Over the past two weeks, we've meditated on passages where Jesus has made very bold statements about what it means to be disconnected from Him. "Apart from me, you can do nothing." (John 15:5), "If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father." (John 15:24). Amazingly, however, Jesus didn't leave us like this... disconnected from Him, in rebellion against Him, lifeless without Him.
Instead, Jesus chose us to be his friends. "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit... you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world." (John 15:16) We're His friends- not just servants- but trusted allies to whom He reveals His plans! And in doing so, He invites us to draw our strength from Him by being deeply rooted in Him. The only way for us to bear fruit for Him is for us to abide in Christ's love for us. As we gather this week for community groups, let's look to encourage each other in practical ways we can abide in Christ's love and grow in compassion for our friends who are still in lifeless rebellion against God.
By way of review: the VINE (John 15:1-17)
Jesus gave us the analogy of a vine to describe the invitation to be rooted in His love for us.
Pt 1- JESUS is the true vine. Where Israel failed as the root of blessing for all nations, Jesus shows Himself as the fulfillment of Gods' promises and the source of spiritual life. And Jesus is to be contrasted from false vines we can create today: church attendance, spiritual background, family connections. Question: What are you tempted to look to for your identity as a person?
Pt 2- WE are the branches. The gospel doesn't simply end with forgiveness... it invites us into relationship with God. Jesus describes that relationship by pointing to the relationship between a branch and a trunk. In the same way, we are in an organic, dependent, vibrant relationship with God that makes us fruitful. Three ways we can abide in Christ come from the text:
- We must acknowledge that we can do nothing apart from Him (v 4-5)... we are called to depend on God.
- We must have His word abide in us (v 7)... we are invited to welcome God's Word in our lives... "to let it rearrange our furniture."
- We must obey God's commands (v 10)... we are invited to continue our fellowship with God through our obedience to God (like William playing with Eric.)
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By way of review: the WORLD (John 15:18-25)
Jesus reminds us that His choice in our lives to pardon us provides us with courage in the midst of the world. As we understand the world's rebellion we grow in gratitude and courage.
Pt 1- We understand our rebellion through the lens of GUILT. Too often, we are prone to think of our guilt as something that we did or didn't do. But Jesus reminds us that guilt is chiefly the rejection of God's glory as worthless... nowhere is this more evident than in the rejection of Jesus and the gospel (His life and work). Ultimately the most important thing about us is how we treat Son of God.
Pt 2- We understand our rebellion through the lens of HATRED. Jesus describes the antagonism between Him and His opponents in stark terms (hatred, persecution). No football rivalries could ever match the description of this animosity... the world simply put hates God and His claims over all that He has made. Instead, the world seeks to assert its independence from God. This leaves us with a choice. Don Carson wrote, "Former rebels who have been won back (by the grace of God) to loving allegiance to their King are not likely to prove popular with those who persist in rebellion."
Application: Understanding our rebellion through these lenses gives us a clearer view of grace.
- As you reconsidered your participation in a world that rejected God, how were you freshly grateful for God's choice to redeem you from this world?
- As you reconsidered the state of our culture today as rebels towards God, were there any areas in which you've been living with a desire to fit into and be popular in our world?
- As you reconsidered the state of your unsaved friends, how can we pray for you to have courage to speak with those who might respond to the message of salvation? (John 15:20).
