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Transcript

known to most of us here at the bible school because he worked with us i think it was three years ago

and so it is indeed a pleasure for us this afternoon to to welcome our visitor from birmingham england who will speak upon the subject pray without ceasing it is now our pleasure to give our attention to our brother philip hawkins

in our minds eye brothers and sisters and friends

i want us to see a man that is at his wit's end

is a man that has been so devastated by the experience that he has just had

that is sitting there for three days

without food

he doesn't want to eat

he can't think of anything else but the issue which has challenged his thinking the issue which is challenged right to the core

the very existence of his life

he's not an old man

he's a man of tremendous vitality

he's a man of tremendous potential

but he's been stopped dead in his tracks

coupled with that

he's blind

few days previously he was sighted

now blind

and we are introduced to this man

because god through jesus

is speaking to a member of the church

ananias

and telling him to go to this man soul

because he is praying

and that's the scene i want indelibly etched on our minds

that here is a man who is beginning to enter the most beautiful and dynamic prayer life that we could ever imagine

and what it took to get this man that into that attitude of my mind where he would enter into that exciting dimension and drama of prayer was an incident which had to stop him dead in his tracks

the confrontation with christ

on the road to damascus

reduced

soul

to a man

where he recognized that absolutely nothing about his life to that point was worth while preserving

the confrontation of christ

is something which if we haven't yet experienced

is something that we should deeply desire if we

wish to enter into the dynamic prayer life which the apostle paul through our study this afternoon is now going to develop and expand for us

but in order that we may get the measure of paul's realization of that stop

that finish in all that his life had meant

let us just recapture his words

when he declared

how be it

what things were gained to me

these have i counted loss for christ

ye verily and i count all things to be lost

for the excellency of the knowledge of christ jesus my lord

for whom i suffered the loss of all things and do count them but dung that i may gain christ and be found in him not having a righteousness of mine own even that which is of the law but that which is through faith in christ the righteousness which is of god by faith that i may know him

and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings

if by any means i might attain

unto the resurrection

from the dead

and the thought

which comes into my mind

is to ask

when saul

paul was praying on those three days

what was going through his mind

i would dare to suggest there was one thing

which a man like saw

would now appreciate

that he would hear thudding onto his brain cells

the stones

as they thumped into the body of stephen

whose face

was of the face of an angel

and those stones thumping into the body of that lovely man were now indelibly etching themselves on the brain of paul

when he was now told

saul

saul

why persecutest thou me

and so for the first time in his life recognize that what he had done to stephen was as if he'd taken the very stones and thunk them into the body of christ

saul you're hurting me

said the lord jesus christ

and it is with this realization

that we human beings

cannot blunder through god's world

and believe that heaven is insensitive to what we are doing

i'd like to develop this thought and i hope god willing to develop it throughout the week that what we do in our lives can hurt christ

now

or

give him joy

and it's when we see christ in that viewpoint it's when we recognize the beauty of christ it is when we recognize the fullness of christ it is when we accept in our lives that beautiful gospel of salvation

justified by faith where we can walk through life as the apostle paul indicates having given all up in order that we may gain the excellency of christ then we walk through life believing that there is written across our lives the word righteous justified by faith

and we walk through life believing

we shall see jesus

we walk through life believing that jesus is not some remote figure up there somewhere but we walk believing that the place where jesus is is in our hearts by faith

that we may gain that excellency that we may gain that appreciation of the gospel of salvation and if we begin

at a moment a dramatic moment for some of us perhaps but if we begin each in our turn which with that which can be described as our damascus road experience where we come face to face with the reality of our own lives and the life of christ then i believe it is at that point

that we really begin to pray

for if we are looking to this man paul for guidance about prayer

we come

to that chapter that we read which i just quoted from philippians and perhaps we can start our exploration there in philippians chapter four

for paul in the third chapter having renounced all or indicated indicating that he had renounced all in order that he may gain christ

then exhorts us in the fourth chapter in these words

verse six

in nothing

be anxious

but in everything

by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving

let your requests be made known unto god

and the peace of god

which passeth all understanding

shall guard your hearts

and your thoughts

in christ jesus

and i suppose if we were honest in our responses to that particular verse verse 6

well does paul mean

in everything

by prayer and supplication well surely there are those aspects of our lives which are of no particular moment in relation to christ nor have they any particular interest to god so we in our characteristic human way

could approach this verse and declare well paul doesn't mean everything surely

we can't bring the secular aspects of our life into it

well let's be certain

we are talking in the context of what the apostle paul's way of life is because just drop your eye down a few verses and just pick up what the apostle paul's attitude to life is verse 11 now that i speak not that i speak in respect of want

for i have learned

in whatsoever state i am

therein to be content

i know how to be a based

and i know also how to abound in everything and in all things have i learned the secret both to be filled and to be hungry both to abound and to be in want i can do all things in him that strengtheneth me says the apostle paul and which one of us would dare to stand up before the apostle paul and say well come on paul you don't mean all things

he does

monday morning

all things

everything his whole life complete

dedicated to god

so that we begin to absorb the meaning of the apostle paul's language so that when he says in everything in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving he means it

unless we

want to in our own lives dodge the issue let us take the apostle paul's words just flip back to the letter to the ephesians and see what he says in chapter six concerning prayer

where you remember the context he is saying put on the whole armor of god that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil and he develops for us that graphic picture of one who is armed with all the armor of god in all the order that we may walk through this life victorious and then he takes up the point in verse 18

and incidentally i'm reading from the revised version

with all prayer

and supplication

praying

at all seasons in the spirit

and watching there unto in all perseverance and supplication

for all the saints

and then he goes on to request that on his behalf utterance may be given unto me in opening my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel does all mean all

then we turn over to colossians and look in chapter four

verse two

continue steadfastly in prayer watching therein with thanksgiving

with all praying for us also that god may open unto us a door for the word to speak the mystery of christ for which i am also in bonds so continue steadfastly in prayer and just to take one more example in the next letter the first letter to the thessalonians chapter five we have the apostle paul expressing these words

verse 17

pray

without ceasing

in everything give thanks

for this is the will of god

in christ jesus

to you would

so whether we like it or not

so whether we are dissatisfied or satisfied with our own prayer life there is one thing abundantly clear in the message of the apostle paul that he desires that we pray without ceasing in everything giving thanks that there is no compartment of our lives where there is not that prayer attitude

and in order that we may help one another i would like to make some of my comments i hope extremely practical

and i hope fundamentally challenging

it's always a great pleasure for me to see in my audience a lot of young people

so young people

let us take

that aspect of our lives which i'm sure every one of us will regard to be as important

the forming of relationships

with the opposite sex

i always notice with pleasure the way in which the bible school atmosphere builds up

it's lovely to see the healthy way in which young people communicate with one another and there is the build up of boy girl relationships during the week

and i guess there are many who have started their romance at a bible school

and have continued that romance and received the blessing of the lord

young people

pray

about your relationship

with the opposite sex

if it is your desire and it is an understandable desire

that by god's grace

you marry

then it would seem that the apostle paul is exhorting us to pray

at all seasons

in everything

and if therefore our relationship with the opposite sex is fundamental and important to our spiritual development how foolish of us to enter into that kind of relationship casually

i would love to think that on the hearts of every young person here is this kind of prayer

lord

please lead me

to someone

who loves you

more than they will love me

that what you are seeking therefore in expressing this prayer is that you are desiring god to prepare for you somebody who will love him more than they love you because you recognize that your relationship with the opposite sex if it's going to be of any value at all is going to have that dimension which will enhance enrich your spiritual life and we human beings can go to be so stupid in our relationships where we think that we can spend all our energy and time sorting out our horizontal relationships when the apostle paul and our lord and the prophets of israel are saying if you want to sort out your horizontal relationships then sort out your vertical relationship first

if our minds

are set and stayed on his things his ways then our relationship with the opposite sex will be made all the more beautiful

i know

it's true

and therefore young people when the apostle paul is saying pray without ceasing that is the prayer request which should be on your heart before you enter into any relationship seriously and how beautiful therefore it is that hand in hand with your partner during your courtship you are spending time together praying

that god will enrich

and make your relationship beautiful

so that then by the grace of god entering into the marriage relationship there will be a prayer pattern already established

that it does not become an effort of the will to decide

oh darling it's about time we prayed we haven't done so for about the last month or so we haven't started the day together on our knees asking for god's blessing we've had our family problems arise we haven't said our prayers together because if we start our relationship with that kind of attitude towards praying at all times in all seasons then the words of the apostle peter will become true for us because

we in our ecclesial lives

when we see that there is the forming of a relationship between boy and girl in the community we of course as an ecclesia do we not

counsel them

about marriage

about the ways in which we as an ecclesia can give our prayer support to their relationship

is this of course an integral part of our ecclesial life

if it isn't

it seems to me that we are not praying without ceasing

for the apostle peter when talking about relationships first peter chapter 3

where describing

that kind of attitude which should exist between husband and wife

then in verse 7 declared

ye husbands

in like manner

dwell with your own wives according to knowledge

giving honor unto the woman as unto the weaker vessel

as being also joint heirs

of the grace of life

and then the apostle peter adds this point to the end of that

your prayers

be not hindered

see the apostle peter takes so much for granted

that the prayer life of husband and wife is an integral part of their life

and therefore if we work back from that relationship it perhaps asks us husbands to see whether or not we regard our relationship with our wives in the lord to be one where we are joint heirs

of the grace of life

and so we've spoken frankly

about that fundamental issue

of relationships and if we are not committing these things to the lord then we will simply become another statistic

in the marriage relationships

that if we are not engaged in this kind of prayer the implication seems to be that we'll be spending a lot of time and energy in our own strength trying to restore or maintain relationships when it is abundantly clear from the apostle paul that our vertical relationship is that which will beautify and sanctify and make holy our relationships with one another and so what i decided having thought about that insight into the mind of the apostle paul to take it from there and see the way from just a couple of examples

the way in which the apostle paul prayed

i know it came as a surprise to me

but i'm grateful for when it was first drawn to my attention the number of prayers that we have written

from the apostle paul

just let's look at one of them it's in the letter to the church at colossae

paul's letter to the colossians

chapter one

[Music]

verse 9

for this cause we also since the day we heard it do not cease to pray

and make requests for you what a lovely thought

the apostle paul not ceasing to pray for the members of that church

but also we have the thoughts of his prayer listed what does he pray when he thinks of the church at colossae

well this is what he prays for point number one

that ye may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding

to walk worthily of the lord unto all pleasing

bearing fruit

in every good work

and increasing in the knowledge of god i don't know how you respond to that kind of thought but imagine that you received that letter from the apostle paul and you knew at that moment he was praying for your ecclesia in those terms he would give you that heartwarming thought we are being supported in prayer

well if that's the case

why is it that we as ecclesias are not supporting one another in prayer

if you're arranging brethren if that's what you call them

the elders of your ecclesia if they meet on the second tuesday of every month and you know that

wouldn't it be lovely if when that was announced from the platform on the sunday you said to the arranging brethren we'll be praying for you on tuesday night

and the prayer that we will be offering will be that she may be filled with the knowledge of his will

in all spiritual wisdom and understanding

that we all may walk worthily

worthy of the lord

unto all blessing bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of god

i believe that that arranging meeting if they all knew that the ecclesia that night were on their knees praying that that is the case then that arranging meeting would be enriched

and so we could take every compartment of our ecclesial life and we need to ask ourselves i believe brothers and sisters whether or not we have the same mind that was in the apostle paul and we are supporting the holy creature in a prayer

support

or if i may bring it perhaps a bit closer to home

we in england are looking with great urgency in our hearts

as to whether or not yet once more the reunion effort will either succeed or fail

how many of us are praying

for the reunion committee

without ceasing

oh yes we offer the occasional prayer

let's search around in our minds and ask when was the last time that in the privacy of our own homes or in our bible class or in our clear when was the last time that we unitedly offered that urging that prayer

praying steadfastly

that your reunion should take place

if there's not a volume of prayer rising up to the father concerning this well perhaps

i'll leave you to finish the thought

and so when we begin to look at our ecclesial lives

we discover that the fellowship of prayer

is something that we need to give urgent attention to

and so if i may take up just another of the prayers of the apostle paul

in the letter to the philippians

chapter 1.

well we have another insight into the kind of language which the apostle paul used for this church at philippi

philippians 1 verse 9

and this i pray

that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge

and in all discernment

so that he may approve the things that are excellent

that he may be sincere

and void of offense unto the day of christ

being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are through jesus christ

unto the glory and praise of god oh what a wonderful prayer that is and how heartening it must have been for the church at philippi to recognize that is the kind of thing the apostle paul is praying for

and so let us then look at another facet of our ecclesial life

that we could have this kind of experience

that we wake on sunday morning with the burden of our lives with the problems of our domestic scene say the problem of our work

and we go to the ecclesial hall with a burden on our hearts

and when we're greeted at the door how are you brother

very well thank you

and having shaken his hand said how are you

and his response fine thank you

we then having communicated to one another

we go and sit down in the collegial hall

where

because it is the congregation and one person at the front presenting a message then the communication could be and i'm not into any sense caricaturing it it could be a case of a bucket of spiritual milk is then sent in our direction and if our spiritual mouths happen to be open then we receive it but if they're shut we don't

and having sung our hymns and listen to the prayers we then make our way out of the collegial hall lovely service enjoyed it very much and we go home

spiritually fed

problems shared

receiving prayer support because somebody has listened

and we've felt in that attitude of mind where we can really share

brothers and sisters

i believe

that as the day of the lord draws nigh there is going to be a greater need and urgency for our ecclesial structure to be such that we are really communicating with one another and really providing that opportunity whereby we can get together informally whereby we can perhaps in the spirit of the first century church in house to house fellowship not separate from but as an integral part of the ecclesial life that we there sit down with bibles open discover

how we can make our love abound yet more and more in knowledge and in discernment how we can make sure that we approve the things that are excellent how we can as parents with children that have their problems in this big wide world in which we live how we can together as brothers and sisters with our bibles open discover the ways in which our lord can help us in our domestic lives and having shared our problems we then pray about them

and we know

that we got prayer support

in the difficulties that we've got in our lives

this seems to me to be the spirit in which the apostle paul is asking us that we pray without ceasing

and we need to prayerfully i believe look at the kind of fellowship that we have got so that at no time would it be possible for anybody that i've caricatured as somebody coming into our collegial hall and all they're receiving is a bucket of milk and going away with no consolation

and so i believe that our ecclesial life will be enhanced and enriched

if we learn how to pray

one with the other

the apostle james

has something to declare about prayer

and perhaps it's a territory that we just need to be

more honest with one another about james 5.

for there are two aspects of what the apostle james has indicated concerning prayer

one we can refer to

is in verse 16.

confess

therefore your sins

one to another

and pray one for another that ye may be healed

i've already from the comments i've just made suggested the ways in which this could be true for us

but there are some of us who would say now just a moment confess therefore your sins one to another

are we suggesting here or is the apostle james suggesting here that what i've got to do is lay bear all my life

and confess everything because if i confess to you that i beat my wife then i'm under the suspicion that you'll then rather than praying for me you'll then get on to the ecclesial grapevine and on your telephones and say george you know that brother phil beats his wife

we don't trust one another is this what we're trying to say or have we perhaps put a construction on those words which the apostle james never intended us there's no need for us to go into details concerning those problems in our lives for example and i often quote this one to illustrate it that if i said that i've got problems with my thought life

that i have un helpful thoughts come into my mind mind in my relaxed moments then there's no need for me to tell you what those thoughts are because you will know from your experience you've had that kind of problem

but having shared it with you

we could in fellowship with scriptures open see the way in which we could help one another overcome this particular problem

and pray about it

and it does work because i had the privilege joe and i had the privilege to be together with a young people's group where we're spending some time together and we were considering this matter of prayer and we thought well it's about time we tried to put what the apostle james was declaring into practice

and so with the assembly of about 20

people the suggestion was with people of the same sex

if we are moved to go in twos or threes

then let us talk together about the challenges that are taking place in our lives

and so we did just that

somewhat nervously at first

but the results were absolutely beautiful

do you know in that company where some young people teenagers who had had on their hearts for ages a particular problem and in their experience that had no one that they felt confident enough to talk to about them and yet in that trusting atmosphere having built up the attitude of mind towards prayer then with somebody there and then they confessed what their desperate need was and they prayed together and for the first time in their lives they'd got up off their knees refreshed

and knowing what it meant

that the peace of god

will fill your hearts

it does

work

and there is equally in the apostle james's section on prayer that challenging thought

about praying for those who are

sick is any among you sick

let him call

for the elders of the church

and let them pray over him

anointing him with oil

in the name of the lord

and the prayer of faith

shall save him that is sick

and the lord shall raise him up

and if he have committed sin it shall be forgiven him

the implications of this are so challenging brothers and sisters it seems that we all must turn away from that and say that whatever it may have meant i don't know

and so we don't find out

there is the challenging thought to the elders of the church that if they did receive a message from somebody who was sick requesting that they did come and pray what they would do about the anointing with oil

and if i may just make an observation

which i found helpful

that if we're trying to seek a spiritual application of this anointing with oil then there is the possible link in the old testament with the levitical rights whereby anointing with oil signified that the person was prepared to commit

all of their lives

to god

so there is laid upon the person who is sick in calling for people to pray over them the thought

what are you asking god to do

are you asking god just to do a patch up job on your physical body or are you wanting god to take all of you

completely that the most fundamental issue that you are seeking in this prayer request is that you are made spiritually whole and it's a and if as a result of that there is the bonus

of the physical healing that is gratefully received

for when it all is said and done

that that we desire and require with all our hearts is that spiritual wholeness

before our god

and so i cannot leave this question

of praying without ceasing

without mentioning

jesus

christ who is described as preeminent above all

christ who is described as superior to the angels christ who is superior to the law christ who is superior to the sacrifices christ who has a name which is above every name that at the name of jesus every knee should bow

for us to dare to enter into a prayer life without bringing jesus into it suggests that we are missing a fundamental dimension and therefore we earn the criticism which is sometimes leveled at us because we are described as dispensationalists

let me explain we can be criticized because we can talk about the dispensation of jesus when he was on earth and talk about what he did 1900 or so years ago

and we can talk about the dispensation of jesus when he comes in his kingdom

but between the two

is a great void

unfilled

empty of experience

and that should not be

for christ

ever lives

to make intercession for us

the place where jesus dwells by faith is in our hearts

that what is the keynote of the apostle paul's life for me to live is christ

to suggest therefore that there is a praying without ceasing without christ as an integral part and dynamic aspect of it seems to me to miss what the apostle paul is leading us to

and so with christ

in our hearts

having given up all

to gain the excellency of knowing jesus

in nothing

my friends

be anxious

but in everything by prayer

and supplication with thanksgiving

let your requests

be made known unto god

and the peace of god

which passeth all understanding

shall guard your hearts

and your thoughts

in christ jesus

Transcript

nation and i i look at the variety of leaves we we we can see and enjoy and the thought which comes to my mind was that if god had done things the other way around and said well let us make man first and then give man the task of making trees

what i can imagine what we human beings would have done with the with the challenge we'd probably form a subcommittee for this particular part of the tree in order that we may design a leaf another subcommittee for the branches and another subcommittee for the trunk and somewhere other would be the subcommittee for the root system

because then

we can see the way in which we human beings tackle tasks of designing but whenever i see such a leaf as this

i praise god

because the next leaf i pick up is may have the general shape of that but it's different

and so what we see before us is evidence of a god of infinite variety that has made the trees with leaves that are are differing one from another and you know just with that thought in mind

imagine that this assembly here was a hundred or so people all the same

wouldn't be boring

that if all i had to talk to was me and 90 others like me

but here the infinite variety of god is manifested not only here

but also amongst us now

but you know just let's look at this leaf and look at all the implication which god is the designer put into this leaf

that fundamentally we could say that one of the the functions of this leaf is in order to carry out and i have to be careful that i don't lift

to carry out the process of photo printed

that

this amazing process of photosynthesis

which we can read about in our biology books but you design it

i challenge you

to get a process whereby you're using raw material of

some carbon dioxide

a bit of water

pull them together and what have you got

you've got sugars starches and then put a bit of nitrogen compounds with it and what have you got proteins and it's all going on there at this very moment

why if we human beings we're going to design that we would need acres and acres of land in order to get the same process going with all the fundamental chemicals and the basic design of the the uniting of these simple straightforward chemicals now that's going on there

but how do you get it going

i'll put some

green pigment there called chlorophyll

and so when we begin to look at you know what god did

i'm not only amazed at the chemistry of it but i'm amazed at the absolute beauty of it did you realize

that this chemical chlorophyll

shows some similar properties to the pigment which is in our bloodstream called uh hemoglobin

if you get a bruise

on your body and then it's a great big you know blue patch which develops and then you watch it after a few a few weeks and you notice the color change

you get some yellows and oranges and eventually the whole thing disappears well have you noticed and perhaps you haven't had cause to think of it in this way that what you're observing through your skin is a mini autumn

fall sorry that

whenever in these leaves it is time for the supply of nutrients to this leaf to be shut off then chlorophyll this green pigment undergoes changes

you get your yellows your oranges

it's the breakdown of this chemical why should god do that

just by accident well god has done it in order that when you walk through new england you exclaim oh what a lovely scene it is

but i'm sure we're also saying

and praise god for it

so so easily we can walk through this life just seeing god's creation and not uttering a hymn of praise on our hearts

so we could talk a lot about the way in which god has made these wonderful plants

but what i particularly want us to look at

is this

and it's pretty obvious that some sad things are happening happening to it

already these leaves are

showing evidence of the sad sag the tim they're losing their

turgidity

and the reason why is that they have broken their connection to the main body of the plant and what they're lacking of course is water

but also what we can see is the quite clear evidence that this which was part of god's unique design for this plant's life history that that is never going to change into fruit

that we're not going to get the final product of this plant design we're not going to get the fruits of what this plant could produce

and there's no prize for guessing what my next thought is

that

the words of our lord jesus christ

come with tremendous power

and tremendous impact

in our lives john 15

is the place where i would like to focus our attention in order that we may discover together

the fundamental aspects of god's creating

in us you remember the occasion when our lord was describing himself as the vine

i am the vine he says

john 15 verse 5

i am the vine

ye are the branches

he he that abideth in me

and i in him

the same beareth much fruit

and the next part of the verse i think should hit each one of us right between the eyes

in order that we may get the powerful message he says for apart from me without me ye can do nothing

now our law doesn't use words casually

and nothing means nothing

so the impact is if we may not just keep these biological implications and these spiritual challenges in

mind if it is obvious to us that this plant can no longer do anything it's finished

it can no longer bear fruit

and all its fit for is the scrap heap

then the recognition should be abundantly clear from what our lord is saying what's he just said

unless

you abide in me

you can do nothing

young people i can't resist the temptation

i always see young people as an absolute joy and challenge to be amongst praise god for young people praise god for your idealism praise god for your vision

praise god for your individuality but please young people recognize the words of our lord jesus christ he is saying to you now at the threshold of your life if you do not

come

and abide in me so that you've got my sap flowing through you you've got my living water flowing through you then you will just wither and die

and the crazy thing about the world in which we live is that there are too many people walking around this earth without the lifeblood of jesus flowing in their lives

and so

young people

may these words of jesus sink into your heart and may they sink into mine at this very moment

that if i'm crazy enough

to see that i can or think that i can go my own way

without jesus

each day

then i'm going to waste 24 hours

if i haven't started this day with jesus

with him abiding in me and i in him there's 24 hours wasted

so let us

take to heartless

and invite

that relationship

that beautiful and wonderful relationship with jesus each

day

young people

get to know jesus

get to know him by reading

by meditating

by praying

in order that there may be

that beautiful welding of your life

into christ

now biologically if i wanted to make a graft

and i took a good healthy stock

and you're all good healthy stock

and decided to graft that branch or that bud or whatever it is into a plant

then i would choose the most healthy and vigorous stock that i could find in order to graft that branch in and the most vigorous and healthy stock that we can find is the lord jesus christ and so when we place that branch and bind it and protect it so that is not subject to fungal infection then what takes place

is that the living cells in the living stock and the living cells in the branch begin to grow

and weld and fuse and join together

so that

there is the linking together of that life

flow

between the stock and the branch

now i believe

that in our own minds we have got to imagine

that kind of thing taking place between ourselves and our lord jesus christ

here we need to you know think of all the other places where our lord describes the way in which we can make this possible but let's just think of one simple illustration and that of the plant and that of the grafting into jesus

in order that we may bear

a little bit of fruit

no jesus said abide in me and you will bear

much fruit

and so

in order that we may get the full picture

let us just remember

who will make all this possible

for us

because our lord jesus christ when he opened this discourse when he was talking about himself being the true vine he said this

i am the true vine

and my father

is the husbandman

every branch in me

that beareth not fruit

he taketh it away

and every branch that beareth fruit

he cleanses it or purges it that it may bear more fruit

and so there is implied in this the work of god and jesus

that we lay our lives open to god

who is the husbandman

who will prune and cultivate our lives in order that we may bear more fruit

and i cannot think of anything better to share with you

than those thoughts

because you live in a lovely part of god's creation

new england

and at this time when i've had the great pleasure with joe of seeing the loveliness of the part of the world in which you live and we're just saying at this table a moment ago what a wonderful thing it is that here we are foreigners from across the water and you've accepted it

we've been sharing a meal together even i who i'm a colonial i wasn't even born in england i was born down under you've accepted even me

so that amongst ourselves we are having this tremendous immediate fellowship

so as we are

going to leave one another soon and we're going to go back across the water to lead our lives

there's something precious we want to leave with you

and the precious things that we want to leave with one another

is that

vision of our lord jesus christ

and the wonderful thought with all the differences that are between us the one thing which is happening is that we are growing we're grafted into jesus and we are bearing fruit for him and soon you are going to enter into one of the most lovely seasons the fall autumn

let us not walk around through autumn with our eyes closed

but let us walk through god's creation praising him for what he is doing and seeing what we see with spiritual eyes so that we make sure that we abide in him

to the praise and glory of the father

so that we in our lives

may bear

much

fruit