- Eternal Abiding 240-year-old vine still growing in Hampton Court. It is the oldest and largest living vine in the world with a root two feet in diameter. Planted in 1768 by Lancelot Brown, the fruit of this vine was intended for royalty. 500 to 700 bunches of grapes a year that weigh 220 to 320 kg The largest recorded crops of grapes from the Vine were 1,800 bunches in 1798 and 2,245 bunches in 1807. some of the smaller branches are 200 feet from the main stem, they still bear the sweet and delicious fruit because they are connected to the vine. Life flows from that single root and through out the vine bringing nourishment and strength to each of the branches.
Review of Previous Messages Week 1- Eternal Fruit- Getting a Vision of Eternity Week 2- Eternal Discipline- Getting Rid of the Mud Week 3- Eternal Pruning- Establishing Essentials Final Message- Eternal Abiding- Staying Connected Your place is to remain.
“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”- John 15:4-5 Nothing is strong language. Isn’t that a little extreme? Why is abiding or remaining in Christ so critical to bearing fruit? “Imagine a grape branch, severed from the trunk and lying in the dust. For that severed branch to produce one new leaf, flower, or grape would be impossible.” “Picture the place where ancient trunk meets vigorous branch… Here is the connection where life-giving nutrients in the sap flow through to the developing fruit. The only limitation on the amount of sap that goes to the fruit is the circumference of the branch where it meets the vine.” The only limitation we have to bearing much eternal fruit in our lives is a lack of connection with God. 1st rule, 2nd rule 3rd rule of the vine, If your life bears a lot of fruit, God will linvite you to abide more deeply with him Abiding, remaining is a command, we must act! My father constantly tells me, “You only get out what you put in!” The reality is that if I do not stay connected to God, all I have to offer others is myself… and my wife, children, church, and community need so much more than just me. Here is a reality we must all understand if we truly want to be a blessing to others, “You can only do so much.” When we are connected to the God that is good, there is a constant flow of goodness in and through our lives… not just temporary acts, or human-driven, human-limited goodness. Abiding in God opens the door to God’s resources of love, wisdom, passion, patience, power, grace, and generosity to flow through our lives. God will only nudge your so long. Drift Happens I once went to the beach and lied down on a lilo. If the current was stronger or if there was a sudden wave, I would have probably opened my eyes and paddled back… but the subtlety of the water kept me oblivious to the realization of my drift.
I think this is a good analogy of what happens with us and God many times. If we are not aware, the current of our culture can slowly take us away. Things seem good, calm, and we don’t even notice a current, but the next thing we know, we’ve drifted. If you go on a treadmill and put the speed to .5 mph, it seems so slow… almost like standing still. The effort it takes to keep up is almost negligable. However, if we do nothing and allow ourselves to drift at .5 mph in one day (16 hrs.), we would drift 8 miles. “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.” What’s scary about all this is that we can drift from God even when we’re doing work for God. We can get so caught up in working for God that we forget to spend time with God. We can get so caught up producing results for God that we forget our own relationship with God. Friendship! We believe God loves us, but do we think God likes us? Jesus is saying sit down, stay a while “The ultimate key to bearing much fruit is not doing more for God, but being more with God.”
Yes, God would love to see more of us get involved in serving. Yes, God would love for those us serving to give our absolute best… but God is reminding all of us today that we must stay in constant connection with Him if we truly want to bear fruit for God and His glory.
If that’s our real goal, not building our own kingdom, or serving just so we can feel good about ourselves… if we really want to glorify God and help others, we must stay intimately connected to real Source of Life.
Eternal Fruit does not equal what we can produce. Eternal Fruit = Staying connected to the True Vine.
Bringing It Home If you were to draw an honest picture showing what your connection or relationship with God is like today, what would the picture look like? Close, tight, intimate…. or hanging on by a thread or disconnected? “If you have been feeling distant from God, guess who moved?”
The good news is that no matter far we feel from God, God is calling us to “open our eyes” and start “paddling back”. It’s never too late. Principle 1: to Abide you must deepen the quality of my devoted time with God
- set apart quality time to be with God
- Savour God’s words to you
- Talk and listen to a person
- Keep a daily written record of what God is doing in your life
Principle 2: To break through to abiding, my devoted time must change into an all day attentiveness to his presence, brother andrew
Spiritual Disciplines- of Abstinence Solitude: Silence: Fasting: Frugality: Chastity: Secrecy: Sacrifice:
Disciplines of Engagement Study: Worship: Celebration: Service: Prayer: Fellowship: Confession: Submission:
Abiding not based on feelings, we need to obey
Maths- work less + spend more time with him = More fruit?
- helps us sense the leading of God
- taps us into the spiritual riches of God
- Gives us rest for need to bear a greater yield
- Gives us the promise of answered prayer
- Nothing gives God greater pleasure than when we ask for what he wants to give
As the fruit grows in you, you will be amazed by the abundance, but you will know you had nothing to do with it! As we close this sermon series, the biggest question we must wrestle with is this, “What do we really want?” Do we really want the eternal, abundant life God desires for us? Do we really want God? What do we really long for?
Conclusion John 21, Peter taking the leap! Leaving all doubt behind, abundnace then flowed We need to take the leap, Do you hear the Lord calling? I hope you jump
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
“Faith to Become a Migrant”
In Hebrews 11—we have been looking at faith stories
-men and women who lived out faith’s definition
-NOW FAITH IS HOPE RECEIVED—THAT IS AS GOOD AS
SOMETHING OWNED
-THE UNSEEN THAT IS AS CERTAIN AS THE SEEN
Stories that have this intent—to increase our faith!!
-ABRAHAM is one of them
-the undisputed hero—the paragon of faith
-who receives more space than any other person in Hebrews 11
What was it about Abraham?
-what makes a hero of faith?
His story is found in Genesis 12
-and the first thing you notice is that it is set within the context of Genesis
11 and the Tower of Babel
-when the world determined to make a city with a tower that would reach
the heavens—“so that we may make a name for ourselves”
-it was their statement to God—their determination to make something in
their own strength, for their own glory
-this has always been our temptation—to build our kingdoms, our cities
-to prove our adequacy, declare our independence, build something for
our name
-but God scattered their plans—as he occasionally scatter ours—and
scattered the world
-and Genesis 12 is God’s way of saying—
-I am going to make My own nation, My own “tower”, My own city
-that will be for My name—by My power—for My glory
And whenever God chooses to do something extraordinary—He always looks for
a man, a woman
And here’s the amazing thing—God often does it through the most unlikely
-like Abraham-a man with seemingly no potential to be the father of a
nation
-in his mid-70’s
-married to a woman who was barren
But then--God does not depend on any potentiality in the one addressed
-I know that is true—just look at us!!
-the power of the summoning word is all that is necessary!
-“the Lord said” are the most powerful words in the universe
-they will have their way over barrenness, weakness, seeming
impossibilities
-it’s nothing to God to call into existence the things that do not exist!!
-and so the Lord spoke these words (read Gen 12:1-4a)
Abraham was called to leave—not just his land—but his family, his roots, this
chapter of his life
-called to leave everything he had known, held dear for 75 years
And Abraham, by faith, when called to go—went
It is this —according to Hebrews 11:8—that was Abraham’s first act of faith
-what makes a hero of faith?
1. SOMEONE WILLING TO GO
-Abraham obeyed—the tense implying an immediate response
-lit “as he was being called, Abraham obeyed”
-suggesting Abraham was already abandoned to God--ready to follow
Him—move with God on His adventure
-knowing that to stay in the security of Haran was to remain barren
-knowing that to postpone might miss the moment
-knowing that moments with God come and go, and the opportunities that
lie within them leave with them
-but there’s more to becoming a hero of faith--
2. SOMEONE WILLING TO GO INTO THE UNKNOWN (read 8b)
-Abraham traveled without knowing where he was going
-out into a vast unknown—an uncertain future with no map
-like all the others in Hebrews 11
-Abraham headed out “with closed eyes”
Larry Crabb in his Connecting talks about urges to be killed
-one of them is “fire lighting”
-our need to see the way—reduce the mystery
-we want to be in control—we require certainty, guaranteed outcomes, lit
paths
-BUT IT IS AN URGE THAT NEEDS TO DIE!
For God often insists that we step into the dark—if only to insure that we grasp
the hand of the only one who can see in the dark
The same words are spoken out of Isaiah 50:10
“Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord
and rely on His God”
Abraham was willing to step into the unknown—this is part of what made him a
hero of faith
-there’s more to becoming a hero of faith—
3. SOMEONE WILLING TO GO INTO THE UNKNOWN AS AN ALIEN (read
12:9)
By faith—Abraham migrated to a land of promise
-“as a foreigner in a tent”
-living out of a suitcase—living desettled-which kept Abraham trusting
-kept him from becoming too attached to “secondary goods”
-putting down roots too deep
-and in this he was willing to experience a certain dissonance with the
world
-incur the stigma of stranger, migrant
-never really at home
-a monotheist amongst polytheists
-that those after him—Jacob, Isaac—lived in the same way underscores
that he did not receive the things promised in his life span—but welcomed
them from the distance-verse 13
-home remained elusive
-Canaan was not the final promise—but the preparation for it
What explains heroic faith? The passage makes one thing else clear—
4. SOMEONE WHO TAKES GOD AT HIS WORD (read 11:10)
-Abraham left home, stepped out in the unknown, took on the stigma of
alien
-pressed on—even if the promises stretched over to the other side
-for he was “looking forward”, continually expecting that his hope would be
as good as owned
-so he went hard after the promises given—
-the promise of an expanded life-I will make you into a great nation
-the promise of a fruitful life-I will bless you and make your name great
-the promise of an impacting life-the peoples of this earth will be blessed
through you
-and beyond all of this—something even more permanent-the promise of
an unshakable home
APP
I believe God is still looking for Abrahamic faith
-with the same willingness…
1. TO LEAVE
-to step out in faith
-and leave our country, our clan, our “nets” and follow Him
-and fully embrace God’s call
-maybe it is not a literal uprooting like Abraham
-but nonetheless coming to Christ
-giving our lives to the One who paid the price for our failures
-leaving the world we were once attached to
-with some of its disordered ambitions, affections
-that are out of tune with God’s ultimate intention
-every believer has to abandon his/her past
2. A WILLINGNESS TO HEAD INTO THE UNKNOWN
-for this is part of the journey of faith—out into this uncertainty--often
without any map
-headed out when all we have is faith
-but it is a step in the dark—it is a faith step
-and all I can say is—I am convinced we are doing the right thing
3. A WILLINGNESS TO BECOME ALIENS
-willing to experience some dissonance with the world
-I Peter 2 refers to those who give their lives to Christ as aliens and
strangers-nomads
-for like those at Pentecost—the Spirit never allows us to settle down this
side of eternity
-anymore than the early believers could remain settled in Jerusalem
-this is why they were referred to in Scripture as people of The Way, rather
than The Place
-we are a movement—not an institution!!
-like Abraham—we travel through this wilderness
-careful of becoming too attached
-where desires are refined
-and we work at getting rid of excessive baggage
-where we have occasional garage sales of the soul (Barnes)
-living in this in-between—between the already and not yet—heaven and
earth, present and future, CITY W/O FOUNDATIONS, CITY WITH
FOUNDATIONS
4. A WILLINGNESS TO TRUST IN GOD
-that God has made a similar promise
-to make of us an enlarged life, a blessed life
-has promised to remove our barrenness and replace it with a life that
bears fruit
-a life that becomes what God intended
-a life that impacts others
-men and women who lived out faith’s definition
-NOW FAITH IS HOPE RECEIVED—THAT IS AS GOOD AS
SOMETHING OWNED
-THE UNSEEN THAT IS AS CERTAIN AS THE SEEN
Stories that have this intent—to increase our faith!!
-ABRAHAM is one of them
-the undisputed hero—the paragon of faith
-who receives more space than any other person in Hebrews 11
What was it about Abraham?
-what makes a hero of faith?
His story is found in Genesis 12
-and the first thing you notice is that it is set within the context of Genesis
11 and the Tower of Babel
-when the world determined to make a city with a tower that would reach
the heavens—“so that we may make a name for ourselves”
-it was their statement to God—their determination to make something in
their own strength, for their own glory
-this has always been our temptation—to build our kingdoms, our cities
-to prove our adequacy, declare our independence, build something for
our name
-but God scattered their plans—as he occasionally scatter ours—and
scattered the world
-and Genesis 12 is God’s way of saying—
-I am going to make My own nation, My own “tower”, My own city
-that will be for My name—by My power—for My glory
And whenever God chooses to do something extraordinary—He always looks for
a man, a woman
And here’s the amazing thing—God often does it through the most unlikely
-like Abraham-a man with seemingly no potential to be the father of a
nation
-in his mid-70’s
-married to a woman who was barren
But then--God does not depend on any potentiality in the one addressed
-I know that is true—just look at us!!
-the power of the summoning word is all that is necessary!
-“the Lord said” are the most powerful words in the universe
-they will have their way over barrenness, weakness, seeming
impossibilities
-it’s nothing to God to call into existence the things that do not exist!!
-and so the Lord spoke these words (read Gen 12:1-4a)
Abraham was called to leave—not just his land—but his family, his roots, this
chapter of his life
-called to leave everything he had known, held dear for 75 years
And Abraham, by faith, when called to go—went
It is this —according to Hebrews 11:8—that was Abraham’s first act of faith
-what makes a hero of faith?
1. SOMEONE WILLING TO GO
-Abraham obeyed—the tense implying an immediate response
-lit “as he was being called, Abraham obeyed”
-suggesting Abraham was already abandoned to God--ready to follow
Him—move with God on His adventure
-knowing that to stay in the security of Haran was to remain barren
-knowing that to postpone might miss the moment
-knowing that moments with God come and go, and the opportunities that
lie within them leave with them
-but there’s more to becoming a hero of faith--
2. SOMEONE WILLING TO GO INTO THE UNKNOWN (read 8b)
-Abraham traveled without knowing where he was going
-out into a vast unknown—an uncertain future with no map
-like all the others in Hebrews 11
-Abraham headed out “with closed eyes”
Larry Crabb in his Connecting talks about urges to be killed
-one of them is “fire lighting”
-our need to see the way—reduce the mystery
-we want to be in control—we require certainty, guaranteed outcomes, lit
paths
-BUT IT IS AN URGE THAT NEEDS TO DIE!
For God often insists that we step into the dark—if only to insure that we grasp
the hand of the only one who can see in the dark
The same words are spoken out of Isaiah 50:10
“Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord
and rely on His God”
Abraham was willing to step into the unknown—this is part of what made him a
hero of faith
-there’s more to becoming a hero of faith—
3. SOMEONE WILLING TO GO INTO THE UNKNOWN AS AN ALIEN (read
12:9)
By faith—Abraham migrated to a land of promise
-“as a foreigner in a tent”
-living out of a suitcase—living desettled-which kept Abraham trusting
-kept him from becoming too attached to “secondary goods”
-putting down roots too deep
-and in this he was willing to experience a certain dissonance with the
world
-incur the stigma of stranger, migrant
-never really at home
-a monotheist amongst polytheists
-that those after him—Jacob, Isaac—lived in the same way underscores
that he did not receive the things promised in his life span—but welcomed
them from the distance-verse 13
-home remained elusive
-Canaan was not the final promise—but the preparation for it
What explains heroic faith? The passage makes one thing else clear—
4. SOMEONE WHO TAKES GOD AT HIS WORD (read 11:10)
-Abraham left home, stepped out in the unknown, took on the stigma of
alien
-pressed on—even if the promises stretched over to the other side
-for he was “looking forward”, continually expecting that his hope would be
as good as owned
-so he went hard after the promises given—
-the promise of an expanded life-I will make you into a great nation
-the promise of a fruitful life-I will bless you and make your name great
-the promise of an impacting life-the peoples of this earth will be blessed
through you
-and beyond all of this—something even more permanent-the promise of
an unshakable home
APP
I believe God is still looking for Abrahamic faith
-with the same willingness…
1. TO LEAVE
-to step out in faith
-and leave our country, our clan, our “nets” and follow Him
-and fully embrace God’s call
-maybe it is not a literal uprooting like Abraham
-but nonetheless coming to Christ
-giving our lives to the One who paid the price for our failures
-leaving the world we were once attached to
-with some of its disordered ambitions, affections
-that are out of tune with God’s ultimate intention
-every believer has to abandon his/her past
2. A WILLINGNESS TO HEAD INTO THE UNKNOWN
-for this is part of the journey of faith—out into this uncertainty--often
without any map
-headed out when all we have is faith
-but it is a step in the dark—it is a faith step
-and all I can say is—I am convinced we are doing the right thing
3. A WILLINGNESS TO BECOME ALIENS
-willing to experience some dissonance with the world
-I Peter 2 refers to those who give their lives to Christ as aliens and
strangers-nomads
-for like those at Pentecost—the Spirit never allows us to settle down this
side of eternity
-anymore than the early believers could remain settled in Jerusalem
-this is why they were referred to in Scripture as people of The Way, rather
than The Place
-we are a movement—not an institution!!
-like Abraham—we travel through this wilderness
-careful of becoming too attached
-where desires are refined
-and we work at getting rid of excessive baggage
-where we have occasional garage sales of the soul (Barnes)
-living in this in-between—between the already and not yet—heaven and
earth, present and future, CITY W/O FOUNDATIONS, CITY WITH
FOUNDATIONS
4. A WILLINGNESS TO TRUST IN GOD
-that God has made a similar promise
-to make of us an enlarged life, a blessed life
-has promised to remove our barrenness and replace it with a life that
bears fruit
-a life that becomes what God intended
-a life that impacts others
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Living under the secateurs!
Stories from the vineyard pt 3
John 15 v 1-17
Introduction Tickin sandwich Remember what is the first rule of the vine? If you bear no fruit then God will intervene to discipline. Chatting to person with vine in the greenhouse, the more you pruned the branches, the more fruit you get. More you cut, the more you get!
Love or shear madness?
God intervenes when the branch is bare, bare because of sin, but what does he do when our lives are doing ok, even pretty good?
Jesus in the vineyard, the big branch with little fruit
“every branch that bears fruit, he prunes that it may bear more fruit” John 15 v 2
This is God’s strategy- to get you to bear more fruit, he will thin, reduce, cut away, not like it! But it is good for us!
Gardener’s plan is less is more!
It is a troubling truth, but if we can get it, it will help us face the trials the world throws at us, and will help us in our growth for God.
Second rule of the vine IF YOUR LIFE BEARS SOME FRUIT, GOD WILL INTERVENE AND PRUNE YOU!
Cut away commitments and priorities that get in the way, and make more room for God, this all leads to maturity, something a lot of us do not have!
My job is to point you to the bible; it is all there.
Pictures of plenty
Disciples knew what Jesus was saying, to get more you have to go against the branch’s natural tendencies, they grow so quick the choke out the sunlight. Result? From a distance the branch looks great, but in reality stunted in growth.
Sound familiar? Are you looked great but stunted in your Christian walk?
The gardener knows, that is why he cuts back so much
We grow in the natural ways of humanity, which doesn’t lead to much. Good things, which become God things which is a bad thing (Idolatry)
Without pruning, our natural tendency to worship is diverted away from God, and we worship elsewhere, kids, job, possession, church, even our own ministries!
Are your prayers all about keeping your comfort and convenience? Or are you asking for God to bless you abundantly by making you more like Jesus?
If it is the latter you are asking for the secateurs!
4 reasons for pruning
Remove dead or dying material, 2. Get the sunlight into the fruit bearing branches, 3. Increase the size and quality of the fruit, 4. encourage more fruit to grow
Has to prune away the wasteful, relationships, prune away the things in life that suck the sunlight, which is usually yourself! Golf, tv, football, phone! He prunes to help you work our what is important, what needs less time so bible gets more time. New fruit? What could you do that would drag you out of your comfort zone? Short term mission, fostering? Helping at the toddler group or Richmond’s hope with a smile on your face?
No matter our age, we can still bear fruit! No matter how busy we are we can still bear fruit, no matter how selfish we are we can still bear fruit, if we let him prune!
Disciplining is all about getting rid of sin
Pruning is all about letting the good that is growing get more space to grow!
Misunderstanding God’s methods.
We may think we have done wrong, but actually we are doing good and we are being treated so we grow more!
Discipline stops when you get out of sin
Pruning stops when God stops, in this you need to let Go and let God, let God do his work in you!
Father and child relationship, grieve, apologise?
Flourishing under the shears?
The more mature the branch, the more pruning it needs!
As you begin to grow, the pruning is about priorities and commitments, the more mature you are, the pruning is about identity and values
Too often we never get this far, the cost is too high, Jesus said many would turn away, but the ones who remained, they changed the world.
The testing of your faith
Every trial is a time to trust, pruning is not taking away, but making room, James 1 v 3-4, testing of faith results in a perfect work
Pruning is to make you like Jesus.
Not a salvation issue, but a growth issue, too many of us stunted, or apathetic, we need to surrender to God’s work and purpose
Refining of us, like gold or silver
Often a push past the last test
C.S. Lewis, God whispers through pleasure and shouts through pain
No season of pruning lasts forever
Consider trials of Paul, he stills bears fruit today!
Tell me where it hurts!
Mum, concentrate there! David, pride, nabal, Abigail, trust in God= greatest king of Israel, submit, lead, endure, trust.
Prime points of pruning
People you love the most 2. Your right to know why 3. Your love of money and possessions 4. The sources of your significance
Grace expectations
Paul veteran of pruning Phil 3 v 7-8, our prayer should be “ Lord let me make a difference for you that is utterly disproportionate to who I am”
Your response is everything
My goal is to show you what is already happening, your job is to co-operate with God, when he prunes you, let him work, don’t rebel, don’t let it go to waste. If you let God prune, you can experience joy, comfort and rest knowing he is in control and you will bear much more fruit.
Read ! peter 1 v 6-8, bearing much fruit leads to abiding in him, the best thing there can be!
John 15 v 1-17
Introduction Tickin sandwich Remember what is the first rule of the vine? If you bear no fruit then God will intervene to discipline. Chatting to person with vine in the greenhouse, the more you pruned the branches, the more fruit you get. More you cut, the more you get!
Love or shear madness?
God intervenes when the branch is bare, bare because of sin, but what does he do when our lives are doing ok, even pretty good?
Jesus in the vineyard, the big branch with little fruit
“every branch that bears fruit, he prunes that it may bear more fruit” John 15 v 2
This is God’s strategy- to get you to bear more fruit, he will thin, reduce, cut away, not like it! But it is good for us!
Gardener’s plan is less is more!
It is a troubling truth, but if we can get it, it will help us face the trials the world throws at us, and will help us in our growth for God.
Second rule of the vine IF YOUR LIFE BEARS SOME FRUIT, GOD WILL INTERVENE AND PRUNE YOU!
Cut away commitments and priorities that get in the way, and make more room for God, this all leads to maturity, something a lot of us do not have!
My job is to point you to the bible; it is all there.
Pictures of plenty
Disciples knew what Jesus was saying, to get more you have to go against the branch’s natural tendencies, they grow so quick the choke out the sunlight. Result? From a distance the branch looks great, but in reality stunted in growth.
Sound familiar? Are you looked great but stunted in your Christian walk?
The gardener knows, that is why he cuts back so much
We grow in the natural ways of humanity, which doesn’t lead to much. Good things, which become God things which is a bad thing (Idolatry)
Without pruning, our natural tendency to worship is diverted away from God, and we worship elsewhere, kids, job, possession, church, even our own ministries!
Are your prayers all about keeping your comfort and convenience? Or are you asking for God to bless you abundantly by making you more like Jesus?
If it is the latter you are asking for the secateurs!
4 reasons for pruning
Remove dead or dying material, 2. Get the sunlight into the fruit bearing branches, 3. Increase the size and quality of the fruit, 4. encourage more fruit to grow
Has to prune away the wasteful, relationships, prune away the things in life that suck the sunlight, which is usually yourself! Golf, tv, football, phone! He prunes to help you work our what is important, what needs less time so bible gets more time. New fruit? What could you do that would drag you out of your comfort zone? Short term mission, fostering? Helping at the toddler group or Richmond’s hope with a smile on your face?
No matter our age, we can still bear fruit! No matter how busy we are we can still bear fruit, no matter how selfish we are we can still bear fruit, if we let him prune!
Disciplining is all about getting rid of sin
Pruning is all about letting the good that is growing get more space to grow!
Misunderstanding God’s methods.
We may think we have done wrong, but actually we are doing good and we are being treated so we grow more!
Discipline stops when you get out of sin
Pruning stops when God stops, in this you need to let Go and let God, let God do his work in you!
Father and child relationship, grieve, apologise?
Flourishing under the shears?
The more mature the branch, the more pruning it needs!
As you begin to grow, the pruning is about priorities and commitments, the more mature you are, the pruning is about identity and values
Too often we never get this far, the cost is too high, Jesus said many would turn away, but the ones who remained, they changed the world.
The testing of your faith
Every trial is a time to trust, pruning is not taking away, but making room, James 1 v 3-4, testing of faith results in a perfect work
Pruning is to make you like Jesus.
Not a salvation issue, but a growth issue, too many of us stunted, or apathetic, we need to surrender to God’s work and purpose
Refining of us, like gold or silver
Often a push past the last test
C.S. Lewis, God whispers through pleasure and shouts through pain
No season of pruning lasts forever
Consider trials of Paul, he stills bears fruit today!
Tell me where it hurts!
Mum, concentrate there! David, pride, nabal, Abigail, trust in God= greatest king of Israel, submit, lead, endure, trust.
Prime points of pruning
People you love the most 2. Your right to know why 3. Your love of money and possessions 4. The sources of your significance
Grace expectations
Paul veteran of pruning Phil 3 v 7-8, our prayer should be “ Lord let me make a difference for you that is utterly disproportionate to who I am”
Your response is everything
My goal is to show you what is already happening, your job is to co-operate with God, when he prunes you, let him work, don’t rebel, don’t let it go to waste. If you let God prune, you can experience joy, comfort and rest knowing he is in control and you will bear much more fruit.
Read ! peter 1 v 6-8, bearing much fruit leads to abiding in him, the best thing there can be!
Friday, April 08, 2011
The best good news (you didn’t want to hear!)
Stories from the vineyard pt 2 John 15 v 1-17 Introduction R u you on speaking terms with God? Caught in a net? Feel pain, feel like a failure, where is the significance, wondering why? R U one of these? Jesus is talking to you in the vineyard Today look at barren branches/empty baskets, and see how God responds to them, not a lovely cosy message, but one that turns the barren into the bountiful The barren branch John 15 v 2, every branch in me that doesn’t bear fruit he breaks off If you bear no fruit you are not a Christian? No evidence of your salvation you lose it? The key is the phrase “in me”, to be in Christ means to be a believer (I Cor 1 v 30, 2 Cor 5 v 17, Eph 2 v 10, Phil 3v9) Not a salvation issue, it is how we grow, how we get through the barren seasons, you know yourself when you are not bearing fruit. Puzzling bit is v 3, “already clean”, what does cleanliness have to do with fruit? 2 part answer! Clearer translation of the Greek word airo is not break off rather, take up or lift up, 5000 baskets, Simon bearing cross, Jesus taking away sins of the world. Airo never means break off, much better lift up, brings picture of a gardener lifting up the branch. 2nd part, have you ever spoken to a owner of a vineyard? New branches tend to trail down, left untouched, they get muddy and mouldy, branch becomes sick and useless, barren, what do you do? Break it off, chuck it? No! Branch is too valuable for that, gardener goes through with a bucket of water, lifts them up, washes them, ties them to the trellis, and pretty soon the branch is flourishing So can you see what Jesus is saying? He says the father will tend to us, and make us flourish, but he has to work on us! Lift up, clean, John 15 looks totally different, for Christians, sin is the dirt, air and light can’t get in, it is a barren branch that results How does the gardener tend to us? First rule of the vine- IF YOUR LIFE CONSISTENTLY BEARS NO FRUIT, GOD WILL INTERVENE AND DISCIPLINE YOU The Good Hurt discipline, it is when Father intervenes to save us from destruction -discipline feel good? Nope, not for the child or the dad, but discipline comes because of committed love. Heb 12 v 5-6, God the source of discipline, all believers, out of love God does all that is necessary as a gardener does to a wayward branch! Why would God do this? To get our attention, to change a life, Heb 12 v 11, not fun but will bring fruit Parents know how it works, Christopher road, God is a loving Father, he disciplines for our own good, God wants to nudge you, to be all he wants you to be, all that you cant do on your own! It is all up to you! Discipline only lasts as long as you stay in sin, the gardener wants a full harvest, he will do what is needed, until fruit is growing! Naughty step, mother sorted you out she never stopped loving you, Satan would love you to think God hated you, if you don’t get discipline then you should worry! Hard realities Are you a sick branch? Don’t be shocked when God intervenes, you may think the trials you are in is because God is punishing you, God doesn’t work that way, he may be tending to you, so that you will change your life. An empty basket = misery, let God Love by degrees Power of an eyebrow, Sometimes God just this, if you ignore the eyebrow what happens? Can you look back and see where God has led you? If so you are growing, if not you may have an empty basket and God is disciplining you! (same root for disciple) Three degrees of intervention Heb 12 v 5&6, rebuke, correction, punish (scourge) C.S Lewis, God whispers through pleasure, but shouts through pain, 1 cor 11 v 30, sick, weak, dead, not OT thing, but NT too! Some cautions- God doesn’t hurt innocent because sin of an other, God disciplines out of love, and he always offers a chance to respond What stops good people from cleaning up their act? Convenience, various excuses, God is love, I am just weak, I enjoy it this way, cant help myself, can’t all be Billy Graham or Mother Teresa, it is how I am made What you are saying is that sin has no consequences, I like it too much to quit, what is your sin? (Opposite of the fruits of the spirit). You stay in sin, the greater the discipline! The Joyful turning REPENTANCE, one day I hope you look back and see the dirt that has fallen from your life, only when we respond to the Father’s discipline will we escape the cycle of sin, not only that we will grow in Maturity Repentance is not a one time act, it is a lifestyle, a commitment, a daily invitation to God to let him train and grow us so we bear fruit, to experience his pleasure, we move from no fruit to fruit, next week we see how we move from fruit to more fruit! May you….
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