In the congregation, tonight we conclude our study of the I Am sayings of our Lord Jesus Christ. John 15, verse 5 serves as our text tonight. We want to read together, as you can see in the bulletin, a few different passages. Psalm 80, beginning there, and then Isaiah 5, 1-7, and then John 15, 1-8. Psalm 80, Isaiah 5, and John 15. Beginning with Psalm 80 as we hear now the Word of God. Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock, you who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh. Awaken Your might. Come and save us. Restore us, O God. Make Your face shine upon us that we may be saved. O Lord God Almighty, how long will Your anger smolder against the prayers of Your people? You have fed them with the bread of tears. You have made them drink tears by the bowl full. You have made us a source of contention to our neighbors and our enemies. Mock us. Restore us, O God Almighty. Make Your face shine upon us that we may be saved. You brought a vine out of Egypt. You drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land. The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches. It sent out its bows to the sea, its shoots as far as the river. Why have you broken down its walls so that all who pass by pick its grapes? Boars from the forest ravage it, and the creatures of the field feed on it? Return to us, O God Almighty. Look down from heaven and see. Watch over this vine, the root your right hand has planted, the sun you have raised up for yourself. Your vine is cut down. It is burned with fire. At your rebuke, your people perish. Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand, the Son of Man you have raised up for yourself. Then we will not turn away from you. Revive us, and we will call on your name. Restore us, O Lord God Almighty. Make Your face shine upon us that we may be saved. Isaiah 5, 1-7 I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard. My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then He looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between Me and My vineyard. What more could have been done for My vineyard than I have done for it when I looked for good grapes? Why did it yield only bad? Now I will tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard. I will take away its hedge and it will be destroyed. I will break down its wall and it will be trampled. I will make it a wasteland neither pruned nor cultivated and briars and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it. The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the house of Israel and the men of Judah are the garden of His delight. And He looked for justice but saw bloodshed, for righteousness but heard cries of distress. And then John 15, 1-8, verse 5 being, our text this evening. Our Lord says, I am the true vine, and My Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself. it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. I am the vine. You are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit. Apart from Me, you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire, and burned. 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, showing yourselves to be My disciples. Dear people of God, the Last Supper was over. Christ had instituted the Lord's Supper in which He took the cup filled with the wine of the fruit of the vine. And that wine represented the new covenant in His blood. That wine represented the very lifeblood of Jesus Christ through which we as believers have new life in Him. And then some short time after the upper room, maybe on their way to the Garden of Gethsemane, then Jesus spoke, this seventh I am of the suffering servant. I am the true vine. I am the vine. You are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, He will bear much fruit apart from Me. You can do nothing. As we look back at all of our Lord's I Am statements and we think about them, each and every one somehow points to the fact that new life, salvation, and eternal life is only in Him. God's people enjoy true and satisfying nourishment from the bread of life. God's people possess illumination through the light of the world. God's people have access to the Father and into His kingdom through the gate for the sheep. And God's people have new life, leading, care, protection, and provision through the Good Shepherd, the resurrection and the life, and the way, the truth, and the life. You see, all of the previous six I Am statements give a beautiful picture of the relationship the believer enjoys with God in Christ Jesus. And this seventh I Am does the same thing. It also reminds us of that new life, that it's only in Christ, but it goes a step further. It also talks about the activity of that new life. You see, beloved, not only do we receive from God through our Lord Jesus Christ, but we also are required to give back to Him through that new life. As we heard this morning, We are enlisted for service. In fact, the very nature of that new life will show itself to be real and true by the fruit of that new life. Once again, with this I Am, our Lord uses such a down-to-earth metaphor of an everyday life situation to teach about the truth of new life in Christ as well as the result of that new life. In congregation, the goal of Christ's death and resurrection has always been fruit. On the one hand, we could say the fruit of new birth in God's children. That's why our Lord Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem on that day which we call Palm Sunday. He entered there to go to Calvary's tree to pay the price for our sin to gain for us new birth in Himself. But then also along with that, flowing forth from that is to be the fruit that God's children are to bear to the glory of God. I am the vine. You are the branches. Notice, first of all, the genuineness of Christ the vine. In verse 1, he says, I am the true vine. Now, vineyards were not uncommon to the people of Palestine, but in a sense, they were almost as common as sheep and shepherding when we considered I am the good shepherd. It was common. It was all around them. As well, the climate in Palestine has always been perfect for growing grapes. And we know that literal vineyards and grapes are spoken of all throughout Scripture. For example, one example, clusters of grapes so large were part of the fruit and the produce that the Israelite spies brought back from the land flowing with milk and honey before the Israelites entered the promised land. But as far as grapevines are concerned, they need constant care and work. A number of years of cultivation and wise pruning are needed for vines to bear fruit, but with care and cultivation, indeed, fruit is expected. Jesus is the true vine. He is saying He is the genuine vine. The real vine. Well, in comparison to what? Well, of course, the false vine or the corrupt vine. You see, we need to understand that the Jews of our Lord's day, including His disciples, would have thought of something more than just a literal, physical vineyard with these words of our Lord. The metaphor of a vine was used long before to describe the relationship between God and His people, Israel. We read about that in both of the Old Testament passages that we read together. Psalm 80 and Isaiah chapter 5. It's very clear from those passages that Israel was considered to be the vineyard of God, which he planted, he pruned, he watered, he cared for in the land of Canaan. And God expected fruit. He expected Israel to be a showcase to the nations of his power and grace. The nations of the world should have been able to look to Israel and see that indeed there is a God, an Almighty God, one and only. But Israel only yielded bad fruit. So God turned his back on his vineyard. Israel was a corrupt vineyard and did not bring forth the fruit of obedience and glory to God. And Jesus then comes and says, I am the true vine. He represents God's people as the Messiah. And He fulfills what God intended for Israel. He brings forth good grapes, not bad fruit. Again, first of all, the fruit of new life. But also He brings forth good fruit through His branches. He makes it clear here that the branches are His disciples. Those to whom He has given new life through His shed blood. You see, Jesus here was speaking to His disciples without Judas Iscariot. Judas had already been cut off by this time in the evening. And Jesus says to the eleven remaining, You are the branches. And fruit grows on the branches, but only as the branches abide in and receive life-giving sap from the vine. Again, as with each I Am statement, Jesus reminds His hearers here as well of His deity. He is God. He is the great I Am, the One in whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells. And just as the branch only has life, as it remains in the vine and its root, true spiritual life comes only from being grafted into Jesus Christ by true faith. Beloved Jesus Christ conquered death by His resurrection, and He alone gives resurrection life to those whom the Father draws to Him. Remember, irresistibly draws to Him by the power of the Holy Spirit. And we need to understand that we are not grafted into Christ because we are already His disciples. But we are His disciples because we are grafted into Him by God's grace. Faith and discipleship does not come before new life in Christ, but new life in Christ results in faith and discipleship. Scripture makes that clear as the text speaks, secondly, of the necessity of Christ the vine. How necessary is Christ? Jesus said, apart from Me, you can do nothing. Nothing. And this is in the absolute sense. That's a powerful statement. A statement so powerful that it's also offensive to so many. Among many modern evangelical churches and even among some who call themselves Reformed, Jesus was a great teacher. He was a good example. But not necessarily the only way of salvation. And for some, He's not necessary for salvation at all. But as we have considered throughout our study of the I Am's of the suffering servant, the Word of God clearly teaches that there is no other way to the Father. There is no other way to be saved than Jesus Christ. And again, not only does this seventh I Am support the other six, but Jesus also teaches here that the new life God's people are called to live as well can only be done in Christ. Paul says in Galatians 2, verse 20, I have been crucified with Christ. And I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. And the life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. Christ lives in me. When we think of a vine or a tree, we know that a branch is only alive when it is not only connected to, but is also drawing nourishment from that tree. It must be connected and drawing nourishment. And where there is nourishment, where there is sap, where there is life, there will be fruit. We see that every spring, don't we? When the leaves come back on the trees, where there is life, there will be the fruit called leaves on the trees. Jesus Christ gave His Holy Spirit to His church, who not only lives in the heart of the church, but also lives in the heart of each and every individual believer, the Holy Spirit is the life of Christ which brings forth the fruit of the Spirit and good works that are pleasing to God. Apart from Jesus and the new life that He alone gives, one is dry and barren and dead. Without the life of Christ, one cannot do any spiritual good. Without Christ the Vine, no one, not even the greatest of men, can do any spiritual good that is acceptable to God. We know that there have been and there continue to be brilliant people whom God uses to make many technological advances which make physical life better. We could speak in many different ways. Electricity. Medical advancements. But apart from Christ, without Christ, as far as their soul is concerned, it all means nothing. Those outside of Christ, as we have been reminded, with Pastor Donovan and in the Ephesians series, those outside of Christ are nothing but dead men walking. But also, beloved, a mere profession of faith in Christ isn't enough either. There are many both inside and outside of the visible church who claim to be Christians. But their lives are fruitless for God and instead they produce either no fruit or bad fruit. You see, the parables of our Lord are clear that the visible church includes both sheep and goats, both wheat and tares, both vital life-filled branches and dry, dead branches. There is dead wood in the visible church of Christ who make a profession of faith with their mouth, but they are like clouds without water. Their confession is with the lips, but not with the heart. It may even look like there's a little bit of fruit, but it's not real. All that they do is for selfish gain and not out of love for God above all and their neighbor as their self. But what is their end? Jesus makes it clear that a spiritually fruitless branch is a dead branch. It's worth nothing. A dead branch isn't good for building furniture or anything useful or constructive. Boys and girls, it's not even good for a toy. It's only good for one thing, and that is to burn. And we know, of course, what's left after something is burned. Nothing but ashes. Boys and girls, I remember as a boy sticking a branch in the ground that had been broken off of a tree. Maybe some of you did the same thing. Watering it and expecting it to grow. But it didn't grow. It wouldn't grow. Because it couldn't grow. It had been cut off from its source of life from the tree and its root. Jesus Christ is the one and only source of true life. Apart from Him, man can do no spiritual good. He can only do evil in the sight of God. And we might say, wait a minute, I have neighbors again. I have good neighbors. They don't believe. But how can you say that they can only do evil in the sight of God? Well, think about it, beloved. If even our best works as believers are as filthy rags, then certainly the only thing an unbeliever can do is evil in the sight of God. You see, one can read a multitude of self-help books and attend numerous life-changing seminars. There may be some temporary outward changes. But apart from new life and true faith in Jesus Christ, there is nothing lasting. Apart from Christ, nothing can produce the fruit of the Spirit in your life or my life. And that's because true life is only in Him. Even as Jesus said in John 11 to Martha after Lazarus has died, he who believes in Me, though he die, yet he will live. And he who lives and believes will never die. As we consider freedom for the Iraqis and reform for their nation, or as we even consider reform for our own nation, we know that by God's common grace or common benevolence, Evil is restrained. But true reform, true heart reform, true, lasting, eternal reform comes only in Christ Jesus. And this union with Christ isn't necessary only once in a while. It's not to be on-again, off-again union with Christ, but Jesus talks about remaining in Him and He in us. And the idea there is that of taking up residency, dwelling. This is a permanent union. So much so that Paul says of God that in Him we live and move and have our being. And as he also says, as we quoted a moment ago, Christ lives in me. We are called to remain, for example, in Christ's Word by reading, studying, believing, and obeying it. And Christ's Word has remained in us as a lamp unto our feet and a light upon our path. We are to remain in the merits of Christ in that He is our righteousness before God and we plead with God, not for our own sake, but for the sake of Christ's work. And as well, Christ's merit, His work remains in us by the power of His Spirit as our comfort, as our strength and support. Apart from Jesus and His gift of new life, one can do nothing. One cannot save himself. One cannot do any sort of good to benefit God's kingdom, God's church, or God's people. Apart from Christ, one is barren and dry with no life and really then is nothing more than a tool in the hand of Satan to try to destroy the kingdom of God. Apart from Christ, our lives are unfruitful and empty of any good. But grafted into Jesus Christ by true faith, we have life. We have it abundantly. We have it to the full. And we draw power from Him through His Holy Spirit. We have true life and strength only because of the vital sap of Christ, His lifeblood flowing through us. You see, beloved, it's not until the branch is grafted into the vine that it shares the nature of that vine. Apart from it, it doesn't even have that nature yet. Not until it's grafted into and is drawing the sap, the life of that vine, then it enjoys the nature of that vine. Those grafted into Christ by true faith enjoy a new nature, which is the righteousness of Christ. And through that new nature, as branches, believers then demonstrate the productivity of Christ the vine. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit. Now notice, producing fruit depends completely on being one with Christ. The condition that must be met, the condition of producing fruit is Christ living in me. Again, because He alone is the source of vitality and life. Congregation, think about this for a moment. I think this is simply amazing. Christ living in me. It's amazing to me that Christ would even bother to live through a jar of clay, as Paul says, an earthen vessel, nothing but a cracked pot like me and like you. Simply amazing. What does it mean to remain in or abide in Christ? Well, it doesn't mean keeping myself saved. You see, I don't get myself saved and I don't keep myself saved. That's the work of the triune God. But remaining in Christ means to live in and according to His Word with prayer, as verse 7 says. It means to obey His commandments, verse 10, which we didn't read. It means to keep our lives clean through His Word, verses 3 and 4. It means to continue to believe on Him by God's grace. And then evidence of remaining in Him includes knowing the Savior's love, verse 9, obeying God's Word, verse 10, answered prayer, verse 7, and complete joy, verse 11, as well. It includes faith that is constantly strengthened and also an increased assurance of the forgiveness of sins and fellowship with God. But one more important piece of evidence of remaining in Christ is producing fruit. That's evidence. You see, we expect apples from an apple tree. We expect grapes from the vine. And God expects Christianity from the Christian. Again, we have been enlisted for service. We have been enlisted to do things. But what is this fruit? Of course, there are so many things we could say about this fruit. We can't possibly cover everything that could be said. But to begin with, Christianity includes a Christian temper and attitude. It includes a godly walk and talk. It includes a manner of living governed by true faith and not governed by the ideas and the beliefs or the pressures of the godless world. The truth is, beloved, those believers who produce fruits of righteousness most likely get cut off from the world. That's what happened to Paul. As he was put in prison, they hated him. They cut him off from the world, also his own people. As Isaiah 5 made clear as well, the fruit God desires is loving obedience, righteousness, and justice. That fruit includes all that is included in love for God above all and neighbor and self. And we just mentioned some of the fruit in relation to love for God, but fruit in relation to love for our neighbor includes the fruit of the Spirit that Paul speaks of in Galatians 5. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. One commentator gives a beautiful description of this fruit when he says, these fruits are good motives, desires, attitudes, dispositions, in other words, spiritual virtues, words, deeds, all springing from faith and in harmony with God's law and done to His glory. And I believe Paul also talks about this fruit in 1 Thessalonians 5. Be joyful always. pray continually give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus again this fruit is only possible when one is in Christ Jesus when one has true faith in Him when that one has been born again by the power of the Spirit beloved the greatest fruit that believer can enjoy in Christ Jesus is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. And how much fruit then is the believer in Christ expected to bear? Well, there seems to be a progression, somewhat of a progression in John chapter 15. Verse 2 goes from simply bearing fruit to being even more fruitful. And then our text adds, to bear much fruit. We are called to bear much fruit. We are not to be content with being fruitful Christians only a little bit or only between the hours of 9 and 5 or only on Sunday. We are not to be content in being fruitful for God's kingdom only when it's convenient for us. We are called to be living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. If you want application, here it is. Right here. Living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. This is to be our lifestyle every moment of every day of our entire life. Every breath we take is to be a fruitful breath. And beloved, the degree of our fruitfulness will be directly proportionate to how close we stay with Christ and feed on His Word. That means occasional fellowship with Him will result in occasional Christianity and occasional fruit. But also, God Himself increases the fruit of His children by pruning. Vines and plants and trees are pruned with the unwanted and the unnecessary branches trimmed off in order to increase the quality and the quantity of the fruit. And God, through His Holy Spirit, trims away our old habits and our sinful baggage and our ungodly tendencies. And indeed, sometimes it's painful, isn't it? Sometimes it hurts a lot. But the end result is the blossom of fruitfulness to the glory of God. You see, congregation, it's not a question of if the fruit of good works is necessary. Throughout Scripture, and especially during the earthly life of Christ, believers are constantly called to bear fruit, to live lives worthy of their calling. Again, we see that all through Paul's writings as well. This is who you are in Christ. This is what you have. Now, this is what you are to do. This is how you are to live. Spiritual fruit is evidence of new life and true life in Christ Jesus. As verse 8 says of John 15, This is to My Father's glory that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples. Fruitfulness is evidence of being a disciple of Christ, which then glorifies God. And again, the suffering servant suffered for that very reason to make some His own disciples. And He said, by their fruit you will know them. Of course, we know that He said that in the context of those who claimed to be His but really weren't. The application goes both ways. By their fruit you will know them whether they are My people or whether they are not. And our comfort is that not only does Christ give us new life, but He brings forth fruit in that new life to identify those who belong to Him. Those who reject Him. And even those who claim to be in Him but who really don't believe, they will be cut off from God forever. In congregation, we need to understand that being cut off from the world as believers is nothing compared to being cut off from God. Those who reject Jesus Christ bear no fruit or they bear bad or negative fruit. And the Bible is clear about their end. Luke 12 says, That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. You see, all will be held accountable for what they did with what they were given. Whether many blows or few blows. And the Bible is clear for those who have been told the truth and rejected. Look out. But the end result is the same for those who rejected the Lord Jesus Christ for everyone. And that end is hell. But for those who are given new life in Christ by God's grace and therefore repent of their sins and live for Jesus, they enjoy a fruitful faith in Him and they enjoy eternal life in Him. And not only will the Father not cut them off of the true vine, but no one can snatch them out of the hand of the Father or the Son. No one can break them off. Congregation, we have considered in anticipation of our observance of Good Friday and Easter in a special way, we have considered over the past weeks the I Am's of the suffering servant, Jesus Christ. And through these I Am's, the suffering servant said, I am Your life, both now and forever. Look to Me and be saved. Live in Me and serve. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, we thank You and praise You for Your work. so perfect, so powerful, so rich, so much for us. We thank You for the new lives that You have given to us in Christ Jesus, our Lord. May we not take these new lives for granted, but may we exercise these new lives in such a way that You are glorified in praise. Father, indeed, may it be that our desire would be to be living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, that every moment of our lives would be pleasing to You. Father, if there is one or two or more here tonight who does not yet belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, do not let them be relaxed. Do not let them rest easy, but prick their conscience, show them their need for new life in Jesus Christ and point them to the only Savior, the only One in whose name there is life forevermore. Lord, continue to strengthen Your church and to build Your church. Continue to prepare her for the day of Christ Jesus and make us ready for that day when He comes again in all of His glory. In the name of Jesus, we pray these things. Amen.