Abide John 15:6-8

Introduction/Recap of Last Week

Story/Hook

Prayer

Read Verses 6-8

John 15:6–8 ESV

If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 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.

In order for us to go through these verses effectively and actually grasp at what Jesus was saying,

we’ll actually take a look at these verses in reverse, starting with verse 8.

Verse 8 - What’s The Point

John 15:8 ESV

By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

We’re going to start this sermon off the right way.

It wouldn’t be one of Andrew’s sermon series if every sermon didn’t have a proper definition weaved in it.

So, what does “fruit” mean?

We see it every where in the Bible.

Approx. 100 times in the Old Testament and 70 times in the New Testament.

Every Book in the New Testament mentions something about us bearing fruit.

So it must be a pretty big deal, right?

Well, I did some digging.

And here’s what the Spirit revealed to me.

In the Greek, the word “fruit” is translated “karpos”.

And what it actually means is “fruit”.

Now, while that probably wasn’t the big reveal you were looking for,

it actually tells us something important.

The word “fruit” is a metaphor.

It’s a word that is that is used time and time again to give us a image in our minds,

An image of a tree or plant that has fruit growing on it

and in the same way that these trees and plants produce fruit we also produce something.

We produce works. Actions.

Now we can produce “good” actions just the same as a healthy tree produces good fruit.

Or we can produce “bad” actions just in the same way that a sick tree produces bad fruit.

And then we get into the debate of what constitutes a “good” action vs. a “bad” action?

Well, I think we can all agree that giving money to someone in need would be deemed “good”

and stealing from someone in need would be deemed “bad”.

Right? Everyone agree?

But, what if the act of giving money to someone in need could actually be classified as a “bad” action too?

Let’s imagine that someone sees or knows someone who is going through a rough time financially.

They make it a point to give them some money to alleviate some of that financial strain that person is feeling.

If we stop the story there, then everything seems hunky dory. The story had a nice ending if that’s all you take into consideration.

And that’s what most people see. That’s what the world sees.

But what we don’t see is the heart behind the action.

And we have to look at why someone would help this person.

Did this person give the money to be seen as “good” in eyes of others? Perhaps in the eyes of the recipient? Maybe they just wanted to be seen or noticed.

Maybe they wanted to be seen as “good” in their own eyes. They wanted reassurance that “yeah, I’m morally good. I’m certainly better that those bad people on the news”

Or maybe they wanted to be seen as “good” in the eyes of God. They think that by doing good deeds in the world that somehow they’ll gain God’s favor and that He’ll like them just that much more.

God already loves you immeasurably. His love for you is infinite and eternal. He can’t love you more than he already does.

Doing tasks “for him” won’t earn you any more love. He already loves you so much.

When you get into that headspace of doing things for God,

you start to make yourself god.

You stop focusing on what God has done for you, you stop praising God, you stop giving Him the Glory,

and you start focusing on the things you can do to somehow earn something from God.

This is a works based righteousness.

In fact, we can’t even really do things “for God”.

There nothing God needs. And if He did need something, we certainly couldn’t provide it.

We can only do things “with God”.

God is at work all around us. In small ways and large ways.

And He invites us to join him in His work.

Even Jesus joined the Father in His Work.

John 6:38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.”

Jesus tells us that He does nothing on His own accord. But only what He sees the Father doing.

This verse, John 15:8, says that the reason to bear fruit is to prove that we are disciples of Christ.

Disciple is a fancy word for student.

If we truly are students of Jesus Christ, then wouldn’t it make sense for our desire will be to be like Christ.

To be conformed to the image of Christ.

This desire of course will be seen through our external actions. “Our fruit”.

Right, James, the half-brother of Jesus, said it best:

“Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead”

The works, or the fruit, need to be present in our lives to prove our faith and our status as disciples.

If we proclaim to someone our allegiance to Christ, that person should be able to see the fruit produced in our lives to test the genuineness of that statement.

If the lives we live don’t align with what we say, what we proclaim, then the truth is not in us.

—————

Jesus, while He walked in the flesh among us, glorified the Father through His works.

John 17:4 “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.”

And like Jesus, we too glorify the Father.

It’s when we prove that we are disciples of Christ, through our fruits, that the Father is Glorified.

Now, Jesus acted out of love for the Father.

That was the whole propulsion system that drove Jesus further.

Was that He loved the Father and want to see His will be done.

Back to the example of the person who gave the money to the person who was financially struggling.

All three examples I gave were done out of love.

The person who sought to be seen as good by others, the person who sought to be seen as good by themselves, and the person who sought to be seen as good by God.

They all acted out of love. Love for themselves.

They didn’t do it because they loved the other person.

They didn’t do it because they love God.

And that’s the difference between good fruit and bad fruit.

Is the action done out of selfish ambition and love for self?

Or is it done out of love for people and God?

We produce good fruit.

We prove our discipleship.

We glorify God.

—————-

If you worry that you might not be producing fruit for the right reasons,

that you might be doing things out of a selfish ambition

and just trying to cover it up with a “I’m doing this for God” statement

Let me just ask you. What are you rooted in?

Where does your identity lie?

Is it in Jesus? Or is it in the world? In yourself?

I’ll tell you right now,

you’re not that impressive.

Is it in the car you drive?

You’re just going to buy a new one in a couple years anyway.

Your house?

It probably won’t even be standing in 100 years.

All these things are passing away.

God is eternal.

Verse 7 - What Are You Rooted In?

John 15:7 ESV

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

Sadly, I think most of us in the room here know that our relationship with God is never a linear path.

We experience high and lows.

Some of you in the room might just be filled with the Holy Spirit right now and can’t stop thinking about Jesus.

And that’s great. Don’t let that go.

But, I know that there are others in the room that are feeling distant from God.

At one time you were on fire for Jesus. Now, it’s dwindled down to a small flame.

I’ve been there.

I own a small business.

I work inconsistent hours, my hours are never the same day to day.

My schedule is always all over the place. I work weekends a lot.

Every day looks and feels different to me. I can never get a routine down it seems.

I have an amazing wife and 4 beautiful children who God has blessed me with and has given me the honor of looking after them.

So needless to say, I understand what it feels like to be be busy.

I know many of us here are.

You have work, you have school, you have a family, you have problems that you need to resolve and fires to put out.

I get it.

And here’s what I’ll tell you if you’re flame feels like it’s dying out.

It feels like your too busy, too stressed, too you name it.

The world is just coming down on you and you’re suffocating.

Abide in Christ.

We’ve seen Matt and Andrew discuss what it means to abide.

How it means to Remain. To dwell. To have a relationship.

But how do we abide?

In this verse, Jesus instructs us to have His Word abide in us and if we do,

Anything we ask will be granted.

2 Timothy 3:16 ESV

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

If all of scripture is breathed out by God, then the Bible is the direct way that He chooses to communicate with us.

When we read the Bible, it’s as though God is speaking directly to us.

Revealing His will and showcasing His breathtaking love for His creation.

If we want to cultivate our relationship with Him, this is certainly an avenue we want to take.

We must listen to what He is saying and this is like having a direct line of communication with Him.

Read Scripture

How do we set up a successful practice of reading our Bibles?

These are things you can start doing today.

You need to start these today if you don’t already do them.

We need to cut through the chaos in our days.

We need an oasis to retreat to in the midst of our crazy days.

The only way we do that is we make it predictable.

The first thing we have to do is Commit.

You need to make the decision right here, right now.

That you will commit to nurturing your relationship with God.

So how do we cut through the chaos to read Scripture?

Same Place Every Day

In Ancient Jewish culture, the fig tree was a quiet place where people would go recite torah, pray, and meditate on the Word of God.

The Fig Tree was associated with learning scripture.

It was a place that located near homes and villages that was quiet, well shaded, and people could grab a quick snack from the fruit of the tree.

We have the example of Jesus referencing Nathanael sitting underneath the fig tree.

Where’s your fig tree?

On your couch?

At your kitchen table?

In your vehicle?

Same Time Every Day

Early morning?

Late at night?

Lunch break?

Bare Minimum of 5 Minutes

Never aim for 5 minutes. The longer the better.

But consistency is the key

4 day rule

Prayer

Let’s look at Prayer, another form of communication that God has blessed us with.

Who has ever made the commitment to pray more?

Like, you tell yourself “I’m going to start praying more”.

What happens? Do you actually start praying more?

Maybe for a little bit. But, if you’re like me, you fall out of the habit after a few days and return to your baseline of living.

You’re right back to square one.

So, How can we actually start praying more?

Well, just like scripture reading, we have to make it repeatable and structured.

We have to:

Record

Pray

Follow-up

So, first, we have to record or keep track of our prayer requests.

It’s handy to carry around a little pocket notebook that you can jot down prayer requests that you catch wind of throughout the day.

If you are a little more tech-savvy, you can use a notetaking app on your phone.

But the idea here is any time God reveals to you a situation that requires prayer, you jot it down in your prayer journal.

Whether that’s on your phone or in a notebook.

Put a date next to it and leave some room below it. This is important.

Next, anytime we go to our fig tree to enter into the presence of God,

we should have our prayer journal with us.

Start your quiet time with God off in prayer, asking for reading guidance

Read Scripture

End with a prayer of thankfulness and begin to go through the situations that need prayer in your journal.

And the reason we put a date next to the journal entry is so we can know how long ago we wrote it down and we can properly follow up.

The follow up is important. It allows us to see how God is working in the world around us.

Follow up with the person who the prayer request was for.

And write down in your journal how God answered that prayer below the original prayer request.

So, to summarize:

Find your Fig Tree

Go there at the same time everyday.

Never miss a day.

Even if it just has to be a short session.

Keep a Prayer Journal.

Review the journal under your fig tree.

Follow up with your Prayers.

————-

But How do we know what to pray for?

John 15:7 “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”

Jesus says that if we are to abide in Him and His words abide in us, whatever we ask, will be done for us.

This doesn’t mean Jesus is a cosmic genie or vending machine.

You can’t ask for a bigger paycheck because you desire to have a bigger paycheck.

When we abide in Christ and His words abide in us,

our desires become aligned with His desires.

We want to see healing in the world, we want sin to be eradicated, we want to see joy and love fill the world.

Our prayers stop being about our selfish ambitions and about God’s will.

1 John 5:14–15 ESV

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

We can pray to God for anything, as long as it is according to His will and He will faithfully answer it.

The only way we can get to this point is through Abiding in Christ and having His word abide in us.

Verse 6

Jesus actually offers us a warning for not abiding in Him.

Verse 6 says,

John 15:6 ESV

If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

Wow

Does this mean that we are able to lose our salvation?

Absolutely not.

Two words we need to focus in on here is “fire” and “burned”.

Fire in the greek is “πυρ” - pyr. (pier)

Burned in the Greek is “καιω - kaio. (K-O)

There’s another verse where these Greek words are found.

In 1 Cor 3:15

1 Corinthians 3:15 ESV

If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

Come time for us to stand at the Judgement seat of Christ, our works will be tested.

In 1 Cor 3:13-14 The Apostle Paul tells us that any works that we have done that were not built upon the correct foundation, will be burned up.

The correct foundation is Jesus Christ.

And the only way to build upon that foundation is through abiding in Him.

Isn’t that great though?

If you’re here today, and you’ve professed Jesus Christ as you’re Lord and savior

You truly believe in Him, but you feel like you haven’t been abiding.

You’ve felt distant from Him.

Isn’t it great that you’re salvation is still secure?

That when you stand in front of Jesus during the Judgement,

You will be deemed clean and every unfruitful work that you’ve carried with you will be burned?

This isn’t a license to sin, no true abiding disciple of Christ would think of it as such.

We abide. We produce fruit. We prove to be disciples. We glorify God.

But isn’t it amazing that His love for you has never changed, regardless of how far to strayed away from Him.

From eternity past to the present and into the eternal future, His love for you remains steadfast. Unchanging.

You didn’t do anything to earn your salvation, therefore there is nothing you can do to lose your salvation.

It is truly a gift from God.

Jesus says

Revelation 22:17 ESV

let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

By the Grace of God you have been saved.

John 3:16–18 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Jesus Christ stepped off His throne in the heavens,

came to to earth as a humble man,

live a perfectly obedient life to the Father,

He lived the life none of us could live,

even if we had an eternity to try,

And even though He lived this perfect life,

He bore the whole wrath of God upon the cross,

He took the punishment that we all deserve,

Now we have been reconciled back to God,

Because of what God has done for us,

We can stand in from of Him, a Holy and Righteous God,

We can be found spotless and blameless,

Because when we stand in front of Him,

He will see his Son.

And because Jesus rose from the dead 3 days later,

He has defeated death,

and we too are able to defeat death,

If we believe in Him.