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WEEKLY
Volume 1 Number 28
10 December 2006
Ye Are the Branches
(Message delivered by Pr
Hien Nguyen at the Sunday Worship Service, 2 pm, Dec 3, 06)
Text: John
15:1-8
Today we learn what it means when the Lord Jesus says
that He is the Vine and we are the branches. We know that farmers or
gardeners are only happy and satisfied when they see the good fruit,
good harvest, or good crops from their gardens, orchards, or fields.
Those of us here who have children surely expect them to be good,
well-behaved, obedient, clever, diligent and successful in what they
learn or study. We also pray for their salvation and for their growth in
God’s grace and knowledge. We will be happy and satisfied if our
children become like what we expect them to be, or else how sad we are!
God, our Creator, was grieved
when the first human beings, Adam and Eve disobeyed Him. Then He chose
Abraham and his descendants to be His people Israel. God had done what
He could for His people and expected them to bear good fruit of
righteousness so that they might be His witness and a blessing to the
world. He gave them the law, the promises, the
covenants, and the worship of God, and sent His servants the prophets to
instruct them and guide them in His way, but they persecuted the
prophets of God. In the end, God sent His only begotten Son, the Lord
Jesus Christ, to teach them God’s Word and bring them to the true
worship in spirit and in truth, but they despised, rejected, and
crucified Him on the Cross. Through the failure of Adam and Eve as well
as that of the people of Israel, we know that human beings with their
sinful nature can never please God and obey His Word. The Bible
confirms, “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it
is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then
they that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom 8:6-8). Then
who can save us and help us produce good fruit of obedience, holiness
and godliness? We thank God for our Lord Jesus Christ!
Jesus Christ, the True Vine
Our Lord says, “I am the
true vine, and my Father is the husbandman
(gardener/farmer).” What does Jesus mean when He says, “I am the
true vine”? First, He is the covenant God, Jehovah, “I AM
THAT I AM” (Exod 3:14), the eternal, unchangeable, and faithful God.
He is the same I AM, the living and true God yesterday,
today and forever as He says, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John
8:58). Religious leaders in this world are only human beings, they are
not God and they cannot save us nor give us new life. Next, the Lord
Jesus is the true Vine, the only true Source of spiritual
life and eternal life God has given to mankind. Jesus not only teaches
God’s Word but also gives us His life and strength to live according to
God’s Word. Religious leaders in this world can give a lot of empty
promises and dead teachings, but they can never give life. We have seen
artificial flowers and fruits. They look nice but have no life. Without
the Lord Jesus, no one can live a true Christian life! Only the love
from Jesus is true, only the holiness from Jesus is true, and whatever
is from Jesus is true! Finally, the Lord Jesus Himself, the living
Divine Person, not a thing, is our new life. Only when we have the Lord
Himself do we have His life (1 John 5:11-12), and only when we touch Him
do we touch His life. The Bible tells about a woman who suffered from
her illness for twelve years, spending all her living upon physicians
but not being healed. In her hopelessness, she trusted in the Lord Jesus
Christ, believing that by only touching the hem of His garment she would
be healed, and exactly as she believed, she was healed. Jesus knew that
she had touched Him and that His power went out from Him, but He wanted
her to confess her faith, so He asked, “Who touched me?” The
disciples said, “Master the multitude throng thee and press thee, and
sayest thou, who touched me?” (Luke 8:43-47). Many pressed Jesus and
touched Him hard but did not experience any power from Him because those
were not a touch of faith. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, “For this
cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received
the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the
word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which
effectually worked also in you that believe” (1 Thess 2:13).
God’s Word has power to cleanse, regenerate, and sanctify those who
believe (John 15:3; 17:17; 1 Peter 1:23). Truly, without faith in the
Lord and His Word, it is impossible to please God (Heb 11:6), and it is
sin (Rom 14:23). Without faith, man cannot receive any thing from the
Lord (James 1:7). Then do you and I have a living
touch of faith in our Lord Jesus Himself and His Word
all the time?
Believers, the Branches
Jesus says, “ye are the branches” and
what does it mean to us? First, we thank God that He has chosen us and
grafted us onto Him, the true Vine. Jesus says, “Ye have not
chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should
go and bring forth fruit, and that the fruit should remain” (v 16).
As the branches, we are parts of the Vine and partake of Jesus’ life and
strength just as we are members of Christ’s body. Praise the Lord for
His grace and mercy! Next, we should be always humble, knowing that it
is the root that supports the branches, and not the branches that
support the root, so “be not high-minded, but fear” (Rom
11:18-20). As the branches cannot bear fruit by themselves, without the
Lord Jesus we can never produce any true spiritual fruit nor do God’s
will and God’s Word. We are to be attached to the Vine all the time for
life and nutrition.
Bearing Much Fruit for God’s Glory
In order to bear much fruit, there are two
conditions: (1) Abiding in Jesus, and (2) Letting Jesus and His Words
abide in us (vv 4-7). Abiding in Jesus means trusting in Him, depending
on Him, and looking unto Him for life and strength. Letting Jesus and
His words abide in us means letting the Lord and His words control and
direct our whole being, our heart, mind, motives, beliefs, doctrines,
practices, worship and service. There are three kinds of branches in
John 15. One is detached, another is fruitless and the other is
fruitful. Of which kind are you and I?
Detached Branches.
Our Lord Jesus says,
“If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is
withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are
burned” (v 6). This refers to unbelievers and professing Christians.
They might have opportunities to hear the Gospel, go to church and
profess Jesus on their lips, but in their hearts, they do not trust in
the Lord Jesus nor depend on Him nor submit to Him. They are not
born-again Christians. Their lives are totally independent from the
Lord! They may think that they have been saved
once they confess their sins to the Lord in prayer, but they are still
kings of their lives. They do not have any vital fellowship with the
Lord Jesus. They can plan and do whatever they please regardless of the
Lord and His Word. Their fate is to be cast out and withered and burned
in fire.
Fruitless Branches.
Our Lord Jesus says, “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he
taketh away (cuts off/removes)” (v 2). This is for those
who believe and trust in the Name of the Lord Jesus but without any
submission nor obedience to the Lord and His Word. They are professing
Christians and not born again yet (like Judas Iscariot). They claim to
be serving the Lord, preaching the Bible, and even performing “miracles,
signs and wonders” in Jesus’ Name, but what they have done is according
to their own will, ways and terms. They have their own plans and pray
God to bless their plans but have never waited for nor submitted to
God’s will, God’s Word, God’s way or God’s timing. They may be proud of
the fruit of their labour with many people joining their big church, but
whether it is the true fruit from the Lord Jesus Christ does count. In
the end, they are rejected by our Lord, “Not every one that saith
unto me, Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that
doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in
that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy
name have cast out devils? And in thy name have done many wonderful
works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you:
depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matt 7:21-23).
Fruitful Branches.
Our Lord Jesus says,
“every branch that beareth fruit, he (God the Father)
purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit…He that
abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth
much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing…If ye
abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will,
and it shall be done unto you” (vv 2, 5, 7). This refers to
truly born-again Christians whom the Lord has chosen. They do thirst for
the Lord and God’s Word and have a vital
fellowship with Him. They not only trust in and depend on the Lord and
God’s Word but also submit themselves to the Lord, His will, His Word,
His way and His timing, realising that without Him they cannot do
anything acceptable unto the Lord nor bear any true fruit of love, joy,
peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance
(Gal 5:22-23), goodness, righteousness, truth (Eph 5:9), obedience,
holiness and Christ-like life (Rom 6:16-22; 8:29).
Only by bearing much fruit can our lives glorify God
(v. 8), and because of this our Heavenly Father has to prune and purge
unnecessary twigs and leaves. We are to give thanks to God for His
chastisement, discipline and correction, through which we may become
more humble, more teachable, more submissive to and dependent on the
Lord Jesus Christ and His Word without reservation, doubt, or question,
and through which we will bear more fruit. It is comforting to know that
when the branch is pruned, the Vine also suffers the pain! Our Lord is
our High Priest, who can “be touched with the feeling of our
infirmities” (Heb 4:15) and see us through.
Conclusion
My dear friends, we are to bear good fruit and more fruit to glorify
God; otherwise, we are to be cut off. There is no other way. The branch
cannot produce any fruit by itself, but just yields itself to the Vine,
keeps on receiving the sap and nutrition from the Vine moment by moment.
With human sinful nature, we can never produce any true, long-lasting
and good fruit. We cannot try to be holy, loving, kind, or patient
without the new life from Christ. This is my experience, when I cannot
be kind to those who despise me, hate me, and persecute me, I will not
try to be kind to them, but just look unto the Lord in prayer, yield
myself to Him, and ask Him to manifest His love and kindness through me.
Then the Lord Jesus helps me be kind to them sincerely and naturally.
All glory be to God alone because “Not I, but Christ” (Gal
2:20), and “Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord
Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body”
(2 Cor 4:10). Amen.
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