John 15, Jesus' keys: the basics of discipleship (word, prayer, fellowship, witnessing, obedient, and Lordship)

John 14:31b (NIV) … "Come now; let us leave."
John 15:1-8 (NIV) "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 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. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 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.


5 "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. 6 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. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8 This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.


• So where are they?
• Probably heading out toward the  Mount of Olives
• They traveled from the city through the Kidron Valley, up to the Mount of Olives where the Garden of Gethsemane is located
• In the OT, Israel is often referred to as the vine, but it is a vine that produces no fruit. So what is Jesus saying?
• He is the true vine (an Israelite who obeyed and produced fruit)
• His Father, God, is the gardener (and has always been the gardener)
• What is the role of a gardener?
• Helps the vine to grow
• Provides nutrients, works the ground
• Protects it from attackers (insects, disease)
• Prunes of whole branches when they are dead
• Prunes off parts of branches when they suck life from the main branch
• Graft in new branches when he wants to extend the plant
• What is the purpose of the vine? To produce fruit
• What happens to the vine that does not produce fruit?
• It may be pruned
• It could be cutoff. [Now in this context, we know from other verses that our salvation is secure, otherwise our salvation would be based on works, since continuing in the salvation would requires works. It is entirely possible for God to take a believer out of this life but he would not lose his salvation.]
• Also, in this context, there are essentially only a few vines: believing Israel; unbelieving Israel; and  the church
• What is our responsibility as part of the vine?
• To remain in Jesus
• To have Jesus' words remain in us
• To produce fruit (proves our discipleship)
• How do we do this practically?
• We must be in the word
• We must be praying
• We must be serving (producing fruit)
• APPLICATION: where are you the weakest and what can you do this week to grow in that area?


John 15:9-17 (NIV) "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit — fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other.


• Jesus is reiterating things that he already emphasized in the upper room. What are they and why is he repeating himself?
• The importance of loving each other
• The importance of obeying, being a doer of the word
• The importance of bearing fruit (previous section)
• Why? Because these are the really important things
• What is the result of life lived like this?
• Joy in you
• Complete joy
• John 13-16 now resembles the wheel illustration, which is a picture of a disciple
• Word
• Prayer
• Fellowship (love)
• Witnessing (fruit)
• Christ the center (remain in him)
• Obedience or application to your life


John 15:18-27 (NIV) "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. 23 He who hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: 'They hated me without reason.'


26 "When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.


• We will have joy but that does not mean life with go well. What are the uncomfortable promises of the passage?
• The world will hate you
• The world will persecute you
• The world will treat us differently because of our commitment to Jesus Christ
• But you will not be left alone, why?
• Because the HS will be in us
• He does not say the HS will protect us from trouble or stop painful situations
• The role of the HS is to counsel us and to help us
• In our witness and words
• In our walk with God (our testimony). It is more than words, it is also a lifestyle
• APPLICATION:
• I know I hammer on this a lot, but do people around us know that we stand with Jesus Christ. We don't have to put up a big flag and carry and ten-pound bible. But we can be in a witness in our words (gracious, seasoned with salt), our actions (concern, care, helping), and our explanation of our faith (when asked, being prepared to give a defense with gentleness and respect, 1 Pet 3:15)