The Sermon The Vine and The Branches by David McGee
Sep 09, 2012
The Vine and The Branches (31:38)
Referenced Scriptures: John 15:1-12; 1 Corinthians 13
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The scriptures below are from the WEB Bible.
John 15:1-12
1) "I am the true vine, and my Father is the farmer.
2) Every branch in me that doesn‘t bear fruit, he takes away. Every branch that bears fruit, he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
3) You are already pruned clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
4) Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can‘t bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me.
5) I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
6) If a man doesn‘t remain in me, he is thrown out as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
7) If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done to you.
8) In this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; and so you will be my disciples.
9) Even as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you. Remain in my love.
10) If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love; even as I have kept my Father‘s commandments, and remain in his love.
11) I have spoken these things to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.
12) This is my commandment, that you love one another, even as I have loved you.
1 Corinthians 13
1) If I speak with the languages of men and of angels, but don‘t have love, I have become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal.
2) If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but don‘t have love, I am nothing.
3) If I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but don‘t have love, it profits me nothing.
4) Love is patient and is kind; love doesn‘t envy. Love doesn‘t brag, is not proud,
5) doesn‘t behave itself inappropriately, doesn‘t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil;
6) doesn‘t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;
7) bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8) Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will be done away with. Where there are various languages, they will cease. Where there is knowledge, it will be done away with.
9) For we know in part, and we prophesy in part;
10) but when that which is complete has come, then that which is partial will be done away with.
11) When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child. Now that I have become a man, I have put away childish things.
12) For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, even as I was also fully known.
13) But now remain faith, hope, and love: these three. The greatest of these is love.
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Running a Bible to John chapter fifteen, verses one through eleven and we're going to read about the mind and the branches. In the branches and as we read this, we find out. Jesus is trying to explain to want what the connectivity is between he and his followers and the importance of disconnectedness, so read John chapter fifteen and have it never. Formulate José ACCs magic with the computer so I am the real vine, and my father is a farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that does that doesn't bear grapes and every branch that is great, bearing the parens back so it will bear even more. You are already thrown back by the message that I have spoken live in the make your home and me just as I do, and you in the same way that a branch cannot bear great by itself, but only by being joined to divine. You can't bear fruit unless you are joined with me. I'm the vine, you are the branches. When you're joined with me and I in you, the relation intimate and organic harvest is sure to be abundant separate you can't produce a thing separated. You cannot you can't produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me as deadwood gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are home and you you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my father shows who he is when you produce grapes when you mature as my disciples. I've loved you. The way my father has loved me, make yourselves at home in my love if you keep my commandments, you remain intimately at home in my love that's what I've done to my father 's Commandments, and may yours myself at home in his love. I've told you these things for purpose that my joy might be your joy and your joy holy mature. This is my commandment love one another as I have loved you, that Jesus is illustrated to us. The union now himself to each believer to each believer there is a uniting of our life with Christ and his hangout just how profound is this union. It takes place in which the love of God, the life of God flows into our lives and how connected it has to be and how connected it has to remain the stories that are used in the Scriptures that depict this type of connection are the foundation of the building that if you try to build a house and build a building without a proper foundation. It's going to collapse the other one analogy is that Christ is the head, and we as the church are the body of Christ and the third analogy is the husband-and-wife, that Christ is the husband and the church is the bride, so each of these analogies is trying to get the wasp, a depiction of how important it is for us to have this connection with Christ, so the comparison with the mind and the branches is indicated as an organic union. I like that word organic is so much organic food going on. What's it mean to be organic without contamination, so our life was to be an organic relationship with Jesus Christ word is completely dependent upon the life that flows to us from God. So this relationship we have with God is extremely important. It did you ever think of how important oxygen is to us. Can you live without a you answer is no. If you want to hold your breath for a wild yoga right ahead. The jewelry in the battle will be calling 911 Jan Cintron is not aerobic on her whenever I was. I had my surgery a few weeks ago I was probably about eight weeks now. I be staples in my back and we had to keep him dry for whatever I would take a shower so that the nurse at the doctor 's office suggested we use press and seal sleep would press and seal over your your staples and things and push it in there and put some tape on the top and sometimes it works and sometimes it didn't. But among my only problem was when Rhonda one amigo lay on my back and she would put on my face say just relax. She didn't do that they can ask her how depressing still work for your husband, NL, but we know how that our need for oxygen is very much a part of our life. So it is that Jesus is illustrating the relationship he knows has to exist between us and himself. There has to be this relational experience where the believer will come in constant flow of God 's Spirit in God 's love into our life if we are going to be fruitful if we're going to be victorious in our relationship with Christ in an arc in our Christian walk, you know, we really fall prey to some some really strange philosophies. I call the polluted theologies and sometimes it just plain fully 's ideas about what being a Christian is all about. Then, and how that we allow certain things to come into our life. That totally take us off track oh man individuals that have told us that no, I would be a Christian of it wasn't for certain Christians and God be this and I be that while being connected with Christ is different than the things that we see in other people. We've got to understand what the Scriptures tell us about our relationship with God, and about what this relationship is to in a no and compass our relationship with Jesus Christ is not about condemnation and guilt. Our relationship with Jesus Christ is not about what's all the things are wrong with your life, in either straighten up or you're going to hell. There is a relationship with Jesus Christ. That is about being the person that God created us to be the relationship with Jesus Christ is about forgiveness is about grace. It's about mercy. It's about becoming now we have individuals who were rejected that and at the end of life, and after deal with that rejection depart for me. I never knew you, but the relational experience with Jesus Christ is about forgiveness. It's about how that I can as explained below earlier how that I can let go of my sins, my failures. My past on a people go through life dragging their past with them. I was able go through life with unforgiveness of it, it would go through life with bitterness over the things that happened to them, and you know some things right and somethings wrong but still carry it with us and that shows that Christ gives to us is, forgive us. I've forgiven you forgive a cipher. Jesus loves us and he says I forgive you. Now do you are. We were are we receptive enough of God 's forgiveness and forgive ourselves in the forgive others and to let that go, because that of the past cannot make our future. Our future is in God 's hands. Just as this little child in our there's so much potential there. The trainer either to become prejudiced or to be loving and accepting will try FCC agreed with Alan Singer, so the idea is that we have an opportunity to become and how that we have this opportunity 's relationship in order to become, I came across this quote and I didn't know where I was than he used to buy monies in here it's from Mark Twain. It's a giveaway for people who try to belittle your ambitions. Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but they really. But the real rate is really great make on arrogant small people always do. But the really great make you feel that you two can become great shape. God isn't about putting you in your place. God is about open the door so we can find our place we can find our mission. We can find what God wants us to do so, being connected with Christ. We know that God wants to bless us. We know all that God has a plan for us. We know that God wants to is aware, prosperous and not harm us but to pull put the polluted tag that goes with this is that we believe that God 's ultimate plan for us is to be happy that God wants us to set in our spiritual recliners and do nothing. After all, we have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. But in the Bible right. The answer is no again. After the Bible, right now. Thank you, thank you. I saw life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is not in the Bible it's in our Constitution, so some place your polluted theology. God is are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is my Christian virtue is my Christian duty that God make me happy. And it's a polluted idea that that doesn't fly because whenever we try and frame believing God for the eight to the extent that we pursue happiness of all the cost we were wrongfully believe that God exists to serve us. We wrongfully believe that our prayers about me getting ahead in about me getting something out of God. And when he went on and going somewhere with with who I am. But if the holy God of the universe is transformed somehow into a cosmic soda machine that if we put enough money in that if we pray the right firmly live the right way and we push the right buttons were going to get out of it what we want in happiness depends upon happenings. Joy is that which resides in the heart over the relationship many hundred people and you heard say I've tried religion, but it didn't make me then make me happy. I went to church, but it did make my life any better. I prayed and it didn't help. God didn't answer my prayers. Saint polluted theology polluted thinking, not organic. It's polluted, so our life is about relationship. It's about what Jesus says I am the real buying and my father is the farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn't their graves, and every branch that is great bearing. He proves back so it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message that I have spoken so Jesus, the creator of all things compares himself to Levine, Jesus is trying to tell us to and get the point across that his disciples. I am the real nine all life has its origin in the in the garden of Eden, God breathed into man the breath of life. We became a living soul. God ravens loss and it is only logical that the giver of life would want to sustain life in us by his virtue and by his life so he is the mind is the fruitful vine, and believers are the branches of the vine in our life is in Christ our life is that which flows from the mine to us. We know our life originated in God. Now sometimes it's easy to tell the difference. My wife Sonia so she can shake your head, so I was not with the least things state. What this is a branch is alive. I killed that Alan Weiner I picked this up at Perkins this morning Arielle, now what's the difference, the player will want everything you know, I and will and him not in trouble illustrations. Sometimes they'll work out so well by the laws of your new. This happens all-time so what's the diff what's the difference in these three while the sons alive if he people who are people who say what you know, I'm just alive as any Christian and I don't go to church and I don't believe in God, and on this live the Christian while the Bible says that there are times which God throws us in November were pruned from the buying network had off from the sap coming from the tree were eventually going to end up in, and this thing here is just the one of the enough and there are a lot of one of these they want to be this. They want to be Christians. They want to be whatever and it just doesn't work out they look good against knowledge. On them and make them smell good, but they just ignore the life and so the idea, then, is that we have life but the life is in the buying and the moment we get ourselves cut off from the life of the divine were to die and the life that we have in Christ and Christ is trying to tell the disciples that you you can have it. It may have all the appearances of life, but if you lose your connectedness, you lose your connectedness. The life-giving sap the truck that flows from that that the roots from the vinyl itself into the tree into the branch. If you lose that your dad ever make it. And so what Christ is trying to tell us is, and tell his disciples. If that is the true vine, and that as the true vine his life has the flow through us if we're going to make it in this live his life has the flow through us and that's why polluter theology makes us look at life from a dead perspective like God is here to make me happy. God is in you to make you happy. Go to give you life and give you purpose and to give you strength to go through the difficult times that are going to be difficult times. They're going to be times in which life falls apart, but we have a God who will be with us in those difficulties with times in which people are going to say things do things harmful things, intentional things only rather be able to deal with them and we deal with them from a perspective of forgiveness. Forgiveness does it in race. The event log. Does forgiveness make the event right or correct forgiveness allows us to deal with in any healing way and we can remember the event. For the rest of our life but every time we here at think of it, we choose to deal with than in a healing way to the principles of our relationship with Jesus Christ died us and give us direction they give us all an ability to handle the most difficult things in life that that grief, hope to God as a way of bringing new life into what would appear to be, and in inoperable and inappropriate in a situation that just seems I can't deal with, and God the place in the life and God becomes life and loss, and whenever we don't have that connected this to God, where do we receive our life where we receive the strength to live we know that printing happens driving happens whenever things you know things, God, why did that happen like that. Why do I like to go this man, and I can't go that way anymore and it just seemed like the door was closed and that didn't happen and that didn't happen as a planning process going on. Whatever we are and work for it back. Why does God is like us know because there is an opportunity for us to become even more fruitful. Become more fruitful because of the printing. Jesus says verse four. Limit me make your home and me just as I do, and you can't imagine God wanted to be at home in us. God was to be at home in us and he wants us to be comfortable at home with him, thus to be comfortable in our life that our prayers and our relationship with him and are and are going to church and are reading the Scriptures and in our iron dedications and all the things we do that we are comfortable with him and comfortable means that we are in a place where we do this in the incentives so that that we aren't rests in God rests now we talked about being arrested was an EB rest sit back and listen in La-Z-Boy and Watson, the Steelers be victorious by sixty points. You know the rest of the enough of these close games and I can't get too anxious, but rest in the Scripture is meaning that we enter the analogy was that the children of Israel had to enter the promised land. The land that God promised Abraham and they were to go into this promised land. But there were giants in the land. There were wild cities, and there were all these difficulties, and that was the land of promise, a land of rest. How can a place of conflict be a place of rest in the chat what is that as we enter into the difficulties of life. We have promises of God, that you that bring assurance to us so that we can deal with them how to deal with the Giants. I am more than a conqueror through Christ is where it becomes the source of our strength that we are at rest in God 's promise, so that we can go and conquer our giant to sometimes our polluted theologies think long than the arrest that means I'll never have another problem is that I won't have a problem, but they'll be life in the vine and the difficulties that we face will find a source of strength and I won't be cut off from all of the source of my strength, and Jesus says make your home may just as I given you. Just in the same way that a branch cannot bear grapes by itself. This branch can't bear fruit by itself, it's got a be connected. It's been a die. You can't bear fruit unless you are joined with me and verse five says I am the vine, you are the branches. When you join with me and I with you. The relation is intimate and organic. The relationship that we have with God is intimate and it is completely natural you ever find. Sometimes we think whenever we pray or whatever, going to church or whatever you like unnatural thing while and that in the reality of the relationship. It should be as natural as being part of sitting down with your best friend. Being in church any relationship with God. It should be as natural and without pollution and it should be as natural as setting down your best friend and having a conversation. He goes on to say the harvest is sure to be abundant whenever we have this relationship with God. What comes of it is going to bear fruit. It's going to make a difference in our life and the lives of the people around us, separate separated. You can produce a thing sorry, separated ditch effort is a thing is dead separated from God 's about all of left and when it's all over the pitch than the fire and burn, but if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home and you you can and the King James is used, you can ask what you will. You can ask whatever it is you want and be sure that God will listen. God knows the desires of our heart. But do we know the desires of God 's heart and was looking at this as if God has a purpose for my life and not me trying to inform God when he supposed to do for me that I am, I am in this relationship because the God who created me. My mother 's will has a purpose for my life and I will never find it. Running around trying to try to get I'm going through life with promises of God resting in his promises, knowing that he has a purpose for me and the God is giving God is restoring God 's blessing and a God will help me in the difficult times of my life. First, nine and ten Jesus said I love you designed the disciples. This I love you the way my father has loved me, Jesus is reflective of the relationship that he has had the right, any as with the father and here it is one of the Lords prayer, faith, forgiveness, our trespasses as we forgive those of trespass against us and lead us not into temptation is talking about relational experience in which we have a relationship with God, and which we reflect that to the people around us. Make yourself at home in my love, keep my commandments did you know the commandments were given to protect us and provide for us. God wanted to protect us from harming ourselves and others, but Liza don't steal, don't kill, don't bear false witness is giving us directions that will protect our life and that will keep us God has a way of working and I saw the whole polluted theology says yeah you know it doesn't work you are you praying it doesn't happen. I go to church, even change me. I did this I saw these people I saw those people forget that. Look at what God is saying to us in his word in the relationship to Jesus Christ wants to establish with us. Jesus said that's what I've done. I've kept my father 's commands and I've made myself at home in his love. I was my big belt you want your little child to be at home in your love. That's what family know you are correct. The output boundaries Daniel Walker and her room until she's twenty one, so she does Beethoven and enjoy always said about Rachel health. She's thirteen twelve on twenty one, was a row locking up, forget it. Indeed, anybody in but what we do these things. Why protection guidance. Why do we give boundaries. Why do we give rules and regulations up because were protecting and guiding God says don't do this because he's protecting his guiding. He wants us to be at home in his love just as much as we want to create a home where love is the founding principle. The love and prescriptions. Thirteen. Love doesn't keep score of wrongdoing, but would love doesn't keep score wrongdoing love has a way of overlooking not pretending that it doesn't exist. Love has a way of correcting dealing healing, making the mouse and says I've told you these things for a purpose that my joy might be in you and your joy might be full and mature. So God has a purpose. So if you can imagine what are we going to do my going to sit down with God as a friend with a friend in all in the garden. Did you know what we were created for. We were created to walk with God in the garden. We were created to walk with God. God came down in the cool of the day and walk without any is a friend, our relationship with Jesus Christ. Our relationship with God is like sitting down with our best friend, and realizing what a great purpose God has for us. This purpose is that our joy might be full, our joy, my people, not unhappiness happiness depends upon happenings July, depends upon the security of her relationship joy transcends the rolling tides of circumstance I love our life is intertwined our life, our love is intertwined with our relationship with God as a vine and the branches as life flowing out of you. I I close with this. I think of the relation I think of. I've use the story before Steve argue never heard this, the giant sequoias. Okay the giant Sequoia 's. How do they exist. How do they stay secure. There is an intertwining of all of the roots at the root system and the Giants requires about ten to twelve feet thick. The and that these files of the thousands of pounds don't sink into the year because it's Kyle, most like on a trampoline of roots and that when the winds come, there is such a strengthen the roots that doesn't blow over. The only place that the giant sequoias are subject to all winds and storms is on the edges. The inner trees are safe because of the connectedness of the root system and that once free at a source of water will supply on most of the other trees in entire region, because it will transfer the fluids of the water from one tree to another through the entire root system. This is what God is for us. It is his spirit, the flows through our life, and gives us life gives us strength gives us direction and it is that life, and that strength gives us hope and it is in that place of a relational experience with Jesus Christ that we have life now and for eternity so is there thank you for bringing your child. Thank you for coming. May we all recognize the value of the gift of life not only in the baby. But in each one of us. The value of your life. We've only just begun. Dora that one either. We've only just begun to understand the opportunities that are in front of us because of what God has given to us. He is the vine. We are the branches. They were connected to him for eternity. Thank you Lord, for forgiving us of our sins. Thank you, O God, for helping us let go of our past failures and mistakes. I was about to see your plan, your purpose your life, your love how that works in us and through us flow through us now. Oh God, we pray that we might sense your purpose. Feel your spirit recognize the life the gift of life that you've given us. Help us Lord to use that gift to make a difference not only in our life but in the lives of the people around us, we pray in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, and everyone said a man unless youRunning a Bible to John chapter fifteen, verses one through eleven and we're going to read about the mind and the branches. In the branches and as we read this, we find out. Jesus is trying to explain to want what the connectivity is between he and his followers and the importance of disconnectedness, so read John chapter fifteen and have it never. Formulate José ACCs magic with the computer so I am the real vine, and my father is a farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that does that doesn't bear grapes and every branch that is great, bearing the parens back so it will bear even more. You are already thrown back by the message that I have spoken live in the make your home and me just as I do, and you in the same way that a branch cannot bear great by itself, but only by being joined to divine. You can't bear fruit unless you are joined with me. I'm the vine, you are the branches. When you're joined with me and I in you, the relation intimate and organic harvest is sure to be abundant separate you can't produce a thing separated. You cannot you can't produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me as deadwood gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are home and you you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my father shows who he is when you produce grapes when you mature as my disciples. I've loved you. The way my father has loved me, make yourselves at home in my love if you keep my commandments, you remain intimately at home in my love that's what I've done to my father 's Commandments, and may yours myself at home in his love. I've told you these things for purpose that my joy might be your joy and your joy holy mature. This is my commandment love one another as I have loved you, that Jesus is illustrated to us. The union now himself to each believer to each believer there is a uniting of our life with Christ and his hangout just how profound is this union. It takes place in which the love of God, the life of God flows into our lives and how connected it has to be and how connected it has to remain the stories that are used in the Scriptures that depict this type of connection are the foundation of the building that if you try to build a house and build a building without a proper foundation. It's going to collapse the other one analogy is that Christ is the head, and we as the church are the body of Christ and the third analogy is the husband-and-wife, that Christ is the husband and the church is the bride, so each of these analogies is trying to get the wasp, a depiction of how important it is for us to have this connection with Christ, so the comparison with the mind and the branches is indicated as an organic union. I like that word organic is so much organic food going on. What's it mean to be organic without contamination, so our life was to be an organic relationship with Jesus Christ word is completely dependent upon the life that flows to us from God. So this relationship we have with God is extremely important. It did you ever think of how important oxygen is to us. Can you live without a you answer is no. If you want to hold your breath for a wild yoga right ahead. The jewelry in the battle will be calling 911 Jan Cintron is not aerobic on her whenever I was. I had my surgery a few weeks ago I was probably about eight weeks now. I be staples in my back and we had to keep him dry for whatever I would take a shower so that the nurse at the doctor 's office suggested we use press and seal sleep would press and seal over your your staples and things and push it in there and put some tape on the top and sometimes it works and sometimes it didn't. But among my only problem was when Rhonda one amigo lay on my back and she would put on my face say just relax. She didn't do that they can ask her how depressing still work for your husband, NL, but we know how that our need for oxygen is very much a part of our life. So it is that Jesus is illustrating the relationship he knows has to exist between us and himself. There has to be this relational experience where the believer will come in constant flow of God 's Spirit in God 's love into our life if we are going to be fruitful if we're going to be victorious in our relationship with Christ in an arc in our Christian walk, you know, we really fall prey to some some really strange philosophies. I call the polluted theologies and sometimes it just plain fully 's ideas about what being a Christian is all about. Then, and how that we allow certain things to come into our life. That totally take us off track oh man individuals that have told us that no, I would be a Christian of it wasn't for certain Christians and God be this and I be that while being connected with Christ is different than the things that we see in other people. We've got to understand what the Scriptures tell us about our relationship with God, and about what this relationship is to in a no and compass our relationship with Jesus Christ is not about condemnation and guilt. Our relationship with Jesus Christ is not about what's all the things are wrong with your life, in either straighten up or you're going to hell. There is a relationship with Jesus Christ. That is about being the person that God created us to be the relationship with Jesus Christ is about forgiveness is about grace. It's about mercy. It's about becoming now we have individuals who were rejected that and at the end of life, and after deal with that rejection depart for me. I never knew you, but the relational experience with Jesus Christ is about forgiveness. It's about how that I can as explained below earlier how that I can let go of my sins, my failures. My past on a people go through life dragging their past with them. I was able go through life with unforgiveness of it, it would go through life with bitterness over the things that happened to them, and you know some things right and somethings wrong but still carry it with us and that shows that Christ gives to us is, forgive us. I've forgiven you forgive a cipher. Jesus loves us and he says I forgive you. Now do you are. We were are we receptive enough of God 's forgiveness and forgive ourselves in the forgive others and to let that go, because that of the past cannot make our future. Our future is in God 's hands. Just as this little child in our there's so much potential there. The trainer either to become prejudiced or to be loving and accepting will try FCC agreed with Alan Singer, so the idea is that we have an opportunity to become and how that we have this opportunity 's relationship in order to become, I came across this quote and I didn't know where I was than he used to buy monies in here it's from Mark Twain. It's a giveaway for people who try to belittle your ambitions. Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but they really. But the real rate is really great make on arrogant small people always do. But the really great make you feel that you two can become great shape. God isn't about putting you in your place. God is about open the door so we can find our place we can find our mission. We can find what God wants us to do so, being connected with Christ. We know that God wants to bless us. We know all that God has a plan for us. We know that God wants to is aware, prosperous and not harm us but to pull put the polluted tag that goes with this is that we believe that God 's ultimate plan for us is to be happy that God wants us to set in our spiritual recliners and do nothing. After all, we have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. But in the Bible right. The answer is no again. After the Bible, right now. Thank you, thank you. I saw life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is not in the Bible it's in our Constitution, so some place your polluted theology. God is are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is my Christian virtue is my Christian duty that God make me happy. And it's a polluted idea that that doesn't fly because whenever we try and frame believing God for the eight to the extent that we pursue happiness of all the cost we were wrongfully believe that God exists to serve us. We wrongfully believe that our prayers about me getting ahead in about me getting something out of God. And when he went on and going somewhere with with who I am. But if the holy God of the universe is transformed somehow into a cosmic soda machine that if we put enough money in that if we pray the right firmly live the right way and we push the right buttons were going to get out of it what we want in happiness depends upon happenings. Joy is that which resides in the heart over the relationship many hundred people and you heard say I've tried religion, but it didn't make me then make me happy. I went to church, but it did make my life any better. I prayed and it didn't help. God didn't answer my prayers. Saint polluted theology polluted thinking, not organic. It's polluted, so our life is about relationship. It's about what Jesus says I am the real buying and my father is the farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn't their graves, and every branch that is great bearing. He proves back so it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message that I have spoken so Jesus, the creator of all things compares himself to Levine, Jesus is trying to tell us to and get the point across that his disciples. I am the real nine all life has its origin in the in the garden of Eden, God breathed into man the breath of life. We became a living soul. God ravens loss and it is only logical that the giver of life would want to sustain life in us by his virtue and by his life so he is the mind is the fruitful vine, and believers are the branches of the vine in our life is in Christ our life is that which flows from the mine to us. We know our life originated in God. Now sometimes it's easy to tell the difference. My wife Sonia so she can shake your head, so I was not with the least things state. What this is a branch is alive. I killed that Alan Weiner I picked this up at Perkins this morning Arielle, now what's the difference, the player will want everything you know, I and will and him not in trouble illustrations. Sometimes they'll work out so well by the laws of your new. This happens all-time so what's the diff what's the difference in these three while the sons alive if he people who are people who say what you know, I'm just alive as any Christian and I don't go to church and I don't believe in God, and on this live the Christian while the Bible says that there are times which God throws us in November were pruned from the buying network had off from the sap coming from the tree were eventually going to end up in, and this thing here is just the one of the enough and there are a lot of one of these they want to be this. They want to be Christians. They want to be whatever and it just doesn't work out they look good against knowledge. On them and make them smell good, but they just ignore the life and so the idea, then, is that we have life but the life is in the buying and the moment we get ourselves cut off from the life of the divine were to die and the life that we have in Christ and Christ is trying to tell the disciples that you you can have it. It may have all the appearances of life, but if you lose your connectedness, you lose your connectedness. The life-giving sap the truck that flows from that that the roots from the vinyl itself into the tree into the branch. If you lose that your dad ever make it. And so what Christ is trying to tell us is, and tell his disciples. If that is the true vine, and that as the true vine his life has the flow through us if we're going to make it in this live his life has the flow through us and that's why polluter theology makes us look at life from a dead perspective like God is here to make me happy. God is in you to make you happy. Go to give you life and give you purpose and to give you strength to go through the difficult times that are going to be difficult times. They're going to be times in which life falls apart, but we have a God who will be with us in those difficulties with times in which people are going to say things do things harmful things, intentional things only rather be able to deal with them and we deal with them from a perspective of forgiveness. Forgiveness does it in race. The event log. Does forgiveness make the event right or correct forgiveness allows us to deal with in any healing way and we can remember the event. For the rest of our life but every time we here at think of it, we choose to deal with than in a healing way to the principles of our relationship with Jesus Christ died us and give us direction they give us all an ability to handle the most difficult things in life that that grief, hope to God as a way of bringing new life into what would appear to be, and in inoperable and inappropriate in a situation that just seems I can't deal with, and God the place in the life and God becomes life and loss, and whenever we don't have that connected this to God, where do we receive our life where we receive the strength to live we know that printing happens driving happens whenever things you know things, God, why did that happen like that. Why do I like to go this man, and I can't go that way anymore and it just seemed like the door was closed and that didn't happen and that didn't happen as a planning process going on. Whatever we are and work for it back. Why does God is like us know because there is an opportunity for us to become even more fruitful. Become more fruitful because of the printing. Jesus says verse four. Limit me make your home and me just as I do, and you can't imagine God wanted to be at home in us. God was to be at home in us and he wants us to be comfortable at home with him, thus to be comfortable in our life that our prayers and our relationship with him and are and are going to church and are reading the Scriptures and in our iron dedications and all the things we do that we are comfortable with him and comfortable means that we are in a place where we do this in the incentives so that that we aren't rests in God rests now we talked about being arrested was an EB rest sit back and listen in La-Z-Boy and Watson, the Steelers be victorious by sixty points. You know the rest of the enough of these close games and I can't get too anxious, but rest in the Scripture is meaning that we enter the analogy was that the children of Israel had to enter the promised land. The land that God promised Abraham and they were to go into this promised land. But there were giants in the land. There were wild cities, and there were all these difficulties, and that was the land of promise, a land of rest. How can a place of conflict be a place of rest in the chat what is that as we enter into the difficulties of life. We have promises of God, that you that bring assurance to us so that we can deal with them how to deal with the Giants. I am more than a conqueror through Christ is where it becomes the source of our strength that we are at rest in God 's promise, so that we can go and conquer our giant to sometimes our polluted theologies think long than the arrest that means I'll never have another problem is that I won't have a problem, but they'll be life in the vine and the difficulties that we face will find a source of strength and I won't be cut off from all of the source of my strength, and Jesus says make your home may just as I given you. Just in the same way that a branch cannot bear grapes by itself. This branch can't bear fruit by itself, it's got a be connected. It's been a die. You can't bear fruit unless you are joined with me and verse five says I am the vine, you are the branches. When you join with me and I with you. The relation is intimate and organic. The relationship that we have with God is intimate and it is completely natural you ever find. Sometimes we think whenever we pray or whatever, going to church or whatever you like unnatural thing while and that in the reality of the relationship. It should be as natural as being part of sitting down with your best friend. Being in church any relationship with God. It should be as natural and without pollution and it should be as natural as setting down your best friend and having a conversation. He goes on to say the harvest is sure to be abundant whenever we have this relationship with God. What comes of it is going to bear fruit. It's going to make a difference in our life and the lives of the people around us, separate separated. You can produce a thing sorry, separated ditch effort is a thing is dead separated from God 's about all of left and when it's all over the pitch than the fire and burn, but if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home and you you can and the King James is used, you can ask what you will. You can ask whatever it is you want and be sure that God will listen. God knows the desires of our heart. But do we know the desires of God 's heart and was looking at this as if God has a purpose for my life and not me trying to inform God when he supposed to do for me that I am, I am in this relationship because the God who created me. My mother 's will has a purpose for my life and I will never find it. Running around trying to try to get I'm going through life with promises of God resting in his promises, knowing that he has a purpose for me and the God is giving God is restoring God 's blessing and a God will help me in the difficult times of my life. First, nine and ten Jesus said I love you designed the disciples. This I love you the way my father has loved me, Jesus is reflective of the relationship that he has had the right, any as with the father and here it is one of the Lords prayer, faith, forgiveness, our trespasses as we forgive those of trespass against us and lead us not into temptation is talking about relational experience in which we have a relationship with God, and which we reflect that to the people around us. Make yourself at home in my love, keep my commandments did you know the commandments were given to protect us and provide for us. God wanted to protect us from harming ourselves and others, but Liza don't steal, don't kill, don't bear false witness is giving us directions that will protect our life and that will keep us God has a way of working and I saw the whole polluted theology says yeah you know it doesn't work you are you praying it doesn't happen. I go to church, even change me. I did this I saw these people I saw those people forget that. Look at what God is saying to us in his word in the relationship to Jesus Christ wants to establish with us. Jesus said that's what I've done. I've kept my father 's commands and I've made myself at home in his love. I was my big belt you want your little child to be at home in your love. That's what family know you are correct. The output boundaries Daniel Walker and her room until she's twenty one, so she does Beethoven and enjoy always said about Rachel health. She's thirteen twelve on twenty one, was a row locking up, forget it. Indeed, anybody in but what we do these things. Why protection guidance. Why do we give boundaries. Why do we give rules and regulations up because were protecting and guiding God says don't do this because he's protecting his guiding. He wants us to be at home in his love just as much as we want to create a home where love is the founding principle. The love and prescriptions. Thirteen. Love doesn't keep score of wrongdoing, but would love doesn't keep score wrongdoing love has a way of overlooking not pretending that it doesn't exist. Love has a way of correcting dealing healing, making the mouse and says I've told you these things for a purpose that my joy might be in you and your joy might be full and mature. So God has a purpose. So if you can imagine what are we going to do my going to sit down with God as a friend with a friend in all in the garden. Did you know what we were created for. We were created to walk with God in the garden. We were created to walk with God. God came down in the cool of the day and walk without any is a friend, our relationship with Jesus Christ. Our relationship with God is like sitting down with our best friend, and realizing what a great purpose God has for us. This purpose is that our joy might be full, our joy, my people, not unhappiness happiness depends upon happenings July, depends upon the security of her relationship joy transcends the rolling tides of circumstance I love our life is intertwined our life, our love is intertwined with our relationship with God as a vine and the branches as life flowing out of you. I I close with this. I think of the relation I think of. I've use the story before Steve argue never heard this, the giant sequoias. Okay the giant Sequoia 's. How do they exist. How do they stay secure. There is an intertwining of all of the roots at the root system and the Giants requires about ten to twelve feet thick. The and that these files of the thousands of pounds don't sink into the year because it's Kyle, most like on a trampoline of roots and that when the winds come, there is such a strengthen the roots that doesn't blow over. The only place that the giant sequoias are subject to all winds and storms is on the edges. The inner trees are safe because of the connectedness of the root system and that once free at a source of water will supply on most of the other trees in entire region, because it will transfer the fluids of the water from one tree to another through the entire root system. This is what God is for us. It is his spirit, the flows through our life, and gives us life gives us strength gives us direction and it is that life, and that strength gives us hope and it is in that place of a relational experience with Jesus Christ that we have life now and for eternity so is there thank you for bringing your child. Thank you for coming. May we all recognize the value of the gift of life not only in the baby. But in each one of us. The value of your life. We've only just begun. Dora that one either. We've only just begun to understand the opportunities that are in front of us because of what God has given to us. He is the vine. We are the branches. They were connected to him for eternity. Thank you Lord, for forgiving us of our sins. Thank you, O God, for helping us let go of our past failures and mistakes. I was about to see your plan, your purpose your life, your love how that works in us and through us flow through us now. Oh God, we pray that we might sense your purpose. Feel your spirit recognize the life the gift of life that you've given us. Help us Lord to use that gift to make a difference not only in our life but in the lives of the people around us, we pray in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, and everyone said a man unless you