Much Fruit 1978

Okay, from John 15, 5 through 8. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers, and the branches are gathered and thrown into the fire and burn.

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. By this, my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples. Second only to our desire to know God more perfectly, which always has to be the primary one in our hearts, is the desire in every one of our hearts to have any conception of who Jesus is, to bear much fruit.

We surely want the time that we spend in this world of flesh and blood to come for something. We see how staggering is the harvest, and how few the laborers, and we want to be of use. Probably the most frustrating thing in our lives is this tension between our yearning to be able to bear a lot of fruit for God, and the obvious evidence, if we're at all honest with ourselves, that not very much is happening out there on the little branch of our lives.

Then we pick up Christian books that tell us about the marvelous results and fruit of so many other brothers and sisters here and there, the wonderful things they're accomplishing. Or we read of the lives of saints of God in the past, who did mighty things for the Lord. We hear of fellowships that are growing so rapidly and expanding all over the place, they can't enlarge their buildings fast enough.

We hear about the communities of believers that are exercising impressive ministries in Washington, New York, Boston, Nairobi, Rio. Then we look at our feeble efforts, the meager results. How little do we have to show for years and years of work, and we get discouraged.

Jesus promised that if we abide in Him and His words abide in us, we absolutely will bear not just a little, but much fruit. But Jesus never promised that this much fruit would bring us even a little bit of glory. The much fruit proves that we are His disciples, but the glory, all of it, goes to God.

The grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies and bears much fruit. The lamb of God goes up to the cross and dies and bears much fruit. And every follower of Jesus bears much fruit in exactly the same way.

Now our frustration is not because there's no fruit. Our frustration is because we have allowed our minds to be deceived into confusing fruit with glory. We think that nothing really is happening unless the bands are playing and the crowd is roaring every time we make another spiritual touchdown.

But fruit that really lasts never comes that way. Fruit that abides is mysteriously stripped of all human glory. If the same standards were applied to Jesus that are used in most popular Christian literature today to evaluate people's lives in very subtle ways, Jesus would certainly have come up as a total, dismal failure.

How did He look when they dragged Him in front of the chief priests and elders of the people? Thirty-three years of utter obedience to the Father, and what does He have to show for it? Nothing. They march Him in front of Pilate, representing Caesar. And Pilate says, oh, are you the king of the Jews? Who are you? How come these people are hell-bent on killing you? What's the matter? Can't you talk? Don't you have anything to say? Don't you know I have the power to deliver you to death or to release you? Take Him away.

And they drag Him in front of Herod, who's the real king of Israel. Herod's delighted. I've been waiting to see you.

I've heard about you. Now let me see you do your stuff. What's the matter with you? Can't you even talk? This guy didn't do anything worthy of death, but I'm sure of one thing now that I see him.

He's another loser. Take him away. There isn't a radio or TV preacher in the country who would have had Jesus on his program that night.

What kind of testimony would Jesus have had? Where's His fruit? His fruit, my friend, is hidden in that bruised, bleeding body, which is soon to die. Fruit that will one day cover this earth with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. But which will only come forth and begin to flow after He dies.

Now notice, Jesus never worried about how much fruit He was bearing. Because He was utterly confident that there would be much fruit. And that nobody would stop Him.

Jesus concerned Himself, as far as His ministry in the human realm was concerned, with only two things. With touching human lives with the mercy of God, number one. And number two, with getting to His cross.

That's all. Jesus didn't try to build an organization. Oh, wait a minute, you say.

What do you mean He didn't try to build an organization? Didn't He have twelve disciples? But listen, anybody who's going to build an organization would never have picked those men. He never wrote a book. He didn't try to revolutionize the Roman government.

He didn't try to reform the stagnant institutions of Israel. Well, He never, never sought publicity as a means of increasing His fruit bearing. In fact, He avoided publicity like the plague.

And He never, never, never, never begged for money. As a means of expanding, quote, His ministry. He stuck to two things.

Touching human lives with the mercy of God. And getting to Calvary. At that very hour, some Pharisees came and said to Him, Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.

And He said to them, Go tell that fox, Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow. And the third day I finish my course. Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following.

For it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem. There it is, very clearly put. Go tell Herod what I'm doing.

He'll never stop me. Today and tomorrow, I cast out demons and perform cures. And on the third day, I go to Jerusalem to lay down my life.

Now, if you want to bear fruit, that's all you have to do. All, nothing else. Abiding in Jesus and allowing Him to abide in you.

You touch other lives with the mercy of God. Abiding in Jesus and allowing Him to abide in you. You go to your cross.

Except a man. Deny himself. Take up his cross daily and follow me.

He can't be my disciple. If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself. Take up his cross daily, follow me.

People say, how morbid. That's not one of the popular teachings today. We're not into that stuff.

But my friend, there's nothing morbid about that. Nothing morbid. Denying yourself is not giving up cherry pie.

Denying yourself is a positive act. Doing what Jesus did. It's denying something which is perfectly legitimate and okay.

In order that you might touch other lives with God's mercy. In order that you might touch the oppressed, the hungry, the poor. And your own neglected family.

With the mercy of God. And taking up your cross to follow Jesus means that you realize that you also have a Calvary to get to. Touch other lives with the mercy of God.

Follow Jesus right to your own Calvary. If we're willing to concentrate on those two things alone. And forget all the fancy stuff.

We will bear. Much fruit. Absolutely.

First, touching other lives with the mercy of God. And that's connected with denying ourselves. A form of fasting.

But what kind of fasting? Listen to Isaiah 58. Is not this the fast that I choose? To loose the bonds of wickedness. To undo the bonds of the yoke.

To let the oppressed go free. And to break every yoke. Is it not to share your bread with the hungry.

And not to hide yourself from your own flesh. Meaning your own family. Then shall your light break forth like the dawn.

And your healing shall spring up speedily. Your righteousness shall go before you. And the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

Then you shall call and the Lord will answer. You shall cry and he will say, here I am. If you take away from the midst of you the yoke.

And the pointing of the finger and the speaking of wickedness. If you pour yourself out for the hungry. And satisfy the desire of the afflicted.

Then shall your light rise in the darkness. And your gloom shall be as the noon day. And the Lord will guide you continually.

And satisfy your desire with good things. And make your bones strong. You shall be like a watered garden.

Like a spring of water. Whose waters fail not. And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt.

You shall raise up the foundations of many generations. You shall be called the repairer of the breach. The restorer of streets to dwell in.

Stop worrying about how much you're getting done. Don't be so nervous about how many souls you think you've saved. And forget about how your ministry looks to Herod.

Or Pilate. Or John the Baptist. Or your best friend.

Or your worst enemy. Leave all that alone. And concentrate on these four simple things that Isaiah lays out for us.

The Spirit of God lays out for us in Isaiah 58. Touching with God's mercy. The oppressed.

The hungry. The poor. And our own neglected families.

Now how different that is. From what is popularly thought of as the rich family. A real effective teaching for reaching the masses and bearing much fruit.

The popular thing today is how to reach executives for Christ. They're having a big meeting near here. Not far.

I don't know if it's this week or next week. But that's one of the big drawing cards. How to reach executives for Christ.

How to get the big ones. Get the leaders and all the little ones will follow. But Scripture never puts it that way.

There is no warrant in Scripture from beginning to end. For this idea that you reach the big fish and then by this you get the little fish. Scripture says go after the little fish.

Any big fish that's smart will follow on to. Now if you follow that method. Which is the way Jesus does it.

Many of your good brothers and sisters in the Lord will accuse you of wasting time. Just like John the Baptist questioned what Jesus was doing. Are you the one who is to come or do we look for another? How long are you going to be fooling around with these nobodies? But if you do this.

And if you forget about what John the Baptist or what your best friends or anybody else have to say. And concentrate on reaching exactly what Jesus calls us to reach. Then you get somewhere.

What else can we do if we're going to abide in Jesus and have him abiding in us. But to get about the business of the Lord in reaching the nobodies. The poor, the maimed, the halt, the blind, the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Somebody's worried about the executives. What's going to happen to the poor executives? Listen. Executives all, everyone have wonderful noses.

They can smell wherever something good is going on. That's how they got to be executives. And they have mobility.

The executives can always get to where the good stuff is. Always. Jesus didn't chase Nicodemus all around Jerusalem trying to win an executive for Christ.

Nicodemus found his way to Jesus as Jesus sought the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Any executive who's for real. Will also.

Gladly. Forsake all and follow Jesus just like all the other disciples. And they won't have to put him on TV next week.

Secondly. If we're going to bear much fruit. This is seems to us to be the hard one.

We're going to have to follow Jesus right on to our own Calvary. Follow him to the place where we also will lay down our life. And when we lay down our life.

We will like Jesus disappear from the view of this world. Totally. In other words, our goal.

Is not success. Our goal. Is total oblivion in God.

And he said to all, if any man would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life or lose it. And whoever loses his life for my sake.

He will say. We may not know exactly how that Calvary is going to be. We may not understand the details of it until we get closer to it.

But this much we now definitely know. That our goal is not success. Our goal is a cross.

And we move daily toward that goal. By laying down our lives. Each day in a hundred small ways.

That's moving one day closer to the moment when we will completely finally lay our lives down. What a relief that is to live that way. Then you don't have to prove anything anymore.

You don't have to outdo somebody anymore. You don't have to, you know, demonstrate to your best friend that your life is worthwhile or that you aren't crazy. All you have to do is keep moving toward Calvary.

You don't even have to be afraid anymore. Who can intimidate you when your goal is Calvary? Laying down your life. Who can scare you? When Herod wants to kill you, you can say.

Go tell that fox. Today and tomorrow we cast out demons and perform cures. And the third day.

We finish our course. And when we finish our course. Then.

There will be absolutely much fruit. Fruit that will bring glory to God. And rejoice the heart of the land.

Truly, truly I say to you. Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies. It abides alone.

But if it dies. It bears much fruit. The promise is absolutely sure to each one of us.

If we are willing to forsake vanity road. And get on with the business of following Jesus. To the lost sheep.

And forgotten ones. Of this world. To touch them with God's mercy.

And if we are willing to follow Jesus. On to Jerusalem. And to a Calvary.

Which God has prepared. Specifically. For each one.

Of us. Let's pray. Heavenly Father.

We ask that you would help us to have the wisdom. To choose. The right road.

And to see the difference between. This deceptive road of success. And all the trappings of churchianity.

And the evangelical world. Or the Pentecostal world. Or the Lutheran world.

Or the Catholic world. Or whatever it is. That we've been so wrapped up in.

We can't even see the difference. And in the midst of all these other things. To follow you.

In exactly your way Lord. Knowing without any doubt in our mind. That as we do.

The fruit will come. We thank you and praise you. For your mercy's sake.

Amen.