefulness. Salvation brings us into a union with Christ, but we have to abide in order to stay in ongoing communion with Him.
Jesus tells us that we can do nothing apart from Him (v.5). The analogy is that a branch is powerless when it is disconnected from the vine because life flows from the vine into the branches. If we abide in Him, we will bring forth much fruit. If we are not bearing fruit, God will lovingly deal with us in order to make us fruitful. A person who never bears any fruit is not a true believer (Matthew 7:20). Believers who are not bearing fruit at a particular time are disciplined by God in order for them to deal with sin and hindrances in their lives. God prunes believers who are bearing some fruit in order to make us more fruitful. This is a painful process with a good purpose. God cuts away the junk in order to make us everything He wants us to be. This is why we experience problems in our lives sometimes. God is working on us to make us as abundant as we should be. So, living a fruitful life involves staying connected to Jesus through salvation and abiding and being pruned by the Father.
1. The Means of Abiding in Christ: In other words, how do we go about staying close to Christ?
A. Confess sin (1 John 1:9)
B. Spend time in His presence in worship and prayer
C. Set our minds on Christ and heavenly things (Colossians 3:1-3)
D. Spend time in His Word (v.7, see also Psalm 1)
E. Walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-26) [I believe this is basically the same thing as abiding in Christ]
F. Loving God and others (v. 9-17)
G. Obeying God (v. 14) [We cannot live in disobedience and stay in fellowship with Christ]
2. The Importance of Bearing Fruit: Why is it so important for us to bear fruit?
A. It glorifies God (v. 8).
B. It is good for others.
C. It is a blessing to us.
D. It demonstrates that we are disciples of Christ (v.8). [proof of salvation]
E. It is the fulfillment of Christ’s plan for our lives (v. 16)
F. It is connected to having our prayers answered (v. 7, 16)
3. The Nature of Fruit: In other words, what is a biblical definition of fruit? It is important for us to understand what we are talking about when we speak of bearing fruit.
A. Leading others to Christ (Romans 1:13)
B. Godly character (Galatians 5:22-23)
C. Giving (Romans 15:28)
D. Good works (Colossians 1:10)
E. Praise and Worship (Hebrews 13:15)
It is crucial for us to understand, however, that true fruit is produced by Christ living through us. It is not something that can manufacture on our own. As we abide in Christ, He lives through us so His nature is manifested in our lives.
Conclusion: Jesus is calling us to abide in Him so that our lives will bear much fruit to the glory of God. Let’s stay close to Him!
