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Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP180915A
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00:09 >> Sing with us as we lift up our king and lift Him up higher 00:12 and higher. [ "Hosanna (Be Lifted Higher)" 00:17 begins ] 01:44 >> ♪ Be lifted ♪ 03:47 >> Amen. [ "Your Grace Still Amazes me" begins ] 05:12 >> Please stand. 09:03 >> This morning I want to share with you what may be... 09:09 an idea... a concept, a truth... 09:16 you've never heard before. Or it could be we simply haven't 09:21 learned about it before. I want to talk to Jesus and then 09:29 plunge into this with you. So, let's pray. 09:33 Oh, God, we're not in a hurry. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. That's how we live six out of 09:40 the seven days of every week. Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry. But here we are in Your house. 09:48 We've been much in worship already. You're on the throne, leaning 09:52 over and receiving it with such joy. It's our honor. 09:58 You're still here. Your Word's about to get opened. Dear God, make it clear, please. 10:03 This is new for us. Don't let us push it away. There must be something here for 10:09 everyone. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen. So, the title of tale number 3 10:15 in this little miniseries we're calling "Tales from a Vineyard" -- 10:18 the title of this one is "Making Love in a Vineyard -- An Old Song." 10:25 I have one finger. You can see only one finger on my hand right now. 10:30 That's how many times I have ever dared to quote from this book that we're going to take a 10:36 look at in worship in church. And the reason is because when you read this book... 10:45 it's embarrassing. And the speaker has to do a whole lot of editing. 10:50 "Blank, blank, blackout, blackout, blackout, blackout." They're words you're not 10:53 supposed to see. Now, it's true when I'm at a wedding, marital sex is a big 10:59 deal. It's pretty much what everybody thinks about when they go to a 11:02 wedding. And why shouldn't we? It's this wonderful gift of 11:07 marriage that God has given, and wrapped up in that gift is marital sex. 11:11 The big question is, what does marital sex have to do with a vineyard? 11:15 I want you to open this book and take a look for yourself. It's called Song of Solomon. 11:20 Your Bible may call it Song of Songs. Doesn't matter. 11:23 Open your Bible to Song of Solomon. You got to find the psalms, and 11:26 then it's Proverbs, then it's Ecclesiastes, then it's Song of Solomon. 11:30 If you didn't bring your own Bible, grab the pew Bible. It's page 455 in the pew Bible. 11:36 And I need to tell you that this particular edition of the NIV that I have -- every book has a 11:40 one-sentence summary at the top, so here's the one-sentence summary for Song of Songs. 11:45 "Song of Songs is a collection of love poems between a lover and his beloved. 11:50 It beautifully celebrates romantic and physical love." That would be sexual love. 11:57 And because it's a love song, the song has a "she" in it and it has a "he" in it and it has 12:02 friends in it, in my particular rendition, so everybody is becoming a part of the music. 12:08 And now your Bible may call "her" "Shulamite." And all "Shulamite" means is 12:12 "Mrs. Solomon." So, Solomon's the lover, the male lover. 12:16 Mrs. Solomon -- she's going to become Mrs. Solomon in this book -- she's the female lover, 12:21 and the friends are their friends, all right? So, she's speaking first. 12:25 This is verse 6. I'm not going to put this on the screen for you. 12:27 That way nobody can prove that we actually were here. All right. 12:32 Song of Solomon 1:6. "Do not stare at me." This is she. 12:36 She is speaking now. "Do not stare at me because I am dark, because I am darkened by 12:41 the sun. My mother's sons" -- those would be her brothers -- "were angry 12:45 with me, and they made me take care of the vineyards." Oh, we're looking for vineyards. 12:50 Here we go. "They made me take care of the vineyards; my own vineyard I had 12:54 to neglect." "That's why I'm all tanned and, you know, sunburned. 13:00 I've been doing their work. I forgot to take care of my own vineyard." 13:04 He comes along. In verse 9, he says, "Oh, I liken you, my darling, to a 13:09 mare." Well, back in those days, romance was expressed in 13:14 different ways. [ Laughter ] You know, "You remind me of a 13:17 mare." The old gray mare, she ain't what she used to be. 13:21 That's probably what he was thinking. Not really. 13:22 You got to read the next line. "I liken you to a mare." That's a female horse, by the 13:26 way. "I liken you to a mare among Pharaoh's chariot horses." 13:31 So, you got 100 steeds. Boy, they are ripping and ready to go, and there's one girl in 13:37 that whole crowd, and she's the beautiful one, and who's going to get her? 13:40 And he says, "You're my mare." And, by the way, she probably was a daughter of Pharaoh. 13:48 And then she speaks back. Oh, this is verse 13. "My beloved is to me a sachet of 13:52 myrrh resting between my breasts. My beloved is to me a cluster of 13:57 henna blossoms from the vineyards of En Gedi." So now we've got vineyards 14:02 again. This is a love song from a vineyard. 14:04 Now he speaks. "How beautiful you are, my darling!" 14:07 This is verse 15. "How beautiful you are, my darling! 14:09 Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes are doves." Whatever that is. 14:16 She responds now. This is so important, I want you to see it on the screen. 14:19 She responds in verse 16, "How handsome you are, my beloved! Oh, how charming! 14:26 And our bed is verdant." "Verdant" is just another word for "green." 14:31 Some of your translations have "green." "Our bed is green." 14:34 What's she talking about? She's talking about making love in a vineyard. 14:38 I'm serious -- green, rolling aisles of a vineyard. You say, "Dwight, you're just 14:43 making that up." No, I'm not. Go to the end of the love song, 14:45 all right? Chapter 7. This is near the ending 14:49 of the song. Chapter 7, verse 12. 14:51 She again is speaking. 15:05 That's exactly what she's saying. 15:07 "Our bed is green." 15:11 Go to chapter 8. One more time, she sings -- this is verse 11 -- she. 15:16 "Solomon had a vineyard in Baal Hamon; he let out his vineyard," he leased out his 15:22 vineyard, "to tenants." Each was to bring for its fruit a thousand shekels of silver." 15:26 Listen, nobody grows a vineyard without -- without praying for fruit. 15:31 That's the whole point of a vineyard. Nobody has a vineyard just for a 15:34 beautiful piece of growth. You want fruit. Solomon says, "I'll sell you 15:38 this fruit for 1,000 pieces of silver." Now she comes on. 15:42 "But my own vineyard is mine to give." 15:46 Very interesting, ladies. Keep that in mind, by the way. 15:50 Your own vineyard is yours to give and not his to take. 15:54 It's your vineyard. "My own vineyard is mine to 15:59 give." 16:01 A love song from a vineyard. What's the big deal? The big deal is vineyards have 16:08 to produce fruit. If they don't produce fruit, what's the point of a vineyard? 16:13 And, in fact, some people read this and they say, "Well, is this really just Solomon and his 16:16 wife?" No, it really is about romantic, sexual love, and the whole book 16:19 is devoted to that, and my friend Dick Davidson has written a book this thick on 16:23 Song of Solomon called "The Flame of Yahweh." It is a big deal, and God says, 16:28 "Marital sex is a part of my beautiful gift of marriage." Come on. 16:33 But it's not surprising, maybe, to discover that if you turn five pages over so you're into 16:39 the Book of Isaiah now -- maybe only three pages -- Isaiah chapter 5 -- 16:42 the vineyard is also a symbol of God and His people. Watch this. 16:47 Isaiah 5:1. "I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard." 16:54 So here's -- The love song's going on. But the vineyard now is the 16:57 focus of the love song, not the he and the she so much as the vineyard. 17:00 "I will sing a love song about his vineyard." "My loved one had a vineyard on 17:05 a fertile hillside." "And he built a wall around it. He dug a winepress in it. 17:10 He put a tower in front of it." But here comes God -- verse 4. 17:22 "This is bad news. I planted this vineyard to grow fruit, and I'm getting nothing 17:26 but thistles and poison. What's the big deal, God? Relax." 17:31 No, it's a big deal. If you plant a vineyard, you want fruit, right? 17:37 Yeah. Drop down to verse 7. "The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the nation of 17:41 Israel." Ah, this is about God and His chosen people. 17:45 "The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the nation of Israel, and the people of Judah 17:48 are the vines He delighted in. 17:56 The big deal is you got to have fruit. That's the deal of vineyards. 18:00 You have to have fruit. If you have no fruit, adiós. Get rid of that vineyard, right? 18:07 Now, what's amazing is that Jesus, just four days before they execute Him -- four days -- 18:13 He takes this love song from Isaiah and the vineyard and He weaves it into a story, into a 18:19 parable. Take a look at this. Come on. Three short stories in a row. 18:23 Let's go to Matthew chapter 21. Jesus is thinking about Isaiah 5 when he tells this story just 18:30 days, hours, before he'll be dead, okay? So, this is Matthew 21. 18:34 Red letters. My, my. Yep. Matthew 21. 18:40 Drop down to verse 33. 18:41 Jesus says, "I want you to listen to another parable. 18:43 I need you to hear this." "There was a landowner who 18:46 planted a vineyard." There it is again. 18:48 "He put a wall around it" -- well, that was in Isaiah 5 -- 18:52 "he dug a winepress in it" -- that was in Isaiah 5. 18:55 "and he built a watchtower." That also was in Isaiah 5. 18:59 Now, notice what Jesus -- he now turns that song, that love song, 19:02 into a parable. 19:04 Now, after the owner did all that... 19:18 Vineyards are all about fruit, and so the servants come, and they say, "Yo, we're here now to 19:23 pick up our fruit." "Fruit?! This is not your vineyard." 19:26 And they stoned them, killed them, drove them out. Everything that the owner 19:31 sent -- gone. The owner said, "Okay, okay. I don't know what's going on 19:37 with the crazy vineyard tenants, but here's what let's do. I'm sending my son. 19:43 They'll surely respect him, and now I get the fruit I've been living for." 19:48 This story has Jesus' crucifixion written all over it. Ah! And here comes the son. 19:55 Drop down to verse 38. 20:03 "So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard," outside Jerusalem, "and they killed 20:07 him." Four days later, this comes true. 20:10 Now Jesus turns to his listeners, who have no idea where he's going with this, and 20:13 he asks them the punchline question. "Therefore" -- verse 40 -- "when 20:17 the owner of the vineyard finally shows up, what will he do with those tenants?" 20:21 What would you do with them? And everybody instinctively, including the Pharisees and 20:26 Sadducees, just cried out, because every community just loves a good story. 20:31 They just cried out, verse 41... 20:41 "Aha!" Jesus said. "You got it." Verse 43. 20:56 A love song... making love in a vineyard... God's song of the vineyard, 21:03 Jesus' parable of the vineyard -- I'm telling you what. 21:05 This may feel a little crass. Is this too materialistic to keep driving for this bottom 21:10 line? The point is you got to have fruit. 21:14 You have to have fruit. There is no purpose for a vineyard that does not have 21:19 fruit. I mean, that's the point. Do you understand that vineyards 21:24 are big business right now -- agribusiness? It's huge. 21:28 Who do you suppose -- which nation on Earth -- is the greatest fruit-growing nation, 21:34 the most grapes in the world? Which nation? China. Unbelievable. 21:40 China. What's the number there? 9.6 million metric tons a year. Number 2 -- it would be in 21:48 Europe and starts with an "I." Italy. Of course it would be Italy. 21:51 Isn't that right? Got the whole Bacchiocchi tribe right there -- that beautiful 21:55 baptism. Isabella, we're proud of you. Of course Italy is number 2. 21:59 Number 3 would be France. Number 4, the U.S. of A. Here it is, our homeland. 22:03 The United States grows and sells 6,206,228 metric tons of grapes a year, and I went online 22:11 and I found out that in 2017, one metric ton sold for $877.00, just -- pshht! -- $877. 22:21 So you multiply $877 times the 6.2 million tons, and you come up with a number. 22:29 This is agribusiness in the United States. Vineyards in the United States 22:32 produce $5,442,861,956 every year, and that's not saying a word about the businesses that 22:42 take the grapes, turn them into juice and everything else you can imagine. 22:46 $5.4 billion. Agribusiness -- come on. Is it a sin to make profits? 22:52 Are you kidding? I don't even have an M.B.A., but this much I know. 22:56 I would never invest in a business that's not making a profit. 22:59 I wouldn't! It is wrong to long for fruit? Are you kidding? 23:03 That's the whole point of a vineyard. And that's the whole point of 23:07 these three short stories. You've got to have fruit. If you don't have fruit, 23:11 something's gone wrong, right? Our own vineyard -- we're calling it God's Vineyard -- 23:18 4 miles up the road -- Yesterday I went back to where we shot these videos, and, for 23:22 me, it was like a hallowed moment because it's still there. The vines are still growing. 23:29 And I stood around and clipped those children's-story grapes. 88 acres -- that's it. 23:36 88 acres of beautiful Southwestern Michigan vineyards, rolling aisles, green and 23:42 verdant! Are you kidding?! I've been standing in that 23:47 vineyard aisle with my friends Robin and José several Sabbaths now in a row. 23:53 We go back to that vineyard... because there's something important we need to get about 23:58 vineyards. It may be something you've never even thought of in your life 24:01 before, but you'll never be the same again for hearing it right now. 24:06 Let's roll that -- Let's roll that video. 24:11 ♪♪ ♪♪ >> We're coming back one more 24:26 time to what we're calling God's Vineyard. And, actually, we've saved the 24:31 best part till last, because what's a vineyard about? I've been reminded by these two 24:37 professionals, José and Robin, that, of course, the vineyard's all about fruit -- fruit, fruit, 24:42 fruit, fruit, fruit. So, I want to move to the pruning process. 24:46 Robin, take us up close. Let's look at one of these branches. 24:49 >> So, the way you would prune it is you would want to prune it very close to the branch 24:54 itself... >> Okay. >> ...so the branch will protect 24:57 it and survive it. >> Yes. >> And you leave two or three 25:00 buds on it because that becomes the next season's crop. >> But, Robin, when you say, 25:05 "Branch," you're actually talking about the vine, this knotty, woody stuff. 25:09 >> The vine. >> The branch eventually becomes a vine... 25:12 >> Yes. >> ...and then these new shoots, so you have to cut it right down 25:15 near that old wood... >> That's exactly right. >> ...and then go all winter in 25:20 the cold... >> Oh, sure. >> ...and be ready to come. 25:23 >> You bet, even through these cold Michigan winters we have. >> If you didn't prune it, what 25:26 would happen? >> You wouldn't get fruit. It would eventually wither away, 25:30 and you'd have to throw it in the fire. >> So, theoretically, what is 25:34 painful to a vine -- If a vine could cry out, it would be in December, when José 25:39 and his team are going up and down these rows, cut, cut, cut. So, pruning is painful. 25:45 >> It is. >> But you can't have growth without it. 25:47 >> You can't have growth without it. >> Would it be all right if we 25:50 just pull off one of these clusters? >> Yeah, right here. 25:53 >> Oh, my, my, my, my. Look at this. It's a work of art. 25:56 >> It may be a little more sour 'cause they're still four weeks out, but they're still good. 26:01 >> Mm-hmm. >> They're good. >> These are not seedless. 26:06 >> No, they're not. >> [ Chuckles ] So, the seeds are just for 26:10 throwing out? >> Yeah, yeah, yeah. >> That's it? 26:12 >> That's it. >> A branch has to come from an existing vine. 26:16 >> Yeah, you're right. Yeah. That is the only way. >> You guys have been real 26:20 troopers to be out here in the middle of the day, under a beautiful sky in Michigan. 26:26 But your lives, invested as they are in the growing of fruit, have helped us capture what 26:34 Jesus is trying to tell us. "Come on, guys. Stay connected to me, and I'll 26:40 grow the fruit." Branch can't grow the fruit on its own. 26:42 >> No. >> The vine grows the fruit. And you will be tasty to an 26:47 entire planet. ♪♪ 26:58 >> You know, I need to say I am so proud of Gaddiel and Richard and Michael, our media team, who 27:05 produced this whole thing -- have just done a masterful job. And at the risk of 27:11 overemphasis -- I've got to say it again -- the whole point of a vineyard is you gotta have 27:17 fruit. You have to have fruit. In fact, when we come to these 27:22 familiar words of Jesus in John 15 -- this has kind of been our home base through this 27:26 little series "Tales from a Vineyard." Go to John 15. 27:29 When you get to Jesus' words here, do you know seven times in the Greek, He mentions fruit, 27:35 the Greek word for "fruit"? It's a big deal. Take a look at this. 27:39 Let's just read this. 24 hours from now, He's dead and buried. 27:45 He's in a hole in the ground. This is Passover. Full moon. 27:50 He's walking to Gethsemane with his disciples, but He sees a trellis. 27:54 He says, "Hey, guys, come, come, come, come. Come over here. 27:56 Get up close. I want to teach you something." And, boy, what He is teaching is 28:00 what we have got to learn. All right. John 15:1. 28:14 "You are already clean," or pruned -- it's the same word -- "because of the word I have 28:19 spoken to you." 28:20 Now look. Verse 4. "Remain," or abide, "in me, as I 28:24 also remain in you." No branch can bear fruit by 28:27 itself; it must remain in the vine. 28:29 Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 28:32 I am the vine; you are the branches. 28:34 If you remain," if you abide, "in me and I in you, you will 28:37 bear much fruit; for apart from me you can do nothing." 28:40 Now look. "If you do not remain in me, you 28:42 are like a branch" -- we saw it just a moment ago in the 28:44 children's story -- "that will be thrown away and it withers; 28:46 such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and 28:49 burned." Drop down to verse 8. 28:57 Drop down to verse 16. "You did not choose me, but I 29:01 chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear 29:05 fruit" -- the seventh time that word appears -- "fruit that will 29:08 last -- and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will 29:12 give you." Unbelievable. 29:15 What's the big deal? What's the big deal of the fruit on the branches? 29:21 Listen. Listen. People, when they taste the fruit, they don't celebrate the 29:27 branch. They celebrate the vine. The whole point of the fruit of 29:31 the branch is to validate the vine. People come from all over the 29:36 world to Slovenia. Slovenia -- it's a little country in Eastern Europe. 29:41 Is that -- Oh, we got the picture. Look at this. 29:43 These guys scrambled between services and found a picture. That's a vineyard. 29:46 That's between 400 and 500 years of age. It only produces between 30 to 29:50 40 kilograms of grapes a year, but they put it into little tiny bottles, and they won't even 29:55 sell it. They just give it to dignitaries. 29:58 Why? People are celebrating not the grape, they're celebrating 30:02 the vine. That vine is what counts. 30:05 Jesus says, "Listen, this is my commandment -- that you love 30:08 each other. Come on, come on, come on." 30:09 The fruit of love demonstrated among us becomes a shining 30:13 testimony to the world outside of Andrews University and the 30:16 Pioneer Memorial Church that, "Wow, these people are something 30:19 else!" In fact, Jesus says... 30:21 "By this the whole world will know you are my people. 30:25 When they see the fruit, they're drawn to the vine." 30:28 That's the whole point. There's a lot of vineyards. 30:31 You got to have fruit. What kind of fruit? 30:34 Craig Keener, New Testament scholar -- on the screen, his 30:36 commentary on John. "In Palestine, the grapes ripen 30:40 in late summer as the shoots stop growing and the bark 30:44 changes from green to darker shortly before the vintage," or 30:48 harvest, "of August or September. 30:50 Yet John writes figuratively" -- he's not talking about grapes -- 30:53 "of what sort of fruit does the passage speak?" 30:56 Keener concludes, "The immediate context suggests" -- jot it down 30:59 in your study guide. It's in your worship bulletin 31:02 right now. "It suggests moral fruit." 31:07 Moral fruit. What are you talking about when you say, 'Moral fruit'?" 31:10 Paul says, "Excuse me! Excuse me!" "Yes, back of the class. Paul?" 31:13 Paul says, "How 'bout Galatians 5:22-23?" Put that on the screen, please. 31:17 "For the fruit of the" what? "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, 31:22 kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." 31:27 Moral fruit indeed. You see those qualities there, that fruit? 31:31 When you see any one of those berries, those grapes, in somebody, you are drawn to that 31:37 person. When you see a kind person, what do you think of? 31:39 "Man, I wish I could be that kind." When you see a gentle person, 31:42 when you see a faithful person, a person that has joy and peace, "Man, whatever that girl has, I 31:46 want that for me!" That's the deal. The Spirit inside of us produces 31:52 moral fruit. I love the way Jesus puts it right here -- John 15:5. 32:05 In "Desire of Ages" -- You can't beat this. Oh, you're going to love this. 32:08 You got it in your study guide. Take it home. "Desire of Ages," on the screen. 32:11 "The life of Christ in you produces the same fruits as in Him. 32:16 Living in Christ, adhering to Christ, supported by Christ, drawing nourishment from Christ, 32:20 you bear fruit after the similitude," or the likeness, "of Christ." 32:25 That fruit that grows in you is just like Jesus, and when people see that fruit in the business 32:30 world or in the academic world or in the athletic world, when people see that fruit in the 32:34 neighborhood world, they say, "What she has, what he has, how did he get that? 32:39 How does he have that calm under fire... calm and peace under pressure? 32:46 How does he do that?" Oh, when they see the fruit, they think of the vine. 32:51 You'll tell them about the vine. A friend of mine named Lucas Jurek dropped by the 32:58 office the other day. He's from British Columbia. He has four girls, four 33:01 daughters, and they're all students at Andrews University. Four daughters. 33:04 They sang for us in first service. Absolutely beautiful. 33:09 He said, "Hey, Dwight, have you ever seen this quotation?" I hadn't seen it before. 33:12 Put it on the screen for you. "Acts of the Apostles." "The sap of the vine, ascending 33:16 from the root, is diffused to the branches" -- that's how it works in a vineyard -- 33:20 "sustaining growth and producing blossoms that become fruit. So" -- here it comes -- "the 33:25 life-giving power of the Holy Spirit" -- write that down, please. 33:29 "The life-giving power of the Holy Spirit" -- He's the divine sap -- "proceeding from the 33:33 Saviour, pervades the soul, renews my motives and my affections. 33:37 It even brings my thoughts into conformity to what God's will is for my life," last line, 33:43 "enabling me and you to bear the precious fruit of holy deeds." Don't let those two words, 33:49 "holy deeds," blow you away. Come on. Holy deeds are Jesus deeds. 33:53 They're God deeds. It's the way God lives. It's the way Jesus lived. 33:56 That's all. The fruit that's in Him, the sap comes into you. 34:00 Hey, listen, how does that sap come? Through what? 34:04 Holy Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit. Isn't that right? 34:08 Why would I not every day be praying for a daily baptism of the Holy Spirit? 34:12 Why wouldn't I every day say, "God, today just give me that life-giving sap"? 34:15 "Just come in to me. I want my fruit, the fruit of my words, the fruit of my 34:19 lifestyle -- I want it to reflect you. Jesus, Your fruit in me, 34:23 please." Why wouldn't I every day ask for the baptism of the Holy Spirit? 34:29 But of course we would. Wow. Well, I repeat the law of the 34:37 vineyard, plain and simple -- you gotta have fruit, which is why verse 2 is there, 34:42 by the way. We skipped verse 2 all the way through, and, at first, I didn't 34:45 realize how significant verse 2 is. So, when this series began, I 34:48 just said, "Oh, you know, come on. It's a little negative. 34:50 Let's just leave it out." Big mistake, Preacher. You better do more studying. 34:57 Verse 1 again. 35:11 I need to observe that this teaching of pruning in order to advance the maturing, deepening 35:17 life of Christ's followers -- it's the most obvious point in John 15, and guess what. 35:22 It's the most overlooked point of John 15. [ Chuckles ] 35:26 We don't like it. You know why? Because nobody likes the word "Ouch." 35:30 Why don't I like the word "ouch"? Because when I experience 35:34 "ouch," guess what happens to me. I hurt. 35:37 And nobody wants to hurt. So, this idea of somebody coming along with those green pruning 35:44 shears -- ow, ow, ow! Who wants "ouch"? So we just say, "Hey, I don't 35:49 need that. I got verse 3." Something's going on here. 35:54 Could this be the one major truth you either have never heard about because nobody 36:00 preaches about this or... you've known about but just said... 36:06 "Not for me. Mañana." Well, mañana has come. I'm going to slow down right 36:13 now. This is the final wrap to this. I need you to hear. 36:17 I need the Holy Spirit to give you ears to hear what He is saying inside of you, because 36:22 the profound witness of the New Testament is a running commentary and testimony to the 36:28 purpose of divine pruning... beginning with the life of our Lord Jesus Himself. 36:35 Guess what. Prune, prune, prune for Jesus. 36:42 Hebrews chapter 5 on the screen. Jot this down in your study 36:45 guide. Verses 7-8. 36:54 "And He was heard because of His reverent submission." Here it comes now. 37:04 Write that down. Suffering was intentional in His life for pruning purposes, for 37:11 training purposes. He had to suffer in order to get it. 37:17 Oh, my. Some of you -- Listen to me carefully. 37:23 Some of you are suffering right now. I know your stories. 37:28 I pray for you by name. You're suffering right now, and you have pleaded with God to 37:35 please remove this, this painful burden. You have promised God that if He 37:41 would take this away, you would serve Him all the more gladly. You would be more faithful. 37:46 You would go anywhere God would send you. Just take this suffering away. 37:51 "The 'ouch,' the pain, is killing me. Take it away, please." 37:56 But it feels like you're praying into the wind. Nothing comes back. 38:03 Just like Jesus, just like Paul, they kept praying into the wind, and it felt like nothing was 38:10 coming back. Let's go to Paul. Take a look at this. 38:14 2 Corinthians chapter 12 on the screen, verses 8-10. 38:16 "Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take my suffering away 38:21 from me. But He said to me, "My grace 38:24 is... sufficient for you." 38:27 I want you to just stare at that screen for a moment. 38:30 Please notice that is not past tense and that is not future 38:32 tense. That is present tense. 38:35 "I am who I am. I am in your life right now, and 38:38 My grace right now is sufficient for you. 38:41 I'm not worried about tomorrow. I'm not worried about yesterday. I am who I am. 38:47 And My grace, My love" -- you read it "My love" -- "is sufficient for you." 38:53 For as the Bible says, "When you are afflicted, I'm afflicted." As the Bible promises, "I will 38:59 never leave you or forsake you. My grace is sufficient for you." 39:04 When that finally dawned on Paul, he goes on to write... 39:17 "I delight in my prunings. I delight in my prunings, for when I am weak, something 39:22 happens to me, and I'm made strong." Isn't that amazing? 39:27 How come we've never seen this before? How come nobody preaches about 39:31 suffering anymore? Because we're a septic society, that's why, and we can't stand 39:36 the thought of having to suffer. We have everything to relieve us of suffering. 39:43 Paul eventually would exclaim, from prison, by the way, subsequently to this, this line 39:47 in 2 Corinthians. I'll put it on the screen. This is Philippians 3:10. 39:51 Ahh. "I want to know Christ divine, and I want to know the power of 39:55 His resurrection," and we usually stop it right there. We stop reading right there, but 39:59 he goes on. "And the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, so that I 40:03 might become like Him in His suffering death." "I want to be like Jesus. 40:08 Bring the pruning on." That's what he's saying. Unbelie-- In prison. 40:16 "Ah, come on, Dwight. There's got to be a better way. We don't have to go the way of 40:20 Jesus. We don't have to go the way of Paul. 40:22 Have you studied the Bible and found anything else?" I tried. 40:27 I tried. But you keep running in to this all over the New Testament. 40:31 Let me put Hebrews chapter 12 on the screen. 40:33 "Why am I going through this? Isn't there an easier path?" 40:35 Let's go. Verse 10 -- 10 and 11. "Our fathers" -- that would be 40:39 our Earthly fathers -- "disciplined us for a little 40:41 while as they thought best." Remember your dad's belt? 40:45 You have to be a Baby Boomer or older to remember that. 40:50 They changed the discipline methods, thanks to Dr. Spock. 40:56 "Our fathers disciplined us," our Earthly fathers, "for a 40:59 little while as they thought best; but God discipline--" Ooh! 41:03 "'God disciplines us for our good'? 41:05 Are you kidding?! The pain is for our good that we 41:07 may share in His holiness." What's holiness? 41:09 "Become like Me. Come on. 41:10 I want you to be like Me. We're getting there. 41:12 We're getting there. Don't give up!" 41:14 Keep reading. Hebrews goes on. 41:16 "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful." 41:20 Tell us. "Later on, however, it produces 41:23 the fruit." Right in that word, that's the 41:26 key word. "It produces the fruit of 41:28 righteousness and peace." 41:30 Pruning produces fruit. Pain produces fruit. Suffering produces fruit. 41:36 You and I are always scrambling. "Get me out of this! Get me out of this! 41:40 Get me out of it now!" And God says, "Shh. Slow down. No, I'm not going to get you out 41:46 of it, Paul. My grace will be enough for you. My grace is sufficient. 41:53 I'm staying with you. I'll never leave you. You know I love you, don't you? 41:58 I do. Then don't ask Me again to take this away. 42:03 I could have taken it away long ago. Obviously, it's for a reason 42:06 that you're experiencing this. Just grow with Me. Grow with Me." 42:14 Wow. Fruit is produced by pain, by pruning, by suffering. 42:19 It is everywhere. 2 Timothy 3:12 on the screen. "Everyone who wants to live a 42:25 godly life connected to the Vine, Jesus Christ" -- You want to live a godly life? 42:29 Yeah, me, too. Be like God. Why not? "Everyone who wants to live a 42:32 godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." [ Chuckles ] 42:37 Guys, I'm telling you, you can try to get out of this and say, "Well, that's really not in 42:40 there. It's not in my version." No, it's in your version. 42:43 It's in your version. Because persecution is pruning. And you know where the source of 42:50 persecution is? It's not God. God doesn't persecute you. 42:53 You know where the source is? Jesus once said, in Matthew 13:44, 42:57 "An enemy has done this." Listen, because you're connected to Jesus as you are, lookit -- 43:02 you're like this. You and Jesus are just like this. 43:04 Because you are, you have alerted all the forces of Hell, 'Heavy artillery on him, heavy 43:11 artillery on her, until... she... lets go of her connection. 43:17 Keep that fire withering. Get her to let go. Get him to let go." 43:22 That's the whole deal. Break the connection. Become like a little 43:27 shriveled-up branch. That's all Satan lives for. "Break him! 43:33 Break her so that she releases!" Job says, "No, even though He slays me, I will trust Him." 43:42 You just have to hang on, guys. The devil is going to try every trick in the book to convince 43:46 you it's not worth it. "This Christ life, it's a bunch of hooey! 43:51 Look at this! If you are a friend of Jesus, why are you going through this? 43:54 Explain that me. And I'll stand at the foot of Calvary and say, 'If you're 43:58 Jesus, why are You going through this?'" Because suffering in this fallen 44:04 world is God's way to victory, growth, and eternal life. That's it. 44:12 Calvary is because God said, "There is no other way. Stay with Me." 44:20 Wow. Jesus comes along in Mark 10:30, and this is incredible. 44:24 "He promises all who give up all to follow Him" -- fill this in in your study guide -- "you will 44:30 be rewarded in this life," because Peter said, "Hey, I've given up everything for you." 44:33 Jesus said, "I got great news for you, Pete. You're going to be rewarded in 44:36 this life a hundred times as much because of what you've given up, and it will come with 44:40 persecutions." Write that down. "It will come with 44:43 persecutions." Why? Snip, snip, snip, snip, snip. 44:46 Pruning will go on, and the more successful you are, the more the need you have to be pruned, 44:51 because you know what happens if we get successful? God says, "Hey, hey, hey, yo, 44:55 yo, yo, yo! Did you think you did all this? Did you think you did all this? 45:01 Let me remind you, Nebuchadnezzar, I'm going to give you seven years of insanity 45:05 so that that pride will be driven from your life for good." The more successful you are, the 45:14 more likely you will be pruned. Count on it. If you have not pruned mu-- 45:20 If you have not suffered much yet... That's the next line, 45:23 by the way. Fill it in. If you have not suff-- 45:25 I've hung around this planet a few times, and here's the point. 45:31 Just write that down. Take it to the bank and cash it. Because if you've not suffered 45:37 yet, you've got suffering coming. I'm not trying to scare you. 45:39 I'm not trying to talk you out of letting go with Jesus. Are you kidding? 45:42 Thank God for the sunshine you're living in right now. But you better be tight. 45:46 Just hang on to him. This roller coaster goes over a hump, and then it'll feel like 45:51 the bottom has fallen out. You can't avoid it. You will suffer. 45:58 Why has nobody taught us this? Why did I just discover this? It's been here for 2,000 years. 46:06 You and I will suffer. Why? Snip, snip, snip. Snip, snip, snip. 46:10 "Desire of Ages" very gently but beautifully comments on John 15:2, and I'm not going to 46:16 read 15:2 now. I'm going to go straight to "Desire of Ages," because Jesus 46:20 is saying, "You're going to be pruned." Look at this on the screen. 46:25 "The pruning will cause pain." Lookit. I'm looking at a bunch of athletes in here -- big, 46:29 young, tough, you know, sculptured athletes. Every athlete knows this -- 46:35 no pain... no gain. [ Chuckles ] 46:39 You cannot have gain unless you have pain. God says, "That's the point. 46:45 No pain, no gain. You got to have it." "The pruning will cause pain, 46:50 but it is the Father who applies the knife." God loves you. 46:54 1 John 3:1 -- "See how the Father has lavished His love upon you." 46:59 Your suffering is not an indication that God is not near. Jesus said, "In this life, you 47:03 will suffer many tribulations, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. 47:08 Just hold on to Me. Hold on to Me." "He works with no wanton hand or 47:14 indifferent heart." 47:16 Now, I put the three little reasons for the pruning. 47:18 One, "There are branches trailing upon the ground." 47:20 "Dwight, you're going the wrong way. 47:22 You're getting hooked up with this world. 47:24 You are hanging on to the world. That is going to kill you, 47:27 my friend. You don't understand that. 47:28 I'm going to have to cut these tendrils. 47:30 This is going to hurt. Snip, snip!" 47:32 "Ouch, ouch, ouch!" "That's why I'm setting you free 47:35 to get the direction going this way again. 47:38 It's not down, but it's up." That's what she's saying right 47:41 here. 47:48 "They are to reach heavenward, and find their support in God." 47:51 Number two, "The excessive foliage that grows around the 47:54 cluster of grapes draws away the life current" -- 47:57 I put here "sap" -- "from the fruit. 48:00 That all must be pruned off." 48:03 "It's just because it's divergent. This is really not what your 48:06 life was made for. You are diverted right now, sir. You are investing yourself in 48:10 ways that you should not be investing yourself, professionally, personally, 48:14 socially, whatever. Madame, I'm cutting these off. I'm cutting your ties to this. 48:18 This foliage is sucking up sap that you need for Me and My fruit." 48:25 Snap, cut." "Ouch!" And number three. 48:36 "The gardener prunes away the harmful growth, that the fruit may be richer and more 48:41 abundant." We must trust the Father, folks. We must trust the Father. 48:46 He's not taking the suffering away. As long as we're in this veil of 48:50 tears, we will suffer. It's okay. You'll survive. "God, even though He slays me -- 49:00 I'm hanging on to Him." Good for you. Good for you, Job. 49:06 "Even though He slays me." "Trust me," He says. Now, Andrew Murray, the great 49:14 South African divine of the 19th century, in his book "Abiding in Christ" -- 49:17 By the way, you just type in in Google "Andrew Murray, 'Abiding in Christ,'" the book, 49:21 Jerry was just telling me, Wasmer, was just telling me this between services. 49:24 The book is all over the Internet. You can get a PDF. 49:26 You can get an electronic copy. You can get the book. You'll be blessed. 49:29 Andrew Murray, in his book "Abiding in Christ" -- I love the way he puts it. 49:33 Last quotation on the screen. "Christian, pray for grace to see in every trouble, small or 49:38 great, the Father's finger pointing to Jesus and saying, "Yo, yo, yo! 49:42 Got your attention now. Abide in Him!" Abide in Jesus. 49:48 "A believer may pass through much affliction and yet secure 49:51 but little blessing from it all." 49:53 My friends, let's not waste a crisis. Have you just been through a 49:56 crisis? Don't waste it. Don't waste a crisis. 49:59 If you just learn nothing from this -- good night -- what's the point? 50:03 There's no pruning that can -- The pruning's happening, but you're not learning. 50:06 You're still -- You're still -- You're anxious. You're teary. 50:10 You're pleading with God. God says, "Listen, girl. "My peace I leave with you; my 50:21 peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. 50:25 Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." "You trust me. Just trust Me." 50:31 And I love this last line. "'Abiding in Christ' is the 50:35 secret of securing all that the Father meant the pruning to 50:40 bring us." I'd love to tell you I found a 50:44 way, folks, where we don't have to suffer. 50:46 I'm sorry. On the eve of His own brutal 50:50 slaying, Jesus said, "The Father has pruning shears, and He wants 50:56 more fruit from your life. He wants more fruit from you. 51:01 He wants more fruit from you." "Chk!" 51:05 "Ouch!" Stay by Him. 51:10 You gotta have fruit. It's the law of the vineyard. 51:14 "I'll grow that fruit" is the promise of the gardener. "Do you want to have that 51:20 fruit?" is the question of Jesus, and how should we respond today? 51:24 I would like to suggest that we pray together a simple prayer on the screen. 51:42 That's a gutsy prayer. It'll take a little bit of courage to pray it. 51:49 I just started praying it. But there will be a peace that will steal over you, because 51:57 you'll know, "No matter what happens to me, I'm in the hollow of his nail-scarred hand. 52:07 I'm connected to the Vine, and nobody -- nobody -- can cut me free." 52:14 What's not to like about that offer? "Prune me. 52:22 Prune me, oh, Father, so that my life... might bring glory... 52:30 to You. Amen." >> Amen. 52:34 [ "Nearer, My God, to Thee" begins ] 56:17 >> And so, Father, we mean that. Even those woes... if they will nudge us, if they 56:25 will draw us nearer to You... then prune us. Hold us close while You do it. 56:33 We can't make it alone. We have to have You. We have each other. 56:40 Keep our arms around one another as, together, we head for the heavenly Vineyard, and the Lord 56:48 of the Vineyard, in whose name we pray, amen. >> Amen. 56:54 [ Organ plays ] 57:07 >> We've been really blessed by the financial support that comes 57:09 from our viewers, and we've made a conscious decision not to 57:13 continually appeal to you for that support. 57:16 The fact is, as everyone in the industry will tell you, we're 57:19 needing to make constant upgrades to our technology. 57:22 So if God has blessed you and you'd like to further the work 57:24 of this ministry, we invite you to partner with us. 57:27 Not a single penny of your donation will go to me. 57:30 Every bit of your gift goes to the mission of blessing your 57:33 community and our world. You can donate on our website, 57:36 newperceptions.tv. Or call the number. 57:39 You know the number -- 877-HIS-WILL. 57:42 Again, that number is 877 -- the two words "HIS-WILL." 57:46 And may the God who has blessed you continue to pour into your 57:49 life the gifts of His joy and His hope. 57:52 Thank you. And I'm looking forward to 57:54 seeing you, right here, again, next time. 58:00 ♪♪ ♪♪ 58:20 ♪♪ |
Revised 2018-10-05