I Am the Vine

When I was a kid, my Nana - who was my great grandmother - had this beautiful grapevine in her backyard. Every summer when I would visit my dad's side of the family, my cousins and I would go out into her vines and eat the grapes. They were those real big reddish purple ones just awning there off the vine. Oh man, they were so delicious, except.. for one natural thing they had in them… seeds. I hated the fact that with each, delicious, succulent grape, that would explode in our mouths, there was this inconvenient seed stuck right there in then middle of it. You know, as kids, we'd often complain about those seeds. They were such an inconvenience. But as I was studying for this message, I began thinking about this phrase 'new life and new beginnings,' and something hit me. It looks some time, but Looking back now, I realize something I didn't when I was a kid. Those seeds, which seemed like such an inconvenience to us cousins, were actually essential for new growth and new life. What I didn't realize at the time... I was just spitting them away. I was wasting the opportunity to sow and cultivate new life. Isn't that just like our relationship with Jesus? Sometimes the parts of our faith that seem difficult, even inconvenient, are actually the very things that become the seeds that help us grow in our faith. There's six words I've learned, but I'm also learning every day when it comes to trials and hard circumstances. It's this: 'I can trust God with this.’ The Bible reminds us of those 6 words in Psalm 119 verse 71: 'My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention, Lord, to your decrees.’ You see, what looks like an inconvenience today might just be God planting seeds for tomorrow.

I want to invite you to open your Bibles with me to John chapter 15, because before we get to joy, and what it means for us.. I need to set up how joy becomes available to us first. (Read John 15: 1-11) My prayer this week for each and every one of you.. was "Father, I pray that everyone here, and listening online would experience a life-changing understanding and a burning passion in their hearts for a fresh way of knowing you." I prayed that you would experience God, even more by his grace, greater than I have, so that when you go through rough times, and hard valleys in your life, when all feels like it’s dark and hopeless, you too can look back to this day and say, “That’s the day that I truly understood joy. Because here’s a question… "Have you ever stopped to consider what truly motivates your faith? “Why are you following Jesus?” Remember those early followers who flocked to Jesus in John chapter 6? They craved miracles and blessings, but when His message challenged their expectations, what did they do? They vanished. And I got to thinking this week, Isn’t it tempting for us to do the same? We have that saying, when the going gets tough, the tough get going. But sometimes, when we get going, we get going the wrong way.

Abiding is so important to the christian. Did you notice what Jesus said in the beginning of our Scripture? “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” Did you notice Jesus’s language here? How he doesn't say 'I am a good vine' or 'the best vine.' He declares, 'I am the true vine.' This isn't a competition; it's a stark contrast between life and death." Listen, Jesus isn’t going, I am better or best…. this isn’t what is being contrasted here.. What Jesus is saying, is it’s not a matter of best or good, but true verses false. He’s saying, “I am the true vine.” All other vines you tap into are false vines… they bring false hope and false joy into your life. Every vine, you come across isn’t a vine that brings life but death. I keep wanting to contrast by going back to the followers in John 6, if you remember, when they look to Jesus they say, “what can we do???”. and Jesus wasn’t saying here’s a list of dos and don't’s to tap into.. no, Jesus says to those following him, just believe in the one that God has sent… The one, God has sent is the one that offers the bread you need, I am that bread, the bread that gives you life. It’s not about quantity of bread but the quality of it. These people were trying to draw from a vine that didn’t bring life. Now, Think about our how we experience relational life with one another. Think about all the things in your life where you try to draw and tap into vines that are not of Christ? Did you know one of the ways to see what vines you tap into, is by seeing what makes you angry. "What makes the fires of anger rise within you? What gets under your skin and when you think about it, it makes you upset. James says this in James 4:1–2. He writes, “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you?” (James 4:1) He goes on to say, “You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel.” (James 4:2) James is holding up a mirror to our souls, and what we see might make us uncomfortable. Because right there, in our anger, in our conflicts - we see what's really feeding our hearts. Think about it - every argument, every bitter word, every broken relationship isn't just about that moment. They're warning signs, flashing lights telling us we're trying to draw life from dead vines. Our anger? It's like a spiritual diagnostic tool, exposing exactly where we've gotten tangled up in the wrong vines. But here's the beautiful part - God doesn't just show us the problem; He offers the solution. Every flash of anger isn't just exposing our wrong connections - it's an invitation to be grafted back in. It's a chance to let the Master Gardener cut away what's choking us and reconnect us to the only source of real love.

But that leads us to the most important question: So, how does one abide in Christ? What does it mean to abide? To abide means to have a life-giving connection to Jesus. Paul used this phrase - being "in Christ." I did something interesting this week... we’ve been in the book of Ephesians at one of our house churches, and I sat down with the book of Ephesians, and I just started circling a phrase. Every time Paul wrote the words "in Christ," I put a circle around it. You know what I found? In just the first chapter alone - in only 13 verses - Paul says "in Christ" 13 times. Once in every single verse. Now, that's not an accident. See, Paul is pulling back the curtain on the heavenly realm, showing us this spiritual world around us, and he's making this incredibly important point: to experience any spiritual blessing, you and I must be "in Christ." Think about what that means - every spiritual blessing in heaven, our ability to love and be made into the image of Jesus, the forgiveness of our sins and the ability to forgive those around its, the riches of His grace being poured out on those He loves, all that wisdom and understanding, even understanding the mystery of the Father's will - all of it comes through one thing: abiding and being in union with Christ. And look at what Jesus says in our passage - it's a mutual connection, a mutual union. "Abide in me and I in you." My version, the CSB says, to remain in me, and I in you.

This is the heart of the Christian life; this is the essence of our Christian experience. That we abide, and remain in Christ. There must be a life-giving connection between us and Christ. It means we're connected to Jesus in such a way that we're crucified with Him, risen with Him, ascending with Him, and even seated with Him in heavenly places. It's being a branch that is rooted and grounded in a life that's found by knowing, trusting in, and obeying Jesus - and nowhere else. That's first. A life-giving connection - that's the foundation, and it comes by faith in Jesus. That’s first.. A life-giving connection; that’s first, and it comes by faith in Jesus.

But there is a second part to abiding.… Abiding in Christ means not only life-giving connection, but a growing dependence on Christ. Look at John 15:5: "I am the vine, you are the branches; whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

Have you ever noticed how you never think about breathing until you can't? Like when you're swimming and you stay under water just a little too long? In that moment, your whole body screams for air. Every cell in your body knows exactly what it needs - not wants, but needs. That's not something you had to learn; it's written into your very existence. Your body knows that without air, there is no life. And do You know what's fascinating? That first breath you took as a baby - you didn't have to think about it. You didn't have to choose it. Your body knew what it needed for life, and it reached for it. And every moment since then, whether you're awake or asleep, your body keeps reaching for that air because it knows one fundamental truth - without it, there is no life. That's what Jesus is talking about when He says "apart from me you can do nothing." He's not just suggesting a better way to live - He's telling us that He's as essential to our spiritual life as breath is to our physical life. Real dependence on Christ isn't something we achieve; it's something we awaken to. Faith in Jesus is the same way but the only difference is this… we’re already dead. Spiritually, we’re dead in our sin. This what makes faith so interesting to me… because it’s not I’m living my life independently from God, and I have some sort of life right now, and God catches me right before I die and saves me.. NO!!.. I’m already dead in my sins. I’m already dead and when I put faith and trust in Jesus Christ, just like Paul tells us in Ephesians, I am resurrected with Him. I want my life to be so intertwined with Christ that depending on Him becomes as natural as breathing. Each and every day, through abiding, I want my dependence on Him to grow deeper. That's why I love what Paul prays in Ephesians 1:17: "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better."

That’s my greatest desire. Not just to know Christ, not just to follow Christ, but to be in such deep union with Him that each day, my desire for Him grows stronger. That’s abiding.. to me. Because here's the thing - when you're growing in dependence on Christ, you can't help but live differently. It's unavoidable. Growing dependence always leads to a life that looks nothing like the life we lived before we knew Christ. When hate creeps into your heart, you recognize it: "Lord, that isn't a vine from you, I repent and seek your love.” When you're tempted to speak negatively of others: "Lord, that isn't a vine from you, I repent and seek your love.” When you catch yourself putting others down: "Lord, that isn't a vine from you, I repent and seek your love."

Growing dependence always leads us to live differently, and when we begin to recognize actions and loves in our life that are not of Christ... those moments are when God prunes us. Jesus says, "Every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” Are you ok with that? That's a tough question, isn't it? Are you ok to be pruned by the Holy Spirit? Because to be pruned is to be surrendered to the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in your life. Paul tells the Galatians, "The desires of the flesh are against the Spirit and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other." Part of the Holy Spirit's work in the Christian's life, in this process to make his creation Christ like, is pruning out sin. But here's our biggest problem - …..we don't want to name our sin. Jesus reminds us of this when He says, "Light has come into the world, but people loved their darkness instead of light." Our natural inclination is to keep our sin in the shadow. There isn’t any freedom in that. Because here is what we do.. When we hide our sin, We make sin theoretical. Theres no practical practice of naming sin in our life. We come to the altar and pray these nice, safe, general prayers: "Oh God, I am a sinful person, forgive me of all my sins." Then we get up, dust ourselves off, and feel holy just because we admitted we're like everybody else - …… we’re broken. But have you ever notices that - it's easier to live a surface-level Christian life than to go deeper. It's easier to mumble "forgive all my sins" than to look in the mirror and say: "God, I need to confess how I've been treating people with contempt in my heart Lord, I need to face this bitter, self-righteous attitude I've been carrying” Father, I need to be honest about how I've been putting everything else before my time with you” As long as sin stays nameless and faceless, you'll ignore it. Every time. Well Jesus, just forgive me." "For what?" "For my sins." "Which ones? That's no different than wearing dirty clothes and going around telling people you're dirty but you don't know where the smell is coming from. Remember what Jesus said - when the Holy Spirit comes, He will do what? He will convict the world of sin. Nameless sin isn't conviction... it's just guilt. There's a world of difference between the two. Conviction points to something specific, something we can actually address. When we just say "Lord, forgive all my sins" without letting the Holy Spirit show us what needs to change, we're just swimming in guilt without moving toward growth. Think of it this way - real conviction is like a doctor's diagnosis. A good doctor doesn't just say "You're sick." They tell you exactly what's wrong so it can be healed. The Holy Spirit works the same way. He doesn't just leave us feeling bad; He shows us exactly what needs to change. He gets specific: "That comment you made about your coworker? That wasn't love." "The way you ignored that person in need? That wasn't my heart." "That attitude you're carrying? That's not from me.” When the Holy Spirit actually convicts us - when He shows us these specific areas where we need to change - that's when real transformation happens. You see, church, transformation doesn’t happen until what? Until were honest about where we are. I want saved until when.. until my eyes were open that I did not know Jesus. Until my eyes were opened to the way I was living my life. And I needed a savior. when we’re totally honest about our sin, That’s when we start living differently. That's when we start bearing real fruit. Church, here's the hard truth: growing dependence always changes you. It has to. If following Jesus isn't changing you, you might not be following Jesus. If you can spend time with Him and walk away without a list of things you need to get right, you probably didn't really spend time with Him. Because He's perfect! And in His perfection, He has a standard that you and I are to navigate our lives by. But that standard will have no authenticity if we're not willing to be pruned from the things that are not of Him. You know what? I thank God for His pruning. Yes, it hurts. Yes, it's uncomfortable. But it's necessary because it brings life and fruit in our lives. But even more importantly - pruning proves that God loves you and me.

And that's where we discover something remarkable about abiding in Christ. It's not just about having a life-giving connection or growing in dependence - it's about living differently even when it hurts. Because sometimes, that different way of living shows up in the most unexpected places - like finding joy in the middle of the pruning, joy in the middle of the pain. I know what you're thinking - joy in suffering? That sounds like an oxymoron. And yet, look at what Scripture tells us: James writes with boldness, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds." Not if, but whenever. Paul goes even further - "I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” And right here in our passage, Jesus tells us, "I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.” So what is this Christian joy? Yes, Galatians tells us it's a fruit of the Spirit. But to really understand it, we need to look at Jesus. Do you know what brought Him joy? It wasn't comfort. Look at the cross… no comfort there. It wasn't ease. What in his ministry was easy? The single thing that brought Jesus joy was and still is, doing the Father's will. That was the center of Jesus’s joy. I think about my kids, and this shift in their hearts over the years. When they were little, man, they couldn't wait to help mom and me with anything. I'd say, "Can someone grab my shoes?" and suddenly it was like a race - three kids sprinting to be the first one to help, arguing over who got to serve dad. They'd come back with these huge grins, giggling, just delighting in the fact that they'd done something that made their father happy. They found joy in my joy. Then as they grew older, there was a time recently before we moved when I took all three to olive garden. And When it came time to pay, I realized I needed my wallet from the car - you know how they have those phone payment things now, but ours wasn't working. So I asked, "Would someone be kind enough to run out to the car and grab my wallet?" And you know what happened? Instead of fighting over who got to help, they fought over who didn't have to go. Abby was the first one - finger straight to her nose, "Not it!” What happened to that delight in doing the father's will? You know, sometimes I look at that change in my kids and I have to wonder - isn't that exactly what happens in our relationship with God? That eager delight we once had in serving Him sometimes fades into reluctant obligation. And over time, what happens? We get burned out. Church, I've got to remind you of something important - the ministry you serve in? It's not for me. It's not even for the church. You serve for the delight of doing the Father's will.A And I know it can get tough. I know it can get strenuous. I know you can get burned out. I've been there. We've all been there. And maybe that's why these words from spiritual giants of our faith hit so hard: John Piper reminds us, "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him... The chief end of man is to glorify God BY enjoying Him forever.” David Platt challenges us further: "We are settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves when the central message of Christianity is actually about abandoning ourselves.” And Francis Chan gets right to the heart of it: "The reality is that most of us know we should have a more intimate relationship with God but don't want to put in the effort. We are banking on the fact that He is loving enough to get us into heaven, which He is." What if serving within the church wasn't just checking boxes on a to-do list? What if it became the place where we discovered that infinite joy Lewis talked about? What if every time you served, instead of asking "What do I have to do?" you asked "How can I delight my Father's heart today?"

But look at Jesus - His delight was to please the Father. His joy wasn't about happiness; it was about abandoning everything, all of himself, into the loving arms of God the Father. His joy was tethered to doing His Father's will, and He longs for us to experience that same joy.

But here's the question that changes everything: How do we experience this joy? You see, joy isn't something we manufacture or chase after. Joy was born in you the day Christ was born in you. I like to think if it this way… Joy isn’t something we chase, it is someone who has chased us first. The question is… Have you been caught? Think about that - just like a newborn's first cry announces new life, joy announces the new life of Christ in us. I remember the day my life changed because I was saved... it wasn't sorrow I cried, it wasn't happiness I felt - it was pure, uncontainable joy that poured out. Joy overflowed out of me, because Jesus was born within me. Joy wasn't something achieved; it's something I received, when my heart was given life and I was born again. And you know what? That same joy that flooded my heart that day - it's meant to flood through us into the lives others.

As Peter comes up, I want to close with this reminder... You know, as we're heading into Christmas, it's easy to think about all the joy we want to receive - the presents, the family time, the special moments. But Jesus flips the script on us here in verses 11 and 12. He tells us something incredible: "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” Did you catch that connection? Jesus links complete joy with loving others. It's like He's saying, "You want to experience the fullness of joy? Start giving it away." But here's the key - what are you sharing? What are you giving? You're not just sharing happy feelings or good wishes - you're sharing Christ himself. The joy you're sharing is the same joy that changed your life - it's Jesus. Remember those grape seeds from earlier? We wanted to just enjoy the fruit and spit away the seeds. I wanted the good stuff, but I didn’t want what I thought was bad, or work. But Jesus is showing us that true joy works exactly the opposite way - it grows when we share Him in others' lives. When we share Christ, we're planting seeds of real, lasting joy. This Christmas, what if we shifted our focus? Instead of asking "What will bring me joy?" what if we asked "Whose life can I plant joy into?" What if, as living sanctuaries of his very presence, we become Joy-Givers! Maybe it's that neighbor who's spending Christmas alone. Maybe it's that family member who's really hard to love right now. Maybe it's that coworker who's struggling through the holiday season. When Jesus says "Love each other as I have loved you," He's not giving us a comfortable suggestion - He's showing us the path to complete joy. And here's the beautiful thing: just like those grape seeds that seemed like such an inconvenience actually held the power for new life, every difficult moment of choosing to love someone else holds the potential for joy to multiply. And it can begin right here… in our little congregation. Ad each of us, share Jesus with one another. Let's walk out of here today with this challenge: This Christmas season, don't just look for joy - Plant the joy of Christ that’s in you, in others. Because when we love others like Jesus loved us, we're not just spreading joy - we're experiencing the complete joy Jesus promised. And I believe, that’s better than any Christmas present under the tree. Amen? Let’s pray… *