Abide in love

Order of Service

Welcome

Scripture Reading:

Prayer

Joke: Book

Greeting

Sermon

What Brings You Joy?

My family

cooking

eating

Spending time with friends

We are going to come back to this idea of Joy

is what we looked at last week

Jesus said to do what?

Abide

abdie in what?

JESUS

so that we could what?

bear fruit!

Verse 7 continues with Jesus expanding on the good of abiding in him

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.

Wow! Ask whatever you wish!

This is a favorite of people to yank out of context...

preachers of the “health and wealth” variety use this

Jesus wants you to have whatever you want right now

he wants to give you everything

But he did say abide in me, so if you don’t get everything you ask for it must be because you are not spiritually good enough yet

People have been using this logic for centuries

they did back in the bible days…if you had something wrong with you, you must have sinned and somehow those with power and wealth were blessed by God.

we live in a fallen world, where evil is able to prosper

Jesus didn’t call people to wealth, he called them to himself

look at the rich young ruler

When we are abiding in Jesus fully, everything we need in life is coming from him, we are baring fruit, what sort of things do you think we ask for?

we tend to meld with those we are in relationship with

when we have a deep rooted relationship with Jesus, we begin to desire the things that Jesus desires

we stop asking for selfish things and begin to ask for the very things that God wants and is therefore happy to give to us.

John 15:8 ESV

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

The Glory of the Father is central

we aren’t looking to have or do things that will bring glory to us, rather we desire to bring glory to the Father.

Jesus says that when the Father is glorified by our bearing fruit, people will know that we are his discples

your average person cannot tell one type of tree from another until the fruit hangs off of it

John 15:9–10 ESV

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.

John 15:

What do you think it means to “Abide in Jesus’ Love”?

This sounds easy to us because our culture associates love with tolerance, grace, forgiveness, acceptance

This is a false assumption of what Love is

we see love as God forgiving us for not following his commands, and it is that

But Jesus inextricably connects Love with following his commands, with obedience

Parents raise your hands and keep them up

how many of you really feel the love of your children when they directly disobey you over and over and over and over?

disobedience shows a lack of respect and love for the person we are disobeying

to live in a relationship that allows us to do whatever we want while basking in the love of another is a selfish broken relationship, and although we are not perfect, we are called to more than to simply accept the love of Jesus and then do whatever we want.

Connectedness to the vine is of the utmost importance

when we are connected to the vine, we bear fruit, we ask for things that please God and allow us to bear more fruit, we give glory to God, and we obey his commands

John 15:11 ESV

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

At the beginning most of the things we listed were external things that make us happy...

Psychology

Joy vs Happiness. Joy and happiness are wonderful feelings to experience, but are very different. …Joy comes when you make peace with who you are, why you are and how you are, whereas happiness tends to be externally triggered and is based on other people, things, places, thoughts and events.

External things cannot bring us true Joy because they don’t answer these questions about us...

These questions are answered through abiding in the vine, abiding in Jesus

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Amen.

Communion:

Communion:

Communion:

John 16:16–22 ESV

“A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.