1 00:00:06,480 --> 00:00:09,960 Well, good morning again! It's a great day to be in the house of the 2 00:00:09,960 --> 00:00:13,800 Lord, not because of any of us, but because He's good. And 3 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:17,360 the Holy Spirit of God is here. He has been present, and man, 4 00:00:17,360 --> 00:00:20,880 were you not just moved in the baptism time this morning? 5 00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:25,200 God is— God is so faithful. And, uh, what struck 6 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:28,840 me earlier whenever I was coming out of the baptism or whatnot 7 00:00:28,840 --> 00:00:31,910 is how often we forget that we can have these supernatural 8 00:00:32,500 --> 00:00:36,060 moments with the Lord every moment of the day. It's not tied to 9 00:00:36,060 --> 00:00:39,860 Sunday mornings when you show up to church. It's when your heart shows up 10 00:00:39,860 --> 00:00:43,580 to the throne when He can move, and He'll do a mighty work, and 11 00:00:43,580 --> 00:00:47,380 He'll show up, and He'll reveal truths about Himself, Lord, that you just— 12 00:00:47,380 --> 00:00:50,860 I mean, extraordinary things that you could never even fathom. 13 00:00:51,580 --> 00:00:55,180 Um, I like to meet them with pen and paper, but sometimes I forget, 14 00:00:56,140 --> 00:00:59,920 uh, because He gives me such wonderful, wonderful truths. It's a 15 00:00:59,920 --> 00:01:02,080 good day to be in the house, Lord. We are in the middle of the 16 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:05,600 Lenten season, as I mentioned before, and I do pray that you are 17 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:09,400 participating with us, uh, on the journey. We've asked you 18 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:13,040 to do 3 things for us. We abide in the Word. I'm asking that 19 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:16,400 you take up a regiment of reading the Word daily. 20 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:20,320 We also are posting a daily devotional for you guys on social media 21 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:24,040 and on our church app for you to, to, for you to watch, 2-3 minutes, 22 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:27,230 uh, just a reminder to zone— to kind of focus 23 00:01:28,260 --> 00:01:31,430 you in. And so, uh, that would be the first place in abide. In, in 24 00:01:31,430 --> 00:01:34,980 arise, we look at what we are doing with regard to 25 00:01:34,980 --> 00:01:38,580 rising up within ourself, what God's doing within us. And so we are 26 00:01:38,580 --> 00:01:42,300 fasting bread as a church. Now, if you haven't started fasting bread, guess 27 00:01:42,300 --> 00:01:45,860 what? You can start tomorrow. Why tomorrow? Because today's a celebration 28 00:01:45,860 --> 00:01:49,460 day. And so I plan on eating some bread today, I'll tell you that much. 29 00:01:49,940 --> 00:01:53,700 Uh, but tomorrow, if you will, if you will refrain from eating bread, 30 00:01:54,580 --> 00:01:57,981 not only, not only does it center us and remind us, it makes us think, 31 00:01:57,981 --> 00:02:01,680 hey, I'm not— I'm I'm choosing not to eat bread so I'm 32 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:05,360 reminded of Jesus. I'm reminded of the things He's doing inside me. But when 33 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:08,840 we do that together, can you imagine what happens when a group of 34 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:12,680 500 people purpose themselves, uh, committed to the 35 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:16,520 Lord? He does some supernatural, extraordinary things. And then the third thing is that 36 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:20,360 we asked you in our advance is that, that you were to write 40 names, 37 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:23,840 and that you were to contact intentionally the people, 38 00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:27,160 uh, on your list. Shari and I are still trying to get in that regimen. 39 00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:29,960 We've done it every day, but we realize that some of you go to bed 40 00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:33,740 before 10 o'clock, and, uh, you know, when we're calling, but we did leave a 41 00:02:33,740 --> 00:02:37,460 voicemail. And, uh, uh, but, uh, we're still working out. But 42 00:02:37,460 --> 00:02:41,140 man, what a, what a wonderful habit to really try to shape and 43 00:02:41,140 --> 00:02:44,620 refine, that we as a family want to pray for somebody every 44 00:02:44,620 --> 00:02:48,340 day. And, uh, and so, uh, that's been a joy of our past 45 00:02:48,340 --> 00:02:51,860 week, and we plan to continue that. So abide, arise, and advance. I pray that 46 00:02:51,860 --> 00:02:54,980 you are participating as we lean in closer, and we're real 47 00:02:54,980 --> 00:02:58,590 intentional during the Lenten season, leaning in toward, toward 48 00:02:58,590 --> 00:03:02,320 Easter. Well, last time I was up here, I laid a foundation 49 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:06,160 for you guys, uh, as we were leaning into abide for 50 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:09,960 John 15. We talked about the principle of making room. 51 00:03:10,200 --> 00:03:13,640 We talked about being planted and being rooted, not, 52 00:03:13,880 --> 00:03:17,600 not uprooting. We talked about the power of the Holy Spirit, the 53 00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:21,200 necessity of the Holy Spirit. Do you know that you need the Holy Spirit in 54 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:24,920 your life? You need the Holy Spirit in your life. And then also we 55 00:03:24,920 --> 00:03:28,360 talked about the Word, the Word of God, and all of this was a 56 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:31,501 setup. All of these ingredients were a setup to get us gets us to the 57 00:03:31,501 --> 00:03:35,340 place where we are in John 15, at the top of John 15, where 58 00:03:35,340 --> 00:03:38,660 Jesus is addressing His disciples. Now, I want to give you some 59 00:03:38,660 --> 00:03:42,500 context here on John 15, uh, and, and, and where 60 00:03:42,500 --> 00:03:46,340 Jesus is, because I help— I believe that it will help us 61 00:03:46,500 --> 00:03:50,340 understand not only the setup that happened here that we walked 62 00:03:50,340 --> 00:03:54,060 through, but also where we're going today. In the context 63 00:03:54,060 --> 00:03:57,060 of John 15, Jesus is about to go to the cross. 64 00:03:57,960 --> 00:04:01,480 In the context of John 15, Jesus is 24 hours before 65 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:04,920 going to the cross. He is in the upper room with His disciples. 66 00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:08,800 Peter has already been told that he's going to deny Christ. Judas is 67 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:12,520 already on the pathway for denying Him— for, I'm sorry, for betraying Him. 68 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:16,720 The disciples are about to lose one of their very best 69 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:20,200 friends, their very best friend, Jesus, and they don't even know what's 70 00:04:20,280 --> 00:04:24,050 coming before them. The context of John 71 00:04:24,050 --> 00:04:27,890 15 where Jesus is speaking in his first line, he says 72 00:04:27,890 --> 00:04:31,610 this, he says, "I am the true vine and my Father is 73 00:04:31,610 --> 00:04:35,290 the gardener." This was Jesus starting— this wasn't 74 00:04:35,290 --> 00:04:38,690 a random teaching. This was Jesus starting down the 75 00:04:38,690 --> 00:04:42,490 pathway of saying there's something, there's a shift that's about to 76 00:04:42,490 --> 00:04:46,330 happen here. And he says, "I am the true vine and my Father 77 00:04:46,330 --> 00:04:49,970 is the gardener." Now, I don't know about you, but I have a propensity to 78 00:04:49,970 --> 00:04:53,410 read scripture always thinking of myself. How is this affecting me? 79 00:04:53,490 --> 00:04:57,310 These two statements have nothing to do with you. They have everything 80 00:04:57,310 --> 00:04:59,990 to do with you, but they have nothing to do with you. He says, "I 81 00:04:59,990 --> 00:05:03,750 am the true vine." That's Jesus. "And my Father is the gardener." 82 00:05:03,750 --> 00:05:07,310 We're talking about Father God. Kevin is not in these statements. 83 00:05:08,110 --> 00:05:11,750 Are you with me? I'm not in these statements. It has everything to do with 84 00:05:11,750 --> 00:05:15,470 me, but has— but these statements have nothing to do with me. These statements are 85 00:05:15,550 --> 00:05:19,190 Jesus is the vine and the Father is the gardener. And the 86 00:05:19,190 --> 00:05:22,750 reason I emphasize that is sometimes we get mixed up who is 87 00:05:22,750 --> 00:05:26,580 God and who is man. Sometimes we get mixed up 88 00:05:27,220 --> 00:05:30,580 our placement in this, in this submission, 89 00:05:31,460 --> 00:05:35,060 uh, relationship that we have, uh, to the Lord. And so, 90 00:05:36,740 --> 00:05:40,420 um, Jesus is about to speak to his disciples and to 91 00:05:40,420 --> 00:05:43,940 us about pruning, knowing that he himself 92 00:05:44,500 --> 00:05:48,100 is about to be cut down. Now Jesus is not 93 00:05:48,100 --> 00:05:51,750 being theoretical here. He's not 94 00:05:51,750 --> 00:05:55,350 being theoretical here. He is actually about to go and 95 00:05:55,350 --> 00:05:59,070 walk out what he has been saying all along, and the 96 00:05:59,070 --> 00:06:02,710 disciples are going to have a firsthand experience with him. 97 00:06:02,710 --> 00:06:05,630 Jesus is preparing them because they are going to experience 98 00:06:06,270 --> 00:06:09,310 a loss, and in that he gives them one 99 00:06:09,630 --> 00:06:13,230 primary instruction. And today in our 100 00:06:13,230 --> 00:06:16,030 lives, he gives us one primary— 101 00:06:16,910 --> 00:06:20,590 this, uh, instruction. In the midst of pain, in the midst of sorrow, 102 00:06:20,670 --> 00:06:24,010 in the midst of instability, which that was a moment of 103 00:06:24,010 --> 00:06:27,690 instability, everything is about to unravel here, he gives 104 00:06:27,690 --> 00:06:30,810 one instruction and that instruction is remain. 105 00:06:31,850 --> 00:06:35,450 That instruction is to stay, is to abide, 106 00:06:35,450 --> 00:06:39,050 and we're going to unpackage that, uh, we're, we're unpackaging that 107 00:06:39,050 --> 00:06:41,730 all, all year, but we're going to unpack that a little bit more today as 108 00:06:41,730 --> 00:06:45,450 we lean in further. This passage is 109 00:06:45,450 --> 00:06:48,730 ultimately about stability in an 110 00:06:48,730 --> 00:06:52,520 unstable environment. This passage primarily is 111 00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:56,200 about stability in an unstable environment. Now, 112 00:06:56,200 --> 00:06:59,960 here's the deal. If you are new to the faith, I'm going to say some 113 00:06:59,960 --> 00:07:03,680 things today that's going to rock your world, I believe. If 114 00:07:03,680 --> 00:07:07,280 you are not new to the faith, but you have not graduated 115 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:11,200 from milk to meat, you're going to have some trouble with some things I'm 116 00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:14,920 going to say today too, okay? So I'm just prepping you that 117 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:18,670 today is not a goosebump sermon. Are you 118 00:07:18,670 --> 00:07:22,430 with me? Today is a step on your toes message 119 00:07:22,430 --> 00:07:26,270 that I am growing from, that I am learning from, and I pray that 120 00:07:26,270 --> 00:07:29,390 we are able to learn from too. Do you know that God is a 121 00:07:29,390 --> 00:07:32,630 multifaceted God? Do you believe that He's a 122 00:07:32,630 --> 00:07:36,390 multifaceted God? See, we like to— we like to tie 123 00:07:36,390 --> 00:07:39,910 ourselves to messages that don't challenge us to grow 124 00:07:39,990 --> 00:07:43,590 or do anything with our lives. We like to 125 00:07:43,590 --> 00:07:46,991 tie ourselves to, to, to watching clips on 126 00:07:46,991 --> 00:07:50,610 YouTube or reels or other speakers who give us these 127 00:07:50,610 --> 00:07:53,330 feel-good messages. "Oh, that's real good for them. 128 00:07:54,210 --> 00:07:57,970 That's real good if they would grab ahold of that." But I believe that 129 00:07:57,970 --> 00:08:01,410 this message is not only for everybody in the room, but I also believe 130 00:08:01,650 --> 00:08:05,330 that God wants to expose to us a part 131 00:08:05,330 --> 00:08:09,050 of His character, a part of who He is that we are not 132 00:08:09,050 --> 00:08:12,650 very familiar with. We're actually very familiar with it because we have to feel it, 133 00:08:12,650 --> 00:08:16,430 but we're not familiar with attaching Him, uh, 134 00:08:16,430 --> 00:08:20,150 to it. God is good because he's good. God is not 135 00:08:20,150 --> 00:08:23,950 good because you say he's good. God is a king— he's 136 00:08:23,950 --> 00:08:27,710 a king not because you say he's a king. He's a king because 137 00:08:27,710 --> 00:08:31,309 he's a king. Let's get that straight right away. Does that sound good? All right, 138 00:08:31,390 --> 00:08:34,310 so that is kind of a setup for where we're going today, and it is 139 00:08:34,310 --> 00:08:38,030 okay to wrestle when you hear new truths. You don't have to walk 140 00:08:38,030 --> 00:08:41,790 out of here completely settled, and that's why I talked to— if you— if it's 141 00:08:41,790 --> 00:08:45,230 a hard pill to swallow, go and swallow the pill and work it out. 142 00:08:46,050 --> 00:08:49,690 With fear and trembling. Rise today. We're gonna read the scripture together. We're gonna 143 00:08:49,810 --> 00:08:53,610 read it with some gusto today. You're gonna prove to me that you came in 144 00:08:53,610 --> 00:08:57,410 awake and ready to grow. Here we go. Let's 145 00:08:57,410 --> 00:09:01,170 read together. I am the true vine, and my Father 146 00:09:01,250 --> 00:09:05,090 is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that 147 00:09:05,090 --> 00:09:08,890 bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit 148 00:09:08,890 --> 00:09:12,370 he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 149 00:09:13,050 --> 00:09:16,730 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken 150 00:09:16,730 --> 00:09:20,570 to you. Remain in me as I also remain 151 00:09:20,570 --> 00:09:24,330 in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; 152 00:09:24,650 --> 00:09:28,130 it must remain in the vine. Neither can you 153 00:09:28,130 --> 00:09:31,930 bear fruit unless you remain in me. I 154 00:09:31,930 --> 00:09:35,610 am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain 155 00:09:35,610 --> 00:09:39,370 in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit. 156 00:09:39,930 --> 00:09:43,130 Apart from me you can do nothing. Let's say that again. 157 00:09:43,290 --> 00:09:46,970 Apart from me you can do nothing. Father, I thank you for 158 00:09:46,970 --> 00:09:50,770 your word that it brings life. I pray that our hearts would be open and 159 00:09:50,770 --> 00:09:54,610 pliable today to it, in Jesus' name, amen. So we're gonna look at this 160 00:09:54,610 --> 00:09:57,950 in 3 sections because there's 3 section— there's 3, uh, 161 00:09:57,950 --> 00:10:01,770 specific things that, uh, Jesus is talking about. We're gonna look at the vine, 162 00:10:01,850 --> 00:10:04,810 we're gonna look at the branches, and we're gonna look at the gardener. We're gonna 163 00:10:04,890 --> 00:10:08,380 look at the vine, the branches, and the 164 00:10:08,380 --> 00:10:12,140 gardener. So here's what we're gonna start with, and for those of you who 165 00:10:12,140 --> 00:10:15,940 tune me out after the first few sentences, or you're thinking of lunch, and you're 166 00:10:15,940 --> 00:10:18,940 like, "Man, I'm ready to get out of here," okay, if you don't get anything 167 00:10:18,940 --> 00:10:22,340 else out of this message, this is what I want you to get today. This. 168 00:10:22,660 --> 00:10:25,140 It is, "You are not the vine, he is." 169 00:10:27,140 --> 00:10:30,700 You are not the vine, he is. In other 170 00:10:30,700 --> 00:10:34,420 words, you are not the source of your life, He is. 171 00:10:35,220 --> 00:10:38,260 You are also not the source of others' lives. 172 00:10:38,900 --> 00:10:42,700 You are not the source of somebody else's life. So many times when 173 00:10:42,700 --> 00:10:46,340 we think we get a little revelation from the Lord, we get a nice little 174 00:10:46,340 --> 00:10:50,100 word from the Lord, we feel like it's our— it's our job, it's 175 00:10:50,100 --> 00:10:53,780 our responsibility to go on a crusade and make sure every person 176 00:10:53,780 --> 00:10:56,820 on the planet knows that this is the truth, and this is what you're supposed 177 00:10:56,820 --> 00:11:00,260 to know, and this is what you're supposed to believe. You are not somebody else's 178 00:11:00,260 --> 00:11:04,100 source. It is our job, it is our job to point people 179 00:11:04,100 --> 00:11:07,660 to the truth, and in pointing them to the truth, we are ultimately 180 00:11:07,660 --> 00:11:11,460 pointing them to Jesus. We are pointing them to Jesus. Guys, 181 00:11:11,460 --> 00:11:15,260 if you're ever counseling with a pastor, you're talking to somebody, 182 00:11:15,260 --> 00:11:19,100 and they are guiding you, instructing you, when you walk away from that conversation, 183 00:11:19,100 --> 00:11:22,340 you need to ask yourself this question: Was I pointed more to their ideas and 184 00:11:22,340 --> 00:11:25,940 their opinions, or am I been pointed to Christ? If you're pointed to 185 00:11:25,940 --> 00:11:29,780 Christ, that always should cause you to go lean in deeper to the Word of 186 00:11:29,780 --> 00:11:32,610 God, not think more about the ideas of the person who gave 187 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:35,760 you the give you the information, it should not want— it should not make you 188 00:11:35,760 --> 00:11:39,440 want to necessarily draw closer to the person giving you the information. It should make 189 00:11:39,440 --> 00:11:42,960 you want to draw closer to God. In the Word of God is the truth 190 00:11:42,960 --> 00:11:45,560 of life. He is your source. 191 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:50,120 He is your source. And we all at equal 192 00:11:50,680 --> 00:11:54,040 disposition— that's how it is— 193 00:11:54,520 --> 00:11:58,160 I can't say the word today. Words are hard today. We equally 194 00:11:58,160 --> 00:12:01,240 can get the Word, okay? That's what I'm trying to say. We equally have the 195 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:04,890 Word, okay? Um, we all have access to the Word, 196 00:12:04,890 --> 00:12:08,610 alright? Jesus says this, He says, "I am the vine." He is the 197 00:12:08,610 --> 00:12:12,410 source. Branches do not manufacture 198 00:12:12,890 --> 00:12:16,650 life. He is the source of 199 00:12:16,650 --> 00:12:20,370 life. We do not produce life. He's the one who 200 00:12:20,370 --> 00:12:24,171 did it. I could— I'd like to take responsibility for my cute baby 201 00:12:24,250 --> 00:12:27,930 sitting over here on the front row. God Almighty, 202 00:12:27,930 --> 00:12:30,530 the God of the universe, is why I have a baby over there. He, He 203 00:12:30,530 --> 00:12:34,100 is the one who really produces, produces 204 00:12:34,100 --> 00:12:37,830 life. We do not manufacture life. We are branches. We 205 00:12:37,830 --> 00:12:41,500 receive it. This is what Proverbs 3 says: Trust in the Lord with 206 00:12:41,500 --> 00:12:45,340 all your heart and do what? Lean on your own 207 00:12:45,420 --> 00:12:49,180 understanding. We're supposed to trust in the Lord. It says in 2 208 00:12:49,260 --> 00:12:52,780 Corinthians, my grace is sufficient to you, for my power 209 00:12:52,780 --> 00:12:55,580 is made perfect in weakness. 210 00:12:56,780 --> 00:13:00,230 And so So if He is the vine and He is the source, 211 00:13:00,630 --> 00:13:04,230 then when we come upon weak moments, we draw our 212 00:13:04,230 --> 00:13:08,030 strength from the source. And that's where we derive our 213 00:13:08,030 --> 00:13:11,710 strength. You know what? God can do some really mighty things with 214 00:13:11,710 --> 00:13:15,470 weak people. He can do some really mighty 215 00:13:15,470 --> 00:13:18,550 things with those who do not believe they have it all together. 216 00:13:19,110 --> 00:13:22,950 He has an extraordinary ability to use those who do not feel 217 00:13:22,950 --> 00:13:26,340 like they are the one. We have a propensity toward 218 00:13:26,340 --> 00:13:29,980 independence. Everything in our life points 219 00:13:29,980 --> 00:13:33,820 to you being independent. Do it yourself. You've got this. 220 00:13:33,980 --> 00:13:37,740 You don't need anybody. You can do this. You're strong enough on 221 00:13:37,740 --> 00:13:41,380 your own. Learn how to do this on your own. Take the next step by 222 00:13:41,380 --> 00:13:44,940 yourself. You don't need any help. You don't need anybody else's gift. 223 00:13:44,940 --> 00:13:48,260 You just do this independently. That is the world's 224 00:13:48,260 --> 00:13:51,690 anthem in the, in the world we live. It is Go ahead, 225 00:13:51,930 --> 00:13:55,570 become independent, stand up tall, do it on your 226 00:13:55,570 --> 00:13:59,410 own. Might I suggest to you today that you 227 00:13:59,410 --> 00:14:02,650 live in a kingdom that is dependent-centric 228 00:14:03,250 --> 00:14:06,010 on a king? There is no 229 00:14:06,090 --> 00:14:09,610 independence in the kingdom of God. You are 230 00:14:09,690 --> 00:14:13,290 dependent on the king, dependent 231 00:14:13,450 --> 00:14:17,210 on the source of, of life. Last night, 232 00:14:17,290 --> 00:14:20,650 our Knights— uh, LCA Knights won a state championship. 233 00:14:21,330 --> 00:14:24,930 And in winning that state championship, we had some 234 00:14:24,930 --> 00:14:28,770 really great players on, on the court, but can I tell you, 235 00:14:28,850 --> 00:14:32,610 they did not win the game by themselves. It was 236 00:14:32,610 --> 00:14:36,170 a team effort. There was dependence on 237 00:14:36,170 --> 00:14:39,890 other people on the team, and in the kingdom, you 238 00:14:39,890 --> 00:14:43,690 are not independent. You are dependent on a king, and 239 00:14:43,690 --> 00:14:47,410 this goes against everything in the context of this world we live in. 240 00:14:47,490 --> 00:14:51,300 So you wonder why we are warring with our flesh all the time. You are 241 00:14:51,300 --> 00:14:54,940 told on one hand to be independent, but you belong to a kingdom that 242 00:14:54,940 --> 00:14:58,700 relies on dependence. I believe that we have the most incredible babies 243 00:14:58,700 --> 00:15:02,460 on the planet here at Springhouse, and we have some fantastic mothers 244 00:15:02,460 --> 00:15:06,100 as well. My baby, Eliana, is 245 00:15:06,100 --> 00:15:09,860 completely dependent on Shari. Abigail 246 00:15:09,860 --> 00:15:13,660 is completely dependent on Dana. If Abigail's 247 00:15:13,660 --> 00:15:17,510 gonna eat, she needs Dana. If, 248 00:15:17,510 --> 00:15:21,190 if, if, if Eliana's gonna sleep, Shari's gotta prepare a bed. If 249 00:15:21,190 --> 00:15:24,830 Josie's going to— Josie's gonna be cleaned up, she's relying on her 250 00:15:24,830 --> 00:15:28,630 mama. Is that true? Yes, these babies are completely 251 00:15:28,630 --> 00:15:32,389 dependent, and in a very similar fashion, we need 252 00:15:32,389 --> 00:15:35,910 to be relying on the Lord for our sustenance, 253 00:15:36,070 --> 00:15:39,590 for our rest, for our cleaning up, for everything. We 254 00:15:39,590 --> 00:15:43,410 draw from Him and His We, we become 255 00:15:43,410 --> 00:15:46,770 dependent on Him because He has what we 256 00:15:46,930 --> 00:15:50,530 need. You were created to be dependent, and 257 00:15:50,530 --> 00:15:54,290 here's the thing. If Jesus is the true vine, everything 258 00:15:54,370 --> 00:15:58,170 else is a false source. If Jesus is the 259 00:15:58,170 --> 00:16:01,730 true vine, everything else is a 260 00:16:01,730 --> 00:16:05,450 false— is a false source. Here's the thing, success can look like the 261 00:16:05,450 --> 00:16:09,250 vine. Influence can masquerade 262 00:16:09,410 --> 00:16:13,080 like the vine. Approval can masquerade 263 00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:17,280 around as your vine, as your source. Your marriage can look like your 264 00:16:17,280 --> 00:16:20,560 vine. Your children can 265 00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:23,720 masquerade as your vine. Your ministry can masquerade 266 00:16:24,680 --> 00:16:28,520 as your, as your vine. All of these things that you're drawing from can 267 00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:31,760 masquerade as your source, but here's the thing. If what gives you 268 00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:35,440 identity can be taken from you, it was never from the true 269 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:39,040 vine. If what gives you identity can be 270 00:16:39,040 --> 00:16:42,420 taken from you, It was never the true— the true 271 00:16:42,420 --> 00:16:45,760 vine. Your identity is not in what you do. 272 00:16:47,360 --> 00:16:50,720 Your identity is found in Christ Jesus. 273 00:16:53,200 --> 00:16:56,880 Now, God Almighty, the one who breathes stars, 274 00:16:56,880 --> 00:17:00,440 listen to me, will allow you to be 275 00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:04,080 severed from that which is here 276 00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:08,240 that gives you identity So that you will be 277 00:17:08,240 --> 00:17:11,920 reminded of whose you are and to whom you 278 00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:15,600 belong. What, God would take that 279 00:17:15,600 --> 00:17:16,520 away from me? 280 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:22,399 God would— God would— God would yank that out of my— No! God put it 281 00:17:22,399 --> 00:17:25,320 there! God put it there! 282 00:17:26,520 --> 00:17:28,600 God can put it there and He can take it away. 283 00:17:30,360 --> 00:17:33,570 He can put it there and He can take it 284 00:17:34,610 --> 00:17:36,970 away. And he can take it away. And guys, I believe that this is the 285 00:17:36,970 --> 00:17:40,810 crux of why Israel fell. Remember the 286 00:17:40,810 --> 00:17:43,250 setup? We talked about Israel. 287 00:17:44,210 --> 00:17:47,810 Israel was exiled into Babylon 288 00:17:48,049 --> 00:17:51,490 because of their unfaithfulness to a faithful God. 289 00:17:51,890 --> 00:17:55,490 And we live in a world today where we have to answer the question if 290 00:17:55,490 --> 00:17:58,810 we're going to succumb to the cultural pressures of this world, or are we going 291 00:17:58,810 --> 00:18:02,430 to be rooted into the kingdom to which we belong? Hello. And so 292 00:18:02,430 --> 00:18:05,350 here's the deal. When we look at scripture, and I'm going to read quite a 293 00:18:05,350 --> 00:18:08,990 bit to you today, but I want us to understand this parallel here of 294 00:18:08,990 --> 00:18:12,710 this multifaceted God we serve. Over in Isaiah chapter 5, 295 00:18:13,030 --> 00:18:15,910 it says this. The— well, first, if I say that 296 00:18:16,950 --> 00:18:20,670 John 15 is not the only place that the vine is mentioned, a vineyard is 297 00:18:20,670 --> 00:18:24,430 mentioned. Okay, so let's listen to this. I will sing for the one I 298 00:18:24,430 --> 00:18:28,000 love a song about his vineyard. My 299 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:31,760 loved one had, one had a vineyard on a fertile 300 00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:35,400 hillside. He dug it up and cleared it out of stones 301 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:39,240 and planted it with the choicest of vines. He built 302 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:42,480 a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. 303 00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:46,760 Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded 304 00:18:46,760 --> 00:18:50,560 only bad fruit. Now you dwellers in Jerusalem, 305 00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:54,420 the people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. '"What more 306 00:18:54,420 --> 00:18:57,180 could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it?'" This is 307 00:18:57,180 --> 00:19:00,980 God talking to Israel. Israel has yielded bad fruit, and he's 308 00:19:00,980 --> 00:19:04,740 saying, "What more could have I done here? When I look for the 309 00:19:04,740 --> 00:19:08,460 good grapes, why did it only yield bad? Now I will tell you what 310 00:19:08,460 --> 00:19:11,860 I'm going to do in my vineyard." This is God Almighty speaking. Are you ready 311 00:19:11,860 --> 00:19:15,220 to listen to this? "I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed. 312 00:19:15,380 --> 00:19:18,700 I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. I will make it 313 00:19:18,700 --> 00:19:22,540 a wasteland neither pruned nor cultivated, and briars and thorns will 314 00:19:22,540 --> 00:19:26,040 grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it." on it. The 315 00:19:26,040 --> 00:19:29,760 vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the nation Israel, and the people of 316 00:19:29,760 --> 00:19:33,600 Judah are the vines he delighted in. And he looked for justice 317 00:19:33,600 --> 00:19:37,320 but saw bloodshed, for righteousness but heard cries 318 00:19:37,320 --> 00:19:40,240 of distress. Over in Jeremiah 319 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:44,840 chapter 2, verse 21, it says this: I had planted you like 320 00:19:44,840 --> 00:19:48,480 a choise vine of sound and reliable stock. How 321 00:19:48,480 --> 00:19:52,150 then did you turn against me into a corrupt wild 322 00:19:52,150 --> 00:19:55,910 vine. Understand that he is— 323 00:19:55,910 --> 00:19:59,590 we are talking about God's people Israel. 324 00:20:00,230 --> 00:20:04,070 It was the expectation of God that 325 00:20:04,070 --> 00:20:07,830 Israel would bear fruit. They did not 326 00:20:07,830 --> 00:20:11,670 bear fruit, and so God Almighty allowed permission 327 00:20:11,830 --> 00:20:15,670 for the Israelites to be exiled away 328 00:20:15,750 --> 00:20:19,220 from their land. To have to serve 329 00:20:19,220 --> 00:20:23,020 foreign gods. So after the exile came, this is 330 00:20:23,020 --> 00:20:26,860 what it said. The Lord— this is in 2 Chronicles. The 331 00:20:26,860 --> 00:20:30,380 Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them through his 332 00:20:30,380 --> 00:20:34,020 messengers again and again because he had pity on his people 333 00:20:34,100 --> 00:20:37,460 and on his dwelling place. He still has pity on us today. 334 00:20:38,420 --> 00:20:42,060 But they mocked God's messengers. Remember I talked about those, 335 00:20:42,060 --> 00:20:45,820 those messengers? Jeremiah,— that came and spoke to the 336 00:20:45,820 --> 00:20:49,421 people, and they said, "No, you're not, you're not really a voice from the 337 00:20:49,421 --> 00:20:52,621 Lord. We're gonna listen to these false prophets that are gonna get— say that we're 338 00:20:52,621 --> 00:20:56,420 gonna get out of this." And they said, "But there was no remedy. He 339 00:20:56,420 --> 00:21:00,100 brought up against them the king of the Babylonians, who killed their young men with 340 00:21:00,100 --> 00:21:03,940 the sword in the sanctuary, and did not spare young men, or young women, 341 00:21:03,940 --> 00:21:07,460 or the elderly, or the infirm. God 342 00:21:07,460 --> 00:21:11,130 gave them all into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar." He 343 00:21:11,130 --> 00:21:14,930 carried them to Babylon, all the articles from the temple of God, both 344 00:21:14,930 --> 00:21:18,730 large and small, and the treasures of the Lord's temple, and the treasures of 345 00:21:18,730 --> 00:21:22,450 the king and his officials. In other words, they were exiled and all 346 00:21:22,450 --> 00:21:26,249 their stuff was given away too. He carried into 347 00:21:26,249 --> 00:21:30,010 exile— listen to this— to Babylon the remnant. Would you 348 00:21:30,010 --> 00:21:33,570 say the word remnant? [FOREIGN LANGUAGE] Hold on to that word, I'm coming back to 349 00:21:33,570 --> 00:21:36,880 it. He carried into exile the remnant 350 00:21:36,880 --> 00:21:40,720 who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to 351 00:21:40,880 --> 00:21:44,600 him who— his successors and his successors until the kingdom of 352 00:21:44,600 --> 00:21:48,400 Persia came to power. The land enjoyed its Sabbath rest all 353 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:52,240 the time in its desolation it rested until 70 354 00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:56,160 years were completed. Listen to this, in fulfillment of 355 00:21:56,160 --> 00:21:59,920 the word the Lord spoke by Jeremiah. Do you know that 356 00:21:59,920 --> 00:22:03,410 the Lord your God will always He will always fulfill 357 00:22:03,410 --> 00:22:06,970 His Word. His Word will always come 358 00:22:06,970 --> 00:22:09,610 to pass. Now, let's back up to 359 00:22:10,570 --> 00:22:14,170 remnant. This is what took place. Gonna give you very 360 00:22:14,170 --> 00:22:17,969 elementary level. Here we go. Israel sinned. They turned their back 361 00:22:17,969 --> 00:22:21,810 on God, and God said, "Okay, since you've done that, there's gonna be punishment 362 00:22:21,810 --> 00:22:25,610 and wrath." He, he allowed for a majority of the 363 00:22:25,610 --> 00:22:27,130 Israelites to be murdered and 364 00:22:32,570 --> 00:22:36,020 massacred. Yahweh. God, loving, holy, 365 00:22:36,100 --> 00:22:39,900 wonderful, powerful God allowed 366 00:22:39,900 --> 00:22:43,739 for his people to 367 00:22:43,739 --> 00:22:46,900 be murdered and massacred, except 368 00:22:47,940 --> 00:22:51,740 for a remnant. 369 00:22:51,740 --> 00:22:55,270 Why is this important? God did 370 00:22:55,270 --> 00:22:58,590 not— listen to me— he did not wipe out 371 00:22:58,590 --> 00:23:01,630 his entire people. When 372 00:23:01,870 --> 00:23:05,470 God prunes, he never takes everything 373 00:23:05,870 --> 00:23:09,469 away. He always leaves just a 374 00:23:09,630 --> 00:23:13,350 little bit. God allowed 375 00:23:13,350 --> 00:23:16,510 those things to happen and the remnant to 376 00:23:16,990 --> 00:23:20,720 remain because he could see something in the future 377 00:23:20,720 --> 00:23:24,240 that they could not see. And in your 378 00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:28,400 life, when you are going through pain, and tribulation, 379 00:23:28,480 --> 00:23:32,000 and trial, and God is cutting things back from 380 00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:36,079 you, He leaves just a little bit because when you 381 00:23:36,160 --> 00:23:39,600 prune, you prune back just all the way just to the back 382 00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:43,280 part. You leave just a little bit because it's gonna become 383 00:23:43,920 --> 00:23:46,900 fruitful later. Are you following me? It's going to 384 00:23:47,060 --> 00:23:49,060 become fruitful 385 00:23:50,740 --> 00:23:54,260 later. So the exile was 386 00:23:54,260 --> 00:23:58,060 a national pruning. When you 387 00:23:58,060 --> 00:24:01,540 prune a vine, there's always a little, a 388 00:24:01,540 --> 00:24:05,140 little left. When Israel 389 00:24:05,780 --> 00:24:09,380 failed, they needed someone to succeed. Who do you 390 00:24:09,940 --> 00:24:12,990 think that was, that was going to succeed? Who was 391 00:24:13,630 --> 00:24:17,150 it? It was Jesus. Jesus is in the upper 392 00:24:17,470 --> 00:24:20,990 room speaking to His disciples saying this, 393 00:24:21,150 --> 00:24:23,710 "I am the true 394 00:24:24,830 --> 00:24:28,510 vine." You could not succeed back here, Israel. 395 00:24:28,510 --> 00:24:32,070 You were not able to bear fruit. You were not able 396 00:24:32,070 --> 00:24:35,750 to obey. You were not able to be faithful. But 397 00:24:35,750 --> 00:24:39,150 Jesus says, "I'm able to be faithful. I'm able to 398 00:24:39,150 --> 00:24:42,570 be fruitful." "and I will succeed where you 399 00:24:42,890 --> 00:24:46,410 failed." He says, "I am the true vine." We needed the 400 00:24:46,410 --> 00:24:50,170 true vine. We needed the source. We needed Jesus 401 00:24:50,170 --> 00:24:53,530 to come and do what he did, 402 00:24:53,530 --> 00:24:57,370 and therefore Jesus is making very 403 00:24:57,370 --> 00:25:01,210 clarifying statements here by saying, "I, Jesus, am 404 00:25:01,210 --> 00:25:04,970 the true vine." You no longer are the vine. I am the true 405 00:25:05,450 --> 00:25:09,190 vine. My Father— The gardener. And guess what that leaves 406 00:25:09,190 --> 00:25:12,910 you as? Branches. It 407 00:25:12,910 --> 00:25:16,390 leaves you as branches. So this tells 408 00:25:16,710 --> 00:25:19,430 us where we fail, He 409 00:25:19,990 --> 00:25:23,750 succeeds. Colossians says, "He's before all things, and in Him," 410 00:25:24,390 --> 00:25:28,230 what? "All things hold together." In Romans 411 00:25:28,230 --> 00:25:32,070 it says, "If—" Boy, y'all made that 412 00:25:32,070 --> 00:25:34,550 small, and I got glasses on. "If the root is 413 00:25:36,170 --> 00:25:39,770 holy," —so are the branches. Guys, if the root is 414 00:25:40,730 --> 00:25:44,530 holy, so are the branches. That tells me I'm holy. Why am I holy? Because 415 00:25:44,530 --> 00:25:48,210 I'm holy? I'm holy because 416 00:25:48,210 --> 00:25:51,770 I'm connected to the— I'm connected to the vine. He's holy. You do 417 00:25:51,770 --> 00:25:55,450 not support the root, but the root supports 418 00:25:56,730 --> 00:26:00,330 you. For I'm convinced that neither death or life, angels, demons, 419 00:26:00,410 --> 00:26:04,210 present, future, powers, height, depth, anything else in creation will be able 420 00:26:04,210 --> 00:26:07,760 to— what? That separate us from the love of 421 00:26:07,760 --> 00:26:11,600 the Lord Jesus Christ. All of these things are intact 422 00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:15,240 because he is the source. The branch does not hold the vine, 423 00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:19,080 the vine holds the branch. That tells me that your grip on God does 424 00:26:19,080 --> 00:26:22,840 not sustain you, it is his grip on you that causes you 425 00:26:22,840 --> 00:26:26,680 to have life forevermore. His grip on you causes 426 00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:30,480 you to have life forevermore. He is your security. So let's talk 427 00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:34,300 about the branches. Branches. Shari and I were talking 428 00:26:34,300 --> 00:26:37,500 the other day, and we came upon this— or she came upon this Greek word, 429 00:26:37,500 --> 00:26:41,340 and it is, uh, a tender flexible shoot. This 430 00:26:41,340 --> 00:26:44,740 tells me that branches are supposed to be tender 431 00:26:44,820 --> 00:26:48,620 and flexible. You are supposed to be tender, 432 00:26:48,620 --> 00:26:52,420 and you are supposed to be flexible. And if you're anything 433 00:26:52,420 --> 00:26:56,260 like me, I like to be rigid and hard, and I get 434 00:26:56,340 --> 00:27:00,170 snapped anytime that happens. We're supposed to be 435 00:27:00,730 --> 00:27:02,970 tender. We're supposed to be 436 00:27:05,850 --> 00:27:08,090 flexible. Tender branches 437 00:27:09,050 --> 00:27:12,890 bend. Immaturity in the Lord says, "God, 438 00:27:12,890 --> 00:27:16,610 you have not met my expectations, and so I'm going 439 00:27:16,610 --> 00:27:20,330 to take it upon myself to do the work," so that then 440 00:27:20,330 --> 00:27:24,050 I become rigid and hard and He can't do anything. Mature faith is able 441 00:27:24,050 --> 00:27:27,830 to bend. It's able to be— Flexible. Now, here's where I'm going 442 00:27:27,830 --> 00:27:31,190 to start saying a few things that you're not going to like. Remember when COVID 443 00:27:31,190 --> 00:27:34,150 arrived on the scene? Who remembers COVID? Glorious 444 00:27:36,470 --> 00:27:39,750 moment. When COVID arrived on scene, Shari and I were in Florida on a 445 00:27:40,230 --> 00:27:43,310 beach. And I'm not saying this to pat myself on the shoulder. I'm really— it's 446 00:27:43,310 --> 00:27:46,110 going to sound kind of haughty, but I'm only saying this because of the work 447 00:27:46,110 --> 00:27:49,750 of the Holy Spirit in my life. When COVID arrived on the scene, I 448 00:27:50,070 --> 00:27:53,430 was unshaken. I was 449 00:27:54,150 --> 00:27:57,990 unshaken. I was unmoved. I was unwavered in my belief in 450 00:27:57,990 --> 00:28:01,750 Jesus Christ. And when we had to react 451 00:28:01,750 --> 00:28:05,550 to things, most of the time I was not reacting to COVID, I 452 00:28:05,550 --> 00:28:08,390 was reacting to the people who were freaking out around 453 00:28:09,430 --> 00:28:12,190 me. And the only thing I knew how to do is to get into the 454 00:28:12,190 --> 00:28:15,842 Word and to go, "This is what the Word says about this." When 455 00:28:16,310 --> 00:28:19,950 9/11 happened, I was unmoved and unshaken. Not 456 00:28:19,950 --> 00:28:23,510 because I'm anything great or big, because 457 00:28:23,510 --> 00:28:27,230 God was unmoved and unshaken. When Charlie Kirk 458 00:28:27,230 --> 00:28:30,710 was assassinated, I was unmoved and 459 00:28:31,350 --> 00:28:34,790 unshaken because God is unmoved and unshaken. 460 00:28:34,950 --> 00:28:37,990 Guys, you're plugged into the source no matter what 461 00:28:37,990 --> 00:28:41,630 the circumstances of this planet become. So 462 00:28:41,630 --> 00:28:45,300 who you are should not waver and change based on 463 00:28:45,300 --> 00:28:49,140 everything that's floating on around you. But what happens is, is when 464 00:28:49,220 --> 00:28:52,820 life tragedies happen, circumstances in the world, we 465 00:28:52,820 --> 00:28:56,340 take up arms and go into our corner, and we pull on the little bit 466 00:28:56,340 --> 00:28:59,820 of truth we think we know, and then we say, "I'm right, you're wrong, and 467 00:28:59,820 --> 00:29:00,980 you better get on board with 468 00:29:03,940 --> 00:29:07,420 me." We're supposed to be connected to the truth. We're supposed to be connected to 469 00:29:07,420 --> 00:29:10,460 the source. Now let me hone this in a little bit more. Some of you 470 00:29:10,460 --> 00:29:13,380 have gone through tragedy just in the last year. You've lost a loved 471 00:29:14,260 --> 00:29:15,540 one. You're unable to 472 00:29:17,940 --> 00:29:19,860 conceive. You've had a severed 473 00:29:21,940 --> 00:29:25,380 relationship. You've had a death. You've had sickness. You have lost an 474 00:29:26,020 --> 00:29:28,660 income. And you're going through these trials 475 00:29:28,820 --> 00:29:32,540 and situations, and what we have 476 00:29:32,540 --> 00:29:36,380 a propensity to do is go, "God, in the middle of what's 477 00:29:36,380 --> 00:29:40,140 going on, what's going on? This good God 478 00:29:40,140 --> 00:29:43,600 could not ever allow me to suffer and go through 479 00:29:45,830 --> 00:29:47,670 X, Y, and Z." X, Y, and Z. Now let me be clear, in all 480 00:29:47,670 --> 00:29:51,070 of those aforementioned, uh, circumstances, in all 481 00:29:51,070 --> 00:29:54,710 the circumstances you're going, I'm not suggesting to you that God's will is 482 00:29:54,950 --> 00:29:57,950 everything that's going on in your life, because a lot of times it is our 483 00:29:57,950 --> 00:30:01,710 bad choices and our broken nature that lead us to those things. 484 00:30:01,710 --> 00:30:05,470 But what I can tell you is that God is sovereign in every single 485 00:30:05,470 --> 00:30:09,230 one of those places. God knows how to take ashy situations 486 00:30:09,230 --> 00:30:12,350 and makes them beautiful. And here's what we don't like, and I've got to admit 487 00:30:12,350 --> 00:30:15,790 to myself, If I can believe God 488 00:30:15,790 --> 00:30:19,590 for reconciliation, then I have to also be able to believe God that 489 00:30:19,590 --> 00:30:23,230 he's severing the relationship. If I can believe God for the 490 00:30:23,230 --> 00:30:26,830 healing, then I also have to believe he's a God who allows the symptoms 491 00:30:26,830 --> 00:30:30,510 to continue. I have to believe that God is— 492 00:30:30,510 --> 00:30:34,270 listen, when Job says— when, when Satan comes and says, "Let me metz with 493 00:30:34,350 --> 00:30:38,150 Job," God says, "Yes." God didn't abandon Job, he just allowed 494 00:30:38,150 --> 00:30:41,870 it to happen. You are going 495 00:30:41,870 --> 00:30:45,470 to go through places in your life that it does not 496 00:30:45,470 --> 00:30:49,150 feel good. You're going to go through places 497 00:30:49,150 --> 00:30:52,990 where you are going to, to, to suffer. And here's the 498 00:30:52,990 --> 00:30:56,110 thing, what we are instructed to do is to 499 00:30:56,750 --> 00:31:00,550 remain. Remain in him. Draw from the source. Now here's the thing 500 00:31:00,550 --> 00:31:03,790 I want us to understand, a fruitful life does not mean a busy 501 00:31:05,320 --> 00:31:09,080 life. It does not mean a busy life. It's not birth— John 15 is not 502 00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:12,880 birthed by activity. It's birthed by just being there. So let's go through 503 00:31:12,880 --> 00:31:16,720 some of the indicators of a fruitful life in the kingdom, 504 00:31:16,720 --> 00:31:19,640 and if you can relate to any of these, I want you to stand 505 00:31:20,200 --> 00:31:23,520 up, okay? If you can relate to even one, I want you to stand up. 506 00:31:23,520 --> 00:31:26,840 Somebody stood up before I even put anything on the board. Okay, here we go. 507 00:31:26,840 --> 00:31:30,570 Fruitful life in the kingdom. Are you ready? Indicators of fruitful life. 508 00:31:30,570 --> 00:31:34,090 Losing something you loved, 509 00:31:34,090 --> 00:31:37,050 being misunderstood, 510 00:31:37,050 --> 00:31:40,890 being overlooked. We're talking about fruitful life in 511 00:31:40,890 --> 00:31:43,490 the kingdom, okay? Saying no to good 512 00:31:44,530 --> 00:31:48,370 opportunities, margin being forced upon you, 513 00:31:48,370 --> 00:31:51,410 ego or pride being confronted or 514 00:31:52,130 --> 00:31:55,650 illuminated, a timeline being delayed, having 515 00:31:55,650 --> 00:31:57,970 to wait longer than you wanted 516 00:31:59,580 --> 00:32:03,260 to. Letting go of something or someone you thought— that should say 517 00:32:03,340 --> 00:32:07,060 thought— was permanent. Being asked 518 00:32:07,060 --> 00:32:08,940 to trust without 519 00:32:10,940 --> 00:32:14,580 explanation. Recognition going elsewhere. Look 520 00:32:14,580 --> 00:32:18,340 around the room. Springhouse, we 521 00:32:18,340 --> 00:32:22,100 have a fruitful church. We have 522 00:32:22,100 --> 00:32:22,940 a fruitful 523 00:32:28,330 --> 00:32:31,850 church. If you are living your life in the kingdom 524 00:32:31,850 --> 00:32:35,570 of God, you are going to experience 525 00:32:35,570 --> 00:32:39,050 times of loss, times of hurt, times of pain, 526 00:32:39,130 --> 00:32:42,970 and your God has not abandoned you in 527 00:32:43,370 --> 00:32:47,170 it. He is with you right in the middle of it. 528 00:32:47,170 --> 00:32:50,730 Here's the thing, pruning is rarely predictable, but it is 529 00:32:51,050 --> 00:32:54,880 always timely. I wish I could predict what my timing was. I wish 530 00:32:54,880 --> 00:32:58,280 I could say, "Hey, Jess, I'm gonna be away in April for about 3 weeks 531 00:32:58,280 --> 00:33:02,120 'cause God's planning on pruning me during that season." No, God doesn't ask 532 00:33:02,120 --> 00:33:05,600 my permission, Barbie, how? He doesn't ask my permission to prune me. He shows up 533 00:33:05,600 --> 00:33:09,080 by my doorsteps with the scissors and says, "Here we go," and I gotta be 534 00:33:09,080 --> 00:33:12,560 ready. And guess what else? This is how our loving God does it. He says, 535 00:33:12,560 --> 00:33:15,200 "I'm gonna prune you, and I want you to show up to that stage, and 536 00:33:15,200 --> 00:33:18,760 you better preach. I'm gonna prune you, and you better show up to work with 537 00:33:19,320 --> 00:33:22,640 joy." You better show up with your wife and be faithful. You better show up 538 00:33:22,640 --> 00:33:26,400 for your kids in the midst of the pruning. In the 539 00:33:26,400 --> 00:33:30,200 midst— don't— no, he doesn't give margin for me to go lick my wounds. 540 00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:33,920 He calls me to be faithful because here's the thing. When I'm in that moment 541 00:33:33,920 --> 00:33:37,720 and I've got wounds, then where must I draw my 542 00:33:38,200 --> 00:33:41,800 strength? I have to draw from him, and if I'm not drawing it 543 00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:45,400 from him, sometimes he will choose a season of pruning for Kevin because, 544 00:33:45,400 --> 00:33:48,850 Kevin, I think you're doing a little bit too much in your own strength. You're 545 00:33:48,850 --> 00:33:51,850 giving yourself a little bit too much of a pat on the back. You're getting 546 00:33:51,850 --> 00:33:54,930 a little bit too much recognition, because here's the thing, Kevin, at the end of 547 00:33:54,930 --> 00:33:58,010 the day it's all about you looking like my Son Jesus, not like Kevin 548 00:34:00,250 --> 00:34:03,210 O'Day. Pruning is rarely predictable, but it's 549 00:34:03,610 --> 00:34:07,370 always timely. Can't schedule it, the gardener 550 00:34:09,610 --> 00:34:13,370 does. But we also— we glory in our suffering because we know that 551 00:34:13,610 --> 00:34:17,440 suffering produces— say that, suffering suffering produces. And it 552 00:34:17,440 --> 00:34:21,200 lists what it produces there. It says this, it says, therefore we do 553 00:34:21,200 --> 00:34:24,960 not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly we are 554 00:34:24,960 --> 00:34:28,720 being renewed day by day. Why? For our light and 555 00:34:28,720 --> 00:34:32,560 momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that 556 00:34:32,560 --> 00:34:36,360 outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, 557 00:34:36,840 --> 00:34:40,640 but what is, what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is 558 00:34:40,640 --> 00:34:44,090 unseen is what? It's eternal. 559 00:34:44,090 --> 00:34:47,930 And lastly, consider it— we love James, don't we? Consider it 560 00:34:49,930 --> 00:34:53,490 pure joy. Next time you're going through a trial and tribulation and somebody says, "How 561 00:34:53,490 --> 00:34:57,050 you doing?" I would say, "I am, I am abundantly joyful 562 00:34:57,850 --> 00:35:01,570 today. I'm just, I am, I am on cloud nine. I am exercising 563 00:35:01,570 --> 00:35:05,330 the biggest amount of joy." Consider it pure joy. That's what Josh 564 00:35:05,330 --> 00:35:08,970 said in the pool. This is why the message literally was in the 565 00:35:08,970 --> 00:35:12,810 baptism, the entire thing. 566 00:35:13,050 --> 00:35:16,650 Joshua's up there. Joshua Kuruman, he was up there. He's literally saying, 567 00:35:17,210 --> 00:35:21,050 "Rejoice!" He said, "The heart is a muscle that must be torn down 568 00:35:21,050 --> 00:35:24,690 before it comes back stronger." You understand that you're gonna have to be 569 00:35:24,690 --> 00:35:28,490 torn down before you come back stronger? It's a part 570 00:35:28,490 --> 00:35:32,050 of the deal, but here's the gl— glorious thing about it. You haven't 571 00:35:32,050 --> 00:35:35,450 been abandoned and left alone. He's with 572 00:35:37,310 --> 00:35:41,070 you. So it brings us to the gardener. The gardener 573 00:35:41,070 --> 00:35:43,230 is more committed to the harvest than the 574 00:35:44,990 --> 00:35:48,750 appearance. See, we like the way things look. 575 00:35:48,750 --> 00:35:51,390 Genesis 50, Joseph thrown in the 576 00:35:52,430 --> 00:35:55,990 pit, pushed down, enslaved. You intended 577 00:35:55,990 --> 00:35:59,630 to harm me, but what? God intended it for 578 00:36:00,750 --> 00:36:04,380 good. What are you talking about? When was 579 00:36:04,380 --> 00:36:08,060 the last time you had to go through some type of trial, tribulation, something 580 00:36:08,060 --> 00:36:11,620 you didn't like, and you said, "God's gonna be glorified in 581 00:36:13,540 --> 00:36:15,380 this. God's gonna be glorified in 582 00:36:21,140 --> 00:36:24,860 this." Romans 8:28, we love the first part of this verse. It says, "And we 583 00:36:24,860 --> 00:36:28,700 know that in—" what? "All things God's works for the good of those 584 00:36:28,700 --> 00:36:31,870 who love him, who have been called according to his his purpose. But we don't 585 00:36:31,870 --> 00:36:35,350 attach the second verse to it that says, for those to God foreknow, he 586 00:36:35,350 --> 00:36:38,990 also predestined to what? Be conformed to the image of his 587 00:36:39,310 --> 00:36:43,110 Son. Yes, he works all things out for the good so that you look 588 00:36:43,110 --> 00:36:46,830 like his Son. Would you please stand if you look 589 00:36:46,830 --> 00:36:50,590 like Jesus Christ holistically today? We would like to applaud 590 00:36:51,470 --> 00:36:55,190 you. On your feet, you— congrats. No, we don't 591 00:36:55,190 --> 00:36:55,900 look like his 592 00:36:59,090 --> 00:37:02,690 Son. You are sitting next to somebody who is 593 00:37:03,330 --> 00:37:06,610 broken. You are sitting next to someone who God 594 00:37:06,610 --> 00:37:10,130 is pruning so that they can yield greater 595 00:37:12,690 --> 00:37:16,130 fruit. I believe that he always sees fruit that you cannot 596 00:37:17,890 --> 00:37:20,530 see. He always sees fruit that you cannot 597 00:37:21,820 --> 00:37:25,460 see. And so the cross is the ultimate fulfillment of 598 00:37:25,460 --> 00:37:29,180 this, the picture of this. God the Father— I started with 599 00:37:29,740 --> 00:37:33,300 this— he says, I am the true vine, Jesus, and the Father is 600 00:37:33,300 --> 00:37:37,100 the gardener. So we look at this verse in Philippians, it says this: And being 601 00:37:37,100 --> 00:37:40,300 found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming— 602 00:37:40,540 --> 00:37:44,340 what?— obedient to death, even death on a cross. 603 00:37:44,340 --> 00:37:48,150 That was Jesus being cut down. But 604 00:37:48,150 --> 00:37:51,350 it was because the Father knew that if he was obedient to 605 00:37:51,910 --> 00:37:55,750 death, all this other stuff was going to follow. What was it? He's exalted to 606 00:37:55,750 --> 00:37:59,190 the highest place. Jesus is given the name above every 607 00:37:59,510 --> 00:38:03,229 name, that every knee should bow and every tongue confess and acknowledge 608 00:38:03,229 --> 00:38:06,790 he's king. Guys, this did not happen prior to the cross. 609 00:38:06,790 --> 00:38:10,590 It happened after the resurrection. All of those things 610 00:38:10,590 --> 00:38:14,260 happened after the resurrection. It was the fruit— that the 611 00:38:14,260 --> 00:38:17,460 Father saw. And I'm telling you today, Sam, if you're walking through a 612 00:38:17,460 --> 00:38:21,100 trial and circumstance— Doug, if you're walking through something 613 00:38:23,100 --> 00:38:26,540 that's hard— don't abandon your faith or your 614 00:38:26,700 --> 00:38:30,220 God. Continue to remain and understand that 615 00:38:30,220 --> 00:38:34,020 he is right there with you, and trust 616 00:38:34,020 --> 00:38:37,820 that there's going to be abundant fruit on the 617 00:38:38,460 --> 00:38:42,200 other side. Remain in him. Because pruning only 618 00:38:42,200 --> 00:38:45,920 happens to living 619 00:38:45,920 --> 00:38:49,680 branches. I find that comforting. If I'm being pruned and cut, 620 00:38:49,680 --> 00:38:53,280 it means I'm living in Jesus Christ. If I'm going through 621 00:38:53,280 --> 00:38:57,040 a hard season, I'm living in Jesus 622 00:38:57,040 --> 00:39:00,320 Christ. I'm living connected to 623 00:39:01,120 --> 00:39:04,720 the source. And so today, if you are in a 624 00:39:06,810 --> 00:39:10,570 place where You're feeling cut, you're feeling 625 00:39:10,570 --> 00:39:13,210 bruised and battered, you're 626 00:39:14,330 --> 00:39:18,050 feeling abandoned. I want to encourage you today to 627 00:39:18,050 --> 00:39:21,730 be tender and flexible because the God of 628 00:39:21,730 --> 00:39:25,530 the universe knows what he is doing. He knows what 629 00:39:25,690 --> 00:39:28,970 he's doing even when you don't understand it. Do you know, I don't see anywhere— 630 00:39:28,970 --> 00:39:32,290 Fred, I don't see anywhere in scripture where it says my understanding 631 00:39:32,290 --> 00:39:35,770 is a prerequisite for God's move in my life. I never saw 632 00:39:35,770 --> 00:39:39,410 that written anywhere. That means that because he's God, he can do whatever he chooses 633 00:39:39,410 --> 00:39:42,610 to do, whether I understand why he's doing it or what he's doing or what 634 00:39:42,610 --> 00:39:46,370 he's up to. But here's the cool 635 00:39:46,370 --> 00:39:50,090 thing: I get to benefit from it all. I 636 00:39:50,090 --> 00:39:53,850 get to benefit from the cut. I get to benefit from the hurt. 637 00:39:53,850 --> 00:39:57,650 I get to benefit from the pain. Not like the world tells me I'm gonna 638 00:39:58,330 --> 00:40:01,930 benefit, benefit, but I get the benefit in a way that I may 639 00:40:02,570 --> 00:40:06,410 not understand right now. You 640 00:40:06,410 --> 00:40:10,210 have gone through some hard things, and guess what? You don't think there's 641 00:40:10,210 --> 00:40:13,970 gonna be another COVID, another 9/11, another assassination? You don't think that's 642 00:40:13,970 --> 00:40:17,610 gonna happen? It's probably gonna happen at some point before you go see 643 00:40:18,810 --> 00:40:22,490 Jesus, okay? But when those things happen in your life, or when 644 00:40:22,490 --> 00:40:26,070 those intimate things happen in your life, Take 645 00:40:26,070 --> 00:40:29,830 up a stance that says, "I am connected to 646 00:40:30,470 --> 00:40:33,590 the source. I am going to remain 647 00:40:33,990 --> 00:40:37,790 because I trust God." Do you trust God today, 648 00:40:37,790 --> 00:40:38,310 friends? Stand 649 00:40:41,430 --> 00:40:44,710 with me. I know that this was not 650 00:40:44,870 --> 00:40:48,710 a cushy message, and I'll tell you, part of it— 651 00:40:48,710 --> 00:40:52,330 I would, I would be remiss as your pastor to not 652 00:40:52,330 --> 00:40:56,090 present to you the totality of the truth. You know, sometimes we 653 00:40:56,090 --> 00:40:58,890 just see what's glaring in front of us and we grab it. Kind of like 654 00:40:58,890 --> 00:41:02,290 the other day, the Sheelys gave us a gift and there was a package 655 00:41:02,770 --> 00:41:06,010 of cookies, and I went in there and all I saw was cookies. And so 656 00:41:06,010 --> 00:41:09,730 I went and I grabbed the package real fast because I saw 657 00:41:09,730 --> 00:41:13,090 cookies. But upon further investigation, these 658 00:41:13,170 --> 00:41:14,050 are lactation 659 00:41:18,780 --> 00:41:20,220 cookie bites. These are not meant 660 00:41:24,460 --> 00:41:28,140 for me. You could be grabbing something that's not meant 661 00:41:28,620 --> 00:41:32,060 for you because you're grabbing something without knowing 662 00:41:32,060 --> 00:41:35,780 the whole picture. Don't move without 663 00:41:35,780 --> 00:41:39,580 knowing where God is. Stay connected. Remain 664 00:41:39,580 --> 00:41:43,340 in him. Amen. We're gonna worship together with those who are gonna 665 00:41:43,340 --> 00:41:46,920 minister. I'm so sorry I'm running behind today. Would you guys come down? I 666 00:41:46,920 --> 00:41:49,320 do feel like, as, as was in the 667 00:41:53,240 --> 00:41:56,960 first gathering, if you're in a place today— if you're in 668 00:41:56,960 --> 00:42:00,600 a place today where you have said, "I don't 669 00:42:00,679 --> 00:42:04,240 understand why God is doing what He's doing." If you're in 670 00:42:04,240 --> 00:42:07,800 a place today where you— maybe you're in the middle of it, or maybe 671 00:42:07,800 --> 00:42:11,600 it's something that's already happened. I've had the 672 00:42:11,600 --> 00:42:15,450 greatest relationships in my life happen overnight. And I've had him take away 673 00:42:15,450 --> 00:42:19,250 the greatest relationships in my life overnight. Maybe you're 674 00:42:19,250 --> 00:42:22,890 in a situation right now and he's just doing something 675 00:42:22,890 --> 00:42:26,610 and you don't understand. Well, your prerequisite is not 676 00:42:26,610 --> 00:42:30,010 understanding, but come and agree with somebody that you know where the source is, and 677 00:42:30,010 --> 00:42:33,850 you can ask God, give me the strength to walk through 678 00:42:33,850 --> 00:42:37,570 this pruning, this season, this thing that you're doing in my 679 00:42:37,570 --> 00:42:41,340 life. And then in addition to that, There are people that just flat out have 680 00:42:41,340 --> 00:42:45,180 needs in this place. You've come in with a burden, you've come in with something 681 00:42:45,180 --> 00:42:48,900 heavy, and if we're going to talk about the vine being the source, come to 682 00:42:48,900 --> 00:42:52,340 the source and get some relief, get some answers, give it 683 00:42:52,420 --> 00:42:55,700 to Him, surrender to Him as you're 684 00:42:55,940 --> 00:42:58,200 being connected to the vine. Let's worship together.