Preparing to Bear Fruit, Pt. 1 (07/30/2000)

Right when I got up I saw Brother Richard move forward.

I thought he was gonna do a special for a minute.

We have to get you to do that sometime.

Brother Richard come out and lead us in some of those songs you used to lead.

Those kind of roll -offy sounding songs.

So keep that in mind you may get called upon.

We got several places to turn to this morning so we'd better get right to it.

Let's start with John chapter 15 in verse 7

and then we'll go to Isaiah chapter 37.

I'm

going to Ask you to notice the word

if in the verses we're about to read John 15 verses 7 and 8.

We're going to go into a series on fruit bearing For a little while,

I don't know how long a few Sundays bearing fruit

and we're going to discuss in this series the fruits of the Spirit and.

But I want to start out and go a little different.

Go at this message a little bit different way than we normally do.

I Would say this church is probably as strong as any church that I've ever

been in on.

Looking at trying to always look at things from God's viewpoint rather than man's.

I think that's very good in an age in which Predominantly even Baptists today look

at things primarily from man's viewpoint and The problem with looking at it from man's viewpoint is

it can become humanism quite easily.

I think if we went back just 50 years you'd find the Majority of the messages preached in churches in

that day would be about God not about how God makes man successful and.

So I'm not diverging from that Habit in this church to speak about God.

But what I am diverging to a little bit or from a little bit is this morning?

I want us to look at this message from what some people would call a human viewpoint

however, during the course of this message I'd like to maybe change the terms a little bit for the life of our church

and And ask you to think of it differently.

That is kind of a For a way to of looking at it that theologians have put out

there and Truth is we have a little bit more at least scientific

information than some of those guys had for instance, we have brother Bill in

our Bible study on Monday night and He's spent a large

part of his life studying physics.

So sometimes he'll bring up This idea of quantum physics, so instead of reading Harry

Potter I want you to all go out this week pick up a couple of textbooks on quantum physics come back next Sunday.

We'll have some fun.

We'll let Bill undo all the damage that was done perhaps.

But I would like for you to think of the two viewpoints this way from from now on.

Let's think of it as an outside of time dimension and A dimension that's

inside of time.

So you have we'll say at least two dimensions.

One is a Dimension which is outside of time.

It's not bound by time who lives there the father it's

going to be important in in this thought process to Realize that

not only is God one God But he manifests himself in at least three

ways and could you name those ways?

Right.

Now what's interesting about it?

Is that two of those?

Ways in which God reveals himself Are found many times to be in

time on this planet, which two would that be?

That's right.

Would it be the father?

No.

So the father in my view Quite possibly never

comes out of the out of time dimension.

If he did I suppose we could see him, but the Bible says no man hath seen him at any time

however, as God extends himself into his own creation and into this world and time and

space and has a relationship with people whom he has created to be

people who are walking in time and in through places and in

this place.

Then he comes to us by either the Holy Spirit who lives in us or by his

son Jesus Christ both in Old Testament appearances and after his birth in the manger

in his life on this earth and In and then even again after his resurrection and then he's coming

back, isn't he?

So Jesus.

We might say is God in time.

Or at least that's one little aspect of Jesus.

And we can also say that that's one aspect of the Holy Spirit though.

Not everything because the Holy Spirit's I'm not present.

What does that mean?

He's out of time and in time at the same time.

And I had to use the word time just to describe it.

But you got to do that without using the word time and that's impossible for us.

So it gets pretty deep.

But what I want you to think about is that as God extends himself into time.

By either the Holy Spirit or by Jesus.

Then many times the Bible speaks to us in terms of God being in time and it solves a lot of mysteries

for us and It puts together a lot of the problem that people have struggled with about the sovereignty of God in the will of

man.

It brings that together if you'll think of it in an outside of time dimension and an end time

dimension and both existing now.

So I Want that to kind of be the background of this study and I gave you that long introduction

because I I'm going to say I'm gonna have to phrase my questions very carefully.

And I'm gonna have to phrase my terminology very carefully because I don't want to lead anyone to believe for one

moment that God is not in control of all things and that God has not already set

all things in his great decree and That in fact from our vantage point

as with the little bit of information God's given us about eternity.

As I view from the father's point of view, it's done.

Because he's in the present tense now I'm not undoing that but

what I am gonna do is get us to look at this message.

From the end time viewpoint because if you don't look at it from the end time viewpoint.

Then it won't do you any good.

Now the message this morning is entitled preparing to bear fruit.

Now before we get into it, let me ask you another question.

Is it possible?

For you to produce fruit as a Christian careful.

Is it

so is that answer correct?

I'm just throwing an old Otis is a match.

Yeah, that's correct.

I just want to see if you believed it was correct or not.

Even Otis was wondering.

No, he wasn't really.

No, no, we cannot produce fruit.

But let me ask you this.

Can we bear fruit?

Had we better bear fruit?

What happened to a few fruit trees in the Bible, especially one?

I'm thinking of that Jesus was hungry and walked past it.

What happened the next day when he came back by.

It was dade he had cursed it because it wasn't bearing fruit.

So I want to speak about preparing to bear fruit.

Turn with me to.

I think we're already sitting here waiting anxiously to see what we're gonna have in John 15 7.

So let's look at that if now that's the word.

I want you to circle.

Because by definition the word if is an end time word.

You can't take these two verses and really think of them from the father's viewpoint and have

them do you very much good.

You have to think of them from the viewpoint Jesus gave them and where was Jesus when he made these statements?

Was he outside of time or was he in time?

Actually, he was both but He obviously was in time.

Do you remember there was a I should have looked this just came to my mind or I'd have stuck it in my notes.

We should come to mind yet last week but it didn't but there is a verse in the Bible where Jesus was speaking to the

Pharisees and He said the Son of Man which is in heaven.

So I can't explain how that happens.

It must be some kind of dimensional thing.

Where he can be in that dimension and stick his hand and his whole body down in this dimension at the same time.

But the point is obviously he was in time.

Jesus was in time when he made this statement.

He was speaking to his people who are in time and look what he says if you abide in

me.

Now, let me ask you a question.

Is that present the possibility that you might not abide in him?

That is the word if present that possibility.

All right, if you abide in me and my words abide in you so we have two conditions

to this.

We're about to have a promise, but we have two conditions.

So is this a conditional or an unconditional promise?

Conditional.

So it implies that you have to make a what a Choice, can we make choices?

Seems like a silly question, doesn't it?

But are you sure?

Yes, we can make choices.

Do we do we have a will.

Now I'm gonna ask you one that I don't want you to answer because I don't want you to be embarrassed.

Do we have a free will don't answer it.

Just think about it.

Let me give you my definition of the word free the word free means sovereign.

Now that help you answer the question or at least I'm asking it better maybe where it's clear.

But we do have a will and we do make choices.

Let me ask you another question.

Our choice is important.

Is it as important whether you pray or not.

Is it as important whether you witness or not.

Do you have to choose the witness to witness?

Yes, you do.

You certainly do.

Do you have to choose to pray in order to pray?

And what are you gonna get this from brother Otis's teachings?

What are you going to choose to do?

That's right, so is your will sovereign and free.

No, it's not.

Because God and his goodness has to place the desire in your heart

and so forth so somehow God the Father who is

outside of time and Everything is now to him.

Is able to extend himself into time?

And work in our lives with us to work so that we work together with him.

It's normally and I'm saying normally in the way of things in this world.

It's not just God doing things and it's never just us doing things.

Normally, it's God working in his people.

Now if he says there's a condition if you number one abide in me.

The word abide let's give it a simpler word.

What would be a simpler word to use for abide?

To live excellent if you live in me, or you might say to dwell if you dwell in me

if you live in me and my words Live in you

now does that mean that 20 years ago when 30 years ago 40 years ago when you got saved and you read the Bible

through the first time that now His words are living in you.

No, that means they lived in you back then.

What do you have to do for him to live in you right now?

God be in them now, don't you?

All right, so if You dwell in me.

Now you have to understand.

If you go back to the first of chapter 15, I am the true vine every branch in me that beareth not fruit.

He taketh away, so we're talking about bearing fruit.

But he says in verse 5.

I'm the vine.

You're the branches.

That's what he means by dwelling in him if you can picture a vine with branches and

picture the connection point where the branch Goes into the vine and is connected to a one

time in science class here.

We years ago.

We did a experiment where we took a very thin cross -section of a

twig right at the point where the branch came into the vine and we took a cross -section where under the microscope

we could see that and.

And what we noticed was that the you could see the cells going this way and these

cells going this way and Then they merged in there and you really they all just came together as

one and you couldn't really see much of a difference at that point and it's like they became one and so

if you're the branch you're supposed to stay connected and We

talked about that in adult Sunday school class.

What was it?

My dad said about it if we something about like if we forget who we are for a moment Then

bad things can happen.

Isn't that right?

So that's what the if means is don't forget who you are.

Reckon it to be true that the old man is dead and Also abide

in the vine.

Now this so if you abide in me and if my words abide in you Then you

shall ask what you will and it shall be done unto you.

So now we have a little teaching on prayer.

Why is it you could ask anything you want and it would be done if those two conditions are met.

Why is that?

That's right.

Does that mean your prayer is not important because you're praying in his will now a lot of people think that way a lot of People have a

problem with the sovereignty of God and they say well if he's sovereign, I might as well do nothing.

And I can understand maybe a baby Christian thinking that way and certainly lost person can never even think of any of this but.

But we've got to grow beyond that point and get the ability to understand that just because he is sovereign and we are

connected to him.

That that means what we do is meaningless and that's what this whole message is going to be about this morning is

the importance of what we think and what we decide and what we choose to do and

What we choose to pray now look at verse 8 and here's really what the message about herein is my

father glorified.

That you bear much fruit.

So shall you be my disciples?

Indeed now look down at verse 11 because all of us as adults and some of you young people

Getting into these teenage years suffer depression from time to time.

There's a good kind of depression and then there's a bad kind.

The good kind is when you're supposed to be depressed.

If a loved one passes away, I was quite depressed for some weeks when brother

Rocky decided to go to heaven before me and And this soon and so

forth not that he made the decision but I Was a little depressed about that walked a

little bit down about that for a while.

That was good.

It's what it's supposed to be.

But how often do we find ourselves depressed when you can't think of any good reason?

When you consider all that God's given you and the fact that you're a child of God and all that you

have because You're his and you have an inheritance and you're down today.

That's the bad guy.

Now look what this little thing ends up with in verse 11.

These things have I spoken unto you with this purpose?

That my joy might remain in you remain as a continual tense word and

That your joy might be being full.

Continually being full.

So, how do we have joy?

Well, let's go back up to the two conditions.

We can have answered prayer.

We can have fruit.

We can bear fruit and we can have joy in a continual way if

We abide in him and his words abide in us and that means

present tense now.

And then when this moment's gone pick it up and do it again.

So the word if though is kind of interesting because it does Does pose the possibility that you might

choose not to do those two conditions, isn't that true?

Okay, now let's go into Isaiah chapter 37.

I want you to see something that to me was

Fascinating and caused much thought.

My problem I think at this point in my life after preaching for 20

years.

Doing youth work for two years before that and even into that 20 -year period and so 22 years, I

guess teaching.

Is I'm getting where when a thought crosses my mind and maybe one of you that puts it in my mind many times.

That's the way it is.

And it like in Sunday school brother I'll just ask question in the last minute and it's something I had never taken time to look at

read it a hundred times and I thought that's that's amazing.

I got to search into this.

So now next week.

I got a whole bunch of work to do.

But I'm at the point where I need to quit preparing sermons and write books

because it's really tough on you when I preach a book but Not that I'm going to this

morning.

This only has one and a half points.

So don't worry about it.

But they are major points with a lot of little sub points under no Isaiah

37 in verse 30 read this to yourselves carefully and This shall be a sign

unto thee.

I Mean you gotta read this think about this.

You shall eat this year such as groweth by itself.

Now we're no we're looking at fruit as it comes out of the earth.

Okay, and that's going to be a picture of spiritual fruit in our lives.

You shall this shall be assigned to you that you shall eat the fruit this year such as comes up of

itself.

And the second year that which springeth of the same.

So that just comes up of itself and in the third year so

ye and Reap and plant vineyards and eat the fruit

thereof.

Now you just think about that just a little bit and I'm gonna start into this message.

And we'll get a little ways into it and finish it up next four or five Sundays.

But I'm gonna I'm gonna keep my hand on your pulse start falling out of the chairs.

We'll slow down and stop for this morning.

I Want you to go all the way back into the early parts of the Bible.

I'm gonna read to you from Genesis 112.

I could have picked any number of verses it says and the earth brought forth

grass and herb yielding seed after his kind and the

tree yielding fruit whose seed was in itself after his kind

and God saw that it was good and Evening and morning were the third day.

From the beginning we see a principle.

Where there is life?

There is always growth and I'm talking about in time.

This whole message is in time.

You have to understand the father is outside of time and he's in control of everything.

But we're in time and sometimes God comes into time either through Jesus or by his Holy Spirit.

And he's in time with us when he does that and that's why 99 of the Bible not that much

probably 95 of the Bible is written from the end time viewpoint.

I don't know if you ever noticed that or not.

That's why you have trouble arguing with an Arminian.

I Don't because I have coffee with Otis a few times a week, but you do.

Because they're gonna bring you some of the verses that are in time verses and try to prove God's not sovereign.

Problem is God has snuck a few other verses in there that they hadn't looked at and they need to look at those because both are

Real and both are happening at the same time now.

As we look at this in Genesis We see this principle that where there is

life in time.

There is growth.

Where there is growth?

There is fruit.

The fruit is not that the fruits there all the time.

It comes in its season and it is the result of the growth and Where there is fruit there is

new life because let me ask the children a question.

What is the fruit on any tree?

What is that?

Some some young person.

Well, well, it's okay to it's okay to be young forever in your mind.

Thank you very much.

I Expect you to be in Charlotte's class next Sunday morning at 10 o 'clock.

What is the fruit.

Then it's the seed of the tree.

And that's okay.

I mean I wanted the right answer and I got it.

So isn't it true then where if there's life there is growth and growth where there's growth there's fruit.

Then where there's fruit there is new life.

And so it creates a cycle and the cycle continues until the end of time as we know it.

As Ernest might say as we know it.

If y 'all know who Ernest is, don't worry about it.

Now this is true in nature and God ordained it and said it is good.

But it's also true from a spiritual point of view in the spiritual life of all of God's children.

If there is life and there is if you're born again because he that hath the Son

hath life.

So if you have Jesus you have life.

So therefore if you have life if you're not sickly spiritually you are growing

and If you're growing you will there's no doubt about it.

You're going to bear fruit now if you bear fruit, there's

gonna be some new life that comes from that and that's God's kingdom work and

The cycle continues.

Psalm 1 1 talks about it from the spiritual side.

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly nor standeth in the way of sinners nor

Sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

But this man's delight this godly man's delight is in the law of the Lord and I want you to see in

some of these verses this morning how the Word of God plays a role in fruit bearing and

His delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

Did he make a choice to do that or not to do it?

No, wait, careful.

We're going back and forth from out of time and in time.

I'm in time.

So did he make a choice?

Could he have chosen not to read the Bible that day?

He certainly could have.

But this man reads it day and night.

Have some of you made the choice to read it day and night every day or some of you say?

I'll read it when I feel like it.

Well, you obviously know which category I'm in or I wouldn't known how to ask that question.

Would I all right?

I'm back and forth, but you make the choice now look at verse 3.

Well, listen to verse 3 you probably didn't turn to it.

It says and he shall be like a tree who this man who meditates on the Word.

He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers that bringeth forth his fruit in his

season.

His leaf also shall not wither and whatsoever.

He doeth shall prosper now the prosperity is A result of this it's

not the end and most preaching that you hear today is how can we be prosperous?

Well, you can be prosperous by not figuring out how to be prosperous.

The way you get prosperous is not to seek prosperity.

Did you know that you cannot get to heaven by seeking heaven and you certainly can't get there by seeking to avoid hell.

You can only get there by a relationship with God.

So it all comes back to God.

Prosperity comes back to God.

Prosperity in God's viewpoint is fruit bearing and it comes from God and he

funnels it to us through the Word of God and Through his son Jesus Christ who is the vine?

So notice how fruit bearing is related to the Word of God in the Old Testament.

Joshua 1 8 a lot of you familiar with that one this book of the law.

Shall not depart from out of your mouth.

But thou shalt meditate therein day and night.

Is it enough just to read the Bible through in a year?

Why?

Because if you're reading it through you're reading it too fast.

You're not meditating Therein day and night.

It's okay to read it through.

But you need to have another time during the day when you take smaller portions and just chew on it.

Meditate there day and night.

That thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written.

It implies that just reading it won't cause you to do it.

You got it.

You got to chew on it for it to become part of our lives.

For then thou shalt make thy way prosperous and then shalt thou have good success.

Give you a New Testament verse.

Colossians 1 5 through 6.

For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven where have you heard before in the word of the truth of

the gospel?

Which is common to you as it is in all the world and bringeth forth fruit.

So fruit bearing is Directly related to the Word of God.

Now I Give you another point about this where there is spiritual

life.

There is spiritual fruit in its season in every case.

Let me say it again where there is true spiritual life if a person is truly saved.

There is not there might be but there is Spiritual fruit in its

season.

Always in every case now add the phrase in its season because it doesn't mean that if you look at a person.

They're not bearing fruit in your opinion a lot of fruit.

You can't see anyway, because a lot of its inward fruit.

It should manifest itself and it will in its season.

But if you that's why we can't judge people because we take in a little moment of time in their life saying well now I'm bearing any

fruit.

Well, maybe they're a tree that's supposed to give fruit in the spring.

So, but if you add that phrase it becomes a true statement anyone who is saved

Will always bear fruit in his season.

He'll be a fruit bearer.

Matthew 7 17 says even so every in that word every is important

every good tree bringeth forth good fruit.

Now Matthew 13 8 says but other fell into good ground and brought forth

fruit some A hundred fold some sixty fold some thirty fold, but it all

brought forth fruit.

We don't all bear the same amount of fruit, but we bear fruit if we're alive and if we're growing.

Another point is this this is the will and the purpose of God.

For his children we find that in the passage where we were in John chapter 15.

You had to go a little beyond where we were reading all the way to verse 16.

You have not chosen me.

But I have chosen you and ordained you that you should go and bring forth

guess what?

Fruit.

So this is God's will for the life of his children.

Therefore.

It's gonna happen.

Now verse 4.

This is God's general definition of spiritual fruit within The life of his children.

Galatians 5 22 like you to turn to that one

Galatians 5 22 I'm just gonna give you God's general definition.

I don't both mean to say this is all of the fruit necessarily, but I think all the fruit is

listed within these general Headings.

Right are these groups?

These are groups of fruit groups of types of fruit and I think you could fit any fruit into one of these

but It's kind of interesting that in Galatians 5 22 This is called the fruit of the

Spirit and that proves that you cannot produce the fruit.

You can't make it.

All you can do is bear it.

All you can do is be the God's tree that has beautiful branches.

That hold up this fruit for it to fulfill its purpose in in this world in God's world.

But it comes from the Holy Spirit it is the fruit the that comes from God

himself.

So Galatians 5 22, but the fruit of the Spirit is love joy.

Peace.

Now, we're gonna later in this series.

We're gonna study the fruits of the Spirit.

We're gonna talk about something that's interesting to me.

And that is some of the differences in dispensations.

In other words, we're supposed to look at the Old Testament and use it as examples to teach us.

Sometimes detail and color to truths that are taught in the New Testament.

But while we're doing that we have to be careful to understand that the characters that we're studying.

When you study the Bible characters, we're not indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

Sometimes they had the Spirit of God upon them for a season and then sometimes not.

But they never had the indwelling spirit like God's children do in the church age.

And it makes a huge difference.

So be very careful when you compare yourself with Old Testament characters.

It's good to learn from what they do in the general principles, but always understand you have the advantage.

The Holy Spirit your body is the temple of the Living God now.

We'll talk about that when we get in our section on studying these specific fruits of the Spirit.

Love joy peace long -suffering gentleness goodness faith.

Meekness temperance.

Against such there is no law and they that are Christ's have that's past tense.

Crucified the flesh with its affections and lusts if we live in the Spirit.

Let us also walk in the Spirit we find the word if again.

So we're in time again when they put that word in that means in time.

We're supposed to make the choice to be spirit filled and walk in the Spirit now.

Another point is this this is the means of God by which fruit is produced.

I'm going to give you some verses that show you how this happens.

We've already seen it a little bit in John 15 with the vine and the branch you're by biting in Christ.

Fruit is produced.

We've seen it a little bit where it says that this is the fruit of the Spirit.

So being filled with the Spirit.

Fruit is produced in your life.

Let me give you just a couple of more that talk about the means in other words the method that God uses to accomplish

this in our lives.

Romans 6 21 turn over there.

Romans 6 21 what fruit had you then and those things were off you are now ashamed.

This is talking about when you were lost.

For the end of those things is death but now Being made free from

sin and become servants to God you have your fruit unto holiness

and so one of the methods that God uses is at salvation.

The old man is crucified in Christ and Because you are dead.

You are free from sin now.

Romans chapter 7 and verse 4.

Wherefore my brethren you also are become dead to the law.

By the body of Christ or you could say in the body of Christ in Christ.

You're a dead to the law because Christ fulfilled the law in his death and

Yeesh that so that you should be married to another and that means Jesus himself.

Even to him who is raised from the dead.

Why that we should bring forth fruit unto God?

So we see another method that God uses is that we are Married to Jesus Christ.

We are attached to Jesus Christ the vine and the branch.

Abide in one another and this brings forth the fruit.

John 15 one says I am the true vine.

My father is the husbandman every branch in me.

That beareth not fruit will be taken away verse 4 abide in me and I in you as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself.

Except it abide in the vine.

No more.

Can you accept you abide in me for without me you can do Nothing.

So as far as God's methods, he frees us from sin.

He frees us from the law he attaches us to his son and In

Christ fruit is produced as we're attached to the vine.

I give you an Old Testament verse that talks about John chapter 15.

You may not have seen it as Psalms 104 verse 16

The trees of the Lord are full of sap the Next time

you call me a sap.

I'm gonna take that as a compliment brother Richard.

The trees of the Lord if you're God's tree.

You've got sap and that sap comes from the root and the root is who?

Jesus and that will produce fruit and you will then bear it.

So we see all these things that are written about fruit bearing.

The New Testament gives the principle of fruit bearing.

But I'll tell you something fascinating.

It's the Old Testament that really gives the detail in living color.

I got about a few minutes left.

So I want you to turn Isaiah chapter 5.

And this will be in this next Sunday, but I want you to get a little glimpse of it.

So you can be thinking about it this week.

We're gonna get the living Color and the detail

of This concept of bearing fruit that John 15 talks about in just made three or four verses now, we're going to

Isaiah 5.

We're gonna get a lot of verses that just talk about it again again.

It'll go from outside of time to inside of time.

It'll go from what God's doing and it'll come in and show you our responsibility all in the same passage.

Isaiah chapter 5 the first part of it starting with verse 1 talks about the

work of a sovereign God in the life of the believer and Sometimes we give this the

theological term Sanctification.

Brother Otis asked me a question this week.

He said does man play any part in his sanctification?

From a theological point of view I would say no because generally the term sanctification is a work of the

Holy Spirit and the Word of God To you in your life.

It's something God does to you.

Now do you remember at the first the message we talked about?

Three years fruit coming up in the earth and God's people taking advantage of it three years.

What happened the first two years?

He said just eat of the fruit that just comes up of itself that picture sanctification.

That's something you're not doing.

That's something that God's doing but you're taking advantage of it the second year the same thing.

I Don't know what talk about third year till next Sunday.

But we see it the first part of this chapter speaks of God's sovereign work in the

life of the believer.

In Verse 1 we see that Jesus Himself is the vinedresser.

He says now will I sing to my well -beloved a song of my beloved touching his

harp his vineyard my well -beloved hath a vineyard in a very

Fruitful hill.

No, you start noticing some things about how God himself prepares us

to bear fruit.

The first thing is he that he does is he places the Lord Jesus Christ as as

the vinedresser.

Can you imagine that he is the one who is working on us to make us to be the best

vineyard and Secondly notice at the very end of verse 1 it says that he plants

us in a very fruitful Hill.

A couple of things we notice about this.

First of all, he plants the right seeds and Secondly, he plants it in the

right soil the good soil Calls it a fruitful hill puts us in a place where

we're apt to grow.

He puts us in a place where there are other people around us to disciple us.

When we're first say we didn't know how all That worked.

They just popped into our lives just an accident.

From our point of view and as we look back In my life anyway, 22 23

years later I can just go back and name the incidences where I met certain key people

that showed me what books not to read and Predominantly said just read your Bible.

It's your strongest concordance.

And who helped me to start to grow?

So Jesus planted me in a very fruitful hill and he does

that with all of his children and then verse 2 and he fenced it and

gathered out the stones thereof and planted it with the choicest vine and

Built a tower in the midst of it.

Also made a winepress therein and he looked that it should bring

forth grapes.

I'm gonna stop there because that last phrase is sad.

Let's stop there a minute.

I want you to look at everything that God in his sovereignty has done.

To produce fruit in our lives.

First of all, he puts Jesus as the vine dresser.

Secondly, he plants good seeds in perfect soil.

Thirdly he fenced it in.

Did you notice that?

What do you think that's talking about?

He fences it in.

Could it be a verse like Psalm 37 28 for the Lord loveth judgment and forsaketh.

Not his saints.

They are preserved for ever.

But the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.

How about Jude 1 Jude the servant of Jesus Christ and the brother of James to them that are sanctified

by God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ and called mercy

unto you and peace and love be multiplied.

He's placed a fence around us and Then we see fourthly That he gathered

out the stones Luke 13 8 and he answered and said to him Lord let it alone this year also

till I shall dig it and dung it.

And if it bear fruit, well He's done everything to make us bear fruit.

He's removed all the rocks from the soil.

Remember the parable of the rocky soil.

That can't happen to a believer I don't believe so he removes the rocks.

He he he digs around us.

He fertilizes us all of this is done.

He gathers gathers out the stones in the soil.

God himself works the very soil that he placed us in and he placed us in the best soil to start with

and Then fifthly we see that he planted it with the right seed.

He says the choicest vine.

That's God's seed.

That's the divine nature and that's what you were and are.

Sixthly we see that he built a lookout tower in the midst of this garden.

Isn't that amazing built a tower?

I mean you see towers built in gardens nowadays not too many but he builds a tower in the

midst of this garden as a vantage point and it pictures the omnipresence in the omniscience

and the Omnipotence of God's care over us that's better than a

scarecrow, isn't it?

But tell you what, it's not a bad scarecrow for the demons and for the devil.

For him to look and see God himself Watching over us from this tower.

Romans 8 27 and he that searcheth the hearts knoweth.

What is the mind of the Spirit?

Because he maketh intercession for the Saints the Lord Jesus Christ is as if he is in that tower

right in the midst of the garden and you're Planted and you may be the vine.

It's just growing right up that tower.

You may get to be the vine that just wraps right around the tower and grows up it and Jesus Christ is watching and

interceding For you all the time for the Saints according to the will of God and we know that all

things work together for good to them.

That love God to them who are called according to his purpose.

Why.

Because his tower is right there and you're probably Twice growing and grabbing hold of

that thing and climbing right up it like an ivy.

Verse 33 says who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?

It is God that justifies.

Who is he that condemneth it is Christ that died.

Yea, rather that has risen again who is even at the right hand of God who also maketh intercession for us

as if in a tower.

In the midst of the garden who shall separate us from the love of Christ.

You can't move that tower.

It's right there where you are right there in time where you are.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine nakedness peril sword?

These are all things that happen in time.

Nay, and all these things were more than conquerors through him that loved us for I am persuaded that neither death

nor life nor angels.

These are all things that are outside of time.

Nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor death nor any other creation.

That God ever made shall be able to separate us from the love of God.

Which is in Christ Jesus who is the vine dresser who's in that tower watching over you while you grow.

He's also watching to see if you're gonna bear any fruit or not.

But that's what talk about next time.

It says he made a wine press therein.

What is wine picture in the Bible.

More than one thing, but what's one thing the blood of Jesus?

It's right there in that garden you couldn't be climbing up that tower with your little vine if it weren't for

that blood and.

Secondly, what is it picture?

What is drinking wine in the Bible picture?

Joy.

And then we see another aspect it was his desire that it bring forth grapes.

Now look at Isaiah chapter 5 verse 2 B

and he looked.

That it should bring forth grapes.

He looked.

That it should bring forth grapes.

The word looked is an interesting word when I looked it up in the Hebrew I said boy, I have seen this word before and it took me a few minutes to

remember.

Where I had seen it in another Bible study, it's the word Calvo which means to bind

together by twisting.

So it pictures two vines almost like growing together and twisting around each other like this many

times.

It's translated into the word weight in all the verses.

You've ever read like Psalm 25 5 and other verses where it says wait on the Lord.

Did you know that the word weight in the Hebrew means to be twined together?

Be let's put it this way abide in Christ.

Let the branch be abiding in the vine while you wait on the Lord.

That's living by faith, isn't it?

And so It says that the Lord looked.

The Lord waited it.

It has to do with his mercy as well.

The Lord waited the Lord looked that it should bring forth grapes.

Why should it bring forth good grapes?

Look at all the things we've seen that he's done to prepare it.

God has not just demanded that we bring forth good grapes, but he has provided everything it takes

to do so and He's practically done it in us after all the grape is produced by

him in us.

But it kind of gets troubling when You look at the very last phrase in verse 2.

It didn't happen it says but it brought forth wild grapes.

Now That's the amazing thing and from there going forward in this little passage.

It moves away from the sovereignty of God outside of time to the responsibility of man in time.

Right in the same passage God will be seen to be just in his

judgment.

Which proves that man is responsible if he doesn't bear fruit.

Isaiah 5 2 B says and it brought forth wild grapes.

God will be seen to be just in this first of all because God has given us all look at verse

3 and Now Oh inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah judge.

I pray you between me and my vineyard.

Now, isn't it interesting that when God extends himself into time In

either in Christ or in the through the Holy Spirit in this case, we'll see he's in Christ

in time as the vine dresser.

That he sometimes speaks as a man and says judge between me and the vineyard.

I Want you to decide God says if I'm just or not.

Am I just in judging these people now?

I?

Asked you the question.

Am I just in judging these people now verse 4 says what could have been done more to my

vineyard a Fruit what more could God

have done in your life and in my life?

To cause us to make the right choices.

I've been a Few weeks ago.

I was giving this little book on William Carey and thoroughly enjoyed it and I've gone back and reread portions of it.

I read it 20 years ago and hadn't thought about it since until the last month.

I want to read just a little just a little bit of this in closing this morning because I want you to ask yourself the Question

let's do like we did in Sunday school.

We played the what -if game in Sunday school for a moment I'll play the what -if game.

With William Carey.

Let me read a little bit busy as he was with his teaching now.

He's in India.

He was the missionary to India he was the first man who really found the modern missions

movement and He was in India lived his whole life and died there.

He was teaching.

William Carey could not neglect the missionary work even though he was in the midst of his teaching.

He had the philosophy that he should work for a living by the way.

So that he didn't have to depend on their money.

You know why he didn't want them to have the ability to call him home.

To call him and say the money's out.

Come on back.

He said I'm not here because you sent me.

So he worked for a living one of the thing he did many things.

One of the things he did was he taught and William Carey could but even in his teaching he could not neglect the missionary

work.

That was so dear to his heart.

Especially was the Hindu convert Krishna Pal being blessed in the task

of spreading the gospel.

Let me tell you this.

Carey was there for 13 years before Krishna Pal came to know

Christ.

During that 13 -year period many of his preachers back home were calling him an extreme failure.

They're wanting to get him out of there, but they couldn't because he was making a living.

He had his own money.

So he kept right there and finally the 14th year Krishna Pal came to know the Lord

Jesus Christ and Was discipled by carrying began to witness to his own people the the Indian people

and I'm talking about in the nation of India.

Not Indians in America.

Though his stand now we're talking about his convert Krishna Pal here though his stand for Christianity

caused him much trouble and criticism.

Krishna remained firm in his declaration of faith.

Now.

The fact is this was not carries first convert.

It was at least his second probably his second his first convert.

Apostatized after some time and it was a long times about like a year.

He came claimed Christ did all the stuff with Kerry taught the Bible did work for the Lord.

And all sudden he went right back into Hinduism.

You think that might have been a discouragement for Kerry after 13 years and first convert all sudden he

Goes back gives up the faith and becomes a Hindu again.

But this man Krishna Pal didn't do this.

He followed through he built a little shed Near his home in which to preach.

They had to picture this in India a little shed means a little shed with dirt on the floor.

And here Kerry also often spoke on his weekend sojourn.

So William Kerry himself would come to Krishna Pal's house and preach to the people he could collect there.

Krishna gathered children and taught them gradually.

This became a rallying place for the Christian Indians.

Krishna's wife and sister also assisted in the task.

Now listen to this phrase right here because we're talking about fruits of the Spirit the love gentleness

and kindness of these Christian natives drew others like a powerful magnet and

Thus the truth spread far and near.

The missionaries were jubilant at these glorious results.

Kerry wrote this God is laying the foundation of his temple in India.

They were reaping the rewards for the long and diligent service.

They had rendered the answer to their fervent prayers after 14 hard years

in India and the loss of two children and the mental demise of his

wife.

Kerry had a handful Just a handful of Indian converts.

Criticism came from England and they were called.

Kerry was called a quote lowborn and lowbred mechanic.

However, these quote lowbred mechanics Through their love of

man and zeal for God their self Devotement their end of

fatigable industry and unequal learning.

Have translated the whole Bible now.

This is a quote that one of their their Fans wrote as the other preachers argued to try to shut down the

work.

The people that backed them wrote that one of the men Wrote this these so -called lowbred mechanics

have translated the whole Bible into Bengali.

And printed it.

They are currently printing the New Testament in Sanskrit Oriya Marathi

Hindi Gujarati and are translating it into pear seek

Telugu.

I can't even say the names of the languages let alone imagine speaking them and translating the Bible

Karnari's Chinese and the tongue of the Sikhs and Of the Burmans

and in four of these languages they are going on with the whole Bible.

Extraordinary as this is it will appear more.

So when it is remembered that of these men one was a shoemaker.

That's Kerry another a printer and a third a schoolteacher.

Now by the time it was done.

They had translated the Bible into 11 languages.

Now let's play the what -if game.

When Terry got ready to go his wife said I ain't going at

that.

This is the reincarnation of lots wife.

I'm afraid Don't believe in reincarnation, but she's very similar.

She says I've never seen the ocean.

I'm not about to get on it.

Kerry was willing to leave his wife and his babies and had already gotten

bored on a ship to go to India with a friend a doctor friend of his and

By coincidence They were cast off the ship because their papers weren't right and all that

troubled him because his heart wanted to be over there.

It postponed his trip by months and months.

But guess what happened in the interim his friend the doctor talked his wife into going.

So not only did he get to go but he got to take his family with him.

But he was willing to go without.

What if he had decided when his wife said I'm not gonna go.

What if he had said I don't must not be God's will for me to do this.

What if he had made that bad decision instead of producing grapes he had produced wild grapes.

What if when his little baby girl and then later his five -year -old boy who was so brilliant that by the

time he was five He'd already learned a couple of the languages over there and then he passed away.

And his little daughter died of some of the diseases that they had over there.

What if he'd said this is just I'm not willing to give this up.

I'm not willing to do this.

I'm gonna go back.

What if after 13 years he had quit?

And his first convert came the 14th year.

What if because of the criticism of these preachers he had decided this is just not the right thing to go.

I'm not popular anymore.

What if he had quit when his first convert apostatized.

What if he had quit with another in several of his converts were murdered by the Hindus.

In order to try to keep any of them from becoming Christians.

What if he decided just not to work and just to go on home.

Because he didn't have any money and he was depending on the home office and so he had to quit.

What if he'd made a decision not to work for a living?

What if he decided as a young person children listen to me a minute?

What if he decided not to study his schoolwork?

Do you know that part of his schoolwork was studying Latin and that he said later in life that his

study of Latin?

Because it was such a base Dead language and so many other languages have little

roots in Latin that it helped him to translate the Bible into 11 languages.

What if he hadn't studied his Latin and Greek and Hebrew as?

He became a young man.

What if he hadn't chosen to read adventure books?

Did you know that he did that?

He read books about adventures and travels.

He loved to read about Christopher Columbus and it put in his heart as a little boy the desire to see the

world.

And that the world was a big place.

So, let me ask you what about you.

What about your decisions.

Are they important.

Does God's sovereignty make your decisions unimportant?

Did you know that?

People that study quantum physics say that the movement of the smallest particle in existence affects every other particle

in the universe.

Did you know that every choice that you make affects every human being?

Every angel and everything in the universe.

What about you today?

Have you made decisions to bear good fruit or to just accept the wild grapes?

Have you made any decisions lately.

Have you made one this morning?

Are you willing to make one this morning?

What will you do with your life that'll affect God's world?

And God's kingdom work.

Would you come to the piano?

I'd like to give an invitation this morning.

Let's stand and have prayer together as you think about these things.

I Came under the conviction in my own message two weeks ago where we talked about worship.

That in the order of services that Baptists have developed.

There is no place for it.

And many times I've asked myself Can I prove biblically that you ought to have an old -fashioned altar call and I've never been able to do it.

Say didn't have that in the early church.

I've tried to use James before where it says faith without works is dead.

So it's an opportunity to put works to your faith.

But you know, I really did it for me was two weeks ago as I was preaching God taught me something in the middle of the message.

He said worship comes after I've made you aware of my presence.

Worship in many cases in the Old Testament came after the Word of God was found and they

spent Hours in the day standing and reading the Word of God and then they would fall on their faces as their minds

became aware of his awesome presence.

It might be dangerous for you to fall on your face with the pew in front of you.

So we're gonna have the altar available this morning.

So if God's touched your heart about any decision you come as the piano plays

if you want to just come and kneel quietly and not even Pray but just be

in praise before the Lord and Place your face on the ground before him.

You can use this altar to worship for a few moments this morning we won't stop the service until

You know that it's time for you to go back to your place.