Welcome to From the Pulpit in Classic Sermons.
Each week, we bring you a different message
from some of history's greatest speakers in the
Christian faith, and powerful sermons from modern preachers,
too.
This week we have Bob Hoekstra with his
message, Bearing Much Fruit.
Our study is going to be about bearing
much fruit.
Let's read one of the key verses before
we pray together.
Verse 8, By this, my Father, is glorified,
that you bear much fruit, so you will
be my disciples.
Lord, we receive this insightful word from you.
We do want to be your disciples, and
we want to be clearly shown as your
disciples.
We want you to be glorified, and we
see that's all connected with bearing much fruit.
So we pray even now that you would
pour out your Holy Spirit, encourage us, Lord,
edify us, instruct us, prepare our hearts and
lives for more fruit in the days ahead
than we've ever seen in the days behind.
Much fruit, Lord, for your glory.
We see this is the call of discipleship,
and we trust you now to speak to
us by your Spirit in Jesus' name, Amen.
Real disciples, true disciples, they bear much fruit.
A disciple is a follower after the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Someone who knows the Lord, who has met
the Lord, and is walking closely with the
Lord.
The call to discipleship, Jesus said, come follow
me.
Those who do follow the Lord Jesus Christ,
the Lord of life, they bear much fruit.
And this brings great glory to God.
You know, we have that stirring desire, once
we know the Lord, to bring glory to
Him.
Before we came to the Lord, really the
only glory we were interested in is if
somehow some could be captured by ourselves or
given to us.
We were created for the glory of God,
created by God.
And by this, Jesus said, my Father is
glorified.
That you bear much fruit.
And that is one of the great demonstrations,
validations of the fact that we are following
the Lord Jesus.
But of course, that raises a huge question.
How are we going to bear much fruit?
It's great that the Word of God addresses
the questions of what?
What does God have for our lives?
What does He want to see in our
lives?
What does He want us to be doing
in our lives?
What does He want to come to pass
in our lives?
The what questions of the Bible are of
huge import.
But there's another arena that's just as critical.
Without this other arena, the what questions will
just leave us frustrated.
What would the second question be?
How?
This is a very majestic what.
Much fruit in our lives, much spiritual fruit.
The validation that we truly are following the
Lord Jesus Christ, not just living a life
by our own will, our own resources and
own devices.
And the Lord is glorified in that.
How are we going to walk that path?
Well, Jesus had been addressing the how in
earlier verses.
Verses 4 and 5.
Abide in me and I in you, as
the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless
it abides in the vine, neither can you
unless you abide in me.
I am the vine, you are the branches.
He who abides in me and I in
him bears much fruit, for without me you
can do nothing.
If you have a grapevine and branches, the
great demonstration that that is a grapevine is
when grapes appear.
And if you're going to have grapes on
branches, branches need to be connected to a
valid, sufficient life source, and that's the grapevine.
And that's the picture here.
Abide in me and I in you.
That's how the Lord wants us to live.
Abiding in Christ, that is living in him
and by means of him.
And then the Lord Jesus himself dwelling and
living in and through us.
That's the simple picture here.
And though it can sound very mysterious, and
of course the fact that it cannot be
seen in its full dynamic makes it kind
of mysterious to us, but it's very clear
and simple how it operates.
We are abiding in one that we cannot
see, though Peter wrote, having not seen him
we love him.
And he, though we cannot see him, wants
to live in our hearts and express his
life through us.
Now that is, that's just, with God it's
just basic fundamental routine.
With us it's kind of staggering.
And it certainly is beyond sight.
So, the Lord takes a very visible, simple,
demonstrable illustration to help us grasp this great
unseen mystery.
The great unseen mystery, abide in me and
I in you.
What's that all about?
Well, it's like a grape vine and a
grape branch.
And here's the truth.
As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself
unless it abides in the vine, neither can
you unless you abide in me.
There is the potential in the Christian life
of astounding measures of spiritual fruit.
What would spiritual fruit be?
Well, it would be Christ-like character growing
and developing in us.
That is spiritual fruit.
There would be ministry impacting others and their
growing.
That's spiritual fruit.
Folks coming to Christ, a spiritual harvest, a
fruitful harvest of righteousness.
All of those things are spiritual fruit.
Giving thanks and praise to God, Hebrews says,
is spiritual fruit.
So a godly, Christ-like, God-exalting, life
-touching, life-shaping and developing work is the
fruit of God being developed and coming forth.
And this is the way it is with
a vine and a branch.
As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself
unless it abides in the vine, neither can
you unless you abide in me.
Grape branches don't actually produce grapes.
They bear grapes.
The productive cause and dynamic that actually brings
the grapes forth is the life that is
in the grape vine.
And that's the picture with us.
We don't actually manufacture spiritual fruit.
But we are called to bear much fruit.
To carry it around wherever we go.
The temptation for the natural mind is, I've
got to get busy, make this happen.
What does fruit look like, and I'll manufacture
some.
Well, yeah, and you know what it'll be.
Wax fruit.
Man does the same thing with natural fruit.
Man can't produce natural fruit, but for decorative
purposes, there's a real market for producing what
appears to be genuine fruit.
In fact, man has become quite expert at
that.
And haven't you seen decorative fruit that you
want to get over closer and just, that's
got to be real.
And of course, the final proof is when
you take a bite.
Wax.
No life, no edification.
And even that has implications for us.
We can try to do those things that
look fruitful.
We can strive to have the appearance of
bearing much fruit.
But if it's not coming the way the
Lord designed it, it's imitation fruit.
It's of the flesh.
And sooner or later, it will prove to
be lifeless and unedifying to anyone at all.
As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself.
We could add, as the Christian cannot bear
fruit of himself or herself.
Unless that branch abides in the vine.
That's the secret for a great branch.
That's the hope.
Because in the great vine is the life.
That is to flow out through that branch.
And bring forth fruit that the branch cannot
produce.
But once produced by the life in the
vine, can bear it about any place.
To be an honor to God, pleasing in
the sight of God.
To be a blessing and encouragement to others.
A confirmation to others.
And be a nurturing influence in their lives.
You know, fruit is the ongoing development of
life.
Until it becomes what it was intended to
be.
Full and mature.
And it's tasty, it's sweet.
And it's nurturing, it's edifying.
That's what the Lord wants in our lives.
And it's good to be reminded.
That we are the branch, we're not the
vine.
In fact, verse 5 spells it out very
clearly.
In case any would miss it.
I am the vine, you are the branches.
He who abides in me and I in
him, bears much fruit.
For without me or apart from me, you
can do nothing.
Jesus is the vine.
He's the life source.
He said, I am the way, the truth
and the life.
John 11 he said, I am the resurrection
and the life.
Jesus is our vine.
How important is a vine, a grape vine
to a grape branch?
Well, you could say it's everything to the
branch.
The branch would have no life, no existence
without that vine.
And absolutely the branch could not be fruitful
without the vine.
Jesus is our vine.
He says, I am the vine, you are
the branches.
You are the branches.
It's kind of a humbling word, but it's
also an encouraging word.
To hear that we are the branches.
We would rather be the vine.
In fact, the false gospels of the world.
New Age philosophy, you know.
What's the gospel of the New Age?
Self-realization.
Why is that the good news?
Because if you only realized it, you are
God.
And we are sitting here underwhelmed, right?
I'm God?
What a letdown.
I was looking for good news.
This is worse than no news at all.
But that's the way of the world.
And you can trace this right back to
the Garden of Eden.
This was the lie that Satan bought himself.
I will be like the Most High God.
He wanted a throne like God.
He went into the Garden of Eden and
enticed Adam and Eve.
You know, come on, get away from the
tree of life.
I mean, what can that bring you?
Well, you might say life.
No, no, no, leave the tree of life
alone.
Hang out at the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil.
You know, you investigate and you discover and
you examine.
And you decide what's good or evil.
You'll be like God.
Well, that's the philosophy of the world.
You know, take our program, take our procedure,
take our philosophy, take our therapy.
We'll make you in charge of your own
life.
You'll be your own God.
No, the Lord alone is God.
I was just reading yesterday actually in Isaiah,
how many times God said, I am God,
I am He, I am the first and
the last, I am the Almighty and there
is none else.
So this is a humbling word.
You're the branches.
The branches.
We're not the source of spiritual life.
We're branches.
That's a place of humble dependency.
We're branches.
We cannot get along without our true vine.
We would not be in Christ Jesus.
We would not be born again.
We would not have our sins forgiven.
We would not have passed from death to
life if it were not for our true
vine, the Lord Jesus Christ.
And praise the Lord.
This is the heart of what Jesus came
to give us.
He says, I came that you might have
life and that more abundantly.
Fits perfectly the truth of John 15.
We're the branches.
We're needy.
We're not the life source.
People say, I'm taking charge of my life.
We ought to weep and wail for them.
Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that.
They're all excited and beaming.
Like they want us to pat them on
the back.
Now you got it.
Oh, you're taking charge of your life.
Well, what a shame.
What a shame.
We thought there was hope for you.
The flesh wants to be the dynamic that
causes it all.
Why?
Because that's where the glory goes.
You did that.
You produced that.
Wow.
Glory be to you.
Really, everything in creation is here that God
might be glorified.
And there are many reasons that God wants
to see much fruit in our lives.
He wants us to grow.
He wants us to develop and be good
stewards, good disciples, fruitful, effective.
He knows in our home and our friendships
and our family and relationships, there are many
who need to learn of the Lord and
see the Lord at work and be touched
by the presence of the Lord.
There are nations that need to be reached.
There are nations that need to know who
the true vine is.
And as this process is going on, God
is glorified.
People's attention is shifted from man to God.
From self and that meager existence here on
earth below to the Lord of life up
above and what He can bring to us
now and what He has reserved for us
forever.
I am the vine.
You are the branches.
It's a humbling word, but it's an encouraging
word too.
Encouragement is branches aren't expected to manufacture fruit.
They're just expected to be dependent depositories of
that fruit.
Wow, that's a load off our backs.
Yeah, the Lord wants to be the dynamic
behind a fruitful life.
I am the vine.
You are the branches.
May we embrace that.
Lay aside that kind of self-exalting, self
-striving mindset of the world, the flesh, and
the devil.
And just be content to be branches in
the true vine.
Better to be a humble branch in the
true vine where there is life in the
Lord than to be a pusher and a
mover and a shaker and some noisy active
whirling who's trying to build their own little
kingdom.
Can you imagine?
I just had the strangest thought.
Donald Trump came to mind.
I don't know.
I don't know where he stands with the
Lord.
If he stands with Him at all, it
appears to be, let's say, a meager beginning.
An immature start.
A babe in Christ.
I don't know that he knows the Lord
at all.
I've never heard any indication or seen it.
And he comes up on the news all
the time.
And you know, among humankind, this is a
man to be impressed with.
I mean, this is THE Donald.
Ooh.
THE Donald.
Not Donald Duck.
THE Donald.
And actually, the things that he's accomplished on
this earth are quite impressive if that's your
frame of reference, you know?
But it's kind of like a little child,
a little preschooler, a little toddler in your
family den building a little crooked house of
blocks, you know?
And you can have fun with that and
they get blessed when you encourage them, you
know?
And it shows love and you want them
to progress.
All that's fine.
But, you know, the house isn't much.
And it doesn't take but one little slip
of the toddler's foot and the house is
all gone anyway, you know?
So it is with the kingdoms of man,
you know?
The Trump empire.
Even nations.
The mighty Roman empire, you know, that persecuted
God's people and controlled them and razed the
city and tore down the temple and all
of that back in the first century.
And they ruled the world.
Where are they now?
It's gone.
This is what the Lord wants to build.
An everlasting kingdom of spiritual fruit that brings
glory of God and hope and help to
other people.
And branches.
We actually get a full participation in this.
I am the vine.
You are the branches.
He who abides in Me and I in
him bears much fruit.
What an encouragement.
Just abiding in the vine.
Drawing life from Him.
Letting His life develop in us the life
He wants.
And have that life flow out in our
words, our deeds, our attitudes, our perspectives, our
priorities, our relationships one with another.
And on and on it goes.
What a phenomenal privilege this is.
You know in the world you always want
to get on the top of the hill.
In the kingdom of heaven your heart is
drawn to the foot of the cross.
Not I am going to show people I
am a vine, I am a producer.
I can develop the dynamic that will blow
you away with the life you see.
It's not it.
You can't proceed at all in growth or
fruitfulness or effectiveness in the kingdom of heaven
with that attitude.
But gladly being a branch, looking to the
vine.
We can actually bear much fruit.
I think back on the old life I
had in Adam.
Really existing in death, dead in trespasses and
sins.
That's a little over 40 years ago now.
What a waste.
What unfruitful years.
What barren years.
What self-centered years.
And now we rejoice just to be a
branch in the vine.
A branch.
Here's a big important reminder though as we
wrap up our study.
Verse 5 Without Me you can do nothing.
This is a very critical part of this
entire process of bearing fruit.
Realizing that apart from the Lord we can
do nothing.
I know early on as a young pastor
in the 1960s and early 1970s, I would
read this verse and I actually thought it
meant without including the Lord in your life
you're not going to accomplish half as much
as you think you will.
Bob, what is it about nothing you don't
understand?
Oh, it's so easy to kind of strain
these through the natural mind of the flesh
and lose the bite, lose the majesty.
Apart from me, Jesus is saying you can
do nothing.
Now wait a minute, wait a minute.
Do nothing.
We can build empires and empire state buildings
and Trump buildings.
We can build nations.
We can build spaceships.
We can build an astounding worldwide electronic web
which by the way is catching many, strangling
many, tearing many down.
But what do you mean apart from Him
we can do nothing?
Well, the whole point is all of that
amounts to nothing without the Lord.
But the precise context here is spiritual fruit.
And apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, we
can do nothing in that arena.
That is exceedingly humbling.
But you know it is good to be
humbled in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Men scrap and fight and they strive and
they are fretting and worrying and scheming how
to avoid being humbled, you know.
How to avoid looking like you're inadequate, ineffective,
don't know all you think you know, can't
do what you say you'll do.
People, they'll virtually sell their souls to avoid
being humbled.
Have you noticed though the persistence of the
Lord?
He just keeps coming up with things that
humble us.
And really, it's great wisdom to stop the
fight.
The Scriptures call us to walk humbly with
our God.
That's not something to dread.
That's something to embrace.
God is opposed to the proud.
He gives grace to the humble.
Don't we want to live by the abounding
grace of God?
Oh, if we don't get in the Word,
God will change our heart and mind.
What heart is open to the grace of
God to do a further work each day?
The humble heart that is one who admits
their need.
And it's not just partial.
It is comprehensive.
Apart from Me, you can do nothing.
How would God want us to respond to
that?
You know?
He would actually want a hearty amen, at
least in our hearts.
Wow, apart from Me, you can do nothing.
The flesh wants to fight it.
The natural mind rebels at it.
It's hard to imagine that the way on
to bountiful effectiveness starts out and proceeds with
man admitting his nothingness when it comes to
capacity to produce, to take the place of
God in the matter of life-giving, life
-developing fruitfulness.
Apart from Me, you can do nothing.
So, humility and faith are in these two
verses.
The humility is branches can't produce fruit of
itself.
Without Jesus, we can do nothing.
That's the humility part.
But here's the faith part.
Truth to believe.
I'm the vine.
He who abides in Me and I in
him bears much fruit.
We can believe that.
Day by day, we can proceed with this
perspective.
I'm a branch joined into the vine that
is Christ.
He is my life source.
I cannot produce the life that He wants
to see that brings Him glory and touches
others, but I can abide in Him, count
on Him.
How do you know if you're abiding?
Well, listen.
If we're as willing to depend on the
Lord Jesus for any spiritual fruit as a
grape branch must depend on a grape vine
for one grape, then we are ready to
abide in Christ.
It's a full dependency.
Giving Him the trust that He is worthy
of and He will bring the life that
we desperately need.
It takes life to produce fruit.
Jesus is our daily life source.
Let's just trust in Him and watch Him
bring forth much fruit in our lives.
Others will be touched and God will be
glorified.
You might say, well, where am I going
to be?
You're going to be rejoicing, exploding with thanksgiving
that God would use us in such a
majestic plan.
Well, let's pray together, okay?
Let's stand together.
Lord Jesus, this very moment we want to
confess You, Lord, as our true vine, our
life source.
We want to humbly admit that in and
of ourselves we cannot produce this life and
the subsequent fruitfulness at all.
We can do nothing in that realm on
our own.
So Lord, we're looking to You this day.
There are places You want us to go
this day, this week, and bear fruit and
be fruitful and effective.
We need You for it all.
We look to You to be working in
and through us, demonstrating Your life through our
relationships, our work and our walk.
And Lord our God, we pray this brings
You great, great glory.
And we know it's going to bring great
joy to our lives.
And Lord, we give You thanks in advance
and pray that from this precious congregation of
believers, a staggering, bountiful harvest of righteousness will
grow up right on top of and in
and through and around the wonderful fruitfulness You've
already developed here.
Jesus, we look to You.
We're so thankful to be Your branches.
Do this wonderful work in and through us
as we trust in You, we pray.
In Jesus' name, amen.
You've been listening to From the Pulpit in
Classic Sermons series.
This week you heard Bob Hoekstra with his
message, Bearing Much Fruit.
Tune in next week to hear A.W.
Tozer talk about God's abundant mercy on From
the Pulpit in Classic Sermons.