Sabbath 11/14/15 Daytona SDB Church Pastor Wray sermon �I AM the Vine�

Posted : 14 Nov, 2015 09:57 AM

Sabbath 11/14/15 Daytona SDB Church Pastor Wray sermon �I AM the Vine� John 15:1-3

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This text has the phrase that Jesus used�.� I Am�. �I Am the Vine.� In the book of John, �I am� is recorded seven times. They are all connected to Jesus Christ. He used every day events to teach about God. Lets us do a review of the �I Am� statements.



John 6: Jesus said � I Am the bread of life�. John 8: At the temple, Jesus said � I am the Light of the world�. In a field of sheep Jesus said � I am the gate to salvation�. In another field of sheep Jesus said � I am the good shepherd�. Before Lazarus was raised from the dead, Jesus said � I am the resurrection and the life�. At the last supper, Jesus said �I am the way, the truth and the life and no man comes to the Father except thru me�.



Jesus used common events as a setting to teach truths. Moses said in Deuteronomy for us to teach God�s truths to our children and to talk about them as we walk thru life. We all need to be ready for teachable moments in our daily lives. All daily events provide opportunities to teach about God. This is how Jesus taught, He looked for teachable moments. Jesus told his disciples that �I Am the true vine�. Grapes were central to Israel�s economy and the grapevine was a symbol of Israel. The grapevine was a symbol on their coins. The grapevine was a symbol of past, present and future. Jesus said �I am the vine and you are the branches. Abide in me and you can do all things. Apart from me you can do nothing�.



Abide in Christ: Jesus said if we abide in Him, we can ask what we wish and it will be given to us. Abiding means spending time in the word of God soothe word abides in us. Then we are abiding in Christ. Abide in the Word: Read the word daily and obey the word.



Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. The branches are connected to the vine. Se we as Christian branches can be or should be connected to Jesus like the branch is to the vine. We are told to abide because it is something we can or cannot do. We have a daily choice to make. Spend time in prayer and open the bible to read it. Abiding is our job! The one who fails to abide is in a dangerous position. The unfruitful branch is taken away. He who does not abide is thrown away and cast into the fire and burned. When we do abide in Christ, we will bear fruit. Fruit bearing does not need effort from us. Fruit comes naturally from abiding in Christ. Orange trees don�t grunt and groan when bearing orange fruit. God will provide the effort to cultivate and prune us as his branches in the vine.



Branches abide and Friends obey. Jesus said we are his friends if we obey Him. He said that vines and branches are connected. The vine gives nourishment that the branch receives. Friendship goes both ways in the giving and receiving. Being friends with Jesus means that Jesus will share his plan with us. We have a shared destiny with Jesus. To abide and obey means helping out the other. The one who abides is more likely to obey than the one who does not abide. Not abiding makes you more likely to disobey. The more you don�t want to abide, the further you get into disobedience. The happiest person in the world is the Christian who is abiding and obeying. The outcome of the obedient abider is Joy!!



As the vine, Jesus provides all we need. As the vinedresser, God takes care of everything. As the branches, we are blessed and fruitful for the Lord. We need to hang tight to the only source of life itself.

AMEN

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