Delhi Baptist Church is a Bible-teaching church that aims to glorify God by helping people in their devotion of Him, applying the Scriptures to their lives, and faithfully proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

What The Bible Says Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

What The Bible Says Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

Pastor Adam Slagel.12-31-2023.AM.

? Temple Baptist Church - 4-10-2024John 15:1-11? Introduction:? A.? Last week, we saw the Prophecy of the True Vine.? Jesus Christ is the Root of the Vine and the Vine itself along with being the Branch.? This tells us several things about Christ: He was before all things, He made all things, He sustains all things, and He will be after all things.? B.? Tonight, we will look at the Purpose of the True Vine.? God does everything both Perfectly and with Purpose.? 1.? verse 1.? The Personality of the True vine.? a)? As the Root, Christ is the Anchor that holds the Vine.? He is the Chief Cornerstone of salvation.? He is the Rock of the believer.? As the Vine, Christ sustains the believer.? The Root supplies the nutrients along with the water necessary for spiritual growth and productivity through the Vine to the branches.? b)? As the Vine, Christ is Attributer that feeds the branches.? The sap flows through the vine to the branches.? The vines do not produce anything other than branches.? It is the branches that are responsible for bearing fruit.? c)? As the Branch, Christ is our Example of both life and fruit bearing.? 2.? Verse 2.? The Purpose of the True Vine.? Fruit!? Without fruit, the True Vine would have no reason to exist.? Jesus Christ has a reason for His being and we are that reason.? a) The Vine gives birth to the branches.? We are born again through the finished work of Jesus Christ.? b) The vine gives the necessities of fruit bearing to the branches.? c)? The Lord has and is doing His part because we are both saved and capable, as long as we abide in Him, of producing fruit.? C.? The Priority of the True Vine.? 1.? The Importance of Abiding in the Vine.? ? a)? These verses do not speak of being Attached to the True Vine.? Each of God's children get their live through Christ Jesus and are a part of the True Vine.? If you are saved, you are and always will be a branch.? b)? But not all branches continue to draw life from the vine for various reasons.? After a storm, we all find a lot of dead branches in our yards.? God uses storms and strong winds to prune trees and other plants.? Gardeners prune their plants to help the plant to produce maximum fruit.? 2.? How do we Abide in the True Vine.? ? a)? By drawing all that we need for life and godliness from the sap that flows from God to usward.? I use these verses often because of their importance to all of us that are saved.? 2 Peter 1:2-3? Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,? (3)? According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:? b)? God gives us everything that we need so it is Available.? 2 Peter 1:2-3? Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,? (3)? According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:? c)? There are two aspects of our spiritual drawing from God.? To ignore either of these will cause the believer to become unproductive.? 1)? The Word of God.? I cannot over emphasize the importance of our Bible!? I do not “major on a minor” as it is the “MAJOR!”? It is the “sap” that we draw from reading, studying, listening to, and rightly applying the Word of God.? God's people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.? 2)? The Spirit of God.? The second way that we draw “sap” from the True Vine is through the presence of and obedience to the Holy Spirit which indwells us.? He is our Teacher, Comforter, Guide, and Friend.? 3.? The branch that does not produce fruit is broken off by men and cast into the fire.? ? John 15:6? If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.? (Notice that it is still a branch and the men who break them off and burn them shows the chastening rod of God.? “And many sleep!”? D.? Verses 2-11.? The Product of the Abiding Branches.? We now understand that failure to abide in Christ causes lack of fruit and possibly physical death.? ? John 15:5? I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.? 1.? Verse 2, 4-5.? ? The Qualification of the Fruit.? The branch must be attached to the Vine!? ? If you are not in the Vine, then there is no way for you to share in the Vine's life. This is all about a vital union between the believer and the Lord Jesus Christ, the True Vine.? a.? The Purging of the Vine.? John 15:2-3? Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.? (3)? Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.? b.? We must have a close relationship with the Vine.? Prayer, Bible reading and study, self-denial.? c.? We must be available for use by the Vine.? Availability and dependability are the greatest abilities.? This in all God needs.? 2.? The Quality of the Fruit.? Fruit!? The grace extended is all the same.? The faith exercised is all the same.? The salvation given is all the same.? a.? The quality of the fruit is not necessarily the responsibility of the branch.? The quality of fruit depends upon the quality of the Vine.? ? b.? God reproduces His life through our lives.? As salt and light, the world sees our good works and glorify the Father in heaven.? c.? This has been called a “Liberating Truth!”? We are free from the consequences of their personal choice.? We cannot save, we can only give savor and light.? 3.? The Quantity Of Our Fruit.? ? a.? ? So many people whip themselves because of a lack of visible results but there are those who plant, those who water, and only God can give the increase.? This? is not the responsibility of the branch. Some will produce much; some will produce little.? b.? The fruit, more fruit, and much fruit depend upon the will of the Vine. I have known some of the godliest, best missionaries and pastor who have spent their lives with little seeable fruit.? ? 4.? The Quandary of the Branches.? ? John 15:5? I am the vine, ye are the branches:? He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.? a.? Not every branch is what God intended for it to be.? Our relationship to the Vine is what we make of it.? b.? This branch is still attached to the Vine but is not abiding in the Vine.? Let me explain.? ? 1)? It is the Husbandman who Purges the branches: to wash them through the Word of God.? 2)? It is the Husbandman who Prunes the branches by breaking the branches OFF from the Vine.? c.? Our duty is to abide in God and allow God to abide in us!? Conclusion:? Not abide in Christ:? a.? Loss of Fellowship – “cast out”? b.? Loss of Living – “withered”? c.? Loss of Reward – “burned'

Holding Fast the FaithRick HoukTue, 07/25/2023 - 13:19 How Understanding “The Faith” Strengthens Daily Faith Many Christians think of doctrine as irrelevant to their daily lives. They hope their pastor studies it, but they don't think of it as having practical importance to the average Christian on a Thursday afternoon. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. You see, it is understanding and believing “the faith” that allows us to exercise daily faith.  When Jude wrote to “earnestly contend for the faith” (Jude 3), he addressed his epistle “to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called.” In other words, that's every Christian. So, if strong doctrine leads to strong faith, what should we know about developing strong doctrine? Our Faith Rests on the Word of GodFor a Christian, all doctrine comes from one final authority: the Word of God. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine . . .” (2 Timothy 3:16). God revealed His truth that he wanted us to have, recorded it in the inspired words of Scripture, and preserved it for all generations. Jesus told His apostles that He would give them His truth and they were to pass it on to the early church. In Acts 2:42, we learn that after three thousand souls were saved on Pentecost, the believers “continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship . . . .” The moorings of the early church and the rapid spread of the gospel was dependent upon sound doctrine to unify the believers in the local churches. The early church delivered the gospel and the faith to their generation, who in turn passed it on to the next generation, and now we have these precious truths today. All of this transfer happened through the written Word of God. What God delivered to us through “holy men of God” who “spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:21) is all we need. It is final, complete, infallible, inerrant. It is absolute truth. Our understanding of truth may grow, but the Word of God itself is, like God, immutable, infallible, and eternal. Our Faith Is Kept by Sound TheologyThe faith once delivered to the saints can only be maintained and grow when we live and practice sound doctrine. Paul told Titus in Titus 1:9, “Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.”Without sound doctrine, would we know the truth about salvation, eternal life, and eternal security? Would our faith have any stability or confidence? Would we be able to adequately give godly counsel? Would we be able to witness to the unsaved with confidence? Would we be able to defend our faith? Would we not be deceived by false teachings? Would we know how to walk in the Spirit and live a holy life? The answer to all of these is “no.” To live and propagate our faith it must be built upon the sound teachings of the Scriptures.Our Faith Should Lead to Daily ApplicationA.W. Tozer said, “There is scarcely anything so dull and meaningless as Bible doctrine taught for its own sake. Truth divorced from life is not truth in its biblical sense, but something else and something less.” Our doctrine should affect our behavior. James 1:22 admonishes us, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” A wealth of theological knowledge is practically meaningless unless we are regularly applying truth to our daily lives. Then, and only then, will our theology bring growth to our lives. Category Christian Living Tags Apologetics Bible Study