[0:00] Amen. What a truth, because he lives. We just keep pressing on, keep climbing on, keep believing on, keep walking on, keep walking! Because Jesus lives.
[0:17] okay just want to say it's been amazing to be here with you guys again and just really want to keep praying for the church here and want to see you guys just go on and everything that God has planned for you and all his purposes for you could be realized for his glory and just the testimony of Jesus would just keep radiating from the church here I want to I want to look at a higher place for the church James you're back good to see you brother I missed you a higher place for the church and this is maybe a continuation with last night as far as the body and that is in the area of ministry and I just just something that
[1:42] God really has laid in my heart in the last in the last I don't know few months six months maybe or less but I want to read a little bit out of this book The Revival We Need I don't know if any of you have that book Aaron had bought a bunch of them and made them available at the tent meetings and he had them just up front on the stage and told anyone that if you want to get one to go up and then drop ten dollars in the box for Daniel Kenniston to support him and so I I got one and I'd never if I understand right Danny Kenniston used to refer to this book way back in the day when he preached on revival and but there was just some things in here that just so went along with what I felt
[2:48] God was convicting me personally on and and something that our churches I feel like again this is one of those things we have a measure of this but I really feel like there's such a higher place yet that God would bring us to as churches so I want to just share some things I don't read something in the beginning of this book let's see where do I start here he's he's talking here about this this author I think he wrote this book in 1922 or 23 so he's a old
[3:49] I think he was part of some revivals if I didn't look up much background on him but okay where do I start here maybe I'll just start here as I studied the lives of those whom God has signally used all down the centuries especially the labors of the Puritans the early Methodists and others of later years and saw how wonderfully they were owned of him how they worked for expected and got what they sought I was compelled to admit that I saw nothing like it today it's talking about in his day in the twenties there either in my own ministry or in the ministry of others the average church does not aim at let alone get results men preach and never even dream of anything happening and it's like wow oh how far away we have drifted how powerless we have become it is reported this is yeah this is the main part I wanted it is reported that there were 7000 churches that did not win a single soul for Jesus
[5:14] Christ in an entire year and I you know I read that and I was like in our churches and I think we're I think most of our churches are kind of at the same place in this I you know I believe there there is some very good fruit of that here you guys have realized some of that maybe even more fruit here than in some of the other churches but think of this it was reported that there were 7000 churches that did not win a single soul for Jesus Christ in an entire year that means that 7000 ministers preached the gospel for a whole year without reaching even one lost soul supposing they that they preach putting it at a low average on 40 Sundays not including extra meetings that would mean that those 7000 preachers preach 560,000 sermons in a single year it's just like oh lord help 560,000 sermons in a single year think of the work the labor the money expended in salaries etc.
[6:41] to make this possible and yet 560,000 sermons preached by 7000 ministers in 7000 churches to tens of thousands of hearers during a period of 12 months failed to bring a single soul to Christ I was like wow and I I think our statistics are a little better than that and I'm not here in any way to condemn us for where we are again I thank God for what he is for what he is doing and what he is working among us but I my heart is I believe that we need to believe God for a greater harvest I believe that we need to pray and ask God for a greater reality and a harvest of souls we last
[7:44] Sunday we had we had a baptism at church and that was it had been a year since we had a baptism and three were baptized a single young man from the community that got born again he was at the youth meetings I don't know if you remember him Jericho he was baptized and that was a real blessing and then William and Freda Yoder from they had left the Amish realized they were not baptized as believers and asked if they could be baptized so that was just such a refreshing time for the church to just to have a baptism again and I just there are some things that God laid on my heart some time ago some of this where
[8:44] I'm going to start with here tonight I preached in Ghana in January there to the native some of the native leaders there in Ghana and just stirred by these young men young married men and just their zeal for the Lord and how they go out in the unreached villages totally without any missionaries or anything like the churches there are just moving on and in fact Daniel Keniston and Ross Ulrich that are overseeing the work there they had to tell them that they can continue to evangelize but they have no capacity to start any more churches right now they have like 50 churches and they're all indigenous run and led and these are young men that grew up as boys and youth in the church and now they're married and they just have a calling on their lives to preach and they just go out and preach and get people saved to where they just said you can get them saved but we can't start any more churches we don't have the capacity right so anyhow
[10:11] I was God just laid this burden on my heart that again this I'm not preaching this because this church just needs it I just feel like all of our churches I feel like we are in the end times and I think to cry on the heart of the father is there is a harvest that needs to be brought in and someone needs to do that and the reality is that we get so focused on church life and trying to make churches go and get that to work and that needs to work because there needs to be a stable place to bring them in and disciple them and all of that but sometimes in the midst of that and this is where I felt really convicted personally is like I know that at this time in my life my main calling is and my main burden is for the church church and you know
[11:21] I'm not an evangelist my my that isn't what God has called me to do I don't think unless I totally missed it but my burden and I feel like my grace works to you know for in the church I love my heart is really stirred in church planting like even at this age I think I'm probably too old for another one but at this age if I think of starting a new church like something inside of my spirit just becomes alive like I could get really excited but I guess what I'm saying in that is like just say for me you know like I can just say that that's someone else's responsibility to reach the lost and my focus is that the churches go on and the churches are strong and so on and which is true but strong for what like what is the purpose of a strong church
[12:36] I mean obviously it is to what we've been hearing to grow in grace and in the knowledge and discipleship and all of that is part of church work and yet I feel like we have so focused on those aspects that there's a whole wide world out there there's a whole aspect that in our focus inward that we fail to see that we're we need to be strong so we can go reach the loss so some of these young men and I know you've done that this church has been very active in that in Michigan so again I'm just saying is there a higher plane that we can come to is there a further place for all of our churches and for me personally to focus on reaching the loss in these last days
[13:37] I believe without a doubt this is one of the passions in the heart of Jesus Christ and so I want to just encourage us with that again a greater come to a higher place higher plane a greater effectiveness in the mission and the calling of the church to be a true witness of Jesus on this earth a further and greater effectiveness in reaching the lost and discipling and encouraging the saints we cannot let we can't some churches just focus on that and all they're focused on is just getting people saved but then what then what are they going to do who's going to disciple them years ago there in Virginia for quite a few years I went into the jail there was a five county jail so it was quite a big jail there five counties came together and built one facility and went in there every
[14:45] Sunday night and one of the things that really stood out to me that the inmates started telling me that I just go in there I don't know how many years I did that and I loved it I just like that's where I felt my grace I didn't feel like my grace was necessarily in the church but when I got in that setting it just drew something out of me and but anyhow one thing that the inmates started telling me the ones especially the ones that were born again they said you are the only person that comes in here the only church ministry that comes here and there was you know different ones that tried to take us believers on because every other ministry all they do every time they come in is try to get us saved so we need a balance is what
[15:46] I'm saying we cannot just overlook the one and just focus on the other we need both aspects the church the calling and the mission of the church is to get people saved and then to bring them in and love them and disciple them and help them work through all of the issues and find find a place to walk in victory for their own lives in the kingdom of God and it was amazing as as I we went to we moved to Mexico then and started a church there and then we came back up to Trinidad Colorado where we are now and started a church there and Joel my son in law he wanted to do something he was like I need I need an avenue of ministry so we started a prison ministry in the state prison there and so I was all excited about it and I went in there and all of a sudden it's like
[16:54] I tried to work up the grace that I had years ago in Virginia and I just fell out of place it just didn't flow and I was like what is wrong with me and I just realized that somehow God had changed my focus and my heart then was for the church and so I went with Joel and we went in as men some and but I you know I shared some but I just realized that my grace God had shifted my grace and my focus was more for the church even though I love to go in the prison with the inmates okay let me I don't want to this is yeah this has been a full day so I need to watch myself here not get too carried!
[17:44] away but as a church to live in a close fellowship and vital union with Christ we need that so we can experience a measure of his heart and desire to reach the lost the unreached again we have a measure of this praise the Lord our support and I'm really blessed with our churches and the support that is there in missions so I want to just bless and you guys are so much a part of that if you think of Reggie South Africa again the work and the focus that's been here in the past for the people in Michigan there and so on I mean obviously it's yielded fruit because there's quite a few steers here so praise the Lord for that that's part of your faithfulness and God sees that again it is that we have that aspect and it is seen and blessed by
[18:51] God but there's a higher plane a greater usefulness and effectiveness that we can come to and God would long to bring us to I want to turn to Luke 24 I want to just look at something again that I taught I'm going to just very briefly touch on something I taught there in Ghana that I felt that the Lord really laid on my heart Luke 24 verse 44 to 49 he said unto them these are the words which I spake unto you while I was with you that all things must be fulfilled that were written in the law of Moses and in the prophets and in the Psalms concerning me then open he their understanding that they might understand the scriptures and said unto them thus it is written and thus it behoved
[19:55] Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day why why was these things written why did Christ came to suffer that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all the nations beginning at Jerusalem and you are witnesses of these things and behold I send the promise of my father unto you but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high now let's turn to Acts 1 and I know this is very familiar but I just want to make a few points here I don't want this to be the total focus of my message!
[20:38] but in Acts chapter 1 I think I'll start in verse 1 and the former treaties have I made O Theophilus of all that Jesus began both to do and teach until the day in which he was taken up after he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen to whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs having seen or being seen of them forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God and being assembled together with them commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem but wait for the promise of the father which saith he ye have heard of me for John truly baptized with water but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence when they therefore were come together they asked of him saying
[21:43] Lord wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel and he said unto them it is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the father hath put in his own power but ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you and ye shall be witnesses to the uttermost part of the earth again a very familiar scripture there and we could read on in Acts 2 then how the Holy Spirit fell and I don't think I'll read that but we know the story and I guess the thing that really gripped me was we have the story here in Acts of the coming of the Holy Spirit and what were the results of his coming when the
[22:44] Holy Spirit came on man what did what did the men go do and we can have a lot of focus on the Holy Spirit and rightfully so he is the third person of the Trinity he's a very vital part of the God head and he's the one that God has given us to dwell in us here that we can accomplish what God wants us to accomplish on this earth but again we can focus a lot on the Holy Spirit and our focus can be centered on just the experience or the feeling maybe we got when we were filled with the Spirit or maybe even some gift maybe that we supposedly received when the Holy Spirit come on them and if we read in Acts here it says these holy tongues of fire came on all of the apostles heads and we know that they went out and they preached but if you follow if you follow the book of
[24:00] Acts what you see is not just the acts of the apostles that's what it's named in the Bible it says the acts of the apostles but it's also the acts of the Holy Spirit when he gets a hold of mankind what did these men full of the Holy Spirit what did they do what did the Holy Spirit almost drive them to do what did the Holy Spirit compel them to do and we know the answer they just got up these Jewish men they were full of the power to preach the gospel and that burning was in them I believe that all the world would know about this Jesus Christ and they just went everywhere preaching and I guess what I really felt like God was challenging me on personally as a leader in our churches we can say we have the
[25:06] Holy Spirit and I know we do I know it's real but!
[25:17] why is it so difficult why do churches some of our churches go a year or two and maybe some of our children get saved which that's a miracle of God's grace too I'm not making light of that but there's so little interest in many ways in going out and bringing the gospel to the world that doesn't know anything about Jesus Christ and I know the Holy Spirit is given to to melt us together we talked about that on last evening about the body to bring us together in love and so on but the fruit of that the fruit of that should be that we are empowered and compelled by this same Holy Spirit to simply go out in the highways and the byways and reach the lost and that's just something that maybe a few have interest in but
[26:18] I just think a lot of our church problems would seem pretty small when there's the excitement of new souls being brought in to the kingdom of getting born again the cry of a newborn baby in the house of God that just receive the love of God and just somehow feels that cleansing power of the blood of Jesus and just what that does even in a whole body to behold that birth that new birth and souls getting saved that I tell you that makes church so exciting and I believe it's just the heart of God so much in these last days and I just want to encourage us let's seek a further place for souls
[27:20] Dan and Rachel were just sharing last night I think it was about whenever it was Friday night or last night about a neighbor there that just a young couple and I mean I got I'm so excited it's like I mean people that are in serious problems but that is I mean that is who we're called to reach and we can minister to them and you guys can love them and show them the way of Christ and obviously it's up to them whether they respond and receive it but what an opportunity and what if that couple would get saved and you guys would bring them to church or even before they get saved and all of their deep needs and so on I mean the excitement the focus wouldn't be on some of these little nitpicking things the focus would be on these are souls that can be brought into the kingdom of
[28:23] God and be transformed right in front of your eyes and just what that does in a body how the health that brings to the body of Christ to see that we're working with the heart of God for souls and then bringing them in and then working with the heart of Christ to disciple them souls and to lead them into obedience and all of those things okay I need to stick with my notes or I'll go on here for a couple hours and these chairs are too hard for that so again with the book of Acts we have the coming of the Holy Spirit and the result of his coming it is both the acts of the apostles and the acts of the
[29:24] Holy Spirit and I guess that's one thing I want to focus on look what the Holy Spirit does when he can have his way into men and women Acts shows the truth of the revelation of the spirit as he governs guides and controls and directs men in the acts that are written and all of these things that are written in the book of Acts!
[29:53] government of the spirit and again this is this is one big big problem with a lot of the modern teaching of the Holy Spirit there's a focus on having an experience but there's hardly any reality of them being governed by that spirit literally being governed the life being governed by the spirit that they claim to have received and the governing of the spirit in the life of the believer will always line up with the word of God because and this is what I taught these African brothers because the Holy Spirit is the author of the word and the author of the word will never violate what he authored so it's an amazing thing to have an experience with the Holy Spirit it's somewhat another thing to be so surrendered then in our lives to that same
[31:01] Holy Spirit that he literally can lead us and govern us and guide us in everything we do it's one of the I tell you this is I'm just going to be totally honest this is an area there's areas like that in my own life that I've had especially what I mentioned the other maybe Friday night about knowing the voice of the Spirit we've all read and heard testimonies of someone driving down the road and all of a sudden I can't remember details but all of a sudden the Lord said they just felt someone directing them turn here stop at this house I remember the one story the guy just walked up to the house and knocked on the door and there was a girl there mother was sick or something I can't remember what it was but somehow God miraculously directed this person there and ministered to that the need of the mother there or whatever there's so many stories like that of people that have learned to be governed and led by the spirit to where the just in your normal course of daily routine the spirit can break in there and remind you of someone to minister to or turn down this road and you're like this is ridiculous you know
[32:34] I don't know what this is about but somehow are so keen to the voice of the spirit and that's that's what I mean about being one thing about being governed by the spirit these were weak broken men who forsook Christ again just a few days before this mentioned this last night over and over denied Christ and forsook him men of like passion as we but now we see them as those who had received the gift of the Holy Spirit we see the nature and the purpose of the gift of the Holy Spirit many times our focus is on these men seeing their zeal and their boldness and their devotion and the power of their preaching that we're so amazed that and all of the things they accomplished and it's fine there's a place for that but the greater amazement should be on the
[33:45] Holy Spirit of God the eternal Spirit of God and what that Holy Spirit can do in a man that is just like you and these men were no different than we are sitting here tonight no different what he was able to accomplish through these men in the world is just an amazing and these men did not do it on their own these men did it under the power of the Holy Spirit again look what happens when he comes on men of like passion men like us they had fear they get I'm sure they got nervous they weren't above getting nervous I get nervous every time I come up to preach I think so somehow you have to overcome nervousness and being timid and all of this is just who we are as men these were just common men they struggle with the same things that we struggle with they had uneasy feelings inside when they were asked to do something that was impossible outside of the
[35:07] Spirit I'm sure they argued in their hearts at times like you know is this the Lord or not! but somehow that that spirit that came on them they rose up in the faith that this is God this is the voice of God this is the spirit of God and because it's God I'm going to act on what I'm sensing inside of me by the spirit we must see the Holy Spirit as the source the one who inspires the church to bring the souls of men to Christ the focus of the spirit seen in Acts is that spirit that was given as a missionary spirit or as a spirit who works for the salvation of the world we know that they initially preached there in Jerusalem and 3,000 got saved and they weren't like hey man this is great now focus all of the work of the spirit on let's establish a church now the
[36:20] Holy Spirit did direct them to establish the church but you just see that spirit just taking them further and further and further out there in the world to preach the gospel and I I just I just am longing to see a greater reality of that in our churches while I'm still here to observe that I don't know how long I can go James and I dance we're getting pretty white haired and we're getting up there but I tell you if the Holy Spirit comes on us and wants us to go do something I know by God's grace we can still do it brother Dan and we need to do it and I just I long to see this cry come up in the church for the souls of men and I know again I know we have a measure of that but take that measure that we have and as we add more faith to it together as the body say
[37:29] Lord we want your heart we want your passion we want your zeal for the loss I believe that God will just add to the measure that's here and it can just it can become a flame it can become a burning fire in our hearts that the souls of men would be saved and brought to the Lord again let me read that again we must see that the Holy Spirit is the source the one who inspires the church to bring souls of men to Christ the focus of the Spirit seen in Acts is that Spirit was given as a missionary a spirit that works for the salvation of the world again not just locally but start locally but then for the whole world he revealed his nature and work as worldwide as worldwide who desired the salvation of all men from every nation and we could turn to revelation where it talks about at the end there there's there's souls there from every kindred every tribe every nationality every language group there are the souls of men there worshipping
[38:50] God worshipping the lamb and it's because the church by the power of the Holy Spirit went out and did what God called the church to do he revealed his work the Holy Spirit revealed his work as enabling God's people to preach Christ to men of every nation the church received the gift and they began to preach Christ to those who didn't believe they were moved by the Spirit which desired the salvation of man he compelled and constrained them to preach the gospel we could look in Corinthians there where Paul said that he's constrained by the love of God what he does is just that there was this inward passion and constraining power of the
[39:52] Spirit that brought the love of God there to reach souls the Spirit which labors for the salvation of the world was given to all in the church I think we've taken some of this whole aspect of well I'm not a I'm not an evangelist so that's not my calling and I want to just debunk that that you're maybe not an evangelist but the calling of the church is to seek and to pray and to have a passion for the salvation of the souls of men whether you're an evangelist or a pastor or whatever your part is in the church they were all if you look at if you look at the book of acts and read it with this thought in mind they were all in some degree involved in either going or supporting the missionary effort of others and had the whole church
[41:08] I believe had the desire for the conversion of the world which the spirit inspired them to the whole church they made that their mission and and the reason I say that is because when they were dispersed!
[41:24] what does it say they did? It didn't say that the disciples the apostles went out and preached what happened when they were dispersed! through the persecution? What happened James?
[41:36] They went everywhere preaching! We would probably run and find a green valley to plant our gardens in nothing wrong with that and settle down and see if we could have a good life somewhere else Do you see oh I just trust that somehow we can sense the heart of God for the loss for the world this thing is going to be over soon and whoever does not believe is going to be eternally damned whether it's some of your kin folks your family members your parents whoever it may be whoever does not believe will be eternally damned to hell with no chance of ever making reconciliation with God and
[42:43] I I just wonder if some of the struggles we have with situations and relationships and stuff in the church is not such a scheme of the devil to keep us occupied with trying to work out situations instead of having the passion for the heart of Jesus passion is to reach the lost to reach the world so let's turn to John 15 I just want to I just want to look at a few scriptures there I don't think I'll drag this out very long but just just a few thoughts we again this is very familiar very many messages preached out of here how do we get there as a church how do we how do we come to a further place of fruitfulness especially thinking of the area of having a passion for the souls of men
[43:59] I am the true vine my father is a husband and every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away and every branch that beareth fruit he purges that it may bring forth more fruit so again Jesus makes very clear to disciples before he went away before he prayed the high priestly prayer that we looked at last night he kept this is one aspect he kept just bringing back to the disciples this whole aspect of bearing fruit because the father is glorified when his people bear fruit and how do we bear fruit it's by being attached to the vine and we know this this is nothing new why does the vine exist to bear fruit why does someone plant a vine why do you plant a garden obviously to bear fruit it's not it's not just so people walk down and say man that is a beautiful garden
[45:16] I mean it is beautiful and you ladies you guys got a touch here that wow you guys have some beautiful gardens and it's just like you can you know we can awe at the leaves and the flowers and all of that but ultimately everything that's planted I mean there's things that are planted for just for pretty I know but most of what's planted is that it bears fruit well even the pretty part is that's the fruit it's bearing it's producing some nice flowers and church bearing fruit is for the glory and the pleasure and the satisfaction of God God is glorified and satisfied with nothing less than his people bearing fruit one definition of the glory of God is his nature satisfied in seeing his purposes realized and again what did we read there in
[46:28] Luke 24 the purpose of God for Christ's coming was that repentance and remission of sins would be preached all over the world this is what Christ was about we could read and I won't take time to turn there in Hebrews 10 about Jesus said it was a prophecy of Jesus I'm here to do thy will O Lord he mentioned that twice in verse 7 and 9 this is that was his purpose to do the will of the father this is the calling and the mission of the church of God with Christ as his head in again I won't turn to this but in Acts 88 it talks about God brought a vine out of Egypt but we know the history and that was Israel but we know the history of that it failed to produce and God had to judge it because of that there was no fruit on that vine for the glory of God for the satisfaction of God's heart
[47:29] I want to just mention verse 2 because some years ago I was I preached out of here and I looked up some of these Greek words and it's like because this seems pretty harsh and it really was like some you know sometimes when I read some of these things I wonder in myself like am I a branch that hasn't borne fruit and am I cut off and it can get pretty personal to me sometimes but so I looked at this and I just want to give this because this to me so shows the heart of the father the thought there of taketh away this thought of every every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away one of the definitions of that in the in the
[48:36] Greek is the thought of he picks up and it's the thought of branches that are hanging down on the earth say a vine of grapes or whatever and they get broke down and so on and they actually one of the guys that gives the definition of some of these words he was saying that it actually refers to and this happens in the Middle East like branches that are their leaves are laying down and they get covered with dust and if it rains they get covered they're just stuck in the mud and the gardener the vine dresser comes along and he picks up these branches he picks them out of the dirt and he props them up so the light and the wind and the moisture can go through them that they can bear fruit I just thought I just love that definition of the heart of God like he it sounds like okay you didn't bear fruit boom you're cut off you're thrown away and if at least one of the definitions of that is that no he's he's he comes alongside he sees a vine that is not bearing fruit because it's just it's laying on the earth it's like he props that up and makes so it can bear fruit again and I just
[50:06] I just love that God has such a heart that that we bear fruit again many times we are so earthbound branches hanging in the dirt and mud and bear little fruit but God comes along he stirs us up again he picks us up he props us up for a while so that the nutrients and the the branch can gain strength again and bring forth fruit unto him just a couple more verses here I'll just read a couple more and make some comments and we'll close now you're clean through the word which I have spoken abide in me and I in you as a branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine no more can ye except you abide in me I am the vine you're the branches he that abideth in me and I in him the same bringeth forth much fruit for without me you can do nothing if a man abide not in me is cast forth as a branch and is withered men gather them and cast them into the fire and they are burned if you abide in me and my words abide in you you shall ask what you will and it shall be done unto you herein is my father glorified how that you bear much fruit so shall you be my disciples you want to be called and known as a disciple of God bear fruit bear fruit unto him
[51:30] I think that's as far as I'll read there he talks here about pruning that which bears fruit we know that is true in the natural it's true in the spiritual is pruned so it bears more fruit there's a constant need of pruning training cultivating so the branches bear fruit many times and a lot I know a lot of you have experienced this many times when we bore spiritual fruit we suddenly realize we're going through something some trial or some test this is his way with the branch he comes along and he it seems like we do something and we know that was God we know that God used us and then all of a sudden we feel like we're just in a dry and barren place again and we're like God what's going on and a lot of times it's simply
[52:33] God pruning that so it bears more fruit even the next time sometimes we glory in the fruit instead of the fruit being for the glory of God and that's something we really need to watch as churches we glory in the fruit fruit I remember reading from A.W.
[52:55] Tozer years ago never forgot it he said he all of sudden started realizing like someone would get saved or several people get saved in his meetings and he started telling a lot of people about that or publishing it out or whatever and then all of a sudden like nothing happened or the people that he was bragging about actually fell back and all of a sudden he realized that he was using this fruit to glorify him and his ministry and he just realized that I mean that just shut off that shut down his ministry as far as seeing results and so it's very important that we just realize that our whole desire to bear fruit is for the glory and the satisfaction of God not the glory and the fruit and not to use the fruit as some kind of a trophy that somehow we figured something out and we're the church that can evangelize or anything like that once once when it's all for the glory of
[54:09] God and it will all be for the glory of God if it's led by the Spirit of God when it's for the glory of God then God God will just increase our fruitfulness again us abiding in vital union with Christ is a must for continued fruitfulness the fruit must come from him and our vital union with him the daily inflow of the life of the Holy Spirit is our power to bring forth fruit the vine is there for fruit not for flowers not for beauty the beauty of the leaves not for shade not for any other thing the vine is there for fruit our lives in relation to Christ is for the glory of God God has no second purpose for us as a church if we don't bear fruit there's no other plan and no other purpose for us having being a church I believe we can see that here in
[55:17] John 15 fruit fruit is a natural expression of a deep rooted oneness with Christ to express Christ to live Christ to manifest Christ to let everything around us feel Christ and be touched by him through our presence or through the presence of Christ when we're when we're with people that surely is to the glory of God and the satisfaction of his heart this is our purpose church this is our calling may God help us to come to a higher plane for his glory in this whole aspect of ministry I just maybe I'll mention yet too in Ephesians 4 what are the let me just read that in Ephesians 4 he gave some apostles some prophets some evangelists some pastors and teachers
[56:31] I'll read verse 12 in the amplified his intention was the perfecting and the full equipping of the saints his consecrated people that they should do the work of ministering toward building up Christ's body in the church and so on so our efforts in ministering encouraging each other is that we it builds us up and equips us to do the work of ministry that's in the heart of Christ so I would just encourage you as a church to just pick up the heart of Jesus in a deep way for his desire for the salvation of souls and look where that leads some of you as it may be here in the church or look how God uses that to bring souls into the kingdom and again
[57:34] I know God has used you guys very much in some of these areas but let it grow let it come take another step let it become let it become a burning passion in your heart for the glory of God one thing I want to just say to the youth here not just the youth but that I'm very encouraged with in our ministers meetings there the other week there's a there's a group of men going to the Ukraine and looking at the potential of starting some kind of ministry there in Ukraine with there's hundreds of thousands of widows in Ukraine from their husbands being killed in the war there's countless countless children without fathers and the government has no resources to take care of them and to provide for them and and and yeah
[58:40] I mean there's there's so there's a they're taking an exploratory trip about potentially partnering with the church over there and start doing something for the kingdom of God in Ukraine with these widows and children and others just in all of their loss and devastation to preach Jesus to these people and show be the hands and the feet of Jesus so I'm excited about let's let's let the spirit of God compel us and impel us out into his harvest field in these last days again if we say we have the Holy Spirit and don't have a heart for the lost then there's some kind of serious disconnect in what we're saying and I believe some of it is just like for me just to become aware of this and be convicted of it
[59:41] I sense you know that I sense this building in me and I want it I just want it to build in the churches too because the Holy Spirit is a missionary spirit and that's why the gospel is still going forth today because of the Holy Spirit and men that are filled with that spirit that have a desire and a calling to go preach the gospel of Jesus God bless you I'm just looking forward to the fruit that you as a church bring forth for the kingdom here I'm going to be excited to hear about that is one of you going to close I'll let one of you close the last night that that