A Life Lived for His Glory

This afternoon, I'd like us to camp out in the Gospel of John, Chapter 15, for it is rich with treasure just waiting to be dug up. I have preached out of this chapter numerous times and have called this chapter various names such as the Abiding Chapter, the Pruning Chapter, and the Fruit-Bearing Chapter, for one can see those applications throughout the 15th chapter of John. The abiding element of staying in a close walk with God, and apart from Him, you can do nothing.

We can do much in the name of religion, with money and manpower. That seems to be the way most Baptists like to operate. But listen, friends, nothing can be accomplished for God of any eternal worth unless we are so connected and yielded to the divine that Jesus can work through us in remarkable ways that impact eternity.

And this chapter can also be viewed as the pruning chapter, where God strips us, prunes us of things which hinder the work of God through our lives, where the master pruner takes out his pruning knife on me and strips away everything and anything displeasing to Him, useless to Him, so I can be a more abundant fruit-bearing vessel. So this chapter can also be called the Fruit-Bearing Chapter. And every time I have preached through John 15 in the past, I have approached it from the viewpoint of me and my relationship with God, how I need to dwell and abide with Him more in a close walk with Him.

The very word abide in the Greek is the word meno, which means to continue to dwell in a certain place, to endure, to remain, to stand, to tarry. So I have always, in past times, preached out of John chapter 15 and how it relates to me and how I can be a more productive Christian for God. But I believe the message I'm going to bring you this afternoon is much more than that, much more deeper than that, because what I am to glean from John chapter 15 is not about me, nor about you, but about God and His glory.

You see, friends, John chapter 15, when properly viewed, is a God-honoring, God-glorifying portion of Scripture. It is God who gets the glory from our lives of fruitful service. Jesus declares in verse 8, Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit, so shall ye be my disciples.

And that is the approach I want us to pursue this afternoon as we study John chapter 15. I want us to see how God is the great object of this chapter, God and His glory. The title of my message today is A Life Lived for His Glory.

I want to begin by reading you this important passage of Scripture, so please turn in your Bibles to the Gospel of John chapter 15. We're going to be in verses 1 through 8. I would like you to focus on this passage and the rich truth it contains, for I know it's easy to have your thoughts drift away and wonder when a familiar passage of Scripture is being read, because you feel you already know its contents, and therefore you don't have to pay attention as closely. But friends, you will only cheat yourself by your lack of concentration.

Let us begin. Here now is the word of God, I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away, and every branch that beareth fruit he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine. No more can ye except ye abide in me.

I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit, for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered, and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye shall ask, and ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit, so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so I have loved you.

Continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

We will stop there, and now examine this striking passage of the word of God. This scene of this narrative has been the subject of much debate by scholars. Now where this discourse by Jesus occurred is a matter of conjecture.

Some suppose that after the words arise, let us go hence, that the disciples still lingered at the table in the upper room, for it was at this mealtime hour that Jesus had begun to prepare his disciples for his departure. John is the narrator, and it was he who rested his head on his master's bosom as they reclined at the table, so he was privy to hearing every word that fell from the lips of Jesus. Jesus was the master illustrator.

Often he would use common everyday objects to illustrate his message. In this case it is the vine. Now those scholars who believe the discourse was given while the men were still in the upper room state that the vine was suggested by some external object like the cup of wine which they had recently partaken, or a vine whose tendrils had crept into the room through the open window, or perhaps the reference was to the view of the vineyards outside below in the light of the moon.

Other Bible commentators take the words arise, let us go hence to mean that they had all left the upper room and were making their way to Gethsemane, so the discourse about the vine and the branches was spoken, as Jesus often would do, walking and talking, and teaching them along the way as they went, in this case as they made their way to the Garden of Gethsemane. Those Bible scholars who believe that the discourse took place on the way to the Mount of Olives and Gethsemane visualize the walk down to the Kidron for we find in John chapter 18 and verse 1 these words, when Jesus had spoken these words he went forth with his disciples over the brook Kidron where there was a garden into the which he entered and his disciples. So some scholars suppose that along the way to the brook Kidron they encountered vineyards which they walked through and Jesus drew the figure from the vineyards and the fires burning along the sides of the Kidron Valley in order to consume the vine cuttings.

That is striking imagery isn't it? Whatever the circumstances or surroundings were we see a vivid picture of the vine and the branches. Now the wording in the Greek of verse 1 reads something like this, I in contradistinction to anyone else am the genuine vine and my father is the tiller of the soil. This in itself speaks of the uniqueness of Jesus Christ and the sovereignty of God.

There is no one like Jesus and God is the creator of all things and he takes an active interest in what he has created by being the tiller of the soil, the keeper of all things. So with these things in mind let us approach John chapter 15 from the viewpoint that it is about God and his glory. God is the tiller of the soil.

A vineyard called for harder and more regular work than any other form of agriculture. Constant pruning of the vine is necessary for the grapes to grow to full maturity. God's purpose and activity in our lives is played out through our own lives as we serve him.

His plans are carried out through our surrendered lives. When we yield to his divine pruning knife upon us we do so to be less like ourselves and more like Jesus. When God takes out his pruning knife on a backslider it's to bring him back into sweet fellowship with him, more usefulness for him.

And when we suffer for Christ it brings God glory. Listen friends, the focus of John chapter 15 is not ourselves but God himself, our chief end in life is the glory of God. We today with our brand of Christianity which is man-centered takes all the focus off of God and puts it on ourselves.

We selfishly read our Bibles to find an encouraging word. We selfishly serve God to bring attention and acknowledgement to ourselves for our achievements. We do so and so so we can be in charge and tell others what to do.

But here we err miserably for the whole purpose of being a Christian is to bring glory to God. There is no other matter on earth of any importance rather than a life lived for his glory. Even our soul winning activities are not so we can brag about how many people we've led to the Lord but to be humbled in that God would even deem to use such a worm as myself to be a witness for him, a life lived for his glory.

That should be our theme and constant object. So this passage from John chapter 15 in verses 1-8 is about our being part of God's redemptive plan for mankind and that God demands that we obey him and be fruitful for him and that is how he receives glory from us. Herein is my Father glorified that ye bear much fruit so shall ye be my disciples.

That little word be is a mistranslation it should read become so shall ye become my disciples. The life of discipleship is an ongoing process that never ceases until we get to glory. In the meantime we must abide in Christ through a life of surrender and obedience.

We must keep his commandments for he orders us to do so. We are objects of God's mercy and salvation for Christ says in verse 16 ye have not chosen me but I have chosen you that ye should go and bring forth fruit and that your fruit should remain. Our life of yieldedness to God will result in a life of usefulness to him and keep this in mind friends we do not produce the fruit spoken of here in chapter 15 it is God who brings forth fruit through us for anything of any eternal worth is from him and not from us.

Listen friends I had to learn this very hard lesson in my Christian life. My Christian life is not about serving God and doing all I can for him and wearing myself out for him and his service. Rather it is staying connected to Jesus my vine in such a life of utter surrender that the result is a close walk with God and a life God can use to bring him glory by working through me.

The more God uses me the more glory he receives from me. A life lived for his glory is the only life to live. It is not the amount of our activity in the name of God but our obedience to him in keeping his commands and being doers of the word for when God moves through our faithfulness and obedience to him he receives glory.

The fruitful Christian is the one who has met the conditions of abiding me and the essence of abiding in the vine is a life of fellowship with Jesus and usefulness to God. The great object of John chapter 15 is verse 1 I am the true vine and my father is the husbandman. The ongoing activity of the life of the believer found in John chapter 15 is our yielded life to Christ by honoring him with our lives and the purpose of John chapter 15 is to bring God glory through a surrendered life in Christ.

Do you see that my friends? Do you believe that? I hope you do. Let us pray. Lord Jesus you are the genuine vine for there is no one like you.

You are altogether different from any other. You are the source of our life for apart from thee we can do nothing absolutely nothing nothing of any eternal worth. Take out your pruning knife Lord God and have mercy upon us.

Strip us of anything and everything that is offensive to thee. Make us more useful to thee. Grant us the grace to be more faithful to thee.

Lord if there was someone here who was out of fellowship with thee I pray right now that you will extend a grace of repentance to them so their joy can once again be full. Use each one of us Lord Jesus in a greater capacity for thee. Work through us great God and produce your fruit through us to bring you glory.

May we never forget that a life lived for your glory is the greatest privilege on earth. Give us great grace to bring you glory. Amen.