Turn with me, if you would, back
to John chapter 15. In John chapter 10, our Lord
said, my sheep hear my voice. That's what he said. My sheep
hear my voice. That's what I want us to do this
evening. If the Lord will speak to us, we are at the mercy of
the Lord speaking to us. We can't just come in and assume
that the Lord will speak to us. And so that's why we pray. That's
why we call. That's why we beg. Lord, would
you condescend? Would you bend down and speak
to us? And if He does, if He does speak
to us, I want us to hear His voice in the heart. That's what I'm begging for all
of us. Everything that He is saying here in John 15 and in
all of these ending chapters in the book of John, Everything
that he is saying is speaking of the sacrifice of himself. Everything. This is many of these
ending chapters happened in one night and he is telling his disciples
thing and he's things and he's speaking of this sacrifice that
he was headed to accomplish. And he is giving vital words
of union right here directly to his people. And I just want us to hear his
voice in him tonight. That's what I want us to hear.
I want us to hear his words. These are his words. And I want
us to hear his voice in his words. Verse one, he said, I am the true vine. As we read this, envision him
talking to you. Envision him saying this to you.
He said, I am the true vine. And my father is the husbandman. He said, everything that is going
to come to you from the father, it's all gonna come to you through
me. That's what he's saying. It's
all gonna come by me, by way of, I am the true vine. Last Sunday night, we looked
at John 14, verse six, which is right across my page, where
the Lord said, I am the way, I am the truth, And I am the life. No man cometh unto the Father,
but by me." No man comes to the Father, but by me. He said, the only way that you're
going to enter into the presence of the Father is through me. It's through my blood, through my death, through my
payment, through my sacrifice. You know, the old Testament,
the tabernacle in the old Testament, they had the Holy place. And
then there was the Holy of Holies. And the only way that the high
priest could go in representing all the people names of all the
tribes on his vesture and all of that. The only way he could
go in was with blood. That's the only way he, if a
man tried to come in any other way, he'd be killed right then
and there. And that's what our Lord is saying, the only way
that you're gonna enter into the presence of the Father is
by me, through me, through this offering, the sacrifice, the
blood. In John chapter 10, he said, I am the door. The only way that you can enter
in is through me. He keeps saying this over and
over again in all of these different illustrations and all these different
ways. And right here in John 15, he said, I'm the true vine. If the life of God is gonna come
to you and the nourishment of God, if
the nourishment of God is gonna come to you, it's only gonna
be by me. It's only gonna be through me. Verse one, I am the true vine. And my father is the husband
man. My father is the vine dresser. My father is the, the gardener,
the, the one who is doing and in control of all this. Now you
think about that. He is the one who has grown and cared for and grafted
the vine and the branches within the vine. Our Father is the one
who elected a people to save. Our Father is the one who chose
those who would be grafted into the vine. He is the one who laid
it out. And He's done that as He has
seen fit to do that. And with that thought in mind,
if you have that visual in your mind, all right, you have that
visual of the Father, the vine, grafting in branches as He has
seen fit, turn with me to 1 Corinthians 1. We were in this very scripture
this morning. 1 Corinthians 1. and keep that visual in mind,
all right? 1 Corinthians 1 verse 30 says, but of him are you in Christ,
in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness
and sanctification and redemption. Of God, Have you been meticulously,
carefully grafted in to Christ divine of God? Now, the amazing thing is who
God the father chose to graft in. That's the amazing thing. God, the father is the one who
did this. God, the father is the one who chose this. And the
amazing part of grace, amazing grace. Why do we sing amazing
grace? It's because it truly is amazing.
Not predictable. Amazing. The amazing part of
grace. is that sweet sound that says,
He saved a wretch like me. That's the amazing part of grace,
who He chose to carefully graft into this vine. Look right here
in 1 Corinthians 1 at verse 26, it says, you see your calling
brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh Not many
mighty, not many noble are called. What does that mean? That means
not many wise men after the flesh. Not many mighty and not many
noble are called. Verse 27, but God hath chosen
the foolish things of the world. What's that? You're looking at
him. by God's grace, fool, just a
fool in the flesh. God hath chosen the foolish things
of the world to confound the wise. God hath chosen the weak
things of the world. Who's that? To confound the things which
are mighty, base things, low things of the world. Things which
are despised hath God chosen. Yea, and things which are not,
to bring to nothing things that are. That no flesh should glory
in his presence. And we don't, do we? We don't. We branches do not glory in the
presence of the vine, I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus,
the Nazarene and wonder how he could love me a center undone
and unclean. How marvelous, how wonderful.
And my song shall ever be. So we branches do not glory in
the presence of the vine. And here's the reason why this
is the reason why. Every branch that has been grafted
into the vine has been made to know this right here. This is
why we don't glory. It's because every branch grafted
in has been made to know, or will be taught this right here.
Turn with me to Colossians chapter two. Colossians 2 verse 6, it says,
as you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk
ye in Him, rooted and built up in Him, and established in the
faith as you have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving
Beware, lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit,
after the traditions of men, after the rudiments of the world,
and not after Christ. Verse nine says, for in him,
and you keep this visual in your mind of this vine and these branches
grafted in, in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. and you are complete in him,
which is the head of all principality in power. Oh, what it means to
be grafted into Christ. We branches do not glory in the
presence of the vine because by him, through him, in him dwells
all the fullness of the Godhead. bodily. A body was prepared for
the Lord Jesus Christ. A body was prepared for him,
and it was for this one purpose right here. It was for this one
purpose. It was so that all of his people
could be complete in him. He is the vine, his people are
the branches, and in him They are complete in the fullness
of the Godhead. You talk about complete, how
complete are we? Well, how full is, how complete
is the fullness of the Godhead? That truly is amazing. Go with
me back to John 15. Verse two, he said, every branch
in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away. And every branch
that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more
fruit. Now, two types of branches are
mentioned in that verse. The branch that never did bear
any fruit and the branch that bore fruit, and was purged that
it might bring forth more fruit. Now, do you know who the branch
was that never did bear any fruit of its own? That was me. That was me. And that was you. That was all of us in our deadness. You know, we see that and you
think, boy, I wouldn't want to be that branch. Well, we are. All of us in our deadness. Ephesians
2 says, in you hath he quickened who were dead. In the moment
that man ate of the fruit, God said, in the day you eat thereof,
you're going to surely die. And that's what happened. Deadness,
spiritual deadness. All of us are dead in our flesh,
dead in and of ourselves, all right? And do you know who the
branch was that bore fruit and was purged that he might bring
forth more fruit? That was Christ. Christ was the only one that
bore the fruit of life, the fruit that the Father was pleased with.
Christ was the only one who walked this earth truly bearing the
fruit of the Holy Spirit. We talk about, you know, well,
we need to bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit, love and joy
and peace and long suffering and meekness, and that's true.
But Christ is the only one who did. We're about to read, greater
love had no man than this. But for the sake of His dead
branches, this is why Christ came. This is why the vine came.
He was for the dead branches. And for the sake of His dead
branches, because all they were good for and all they were worthy
of was to be taken away and cast into the fire. For their sake,
He was purged. And when you purge something,
if you're going to purge a vine, what that means is you're going
to cut it off. He was cut off. He was cast away.
That's what you do. He was cast away, given to the
fire so that they might live through Him. Isaiah 53 says,
it pleased the Lord to bruise Him, Christ. Just listen, don't turn. I always
have you turn, especially to Isaiah 53, but I want you to
just listen to it. Don't read it, just listen to
it. It says, surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem him stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace,
what we were supposed to get, was upon Him. And with His stripes,
we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his
own way. And the Lord hath laid on Christ
the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the
slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened
not his mouth. He was taken from prison and
from judgment, and who shall declare his generation? For he
was cut off out of the land of the living. for the transgression
of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the
wicked and with the rich in his death, because he had done no
violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased
the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief, When
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed,
he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in his hand." What does that mean exactly? The pleasure
of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Look with me at John
12. John 12, verse 23. And Jesus answered them saying,
the hour is come that the son of man should be glorified. Verily,
verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the
ground and die, it abideth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth
much fruit." That's Christ, the purged branch. The Apostle Paul said, being
the dead branch in the flesh that he was, he said, who shall
deliver me from the body of this death? But this is what he said. He said, I am crucified with
Christ. I was cut off, I was purged with
Christ. Did I deserve to be taken away
in my deadness and did God take me away? Yes, He did in Christ. I was crucified with Christ. He said, nevertheless, I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me. My being of life is only coming
to me by way of, it's only coming to me through Christ my vine. He said, it's not me living,
it's Christ living in me. And he said, the life which I
now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God
who loved me and gave himself for me. Our Lord said, except
a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth
much fruit. Look with me back at chapter
15. Verse three, he said, now you
are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide
in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit
of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye except
ye abide in me. He said, no branch can bear fruit
if I don't bear the fruit for you. No branch can produce life
if I don't produce the life for you. And how did Christ produce
the life? He was purged. He was purged. Verse five, he
said, I am the vine, you are the branches, he that abideth
in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. For
without me, and if you have a center margin in your Bible, mine says,
severed from me, you can do nothing. Without Christ,
severed from Christ, We are nothing. We're nothing. But in Christ,
we're made to be everything with him. He said, in me, you're going
to bear the same life that I bear. You're going to bear my life.
My life is going to be evidenced in you. Look with me at John
17. Verse 10, he said, all mine are
thine and thine are mine and I am glorified in them. Verse 21, he said, they all may
be one father as thou father art in me and I in thee, that
they also may be one in us. He said the glory in verse 22,
the glory which thou gavest me, I've given it to them. It is
flowing right through me into them. And he went on to say,
in verse 23, I in them and thou in me, that they may be made
perfect in one, that the world may know that thou hast sent
me and loved them as you've loved me. So he said, outside of me
and outside of my purging for you, you're nothing and you have
nothing. But he said, in me, with me, You're in the fullness of the
love and union of the Godhead. That's just, that's amazing. Back to chapter 15, verse six. If a man abide not in me, he
is cast forth as a branch and is withered. and men gather them
and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide
in me and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will and
it shall be done unto you." How can we abide in him? We just read a moment ago, of
God are you in Christ Jesus? But how do we stay there? How
do we abide there? Peter said, every soul that has
been placed inside Christ Jesus is being kept there by the power
of God. The Lord said in John 17, Father,
I kept him. I've kept him. There's no need
in worrying over falling away. There's no need in worrying over
that. We didn't have the ability to put ourselves in Christ in
the first place. We don't have the ability to
keep ourselves there. If he doesn't keep us, we're not gonna be kept.
But the God who cannot lie said, I kept them. And they're being
kept by the power of God. And we just do, we have no need
in worrying of falling away. God keeps his people. And he
said, in Christ, we are safe forevermore. In John 10, he said, we are in
Christ's hand, and Christ is in the Father's hand. And he
said, no man is able to pluck you out of the Father's hand.
No man. So in Christ, we will never be
forsaken. None will be lost. And in Him,
not only are we not lost, we're not dead. He that hath the Son
hath life. He that hath that vine hath light. Verse 8, he said, Herein is my
Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, so shall you be my
disciples. The fruit is Christ. That's the fruit. The fruit of
Christ. It's the life of Christ. It's
the image of Christ. And it's all to the glory and
the praise of Christ. Faith in Christ. It's all of
Christ. Verse nine, he said, as the father
hath loved me, so have I loved you. Continue ye in my love. We didn't put ourselves in the
love and we can't keep ourselves in the love of God. But he said,
I've loved you with an everlasting love. Before the foundation of
the world love. And this right here, what we're
about to observe, this is the greatest example of love that
could ever be known. That's the greatest example that
could ever be known. He said in verse nine, as the
father hath loved me, so have I loved you, continue ye in my
love, if you keep my commandments. What are his commandments? Well, you got the 10 commandments
and you got the, What are his commandments to his people? This
is what he said. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. What was the
commandment of God the Father to his people? Hear him. What did he command his apostles
as he was walking by? Follow me. They came, that man came one
time and said, good master, what's the greatest commandments of
all the commandments? He said, I'll give you two. Love the Lord
your God and love his people. Trust Christ, look to Christ.
What is his commandment? Rest in Christ. Verse 10, if you keep my commandments,
you shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my father's commandments
and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto
you that my joy might remain in you. And how wonderful is
that thought? The joy that's in the vine is flowing to the
branches. He said, these things have I
spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you and that your joy
might be full. This is my commandment that you
love one another as I have loved you. And how did he love us? unto him that loved us and washed
us from our sins in his own blood. Verse 13 says, greater love hath
no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. The only reason we have life
is because he laid down his life for us. That's the only reason. He was purged by the great husbandman
And because of that, we live and we have the fruit of his
life in us. That was his love for us. His love, that's what sent him
to the tree. That's what held him on the tree.
And it was his love that gave the blood that flows to his people,
flows with life to his people. So here is our Cry to the Father. Thank God
for the vine. Thank God for the door, the way,
the truth, the life. Greater love had no man than
our Savior. And let's remember that now as
we observe his table together. All right, Brother Cody, you
come up and read for us.