Stick with Jesus

[Below is the text prepared for my sermon delivered this past Sunday, April 28, during worship with the people and guests of Emma Anderson Memorial Chapel in Topsail, North Carolina. The chapel is a nondenominational ministry. Here is its website. And here is a link to the entire service from this past Sunday.]

John 15:1-8

Jesus tells us today, “I am the true vine…” (John 15:1)

But what does this mean?

In the Old Testament, God’s people, the descendants of Abraham, ancient Israel, are sometimes referred to as “the vine” or “vineyard.” The prophet Isaiah sings about God and His vineyard Israel: “Let me sing for my beloved my love song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and he looked for it to yield grapes…” (Isaiah 5:1-2)

God called His Old Testament people into being so that a people saved by God’s undeserved grace would “bear fruit.”

They would be counted righteous by God NOT on the basis of anything they did, but solely because they trusted in and remained connected to the God Who chose them to be HIS.

And as God’s people, they would bear fruit: God’s life would spring from them for all the world to see. “I am the Lord,” God tells Abraham’s descendants in Isaiah 42:6,  “I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations…”

Ancient Israel was to be God’s vine or vineyard in the world and through it, others would encounter and know the God of the universe who gives new and everlasting life to all who repent and believe in Him. 

But the Old Testament tells us how God’s people rebelled against God, falling into idolatry, the lie of self-sufficiency, and inevitably, treating others with injustice. These are the things that happen when people sever their connections to God.

But, unlike ancient Israel, Jesus is the true vine. Jesus is Israel as Israel was meant to be.

Jesus obeys God’s Law perfectly as ancient Israel was meant to do.

Jesus loves God and loves neighbors, as ancient Israel was meant to do.

Jesus is the light to the nations, as ancient Israel was meant to be.

Because He is the true vine, the true Israel, in Jesus, Who is truly God and truly man, the whole world can see, know, receive faith in, and be connected with God. As Jesus told the apostle Philip, “If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:7)

Now, after identifying Himself as the true vine–the faithful Israel, Jesus tells us: “Every branch in me [that is, everyone who believes in Jesus and draws life from Him. Every branch in me] that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes [literally, the word Jesus uses here is cleanses], that it may bear more fruit. [And then He speaks this Gospel promise TO YOU…] Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.” (John 15:2-3)

There’s been a lot of mischief done with the words of Jesus in today’s lesson. Preachers–and I’ve been guilty of this too–read this passage and ask their congregations, “Are you bearing good fruit?” Then they’ll ask things like: “How many people have you shared the Gospel with in the past week?” “How many poor people have you helped?” “Have you been kind to everyone?” Then the preachers will tell their churches, “Bear good fruit! Amen.”

Those are all good and important things, of course. But none of it is what Jesus is talking about in today’s lesson. Let’s see what He actually does say.

But first, let’s stipulate that we all can confess with King David: “I have been evil from the day I was born; from the time I was conceived, I have been sinful.” (Psalm 51:5, GNT) We’re born sinners, unworthy of life with God.

The good news is that if, by the power of Jesus’ Word given to you through the work of the Holy Spirit, you and I are able to confess the truth that we are sinners AND our faith in Jesus Who died for our sins, then we know that we have passed ALREADY from death into life with God that cannot be taken from us.

If, because of His Gospel Word, you can confess Jesus is your Lord, you can know that you are already made clean by God.

Your death sentence has been commuted and you walk as a free child of God!

Saving faith in Jesus is made possible by the power of the Word from Jesus that He has given to His Church to declare to all the world. And this is the summary of that Word: Jesus Christ has already destroyed the power of sin and death over your life. He did that at the cross and as He did it for the whole world, He did it for you.

In Jesus Christ, all your sins are forgiven.

Fully.

Completely.

This is the Word that cleanses you, that cleans away the impurities of your life, that purges death, that makes you a branch heavy with fruit from Jesus.

In Jesus Christ, you can trust that you are forgiven and free.

Amen?

So, what is Jesus telling you today? Just this. You are not saved by the fruit you bear. But those who are saved will bear fruit.

Jesus doesn’t call you into some holy self-help program in which you bear good fruit to prove yourself righteous and holy. In your own power, you and I could never produce good fruit. Not even moderately OK fruit will sprout from dead branches disconnected from the true vine. Jesus says, “Without Me, you can do nothing.”

The imperative Jesus gives us in today’s lesson is not, “bear fruit,” but, “Abide in me…” Abide in Me.

In the Greek in which John wrote his gospel, the word translated as abide is menein. It means to stick to, hold onto, grasp hold of, never let go.

Jesus promises that if we will hold onto Him, He will flood us with forgiveness, grace, life, and peace, both in the days of this imperfect and fallen world in which bad things happen and in eternity, where we will live in the new heaven and the new earth that Jesus has set aside for all who believe in Him.

And, as we abide in Him, His life and His gospel will flow out from us into the world. We will do the good works He has created for us to do in our everyday lives as parents, grandparents, children, friends, bosses, employees, neighbors.

By the power of Christ’s Gospel Word living in us, we will be a light to the nations.

We will bear His fruit. 

But how do we abide in Jesus and so bear fruit? We abide in Jesus when we show up any time He says, “Come and get my Grace!”

We abide in Jesus when we receive His Word, worship with His people, receive His forgiveness as we confess our sins, and receive His body and blood.

We abide in Jesus when we hold onto Him in hard times and, what may be more difficult, in easy times.

As we receive Jesus’ gifts of Himself, of forgiveness and of new life, we bear fruit. We bear fruit because of Jesus, not because of us. 

How does Jesus’ Word cause good fruit in us? Let me give you an example.

In 2017, a friend of mine, a journalist, gave my name and contact information to another journalist in Washington. The journalist was doing a story and wanted to talk with a cross-section of pastors from around the country. I was nervous during and after the interview and was sure that I had rambled incoherently. But the journalist and I have maintained contact in the succeeding years. Recently, the journalist published a book and I’ve been reading it. In the book, the journalist tells about a past decision made after praying about it, getting good advice, and reading God’s Word, but still not being sure of what to do. The journalist concluded that under such circumstances, if we’re not out to glorify ourselves or harm others or sin in some other way, and if we’re clinging to Him, God will still claim us as His own. After reading that, I wrote a note to say how impressed I was with that statement. The journalist wrote back, “Thank you, Mark! It’s something I think about a lot and I think we talked about it when I interviewed you: not substituting my will for God’s will.”

Friends, I don’t remember saying anything about that in the interview done with me seven years ago, although I know that the journalist kept notes to prove I did. I’m glad that in my basically unconscious state, God caused me to say something helpful.

The point is that, before that interview, I did just what I do whenever I prepare to preach, teach, lead worship, visit a hospital or nursing home, or…talk to a journalist. I connect–I stick to–Jesus and I pray, “Lord, take over. Grant that in all I say and I do and am You will be honored and glorified and that I will do nothing to bring dishonor to Your name.”

Remain in Jesus, friends.

Remain in the true vine Who forgives your sins and has opened life with God and life from God to you.

And if you remain in Jesus, the true vine,…if you hold onto Him, no matter what, you needn’t worry about whether you’re bearing good fruit. Jesus will lead you to where you need to be and to what you need to do.

Hold onto Jesus, turning to Him daily as your God and Savior, and, because of Him, you will bear good fruit. Amen

 

Bearing Fruit (Part 1, Reach Up, Reach In, Reach Out Lenten Series)

[Below is this past Wednesday's first midweek Lenten service for 2023 from Living Water Lutheran Church, along with the text of the message. God bless you.]



John 15:1-8

A few years ago, we rewrote the constitution and bylaws of the congregation. After prayerful consideration, we decided we didn’t need to create a new mission statement for Living Water.

Jesus’ mission for His Church, His great commission, appears explicitly in all four gospels and in the book of Acts. The most famous of these appearances occurs in Matthew 28:19-20. There, the crucified and risen Jesus, just before ascending into heaven, tells the Church: “...go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

We adopted these verses as the mission statement of Living Water Lutheran Church.

Distilling Jesus’ commission even further, we can say that the mission of this congregation and every Christian is to be and to make disciples of Jesus Christ. 

Anything we do as a church that doesn’t reflect or advance this single mission is a waste of time and a waste of life on this earth.

As a church and as individual members of this church, our call–our mission–is to be disciples and to make disciples. Period.

Over time, we’ve identified a pathway, which we believe to be Biblical by which this happens. While and after God reaches down to us in Jesus Christ through His Word and His Sacraments, disciples reach up in worship and prayer, reach in to worship together as a church body and to live in relationships of mutual support and accountability, and reach out to our neighbors with the love and good news of Jesus. Later in this series, we’ll talk about each of these components in detail.

But tonight, I want to talk with you about two questions.

The first is what is a disciple?

The second is what does the life of a disciple look like?

A disciple, quite simply, is a sinner who has been found by God and saved by the grace God gives through the crucified and risen Jesus Christ.

It is God’s Word about Jesus, whether proclaimed to us in Word or through the visible Word of the Sacraments–Holy Baptism and Holy Communion, that make us disciples. Those are the three methods God uses to make disciples.

Nobody ever really decides to follow Jesus.

Jesus tells His disciples, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you…” (John 15:16)

This means that Jesus’ choice is to save anyone who will turn to Him in repentance and faith at the prompting of God’s Word.

John the Baptizer had evidently heard the Word about Jesus while still in his mother’s womb and so, leapt for joy inside his mother when he heard the greeting of Mary, then bearing Jesus in her womb. (Luke 1:41)

Others may not come to faith as quickly as that. They’re more resistant to Christ’s Gospel. The thief on the cross, for example, finally received the gift faith, of discipleship, as he and Christ were being executed. He prayed, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:42-43)

God’s Word assures us that we become Christ’s disciples when we are baptized. Even though John and the thief believed without being baptized, in Baptism, God’s Word connected with the water comes to us and we are crucified and raised with Christ. We are saved, made Christ’s disciples.

The apostle Peter said that the worldwide flood that happened during the time of Noah was a bitty symbol of the big thing that happens in Christian baptism: “baptism…now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ…” (1 Peter 3:21)

The disciple then is that person who, because God’s Word has been given to them, is able to confess Jesus as Lord.

“Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ,” Romans 10:17 tells us.

And we’re told elsewhere in the Bible, “no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’  except by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:3)

Discipleship, everlasting life with God through Jesus, is a gift for which we can take no credit.

Now, to address the second question I mentioned earlier–What does the life of a disciple look like?--I want to go back to why Jesus chooses to make those who believe in Him His disciples.

You see, Jesus doesn’t just save us from sin and death for our own sakes. He has bigger plans than that for His disciples. God doesn’t bring us into some exclusive club to ignore the world around us!

In that passage from John’s gospel I mentioned a moment ago, Jesus says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you [and then Jesus says] so that you might go and bear fruit” (John 15:16) 

Not only did Jesus die on the cross and rise from the dead to save us from sin, death, condemnation, and hell, He also did that so that our lives, transformed by His love, forgiveness, and grace, would bear fruit, would tell the world about Jesus, God the Son!

Now, some Christians hear this and think it means they need to get busy. People like this second-guess their salvation, wondering whether they’re good enough for God and whether by their perceived failure to bear fruit, they ever had Jesus’ salvation or not. They’ll ask, “If I’m a Christian, why am I tempted? Why do I sin? Why do I have doubts? Why do I forget about the needs of others? Why don’t I witness to others about Jesus?” These thoughts come to us because though we are saints, we’re also still sinners. But the more important question for us is to Whom do we turn when assailed by doubt or temptation, when we have sinned, when we fail bear fruit? We turn to the One Who gives new life to us in the first place: Jesus Christ!

When he was dying, Fred Rogers, famously known as Misterrogers and an ordained Presbyterian minister, asked his wife whether she thought he was one of God’s lambs. Rogers questioned his eternal salvation because he thought he maybe hadn’t borne enough good fruit as a Christian. He worried about his good works.

But, friends, hear me on this: The same Savior who saves and justifies you by grace through faith in Christ also produces the fruit of holiness and growth in Christ within you. That’s not your job.

Your call is to turn to Jesus in repentance and faith each day, remaining open to where Christ leads you both within the Church and beyond the Church, and to know that God–and God alone–will cause you to bear fruit, even–and I might say, especially–when you don’t know about it! If you’re doing a thing and wondering, “Am I bearing good fruit for Christ?” you probably aren’t completely. According to Ephesians 2, whatever good works we do as disciples won’t be what we’ve planned, but “which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)

When I was a child, I couldn’t feel my body growing, my voice changing, or the zits growing. My growth and change were beyond my capacity to decide on, control, or influence. I just kept coming to the dinner table where mom and dad prepared dinners to fuel my growth and the growth happened.

Your growth as a disciple of Jesus is all about what God does in you as you show up each day to receive His Word, worship with God’s people, receive the Sacraments. You just “come and get it” and the growth will happen.

You won’t sense growth happening.

You won’t see the fruit you’re bearing.

But it will be happening.

God uses people who gladly hear and receive His Word to be and make disciples.

A few years ago, we identified the process by which God makes and then uses people to be and to make disciples. We said discipleship begins with knowing Jesus Christ as our God, Savior, and Friend. It continues with growing in Christ. This is what God does to us and in us as we turn to Him through Jesus in daily repentance and faith. Then comes showing Christ. Knowing Jesus as Lord and Savior, being daily fortified by His Word, gives us the comfort and the courage to tell others to “Come and see our Savior Jesus. Come and see the One Who knows all about me and loves me anyway.”

Knowing Christ.

Growing in Christ.

Showing Christ.

This is what God does in us so that we can be and make disciples. This is foundational for our journey this Lenten season.

The seed of God’s Word is planted in us. And it is that Word that makes us disciples and in turn, causes us to grow in faith that we might, in turn, make others Christ’s disciples. Amen