Doing Something that Is Something

Study Notes

Doing Something that Is Something - Week 7 - Study Guide

Doing something that is something

John 15:1-8

     The great Leo Tolstoy once spoke of something that, I think runs deep in the heart of most human beings.  It’s in his book, On the Meaning of Life.  He wrote:  We should with every day and every hour become better, living a life that is more self sacrificing and loving and participating in making the world at least a grain better than what it was when we entered into life. I believe all agree that in this lies the main purpose of human life… I do not ask of you any belief in anything we may say except that we must try to become better and make the world better.

     I agree with Tolstoy’s longing.  But, when I read it, I just get tired.  I know that I seem to be unable to make myself better in my own strength.  The thought that I can make this broken world better is exhausting.  But – have no doubt about it, we who are human have a longing to have our lives make a positive difference in this world.  It’s not just the great author Leo Tolstoy who wrote about it.  For those of you much younger than I am, you know how the idea “YOLO” has made its way into youth culture around the world.  YOLO:An acronym for "you only live once". Similar to carpe diem, it implies that one should enjoy life, even if that entails taking risks.  And the philosophy of YOLO has led to some crazy risks – sometimes to being an excuse for irresponsible and outlandish behavior -- even last week when a 17 year old young man in Torrance, CA took a YOLO risk and played Russian Roulette – and killed himself.

     Let me simply say this at the beginning of this message: Very few people live their lives with the hope that they will live boring and meaningless lives.  From childhood on, we find ourselves wanting to “seize the day” and to live lives that really matter.  And, when you grasp that, you can understand the significance of the passage we’re going to look at over the next two weeks here at LAC, i.e., John 15:1-17.

Imagine Being There

     Remember again that from John 13-17, we’re listening in to a very personal conversation Jesus is having with those closest to him on the last day of his life.  He will soon be going through the cross to the Father to prepare a place for all who believe in him.  But, these disciples are confused as they try to grasp why the one they had left everything to follow would soon be leaving them.  Jesus tells them (and us) how to live in this world while he is physically away.  What has he said?

1. We must love and serve one another.  Jesus may be gone but he’s left us a church family. We should experience the love and presence of Jesus through his people, i.e., through the church (13:1-35).
2. We must trust Jesus.  Jesus knows what he’s doing and he’s doing it for our good.  We must learn to trust that Jesus knows what he’s doing, and wait for him and be faithful to him (13:36-14:14).
3. We must count on Jesus’ presence through the Holy Spirit -- the Person who lives in us and among us and is sufficient for anything we face (14:15-31).

     Having said all that, Jesus looked like he was done with his teaching as he said in 14:30-31: I will no longer talk much with you… Come, let us leave.” 

     But, Jesus was not finished with his teaching.  As he and his 11 disciples walked out into Jerusalem, I envision a vineyard being on the side of a hill they passed.  (I’ll show an Israeli vineyard here.) He used that visual reality to teach them something they must have desperately wanted to know about.   Jesus taught them (and now us) how to know how to live meaningful and productive lives in this world.  You must remember that these disciples had left everything behind to follow Jesus – their families, their careers and their hopes.  Matthew would not be able to go back to tax collecting.  Simon wouldn’t be able to go back to politics.  What were they going to do?  How would their lives have meaning now that Jesus was leaving?  Most men have our identities so centered in what we do.  What would they do?  Can you relate to them?

     Jesus said that being productive in this “YOLO” world in which we only live once is like the relationship of a grapevine to its branches and fruit.  Jesus probably pointed to the vineyard and said, I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser…  As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me (15:1,4-5).

 

What Does Jesus Mean by Fruit?

      If abiding in Jesus flows into much “fruit”, then what specifically is that fruit?  Often people say that it is the fruit of others coming to Jesus or of the church getting bigger.  Others say that it is the fruit of a changed character.  But, I read Jesus’ words here that tell us the fruit is what flows into a life that glorifies God (v.8). So, I am convinced that what Jesus means by fruit in John 15 includes a number of beautiful “Jesus-like” qualities that Jesus wants to produce both in us and through us.  Like what? Fruit is a life of:

• Freedom -- Set free from bondages so that we might obey Jesus’ commands (v.10),
• Joy – experiencing joy in this all-too-frequent joyless world – as Jesus did (v.11),
• Shalom – flourishing as we live each day with confident trust in the Lord (14:27),
• Love – Loving the people of the world and, especially God’s people as Jesus does (v.12),
• Effective witness to the world – People will be drawn to Jesus as they see him in us (vv.16, 27).

     All this is what Jesus called glorifying God in v.8:  By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit.  In other words, when people see us living our lives, they will, of course, they will see normal human beings. But, they should also increasingly see fellow human beings who are becoming different.  The difference will be that they should see the ways of Jesus developing within our lives.  Don’t you want that?  “But, how, Jesus?” I ask.  “How will you produce your kind of life in people like us?”

     Today, I will point you to the main key Jesus speaks of in us being productive like this: by being organically connected to Jesus.  If you say, “That doesn’t sound so life-transforming”, or “that just sounds like religious talk”, then I ask you to listen carefully to Jesus’ words today.

The Life-Principle:  We bear fruit when we are “organically” connected to Jesus -- As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me (15:4).

     Jesus speaks of our relationship to him being like the relationship of a vine to the branches and the fruit.  (I’ll show a picture here.)  This is what I am calling an organic relationship.  Branches must be organically connected to the grapevine or there can be no fruit.  In fact, the branches won’t even be alive without this kind of connection to the vine.  In saying this Jesus is making an enormous claim: He’s saying that our relationship to him must be closer and more life-transforming than the relationship of a friend to a friend, a student to a mentor, a child to a parent or even a spouse to a spouse.  He’s saying that our relationship to him is the thing that will transform those other relationships from self-centeredness to health-giving.  This relationship with Jesus is a relationship that begins when we receive Jesus into our lives by faith.  As Jesus said in John 3, when we do that, we are born again.  We become alive to God and, as Jeff pointed out last week, the Spirit of Jesus comes and takes residence in us. 

     When we receive Jesus into our lives, what comes to life in us is a beautiful mutuality in our relationship to Jesus:  We the branches derive our life and strength from the vine; the vine produces its fruit in and through us.  The organic growth of Jesus flowing into and through our lives is different from inorganic growth.  I remember my chemistry class in high school when we let charcoal and bits of pots sit in a solution we had concocted. (Show picture here.)  The bits in the solution seemed to grow as potash crystals accumulated on the outside.  But, then when we put the whole thing into a dissolve solution, the exterior coatings didn’t last.  It had looked like there was lasting organic growth on the surface – but it wasn’t real.

     There is a powerful lesson in Jesus’ words: It is possible to look like a genuine Christian on the outside but not be Christians at all.  (I’ll come back to this next week.)  You can go to church and dress like a Christian, talk like a Christian, sing the songs Christians sing but not be organically alive to God through faith in Jesus. Take a young person who goes to a church youth group.  To fit in with the group, he does what the group does.  He listens to Christian music, goes to Bible studies, and goes to retreats.  He does all the Christian things and looks like he’s growing.  It looks so real, but it’s inorganic growth.  He’s just copying what’s happening around.

     It should be no surprise that when you take that young person out of that saturated religious environment of a youth group and plunge him into a group of non-Christians, the Christian stuff dissolves away.  The growth looked so real but there is no real growth there at all.  Jesus says that real growth comes from knowing Him, being with Him, loving Him.  As a living branch is organically connected to the vine – and not just pasted on or taped on – so we must be organically connected to Jesus through faith.

 

The Practice:  Jesus suggests “spiritual disciplines” as our response to his indwelling.

     Once you have come alive to God by bringing Jesus into your life, then you hear Jesus say nine times in this text that we have a responsibility, i.e., to abide in him or to remain in him.  And, from from Jesus’ words, we get some good ideas of how to do this.  It has to do with some of the basic things the followers of Jesus have always done to abide, sometimes called spiritual disciplines:

1. Practicing the presence of the Holy Spirit – As Jesus said in 14:18, “After I leave, I will come to you by the Holy Spirit.”  Growing Christians have always learned to have our lives shaped by Jesus by consciously acknowledging the presence of God’s Spirit each moment of each day.
2. Experiencing the love of Jesus by worshipping & serving with your local church – This is the point that permeated 13:1-31 and will come back again in 15:9.  One practical way of abiding in Jesus is abiding in worship and service with your church family.  One certain way of knowing you are not organically attached with Jesus is failure to abide with your church family as John said in 1 John 2:19 about a group that was no longer involved with the church:  They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.
3. Consistently receiving God’s Word – As Jesus said in v.7, we are to abide in him, and let his words abide in us…   In our very visual world, I think we have forgotten the power of words to harm or to build up.  Jesus is saying that as we let his words, as revealed in His Word, fill our minds, we will know how to pray and how to live.  The application of this is that you need to spend regular time in Bible reading and Bible study so that the Word of God can fill you and direct you.  I recommend beginning to read daily from the Gospel of John as we go through Lent.
4. Spending regular times in prayer – “Ask what you will and it will be done… (v.7).”  Notice carefully that this kind of promise in prayer is prayer that flows out of Jesus living and ruling in our lives and out of minds filled with the desire to produce spiritual fruit.  Prayer is not at all a magic formula to manipulate God into giving us the material things that often become our “gods”.  This is a prayer that seeks Jesus’ way and seeks his glory to be seen in our lives (v. 8). 

     As the mind and values of Jesus flow in us, we seek what he seeks.  For example, we want people to come to Christ.  We want his kingdom to be seen in our hurting world.  We do not pray anything “in his name” (v.16) that is simply self-seeking or is counter to the ways of Jesus.

     The teaching about prayer in John 15 is exactly what Jesus spoke of in Mt 6:33:  Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

     To be productive, every day get on your knees and tell Jesus you need Him.  You need Him to help you with your business, your school; you need Him to remain pure and to have good thoughts rather than bad.  You need Him to help you with your temper…  Nurture your relationship with Him.  The fruit of your life will shrivel the moment that relationship with Jesus becomes distant or sporadic.

     Keeping in mind that we are spiritually productive only when we are intimately and organically connected to Jesus, let me speak to you now about the problem in being spiritual productive that the disciples had and most of us have that I call “our somethings that are Jesus’ nothings”.  Look carefully at Jesus’ words in v.5:  If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

     Don’t miss Jesus’ words: “Apart from me – nothing…”  Let’s be honest in our thinking today and acknowledge that there are a lot of people in our world who have no connection with Jesus at all and yet are doing a lot.  They’re growing businesses, building big homes, gaining fame…  That sure sounds like they’re accomplishing something.  In fact, their “somethings” are the very things we often want Jesus to help us to accomplish.

     So, how can the fruit that Jesus produces in us actually be something instead of nothing?  One answer to that takes us all the way back to the foot-washing in 13:1-17.  Jesus sends us as his followers into all sorts of places.  To some he gives the callings and gifts to lead companies, write books, play sports or receive significant roles in the entertainment industry.  But, most of Jesus’ followers throughout history have been sent into less visible places.  To the genuine believer, the place we are called to doesn’t really matter. We know that wherever Jesus sends us, we should work and serve fully with all the gifts he gives – working, as Paul would write, “as unto the Lord.”  But, while we are there, we are to serve those who come across our paths.  Employees – serving our employers as the best workers possible.  Employers – caring for those under our authority with the love of Christ.  In other words, we are to see every relationship and every encounter as a divine appointment and we are to serve as Jesus served.  We are to let the ways of the servant Jesus flow through us.  Then, the “nothing” of temporary success or material gain can become a “something” of eternal value.  Do you see that?

 

The Result: The fruit we bear is the glory of God.This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit.

     What Jesus says in v.8 is that when we are connected to him in this way, he will flow through us and change us in such a way that the world sees the glory of God.  To “glorify” here means to reflect what God is like – his values, his love, his mercy, his holiness… We cannot do this on our own.  In fact, our natural inclination is to think and live the way we’ve learned it in the world.  This is why we must be so closely connected to Jesus if we will bear this kind of fruit.  Otherwise, we will work hard to accomplish “stuff” and we will get tired but we will not glorify God.

     I’ll apply this to myself first.  The natural tendency for a pastor in our society is to think that God will be glorified if I build a big church.  And, I believe, God could be glorified as lots of people flow into our church.  However, it may be just as much the case that the pastor wants personal glory by thinking, “Look how effective I am.  God must be pleased with what I am building!”  So, I look at our Worship Center with its 5,000 seats and I see it’s not full and I begin to worry. I think, “If only I could philosophize like Tim Keller, this place would be full.”  Or, “If only I could have as much courage as Rick Warren, then…”  Or, “If only I had as uch passion as Francis Chan…”

     So, I work at those things.  I read and read and try to become more philosophical.  I take risks (like “YOLO” calls me to do) and try new things.  I rev myself up and try to be more passionate.  What happens?  Mostly, I get tired.  And, what I do seems fake (because it IS!).  And, even if the church grows, it is not to the glory of God but to the pastor.  Jesus tells me, “Abide in me.  Be connected to me.  Pray and be faithful to me and you will bear much fruit.”  And that fruit, whatever it is, will be to the glory of God.

     You can apply this to any part of your life – even to playing football.  After I had spoken about this in a college chapel years ago, I went into the pre-game meeting of our football coach with his players.  He said, “We heard our president speak to us about glorifying God by allowing the presence of Jesus flow through us into everything we do.  That includes what you’re going to do on the field today.  Playing football is like being in an intensified laboratory of life.  You have to handle the times when the player next to you fails – or when you fail.  You have to respond to the authority of the coach.  You have to handle the injustices of bad calls with grace.  Life is lived out on the field.  I want you to play to the glory of God.  Use all the gifts God has given you.  Play to the best of that God-given ability.  And handle each situation in ways that honor

The One who is the Lord of your life.  Play to God’s glory and feel his joy.”

     That day we killed the other team – in a spiritual sort of way.  That doesn’t always happen because the fruit we long for as Christians is not something as small as a win in a small college football game.  We long for and pray for the glory of God to be seen in all we do.

     I’ll stop there today and leave you to allow the words of Jesus to penetrate your live:

If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit… This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples (Jesus, John 15:5,8).

To His glory,

Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor

Greg Waybright • Copyright 2015, Lake Avenue Church

Chinese Translation

Doing Something that Is Something - Week 7 - Study Notes - Chinese Translation

                   破碎但不丟棄－結出果子              2/22/2015
                     約翰福音15：1－8

        偉大的作家托爾斯泰曾經說過這樣一段話，我想在大多數人類的心底流淌，他在這本書《生活的意義》中，寫到：我們應該每日每時變得更好，生活中更多的自我犧牲，充滿愛，參與在建設一個更好的世界中，至少要比我們生命剛剛進入這個世界的時候要更好....我求的不是你們存什麼樣的信念，而是竭力成為一個更好的人，使社會變得更美好。
        我同意托爾斯泰的渴望。但是我讀這樣的話，覺得很累。我知道靠一己之力是不能讓自己變得更好。想到我可以讓​​這個破碎的世界變得更好就叫我很喪氣。但是無疑的，我們人類都渴望我們的生活對這個世界起到積極的影響。不只是偉大的作家托爾斯泰。
        讓我信息的開始很簡單地來說：極少的人希望他們的生活是無聊，沒有意義的。從童年開始，我們就發現要想"抓住日子"，過的日子是真正重要的。你能把握這點就能夠明白這段經文的重要性，在接下來的這兩個星期我們要來看的約翰福音15：1－17 。

想像身臨其境
        再次記住從約翰福音13－17，我們聽耶穌在他在世的生命最後的一天和這些與他最親近的人非常個人性的對話。他很快要走上十架往父那裡去，為一切信他的人預備地方。但是門徒困惑不已，不明白為什麼他們為之放棄一切的來跟隨他的人要離他們而去。耶穌告訴他們（和我們）在他不能親身在我們身邊的時候要如何在這個世界上生活。他說了什麼？
        1. 我們要相愛，彼此服事。耶穌離開但是他留給我們一個教會的家庭。我們應該透過他的子民，比如教會，來經歷神的愛和同在（13：1－35）
        2. 我們要信靠耶穌。耶穌知道他在做什麼，他所做的乃是為了我們的益處。我們必須學習來信靠耶穌，他知道自己做的事，等候他，對神忠心（13：36－14：14）
        3. 我們要依靠神透過聖靈與我們同在－聖靈這一位住在我們裡面，在我們中間，不論面對何事，他夠我們用（14：15－31）
        說了這些，耶穌看起來完成了他在14：30－31 的教導：
        但是耶穌還沒有說完，當他和十二個門徒走向耶路撒冷的時候，我設想在他們經過的山邊有一葡萄園（我這裡給大家看一個以色列的葡萄園）他用一個視覺的現實來教導他們，一些有關他們心里切切想要知道的東西。耶穌教導他們（現在教導我們）怎樣在這個世界上過一個有意義的，富有創造性的生活。你要記得這些門徒是撇下一切來跟從耶穌的－他們的家，他們的事業和理想。馬太不能再回到他的稅吏行業中，西門不能再回到政治生涯中。他們要做什麼？耶穌離開之後他們生活還有什麼意義？大多數人的身份中心乃是我們從事的事業。他們要做什麼？你與他們有共鳴嗎？
        耶穌說在這個我們只生活一次的世界上富有創造性的生活乃是像葡萄樹上的枝子和果子這樣的關係。耶穌耶穌指著葡萄園說：" (15：1，4－5）我是真葡萄樹，我的父是栽培的人.....枝子若不常在葡萄樹上，自己就不能結果子；你們若不常在我裡面，也是這樣。

耶穌說果子是什麼意思？
        如果與基督連接而流出"果子"，那麼具體的果子是什麼？常常人們說人來就近耶穌，教會越來越大是果子。其他人說果子是改變的品格。但是，我讀耶穌這裡的話乃是告訴我們果子流進我們的生活是榮耀神（8節）因此，我很確信耶穌在約翰福音中結果子的意思，包括幾樣"象耶穌一樣"的美好是耶穌要同時在我們裡面和透過我們出來的果子。比如什麼呢？果子是這樣的生活：
        自由－從各樣的捆綁中釋放出來，叫我們可以順服耶穌的命令（10節）
        喜樂－在這個缺乏喜樂是常有的世界中經歷到喜樂－如同耶穌一樣（11節）
        平安－在每日的生活中，信靠主，充滿信心過一個昌盛的生活（14：27節）
        愛－愛世界上的人－特別是神的子民，如同耶穌一般（12節）
        有效地向世界做見證－當人們看見耶穌在我們裡面就被我們的生活所吸引（16，27節）
        所有這些都是耶穌在8節稱為榮耀神的：用另一句話說，當人們看到我們的生活，他們當然看到的是正常的人的生活。但是他們也應該會不斷地看到其他人不同的生活。你想要這樣的生活嗎？ "但是，怎樣才可以呢，耶穌？ " 我問，" 你如何在我們這樣的人身上造出像你一樣的生活呢？
        今天，我給你幾個要點。耶穌耶穌說到我們裡面創造性的生活是像這樣的：就是與耶穌有機地連接在一起。如果你說，" 這聽起來不覺得有什麼改變生命的東西呀"，或者說"聽起來像是宗教的話"，那麼今天你來聽聽耶穌的話。

生活的原則：我們與耶穌"有機地"連接的時候才能結出果子－（15：4）
        耶穌說到我們和他的關係就像葡萄樹上的枝子和果子。這就稱為有機的關係。枝子必須和葡萄樹連接，不然就沒有果子。事實上，枝子如果沒有這樣與葡萄樹的連接甚至不能存活。耶穌這樣說是在做一個偉大的宣告"他說我們和他的關係應該是比任何的朋友對朋友、學生對導師、孩子對父母、甚至配偶對配偶的關係都要來的更加親近，更具備改變性的生命。他說我們和他的關係是改變我們與其他人的關係的，叫我們從自我中心的生命到一個健康給予的生命。這個與耶穌的關係是從我們在信心中接受耶穌到我們生命中開始的。如同耶穌在約翰福音3章中說的，如果我們如此行，我們就重生了。我們向著神活過來。耶穌的靈來住在我們裡面。
        我們接受耶穌到我們生命當中，進入我們生命中的是一個與耶穌美好互動的關係：我們枝子的生命和力量乃是從葡萄樹衍生而來；葡萄樹從我們裡面，透過我們結出果子。與基督有機的成長流進我們的生命並且通過我們的生命與無機的生命是不一樣的。我記得我高中生物課程，我們用木炭和盆子放在砲制的液體當中，液體的部分看起來有鉀晶體在外面堆起，但是我們將全部的東西都放在溶解液中，外牆塗料就不能長久。外面看起來有有機的成長，但這不是真實的。
        耶穌的話中有強有力的教訓：人在外面看起來像是很真誠的基督徒卻根本不是真正的基督徒。（我下個星期回來講這點。）你可以穿著打扮像一個基督徒去教會，說出來的話象基督徒，唱基督教的歌，但是卻沒有在信心中有機地活著神裡面。帶一個年青人到教會的青年小組，為了融入群體，他可以做小組裡的人都做的事，他聽基督教的音樂，去聖經小組學習，參加退修會。他可以做所有基督徒做的事，也看起來有成長。看起來那麼真，但那是無機的成長。他只是在抄襲周圍發生的東西。
        這一點也不奇怪，如果你帶一個年青人去一個充滿宗教的環境中，然後將他丟進一群非基督徒的群體中，基督徒的東西就都消失而去。成長看起來是那麼真的，但是裡面沒有真實的成長。耶穌說真實的成長從認識神開始，為神所認識，並愛神。作為有機連接與葡萄樹有生命的枝子，不是塗上去也不是貼上去的的，外面必須透過信心有機地與基督連接。

具體操練：耶穌建議“靈命操練”作為我們對他內住的回應。

        一旦你邀請耶穌進入你的生命，你就向神活了過來，然後你聽到耶穌在以下的經文中重複九次說到我們的責任，比如連接與他，住在他裡面。從耶穌的話中，我們對如何行明白一些道理。這與跟隨耶穌的人一直以來遵守的一些基本準則有關。有時候他們就被稱為靈命操練：

1. 操練聖靈的同在--正如耶穌在14：18節中說，“我離開後，我的聖靈要到你們這裡來。”成長中的基督徒總是學習在每一刻每一天，通過有意識承認聖靈的同在讓耶穌來塑造我們的生命。

2. 通過我們與當地教會一同的敬拜來參與耶穌的愛--這是貫穿13：1--31節中的一點，並且在15：9節中再次強調。住在耶穌裡的一個實際方法就是參與教會大家庭的敬拜與服事。確定你是否真正與耶穌聯結的一種方法是你是否參加教會大家庭，正如約翰在約翰一書2：19節中所描述的群體：他們從我們中間出去，卻不是屬我們的，若是屬於我們的，就必仍舊與我們同在，他們出去，顯明都不是屬我們的。

3. 不斷的接受神的話語--正如耶穌在7節中說，我們要住在他裡面，並且讓他的話住在我們裡面...在我們這個肉眼可見的世界裡，我想我們經常會忘記話語有摧毀或建立的作用。耶穌說當我們讓他的話語，正如在聖經中啟示的，充滿我們的思想，我們就會知道該如何禱告與生活。要運用這一點，你需要有規律地閱讀和學習聖經，這樣神的話語就會充滿你，指引你。我建議在大齋節期間我們可以開始每天閱讀約翰福音。

4. 有規律的禱告--“凡你們所願意的，祈求就給你們成就...（7節）。”用心留意這禱告的應許，這是由耶穌掌管我們的生命而產生出來的禱告，也是渴望結出聖靈果子的禱告。禱告並不是一個有魔法的方程式來操控上帝，來提供給我們往往會成為我們偶像的物質的東西。禱告是尋求耶穌的方式，並尋求他的榮耀彰顯在我們的生命中（8節）。

        耶穌在16節進一步澄清禱告的意義：我揀選你們，並且分派你們去結果子，叫你們的果子長存；使你們奉我的名，無論向父求什麼，他就賜給你們。請記住耶穌是葡萄樹。如果希望有好的結果，他的生命和力量必須流淌在我們裡面，所以那句話“奉他的名禱告”是很重要的。當耶穌的思想和價值觀植入我們的生命，我們就會尋求他尋求的東西。比如，我們想要人們來到基督面前。我們希望他的國度在我們悖逆的世界裡顯現。我們並不“奉他的名”禱告自我追求的東西或者與耶穌的方式相反的東西。

        在約翰福音15章關於禱告的教會正如耶穌在馬太福音6：33節說的：你們要先求他的國他的義，這些東西都要加給你們了。

        過一個富有創造力的生活，每天你要跪下告訴耶穌你需要他。幫助你的工作你的學習；你需要他來保持聖潔並擁有正面的而不是負面的想法。你需要他幫助調節你的脾氣...培養你和他的關係。當你和耶穌的關係疏遠或中斷的時候，你生命的果子就會減少。認真聽耶穌在5節中的話"常在我裡面的，我也常在他裡面，這人就多結果子；因為離了我，你們就不能做什麼。"
        不要錯失耶穌的話："離了我....就不能做什麼..." 讓我們今天誠實地來思想，承認今天世界上許多的人和耶穌根本沒有任何的聯繫，但是做了許多的事。他們生意興隆，家道豐富，聲譽鵲起......自然聽起來他們成就不凡。事實上，他們的"什麼"也是我們常常求告耶穌給我們成就的事。在過去的20－30年的時間裡，我們不斷探討他們的"什麼"好叫我們在教會的當中也能夠成就這些什麼。但是耶穌說不能做什麼。許多基督徒甚至將耶穌在7節的禱告變成從耶穌那獲取給予我們在世界上的東西。 "主，我要富裕，我要名聲。我怎樣才能操縱你，神啊，我要的東西，你給我！！！" 這不是耶穌的教導。
        那麼耶穌在我們裡面怎樣才能結出什麼，而不是什麼都不能做？其中一個答案要回到13：1－17節的洗腳的教導。耶穌差派跟隨他的人往各地去。他呼召一些人，分派恩賜給他們有帶領公司的、有寫作的、有在體育界的、有在娛樂圈裡接受重要角色的。但是，在歷史中大部分耶穌的跟隨者被差派到默默無聞的地方去。對真誠的信徒來說，我們被呼召去的地方不重要。我們知道不論耶穌派我們往哪裡去，我們都用他給我們的恩賜來全力工作事奉－做工，如同保羅寫到的，"如同為主做的"。如同服事耶穌一般。我們要讓僕人耶穌通過我們流露出來。這樣，"短暫的成功或物質所得的"不能做"變成為永恆價值裡的"果子"。你看到這點嗎？

結果：我們結的果子就是榮耀神。你們多結果子，我父就因此得榮耀。
        耶穌在8節說的乃是我們如此和他連接，他就能透過我們，改變我們的方法讓世界看見神的榮耀。這裡的"榮耀"意為反映神的形象－他的價值觀，他的愛，他的恩典，他的聖潔.....我們憑自己不能做什麼。事實上，我們自然傾向是我們在世界上學到的思想和生活的方式。這就是為什麼如果我們要結這樣的果子，就必須和耶穌緊密地連接。不然，我們辛苦要成就的"東西"叫我們疲勞卻不榮耀神。
        我首先用在我自己的身上。在我們的社會中，一個牧者很容易以為建立一個大教會就是榮耀神。而且我相信，隨著許多的人湧入我們教會可以給他帶來榮耀。然而，這也是一個事實，就是牧者求的是個人的榮耀，思想，"看，我是多麼的得力。神一定喜悅我所建造的工！"所以，當我看到教會5000 人的座席不滿的時候，我就會開始擔憂。我想，"要是我能夠像提摩太凱勒一樣充滿哲理，這座席就會滿了人。"或者，"要是我能夠有Rick Warren 那樣的勇氣，那麼...."或者，"要是我能有Francis Chan 那樣的激情....."
        所以我就竭力去做。我讀了又讀，要更加地富有哲理。我冒險嚐新。我把自己當牧者，更加地富有激情。結果呢？大部分的時候，我很累。我做的事看起來也假（因為這是真的！）甚至就是教會成長了，卻不是榮耀神，而是給牧者帶來光彩。耶穌告訴我，"常在我裡面。與我連接。藉著禱告，信靠我，你就多結果子。"那果子，不論什麼，都會給神帶來榮耀。
        你也可以這樣應用在你的生活中－甚至踢足球。幾年前我在大學聚會中提到這點，我在賽前與足球教練和隊員見面，他說到：" 我們聽見校長對我們說，要榮耀神，讓耶穌的同在從我們中間，我們做的每件事上彰顯。這也包括今天我們在球場上的表現。踢足球就像是人生一個激烈的實驗室。你要對付旁邊的隊友失敗的時候－或者你自己失敗的時候。你必須要聽從教練的指揮。你要用恩典來面對決策失誤的時候。生命就是一場上公開賽。我要你們為神的榮耀來打球。使用神給你的任何恩賜。用神賜給你的能力盡最大的潛力去打。面對任何境況，給在你們生命中的主帶來尊榮。為神的榮耀充滿喜樂地去打這場球。 "
        那天我們勝了另一個隊，也是在靈裡說的－這不是常常發生的，因為基督徒渴望的果子也不是一場小小校足球隊的比賽。我們渴望看見神的榮耀在我們一切所做的事上彰顯。
        我今天就停在這裡，讓耶穌的話來進入我們的生命：
常在我裡面的，我也常在他裡面，這人就多結果子...你們多結果子，我父就因此得榮耀，你們也就是我的門徒了。 "（耶穌，約翰福音16：5；8）


榮耀歸給神，
Greg Waybright 博士

主任牧師

Greg Waybright • Copyright 2015, Lake Avenue Church

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