WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.800 --> 00:00:03.680 You're listening to The Bible Guys, a podcast where a 2 00:00:03.720 --> 00:00:06.440 couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun, in 3 00:00:06.559 --> 00:00:16.640 practical ways. Good morning, good morning. We talked on that 4 00:00:16.839 --> 00:00:20.760 through good morning, good morning to you and you and. 5 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:28.679 You good job. Good that's everybody's favorite. Something that should be. 6 00:00:30.480 --> 00:00:33.560 Maybe I should incorporate like the Bible Guys, the Bible 7 00:00:33.679 --> 00:00:37.679 guy right, who knows? 8 00:00:38.039 --> 00:00:39.079 Yeah, that'd be great. 9 00:00:40.079 --> 00:00:41.840 But anyway, you are the Bible Guys. We want to 10 00:00:41.840 --> 00:00:44.159 welcome you today and we are in the middle of 11 00:00:44.200 --> 00:00:46.799 a series called what If Jesus had a podcast? 12 00:00:47.079 --> 00:00:50.920 And today Jesus says, apart from me, you can do nothing. 13 00:00:51.200 --> 00:00:52.399 That's a big, a big one. 14 00:00:52.439 --> 00:00:53.359 Yes, that's a big. 15 00:00:53.520 --> 00:00:55.159 We're gonna find out what he has to say about that, 16 00:00:55.359 --> 00:00:58.719 but first we have a brand new segment. It is 17 00:00:58.759 --> 00:01:03.719 because Ray is using all of her gray matter to 18 00:01:03.799 --> 00:01:07.599 try to figure out how to make a compelling seconds nice. Right, 19 00:01:08.239 --> 00:01:11.079 this is a brilliant idea. So you like you like 20 00:01:11.079 --> 00:01:13.040 like board games and stuff? Of course I love you 21 00:01:13.079 --> 00:01:16.239 love like taboo, especially like word board games. 22 00:01:16.640 --> 00:01:19.680 This is this is our family thing. We we love 23 00:01:19.959 --> 00:01:22.359 zar bag game Night what we call it. In fact, 24 00:01:22.640 --> 00:01:26.760 we have a family in our church. Uh uh. Anyway, 25 00:01:27.040 --> 00:01:30.000 it's a great family, great friends, and uh they actually 26 00:01:30.040 --> 00:01:34.159 bought us an actual thing that was customized. It says 27 00:01:34.239 --> 00:01:36.280 zar bag game night. Yeah yeah, and it has all 28 00:01:36.359 --> 00:01:37.239 the all the stuff in it. 29 00:01:37.319 --> 00:01:42.719 Whoa super cool. Well, so today we're doing taboo, right, 30 00:01:42.879 --> 00:01:47.200 only it's theological taboo. So that means I have to 31 00:01:47.239 --> 00:01:52.040 describe a Bible concept of theological concept concept without using 32 00:01:52.200 --> 00:01:53.239 forbidden words. 33 00:01:54.120 --> 00:01:56.840 Okay, So there'll be forbidden words, yes, which means if 34 00:01:56.879 --> 00:01:58.799 you're watching on video, hopefully what we can do is 35 00:01:58.799 --> 00:02:01.200 place them on the screen right here, just knowing that 36 00:02:01.280 --> 00:02:03.000 Jeff cannot say these okay. 37 00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:06.079 And and I haven't thought about this yet, okay, So 38 00:02:06.359 --> 00:02:09.120 I just looked at it a second ago, and I 39 00:02:09.159 --> 00:02:11.360 have no idea how to do this. But you're allowed 40 00:02:11.400 --> 00:02:13.280 to speak in sentence, so so yes, I am allowed 41 00:02:13.319 --> 00:02:15.800 to speak in sentences. But the words that I'm forbidden 42 00:02:15.840 --> 00:02:18.479 to say make it very difficult to speak of the 43 00:02:19.159 --> 00:02:20.840 So this is a theological idea. 44 00:02:20.960 --> 00:02:23.319 So listeners, race against me and see if you can 45 00:02:23.360 --> 00:02:23.639 beat me. 46 00:02:23.759 --> 00:02:33.960 Okay, this is a theological idea. Yep. Uh, let me see. Okay, Okay, 47 00:02:34.960 --> 00:02:40.919 there's the dad, the kid, and the dove, the. 48 00:02:40.919 --> 00:02:45.919 Trinity, Yes, and the dove, the dove. 49 00:02:47.199 --> 00:02:49.719 There you go. I got it. So so I had 50 00:02:49.879 --> 00:02:52.759 here's the words. I wasn't allowed to say three because Trinity, 51 00:02:52.840 --> 00:02:55.759 three and one say that. I couldn't say God. I 52 00:02:55.759 --> 00:02:57.800 couldn't say father, son or spirit. 53 00:02:58.439 --> 00:02:59.000 Wow. 54 00:02:59.199 --> 00:03:01.120 Yeah, so that was a tough one. Good. 55 00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:03.120 Well, the dove was brilliant. 56 00:03:03.199 --> 00:03:04.439 Yeah, there you go, because. 57 00:03:04.199 --> 00:03:06.680 I wouldn't have got without that. Yeah, so you're like, 58 00:03:06.759 --> 00:03:08.840 dad kid dove. I'm like dad kid dull. 59 00:03:09.039 --> 00:03:11.719 I almost said holy ghosts. That is what I almost 60 00:03:11.719 --> 00:03:12.879 said to because I could have said that. 61 00:03:12.800 --> 00:03:14.919 One, but but no, holy was on the list. 62 00:03:15.120 --> 00:03:19.240 No, No, I couldn't say three godfather, son, spirit, Oh holy. 63 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:23.240 So I could have said holy ghost. Yeah, I could 64 00:03:23.240 --> 00:03:27.639 have said the Dad, the kid, and the other one, right. 65 00:03:27.520 --> 00:03:29.639 Which I would have known. 66 00:03:29.879 --> 00:03:32.840 Yeah, yeah, yeah, because that's how most Christians live, is 67 00:03:32.879 --> 00:03:35.080 the Father, the Son, and the other one. Most Christians 68 00:03:35.080 --> 00:03:38.039 don't really spend time with the Holy Spirit. So hey, 69 00:03:38.120 --> 00:03:40.680 well there you go. I liked that one, yes, man, 70 00:03:40.879 --> 00:03:42.280 And and I mean we blew through that. 71 00:03:42.199 --> 00:03:44.319 One because we're well listen, we could. 72 00:03:44.199 --> 00:03:45.800 Expand on theological minds. 73 00:03:45.879 --> 00:03:48.360 We could expand on it by saying this, did you 74 00:03:48.400 --> 00:03:51.800 know I know you know this, but did all of 75 00:03:51.800 --> 00:03:55.400 our listeners know that the word trinity is actually. 76 00:03:54.960 --> 00:03:57.960 Not in It is not in the Bible, right, The 77 00:03:58.000 --> 00:04:01.000 concept is, yes, but not the not the word. 78 00:04:01.159 --> 00:04:06.439 So trinity is a word that Christians created to explain 79 00:04:06.599 --> 00:04:10.240 what the Bible says is true about God. So the 80 00:04:10.360 --> 00:04:14.360 idea that we have a triune God, a God, one God, 81 00:04:14.520 --> 00:04:19.199 three persons, right, and God describes himself this way and 82 00:04:19.879 --> 00:04:20.720 so it all. 83 00:04:20.800 --> 00:04:23.839 Sometimes people panic, go, you know, because they'll hear somebody 84 00:04:23.839 --> 00:04:26.560 on Discovery Channel go, well, you know, early Christians didn't 85 00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:28.399 believe in the trinity. Trinity. The word trinity is not 86 00:04:28.399 --> 00:04:30.920 even in the Bible, right and oh, oh my goodness, it's 87 00:04:30.959 --> 00:04:32.800 not in the Bible. Oh well, that's terrible. It must 88 00:04:32.879 --> 00:04:36.959 not be real. Neither is the term vicarious suffering of Christ, 89 00:04:37.560 --> 00:04:41.000 right right, correct, But that's still a true theological term, 90 00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:44.480 that's right. So when we assign a word like the 91 00:04:44.560 --> 00:04:47.000 vicarious suffering Christ means that Jesus died in our place. 92 00:04:47.040 --> 00:04:50.519 It's the substitutionary death of Christ. He died in my place. 93 00:04:50.639 --> 00:04:55.399 Vicarious means on my behalf or on the behalf of others. 94 00:04:56.399 --> 00:04:59.240 So the fact that Jesus died on your behalf, on 95 00:04:59.319 --> 00:05:04.439 my behalf. The theological term is the vicarious suffering of Christ. 96 00:05:04.600 --> 00:05:06.000 Which by the way, is this Sunday. 97 00:05:06.160 --> 00:05:09.040 But the fact of the Bible is Jesus died in 98 00:05:09.079 --> 00:05:12.839 your place. That's the fact that it's the same. The 99 00:05:13.079 --> 00:05:17.839 term for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit being three 100 00:05:17.959 --> 00:05:21.759 and one is the trinity. That's not that word's not 101 00:05:21.759 --> 00:05:24.079 the Bible. It's the theological term we use to talk 102 00:05:24.120 --> 00:05:30.120 about it. But the fact of it is at jesus baptism, 103 00:05:30.160 --> 00:05:32.680 the Father's voice spoke from heaven while Jesus was in 104 00:05:32.720 --> 00:05:35.519 the water, and the Spirit descended upon him like a dove. 105 00:05:36.360 --> 00:05:40.120 At creation in Genesis chapter one, God in the beginning, 106 00:05:40.199 --> 00:05:42.079 God created the heavens and the earth, and then it 107 00:05:42.120 --> 00:05:44.959 says that we find out Jesus was where he spoke. 108 00:05:45.519 --> 00:05:47.600 And we find out in Genesis, or in John chapter one, 109 00:05:47.680 --> 00:05:50.759 Jesus was the Word, and Jesus created everything that existed. 110 00:05:52.319 --> 00:05:54.360 And in the book of Genesis chapter one it says, 111 00:05:54.439 --> 00:05:57.519 and the Spirit of God hovered over the deep. So literally, 112 00:05:57.519 --> 00:05:59.800 in the first few verses of the book of Genesis, 113 00:05:59.800 --> 00:06:02.639 you have of the Father. So the fact that the 114 00:06:02.680 --> 00:06:05.560 word trinity does it, it's just a functional theological word 115 00:06:05.600 --> 00:06:09.839 that we use, right, But the concepts are deeply rooted 116 00:06:09.920 --> 00:06:13.079 in the truth of scripture. Paul believes in the Trinity. 117 00:06:13.399 --> 00:06:17.519 Jesus believes in the Trinity. Obviously, James believes in the Trinity. 118 00:06:17.600 --> 00:06:21.879 Jude believes in the Trinity. The Gospel writers believed in 119 00:06:21.879 --> 00:06:24.920 the trinity. Uh, it's it's deeply rooted in scripture, even 120 00:06:24.920 --> 00:06:27.639 though the term trinity is not there. So yeah, yeah, 121 00:06:27.680 --> 00:06:28.879 so you don't have to freak out about it. The 122 00:06:28.879 --> 00:06:30.759 fact that terms not in the Bible. It's just a 123 00:06:30.800 --> 00:06:33.720 theological word that Professor's made of so that we can explain. 124 00:06:36.600 --> 00:06:39.160 So it's just how we explain the fact that God 125 00:06:39.240 --> 00:06:42.040 is three in one, that's right. Yeah, So hey, that 126 00:06:42.160 --> 00:06:45.800 was really cool. Yes, good job, Chris. It's it's your 127 00:06:45.839 --> 00:06:49.439 theological astuteness that helped you figure out. 128 00:06:50.079 --> 00:06:50.519 That's me. 129 00:06:50.800 --> 00:06:53.879 You said, the dad, the kid, and the dove. 130 00:06:54.319 --> 00:06:56.600 And I bet you somebody beat me to it. Yes, 131 00:06:56.800 --> 00:06:59.000 I bet you somebody who's out there said. 132 00:06:59.079 --> 00:07:01.199 And without me, you that have never won that game. 133 00:07:01.639 --> 00:07:03.879 And did you also know Trinity is the name of 134 00:07:04.040 --> 00:07:05.959 Neo's girlfriend in the Makers. 135 00:07:07.480 --> 00:07:09.720 So without me, you could have never won that game 136 00:07:09.759 --> 00:07:14.920 because apart from me, you can do nothing, which is 137 00:07:14.920 --> 00:07:17.720 the thing Jesus said. Jesus also said, apart from me, 138 00:07:17.839 --> 00:07:18.279 you can. 139 00:07:18.519 --> 00:07:20.759 Literally place yourself in the position. 140 00:07:21.040 --> 00:07:23.639 No just with this game. Yes, I know with you 141 00:07:23.720 --> 00:07:24.879 on this show, I. 142 00:07:24.800 --> 00:07:28.120 Can do nothing without you in this game. Jeff, that 143 00:07:28.279 --> 00:07:33.199 reds me too. Hey, that reminds me. God said the 144 00:07:33.199 --> 00:07:34.079 same thing about him. 145 00:07:34.120 --> 00:07:37.040 So yeah, yeah, that's right. So Jesus says the same thing. 146 00:07:37.040 --> 00:07:39.720 Apart from me, you can do nothing. If you're new 147 00:07:39.759 --> 00:07:42.079 to the show, We're not trying to be blasphemous. We 148 00:07:42.120 --> 00:07:45.680 always just try to find the worst possible transitions from 149 00:07:45.839 --> 00:07:51.000 the silly segment at the beginning into the devotional part today. 150 00:07:51.240 --> 00:07:53.399 Right now, there's no blasphemy attempt here. 151 00:07:53.480 --> 00:07:57.480 Yeah. So in John chapter fifteen, we're going to be 152 00:07:57.480 --> 00:08:00.439 reading John fifteen one through seventeen. Jesus he says, I 153 00:08:00.480 --> 00:08:03.480 am the true grape vine, and my father is the gardener. 154 00:08:03.879 --> 00:08:06.399 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn't produce fruit, 155 00:08:06.399 --> 00:08:08.519 and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so 156 00:08:08.560 --> 00:08:12.160 that they will produce even more fruit. You have already 157 00:08:12.160 --> 00:08:14.439 been pruned and purified by the message I've given you. 158 00:08:14.839 --> 00:08:16.639 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For 159 00:08:16.720 --> 00:08:19.480 a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from 160 00:08:19.519 --> 00:08:22.120 the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain 161 00:08:22.120 --> 00:08:24.720 in me. Yes, I am the vine, and you are 162 00:08:24.759 --> 00:08:27.279 the branches. Those who remain in me and I and 163 00:08:27.319 --> 00:08:30.040 them will produce much fruit. For apart from me, you 164 00:08:30.079 --> 00:08:32.960 can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me 165 00:08:33.039 --> 00:08:35.399 is thrown away like a useless branch in withers. Such 166 00:08:35.440 --> 00:08:37.320 branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But 167 00:08:37.399 --> 00:08:40.799 if you remain in me and my words remain in you, 168 00:08:40.799 --> 00:08:43.120 you may ask for anything you want, and it'll be granted. 169 00:08:43.480 --> 00:08:45.919 When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. 170 00:08:46.120 --> 00:08:48.840 This brings great glory to my Father. I have loved 171 00:08:48.840 --> 00:08:51.519 you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in 172 00:08:51.559 --> 00:08:54.440 my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in 173 00:08:54.480 --> 00:08:57.000 my love, just as I obey my father's commandments and 174 00:08:57.039 --> 00:08:59.360 remain in his love. I've told you these things so 175 00:08:59.399 --> 00:09:01.919 that you be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy 176 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:05.080 will overflow. This is my commandment. Love each other in 177 00:09:05.120 --> 00:09:07.279 the same way I have loved you. There is no 178 00:09:07.440 --> 00:09:10.120 greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends. 179 00:09:10.799 --> 00:09:12.840 You are my friends if you do what I command. 180 00:09:13.200 --> 00:09:16.559 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn't 181 00:09:16.559 --> 00:09:19.960 confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends. Since 182 00:09:19.960 --> 00:09:22.360 I've told you everything the Father told me. You didn't 183 00:09:22.440 --> 00:09:25.320 choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go 184 00:09:25.399 --> 00:09:28.240 and produce lasting fruit so that the Father will give 185 00:09:28.279 --> 00:09:30.879 you whatever you ask for using my name. This is 186 00:09:30.919 --> 00:09:34.080 my command. Love each other. Well, there you go. 187 00:09:34.320 --> 00:09:35.600 Yeah, there's a lot in there. 188 00:09:35.720 --> 00:09:37.360 Yeah, he covers it, cots the ground. 189 00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:40.720 Yeah, it's so great. And you know, if you're a farmer, 190 00:09:40.840 --> 00:09:45.440 especially man, is this illustration so deep and you understand 191 00:09:45.440 --> 00:09:47.720 it so well. But for those of us who didn't 192 00:09:47.759 --> 00:09:51.679 grow up you know, in agriculture, you know, it's not 193 00:09:51.799 --> 00:09:54.919 as rich as the first century listeners, right, who would 194 00:09:54.919 --> 00:09:58.720 have all been completely hands on with these kinds of things. 195 00:10:00.039 --> 00:10:02.559 You know. The closest I got was we used to 196 00:10:02.600 --> 00:10:05.080 when I was a student pastor with high school students 197 00:10:05.080 --> 00:10:08.519 and middle school students. Back then, we used to have 198 00:10:08.600 --> 00:10:12.840 a company that we would all glean off of called 199 00:10:12.879 --> 00:10:13.840 Youth Specialties. 200 00:10:14.639 --> 00:10:16.840 I remember you specially, Yeah, we used they were great. 201 00:10:16.919 --> 00:10:19.600 Yeah, So Youth Specialties had all these great books for 202 00:10:19.679 --> 00:10:22.279 youth ministries and you know, great ideas and such. 203 00:10:22.440 --> 00:10:24.600 And they had tons of ideas of how to plan 204 00:10:24.679 --> 00:10:29.480 and plan an event or yeah, games or engaging ways 205 00:10:29.480 --> 00:10:32.000 to communicate tough topics stuff. Yeah, it was great. 206 00:10:32.039 --> 00:10:34.080 And so they had this book and it was called 207 00:10:34.240 --> 00:10:35.279 Destination Unknown. 208 00:10:35.519 --> 00:10:37.600 Yeah I remember, Yeah, we did destination on those. 209 00:10:37.919 --> 00:10:40.480 So we we would do Destination Unknowns and we would 210 00:10:40.519 --> 00:10:44.200 have vehicles a lot of times, fifteen passenger vans sometimes 211 00:10:44.279 --> 00:10:46.480 like a big shuttle bus, and they would be you know, 212 00:10:46.519 --> 00:10:48.159 we had a small church, but we had a big 213 00:10:48.159 --> 00:10:51.039 youth group, so you know, the kids would come and 214 00:10:51.120 --> 00:10:52.960 let's just say we had like, let's just say sixty 215 00:10:53.039 --> 00:10:55.679 high schoolers or something like this. We would have all 216 00:10:55.679 --> 00:10:57.720 these vans lined up and when when they would show 217 00:10:57.799 --> 00:11:00.240 up on a Tuesday night for you know, we called 218 00:11:00.240 --> 00:11:02.480 it the next level. They would show up and they'd 219 00:11:02.480 --> 00:11:04.600 see these vans that every dy'd get excited because they 220 00:11:04.679 --> 00:11:06.919 know it's a d U kind of night, right, du 221 00:11:06.960 --> 00:11:09.759 big d big DU Destination Unknown. And we get in 222 00:11:09.759 --> 00:11:11.639 the car and some of our most effective things were 223 00:11:11.919 --> 00:11:13.639 I remember one time I took them and this was 224 00:11:13.639 --> 00:11:16.559 a brilliant It wasn't my idea, it was their idea, 225 00:11:16.759 --> 00:11:20.759 but I took them to a Porsche dealership, right, and 226 00:11:20.799 --> 00:11:22.919 we had this when it was all arranged, and these 227 00:11:22.919 --> 00:11:27.000 guys talked about how expensive these cars were, right, just 228 00:11:27.039 --> 00:11:29.919 the unbelievable intricacy and how much money would cost you 229 00:11:29.919 --> 00:11:32.039 and everything like this. Then we had somebody else, a 230 00:11:32.080 --> 00:11:36.440 financial advisor, who said just how incredibly expensive these cars were, 231 00:11:37.360 --> 00:11:39.840 more than the other cars that were just the same 232 00:11:39.840 --> 00:11:40.639 plastic and metal. 233 00:11:41.000 --> 00:11:41.120 Right. 234 00:11:41.519 --> 00:11:43.120 So we did all that in one location that we 235 00:11:43.120 --> 00:11:44.399 got back in the bus, and then we went to 236 00:11:44.440 --> 00:11:48.039 a junk yard, right yeah, and we had we we went, 237 00:11:48.159 --> 00:11:49.960 we went all the way back to the place where 238 00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:54.360 all the Porsches were, right yeah. And so literally he's 239 00:11:54.399 --> 00:11:58.120 like this junk you know this guy, you know, he's perfect, 240 00:11:58.120 --> 00:11:59.799 you know, he's from Atlanta, and he's like. 241 00:11:59.720 --> 00:12:01.519 Well, this is where all the porches are. 242 00:12:02.159 --> 00:12:04.879 He's like, here's your nine twelves and you're all these 243 00:12:04.960 --> 00:12:07.360 kind of things, right, and so he lines them up 244 00:12:07.679 --> 00:12:11.320 and literally we saw some of the same cars we 245 00:12:11.399 --> 00:12:14.039 just saw, only older versions and some that were just 246 00:12:14.080 --> 00:12:16.639 brand new that were wrecked. And and I'm like, okay, 247 00:12:16.679 --> 00:12:19.600 so how much So the financial advisor actually had this setup, 248 00:12:19.759 --> 00:12:21.960 so how much to buy that, and he says, oh, 249 00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:24.559 that's worth you can get that for three hundred dollars, right, 250 00:12:24.840 --> 00:12:28.360 And so we talked about you know, we're muff duff corrupt, 251 00:12:28.399 --> 00:12:31.279 you know, and thieves break in and steel. Right, put 252 00:12:31.320 --> 00:12:33.159 your treasures where your heart? You know, where your treasures 253 00:12:33.159 --> 00:12:33.440 your heart? 254 00:12:33.559 --> 00:12:36.200 That is great. We should do that on a Sunday here, dude, 255 00:12:36.320 --> 00:12:38.639 isn't it great. It's a great video, isn't it. 256 00:12:38.639 --> 00:12:40.960 It's a great video, idea great and so anyway, but 257 00:12:41.080 --> 00:12:46.320 that made a huge impact on the teenagers about, wow, 258 00:12:46.799 --> 00:12:49.200 everything that we see is going to eventually end up 259 00:12:49.200 --> 00:12:52.519 in the junkyard somewhere, right, So materialism is not the thing, right, 260 00:12:53.039 --> 00:12:56.399 And so it was just tremendously effective. Well, I did 261 00:12:56.399 --> 00:12:58.919 this with a great with a vineyard. So we we 262 00:12:59.000 --> 00:13:01.919 literally have this vineyard on the side of the road, 263 00:13:02.240 --> 00:13:05.000 which is very uncommon because it's not an agricultural area. 264 00:13:05.000 --> 00:13:07.840 But there's this lady who has this massive vineyard. I 265 00:13:07.840 --> 00:13:09.960 remember driving by and seeing we were working out there, 266 00:13:09.960 --> 00:13:12.360 and I pulled over and I said, hey, can we 267 00:13:12.399 --> 00:13:14.279 do this tomorrow night? And she says, Oh, I'm going 268 00:13:14.320 --> 00:13:17.399 to be just so exhausted because today and tomorrow we're 269 00:13:17.399 --> 00:13:19.600 working all day and we're cleaning up the vineyard. I said, well, 270 00:13:19.600 --> 00:13:21.879 that's perfect. Then I said, because it'll be perfect, it'll 271 00:13:21.919 --> 00:13:23.639 be perfect for us to walk through and you can 272 00:13:23.679 --> 00:13:25.960 teach us about vines and branches. She says, but I'm 273 00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:30.159 so tired. And I said, can you put a price 274 00:13:30.919 --> 00:13:36.240 on affecting the lives of sixty students guilting this lady 275 00:13:36.240 --> 00:13:40.120 into it? And she says fine, And so sure enough, man, 276 00:13:40.159 --> 00:13:42.960 we had these kids walk into this vineyard, and I'm 277 00:13:42.960 --> 00:13:46.679 telling you it was one of the most effective lessons 278 00:13:47.440 --> 00:13:49.320 because then we were able to sit there in the 279 00:13:49.399 --> 00:13:52.120 vineyard talking about the vine and the branches. This is 280 00:13:52.120 --> 00:13:52.639 what we taught. 281 00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:56.759 So my wife I was out of the country. I've 282 00:13:56.759 --> 00:13:58.759 told this story several times, but my wife buys a 283 00:13:58.759 --> 00:14:00.480 house while I'm gone. Right, Yeah, we've been looking for 284 00:14:00.519 --> 00:14:03.320 our house for a long time. So the backyard, you've 285 00:14:03.320 --> 00:14:08.320 been there. The backyard backs up to a forest. And 286 00:14:08.879 --> 00:14:12.440 when we moved there, I had noticed that we moved 287 00:14:12.519 --> 00:14:18.240 in December, but just before all the leaves started disappearing, 288 00:14:18.279 --> 00:14:20.320 I had realized that there were vines growing up to 289 00:14:20.360 --> 00:14:22.120 the tops of the trees, and there were a couple 290 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:26.679 of trees that were losing, that were dying the things. 291 00:14:27.039 --> 00:14:29.159 So I got back in the woods and I realized 292 00:14:29.159 --> 00:14:32.519 somebody had planted or some somehow there were these grape 293 00:14:32.600 --> 00:14:34.559 vines that were climbing up to the top. And then 294 00:14:34.600 --> 00:14:38.279 what happens is, you know, the vine is usually you know, 295 00:14:38.320 --> 00:14:42.840 a couple inches around, yeah, a few inches around, but 296 00:14:43.039 --> 00:14:46.799 it puts out all these thin branches that come out, 297 00:14:46.799 --> 00:14:49.440 and then they put out these huge, like one square 298 00:14:49.480 --> 00:14:53.000 foot kind of leaves, and so they'll cover over a 299 00:14:53.039 --> 00:14:57.000 tree and cover the canopy will be the grape leaves 300 00:14:57.159 --> 00:14:59.480 will be covering, and they wind up killing the tree 301 00:14:59.480 --> 00:15:02.320 below that came at the sunlight the nets, and so 302 00:15:02.879 --> 00:15:04.639 I realized, man, I'm about ready to lose most of 303 00:15:04.679 --> 00:15:07.320 this forest behind me if I keep letting these grape 304 00:15:07.360 --> 00:15:09.799 leaves go. And so at first, all I was doing 305 00:15:09.960 --> 00:15:12.039 was cutting the cutting the branches and pulling them out 306 00:15:12.080 --> 00:15:14.240 of my trees. And that's what I was trying to do. 307 00:15:14.720 --> 00:15:17.519 And it was so hard, and I was exhausted, and 308 00:15:17.879 --> 00:15:20.799 I had spent a couple of days working at this, 309 00:15:21.279 --> 00:15:22.919 and then I realized this is dumb. I need to 310 00:15:22.960 --> 00:15:25.240 go find where the where the where the root is, 311 00:15:25.279 --> 00:15:27.480 where the where the vine is. 312 00:15:27.600 --> 00:15:29.960 Right, cut the vine and then the branches the dost. 313 00:15:30.080 --> 00:15:33.799 So it turns out there were nine vines, but it 314 00:15:33.919 --> 00:15:37.279 was thousands of branches, right, there were only nine, and 315 00:15:37.320 --> 00:15:39.279 so I went and cut those. So some of them 316 00:15:39.320 --> 00:15:40.480 I was able to get out of the tree. But 317 00:15:40.559 --> 00:15:43.000 right now, if you go there, all of them are dead. 318 00:15:43.799 --> 00:15:45.399 Even though I got a bunch of them out. We 319 00:15:45.679 --> 00:15:49.639 filled an entire dumpster with them. But all of them 320 00:15:49.679 --> 00:15:53.200 have died now because I cut off the vine. So 321 00:15:53.240 --> 00:15:56.440 all the branches are dead now and I got it 322 00:15:56.480 --> 00:15:58.200 out of the tree. Now they're all brittle and I 323 00:15:58.200 --> 00:16:00.240 can just pull them out. It's a lot easier all 324 00:16:00.320 --> 00:16:01.879 than last year when they were all still a lot 325 00:16:02.240 --> 00:16:04.440 And so Jesus says the same thing, that the power 326 00:16:04.559 --> 00:16:06.879 of the branches is in the vine. That's right, right, 327 00:16:07.200 --> 00:16:10.080 So it's when when we talked yesterday, was it yesterday 328 00:16:10.080 --> 00:16:13.519 we talked about the bags of money and that God 329 00:16:13.639 --> 00:16:16.039 was expecting a return in two days ago, that God 330 00:16:16.080 --> 00:16:19.159 respects a return on his investment. We feel like that 331 00:16:19.200 --> 00:16:20.600 means we have to muscle up and figure out how 332 00:16:20.600 --> 00:16:22.399 to do it right. Well, Jesus is saying, don't you 333 00:16:22.440 --> 00:16:24.919 understand the power of you as a branch, is in 334 00:16:24.960 --> 00:16:27.519 me the vine. Yeah, I'm the one that's bringing all 335 00:16:27.559 --> 00:16:30.440 the power to you, right, I'm the one that's it's 336 00:16:30.519 --> 00:16:33.759 flowing from me to you so that you have the 337 00:16:33.799 --> 00:16:36.360 ability to do what you're supposed to do. And your 338 00:16:36.440 --> 00:16:38.960 job is, he says, to bear fruit. Right, in the 339 00:16:38.960 --> 00:16:42.120 same way that before the investor said your job is 340 00:16:42.159 --> 00:16:45.600 to double my investment. Here he says, your job is 341 00:16:45.600 --> 00:16:47.440 to bear fruit. But this time what we discover is 342 00:16:47.919 --> 00:16:50.720 we're able to do it only when we're stay connected 343 00:16:50.759 --> 00:16:51.840 to Jesus as the vine. 344 00:16:52.240 --> 00:16:55.440 Yeah. And you know, as Christians, sometimes we get weary 345 00:16:55.720 --> 00:16:58.519 and sometimes we're you know, we can go a long 346 00:16:58.559 --> 00:17:02.080 time without praying to God or reading the Bible or 347 00:17:02.440 --> 00:17:05.200 feeling close or you know, listening to podcasts or going 348 00:17:05.240 --> 00:17:08.240 to church, and we feel like our relationship with God 349 00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:13.440 goes into a void. And if there's no power in 350 00:17:13.480 --> 00:17:16.279 our lives, if God's not producing in our lives, and 351 00:17:16.319 --> 00:17:18.720 God's not blessing, and we feel like, you know, all 352 00:17:18.799 --> 00:17:21.680 that's so disconnected. We have to realize, hey, it's because 353 00:17:21.880 --> 00:17:24.519 we're not connected to the power source. Right. We got 354 00:17:24.519 --> 00:17:27.519 to get reconnected with our relationship with our heavenly Father, 355 00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:31.400 that's where the power comes from. And that brings true 356 00:17:31.440 --> 00:17:35.039 even more so in ministry. So we're not just Christians, 357 00:17:35.079 --> 00:17:40.039 we're professional Christians, right, we get paid to do things 358 00:17:40.440 --> 00:17:44.519 this way. And so sometimes you can try to produce 359 00:17:44.640 --> 00:17:47.880 because that's what ministry is. That's what jobs do. They 360 00:17:47.960 --> 00:17:52.680 ask for results, and so in ministry there's ministry results 361 00:17:52.680 --> 00:17:56.079 that we try to sometimes fabricate in our own power. 362 00:17:56.519 --> 00:17:59.000 And we'll say, okay, you know, for instance, we're at 363 00:17:59.000 --> 00:18:01.960 this we're on this stage, and we're looking at these chairs, 364 00:18:02.359 --> 00:18:05.119 and we're probably even tonight, in a few hours, we're 365 00:18:05.119 --> 00:18:09.119 probably gonna have five hundred kids in this room because 366 00:18:09.160 --> 00:18:12.079 there's a kid's camp that's happening, right, and so somebody 367 00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:14.839 has to plan that. Somebody has to do it. And 368 00:18:14.920 --> 00:18:17.319 so you better you better make sure that if you're 369 00:18:17.359 --> 00:18:19.839 planning an event this big, you better be preyed up. 370 00:18:19.880 --> 00:18:20.160 Buddy. 371 00:18:20.240 --> 00:18:23.039 Sure, you better rely on the power of the Holy Spirit. 372 00:18:23.079 --> 00:18:26.160 Because God gives the increase, God gives the fruit. And 373 00:18:26.160 --> 00:18:29.599 that's what Jesus is saying. He's saying, you cannot do 374 00:18:29.880 --> 00:18:32.839 anything like this by yourself, right, You've got to be 375 00:18:32.880 --> 00:18:36.119 connected in me. I'm the vine. You are the branches. 376 00:18:36.160 --> 00:18:40.400 Apart from me, you can do what nothing, nothing, nothing nothing, 377 00:18:40.920 --> 00:18:44.759 So nothing good in me is going to produce anything, right, 378 00:18:44.799 --> 00:18:46.559 It's got to be through the power of the Holy Spirit. 379 00:18:46.720 --> 00:18:51.240 I don't know any of the translations of this passage 380 00:18:51.680 --> 00:18:57.519 that say anything other than you will produce much fruit. 381 00:18:58.839 --> 00:19:00.799 He doesn't just say his goal is for you to 382 00:19:00.960 --> 00:19:03.640 produce fruit or a fruit. He doesn't say some fruit 383 00:19:03.720 --> 00:19:07.720 or a fruit. Yeah, he says much fruit. So again, 384 00:19:07.920 --> 00:19:11.119 on occasion, we'll take shots from people going, oh, you're 385 00:19:11.160 --> 00:19:14.440 just all about the numbers. Right, there's a measuring word. 386 00:19:14.640 --> 00:19:18.240 Even in this idea of bearing fruit. The measurement word 387 00:19:18.319 --> 00:19:22.519 is much as opposed to some or a right. And 388 00:19:22.559 --> 00:19:26.319 God doesn't waste words. He's not just randomly choosing a word. 389 00:19:26.799 --> 00:19:29.440 Every translation I know says that God's goal for you 390 00:19:29.519 --> 00:19:30.559 is to bear much fruit. 391 00:19:30.640 --> 00:19:34.039 He didn't. He didn't. He didn't misspoke. He didn't. It 392 00:19:34.119 --> 00:19:34.799 wasn't misspoken. 393 00:19:34.880 --> 00:19:37.119 Yeah, yeah, right, he didn't just stumble through it like 394 00:19:37.119 --> 00:19:37.799 like you just did. 395 00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:41.400 Right, right, that's correct. Well, I wanted to say, I 396 00:19:41.400 --> 00:19:44.000 wanted to say, because you always use the word misspoke, 397 00:19:44.039 --> 00:19:47.519 but I don't say misspeak right anyway. 398 00:19:47.079 --> 00:19:48.880 He didn't miss no, I was I was teasing. It 399 00:19:49.000 --> 00:19:50.559 was funny that that came out. You were trying to 400 00:19:50.559 --> 00:19:54.359 talk about misspeaking when when when Yeah, it was fantastic. 401 00:19:54.680 --> 00:19:58.200