1 - Introduction - Living like a real Christian An introduction | Page 6

Today I would like for you to read again the Scripture above. Jesus here is in a
conversation with His disciples and it is one of those conversations that could be
classified as “death-bed-talk”. Jesus was on His way to the Garden of Gethsemane
with His disciples, knowing full well that cross was just hours away. As they passed
through the Kidron valley they found themselves in a vineyard. Jesus then speaks
the words of our reading, and it is these words that I would like to speak about.
According to the discussion that Jesus had with His disciples there are four levels
of fruit bearing. According to verse 2 of our reading there are those who bear no
fruit; there are some who bear some fruit; there are few who bear more fruit and
even less who bear much fruit. Every believer will fall into one of these four levels
of fruitfulness. It is interesting to note, however, the truth that every believer has
a “much fruit” potential. It is of this pursuit of a higher fulfilment of our fruitful
potential that Jesus speaks. Let’s look today at those who BEAR NO FRUIT AT ALL.
According to a recent public opinion poll that I read, in an evaluation of
fruitfulness as it relates to Christians, this poll revealed some shocking statistics. It
revealed the finding that sixty percent of Christians fall into the “no fruit”
category. Twenty percent fall into the “some fruit” category. Fifteen percent fall
into the “more fruit” category and only five percent of Christians fall into the
“much fruit” category.
In John 15 the picture of the gardener is an interesting one. It is a picture of the
Holy Spirit whose role it is to “sanctify” the believers. The gardener was one who
tended the vineyard, tenderly and kindly, nurturing it to its full potential. The
passage speaks of the branches that bear no fruit and if you read the NIV Bible it
speaks of being “cut-off” from the vine. The King James Version, however, uses
what is possibly a better translation (not so much an interpretation) to tell us what
Jesus was requiring. The King James Version speaks ofthe gardener lifting up the
branches, tying them to the vine in order to get them out of the mud. I see God,
by His Holy Spirit, getting down into the mud of life with us, seeking to get us out
of the mud of sin. You can never bear fruit while you’re stuck in the mud. This
teaching of Scripture is a universal one. In Genesis 18 we have the story of Lot
getting stuck in the mud of the sin of Sodom and, before he could bear any fruit
for God, he had to get out of the mud.