Encounter Church
Sunday Morning 04.12.26
  • Ancient of Days x Open The Eyes of My Heart
  • When I Think About The Lord
  • Let Praises Rise
  • yeshua

      • 1 Timothy 5:17ESV

  • We're Blessed
  • You Have Made Me Glad

  • John 15:1-17

    Scripture:

    John 15:1–5 NKJV
    “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
    Big Idea: We hope to realize a constant connection with Christ that will bring, fruit of the connection, spiritual formation (transformation), and endurance. We must rest in God. We must realize the ramifications of our relationship and live from there. Striving to try to achieve righteousness is not only exhausting, it unachievable.

    INTRODUCTION:

    “ Good morning dear Children” This week we began a study of Theology which has been both rich and fulfilling. It has helped to frame our view of the necessity of scripture and study in deepening our relationship with God. We have learned how proper theology is not a hinderance to faith and growth. It is a catalyst. Most importantly we have see how proper theology is a filter to prevent improper belief of the realities of the Creator and Creation from seeping into our world view. In short, Improper belief will lead to improper practice. Many times as we grow in our faith, it can be hard to decipher small errors that bleed their way into our reality.
    However we must both extract error from and lives and extricate ourselves from the bondage of living under tainted truth. Song of Solomon 2:15
    Song of Solomon 2:15 NKJV
    Catch us the foxes, The little foxes that spoil the vines, For our vines have tender grapes.
    As one of the truths of this passages alludes to, small things can disrupt the natural flow of what is. Yes small unaddressed conflicts won’t just hinder love, but small unaddressed errors in our theology will disrupt our ability to walk with God in a deepened and more connected way.
    This morning, we see Christ reveal a vital truth. However, just as in the early onset of the church there is always a human need to try and add to the finished work of Christ. To replace Grace with Grit and Unmerited Favor with Uneeded Force. As we walk into this series. Our goal is very clear. To teach us How to Abide and rest in God.
    ABIDE: To continue, to dwell in or rest (remain) in
    Original Word: μένω to Abide Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: menó Pronunciation: meh'-no Phonetic Spelling: (men'-o) KJV: abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry (for), X thine own  NASB: abides, remain, abide, stay, stayed, remains, remained Word Origin: [a primary verb] 1. to remain 2. (in a place) to abide, to stay 3. (of expectancy) to await 4. (in a state) to continue 5. (in a task) to endure 6. (of a relationship) to exist permanently in, inseparably united (inhere, adhere)
    We are constantly receiving world view altering information through [media,music, culture,philosophy and trends]. The silent signals and ideas that are laden with “small foxes”. They attempt to combat REAL problems with INADEQUATE solutions. Our inner thoughts and outer lives for example, often present us with problems in life that worldly solutions cannot solve. We hear down in our hearts and sometimes from others the cries of:
    “You’re not good enough”
    “You need to do more”
    “You need to achieve more to be loved and accepted”
    The world has written a prescription to solve issues like this. It similar to the commercials we now see with many pharmaceuticals. While it may relieve a symptom in the short term, it generally breaks something else in the process. It uses phrases like:
    “You are enough or I am enough” While this phrase boosts our self esteem. It ignores the underlying condition. It promotes self sufficiency which is pride. It erases the human need to be saved and redeemed. It also goes into direct contradiction of John 15:5
    John 15:5 NKJV
    “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
    “Manifest your reality”
    It places God in the place of Cosmic Genie that gives us our wishes based on our thinking. It removes the burden of creation from a Sovereign God and places it in the lap of an individual.
    “Follow you heart”
    It replaces a holy God as the source of all truth and with infallible man. Ascribing divinity to our own inner being.
    There are many but possibly the most dangerous of them all is the statement:
    “All roads lead to God”
    This phrase is most dangerous because it does not tell man to stop seeking a True connection with the divine creator, It suggests that they have found salvation in another source when truth dictates they have not.
    False and Deceptive Philosophical Statements
    “ You are enough”
    “Manifest your reality”
    “Follow your Heart”
    “All roads lead to God”
    John 14:6 says
    John 14:6 NKJV
    Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
    This morning we start a journey into the truth of what it means to both connect and remain connected to the true source….. Jesus the Christ.

    I. I AM The TrueVine

    SS: “He Is the Vine!”
    John 15:1 NKJV
    “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
    This a declaration that we must grab hold of. The first two words of His statement are powerful in themselves “Ego Eimi”. “I am”. He is declaring in this statement his Divinity. He is expressing himself as part of the Godhead infinite and eternal. Most importantly, he is the of all things in creation. Colossians 1:16 says. Colossians 1:16 There are so many other things we can choose to connect with as a source. There are all sorts of vines we can choose to be connected to. They can nourish doubts, fears, and insecurities.
    Colossians 1:16 NIV
    For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.
    Christ is the source of all life. He is connection that we need to be truly connected in the fullness of our existence. But he does not just declare that he is the connection. He declares he is the TRUE connection. Why is this important? His declaration indicates there are other available connections that do not lead to light.
    Whatever you are connected to (like the connections mentioned earlier) will both fill you and form you. The reality is there are many “false vines” to choose from in life. They promise nourishment and fulfillment but often lead to emptiness and anxiety.
    For we were created for connection. Many seek to find life in unhealthy connections. Those connections, we reach for to feed our mind and our souls. They cause us to be in a continual state of striving for peace or homeostasis.
    There are religious vines that constantly have us trying to compete to gain the approval of God. Many believe if they just “do more” God will approve of them. They never really learn what it is like to truly abide.
    ABIDE.. to remain in Christ to live connected to him. There is a beauty in abiding in Christ. It is free of toil. The apple tree produces not because it stresses but simply because it’s branches are connected to a root that produces fruit.
    God wants us to rest in the fact that we have been made right with him. For the believer, holiness is not toil. It is the natural production of the root to which we are connected.
    We can feed on negativity and anxiety until it consumes us. But Christ offers us a superior choice today. Because we must realize. Whatever we are connected to will both feed and form us.
    Power Principle: Whatever we are truly connected to will both feed and form us

    II. The Father lifts and cleans

    John 15:2 NKJV
    Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
    Jesus shows us that those who have a superficial connection to him will eventually be removed in the greek lifted up and removed
    Original Word: αἴρω Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: airó Pronunciation: ah'-ee-ro Phonetic Spelling: (ah'-ee-ro)
    But those who are fruitful. To those who ABIDE he will prune to make even more fruitful
    kathairó: To cleanse, to purify, to prune
    Original Word: καθαίρω Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: kathairó Pronunciation: kath-ah-ee'-ro Phonetic Spelling: (kath-ah'-ee-ro) KJV: purge  NASB: prunes Word Origin: [from G2513 (καθαρός - clean)] 1. to cleanse 2. (specially) to prune 3. (figuratively) to atone
    Strong's Exhaustive Concordancepurge. 
    From katharos; to cleanse, i.e. (specially) to prune; figuratively, to expiate -- purge. 
    see GREEK katharos
    HELPS Word-studies
    Cognate: 2508 kathaírō – make clean by purging (removing undesirable elements); hence, "pruned (purged)"; eliminating what is fruitless by purifying (making unmixed).
    The pruning is for those who have chosen to rest in him, we must abide in Him.
    Pruning is a priveledge. When we are connected to the Father he sanctifies us. He wastes nothing that will produce in us spiritually the result he desires to see in us.
    Hebrews 12:6–11 NIV
    because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
    Yes even when we go through the trails and course corrections of life, our Father is with us and shaping us through spiritual formation. Even in these situations we must rest and rejoice (James 1:2-4
    James 1:2–4 NKJV
    My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
    What should be my response to this revelation?

    A. Stop Striving Stark seeking

    When we truly submit to God and get connected to righteousness, it produces more righteousness because righteousness is a product of the source.
    Power Principle: Righteousness is not something we strive for. It is something we connect to and walk in.
    Many feel like walking in God is a struggle and a heavy load simply because they have not learned how to abide.
    We strive because we try to remain connected to two sources. We struggle and toil because our loyalties are divided. I do not speak of the flesh’s war against the spirit. (Galatians 5:17,Romans 7:21)
    I speak of our insecurity and failure to walk in the assurance of the finished work of the cross. We often walk in fear and our actions are sparked from the “fear” of losing heaven. True Sanctification comes from the “Realization” that the king of Heaven abides in me!”
    Power Principle: The immature believer often works for confirmation of their salvation rather than rests in the affirmation of their salvation.

    B. We must rise in the reality of God finished work in us

    Romans 6:22 NKJV
    But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.
    Ephesians 2:8–9 NKJV
    For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
    2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV
    Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
    We spend to much time saying “don’t fall, rather than walk as you were designed to.” Our focus is shifted from producing from walking to our new nature to struggling with the old. While our struggle with the flesh is real, Our main focus should be adiding in Christ
    Power Principle: Often times our struggle with holiness is simply improper teaching. We spend much time trying to police our behaviors and little time resting in prayer and the word of God. Anxiety and striving only produce more anxiety and striving. Connection to God through christian discipline produces faith and life.
      Abiding produces fruit naturally, while striving produces anxiety and burnout.
    John 15:15 NKJV
    No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.
    1 Thessalonians 5:22–24 NKJV
    Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.
    Romans 6:22 NKJV
    But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.
    1 Peter 1:1–2 NIV
    Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

    III. Declaration of Dependence

    John 15:5 NKJV
    “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
    It is a blessing to have someone handle things for you. To feel that need for striving to be eliminated. We are the branches. This morning God is giving us a clear message, Make abiding your main focus and production will be the bi product.

    Conclusion

    Psalm 100:3 NKJV
    Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
    Song Today:
    “Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus”
    “Just as I am”

      • John 15:1–17NKJV

      • John 15:1–5NKJV

      • Song of Solomon 2:15NKJV

      • John 15:5NKJV

      • John 14:6NKJV

      • John 15:1NKJV

      • Colossians 1:16NKJV

      • John 15:2NKJV

      • Hebrews 12:6–11NKJV

      • James 1:2–4NKJV

      • Romans 6:22NKJV

      • Ephesians 2:8–9NKJV

      • 2 Corinthians 5:17NKJV

      • John 15:15NKJV

      • 1 Thessalonians 5:22–24NKJV

      • Romans 6:22NKJV

      • 1 Peter 1:1–2NKJV

      • John 15:5NKJV

      • Psalm 100:3NKJV

Encounter Church
http://www.encounter360.org
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