01/30/00 - What's In It for Me? …Success!
Every follower of Jesus wants to be valuable to him.
We look forward to the day that he will come back for us and say, "Well done, good and faithful servant". When the "day of the Lord" your life will be judged to be successful or meaningless depending on His standards - not the worlds.
At the end of your life you want to leave with the knowledge that you have led a successful life! - everyone does!
There are many definitions of success.
Don't confuse fame with success: Madonna is one and Mother Terasa is the other.
Ralph Waldo Emerson - American Philosopher and Writer
To laugh
often and much,
to win respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;
to earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty;
to find the best in others;
to leave the world a bit better
whether by a healthy child,
a garden patch, or a
redeemed social condition;
to know even one life
has breathed easier
because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.
St. Vince Lombardi - Green Bay Packer Coach of the 60's & 70's
"Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time…"
Tim O'Brien - Newswriter
"Once you've defined success, list everything you need to do and everyone you need to meet to be successful. Be specific with your definition. Get down to the smallest details. This will help you begin to see and believe that your success, on your terms can be real."
- July 21, 1997 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service
Jesus gives us God's definition in "The Parable of the Vine"
You will find it in John 15, verses 1 through 5.
15:1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.
15:2 He cuts off every branch that doesn't produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.
15:3 You have already been pruned for greater fruitfulness by the message I have given you.
15:4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful apart from me.
15:5 "Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.
God defines success as "fruitfulness"
Mom and Dad's Apple tree out back of their house is full of apples. Each branch weighed down with literally dozens of apples. Dad had to go out and prop up the branches with 2x4's to keep them from breaking!
Fruitfulness is important to God. What good is a fruitless fruit tree!!! Branches without fruit get cut off.
Remember the Parable of the fig tree? In the Parable of the vine God is not talking about grapes, figs, apples, oranges, and pears! He speaks of the fruit of the your life.
You will produce fruit. Bitter fruit that comes of anger and pain. Or, the Fruit of the Spirit - Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, self-control.
These are the fruit of success!
A Fruitful Life Requires Pruning! Have you ever seen a Vineyard? Up close? And in person? I've watched them prune the vine. I've seen them pruning the vine right down to the nubs!
What is cut off is useless. They burn it or make a wreath out of it! When you follow Jesus - You will be pruned! It is the only way for God to help you to be fruitful and successful in your life!
Branches with fruit get pruned so they will produce more fruit.
When you prune you are doing two things! Remove the diseased parts of the plant. Sometimes vines are attacked by blight, insect, or a fungus. You can spray but it doesn't remove the problem. Surgery is required! Cut it off.
God wants to prune the sin out of your life. Yes, you are forgiven! Cool - you are going to heaven! God wants to free you from the sin that "dis-eases" your life! God has to cut off and rebuild the rebellion, the self oriented attitude, the pride that consumes our energy and life.
Remove the energy-consuming runners that don't have buds! Sometimes a vine grows without producing grapes!
Takes nutrients, minerals, water, and does nothing of value with it.
Gotta get rid of it so that the same resources can be used for fruit production. You have stuff in your life that is not sin that you would be better off rid of!
Nothing "evil" with a computer, per se! unless you use it to sin or using it keeps you from good
There are Sins of commission and sins of omission!
Get rid of the junk in your life. No spiritul fruit being grown here - just energy consumption!
Pruning clippers are nasty little machines that just gotta hurt!
Hebrews 12:11
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Getting Pruned Means Making the "Word of God" central to our lives!
What does Moses say? Deuteronomy 6:1-2
"These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life."
What does David say? Psalms 119:11
"I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you."
What does Jesus say? John 15:3
"You have already been pruned for greater fruitfulness by the message I have given you."
Your Fruitfulness and your success as man or woman of God depends on the place of the "Word of God" in your
Make Prayer a central part of your life. Make the Word of God central to your life. We only produce fruit when we are connected to the source. Look closely at the grape vine root and the branch. Jesus is 90% of the plant that produces. Keith Green sang a song in which there was this line "He is "De vine" and you are "De branch".
And branches only produce fruit when connected to the vine. Are you connected?
