23-1105a Transcript

Preacher: Jim Lokenbauer

(2:18) As you can tell, we’re going to be continuing with our study of Jesus, the great I am, (2:26) and his statement, I am the true vine, found in John 15.

(2:34) Like I said, we’re continuing our examination of Jesus, the great I am. (2:40) I am the true vine. (2:43) And from that quote, in previous lessons we looked at what fruit the disciple of Jesus was to produce.

(2:54) In previous lessons, we saw that there are basically three types of fruit (3:01) that a person can glorify God with. (3:04) One, the fruit of godly virtues or character. (3:10) These virtues that our Savior exhibited throughout his life.

(3:18) He showed us in the Gospel his qualities of character that we are to practice in our lives. (3:25) When we become Christian, Paul tells us that Holy Spirit helps us to produce these virtues. (3:33) That’s why they’re called the fruits of the Spirit.

(3:37) And those help us to transform into the image of Christ. (3:45) Spiritual fruit are the opposite of fruits of the flesh, and we talked about that. (3:51) And those fruits of the flesh are easy.

(3:55) They come naturally to us. (3:57) But when we exhibit fruits of the Spirit, we have to work at that (4:02) because it goes against our humanly nature. (4:06) It’s easy to be greedy and stingy and only think of ourselves.

(4:10) But think about sharing and putting others first. (4:14) That takes effort, especially if you’re helping someone (4:18) maybe that isn’t so warm and cuddly. (4:21) They’re more like a porcupine.

(4:24) But God still wants us to be loving to them. (4:29) So Paul in Galatians chapter 5 contrasted those two opposing virtues that the human can exhibit. (4:41) The second one is the fruits of good works.

(4:45) Jesus in his life often said, (4:48) I must be doing the work my Father has given me. (4:52) We too are given good works to do by God. (4:56) In Ephesians 2.10, it says, (4:59) For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, (5:05) which God prepared in advance for us to do.

(5:09) So God expects us to do these works. (5:14) He’s already planned them for us. (5:19) So keep in mind, we do these works not because we’re owed heaven.

(5:25) We do these out of an appreciation for God’s grace for saving such a one as I. (5:33) Amen? (5:36) So, we don’t do them thinking we earn our way to heaven. (5:41) And like Scott said this morning, we earn our way to hell. (5:47) Romans 6.23, (5:48) For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.

(5:56) So three, the soul winning fruit. (5:58) That’s the third type of fruit. (6:00) The people we bring to God through the gospel are a type of fruit.

(6:05) Also, turning an erring brother or sister back to Christ is also soul winning fruit. (6:13) Solomon tells us, (6:14) The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise. (6:21) So we got to be constantly looking and examining ourselves and our brothers.

(6:27) And if we see a brother or sister straying, reel them in, let them know. (6:33) You know, it

takes wisdom to recognize that somebody’s hurting and are drifting away from God. (6:40) Where do we get wisdom? (6:41) Usually from personal experience.

(6:44) So those of us who are older and have gone through much, (6:47) and see a brother or sister hurting in such a way, pull them in. (6:53) Remember, Noah had 100 years in which he built the ark, (6:59) and while he was doing that, he was preaching the gospel. (7:04) 1 Peter chapter 3. (7:08) And his track record was he saved his family.

(7:12) 100 years. (7:14) What does that tell us about our sharing the word? (7:18) Don’t worry about notches in your gun belt, so to speak. (7:24) Just plant the seed in whatever way you can.

(7:27) God will give the increase. (7:31) By the way, God saw that the world was corrupt. (7:36) He could have increased it, but there was nobody worthy.

(7:41) So we got to be out there sharing the word. (7:44) There are still worthy people out there. (7:47) That’s why he hasn’t come back.

(7:51) So it’s the Spirit who convicts the heart and causes belief in the individual when they hear the word. (8:00) And it is the Father who draws people to himself. (8:05) That’s called his election, his choosing.

(8:09) Jesus said that nobody can come to me unless the Father draws him. (8:17) So the Father knows our hearts, and he can see the person who’s thinking about what they’re hearing. (8:25) And Holy Spirit, God, will use the word in that person’s noodle to get the light bulb to turn on.

(8:36) And that’s when faith is created. (8:43) And that’s when conviction happens. (8:48) That’s when repentance happens.

(8:52) If nobody responds to the word, that’s on them, the unbelieving soul. (8:57) It’s our responsibility to plant that seed, and God will make all the extra things happen inside that person. (9:08) Just like when a seed drops in the ground, we don’t see what’s happening inside that seed.

(9:15) All the enzymes breaking down, mixing together, and suddenly, bam, up pops a new plant. (9:22) And that’s what happens in a Christian’s life. (9:26) The dead, corrupt person that hears the word, and that wonderful word starts working inside, (9:36) and bam, that person becomes born again in their thinking.

(9:42) They’re a new creature. (9:46) So if we’re doing these acts of righteousness, such as snatching others from the fire and getting them to repent from sin, (9:54) those are good fruits, and to those who are in the sin and hear those words, (10:02) our words are like the tree of life and the garden to them. (10:07) It can lead them to eternal life, because they are the words of Christ, and He gives the eternal life.

(10:17) So whatever good fruit we’re to bear for God, it’s because we’re part of the branch that’s on the true vine, Jesus. (10:25) And God has pruned us and trimmed us to stimulate us to produce fruit. (10:35) Remember Paul’s words in Romans 7, verse 4, (10:38) So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, (10:45) to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruits for God.

(10:53) We belong to Jesus now. We’re no longer our own, because we’ve been bought at a price. (11:00) Our Redeemer expects His disciples to bear fruit for Him, as does God the Father.

(11:08) So let’s not disappoint. (11:11) We must bear the fruit of good character, the fruit of good works, (11:16) and share the gospel in some way with others, (11:20) and hope that we can bear fruit of a new babe for the Lord, to His glory. (11:28) In my last sermon dealing with Jesus' statement, I am the true vine, (11:32) we concluded that lesson on a discussion about disciples.

(11:37) From early in the Gospel of Matthew, He said about creating disciples with His come, follow me command. (11:45) At the end of three years or so, just before He ascended back up into heaven, He had many followers. (11:53) We read in Matthew 28, 18-20, Jesus had commanded His apostles to go out into the world and make more disciples.

(12:04) This was their primary mission, and this is a perpetual command for all of His disciples today. (12:14) That we gotta preach the Word, share the Word, teach the Word, share it with our family, with our friends, (12:24) people we come in contact with. (12:29) Each generation of believers are to make and maintain more believers.

(12:35) That’s what perpetuates the Lord’s Church. (12:41) Besides here in Matthew, Jesus makes a few unique references about disciples in the Gospel. (12:48) After His saying, come follow me, which many people did, (12:52) Jesus elaborated to them what it meant to be one of His disciples.

(13:01) So, there’s like four different places where Jesus specifically mentions (13:07) what is expected out of a disciple and what a disciple does. (13:14) And the first of these references I want us to look at is from Luke 14, verses 25-35. (13:23) And I’ll do my normal verse by verse, and then expound on that.

(13:33) Forgive me, I’ve been fighting a cold all week. I’m glad Mike’s here. (13:37) I know he was fighting a cold too.

(13:40) Ruth’s still at home. She sounded worse today than she had all week. (13:47) As are the runny-nosed grandchildren.

(13:52) So I got to play Mr. Mom today. I had to make breakfast. (14:00) But here I am.

So bear with me, especially if my voice gets crackly. (14:06) I apologize. (14:07) Okay.

(14:09) Let’s look at the first two verses of Luke 14, 25-35. (14:15) 25 and 26. (14:17) Large crowds were traveling with Jesus.

(14:20) And turning to them, He said, (14:22) If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, (14:27) his wife and children, his brothers and sisters, yes, even his own wife, (14:33) he cannot be my disciple. (14:36) This is a figure of speech. (14:39) Jesus isn’t advocating hating anybody.

(14:44) This is an Old Testament way of saying to love less or love me more. (14:55) And consider this parallel verse in Matthew 10, 37. (15:01) Basically Matthew’s version of this event in Jesus' life.

(15:05) Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. (15:10) Anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. (15:15) Bottom line is that we have to love Jesus more than others in our life, (15:20) making Him first in our lives.

(15:23) So the disciple puts Christ first. (15:26) Verse 27. (15:27) And anyone who does not carry his own cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

(15:35) And Jesus had said these words earlier in the Gospel of Luke in chapter 9. (15:40) Verse 23. (15:41) He said to them all, (15:43) If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself (15:47) and take up his own cross daily and follow me. (15:52) So this sheds more light about what Jesus meant here in 1427.

(15:58) So what does the symbol of the cross represent? (16:02) It means death. (16:04) It means the end of a life. (16:07) By picking up our own cross, we must die to ourselves.

(16:12) We give the life of me, me, me up. (16:17) And we put Christ first. (16:19) We put others first, even before ourselves, as the Holy Spirit changes us.

(16:25) It’s not about all us anymore. (16:28) No longer are we egocentric. (16:31) Now our focus is outward, first on God and then on others.

(16:36) We almost develop this, well, we do develop this servant mentality. (16:43) So by picking up our own cross, we die to ourselves and stop living exclusively for our own. (16:49) Desires, but live daily for Christ.

(16:55) Again, by putting him first in our lives. (16:57) This verse from Paul gives us more clarity on the matter. (17:00) In 2 Corinthians 5, 15 and 16, Paul says, (17:06) For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, (17:12) therefore all died.

(17:14) And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, (17:18) but live for him who died for them and was raised again. (17:25) So Paul spells it out for us. (17:28) It’s out of gratitude for God, his Son, who died for everybody, (17:34) that everybody should live for him.

(17:37) Verse 28 through 30. (17:41) Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. (17:43) Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? (17:49) Or if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, (17:53) everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, (17:56) This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.

(18:00) So with this allegory, Jesus wants people to count the cost of becoming a true disciple of his. (18:09) We must be committed to him and his cause. (18:12) By denying ourselves means that we will have to make decisions in our life from a Christian perspective, (18:20) putting him first, Christocentrific, the Christian worldview, call it what you want.

(18:27) We’ve got to have our Christian glasses on now and compare things to our Lord’s desires. (18:38) Our lives must show the appropriate change that is suitable for a child of God. (18:45) Some things we will no longer be able to do.

(18:48) Some people, if they do not want to change along with us, (18:53) we will no longer be able to hang out with them, so to speak, (18:57) because evil morals corrupt good behavior. (19:05) If we imagine that Jesus is right next to us holding our hand, (19:10) that may help us to make better choices in our life. (19:15) In our daily walk of carrying the cross, picture you’ve got Jesus' hand.

(19:21) So when temptation comes our way, we can look up at our Savior while holding his hand

(19:28) and I think make better decisions. (19:32) Oh, look at that pile of money there at the cash register nobody’s paying attention to. (19:38) Right.

Thou shalt not steal. (19:43) Just saying. (19:47) It’s very much like the song that we sing, (19:49) Blessed Jesus, hold my hand.

(19:54) Verses 31 and 32. (19:55) Or suppose a king is about to go out to war against another king. (19:59) Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able, (20:04) with 10,000 men to oppose the one coming against him, with 20,000? (20:09) If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the others are still a long way off (20:14) and will ask for terms of peace.

(20:18) So to emphasize this point, Jesus gives a second allegory here. (20:22) And that’s how important it is to realize the cost of becoming a Christian. (20:28) We take on a whole new worldview.

(20:32) We evaluate all phases of our life to see if we are able to surrender all aspects of our life (20:39) to our new King, Jesus. (20:43) Verse 33, in the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has (20:49) cannot be my disciple. (20:55) Have we done that? (20:58) Have we given up everything we have for Jesus? (21:03) We’ve got to count the cost of being a Christian.

(21:07) And if you are unwilling to make a complete change in your life, (21:11) making him the authority in all areas of your life, (21:15) at home, with your spouse, with your children, at work, with friends, with family, (21:20) when in a crowd or when all alone, we must be his. (21:25) If not, we’re not a true disciple of Jesus. (21:29) Jesus doesn’t want lukewarm followers.

(21:33) He wants people who are all in, who are hot on fire for him. (21:39) We cannot be just a Christian when we gather together on Sundays and Wednesdays (21:43) and then be our old selves at all other times. (21:47) Why bother? (21:49) With that attitude, you can expect on the day he returns (21:52) to hear those dreaded words, (21:56) depart from me, I never knew you.

(21:59) I don’t want to hear those words. (22:02) That terrifies me. (22:06) That right there should be motivation to watch your P’s and Q’s.

(22:15) Verse 34 and 35, salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, (22:19) how can it be made salty again? (22:21) It is fit neither for the soil nor the manure pile. (22:26) It’s thrown out. (22:27) He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

(22:31) And we all know what salt does. (22:33) Salt tastes good. (22:35) Makes boring food taste a little better.

(22:39) And that it acts as a preservative. (22:41) It inhibits bacterial growth and so keeps things from becoming corrupt and rotten. (22:48) And that’s what the Word of God does for the believer.

(22:52) It inhibits sin from taking hold in our lives, (22:56) helping us to conform to the image of our Savior. (23:01) In John 15, 3, Jesus said to his disciples, (23:06) you are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. (23:12) So for the believer, the Word has an antiseptic property for the soul.

(23:20) With our presence in the world as we let our saltiness be savored, (23:25) let our light shine, (23:27) letting the fruits of our good works be seen by others (23:31) so that God receives the praise that keeps the world from rotting. (23:41) But what do you see these days? (23:44) This world is quickly shriveling. (23:49) It’s got that blue fuzzy mold on it already.

(23:53) Why? (23:54) Maybe because we haven’t been letting our saltiness be savored. (24:01) We maybe haven’t been letting our light shine as we should. (24:06) Maybe we haven’t been speaking out (24:09) and shining light on the darkness that’s been creeping in.

(24:17) We have to get busy about our Father’s business, (24:22) and we’re never too old to do that. (24:26) There’s no retirement in God’s kingdom from doing his works. (24:32) We do them until the day we go to see Abraham (24:39) sit in his bosom like Lazarus, (24:42) or until Jesus comes back.

(24:47) Therefore, when we stop letting our light shine or saltiness be tasted, (24:52) we’re no longer doing good works for the Lord. (24:55) We ourselves become useless to our Savior, (25:00) and we’re in danger of being thrown out and trampled by men. (25:06) And that’s why Jesus says in John 15, 5 and 6, (25:10) I am the vine, you are the branches.

(25:13) If a man remains in me, I in him, (25:16) he will bear much fruit apart from me. (25:19) You can do nothing. (25:21) If anyone does not remain in me, (25:23) he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers.

(25:27) Such branches are picked up and thrown into the fire and burned. (25:34) And this is a repeated warning, (25:37) a repeated theme throughout the gospel. (25:41) And it’s been said in many different ways by Jesus to his disciples (25:47) and to us today who believe in him.

(25:51) Jesus was busy about his Father’s business, (25:54) and we have to be busy about our Savior’s business. (25:59) Otherwise, he says, we cannot be one of his disciples. (26:05) So from these verses in Luke 14, (26:08) we see that there are three points that Jesus makes (26:11) that can prohibit us from being his disciple.

(26:16) They are, one, in verse 26, (26:19) we must love Jesus above everyone else, even above our own family. (26:24) Two, verse 27, (26:26) we must carry on our own cross daily and follow him (26:31) to put his interests over our own. (26:34) And three, found in verse 33, (26:37) this is like an extension of the first point, (26:40) we must renounce everything we have and make it the Lord’s (26:45) and put him above everything that we have, (26:48) family, friends, possessions, in order to be his disciple.

(26:54) From these three points, (26:55) we can conclude that Jesus must be first in our lives. (27:01) Does Jesus want us to be poor and destitute? (27:05) No. (27:07) Jesus blesses us in so many different ways.

(27:11) He gives us everything we need for life and godliness, (27:16) including the material things we have. (27:18) We just have to prioritize, (27:20) not make those things more important than Jesus. (27:26) We don’t have to walk around in sackcloth and ashes (27:30) to be a child of God.

(27:33) But in our attitude, we should be putting on sackcloth and ashes. (27:42) We’ve let this world slip away. (27:47) So we gotta be active.

(27:49) Share the word with somebody. (27:51) You don’t have to know everything about Jesus. (27:54) Share the word.

(27:56) Share what you know. (27:59) Think of the wild man that roamed the tombs who was demon-possessed, (28:05) and Jesus crosses the lake, and he’s met by this wild man (28:09) foaming at the mouth, naked, broken chains on him (28:13) because he broke the chains because he was demon-possessed, (28:17) and Christ healed him. (28:19) The man was so appreciative of the love that Jesus showed, (28:31) the mercy, the grace.

(28:33) He said, Lord, let me get into the boat and follow you. (28:36) And Jesus said, No, you go back to those cities (28:39) and you tell others what I did for you. (28:44) How much did the man know? (28:50) Jesus set me free.

(28:53) I’m bound by these sinful chains no more. (28:57) I’m going to cut this short. (29:01) So I’m extending the invitation.

(29:05) Do you have chains binding you to sin? (29:10) Jesus can break those chains. (29:15) If you need to be washed for the remission of your sins, (29:21) we’ll be glad to plunge you in the water. (29:27) Are you ready to make that confession? (29:29) I believe that Jesus is the Son of the living God, (29:33) and I believe Jesus was raised from the dead.

(29:36) Do you believe that? (29:38) Have you confessed that yet? (29:40) If not, come while we stand and sing the song of invitation.