Pastor Nate Prazuch, lead pastor at Christ the Word Church in Lakeville, Minnesota, exposits the Scriptures of the Bible verse by verse. Expository teaching and preaching sermons and classes are available here at the Exposit podcast.
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[00:00:21] Well, just like we mentioned a minute ago with the Lord's Supper, this three chapters or so is talking about what happened the night of the Last Supper. The night before Christ was killed. And he's having dinner with his disciples, with the people that he is closest to, that if we were in his position, we would say the people that we loved the most. I think Jesus loves all of us equally all the way.
[00:00:51] We're told in the first part of John 14, he loves us to the end, he loves us to the utmost. But he's with his close friends, his family. And you know how that feeling is after you have Thanksgiving dinner and you're just kind of lounging and you're just visiting.
[00:01:06] We're going through this here in John 15 now. And I wonder what we would say if we knew that the next day we were going to die and our friends and family are here, what would we be saying to them? Probably the most important things before we left.
[00:01:23] If we knew. The Lord doesn't give us that luxury of knowing if it's a luxury, maybe it would be a curse, probably would be a curse to know the moment that you would die, whether it's in a year or 10 years or 50.
[00:01:34] He doesn't let us know that. But if we know tomorrow I'm going to be tried, convicted, executed, what would you say? Would you have enough composure to keep it together for your own self without falling apart?
[00:01:49] To have enough peace and gumption in your heart to allow, now give your friends and family some parting instructions. This is what he does here.
[00:02:03] We know that they were in the upper room. We call it the upper room discourse from the chapter I just read for the Lord's Supper. Mark 14 tells us that.
[00:02:13] But let's see what Jesus tells his friends. Because they're very important words.
[00:02:18] These are the words that Christ chose to tell his disciples before he left.
[00:02:23] So let's listen. We're beginning in John 15, verse 1. And Jesus is speaking here.
[00:02:32] It's a continuation, remember, of what we've been talking about for the last two weeks.
[00:02:36] He says,
[00:03:09] I am the vine.
[00:03:41] I am the vine.
[00:04:06] And that your joy may be full.
[00:04:36] This is my commandment.
[00:04:37] But I chose you.
[00:04:40] And appointed you.
[00:04:49] These are the words of Jesus.
[00:04:56] Let's pray.
[00:05:01] Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so much for the opportunity to gather, to talk about the words here of Christ that have weight for us this morning.
[00:05:12] Still, after 2,000 years.
[00:05:16] So Lord, let us hear.
[00:05:18] Let us listen.
[00:05:20] Let us plant these words in our heart so that they may bear fruit this week and for the rest of our lives.
[00:05:26] In Jesus' name we pray.
[00:05:28] In Jesus' name we pray.
[00:05:29] Amen.
[00:05:31] Amen.
[00:05:36] Bible trivia.
[00:05:37] Amen.
[00:05:49] Amen.
[00:05:50] Amen.
[00:05:52] Let us pray.
[00:05:52] What are you going for?
[00:05:55] It's your riddious?
[00:05:57] Oh, my God.
[00:05:58] Well, I'm going for you.
[00:06:08] That's our blood.
[00:06:09] In the name, Jesus.
[00:06:12] Everybody, let us know.
[00:06:14] Tell him, I am sent you.
[00:06:17] But the seven traditionally counted seven statements here are,
[00:06:21] and we've been through all of them.
[00:06:22] It's the last one in John.
[00:06:24] In John 6, he says, I am the bread of life.
[00:06:28] We know he's not bread.
[00:06:31] In John 10, he says, I am the door.
[00:06:33] We know Jesus is not a wooden door.
[00:06:36] These things mean things to us.
[00:06:37] He's the bread.
[00:06:37] He's our sustenance.
[00:06:39] He's the door.
[00:06:39] He's the way.
[00:06:43] I'm the light of the world.
[00:06:46] I'm the good shepherd.
[00:06:49] I'm the resurrection and the life.
[00:06:51] I'm the way, the truth, and the life.
[00:06:53] Remember we said, well, how do I know the way to where you're going?
[00:06:56] I don't even know where you're going, James said.
[00:06:58] And he says, you know me, don't you?
[00:07:00] I am the way.
[00:07:01] If you know me, you know the way.
[00:07:03] And here in John 15, he says, I am the true vine.
[00:07:08] I'm the true vine.
[00:07:12] Let's look at verse 1.
[00:07:12] He says, I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine dresser.
[00:07:16] Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away.
[00:07:21] And every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes that it may bear more fruit.
[00:07:27] In this conversation he's having with his disciples, Jesus is letting them know finally and encouraging them again about who he is.
[00:07:38] And he says, here, I'm the true vine.
[00:07:41] He just got done telling them, I'm the way.
[00:07:43] I'm the truth.
[00:07:44] I'm the life.
[00:07:45] I'm also the true vine.
[00:07:49] What does that tell them?
[00:07:52] What is a vine?
[00:07:52] It's a place, it's a source of life.
[00:07:56] He's showing them that he is providing life to them.
[00:08:02] What is a vine?
[00:08:03] It's a lifeline to the fruit and to the branches that extend from it.
[00:08:08] It's like a trunk of a tree.
[00:08:10] You can't have branches without a trunk.
[00:08:12] You can't have fruit without a vine.
[00:08:14] And in this culture, they're well acquainted with vines because there's wine there and they made wine.
[00:08:20] So they understand grapes and they understand husbandry.
[00:08:24] Husbandry is where you prune trees and vines and making sure everything is as fruitful as possible.
[00:08:30] And he says, I'm the vine.
[00:08:31] My father is the vine dresser.
[00:08:32] He's making sure everything's going well in his vineyard.
[00:08:37] Your first note here explains about what a vine is and how Jesus relates.
[00:08:42] It says, Jesus is our lifeline.
[00:08:45] He's our source of life and fruitfulness.
[00:08:49] He's our lifeline.
[00:08:50] Don't you want a lifeline?
[00:08:52] He is the true vine, he said.
[00:08:54] You know, some people, all of us, me included, we have searched for life and other things or sustenance and other things.
[00:09:03] How far does that get you?
[00:09:05] He's the true vine.
[00:09:06] The one that will give you all the life you'll ever need.
[00:09:10] Eternal life.
[00:09:11] And if we're not eternally attached to this vine, to him, we'll wither away.
[00:09:16] We'll wither away and we'll die.
[00:09:18] It's just a matter of time.
[00:09:20] He's the true vine.
[00:09:22] You could be connected to a lot of different vines.
[00:09:25] But unless you're connected to Christ, the true vine, you'll wither away and die.
[00:09:32] Jesus first mentions two categories now.
[00:09:34] He says the branches that are bearing fruit and the branches that are not bearing fruit.
[00:09:39] There's two categories he's putting before us here.
[00:09:42] He says,
[00:09:43] Every branch that is in me that does not bear fruit, he, the Father, takes away.
[00:09:49] And every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes.
[00:09:53] Why?
[00:09:54] So that it may bear more fruit.
[00:09:58] Every branch in me, he says.
[00:09:59] Every branch in me.
[00:10:00] This is a Greek word and it's a preposition.
[00:10:03] It's like on, in.
[00:10:06] Some places it's translated on.
[00:10:09] Every branch on me.
[00:10:11] Every branch in me.
[00:10:11] It means every branch connected to me.
[00:10:15] Some more loosely than others.
[00:10:17] But it says, or this word, I looked up the definition to be more precise.
[00:10:23] It can also mean to be connected to, attached, fixed in place, something securely attached.
[00:10:31] But he says it will not bear fruit.
[00:10:35] And that, whoever does not bear fruit, that branch will be taken away.
[00:10:41] It'll be cut off.
[00:10:43] Like the vine dresser will prune his vine.
[00:10:46] Cut this off, cut that off, make everything clean.
[00:10:49] And nutritious for the vine to really flourish in its environment.
[00:10:56] He also said that even if you're bearing fruit, he's going to prune you.
[00:11:02] So these branches that are producing fruit aren't out of the woods all the way.
[00:11:08] That should be us.
[00:11:09] We bear fruit.
[00:11:11] We like to focus on what the Bible says and have as true doctrine as we can understand.
[00:11:17] And we want to love each other.
[00:11:18] And those are fruit of the Christian life.
[00:11:21] We're still going to be pruned.
[00:11:23] Well, you say, why?
[00:11:24] I don't really want to be pruned.
[00:11:25] Sometimes pruning doesn't feel so good.
[00:11:28] But the Lord does it because he wants us to even be more fruitful.
[00:11:33] He understands that.
[00:11:35] Who are these branches that are bearing fruit?
[00:11:37] Well, that's us.
[00:11:38] That's believers.
[00:11:39] Believers.
[00:11:40] As we'll read in a moment in verse 5, John will explain this by Jesus' words where Jesus says,
[00:11:46] whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit.
[00:11:52] The people that abide in Christ and he in us, those are the ones that will bear much fruit.
[00:11:58] Those who are securely fastened to Christ, not those who pretend to be.
[00:12:03] Because you can look like a branch.
[00:12:05] You ever have a bouquet at home and you see the people putting the flowers in here and there?
[00:12:11] You know, that bouquet looks like it's one thing, like one plant.
[00:12:14] But if you really kind of take it out and lay it down on the table, you can see they're all really separate.
[00:12:19] Flowers and different things that you put in there.
[00:12:22] But you can go to a Christmas tree and you can put on a little branch.
[00:12:26] We have decorations at home that you kind of place into the tree.
[00:12:29] You don't really hook them on.
[00:12:31] They're like little branches with little things on them and they look beautiful.
[00:12:34] But all you do is you kind of place them on the tree.
[00:12:37] And they kind of go in a little ways.
[00:12:38] But it looks like it's one part of one tree.
[00:12:42] But I know, because in that little analogy, I would be the vine dresser of my tree.
[00:12:47] I know that's really not a true branch there.
[00:12:49] I just place it on the tree.
[00:12:52] It's not part of the tree.
[00:12:53] The Lord knows who his true branches are.
[00:12:56] You can pretend you're a true branch and you can look like a true branch,
[00:13:01] just like Judas did last week, we heard her a couple weeks ago.
[00:13:04] You look to the world, who could tell who was the betrayer?
[00:13:08] The disciples didn't even know.
[00:13:10] Is it me? Is it me? Who is it?
[00:13:12] Well, Jesus knows who his true branches are.
[00:13:17] And the ones that are not actually attached to Christ will be cut off.
[00:13:24] The fruitful branches, however, will be pruned.
[00:13:28] But the dead will be cut off.
[00:13:29] What does this mean?
[00:13:30] Your next note says,
[00:13:39] That's what it means.
[00:13:41] He disciplines his own.
[00:13:42] To be pruned is to be disciplined, to be sanctified, to become more and more like Christ.
[00:13:47] He's pruning us.
[00:13:49] Believers.
[00:13:51] But those who do not believe and will never believe, he discards the dead.
[00:13:56] It says they'll be thrown away.
[00:14:00] They'll be cut off and thrown away.
[00:14:03] Because you can't have death connected to life.
[00:14:06] And he is life.
[00:14:08] He's our lifeline.
[00:14:10] Can you think of any other disingenuous followers of Christ?
[00:14:15] Any posers, pretenders?
[00:14:19] In scripture, we looked at Judas, of course.
[00:14:21] We know Judas.
[00:14:23] He was associated with Christ.
[00:14:26] But he wasn't in Christ.
[00:14:30] What about the large crowds in John 6 where, or in John 5 when he's feeding the thousands of people?
[00:14:37] You know, they were all there and they were saying,
[00:14:38] Amen, yeah, and he's feeding us and this is great.
[00:14:41] We're following him around the Sea of Galilee.
[00:14:43] And then he says something that they don't like and they leave him.
[00:14:47] In that infamous passage, John 6, 66, right?
[00:14:52] Scary number there for some.
[00:14:54] He says,
[00:14:55] I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.
[00:15:01] So what is he saying there?
[00:15:03] I told you that no one can come to me, Jesus Christ, the Savior,
[00:15:07] unless my Father gives him permission, basically, unless it's granted to them by the Father.
[00:15:10] And you know what?
[00:15:11] They didn't like that.
[00:15:14] In verse 66,
[00:15:15] After this, many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.
[00:15:21] They weren't real branches.
[00:15:24] They were there for something else.
[00:15:26] He was feeding them, teaching them.
[00:15:29] It was kind of fun to be in the crowd, probably.
[00:15:33] But they were just hangers on.
[00:15:35] Not real branches.
[00:15:36] They were not connected to him.
[00:15:40] And that's where Jesus is explaining here.
[00:15:42] I'm the true vine.
[00:15:43] You need to be connected to me to have life.
[00:15:45] And if you're not connected to me,
[00:15:46] you'll be cut off and thrown away.
[00:15:51] What about Simon the Sorcerer?
[00:15:52] Remember him?
[00:15:53] In Acts 8, we're told that he was following the disciples around,
[00:15:58] just like the people that would follow Jesus in the crowds.
[00:16:02] He was constantly hearing the gospel preached.
[00:16:05] He was even baptized, hanging around with Philip a lot.
[00:16:10] And he also then offered money to the disciples to purchase their miraculous signs and gifts.
[00:16:18] And that's where Peter said, you and your money can go die.
[00:16:24] Because he wanted something else.
[00:16:25] He was there for a different reason.
[00:16:28] He wanted the glory.
[00:16:29] He wanted to be like the apostles.
[00:16:30] I want to be an apostle.
[00:16:31] How much can I pay you?
[00:16:33] Peter said, that's not what this is about.
[00:16:37] What are you really here for?
[00:16:39] He was hanging around Christ a lot.
[00:16:41] And the disciples, he was hanging around a lot.
[00:16:44] But he wasn't in Christ.
[00:16:45] And he wasn't connected to Christ.
[00:16:51] He wasn't firmly affixed.
[00:16:52] And you know, it's not enough to know people that know Jesus.
[00:16:58] It's not even enough to hang around with Jesus.
[00:17:01] We see that with Simon, the sorcerer, with Judas.
[00:17:05] They hung around Jesus.
[00:17:07] They hung around the disciples.
[00:17:08] They were friends with them.
[00:17:08] They knew them.
[00:17:09] But that's not enough.
[00:17:10] All that will get you is cut off on Judgment Day.
[00:17:14] If that's as far as you go, as far as your relationship goes with Christ,
[00:17:18] it's just I know someone who knows him.
[00:17:21] Or I go to the places he goes.
[00:17:24] Church service.
[00:17:25] But he's not in me and I in him.
[00:17:28] And you're not connected.
[00:17:32] What is enough?
[00:17:34] It's to be firmly connected.
[00:17:36] To be, as they say, inextricably linked to Jesus.
[00:17:41] That's enough.
[00:17:43] As if you're actually planted into him.
[00:17:46] And he planted into you like a branch is grafted into a vine.
[00:17:50] And the Bible talks about that.
[00:17:52] We're grafted in to him.
[00:17:54] Where you can't even tell where the trunk or the vine ends and the branch begins.
[00:17:59] Can you tell where a branch and a trunk or a branch and a vine start and end?
[00:18:05] Where's the beginning and ending?
[00:18:06] It's kind of all just seemingly one thing.
[00:18:09] That's how close we should be to Christ.
[00:18:14] Your next note here says,
[00:18:15] We should be so close to Jesus that no one can tell where we end.
[00:18:21] And he begins.
[00:18:24] We shouldn't be distinguishable from Christ.
[00:18:29] Now I know we can never achieve that in this fallen world because we are human beings and we have sinful flesh and it's fallen.
[00:18:35] And we hopefully are broken by our sin and we repent of our sin.
[00:18:40] We can't ever be perfectly like Jesus in these sinful bodies.
[00:18:44] But we will be when we get to glory.
[00:18:48] He will make us perfect and incorruptible.
[00:18:51] And we will share his will.
[00:18:52] And that's why he tells us later,
[00:18:53] If you pray anything in my name, according to my will, you'll have it.
[00:18:57] But our wills still are not completely aligned with his because we want our stuff.
[00:19:02] And maybe he knows that's not really great for you right now, just like a good father would say to their child, no.
[00:19:08] We don't like to hear no.
[00:19:12] But I wonder if you've ever seen what a diagram of a grapevine looks like.
[00:19:16] Because we can see vineyards and they're just all a big patch of land with grapes and everything.
[00:19:21] But this is a picture of a grapevine.
[00:19:26] And I just wanted to know if it might look similar to anything else that might come to mind for you,
[00:19:33] like perhaps a Jewish menorah.
[00:19:37] I wonder if you ever made that connection.
[00:19:40] And I wonder if you think there might be any intentional correlation here with that.
[00:19:46] Or if it's maybe just a coincidence.
[00:19:51] This was an ancient Jewish symbol, the menorah,
[00:19:54] which of course pointed to Christ like everything else in the Jewish culture under the first covenant.
[00:20:00] Way back to the time of Moses in Exodus.
[00:20:03] In Exodus 25, the Lord gave Moses instructions about how to build this lamp, this menorah we call it.
[00:20:09] In Exodus 25, and I'll read just a portion of the instructions that the Lord gave to Moses.
[00:20:15] He said,
[00:20:15] You shall make a lampstand of pure gold,
[00:20:18] and there shall be six branches going out of its sides,
[00:20:21] three branches of the lampstand out of one side,
[00:20:24] and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it.
[00:20:28] And it goes on to explain exactly how it should look.
[00:20:31] And if you read in Scripture, the vine and the branches motif,
[00:20:36] there's a vine and branches motif in Scripture.
[00:20:39] And it's also been used in the craftsmanship of some menorahs throughout history.
[00:20:44] And they make some menorahs in the shape of branches or trees, vines.
[00:20:51] That's the idea.
[00:20:53] The lights all come from really one trunk, one vine.
[00:20:57] Jesus.
[00:20:59] He's our lifeline.
[00:21:00] We don't have life without Christ.
[00:21:03] There is no life anywhere in the universe without Christ.
[00:21:06] He's life.
[00:21:06] He holds it all together by the power of His Word.
[00:21:10] All the life you see everywhere around, look out the window,
[00:21:12] and it all comes from Jesus Christ.
[00:21:15] I am the light of the world.
[00:21:17] I'm the life.
[00:21:19] The way, the truth, the life.
[00:21:23] And we're the branches.
[00:21:25] The idea that every light in every branch comes out of one.
[00:21:32] One branch or one trunk, one vine, one person.
[00:21:37] The source is Jesus Christ.
[00:21:40] And so remember, even if you are a branch, and if you are connected, and if you are bearing fruit,
[00:21:47] He says you're still going to be pruned.
[00:21:50] What does it mean to be pruned?
[00:21:51] It means to cut off or cut back parts for better shape or for more fruitful growth.
[00:21:58] That's what Merriam-Webster had to say.
[00:22:01] And that's what the Lord does to His own.
[00:22:04] Your next note says He prunes us.
[00:22:08] But there's a reason for it.
[00:22:10] So that we will bear more fruit.
[00:22:14] There's going to be football games played today, and these people, these men on the gridiron,
[00:22:21] are at the top of their game.
[00:22:24] They've had so much physical training, and they've been disciplined with their bodies,
[00:22:28] and they've run, and they've lifted weights, and they've watched their diets and everything.
[00:22:33] Very disciplined.
[00:22:35] They've pruned away all the stuff that's going to keep them back, keep them off the field.
[00:22:41] They've pruned out of their lives all the donuts and the bad, you know, being too lazy on the couch
[00:22:47] and all that stuff has to go away, get pruned off of us.
[00:22:50] So why?
[00:22:51] So they can be more fruitful at their craft.
[00:22:55] The Lord does that for us.
[00:22:57] He's going to prune off that friend that keeps dragging you down.
[00:23:02] He's going to prune off that job promotion that you thought you really wanted,
[00:23:08] but boy, that's going to drag you away from your family.
[00:23:10] He's pruning these things and getting those things off of his own branches
[00:23:13] so they'll be more fruitful in the way he wants them to be fruitful,
[00:23:16] in his vineyard, in his kingdom.
[00:23:20] So don't be surprised if you're going through some pruning now,
[00:23:23] or if you have in the past, and you couldn't figure out why this is happening.
[00:23:26] Maybe the Lord's pruning you because he wants you to be even more fruitful,
[00:23:30] because he loves you.
[00:23:32] He cuts off these hindrances from us.
[00:23:35] On the branches, there might be something that came onto the branch,
[00:23:38] and it's hindering the branch, and so he cuts that off.
[00:23:40] Get rid of that so I can flourish.
[00:23:43] But it's for our own good.
[00:23:45] And we're sanctified by this pruning.
[00:23:48] What does sanctify mean?
[00:23:50] It means becoming more holy, more set aside,
[00:23:53] more like Jesus,
[00:23:55] set aside from the world.
[00:23:57] In Revelation 3, we're told
[00:23:58] that the Lord disciplines those he loves.
[00:24:03] It's a good thing to be pruned.
[00:24:05] It's a good thing for the coach to say,
[00:24:07] run another lap.
[00:24:09] And in your flesh, you're like,
[00:24:11] oh, I can't.
[00:24:12] There's no way.
[00:24:13] I can't get through this.
[00:24:15] But he knows you can.
[00:24:16] I was in sports in high school.
[00:24:18] I didn't start.
[00:24:20] I didn't play very much.
[00:24:20] I was on the team.
[00:24:22] But I learned something very valuable
[00:24:24] in high school sports,
[00:24:26] is that the coach,
[00:24:27] at least this is what I came out of it with,
[00:24:30] the coach knew that I could do
[00:24:31] more than I thought I could do.
[00:24:34] When he said,
[00:24:35] I need you to do another lap,
[00:24:36] or do this one more time,
[00:24:38] or ten more times,
[00:24:39] I thought,
[00:24:39] there's no way I can do this ten more times.
[00:24:42] And then I did it,
[00:24:44] and I left,
[00:24:44] and I hated it,
[00:24:46] because it hurt,
[00:24:47] and everything was sore.
[00:24:48] But I left practice thinking,
[00:24:49] I actually did that.
[00:24:51] I didn't think I could do it,
[00:24:52] but he thought I could.
[00:24:53] He knew I could.
[00:24:56] We put our own restraints on our lives.
[00:24:59] But the Lord disciplines those he loves,
[00:25:01] just like the coach disciplines his players.
[00:25:02] I know you can do it,
[00:25:03] so go do it.
[00:25:04] Then you do it,
[00:25:05] and you think,
[00:25:06] oh, I'm bolder now.
[00:25:07] Now I have more faith in my abilities
[00:25:09] that you've given me, Lord.
[00:25:12] If I put my own,
[00:25:13] if I live my life with my own constructs,
[00:25:15] or constraints,
[00:25:16] I wouldn't do half as what you know I can do.
[00:25:20] He pushes us.
[00:25:21] He disciplines us.
[00:25:21] And that's a good thing.
[00:25:24] In verse 3,
[00:25:26] Jesus continues.
[00:25:27] He says,
[00:25:27] Already you are clean
[00:25:29] because of the word I've spoken to you.
[00:25:32] Does that sound familiar?
[00:25:33] Because he just washed his disciples' feet
[00:25:35] in John 12,
[00:25:37] and he told them they were clean.
[00:25:38] Remember?
[00:25:39] We're in John 13.
[00:25:40] He said,
[00:25:41] They're already clean,
[00:25:43] that their sins have been washed away.
[00:25:45] That's where he was going with that analogy.
[00:25:48] Why?
[00:25:49] Why are we already clean?
[00:25:51] Because of the word that I've spoken to you.
[00:25:53] Because of his gospel.
[00:25:54] Because of his truth.
[00:25:57] They're already clean because of God's truth.
[00:26:02] And they're now being pruned,
[00:26:03] and they're now being sanctified.
[00:26:04] That's the natural order of the Christian life.
[00:26:07] You become saved.
[00:26:08] You come to Christ,
[00:26:10] and you're forgiven,
[00:26:13] and now you become more like Christ.
[00:26:15] That's the being saved part
[00:26:17] is a once-in-a-lifetime deal,
[00:26:19] and now your eyes are open,
[00:26:20] you know who your Lord is,
[00:26:21] and you proclaim him,
[00:26:22] Jesus, my Lord.
[00:26:23] You're saved.
[00:26:25] But you don't really look like Jesus yet.
[00:26:28] You still got to prune all that stuff off.
[00:26:30] That's sanctification.
[00:26:32] Becoming more and more like him.
[00:26:35] That's the pruning process
[00:26:36] that lasts our entire life
[00:26:38] until we see him in person.
[00:26:41] In a couple chapters,
[00:26:43] John 17,
[00:26:44] when the Lord's praying to his father
[00:26:46] the night before he dies this night,
[00:26:49] but in two chapters,
[00:26:50] he says to his father,
[00:26:52] sanctify them in the truth.
[00:26:56] Your word is truth.
[00:26:59] Sanctify my people, my disciples,
[00:27:01] those who will believe
[00:27:02] because of what they teach.
[00:27:03] Sanctify them in truth.
[00:27:05] And you know where the truth is?
[00:27:06] Your word is truth, he said.
[00:27:08] So we're sanctified by his truth.
[00:27:11] We're becoming more and more holy
[00:27:13] because of his truth, his word.
[00:27:16] We're becoming more like Jesus
[00:27:18] because of his word, his truth.
[00:27:24] Verse 4, he says,
[00:27:25] abide in me and I in you.
[00:27:29] As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself
[00:27:31] unless it abides in the vine.
[00:27:34] We know this.
[00:27:34] This is common sense.
[00:27:36] Neither can you unless you abide in me.
[00:27:38] I am the vine.
[00:27:41] You are the branches.
[00:27:43] Whoever abides in me and I in him,
[00:27:46] he it is that bears much fruit.
[00:27:49] For apart from me,
[00:27:51] you can do nothing.
[00:27:57] So many people do so many things in this world
[00:28:00] and they look great.
[00:28:01] They look amazing.
[00:28:02] Like these are very successful people
[00:28:04] building skyscrapers
[00:28:05] or having amazing worldwide businesses.
[00:28:09] But he says,
[00:28:10] unless you're connected to me,
[00:28:11] all that's really nothing.
[00:28:14] Doesn't matter.
[00:28:16] It's not going to matter on judgment day
[00:28:18] how big your conglomerate was.
[00:28:21] Unless you're connected to me
[00:28:22] and that was part of my kingdom,
[00:28:24] getting out,
[00:28:25] getting out my word for,
[00:28:26] for my kingdom.
[00:28:28] Unless you're connected to me
[00:28:30] while you're doing that,
[00:28:30] it's really worth nothing.
[00:28:33] You can do nothing
[00:28:35] unless you're connected to Christ.
[00:28:38] He says,
[00:28:39] if anyone does not abide in me,
[00:28:42] he is thrown away
[00:28:43] like a branch
[00:28:44] and withers
[00:28:45] and the branches are scattered,
[00:28:47] thrown into the fire
[00:28:47] and burned.
[00:28:53] It's not a glorious ending.
[00:28:56] But he tells us the truth.
[00:28:58] If you're not in me,
[00:29:00] this is what happens.
[00:29:02] The last day I'm going to be alive
[00:29:04] on this earth in this way,
[00:29:05] I'm telling you people I love,
[00:29:06] he says,
[00:29:07] the way things are.
[00:29:09] You've got to be in me
[00:29:11] and if you're not,
[00:29:12] you're going to be cast away
[00:29:13] and burned.
[00:29:15] Wouldn't you tell people
[00:29:16] you love that?
[00:29:17] Warning.
[00:29:18] It's a loving warning.
[00:29:21] He says,
[00:29:22] abide in me,
[00:29:22] remain in me.
[00:29:23] That word abide,
[00:29:24] what does that mean?
[00:29:24] Abide.
[00:29:25] Stay in me,
[00:29:25] remain in me.
[00:29:27] Stay firmly connected to me.
[00:29:29] If you don't,
[00:29:30] you won't bear any worthwhile fruit.
[00:29:32] You might have fruit,
[00:29:32] but it won't be worth anything.
[00:29:36] If you abide in Christ,
[00:29:38] you will bear much fruit.
[00:29:39] He says,
[00:29:40] you will bear much fruit.
[00:29:42] You can't not bear much fruit
[00:29:44] if you're in Christ.
[00:29:46] But if you don't,
[00:29:49] you'll wither and die.
[00:29:52] He gives us this example
[00:29:53] of the tree and the branch
[00:29:55] and the vine.
[00:29:55] We understand
[00:29:56] because we see that in nature.
[00:29:57] We see dead branches
[00:29:58] on the ground.
[00:30:00] Well,
[00:30:00] what's the difference
[00:30:01] with that branch
[00:30:01] and the one that's on the tree?
[00:30:03] That one's dead.
[00:30:04] There's no fruit.
[00:30:05] This one's alive.
[00:30:06] It's flourishing.
[00:30:07] There's fruit on it.
[00:30:08] We get that.
[00:30:10] He says,
[00:30:10] you're going to be
[00:30:11] a dead branch basically
[00:30:12] unless you're connected
[00:30:13] to life,
[00:30:14] me.
[00:30:17] This language from
[00:30:18] where we're in,
[00:30:20] John 15,
[00:30:21] might sound like
[00:30:22] the language
[00:30:22] Jesus also uses
[00:30:23] back in Matthew.
[00:30:26] Matthew chapter 7.
[00:30:28] He says that
[00:30:29] every healthy tree
[00:30:31] bears good fruit.
[00:30:33] Okay, great.
[00:30:34] We know that.
[00:30:35] But the diseased tree
[00:30:36] bears bad fruit.
[00:30:38] Here it is.
[00:30:38] A healthy tree
[00:30:39] cannot bear bad fruit.
[00:30:43] Every tree that does not
[00:30:44] bear good fruit
[00:30:44] is cut down
[00:30:45] and thrown into the fire.
[00:30:47] He says,
[00:30:47] if you're a good tree,
[00:30:48] you can't have bad fruit.
[00:30:52] You naturally
[00:30:53] will have fruit
[00:30:53] and it'll be good fruit.
[00:30:55] And again,
[00:30:56] Jesus says here
[00:30:57] in Matthew 13,
[00:30:58] a few chapters later,
[00:30:59] he says,
[00:30:59] just as the weeds
[00:31:01] are gathered
[00:31:01] and burned with the fire,
[00:31:04] so will it be
[00:31:05] at the end of the age.
[00:31:06] The Son of Man
[00:31:06] will send his angels
[00:31:07] and they will gather
[00:31:08] out of his kingdom
[00:31:09] all causes of sin
[00:31:10] and all lawbreakers
[00:31:11] and throw them
[00:31:12] into the fiery furnace
[00:31:15] in that place
[00:31:16] where there'll be
[00:31:16] weeping and gnashing
[00:31:17] of teeth.
[00:31:21] Our Lord warns us
[00:31:24] about an eternal existence
[00:31:26] without him
[00:31:27] many times in Scripture.
[00:31:31] And for those
[00:31:32] who have listened
[00:31:33] to him along the way
[00:31:34] like the disciples,
[00:31:35] they're remembering
[00:31:36] what he said
[00:31:36] over here.
[00:31:37] They're remembering
[00:31:38] over there.
[00:31:39] And now,
[00:31:39] the last day of his life,
[00:31:40] he's hearkening back
[00:31:41] to those times
[00:31:41] where he was
[00:31:43] giving them
[00:31:44] these warnings
[00:31:45] and he's warning
[00:31:46] them again
[00:31:47] in love.
[00:31:49] Maybe for them,
[00:31:50] maybe for their
[00:31:50] family members.
[00:31:51] Like, boy,
[00:31:52] I got a friend
[00:31:54] or a mother,
[00:31:54] father,
[00:31:55] sister,
[00:31:55] brother who's
[00:31:56] kind of just
[00:31:57] hanging around
[00:31:57] with us, Lord,
[00:31:58] but they're really
[00:31:59] not connected to you.
[00:32:00] I got to work on them.
[00:32:01] I got to pray for them.
[00:32:03] I got to keep
[00:32:04] giving them the gospel.
[00:32:07] You think Jesus
[00:32:08] was making any connections
[00:32:09] in the minds
[00:32:09] of his disciples?
[00:32:10] Yeah, I think he was.
[00:32:12] They were making
[00:32:12] those connections.
[00:32:14] And so I hope today
[00:32:15] he's making some
[00:32:17] connections in our
[00:32:17] minds too.
[00:32:20] The things in the
[00:32:21] scripture aren't just
[00:32:22] happy stories.
[00:32:23] They're connected.
[00:32:25] This is a man's life
[00:32:26] who lived and
[00:32:27] experienced things
[00:32:28] and taught people
[00:32:29] things along the way.
[00:32:30] And now the last
[00:32:31] night of his life,
[00:32:32] he's reminding them.
[00:32:33] Remember when I said
[00:32:34] that?
[00:32:34] Here's what it means.
[00:32:35] Remember when I said
[00:32:36] this?
[00:32:37] Let's focus.
[00:32:38] Jesus, you need
[00:32:39] to be in me,
[00:32:40] close, or you
[00:32:41] will die.
[00:32:42] And your friends
[00:32:43] and your family,
[00:32:46] we must cling
[00:32:47] to Christ.
[00:32:49] As strong as a
[00:32:50] branch clings to
[00:32:51] its trunk.
[00:32:53] How close is that?
[00:32:54] It's pretty close.
[00:32:55] You can't even tell
[00:32:55] where one starts
[00:32:56] and one ends.
[00:32:58] You know, some
[00:32:59] people hang on to
[00:33:00] Christ like this,
[00:33:00] and maybe they're
[00:33:01] saved, maybe they're
[00:33:01] not, but your life
[00:33:03] is more fruitful when
[00:33:04] you're like this
[00:33:04] connected to the trunk,
[00:33:06] right?
[00:33:06] If you're the branch,
[00:33:07] then just barely
[00:33:08] hanging on.
[00:33:08] How fruitful can
[00:33:09] you be?
[00:33:11] We must endure to
[00:33:12] the end, or he
[00:33:13] says we'll prove that
[00:33:14] we were never really
[00:33:15] connected to him
[00:33:16] anyway.
[00:33:20] The true vine.
[00:33:22] And the really good
[00:33:22] news is that it's
[00:33:25] not us that clings
[00:33:25] to him, really.
[00:33:27] It's him who holds
[00:33:29] fast to us, because
[00:33:31] we could never hold
[00:33:32] on to him.
[00:33:33] Think of what goes
[00:33:34] through your mind
[00:33:35] every day.
[00:33:36] Somebody cuts you
[00:33:37] off and you lose
[00:33:37] your temper, and
[00:33:38] oh, now I'm sinning
[00:33:39] and I'm swearing, and
[00:33:41] or you do this, you
[00:33:42] do that.
[00:33:42] We just can't, we
[00:33:43] don't have the
[00:33:46] righteous fortitude to
[00:33:47] hold on to our
[00:33:48] Savior, but he holds
[00:33:49] on to us securely.
[00:33:51] If our salvation
[00:33:52] depended on our
[00:33:53] whims and emotional
[00:33:54] ups and downs, boy,
[00:33:55] we'd be up and down
[00:33:56] and all around, and
[00:33:57] thank goodness he is
[00:33:59] holding us in his
[00:34:00] hand.
[00:34:01] The Bible doesn't say
[00:34:02] we hold Jesus in
[00:34:03] our hand.
[00:34:04] It says he holds us
[00:34:05] in his, thank God.
[00:34:09] That's the really good
[00:34:10] news.
[00:34:10] He endures for us, he
[00:34:11] holds on to us.
[00:34:13] Your next note says,
[00:34:14] it's not we who
[00:34:15] will hold on to
[00:34:16] Jesus, it is he who
[00:34:17] holds on to us.
[00:34:22] So while he's holding
[00:34:23] on to us forever, we
[00:34:24] should seek to walk
[00:34:27] ever closer to him, to
[00:34:29] experience that life
[00:34:30] blood, give us that
[00:34:32] fruitfulness.
[00:34:36] I want to read
[00:34:36] through a few
[00:34:37] scriptures here
[00:34:38] quickly about this
[00:34:39] topic.
[00:34:40] John 10, he says,
[00:34:42] I give them eternal
[00:34:43] life, Jesus says, and
[00:34:45] they shall never
[00:34:45] perish.
[00:34:47] No one will snatch
[00:34:48] them out of my hand.
[00:34:49] That's a comforting
[00:34:51] feeling.
[00:34:51] He says, I give my
[00:34:53] people eternal life.
[00:34:54] What kind of life?
[00:34:55] Eternal life.
[00:34:56] He doesn't say I give
[00:34:57] them intermittent
[00:34:57] life where they're
[00:34:59] saved forever.
[00:35:00] Well, now they're not
[00:35:01] because they had a bad
[00:35:01] day.
[00:35:02] Now they've got to come
[00:35:03] back to me.
[00:35:04] No, he says, I give
[00:35:05] them eternal life.
[00:35:06] And they shall never
[00:35:07] perish.
[00:35:08] That means you'll
[00:35:08] never perish.
[00:35:09] You'll never die an
[00:35:10] eternal death.
[00:35:11] Praise God.
[00:35:13] And no one will
[00:35:13] snatch them out of my
[00:35:14] hand.
[00:35:14] No one.
[00:35:15] No one can come and
[00:35:16] get you out of the
[00:35:18] Lord's hand.
[00:35:20] In John 10 again, next
[00:35:21] verse, my father who's
[00:35:23] given them to me is
[00:35:24] greater than all.
[00:35:24] No one can snatch
[00:35:25] them out of my
[00:35:26] father's hand.
[00:35:28] So you're secure in the
[00:35:29] hand of Christ, in the
[00:35:30] hand of the father.
[00:35:31] Romans 8, 39, famous
[00:35:33] passage, nothing in all
[00:35:34] creation will be able to
[00:35:36] separate us from the
[00:35:37] love of God that is in
[00:35:38] Christ Jesus.
[00:35:39] Our Lord.
[00:35:40] Nothing in creation can
[00:35:41] separate us from that.
[00:35:42] And you can say, well, I
[00:35:43] can jump out of his hand
[00:35:45] if I want.
[00:35:46] Well, you can go ahead
[00:35:47] and try.
[00:35:47] And I want to ask you
[00:35:49] this question.
[00:35:49] Are you part of all
[00:35:50] creation?
[00:35:52] Yes, you are.
[00:35:53] Nothing in all
[00:35:54] creation will be able to
[00:35:56] separate us from the
[00:35:57] love of God that is in
[00:35:58] Christ Jesus.
[00:36:01] Philippians 1 says, he
[00:36:03] who began a good work
[00:36:03] in you will bring it
[00:36:04] to completion at the
[00:36:06] day of Jesus Christ.
[00:36:07] This is speaking about
[00:36:08] salvation.
[00:36:08] He who began that good
[00:36:10] work in you.
[00:36:10] Is salvation a good
[00:36:11] work?
[00:36:11] Yeah.
[00:36:12] It's the best work I
[00:36:13] could ever have given
[00:36:13] to me.
[00:36:16] He who began to save
[00:36:17] you, he's going to save
[00:36:18] you.
[00:36:20] He will complete that
[00:36:22] good work in you.
[00:36:24] And Isaiah 43, fear not
[00:36:26] for I have redeemed you.
[00:36:28] I have called you by name.
[00:36:30] You are mine.
[00:36:35] New Testament tells us
[00:36:35] you're not your own.
[00:36:37] You're above the price.
[00:36:39] He says, you're mine.
[00:36:41] You're my property.
[00:36:42] I own you.
[00:36:43] I'm your good shepherd.
[00:36:45] I get to determine what
[00:36:46] happens with you now.
[00:36:47] And he says, I save all
[00:36:48] my own.
[00:36:51] Never forget that Jesus is
[00:36:53] the one that holds on to
[00:36:53] us because we can't, we
[00:36:55] can't hold on to him
[00:36:56] forever.
[00:36:56] We don't have the capacity.
[00:36:59] But he does.
[00:37:00] Don't ever believe the
[00:37:01] lie from the enemy that
[00:37:03] he's not strong enough to
[00:37:04] keep you, that you're
[00:37:05] stronger, your sin is
[00:37:06] stronger than his
[00:37:07] salvation or something.
[00:37:10] Don't believe it.
[00:37:11] Verse 7, he says, if you
[00:37:13] abide in me and my words
[00:37:15] abide in you, ask whatever
[00:37:16] you wish and it will be
[00:37:18] done for you.
[00:37:18] By this my Father is
[00:37:19] glorified that you bear
[00:37:20] much fruit and so prove to
[00:37:23] be my disciples.
[00:37:24] This is how we prove who
[00:37:26] we are.
[00:37:28] By our good works.
[00:37:30] He says, by this my
[00:37:31] Father is glorified that
[00:37:32] you bear much fruit and
[00:37:34] that's how you prove that
[00:37:35] you're my disciples.
[00:37:37] You can have a person in
[00:37:39] the world, not a believer,
[00:37:41] confesses against Christ
[00:37:42] somehow and has fruit but
[00:37:45] if it's not godly fruit,
[00:37:47] how could this person
[00:37:49] produce godly fruit?
[00:37:51] He doesn't even know who
[00:37:52] God is.
[00:37:52] He doesn't have a
[00:37:53] relationship with him.
[00:37:54] He may produce fruit but
[00:37:56] if we produce the fruit of
[00:37:57] Christ, the world's going to
[00:37:59] know it.
[00:38:00] That's a different fruit and
[00:38:01] especially God's people are
[00:38:02] going to know it and say,
[00:38:04] I bet you he's a believer.
[00:38:05] Let me go talk to him.
[00:38:06] And then you'll know.
[00:38:08] If you talk to two people on
[00:38:10] the street, one's a believer,
[00:38:10] one's not a believer, you
[00:38:12] just know who's a believer.
[00:38:13] You talk to them.
[00:38:14] Oh, they sound like me.
[00:38:15] They sound like Jesus.
[00:38:16] Something Jesus would say.
[00:38:17] You talk to this other
[00:38:18] person.
[00:38:19] How do you know that?
[00:38:20] Well, I don't know anyone's
[00:38:22] heart and neither do you but
[00:38:23] you got a pretty good idea.
[00:38:26] Like they say, if someone
[00:38:27] tells you who they are,
[00:38:28] believe them.
[00:38:30] You can just hear where
[00:38:32] their heart is through a
[00:38:33] conversation.
[00:38:34] Can't you?
[00:38:35] Somehow we just know that.
[00:38:36] We just understand.
[00:38:37] That's a brother.
[00:38:38] That's a sister.
[00:38:39] Or boy, I don't know, I
[00:38:40] think I got to pray more for
[00:38:41] this person and that person
[00:38:42] for their salvation.
[00:38:46] That's how we prove to be
[00:38:47] his disciples, do his work,
[00:38:49] have the fruits that come
[00:38:50] from the Lord.
[00:38:53] But in this verse here it
[00:38:54] says, those words we love to
[00:38:56] hear, ask whatever you wish
[00:38:58] and it will be done for you.
[00:38:59] We always focus on those
[00:39:00] phrases.
[00:39:02] But there's a qualification
[00:39:03] here again, just like
[00:39:04] last week.
[00:39:05] The qualification is, if you
[00:39:07] abide in me and my words
[00:39:09] abide in you, ask for
[00:39:11] whatever you wish and it
[00:39:13] will be done.
[00:39:15] Remember last week, Jesus
[00:39:16] said the same thing in John
[00:39:17] 14 when he said, whatever
[00:39:18] you ask in my name, this I
[00:39:21] will do, that the Father
[00:39:24] may be glorified in the Son.
[00:39:25] If you ask me anything, next
[00:39:26] verse, in my name, I will
[00:39:28] do it.
[00:39:30] He didn't just say, if you
[00:39:30] ask me anything, I will do
[00:39:31] it.
[00:39:32] We'd be asking for all kinds
[00:39:33] of crazy stuff.
[00:39:35] You know, it's true.
[00:39:38] He says, if you abide in
[00:39:39] me and my words abide in
[00:39:42] you and you ask anything
[00:39:45] in my name, I will do it.
[00:39:48] Just a reminder last week,
[00:39:50] what does in my name mean?
[00:39:51] It means as if I would ask
[00:39:52] for it.
[00:39:52] Would Jesus ask for this from
[00:39:54] his Father?
[00:39:54] Would he ask for a new
[00:39:58] boat?
[00:39:59] You know, when the Lord
[00:40:00] really knows he needs more
[00:40:01] patience or more this or
[00:40:03] more that?
[00:40:05] If it's the Lord's will, he'll
[00:40:06] give you a boat.
[00:40:08] But if it's not, he won't.
[00:40:10] In my name.
[00:40:11] Would Jesus be asking this from
[00:40:13] his Father?
[00:40:13] What I'm about to pray or not?
[00:40:15] Lord, help me win the lottery
[00:40:17] today.
[00:40:17] You know, those kind of
[00:40:18] prayers.
[00:40:19] The Lord knows better.
[00:40:20] And he says, no.
[00:40:22] Nope.
[00:40:22] I'm not going to let you do
[00:40:23] that.
[00:40:23] I know you really want it.
[00:40:25] But I said in your name at
[00:40:26] the end of the prayer.
[00:40:27] It's not an incantation.
[00:40:29] It means according to my
[00:40:30] character, according to my
[00:40:31] will.
[00:40:32] And once our wills are more
[00:40:33] aligned with his, our prayers
[00:40:35] will be more aligned with his
[00:40:35] will and we'll get whatever we
[00:40:37] pray for because we'll be
[00:40:38] praying God's will.
[00:40:39] And will he never not do his
[00:40:41] will?
[00:40:42] No.
[00:40:43] That's what that means.
[00:40:47] He says, if those things are
[00:40:49] true in your life, if you
[00:40:50] abide in me and my word
[00:40:51] abides in you and you ask for
[00:40:52] things in my name, if those
[00:40:54] things are true in your life,
[00:40:55] then all your desires will be
[00:40:57] given to you.
[00:40:58] Why wouldn't they be?
[00:40:59] Because your will will
[00:41:00] eventually be in perfect
[00:41:01] alignment with his will.
[00:41:03] Now that'll be in glory in
[00:41:05] heaven.
[00:41:06] On this earth we'll still
[00:41:07] have, you know, those human
[00:41:09] tendencies come out.
[00:41:11] But it should, they should
[00:41:12] wane as we go through our
[00:41:14] Christian life.
[00:41:14] Our wills should be more and
[00:41:16] more like Jesus' will.
[00:41:18] I hope there's a difference
[00:41:18] you can see with your desires
[00:41:20] now.
[00:41:22] The things you want now,
[00:41:23] the things you wanted when
[00:41:24] you were a Christian, a baby
[00:41:26] Christian.
[00:41:27] There should be a difference
[00:41:28] about what you want now.
[00:41:31] Your note says, your next
[00:41:32] note, the closer we are to
[00:41:34] Jesus, the more we will be
[00:41:36] like Jesus.
[00:41:38] That stands to reason.
[00:41:40] The more you're with a
[00:41:41] person, the more you're going
[00:41:43] to be like that person.
[00:41:43] You become like your friends,
[00:41:45] don't you?
[00:41:48] It's because we're being
[00:41:48] sanctified by his word.
[00:41:50] We're being increasingly
[00:41:51] conformed to his image.
[00:41:56] Verse 9.
[00:41:57] Jesus says,
[00:41:58] As the Father has loved me,
[00:41:59] so have I loved you.
[00:42:02] Abide in my love.
[00:42:03] If you keep my commandments,
[00:42:04] you will abide in my love,
[00:42:06] just as I have kept my
[00:42:07] Father's commandments and
[00:42:08] abide in his love.
[00:42:10] These things I have spoken
[00:42:11] to you that my joy may be
[00:42:12] in you and that your joy
[00:42:15] may be full.
[00:42:18] How does Jesus love us?
[00:42:22] The first part of John 14
[00:42:23] says he loves us to the end,
[00:42:25] to the utmost, all the way.
[00:42:30] And that's how he loves us.
[00:42:35] The Father loves him that way.
[00:42:38] And he says,
[00:42:38] I'm going to love you
[00:42:39] like the Father loves me.
[00:42:40] How much more could you be loved?
[00:42:43] All the way.
[00:42:45] And do we think now that
[00:42:47] in the new covenant
[00:42:48] that we're living in,
[00:42:49] Christ instituted by his blood,
[00:42:52] do we think now that
[00:42:53] in this new covenant,
[00:42:54] we really don't have to worry
[00:42:55] about the old covenant
[00:42:56] and the old laws
[00:42:57] and God's Ten Commandments
[00:42:59] and those types of things.
[00:43:00] Do we think now those have
[00:43:00] all been fulfilled in Christ
[00:43:02] so I don't have to worry
[00:43:03] about those?
[00:43:05] Well,
[00:43:07] the law shows us
[00:43:08] God's character.
[00:43:09] The law shows us
[00:43:10] the way of God.
[00:43:11] And certainly,
[00:43:12] we could never
[00:43:13] attain that.
[00:43:15] But it shows us
[00:43:15] who he is.
[00:43:17] Don't cheat,
[00:43:18] don't steal,
[00:43:18] lie,
[00:43:19] don't commit adultery
[00:43:20] and all that stuff.
[00:43:20] That's just the top ten,
[00:43:23] I guess you could say.
[00:43:24] I can't even,
[00:43:25] I can't even fulfill
[00:43:26] all the Ten Commandments.
[00:43:27] Lord,
[00:43:27] how am I supposed to fulfill
[00:43:28] all your law?
[00:43:29] You're so holy.
[00:43:31] That's one of the purposes
[00:43:31] of the law,
[00:43:32] to show him
[00:43:33] how hard it is
[00:43:34] to be perfect,
[00:43:35] especially in this
[00:43:36] sinful flesh.
[00:43:38] But some of us say,
[00:43:39] well,
[00:43:40] now Jesus fulfilled it all
[00:43:41] so we don't have to worry
[00:43:41] about that anymore.
[00:43:43] In one sense,
[00:43:44] that's true.
[00:43:45] He's fulfilled it.
[00:43:46] We will never be condemned
[00:43:47] for our sin
[00:43:48] if we're in Christ
[00:43:49] because we do break
[00:43:50] those laws
[00:43:52] and we should hate
[00:43:53] that we break them.
[00:43:56] But there's still
[00:43:57] value in them.
[00:43:58] Isn't there still value
[00:43:59] in not bearing
[00:44:01] false witness?
[00:44:02] Honoring your parents?
[00:44:04] Those are value.
[00:44:08] They're full of value.
[00:44:09] They're our moral compass.
[00:44:11] It's God's character.
[00:44:12] So yeah,
[00:44:12] we should still
[00:44:13] follow his commands.
[00:44:15] Not that our salvation
[00:44:16] weighs in the balance
[00:44:17] because it doesn't
[00:44:18] if we're in Christ.
[00:44:19] But our life
[00:44:20] will be so much more
[00:44:21] blessed if we do.
[00:44:22] That sounds like
[00:44:23] it'll be more fruitful
[00:44:24] if we do.
[00:44:26] He knows the way
[00:44:27] that we should live
[00:44:28] and we should live
[00:44:29] that way.
[00:44:31] Doesn't mean that
[00:44:31] if you don't
[00:44:32] follow every law
[00:44:33] you're not saved.
[00:44:34] That's not what
[00:44:35] I'm saying here.
[00:44:35] But your life
[00:44:36] will be more blessed,
[00:44:37] more fruitful
[00:44:38] because you'll be
[00:44:39] more like God
[00:44:40] because that's
[00:44:40] the law reflects
[00:44:41] who he is.
[00:44:48] Your life will be
[00:44:49] more joyful
[00:44:50] and at peace
[00:44:50] and Jesus commands us
[00:44:51] to follow his commandments
[00:44:52] which he sums up here
[00:44:54] in the next verse,
[00:44:54] verse 12.
[00:44:55] He says,
[00:44:55] this is my commandment
[00:44:57] that you love
[00:44:58] one another
[00:45:00] as I have loved you.
[00:45:04] Usually we count
[00:45:06] 613 laws
[00:45:07] in the Old Testament
[00:45:08] that the Jewish people
[00:45:10] were supposed
[00:45:11] to be following
[00:45:11] and maybe for the
[00:45:13] disciples in this
[00:45:14] upper room
[00:45:14] it was a breath
[00:45:15] of fresh air
[00:45:15] where he says,
[00:45:17] here's my commandment
[00:45:17] and they were thinking,
[00:45:18] okay, here we go.
[00:45:19] Getting ready to write
[00:45:20] all these,
[00:45:21] love one another
[00:45:23] and they're like,
[00:45:24] oh,
[00:45:25] that's a lot easier
[00:45:26] than 613.
[00:45:29] I can do that.
[00:45:30] Well, of course,
[00:45:30] we still fail
[00:45:31] at doing that.
[00:45:32] He says,
[00:45:32] love each other
[00:45:33] the way I loved you.
[00:45:35] Love each other
[00:45:36] all the way
[00:45:38] as if you're loving
[00:45:41] your son,
[00:45:41] your daughter,
[00:45:42] the most important
[00:45:43] person in your life,
[00:45:44] your spouse.
[00:45:45] Love them all the way.
[00:45:46] The way I loved you,
[00:45:47] the way my father
[00:45:48] loved me,
[00:45:48] that's why I want you
[00:45:49] to love one another.
[00:45:49] That's my command.
[00:45:51] And he told the Pharisees
[00:45:54] when he was talking
[00:45:55] about the golden rule
[00:45:56] we call it,
[00:45:56] the golden law,
[00:45:58] what's the greatest
[00:45:59] commandment?
[00:45:59] He said,
[00:46:00] love the Lord your God
[00:46:02] and love your neighbor
[00:46:03] as yourself.
[00:46:04] He said,
[00:46:04] all the law
[00:46:06] and prophets
[00:46:06] hang on these two.
[00:46:08] Love God
[00:46:09] and love your neighbor.
[00:46:11] He said,
[00:46:11] this is my commandment,
[00:46:12] the new covenant,
[00:46:13] love one another.
[00:46:16] Believe it or not,
[00:46:16] that command
[00:46:17] was never given
[00:46:18] before now.
[00:46:20] It was just,
[00:46:20] do this,
[00:46:21] do this.
[00:46:21] Don't do that,
[00:46:22] don't do that.
[00:46:23] Jesus comes in
[00:46:23] and he says,
[00:46:24] I want you to love
[00:46:24] and I'm going to show you
[00:46:25] what real love is tomorrow,
[00:46:27] basically,
[00:46:28] for what happens
[00:46:30] here.
[00:46:32] Jesus has fulfilled
[00:46:34] the law for us
[00:46:35] and through faith
[00:46:36] in those works,
[00:46:37] his works,
[00:46:38] because we're all saved
[00:46:38] by his works,
[00:46:42] he gives us
[00:46:43] that perfection
[00:46:44] that he earned,
[00:46:45] that righteousness
[00:46:45] that he earned.
[00:46:46] He gives it to us
[00:46:47] through faith.
[00:46:49] So we should be eager now,
[00:46:50] wouldn't you be eager
[00:46:51] to say,
[00:46:52] what can I do
[00:46:52] to thank you?
[00:46:53] Every breath I breathe
[00:46:55] is due to what
[00:46:55] you've done for me.
[00:46:57] You're my divine.
[00:46:58] We should be eager
[00:46:59] to reciprocate that
[00:47:01] to his people.
[00:47:04] As much as we can
[00:47:05] as sinners saved by grace,
[00:47:07] we know we don't
[00:47:07] love perfectly,
[00:47:10] but we do as best
[00:47:11] as we can.
[00:47:12] Verse 13,
[00:47:13] he says,
[00:47:14] greater love has no one
[00:47:15] than this,
[00:47:17] that someone lay down
[00:47:18] his life for his friends.
[00:47:25] He said,
[00:47:26] this is my command,
[00:47:27] love one another,
[00:47:28] and there's no greater
[00:47:30] love than this,
[00:47:31] than someone would lay
[00:47:32] down his life
[00:47:32] for his friends.
[00:47:37] And that's what he would
[00:47:38] do the very next day
[00:47:39] for the people he's
[00:47:42] talking to.
[00:47:44] They heard what
[00:47:45] the greatest love was,
[00:47:47] and the next day
[00:47:48] they would see
[00:47:48] what the greatest love was.
[00:47:52] Those are the ones
[00:47:53] for whom he laid
[00:47:54] down his life.
[00:47:56] Who's that?
[00:47:57] His friends.
[00:48:00] Because you'll have
[00:48:01] friends that are
[00:48:02] closer to you
[00:48:03] than siblings.
[00:48:06] You have friends
[00:48:07] that are closer to you
[00:48:08] than you,
[00:48:08] that you'd rather
[00:48:09] hang out with
[00:48:10] than a family member,
[00:48:12] than a blood family member.
[00:48:17] The Lord didn't say
[00:48:18] the greatest love
[00:48:19] is a person laying
[00:48:20] down his life
[00:48:21] for his brother.
[00:48:22] He said the greatest
[00:48:23] love is a person
[00:48:24] laying down his life
[00:48:25] for his friends.
[00:48:31] And he lays down
[00:48:32] his life for his friends.
[00:48:34] Well, how are we
[00:48:35] to know who
[00:48:35] the friends of Jesus are?
[00:48:37] Am I his friend?
[00:48:38] Are you his friend?
[00:48:39] Who's his friends?
[00:48:41] Verse 14,
[00:48:42] he tells us,
[00:48:43] you are my friends
[00:48:45] if you do
[00:48:46] what I command you.
[00:48:49] Love one another
[00:48:49] the way I've loved you.
[00:48:51] If you do that,
[00:48:52] I'll consider you
[00:48:53] my friend.
[00:48:56] If you love Jesus,
[00:48:57] your Lord,
[00:48:58] you'll do what he commands.
[00:48:59] Why?
[00:48:59] Because a bad fruit,
[00:49:01] a bad tree
[00:49:02] can't produce good fruit.
[00:49:03] And a good tree,
[00:49:04] us,
[00:49:05] can't help
[00:49:06] but produce good fruit.
[00:49:09] Because now it's
[00:49:09] our nature to obey him.
[00:49:11] Now we want to obey him.
[00:49:13] Now we love his laws.
[00:49:14] Even though we can't
[00:49:15] keep them all.
[00:49:17] And we love his commandments
[00:49:18] because he changed our hearts.
[00:49:20] He changed our wants
[00:49:21] and our desires.
[00:49:23] We want different things now.
[00:49:24] Why is that?
[00:49:25] I don't know.
[00:49:26] That's weird.
[00:49:27] That's what the Bible says.
[00:49:28] He comes and he changes your heart
[00:49:29] from a heart of stone
[00:49:30] to a heart of flesh.
[00:49:31] And now you want what he wants.
[00:49:33] More and more and more.
[00:49:34] Psalm 119,
[00:49:36] David says this,
[00:49:37] Oh, how I love your law.
[00:49:40] It is my meditation all the day.
[00:49:44] Some of us in our lives
[00:49:45] and we know people like this,
[00:49:46] oh, the law is so hard
[00:49:47] and I just want to
[00:49:48] sin as much as I can
[00:49:49] and still get into heaven.
[00:49:50] You know, that's not the heart
[00:49:51] of a true friend of Christ.
[00:49:55] David says,
[00:49:56] I love your law.
[00:49:58] It's my meditation all the day.
[00:50:00] Why?
[00:50:01] Because it makes me more like you.
[00:50:02] I know you more
[00:50:03] because now I'm,
[00:50:04] I have your heart.
[00:50:06] I know I shouldn't sin.
[00:50:07] I know I shouldn't do that
[00:50:07] and I hate when I do it.
[00:50:09] And that's what your heart is.
[00:50:11] It makes me more like you.
[00:50:14] Your note here says,
[00:50:16] If and when we abide in him,
[00:50:20] we will love his commandments.
[00:50:22] The world does not love
[00:50:24] God's commandments.
[00:50:27] But if you abide in Christ,
[00:50:28] if you're in him,
[00:50:29] if you're attached
[00:50:29] like the branch to the vine,
[00:50:31] you're going to love
[00:50:32] where your life comes from,
[00:50:33] Christ.
[00:50:34] You're going to love
[00:50:34] what he wants you to do
[00:50:35] because you're going to love him.
[00:50:37] I want to be like you.
[00:50:39] Even though we can't
[00:50:40] follow them perfectly,
[00:50:42] we should still be grateful
[00:50:45] that he's given us this grace
[00:50:47] because we know
[00:50:47] we don't deserve it.
[00:50:52] Verse 15,
[00:50:54] he says,
[00:50:54] No longer do I call you servants
[00:50:56] for the servant does not know
[00:50:57] what his master is doing
[00:50:58] but I have called you friends.
[00:51:02] For all that I have heard
[00:51:03] from my father
[00:51:04] I have made known to you.
[00:51:06] You did not choose me
[00:51:09] but I chose you
[00:51:13] and appointed you
[00:51:14] that you should go
[00:51:15] and bear fruit
[00:51:16] and that your fruit
[00:51:18] should abide
[00:51:18] so that whatever you ask
[00:51:20] in the Father,
[00:51:20] in my name,
[00:51:21] he may give it to you.
[00:51:23] These things I command you
[00:51:25] so that you will love
[00:51:26] one another.
[00:51:28] A great summary
[00:51:29] of what Jesus has been sharing
[00:51:30] here after dinner
[00:51:32] with his friends.
[00:51:35] One difference
[00:51:36] between the worldly person
[00:51:37] and the Christian
[00:51:38] is that the fruit
[00:51:39] of the believer
[00:51:40] abides.
[00:51:44] The business that you built
[00:51:46] if it's not built
[00:51:47] connected to the vine
[00:51:48] is just going to crumble
[00:51:49] and fall
[00:51:49] and be forgotten
[00:51:50] in time.
[00:51:51] But the fruit
[00:51:53] the believer
[00:51:54] bears
[00:51:55] abides.
[00:51:57] It endures.
[00:51:58] It's eternal.
[00:52:00] It lasts.
[00:52:03] Whereas the fruit
[00:52:03] of the world
[00:52:04] fades away,
[00:52:05] withers,
[00:52:06] and dies
[00:52:07] like a dead branch.
[00:52:12] If you're in Christ today
[00:52:13] stay close to him.
[00:52:17] Don't just be
[00:52:18] barely hanging on.
[00:52:21] And if you're
[00:52:22] if you feel drawn
[00:52:23] to him today
[00:52:24] like never before
[00:52:24] he's calling you
[00:52:27] come to him.
[00:52:29] Confess in your heart
[00:52:30] that he is Lord
[00:52:32] and he'll never let you go.
[00:52:33] He promises that
[00:52:34] he'll never let you go.
[00:52:36] And you'll bear the kind
[00:52:37] of fruit that lasts forever.
[00:52:39] What kind of fruit is that?
[00:52:40] We've heard some of it.
[00:52:41] Love.
[00:52:42] Love lasts forever.
[00:52:43] Joy
[00:52:46] and circumstances
[00:52:47] that seem like
[00:52:47] how can you be joyful
[00:52:48] right now?
[00:52:49] What about peace?
[00:52:50] Peace.
[00:52:51] Peace in the storms.
[00:52:53] Political storms.
[00:52:55] Natural disaster storms.
[00:52:57] You hear that peace
[00:52:57] in your heart.
[00:52:59] That's a fruit of the spirit.
[00:53:01] Patience.
[00:53:03] Patience is not normal.
[00:53:05] You should be angry.
[00:53:06] You should be retaliating.
[00:53:07] Just be patient.
[00:53:08] Just wait.
[00:53:09] I have faith in the Lord.
[00:53:10] Joy, peace, patience,
[00:53:11] kindness, goodness,
[00:53:12] faithfulness,
[00:53:14] self-control.
[00:53:14] These are fruit
[00:53:15] of the spirit.
[00:53:16] Against these things
[00:53:17] there is no law
[00:53:18] the Lord says.
[00:53:20] You can't be too loving.
[00:53:22] You can't be too patient
[00:53:23] and get a ticket.
[00:53:25] And those things remain.
[00:53:27] Love remains, right?
[00:53:31] Faith, hope, and love.
[00:53:34] These three things remain.
[00:53:35] Those are things
[00:53:36] that are going to last.
[00:53:37] When you think of your
[00:53:38] grandpas and grandmas,
[00:53:41] those memories
[00:53:41] should be loving memories
[00:53:43] and good memories
[00:53:44] and those things
[00:53:44] are really making you
[00:53:45] who you are today.
[00:53:46] Those things last.
[00:53:49] Be connected to Christ.
[00:53:51] Love one another
[00:53:52] the way he loved us
[00:53:55] and you will now
[00:53:56] and forever be his friend.
[00:53:58] Friend of Christ.
[00:54:01] Stay close.
[00:54:05] Please stand with me
[00:54:06] as we pray.
[00:54:13] Dear Lord,
[00:54:14] once again,
[00:54:14] we just are always
[00:54:15] so thankful
[00:54:15] to come hear
[00:54:17] from your word.
[00:54:18] The words that
[00:54:20] are written down here
[00:54:21] in this Bible
[00:54:23] are still as alive
[00:54:24] as they've ever been.
[00:54:26] And so Lord,
[00:54:26] we just want to have
[00:54:27] that sustenance.
[00:54:28] We want you as our vine
[00:54:29] to just give us life
[00:54:31] in everything we do
[00:54:32] every day.
[00:54:34] So Lord,
[00:54:35] keep us vibrant.
[00:54:36] Keep us fruitful.
[00:54:36] Bearing good fruit.
[00:54:38] Keep us close
[00:54:39] because we have
[00:54:39] a tendency to slip.
[00:54:41] Keep us always
[00:54:42] coming back to you
[00:54:43] for more life
[00:54:44] through your son
[00:54:46] who is the true vine,
[00:54:47] Jesus Christ.
[00:54:47] We pray in Jesus' name.
[00:54:49] Amen.
[00:54:50] Amen.