STAY FULLY CHARGED

John 15:1-8

In this modern age, we have the privilege of enjoying all the advance gadgets and technologies that make our lives so much easier and convenient. I can still remember during my college days how difficult it was to finish a term paper because I had to use a manual typewriter with an ink ribbon. When you make some errors, you either use an eraser or a "white out." Can some of you remember the hassles of using those erasers or the "white outs?" Can you remember how many times you had to retype everything because of all the mistakes you made? Unlike today, if make a mistake, you can just press delete and it's as if nothing happened.

The only downside with all these new gadgets is that we are so dependent on power supplies. For example, most if not all of these musical instruments on our stage will only work if they are plugged in a power source. Even if they appear beautiful and useful, without power, they won't work; they are all virtually useless.

The truth is: our life is very much like all of these gadgets or instruments. We are also very dependent creatures that we literally need to connect to a power source in order for us to function to the fullest. If you examine our main text, this is exactly the truth that Jesus wanted to drive across to his disciples. Though probably this may be hard for them to acknowledge, because it is quite natural for anyone to always feel competent, Jesus explicitly told them in verse 5, "apart from me you can do nothing."

Now, consider that truth? I hope you and I are also willing to recognize that this is also applicable to all of us. After Jesus had impressed to his disciples in John 14 that He has to leave them, He wanted to show them in chapter 15, how they can be most productive in life. Reading verse 10, Jesus openly shared to them that this is to the Father's glory that they bear much fruit. In other words, it would bring so much honor to God the Father, if they would be very productive in life. The best part of the passage is Jesus teaching them how they can have the power to be most productive in life.

This is how I find this message connected with my theme: Live As If You Are Dying. Last weekend, we said, we need to acknowledge that our life on earth is so short, so we need to make the most of it. We said, "While we still have life, we need to seize our opportunities." Today, we want to discover through the teachings of Jesus how we can have the power so we can be most productive in life. Carefully studying the text, we can summarize the principles by using three key words:

I     REMAIN:

In our text this morning, we will find Jesus describing our relationship with Him in a manner that you and I may not be as familiar with, but during His day, everybody understood clearly. He uses the picture of the vine and the branches. He refers to himself in verse 1 as the vine, wherein He is the source and sustainer of life for the branches. And of course, the branches refer to us - we are so dependent on Him.

Being the branches, our main responsibility is clearly to remain in Him. With the passage we read, the word remain is used 8 times and to remain literally suggest abiding, continuing, and staying connected to Him. Meaning, we really have to be intentional in being close and attached to Him. The fact is: the branches cannot produce its own life. It must draw life from the vine. Therefore, to separate or stop connecting from the vine, the branches will absolutely die.

I don't know about you, but I find this truth very humbling. We sometimes look at ourselves and often assume that we are so special. But the truth, apart from Jesus Christ, we are really weak and useless. Looking at our passage, we are only good for burning (v6).

However, if we stay close or connected to Jesus Christ, we can experience life to the fullest. We will radically experience the power of God and accomplish the things we never have dream possible. This is the testimony of the apostle Paul:

The question is: would you believe by faith that you can be most productive in Jesus Christ? I dare you to believe.

Now, how do you know whether or not, you are remaining in Him? Here are some of the things you can experience in your life:

A. Answers to Prayers - God's presence is manifested in your life through answers to your prayers.

B. Obedience to God's Commands - There is a deep desire to maintain an obedient life.

C. Profound Joy - There is a deep-seated joy that is not dependent on your life's circumstances.

You don't want to miss out on these blessings. Make sure do whatever in takes to remain in the Vine.

II    RESPECT:

The next key word is respect based on the revelation on the last part of verse one and then verse 2. The Father is introduced to us as the Gardener or the Caretaker of the Vine and the branches. I love this truth because it is basically saying that God the Father cares not only for the Son, but also to everyone who joined the Son. That's awesome!

Now, as our Gardener, we must be willing to respect the Father and allow Him to do His tasks:

A. He cuts off those who don't bear fruit (v.2)

There are Bible interpreter who have taken this passage and suggested that Jesus was teaching that even believers when they are not bearing fruit are still in danger of being separated from Christ and lose their salvation.

However, I will caution you in taking that interpretation. I believe the proper understanding of this text should not be separated from the context. If you go back in last part of chapter 14, Judas left the Lord Jesus Christ and decided to betray Him. If you examine the life of Judas, he was never saved. He seems to have connected with Jesus, but his connection was simply superficial. When he separated from Jesus, his departure only revealed his true heart. In our New Testament class we covered this through the words of John:

We all need to remember the truth that not everybody who professes the faith is a true possessor of faith. Just like Judas, he once professed faith in Jesus, but he left because he really doesn't possess the faith in Jesus.

B. He prunes or cleanses the branch that bears fruit:

Another significant task of the Caretaker is to cut away carefully the excess leaves from the branch in order for the branch to have more fruit. The pruning process is necessary so the excess leaves would not rob the branch of the nutrients it needs for be more fruitful. This process is always painful, but it's always productive.

This is where a lot of respect to the Gardener is necessary. The branch must acknowledge the fact that though he doesn't understand; the Gardener knows exactly what He is doing. It's so easy to forget that we are only a branch. God the Father is the gardener who owns the entire garden. Here is an important lesson on God's sovereignty. God being the sovereign ruler of the universe has the right to do anything without being questioned. In the book of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar recognized this about God and said:

Indeed, God will do the pruning process according to what He deems is best whether you will enjoy it or not. Let me repeat it again, it would serve us well if we respect Him. Rest assured that He has our best interest in His heart.

III   REFLECT:

Lastly, in order to be fully charged in this life, we should not only remain in the Vine, and respect the Gardener; we should also remember reflect our commitment to honor God. Listen to verse 8 - This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

I don't want you to miss this very significant truth. When Christians live a productive life, they are reflecting that they are disciples or followers of Christ. The more they reflect their commitment to Christ, the more they are able to bring honor or glory to God. So, who gets the glory? It is God, not the Christian.

I hope we really get this. We seek to be most productive in this short life not so we can be famous or popular ourselves, but for God to be exalted through our lives. This is a fundamental truth that we need to keep putting before us. At the end of the day, the real question for all of us as believers is: Did your short life really mattered to God? How did your life help to make God famous?

Today, many Christians have been confused about this perspective. The common tendency is to strive to be most productive, so we will use everything including God to achieve this goal. Wrong, God must be the end. We must desire to bring God the highest honor, so we strive to be most productive. If God is the end goal, we will never be short of help from Him. Again, how could you make God famous through your life? As Christ followers, this is our calling. Let me close with a passage from Peter showing us this very truth: