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  THE BULB AND THE SOIL
  by John Henry Jowett
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Summary: The sermon emphasizes the importance of relying on God's power
and provision to keep His commandments, rather than relying on one's own
strength or will.

Topics: "Abiding In Christ", "Holy Obedience"
Scripture References: John 15:4

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DESCRIPTION
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John Henry Jowett emphasizes that those who love Jesus are the ones who
keep His commandments, but questions how one can keep them without the
necessary resources. He compares it to receiving a bulb without the soil
needed to grow it. However, he discovers that abiding in Jesus allows
for the production of abundant fruit, as God provides both the
commandments and the power to fulfill them. Jowett highlights the
importance of resting in God and allowing Him to work through us to live
a holy and obedient life.

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CONTENT
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"_He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them,

he it is that loveth Me._"

--JOHN xiv. 15-24.

Yes, but how can I keep them? Some one sent me a bulb which requires a

certain kind of soil, but he also sent me the soil in which to grow it.
He

sent instructions, but he also sent power. And when I am bidden to keep
a

commandment I feel as though I have received the bulb but not the soil!

But is this God's way of dealing with His people? I will read on if

perchance I may find the gift of the soil.

"He that abideth in Me ... the same bringeth forth much fruit." That is

the gift I seek. For the keeping of His commandments the Lord provides

Himself. I am not called upon to raise fruits out of the soil of my own

will, out of my own infirmity of aspiration or desire. I can rest

everything in God! I can "abide in Him," and I may have the holy
energies

of the Godhead to produce in me the fruits of a holy and obedient life.

The good Lord provides both the bulb and the soil.

It is the tragedy of life that we forget this, and seek to make a soil-
bed

of our own. And thus do we suffer the calamity of fruitless labour, the

heavy drudgery of tasks beyond our strength. "Come unto Me, all ye that

labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

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Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/john-henry-jowett/the-bulb-and-the-soil/
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