The Church 5- Perk of the Power

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Secret to Intimacy

15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2

By being baptized into Christ by the Spirit in repentence, into the church by the church, and into the Spirit by Christ, you have been completely initiated into the Body of Christ, to not only represent Christ, but also reap the benefits of Christ…
In this parable, Jesus is referring to what Paul said in
Romans 11:17 “But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree,”
Unbelieving Israel was the original branches that were pruned off…by the vinedresser, and now, believing Gentiles have been grafted in. Now every believer, no matter race, gender, or position can freely receive salvation and join the family of God in Christ alone, by faith alone.

3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.

It might be easy to pass over what Jesus says here…but he tells the disciples, you are clean, in context the Greek word here from the

defines the word as, “ ritually clear of responsibility, innocent”

Paul describes this in Ephesians 5, that because Christ loved the church, he gave himself up for her, verse 26,

26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,

the word sanctify means, to dedicate for service and loyalty to God and to

make holy, sanctify, to cause one to have the quality of holiness

What Jesus is saying, is that be revealing the word of God, and demonstrating that word through his sacrifice, the effect would be people responding by repenting of Sin and placing their faith in God through Jesus Christ out Lord…and through that receiving of His word in their hearts, they would be baptized into a new creation…one who becomes a carrier of the presence of God in their hearts…and as you abide in his word, and trust in his word…and obey His word…the Spirit of God will produce much fruit in your life…he goes on…

4 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. 5 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. 6 If

Notice he says, he will willingly and gladly answer whatever prayers you ask, if you are abiding in him..and in his words abide in you…what does that mean? In means you love his word, trust his word, and seek to honor and obey his word above your own desires.
James 4:3 “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”
Another translation would say, you don’t get what you ask for, because you want to consume it on your own lusts….this is what we were getting at last week…some of you have asked for more of the Spirit, but haven’t received not because God isn’t good, or he’s stingy, no it’s because you aren’t abiding in him, and his word isn’t abiding in you…you don’t really want the Spirit…so you can bear fruit, you want it so you can brag about having fruit…to make yourself look better…James said you are not going to get what you want that way…
Jesus said, if you abide in him, if his words abide in you, you are being washed by the word, cleansed and prepared for service, you are being made Holy through the leading of the Spirit and the sanctification of your soul through spiritual growth and knowledge of the will and word of God…then

9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.

This is an identity statement…you are loved by the Lord…abide in that…remain in that…root your identity in that truth that you are loved by almighty God…, well pastor Joey How do I do that? Jesus tells us as he continues in verse 10,

10 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. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

There are perks…to abiding in the Lord…there are perks to being baptized and filled with the Spirit…and its not simply the gifts of the Spirit…it’s a life filled with joy…a supernatural joy…it’s the Lord’s joy…
Hebrews 1:9 “You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.””
Jesus had more joy than anyone else…why? he loved righteousness, and hated wickedness…This is what Jesus just said to his disciples, what he is saying to us…he said you will abide in His love, if you keep his commandments…
your identity will remain rooted in the reality that you are loved by almighty God, because there will be no cause for guilt and shame to claim you…there will be nothing that can steal the Joy that the Spirit brings because nothing will be able to rob you of that Joy…
and that joy is a supernatural joy, it is the oil of gladness…remember oil represents the Holy Spirit…its an anointing of the Spirit of God to produce great unspeakable joy in the life of a believer who abides in the lord…who doesn’t just hear, but he listens and obeys the commandments of Christ…
A person who loves righteousness…and pursues righteousness….Jesus said in the sermon on the mount, blessed are those who thirst for righteousness…and also those who hate wickedness…if you love righteousness, you won’t love wickedness…if you love wickedness you won’t love righteousness
Isaiah 5:20 “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”
A grave warning is given to those who love evil…but a great blessing is for those who love righteousness…
What is he talking about…at the base level he is talking about the Fear of the Lord…the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge, its the foundation of blessing, it’s the guarantee of security, it’s the fountain of life…and what is the fear of the Lord?
Proverbs 8:13 “The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.”
The fear of the Lord is to hate evil…If you hate evil…what do you love? you love righteousness!
Fearing the Lord means to you locked in to the heart of God…you love what he loves and you hate what he hates…and you choose his will over your own…you obey his commandments when its hard, when it’s incovenient, when you don’t understand, because you love and trust him…and know through his commands will bring you the greatest good…it will bring you unspeakable joy…because he will not only be close to you as you abide in him…but he will speak to you…he will use you…to impact other people’s lives…and he will share his heart with you…
Psalm 25:14 “The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.”
another translation says, the intimate counsel of the Lord…is for those who fear him…
don’t you want to know what God is thinking? Don’t you want an inside scoop on what the Lord is doing?
There really is only one guy who is mentioned to have that type of relationship with God…a guy named moses..
Numbers 12:6–8 “And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?””
Another translation would say, God speaks to Moses face to face…denoting a special relationship...so why does Moses get the special treatment? How come the other prophets get visions and dreams but moses gets clear, direct face to face communication? It’s because of what the Lord said…in all his house…in all the tribes of Israel, Moses is the faithful one…Moses is the one whom the Lord can count on…
Moses doesn’t quit or shrink back…Moses doesn’t get a comittee together when God speaks no he just does what God asks him to do, when its hard, uncomfortable, when he doesn’t have all the answers…because he trusts the one who does…and though he was flawed had issues, his life was marked by obedience…and that obedience provided him the privilage of abiding in the presence of the Lord….and getting clear communication from the heart of God.
Psalm 25:14 “The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.”
revelation, comes to those who fear the Lord, who thirst for righteousness, and hate wickedness...intimacy with the God of the universe, that brings overwhelming Joy, is available - and he makes it available through the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 2:9–10 “But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.”
The Spirit of God, searches the depths of God, the depths of his heart, and reveals those depths to those who love him…those who abide in his love…those who keep his commandments, those who fear the Lord…do you want to grow in intimacy with God, do you want to grow in joy, peace, and the fruits of the spirit…do you want to grow in your experiences with the Spirit and the revelation the Spirit brings? Then grow in the fear of the Lord…love righteousness…hate sin and wickedness…if you love him, then obey his commandments…
Jesus continues

12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14

did you hear that? you are a friend of God, if you do what he says…how does he speak to Moses…not just face to face…
Exodus 33:11 “Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend...”
The key to being used by God…they key to grow in your relationship with God…is by abiding in his love…and how do you do that? You do that by keeping his commandments…when its hard, when its inconvenient, when it doesn’t make sense…like the Lord Jesus, you have a not my will but yours be done attitude…and that heart of humility will open the doors for greater revelation and greater friendship with God in your life…
and last week- we talked about how the spirit of GOd was poured out to empower us to be martyrs...and witnesses for Christ, but also the mission of the church, was to go and preach into all the world…look at what Jesus says in that commissioning to the church in Matt 28…
Matthew 28:19–20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””
Do you see what’s behind that? Jesus isn’t saying go make rule followers…go make religious zealouts…no who is it that keeps his commandments? It’s those who love him…it’s those who abide in his word…its those he calls…friends…
The spirit of God…empowers us…to show others…how they too can be a friend of God.
And the Spirit of God, empowers us, to teach others how to be a friend of God.
Because what Jesus wants, is an an ecclesia, a church, of close friends…not only people who love him with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, but also those who love each other, they way Jesus loved us…
That is the church he is building…a church driven by love…committed to his excellence, and filled with the Spirit…every baptized believer, is on a journey to know Christ…and to grow in their relationship and friendship with him…and that starts…with being washed by the water of the Word, and growing in the fear of the Lord…
let’s bow for prayer…
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