Latest / The Daily Word / August 13 – The Fullness of Following Jesus
Transcript
- Cory Barnes: hello, it is August thirteenth. We are in John chapter fifteenth, Pastor Jinny here, and I love this passage of scripture. It's talking about Jesus, the true vine, kicks off with this saying, I am the true grapevine, and my father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn't produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit, so they will produce even more. That is, of course, Jesus talking. And if you haven't done your reading today, I want to encourage you, even if you just read verses one through seventeen, this whole chapter is only 27 verses, but the first 17 verses are crucial to our walk with Jesus. You know, even verse 8, it says, When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my father. It gives context to what are, you know, what is a true disciple, but it's that. whole passage is talking about how we have to, well Jesus is the true vine and we have to remain in him in order to bear that fruit. So what does it look like to remain in Jesus? How does Jesus remain in God? And the reason I encourage you, you know, we want to be reading our Bible every day, we want to be in the scriptures every day, but specifically to be familiar with this passage of scripture, because this passage of scripture is talking about love and how we're to love each other. That you know, verse verse 12, this is my commandment, love each other in the same way I have loved you. Verse 13, there's no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends. Verse 17, this is my command, love each other. Now, I think anyone who lives on in the US I'll say, I won't say on earth, but at least in the US has definitely heard about loving each other. Love you know your neighbor as yourself. you know just love, love, love, love one another. Because and the reason I point this out is because even this particular passage of scripture, specifically in the deconstruction movement, has, and if you're not familiar with the deconstruction movement, that's people who once were following Jesus, following the ways are I'll say this, we're follow or Christian, they may still. Try and put a label of Christianity on themselves, but really they've fallen away from what they'll call evangelical Christianity, and they may say, Well, I still follow the ways of Jesus, which the ways of Jesus is just to love one another. And this is the scripture they're going come to. John 15, 17. This is my command, love each other. But there's a problem that's problematic with what they're saying because they're leaving out some other portions of scripture. And I want to come Draw your attention now to verses nine through it looks like ten. So Jesus says this I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. So we're all good there. Love, love, love. We're all we're good. Now here's verse 10, which is what seems to be blacked out in many of the deconstruction movement. Says when you obey my commandments, commandments plural, you remain in my love, just as I obey my father's commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things, so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow. And this is my commandment, love each other in the same way I have loved you. So essentially they basically leave out verse. 10 and they just jump to verse 12 and assume the only commandment of Jesus is to love each other in the same way. But that is not the only commandment of Jesus. Jesus has lots of commandments that go beyond just loving. And so we have to accept in order to follow Jesus, we have to accept all of the commandments of Jesus. We have to take him for all of his words, right? We're gonna follow him in all of his ways, because all of his ways. He is the way, the truth, and the life, and in all of his ways he is pure. In all of his ways he is good. you know, he says, I am the true grapevine, and my father is the gardener. Well, in the grapevine, we don't just take a portion of it. The the gardeners work in the entire grapevine. And so If you run in if you're encountering that doctrine of well, Jesus is just love, and you know, you're getting pushback in an area because, well, that's not loving to do that, or that's not loving to do this. Well, we need to take the whole counsel of God. We need to take the whole counsel of the Bible. That's why we don't just read portions of our Bible, but we read the whole Bible, and scripture interprets scripture. And so, You know, it's interesting because we take this passage and then what immediately as you continue reading in the scripture, what comes next? Jesus goes on to talk about the world's hatred. And verse 18 says, If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. So it's as if Jesus says, Listen, I know there's gonna be struggles, there's gonna be challenges and difficulties. And so when the world is gonna give struggle to Jesus. know that the world is gonna struggle with us. The world hated Jesus first. So of course we're gonna face difficulties and challenges ourselves. So verse 19, the world would love you as one of its own if you belong to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. Do you remember what I told you? A slave is not greater than the master. Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you. They will do all this to you because of me, for they have rejected the one who sent me. So don't be discouraged if you run into you know people who come against you for following Jesus. but have a watchful eye and be aware of false teaching, false doctrine. and anyone who tries to say that the only way of Jesus is through love, right? Be watch out for that. Because yes, Jesus is Jesus one of his commands is to love each other, but it's not the only command. So first I leave you with this, John 15, verse 26, but I will send you the advocate, the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me. And you must also testify about me, because you have been with me from the beginning. So, of course, Jesus was talking to his disciples, telling them they are responsible to testify. but he's promising he's gonna give them the Holy Spirit. So that's what I leave you with today. Let me pray for you and remind you and encourage you. We have the Holy Spirit to testify to us, to reveal and show us things, and we are responsible to go and testify of Jesus to others. So, Lord, we thank you for your word that encourages us. Lord, that gives us counsel that shows us and reveals us who you are and speaks to us. Lord, we thank you for your Holy Spirit that is the spirit of truth that is testifying to us about who you are, Jesus. And Lord, we accept and receive the responsibility to testify of who you are to the world around us. So Lord, give us boldness to go into our world to share. the good news of who you are and the fullness of the gospel, not a partial gospel. A partial gospel is not the gospel. Would we share the full gospel of who you are, Jesus? would we share all and t share not only share, but teach your commands because that is the great commission to tell of who you are and teach of them to walk in your commands, to to obey. And and as we learn to Obey, as it says in verse 10, when we obey your commandments, we will remain in your love, just as you have obeyed your father's commandments. So Lord, we thank you that through that we will be filled with joy and that it would overflow. In Jesus' name. Amen.