April 26, 2026 John 15:1-8 “Your New Life!”

23 Apr April 26, 2026 John 15:1-8 “Your New Life!”

April 26, 2026    John 15:1-8              “Your New Life!”

Here we are in another spring.  Things are really percolating outside.  We have been watching many robins as they gathered around our crabapple tree after a snow fall.  We could look out at any time during daylight and see at least 12 -15 robins picking that tree clean of all the apples that did not fall last year.  As the snow melted and the ground turned black, we could see the temperatures begin to rise.  Soon it will be summer.  And with all of that, many golf courses opened up which makes me happy.  Spring is in the air.  It is a time for our young people to get ready for their prom.  What a gala event!  Not long after that, there will be graduation for high schools and colleges.  Some places have their confirmation in the spring.  This is the time of year for new life.  There are many ways to express this whether it be in plants or animals or humans.  Today’s Scripture talks about a vine.  Many of us have vines.  We have one in our back yard that keeps coming back every year.  It is quite pretty with purple flowers.  As long as I don’t do anything too crazy, it will keep coming back.  In the past Jesus has been referred to as bread of life, light of the world, door to heaven, the good shepherd, the resurrection, the way, the truth and the life just to name a few terms.  Today we will see how He is the true vine.  Let’s see if we can find a way to better our lives.

Here is a story from Michael Bartee, Sr.  He says, “When I was growing up, I was one of six children. Our house was very small, only four rooms. And without any of the conveniences most houses had in those days. We did not have a bathroom, running water, or a furnace.

There were two boys, about my age, that lived close by. In my mind they were rich! The home they lived in had all the modern conveniences, and the boys had many, many toys!  All I had at that time was found in the woods very near to where I lived. I went there often to play, usually alone, as the ‘rich kids’ didn’t seem at all interested in hanging out with me.

In those woods were tall trees with vines. I would grab hold of the one that looked strongest and cling tightly, trusting it to carry me. The vine would lift me up and take me across dangerous ditches and deep valleys, and fill me with wonderful joy!  In John 5:15 Jesus said these awesome words; “I AM the Vine.”  I have been holding onto him tightly for over 50 years and have discovered that if our life with Christ is right, everything will be alright.

Jesus begins today’s reading with another ‘I AM’ statement.  He says “I am the true vine.”  Now I am not the world’s smartest person so I had to look up to see what was actually a vine.  I found that vines are not something where you might build a tree house.  They have long, flexible and weak stems.  They cannot support their own weight so they have climbing mechanisms that kind of grab onto or wrap around another plant or structure.  If they have the proper support they can grow to great heights.  I have mentioned that we have one in our back yard that comes back every year and has pretty purple flowers.  Plus, it is pretty sturdy to survive our harsh winters.

What Jesus is saying here is that He is the root of the vine.  He is the strong part of the vine that holds it altogether.  God is the gardener in this case.  Jesus is the strength and we are the weak branches that spread out.  It’s really pretty simple so far but then just about everything about Jesus is simple so we can follow.  Now I don’t understand a lot about plants but I do know that if you prune many of them, they will grow back better than ever.  That is what Jesus is doing.  He is pruning the vine.  Now if you happen to be a part of the vine that is doing very well, you may not take a lot of pruning.  However, if your part is sort of dying on the vine, you may take a lot of pruning.  Remember that in this reading, vine is the Jewish people.

Steven Grant tells of having a lilac bush in my back yard with beautiful white flowers. Well, he decided it needed a little bit of pruning, so he got out some cutters and – well, the truth is he hacked it up.  He didn’t really know what he was doing, but it had overgrown the clothes-line and needed to be cut back, and now it looks a little bit funny. Not too bad, but one look and you know it wasn’t pruned by someone who knows what they are doing.

And that’s why the pruning Jesus is talks about isn’t a scary thing. God, the gardener, knows what He is doing. The pruning might still cause us some pain – He might cut off a particular part that we are fond of, a habit we enjoy, something we are proud of. It might be a part of our lives that we think it really important, that we couldn’t live without.  But the gardener knows what He is doing. And He prunes with a purpose – that we might be even more fruitful.  I was pruned to become a pastor.  You are pruned to become whatever it is that Jesus needs you to do.

What Jesus did when He came to earth to live was that He grafted other people into the vine.  This is another part of plants that I don’t understand.  You can just slice into the vine and take a small branch and tie it into the slice and it will grow.  This is how most of us are today.  You have been grafted into the Jewish vine so that you can bear much fruit.  So, no matter who you are or what you do, you rely on Jesus for all things.  You see that Jesus is not only the vine but He is soil, sunshine, air, showers and a million times more than we have dreamed about, wished for, or needed.  Once again, He is there for us all the time.  You cannot be anywhere where Jesus is not or has noy been.  He is everywhere.

Ok, so we have the true vine and He is Jesus Christ.  I’m just going to mention this so we don’t forget.  God is the gardener.  He takes care of all the big things.  He has provided the earth, the air we breathe, water, food and so forth on the macro scale.  Jesus, on the other hand, provides for us on the micro scale.  He provides the things that we personally need.  So, God provides us with a lake of water to drink and Jesus makes sure you have a glass of water to drink.  God provides us with a multitude of things to eat and Jesus provides us with the meal.  That is just a condensed version of what they are doing for you.

The other important thing that God the Father provides is pruning.  I think there are three basic kinds of people in the world.  Some need a lot of pruning, some not so much and others very little.  We have those who go out and do things.  I’m talking about the things that God wants us to do.  You are to be producing in your life in a Godly way.  This is really some very strange ways for some people.  You can be buzzing around, doing this and doing that but you may not be doing anything to help God.  However, if you are busy helping people, preaching and practicing the Word to others, or just anything that your Godly gifts help you to do, then you may not have to be pruned.  I do think that all of us need a little pruning because all of us can improve our walk with Jesus.  Just because you get pruned, does not mean that you will not get into heaven.  We will get back to this in a minute.

Now if you insist on bearing no fruit, then look out!  You may be cut off totally and thrown in to the lake of fire.  I do not know how preachers can skip over this stuff.  This is truly very important.  Your very eternal life depends on what you do for Jesus.  Everyone does not get to heaven.  The path is narrow.  But the path to hell is very wide and many people are on it.  We need you and your gifts to help others get to the right place.

As I alluded to, being pruned is not a bad thing.  What happens when you prune an apple tree or a raspberry bush.  Other branches pop out and suddenly the plant, whatever it may be, and produce more than it had been producing in the past.  Pruning is a good thing and we have the best gardener that there could ever be.  God.  So far, we have only talked about God’s role in all of this.  The most important part of the whole thing is coming up.  We know that it is very important because John repeats it in a short space of time.

Before we look at our responsibility here, you have to remember that apart from the vine, you can produce nothing.  If you are not in Jesus, then you will give or produce nothing meaningful.  This is another place where we find that without Jesus, you will find no love.  Apart from Jesus, you will find no peace.  Apart from Jesus, you will find no truth.  I could go on with illustrations here but I hope you get the idea.  If you don’t have Jesus, then you don’t have much of a life.

But if you remain in Jesus and Jesus remains in you, then you will bear much fruit.  This is so important that John repeats it in the next paragraph.  To begin with here, this really says that once you are saved, you are always saved.  As far a Jesus is concerned, you will always be saved.  He will forgive you of any of your sins you commit in the future.  This part is really good news because we will all sin in the future.  But just because you sin does not mean that you will lose your salvation.  This is the part where you will never lose your salvation.  This is the part that some religions grab ahold.

However, I think you can still lose your salvation if you totally denounce your belief in Jesus.  I think that because that is what Jesus is saying right here.  He will remain in you as long as you remain in Him.  I take this to say that you can renounce your belief in Jesus and your salvation is gone.  It was kind of like when I worked at the Post Office.  The regular worker worked under a clause in the contract that said the he could not be fired.  Some people thought that this meant that they could not be fired for anything.  Then these people would quit working or showing up for work.  They found that there were certain parameters on the no firing clause.  They could be fired under these circumstances.  The Post Office would remain in them as long as they remained in the Post Office.  But if you did not do any work, then you would be gone.  Jesus is lot like this only He has a far bigger heart than Post Office.  All you have to do for Jesus is to bring your problems and sins to Him.  He will forgive you of your sins and you can start new every day.  Now that is a great deal.

On the other side of this coin, apart from Jesus you can produce nothing.  If you insist on producing nothing you will wither and all but die until you are thrown into the fire.  In other words, if you stay away from Jesus, then you are going to hell.  Remember last week when I said that there are some truth statements that we have to follow or obey in order to be the recipient of the tremendous love that Jesus has for you.  John really cannot say it any clearer and yet there are whole denominations that do not believe this.  It’s right here.  John repeats it 3 times.

I’m going to leave this here at this warning.  But actually, it really is not a warning at all, but an invitation to have the best life possible. Dump Satan and go with Jesus.  Your life will be infinitely better.  Not only that but the end of our reading which says, “if you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given to you.”  You could end up with countless blessings.

Here is a story that reflects the blessings you may get. John Wesley was a popular evangelist in early America and often rode from one church to another to preach. On one such journey, stopped by a highwayman who shouted, “Halt, your money or your life.”

Wesley got down from his horse, emptied his pockets to reveal only a handful of coins. He even invited the robber to search his saddlebags – which only carried his books. In disgust, the thief was turning away when John Wesley cried “Stop, I have something more to give you.”

Puzzled, the robber turned back. Wesley then leaned towards him and said “My friend, you may live to regret this sort of life in which you are engaged. If you ever do, I beseech you to remember this: ’The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s son, cleanses us from all sin.’”

The robber hurried silently away.  And Wesley got back on his horse and rode on his way praying in his heart that the word might be fixed in the robber’s conscience.

Years later, at the close of a Sunday evening service, a stranger stepped forward and earnestly begged to speak with John Wesley. Wesley recognized him as the robber who had stolen from him so long before, but now he was a well to do tradesman and better still, a child of God. Raising Wesley’s hand to his lips he affectionately kissed it and sad in deep emotion, “To you, dear sir, I owe it all.”

Wesley replied softly, “Nay, nay, my friend, not to me, but to the precious blood of Christ which cleanses us from all sin.”  Jesus is calling us today.  If you have not confessed your sins to Jesus, then do so now.  Then ask Him to live in your heart as your Lord and Savior.  Then begin the life you were meant to have.  It is that easy.  To those who are already saved, then go out and serve others in ways that are pleasing to Jesus.  Enjoy the best life possible.  And thank you, Jesus, for first loving us.  Let’s pray.