Title: Fruit/John 15:16-17
Content Beautiful choice (5) Fruit/John 15:16-17,26-27
When autumn comes, there is a poem that always comes to mind in my head. This is <Autumn Prayer> by the late poet Hyunseung Kim. “In the autumn/Let me pray/Waiting for the leaves to fall/Waiting for the leaves to fall/Fill me with your humble mother tongue-In the autumn/Let me love you/Let me choose one man/For the most beautiful fruit/This fertile/hour Let me cultivate a tree in the autumn/Let it be hool/My soul/The winding sea/Like a crow that has passed through the valley of lilies/to a dry branch” Looking at the golden fields of harvest full of fruits in autumn is the joy of life can't be But, of course, the season when it should bear fruit - it is tragic to see the barren fields abandoned without fruit. What kind of fruit is our life bearing today?
* What do we need to remember to live a life of desirable fruitage?
1. We must remember that the fruit is the reason for the believer's existence.
Let's read verse 16 of the text. “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you may go and bear fruit, and that your fruit may abid, that whatever you ask in my name, you may receive it.” What does that mean? The reason the Lord chose us to believe in Jesus is to live a fruitful life. In other words, the reason I am now a Christian is for the sake of fruit. Then, if we do not bear fruit, we lose our reason for existence. So what do you say in John 15 that you will not bear fruit? Let's read 15:2. “Every branch attached to me that does not bear fruit, the Father takes away it, and every branch that bears fruit he purifies so that it may bear more fruit.” may be reminiscent of However, these words are not just a warning of judgment, but an earnest exhortation that urges us to bear fruit.
Ms. Ryu Moses, author of <Open Bible>, explains the meaning of the word <remove> as follows. The characteristic of vines is their long branches. Today, a Y-shaped wire is installed so that the branches go up and grow without a circle, but it is said that the cultivation method in the old days of Jesus was different. At that time, wire was scarce, so grape branches had no choice but to crawl on the ground like snakes. But the problem is that the vines that touch the ground cannot bear fruit. In the rainy season, the part in contact with the ground rots due to moisture, and in the dry season, the main root cannot be planted, so it is not properly supplied with nutrients. So, it is said that the farmers in the Biblical era set up a device to put stones under the branches to prevent them from reaching the ground and failing to bear fruit so that they could bear fruit well. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ; On the other hand, it is said that branches that bear fruit well are pruned to produce the finest grapes, not tiny grapes. Therefore, the original word for “remove” here is airo, which means “lift up” in English.
The gist of the text is this. The Lord is constantly lifting us up to bear fruit in our weakness, touching the twigs of my life, and is still working. There is only one thing that he hopes for us - because he wants to see us bear fruit. Because that is the reason he chose us, that is, the reason we exist.
2. We must remember that the most important fruit is ‘love of neighbor’.
The question is, what does this fruit mean? In the 15th chapter of the Gospel of John, this fruit is explained in several meanings. It can also mean the fruit of a personal character resembling Christ, who was bought with love and joy (verses 10-11) or, as in verse 16 of the text, “the fruit of answers to prayer” (verses 7, 16). But the most important fruit is love of neighbor. Doesn't verse 17 teach that clearly? “I command you these things that you may love one another.” John 13:34 already says that it is a new commandment. “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another, and that you love one another as I have loved you.” But we must not forget that this love requires labor and sweat.
3. We must remember that the fruit of love for our neighbor is ultimately the 'Christ's testimony'.
The way we love our neighbor can be very diverse. But evangelism is the greatest way to love our neighbor. Wouldn't we like to give the best to the one we truly love? Of all the gifts we can give to our neighbors, what could be a greater and better gift than Christ? What did God give us because he loved the world so much? Yes, He is the only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ. Then there is no greater love than to testify of that Christ to our neighbors, so that our neighbors can be saved and have eternal life. So, John 15, the chapter of this fruit, ends with the words that when the Holy Spirit comes in the future, he will testify of Christ to us, and that you who were with me will also testify of this Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Let's read the words of text 26-27 together. “He will testify to me when the Counselor I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father (27) and you also testify that you have been with me from the beginning.” Who testifies? Yes, it is Jesus Christ. As we did with him, as John testified, we experienced him, and he was indeed love. As we experienced him, he was indeed a joy. As we experienced him, he was indeed a peace. As we experienced him, he was indeed life. As we experienced him, he was indeed a hope. So we testify to him. That's why we prepared the yard for this kind of neighbor love festival. Are you still asking what the hell will happen with this kind of evangelism?
Do you remember the fairy tale "The Frog Prince"? Once upon a time, a king had a cute princess daughter. One day, while playing with a gold ball in a pond near the forest, she accidentally dropped the ball into the pond. Then a frog appears in the pond and asks for a meal and a kiss with me, as I will find the ball. The princess promises it. The princess finds the lost ball with the help of a frog, but ignores the promise and returns to the palace. When the frog knocks on the palace door, the king finds out about it and tells the princess that the promise must be kept. The princess is forced to eat with the frog. However, when the frog asks for a kiss, he catches the frog and throws it against the wall. Then the frog does not move. It is a story of a princess who is embarrassed and sorry, and the moment she kisses the droopy frog while shedding tears, the ugly frog transforms into a handsome prince in an instant.