1 00:00:06,847 --> 00:00:09,644 In Hosea 14:8, listen to this verse: 2 00:00:09,644 --> 00:00:11,357 "O Ephraim, 3 00:00:11,357 --> 00:00:13,625 what more have I to do with idols? 4 00:00:13,625 --> 00:00:16,573 It is I who answer and look after you. 5 00:00:16,573 --> 00:00:19,649 I am like a luxuriant cypress; 6 00:00:19,649 --> 00:00:22,898 from Me comes your fruit." 7 00:00:22,898 --> 00:00:24,717 That's what God said to Ephraim. 8 00:00:24,717 --> 00:00:27,500 And it's very important because the word "Ephraim" - 9 00:00:27,500 --> 00:00:30,326 the name - means fruitfulness. 10 00:00:30,326 --> 00:00:31,783 He named them "fruitfulness," 11 00:00:31,783 --> 00:00:34,195 but the problem was this tribe 12 00:00:34,195 --> 00:00:36,373 began to think they were the source 13 00:00:36,373 --> 00:00:38,871 of their own fruitfulness. 14 00:00:38,871 --> 00:00:40,950 And God said, "No, 15 00:00:40,950 --> 00:00:45,386 I am the source of all your fruitfulness." 16 00:00:45,386 --> 00:00:48,151 Another thing that this text teaches us is this: 17 00:00:48,151 --> 00:00:51,106 We must resist the pride that may spring forth 18 00:00:51,106 --> 00:00:52,706 from fruitfulness. 19 00:00:52,706 --> 00:00:55,412 You know, some progress in the Christian life 20 00:00:55,412 --> 00:00:56,933 can also be dangerous. 21 00:00:56,933 --> 00:00:59,865 That's why God does not allow us sometimes 22 00:00:59,865 --> 00:01:02,365 to experience all the progress that we'd hoped for 23 00:01:02,365 --> 00:01:05,830 because it would turn and work against us in pride. 24 00:01:05,830 --> 00:01:07,199 Because we're too immature 25 00:01:07,199 --> 00:01:10,834 to really be used to bear such fruit. 26 00:01:10,834 --> 00:01:14,427 If you and I are always just pulling off 27 00:01:14,427 --> 00:01:16,319 this Christian life by means of 28 00:01:16,319 --> 00:01:18,804 our pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps; 29 00:01:18,804 --> 00:01:20,524 if we are doing this Christian life 30 00:01:20,524 --> 00:01:21,780 in our own power, 31 00:01:21,780 --> 00:01:23,202 then what we are going to see 32 00:01:23,202 --> 00:01:25,368 is a constant state of inconsistency 33 00:01:25,368 --> 00:01:28,167 because we're inconsistent. 34 00:01:28,167 --> 00:01:30,388 We are inconsistent 35 00:01:30,388 --> 00:01:32,729 and that evermore should encourage us 36 00:01:32,729 --> 00:01:33,853 to do what? 37 00:01:33,853 --> 00:01:37,694 To abandon all hope in self 38 00:01:37,694 --> 00:01:39,690 and to draw upon Christ, 39 00:01:39,690 --> 00:01:41,205 to draw upon Christ, 40 00:01:41,205 --> 00:01:43,123 to draw upon Christ 41 00:01:43,123 --> 00:01:44,752 that we might bear consistent, 42 00:01:44,752 --> 00:01:45,855 consistent fruit. 43 00:01:45,855 --> 00:01:48,833 His fruit that He bears in the life of the believer 44 00:01:48,833 --> 00:01:50,406 will always be a reflection 45 00:01:50,406 --> 00:01:52,262 of His own holiness and righteousness. 46 00:01:52,262 --> 00:01:54,318 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, 47 00:01:54,318 --> 00:01:56,073 peace, patience, kindness, goodness, 48 00:01:56,073 --> 00:01:58,068 faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; 49 00:01:58,068 --> 00:02:00,842 against such things there is no law. 50 00:02:00,842 --> 00:02:04,194 Don't you want to be like that? 51 00:02:04,194 --> 00:02:06,650 Well, if you desire to be like that, 52 00:02:06,650 --> 00:02:09,554 you must abandon all hope - 53 00:02:09,554 --> 00:02:12,066 all hope in self, 54 00:02:12,066 --> 00:02:14,885 all hope in secondary means. 55 00:02:14,885 --> 00:02:17,490 And you must run, run, run 56 00:02:17,490 --> 00:02:19,525 to Jesus Christ. 57 00:02:19,525 --> 00:02:20,874 Run to Christ. 58 00:02:20,874 --> 00:02:22,916 All other vines are useless. 59 00:02:22,916 --> 00:02:24,387 All other sources are useless. 60 00:02:24,387 --> 00:02:25,912 Jeremiah 2:13 says, 61 00:02:25,912 --> 00:02:28,617 "For My people have committed two evils: 62 00:02:28,617 --> 00:02:30,385 They have forsaken Me, 63 00:02:30,385 --> 00:02:32,125 the fountain of living waters 64 00:02:32,125 --> 00:02:33,892 to hew for themselves cisterns, 65 00:02:33,892 --> 00:02:37,553 broken cisterns that can hold no water." 66 00:02:37,553 --> 00:02:40,175 My dear friend, God will, 67 00:02:40,175 --> 00:02:41,305 through His discipline 68 00:02:41,305 --> 00:02:43,157 as we're going to see in a moment - 69 00:02:43,157 --> 00:02:45,831 work in every one of our lives 70 00:02:45,831 --> 00:02:49,380 destroying not only idols, 71 00:02:49,380 --> 00:02:53,390 but destroying every false source 72 00:02:53,390 --> 00:02:56,794 from which we might attempt to draw. 73 00:02:56,794 --> 00:02:59,536 He will frustrate everything 74 00:02:59,536 --> 00:03:02,926 until we are focused in on Christ 75 00:03:02,926 --> 00:03:04,108 and Christ alone, 76 00:03:04,108 --> 00:03:05,434 the excellencies of Christ, 77 00:03:05,434 --> 00:03:06,889 the finished work of Christ, 78 00:03:06,889 --> 00:03:08,451 the continuing work of Christ, 79 00:03:08,451 --> 00:03:11,124 Christ, Christ, Christ. 80 00:03:11,124 --> 00:03:13,708 All other vines also lead to barrenness. 81 00:03:13,708 --> 00:03:15,765 Jeremiah 17:5-6, 82 00:03:15,765 --> 00:03:16,995 "Thus says the Lord, 83 00:03:16,995 --> 00:03:19,462 'Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind 84 00:03:19,462 --> 00:03:21,582 and makes flesh his strength.'" 85 00:03:21,582 --> 00:03:23,332 So that doesn't sound like a source 86 00:03:23,332 --> 00:03:24,503 or a fountain or a vine, 87 00:03:24,503 --> 00:03:26,023 oh, my dear friend. 88 00:03:26,023 --> 00:03:29,079 I would say of all things that men trust in 89 00:03:29,079 --> 00:03:31,771 other than Christ, it is the flesh. 90 00:03:31,771 --> 00:03:35,172 And all sources that are offered to you 91 00:03:35,172 --> 00:03:38,079 is nothing more than a manifestation of the flesh. 92 00:03:38,079 --> 00:03:39,718 It's not Jesus Christ. 93 00:03:39,718 --> 00:03:41,170 "And makes flesh his strength, 94 00:03:41,170 --> 00:03:43,210 and whose heart turns away from the Lord. 95 00:03:43,210 --> 00:03:45,357 For he will be like a bush in the desert 96 00:03:45,357 --> 00:03:48,118 and will not see when prosperity comes, 97 00:03:48,118 --> 00:03:51,262 but will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, 98 00:03:51,262 --> 00:03:54,702 a land of salt without inhabitant." 99 00:03:54,702 --> 00:03:56,191 My dear friend, 100 00:03:56,191 --> 00:03:58,103 brother and sister in Christ, 101 00:03:58,103 --> 00:04:00,507 I am probably the most appropriate person 102 00:04:00,507 --> 00:04:03,027 in this building to give this message 103 00:04:03,027 --> 00:04:10,129 because I am so prone to draw strength at times 104 00:04:10,129 --> 00:04:15,617 from things that give no strength whatsoever. 105 00:04:15,617 --> 00:04:17,152 And even when the devil works - 106 00:04:17,152 --> 00:04:18,705 because God does use the devil - 107 00:04:18,705 --> 00:04:19,997 no, it is for our good. 108 00:04:19,997 --> 00:04:23,321 Absolutely everything is for our good. 109 00:04:23,321 --> 00:04:26,126 The problem is many times we do not understand the good. 110 00:04:26,126 --> 00:04:27,657 The good isn't big ministries. 111 00:04:27,657 --> 00:04:30,049 The good isn't fame in the Christian life. 112 00:04:30,049 --> 00:04:31,623 The good isn't that after we die, 113 00:04:31,623 --> 00:04:33,308 someone will write a book about us. 114 00:04:33,308 --> 00:04:35,107 The good isn't that we are respected 115 00:04:35,107 --> 00:04:36,840 as the greatest pastor in the world. 116 00:04:36,840 --> 00:04:40,178 The good is that we look like Jesus. 117 00:04:40,178 --> 00:04:43,139 That we look like Christ. 118 00:04:43,139 --> 00:04:45,287 I'm going to say something that's going to sound 119 00:04:45,287 --> 00:04:46,684 very, very vulgar, very horrid, 120 00:04:46,684 --> 00:04:50,746 but I am going to say it so that you can grasp the meaning: 121 00:04:50,746 --> 00:04:56,395 that being like Jesus is so important 122 00:04:56,395 --> 00:04:59,596 in God's eyes in Christianity 123 00:04:59,596 --> 00:05:01,519 that one could rightfully say almost 124 00:05:01,519 --> 00:05:04,167 to hell with everything else. 125 00:05:04,167 --> 00:05:07,318 So many times underneath us 126 00:05:07,318 --> 00:05:10,582 are these ulterior motives 127 00:05:10,582 --> 00:05:12,951 that are hellish. 128 00:05:12,951 --> 00:05:16,646 What is the greatest privilege? 129 00:05:16,646 --> 00:05:19,258 To be able to preach like Spurgeon? 130 00:05:19,258 --> 00:05:20,123 No! 131 00:05:20,123 --> 00:05:23,085 To look like Jesus. 132 00:05:23,085 --> 00:05:24,662 When we talk about fruit 133 00:05:24,662 --> 00:05:27,463 we're automatically in our American mindset 134 00:05:27,463 --> 00:05:30,688 thinking about activity instead of character, 135 00:05:30,688 --> 00:05:32,676 character, character, 136 00:05:32,676 --> 00:05:35,443 Christlikeness, Christlikeness. 137 00:05:35,443 --> 00:05:37,263 Many times the Lord loves you too much 138 00:05:37,263 --> 00:05:39,125 to give you the things you're praying for 139 00:05:39,125 --> 00:05:41,011 because He wants to give you something better - 140 00:05:41,011 --> 00:05:42,544 Christlikeness. 141 00:05:42,544 --> 00:05:44,915 Now, if we look at this text, He says, 142 00:05:44,915 --> 00:05:47,789 "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit 143 00:05:47,789 --> 00:05:50,005 He takes away." 144 00:05:50,005 --> 00:05:51,325 What does He mean? 145 00:05:51,325 --> 00:05:52,865 Let me just make this statement. 146 00:05:52,865 --> 00:05:54,843 There are men and women, young and old, 147 00:05:54,843 --> 00:05:56,328 in every congregation 148 00:05:56,328 --> 00:05:58,882 who identify with the people of God, 149 00:05:58,882 --> 00:06:01,255 but are unbelieving and fruitless 150 00:06:01,255 --> 00:06:02,768 and when they die, 151 00:06:02,768 --> 00:06:04,353 they will go to hell. 152 00:06:04,353 --> 00:06:09,555 That's exactly what this passage means. 153 00:06:09,555 --> 00:06:12,171 (Incomplete thought) 154 00:06:12,171 --> 00:06:14,458 Let's just look at the church for a moment 155 00:06:14,458 --> 00:06:16,347 as a vineyard. 156 00:06:16,347 --> 00:06:18,916 Within this vineyard, there are some 157 00:06:18,916 --> 00:06:22,360 who they kind of look like branches. 158 00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:24,686 They kind of act a bit like branches 159 00:06:24,686 --> 00:06:27,282 on a superficial level. 160 00:06:27,282 --> 00:06:29,269 But when you really look at them 161 00:06:29,269 --> 00:06:30,676 they are fruitless. 162 00:06:30,676 --> 00:06:32,006 They are unbelieving. 163 00:06:32,006 --> 00:06:33,878 They are not connected to the Vine. 164 00:06:33,878 --> 00:06:35,538 And they will be judged. 165 00:06:35,538 --> 00:06:36,657 They will be torn away. 166 00:06:36,657 --> 00:06:37,716 They will be judged. 167 00:06:37,716 --> 00:06:39,097 They will be cast into hell. 168 00:06:39,097 --> 00:06:41,850 Listen to what Jude says in verse 12. 169 00:06:41,850 --> 00:06:43,798 "These are the men who are hidden reefs 170 00:06:43,798 --> 00:06:45,303 in your love feasts, 171 00:06:45,303 --> 00:06:47,336 and when they feast with you without fear, 172 00:06:47,336 --> 00:06:48,458 caring for themselves, 173 00:06:48,458 --> 00:06:49,659 clouds without water, 174 00:06:49,659 --> 00:06:50,984 carried along by winds, 175 00:06:50,984 --> 00:06:52,546 autumn trees without fruit, 176 00:06:52,546 --> 00:06:53,957 doubly dead, uprooted..." 177 00:06:53,957 --> 00:06:55,873 I have described a great majority 178 00:06:55,873 --> 00:06:59,146 of church membership rolls all throughout this country. 179 00:06:59,146 --> 00:07:00,717 And we think that we can somehow 180 00:07:00,717 --> 00:07:02,806 cure these men by more discipleship 181 00:07:02,806 --> 00:07:04,284 when the fact of the matter is 182 00:07:04,284 --> 00:07:06,935 they need the Gospel and they need regeneration. 183 00:07:06,935 --> 00:07:08,615 They eat right with you. 184 00:07:08,615 --> 00:07:10,223 They participate in the supper. 185 00:07:10,223 --> 00:07:11,612 They go to the Lord's Supper. 186 00:07:11,612 --> 00:07:14,527 They participate in the feasts that you might have afterwards. 187 00:07:14,527 --> 00:07:15,406 All these things. 188 00:07:15,406 --> 00:07:17,103 And you never recognize them. 189 00:07:17,103 --> 00:07:18,995 They're always caring for themselves. 190 00:07:18,995 --> 00:07:21,482 One thing you will notice in an unconverted person, 191 00:07:21,482 --> 00:07:23,917 selfishness is the greatest - 192 00:07:23,917 --> 00:07:26,138 it is the opposite of love. 193 00:07:26,138 --> 00:07:29,064 All they care about is self. 194 00:07:29,064 --> 00:07:32,400 Let me read you a passage in Ezekiel 19:12. 195 00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:34,903 Speaking of apostate Israel, it says, 196 00:07:34,903 --> 00:07:36,864 "Its strong branch was torn off 197 00:07:36,864 --> 00:07:38,060 so that it withered; 198 00:07:38,060 --> 00:07:39,681 the fire consumed it." 199 00:07:39,681 --> 00:07:42,064 I don't care how strong your religion is 200 00:07:42,064 --> 00:07:43,786 or how strong your church life is. 201 00:07:43,786 --> 00:07:46,464 I don't care how strong your morality is. 202 00:07:46,464 --> 00:07:49,866 At the day of judgment, God will tear it down. 203 00:07:49,866 --> 00:07:51,653 Tear it down and it will wilt. 204 00:07:51,653 --> 00:07:53,239 It'll wilt. 205 00:07:53,239 --> 00:07:57,271 Whenever humans declare themselves 206 00:07:57,271 --> 00:07:58,575 to be righteous, 207 00:07:58,575 --> 00:08:00,909 they are doing it by contrasting themselves 208 00:08:00,909 --> 00:08:03,676 with other humans who are worse. 209 00:08:03,676 --> 00:08:05,476 And you can get away with that, 210 00:08:05,476 --> 00:08:06,996 but when your righteousness 211 00:08:06,996 --> 00:08:09,648 is contrasted with the righteousness of God, 212 00:08:09,648 --> 00:08:12,162 there is nothing but to throw yourself down 213 00:08:12,162 --> 00:08:15,023 and declare your morality to be dung. 214 00:08:15,023 --> 00:08:17,467 Believer, here is really the question. 215 00:08:17,467 --> 00:08:21,296 In a type of contemporary Christianity 216 00:08:21,296 --> 00:08:23,963 that makes comfort its goal, 217 00:08:23,963 --> 00:08:26,871 you are going to have to make a decision. 218 00:08:26,871 --> 00:08:29,034 What do you want? 219 00:08:29,034 --> 00:08:31,350 Do you want to bear more fruit? 220 00:08:31,350 --> 00:08:33,740 Or do you want to be comfortable 221 00:08:33,740 --> 00:08:35,584 and just grow wild? 222 00:08:35,584 --> 00:08:37,293 I can remember one time in Peru 223 00:08:37,293 --> 00:08:40,113 prior to having both of my hips replaced. 224 00:08:40,113 --> 00:08:42,416 And arthritis had eaten my hips 225 00:08:42,416 --> 00:08:46,355 to the point of almost not being able to walk anymore. 226 00:08:46,355 --> 00:08:47,868 Every day was a trial. 227 00:08:47,868 --> 00:08:49,670 Every day was a struggle. 228 00:08:49,670 --> 00:08:52,472 The pain was incredible. 229 00:08:52,472 --> 00:08:54,065 And I walked out on this balcony 230 00:08:54,065 --> 00:08:55,493 one morning in Lima, Peru, 231 00:08:55,493 --> 00:08:57,525 and it was wet and rainy 232 00:08:57,525 --> 00:08:59,354 and the humidity was horrible 233 00:08:59,354 --> 00:09:02,344 and my legs were hurting so bad. 234 00:09:02,344 --> 00:09:04,195 And I had tears running down my face 235 00:09:04,195 --> 00:09:05,363 and I walked out there. 236 00:09:05,363 --> 00:09:06,848 I limped out on the patio 237 00:09:06,848 --> 00:09:08,011 and I looked up at God 238 00:09:08,011 --> 00:09:11,677 and I said, "Why? I hurt so bad." 239 00:09:11,677 --> 00:09:13,507 No, I did not hear a voice, 240 00:09:13,507 --> 00:09:15,189 but I knew exactly what the Lord 241 00:09:15,189 --> 00:09:16,813 wanted to say to me. 242 00:09:16,813 --> 00:09:19,725 "Paul, dear, dear son... 243 00:09:19,725 --> 00:09:22,894 this is exactly what you asked Me for." 244 00:09:22,894 --> 00:09:24,772 And then I remembered all those times 245 00:09:24,772 --> 00:09:26,438 in college after my conversion; 246 00:09:26,438 --> 00:09:28,440 all those times in seminary 247 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:30,398 when with other believers, you know, 248 00:09:30,398 --> 00:09:32,436 we would pray through the night and say, 249 00:09:32,436 --> 00:09:36,345 "Oh, Lord, anything You have to do, Lord, 250 00:09:36,345 --> 00:09:38,859 to make me like Jesus, do it." 251 00:09:38,859 --> 00:09:40,430 You know, some of you probably: 252 00:09:40,430 --> 00:09:42,865 "Lord, kill me if it's necessary." 253 00:09:42,865 --> 00:09:45,788 And I think He allows us to pray like that in ignorance 254 00:09:45,788 --> 00:09:48,246 because if we really knew what we were asking for 255 00:09:48,246 --> 00:09:50,476 we would be too fearful to pray. 256 00:09:50,476 --> 00:09:53,279 Is it your greatest passion 257 00:09:53,279 --> 00:09:56,661 to produce the character of Jesus Christ? 258 00:09:56,661 --> 00:09:59,365 That desire of yours may cost you 259 00:09:59,365 --> 00:10:01,235 absolutely everything. 260 00:10:01,235 --> 00:10:02,842 It may be the reason God never 261 00:10:02,842 --> 00:10:06,487 allows you to go public - become famous. 262 00:10:06,487 --> 00:10:09,099 It might be the reason why you never get a megachurch. 263 00:10:09,099 --> 00:10:10,827 It might be the reason why you never 264 00:10:10,827 --> 00:10:13,382 see any apparent success. 265 00:10:13,382 --> 00:10:14,878 It might be the reason 266 00:10:14,878 --> 00:10:16,223 for physical ailments. 267 00:10:16,223 --> 00:10:17,253 (Incomplete thought) 268 00:10:17,253 --> 00:10:20,974 Your desire at any cost 269 00:10:20,974 --> 00:10:24,122 to bear goodly fruit, 270 00:10:24,122 --> 00:10:25,751 to be like Jesus Christ 271 00:10:25,751 --> 00:10:28,574 may cost you everything. 272 00:10:28,574 --> 00:10:30,457 But everything's worth it, isn't it? 273 00:10:30,457 --> 00:10:33,379 If fruit - true spiritual fruit - 274 00:10:33,379 --> 00:10:36,084 a reflection of the true character of Jesus Christ 275 00:10:36,084 --> 00:10:38,076 is the most important thing in your life, 276 00:10:38,076 --> 00:10:39,795 isn't it worth any cost? 277 00:10:39,795 --> 00:10:41,797 It should be worth any cost. 278 00:10:41,797 --> 00:10:45,567 We are talking about a lifetime of training, 279 00:10:45,567 --> 00:10:47,713 a lifetime of discipline, 280 00:10:47,713 --> 00:10:49,521 a lifetime of pruning, 281 00:10:49,521 --> 00:10:51,127 a lifetime of cutting, 282 00:10:51,127 --> 00:10:53,121 a lifetime of cleansing 283 00:10:53,121 --> 00:10:55,875 up until the day we close our eyes 284 00:10:55,875 --> 00:10:57,819 in this world. 285 00:10:57,819 --> 00:11:00,052 Do you want that? 286 00:11:00,052 --> 00:11:01,694 Well, I can tell you this. 287 00:11:01,694 --> 00:11:03,130 I do... 288 00:11:03,130 --> 00:11:06,118 because I have already gone through 22 years of it. 289 00:11:06,118 --> 00:11:12,615 And my Master's pruning is sweeter 290 00:11:12,615 --> 00:11:15,971 than all the delicacies this world can offer me. 291 00:11:15,971 --> 00:11:18,737 It is more loving than all the flattery 292 00:11:18,737 --> 00:11:21,453 this world can offer me. 293 00:11:21,453 --> 00:11:22,692 Here's the prize. 294 00:11:22,692 --> 00:11:24,153 It's not what you think. 295 00:11:24,153 --> 00:11:28,485 The prize is conformity to the image of Jesus Christ. 296 00:11:28,485 --> 00:11:31,546 The true believer is going to bear fruit. 297 00:11:31,546 --> 00:11:32,527 Do you realize that? 298 00:11:32,527 --> 00:11:34,323 If you are a true believer, 299 00:11:34,323 --> 00:11:35,915 you are going to bear fruit. 300 00:11:35,915 --> 00:11:37,197 You have to bear fruit 301 00:11:37,197 --> 00:11:39,350 because you really are a branch 302 00:11:39,350 --> 00:11:41,469 and you really are connected to the Vine 303 00:11:41,469 --> 00:11:44,298 and you can't do anything but bear fruit. 304 00:11:44,298 --> 00:11:45,631 But the Father comes by 305 00:11:45,631 --> 00:11:47,558 and He prunes you and He disciplines you 306 00:11:47,558 --> 00:11:49,214 and He shapes you and He cuts you 307 00:11:49,214 --> 00:11:51,075 and He ties you and He does everything 308 00:11:51,075 --> 00:11:53,567 He has to do so that you will bear more fruit. 309 00:11:53,567 --> 00:11:55,536 Discipline will not make you bear fruit. 310 00:11:55,536 --> 00:11:56,867 You are going to bear fruit. 311 00:11:56,867 --> 00:12:00,117 If you are not going to bear fruit, you are not a believer. 312 00:12:00,117 --> 00:12:03,507 In periods of apparent fruitlessness 313 00:12:03,507 --> 00:12:05,520 we must trust the Lord. 314 00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:07,857 Especially for some of you young fellows 315 00:12:07,857 --> 00:12:09,960 in college or you're going to seminary 316 00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:12,866 and you're just: I want to do something. 317 00:12:12,866 --> 00:12:14,078 Well, be very careful 318 00:12:14,078 --> 00:12:15,678 of that language you're using. 319 00:12:15,678 --> 00:12:17,434 I don't want to do anything anymore. 320 00:12:17,434 --> 00:12:18,796 I want to be something. 321 00:12:18,796 --> 00:12:20,398 I want to be like Jesus. 322 00:12:20,398 --> 00:12:21,881 If I get my ontology right, 323 00:12:21,881 --> 00:12:23,904 everything else is going to fall in place. 324 00:12:23,904 --> 00:12:27,354 Don't concentrate so much on doing something. 325 00:12:27,354 --> 00:12:29,234 Concentrate on being something. 326 00:12:29,234 --> 00:12:31,090 You know, one of the greatest problems 327 00:12:31,090 --> 00:12:32,378 in Christianity today 328 00:12:32,378 --> 00:12:34,385 and one of the great problems 329 00:12:34,385 --> 00:12:37,808 in Christian ministry or ministers today 330 00:12:37,808 --> 00:12:40,154 is that we no longer believe 331 00:12:40,154 --> 00:12:43,515 there's a need for a hidden season. 332 00:12:43,515 --> 00:12:47,362 Jesus - 30 years 333 00:12:47,362 --> 00:12:49,168 for three years of ministry. 334 00:12:49,168 --> 00:12:51,462 John the Baptist - at least 30 years, 335 00:12:51,462 --> 00:12:53,546 for what? Six months of ministry. 336 00:12:53,546 --> 00:12:56,360 Moses - 80 years of hiddenness 337 00:12:56,360 --> 00:12:59,560 to bear this great overwhelming fruit of God: 338 00:12:59,560 --> 00:13:01,515 redemption of the people of Israel. 339 00:13:01,515 --> 00:13:03,921 Now we just want to jump out there, don't we? 340 00:13:03,921 --> 00:13:05,851 We want to do something 341 00:13:05,851 --> 00:13:08,649 instead of waiting to be something. 342 00:13:08,649 --> 00:13:09,850 I can think of times 343 00:13:09,850 --> 00:13:13,132 where God has hidden me in His fold. 344 00:13:13,132 --> 00:13:14,723 And I want to tell you something, 345 00:13:14,723 --> 00:13:15,837 being up in a pulpit, 346 00:13:15,837 --> 00:13:18,154 doing things like that where everyone can see 347 00:13:18,154 --> 00:13:20,605 is not necessarily the sign 348 00:13:20,605 --> 00:13:22,536 that God's hand is upon you 349 00:13:22,536 --> 00:13:24,108 and that He's going to use you. 350 00:13:24,108 --> 00:13:26,538 But when God calls you into that hidden place 351 00:13:26,538 --> 00:13:27,786 to be alone with Him, 352 00:13:27,786 --> 00:13:30,095 my friend, that's the sign. 353 00:13:30,095 --> 00:13:31,938 That is the sign. 354 00:13:31,938 --> 00:13:34,347 When He isolates you from everyone else, 355 00:13:34,347 --> 00:13:36,091 He doesn't let anyone touch you. 356 00:13:36,091 --> 00:13:38,551 He doesn't let you walk down those kind of roads. 357 00:13:38,551 --> 00:13:41,064 He doesn't let you turn the grace of God 358 00:13:41,064 --> 00:13:42,179 into a circus. 359 00:13:42,179 --> 00:13:45,183 He doesn't let you play all those games. 360 00:13:45,183 --> 00:13:46,808 He doesn't let you go to America's 361 00:13:46,808 --> 00:13:49,698 Six Flags over Jesus and ride the rides. 362 00:13:49,698 --> 00:13:52,086 He hides you away. 363 00:13:52,086 --> 00:13:55,141 That's the sign His hand is upon you. 364 00:13:55,141 --> 00:13:56,670 The secret work. 365 00:13:56,670 --> 00:13:58,629 Now, this is not just for ministers. 366 00:13:58,629 --> 00:14:01,413 Some of you have struggled in the darkness. 367 00:14:01,413 --> 00:14:03,106 Some of you have sat up at night. 368 00:14:03,106 --> 00:14:05,469 Some of you have thought through your salvation. 369 00:14:05,469 --> 00:14:06,786 You've wrestled with sin. 370 00:14:06,786 --> 00:14:09,202 You've gone through spiritual battles 371 00:14:09,202 --> 00:14:10,393 no one has known about. 372 00:14:10,393 --> 00:14:12,098 You've seen inconsistencies, 373 00:14:12,098 --> 00:14:14,445 impurities in your life you've had to deal with. 374 00:14:14,445 --> 00:14:16,734 My friend, that is a mark. 375 00:14:16,734 --> 00:14:19,482 That is a mark of God's hand upon you. 376 00:14:19,482 --> 00:14:21,224 A mark of God's hand. 377 00:14:21,224 --> 00:14:23,370 Listen to me very carefully. 378 00:14:23,370 --> 00:14:24,923 There was a time when I knew 379 00:14:24,923 --> 00:14:27,293 I needed to turn my eyes 380 00:14:27,293 --> 00:14:29,380 away from certain things 381 00:14:29,380 --> 00:14:32,850 because I knew it wasn't pleasurable to God. 382 00:14:32,850 --> 00:14:33,905 Know that. 383 00:14:33,905 --> 00:14:35,296 It's what some of you do. 384 00:14:35,296 --> 00:14:36,447 You see something. 385 00:14:36,447 --> 00:14:37,569 You're attracted to it. 386 00:14:37,569 --> 00:14:38,831 You turn your eyes away 387 00:14:38,831 --> 00:14:40,633 because you know God's not pleased with it. 388 00:14:40,633 --> 00:14:41,615 I want you to know 389 00:14:41,615 --> 00:14:43,349 there will come a time in your life 390 00:14:43,349 --> 00:14:45,312 when you're not pleased with it either. 391 00:14:45,312 --> 00:14:47,495 That's not being spoken of enough. 392 00:14:47,495 --> 00:14:49,177 Do you think that all our life 393 00:14:49,177 --> 00:14:51,036 we are just going to have to walk through life 394 00:14:51,036 --> 00:14:52,198 saying, "Well, you know, 395 00:14:52,198 --> 00:14:54,104 I would like to look at that, but I can't." 396 00:14:54,104 --> 00:14:55,784 No! God's going to do an inner work 397 00:14:55,784 --> 00:14:57,755 in your life and gradually more and more 398 00:14:57,755 --> 00:14:59,251 you're going to come to the point 399 00:14:59,251 --> 00:15:01,863 where you hate the things God hates 400 00:15:01,863 --> 00:15:04,221 and you love the things God loves 401 00:15:04,221 --> 00:15:06,504 more and more and more. 402 00:15:06,504 --> 00:15:08,063 It's really going to happen. 403 00:15:08,063 --> 00:15:09,482 It's really going to happen. 404 00:15:09,482 --> 00:15:11,579 And it's going to continue happening 405 00:15:11,579 --> 00:15:15,250 until the day you go on into glory. 406 00:15:15,250 --> 00:15:19,024 To abide in the Vine is to recognize 407 00:15:19,024 --> 00:15:23,304 this tremendous, supernatural work of God 408 00:15:23,304 --> 00:15:24,863 that has been done in you 409 00:15:24,863 --> 00:15:27,381 and just stay there in in it. 410 00:15:27,381 --> 00:15:31,269 To live in the reality that you have 411 00:15:31,269 --> 00:15:34,234 become united with Christ. 412 00:15:34,234 --> 00:15:35,565 You are a new creature 413 00:15:35,565 --> 00:15:37,233 flowing out of Him. 414 00:15:37,233 --> 00:15:40,195 And flowing out of Him is this ever flowing 415 00:15:40,195 --> 00:15:41,984 never ending nourishment 416 00:15:41,984 --> 00:15:43,426 called the Holy Spirit - 417 00:15:43,426 --> 00:15:45,709 the divine sap of God. 418 00:15:45,709 --> 00:15:48,075 It's not doing something. 419 00:15:48,075 --> 00:15:51,319 It's recognizing what God has done. 420 00:15:51,319 --> 00:15:54,615 God has made you a part of His Son - 421 00:15:54,615 --> 00:15:57,213 the true Vine - 422 00:15:57,213 --> 00:15:59,539 and He is flowing His power 423 00:15:59,539 --> 00:16:02,888 through that Vine to you, a branch. 424 00:16:02,888 --> 00:16:04,407 You have one purpose: 425 00:16:04,407 --> 00:16:07,108 the fruit that flows from the life 426 00:16:07,108 --> 00:16:09,005 that I will give you. 427 00:16:09,005 --> 00:16:13,779 Don't try to be a brilliant teacher. 428 00:16:13,779 --> 00:16:16,023 Don't try to be a superhero. 429 00:16:16,023 --> 00:16:18,657 Don't try to over here and get some hobby 430 00:16:18,657 --> 00:16:21,390 that takes over you life and consumes you. 431 00:16:21,390 --> 00:16:23,426 I didn't make you for this or that. 432 00:16:23,426 --> 00:16:25,589 I didn't make you for the world. 433 00:16:25,589 --> 00:16:27,795 I didn't make you to impress them. 434 00:16:27,795 --> 00:16:30,737 I didn't make you to do the things that they do 435 00:16:30,737 --> 00:16:32,464 or to bear the fruit that they bear. 436 00:16:32,464 --> 00:16:34,798 I didn't make you for any of that, Paul. 437 00:16:34,798 --> 00:16:37,148 I made you to bear the fruit 438 00:16:37,148 --> 00:16:40,703 that is within the context of My will for you 439 00:16:40,703 --> 00:16:42,158 to bring Me pleasure. 440 00:16:42,158 --> 00:16:44,087 One of the greatest truths I ever heard 441 00:16:44,087 --> 00:16:46,907 I heard from Brother Morrow. 442 00:16:46,907 --> 00:16:48,914 I don't even know if you remember this. 443 00:16:48,914 --> 00:16:52,685 But my holistic view of God 444 00:16:52,685 --> 00:16:55,842 was tremendously changed by this. 445 00:16:55,842 --> 00:16:58,085 God does everything for His own glory. 446 00:16:58,085 --> 00:17:01,464 Is that not true? Right? 447 00:17:01,464 --> 00:17:06,951 Why would God plant the most beautiful rose 448 00:17:06,951 --> 00:17:09,452 that He ever created? 449 00:17:09,452 --> 00:17:14,170 Why would He plant it in a wilderness 450 00:17:14,170 --> 00:17:15,963 that no one will ever pass through? 451 00:17:15,963 --> 00:17:18,335 I mean, why would He do that? No one will ever see it. 452 00:17:18,335 --> 00:17:20,592 How will He be glorified by it? 453 00:17:20,592 --> 00:17:23,065 I'll tell you how and why. 454 00:17:23,065 --> 00:17:24,377 He did it for Him. 455 00:17:24,377 --> 00:17:26,514 He did it because when He looks down at it 456 00:17:26,514 --> 00:17:28,229 He'll say, "I like this." 457 00:17:28,229 --> 00:17:29,606 I want to tell you something 458 00:17:29,606 --> 00:17:30,850 and this will help you. 459 00:17:30,850 --> 00:17:33,215 I have not mastered this truth. 460 00:17:33,215 --> 00:17:34,483 Don't think I have. 461 00:17:34,483 --> 00:17:37,282 But this truth has been a great comfort to me. 462 00:17:37,282 --> 00:17:39,065 I want to be that rose 463 00:17:39,065 --> 00:17:41,254 out in the middle of that wilderness. 464 00:17:41,254 --> 00:17:42,642 That's the ambition. 465 00:17:42,642 --> 00:17:44,195 One day, dear friends, 466 00:17:44,195 --> 00:17:45,980 when the kingdom of God comes 467 00:17:45,980 --> 00:17:47,442 in the fullness of its power 468 00:17:47,442 --> 00:17:48,753 and the Son of Man comes 469 00:17:48,753 --> 00:17:50,839 with all the holy angels, 470 00:17:50,839 --> 00:17:55,251 we are going to just be literally shocked 471 00:17:55,251 --> 00:17:58,389 by one major thing that's going to happen. 472 00:17:58,389 --> 00:18:00,683 All these hidden, little, 473 00:18:00,683 --> 00:18:03,654 unknown believers 474 00:18:03,654 --> 00:18:06,095 that were not movers and shakers; 475 00:18:06,095 --> 00:18:08,154 that were not famous; 476 00:18:08,154 --> 00:18:11,631 they were over here just like locked away 477 00:18:11,631 --> 00:18:13,883 in a closet, shut up to God. 478 00:18:13,883 --> 00:18:16,496 They are going to come forth 479 00:18:16,496 --> 00:18:19,140 shining like the sun. 480 00:18:19,140 --> 00:18:22,288 Right now, my little boy, 481 00:18:22,288 --> 00:18:24,165 all he needs is dad. 482 00:18:24,165 --> 00:18:26,340 I mean, he's oblivious literally 483 00:18:26,340 --> 00:18:29,530 to like little buddies and friends 484 00:18:29,530 --> 00:18:31,073 and everything else. It's dad. 485 00:18:31,073 --> 00:18:32,171 Dad, let's go do this. 486 00:18:32,171 --> 00:18:35,434 Everything he does, he looks up: "Dad." 487 00:18:35,434 --> 00:18:36,881 "Did you see this, Dad?" 488 00:18:36,881 --> 00:18:38,273 "Look what I did, Dad." 489 00:18:38,273 --> 00:18:39,846 There will come a day - 490 00:18:39,846 --> 00:18:42,068 and it's a natural course of life - 491 00:18:42,068 --> 00:18:44,827 where he'll want to show other people stuff. 492 00:18:44,827 --> 00:18:46,634 Now that's a natural course of life. 493 00:18:46,634 --> 00:18:49,392 There's no reason to be depressed about it or anything. 494 00:18:49,392 --> 00:18:51,019 But, see, in the spiritual realm, 495 00:18:51,019 --> 00:18:52,667 that's never supposed to happen. 496 00:18:52,667 --> 00:18:54,372 It's always supposed to be: 497 00:18:54,372 --> 00:18:55,725 "Look at me, Dad." 498 00:18:55,725 --> 00:18:57,644 "I'm bearing fruit, Dad... 499 00:18:57,644 --> 00:18:59,442 fruit You've given me, Dad. 500 00:18:59,442 --> 00:19:00,947 And it doesn't matter, Dad, 501 00:19:00,947 --> 00:19:03,014 that I'm out here in the middle of a desert 502 00:19:03,014 --> 00:19:05,704 where no one on the face of the earth can even see me, 503 00:19:05,704 --> 00:19:07,850 because the only thing that matters to me 504 00:19:07,850 --> 00:19:09,919 is You're pleased." 505 00:19:09,919 --> 00:19:12,683 Again, I want to say something to you. 506 00:19:12,683 --> 00:19:14,798 This has been a great help to me. 507 00:19:14,798 --> 00:19:16,891 This has been a great help to me. 508 00:19:16,891 --> 00:19:19,419 The other day - I want to give you an example. 509 00:19:19,419 --> 00:19:21,854 I turned. My wife was walking to me. 510 00:19:21,854 --> 00:19:23,132 I turned. 511 00:19:23,132 --> 00:19:25,486 I said something I shouldn't have said to her. 512 00:19:25,486 --> 00:19:27,180 I mean, it was just a small thing, 513 00:19:27,180 --> 00:19:28,962 but it was something I should not have said. 514 00:19:28,962 --> 00:19:30,172 It was a tiny thing. 515 00:19:30,172 --> 00:19:32,643 The voice just a little bit altered in the wrong way. 516 00:19:32,643 --> 00:19:35,638 I mean, it wasn't a violent crime. 517 00:19:35,638 --> 00:19:39,232 And I stopped and I just stood there 518 00:19:39,232 --> 00:19:40,583 based upon this truth. 519 00:19:40,583 --> 00:19:42,221 I stood there and I said, 520 00:19:42,221 --> 00:19:44,867 "This is not me." 521 00:19:44,867 --> 00:19:46,769 That answer I just gave, 522 00:19:46,769 --> 00:19:48,484 that look on my face, 523 00:19:48,484 --> 00:19:50,525 that is not me. 524 00:19:50,525 --> 00:19:53,333 This is not the new creation. 525 00:19:53,333 --> 00:19:55,556 I am not like this 526 00:19:55,556 --> 00:19:57,993 and I'm stopping it right now. 527 00:19:57,993 --> 00:19:59,662 And I turned around and I said, 528 00:19:59,662 --> 00:20:02,251 "Charo, this is not me. 529 00:20:02,251 --> 00:20:05,710 I am a new creature created in the image of God 530 00:20:05,710 --> 00:20:07,741 in true righteousness and holiness. 531 00:20:07,741 --> 00:20:09,481 I am to be patient and kind 532 00:20:09,481 --> 00:20:10,950 and loving and forgiving. 533 00:20:10,950 --> 00:20:12,245 Forgive me 534 00:20:12,245 --> 00:20:14,398 because I've acted in a way 535 00:20:14,398 --> 00:20:18,127 that conflicts with who I really am. 536 00:20:18,127 --> 00:20:20,735 I will not give into this 537 00:20:20,735 --> 00:20:23,721 because this is not who I am anymore."