Revision as of 19:30, 15 June 2018

Objectives

Introduction

I love spy movies and TV shows. Something about clandestine operations always captures and holds my attention. So what are the elements of a good spy movie?

• We need a set of "good guys." In most movies this is some nation of collection of nation who are giving the spy their authority or power.
• We need some network of individuals. In good spy movies the spies almost always work with a larger group of people, their network or rolodex.
• We need a mission. What would a spy movie be without a worthwhile mission? Everybody knows that spies live to save the world from certain disaster.

Main Body

Main Proposition

Setting The Stage

Point 1 (V 1-11)

As Christians, we need to find our strength in Christ.

The Vine (V. 1-9)

Verses 1

• In this seventh "I am" statement Christ declares Himself to be the true vine, a contrast with Isaiah 5:1-2 and Ezekiel 15:2-6 where Israel was a vine that failed to produce good fruit.
  • Now let me sing to my Well-beloved A song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard: My Well-beloved has a vineyard On a very fruitful hill. He dug it up and cleared out its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst, And also [b]made a winepress in it; So He expected it to bring forth good grapes, But it brought forth wild grapes.
  • 2 “Son of man, how is the wood of the vine better than any other wood, the vine branch which is among the trees of the forest? 3 Is wood taken from it to make any object? Or can men make a peg from it to hang any vessel on? 4 Instead, it is thrown into the fire for fuel; the fire devours both ends of it, and its middle is burned. Is it useful for any work? 5 Indeed, when it was whole, no object could be made from it. How much less will it be useful for any work when the fire has devoured it, and it is burned? 6 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give up the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
• This would have been a big deal to the disciples. The Pharisees, among others, viewed themselves as God's people through their genetic heritage. Christ here declares that true power comes through him, not through national origin.
• As we find our strength, we must ask, "is our strength from the Lord?" or are we trusting in our genetic heritage, national heritage, or any other heritage that is not God.

Verse 2-3

• There is a lot going on in this verse and our tendency is to focus on the word "takes away". However, this is not the point of emphasis, the point of emphasis is not he work of the Father. The Father is the one who does the work, he prunes and removes those who are not truly part of the vine. This is further confirmed in verse 3 where Jesus essentially states that they do not need to worry about being taken away, they are part of the vine. Pruning will still be necessary, but they have confidence in their position.

Verses 4-8

• The verb for remain (μεινατε) can be translated as "dwell", or "stay". It is in the aorist imperative and so could be taken as an urgent command.

The Incipiency of God's Love (V. 9-11)

Verse 10

• Verse 10 answers the question "How do we remain in the love of Jesus?" Remaining in Christ's love is not some theoretical abstract notion but a concrete lived obedience to Christ. However, we must be careful to keep cause and effect in their rightful order. Love is the cause and obedience is an effect. We do not obey in order to receive God's love, we obey because of God's love. Indeed, God's love frees us to be obedient
  • Romans 6:18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

Verse 11

• Christ completes this section with a final explanation, joy. Notice the order, God's love, our obedience, and full joy.

Summary

If we are to operate in the foreign land that is this world then we need to find our strength in Christ. Christ is the source of our love, power, and joy.

Point 2 (V 12-17)

As Christians, we need to find our network in Christ's church.

• Every good agent needs a network of people in country to provide assistance, support, and intelligence.

Verses 12-13

• Christ moves from a discussion of the love of God for his people to the love of his people for each other. Recall Matthew 22:34-40,
  • But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

• Christ also gives the ultimate test of love. It is interesting that Christ will go on to pass His own test.

Verse 14 15

• Don't confuse conditioning with causation. Our obedience is not the reason Christ calls us friends, but rather our obedience stems from Christ's love. Christ is Himself the author of our obedience.
• Obedience is often thought of as a trait of a slave, but through Christ, obedience is a trade of a friend, specifically our knowledge of Christ allows us to obediently follow. If you are struggling to obediently follow Christ, then maybe you need to spend more time getting to know Christ and his plan.
• As agent's of Christ we must realize that some knowledge is above our pay grade, some knowledge is reserved for others. However, we know the facts that we need to know and we can obediently follow in that light.

Verses 16-17

• Jesus reiterates the fact that He has chosen, it is not anything we have done. Jesus uses an emphatic first-person pronoun to state that "I chose you!".
• Christ wraps up this section by reiterating His commandment, love one another.

Point 3 (V 18-25)

As Christians, we need to find out mission in the World.

Conclusion