[6/19/88]

                        FINDING THE 'REAL ME'

 ... that ye bear much fruit ... " John 15:1-8

Introduction:

      These are words to live by.  We would do well to make them "life
verses." God cares about each of us: He desires our very best!
Christ's commands are also His promises.

I. GOD HAS A 'MAXIMUM FULFILLMENT' FOR EACH OF HIS CHILDREN  

A. We often hear "God has a plan for your life." Just the right
address.  Just the right position in just the right firm.  Just the
right spouse. It sounds almost mechanical. And the way we interpret
it, it can be very "me centered!"

Can we believe that God DOES have a plan just for YOU?

B.  Certainly God DOES know you and care about you, and DOES desire
the very best for you.  (Text:) EVERY branch is to bear fruit OR be
taken away! and every branch is to be subject to pruning so that it
may bring forth MORE fruit. I believe the answer is "Yes." There is
absolutely NOTHING which can frustrate God's purpose for your life, if
indeed you will agree with the Father's will.

C. But it may be significant to see the difference between a great
"destiny" for yourself, and a great "calling" to follow Jesus! We
cannot make ourselves the focus of greatness!

"We're number 1!!"  There can only be ONE "Number 1!"

II.  DISCOVERING GOD'S DESIGN FOR YOUR LIFE

A. The problem is to dare to really go after God's best!  Most of us
cannot think about ambition except in terms of what we think WE want.
How may we be consumed with seeking after God's best, and not be
utterly selfish about it?

B. The key word is "CONTROL!"  Who shall have control?  WHAT we do is
important! But what is "driving" us?

WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO IS ALL IMPORTANT!  It is all-important that Jesus
Christ be the focus of our living, and of our ambition.  "I am the
Vine!"  "Without ME you can (really) do nothing!"  As long as we
retain the last word of control-- as long as our desires are for OUR
success, then we frustrate the BEST!

It is paradoxical, but the most self-fulfilling thing we can do is
renounce control in favor of God's BEST!  And then all heaven's
resources are available to see that God's "maximum fulfillment" for
your life is actualized!

C. The pathway to God's "best" is deceptively simple:

   1. "ABIDE" ... 15:5(b) "Without Me you can do nothing" This is to
   be a permanent relationship. Forever we are to be "at home" in
   Jesus; and He in us.  We are not the source of vitality; not our
   great ideas and energies-- HIS!

   2.  "TREASURE" 15:7 "If ye abide in Me AND MY WORDS ABIDE IN YOU ye
   shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done."  Psalm 119:11 Thy
   word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee.

   The best treasure, in the best hiding place, for the best reason!
   We cannot expect personal fulfillment apart from coming under the
   good authority of God's Word.

   3.  "ASK" 15:7 - the 'other half' of the above verse; we can then
   use the Word in our praying. There is no power in prayer like  
   praying in the Spirit using God's own promises! It becomes as
   natural as breath and breathing.

   4. "PRAISE" 15:8 "Herein is the Father glorified!" We must not
   forget, and become enamored with our success in prayer; it is NOT
   "our" success-- and thanksgiving keeps us pure and joyful!

   5.  "BEAR! DO! ACCOMPLISH!  15:8 "That ye bear much fruit!"

   "MUCH Fruit!"  It is the inescapable by-product of abiding,
   treasuring, asking, and seeking to lift up the Name of God!

Conclusion:     

These are words to live by! LET AMBITION BE UNSHACKLED! Pray BIG!
Think BIG! Only do it in order!

Perhaps the problem with our ambition is not that it is too big-- but
that it is too small!  In his devotional classic Robert Benson quotes
Letters to Scattered Pilgrims, by Elizabeth O'Conner:

   "If we are each obedient to our visions the cities would have green
   spaces, birds in their trees, and architecture to quicken the
   awareness of the divine life throbbing in the whole of the
   world. And the towns? the towns would have galleries to hold the
   works of their artists; theaters for the performing arts would
   spring up in their squares; scientists and poets would confer with
   each other; students would gather for debate and reflection,
   children would want to continue in life, and church congregations
   everywhere would be struggling 'to make serious use of the wings
   the creator had given.'  Everyone would know what it meant to be
   the servant of the Most High."

1. I believe GOD'S VISION works on the most practical levels:

Tithing... Making God a partner...  in our janitor business... in our
fishing... golfing... in our money matters-- nothing is too small or
too large to share with God.

2. But GOD'S VISION is deeper than that, deeper than just a temporary
benefit for a single individual.  When we seek to abide, and to
treasure, and to ask so that we may praise we will find that we are
becoming giants in the faith!  BUT BEST OF ALL- WE WILL BE A PART OF
THE BEAUTY OF OUR GOD!

3.  Why do we do what we do? AT WORK? in the church? So much of what
we do is for our own convenience, and is limited to what is obviously
profitable.

DO WE DARE GO AFTER GOD'S BEST?

#63(EH) Jesus, Thy Boundless Love to Me