Participants:
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW190024A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:19 Removing pain 00:24 Lord, let my words 00:27 Let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:35 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:46 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:10 Hello, we are so glad that you are joining us 01:13 for Family Worship tonight. 01:15 We are coming into the Sabbath hour. 01:18 And it is such a wonderful experience 01:21 to get together with our 3ABN family, 01:23 and you're part of the family. 01:25 We're glad that you've tuned into study with us. 01:28 I'm Shelley Quinn. 01:29 And I'm JD Quinn. 01:31 I just want to introduce 01:32 who we have here with us this evening. 01:33 We got Gary, we got Ryan, 01:36 we have Dee, and we have Tim. 01:39 They're all good friends of ours. 01:40 Yes. 01:42 We're just glad to be here and to share this time. 01:44 Well, I think we're gonna have a good 01:47 and lively discussion tonight. 01:49 We will be talking about 01:51 The Parable of the Vine and the Branches. 01:55 And so we want you... 01:56 I hope you have your bibles, maybe a pen and paper. 01:59 But before we do that, 02:00 we want to have a song and a prayer. 02:03 And our brother Tim who God has gifted on the piano 02:08 will be playing for us. 02:10 But, Gary, you wanna have our opening prayer? 02:13 Sure. 02:14 Dearly Father, we are so thankful 02:16 for Your love for us. 02:17 We're thankful for your much care, 02:19 we thank You for the word that we can study 02:21 and learn more about You Lord. 02:23 We just ask that Your spirit be here with us as we study 02:26 and with those who are watching. 02:28 May the truths that You have for us 02:30 be plain and true and beautiful. 02:34 This we put in Your wonderful precious name, amen. 02:36 Amen and amen. Thank you. 02:38 Well, we are going to sing 02:41 "Blessed Assurance, Jesus is Mine." 02:43 It's number 462 in your hymnal. 02:46 But the words will be across the bottom of the screen, 02:49 and we want you to sing with us. 02:51 We are not here to entertain you, 02:53 this is Family Worship, so join in. 03:02 Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine 03:09 O what a foretaste of glory divine 03:15 Heir of salvation, purchase of God 03:21 Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood 03:27 This is my story, this is my song 03:33 Praising my Savior all the day long 03:40 This is my story, this is my song 03:46 Praising my Savior all the day long 03:52 Perfect submission, all is at rest 03:59 I in my Savior am happy and blessed 04:05 Watching and waiting, looking above 04:12 Filled with His goodness, lost in His love 04:18 This is my story, this is my song 04:24 Praising my Savior all the day long 04:30 This is my story, this is my song 04:37 Praising my Savior all the day long 04:45 Amen and amen. 04:48 Love to listen to Tim play 04:50 and I love to listen to you all sing. 04:53 Well, as I said, 04:55 tonight we're going to study 04:58 the Parable of the Vine and the Branches. 05:02 But before we do, 05:04 we want to set a little background for you. 05:07 The... Excuse me. 05:09 In the Old Testament, 05:11 a symbol for Israel was a vineyard, the vine. 05:16 And I want to read something to you from Isaiah 5. 05:19 Actually, there's verses 1 through 7. 05:21 We're not going to look at it all. 05:23 But God is talking about His vineyard. 05:27 He's talking about the nation of Israel. 05:30 And it says, 05:31 "He expected it to bring forth good grapes, 05:35 but it brought forth wild grapes." 05:38 Instead of being fruitful, 05:40 all Israel brought forward was sour grapes. 05:44 And in verse 6, the Lord says to them, 05:47 what more could have been done to my vineyard 05:51 that have not done for it? 05:54 Why then when I expected it to bring forth good grapes 05:59 did it bring forth wild grapes? 06:02 So Israel was supposed to be a vineyard, 06:07 to be fruitful, 06:09 to share the message of the Lord 06:12 with the rest of the nations. 06:14 That's why God chose Israel. 06:16 And He even said when He told Moses, 06:21 He sent Moses to Pharaoh, and He said to tell Pharaoh, 06:25 "Let my son go, Israel is my firstborn." 06:29 That's a covenant term. 06:32 And it wasn't the order of their birth 06:36 because there were nations before them, 06:38 but it was a covenant term. 06:40 They would be His covenant son and share but they didn't. 06:45 So now He is so disappointed in His vineyard. 06:50 But we get over to Isaiah 27. 06:53 And, Tim, why don't you read that for us 06:55 because I love the way, the Amplified, 06:58 and you're reading from the Amplified, 06:59 says it Isaiah 27:2-6. 07:03 All right, verse 2 of Isaiah 27. 07:06 "In that day it will be said 07:08 of the redeemed nation of Israel, 07:10 a vineyard beloved and lovely. 07:12 Sing a responsive song to it and about it." 07:16 Verse 3, "I, the Lord am its keeper. 07:18 I water it every moment lest anyone harm it, 07:21 I guard and keep it night and day." 07:23 Isaiah 4, "Wrath is not in Me. 07:27 Would that the briars and thorns, 07:28 the wicked internal foe, 07:30 were lined up against Me in battle. 07:32 I would stride in against them, 07:34 I would burn them up together." 07:36 Verse 5, 07:37 "Or else, if all Israel would escape 07:39 being burned up together 07:41 there is but one alternative, 07:43 let them take hold of My strength 07:45 and make complete surrender to My protection, 07:48 that they may make peace with Me! 07:49 Yes, let them make peace with Me!" 07:51 And verse 6, 07:53 "In the days and generations to come, 07:55 Jacob shall take root, 07:56 Israel shall blossom and send forth shoots 07:59 and fill the whole world with fruit 08:01 of the knowledge of the true God." 08:04 That's the restoration of Israel. 08:06 Amen. 08:07 And it really didn't happen 08:09 until Israel was a spiritual name. 08:12 We remember that Jacob wrestles with God, 08:15 God changed his name 08:17 from Jacob supplanter to Israel, 08:20 one who has wrestled with God and won. 08:23 So when we see as you're following 08:26 the covenant sonship through this, 08:29 when Jesus comes, now He's got the message. 08:34 Israel, you thought you were the vine of the Lord, 08:37 I am the true vine. 08:38 Why don't you read, Ryan? 08:40 John 1, and we'll look at verses... 08:44 John 15, I'm sorry, verses 1 through 8. 08:48 Sure. 08:49 And give us a little background. 08:50 Yeah. 08:52 So basically, if anybody who understands the layout 08:55 of the book of John, 08:57 more than half of the book 08:58 is actually set in the final week 09:00 of Christ's life. 09:02 It's what we call the Passion Week, 09:03 that week leading up to the crucifixion 09:05 and of course, resurrection of Jesus. 09:07 And so from about John 12, John 13 and onward, 09:12 you are literally in the last week of Jesus. 09:14 And so John 15 is interesting 09:16 because actually this is a conversation 09:18 that Christ has begun to have with His disciples 09:22 coming out of what we would call the Last Supper. 09:24 In fact, you'll notice the last verse of John 14, 09:27 notice what it says here. 09:29 It says, 09:30 "But that the world may go that I love the Father 09:32 and as the Father gave Me commandments, 09:34 so I do..." 09:35 And then notice what He says, "Arise, let us go from here." 09:37 So they've just gotten up from the dinner table. 09:40 And interestingly enough, 09:42 the verses that we're about to read 09:44 is basically a conversation 09:46 that Christ is having with His disciples 09:48 on their way to the Garden of Gethsemane 09:50 where Christ is going to be, of course, 09:52 He's going to sweat those drops of blood, 09:54 He's going to have that beautiful prayer 09:56 on behalf of the saints there in John 17, 09:59 there in the garden of Gethsemane. 10:01 So as He's beginning to tell them this, 10:03 the scene that has previously taken place, 10:05 you can remember 10:07 they're setting at the Last Supper, 10:08 and of course, Jesus basically identifies His betrayer. 10:13 And so if you kind of take that in consideration 10:15 the scene that we just saw happened 10:17 in the previous chapters, John 13, John 14, 10:20 and now you come to the beginning verses 10:22 of John 15, 10:23 it'll begin to make sense 10:24 as Christ is now highlighting Himself 10:27 as this true vine 10:28 and showing basically, that really, 10:31 there's only two types of branches. 10:33 But just at that dinner table, at the Last Supper, 10:35 there were two types of branches present there. 10:38 There was a good ones and then there was a bad one. 10:40 And we're going to see that here in opening verses. 10:41 And that would be in Judas. 10:42 That would be in Judas Iscariot. 10:44 Absolutely. 10:45 So I'm gonna read from the New King James Version, 10:47 James 15, beginning... 10:49 Excuse me, John 15 10:50 beginning with verses 1 and through verse 8. 10:53 Jesus says, "I am the true vine, 10:57 and My Father is the vine dresser. 11:00 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, 11:04 He takes away 11:05 and every branch that bears fruit, 11:07 He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 11:12 You are already clean 11:13 because of the word which I have spoken to you. 11:17 Abide in Me and I in you, 11:20 as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself 11:23 unless it abides in the vine, 11:26 neither can you, unless you abide in Me." 11:30 He says, "I am the vine, you are the branch, 11:34 or you are the branches. 11:35 He who abides in Me and I in him, 11:38 bears much fruit. 11:40 For without Me you can do nothing. 11:43 If anyone does not abide in Me, 11:47 he is cast out as a branch and is withered, 11:50 and they gather them and throw them into the fire 11:53 and they are burned. 11:55 If you abide in Me, 11:57 and My words abide in you, 12:00 you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you. 12:05 By this My Father is glorified that you bear much fruit, 12:09 so you will be My disciples. 12:11 Amen. 12:13 You know what, I'm sitting here, 12:14 and I've never done this before. 12:15 But as you were reading, 12:17 I'm looking at how many times the word abide, 12:21 I count seven times. 12:23 Right, yeah. 12:24 Seven times He's talking about abiding 12:27 so we need to talk about what that is. 12:30 What jumps out at you most? 12:34 What scripture just lights up for you here, 12:38 that is your biggest takeaway? 12:40 Can I just tell you that it's the abide in the... 12:45 What's this called? Amplified. 12:47 Amplified, thank you very much, JD. 12:48 In the Amplified, the word is dwell. 12:51 Right. 12:52 You know what, I think of when I dwell, 12:53 I dwell in my house. 12:55 To dwell in Christ means to be at home with Him and in Him, 13:00 had to live in Him. 13:01 And that is the ticket in my opinion. 13:05 I mean, of being part of the vine, 13:08 being part of the Christian family, 13:10 it's to be at home with Christ. 13:12 And so that's living in Him 13:16 and doing everything I can to make it a peaceful home 13:20 and to make it a beautiful home 13:23 for Christ to live in, and me in Him. 13:25 So I got two takeaways. 13:26 One is bearing fruit, and then of course, abiding. 13:32 And also we read in Isaiah 13:34 how God's purpose for the people of Israel 13:36 was to bear fruits and even the restorer of Israel 13:39 is to bear fruit. 13:42 So there's two things God's trying to tell us. 13:43 One is we're to bear fruit 13:45 and but the most important thing 13:46 is how do we bear fruit. 13:48 And I think that's what we're going to develop here is 13:50 the abiding to bear fruit. 13:52 Sure. 13:53 And then I want to add to that. 13:55 You asked the scripture, which scripture pops out? 13:56 For me, it's verse 5. 13:58 Amen. 13:59 And then the reason why that is I believe is that, 14:00 you know, we live in a world today 14:02 where people have this gospel mentality of, 14:04 you know, Christ... 14:05 Could you read verse 5 again 'cause some people 14:07 may not have heard? 14:08 Okay, so verse 5, Jesus is speaking here, 14:09 He says, "I am the vine, you are the branches, 14:11 he who abides in Me and I in him bears much fruit 14:15 for without me you can do nothing." 14:18 And while all of that is so important, 14:20 the part that sticks out to me is that last part there, 14:22 "Without Me you can do nothing" 14:23 because again, there's a lot of people 14:24 that have this gospel mentality, 14:26 this approach that well Christ does part of it, 14:29 and I make up for the other part or, 14:31 you know, I work a little harder. 14:34 And what I can't do, Jesus kind of does the rest, 14:36 that's not how it works. 14:37 Jesus does it all. Jesus does that work. 14:39 He completes that work in me. 14:41 Now I don't want to, 14:43 you know, put down the fact 14:45 that we do have a responsibility to surrender. 14:47 Amen. 14:48 And that the do that we do is that we surrender, 14:50 the works that we do is that 14:51 we are in constant surrender to Him. 14:53 Can I make a little caveat 14:55 'cause I've always said that and now I changed that. 14:59 The do that we do is to dwell 15:02 to stay in relationship with Him, 15:04 to abide because I can't even surrender on my own. 15:09 Apart from Jesus, I can do nothing. 15:13 So to me what Jesus says is come to Me. 15:18 You know, I'm going to work in you 15:19 to will and to do your good pleasure. 15:21 Apart from me, you can do nothing. 15:26 But Philippians 4:13, 15:28 "With Him, we can do all things 15:31 through Him who strengthens us." 15:33 That's right. 15:35 So that to me is 15:38 it's changed the way I've thought 15:39 'cause I worked so hard on surrender all my life. 15:44 And I beat myself up when I felt like I wasn't. 15:48 And I love what Ellen G. White said. 15:52 There's one place where she said, 15:53 "Lord, take my heart, for I can't give it." 15:58 And when you think about that, 16:00 you know, I think we spend a whole lot of time 16:02 working on surrender when all God says 16:05 is John 17:3, 16:07 this is eternal life that you may know me 16:10 in an intimate way. 16:11 And the one, you know, 16:13 know God and the one whom He sent. 16:15 So that's to me... 16:18 This has helped me so much because what He asks of me, 16:22 He says, "Abide in my words, My word abide in you." 16:26 So all we have to do, spend time in prayer, 16:30 spend time in the word, God will then... 16:35 We love Him 'cause He first loved us. 16:37 And all of a sudden, 16:38 everything else starts happening. 16:40 That's right. 16:42 See, I think verse 9 is the one that... 16:43 I agree with everything you just all said. 16:46 And to me verse 9 wraps it all up 16:48 because it says, 16:49 "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you. 16:53 Abide in My love." 16:56 When you love someone, you do abide in them, 17:00 you dwell in that love 17:03 and then you want to do all the rest of it, 17:04 you want to surrender, 17:06 you want to be a part of them, 17:07 you want to be one. 17:09 So to me, everything you said is absolutely right 17:12 but that's the one that ties it up. 17:15 If I will stay in that love relationship, 17:19 then I can put the rest of it together. 17:24 To me, the love comes first and then... 17:26 And you know what? Follow that through. 17:29 Go ahead and read the next verse as well, 17:32 verse 10. 17:33 "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in My love, 17:36 just as I have kept my Father's commandments 17:39 and abide in His love." 17:41 We've been discussing this 17:42 in our Sabbath school class talking about 17:45 and there's been other places I've been hearing it, 17:47 it's 10 commandments of freedom to me. 17:50 When you walk in God's commandments, 17:53 you have complete freedom. 17:55 And the Bible talks about running 17:58 and accomplishing things and being free. 18:00 When I walk in the commandments, 18:03 I have wide open spaces. 18:05 I can run, I am free to live my life to the fullest 18:10 and completely without binds. 18:12 When it is Satan who puts you in the box, 18:16 Satan is the one who, 18:19 when you step out of God's commandments, 18:22 His freedom, 18:23 it's when you get trapped and you can't enjoy life, 18:27 you can't do anything. 18:28 He binds you up in one way or another. 18:30 And I don't care if it's because you're a workaholic 18:32 or a drug addict, 18:33 it doesn't make any difference which way you go. 18:36 Satan is going to bind you in something, 18:39 and it doesn't have to be illegal. 18:41 You may not even know that you're bound up 18:44 but you're bound up in something 18:46 unless you're walking 18:47 in the freedom of God's commandments 18:48 that gives you the no horizon whatsoever, 18:51 it's forever. 18:53 Amen and Amen. 18:54 Let's look at 1 John 4 18:58 because we're talking about abiding. 19:01 And, you know, to me the book of 1 John, 19:05 and I know I didn't put this in the notes here. 19:07 But 1 John is 19:12 one of the best books 19:13 if you want to learn how to abide, 19:16 just read 1 John. 19:17 So 1 John 4. 19:21 And, JD, why don't you take verse 12. 19:28 1 John 4:12. 19:31 "No one has seen God at any time. 19:34 And if we do not love one another..." 19:36 If we love one another. 19:37 "If we love one another, God abides in us, 19:40 and His love has been perfected in us." 19:43 Okay. Amen. 19:44 So when you think about this, 19:48 when He says, if we love one another, 19:52 God's in us because God is love, right? 19:56 So that's one of the abiding things is, 19:59 and we're going to get to that. 20:00 But, Tim, why don't you take verse 13. 20:03 Yeah. 20:05 "By this we come to know, 20:06 perceive, recognize, and understand 20:08 that we abide in Him and He in us, 20:12 because He has given imparted to us 20:14 of His Holy Spirit." 20:16 Okay. 20:17 So in other words, to come to God 20:19 as John 1:12 said that, 20:21 you know, where Jesus said, as many as received Him, 20:25 He gave him the right to become the children. 20:28 So you have to accept Christ as your Savior, 20:30 obviously, and your Lord. 20:32 You know, so often we talk about 20:34 accepting Christ as Savior. 20:36 And people forget He's supposed to be our Lord, 20:39 as well that we walk. 20:41 But once we've made that commitment, 20:45 what's the next thing to know we're abiding in Him? 20:49 Holy Spirit. 20:50 And what does Romans 5:5 say? 20:53 That He pours out His love in us 20:57 by the power of the Holy Spirit. 20:58 Yeah. 21:00 I love what you're going with this 21:01 because when we were in John 15, 21:02 that's kind of where we started 21:04 and then we got into this how do we abide, 21:06 what does it mean to abide, John 14, 15, 21:08 we quote that verse off. 21:10 Oh yeah. 21:11 "If you love Me, keep My commandments." 21:13 But then one must ask, 21:15 "Lord, how can I have the strength? 21:17 How can I have the ability in and of myself, 21:19 I can't keep the commandments in and of myself, 21:21 I can't muster up the fortitude 21:23 or the strength or the ability to do so." 21:24 But Jesus answers the question in the very following verse. 21:28 Notice the following verses there, 21:29 John 14:16. 21:32 So we just read in verse 15, 21:34 "If you love Me, keep My commandments." 21:35 Notice verse 16, His response to that, 21:38 "And I will pray the Father, 21:39 and He will give you another Helper, 21:41 that He may abide..." 21:43 Notice, there it is. 21:44 "That He may abide with you forever, 21:46 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, 21:48 because it neither sees Him nor knows Him, 21:50 but you know Him, for He dwells with you 21:52 and will be with you." 21:54 So that's amazing that God says, 21:56 "You know what, if you love Me, keep My commandments." 21:58 But how can I? 21:59 He says, I'm going to pray for you, 22:00 I'm going to send you a comforter. 22:02 It's by the power of the Holy Spirit 22:03 that that abiding love can dwell within you. 22:05 I love that. I love that. 22:07 Okay, so now, let's continue in 1 John 4. 22:12 And we'll look at verse 14. 22:17 John says, "We've seen and testify 22:19 that the Father has sent 22:21 the Son as Savior of the world." 22:23 Verse 15, "Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, 22:29 God abides in him, and he in God." 22:33 So I think part of our... 22:38 We talk about being professing to be Christians, 22:41 there are people who say they're Christian, 22:43 they're not. 22:45 I mean, you know, 22:46 maybe they are a member of a certain church, 22:48 but that doesn't make you a Christian. 22:50 And sometimes, I'll hear people say, 22:53 "Well, I'm a fourth generation Seventh-day Adventist." 22:57 And I'll say, 22:59 "Well, are you a fourth generation 23:00 Seventh-day Adventist Christian?" 23:02 Because just because you have a heritage and a culture 23:07 within any denomination doesn't make you a Christian, 23:10 it's only when you've got that abiding. 23:14 But I think that when we confess 23:18 with our mouth that Christ is Lord, 23:22 and the scripture says, you know, 23:24 you believe in your heart, 23:25 confess with your mouth and you're saved, 23:28 because if we really understand 23:31 that Jesus is God, 23:35 I mean, God came down 23:36 and the person of Jesus Christ died for us. 23:40 I think that you can't help but abide in Him. 23:43 So what does verse 16 say, Gary? 23:46 Oh yes. 23:49 This is from Good News Translation. 23:50 "And we ourselves know and believe 23:52 the love which God has for us. 23:55 God is love, 23:56 and those who live in love live in union with God 24:00 and God lives in union with them." 24:02 Yeah, and in a way New King James says 24:05 "He who abides in love abides in God, 24:08 and God in him." 24:10 So there's another word for abide. 24:12 It's that heart to heart connection 24:15 with the Lord, right? 24:17 Absolutely. 24:18 Now let's look at, 24:20 to go with what you were talking about, 24:22 how about 1 John 3:24. 24:26 And I'll let you take that one, Ryan, since you brought up... 24:30 1 John 3:24, says 24:34 "Now he who keeps His commandments abides in him, 24:39 and He in him. 24:40 And by this we know that He abides in us, 24:43 by the Spirit whom He has given us." 24:46 So the question is, 24:48 can we say we are abiding in Christ 24:52 if we're not following God's commandments? 24:56 Can I read this? 24:58 Yes, please do. I have the Amplified. 25:00 "All who keep His commandments, 25:01 who obey His orders and follow His plan, 25:04 live and continue to live, to stay and abide in Him, 25:09 and He in them. 25:10 They let Christ be a home to them, 25:13 and they are the home of Christ." 25:14 Amen. 25:15 I remember, I've got to get my Amplified back out. 25:18 I love this. 25:20 Isn't that beautiful? Yes. 25:22 So the question is 25:24 can we say that we are abiding in Christ 25:28 if we are not walking in His commandments? 25:30 Absolutely not. All right. 25:32 And one of His commandments was John 15:12, 25:35 He said this commandment 25:37 that I've given you that you love one another. 25:39 So, honey, why don't you read 1 John 2:24. 25:45 1 John 2:24. 25:47 Let's see here, 1 John 2:24. 25:53 "Therefore let that abide in you 25:55 what you heard from the beginning. 25:57 If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, 26:01 you also will abide in the Son and in the Father." 26:04 So what's He talking about here? 26:08 I mean, isn't it basically, 26:11 that we continue to believe in the gospel? 26:14 What did they hear from the beginning? 26:16 Righteousness by faith, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 26:18 Sure. 26:20 So as long as we stay in that, we will abide in Him. 26:25 As soon as we think we can earn our way to heaven. 26:28 See, we don't earn salvation through obedience, do we? 26:32 Absolutely not. No. But... 26:34 If you're not abiding in the Lord, 26:36 if you're not abiding in Him and have this relationship, 26:39 you're simply following your own religion. 26:42 Absolutely. 26:44 You're deciding what religion is 26:46 and you're defining God in your small mind 26:52 and following your own religion, 26:54 you're not abiding or living in Christ religion. 26:58 Amen. 26:59 And God's promise is if we're abiding in Him, 27:01 He's gonna give us the gift of the Holy Spirit. 27:04 And the Holy Spirit is the one that affects in our life 27:06 the ability to overcome sin. 27:09 Ellen White says in chapter 73 of Desire of Ages, 27:13 "Sin could be resisted and overcome 27:15 only through the mighty agency 27:16 of the Third Person of the God head, 27:18 who would come with no modified energy, 27:19 but in the fullness of the divine power. 27:22 It is the spirit that makes effective 27:24 what was wrought out by the world's Redeemer." 27:27 So what Jesus did by dying on the cross 27:29 is wrought out in our life 27:30 through the power of the Holy Spirit 27:32 as we abide in Him. 27:33 So when it says, you know, 27:35 if we abide in Him, we keep the commandments, 27:36 again, we're not the ones that are trying to do, 27:39 you know, keep the Sabbath holy on our own power, 27:43 or love our neighbor on our own power, 27:45 it's because we have a love of God 27:46 through His Spirit who is working it out in us. 27:48 Absolutely. That's true. 27:50 You know, I always... Amen. 27:51 I said this once 27:52 and I had somebody get really upset with me. 27:57 Mark 12:30, the greatest commandment is 27:59 "Love the Lord your God 28:00 with all your heart, soul, mind and strength." 28:02 And I said, "I can't do it." 28:05 I can't do that on my own. 28:07 Right. 28:08 The only way I can do it is when... 28:10 Or love my neighbor as myself, 28:12 the only way I can do that is if God is working in me, 28:15 if He's poured His love. 28:16 And somebody said, "Well, I love God." 28:19 I don't know why you said that, that makes you sound. 28:21 And I said, "Do you love Him with all of your strength?" 28:26 I mean, you know, you can say, 28:27 "Oh, I love you with all of my heart. 28:29 Excuse me, Lord, I'm so busy over here." 28:31 If we really love God the way we're supposed to love God, 28:35 the only way we can do that 28:37 when He pours His love into our heart, isn't it? 28:41 All right, let's go back for just one second 28:42 'cause I want to ask this question in John 15. 28:47 What does Jesus mean 28:51 when He says... 28:54 Where is it? 28:59 Now if I can find it, what does He talk about... 29:01 Oh, here, verse 3. 29:03 "You are already clean 29:05 because of the word which I've spoken to you." 29:08 What does He mean? 29:11 You've already chosen to be a Christian, 29:13 He's talking about... 29:16 If He's talking to the disciples, 29:18 He's walking along with them. 29:20 They've already chosen to be Christians, 29:21 they've already chosen Him, 29:22 they've already chosen their life. 29:24 So you're clean because of the word. 29:26 That's what you've chosen. 29:27 But then what comes after what you've chosen? 29:31 Yeah, you know, I think of John 17:17 29:33 where He said, "Sanctify them by your truth. 29:35 Your word is truth." 29:36 That's that prayer. 29:38 In Ephesians 5:25, 29:41 Paul talks about the washing 29:43 of water by the word, you know, 29:45 that Jesus gave Himself up for His church. 29:51 And He talks about 29:52 how He sanctified her and cleansed her 29:56 with the washing of the water by the word. 30:00 You know, when you think about it, 30:03 the word... 30:04 I kind of want to mix a metaphor here. 30:08 We usually think of water 30:10 as the living water, the Holy Spirit. 30:13 But the word is also 30:15 the washing of water by the word, 30:18 I think of kind of like the word is like the soap 30:24 and the Holy Spirit is like 30:28 washing the water with that. 30:31 So He says right here in verse 7, 30:36 "If you abide in Me, 30:39 and My words abide in you, 30:43 ask what you desire, it shall be done for you." 30:47 So there is something, isn't there, 30:50 that as far as our part of staying in relationship, 30:54 if we don't stay in the word of God, 30:57 let God's word do a work in us. 30:59 Sure. Absolutely. 31:01 You know, I think of the scripture, 31:03 I believe it's over in the Book of Hebrews, 31:04 it talks about the word of God 31:06 being sharper than any two-edged sword. 31:09 And so, you know, 31:10 we're talking about on the same theme here, 31:13 you know, we're talking about the vinedresser, 31:16 who would be the Father, 31:17 He's going to do the cutting, and the pruning. 31:19 And the word in the original Greek 31:21 here is to clean, 31:24 to basically purge that person from sin. 31:27 That's basically what the pruning process is, 31:29 but what is it that does the cleaning, 31:31 what is it that does the cutting, 31:32 obviously that two-edged sword, the Word of God, 31:34 in this case is of course that tool 31:38 that is being used to cleanse us 31:40 or to purge us from our sin, 31:43 hopefully to that we may reach a state 31:45 in which we are bearing much fruit 31:47 according to this particular passage. 31:50 Okay, so let's get 31:51 into the difficult part of this passage. 31:52 We want to come back in just a minute 31:54 with another thought. 31:56 But verse 6, 31:57 "If anyone does not abide in Me, 32:01 he is cast out as a branch and is withered, 32:06 and they gather them and throw them into the fire, 32:09 and they are burned." 32:11 It's not enough just to choose to be a Christian, 32:14 being a Christian is a relationship, 32:17 it's a growth. 32:19 And so you can choose to be a Christian 32:22 and you can... 32:23 You can become a branch in the Lord 32:28 but if you do not allow Him 32:31 to dress you, groom you, grow with you, 32:34 you're going to die. 32:37 Nothing just sits there doing nothing, 32:40 you're growing or you're dying. 32:42 So once you become... 32:46 If you're not able to let Him prune you, and groom you, 32:50 and dress you to bear fruit, 32:53 you're going to wither up and die. 32:55 You're growing backwards out of Christ, you're not... 32:59 So you're saying we can't just make a casual confession, 33:02 a onetime saying like, 33:04 "I accept Christ as my Savior." 33:06 No. 33:07 And then not abide in Him or we just become a dead branch 33:10 that the vinedressers going to cut off, right? 33:12 Well, if you go back to where we started, 33:15 the setting is the 12 disciples, 33:17 you have 11 that are surrendering to Christ, 33:21 they're allowing Him to lead in their lives 33:23 and you have Judas on the other hand 33:24 who's with Christ every day, 33:27 just as the other ones are, 33:28 professing some of the same things 33:30 that they are. 33:31 But what's the difference? 33:33 Why is he then rejected and the others are not? 33:38 That's a powerful point 33:39 because when you look at the gospels across the board 33:42 and compare it to John, 33:44 when they're sitting around that table, 33:45 and Jesus makes the announcement, 33:48 "One of you is going to betray me." 33:51 The other gospels say that the disciples say 33:53 to one another, "Is it I? 33:54 Is it I? Is it I?" 33:56 Now that's a powerful point 33:58 because when you consider Judas, 33:59 and I'm glad you went there, 34:01 there was nothing manifestly obvious in his life, 34:05 and in his character, and behavior 34:09 that distinguished him as a false disciple. 34:12 Otherwise, they would not have all been sitting 34:14 around the table saying "Is it me? 34:15 Is it me? Is it you?" 34:16 You know, they all seem to be confused. 34:18 But yet there's one among them that, 34:20 as you said, is with Jesus. 34:21 And so my question kind of along the same theme is 34:24 is it possible to be with Jesus but not be in Jesus? 34:29 Amen. That's good. You know, is it possible? 34:31 And that's the thing I think 34:32 that the bulk of what Christ is saying here 34:34 is that, you know, there are a lot of branches 34:36 and they grow from that vine, but, you know, 34:38 some of them don't bear the fruit. 34:40 And in this case, 34:41 Judas was that bad branch that, of course, 34:44 ultimately was cut away or removed. 34:47 So Jesus was actually warning them 34:49 that they needed to abide in Him 34:51 and the Holy Spirit so that they could bear fruit 34:53 otherwise they were gonna be removed. 34:55 And it's interesting that the spirit aspect here, 34:58 the 12 disciples, 34:59 although we know that they were going to 35:01 basically betray Jesus in their own way 35:03 and kind of run and scatter. 35:05 But it's interesting that Judas had come to a point 35:07 instead of being surrendered to that Holy Spirit 35:09 that gives us the power to abide. 35:11 Bible says that the spirit of Satan entered him. 35:14 So when we come to a point in our life 35:15 where we're not completely surrendered, 35:17 where the Holy Spirit that we've created 35:19 that spiritual callus on our ears 35:21 where we're just completely, 35:23 you know, rejecting the Spirit of God, 35:25 then that brings us that much closer 35:28 to the reality and the possibility 35:30 to be led by the wrong spirit. 35:32 Absolutely. 35:33 And, you know, it's the same thing 35:35 when we try to save ourselves, you know, 35:37 people who begin to feel like 35:39 when you're talking about being with Jesus, 35:42 you can be going to church, 35:44 you can be mustering up all the strength you can to try 35:48 to obey His commandments. 35:51 And if you're doing this out of a prideful, 35:55 I mean, like, you think, "Oh, I'm holier than now" 35:59 type thing and beating on your chest, 36:04 you may be in the vicinity of Jesus 36:07 but you're not in Jesus. 36:09 Sure. 36:10 Because if you're in the vine, you know... 36:13 Here's something that Lord gave me a long time ago, 36:16 and it sounds sophomoreish but I still like it. 36:20 Why is when a branch is in living union with the vine, 36:24 what is it getting from the vine? 36:27 Sap. Nourishment. 36:28 Yes, sap. 36:29 I think of sap as the spirits' anointing power. 36:35 So it's as Jesus, the vine, 36:38 the Holy Spirit comes to us through Him, 36:41 that's what keeps us alive. 36:43 And if we are trying to do this in our own strength, 36:49 what do you say 36:50 apart from me you can do nothing. 36:53 If you're feeding yourself 36:54 and if you're not bound into the vine 36:58 and allow the sap to feed you from Jesus, 37:02 from the Holy Spirit and you're feeding yourself, 37:06 you're gonna die of starvation. 37:10 Practical application, 37:11 this week I was speaking. to someone 37:12 who is a Sunday school teacher of high school students. 37:16 And he was complaining how it's really hard 37:18 to get the children to appreciate and pay attention 37:22 if the parents are only going to church for church service. 37:27 He was saying they should be there 37:28 for the Sunday school, 37:29 in which we believe in, Sabbath school. 37:32 But I said, 37:33 "You know, you should take it even a step further." 37:35 If you eat once a week, 37:37 you're going to starve 37:39 so really the problem is not the parents 37:41 bringing the kids just to church, 37:43 it's the parents not having that relationship, 37:46 that family worship and that time 37:48 throughout the week, day by day. 37:49 And I talk to my kids all the time about 37:52 "You may be coming to church 37:54 because your parents are bringing you." 37:55 Who are your kids? 37:56 Oh, I'm sorry, the youth group. 37:58 I'm a Sabbath school teacher of 13-17. 38:01 Have mercy. Bless you. 38:03 I think they need somebody younger. 38:05 But I explained to them constantly, 38:08 "You are young adults now. 38:11 You may be brought to church 38:14 but you have to start making your decision right now, 38:18 are you a Christian or aren't you." 38:20 And we talk about 38:22 "Your parents may be Christians or maybe they're not. 38:25 I don't know what they're doing in your home, 38:27 but you're going to have to start 38:28 making your own decisions right now, 38:30 if you're going to abide in Him, 38:32 if you're going to be committed 38:35 and not just attend church." 38:38 You know, before we move on from this point, just part, 38:42 just stuck out to me just then 38:43 as we were kind of talking on this point. 38:45 Notice how Jesus start this passage in John 15:1 38:48 with I am the true vine. 38:50 Notice how He doesn't say "I'm just the vine. 38:52 I'm the true vine." 38:54 So what is the opposite of the true vine? 38:58 Sour grapes. 38:59 So the point is that you have a choice to make, 39:02 you're going to be connected to one vine or another. 39:04 You want to be connected to the true vine. 39:06 And what came to my mind is, 39:08 you know, it's interesting, this is John 15, 39:10 so the equivalent timeframe 39:12 or passage of this over one of the other gospels 39:14 would be Matthew, 39:16 and from Matthews perspective, 39:17 from Matthew 21, 22, 23, 39:19 Jesus spends those three chapters 39:21 in the last week of His life, 39:23 really unfolding and really ministering 39:26 to the Pharisees and to Israel because He's reaching the end. 39:30 He knows He's about to be crucified, 39:32 He knows they're going to deliver Him up, 39:33 and so He delivers His final appeal 39:36 and His final rebuke to Israel. 39:38 And if you remember Matthew 21, 39:40 notice this, Matthew 21, this is verses 18-19. 39:43 Jesus, "Now in the morning, 39:45 as He returned to the city, He was hungry. 39:48 And seeing the fig tree by the road, 39:49 He came to it 39:51 and found nothing on it but leaves, 39:53 and said to it, 39:55 'Let no fruit grow on you ever again.' 39:56 And immediately the fig tree withered away." 39:58 You know, that was a symbol of Israel, 40:00 they had rejected Him, 40:02 rejected Him, rejected Him, rejected Him, 40:03 but yet the people in Israel, the majority, 40:06 I mean, this was Holy Jerusalem, 40:08 this was God's chosen people. 40:10 The majority felt and thought 40:13 that the leadership of Israel, the pharisaical, 40:16 you know, teachers of Israel, 40:17 they had the truth, they were the truth, 40:19 they communicated that. 40:21 And it's interesting that Jesus would say to them, 40:24 and it's kind of on the same point, 40:25 you know, one vine or the other, 40:26 you can be convinced that you're in Christ 40:28 but yet connected not to the true vine 40:31 but to the wrong vine. 40:32 And Jesus says this in Matthew 23. 40:35 He says, "Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites." 40:38 And He's a leader, He's a spiritual leader, 40:40 "For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, 40:42 but inside they are full of extortion 40:45 and self-indulgence. 40:46 Blind Pharisee, 40:47 first cleanse the inside of the cup and the dish, 40:50 that the outside of them may be clean also." 40:52 And He says, "Woe to you scribes 40:54 and Pharisees, hypocrites, 40:55 for you are like whitewashed tombs 40:57 which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, 41:00 but inside are full of dead men's bones 41:03 and all uncleanness." 41:04 And I think, you know, 41:06 many of us have probably experienced this, 41:08 where we appear to be Christian on the outside, 41:11 we put on the mask, 41:12 we put on the facade, but inside we're dying 41:15 because we're not connected to the true vine, 41:18 and I think that's really what sticks out to me in this. 41:20 So here's the point. 41:21 I want to kick this off to JD here 41:23 because the fig tree He saw put on a good show. 41:29 Had lots of leaves, showy, bushy, 41:35 but you get up close and there was no fruit. 41:37 So a lot of times when people are reading this, 41:42 that you will bear much fruit, 41:44 a lot of times people just immediately go 41:47 to soul winning, 41:48 that if you're not out soul winning, 41:49 you're not bearing fruit for the Lord. 41:51 But I think He is talking 41:55 as much about our character 42:00 as He is about the works we do 42:03 because if we don't have 42:06 the fruit of the spirit, the character, 42:08 what works can we... 42:10 I mean, we'll be like those who are saying 42:12 "Oh, Lord, did I not cast out demons in your name? 42:14 Did I not do this in your name?" 42:16 And He's gonna say, 42:17 "Go away from me, I never knew you." 42:19 So, JD, take us through some of the kinds of fruits. 42:22 So obviously, we've got to ask, 42:24 we're talking about bearing fruit 42:26 and nonbearing fruit. 42:27 So when we're talking about bearing fruit, 42:30 what kind of a fruit are we talking about? 42:33 And you'll notice that I used the word fruit 42:35 and not past or multiple fruits, 42:38 we're talking about fruit. 42:40 We'll go to Galatians 5:22-23. 42:47 "But the fruit of the Spirit," fruit of the Holy Spirit, 42:51 "Is love, joy, peace, 42:54 longsuffering, kindness, 42:57 goodness, faithfulness, 42:59 gentleness, self-control." 43:02 Nine qualities there. 43:04 Wonderful. 43:05 And we would assume 43:07 that as we give the Holy Spirit permission 43:11 to work in us, 43:13 that they naturally develop, 43:15 and then we can be known as a Christian. 43:19 Now what's interesting is you go back to verse 19, 43:24 and it shows you what is not of the Holy Spirit. 43:30 And it talks about past tense, 43:32 it talks about works versus fruit. 43:37 And obviously, 43:41 we can tie all this in with bearing fruit 43:46 through the aid of the Holy Spirit. 43:48 One of the words 43:49 that we probably need to bring in here, 43:51 one of the situations we need to bring in here, 43:54 so that we will be able to maintain this level path 43:57 of having the fruit of the Spirit is chastening. 44:02 Chastening. 44:03 Which is purging, which is cleansing. 44:05 That's right. 44:07 Which is testing, which is trials 44:10 that we all have to go through 44:12 in order for us to walk on this level path. 44:15 So they're... 44:17 A lot of times, "Well, I'm going through this, 44:19 I'm going through this, so the Lord must not love me." 44:22 But just the opposite is true. 44:24 That's right. 44:27 What did James say? Count it all joy? 44:29 Yeah. Amen. 44:30 When you fall into various trials 44:31 for the testing of your faith. 44:33 Yeah, the testing of the faith. 44:34 I think it's God sees our potential 44:35 and He is polishing our potential. 44:37 You know, when you look at the fruit, 44:39 and I'm glad that you pointed that out. 44:41 It's not fruits, plural, 44:44 this is the fruit of. 44:48 It's interesting 44:49 'cause when you think of love, joy and peace, 44:52 that's what you experience when the Holy Spirit's in you, 44:55 He pours His love into your heart. 44:57 The joy of the Lord is your strength. 45:00 And as you're keeping your eyes focused on Him, you know, 45:03 the author and finisher of your faith, 45:05 He gives you that perfect peace. 45:08 So that's an inward experience. 45:11 Then when you think about 45:12 longsuffering kindness and goodness, 45:15 that's what we express to one another. 45:18 You know, I learned to be patient, 45:20 learned to be kind, learned to be, 45:24 you know, good to people. 45:26 Be, not just act, I want to be, 45:30 I want to be kind, 45:32 it's who I really am not just practicing. 45:36 You see, I can't even do that without the Holy Spirit. 45:38 The Holy Spirit gives me those internal qualities. 45:42 He gives me the ability to react in love. 45:48 But then when you think about 45:49 faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, 45:54 gentleness actually is another word for humility. 45:58 So faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control 46:03 is how I exercise 46:06 that when the fruit of the spirit's 46:08 developing in me, 46:09 that's my attitude toward God. 46:11 I'm faithful, I'm humble 46:14 and... 46:16 I had a teacher 46:18 in Amazing Facts Center of Evangelism. 46:20 He suggested, he said, 46:21 I think there's a punctuation mistake here. 46:24 He said, notice, how it says the fruit 46:26 as we brought out singular of the spirit is, 46:30 he said love and instead of a comma there 46:32 he said there should be a colon 46:34 because everything after that, you know, the joy, the peace, 46:36 the longsuffering, kindness, goodness, 46:38 it's all a response 'cause of the love. 46:41 The fruit of the spirit is love. 46:43 That's good. All right. 46:44 And then, I like that 46:46 because what identifies as a fruit, 46:48 it has a seed in it, right? 46:50 That's kind of what a fruit is. It has a seed in it. 46:52 And the love of God is planted in our hearts, 46:56 the seed and it grows up 46:58 and so when we think of bearing fruit, 47:00 it's not just about going out door to door, 47:02 but it's living our lives showing that love 47:05 and planting that seed in the others. 47:07 I mean, I spent a lot of time killing weeds in my yard 47:10 as much as I do growing good grass. 47:14 He knows that. 47:15 And I think it's because grass that we're trying 47:17 to put in the environment is not natural all the time. 47:20 The weeds are what's natural 47:21 and so God puts these seeds in us 47:24 that are not natural 47:25 to our sinful carnal environment. 47:27 That's good. 47:29 And they need to grow, 47:30 but then it's not just about just putting the seed, 47:32 it has to be nurtured, 47:33 that's what the Holy Spirit does. 47:35 And develop these fruits in us as they grow 47:37 so that other people can develop 47:38 and have that seed planted in them. 47:40 The fruit is showing in our daily lives. 47:43 It's how you treat the lady at the grocery store... 47:46 Absolutely. That is fruit. 47:48 It's not just winning a soul, but you can influence somebody. 47:53 Did you improve their day or did you not? 47:56 Jesus improved every life He ever touched 47:59 on a continual basis. 48:01 And so that is the fruit of our spirit to me. 48:03 And sometimes he preached. Amen. 48:05 That's true. 48:08 Okay, we want to get to something. 48:11 We might come back 48:12 to some more fruit here in a minute. 48:14 But Gary did such an interesting study 48:17 that he was sharing with this. 48:20 Tim, why don't you read Romans 11, 48:24 and let's just talk about... 48:28 Let's just do verse 17 right now. 48:31 I'm sorry, Romans 11? 48:32 Romans 11:17 48:34 'cause we're talking about Jesus is the vine. 48:39 We are the branches 48:40 but we weren't natural branches, 48:42 Israel was, right? 48:44 So Romans 11:17. 48:48 "But if some of the branches were broken off, 48:50 while you, a wild olive shoot, 48:53 were grafted in among them 48:54 to share the richness of the root 48:56 and sap of the olive tree..." 48:58 Go ahead and read 18. 49:01 "Do not boast over the branches 49:02 and pride yourself at their expense. 49:05 If you do boast and feel superior, 49:07 remember, it is not you that support the root, 49:11 but the root that supports you." 49:13 All right. 49:14 So Jesus is the vine, we are the branches. 49:17 And when you look at Romans 11, 49:19 He's talking about 49:20 the natural branches were Israel. 49:23 They were unfruitful. 49:25 So the vines men came along, the vinedresser came along, 49:30 God, and He gave them, 49:32 I mean, He had tried everything with Him, 49:34 we read in Isaiah 5, He's saying, 49:38 "What more could I have done, you know, I've dug around you, 49:41 I've done this, I've done that." 49:43 And so He did everything He could 49:46 to make them fruitful, 49:48 to make them have the character that He possessed 49:53 and to share His knowledge with the world. 49:58 But now they'd been broken off, 50:02 and we gentiles have been crafted in. 50:08 So tell us, Gary, 50:11 about your study that you did on grafting. 50:15 Well, I'm horticulturist 50:17 by any stretch of the imagination. 50:19 But I like to look at outside sources 50:21 when we're doing research and stuff. 50:22 And so I actually found a very good article 50:25 about grafting in Wikipedia. 50:27 And I was struck as I was reading it, 50:30 why God actually used the illustration of grafting 50:32 because there are some very interesting parables 50:36 into what actually happens in the process 50:38 as to what God does in our life. 50:40 Right. 50:41 And the very first thing is though 50:43 in order for it to be successful, 50:46 there has to be a joining of vascular tissue. 50:49 And we kind of talked about that, 50:50 you know, how it's the heart to heart. 50:52 In order for us to be really grafted in with Christ, 50:54 it has to be a heart to heart connection. 50:56 His life has to join with ours 50:59 and ours with His and become His. 51:03 Just a couple things here real quick. 51:11 The shedding of blood. 51:12 So in order to do a graft, you actually have to cut, 51:16 you have to make a cut in the root 51:18 and then you have to make it into what you're grafting 51:22 and both have to be cut. 51:24 Jesus was wounded for our transgressions. 51:28 And He shed His blood for us. 51:31 In Hebrews 9:22, it says without shedding blood, 51:33 there's no remission of sin. 51:34 So He was cut in order to receive us into Him. 51:38 And we in turn are cut 51:40 by the skillful cutting of the gardener. 51:45 And the knife He used 51:46 is not just any old dull rusty knife, 51:50 it's a very precise instrument 51:52 and He has very precise techniques. 51:54 And if you look at Hebrews like we talked about Hebrews 4:12, 51:56 "It's the word of God 51:58 that cuts away the sin in our lives." 52:00 Then finally, once the graft has been formed, 52:03 then it has to be sealed. 52:05 It has to be wrapped and protected 52:07 from the environment. 52:08 And God gives us the Holy Spirit. 52:10 In Ephesians 1:3, 52:11 He seals us with the Holy Spirit of promise. 52:13 That's right. 52:14 And then finally, 52:16 God doesn't leave us just there, 52:18 He binds us with our environment, 52:20 and that's the fellow Christians. 52:22 That's why it's so important for us to go to church 52:24 and spend time with fellow believers 52:26 because it helps in that whole grafting process 52:29 into the body of Christ, 52:31 that Christ wants us to be. 52:33 Wow! Powerful. 52:34 I noticed in verse 19 though 52:36 when you were talking about that we were grafted in, 52:39 it says in 19, it says 52:40 "Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in." 52:44 In other words, 52:45 the dead branches have to be removed 52:48 or broken off or taken away so there's room for us 52:51 to be grafted in, is that right? 52:53 Even on trees and... 52:55 I would say, yeah. Definitely. 52:57 There's a lot of things that will compete 52:59 with that graft that have to be cut away. 53:03 Otherwise, it will compete for the nutrients and stuff 53:06 even though, and it won't bear fruit. 53:08 So it's basic competition for resources 53:11 but they had to be cut away 53:12 'cause they're not gonna bear the fruit 53:14 that you're desiring. 53:15 And I think that's true in the Christian churches 53:17 where those had to be cut out. 53:18 Even after we're grafted in 53:19 then we still get pruned and cared for 53:24 because those little suckers on tomatoes will, 53:29 like you just said, 53:30 they'll take the nutrients away. 53:33 So I know when I'm taking care, 53:36 if I get that little sucker when it's really young and new, 53:40 I can break it off quite easily. 53:42 And it's not quite as painful to the plant or me. 53:45 But if it gets a little bigger, 53:47 I might have to take a knife to cut it away. 53:49 So it's a matter of allowing the Lord 53:53 to prune us the easiest hand we allow. 53:58 Well, let's look real quick at the rest of Romans 11 54:01 since you brought that scripture in. 54:04 Verse 20 says... 54:07 Well, He says, 54:09 "You say then branches were broken off 54:10 that I might be grafted in." 54:12 But He's saying, "Don't boast." 54:14 Verse 20, "Well said. 54:15 Because of unbelief, they were broken off. 54:19 You stand by faith, do not be haughty, but fear, 54:22 for if God did not spared the natural branches, 54:26 He may not spare you, either. 54:28 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God, 54:32 on those who fell, severity, 54:35 but toward you, goodness, 54:36 if you continue in His goodness. 54:40 Otherwise you also will be cut off." 54:44 So, you know, this is something that... 54:49 I think it's so important this fruit bearing... 54:52 Right. 54:54 If we don't see ourselves 54:56 developing the character of Christ, 55:00 and we don't do the development, 55:02 He does, right? 55:04 He's working in us to will and to do, 55:06 but if we don't seek to stay in relationship with Him 55:11 through the word and through prayer, 55:15 then we're gonna find ourselves dead branches 55:20 that He's gonna have to cut off. 55:22 You know, as we were reading this passage, 55:24 Romans 11:19 and 20, 55:27 where the one that stuck out to me. 55:29 And the response He says from verse 19, 55:32 "Branches were broken off that they might be grafted in 55:34 or that I might be grafted in. 55:35 Well said. 55:37 Because of unbelief, they were broken off." 55:38 This is talking about Israel. 55:40 If you go back and look at the context, 55:41 this passage is talking about Israel's rejection. 55:44 And it's interesting that, you know, we are no different, 55:46 we are spiritual Israel, we are no different 55:49 than literal Israel in the sense that, 55:51 you know, we can be cut off because of our unbelief. 55:54 Now some people, 55:55 they take that word unbelief so literal to the point of, 55:58 "Oh, you know, as long as I just continue 55:59 to believe mentally that there's a God 56:02 and that He died for me on the cross, that I'm good. 56:04 But yet, you know, 56:05 sometimes we can express our unbelief 56:07 by not being obedient to the Word. 56:10 Paul says very clearly that, you know, 56:12 He's given us grace for obedience. 56:15 Romans 12:1 and 2 that we often read 56:18 is actually Paul's response to these verses in Romans 11, 56:22 where he says, "I beseech you therefore, 56:23 brethren, by the mercies of God, 56:25 that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, 56:27 holy, acceptable to God, 56:29 which is no reasonable service 56:30 and do not be conformed to this world, 56:31 but be transformed by the renewing of your mind 56:34 that you may prove that which is good, 56:36 acceptable and perfect will of God." 56:37 Okay. 56:39 So it all comes down to this. 56:41 Believing in Jesus 56:44 is to be living in Jesus. 56:47 Amen. 56:49 It's abiding in the vine. 56:52 It's that heart to heart connection 56:55 that we all need. 56:56 And we just... 56:57 Our time's already gone, I can't believe it. 57:01 I want to thank each one of you for being here. 57:03 And I feel like 57:04 we're leaving you on a cliffhanger. 57:06 But you can go and study this word. 57:10 And remember Jesus said, 57:11 "Apart from me, you can do nothing." 57:14 So can we surrender by ourselves? 57:16 Not without His power. 57:18 But His grace is sufficient. 57:21 His power is made perfect in our weakness 57:24 when we just come to Him and say, 57:27 "Lord, You're the husbandry, 57:29 nurture me, prune me, take care of me." 57:34 God bless. 57:35 Amen. |
Revised 2019-09-10