Much Fruit

By F. Wayne Mac Leod

I write this study because of a burden the Lord has placed on my heart. The burden relates to the state of the church in our day. Many believers are content with their spiritual lives. Reading John 15:1-8, however, I am struck by the words “fruit,” “more fruit,” and “much fruit.” In these words, the Lord Jesus expresses the desire of the Heavenly Vinedresser that we become more productive.

The second part of the burden relates to the source of our strength and wisdom for the task. The imagery of a vine and its branches rebukes our self-reliance and shows us that, connected to the Vine as the source of all power and authority, there is no limit to what God can do.

I trust that the Lord will enable us to see His heart for us as branches on the Vine. I pray that He will give us greater passion and boldness to be His instruments in a world that so desperately needs a Saviour.

• Language: English
• Publisher: F. Wayne Mac Leod
• Release date: Oct 9, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005231668

F. Wayne Mac Leod

F. Wayne Mac Leod was born in Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia, Canada and received his education at Ontario Bible College, University of Waterloo and Ontario Theological Seminary. He was ordained at Hespeler Baptist Church, Cambridge, Ontario in 1991. He and his wife, Diane served as missionaries with the Africa Evangelical Fellowship (now merged with SIM) on the islands of Mauritius and Reunion in the Indian Ocean from 1985-1993 where he was involved in church development and leadership training. He is presently involved in a writing ministry and is a member of Action International Ministries.

Book preview

Much Fruit

A Study of the Teaching of Jesus

About the Vine and the Branches in John 15:1-8

F. Wayne Mac Leod

Light To My Path Book Distribution

Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia, CANADA B1V 1Y5

Much Fruit

Copyright © 2020 by F. Wayne Mac Leod

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of the author.

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Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations from The Authorized (King James) Version. Rights in the Authorized Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Reproduced by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press

Contents

Preface

Chapter 1 - Introduction

Chapter 2 - No Fruit

Chapter 3 - Fruit

Chapter 4 - More Fruit

Chapter 5 - Bearing Fruit

Chapter 6 - Much Fruit

Chapter 7 - The Grace to Produce Fruit

Chapter 8 - Fruit that Glorifies the Father

Light To My Path Book Distribution

Preface

It may be that John 15 is one of the passages commented on more than any other section in the Bible. I do not pretend to have anything new to say on these verses that has not already been said somewhere else. I write this study because the Lord has placed a burden on my heart for the church.

The first part of that burden relates to the state of the church in our day. I have seen all too many believers become content with where they are in their spiritual lives. In reading John 15:1-8, however, I am struck by the words fruit, more fruit, and much fruit. In these words, the Lord Jesus expresses the desire of the Heavenly Vinedresser that we become even more productive. It is my firm belief that the Lord God wants to do so much more. The only hindrance is the willingness of His people.

The second part of the burden I feel relates to the source of our strength and wisdom for the task. The imagery of a vine and its branches is such a powerful image. It rebukes our self-reliance and reminds us of the foolishness of relying on our own wisdom and strength. At the same time, however, it shows us that, connected to the Vine as the source of all power and authority, there is no limit to what God can do through us.

I trust that the Lord will enable us to see afresh, the heart of God for us as branches in Christ, the Vine. I pray that the Lord will give us greater passion and boldness through this study to be the instruments He would have us to be in this world that so desperately needs a Saviour.

God bless,

F. Wayne Mac Leod

Chapter 1 - Introduction

1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. (John 15:1)

As we begin our meditation on John 15:1-8, the scene is set for us in verse 1. Jesus compares Himself to a vine and His Father to a vinedresser. Let's take a moment to consider what Jesus is communicating through this comparison.

The True Vine

Jesus identifies Himself as the true vine. As we consider how Jesus describes Himself here, let's first hear the words of the Father in Isaiah 5 about His people Israel:

1 Let me sing for my beloved my love song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. 2 He dug it and cleared it of stones, and