1 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:16,800 David, thank you for your welcome. 2 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:22,280 It wasn't too much of a hardship to come over to our dear 3 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:23,600 friends and along. 4 00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:30,250 So good to be here this evening and good to see the girls 5 00:00:30,490 --> 00:00:31,770 gathered here. 6 00:00:32,490 --> 00:00:38,090 So, girls, eight years ago I stood in this position and it was 7 00:00:38,090 --> 00:00:40,010 probably a different group of girls. 8 00:00:40,170 --> 00:00:43,530 So lovely to see you here tonight. 9 00:00:43,850 --> 00:00:49,370 And as I was walking down from the car over to the church building, 10 00:00:50,570 --> 00:00:54,570 there was a little thing in my head saying, no, it's not the Sunday 11 00:00:54,810 --> 00:01:01,450 after Christmas that I expected to be walking down that 12 00:01:01,450 --> 00:01:02,730 little path or whatever. 13 00:01:03,450 --> 00:01:07,210 We're still in October and that's good. 14 00:01:07,210 --> 00:01:12,410 So great to be with you and thanks again for the ministry of 15 00:01:12,490 --> 00:01:14,250 the choir and all the musicians. 16 00:01:14,970 --> 00:01:16,810 It's been a blessing. 17 00:01:18,620 --> 00:01:19,220 If I. 18 00:01:19,220 --> 00:01:20,700 And girls, don't panic. 19 00:01:20,700 --> 00:01:21,900 I'm not going to do this. 20 00:01:22,060 --> 00:01:22,660 The sort of. 21 00:01:22,660 --> 00:01:26,380 The teacher in me would nearly be thinking, right, I'll just focus 22 00:01:26,380 --> 00:01:27,180 on these girls. 23 00:01:27,180 --> 00:01:30,860 Not that I'm going to pick on you, but I want you to feel very 24 00:01:30,860 --> 00:01:33,500 much part of this service tonight. 25 00:01:33,820 --> 00:01:35,420 So I'm going to ask a question. 26 00:01:35,420 --> 00:01:38,500 I'm not actually expecting you to shout out the answer, although 27 00:01:38,500 --> 00:01:41,100 if somebody does that, it's not going to be the end of the world. 28 00:01:42,380 --> 00:01:48,630 But in our United States Kingdom, the four nations, if you 29 00:01:48,630 --> 00:01:55,310 like, of the United Kingdom, each of those four parts has a national 30 00:01:56,430 --> 00:01:57,070 symbol. 31 00:01:57,630 --> 00:02:02,750 And I know that you very bright girls and Annalong would know 32 00:02:02,830 --> 00:02:04,270 what all of those are. 33 00:02:05,950 --> 00:02:10,510 So we'll start closer to home here on this emerald island. 34 00:02:11,870 --> 00:02:15,310 The national symbol that we all think about on St. Patrick's 35 00:02:15,310 --> 00:02:20,270 Day is of course, the shamrock. 36 00:02:20,670 --> 00:02:21,710 You all knew that. 37 00:02:21,870 --> 00:02:22,670 Yeah, you did. 38 00:02:23,390 --> 00:02:27,229 And then if we go over to Bonnie Scotland, the national symbol. 39 00:02:27,790 --> 00:02:30,950 Anybody want to shout out what the national symbol of Bonnie Scotland 40 00:02:30,950 --> 00:02:31,230 is? 41 00:02:34,350 --> 00:02:35,230 The thistle. 42 00:02:35,230 --> 00:02:36,110 Yes, indeed. 43 00:02:36,920 --> 00:02:37,960 And what about Wales? 44 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:39,880 What's the national symbol of Wales? 45 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:44,280 Anybody want to shout out the lake, the good old lake. 46 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:47,920 And then our friends in England, what is the national symbol 47 00:02:47,920 --> 00:02:48,200 there? 48 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:50,200 The rose. 49 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:50,760 Yes. 50 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:51,480 Okay. 51 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:57,080 Now, the reason I say all of that, girls and everyone else is 52 00:02:57,080 --> 00:03:05,820 that in Jesus Day amongst the people of Israel, there was a national 53 00:03:07,180 --> 00:03:08,300 symbol, if you like. 54 00:03:09,740 --> 00:03:13,900 And it was not the shamrock or the rose or the lake or the thistle, 55 00:03:14,780 --> 00:03:16,060 but it was the vine. 56 00:03:17,580 --> 00:03:18,620 It was the vine. 57 00:03:19,900 --> 00:03:24,700 And the vine had in some way become a kind of national symbol. 58 00:03:25,660 --> 00:03:29,180 It appeared on coins, it appeared on the temple gates. 59 00:03:29,860 --> 00:03:32,420 So it was a very important image. 60 00:03:33,140 --> 00:03:37,420 And of course, there was a Bible background to all of that. 61 00:03:37,420 --> 00:03:43,100 For example, Psalm 88, you brought a vine out of Egypt, the 62 00:03:43,100 --> 00:03:44,500 prophets, Hosea 10. 63 00:03:45,060 --> 00:03:52,740 Israel was a spreading vine and the people of Israel prided themselves 64 00:03:53,140 --> 00:03:54,820 in being the vine. 65 00:03:55,390 --> 00:03:56,350 They were the vine. 66 00:03:59,070 --> 00:04:04,230 But here's Jesus who comes along, and so often he just turns 67 00:04:04,230 --> 00:04:05,950 the whole thing on its head. 68 00:04:07,310 --> 00:04:13,630 And Jesus appears one day and he says, I am the vine. 69 00:04:14,750 --> 00:04:15,950 I am the vine. 70 00:04:17,230 --> 00:04:19,390 I am the vine. 71 00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:24,120 And so, girls and everyone else, Jesus was simply teaching here 72 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:27,160 that he was the center of everything. 73 00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:34,520 And in this passage that David read earlier from the Gospel of John, 74 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:39,680 in this first little section, it's all about the teaching that 75 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:41,400 Jesus is the vine. 76 00:04:42,520 --> 00:04:47,410 And to summarize the thrust of this section, he is teaching the 77 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:54,560 that when we come to trust in Jesus, which we must, that we are 78 00:04:54,560 --> 00:04:58,680 the branches connected to the vine. 79 00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:04,040 So what I want to do this evening, just for a little time, 80 00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:09,160 is to speak about the theme of spiritual fruitfulness. 81 00:05:09,320 --> 00:05:09,960 Okay? 82 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:15,930 And being the typical Presbyterian minister, I have three 83 00:05:16,170 --> 00:05:16,810 headings. 84 00:05:17,130 --> 00:05:23,370 And the first one is the call to be fruitful. 85 00:05:23,450 --> 00:05:26,130 And you can see on the screen there, and if you've got your Bible, 86 00:05:26,130 --> 00:05:29,290 open that in John, chapter 15. 87 00:05:29,610 --> 00:05:36,090 In those verses 2, 4, 5 and 8, it speaks about being fruitful. 88 00:05:36,650 --> 00:05:41,540 And what this passage is teaching us tonight is that the Lord 89 00:05:41,540 --> 00:05:48,420 Jesus calls us not so much to successfulness, but to fruitfulness. 90 00:05:49,620 --> 00:05:52,740 And we think of other passages in the Bible, and in particular in 91 00:05:52,740 --> 00:05:55,900 the New Testament, Galatians 5, the famous passage on the fruit 92 00:05:55,900 --> 00:05:56,500 of the Spirit. 93 00:05:56,820 --> 00:05:58,580 Love, joy, peace, and all of that. 94 00:05:58,660 --> 00:06:00,020 Colossians 1:10. 95 00:06:00,180 --> 00:06:02,820 Live a life worthy, bearing fruit. 96 00:06:03,140 --> 00:06:05,380 In every good work. 97 00:06:07,470 --> 00:06:08,950 Tonight we think about fruitfulness. 98 00:06:08,950 --> 00:06:14,430 Sometimes we equate fruitfulness with winning other people 99 00:06:14,430 --> 00:06:15,070 for Christ. 100 00:06:15,230 --> 00:06:19,630 And of course, that is very, very important. 101 00:06:21,470 --> 00:06:23,870 And you'll allow me to give a little plug. 102 00:06:23,870 --> 00:06:27,830 We were praying for you, dear folks, as you were having your special 103 00:06:27,830 --> 00:06:29,790 time of mission in recent times. 104 00:06:30,190 --> 00:06:35,540 And in Kilkeel, we are having a special week of mission in November. 105 00:06:36,980 --> 00:06:39,180 And we would covet your prayers for that. 106 00:06:39,180 --> 00:06:42,180 The 15th to the 22nd of November. 107 00:06:42,420 --> 00:06:47,020 And we are praying not just for that week, but certainly for 108 00:06:47,020 --> 00:06:51,740 that week, that people who maybe don't always come to church, 109 00:06:51,740 --> 00:06:54,940 that they will come, and that they will hear the good news of the 110 00:06:54,940 --> 00:06:55,580 Lord Jesus. 111 00:06:55,580 --> 00:07:00,510 And that they will come to put their trust and faith in him. 112 00:07:00,830 --> 00:07:06,430 And so we long for people to come to know the Lord. 113 00:07:06,750 --> 00:07:09,750 And fruitfulness, yes, it's about seeing people come to know 114 00:07:09,750 --> 00:07:12,110 the Lord, but also girls and everyone else. 115 00:07:12,430 --> 00:07:19,030 Fruitfulness is about growing in the Lord when we come to know 116 00:07:19,030 --> 00:07:19,310 him. 117 00:07:20,750 --> 00:07:23,390 And maybe some of you young girls, and I'm sure this is true, 118 00:07:23,550 --> 00:07:26,550 some of you already would profess to be following the Lord 119 00:07:26,550 --> 00:07:26,870 Jesus. 120 00:07:26,870 --> 00:07:29,870 And it's our prayer for you, as indeed for all the older people, 121 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:33,800 that we would not just profess to believe in the Lord Jesus, but 122 00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:38,760 that we would actually grow in him and grow to love him with all 123 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:44,400 of our hearts and our lives and grow not only to love him, but 124 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:46,200 grow to be like Him. 125 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:48,760 To be like Him. 126 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:55,240 I don't know whether you've been mentioned here. 127 00:07:57,130 --> 00:07:58,170 It probably has. 128 00:07:59,450 --> 00:08:04,690 Some of you will listen to podcasts and a colleague of David 129 00:08:04,690 --> 00:08:10,570 and ours, the Reverend David Cupples, who used to be minister 130 00:08:10,730 --> 00:08:17,450 in Enniskillen, David has started sending out a podcast. 131 00:08:18,090 --> 00:08:21,610 Apparently he has about nearly 400 little messages. 132 00:08:21,770 --> 00:08:22,570 So there you are. 133 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:25,880 It's going to take a little while for those all to go out, but 134 00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:28,040 they're quite short, only about 15 minutes. 135 00:08:29,240 --> 00:08:31,560 But here's the thing, girls, what you think about this? 136 00:08:32,840 --> 00:08:35,640 Do you know what he has called the podcast? 137 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:41,000 It's called Little Christs. 138 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:44,120 Some of you are surprised at that. 139 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:48,040 Little Christs. 140 00:08:50,210 --> 00:08:52,250 And that comes from C.S. 141 00:08:52,250 --> 00:08:58,130 Lewis famous book called Basic Christianity, where Lewis once said 142 00:08:58,370 --> 00:09:02,770 that at the very heart of the Christian message, as we come to 143 00:09:02,850 --> 00:09:09,570 Jesus Christ, God does something in us to make us like a 144 00:09:09,570 --> 00:09:10,850 little Christ. 145 00:09:11,250 --> 00:09:14,540 Now there's a sense in which we could never be like the Christ. 146 00:09:14,620 --> 00:09:17,100 But it's not irreverent to speak this way. 147 00:09:17,660 --> 00:09:24,060 We are called to be like Christ, girls. 148 00:09:24,060 --> 00:09:24,780 Remember that. 149 00:09:24,780 --> 00:09:25,660 Think about that. 150 00:09:29,260 --> 00:09:36,620 Robert Meringue MacShane is a name that is much revered and he 151 00:09:36,620 --> 00:09:42,480 was a young Scottish minister many years ago and he died as a young 152 00:09:42,480 --> 00:09:42,800 man. 153 00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:45,520 But he left a great legacy. 154 00:09:46,720 --> 00:09:51,160 And one of the famous things that he said was, it is not great 155 00:09:51,160 --> 00:09:57,440 talents that God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus, 156 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:00,960 girls. 157 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:09,270 All of us, we are called not only to come to Jesus, but to allow 158 00:10:09,270 --> 00:10:10,350 him to work in us. 159 00:10:10,350 --> 00:10:12,750 That we will become like Jesus. 160 00:10:13,550 --> 00:10:16,670 Isn't that an amazing and wonderful thing? 161 00:10:18,670 --> 00:10:21,230 Let me say this on a slightly more sterner note. 162 00:10:21,710 --> 00:10:25,550 The late and highly respected Dr. John Girvin. 163 00:10:25,710 --> 00:10:27,710 I'm sure he probably preached here. 164 00:10:27,710 --> 00:10:30,910 I can't definitively say that, but highly respected. 165 00:10:32,190 --> 00:10:34,510 I was always struck by something he said quite a number 166 00:10:34,510 --> 00:10:34,990 of years ago. 167 00:10:34,990 --> 00:10:39,130 And he said this, and I quote his exact words, it is one of the 168 00:10:39,130 --> 00:10:44,170 great tragedies of Ulster that the message of the evangel has been 169 00:10:44,170 --> 00:10:50,050 brought into disrepute because of the gross inconsistencies of too 170 00:10:50,050 --> 00:10:53,410 many who claim to have had a born again experience. 171 00:10:53,810 --> 00:10:56,450 And so it's possible for us to make some profession. 172 00:10:56,450 --> 00:11:00,570 And yet when people see our lives, they do not see something 173 00:11:00,570 --> 00:11:04,300 of Jesus that is a tragedy. 174 00:11:05,100 --> 00:11:08,060 May God work in all of us that that is never the case. 175 00:11:09,180 --> 00:11:12,700 Jesus says, this is to my Father's glory that you bear much 176 00:11:12,700 --> 00:11:16,700 fruit showing yourself to be my disciples. 177 00:11:18,780 --> 00:11:22,140 So the call to spiritual fruitfulness. 178 00:11:22,220 --> 00:11:25,500 Secondly, the reason to be fruitful. 179 00:11:26,540 --> 00:11:28,060 So the call to be fruitful. 180 00:11:28,870 --> 00:11:30,710 Secondly, the reason to be fruitful. 181 00:11:30,710 --> 00:11:33,510 And we see it just state it very simply. 182 00:11:33,910 --> 00:11:35,910 By Jesus in verse 8. 183 00:11:36,230 --> 00:11:41,750 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit 184 00:11:42,070 --> 00:11:46,550 and so prove to be my disciples. 185 00:11:46,630 --> 00:11:49,350 By this is my Father glorified. 186 00:11:51,350 --> 00:11:54,030 Girls, let me tell you a little true story, a very short little 187 00:11:54,030 --> 00:11:54,390 story. 188 00:11:54,870 --> 00:11:57,390 There was once a man again in Scotland. 189 00:11:57,390 --> 00:12:07,430 His name was William Burns, and he was called to go to China. 190 00:12:09,030 --> 00:12:15,390 And one day somebody who didn't believe the gospel and wasn't 191 00:12:15,390 --> 00:12:21,870 a very nice person came to him and said, oh, Mr. Burns, I suppose 192 00:12:21,870 --> 00:12:26,510 you're going to China to try to convert all the Chinese. 193 00:12:29,550 --> 00:12:38,750 And William Burns said to him, no, I'm going to China to glorify 194 00:12:38,750 --> 00:12:39,150 God. 195 00:12:40,670 --> 00:12:41,550 What a difference. 196 00:12:42,190 --> 00:12:43,950 What a wonderful response. 197 00:12:45,550 --> 00:12:49,950 And girls and everyone else here, the reason that we are called 198 00:12:50,110 --> 00:12:54,630 to be fruitful is for the glory of God. 199 00:12:57,030 --> 00:13:02,630 As certainly a considerable number of us here tonight are Presbyterians 200 00:13:02,630 --> 00:13:04,630 and Irish Presbyterians. 201 00:13:06,310 --> 00:13:09,230 We know at least the first question and answer in our Shorter 202 00:13:09,230 --> 00:13:09,830 Catechism. 203 00:13:10,230 --> 00:13:11,590 What is man's chief end? 204 00:13:11,990 --> 00:13:21,280 Man's chief end and girl's chief end is to glorify God and to 205 00:13:21,280 --> 00:13:23,560 enjoy him forever. 206 00:13:23,800 --> 00:13:24,760 What does that mean? 207 00:13:25,560 --> 00:13:30,680 Well, it means that in whatever we do, wherever we are, 208 00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:37,720 at school, in the classroom, at home, in the kitchen, outside 209 00:13:38,520 --> 00:13:43,680 in the field, down the street, in the grocery store, wherever we 210 00:13:43,680 --> 00:13:50,810 are, whatever we are doing, whoever we are with that there is 211 00:13:50,810 --> 00:13:55,650 this thought within our hearts put there by the Spirit, that we 212 00:13:55,650 --> 00:13:59,930 are to seek to do everything to the glory of God. 213 00:14:00,890 --> 00:14:05,730 So, girls and everyone else, to be a Christian is not just a Sunday 214 00:14:05,730 --> 00:14:10,410 morning thing for an hour on a Sunday morning or an hour on a Sunday 215 00:14:10,410 --> 00:14:10,970 evening. 216 00:14:11,050 --> 00:14:12,730 And then we just do our own thing. 217 00:14:13,370 --> 00:14:17,530 To be a Christian is to seek by the grace of God to love and follow 218 00:14:17,610 --> 00:14:17,920 and. 219 00:14:17,990 --> 00:14:22,950 And serve the Lord Jesus every single day of every single week. 220 00:14:23,270 --> 00:14:26,390 And people will say, well, how on earth is that possible? 221 00:14:26,390 --> 00:14:30,790 It is not possible in our strength, but by the grace of God 222 00:14:30,790 --> 00:14:34,230 and the Spirit of God, all things are possible. 223 00:14:35,270 --> 00:14:39,070 The choir sang, There was a line there picked up about the glory 224 00:14:39,070 --> 00:14:39,670 of God. 225 00:14:42,070 --> 00:14:47,040 And Jesus says, this is to the glory of God that you're fruitful. 226 00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:52,720 And the Apostle Paul said, whatever you do do it to the glory 227 00:14:54,240 --> 00:14:55,040 of God. 228 00:14:55,120 --> 00:15:00,000 The third thing I say is not only about the call to be fruitful, 229 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:07,200 and not only the reason to be fruitful, but thirdly, the way to 230 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:09,200 be fruitful. 231 00:15:09,280 --> 00:15:12,680 So let me just remind you, if you've got your Bible open, look 232 00:15:12,680 --> 00:15:13,520 at verse four. 233 00:15:14,520 --> 00:15:18,280 Because in this little section there's a phrase and a word that 234 00:15:18,280 --> 00:15:21,240 keeps occurring, and it's the word abide. 235 00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:22,920 Abide. 236 00:15:23,320 --> 00:15:24,040 Verse 4. 237 00:15:24,120 --> 00:15:26,840 Abide in me, and I in you. 238 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:30,360 As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides 239 00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:33,360 in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 240 00:15:33,360 --> 00:15:35,400 I'm the vine, you're the branches. 241 00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:41,020 Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that will bear much 242 00:15:41,100 --> 00:15:41,580 fruit. 243 00:15:42,220 --> 00:15:46,140 For apart from me, you can do nothing. 244 00:15:49,260 --> 00:15:55,020 So, girls, you may have somebody in your family, maybe a 245 00:15:55,020 --> 00:15:59,460 parent or a grandparent or a big brother or a big sister or an 246 00:15:59,460 --> 00:16:01,660 auntie or an uncle or someday. 247 00:16:01,980 --> 00:16:04,780 And outside they've got the greenhouse and maybe they have a 248 00:16:04,780 --> 00:16:05,420 little vine. 249 00:16:06,150 --> 00:16:10,150 And you've seen the grapes growing, or you've gone into a fruit 250 00:16:10,150 --> 00:16:14,150 shop and you've seen the lovely little bunches of vines. 251 00:16:15,110 --> 00:16:19,310 And the point is that Jesus says, those little grapes that are 252 00:16:19,310 --> 00:16:23,870 growing, they only were able to grow because they were connected 253 00:16:23,870 --> 00:16:24,710 to the vine. 254 00:16:25,670 --> 00:16:29,110 They didn't grow on their own apart from the vine. 255 00:16:29,110 --> 00:16:30,870 They weren't able to grow. 256 00:16:32,640 --> 00:16:37,320 So here's a question, and it teaches us. 257 00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:39,960 This passage teaches us what is a Christian. 258 00:16:39,960 --> 00:16:42,000 That's a very basic Christian. 259 00:16:42,160 --> 00:16:47,280 But at heart, a Christian is someone who is in union with Jesus. 260 00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:54,800 A Christian is someone who is united through repentance and faith 261 00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:56,000 to Jesus. 262 00:16:56,720 --> 00:16:58,630 A Christian is someone who. 263 00:16:58,780 --> 00:17:02,140 Who has thrown themselves onto Jesus. 264 00:17:04,460 --> 00:17:10,140 A Christian is someone who has a real living relationship with Jesus. 265 00:17:10,540 --> 00:17:13,180 But here's the question that I want to come back to again. 266 00:17:13,340 --> 00:17:16,740 Whether you're a young girl in the girls brigade or an older person 267 00:17:16,740 --> 00:17:20,300 here tonight at this Monday night harvest service in Annalong. 268 00:17:20,380 --> 00:17:24,780 How do we grow as followers of Jesus? 269 00:17:25,100 --> 00:17:26,740 How do we grow as. 270 00:17:26,970 --> 00:17:27,930 As Christians? 271 00:17:29,370 --> 00:17:34,330 Well, Jesus speaks here of abiding in him. 272 00:17:34,970 --> 00:17:38,170 In fact, if you look carefully, the passage speaks about 273 00:17:38,330 --> 00:17:39,770 a double abiding. 274 00:17:39,770 --> 00:17:45,530 Jesus says, abide in me and I will abide in you. 275 00:17:46,010 --> 00:17:51,690 We are to abide in Christ and to allow Christ to abide in us. 276 00:17:53,460 --> 00:17:57,700 There is a sense in the Christian life that we every day 277 00:17:57,700 --> 00:18:05,140 submit to him and yield to him and surrender to him and his control, 278 00:18:06,340 --> 00:18:08,659 our dependency is on him. 279 00:18:09,380 --> 00:18:14,020 I'm sure you sing that lovely old hymn, lovely old hymn that has 280 00:18:14,020 --> 00:18:16,580 the refrain each time Trust and obey. 281 00:18:16,900 --> 00:18:20,660 For there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey. 282 00:18:20,660 --> 00:18:24,170 One of the verses, verse four, I think, is quite striking. 283 00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:24,800 Striking. 284 00:18:25,120 --> 00:18:26,400 Some of you will know it well. 285 00:18:26,800 --> 00:18:32,120 But we never can prove the delights of his love until all on 286 00:18:32,120 --> 00:18:33,280 the altar we lay. 287 00:18:34,560 --> 00:18:40,560 For the favour he shows and the joy he bestows are for those 288 00:18:40,560 --> 00:18:43,520 who will trust and obey. 289 00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:51,770 This sense of abiding in Jesus, yielding all to Jesus, and 290 00:18:52,250 --> 00:18:56,530 allowing, humanly speaking, the Lord to have control of all of 291 00:18:56,530 --> 00:18:56,810 us. 292 00:18:58,090 --> 00:19:04,330 That's the secret to a blessed Christian life. 293 00:19:05,690 --> 00:19:07,530 Christian growth comes from within. 294 00:19:09,770 --> 00:19:12,170 Girls, I have to keep a wee eye on the time, but there's something 295 00:19:12,170 --> 00:19:13,370 I want to show you here. 296 00:19:14,090 --> 00:19:24,820 And so let me lift up this bag and I have two things in this bag. 297 00:19:25,780 --> 00:19:27,940 I'm not really sure which one to bring out first. 298 00:19:29,060 --> 00:19:30,260 Well, I'll bring. 299 00:19:30,820 --> 00:19:32,420 No, I'll bring this one out first. 300 00:19:34,980 --> 00:19:40,340 Okay, now you all know what that is. 301 00:19:42,270 --> 00:19:46,150 We're back to me walking down the hill and reminding myself that 302 00:19:46,150 --> 00:19:51,430 it wasn't quite the Sunday after Christmas. 303 00:19:51,430 --> 00:19:55,870 It's a little bauble, isn't it, that you put on your tree? 304 00:19:56,669 --> 00:19:59,070 Now I've got something else I want to show you, okay? 305 00:20:00,910 --> 00:20:02,990 Something else connected to a tree. 306 00:20:10,120 --> 00:20:11,640 A lovely cooking apple. 307 00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:18,320 And this is the time when I. I'm sure there's some great produce 308 00:20:18,320 --> 00:20:25,560 from the analong manse, but the Kilkilmanse for many decades 309 00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:31,960 has had a wonderful apple tree, and I don't know how many decades 310 00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:32,840 it has been there. 311 00:20:35,790 --> 00:20:39,630 My theory, for those of you who are interested in history, is 312 00:20:39,630 --> 00:20:44,950 that before the Presbyterians had that piece of ground, the Moravians 313 00:20:44,950 --> 00:20:50,030 had that piece of ground and they loved to grow apple trees. 314 00:20:51,310 --> 00:20:54,870 And I think this apple tree has been there a very long time, 315 00:20:54,870 --> 00:21:01,070 and every year, girls, it produces a great harvest. 316 00:21:01,790 --> 00:21:04,110 Now, I could get carried away here, but will not. 317 00:21:04,350 --> 00:21:05,870 Here's my point. 318 00:21:09,790 --> 00:21:15,870 The little bauble on the Christmas tree and the apple on the 319 00:21:15,870 --> 00:21:21,470 apple tree, how did these get on these trees? 320 00:21:23,790 --> 00:21:31,560 Well, this little bauble, when it comes to Christmas time, you lift 321 00:21:31,560 --> 00:21:38,240 it out of the box and you stick it onto the tree, it comes 322 00:21:38,240 --> 00:21:41,320 onto the tree from the outside. 323 00:21:44,360 --> 00:21:50,840 This apple, on the other hand, has not been lifted out of any box, 324 00:21:52,370 --> 00:22:00,330 it has not been stuck onto the tree, it has come from inside the 325 00:22:00,330 --> 00:22:00,690 tree. 326 00:22:03,570 --> 00:22:07,250 And girls, there's really a great lesson here. 327 00:22:09,730 --> 00:22:16,330 If I was to ask everyone else which one of these is more akin to 328 00:22:16,330 --> 00:22:23,720 the Christian life, and the answer, of course, is not the bauble, 329 00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:31,960 which comes from the outside and is stuck on, but it's the apple 330 00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:37,400 that comes from the inside and appears. 331 00:22:39,560 --> 00:22:43,440 And, you know, if I was to ask you this evening, as I try to draw 332 00:22:43,440 --> 00:22:52,570 this message to a close, your Christianity, is it more like a Christmas 333 00:22:52,570 --> 00:22:56,650 tree Christianity that everything stuck on from the outside, 334 00:22:59,130 --> 00:23:05,930 or is it more like the apple tree where nothing's stuck on from 335 00:23:05,930 --> 00:23:09,210 the outside, it all comes from the inside. 336 00:23:10,170 --> 00:23:13,210 Girls, learn this lesson if you learn nothing else. 337 00:23:14,310 --> 00:23:20,310 True Christianity is about God doing something deep in our hearts 338 00:23:22,310 --> 00:23:28,550 and changing our hearts and turning our hearts around and giving 339 00:23:28,550 --> 00:23:33,750 us a love for Jesus and a love for the church that wasn't there 340 00:23:33,750 --> 00:23:36,790 before and that begins to appear. 341 00:23:38,710 --> 00:23:43,010 And so in your life, you discover yourself saying, you know, 342 00:23:44,370 --> 00:23:47,810 I used to say, I don't really want to go to church, but I now want 343 00:23:47,810 --> 00:23:48,690 to go to church. 344 00:23:50,210 --> 00:23:53,370 I used to say, oh, I don't really want to get involved in the 345 00:23:53,370 --> 00:23:55,890 gb, but I now want to get involved in the gb. 346 00:23:56,210 --> 00:23:58,930 And that's the work of God in you. 347 00:24:01,330 --> 00:24:08,180 And we could say many things about this, but folks, the call to 348 00:24:08,180 --> 00:24:11,740 be fruitful, the reason to glorify God and the way. 349 00:24:13,500 --> 00:24:18,180 So the challenge for all of us tonight as we finish this little 350 00:24:18,180 --> 00:24:24,940 time together on a Monday evening, is your Christianity just 351 00:24:24,940 --> 00:24:30,940 about what you look like on the outside and how you present yourself, 352 00:24:33,670 --> 00:24:35,670 and yet you know that your heart's not right. 353 00:24:36,790 --> 00:24:38,070 That's never going to do. 354 00:24:38,950 --> 00:24:43,790 And it will not do on the great day when we stand before the 355 00:24:43,790 --> 00:24:44,150 Lord. 356 00:24:45,190 --> 00:24:54,070 Allow the Lord to touch your heart, to awaken you to your real 357 00:24:54,070 --> 00:25:00,120 need of a savior and to the truth that God needs to work inside 358 00:25:00,120 --> 00:25:04,000 us to produce all the fruit on the outside. 359 00:25:06,240 --> 00:25:12,440 And then it will not just be something we put on for a show, it 360 00:25:12,440 --> 00:25:13,560 will be something that's real. 361 00:25:13,560 --> 00:25:18,560 It's coming from the spirit and coming from Christ. 362 00:25:20,080 --> 00:25:21,920 So, girls, many lessons tonight. 363 00:25:23,450 --> 00:25:28,730 God wants you to be fruitful, to live for him. 364 00:25:30,490 --> 00:25:35,170 But you'll only do that when you allow his Holy Spirit to work 365 00:25:35,170 --> 00:25:40,570 inside you, bringing you to Jesus, helping you to trust in Jesus 366 00:25:41,450 --> 00:25:45,610 and then to see what he will do in bringing the spiritual fruit 367 00:25:46,330 --> 00:25:46,970 in your life. 368 00:25:46,970 --> 00:25:48,770 A wee prayer just before we sing. 369 00:25:48,770 --> 00:25:52,730 Father, we thank you that you call us to be fruitful. 370 00:25:52,730 --> 00:25:56,690 And we pray tonight not only for these girls, but for all of us, 371 00:25:56,690 --> 00:26:04,810 Lord, that you would work in us, a wonderful work of grace, that 372 00:26:04,810 --> 00:26:11,290 the fruit of the spirit of being like Christ will be seen in 373 00:26:11,290 --> 00:26:19,660 our lives and will be seen in other people's hearts as we reflect 374 00:26:19,660 --> 00:26:20,980 Jesus to them. 375 00:26:21,220 --> 00:26:24,740 Help us, we pray for Christ's sake, Amen.