If you'd please take your Bibles to John chapter 15. A couple times I looked at my title and I like it, it makes sense to me, but I thought, well, maybe somebody else won't understand what this message is getting at. And indeed, the things I have to start out with are introductory and yet like reviewing because we've been on this sweeping thought about how we are participators with Christ's people. We're partakers. We are partners. We are having a fellowship or a communion. And the key word there is to share the same things in common. And we're emphasizing this active, interactive relationship with the Lord. And we're trying to get away from armchair theology, spectator sport Christianity. And this is something where we're all in there. Everybody's got a row. Grab your oar and let's get rowing. And so my thought with this title, His work are fruitful labors. Without His work, if we even have labors, they won't be fruitful. It is the work of Christ that we be fruitful. We have this responsibility to be fruitful, to labor. And yet, it's totally reliant on the promise that through Christ we do these things. And so we need to see here that we're not only partakers with each other in the work of the Lord, we are partakers with Christ. So that's gonna explain maybe why my first couple paragraphs of my notes are talking a lot like I've already talked. I'm repeating a few things, I'm reiterating a few things, because one thing I believe leads to the other. But let's read our text, John 15, the first eight verses. Jesus said, I am the true vine, and my father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away. And every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine, no more can ye except you abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. For without me you can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered, and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit. So shall you be my disciples." We briefly touched this subject when we studied earlier, gathering his people. As we are partakers of the Lord's people, and we learn to appreciate them, enjoy them, get along with them, work with them, and so forth, there comes this moment where we have to say, wait a minute, it isn't just a stagnant thing. More of God's people are being gathered in, and who's doing it? The last generation gave it to our generation. Guess what? Our generation has to give it to the next generation. And we had to discuss about how palatable or not palatable it is to reach out to people that you wouldn't normally like, or get along with, or desire, or somehow naturally ever be together. And we're supposed to reach all of them, all kinds of them, to bring them into God's forever family. So an underlying theme in our life should be looking for ways to help others to know the Lord and join the forever family. And we had looked at 1 Corinthians 9 earlier. Verses 22 and 23, Paul said, I am made all things to all men that I might by all means save some. And this I do for the gospel sake, that I might be partaker Or we could say, a fellow partaker. Or we could say that I might share thereof with you. So there's a partnership. We have a temptation to say, oh, this is apostle stuff. That's for those who are called to the high level of evangelism and ministry. And Paul, Timothy, they're way up here, bishops and all that, and all that they're doing. But when Paul was teaching Timothy what to do, among other things, he said, be an example to the other believers. So we know that some spiritual gifts are different. You don't have all of them. Nobody has all of them probably. But despite the unique calling and gifting God gives people, all of us should be in the same category as working towards the spreading of the gospel and bringing in the elect, gathering the sheep, And so Paul says, I want to be a partaker with you because every oar in the boat should be rowing. the same direction. And so there needs to be this wonderful cooperation. Paul desired to have his brothers and sisters in Christ to be partners with him in the work of the gospel. Now in 1 Corinthians 10.33, Paul also stated, I please all men. And the Greek can also say, I try to please all men. Because you know, if you think about it, nobody can please everybody. But Paul is saying here, my goal is to please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, not seeking my own good, not seeking my own benefit, but the profit of many that they may be saved. And so, of course, not everybody's going to be saved. Not everybody's going to profit from what we do. But this is what we do. It's to set ourselves up to be profitable for others, which means we may inconvenience ourselves. We may deny ourselves. We may do things that aren't what we feel like doing. There are things we feel like doing we aren't doing. And there are opportunities that the world presents to us that we won't take. Not because it's ungodly or sinful, but because it's not on God's plan for my life. It doesn't fit the agenda He's giving me. There are some, you know, okay, I'll back up here. When we first become Christians, we're learning how to sort the bad from the good, the evil from the good. Then after a while, as we're maturing, we have to learn how to separate the good from the best. And that's why we can look at someone and say, well, others may do that, but not me. I may not, because I have a calling. I have to fulfill my course. I have to finish my journey that He has given me. Well, besides the partnership of mind, soul, and body, which is kind of what we've been talking about in 1 Corinthians 9, There is also a way to be partakers in the work of the gospel with finances and material resources which are given to his ministers, given to the ministry. Now there's someone, you can say Gaius or Gaius, I don't care, but Gaius is in the third John, and he was commended by John for his hospitality and support of other believers. especially those who were traveling ministers. And according to John's wording, he says that Gaius became a fellow helper to the truth. fellow helper, we don't quite make a word like that these days, but fellow worker, companion in labor. These are other ways that this is translated. And so when we give of ourselves materially, whether it be money or whether it be hospitality where our home is open, we have what some call a prophet's chamber where ministers can rest and and have a station to operate from while they're maybe visiting other churches. This is a part of being a co-laborer with the one who preaches and teaches. You may not have that particular gift for preaching and teaching, but your gift of hospitality enhances and supports this. So the Lord looks at it as all part of a work together, and so should we. Okay, we have lots of scriptures that tell us how we should give help and support to the ministers of Christ. And we also have lots of scriptures that tell us how to give and to help His people in general. Just looking around the household of faith. especially those of the household of faith, Paul says in Galatians 6. We want to do good to all men, but especially them who are of the household of faith. But we don't want to forget the others, the poor of this world. And it's another ministry of the gospel. As we're wanting people to be open to the truth, we also have to care about their physical needs. And if we don't show that we care, they don't care what we know. Okay, so we have lots of scriptures there. There's one I want to particularly turn to, because I just learned something interesting about it. Acts chapter 20, verses 33 through 35. Acts chapter 20, verses 33 through 35. Now Paul's going to talk here about how he could have just let them support him, but he chose to work with his hands and supply for others. And in verse 33 of Acts 20, he says, I have coveted no man's silver or gold or apparel. Yea, ye yourselves know that these hands have ministered unto my necessities and to them that were with me. I have showed you all things, how that so laboring you ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. And I'll be honest with you, all my life I've read that and I figured, oh yeah, it's somewhere in there. I think I know what verse. So I tried to look it up. And I had to find out that this is the one time in the New Testament where Jesus is quoted and is nowhere quoted in the Gospels. And do you remember what John said towards the end of his Gospel? He said, if all the things that Jesus said and did were written, the world couldn't contain the books. Can't contain the ones that are already here. But that means that this was a viable quote of Jesus, but none of the gospel writers put it in there. I just thought it was an interesting tidbit of information. But we need to move on to some other things now. We're talking about partnership in the work of the gospel, whether it be our personal help or whether it be our resources. But before we can effectively be partners with others in the Lord's work, we must be sure that we are partners with Christ Himself. We can get caught up in the parade, jump on the wagon, you know, we can beat a drum and join the crowd and sound good, but we better make sure we actually are first and foremost linked with Him. vitally in this matter. So the emphasis of our lesson today is actually about being vitally aligned with Christ in our labors for Him. More carefully, I say, our labors with Him. And maybe there's no better text in the New Testament than John chapter 15, 1 through 8. where Jesus describes himself as the vine and we're the branches. Now, it's very important that we know who we are in this allegory. Okay, verse one of John 15. Just to reiterate here, I am the true vine, and my father is the husbandman. Go down to verse 5, I am the vine, you are the branches. So we have three basic categories here, and one of them has to get detailed. But first of all, the Heavenly Father is in charge. When we say husbandman, some Bibles translate vinedresser, some translate gardener, But husbandry is still a legitimate word in our language. We just don't say husbandman so much these days. But the Heavenly Father is in charge of the operation. So we're thinking about this vine, and the vine is his focus. If he takes care of the vine, the vine will produce the fruit. If he's just trying to wish real hard for fruit, that ain't gonna happen. His focus is on the true vine. This is the object of his care. This is the source of his pleasure. Somebody comes to a vineyard, and they say, oh, you have beautiful plants. Yes, that's true, but you know what's really important is that those plants produce beautiful grapes, and lots of them. Okay, so the true vine, brings pleasure to the husband and by producing the fruit. Somewhere we're going to get involved here, but before we do, I want you to just think about Jesus. We won't turn there, but in Jeremiah 9, 23 and 24, you're not supposed to boast in your riches or your wealth, your strength. You're to boast in that you know the Lord. And he goes on to describe some things in which he delights. You know, like salvation, deliverance, you know, loving kindness. In these things I delight, saith the Lord. And if you look at that in verse 24 of Jeremiah 9, then you go over to 1 Corinthians 1, where this is actually being quoted and alluded to. Everything where he says, and he has made Christ unto us wisdom. and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Those things actually are parallels to what he said in Jeremiah, I delight in these and here Jesus is his delight. Several times the father spoke out audibly, this is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased. And Jesus had the Audacity, and I say that facetiously, the audacity to say, I always do those things that please my father. And of course, that would make some people really mad because they didn't like what he was doing and they assumed God was on their side and they wanted to make him a blasphemer and so forth. But actually, in John 8, 29, the next thing is many people believed on him for saying that. And it shows a focus that we really all should care more about. Is the father pleased? We get this gospel running around that sounds like the father's whole attention is on pleasing us, making us feel good, making us happy. But without faith, it's impossible to please him. There's the emphasis. For he that comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. So we have this thought that the Father is focused on the vine, who is Jesus. Jesus, then, is focused on the branches, part of himself. We don't have branches over here, vine over here. The branches are a part of the vine. Now, those who profess to be disciples of Christ are the branches of the vine. They are in some way attached to Christ. They are identified with Christ. But not all branches have the necessary vital relationship to the vine and therefore are not fruitful. And this is where some people get uncomfortable or they start changing their interpretations and things because they don't like the sound of this. How can a branch be attached to Jesus and not be fruitful? Well, I'm going to help you as best I can this morning. But I want to say this, we who name Christ's name, And I think of Paul's words in Timothy, 2 Timothy 2.19, they that name the name of Christ should depart from iniquity. Which means that we name his name, we identify with him, but what's the reality? Well, there's two kinds of branches mentioned in this parable. Let's look at verses two through six to refresh our mind here. John chapter 15, verse two, every branch in me that bears not fruit, he taketh away, and every branch that beareth fruit, he purges it, prunes it. Literally, the Greek says, cleans it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine. No more can ye except ye abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He that abides in me and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit, for without me you can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch and is withered, and men gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. Okay, fruitless branches are taken away and burned. They cannot bear fruit because they do not have the vital abiding connection. The other Bibles say remaining. Now that may sound odd, but the vital abiding remaining connection to the vine. Some refer to the branches that are fruitless as sucker branches. Two cases that my father taught me in gardening, the corn, the two bottom stems coming off from the very base had to be pulled off. He says, they will use up strength, they will take up space, and they'll never produce a thing. So let's get rid of them. So we pull those two off after the stalk had grown up a while. And then tomatoes was another thing. You can grow beautiful big tomato plants and not get many tomatoes. So you look for where you got your best amount of buds and you get rid of the other ones there. And the ones that don't have any buds, get rid of them because then the energy of the plant goes into the fruit coming in those branches. So it's a thing. It happens. Beautiful looking branches outwardly attached to the vine, but there's something wrong in that inner sense. They're not producing anything. They're not productive. So fruitful branches are kept. They are purged, pruned. And I mentioned the word in the Greek means to clean. And that may have something to do with the next verses. Now you are clean, verse three, through the word. So I think there's a pruning effect, a cleaning effect. The word of God is going through and purging us of carnal, fleshly things. And many people, they go away and follow no more. John in 1 John 2 said, they went out from us because they were never of us. Otherwise, they would have stayed with us. And I've often said, to be in this church, you've got to love the Bible. We don't really put on a whole lot of other stuff. It's sort of centered around the Bible. And I don't have as much entertainment for some people, but this is the root of the matter. This is the difference between fruitful or not fruitful. And so, the ones that he purges or prunes, they bear more fruit. These branches have the abiding remaining connection to the vine. Now, let me try to explain the abiding remaining connection. And we read already in verses 4 and 5, let's look at verses 7 and 8. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, there's a hint. What it means to abide or remain in Christ is you are having an active love life, you are having an active communicating life with Christ through his word. The Bible speaks to you. And when I'm up here preaching, yeah, I'm speaking to you, but I trust the spirit of Christ is speaking to you more. And you walk away, and you don't have to say, oh, what a preacher. No. You just say, oh, what a Savior. Oh, what a Savior. And so, then he says, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you. So we're going to talk about prayer life, too. Herein is my Father glorified. And again, back to the subject of pleasing God. Pleasing the Father. Pleasing the husbandmen. the vine dresser, the gardener. He gets glorified when we bear much fruit. A person who owns a vineyard makes money if there's a lot of fruit. And God isn't making money, but he's making glory. And when we bear fruit, we glorify him. And then his purposes are accomplished in the world as the glory of the Lord is shown to others. It's contagious. Okay, herein is my father glorified that you bear much fruit, so shall you be my disciples. So many profess to know Christ. They attach themselves to him by words, actions, often by joining religious movements or organizations, such as churches. The visible connection is outward, but lacks the real life-giving source of nourishment of Christ's Spirit and Christ's Word. Therefore, the relationship is fruitless. It is not an active part of the work of the vine. It takes up space and draws energy from the vine. Energy that is supposed to produce something, such as the fruit of the Spirit. Or don't forget, every grape has a seed in it. And the life of the vine is in that seed. There could be other vines because of that seed. No, we're not going to talk about seedless grapes today. That doesn't fit the allegory. But the idea is fruit of the Spirit is an obvious connection. But don't forget reproduction. And within us is the seed of Christ to reproduce Him in others. Keeping on our thought about evangelism. Now, others truly know Christ in a vital way. The work of the vine is to feed its branches through photosynthesis. I'm waking up your early biology class notes here. You know, as sunlight converted to energy, that's done through the leaves. Rain and ground nutrients come through the roots, which produces health, growth, and fruit. Therefore, true disciples are united with Christ and each other. They are fed by Christ through the sunshine of God's love, and the water of God's word, and the soil of God's sovereign grace. I didn't get that out of the book either. I just really like that. That we are fed by Christ through the sunshine of God's love, and the water of God's word, and the soil of God's sovereign grace. Now you may say, what is the soil of God's sovereign grace? Okay, the whole environment that that vine is in affects that. You know, if you're into wine, the names of many wines are based on the location. where they're grown. There's something about the soil there that makes the wine taste like that. And something about the soil over here that makes the wine taste like that. And so the way you are, who you are, the flavor of you is overall a work of God's grace. As He is forming the image of His Son in you, He's using your personality, your qualities, your skills, and He's modifying it. There's some qualities He's gotta have mortified, and there's others he's got to enhance. But the work of God in your life where you are, where you grew up, where you went to school, where you work, where you live, the kind of family you've got, it all has a part of making you, you. So the sovereign grace, this is when you're talking about God's grace in charge. Sovereign means to rule all alone. And we sometimes, you know, we have been taught by modern psychology to blame our mothers, to blame society, to blame somebody. But that actually comes from the school of Adam and Eve. You know, that serpent made me eat. The woman you gave me, she tricked me and made me eat. You know, blame shifting. No, no, let's get back to God. Who we are, who we ever will be. is a work of the total product of God's grace. So yes, the sunshine of His love, the water of His word, and the soil we're in, the environment we're in, and all those things that happen to us, work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. I just really like that. And just because I like it so much, I'm actually gonna read some of those verses I put there after that. Ephesians chapter three, Verses 14 through 19. I won't belabor them, but let me just at least read them here. Ephesians 3.14, For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man. Verse 17 says, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and the length and the depth and the height, and to know the love of Christ which passes or surpasses knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God. And just picture big plump grapes and a big cluster of grapes all over a vine. Okay, that's just a lovely connection. In John 4, verses 10 and 14. John 4, verse 10. And Jesus said unto her, the woman at the well, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. Verse 14, and whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. And then we go over to chapter seven, John chapter seven. And we take a look at verse 37 to 39. In that last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirsts, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scriptures have said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. I'd love to talk about that verse too, as to where that's being alluded to, but I mustn't stop here. Verse 39 says, But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive. For the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. And I think that's a direct reference to Christ dying and rising from the dead. Now He's glorified, and now He can give the Holy Spirit. And now His Word becomes this living, powerful thing in our lives, effectually works in us who believe. And we've seen some of those statements in previous lessons. But in John chapter 1, I don't always go in numerical order. I follow a theme here. But John chapter 1, Verse 14 through 17. And the Word, capital W, the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory, the glories of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John, bear witness of him, cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake. He that cometh after me is preferred before me, for he was before me. And of His fullness have all we received, and grace for grace." And understand that means grace upon grace, grace after grace. I could say grace after grace after grace after grace after grace, it just doesn't end. Okay. For the law was given by Moses, which is okay, that's good. But grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. And so now we understand. The truth of Jesus, He is the truth, but the grace means that we now can benefit from it. It will come into our life and do a work in our life. And by Him, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. So I really, really like this idea of the branch, but I have to clarify, it needs to be a fruitful branch. If you want to be a fruitful branch, you'll make sure you are connected to Christ in such a way that His Word is powerfully speaking to you, transforming you, filling you with love as well as desire to be like Jesus, to do His will, to share Him with others. This is a powerful working thing in our lives. It's grace and truth in operation. There are others who have just simply attached to the outward appearance of being a vine, a branch in that vine. And because they bear no fruit, they're none of His. And I've grown up with a lot of attempts by certain kinds of teachers to justify and defend fruitless Christians. And it's part of what makes chaos in this world with the denominations. And again, I just don't dare start on this. Twice I've almost done this. But there is a gospel out there that doesn't require the transformation of the new birth. It's up here in the head. It's said with the mouth, but it misses heaven by 18 inches. And there are people who dedicate themselves to trying to prove what we call eternal security, when it is not eternal security, when there is a fruitless life. That's an eternal deception that must be stopped. However, if you do have Christ, you have Christ, and He has you, and He gives you His Spirit till the day of redemption. So we qualify this that eternal life is not just going to heaven someday when you die. Eternal life begins now when you believe Christ, receive Christ. His Word becomes a living principle in your life, and His Spirit and His Word are feeding you like those fruitful branches on that vine, and they're bearing fruit. They glorify the Father, which I haven't gotten to that part yet, but I wanted to mention. One of the resulting evidences of this fruit is a vital, healthy connection between Christ and his disciples, and that leads to an active prayer life that has answers to it. Okay? Now, I've sort of left my notes a little bit here. They're there, but John 15 has some more to say. If we go to John chapter 15 and verses 9 through 12, This goes just beyond our scripture reading. John chapter 15, starting with verse 9. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you. Continue ye in my love. Now there's a positive instruction about the abiding, remaining thing. Continue in this love. It's love that we have because he first loved us, but you need to make sure you're continuing in it. Verse 10 says, if you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my father's commandments and abide in his love. I hope I can make it clear to you, you are not saved by works, but you're not saved without them either. And if Jesus didn't earn his relationship with the Father, you know, it just was always. A result of that relationship is a desire to please the Father, to stay with Him, His mind, His heart, His soul. And so He was continuing in His love. Now we have been given this relationship and it's by grace. But we are to continue in it. We're to maintain it. We're to not wander away from this relationship. We're not to try to do it in our own strength. Thanks for the head start, Lord. I'll finish it from here. No, no. So I keep reading here. In verse 10, if you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love even as I have kept my father's commandments and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full. His joy remaining in you. That's that abiding, remaining word again. This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you, verse 12 says. See, we're not talking about just 600 commandments of this and that, and I don't know if I'm really saved because I may not have kept all the commandments. You know, this is a terrible, torturous world some people live in. But the big thing is love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your strength, and all your might, all your mind. And then love your neighbor as yourself, of course. But to dwell in this environment of love, keep yourself there. and out of it will come practical obedience. But one of the main things needs to be seen, and one of the main things is often lacking in religious structures, is that matter of loving the brethren. Competitiveness, pride, judgmental, legalism, all these things are attacking the love life of the church. And when the love life of the church is failing, then so is our witness for Christ to the world. They get enough of that out there in other organizations. The church should be an environment of love, like a greenhouse, where people can be nurtured and protected from the harsh outside environment of this world. And the love and the truth, the watering and the sunshine, and the nasty winds are kept away. And those plants can grow, and people need a safe place. And if you know anything about Psalm 23, the shepherd works very hard to make a safe environment for his sheep. In the presence of his enemies, he makes a place for them, a table, a table land. But that's another story that I won't get to today. But also verse 16 of John 15. You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit and that your fruit should remain. And whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. Okay? You think you found me? Well, I wasn't lost, Jesus would say. I found you. You were lost. But I did in such a way you thought you found me. And that's okay. Because I want you to not want to lose me either. And you're not. But you've got to abide with me. And let my joy fill you. and the fruitful life that's going to be evidence that you're mine. The fruitful life that's going to make you useful to the fruit of the vine. That's going to last. That's going to remain. I have a lot of things I thought I did for the Lord and they're non-issues now. They're irrelevant. And there's things that I don't even know, but hoping the Lord used me. And I'll find out one day and say, Lord, when did I see you naked and clothed you? When did I see you hungry and fed you? I hope there's lots of that one day. Because sometimes when we're trying so hard, it's us trying too hard as opposed to releasing ourselves. I'll quote Billy Graham on this one. Let go and let God. If you don't misuse that statement, that's a great statement. Let go and let God. Your fruit will remain. The things that I am doing through you will last and they'll be meaningful. And I may not even let you know exactly what they are, so you don't go back and botch them up. Well, let me slip over. Well, actually, I'll just refer to this. Philippians 1.11, it's going to be there once in a while. Philippians 1.11, it says, "...your fruits which are by Jesus Christ." It's one of those little incidental statements, part of a larger statement. And you can read 9-11 and enjoy the whole thing. But, "...your fruits which are by Jesus Christ." It's the same thing as saying, I am the vine and you are the branches. if you just have it. It's not like this is one isolated place. It's taught throughout Scripture. And you notice in verse 16, you noticed also in verse 7 about prayer. It isn't enough that we say prayers. What's important is that our prayers are answered. Another reason I know God is real and I know Jesus is in me is because He actually answers my prayers. Sometimes He gives me more than I can ask or think. That's Ephesians 3. 20, but he answers my prayers. I'm not just spinning a wheel or beads or just reciting things. I'm communicating with God and God's communicating with me by answering them. You need to have this kind of love life, active life with the Lord Jesus Christ, with the Father through Christ. Well, an active prayer life with answered prayers, but also that the Father is glorified and pleased." Remember I told you that the vine is what pleases the vinedresser? Well, if you are the branch producing the fruit, you please him too. I mean, Jesus, when we say vine, that's all the branches, the root system, everything. But we are absolutely one with Him, and so when we're bearing the fruit, which is thanks to Him, we please the Father too. And that's ultimately what we want, is to please the Father, that we should be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted Christ. Ephesians 1, 12. Romans 8, 8 through 9. I can't quote the whole thing here, so I'm going to take a moment to turn there. But sometimes when people talk about being in the flesh, they're talking about a certain mood they're in. or certain carelessness of their behavior and their thought life. But in the flesh here, in Romans 8, is talking about a position you hold. You are either in the flesh, natural man, religious or not, or you're in Christ or in the Spirit, means Christ lives in you, you are born again, and you're sealed to the day of redemption. But it says in Romans 8 verse 8, So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. You'd have to read some of the earlier verses to get the full force here. But people who do not have Christ in their life and do not have the forgiveness of sins and the Holy Spirit of Christ living in them, they can't please God. No matter how hard they try, they're not gonna find some little backdoor service entrance to get into heaven. It's gotta be through the one and only door of Jesus Christ. And so verse nine goes right on to say, but you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit. If so be that the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." Now, if you're careful, you're going to see the Trinity here. You're not in the flesh, you're in the Spirit, okay? That's the Holy Spirit. If so be that the Spirit of God, I would reference that to the Heavenly Father. If so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ. It's not three spirits you have, it's one. Lovely Trinity. You may not understand it, just be blessed by it, just enjoy it. That the Triune God, the Spirit of the Triune God resides within you. All that the Father has thought of for you, He's within you. All that the Son of God did for you, He is within you. All that the Spirit of God is teaching you and making clear to you and sealing you until the day of redemption, He's in you. And this is where you wanna be, a branch that is in the Spirit. in the Spirit of Christ, in the Spirit of the Father, and the Word of God is flowing, and the prayers are flowing, and the answers are evident. Now, some of them don't come quickly, and we always have to remind ourselves, he says, yes, he says, no, he says, wait. But nonetheless, you should have answered prayers. You say, yes, I asked the Lord, and he heard me, he heard my cry, and he did this for me. And that's a testimony, part of your God story that you may be able to share with others. And I've already mentioned, but without faith, it's impossible for God to please you. Whoops. But without faith, it's impossible for you to please God. For he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Now, I'm not going to look up any more references as juicy and I probably lied because there is one I am going to read. But let's just get this point across. It's kind of an added thing. Because we're talking about the relationship of a servant or slave, and the matter of serving the Lord. Christ purchased us, we are his servants or slaves. We are on earth for his purpose and glory. For Christ to use us, we need to do Christ's work, Christ's way. Yielded to him, we make ourselves available so that he can do his work through us. And I just want to mention Romans 15, 17 through 18. It was earlier in the notes and I skipped it because I wanted to kind of end on this. So Romans chapter 15, verses 17 and 18. And this could sound like some double negatives here, but we'll get through this. Romans 15, verse 17. Paul says, I have therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ. in those things which pertain to God." Now notice verse 18, "'For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me,' to make the Gentiles obedient by word and deed." Now we could take the negatives out of there and would say, I will only boast in the things which Christ has wrought by me. So only one life shall soon be passed, only what's done for Christ, through Christ, will last." And Paul says, I could sit here and tell you, I did this trip and I did this preaching and I saw this many people come to it. And he can talk all about that, but he says, I wouldn't dare just start boasting about what I've done. But when I see people, and we looked at this before in 1 Thessalonians 1, knowing brethren your election of God, Because when the Word was preached to you by us, you didn't receive it as the mere words of men, you received it as the words of God, which work affectionately in those that believe. And you became followers of us and of the Lord, and from you sounded the Word of God. We saw the change in your life, we saw the change in your disposition, we saw your values change, we saw your agenda change. Now that's something Christ did. It sure wasn't me, because I've done the same thing over here and over here, and that didn't happen. But other times it did. And he says, that's the Lord working. D.L. Moody was walking down the street and there was a drunk hugging a lamppost. And when he saw D.L. Moody, he goes, Mr. Moody, I am one of your converts. And Mr. Moody said, doubtless you are because you're not one of the Lords. Now, I didn't say no Christian might accidentally fall into drunkenness. I didn't say that. But if that's the pattern of a person's life, unbroken, then Christ has not made the change. The work is not done. And maybe I preached to him. Maybe I got him to sign a decision card or say a prayer after me. But the fruit that remains, the fruit that glorifies God, that's evidence that we are fruitful branches. vitally connected to the Lord. We abide in Him. We remain in Him. And His joy is our strength. His joy remains in us. And even when we're discouraged, and even when we're persecuted, we learn joy in all these things. Well, the last thing I want to say about servants or slaves is this. There's three perspectives about a servant or a slave that we want to have. To obey commands, to please his master when there is no precise command, and to work in harmony with other servants or slaves." I'll let you chew on that. Father, please give faith where it's needed. Please give us desire. Please give us the discipline and the understanding that we might abide in Christ and his word abide in us. And through his spirit, we will have this act of love life, this act of truth life, and that we will find the Lord working through us. Lord, not just to will and to do of his good pleasure, but to also touch other people's lives and to see you change them through the ministry you've given us. Help us not to merely work for you, Lord. Help us to work with you, to cooperate, to wait, and to filter out, Lord, what is the techniques of man and of the flesh, and what is the true work of the Spirit. Ask your Father if anyone here does not know Christ as Lord and Savior, if they're concerned about whether they have a fruitful life, that they will seek you, that you might let us help them and bless them more. And that Father, we who know you and love you, we who are true branches, will take the purgings, the prunings in our life, so that we can be more fruitful and bring more glory to the Heavenly Father. I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.