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Ezekiel 15
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Live from Sedona. No, live from Bremerton. It's Monday night. We wanna welcome you. We're gonna pray for the Dinsmores. They are they have mama and sister. We've got, health issues, and, we got caregivers that are spent and need, to be refreshed. And so let's pray. Father, we lift up, the Dinsmores. We pray for mama and sister, and we pray that, God, the doctors would do miracles of healing and help clear the stomach out and get everything back how it's supposed to be and, refresh and strengthen Mark and Shelly, and help them to be able to, make the adjustments necessary to to, be the caregivers, Lord, you've called them to be. Just watch over and protect them. Lord, we lift up, this night and pray that you bless and anoint. And as we study your word, as we worship you, thank you for the meal that you provided, and bless our fellowship, In Jesus' name, amen. Puritify my heart. Let me be as gold and precious silver purify my heart let me be as gold pure gold refiner's fire my heart's one desire is to be set apart for you lord I choose to be holy set apart for you my master ready to do your you refine my heart let me be as gold holy set apart for you lord I choose to be set apart for you my master ready to do your purify my heart cleanse me from within and make me holy purify my heart cleanse me from my sin deep within holy set apart for you lord I choose to be holy apart for you my master ready to do your will. Amen. Amen. I'm forgiven because you were forsaken. I'm accepted. You work in them. I'm alive and well your spirit lives within me you died and rose again sing it with me again oh I'm forgiven because you were forsaken. I'm accepted. You work in them. I'm alive and well. Your spirit lives within me because you died and rose again amazing love can it be that you my king would die for me amazing love I know it's true and it's my joy to honor you in all I do. I honor you. I'm forgiven because you were forsaken I'm accepted you were condemned I'm alive and well your spirit lives within me because you died and rose again amazing love how can it be that you my king would die for me amazing love I know it's true and it's my joy to honor you. Amazing love can it be and it's my joy to honor you in all I do. I honor you in all I do. I honor you in all I do. I honor you. Amen. Praise god. Sing this simple song of love to my savior to my Jesus I'm grateful for the things you've done my loving savior my precious Jesus my heart is glad that you call me your own there's no place I'd rather be my heart is glad that you call me your own there's no place I'd rather be than in your arms of love in in your arms of love I sing the simple song to my savior to my Jesus I'm grateful for the things you've done my loving savior my precious Jesus my heart is glad that you call me your own there's no place I'd rather be holding me still holding me holding me still holding me near in your arms of love my heart is glad that you call me your own there's no place I'd rather be oh no no my heart is glad that you call me your own there's no place I'd rather be than in your arms of love arms of love in holding me still holding me holding me still holding me near in your arms of love. Amen. Praise the lord. Ezekiel chapter 15. For those of you that missed last week, Vicky has it recorded as we were in Sedona last week. So chapter 14, we did that last week at 05:00 if you missed it. And so if you wanna transition into chapter 15, you can go back and look at chapter 14 later at another time. Excuse me. So, father, we come before you, Lord, and thank you once again. We ask you anointed time as we're in your word. And, thank you, Lord, that we can be students of your word, disciples of your word, Lord, in these last days where, there's a famine in land for the word of God, where the people, don't seem to have a desire for your word. And, Lord, the high amount of people depressed and discouraged and suicides, Lord, those who call themselves Christian haven't been prepared. And the pastors, the churches just have not helped the Christian to grow and be able to manifest what it is to walk by faith and to have hope and to rely upon you, Lord. And so, Lord, I pray that evermore, those that want to know you would seek you with all their heart, all their mind, all their soul, all their strength. And, Lord, I pray as we're tested, I pray that our as you said, Lord, when the son of man comes, will he find faith upon the earth? I pray that we'd exhibit faith, Lord, that we would be men and women of faith. Because without faith, it's impossible to please you. They come to you must believe that you are and that you're rewarded those who diligently seek you, Lord. So tonight, we desire to diligently seek you. In Jesus' name, amen. Tragic, tragic times we're living in, but very exciting too. We wanna pray for the people in North Carolina and the ones in Florida with the Hurricane Building Building Building Building. We wanna pray for Israel. So, father, we come before you once again, and we lift up the victims of people that lost their homes, lost everything, family members lost. And, Lord, our government, FEMA, has not not even shown any kind of leadership at all, and it's so tragic. I thank you for Samaritan's Purse. Thank you for the churches. Thank you for the godly men and women who desire to go there and alleviate the suffering, and I just pray you continue to give them open doors. And I pray you continue to expose the wickedness, Lord, of those that are trying to profiteer from this. And, Lord, we lift up those in Florida also as they're facing they're evacuating Florida and facing another huge storm. And we just lift them up and pray for them that you keep them safe. We pray that you dissipate that storm, that hurricane, cause it to just fizzle, Lord. And, Lord, we also lift up Israel as they're being hit by rockets over and over and over again, and we just pray that you give their leadership wisdom, and you lift up a hedge of protection to protect them, Lord, from all that's happening. In Jesus' name, amen. Okay. Chapter 15. And the word of the Lord came unto me saying, Ezekiel, son of man, what is the vine? He's gonna use another parable, another picture of a vineyard and, the type of wood that makes up a vine, and then there's branches as we see in John 15. But which any carpenters here? People that work with wood? Yeah. Sean? Yeah. Are you are you able to build anything out of grape grape wood, the wood of grapes as it twists and turns and gnarls and all that? Can you build a build something with it? Pretty hard to build something with it? Build a fire with it. Build a fire? Yeah. Okay. And that's what the Lord's gonna say here. So, son of man, what is the vine? What is the vine? What's it represent? And, what is the vine tree more than any tree or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest? So we have Alaskan mills, we have ability to mill things, and we can take regular trees and mill them into boards. The grapevine, the wood that, as we said, all gnarled and curved and twisted and all that, the point in time where they're at, it'd be very difficult to make a straight, you know, straight piece of wood, that you could utilize for building. So as Rob says, it's, primarily, as the Lord's gonna point out here, just for fuel. Just to be burned is about the only, use thereof. So tree more than any tree or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest. Shall wood be taken of it to do any work? It's unfit. It's unfit to build something, thereof. And he says, should wood be taken of it to do any work, or will, men take a pin of it to hang any vessel on it? So it's it's pretty pretty hard trying to get a pin in it. Behold, it is cast into the fire, so for fuel. That's the main use of it in a vineyard if you're if you're taking some of the plants down or whatever, and, the vines aren't producing anymore, whatever may be that you have to take it out. So behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel. The fire devours both the ends of it, and the middle of it is burned. And that's all it's good for. Is it fit for any work? No, it's worthless. It's worthless for any other kind of work. In Hebrews six verse eight, talks about the unbeliever, how they don't bear fruit. They're just full of thorns and briars. And, all is good for it is is to be cast into the fire. In Proverbs sixteen four, the Lord has made all things for himself, yea, even the wicked for the day of evil, for the day of judgment. And so what purpose is the wicked? What purpose is a vine that has no real use, no bearing of fruit, nothing with a positive end thereof? And so we are and we're made for God's pleasure. Thou art worthy, o Lord, to receive glory, honor, and power for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. And so if you and I aren't bringing God pleasure, and we're not living for for him, we're living for self as an unbeliever or the nation of Israel in a time of apostasy, of rebellion against God, then God says, you know, the intention, the reason I made you is for myself, and I wanted you to bear fruit, to bring glory and honor unto me. But in Isaiah chapter five verses one through seven, he describes them as as a wild wild grapes. So let's go there, chapter five. Isaiah chapter five. Here we go. I'm there. Chapter five. He says, now will I sing to the well beloved a song of beloved touching his vineyard. My Well Beloved has a vineyard in a very fruitful hill. And he dug it and gathered out the stones and planted it with the choicest vine and built a tower in the midst of it and also made a wine press in it and he looked for it to bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. So a very poor return on the investment. Jesus is gonna use Isaiah five and Matthew chapter 21, which will go there later also. But talking about the investment, all that I've done to try and get the nation of Israel to bring forth fruit, and they're not bringing forth fruit. And now, what happened to Jerusalem, men of Judah, judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard. What could have been done more to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Why then I look for it to bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? So rebellion, rebellion at heart. And the wild grapes aren't the kind that you make good wine with. They're not the kind that are sweet and edible. They're more bitter. And now I will tell you what I will do, to my vineyard. I will take away its hedge, and it shall be eaten up and break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. And so the Lord's gonna remove that wall of protection from the nation of Israel, gonna remove that wall of protection, that hedge of protection, and make it vulnerable to be trampled down. And I'll lay it waste, and it shall not be pruned nor digged, but there shall come up briars and thorns, and I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. So left to dry up and get more and more brittle. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant. And he looked for justice, and behold oppression, for righteousness, but behold a cry. And so, the distress, God's heart as he's looking and he sees the potential, and he wanted so much for the nation of Israel to bear that fruit and bring him glory and honor, but they wouldn't. And and so then in Jeremiah two, Jeremiah two verse 21, he says, Yeah. I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed. How then art thou turned into this degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me? Again, the Lord planted a noble, you know, for for do great things. And the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show himself strong on behalf of a man whose heart, you know, is perfect toward the Lord. And but the divided heart, the divided of wanting the world, and one foot in the world, one foot with the Lord. And then in Hosea chapter 10 verse one, Israel is an empty vine. He bringeth forth fruit unto himself according to the multitude of his fruit. He has increased the altars according to the goodness of his land. They have made handsome images. So the Lord says, I made you prosperous. I allowed you to be real fruitful, you know, but you use it for yourself, and you you take and you engage in idolatry. You're buying idolatrous things and, you know, importing idolatrous practices and in that time of prosperity. So, you know, I blessed you. You've been a fruitful vine, but only not for me, but for yourselves. And that kinda sounds like the church of Laodicea doesn't. We're rich and increased with goods in need of nothing. And so we take the prosperity, and, we call it the blessings, and we become self satisfied. And then we kick Jesus out of the church, and he and he stands there knocking on the door, and we miss the whole point of what it means to abide in him. And so to stay connected to him. So you're worthless. Verse five, behold behold, when it was whole, it was fit for for no work. How much less shall it be fit for any work when the fire has devoured it and it is burned? And so, you're either bearing fruit or you're gonna be burning, one or the other. You either bear fruit for his kingdom and glory or you're gonna spend eternity in hell burning. Can we talk like that? Is that loving? Aw, You know? So many people get really bummed out when we talk about hell, like, oh, that's so God doesn't send anybody to hell. People go to hell by rejecting Jesus. God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but the wicked turn from their wickedness. And the cry goes out, you know, to whosoever will, let them come. God's God's pleading. He's pleading with people to come to Christ. But a guy today at the gym, Jason, who's a Christian, he said it this way. It's pretty interesting. I've never said it this. I've never heard this before. But if God were to open the doors of hell, the people wouldn't come out. They'd stay there in hell. Isn't that amazing? It's where they choose to be. That's just fascinating to me that even if God were to open the doors of hell, the people would choose to remain in hell, because they so hate God. That's radical, isn't it? That's just so radical. Man, I just I don't want to fight God. The last person I want to fight is God, you know? Holy smokes. Yeah, they're smoking, aren't they? So therefore, thus saith the Lord God, as the vine tree among the trees of the forest which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give thee inhabitants of Jerusalem. So you're going to be a castaway. The Lord's gonna cast them away. In the New Testament, Paul uses the word or disqualified. A person that's disqualified is cast away and discontinues in the race and such. And so, you're bearing no fruit. And I will set my face against them. They shall go out from one fire and another fire, and shall devour them, and ye shall know that I am the Lord. So one of the ways God is glorified is in saving us. Another way God is glorified is in judging those guys in Washington DC. He's gonna be glorified when he judges the globalists, when he judges the earth dwellers, the people that hate him, you know, eventually. He's gonna be glorified. And the angels are gonna stand back and say, holy, righteous, and true are your judgments, oh Lord. The church, everybody's gonna be standing back going, this fits. This fits the crime. What you're doing to them fits the crime. And finally, finally, someone's gonna drain the swamp. Finally, somebody's going to raise up a standard of righteousness. And doesn't it make you furious to watch our government give only $750 to hurricane victims? Doesn't it just make you insane when you know how much they're giving to these illegal aliens that Mayorkas brought in from all these different countries? And yes, they're illegal aliens. And they're being hold up in hotels. The government's paying for it. The FEMA fund used for that. $3,500 EBT cards. Just, insane what they're doing. And then they have the audacity to give the people behind us $750. $750. Mind blowing. The amount of money they give Ukraine, amount of money they send all over the world, and yet their own people, can't even get the compensation to get out of the, you know, the threat of of life and death. And, it's just so incredibly sad. And so one day the Lord's gonna expose them and deal with them. So God says, put my face against them. I just need the Lord to smile upon me. I don't need the Lord's face to be against me. I wanna look into his eyes, and I don't wanna see angry eyes, you know? I wanna see compassionate, loving, caring eyes. And in Romans eight thirty one, since, not if, but in the Greek, it's since. It's a known fact. If God be for us, who can be against us? Well, it's since God is for us, who can be against us? And so, what can separate us, Paul goes on to say, from the love of God? Can height or depth or principality or power, things present, things to come. Nothing. Nothing can ever, of all creation, separate us from the love of God that's in Christ Jesus. And, no man can pluck us out of his hand. We're secure in his hand. And that's where I wanna be. I wanna stay in that place near the spout where the glory pops out. Right? I don't wanna veer or live at a distance. I don't wanna lose sight or lose connection with God and then try and pick it back up later. You know, years and years and years later, I don't want to backslide away from the Lord. Anybody that is backslidden or prodigal or whatever, the Lord still welcomes you back. He's ready for you to come home. He's been pleading. He's been he's interceding. He's praying that you'll come home. But he's not gonna force you to come home. And he'll allow the consequences of your actions, your disobedience to correct you and hope that you'll realize eating pig's food, living like a drunk, living with drugs, living a riotous lifestyle, you know, God has something so much better intended for you. And I'll make the land desolate, and our life becomes desolate, just degraded. The degradation of sin, the degradation of that comes with turning our backs upon God. I was watching this morning Charles Barkley, and he's a guy talking about athletes and stuff. And this Caitlin Clark is really this this woman, a basketball player, has caught the attention of everyone around the world. And she's she's been dissed. She's been wiped out and, you know, mistreated because she's so good. She's incredibly good. She's better than all of them. Well, the black players think that she's good because she's got white privilege. So it's it's the insanity in their reasoning. Betty's Betty's granddaughter is a really good wrestler. She got that way because of white privilege. Betty Betty Betty let her live in her home, you know. Betty let her have her name, you know? I mean, how's that equate? How's that work? I just wake up one day and I'm gonna be good at something because because I was just born white or black or whatever? And, so the the idiocy, the insanity of racism. One lady who is the MVP of the league, in an insane thing, said, Caitlin Clark should pay reparations. How insane do they I think they must be doing this on purpose to create a big fight. And she's quit the league now. She quit the league. And league could go under because they had such incredible attendance and all. And so she gets poked in the eye, knocked to the ground, the ref's not calling the calls. And then here's the one that broke my heart. All of that I can see from your competitors, but then her own team. Her own team in the playoff game went to sleep. They don't want her on their team because she gets too much attention. They'd rather be a bunch of losers they'd rather be a bunch of losers like they were before she came on the team than to allow her to shine and to lead them to victory. Ain't that sad? That's so incredibly sad when God begins to bless your life and you're bearing fruit and you're Joseph of the coat of many colors and you practically have to do it yourself because so many people on your team are working against you. Does that sound familiar in the church? Yeah. Yeah. We gotta go see that movie, don't we? The Average Joe. That's exactly a good representation of that. I mean, you're you're fighting against the guy. All he said was voluntary prayer. Anybody that wants to pray, And then he comes back after winning the lawsuit, and they're all jealous, and they don't even want him to be there anymore, you know? When Kathy and I were downtown, it was the people in the church that were working against us. God was blessing mightily, but we had we had people that were calling the state and trying to get the daycare shut down. And I found out this all way later that over 20 calls over 20 calls, my own staff, my own people trying to find fault to shut the place down. And, they're not bearing fruit. They're not bearing any fruit at all. That was their chance. That was their chance to be a part of something that, would bless others. But it get thrown into the fire. It just gets burned up. And a whole lot of children, a whole lot of people miss out on the blessing that God intends when the church becomes so incredibly divided in that way. Now turn to John chapter 15. The next week next week in chapter 16, it's going to take us about five hours. We've got 63 verses. Tonight, we've got like just a few verses, but it doesn't matter because the real meat of the lesson tonight is found in the New Testament, is found in John chapter 15. And do you guys remember where the book of John is? I can't find it. Can someone help me find it? Page one sixteen. Okay. I was such a smart aleck. Now I can't find it. Oh, here we go. Here we go. It's still in the Bible. I thought maybe somebody ripped it out of there. Now, Jesus says, I am. One of the great I am statements. I am what? I am the true vine. Give me another great I am statement, the great I am. John fourteen six, I am the way, the truth, the life. No man comes to the Father but by me. What else? Another I am statement. What? I am the door in John 10. What's that mean? He's the way into the fold. He's guarding the fold. No wolf's gonna get in there. They have to come through Him. I am the door. We talked when we were in Sedona about the door of the ark being shut. Jesus is that door, and Jesus is that ark. We get into Christ, we by being in Christ, we avoid judgment. What else? I am the Alpha, the Omega in the book of Revelation. I am the first and the last. What else, Betty? I am the good shepherd. Amen. John eight, I am the Great I Am. Before Abraham was, I Am. I am what I am. I don't know where that is, but praise the Lord. Popeye. Popeye. That's Popeye. Get some spinach there. Thanks, Corey. This is a good study. I am the bread of life. I am the light of the world. Now, you remember C. S. Lewis? Lord, liar, lunatic? Lord, liar, lunatic. Do you know what that means? When Jesus says, I am the resurrection and the life, when Jesus says, I am the door, when Jesus says, I am the great I am, He's either Lord and He's telling the truth, or he's a liar, or he's a lunatic. He's lost his mind. So each person needs to decide if it's true, you're dealing with Almighty God. That's who you're dealing with. Nobody can come on the scene, as C. S. Lewis points out, and declare these things of himself and get away with being a liar or a lunatic. People just scoff at him and say, you know, the guy's a liar. He wasn't crucified, buried, raised from the dead. So he's a liar. Or he's just lost his mind. His own family members came at one point and thought he thought he had lost his mind, that he's beside himself. The fool has said in his heart, there is no god. That word fool means either you're a liar or you're a lunatic. You've lost your capacity to think. Truly, there are no atheists. There are no atheists. Everybody. The demons believe and they tremble. Everybody knows and believes that there's a god. They just lie to themselves and lie to other people. I saw a little clip of Al Pacino saying, yeah, when you die, it's just over. It's just over. Well, how's he know? Did he die and come back? He said he did? Yeah. Said he did. Oh, wow. Let's keep him down for three days. Make sure. Let's take a spear and break the pericardium. Blood and water pop out. So that's falsehood, a false hope that people would have. So Jesus says, I am the great I am, the true vine, and my father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he takes away and every branch that beareth fruit, he purges it that it may bring forth more fruit. So notice as we go through here you're going to have no fruit, you're gonna have fruit, you're gonna have more fruit, and you're gonna have much fruit. Where do you wanna be? Alright, Much so watch this. So you got a vineyard. The father's the farmer. He's the husbandman, the one that's planted this vineyard. And the vineyard represents the nation of Israel that is unregenerate. Could also represent, you know, believers and unbelievers. And, I'm the vine, you're the branches. So something that would look worthless that you couldn't build anything out of, the Lord says, I'm the vine. Without me, you can do nothing, we're gonna see here. But with Jesus, you can be connected to something that's that's seemingly worthless. But because you're connected to him, life is flowing through him. Life is flowing into your life and causing your life to be fruitful. And so how do we know who you are? Jesus said you'll know them by their fruit. Right? So J. D. Vance wears eyeliner. Is that okay? Yeah. He wears eyeliner for the probably a lot of them do it. But if you check JD Vance out and you see his connection to Peter Thiel and all the tech companies and how he got his money and who's coming into this administration when Trump's appointed, you're gonna be amazed how we're moving in the direction of artificial intelligence. If, you thought that Mike Johnson is a Christian, why isn't Mike Johnson getting the Republicans and everybody to say that we're gonna give some money to people in North Carolina, know, Speaker of the House? Why not raise some raise some Now he's a Christian, I heard, you know? And so you know them by their fruit. They come in and people think they're great, gonna drain the swamp, but they don't drain the swamp. And they don't expose the fraudulent election. They don't pardon those of the j six people. They let people believe that there wasn't enough votes when it was a landslide. They had four years to fix it, four years to get it right. And now we're going back to the same well. And again, Jesus said, you'll know them by their fruit. I don't I don't need to guess. I I know that the warp speed jab has killed millions of people. Someone mentioned tonight that maybe two thousand died from this hurricane. Right? Mhmm. Maybe three thousand five hundred to five thousand died from, nine eleven. Do you know millions are dying from the jab? Millions upon over thirty million probably. And they're continuing to die. It's the greatest genocide of my lifetime. And yet, not a peep from the media. You'll know them by their fruit. You'll know them by their actions. It's not a mystery. We've had plenty of time to examine fruit. So judge not, lest ye be judged. Well, can we be fruit inspectors? Can we evaluate a person's life and say, alright, I see your lips moving. You talk the talk. You're like a hypocrite. You talk real big. But I don't see the fruit of the spirit, which is love. There's no love. So I've got to question it. So he says, I'm the true vine and my father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he takes away, and every branch that beareth fruit, he purges it that it may bring forth more fruit. So when Kathy and I, when I was growing up, let's say when I was growing up, my mom loved rose bushes. And I planted a bunch of them at our house and I loved to go out there each morning and clip off the bad ones and get the good ones. And so you're pruning and there's a certain time of year you prune it way back. And when you prune it way back, it's going to bear more fruit. It's not allowing the nutrients and the life of it to go into dead branches. It's able to stimulate and bring forth new branches, nice green ones that become strong and bear thorns and flowers there. And so he takes away the branch and he bears fruit and he purges it. So some of them that don't bear fruit, the branches that don't, that dry and dead, they clip them and they're gonna go into the fire, right? The branches that are bearing fruit, he wants to purge them. Wants to wash them. So the washing is the grapes are getting real heavy and they're starting to hang down so far, they're hanging down onto the ground. And so the vine dresser would come there and lift them up a little bit. Some of you that do, tomatoes, you do that. You take little strings and you take them and you bring them up on the trellis and you tie a string there to hold them up so that they're not down on the ground, right? And then you take a little bit of water and you wash the dirt and the stuff off of it. And God is washing you and I, purging you and I with his word. And as he's washing us and purging us from the filth of this world with his word, now we're able to be more focused upon Jesus and bear not just fruit, more fruit, and maybe someday much fruit, right? And so, he purges that it may bring forth more fruit. And so, the Lord's looking for growth in your life. You may feel like, hey, I haven't bore a whole lot of fruit. There isn't a whole lot of converts. In Romans chapter one, Paul talks about the desire in writing of the letters that there might be some more converts, and he called it fruit. I wanna be fruitful. And when we share the gospel at Calvary Bremerton, every now and then somebody gets saved and, hey, there's some fruit. If Kathy and I look over thirty years of being here, there's not a whole lot of people. I mean, if I were to estimate the amount of people that came to Christ, that's one part of fruit. I would say, with all the outreaches and all that we did, I would say maybe 300 people maybe, somewhere in there over thirty years. And the thing that comforts me is there's rejoicing in heaven among the angels when just one sinner repents. So although there isn't the huge big numbers, it's significant because somebody went from death to life, from hell to heaven. Now, had I stayed in California and lived for myself, except a corn and wheat fall to the ground and die, it abides alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. So part of our fruit bearing is dying to self. Had I lived for self and just wanted to live a life that pleases me, then chances are there wouldn't even be 300 or even 30 people that are in heaven as a result of living for myself. Family members first, it stands out towards your friends. And we're gonna be really jazzed, really excited if there's just eight people that believe in Jesus from our lives. Eight people got into the boat with Noah, right? Noah and seven others. And those seven others are family members. You wanna make sure that you're bearing fruit in that way, that your family is in heaven, especially we as parents that are our children would be there. I just don't know how heaven could be heaven without those that the Lord gave me the greatest amount of influence with if they're not there. It would be so hard. I hope the Lord erases our memory in that regard. He's gonna wipe away all tears, so there must be something about the memory because if I still have the memory, I'm gonna keep crying about it, right? Take away all sorrow and wipe away all tears. So he purges it that it may bring forth more fruit. So the washing of regeneration. The washing not by works of righteousness we have done, according to his mercy saved us with the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. So a brand new believer also. And, now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. And so God's word cleanses us. We see in Romans 12 verse two, be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove as a good and acceptable and perfect will of God. How important it is to be immersed in God's word. The picture there in John 13 of Jesus washing his disciples' feet, you get defiled. You go to work and you hear really crummy stuff. You're out in the world. We're in the world, but not of the world, but the world has a way of piling its filth upon us. And then we come home, and, for many of us, we gotta take a shower, gotta take a bath, we gotta wash that filth off. And so part of the way we do that is as soon as we get in our car when we're leaving work, we, although we may have been praying without ceasing, we begin to put some praise and worship music on or a bible study on and, begins to transform, and change our minds, wash us. And so you can take the negative and get rid of the negative by indulging in the positive. When your kids are overwhelmed with the world, pour the word of God into them. Keep pouring the word of God into them. And the solution to pollution is what? Dilution. Pour more water in there. Pour the word of God in. Abide in me and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine. So the abiding means that you're gonna stay connected. You're gonna stay close to the Lord. You don't need to worship Jesus from afar. You don't need to go back into the world and go to church twice a year, two timers, Christmas and Easter, and tell people you're saved. He he wants you to bear fruit. He wants a close intimate relationship with us. He doesn't want us in this marriage to have it a marriage of distance, you know? So abide me and I in you, so stay connected as the branch cannot bear fruit. You cannot bear fruit by working like, I want a branch. You see it? You just stay connected. And his life flows into you, and your life bears fruit. It's not by works of righteous that we have done. And so it's not working. It's trusting. It's staying connected. And we used to have a grove of apple trees, and I never once saw a face on the apple going you know. It just stays connected, right? So the servant of the Lord must not strive. The striving, the fighting, the laboring, the stress associated with the flesh. Just walk in the spirit. Stay connected. Allow God to transform and change you. It's his job. A little ways down here, he's gonna say, without me, you can do nothing. Except he abides in the vine. No more can ye except he abide in me. So remain where he's planted you. Remain where he's placed you. He said, but Rick, I I just I don't like it. I wanna go somewhere else. The grass is greener on the other side. Stand still while he prunes you. Stand still while he washes you. And grow where you're planted. Begin to bear fruit right where you're at. Don't don't project that, well, when I retire, then I'm gonna serve the Lord and bear some fruit. Bear fruit right now while you're working. Just stay connected to the Lord. Allow him to give you divine opportunities and a means of bearing fruit. Allow him to transform and change you. There's the overt, the outward, somebody getting converted. But we're gonna go to Matthew chapter or excuse me, Galatians five, and we're gonna see the fruit of the spirit in contrast to the works of the flesh. I am the vine, you are the branches. He that abides in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. For without me you can do nothing. So you got no fruit. You've got fruit. You got much fruit. You got more fruit. Right? You're gonna bear more, you're gonna bear much. More fruit than much fruit. So we want to grow. We want to continue to bear fruit. If a man abide in me and he is cast forth as a branch and is withered, and men gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you. So the privilege of prayer. The branches that don't bear fruit, they cut them off and they cast them into the fire. And so that would be indicative of like an unbeliever. An unbeliever has an inability to bear fruit. The nation of Israel, in a rebellious relationship with God, they're not gonna bear fruit. The Lord said, you're gonna go through the fire of judgment. And that fire of judgment, for the nation of Israel during the tribulation period is gonna lead to purification, a one third remnant purified. And this is my father glorified that you bear much fruit, so shall you be my disciples. So prayer is associated with bearing much fruit. The Lord prompts our heart. The Lord puts in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure. God's working in you. God's putting those desires there. And God wants you to pray about that which he's putting in you, both to will and do. So you wanna know God's will? Delight yourself in the Lord. He's gonna give you the desires of your heart. The desires of your heart is not the lottery because James says you have not because you ask amiss desiring to consume these things upon your own lust. No. It's life of the spirit. The Lord is putting in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. And so the Lord wants you to pray and ask, seek, knock, and he's going to make that way for you to fulfill the will that he's putting in your heart. As the father has loved me, so have I loved you. Continue ye in my love. And so you're gonna bear much fruit. The father's glorified. You're gonna be his disciple, a learner. He's invested in you, and he asks that you love him as he's loved you. And you continue in that love. It's not a one time thing. We continue in that love. If you keep my commandments conditional, if if you keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my father's commandments and abide in his love. And so obedience, the obedience of faith. These things have I spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you and that your joy may be full. God wants the joy in your life to be bubbling over, spilling over, overflowing joy in your life. And this is why Jesus has spoken these things unto us. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Wanna know God's will? Love one another. How? As he's loved us. How did he love us? Sacrificially. Greater love has no man than this than a man laying down his life for his friends. And many of you know what that is. You live lives of sacrifice in many different ways. You're my friends if you do whatever I command you. So the relationship from servant, from disciples, becomes a friend now. You're a friend of the Lord. He calls you his friend. So greater intimacy. So henceforth I do not call you servants, for a servant knows not what his Lord doeth, but I have called you friends. For all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Jesus wants us to know. He wants us to be in the know. He's got secret knowledge. He's got secret things that he's heard from the father, mysteries once hid, now revealed, that he wants you and I to know. The world can't understand these things. The world can't know these things. The natural man understands not the things of God, neither can he know them. But eye has not seen nor ear heard, neither is in the heart of men the things which God has prepared for them that love him, but God has revealed them unto us by his spirit. The joy and the blessing of focusing upon heaven and the soon return of Jesus Christ. He says, you have not chosen me, but I've chosen you. There's your foreknowledge. There's your predestination. There's your election. You haven't chosen me, but I've chosen you. Well, Lord, why would you choose me? Why not my friends? Why not these other people that I know? How did I get in this group? I wasn't looking for you. The apostle Paul's on the road to Damascus. He's going on the road to Damascus to imprison Christians, to whoop on Christians. He's an enemy of the cross, And the Lord chose him. And he told Ananias the prophet, he's a chosen vessel unto me, and show him what things he must suffer for my name's sake. What a calling. He's gonna appear before kings, magistrates, governors, and such, gonna bear witness of me. And Paul saw it as a a great privilege, huge privilege. He saw his previous life of being part of the hierarchy of Judaism. He considered all as dung, all as refuse for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ. Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Who art thou, Lord? I'm Jesus whom you're persecuting. The Lord arrested him on the road to Damascus. So we're set apart. We've been set apart for the master's use. And so I've chosen you and ordained you. You've been set apart that you should go and bring forth fruit and that your fruit should remain, that whatsoever she ask of the father in my name, he may give it you. These things I command you that you love one another. So each of us has a knowledge that we've been chosen by God. We're not on the losing team. We're all winners because we're on his team. And as long as we abide in him, our life is guaranteed to bear fruit. And there's a function that he has for us. He's ordained. He's ordained. He separated us unto himself and that your fruit I have chosen you and ordained that you should go and bring forth fruit. So you're guaranteed success. You're guaranteed that your life is gonna be fruitful. And we saw those four degrees of fruit bearing. No fruit, fruit, more fruit, much fruit, and wants our lives to be fruitful. Romans one verse 13, converts, people when they get saved, it's fruit to our account. And then turn to Galatians chapter five, and we'll look at the fruit of the spirit. This is the transformation and the change that's taking place in our lives. Verse 16. Actually, we'll start at 14. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. The fulfillment of the 613 precepts of the Mosaic law to fulfill that is love. Love the Lord thy God with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, your strength. Love your neighbor as yourself. But if you bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. So like wild animals, a house divided against itself cannot stand. The civil war in America, the crazies, bite and devour, gonna take it down. This I say then, walk in the spirit and ye shall not ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. So the way that we overcome the tyranny of the flesh, the world of flesh and the devil, is to do the positive, and that is to walk in the spirit. What's it mean to walk in the spirit? Walking in the light? Betty says, yeah. Walking in the light as he is in the light. Read word. How about abiding? Just stay close to Jesus. Not just close, but connected. Connected to Jesus. And fellowship is hindered, severed, because of sin. But if we confess our sin, He's faithful and just to forgive us of our sin and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. So, there's that cleansing. And fellowship is immediately restored with confession. Confession means that you come to me and tell me what you've done wrong. No. That isn't what that means. Confession means you agree with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit speaking to your heart and showing you areas of your life, attitudes maybe, actions that are inconsistent with being yielded, walking in the spirit, abiding. You went your own way, let's say. And you simply agree with the Holy Spirit, and that's that confession, Lord, you're right. I've done that. Please forgive me. I repent. I turn from that. And you come back around, and he takes our sins. He casts them east to the west. He remembers them no more. There's no condemnation. Fellowship's restored. Now it doesn't mean you've gone to the AOG church and you go get saved every week because you sinned during the middle of the week. Right? How many young kids do that? They don't have an understanding of what it means to be born again, and to walk, and live the life of the spirit. And so, they're messing around during the week, and then they think, oh, I lost my salvation. I better go re get it back, you know? No. You're immature in your walk with the Lord, hopefully. Hopefully, it's just immaturity. And now, you're gonna be discipled and learn to overcome sin, learn to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil. He says, for the flesh lusts against the spirit. So you've got this battle going on, this fight going on. The flesh is your old nature, your old human nature, selfish nature. It's the Adamic nature when Adam fell. The spirit is the life of the spirit. You're born again. Your body, soul, and spirit now. And the spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary one to the other so that you cannot do the things that you would. So now we think of Paul describing Romans chapter seven. The things I do want to do, I don't do. The things I don't want to do, I do. And he concludes, oh, wretched man that I am. Now, what's the solution? What's the solution? How many steps do I need to take? No. Who? O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death? So, we see people we love who profess to be believers, and they're in bondage to alcohol. They're in bondage to pornography. They're in bondage to anger. They're in bondage to covetousness. The life of the flesh dominates their life. And they want to do good, but they keep getting pulled back down by the old life. Oh, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death? And he transitioned into chapter eight, and what's the difference of chapter eight? It's the life of the spirit. And I've told you, circles the word spirit, the name spirit in Romans chapter eight. That makes all the difference in the world. It's the life of the spirit. But if you be led by the spirit, so you're not dominated to the lust of the flesh, lust of the eye, the pride of life, but now you're going be led by the spirit. So you're yielding to the Holy Spirit, which means you're abiding in Christ, you're connected to Jesus, you're not under the law. So the law, the letter of the law condemns. The letter of the law points out my fault, and the devil uses it in Revelation 12. He's the accuser of the brethren, and he looks at Rick and he says, based upon the law, Rick's guilty. And Jesus intercedes and says, based upon the cross and my shed blood, Rick's righteous. There's now therefore no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. Now, the works of the flesh, so you got the fruit of the spirit, and you got the works of the flesh. The flesh will manifest itself in these ways. The works of the flesh are manifest, which are these, adultery. So what is adultery? It's not an affair. Adultery is having sex with somebody that's married, or being married and having sex with somebody outside the marriage. That's adultery. There's also the spiritual adultery of idolatry. And there's also the adultery if a man looks upon a woman or a woman looks upon a man with the desire in their heart, they've already committed the adultery. Right? Already guilty. It's not just the outward act, although the outward act is worse. It's also the inward lusting, if you will. And then fornication, so sexual sins. Fornication is sex outside of marriage. Uncleanness, lasciviousness, so again, sins that defiles you, idolatry, Idolatry. Having a master passion other than the Lord. Something you're I idolize my car. Idolize my house. I idolize my money, my bank account, whatever it might be. I idolize something that's you're in love with than Jesus. Sorcery. Sorcery is pharmakia. It's drugs. Alcohol. So those that are smoking the weed and they're entering into an altered state of consciousness, that's sorcery. The opioids, the heroin, the fentanyl, all these different drugs, pharmaceuticals, witchcraft, Ouija boards, tarot cards, the alcohol is a work of the flesh. Hatred. Jesus said, if you're angry with your brother, if you hate your brother, you've already committed murder. Strife. Always fighting, quarreling. Jealousy. You're discontent with who you are. You're discontent with all that God's blessed you with. You're jealous of somebody else. Envious. Wrath. The wrath of man works not the righteousness of God. Wrath is an explosive anger. Be angry and sin not. There's a righteous indignation, but when wrath comes along, God's the only one that can handle wrath. It's a thumos. It's an explosive anger that destroys people around you. We call them ragers. He's a rager. She's a rager. She's rages. She goes into a tantrum. Factions. You're divisive. Your tongue is being used to divide. You got a wagging tongue on the prayer chain. You tell way too much. Seditions. Sedition, you're trying to divide. You're trying to undermine the work that God's doing. Heresies, false teaching. Enviants. Joseph's brothers were envious of him. They plotted to kill him, and Reuben stepped in. Don't kill him, let's sell him to these Midianite tradesmen heading to Egypt. They were envious of Jesus. Pilate said, I knew for envy that he was delivered to him. The religious leaders were envious of Jesus, multitudes of peoples coming to see him. King Saul was envious of King David. Saul has killed his thousands, David has tens of thousands. Then it leads to murder. Drunkenness. So how much alcohol? You say, hey, I'm a Christian. I can drink. Jesus changed the water to wine. Alright. Drinking is not a sin. It's not a sin till you get drunk. Make sure you don't get drunk. Revelings, riotous partying, and the like of which I tell you before as I've also told you in times past, that they who do such things. So we would tie this into first John first John chapter two, where you're practicing these things. It's a lifestyle. It's not that you did one of these things and fell and sinned. It's that it's it's it's your lifestyle. You need to be born again. Those who practice these things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Now, some would say what this means is loss of reward, will not inherit the kingdom of God. They even say in John 15, the branch that doesn't bear fruit that's cast into the fire, it means that you're not gonna be rewarded. You're gonna go through the fire and everything that's wood hay stubbles and can be burned up, but you're gonna come through it saved. I don't agree with that terminology. That's a hyper Calvinistic view. I believe what it's saying here is this is indicative of somebody that's not a believer, who's practicing this kind of a lifestyle. And murderers who are transformed and changed are no longer looked at by God as being a murderer. Moses, David, anybody. They're a new creation in Christ Jesus. The old things have passed away, all things become new. But if Moses continued to murder, David continued to murder, then we'd have to look at that and say, hey, I don't think that person's saved. They're not bearing fruit. That's the wrong kind of fruit. Jesus said you'll know them by their fruit. It's corrupt fruit. It's corrupted. So in contrast to the life of the flesh, the works of the flesh, he says, but the fruit, notice it's singular, not fruits, plural. The fruit of the spirit is love. And then adjectives describe that love. The adjective describes the, the verb here, adverb, or Agape, is an active word, for love. So you get a noun form and or a verb form, but the the, those that follow love are are adjectives describing the love. So the fruit of the spirit is love, period. Love. Without love, we're nothing. Joy is an adjective. If I'm if I'm filled overflowing with God's love, there's joy in my life. And what's the acronym, the secret of joy? Jesus under yourself. There you go. So for those listening, Jesus first, others second, yourself third. Paul says in Philippians, esteem others better than yourself. We have a tendency to put self first, and we have no joy because we're not loving. But when we put Jesus first, love him with all of our heart, and then we serve Jesus by serving others, the byproduct is joy. Then peace. Oh, how the world is lacking peace. Anxiety, all kinds of meds, all sorts of props to hold us together, to keep us from losing it. And so we're promised that we all have peace with God because Jesus took the punishment. We're no longer an enemy of God. So we have peace with God, and then we have the peace of God. The fruit of the spirit, peace. Be anxious for nothing but in everything through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding and guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. No peace, saith the Lord to the wicked. There's no peace. The wicked who fight God their whole life long, many, many, many testimonies of the wicked shrieking and screaming and in torment as they approach death. You and I to be asked from the bodies to be present with the Lord. We're already at peace with our eternal destiny. It's in God's hands. Long suffering. Because you love, you're gonna be able to go through suffering. You're gonna be long suffering, not short. You're gonna have endurance. Endurance, patience, and then gentleness. You're like a nurse in your gentleness. You're like a mother, a father with a small one. You're gentle. You think of Jesus, how gentle he is. Goodness, faith, meekness. Meekness is me, ick. Self control. I don't have to eat all the chocolate in just one sitting, you know? I can push myself away from the table and, alright, I'm gonna exercise some self control here. I got the Holy Spirit to help me. Against such there is no law. Because against such there is no law, why? Because love is the fulfillment of the law. Right? If I'm loving, I'm fulfilling the law. And they that are Christ have crucified the flesh. So I'm dead. The flesh is dead. The only solution for the flesh is death. Mortify the deeds of the flesh. Flee youthful lusts. Reckon the old man dead. I'm crucified with Christ. They've crucified the flesh with the affections and the lusts. So you can't let it operate below the surface. You've got to crucify it. You can't let it just rumble just a little bit because it'll come back to bite you. It's got to be cut away, got to be dealt with through repentance. If we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit. Be ruled. Be ruled by the holy spirit. Be controlled by the holy spirit. Give control of your life to the Holy Spirit. Not you doing it. You're abiding. You're disconnected to Jesus. Give him give him the reigns of your life. Surrender to him. Let us not be desirous of vainglory provoking one another, envying one another. Alright. So let's go back to Back to Ezekiel. Excuse me. Let's go to Matthew 21. It says, I'll make the land desolate because they have committed a trespass, saith the Lord God. So Matthew twenty one thirty three. So this parable, this parable here is taken from Isaiah five and also very similar to Ezekiel chapter 15 that we're watching. So here here another parable. Here was a certain householder who planted a vineyard and hedged it round about and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to the tenant and farmers and went into a far country. So the Lord is speaking to the religious leaders, and he's showing the religious leaders that the husband and the father gave them the vineyard. He leased it to them, and what he required is that they bear some fruit. And so the investment that he made, he heads it round about and he dug a wine press in and built a tower and he leased it to the tenant farmers and went into a far country. And when the time of the fruit do near, harvest time, he sent his servant to the farmers that they might receive the fruit of it. And the farmers took his servant and beat one and killed another and stoned another. So look at the prophets that the Lord has sent. All of the prophets, Jesus said, which of the prophets did not your fathers kill? Again, he sent other servants more than the first, and they did the same unto them. But the last of all, he sent unto them his son, Jesus is on the scene, saying, they will reverence my son. Certainly, they're gonna respect Jesus. But when the farmers saw the son, they said among themselves, this is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. That's Satan's strategy. How many times Satan has tried to kill the babe of Bethlehem? Let's kill all the babes two years old and under. Right? Let's kill all the Jews in the time of Esther with Mordecai and Haman. Right? Let's let's destroy all the human beings by cohabitating the sons of God with the women. Let's ruin the gene pool so that the son of man can't be the son of man. No savior. Right? Let's let's kill Jesus. Let's let's converge upon the nation of Israel as they flee to Basra, and let's take the antichrist and all the armies of the world. Let's stop Jesus from returning. What insanity, Let's kill all the Christians. Let's kill all the Jews. Let's wipe out the nation of Israel. The devil's still trying these these strategies. And they caught him and cast him out of the vineyard and slew him, so they killed him. And when the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those farmers? Yeah. They said unto him, he will miserably destroy those wicked men and will lease his vineyard unto other farmers who shall render him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus saith unto them, did you never read in the scriptures the stone? So now he's quoting Psalm hundred and eighteen twenty two through 29. He said, did you not read a stone which the builders rejected, the same has become the head of the corner? This is the Lord's doing, and it's marvelous in her eyes. Jesus is the chief cornerstone. And watch this. Therefore I say unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits of it. Speaking of believers, the kingdom of God is directed toward believers, Jews and Gentiles, a part of the church age. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken. Jesus is the rock. Jesus is the rock of ages. Jesus is the cornerstone. And he's the ancient of days. So whosoever falls upon that stone, you fall upon him and you're broken. You're broken to the place of of, repentance. You cry out to God for mercy. You cry out to God, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. But on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind them to powder. So if you don't fall upon the Lord and be broken in this lifetime, if you persist in your rebellion, there comes a day of judgment where he's going to fall upon you and grind you to powder, the powder of judgment. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parable, they perceived that he spoke of them. You think? But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude because they regarded him as a prophet. So, yeah, they'd have grabbed him and killed him if they could. Many different times, satan tried to kill Jesus. And then ultimately, at the cross, satan thought it was his victory. He thought, if I can just kill him, you know, if I can get him prosecuted and killed, then we're gonna win. But, it actually was a part of God's plan, worked against the devil, and Jesus spoiled all principalities and powers, and he triumphed over them in it. And he says, I will make the land desolate, 15 verse eight, because they have committed a trespass, saith the Lord God. And so because they've rejected the true and living God, because they persist in their rebellion, then the Lord's gonna bring the fire of judgment, and Jerusalem's gonna be destroyed and burnt to the ground, and the nation of Israel's like a a wild grape. The nation of Israel's like the wood of a a vine that's twisted and and degraded and unfit for anything except to be used as the fuel, for the fire of hell. And now the Jews thought that the Gentiles, when he says stuff like you're just useless eaters. Well, Jewish religious leaders, they looked at Gentiles as simply fuel for the fires of hell, and Jesus didn't look at us that way. He didn't look at people that way. He looked at the people, and he had compassion because they were as sheep having no shepherds. The religious leaders made a business out of Judaism, and all they cared about was themselves. And, the nation of Israel was ripened under judgment because of that. Alright. Well, let's pray. Father, thank you for the time that we could spend in your word tonight. And Lord, we do pray that you'd wash and purge us, renew our minds. Lord, do whatever pruning is necessary. Help us to bear fruit, Lord, much fruit, more fruit, and, let our lives be fruitful for your kingdom and for your glory, Lord. Help us to love the way that you've commanded us to love, the way that only you, Lord, can enable us. Without you, we can do nothing, Lord. Help us to love. In Jesus' name, pray. Amen.
About This Podcast
Calvary Chapel Bremerton - Home Bible Study
Listen to Rick Beaudry, Pastor of Calvary Chapel Bremerton, lead our home Bible Study session in worship and teaching the Word of God. Be edified and built up in your faith with solid Bible teaching. New episodes released on Tuesdays in the Pacific Standard Timezone.
