Abide in Him

Abide in Him

John 15:1-8

Introduction: Jesus is speaking about the disciples’ life in Jesus through an analogue of the vine and its branches. In Ussuriysk we have a wild vine and it doesn’t bear much fruit. When we lived in Romania, outside of our apartment there were kilometers of vine with a lot of fruits on them; red grapes and yellow grapes. Here in this passage, Jesus is talking about our life in Him and how we shall grow in Him.

v. 1

& Jesus is the vine

& My (Jesus’) Father is the gardener

v. 2

& He (the gardener) cuts off every branch in me (Jesus – the vine) that bears no fruit

& The branch that does bear fruit (stops bear fruit AMP), He prunes (cleans) so that it will be even more fruitful

ð  Every year you need to cut off the branches that are dry and bear no fruit. This is not something that is done for beauty but so that the vine shall be able to bear more fruit. A dry branch does not add something good to the vine but instead it hinders the growth – it covers the sun, it can cover the possibility for the vine to get water.

ð  The branches you cleanse and prune every summer so that they shall bear more fruit. You don’t cut them off, but take away the bad things

This is an analogue for us so that we can understand our life in Christ. As we grow in Him, the Holy Spirit reveals things in us that are not pleasing to Him. He wants us to get rid of these things and those times can be tough for us:

1. Times when we don’t hear God, and when we don’t feel His presence - never give up!

& “Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always” (1Chron 16:11)

& “You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water” (Ps 63:1)

Sometimes we feel like we are walking in the spiritual desert without water (water is a picture of the Holy Spirit). But in those times, we shall not give up! We need to go on and seek God, because He is there, closer than you think.