I AM The True Vine

I Am The True Vine (John 15:1-11)

This week in in the high school ministry we continued in our current message series: I AM. Jesus words were recorded in John 15:1-11 of Him saying that He was the TRUE VINE. There are many "vines" out there that we plug into. They are false vine, vines that give us a false sense of satisfaction, joy, & peace. They satisfy for a little while, then quickly reveal themselves as counterfeits to authentic joy. Jesus said this in John 15:11...

"These things I have spoken to you, that my joy

may be in you, and that your joy may be full."

Maybe it's a little unrealistic to walk around with a smile on your face all day, but ask yourself this, "Do I have joy? Do I have full joy?" Chances are some of us have joy, very few of us have "full joy". Jesus told us that he spoke these things to us so that we could have not just joy, but HIS JOY, FULL JOY! He did say, "That my joy MAY be in you." The choice is up to us, we have to do our part for our joy to be full. What's our part??? Within those eleven verses there are two principles we can apply.

1. Let God Prune

2. Live in God's Presence

I'll let you listen to the message to hear more about pruning and abiding in His presence, but here it is in short. God prunes, He cuts off things in our life so we can grow. If we're gonna let God prune, in order for us to grow, than we've got to let it go. We have to serve God with open hands. Secondly, living in God's presence means reading His word and obeying it. Cool stuff in verse seven happens when we live in the presence of God. It all amounts to full joy! When I let God prune and live in His presence, then I will have a life completely satisfied in Him. He will give me His joy -- FULL JOY! That's something worth investigating. Check it out in John 15:1-11.