Read Romans 11:17-21
God’s people have always been a mix of genuine believers and non believers or half hearted believers. When Jesus returns and ushers in the New Creation the people of God will be purified and only genuine believers will be in the church. Until then, we must persevere with both genuine and not so genuine believers.
When the people of God left slavery in Egypt some Egyptians joined them. When they wandered through the desert some trusted God and some did not. In fact, Hebrews 4:1-3 tells us that the message of God was not combined with faith. The people of God consisted of faithful and unfaithful people. The New Testament Church is no different. It is made up of the faithful and the not-so-faithful.
This is clearly illustrated by Paul in the olive tree illustration. There are clearly two types of branches - believing branches and unbelieving branches. Certain branches in that olive tree were broken off because of unbelief.
Jesus, in John 15, tells a similar parable but uses a grape vine rather than an olive tree. Jesus teaches that every branch that does not bear fruit will be cut off (15:1). Such branches are thrown into the fire and are burned (15:6). Branches that do bear fruit are pruned (15:2) so that they bear even more fruit. Bearing in mind that true faith bears fruit, we can see the parallel to the olive tree illustration in Romans 11.
The hardening of Israel could be seen as the cutting off of dead branches and the pruning of fruit bearing branches so that the tree bears much more fruit.
However we should also realise that our being grafted into the olive tree should not cause us to be proud or arrogant or to look down our noses at others. We should never think that we Christians are inherently better than any other person in the world. We are all made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27). The proper response is to lovingly reach out to the world and to have a healthy fear of God (Romans 11:20). We are to continue in God’s kindness (11:22)
God’s plan has always been to grow a beautiful olive tree flourishing and bearing much fruit, bringing glory to Himself. The plan was always to have Jew and Gentile grafted onto one root, bringing glory and honour to God together. In the New Creation God’s church will still be a mix of people but not a mix of believers and unbelievers. In the New Creation, people from every nation, tribe and tongue will gather around the throne and around the Lamb to sing eternal praises to our God.
Prayer:
Having read today’s passage and notes jot down various prayer points in each:
Adoration:
Confession:
Thanks:
Supplication:
¨ Pray that God would bring to conversion any non believers in your church. Pray that you personally would have opportunity to share Jesus with them and to help them make a firm decision to follow Jesus.
¨ Pray that the youth and children in your church would be surely converted to Christ and that they would grow and mature in Him. Pray that God would raise up mature leadership for the youth and children.
Worship Moment:
Nothing detracts more from God’s glory and honour than arrogance and pride. The Lord hates these. We must always remember that we are in God’s presence because of His grace, not because we deserve to be there.
1. Given that God’s people always have had both believers and non believers in it, what does this mean for your church in the way that it operates?
2. What does it imply for the way the church conducts its Sonday services?
3. What does it imply for the way leadership and ministry positions are filled?
Intro: There are two basic groups of people in the church. I wonder if we can work out those two types.
Read John 15:1-17
What two types of branches are revealed by Jesus?
What are the characteristics of each?
What happens to each branch?
What type of branch does Jesus want us to be?
What type of fruit bearing is mentioned in these verses?
Pray together that you would be a fruit bearing branch that bears much eternal fruit.
Intro: There are two basic groups of people in the church. I wonder if we can work out those two types.
Read John 15:1-17
What two types of branches are revealed by Jesus?
What are the characteristics of each?
What happens to each branch?
What type of branch does Jesus want us to be?
What type of fruit bearing is mentioned in these verses?
Pray together that you would be a fruit bearing branch that bears much eternal fruit.
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