New Perceptions

Tales from a Vineyard: Making Love in the Vineyar

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants:

Home

Series Code: NP

Program Code: NP180915A


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


Home

Revised 2018-10-05