Victory in Jesus
I believe many Christians are living defeated lives, we have received our free gift of salvation but that abundant life seems to elude us.
Romans 10: 9-10
If you confess with our mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved. 10 for it is with your heart that you believe and are justified and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
If you have done this, then I believe that you are saved and will have eternal life with God in heaven.
Jesus came to teach us how to live a life of joy, happiness, love a happy life what is that song Joy unspeakable and full of Glory. That is the life that Jesus wants us to live now.
Suppose I could offer you a life that is guaranteed to give you….
a) JOY that is greater than any other
b) BLESSINGS like you have never thought about
c) HAPPINESS in its fullest measure
d) PEACE that surpasses all understanding
e) ASSURANCE of entering the everlasting kingdom of God
Would you be interested?
I cannot but Jesus does…!
a) He came to provide the way to an abundant life—JN;10-10
b) He shares with us the secrets to this life in His teachings—Jn;15:11
Through His teachings then we can find the secrets to the abundant life now !
JOHN 15; 1-8
I. THE SECRET OF LIVING IS BEARING FRUIT
Many want to ask what kind of fruit can we bear?
1) Winning souls to Christ and helping them to grow.
2) Sharing with those in need/ helping others.
3) Developing a Christ-like character/ becoming more like Jesus.
4) Praising God and giving thanks/ we must recognize the great things God has and continues to do for us. He touched everyone of us with life this morning.
These are the types of fruit that we can bear as branches of the true vine!
The Benefits of Bearing Such Fruit
1) Joy for those who win souls—There is no greater joy than knowing that you led someone to a relationship with Jesus and knowing that you helped snatch someone out of the torments of Hell and the grip of satan!
2) Happiness for those that share with others – Act 20:35 Jesus says that it is more blessed to give than receive.
3) Assurance for those who develop a Christ-like character --- II Peter 1; 10 b: if you do these things you shall never fail.
4) Peace for those given to praise and thanksgiving --- Phi 4; 6-7 Do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your request to God and the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your mind in Christ Jesus
And what is the Secret? Being a branch of the True vine (JESUS)and bearing fruit! But Jesus also shares the secret of bearing fruit
II. THE SECRET OF BEARING FRUIT IS ABIDING
Note the use of the word “ABIDE”
1) Jesus uses the word ABIDE 10 times -- Jn 15 ; 4—10
2) We must abide in Him and He in us, to bear fruit
3) Without Him, we can do nothing.
4) The Secret of bearing fruit is abiding in Christ -- Jn 15; 5
But does Jesus also reveal the Secret to abiding in Him? You bet He does!
III. THE SECRET TO ABIDING IS OBEYING!
a. Obeying the commandments of Jesus…..
i. By keeping His commands we abide in His love – Jn 15 ; 10
ii. By keeping His commands we will be his friends – Jn 15 ; 14
The creator of the universe wants to be our friend. The closer you
Come to being Gods friend the more you will care about the things He cares about. Draw close to God and God will draw close to you.
iii. By keeping His commands we abide in Him – 1 Jn 3 ; 24,
Those who obey His commands live in Him, and He in them. And this is how we know that He lives in us; we know it by the spirit He gave us.
To be successful in obeying His commands requires the right motivation!
IV. THE SECRET OF OBEYING IS LOVING
There are three different reasons people obey.
1) We obey because we have to! (The Fear Factor)
a. In order to avoid punishment. The mafia approach
b. Like a child who obeys his parents to keep from getting a whooping.
2) We can obey because we need to, because we will get something out of it (the selfishness approach)
a. In order to get what we want.
b. Like children who obey their parents to get to spend the night off of get a toy.
3) We can obey because we want to (out of Love)
a. Because we love the person we obey them
b. Like mature children who obey their parents out of love. People often obey Jesus because they feel like they need to or have to.
Jesus wants us to obedient out of love….
1) He appeals to our sense of love -=- Jn 14 : 15, 23
15 If you love me you will obey my command
23 if anyone love me he will obey my teachings
2) He knows that without love our obedience will falter.
3) The secret of true obedience is loving.
Those who obey because they want to out of love for Jesus and their brethren, will assemble at every opportunity.
Why do we obey Jesus? Have we matured to obeying Jesus out of love?
When true love moves us to obey, we will abide in Jesus and bear fruit through our relationship with Him, resulting in the abundant life He offers.
But what is the Secret to having a true love for Jesus…?
V. THE SECRET OF LOVING IS KNOWING
This should be Self – Evident..
1) Love between husband and wife is based on knowledge and understanding.
2) Longtime friendships are based on knowing each other pretty good.
3) Brother and sisters in Christ our love for one another grows as we make an effort to get to know each other better.
Should we expect it to be any different with Jesus absolutely not! Folks we have more in common with Jesus than we think we are made in their image the bible tells us this.
The more we know Jesus, The more we will love Him….
1) Especially as we grow in understanding His love for us – Jn ; 15, 13
2) We are more likely to walk in love, if we know His love for us --- Eph : 5, 2a
Live a life of love just a Christ loved us
3) If you will increase your knowledge of Jesus, your love for Jesus will increase!
THE SECRET OF KNOWING JESUS IS READING
This is also Self – Evident
1) It is just like our Humanly relationships
a. Where there is communication, relationships grow.
b. Where there is no communication relationships fall apart
2) Even more so with our relationship with God and Jesus
a. The more we communicate the better we know
b. And how does Jesus communicate with us? Through His word!
The only reliable source for Jesus words is the Bible
The more we read the better we know Jesus
As simple as it sounds, bible reading is the most important thing to achieving the abundant life
A. By reading we come to know
B. By knowing we come to Love
C. By loving we come to obey
D. By obeying we come to abide
E. By abiding we come to bear fruit
F. By bearing fruit we experience the Abundant life
Yet many Christians neglect the word of God
a. Even though its value in bearing fruit is seen even in ps 1 : 1-3
b. How sad when we have the full revelation of the New Testament.
c. Neglecting the word of God is why many Christians live defeated lives
In Jn 15 : 11 we find Jesus saying
These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full
My purpose for sharing these secrets is the same
1) Every person ought to be filled with the Joy of Christ
2) Jesus wants all of us as His friends to live the Abundant life that only He can give
Listen to the words that Jesus spoke, they are only reviled in the word of God, the bible
If you will read your bible daily and praise God even when you are going through tough time it will start a chain reaction that will truly lead to an abundant life