I AM: The True Vine

Welcome to the Celebration Church Orlando podcast.

We are so glad you joined us, and we hope you are encouraged by today's message.

We're entering into this new series, this I am series.

This I am statement is a very loaded, packed, powerful statement that we see that that rises up in scripture.

And what we want to do is just spend a couple of weeks unpacking and really creating some definition around these powerful statements that we see that Jesus makes, but actually some of it goes all the way back to the Old Testament.

In fact, I want to share with you the first place that we see the phrase presented to us in the book of Exodus, chapter three, looking at verse number 14.

This is Moses as he gets his assignment that God is sending him out to go and now be this deliverer for his people who have been oppressed in Egypt.

And Moses doesn't have any context.

We have to understand that back then there was no Jehovah.

There was no idea of who God was in the sense of the way that they understood it.

There were a whole bunch of different gods out there.

So so Moses has been given instructions to go into a place in bondage and demand that his people be set free.

And so Moses is like, Well, who am I going to say that is sending me?

What's the authority that I have?

And so God responds to Moses with this.

So God says to this, I am who I am.

He said, Say to the people of Israel, I am, has sent me.

This is the first time that we see that phrase kind of presented in scripture.

And that word, I am, that phrase is the personal name of God.

It's where we get the word Yahweh.

It's literally God's personal name.

So it was the first time that we see that God begins to say, I have a personal relationship with you.

I have a personal name, and I'm going to reveal it to you.

It's a really big deal.

In fact, when you read the Old Testament and you see the word Lord in all caps, capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D, that is Yahweh.

That is the personal name of God wherever you see that expressed.

So that's just a little bit of um context to let you know that it's not just the title of God, but it's the personal name, the personality of God.

So that we all understood that.

So when people would hear that back in the Near East, back in those days, like they understood, like when you say Yahweh, when you say I am, they knew that you're talking about the God of all creation, the Lord of Lords.

They understood that this was a God that was set apart from every other false idol.

So understandably, when Jesus comes on the scene and he begins to exhibit characteristics and he begins to do some things that that that quite honestly were were powerful, compelling, but also a little bit concerning for a group of people that were saying, like, wait a minute, like he has some characteristics of prophets, he has some characteristics of people that are doing some great things.

We appreciate that.

But he's also exhibiting some characteristics that only those are only reserved for God.

Like Jesus, we're glad that you're healing people, but you you forgave somebody's sins.

Like you don't have authority to do that.

So there was a moment where Jesus went from being a person that people were trying to learn more about him in a sense of like, man, like you're so inspirational.

It then turned into a little bit of an interrogation.

And so Jesus begins to find people that are coming up against him, bumping up against him, and trying to trying to get definition around him, in many cases, trying to trip him up so that they could have a reason to kill him.

The Bible says it this way in the Gospel of John chapter 8, that after Jesus was having one of these moments where he was being interrogated, Jesus says to them, Truly, truly, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am.

John 8 · chapter mention

Now, on the outside looking in, we would just look at that sentence and say, That's just bad grammar.

But actually, what Jesus was doing is Jesus was directly connecting himself with the God of the Old Testament.

This was a this was a big deal.

Like Jesus was saying, when when the burning bush was was not being consumed, and and Moses had the question of who am I going to say that sent me, and it says, I am who I am, Jesus was saying, That's me.

Jesus was saying, Hey, the the the same the same one that was in a fire with Shabrach, Meshach, and Abednego, when there was one who looked like God, that was me.

That when the red seas were parted, that was me.

That for everything that you've seen when God moved in the Old Testament, that was me.

He was saying that the same God that you've seen back then is now the one that you're looking at right now.

That was a really big deal for those people back at that time.

That word I am was something that was so it was an enigma because it was meant to say, I will be what you need me to be.

Only God, only God could carry on a title that I can try to provide you with a definition, but you can't bind me by your own logic.

I will be what you need me to be.

If you're in need of healing, then I will be your healer.

If you need salvation, I will be your salvation.

If you need deliverance, I will be your deliverer.

I will be who you need me to be.

That Jehovah, that Yahweh is who Jesus just said that he was.

They tried to kill him when he made that statement because to them, man, like bro, you you stepped way out of line.

What we're gonna do over the next couple of weeks is we're going to we're gonna evaluate some of these phrases, we're gonna evaluate some of these statements, not only for us to understand more about the person of Jesus, understanding how it fits into the big picture, how he fulfills all these things, but also it's gonna reveal some things about us.

Because Jesus makes such statements in the Gospel of John, such as, I am the bread of life.

We're gonna unpack that.

I am the light of the world.

What does that mean?

I am the door, I am the good shepherd, I am the resurrection, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

What we're gonna do over the next couple of weeks is we're gonna we're gonna unpack these things and helping us to understand how Jesus is the fulfillment of all things.

But my assignment for day is today is found in the Gospel of John, chapter 15.

John 15 · chapter mention

John had a very unique perspective when it comes to Jesus.

He he had a very close relationship with Jesus.

He was the only of the disciples that was actually at the scene of the crime when he was murdered on the cross.

Everyone else is scattered away.

So John has a very personal, um, intimate perspective of who Jesus is.

So his gospel is written in a way to provide insight that no one else provided in all of their writings.

It says this starting at verse number one I am the true vine, and my father is the vine dresser.

Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes it away, and every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes that it may bear more fruit.

Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.

Jesus says that you're already clean because of the word of God.

Jesus said that you're clean because of the word of God.

It's it's not because of your own skill set, it's not because of your own effort, it's just because of the word of God you are already set free.

The word of God says that you're forgiving, but you have to receive it.

The word of God says that you're loved, but you have to receive it.

He said, You're already set free.

My word has already done it.

You just have to receive it.

It's interesting to me that when it comes to us reading the word of God, that's an area that we often face a lot of resistance.

I want you to realize that that's just not something that just happens through circumstances.

There's literally an enemy who wants to keep you from reading the word of God.

Or he wants us to minimize it to something that we do 10 minutes when we first wake off so we could check it off of our devo list.

But if we can really begin to read the word of God, the Bible says that it renews our mind.

If we could really read the word of God, we would begin to see what God says about us.

If we could really begin to engage the word of God, we will recognize that things that we're that we're striving for, God has already provided for us.

We just have to receive it.

He says, You're already clean because of my word that I've spoken to you.

But you got to do this, you gotta abide in me and I in you.

And as a branch cannot bear fruit in of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

I am the vine, you are the branches.

And whoever abides in me and I in him, he is the one that bears much fruit.

For apart from me, you can do nothing.

Jesus, he uses this I am statement to help his disciples understand that as he's preparing to go to the cross, there's gonna be a lot of things that you're gonna see.

There's gonna be a lot of things that are said about me.

Abide in me, stay close, recognize that I am the source.

Today I just want to spend the next couple of moments helping us to understand what it means when Jesus says that I am the true vine and we are to abide in him if we really want to produce kingdom fruit.

My message title for today is simply what Jesus said, and it's this the true vine.

Let's pray.

Let's see what God wants to do.

Holy Spirit, we thank you.

We don't take it lightly when we can have opportunities to come into environments like this to worship you freely.

So, Lord, I just pray over the next few moments that you give us open eyes that we can see you, open ears that we can hear your truth, and open hearts to receive everything that you have for us.

It's in Jesus' name that we pray.

Amen and amen.

You know, I'm always um I'm always fascinated whenever I whenever I discover that something goes viral, no pun intended.

Um, whenever something goes viral, I'm always fascinated.

Somebody's catching on to that now.

They're like, wow, okay.

Um so I'm always fascinated when things go viral.

Like, you know, because it's just one of those things I'm like, how did this become a thing?

Like how did who decided that that this is gonna become a thing and now it's gonna be something that everybody all across the world is participating in?

It's inevitable that at least once a week, sometimes even more than that, if I don't have proper boundaries, my daughter will come to me to show me videos of the latest, of the latest viral sensation.

So I remember back a couple years ago when she came to me and said, Dad, you gotta see this dance.

It's called the woe.

Like you gotta, you gotta see this.

Like, like who how does how does that how how does that become a thing?

Like somebody said, Whoa, and like somebody's like, you know what?

That's gonna be all across the world.

We're gonna do this thing.

Whoa.

Like where I come from in the black church culture, that's what somebody does when they get the Holy Spirit.

Like, whoa, God, hey, hey.

Like that's that's kind of how it looks where I come from.

It's a quickening of the spirit.

But but for but for here, but for here in this context, it's like, whoa, like I like I don't honestly know how that becomes a thing.

My son Caleb, he's all into this now, and now he's talking about the mop.

Like, I don't understand, I don't understand how do these things become a thing.

It's it's crazy to me that somebody does something, and next thing you know, everybody does it, and it's like, does anybody see how ridiculous this looks?

Am I the only am I the only person?

But but it becomes a thing.

So I'm always blown away at how how things become a thing that spreads.

All of us probably have seen at some point the the infamous Jordan meme with him crying.

You anybody ever seen like the Jordan meme with like just the tears?

It's Jordan just crying.

You ever seen that on social media?

Okay, now same question.

How many of us know the context of why he was crying in that picture in this original photo?

Two of us.

Two of us.

Okay, three.

I see you guys over there.

I see y'all.

Okay.

I'm not gonna quiz y'all because y'all might be wrong.

Um, but watch, but watch this.

So we have we have this meme of Michael Jordan crying that has now been superimposed on the faces of anybody who ever deals with any disappointment and loss, and we laugh about it.

Here's the proper context, though.

He had just got inducted into the Hall of Fame, and he was having a moment where he was just thinking about all that he's been through, the loss of his father, and he was celebrating it, and so those were tears of joy.

So, watch this.

The most winning man in basketball is now associated with losing because of a meme took it out of context.

Isn't it interesting how the further and further something gets away from the source, it gets contorted into a definition that it was never intended to be.

The further and further we get from something, it begins to take on its own definition.

Case in point, you guys have heard me share the story about when I broke my ankle three years ago.

You we all know it, I broke my ankle checking the mail.

There is nothing, there is nothing that screams old man more than losing your balance at a mailbox and falling and breaking your ankle.

I assure you, whatever you've walked through, you ain't been through that.

Like I've I remember climbing into my home, falling onto the floor like I was in Iraq and got shot at, and I told my wife, Megan, I'm down, I've been hit, like she has no clue.

It was it was it was awful.

But here's the thing so she rushes me to the hospital.

I I end up like getting diagnosed, they're like, okay, he has to get surgery.

They begin to kind of take us on what our next steps are going to be.

Very, very clear.

But watch this.

So, Megan, being the wonderful wife that she is, she's like, Okay, let me communicate to your mother to let her know what's going on.

So she communicates to my mom.

Hey, just wanted to let you know.

Um, Keith, he broke his ankle at the mailbox.

Um, he's gonna get surgery.

Can you make sure that you pray for him?

Real simple.

She has like this group, this text thread that she has, like prayer words.

Anyone got like those prayer words, text threads that whenever something happens, like I gotta text my friends?

So she hears this information and then she sends a text out to her group.

And the text says this my son has experienced an accident at the mailbox, he's being rushed into surgery.

Small adjustment.

I small adjustment, I I fell at a mailbox, broke my ankle, and I have to get surgery.

My mom took that and said, Hey, my son had an accident at the mailbox, he's got to get surgery.

Can we pray for him?

Great, that's not too bad.

But somebody in that text thread, they actually know my brother who lives in Fort Lauderdale.

So they reach out to my brother, like, man, I am so sorry to hear about your brother.

He's like, Why?

Like, what happened to my brother?

They're like, Oh, you didn't hear.

He's like, No, he's like, I heard that he got hit by a mail truck and that he's on the verge of paralysis.

How in the world did we get from, oh, I slipped, lost my balance, cracked my ankle, got to get surgery too, I got ran over by a mail truck and now I'm on the verge of death.

Isn't it interesting how the further you get away from the source, it actually begins to take on a definition that it was never intended to have?

Plus, also, no mail truck should be going so fast that if you get hit by it, that it should kill you anyway.

But nonetheless, like my brother was freaking out because he honestly thought, he honestly thought that his brother was now gonna be paralyzed.

So he's like freaking out.

He's trying to like find out who what mail truck driver was on the route so he can go and find like my brother, like I told y'all, my brother was he bully bullies.

So anyway, like he's trying to, he's trying to get involved.

And so when we do finally have a chance to have a conversation, I'm like, no, man, I just I broke my ankle.

It's it's all gonna be good.

But but the further that we get away from the source, the more we lose the appropriate definition, and then we end up taking on a definition that it was never intended to take on for itself.

The truth of the matter is so often, so often we end up engaging different sources, and if we're not careful, we can begin to take on definitions that God had never intended us to take on.

Truth be told, that we have things that are fighting for our attention.

Like when we open up our phones, social media is fighting for our attention.

And it's a great tool to help us to stay informed.

I love when I get a chance to see family members that live hundreds of miles away and seeing their kids and their birthday parties that I can't participate in.

But there's a dark side to it because if I look at social media as the source of my validation, if I look at social media as the source of what makes me feel like I have any value or any purpose in calling on my life, then what can happen is I can find myself when I'm scrolling through social media in my living room, not going on vacation, but now I'm looking at someone who's on vacation living their best life right now.

Now I can begin to recognize like I'm not there.

We never go on vacations, and now I'm feeling miserable about where I am instead of recognizing that's a highlight reel, but that's not a reflection of who they really are.

But if we're not careful, if we're not careful, we'll begin to allow those influences to speak into our minds and our hearts, and it can really begin to take on a definition that I was never intended to take on.

Don't let me even begin to start talking about the news.

Because if we're looking to the news to be the source that helps us to frame the reality in the way that we see things, then there is no hope.

There is no hope, there is no joy.

It is nothing but pure destruction and anarchy, and there is no, there's no sense of even getting out of the bed in the morning.

But if we allow those things, if we if we look to those things, they could be great tools.

But the moment that the tool becomes the thing that I look through, I'm actually distancing myself from the truth, and it's gonna take on a definition that it's never intended to take on.

I gotta go here too.

Don't don't let me even begin to start really thinking about politics.

Somebody feels me.

She's like, say that.

I watch this.

I have literally seen people who are best friends, who have grown up, have endured the death of parents and all that stuff.

But in this current political climate, because they are on different sides of the aisle, literally can't have a conversation anymore.

If we are thinking that somehow that our politics is an expression of the kingdom of God, hit the reset button and start all over again because it will never be able to do that.

It'll never be able to do that.

But I've seen people put so much in it that it literally changes the way that they see one another.

My God, like how do how do we get here?

Did we forget that when we talk a couple of weeks ago about who's at your table, that sitting at the table with Jesus was Simon the zealot and Matthew the tax collector, I don't have the time to get into it.

They would have been each other's throats because they were so diametrically opposed to everything.

But somehow in Jesus, they could sit at the same table and have a conversation and recognize that God was moving them forward because they had a kingdom viewpoint instead of allowing their politics to determine their viewpoint.

What if we began to have that same posture?

That even if you're on one side of the aisle and I'm on the other, that doesn't mean that I have to vilify you.

Because here's what happens whenever I choose a side, that means that I'm against you.

And as long as I'm against you, then that means I can't recognize any good you've done, I can't recognize any progress you've made because you are now the enemy.

So unfortunately, what we see is that we vilify one another if we're not in agreement.

That is not kingdom culture, and unfortunately, what it does, all it does is cause more of a divide.

We're getting ourselves away from what truth is.

The Bible says that we're all made in the image of God, and there's a responsibility in the way that we engage one another.

But as long as we allow those things to influence us, I cannot see you for the way that God sees you because I'm distancing myself from the true, from the true source.

This is what Jesus is saying when he says that I am the true vine.

Look to me as your source.

Look to me.

Let me be the one that influences the way that you see things.

If you don't look at it through my grid, you're gonna get off track.

But God's saying, I want you to understand the purpose and the value that I have on your life.

I want you to see the purpose and value in others, but you have to make sure that you run it by me first.

Because if you don't run it by me, you're gonna lose the true intentions that I'm supposed to have for you.

The Bible says it this way in Judges chapter 21.

Judges 21 · chapter mention

In those days, there was no king in Israel, and everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

That's a scary thought.

God's intention was for him to be the king of his people.

They rejected him.

So what happens is there was no king, so they began to do what was right in their own eyes.

Let me make that a little bit more plain for us.

If Jesus isn't Lord of your life, you will subsequently do what is right in your own eyes.

This is the byproduct of it.

Look at what it says here in Proverbs 14, 12.

There is a way that seems right to a man, but it ends in the way of destruction.

It seems right.

These ideas they seem right, but the Bible says, but it's not the path that God will have us to go in.

Let me see if I can make it plain.

My wife and I, we are not on the same page right now.

And because God wants me to be happy, and she's not making me happy, we're gonna get a divorce because that seems right.

But I ain't going nowhere.

I still got 13 minutes left.

Okay, let me let me see if I can step on somebody else's toes.

Okay.

I know the Bible says that sex is appropriate in the context of marriage.

But we're not hurting anybody, and it seems right.

It seems right.

I mean, after all, like the Bible was written literally centuries ago.

Um like that was a different culture, it was a different time.

So, like, let's let's just do it our way because that seems right.

So, what ends up happening is we end up picking and choosing which versions of truth that we want, but we're actually never actually progressing and getting what God intends us for us to have.

It seems right, it seems right to do it this way, but the Bible says that it will lead in death.

It seems right though.

Because we've all had those seem right moments.

Yeah, this seems right to me.

But yeah, that that actually contradicts the Bible.

But hey man, it's different, and we find ways to talk around it.

It seems right.

It seems like a good idea until it's not.

What the Bible tells us is that Jesus is saying, like, let me be the source, let me define what is right.

Because when you do it in your own, when you do it on your own terms, you're gonna get away from what my true intent was intended for you to be.

Let me put it to you this way.

I want you to write this down.

When we know who Jesus is, we know who we are.

When we know who Jesus is, we we know who we are.

When he says that I am the true vine, if you can recognize that, then in that it will reveal something about yourself.

Matthew chapter 16 is a beautiful story of Jesus when he's doing his ministry.

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

And as he's doing things, and people are like, okay, like he says this question, who do men say that I am?

Well, man, some people say that you're a prophet, some people say that that you're like Moses, some people say that you're like Elijah.

Like, those are what people say.

But then Jesus poses the question, but who do you say that I am?

Simon Peter replied, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.

And Jesus answered him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjonh, for flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my father who was in heaven.

And I tell you, you are Peter.

Before this, he was just Simon, but now with this revelation, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

What Jesus was simply saying is there was something on the inside of Simon that would have never came out if he didn't recognize who Jesus was.

The moment that he recognized who Jesus was, it unlocked something inside of him.

It unlocked potential, it unlocked grace, it unlocked an anointing.

And I believe for many of us, until we can truly recognize who Jesus is, there's going to be an aspect of us that we just can't tap into.

The Bible says that the moment that he recognized who Jesus was, then he had the keys of heaven and earth.

And when he was able to recognize who Jesus was, then he had true dominion, then he had authority, then he had the blessing.

I wonder if there are things that we're trying to do in our own strength, but we can't get into it as long as we don't recognize that Jesus is the Lord of all.

If he's not Lord of all, he's not Lord of all.

But what he is saying unto us in this moment is when you recognize who I am, because when you recognize who I am, it's going to unlock some things inside of yourself.

See, outside of Jesus, Peter was just a fisherman, but inside of Jesus, he became an apostle.

Outside of Jesus, he was blindbarded.

Man, but inside of Jesus, he was a man who received his sight.

Outside of Jesus, she was a woman with the issue of blood.

But inside of Jesus, she was daughter who was made whole.

Outside of Jesus, she was a woman that was caught in the act of adultery.

But inside of Jesus, she was a woman who was set free.

Outside of Jesus, Lazarus was a dead man for four days.

But inside of Jesus, he was raised to new life.

Outside of Jesus, it's a dark valley of dry bones.

But inside of Jesus, it becomes a new army.

Outside of Jesus, Moses was a stuttering murderer.

But inside of Jesus, he became a man that saw the salvation of millions of people.

What if God has more for us?

But the thing that's keeping it from moving in our lives is we don't recognize that he's the Lord of all.

You see, I believe that the world wants to put labels on us, but please understand that labels will never define you.

There'll be some labels.

Labels are meant to confine you, but only God can define you.

And as long as we allow those labels to continue to be the restrictive things on our lives, I believe it will limit our ability to truly tap into everything that God has for us.

See, Jesus begins to use this language and he says, ma'am, abide in me.

Stick with me.

Stay in this thing with me together.

Like don't separate yourself.

He uses this terminology about being fruitful and producing and producing images of God.

The reason being is because Jesus is saying the statement, I want you to write this down.

To be fruitful, you have to be faithful.

To be fruitful, you have to be faithful.

There's literally no other way that you will be able to be fruitful if you continue to move around and refuse to allow yourself to be the beneficiaries of everything that God wants to deposit into you.

We even see in scripture where there's these moments where where Jesus begins to overlap this idea of trees and men.

We see it all throughout the scripture.

You you ever notice how how frequently trees come up in the Bible?

In fact, when I did a word study on this, like outside of God and man, trees are the most mentioned thing in the entire Bible.

Because trees are often associated with man, and man is often associated with trees because we both have the same job responsibility, which is to be fruitful, to multiply, to reproduce.

So that is the connection that God has.

And so a lot of times God will use this language to help us to understand that we're supposed to function like trees.

Why would he go to the great lengths of all the different things he created to say, I need you to be like a tree?

The Bible says it this way in Psalms 1, verse 3.

Psalms 1:3

He is like a man planted by the streams of water, and that yields fruit in its season, and his leaf does not wither, and all that he does, it prospers because he's rooted.

He didn't leave when it got uncomfortable.

You're rooted.

The Bible says it this way in Psalm 92, verse 12.

Psalms 92:12

They are planted in the house of the Lord and they will flourish in the courts of our God.

They still will bear fruit in their old age, and their sap is full, and they're full of sap and green.

What he's saying is, as long as you stay rooted, there will be a benefit from it, so much so that your offspring can be the beneficiaries of your faithfulness now.

What if, what if my ability to stay faithful now would be something that would be so strong that it will be a blessing to my children?

What if the decision you make today and being rooted in places that maybe you don't feel comfortable with, but you actually stayed faithful there, that God would use that to create fruit that your kids could benefit from?

Here's the reality of the world that we live in when we distance ourselves from the truth.

Whenever something gets uncomfortable, we uproot ourselves and go to another location.

Because all of us hate to be challenged.

All of us hate to have those moments where we're confronted with truth that makes us feel so uncomfortable.

So the idea of us being loyal, that's such a rare concept because there's so many things that are begging for our attention.

What brand do you wear?

Where there's a lot of different things, whatever one is the most convenient.

Have it your way.

I got 20 different apps that all do the same thing, but it's all about which one makes me feel the best.

And those things are meant to be conveniences by all means.

But what if when that leaks into my spirituality?

I was going to this church, but I didn't I don't like when it I don't like what the pastor said about marriage and stuff.

So I just kind of wanted to go to another church.

So I'm going to just pick up my roots and go over here and plant myself here.

But maybe I can hear messages that actually make me feel better about myself and continue to perpetuate the sin because they don't know the history of all the things that I've done.

I've been doing this a long time.

I know how this works.

Then you hear another message.

Okay, I don't like the way that he said that.

Okay, let me go over to this church because they actually understand the journey that I'm on.

And now at the end of the day, like God's grace will cover it anyway.

We end up distancing ourselves from the source and we stop letting truth be the thing that informs us and our feelings become the voice that we end up yielding ourselves to the most.

Man, I'm not happy in my marriage, so I'm just gonna uproot myself and go somewhere else because maybe that's the place that's gonna help me to be happy.

I see that nowhere in scripture.

The Bible says that you will flourish if you stay rooted.

If I can stay rooted and plant it in the place that God has called me, what if what if God wants you to be able to produce fruit?

But right now you got to go deeper in your roots.

What if God's saying, I want your family to be blessed, because there will be some storms that are coming.

But if you keep uprooting yourself, you'll never have the stability that will keep you from going to and fro with every wind of doctrine.

But if you can just root yourself in God's word and allow his word to be the thing that defines you and that you get your information from, that means that even when the winds come, it may knock me over a little bit, but I am not moving because I am rooted in the word of God.

That means that even when attacks come against my marriage, I'm not moving because I'm rooted in the word of God.

That even when attacks come against what my preferences are, I am not moving because I'm rooted in the word of God.

If we ever truly want to produce fruit, we got to stay faithful where we are.

It's the only way.

It's the only way that we'll actually be able to produce fruit, and God is trying to help his people to understand if you keep moving around based off of your feelings, if you keep jumping into different environments based off of your preferences, you'll never get the breakthrough that I'm leading you to have.

Have you ever noticed that no matter where you go, there you are?

Like, I don't know if if the same problems are with you in every relationship, maybe you're the problem.

Yeah, we'll we're we're going in there today.

Listen, listen, don't y'all leave.

Yeah, at the end of the message is gonna get really encouraging, it's gonna be good.

But right now, right now, we're doing some surgery.

I gave y'all some anesthesia with worship, but right now we got some work to do.

What if, what if every job you go to, you're dealing with the same issue?

Maybe it's you.

So maybe the idea is to stop running from the things that bring us conflict and start getting rooted so that God can develop some things in us because maybe we're going through the pruning process so that we can produce more fruit.

But if I keep running through the pruning, I'll always stay an immature Christian that will never blossom into the person that God has called me to be because I'm searching, I'm searching after my feeling instead of being faithful to my calling.

If this is your first time in celebration, welcome.

We're so glad that you're here.

We are.

I promise you, our names hold true.

It's celebration.

We celebrate, but we also tell the truth.

We also tell the truth.

Jesus says, man, if you if you truly want to be fruitful, you're gonna have to be faithful.

Stay in the environment that I planted you to be in.

Stay there.

I know it may not be comfortable, but stay there.

See, when he makes this statement about being the true vine, it's so much bigger than just what he's saying in that moment.

He's actually going back to our origin story.

See, our origin story is one where we were planted in a garden through Adam and Eve.

And what the Bible tells us about that origin story is that there were two trees of focus in that Garden of Eden scenario.

And what's so powerful about this is that Jesus begins to use this language that when he says that I am the true vine, that when you really begin to break it down, what he is saying is, I am the tree of life.

And if you can eat from me, if you can, if you can, if you can be connected to me, it will produce life.

But we're also very aware that there's some other temptations that are out there.

That other tree that was also in that garden was a tree of knowledge of good and evil.

And I want you to understand that as Jesus is is as God is talking to Adam and Eve inside of the garden, he says, listen, you can have anything you want.

You can have whatever you like.

T I got that from God.

Whatever you like.

You can have whatever you like.

Somebody's catching that.

They're like, okay, I want you.

Okay.

How does he flip in and out of rapplers and preach?

That's what I do.

Okay, so he's saying, he's saying, you can have whatever you like, but there's one thing, there's one thing I'm gonna ask you to distance yourself from.

That tree of knowledge and good and evil, man, that's that's not for you.

Y'all, y'all aren't ready for that.

Like, just stay away from that at all costs.

So now the enemy shows up and he says, Hey man, like, why did God say y'all can't have that?

Isn't it just like the enemy that when we do read something in God's word and it says, like, hey, these are some things that God wants you to do, immediately we begin to question it.

Why?

Well, that's in that old th that's like that's like an old testament thing.

That really doesn't translate to now.

The enemy shows up.

Listen to me, I want y'all to hear me with this.

If there's ever a voice that is trying to take you off of something that's in the Bible, it ain't God.

But so often we allow these voices to pop up that convince us that what God's word says isn't truth.

Who would benefit from that?

I digress.

The enemy shows up and he convinces Adam and Eve, no, like God just doesn't want you to be like him.

In other words, when he convinced them of this, God's holding out on you.

How often have we heard, whether directly or indirectly, that if I live the way that God wants me to live, there's this restriction.

If God literally gave them everything that they wanted, he just said, I don't want you to partake of this tree.

Here's a reason why.

Because he says, I want to be the source that defines good and evil for you.

Did you catch that?

I want to be the one that defines it for you.

Let me be the source.

The whole idea was for Adam and Eve to actually mature in their walk with God by spending time with him instead of microwaving themselves past the process being exposed to something that they didn't have the maturity to handle, and now I see that I'm naked.

Now I see that I'm filled with shame.

This is what happens when we engage in things that don't consider uh the grace of God in it.

They began to recognize themselves I'm naked and I'm ashamed because whenever we do something outside of what God's word says, it's always going to connect to itself, shame and nakedness and vulnerability.

What if what if God is saying, I want to reset that button?

I want you to, I want you to reconsider the sources that you allow to define what value is in your life.

What if God is saying, Man, abide in me?

Allow me to hit the reset button on all these influences in your life and allow me to be the person that determines what good and what evil is.

Because as long as you keep defining it on your own terms, your feelings will be the primary dictator of where you are and where you're not, on your faithfulness and whether you're not.

But if you can let God's word be the one that does the work, I assure you that you will, you will produce fruit.

God had wanted to be their source.

What what are the areas that we're relying on our knowledge instead of really depending on the tree of life?

What are the areas that when we look at a scenario where we're speaking words of negativity instead of speaking words of life?

I believe that we always have choices.

The Bible says it this way in Romans 7.

When I want to do good, evil's yet with me.

Isn't it interesting how in the Garden of Eden, the tree of life is there?

The tree of knowledge of good and evil is there.

That means that even when we're trying to pursue the things of God, that temptation is only one step away.

But the encouraging thing in that is this even when temptation is right there, that life is only one step away.

We just have to make a choice on which one we choose to engage in.

Deuteronomy 30 says it this way I lay before you life and death.

Choose this day whom you will serve.

But please, choose, choose life so that you and your seeds can benefit from it.

The text is literally pleading with us, begging, please listen to me.

Choose don't do what's right in your own sight.

Choose, choose my way.

Let me be the one that defined it for you because it will end up in life.

But if you do it in a way that's contrary to my word, you're gonna miss it.

When we choose life, we avoid death.

When we choose life, we avoid death.

What are the sources?

What are those things that we allow to influence the way that we see ourselves that takes us off of that takes us off of our purpose?

You see, my my my biological father walked out of my life when I was about four years old.

I still remember that moment.

It's like my first memory.

My stepfather came into the picture when I was about nine, and he raised me as his son, still is my my dad to this day.

Like that's that's my dad, and I and I and I love him with all my heart.

When my biological father walked out, I hadn't seen him and heard from him in 20 years.

Like just gone.

Like it was there was no there was no social media to stay connected.

He left and and that was it.

And I remember the different stages of my childhood of growing up and and and seeing that my dad wasn't there and and and really having these concerns about man, like what kind of what kind of dad am I gonna be?

Like my my stepdad was a great model, is a great model, but but man, like I wonder if man, I wonder if just divorce is genetic.

I wonder if it's just something that's in us, because we've had to deal with that in our family quite a bit.

That was something that I thought.

I remember how I felt about my father.

And I remember thinking to myself, I never want my kids to feel about me the way that I feel about him, because you can imagine with all that, with all that distance, it could just allow you to develop some calluses.

So I I began to be fearful of whether or not I had what it take to be a good dad.

I began to be fearful on if I had what it take to be a good husband.

I just I just didn't know where I was gonna land, and I was allowing my past experiences to be the voice that shaped my confidence, that shaped my hope, that shaped my perspective.

But then there was one day, almost 20 years ago, where I surrendered my life to God.

Outside of God, I was an insecure husband and and father trying to figure it all out, hoping that the day didn't come where I would just walk out on my family, to being inside of the kingdom of God and knowing that I had what it take to be rooted exactly where I was.

See, the Bible says that we are to take every thought captive.

That means that if there's any voice that is whispering in your ear that is saying something to you that is completely contrary to the word of God, it is our responsibility to take that thought captive and say, That is not God.

You have to consider the source.

Too often are we allowing different sources to speak into our minds and into our hearts that are not a reflection of truth.

But if we have to consider the source, so maybe outside of God, I was an insecure dad, but inside of the kingdom of God, I was a man who was raising my family and I was committed to never leaving.

That is the responsibility that we have, taking every thought captive.

Maybe there's been some things that have been whispering in your ear.

What you've done is not who you are.

That is not a limit on your life.

The labels may try to confine you, but only God can define you.

Listen to me, I don't care what you've gone through, but that is not who you are.

Maybe you did have an abortion, but that is not who you are.

Consider the source, you are still a daughter of God.

Maybe you are a cancer survivor, and I celebrate that with you, but you are not identified in the kingdom of God as a cancer survivor.

You are seen as a daughter of God who has purpose and who has value.

Maybe you did get a divorce, and maybe applications make you shine off and say that you're a divorcee.

But in the application in the kingdom of heaven, you are not a divorcee.

You are a child of God that he is not done with just yet.

We need to stop allowing these false resources to define and put labels on us to recognize I'm gonna check my source.

My source says that I am called, my source says that I am anointed, I may be sick, but that does not define me because God is my healer, and if I know who he is, then I know who I am because I have access to that.

Maybe I am dealing with some struggles right now.

My diction does not define me because I gotta Jesus on the inside of me.

I don't know what your struggle is, I don't know what your side of man is.

I don't know what you're doing for me, man.

I don't care what the truth and the truth of God's word.

Holy God.

I want you to stay right there because what I suspect is that there's some people in here that we can pray for.

We're gonna go back into worship in just a moment, but maybe it's you.

Maybe you're in here right now, and maybe there's been some labels that have been placed on your shoulders, some labels that have been placed on your family, some things that we just need to make sure that we connect to a new source.

I want to pray for you right where you are.

If that's you, you just want to get prayer to make sure that you orient yourself to be connected and abiding in the right source.

I want to pray for you on the count of three.

One, two, three.

Put your hands up.

Amen.

Amen.

Hands up everywhere.

God bless you.

You can go ahead and put those hands down.

My second question is for another group of people.

Maybe you're in here and maybe you've been doing what's right in your own sight.

Maybe you're away from God right now, but you know that today is the day that God is stirring you and saying that it's time for me to get connected to the true vine, the true source of salvation.

I can't do this on my own.

There's there's not a book that I can read, there's not a podcast I can listen to that can deal with the condition of my soul.

If that's you and you're ready to commit or recommit your life to Jesus, the true vine, the true source, the tree of life, I want to include you in this prayer.

So on the count of three, I want you to boldly lift your hands up so we can celebrate with you and pray with you.

One, two, three, saying yes to Jesus.

Amen.

Amen.

I'm proud of you, sir.

For shooting that hand up so quick.

Amen.

God bless you.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Church, can we celebrate with those who have just said yes to Jesus?

If that's you in here, Pastor Justin's gonna come out and give us some instructions on what your next steps are.

But what I want to do in this moment is I want us to go back into worship.

And I want us to pray.

And if you need to dip out, that's perfectly fine.

But I really want to seal in what I believe that God has spoken and he's doing.

I believe that somebody in here, I feel like there's an anointing in here that we're reoriating ourselves to the proper source.

He says that I am the great I am.

And if you can recognize who I am, then you will unlock who you are.

And the moment that we can unlock that, that's when our value and purpose begins to be redefined.

Father, I thank you.

I thank you, Lord, that we have access to you because you are the great I am.

So, Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray alongside everyone that surrendered their life to you, God.

I pray, Lord, that they take those next steps in order for them to be able to engage what it means to be a follower of you and get connected to the proper source.

But Lord, I also pray for every individual under the sound of my voice, every person that's been hearing the lies of the enemy, telling them that because of what they've done, that that puts a limit on what they can do.

But Father, we bind and rebuke God in the name of Jesus.

Whatever we find on earth will be found in heaven, and whatever we lose on earth will be loose in heaven.

So I lose blessings, I lose favor, I lose grace, I lose breakthrough God, and we find addiction, we find fear, we find the condemnation of the past.

We reject the day, and we walk into the fullness of what you have for us.

So, Father, in the name of Jesus, speak to your people, encourage us, bless us, elevate us, and so we can put the enemy under our feet.

It's in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Thank you for tuning in to today's podcast.

For more information about Celebration or Windows or to get in touch with them, please visit celebration or window.org.