John 15

John 15:1-8:
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 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. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will[ ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

The vine is the trunk of the plant that grows out of the ground. Vineyard keepers traditionally keep the vine at waist length–36 to 42 inches. The vine ends in a large gnarl from which branches grow in either direction along the trellis.
The word “abide” comes from the Greek: meno, which means “to remain in”. All who are truly born of God are “in Christ.”
When Jesus said that those who abide in Him could ask for whatever they wished and it would be done, the presupposition was that those who so abided would be asking for God’s will to be done. People abiding in Christ are conformed to Him. Did Jesus heal everyone who came to Him? No. Did He perform miracles on a day-to-day basis as might be required in a job? No. Was life centered on the supernatural, or rather on doing His father’s will? To him who has an ear to hear, the answer is clear.

What do branches do? Do they produce fruit? No. They do nothing. They cling to the vine. That’s it. When they cling to the vine, Jesus life pours through them from The Vine, through the branches, out to the twigs and leaves and produces fruit. The branches are merely vessels. Clinging to the vine and allowing Jesus life to flow through them. Jesus gives life and bears fruit, but only if the branches remain clinging to the vine.
Apart from clinging to the vine, so Jesus can do His work us, we can do nothing of significance. If we try to break away from The Vine and do stuff on our own, it will amount to nothing. Jesus lived in a cultural context where Roman oppression and societal conflict was the norm. The Jews were expecting a Messiah to save them and expected Jesus to fulfill that role. Jewish culture at the time was at a boiling point, so Jesus must have felt immense pressure.
Jesus showed us the way to mental health when he “often withdrew to the wilderness to pray”. His answer to life’s turmoil was to rest in God’s presence in silence and solitude. (Btw, he didn’t bring scrolls of scripture to exegete, but that’s a controversial topic for another time)
He made it clear that when we pray, to “go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father”. Whether we go into our room, on a retreat, or into the wilderness, the key to mental health is silently enjoying the presence of God.
“Silence is God’s first language; everything else is a poor translation.” -Faith Forward

"Cultivation in the Christian life is about welcoming the tender hands of the gardener," she (Amy-Orr Ewing) said. She cited John 15 regarding how the hands of God are at work cultivating His communities of disciples. "We are grafted from Jesus himself," she added.
She spoke about the "weather system" used by God such as storms and disruptions. According to her, it was written in the scripture that "Jesus doesn't prevent storms from coming" but rather "He cultivated His people to overcome it." "Cultivation is recognizing the time that we're in and understanding the impact of the weather system on our community," she explained.
According to her, from the 20th century onwards, people got to mass-produce. "Machine-like agriculture has been the same thing in the Church," she claimed. She criticized the 'mechanized mass production' approach to religion. "The Church fights the seasons so that we can just mass-produce so that we can consume, consume, consume, and within agriculture that's destroyed soil, it's yielded fruit that isn't so tasty," she said. "Resist the impetus to insist on a perpetual summer or constant harvest if we're going to agree that God is good," she encouraged. "Let the gardener do His will," she added. She believed that people must loosen up and let the Holy Spirit do His work. She then cited the bible on John 3:5-8 saying "Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God..." -Cyrel Tajanlangit ; Christianity Daily 3.21.22

We cannot be truly fruitful in life, unless we rest in the presence of God.
This really is such a simple principle, but how many of us actually practice it? I didn’t. And when I did, it wasn’t nearly enough. I didn’t even know what abide actually meant at first! Not a word we use a lot nowadays.

False Christians cannot understand what Jesus is saying in this verse. They wonder, “What kind of Christians are these people? They can’t do anything more than eat and drink, work in their homes, take care of their children, and push a plow. We can do all that and better.”

False Christians want to something different and special—something above the everyday activities of an ordinary person. They want to join a convent, lie on the ground, wear sackcloth garments, and pray day and night. The believe these works are Christian fruit and produce a holy life.

Accordingly, they believe that raising children, doing housework, and performing other ordinary chores aren’t part of a holy life. For false Christians look to the external appearances and don’t consider the source of their works—whether or not they grow out of the vine.

But in the passage this verse is taken from. Christ says that the only works that are good fruit are those accomplished by people who are first in Him and remain in Him. What true believers do and how they live are considered good fruit—even if these works are more menial than loading a wagon with manure and driving it away.

Those false believers can’t comprehend this. They see these works as ordinary, everyday tasks. But there is a big difference between a believer’s works and an unbeliever’s works—even if they do the exact same thing. For an unbeliever’s works don’t spring from the vine—Jesus Christ. That’s why unbelievers cannot please God (cf. Romans 8:1-17). These works are not Christian fruit. But because believer’s works come from faith in Christ, they are all the result of genuine faith

--Martin Luther, Faith Alone

This chapter (John 15:1-17) describes for us the basic nature and process of disciple-making and discipleship which leads to building up people for the Kingdom of Heaven (lasting fruit) and transforming society. We will bring up five points on fruit bearing in our journey through this beautiful Bible passage as follows:
1. Connect properly to Christ, the True Vine.
2. Consistently keep connected to Christ, the True Vine, through the careful and regular practice of the key spiritual disciplines.
3. Cultivate fruit. What is fruit bearing in Christian faith and practice?
4. Context and contest of living as a fruit bearing true disciple of Jesus.
5. Change and impact: at the personal level, in married and family life; in business or public service; responsibly in your city, country and continent and beyond.
First then, we are to “connect to the True Vine”. This is where true fruit bearing in Christian belief and practice all begins – a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus. As the branches, we must get connected properly to the vine, the stem – the Lord Jesus.
We should not be misled in this. Sometime ago, we visited a FGBMFI, an inter-denominational Christian Fellowship in a city in the Central Region of the country.
A distinguished lawyer who had come to enjoy so much joy, peace and love in his new found close relationship with Christ remarked: “The Church leaders didn’t tell me the truth. I served as a lay leader. I chaired many of the church harvests and Church Ministry programmes, giving out good money on such occasions, but I was kept comfortable in my sin, heading to populating hell. I didn’t believe on the Lord Jesus as my Saviour, Redeemer God, and sin bearer. Now, I have experienced new birth in Christ – “and ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven”. This brother has become connected properly to Christ, the True Vine.
We should not be deceived. There are a number of religious things and ideas which people lean on but these cannot get them connected properly to Christ (like the branch connected to the vine illustration in this passage). These things would include:
• Personal heritage: my great grandfather brought this church denomination to our town; and my uncle was a well-known pastor. This doesn’t automatically get you connected to Christ.
• My seed sowing of good money will get me connected into a saving relationship with Christ. Sorry, “money cannot buy saving grace of Christ nor cleanse your sin.” “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it” (Ephesians 2:8&9 NLT). However, true believers saved by grace must necessarily support Evangelism, Missions and other Church work.
• Post or position in the Church Council or other position as a leader. Again, sorry, mere leadership service or working in the church without personal repentance from sin and faith in Christ to save you and give you eternal life cannot take you to Heaven. The Lord Jesus told Nicodemus, a religious Jewish leader, “you must be born again.” That is what will get Nicodemus connected properly to Christ, the True Vine.
• Being a staunch member of a church denomination (which has become your religious tribe you are devoted to) cannot save you. Neither how long a church member you are can save you. - Jude Hama

John 15:13:
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Intercession is important for the church because we're called to love each other. And loving each other is laying down our lives.,” says April, “‘Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.’ (John 15:13 NIV). We lay our lives down in different ways, as we serve God and we serve people. One way we serve is in prayer.
“We're laying down focus on our own needs and situations, and we're laying down our time. One can never dictate the time when we're willing to pray. It could be during the night hours or the early morning, it could interrupt at any time. Sometimes it's a matter of a minute, a spontaneous prayer, and other times longer. Because we're called to love one another deeply, we are a Kingdom of love becoming more and more like Jesus, then we are all called to pray. Some are called to be intercessors as a ministry, just like some are called to pastor as a ministry, but we are all called to pray.”

“Intercession is important for the church because we're called to love each other. And loving each other is laying down our lives.,” says April, “‘Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.’ (John 15:13 NIV). We lay our lives down in different ways, as we serve God and we serve people. One way we serve is in prayer.
“We're laying down focus on our own needs and situations, and we're laying down our time. One can never dictate the time when we're willing to pray. It could be during the night hours or the early morning, it could interrupt at any time. Sometimes it's a matter of a minute, a spontaneous prayer, and other times longer. Because we're called to love one another deeply, we are a Kingdom of love becoming more and more like Jesus, then we are all called to pray. Some are called to be intercessors as a ministry, just like some are called to pastor as a ministry, but we are all called to pray.” -Catch The Fire

“Intercession is important for the church because we're called to love each other. And loving each other is laying down our lives.............We're laying down focus on our own needs and situations, and we're laying down our time. One can never dictate the time when we're willing to pray. It could be during the night hours or the early morning, it could interrupt at any time. Sometimes it's a matter of a minute, a spontaneous prayer, and other times longer. Because we're called to love one another deeply, we are a Kingdom of love becoming more and more like Jesus, then we are all called to pray. Some are called to be intercessors as a ministry, just like some are called to pastor as a ministry, but we are all called to pray.......He's created these incredible prayer movements that are in many nations around the world and they're only growing. But in addition to these large prayer gatherings online or prayer movements, God is also working in a very different way. He's spontaneously bringing together small groups of people; two, three, or four. They get together and they're praying, and He's speaking with them. I believe that the Kingdom is coming through all these hundreds of different small prayer groups" --April Stevenson; Catch The Fire

John 15:15-16:
No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.
16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.

Fruit is your only permanent deposit in heaven. Real fruit lasts!

Dec 2, 2022: Cold Case Christianity: How To Be “In” The Social Media World But Not “Of” The Social Media World
Mainstream media outlets (now sometimes referred to as the “Legacy Media”) used to decide who was a celebrity and who was not. That all changed with the invention of social media. You don’t have to be a movie star or politician to gain the attention of the culture anymore. Many of us now have large social media platforms that rival the notoriety of celebrities in the past. This is reflected in the rise of social media influencers. The lure of popularity tempts all of us; few people wish they had fewer followers. But the next time you find yourself tempted by celebrity, remember the words of Jesus. If we are truly following Him and speaking His words into the world around us, we shouldn’t expect to be popular:
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.” (John 15:18-21)

“Ye have not chosen me,” He says, “but I have chosen you.” Grace such as that is ineffable. For what were we so long as Christ had not yet chosen us, and we were therefore still destitute of love? For he who hath chosen Him, how can he love Him? Were we, think you, in that condition which is sung of in the psalm: “I had rather be an abject in the house of the Lord, than dwell in the tents of wickedness”? Certainly not. What were we then, but sinful and lost? We had not yet come to believe on Him, in order to lead to His choosing us; for if it were those who already believed that He chose, then was He chosen Himself, prior to His choosing. But how could He say, “Ye have not chosen me,” save only because His mercy anticipated us?

Here surely is at fault the vain reasoning of those who defend the foreknowledge of God in opposition to His grace, and with this view declare that we were chosen before the foundation of the world, because God foreknew that we should be good, but not that He Himself would make us good. So says not He, who declares, “Ye have not chosen me.” For had He chosen us on the ground that He foreknew that we should be good, then would He also have foreknown that we would not be the first to make choice of Him. For in no other way could we possibly be good: unless, forsooth, one could be called good who has never made good his choice. What was it then that He chose in those who were not good? For they were not chosen because of their goodness, inasmuch as they could not be good without being chosen. Otherwise grace is no more grace, if we maintain the priority of merit. Such, certainly, is the election of grace, whereof the apostle says: “Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant saved according to the election of grace.” To which he adds: “And if by grace, then is it no more of works; otherwise grace is no more grace.” Listen, thou ungrateful one, listen: “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.” Not that thou mayest say, I am chosen because I already believed. For if thou wert believing in Him, then hadst thou already chosen Him. But listen: “Ye have not chosen me.” Not that thou mayest say, Before I believed I was already doing good works, and therefore was I chosen. For what good work can be prior to faith, when the apostle says, “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin”? What, then, are we to say on hearing such words, “Ye have not chosen me,” but that we were evil, and were chosen in order that we might be good through the grace of Him who chose us? For it is not by grace, if merit preceded: but it is of grace: and therefore that grace did not find, but effected the merit.
--St Augustine

John 15:26:
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

Scripture tells us that he, the Holy Spirit, was sent from the Father to testify to the disciples of Jesus. He is called the Comforter (the Helper) and is referred to as he [Masculine (gender) Singular Nominative (case of the subject) Pronoun]. Yes, he is a person.