The Fruits of the Firstfruits

We were talking earlier this morning about gardening, and this is kind of the time, you know, the beginning of spring. Everyone gets excited. We've been through a long winter as we tend to have in this part of the country, and then we look so much forward to the warmer temperatures and then getting outside and being able to garden. So it's kind of the gardening time here as we get into the spring, holy days. It's kind of coming a little bit slowly this year.

Sometimes it comes a little faster, April can be warmer, but given enough time, hopefully we're going to get there a little bit more than we have. You know, so people start to think about their gardens, for those of you that have them.

I know for us, Jillian and I have a, oh, we have kind of an annual Mother's Day routine. That's one of the things that we go down to. Oh, there's a business that's called Hills Gardens. They've been around since the early 1900s. It's like a fourth-generation family right now. Father and son are working together, daughters in it as well, as well as the wife, and the grandfather, the great-grandfather, started. And so we go there and we pick out all of our vegetable plants and our strawberries, our raspberries, cucumbers, tomatoes, and then we get our flowers that we have for the landscaping.

We pick up all those things, and it's something that's kind of exciting for us that we begin to plant and we see these things grow and eventually bear fruit. And maybe you're in this type of situation, too, things that you're thinking about doing. You started already. You're buying your gardening supplies. You're getting out your fertilizer and your tools and all of that. And so, brethren, it's kind of a time that we think about planting.

We think about eventually harvesting and things, and we see the fruits that will come from our labors. As you know, today is the day of Pentecost, and it's the Feast of First Fruits. That's one of the names that it has. And this day focuses on the first spring harvest in Palestine, in that part of the world. It was a barley harvest. Let's go to Leviticus chapter 23 and verse number 15. Leviticus chapter 23 and verse 15, and let's go over this again and see what God has told us here and told us to do here.

And so, we covered this yesterday, and of course in Elendael, and maybe it was covered in the messages where you were in the congregations, but it's the only chapter, Leviticus chapter 23, where all of God's Holy Days are mentioned in one chapter. They're listed at other places, but they appear all of them here.

Let's pick it up. Leviticus 23 verse number 15. It says, you shall count, and even the word Pentecost in Greek means count fifty, so we know that it has to do with counting. It says, you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, seven Sabbaths shall be completed. So we're to count that. From the day that that wave sheaf is offered, we begin to count from there. Verse 16, count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord.

And that's this particular one today. There's another offering that was to come. A wave sheaf offering fifty days prior, but on this day also today. Also a wave sheaf offering that was done. Now this year, the day after the Sabbath during the days of 11 bread, which was day one of the count, that was on April, Sunday April the fifth.

And then we count seven Sabbaths. So we started with April fifth, and if you would have been alive at that time in history, that was when the wave sheaf would have been offered to God in the temple. And then so when we go to the next Sabbath, the first Sabbath after that, then would have been April the eleventh, the second Sabbath, April the eighteenth, the third Sabbath, April the twenty-fifth, the fourth Sabbath, May second, the fifth Sabbath, May the ninth, the sixth Sabbath, May the sixteenth, and the seventh Sabbath, May twenty-third, yesterday.

And then the next day, which is today, the fiftieth day, is the Feast of Pentecost. And so that's how we know how to count. That's how we know which this is the day, the high day, that God has ordained from Scripture. In verse number 17, we come to that fiftieth day, and you shall bring forth from your dwellings two wavelengths of two tenths of an ephah.

So there's two wavelengths on this particular offering, not just the one, not the wave sheep as it was back fifty days prior, which pictured Jesus Christ being offered to God. Now we have two wavelengths, and these notice are made of fine flour. They shall be baked with leaven. And why baked with leaven? Because, well, it represents God's people, the firstfruits, the church, which is not perfect.

We are sinners, and we are not like the wave sheep offering, which was sinless. And so they are baked with leaven. And of course, we know we're not quite perfect yet, and that's why God makes it clear that they're baked with leaven, but they will be accepted by God. These two particular wave loaves will be. In the New Testament, the day is called the Feast of Pentecost, which, as I mentioned in the Greek, means count fifty, or the fiftieth day.

As the wave sheep foreshadowed Christ, being raised from the grave and then offered to God, ascending to Him as an offering to be accepted on behalf of the rest of the harvest. And so the second offering now, fifty days later, refers to Christians today. You know, most Christians prefer to celebrate the resurrection rather than necessarily some of the other days. They call it Ishtar or Easter. And in a sense, the resurrection of Christ really is astonishing.

It really is. It's a miracle. God the Father raised Him from the dead. So it's an astonishing thing, no question about that. And God noted the event, in a sense, by making part of the count. When He was resurrected and then offered to God, that was day one of the count, when that took place.

Now, we're Leviticus 23. Let's jump to verse number 20. Let's jump to verse number 20. It says, the priests shall wave them, referring to these two wave loads. The priests shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the Lord with two lambs. They shall be holy to the Lord. They shall be holy to the Lord for the priests. So God calls this particular offering a holy offering, even though it has 11 in it.

Verse 21, And you shall proclaim on that same day that it is a holy convocation. And so this same day, which is today, is also a holy convocation. It's a high day. You shall do no customary work on it. It shall be a statute forever in all of your dwellings throughout your generations. And so God foreshadowed some things here with this agricultural harvest. It really was picturing a spiritual harvest all along. It was a transcendental meaning to help us to understand something much bigger than what he was beginning to relate to his people, the children of Israel at that time.

He wanted to plant the seed that this referred to something much more profound. And it was a spiritual harvest. And so God foreshadowed the resurrection and then the eventual offering of Jesus Christ as the wave sheaf, as the firstborn of many brethren, the first born from the dead among... and then there were others that were going to come. One single sheaf, an omer, was offered that would be required to be waved before God, before any of the rest of the grain could be harvested. That had to be offered to God first.

It was required by him before the harvest could begin. And then, after that, they could start to harvest. And then he instructed us to count 50 days from that event. And we come to the time of Pentecost, the firstfruits. Seems like God's trying to teach us that the wave sheaf began the offering.

The wave sheaf began the spiritual harvest, in a sense. It began the resurrection process and the offering to God. And that leads, of course, to the next big celebration, which is the second spiritual harvest, which is pictured by today. The Feast of Firstfruits that would also be offered to God. Jesus Christ was the first of the firstfruits. And then the bread of the firstfruits represents the whole harvest coming in later on, together as a result of the first one. You know, we can't have the second one without the first one. We know that Jesus Christ is our life, as it says in the scripture, and that we're saved by his life.

So once that offering was accepted, then there could be a second harvest. There could be a second offering thanks to him and what he did. And we're told then carefully to count. Let's go to Acts chapter 2 in the New Testament. Acts chapter 2, we've been there already this morning. We'll see in Acts chapter 2 where this day is set in scripture. And, of course, chapter 1 kind of prepares us getting ready for chapter 2, in a sense.

We're told to stay and wait. Something's going to happen. Holy Spirit's going to be poured out coming from the promise from the Father. And so we see it's something that's getting set up here for the fulfillment, in the sense of a huge way, of pouring out of God's Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 2. And Acts chapter 1 sets a little bit of the tone. Acts chapter 2, we'll pick it up in verse 1.

It says, when the day of Pentecost had fully come, so they knew how to count, and they were there, and they were ready. They'd done this all their lives. This is something that they obeyed the Scriptures. They kept the Feast of Weeks. They kept the Feast of Firstfruits, this day of Pentecost.

And they were all there in one place, in one accord, and in one place. So they were all here together. They were there to keep this particular day. Just as Jesus said, don't leave. I want you to stay, because there's going to be something that's going to happen. And then something begins to happen as we get to verse number 2. It says, and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Now God wanted to make this special. You know, He wanted to make an impact.

This was something that was special. He wanted to make it known that this was something that was going to be happening. He wanted people to see it and to have an impact. Verse number 3, and then there appeared to them divided tongues as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And we understand this to be the 12 apostles here, that it sat upon each of them. And it says in verse 4, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit.

That God gave them a great measure. They were just filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them utterance. So, brethren, God wanted this to be seen. He wanted it to be heard. He wanted there to be an impact. He wanted people to recognize that this was something that everyone would see that was there and hear that was there at the temple. And it talks about the fact that they were able to hear in their own language, which was a miracle.

And as it was covered by Mr. Holub in the first message, they had all these different languages, people from all over different regions, devout men from various regions, and they spoke different languages, and they all heard them in their own individual language. And they were amazed. You can imagine the impact that God was having upon this situation. Let's skip ahead now to verse number 36. It says, therefore, let all the house of Israel know...

so this message was to be delivered to the house of Israel first. Let all the house of Israel know, assuredly... we're here in verse number 36 of Acts chapter 2. Let them know assuredly that God has made this Jesus. He points to the word Jesus here in this context, which is his human name. Christ was the title. Christ isn't his last name. Christ is the title, meaning Messiah. And so this Jesus, that's his human name, Christ is the title. That's the meaning Messiah, the Lord. And it's an office, one who's really in charge of the whole earth and has responsibilities over the whole earth. And so he says this Jesus, so he points to Jesus as a human, which also he's the Savior, because he paid our penalty for you and me.

Let them know, assuredly, that God has made this Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ. This human, this man God, is now... God the Father is telling us assuredly that he has made him both Lord and Christ. Now with all that he had said beforehand and showed them from Scripture, many people believe that this was true. That this Jesus was both Lord and Christ.

Now let's go on to verse number 37. It says, now when they heard this, it says they were cut to the heart and they said to Peter and the rest of the Apostles, well what do we do then? We've been responsible for taking the life of this Messiah and they believed it.

They came to understand with everything they had been seen, everything that they've been hearing, that what the Apostles were telling them was true. They believed it and they said, what shall we do? Verse 38 and Peter said, repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus the Christ for the remission of sins. And then you're going to receive something you've never had before. You're going to receive a gift from the Father. The promise is from the Father. You shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

For this promise, referring to the Holy Spirit, Mr. Halib mentioned, is to you and it is to your children. Wow, brethren, it goes on. The possibility of our children, this is being opened up to them. And as many as are far off, to all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call. And so God knows whose eyes he should open and who should be blinded for now because they're not ready.

And so as many as the Lord our God shall call. Verse 40, and with many other words he testified and he exhorted. So they were to testify of these things that God had told them about. And then they were exhorted, which means to encourage.

He exhorted them and saying, be saved from this perverse, which means crooked, generation. So this is coming from God himself, inspired to the Holy Spirit that we live in a crooked generation. And we know that. This is not God's time in his world and his age right now.

It's the age of man and Satan. And so he says, be saved from this wicked generation, this perverse generation. Verse number 41, then those who gladly received his word, they took action. They were baptized. It says they were baptized and that day about 3,000 souls were added to them and they continued steadfastly. They were consistent with what they had come to understand and believe. They acted in a steadfast manner in the Apostles doctrine and in fellowship with the brethren and in the breaking of bread, which means they got together for meals and in the prayers.

They continued to be steadfast in praying and talking to God. Wow, it was quite a time. This was quite a time at the beginning of the Church in the first century. You know, there was really no time really quite equal to it. And you know, the Holy Spirit we've been taught produces fruits. Remember Galatians chapter 5, the fruit of the Spirit, it produces things in our lives. It produces love and joy and peace and we tend to forebear one another. We tend to be long-suffering towards one another. And so we know that the Holy Spirit produces the fruits of the Spirit. If we're following the lead of the Spirit, it will produce the fruits of the Spirit in our lives.

It's the Spirit that produces the fruits of the Spirit. It's what makes one a Christian. Christians are the first to bear the fruits of the Spirit. Christians are the first. They're the first fruits. They're the first to bear the fruits of the Spirit. Let's go over to James chapter 1. James chapter 1 and verse number 16. We know that Jesus Christ was the first of the first fruits, but there were other first fruits to come. James chapter 1 and verse number 16. Christians are the first to bear the fruits of the Spirit. James chapter 1 and verse number 16. God inspired James to share this with us.

He says, don't be deceived, my beloved brother, because apparently some had begun to be deceived when it comes to this particular point that he's about to make. He says, don't be deceived, my beloved brother, because every good gift and every perfect gift comes from above. It comes from God. It's not us. It's not what makes us who we are, because we were born that way necessarily. God gave each of us gifts and everything that is good in you that has been given to you by God.

It's come from him. And it comes down from God the Father. That's where it came from. It comes from our Heavenly Father. From the Father of lights in whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

And, boys, he's consistent. And he's teaching us to be the same, steadfast. Every good gift comes from above. And you know, the longer I live, the more I see that. Do you see it too? The longer that I live, I begin to see that that is what is the truth of the matter. And, of course, the Holy Spirit is one such gift that's been given to us from the Father. Verse number 18, of his own will he brought us forth that's God's will.

This is what his desire is. He wants to bring us forth. Some translations talk about he birthed us. Or he's in the process of birthing us, begetting us. It's his will, it's his desire to have a family. Of his own will he brought us forth. Of his own will. He brought us forth by the Word of Truth. And so it's a living Word. We know there are Scriptures that talk about that. But this is not just words on a piece of paper. What we see in front of us on our lap.

But this is a living Word. It was God-breathed. It's been put down on a sense on paper. But it can change us. It can change our lives. It can mold us and fashion us. This particular Word of God. The Word of God that is going forth to bring firstfruits. And so, brethren, we have to fasten ourselves to, in a sense, to this Word. As Jesus said to the Father, your Word is truth. So we can rely on it to guide us correctly all of the time.

So he brought us forth by the Word of Truth that we might be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. So we know that if this is the firstfruits, then there's other fruits to follow, don't we? And we know the Feast of In-Gathering at the end of the age that there's going to be another harvest. There'll be a third spiritual harvest. And so we see here that will be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. The Word of Truth turns us into the firstfruits when we internalize it, when we take it in, when we eat of it, when we study it, it begins to change us and we begin to grow in it.

Further, today what I'd like to talk to you about here, and I should have told you before now, is the title of the message. The title of the message is the fruits of the firstfruits. The fruits of the firstfruits.

Oh, I suppose it was about three or four years ago. I just don't know exactly for sure. Somebody began to construct a vineyard. There are a few vineyards up in this climate. There are certain types of varieties of grapes that can handle the winters and survive, and then they can continue to eventually develop and grow and eventually bear fruit, bear grapes. And so for those of you that have been to visit our place, before you turn on our gravel road, there's a vineyard there. It didn't used to be there. About four years ago, it was just an old area where there were some plastic, quantset buildings where there was some greenhouse type of variety going on. And it was a business there that had been there for years, a nursery. They went out of business. And so the property was for sale. So a couple of people came in, they cleared all that out. They began to prepare the soil. Not too acidic, having the right pH value. And they began to build trellises. They put the posts in the ground. They ran the wires. If you've seen vineyards, they began to do all those things. They began to fertilize. They began to dig. And they planted that first year, these little sprigs that were coming up out of the ground. And in the first growing season, they would go back and tie the little plastic twisters so that the small sprigs of twigs, as they began to grow, that they would be going up the posts. And then they began to train it as the branches began to go sideways. And they tied little plastic ties to the wires as they began to spread. And then after that first year, wow, that was a lot of growth in the first year. And in the second year, then, in the spring, they went back and they pruned. And they pruned almost all the way, I mean, a lot further back than we thought that they would. And my wife said, Dave, there's hardly, they cut almost all the growth off. But there's a reason why they do that. There's a reason why they cut all the growth off. And we'll talk about that a little bit in a moment. But I saw the man hours that they spent. There's two men out there doing a lot of this work. And they have their other jobs, but they're out there almost every evening, particularly at the beginning, and spending a lot of time out there. That is one said, a labor of love. It was a labor of love. And so then that second growing season, it all, the growth went past, way past, where it had gone in the first growing season. And they pruned back again after that, the next spring, after the fall was over, they let it go dormant, and they pruned back again. Quite a ways, not quite as far as the first time. And then the third was a third or the fourth year, they finally got grapes. They got grapes. Further than the Bible, God uses trees, vineyards, vines, and their care to teach us valuable lessons about the Kingdom of God. Let's go back to Isaiah chapter 5. Let's go back to Isaiah chapter 5 here.

And we're going to take a look at an example here about a, well, Isaiah is a book of prophecy here, and the first six chapters pretty much set the tone, in a sense, set the stage. That's the fifth chapter here. There's something I really want to focus on here. And in the Bible that I have, sometimes it has man-made titles over the paragraphs, and try to give you a little bit of a sentence of maybe what's going to follow in the next following subsequent paragraph. In Isaiah chapter 5 here, it says in my heading, it says, God's disappointing vineyard. God's disappointing vineyard. I don't know if anyone else has that, but that's what mine says. Now, let's pick it up here in verse number 1 of Isaiah chapter 5, because it starts talking about a vineyard. It says, now let me sing to my well-loved, a song of my beloved, regarding his vineyard. So now he's going to teach us. God is going to teach us through his own vineyard. He says, my well-beloved has a vineyard on a very fruitful hill. And that means, you know, often the vineyards will be on a hill because the drainage is good. Usually when it's flat, it's not quite as good for vineyards. But if there's a little bit of a hill, a little bit of a slope, they do better. So he says, on a very fruitful hill. And it says, and he dug it up, and he cleared its stones. Some of the same things that these two men had done. And they planted it with the Choices vine. I mean, they picked out the best variety to be able to plant here on this very fruitful hill.

And it goes on to say, they dug it up, they cleared the stones, they planted with the Choices vine. And the Choices vine would be the brethren, the children of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. Abraham, of course, was a man of faith. He's the father of the faithful. They were all faithful servants of God. And they were from a line of faithful servants of God. So this is a choice vine. And it goes on to say, and he built a tower in its midst. And a tower is for protection. You can see enemies in a distance. And it was also a place for storing things. And you could rest there from the hot sun. A tower would serve various purposes. And it says, they also made a winepress in it. So a winepress, of course, you use to make wine. That noble, in a sense, fruit of the vine. So he expected it, it says, to bring forth good grapes. But it brought forth wild grapes. It was just the opposite of what God was expecting. Because he did everything he could possibly do. It says they brought forth wild grapes. And wild grapes aren't good for much.

According to some commentaries, that they're foul-smelling. They're obnoxious. There's no good fruit that comes from it.

And God prophesied, really, that this was going to happen. You might want to keep your finger here because we're going to come back. But God told Moses to write a song that this was going to happen. Before it happened. Let's go back to Deuteronomy chapter 32. Chapter 32 of the book of Deuteronomy. This is before the children of Israel even went into the Promised Land, in a sense. God knew their proclivity. He knew what would happen. He knew their hearts, in a sense. And some refer to this as the Song of Moses.

Deuteronomy chapter 32. We'll pick it up here. Well, let's read the last verse of chapter 31. Deuteronomy chapter 31 verse 30.

It says, Let's jump to verse 32 in this song because we're still... This is quite a long song and this is the words of the song. We'll pick it up in verse 32.

He said, basically, brethren, that that was the way that Israel would begin to eventually go in the latter days. It would be more like Sodom and Gomorrah than it would be like the children of Israel. Verse number 32.

Gomorrah means poison, in a sense. Their clusters, the fruit here, is bitter. Their wine, which is the fruit of the grape, the final product here, their wine is of the poison of serpents and the cruel venom of cobras. Wow! What graphic language that God is speaking of here. And then eventually he goes on in the song and begins to tell them what's going to happen afterwards. And so we see here, in a sense, that this is part of what God is trying to tell about his vineyard, what it's becoming, what it is going to become. Let's go back to Isaiah now, chapter 5.

Isaiah chapter 5. We're going to pick it up in verse 3.

Isaiah chapter 5 and verse number 3. He says, and now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge please between me and my vineyard. Okay, I want you to say, okay, look, I want you to judge between me and my vineyard.

He says, what more could have been done? What more could have been done for my vineyard that I haven't done? You know, when you think about it, in a sense, you know, what more could God have done as the owner of this vineyard? You know, the best soil on the hill, the best variety, you know. And you think about whether ancient Israel or even today, when you think about modern day Israel, how God has blessed even our country. In a sense, with so many blessings from sea to sign and sea, you know, we've not had any enemies on our borders. We've typically, until lately, had wonderful growing seasons and wonderful weather. In that sense, wonderful lands, wonderful blessings, you know, minerals, oil, all of those things. You know, we think about that, the prosperity that we've had and the beauty that we've got and the wonders, the wonderful lands that we've had that are so good. And God says, what more could I have done? Verse 3. What more? Judge between me and my vineyard. Verse 4. What more could I have done? And then he goes, why then, when I expected to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes? And now he says, please let me tell you what I'm going to do to my vineyard. He said, I'm going to take away its hedge. You know, a vineyard needs a hedge to keep out animals and people and other things that may harm the vineyard. And you put a hedge up. He says he's going to take it away. And it's going to be burned. And I'm going to break down its wall. And a wall protects also the vineyard. In a sense, from being trampled down. It protects it. Verse number 6. I'm going to lay it waste. I'm not going to prune it.

I'm not going to dig it up. I'm not going to get the soil dug up and try to fertilize it and all those things.

You know, brethren, a vineyard needs constant care. A vineyard needs constant care in order to thrive, in order to produce.

It needs digging. It needs attending, too. It needs care in order for it to grow and to grow in a right way. He says in verse 6, I'm going to lay it waste. I'm not going to prune it or dig it. And you know, in a sense, the United States at this time, because that's very much where we are. I think God is removing the hedge. He's breaking down the wall. He's not going to prune it. He's not going to dig it. I think He's going to put it on autopilot and see what happens. And I think we know what happens when a vineyard isn't attended to. You know, the thorns start to grow. You know, the animals can get in there, begin to do whatever they want to do. There's no protection. You know, there's nobody in this country right now, no leader, that's saying, My fellow Americans, we need to go in a different direction. There's nobody tending right now. Nobody leading in the right direction. It's almost getting to the point where it's going to be hard for anyone to reverse the direction that this country's in right now. He says, but you know what? I'm not going to attend it. I'm not going to prune it. I'm not going to dig it up. He says, but there shall come up briars and thorns, and I will also command the clouds that they don't rain on it. And then he says this in verse 7, for the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel. So he's telling us who he's referring to now. This vineyard is typified by the house of Israel and the men of Judah are his pleasant plan. This was something of his desire. This vineyard that he was trying to be a vine dresser for was his people.

The house of Israel. And even Judah was a pleasant plan. And we know that the men of Judah, his pleasant plan, God kind of likes the house of Judah. He's picked many potential leaders and actual leaders that will be in the kingdom. King David was from Judah. Jesus Christ from the tribe of Judah. So the vineyard of God is the house of Judah. And the men of Judah, his pleasant plan. Of course, there are many other tribes of Israel. And of course, the Gentiles, God has opened up salvation to them as well. We understand that from other scriptures. Verse 7, for the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel.

And keep in mind, brethren, because that's going to come back here a little bit later in the message. We're going to see that later down in a different light. And it says, and he looked for justice, but behold oppression, and for righteousness, but behold a cry for help.

Let's go over to John chapter 15. John chapter 15, back to the New Testament, talking about something quite similar. In the sense of Isaiah chapter 5, Jesus is explaining here in John chapter 15 to his disciples on that final night how things work. And he also used the picture of a vine. John chapter 15, verse number 1. John chapter 15, verse number 1.

He says this, He said, I am the true vine. So we understand here that there's only one true vine. No matter what any other religions say, no matter what any other gods they worship, or what have you, that there is only one true vine. It's Jesus Christ. There is only one vine that leads to eternal life. There's only one that leads to eternal life. He says, I'm the true vine and my Father is the vine dresser. So we understand a little bit how this works. The true vine leads to eternal life. Christ is that true vine. And the Father is the one that is the vine dresser. Brother, think about that. The Father is involved a lot more than maybe sometimes we think. He's the vine dresser. I see these two men out near our home that are doing the vine dressers of this vineyard, the small little vineyard that's close. And they're out there almost all the time. They're pruning. They're digging. You know, they prune, snip, snip. They want to have fruit. They want to have the fruit of the vine.

They want to see their vineyard, their fruit. And so they spend a lot of time. And so does the Father. These two guys are busy guys. And I can tell you the Father is very busy in working with you and I. He is your and my vine dresser. This requires a lot of attention. This requires a lot of care. This requires pruning. Brethren, I can tell you that the Father is the most experienced vine dresser ever.

And He knows what the vine needs. He knows the work that's necessary. He knows the function of the vine. The function of the vine is to transport nutrients to the branches. And it also stores nutrients for emergency. So there is an emergency reserve that's ready of nutrients if needed, if there's a need for help. And then think about it, brethren. The fruit is borne by the branches. The fruit is borne by the branches. Verse number two. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, He takes away.

And every branch that bears fruit, He prunes that it may bear more fruit. Brethren, every branch in me that does not bear fruit, He takes away. Thus the title of the message today, The Fruit of the First Fruits. The first fruits bear fruit. That's part of the meaning of this day.

Now, as I said, the job of the vine dresser, God's job is to attend to the fruit of the vineyard or to the orchard. Sometimes God brings other analogies in. He doesn't just talk about vineyards. Sometimes He talks about fruit trees. And we'll address some of those examples here in just a moment.

But He says, every branch in me that does not bear fruit, He takes away.

Brethren, I think we've seen that God stopped attending to the vine of the house of Israel. I think we've seen that. And I don't think He's casting them off forever. I think Scripture tells clearly that He's not. But I think it's on autopilot right now for the house of Israel. Eventually, He'll address that again, but He's not attending to it right now.

If the fruit is there, the Scripture says, then snip, snip, it's pruned back. If the fruit is there, the branches are pruned back. If there is no fruit, it says the branch is removed. Similar strategy, snip, snip, but instead of pruning, just going all the way back to removing the branch.

And that's just what they do in the local vineyard. Jelene and I walk by there, and we think it's our vineyard, because we've seen it from scratch. You know, it went from nothing to now it's bearing grapes. And we think of it as our vineyard. And we like to sit and talk with them when we walk by, and they're out there working. We like to try not to take too much of their time, but we like to say, okay, how's it going? And of course, we know some of the Scripture, so it's so meaningful in that regard to see it in action, and why God presents it this way.

Verse number three, you are already clean because of the word which I've spoken to you. So Christ's words, if heated and listened to, cleanse the vine and the branches. And the ones He was speaking to that night, His disciples, they heat His words. So He says, you're clean because of the word which I've spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself. Impossible. The branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, which of course is Christ. And neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in me. So brethren, what that means is that individually, you and I, we have to take this right down to the individual level. We cannot bear fruit unless we abide in Jesus Christ. We cannot. If we don't abide in Him and He does not abide in you or in me, in my case, we can't bear fruit.

We have to stay attached directly in order to live. Not only in order to bear fruit, but in order to be alive. And I think we're talking about eternal life. Verse 5, I am the vine. You are the branches. He's trying to help us to understand. He's repeating Himself. I am the vine. You are the branches. He who abides in me and I in Him bears much fruit, for without me you can't do anything. We can't do a thing without Jesus Christ. We can't. It's here in the Scripture. Brethren, I think that's one of the biggest lessons to learn for us in our Christian walk is without Christ we can't do one thing good.

As it says here, in Scripture, in Ephesians 6, verse 10, I'll just refer to that for time. I know I'm going to run out of time. It says, Be strong in the Lord and in His might. We need God's strength. We need Him in us. That's how we accomplish anything good. We need Him bearing fruit. Without Him we can do nothing. As He said, He abides in me and I in Him bears much fruit. And again, as a reminder that if we don't bear fruit, we'll eventually be removed. Verse 6, If anyone does not abide in me, and this is sobering, He is cast out as a branch and then, of course, the branch is withered. For those of you that have pruned all those dead branches back that aren't producing fruit, you know it may have some leaves but no fruit. You prune it all the way back to the trunk or the main part of the vine and you know what happens. After a while those leaves begin to go from green to brown. They begin to shrivel up and everything withers and everything dies. And so He says, if anyone does not abide in me, He is cast out as a branch and is withered and they gather them and they throw them into the fire and they're burned.

So there's probably only one more good use for an old dead branch, as it can maybe provide a little bit of warmth for a while. Verse 7. He says, If you abide in me and my words abide in you. Notice that constant emphasis on my words. If my words abide in you. And the prophecy in Deuteronomy talked about there's going to come someone like Moses, wouldn't be Moses a leader, it would be someone from their brethren and you've got to listen to Him. Listen to His words. And of course that prophecy was talking about Jesus Christ. So He says, if you abide in me and my words abide in you, then you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you.

God hears the prayers of those that are abiding in Him and He abiding in them. Abide in Christ, abide in His words. He listens to people then when they talk to Him.

And when they follow His words. And we must do what He says. Verse 8. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit. So this glorifies God when we bear fruit. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit. So you shall be my disciples. So God is glorified. The vine dresser is glorified here. Because the vine is productive. It's good grapes. The fruit is really good. It's productive. And of course we will have to participate in that. Let's go back to Matthew chapter 7. Matthew chapter 7 here.

To pick it up in verse number 16. Matthew chapter 7 in verse number 16.

He says here that we're going to be known by our fruits. Jesus' words here, Matthew 7 verse 16. You will know them by their fruits. No, you don't get a grape from a thorn bush. It just is impossible. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or do they get figs from thistles? No. That's pretty obvious. Verse 17. Even so, every good tree bears good fruit. But a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit. Nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and is thrown in the fire. Therefore, by their fruits you will know them. And so, brother, you and I will be known by our fruits.

Why do the branches need to be pruned? Why do they need to be pruned? I think that's quite interesting. There are some amazing lessons here. So I'm going to go through these fairly quickly because I see I'm going to be close on my time. First reason, information here over the internet. Why do vines need pruning or or orchard or fruit trees? The first reason is to ensure the establishment of a new plant after it is planted. So when you plant a grape plant, you put that little spring in the ground, you prune it right away to help establish the root system, in a sense. Transplanting is a shock to the plant. It is very much of a difficulty when you move it from one place to another. It is a shock so you reduce the top growth so the roots have an opportunity to get established in the ground. And it takes the root system, in a sense, it gives it an opportunity to develop. And when we came into the church, I bet a lot of us were cut back. You know, pruned, so to speak, by God. He humbled us. He humbled us so we could have a chance to grow and to have our roots firmly established. And so we could have a chance to grow and to have our roots firmly established. You know, even with fruit trees, well, let's go to the second one here. Let's go to the second point. Why the reason for pruning? To form a definite shape. To form a definite pre-arranged shape for the plant, in a sense, according to the requirement needed. You know, and this needed to be started early, according to this information, for fruit trees. How it goes up the post. How it begins to go on the trellis. The shape that's needed to be able to produce the most fruit. Even with fruit trees and orchards, there are different types of fruit trees. And so, we're going to start to see how the fruit tree is going to grow. How it goes up the post. How it begins to go on the trellis. The shape that's needed to be able to produce the most fruit. Even with fruit trees and orchards, there are different people that maintain orchards. They have a different idea of what the shape of the fruit tree should be. They don't always necessarily agree what shape it should be, but they have their ideas of what shape it should be in order to produce the most amount of fruit. Brethren, is there a pre-arranged shape for us? Oh, yes there is. There most certainly is. I'll refer for time to a couple of scriptures. Ephesians 4, verse 13. Ephesians 4, verse 13. That we're told there to come to the unity of faith, to the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the statue of Jesus Christ. That's the shape, the pre-arranged shape that the vine dresser is working with you and me. That's the shape that he's trying to work us into, we're supposed to get into. And brethren, that was determined before the vine even existed, it was even planted. That was pre-ordained before the foundation of the world. I'll refer to another scripture here, Romans 8, verse 29. Romans 8, verse 29. It says, For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son. And so that's the shape and the form that the vine dresser is working on with you and me. The shape that we're supposed to be moving towards. That's the shape the vine dresser is working on. To be conformed to Jesus Christ. And sometimes that's going to require some pretty heavy pruning.

It's pretty heavy pressure.

By the master potter or the master vine dresser. It's going to take some work. You know, it's not always just a snip snip. It might have to be the hack hack. Might be some pretty serious stuff. To be able to get into the shape of Jesus Christ. That we should be in. The Father may have to do that. It's a pretty serious type of pruning. Remember to bear fruit, brethren. We have to abide in Jesus Christ and he has to abide in us. And we have to be pruned. Otherwise, we're not going to bear fruit. The third reason for pruning. Pruning can advance the possibility of earlier fruiting. So you can get a crop sooner. Pruning can advance the possibility of earlier fruiting.

So a well-pruned tree or vineyard can produce fruit sooner. Maybe a year sooner. Maybe two years sooner. Maybe two years sooner. Then one that is not so well-pruned. In other words, we're more useful to God sooner. We can glorify him sooner in that sense. Let's go to the fourth one. I think you'll find this one interesting. I think maybe it teaches us the most. The fourth one. Is to keep proper balance between the root development and the top growth of the tree or the plant or the vine. To keep proper balance between the root development and the top portion of the plant, of the tree or the vine. Now we see the vine or the tree above ground. We don't see necessarily what's going on underneath the ground. We don't see the root system, do we? We just see what's growing up on top of the ground. Yet the real strength of the plant or the tree is often its root system, in a sense. Whether it be a tree, whether it be a vine, or whether it be of a Christian, it's the root system. That part is not necessarily seen. You think of a massive tree, it's blown down. It's this huge massive tree, the strong wind that comes down. You look at the root system and it was very, very poor. It was a disproportionate balance between the top growth and what was happening down below the ground or the root system. You might see a small tree and it's just waving back and forth with these torrential winds. But it's got a really solid root system. There's nothing that's going to dislodge it out of the ground.

For the we human beings, we can't see what's under the ground. We can only see what is above the ground. But God sees everything. Let's go to Matthew 13. Let's go to Matthew 13.

Now, Matthew 13 is above grain, but I think the principles are the same. Matthew 13. We're going to begin with verse number 18 here. Some of you may know these verses pretty well. Matthew 13, verse 18. It says, hear the parable of the sower, when anyone hears the words of the kingdom. Please notice the word of the kingdom is the seed, the message that was brought by Jesus Christ from the Father about the coming good news of the kingdom of God. And we've got to keep that in mind. It says, when anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, and I think that happens a lot, then the wicked, when come, snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received the word or the seed by the wayside.

So, in a sense, you know, they never even take roots. They never even had a chance to sprout and grow and to get in there and take root. And maybe you've known someone like this. I can think of a story a few years back. This probably goes back to the mid-80s or so. And there were some that came to church for about two or three weeks and, boy, were they excited! This was all making sense to them. And they knew another church member. They had a business association together. And this was a younger man, I suppose he was probably in his mid-20s. He was very, very excited. But then all of a sudden, it's like the lights went on and then the lights went off. And you could almost see it in the expression of his face. All of a sudden, it wasn't there anymore. And so this was something, and an example possibly of something by the wayside. The seed never got into the ground. It never had a chance to take root. It never germinated.

You know, Winston Churchill said the following, I'll quote him here. He said, some people stumble over the truth, but most people pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and continue on as if nothing happened.

And there's a reason God doesn't open their eyes. I know that. But they just go on. So this one fell by the wayside. Never any germination, never any root at all. Verse number 20, but he received the seed on stony places. He hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. And this may be, maybe the young man I was talking about, and it may be better with this particular example, because he was joyful. The others never really got started. But he was joyful. Started a little bit. And yet verse 21, he has no root in himself. The growth is all in the top. There's no root. There's no balance there.

But endures only for a while. Though in tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Whitecliff says this in commentary, The seed on the rocky ledge describes the case of the shallow, emotional hearer. I guess he says emotional because he receives it with joy. And he says, emotional hearer. And I guess he says emotional because he receives it with joy. You know, is it emotion? Maybe. He receives it immediately with joy whose initial enthusiasm is completely withered by the invigorating and necessary sun of tribulation and persecution. And so things change. Things change. Persecution or tribulation comes along, and the root isn't deep enough to be able to weather the storm. The Greek word for tribulation is pressure.

Pressure. That's another way it can be translated. Pressure. And I know, brethren, many of you are experiencing trials right now in pressure, as well as my wife and I. We go through some of these things, too.

To stand through the trials, the tribulations and the persecutions, our roots have to be deep. They can't be just shallow. They can't be just emotional. For they have to be rooted in Christ and rooted in the Word of God. Verse 22, now he who received the seed among the thorns is he who hears the word and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. You know, among the thorns you're not going to have as deep a roots because there's going to be competition. Their minds become absorbed on the cares of this life, on the cares of this world, and you become double-minded and you're no longer single-minded. Again, we have to be rooted in God's promises, in Jesus Christ, and in the Word of God, and have our minds fastened on that. Now, in this case, the seed germinated, just like it did here in the prior group, but it never got to bearing fruit. It germinated, but it got choked off and stopped. Verse 23, but he who received the seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it. He really understands it, or she really understands it. That means there's been a comprehension. And then, of course, what do we do afterwards with that comprehension? Do they hear and understand it, and who indeed bear fruit and produces? Some 100, some 60, some 30? Brethren, this is the fruit of the firstfruits that we're talking about here. The children of the kingdom are going to produce fruits.

God's laws are going to be just not only just outwardly, but in their hearts. They're going to keep the law from their hearts. God's Spirit is going to lead them, and they're going to obey from their hearts.

Notice he says some 100, some 60-fold, some 30-fold, even in the good ground. So they all had the same ground, in a sense, and that's the same vine, you know? But they all produced fruit, but it varied in that sense. The same sower sowing the same seed, but sometimes the fruits that did come was different in the amounts. And perhaps Christ is telling us, in a sense, that we have a part in our own fruitfulness, and the way we respond to God and to Christ. And we have to have a certain dedication. We have to have a certain motivation. We have to have a certain zeal, in a sense. Depends on how much fruit that will be born. You know, there is a scripture that talks about quenching this spirit that produces the fruit in us. That we can quench that spirit, and that's not going to help us to bear fruit.

Let's go back to the pruning of the vine here. We see an application for you and for me as Christians. We seem to grow sometimes too big on the top.

For our root system, grow too big on the top. The Father has to cut us back, and He will cut us back if He loves us. He'll cut us back. So that there could be a balance between what's on the top and what's on the bottom, in a sense.

He sees. It talks about the fact that if the plant gets too big on the top, if the top growth is out of balance with the root system, then you can have what's called biannual cropping, which means every other year, biannual. You won't get fruit every year. It won't be consistent.

And the tree is not productive, or the vine is not productive every year. So the bottom is not really big enough to really feed the top. And that's an important thing to understand. So what are the fifth ones here? Number five. Proper pruning controls the amount of fruit and improves the quality and size. Proper pruning controls the amount of the fruit, and it improves the quality and size. Sometimes the branches can get too thick and too crowded, in a sense, and the quality of the size of the fruit begins to diminish. So this requires not hard pruning, but rather what's called fruit thinning to produce a superior crop. And so trying to apply it to our own lives in a way, if in our life we take on every single project that comes along the way, we're probably going to dilute our efforts, and we're not going to bear as much fruit. But if we focus on certain things here, the things that are important, that we can begin to bear more fruit. If we cut back on so many different things and concentrate on the things that really matter, our energies on the things that really matter, then we can produce more fruit in those particular areas. So it's important, in a sense, sometimes maybe to work on fewer activities that will produce larger and higher quality fruit. And that's the same actually with fruit trees, in a sense, as well as a vineyard. You cut them back a little bit, you thin out the fruit a little bit, and you're going to have a better crop.

Jesus Christ warned the chief priests and the Sadducees and the Pharisees in the same metaphor that Isaiah did in Isaiah 5. Let's go to Matthew 21. Matthew 21.

You might be struck, in a sense, that this account is, in the New Testament, is very also much like Isaiah 5, with a few exceptions. Matthew 21. We'll pick it up in verse 33. Matthew 21, verse 33, it says, Here in another parable there was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard, and he set a hedge around it, and he dug up the ground, and he put a winepress in it, and he built a tower. Sounds very much like Isaiah 5.

And he leased it to vine dressers, and he went into a far country. So there is a change from Isaiah 5 there. But it was still through the vine dresser who's still in heaven. And he leased it to the vine dressers, so the children of Israel were to take care of it. And he went into a far country. Verse 34, now, When the vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the vine dressers, that they might receive its fruit. And you would expect that, the vine dresser, the owner wants to receive his crop. Verse 35, and the vine dressers took his servants, he beat one, they beat one, killed one, and they stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. And last of all he sent his son. And he said, you know what? They're going to respect my son. So I'm going to send him. But when the vine dresser saw the son, they said, ah! They said, this is the heir. Come, let's kill him, and take or seize his inheritance. So they took him, they cast him out of the vineyard, and they killed him. Therefore when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he say to those vine dressers? And they said, well, he will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vine dressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons. I don't know if they realized what they were talking about. Because Jesus was really talking about them, and this is how they respond to his question. What is the owner going to do when he comes? And they themselves answered in verse 44, well, they'll destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease it to other vine dressers who will render to him the fruit in their due seasons.

Jesus said to them, have you never read in the Scriptures? In verse 42, have you never read in the Scriptures? And you know, he's saying this to the Pharisees who, you know, kind of had an attitude that they know everything. He's saying to them, have you never heard or never read? Because they prided themselves on some of these things. He said to them, have you never read in the Scriptures the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. Now, this is a different analogy he's talking about a building, but still he says, this is the Lord's doing. It's marvelous in our eyes. Therefore I say to you, that's a pretty significant phrase. Jesus said, notice that phrase, I say to you, this is unique to Jesus except for Paul uses it just one time. It's a way of saying that I am teaching you in my own name, this principle. I say to you. Or he's bringing it from the Father. This is coming from God. I say to you. You know, he did that in the book of Matthew on the Sermon on the Mount where he'd say, you know, you've heard this, but I say to you. Or you've heard that, but I say to you.

So this is his form of teaching that the Messiah is delivering, and it's unique. Verse 43, therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you. Now, that's pretty sobering news to think about. That's not good news. It's going to be taken from you and given to a nation. Notice that bears fruit. And the church is known as the Israel of God in Galatians chapter 6. It's given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. Brethren, the kingdom of God is going to be given to those who bear fruit. They are known as the first fruits.

And whoever falls on this stone will be broken. And they were going to be broken. But whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.

So Jesus can determine who lives and who doesn't. No, he's not going to fall on everybody. In fact, he doesn't want to fall on anybody. But if he does fall on them, they'll be grown to powder and they won't exist.

Verse 45, when the chief priests and Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived now that he's speaking of them. Now they're getting it. Oh, he's been talking about us all along. But their reaction was not good. It was one of violence. They wanted to lay hands upon him. But they decided not to do that.

Further, verse 43, Therefore, Jesus is saying this. This is from God. I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and will be given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.

God the Father and Jesus Christ expect you and I individually to bear fruit.

To be part of the first fruits.

The fruits of the kingdom of God. So on this feast of Pentecost, on this feast of first fruits, further, as we go forward from here, let's make sure that we're individually connected. That we're tied in to the vine.

You know, to the true vine. Individually and collectively connected to Jesus Christ. Because He is the true vine and the Holy Spirit comes from the Father through Christ to us. It's the source of the Holy Spirit. And let's bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit going forward. And then our trials, because we all have them, and that necessary pruning, because it is necessary for all of us, will enable us to bear good fruit in the kingdom of God. Thank you.