Christ Church Southampton

I wonder what your experience is - in general - of life as a Christian.

(If that is in fact what you are.)

And in particular if it sometimes feels a bit – well – kind of nothing? A bit – meh. Like it’s all a bit of a trudge. Spiritually speaking, sometimes at least, you just feel a bit flat. Joyless.

You know what I’m talking about? Does that resonate with you at all?

If I were a betting man (which just to be clear I’m not) – but if I were, I would lay good money on nearly all of us here having experienced that feeling at some point in the past, and a reasonable number of us feeling that way right now. And actually some of us feeling like that flatness has become just normal – that’s the way it’s been, for years maybe.

We’ve learned to live with it, but that’s not to say it’s not immensely frustrating at times. And that frustration is seen in the kind of questions we find popping up in our minds.

Questions like: ‘is this it?’

You know what it’s like on a grim, rainy winter’s day. We’ve had a few of them recently. And you look outside and the level of light is just miserable. It’s getting on for midday, and the sun is barely making its presence felt. And you think: is this it? is this as bright as things are going to get all day?

That’s the question I’m talking about: is this rather limited level of spiritual light and joy and experience… as bright as it’s going to remain for me? Is this really the high water mark?

Is this it?

Or a second question that feeds the inner frustration: what about that?

You look back to an earlier time in your life. And - as you remember it at least – spiritually speaking, the colours just seemed more intense and bright back then. There was an excitement about your spiritual life, a fervency, a direction, an expectation – that was really rather wonderful. And you miss it.

What about that?

Is this it? What about that?

And a third question: ‘how about them?’

That is, in our heads we play the comparison game. It may be somebody we know, or others we see from afar. But the sense we have – for better or for worse, rightly or wrongly – is that other people just seem to be living their Christian lives on a different plane to us. A different level. It’s like Jesus is more present to them in daily life than he is to us.

And it is frustrating!

Now what’s going on here?

• Part of what’s going on, of course, is just the issue of temperament.

The way God has wired us may just mean we’re not the kind of people for whom ordinary life is ever going to feel like a mountaintop experience. People like us – we just live life more on the level. There are temperament issues.

• To be honest, a lot of it can be tiredness issues.

• If you’re in a season of life when a reasonable night’s sleep feels like a distant memory, and just getting through each day without crashing is all you can really think about, well that’s not a natural habitat for joy.

• Or it could be a question for distraction.

• Our head is just in so many different places. It’s hard to focus on where we are with God. It’s hard to find time and space to breathe the clean air of spiritual vitality.

There are lots of things potentially going on, and we haven’t even got to mental health issues, testing life circumstances, chronic illness and so on.

But one thing this question does raise for us is the question of expectations.

What should we expect of the Christian life? What should it look like? Feel like? I’m talking about a high level, here. The birds eye view, not so much the nitty gritty details and daily decisions. What should we actually expect of life?

We’ve been working our way through a part of John’s gospel which records the final main block of Jesus’ teaching. He’s about to die – tomorrow in fact. And he’s been addressing his inner circle, who are very naturally concerned –although not actually so much for him, but about what life will be like for them.

So Jesus has been trying to prepare them for what is to come. And one of the big things we saw last week is that when Jesus goes, he will send his Spirit. And the life of every follower of Jesus is therefore now going to be life with the Spirit of Jesus with them and in them.

And what that means is that we can sharpen that expectations question slightly.

It’s not just: what should we expect of life? It’s what should each one of us expect of this life in the Spirit? That is where Jesus turns now in this next rich, deep passage of the gospel – chapter 15.

So four questions we might ask about life in the Spirit. And you’ll have to forgive me for this, but because of the way we live today, in a world of gadgets and devices, I’ve framed the questions like this:

First, where is the power source for this life in the Spirit?

Second, is there a boost function?

Third, what is the output?

And fourth, how do I stay connected?

Let’s look at each of those in turn.

First, if we’re thinking about the experience of life in the Spirit, where is the power source?

That is: what do we need to plug into if we’re going to get cracking in our spiritual lives?

The way Jesus addresses that question, and in fact all these questions, is actually to use a powerful image of his own. Not one to do with electricity, obviously. But something from his own context. The world of horticulture. Or to be more specific viticulture – that’s growing grapes - to you and me!

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You see that straight away in the first two verses: in verse 1, you’ve got a vine, and a gardener. Verse 2: you’ve got branches, you’ve got fruit, and you’ve got pruning.

Now this may not be a particularly familiar world to many of us here. For us, grapes don’t come from vines; they come from the fruit and veg aisle at Aldi or Sainsburys or wherever.

But it would be very familiar indeed to those sitting around Jesus in that upper room.

And the first point Jesus is making is pretty clear. If you and I are the branches of a vine, he is the vine itself, to whom we are connected.

It’s the vine – the woody trunk – that holds up the branches. And it’s the vine that provides the sap that keeps the branches alive and healthy and fruitful. As long as the branches stay connected to the vine, they will receive all the things they need to remain vital.

Where is the power source for life in the Spirit? It’s Jesus himself. He’s the one who energises Christian people.

But here’s the thing about this image. There’s actually more to the background than first century small holdings and horticulture. The vine was almost a symbol of Israel. In the temple of Jesus’ day, there was a carved vine above the temple gates When Israel was able to produce coins, the vine was a standard image:

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Here are two coins from the first century, and the first coin from the state of Israel in the 21st century – 1948. The vine is always there.

You see, the vine to Israel was perhaps what the thistle is to Scotland or the dragon to Wales or the George cross to England. It was a symbol of national identity. And had been for centuries.

It goes back to the Old Testament.

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Again and again, Israel had been spoken of as a vine. In Psalm 80 and Ezekiel 19 and Isaiah 5 and Jeremiah 2 – the image is used repeatedly of Israel. Only, a common theme of those passages is that Israel was really a failed vine. An unfruitful vine.

Which makes Jesus’ statement here in verse 1 all the sharper.

He doesn’t say ‘I am the vine’. He says – what? I am the true vine. And it’s not hard to see what he’s hinting at. Your spiritual vitality does not come from being part of Israel, he’s saying. It comes from being part of me.

This is the last of the great ‘I am’ statements in John’s gospel. These 7 statements of Jesus that reveal his true identity. And he’s going out with a bang, isn’t he? With the background there is, and the contrast he’s making, it’s pretty obvious this is not just a nice, heartwarming little picture: ‘Ah, a vine – sweet! What a lovely picture!’

No way. This is an aggressive statement. Your identity from now on, he’s saying, cannot come from any other connections. Those other connections are failed; they are invalid; they can give you nothing. Your identity, your very life, must come from your connection with me.

Let me ask you: what do you think is the most common way Christians are referred to or described in the New Testament?

• Christians? No – that word is used only 3 times.

• Disciples? Sometimes.

• Saints? Yes quite a few times

• Believers? Or Brothers and sisters – now we’re getting some where - many times

But do you know what one of the most frequent descriptions of Christian people is? It’s those who are ‘in Christ’. That phrase or something similar apparently comes something like 160 times!

And with this kind of statement from Jesus, you can see why. He is the centre. He’s the foundation. He’s the way and the truth and the life. He is the one and only source of energy for Christian believers today.

So there’s an answer to our first question.

What about the second: is there a boost function?

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You know what I’m getting at there. If you’ve ever tried cleaning your home with a cordless vacuum cleaner, you know the deal. Unless you’ve remortgaged your house to get the absolute latest Dyson, you’re only going to get what you actually need from the machine when you press the boost button. Press that, and the thing starts properly motoring and you can actually get the job done.

And the question I’m asking is – when it comes to life in the Spirit, how can we get motoring like that? We’ve established the basic principle that the source of spiritual vitality is in Christ. But how can we step up and thrive and really become the people God has designed us to be?

Well come back to the passage and the second half of verse 1.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener

Which sounds, again, like just a sweet pastoral image. Until you read on and remember what a gardener actually does. Verse 2.

2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful.

Now that is a hard reality to face, isn’t it? Two realities in fact.

• One is that where someone is claiming allegiance to Christ but bears no sign of genuine spiritual life, they’ll be cut off. Or down in verse 6, it’s even more graphic: they’ll be thrown into the fire and burnt.

That’s the destination for counterfeit Christians.

Which is quite a wake-up call, isn’t it? You can go through the motions – turn up at church, make friends with other Christians, live a moral life and so on, but still fail to exhibit the signs of real connection to Jesus. And if that is you, well, let’s just say: there is a big warning here.

• But the second reality presented in that verse is that even Christians who are displaying signs of spiritual life will face the sharp blade of God’s pruning shears. Because - as I imagine any vine-dresser worth their salt would tell us - that is what’s needed for the grapes to be abundant.

Again, that is a sobering reminder, isn’t it? Pain – God-given pain in fact – is an inseparable part of life in the Spirit.

So I guess the question is: is there any help here for those times when we do face painful challenges in life? Because to be frank, there are quite a number in this room in that camp. A lot of us – myself included – have been through very testing situations. And others may yet face that in the future. So is there anything here to cling on to when we’re feeling the sharp end of life?

Absolutely there is. Let me just highlight two things to hold on to tightly at those times.

First, remember there’s no better gardener. Who is the gardener? Verse 1: it is the Father. That is: he is one who is motivated by love for his children and who desires their good. The pain we face is real, yes, but it’s not random; it is directional. It’s inflicted for our benefit.

I mean think about it. If you were going to face a knife, which would you rather it be: the knife of a mugger down a dark alley late at night? Or the knife of a surgeon under the bright lights of the operating table? One is acting for his own ends. The other is acting for your good. But in our case, as I say, it’s even better than a surgeon: it’s a loving father who holds the blade. And he can be trusted only to do what needs to be done. He’s not just acting professionally. He’s acting in love. He really does love you.

There’s no better gardener. Hold on to that when the pruning shears come.

And to something else too. There’s no other way. You notice in verse two that there is no escaping the blade. The only question is: which blade. We’re down to another would-you-rather, in fact. Would you rather face the axe – being cut off and thrown away – or face simply the pruning shears – uncomfortable, yes, but not terminal. It’s a repeated theme in the New Testament. God disciplines those he loves – Hebrews 12. He refuses to take away the thorn in the flesh – 2 Corinthians 12. And here: he carefully prunes his beloved branches. Because he’s determined to grow us in our fruitfulness.

Is there a boost function when it comes to life in the Spirit? Yes there is. It’s a powerful one. But also a painful one, and one that’s not under our control.

Third question we’ve got to ask: what is the output?

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What is the function, the end product? What does life in the Spirit lead to?

Well, back to this image of Jesus, and the basic answer is fairly obvious: the output is fruit. Verse 2, verse 4, verse 5.

Or verse 8: ‘This is to my Father’s glory: that you bear much fruit’.

So far, so obvious. But we haven’t answered the question, have we. Because we haven’t yet established what the fruit is.

• I mean, is it the fruit of answered prayers? V7 – ‘ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you’. Is that the fruit? Maybe.

• Or is it the fruit of new conversions? In verse 16, the fruit is described as ‘fruit that will last’. Is that a reference to more people beginning to enjoy eternal through our witness. Is that it? Maybe.

• Or is it – perhaps more likely – the fruit of a righteous life. Back in Isaiah 5, - which seems to be in view here – that was definitely the fruit being sought. It’s a parable about a vineyard whose owner put great care into it, but who found when he went to check out the fruit that the fruit was bad. And then this explanation in verse 7:

The vineyard of the Lord Almighty

is the nation of Israel,

and the people of Judah

are the vines he delighted in.

And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed;

for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.

Justice, righteousness. Is that the fruit Jesus is referring to here in John 15?

Well, maybe. Any of those things could be in view. But the fruit Jesus focuses on is slightly different.

Do you remember the parable of the sower? Jesus gives that extended parable about a farmer and seed and sowing and different types of soils. Do you remember that? And then what follows? What follows is an interpretation of the parable. A kind of decoding.

Well that’s what we seem to have here in John 15. The image itself in verses 1-8, including some interpretation along the way. And then a fuller decoding in 9-17. Now how does that help?

Well in verse 8, you get a strong hint about what Jesus is referring to by fruit. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Question: how do you show yourself to be Jesus’s disciples? What’s the distinctive mark? Well, it’s not hard. He’s only just said it. Like half an hour ago. Flick back to chapter 13, verse 34:

34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

That’s just the language Jesus is picking up, isn’t it?

And then in the second half of our passage, the interpretation bit, Jesus makes it explicit. No need to remember that earlier bit. Here it is in black and white, Jesus says. It’s all about love.

First he reminds them how the Father’s love for him becomes the model for his love for us.

Verse 9: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.

But then – verse 12 – his love for us becomes the model for our love for each other.

12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

And then just to be even clearer, he returns to it at the end.

Verse 17: ‘This is my command: love each other’

So this is the key output. This is the fruit that is Jesus is really looking for.

A loving commitment to our fellow believers is what demonstrates that we’re spiritually alive, that we really are connected to Jesus.

Well I wonder if he sees that in you and me? I wonder where our fellow-believers really fit in our order of priorities. How committed we are to meeting with them, listening to them, speaking to them, serving them.

As ever, don’t confuse this love with mere friendship. Friendship is as much about us as it is about someone else. But love is about them. Someone we may not be drawn to, we may not have much in common with. But we share an attachment to the same vine of Jesus. And so we delight in serving them in love.

So we come to one last question about life in the Spirit that Jesus wants to help us with: how do you stay connected?

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This one word in this passage that appears more than any other. Can you spot what it is? Fruit? Love? Me?

No. It’s the word remain. Remain in me. Remain in the vine.

Clearly Jesus is putting a high priority on us staying connected to him. But what does that look like?

Two things:

We’re to remain in his teaching.

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Do you see the logic of verses 3 and 4?

3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain…

Do you see that? We hear Jesus’ teaching; that teaching brings order to our lives. So now we need to ensure that continues to be the case A

Again in verse 7. ‘If you remain in me and my words remain in you.’

We’re to remain in his teaching. Allow the teaching of Jesus to shape and direct our lives.

And the other thing? We’re to remain in his love.

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Verse 9: ‘now remain in my love’.

Verse 10: ‘you will remain in my love.

As we keep our lives in line with his teaching, we remain in his love. Which is a staggering thing.

• Jesus loves us – v12

• He gives his life for us – v13

• He offers his friendship to us – v14

• In fact – v16 – he chose us.

This is the love of Jesus. And we’re called simply to bask in it.

This is how we stay connected.

The problem for us is – we want more, don’t we?

This goes back to where we began, doesn’t it? The expectations of the Christian life. We want something new. A new direction, a new experience, a new challenge, a new something. But what does Jesus say? Remain.

Come on Jesus, give us more.

But here’s the thing. This is actually revolutionary.

I don’t know about you, but I’m sick to the back teeth of seeing Christian people, sometimes even Christian leaders, sometimes even whole churches, prove unable to remain in the teaching of Jesus. It’s heartbreaking to see. But the point is: it’s a challenge.

This is more than enough of a challenge for us – to remain in Jesus’ teaching. To avoid the stupid decisions where we let something else become more important. A relationship, a job, a leisure pursuit, even a daily routine. All those things can take us away from the teaching of Jesus. And the challenge is: not to let them.

And it’s more than enough of an experience of life for us. To be so secure in the loving acceptance of Jesus that we don’t need to be slaves to our reputation, to our friends’ opinion, to our online approvals, to the identity we try and create for ourselves. We’re free from it all. The life we’re able to live is one of enjoying that freedom.