IT'S TIME TO CHOOSE, Religion or Relationship by Joshua Larivaux Biblical Preaching by Dr.

Hyveth Williams, ThD June 5, 2012 John 15:4-6,8

In Hampton Court near London, there is a grapevine which is about 1,000 years old. This grapevine has one root which is at least two feet thick, and some of the branches are 200 feet long. Despite its age, the vine produces several tons of grapes each year. Although some of the smaller branches are 200 feet from the main stem, they still bear the sweet and delicious fruit because they are connected to the vine. Life flows from that single root and through out the vine bringing nourishment and strength to each of the branches. Jesus promises to do the same for us. He is the true vine bringing life to each of the branches. The vitality of our spiritual life is dependent upon our connection to Christ the true vine. Each of us must answer two questions this morning. First, are we connected to the vine? Secondly, if we are connected to the vine and we are joined to Christ, then how much fruit are we producing through our lives; is there no fruit, some fruit, or an abundance of fruit? The title of my sermon, today, is ITS TIME TO CHOOSE. The sermonic text is taken from the book of John 15:4-6,8, and it says, (pause so the congregation can find the verses) "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you

bear fruit unless you remain in me. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. This is to my Fathers glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. Where has the choices that you've made in your life brought you knocking? Are you tied to this world and can't wait to get your hands on the next best thing? Are you so stressed with bills or schoolwork or children or friends that you can't seem to find time for God, let alone coming to church on time for Sabbath School? Where has your choices led you to live? Are you basking in the sunlight of our Great Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? Have you been washed by his life-changing blood? Are you robes free from crimson? Do you come to church in your nice suit and tie or your flowing dress pretending to live in a place that you don't? Today the main question we are trying to answer is "Where will you choose to live?" As Christians, these are very important questions. These are questions that we must always ask ourselves. If we claim that we are followers, where is the proof of it? We claim to be working, and to have a job. And we will show it, by paying bills and giving tithe and offering. We will go out to dinners and take international vacations. Where is your proof of being a christian? we claim that we are scholarly. We'll be the first to remind you that i went to 'such and such' school and here is my degree. We'll claim that we have connections with people in high places and show you pictures of people that we've met.

But can you, as a christian prove to me, that you have a connection with the Most High? The well-known phrase goes like this, "If you were arrested on the count of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to find you guilty?" The Bible explains that we are to be connected to the Father. And if we are truly connected to him, then we should be producing fruit in every aspect of our lives. When we are in connection with God, He gives us the strength to accomplish our goals. We are able to finish our classes with high marks; we are able to secure that well-paying job. We are able to make the right choices in terms of marital commitments. When we are connected to Christ we are able to make our marriages and relationships work. We are able to balance our budget and take care of our kids. We're able to help our church grow and support our youth. When we are connected to the Father, then the favor of God will be poured out on us, and all the promises that God has made you WILL come true. So you can begin to tell all your obstacles and problems to get out of your way, because the power of God is going to come through. [Remember] Isaiah 43:2-3 "When you pass through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when you walk through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. [3] For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior..."

When it seems that everything around you is failing, when everything you attempt to do becomes a mess, when you look around and no one not even your friends are there, God says that He will be with you. He will protect you. He will bring you through. So stop worrying. Stop crying. Stop complaining. Just stand still and witness the Mighty Power of God.

Everyone living in Jerusalem, and even those rough fishermen among the twelve who walked with Jesus knew that life flowed from the vine into the branches. So Jesus uses this common analogy around Jerusalem to bring further understanding to what He had said earlier. Therefore, Jesus is showing His disciples that He is the source of spiritual life. Jesus is the source of life. This a resource that is made available to us by the Holy Spirit when Jesus comes to dwell within your heart.

Are you connected to the vine? If you are not connected to Jesus through the forgiveness of your sin, if you have not let Jesus rescue you from drowning in a turbulent sea of sin, then you are as good as dead. The life you are living is empty and meaningless because your arent connected to the source of life.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal

life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NIV) The choice is yours. You can either stay the way you are, or you can choose to

be grafted into the life giving vine. All the other vines are lifeless; the branches have no real fruit because there is no life in the vine. But when you are connected to Jesus, suddenly everything will be made new and alive.

We live in a world, today, where the church sanctuaries are often filled. Here and there, you hear churches with hundreds and mega churches with even thousands of people in attendance. The number of attendance is not the issue that we will address in this sermon, but rather the condition of the hearts of those in attendance. So often we come to church for the wrong reasons: for personal blessings, for personal worship, for personal edification. But when God is moving in the church, personal blessings should be the farthest things on our hearts.

The large crowds that followed Jesus in his earthly ministry followed expecting their daily, physical needs to be met, whether the need was healing, miracles, or simply the daily physical bread needed for life. When we come and bask in the glory of God, accepting his blessings, without ever considering the needs of the lost and undone outside of the saving grace of Jesus, we are no different than the crowds that followed Jesus simply for what he could do for them. They lacked the simple relationship with Christ that could have saved their souls. They were so focused on looking good on the outside, that they forgot that their souls were dying on the inside.

Its the same thing that we do today. We believe that as long as we look like a Christian, God will bless us. As long as it seems were giving Him all the praises, Hell be happy. As long as I dont publicly tell this person off, God will see that Im trying to hold my tongue. The truth is that God will spit you out of his mouth, because you decided to straddle the fence. Have our churches become so full of Christians whos main concerns are hearing the Word, personal worship, personal blessings, that we forget the lost and undone outside the church? Is the House of God so full that the sinner can not get through to find Jesus? Are there any whos faith allows them to commit to the lost, knowing that if they can only get them to Jesus he will heal them? Will we continue to walk past the lost as we make our way to church? Jesus was clear in his teaching that personal blessings should be secondary to sharing our salvation with those who are outside the saving grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

1 Kings 18:21 says, Elijah went before the people and said, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." But the people said nothing.

This passage is taken from the story where Elijah is on Mount Carmel with 450 prophets of Baal, and hes taunting them about their idols. He asks the people

of God, the Israelites, who had often tried to believe in both God and Baal, why cant you just choose one god? If Baal is god, worship him. If Lord is God, worship him. This morning Im asking you the same question. If Money is God, worship it. If Power is God, worship it. If your Car is God, worship it. If your wife is God, worship her. If your husband, your man, your relationships is God, worship it. But if God, the creator of Heaven and Earth, the one who holds the stars in place, the one who gave you breath and a new name, the one who wipes your tears that no one sees, the only one that knows how you feel when youre all alone, if He is God, worship Him.

IT IS TIME THAT WE MAKE A DECISION. IT IS TIME TO CHOOSE, CHILDREN OF GOD. IT IS TIME TO CHOOSE.

Don't we have anything better to do than to come to church? There are chores to be done at home, books to be read, movies to see, games to watch, and web sites to surf. What motivates us to abandon the television and postpone a visit to the mall in order to worship?

I suspect that for some, the answer is "habit." And to tell the truth, not all habits are bad. And attending worship is a good spiritual habit. But some of us are here because it is our habit. But there is something lacking in that answer, because some time earlier in our lives, we didnt come to worship out of habit. We had to make the decision that this was a discipline we wanted to follow.

Some of us may come to worship because we are struggling with God. We are grieving or we are hurting. We are lost, or we are lonely. And our attendance at worship is part of our search for answers.

Still others may come to church against their will. You come here because your parents make you and they are bigger than you are. Or your wife made you come and maybe shes bigger than you are. Or maybe your girlfriend made you come here and if you want your life to go smoothly over the next day or two, giving into her about coming to church is the thing to do.

Do you go to church to see is an amazing service that will bless YOU? Do you come here because YOU have to sing for special music or lead out in worship? Are you here only because of the responsibilities and power you possess in your church? Or are you here because you already have an amazing relationship with God and you want God to comfort you from the storms of the week? Maybe you're here because you need to get close to like-minded individuals who are also seeking heaven as their home? Why are you here? Are you here because of religion? or Are you here because of a relationship?

2 TIMOTHY 4:2-5 says: 2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encouragewith great patience and careful instruction. 3For the time will come when men will not put up with true

doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

Our text paints for us what I believe is a very accurate picture of the times that we live in It gives us an example of what we are seeing everyday around us Even though Paul here is specifically speaking to Timothy, a preacher I believe this passage is also a relevant word for the body of Christ as a whole Even though Paul is trying to tell Timothy about the church folk of his day, I believe this scenario would fit comfortably right in the middle of some of our congregations today.

Many folks in the church are prime examples of what Paul was talking about. As I looked at this, I began to realize that many folks, today, in church, dont want to hear the Word. They just want to be entertained, Amused, and Pacified. They want to shout and holla for the preacher, but they cant tell you what he said. Ive discovered that these people have religion, but no relationship. They have gravy, but no meat. They've got the car, without the engine. The question that I want to ask is, Do You Have Religion Or Relationship? [Pause] Its an important question, but first you need to know

the difference between religion and relationship.

'Religion', from the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, is the ritual observance of faith and something one believes in and follows devotedly; a point or matter of ethics or conscience.

Basically, Religion is what you do over and over

'Relationship', also from the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, is a connection, association, or involvement, connection between persons by blood or marriage, and an emotional or other connection between people.

In essence, relationship is a connection, an association between you and something else. Relationship is the kinship that exists between you and someone else. Relationship is the camaraderie/ companionship that exists between you and those that you are close to.

And in order to have relationship, there must first be a fellowship. What Im trying to say is that you need more than just religion; you need more than just a habit. You need more than just rituals and practices that you follow on Sabbath morning. You need more than just a routine visit to the pulpit for intercessory prayer.

You need a relationship with God. You need to have that resurrection power that is available to you. The belief that if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can move mountains. The belief that God can do all things through you, if you just put your trust in him. You need to believe as it says in 1 John 4:4, "Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world." You need to be able to sing with all surety, "We have this hope that burns within our heart, Hope in the coming of the Lord. We have this faith that Christ alone imparts, Faith in the promise of His Word. You need to have that relationship in God, that gives you hope that one day, God will part the skies and return to the earth, with the blast of a trumpet to gather all his people, so we can spend eternity with him. You need a relationship with Jesus.

And so Paul paints for us in our text, a picture of what happens to those who only have religion and no relationship He explains to us that the problem of having only religion and no relationship leaves us with three major problems.
I. THEY REFUSE THE WORD: "For the time will come when men will not put

up with true doctrine." Weve entered into a time where people refuse to hear good sound biblical teaching. Well gather people around us that will tell us that if you do a few good deeds to balance the evil in your life, youll be alright. We gather people around that will tell us that its alright to adorn ourselves with jewelry. And instead of learning the Word, we get caught up in meaningless discussions and disputes that, in the end, lead nowhere.

But the Bible says (1 Pet 2:2) that we should be Like newborn babies, craving pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation The reason most folks cant progress in God is because they refuse to learn and live by His Word They want to stay on the basics and not delve off deep into the Word

II. THEY RELISH WHAT IS WRONG & III. THEY RUN FROM WISE COUNSEL:

"Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths."

The world pleases us too easily and simply doesn't fill us up. Nowadays, we want to find all types of answers in all the wrong places. We flock to conferences, seminars, and teachings just to get a word We buy tapes and books to get knowledge insight breakthroughs and revelation It is when you make God first, by reading His word, by talking to Him, by listening to Him, that God through His infinite love will pour out his blessings toward you.

We are easily impressed by theatrics, showmanship, charisma, intelligence, awards, power and fame of this world. God wants to give you a relationship and not just religion. He wants you to know Him and not just know of Him. And if youre going to have relationship instead of religion,

Youve got to do what Jesus did He Watched As they turned their backs on Him He Endured As they falsely accused Him He Did The Work Even while He hung on the Cross He Fulfilled His Ministry By giving His life so that we might live

God is looking for men and women who are willing to develop and maintain a meaningful, productive, and fruitful relationship with Him. Hes looking for people that will not cower in the face of opposition, people that will not sway or deviate from principles that are set forth in the Word. He needs those that will not bargain or sell their doctrine for a loaf of bread or a full days wages; ministers that will not become tired because of the persecution that will tossed and thrown at them. Christians that will not deny their relationship with God in front of their family, bosses, police officers, the President, or even Satan, if he were to appear here.

In closing, Im bringing back, the statement that Elijah made on Mount Carmel, to the people of God, 1 Kings 18:21 says, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." But the people said nothing. God Is looking for YOU, to repeat like the blessed Joshua, who on his death bed gave a final decree to the people of Israel, Now fear the LORD and

serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." It is important that we as children of God realize that we are not of this world we are set apart for greatness, membership in Gods kingdom. We dont need the accolades of this world to survive. We dont need most of what the world has to offer us but we need ALL that has God to offer us. Its time that we choose to rearrange our lives and secure our seat around the welcome table in heaven with Jesus Christ our Lord. Thank You and God bless.