JOHN 15 - THE VINE

The passage in the Bible we are going to center around is in John 15. What is really interesting about this passage is it falls right after the famous last supper and right before Jesus crucifixion. What Jesus tells his disciples in John 15 you know is of great importance because it is one of the last times he talks to them before his death.

Let’s start by reading through John 15

What is the Good Life?
I am the true vine, and my father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. (John 15:1-2)
Greek Word: Airo - To lift up, to prune
Jesus uses the ancient image and well-known metaphor of the vine to teach his followers about life with God. In the vineyard, the Father decides which branches bear fruit and which are capable of bearing more. The word airo literally means to lift up. The vines of ancient vineyards ran along the ground and not on modern trellises. It was the farmer's job to come along and gently lift the branch out of the dirt so that grapes wouldn't rot.
How does this image affect your understanding of the role of God as the Vine Dresser?
In what ways do we "cut off" when perhaps we should be "lifting up?"

LIFE IS ON THE VINE ONLY
By Ourselves What Do We Have - We try to do a lot on our own - in fact many around us that’s all they have ever done. But the only way to true life is in God. To stay connected to him like the branches are connected to God. The life source - if the branches detach from the vine they will die.

The deal is God wants us to have a full life - like it says in John 15 God wants each of us to bear fruit and if god is the vinedresser then a vinedresser wants to get the most out of each branch that he possibly can.

FULL LIFE
In John 10:10 Jesus says that he came to give us life and life to the full

God offers the best for each and every one of us. But we often settle - we often do our own thing - and what we fail to realize is that life is in God alone.

What I have come to find out is that it is a trust issue. One of the most important questions you can ask yourself is do i believe that God has what is best for me. Do you?

If you question God’s goodness and that life in him is not the best than you are going to do your own thing. Let’s explore what life on our own vs. life that God intends looks like.

Life on own leads to greed, selfishness, pride, etc. and those all lead to addictions, hurt, pain, brokeness. Just look at the world - you don’t have to look to far to see that it’s hurt, broken, life on it’s own isn’t working.

So if God brings life - he can’t help it that’s what he does - that’s who he is. And we our nature brings nothing good on it’s own then by our actions our choices we either choose to bring life into our lives or the opposite.

Many of us who are christians those who follow Jesus. Have got caught in an invisible net we are just moping through life try to be “good” and we have no connection with God. We don’t connect with the life source regularly and when we don’t we become like the vine that is overgrown and the sun can’t shine in.

Our lives get filled with little things that turn into bigger things. Or maybe we haven’t dealt with the feelings that our inside of us and they now control us. GOD IS SCREAMING AT US HE IS PURSUING US saying I HAVE SO MUCH MORE TO OFFER.

How many of you want your life to count for something. You want to make a difference you want to make a mark. Of course all of us do. The only way to do so is to be connected to God.

PRUNING
The stuff that has to go because it is choking you to death and nothing good is coming - no fruit is growing. A vine left alone to do it's own thing will kill itself, make the wrong choices. Cutting away what can appear to be good to untrained eye. Things in our life that can keep us from bearing the most fruit possible - things that waste our time and energy. What are those things in your life?

TRAINING THE BRANCHES
The Vinedresser (GOD) goes through the vineyard daily and knows what the vine needs. He is training the vine in a very specific way so that the vine can produce the most fruit possible.