College Hour

John 15:9-14 The Master is on his way to Calvary now and some of his last words are found in this portion of scripture. It was on the Master’s heart to leave us with a command that would transform and enhance our relations with Him and with one another. Jesus is sharing deep intimate thoughts of the throne, regarding what our behavior in the church is to look like on earth. One scholar notes that, “We are to be a body of believers that truly love and care for one another.” So as we go into the New Year let us remember that loving others is not an option, but rather it is a command! As we open our text, we see the kind of love that world doesn’t know about—Godly love.

⁹As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in my love.

This love (agape) is divinely special; it is not sinful, selfish, conceited or carnal. It is spiritual, caring, sacrificial and all encompassing. It demands and requires all of you! Jesus says this is the love that my Father has for me and I have for Him. The love of the Father toward his only begotten Son is the highest affection that the scriptures can reveal. They had this love before they created the world. Before there was any one else here on the planet, there was a love among the triune God head. This love is too deep, and too wide, to be comprehended. It is the Love of God that comes from God. This love was demonstrative in that he came down from heaven to be a living sacrifice for our sins. Jesus gave up everything because he loved like this. Christ’s love for man is both eternal and supernatural. It is a love that comes from eternity, was born in eternity, developed in eternity, sent from eternity and kept in eternity. It will never cease, never run out, never give out, never burn out, never fizzle out, and never dwindle out. It is forever and ever. Jesus also says to “abide in my Love.” The word abide means to continue always. It is a present and future action that demands demonstration. It also means to live in, be consistent, for real and engaged with the action. This type of abiding love does not take breaks. It takes no holidays or vacations and is here both tonight and in the morning. Regardless of the situations of life, when you abide in something you are there for the Long Haul. Jesus demands for us to abide in His love. The first thing I notice is that this love supersedes anything that we can imagine on earth.

• We don’t love like this, we love conditionally, as long as it is convenient!
• We love as long as we get something in return or something that we want!

We desire to have somebody to show us an agape love, but our understanding of divine love on this level is very limited. You may be asking, “How can Jesus ask this of us?”

• God’s love looks beyond our faults.
• God’s love blesses our mess.
• God’s love saves our souls.
• God’s love forgives our sins.
• God’s love covers our faults.
• God’s love redeems our mistakes.
• God’s love fills us with joy.

It was His love that purchased our salvation and reaches out to us when no one else will. God’s Love is free, it doesn’t cost you anything, but it ain’t cheap—it cost Him everything. Nobody can love you like Jesus loves you. As we look at the next portion of our text, we see that Jesus wants to give His disciples a lesson in obedience. He starts by reminding them of His commandments.

¹⁰If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. ¹¹These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. ¹²This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

When you obey the word of God (His commandments), you are kept in His love. You will find yourself abiding (continuing in, walking through, and living out) in God’s love. In doing so, you reveal to God your love for Him. Our example is found in Jesus! He says, ‘as I have kept my father’s commands and have abided in His love, so I want you to do as I have done’. Listen family—this is not an option! He is not asking, He is commanding this. His word is written with the seriousness for us to obey even as Christ has obeyed. The benefits for obeying the command of Christ and abiding in His love are numerous. One of the greatest benefits for abiding is that the joy only Christ can give becomes yours by the divine hand of God. It comes to fill and fulfill the needs that the believer has. Imagine being an empty vessel that will be filled up to its capacity and unable to contain anymore! You will be filled with a happiness that is unpredictable and a cheerfulness that does not depend on your feelings.

• You get a joy that the world can’t take away.
• You get a joy that comes in spite of trouble.
• You get a joy that will show up in grief.
• You get a joy that will rise when you are feeling low.
• You get a joy that will never leave or forsake you.

You get a divine friend that can make you smile when pain is on the rampage. The joy that comes from obeying the commands and abiding in Christ can’t be bought with money. It comes only through obeying and abiding in Christ.

• When you have this kind of joy, you start singing, “Can’t nobody do me like Jesus!”
• When you have this kind of joy, you start singing, “I won’t complain.”
• When you have this kind of joy, you start singing, “Weeping may endure for the night, but joy will come in the morning!”

The joy that Jesus is talking about is an abiding joy that comes from the love of God and obedience to the word of God—it is a joy that fulfills the child of God. No other joy in the world can do what God’s joy can do! God’s joy doesn’t work for you, it works in you! It isn’t seasonal or conditional—it’s conventional. It’s God’s practice for those who obey!

• Daniel was in the lion’s den, but so was God’s joy!
• The three Hebrew boys were in the furnace, but so was God’s joy!
• Paul and Silas were in the prison, but so was God’s joy!

Has anyone here ever gone through it, but had God’s joy deep down on the inside? Has anyone ever been disappointed or torn up in the midnight hour, but God’s joy came through at the right time? That comes from obeying and abiding! God’s practice is to fill you with His joy! As we come to the close of our text, we are exposed to what God longs to see in our lives:

¹³Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. ¹⁴You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.

There is no other Love known to man like that of the Love of God. God loves you so much that He longs to draw closer to you! He wants you to know Him like you have never known Him before. He loves you so much that He has revealed Himself to you in His word. No greater love is there than this! This is the greatest Love ever displayed. Jesus said that His love is so great that He will offer Himself as a sacrifice so that you might be saved. How can you tell that God loves you?

• It’s in His sacrifice at Calvary.
• It’s in His commitment to rescuing you.
• It’s in His suffering for your sins.
• It’s in His offering for you to be redeemed.
• It’s in His victory for you through His resurrection.

It’s his love that keeps you, holds you and draws you in! It drives you, compels you, calls you and moves you. The love of God is powerful and God wants it to be put on display in the earth through you and me. He says that you are my friends if you obey and love like this!

• You are my friends if you follow me.
• You are my friends if you can live like this.
• You are my friends if you will let me live through you.

He will be in our corner and all that we need if we love like this.

One of the coldest things in the world is the fact that everyone born on the planet will one day encounter a storm of some kind. Life’s struggles have a way of finding your address. I don’t care if you are good, rich, honest, successful or happy. If you just keep living, some form of storm will find your location and bring fear your way. The Christian too has storms just like the non-Christian. The Muslim, the Buddhist, the Catholic, the Hindu, the “seeker” and the “doubter”; the liar, the prostitute, the dope dealer and the drug user will all have struggles in their lives at some time or another. Because of sin and rebellion against God, life’s storms have been ushered into the world, and used by God to touch everyone who experiences life. But there’s good news that comes with the storm: God can use storms to open the eyes of his followers.

• God can use our storms to draw us closer to him.
• God can use our storms to get us to pray more.
• God can use our storms to break us from foolishness.
• God can use our storms to teach us humility.
• God can use our storms to reveal his purpose and plan for our lives.

In today’s text, the disciples have an appointment with a storm. It is during the course of their journey that God sends them through the school of hard knocks to get them to understand who He really is—The Savior of the World. This story is a reminder that God trusts those He has called with midnight moments, jeopardy on the journey, difficult dilemmas, and crisis through circumstances so that they would see him like they have never seen him before. It had been a long and glorious day; the disciple’s ministry had finally come to an end. Their ‘Minister’s Retreat’ had been interrupted by a multitude who needed more time with Jesus. The bible says that Jesus met this crowds needs by feeding them with two fish and five loaves of bread. According to Mark’s gospel, Jesus sends the multitudes home and gives the disciples an assignment. Their assignment was to sail across the sea to Capernaum and he planned to meet them on the other side. The bible says the disciples got into the boat, while Jesus went to feed the five thousand. After leaving them, he went up on a mountain side to pray.

• Jesus entered into his father’s presence to commune with him.
• Jesus entered into his father’s presence to spend time with him.
• Jesus entered into his father’s presence to seek his face.

Here’s a lesson for our own journeys:

• When you and I pray, we ought to go up in the presence of the Father.
• When you and I pray, we ought to go up in the presence of deity.
• When you and I pray, we ought to go up in the presence of holiness.

Prayer is always ascension; an upward climb in God’s sight. In Mark 6:47, we see that Jesus was praying on the mountain side while the disciples had begun their journey across the sea.

⁴⁷When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land.

As they were away from the Master, the disciples were forced to sail during a risky time of day (evening) without the physical presence of Jesus.

• This was the first time they ever sailed without the Master.
• This was the first time they had left him on the shore.
• This was the first time they would have to journey alone.

The disciples find themselves on dangerous mission for the Lord. The last time they were out at sea a terrible squall arose and almost killed them (Mk. 4:35). The Sea of Galilee was known for its frequent storms that could drop out of the sky at a moment. It is situated in the east-side on a deep basin with lofty mountain ranges; while on the west-side the hills are filled by narrow gorges in which the wind has the power to pick up speed and sweep across the lake causing wind storms with great velocity. The disciples knew of this danger but chose to sail in obedience to the Master’s command. Life for the child of God is a journey.

• Life for the child of God is a journey filled with all kinds of struggles.
• Life for the child of God is a journey that filled with twists and turns.
• Life for the child of God is a journey that has unwanted surprises.
• Life for the child of God is a journey laced with danger and evil schemes devised to wipe us out.

The disciple’s journey was difficult because they were literally sailing at a dangerous time—in the evening (there were no street lights on the Sea of Galilee). They were sailing at night upon dangerous waters where anything could happen at any time. They had no technology to direct them during the course of the storm. These disciples were taking a risk when they agreed to sail at evening time. They knew full well that there was a good chance that trouble might come their way, yet they agreed to get into the boat and take a chance on the journey. Though we know in part that this journey is not an easy one, we willingly go through its struggles, difficulties, and problems. The struggles of life come in many shapes and forms. Just like the winds of Galilee, we must face them on in this journey of unsuspecting times. Life for the child of God in today’s world is being lived out at evening time. Here’s an example of the late night struggle: "It's evening time and the world is filled with darkness, loneliness, pain, isolation, difficulty, trouble, persecution, mistreatment, confusion and much more,” –and the child of God struggles to make it through them all. We are living in the evening hour of global chaos against the church. Never has the world been so evil and corrupt. There is global terrorism against the saints for the witness of Jesus Christ; world religions meet to discuss our demise (it’s evening time).

• There is persecution on economic, political, social, and religious fronts against us (it’s evening time).
• There is an ordained International wickedness and evil pursuing us; we are in a war with spiritual wickedness in high places (it’s evening time).
• There are rampant evil doctrines springing up against the church of Jesus Christ designed to ridicule her (it’s evening time).
• We are facing murder, envy, jealousy, racism, rage, greed, idolatry, poverty and immorality like never before (it’s evening time).

As we go back to John’s gospel, we see a visit from the Master:

¹⁹So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid.

According to Marks gospel, the journey for the disciples seem like it took all night long, yet they had made very little progress—so that in eight or nine hours they had only rowed some three and a-half miles! By this time, they must have been in a state of exhaustion and bordering on despair; completely tired from the fight with the wind.

• What they needed was visit from Jesus!
• What they needed was a hand from the Lord!
• What they needed was the strong arm of the Lord!

In their own strength they were trying to make it across to reach their destination; they were rowing against a late night wind found themselves stuck, going absolutely nowhere. The journey had turned into a painful struggle!

• They were struggling in their task.
• They were struggling in their faith.
• They were struggling in their hearts.

Every now and then when Jesus tests us on this Journey, we too struggle as we sail across the sea of time. In the midst of the darkness we struggle to understand God’s will for our life and make sense out our situation as we row against the wind. Just like the disciples, we need a visit from Jesus! We need a hand and strong arm from the Lord. In verse 19 we see that God always shows up for the child of God when you least expect it!

¹⁹They saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat;

Jesus has a way of arriving in the midnight hour of your situation! The disciples had no way of knowing where he would come from or how he would get there. They had never seen him walk on water, nor had they watched him perform a miracle like this. Remember who’s on the journey with you!

• When the winds roared up against them, Jesus was on the sea also.
• When the sea got angry and the waves began to rise, Jesus was on sea also.
• When they realized they couldn’t fight this storm and got scared, Jesus was on the sea also.

So, when you’re in the storm and things don’t look so good (and you are a believer), remember: Jesus is with you.

• When trouble is all around you and about to take you down, remember—Jesus is with you.
• When you get bad news from home and it seems like you’re just not going to make it, remember—Jesus is with you.
• When life gets to be a little too hard for you and trouble appears to be closing in on you, remember—Jesus is with you.

There’s comfort in knowing that Jesus is with you through the storms.

• He was with Job, through the storm, so he’ll be with you.
• He was with Samson through the storm, so he’ll be with you.
• He was with Daniel through the storm, so he’ll be with you.

The text goes on to say that when they saw Him they were afraid! Someone once said that faith and fear are mutually exclusive; the two do not go together. These two cannot occupy the same mind and heart—you cannot believe and then be afraid. They are like oil and water, they will never mix. You must decide, “Which one will I serve?” If it is faith, then you must trust and believe that God will work it out (whatever the storm may be). If it is fear, then you live in doubt, turmoil, worry and dismay, never knowing the wonderful works of God. I want to encourage you today, don’t be fearful—exercise your faith in Jesus!

• He is the Master, who is in charge at all times!
• He is the Master, who walks on the storms!
• He is the Master, who journeys with you through life’s storms!

Who is Jesus?

• He’s the God—man born of a virgin, and wrapped in swaddling clothes.
• He’s the God—man who healed demon-possessed people and set the captives free.
• He’s the God—man who is the expressed image of the invisible God.
• He’s 100 % God and 100 % man
• He is the way, the truth and the life and no man comes to the father but by Him.

He’s the Good Shepherd who laid down His life one day on Calvary. That’s who He is. THIS JESUS WAS HEAVENS ANSWER FOR MANS SIN AND ON THE OLD RUGGED CROSS HE REDEEMED BY BECOMING OUR SACRIFICIAL OFFERING FOR GOD. He took nails in His hands and feet on the cross for you. He took thorns on His head and was buried in a borrowed tomb for you. He rose from the dead and ascended to the right hand of God where he is making intercession for you and I. He is coming back again to get His church and we shall forever be with the Lord.

John 15:1-2

If there was ever a message that needed to be preached to the church it was the message of the true vine and the branches. It is here in this discourse that Jesus is announcing the work of the Father in the life of the church.

This text is designed to instruct the believer that the work of producing fruit is the work of abiding in God. It also reveals that the believer must yield to the work of the Father as He serves the needs of those who are abiding in the vine.

It is in this text that we discover that the deeper life for the believer is the yielded life of the believer. The child of God that is totally yielded to the Father will endure the things of God and become the servant of God.

This text today will educate us on abiding in Christ and producing results.

The first verse of this passage reveals the ministry of instruction from Christ:

¹I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.

Jesus presents divine instruction by revealing and unknown truth to the disciples. We usually see Jesus speak in parables, but this statement is given as an allegory.

He is using the vine, branches, and vinedresser to illustrate a truth to the disciples. In this allegory a divine lesson will be given to help them understand what God wants to do, will do and is doing in their lives at this moment.

The second thing we see is that he opens the story with a declarative statement that we have seen before in this book. It is the revelation of His name so that they might understand who is doing the speaking in this story!

This is the seventh and last of the “I AM” statements of Christ recorded in the Gospel of John. It is the declarative statement that Jesus is the great “I AM” (He is God).

This is the same statement made as Moses asks what he should tell the Israelites as he is sent to approach Pharaoh (I AM has sent me to you).

He is not only the God of heaven and earth who sends, but He is also the TRUE VINE. This is Important because there were many vines in his day. As the true vine, he separates Himself from others who claim to be true.

There are actually three different vines found in Scripture—the past vine was the nation of Israel (Ps. 80:8-19, Isa. 5:1–7, Jer. 2:21, Ezek. 19:10–14, and Hosea 10:1).

In an act of wonderful grace, God transplanted Israel into Canaan and gave the nation every possible benefit. But the vine produced wild grapes! Instead of practicing justice it practiced oppression; instead of producing righteousness it produced unrighteousness and cries of distress from the victims. God had to deal with the nation of Israel and chasten it, but even that did not produce lasting results. When God's own Son came to the vineyard they cast Him out and killed Him (Mat. 21:33-46).

There is a future vine, “the vine of the earth” described in Revelation 14:14-20. This is the Gentile world preparing for God's judgment.

The believers are branches in the “the vine of heaven,” but the unsaved branches are in “the vine of the earth.” The unsaved depend on this world for their sustenance and satisfaction while believers depend on Jesus Christ. The “vine of the earth” will be cut down and destroyed when Jesus Christ returns.

The present vine (TRUE VINE) is our Lord Jesus Christ and, of course, the vine includes the branches.

He is the TRUE VINE, that is, the original vine! As Christians, we do not live on substitutes! The symbolism of the vine and branches is similar to that of the head and the body: we have a living relationship to Christ and belong to Him.

The “right now” commentary on this text is that we are currently living in Him and we are alive in Christ. Right now in the universe there is a vine with people grafted into it! It is alive and we are alive in Him as His branches.

The unbelievers are grafted into the vine of this world—they are not in Christ and must be removed from the vine and grafted into one another.

Here’s an example: in California, we have vineyards and vineyards of grape vines. In comparison to Middle East vines, ours is a very fragile plant and it is easy to break off the branch. However, the vines in the Holy Land are large and strong, and it is nearly impossible for anyone to break off a mature branch without injuring the vine itself.

And so it is in Christ; we are a part of an ever eternal secure vine that is impossible for us to be removed from. It’s what we call the eternal security of the believer. This is why the allegory is being used.

Our union with Christ is a living union, a loving union, and a lasting union—so that we need not be afraid.

The first verse ends with Jesus stating that, “My Father is the vinedresser.”

Here we see the eternal dynamics of the triune God at work in the salvific plan of His own deity!

Jesus is not working alone in the life of those grafted into Him. He is co-laboring with His father who is overseeing all of the divine work that is being done, produced and birthed through the life of the Vine!

Jesus calls His father the vinedresser. The vinedresser is in charge of caring for the vine, and Jesus said that this is the work of His father.

The father as the vinedresser is intimately concerned with the work of the vineyard. He plants, nurtures, looks after and protects the vine. He serves, secures and minsters to the vine. The vine is on His mind and His mind is on the vine.

Here, you get to see what the Father is doing in the current reality of our lives in the Church. We are on the mind of the father, and the father is on our mind.

He is looking after us; he is feeding, serving caring and watching over us. He is invested in us.

It is His delight to place us in this vineyard and give us a role in His divine plan to redeem mankind. He is our vinedresser and the delight is to be under His care. As a vinedresser he has me on His mind during every season of the year!

• When the suns of turmoil are beating down on me I am on His mind!
• When the rains of tribulation are drowning me with sorrows I am on His mind!
• When the winter winds of heartache and social injustice are beating me down I am on the mind of the vinedresser!

He never leaves me without and He never leaves me alone! I am His and He is mine. Is there any witness today that knows He has His eyes on you?

Does anybody here know that He will come and see about you? Does anybody know that he has your best interest at hand?

In the second part of our text, we see the actual work of the Father in the life of the branches as recorded through the Son.

²Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

The work of the Father is to take care of the branches and to examine the vine to see what the branches are producing—no branch is going without intervention and observation. Each branch must stand up to the scrutiny of the vinedresser, the Holy Father!

Right here, this morning, every branch is under the watchful eye of the vinedresser—in this moment, every area of your life is known unto the father. In this new year, every deed ever done in the body is being seen under the watchful eye of the Father.

The text says that, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit,”—here, we get a glimpse at what the Father is looking for in the branch!

• He is looking to see if the branch is at work in the vine.
• He is looking to see if the branch is doing what it was designed to do.
• He is looking to see if it is an obedient or a disobedient branch.
• He is looking to see if the branch fruitful or retarded.

He is looking to see if the branch will serve its purpose or do what it wants to do. He looks to see if it bears fruit!

Right now family, in the divine vineyard of God, there is an inspection taking place! The vinedresser is taking notice of who is doing what and how much fruit they are producing! Right now, the vinedresser is taking note of how much is getting done in each and every life that is grafted into His son.

The inspection is real and it is active. The inspection itself causes the vinedresser to do something about what he finds in His vineyard.

Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

Here we find a frightening discovery! Those branches that have had a chance to produce and bear fruit, but have chosen not to do so, the Father removes them from the vine (he takes them away)!

They do not get another season to try again, another semester to think things over, nor do they get another day or hour because their time to produce has come and gone. Instead of leaving them on the vine to do nothing they are removed from the work of the vineyard!

Perhaps, he takes them away because their season of life is over, because they have served their purpose and if left on the vine they would do no good.

We also see that He takes them away—perhaps because their season of life is over! It’s important to note that this does not infer or suggest a loss of position in Christ! Nor does it infer a removal from service in his church (which is His body). It clearly and simply records, that where there is no more fruit, there is no more life! Everything living in the vine should produce something living.

Why? It is an eternal vine! It is the life-giving source, the foundation for all things living! If one is connected but not producing, they are dead.

This text arrests me in this new year!

• Could this be the year that he takes some of us away?
• Could this be the year our fruit bearing goes out?
• Could this be the year he takes some home?
• Could this be the year that our fruitfulness subsides?
• Could you be here, but bearing no fruit?

Does your life bear the fruits of the Spirit of God (joy, peace, gentleness, kindness, meekness and long suffering)?

In the close of our text we see how the vinedresser prunes the branches in two ways: He is either cutting them to remove them, or cutting them to prune them. The Father alone is responsible for the branches.

When He cuts them off there is no more pruning (they are done)! When He prunes them there is more left for them to do!

Warren Wiersbe commenting on this text says, “He cuts away dead wood that can breed disease and insects, and he cuts away living tissue so that the life of the vine will not be so dissipated that the quality of the crop will not be jeopardized. In fact, the vinedresser will even cut away whole bunches of grapes so that the rest of the crop will be of higher quality."

“As the vinedresser, God wants both quantity and quality. This pruning process is the most important part of the whole enterprise and the people who do it must be carefully trained or they can destroy an entire crop. Some vineyards invest two or three years in training the “pruners” so they know where to cut, how much to cut, and even at what angle to make the cut.”

The greatest judgment God could bring to a believer would be to let him alone and let him have his own way! However, because God loves us, He prunes us and encourages us to bear more fruit for His glory.

A.D. Wilson says, “Not only does he love us and prune us, but he employs the pruners in our lives, to inflict us with pain so that we will produce!”

Is there anybody here that knows that sorrow can be employed by God to prune some areas in your life?

Is there anybody here that knows that God can use the spade of suffering to prune away some things that you don’t need?

Does anybody here know that poverty works for God and can be used to prune away hidden desires that may cause you to be fruitless?

Does anybody here that knows God can use physical illness, cancer, broken limbs and undiagnosed aliments, to prune your witness so that you bare more fruit?

Have you ever seen God use your pain, to make you shine?

• Have you ever seen Him carry your load and make you fruitful?
• Have you ever had Him inflict you in order to use you?
• Have you ever been misused by someone so that your fruit may shine?
• Have you ever been set up by the divine in order to bring Him honor and glory?
• Have you ever been talked about by the one you were trying to help and God refused to let you stop helping them?
• Have you ever been broken for doing the right thing?

If you can say yes to any of these, then I want to welcome you to Pruning 101! It’s the school of suffering and the center of pruning for pleasure—where the God of Heaven and Earth is at work in your life!

This is the institute of divine purpose, the class of consuming collisions. It’s the back of the bus where you never get ahead. Welcome to the divine calamity of grace, where every scrape and bump brings fruit to the branch!

• If He is pruning you it’s because you have favor!
• If He is pruning you it’s because He loves you!
• If He is pruning you it’s because there is more to you than meets the eye.

However, if He isn’t pruning you, you won’t be here long.

• If he isn’t pruning you your time is almost up.
• If he isn’t pruning you, you’re getting ready see Him.
• If he isn’t pruning you, a preacher is doing your eulogy.
• If he isn’t pruning you the clock is right on the wall.
• If he isn’t pruning you, you need to get your affairs in order.

He prunes those who are producing fruit, but cuts away those who are not!

If the branches could speak they would confess that the pruning process hurts, but they would also rejoice that they will be able to produce more and better fruit.

Your heavenly Father is closer to you than ever before when you are in the pruning process. Pruning does not simply mean spiritual surgery that removes what is bad. It can also mean cutting away the good and the better so that we might enjoy the best.

Yes, pruning hurts, but it also helps. We may not enjoy it, but we need it.

How does the Father prune us?

Sometimes He simply uses the Word to convict and cleanse us. (The word translated “purge” in John 15:2 is the same as “clean” in John 13:10.(Eph. 5:26–27)). Sometimes He must chasten us (Heb. 12:1–11).

At the time it hurts when He removes something precious from us; but as the “spiritual crop” is produced, we see that the Father knew what He was doing.

The more we abide in Christ, the more fruit we bear; and the more fruit we bear, the more the Father has to prune us so that the quality keeps up with the quantity.

Left to itself, the branch might produce many clusters, but they will be inferior in quality. God is glorified by a bigger crop that is also a better crop.

The other day As I drove up Highway 99 I saw countless vineyards, some ripe for harvest, some being prepped for pruning, some in the process of being pruned. I was instantly reminded that churches all over the world are in the same process!

We are all either being harvested (and growth is evident because fruit is everywhere), being pruned for greater work to be done in our lives, or we are being cut back and torn off because our time has come!

When I look at this text, God was pruning the disciples, he was removing some stuff from them because they would soon be needed to produce some fruit!

As Jesus got ready to go to Calvary, it was going to cause them great pain and sorrow. As he got ready to leave them their hearts were being filled with grief, but it had to happen so that they may be able (when the time was right) to produce the fruits of righteousness.

Here we see the critical reasoning for why the disciple must be pruned: if you don’t get pruned, you don’t produce! If you don’t get pruned you don’t have anything to offer and you don’t count in the equation of fruit producing!

The good disciple will want to obey and produce fruit! The only way for him or her to do this is to be pruned.

We are reminded of what our task is as His disciples. Jesus goes back to the allegory to make a point of understanding!

We are the branches that are connected to the vine; to be a branch in the vine means that we are united to Christ and share His life. To be a branch we must abide in Him, in doing so, His life flows through us and enables us to produce fruit.

But if we are unwilling to abide in Him, we cannot produce fruit!

The disciple that abides in Christ will have a love for the word and the word will constantly tell them about who God is and what God can do. By faith they will produce things to change people’s lives and by this they will bear much fruit!

As we close our text today, remember that the key to producing fruit is one’s relationship to the vine; to remain in the vine is to produce fruit and to remain close to the Christ!

I don’t know about you, but I need Him every day of my life! I can’t live without Him, He is the key to my universe.

I need Him to bless me, keep me, feed me and clothe me. I need Him to give me wisdom and understanding, to be my savior and friend.

I need Him to be my shepherd in the valley of death, to lead me beside still waters and anoint my head with oil. I need him to make a table for me in the presence of my enemies; I need to have His goodness and mercy follow me all the days of my life.

Just give me Jesus and I know that everything will be alright! Just give me Jesus and my needs will be met.

Give me the Jesus that was born of a virgin—the Jesus that declared that,

“I am the Son of God”!

The Jesus that did miracles, cured diseases and cast out devils. The Jesus that laid down His life so that I might live. Give me that Jesus!

He died, was Buried and rose again…Give me that Jesus!

In today’s text we see an interesting charge be given to the master’s disciples, for the purpose of God the father being glorified in the earth. Jesus has announced that he is leaving them. He has spoken of going back to be with the Father in Heaven, and preparing them a place that they may also be with him there. The news of this departure has made these brothers fearful, disappointed and filled them with sorrow. Then, the conversation takes a turn; Jesus begins to give them promises of unseen power to do things that will impact the future, bring glory to God and change their lives forever. Not only is he leaving them and their earthly times of communion, but he is leaving them to continue the work that he started and confusion fills the disciples.

• He has given them a mandate to follow.
• He has trained them for a mission that they did not want.
• He has assured them that the Father would be pleased if they moved on his command.

The text opens up with a testament to the power of Jesus:

¹²"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.’

According to the text there is a condition applied to those who will work for the Father.

• It is a condition of belief. One who works for God must believe that He is God.
• They must also believe in the work of God.

The power that Jesus gives to his disciples is shown as he states, “he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also;”

• If they believe in Him, the works that they saw Him do, they will do also.
• The phrase written here “Will he do also” is what we call an emphatic pronoun (ekeinos), "that one also."

It makes claim that what Jesus did, they can do! This is a promise, a fact, a proven claim! It is given that their discouraged hearts might be lifted from the despair of the bad news that they just received! The good news for the disciples is that they will be able to do what Jesus did, in his absence. Not only will they be able to do what he did, but they will be able to do more of it!

“And greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.”

This doesn’t necessarily mean that their miracles or spiritual works will be greater in quality, but that they will be greater in quantity. Greater works would definitely happen for the apostles because Jesus’ works were limited to Judea only—theirs would turn the world upside down. Here, we can historically compare Peter at Pentecost and Paul’s missional tours. Jesus did these miracles first, so there is no one that can beat what he did in quality. Because he was the Son of God, His works are done by the hand of triune God. The disciples work will be done with their hands through the triune God. The disciples who came after Jesus would be able to do more than he did, because of their earthly life span, ministry time on earth, and the impact of global communities. They would travel further, see more people, touch more lives, and therefore do greater works, than the Christ did in quantity, not quality. We also see here the reason Jesus gives them as to why and how they would be able to do greater works—“because I go”! The reason for this ministry promise is made possible by the Holy Spirit as Paraclete, the Greek word for advocate or helper (Jn. 16:7). When Jesus says that the disciples will do “greater works than these,” he is also implying that the same omnipotence working through Him will also work through them, enabling them to do greater work because of the duration of their service on earth. Jesus is reminding the disciples that those who believe in His name shall, through his almighty power, be enabled to work greater miracles than those which He has performed. We can see the New Testament account of the greater works by the first disciples:

• Peter’s shadow healed the diseased in Acts 5:15 (power).
• Diseases were cured and demons were cast out by the applying of handkerchiefs and aprons that had come in contact with the body of Paul in Acts 19:12 (power).
• By the word of Peter Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead in Acts chapters 5, 9 & 10 (power).
• Elymas, the sorcerer, was struck blind by the word of Paul in Acts 13:11 (power).

Christ only preached in Judea, and only in the language of that country; but the apostles preached through the world, and in the languages of all countries. This power comes as Jesus states, “because I go,” it is because of this statement that the works will be done! I’m happy today because I believe in HIS name—I have seen his power take place as I travel around the world!

• I’ve seen the sick get well in other parts of the world (power).
• I’ve seen the gospel change lives in new church plants (power).
• I’ve seen the hungry get fed and meals being served (power).
• I’ve seen the truth and bible lessons being taught (power).
• I’ve seen the power of God in prayers being prayed (power).
• I’ve seen the power of forgiveness and broken marriages saved (power).
• I’ve seen the promise of grace and babies born, baptized and taught to obey (power).
• I’ve seen the power of wisdom in every sermon preached (power).
• I’ve seen the hope of salvation and lives being changed (power).
• I’ve seen the assurance of peace and every heart encouraged (power).

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, I’ve seen these great works done, and am looking for more to be done by the disciples! This is a promise to the believer who is committed to working for Christ in the earth. Jesus goes on to mention the power of a promise to the believer who is committed to working for Him in the earth in verse thirteen:

¹³And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

• Here we have the divine promise and assurance of asking and receiving.
• The language he is using here is the language of a mediator (a person who goes on another’s behalf).
• The request of the disciples, are to be submitted to the Father, and done in the name of the Son.
• According to this procedure, there is a divine Promise that the believer can count on!

Jesus also says that whatsoever you ask—this statement aligns itself with the previous verse that speaks of our works that will be done! So in other words, whatever we need to accomplish through His will and plan, he will do it, give it, open it and bless it. He will provide it, heal it, and allow it so that the Father’s name may be glorified! In looking at verse thirteen, I notice a few things:

• Jesus as OUR Mediator is also our Head and Lord of the Kingdom of God.
• That makes this promise a promise! It cannot not be granted!
• It’s God divine Word!

This type of praying is dangerous praying for the believer! It’s dangerous because if they really believe it, then they are all in when it comes to the things of God! This type of praying implies that the believer wants what God wants, and their desires are God’s desires! This is the formula for kingdom praying!

• This is the way to lose yourself in God!
• This is the way to die to one’s own selfish life! For the things of God!
• This is the way to abandon the things of this world for the things of God!
• This is how you give up your ‘thing’ in exchange for the Kingdom!

And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. What does it mean to be glorified in the Son? Here it implies that the Father, will receive the glory from the Son’s work in our lives; Jesus will work in us, but the Father will receive the glory because the Son gives all glory to the Father! This comprehensive statement and promise of the Christ is emphatically stated again in the following verse which involves the permission of Jesus.

¹⁴If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

As we come to a close, we hear and see again the promise, power and permission given to the disciples to participate with the Divine and His work on earth! The statement is said to confirm what was spoken and to encourage them to believe in what was said. Because of the doubt, fear, trouble and sorrow in their hearts, Jesus yet again gives them the power, promise and now permission to try him and the Father in prayer. The emphasis in this verse is put on the latter end of the sentence

• “I WILL DO IT (in the name of Jesus)!”
• “I WILL PERFORM IT (in the name of Jesus)!”
• “I WILL BRING IT TO PASS (in the name of Jesus)!”
• “I’LL MAKE IT HAPPEN (in the name of Jesus)!”
• “I WILL SEE THAT IT GETS DONE (in the name of Jesus)!”

It is here where the curious believer gets to try God at His word; it is where the skeptic gets to test  the mandate; it is where those who are on the fence get to try God at his word, all in the name of Jesus! About 15 years ago a group of us young preachers got together in a few all night prayer sessions. In these sessions, we began to ask God to use us for His honor and His glory. As time went by we began to go into some of California’s deadliest prisons and preach the gospel to lifers, killers, rapists, drive-by shooters, and gangsters from all walks of life! We also began crusades in local cities, and saw street gangs, prostitutes, drug dealers, and everyday people give their lives to the Lord! It all started with a few ‘dangerous prayers’! Some of us kept praying, and God sent us into different cities and countries, and we haven’t stopped asking for ‘dangerous things’. When you take advantage of the promises in God’s word, God moves upon those who really desire what he desires! God moves within those who are really trusting him at his word! God’s word cannot lie; his promises are that he will hear us and he will do it!

If there was one truth in all of the world that relates to everyone, it is the truth that everybody will one day have their one moment with the Master. In this one moment, all men will have the privilege of accepting Him or rejecting him. Nicodemus is in the thick of his one moment; he has the attention of God the creator all to himself. In this moment God reveals his plan, purpose and promise to Nicodemus concerning the redemption process for man. The last time we were gathered together in this text we saw Jesus at work cleansing his father’s house. The Master was angry at the sin and wicked behavior of men that was taking place in the temple. Then the story takes an amazing turn in the following verses (Jn. 2:23-25):

²³Because of the miraculous signs he did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many people were convinced that he was indeed the Messiah. ²⁴But Jesus didn't trust them, because he knew what people were really like. ²⁵No one needed to tell him about human nature.

According to the text, Jesus began to do what the Father wanted him to do on earth, and people were drawn to follow him, except he did not allow them to. He would not commit himself to any man, because he knew what was in them. It’s a bad thing when God knows that you need him, but he won’t draw close to you. It is possible to be so sick with sin that you ask God to hook you up so you can do what is evil in your heart. God never commits himself to the one who has evil motives to use his blessings. The first two verses of our text today introduce Nicodemus, and the desire he had to get to know Jesus.

¹After dark one evening, a Jewish religious leader named Nicodemus, a Pharisee, ² came to speak with Jesus. "Teacher," he said, "we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are proof enough that God is with you."

As Nicodemus begins his quest, we see that he was not only a leader in the religious crowd, he was someone who had power and influence but was not satisfied with his position. Nicodemus was on a quest to find God, seeking and searching for something to satisfy him in life. But Nicodemus came to Jesus at night, under the cover of darkness.

• He came in secret on a quest for God.
• He came in silence on a quest for God.
• He came in seclusion on a quest for God.

Nicodemus saw what Jesus did at the Passover feast and was impressed by God, so he came by night to see if he could get to know Him.

• Night time is the time when most people are looking for God!
• Night time is when troubling-tears fall on the pillow.
• Night time is when even the rich get worried.
• Night time is when even the strong get weak.
• Night time is when even the powerful loose strength.
• Night time is when most men get vulnerable.

And night time is when the search for Jesus is at its strongest hour. Nicodemus came searching at night. There are some more religious seekers reading this very text today. Just like Nicodemus, you have been around religion all of your life. Just like Nicodemus, you have been in control of your life. Yet even in all of your control and all of your religious circles, you know that you don’t have a good relationship with God. Perhaps, you too are not sure of your salvation. And just like Nicodemus you too are looking for Jesus, because you heard he can change your life. Listen to Nicodemus:

"Teacher," he said, "we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are proof enough that God is with you."

Nicodemus had watched God move in someone else’s life and came to tell him that he believed Jesus was from God. He believed because of what he saw, but he did not have a relationship with God.

• It is not enough to believe because of what you see!
• It is not enough to believe in what you heard!
• It is not enough to believe in what you believe! You must be born again!

The first thing we notice in verse three is Jesus’ response to Nicodemus’ misunderstanding of being born again.

³Jesus replied, "I assure you, unless you are born again, you can never see the Kingdom of God.

Jesus wants Nicodemus to know that to get into Heaven he has to die to the old man, and be born the right way (he must be born again). The first time he was born, he was born the wrong way. He has to come through a “New Birth”. He has to be born from up above. Because of the Masters teaching Nicodemus is confused. He is used to religious talk, but not heaven talk. Nicodemus wants to think logically about the new birth. He wants to identify it in human terms. But human terms and divine terms are never the same. Jesus is speaking about spiritual matters and supernatural intervention. God is speaking to Nicodemus and he does not comprehend. Every now and then God speaks to us all and we don’t comprehend. We try to make things make sense in human terms, but they just don’t fit.

• God demands that we see the mystery of his word
• God demands that we trust the mystery of his word
• God demands that we submit to the mystery of the word.

Secondly, in the next three verses of this passage we see the only way to enter into heaven! It is through the supernatural assistance given by the Spirit of God.

⁵Jesus replied, "The truth is, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. ⁶Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven. ⁷So don't be surprised at my statement that you must be born again. ⁸Just as you can hear the wind but can't tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can't explain how people are born of the Spirit."

It is the Holy Spirit that brings about the “New Birth”. First comes the water, which is the word, then comes the “New Birth”. Unless you hear the word and accept the Spirit of God, you cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.

• You cannot be religious enough.
• You cannot be smart enough.
• You cannot be rich enough.
• You cannot be tall enough.

You can only enter God’s Kingdom by being born from above. In order to make into heaven, the Holy Spirit must come into your life and save you, causing you to become a new person. To experience a “New Birth” you must die to the old and give way to the new you. You have to become a new person in order to see heaven. Nicodemus remains at a disadvantage in this conversation with the Master as he asks, “What do you mean?” (v. 9). As a student of the Old Testament, he has never heard of a New Birth. He was looking for the Messiah to come, but to him the Law was all he needed to see God’s Kingdom. He sees the evidence that Jesus could be the Messiah, but now he can’t comprehend the truth of God’s word.

• The natural man cannot understand the things of God.
• The natural man cannot understand the new birth.
• The natural man cannot see how a new birth will help him to get to heaven.

The natural man believes he should have something to do with New Birth. But the New Birth must come from the Spirit, by the Spirit, through the Spirit and because of the Spirit. I am afraid that the natural man reading this today is not born again. You think you are born from above, but you are still the same old you. I am afraid that the natural man is all dressed up, but God is still far away from you. The natural man can’t see that he can’t get to heaven just like he is. He can’t see that the Holy Spirit does not live in the one who has not welcomed him and won’t claim him if He hasn’t been claimed. The Holy Spirit lives nowhere inside the enemy of God, nor does He lead or guide them. The tragedy in this is that you are living a lie. The tragedy in this is that you act religious, but there’s no righteousness within. The tragedy in this is that religion can’t save you and church can’t help you. “You must be Born again,” born from up above! In the closing verses, Jesus recognizes that Nicodemus has unbelief! As a teacher of the Old Testament he should have realized the fulfillment of scripture in the coming Messiah.

¹⁰Jesus replied, "You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don't understand these things? ¹¹I assure you, I am telling you what we know and have seen, and yet you won't believe us. ¹²But if you don't even believe me when I tell you about things that happen here on earth, how can you possibly believe if I tell you what is going on in heaven? ¹³For only I, the Son of Man, have come to earth and will return to heaven again. ¹⁴And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so I, the Son of Man, must be lifted up on a pole, ¹⁵so that everyone who believes in me will have eternal life.

Jesus clarifies again for him who he is; “I assure you, I am telling you what we know and have seen, and yet you won't believe us.” He is speaking for and of the triune God! In this observation, Jesus informs Nicodemus that earth is not his home, but heaven is. And if he does not believe the things he is talking about doing in the earth, how will he understand and believe the things he is doing in heaven. In closing this conversation Jesus then reveals one last time what his purpose for coming to earth is, and what his plan fully entails in redeeming lost men.

• Jesus says ‘I have come down from heaven and will return back again’!
• Just like Moses, who offered a sacrifice in the wilderness to save man, I have come to be the final sacrifice for mankind.

To further drive home his point, Jesus brings up the Old Testament (Num. 21:5-9) in verses 14 and 15 to show Nicodemus his need for a savior and reveal who He truly is; so everyone that believes in Him will be saved and have eternal life.

• Nicodemus didn’t get it, but he was looking in the eyes of the Savior.
• Nicodemus didn’t get it, but he had his moment with the Master.
• Nicodemus didn’t get it, but one day he would!
• Nicodemus didn’t see, but one day it would come into view.

This was an amazing moment with the Master, and this moment would define and change his entire life. Have you had a moment like this with Jesus? I pray that you have and that the encounter is very real in your soul. For Christ and His Kingdom, Pastor