Bob Josey - 6B The Vine and Branches Lesson #2 - Jan 16, 2022

SLIDES

Thriving in Jesus

6C – The Abundant Life - Lesson 3

The Vine and the Branches

Introduction

There are many areas of life where obedience to rules and guidelines is expected but if the rules and guidelines are not followed, there may be consequences. One area of life that many men and women I know are familiar with is the United States military. It has a military code of conduct called Uniform Code of Military Justice or UCMJ in which members of the military are expected to follow. Leaning about the UCMJ begins when one is a new recruit. The key component of this is learning discipline. Military discipline is defined as “the strict and precise observance of the order and rules established by the military.” It also encompasses respect for and loyalty to a properly constituted authority. In this context discipline does not mean to punish or penalize for disobedience. It means to train or develop by instruction and exercise qualities such as self-control, character, and efficiency. Thus, military discipline is a state of mind and a lifestyle. U.S. General George S. Patton once said in one of his famous speeches that, “There is only one sort of discipline, perfect discipline.”

The U.S. military considers it a dereliction of duty when soldiers are unable or unwilling to perform the job assigned (written of spoken) to military personnel. It is also a dereliction of duty to perform a job poorly.

There are consequences for not following the UCMJ. These consequences can be things like a warning, a document put in your personal file, a dishonorable discharge, knocked down in rank, pay cut, court martial, confinement to the base or ship, confident to the brig, time in a federal prison for military personnel, and even death for treason.

In other areas of life such as business, industry, government, organizations, sports, etc. everyone to include management, administration, rank and file, volunteers, etc is expected to obey certain rules, regulations, and guidelines. It just a part of life.

For Isarel the code of conduct was called the Torah or the Mosaic Law. For the last 2000 years believers in Jesus also have had a code of conduct of rules and guidelines to follow, adhere to, and obey. These rules and guidelines are found in the New Covenant. As with the United States military, believers in Jesus should also learn how to discipline themselves. Paul certainly did as we see in

1 Corinthians 9:27, “…I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”

One of the qualifications of a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is to be beyond reproach. To not be beyond reproach would disqualify him from, being a minister for Jesus. To be beyond reproach is a qualification for elders and deacons. Even though the only qualification or requirement for an individual to be a Christian is to trust in Christ and Christ alone a Savior, one of our goals should be to be beyond reproach.

Discipline is training oneself to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior. In Paul’s case, he was disciplining himself to produce godliness in his life that is laid out in the New Covenant. Godliness is a result of being obedience to the New Covenant.

Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:7b “… discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness;” Again, being godly comes from obedience and obedience is a result of disciplining oneself.

Every two years we have the Winter Olympics and two years after that the Summer Olympics. Elite Olympic athletes know that success doesn’t happen overnight. They have the self-discipline to put in early morning training sessions, to sacrifice social activities in exchange for more practice, and to power through sore muscles and exhaustion. They also practice self-discipline when it comes to their diets, making sure they only fuel their bodies with beneficial nutrients.

Discipline is supposed to be a state of mind and a way of life in the military and for athletes. One of the biggest differences between disciplining oneself in the military and disciplining oneself as an athlete is that they do it from human strength and human will. The believer, however, has the power of the Holy Spirit to help us discipline ourselves to be obedient. There are nine fruit of the Spirit. What is number 9? Yes, it’s Self-control.

We are now going to see there is a connection between disciplining ourselves as believers in Jesus with the power of the Holy Spirit and the illustration of the vine, the branches, and the Vine Keeper. Let’s read John 15:1-2a. 1“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.2“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away;”

During our last study we learned that Israel is portrayed in the Old Testament as vine and a vineyard. Isaish said the Israel as vine or vineyard was supposed to produce the fruit of justice and righteousness. They refused to do so. The leaders of Israel were supposed to teach truth and be examples to the nation, but they were really false shepherds. Therefore, God sent Jesus to be the true and obedient vine. He would be their example of righteousness and justice. He was there to provide spiritual nourishment to the nation. Just as Jesus accomplished what Adam failed to do, He would also accomplish as the true vine what Isarel failed to do.

God the Father is the Vineyard Keeper. He is responsible for managing and maintaining healthy vines in the vineyard so there would be much fruit. The first problem He had to deal with was unproductive branches. First Jesus said all the branches, productive or not, were in Him. Only believers can be in Jesus. So, these unproductive branches are believers. The verb takes away can also be translated lifts up. Lifts up fits the context better than takes away. When an unproductive branch is lying on the ground and unproductive, the Vineyard keeper lifts up the branch and ties it to a trellis with string. This allows both sides of the leaves and the branches to receive air and sunlight. This will give the grape branch the opportunity to be productive. This occurs during growing season.

There are unproductive believers in Jesus. The Father. to encourage the unproductive believer to become productive, will speak to the unproductive believer through reading and study of Scripture, sermons, Bible studies, pod casts, etc. to try to encourage the believer to begin to produce spiritual fruit for the Him. As the vineyard keeper is gentle to the unproductive branch, the Father is speaks to the unproductive believer in a soft and gentle manner. He wants the branch or believer that bears no fruit to begin producing fruit.

In verse 2b we now see the Father, after helping the unproductive branches to become productive, begin to help productive branches to continue to be productive or to become more productive. John 15:2b “and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.” The following is from an internet article on the website PennStateExtenion.edu entitled Dormant Cane and Spur Pruning in Bunch Grape Vineyards.

“The pruning process does not occur during growing season but after the harvest during the dormant season. Grapevine pruning is an important and labor-intensive vineyard management task. Grapevine buds contain compressed shoots that will grow and produce a crop in the forthcoming season. Retaining fruitful buds is the primary method of manipulating shoot density and cluster number for the following season. When pruning, it's important to cut away and discard one-year-old wood and to select and retain specific buds for the following season. The results of ineffective or incomplete dormant pruning are excessive shoot density and a congested canopy that impairs airflow and light penetration, creating a greater susceptibility to fungal disease. Failing to prune out infected tissues will increase the incidence of wood borne diseases and limit vineyard productivity over time. In the short term, ineffective dormant pruning will compromise crop quantity and quality. In the long term, it will compromise vineyard health and sustainability.”

So from this article we see that after every harvest during dormant season that the branches, called canes, from the previous season should be pruned to allow new growth to occur. If the dead wood remains, then there is less room for the new buds to grow branches and produce grapes. When I first began studying this verse, I initially thought that when the term more was used in relation to the branch that it meant that if last year a branch had two clusters of grapes that next near that it might have four clusters. After thinking through what I have learned about the vine and the branches, that it could mean that by pruning off the dead branches each year. If I ask for and consume an 8 oz glass of water at a restaurant, and want a refill, I would ask if I could have some more water. I’m not asking for 12 oz glass of water, I just asking for a refill of my 8 oz glass.

As we shall see in verse three, the Greek word translated pruned in verse 2 can also be translated clean. The Greek word in question is kathairo. There is an English word that come from that Greek word that means an act of removing by cleansing; ridding of sediment or other undesired elements; purging. Any ideas of what the Englsh word is? Catharsis!

God the Father also prunes, cuts back, or cleans off the dead wood of a believer’s life like a vineyard keeper cuts off the dead wood of a grapevine. The purpose is so that the believer will produce even more spiritual fruit or continue to produce spiritual fruit depending which interpretation is correct. Pruning or cleaning off the dead branches corresponds to the disciplining process that God the Father uses to make believers continue to bear spiritual fruit instead of getting bogged down. It does not involve removing the believer's life, but rather his or her sinful habits, and purifying his or her character and conduct, often through trials (James 1:2-4). No fruit-bearing branch is exempt from this important though sometimes uncomfortable process. The Father's purpose is loving, but the process may be painful.

One of the greatest missionaries of the 19^th century was David Livingston. Livingston was a missionary in Africa before all of Africa was explored and mapped. The Chancellor of the University of Glascow introduced him one day to the young men of that university as God’s missionary, David Livingston. When Livingston stood up and walked to the front of the platform to speak to the group of university men, the students looked at him earnestly. They saw his hair burned crisp under the torrid tropical sun. The saw is body wasted and emaciated from jungle fever. They saw his right arm hanging limp at his side, destroyed by the attack of a ferocious African loin. When the students looked at Livingston, they stood up with one accord in awe and in silence before God’s missionary. Livingston died praying on his knees in a mud hut in Africa.

Did you know that grapevines, in contrast to other types of wood, do not have many uses. Their total value is that they can produce fruit, specifically grapes. Vines do not yield timber from which people can make other things as Ezekiel 15 made clear. Verse 3 says that grape branches are "good for either bearing or burning, but not for building." Similarly, the basic reason believers exist on the earth is to bear spiritual fruit that glorifies God. So, the next time you are struggling with some personal or family issue, remember that God the Father may be in the process of pruning off dead wood so that you can continue to produce spiritual fruit for Him.

Hebrews 12:11 All discipline (from God the Father) for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained (learned self-discipline) by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

Believers in Jesus need continual pruning or cleaning by the Father. Divine care and discipline follow those who have trusted in Jesus as Savior. At this time, as we see in verse three, Jesus assured His disciples that He was not talking about them because they were indeed "already clean."

John 15:3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

At this point they had already been pruned. They had walked with Jesus for three years and had heard and been greatly impacted by the entire message Jesus was preaching. They were producing spiritual fruit at this time. Notice that it is the word that cleanses believers. In our last lesson I spoke about the fact that The Father speaks to us today through the Holy Spirit when we are engaged with the Word. As we are in the process of being disciplined, is first and foremost through Scripture that the Lord speaks to us. He does this as we read and study Scripture but also uses Bible studies, sermons, books, podcasts, etc. that are based on Scripture. The Father can certainly get our attention through these venues as we are being disciplined

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

As the Vineyard keeper prunes or cleanses the vine of dead wood to promote future growth and to produce grapes, the Father disciplines believers by different means to convict us through Word of God of sin in our lives, to inspire holiness, and to promote spiritual growth. When you are going through a rough time in your life, if you are listening to the voice of God through the Word of God, he will convict you that you are being pruned or cleansed for the purpose of continuing to producing spiritual fruit.

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