John 15:1-8 - Live Life With Me

Main Idea: True Christians center their lives on Jesus and consequently produce His character.

WHAT IS A TRUE CHRISTIAN?

• A true Christian believes in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and their only Savior.

• A true Christian may at times fall into sin, but will always return to faithful obedience to the Lord.

• A true Christian desires to know and live out the Word of God.

HOW DO I CENTER MY LIFE ON JESUS?

• I recognize my need for total dependence on Jesus’ ability to transform me.

• I embrace hardships because God will use them to make me like Him.

• I spend time in God’s Word, because it cleanses me and directs me.

• I spend time praying and communing with my God.

• I have a goal to think, talk, and act like Jesus and I make effort towards that goal.

• I allow my relationships to be shaped by the reality of God’s love & holy justice.

• I pursue Jesus’ goals of making disciples, baptizing them, & teaching them His way.

• I endeavor to make God look good through my words & actions to everyone who knows me.

Sermon Transcript (Auto-Transcribed by Apple Podcasts)

We were with Christ and the disciples in John 13 and 14 as they partook of the last supper, the last meal that Jesus would have on earth. And Jesus talked to them about loving one another, just like Jesus had loved them.

Judas, one of the 12 disciples, he went out to go betray Jesus. And then Jesus talked to the disciples that were left about the fact that he was going to heaven to prepare a place for them, so that where Jesus is, there we will be also.

He told them that though he was going to heaven, he wasn't going to leave the disciples then, or his disciples now on their own, but instead he would send the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, so that God himself would live in us and

would guide us and teach us in the way that Jesus wants us to go each and every day. And then last week, we looked at the fact that Jesus says, not only has he given us the Holy Spirit, but he's giving us his peace, that we have a certain home in

heaven, we have a good God, we have a purpose in the here and now, every single day of our lives, that cannot be assailed by our circumstances, and that we have a defeated, powerless enemy as a result of the cross of Jesus Christ. And then at the

very end of chapter 14, Jesus says, get up, let's leave this place. very end of chapter 14, Jesus says, get up, let's leave this place.

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Lifeʼs Center

And today's message is entitled, Live Life With Me. You've been looking at Jesus' last words, and one of those words from John 15 1-8 is live life with me.

Want us to think today about what we center our lives around, like what gives our life its flavor and meaning and purpose, what do we spend our time doing, what do we spend our money on, what do we do in our free time with our hobbies, what dictates

how we live the relationships that we have, and even what relationships that we have. And I want to challenge us today that our lives ought to be lived with Jesus at the center of it all. Many people have different central aspects of their life.

I believe I have a somewhat humorous slide. There's no great way to intro this other than the Barrel Man. There was a Broncos fan.

Many of you know I grew up in kind of the Denver, Colorado area, and so that's where I call home. All of my favorite like root tide teams are Colorado teams, like the Avalanche and the Broncos and the Rockies.

You guys got to pray for me with the Rockies. But I love Denver sports and I do not love Denver sports nearly as much as Tim McKernan, the barrel man, loved Broncos sports.

In all types of weather, for 30 years, Tim, the barrel man, attended every home game of the Denver Broncos in an orange barrel that covered his torso, and he wore a cowboy hat and boots, missing only four games during a 30-year period.

Tim, the barrel man, McKernan, loved his Broncos and the central aspect of his life was either the Broncos or the barrel, if you will.

For others of us, as we think about living our life with something at the center, for some of us, it might be family that is at the center of our life, that are our calendars and our wallets, and everything about our lives centers around our family.

For some people, it's hunting, and they're always looking for that next deer. They're looking for that next elk. I don't know what all you're allowed to shoot, so I'm not going to mention any more things to hunt.

But some people, like that's their whole personality. That is everything about them. For some people, it's special experiences, travel and vacations.

For some people, it's fun weekends and going out clubbing or just spending time with friends. And that is the central aspect of their life. They might have a job.

Hopefully, they have a job. They might have some other hobbies. They might have some other relationships.

But all of us know people that have something as the central aspect of their life that they know if this and this come to a head, whatever this is, this is the central aspect of my life that will guide me through my decisions and my relationships and

what I spend my life around. We all build our lives around something. And today, Jesus is calling the disciples here and the disciples here in this room and online to center our lives on Jesus. To live life with Him at the center.

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John 15 Reading

I want to do something a little out of the box for us today. But if you would, please stand with me and we're going to read through. It's just eight short verses here, John 15, 1 through 8.

But let's stand together and read aloud, whether you have maybe your portion of scripture, if you have that sermon handout, it's on there, or on the screens, if you can see those.

But let's read together through these verses, then we'll pray and begin the message for today. I am the true vine, and my father is the gardener.

Every branch in me that does not produce fruit, he removes, and he prunes every branch that produces fruit, so that it will produce more fruit. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I in you.

Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me.

I am the vine, you are the branches, the one who remains in me, and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me. If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown aside like a branch and he withers.

They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you.

My father is glorified by this, that you produce much fruit and prove to be my disciples. Thank you for reading together. Let's sit and let's pray.

Dear Jesus, as we come to this portion, may we be challenged, Lord, not merely to be religious, not merely to do religious or biblical things. Lord, may our hearts cry be, Lord, help me to remain, to abide, to live in you. We love you, Lord.

We pray all of this in the name of Jesus. Amen. As we look through these verses, Jesus has for these disciples a couple main thoughts.

I noticed at the end of verse number 8, he says, My father's glorified this, by this, that you produce much fruit and prove to be my disciples.

That is, through the way that we interact with our God and through the way that we interact with one another, when it comes to the divine courtroom, if you will, of if we're going to be convicted, if we're going to be guilty of being a disciple of

Jesus, there's some things that we ought to look at. That there is a proven disciple, there is a genuine disciple, a true Christian, and there are false Christians.

Kind of the main thought that I want us to look at today is that true Christians center their lives on Jesus, and consequently produce his character. True Christians center their lives on Jesus, and consequently produce his character.

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True Christian Belief

So we're going to look just at two questions today of what might it look like to be a true Christian, what is a true Christian, and then next we'll look at how do I center my life on Jesus. But first today, what is a true Christian?

From this passage, we can see that a true Christian believes in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and their only Savior. Even back in verse number one, Jesus says, I am the, what kind of vine does he say? I am the true vine.

He says, and my father is the gardener. That because Jesus is the source of life, he is the one through whom connection to him means everything. I notice up here even on the platform, we have a few different types of like fake plants.

During perhaps other seasons of the year, you would have a real plant. And for some of our more gardening or floral friends, what happens if I say, take a leaf off of a potted plant? What's going to happen to the leaf?

It's going to die. It will not live. And here what Jesus says is, I am the vine, and you are the branches.

Connection with Jesus as the Son of God, this true one, the son of the father, the gardener, he is the one that we must rely on if we are to be true Christians. A person might think that the Bible is a great book of morals.

A person might even say that they are a Christian, but if they do not believe in Jesus as the Son of God, if they do not hold to him as their savior, that person is not a true Christian.

And unfortunately, in today's world, where we often are obsessed with labeling ourselves whatever we want, or labeling other people whatever we want, a lot of people can claim the title Christian and yet be far away from God in their heart, because

they do not believe in Jesus as very God of God, as we would hear throughout Scripture. So a true Christian believes in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and as their only Savior.

Throughout the passage, you see that Jesus says, separation from the Son of God means that we can do nothing, that we have no life, that we are cast out, or even as we would read in verse number six, if anyone does not remain in me, in Jesus, he's

thrown aside like a branch and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. And so Scripture would tell us there is only one Savior.

There is only one source of life and forgiveness and healing, and it is the person of Jesus Christ. I know many here in this room today do know Jesus as their Savior, and you have turned the keys of your life over to Christ.

But I also know that there are people even in this room today and people online that you have never placed your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. You have never asked God to forgive you of your sins and to come and be your Lord and Savior.

And can I tell you today, the encouragement from John 15 is not, well, I guess you are just damned forever and good luck. Jesus doesn't love you. No, my friend, this is the call.

The call is to be connected, to remain in, to abide, to find your life and purpose and mission and identity in the Son of God.

And whoever comes to Him, any branch that is in Jesus, that remains with Him, that abides with Christ, you will find eternal life. That there is no branch that wants to be connected to the vine that He will ever turn away.

To be connected with Christ is eternal life. And so Jesus is extending salvation to those who would be with Him. So a true Christian believes in Jesus Christ as the Son of God.

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True Christian Obedience

Secondly, a true Christian may at times fall into sin, but will always return to faithful obedience to the Lord. I know many people in the room today, you have been walking with Jesus for a hot minute. If you would, this might be a little risky.

If by raise of hand, if you have known Christ as your Savior for more than, say, 20 years, would you raise your hand? Okay, many people. If you've known Christ as your Savior for 40 years or more, would you raise your hand?

Yeah, several. And I know even we have many people that would normally raise their hands that weren't able to be here today due to sickness.

Now, for any of you that raised your hand that you've been saved for 20 or for 40 years, have you been perfectly sinless like Jesus Christ for that time? No. As your pastor, I can say some of y'all have not been perfect during that time period.

We fail. And so here, the concern that could come to people is as they read through even verse number two or verse number six, every branch in me that does not produce fruit, he removes. Well, I don't want to be removed from the vine.

Or in verse number six, if anyone does not remain in me, he's thrown aside like a branch and he withers. I don't want to be one of those people. What does it mean to, if you will, abide in Jesus?

To abide, to remain in Jesus, this is the Greek word, mino. Here's the thought. Jesus is your dwelling place.

It's home base. John uses this word a lot. As I assume he reflects decades earlier on what Jesus told him, he tells the believers there that he's writing to in that letter.

Guys, it is so important to abide, to remain to the Greek word, mino, in Jesus, that he is where you find your home base.

For some people, religion or Jesus is a pit stop, or it's a halfway house, that they go, okay, I'm in trouble right now, and maybe I'm struggling in my relationship, or I'm struggling with having purpose or worth, and so I'm going to stop by the

Jesus shop for a year, 10 years, 20 years even, and then I'm going to make my way on to something else once the Jesus shop is no longer doing what I feel like it should do. Some people don't even view Christianity or Jesus as a halfway house, it's

just a vacation stop, that they'd say, all right, well, I'll try it out for like two or three weeks, and then I'm going on my way, I'll find some other thing in which to make my central aspect of my life or my home. But for the child of God, Jesus

isn't something that you just visit. Jesus is someone that you are with. And I can leave my home at times to go visit my in-laws, and I can leave my home to go on trips for the church, but I always know where my home base is.

And for the true Christians, they are those that always say, I might have walked away from the Lord for a season, and I was living for the money that I could make, or I was living for the pleasures that I could enjoy in my life, or even I was just

living for all the time that I could spend with my family, and I neglected my relationship with God, but that's not who I am. Who I am is a Christian. Jesus bought me, and so there's something pulling me back towards Jesus himself.

And so here, as Jesus talks about those that remain in him, this is not saying the ones that are sinless get to have a relationship with Jesus. This is those that have, as their home base, Jesus Christ.

They will find that they are his, that they experience fruit. We're going to talk a little bit more in a moment about what fruit is, but I want to encourage you, if you would say for your life, I don't really think Jesus is home base for me.

I'm not always in whatever circumstance I'm in going, oh, I should have spent more time with him. I should be in the Word. I should be gathering with his people.

If there is none of that pull in your soul, then I want to encourage you. The goal is not, okay, well, I'm out of Jesus. I guess I'm just toast.

No, the goal is get connected to the vine, that as you turn in faith to Jesus and say, Christ, I have walked away from you. I've not been connected. But Jesus, today, I want to be connected to the vine, that Jesus will do that for you.

So a true Christian may at times fall into sin, but will always return to faithful obedience in the Lord. The Apostle John who wrote this gospel, he would experience this even within his own ministry.

The letter of 1 John and 2 John talk about churches that experienced people that came in, they listened to some false teachers, speak lies about Jesus or about the way that we're called to live as Christians.

And people that had once gone to church with other believers, they left Jesus. It wasn't simply that they moved from a physical location.

If anyone that's here today, if you're moved to New Hampshire or Colorado or Florida at some point, we're not gonna be like, man, it used to be that Daryl was a Christian, but then he moved to Florida and he left us.

And so now he's no longer a Christian. No, no, no, it's not about your location, but they left Jesus. And what John tells the believers there is, they went out from us.

They left, if you will, the Jesus people, because they did not belong to us. He says, if they did belong to us, they would have continued with us, continued in that belief of Jesus as Lord.

So a true Christian may at times fall into sin, but will always return to faithful obedience to the Lord. That's what Jesus says. Every branch in me that does not produce fruit, he removes.

And then lastly there, what is a true Christian? A true Christian desires to know and to live out the word of God. To know and to live out the word of God.

We can see this even in verse number three. You're already clean because of the, what does it say there? The word that I have spoken to you.

Or in verse number seven, if you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you. A true Christian recognizes that we have eternal life because of the gospel presented to us in the word of God.

That it tells us of Jesus, of his love for us, of his desire and his plans and his purposes for us, of what our eventual one day death or Jesus' return, of what that will entail. We learn all of it from the word of God.

And a true Christian, as we would read in 1 Peter 2, desires the sincere, the genuine milk of the word of God so that they can grow up in it. Can I ask you, do you have a hunger to know, to study and to learn the word of God?

If there's no desire for you to learn or to memorize scripture, to let it take place in you, whether that's through perhaps Sunday with preaching, whether it's through a small group, whether it's in your personal devotions, if you have no desire to

know or to study or to learn the word of God, that might be an indication that something is amiss, that you might not be connected to the vine. Because a true Christian realizes it is through the word that Jesus has spoken that I have experienced

cleansing. You can think even of these disciples that heard this, that Judas is gone, and they would experience over the next about 12 hours or so, the greatest heartbreak and hurt of their entire existence as the Son of God was taken from them, was

put on trial, and was beaten and bruised and whipped, and then crucified. And these men were about to go through some dark valleys.

But Jesus wants them to know before they all abandon and betray him, he says, you are already cleaned through the word that I've spoken to you.

I'm so thankful that Jesus' word that he has spoken to us, it cleanses us before we commit the rest of the sins that God, in his perfect sovereignty, he knew every time that John or that Laurie or that Tina was going to mess up this week, and yet he

already made the cleansing and the righteousness and the restoration possible through what he has done for us. So let's hear about that. Let's learn. Let's study the word together.

But then today, not only what is a true Christian, which is someone that believes on Jesus as the son of God and as their only Savior, a true Christian returns to faithful obedience to the Lord, though they may at times fall into sin, and a true

Christian desires to know and live out the word of God. Christian desires to know and live out the word of God.

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Dependence on Jesus

So then the question is, how do we center our life on Jesus? So if a true Christian centers their life on Jesus and consequently produces his character, what does that look like? How do I center my life on Jesus?

How do I, as Jesus says, remain in him? How do I set up a home where Jesus is? Just walking through these verses, kind of verses one through eight, we can see those things that are listed there on your sermon handout.

First, that we, if I want to center my life on Jesus, I recognize my need for total dependence on Jesus' ability to transform me.

If you want to remain in Jesus, it is not a question of having enough self-control or discipline to accomplish 613 good things and avoiding 415 bad things. The life lived, remaining, and abiding in Jesus is a life of recognizing, Lord, I need you.

Or as we would sing in the old hymn, I need thee every hour. And frankly, for most of us, more than an hour. We need thee every minute and every second.

So first, as Jesus says, I'm the true vine, my father is the gardener, every branch in me that does not produce fruit, he removes and he prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit.

We recognize from this, we need Jesus to be that vine that we are connected to. No one would look at a budding flower and go, that's so amazing. I bet the stem did nothing.

No, without the stem connected to that flower, there will be no budding, there will be no flower and no beauty without the stem that the flower is connected to.

And so if we are going to have anything good come out of our life, we have to recognize that we desperately need the Lord for all of it. We'll see that. Well, I'll mention this as well.

As Jesus says, without me, you can do what? Nothing. He doesn't say, you can do some things without me.

No, for our relationship with God, with the Holy Spirit moving and working in and through us, we recognize that there is no good in me, but there is infinite good in God that he wants to move through me.

So if you have been kind to anyone, it is not that you are a great good or moral or kind or giving person. It is that your God is good and kind and giving and merciful and generous, and he did things through you.

And the sooner we recognize that, that our entire existence is merely meant to be a channel for the character and the grace and the love of God to flow through us, we'll start becoming more humble about who we are, and if you will, more braggadocious

about who our God is. So first, how do we set our lives on Jesus? We recognize our need for total dependence on Jesus' ability to transform us. Second, there, we embrace hardships because God will use them to make me like him.

We saw this in verse number two. The gardener, the father, in our lives, he prunes every branch that produces fruit. So that it will produce more fruit.

Now, do you guys think that Jesus, when he's talking about if you're a disciple, you produce fruit, is he talking about tomatoes? Which is a fruit, by the way. Is Jesus talking about peaches or apples or grapes?

No. He is talking about the fruit of the Spirit. That is God's character living in and through us, that we experience repentance and trust and holiness.

That is God brings fruit into our lives. We recognize where we've fallen short and we turn back to God. We trust in God each moment.

That is a fruit of the Spirit. And we live in holiness, that faith, joy, love, peace, patience, kindness, self-control, gentleness, all of a lot of it, God does in and through us.

Well, how does God change you so that Rhonda or Denise or Charlie isn't the same person in five years that they are today or that they aren't the same person today that they were three years ago?

Here, as with James 1 would tell us, God uses the hardships and trials and difficulties that you walk through so that you would recognize, I'm nothing outside of God, but God can do wonders through me.

And that through experiencing times where you have anger or fear or grief and sadness and depression, that God will move into our broken hearts and lives and areas and begin to mend us.

So that in what once brought us such great anxiety, we now experience the peace of God. Where once there was anger and bitterness, God moves in with love and forgiveness and patience.

And so we welcome hardships, not because we just love harm and pain, but we welcome hardships because God uses those things to make us more like himself.

If right now you're walking through a difficult season, my friend, I want to encourage you from the words of Jesus. If you are producing the fruit of the Spirit in your life, God will prune you. He will cause some things to be cut out from your life.

He'll cause you to go through difficulties so that you will bring forth more fruit. You will become more like God, more like Jesus, through how you live as a result of the hardships you're experiencing right now. Now, none of us relish that.

None of us are like, oh man, I really want to have some health struggles this week. But when we go through it, we know Jesus is with us. Third there, we spend time in God's word because it cleanses us and it directs us.

You want to center your life on Jesus? Pick up the word of God. Listen to it on audio.

Right now, this year, I'm listening through the Bible in a year with Tim Wildsmith, and he has some of the Old Testament, some of the New Testament, and some Psalms or Proverbs. And every morning I get up and I listen to that.

And I can tell you, right now he's going through some verses in Leviticus. Some of that can be a little dry sometimes, but I'm so thankful that God's word is that which cleanses me.

It makes me recognize what's right and what's wrong, where I've been wrong and where I need to get right, and how to get and stay right. We find through the word of God. If you want to center your life on Jesus, be in the Bible.

Fifth there, I spend time praying and communing with my God.

If you want to remain, to abide, to make a home in Jesus, it requires that we spend time in prayer, that we spend time, even when we don't have a laundry list of items that we're praying for, that we reflect, that we contemplate, God, what are you

doing in and through me? My life circumstances are this right now. What are you wanting to teach me?

And as we pray to the Lord, as we pray the Lord's prayer, as we pray any one of the countless prayers that we would read in Psalms or through the rest of Scripture, God has his home in us as we spend time communing with him.

Then, I have a goal to think, talk, and act like Jesus, and I make effort towards that goal. You want to center your life on Jesus? Desire to be and act and think and talk like a Christian.

Far too many people that purport to be Christian say, yeah, I'm a Christian, but I do whatever I want. I say whatever I want. I go wherever I want.

I think whatever I want. And Scripture tells us to be a Christian is to follow in the life and thoughts and words and habits of Jesus. And so if we want to send our life around Jesus, let's make him the goal that we are headed towards.

Then we allow our relationships to be shaped by the reality of God's love and holy justice. So we are the forgiven, the loved. That means that we gotta forgive and love others.

We need to be patient with others.

And even as we read in verse six, recognizing that there will be those someday that do not remain in Jesus, that haven't set up their life around Jesus, that he will throw aside like a branch, and they will be gathered, thrown into the fire and

burned. And so I want to live my life today in recognition of the fact that eternity is coming. And I want every person to be able to experience the love of God and what it is to have a life connected with Jesus.

And so if I'm gonna center my life around Jesus, it means I have to care what happens to people eternally. We get scared, we shy away from that. But my friends, if we're gonna remain in Jesus, let's have the same love for the lost that Jesus did.

Then we pursue Jesus' goals of making disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them his way. In verse number seven, he says, if you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you.

If Jesus has a home in you and his words have a home in you, what do you think you are going to want? Do you think you're going to want what is selfish or self-centered? Or do you think you're gonna want what Jesus wants as Jesus lives in you?

Well, the obvious answer is, Jesus has a home in you and his words have a home in you. What you want is what Jesus wants.

So, as we accomplish the mission of God here on earth, and we want to fulfill that great commission of making disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and as we teach them, as we do that, when we ask the Father to

help us in that mission, he will accomplish it. He says, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you, for the glory of the Father in the mission of the Son.

And if you will, as you ask for that fruit to come out, that you go, all right, my grandson head-butted me and I need some patience and I need some long suffering and I need some grace, I need you to put a guard on my mouth. Jesus, would you help me?

And he does it. When we say, God, I need the right words to be able to say to this person who is hurting, God will answer that request that you have. Are you asking for Jesus to help you fulfill Jesus' mission?

As a side note, at the end of March, we're going to be having a baptism Sunday on that very last Sunday in March.

And if you are one that you profess to be a Christian and you have never followed the Lord and believers baptism, I want to encourage you, follow Jesus, center your life around Jesus, obey his commands. That's one of the things that we can do.

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Godʼs Glory

And then very lastly, how do we center our life on Jesus? We endeavor to make God look good through our words and actions to everyone that knows us.

There in verse 8, My father is glorified by this, that you produce much fruit and prove to be my disciples. Our goal ought to be the glory of God. That others would say God is good because I've seen the way that Marla interacts with people.

I know that God is real because he changed Bryon from a scumbag to slightly less of a scumbag. God's glory ought to be the thing that we are pressing towards.

And those that would center their life around Jesus, those that have a home in Jesus, they want the same thing Jesus wanted. Jesus didn't live for his own glory. He didn't live so that everyone would just think well of him.

He lived for the glory of the Father. How are you living your life? Do people think better or worse of Jesus as a result of their interactions with you?

We profess to be Christians. You're here on a Sunday morning, or you're here watching on a Sunday morning when you could be watching anywhere else online, or you guys could be somewhere else. You guys purport to be Christians.

But do people go, I'll never be a Christian, because I've interacted with Bryon. And man, he's a hypocrite, and I don't think that Jesus thing is real, because I've interacted with him. My desire, my goal is, I want to make God look good.

I want people to be like, I have to believe in Jesus, because there's no other reason for Bryon to experience everything that Bryon's experienced in his life. Bryon won't stop bragging about God or what God is doing.

I want to have that kind of testimony.

I pray that it's our testimony together as a church, that as people interact with Tabernacle Baptist or wherever someone might be from, I hope that the response of a lost and dying world would be, there's got to be something to that Jesus movement.

Because Jesus is working in changing people in ways that we could never have manufactured or thought possible. Today, true Christians center their lives around Jesus, and consequently, they produce Jesus' character. Today, are you a true Christian?

Have you given your life over to Jesus? If you've never done that, today we're going to be singing through the hymn, Great is Thy Faithfulness, in just a moment. Several of our elders will be right up here at the front.

They would love to pray with you, to open the Word of God, and to show you how you can know that you're on your way to heaven. If you are a true Christian, then are you centering your life around Jesus?

Can people look at you and go, Hey, there's Tim the Barrel Man McCurnin. Are you Rhonda, the Christian girl Pope? Or are you John, the Christian man Cooney?

Today, may we center our lives on Jesus. He is the one who is a good and a safe and a worthy home to make our lives around.