This transcript was generated by whisper.ai.

(upbeat music) - Welcome to day two of our look together through John chapter 15
and daily drive time devotions. We're going to be looking together today at verses
four to six. We began our look yesterday in this great chapter by reminding
ourselves of the simple truth that Jesus teaches us.

God's the gardener, Jesus is the vine, I am a branch. And we talked yesterday
about the fact that branches sometimes face pruning. Besides the fact that we
face pruning sometimes, what is a branch supposed to do?

What is the main job of a branch? Well, Jesus tells us, John 15, four to six.
Remain in me, he says, abide in me, remain in me, and I will remain in you.

No branch can bear fruit by itself. It must remain in the vine. Neither can you
bear fruit unless you remain in me.

I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he
will bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing.

If anyone does not remain in me, he's like a branch that's thrown away and
withers. Such branches are picked up and thrown into the fire and burned. What
do I have to do as a branch?

What's my number one job? I have to remain in Christ. I have to, some versions
use this phrase, abide in Christ.

And that word, abide, remain appears 11 times in the first 11 verses of John 15,
four times in verse four alone. What do you think it is that Jesus wants to be
sure that we remember in this? Abide, what does that mean?

Well, we're talking about vine and branches. To abide is to stay attached. Stay
100% attached to me because the branch needs the vine all of the time.

Now, let's just slow down a minute. It sounds simple. So simple that sometimes
we don't get it.

It is the lifetime key to growth. But when you're not sure what to do, when
you're feeling discouraged, what do you do? You abide in Christ.

When you're certain of the next step, when you're feeling victorious about life,
what do you do? You abide in Christ. In these verses, Jesus is talking about
bearing fruit, but I want you to hear that he's not commanding us to bear fruit.

Nowhere does he command us to bear fruit. He commands us to abide in him, to
remain in him, and the result of that is bearing fruit. And Jesus takes the time
to make this as clear as possible.

He says, you cannot bear fruit unless you remain in Christ. He says, you will
bear fruit, much fruit, if you remain in Christ. He says, apart from me, you
can't do anything.

He says, if you remain in me, then you can do everything. And he says, if I
don't remain in him, I'm like a useless branch. Now, when we talk about
fruitfulness in life, we look at people in our lives, and you might think, I
know people that aren't believers.

They don't trust in Christ in their lives, and they seem to be doing some pretty
great things. There's some pretty significant things happening through their
life. Are they not living a fruitful life?

Well, not according to the definition of Jesus. You see, fruitful is not just
getting some things done in life, not getting noticed in life, not even doing
good things in life. The fruit that Jesus is talking about here is fruit that
will last.

Fruit that will last not only on this planet, but all the way into eternity.
Fruit that will last in character, fruit that will last in my life. And Jesus is
saying here that a vine, a branch, that it isn't bearing fruit that will last
isn't good for anything else because that's what it's meant for.

A vine isn't meant for furniture. It's not meant for the fireplace. In fact, if
you know anything about grape vineyards, grape vines, they're not good for
furniture or for the fireplace.

They're good for bearing fruit. I have a friend by the name of Dick Coolidge,
one of my first pastors who thought it was a great idea once to make a furniture
out of a grape vine. So he made something you put out on your patio that would
hold pots.

And he put little planters on each of the ends of the vine. What he found out is
the vine continued to, as it dried, twist. And so the planter would start out
looking fine, but it would twist while it was drying.

And one day the person would get up and all the pots would be on the ground. The
branch is only useful when it's attached to the vine. Now some people get
uptight about this phrase here.

Jesus says, if you're not attached, if you don't remain in me, you're like a
branch that's thrown away and withers. Some people think, does that mean there's
no such thing as eternal security? No, he's just saying you're like a useless
branch, a Christian who is not serving.

Any day, any moment in my life that I'm not remaining attached to Jesus, it's
like I'm useless. It's like Jesus says, I'm not attached, and I may as well not
be attached. He's saying the same thing here as he said about salt in Matthew
chapter five, when he said, you're the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses
its salty taste, it can't be made salty again.

It's good for nothing. Jesus is here talking about abiding and what it means.
And so let's take a minute to review what Jesus has talked to us about here.

This is a moment to slow down in our look together through John chapter 15, even
to say it again, because this is so important, what it means to abide, to remain
in Christ. Jesus has told us that he is where true life is to be found. And he
tells us that we find that life when we as branches abide in the vine.

This word abide or remain in the New International Version appears 11 times in
the first 11 verses of John 15. Jesus wanted to make sure we got this, abide in
me, remain in me, trust in me. What does abide mean?

The answer is simple when we remember that we're talking about vine and
branches. To abide is to be attached. Stay 100% attached to me.

Some people make the word abide complicated. They add all kinds of levels of
meaning and try to get at every different possible meaning. Jesus boiled it down
to its simplest meaning.

I'm the vine, you're the branch, so abide, remain, stay attached to me. How long
can a branch live unattached to the vine? Not for a single moment.

The branch needs the vine all of the time. Now Jesus didn't intend for this
truth to be difficult to understand. Read my word, he says, make it a part of
your life.

Talk to me, make me a part of your life. Thank me for the things in your life.
These are the choices through which you choose to abide.

These habits mean nothing if you practice them in isolation. The significance is
that they cause us to stay attached to the vine. That's where the life is.

You see, when I read the Bible as a part of my daily devotion, when you listen
to drive time devotions, the significance is not that the devotion is what makes
you have a sense of new life. The significance is through the devotion, you are
attaching yourself to the vine. That's where the life is to be found.

The life isn't found in our devotions. The life is found in Jesus that we're
attaching ourselves to in those devotions. And let me just remind you, we're
going to see this as we continue together through John chapter 15.

Let me remind you that it is important as these devotional habits are in staying
connected to Jesus, there is something even more important. There is, we're
going to see a deep connection between abiding in Christ and love. Don't miss
this truth.

It is absolutely vital to abiding in Christ. Jesus said, "Just as the Father
loved me, "I have loved you, and so abide in my love. " And we're going to see
later that he says, "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love.

" And then he says, "This is my commandment "that you love one another as I have
loved you. " Get this, if I keep the command that Jesus gave us, I'm going to
abide, I'm going to remain in it, I'm going to stay attached to his love. And
what is the command that Jesus gave to us to stay focused on in these verses?

It's the command to love, to love one another in response to his love for us.
Wow, without love, Jesus is saying without love, there is no possibility of
staying attached to the power and presence of Jesus in your daily life. And with
love, with love for God, and the resulting love for others, Jesus guarantees
that connection.

You see, you can't have a Christian marriage without abiding in Christ. Oh, you
can be a Christian and married, but you can't have a Christ-honoring,
Christ-centered, Christ-like marriage without depending on him. That fruit is
impossible if you're unattached, if you're not remaining in him.

You can't run a Christian business without abiding in Christ. You cannot be a
Christian parent without abiding in Christ. Oh, you can be a Christian and a
parent, but a parent in a Christ-like way.

You can't do it without abiding. You can't carry out a Christian ministry
without abiding in Christ. You cannot be a Christian friend without abiding in
Christ.

You can try, but you'll end up tired and frustrated. Abide in me, Jesus said,
and I will abide in you. And then you will bear fruit for me.

This fruit is not some temporary notoriety or fleeting achievement. It is the
fruit that has eternal impact and lasting joy. Let's talk to Jesus right now
about abiding in him.

And Jesus, as we talk to you in these moments, we recognize that you're where
the life is to be found. And so Jesus, today, I choose to be attached, abiding,
remaining, depending on you. I realize I may have to make that choice again,
again and again throughout the day.

Every time I am tempted to depend on myself, every time I am drawn away to
forget about you, it's a choice I'll need to make again and again today. And I
admit, Jesus, that I have a lot to learn about abiding, but I want to learn it.
I want to get closer to you than I've ever been before.

I want to be more fruitful in my life than I've ever been before. And so I come
to you and I ask you, you're the vine, I'm the branch. I ask you to teach me,
teach me how to stay attached to you more of my day.

Teach me how to stay attached to you, more dependent on you than I've ever been
before. God, you've given me gifts, you've given me abilities, you've given me
strength and intelligence. Thank you for all of those things.

I want to use them to praise you and honor you, but I don't want to depend on
them. I don't want to abide in those things. I want to abide in you, Jesus.

You are the vine, I am the branch. I abide in you right now. In your name I
pray, amen.

Well, join us tomorrow. We're going to take a look at verses seven to 17, more
on what Jesus says about abiding in him.