028 - Remain

You pick up your Bible. Is there more here than meets the is there something here for me. I mean it's just words printed on paper right it may look like just print on a page, but it's more than a join us for the next half hour, as we explore God's word together as we learn how to explore it on our as we ask God to meet us there in its pages welcome to more than all you get close to eat. It's really good to you pick it up. No real real fruit.

Stay with us on a maze that you stuck with this for me but it is very much for us, and eventually go back to the book of John is just really this extraordinary thing in and what we're doing is were looking at ourselves collecting together a lifetime of stuff we've noticed we've gone through and we just want to sit down with you at our table and say hey Jeff you ever thought about this seen this so were hoping that sets for you kind of modeling away about how you handle the word you look at the word and how accessible the word is. I mean this is you can get this always fresh, it's never, never stand yet this is not an old man said he had been studying this word for 50 years and even just as we come afresh to this passage Raquel: see fresh insights. You are just always continues to defend his wary amazing fingers more there than meets the so we're back here so were we hoping you're doing this as well. Going to John 15 today. What's the what's the narrative context where we are in John 15 what's going on well in the streets. They've been actually in the upper room. They shared their Passover supper and at the end of that conversation. Jesus is okay, it's time to get up.

Let's go out of sight time going across the valley to the garden and the last thing he said as they were apparently getting up and going out the door as John 1431, but that the world may know that I love the father and is the father gave me commandment. Even so, I do rises go from here so you know that statement so that the world may know how much I love the father or the way in which I love the father. I do what the father commands me and that's kind of the foundation from which he launches into this next section about us abiding in his word, and so doing his word yesterday as I love this is you know you think about if you imagine your minds either coming on the upper room there cut across and across town to leave the walled city to go to go down to the kindred Valley prosecutor never like a creek and go to that the where the praying is gonna take place right there in in the garden of Gethsemane so you know this is this is like this is the last chance Jesus has to really really speak to them. It depth and they're doing it. Entrances or walk out that way. While walking through Gardens Vineyards dark night they've had a full meal they been talking when he washed the feet had some pretty conversation already have evening he said you know you're not greater than your master stuff I've done this, you will be blessed if you do also yeah I got washing your feet so they have a lot to think about already.

They are walking in and one thing remember to their still reeling under the emotional reaction to Jesus announcement, believing them back in.

13 however, he has moderated that some will affect a lot in four teams talk about the fact that you know the comfort is going to come Holy Spirit comes oh so there really is no separation issue. Although the separation troubled their hearts, but he's going to continue that idea about. Well, if indeed physically I'm going away. You know what you do right and what you do in the interim.

And you knew what you've done for the last three years you woke up every morning for breakfast together and then I go to village and listen to me do stuff and that's going to stop. So what's going to be different now. That's reintroduce the Holy Spirit that a lot of us are just trying to figure what goes on so so really in the back of their mind even as walking out of town at night here and going to the gardeners think of soul yet but still what we do tomorrow what we do and so Jesus will address a lot of that stuff as well said to them, you know I'm going away but I'm going to send you helper and my father and I will come and make our own you helper will come and make his abode in you. So now you can illustrate that in this very familiar way. Everybody understands the relationship between vines and branches right right so is there worrying about how do we follow you, he saying don't sweat it were coming to you so here's the picture and here's a picture so this is as we started to 15 this is a great example of of what you do after that point you will do just one dive is no reason you haven't been around time is because this is one of the best parts of all jobs right here in John 15 first part want to start one. I am the true vine, and my father is the vine dresser. 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've spoken to you abiding me and I need is the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine branches. Whoever abides in me and I had him he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and weathers and the branches are gathered and thrown into the fire and burned. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This my father is glorified, you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

We need to stop there… I know I should stop but draws you in and he's just embroidering on amplifying this relationship between the vine and the branches and suddenly it's making sense so there is this life juice that flows from the vine out to the branches. It is and if you cut a branch off. I will, of course, it withers and dies like I did that on the youth group trip once before we took off on is that when the backyard a lot of grapevines back there and I clipped off about a 2 foot length of the end one and exit smaller clusters of grapes on it was early June so they were just little BBs but I stuck that in a 1 gallon Ziploc bag and every day I'd pull it out and it sounds like we go high and is not bad that I'd say over and over every day.

So what's the fundamental problem or you chop it off from the vine right and it gets everything it needs for life, or Medline. So this was talk about. This is common knowledge to them and interestingly enough in their in their home questioning about what we do know you're leaving physically okay, Holy Spirit, what we do.

Jesus is basically saying you know if you really simplified. I'm going but you need to abide in you know when you look at the word abide. It really means to remain always says abide in me, and me. So just so you know I'm going but you need to abide in me. What I'm going to abide in you will come and make our boat is the same word the same word make our boat in you. So it seems very noise you do just one mental Bible study. You see worship a lot in the word here is abide.

It's like all over the Latin church, but we do every day conversation. An illustration I was used to, come back to what this word means you remember that big land rush. We had the United States and people would go out west, and if you stuck your stake in the ground. He sang the pro forma right here. Remember that and they all lined up on the East Coast with their wagons and should they took off to the west.

You know what they would keep moving around the buddy buddy buddy until he found exactly the right spot and then say were done moving around. This is were I hear that's what this word abide means it is what it means to stop over you going to what you've chosen to remain in this so it's not come to this place. It's not your at this place stay there may come and make a homemade come in the longer you live in a place archaeologists will tell you this them. The longer people abide in a place, the more evidence it is that they were there right the size of the stuff they can take up the size of the garbage piles, the evidence of human habitation, abiding stays so so how to put the rubber to the road on this thing of Jesus. As you will abide in fact the first time you see in this verse for abide in me and I in you.

It's a mutual abide. It's a mutual remain mutual stay one direction mean the reality of what's that all well what is he said about the branches sitting on a disconnected branch doesn't bear fruit right and about a connected health branch that is drawing the life juice out of the vine does bear fruit, but requires pruning. He's setting up this whole big picture things as you know, the branches can't bear fruit by themselves unless they stay connected to the fine so you can't either.

Just the same.

Just like that and walking through the vineyard. So they're looking at, or a gardener's planted stuff there making this connection simply by observing God's design of the way plants grow. This is common knowledge to them) with so what does that mean for tomorrow for me. What do I do to abide do that and you get more collegiate clues just keep jumping from abide to abide in all of this because a.

In fact, we know the consequences of not abiding for branch and a bunch of that's common we get that you're not fruitful number not come back with fruitful means, but he starts to give us more understanding when you get to like the fourth time the word shows up in verse seven.

If you abide in me and my words abide in you, so there's still something I hear you mentioned in last chapter about about our relationship with what you said he's the word, and his words are important. So there's something about biting that has to do with our relationship with his word as well is his words, and I looked at this earlier that in in our new Testaments very often when the word when Jesus talking with the word word is translated simply word is the Greek word, low cost, but if he's talking about the reality of what that word communicates in the word is Raima so it's it, the larger concrete reality behind the actual specific term and so this is my words abide in you write the reality of what I've said who I am what we've talked about and that set me thinking about what he is sent back in chapter 6 we set my words are spirit and life, and when he asked Peter, you know, are you guys going to be a Civil War where else we go. You have the words. The reality, the content of eternal life right is that reality that content isn't biting you. Then, ask whatever you write natural front and let that sink in as a natural follow on from last week to talk about this word keep, which is a treasuring right inattentiveness to shop again yeah and so he's really usually saying your relationship with what I've said what I've always been saying and what you continue to remember what I said to the Holy Spirit.

You need to stay attentive to that and you need to and you need to remain in that the reality of it and what it really means, because we all know people and maybe we ourselves are business people who could rattle off a lot of Bible verses devoid of real understanding you can know a lot of stuff and understand very little Jesus is talking about that deep understanding of the reality here of what he has said yes so you know it. If you look at the narrative looks which can happen after this even after Jesus's is dead and buried and raised again at Pentecost happens in the knees guys and being sprinkled all over the world to what's going on to produce fruit and the boys they're going.

I'm sure that all the time, they would say you remember when he said this and that that literally influenced what they said to those who were talking since they bore fruit because they just carried through their branches what they had heard from okay and the question comes up. And what is the fruit he immediately is going to start talking about love and you know, let your mind go from anything about well, the first list first thing a list of the fruits of the spirit is love right right so you know, we can attend to.

Sometimes short-circuit. Oh, there's gotta be fruit. That means it can be a lot of converts well not necessarily, he had just told them earlier in the evening and know you're mine. By the way you love one another so that is the first and foremost, fruit or another we look at it is vinyl branch has a single purpose. Okay to Beverly's first. So if you go back to the vine part that's because supplying on the branches okay what is it that the vine Jesus, what was his purpose and if his purpose was, indeed, to glorify who God was and one part of a large part of that was really how we love to express the love of God in a way that he could grasp so he got himself his love like John is convinced of. Then Jesus is coming know I would be reverent, but in the sense he's a conduit to explain and to and to model what the love of God, looks like she can understand who God sent actually back in chapter 1 is he's the one who has come the word of God made flesh, we saw his glory, full of grace and truth little bit later on he says and he explained him the father but but this word in the flesh has fully and completely declared the father is also what we talked about glorifying the father which is just to me, make known and very public way.

Who God is the love of God.

That's his nature words of got all these things are of what comes through the vine Jesus and and now is going to be is going to be carried through the branches, so we really have the same purpose in the same fruitfulness in the sense and has nothing to do about us. It has to do with glorifying and making known who God is and primarily through what you said and how he loved, and how we love let's stay with just fruit for just a second, because I'm a gardener and when I go looking for fruit. What is the fruit of a fine well the fruit first of all, carries forward the seed of the next generation. Write the fruit also nourishes you if you eat it but the fruit also tells you what kind of pulling God. Yeah, right. So all those things are true of us as believers, we we do carry a seed of the next generation of believers, we do nourish those around us on the word of God and we do demonstrate the kind of plant we come from.

If we are genuinely abiding. We will be bearing the kind of fruit that Jesus bore, which is that self-sacrificing should look like Jesus is why, in the branches of the same purpose, and the same fruit and there were just continuing that are going well. I was just going to say that the example used by carrying that baggie for the disconnect you it becomes very apparent that what we do in terms of providing fruit for the kingdom of God has nothing to do with what we can generate in these we don't provide the fruit will just send you certain words is the conduit we are conduits of that so we always in everything you do point back to look this is not my words, this is this is what Jesus is saying this is not this love isn't something I'm generating this route something that's doing through me and Rick present two years, so it's a very selfless kind of thing to be this kind of a branch conduit is a very natural product fruit simply happens on a healthy plant doesn't squeeze hard effort, but but I want I want to emphasize the fact that many times Christians wrongly think that the Christian life is all about imitating Jesus. So I look at what would Jesus was like. And now I have to go and tomorrow and be like him.

I can impose that is not that it all. It's not about trying to imitate.

It's actually based on him living through us right so the life juices of the vine. His love is words come through us and it's not about us trying to figure out how to imitate. It's the genuine product coming through us by the Holy Spirit, radically different every Amina radically changes what our responsibilities are purposes are as believers were not trying to replicate what is that were actually continuing to let that flow through us through the Holy Spirit rice a radically different kind of idea that is pictured in this finding branches picture and sell much more. We are really swimming in the deep water here. Yeah the surface finish reading that section because we didn't get to the end of that. I stop at the end of verse eight but Jesus goes on and says asked the father has left me so I have left you.

I in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my father's commandments and abide in his love. These things are spoken to you, that my joy may be in you and your joy may befall okay so sometimes the significance of that relationship that he's just compared escapes us right. He says if you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love in the same way as I have kept my father's commandments and abide in his love right leasing. You can have the same kind of relationship with the heavenly father as I have through the hiding in the life that he pours through you right and remaining in that and stay there rather than trying to copy it and if they are letting your source align away from that and I'm taught you this so that you can understand the joy of some joy can be full, and uses that I rejoice in that relationship you can to and it's actually talks about joy.

He's talking about, not just that it's happy happy by the people deeply fulfilling and proper and found well-being. Yeah so so that this comes back again to purpose.

A lot of people say you know why was a hero. It was all about. And here you can look and say, will my purpose has always been as a branch, with the purpose of Jesus was glorify the father and so and I am just a conduit of that I'm not a replicator copy or conduit in this life. I always used to get little.

A little miffed when people see a number those braces, as had Debbie Debbie JD will still that always sound to me like if you know you need to copy you need to replicate what Jesus would do and I would say no. Just allow Jesus to work for you because we have an active conduit kind of relation we have active abiding in him and is a branch. Now he can live through us in the spirit but that's rooted in concrete reality and understanding, letting the reality of who he is right work through us and so sometimes we just function on what we think we know. Instead, right right you will reality of his spirit and we try and second-guess what write what he would have done that when I see the letters I just re-translate them instead of what would Jesus do I say what will Jesus do in the next second, because he's here's what Jesus something he'll love exactly because that's that's what the next section says this is my commandment. This is the one I want you to abide in you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one that someone laid down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants for the servant doesn't know his master's doing, but I called you friends, for all that I've heard from my father. I've made known to you, stop there for a second. 15 you not understand my purpose I came to pour myself out in love and now you get it and you can see that what that looks like laid out will shortly. In turn, love sacrificially demonstrate love sacrificially demonstrated yeah yeah yes this is bearing fruit on a big scale, but he makes these even as statements just like I have done something or been something so will you do something something and that will be the evidence of abiding love like I love yes about the life of Jesus is not coming to an end. Even though he says he's leaving for now it's actually continuing through the Holy Spirit that they in this abiding in them. This is by which it must continue right and so the same to Greeley. So Jesus loving, we will see the apostles love choices.

That's my big commandment here, geysers 12, is that you love one another's. I've loved you because that's if you are my disciples number. After that, so it works right, and even more than that you do it because were friends because we actually share a common love for this fruit share common purpose exactly right on purpose so let's just finish up this portion and then were running out of time will revisit this section of this next week but in verse 16 says you did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit that your fruit should so that what ever you ask in my name he may give it to everybody. That's the father and mine to give it to you these things I command you so that you will love another so we have not touched it all and asking the father and received When yeah yeah but it is interesting we talk about the. The common purpose between the vine and the branches that the purpose remains as long as you stay remaining in the vine purpose the same and he makes a strike purpose statement right there. He says you know that's the purpose is going on.

That's why I chose you so that you would bear fruit. This kind of fruit, and so you so you need to remain in me, but interestingly enough, this fruit that were talking about will never spoil it itself will remain which is fascinating to look historically what happened with the apostles, the one across the world that fruit did remain so what they're going to do so. So it's a fascinating thing. We are just like running out of time. We have skimmed over the top. Oh my goodness party jump acting like a rock on the water is skipping across but I guess I know my just emphasize that would Jesus talk about what we do now that you're physically leaving. He says what you need to do is remain in me and so many people will leave a religion to leave following some will say what's the end of that he's gone now. Jesus know this is just the big beginning you need to remain in me and my love and my words in our menu. Fascinating. This idea of abiding in him and his word is not new. On this particular conversation as I just one place where he said it is back in chapter 8, versus 31.

You said you abide in my word, then you are truly disciples of mine and then you'll know the truth and the truth will make you free. So there is that there is that long term effect the evidence of abiding in his word is there will be freedom there will be an understanding of truth. But it comes from being deeply rooted in the reality of his word and stop hopping around looking for an alternative word remain in this word and then you also need to keep you need to treasure you need to be attentive to it so so the task is put in front of the apostles is Jesus is physically getting ready to leave is be attentive to my word, and also rest and remain in my word don't go looking somewhere else. And guess what. In that process. I will be in you and you will be in meetings is mutual. In this I mean this is just this is blowing their minds I think this point in the discussion. Something is radically changing and what's going to make it possible Holy Spirit vesting stuff hard times. We were so glad you're with us, you need to look at this before we come back. You need to read through John 15 and Henry Ford into the end of the chapter because this is deep stuff, but the more you come back to this like we are right now, the more amazed I am at what little I what little I thought I knew deeper than encouraging even right down what Jesus says about abiding just make a list of the statements and how does abiding relate to keeping house abiding relate start writing things down so that it goes through your brain out your hand onto the paper and how how remarkably key it is that our relationship with Jesus. So were Don joined with this Jim and we would love to you and be with you next week for the terrible see you then. This is morning