Dial In with Jonny Ardavanis - Dial In - John 15:1-11 (Ep. 39)

Episode Date: May 26, 2020

Dial In is a devotional series with the intention of helping followers of Christ understand God’s word and love Him more. Jonny seeks to communicate the profound depth of scripture in a digestible and condensed format each weekday. The goal of the podcast is that our “minds would be renewed” as we behold who God is in His word. In this series, Jonny is walking sequentially through the Gospel of John.In this episode, Jonny covers John 15:1-11 where Jesus tells his disciples 10 times to “abide in Him.”Those who have been saved by Jesus are called to abide in Jesus. Apart from abiding and remaining in Him, Jesus tells us that “we can do nothing.”Jesus doesn’t leave us in ambiguity, He tells us plainly how we practically can abide in him.Verse 7: “abide in my words.”Watch VideosVisit the Website Follow on InstagramFollow on Twitter

Hey guys, my name is Johnny Artavanis and this is Dial In. We are now in the final moments of Jesus' life before his arrest and crucifixion. Our passage is John chapter 15 verses 1 through 11. Let's dial in. John chapter 15 verses 1 through 11. I am the true vine and my father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away. John chapter 15 verses 1 through 11. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 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. If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers, and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. Verse 2. Now let me set the scene for you. In John chapter 14, Jesus had told the disciples that he was going to be arrested and murdered. But he tells them, don't let your hearts be troubled because I'm going to prepare a place for you in heaven and I'm going to send my spirit. Chapter 14 concludes with Jesus saying, come, let us arise and go from here.

So in chapter 15, we are no longer in the upper room. Jesus and the disciples had begun their walk through Jerusalem, headed out the east side of the city toward the garden of Gethsemane. And at this garden, Judas will come up and kiss him to betray him. Roman soldiers would arrest him, and there he would be led away to be tried and murdered. So back to our text. In verse 1 of chapter 15, we see the seventh and final I am statement in John's gospel. Jesus says, I am the true vine, and my father is the vine dresser. So am the true vine and my father is the vine dresser.

So Jesus is the vine. His father is the vine dresser. And then there are two other characters in this analogy from Jesus. He says that there are branches that bear fruit and branches that bear no fruit. The branches that bear fruit are pruned and the branches that don't bear fruit are cut off and thrown into the fire. So we're going to talk about what Jesus means by that, but we're going to focus primarily on a word that Jesus says 10 times in this passage, abide. What does that mean? Maybe you're familiar with that term or with that idea or even what Jesus says in this passage, but we're going to talk very practically about how we do that. In verse 2,

Jesus says, every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he, the vine dresser or the father, takes away. And every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes so that it may bear more fruit. So the branches that don't bear fruit are cut off and taken away. And the branches that do bear fruit are pruned. Jesus isn't saying, listen here, that those who don't bear fruit lose their salvation because in John chapter 6, Jesus says that no one can possibly lose their salvation. All that the Father has given to me will come to me and I'll lose none of them. But what Jesus is saying is that those who do not bear fruit were never saved in the first place. Many might say that they know they are a Christian

because they remember a past event where they raised a hand or prayed a prayer or walked an aisle or they grew up in the truth. But Jesus tells us repeatedly throughout the Gospels and here, moments before his death, that the way to know if someone is saved is if they bear the fruit of obedience. Every single Christian bears fruit. That is the only way you can know if someone is a Christian, not by remembering a past event, but by witnessing the fruit of a transformed life. This is not about perfection. This is about the direction of those who are attached to the

vine, who is Jesus Christ. Jesus then says that those who bear fruit are pruned. What does that mean? It means that Jesus, because he is after further growth in the life of those who he has saved, he refines and purifies us by putting things in our life that will cause us to be more dependent upon the vine. That's Jesus. God works in our life to cut out sin and make us more like him. This is often a painful thing, yet an exhibition of the love of God who desires our ultimate joy, as we will see in verse 11. God doesn't just give us a stamp of approval when we are saved and say, see you later, see you in heaven. No, he desires more for us than that. He desires to conform us

to his own image. And that's why Ephesians 2.10 says, you are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works. This is a constant theme throughout the scripture. God saved you and God saved me in order that we might be holy. We are justified by faith alone, but not a faith that is alone. We are justified unto works. This is the mandate of Christ who saves us and changes us to bear fruit. Now, okay, hold on then. God's desire for our life is that we bear fruit, that we become more like him. Then how are we pruned? How are we refined? How can you and I, if we're in Christ, bear more fruit? Jesus is gracious and kind, so he tells us the answer. Verse four and five, abide in me and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I'm 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. We are refined and we are shaped by God as we abide in him. Maybe you've heard this many times that you and I are called, if we're in Christ, to abide in Jesus Christ. But what does this even mean? I don't want to just say things that are true if we don't understand how we do that. How can you and I as Christians practically abide in Jesus? Once again, Jesus tells us how to do that. In verse seven, he says, if you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. Listen here. You and I abide in Jesus Christ when we abide

in his words. Jesus is telling his disciples to abide in him, but he had just told them that he is about to leave. So how can they, how can you abide in Jesus when we cannot see him, when he is no longer with us physically? The answer is by abiding in and saturating our minds and hearts and lives with his word. When we perpetually permeate our hearts and minds with the words of God, we are abiding in God. And thankfully for the Christian, the words of Jesus don't abide in us without effect. Isaiah 55, 11 says that the word of God doesn't return void and it won't in your life or my life. The time invested in God's word brings about more fruit in our life. When Jesus's words abide in us, sanctification happens. That means we become more like Jesus. Why is that the case? Because apart from the Spirit of God, we can do nothing. And God's Spirit works through His Word. Jesus says in John 6, 63,

It is the Spirit who gives life. The flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and life. The Spirit of God gives life through the Word of God. Abiding in Jesus by reading and memorizing Scripture strengthens my faith because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ. And when the words of God are in my head, God's Spirit takes that truth and uses it to change my life. The Christian faith

is a thinking faith and God has given us a mind. He has given us volition and emotion and desire and a will. And the way that God changes us into his image is when the Holy Spirit takes the words of God and makes those words effective when they are attached to our mind with understanding. And then Jesus conforms us in that process to himself. If you're a Christian, Jesus said that the father is going to refine you and make you more like himself. And the way that he does that is through trials and through his word and his spirit. I ask you even now, do you abide in Jesus Christ? Are you abiding in his word? Jesus says, apart from him, you can do nothing. Are you trying to live the Christian life on your own? Jesus says,

you can't do that. You can't become more like Jesus without Jesus, but you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you as you abide in his word and through the power of his spirit. Stay dialed in.