Sorry about that, that was probably me.
We're there in Ezekiel chapter 15 and we're starting a new little section of the book
of Ezekiel and in this chapter, if you notice it was a real short chapter, but we have a
parable of a vine tree and actually what we begin in Ezekiel 15, 16, and 17 is a series
of parables, three parables in those three chapters that we'll spend the next three weeks
looking at and studying out and if you notice the chapter was really short, that doesn't
mean the sermon's going to be short, but the chapter was short, but we're going to make
up for that next week because if you look at chapter 16, it's got 63 verses.
So here's the promise I make to you is that I will preach through one chapter a week in
Ezekiel whether it's eight verses or 63 verses.
We're going to, you know, by hook or by crook, we'll get it in however we've got to do it.
So we'll figure it out next week, we'll probably just do an overview of chapter 16.
But I want you to notice that in this chapter we begin this parable, we begin this picture
there, if you look at verse one there, it says this, and the word of the Lord came unto
me saying, son of man, what is the vine tree?
What is the vine tree?
And in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, whenever you see the word vine or vine tree
or vineyard, you should just kind of have a mental flag that comes up and realize that
throughout the Old Testament and even into the New Testament, the vine tree or the vine
or the vine is a picture of the children of Israel.
And this is what this parable is about, it's about the children of Israel.
In fact, keep your place there in Ezekiel 15, that's obviously our text for tonight.
But go through the book of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter five.
If you go backwards from Ezekiel, you're going to go past Lamentations, Jeremiah, into the
book of Isaiah, and we're going to be going back and forth from Ezekiel and Isaiah, so
you can put a ribbon or a bookmark there, that would be great, or a bulletin, and that
way you can get back to it as quickly as you need to.
But notice Isaiah chapter five, actually in Isaiah chapter five we have another parable
of a vineyard that represents Israel, and we're going to look at both of these parables
tonight.
And in Isaiah chapter five and verse seven it says this, for the vineyard of the Lord,
so we're going to start in verse seven just to show you that this is Israel, we'll come
back and hit some of the verses earlier here in a bit, it says for the vineyard of the
Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah, his pleasant plan.
I want you to notice there, and we're going to look at a lot of passages tonight in Psalms
and in different places where we see that the nation of Israel and the children of Israel
are pictured throughout the Bible as a vineyard or as a vine tree, and here we're told that
the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah, his pleasant
plan.
So what we're seeing here is we're seeing a parable of a vineyard that represents the
nation of Israel and what God is going to do to that nation.
Now keep your place there in Isaiah, we're going to come back to it, but go to Ezekiel
15 and notice verse number two, Ezekiel chapter 15 and verse two, the Bible says this.
So there's several things that we learn about the vineyard, about the nation of Israel from
this parable.
I'm going to give you six statements tonight, and if you'd like to write them down that'd
be great.
They're not necessarily written in a way where it might be easy to understand, so I'll give
them to you a couple of times and you can write them down.
The first thing we learn from this parable is this, and here's point number one.
The vine tree in and of itself is not better than other trees.
I want you to notice that this is the thing that is emphasized at the beginning of this
chapter is that the vine tree in and of itself is not better than any of the other trees.
Notice what he says in verse two.
He says, son of man, because the Lord is speaking to Ezekiel, he's giving him a parable, and
he says this.
He says, what is the vine tree more than any tree or that a branch which is among the trees
of the forest?
And here's what he's saying.
He's saying, how is the vine tree better than any other tree or how is the vine tree better
than a branch?
And the point that he's making is this, is that the vine tree, and it'll become extremely
clear as we continue here into verse three, but the vine tree is not better.
The vine tree in and of itself is not a better tree than any other tree.
Now this is important for the Israelite nation to understand.
Go to Deuteronomy chapter seven.
You have your place in Isaiah, but let's go to Deuteronomy also.
At the beginning of the Bible, you have Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy
chapter seven.
And this was one of the great issues that the nation of Israel had is that they began
to think, and as we get into the New Testament, the Pharisees and the Jews of the New Testament
definitely had this idea that because they had been chosen by God to be the nation that
represented God on the earth, to be God's chosen people, to be the ambassadors of God
upon the earth, that they must have been better than all the other nations, and they
began to look down upon other nations as a result.
And here in Ezekiel, God is telling the nation of Israel that is represented by vineyard,
he's saying, look, that he's represented by the vine tree, he's saying, you know, the
vine tree is not any more, he said, what is the vine tree more than any tree or than a
branch which is among the trees?
He says it's not better than any other tree.
It's not better than even the branches of any other tree, and this is so from the beginning
even with the children of Israel, this is what the Bible tells us.
Notice Deuteronomy chapter seven and verse six, the Bible says this, for thou art in
holy people unto the Lord thy God.
This is God speaking to the children of Israel.
He said you are in holy people unto the Lord thy God, but then he says this, the Lord thy
God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself above all the people that are
upon the face of the earth.
Now if all we had was Deuteronomy chapter seven and verse six, we would think, wow,
the nation of Israel, you know, these are some special people, these are some, you know,
and if we were the nation of Israel, we might read this and get a little arrogant and get
a little puffed up, but then in verse seven, he says this, the Lord did not set his love
upon you nor choose you because you were more in number than any people, for ye were the
fewest of all the people, and here's what he's telling me.
He's saying yes, you are in holy people, yes, the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to
be a special people unto himself above all the people that are upon the face of the earth,
but don't think that you were chosen because of you or because of something special in
you.
He said you were not chosen because you were more in number than any people, for ye were
the fewest of all the people, and look, the problem that we have as individuals, as human
beings, is that our tendency is to tend towards pride.
Whenever you have, look, whatever issues you have, whenever you feel like God is, and I
realize that this has been a common theme over the last several weeks, either
And the problem with pride is this, is that everybody outside of us can see it, but it's
hard for us to see it in the mirror.
So your wife will see the pride in you, or your husband will see the pride in you, or
your boss, or your coworker, or your neighbor, or your friend, or your pastor, everyone else
will identify the pride problem inside of us, but it's hard for us to sometimes see
it.
And this is why God is telling the nation of Israel, He's saying, yes, you were chosen
by God.
Yes, you are a special people.
And let me say to you, New Testament Christian, yes, you are elect by God.
Yes, you are a peculiar people.
Yes, you are a special people.
Yes, you are a holy people.
But don't start thinking that it's anything because of you.
As soon as you start thinking, well, look at the way I live my life, and look at the
standards that I hold in my life, and look at the way that I, and I'm better than.
As soon as you start thinking that way, realize that God is going to fight against you and
resist you because the vine tree, whether it's the Old Testament nation of Israel, or
whether it's the New Testament nation of Israel, is not of value in and of itself.
The vine tree is not more than any other tree.
See, here's what you need to understand, and you can go back to Ezekiel 15, is that
the vine tree finds its value in its fruit.
You say, what is the value to the nation of Israel in the Old Testament?
The only value to the nation of Israel would be found in the fruit that the nation of Israel
produced.
And by the way, the only value to you and I as New Testament believers is in our fruit.
And you say, well, I can't believe you would say that, there's no other value to us in
our fruit.
As far as God keeping us on this earth and God using us upon this earth, if there's no
fruit, there's no value, there's no need, and we'll look at that and develop that here
as we go along.
But go back to Ezekiel 15, look at verse three.
Point number one, it says the vine tree in and of itself is not better than any other
tree.
Here's point number two, the vine tree itself is useless in comparison to the other trees.
Notice what he says in verse three, Ezekiel 15 and verse three.
It's interesting what he's telling, because he's telling the children of Israel, and everyone
would identify and comprehend that the vine tree or the vineyard or the vine is a picture
of the nation of Israel in the Old Testament.
And this is what Ezekiel says to them in verse three, he says this, shall wood be taken thereof
to do any work, or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon?
And the answer to these questions are no.
He's saying, look, if you've got a vine tree, if you've got a vineyard filled with these
vine trees, he says, you're not going to be able to take the vine and take wood from it
and build a table or a chair.
He says, you can't even make a pin, you can't even make a wooden peg out of a vine tree.
Here's what he's saying, the value of the vine tree is in its fruit.
Look at verse four, behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel.
Fire devours both the ends of it, and we'll talk about that in a second, and the midst
of it is burned.
Notice what he says, it is meat, the word meat means suitable or appropriate.
He says, is it meat for any work?
And the answer is no.
Look at verse five, behold, when it was whole, because now we're talking about an injured
vine, right?
One that has been cast into the fire for fuel.
One that has had fire, devours both ends of it.
In verse five, he says this, behold, when it was whole, it was meat for no work.
Here's what he's saying, at their best state, they were worthless.
At their best state, and before we start getting proud, right, because that's our tendency
is to puff up, before we start getting proud against the Old Testament Jews, let's remember
that we as New Testament believers, look, in your best state, according to God, you're
worthless.
I'm worthless.
Our worth and our value is in the fruit that we produce, and that doesn't come from us.
It is God who gives the increase.
Keep your place there in Ezekiel, go back to, go to Psalm 80, let me show you this throughout
the Bible, Psalm 80, if you're there in Isaiah still, if you go backwards, you're gonna go
past Psalm and Psalm, Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, and Psalms.
So the vine tree in and of itself is not better than any other tree.
The vine tree itself is useless, actually, in comparison to other trees, because here's
what he's saying.
He's saying at least other trees, if they don't produce any fruit, at least other trees,
we could cut them down and use the wood to build things with, but he says the vine is
useless.
If it doesn't produce fruit, then there's nothing we can do with it.
Notice Psalm 80 and verse 8, notice what he says, and again, this illustrates how the
vine or the vineyard or the vine tree throughout the Bible is a nation of Israel.
Notice what he says in verse 8, Psalm 80 and verse 8, he says, thou has brought a vine,
this is referring to God, he says, thou has brought a vine out of Egypt, wasn't that the
nation of Israel that came out of Egypt?
Thou has cast out the heathen and planted it.
Was that not Joshua when he entered into the Promised Land and they cast out the heathen?
They took out the Amorites and the Persites and the Canaanites and God cast them out of
the land and he planted his vine, his vineyard, his vine tree in that land.
Look at verse 9, thou preparest room before it and didst cause it to take deep root and
it filled the land.
He said at one point it did fill the land.
The hills were covered with the shadow of it and the bows or the branches thereof were
like the goodly cedars, she sent out her bows unto the sea and her branches unto the river.
And here's what he's saying, he's saying look, the vine gets its value from what it produces.
When we plant a vine or when we plant a vine tree, we want it to spread, we want it to
grow, we want the branches to reach out unto the sea and the branches.
And look, here's what you need to understand, and this is why dispensationalism is such
a silly doctrine, this idea that God has different agendas and different thoughts and different
plans throughout time because you know what the plan was for the nation of Israel in the
Old Testament?
It was the same agenda God has for the new nation of Israel in the New Testament.
It was to spread the Gospel.
It was to be a vineyard that would spread out into the entire world.
They weren't chosen because they were special.
They were chosen to be a lighthouse to be able to bring others to the knowledge of the
Lord.
That's always been the plan.
That's always been God's agenda, but he looks down at this vine tree and he says the only
problem is you didn't produce any fruit.
And you started to think that there was value in simply being a vine, but what you don't
realize is that the only value in a vine is when it produces fruit.
Go back to Isaiah chapter five, Isaiah chapter five, look at verse one, Isaiah chapter five
and verse one.
In Isaiah five, we have another parable of a vineyard and we saw verse seven to show
you that it was the nation of Israel, but let's look at a little bit of the parable
itself.
Look at verse one.
He says, now I will sing unto my well beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard.
My well beloved hath a vineyard, notice what he says, in a very fruitful hill.
That's the whole point.
The whole point, you say why did God bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?
Why did he bring the vine out of Egypt?
Why did he remove and scatter the heathen?
Why did he plant them in that land?
What was the point of all that?
The point of all that was that that vine would grow and produce fruit.
He said I planted it in a very fruitful hill.
Now let me just give you some of these statements so you can kind of think through what we're
talking about.
The vine tree in and of itself is not better than any other trees, that's what we've learned.
The vine tree itself is useless actually in comparison to other trees because you can't
even cut it down and make a peg out of it.
You can't make a wooden pin out of it.
The vine tree only gets its value from the fruit and the grapes that it produces.
Here's point number four, when the vine tree is fruitless, God will work on it to make
it fruitful.
This is what we learned in Isaiah 5.
Notice what he says, look at verse 2, because he's talking about this vine tree, right?
Look at verse 2, and he fenced it, so he puts a fence around it and gathered out the stones
there of, he removed all the stones out of the land and planted it with the Choices vine
and built a tower in the midst of it and also made a wine press therein.
And he looked, he said, why would God do that to the nation of Israel?
Why would he fence it?
Why would he gather the stones?
Why would he plant it with the Choices vine?
Why would he build a tower?
Why would God bless it like he blessed it through the reign of David and Solomon and
do all of those things?
He did it because he had one agenda, he had one mindset, he had one thought, notice what
he says at the end of verse 2, and he looked that it should bring forth grapes.
But what was the problem?
And it brought forth wild grapes.
He said, I wanted grapes and you gave me something different.
I wanted grapes and you gave me something, you know, he's saying the religion that the
Jews came up with, the religion of the Pharisees was not the grapes or the fruit.
Yes, you brought fruit, but it was wild fruit.
It was wild grapes.
Look at verse 3.
And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray, you betwixt me and
my vineyard.
This is God saying, you judge me between me and my vineyard, which is the nation of Israel.
Look at verse 4, he says, what could have been done more to my vineyard that I have
not done unto it?
Wherefore when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought forth wild grapes.
And here's what he's saying.
He's saying, look, I tried to help it.
I tried to put a fence around.
I took the stones out.
I built a tower.
I put a wine print.
I did everything I could, but I could not get it.
I could not get it to produce fruit.
Go to Luke chapter 13.
Keep your finger there in Isaiah.
We're going to come back to it.
But go to Luke 13.
Let me show you this in the New Testament.
This concept is found in the New Testament.
See when a vine tree or a vineyard or a plant tree, a fruit tree, excuse me, is not producing
fruit, you say, what does God do with that tree?
Here's what he does.
He works on that tree to try to get it to produce fruit.
Why?
Because God wants fruit.
He's in the business of a harvest.
He's in a business of reproducing.
Look at Luke 13.
Look at verse 7.
Matthew, Mark, Luke.
Luke chapter 13, verse 7.
Notice what he says.
You find this entire kind of thought process or this analogy throughout the Bible.
Notice Luke 13 and verse 7.
And he said unto the dresser of his vineyard, so we're back in the vineyard, behold, these
three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree.
Now we're talking about a fig tree, but he's giving this kind of parable, this analogy,
and he says, you know, I come and I'm seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none.
He says, cut it down.
You say, well, why would God say to cut down the fig tree?
You say, because God doesn't like the fig tree.
God doesn't like figs.
God doesn't like these trees.
You know, what is it?
And here's what you need to understand.
God is in the business of a harvest.
God is in the business of producing fruit.
He says, cut it down.
You say, why?
Notice.
Why cumberth it the ground?
The word cumber or cumberth means why should it hinder?
Why should it burden?
Why should it inconvenience?
Here's literally what God is saying is this.
God is saying, this tree is using up space.
This tree is using up resources.
This tree is using up water.
It's using up nutrients.
It's using up resources and producing no fruit.
God says, I have no use for this tree.
Why cumberth it the ground?
Look at verse eight.
And he answered and said unto him, Lord, this would be Jesus in this analogy, let it alone
this year also, till I shall dig about it and dug it.
You see, this tree wasn't producing fruit.
You say, well, what's God going to do with it?
He says, you know what?
Let me just work on it.
Let me try to dig about it.
Let me dunk it.
Let me see if I can get it to begin to produce, verse nine.
And if it bear fruit, well.
And if not, then after that, thou shalt cut it down.
So we see throughout the Bible that God, look, you say, what does God want?
From his vineyard, from his vine tree, from his fruit tree, from his fig tree.
He wants fruit.
Go back to Jeremiah.
Now, if you get up to your place in Isaiah, just one book over to Jeremiah.
The vine tree in and of itself is not better than any of the other trees.
And the vine tree itself is actually useless without fruit, because the vine tree gets
its value from the fruit.
And when the vine tree is fruitless, God will do what he can do or what he will work on
it to try to make it fruitful.
Here's thought number five.
Sometimes a vine tree does not produce no matter what you do to it.
And this is where the nation of Israel found itself, because God tried to do everything
he could in the Old Testament to try to get these people right, to try to get them back,
to try to get them to begin to produce, and at the end of the day, they would not produce.
Jeremiah chapter two, look at verse 21.
Notice what the Bible says.
Jeremiah 2, 21.
Yet I had planted thee a noble vine.
He says, yet I had planted thee a noble vine, holy, a right seed.
Notice what he says.
How then art thou turned into, this is what the nation of Israel turned into, a degenerate
plant of a strange vine unto me.
He said, I planted thee a noble vine.
He said, you were holy, a right seed.
You were a complete right seed, but now when I'm looking for fruit from you, you've turned
into a degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me.
He said, you're wild.
You're wild fruit.
You're not what I was hoping for.
Go to Hosea chapter 10.
I know we're looking at a lot of passages, but let me just show you the passages and
we'll make some applications at the end.
Hosea chapter 10.
You're there in Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea.
Hosea chapter 10 and verse one.
And keep in mind that Jeremiah obviously is on the scene after Isaiah before Ezekiel,
and he's calling them a degenerate plant of a strange vine.
Isaiah is in Isaiah chapter five using the illustration of a vineyard that would not
produce.
Hosea, where we're going now, is a contemporary of Isaiah who's going to say something about
this empty vine as well.
So notice that God is using this illustration with all of the preachers, all of the men
of God around those times, Ezekiel's bringing up this illustration of a vine as well.
Hosea chapter 10, verse one, notice what he says, Israel is an empty vine.
He bringeth forth fruit, but it's unto himself.
Notice how it says, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself.
According to the multitude of his fruit, he hath increased the altars.
According to the goodness of his land, they have made goodly images.
And here's what he's saying.
What he's saying is this, God gave resources, God gave opportunities, God gave certain things
to the nation of Israel because he wanted them to produce fruit, and all they did was
they brought forth fruit unto themselves.
And he says they didn't bring anything that I wanted.
So what happens when a vine tree just is not going to produce any fruit, no matter how
much you invest into it, no matter how much you give to it, no matter how much you try
to help it, when it doesn't produce any fruit, what do you do or what does God do?
Go back to Ezekiel 15, we're going to go to Isaiah in a minute, but notice what the parable
says.
And they all say basically the same thing.
Ezekiel 15, verse 4, notice what it says, behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel.
The fire devoureth both ends of it.
And this is talking about the physical judgment coming upon the children of Israel.
Notice verse 5, behold, when it was whole, it was meat for no work.
How much less shall it be meat yet for any work when the fire hath devoured it and it
is burned?
I want you to notice that he says, look, the vineyard that produces nothing is taking up,
it's cumbering the ground, it's taking up resources, water, nutrients.
He said it's not good for anything.
We're just going to get rid of it.
We're just going to burn it up.
We can't even take the wood and make a bench out of it or make a table out of it or even
make a peg out of it.
We're just going to burn it and get rid of it.
And this is literally what God is going to do when Nebuchadnezzar comes in on his third
wave.
Notice that he talks about, you know, it's devoured on both ends because there's already
been two assaults from Babylon, but that third one with King Zedekiah will be the last one
where the temple is destroyed, the wall is destroyed, and Jerusalem is burned.
And this is what Ezekiel is telling them.
This is the illustration that he's giving them.
Go back to Isaiah chapter 5, look at verse 5.
I just want you to notice the consistency here.
We're looking at these parables and then we'll make some applications here in a minute, but
stick with me.
Isaiah 5 and look at verse 5.
Notice what he says, and now go to, I tell you, remember Isaiah 5, we're in the parable
of Isaiah now of the vineyard, what will I do to my vineyard?
Remember in this parable he just said, I put a fence around it, I built a tower, I removed
the stones, I did everything I could, so he says, I will tell you what I will do to my
vineyard.
He said, this is what I finally decided to do with the nation of Israel.
I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up, and break down the wall
thereof, and it shall be trodden down.
And I will lay it waste, it shall not be pruned, nor digged, but there shall come up briars
and thorns, and I will also command the clouds that they now reign upon it, for the vineyard
of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant, and
he looked for judgment, but behold, oppression for righteousness, but behold, a cry.
Here's what he says, he says, you would not produce fruit.
You would not do what I asked of you, so God says, here's what I'm going to do, I'm going
to destroy you.
I'm just going to be done with you.
And this literally means with the nation of Israel that he was just going to be done with
them.
We're going to see this in the Old Testament and the New Testament.
Go to Psalm 80, if you get your place there, Psalm 80, I know we're looking at a lot of
passages, but let's just look at them and then we're going to go into the New Testament.
Psalm 80, look at verse 12, because I want you to notice how consistent he is, whether
you're looking at it from Jeremiah, from Hosea, from Isaiah, from Ezekiel, from Psalms,
wherever you're looking at it, he talks about this vineyard that represents the nation of
Israel.
He says, I did everything I could to help it, I did everything I could to resource it,
I did everything I could to bless it, but it would not produce fruit, so I destroyed
it.
So I got rid of it.
Psalm 80, verse 12, he says this, why is thou then broken down her hedges, so that all they
which pass by the way do pluck her?
The bore out of the wood is wasted in the wild beasts of the field that devour it, return
we beseech thee, O God of hosts, look down from heaven and behold and visit this vine,
and the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted and the branch that thou madeest strong
for thyself.
Look at verse 16, it is burned with fire, it is cut down, they perish at the rebuke
of thy countenance.
Go back to Ezekiel 15, actually you know what, go to Matthew 21, I think we looked
at the verses in Ezekiel about the fire, so will I give thee an, actually you know what,
I'm sorry, go to Ezekiel 15, I apologize, I was looking at the wrong thing.
Ezekiel 15, and notice this is the judgment that's coming, not only is it given in parable
form but at the end of the chapter he actually just spells it out for them.
Ezekiel 15 and verse 6, notice what it says, therefore thus saith the Lord God, as a vine
tree among the trees of the forest which I have given to the fire for fuel, notice
what he says, and it's interesting, in the Bible you always find this, that there's the
illustration or the teaching given and then there's always the application.
So now we're going from the parable to the application, he says, as the vine tree among
the trees of the forest which I have given to the fire for fuel, here's the application,
so will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem and I will set my face against them, they
shall go out from one fire and another fire shall devour them, and ye shall know that
I am the Lord when I set my face against them, and I will make the land desolate because
they have committed a trespass, saith the Lord God.
All right, go to Matthew 21, let's look at a couple of applications.
There's of course an application here for the Old Testament nation of Israel, but there's
also an application for New Testament believers, we'll look at both and we'll be done, all
right.
Matthew 21, look at verse 33, now in Matthew 21 we find yet again another parable of another
vineyard and it represents the nation of Israel as well.
Matthew 21 and verse number 33, Matthew 21 and verse 33, notice what it says, this is
of course the Lord Jesus Christ speaking, Matthew 21 verse 33, here another parable,
there was a certain householder which planted a vineyard.
Now when Jesus gives his parable and all of the Jewish people hear this and the Pharisees
and the Sadducees and everybody hears this, when he begins to talk about a vineyard they
know exactly what he's talking about, since Psalms, since Ezekiel, since Isaiah, since
Jeremiah, since Hosea, this has been the running theme of the nation of Israel, they are the
vine tree, they are the vineyard, they are the vine, notice what it says, which planted
a vineyard and hedged it round about and digged a wine press in it and built a tower,
doesn't that sound just like Isaiah 5, and led it out to husband men and went into a
far country, verse 34, and when the time of the fruit drew near he sent his servants,
now the servants in this parable are the prophets, here's what he said, he says he sent his servants
to the husband men that they might receive the fruits of it and the husband men, the
husband men is talking about, he says I gave you this vineyard, I gave you the land, he's
talking about the Pharisees and the Jews, he says and the husband men took his servants,
talking about the prophets, and beat one and killed another and stoned another, verse 36,
again he sent other servants more than the first and they did unto them likewise, verse
37, but the last of all he sent unto them his son, I was talking about Jesus, saying
they will reverence my son, but when the husband men saw the son, they said among themselves,
this is the heir, come, let us kill him and let us seize on his inheritance, and they
caught him and cast him out of the vineyard and slew him, when the Lord therefore of the
vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husband men, so he asked this question, he
tells him this whole story, and he's basically going through the history of the nation of
Israel, he says he sent you messengers and messengers and prophets and they killed him
and they killed him, and at the end he, but last of all, he sent unto them his son and
they killed his son, he said what do you think the Lord should do to these husband men, notice
verse 41, it's interesting because these are Jewish people, they say unto him, he will
miserably destroy those wicked men and will let out his vineyard unto other husband men,
which shall render him, now hold on a second, because this is where we lose focus as New
Testament believers, because we like this part, right, destroy those wicked men and
will let out his vineyard unto other husband men, and we're like woo, that's us, that's
the New Testament church, that's Gentile believers, aren't we awesome, aren't we special, aren't
we great, hold on a second, before we start sounding like the Old Testament nation of
Israel, we shall render him the fruits in their seasons, we like the anti-Zionist preaching
and I'm all for it, we like the God gave up on the Old Testament nation of Israel, they're
not his people anymore, he gave the vineyard to another husband man, to another nation,
but don't forget, don't forget that he expects from us what he wanted from them, which shall
render him the fruits in their seasons, and here's all I'm trying to tell you, New Testament,
Gentile, I've been grafted into the vine, I'm as good as they are, there is neither
Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, I'm just
telling you that you're as useless as they are, when you don't produce fruit. Mr. Oh,
well, you know, he gave up on them and he gave us another nation, and he's looking at
us and saying, where's the fruit? Because before we start thinking, well look, we're
the choice vine, we were grafted in, hey, praise the Lord for all of that, but you're
not any more special than they were, and he's looking at us and you say, why did he give
it to us, which shall render him fruits in their season, verse 42, Jesus said unto them,
did ye never read in the scriptures the stone which the builders rejected, the same has
become the head of the corner, this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in your
eyes, verse 43, therefore I say unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you,
the Old Testament nation of Israel, and given to a nation, a peculiar people, a holy nation,
people that were estranged to God, people that were without hope and without God in
this world, he's going to bring us in, he's going to engraft us in, he's going to give
it to a nation, but don't miss this, bringing forth the fruit thereof. Here's all I'm trying
to tell you, here's all I'm trying to tell you, the Old Testament nation of Israel forgot
that their value wasn't fruits, that in and of itself, they were nothing, that they weren't
even good for wood, they weren't even good for a peg, and we as New Testament believers
like to look back at them and say, yeah, you should have learned that lesson, but listen
to me, we need to learn that lesson, because you know that in and of yourself, you're worthless
to God, you know that when you produce no fruit, God can't even use you for a peg, he
has no need for you, he has no use for you, in fact, you're hindering, you're cumbering
up the ground, you're taking up resources and nutrients and water, you say, why? Because
look, God is in the business of the harvest, he's in the business of producing fruit, you
say, why, you know, does he look at us as New Testament believers like that? Well, go
to John 15, John 15. So yes, here's what we can learn from this passage, God took away
the kingdom from the nation of Israel and he gave it to the Gentiles, true, because
they did not produce fruit, and what God expects from the new nation, the new vine, is fruit.
John 15, I want you to notice there's a transition from the Old Testament to the New Testament,
because we have the parable of vine, right, all in the Old Testament, it's always the
nation of Israel, the Jews, or the southern kingdom of Judah, or the northern kingdom
of Israel, it's all them. Then Jesus gives this parable where he says, I'm going to take
it from you and I'm going to give it to a nation, bringing forth fruits thereof. Now
in John 15, we have a vineyard or a vine parable, but it's different. Now the dispensationalist
will tell you, John 15 is about the Jews, there's a problem with that. Notice John 15,
verse 1, I, this is Jesus speaking, am the true vine. Whenever you see the vine in the
Bible, that's the nation of Israel. Okay, the problem with saying that about John 15
is that Jesus said, I am the true vine. All right, so we've disconnected from that old
context. Now Jesus said, we're starting over, this is new. New Testament, new covenant,
better covenant. He said, I am the true vine, and my father is the husband man. Every branch
in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away. And every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth
it, that it may bring forth more fruit. You say, wait a minute, God, when we produce fruit,
you purge us, which means you clean us out, which means you remove the leaves and the
wasted parts because you're trying to get us to produce more fruit. Yes, get it in your
head, God's in the business of fruit. Look, your value to God on this earth is based on the fruit
you produce. I'm not trying to hurt your feelings, I'm not trying to tell you you're not special,
I'm not, whatever, if you need that, you're special, God loves you, blah, blah, blah.
But your value on this earth to God is fruit, period. Doesn't mean he doesn't love you,
doesn't mean, but look, the only reason that God did not strike you dead the moment you believed,
when you believed and called upon him for salvation, the only reason he didn't just take
you home immediately, the only reason he left you on this earth was to produce fruit. That's it.
That's it. And the nation of Israel got caught all caught up on, well, I'm gonna produce wild fruits
and I'm gonna produce fruits unto myself and I'm gonna get involved in this and in that and in all
these things. And God says, what are you doing? I planted you for fruit. But you know what,
I think God is looking down on a lot of New Testament believers saying the exact same thing.
You're producing all sorts of fruit unto yourself. You're busy and scouring about and
accomplishing much. But where's the fruits? Because I'm in the business of fruit. Look at verse 4.
Abide in me, and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine.
No more can ye. He's talking to New Testament believers, the disciples, the disciples that are
gonna go and start the New Testament Church. He says, no more can ye except ye abide in me. And
by the way, let me just say this. If you're not producing fruit, it's because you're not abiding
in Christ, period. Verse 5, I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him,
the same bringeth forth much fruit, for without me he can do nothing. If a man abide not in me,
he is cast forth as a branch and is withered and men gather them and cast them into the fire and
they are burned. Now, let me say a couple of things about this. Some people, the dispensationalists
try to come into this passage and say, oh, this isn't about New Testament believers. This is about
the nation of Israel. Okay, problem with that is Jesus said, I am the true vine and ye are the
branches. Okay, so we're not talking about the nation of Israel. We're now talking about New
Testament believers. We are connected to Christ. Other people will say, oh yeah, this is about New
Testament believers, but you see that part there where it says that men gather them and cast them
into the fire and they are burned. Some people try to use that and say, see, you can lose your
salvation. And they'll say, if you don't produce fruit, then God's going to send you to hell. All
right, because they see fire there and they think hell. Now, look, let me just say a couple of things
about that. Number one, it's always interesting to me how all of these people that want to teach
you that you can lose your salvation, they always want to use some parable to make that point. You
say, Pastor Jimenez, do you believe that when it says there that it is withered and men gather them
and cast them into fire and they are burned? Do you believe that's talking about hell? The answer
is no. You say, how do you know that? Because that would contradict clear teaching from the
Word of God. All right, Christians don't go to hell. You don't lose your salvation. We didn't
get that from a parable. We got that from clear statements out of the mouth of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish, neither shall any man
pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them is greater than all, and no man is able to
pluck them out of my Father's hand. That's what Jesus said. So look, just realize this, that the
statements always trump the stories or the parables. So be careful about getting all
your doctrine from parables. You say, okay, well, if it's not hell, then what is it? Here's what I
think it is. Here's what I think it is. God says, look, if you're not going to produce fruit, I have
no use for you. I don't need you. He said, I'm just going to be done with you. I'm not going to
send you to hell. I might kill you. I'm not going to send you to hell, but you're going to wither
and men shall gather you and cast them into the vine. Some of you sitting in this room right now
are in the process of withering. I'm not saying you're going to lose your salvation. I'm not saying
you're going to go to hell, but I am saying this, if you don't get connected to the vine, you're
going to be cast away. Paul said, but I keep under my body and bring it into subjection, lest that by
any means when I preach to others, I myself should be cast away. He wasn't saying you're going to lose
the salvation, but look, the only way you're going to stay in the fight, the only way you're going to
produce fruit, the only way to stay in the Christian life is to be connected and abiding in the vine.
And when you're not, you'll wither. When you're not, men will gather you and cast you into the
fight. Here's what he's saying. He's saying, I have no use. Here's what he's trying to tell him. I
have no use for you if you're not doing what I brought. And I realized that that goes against
our society because in our society, everybody has value and everybody gets a trophy and there's no
child left behind. And even if you can't read, we'll give you a diploma. And I get that that
goes against everything that we believe, but this is not what the Bible says. You know what the Bible
says? The Bible says ye are the salt of the earth, but he says, if you lose the saver, he said, I'm
just going to cast you out. He said, you're worthless. You have no value to me. I might as
well just kill you and send you up to heaven because you're cumbering up the ground. So look,
we learned from these passages that God cast away the nation of Israel and he chose us. He elected
us. He brought us in. He gave us the vineyard. He gave us the ministry of reconciliation. Praise the
Lord for all that, but I wouldn't be praising too much if I wasn't producing fruit. I'm great.
And listen, before you start getting all proud and puffed up, how much fruit are you producing?
And we're not talking about the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, long suffering. That's
the fruit of the Spirit. We'll talk about that in January when we begin our series on the Holy
Spirit. That's the fruit that the Holy Spirit produces in you, but the fruit that you produce
is other Christians. An apple tree produces apples. A grape vine is going to produce grapes.
And look, God expects you to be producing. God expects you to be soul winning. God expects you
to be reaching people with the gospel. You say, well, yeah, but I'm withering away. It's because
you're not connected to the vine. It's because you're not getting your nutrients. It's because
you say, I feel like I just can't produce. And you're going to wither away in the Christian
life if you don't get connected to the vine. That's where it all comes from. It's all about
getting connected, abiding. And notice the emphasis, verse three, we're done right here,
John 15, verse three. He says, now ye are clinging through the word, which I have spoken unto you.
See, Pastor Jimenez, why would you spend three weeks talking about the word of God on Sunday
mornings? Here's why I would spend three weeks talking about the word of God on Sunday morning,
because I know this, that your relationship to the word of God will determine your spiritual
health. You say, well, what does the word of God have to do with it? Jesus is the word. He is the
word of God became flesh. And look, here's what I'm telling you. You say, well, how do I know if
I'm abiding in the vine? How do I know if I'm abiding in Jesus? Are you abiding in this? Look,
if the last time you opened this up was on Sunday when I was preaching to you out of it,
there's a problem there. I'm not trying to hurt your feelings. I'm just telling you,
you're not going to make it. You're going to wither, and they're going to cast you away,
and that'll be it. I'm not saying you're going to go to hell. I'm not saying you're going to lose
your salvation, but you'll be useless to God. So remember, it's not about you. The value that I
have to God comes in the fruit that I produce to God, because my production of fruit is connected
to my abiding in Christ. That's why I heard the Navajo prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you, Lord,
for your word. Thank you for the Bible. Thank you for these parables, these stories. And Lord,
I pray that you would help us not to get proud. The exact thing that the Old Testament nation of
Israel did, they thought that somehow they were special because they had been chosen.
When all God wanted was fruit.