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NOTICE: THESE SERMONS ARE FREE TO BE USED BUT ARE NOT TO BE SOLD!
THE FRUITFUL LIFE OF THE BELIEVER
PART 1--DRAWING LIFE FROM CHRIST
Introduction
As we begin our ninth year together here at our Church, I’m praying and I trust that you are praying that it will be a fruitful year for our Church!
The number 9 is used 49 times in the Bible and is considered by some to be the number of fruitfulness. That’s based primarily on three references in Scripture:
Consider the nine-fold fruit of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23.
Galatians 5:22-23– “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”
Consider the nine temporary gifts of the Spirit mentioned in:
1 Corinthians 12:8-10–“8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; 10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:”
Also, look at Leviticus 25:2-4, 20-22.
So nine is the number of fruitfulness.
That brings us to our text for today. Could I tell you that God every believer to be fruitful. We see here that our fruitfulness is tied to our closeness to Christ!
Turn to John 15:1-9
In order for a branch of a vine to be fruitful, it must have life! The life of a branch is not found in itself, but rather it is found in its relation to the vine which is rooted.
I want you to think with me about “life:”
This Bible was written so that spiritually dead people could have the life that God intended for them to have– not just dream of it, but have it!
John 20:31–“But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”
Most people, even religious people, are only “alive” on the outside, but inside they are as dead as they can be. They have never really ever lived.
As a matter of fact, they are constantly being robbed by a thief named the devil, who ultimately wants to destroy them, all the while making them think they are “really living!”
John 10:10–“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
There are even some Christians who haven’t really known the fullness (or abundance) of the life that was given to them when they got saved–they are still living in the past. Their lives are miserable because they have yet to learn how to be more than a conqueror through the Lord Jesus Christ!
The life of the branch is found in the Vine!
Here In John 15, Jesus uses a story, an object lesson, to teach us about us, and our need for a very close, abiding relationship with Him!
And it is all set out in a vineyard, full of branches and grapes, but just one Vine, and a single caretaker or husbandman.
I. WE SEE THE PROPER ORDER FOR OUR LIFE. (John 15:1,2a)
Jesus lays out four parts to a fruitful life!
1. The Husbandman Or Caretaker Of The Vine And Branches Is God The Father!
He is the gentle caretaker of a garden
2. The Vine Is Jesus!
He is the root, and the trunk of this plant called a vine!
He is the source of life for the branches!
3. The Branches Of That Vine Are Believers!
4. The Fruit Of Those Branches Which Are The Result Of The Branches Abiding In The Vine!
They are the good things that we do, and the people that we affect positively by our abiding relationship to the Vine, the Lord Jesus Christ, under the watchful care of the Almighty Husbandman!
Knowing all four of these layers, and their proper order is so vital to our understanding of what it means to mature as a believer.
But we first need to understand that to live “wild,” apart from God, without a Husbandman is certain death – it is empty, fruitless, and doomed. (Isaiah 5:1-7).
To only live with an impersonal “god” but without Jesus Christ in our life, is like a branch trying to grow away from the vine–there is no hope!
Also, there is no garden if the husbandman is not allowed to work – it results in only weeds and thorns and dead branches that zap fruitfulness!
And to be only self-serving and not want to produce any fruit or have any lasting effect by your life, is a wasted life.
Only in a proper order the way God had designed is life worth living, and powerful!
Did you notice, there is only ONE Vine – loads of branches! Only ONE true VINE–the Saviour! He is the ONE and ONLY source for life!
WE SEE THE PROPER ORDER OF OUR LIFE.
II. WE SEE THE PROPER PURPOSE OF OUR LIFE. (John 15:2)
What is the proper purpose of the life of a believer? To produce fruit – plain and simple!
From a vine we would expect what? Grapes!
From a believer what should we expect? Christ likeness or Christianity!
It has always been this way!
In Plant Life–Genesis 1:11-12.
In Aquatic And Bird Life–Genesis 1:20-22.
In Other Animal Life–Genesis 1:24-25.
In Man–Genesis 1:26a, 27-28
God’s intention for Adam and Eve before they sinned was for them to bring forth fruit unto God that bore the image of God that He created them with!
But, when Adam and Eve sinned, they died spiritually and began to die physically.
Spiritual life was part of the image of God they were created with. But, after Adam and Eve sinned, they (and we too because we are in Adam) only had the ability to reproduce spiritually dead offspring!
Romans 5:12–“12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”
But then Jesus came. Look at Galatians 4:3-7.
He was born of the Holy Spirit of God through the virgin birth so that spiritual life was once again possible through Him!
So, God’s intention for those who, through faith, have received His spiritual life once again is for them to be fruitful!
i.e. We who are saved are to bear the fruit of the Spirit life that was not possible before the Husbandman (God the Father) brought life to us through the Vine (Jesus)!
That means that no believer should be living a stale, dead, unfruitful life!
The purpose of our life is to be able to do something that matters, to affect people’s lives and destiny for all eternity – not just for the moment.
However, the world has a way of hindering us, if we don’t abide in Christ.
There are many kinds of fruit that a Christian can produce:
1. The Fruit Of Personal Righteousness!
i.e. Godly living!
Isaiah 32:17–“And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.”
Ungodliness not only brings enmity with God, but it also brings chaos, and it brings doubts into our lives–that’s the natural result of sin–but righteousness brings peace, quietness, and assurance in our lives.
2. The Fruit Of Praise!
Hebrews 13:15–“By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.”
God wants our praise to become more abundant, more vibrant, and more visible in our lives as we grow in Him!
3. The Fruit Of Personal Perfection (i.e. Maturity)!
(2 Peter 1:5-10)
God wants us to have faith, but after that He wants us to add to our faith!
That is something God wants in every believer–It is not His will for any believer to stay a babe in Christ! But growth is dependent upon our abiding in Christ!
1 Peter 2:2–“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:”
4. The Fruit Of A Proper Perspective! (i.e. Proper Attitudes!)
God wants us to develop a godly Christian temperament and disposition–i.e. right heart attitudes!
5. The Fruit Of Progeny. (i.e. Offspring!)
Not physical, but spiritual–i.e. new, baby Christians!
It is just like in the marriage relationship–God wants us to reproduce and bring our children up to maturity.
Proverbs 11:30–“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.”
We all have a family tree don’t we? Well, God wants us to have a spiritual family tree too!
6. The Fruit Of The Paraclete (i.e. the Holy Spirit)!
God doesn’t want us to walk in the lust of our flesh! The way that is accomplished by us walking in the Spirit!
Galatians 5:16–“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”
What does fulfilling the lust of the flesh entail?
What are the fruits of that?
Galatians 5:19-21–“19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”
If we walk in the Spirit, then the fruit of the Spirit will be evident in our lives!
Galatians 5:22-23–“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”
Galatians 5:25–“25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
Let me ask you a question, do you want to see these fruits in your life?
I certainly hope you do because if you are truly saved, you should have a desire to be fruitful!
But there is a necessary step in every life before fruitfulness can be part of our lives and that brings us to our next point.
WE SEE THE PROPER ORDER OF OUR LIFE.
WE SEE THE PROPER PURPOSE OF OUR LIFE.
III. WE SEE THE PROPER PURGING THAT’S REQUIRED.
(John 15:2)
Purging is a definite act by a husbandman or caretaker of a vineyard that removes dead things so that life can flourish!
Example: When I was growing up we had all kinds of fruit trees. (Peaches, pears, plums, grape vines, apple trees, pecan trees, etc.)
My dad would prune his fruit trees and vines to make them flourish!
When he would clear away all the hindrances to growth, especially dead branches, then the fruit trees would become vibrant, healthy and fruitful!
In the same way, there are also things that have to be dumped from our lives if we are going to grow as we should and be fruitful!
God the Father, the Husbandman wants Jesus, the Vine, to produce fruit through us, the branches. But for us to be fruitful, we must be purged of the dead, unfruitful branches in our lives.
We are talking about the areas of our life that have no life at all–i.e. they are there, but they are not fruitful because they are dead.
There simply is no way to really be abundantly fruitful without some purging–i.e. getting rid of the dead things of our life.
Hebrews 9:14–“How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
Just as a dead branch is unproductive and hinders the productivity of a vine, so also the dead areas of our lives are unproductive and hinder the fruitful working of the Lord in our lives!
What are some of these dead areas that the husbandman must clear away in order for us to be fruitful?
1. Sin!
Sin and filthy habits that we harbor in our lives and refuse to deal with have to be purged.
They stand in the way of every attempt to be fruitful.
They can only be purged by the blood of Christ!
1 John 1:5-10–5–“This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”
2. Self!
Anything that is “ME” has to be dethroned, and removed from my life, and replaced with Jesus alone!
It’s a life long project! Our pride has to be stripped down so low that there is nothing left! That’s when the Lord can begin to do something within us and with us!
3. Stumbling Blocks!
Anything in our lives that blocks or hinders the work of the Lord Jesus through us MUST be done away with if we are going to be fruitful!
It is, therefore, RIGHT that the Lord would seek to purge away (or pull away from our lives) those things.
Things like:
Worldly or wicked friends.
Ungodly TV programs.
Worldly music that caters to the flesh!
Entertainment that glorifies the sins of the flesh!
Publications that feed the desires of the flesh!
Even leisure activities that keep us from God’s best for us!
They all must be purged!
What should be left after the pruning? How does the Lord want us to be?
1. He Wants Us To Be Simple In Our Faith!
2 Corinthians 11:3–“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”
Salvation in Christ is not complicated, or confusing!
Neither is the matter of growing and being fruitful in Christ!
2. He Wants Us To Be Seeking To Bear Fruit!
We who know the Lord should want to grow and mature and bear fruit. We should not be satisfied with having a mediocre and stagnant spiritual life.
And too, we who are saved should at the least be desiring to see people saved from hell.
3 He Wants Us To Be Strong In Our Resolve!
Are you resolved to abide in Christ and be fruitful in Him?
If so, you need to submit to the Lord’s pruning in your life, so that you can get to the place where you are producing good fruit!
Conclusion
Here In John 15, Jesus used this object lesson about a Husbandman, A Vine, and branches to teach us about us, and our need for a very close relationship, and abiding relationship with Himself!
What kind of a Branch are you? What fruits do you produce? What about the areas of your life that are unfruitful? How’s the pruning going lately?
It is never a pleasant process, but it is oh so necessary!
How is your relationship with Jesus? Is it stale? Or is it what it should be–
a desperate, drawing of LIFE from Him?
The Lord offers a rich life, an abundant life to all who will look to Him only!
It begins with salvation. Are you in the Vine? Jesus Christ is the Vine and life can only be found in Him!
Home Page Contact Us Service Times Sermons Are You Going To Heaven?
NOTICE: THESE SERMONS ARE FREE TO BE USED BUT ARE NOT TO BE SOLD!