Click here to return to main archive of sermons

Preached in Markham Baptist Church, February 10, 2008
 

Do you remember the first car you purchased off the lot? I remember my first car - a red Ford Escort, hatchback, standard four-on-the-floor, two-door. It was a beauty. I bought it from the Ford dealer in Richmond Hill. They gave me a good deal - I don't remember the exact sales pitch that they gave me but I can imagine that the salesman there told me that this car had everything I needed. It had four good tires; it had a specially engineered design. It was compact yet had space to carry luggage and passengers. Fuel-efficient yet peppy. Above all, a state of the art engine. Now, I'm clueless when it comes to mechanics, so I just nodded knowingly as the salesman explained the intricacies of the Ford Escort engine. And that salesman probably concluded his talk with the words, "This car has everything you need!"

This is what we've been learning during these last number of weeks as we have studying Christ's words in John 15, "I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing." We have seen how Christianity is all about being in a relationship with Jesus Christ. He is everything that we need for salvation and for the living of a Christ-like life. So He invites us to rest in Him, trust Him, die to self and depend on Him. He is to be our all in all.

Now this brings us to the next wonderful truth in the passage - and it is this: we will bear fruit.

We've examined the three individuals in this passage, the vine (who is Jesus our Lord), the vinegrower (who is God the Father), and the branches (you and me.) The result of this relationship is fruit. The result of abiding in Christ (the vine) then is Christ-like fruit. Just as a grapevine does not bear oranges or apples – it bears grapes – a vine bears fruit according to its kind.

So we - the branches that attached to the vine – who is Jesus Christ –bear fruit according to the kind of vine. We bear a Christ-like character.   It can be said, “The result of yieldedness is fruitfulness.”

Scripture consistently speaks of fruit. Many of you are familiar with Galatians 5:22 that reads: "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." What is this? This is a list of qualities that are now in you as a result of Christ taking up residence in your life. He is the vine; He now lives in you and this is the fruit that the vine will produce in your life. In Philippians 1:11, this whole list is condensed into one phrase, "the fruit of righteousness." The fruit that Jesus is seeking to bring about in your life and mine  is His character. That is the result of Christ living in you, of you abiding in Christ.

When we abide in Christ, the evidence is seen in the character - what Jesus calls fruit.

I’ve spoken a great deal about resting, trusting and depending on Christ in this series. But please don't misunderstand that this means that nothing is asked of you, so that you can sit back and say, "This is the life; I don't have to do anything. Nothing is required of me." You see, abiding in Christ suggests certain attitudes that we must have, attitudes that we examined last week: resting, trusting and dying to self. But abiding in Christ also suggests that we practice certain disciplines. Without the practice of these disciplines we cannot produce the fruit.

You see, some Christians stress dependence upon Christ but they don't bother with the disciplines. They just go around on automatic pilot. They just seem to float around and expect God to open every door for them, speak audibly to them, give them direction, and mystically produce a Christ-like character in them. But they are seldom willing to practice the disciplines that help make God's leading plain, and nurture His character in their lives.

This is dependence without discipline.

I’ve heard this relationship pictured to be like your car and its engine. Your car has an engine and if the engine of your car could speak it would say, "Without me you could do nothing." Right? If you haven't got an engine under the hood what is the car good for? Nothing. You can't go anywhere. "Without me you can do nothing."  But we all have cars outside in the parking lot doing nothing. Why? Well, the car has everything it needs to get down the road - but it also needs the discipline of getting into the car, turning on the engine, putting it into gear, pressing down the gas pedal, steering it down the road. And as your car goes down Markham Road and hits the 407 at 100 kilometres an hour, what's making the car go? Is it the engine or the driver? Both are needed, right? The engine under the hood is the power that takes the car - what the driver is doing is simply enabling the power of the engine to reach the wheels and turn the vehicle down the road.

“There are two aspects of the Christian life. You've got to know that there's an engine under the hood - it's Christ in you. But you've got to learn to drive - that's discipline."¹

And this discipline flows out of abiding. I get in the car and confidently turn the key because I know there’s an engine in the car. I’m able to bear fruit because I know the vine I’m attached to is strong and full of life.

First abiding, and then discipline. So what is this discipline? Well there are many, enabling the life of Christ to bear the fruit in us. These disciplines are numerous, but three specifically are suggested by our passage. The first one is prayer. This is suggested by verse 7, "if you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given to you." Now this verse points to the result of abiding, and I'll talk about that next week, but it also presupposes that we are practicing prayer in our lives. My friends, prayer is the gift that God has given to us to communicate with Him. It is as we spend time in prayer that He is able to speak to us, that He is able to direct and guide us. It is as we spend time in prayer that we cultivate that all-important relationship.

Can you imagine what kind of relationship I would have with my wife Janet if I never spoke to her?  So our relationship with God in Christ. We must be a praying people for the fruit of a Christ-like character to be developed in us.

The second discipline is reading the Bible. Again, verse 7 suggests this, "if you remain in me and MY WORDS remain in you ask for whatever you wish and it will be given to you." Jesus says, "if my words remain in you." That is, let the word of God remain, dwell, be allowed to reside in you. We have got to read the word of God to know the mind of God. He has revealed His will to you - it's all right here. He has revealed His purposes for you - it's all right here. We've got to read it, and in the words of David, treasure the words in our heart. This is His love letter to you; this is His plan for the future; this is His instrument of his power; this is His primary means to communicate with you. We need to take time to read it.

Listen carefully, there is no shortcut to having a Christ-like character grow up within you. It takes time. Unfortunately many Christian books and hymns have conveyed the idea that a relationship with Christ can be cultivated in a minute. We have books entitled A Minute with God. We have hymns entitled A Little Talk with Jesus. We have devotional material printed in a booklet this big (very small). Listen, if you are satisfied to give God only a minute, or to have a little talk with Jesus, the result is that you will bear fruit that is scrawny, malnourished, with no vibrancy.

There is no shortcut to developing a Christ-like character. It takes time to read and pray. A thousand distractions come our way, but nothing is more important than your relationship with Jesus Christ.

Just before we get to the third discipline Jesus says at verse 8, “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

In other words, as we abide in Christ – through resting, trusting, dying to self, praying, reading Scripture – we bear fruit. The Christ-like character is demonstrated in us and God is glorified.

We all want to glorify God – how do we do that? By bearing fruit – having a Christ-like Character. Why is God glorified? Because a Christ-like character is only achieved through dependence on Him.

So when we act Christ-like and people see it they realize that is God at work in you. I mean it can’t be you – they know you. That’s why Jesus said in Matthew 5, “Let your light shine before me so that they may see your good works.” And then what did He say? “That they may pat you on the back?” No.  “So that they may give a citizenship award and give you the key to the city?” No. “So that they will write a book about your good works?”  No.   “So that they will name the next community centre after you?” No.  “So that they will throw a dinner party in your honour?” No.

“Let your light shine before men so that they may see your good works  and praise your father who is in heaven.”  Why praise your Father in heaven, when it’s your good works? Because they recognize the origin of your good works is God, working through you and in you. As Paul said in Philippians (2:13) “It is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good pleasure.”

You all know the name Charles Colson. Charles Colson was in the inner circle of Richard Nixon's presidency. Colson was known as “the hatchet man.” He was a ruthless politician, willing to go to any lengths and any extreme to keep the power. He was of course caught up in Watergate and sentenced to jail. There he gave himself to Christ and began to live his life for Christ.

On the anniversary of Watergate, Morley Safer of 60 Minutes interviewed Chuck Colson. The interview was conducted against the backdrop of a beautiful clear blue sky, majestic trees and gorgeous flower gardens. And during the interview, Chuck Colson, who is totally sold out to Christ, noted Morley Safer was not a believer. He is an atheist - does not believe there is a God. And Charles Colson said to Morley Safer, "I do not know how you can hang on to your atheism while we look at this beauty in creation."

And Morley Safer replied. "I'm having difficulty hanging on to my atheism while looking at you." Isn't that beautiful? O, that people would look at us, our spouse, our children, our work mates, our neighbours and say I know God is real because I see His character in your life, in my life – God is glorified.

Then at verse 9 and 10 Jesus speaks of another discipline. First verse 10, “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.” This third discipline is obedience. My friends, God is looking for people who will obey Him, who will listen to His Word and willingly follow Him wherever He may lead. The discipline of obedience. It is part of dying to self. It is saying, “No, I will not take part in that or that even though my flesh wants to – but I will die to self and obey my Lord and my God.”

Now in your mind this may contradict the whole idea of abiding. Last week I said, rest in Christ and stop your striving, trust in Christ and stop your struggling. And now the text says to obey. Seems like a bit of a contradiction. What am I to do – obey or abide? And the answer is both. But get the order right. First abide, then obey.

But verse 10 flows out of verse 9, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.”

It is as we remain in Christ’s love, it is as we rest in Christ’s love, it is as we trust in Christ’s love that we obey. Our obedience is an outflow of our abiding. Get the order wrong and all of a sudden you are back to striving and struggling to win God’s favour. But as you rest in the grace of God, as you rest in the love of Christ you in turn say, Lord what can I do for you?

I recently heard of a woman who works on university campuses bringing the good news of Christ to students in an Ivy League School in the U.S. This woman works with female students one-on-one - every week mentoring, every week for four years – so every week she meets with about 25 young women to go over Scripture.

And she was telling of her experience of what drives young women today. “Number one,” she says, “from their parents and from their own drive because they are in Ivy League Schools, never get less than an A”.

At some universities they say, “Never get more than a D,” otherwise then it means that you aren’t having enough fun. But in an Ivy League school, never get less than an A. And of course except for the elite, it’s just not do-able, so you are setting yourself up for failure. The elite universities do not pass out only As.

Number two - from their parents by some extent, but massively from the broader culture of the University, the media – “Be yourself.” Don’t let anyone put you in a box, be your own person. Be yourself. And, oh yes, it’s a good thing to maybe spend a week once in a while to help victims of Hurricane Katrina, but be yourself.

Now, how you mix number one and number two together is already an interesting question.

Number 3 - she says most of the young women won’t admit it, but occasionally, from their parents, and massively from the culture and their peers, “Be hot!”

And that affects how they think of themselves, how they present themselves, what they talk about when they are together, how they dress, what they read, and what kind of magazines they like, and where they are getting their cues from as they present themselves. “Be hot.”

And this university worker says that when one of these young women become a Christian with this particular value system, something peculiar happens. Having this sort of background and this kind of configuration then these women know that they must not only be Christians they have to be the best Christians. Lead the Bible studies, excellent prayer times, very disciplined in their Bible studies, leading others to Christ, taking this seminar and that seminar and going on some mission to Haiti or some place. On and on and on and on.

Which means all they are doing is setting themselves up for more failure all over again.  Because these people who have been welcomed into the Kingdom of God through dependence upon Christ alone now believe they are going to secure a place for themselves in the Kingdom by being the excellent people they are in Ivy League schools.

Do you understand? The gospel does not come to us and give us a little escape ticket out of hell and then provide us with a whole lot of new rules. You have to pray, you have to read your Bible, you have to obey God. So we try harder. That’s not what Jesus is saying here – it’s not the vine and branches – it’s not the gospel.

That’s what we come to think of if we think of the gospel as something that merely saves us from hell – over here – and then over here we have discipleship. Discipleship isn’t the gospel – more rules more courses, more mentoring, more meetings, on and on and on and on.  More rules!

And it’s not the gospel.  For the gospel comes in such transformative power that our lives are changed because our hearts are changed. And we learn to do all kinds of good things, including the prayer times, and the bible studies and the evangelism, and helping people, and all those other things, not because there’s a new code that has been imposed upon us, but out of sheer gratitude to our Father in heaven.

First, we abide in Christ – we fall deeply in love with Christ and we taste His grace, we experience His power and presence and then we say – Lord what is it that You would have me do?

So, dependency and discipline. We live in dependency upon Christ living in us so that everyday we wake up and say, "Lord Jesus thank you; there is nothing that will happen today that will take you by surprise. There is nothing in this day for which you are not sufficient Lord Jesus. There is nothing for which your wisdom will not be adequate. There is nothing for which your indwelling presence will not be sufficient. Thank you. I trust You. I depend on You. Now, what is it You want me to do?"

Do I have time to talk to you about one last verse? Verse 11:  “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”

Do you understand that verse? There are a lot of Christians who do not have complete joy – why? Because they are still trying, struggling and striving instead of abiding. When you abide in Christ – your joy is complete.

There is a newfound freedom in your faith. We are in Christ, just as a branch is in the vine, therefore we are free from the burden of fulfilling rituals in order to please God. O, the joy of it!

So please, if you miss worship one week, please don't beat yourself up saying, "Oh, I missed worship last week; I feel so awful. What will God think?" I hope you do feel awful, because you missed the chance to express with your brothers and sisters in Christ your love and praise for your Father in Heaven who loves you. But don't feel awful because you think God is up in heaven with a checklist, and He's checking it twice to see who is naughty and nice. He's not keeping track of how many times you've been to church or how many times you've prayed.

Read the book of Galatians when you get home, for this is the very trap they fell into and Paul says, "Who tricked you?" We're free from all that - and he says in Galatians 2:21, "If a right standing before God could be gained through keeping rituals, through ceremonies, then Christ died for nothing." We are free.

Then because we are abiding, there is the joy of experiencing a new vibrancy to your faith. For if your faith consists of saying the right prayers and performing the right rituals, and knowing the right people, and going to the right church, it will get stale pretty fast. But if your faith is focused on the person of Jesus Christ – well, that's a relationship and a relationship is dynamic. It's alive and grows and is nurtured and you are continually making new discoveries about the other person in a relationship. There are always new elements of the other person to discover - this is especially true of Jesus Christ - who was, who is, and is to come. You can delve in the depths of Christ and you will ever be discovering wonder upon wonder and every wonder true.

Then there is the joy of a finding a new steadfastness in your faith. You see, if my salvation depended on me, I'd be in bad shape. If my development of a Christ-like character depended on me I'd be in bad shape. I can't do it.

You might as well sit me down at a piano and tell me to play like Beethoven or Bach. All that would come out is that annoying tune, Chopsticks! But if you put the spirit of Bach in me, then I could play like Bach.

This is what has happened to you and to me. When you accepted Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord, He took up residence in you; He now lives in you. Even as you are in Him, so He is in you. So we have this steadfastness to our faith; we have this anchor - or as Paul says, this confidence, "that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:6) So our faith is steadfastly anchored to Jesus Christ, not our performance or our feelings.

O, the joy of it all. It is not just a little trickle of joy that we have but a complete and full joy knowing that all we need for living this Christian life – all that is needed to bear this fruit is found in Jesus Christ, our vine.

So let us be a people of prayer, let us be a people of the book, let us be a people who obey our Lord – for our joy is found in Him.

Amen.

Copyright MBC and Tom Cullen - February  2008

ENDNOTES:

1. Max Lucado, No Wonder They Call Him the Savior (U.S.: Multnomah Press, 1986), 95.