Title: Season of Fruiting
Contents
season of fruit
John 15:1-12
Who can stop the change of seasons? Just last week, I was even annoyed by the sweltering heat and why summer was so long in Idaji, but in one week it jumped from summer to fall. Since spring and autumn are short in Chuncheon, it is time to prepare for winter. Autumn. It is the season of fruiting. There is a poem called “Autumn Prayer” among the poems of the late Christian poet Kim Hyeon-seung, who sang the hope of the nation in the midst of the gloomy Japanese colonial era. “Let me pray in the fall. Wait for the leaves to fall, fill me with the humble mother tongue you have given me. Let me love you in the fall. Let me choose only one person. May this fertile time be cultivated for the most beautiful fruits. Let it be in the autumn, as a hool, my soul, like a crow that has passed through the rolling sea and the valley of the lilies to a dry branch.”
Like a poet's prayer, autumn is a season of prayer. It is the season of love. It is the season of fruit. A farmer's reward lies in reaping the fruits. A farmer who sows seeds in the spring and endures the heat and sweltering heat of summer, sweats and works hard, the only rewarding, and the only hope, is to reap the fruits in the fall. As a farmer reaps fruit, Christians must also reap fruit. Because what God asks of us is fruit. What God expects of us is fruit. If God expects fruit from us, what kind of fruit should we bear?
The text tells us what kind of fruit God expects of us and how we can bear it. This verse was spoken the day before Jesus was crucified to end His earthly life. After the Last Supper, Jesus left the upper room in the evening when the sun was slowly going down, and he and his disciples were going down to the Kidron brook. Crossing this stream will bring you to the Garden of Gethsemane. Because Jesus was about to die on the cross, he is going to spend the last night of agony in that garden.
Because olive cultivation was widespread in the vicinity of Jerusalem, there are many names associated with olives. The place where the Garden of Gethsemane is located is also called the Mount of Olives, so it was named because of the abundance of olive trees, that is, olive trees. Although there are few olive trees now, there were quite a few olive trees on this mountain in Jesus' day. Along with the olive trees there were also quite a few vines. Jesus, who will be carrying the cross tomorrow, is going down with his disciples toward the Garden of Gethsemane with great determination. As he passed the vineyard, he said, “I am a vine, and my Father is a farmer.” The branch the Father takes away from it, and every branch that bears fruit he cleanses it so that it may bear more fruit.” God's children must bear fruit. If we must bear fruit, what kind of fruit should we bear? How can it bear fruit?
1. First, Christians must bear the fruit of being.
People can be divided into two types. They are ‘the possessive person’ and the ‘being person’. 'Possessive person' measures the value of a person by 'what he owns'. The American pragmatist philosopher John Dewey said, “I own. It exists,” he said. This means that possession is the mode of human existence and the mode of survival. Humans strive to possess. And I try to keep what I have until the end. However, the Lord showed the value of loss. The cross is the culmination of loss. Even in Paul, we can see the beauty of loss. Jesus showed that man's true worth is not possessions.
Jesus is a ‘being man’. The ‘existent person’ considers ‘how to live’ more important. Since the ‘being person’ has no attachment to possessing, he knows the pure joy of life and becomes one with others through the act of giving. So there is true friendship and love in them. In his book, Possession or Being, Erich Fromm said that modern people are full of possessiveness, and that this way of life makes people unable to love. “There is no happiness in owning,” he said. Happiness lies in being.” Dear saints, do not be deceived. Possession does not bring happiness. What the Bible cares about is existence, not possession. Therefore, the Christian's concern should be being, not possession.
Existential man bears the fruit of being. The fruit of this existence can be called the fruit of character. After believing in Jesus, the most important task given to us is the question of what kind of person we will become from now on. The so-called problem of being, the problem of existence, becoming... What kind of person do I become? is the most important task. That is the fruit. What kind of being are you? What kind of person are you? This can be said to be the first fruit of the Christian life. This is probably the first question God will ask when we stand before God. God will not ask us, 'What have you done?', but rather, 'How much have you changed since you believed in me?'
Jesus tells us in the text that there will be two things. Let's read verses 11-12 together. “I give these things to you, that my joy may be in you, that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” Amen.
1) An existential person must first become a ‘being of joy’.
Jesus died on the cross to fill us with the joy that He enjoyed. Joo-Young Jung, the founder of Hyundai Group, said this at a new employee training contest. “The reason I get up early in the morning all my life is because the work I do that day is fun and my heart throbs with anticipation and excitement. When I wake up in the morning, I feel the same as when I go to a picnic in elementary school, and my heart is pounding. Also, at night, I always go to bed ready for a good night's sleep. It is because of the idea of having fun and vigorously doing things when the day is bright. I am able to live a happy life because I see the world in a beautiful, bright, hopeful, positive way.” If a non-Jesus person can rejoice like this only with the expectation and excitement of work, how much do you think Christians who are privileged to do God's work should rejoice? God's people must become 'beings of joy'.
2) An existential person must, secondly, become a 'being of love'.
Jesus said, “Love one another as I have loved you.” In Lee Kang-baek's play 'Marriage', there is a story about a poor young man who sincerely proposes to a woman he likes. “Listen to me. We mistakenly think we own things or wealth, but in reality they are all borrowed. The moon floating over there, that silvery cloud, and maybe even me here, and even you, borrowed it for a while. lend me you While I borrow you, I will only love you.” Marriage is unhappy because it is trying to possess How beautiful would the world be if we could love everyone as the Lord loved us? Just like Jesus, who loved us and gave himself up on the cross, like Paul, who said, “Do not owe anyone except for the love of one another, for he who loves others has fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:8). wish you to be
Jesus is full of joy. You are full of love. This is the person of Jesus. If we believe in Jesus Christ and become His disciples, then we must be like Him. I hope you become like Jesus of joy. I hope you become like Jesus of love. The existence of joy, the existence of love, these are the fruits of the existence we must bear.
2. Second, Christians must bear the fruit of evangelism.
Along with ‘What kind of person am I?’, another important question is ‘What am I doing?’ ‘What kind of existence do I become?’ ‘being’ is important, but another important issue is ‘what kind of work do I do?’ and ‘doing’. It's a matter of ministry. We have a lot of work to do. We have many challenges. However, the most important of all these works is the work of witness. It is an evangelistic ministry.
If we are beings who resemble Jesus and are people who resemble Jesus, shouldn't it be natural to bear fruit that testifies to Jesus? If I believe in Jesus and are saved and become a follower of Jesus, then Jesus must be the reason for my existence, I must enjoy joy because of Jesus, I must love because of Jesus, and I must receive the thrill of life because of Jesus. If I enjoy joy because of Jesus, love because of Jesus, and have the thrill of life because of Jesus, what greater task is there than to testify to the Christ who gave me joy, love, and inspiration? Fruits that testify of Christ, it is very natural.
Let's read verse 8 together. “My Father is glorified, that ye bear much fruit, and ye shall be my disciples.” Amen. It seems that I decided to believe in Jesus and it seems that I chose it, but in fact, everything is God's grace and God's gift. All are the sovereignty of God. It is God's choice. That's why John 15:16 says, "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 abide, that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will receive it." Says.
That's right. I did not choose God, but God chose me. But why did you choose me? The reason for this is stated in verse 16. “This is so that you may go and bear fruit, and that your fruit may abid, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may receive it.” The Lord chose me to bear fruit. But He says, “Go and bring forth fruit.” He chose me to go and bear fruit. We have come before the Lord. I came to the Lord to receive forgiveness, to come before the Lord to receive grace, to come before the Lord to be saved, to come before the Lord to find joy, and to come before the Lord to find the meaning of life
But now I have to go. You must go and bear fruit. Where do I have to go? The Joint Translation Bible translated the text John 15:16 as “Go out into the world”. Jesus said in Matthew 28:19, “Go and make disciples of all nations.” That's right. We must go into the world and make disciples of all nations. But why aren't we going? Why, why don't you go? Because of fear. Wouldn’t it be embarrassing to say, “Trust me well!” while preaching? Will I be bullied? because of the fear of There is fear in our hearts. The disciples must have had this fear as well.
So, in Matthew 20:19-20, which is called the Great Commission, the Lord commanded, “Go ye and make my disciples of all nations.” He made a promise. What am I going to do with you until the end of the world? “We will always be together.” Hallelujah! The Lord will always be with us. do you believe If we want to take the Gospel and go to make disciples, if we want to obey the ministry, the Lord will go with us. The same promise is recorded at the end of John 15. Let's read John 15:26-27 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, and you also testify because you have been with me from the beginning.” Amen.