The Bear Family
John 15:8 (KJV)
8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
Introduction
You Have heard of the Three Bears Story: The Papa Bear, The Mamma Bear, and The Baby Bear.
2182. The Bible "Bear" Family
A little girl was sent by her sick mother to church, and to listen carefully so she could tell mother what the preacher talked about. When she returned, she gleefully reported that the minister had preached on The Three Bears: the first bear, the cross bear, and the image bear. That was all she could remember.
Transition
When you turn to the Bible you will find some Bible Bears.
Today i want to talk about three Bible Bears.
Thinking about it, are you a part of the Bear Family?
I- The Fruit Bear.
John 15:8 (KJV)
8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
9222. Jonathan Appleseed
One of the men we might thank for spreading the apple tree in America was Jonathan Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed. Many people think Johnny was merely a legendary figure, but he lived, indeed. Born in Massachusetts around 1775, Chapman set out alone into the unexplored wilderness that is now Ohio, Indiana, and western Pennsylvania, with a sack of apple seeds he’d collected from cider mills. Wherever he went, he planted apple seeds, and retraced his paths to prune the trees he’d planted. Before he died in 1846, he covered more than 100,000 square miles with apple trees!
—Richard Manchester
Application:
The more Gospel Seed you sow the more fruit you bear.
II- The Cross Bear:
Luke 14:27 (KJV)
27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
2169. California Redwoods
Tourists to California stand in awe and admiration of the redwood tree. Something unusual happens when this giant of the forest dies or is cut down. For years sightseers in Muir’s Woods near San Francisco were shown the stump of a tree which was a sapling at the time of Solomon. From this dead stump of the old tree a number of young redwoods were growing. It is peculiar to the redwood that it does not produce any young trees until it dies. At the death of one, a number of smaller ones spring up around it, getting their start and their nourishment mostly from the dead stump.
What a reminder this is of the tree of the cross. It was a tree of death which became a tree of life. It had to die first before it could give life. But once cruel men had cut down Christ by crucifixion and had buried Him, He sprang forth and countless other Christians sprang forth
Application:
Are you a sprout from the stump of the Cross?
All Christians are sprouts from the stump of the Cross.
2179. Many Lovers, Few Cross-Bearers
Jesus hath now many lovers of His kingdom, but few bearers of His cross.
He hath many desirous of consolation, but few of tribulation.
He finds many companions of His table, but few of His abstinence.
All desire to rejoice with Him; few are willing to endure anything for Him or with Him.
Many follow Jesus unto the breaking of bread, but few to the drinking of the cup of His passion
Application:
The Disciples followed Jesus to the breaking of the bread.
The Disciples deserted Him in drinking the cup.
Jesus drunk the cup alone.
III- The Witness Bear:
John 15:27 (KJV)
27 And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.
14599. "Go To Hell, Then"
Dr. Len G. Broughton, for years pastor of the Tabernacle Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia, told the following incident: "In my church, there was a half-witted young man. To be sure, he ’had zeal without knowledge.’ However, he did have a sincere desire to see souls saved. Once, when I was making an appeal for souls at the close of my sermon, this half-witted young man quietly drew up alongside a well-dressed young man, and asked him, "Do you want to go to heaven?" Bluntly, the one approached barked out, "NO!" "Go to hell, then!" said the half-witted young man as he walked away.
God’s Holy Spirit used the sincere effort of that young man to awaken the slumbering soul of that haughty sinner, and, ere long, he chose Christ as his Savior, and heaven as his eternal home.
14596. Elevator Boy’s Surprise
Dr. T. C. Horton entered an elevator one day and called for the floor at which he wished to stop. Always ready to seize an opportunity to tell what God had done for a world of lost sinners, he turned to the elevator boy, and asked, "Are you bound for Heaven or hell?" "I don’t know," the startled young man replied. When the desired floor was reached, the elevator stopped, and the door was opened.
But Dr. Horton made no move to go. The elevator boy waited a moment, and then said to him, "Why don’t you go? The door is open." "So is the door of Heaven," answered Dr. Horton, walking out, and leaving the young man to make the very obvious application.
—Sunday School Times
Conclusion
Where are you in the Bear Family?
Are you a Fruit Bear?
Are you a Cross Bear?
Are you a Witness Bear?
Are you a member of the Bear Family?
Invitation
Come and be saved to be a part of the Bear Family.
Come and confess sin in your life to Bear Fruit, Cross, and Witness.
