“The Abiding Christian”

What Kind of Christian Are You? Sermon Series

“The Abiding Christian” (Part #4)

KEY PASSAGE: John 15:1–11(NASB)

And so, Father, we ask that You come now and take residence in this church, take residence in our hearts, and we pray that You bless the rest of this Sunday Service. Bless this church so we can be a blessing to this community. And for that, we give You all the glory and honor. We commit this church into Your hands, and we ask this in the name of Jesus, [We pray] Amen. You may be seated.

TITHE and OFFERING

We will call on the ushers to pass around the plates to collect our tithes and offerings. Please follow the instructions on the screen on how to give to the church. The worship team will lead us with a song as we collect our tithes and offerings.

WELCOME

Please stand up, greet some folks around you, and welcome them to worship. We welcome you [all] again to our Sunday Worship Service and are glad to have you in God’s house. Our first-time visitors, please stand so we can see you. We also welcome all who join us online.

ANNOUNCEMENT

· Our Church Leadership Meeting is on Saturday, December 21st at noon. To all our church leaders, please take note of the date and time.

· Wednesday Night [Remember] is our Bible Study Connect at 7:00 p.m. Please join us on Wednesday night to STUDY [and NAVIGATE] THE WORD OF GOD. We will finish the Book of Romans at the end of this year and start with the Book of First Corinthians in January 2025.

· Our next Corporate Prayer Meeting is Saturday, January 4th at 8:00 a.m.

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

Bow with me in prayer as we ask God’s blessing.

Dear Father, we long to carry on what You have declared here in this passage. We long to allow the Spirit of God [Now that] He has taken residence within us to reveal love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and gentleness. Father God, we long for our souls to be healthy so that these qualities will flow out of our lives. So that they will encourage others, touch them where they are hurt, strengthen them where they are weak, and minister to them when they feel the weight of life pressing upon them. Help us, our Father, to live in such a way that we, in fact, represent Christ to others so that it will truly be well with our souls. We long for that. We pray for that. How good [You are] [to provide] for us and our needs? Thank You for meeting the needs of this church. You never fail to meet our needs. How encouraging that is to us, and we “Thank You” for that. We give today because we love to participate in what is involved in supporting a ministry. To be here for others and minister to others. Bless these gifts, and remind us, Father, that Your grace is always abundant, and Your mercy is new every morning. We worship You, filled with gratitude in the name of Jesus. We pray and give. Everyone says Amen.

DECLARATION of FAITH in GOD

Let us stand and say the Declaration of Faith in God together.

SERMON INTRODUCTION

We are studying a sermon series called “What Kind of Christian Are You?” And our goal for this series is to see God give us something more. To have a supersized experience with God and not merely [just] a regular ordinary one, but more like an extraordinary one. We have looked at some positives and negatives of the kind of Christian you could be. We talked about the Carnal Christian and the Worldly Christian, but we also talked about the Spiritual Christian, which I hope you will see as positive. [And] Today, I want to [talk to you about] the “Abiding Christian.” And if you and I [Will] hear what the Word of God says to us, “Abide in Me,” then you are on your way to being an “Abiding Christian.”

In one of the poetic sections [passages] in the Scriptures, St. John, Chapter 15. Jesus uses His favorite word more than any other time in the Scripture, [the word] ‘abiding.’ Some ten times in these eleven verses of John Gospel, Chapter 15, Jesus speaks to us about the concept of abiding (or remaining) in Him, which has to do with the intimacy of the relationship.

Why is abiding so critical to the life of a Christian? What is the key to this word, and what does it mean in our lives and our relationship with God? Remember, this passage is not talking about salvation but about fruit-bearing. This passage is talking about the result of your salvation. The concern of abiding is in the word ‘fruitfulness’; notice what Jesus says in verse 2, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it might bear more fruit.” He says in verse 8, “My Father is glorified in this, that you bear much fruit.” The concern [Jesus raised] of abiding is fruitfulness, and fruitfulness means spiritual productivity. It [has to do with] what is produced from your life [in the same way that] a tree produces fruit.

“In Me,” that is, in Christ, is what it means to be saved. There are tremendous theological words like propitiation, reconciliation, and redemption that cover particular phases of salvation, but the entire spectrum of salvation is in the phrase “In Christ.” There are two groups of people: those who are in Christ and those who are not in Christ. And so, how do you get in Christ? By the new birth. When you trust Christ as Savior, you become a child of God through faith. You are born again by the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit does something extraordinary – He indwells in you and baptizes you. This [is what] makes every believer a part of the Body of Christ—Jesus says in verse 2, “Every branch in Me.” This passage is directed to believers, [to folks] who are already in Christ Jesus.

SERMON EXPOSITION

Jesus [is talking] about fruit-bearing, and fruit is mentioned six times in the first ten verses. Fruit bears three fundamental characteristics. First, fruit always reflects the character of the tree. In other words, you expect to see apples if the tree is an apple tree. If the tree is [an orange tree], you [expect] to see oranges. If [the tree] is a pear tree, you expect to see pears because you expect the fruit to reflect the character of the tree of which it is a part.

The second thing you need to know about the fruit is that… Fruit is always visible. Have you ever seen an invisible fruit? Never. Fruit is visible; fruit is something you see; fruit is not a hidden reality. You know it is an orange tree because you see oranges, reflecting the tree’s character of which it is a part. Thirdly, fruit is always for the benefit of another. If you see fruit-eating itself, it is rotten. Fruit that eats itself is rotten [fruit].

The whole point of a fruit is so that somebody else can eat the fruit. Jesus says in John 15, “My concern is your fruit-bearing.” That means … His concern is that we reflect the character of the tree we are part of. In other words, we look like Jesus. [Watch This] Jesus is the tree, and we are the fruit, so we must look like the tree from which the fruit comes; we must reflect the character of Jesus.

We are not secret agent Christians—spiritual CIA representatives. We must be visible. It should not be a secret; if you were accused on your job of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you, or would you be found innocent of all charges because it is not visible? One of the ways you know you are producing fruit is that other folks want to take a bite out of your life. Other people want to emulate you, [follow you], and be like you because you look just like Jesus. ][You talk like Jesus]. Fruit has to do with the productivity that comes from your life due to your relationship with Jesus Christ. Who are you? Who am I? What are we, individually and as a church? What are we producing?

SERMON EXPLANATION 1

Jesus sets the stage in verse 1 by saying, “I am the vine, my Father is the vinedresser and then every branch in Me.” So, this passage works with three realities. We have the Gardener, the Vinedresser, [That is God], the Father. We have the Vine, that is Jesus. And then, we have every branch in Me, that is, you and me. That is the Christian. The Christian is the branch, Jesus is the Vine, and the Father is the Gardener. His principle is, “The Father, the Gardener, takes care of the vine, and “I” [Jesus] take care of the branches!” This concept is [important] because it tells you how our Christian life is designed to work. H

1 Timothy 2:5 says, “There is one mediator between God and man, and that is the man Christ Jesus.” [The job of Jesus] is to deliver from the Father what we need as the saints. Because the branches are in Jesus, and He is in the Father … The Father takes care of the Vine; [and] the Vine takes care of the branches. So, when He says, “Every branch in Me,” [Jesus is referring] to Christians. [Watch This] His goal is to increase productivity, from no fruit—to fruit—to more fruit—[to] much fruit [in the life of a Christian]. The whole idea here is “fruit-bearing.” And in verse 16, Jesus talks about “Remaining fruit.”

God wants to expand your productivity so that you reflect more of Christ’s character as a visible representation. When you reflect more [of] Christ’s character, more people will want to take a bite out of your life—[because] of fruitfulness! The goal of abiding is spiritual productivity, which means maximizing our spiritual potential as followers of Jesus Christ.

[And Then] In verse 4, Jesus says, “Abide in Me.” In Greek, that is an imperative, not a request. The key word here is abide. Jesus is not asking you and me to abide; He is telling us to [abide]. The Greek word abide comes from the word men-o [μένω]. And that Greek word means to stay, remain, and hang out. To abide in Christ means to keep in fellowship with Christ so [That] His life can work in and through us to produce much fruit. And this involves the Word of God and the confession of sin so that nothing hinders our communion with Jesus. To abide also means to obey God because we love Him. To abide is where you are hanging out with Jesus . Jesus says I want you to “Hang out with Me.”

Jesus does not have a visiting or long-distance relationship with you because some folks are here, and this is just a visit. Jesus will not see you until next Sunday. And if Jesus doesn’t see you until next Sunday, you don’t abide in Him; you [just] visit Him. [Every] now and then, you visit Jesus and [give Him permission] to visit you. And that is the surest way not to experience Jesus. Ten times Jesus said, “Abide in Me.”

SERMON ILLUSTRATION 1 and STORY

We must abide in Jesus daily. There is a story about Charles Spurgeon, an English Baptist preacher who remains highly influential among Christians of various denominations today. Mr. Spurgeon was walking one day when he stopped in the middle of the street, removed his hat, and prayed to God. One of his deacons saw what was happening, and the deacon asked Mr. Spurgeon why he stopped in the middle of the road and prayed. Mr. Spurgeon said that a cloud had come between him and His Lord Jesus Christ, and he wanted to remove the cloud. So, he had to stop to confess his sinful thoughts. We must confess our sins to the Lord to abide in Him and stay in constant communion [and fellowship] with Christ Jesus.

SERMON EXPLANATION 2

Jesus says, “If you want to experience Me at a much deeper, much richer … If you want to supersize your experience with Jesus, you must “abide in Him.” You must remain and hang out with Jesus. One of the reasons why we are not experiencing more of God is that we do not carry on this ongoing connection and intimacy with God, where everything we do is done in the sphere of God’s presence. In other words, we operate with Jesus in mind, where Jesus is not just the place I go; He is a relationship I can’t [get away from]. One of the greatest hindrances to experiencing God is religion because you think you have done your duty when you go to church every Sunday or when you say “Grace.” That is a visitation.

SERMON ILLUSTRATION 1

Jesus is after this ongoing connection and intimacy. I am sure most of you here drink tea. There are two ways to drink tea; some people are [dippers]. Up and down, up and down, up and down, up and down. So, you dip the tea bag into the hot water, and [by the way], that is a lot of work! Your elbow goes up and down like an “up and down pendulum clock.” You use your hand to get a spoon; you put the spoon under the bag and then wrap the tea bag string around the spoon. Then, you take your finger and push it down on the tea bag on the spoon until you get it right. That is a dipper tea drinker, and this is a lot of work.

The other kind of tea drinker is the [abider]. They drop the tea bag in hot water and let it hang out in the water. They allow the tea bag to stay in the hot water and don’t mess with it. They let the hot water get into the bag and the bag into the hot water. The bag abides in the hot water, then water starts abiding in the bag, and the two start abiding in each other. And when the tea bag hangs out long enough in the hot water, the water changes. There is a change in the water.

Many of God’s people today dip in on Sunday morning, and then they dip back out. They dip in on Wednesday Night Bible Study, and then [they dip] back out. They may take five minutes and dip into the Bible during the week, then dip back out; that is a visitation. God says, “I am commanding you not to visit Me, but to abide with Me. That is, make Me part of the totality of your life, not just this category called religion. I want to be part of your family life, I want to be part of your parenting, I want to be part of what it means to be a husband and wife, I want to be part of your finances, I want to be part of your priorities, and God is saying I want to be a part of everything in your life. DON’T VISIT ME! God says I command you to abide with Me.”

Jesus says, “Abide in Me.” This comes through abiding by intimate, unrestricted, and unbroken connection. Jesus wants His name to be brought into every aspect of your life. That is what the Bible means [by] praying without ceasing in First Thessalonians 5:17. It doesn’t mean you should get on your knees and stay on your knees for twenty-four hours a day. It just means to bring Jesus up in everything.’ When you pray, think, talk, walk, and drive, you keep mentioning mentioning [the name of Jesus]. When situations come up, you say, “Jesus, what do You think about this situation or this problem?” You keep bringing Jesus into everything—that is abiding!

SERMON EXPLANATION 3

Jesus says, ‘When you stay connected to Me in an unbroken way and I in you”, verse 4, “as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.” He said it the stronger in verse 5, “I am the vine, you are the branches, he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit for” [here it is] “Apart from Me you can do nothing.” That is one of the strongest statements in the Bible. “If you don’t abide, you will do nothing.” What does He mean, ‘do nothing’? In other words, you won’t produce spiritual fruit. He says, “You can do nothing.” In other words, anything you do won’t give that leaf life because you have been disconnected from life source. If [the only intimacy you have with God] is two hours on Sunday morning, that is not abiding. You have disconnected too long from God. He says, “Abide in Me; without Me, you can do nothing, and your Christian life won’t work because you have become disconnected.”

Jesus gives us three results of abiding, three things that will happen when you take this abiding, this intimacy with God as a way of life. Not as a visitation, a church service, or a program. We don’t need more programs at our church; we need more relationships and [intimacy] with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. The first thing that will happen to a believer is MAXIMUM productivity. In verse 8, “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.” [Watch This] God doesn’t want some fruit, He doesn’t want little fruit, He doesn’t want more fruit … He says, “I get glorified when I see much fruit. I see apples all over the place, oranges all over the place, pears all over the place, and much fruit. Your Christian life is just popping out much fruit. Your characteristics are just jumping out of your life. It is much fruit; you have become a fruitful Christian!” You have become an abiding Christian. That is what Jesus wants from you and me. That is why when a person joins a church, we encourage them to serve in the church so they can bear much fruit. You MAXIMIZE your productivity.

Abiding in Christ will produce effectual prayer. And so, the second result is answered prayer in verse 7, “If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish [Ask whatever you desire], and it will be done for you.” He says abiding results in answered prayer. One of the ways you know you have an abiding relationship with God is [you are] seeing more ‘yesses’ to your prayers. “If you abide in Me and I abide in you, ask Me whatever you will, and it will be done.” Some of us haven’t even seen an answered prayer… we don’t even know what an answered prayer looks like.

How does abiding answer more prayers? Jesus abides in the Father perfectly; the Father has never told Jesus, “No!” except on the Cross. Other than on the Cross, that is the only ‘NO’ Jesus has ever heard from His Father. In Matthew 27:46, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” That is the only time God told Jesus “No,” and [that is] because He was bearing our sins. That was the only ‘no’ Jesus ever heard in eternity from His Father.

For those who have been married for a long time, there are many things you don’t even have to ask your mate for because you know what they will say. You know what they will say because you have known each other over time, so you know their thinking. When we abide in Christ, [hang out with Christ], we become conformed to Christ and learn His thinking. And Jesus says [answered prayer] becomes the result of abiding in Me.

Thirdly, in verse 11, “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be full.” When you abide in Jesus, you get joy despite the circumstances. What is Joy? Joy is a celebration of the soul; it is where your soul is celebrating. Do you know what the Bible says in Hebrews Chapter 12, verse 2? It says, “ Looking only at Jesus, the originator [the author] and perfecter [the finisher] of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” The cross means Jesus is ‘getting’ ready to be crucified. “For the joy set before Him, He [was able to] handle the Cross.” How do you know when you have joy? When you [are celebrating] on the inside, even when you are crying on the outside. That is how you know that is not nothing but God.

Because in light of what you are dealing with on the outside and that is driving you to tears— You should be miserable on the inside, but for the JOY set before Jesus, He could handle the Cross. That is when you know God is showing up. And when you are having a party in your soul and [you know] nothing is going right in your circumstances. That means GOD is showing you what Jesus had to deal with when facing the Cross!

FAITH APPEAL, CALL to ACTION and ALTAR CALL

Jesus says that is the result of abiding! That is how you know God is real. It is like when God gives you a volcanic eruption in the soul, and nothing seems to be going your way. You lost your job, and you are still celebrating and at peace with God. The doctor gave you [a bad] report, and God still gives you joy in your soul. When the economy is going down, there is a celebration in your soul because guess what? It is not your joy; Jesus says, “My joy may remain in you, and [that your] joy may be full.”

Jesus is simply saying to you and me, “If you abide in Me even when the circumstances are not your preference, I [have the ability to] give you My experience in your situation. Abide in Me and let My Word abide in you! And you can experience Me at a new level!”

My challenge to you, me, us … as a church [collectively], today, is to be known as abiders, [An Abiding Christian] [An Abiding Church], not visitors, not just folks who show up on Sunday to church, or maybe on Wednesday night to Bible Study, or read a verse in the Bible to keep the devil away, but who include Jesus Christ in every aspect of life. Who brings Jesus to bear in every circumstance—and then He says, “I will let what My Father gives Me to flow through Me into you so that you bear fruit—more fruit, much fruit and remaining fruit … and you will get to see My reality, and you get a super-sized experience with the Living and True God!” God bless you.

[A lot of] people today exist, but they don’t feel like they are living. The [good news of the gospel] is that Jesus came to give you life. That is the experience of God’s reality operating within you. And that is what the Bible calls eternal life. And so, God gives you heaven as a location, but then He gives you eternal life as an experience. And He gives it to you for free. That is what grace is all about – it is a gift from God to you. You can’t earn it; you can’t buy it. And you can’t be religious enough to get it, but you can receive it. And so, God offers you the opportunity right now to receive forgiveness for your sins and the [free] gift of eternal life, which will set in motion a whole lifelong experience of growing in the knowledge of God. So, if you don’t know Jesus, I encourage you to come to Jesus right now and accept the [free] gift of eternal life. I want you to come up so we can pray for you. If you are here today and need prayer, please come forward so we can pray for you.

Let’s stand on our feet, everyone.

BENEDICTION [CLOSING PRAYER]

Let us pray.

Father, we pray that if there are any in our midst today whose Christianity is a mask of ungodliness, whose Christianity is not [real], who are not abiding in You, they are attached on the outward and detached on the inward. Oh, Father, I pray today that they might become true Christians [they might become “Abiding Christians”] before they become so hardened and indifferent and pretend to be that they can no longer make a choice. Father, speak to our hearts; soften [our hearts] and draw us close to You, and we will be known as Abiding Christians and an Abiding Church. Teach us how to live in conformity to Your Word and teach us how to abide in You. May we [bring our lives into harmony] with what You want us to be. If anyone here today has never yet believed and received the perfect gift of salvation provided on the cross, may they come today and accept Jesus Christ. May our hearts rejoice with them for the new birth that occurs today, and we commit them to you and ourselves in Christ’s name, we pray. And everyone says, “Amen.”

God bless you. We will see you next week at 10:30 a.m.