Vintage Faith sermon series
Object lesson for this message
Use four "fruit-gathering" baskets and display them on the platform. Allowing an artistic person in your congregation to handle this task will be putting the "fruit-bearing" principles to work. Even if you've not built a full trellis of grape vines on your platform, the four baskets will still be an eye-catching prop. One of the baskets must be empty, one should have a small amount of grapes, a third a good bit more, and a fourth should be overflowing with grapes. You can put a false bottom in the fourth basket to avoid needing so many grapes. You can use real grapes for a one-Sunday prop, or realistic, artificial grapes for the full series use. Be sure to hold each basket as you refer to it, drawing attention to its contents.
Scriptures: John 15:1-8
Introduction
Illustration: John Daly's recent resurgence has reminded us of his incredible story. Daly took the golfing world by a storm in 1991, when his mammoth drives and delicate touch overwhelmed the field at the annual PGA championship, vaulting Daly from a last-minute entry who didn't even have time for a practice round, to PGA champion. Analysts and championship golfers alike agreed that Daly's career was unstoppable. He would, the golfing world said, win many more times. Instead, Daly became his own worst enemy. Binges with alcohol and food were outward signs of a host of personal problems. He entered more than 300 PGA tournaments in the next 14 years, but only had 11 top-ten finishes in that stretch, and only won once between 1995 and another victory this year. Although he's playing well today, it's obvious that Daly missed an opportunity to fulfill his potential in the prime of his career.
Illustration: Radio stations have been filled with songs affectionately known as "one-hit wonders." From The Safaris' "Wipe Out," to Jeannie Riley's "Harper Valley PTA," to Vickie Lawrence's "The Night the Lights went out in Georgia," music history is littered with singers who thought they'd stay in the spotlights once they got there. For hundreds of musicians with one-hit wonders, however, the glory was short-lived. (To dress up this illustration, visit one of the Internet websites that list "one-hit wonders," and beef up the story of a band popular to your congregation. The story of "Wipe Out," in particular, ends with at least one aging member of the band beginning a Christian ministry in recent years.)
Short-lived glory is child's play compared to our task as fruit-bearing Christians. The fruit we produce as followers of Jesus can't fade away like a dusty 8-track. (If you're wondering what an "8-track" is, you're proving my point.) Jesus asked his followers to bear "fruit that remains."
John 15:5-8 "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. 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. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." (HCSB)
John 15:16 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.
I. Bearing fruit is a life-long process
Ask any farmer, and certainly, any vineyard owner. If you'd like grapes during the harvest season, you'll have to work very hard in every other season. The vineyard owner who decides to take a week off, or sleep in every morning, shouldn't plan on seeing much of a harvest.
As an individual, and as a church body, Christians must realize that Jesus commanded us to a process of diligent work that will last our entire lives. If we ever expect to fulfill his command to "bear fruit," we can't be sporadic in our labor. On the other hand, if we'll be about the process, the harvest will be unforgettable.
The key is remaining in Christ (John 15:5). That's where the work is. It's the work of reading the Bible, understanding the Bible, setting up a regular routine of authentic prayer, and being involved with a dynamic church fellowship on a regular basis. It's the hard work of trusting God with your time, treasures and talents. It's the hard work of actually doing what the Bible commands us to do, and bearing the fruit we were designed to bear.
Illustration: A vineyard owner's work is never done. Instead, a vine keeper works a cycle of tasks. In the winter, correct pruning will determine the size of the harvest months later. Repairs must be made to the guiding trellises. In the spring, wayward vines have to be cut free from ground, and placed back on the trellis. The summer requires the proper amount of rain, sunshine, and patience. Disease and insects are natural enemies that must be battled in every season. In the harvest season, the work is long and hard – although very rewarding. Immediately after the harvest, the preparatory steps for the work of the winter begin. (Source: In My Father's Vineyard, Wayne Jacobson, Countryman, 1997.)
A key reminder is due here. "Bearing fruit" has often been applied to evangelism, but it is certainly not limited to winning people to Christ. It's a freeing thought to remember that each of us is created differently, with a unique blend of spiritual and natural gifts. You've got a spiritual "thumbprint," so to speak, that's different from mine, and my spiritual thumbprint is certainly different from the next person's. Add to that thought the development the spiritual fruits of Galatians 5:22-23, and it's suddenly clear that every effort of producing patience, gentleness, or self-control can be part of my life's harvest.
How tragic it is to meet a long-time Christian who has given up developing the gifts of love, joy and peace, patience, kindness or goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. If that kind of empty basket is unsatisfying to us on earth, imagine how frustrating it must be from God's point of view!
II. A casual commitment to Christ produces a fruitless life.
Illustration: A comedian told his audience that he was fully committed to his wife. People clapped for him. Then he said, "You know why I'm fully committed? You ever seen those dead possums lying in the middle of the road? Those were partially committed possums!" And as he said, "I don't want to be partially committed." A casual commitment produces problems in a lot of areas!
We have four baskets with us this morning, and all four baskets are a bit different. One basket is empty. Can you imagine getting to heaven, and facing your Savior with an empty basket? Surely you would thank Jesus for dying on your behalf. Surely you'd be more grateful than words could describe that you'd found an eternal home in heaven. But what kind of emotions would you have if, somehow, you appeared before Jesus with an empty basket? What kind of response would you have, if Jesus said, "I asked you to bear fruit. Actually, I commanded you to bear fruit. I gave you spiritual gifts, and I placed you in places and situations where you could use those spiritual gifts. What did you do with all of the years I gave you to bear the fruit? Why is your basket empty?" Are there words to express the embarrassment at that moment?
In this last teaching, Jesus said it clearly, "apart from me you can do nothing. 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. (John 15:5b-6)
What a tragedy if our life adds nothing to the kingdom of God!
III. The greater the commitment, the more fruitful our lives
Illustration: There are different levels of commitment. When Dr. David Livingstone was working in Africa, a group of friends wrote him: "We would like to send other men to you. Have you found a good road into your area yet?" According to a member of his family, Dr. Livingstone sent this message in reply: "If you have men who will only come if they know there is a good road, I don't want them. I want men who will come if there is no road at all."
We've got three more baskets, of course, and each has an amount of fruit in it. One has a bit of fruit in it, and the other has a good bit more. These baskets are indeed options for us, but again, imagine the culmination of your entire life, and that incredible moment when you meet Jesus, face to face. What grief we might bear in that moment when we realized the lost opportunities of fruit that could have been in the basket.
Every single one of us has an opportunity to present a life overflowing with fruit to our Lord. For a person with the gift of evangelism, a fruitful life would include many people who've become Christians as a result of that person's work. For a person with the gift of teaching, the fruitful harvest would be the great numbers of people who've grown in the faith as a result of the teaching. For a person with the gift of helps, the fruitful life could be the people who've been comforted and blessed in times of need.
The ultimate form of commitment will produce the most incredible fruit imaginable. "If you abide in me," Jesus told those disciples (John 15:7), "and my word abides in you, ask what you will, and you shall have it." Is that possible? Sure it is. "Abiding" is "staying." It's where you live. If we choose a lifestyle that has constant communion with Christ, the abiding happens. It's as natural as a vineyard owner working his crop on a year-round basis. There's nothing extraordinary about a hard-working farmer. It's normal, actually, to expect that a farmer would plan his entire day, and the entire year, around the farming process. That farmer knows: The greater his commitment, the greater his harvest.
In time, any Christian who decides to pursue a 24/7 lifestyle of abiding with Christ will see the fruit come in amazing amounts. It may take seasons of preparation, planting, watering, cultivating and fighting the enemy, but like a farmer doing the same thing in his fields, the harvest is a natural part of such a process. A church making an increased commitment to bearing fruit will, in due time, see amazing things happen.
IV. The harvest from our lives belongs to God
Perhaps the most important thing to remember from the vineyard is the simplest truth of all. Jesus made it clear right from the start. He's the vine, and we're the branches. The fruit may appear from the work of our lifetimes, but just as a branch has complete dependence upon the vine, we have complete dependence upon Christ. Never has a branch owned the vineyard, and never should any Christian boast about his or her personal harvest. The branch produces fruit for the vineyard owner. Our fruit is produced for the glory of God.
Imagine that moment when you stand before the God of all the universe, clothed in the grace provided for you, so delighted to stand in a place so perfect, so heavenly, so eternal. The weight of our sin that once felt so great will have been taken away by the gift of the cross. The "fruit" of the life of Jesus will be his gift, in that first moment of eternity, to you! Can we really comprehend the slightest inkling of what that moment will be like?
And imagine one more thing in that same moment. Perhaps the fruit of your life will be prepared, symbolically, for you to present to the Savior who gave everything for you. He gives you the gift of eternity, and you'll give him the gift of your life's work.
Conclusion
Which basket would you like to present to Jesus, when you meet him? An empty one? One partially filled? One that's got a good bit of fruit in it? (Hold up the fourth basket.) Or would you like to give Jesus a basket so filled with fruit that it can't all be contained? "Well done!" the Lord will say in the moment. "Well done, my good and faithful - my fruitful - servant!"
Closing note
Opportunity for commitments during a time of quiet prayer. With the visual image fresh in their minds, most listeners will be ready to commit toward producing the largest eternal harvest possible. As they begin a time of quiet prayer, remind them that the opportunity to change tomorrow's harvest comes in today's decision, and today's hard work. The individual commitments could range from increased Bible study, church attendance, and of course, salvation decisions.