In an attempt to finally move into the 21st Century, Naylor Community Christian Church finally has a YouTube Channel where we will be posting the second half of our Sunday morning worship services.
If you have an interest in hearing the messages preached by the best preacher in the world*, then check us out at:
https://www.youtube.com/@NaylorCCC
*According to the pastor's mother...
Naylor Community Christian Church
Naylor, Georgia
I. Introduction
-- turn in
Bibles to Luke 5:1-11
Luke 5:1 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of
Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of
God. 2 He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who
were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to
Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and
taught the people from the boat.
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon,
“Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”
5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night
and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
6 When they had done so, they caught such a large
number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their
partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both
boats so full that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees
and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all his
companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now
on you will fish for people.” 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left
everything and followed him.
-- I want
to share with you a story that I heard one time on Focus on the Family
-- Lysa
TerKeurst -- the founder of Proverbs 31 Ministries -- was sharing the story
about the time she was headed back home on an airplane after a week of teaching
and ministering to women – it was a completely normal day – it was a completely
normal event – something that she had done hundreds of times before
-- Lysa
said she was tired and worn out from ministering and speaking all week at the
conference, so she prayed that God would just grant her just one request --
that He would let her have the airplane row all to herself so she could stretch
out and relax on the way home
-- and as
she watched the plane fill with passengers that morning, it looked like God was
going to answer her prayer -- the flight attendants were making their final
checks, and no one else had come to claim the two empty seats on her row – Lysa
had the row all to herself, just as she had asked
-- but right before the doors
closed, two more people came on board and took those seats -- an Indian woman
took the seat next to the window and a large man sat down in the middle seat
next to Lysa
-- Lysa
just sighed and decided to make the best of it – since she obviously wasn’t
going to get any rest on this flight, she decided to try to get a little work
done -- she pulled out a manuscript that she had been working on and began
revising it when, all of a sudden, the man next to her said, "I couldn't
help but notice the word, 'God,' all over your paper there -- That's a curious
thing to be in a paper."
-- when the
man spoke to her, Lysa turned to him and, all of a sudden, it hit her what was
happening – she realized there was a reason why God allowed two people onto her
flight and into her row at the very last moment, even though she had prayed for
space to rest and relax
-- it was no accident that God said,
"No," to her prayer for an empty row -- it was not chance or dumb
luck or coincidence that this man happened to sit down next to her on that
plane -- this was a divine appointment from God
-- and Lysa realized that and began
to share with this man the good news of salvation and her own story of faith
through a lifetime of abuse and rejection – as she shared, Lysa said that she
could sense the presence of the Holy Spirit – she knew God was calling the man –
and she watched as God touched both his heart and the heart of the Indian woman
who was sitting next to them listening -- before the plane landed, both of them
had prayed with Lysa to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior and their lives were
forever changed
-- Lysa
closed her account of this experience by thanking God for helping her to have a
heart that is open to His presence and to the opportunities for ministry that
He places in all of our paths
-- now I
had heard this story before -- I am a fan of Lysa TerKeurst and her ministry – so,
when the episode came on the radio that day as I was driving home, I wasn’t
paying a lot of attention to it – I know how the story was going to end
-- but as I was sitting there,
half-listening to this familiar story, God spoke to me and He pointed something
out – it was so clear and so direct, it was almost like an audible voice in my
ear – God spoke and said, “It was just an ordinary day…"
-- “It was
just an ordinary day” – I have thought about that phrase many times since God
spoke to me during that broadcast of Lysa’s message – I have often wondered
what He was trying to get me to see – what He was trying to get me to
understand – what He was trying to get me to do
-- I mean,
aren't all our days pretty much ordinary days? – for the most part, we live the
same humdrum lives and do the same routines over and over again – everyday
blurs into the memory of the day before – there is nothing to really
distinguish it – and at the end of the day, when someone comes up and asks you
how your day was, how many times do you say, "It was fine -- it was just a
regular day – it was just an ordinary day"
-- but Lysa’s
story reminds us that extraordinary things can happen on ordinary days, if you
are open to what Jesus is doing around you
II. Scripture Lesson (Luke 5:1-11)
-- look
back with me at this passage from Luke 5, and let me show you what I am talking
about
-- verse 1-3
Luke 5:1 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of
Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of
God. 2 He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who
were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to
Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and
taught the people from the boat.
-- in these
verses, Luke is beginning to tell us the story of Jesus calling His first
disciples – a story that we are all familiar with
-- and so, we read these verses in
anticipation of the end – we’ve heard this story – we know how it ends – we
have already skipped forward to the miracle that brought Simon Peter to faith
-- but don’t miss an important part
of the story that Luke gives us here in these verses – in the very beginning of
the story in verse 1, Luke writes, “One day…” – One day
-- it was
not a special day -- it wasn't a holiday -- it wasn't a feast day -- it wasn't
even a Sabbath -- it was just one ordinary day in the middle of the week -- and
everybody was going about and doing what they normally did
-- Jesus
was just standing there by the lake teaching -- just like any Jewish rabbi
would do -- and a group of people had gathered around to hear Him
-- right
down the beach from Jesus, a handful of fishermen were sitting there next to
their boats -- washing their nets after a long night of fishing -- just doing
what they did every day -- just going about their normal, ordinary way
of life on just another normal, ordinary day
-- but as
Jesus taught, more and more people came to listen – and the crowd started
jostling for position and pushing each other – and Luke says that the people
began to crowd around Him -- it obviously was making it difficult for Jesus to
speak to the crowd effectively
-- so,
Jesus looked over and saw the two boats sitting there at the water’s edge and
the fishermen who were there washing their nets – He went over to them and got
into one of their boats -- the boat that belonged to Simon -- and He asked
Simon to put out a little way from the shore -- and then He sat down and
continued to teach the people
-- that was
the perfect place to speak from -- sitting there like that would have been
liking sitting in an amphitheater -- Jesus would have been able to project His
voice out and it would have carried out across the water and up the sloping
beach and through the crowd so everyone could hear -- and it also kept Him from
getting mobbed and jostled by the people He was trying to speak to
-- remember
that there are no coincidences in the Kingdom of God – there is no luck or
chance – things happen according to the plan and will of God – nothing happens
in your life that He doesn’t allow to happen – just as God willed that man and
woman to share Lysa TerKeurst’s row on the airplane that day – that was a
divinely ordered encounter – and this day is no different
--
think for a moment about the reason why Simon and the others were sitting there
next to their empty boats that day – on a regular day – on a good day – they
wouldn’t have been there – they would have caught their limit of fish that
night and would be at the market, selling the fish, as normal
--
but God had a different plan – He wanted them there – so their nets were empty
– and instead of selling fish at the market, they sat there on the shore of
Galilee, listening to Jesus share the word of God
-- remember
this – on our ordinary days, God is still speaking – and we should pray for
ears to hear and eyes to see and hearts to respond
-- verse 4-5
Luke 5:4 When he had finished speaking, he said to
Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”
5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night
and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
-- so far,
it's just a normal, ordinary day, but things are about to change
-- when
Jesus finished speaking, He told Simon to take the boat out into the deep water
and to put his nets out for a catch -- and you can tell from Simon's response
he really didn't want to do what Jesus was asking him to do
-- he had
already spent the whole night out there on the lake fishing and hadn't caught
anything -- he and his partners had already come back and washed their nets and
gotten everything cleaned up -- I'm sure they were tired and they probably just
wanted to go home and get some rest before they had to go back out on the lake
to fish again that night
--
and, to top it off, I'm sure Simon was sitting there thinking, "This man
may be a good rabbi – He may be able to teach the word of God well -- but He
doesn't know anything about fishing"
--
fishermen at that time on the Sea of Galilee fished at night, in the shallows,
not in the deep -- they would attach their net to the shore, and then they'd go
out just a little ways into the shallow water where the fish congregated,
letting the net out as they went -- then, they'd make a wide semi-circle and
head back to shore, trapping fish in the net
--
this was the way it was done -- this was the normal, ordinary way to fish --
this was how everybody did it
--
and now this rabbi -- this carpenter -- is trying to tell Simon, an
experienced, professional fisherman -- how to fish -- and He's telling Him to
put out into the deep waters and let down his net
--
so, Simon says, "I really don't want to do that -- I think it's a waste of
time -- but, just to be nice, I'll do what you say" -- and so Simon heads
into the deep water and lets his nets down
--
verse 6-7
Luke 5:6 When they had done so, they caught such a
large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their
partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both
boats so full that they began to sink.
--
Simon did what Jesus told him to do – I’m not sure why – but he did it – a lot
of the times when God tells us to do something, we don’t understand – it’s
something that doesn’t make sense – but that’s where faith comes in – that’s
where trust and obedience come in – and Simon, even though he didn’t really
know Jesus and had just happened to be there on an ordinary day to hear Him
teach by the sea, responded in obedience to His command
--
he went out a little deeper -- out past the point where fishermen usually
fished -- out past the point where people usually put out their nets -- and
when he got there, he did what Jesus said and lowered his nets -- and when they
started to bring them in again, they had caught such a large number of fish
that the nets began to break -- he had to call James and John to come help him
--
there are some lessons there for us:
--
first, if we go through life just assuming that every day is just an ordinary
day – and we do things the same way we always do them – going through life
today just like we did yesterday – nothing is going to change
--
we’re going to see the same results that we’ve always had – we’re going to
experience that day just like all the rest -- we might catch a few fish here
and there -- we might do just as well as the others -- but more often than not,
we’re going to be just like Simon and his companions -- we’ll fish all night --
we’ll work hard in our own strength -- and catch nothing
--
Einstein is attributed as having said, “The definition of insanity is doing the
same thing over and over and expecting different results” – there is truth in
that statement
--
second, sometimes God will bless us in our lives in such a miraculous way that
we know it had to come from Him – Jesus did a miracle that day as Simon lowered
his nets into the deep in the middle of the day, knowing that nothing would
come of it – and as the nets filled with fish, Simon realized that this
ordinary day had just turned extraordinary
--
one of my favorite verses in the Bible is John 10:10, where Jesus says, “I have
come that you may have life, and have it to the full” – or, as the King James
Version puts it, “I have come so that you may have abundant life”
--
in his devotionals this week, Skye Jethani pointed out that whenever we are in
the presence of God – whenever the Kingdom of God is near – abundance follows –
miracles happen – lives are changed
--
Lysa TerKeurst saw that on an ordinary airplane ride home as two lives were
touched for eternity – and Simon saw that as his nets filled with fish in a
place where no fish should be found
--
what is God wanting to do in your life and in this church? – what abundant
blessings are we missing because we are not looking for His presence in our
midst?
--
finally, sometimes you can’t really see God or know God until you take that first
step of faith and follow Jesus a little deeper -- Simon had God in his boat all
morning, but he didn't realize it – Simon had God in his boat all morning, but
he didn’t really see Him – Simon had God in his boat all morning, but he didn’t
really hear Him
--
it was only after Simon obeyed the call and did what Jesus told him to do that
the miracle happened -- going deeper with Jesus opens your eyes and ears and leads
you into a deeper experience with Him
--
when you read the biographies of the heroes of the faith, you’ll see a point in
each of their lives where they got up from the normal Christian life and went a
little deeper -- when they quit being satisfied with just sitting on a pew on
Sunday or throwing a handful of dollars in the offering plate and took a step
of faith and went deeper -- and everything changed -- their relationship with
God changed -- and that made all the difference
--
that’s what happened to Simon on this ordinary day when he went out just a
little bit deeper because Jesus told him to -- and that’s what will happen to
us, too, if we will do the same
--
verse 8-10
8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees
and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all his
companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now
on you will fish for people.”
--
in verse 8, Simon is like one of those cartoon characters where the light bulb
lights up over their head when they get a good idea – as you read this passage
and as you see Simon’s response to the miraculous catch of fish, you can see
the light come on
--
all of a sudden, Simon is aware that this person in his boat is not just an
ordinary rabbi – He’s not just a gifted teacher and preacher – but He’s
something else – He’s God in the flesh – and it rocks Simon to the core
--
realizing that you are in the presence of the Lord God Almighty is a terrifying
and awful experience – and I mean awful as in awe-ful – you are overwhelmed
with His presence – you are overwhelmed with His being – it humbles you – it
takes you to your knees, just as it did Simon here
--
when Simon says here to Jesus, “Go away from me,” he’s not really trying to get
rid of Jesus – he’s just overwhelmed in the moment – he has realized who Jesus
is and in contrast to Jesus, he is aware of his own sins and shortcomings –
Peter is crying out, “I am too sinful for you to look at -- I am too sinful for
you to be with -- you are too holy and I am afraid"
--
but look at how Jesus responds, "Don't be afraid – this was just an
ordinary day, but now it’s not -- now that you know who I am -- now that you
have heard my call -- I want you to go deeper every day -- follow Me, and you
will catch men just like you caught these fish -- follow Me, and you will catch
souls for the kingdom"
--
and see how it ended
--
verse 11
Luke 5:11 So they pulled their
boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
--
it had been just a normal, ordinary day, but it didn't stay that way -- it had
been just a normal, ordinary life, but in an instant the ordinary became
extraordinary
--
what made the difference?
--
it wasn't a willing heart -- Simon certainly didn't want to do what Jesus had
told him to do
--
it wasn't faith -- Simon had no faith in Jesus' fishing ability -- Simon didn't
expect to catch a thing when he dropped his nets into the deep water -- and, at
this point, Simon is not Peter -- he is not the rock -- he has not yet put his
faith into Jesus as his Lord and Savior
--
so, what made the difference between it being just another ordinary day and a
day that Simon would never forget?
--
it's simple -- it was Jesus -- Jesus stepped into Simon's normal, ordinary day
and made it extraordinary -- and He wants to do the same for us
--
when I was listening to Lysa TerKeurst's story and God spoke to me and told me,
"It was just an ordinary day," I think He was trying to get me to
understand that every day with Him is extraordinary -- that there is no such a
thing in God's kingdom as just an ordinary day -- and that He wants to do
amazing things in our lives and in the lives of those around us -- if we will
only see Him and listen to Him and respond to Him when He calls
III. Closing
--
so, how can we make our ordinary days extraordinary?
--
first, we need to know who is in our boat – we need to know who is in our day
-- we need to know God in a real and personal way – we need to learn to find
Him and see Him even in the most ordinary of days
--
I think everybody here is probably familiar with the "Where's Waldo?"
books -- -- the pages are filled with drawings of normal, ordinary people doing
normal, ordinary things -- they're just doing the things of life -- they're
going to work -- they're going to school -- they're going to beach or to the
mountains or somewhere else
--
but somewhere in the midst of all those normal, ordinary people is Waldo --
wearing his distinctive red-and-white striped shirt and his bobble hat and his
glasses -- and the goal is to find him in the midst of everything else that is
going on
--
that's kind of like Jesus -- as we go through our normal, ordinary days doing
our normal, ordinary things, Jesus is right there -- He's in the midst of
everything that is going on -- but, a lot of times, we just don't pay any
attention to Him -- and if we're not aware of Him -- if we're not hearing Him
-- and if we're not seeing Him -- then we're not experiencing Him
--
we have to experience Jesus in order for our ordinary days to become
extraordinary
--
Lysa TerKeurst gives us a good picture of how we need to do that -- when she
got on that plane, it was just a normal, ordinary day -- and even when that man
sat down next to her, nothing changed -- she could have gone the whole flight
and never said a word to that man
--
but, when she heard him ask about God, she realized that there was something
greater going on -- that this was not just a normal, ordinary occurrence, but a
divine appointment -- and that Jesus wanted her to tell this man her story
--
Lysa was open to God's presence -- she looked for Him on that plane -- she
listened for His voice -- and when she saw Him and heard Him and responded to
His command, God did an extraordinary thing through her
--
He'll do it through us, too, if we remember to look for Him during our normal,
ordinary days
--
second, as we grow in grace and learn to look for Jesus – to listen for Jesus –
to know Jesus in our lives – we will come to know Him in greater and greater
ways and we will want to be with Him more and more – and that will make the
difference in how we experience our days and our lives
--
when Simon first saw Jesus here and realized who He was, it rocked Simon – he
fell at Jesus’ feet and cried out for him to leave, because he was scared of
Jesus – he didn’t want to be too close to Him – the presence of God was too
much – he couldn’t handle it
--
but after leaving his boat and nets at the lake and following Jesus for three
years, something happened to Simon – he became someone else – he became “the
rock” – Peter – the faithful disciple who vowed to follow Jesus wherever He
would go
--
Peter went from trying to get away from Jesus to wanting to be with Jesus every
moment of every day
--
in fact, there’s an interesting story at the end of the Book of John that shows
this very plainly – after the resurrection, the disciples went to Galilee, as
Jesus had commanded – and in Chapter 21, we read that the disciples were out on
the sea fishing, and just like this day, they had fished all night and hadn’t
caught a thing
--
they see someone standing on the shore and he calls out to them to “throw your
net on the right side of the boat and you will find some fish” – when they did
so, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish
--
immediately, they all knew who it was – this was a replay of the events of Luke
5 -- but this time, when Simon Peter realizes the abundance of fish in his net
has come from God Himself in their midst, he doesn’t cry out, “Go away from me”
– he doesn’t try to distance himself from Jesus like he did the first time he
met Him
--
this time, Peter jumps overboard and begins swimming with all his might towards
the shore – he can’t stand to be away from Jesus – he can’t even wait for the
boat to get to shore – he just jumps in and starts swimming so he can get to
Jesus and be with Him again
--
that’s what happens when we truly know Jesus in our lives – when we listen for
Him and look for Him in the midst of our ordinary days – and when we see Him
there with us, making the ordinary extraordinary
--
the third thing that has to happen in order for our ordinary days to become
extraordinary is to be open to whatever God tells us to do -- you don't do
extraordinary things in ordinary ways
--
God is a God of creativity and abundance -- and while He never changes, the
ways He uses us and the ways He reaches out through us change all the time
--
when God wants to take the ordinary and make it extraordinary, He will ask us
to do things we don't normally do -- He will ask us to break from tradition and
do things in a completely new way -- ways the world may think are wrong
--
think about how Jesus asked Simon to put out in the deep water and to drop his
nets in the middle of the day -- what do you think Simon's partners thought as
they saw his boat heading into the middle of the lake? – they probably thought
he was crazy – that’s not the way to do it – but that’s what God told him to do
--
in order to see extraordinary results, you sometimes have to give an
extraordinary effort
--
the final thing that has to happen in order for our ordinary days to become
extraordinary is that we actually have to respond and do what He tells us to do
-- no matter how crazy or strange it may be
--
we don't have to want to do it -- Simon didn't want to go out fishing again
that morning -- Lysa didn't want to spend her flight ministering -- she just
wanted to rest -- we don't have to have a willing spirit -- we just have to
have an obedient heart
--
we don't even need faith -- like I said, Simon didn't have faith in Jesus that
day, but it didn't stop Jesus from doing a miracle -- God has called me to do
things that I didn't believe were possible
--
He had me pray for healing for this man in the hospital one time and I didn't
have any faith -- I didn't believe this man was going to get better -- I walked
out of there and thought to myself that man was going to die -- but God healed
him and that man walked out of that hospital on his own two feet and he came
back to our church the very next Sunday
--
our faith -- or our lack of faith -- is not a hindrance to God's ability to
work in us and through us
--
we need to learn to just do what He says and leave the rest up to Him
--
when Simon and his partners washed their nets by the Sea of Galilee on that
day, it started out as a normal, ordinary day -- but it quickly turned into
something that changed their lives forever
--
as you leave here today, remember that there is no such a thing as normal and
ordinary in the Kingdom of God -- remember that every day can be a day of
wonder and miracle and abundance -- if we only seek God's face and listen for
His voice and respond in obedience to His call
--
may today be the day we begin knowing Jesus in a new way by going deeper and
jumping in after Him – by hearing Him and knowing Him and doing what He says –
that is how the ordinary becomes extraordinary – and that can be our norm from
this moment on
--
let us pray
Naylor Community Christian Church
Naylor, Georgia
I. Introduction
-- please
turn in your Bibles to John 15:1-5
John 15:1“I am the true vine, and my Father is the
gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every
branch that does bear fruit he prunes [cleans] so that it will be even more
fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4
Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it
must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in
me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
-- a few
weeks ago, as we were in our sermon series on the “I Am” statements of Jesus,
we looked at this passage here in John 15 where Jesus declared Himself to be God
by announcing to His disciples, “I Am the Vine”
-- as we
were studying that passage, I mentioned that there was a lot more in there that
I wanted to share with you concerning the second part of Jesus’ proclamation –
“I am the Vine and you are the branches”
-- what
does it mean for us to be the branches connected to the vine of the Lord? – and
what does this mean for us in regards to bearing fruit for the Kingdom?
-- we know
that God wants us to bear fruit – we see this theme throughout scripture – and
in Isaiah 27:2-3, we read, "A fruitful vineyard, I the Lord do keep it; I
will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and
day."
-- so, how
can we be a fruitful vineyard for the Lord? -- that is what I want us to
consider this morning as we continue on in our study of the vine and the
branches
-- I want
to begin by sharing with you a story from Steve Farrar’s book, “Point Man,”
about George McCluskey
-- I’m sure
none of us in here are familiar with George McCluskey – he’s not a household
name -- no biographies have ever been written about his life – he’s not the
type of person who is written about in the media
-- but Farrar mentioned McCluskey
in his book because he was a man who decided to make a shrewd investment -- as
he married and started a family, he decided to invest one hour a day in prayer
for his kids -- he wanted them to follow Christ and establish their own homes
where Christ was honored – so, McClusky wrote this in his calendar in ink, and every
single day between 11 AM and noon, he prayed for his children and their
children and the generation beyond that – for one hour a day, every day,
McClusky prayed for the next three generations to come in his family
-- as the
years went by, his two daughters committed their lives to Christ and married
men who went into full-time ministry -- the two couples produced four girls and
one boy. Each of the girls married a
minister and the boy became a pastor – following this line, the first two
children born to this generation were both boys -- cousins
-- upon
graduation from high school, the two cousins chose the same college and became
roommates -- one of the boys decided to go into the ministry, just as his
parents and grandparents had -- the other boy didn't
-- the one who didn't go into the
ministry knew the family history and undoubtedly felt some pressure to continue
the family legacy, but he chose not to enter the ministry – and because of
this, in a manner of speaking, this young man became the black sheep of the
family because he was the first family member in four generations that did not
go into full-time Christian ministry
-- this
young man instead decided to pursue his interest in psychology, and became very
successful in this field -- he began writing books to parents and eventually
started a radio program that is now heard on more than a thousand stations each
day -- the black sheep's name? – Dr. James Dobson, the founder of Focus on the
Family -- without a doubt, the most influential and significant leader of the
pro-family movement in America in his day – and while he did not go into
full-time pastoral ministry, the ministry that he developed through Focus on
the Family and the lives that he touched through that organization were
directly the result of the prayers of a man who lived four generations ago --
His ministry is part of the fruit of a faithful branch named George McCluskey
-- the
story of George McCluskey’s family and the fruit that they bore in their lives
over four generations of faithfulness to the Lord is a direct result of
intentionally serving as branches to the vine of the Lord
-- but the
thing we need to know is that the story of George McCluskey and his family
shouldn’t be an anomaly, but the norm – it should be something that all of us
can see in our lives and in our families as we seek to serve God and to live
for Him and bear fruit for Him in our lives
-- it’s
never too late to start bearing fruit for God’s kingdom – so, let’s look now at
John 15 and see what we can learn about bearing fruit from Jesus’ words to His
disciples in this passage
II. Scripture Reading
-- verse 1
John 15:1“I am the true vine, and my Father is the
gardener.
-- as we learned a few weeks ago,
Jesus is proclaiming Himself here as the vine, and He tells us that the Father
is the gardener
-- and as a reminder of what we talked about in that
message, remember that the vine is not the part that bears the leaves and the
fruit -- the vine is the woody part that goes into the ground -- the part with
the roots that takes up the nourishment from the soil that the gardener -- God
-- provides
-- remember we said that some of
these grape vines can reach the size of a man's leg – so these are massive
plants that are growing from the ground
-- the part
we usually incorrectly call the vine -- the part that trips you up when you
walk through the woods -- these are the branches that Jesus refers to here in
this passage -- the branches grow off of the vine and are tied on trellises or
on wires so they can be taken care of and so they will bear fruit
-- which is
a good reminder for us of the purpose of a vineyard – the purpose of a vineyard
is to produce fruit – and when Jesus is calling Himself the vine and telling us
that His Father planted Him here, it was for the express purpose of producing
fruit – that is why the vineyard exists – and that is our purpose as the
branches connected to the vine
-- so,
vineyards produce fruit and the gardener works to coax the branches into
bearing fruit for Him – so, what is this fruit that Jesus is referring to here?
-- in
practical terms, fruit represents good works -- a thought, attitude, or action
of ours that God values because it glorifies Him 1 – this fruit can
be internal or it can be external – it can be fruit within our lives as we grow
in grace and become more like Jesus internally – or it can be fruit that
impacts those around us as we minister and serve in Jesus’ name
-- we bear inner fruit when we
allow God to nurture in us a new, Christlike quality -- we are all familiar
with the fruits of the spirit as seen in Galatians 5:22 -- "love, joy,
peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
self-control"
-- these are all inner fruits – they are
attributes or characteristics of godliness that the Spirit is bringing to bear
out of us
-- other inner fruits that we bear
might be the overcoming of an addictive habit -- control of our anger --
repentance of sins -- forgiving others for hurting us -- living a humble
lifestyle
-- inner fruits are those fruits
that make us more like Jesus in our thoughts, emotions, characteristics, and
attitudes
-- outward
fruits are those that we bear when we allow God to work through us to bring Him
glory -- just like in the story of George McCluskey -- God worked through his
prayers to produce four generations of Godly men and women who went forth to
minister to others
-- outward fruit is fruit that you
bear that impacts someone or something outside of your personal being – outward
fruit includes actions like sharing your faith, taking care of sick friends, or
helping someone broken down on the road -- outward fruit appears when you serve
others in God’s name, bringing God glory through your actions and outreach
-- outward
fruits are the impacts and the things that others see in our lives -- it is our
faith in action -- it is how God gets glory -- when others see how our lives
are changed as a result of God or how we are doing good things for others in
His name, God gets the glory
– so, outward fruit is tangible –
it’s physical – it can be seen -- it is something that the world can see -- it
is something that we, as branches, are expected to bear for God, the gardener
-- regardless of whether we are
talking about inner fruit or outer fruit, it all comes out of our relationship
with Christ – as we are connected to Jesus – as we are “in Him” – and as we
experience His love and grace in our lives and are nourished by His Spirit, we
naturally bear fruit in our lives – this is the direct result of being branches
abiding and connected to the true vine, Jesus
-- in other words, if you are in a
relationship with Jesus and remain connected to Him, you should be growing in
grace and in faith and bearing fruit for Him – this is what all Christians
should look like
-- but we know that all Christians
do not bear fruit – and those that do, may bear different amounts of fruit –
Jesus tells us that in this passage
-- look at verse 2-5
John 15:2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no
fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes [cleans] so that it
will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have
spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear
fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless
you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in
me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
-- looking
at these verses, there are four types of branches in the Kingdom of God – and
each of these branches bear different amounts of fruit – some bear no fruit at
all
-- in verse
2, Jesus refers to three different types of branches with three different
amounts of fruit – the first type is the branch that bears “no fruit” – the
second type is the branch that produces some “fruit,” meaning a little fruit –
and the third type is the branch that bears “more fruit” – finally, in verse 5,
we see the fourth type of branch – the branch that bears “much fruit”
-- so, as
branches in God’s kingdom, we can either be bearing no fruit, some fruit, more
fruit, or much fruit – the amount of fruit that you bear for the Lord depends
on your relationship with Him and whether you are truly abiding in Him and
receiving nourishment in the form of grace and power through His Spirit
-- why does
this matter?
-- well,
the Bible tells us that all of us, as Christians, are going to appear before
the Judgment Seat of Christ where we will be rewarded based on the fruit that
we produced for Him on earth
-- and if
you consider Jesus’ example of Christians bearing fruit here as the branches,
you can envision us appearing before Jesus with buckets filled with the fruit
that we produced here on earth
-- and,
according to Jesus, some Christians are going to walk up to the throne and
offer an empty bucket, with no fruit at all – some are going to walk up and
have some fruit in their bucket – maybe enough to cover the bottom, but not a
lot
-- others
are going to walk up and their buckets are going to be over half-way full –
while others are going to have buckets that are filled to the top or
overflowing with fruit
-- this
will be our final offering to God – the result and the fruit from a life lived
for Him – the question for us is how much fruit do you want to bring?
-- Bruce Wilkinson wrote, "if
Jesus chose us for abundance, expects abundance, and created us to deeply
desire it, how can we ever find fulfillment in a half-empty basket?"
-- I think
all of us agree that we want to be bearing fruit for the Kingdom – and not just
a little fruit – but a lot of fruit
– the good news is that we don’t
have to try to produce this fruit on our own – remember the illustration that
Jesus is giving us here – the Father is the Gardener, tending the vineyard – He
is giving the branches the nourishment they need – He is taking care of each
branch individually – He is working in our lives so that each of us becomes
branches that bear fruit and that progressively bear more and more the longer
we are in Him and drawing strength and power and grace from Him
-- we see that clearly in verse 2
– look at that verse again
John 15:2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no
fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes [cleans] so that it
will be even more fruitful.
-- it says here that the Lord “cuts
off” – a better translation is that the Lord “cleans” every branch that is not
bearing fruit – while other branches He prunes, removing the parts that are
keeping them from growing and bearing fruit so that they will produce more
-- what
Jesus is telling us here is that God wants us to be fruitful -- He wants us to
bear much fruit for the kingdom, so He works in us through His Holy Spirit to
help us grow in grace and move from being one type of branch to another, more
productive type of branch
-- so, let's look at how Jesus says
that God does this
-- here in verse 2, we read that
God “cuts off every branch in me that does not bear fruit" -- this verse
always scared me for a couple of reasons -- first, it pointed out that I could
be a Christian and not bear fruit, even though the Bible tells us that our
fruit is the result of our love and obedience to God -- so the Christian who is
not bearing fruit is one who is not being obedient to Him or who is not abiding
in Him – connected to Him -- and that's a scary thought
-- the second reason that this
verse always bothered me was the fact that it says "God cuts off every
branch" -- the King James says "Every branch in me that beareth not
fruit he taketh away"
-- I didn’t like the sound of that
-- this really worried me -- if I wasn't bearing fruit for God, was He going to
cut me off or take me away? -- was this telling me that I could lose my
salvation? – that I would no longer be part of God’s vineyard – of the Kingdom
of God?
-- well, I finally found the answer
to what Jesus is actually saying here in this verse in the book that Dr. Bruce
Wilkinson wrote, "Secrets of the Vine" -- in this book, Dr. Wilkinson
says he had similar problems with this verse, but then he went back to the
original Greek and found out that the Greek word "Airo" that
had been translated "cut off" or "take away" had another
meaning -- he said that a more accurate rendering of the word in context of a
vineyard was "to take up" or "to lift up"
-- and Strong's Dictionary of Bible
Words agreed with that interpretation – so, with that understanding, if read this
verse substituting the alternate definition of Airo, you get "He
lifts up every branch in me that bears no fruit" – and that change is
important
-- Dr. Wilkinson goes on in his
book to explain how this verse fits with the illustration that Jesus was using
-- rather than taking away the branches that were not bearing fruit, the
gardener would lift them up and clean them and tie them to the trellis so they
would be protected and exposed to the full sun and would be able to bear fruit
-- now, I don't know anything about
growing grapes, but I do know a little about growing tomatoes – most everyone
in here has grown tomatoes at some point in your life, so you know what I’m
talking about when I say that it relates to this verse
-- what happens to a tomato vine
that falls on the ground? -- how much fruit will it bear? -- none
-- it might produce a tomato or
two, but if the vine is laying on the ground, the tomatoes won’t ripen –
they’ll rot because of the moisture and the lack of sunshine
-- so, think about this -- what do
we do with our tomato plants when the vines fall on the ground? -- we don't cut
them off, do we? – no, tomatoes are too expensive to be cutting off all the
vines
-- no, we pick them up and we tie
them to a stake, or we string them up or we put a basket around the plant so
the vines won't fall on the ground and so they'll be protected and will get
good sunlight and will produce bunches of tomatoes
-- now, let's think about this from
a spiritual standpoint -- let's say that God comes along and He sees one of His
children lying in the dirt -- mired down by sin and filth -- kind of like the
prodigal son who was lying out in the pig pen
-- it’s obvious this person is not
going to be able to produce fruit because they are weighed down by sin – they
are laying in the mud – so, what is God, as the Gardener and Tender of the
vineyard, going to do?
-- is He going to cut them off --
is He going to take them away? -- no, the
Bible doesn’t say that – remember, Jesus originally spoke these words to His
disciples – the branches He is referring to here are Christians, saved by grace
– redeemed by His very body and blood
-- we are too valuable to Him to
just cut off and throw away -- we are worth so much to Him that He was willing
to send His son to death on a cross to save us even before we were Christians –
so even though we might be branches that are laying in the mud and not
producing fruit at the moment, He’s not going to throw us away
-- He is going to "airo"
us -- He is going to lift us up -- He is going to pick us up out of the mud and
filth of sin and He is going to clean us – that’s why Jesus references the
cleaning of the vines in verse 3 when He tells His disciples that they are
already clean – they’re not the branches laying in the mud
-- but for those who are laying in
the mud – for those branches who have fallen and are no longer abiding with
Christ, He is going to lift them up and clean them and lovingly bring them back
into the church so that they will be able to bear fruit for Him -- He is going
to bring them from being a branch that bears no fruit to being a branch that
bears some fruit
-- we're familiar with this process
of lifting up wayward, back-slidden Christians -- we call it by another name --
discipline -- Bruce Wilkinson calls this the first secret of the vine -- he
says "If your life consistently bears no fruit, God will intervene to
discipline you."
-- so, God takes someone who is not
bearing fruit for Him because of sin and lifts them up through discipline to
make them into a branch who is bearing some fruit for Him -- now, what does He
do for those who are bearing some fruit?
-- look
back at the second part of verse 2
John 15:2b …every branch that does bear fruit he prunes
[cleans] so that it will be even more fruitful.
-- God
wants us to produce more and more fruit for Him -- so He takes a person who is
bearing some fruit and He prunes them, so that they will bear more fruit for
Him
--
Wilkinson calls this the second secret of the vine -- he says "if your
life bears some fruit, God will intervene to prune you"
-- pruning is God's way of cutting
off immature commitments and lesser priorities in our life to make room for us
to bear more fruit for Him
-- think about the example of grape
vines that Jesus is using here again -- if you don't prune back grape branches,
they will continue to grow and produce a lot of leaves and not much fruit -- it
takes energy and resources to grow leaves, and a gardener would rather see this
energy and resources go towards producing fruit rather than just leaves
-- so, the gardener prunes back the
branches so they will put more energy into producing fruit -- we see the same
thing around here with peach trees and pear trees -- if you prune them, they
will bear more fruit
--
spiritually speaking, when God wants to move you from being a branch that bears
some fruit to being a branch that bears more fruit,
He picks up the pruning shears -- He starts cutting off all those things that
are sapping your time and your energy and your resources and keeping you from
producing more fruit for Him
-- things like
all those preoccupations and priorities in our lives that, while they are not
wrong, are keeping us from more significant ministry for God – as He prunes us,
God is asking us to let go of things that are keeping us from fulfilling His
will for our lives -- and don't let anyone fool you, pruning hurts because
parts of your life – maybe parts of your life that you really enjoy – are going
to be cut out so that more of God can be grafted in
-- when I
moved back to Georgia, I was involved in a lot of activities -- I was in the
Kennel Club -- I helped Kim show dogs -- I showed dogs in obedience competition
myself -- I hunted quite a bit -- I fished some -- I shot the bow a lot -- I
would go hiking and birding and do other stuff outside
-- well, when God decided to call
me to be a pastor, He began to prune me -- and He snipped here and He snipped
there and slowly but surely, as I allowed Him to prune me and I allowed Him to
take more and more of my life, I gradually lost the ability to do all the old
things that I enjoyed to do
-- there
was nothing wrong with the things I was doing -- God has nothing against dog
showing or hunting or fishing -- but they were taking up time that I could
spend serving the Lord
-- so He pruned me, and pruned me
quite heavily -- and I know I'm not there yet -- God is still pruning -- but He
is trying to make me and mold me and shape me into a branch that will bear much
fruit for the kingdom -- God took away a lot, but He replaced it with a lot,
too -- He replaced it with things that are of greater spiritual significance
--
understand that I'm not trying to puff myself up -- God wants to do the same
with you, too -- He wants you to move from where you are to a place where you
can bear more fruit for Him -- but you will only be able to do that by letting
God prune your life and shape you into the person He wants you to be -- and
when you give in to God’s pruning, God may bring those things back into your
life again
-- Dr.
James Dobson tells the story of his father's call into the ministry -- his
father was a great artist, but God pruned him and took away his art because He
had bigger and better things for Mr. Dobson to do -- but eventually, God
allowed Mr. Dobson to return to his art later in life, after he had borne much
fruit for the Kingdom
-- a good
way of thinking about this is by associating pruning with the testing of your
faith -- it is part of the maturation process -- it is how you move from being
a baby Christian drinking milk to being a mature Christian who eats solid food
-- God's goal is to bring you closer to the perfect and complete image of
Christ
-- so, God
prunes us and molds us and makes us into the people that He has called us to be
– into people who can bear more and more fruit for Him in our lives
III. Closing
-- let me close by sharing with you
the story of a Christian who bore great fruit for God in his life because he
let God clean him and prune him
-- The American missionary Adoniram
Judson arrived in Burma, or Myanmar, in 1812, and died there thirty-eight years
later in 1850 -- During that time, he suffered much for the cause of the gospel
-- He was imprisoned, tortured, and kept in shackles.
-- After the death of his first
wife, Ann, to whom he was devoted, for several months he was so depressed that
he sat daily beside her tomb. -- Three years later, he wrote: God is to me the
Great Unknown. I believe in him, but I cannot find him.
-- But Adoniram's faith sustained
him, and he threw himself into the tasks to which he believed God had called
him -- He worked feverishly on his translation of the Bible into the language
of the people in Burma -- The New Testament had now been printed, and he
finished the Old Testament in early 1834.
-- Statistics
are unclear, but there were only somewhere between twelve and twenty-five
professing Christians in the country when he died, and there were not churches
to speak of.
-- At the 150th anniversary of the
translation of the Bible into the Burmese language, Paul Borthwick was
addressing a group that was celebrating Judson's work. -- Just before he got up
to speak, he noticed in small print on the first page the words:
"Translated by Rev. A. Judson."
-- So Borthwick turned to his
interpreter, a Burmese man named Matthew Hia Win, and asked him, "Matthew,
what do you know of this man?" Matthew began to weep as he said, “We know
him—we know how he loved the Burmese people, how he suffered for the gospel
because of us, out of love for us. He died a pauper, but left the Bible for us.
-- “When he died, there were few
believers, but today there are over 600,000 of us, and every single one of us
traces our spiritual heritage to one man: the Rev. Adoniram Judson.”2
-- God pruned Adoniram Judson and
made him into a branch that bore much fruit, even if he did not see it in his
day – we need to remember that and know that God’s goal for us is to grow in
grace – to grow in holiness – to grow in fruitfulness
-- regardless of where you are with
Christ today -- if you are bearing some fruit, then God is there –
if you are bearing more fruit, then God is there -- snipping away
at the things in your life that are drawing you away from Him -- patiently
pruning away the excessive growth and the leaves that are taking away your time
and energy -- He is there redirecting your time and your thoughts towards Him,
so that you will eventually bear much fruit for His kingdom
-- the
important thing to remember is that God is doing this for our good – so that He
can use us and so that we can bear fruit for Him in His Kingdom, no matter what
season of life we might be in at the moment – not matter what type of branch we
might be at the moment
-- Jesus promised to never leave us
or forsake us – He promised to be with us always – and He put His very Spirit
within us to empower us and to grow us in grace and holiness and righteousness,
so that we might fully develop into the people and branches that God made us to
be
-- let us
pray
References:
1Wilkinson, Bruce. The Secrets of the Vine
2 Source: Adapted from Julia Cameron, editor,
Christ Our Reconciler (InterVarsity Press, 2012), pp. 200-201
