Fruit in Season: Tending the Roots

well hey hey hey hey hey so good to be with you all today grab a chair yep grab a seat so great to be with you uh if we have not yet had the pleasure to meet my name is Luke like Pastor David said I Pastor Journey Church in Redmond it has been a minute and a half that's that's a slang it actually has not been a minute and a half it's been a while since I have had the opportunity to worship with y'all on a Sunday as a matter of fact I was looking back at some of my notes the last time I was here Pastor Keith and I did a Sur swap on Valentine's Day of 2021 18 months ago we got to do a service swap together you know my friend Pastor Keith I love him he's he's a dear friend of mine and he uh we keep saying you know what why don't we why don't we do swap why don't you come up to Redman and I'll come to Ben okay cool let's do that we'll talk about that and then like

two three months go by like hey let's do another swap again that was so much fun like yeah let's do that and we'll plan it and then 2 three months go by and then 18 months goes by but I am here with you today and it's such an honor and a privilege to to be able to spend some time with you little bit about me if you didn't know I think I got a picture oh you already got it right there okay so this is my family and uh this was a real photo my wife will probably kill me that that's the one I chose to bring uh but they were like yo let us see your family and so uh my beautiful wife Stacy here and I uh celebrated SE 16 years of marriage uh this last May uh my little you see my little like our little Einstein hair child his name is saurin he was our covid baby after seven years of of our our oldest two we had him in the middle of the pandemic and my youngest son or my oldest son bejor down there in the corner he is 11 years old

y'all pray for me I got a tween at home and I'm trying to figure out what it's like with the rolling of the eyes and the attitude I'm just not used to that and my little girl Emma she's 9 years old and I've told her that she's disobedient to her dad every day she gets older and every day she gets bigger she's breaking my rules cuz she just needs to stay the way she is but we are blessed uh you know to be a part of I'm blessed to have such an amazing family and I'm blessed to be a part of such an amazing family you know what God is doing here through Journey Church and we call it the journey family churches because we truly are we're family together while we might be in Redmond and you might be in Ben and it may not seem like there's a lot of co-mingling or what's going on we share the same Mission we share the same vision and we're here to lead people on a journey of transformation in Jesus and it's so amazing to see what God is doing in central organ through our churches

combined together as a family I want to give a big old shout out to your pastors Pastor Keith and Kara ker Patrick are just so full of Faith they're amazing amazing man and woman of God and I know y'all miss them and I know you're like hey this is not Keith who is this guy and I know he's coming back not too long from now and I know that they've been enjoying their time of peace and of rest and come on you guys need to give it up for the team that's here today holding it together Pastor David John Ryan Chelsea the team here Pastor Noah and Hannah with the office team I mean you guys have such an amazing church here at joury church in Bend and it is such an honor TR truly it is an honor for me to be here with you today together if you don't know a little bit about let me tell you a little bit about our story we started out of Journey Church in Bend in February of 2020 we launched on Journey Church Ben's 10year anniversary was our

one day birthday we got three whopping whole weeks as a church before covid-19 shut us down but you know God opened up some amazing doors when I look at the story of how we are where we are today I I could not have told myself that story if I was to go back and to try to tell myself three years ago where we would be today as a family as a church as friends as just in in the seasons of life I would have not believed it but as we went with Journey Church and bend on television and and we're able to televise our services all throughout Central Oregon God was going before the work that we had planned and building a foundation long before we had ever had anything to do with that in 2021 we relaunched in January and we merged with the church or rather a church in Redmond merged with us Hanah over their facility to us we actually took over another

facility the same church that operated this place uh when before you were here we took over the same same facility in Redmond and so there's so many parallels in our story together and God has just done some amazing things we just got back last night I came in last night with our family Camp it was the first time we ever at Journey Church in Redmond took 33 families up to East Lake Resort out in the uh Newberry volcanic Monument we had some time of devotion just building each other so if I look a little bit red yes yes I get sunburn gingers if you know what I'm talking about those of us who have blonde or red hair you know our tan level is either like stark white or red that's it there's nothing in between it's just freckles and that's it so we had a great time with our family camp and God has been doing some amazing things at Journey Church in red I just want to celebrate just because if it had not been for the church or for the faith of

this church for the faith of the leadership here at this place to to see the need and to see the the the desire to plant churches that are life-giving churches in the communities around uh Bend in the central Oregon we would not be where we are today but listen friends you need to know this last Sunday we saw was our our our our threshold where we crossed for this year we saw 300 decisions for Jesus Christ just by last Sunday so from January to August in the middle of August the beginning of August we've seen 300 decisions for Jesus that was more than we saw all of last year combined and we're just so grateful for what God is doing we're so honored that we get to partner with Journey Church in a couple of weeks and to be a part of uh Church in the park where we're going to import Redmond uh Journey Church and Redmond down into Ben and we're going to team up together and we're looking forward to spending some time with you

today or today then but I'm looking forward to spending some time with you today well if you got a Bible I want you to grab your Bibles out and I want you to turn with me to the Book of Luke Luke is uh the the third gospel turn with me to the Book of Luke in the 13th chapter as as uh you guys just finished last week uh the gospel of Mark and man Pastor David sent it out with some fire come on was anybody here last week with that that was I was watching online like shouting him down like come on now send me so um you know turn to Luke the the 13th chapter I want to just take you through we're kind of just going to spend a moment today I just want to talk to you about something that God's been putting on that God has put on my heart that if there's anything that I have been walking through in this area or of this this time of my life it's it's this message and when I was praying about what to speak to Journey Church and what to what to bring to my home church for

what God wants to do in your lives cuz I believe God wants to do something amazing through this place and I believe that you know our slogan at journey is is The Best Is Yet To Come and there's hope for everybody and I know that our best days are in front of us and not behind us and with that in mind I just wanted I just want to love on you a little bit today I just want to encourage you today with some word with some some encouragement maybe you're in this place maybe you're a little discouraged maybe you're in this place you're kind of wondering what the future might hold maybe you're looking at your own life your own faith something in your life that's valuable or important to you and you're trying to figure out how to make this work and today I just want to I want to walk you through an encouragement of scripture that we hear very regularly but often times we don't see the full story of the picture and so with that I want to take you to Luke Chapter 13 and this is a parable that Jesus teaches his followers now what Jesus is doing is he's teaching his

followers this Parable this Parable is about the the Israelites the people the nation of Israel who at this moment in time at this place in time in Jesus's Ministry and at the time of History had focused more of their intentions and more of their efforts towards religion towards the institution and towards the law than the closeness of God who was the leader of all of these institutions this laws and these traditions and as Jesus was teaching he taught this Parable in Luke chap 13 in verse number six and it says he says these words it says Jesus told this Parable a man had a fig tree planted in his Vineyard and he came seeking fruit on it and found none and he said to the vine dresser look for 3 years now I have come seeking fruit on

this fig tree and I find none cut it down why should it use up the ground and he said this is divine the the the the vine Master he said these words he said and he answered him sir let it alone this year also until I dig around it and I put manure on it then if it should bear fruit next year well and good and if not we can cut it down it's kind of a simple story something we've probably all done before in our lives I've got this apple tree that I planted 3 years ago and it's in this pot and my wife assures me every year that we're going to see some resemblance of fruit some type of something on there and every year as it comes it blossoms and every year the leaves grow and it gets a little bit bigger and then every year I get disappointed because there's no apples and it's like and know I'm kind

of in the same position of my life right now where I'm like telling my wife listen it's wasting space and I'm tired of water in this thing it's not doing any any fruit it's not doing any good I'm ready to cut it down and my wife's like the vine dresser she's like just wait just wait just wait I promise something will happen with that and so you know with the patience of the Lord I'm waiting on this apple tree to Bear some fruit but here's a story that Jesus is telling he's giving us a parable and the parable is about this tree this tree represents the people of God in this season of time and in this place in history that was the Israelites the people who were justified by God through his law the people that were called out in the world around them by the ways that they followed God through their Traditions but in this moment in time for you and I it's us those of us who put our faith and our trust in Jesus Christ those who of us who are seeking who are looking for the answers that are found in Jesus Christ and the parable is

a story of us of people and that the master comes and looks at this and expects there to be fruit on this tree but yet after season after season Time After Time can't seem to find any fruit so finally gets to the place of frustration to say cut the fruit down but here is the fascinating part about this Parable the vine dresser the vine dresser that says wait wait wait wait wait let's just pause for a moment I understand the frustration I understand that the practicality of cutting a tree that's not doing anything down but give me some time that's important to understand give me some time to address the roots of this tree and let's see that if we can get a healthy root to Bear some fruit in our lives see the story is about us the story has everything to do about us and the story has everything to do about our lives because here's what we see in this and

it's it's this is not what I'm about to tell you is not going to blow your mind it's not going to bake your noodle it's not going to like wow that's what I came to hear here's what it is is that the environment that we are planting in if we are to use ourselves as the analogy of a living organism like this fig tree that the soil around Our Roots our life our soul affects the quality of the fruit that we bear in our lives some of yall said wow I was really surprised about that I just figured you knew that I mean you go to Lowe's you buy a bag of manure you buy a bag of potting soil that's just part of it but the soil to which we are planted in directly affects the quality of the fruit of Our Lives a couple of years back it feels like to me it feels to me like it was a previous lifetime preco I used to be a coffee snub and you know any any coffee snobs in this place today you know what I mean by like coffee snobs you know what I'm talking about like you you know you're bold enough to

raise your hand like I am a coffee snob that's right I can judge coffee I remember before we moved to Central Oregon I had a friend and he started a a Roastery and it was a it was a kind of a Roastery that that wanted to give back to the community so for every bag of coffee they sold that they gave a 10 pounds of food to the local food bank and whatever community that bag was sold and it was awesome but I remember I was hanging out my friend's Roastery and he was telling me all all the sorts of different things about the beans and I I loved I say loved because Co ruined this for me I lost my taste buds in 2020 never got them back for coffee and the Lord was pruning something in my life and I loved coffee I was a coffee snob I was all about that a single origin you know unique beans I love that don't give me none of that blend don't give me none of that listen some of you are in this place like I'm all right with my no do not give me that burnt Starbucks I do

not want that I want finally light brown roasted single origin he was teaching me as he was doing this cupping we were going through this roasting process and and as you're learning to roast these beans you roast them at different times and different temperatures and they look different and then you kind of crack the beans and you do that and you do this it's it's called a cupping where you taste the coffee coffee if you've ever bought a bag of coffee you saw in the bag of coffee it says like it has you know tastes like caramel or it tastes like honey and you're like I don't get that those are the notes that the Coffee Bean or the Cherry carries with it he was explaining that the unique thing about the notes of coffee beans are those notes those flavor profiles those hints that you get and some of these single origin beans are are are directly affected by the crops that that surround these coffee Farms so for example if you like Colombian coffee that South

American blend it's a very earthy a very a very wholef flavored type of coffee that's why it's the most popular of all the coffees maybe you like the Brazilian or the South American the deep down there a very nutty blend same thing with Indonesian Sumatra coffee you're like me I like eastern African coffee I like Tanzania and Kenyan coffee and that's a very floral it's a very citrusy why because of what is growing in the soil around these coffee farms and these trees directly affects the byproduct or the output of these particular coffee beans so dependent upon where you get the bean also depends on what the flavor profile of that bean looks like some of you are like wow that blew my mind all that to tell you that the environment of the

soil directly affects the fruit of the organism and that's what the story is All About is focusing on the fruit but not looking at the fruit looking at the root because there's something that we need to understand about what fruit is fruit is here it is fruit is the byproduct of our identity and our environment that's what fruit is it's the byproduct of our our identity and of our environment see so when I say it's the byproduct of our identity you know that there are nearly 7,500 variants of apple trees in the United States today but every type of apple tree will only bear whatever type of DNA is in that apple tree organism or in those cells so the most rare of all

apples is the Arkansas black the most common is the red delicious and all across the world apple trees all around the world in all different seasons are bearing apples but a red delicious tree cannot bear an Arkansas black apple and an Arkansas black apple cannot become a red delicious apple tree why because it's the byproduct of the DNA Jesus says it like this in Matthew 12 he says that either make a tree good and its fruit good or a tree bad and its fruit bad why a tree is known by its fruit now if you have ever been in church for any amount of time that you know that we talk about fruit in the gospel Jesus's words and we use that equation for our lives often this verse that Jesus was talking about a tree is known by its fruit because

what Jesus is actually saying here is he was talking to his opponents the Pharisees the religious zealots that were continually opposing everything he was saying continually trying to shut him down continually trying to stop what Jesus's message of the Kingdom of Heaven Was to the people around him and Jesus was telling the people you'll know them you'll understand them it's evident what they are a good tree will produce good fruit a bad tree will produce bad fruit and basically what he was saying as he was saying that he was looking at the Pharisees saying that's a bad treat you will see it it's obvious they're leveraging religion over you they're leveraging tradition over you they exalt themselves in high places and they put you down for their benefits and he says you will know a tree by its fruit but fruit is the byproduct not just of the

DNA because a good tree can only produce good fruit a bad tree can produce bad fruit a strawberry plant can only make strawberries watermelons can only be watermelons grapes can only be grapes is anybody hungry yet but it's also the product of our environment and so what what Jesus is teaching Us in this Parable is that we have got to understand what is the DNA what is the identity of Our Lives because if you're looking at the fruit of your life if you and I are judged by our fruit as Jesus says we will see it we will know it people will know who you are not by what you say you do by what you actually do you ever heard in culture it says it like this actions speak louder than y'all know that why

because you're known by what you do not just by what you say and we live in a world today where everybody says one thing and does something else so what does that create it creates division it creates frustration it creates divide in our culture why because we're tired of people saying something and doing something else so Jesus teaches us that what we do with our lives is the byproduct of what is on the inside of us Jesus says something like this with our words later on he says that out of the abundance of our heart we speak and other words what is on the inside will eventually make its way out so when we talk about fruit when you look at your life when you look at my life when we look at those who are around us and we're judging trees by their fruit

here's what we're looking at we're looking at the byproduct of their identity a tree can only produce or an organism can only produce after its own kind so when we see malice when we see hatred when we see division when we see uh when we see fights and when we see uh uh deception what is that coming from that's the tree known by its fruit that is what is inherently the question for each and every one of us today then is what is our identity what are we rooted in what is that what is it that makes us us so that we can bear the fruit that resembles God because here's the reality Jesus did not come to die on a cross to make you better I hope you get this Jesus came he died on a cross and was resurrected on the third day seated at

the hand of the right hand of God today to make you brand new why Paul says that in Christ the old has passed away your DNA your family's Legacy the anger the upset that you used to feel the wounds and the pains that you carry through the course of your life that died in the grave upon the rece receiving of Jesus Christ and now what is resurrected and what is alive in you is a brand new set of genetics and the genetics that is inside of you is the genetics of the kingdom of heaven and now the fruit that you bear in your life is a byproduct of your identity in Christ and we love fruit man Christians love fruit we like to talk about fruit all the time Paul writes about the fruits of the spirit the fruits of the

flesh the the gospel is a fruity gospel not a that kind of fruity though but there's something that happens to each and every one of us I find this this is what I've been walking through my life is we get so fruit minded we start to ask the question where's the fruit I put my faith in Jesus where's the fruit in that I started giving I started tithing I started believing in God for my finances where's the fruit in that I started being a better husband to my wife or a better wife to my husband where's the fruit in that I'm expecting change I'm so we're so fruit minded like the m of this fig tree that we come expecting fruit day after day after day that we begin to neglect what is the source of that fruit and that comes from the roots and there's something that we need to

recognize particularly for those of you who are following Jesus those of you who are seeking Jesus or those of you who are looking to find the answers in Jesus Christ there's something that we need to know through the course of Our Lives that many of us forget as we get so fruit minded in our lives that God Place something in this world in all of creation it's a law it cannot be broken it cannot be changed and it will never be tweaked because God instituted this and this is something that each and every one of us need to understand and is the concept of Seasons see we get so fruit minded that all of a sudden we start to wonder where's the fruit where's the fruit where's the fruit my marriage isn't doing what I thought I should do where's the fruit I put my faith in Jesus and I

thought my emotions were going to change where's the fruit I thought that things were going to get better when I follow Jesus Christ where's the fruit where's the fruit where's the fruit and here's the problem many of us today myself included we mistake fruit as progress fruit and progress are not one and the same let me tell you why because systems can bring progress machines can give us progress we can we can create progress on our own the only thing on Earth that can generate fruit is a living breathing organism and Jesus often equates us as a fruit bearing vessel but there's

something that we have to recognize God made a covenant like I told you it's an irrefutable law it cannot be changed it cannot be tweaked if you know the story of Noah's Arc I'm not going to take you to that story but perhaps you know the story of the great flood and God decided to change everything on the world because Humanity had gotten so evil in their roots that he was going to rooted out through this flood and so Noah builds this Ark God calls him to do so and he brings the animals and this the story of this this guy on a big boat for 40 days is out on the water all of the sudden this boat hits the ground and now Noah makes the sacrifice he builds an altar to God and in Genesis chapter 8 tells us about the sacrifice and this altar to God and it says that God made a covenant with himself God said listen to this in his own heart he said these words he said while their Earth

remains there will always be look at this seed time and harvest cold and heat summer and winter day and night while the Earth remains God made this Covenant with himself while it remains there will always be seed time and harvest cold and hot summer and winter day and night I don't know about you I love summer most of the year I can't wait for summer and when it's short and the days are like in that summer in that winter solstice in the middle of December and it's cold it gets dark at like 4 o'clock and it gets light at like 9 o' I'm

thinking about summer what 85 Degree Days feel like what 90 I live in redond what 100 degree days feel like just thinking like I'm gonna go to the lake I'm gonna go to the river I'm gonna get a sunburn we're going to go have a good day I love summer one thing I found out about summer in Central Oregon is you earn it you earn every inch of it you earn every day of it you just long for it this last June when we were like summer where you at come on summer where you at come on this the June Gloom was here and none of us were happy about that one but listen most of us also know that summer when summer comes because you earn it you work it and I'll tell you I don't know if it's you but to me by the time Labor Day comes around I'm sitting there like ragged tired and my eyes are bloodshot like I can't wait for

winter see there's a beauty in Seasons there's a beauty in day and night there's a beauty in hot and cold there's a beauty in in summer and winter listen there's a beauty in seed time and harvest and we can get so fruit minded in our lives and we can get so frustrated in our faith and we can get so discouraged because we're not seeing fruit in our lives that we begin to look at God we begin to look at Jesus we begin to question our faith we begin to look at the systems around us and ask the question maybe this wasn't where I was supposed to be maybe this wasn't what I was supposed to do when the reality is is that God reminds us time and time again in creation there is a time to plant and there is a time to to reap and we get so fruit minded that often we begin to neglect the byproduct

of what that fruit comes from and that's the system of the roots Jesus says these words in John chapter 15 Jesus says it like this he's telling his disciples this is one of the last conversation Jesus has with his disciples before he is sent off to the high priest Caiaphas his house to be tried with a mock trial and then eventually sent to the cross cross with the crucifixion and Jesus tells us followers this is his last dissertation to his followers and he says in John chap 15 he says these words he says I am the True Vine now he says True Vine why because the nation of Israel had already been likened to a Vine a Vine of Life a Vine of Plenty a Vine of God's provision but the problem was this Vine wasn't producing this Vine wasn't doing what people thought it

would do why because this Vine was built on religion this Vine was built on tradition this Vine was built on laws that people continually could not hold up to nor did they choose to they focused on their Traditions more than the one who gave them those Traditions so Jesus comes and says now I Jesus and the True Vine he goes on he says it like this and my father is the vine dresser and every Branch verse two in me that does not bear fruit he takes away and every branch that he Bears he prunes that it might bear more fruit Jesus says this and he kind of throws Us in there he says you have already you are already clean this word prune that we see in the New Testament right here is also the sense of cleansing that's what pruning is is cleansing says you are already clean because of the word which I have

spoken to you now Jesus says these words he says abide in me and I in you because the branch cannot bear fruit of itself but unless it abides in the vine neither can you unless you abide in me again Jesus Jesus says these words I am the vine you are the branches he who abides in me and I in him Bears much fruit look at this and he says but without me you can do nothing but wait a minute look at the world around us look at the progress that our world has seen look at technology we're in an airconditioned facility we have light on demand we have heat on demand we have climate on demand we have technology that dri D us from

point A to point B we've figured out how to figure out the solar systems we've put people on the moon and we've looked at telescopes and seen into the past because we've seen so far into time that the light hasn't even approached us yet look at all the things we have done but Jesus says without me you can do nothing why remember fruit and progress are not the same thing see we can progress we can have results we can do some pretty amazing things God created us in His image imagers to be able to create something but there is something that only God can do and that is to create something from nothing and while you and I were nothing in our sin he breathed life into us

through Jesus Christ and now Jesus tells his followers that while you might be able to find progress in the world around you you can do nothing unless you are connected to me the source of life in the vine why because I am where you get your DNA from so he reminds us to abide to stay in there but the problem is is that we don't even understand necessarily what it means to abide what does it mean to abide in Jesus if you've been in church for any amount of time I love this verse I preached about this verse 15 different times in my life abide simply means this it means to live stay and dwell boy that's a beautiful organic picture like divine and the branch like just kind of like just stay connected to Jesus and life comes

whatever that means is what we do but see when Jesus was telling his followers abide in me I the vine and you are the branch they weren't picturing and some organic connection to stay close to Jesus forever and I'll I'll bear fruit because I'm close to Jesus they understood exactly what Jesus said it wasn't some organic loose-fitted connection of just stay around and stay in the vicinity have no it was this Jesus tells us later on in John chapter 15 if you keep my Commandments What does it mean to abide this is the root this is the soil this is that manure that Luke was talking about in this parable of Jesus let me address what this root is let me take the words of Jesus and abide in those live stay and dwell in those words live stay and dwell in those commands what Jesus says I accept that is true what

Jesus tells me to do I live it out as best as I possibly can what Jesus tells me I am a of myself I believe in that with the faith in Jesus Christ that's what Paul tells us about is what faith is all about is that we recognize and believe that what Jesus said is true and we live in it and we hold it and we accept it as the ultimate truth of our life not just some little bit of over here and a little bit over here God you can have my marriage and God you can have my workplace but God you don't get my private time no no no no no no no that's not abiding Jesus says listen to my words heed my Commandments live in my Commandments and your father in heaven will hear your prayers and he will answer those prayers to abide in Jesus is not some loose-fitting organic idea of just staying close to Jesus because none of us actually know what that means

today to abide in Jesus means to take what Jesus said as the truth to take what Jesus did as gospel and to live our lives every day with that being the true north of Our Lives that begins then to focus on the roots of our soul because remember fruit is the byproduct of your DNA of what is in you your identity and your environment so you might be in Christ because you've given your Heth your heart and your life to Jesus Christ man your salvation settled Heaven is in front of you you can Rejoice you know where you're headed but you still have an environment around you that you've got to begin to work on what are you planted in what is the soil of your soul doing to the fruit of your life as we look at what fruit in in season is all about we get so focused on results I

wonder if we're even looking at the roots in our own lives about a month ago I had the opportunity to go visit Napa California for the first time and Napa is amazing it is gorgeous mile after mile after mile of Vineyards and we had some pastors that we consider mentors to us and they were taking us out to dinner there and nap and they were explaining all the different types of grapes and these grapes grow On the Sunny Hills and these grapes grow on the Shaded parts and these grapes grow in the higher parts and these grapes grow in the lower parts and they're all very different and these are the types of wines that come from that but here's what I found fascinating about this idea of roots fruits and seasons is this grapes only bear fruit four months out of the Year think about that for a moment for four months out of the year there's a

flower and then there's a pod and then there's grapes but what about the other eight months the thing that was amazing as we were walking through some of these grapes had been harvested is there was just sticks there was nothing left they had already come through and pruned them and they'd already come through and I learned something about these Vineyards and these Vines grapes can only grow on one year-old wood so when you plant a grape vineyard and it grows it grows and what happens is in the springtime in the season for growth and all of a sudden that that that stick or that vine produces a bud that bud produces a stock or a Little Chute that Chute as it grows throughout the course of the season after one year becomes What's called the wood the wood now the next year that's oneyear old wood the next year that bud that vine that stock that was oneyear old produces a bud but this time that

bud is not a Vine that bud is a flower and out of that flower comes the grapes and Out Of Those Grapes comes the Harvest but after one year the next year that vine will produce or that Chute will produce another bud but that bud will be a a stock and now it will continue to grow so there's this constant process of cutting away and adding to cutting away and adding to building the soil up and removing leaves building the soil up and removing sticks building the soil up and removing it's sea time and harvest it's day and night it's hot and it's cold and it's a season thing so that for four months out of the year there's actually evidence that there's life on that vine I wonder how many of us are in a place where we're wondering where the fruit is of Our Lives we're saying why

am I not seeing fruit why am I not seeing what I thought God was going to do why am I not getting that breakthrough why am I not seeing the results that I thought I was going to see the preacher on the stage told me I'd see these results why am I not seeing that and remember the promise of God that as long as the Earth remains it will be seed time and harvest hot and cold day and night Springtime or summer and winter and we get so minded on the fruit of Our Lives that sometimes we begin to neglect what's actually happening in the roots of Our Lives the beautiful part friends is Jesus is that answer see Jesus is the answer to both of these root and fruit Jesus is the answer to our DNA and Jesus is the answer to our environment if we don't know what's going on in our lives if we're beginning to see things in our

lives that we don't want that we don't want to see that we're wondering where did this come from it's time for us to get a DNA swap I have a friend of mine he had a very rare blood disease the only cure for this Blood disease that he had was he had to go on a global search through his Hospital Network to find somebody with the exact exact right blood cells for his body and they had to drain his bone marrow that carried his DNA and his blood and they had to drain all of that which carried his process or his DNA out of his body and they had to replace that inside his bones and in his veins with somebody else's blow marrow and blood the wild thing about it is as they said listen your DNA changes after this procedure your blood types A

different blood type you might have grown up with brown hair you might get blonde hair now we were joking with him we were like yo you might have got a woman's DNA bro like a like you see his DNA his identity what was on the inside of him changed Jesus is exactly that it's a transfusion of life if you're looking around what's on the inside of me what are these thoughts what are these things what are these emotions that I'm feeling friends it's time for a transfusion of the life and the DNA of Jesus Christ and and from that of the world if you're looking around saying where's the fruit of my life where's the frustration I don't see anything happening right now maybe it's time to begin to toil to begin to till the ground the environment around you who are you with as Jesus says abide in me what does that mean that means to stay live and dwell in his Commandments

this is what the church is for when Jesus in Matthew 16:18 said upon the rock the Revel that Jesus is the son of God he says I will build my church and the Gates of Hell will not Prevail against it he was not talking about a building he was not talking about a place to gather on a Sunday at 8:30 in the morning or 9:00 in the morning he was talking about you and he was talking about me his people you see so often we get so focused on what's happening or what's not happening that we stop to we neglect to see what is the root of Our Lives the answer to this question the answer to the frustration the answer to the pondering of what is happening in my life is Jesus Jesus see Jesus is our DNA through through salvation our belief in him Jesus is our environment by placing us into the body of Christ we have like Roman says and he uses the illustration

of Israel the vine being transplanted a wild Vine out in the middle of nowhere been transplanted into the vine of life now God has given us the life God has given us the source through Jesus Christ now it is our responsibility and our time to recognize that there are seasons of Plenty and there are seasons of few there are seasons of growth and their seasons of pruning and when we look at the course of our life to not allow ourselves to be so frustrated or flustered with the lack of progress that we're not seeing to recognize that if we are rooted in Jesus that we will bear fruit if our environment is rooted in Jesus that we will bear fruit and here's the best part about fruit fruit's not for you your

fruit is not yours the vine doesn't eat its grapes the apple tree doesn't eat its apples your fruit is for somebody else and God is working something in you perhaps you look at what's going on right now what's happening around us what's going on in the season what's going on what's going on here listen friends there's a season of day and night of harvest and Seed time that God is at work doing just because you don't see something happening does not mean that God's not doing something behind the scenes in your life to put your faith and your trust in Jesus Christ to put your faith and your trust in Jesus that he would shift your identity to who

he has called you to be and also to put your environment in him to say yes God what your words say I'll believe tell me to do it I'll do it this is your Commandments life and truth and some some of us today you know we bought into religion we we've bought into Traditions there the same issue that those who were in Israel had the problem with as well laws religion systems friends let me tell you something there's nowhere in Scripture that will tell you attending church will save your soul there's nowhere in Scripture that will tell you that thinking good thoughts will make you a better person there is nowhere that you will ever find in anywhere of God's writings and anywhere of God's leadings and anywhere of the words of Jesus Christ that just by being a good person makes you a better a better person in the world around you you see

every fruit is the byproduct of its DNA and its environment and inherently each and every one of us have a DNA a byproduct something called sin in our nature we we lie we Ste we we cheat we steal and we roll with those who do and you know some of us we've been good people we've learned to do good things and we've done progress in the world around us yet we've lacked in bearing fruit for the creation that God put us here so see God put you here for a reason you're not an incident you're not a mistake you're not an accident doesn't matter how you arrived at this place the very fact that you are alive today with breath in your lungs means that God has a purpose and a plan for you to fulfill

his plan and his purpose in the world around us and God wants to call you out into something deeper something greater something more than just religion more than just tradition more than just a ceremonial ritual God wants you to recognize and to understand what purpose is all about fruit because that fruit that begins to Bear when you're connected to the vine that's the byproduct of your DNA DNA only found in Jesus Christ the environment only found in the truth and the life of the words of Jesus Christ Jesus says these words he says that he is the way the truth and the life he says no one goes to the father except through him good deeds won't do it progress won't do it donations to wonderful Charities and organizations won't do it thinking good thoughts and

being nice because you're in Bend won't do it the only thing that will do it is Jesus and today I want to give you that opportunity these next few moments as begin to wind that service down as to just take a moment of introspection the great Paul the Apostle who wrote most of the New Testament he writes in both of his letters to a Greek Church a church that would very culturally very similar to our culture in a very very worldly environment writes to them in both of his letters and he asks them to do something he says I want you to examine yourselves I want you to take a moment to look into your life to look into your heart and just simply examine yourself and he says these words because if we would do it that we would come to the answers the conclusion that God wants us to and if we're not then we find the Judgment of God in these final moments of the service today and we're not done

yet but we're going to wind it down in just a moment I want to just give you the opportunity to examine and yourself would you do me a favor would you do yourself more than me would you do yourself a favor would you simply close your eyes bow your heads listen we're not doing anything secret right now not pulling any wool over your eyes let me explain to you exactly why I asked you to do what I just asked you to do because closing your eyes is shutting out everything else around you don't think about what you're doing today don't think about what's coming up around you tomorrow I want you just to have this moment right now between you and God see bowing your heads that's a posture of perspection that's looking into your life and just saying okay I'm here reflecting and reviewing my life in this posture of you and God and

and in this moment of introspection of looking at your own life let me ask you this where are you with God where are you at with the relationship with Jesus Christ where are you when we look at being connected to the vine being rooted in the DNA or the identity of Jesus Christ where are you at might say well I go to church that must make I'm good nope I'm a good person must make me right no I read my Bible every once in a while good I pray a prayer every once in a while that's awesome friends nowhere in scripture does it say that as long as you follow through with religious actions that religion is the way to God because that was exactly what Jesus Christ came to teach us was that it was not religion it was God and his relationship Jesus says these words in John chap 10 he says listen I have come

to your life that you would have life that you would have it abundantly didn't come to bring it down to make it worse to make it harder he came to bring you Abundant Life and that Abundant Life so many of us think well that's the fruit of Heaven someday I'll get there no no no no that Abundant Life that Jesus was talking about was not somewhere distant in some Cosmos somewhere else that was today here right now in your life that you would live in purpose that you would have fulfillment that you would understand who you are and who God created you to be and that your identity would shift with the identity of Jesus Christ and that the root of your soul the soil to the environment to which you live would now be be begin to to grow with the

nutrients of God's great news the Gospel of Jesus Christ and if you've yet to put your trust and your faith in Jesus Christ today there is no better opportunity than to do that right here right now in just a moment perhaps you've been living your life for yourself instead of for God's for God doing your own thing instead of God's things listen today there's no better opportunity for you to draw a line in the sand of your life and say you know what I'm tired of getting the results and the fruit that I have been getting in my life and it's time for me to go in the direction of Jesus Christ and here's what I want to do today I want to pray with you a prayer listen it's not Abracadabra magical formula or anything like that this is a prayer of faith leading into what God has for you but today I want to lead you in that prayer to make that statement that declaration to receive Jesus Christ into your heart into your life perhaps for the first time to make a decision to follow Jesus or to redemp dedicate your life and to

go in the direction of Jesus because you're tired of doing it the way you've been doing it and today with your heads bowed with your eyes closed I just want to know who I'm praying with in a moment here's what I'm going to do I'm going to count to three I'll go like this I'll go one two on the count of three I'll go like this I'll go three if you're in this place today and God's speaking to you would you simply just do this would you pop your hand up you see what you're doing by raising your hand and saying pastor that's me I want to pray that prayer I feel like God's calling me I see God initiating something in my I want to respond to the invitation of life I'm a man I'll see your hand I'll acknowledge it why is that important Jesus says these words that if you confess him before men he confess you before his father he says If you deny him before men he would deny you before his father in the safety of this environment if you're watching online you're welcome and absolutely as well to connect with your online host as well to pray with this together to receive the invitation of life that's found in Jesus Christ if you've never given your heart you never given your

life to Jesus today's the day if you're not sure don't walk out of this place without making sure if you've been living for yourself instead of God and you know it you recognize and God's calling you back into something today is the day for you to change the direction of your life and head in the direction of Jesus Christ all across this Auditorium listen it does not matter how long you've been at this church whether today's your first day or you've been here for 12 years doesn't matter that Jesus is Calling You the question is would you respond to the invitation of Jesus you ready I'm going to count to three as I do that's you pop a hand up I'll see it I'll acknowledge you put it right back down I'm not going to call you up I'm not going to make you walk an altar right in the comfort of your chairs I want to pray with you to receive Jesus to make a change in our lives together you ready here we go one 2 3 if that's you just pop a hand up so I can see just keep keep them up for just a second yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes I see if that's you in this place today just keep a hand up

today keep a hand up today if that's you that's you today yes yes I see you back there all over the place yes yes yes yes yes wonderful you can put your hands down guys all over the place listen that's what you need first of all for those of you who are in this place today and you're hearing that response and you're feeling it the first lie that you bought into today was that you are by yourself did you see did you recognize Jesus is calling you to be a part of something so much bigger than yourself not a church you're not joining a church today no no no no no what you're doing is you're joining the family of Jesus Christ changing that DNA your future is settled Your Best Is Yet To Come and now it's time to begin to build that environment that's what the church is it's helping you build that environment around you if you raise your hand today and you want to give your heart to Jesus I want to pray with you once again I want to remind you listen don't get wrapped up in religion this is not an Abri adabra magical formula say it just the way the pastor says and everything's

good that's not it no no no no but rather would you pray with me today but I want you to make these words your words I want you to say this and declare this in faith today I want you to say these words with me say them out loud I want you to hear yourself say it if you're a Believer if you're a follower of Jesus in this place would you also say that for the sake of the comfort of those around you faith comes by hearing Romans says so I want you to hear yourself make this declaration of Faith repeat these words after me say father God thank you for Jesus today I receive the invitation of life in Jesus Christ and today I make the decision I make the decision to follow Jesus follow Jesus with all of my heart all of my heart and with all of my life I ask today that you would forgive me that you

forgive me of my past my P of my sins and of my regrets my regets and on this day on this day I give to you I give to you all of my future all of my future from this day forward I will follow Jesus I will follow Jesus amen come on somebody we ought to celebrate this today it's awesome it's wonderful so good so good so good listen listen friends for those of you that gave your heart to Jesus perhaps as a new dedication or new decision or rededication if you're in this facility today we'd love to follow up one of the best things you can possibly do is to tell somebody about your decision to follow Jesus Christ what you need to know you did not arrive at your destination no no no no you started your journey we would love to come along that Journey with you of Faith love to come

alongside of you there's connection card and the seats in front of that you can fill one of those out drop them in the offering receptacles and those little collection boxes at the exit as well we would love to let you know that the best is yet to come one of the best things you can do is keep coming back work on that environment build that environment Jesus is changing your DNA now it's time to get rooted in a good environment to help you bear the fruit of Jesus Christ amen