The Distinction Between the Vineyard and the Forest

Forward to the preaching tonight.

It's been such a wonderful time of fellowship with them this week.

Looking forward to what the Lord has for us tonight.

Thank you, Pastor.

We've enjoyed it, too, very much.

Okay, chapter 15.

You know where we are, I think.

Chapter 15.

How many of you read chapter 15 today?

I mean, for tonight.

Okay.

Well, good thing this is our last one.

Cause the number's declining.

Should be going the other way, but that's all right.

All right.

Numbers, let's say.

Not numbers.

Ezekiel, chapter 15.

Incredible.

Brief.

Brief chapter, of course.

Short text, short sermon.

Isn't that the way it usually works?

Not if you know anything about a good Baptist church.

It's not always the right way, but anyway, we'll just see.

All right, let's stand together and read, shall we?

Chapter 15, verse 1.

I want to read deliberately and carefully here.

Ezekiel 15.

And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, son of man, what is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest?

Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work that is from the vine tree?

Or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon?

Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel.

The fire devoureth both ends, both the ends of it.

And the midst of it is burned.

Is it meat for any work?

Behold, when it was whole, it was meet for no work.

How much less shall it be meat for yet for any work, when the fire hath devoured it and it is burnt.

Paragraph marker, properly placed.

What's he talking about?

Okay, Verse six.

Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, as the vine tree among the trees of the forest which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and I will set my face against them.

They shall go out from one fire, and another fire shall devour them.

And ye shall know that I am the Lord when I have set my face against them.

And I will make the land desolate because they have committed a trespass, saith the Lord God.

Father, we are grateful tonight again for the opportunity to assemble together.

We thank you for the services that we've already had together, looking into your word, and particularly from these passages in the prophecy of Ezekiel.

And I prayed you to help us tonight on this Wednesday night at Heritage Baptist Church, that you would help us to get the message, that you would help us, Lord, to understand by this peculiar approach what might sound strange and weird in the minds of some, the way that the chapter is written.

How are we supposed to get Any meaning out of this.

Well, Lord, I pray that your Holy Spirit would help and give us clarity of mind and clarity of thought and that we not be distracted by things that really are not that important right now, but that we give attention to the Word and that your Holy Spirit would accomplish your purpose and that we would all consider it a profitable time to have given consideration to these eight verses in this prophecy.

So thank you again for your blessings upon this church.

Thank you Lord, for the testimony.

Thank you Lord, for the vision that lies ahead that has to do with what lies ahead.

And I pray that you continue to have your hand upon it.

We all read the words together that you said that you would turn your face against your holy city, the city of God, the city of David, the city of your people.

And certainly we recognize that the sound of that is exactly what we don't want.

We want your favor.

We want your blessings.

We want your guidance, your help, your power and fruitfulness.

And so I pray that you would help us to see what it is that would cause you to say such a thing to a people and a place you love.

I will set my face against them.

So just help us and get glory to yourself and work in the lives of this your people and this your church.

In Jesus name, Amen.

Thank you very much.

You may be seated.

Allow me to be ridiculous here for just a second as I present some grandiloquent questions.

Now, how many of you use the word grandiloquent today in your vocabulary?

Yeah, well, it's not been a part of my vocabulary either, but I read it and probably could use to expand my vocabulary a little bit.

And so I learned out what a grandiloquent question is.

And it's almost meant to insult one's intelligence.

In other words, the answer to the question is so obvious, it's like, why would you ask a question like that?

And somebody says, so why are you gonna do that?

Well, hang on and see if you can see why I'm doing that.

For example, think about this.

Think about the great eagle.

Did you ever hear anybody say, look there, there go the eagles soaring with the buzzards?

Well, no, because you don't think of eagles and buzzards in the same vein at all.

Buzzards, nasty eagles.

Strength, dignity, power.

That's the way you think.

Think about this Bill Gates.

Most everybody's heard of him.

One of the richest man, if not the richest man in the world, I guess what's his name is the Tesla guy.

But Bill Gates.

Famous, wealthy, powerful, and Bill Gates applying for a job at Walmart.

Supercenter for the job of a greeter.

No.

Okay, well, think about this.

Lions.

We'll go back to the animal world.

Lions, the king of beasts, scavengering for food with skunks.

That doesn't.

That's weird, isn't it?

Or I could go on and on.

I've got all kinds.

Starbucks, a new line of coffee called Maxwell House.

Stubble.

No.

And see, all of those things, they don't fit it all together.

They do not belong together.

Bill Gates and that kind of a job at the Walmart.

Supercenter.

A job of dignity.

And I have more respect for people that do that than people that do some other things to get gain.

But nonetheless, you just.

You don't think that way.

It doesn't even make any sense.

Same way with the eagle and the buzzards and the skunk and the lions, things like that.

They don't.

That doesn't make any.

There's no reason, there's no logic to it.

Just like Ezekiel, by the Spirit of God is saying to these people that Israel has become a vine tree lost in the forest.

A vine tree in the forest.

That's as much of a misfit as anything I said or could think of saying tonight.

Because a vine tree in the forest, it doesn't work.

There's no sense to that.

There's no reason to it.

And yet God is saying that he is going to actually judge them and turn his face against them, because that's exactly what has happened, because Israel has become a vine tree in the forest.

Now, let's look down at this monologue here, because this is God speaking to Ezekiel, therefore, speaking to the people of Israel.

And God is speaking.

Notice what he says in verse number two.

He said, son of man questions, what is the vine tree more than any tree or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest?

Son of man, does a vine tree belong in the trees of the forest?

Well, God knows.

He knows the answer to that question.

God knows that anybody that would read this knows the answer to that question.

So what's he trying to do?

He's trying to show how ridiculous their situation is.

He's trying to jar them.

He's trying to get their attention and make them think about this.

Here's a second question.

Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work?

Let's see.

Yeah.

Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work?

Or question 3.

Will men take a pen of it to hang any vessel thereon?

In other words, when you consider the vine, then you don't think of it like you would the wood of a tree.

And by the way, if you think the term vine tree sounds kind of strange just because we're not used to using that, if you do a little research on it, you'll see that those plants that stand up there and then spread out with these vines, those are called vine trees.

That's technically right.

And so he's got some questions about this and he wants to know, is there any use for this?

Is there any good that can come of the wood?

In other words, when you think of a vine tree, the tree that grows up and then the vines spread and people harvest grapes and such as that, do you ever think of that wood being used like you would the trees of the forest, how their wood is used?

Well, no, you never think about that.

And so he goes on, he tries to make it abundantly clear here with these questions.

And he says, is it good for anything?

Would you say, I'm going to make some furniture for the house?

And so you say, I'm going to go cut down some vine trees and I'm going to make me some furniture?

Well, no, because the constitution of it is not fit for that.

You wouldn't do anything on it.

You wouldn't make any furniture that you would want to set on or could sit on or.

Well, okay, can you make a, can you take that wood then and make a pin and put it in the wall and hang your appliances on it?

Or like men do their tools in their shop, could you take and hang anything on it?

Well, no, because of the constitution of it.

It wouldn't hold anything.

It wouldn't take any weight at all for it to give in.

It's not good for that.

It just, that's not the nature of the vine tree at all.

Okay.

And so then he says, well, what about when I burn it?

Because actually what he's doing is saying, I'm gonna judge Israel and I'm gonna burn em.

And so Israel is the vine tree and the trees of the forest are all the nations around them.

See?

And so I've got four places here, four different books that refor prophets that refer to Israel as God's vine or God's vineyard.

That would be in the book of Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Psalm 80.

And all of these make reference to the fact that, that Israel is his vineyard.

Or we can say it this way, Israel is his vine.

And then when he talks about the trees of the forest, then he's talking about the plethora of nations that are about them and that they deal with, for instance, as you go through the Word of God and you read the prophets and the Old Testament history, then you realize that Israel has some major conflicts with people like the Moabites and the Ammonites and the Philistines, and they have problems with Assyria and they have problems with Lebanon, and they have problems with Egypt and all of those nations that are outside of the covenant that God made with Israel, his vineyard or his vine tree, all of those are just woods or they are trees in the forest.

So we got to get the picture in our mind here what he's talking about here.

He's talking about Israel.

Let me say it this way.

Israel being manifestly distinct from the trees of the forest, because if they wind up amongst the trees of the forest, they are good for absolutely nothing.

Nothing.

Their wood is not good.

You might go into the forest and you might find that this serves this purpose and, and this tree will serve another purpose.

And this tree, the wood of it is good for this.

And this tree, the wood is good for another thing.

But when you look at the vineyard or the vine tree, then all you can think about is it's good for one thing, growing and spreading those vines and producing grapes.

That's all it's good for and nothing else.

And so you got to remember also, as we've tried to explain, I'm not going to go into detail about it, but the condition that Israel is in, they are in pathetic condition.

And so Babylonian oppression has already come upon them.

So that here we go again, Jerusalem is sealed off by the Babylonian army, the royalty, some of the prime families and line of families, has their family members taken away to Babylon to be trained in the way of the Babylonians.

Daniel is their prophet, you might recall.

And.

And then you got another group that was carried away into captivity and they're living in wretched conditions by the river Chebar at the town of Telabim.

And so if you look at the overall picture of Israel, you can see that they are suffering in Jerusalem from the besiegement.

And they are taken captive in the city of Babylon.

And they might be eating well and dressing well, but they are being trained in the ways of the Babylonians who to serve the purpose of the Babylonians.

And that's why Daniel is a prophet there, to try to get as any that will to be true to God, like he and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego remain true to God.

And then you got these that are by the river Chebar and they're in misery now, what tried to show last night and maybe some the night before that.

What is so sad about this is all of these people, Jerusalem in Babylon and by the river Chebar to Labib, all of these people are in denial.

All of them think they're going to be delivered.

All of them think life is going to go on as normal.

We're just here going through a little tough stretch right now, and it's not long.

Their own prophets, not hearing anything from God, just saying they're hearing from God, are saying, peace, peace when there is no peace.

And they're saying this, oh, well, if there's going to become any real oppression or invasion, like the prophet Ezekiel is talking about, or like the prophet Jeremiah prophesied, or like Isaiah prophesied 80 to 100 years before that, or like Habakkuk was made aware of.

If you've read the book of Habakkuk lately, it's about the same thing.

And all of these prophecies, if that's going to happen, it's way off.

It's not anytime soon.

And they're in denial.

So basically what they are saying is, what's with God anyway?

Why would he be allowing this?

We haven't done anything wrong.

And remember what they're doing, blaming the previous generation.

They're refusing to take responsibility for their own spiritual condition.

And God is saying to them, here's how I look at my people.

My people, this is my vineyard.

This is my vine tree.

They are mine.

And look at them as they are now.

They are less useful to me than Babylon.

If you think that's shocking.

It's supposed to be.

It's meant to be.

Well, how would God have any use for Babylon?

Read the book of Jeremiah.

It says that Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon is his servant.

It says that Babylon is like a weapon in God's hand that he is using to exercise discipline and judgment upon his own people.

So what do we.

How can we come to any other conclusion?

As things are, Babylon is more useful for the purposes of God than Israel is.

Why?

Because they are his vineyard.

And where are they?

Lost among the trees of the forest.

See, does that make any sense at all?

I hope it does.

I mean, that is the message of this chapter, that whereas there should be this distinct.

Nobody drives by a vineyard.

Come on, Sandra.

And I've driven all over the country, Oklahoma, and probably there's places in Texas where they have some vineyards.

And there's just a little spot here too, in Oklahoma.

But, you know, you go to the places like California and And places where you can just drive for miles and miles and it's vineyards and you gotta look and it's impressive.

And nobody looks out there and says, look at that forest out there.

But then you can also drive places in California.

You can see the trees and the tall trees and all of the beautiful, magnificent trees that are there.

And you can look at that and say, look at that forest.

It's just amazing.

Massive, giant, beautiful redwoods and all kinds of trees there.

And not nobody looks at that and confuses it with a vineyard.

There's supposed to be a clear distinction between God's people, his vine, and the trees of the forest.

But they are so intermingled and they are so much like the trees of the forest that now they have rendered themselves useless.

Isn't that incredible?

It's so sad.

It's actually pathetic.

They are at this point, boy, this sounds hard, but I'm gonna say it.

They're good for nothing.

They're good for nothing.

As long as it's in that condition, they're not good for anything.

How's God supposed to use them?

We talked on the very first night from Ezekiel on Sunday night, that God situated them where he situated them in what is called the cradle of humanity, which for a definite purpose.

And what was that to, by their distinction, point to the kind of God that God is.

And they were there for the purpose of God and for the glory of God.

And now as time goes on, things are not getting better, things are getting worse.

Until God addresses them this way and says to them, you are like vines that are lost in the forest.

Sandra and I made a trip to Germany and I was going to preach there at a missionary retreat, the European missionaries of a certain group.

And so preached, you know, what do you call a retreat or something like that, and spent time with them, it was wonderful.

And then preached in some churches.

And so the missionary Jim and Mary Garrison picked us up there.

And they were in Darmstadt, Germany.

And they worked with a lot of military people, but they were also endeavoring and reaching a few Germans.

And so anyway, we got there, I think on a Friday, and he said, I know you might have jet lag or anything, but he said if we took about a two hour drive, we'd be along some of the beautiful parks, River Rhine, would you like to go?

And we'd like to take you there.

And we'll eat at one of their little resort area places there.

And he Said, I think you'd really enjoy it.

Rhine River, I believe to this day is still the number one commercial river in the world.

More commerce and ships go up and down it for commercial reasons than any other river in the world.

And besides that, there's some natural beauty there.

And so, sure enough, we did the next day, and he drove us there and we drove along the Rhine River.

And as you drive along for this good long stretch, then it was really fascinating because there is the river, one of the most significant rivers in all the world, and we have some rivers to be proud of here, but this is worldwide known as one of the great rivers in the world.

And so on this side is the river, and then on this side, I'm sorry, on this side of the river, yeah, where we're driving are all kinds of little mountain villages.

And you go this way and there's mountains there.

Well, there's mountains on the other side, too, but there's mountains here and there's villages and, you know, quaint places and tourist traps, partly, and such as that.

And so we did.

We looked there.

It's beautiful.

The old architecture, ancient, much of it.

And.

And just the scenery and the beauty and the river, it was special, it was very neat.

But on the other side of the river, when you look across, I've got a picture of it here.

I know it's ridiculous, you can't see it from there, but I got a picture of it here, and it's a picture of miles of vineyards on the other side of the river.

And these rivers go up the mount.

I'm sorry, these vineyards, they go up the mountainside.

And the way they do it is they got a row here, and then it's like a stair step.

They work the land so that it's like a stair step, and there's another row and another row and another row, another step, and it goes up the mountain.

And as it goes up the mountain, it's immaculate, it's kept, it's impressive, it's quite a sight to see.

But you can see if I'll lay this picture down here, if you want to look at it after.

But you can see that the vineyards go up so high and then manifestly they end.

And what's then?

The woods, the forest, the trees of the forest.

Now, the interesting thing was he said that what he.

From what he's read and studied and what he's talked to some of the locals, that some of these vineyards, many of these vineyards have been in the same family for over a thousand years.

So that generation after generation after generation after generation of family or families have lived off of these vineyards.

And again, they're so well kept, and they're beautiful and they're magnificent.

And I thought, my soul, that's a long time ago, a thousand years growing there on that hillside.

The forest above it stayed in the same families and been producing for a thousand years and more.

Wow.

Isn't that amazing?

Now, as you look at this picture, you can't help but notice that somebody did something to keep the vineyard out of the forest or the forest out of the vineyard.

What do you think would happen if, for, let's say out of the last thousand years, let's say that 300 of those years nobody watched the vineyard, what do you think would happen?

Well, obviously, the vineyard would take over the forest and it would all become vineyard.

Now, if you believe that, you believe eagles and buzzards soar together?

No, that's not what would happen.

So what would happen?

The forest would come down and overgrow the vineyard.

And when the forest comes and overgrows the vineyard, you might still have vines there.

But the lack of sunshine and the nutrients necessary to make those grapes what they're supposed to be now going into the trees that were allowed to grow there, then all of a sudden, if those vines produced anything, they would not be usable and they would not be edible.

They would be what?

Worthless?

Absolutely worthless right now.

God, I'm not making all this stuff up.

God's the one that put this picture in the Bible and wants us to stop and think about this.

What is the lesson?

What is it we're supposed to learn here?

And God said, here's what happened to my people, Israel.

I meant for my people to be my peculiar and my particular vineyard.

And I was to use them to bear fruit and to shine the light and to be a testimony to the God that I am.

And instead of them doing that and being the distinct vineyard that I meant for them to be, what.

What they did is by their choice.

Now, they're not like the trees here and the grapevines here that are inanimate.

Israel had a will, and they had a choice.

And they could either be what God meant for them to be a beautiful vineyard, productive for his glory, or they could mingle with the trees of the forest, which they did, and become absolutely useless to God.

And that's what has happened to the people of Israel.

And that's why Ezekiel, God is having Ezekiel confront them about their situation, because they're going to fall under the judgment of Babylon.

They've already gone too far.

God's already determined this.

My face is against you.

And Babylon is going to have power over you, and your city is going to be destroyed, and your families are going to suffer death.

Blood is going to be shed.

People are gonna die of starvation, and people are gonna die of poverty and misery.

And God is saying, my fire of judgment is coming upon you.

That's what he is saying to his people.

And he is saying this to them and saying, you have become absolutely useless.

And if you won't produce what I have you to produce for my glory, I mean, he is the Lord of the vineyard.

I said he is the creator God, the Lord of the vineyard.

It's not like he didn't have the right to expect this of his nation, Israel.

They entered into a covenant with their eyes wide open.

They said, whatsoever the Lord says, we will do.

He gave them the Ten Commandments and the law of Moses.

And they said, wherein Whatever the Lord says, that will we do.

And then commence to rebel against.

Against him.

So here they are, a vineyard lost among the forest of trees.

Well, you know, out in the forest of trees, idolatry is perfectly acceptable, expected.

That's what they did.

They worshiped idols.

But not God's vineyard.

Oh, yeah, they did.

Sure, BAAL worshipped.

Come on.

We could name the gods of the pagans about them that they went after and chased after, ran after, made unto themselves idols even while they were under the judgment of God.

And Ezekiel was confronting them, Jeremiah was confronting them, Habakkuk confronted them, Zephaniah confronted them even while they were under the judgment of God.

You know what they were doing in secret?

Worshiping idols.

Looking into the stars and into the heavens for understanding rather than humbling themself before God who.

And they became like the trees of the forest.

Now, this picture, it really.

When I realized.

I studied this passage and I think we went to Germany.

I wonder if I still have those pictures.

And I did and had this one blown up.

What a beautiful vineyard.

And then you got the ragged forest up there, distinct between those families.

If they'd have left it go for two or 300 years, then they'd have lost the value of the vineyard to start over and clean out the forest that grows up in a couple or three centuries.

Come on, two or three centuries out of a thousand years.

I mean, still, they would have worked it two thirds of the time, maybe.

No, that was enough to lose it.

They lost it.

That's exactly what happened to Israel, my vineyard.

Look at them.

They made the choice to be a part of the trees, of the forest.

So that was then.

We could talk more about them and the judgment of God upon them.

But we're living now, so is there any reason for us to discuss this?

Well, I think there is.

Jesus said to his disciples and all subsequent disciples, he said, I am the vine, ye are the branches.

Come on, are we getting the picture?

I mean, he still means for his people to be his vineyard.

He said, I am the vine, ye are the branches.

And then he told us what the purpose is.

He said, I want you to abide in me.

And if you abide in me, you'll bear fruit.

But then he didn't just say, you'll bear fruit.

He said, you'll bear much fruit.

And then he said, you'll bear more fruit.

And then he said, you'll bear fruit.

That remains so evidently, when Jesus chose these disciples and then called them apostles.

And they were the ones that laid the doctrinal foundation for the New Testament church.

And Jesus said, upon this rock I'll build my church.

And.

And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

And lo, I am with you always to the end.

In other words, Jesus established his church with those men.

The church didn't begin at Pentecost.

It began before that.

And the church didn't begin sometime after Pentecost.

It began with Jesus and those disciples.

And what he started.

He said, I'm going to be with you to the end of the age, to the end of the world.

And so what was his purpose?

Well, his purpose was stated.

He said, I'm the vine, you're the branches, and abide in me.

Why should we abide in you?

Well, you can fulfill my purpose only if you abide in me.

And what is your purpose?

I want you to bear fruit, but I don't want you to bear just fruit.

I want you to bear much fruit, but I don't want you to bear just much fruit.

I want you to bear more fruit than much fruit.

And not only that, I want you to bear fruit that remains.

He means for the name of Jesus and the work of the gospel to be spread on this earth until the end of the age, until Jesus comes again.

And he left that responsibility not to a plethora of organizations out here.

He left that work to what could be identified as his church.

We're not talking about anything universal.

We're not talking about anything invisible.

Wait a minute.

I listened to Dr.

So and so on the radio, and he certainly got me more degrees than you do.

Well, Rudy, the idea is not how many degrees does a man have.

The idea is does he believe what the Bible says or has his intelligence overcome things and he's teaching things that aren't even found in the Bible.

Like a universal invisible church which doesn't even exist and common sense tells you it doesn't exist.

The word church has to do with an assembly, a called out assembly.

Universal assembly.

Huh?

I said a universal assembly.

Invisible assembly.

Come on.

It doesn't even make any sense.

Those kind of people remind me of the people that say, yeah, well we get the way we see baptism is you sprinkle or pour some water on them.

That's we call that baptism.

We'll call it whatever you want to it baptism.

And if you're going to be true to the definition of what we have for the word church, then you've got to have an assembly.

If you don't have assembly, you don't have a church.

If it's invisible, it ain't.

Is that right with me here?

Well, don't get too carried away and start jumping around the aisles and everything.

I'm just saying this is a reality.

And Jesus left his church here and the church is called his body.

This is not his body of believers.

This is Jesus body of believers.

Any authentic New Testament church.

I said any authentic New Testament.

I didn't say anybody's got church on the door.

That's not what I said.

Any authentic New Testament church that meets the qualifications of the word of God.

That body of believers.

His.

It's his body of believers and no one else's.

It's his body, see.

Oh, I look at it as a big universe of all believers everywhere make up the body of Christ.

Well, what a fancy thing to believe.

But you didn't get that from studying the Bible.

You didn't.

I'm not saying if you believe that.

I'm just saying if that's where you are.

You didn't get that from the word of God.

You didn't get that from trying to be true to the word of God.

You got it from somebody on the radio or on TV or somebody that wrote a book and they've got PhDs and all kinds of things behind their name.

And they may say many things.

Well, and they may articulate and they may have high intellectual.

But I'm just telling you right now, my friend, you don't have to be an intellectual to understand what, what church means.

That's for sure.

And Jesus said I'm divine.

Nothing's changed about that.

He is divine.

The Best thing this church can do.

Excuse me.

I love the buildings, the property, the vision for the physical appearance and all of that, but nobody here is under the illusion that's what makes this church.

It's the kind of buildings we're building.

It's the kind of property we do.

It's how we deal with our property.

He says that's what makes the church.

Nobody in this room believes that, you know, that if we don't abide in Jesus, in other words, if we don't stay true to him, if we don't walk with him, if we're not committed to him, if we don't love him.

I'm just saying if we're not bent and determined to be obedient to Jesus and the purpose of his church, to evangelize here and baptize believers and make disciples and then do that to the uttermost parts of the earth, then we have no business calling ourselves his church.

But a church that's committed to that.

That's what Jesus is saying.

Abide in me, and my word shall abide in you.

And if you'll abide in me.

I am the vine, you are the branches.

You are capable of bearing fruit, much fruit, more fruit, fruit that remains.

And that's his intent.

That's his purpose.

Any authentic New Testament church.

Yeah.

Amen.

Boy, that's good preaching.

Thank you very much.

That's right.

It's exactly right.

Whoa.

What are the.

What's the forest?

Well, let me see.

I wrote down some things here.

The forest of trees out here would be the government.

That's a discouraging place to start, isn't it?

But anyway, the government organizations, political organizations, financial institution, you know, the financial world, the commercial world, the consumer world, the medical world, the industrial world, the technical world, social and civic clubs and organizations, entertainment, sports, the sports world and such as that.

Secret organizations or trees of the forest.

You know, all of the secret organizations, I don't have to mention probably in ethnic organizations and businesses and military and veterans organizations and parachurch, meaning not church, but sort of related to Christian things.

You know, parachurch stuff.

Yeah, all of those are.

The tree of the first forest around this church is a great variety of trees of the forest.

See, I didn't even say they're bad.

I didn't even say they're all bad.

I had some pious guy last night.

I know who it was.

I'm just going to pick on him here a little bit.

Where do you see sports in the Bible?

Well, because people talk about sports and sports.

Where do you see that in the Bible?

Well, you do, but.

Yeah, you kind of got to look for it.

And I like to follow sports and I like OU when they play like ou, but.

And by the way, all that Texas stuff you gave me for my birthday the first time I was here is floating down the Red river somewhere.

I don't know what happened to all that.

Yep.

And I like.

Well, I'm a Cardinal fan.

They stink too, right now.

But I like.

Kind of like the thunder.

You don't blame me for that, I hope, and stuff like that.

Well, how do you justify that from the Bible?

I'm still working on it.

I haven't yet, but it's a part of the society at large, isn't it?

And I didn't say that everything about the society at large.

We need hospitals, we need lawyers, I guess we need the right kind of lawyers.

We need politics.

You gotta have policy.

You can't function as a culture and a society without policy.

If you have policy, then you have to have people to run it.

They're called politicians, such as that.

Some civic clubs do some real good for their community sometimes to help in times of crisis like been experienced here with the floods and different places around the country and the world.

Sure, I didn't say they're all bad, but they're trees of the forest.

What happened?

If I can just pause and tell you, remind some of you this.

And there was less interested, there was less interest in personal salvation than they was to help with all the grief and the sorrow, poverty and the things that are in this world.

And they started preaching a social gospel.

And many of the denominations that at least knew that Jesus died for a reason and used to talk about it kind of departed from that message and started preaching about making society better, making a social gospel.

When they do that, then they cease to be a vine tree of the forest, of the vineyard.

When they do that, they begin to be another tree in the forest.

Is everybody with me here?

That's what they become.

And so again, I never said they were all bad.

I'm not up here to rant and rave against social society issues and corporations and such as that.

No, I'm not against that at all.

Jobs and help people coming.

The tithes and offerings that are used to send for a church to function and send missionaries around the world come because there are some trees of the forest out here that provide jobs.

And that's good.

That's good.

And some of them contribute in other good ways in our culture and our society.

But I just want to say this.

When we talk about the life and the work of a New Testament church, then only a New Testament church can be vine tree of his vineyard.

Only an authentic New Testament church can be that.

That's it.

Nobody else can do that.

And it is to be.

Okay, hold on just a second.

It is to be as distinct, distinctly separate from the trees of the forest.

And vineyard is from the trees of that forest.

And if that distinction is lost, the vineyard is worthless.

If the distinction is lost, the vineyard worthless doesn't mean anything.

Now, let's think about that in relation to a New Testament church.

Only a new.

Only an authentic New Testament church can do what he meant for his vineyard to do.

Nobody else can do this.

He gave his authority to the New Testament church.

The authority to spread the gospel.

The authority to baptize.

I said the authority to baptize.

He didn't give the authority to baptize to everybody out there that calls himself a church.

I don't care if they dunk them 14 times.

You got to have biblical authority.

And that has to do with lining up with the teaching of Jesus in.

And the apostles and what the apostles taught about Jesus.

If you're not lined up with that doctrine, then you don't have the authority to baptize.

See?

And only a New Testament church can do that.

Well, that sounds rather.

Only a vineyard can produce what he wants produced.

You want grapes, he wants grapes.

Only a vineyard can produce grapes.

These trees can never do what the vineyard does.

They can never do it.

Now, here's the business of a pastor and here's the business of church people and leaders of churches.

Here's the business.

Make sure we keep the forest out of the vineyard.

I said we got to make sure we keep the forest out of the vineyard.

Because when the forest gets in the vineyard, it ruins the vineyard, enlarges the forest.

So the purpose of a business of a pastor, an overseer, a shepherd, part of the business is.

And the business of deacons beside him and the business of all of God's people who love God and his Word and take their church membership seriously.

Your business ought to be to help make sure that we keep the forest out of the vineyard.

When the forest gets in the vineyard, the vineyard is ruined.

Okay, let me just talk to you here.

Just a second.

It's hot in here.

So I don't want to get all worked up.

So anyway, let me just.

Let me just talk to you just a second.

I had the privilege of pastoring two wonderful churches, Bible Baptist, Stillwater for 16 years, and then Southwest Baptist Church, Oklahoma City for 20 years.

And along the way, here's something that I had to, as a pastor, be on the lookout.

There'd be those that would be a part in the church and involved in everything, and they would come from all walks of life.

So some from the Oklahoma State University at Stillwater, some from the finance world, some business people.

We've had some, you know, successful business people, ran their own companies and business things like that, along with all the GM workers before the General Motors plant closed and all the civilian workers out at Tinker Air Force Base.

There's thousands of them out there.

And so all of these people.

I think we got 42 or 3 acres there now, right in Oklahoma City, and it's all debt free.

Praise God.

Hallelujah.

And the college functioning, doing really well there and expecting a good enrollment this fall.

Got all these things.

And along the way there'd be those that would say, well, now, Brother Sam, I.

And then state what area of work and business they're in.

And, you know, things like this, we always try to do this.

Well, I'm not saying there's no.

I'm not saying it's right to ignore that.

Sometimes it's wise to listen and pay attention.

But how many times, without going into a lot of detail, did I have to say, this is not a business.

We're not running a business here.

Yeah, but in the business world, we're not interested in the business world.

I'm interested in the business world for you, but I'm not interested in the business world for a church.

Yeah, but I mean, there are certain principles of organization.

If so, then if what you're talking about is right, I'll find it in the Bible, because he didn't leave us to function as a New Testament church with half the information we need and the Rest of it we're supposed to get from the trees of the forest.

He didn't do it that way.

He gave us this book, my friend.

It's adequate.

It is sufficient to do his work, to deal with the financial issues, to deal with personnel issues, to deal with conflict, to deal with strife, to deal with all the things that are found where human beings get together, where eventually there might be a little collision here and there and might be a little diversity here and there of opinion and of idea.

He did not leave us out here to finally look to the trees of the forest to see how a New Testament church is supposed to function.

And therefore, when a pastor says no, that's fine.

In the business world, that doesn't work here.

And if you can explain why, fine.

If you can't, it's still the right thing to do to keep the trees of the forest out of church life.

It ruins the vineyard.

That's the business.

That's the business.

I remember as a pastor preaching, preached to the hall.

You preach the whole counsel of God.

You're going to have to eventually talk about matters of personal separation.

There are those that you.

Now, they hear the word separation.

We used to hear it all the time.

It was in almost every outline I heard growing up about the matter of personal separation.

Our distinction from the world.

Our distinction from the world.

The difference between God's people and between us and the trees of the forest.

The difference between a vineyard and a forest, the difference and distinct personal sanctification.

Somebody said, I believe we have all kinds of freedom and all kinds of grace for personal sanctification.

And besides, the old preachers used to preach too much about sanctification.

Yeah, well, if Paul came today, you would say he talked way too much about sanctification.

Cause.

Well, I don't even know what it means.

Well, I'm glad you told me.

Cause the word sanctified means to be set apart.

That's what it means.

And the day you trusted Jesus as your personal savior, positionally, he set you apart unto himself.

That's what he did.

He sanctified you.

You didn't make a choice about that.

You just made a choice to believe in him unto salvation and trust him to be your Savior.

And when he saved you, he sanctified you unto himself.

You're now his.

You don't belong out there anymore.

You're his now.

Guess what we're supposed to do.

Live what we are, sanctified, set apart from distinction in our life.

No, look, friend, it's all through the Bible, Pastor.

I was at the lunch table, we were talking and I was telling about Brother Gaddis preaching back home.

Right now he's in the book of First Peter.

And he stopped right there in chapter number one where he says, but as he which has called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation, all manner of life.

All of our manner of life conversation.

I just have to do as they're talking back and forth.

If you study the word out, it has to do with our day to day conduct, our conduct, the way we relate and live in this life, our day to day conduct.

And he said to be holy in all manner of all areas of our life.

Amen.

Yeah.

In other words.

But do you know what most people are doing now?

I know what the trees of the forest are doing, but I'm not a member of the trees of the forest.

Are you?

We don't feel like answering, huh?

Well, if you're saved, you're not supposed to be.

If you're saved, you're part of the vineyard.

Now you answer to me.

Is there supposed to be a difference between the trees, the forest and the vineyard?

Yeah.

And where that distinction ought to be found is in the function of and practice and life of an authentic New Testament Baptist church.

That's where the distinction ought to be.

Very, very clear.

See, and I don't mean to ruffle any feathers or anything like that, but I'll just tell you the trend that swept across the land about a casual approach to everything about the things of God.

That's not healthy.

That's not good.

That's not good.

I mean, this is the work of the Lord.

I said this is the work of the gospel.

When we assemble together, I could show you in the book of Ephesians, chapter 3, where created beings that we commonly call angels.

There in Ephesians 3, it's called principalities and powers in heavenly places.

Did you know that?

Principalities and powers in heavenly places.

Are you listening to this?

They observe the life and function of this church so that they might see the wisdom of God and the power of God and give him glory.

You study Ephesians 3 yourself.

It's right there.

So when you come to church, you're not just a part of the audience.

We have an audience.

Beings greater than ourselves.

Principalities and powers in heavenly places.

Beings lower than the angels and beings greater than ourselves are observing our function.

What are they supposed to see?

The wisdom of God and the power of God.

Read it in Ephesians 3.

Study it yourself.

It's right there.

And Then in turn he is to get glory in the church right there.

Now, you may think that lends.

I don't think you do.

Some may think that lends itself to, oh, casual, whatever.

I'm not dressed.

Why would a guy dress up to go to church?

Say, why?

Cause you're not going to one of the trees of the forest.

You're not going to Walmart, you're not going to meet with your buds.

This is the work of God.

Yeah.

Wouldn't it be sweet if I got up here tonight with flip flops and open collar, cool 80 year old, coolest 80 year old man around here.

Wouldn't that be sweet?

Oh, it can't be all about us and how we want to be cool and fit in and make sure everybody feels you feel comfortable when you come in here.

The business of a New Testament church was not meant to make the trees of the forest comfortable.

Somebody needs to get ahold of that.

The purpose of the and function of the assembling of a New Testament church was never meant to make people on the outside feel comfortable.

So you don't pursue visitors.

We have visitors every week.

We want visitors all every week.

Our church works hard and is productive.

And we're baptizing people on a regular basis.

Yes, indeed.

But our business is to confront them with the fact that they are a sinner and Jesus died for their sins.

And there's no other way to get saved but by faith in Jesus Christ and to trust in him.

But we are not there to make sure.

Is everything okay?

Did you like our music or do we need to pep it up a little bit?

I mean, do you think a band would get it going?

Or some drummers up here in a cage or lights flashing or a darker auditorium?

Would that help us or not?

We're not competing with Las Vegas.

What in the world are you talking about?

We're not talking about trying to look like the trees of the forest.

Can't you see what God is saying to his people?

See this trees of the forest, that's the world.

See the vineyard, that's his.

Is there supposed to be a distinct difference?

If there isn't, it's useless.

It's that simple.

Along the way.

And I'm done.

I've had some families, you know.

Usually it's two or threes.

Buddy gets upset about something.

Legalist.

You talk about personal holiness and separation, you get called a legalist, which is ridiculous.

Legalism is.

This is what gets you to heaven.

What you do and don't do.

That's what Gets you to heaven.

That's legalism.

I'm so far removed from that.

We're saved by grace through faith that not of ourselves, we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ.

But if somebody doesn't call me a legalist every once in a while, I get real worried about my preaching, you know, and somebody come along and, you know, legalism and stuff like that and separation and they're going to leave and go join another church and.

And all this kind of thing just because.

You just talk too much about that.

Okay, well, do you think we're becoming too holy?

If we're becoming too holy, tell me where to draw the line here.

Or do we have a holier than thou attitude?

No, we're pursuing sinners.

We never meet anybody at the door and say, what are you doing here?

You can't come in here.

No, no, no, no.

We're reaching the lost and bringing them in and work real hard at it.

Yeah, well.

What do you mean?

Well, you talk too much about those kind of things, really.

You know, we just get tired of hearing about the holy life and the, you know, the sanctified life and the separated life and such as that.

We get tired of hearing about it.

And I told a couple one time, I said, I get tired of preaching about it, but whether I get tired of preaching about it or not has nothing to do with my responsibility to be faithful to the word of God.

And you don't have to take a microscope and look through the Bible to talk about holy living and sanctification and.

And separation from the world.

You just open your Bible.

You're gonna see it pretty quick almost anywhere you go.

Well, I just.

I don't wanna go to church to hear that kind of stuff, because I believe I'm right.

I believe I'm okay the way I am.

So you've measured your life to the word of God and you've looked to make sure.

There is a distinct difference between.

You see, I got two pictures.

You got the distinct difference between the vineyard and the forest, and you're manifesting that and you're getting tired of it when the more we are like this, the more we are able to bear fruit and much fruit and more fruit and fruit that remains.

That's what he said, Pastor.

That's what Jesus said right there.

Yeah.

And so when the pastor gets up here and he clears off a spot and he calls the congregation into account or says to the congregation, let's not forget, we're not a social club.

This is not a public organization.

Social club.

We belong to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

When he saved you, my dear brother, when he saved you, my dear sister, he said that he made us a part of his royal priesthood.

We are priests unto God.

Kings and priests unto God.

We are doing the business and the work of God Almighty.

We are propagating the gospel of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

And you may want to take a casual look at it and make it feel like you're more a part of the trees of the forest.

But when you do, you disqualify yourself from being this.

Producing his fruit.

His fruit.

So when the preacher gets up and preaches about matters of separation, why don't you say, thanks, Pastor, you care for this flock and you care about your accountability to the chief shepherd.

Because we will give an account.

We will give an account distinction.

If anything comes out of this whole thing, there is to be clear distinction between this and this.

The trees of the forest and the vineyard.