The Vine & the Branches

Julia Renewing Your Mind our union with Christ.

Actually, it's really important we understand the suspect of the gospel, but would you like to to Christ because he's saying is the real key to is understanding how would going to be fruitful in the Christian life. We all are united to Christ. That's our relationship was the relationship between the branch on the vine. The branches unites is to find Dr. Sinclair Ferguson is our teacher today on Renewing Your Mind. He's leaving us in a study of a theme that permeates practically all of the apostle Paul's writings are union with Christ is reduced or Dr. Ferguson say this is key to understanding how were going to be fruitful as Christians that we all desire that so much joy. Dr. Ferguson now as we continue our study while coming very near nine to the end of our series of studies in union with Christ. I thought it actually would be very important for us to depart for a few minutes from the apostle Paul, simply to underline that union with Christ is not originally Paul's idea union with Christ as originally God's idea, but in fact we find in a very familiar passage, but this is the teaching of our Lord Jesus. So in this session were going to think about Jesus teaching in John chapter 15 and especially the first 11 verses because they are as Jesus is with his disciples. He remembered in the upper room the evening of his crucifixion.

He begins in a way that he has never quite done before to explain to them that the heart of their Christian lives in the future is going to be the fact that they are united to him uses of course a picture in order to express that to them the picture of the volume on the branches. He is the vine unveiled the branches. She must therefore give them all the resources they need for life and fruitfulness and they in turn should remember he says as branches must continue to draw those resources from the vine. The branches need to remain in the vine. If the branches are going to have legal fruitfulness but interesting actually lighten the time of Jesus.

Currently in the temple, there were clusters of grapes portraying in the sense both the story of the Old Testament and also the symbol of God's people as God's vineyard on God's finding that he tended some of these clusters apparently what is allowed just a man undoes the disciples had been in and out of the temple shooting passion week that perhaps it was these marvelous depictions of God's people of God's work because of the fine dresser of his people on these giant portrayals of the wonderful fruit look God intended for his people were lingering in the minds on Jesus and the senses moving them on from thinking about architecture in our to help them to understand this is a marvelous representation of the way in which their relationship with the Lord Jesus actually works on this trying to count four principles. But Jesus enunciates here the background to all of this teaching is list he has.

He is told his disciples he's going to is going to leave them.

And of course this has allowed him they feel that it will, if Jesus is at a distance from us of Jesus is gone from us when we going to be and he's already taught them. But in fact when he goes from them. The spirit will come to them, the spirit who has been on his life and ministry.

These 33 years, the spirit who is being his companion the spirit and whose power he has done mighty works, and lived his life.

The spirit in whom he will offer himself to the father of the spirit who will energize his resurrection. The spirit he will send on the day of Pentecost. He will bring Jesus near. Indeed, in a sense even because when the spirit comes to indwell them since Jesus, he will come to indwell you as though I were in dwelling you myself. I am leaving in order to come closer to. I am going from you to Calvary and then into heaven in order that you may be united to me in a close bond of union in which you and I are bound together by one and the same Holy Spirit and this of course is something that we saw last time Paul speaks about in Colossians chapter 3 Christians are bound together with the Lord Jesus because he has given us his Holy Spirit that are not 100 Holy Spirit's are thousand Holy Spirit's is only one Holy Spirit about Holy Spirit is the spirit was on the ministry of Jesus was come to indwell us Christians could not be closer to him. Because of this union. So here are four things four principles Jesus enunciates about this union principle number one our union with Christ is the source of all fruitfulness in our lives what he says here he says abide in me and I in you. Verse four as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me later on. Of course he will say apart from me you can do nothing on this is really a very striking statement when you think about but Jesus is saying unless there is a union between you and me. Your lives will never be fruitful and saying that he's really emphasizing to us.

Actually, it's really important we understand this aspect of the gospel that were united to Christ because he singer is the real key to is understanding how would going to be fruitful in the Christian life.

We are united to Christ. That's our relationship was the relationship between the branch on the vine. The branches unites us to find but this is the branch and draws on the significance of that union. The branch bears fruit as the Christian believer draws on the significance of this union, the resources that are ours in Christ. As we saw in Paul's letter to the Colossians, the fullness in Christ is our this should enable us to stand tall to believe that so long as we remain in this union and communion with the Lord Jesus, the fruit will begin to control you perhaps noticed that in that the New Testament many of the illustrations. But Jesus and the apostles use of being a fruitful Christian illustrations that help us to see this. If this is not something we do mechanically.

This is something that happens supernaturally but also in a way that is natural. I remember my old minister from student days, William still saying.

But what characterizes the Christian is that he longs to do the supernatural thing. Naturally you are the light of the one of Jesus. Jesus doesn't say click on the light. Every so often you sing you the light, so let the light shine cutie saying you are a member of the vine you want to brunch in the vine, so you're not so much supposed to be thinking, how can I be a fruit is calling you to think how can I continue to live in union and communion with the Lord Jesus and the fruit will look after itself is easy for some of us to get caught up in how well we're doing in Christian service and loose sight of how close are communion to the Lord Jesus is so this is a great lesson Jesus is teaching us first of all, the source of all spiritual fruitfulness is to be found in our union with Christ.

Second principle which if you'll excuse the pun cuts more deeply is that our union involves pruning. If there is to be fruit. Our union involves pruning.

If there is to be fruit. Look at verse two every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away and definitely branch that does bear fruit he prunes, but it may bear more fruit. But when it comes to practical things. I am almost totally incapacitated. I can mow the lawn. That's about it so I know nothing except what I've read and actually what I've seen about viticulture and how to grow great great but I understand that when volume dress of the two culturalist is looking after his findings.

He prunes them for two reasons. He wants to cut away but will not bear fruit every branch in me that does not bear fruit he prunes, but he also prunes in order that the vine may bear more fruit and richer fruit and better fruit so to me might seem to be a very silent activity on the part of the vine dresser is actually intended to be a very fruitful activity for the volume member being taken by Bob Denham adult whom some people who are here may know he was a member of the religion your board an outstanding Christian man and I remember him taking me to his volume in California. Please just seem to be miles and miles of fine and has been sunk as I was walking up between the findings, marveling up the way in which they were not children, not based in the silent by irrigation.

I saw twigs all over the place thousands, millions and millions and millions twigs and instinctively thought find the screen here slashing my friends, volume until, of course, the penny dropped. This is why the findings were so fruitful. Incidentally, if findings could speak. I think they would be saying that hearts under findings could speak to those who were looking after them. I think those who were looking after them would say to them, you wait until you see the grapes you wish until you see the grapes and this is how the father works as into find this in so many different places.

We find it illustrated in so many lives in the pages of Scripture and in the pages of church history.

The Christian who is never pruned is the Christian who will never grow is how he works. And of course, instinctively we say, but father that hearts and we need to understand, but unless you do these things unless you chip away at us as a sculptor unless he can't, as a surgeon will never be healthy will never be whole will never be fruitful. Remember coming across these words of Amy Carmichael on one occasion speaking about this very thing she writes what prodigal waste that appears to be to cease scattered on the floor. The bright green leaves on the bear stem bleeding in 100 places from the shop. Nice but with a tried and trusted husbandmen, that is not a random stroke and is all nothing cut away which it would not have been a loss to keep and gain to lose over not saying we understand this anymore than when Joseph was in prison after the incident with Potiphar's wife. He perfectly understood how God was working everything together for good. Jesus is not saying you will understand the Sedalia said, actually, to Simon Peter chapter 13 when Peter said I don't understand what you're trying to do washing my feet is that you don't understand. No Peter but afterward you will understand. The same is true of this ministry of pruning in which we may feel the pains of life and yet the Lord is using it in architecture to make us fruitful and we see this all around us in the church don't so principle number one, but our union with Christ is the source of our fruitfulness. Principle number two but that union involves pruning that we may bear more fruit. Principle number three which you'll find especially in verse seven. Is this the this union is not shared and nourished by the word of God. This union is not short and nourished its new Testaments are found in the word of God that what he says if you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for the no you would almost think that the apostle John had told the apostle Paul. He was going to write this, but he'd almost written to Paul just before he wrote Colossae and sitting by the way, here's one of the things that Jesus said because remember how Paul finishes that passage we were looking at before when he says, bringing everything together that he's been teaching about our union with Christ.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, and you make melody in your heart and you teach one another. The way to grow strong in our union with Jesus Christ is to be fed on his word know that's exactly what Jesus prays for later on in chapter 17. In verse 17, the subject sanctified them in the truth. Your word is truth to notice something I think we live in the world today among Christian people. Cuellar we won the Bible to tell us what to do and will do it with whereby kind of society, especially this society in the United States you are annoying as can do people elsewhere. People are known as we've never done that before people here can do people and so we can get into a mentality when we bring that into our Christian lives in.

We want to be practical and pragmatic. Just tell us what we need to do and we are perfectly capable of doing it but you notice how the New Testament teaches us to respond to the word of God for the New Testament teaches us fundamentally is the word of God.

Does the work itself. The wonder of God does the work itself is why it's important for us to be sitting on the living ministry isn't know so we can be told what to do, but so that we can be taken into the place where love heavenly Potter does his work, so these actually working on us under the ministry of God's word and we realize this because under the ministry of God's word. We ought to find that we discover things about ourselves that we'd forgotten about the word of God get so far down into our lives.

It exposes out hidden faults audit comes to us when nobody else knows how when hunting how lonely we are in God's word come on because Christ himself is speaking through his word, we realize we are not alone once one of the wonderful things surely about sitting under a living ministry of God's word. God's word does so in one in our taskbar for is to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly as we abide in Christ we all allow Christ's work to take up his residence in our lives because it has the power to change us because it's Christ's work.

You know if you have. If you've ever preached you may have had the experience. I have often had let your your speaking about something an issue but you look at the congregation you think all all all this is the last thing she needs to hear you're someone who's heartbroken because she's lost her husband. Someone is facing a great crisis and you think, none of this is all if I'd only known they would be bad. I would've tried to massage the message so that it wouldn't be so sore for them and then they shake hands with you in the truck stolen mixer that was just the work for me and you think how can it possibly be the one for you.

Here is the answer because when Christ's word is preached Christ himself is preaching and what we experience is him and he is able to save to the auto lost all those who call upon the name of the law and when we meet him then that is all fullness in him, so that when his word is given the opportunity to dwell in us and we dwell in the him then of course our union with him is his wonderfully nourished. It doesn't matter what the passages what the message or because we realize the word is at work, but word is what I love same minister, William stole that I mentioned I'm out on. I remember one day the notice board outside the church of this huge notice and Donna were in slow these workshop inside showroom upstairs experience doesn't that's what happens when when we are under the ministry of the work and when we are in the ministry of the water when we are hungry reading Scripture and allowing it portal overruns within the workshop and the showroom will surely be upstairs.

And then there is this fourth principle, the first principle yes this union is the source of all our fruitfulness. Second, this union involves the pruning of the father thought this union is not children nourished by the word. Unfortunately, the most obvious fruit of this union is our love. We will know we are Christians by our love of this is not John Lennon love all you need is love. All you need is love love love love love is all. This is Christlike love. Kieran says Jesus is my father glorified, that you bear much fruit and that fruit means that people will see that we are the Disciples of Christ, because we love one another, the way Jesus Christ is love, sometimes think were living in really tough times for the church but you don't get this anywhere outside of the church. I believe will be more and more of the reality of people who come into contact with the living church is not bad chapters but living church that they will think Claire announced that this come from and that will move them on to the question we are in heaven did this come from the hotel since three ends. That way in here this passage focuses on the same thing.

Christ's word abides in us. And when Christ's word abides in us. The father is glorified. We bear much fruit as the father's love Jesus.

So Jesus is love because we abide in his love.

And as we abide in his love.love this on display 21 another.

What is the ultimate fruit. Well, at the risk of boring you as being like Jesus into axonal border is Christ likeness. That's what union with Christ, create segments, a likeness to the Christ, to whom will unite and we want to say thanks be to God for his name in the singular focus of a Christian is just that pursuing Christ, what a profound message from Dr. Sinclair Ferguson here on Renewing Your Mind as we were pleased to bring you portions of his latest series union with Christ in 12 messages. He helps us understand where in Christ were a new creation crucified with Christ baptized into Christ and set free from sin. We hope you'll request this two DVD set is call us today with your donation of any about to look at her ministries. Our phone number is 800-435-4343 if you prefer, you can make a request to give your gift online@renewingyourmind.org. The more we consider this union with Christ, the more we want to know about him and his character is why we made hundreds of resources available to you on our mobile app you'll find audio and video teaching series similar to the one we featured today along with articles and daily Bible studies. You can download it for free when you search for ligand here in your app store for tomorrow. Dr. Ferguson continues his series with an often neglected aspect of our union with Christ. When we embrace Christ crucified and risen and that leaves by the spirit and in God's providence and implement on our lives creates a kind of of dancing resurrection that leads to fruitfulness and online will learn what it means to be united with Christ in his suffering. I hope you join us tomorrow for Renewing Your Mind