Abiding in Christ part two
John 15:9-17
Good Morning Everyone- Glad you have joined us.
Please turn to John 15 as we continue the study part two of “Abiding in Christ” Finding our Connection with the Lord and with others.
Remember last week- The relationship and connection that Jesus has with the Heavenly Father is what He desires for each of us. He is the model of that relationship.
You have to understand that this passage is not about salvation because without salvation and a born again experience you cannot be connected with the Lord. That happens first and then a personal relationship
The Lord by Prevenient Grace will move you toward a relationship with him but you cannot connect without it. (Prevenient Grace is God making the first move)
There are a lot of people that believe that they know God but are not connected. They know of God but do not know God.
Jesus says in John 15: (1) - “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” (4) “Remain in me, and I remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.” (7) “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
Jesus says that if you are to have the relationship that Jesus has with the Father that you need to know Jesus-“ No man comes to the Father except through Jesus”-
If you know Jesus, you know the Father because they are one in Spirit. Connection-
Jesus will to do the work of the Father, and all who the Father gives Jesus will abide in Christ.
It seems like a play on words but it is not.
To know the Father is to know Jesus and to know Jesus is to be connected and doing kingdom work and if you are connected with Jesus, the Father will prune you and you will bear much fruit because you are connected and not doing things in your own strength but in the strength of the Lord and will be doing the will of the Father.
LIVE FOR HIM, SERVE HIM, AND DEPEND ON HIM EVERYDAY OF YOUR LIFE.
On Wednesday study, we looked at one verse for almost the whole hour- “My God will meet (supply) all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”
My God- personal relationship with Him
Supply- He knows your needs and desires to meet them
Glorious riches- kingdom riches found in Jesus Christ not your own personal talents, resources.
Personal God given talents are good but you are limited in them and with the Lord in His abundance is unlimited when we operate by abiding in Him!
Here is another verse to spend some time on if you are a believer from our text from last week.
“Apart from me you can do nothing.”
You want to find out if you are connected? - Are you doing things that are above your pay grade? Doing things above your own talents and resources?
Do you allow the Father to prune you and get rid of the dead branches or are you dead branches just waiting to fall off or be pruned?
When you are connected and your doing what the Lord tells you- he says (7) “ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
If we do not have this right, we cannot have a right relationship with each other.
Most people are mad at God, mad at other people and mad at themselves and then they wonder why their life is miserable.
You know what is the problem with most motivational speeches? They motivate but they do not tell you how to do what they are trying to motivate you to do! (Repeat)
If you do not do what you know to do it was just a motivational speech- wow…if what was said does not change the way you live- it did not accomplish anything of value.
We must understand what it is to abide in Christ-
The Origin of the Word “Abide”
Abide is an old English word for “remain,” “stay steady” and “keep your position.” What it means to abide in Christ—that is, always to be resting on him, anchored to him, fixed in him, drawing from him, continually connected and in touch with him—
We said last week, it was staying connected to the vine (Jesus) and allowing yourself to be pruned and used for God’s kingdom. So how do we do that?
How do I stay connected or abide in Christ?
J.C. Ryle -“To abide in Christ means to keep up a habit of constant close communion with Him–to always be leaning on Him, resting on Him, pouring out our hearts to Him, and using Him as our Fountain of life and strength, as our chief Companion and best Friend.
Illustration- Take out a branch- Hold it out in front of you and ask is this branch connected? No. it may be a branch but it has been disconnected from its life source.
Can I connect to anything but the vine or tree for life to be in this branch?
No. can I connect to baseball? Football? Dancing? Car racing? My Job? My Car? House?
No. Nothing wrong with any of those things but I have to be first connected to the vine before I can do all of those other things in His strength and in His blessings.
That’s what abiding in Christ looks like otherwise we are trying to connect to things that by themselves will not bring the life source that we need to survive.
Most people today are connecting but they are not first connecting to Jesus and they are spiritually dead trying to do things in their own strength.
To abide in Christ daily requires dependence upon the Holy Spirit in which we do three things:
Walk by faith
Spend focused time
Engage in intentional actions
Walk by faith (What does that mean?)
2 Corinthians 5:7
"For we walk by faith, not by sight."
The Good News: We must believe in things we do not always see. This is the test of true faith, and we will be rewarded in heaven
How do we walk by faith?
Walking by faith means living in a way that shows we confidently believe in God's promises, and this pleases God.
It means we don't just read passages of the Bible for comfort or reassurance, but we trust them enough to change our daily decisions at work, at school, and in our relationships based on what they say.
Spend focused time with the Lord
Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
James 4:8
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
John 15:1-5
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
If we only abide in Christ for our own salvation and our own source of strength is that abiding in Christ to the fullest?
Would that not be like just taking out fire insurance for ourselves- Thank God that I am saved and on my way to heaven and that I know the Lord as savior.
(8) “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
New command the Lord gives us as we are abiding in Him-
John 15:9-17 read from Bible
As the Father loves Jesus and Jesus loves us- We are to love others! (repeat)
To be “in Christ” means to have a new legal standing and a new relational orientation. We do not solely want to be made right with God—we want to be with God.
We are new creations in Christ, freed from sin and worldly pursuits to abide in him. And he gives us what we need to pursue this by giving us himself.
David, “Earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you?”
May the Holy Spirit spark in us a want for more of Christ.
May we yearn with holy urgency to know the depths and riches of the love of Christ, grasped through abiding.
Galatians 5:22-23 “but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.” That is the external fruit, that which can be observed by others. Yes, fruit-bearing is very applicable in this passage, but I believe there is more.
Be a clean vessel; be faithful; be a student of the word; wait on the Lord; hear the Master’s voice.
John 15:6 “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up, and they gather them and cast them into the fire and they are burned.”
TIE IT ALL TOGETHER:-
This teaching is all about fruit-bearing, not salvation.
It is the Father who tends to His branches in the Son.
Pruning is a necessary part of fruit increase.
It is absolutely imperative that we continue to abide/remain in the vine.
The word of God is fundamental to growth and productivity.
Bearing much fruit will glorify the Father and prove discipleship and commitment.
As well as abiding in the Vine, we must abide in Christ's love.
We abide in His love through feeding on His word and obeying His commandments.
“These things I have spoken to you that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”
As we close this morning. Let me share some thought from a preacher from the Spurgeon era- Sidlow Baxter
There are four aspects of union with Christ
Branches(5) Friends (15) servants (20) witnesses (27)
Branches- We live for Him
Friends- We have joy in Him
Servants- We work for Him
Witness- speak for Him
Branches- fruit-bearing because we are connected to the vine.
Friends- Fellowship
Servant- there will be times of persecution.
Witness- “Paraclete”, the Holy Spirit of God working in our lives.
Jesus branches bearing fruit- spiritual renewal. We pray for revival but isn’t revival about being revived and doing what the lord has called each of us to do. There has to be a balance. Some times the Lord renews us and sometimes He speaks so that we can be practical in our lives and line up to His Word.
To be connected to the Lord so close is essential. Abiding in Christ. The second part of that is to be so connected to Jesus that what is important to Jesus becomes important to you. Witnessing is spiritual renewal. Witnessing is a privilege and it is everyone of our responsibilities. So that every part of connection and union with Christ is active in your life.
Would you bow your head a moment- I am in a sanctuary with only a few people because of taping- but I know the Lord is here speaking to us. I pray on Sunday when I preach this message that He will again speak to hearts open to hear His words.
Are you connected? So close to Jesus that the same hurts He has for mankind are your hurts and you are willing to allow Him to speak to you everyday and will to have Him speak through you to others. A word of encouragement- a word of strength- a word of redirection- a word of Love-
Prayer-
