Thanks for taking the time to read the sermon this week. I am making a pretty good recovery so far from being ill, but I still need your prayers. I've been making it to work, but it has been hard. I thank the Lord for giving me the opportunity to post the message this week.
Over the course of the last several weeks, we've been looking at the various names and titles given to Jesus in the Old and New Testaments. Today, we will be looking at the fact that Jesus is the true vine. We find this reference in John 15:1 that states, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener." Verse 5 goes on to say, "I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing."
John 15 is one of the great chapters of the Bible. It is part of a long discourse Jesus made called the Upper Room Discourse. This teaching was given after Jesus ate the Last Supper with His disciples.
The Gospel of John was written with the express purpose of showing the reader that Jesus was God come in the flesh. In order to demonstrate this, John does two things. First of all, he provides us with signs or miracles that demonstrate who Jesus is. John also gives us a series of "I am" statements that Jesus made equating Jesus with the "I Am" of the Old Testament. We see for instance that in John Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd," " I am the door," "I am the way, the truth and the life." etc. The statement that we are looking at today is one of these "I Am" statements.
Jesus says that He is the true vine. To me, this means a couple of different things. First of all, Jesus says He is the true vine. I believe that this is statement that Jesus is making to show that He is the only way for a person to have eternal life and an abundant life here on this earth. There is no other way to find life except through Him. We draw life through Him, or we do not have the life that is from above.
Jesus is the vine also means that for those who are in Christ, He is the source of strength. His life and strength flow through us in order that we might produce good fruit. We will not be productive in the Christian life unless we abide in the vine. We have to abide in Christ in order to fulfill the teachings and commandments of the Lord and to make a difference for time and eternity.
What does it mean to abide in the vine? I believe that it means that we spend time with Jesus. We need to read and study what He said and what He did. We need to keep our eyes and attention fixed on Jesus. We need to spend time with Jesus each day in prayer and meditation so that we will grow closer to Him and learn to be more like Him in all that we do.
When we are abiding in the vine, we are able to let the love of Jesus flow from us to others. In this way, we are able to tell others about the love and forgiveness offered to this world through the Lord Jesus. By letting Jesus' life flow through us, we are able to help the people of this world. We are able to do unto the least of those among us as if we are ministering to Jesus Himself. We can do nothing apart from Jesus. We have to abide in Him and let His life flow through us in order to make a difference in this world and to live a life of holiness that is pleasing to the Lord.
Jesus as the vine also has another meaning for me. It means that my life is in Christ. No matter what I might face in this world, I am His and He is mine. I am in Him. Jesus will always be with me and hold me secure by His love and by His power. I have nothing to fear as long as I abide in the vine and let Jesus' love flow into me. His life is my strength.
If you are a follower of Jesus, let His life and power flow through you in order to help others. If you do not know Jesus, turn to Him and receive His life and light today. Amen.
Prayer Requests
Please keep praying that my health will improve. Thank you.
Pray for those recovering from the fires in Maui.
Let us pray that those recovering from storms and natural disasters around the world will get the aid that they need.
Let us pray that the many wildfires around the world might be extinguished.
Continue to pray for peace. Let us focus our prayers this week for peace in Ukraine.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Sierra Leone and Libya. Pray that many will come to know Jesus.
Next week, I will have the verses posted on Monday. I will post the next part of the book midweek, and I will post the sermon on Saturday. May God bless you all.
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