Sermon Notes - John 15:1-8 - Littleby Baptist Church - September 10, 2023

1.     As Jesus wrapped up His time with the guys in the Upper Room, He taught about the coming helper.

a.      The Holy Spirit is the one who is going to help the disciples understand all that Jesus has been telling them.

b.     The Holy Spirit fills all who accept Jesus as Lord.

c.      He speaks to us.

d.     He guides us.

e.      He convicts us of our sins.

f.      He works in us.

g.     Couple that with Keeping the Word of God.

h.     Letting the Word speak to our hearts.

i.       There is no telling what God can do in us and through us.

2.     The end of chapter 14 talks about them leaving the upper room, but chapters 15 through 17 do not give us a clear indication if they were spoken in the upper room or on the way to the Garden.

3.     John 15:1

a.      Hosea 10:1-4

b.     Israel was the vine, but the better things were for them the farther they turned from God.

c.      Israel was to be a nation of priests who pointed people to God.

d.     Where they failed, Jesus succeeded.

e.      Jesus is the true vine.

f.      He is the only one who can pave the way for us to be with the Father.

g.     Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

4.     John 15:2

a.      The Father as the Gardner removes those branches that do not produce fruit and prunes and cares for those that do.

b.     Those that claim to be Christ followers but never produce fruit are branches that are removed.

c.      Those that produce the fruit that our God is looking for are pruned so that they can produce even more fruit.

d.     Isaiah 5:1-7

e.      God hoped that His people, the House of Israel and the men of Judah, would have followed Him.

f.      Instead, they went after their own wants and desires.

g.     Israel was a vine to carry God’s message, but...

h.     Jesus is the True Vine, as He is the only Vine that cannot and will not be corrupted.

5.     John 15:3

a.      Jesus is speaking directly to His disciples here, letting them know that they have been cleansed.

b.     That is true for all of us who have accepted Jesus as our Lord.

c.      We have been cleansed of our sins.

d.     The Lamb of God has paid the price for each of us.  

6.     John 15:4

a.      We need Jesus in every part of our lives.

b.     We need to be connected to Him.

c.      We need to be committed to Him.

d.     Remining in Jesus means making Him a priority.

e.      Consists of the usual actions of talking to Him, reading Scripture, and submitting to His will for our lives.

f.      We are to work at living for Him, repenting of our sins and trying to live differently.

g.     We are to keep His commands; I would say focusing heavily on loving Him with all that we are and loving others as Christ loves them.

h.     Remaining in Him also means we are to have faith.

i.       Probably one of the hardest things on the list is learning to trust in God.

j.       Hard, but part of the process of letting the Holy Spirit work in us.

k.     Having faith means continuing to trust in God when it feels like we are getting beaten down by life.

l.       Having faith is trusting that the God who has redeemed you from your sins, is not done with you.

m.   We are to remain in Christ, we are to keep Him front and center of our lives.

n.     As we remain in Him, our lives will produce fruit.

o.     Draw near to God and let Him work.

p.     Let Him mold you and shape you.

q.     Let Him equip you to complete the tasks you were created to do.

r.      Remain in Christ and let Him produce fruit in you.

7.     John 15:5

a.      Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches.

b.     We need to remain in Him.

c.      We are saved by Faith, but the more we choose Jesus on a daily basis the closer we draw to Him.

d.     The more we invest of our time and energy into getting to know Him and serving Him, the more we see the fruit in our lives.

e.      God is at work in all who Believe, but the more time we spend in Him the more of our lives we are giving Him to work in.

f.      The more time we spend with God the more open we are to let the Holy Spirit guide us.

g.     The more we let the Holy Spirit work in us, the more fruit we will see.

h.     As we let God change us, He will use us… which is the fruit.

8.     John 15:6

a.      Those who do not believe in Jesus, face a horrible fate.

b.     A fate that we wish on no one.

c.      Here is the thing… the branches that are going to be thrown into the fire claim to be part of the vine.

d.     They claim to be a Christian.

e.      At a minimum they may claim they are going to heaven because they are a good person.

f.      We recently talked about Judas having followed Jesus but never truly believing.

g.     These branches that are cut off and thrown into the fire are just like Judas.

h.     People who have heard the truth, may sit in church week after week, but never submit to Jesus.

i.       Believing that Jesus is God is not enough.

j.       James 2:19

k.     Demons believe, belief alone is not enough.

l.       Mark 1:23-24

m.   The demons know who Jesus is, and that is not enough.

n.     Believing that Jesus is God is where it starts.

o.     Recognizing that you are a sinner.

p.     Believing that He paid the price for your sin.

q.     Followed by repenting of your sins and submitting to Him as Lord of your life.

r.      That is what changes our address for eternity.

s.      These branches that are getting thrown out are people who may have said they believed, may have looked the part, but never gave their lives to Christ.

t.       They did not remain in Jesus.

u.     Their name is not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

v.     Revelation 20:10-15, talk about that judgment that falls on Satan and those who follow Him.

w.    Choose the world, choose Satan over Jesus and be cast in the lake of fire to burn for all eternity.

x.     A fate much worse than death.

9.     John 15:7-8

a.      Remain in Jesus.

b.     Have true faith in Christ our King.

c.      Let Him work in You.

d.     And your life will produce fruit.

10.  Jesus once again talks about prayer in His final night with the disciples.

a.      He states that if we are remaining in Him.

b.     If He is our focal point.

c.      If we are growing as we walk with Him.

d.     When we pray and ask, whatever we want will be done.

e.      This is not according to our own will.

f.      When a follower of Christ is remaining in Him their prayers are for God’s will to be done.

g.     As we saw in 1 John 5, when we pray according to the Father’s will, it will be done according to the Father’s will.

h.     The Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6 states “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

i.       When we pray to God asking for His will to be done, it will be.

j.       When we remain in Christ and pray according to our Father’s will… it will be done.

11.  If Jesus is your Lord and Savior, the question for you today is are you remaining in Him?

a.      Is He the priority each day?

b.     Do you spend time talking to Him?

c.      Do you spend time learning about Him by reading His Word?

12.  We all need to review our lives and determine if we need to spend more time with Him.

13.  If Jesus is not your Savior, it is very simple to take the first step.

a.      Believe that Jesus is God.

b.     Confess that you are a sinner.

c.      Ask Jesus to forgive you and give your life to Him.

14.  It is not to late to begin a journey with Jesus. Don’t delay.