The Healing Word

Guest (Male): The Healing Word Ministry, on one place, is brought to you by the generous donations of people like you. At any time during today's message, feel free to send a prayer request or make a donation using the links provided. Now, I pray you will be blessed as Pastor Jack Morris delivers a message from the word of God that will encourage and strengthen your faith in him.

Pastor Jack Morris: The Holy Spirit is looking at your life. Some of you are going through some difficulties, some trials, some hard places. It just may be that he looked at you and said, hey, there's a fruitful branch. There's somebody that is really producing the Christian life, but that person can do even better. And so he's going to now begin to prune.

Guest (Male): Welcome to The Healing Word, a radio ministry of the Largo Community Church. Here's Pastor Jack Morris with today's message that will grow your faith in God and lead you to a closer walk with Jesus.

Pastor Jack Morris: Connected to the life source. I'll think about it as I go through this message. Like I said last week, there is more in these verses of John 15 verses 1 through 10 than any of us can carry away. And I'll be coming back to this same passage in the next few weeks. There's too much here. There's just too much. But we're going to take what the Holy Spirit will give to us, supply to us, and we're going to take it out and we're going to live it for the Lord Jesus Christ, connected to the life source.

Now, Jesus was a great storyteller. He was the very best. He really was. He could take any situation and make a spiritual application. And he used he used the things that were common to people. The people saw every day. He would talk about farms and farming, sowing and reaping. Talk about fishing and fishers of men and the lilies of the field and he he would just talk about reaping and and sheep and shepherds. He would take the ordinary and he would bring it to the people, the ordinary, what they already knew, and he would make a deep spiritual application.

And that's exactly what he did in this verse of scripture that we just read just a moment ago. He took the vine and the branches and he compared that to himself and to us and to his heavenly father. Now, Israel saw a lot of vines and a lot of branches. In the day of Christ, vineyards were everywhere. This was very common sight. And Jesus took something that was very ordinary, very common. And I I think with with Ophelia and her daughter taking pictures of things that we see all the time. And yet we don't see God in it to the degree that we would like to see God in it, that God would have us see God and it would minister to our our hearts.

But Jesus took this image, this picture of the vine and the branches, even on the coins of in in Israel in that day. There was a vine and a branches. And Jesus took it and he said that the the vine was representative or symbolic of himself. The branches symbolic of his people, you and me. And the father was the gardener or the husbandman. Now, today we're going to look at four branches. And every person in here is in one of those categories. Every person in here represents one of those branches. It's not for me to say which branch is you.

You find out which one is it we go through it, okay? I'll have a little test at the end of this sermon. There is the throwaway branch. There's the pruned branch. There's the fruitful branch. And there's the connected branch. Which one are you? Now, you're going to have to think this morning. You're going to have to pay attention. And I know you do every Sunday morning, but maybe a little bit more particularly today in order to learn what we're talking about. All right, number one. We're going to look at the throwaway branch. And in verse 6 of chapter 15 of John, we read, if anyone does not remain in me.

Now, this is Jesus speaking. We set up and take tension attention, pay attention. I hope so when we know that it's Jesus doing the talking. Now, this is what he says. And it has to be true and it's going to happen exactly like he says. He's not going to say something and then after a period of time just let it sort of slide. No, nothing slides in the word of God. The word of God abides forever. Heaven and earth will pass away, but not his words. Okay, if anyone does not abide in me, he's like a branch that is thrown away and withers.

Now, notice the branch was connected at one time. It was in me, says the Lord. But it stopped bearing fruit. Here were here are people, Jesus is saying, who at one time were Christ-like. They lived the abundant Christian life. There was joy and happiness in serving God. They just couldn't wait to get the Bible in their hand and read it, go to church, sing the hymns and the courses, hear the word, uh become involved in the Sunday school, overseas missions, home missions. I mean, they were just burning up with joy and enthusiasm for the Lord.

And then something happened. Something happened. People say, oh, it's never going to happen to me, but it does happen. It does happen. And there may be some here today that it's already happened to you. So listen and get reconnected if you have been disconnected or if you have been severed by some reason. But how as I read this, I I just been pondering over it day after day. How can such a thing happen that somebody can be so connected, so what we used to say on fire for the Lord, so enthused with God? And now today they're just blah.

Nothing excites them. Nothing turns them on. A song, a hymn, a sermon, a project, a ministry. Some of them are just you know, they're they're there, but they're not there. But some of them aren't even here anymore. One day, Karen and I are down at the shopping center and we met this couple that we hadn't seen for a long time. They used to come here many many years ago. So I'm going to talk about them a little bit because nobody maybe Phil knows them. Keep quiet. And we hadn't seen him for a long time. Well, the man himself was on our board of directors.

I mean, he was in there with this church when we were pioneering. He was so filled and so excited about spiritual things. And then something happened. I don't know what happened. I really don't know what happened. But he didn't like something that went on in the church. Friend, there there will be those times. Don't don't be surprised. We're a family. You tell me that you like everything your brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers do. But you stay with them, don't you? They're still family. At least I hope you do. Well, he left the church and went to another church.

And guess what happened? In about two or three years, something happened there. And he left there. Well, we ran into him down at the shopping center. And they when they came here, they were just recently married. Didn't have any children. Now, they have three children. But the parents don't go to church anywhere now. They've just given up on church. I guess they're still looking for a perfect church. Like I used to say, if they find it, I hope they don't go in it because if they do, it won't be perfect anymore. We are imperfect people.

We do make mistakes. We do things sometimes that we don't even know that it has hurt somebody. I mean, come on, give us all a break. Cut us everyone a little bit of slack. Yeah, that was worth clapping for, That was a puny clap though, wasn't it? I don't know who did it. Well, how do we remain in Christ? How do we keep this from happening? The only thing I can think of that causes something like this to happen is neglect. That's the only word I can think of. Neglect. Number of years ago, there was the rose pole the rose bowl tournament, big parade.

I guess they have it out in Hollywood where they have these great, huge, big, beautiful floats. And I mean, expensive. And the parade was moving along and thousands of people on the parade parade route that all of a sudden the whole parade stopped. And it was the float of the Standard Oil Company, now known as Chevron. It it just shut down. And no one could get that parade going again. All that money, all that expense, all those people who flew in to watch it up and down the street. And they checked and they looked. Now, you know Standard Oil or Chevron has a lot of gasoline, don't you?

I mean, they have lots of lots of oil. And finally finally somebody found out we ran out of gas. Ran out of gasoline and somebody had to run down to the service station, get a gallon of gas and bring it back. Chevron ran out of gas in the float. What happened? They neglected to check that little needle. They just overlooked something that was so simple and something so simple shut them down. Just shut the whole thing down. So friends, listen, don't neglect. Don't neglect Jesus, your prayer life, your service, your fellowship, your ministry. Don't neglect.

Neglect is a terrible thing. And it will cause us to not function for the Lord the way we should. Now, I want you to think. There are some throwaway branches. They they they're just not functioning anymore. Some of them are are still attending church, but a lot of them have given up. People who once were just in there. I mean, really with all their hearts they were in there. Okay, don't show me your hands. Don't show me your hands. I'm going to ask you a question. Who are the throwaway branches? Who have neglected? Now, you know in your own spirit how flat you are, how passive how passé you are about spiritual things.

You know that. I I don't know it. I mean, everybody looks beautiful all the time. Really you do. This is a beautiful church. And but okay, now here we go to the next one. The next one is the pruned plant. Now, the pruned plant is a good plant. This is a fruit-bearing plant. It is being pruned in order that it might go forth and do more. Now, I verse two says Jesus again, I'm listening to Jesus. Every branch that does Now, the one the other one I just spoke about does not, but this one does bear fruit.

He prunes so that it will bear more fruit. He's pruning. Now, there's a branch. You see a branch and then it'll have a little shoot that will come off of it so far, little shoot. It doesn't bear any fruit, but it does sap the energy. It doesn't do anything, but it just pulls away the energy. So you prune those off so that the energy will stay in the in the in the main branch, in the vine, and it'll produce fruit fruit, not those little little shoots that don't don't mean anything and can't do anything. And so the Lord comes and he begins to prune.

Now, here's the question. Here's the big question. God is cutting into some of our lives. And does do the pruning sometimes hurts? I mean, when a surgeon takes away a tumor, you know, you don't get up off the table and dance out of the hospital and say the tumor's gone. No, you there's there's a time to recuperate. Now, the Holy Spirit is looking at your life. Some of you are going through some difficulties, some trials, some hard places. It just may be that he looked at you and said, hey, there's a fruitful branch. There's somebody that is really producing the Christian life.

Somebody him we just sang, the mind of Jesus, the love of Jesus, the peace of Jesus is in them and it's coming out. It's being shown and they're glorifying me. But that person can do even better. And so he's going to now begin to prune. This is said Jesus said, this is to my father's glory that you bear much fruit. Now, here's a story I'm going to tell you that I I nobody has the answer. I don't, science doesn't. But it's a phenomena that happens and it continues to happen. The first time it happened or the first time it was recorded, not the first time it happened, but the first time it was documented was in August 1973.

It's called the Stockholm syndrome. Have anybody here anybody here? You've heard okay, several of you have heard of the Stockholm syndrome. Maybe you ought to come and tell this story. You know more about it than I do. I only read about it. But the Stockholm syndrome was that this particular man was let out of prison. And when he got out of prison, he robbed the bank. He went right back to the crime. He robbed the bank and he took hostages. He took four hostages in Stockholm, Sweden. And then he says to the to the government and to the police, he said, if you do not allow me to get out of here and escape, I'm going to take their lives.

I'm going to kill them. He was very serious. They were there day after day after day in that bank. And so finally the the the the man that captured them allowed one of the prisoners to call the um the Prime Minister of Sweden. And they got the Prime Minister on the phone and she said, sir, I'm disappointed with you. This man is threatening to kill us and you're playing with our lives. And the Prime Minister still didn't do anything. Well, the days kept passing. And do you know what started happening? These hostages began to identify and become friends with their captors.

And the captors became friends with the hostages. And finally when they did get out, the the hostages couldn't tell the difference mentally, psychologically between the good guys and the bad guys. They'd been with the bad guys so long. And when they took them to court, not one hostage would testify against their captors. And many of the hostages, several of them went out and raised money for their defense. Now, this strange phenomenon has happened repeatedly, but nobody knows really what happens. But at what what it is is you begin to identify and become like those people and things, programs and entertainment and whatever it is that you continually associate with.

After a while, you don't know the difference between going to church and not going to church. Serving God and not serving God, praying and not praying. You just live the way you want to do and your life basically stays the same because you can't see any difference that going to church makes. I'm just doing it just as well not going to church. I'm doing just as well not reading the Bible. I I'm doing just as well. That's called the Stockholm uh syndrome. So what the Lord is doing, he's he's now cutting into your life and saying, hey, there are some people, some friends and even some family members you need to let go of.

Not stop loving them, not stop praying with them. But you need to a lot you you need to now here here's here here's something. This is what Bill Cosby said yesterday. I'm going to quote him a lot now. Smart man. He said, some of you will excuse a brother or sister or a cousin or a family member doing wrong because they're a family member, you'll overlook it. And you'll let him get by with it. But friends, sin is sin wherever sin is committed by you, your mother, your dad, your brother, your sister, your cousin. But we'll overlook our family members.

And pretty soon instead of them coming our way, we're leaning their way because we keep saying, well, their family, they're all right. They're all right. But friend, God is no respecter of persons. Did you hear me? You're still with me? All right. I want you to think about what God's cutting out of your life. There may be some people he's cutting out. There may be some entertainment you've been involved in. He's going to stop you. And he's going to say there's things that you're looking at, things you're listening to, things you're doing. You have to stop it or you're going to end up a throwaway.

You might still go to church every Sunday. But you're not connected to Jesus. And your life is sinning. And your life is lost. Now, why is the why is the Lord telling us this? In order to save us and to keep us, to love us, to help us, to be fruit-bearing Christians. What is it that Jesus needs to cut out of your life and my life? Okay, don't get any we're not going to pass the microphone around and let you let you start telling us what it is. All right, the third branch. We're going to go to verse five.

It's the fruitful branch. I'm going to read it. Verse five. I am the vine. You are the branches. If a man or woman remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing. You can put on a show and look like a Christian, act like a Christian, talk like a Christian. But apart from him, you don't have the power to truly effervesce Jesus Christ to your family and to your friends. Now, I I need to ask a very pertinent question. Think of the people you associate with, the entertainment you enjoy, the songs, the music, the lyrics, the entertainment world.

Every one of those things I've just mentioned. How would Jesus relate to that cousin of yours? That you know is doing wrong, but he's my cousin. She's my aunt. That's my aunt. Surely the Lord understands. No, he doesn't understand. No, he doesn't. No. Now, how would Jesus relate to that person, to that kind of entertainment? You're to relate to it like Jesus relates to it. Come on, think with me.

Guest (Male): Yeah.

Pastor Jack Morris: Think with me today. Then you'll become a fruit-bearing Christian where the Lord might just cut that branch off, but he wants to prune it. So there are things that he's maybe cutting out of your life right now. And it's not easy. The pruning isn't easy. But oh, the person he's building you into. He's making you another Jesus, another Messiah image to reflect his son here on this earth. Okay, I must hurry on real quickly. The fourth one is the connected branch. I I read a story. I got to tell you. I read a story. This native lived way back up in the mountains, came into the city.

And he had never seen an electric light before. And he always liked night time more than daytime while he was in the city because he saw all these lights go on. It was absolutely beautiful. And he was so fascinated by it. He didn't have a whole lot of money. But what money he did have, he got a big sack and he bought a whole lot of light bulbs. He bought a whole lot of switches. He bought a a lot of wire. He he put it all together, took it, went back up into the mountains. And then he began to string it up all around his house and in the trees.

And his friends came out and said, what what are you doing? What is this? He said, just just be quiet, just be patient. Wait a little wait a little darkness comes. I'm going to show you something. Wait until it gets dark. Well, the night came and all the villagers came and he said, now watch. And he went over and he flipped the switch. Nothing happened. It wasn't connected to the life source. Everything was there, visible. It looked right. But there was no connection. I don't know whether you under getting with me or not this morning.

Jesus says, apart from me, ye can do nothing. Now, we're not part-time Christians. We're not connected today and then we're going to be disconnected Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. And then we're going to try to get reconnected Friday and Saturday so we can come to church on Sunday. Friend, that is a terrible, miserable way to live. That is too exhausting. Be connected to the life source. Be connected to Jesus. He said, apart from me, ye can do nothing. Now, doing means being being productive, accomplishing something, achieving something. But apart from me, there are too many I guess I'll have to call them Christians who are not connected in and their light has gone out and it just won't come back on because they're not connected.

Friend, if you're not connected, get reconnected today. Get reconnected. You know, I cannot think I cannot think of something more tragic more tragic than Christianity without Christ. People living the lives they're living out and out disobedient to God. And they smile at you like a Christian. I can't think of a Christian anything more tragic than Christianity without Christ in it. I can't think of anything more tragic than a Sunday morning worship service and no Christ in it. I can't think of anything more tragic than preachers in the pulpit, sermons with no Christ in it, a charming sermon, an intellectual sermon, a socially sensitive sermon, but no Christ in it.

Sunday school teaching, no Christ in it. What's more tragic than that? Choir singing, no Christ in it. Special songs and music, no Christ in it. Friends, without Jesus, ye can do nothing. Nothing. But the apostle Paul said, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens us me. Hallelujah. Become a connected Christian. Become a fruit-bearing Christian. Away with the throwaway Christians. Come on back. Let God do the pruning. And if he's pruning you today and you're beginning to miss some people and you're beginning to feel a little bit lonely because Jesus has pruned that person out of your life.

You know, when you live the life before them, you don't have to tell them to go away. You don't have to separate yourself from them. They'll ignore you. It'll be easy. It'll be easy. They'll leave you alone. And when you have a taste for spiritual things, you won't have a taste for the worldly things. You'll just lose your taste buds. Now, you want to taste of the sweetness of Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord.

Guest (Male): If today's message has blessed you and strengthened your faith in God, would you consider partnering with Pastor Morris and supporting the Healing Word Ministry with your prayers and donating to keep the gospel of Jesus Christ reaching thousands, go to the healingword.com and click the donate button to pledge your support. And remember, the faith-building message you heard today is our gift to you. Your donation is your gift to God. Join us tomorrow for another Healing Word message. Until then, blessings on you.