Thyatira — Robert B. Thompson

Pergamos, Repentance, and the Sword of Christ’s Word

For those in Tape Land, what we have up is Revelation chapter 2, beginning with verse 12, the church in Pergamos, and we talked about several things. It will be on Sunday night's tape last, today's the 20th, so it will be the 18th of February 1996.

Now, as far as any that are here or were here Sunday night, is there any question about this before we go on? Anything that was raised that you don't understand? Don't hesitate to ask questions, you don't want to hurt anybody's feelings.

We'll explain if we can. Any problem with that one? Is it clear? Can you see it? Can you read it okay? There's a little type there, a 16-point type, I hope that will be large enough. Okay? All right, let's go on to the next one, then, if there are no questions.

For those in Tape Land, we're continuing on now with Revelation 2 .16, Repent, therefore, or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of my mouth. Now, then, it is referring to God's people, it is referring to the church, and we need to understand that Jesus is not some nice little teacher up there, he's fierce, and when we don't do right, he comes and makes war against us with the word of God.

That's a new concept, I want you to get it, so we have a more balanced view of Christ. Christ comes and fights against his own church, when they don't do what he wants, he does it with the word of God.

Any question about that? Do you end up doing some of the things mentioned on the previous page, into some kind of immorality as a Christian? The Lord's going to come and bring his word against that, and then you have a choice, either you straighten up or come under the chastening hand of God.

A lot of chastening going on today, okay? He has an ear, if you want an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying, you've got to behave righteously, live in holiness as God leads and gives you help, and you've got to obey the Lord.

That gives you spiritual sight and spiritual hearing. A lot of people today can hear God, what the Spirit is saying, a lot of Christian people have no idea what the Spirit is saying, oblivious to it. If you want to be able to hear, you've got to do God's will, mean business with God.

Daily Overcoming and Keeping Short Accounts With God

This is no day to fool around, you've got to do righteously, quit sinning, do what the word says. Then with the Spirit, you'll hear what God is saying to his churches. To him who overcomes, we went into that a lot Sunday night, what it means to overcome, it means to do what you know you're supposed to do today, it's not some standard out there that you reach someday, it's a day-by-day thing, overcoming is.

How many had challenges today? It only gives you so much trouble in one day, and you went one of two ways, you went one of three ways. You either overcame it by prayer, by obeying God and doing what was right, or you said I don't have to put up with that, it's somebody else's fault, or you shelved it, ignored it and buried it with a lot of busy work.

I see some grinning, that's what they did, they buried it under a lot of, forget it. Well, you missed a good chance to grow if you did. When you feel something come near you, the Spirit is challenging you, there's unrest there, maybe a temptation, maybe anger comes up, irritation, unbelief, fear, dread, whatever it is, it touches your spirit.

You want to deal with it, that's your business. You deal with your business right then, you get the job done right then, you don't let it hang. You deal with your business right then, and take care of it, go to the Lord and say what is this, why is it troubling me, and if it's something that is not right, then get your business done with God, get up there and do it.

Keep short accounts with God, don't let them hang on, because this is a real race today There's a lot of heavy, dark, demonic things going on, and if you're going to make it in the last part of this century, you've got to mean business with God.

Hidden Manna and Divine Strength

A lot of people are floating around, and they're not getting anywhere with God. To Him I will give some of the hidden manna. Now that sounds far out, nothing in the Bible is far out. Everything is practical, and it has some meaning to you and to me.

When you... You ever hear people talk about burning out, you ever hear that, preachers burn out, teachers burn out, you ever hear that, burn out? People burn out because they're not getting the hidden manna, because they're doing stuff in their own strength, they're not dancing with the Lord.

When you dance with the Lord, there's no burnout. You can go and go and go like Moses Bush. You don't burn out. We burn out when we're going in our own strength, we're not getting the hidden manna. Now the hidden manna comes to those who are doing God's will.

I gave you a verse there, John 4 .32, Jesus, they said, it's time for lunch, and Jesus said, I have food that you do not know about. That's hidden. It's hidden to you. You don't know about it. And my food is to do God's will, that's my food.

When you do God's will, he feeds you. Why is it hidden? What is the food? The food is the body and blood of Jesus. That's the food. I'll come into him, we'll dine with him. It comes in the spirit realm, and it comes to those who are fighting God's battles.

The rest of the people that are not doing God's will, are careless, attending church maybe sometimes when it's handy, or whatever they're doing, they're not praying, they're not seeking God, they're living in the world, they don't get any hidden manna.

They burn out. People that are doing God's will, they get this that's hidden from other people, divine strength and wisdom comes to them periodically, two or three times a week, and it keeps them going.

They don't have nervous breakdowns, I'm not saying if you have a nervous breakdown that you're sinning, I'm not saying that. I'm just saying that there is a hidden manna that comes to God's people as they live victoriously.

Christians get tired like everybody else. Christians get weak like everybody else. Christians get discouraged like everybody else. But if they keep doing God's will, strength comes out of left field and they find themselves renewed if they're doing God's will.

It's a good idea when things get real black to just ask the Lord, say, am I doing something wrong? Don't assume that you are. Just say, Lord, am I doing something wrong? Check it out. I need a report card.

Why am I like this? Sometimes it's something we're doing. Sometimes we're pushing to do something that we think is God's will and we hope is God's will, and the doors aren't opening, and we're batting against the doors, and we're mad at people because they're frustrating us, and when we go to God, he shows us another door.

He tells you that that door is closed to you. You're not supposed to go that way. Just to say, if you can't get God to go your way, why don't you try going God's way? It's simple. But you'd be surprised how many times that we violate that, say, this is God's will.

I know it is, and this is what I want, and I've got to have this to be happy, and I deserve this, et cetera, and so on, and the door doesn't open, and we smash at it, and then we begin to blame people.

It wasn't for her. I could serve God. It wasn't for him. I'd be fine, et cetera. None of that is God. You pray until God shows you a direction you're supposed to go, and then it's wonderful. I don't say the doors fly open, but it becomes possible, whereas the other is not possible and doesn't work.

Anger, Human Wrath, and the Righteousness of God

And any time you find yourself mad at people, that's a big red flag. Whenever you find yourself angry with people, I don't care if it's your husband or wife, your children, or who it is, when you find yourself steamed, okay, that's a big red flag.

God does not want you steamed at anybody. Go back, say, the Lord of what is going on here, the wrath of man works, not the righteousness of God. What am I so upset about? And usually you'll find out, the Lord will show you, give you wisdom, shows you that you're cooking on something, you're trying to work the moves, and you've got yourself all in a frenzy about something that there's no need for.

And so when God gets all the fears out of you and the lusts and the fires and the other things, you calm down, and all that rage and anger goes out of you. God does not want you all steamed up. I don't care whether it's about Clinton or who it's about.

He doesn't want us living that way, angry, it doesn't work God's righteousness. How many know that? How many ever found a great blessing of the Lord when you were really mad at people? He doesn't want us that way.

If it's their fault, etc., and so on, well, you know, you go to God, he works it out. Any question about that? Hidden manna. And then he said, and I will give him a white stone. Now, that also seems weird and far out.

The White Stone and Passing From the Called to the Chosen

It's not. It's extremely practical. And you'll notice the verse I put down there, Matthew 22, 14. You see that at the very bottom? Many are called, but few are chosen. What do you think that means? Yeah, that's what it means.

Many are called but few are chosen. Called to do what? It couldn't be said better than that. That is precise. That the gospel call goes out to people and it brings in, of all kinds, like a net that's let out into the water.

It brings up everything. And then everybody's on his metal. What you do with Jesus is up to you. You know, what you do with Jesus is up to you. You can make him some kind of a badge that you put on you.

Hey, I'm a Christian. What does that mean? I don't know. I guess I'm one. I used to think, before I was converted, I thought if you were born in America, you were automatically a Christian. I really did.

I didn't know Christ in the Easter Bunny. And that's a fact. How so ignorant I was. Some of you were raised in a Christian home. You never experienced that. But I didn't know anything about the Lord, whatsoever.

And the gospel call goes out, as it did to me when I was in the Marine Corps when I was 19. I heard the gospel for the first time in my life. But what I did with it, that was up to me. And there comes a time, if you really serve God, if you make up your mind that Jesus is the only show in town.

I mean, no more hedging your bets. Is Jesus on the nose to win or nothing? Now, we see that in the 6th chapter of John. Jesus fed the multitudes by a miracle. Multiplied the bread, multiplied the fish.

Consequently, thousands of people gathered. Now, if you can go downtown and multiply food and start handing it out, people are going to come by the thousands. They're going to come by the thousands. I mean, face it.

The miracle, but more especially, they get free food. They get free food. People around them, there's free food. Alright, then Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee and a few hours had passed. Time had passed and here they all came.

In boats, thousands of them across the Sea of Galilee.

And when Jesus saw them there coming up on the beach, he said, you didn't follow me because you saw the miracle. You followed me because you ate food and it filled your stomach. And now it's getting time to eat again.

And they said, oh, you know, whatever they call them, Teacher Moses fed them with man in the wilderness. What are you going to feed us with? Mine was on their stomach. Food. Thousands of people. And so Jesus knew it was testing time.

It was testing time. Time for a little running stuff through the sifter. And so he began to talk about things that he knew would turn them off. And I mean, it turned them off big time. He said, unless you eat my body and drink my blood, you have no life in you.

You have no life in you. Nothing to do with it. Well, they'd been taught all their life that you don't drink blood. That's against the Levitical law. You do not drink blood. So here the Lord's deliberately telling them something that would test their hearts to see where they were.

And so they began to argue as Jews will. And they argued among themselves and they grumbled and complained and they said, this is a loser. There's no way of relating to a thing like that. Lunch, schmunch, you know.

It's better to put out a few shekelim and buy a falafel or two than to listen to this garbage. And so they turned around and they went back across the Sea of Galilee. No more free lunch. No more falafel without paying for it.

And so how many people were left? Twelve. Twelve. Twelve people were left. You know what the Lord said? Yes, that's the first thing he said. You go away too. You know, the door swings both ways. You're going to leave too.

He didn't plead with them to stay. You know, he didn't say, man, you know, my reputation, there's hardly anybody here. And then what did he say? Have not I chosen you? But before he said that, Peter answered.

When he said, will you go away, how many remember what Peter said?

You have no power.

What he was saying to them was, whether we understand you or not, whether you command us to eat your body and drink your blood, or whatever else you come up with, you know, it doesn't matter. We're here for the duration.

We've made up our mind. You're it. There's nothing else. So here we are. So lay it on us, boss. And that's why Jesus said, I have chosen you. It's because they came to the place that there was nothing else but Jesus that mattered.

And no matter what he brought into their life, it made no difference. I got a phone call from someone today, and a man had been injured in an accident. He was a Christian, and he was doing swell. Doing along great.

And it was healing, and it was going along, and all of a sudden something happened. Infection set in or something. Now he's, you know, God, how could this happen? Jesus will test you. And you've got to get to the place.

You know, if he slays me,.

It makes no human being.

That's ever going to get anywhere has to make up his mind about something. Because no matter what it is that you're after, you're going to be tested. And if you're going to be a person, you've got to come to the place where no matter what happens, this is who I am, and this is where I'm going.

Period. And if the world comes to an end, it comes to an end. And if everybody forsakes me, they forsake me, but that has nothing to do with it. I've thought about it. I've made up my mind, and this is what I am.

That's what you call conversion. When we first receive Jesus, there's a kind of a mental persuasion or a mental acceptance. Yeah, that sounds right. He shed his blood for our sins. He rose from the dead.

I believe that. He's born a virgin. I believe that. Yeah, I believe these things, so I'm one of them. Well, that's a good start. It's a necessary start. But you haven't been converted yet. You're not converted until you've made up your mind no matter where this bus goes or who says what.

In sickness and in health, in good times and in poor, it matters nothing. You have the words of life. There's nothing else. I'm in it for keeps. And as a human being, I have the power to do that. Now, you may not have the strength to do it, but if you will, say, Lord, I'm weak, but this is what I want.

So you have the power to make that decision. I'm weak, Lord, and I wobble around like a leaf in the wind, but I don't want it anymore. I have made up my mind that Jesus is it, and that's what I want, and that's the end of it.

So, Lord, do something and change me from a jellyfish flopping around. How many ever saw a jellyfish swim upstream? You never did. You probably won't. They kind of wash in with the tide. You want to be something?

Then make up your mind, and if you do, you're going to have to swim upstream, but the Lord will be with you. And then he says, I'll give him a white stone. Now, I want to call your attention to some other thing.

Many are called, but few are chosen. Okay? Christianity is not a popularity contest. There's millions, millions, probably pretty near a billion Christians in the world, counting Catholics, counting all that believe that Jesus is God's Son.

Many people, that many, there's a few that are chosen by the Lord to be part of him, part of his body. I'm not preaching elitism. I'm telling you what the Bible says. I didn't make it up, and I don't necessarily approve of the idea.

It's not very democratic, but it's a fact, and it'll never change. Many are called, but few are chosen. In Bible school, we used to say, many are cold, but few are frozen. That shows you the kind of stuff that went on in Bible school.

There were still some pretty serious kids there, so I'm going to be with the Lord now. Many are called, called to God, to receive the blood of the Lamb. This church, called to come out of the world, out of that multitude.

There is only a few that pass from the ranks of the call of the chosen. I've been a Christian over 50 years, and I've seen that. True Christians are not as common as one could wish. Church members are abundant.

True Christians are not as common. You'll find them in every church. You'll find them in the Catholic church. You'll find them in the Methodist church. You'll find them in the Mainline church. You'll find them in the Charismatic church.

You'll find true Christians all over the place. But there are few in number, compared with those who are called. Stone. Now, that word for stone, I forget, I knew the Greek term, Tony, what is it? It's only used twice in the New Testament.

It's only used twice. Once here, and once in Acts 26 .10. But also when they were being put to death, I cast my vote against them. Now, the word vote is the same word for stone in Revelation. It's only used twice in the New Testament.

And it's believed that like today when you go into some lodges, vote membership by using little black and white balls. And everybody has a white ball and everybody has a black ball. And so there's a new member who wants to join the lodge.

They pass that box around and you put in that ball, you put in a white one or a black one. And if you put in a black one, that person is not admitted to membership, which is called being blackballed. Well, that's where we get the term.

So, it is believed that when they voted, they had white pebbles and black pebbles. Yes. Siphon. Siphon. Is that right? Well, that, you could translate Revelation 2, there would be a verse, whatever it is.

I will give him a white vote. And it means that in terms of black ball and white ball, it means that Christ has put his approval on you. See? Have not I chosen you twelve? Now, you see, it's practical.

It's not some weird thing way out there. I mean, when you first look at it, you see a white stone. Oh, no. Oh, no. That's passing. That's the place where you serve Christ until he counts you as chosen.

You come out of the ranks, the great mass of Christianity, and Christ says, you're one of mine. You belong to me. You've shown yourself worthy of the kingdom. Okay? That's what it says. That's what it says.

If you overcome. The stuff that was going on there in this church there in Pergamos. And a new name written on the stone. Now, a new name. When do you receive a new name? When you're married. That's when you receive a new name.

Isn't that so? Yeah. A lady used to tell me her name was June Reck. But that was not her maiden name. And her husband loved telling her that I made a wreck out of my wife. But anyway, when you go back in Isaiah 62, you find where the Lord is talking about marriage and a new name.

See, what we're talking about here is marriage. I've chosen you. You'll be a part of the bride. There's all these multitude of Christians. Those who were sent to the gospel. But you've got to show your stuff.

You've got to overcome. You want to remember that the inference in all these promises to the overcomer are, is, the inference is, that if you do not overcome, you don't get it. I mean, Christians need to face that.

It's not enough just to say, I believe. You've got to show your stuff. We're out of balance today in teaching in many cases. The white stone is a voting pebble signifying that the one receiving it has passed from the ranks of the call to the ranks of the chosen.

And because he says new name, the implication is that Christ has chosen that one for marriage and has changed his name. Any questions so far? Want to fight me on that? Stunned? Totally bemused? Alright, Sophia, I guess we're ready for the next one.

Thyatira and the Angel of the Church

I think we're coming up to another church now. And to the angel and all those in Capeland, we've gone now to the church in Thyatira. Revelation 2 .18. To the angel of the church in Thyatira. Notice that the Lord doesn't write to the church, but to the angel of the church.

Why is that? Why does he write to the angel of the church? Every church has an angel, which is a sum total of what that church is, what it believes. The Lord doesn't waste time arguing with people or debating.

He goes right to your spirit. He speaks right to your spirit, right to your angel. He doesn't go into your brain so you can come out with a whole bunch of words where you're trying to calm the situation.

The Lord doesn't have time for that. Like Nicodemus. We know you're a teacher come from God. Jesus didn't say, well, I try to be good or anything like that. He said a man must be born again. It's so abrupt!

He spoke right to the spirit. Don't shine me on, man. There's business to be done here. You've got to be born again. Never mind about how great a teacher I am. You just do what you're supposed to. That's the way the Lord spoke right to his spirit.

Christ’s Fiery Eyes and the Truth Without Spin

The Son of God who has eyes like a flame of fire. What does that mean? It reminds you of spectroscopic analysis, doesn't it? The Lord doesn't look at you with his baby blue eyes and 20 -20 vision. He puts the fire on you.

And what you are then will come out in the fire. We people, the way we're made, most of the words we say are deceiving. We are trying to persuade people of our righteousness. It's one mammoth snow job.

Most of what you read in the newspaper, here on the television, here on the radio is one mammoth snow job. It is people spinning. They're putting a spin on things so that you'll view the world as they want you to view it.

One of the things you'll learn when you become an experienced Christian is to have no time, no stuff for spin. Let your words be few and simple and to the point. Jesus' words were few and simple and to the point.

There was no spin to it. This is the truth. I am the truth. This is the way it is. There's no spin here. He doesn't see with 20 -20 vision. When he wants to see you, he puts you in the heat. It's like if you're trying to find out the elements, trying to find out the elements in a substance, you heat it until it incandesces and each element gives off a peculiar and unique light when it's looked at in this way.

And you can say, oh yeah, there's cobalt in here and there's lead in here. The heat does that. And you may think that you're the finest pillar in the church, but when you get into enough trouble... That's why his eyes are a flame of fire because he sees by means of fire.

It isn't up there. Did you ever picture Jesus with eyes of fire? What color eyes do you think Jesus has? But see, this is symbolic. What he's telling you is when I look at this church in Thyatira, there's judgment.

His feet are like burnished bronze. Bronze, these things coming out from the horse of war here represent bronze. Bronze signifies that which can stand the fire. During World War II in England, they were having a lot of trouble because of the bombing by the Germans.

Their houses were burning down. They found out they took a door to a house and would laminate it with bronze. It won't burn at all. It simply will not burn. Wood laminated with bronze. So bronze in the Bible stands for that which can stand judgment, stand divine judgment.

And Jesus' feet are like that. Wherever he walks, judgment follows. I know your deeds. What does that tell us? That's the only phrase that's common to each of the seven churches. What does that tell us?

I know your deeds. Yes, it tells us that Christian teaching of today is off balance. It's off balance. If these two chapters were to be written by a theologian of today, it would probably be altogether different.

He would say, I know, do everything perfect, but you're saved by grace. Remember that? Unconditional grace. And it really, it would be nice if you would show your love for me by trying to do good, but in the long haul, never forget that you are saved by unconditional grace.

You've got to be a priest today, and it's off balance. The Lord doesn't look at your belief. He looks at your deeds. We could wish it were different. And you know we play games with ourselves. How many drunks do you know that will say to you, I'm not a drunk.

And if you call them a drunk, they get mad. They want to fight. I may have a beer once in a while, but I am not a drunk. Now, everybody knows they're a drunk. You know, they drink way too much. 12 pack after work, and they come home, but I am not a drunk.

Those are games we play with ourselves. I'm not a liar. Don't you call me a liar. Yes, but you have just told a lie. That has nothing to do with it. I am not a liar. We play these games with ourselves.

Steal something from the store. Somebody says you're a crook or from work. The boss doesn't look at you, you go home with a ream of paper. And you say, somebody call him a thief. I'm not a thief. Yes, but you just stole something.

That has nothing to do with it. I am not a thief. Now, these are the games we play with ourselves. And God does not play with those games. He doesn't judge you by your opinion of yourself. You just say, you know, you may be the most abominable father towards your children, so that nothing they can do will ever please you.

You molest your daughter. You're abusive towards your wife. And someone says, what kind of a person are you? I'm really a good person at heart. That's the way people are. I saw on television one time, a guy was in death row in Texas.

And he said, how did I ever get here? As far as he was concerned, he hadn't done anything wrong. Now, you want to know, this is a human characteristic that we are unwilling to assess ourselves in terms of the way we behave.

But rather, what we feel are our intentions in our heart. Well, yes, I stole something, but I didn't mean to. I had a lady tell me that one time. She was supposed to be confessing her sins. And she had been a fornicator.

And she says, I went to bed with this guy, but I didn't mean to. I could have answered that one good, but I got out of there. That was no place for me to be hanging around. I really didn't mean to. You know, that's what people do.

Do you do that? I want to tell you something about God. He's not interested in your opinion of yourself, how wonderful you think you are, or how bad you think you are, either one. But sometimes, people have the opposite problem.

They think they're worthless. And other people say, well, that's really a very fine person. So, that's a very genuine problem with people is their opinion of themselves. Judge yourself by your actions.

What do you do? Do you tell the truth? Are you gentle with your family? This is what counts, not what you think you are. Are you really a worthwhile person? Then don't run yourself down. Why do that? It doesn't please God.

I know your deeds. God judges deeds. This all is addressed to Christians, to the church people. I know your deeds. That's what I'm concerned about. Not if you believe in the virgin birth, what you're doing, what you're thinking.

A Christian thinks like a Christian, talks like a Christian, and acts like a Christian. That's what a Christian is. Your love and your faith, what you do, what you are, how you behave, your service, your perseverance.

I know these things. I'm well aware of your actions. Any questions about that? Come down pretty heavy on 80 of the evangelical belief right there. It's wrong. Teaching today is out of balance. It's not scriptural.

And that your deeds of late are greater than at first, as you're improving. He doesn't have much good to say to the churches, but here's one thing that he says is positive. Notice the accent on works.

Verse 20. But I have this against you. Against his church. Now, what does that tell us? Common teaching is that God sees us through Jesus. God sees us through Jesus. We accepted the Lord. No problem with how you live.

God sees you through Jesus. Well, if that were true, then how could he have anything against us? If we believe in Jesus Christ, we're saved, we're born again, and we live by imputed righteousness, then how is it possible for the Lord to have anything against us?

Yes, Paula. I was saying about his so forgiving, and he's not so hard on me as long as I tried, and I didn't even bother to tell her, but I thought, whatever happened to the fear of God? The fear of God is gone.

Because of bad teaching. Now, probably you've seen the bumper sticker that says, I'm not perfect, just forgiven. Yeah, Christians are not perfect, just forgiven. Now, this is a very widespread belief, not scriptural, unless you want to run this chapter out of the Bible, but it has had a very bad effect on the churches in America, and that bad effect is shown in the things that are done in our government.

The things they do, but you see, the only moral light there is in America, the only moral light, is the Christian church. Now, what Satan has done is he has twisted the gospel until it's out of balance, and the Christians are not showing forth righteous behavior.

So, the lampstand, you've got to remove your lampstand, the lampstand is gone, so the government has no moral light. So, the churches that are looking at the government, and they're saying, well, you're a bunch of liars, which they are in many cases, you're hypocrites, you're politicians, you're men for all seasons, you're not taking the right stand on abortion, you're not taking the right stand on homosexuality, et cetera and so on, it's the government, it's the government.

But, the government is no source of morality, the government isn't the light of the world, it's the church that's the light of the world. But, the light is good works, that men may see your good works and glorify your Father.

Now, if Satan could find some way to stop the good works, then the light is gone. And that's what's happened in America. Would anyone like to respond to that? In the average evangelical church, they wouldn't even hear me.

They say, you're going against the Protestant Reformation, add to the grace of Christ, Pharisee. What people say and have said is that your message is too hard. The answer is this, is it scriptural? If it's scriptural, then there's no statement about it's too hard.

I mean, the scripture is the scripture. So, you can't say, oh, well, you're too hard, I'll go where it's easy, because what you're saying is, I'll go where they don't tell me, because the scripture's hard, and it's tougher in some respects.

I don't, the difficult parts of the New Testament, the things that it says, I don't believe it. I come up with them once in a while. You'll utter darkness if you don't spend your talent right, and if you let your oil run out, the Lord doesn't let you go with them.

But I don't harp on it. I don't harp on that. I do harp on righteousness and holiness, because the Lord wants that. But I'm here to tell you that the statements in the New Testament, John 15, says that if any man, every branch in me, abide in me, and I in you.

He said, every branch in me that bears fruit, God does what? He prunes it. He prunes it. And every branch in me that does not bear fruit, He cuts it off. Okay. Now, what does it mean to be cut off from the vine?

What is the vine? It's Jesus. Well, what does it mean to be cut off of the vine? Well, it's separated from Christ. That passage alone. That passage alone. Alright, then the final question is, what is fruit?

Well, the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, the image of Christ's personality. What it's saying is, okay, you abide in me and I in you, so there's supposed to be a new creation. Now, if you go along, and there's no new creation, there's no new love, there's no joy, there's no peace, there's nothing coming forth, then what does He say?

We'll block you off. Now, the Lord doesn't, you know, the first time you do wrong, cut you out of Christ, that isn't the way it works. But He's telling you something, a principle here, that God expects a transformed personality.