Abiding in Christ II

Introduction:

We prove to be His disciples by the fruit we produce. The fruit is produced from our abiding in Him. The fruit we produce reveals the source from which it is derived. The fruit we produce is lasting fruit, not fading fruit. The fruit produced by abiding in Christ is expectant prayers, loving obedience, and fullness of His Joy.

Fruitful Abiding: Love in Action

Bible Passage: Jn 15:7–12

Big Idea:

True Disciples of Jesus Christ abide in Him, the true vine, in an intimate personal relationship that is life giving and producing the fruit of expectant prayers, loving obedience, and fullness of joy.

1. Disciples who abide in Jesus Christ words: Pray Expectantly

John 15:7–8 “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”

John 16:14–15 “He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

These words of Jesus in Chapter 16 make explicit what Jesus is saying to His disciples here in John 15:7-8.

John 15:7–8 ESV

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

To abide in Christ is to hear His words declared to us by the Holy Spirit. His words of course we can be certain of as the ones we have captured for us in the New testament.

To hear these words we begin to see more clearly Jesus. This is why Paul prays as he does for Christ’s disciples in Ephesus. Ephesians 1:17–23 “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”

Paul prays again in Ephesians 3:14–21 “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

As we abide in Him we pray with expectancy! Abiding defines our prayers and if we are not abiding we will not pray with expectant hearts. If we are abiding in Christ we pray with expectancy!

“ASK WHATEVER WE “WISH” AND IT WILL BE GRANTED US!

What has occured as we have abiding in His words? What has occured as the Spirit declared and divulged to us Jesus Christ’s words?

We have come to want and will differently! We pray with a transformed set of wants, and willing. Jesus knows biding in Him produces the fruit of a new willing and wanting! So he can then say to us “Ask whatever you wish (thelo, Boulema and Eudokia) and it will be granted”

Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 25.1 θέλω; θέλησις, εως

Wanting, desiring, and wishing are essentially psychological events or states and accordingly are most frequently expressed in languages by verbs. “to feel or have a desire for, want strongly.

It is rendered into English in 1 Corinthians 12:18 “But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.”

Another example is Hebrews 2:4 “while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.”

Abiding branches produce much fruit through prayers that are shaped by Jesus’ words!

Prayers shaped by Jesus’ words will glorify God.

ILLUSTRATION:

The story of the early church in Acts shows us how the apostles gathered together in prayer and devotion to the apostles teaching “Christ’s words”. Their expectant prayers led to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which filled them with joy and empowered them for ministry. When we choose to abide in Christ, just as they did, we too will experience His fruit of asking the Father and the father glorifying the Son in answering His prayers.

2. Disciples who abide in Jesus Christ Love: Love to Obey His Commands

John 15:9–10 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.”

Abiding branches obey Jesus’ commands through knowing and seeing His love (and the Father’s).

When you abide/remain in Jesus you are not living in a way that disrupts your fellowship with Jesus. Obedience/fulfilling to His will keeps us in fellowship and as we saw in our first point we come to want, desire that will as we abide in His words.

You will experience His love as you abide in Jesus. When your conscience is clear you will experience His love. You will remain in that experience of His love. This is why Jesus says obey my commandments because he know it keeps us in fellowship with Him and keeps our consciences clear.

When your conscience is not clear you will doubt His love. It is not that He doesn’t love you when its not clear it is you just won’t experience it!

Remaining/abiding in His Love is trusting in the certainty of it. We must believe that all that comes into our lives is under His sovereign authority and is an expression of His love. We need our faith to be like the Centurion in Matthew 8:8–11 “But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,”

C. H. Spurgeon said, “ Beloved, you do not, dare not, could not, doubt the loe of the Father to His Son. It is one of those unquestionable truths about which you never dreamed of holding an argument. Our Lord would have us place His love to us in the same category with the Father’s love to Himself. We are to be as confident of the one as the other.”

What kind of love? It was eternal love with no beginning no ending. It was close and personal.

It was without measure.

It was a love that laid down His life for us while we were HIS ENEMIES!

His love made us His friends. Verse 14-15.

His love is shown to us in that He shares all with us! verse 15.

His love for us is He has made us His ambassadors of reconciliation!

This is the love in which we remain/abide!

Think of the Israelites as they journeyed through the wilderness after being freed from captivity. Their complaints and doubts highlighted their struggle to trust God’s provision THEY STRUGGLED TO TRUST IN THE CERTAINTY OF his love because life was hard at times in the wilderness journey. When we abide in Christ, we learn the lessons of patience and dependence on Him.

3. Disciples who abide in Jesus Christ’s Words and Love: Experience the fulness of His joy.

John 15:11 “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

My third pint this morning is merely just the logical outcome of abiding/remaining In Jesus and His love!

We abide/remain in His words and His love and are filled with a joy that comes from walking in life in the exhilaration of being right with God, and experiencing His love and shaping care from His word!

This joy is a fruit! Keep that it mind! it is produced through and because of a process! We don’t pray for Joy saying its God’s will for me to bear froth the fruit of His Spirit and because we prayed His will we get joy as if a switch gets flipped!

The filling joy of Jesus is in your coming to know and see the glory of HIS love for you! It is coming to know who He is in all his glory as the Spirit declares and divulges by opening the eyes of your heart to His words and His wonders and your filled full of the Joy of Jesus.

The Psalmist writes, 'In Your presence is fullness of joy' (Psalm 16:11). Imagine being in a place where negativity fades away, and laughter ignites the heart. Abiding in Christ is like standing in that light; the darkness of the world cannot overshadow the joy we experience in His presence. This joy can transform our perspective and enrich our lives beyond measure.