Our Vines Have Tender Grapes - Donnie Swartzendruber

Good morning. God's blessings to each of you, and greetings in the name

of the One who is the true vine Birth. And I consider it a

privilege and a blessing to be here with you. We've enjoyed fellowshiping with you.

It's wonderful to be able to go to another part of the world and

find brothers and sisters in Christ that you can invest time with and be blessed

by. And that has been our experience here with you. We praise the

Lord for that. We also really appreciate the times we've had here, the

things that were shared this morning, the devotional songs we could sing together,

prayers offered, and God bless you for all the prayers that have been offered

in behalf of the message. Even here this morning, I feel a great

need of that and God's grace, and I pray He would be glorified.

My prayer is that the end result here this morning would be we'd all be

drawn closer to Christ and closer to each other. We're very mindful of the

fact that there's been a death in the community. There are families that are

hurting, and there's a lot of pain and sorrow and suffering, and I

was just mindful of that, and I ask, you know how much that

should effaked our service this morning, or this this message. And we've endeavored

to pray about this. We were encouraged to just go ahead with the message,

but we're thinking of those families, and there's there is a way that

this message can relate to that that we're seeing among us. You know,

at times like this, our hearts tend to be more tender. We stop

and think and consider, and we're a little more tender hearted toward each other.

And so those are some things that come into the picture this morning as

we think of this message. Last Sunday morning, I noticed that as Brother

Legal and started his message, you know who he talked to first and who

the first ones were that really there was a message from God's word for it

was for you children, and of course he brought out all of us or

children. But this morning I just liked to first here share a few things

with you children. It's just wonderful to see you here. I was blessed

to watch you go to Sunday school this morning, and it's just I love

seeing children in a church service, and so a big welcome to you children

here this morning. I often think about a time when Jesus was here on

earth and he had so many things to do, and people thought he was

too busy to have time for children. But you know what, children I

love. In the Book of Mark, it tells us how Jesus took children

up in his arms, put his hand on them and bless them. And

we just want the Lord to bless you children here again this morning. So

I have a little story, or not just a story, it's something to

share with you children this morning, and it relates very much to what Leland

shared with you and all of us last Sunday morning about obeying and honoring your

father and mother, your parents. You know, God says that, and

we've read that in the Bible. And I'd like to title thistle this little

thing for you children this morning. A ducklings first swim and brought a lot

of little uh ducklings, or we have here with us this morning. And

I'm hoping that there are enough ducklings here for one for all of your children.

And so after the service here this morning, I would just love to

have you come to the front. We'll have them up here somewhere, and

you're welcome to take one of these little ducks with you and take it home

and help it remind you of what we want to share with you this morning.

Now, when I ordered those children, I was expecting a little bit

bigger ducks. These are really tiny, but they still can I hope bring

out a point or to help you remember something. So a ducklings first swim.

Now, a lot of people here are hunters children, and they study

nature and birds and know a lot more about those things than I do.

But there's something I've read about ducks. It's just really intriguing to me.

You children have seen ducks fly. I enjoy watching ducks here in Oregon.

Watching a duck fly is my favorite bird to watch fly. I just enjoy

watching duck fly. And this morning we could think of at least five lessons

we learned from ducks, but we're just going to kind of focus on one,

A duckling's first swim. So, children, a duck Mama duck will

sit on the nest of eggs and hatch those those eggs, and out of

those eggs comes a little baby ducklings. Now here in Oregon. I read

you also four different kinds of fox. Fox are very dangerous for little ducks,

and in fox love to eat little ducks as soon as those little ducks

hatch a mama duck wants those ducks, those little baby ducks, to be

able to be safe and to get somewhere where a fox can't get them.

So one of the things a duck can do to stay away from fox is

to swim. They can go out in the water and swim around in the

water. But this children, is what I've read that is so interesting to

me. So the duck right when they are hatched, they do not have

everything like mama and daddy duck have big ducks have on their body. God

created them with a gland and the duck will duck has I think sixteen vertebrae

and their neck we only have maybe half or less that many. A duck

can turn their head, you know, all the way around, and they

get oil from that gland and put it over their feathers so that they can

swim, and that oil helps him float. It kind of paste their feathers

together and make that they can swim in the water. These baby ducks,

when they're first hatched, they don't have that oil on their feathers. And

I've read different places a mama duck will take oil from their own oil gland

and put it on the feathers of a dove, their little baby ducks,

so those ducks can swim and not drowned and get away from fox or whatever

other predators there might be. This morning, children, I would like for

you to think about that in light of your mama and daddy, your school

teachers, you know, ministers, but doing things for you, teaching you,

training you, even disciplining you. It's like a mama duck taking and

putting oil on the feathers of a little baby duck so they can swim and

so they can stay away from the fox and something that might want to get

them as soon as they're hatched and born. Dad, is what like what

your mom and daddy are doing when they teach you and train you, and

even when they discipline you, it's like putting oil on your feathers so you

can swim, so you'll be safe. They want to take care of you.

It's because they love you. That's why they discipline you and teach you.

And i'd like this morning, after the service, any of your children

that would like you come up and get you a duck. Take it home,

and remember that when your mom and daddy teach and teach you and even

discipline you and tell you how to do, it's like them putting oil on

your feathers for your good and for your future happiness. They want to take

care of you. And you know, when it's hard for you to obey,

you think about the duck sitting on the shelf in your bedroom, and

remember you need to obey and honor them so that you won't get caught by

the fox or whatever other enemies we have, and not do wrong, but

do good. Bless your children, and I hope that the little ducklings can

just be a little thing to remind you how important it is to obey an

honor your father and your mother. Bless you children, and I'll be just

pleased to have you come up after church after the service is closed and see

you just take a duck if you'd like to, up to twelve years of

age or however old you are. And I'm sorry they're so little. It

seems like they should be a little bit bigger, but maybe they will help

to remind you of the importance of honoring and obeying your father and mother.

And now for the message, this morning. Last Sunday morning walked in,

I was given this flyer. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is

for brethren to dwell together in unity, so beautiful, so meaningful. And

while that is not the text for the message this morning, it could be

invite you to turn your bibles to the Song of Solomon. The Song of

Solomon is a very beautiful and meaningful book of the Bible. It can be

applied in several different ways. We believe one real important way for it to

be thought of is to think of the relationship of Christ and the Church and

New Testament times. I'd like to read from the Song of Solomon this morning.

Chapter two. Will begin reading it verse ten, It says my beloved

spake and said unto me. Rise up, my love, my fair one,

and come away for low. The winter is passed, the rain is

over and gone, The flowers appear on the earth. The time of the

singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in

our land. The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines

with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my

fair one, and come away, oh my dove, that aren't in the

clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs. Let me

see thy countenance, Let me hear thy voice, for sweet is thy voice,

and thy countenance is Calmly. Take us the foxes, the little foxes

that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes. My beloved is

mine and I am his, He feedeth among the lilies. As a text

for the message this morning, and we'd like to give it the idol of

those words we find in the last part of verse fifteen, our vines have

tender grapes. And hopefully by the time this message is over with, we

can understand why we would say, well, praise and bless the Lord,

if your vines have tender grapes this morning. We would like to consider this

subject in light of several different applications. Our vines have tender grapes. Number

one between us and the true vine, our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Can we say, this morning it has it's like, it has resulted

in like tender grapes, and this morning that it's it's real. It's a

part of our life as it relates to our marriages, our relationships and our

families and homes. Can we say this morning, husbands and fathers, are

vines have tender grapes? As it relates to church fellowship, our vines have

tender grapes. And then we must also consider the fox that you know,

spoils of vine. It was a blessing walking out into the yard at Dereck's

and they have a little a vineyard. There a vine, and on that

vine are some very beautiful young grapes that are growing. And there's so many

lessons we take from this. What are we talking about? Our vine has

tender grapes. I'd like to preface this message now with something I experienced Monday

evening. It just gives a little explanation of how this is, or,

at least in my mind, what are we talking about? Our vines have

tender grapes. So I was working doing something endeavoring to for someone that I

greatly appreciate and admire in so many ways, and it was something totally unexpected

and I haven't forgot it brother, so unexpected, but a young man walked

up beside me and just you know it was It wasn't on first seeing each

other, It wasn't the time of the day you do that, or or

you know a certain traditional practice. It was you could say, out of

the blue. He just walked up beside me and gave me a strong side

by side hug over my shoulders and expressed a few words of confirmation and appreciate.

And this morning we're thinking of our personal relationship with Christ, our relationship

and our families in church fellowship. And what did that do to me?

You know, I was trying to do some things for this person, and

what do you think it did to me? Didn't it make me want to

do my very best and just you know, to serve, to give because

there was someone that that gave appreciation and confirmation and blessing this morning. I

can tell you in that relationship, our vine has tender grapes. A very

short time ago. The grapes and the two platters came from the same cluster

of grapes and bag of grapes. You couldn't have told them apart in the

one plaint. This morning you can easily see tender grapes, delicious, nutritious

grapes, and the other I have to almost like hold it up, turn

it so you can see something is here. You have some things that are

giving the appearance of dried prunes or something. And a very short time ago

these were like the same grapes. What happened in our relationships this morning with

the Lord Jesus Christ, with our families in our church and home? Which

of these two platters are a picture of my life? Life and who I

am in Christ and with those around me? What was it that made the

difference here? Why is one plate of grapes so luscious and full and look

so good? You know? One of the verse we let Red says that

the vines with tender grapes give a good smell. It has been such a

blessing being here and witnessing relationships that are like tender grapes, And the world

is brutal and hard, and relationships like that don't just happen. But later

in this message we would want to look at, you know, like even

John thirteen. And it seems in some ways we could call that the love

chapter of the New Testament and God's will for us. In God I wanting

to commune with us and loving us, and us passing that on this morning.

First of all, my relationship with the true vine, is it like

this this morning? Or does this platter more clearly identify where I have been?

I mentioned something about a relationship that has tender grapes that makes it very

important to be careful in that relationship. You know, if something would happen

to destroy the grapes and this platter this morning, it would seem just more

difficult than you know, these that are already half dried up. So what

if we just pour another a little bit of acid into this bowl or something

that helps destroy that relationship? Not a lot as lost. The work of

a lifetime is to be sensitive to the needs of others and insensitive to our

own needs. So they might truly be said, our vines have tender grapes.

What made the difference atmosphere surrounding What made the difference was what happened with

these grapes in our homes, husbands, in our families, our wives,

which one of these plates would show, you know, what we're doing as

a husband. These grapes and this plate were exposed to heat and just whatever

happened the atmosphere and just left out on the outside and for whatever could be

ants could attack it, or whatever happens exposed to the brutal things that happen

and there's a withering. These grapes had the blessing of being protected and covered

and cared for and watched over and even refrigerated. And this morning then we

could say, here we have tender grapes. And Jesus said that he is

glorified when we bear much fruit. And in John thirteen, you know,

it seems he brings out to us. What is a greater witness in this

world today than for there to be people, actually people that have relationships that

are like this plate of grapes, tender grapes. And it is just I

witness to the praise and glory of God. Recently, I was so I

was burdened to read that someone did a study of how many true friends your

average person has. You know, how many true friends do common people have

that they can truly trust? And you know, it was just so few.

Most people in this world have very few friends that they could truly trust,

totally trust with their life as it were. And you know what,

this morning, we're so blessed. You know, there's so many of you

right here that how ready could just fully trust? Those are things that are

so important in having vines with tender grapes, and to be trustworthy. We

fail, We fail each other. We make mistakes, but may it never

be ever be because of a heart of malice, and something in our heart

that has a touch of ill will towards someone because of some experience or something

that's happened in our life. Malice destroys. You know, these dried up

grapes look like something that malice could do. Malice is when we have ill

will towards someone. And you know, when something bad happens to some person

that we struggle with, we could even maybe feel a little bit good about

that our vines have tender grapes. We turned to John fifteen this morning and

want to notice several verses there where Jesus spoke of himself as being the true

vine. Verse nine through eleven, Jesus said, as the father of love

me, so have I loved you? Continue ye in my love, speaking

of love here in the in the very chapter where he spoke of the vine

and the vineyard, he speaks of love. Continue in my love. If

you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love. Even as I

have kept my father's commandments and abide in his love. These things have I

spoken into you that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy

might be full. That's Jesus will for us. That sounds like this plate

of grapes that just is loaded with luscious, delicious, nutritious, tender grapes.

You know, Jesus does things, He has done things for us that

it goes deep deep. Now it's joy, it comes from the heart.

But you know what, it puts a smile on our face, doesn't it.

It gives us joy in our hearts. How about for us to do

that in our relationships with each other, in first of our relationship with Christ,

but also with each other in her marriages, in her families, in

church fellowship. Doing what puts a smile on your brother's face, it just

gives him joy if it can be done in the name of the Lord,

for the glory of God. I go back to Monday evening and I just,

you know, I just have to share this. It reminds me of

our sixth grade teacher. My sixth grade teacher. My sixth grade teacher was

an outstanding person, and all my teachers wor as far as that goes,

But she did something to an atmosphere that just made you want to do right.

It was just it just didn't feel right to try to do. What

is it that has grabbed our voluntary love and devotion to Christ? It is

what he did for us is sacrifice, the atonement we can ever since forgiven

his self, sacrificing, dying on the cross for us, and it just

grabs our heart. It should our love and our devotion. And that's where

we get forgiveness of sin and peace and joy. And likewise, it is

when we sacrifice for each other. Since being here in more than one place

and in more than one way, I've witnessed servant hood, serving, giving,

sacrificing, sharing, bowing, being humble. It's such a blessing.

I just want to encour urage us. And this message this morning is for

me, but encourage us together in that that we could say, first of

all, as it relates to us and the Lord, and then with all

our relationships with others, our vines have tender grapes, and God is glorified

when our vines have tender grapes. Thankfully, the husbandman is able to take

old dried prunes and make them luscious again, as it were. And so

where we've failed, we've sinned, we've come short of God's will. We

can repent and turn to the Lord and allow him to mend broken relationships and

hearts and homes, families, church fellowship and make it beautiful to the praise

of His glory. We're thankful for these verses. In fifteen we go number

two. We think of, you know, the the vines of our marriages

and in our families. For us as husbands, this morning we think of

the fact that Jesus said we should love as he loved in self sacrificing love.

Could we say this morning that the vines of our marriage have tender grapes,

And you will find that if your marriage, the vine of your marriage

has tender grapes. You know, it takes a lot more effort to keep

it that way, but it is very meaningful and beautiful, and it's a

call of God in our life to be that. What is a greater witness

in this world than where there is love? And Jesus said, why this

shall all men know that you are might disciples if you have loved one to

another. It's not about being the smartest, most intelligent man, or the

one that knows the most things are important. Truth is important to embrace it,

to live it, accept it, but it begins with being touched by

love and expressing that to others. The atmosphere that we provide as husbands,

is it heat that comes from anger, impatience, selfishness, or is it

love and blessing? In church fellowship? Like to turn to John thirteen as

we think of the vine of church fellowship, the grapes on the vine of

church fellowship, John thirteen. Just picking up a few verses as we look

at this chapter. Verse one, it says, having loved his own,

which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. Verse four

and five, he riseth from supper and laid aside his garments and took a

towel and girded himself. After that he this is Jesus, pourreth water into

a basin and began to wash the disciples feet and to wipe them with the

towel, wherewith he was girded Jesus the Servant. We go over to verse

twenty two. Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he

spake. Now there was leaning on Jesus Bosom, one of his disciples,

whom Jesus loved Simon Peter the forbeckon to him that he should ask who it

should be of whom he spake. He then, lying on Jesus's breast,

saith unto him, Lord, who is it? Just? We get a

view there of the relationship of Christ and his disciples, the acceptance that there

was. And of course we know this morning Jesus the Vine had some very

sharp words of rebuke for the for many people, but especially we think this

morning of the religious cold people of his day. But we're impressed with how

Jesus ministered to and reached out. To think of Jesus going along with this

big crowd of people, and suddenly there are two blind men crying out to

him, and it's all these people, and there's so much to but we're

blessed to read in the scriptures Jesus stopped and he called them to himself.

We also already mentioned how Jesus did with the children. We think of the

dying thief on the cross and Jesus ministering to him, and this this morning,

we believe, if we respond to the vine, we could say of

our relationship with the Lord. Our vine has tender grapes and with the Lord,

there is oneness in closeness, and there are grapes from our life in

our communion together we go over In this chapter two verse thirty four, Jesus

said, a new commandment I given to you, that ye love one another

as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. Jesus called

Jesus commandment. And by this shall all men know that you are might disciples,

if you have loved one to another. I just would to encourage us

all this morning, myself included, to have true love one for another,

and to work toward and pray for the point that we could say, first

of all, of our relationship with the Lord the vine, and then in

our marriages and homes, in our church, fellowship, and with people,

we could say our vines have tender grapes. In this chapter we read of

Jesus himself taking a towel and water washing his disciples feet. He was considered

to be like the lowliest of things to do. It was what the servants

did. The servant of servants would wash strangers feet dirty feet. Jesus stood

and served and washed the disciples feet. And I want to share a story

this morning, as it relates to this subject of having tender grapes versus dried

prunes. This is the testimony of someone. The most impressive act I ever

witnessed in the Fellowship of Believers occurred at the Prairie Streatment, a Nite church

when I was a teenage boy. That is over thirty five years ago,

and yet the experience is as fresh in my mind as if it were happening

this moment in this very room. Thirty five years have passed and I have

never observed a more significant and more meaningful event in any church service than I

ever attended, and I have attended a lot of them. I was sitting

near the rear of the church when the tall man came down the aisle.

He stopped several benches ahead of me, signaled to a particular man, leaned

over, and whispered a few words. I was close, but I could

not hear the words. Yet I knew what he said. The expression on

his face was one of great tenderness and love. And it had not always

been this way, but his expression was one of great tenderness and love.

It makes me think of how it was when when Jesus was before the Sanhedrin

and he was being mocked and ridiculed and spit upon and blindfolded and slapped,

and one of his very closest friends comes in the back, and there's someone

back there that says, you're sure you're one of them too. You know

you are one of him. You even talk like them. And the Disciple

of whom we read some of his amazing writings in Sunday School today, you

know, he said, I don't know that man. It's like you know

that No, no, I don't even know him. And we know he

even wound up cursing and swearing and say I don't know that man. He

did not want to identify with Jesus. The Bible tells us that Jesus turned

and looked on Peter, and I've often wondered, you know, about that

look when he looked on Peter, And I personally would think that is what

melted Peter's heart. We know the rooster crowd, it was a sign of

signal, but it was probably Jesus look that melted his heart. I think

of that as I consider this story. This man, his face was one

of great tenderness and love. I thought he was about to cry, and

later he did cry. I didn't hear the actual words he spoke. I

could read his slightly moving lips. The words the tall man said to the

older brother on the church pinch. The words I could lip read were the

whispered words, may I wash your feet? I still feel tender as I

recall the event. It was known that these two brethren did not get along.

They had periodic misunderstandings, Voices would be raised, and anger was present.

As a new Christian, I couldn't understand these differences, the harsh words.

I was puzzled, disturbed, and hurt. It was a moving,

meaningful scene. I watched those two brethren walked to the front of the church.

The tall one took the towel from the bench and gently mentioned the other

to be seated, and both were barefoot. The tall one knelt down,

girded himself with the towel, and tenderly washed his brother's feet, And they

exchanged places, and the act was repeated. They both arose, The towel

was laid aside, and they stood facing one another in front of the church.

The clock seemed to stand still, time frozen for a moment. It

was like a beautiful painting. Their faces glistened with tears that were in their

eyes. And then there was action, once more gentle action. They pressed

their lips to one another's cheeks, giving the kiss of charity. By that

brief act of washing one another's feet, they dissolved all the puzzlement, disturbance,

and hurt that swirled within a young boy's heart. God's words says we

should esteem others better than ourselves. It tells us in Romans twelve ten.

God's word tells us to be kindly affectioned one to another, with brotherly love

and honor, preferring one another. That will result in our vines having tender

grapes. May it be to the praise and glory of God, that you,

as a church brotherhood and church family and fellowship, that it might always

be said that your vines have tender grapes. May we be sensitive to the

fact that God has called us to love, to cherish, to give,

and to sacrifice for the good of others. As we consider this subject,

we do notice that scripture in the Song of Solomon talks about little foxes,

and there are many. There are many foxes that spoil the vines. And

I didn't know until somewhat recently that fox will actually eat grapes, at least

that's what I've read more than once, that they will eat grapes. They

eat other things as well, but they and then they damage vines. They

can eat off bark, and they do a lot of damage. Little foxes

that spoil the vine. Little foxes that you know, it's not like if

there's someone that just all of a sudden's living in rebellion and sin, but

it's like little foxes that spoil the vines. One thing that can happen in

our lives is we can become critical and have a critical spirit. And while

truth is and needs to be, always discipline and even in church life,

it has to flow from love and not from anger or a critical spirit.

And I would just like to quote a few words of Jesus in Luke sixty

one and forty two. Jesus said, why beholdest thou the moat that means

that tiny little splinter that is in thy brother's eye, But perceive us not.

And I like the way it brings that out there. You don't perceive,

you don't see the beam that is in thine own eye. And he

doesn't say we shouldn't be concerned about the moat in our brother's eye, but

to make sure that first the beam is out of our own eye before we

become so critical or so concerned about our brother, or to make sure that

we're clear before the Lord. And even in church life and disciplines, it's

so good and important for us to I believe if I need to go to

you, brother, whoever you might be, that I would first open my

life to you. Maybe you see a moat or a beam in my eye

that I'm not aware of, and it provides a place to minister to from

love a critical spirit, another fox is giving a cold shoulder, or to

give the silent treatment. All of us are human and in relationship sometimes you

know it would just be a little easier to go out the door this way

than going over there. And you know you're gonna need to meet a certain

person or something or someone that there's been a struggle with. And these are

real life issues. God would have us to love, to minister, to

give, so that to His glory. It might always be said of us

as individuals in our relationship with the Lord, in our marriages, our homes,

our families, in school and church fellow ship. Our vines have tender

grapes, and God will be glorified by that. May God bless you.

It's been again a blessing being here with you. We wish you God's blessings

as a brotherhood in church family here all of you as individuals, we love

you in the Lord. And once again, children feel free to come up

after the service and get your little duckling and take it with you. God

bless you. I'll turn to turn over too,