What Is Growth and What Can We Do About It?

Good afternoon, everyone! Thank you for the very inspiring music. It adds so much to our worship of God on the Sabbath day, and I can't get enough waiting to springtime. I'm just looking forward to the flowers and everything else, unlike any other year. It's just been a very, very long winter. It was good to see all of you here. We want to welcome everybody who's on the webcast as well, and also wanted to comment about the beautiful music which took up the eight... took up the sermonette time this morning. We listened to it at home as we watched part of the service. Also, want to welcome the Council of Elders. I see that we have at least one here. I can tell by his head in the back. And we have others as well who are visiting here today, so we want to welcome you to our Sabbath service as well. I was ready to tweet during the sermonette, but thought, would that be proper? But I will afterwards. Rudy captures all things and proves all things. Hashtag YOLO, hashtag UCGIAS. We'll get that out there to the masses after services.

In the past month, we called for a churchwide fast to humble ourselves before God. We had no crisis, and we had no monumental decision to make about doing something great or making some huge financial decision or anything else. We were simply asking all of us to humble ourselves before God so that we could grow and bear fruit. That was the intent. That was the motive. That was the reason for the fast that we had. Our request was based on what the Bible says about the quality of Christian growth. Not about numbers. We weren't asking for 50,000 or 100,000 people to come in, although if that is God's will, so be it. But that was not our main intent. It was based upon looking as to what the Bible says about the quality of Christian growth, of which there is plenty of in the Word of God. It's a growth that's based on our responding to the transformational message of God's Word, because God's Word does transform. God's Word does renew. God's Word does change us as it brings growth into our nature. The Apostle Paul in Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 15 made a statement that we like to apply to our children, to ourselves, as to what we like to see in the growth process. Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 15. But speaking the truth in love may grow up in all things into Him who is the head Christ. Our job, our mission, is to grow up, to mature, to become like Jesus Christ, to become Christ-like, to become like Him. And that is what Christianity is about. It's a way of life. It's a way of growing to becoming like Jesus Christ, growing from immaturity to maturity, to growing from simplicity to understanding the fullness of Jesus Christ, of being in the dark to being in the light. That is our intent.

I hope that we have seen growth in ourselves as a result of the fast. I usually like to write down before a fast some one thing that I want to focus on or be different about, or at least think differently or focus on, so that it's not just going hungry and praying about a lot of things, but things that I know I want to look at myself. It really had to do with capturing thoughts that Rudy spoke about, about controlling the way you think, the way you control your reactions, and so forth. That's important to me, probably perhaps to some of you, as you focused on different things. I hope that we can come to understand more about ourselves and see what God sees in us, and perhaps what others see in us that we don't see in ourselves, because there are things others see that we don't know or we don't want to admit in the way we come across and in the way that we affect others. Isaiah 58 is probably one of the most beautiful rationales for fasting, explaining the purpose of fasting. In fact, when people say they're fasting for something, about some reason to fast for a particular purpose, to try to get support for whatever their thoughts are, that is never the purpose of fasting. The purpose of fasting is outlined here in the 58th chapter of the book of Isaiah, and it's said so simply and beautifully that I don't know why people just don't say, this is why we fast. It's not to get something. It's not to force anything. It's not to lobby for anything. It's not to twist either God's arm or anybody else's arm. Why have we fasted? Isaiah 58 and verse 3, they say, and you have not seen. This was a question asked back then. We're fasting. We're fasting for whatever the purpose was back then. I don't know. It's not very clear. And you don't see. Don't you see that we want this? Well, it's the wrong question. It's asking for the wrong things. Why have we afflicted our souls? And you take no notice. We're hungry. We're suffering. And you don't pay attention. Dropping to verse 6, is this not the fast that I have chosen? God says, here's the reason why you fast. You ask the wrong questions. And I'm not going to sympathize with your being hungry, because you asked the wrong question.

But this is the reason why you fast. To loose the bonds of wickedness. To undo the heavy burdens. To let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke. Nothing here about forcing anything. It's all looking at yourself to see where you may have failed in these areas of wickedness, of laying heavy burdens on others, about oppressing people, and about laying a yoke on people probably very close to you. In fact, it's mentioned here, about being a burden to the closest ones to you, who could be your very family and your friends and the people who you work with. The suggestion already stated here in verse 3 is that there may be bonds of wickedness on our part. Verse 7, is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out? Is it not to become generous and aware of others besides yourself?

And when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh. Take care of the human needs of others, but also not hide yourself from your own flesh. I have hidden myself from my own flesh. I've hidden myself from family, being engrossed in work. Don't bother me. I'm busy. Can't you see I'm focusing? I need to focus. We've done this. All of us have had something that took us away from those most dear to us, and then when we lose them, should we lose them, we regret that we couldn't have spent more time. That we didn't open ourselves up to those who are most important, because we were busy answering emails, making telephone calls, scheduling visits, and so forth, which are important, but they need to find their rightful place. And one reason for fasting is to reprioritize our life, to see where we may have gone in a direction that is not good, as far as those closest to us. Then, verse 8, then, meaning the result, your light shall break forth like the morning. This is a result of fasting when you understand the purpose of it, and reasons why you may want to come closer to God, and you begin to understand them, and you begin to prioritize things. Then your light shall shine, break forth like the morning. Your healing shall spring forth speedily. An aha moment will come into your life when you say, I get it. If you don't do it through fasting, it may be imposed on you through other means. And your righteousness, and that's what we were talking about in the fast, is for us to look at ourselves and to grow spiritually our righteousness. The growth effect that we're seeking shall go before you. The glory of the Lord shall be your rearguard. Verse 9, an added benefit in verse 9, then you shall call, the Lord will answer. That's great. You know, when you can speak with confidence to God and know that He's going to answer, that you can get up off your knees and go to work and know that answers will come. I've had that happen time and time again, where difficult decisions and difficult situations have come to me, and I say, God, work it out, because I know that I'm going to stumble into something uncomfortable that I won't be able to manage right. But I have prayed and said, God, answer me speedily. Help me with an issue that needs to be resolved for the best of all. You shall cry, and He will say, here I am. I'm close by. I'm right here, like this road right here. God is just that close. He's not far away in heaven. He's right with us. When we pray, He's not far off. He's close by.

If you take away, again, a condition mentioned here, if you take away the yoke from your midst, you know, take the oppressiveness that you might have on others, on your wife, on your husband, on your children, on your parents, on a fellow employee. The pointing of the finger, accusation, and speaking wickedness. Verse 10, if you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as a noonday. That's the point. That's the purpose of fasting. There's nothing there about any activism or any spiritual activism to try to get something and to try to make something work most likely your way. You certainly wouldn't fast for an issue that you have a dispute about and say, God, make it work out to the next guy. Certainly not.

We have a new booklet that we produced. I wish I would have mentioned it in a letter that I sent out on January 17th. But Tools for Spiritual Growth. I just went through it again this morning. There are seven tools for spiritual growth in this booklet that are very, very well laid out. They are things that you've heard before, but especially the last one about growing from immaturity to maturity is excellent. We've had one of the highest responses to our Good News readership list for any booklet outside of Prophetic. I mean, if you have horses and beasts and everything, everybody sends for those. But this is outside of that. This booklet has had the highest response. One out of five Good News readers requested this booklet, which we're very happy to send out. Well, I'd like to continue our discussion about growth. We all want growth. We as human beings were made to grow. We were born with an awareness for inadequacy, for what we are. I don't know what goes on in the mind of a bird or what goes on in the mind of a cow or a horse. I don't know if they think and plan to grow up. It's all instinct from what we see. But human beings have an amazing self-awareness of who they are. They can relate to generations back. They can relate to a god. They could relate to their relationship to a god personally. All of us want to grow in personal ways, in educational ways. We want to learn more things. I certainly do. I get a big joy out of learning new things, learning new historical things or technical things, new spiritual concepts. I just downloaded this two weeks ago with Expositors, 42 volume online Bible commentary. It was on sale. I have an online version with it. I just really enjoy reading it. There are just so many interesting things there that relate to verses that integrate with my Bible program. But I just enjoy learning new things, learning new things about life, which I don't think any animal or beaver or anything else really relates to. But human beings do. Also, I want to see growth, not only in education and knowledge and myself, I want to see growth in the church. I want to see this church grow more than anything. That is my biggest desire, to see this church grow, to see us be able to impact the community around us, the world around us, and to fulfill our mission, to be able to fulfill our vision, of bringing sons, to bring children to glory through an all-church effort. I look at that every day. I have the strategic plan right in front of me on my desk. I think about it every time I look at it and repeat to myself what the vision and mission of the church is.

Growth is a function of life itself. It's a fundamental premise of life. Life itself is growth. There's nothing that's created that's mature from the start, unless there's something I'm missing, except maybe Adam and Eve. But otherwise, life begins with an infant, even before that, with two cells, a male and female, that come together and they grow into a fetus and into an infant, into a juvenile, into an adult, and into a human being.

And I think about it as an adult and ultimately to God. That's part of the way it works. That's part of the way of the design. Every step along the way has certain aspects of development that are so very, very important. Life itself is growth. Our development is in the realm of physical.

When we're a little child, can't even walk, have to develop, learn to walk. Just so happy to see my little grandsons now. In the last several months, we've been started walking. There's little penguins walking around the house. They're just so wonderful, those little guys. I think it's just so wonderful to see that development and growth in them. I enjoy seeing the development and growth in my granddaughters, who just seem to be so little, and now they're writing emails to me.

And I wonder if their parents wrote those emails to me because they sound so mature, but they're growing up. We grow up emotionally. From being out of control. If we're hungry, we scream. If we wet our pants, we scream. Well, that's the way you are at a particular phase in life. But you grow up and you learn to control your emotions and feelings and your expressions and your reactions to people.

Then ultimately, we grow spiritually. We grow in wisdom. We grow in applying principles. This is an element that is missing from those who are not called by God right now to whom these concepts are foolishness. But to us as Christians, they are the way to eternal life. The concepts of the new person who was just baptized. That might be foolishness to the outside, but to that person that was a major step towards eternity.

It was a major event in Cincinnati in the state of Ohio to see another son, to see another child be brought towards the kingdom of God. Yes, we grow from the immature and the old to new things as part of life. Old things are left behind. 1 Corinthians chapter 13 and verse 11. 1 Corinthians chapter 13. Verse 11, verse 11. When I was a child, I spoke as a child. I understood as a child. And when we explain things to children, we explain them on their terms in very simple language and simple concepts, simple analogies.

I thought as a child, but when I became a man, I put away childish things. So Christianity is not something that you are statically brought into and passively stay in. Christianity is a state in which you are always actively learning new things and developing new thought patterns and processes known as transformation as we renew our mind and become different, become better, and become more like Jesus Christ.

2 Peter chapter 3 and verse 18. This is an admonition by Peter. 2 Peter chapter 3 verse 17. You therefore, beloved 2 Peter chapter 3 verse 17, since you know beforehand, beware lest you fall from your own steadfastness, being led away by the error of the wicked. You fall from your own steadfastness, being led away by the error of the wicked. Part of the solution, the antidote to that is, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

This is an ongoing admonition to Christians to grow in grace and knowledge. The Bible is a marvelous book because it's a book that could be read over and over and over again, and you learn new things. As a person who was a householder who took old new things out of the trunk, and they all became new again. They became interesting. You can look at things again. I have been in the ministry for 43 years or so, and I have given cyclically the sermons relating to the Passover, to the days of the bread, Pentecost, and so forth.

And you know, every year I find something new, some interesting new thought, you know, as you think about these things, about application, about the past, the future of the Holy Day. It's all very interesting. And then you see even a global picture of how it fits into life itself. Now, when we grow up, we're no longer children and act like a child, where we're selfish, impatient, and have little endurance.

Where we have no inhibitions, or respect for property, or always getting into trouble and that type of thing. Where we learn not to do these things, where we grow up. This world is immature. What is happening in Ukraine, for example, is just another iteration of immaturity, of how to solve problems. Every war is a tantrum, a childish tantrum of an entity, a part of a country, a nation, a group of nations that cannot resolve their problems in mature ways. As a result, they lose it and they go to the most destructive way of destroying life and property. And I see what's happening in Ukraine that makes me sick. The scores of people who have died. Knowing the square where all that is taking place, I've ridden over that square numerous times. I go through it when I take the bus from the train station to the airport and it's right there in the center of town, right below Parliament Hill. There's a big shopping center underneath. I can just see that. I can just see it right now and all that fire and smoke and shooting and everything else. It just makes me sick because of the immaturity, the lack of ability to solve problems. And even speaking with fellow Ukrainians this past week, people are disgusted at both sides, the government and the protesters, who seemingly are totally unable to solve those problems because they are immature. They are child-ish. They cannot solve those problems. We have been asked to rise to a higher level of maturity and to grow up. 1 Corinthians chapter 14 and verse 20. 1 Corinthians chapter 14 and verse 20.

Brethren, do not be children in understanding. The Apostle Paul already is writing to a church, the Corinthians, who were an upscale church, port city, a lot of very intelligent people in that congregation. He says, don't be children in understanding. However, in malice, be babes. As far as, you know, being wicked and knowing all the contemptuous ways that people deal with one another, be dumb and be immature in that aspect. But in understanding, be mature.

Going back to growth. Taking a look at growth in size itself. There's growth in spirit. There's growth in understanding. There's growth in maturing. But what's been told to us about the kingdom of God is that it's an ongoing, expanding and growing entity and universe. We've been given glimpses of infinity that really blow fuses in our mind, but it's just one way that God is at least giving us a glimpse of something that's big and huge and beyond anything that we can imagine. That's something that's limiting, but something that goes on forever and ever. And I know that scientists have said that the universe is, what, 20 billion light years across, or from us to the end of the universe? My question is, what's beyond that? It's got to be something. Is it more of the same? Could be butting up against another universe? I don't know, but it's big, whatever it is. And that concept is expressed, too, biblically. Isaiah chapter 9 and verse 6. A Christological reference. Isaiah chapter 9 and verse 6. For unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulder. We know this so well as Jesus Christ returning his government, his rule, and his second coming. His name will be called Wonderful Counselor Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, just some of his titles.

Of the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end. We could take that two ways. It'll be something that will go on and on forever, but also something that will be ever expanding.

I know that God has something in mind for us. We've been given just little inklings we've got the twelve apostles being over the twelve tribes. We've got David over Israel. We have Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in important position in ruling this world. It's just a starter. There's also a mention about people having different jobs, rulers over cities, etc. God doesn't say too much about that because he doesn't have to say too much about that, but at least he's given me a taste of the way it works. And one of the most wonderful truths that I ever learned when I came into the church, age 16, and I was a devout Orthodox individual. I was the altar boy for 10 years. I kept Lent. I worked Lent. I got along very well with a priest. I was the head of our youth group. That was devout. I honestly was devout. I read my prayers every morning and every night for my prayer book. But you know, one thing did frighten me. Eternal life. Staring at God forever. The beatific vision of just staring and staring and staring.

Another day goes by and just stare at Him. It really, you know, it may sound funny, but it really did frighten me to be able just to look at God for all eternity. And would I be able to move? Would I be able to kind of be excused for a while? I had all these thoughts. And when I began to understand the wonderful world tomorrow about what is said in the book of Isaiah, about reconstruction and rebuilding of the earth, of projects. I'm a project person. I like doing things. I don't like talking about it, but I like doing things. And I had that one booklet that was sent out, showed these men rebuilding cities, you know, carrying metal beams and so forth. That looked exciting to me. The desert blossoming has arose. That obviously had to be a major water project. It wasn't something that was just going to fall out of the sky. And that sounded interesting to me, of actually doing something. That probably caught my attention about as much as anything. I look upon certain truths that kind of rang true, but the vision of the world tomorrow and being something where you did things as differentiated from my going to heaven, not even knowing if I had a body or if you'd eat anything or wear anything or how you'd relate to anybody to my parents, to my brothers and sisters, or to anybody else. Maybe I'm just going to be all alone, just me and God staring at each other. He stares at everybody else at the same time, too. You know, it was really frightening. The beatific vision brought more horror to me than you could imagine. And to me, of being able to work in and develop and grow and build and reach out into this galaxy and into other places in this universe really was exciting, and is exciting to me to this very day. It won't be too long that we'll get our first start, our first galaxy. We'll get to see and then we'll find out what how we will develop further. Of the increase of his government, there will be no end. Of his kingdom, there will be no end.

So what are we going to do? Are we going to develop new societies and new families? Oh, just think about it. Or maybe don't. Just be thankful that we have that opportunity before us. The parables also speak to the same. To me, it's interesting that God covers this particular concept here in Isaiah, but also Jesus Christ speaks of it in two of the seven parables of Matthew 13. But I'd like to read it from Mark or from Luke because Luke uses the word kingdom of God. Not that I wouldn't read it from the book of Matthew. It refers to it as the kingdom of heaven. But in Luke chapter 13 and verse 18, Jesus Christ in this parable about the mustard seed. He said, What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? Verse 19, It is like a mustard seed which a man took and put in his garden. And it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in his branches. I think Matthew says it's the least of all seeds, but it's something which starts very, very small, so tiny. It's almost microscopic. And it grows into being a large plant, enough to where birds can come and roost in its branches. The point here is the kingdom of God starts small, and it grows, and it expands. Growth is a function of that kingdom. Next is the parable of the leaven.

This is another demonstration or another figure of leaven, which is not a negative one. And we think of leaven as being sinful. But in verse 20 of Luke chapter 13, again he said, To what shall I like in the kingdom of God?

It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till it was all leavened. You know, this takes a very little bit of yeast, added to loaf, and ultimately will permeate the whole loaf. The kingdom of God has a functionality of spreading and growing until it fills every cell of the dough. It doesn't just stay in one place, but it will fill that all dough. In fact, sour dough is you continue the process by just taking a chunk of that dough and using it as a starter for a next batch of dough. The kingdom of God is compared to that. What is the comparison? The comparison is that of permeation, of growth, of expansion. It's commenting, it's a commentary on Isaiah chapter 9. The increase of his government and peace, there will be no end. Well, how do we know that we are growing? How do we know that we are growing?

We can talk about growth. We can talk about what we think about it. We can think about what we do. We can even comment about it as compared among ourselves. But the ultimate answer won't be evident until you get to what are called outcomes. Outcomes. Now, when you talk about apples, this just starts something very simple. Apple is a fruit. Talk about oranges, talk about anything else. About bearing fruit. When you talk about apples and the growth of apples, do you think about what it costs to produce those apples? Not likely. When you look at an apple, do you talk about all the activities of planting and so forth? No. You talk about, hey, this apple was part of a trainload from the state of Washington. No, you don't. You talk about that fruit and how it tastes. What benefit it gives. What it looks. In fact, you may want to have questions about what do people say about this apple. How much is it worth? Are there other people that will like this apple? You talk about its taste. You talk about its effect on you. You talk about its value. And that's when we talk about Christian fruits. Spiritual gifts and fruits that are available, the fruits of the Holy Spirit. We talk about the outcomes of that spirit and how they change their lives and how they impact others, how they impact those around us, our wife, our children, our fellow employees. Again, I use the closest relationships that relate to this audience. I talk about the effect that it has on others. Now, growth requires good soil, good seed, water, and fertilizer. It requires all these things to keep going. We had, back when I was chair of the Media Committee, back when I was chair of the Media Committee, back more than 10 years ago, a few little seminar conferences here at the Home Office. In fact, it was still down the hill, I believe, and we had one up here as well about Integrated Media Evangelism Oversight Program. And our scripture that we used, or the one that I think I managed that meeting at that time, was 1 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 5. 1 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 5, as to our modus operandi, as to how we look at growth. This is a very important verse because it really underlies our philosophy in the church as to how we look to God growing His church. Okay? It's God growing His church. 1 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 5, Who then is Paul and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you have believed? Paul in great humility, as the pioneer, as the leader, as the spearhead of Christianity going into the Gentile world. He said, Who are we? Apollos was the person he worked close with, obviously another minister, another elder, and Paul himself were just tools through whom you have believed, as the Lord who gave each one. I planted, Paul said that he had a very, very important part in the spreading of Christianity. It was not something to be dismissed or looked upon as unimportant. It was extremely important for Paul to plant. That's why he risked his life, and that's why he went to jail, and that's why he kept on going after being beaten and stoned so that he could plant and to make sure that that part got done, even though he was just an instrument of God. Apollos watered. Apollos added the very necessary aspect of water to germinate the seed.

But God gave the increase. And this was the theme of our conferences, that men and women, we've got a lot to do. We have to work as hard as we can on planting the seed and watering that seed, adding fertilizer, giving our lives, working long hours, doing the best we can in promotion of our mission, being as clever as we can, yet at the same time saying we're just instruments of God in this job. He gives increase, and he will call the people that he chooses and wishes. That's one thing we can't do. I can't turn knobs in people's minds. I can't walk down the street and convince someone. I know I can't, but there are things that I can do in the process of planting and watering. We just have been on a campaign this last month, and I'm sending out a co-worker letter Monday, Mitch, it'll be there, about our local websites.

We have a work in which we are planting seed through the Good News magazine, through Beyond Today television, through a very clever algorithm method in search engine optimization through the internet, and through a process of subscriber development. Boy, we work hard at that. We strain our minds until they almost break to do our very best in it. But we realize that God is the one who's going to call people. We're asking everybody to join in with us. We're asking people to become part of the process of bringing people along. Do you know who they are exactly? No, you don't. But are you going to take part in the watering? Are you going to take part in the sowing of the seed? So that people who rush around and see the Beyond Today and see that little arrow graphically come down to the local churches, and they say, hey, the local church, I just go to this tab, and I point on local contacts. Oh, there's a church in my state. Oh, there's one right here in my city. And when they come there, they better see something that's been well-planted. They better see a smiling, not necessarily smiling, but pleasant-looking pastor and his wife. They better see a welcoming, warm message about the church. They better see a church that has life, a church that's going somewhere, a church that's growing, if you will. That's why we have encouraged this type of thing to do our part. But who will see it? I have absolutely no idea. I have no idea at all. But I do know that there are people who will be very, very interested, and when they see this, they will begin to germinate themselves and go on further. And perhaps if they see a website that looks like a church that's worth coming to, they may come. And you could be part of the growth process. You could be part of the watering process. Bring your sprinkler can to church. But God gives increase. What happens between them and God in their minds and their growth is something between them and God. But we need to take that part of that process very seriously to ourselves. God also is a bit unhappy about trees that go and not grow. Luke 13, verse 6. The parable of the barren fig tree. The parable of the barren fig tree. And this does also have an application in what we do, because there are times when you have to trim. There are times when things don't work and you have to admit it.

He also spoke this parable, verse 6. A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.

We can apply this in many different ways, but I will not speak to it right now. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Nothing's happening. Cut it down. Why does it use up the ground? But he answered him and said, Oh, sir, let it alone this year also. Give it one more chance. Until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well, but if not after that, you can cut it down. So maybe it worked, maybe it didn't. But you see, people put extra effort in it. We don't have the end of that particular story. But if things aren't fertilized, and maybe there's some reason why the tree didn't grow, there comes a point in which we have to discontinue some process. And as we work and as the Council of Elders is coming into town here, we're going to be talking about almost everything that we're doing. We have spent this past week intense hours in talking about budget. And I can honestly say that I'm very pleased with where we are. Wish we had more, but we're holding our own. But we have to take a look as to what's working and what's not. Where do we add more fertilizer and perhaps maybe where something is no longer producing. And we have to take a serious look as to what we need to do about it.

Matthew 13, the parable of the sower and the seed. Matthew 13, he spoke many things to them in parables. In fact, 60% of Christ's teaching was in parables. Behold, the sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside, the birds came and devoured them. You know, it should have been more careful, but some of it got out past the cut-up ground, cultivated ground. Some fell on stony places where they did not have much earth and immediately sprang up but had no depth of earth. And when the sun was up, they were scorched, and because they had no root, they withered away. Some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. I kind of wonder why he says all these things. Because certainly those are negative things. You would think that a sower who invests money and seed would be very careful about not going there. And I'm certain that farmer realized that. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop, some 100-fold, some 60, some 30. He who has ears to hear let him hear. We need to find ways to which we sow. And we need to find ways to which we sow on good ground as much as possible to bring growth. And to avoid places that are rocky, avoid wasting our resources by the wayside, and not becoming enmeshed with people who simply aren't ready for it that sown among thorns. Growth sometimes can be very, very painful. John chapter 15, Jesus Christ speaks to this in his last words to his disciples. Well, he does talk about spiritual growth. And we can apply this at various levels, from personal to churchwide. John chapter 15, verse 1. I am the true vine, and my father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away. Christ expects growth from you individually. And every branch that bears fruit, he prunes. So branches, even those that do produce, are cut back, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because you are not a branch. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you, abide in me and I in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. Very obviously, spiritual, personal connection to Jesus Christ to become like him, which I expressed at the very beginning, and the reason for the fast that we had. I am the vine, you are the branches, he who abides in me, and I in him bears much fruit.

I look upon that verse as a guarantee, not as something that's a nice spiritual thought, that if you stay close to Jesus Christ, have him as your Lord and Master, the one that's sitting here with us, and you commune with him regularly, we'll be bearing much fruit. And you become like him, you act like him, you think like him, when you fasted, you saw holes in your ways that you've dealt with others. You stay close to him, you'll bear much fruit. For without me, you can do nothing. Verse 6, if anyone does not abide in me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered, and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. That's threatening. But that's just like that tree, that fig tree that for three years hung around and didn't produce anything. And then he said, cut it down. Get rid of it. It's taken up the ground. We could plant something that will work. I'll give it one more year. Let's just try a little harder. Maybe they tried really hard to get it going.

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this my father is glorified that you bear much fruit, that you grow. God loves it when we grow. It makes the father, it doesn't matter if you make him look good or not, but he is happy he rejoices when he sees much fruit. So you will be my disciples. The pruning process is necessary. The pruning process is necessary to remove dead fruit. To remove dead wood. The pruning process is important to increase growth and to control size.

The pruning process is important to increase light and air. The pruning process is important to increase the fruit production. Interesting, I saw a special on the new ways in which apples are produced. Now maybe to traditional apple growers this would be probably shocking, but the new ways that they have the process of pruning where the fruit is almost out there in the sun. How they do it, I'm not totally sure, but the trees look really funny, but they really produce a lot of fruit in that way. But it was through an extreme pruning process that they were able to get a lot of production. A person who received the greatest pruning of all is someone by the name of Job. He was a person of great authority, of high stature, and he is a person who also had to grow up, no matter where. All of us have to grow up. I have to grow up. All of us have to reach the stature of Jesus Christ, but he had to go through a pruning process that cut him way, way back, but that was so very, very important. And Job, by his standard, was a righteous man. He was by the book type of a person. Maybe not the easiest person to live with, but he was fair. He was honest. He was rich. He lost his children. He got boils all over him. And a wife nagged at him.

He lost his wealth. And he sat out in the street feeling sorry for himself, saying, why me? What has happened? He had a lot of friends of great influence. He obviously held a very high position, and he had a lot of counselors and people that, you know, said, we've got to go visit Job today. See what's going on. Poor Job, what in the world is going on with him? And why have all these things happened to him? And Job is one of the longest books in the Bible to teach a lesson about how someone needed to be cut back so that he could become a greater servant of God. Even Satan, when he accused Job, he tried, he got basically blown off saying this, not right. He could not even find anything that he could accuse Job of, because he was so righteous. But Job did have a problem of scale of where he stood in comparison with God. Finally, in chapter 38, this is long ways down the book after just a lot of going back and forth about Job. Maybe he did this, maybe he did that. Job said, no, I didn't, no, I didn't. I was righteous. Verse 1, chapter 38, Job. Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, because everybody was counseling Job, then God says, okay, it's time for me to move in and ask my own questions. Who is this, verse 2, who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now, Job, prepare yourself like a man. I will question you, and you shall answer me.

It's interesting how directly and personally God worked with Job, as he is working with you and me. God knows all of us individually and has a process by which he works with us. Job, verse 4, where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? And where were you three billion years ago, Job? Tell me if you have understanding, who determined its measurements? Who decided that the diameter would be, you know, eight and a half thousand miles? Surely, you know, you seem to have answers for everything else. How about giving me that answer? Or who stretched the line upon it to what words foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars gathered together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? This gives a glimpse as to what really happened when God created the heavens and the earth. Angels were rejoicing. They sang a song, this beautiful little orb here that would be the incubator for God's family. By the way, Job, where were you? Job probably is clearing his throat really hard here.

And the questions go on and on. Finally, in chapter 42, Job answered the Lord and said, I know that you can do everything. Okay, we have a little bit of humility here, and that no purpose of yours can be withheld from you. You asked, who is this who hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore, I have uttered what I did not understand. You find it amidst the fact that, you know something? I don't know what I'm talking about, always. Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Listen, please, and let me speak. You said, I will question you, you will answer me. I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes seize you. Job grows to another level. He grows to a level of maturity of where God had cut him back, cut him back to the point of where he was just within an inch of his life on this earth. But he finally learned something extremely important about his relationship with God, where he stands, about his pride, about his smugness, about his arrogance, about his being a know-it-all, always having an answer, always popping off with some opinion, and probably being right most of the time. I've heard about you, God, but now I see you. How many of us hear about God? We know all about God, but do we really see him and see ourselves in comparison to him? It's nothing. Therefore, verse 6, I abhor myself, I hate myself, and repent and dust in ashes.

Verse 12, Job was rewarded, so to speak, or he had given back to him far more than what he had lost. Lord, verse 12, blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning, for he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels. It goes on here about all the things he had. Verse 13, seven sons, three daughters, he called the name of one, the first one Jemima, the name of the others, you know, he had in the land were found no women so beautiful as the daughters of Job, and their father gave them inheritance among the fathers. After this, Job lived 140 years and saw his children and grandchildren to four generations. He was great, great, great grandpa. God had blessed them this much on the earth. Job finally got it. And what I'm saying as a lesson to all of us, how many things do we really get? I'm talking about on a personal level. Do we really get it as to who we are, what we need to be doing, our responsibilities? Let's expand it beyond to the church. Do we really get it as to what we're to do, what our mission is, and so forth? I know that many do, and many want to. We all need to get it, to see how we stand with God, see what he really wants to do in this universe, in this life, in your personal life, and in the church. Not a day goes by without me thinking about, God, I'm in this particular role for right now. I don't know how long I'll be here, but let me do the best I can while I'm in it to get it, to really get it, as to what you want me to do and how you want me to lead, and where you want this church to go. I truly believe that there's so much that can be done in the watering, in the fertilizing, in the planting, and then just say, God, give us the increase! What's wrong with that? What's wrong about asking for that kind of growth? I intentionally, in the letter that I wrote on January 17th, said that I want to focus on personal growth and bearing fruit. I don't want to get into growing income and numbers and influence the world. I want us first to be ready, spiritually. I first want us to bear fruit and have that fruit be seen and tasted by those around us. And Jesus Christ said that it will please God. He wants us to grow, and He wants to bless us.

I'm looking forward to a moment, this moment of growth, and this era that we're entering in the church, because I do believe the greatest days for the church are ahead. I'd like to conclude with a passage which may not be totally relevant, but it's one that I would like to end on, because it talks about what you'll see when I read it. Luke 5, verse 1.

So it was, as the multitude pressed about him to hear the word of God that he stood by the lake of Genneseret, which is the Sea of Galilee, and saw two boats standing by the lake, but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then he got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. It was like a PA system. You get out about 50 feet and your voice is amplified by the water, and you can speak to literally thousands of people. When he had stopped speaking, he said to Simon, launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. If you don't go back to shore, let's go out to the lake and go fishing. Let's go get a catch. But Simon, in verse 5, answered and said to him, Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing. Nevertheless, at your word, I will let down the net. Christ, because you are who you are. I'm not going to say no. And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. And they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them, because there were so many fish. And they came and filled both the boats so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me, for I'm a sinful man, O Lord.

Maybe going back to the fact that they hadn't caught fish all night, which is a really bad night. They thought they were going to get fish. They worked so hard, and they came up nothing. Perhaps this goodness of God led him to repentance. Of who knows what? Lack of faith? Who knows? It's just that he said, I am a sinful man.

Verse 9, For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken. And so also was James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Everybody was just startled, amazed as to what had happened. And Jesus said to Simon, Do not be afraid. From now on, you will catch men. He used this as a symbolic transition of careers, from being a fisher of fish to a fisher of men. But he also showed that when Peter repented of his sinful nature, and when Jesus Christ was directing the work, and when Peter followed Jesus' command to, let's not go back to shore, even though Peter was up all night, probably Christ speaking for who knows how long, he was probably just ready to go in and kind of call it a day. And instead, Christ said, let's go fishing. When he followed Christ, totally implicitly trusted him, they caught all that fish. Now he says, by the way, career change. Fish, men, going to the men part of your career. So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed him.

Have we grown enough to catch men? Let's go fishing.