Well, here I am. I'm so thankful to be here with
all of you. This is my first sermon back
since I was sick and I got to tell you, like I said, last
Lord's Day in the announcements, I'm better.
I'm not well yet, but I just could not stand to be on the
sidelines, any longer? I hope and pray that this lesson
will encourage you or strengthen you will edify you because this
lesson involves everyone it was preached so long ago, by the
greatest man that ever lived the greatest preacher, the world
ever knew that was Jesus Christ. The master And I have to tell
you that as I looked at the application of what he said, I
learned a great deal about talking about the generalities
of the topic or of the narrative, but the specifics, in
terms of the application and I hope these things will give you
some clarity and perhaps help you to understand some of life's
trials. And some of life's things that
come your way because living the Christian life, is not always
easy. It's difficult.
And I think we do an awful Injustice.
When we tell people it's easy, And I don't know why that
happened. Our narrative is taken from John
the 15th chapter and beginning in verse 1, and we're going to
look at verses 1 and 2 as our text Jesus said I am the True
Vine and my father is the vinedresser.
Every branch in me that does not bear fruit.
He takes away and every branch that bears fruit, he prunes that
it may bear more fruit. This is the last of the seven.
I am statements that Jesus made in The Gospel according to John,
you remember there were six others we preached on all six
and they were as follows. Jesus said first, I'm the bread
of life and then he said, I am the light of the world.
He said, I am the door, or I am the gate.
He said, I am the Good Shepherd. He said, I am the resurrection
and the life and the last one that we studied.
I am the way, the truth, and the life.
But it is powerful narrative. Here in the final night with his
disciples, he reveals a very powerful Declaration of his
divine nature. He said, I am the True Vine.
Here's a little side note here. You know, if you look at the end
of chapter 14, Jesus basically says, let's go, let's go out.
He'd already been behind. Those locked doors with those
disciples. He ate the Passover feast with
him. He hits to the Lord's supper and
he said let's go. Some scholars, believe that they
left immediately. And by the way, I don't know
that we can know this for sure. I thought this was interesting.
I thought I might just share it some Scholars think they left
immediately while other Scholars like Hendrickson said, know
perhaps they lingered about for just a little bit and the
narratives that that exists between chapters 15 and 17,
quite possibly could have happened in about 10 or 15
minutes. In other words, our Master Jesus
Christ, Just understanding they needed some more instruction,
they needed some more encouragement and it's entirely
possible that he just paused before they departed.
After he said, let's go and all the things that are found in
chapters 15 to 17 that occurred over the next several minutes.
I don't know that that is to be true but as my late
father-in-law would say that's free no charge on that.
All right? What do we know what we know is
this? And I'm going to notice some
very Obvious things that we get specific later.
We know number one, the vinedresser or the farmer is God
in this little Story. Number two, we know that the
vine is Jesus Christ and the branches are those that are
attached to the vine. What does the farmer do?
The farmer does what any good farmer does?
He cuts off the bat branches? And he prunes the good.
I want you to just hear that police.
Pruning involves cutting. And cutting involves pain.
But God, prunes the good. So if you get prune, don't think
you've been bad. God only prunes The Good.
The ones that are bad. The Bad branches will get into
this in just a moment. The bad branches are cut off,
but the good branches are pruned.
Let me give you an example. By the way of two disciples, by
the way, they both committed their sin.
And I think it's very important, they both committed the sin,
they were both part of the original Twelve Apostles.
They had a similar sin and they both betrayed Jesus.
One betrayed Jesus, and that was Judas, Iscariot and that he sold
the Lord Jesus Christ for 30 pieces of silver.
The other committed a sin to, he betrayed Jesus, and that he
denied him, even cursing and swearing three times.
I know not the man, and that was Peter, yet, Judas was cut off,
and Peter was pruned. Why was that how can Peter
didn't get cut off? Why was Judas pruned, let's back
up. Just a little further.
Let's notice what happened in Peters life shortly after Jesus
Peter denied. Jesus.
Vehemently denying cursing and swearing.
I know not the man. Jesus is crucified.
He rose from the dead. He spends those times with his
disciples and he talks to Peter. And you remember what he said,
he said, Peter, do you love me more than these?
And Peter said yes, Lord, you know that I love you.
And Jesus says, feed my Lambs. He asked him a second time.
Peter, do you love me? Peter says yes Lord, I love you.
He said tend my sheep. That's the new King James.
He has to my third time and you can just imagine the frustration
perhaps in Peters mind. He said, Do You Love Me?
He said, Yes. Lord, you line, you know that I
love you. He said, feed my sheep.
Peter confessed three times. His love for the Lord.
One for every time he denied him you know, Scholars often times
refer to this as the second conversion of Peter.
Now, let me just say this, if God would have just cut Peter
off for committing a sin. Peter would have never been
instrumental. Peter would have never been able
to be the one to convey those words on the day of Pentecost
preaching, the First Gospel, sermon, with the opportunity to
respond to it, giving the keys to the kingdom of heaven.
In Acts chapter 2, he would have never been able to take the
gospel to the Gentiles, the first Gentiles, the first people
that became Christians that were not Jewish by Blood.
In Acts chapter 10, in the household of Cornelius, he
wouldn't have been able to do that either.
He would have been able to continue his work as an apostle
and later on becoming even an elder in the Lord's church.
He wouldn't have been able to do that either if God would have
just cut him off. What's the difference?
Peter was a true disciple that made a mistake.
Peter, repented repentance, his is implied by Behavior.
Repentance is implied by his life.
That's the point. Judas was different.
Judas made a decision. That was permanent.
This talk about Judas for just a moment, Judas was cut off, Peter
got pruned. Remember when Jesus was
instituted the Lord's Supper? when Jesus was there behind
those locked doors, as I mentioned a moment ago, He's
there with his disciples. And we find that Judas is there
to his left? You know, sometimes people think
that the ultimate position of Honor like The Honorable guest,
the most honorable guest was to the right of the host that was
John. He was to the right of Jesus.
They didn't have chairs like you and I have, they were reclined
on those couches and no doubt John was reclined back and
leaning on the breast of Jesus. And no doubt John.
As the Bible says, was the apostle that Jesus loved and all
of that. But did you know that the
ultimate position of honour was not the one to the right?
The ultimate position of Honor was the one to the left.
Do you know who Jesus put to his left?
He put Judas. One after another and offer of
an appeal of Love, reaching out to Judas.
But to no avail. That's why, by the way, when
Jesus served that time, he served Judas first But Jesus
knew his heart. Jesus would then say one of you
will betray me. And the disciples would say one
after the other Master is that I and another would say master, is
it? I and finally Jesus said it's
the one that dips his hand with me in the dish and reveals that
the vile traitor would be Judas and we know the story, right?
But then, do you remember what Jesus does?
And I would imagine in her soft Whispering tone, he turns to
Judas, and he says the King, James says it, like this
whatsoever, thou doest, do us that quickly.
Whatever you're going to do. Do it?
Get it done? Just go.
And then these words, please get this.
And Satan entered Judas. I don't believe for one minute
that that meant that Satan demonically possessed, Judas.
I believe what that means is Judas was no longer listening to
Jesus. He was no longer influenced by
Jesus. He was now only influenced by
the devil. And he went out and did his
thing. We don't need to go any further
in what he did except we want to talk about his decision.
His decision was permanent Peter, repented Judas did not
and somebody might say, well, Judas committed a sin but he had
no remorse, that's not true. He had tremendous remorse.
In fact, Judas comes back and he takes the money and he said I
can't take the money. I betrayed innocent blood.
You know, they said to him, big deal.
That's your problem. See you to it.
That's your problem. Then he goes out.
Is he still remorseful horribly? So De repente.
No. And it goes out and he hangs
himself from the Bible, says, his bowels gushed out.
Do you know what the Bible describes or how the Bible
describes Judas and what happened to him?
It says and then Judas went to his own place.
Do you know what that means? When it says he went to his own
place, it's another way of saying he got what was coming to
him and he was lost why? His decision was permanent.
When people leave the Lord. Don't ever let it be pleased.
If that is you, if that decision is permanent.
Because even if you leave, it's not too late.
As long as you're still alive, you can repent, you, and come
back. Oh, wonderful.
Would it be if you would do that?
Don't let it be permanent Judas was permanent and it was too
late. Alright?
I want to make a point here before we go any further.
I am so thankful that God did not cut me off.
In my life, the times I made a mistake trying to live a
Christian life but made a mistake because I'm a human
being. And we're all broken and I don't
care who you are. I'm gonna tell you right now,
you're a were all broken. We all sin.
So don't start thinking that, you're not because you are hope
that didn't sound too harsh, but I'm just being real direct here.
That's all of us me too. We all send the fact, that's
what the Bible says. We have all sinned and come
short of the glory of God. Aren't you glad that God didn't
cut you off when you were weak and committed a sin?
Aren't you glad that you are still in the good?
Graces of God. Aren't you?
Glad that you're still among the faithful that God didn't just
cut you off. But you know, something that's
not what we do. Sometimes is it Sometimes we
require of others more than the lord requires.
Give you an example. We hold people sometimes in high
esteem sometimes we hold them up on pedestals, that is wrong,
don't do that and then when that person commits a sin and makes a
mistake the fall was great. And you know what sometimes we
do. Cross him off.
He'll never recover from that. He'll never bounce back from
that. Let's not do that, please.
Let's not do that. Because God doesn't God doesn't
do that. I was talking to somebody one
time. Person was making fun of
somebody for making mistakes. Being critical of somebody who
is making mistakes. And I said, okay.
Do you not make any mistakes? And this person said, I'm not
dumb ones. Is there another kind?
We all do. Come on.
Let's stop. Be that guy. when somebody makes
a mistake and sends and repents and makes it right, let's be
like God, And guess what you and I don't do the pruning.
Only God does hang on to that. Thought much more on that in
just a moment. Okay.
Let's notice some characters, shall we?
There's two main characters. Jesus says, I am the True Vine
and my father is the vinedresser.
Let's notice now First of all, Jesus is the vine God.
The father is the farmer. The farmer planted and cares for
the Vine. The farmer cuts off the Bad and
prunes. The good branches.
The question is, who are the branches?
The branches are the disciples followers of Jesus Christ.
God cuts off the bat, he prunes the good.
All of life comes from the vine. And by the way, There's also a
sense of belonging isn't there when you say this too?
I don't care where you come from, I don't care what your
background is. I don't care who you are, and I
don't care how many talents you have or how few talents you
have. If you are connected to the
vine, it means you're connected to Jesus and it means you
belong. You belong.
All of that's true about being part of the life force or the
vine but Jesus didn't just say I'm the vine.
Why do you say it like this? He said I am the True Vine.
Why did he say it like that? The reason he said I am the True
Vine is because there was a false Vine a degenerate Vine.
There was a fruitless Vine. There was one Who Bore fruit
that was not good. One scholar said useless.
Inedible. Now, obviously, we're talking
metaphorically. Okay, not talking about real
fruit. Hanging on trees talking about
spiritual fruit. So who was the one that was the
degenerate Vine? Who was that?
The degenerate Vine, the corrupt Vine was Israel.
They were degenerate EMS. Her said it this way.
Israel had produced a wild fruit in the form of false religion
Now I didn't say the word that Jenner and I didn't come up with
that on my own the Bible does and let's look at the passages.
First of all it's notice Jeremiah chapter 2 and verse 21.
Yet, I implanted you a noble Vine of seat of highest quality.
How then, if you turn before me into a degenerate plant of an
alien, Vine, another passage of scripture where Israel is
presented as a Vine. We go to Isaiah chapter 5,
beginning in verse 1. Now let me sing to my
well-beloved. A song of my beloved regarding
his Vineyard My well-beloved has a Vineyard on a very fruitful
Hill. He dug it up and cleared out it
stones and planted it with the choicest Vine.
He built a tower in its midst and also made it a winepress in
it so we expected it to bring forth.
Good grapes. I'm not enjoying that.
Good grapes. But it brought forth, wild
grapes. God did everything to give all
that was necessary to bring forth good grapes but they
brought forth that which was sour and useless.
Israel was the vine in the Old Testament and you know that
metaphor was carried through in the maccabean period.
I'm not going to go deep into the Maccabee and period.
The Maccabees were a rebel Jewish force that rose up to
take Judea, but if they existed in the period of time, I was
going to be very general between the Old and New Testament.
Let's just leave it at that, okay?
But the idea of Israel, Being the vine was carried through,
even through the mecca being period And The Maccabees what
they did is they minted their own coin and on one side of the
coin, they would put a vine. Do you know why they did that?
Because they took great pride in being connected to God?
They said we are Israel, we are the vine, we are connected to
God, and they took great pride in that.
So even on minted coins, they put it there, they were
connected to him, but on the scene Here Comes Jesus.
And Jesus is saying, this know, you is real or not the vine.
You are not the true Israel. He said this.
He said this, I am the way the truth, and the life.
No one comes unto the father except by or through me.
Folks, I'm going to tell you something right now.
Please get this. If you want to go to heaven and
I know you do. I'm talking to an audience of
people and everybody here. I believe with all my heart
wants to go to heaven. Wants to go to heaven, to go be
where God is someday the father. The only way you can go to
heaven. Is to be attached to the Vine.
The vine is Jesus Christ. Jesus said that no one comes
into the father except by or through me you got to get in the
vine and later on we're going to talk about exactly how you get
in the vine. And number two, got to remain in
the vine. Got to do two things.
Got to get in the vine, got to remain in the vine.
Jesus is the vine. The second character in this
picture is the vinedresser I am the True Vine and my father is
the vine dresser. That's the farmer.
The farmer cares for the vine. He plants the vine.
In fact, all that's true. The father was behind
everything. Jesus did they did everything
together, notice, please, the father sent the son into the
world. The father laid out the plan.
Jesus said, I only do the will of my father, he said, and I
only do what pleases the father, so the father cared for him,
provided everything for him, he provided the Holy Spirit, and
gave it to him without measure to empower him through his
ministry. And, by the way, when you make a
little point about the phrase without measure, Do you remember
what Jesus was talking to his disciples?
They didn't want him to go. He said I have to go it's
expedient that I go. They couldn't imagine a life
without Jesus there, master, who they had served and followed,
and for three years at hung on his every word.
And yet Jesus said, I got to go, it's a good thing that I go,
it's expedient that I go. He said if I don't go the
comforter, that was the Holy Spirit, will not come.
But I'm going to go away and I'm going to send the promise of my
father to you and he was talking about in a miraculous sense.
He was talking about the apostles and he told them that
I'm going to send you the comforter some translations say
help her. What did Jesus say that that
helper was going to do for the apostles?
It was going to guide them into all truth.
Number one, and it was going to bring to remembrance Everything
Jesus said to them. They had the Holy Spirit.
With measure or limitation, the only one that had the Holy
Spirit without measure was Jesus.
And God, the Father, the farmer gave the vine Jesus, the Holy
Spirit without measure everything, he needed in his
ministry. And as a result, he is the true
vine that possesses True Divine Life.
Again I'm going to say it again. If you want life, if you want
the life he possesses got to get attached to the vine more of
that again. Later verse 2 though.
Introduces the branches let's talk about branches.
Every branch in me that does not bear fruit.
He takes away And every branch that bears fruit, he prunes that
it may bear more fruit. That's the point.
Now. If a person is going to be cut
off, remember this? if a person is going to be cut
off or taken away, Don't let it be the end result because verse
6 talks about the end result of that.
We don't want that. We don't want a part of her six.
It says they're cast Into the Fire and burned, that's just a
picture. Being lost this top, do that.
Let's not be cut off permanently.
Let's not make permanent decisions away from the lord.
It's not do that. But those that are good, he
prunes two kinds of branches. I want to be the right kind.
Don't you? Now, if we noticed that Judas
was cut off and Peter, got pruned, but how did Jesus phrase
it? I've been saying good and bad.
That's my words. K.
I've been saying good and bad, let's use the words of Jesus.
Instead those that bear? No fruit.
And those that bear fruit. Those that bear.
No fruit. I've been calling bad, they're
cut off those that bear fruit. I've been calling good there.
Proved that's what the Lord says.
You're somebody else, too. Well, first of all, who are the
ones that bear fruit? And please get this point.
Who are the ones that bear fruit.
All faithful Christians. I didn't say some.
I didn't say the ones that sometimes we think boy, they do
a lot and say that Who are the ones that bear fruit and who are
the ones that are good. All faithful Christians.
Oh, here's somebody else though. That might fall into this
category. Maybe somebody that would attach
themselves to the line on their own with their own terms.
Out in the world. Thinking they're attaching to
the vine on their own terms but they're believing in and
practicing a false religious system, they would be considered
those. That would be cut off and not
bearing fruit. Because what did I say?
Those that bear fruit are all faithful Christians.
They are good. And guess what?
I'm gonna say it again. We're all going to get prune.
It's coming. So my question is, does every
faithful Christian have fruit? The answer is.
Yes, that's how, you know, you're a Christian.
The Bible says by your fruits, you shall know them.
All right. What is fruit?
Now you can take all kinds of individual particulars and you
can plug them in but you can plug them into these three
things. What is fruit?
And I think it's important by the way that we don't just teach
in generalities and give a general concept.
We got to give some specifics because everybody's want well
yeah, my bearing fruit ma'am, I bear fruit what is it?
He said that I that all faithful Christians bear fruit will what
is it in my bearing fruit? Am I doing that my life?
What are those things? What do they look like here?
They are three things. Number one, righteous attitudes.
Number two, righteous virtues. You know, the Bible says add to
your faith virtue virtue, knowledge, knowledge,
Temperance, Temperance patience. Patience godliness.
God learner's godliness, brotherly.
Kindness brotherly. Kindness love.
Seven. Christian Graces.
You know they're called as virtues.
How do I know if I'm bearing fruit?
Every ride every faithful Christians doing that righteous
attitude so righteous virtues but one more righteous
behaviors. And by the way, if I have a
righteous attitude, if I'm trying my best to apply
righteous virtues guess, what's going to happen?
I'm going to have righteous behaviors in my life.
It's the manifestation of what I am on the inside.
That's all true. You've heard me preach that a
million times. Okay.
Now, here's the point, all faithful Christians bear fruit,
but it may not be anywhere near enough.
So, guess what it's coming. So you can do what you can bear
more fruit. When you bear fruit, much fruit,
you proved to be a true disciple of Bible says without faith.
It's a pause it's it with faith without works is dead.
So the only way that you know, if you're a true disciple is by
evidence and evidence is true as fruit.
Oftentimes to we talk about Christianity, as a
transformational period or transformational idea and it's
true. It is about transformation but
please get this transformation is not a destination, it's a
journey. Transformation is not an end,
all Perfection. Let's look at the passage first
Romans 12 beginning in verse 1. I beseech you therefore Brethren
by the mercies of God, that you present, your bodies, a Living
Sacrifice, holy acceptable to God, which is your reasonable
service and do not be conformed to this world but be transformed
by the renewing of your mind. That you may prove what is that
good and acceptable and perfect will of God, okay?
It's not What? An end all, I've made it.
And folks, sometimes let's be careful.
Sometimes we think and it's easy to do that.
Sometimes we think. I've arrived.
Sometimes we think I've arrived. and sometimes we think, because
we think we've arrived, Sometimes we think.
Sometimes we think because we think we've arrived at somebody
else has not be very careful about that please.
Be careful about that. because being a Christian is not about a
destination, being a Christian is about a journey.
It's a process. It's a process in our life.
Okay, in fact, it's this right here.
Now, nothing works. It's not perfection.
It's a dominating Direction. If you're taking notes, write
that down. if we talk about being transformed, it's not
perfection. It's a dominating Direction.
That's what it means to be a Christian.
All right, so a good disciple is not only bears fruit, but a good
disciple gets approved. Question is, what's the
instrument that God uses? In John chapter 15 and verse 3,
you are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to
you. What is the knife?
The knife's, the word of God. I'm going to ask you to do
something for me, please. The idea is that the knife is
used to prune us to Bear more fruit but I'm going to ask you
not to draw any conclusions because we're going to talk
about Providence in a minute. Do not draw a conclusion based
on the pruning process yet. Please until we get to the end.
What we know for sure is the knife is the word of God.
That's the word that's the knife in agriculture.
The pruning process can mean anything that cleans the plant
to make it more productive, phyllo.
A Jewish Theologian said this as Superfluous shoots grow on
plants which are a great injury to the genuine shoots in which
the vinedresser cleanses and it uses a knife and prunes it
because he knows it's necessary. So, God cuts off some of the
branches completely, but for the rest of us, God goes to work on
us with a knife. He comes along in our life with
a knife and it's painful. He cuts he cuts in, he cuts
useless, wasteful Behavior, he cuts preoccupation with things
that don't matter. How did he do that?
Remember don't draw a conclusion yet.
The only knife is the word of God.
My question is this? What about Providence?
What about things that God either makes happen or God
allows the question is, does trials in our life, have
anything at all to do with this process.
The answer to that is yes. Yes.
Again, the knife is only the word.
They play a role. They're not the knife.
Let's talk about some of them. What about this?
A sickness. But hardship.
About loss. My disappointment.
About pain. About failure.
How about all kinds of suffering?
We're going to get to how God uses those things just a moment,
please. But let's notice our attitude
and what our attitude should be. Let's be like Paul Second
Corinthians 12 and 10. Therefore, I take pleasure in
infirmities in reproaches and needs and persecutions in
distresses for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am
strong. Do you know why?
Because God strength is made perfect in his weakness.
Don't you see? We're all week.
And that's a good thing. You know why?
Because when we are weak on our own, that's when God shows up.
Do you know why, Peter, and the rest of the Apostles failed
miserably and denying the Lord. They try to rely on their own
strength and they failed. You got to rely on God's
strength, folks. That's where strength comes
from. I think God wants us to hear
prayers like this. I'm nothing without you.
I can't do this without you, I am weep without you, please help
me. I need your strength.
I am nothing without you. You wrote the Bible says, Paul
wrote to those Thessalonian Brethren God is faithful that he
will, what he will establish you, he will strengthen, you
strength comes from God, So when we're at our weakest State and
we turn to God, oh, that's when God shows up.
He gives us the strength. We're nothing without him.
How about James, James, warm, my brethren, count, it all joy,
when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing
of your faith. Produces patience, but let
patience have. It's perfect work that you may
be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
What else would Peter have a say?
First Peter 5 and 10? But may the God of all Grace who
called us to his eternal, glory by Christ Jesus.
After you have suffered a while, get that after you did, what
Christians going to sew and it just goes supposed to be nice
and fun. After you have suffered a while.
Perfect. Establish strengthen and settle
you. That's from God.
I know, but you got the good
stuff. That's some practical stuff.
Now you can really rely on God. They've so these trials, play a
role in the printing process. Yes.
But the Affliction is not the knife.
The knife is the word of God. So my question is, how does God
used in the word prune us as we go through the Affliction?
Here it is. If I go through something very
difficult. And I've got a poor attitude
about it. And I'm resentful.
And I'm disrespectful for God's purpose.
And I try and I blame God. And I don't think it's fair.
And I feel sorry for myself. you know, we used to call that in
the old days or the old timers called stinkin Thinkin, You know
that stinkin Thinkin. Guess what happens?
Listen to me now. Then you go to the word of God.
And the word of God convicts. Your heart.
The word of God is the knife it in deitz.
You for your stinkin Thinkin. You start to realize, wait a
minute. What am I doing?
I was wrong in that.
Guess what? You just got pruned.
So you can go be better. What if I have a terrible thing
happened to me but I'm not. Resentful.
What if I'm not blaming God? What if I'm not disrespectful
for God's purposes? What if I handle it properly?
Like, you should But I go to the word of God.
And man, does it strengthen my convictions?
It reminds me of what I knew was right.
But man, I'm really ready now. And I'm so thankful that I made
it through the trial. I made it through the sickness,
I made it through whatever, and now I got a different mindset.
Even more. Dedicated to God, guess what?
I just got pruned. By the word of God, why?
So I can bear more fruit Trials are the handle of the knife.
The blade is the word of God. And remember this please God
only and always prunes the good. So let's just do this.
We got a choice. We can say, why me Lord.
Or we can say thank you, Lord. Thank you for loving me.
Thank you for thinking enough of me.
And considering me one of your own.
Thank you for considering me in this father.
That I'm one of your faithful. And for loving me enough to
prove me so I can be better than I ever thought I could be.
Thank you for the knife. Thank you for the word of God.
Got a choice. Why me?
Lord Or thank you, Lord. I've said this for years to, by
the way, people say why me? Let's just say why not me?
What makes us any different. Here's there's stuff going on
all over the world. People run it all kinds of hard
that hard. Okay, let's stop doing that.
Let us say why me? Let's say thank you.
Lord Spurgeon, said this about the word of God.
It's the word that proves the Christian is the truth that
purges him, the scripture made a living made living and Powerful
by the Holy Spirit, eventually and effectively cleanses.
The Christian Affliction is the grindstone that sharpens the
knife, but the knife is the word of God.
All right, let's put more emphasis on, not removing the
trial. Let's put more emphasis on
handling the trial. I want to share something with
you. If I'm a very very personal My
father. In my mind he was not perfect
but it was just he was my dad. When I look back on my father, I
think my father was a great dad. But, you know, something not
everything. My father did was worth
repeating as a father so I didn't And man, I hope my kids
would do the same thing. I hope they would look at me as
a father and some of the things that were not worth repeating as
a father woodchuck that out. But there were two things that
my father did that with the two greatest gifts, my dad ever gave
me Number one was instilling me a love for Jesus.
And number two, my father, never tried to remove disappointments
for my life or Shield me from them.
He just taught me how to handle them, what a great gift and a
great tool for life. When I was 10 I was playing and
he did that from a very young age.
I was 10, it's playing in a championship game.
I was playing for my father's team and we were really good.
We were undefeated and we finally got to the end, we
played a team from out of town. That was very very good at very
formidable Foe and you know what happened, we played this game.
It was hard fought. It was Zero.
It was zero zero at the end of the game.
So it went to overtime. Yeah, even attend there with the
overtime and we fought hard and we lost it.
I cried. My father was wonderfully
supportive for a few minutes. But if you knew my father with
the support came, the lesson it was coming.
He said, Son. All right.
It's time to handle it. Son, you got to learn to win and
not bragging, lose not cry. He said, that is life.
He didn't say get over it. I hate that.
Get over at. Do what you gotta do, you gotta
get over it? Okay, no son.
You got to handle it. You got to take it.
In 2010, I was first introduced to something that I'm against.
I still am against, it was against it that I'm against it
now. I was holding a meeting in
Nashville, Tennessee. And there was a convention in
Nashville at the time and there were people there at church on
Sunday morning, that went to that convention and the
convention was get together and have all these debates whether
we should keep score. And youth Athletics.
And please listen to me because I'm going to say something here.
I have been misunderstood and the misunderstanding is my
fault, okay? I'll be very honest with you.
Is my fault. I've been against that, you know
why? Because I've said stuff like you
can't remove competition from youth because life is
competitive and people have taken that to mean, well,
Frank's ultra-competitive and it's all about winning.
That is not true. It's not about winning, it's not
about teaching them to compete. It's about teaching them how to
lose and handle it. That's what it's about.
Because you know what that's called.
Life. It's just life.
There's a famous saying and I believe in it he says this world
is not all sunshine and rainbows.
It'll knock you to your knees and leave you there.
If you let it Nothing will hit harder than life.
But it's not how hard you hit. It's how hard you can get hit
and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep
moving forward. That's life.
Trouser coming folks. They are they're the handle.
The knife. The blade is the word of God.
All right. One final thought about this,
and we're going to go into our conclusion.
Just a thought, have you ever stopped to consider that maybe
the trial that you're going through is nothing at all to do
with you? Sometimes we say, well, I have
wide that what I did nothing. Maybe it has nothing to do with
you. Have you ever stopped to
consider that maybe God is going to use you with your positive
attitude and your positive example to strengthen somebody
else's faith? Maybe has nothing to do with
you. Maybe it has something to do
with that person way over there. Maybe it has something to do
with someone who's in the world. That may look at your example
and say I want to come to Jesus, the word of God is the only
thing that has the power to save, but maybe your example
will help them. As the Bible says, glorify God
in the day of visitation, just maybe Welcome the challenge.
Remember God only prunes to good.
Let's not say, why me? Why me Lord let's say thank you
Lord. So in conclusion, Jesus said I
am the True Vine. He's the only one that's
connected to God. So, if you want to go to heaven,
you got to be connected to the Vine.
I told you this. We're going to talk about how to
connect to the vine. Here it is.
This is the only way to connect
to the bind. If you've never done this, you
could do it today. You could be connected to, Jesus
Christ. You could be one of the vines
that one of the branches. We talked about that are good.
Here it is attaching to the Vine.
You got to hear the word of God, Romans 10:17, you've done that
today. So faith comes by hearing and
hearing by the word of God, but you're not done.
Got to do something, you got to believe, with all your heart,
Hebrews 11, and verse 6. But without faith, it's
impossible to please him for. He who comes to God.
Must believe that he is, that he is, a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him. You got to hear the word of God.
You got to believe in Jesus with all your heart.
What else? You got to make a change.
You got to repent of your sins acts, 17 and 30.
Truly these times of ignorance, God, overlooked.
But now commands, all men everywhere to repent, you gotta
say, look, I'm not going to live like I've lived anymore.
I want to live for Jesus. That's all that means.
You got to say something is the best word you'll ever say.
You gotta confess with thy mouth, the Lord Jesus, as the
Son of God acts 8:37. Then Philip said, if you believe
with all your heart, you may. And he answered and said, I
believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
All of these steps lead toward or Point toward the point of
salvation. But it doesn't put you in the
vine yet. This does You have to be
baptized for the remission of your sins.
Mark 16:16. He who believes and is baptized,
will be saved. But he, who does not believe
will be condemned, if you'll take those steps of obedience
today, if you will do that, Jesus will add you to the Vine.
The life and guess what? And we can go to heaven.
Will you see God and we can honor him and glorify him for
all eternity. We thank you for listening to
our podcast. Put on by the Church of Christ
at 22:15 plans. Road in Bakersfield, if you
would like any additional information, or you would like
to receive a free Bible correspondence, course by mail.
Please email us at info at her Church of Christ.
Bakersfield.com. Our service times are on Sundays
at 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. and Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. please,
make plans to join us. We would love for you to be our
honored guest