BACKGROUND:A disciple’s continual abiding/remaining with Jesus results in abundant fruit bearing life. But those who do not abide/remain face disaster. A branch without life is dead and cut off. It is useless and therefore is thrown into the fire and burned. What did Jesus mean by these symbolic words about vine branches being burned?
These words have been interpreted in at least three ways: (1) The “burned” branches are Christians who have lost their salvation. (But this contradicts many passages of scripture - Romans 8:1., Hebrews 13:5 etc...) (2) The “burned” branches represent Christians who will lose rewards but not salvation at the judgment seat of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:15). (But Jesus spoke here of dead branches; such a branch is thrown away and withers.) (3) The “burned” branches refer to professing Christians who, like Judas, are not genuinely saved and therefore are judged. Like a dead branch, a person without Christ is spiritually dead and therefore will be punished in eternal fire (Matthew 25:46).
Judas was with Jesus; he seemed like a “branch.” But he did not have God’s life in him; therefore he departed; his destiny was like that of a dead branch. In contrast to Judas, if we remain with Jesus (accept Him/live for Him) we will bear much fruit.
Effective prayer is based on faith in Christ and on His words remaining in believers. Christ’s words condition and control such a believer’s mind so that his prayers conform to the Father’s will. Since his prayer is in accord with God’s will, the results are certain—it will be given you.
SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)
My sense is, that verses 7 & 8 are the key to this passage - “If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given you. This is to My Father’s glory that you bear much fruit and you show yourselves to be My disciples.” What is Jesus saying?
#1. Jesus said My words must abide/remain in you.
If you abide in Me and My words abide in you. And Jesus said when we let His words abide in you, His promises to us become a part of your life, something exciting happens. The result is you begin to ask whatever you wish and it’s done.
Prayer and promise(His Words) are always linked together in scripture. When you and I get a hold of what the promises of God are in His word we begin to pray prayers that are inevitably answered. One of the fruits of the Christian life, one of the fruits of abiding in Christ, one of the things that happens in my life and your life when we abide in Christ is our prayers begin to be answered. Because I’m abiding in His word, in His promise.
In your life, do you have a fruit basket, a fruit bucket where you remember the blessings God has given through promises of prayer? Are you writing down God’s answers to prayer in your life? If you don’t you forget them in ten minutes. You forget them. Yet God has given in most of our lives many, many fruits of answered prayer. That says to me I’d better do something about writing it down. Remembering what God’s done. My words abide in you, Jesus said.
#2. Jesus said, my love must abide/remain in you.
How do I do that? Jesus told us in verse 10 “If you obey My commands you will remain in My love just as I have obeyed My Father’s commands and so remain in His love.” How do I abide? How do I say attached to the love of Jesus Christ in my everyday life? Don’t you need that when things go tough at work, when one of your kids comes in and says something totally off the wall, How do you handle this? Don’t you need to be attached to the love of Jesus Christ? I do. How do I say attached? Jesus said obey.
But He gave us more of a picture than that. He said I want to give you a picture of how to do it. I obey Jesus the way Jesus obeyed God. Jesus didn’t just say “obey.” He said, Here’s a picture of how you obey. Obey Me the way I obey God. Not your idea of obedience because it might be all messed up with legalism. My idea of obedience, the way I obey God. Jesus obeyed God within a relationship of trust. Jesus obeyed God because He knew God always knew what was best and He knew that God would always do what was right. Jesus obeyed God because of His love for Him. Jesus said, if you want to abide in My love, here’s how. Look at the way I did what God asked Me to do. Study it. Make a lifetime study of it. And then you do the same thing. The more you do that, the more you’ll stay 100% attached.
#3. Jesus said, my joy must abide/remain in you.
Jesus knew what was going to happen. He knew He was going to the cross the next day. He knew He was going to die a painful death. He knew the physical torture. He knew the emotional torture. He knew the spiritual torture He was going to face. Yet on the night before He was going to die on the cross, Jesus looks at His disciples and says, I want My joy to be in your life. He’s talking about joy.
Don’t miss what Hebrews 12:2 says “Let’s fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning at shame and sat down on the right hand of the throne of God.” When Jesus went to the cross He wasn’t just thinking about the punishment. He was thinking about the joy.
What joy are we talking about? You. You – the joy of changed lives. The joy of salvation. The joy of eternity together in heaven. That’s the joy we’re talking about. The joy of setting at the right hand of the Father again. That’s the joy that Jesus was looking forward to. Jesus says I want to give you that quality of joy. In a world where many people are lacking joy and a lot more are faking joy, we need real joy.
Jesus had a joy which could endure a cross. He had a joy which could face and still be faithful when faced with a cross. He said I want to give that kind of joy to you. It’s interesting the way He says that “I’ve told you these things so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be made complete.” That’s interesting. So that your joy can be made complete. The question is not whether or not I’ll have joy. You have some joy. He says I want to take the joy you have in your life and make it complete. The question is, Am I going to settle for an incomplete joy in my life? A joy just attached to things. A joy just attached to circumstances. A joy that comes and goes. Jesus said I don’t want you to have that kind of joy. Not the world’s kind. I want you to have My kind of joy. Complete joy.
Have you noticed that how long your joy lasts always relates to what you put your joy in? If you go to Disneyland your joy lasts as long as you’re at Disneyland. It doesn’t even last that long for some families when they go there, with the crowd. If you put your joy in a chocolate cake, the joy lasts as long as you’re eating that chocolate cake. The minute you’re finished you’re thinking, Why did I eat the whole thing? Or if you put your joy in a drug, the joy lasts as long as the high.
If you make Jesus Christ your source of joy, your joy lasts as long as Jesus Christ. Forever. That’s why Jesus said let My joy be in you and I’ll make your joy complete, full. That’s why Philippians 4:4 can say “Be full of joy in the Lord always. Again I say it. Be full of joy.” He’s just repeating what Jesus said to us. That’s one of the fruits of abiding in Christ.
I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course.
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