Sunday Devotional
The Secret to Joy
John 15:1-11
Pastor Wes
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Today, God’s word has some really good news for each of us. In the passage we are looking at, after speaking His words to the disciples, Jesus states that His intent in speaking these words was to bring His joy in to them, and so that their joy would be full. If you have your bible with you, look at John 15:11 with me…
In the simplest of terms, perhaps joy could be considered as the number one desire of every person who has ever lived. To find joy in life- contentment, happiness, thrill, pleasure. And what’s wild is- that this is exactly what God also wants for every person who has ever lived- full joy. But though joy might be the number one desire of mankind, and though God Himself as well does indeed desire joy for mankind- many will never experience full and truly satisfying joy. Why is that? Well that answer is contained at the end of verse 5 of the same chapter, Jesus states “apart from Me you can do nothing.” Let the words of that verse sink in… apart from Jesus you can do nothing. Disconnected from Jesus, there will not be true joy. Disconnected from Jesus there won’t really be good deeds done, there won’t be good accomplishments, there won’t be good experiences- that retain their value. Sure, outside of Jesus there might be deeds, accomplishments, experiences that for a time add value and a hint of joy to one’s life, but any joy obtained outside of Jesus will eventually fade. True, full, lasting, rich joy will only be obtained by those who are connected in living relationship with Jesus.
So, what does that look like? How do we connect with Jesus and experience joy in this life, and the amazing, never-ending joy of the life to come? Here’s the illustration He presents, John 15:1-11…
Jesus says He is the true vine, by “true” we’re not just talking true verses false, but also “true” as “in the purest and fullest sense” Jesus is a vine. Having passed from the upper room and arriving now to the Mount of Olives, Jesus and His disciples surely passed by some vineyards which served as a visual aid for the words He spoke. Perhaps if Jesus had come to Western NC in our day and age, He might have instead compared Himself to an apple tree trunk instead of a grape vine. And the Father, God, is the vinedresser- or gardener, caretaker of what is planted. In this illustration, there are 2 different types of branches, those still connected to the vine/tree, and those not connected. Those not connected obviously would not yield any flowers or fruit, and eventually would dry out, and wither away, only to be raked up into a burn pile. Those branches connected to the vine/tree would bear fruit, that’s what branches do that are living and connected to a vine/tree. And Jesus states that these connected branches will be pruned. Now, obviously in this parable, the connected branches are the branches that one should aspire to be- but if you’re like me the idea of being cut away at- pruned- doesn’t encourage thoughts of joy.
Now, there is a skillful strategy involved with pruning fruit trees and grape vines. There is a winter pruning that should occur in order to shape a growing tree- trimming off weirdly shaped branches, or strangely placed branches- and then there is a late spring pruning that occurs not for shaping, but to cut back new growth, in order that the tree will not continue pouring nutrients into growing branches, but rather pour nutrients into growing the fruit on the branch. There’s a bit of a balancing act. There is a time for growing the branch, so that the branch is strong, and so that more fruit can be held by it, but if it grows to large too quickly- it’s fruit production will be limited. And in contrast, if the branch is cut back too often, or in the wrong season, or in the wrong way- it’s fruit production might even be stopped altogether. A master gardener knows how to balance the pruning- when, where, and how to do it- and how much more so does God the master spiritual gardener know when, where, how, and what to trim in each of our lives. But before you get nervous and start to fear what God might remove from your life in order that you might grow and produce more fruit, look at verse 3 again with me. Jesus says… (verse 3)
Now this word “clean” might seem unrelated to the context of this passage. But it is not, it is definitely connected. The word “prunes” from the previous verse 2 is literally the word for “cleans.” When you think about it, pruning is a form of cleaning the branch, cleaning up what is not needed in order to allow what is needed to be more efficient and effective. An air conditioning unit starts to not cool a house that well when the filter becomes dirty. You have to clean- “prune”- the filter, taking off the excess material that would hinder it from functioning properly. Clean and prune are being used interchangeably in this passage. So, in other words, Jesus says that His disciples are already pruned. And how are they already pruned? They are pruned because of the word which He had spoken. His words, the same words we have recorded throughout Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the means by which God the Father does pruning in the lives of those connected to His son the vine.
His word shapes us- it provides spiritual winter pruning. His word is intended to help us trim off unnecessary cares and concerns in order that we might have sweet, good, rich fruit in our lives- it provides spiritual late spring pruning. To carry the analogy even further, take note that fruit production doesn’t occur in the same season that pruning occurs. No, there is pruning that takes place in the winter, so that 4 or 5 months later- once spring comes around- the growth occurs in the right places. But there’s still not fruit yet. Then in the late spring, more pruning takes place so that growth is kept in check, so that 4 or 5 months later in late summer a huge harvest of fruit can then occur. I want to encourage you to enjoy the spiritual journey God has you on. We all want to produce fruit, to have impact as a result of our growth, and have others enjoy the fruits we have produced- but realize that for now you may be in a season of winter shaping. Or you may be in a season of late spring cutting back and preparation.
Perhaps we could all agree that this Covid-19 season has served as a pruning season, a season cutting away at comfort, convenience, and normalcy. Don’t waste this season. Spend time in God’s word that cleans and prunes, and allow Him with His masterful hand to shape and grow you in the right places so that in due season there will be a production of fruit from your life like you’ve never experienced before.
Now let’s remind ourselves again that these words have been given to us in order that we might have His joy. Producing fruit brings joy. And how is it that we can produce fruit that brings joy? The answer to that question is a single word that is repeated over and over again throughout this passage. That word is abide. The word is mentioned in verses 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10. We could probably even include verse 11 as well as it continues the concept of the word abide without mentioning the exact word. In verse 11 Jesus basically declares He wants us to abide in Him, so that His joy can abide in us. We produce fruit that brings joy by abiding in Jesus. To abide means to make our abode (our home) in Him. A branch abides in the vine. The branch isn’t the vine, and the vine isn’t the branch, but they are connected- with parts of the branch intersecting with parts of the vine.
Jesus in verse 4 says “Abide in Me, and I in you.” It’s a commandment. He gives us the responsibility to do the abiding. He doesn’t force us into His space and He doesn’t force Himself into ours- but we are given the task and responsibility of making sure that we are abiding in Him. You might even say that we have been given the say so and responsibility of making sure He abides in us. And in this passage, Jesus gives us clues and other words to further understand this “abiding in Him.”
In verse 7 He changes the verbiage up a little- “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you…” Here Jesus is saying abiding in Him and He abiding in us is the same as abiding in His words and His words abiding in us. Note too that this verse is also a good clarifier of the passage we looked at a few weeks ago concerning praying in His name, John 14:13. Answers to prayers come from abiding in Him and He in us- abiding in His word and His word in us.
Again, we are responsible for having His words abide in us. In order to have His words abide in us, we have to intentionally put His words inside of us. We have to read them, study them, and apply them to life 24/7. Abiding in His word is not turning to His word only when we encounter problems, no- it’s living there, consuming it and contemplating it daily.
So, abiding in Jesus means abiding in His words (or commandments), and it also means abiding in His love. The end of verse 9 says “abide in My love.” Verse 10 states it again- “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love.” Through Him, through His words and commandments, we are to abide in His love. Now I imagine, that we could perhaps do and say a lot of good things, even do and say (to an extent) as Christ taught, but we could perhaps err on doing and saying without love being present- and miss out on the joy promised in verse 11. Paul understood this, he writes to the church in Corinth, “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.” (1 Cor. 13:1-3)
Using our branch and vine/tree illustration, I imagine someone attempting to abide in Jesus without love is like a tree branch hanging on the tree- yet partially separated from the tree. A branch like this in nature doesn’t survive, much less produce fruit. A branch has to be fully connected to get the nutrients it needs, and a branch that is partially separated from the vine is more easily torn off by animals or the wind, and also is more prone to diseases. I want to warn you, that in this season of life and in the days to come, abiding in His love- receiving it and giving it to others- is going to be challenging. Don’t let your concept of His love for you be shaken, and don’t let His love for others through you be shaken. Abide in His love, and may His love abide in you.
Now if we can abide in Him and He abide in us, if we can abide in His word/commandments and they in us, if we can abide in His love and His love abide in us- then we can abide in His joy and His joy can abide in us.
I’d like to close with this illustration. Back when I worked on cruise ships, I experienced a voyage through the Panama Canal. The Panama Canal was built so that cargo ships could pass more directly from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean and vice versa. Before the canal was constructed, ships would have to go all the way south, through dangerous waters, around the southern tip of South America. The canal’s construction was one of the largest and most difficult engineering feats ever attempted. It came at great cost and sacrifice, many lives were lost during its construction many years ago, but without it- it would be impossible for ships to pass quickly from one ocean to another.
This is how it works: the Atlantic and Pacific oceans are separated by a land mass. On either side of the land mass are a series of “locks”- chambers that a boat enters, and upon entrance, that chamber is shut and flooded with water. The water causes the boat to rise. Then one side of the lock is opened to another lock that has been equally filled with water. Another gate is then closed so that that lock can be pumped with more water, lifting the boat to the next lock level. Currently there are 3 different chambers that raise a ship a total of 85 feet above sea level, and the ship then passes through a channel of water to the other ocean side, where it again goes through 3 different locks, this time each lock lowering it back down to sea level as it enters into the new ocean. I know- fascinating- but what does this have to do with abiding in Jesus and receiving His joy? I’m so glad you asked…
Obtaining joy is nearly impossible. It’s like the feat of passing a ship from one ocean to another, with a giant 85 foot tall land mass blocking the way. But there has been something put in place, something that was brought into existence through great cost and sacrifice- the death and resurrection of Jesus many years ago- that now provides 1 single way to access and cross over into true joy. You and I are ships seeking this journey, and Jesus is the lock- the chamber- that we must enter into. If we enter into Jesus (abiding within Him), God the Father then turns on the water of His Holy Spirit, which lifts us up and crosses us over the impossible, setting us back down into the realm of joy.
I want you to consider, in what way is Jesus desiring you to better abide in Him? To abide in His word/commandments? To abide in His love? To abide in His joy? Take a few moments now to prayerfully consider how Jesus might be speaking to your heart.