[0:00] Psalm 80. I want to read through the entirety, the 19 verses of this psalm and make comments along the way so that we all understand what we're reading.
[0:17] I'm sure some of you it's no big deal, but for others, not as familiar and it doesn't quite make as much sense. And so I want us to all understand what we're reading. Psalm 80. And this, in the little heading, it's a psalm of Asaph.
[0:33] Asaph's a musically gifted man under King David and he writes a psalm. Understand that when we read a psalm, some people just say they're songs, not necessarily, but they're poetic and often put to music and sung.
[0:49] And if this was in fact put to music and sung, I mean, it's recorded in the book of the psalms, there's a little phrase that comes up over and over.
[1:01] When somebody writes a song today, typically they write a verse and a chorus, a verse and a chorus. And that's possibly, this one line keeps popping up as a theme, as a bit of a chorus in this psalm.
[1:15] You'll see in verse 3, Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved. Verse 7. Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved. And then it closes in verse 19.
[1:26] Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved. Three times the same thing. And so there's a possible, likely in this poetic writing, that is a reoccurring statement on purpose.
[1:41] And it's kind of that chorus or main theme, that main line to be repeated. Now, a few weeks ago, I don't know when this was, it might have been on a Wednesday night, matter of fact, we read through some of these verses, and that's not really where we're going this week at all.
[1:56] So verse number 1, the Bible says, Give ear, O shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock. Joseph is a term for Israel. It's just one of them.
[2:07] And God uses different ones throughout. He's calling on God. It's a prayer for God to listen. That dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.
[2:18] Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up thy strength, and come and save us. Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.
[2:29] O Lord God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people? Thou feedest them with the bread of tears, and givest them tears to drink, in great measure.
[2:41] Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbors, and our enemies laugh among themselves. Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.
[2:52] Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt. Now he's speaking about that nation, when God, through all those miracles, brought them out of Egypt, and brought them then into the land of Canaan.
[3:05] He likens the nation to a vine that God planted in the land of Canaan. He says in verse 8, Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt. Thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it. Historically, that Joshua came across the river with his armies, and they conquered the land, and battled with the Canaanites.
[3:22] And God then planted Israel into that land where they are today, even. Verse 9 says, Thou preparest room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land.
[3:35] The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like goodly cedars. She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river. So Israel is planted in this land, and grows, and prospers, and gains strength, takes deep root.
[3:52] And under the kingdoms, or the reigns specifically of King David, King Solomon, it was phenomenal. Phenomenal in that region. The power, and the might, and the wealth, and the security of that nation Israel.
[4:08] It says her boughs were like the goodly cedars. I mean, just a branch of a tree, it's a vine, but a branch of it like is, like an entire cedar tree, which were enormous.
[4:20] And so this is quite well prosperous. Okay, so verse 11 mentions the sea, the Mediterranean Sea, her branches unto the river. The Jordan River is the one border, but the kingdom went all the way to the Euphrates River.
[4:34] David went to recover his border at the Euphrates, far to the east. So this is quite a, quite a successful picture, an image we have here of this nation.
[4:47] But verse 12, then it changes with a question, why hast thou then broken down her hedges? So that all they which pass by do pluck her. The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it.
[5:01] Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts, look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine, and the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou made is strong for thyself.
[5:12] It is burned with fire. It is cut down. They perish at the rebuke of thy countenance. Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, and upon the son of man whom thou made is strong for thyself.
[5:26] So will not we go back from thee. Quicken us, and we will call upon thy name. Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts, cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.
[5:38] This whole psalm is a prayer. Put to verse, laid out in careful thought, but it's a prayer to God. And before we go any further, let's pray to God.
[5:49] Father, please, Lord, now in this moment, take control of this place, and this atmosphere, and we ask, my God, please just open hearts.
[6:02] I pray that your word would help, and would heal, and would minister, and I pray that you'd give ears to hear to your people this morning, and we ask this in Jesus' name.
[6:13] Amen. Amen. So, there's the picture of this nation, and the history they had, and the blessings of God, and then the current condition, and their prayer for him to just help.
[6:28] And about a year ago, here in this church, about a year ago, there was a little bit of an exodus. Now, I know that, I know that three years ago, if we could back it up, well, is that right?
[6:41] Three years ago? Three years ago was the first time I came here, roughly, with Carla, and flew out. So, three and a half years ago, there was a tremendous shock, to this church, where the pastor, Dave Gilbert, passed away, suddenly.
[6:58] And, there was, some of you here know very well, some of you are completely oblivious to this, but as the, things tried to get sorted out, and proceed forward, and get everybody together, there was trouble, there was disagreements, there was some arguments, and people said, we're not going to stay here anymore, and they left.
[7:19] And, some people left, and, and it was a good crowd, left this church. And so, I came out here, and there was, I want to say, about 60 people here, when I first came with Carla, as our kind of surveyor, just to come and meet you all.
[7:34] And then, within a few weeks, more people left, after there was a vote, and I was determined, that I was voted yes, to come and to pastor this church. Some more people left, few here, few there.
[7:45] And before we ever got here, in June of 2000, something, 20, 20? I have no idea where we are. 2019?
[7:57] 20. Thank you. I'll believe you, because I don't know, I'm just in the headlights here. And 2020, so by the time we got out here, even more had moved, or had just quit coming.
[8:11] And about a year went by, a little over a year, and I understand that, I liken that to the honeymoon phase, of just things are new, things are a little exciting, what's it going to be, and things kind of settle in, to what they are, at least at the time, and then others, for different reasons, or various reasons, that they'll say, I don't know, entirely what they were, for some, have just moved on.
[8:35] And there was a bit of an exodus, again, from this church, and I know that hurt, it hurt this church, and it hurt members of this church, to see more people leave. And at that time, it was hurting me, to think, I said, God, what am I doing here?
[8:47] I thought we were, like, going to take this group, and go forward, and here it's just not the case. And the Lord spoke to my heart, from several psalms, like, literally very real, some things, and one of the psalms, was Psalm 80.
[9:02] And I want to, this was a year ago, that this was the case, and I just, I never felt, the leading, to bring it forth, I thought it was just for me. But even more recently, I just felt God saying, Psalm 80, get on that one.
[9:17] And so, in view of the circumstances, that have befallen, Bible Baptist Church, over the last few years, I read through this passage, and felt like, I wasn't looking at Israel, I felt like I was looking, at Bible Baptist Church.
[9:33] And I read in verse number 8, that God is, he brought a vine, out of Egypt, and has cast out the heathen, and planted it, and prepared room before it, he just, it did take deep root, and filled the land, and the hills were covered, with the shadow of it, and so forth, and God blessed, and there was fruit abounding.
[9:53] And I thought about, Bible Baptist Church, being a vine, that God planted, years ago, in Sunland, Tuhunga area, and then brought to Silmar, I don't know, what the exact year was, I forget, 20 some years ago, closer to 30, planted a vine, here in Silmar, and it grew, and it took root, and it spread, and you might not say, that it covered the valley exactly, but you understand, the idea.
[10:23] And I realize, that my history here, goes back very limited, but the truth, Asaph, he's writing this, he wasn't around, when they came out, of Egypt either. He's writing, historically, understanding, what took place, from what's written, stories that he's been told, and he's writing down, true statements, of what God did, in bringing that nation, into that land, and planting them, and they're blessed.
[10:48] And so though he writes, and the first thing he writes, is why? Look at verse 12, why has thou then, broken down her hedges, so that all they, which pass by the way, do pluck her?
[11:02] Why God? Asking God why, he did this. All the work, that we've read, about the blessings, is in verses 8 and 9, it was God's doing.
[11:14] Thou has brought out a vine, thou has cast out the heathen, thou preparest room before it, and it's cause it, to take deep root, and fill the land. You, God, did all of that, and then he looks at, the current situation, and he doesn't, make another excuse, or look for another reason, he says, why hast thou then, broken down her hedges?
[11:35] Why did you allow this to happen? He's not, I wouldn't say, blaming God by any means, but he's logically, concluding, that God caused, or God allowed, this current destruction.
[11:50] If we read this passage, in Isaiah chapter 5, he writes a very similar thought, about God planting, his vine, his choice vine, and then, how he then destroyed it, and don't get too focused on that, but just the thought is, that God's getting credited, with this.
[12:07] Why hast thou, and that's a normal response, that's like the normal, first go to, of man, to see something, because we expect good, from God, we want good from God, if we're in church, and we're walking with God, and we're worshiping him, we expect good things, we expect his blessing, right?
[12:25] And then when things don't go well, we, why? What are we doing wrong? Why are you doing this to us? What's the problem? We think that way, that's an initial response.
[12:37] We don't ask for God, to give us trouble, we don't ask for, affliction, and persecution, and for, to be cut down, so why God?
[12:48] That's a good question, it's a normal question, and there's no answer given, in the psalm, and so we're not going to focus, on the answer, that's really not the point, this morning. Instead, I want to focus, on the prayer, and I want to look specifically, at verse 14, look back there, together with me, where the prayer says, return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts, look down from heaven, and behold, and visit, this vine, visit this vine, O God of hosts, the prayer is to return, to look down, to behold, and to visit, and I want to echo, that prayer this morning, and note some thoughts, that accompany this topic, the first thought, I want us to consider, when we're praying, and asking God, to visit this vine, is one, is that the vine, is still alive, the vine is still alive, it's cut down, that's what the passage, talks about, in verse 16, it's burned with fire, it's cut down, it says that, in verse 13, the wild boar, out of the wood, doth waste it, the wild beast, in the field, devours it, it's not in great shape, it's been ruined, it's been destroyed, it's been trampled, but it's still alive, the prayer is not,
[14:09] God, plant a new vine, it's visit this vine, oh God of hosts, this vine, in verse 14, it said visit this vine, in verse 15, and the vineyard, which thy right hand, hath planted, and the branch, the same one, that thou made a strong, for thyself, it's not strong, but it was, and it needs a visitation, from God, now, as far as Israel goes, in the passage, God covenanted, with this people, that he would visit them, and he promised this people, that he would always, leave them a remnant, that they would never, be completely destroyed, that he has future plans, for them, and he will see too, making good on his pledges, to them, and when I see that, I realize, that as he says that, to Israel, and as their vine, remained alive, over the years, I realize, that this vine, here in Silmar, is still alive, and I believe, we can sit here, this morning, and take courage, in that, and we can take courage, and despite changes, and despite, feeling like, boy some branches, have been cut, way back, it doesn't look, anything like it did,
[15:23] I think we can take courage, that it's still alive, it's not what it was, but it's still alive, there's still potential, for growth, there's still potential, as long as it's alive, for recovery, and ultimately, for fruit, to come out, of this vine, God can again, make it strong, for himself, because the vine, is still alive, look back to your left, at Job 14, Job 14, some months, or a good while ago, I preached a message, about hope, and we looked, at this passage, right here, I think it's very fitting, again this morning, in Job 14, let's read verses, 7 through 9, the Bible says, for there is hope, of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch, thereof, will not cease, though the root, thereof, wax old in the earth, and the stock, thereof, die in the ground, yet through the scent, of water, it will bud, and bring forth boughs, like a plant, because, if it's still alive, there's hope, and I believe, this morning, there's hope, for this vine, because it is still alive, it's still here, and that God, didn't destroy it, to nothing, brother Spurgeon, was talking with me, about a church, he said he got a check, from a church, a decent sized check, wasn't anything too crazy, but it was a check, nonetheless, and he thought,
[17:01] I don't even preach there, I don't even really, know these people, what's this check about, and as he researched, and he read it, and said, that the church, disbanded, fell apart, it's gone, and they sold off, their assets, and divvied up the money, and put it out there, to some members, of the body of Christ, to be a blessing to them, the church is gone, he told me about a church, that he used to preach at, in New York City, and he said, it's not there anymore, they couldn't endure, through COVID, through all the restrictions, and the shutdowns there, it just, it disappeared, he said, I can't even get a hold, of the pastor, I don't even know, where he's at anymore, it's gone, and if you went, this morning, to that location, where for years, years, that man preached, and they had a local church, if you went, to that location, there's nothing, nobody, you could, get yourself, into that room, where they one time, had chairs set up, had instruments, had singing, had preaching, from the word of God, where folks, got saved, got discipled, grew, went out, passed, you could go there today, it's just an empty room, because it's dead, because it's gone, but that's not, the case here, this vine's still alive, and, you may not see it that way, if you get too focused, on the problems, that you see as problems, or the people that aren't here, and get too connected, and disconnected, with the life, that is here, if you're focused, on the, what you perceive as problems, you just say, the vine's not the same, there's an empty orchestra, over here, nobody's playing their instruments,
[18:38] I remember when they were sitting there, there was six, seven of them, just playing their instruments, for the glory, of such a beautiful sound, I bet it was, but it's gone, and you might say other things, like, oh, that's missing, there's no institute, there used to be, people getting trained, the word of God, coming here, in the weeknights, and that's not here anymore, and that's true, you might look around, and say, there used to be, a big youth group, and teenagers, and young adults, and young kids, and there was, all kinds of stuff going on, and now there's none of that, and say, yeah, you're right, if you focus on that, that, and this, and that, yeah, it looks pretty bad, but you're missing something, the vine's still alive, you know what you're missing, oh, it's not the same, but I have to tell you, I'm interested in what, what kind of fruit God is going to bring, from this vine yet, you might miss something, that last Sunday, two grown men got saved, right here, this vine, that's the first time, and since I've been here, to see somebody respond, to an invitation, given on the spot, not talking about, dealing with them out in my office, or out in the parking lot, or talking to somebody else, on the phone or email,
[19:52] I mean respond, to a gospel invitation, that was the first time, that's something, that's, that vine's not dead, you may not see it, if you're focused on the other stuff, and I want to try to get your mind, away from it, to see that the vine's still alive, some people get consumed with, I guess, I'm guilty of it, I get, it weighs on me a little bit, I get consumed with some of the whining, and hearing some of the fussing, and hearing about people leaving, and people telling me to fix it, and I take a step back, and when I get consumed about that, and it weighs on my heart, and sometimes I don't sleep well at night over it, and I spend my time praying, in my office about it, and I take a step back, and look, and I think, you know what, a little over a year ago, a guy walked into this church, and sat down, and nobody knew who he was, and not too many people really cared, it seemed, and he sat through the Sunday school, and then he got up and left, and I saw him go out the door, and I thought, where's he going, he's taking off, he's leaving, it turns out, he was just going out for a smoke, out in the parking lot, and I chased after him,
[21:03] I said, hey, what's, hey, you know, and he came back in, and this guy didn't even know, if he was saved or not, he thought he was, but he didn't know it, and he came in here, and he sat down, and he was just looking to hear, if this guy's telling the truth or not, and a year and a half has passed roughly, he's a member of this church, he's handing out tracts left and right, he's handing out Ruckman reference Bibles, to strangers, I mean, how rare is that, somebody, the Lord got a hold of somebody here, and is using him in this church, and he's been a huge blessing here, there's another family, that showed up about a year or so ago, that was looking for a King James Bible, at least the man was, the husband was, and they showed up looking for a church, that's preaching, and believes the King James Bible, and about a year went by, and nobody saw this coming, but their son, Riley Peterson, went off to Bible school, and he's in Bible Institute right now, studying the word of God, and Eric says,
[22:05] I never in my life would have thought, that my son would be in that school, studying for whatever God has for him, and I just think of just these two little instances, and think, yeah, I could focus and get consumed with the fuss, but the vine is still alive, and God is still in the vine, and there's things happening, and these are major changes, in the lives of these, because they're part of this vine, and the vine's alive, now look at verse 17, back in Psalm 80, and the prayer continues, the prayer continues in verse 17, let thy hand, be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man, whom thou madest strong for thyself, this is a prayer for God, to put his hand upon a chosen man, a deliverer, doctrinally, and prophetically, this is the Lord Jesus Christ, none other, than the Lord Jesus Christ, who will come, and will deliver, and the prayer that's here, has not been completely answered, as it will be one day, but applying this to Bible Baptist Church, it's awkward for me to say this, but that man is me, in this day and age, that man is me, and this is,
[23:33] I'm telling you, it's weird to say this, but I've prayed about it, and I want to say this, in the right spirit, I have no vendetta, I have no evil, toward anybody in here, I don't want anybody, to take this wrong, but I've been here, about two and a half years, here, in this pulpit, and there's plenty of people, that here or not here, have talked about me, and look, I'm not complaining, I'm not looking for pity, I don't need it, I understand, that's just, it comes with the turf, okay, I get it, that's, you know, the buck stops here, so be it, but people have talked about me, continue to, and there's been gripes, and complaints, and yeah, yeah, and something, I heard from Dr. Ruckman, back in Bible school, because he would get, people blasting, his character, his life, his family, I mean, publications, internet, TV, everywhere, just chopping him down, and he'd say, he'd just kind of go, he'd yawn it off, he'd say,
[24:34] I have to take a baby aspirin, and go take a nap, that's how he would respond, just jokingly, to saying, it doesn't get to me, I have a calling of God, I can't let those things bother me, well, here's what I statement, from this passage here, this prayer is, is for God, verse 17, let thy hand be upon the man, of thy right hand, upon the son of man, whom thou made is strong, for thyself, what I'm saying is, number two here, applying this is, I need your prayers, I need you to pray, that God's hand, would be upon me, I don't, I promise, I'm not gonna get up here, hopefully ever again, and say stuff like this, me, me, me, me, me, it feels ugly, I don't like it, I'm sorry, but I have to, I had to humble myself, and, ask you that if, that if you, speak my name, if it comes out of your mouth, let it be to God, let it be to God, not to somebody else, not to somebody who's fussing, or some, ex member, or disgruntled, or wants to justify something, and they, they want your ear, or you want to join them, if you want to join them, join them, not being nasty,
[25:45] I'm just telling you the truth, this vine's alive, and, and God picked me, to be the man at this time, and so, I need your prayers, I need his hand, to be upon me, I need that to be your prayer, and this prayer, this church, look at, this is not just a, selfish thought here, look at Romans, keep your place, but go to Romans 15, Romans chapter 15, this is something, the apostle Paul, asked of believers, in Romans 15, you'll see verse number 30, the Bible says, now I beseech you brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the spirit, that you strive together with me, in your prayers to God, for me, he says, he says,
[26:46] I'm beseeching you, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, he doesn't say, for my sake, for Christ's sake, Paul says, strive, with me, in your prayers to God, for me, look at, Ephesians chapter 6, he didn't just say this, to one church, look at Ephesians chapter 6, and coming to the end, of this chapter, I'll start in verse 18, Ephesians 6 verse 18, right after he talks, about the armor of God, and the different elements, he says in verse 18, in praying always, with all prayer, and supplication in the spirit, and watching thereunto, with all perseverance, and supplication for all saints, look at the next verse, and for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds, and therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak,
[27:52] Paul needed the prayers of the saints, and he was not ashamed, to ask for them, look over to the next book, of Philippians chapter 1, and here he's in prison, and he's telling this church, at Philippi to pray for him, verse 19, Philippians 1 verse 19, Paul says, for I know that this shall turn, to my salvation, through your prayer, and the supply of the spirit, of Jesus Christ, this is not his soul, being saved from sin, this is him getting out of prison, and later in that chapter, verse 26, he said that you're rejoicing, may be more abundant, in Jesus Christ for me, by my coming to you again, he anticipated getting out, and coming to that church, and being with him, you can see it again, later in chapter 2, verse 24, I trust in the Lord, that I also myself, shall come shortly, so he believed, in faith, that he was getting out of prison, but he said, it's going to be through your prayer, and so Paul's not just, needs the prayers of the saints, he's not just asking, but rather he's counting on, their prayers for him, and as I said, this is, this is out of character for me, to say this, or to ask this, because there's pride in me, that says, oh you know,
[29:06] I'm not going to, you know, ask for this for myself, I don't have, I don't want the attention, as a man, but, I realize from scripture, that's wrong of me, because it's an office, that does need, and requires prayer, and so I need your prayers, and this vine, needs your heart, to be for me, and for this vine, in prayer, alright, come back to Psalm 80, please, Psalm 80, and I want to see, the conclusion of this prayer, there's some, there's another element, to point out, Psalm 80, and we read in verse 14, the prayer to visit, this vine, and that vineyard, that not a new one, but the same one, that was once blessed, and grown, it's beat up, but it's still alive, and I need your prayer, that God's hand will be upon me, as he says, there's a man, that God made strong, for himself, and then in verse 18, notice the close of this, so will not we, go back from thee, quicken us, and we will call upon thy name, turn us again,
[30:14] O Lord God of hosts, cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved, the prayer concludes, with this pledge, it's a covenant, God, please visit the vine, help us, turn us again, and verse 18, so will not we go back, from thee, the statement is, we're not going anywhere, we're not going to leave you, we're calling on you, to hear us, in verse 1, give ear, we're calling on you, to visit this vine, and revive this vine, in verse 18, quicken us, and we'll not go back, from thee, we are here to stay, we're here to wait on you, we're here to call upon, thy name, in verse 18, this is a commitment, to the vine, anticipating that God's, hand will move, and will restore, back in the Bible, and I'll tell you what, I'll turn you to one more place, this will be the last place, go to Deuteronomy chapter 2, back in the Old Testament, here with the Jews, they came up to that, promised land, and God brought them, out of Egypt, delivered them, with great signs, and wonders, miraculously cared for them, and nourished them, through the wilderness, brought them up to the door, of the land, that he had promised them, and their fathers, and they sent, they sent 12 spies, into that land, and 10 of them said, nope, this ain't happening, all of that's nice, but here we are, and we can't do this, there's giants, in the land, we're like grasshoppers, in their sight, they've got chariots, of iron, what do we have, we got a bunch of cattle, a bunch of women, and children, we can't do this, 10 of them, said it's not happening, and two of them,
[32:14] Joshua, Caleb, said let's go, God's with us, and they were men of faith, but the nation of Israel, refused to fight, and they forfeited, their opportunity, at the time, to go into that land, and so God said, turn around, head south, and some of them said, no, no, no, we're going to fight now, we're going to fight, and they tried, and that failed, miserably, and so, they followed the Lord, south, and he, had them travel, and compass, around Mount Seir, look at chapter 2, verse 1, it says, then we turned, and took our journey, into the wilderness, by the way of the Red Sea, as the Lord spake unto me, and we come past, Mount Seir, many days, in this passage, it's 38 years, it says in verse 14, that they were at that, specific location, it seems, and so they, many days, and verse 2 says, and the Lord spake unto me, saying, you've come past this mountain, long enough, turn you northward, turn northward, you're going, and he tells that, to head up, and throughout,
[33:21] I won't point it out, but he says to them, several times, you're going to go past this group, don't mess with them, don't meddle with them, you're going to go past this group, don't mess with them, don't fight with them, that's not for here, that's not for now, you just keep going north, don't contend with them in battle, he says it several times, and little by little, he starts to show, that he's going to bless them, he's going to do something, it says, in verse 16, so it came to pass, when all the men of war, were consumed, and dead, from among the people, that the Lord spake unto me, saying, thou art to pass over, through our, and the coast of Moab, this day, and then he begins to say, look, this is the path, I'm taking you, so all of that generation, that refused to fight, expired, in the wilderness, and come a little bit further, into this passage, let's see this, he says to rise up, take your journey, in verse 24, verse 25, I want us to see verse 25, this day, that's a day, a specific day, this day,
[34:22] God says, will I, begin, to put the dread of thee, and the fear of thee, upon the nations, that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear, the report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish, because of thee, you know what's taking place, right then and there, God, is visiting, his vine, they had messed up, pretty bad, and I'm not here, to apply that thought, but there was a time, where just one after another, Joshua, and Caleb, men of faith, watched their friends, watched their soldiers, watched their people, they'd grown up with, all their lives, drop off, and disappear, one by one, gone, gone, gone, and then God says, hey, turn northward, this day, I'm going to begin, and what he did, was took them, into that land, and brought them, and established them, and planted that vine,
[35:24] God visited his vine, and in this case, he's at work again, and it's with a new army, and they've been through, a rough spell, it wasn't easy, but God visited them, and by the way, the men of faith, that stuck it out, Joshua and Caleb, inherited the land, they saw a lot of change, throughout the way, but they were also present, to experience, the future blessings of God, what God had in store, for that vine, there's three things, I want us to see, from Psalm 80 this morning, and the one is that, we need to have faith, faith to see, and to believe, that the vine is still alive, faith to look, through the eyes of faith, rather than on the problems, and see what God is doing, and can do, there's plenty of potential, but you need faith, to see it, and to believe it, just by way of example, of this, do you remember, in John chapter 4, Jesus Christ, goes to Samaria, through the way of Samaria, and he sits down, by the well, sends his disciples, to get food, and he talks to the woman, at the well, and the disciples, come back, and they're thinking, what's going on here, this kind of interaction, we don't have, we're Jews, we don't have dealings, with the Samaritans, this is not us, and Christ, they can't figure it out, he says that, he has meat to eat, that they know not of, his meat's to do, the will of God, or the work of God, to finish his work, and they're just not, understanding his speech, and he says this, to his men, they're thinking, what are you doing, we don't do this, we've never done it this way, we're Jews, we don't do it this way, and Jesus Christ says, hey, lift up your eyes, look on the fields, they're white already, to harvest, those disciples were like, this is how we do things, and Christ has to get, their eyes of faith, off of what they know, and do, and say, look around you, the work of God, is right here, right now, it's going to take faith, to get the eyes of faith, to be open, to the work of God, it's going to take prayer, prayer for me, prayer for this vine, prayer for God, to visit this vine, it's a real request, it's the theme, of the entire psalm, that we read, it's going to take commitment, whether you're here, to stay or not, it's going to take commitment, for you to do that, to trust, and to wait on God, and to be available, to work, faithfulness is a requirement, it's not an option, it's a requirement, and a true commitment, goes far beyond,
[38:03] Sunday morning, it's a worthy prayer, that we read this morning, oh God of hosts, look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine, I want to close, with something, that struck me, this recently, on our porch, at our house, we have several flower pots, and there's one of them, in particular, that I don't know, I assume my wife, planted some flowers in it, and it just was there, and I really never, even took notice to it, I probably walked by it, several times a day, and I just never saw it, never looked at it, never cared about it, and one day, it struck me, I mean, going through the heat of the, probably the summer, or last year, I don't even know, when this thing was planted, or I have no idea, but it just struck me, like, that thing is, pathetic looking, it's all brown, it wasn't getting cared for, nobody really remembered it, or noticed it, or even, we're just, just out of sight, out of mind, and, and walk past it all the time, never cared, and it, it caught my attention, look at, this thing is disgusting, it's hideous, we got this flower pot, with all this brown in here, like, what a decoration, wasn't very pretty, and I thought about, just ripping it all out, there was a little bit of green, but the tips of everything, was brown, there's stalks, where blooms were, they were all brown, but just, it was entirely, dark brown, light brown, and a little glimpses of green, down toward the center, it was pretty much all dead, and I thought to myself, instead of ripping it out,
[39:36] I wonder if I could just, nurture it back, I wonder if just, paying attention to it, and so I watered it, and later that, I think I watered it in the morning, and I came back, and then I noticed it again, and so I went, and I just started plucking off, all the dead parts, and most of it, and just threw all the brown away, and it was really back, to just some scrawny, not much green, mostly light brown pieces, of leaves and things, and I just thought, eh, whatever, not going to hurt anything, so I started to water it, and I started to give it attention, and it started turning green, and it started to, little by little, started to fill, and spread into that pot again, and it did, it like, day after day, even through the heat of the summer, I was watering it, sometimes twice a day, just giving it a little bit, just to keep it going, and I noticed that, this thing's filling out, wonderfully, and as it continued to fill, it began to bud, and surprisingly, one day, there was these white disc blooms,
[40:38] I don't know what kind of flower it was, but the one side of it, had several coming, and more coming, and in a few days, there was a bunch of them, and on the other side of it, there was these pink ones, a deep kind of pink color, and it was beautiful, and the thing wasn't like, completely lush and full, but it was, it was blooming, it was pretty again, and I continued to water it, it continued to grow, and fill out, and more blooms came, and more blooms came, and it was thick and full, and I was satisfied, I gave it attention, I watered it, it came back to life, and then as I continued to water it, I kind of just, it wasn't a big deal anymore, you know, I was satisfied, I did the job, I continued to keep it alive, and then I was surprised, because out of nowhere, that I saw coming, I just assumed it was white, pink, this deep red bloom came up, same plant, just apparently there was a third one in there, I had no idea it was there, this one popped up, and it just caught me by surprise, and I thought, no kidding, there's another one, and that one's coming out now, and it's even just as pretty, to have all three or more, and I thought on this vine, that God planted here in Silmar, and I think if we'll exercise faith, and display faith, for what God has here, and if we'll pray for God to visit, and if we'll fix our hearts, to this place, and on this work,
[41:59] I think it can bloom again, and not only that, I am certain, that if we'll give it the attention, we're to give it, that there'll be some surprises, that'll come up, that we never thought would happen, that we never saw coming, surprises to think, I didn't even know, that was in that vine, to look back and say, look what God has done, with this person, look what God did here, look how he influenced it, and just to know, that the hand of God, was alive and working, through this vine, I guarantee there's surprises, if God would visit this vine, I wonder this morning, if you'd join me in praying, for this vine, would you join me in praying, for this vine, would you, would you take it serious, and say God, please visit this vine, it's still alive, you are still here, maybe you're not sure, if you're going to stay here, that's on you, our prayer, my prayer, is that God would visit this vine, that he would work in our hearts,
[43:04] I'm not looking to, to expand the building, and blow up the ministry, and have some crazy thing, and be able to report somewhere, all these numbers, that doesn't do it for me, God takes care of the numbers, that's on him, but I wonder, if we could care enough, to get devoted, to get committed, to pray, and to exercise faith, that this is for us, Father, Lord that's the message I gave, I think you wanted it, I pray that it was received, that ears were opened, and hearts would receive it, Lord if there's one, if there's a dozen, that need it more than others, Lord would you plant it deep into them, and God this morning, it's my prayer, that you'd visit this vine, that you'd visit Bible Baptist Church, that you'd stir our hearts, to service, and to work, to devotion, to commitment, to allegiance, to love, I pray for unity, I pray for your working,
[44:07] I pray that you'd raise up, some young people, that would go on, and fall in love with you, and get devoted to you, and serve you, I pray God, that we'd reach some lost, and get them saved, and get them under the hearing, of the gospel, and growing in the word of God, and understand the joy, of salvation, and the Christian life, Lord if somebody here, has gone stale, and disgruntled, God I pray, you'd stir in their spirit, and renew again, a right spirit, and draw them, to their first love, and rekindle that, in their heart, God visit this vine, turn us again, cause thy face, to shine upon us, we pray, in Jesus name, I invite you this morning, if you want to pray up here, pray up here, you want to pray in your closet, pray in your closet, but would you commit to praying, for this vine, that God would again, move and use us, us, for, or participated, when you try, can you walk like, you go to church, take your God, and if you think about it,
[45:11] I mean, nothing to say, I imagine the Holy쓰, or, to the end, but by your story, I just preach to him, and hung, to the Lord, and grief, that God you, as in the gift, and how to realize, you request it, and how to realize, what comes to think, and how to get happy,