The true vine, and the true branches

John 15: 1-6

I Am the True Vine

1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 

Whatever you do in Christian life, you're going to have bits chopped lopped off!

If you don't produce 'fruit' then you are removed from the 'true vine', that is Jesus. Your relationship with him is severed. It sounds pretty harsh, but for anyone who does gardening- you do the same. If something isn't producing fruit as it should, it gets removed. Why? To encourage the healthy growth of the rest of it. 

If you do produce fruit, you are pruned. You're cut back, which will hurt. It'll take time to repair, but long-term you will be stronger and more productive.

So it's worth considering; are you going to be pruned or lopped off? 

There's a lot of mention here about fruit and abiding so, what is the fruit we are meant to be producing? And what are we abiding in? 

'Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit'. 

Here it tells us we are to abide - live, dwell, take up permanent residence - in Jesus. How then are we meant to live in a person? It's more than living with someone. If you live someone, you are still a separate person, but to live IN someone, you are within one person. If you are a Christian, that is what you have chosen.  Your life is not your own. Yours and Jesus lives are intimately linked. You have chosen a permanent residence in Christ. 

That's a huge challenge. 

Everyday, it's not me/you that's walking around doing what we do, it's Jesus. How then, are we representing him? 

If he is me and I am him, then who others see is a reflection of Jesus within me - I'd better watch out how I live! 

The result in choosing to live for Jesus, in dwelling with him, is fruit. This fruit is a product of that intimate relationship, the dwelling within one another. So, what is it that living with Christ produces? What is the fruit? 

Well, one thing it must be, if we are going with this vine imagery is a deeper dependence on God. A branch becomes stronger when it's well fed/connected with the vine, without restriction. The fruit will then bear the characteristics of what it is fed by. So, what may be a better question is what fruit did Jesus bear? If we are connected with him, growing through him and living in him, then we will be bearing the same type of fruit as he did. 

Jesus depicted God's love throughout his time on Earth, so this MUST be demonstrated by those who follow him. 

This love though is not a warm cosy feeling, 'ooohh I love that person, they are so nice' it's not that. Jesus teaches of love that is demonstrated. It is not a feeling, and it is not easy. It is about putting others first. Even if it hurts. Do we choose to put others first? Do we show people we care when it's inconvenient? When we are; tired? Hungry? Lonely? Lacking finance? Sad? Busy?

A few challenges this week:

>are you being pruned or lopped off?

>how are you representing Jesus?

>do you love people even when it hurts?

V8 - By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

Be like Peter

John 13: 36-38

Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” 37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times. 

I like Peter.

Peter is not afraid to ask. He's not afraid to say what he thinks. Even to God. 

I think that maybe that's why he was one of the disciples. Maybe he was chosen as one of the twelve because he's outspoken, bold and he'd have a go. He was keen and he was devoted to Jesus. 

Peter is quite direct. We see that in scripture time and again. Although we often see it when Peter has not quite got it right, but then we know how the story goes. We have the benefit of hindsight. I think, if we were in the same situation as Peter, we would of probably had the same thoughts as he did (although we may not of expressed them), and we'd of probably made the same mistakes. 

Peter made mistakes like we do. He often 'put his foot in it', or got the wrong end of the stick, but he kept going. He was determined to follow Jesus. 

Peter is the one who sinks when Jesus is walking on the water, Jesus even says to him once, "get behind me satan". Yet, is Peter put off? No! He keeps following Jesus! Eventhough he is well aware that he's messed up. He doesn't hide in shame, run away or give up. 

Peter keeps following Jesus. 

He is committed, and he knows that his mistakes do not prevent him from having a relationship with Jesus. 

This is the same for you and I, our mistakes do not prevent us from having a relationship with Jesus. We can keep going, keep following like Peter did. Without being constantly surrounded by fear or shame. We can think, 'oops, got that wrong, ok let's keep going'. 

Jesus chose Peter to be his disciple, and he knew what he was like. 

Jesus never asked him to leave when Peter made mistakes. Jesus pointed out Peter's errors but didn't banish or punish him. 

Jesus is the same with us. 

The best place for us to learn is at Jesus side. He will point out when we've got it wrong, but that shouldn't estrange us from him, in fact it should deepen our relationship. We are permitted to be as bold and daring as Peter, we are allowed to get out of the boat at times, and we are allowed to be direct in telling our thoughts to God. He doesn't mind, he will hear us. Maybe he'll correct us, but isn't that what we do in close relationships?

Peter was one of Jesus' closest friends, and he was allowed to speak his mind and mess up - so there's hope for all of us! 

So, let's get out there; be bold, have a go, speak your mind to God!

Psalm 3:

Save Me, O My God

A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.

O LORD, how many are my foes!

Many are rising against me;

many are saying of my soul,

there is no salvation for him in God. 

But you, O LORD, are a shield about me,

my glory, and the lifter of my head.

I cried aloud to the LORD,

and he answered me from his holy hill. 

I lay down and slept;

I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.

I will not be afraid of many thousands of people

who have set themselves against me all around.

Many will of heard of King David, God's chosen King. He won battles, ruled the kingdom, and was referred to by God as, 'a man after my own heart' . 

So his life should be sweet right?

Well, it was, sometimes. 

David still made some mistakes, and he still came up against challenges. 

This psalm is written whilst David is running away from his kingdom, and his son. 

Why? Because his son wants the throne. David doesn't want to battle his son, but he still wants to be king. So, he flees. King David runs away. 

Then he starts to hear these mutterings, 'many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God.'

Who said these things? 

My guess is that it's the people that are around him. How else would he hear these things? He's run away from his kingdom and his enemies. So presumably the ones who ran away with him, his companions, warriors, those who know David, are probably the ones saying these things. That's pretty hard, he's already in fear of his own life, then he starts hearing people saying, not only is his life, but his soul is in danger! 

Sometimes, it's the people that are closest to us that seem to hurt is the most. 

I know that when those closest to me say negative things about; me,

my actions, or character, it hurts the most. It's not nice when anyone says horrible things, but the pain is intensified when it's those we love and value. It's easy for those accusations and words to echo around our heads and remind us of the pain and our worthlessness. Sending us into a spiral of self-pity, regret and worthlessness. 

People's words can have a profound effect on us.

I am amazed by David's response. 

When hurtful words are said I replay them in my mind, relive the offence and feel bad either about myself, the other person or both! 

What does David do? 

David states who God is! 

Amazing! In the midst of the emotional and physical upheaval he is going through, David does not focus on the words spoken about him, but focuses on who God is. 

He reminds himself that God is, 'a shield about me', 'my glory' 'and the lifter of my head'. Wow! 

God is:

# a shield about me - a shield is a defensive and an offensive weapon, it protects us from what's coming at us, and can shove things out of the way. It is a weapon of war. God fiercely protects and fights for us. He doesn't stand still when we are being berated, he's there, he's ready, and he's battling for us. 

# my glory - my; splendour, magnificence, greatness, beauty, grandeur. 

God is what is good about us! There may be some truth about what others say about us, but if God is in you, then He is your 'glory' He is what is great, beautiful and even magnificent in you! Wow!

# the lifter of my head - if people are putting us down, there is no need for us to keep our heads down. Trouble is, with your head down you can't see where we are going.

We are not defined by the words or thoughts of others. We are children of the most high God. No matter what anyone else; thinks, says or does, this is who we are. You want proof? Start reading the Bible to discover who God is, and who He says you are. 

So, the next time you either:

A) have the opportunity to put someone down or say something that may hurt someone else - think twice - is it true? Is it necessary? would you say it in front of God?

B) hear someone speaking ill of yourself, remind yourself; who God is, who you are and lift up your head!