Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro:

Now is an interesting time for me.

I am in my mid thirties.

For some of you, you are thinking, well you're still really young.

And it's interesting because I look back on my life, and I can see some unfolding as I watch my kids grow up.

And then, perhaps you also, look forward to what the Lord might have down the road.

I have essentially finished up school and launched knee deep into ministry and so I think that well just 10 years ago I was 26, and now 10 years forward will make me about... 76.

My numbers may impress you with my math skills, but what I am saying is that I have grown in the last couple years more so than in the previous decade.

And I'm thinking as I stand in the midst of all of what has gone on in the last couple years, I really start to weigh out, with thankfulness, what God has done, and I also follow that up with a prayer “Lord help me to live a life that is pleasing to You.”

And I don't want to stumble and I don't want to spoil the name of Christ.

And you start to weigh out a lot of things knowing that you can just aimlessly run hard your whole life and get to the end and have it not really count for much.

You don't want to live a wasted life, and so I get in a re-calibrating mode.

And so I evaluate what will be ahead.

And that's been that type of the year for me-- it's not been a depressing year.

It's not like a mid-life crisis that you hear about, but certainly it has been a challenging year so far.

And I'm very thankful the way the Lord has directed me to the scriptures and showed me a number of things for me to to weigh in on.

I don't wanna live a life that is wasted.

And even though I feel young, I'm reminded that the very August 10 years ago when I left Denver, Colorado and moved to Dunbar/Pembine, Wisconsin -- a place that I couldn't find on the map and still it's hard to find--on the way to know where.

And that's really at the age of 26, or whatever age you are, to stop and consider: “Will my life count for eternity?”

When it's all said and done, will it be like the fireworks on the 4th that just explode in the sky and are gone and are finished, or will there be lasting effects, lasting fruit?

I want to turn to John chapter 15.

Because this is exactly what Jesus is speaking about to his disciples.

And I'd like as you're turning there to consider the context of His message to his disciples.

It's almost as if you were to have this final hour, final brief period of time to tell your kids the most important things to you.

I don't know what I'd be like for those of you that are men with doctors who say, “you've got only 5 hours to live so settle your accounts.”

What would you say your kids?

Transition:

And I think that Christ understood that as they had just left the upper room, and were traveling down through the Kidron valley and over to the garden of Gethsemane, He knew exactly what was going to happen.

And He is giving them a final challenge.

He had given them a challenge in chapter 13 about what it means really to be great, He washed their feet.

He talked to them in chapter 14 about how the Holy Spirit would come and take up residence in their life.

And now in chapter 15, He is speaking to them about a life that is bearing lasting fruit.

This is important to Him!

And what I love about the preaching of Christ: it is always rich with illustrations an application.

He will come right where they were living I can imagine that He is probably taking a branch grapes on it and He is describing to them a spiritual principal.

Let’s read the first 5 verses of chapter 15 and then read verse 16

Scripture Reading:

And then verse 16:

When we talk about fruit in the New Testament, lasting fruit, there are references throughout on what fruit really is.

Romans chapter one talks about fruit being people coming to Christ.

In other words, if you share the Gospel and someone accepts Christ as their personal Savior, you can say that the saved are fruit.

We also understand in Galatians chapter 5, the fruit of the spirit.

In short, a spirit filled life will produce fruit.

Fruit is from God and what God does and we are to do the work of the produce.

Fruit is the supernatural lasting work of God--fruit that lasts!

That's what Christ is wanting for these disciples to have.

Dr. Matt Olson has said, “God is not impressed by what you do for Him.

He's not.

But I think a lot of times we measure our spiritual success by what we do for God.

But God is not impressed by what you do for him.”

Rather, YHWH is impressed by what He does for you that's always impressed with.

I was impressed by what he does in you and through you.

Transition:

So we come to the end of verse 5 and He says,

The ESV says, “apart from me you can do nothing” In other words, without the Lord there is nothing you can do in your own strength that has eternal value.

That's a pretty sobering thought isn't it?

Because a lot of people today are soul ambitiously seeking after getting things done for YHWH, yet none of that has mattered.

It is only what YHWH, by His grace, has worked in you and through you.

So how does He really develop this thought?

There are a couple profound thoughts that I want to share with you this morning in order to find and keep lasting fruit.

The first one is that we come to acknowledge Him.

I. Acknowledge Him

To acknowledge him.

It's interesting we come to verse 16 and the reason I just read the first 5 verses and then verse 16 is because I think verse 16 is central to the entire chapter.

Jesus is essentially saying verse 16, that “this just really wasn't your idea, it is mine.

This isn't your initiative is mine.

You're not shows in me I've chosen you.”

Essentially, the whole purpose for your life is not what you come up with, rather it is what YHWH comes up with.

Not only has YHWH chosen you, He has ordained you.

The purpose of your life is to bear fruit,.

lasting fruit.

God has designed you to show the evidence of what He does in you and through you.

But today I don't think we really acknowledge that He has that authority, or that right.

When a new baby is born.

They enter into this world with a very independent spirit and they want to do things their own way.

And by the time they reach kindergarten, it has not changed a lot.

You go through high school and you go into adulthood, now you may know how and learn how to refine your responses a little bit, but by nature we want to do it our own way.

And I still have that bent in my life-- I want to do things my way.

Yes, I'll serve YHWH but I want it my way.

I want to live a righteous life and I'll do it comfortably my way.

I want to follow the Lord, but I don’t want it to cost much, hurt much.

But what we see in verse 16 is you are to acknowledge Him that He is Lord and Master of your life.

And you will not bear lasting fruit unless you come to the place where you acknowledge His Lordship over you.

Your natural tendency is to try to do everything yourself except acknowledging Him as Lord.

In fact, I could probably describe my work that I will do for YHWH, list out my plan on what I will do and how I will live this Christian life in detail with plans on how I will avoid suffering, pain, and a high cost and then I will somehow submit it to the Almighty God for Him to give the stamp of approval.

It is as if I am waiting for Jesus to say, “Wow, Josh, what an awesome idea!

I'm so impressed that I will just go ahead with your plan.”

But the reality is He is saying here, “you have not chosen me, I've chosen you and I've ordained you.

I know what I want you to do, I want you to bear lasting fruit.”

Proverbs 3:5-6

Horse Breaking illustration:

Breaking a wild horse works well to illustrate this!

I know near nothing when it comes to training horses, but I know people that do know!

Ted has told me in times past, that there are different techniques in training a horse to allow riders.

I have heard of some people in the past, where, as the wild horse is pacing or running around the ring, they would jump on to try and mount up only to get kicked off and bucked off the back of the horse.

The trainer would then get back on the horse several times again only to be flung off several more times before eventually giving up.

The stubborn horse would give up the constant battle and give in or the would-be jockey gives up after a cracked rib.

The other method is to allow the horse to run around the ring until it runs out of energy.

Two things have to happen: 1) the horse has to acknowledge the trainer.

And 2) the horse has to trust the trainer.