July 20 Sermon

July 20, 1997

Daryl Ward

Carolyn Slaughter
As part of The Perfect Summer Series, Ginghamsburg Church is presenting seven great speakers who are leading their churches as they reach out in proclaiming God’s word. This week’s guest speaker, Daryl Ward, leads Omega Baptist Church, one of the most dynamic and fastest growing congregations in Dayton, Ohio. Since 1988, Omega Church has exploded from 88 people to over 2100. Daryl is a nationally sought after preacher, seminar speaker and lecturer at universities around the country. He hosts two radio programs, a talk show and has a broadcast ministry which is seen throughout Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. You will agree Daryl speaks with the power and passion of a man on fire for God.

Daryl Ward
I bring you greetings from the Omega Baptist Church in Dayton, Ohio and give greetings in his absence to Mike Slaughter, my good friend. I just thank God to be with you all again. Would you pray with me? God we love you and we praise you. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, Oh Lord, our strength, our rock, and our redeemer. Amen.
I am delighted also to have some of our staff with us. We want to learn as much as we can about how you do things at Ginghamsburg, because you’re such a blessing, not only to this community but to this country. My son, Joshua, is with me today. Last year on this day I said that my son Joshua is with me up there somewhere. I actually meant in the loft. I understand someone said, "Aw, isn’t it too bad about Daryl’s son?" He’s down here with me today. Thanks be to God.

I. The True Vine

John 15:1-15
1: I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.
2: Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
3: You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you.
4: Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
5: 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.
6: If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned.
7: If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you
8: By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.

In John the 15th chapter I’ll read a few verses for you, beginning in verse one.
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 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, thrown into the fire and burned. 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. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing, but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you."

John 15:1-15
9: As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love.
10: If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.
11: These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
12: This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
13: Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
14: You are my friends if you do what I command you.
15: No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

True
I heard it through the grapevine. That song is a song that we remember, baby boomers, some of us, we remember that song was about gossip and tattling. But this sermon is about the real grapevine. Jesus says that "I am the true vine," true vine... true. In my limited yard work experience (if my wife was here she’d say real limited), I found out in a former home that there are all kinds of vines and that some vines are imitation artists. They are able to imitate (I found this out trying to trim a bush in my back yard) the bush. They are able to imitate the leaves of the bush; and, when you trim the bush, it’s hard to tell what was the real bush and what was the fake vine. This vine, I had to trace all the way back down to the root in the soil to figure out what was the bush and what was the weed imitation vine. They came out of the same soil, they had some of the same leaves; but you know, there are two things it was hard for the imitation vine to imitate: the whole stem, but also, that imitation vine didn’t have any fruit.

Vine
Jesus was talking about vines, he was referring to grapevines, "I’m the true vine." I did some research. I found out that there are over 4000 types of grapevines, but only twelve can be used for wine making. The art of viticulture (it’s true, I didn’t know this before I prepared for the sermon either), the art of wine-making. There is evidence that from the year 2000 BC they’ve been doing that - making wine with grapes. Also, remember what Noah did after the flood? The first thing he did was plant a vineyard. But the search for the right vine means everything.
There’s one vine in France that’s been producing wine since the year 1106. The vineyards in California, they took grapevines from Europe and transported them across the ocean, and in wagon trains carried them carefully across this continent to get them to the right soil in California to produce the vine. Jesus says He is the true vine. Jesus is the root out of Jesse, He’s out of the soil of the story of Israel, He is the son of David, He’s David seed promised in eternal reign, Jesus is the King of kings, Lord of lords, He’s the final and ultimate consummate result of the line of David.

John 14:6
6: Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me."

In John 14:6 He says "I am the way, the truth and the light. No one comes to the Father but by me." True vine. It’s true, but this thing of vines, I want to understand beyond the fact that there are 4000 vines. I want to understand more about vines. You know, every definition of vine that I could find, defined it like this: weak and without a strong stem. Jesus? Weak and without a strong stem? Weak? I don’t like anybody talking about Jesus like that. I got an attitude, I’ll tell you the truth. I have a problem. Weak and without a strong stem? Why in the world would Jesus call himself a vine if that’s the definition of vine? Weak and without a strong stem.

Then I thought about the Old Testament images of God and Christ are much stronger, cedars of Lebanon -- now that’s an image. A mighty fortress is our God. A rock.

Then I realized that in the New Testament the images of Christ are humbling, like a vine. Meek and lowly Jesus, born in a manger, homeless birds of the air have nests, foxes have holes, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. He died on a cross between two common criminals. Why Jesus would call himself a vine and not a cedar? Do you know what a cedar does? A cedar goes straight up, strong and mighty. But you know what a cedar is? It is like the image of a relationship between one person and God. Reaching for the sky.
It’s okay, but I realize that what a vine does, is that a vine spreads horizontally. It spreads over the ground. One vine can cover many acres, and one vine can create many new plants. Then I understood why Jesus was a vine, that Jesus spreads horizontally, the love of Christ goes from heart to heart and breast to breast. Then I asked myself, am I a cedar or am I a vine? Am I reaching up by myself touching the sky, or am I spreading? Is my church a towering steeple or a transforming community? Is my vertical relationship with God through Christ translated into a horizontal relationship with a community around me? Am I making a difference in the world? Am I touching lives, changing hearts? I want to be a vine.

II. The Branches

John 15:5
5: 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.

Isaiah 60:21-22
21: Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land for ever, the shoot of my planting, the work of my hands, that I might be glorified.
22: The least one shall become a clan, and the smallest one a mighty nation; I am the Lord; in its time I will hasten it.

Then in verse 5, He says that we are the branches. The church, we’re the branch. Mike Slaughter understands this. Isaiah 60: 21-22 "Thy people also shall ... inherit the land forever. The branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I might be glorified, the little ones shall become a thousand, and the small one a strong nation. I, the Lord, will hasten it in His time." Verses 4 and 5: The branches draw strength from the vine, as the church we’re nothing without Jesus.
Too many churches have lost it, they’ve missed it. We’ve gotten our fill on our own Jesus, Creator, and we say, "we got it, Jesus, we’re in charge." The branches are nothing without the vine. They draw strength from the vine. Just as the sap is the blood of the plant, the Holy Spirit is the strength of the church. Branches bless the vine in two ways. They bless the vine with leaves and with fruit. Leaves and fruit are not the same thing.

Leaves
Leaves are like the works of the church, we’re the branches, we have these leaves that sprout out. I like to think of those like the works of the church. I did some more research. Went back to elementary school. How many of you remember the word "photosynthesis?" How many can spell it? Photosynthesis is like taking the glory of the sun to the vine. Green plants use the energy of sunlight to manufacture carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and water. The leaves glorify the vine, that we bring in glory to the vine, and that’s our job. We’re to bring glory to the vine. We’re to bring light and energy to the vine. The vine is Jesus.
The problem is too many churches are full of folks with portfolios of leaves. Service on the Pastor/Parish Relations committee, gift of a new wing to the church, serving in the choir. Now the problem is, if you’re getting the glory, then something is wrong. I want to give glory to the vine. I want to give glory to Jesus.

Titus 3:5
5: he saved us, not because of deeds done by us in righteousness, but in virtue of his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit,

Titus 3:5 says "Not by works of righteousness which you have done but according to his mercy he saved us by washing, regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit." Matthew 5:16 says "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

Galatians
15:22
22: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

Fruit
Fruit, on the other hand - if you don’t remember anything, don’t miss this. Most of my definitions of fruit have to do with what week we’re on and where we’ve been and how we’ve served and how we bless God. Oh, hallelujah! The only definition of fruit I could find, biblical definition of fruit, not our definition - is the biblical definition of fruit in Galatians 5:22: "But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance. Of such there is now law."

II. The Vine Dresser

See, this is not about production. It’s about relationships. It’s not about the altitude of the steeple, it’s about the attitude of the people. It’s not about my gift, but God’s grace. It’s not about church growth, but godly communities. One more thing. This is the hard part. I’ve got to deal with this. If Jesus is the vine, we are the branches, that makes God the husbandman, the vine dresser, the viticulturalist. What does He do? The word says that He cuts away the fruitless branches. He casts them into the fire. There are many leafy branches that will be burned up, many haters of community, destroyers of diversity, hoarders of wealth, burned up.
That sounds hard. Sounds harsh, but, the vine dresser, the husbandman, has purpose. We forget what this is all about. Remember those people who took those vines from Europe and brought them all the way to California, carefully holding them, keeping them in water, taking care of them, going on wagon trains across this continent? God is like that.
There is a reason for the vine. There is a reason for the church. There is a purpose for the church. Through forty and two generations, God has prepared just the right vine. We are the branches and God designs fruit - love, joy, peace, long suffering - and you know what He deserved? He prunes the fruitful branches. How? Through pruning, the ritual cleansing is the same work, through the word of God - not through pesticides, fertilizer, tiller - but the Word. Not by Chemlawn, but the Word.

Psalm 119:105
105: Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Isaiah 40:8
8: The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand for ever.

Ephesians 5:26
8: that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,

Psalm 119 says that "Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." Isaiah 40:8 says "The grass withers and the flower fades but the word of our God will stand forever." Ephesians 5:26 says that he might sanctify and cleanse the church with the washing of the water by the Word, so that we might be presented as a glorious church without spot or wrinkle. Sometimes God removes stuff even that we love and that we think we need because he wants us to abide in the vine.
You might be going through some hard times right now, but it might be God pruning you, so that you can abide in Him.

John 15:11
11: These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

Living In The Vine
Then, finally, verse 11 makes it all plain. Jesus said, "These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full." The husbandman, the vine, the branches, the fruit, all so that your joy might be full. Abide in the vine. So that your joy might be full. You know, I’ve got money, I’ve got cars, I’ve got land, I’ve got the things I work hard for, I’ve got a good job, but something is missing. "I do all of this so that your joy might be full." Abide in the vine.
When I did some research, some biblical research, I found out that John says, " That your joy might be full." John is the only one who uses that phrase. Nobody but John. Why is it that when you find something like that, that means something, the writer John is the only one who says "that my joy might be full." Then I realize that it was John who was at the Last Supper, and it was John who described himself as having his head on the Lord’s shoulder. John who said he was the disciple who Christ loves most. John who kept his head on the Savior’s lap. John who understood meaning on the bosom of Jesus. John who understood that his power came from his direct relationship with Christ.
Adam and Eve were alright as long as they were abiding in the word, but then they leaned on the serpent instead of God’s word. They messed up. Samson was doing great until he leaned on Delilah’s lap. David was doing great until he leaned over Bathsheba’s balcony. Abide in the vine! Peter walked on the water, was doing great until he looked at the storm and said "I’m looking at Jesus." When we abide in the vine, I want to abide like Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego. I want to abide like Daniel in the lion’s den. I want to abide like Stephen who could be stoned but look up to heaven and see the heavens opening up. I want to abide.

Romans 8:35-39
35: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36: As it is written, "For thy sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered."
37: No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
38: For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,

Paul says in Romans 8:35-39, my favorite verse:
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? As it is written, ‘for thy sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
What a fellowship! What a joy divine! Leaning on the everlasting arms. What a blessedness! What a peace of mine. Leaning on the everlasting arms. What have I to dread? What have I to fear? Leaning on the everlasting arm. I have blessed peace. With my God so near. Leaning on the everlasting arms. Who are you leaning on? I’m leaning on Jesus, safe and secure from all the wrongs, leaning on the everlasting arms.
Let us pray. Jesus, sometimes, not purposefully, I’ve leaned on so many other things. They keep falling short. Today, as I remember you and the Lord’s Supper, I want to remember to lean nowhere else but on Jesus, the gospel of Jesus Christ. Not my mama, not my daddy, not my husband, not my children, not my friends - but Jesus. Amen.
There are so many answers that the world keeps trying to give us. If your joy doesn’t feel quite up to snuff, try the psychic hotline. If your joy isn’t quite right, we’ve got some medicines that can fix your equilibrium right up.
There’s only one real permanent everlasting, it’s worked for 2000 years -- abide in the vine, that your joy might be full. How do I know? I heard it through the grapevine.