The Exclusivity of Jesus, Part 6

Thank you for making time for Dr. Michael Youssef and leading the way. If you are going through some painful time today, I want you to remember this. There would be no resurrection without the crucifixion.

There can be no testimony without a test. There would be no Pentecost without plenty cost. So the first thing of being fruitful, stick to Jesus. The second, accept pruning for greater fruitfulness. In a moment, Dr. Youssef continues this thought-provoking series called The Exclusivity of Jesus. And in this episode, he'll emphasize God's role as a gardener, one who sometimes needs to bring painful pruning into his children's lives so that they can produce more fruit for his glory. You'll quickly understand that bearing fruit comes from obedience and abiding in the Lord.

And of course, yes, the occasional pruning. Now before Dr. Youssef begins, a quick reminder that leading the way is listener supported. Worldwide ministry is made possible through your prayers and your generosity. So connect further with leading the way when you call 866-626-4356 or visit the ministry website ltw.org.

But do that a little later. Here now is Dr. Michael Youssef and his series, The Exclusivity of Jesus. Some of you have read the book, The Tale of Two Cities.

Some of you heard of it. And today I want to talk to you about the tale of two trees. One of those trees grows in the Middle East. The other grows in the tropics. The tree that grows in the Middle East looks like, you notice as it looks like an olive tree, looks like an olive tree, but it's not. It takes the same space as an olive tree. It absorbs the same amount of sunlight as an olive tree. It uses the same nutrients in the soil as an olive tree, but it produces no olives. It's called oleaster tree.

The other kind of tree that grows in the tropics is altogether different from the oleaster tree. It grows high and spreads wide. The trunk is very thick and makes it look glorious and beauty in its shade. Its branches reaches out and drop down to the ground. And whenever the tips of the branches hit the ground or hit the soil, they take roots and a new tree grows and spring up.

Bottom line is this. It multiplies itself. And it's called the bunion tree. The truth is, whichever way you look at it, every believer in Jesus is like one of those two trees. You are either an oleaster tree or a bunion tree.

That's just a fact. And I pray to God that everyone at the sound of my voice should be asking themselves, not just today, am I an oleaster tree or am I a bunion tree? In the kingdom of Jesus, these are the two trees. Do I look like an olive tree from the outside?

But in reality, I'm an oleaster tree that produces no fruit. We saw in the last message in John chapter 14 verse 6, after Jesus declared this marvelous declaration, that unique declaration that I am the way, the truth, and the life and no one comes to the Father but by me, or through me, or except through me. As soon as he finished that marvelous teaching, toward the end of the Gospel of John chapter 14, at the end the last verse he said, let's get away from here.

And he continues taking them walking down the Kidron Valley. And the Kidron Valley back then, back then, it was surrounded by vines and vine trees. And this particular time of the year, which is springtime, remember this is just before the crucifixion and the resurrection. Springtime, at that time, all these vine trees that our Lord was walking with his disciples through them, they've just been pruned. They've just been pruned.

The harvest time for grapes is September. But in the springtime, this is the moment that our Lord was talking to the disciples. Everywhere you looked, everywhere you looked, you will find dead branches piled up and some already being burnt.

Some are piling up for burning, some already being burnt. And probably, I'm not saying he did, but probably Jesus was pointing to some of those vines. And he says, I am the true vine.

All of the disciples, listen to me, because all of his disciples, they would immediately understand what he's talking about. They were very familiar with the fact that in the Old Testament, ancient Israel is described by God as a vine. In Psalm 80 verse 8, Isaiah 5, Jeremiah 2, Ezekiel 15, 17, and 19, it is a vine of God's own planting. Again and again in the scripture, ancient Israel was described as a vine that God has planted, that he took them out of Egypt, and he brought them out of the land of the slaver, and he saved them, and he took them into the promised land, and there he planted them. And yet again and again and again and again, ancient Israel failed to produce fruit.

Why? Because they became inward focused. They became inward looking because they kept the message of salvation to themselves, because they placed so many religious and ritualistic obstacles, actually also physical obstacles for the Gentiles to come and know the one true God. What I love to say, they became navel gazers, and that's where the church is today. I'm talking about the church of Jesus Christ. Yet when God called them to himself, when God chose them, the scripture said he called them, he chose them to be a light to the Gentiles, to be a light to the nations, but they chose to hide the light and keep it to themselves.

They become so preoccupied and bogged down with the ceremonies and the rituals that they neglected to share the message of salvation and the knowledge of Yahweh, the one true God. And that is why Jesus said, now I am the vine that is true. I am the true vine. I'm the true one. Israel of old was the shadow.

Now that the real person is here, the shadow fades. Israel of old was the picture, but now that the real person is here, the picture becomes less important. And if you read carefully the Gospel of Matthew, and if you haven't, I challenge you to do that. Try to sit and read the Gospel of Matthew in one sitting, just one sitting, and read through it, read through it very carefully. Matthew who is a man who's writing the Gospel, particularly to Jewish audience, not Gentiles, you're going to see there throughout the Gospel a clear distinction between ancient Israel or Israel of old and Jesus the Messiah.

Israel of old was the disobedient son, but Jesus is the obedient son. The fact that the word true is mentioned 64 times in the New Testament, sixteen of those in the Gospel of John. Question, what does the word true mean? It means the perfect one. It means the ideal one.

It means the trustworthy one. And since Jesus is the true vine, his believers, both Jews and Gentiles, those who come from whosoever, those who come from every nation, tribe, and language, they are the branches. They're the branches. And that is why immediately Jesus goes on to say there are two types of branches. I gave you two types of trees, but Jesus said there are two types of branches in that vine. The fruitful one and the unfruitful one. The fruitful one and the unfruitful one.

They're on the third. Please don't miss the important difference between the two kinds of branches. It is so important and I pray to God it will revolutionize everyone at the life of everyone at the sound of my voice. Now growing up in the Middle East in our home, my father had a part-time gardener and he planted a garden, but specifically he planted a vine. And that vine grew and grew and helped with a lettuce and an order spread wide and it's become really a great vine. Produced grapes. But they not only consumed the grapes. In the Middle East in general, they consumed the leaves. They take the leaves of that vine and they boil it and they stuff it with rice and meat and the Greeks popularized it worldwide and you can see it in the stores called Dolma. They consumed the leaves.

They consumed the grapes. Early in the spring, the visiting gardener, the part-time gardener, he would come and he'd trim all those branches and he would trim them. Now I must admit as a boy and didn't really comprehend that.

I didn't understand it. I didn't understand the value of it, but he would cut what he would call the sucker shoots. Sucker shoots. These sucker shoots produce no grapes. He would say that these sucker shoots had to be cut off. They had to be cut off because they take away the nutrients from the fruitful branches. And so it is out of necessity, Jesus said, that the vine dresser, who's the father, has to prune the vine. Has to cut those branches. He has to cut these sucker shoots. Please don't miss this.

Don't miss this. Only the father, only the father prunes the vine. Are you with me? Only the father can take out these unproductive branches. It would be a terrible mistake if we play the role of the father and try to cut those branches ourselves.

Terrible mistake. And that is why Jesus said in the end times, which we're getting closer to than you can even imagine, he said the angels are going to come down. And they're the ones who are going to separate the wheat from the tares.

Because if you've ever seen a field of wheat in the Middle East growing and you see the tares, you can't tell the difference. They look so much alike. And he said the father is going to send the angels. He knows who. Namely written in the book of life and who's not. And he's the one who's going to do the separation.

Why? Because if we do it ourselves, we can cause a lot of harm. But listen, the father does something else in that verse. Look at the passage.

And I'm going to tell you right up front, he does something I don't like one bit. But it makes no difference. It makes no difference. I'm just being up front with you, being truthful. Have you found it? I know it is absolutely necessary.

I know it is absolutely productive. But it is painful nonetheless. What am I talking about?

The father trims the fruitful branches so that it might bear more fruit. Did you get that? I told you honestly I don't cherish this part of the scripture. But it is the word of God. It doesn't matter what I feel about it. It is the absolute truth.

Listen to me. Trimming of the faithful believer is not fun. Trimming in the life of a fruitful believer is not a joy ride. Nonetheless, trimming out of us those things that hinder our faithfulness while they are painful, they are absolutely necessary. Clearing and clearing and purifying and removing the junk out of our lives is not easy but absolutely important. It is for our blessing that the divine dresser removes the cobwebs that seem to cling to us like a tar baby. Removing the trash that accumulates in our lives, scrubbing the floor of our hearts every now and again.

Another walk in the park, yet the divine dresser has to do it even when we prefer otherwise. What is Jesus doing? He is warning the disciples. He is warning the disciples not to make the same mistake that ancient Israel made. Not to live and cherish living in disobedience. Isaiah chapter 5 verse 7 tells us that Israel fruitlessness was a disobedience. It was disobedience.

Here is something every believer in Jesus must not miss. We cannot, we cannot, we cannot produce this fruit by ourselves. We could not manufacture it.

Did you get that? We cannot do it. We cannot manufacture the fruit in our lives. Fruit cannot be manufactured. Fruit cannot be conjured up. Fruit cannot be ginned up in our lives. I am sure some are probably saying, Michael, this is hopeless.

This is a hopeless situation. He said that we got to be fruitful, we got to bear fruit, then we cannot produce it. Is that double talk? No, listen carefully. In Galatians chapter 5, 22, when Paul gives us this nine character qualities of the fruit of the Spirit, he tells us it cannot be manufactured. He tells us it. He said that fruit of the Spirit cannot be manufactured.

Oh, but listen carefully, please. We can manufacture the work of the flesh. Oh man, very easily. The work of the flesh, very easily, very easily. I am very capable of producing the works of the flesh every time, any time.

And so can you. Galatians chapter 5 verse 19, I want to show you. Look at the list of the works of the flesh. Sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissension, factions. Oh my goodness. We can produce those very, very easily. We can bring those suckers up every time. But you can never manufacture the character quality of the fruit of the Spirit.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. I can't do this, nor can you. Michael, is this a lost cause? Is this a lost cause? Oh, we have no hope.

Not at all. I hope you're listening carefully. Because in verse 4, that's John 15, 4, here's what Jesus tells us how to bear fruit. Remain in me, and I'll remain in you, no branch, that is you and me, no branch, no branch can bear fruit by itself. It must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. What is Jesus saying? Listen carefully. He is saying that while we cannot manufacture the fruit in our lives, we cannot manufacture fruitfulness.

There's only one way to produce it. How? By sticking to Jesus like a glue. Are you with me? Sticking to Jesus like a glue. Listen, you have Jesus' word on it.

You have Jesus' word on it. But you know what the problem is? You know what the problem is? The problem with me. I'm not going to point it to you.

I'm going to find the problem with me. It is for all of us, but we don't get to stick to Jesus like we should. The moment we get a bit of success or a blessing, we're off to the races. We got a business for ourselves. We take credit for only what God had accomplished.

Look what I did. Again, some may ask, well, Michael, how do I know if I'm abiding in Jesus or not? Great question.

I'm so glad you asked it. Look at this nine character qualities of the fruit of the Spirit and ask yourself the question, are those character qualities apparent? Are they apparent? Not to me, because I can deceive myself. Are they apparent to those around me? To my family, to my friends, everybody around me?

Are they apparent? You see, like all faithful preachers, I can tell you that you must spend time with God. I can tell you you must spend time with the Word of God. After all, I'm a preacher. I'm supposed to do that. But ultimately, the question is, are you afraid of accountability?

Are you afraid of accountability? Because spiritual independence from other believers cannot produce the fruit of the Spirit. And that is why our home groups and our small groups and all the ministries that we have here in all varieties of ways, these are vitally important part of spiritual fruitfulness.

Let me break it down this way. Let's take one of the cluster of fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5. Just one, faithfulness.

Can you say that with me? How can I measure faithfulness without having others see it in me? How I spend my time? How I spend my money? How I use my spiritual gifts?

And on and on and on. My fruit has to be seen and testified to by others. Oh, but listen, that does not mean that occasionally I might fail miserably in my faithfulness. But remember this, it's not the end of the world.

One of my accountability partners are friends who have pointed out to me, so what do I do? I get up, I confess, I repent, and I get back on the road to faithfulness again. That's why I love being surrounded by godly people and godly friends. Otherwise we'll be like the tree that has got a lot of foliage, a lot of foliage. Hyper activities, hyper activities, we're running around and running around and running around and we're busy for God and people might point to our hyper activity and say, wow, look at her.

Look at him. They're busy for God. But God looks there and says, where's the fruit?

Where's the fruit? Oh, beloved, listen to me. There is a cost to faithfulness. There is a cost to faithfulness. Oh, but it is worth it in the end.

Listen to me. If you are going through some painful time today, I want you to remember this. There would be no resurrection without the crucifixion. There can be no testimony without a test.

There would be no Pentecost without plenty cost. So the first thing of being fruitful, stick to Jesus. Can I get an amen?

The second, accept pruning for greater fruitfulness. I told you that's not something I cherish, but I accept it from the hand of God. As I said, obedience is costly. A well-known author and speaker was speaking at an exclusive club in London and he said the following. He said, ladies and gentlemen, the entrance fee into the kingdom of heaven is nothing, but the annual subscription is everything.

David said, God forbid that I give to the Lord that which cost me nothing. Challenging words from Dr. Michael Youssef about the cost of obedience, faithfulness and discipleship. Thank you for listening to Leading the Way. Did today's message spark some life questions? Well, if so, won't you consider speaking with one of our Leading the Way pastors or counselors? The place to start is ltw.org slash Jesus. Before we run out of time for today, as an encouragement to our fellow listeners, I would like to invite you to share how God is using this program to encourage you in your walk of faith. I believe it is important to give testimony of how God is working in your life and if Leading the Way is part of that, we would want to know. You can call our testimony line at 877-941-7934. Now I want to hear all about it and we just might share it on the program that is 877-941-7934. Do it today. Thank you in advance and God bless. This program is furnished by Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef, passionately proclaiming uncompromising truth around the world.