Lessons from the Vine

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Bill Smith; Joh 15:1-5 Lessons from the Vine

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You are listening to the podcast of Recast Church in Matawan, Michigan. Thank you.
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Good to be together today. Excited for what God has for us this morning.
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I'm excited to bring the Word of God and just share what God has been sharing with me the last couple weeks as I've been working on this message.
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I've entitled Lessons from the Vine. Thank Pastor Don for this opportunity.
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As most of you probably know, he's in Indonesia coming back this week,
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I believe on Tuesday. Do I have that right? So yeah, good. Good.
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So praying for safe journeys for Don and the Lloyds. So I got to start out just by thanking
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Recast. You guys support us and our work at Youth for Christ.
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I was at the juvenile home already this morning helping bring the
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Word to the young people that are there. Thursday night in our chapel service, we had four of the young people pray and ask
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Jesus to come into their life. And so just excited to be part of the ministry of Youth for Christ.
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And just want to give you a quick update before I go into our introduction for today. I asked over two years ago that you would be praying that God would lead us to our next ministry center.
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We outgrew our ministry center that was on Crosstown Parkway. And by faith, we sold that building knowing that God had something for us.
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And we've been renting space in a building on East Main ever since.
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Well, little did we know as we were praying and searching for a building that the very building we were renting space in is the building that God is blessing us with.
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So we have a beautiful building on East Main right in the middle of the east side neighborhoods where young people will be able to just walk or ride their bikes to come and be loved on and learn the story of Jesus.
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And we are in the fundraising phase of it right now. We are going to totally renovate the entire building.
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We are going to build a gym onto it, which Youth for Christ in Kalamazoo, we've never had our own gym.
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So we are super excited because we know that more young people are going to be learning the good news of Jesus.
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So just pray with us that the funds will be provided for that building.
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God just continues to blow us away on people's generosity. We just really kicked off the campaign and well over a quarter of it's been raised already of the entire need.
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So super, super excited about that. In 1978,
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I was a 20 -year -old young man who was very lost and in darkness.
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I had gotten to the point in my life where I just didn't feel like there was much hope for my future through a series of really, really bad decisions in high school that started out with smoking marijuana, which can take you down all kinds of dark paths.
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It made me really sad when they legalized that here in Michigan because I know the harm that it can cause from personal experience.
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I was lost and in darkness and the Lord reached in and he rescued one of my best friends from this very lifestyle that I was trapped in.
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And he was so changed and transformed that I knew as he shared with me the story of Jesus and he told me that it was
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Jesus in his life who was setting him free that I knew it was a miracle of God.
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It was undeniable the change in my friend's life. And so as I learned the story of Jesus, I asked him to come into my life and he began to change and transform me.
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I quickly discovered what a treasure his holy word is and I began to dig into God's word and I began to learn of who he is and how he wants us, his people, to live.
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And I was so grateful for his salvation that like every commandment I read,
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I was like, okay, I want to obey that. I want to obey this. And I was trying to live out what
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I was reading in the word but I kept coming up so short of it time and time again.
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I failed. I was trying to get free from my old lifestyle and the old habits and I would often fall into temptation and I would feel that guilt and shame and I was struggling in my own strength to break free.
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I wanted to tell other people about Jesus and I was doing my best to do that and I wanted to serve
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God but I just kept feeling like a failure in that. Sometimes like a coward because I wouldn't even open my mouth for Jesus and then
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I would feel that shame and I'm wanting to obey God and I'm wanting to please him.
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Anybody ever feel like that? Feel that struggle? Feel like I just can't do this?
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That's how I felt. I just can't do this. And you know what? I discovered that's a good thing.
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When you come to the place where you admit I cannot live this life because there's good news.
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Jesus said you're right. So open your Bibles with us. We're gonna read
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John 15 verses 1 -5. We'll start in verse 1.
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John 15 1 -5. This is Jesus speaking and he calls himself something very interesting.
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He says, I am the true vine and my father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away or also that can be translated he takes up.
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In every branch that does not bear fruit he prunes that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because the word that I have spoken to you abide in me and I in you.
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As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine neither can you unless you abide in me.
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I am the vine you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him he it is that bears much fruit for apart from me you can do nothing.
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I remember as a new believer reading this passage and those words just jumped out to me where Jesus said apart from me you can do nothing.
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You know it was as if the father was saying you're right my child you can't do this on your own.
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You're struggling in your own strength but if you allow my life to live in you
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I can do it through you. And this was very freeing for me to hear
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Jesus say apart from me you can do nothing you can't do it. It's very freeing for me for ministry in the working with the young people that I serve and just encountering such darkness and struggles and in myself
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I have nothing to give them. But Jesus says abide in me and I in you and you'll bear much fruit.
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And so this morning I'm excited to look deeper into this connection between the vine and the branches and again
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I've entitled this message lessons from the vine so we're going to see what we can learn from the vine today.
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So let's pray together and then we'll have some beautiful time of worship. Father just thank you that you are the ever -present spirit that you live in us as followers of Jesus by your
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Holy Spirit that you are so fully aware of us our struggles our hopes our dreams our failures and you continue to love us through it all.
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Lord I just read in your word yesterday that nothing can separate us from your love and thank you so much for that.
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And thank you that we can be totally honest with you because you already know us inside and out and you are not shocked by anything we might tell you because you already know about it and you are the one who can heal and transform anything in our lives.
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Thank you so much for that. And we're just praying father that you would meet with us here in a special way.
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Lord many of us have perhaps had a tough week. Lord been discouraged and we just so need a word from you this morning and just pray as we worship together now that your praises will just restore some joy back in our hearts as we focus on your beauty and glory.
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And so we're just asking that you would do something really special here this morning and you are so worthy of praise and just thank you for the gift of music and that we can praise your name now this morning in Jesus name amen.
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Open your bibles up to John 15. I'm guessing many of you have read
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John 15. It's a really well -known chapter, really important chapter and I would encourage you if you haven't explored it maybe spend some time this week going through that chapter.
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I'm going to primarily focus on verses 1 through 5 this morning and again we are going to look at lessons from the vine and of course you know we see clearly that Jesus takes on kind of an unusual name here.
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In fact let's read verse 1 of chapter 15 together. Jesus said this,
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I am the true vine and my father is the vine dresser.
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Now that's an unusual thing to call yourself wouldn't you agree? Just you know kind of out of the blue I am the true vine.
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I picture Jesus and his disciples you know they were often walking the trails and in Israel there were a lot of vineyards back in that day.
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I'm assuming there's still a lot of vineyards in Israel today. We have a lot of vineyards in in Matawan Papa don't we?
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It's amazing how many grape plants there are. I just picture maybe that they've sat down along the trail and Jesus everywhere he went he's just he's teaching the truth of God.
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Maybe they even had pulled some grapes off and they were eating these delicious yummy grapes and Jesus points to the vine and and says look at the trunk of that grape vine.
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Look at the branches, look at the fruit. This is a picture of me and you my followers and then he says
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I am the true vine and I want to say with that that he is saying that he is the heavenly vine and that the earthly vine with the grapes and beautiful vineyards are so pretty that Jesus is saying that that vine is a picture of who he is and what he can be in our lives.
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A vine is something that's living and life -giving right? It's the trunk goes down into the ground with the roots and it brings forth that delicious fruit.
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Well Jesus is the living one who can bring forth beautiful fruit from our lives and you know
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I want that. You know I kind of come from a line of grouchy people.
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My dad was grumpy a lot of the lot of the time and it seemed like it didn't take my mom very much to get in a in a bad mood.
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Of course at that time they really didn't they didn't have Jesus in their life and I think that I think that makes all the difference.
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But you know what I realize sometimes maybe I can be I can be difficult and I think we we all are at times but Jesus is saying
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I can bring forth beautiful fruit from your lives and this immediately made me think of the fruit of the spirit from Galatians chapter 5 verse 22 and I just want to read this beautiful list of this this lovely fruit that God wants to bring forth from our lives and and kind of think is this like does this characterize my my life the way
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I respond to maybe my spouse or my children or my co -workers.
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It says the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self -control.
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That's some beautiful fruit right there right. Those are the kind of people I want to be around that that are like this not not the not the bitter ones the the grumpy ones so to speak.
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Well the vine is the life source of the branches. In fact what happens when you cut a branch off from the vine?
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It's not going to do very well is it? In fact it's going to it's going to wither quickly.
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Well I think Jesus is trying to tell us that he is the true and essential life of his people and that he lives in us by his spirit.
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I wrote this down. Jesus is the root and stock from which the branches his people derive their sap and nourishment.
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It is as we are connected to him that the holy spirit flows in us and fills us and ultimately bears fruit through us.
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So if you think of the sap coming from the vine the the life source of that great plant right and that that sap coming into the branches and giving the branches life and bringing forth that fruit that that's a picture of the holy spirit in us his people.
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Turn with me to Ephesians chapter 5 verse 18. I want to show you an interesting command.
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Ephesians chapter 5 verse 18. Speaking of this sap this this the spirit in us.
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Ephesians chapter 5 verse 18. It says this and do not get drunk with wine for that is debauchery but be filled with the spirit.
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That's a commandment and God is telling us don't let that alcohol fill you and influence you.
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Let my spirit fill you and influence you. Kind of a comparison there because for those of us who have drank alcohol before it alters something in you doesn't it?
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It gives you a feeling and the more you drink the more it affects you doesn't it?
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You've seen people act foolish because they've drank too much perhaps maybe it's happened to you before it it it alters us and and God is saying don't don't let that happen but let my spirit fill you and influence you and in the context of this word being filled it means to continually be filled.
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I've heard it often said that we as believers are leaky vessels. In other words yes
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I can I can connect with God and I and I can become alive in the spirit and and under the influence of the
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Holy Spirit and and all of a sudden I go out into my real world and some things are going wrong and that guy is tailgating me and I'm I'm about to step on my brakes and all of a sudden that kind of spirit seems like it's leaking out right like I I need to be like father fill me
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I'm sorry. All that the vine is to the branches
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Jesus will be to his people. He'll supply the life and strength and all that we need.
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Look at 2nd Corinthians chapter 3 with me for a minute. You know
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I I've been in ministry for a long time and you know
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I I still feel inadequate. I've been working with teams for 33 years teaching preaching discipling and I still feel so inadequate and that's good that's good because I'm not sufficient in myself.
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Look at look at what it says here starting in verse 4. Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything is coming from ourselves but our sufficiency is from God.
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Where does it say our sufficiency is from? It's from God. Okay so for me to say
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I can't do this Lord. I mean getting up here and preaching his word in and of myself
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I have nothing to offer but with his spirit leading and guiding me in the treasure in the life -giving word we have so much to offer to a lost and dark world as we allow
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Jesus to shine through us. One of my favorite authors he was a missionary in Africa and kind of became a a worldwide known
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Bible teacher and wrote lots of devotional type books his name was
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Andrew Murray anytime you see an Andrew Murray book that's some good teaching there and he wrote a book called
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The True Vine and I'm just going to quote something that he wrote about this.
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I am the true vine he who speaks is God and his infinite power able to enter us he is man one with us he is the crucified one who won a perfect righteousness in a divine life for us through his death he is the glorified one who from the throne gives his spirit to make his presence real and true he speaks oh listen not to his words only but to himself as he whispers secretly day by day
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I am the true vine all that the vine can be to its branch
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I will be to you Jesus is that vine he is a life source to his people and if you feel kind of dry and withered
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Jesus can he can restore your soul he can bring life into your soul he's so beautiful in doing that so in John 15 come on back there we see
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Jesus he's called the true vine and then the father has a unique name given here also
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John 15 one I am the true vine and my father is the vine dresser so think of what would be the job of a vine dresser right well taking care of the vineyard and vineyards need to be taken care of just like gardens need to be taken care of and we could take the word gardener and place it in here that God is the gardener and you know when
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I read this and started thinking about gardens how important is a gardener to a garden right
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I mean my job is to get the dirt to ready and that's what
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I do so I go out there and I dig it up for my wife Cheryl who is the gardener because I'm not if I took care of our garden you probably wouldn't be able to find the vegetables in it because they would be hidden under all the weeds but my wife she she loves to garden and she's a good gardener but who's done a little gardening here okay right it's is it important to take care of your garden if you're if you want fruit to come from it right okay man it's amazing how quickly weeds grow right
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I like God did that to cover the earth and man he did a good job because man they will take over in no time at all or if it's you know if we go through a period with no rain it doesn't take long before those plants start to to wither right because they need water and in a gardener is so important and God says
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I am your gardener Jesus is our vine and I want you to see what a beautiful gardener
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God is so turn with me to Isaiah chapter 27 Isaiah chapter 27 and read with me we're going to look at verses 2 and 3 of Isaiah 27 and this this is
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God speaking says in that day a pleasant vineyard sing of it
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I the Lord am its keeper every moment I water it lest any one punish it
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I keep it day and night now look at what kind of gardener our father is now the vineyard here is speaking of God's people that's what it's talking about his people it's talking about us followers of Jesus we are his vineyard and it says that he is our keeper and I look this word up in the
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Hebrew and it means to guard to protect and to maintain so this is a diligent gardener watching over the garden okay because there's even little critters that can get in and get your stuff right so there's things you can do to keep keep the little critters out to guard to protect to maintain you know my wife when her garden is gone you know every day she's out there pulling some some weeds out because you know those like again those weeds will quickly take over and and you can see how diligent our our father is in taking care of us he says
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I keep it night and day he protects it night and day that's comforting and assuring to me because we live in a crazy world
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I'm I'm saying okay um and there there's some there's some dangerous things out there right
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I mean I cover my family every day in prayer asking the Lord to protect him and and he is so faithful in taking care of us and protecting us he says
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I keep it night and day and then think of how important water is to to a garden so I I do a little gardening
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I I grow watermelons every year that's my part of the garden I do it in a different section and and uh
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I I just enjoy watering it that's the fun part you know the I don't like pulling the weeds though so much but but water is so important to a garden and what is this water that God is talking about here if he's talking about us as the vineyard and he waters it every morning or he waters at every moment in Ephesians 5 26 the word of God is compared to water that isn't that interesting this
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I'm just going to quote from Ephesians 5 26 it says that he might sanctify her speaking of the church having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word the word is life giving you know we can't live without water can we
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I like only up to four days without water and and we we would perish it's it's so important and it's so refreshing right a nice drink of cold water
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I'm kind of thirsty right now but I feel funny like drinking in front of you guys so but water is so refreshing right and it washes us and cleanses us and in God's word is like water it's as we spend time alone with God in his word that he is able to water us and nourish us and help us grow those times alone with the father in his presence with his book open asking him to speak to you that's when you're going to be renewed in your soul and refreshed and that's where healing can take place in us as we learn to listen to his voice and we spend time in his word it it has a cleansing effect in our souls and a renewing effect
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I I know that there is no way I would still be in ministry at youth for Christ after 33 years had
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I not spent time every day alone with God in his word every day of those 33 years that's the only way
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I can do it and so many times I have sat down so beat up and discouraged and just opened his word and father
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I need you speak to me opening the psalms and just hearing
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God speaking into my soul and reminding me I love you my son
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I'm I'm with you in learning the beautiful truths of who he is that's that is so nourishing to us as believers you know how important is it is to eat right
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I mean it keeps us alive how important is it to eat spiritually to to be in his word and you know at times even his word can be dry to us but we stay in it and oftentimes
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I know when it becomes dry to me is I'm I'm just reading it in my own intellect or out of a sense of duty but when
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I get honest and real with God and just say father speak to me through your word and it's not how much
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I read at a time if it's a paragraph and God gives me a truth that can keep me walking with him through that day that's how powerful his word is so I ask you fellow believer do you feel dry and withered like you're drying out on the inside if that's true find a quiet place and get alone with your father and open up his book and ask him to speak to you ask him to water and refresh your soul and he can do it how many times have we sat down totally defeated and discouraged and poured out our hearts to God and opened his word and let him renew our minds and we rise up differently than we sat down amen you experienced that that's what we need daily once a week isn't enough like eating dinner once a week that's just not somehow gonna cut it is it and you know
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I'm not trying to put a guilt trip on anyone here okay believe me that's the last thing
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I want to do I I just want you to know if you haven't discovered it already that this word is a treasure because it's the very word of God and he can speak to us through it he can speak to you he loves you he wants to speak to you through his holy word