Participants: John Lomacang (Host), Abraham Jules PhD
Series Code: FDOF
Program Code: FDOF000016A
|
00:18 Hello, friends.
00:19 Welcome to the 3ABN Worship Center once again 00:21 for the final message in a series of messages 00:24 brought to us by Pastor Dr. Abraham Jules. 00:30 He has been blessing us for the last three meetings 00:34 and this being his final message 00:35 we are looking forward to the blessing of the Lord 00:37 to continue once again. 00:39 Welcome to Foundation of our Faith, 00:41 one of 3ABN flagship programs for the Dare to Dream network 00:45 under the direction of Dr Yvonne Lewis. 00:48 We appreciate all the work that she does for this network 00:51 and bringing to you messages that are from the word of God 00:55 through the servants of the Lord. 00:57 But if you are tuning in for the first time 00:59 to our Foundation of our Faith, 01:01 the speaker for this meeting 01:03 is going to be Dr. Abraham Julius Jules, 01:06 who is a native of the Caribbean Island of Trinidad. 01:09 If you are from Trinidad, 01:10 you have a reason to thank the Lord today 01:12 for he brought Pastor Jules a long way 01:15 from the streets of Trinidad to the halls of learning 01:19 into the place where now he can stand 01:22 and speak in behalf through the power of the Lord. 01:26 He's a fourth generation Seventh-Day Adventist, 01:29 one who knows the message. 01:30 But now he's not just one who intellectually knows it, 01:32 but he lives the message in his life. 01:35 He has a Masters degree, 01:37 Bachelor's degree and also a D.Min. 01:39 that he received 01:40 from the United Theological Seminary in 1995. 01:44 Now pastor Jules has been married now, 01:46 only for 12 years to Dr. Dominique Jules. 01:51 She is a doctor of dentistry 01:52 and they have two lovely children 01:55 and it's always a blessing to see 01:57 that behind the man stands a woman who's Godly, 02:00 and a family who also stands 02:02 on the same foundation to serve the Lord. 02:05 He's been in ministry for 32 years 02:07 and presently in the North Eastern Conference, 02:09 he's the pastor 02:10 of the Community Worship Center in Queens, 02:14 I know that his congregation is praying for their pastor 02:16 as he rightly divides the word of truth. 02:18 And he's been all over the world, 02:21 including Anchorage, Alaska. 02:23 How does Caribbean get to Anchorage, Alaska? 02:25 I think you fly and I thank the Lord, 02:27 he went there during the summer. 02:29 Thousands of souls have come to the Lord 02:31 through his preaching and his diligent Evangelistic work, 02:34 and we are blessed to have him here today. 02:37 If you were at the General Conference Session in 2010, 02:39 he was one of the featured speakers. 02:41 And as we're coming upon 02:43 the next series of General Conference, 02:44 we look forward to the Lord blessing once again. 02:47 But this international singer, speaker, pastor, 02:50 one that rightly divides the word of Truth, 02:53 is going to be presenting a message today entitled 02:55 Logging into God's power. 02:58 How do you log into the power of God? 03:01 Stay tuned as he brings that message to you today. 03:06 We will also have some wonderful music, 03:08 the song People Need The Lord. 03:10 In fact, it's not just a song title, 03:12 it's the truth of the day and the age in which we live, 03:15 and Mark Udo Williams 03:16 will bring that song in just a moment. 03:18 But before we go any further, 03:20 let's invite the Lord's presence to continue with us. 03:22 Let's pray together. 03:24 Gracious Father in Heaven, we thank You. 03:26 This opportunity is one that is not something 03:28 that can be fulfilled by a human vessel. 03:31 And so Lord, we invite Your Holy Spirit to come. 03:34 Come into the strength and power 03:37 that in days of old you imbued Elijah 03:40 and the prophets of old with the same Holy Spirit. 03:44 Come, Holy Spirit today 03:45 and flow through Pastor Abraham Jules 03:48 and take his words from the page 03:50 and cause it to be the living word. 03:54 And as we seek Lord to lock into, 03:56 to log into your power, 03:59 may it be that our desire is to be used of You 04:01 and not to use You. 04:03 And so speak to Your people that are here, 04:04 presently and may this message resonate around the world. 04:08 We ask in Christ's name and for his glory. 04:11 Amen. 04:13 And Mark is going to bless us. 04:14 After Mark Udo William blesses us 04:16 the next voice that you will hear 04:18 will be that of Dr. Abraham Jules. 04:42 Everyday they pass me by 04:49 I can see it in their eyes 04:55 Empty people filled with cares 05:01 Headed who knows where? 05:08 On they go through private pain 05:15 Living fear to fear 05:21 Laughter hides their silent cries 05:27 Only Jesus hears 05:35 People need the Lord 05:42 People need the Lord 05:48 At the end of broken dreams 05:54 He's the open door 06:02 People need the Lord 06:08 People need the Lord 06:15 When will we realize 06:21 People need the Lord 06:38 We are called to take His light 06:45 To a world where wrong seems right 06:51 What could be so great a cost for sharing life 06:59 With one who's lost 07:04 With His love our hearts can feel 07:10 All the grief they bear 07:17 We must take these Words of Life 07:23 Only we can share 07:31 People need the Lord 07:37 People need the Lord 07:43 At the end of broken dreams 07:50 He's the open door 07:57 People need the Lord 08:03 People need the Lord 08:10 When will we realize 08:16 That we must give our lives 08:22 For people 08:25 Need the Lord 08:37 For people 08:41 Need the Lord 09:17 The song never ceases to bless my heart. 09:22 People need the Lord 09:24 and what a great God we serve. 09:27 Wonderful Savior, marvelous God. 09:30 I wish to thank Mark again for being used by God. 09:35 What a marvelous gift He has given to him. 09:37 And as Mark continues to use this gift, 09:39 we pray that many would come to know 09:41 our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ 09:43 as theirs personal savior from Sin. 09:47 John, again, thank you for your 09:49 very kind words of introduction. 09:51 And to Yvonne Lewis, 09:53 we... I would be remissive if I did not express my thanks 09:57 and appreciation to her for the invitation 09:59 to be here with you for Foundations of our Faith 10:02 and I have been richly blessed being here. 10:05 My soul has been rewarded 10:07 and I praise God for the fellowship 10:09 and certainly for the worship experiences each day. 10:15 There's a word of us today. 10:17 It comes to us out of the Book of John, the 15th Chapter 10:22 and I'll read and you're hearing verses 1-8. 10:29 John 15, Verses 1-8. 10:39 It reads, "I am the true vine, 10:42 and my Father is the husbandman. 10:45 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit 10:48 He taketh away. 10:50 and every branch that beareth fruit, 10:53 He purgeth it, 10:55 that it may bring forth more fruit. 10:58 Now ye are clean through the word 11:00 which I have spoken unto you. 11:03 Abide in me, and I in you. 11:07 As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, 11:11 except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, 11:15 except ye abide in me. 11:18 I am the vine, ye are the branches. 11:23 He that abideth in me, and I in him, 11:27 the same bringeth forth much fruit. 11:30 For without me ye can do nothing. 11:34 If a man abide not in me, 11:38 he is cast forth as a branch, 11:40 and is withered, and men gather them, 11:43 and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 11:48 If ye abide in me, 11:50 and my words abide in you, 11:54 ye shall ask what ye will, 11:56 and it shall be done unto you. 11:59 Herein is my Father glorified, 12:02 that ye bear much fruit, 12:05 so shall ye be my disciples." 12:10 Want to bring to you a message, 12:11 Faithbook or Facebook, 12:14 Logging into God's Power. 12:17 Let us pray. 12:19 Gracious God and our Father, we indeed 12:22 thank You for this blessed day You have given to us. 12:26 We thank You for Your holy word, 12:27 we thank You for the truths that are there in. 12:31 We thank You for having been with us 12:33 and blessed us through our lives. 12:35 But in this moment, 12:37 we pray again for Your presence and Your power, 12:41 as we open this word, we ask that You may teach us 12:45 and lead us in the paths of righteousness. 12:48 We pray God that You may remind us 12:50 that we are nothing without You. 12:54 We pray, oh, God, 12:55 for Your blessings to rest upon this preached word 12:58 as it goes forth, may hearts be changed and challenged 13:02 and may lives be rescued from the pit of sin. 13:06 We pray this prayer in the name of Jesus, 13:07 our Lord and our savior, amen, amen. 13:13 Facebook, the... 13:16 ubiquitous Facebook.com is an internet phenomenon 13:22 and it has over 1.35 billion users per month. 13:27 It is by far the most popular 13:30 social networking site in the world. 13:34 And the reason why it is so popular 13:38 is because it fulfills an essential human need, 13:43 the need for connectedness. 13:46 We were created, 13:48 my brothers and sisters, with an innate desire 13:51 to be connected to each other. 13:54 And we are connected through relationships, 13:56 the quality of which impacts, 13:59 really, the quality of our lives. 14:02 When God said to Adam, 14:04 "It is not good for Man to be alone," 14:07 not only did He affirm Adam's need for companionship, 14:12 but He also described our social or horizontal dimension, 14:17 the dimension exploited by Mr. Zuckerberg 14:20 to the tune of an estimated 100 billion dollars. 14:26 So Facebook helps the world 14:28 to connect in the horizontal dimension. 14:34 Now Faithbook on the other hand, 14:36 helps the Christian to commit and connect 14:41 at the vertical dimension to Jesus Christ. 14:44 As important and as critical 14:47 as the horizontal dimension 14:49 is to our relationships with each other, 14:52 apart from the vertical dimension 14:54 offered only through accepting 14:57 Jesus' friend request on Faithbook, 15:00 we will ultimately be bereft 15:03 of that which forms the essence, 15:05 the substance and the meaning 15:08 of all worthwhile relationships. 15:11 St. Augustine, the great Ante Nicene African Bishop of Hippo, 15:16 said these often quoted and immortal words, 15:19 "Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord, 15:22 and our heart is restless until it finds rest in Thee." 15:29 And what he is telling us is that in every heart, 15:32 there is a God shaped hole that only God can fill. 15:38 Apart from that vertical dimension, 15:42 that commitment and connectedness to God, 15:46 we become the restless victims of dissatisfaction 15:52 because we were created by Him and for Him. 15:56 Ellen White said that the desire 15:59 has been placed in the heart by God, 16:01 so that it might lead to God. 16:06 There is at least, ladies and gentlemen, 16:08 five levels of life that helped to illustrate this point. 16:13 The lowest level is minerals in the ground, 16:16 and one level above minerals is plants, 16:21 and one level above the plants we find animals. 16:24 And one level above the animals are the humans. 16:29 And the highest of all levels is God. 16:33 These are the five levels of life. 16:36 Now let us imagine if the minerals were animated 16:38 and they were talking to each other 16:40 and they were saying, 16:41 "There is no level higher than us. 16:45 Aren't you glad you are minerals? 16:47 You can't get any higher than being a mineral." 16:50 But then all of a sudden, 16:52 somebody plants some flowers in the minerals 16:55 and those roots are lodged in the minerals in the ground. 16:58 And the minerals begin to talk to each other and they say, 17:01 "What's going on here?" 17:03 And the plants reply, 17:05 "I know you have never seen us before, 17:08 but we are plants and we are higher than you. 17:11 And you thought you were high, 17:13 but you minerals can go up a little bit higher 17:16 if you do just one thing and that is surrender. 17:20 And if you surrender, 17:22 we will take you up in our roots 17:23 and you will become a part of something higher." 17:27 And only when the minerals say, "Yes," 17:29 do they get absorbed into the plant 17:32 and they get transported above. 17:35 And then the plants begin going around bragging, 17:37 "We are beautiful. 17:39 Look at us. 17:41 And there is nothing higher than us." 17:44 But then all of a sudden, 17:46 here's comes the cow and the cow says, 17:48 "I know you plants think that 17:50 there's nothing higher than you, 17:52 but there is a level higher than you, 17:55 if you will just surrender to me, the cow. 17:58 If you allow me to absorb you and you get caught up in me, 18:02 and let me take you plants to another level." 18:04 If the plants surrender, 18:07 then the plants get transformed and become a part of the cow 18:12 and the cow goes around thinking, 18:14 "Nothing is higher than me. 18:16 Nothing is greater than me." 18:18 And then a human being comes along and says, 18:21 "You know something, cow? 18:23 There is something higher than you. 18:25 If you would just submit to McDonald's and to Burger King. 18:31 You can just get absorbed into me 18:33 and become a part of something higher 18:36 than what you are right now." 18:39 And then we human beings walk around like we all that, 18:42 thinking to ourselves, 18:44 "There couldn't be anything higher than us. 18:48 Look at the creativity of our hands 18:49 and look at what we have manufactured and fractured 18:53 and brought to pass in the world. 18:55 Nothing is higher than us." 18:58 And while, ladies and gentlemen, 19:00 we will acknowledge that 19:02 there are three kingdoms lower than us, 19:05 we will not acknowledge 19:06 there is a kingdom higher than us. 19:10 And then God shows up and God says, "Guess what? 19:14 Just as the minerals surrendered to the plants, 19:18 and the plants surrendered to the animals, 19:21 and the animals surrendered to the humans. 19:24 If you humans will surrender to Me, 19:26 I will take your life to another level." 19:30 And what we ought not to miss is 19:33 that those who go to another level 19:35 are simply people 19:37 who have learned how to surrender. 19:41 In fact, there's always a conflict between surrenders. 19:47 Since you as a human 19:48 are between God and the animals. 19:51 There's often a temptation 19:53 drawing you to what the law of nature 19:56 but there's always a higher part of you 19:58 that is calling you to divine purposes. 20:02 Now the belief that there's no level 20:04 higher than the human level is what's called humanism. 20:08 The philosophy that 20:10 knowledge and reason are socially constructed, 20:14 and that there is nothing higher than humans. 20:17 In short, there is no God. 20:20 But through embracing humanism, 20:22 we closed a door of access to the next level 20:26 because the only way to the next level 20:28 is through surrender. 20:30 And if there is no God, then why do we surrender? 20:35 Let me be clear. 20:36 There is a God and we surrender to God 20:39 so that God might surrender to us. 20:43 Listen carefully to this principle, 20:45 whatever is surrendered to your life, 20:48 is what your life is surrendered to. 20:51 Surrender is the basic fabric of life. 20:54 You surrender your body to the pew 20:56 and that pew surrenders comfort and rest. 21:00 If I were to surrender my body to the treadmill, 21:03 that treadmill will surrender lower blood pressure, 21:07 lower cholesterol and a better heart rate to me. 21:11 If you surrender your mind to a book, 21:15 the book will surrender knowledge to you. 21:18 The principle of surrender can result 21:19 in either positive or negative consequences. 21:23 For example, 21:25 people who smoke surrender to cigarettes, 21:27 and the cigarette smoking 21:29 surrenders addiction or infancema to them. 21:33 You will always get an exchange, 21:35 you will reap what you have sown. 21:38 The reward is always inherent in the act. 21:41 So if you surrender to negativity, 21:44 and if you surrender' to feeling sorry for yourself, 21:47 which is always a temptation 21:49 when you're going through something, 21:50 you will no doubt reap the consequences of being paralyzed 21:54 by those unhealthy emotional states. 21:58 Now the apostle John articulates in these words 22:02 we read for our scripture lesson, 22:04 four dimensions of surrender in his gospel. 22:07 The first is the surrender principle. 22:12 Second, we'll talk about the surrender problem. 22:15 Thirdly, we'll talk about the surrender process. 22:18 And fourth, we'll talk about the surrender product. 22:22 First, the surrender principle. 22:24 Jesus uses the metaphor of the vine and the branches. 22:29 It is inconceivable, 22:32 it is not inconceivable, rather, 22:34 that as Jesus speaks with His disciples, 22:37 He is actually in a vineyard. 22:40 As His eyes take in the view of the orchard, 22:42 the metaphor comes to life 22:44 and then Jesus identifies Himself as the true vine. 22:49 He notices the vine and its intersecting branches 22:53 and it draws from His creation, 22:55 a lesson designed to enlighten His disciples 22:58 about the nature of the relationship that He desires 23:02 for them to have. 23:04 And so he says to them, "I am the true vine." 23:08 Jesus does not initially He say that he is the vine, 23:13 but rather He says, "I am the true vine." 23:17 It appears that Jesus wants to draw the attention to the fact, 23:22 that there is much in nature that serves as object lessons 23:26 of greater realities. 23:28 It suggests that inherent in material realities 23:33 there are often deeply embedded truths. 23:36 In verse 5, after they've gotten the point, 23:39 Jesus then says, "I am the vine." 23:42 But in verse 1, He says, "I am the true vine." 23:46 Now the implicit message is that 23:49 something can be real but not true. 23:52 And in uncritically connecting ourselves to false, 23:56 impersonating vines, 23:58 we will inevitably produce contaminated 24:00 or poisonous fruit. 24:02 Jesus equates His Father with the husbandman, 24:07 the gardener. 24:08 So we've got a vineyard, 24:10 we've got a vine and we've got a gardener. 24:14 Having established this graphic, 24:16 Jesus now beings' to focus on the braches, 24:19 and He says, everyone who abides in Him, 24:23 Jesus identifies as a branch. 24:27 Jesus is the vine, 24:29 we are the branches 24:31 and the grapes are the product of a branch 24:33 abiding in the vine. 24:36 Notice however, 24:38 that Jesus talks about two kinds of branches, 24:41 and in verse 2-6, He says, 24:43 "Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit 24:48 is cast forth as a branch." 24:51 Ironically, ladies and gentlemen, 24:53 there are some in the Christian world 24:56 who are well meaning 24:57 but who teach the doctrine of eternal security. 25:00 Once saved, always saved. 25:03 But Jesus' words describe 25:06 that a branch that was once abiding, 25:09 is now being cutoff and cast in the fire 25:14 which is a reference to Hell. 25:17 Now someone may protest, 25:19 the Bible teaches that once you're saved, 25:21 you cannot be cut off. 25:22 You can't go to Hell. 25:24 Well, here it is. 25:26 Jesus says, He will cut off the unfruitful branch. 25:31 You've got to understand something about 25:34 this unfruitful branch. 25:36 This unfruitful branch is masquerading 25:40 as though it is connected to Christ. 25:43 Something can be real but not true. 25:47 We are in the 15th chapter, 25:50 and in the larger context of the 14th chapter, 25:53 the Lord's Supper is recorded. 25:56 And in the 13th chapter, 25:58 Jesus references a branch that has the appearance, 26:02 are being connected 26:04 but one that is connected only in appearance. 26:08 And despite the fact that Jesus is in the company 26:13 of these branches and into fraternity 26:16 of the disciples, and in spite of the fact 26:20 that all of Christ's disciples are there, 26:22 there is one who has not learned to be disciplined 26:26 and disciplined and his name is Judas. 26:30 And Jesus eventually allows Judas' actions 26:35 to expose to who he really was. 26:38 And in spite of the fact that he is connected to Jesus 26:42 through just association, 26:44 he's not connected to Christ through a relationship. 26:48 You are aware that it is possible 26:50 to be around other branches 26:52 and around Jesus, the vine, 26:54 and then not be connected to Jesus. 26:57 Nobody knew that Judas was a traitor 27:00 because Judas sufficiently appeared 27:02 to be like the other disciples. 27:04 He had the right words, he had the right disposition. 27:06 He embodied the right persona, he had the right lingo. 27:10 He had mastered all of the external variables 27:12 and attributes that convinced others 27:15 that he was abiding in the vine. 27:17 Judas looked and talked like every other disciple. 27:21 He was not only convincing, 27:23 but he was downright impressive, 27:26 but he did not abide in the vine. 27:30 So there are two kinds of branches, 27:33 the unfaithful branch. 27:36 The branch that is just hanging around, 27:39 the branch that appears to be fruitful, 27:41 the one which Jesus declares, "Just cut it off." 27:47 And there's the fruitful branch, 27:49 the one to which Jesus refers when He says, 27:52 "And every branch that beareth fruit." 27:56 This is the branch that is connected to the true vine. 28:00 The branch that is not only connected in reality, 28:04 but also connected in truth. 28:07 Notice now what the husbandman does. 28:11 The Bible says, "He purges the fruitful branch 28:15 in order for it to produce more fruit." 28:19 So He cuts off the unfruitful branch, 28:22 but He cuts back the fruitful branch. 28:26 If we are committed to Christ, 28:28 He will inevitably cut back 28:30 and prude away some things from our lives, 28:34 it's called purging. 28:36 And sometimes, 28:38 He purges stuff out of our lives 28:40 that makes absolutely no sense to us. 28:44 And we go around wondering, 28:46 "God, why did You cut that out of my life? 28:49 I really needed it." 28:52 But notice in verse 2 why He purges it. 28:57 He says, "So that it may bringforth more fruit." 29:02 God often gets rids of a good thing in our lives 29:07 in order to bless us with a better thing. 29:10 The God now cuts back the good, 29:13 so that he can bless you with that which is better. 29:17 Now that is what I referred to as the surrender principle. 29:22 That's why we should never doubt God's leading. 29:25 If you are God's child, 29:27 if you have surrendered your life to Him, 29:30 some things that God will do on our behalf 29:33 will be very strange and we'll never be able to understand it. 29:36 It might just be that God is purging us 29:40 and He is not punishing us. 29:43 The surrender principle. 29:45 Then secondly, there is the surrender problem. 29:49 In Romans 7:18-20, Paul writes, "For I know that in me, 29:55 that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing, 29:59 for to will is present with me, 30:03 but how to perform that which is good, I find not. 30:07 For the good that I would I do not, 30:11 but the evil which I would not, that I do. 30:16 Now if I do that which I would not, 30:18 it is no more I that do it, 30:20 but sin that dwelleth in me." 30:23 The surrender problem then is the problem of the flesh. 30:28 It is the problem of living in this world 30:31 under the curse of sin. 30:34 In John 15, Verses 4 and 5, 30:36 Jesus acknowledges our universal challenge 30:40 when He says, "Abide in me, and I in you. 30:46 Without me, you can do nothing." 30:49 That is to say, 30:51 apart from abiding in Him through surrendering to Him, 30:56 we will constantly be afflicted by the surrender problem, 31:01 susceptible to the flesh 31:03 and the resistance of the spirit. 31:05 Now if you are operating in the flesh, 31:08 it goes without saying 31:09 that you have not yet submitted to God. 31:12 And if you are not submitted, you are not connected. 31:16 And if you are not connected, 31:17 you are operating in opposition to the Spirit of God. 31:21 You may have ushered in the flesh, 31:24 you may have sang in the choir in the flesh, 31:28 you may have preached in the flesh, 31:31 you may have worked in the treasury in the flesh, 31:34 you may have even served as an elder 31:36 of the church in the flesh, 31:38 but the anointing of God does not come 31:42 because you do those things. 31:44 It comes when you are submitted to Christ 31:48 and when you are connected to God. 31:50 The works of the flesh, 31:51 those works done without surrender 31:54 and without a connection, 31:56 produce sour fruit or no fruit 31:59 but when I am surrendered, and when I abide in Christ, 32:03 He gives me the anointing and the power 32:05 to do His Will and bringforth much fruit. 32:11 It is amazing 32:13 that there are two ways that you can bear fruit 32:15 and be productive. 32:17 You can do it either through self 32:19 or you can do it through sap. 32:21 Sap is that which runs from the vine to the branch. 32:25 Sap is the fluid, 32:27 chiefly water with dissolved sugars 32:29 and mineral salts that circulates 32:31 in the vascular system of a plant, 32:33 giving it nourishment, energy and a color. 32:37 Whatever is in the vine gets spread to the branches 32:40 and the other extremities. 32:43 And if Jesus is the true vine 32:46 and I am connected to him, 32:48 Jesus is reminding us that everything we have, 32:53 we got it through sap. 32:55 If you are trying to do it in through self, 32:57 it will always lead to two things, 32:59 frustration and failure. 33:03 But if you do it through sap, 33:05 you will find satisfaction in service. 33:08 Have you ever met people 33:09 who are really unhappy at church? 33:14 Serving as an usher and mad to pass out the bulletins? 33:18 Working with the children's department 33:20 and don't like children? 33:25 They are doing it through self 33:27 because when you are doing through sap, 33:28 when Christ abides in you, 33:31 you are not working for people around you, 33:33 you are working for God Almighty 33:36 and there is a satisfaction that comes 33:38 from knowing God for yourself. 33:40 And working for Him is a joy. 33:44 It's not about success, it's about sacrificial service. 33:48 It's not about what you can get from what you do, 33:51 it's about knowing that you are serving God faithfully 33:55 and you are doing it through sap, 33:56 because you are connected through the vine. 34:00 Now some of us are trying to do some stuff, 34:02 but we are laboring in the flesh, 34:05 and so we are frustrated and we are failing. 34:08 Notice if you will, 34:10 that when you become a Christian, 34:11 you go through at least four stages. 34:14 The first stage is, "Oh, this is so easy. 34:19 Just get baptized, and all will be well." 34:23 Then there's a second stage. 34:25 "Oh, this is harder than I thought. 34:28 Hard to stop drinking, hard to stop lying, 34:31 hard to stop shacking up, hard to love my enemies, 34:35 hard to study, hard to pray, 34:37 hard to witness, it's hard. 34:40 Then in the third stage we begin to think, 34:43 "This is impossible. 34:45 I could never be what God wants me to be. 34:48 Not only can I not do it, 34:50 but it can't be done by anyone." 34:53 And then there is a fourth stage 34:55 in which we honestly say, 34:57 "This is exciting 35:00 because we are doing things and being productive, 35:05 and bearing fruit and accomplishing some things 35:09 just a year ago we could not do. 35:11 And how did we do it? 35:13 By abiding in Christ. 35:16 Christ makes it possible. 35:19 I cannot live righteously on my own. 35:21 I cannot become all that God wants me to be on my own. 35:24 I cannot witness effectively on my own. 35:27 I cannot resist temptation on my own. 35:30 But with God, all things are possible." 35:36 All of a sudden, 35:38 the victory seems remarkably possible 35:42 because our failures have finally taught us 35:46 and it has taught us something about surrender. 35:50 How did we move from the unlikely to the possible? 35:54 How did we move from the improbable to the actual? 35:58 How did we move from defeat to victory? 36:01 It was simply that the sap 36:03 that was in the vine got into you 36:06 and things you didn't think 36:07 you would ever accomplish in the past, 36:10 now you are fulfilling because you are connected. 36:13 Connected to the source, connected to the root, 36:17 connected to divine power. 36:20 A few things worse than seeing and meeting believers 36:23 who are all defeated, discouraged and disconnected. 36:28 But when you are connected to the true vine, 36:30 you will find yourself operating in an atmosphere 36:33 that far transcends the disconnected dysfunction 36:38 of the broken branch. 36:40 Remember, my brothers and sisters, 36:42 your boyfriend was not the true vine, 36:45 your girlfriend was not the true vine, 36:48 your boss was not the true vine, 36:50 your new car was not the true vine, 36:52 your degree on the wall was not the true vine. 36:56 As much promise as they all may have held, 37:00 Jesus alone is the true vine. 37:04 You cannot live a holy, joyful, 37:07 victorious life and a happy life 37:10 except you are connected to Christ 37:12 and you abide in Him. 37:15 It is then that the words of the apostle Paul, 37:18 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," 37:23 will become a living and a true reality 37:25 in your walk with the Lord. 37:29 So first, there's a surrender principle. 37:32 Secondly, there's the surrender problem 37:36 and thirdly, the surrender process. 37:39 Abiding in Christ involves an ongoing process. 37:44 We begin, first of all, by cultivating our roots. 37:49 Jeremiah 17, Verses 7 and 8 says, 37:51 "Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, 37:55 and whose hope the Lord is. 37:57 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, 38:02 that spreadeth out her roots by the river, 38:05 and shall not see when heat cometh, 38:09 but her leaf shall be green, 38:12 and shall not be in the year of drought, 38:16 neither shall cease from yielding fruit." 38:19 Look at the results 38:21 when one is connected to the source of life. 38:24 "For he shall be like a tree whose roots are planted." 38:29 And when the heat is on, and the pressure is on, 38:34 your leaves will not turn brown. 38:38 In other words, ladies and gentlemen, 38:40 when troubles come your way, 38:43 and when difficulties come your way, 38:46 and when you are living through turbulent times, 38:49 the Lord is saying to you, "Don't worry. 38:53 During those difficult moments, if you are connected to Me, 38:58 your leaves will not turn brown. 39:02 You will still flourish 39:05 when the sun is at its highest peak. 39:09 You will still have green leaves 39:13 when the troubles come your way." 39:15 Even when the heat and the pressure is on. 39:19 Though your leaves should have fallen off a long time ago, 39:22 they remain intact because of the sap. 39:28 The sap in the vine. 39:30 And Jeremiah says, 39:31 "You shall not be careful in the day of drought." 39:36 So even in the midst of recession, 39:38 when everyone is downsizing, 39:39 your bread and your water will still be sure. 39:44 And when I am broke, 39:45 I am still going to make it 39:47 because the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. 39:51 And our God shall supply all of our needs 39:55 according to His riches and glory. 39:58 God says, even in the day of drought, 40:02 He'll take care of you. 40:04 But only should we cultivate our roots, 40:08 but we should learn to eliminate the weeds. 40:12 We can never get all that God has for us 40:15 if we've got a lot of weeds in our lives. 40:18 Do you know what weeds are? 40:20 Weeds are anybody 40:23 who might be trying to just steal your water. 40:27 You see when it rains, 40:28 if you've got weeds in the garden, 40:30 they will compete with the flowers with the rain. 40:33 The noxious weeds steal the rain 40:35 from the aromatic flowers. 40:37 But when you get rid of the weeds, 40:39 the flowers get all of the water. 40:42 Now the reason why many of us are not producing any fruit 40:46 is because our lives are overspread by weeds. 40:50 Weeds represent a variety of activities that steal 40:54 spiritual nourishment from our lives. 40:57 Weeds can also be people, 40:59 people who do nothing more than 41:01 block the blessings of God from our lives. 41:04 So some of us need 41:05 for the weeds in our lives to be uprooted. 41:08 In other words, we need to de-weed those weeds. 41:12 You know, there are some people if you got rid of them, 41:15 got them out of your lives, kick them out of your lives, 41:17 your lives will be better off. 41:19 Some people are blocking the blessings of God in our lives 41:22 and we believe we need to hold on to them. 41:25 The process of abiding in Christ, 41:27 not only involves cultivating our roots 41:30 and eliminating the weeds, 41:32 but also, thirdly, cooperating with God's pruning. 41:36 God prunes us, 41:38 the God now cuts back the superfluous 41:42 and the unnecessary. 41:43 And when He's cutting back the excess, 41:45 we still need to praise God. 41:48 There is a tendency to mistake pruning for punishing. 41:52 But notice if you will, that there's a difference 41:54 between the pruning and the punishing. 41:56 Please don't think that because God has cut the... 42:00 superfluous and the excess out of our lives, 42:03 that we are being punished or no, 42:06 we are just being pruned. 42:09 And the more we resist the pruning, 42:11 the more it feels like punishment, 42:15 and that's why we must surrender. 42:19 God is so good that sometimes 42:20 He'll get rid of some good stuff 42:23 because He's got some better stuff for us. 42:25 And do you know whom God normally uses to prune us? 42:29 He uses enemies, haters, liars and backbiters. 42:33 God will let them come in 42:35 and cut some things out of our lives 42:37 and we think to ourselves, 42:38 "God, why are You allowing them to get the upper hand on me?" 42:43 But do you know what the Bible says 42:45 about your enemies? 42:46 The Bible says, God will take care of your enemies. 42:48 He'll make your enemies your footstool, 42:50 Same- as the body. 42:52 I don't care what you are going through, 42:54 the pruning that is most effective with your cooperation 42:58 through surrender will only take you higher in Christ. 43:02 And so the process of abiding in Christ involves 43:05 the surrender principle. 43:07 Secondly, the surrender problem. 43:09 Thirdly, the surrender process. 43:11 And finally, the surrender product. 43:14 Verse 8 says, "If you abide in Me." 43:19 If you cultivate your roots, if you eliminate the weeds, 43:22 and if you cooperate with God's pruning, 43:24 then God will make you fruitful 43:26 and God will make you productive. 43:30 God wants you to not just have some fruit, 43:33 He wants you to have much fruit. 43:37 When God's get to prune you as long as you stay connected, 43:40 you will have so much fruit that it will blow your mind 43:44 and it will confuse your enemies. 43:47 And if you are bearing good fruit, 43:49 it shows that you are a disciple 43:51 and that you are saved. 43:54 Don't tell me you are saved and you are not bearing fruit. 43:57 One of the ways you can tell that you are Christian 43:59 is by bearing good fruit. 44:01 If I see apples hanging from a branch, 44:03 I have enough sense to know that the branch 44:07 is the branch of an apple tree because you can identify a tree 44:10 by the fruit it bears. 44:13 God wants your life to be productive 44:16 and Jesus is saying, 44:17 "That the way to productivity is by surrendering to Me." 44:22 He assures us that 44:24 "If you surrender to Me on a daily basis, 44:26 I am going to surrender to you everything you need 44:29 in order to do what I've called you to do." 44:32 Because whatever you need, God's got it. 44:35 And the Devil wants you to think 44:37 that God has forgotten you and that God has abandoned you, 44:40 and that it's all over for you. 44:42 No, no, no. 44:43 It's not over, 44:45 because Jesus says, 44:46 "If you connect with me in the morning, 44:49 and say, 'God, 44:51 I don't want to start this day without You', 44:54 and if You declare, 'God, 44:55 I want You to abide with me all day long, 44:58 I want You in my mind, I want You in my soul, 45:01 I want You to walk with me.' 45:02 "That is how you abide in Christ. 45:06 Then God will cause to be fruitful 45:09 and produce an abundance of good fruit in your life. 45:13 Now if you give your life to Christ on a daily basis 45:16 and say, "God, I surrender all." 45:19 God says, "In return for your surrender, 45:22 I will surrender sap to you." 45:26 Yes, sap. 45:27 I told you about sap. 45:29 Sap is that fluid transported in xylems cells of a tree. 45:34 Xylem sap consists primarily of water 45:37 along with hormones and minerals and nutrients 45:39 and is characterized 45:41 by movement from the roots toward the extremities. 45:44 God says, 45:45 "I'm going to go pour into the root of your life. 45:48 Everything you need in order for you to bring forth 45:51 what you must in My name." 45:54 I'm talking about the unexpected, 45:57 the unanticipated, 45:59 the impossible and the improbable. 46:01 Things that have not yet come to your mind 46:04 and one of the things we must do 46:06 when we are connected to Christ and we are abiding in Him, 46:09 we must anticipate that God will do 46:11 do some outrageous things in our lives, 46:14 things we have never dreamt possible, 46:17 things we have never believed before. 46:19 We must start anticipating 46:21 that God will do some miraculous things in our lives 46:24 because we are connected to Him. 46:28 The Bible says, "You have not, 46:31 because you've asked not." 46:33 If you ask God to do something powerful in your life 46:37 as you abide in Him, 46:39 I can guarantee you He will not fail. 46:41 Paul says, "Now unto him 46:44 that is able to do exceeding abundantly above 46:47 and beyond all that you are able to ask or think." 46:50 God wants do in your life and in my life 46:53 much more than we can even imagine. 46:58 You see, it is no secret what God can do. 47:01 While you are trying to figure it out, 47:03 God has already worked it out. 47:06 Somebody said that sap is the acronym 47:10 for significant appropriation of power. 47:13 Power over drugs, power over alcohol, 47:17 power over fornication, power over adultery, 47:21 power over lying, power over stealing, 47:26 power over pornography, power over cheating, 47:30 power over broken branches and broken power, 47:33 power over disconnectedness. 47:36 If you abide in Christ, 47:39 believe me, my brother, my sister, 47:40 God will give you sap. 47:43 A significant appropriation of power 47:47 and it's power that transforms, power that renews, 47:51 power that inspires, power that amends, 47:54 power that corrects, power that converts, 47:56 power that revives, 47:58 power that flows from the true vine 48:00 and produces good 48:02 and abundant fruit in our lives. 48:08 You know, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, 48:13 it's a masterpiece of modern engineering. 48:17 It is a 1.7 mile expansive steel, 48:21 wire and rivets 48:23 spanning the gap between the city of San Francisco 48:25 and neighboring Marin County across the bay. 48:29 Apart from the air transit and ferry transport, 48:34 there would be no way 48:36 for the hundreds of thousands of commuters 48:39 to go through and fro from San Francisco to Marin. 48:44 On May 27, 2012, the Golden Gate Bridge 48:47 celebrated its 75th anniversary. 48:50 Taking four years to complete, 48:52 construction began on January 5th, 1933. 48:56 The bridge opened to pedestrians on May 27, 1937, 49:01 and to cars the next day. 49:04 It took 83,000 tons of steel, 49:08 nearly 60,000 strands of wire, 49:11 which if stretched out would measure nearly 80,000 miles. 49:15 And more than 600,000 rivets 49:19 in each of the towers to build that bridge. 49:23 According to Daniel Mohn 49:24 the bridge's former chief engineer 49:27 who co-authored a book about the span, 49:30 one of the bridges original designers said 49:32 on opening day in 1937, 49:34 "I present to you a bridge that will last forever." 49:39 83,000 tons of steel and 80,000 miles of wire 49:45 masterfully engineered to span a gap of 1.7 miles 49:51 is an impressive feat, to say the least. 49:55 But more impressive still, my brothers and sisters, 49:58 is the infinite gap between a Holy God and sinful humanity, 50:04 understanding the dilemma, 50:06 the Heavenly Father of an Earthly Carpenter, 50:10 decided that He would connect the gap with only two boards 50:13 and the three nails. 50:16 So about 2,000 years ago, Jesus climbed Golgotha's hill, 50:22 spread Himself wide 50:24 and bridged the infinite gap between time and eternity, 50:29 so we can be connected to Him, 50:31 so that we can abide in Him and He in us. 50:36 The stars shunned in the sky 50:40 and then the place went black, 50:42 as God literally turned His back on His dying Son. 50:47 But out of that death came life. 50:50 And God has bridged the gap 50:52 between a sinful humanity and a Saving Savior, 50:57 a Loving God, a Mighty Savior. 51:01 He has bridged that gap, 51:03 He now wants to abide in us. 51:07 He says, "I am the vine. 51:09 You are the braches. 51:13 If you only abide in Me and I in you, 51:16 You are going to get some power, 51:18 you will get some sap. 51:20 You will be able to live above your circumstances, 51:22 you will be able to transcend your own weaknesses 51:25 and you will be able to abide in Me." 51:29 The day is coming, my brothers and sisters. 51:32 If we are faithful to God, 51:34 He's promised to come back to this earth, 51:37 take us to live with Him forever. 51:39 He says, "We could only do it. 51:41 We can only live the overcomer's life 51:44 if we abide in Him. 51:47 Every head is bowed, every eye is closed." 51:52 Loving Lord, we pray... 51:56 that You will give us not only overcoming power 51:59 but more importantly, becoming power. 52:02 We want to be like You. 52:06 We want to remain connected to You. 52:09 And everyday our lives are under attack. 52:13 Help us to keep focused, 52:15 help us to remain connected to the true vine 52:20 and give us, Lord, 52:22 the power we need' to live the overcomer's life. 52:26 There might be somebody who has heard this message, 52:28 I pray, Oh God, that You'll help them even now to surrender 52:33 We can only receive Your power 52:35 when we surrender to Your power. 52:39 Bless each life, bless each heart. 52:41 Prepare us to meet You in peace. 52:44 Keep us faithful until that day, 52:46 when we shall see Your lovely face 52:49 and live with You throughout eternity. 52:51 We pray this prayer in the name of the Father 52:53 and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. 52:57 Amen. 52:58 Please listen to the words of this song 53:02 to bring this message of the service to a close. 53:13 Our father, 53:22 Which art in heaven 53:30 Hallowed be 53:39 Thy name 53:48 Thy kingdom come, 53:54 Thy will be done 53:58 On Earth 54:02 As it is 54:06 In Heaven 54:27 Give us this day 54:32 Our daily bread 54:37 And forgive us our debts 54:42 As we forgive our debtors 54:52 And lead us not into temptation 54:57 But deliver us from evil 55:04 For thine is the kingdom 55:10 And the power 55:12 And the glory Forever 55:23 Amen 55:36 Amen 55:54 Were you blessed this afternoon? 55:57 What a powerful message, 56:00 plugging into, logging into God's power. 56:05 Now I am a preacher and I have been for 28 years, 56:08 but I was sitting back there taking notes. 56:11 If you remember the four things 56:12 that Pastor Jules shared with you, 56:14 surrender principle, surrender process, 56:17 surrender possibility and surrender product. 56:21 And there are those of you 56:23 that have tuned in for all four parts 56:25 of Foundation of our Faith 56:28 and we thank you for tuning in but remember, 56:30 our desire is not just to bring you good messages, 56:33 but to challenge you to log into God's power 56:37 to be all that the Lord wants you to be. 56:40 And I tell you, 56:42 you never know what you can be 56:44 until you log into the power of God. 56:47 You will be like a tree planted by the waters 56:52 that bringeth forth his fruit in his season, 56:55 his leaf also shall not wither 56:57 and whatsoever he do, it shall prosper. 57:00 I was blessed when Pastor Jules said 57:02 that God sometimes cuts off the unnecessary. 57:06 How did I see it? 57:08 God is cutting out the rest to give you His best. 57:13 And so at Foundation of Faith, of our faith here at 3ABN, 57:17 we pray that you will plug in to the power of God. 57:20 God may remove the rest 57:22 that God will give you His best. 57:24 Until we see you again, 57:26 may you experience the power of God in your life 57:29 that you may be all that God intends for you to be. 57:32 God bless you. |
Revised 2015-11-30