Discipleship Essentials*
Saturday, November 6, 2004
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, I know that after I have received Your free gift of salvation, that the only way to continue in the life and joy You have given me through Jesus is to continue to obey You. I pray that You will fill me with Your Holy Spirit so that I may hear and obey Your voice when You speak. I pray that You will write Your word on my heart that I may live faithfully in accordance with Your will. I pray that this day my words and my life will bring You glory. All this I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
God’s Word Today
John 15:1-11
“1“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3You have already been pruned for greater fruitfulness by the message I have given you. 4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful apart from me.
5“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. 6Anyone who parts from me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. 7But if you stay joined to me and my words remain in you, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted! 8My true disciples produce much fruit. This brings great glory to my Father.
9“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10When you obey me, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!
Background on the Text – Who Wrote It? Why Was It Written? Who Was the Audience?
As we conclude our week of study of John 15:1-11, you may want to take a bit of extra time and look through the rest of John’s Gospel. You will see that just as is the case here, John presents Jesus as the one who is able to refer to Himself as “I am,” the primary name God gives Himself in the Old Testament. As you review the book, you will also see that John’s record includes a great many examples of Jesus’ signs and wonders, and a significant amount of interaction with the Jewish religious leaders. Jesus is obviously the Son of God in all of the Gospels, but we might say that He is even more so in John’s gospel than all the rest. For John Jesus is truly the Way and the Truth and the Life and no one comes to God the Father except through Him.
Observation – What Does the Text Say?
(Specifically look at the bold verses, if any, to answer these questions.)
Interpretation – What Does the Text Mean?
Application – How Can I Respond to the Text’s Insights and Teachings?
Each Week’s Check List
After reading and studying this text, reflect on the following discipleship growth points:
Growth Point |
How |
Encouraged and strengthened me by |
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Fallen short areas |
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What will I do with these insights? |
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What did God say to me today? |
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Share insights and growth points |
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Changed/transformed how? |
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Thoughts...The Joy of Obedience...
It may not be intuitively obvious to the most casual observer (as one of my friends in seminary used to put it!), but serving Jesus faithfully is the only way to experience true joy in our lives! While many experiences in life my bring us thrills, and momentary fulfillment, lasting joy comes only from a relationship with Jesus and from obeying His commands. Nothing is more satisfying at the end of the day than to be able to say to Jesus, “I know You better, and I served You faithfully today.” As we go about our days, incorporating an intentional daily quiet time with God is one way to see that we remain in Jesus and grow in obedience to Him. As with every discipline in our lives, when we first start putting Jesus first, when we first start living in obedience to Him, it may seem more like work than joy. In the end, though the joy comes. Have you ever started a task—any task—that was difficult, and may even have seemed beyond your capabilities. As you worked at it and eventually succeeded there came a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that cannot come from living the “easy life.” As we follow Jesus, and put our relationship with Jesus above every other relationship, there will be times when it is difficult, and yet the joy of obeying Jesus and remaining His love is the greatest joy of all. May we give our lives fully to knowing and serving Jesus, thus experiencing the abundant joy He came to give us!