The Blessings of Abiding in Christ

Intro

Have you ever wondered why there are some Christians who seem to be on a completely different level than others? They talk about God answering their prayers, appear to be unshaken when they go through trials and adversities, and seem to have the hand of God upon their life and in everything they do? Is it that they are some kind of super Christian or do they have some secret connection with God that no one else can ever have? I submit to you that there is no such thing as a super Christian, or someone who has a secret connection with God. There is no hierarchy system when it comes to God, for the ground is level at the foot of the cross. However, there is something unique about those who were just described. Tonight, I want you to see that you too can be numbered among these individuals. You can be numbered among them because what they experience, you can too. This is because they have been recipients of blessings that come from abiding in Christ. That is the goal of tonight’s message, for you to not only see that there are blessings but to desire to be a recipient of the blessings that come from abiding in Christ.

As we begin tonight, if you will, turn in your Bible to John 15 and we’re going to read verses 5-11. (READ)

Recap

Over the past several weeks, we have been in this chapter and have looked at a number of different things. We first of all noticed that Jesus Christ identified Himself as the True Vine and His Father as the Husbandman. Secondly, we took note of how in verse 2, Jesus spoke of there being true and false branches that He referred to as being in Him. The false branches were those who were not truly saved. They did not produce fruit because they were not truly in Christ, they were simply associated with Him. An example of this was Judas Iscariot. The true branches on the other hand, are those who produce fruit. Regardless of the quantity of fruit, the believer produces fruit. This brings us to a third thing we discussed and that is the kinds of fruit produced. They are, the fruit of conversions, righteousness, and Christ-like character. Then, last week, we talked about the necessity of abiding in Christ. It is essential for us to abide or continue in Christ because we cannot do anything without Him. He is the source of life and nutrients which enable fruit to be produced in the Christian’s life. Now, let’s look at the blessings of abiding in Christ.

We are in the same scene as we look at verses 5-11. Jesus and His 11 disciples were making their way to the garden of Gethsemane. On the way, He speaks of the branches who are in Him, let’s them know that although they are positionally clean in Him (v.3), they need to continue in Him. As a result of continuing in Him, there will be many blessings that are not only evident in their life but that others will in turn be blessed by. Christ’s words could not come at a more important moment than on this night. As Jesus would leave the scene not long after this, His disciples would be put to the test. Therefore, He is preparing them to deal with the onslaught of opposition by demanding them to remain in close fellowship with Him, then after verse 11, He proceeds to talk about how their relationship with one another should be.

Today, the words that Christ spoke to His disciples, are just as prevalent and important. If we are going to be disciples of Christ and be continually producing fruit in our life, we have a need to remain or continue to walk closely with Him. As you do so, you will experience at least 4 types of blessings. These blessings will not only be experienced by you and visible to you, but to others as well. Let’s look at the first blessing,

Abiding Produces Much Fruit (v. 5)

When we discussed the two types of branches that are “in” Christ, we learned that the production of fruit is an evidence of salvation and it is, but it is also a blessing of abiding in Christ. We never really got into the reality that Christians produce various amounts of fruit, but it is something that we can all easily see in this passage. If you will, look at verse 2. Notice how there are believers who bear fruit, then as a result of the Lord’s pruning, there is the potential for bearing more fruit. It’s not a guarantee though. Now look at verses 5 and 8. There are some who produce much fruit. This is directly related to the believer abiding or continuing in close fellowship with Christ. So, for example, there are some believers who win many people to Christ and others who do not. There are some who are more Christ-like than others. There are some who have a better understanding of the righteousness of Christ within them, that is made evident in their walk and talk, whereas there are others who have not reached the same understanding. These things have nothing to do with salvation, but everything to do with the fellowship that believers have with Christ. The closer one walks with Christ, the less they live for themselves, which subsequently results in them producing more fruit. Remember what I said last week.

Little fellowship, little fruit.

Close fellowship, much fruit

Hindered fellowship, hindered production of fruit

Unhindered fellowship, untapped potential for producing fruit

The believer who does not produce much fruit in their life, fails to do so because they are allowing other things to crowd out the would-be fruit in their life. God applies the pruning shears to every believer, but some do not allow the Word of God and circumstances and trials God uses to grow them. The pruning occurs, but no new growth occurs. Rather, they remain where they want to be. It may be sin that they are not dealing with, or their own self interests. It could be a refusal to yield certain areas of their life to God. It may also be that they are disobedient to God and His commands for them. Whatever it is, they are making a conscious decision to be as far as they want to be spiritually.

The believer on the other hand who receives the blessing of producing much fruit in their life, they get to see God’s hand at work in their lives. As we continue to walk in Him, we essentially put ourselves aside and allow Him to work in and through us. They receive the pruning and grow as a result. If there is going to be anything good and fruitful in our lives, it will be only because and when we continue or remain close to Christ.

When it comes to leading people to Christ

We not only experience the blessing of producing this type of fruit, but I think the blessing comes more from us seeing God’s hand at work in the lives of others, which come as a result of Him working through us.

ILLUST: When you are involved in leading someone to Christ, yes you are producing fruit, but in reality, Christ is the one behind it all. You are simply attached to Him and are the vessel from which the fruit blossoms.

POINT: You get to watch God at work.

APPLY: When you get to watch God at work, you are blessed because you see lives transformed. What was once nothing, over time that nothing became a bud, then eventually it fully blossomed into a piece of fruit. You were simply the vessel through which the life giving nutrients flowed to allow for fruit to grow.

So we see the blessing of producing much fruit when it comes to leading people to Christ, but we also see it…

When it comes to Righteousness

Remember, righteousness is not something we can obtain on our own. If anything, the Bible is clear, we are all unrighteous and any kind of self-produced righteousness is as filthy rags. At salvation, however, we receive the righteousness of Christ. Remember, this is an internal change that is reflected externally. So, does the righteousness come from us? No. It is from Jesus Christ. However, we are blessed by it because what we could never do on our own or in our own power, we now have the ability to do because of Christ. We are blessed because whereas we once stood guilty before God with absolutely no hope at all, we now can stand blameless before Him, because of Christ. As we abide in Christ, the internal change and external manifestation of that change only continues to be seen more and more.

When it comes to Christ-like Character

This sort of overflows from the fruit of righteousness because as we abide in Christ, the fruit of the Spirit becomes more of a reality in our lives. Remember, it is one fruit, but many traits. Why do these traits become more of a reality? Because as we walk in close fellowship with Christ, the old traits that we possessed as unbelievers and even the ones that are still present today in our fleshly nature, will be replaced with the spiritual traits of Galatians 5:22-23.

LoveOur selfish love turns to selfless loveJoy Our lack of or tainted joy turns to abounding joyPeace We go from having no true peace to lasting peace that passes understandingLongsufferingWe go from being impatient to being able to suffer longGentlenessWe go from being strong and unkind, to gentleGoodnessWe move from being immoral to moral, lacking goodness to flowing with goodnessFaith or faithfulnessWe go from being untrustworthy and disloyal to trustworthy and loyalMeeknessWe go from being strong, assertive, with a lack of control to having strength under controlTemperance We go from having no control over our lusts to being able to control them

So, you can look at a person and say “there is something uniquely different about that person. They’re changing. Everything about them is different.” If people can look at you and see the same old same old, you need to take serious inventory.

(Q) When you look at yourself in one hand and the Scriptures in the other, are you more like Christ today than you were last year? As we continue with Christ, we become more like Him.

A second blessing of abiding in Christ is…

Abiding Results in Answered Prayer (vv. 7, 16)

Look at verse 7. Jesus said to His disciples,

“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”

This is obviously speaking of Jesus’ words remaining in the disciples and by extension us. But, if they are to remain in us, this implies that they must first and foremost be in us. How are they in us? Well, for His disciples, the words that were in them were the words they heard from Christ Himself. Remember what Jesus said in John 14:25-26?

“These things have I spoke unto you, being yet present with

you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the

Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and

bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said

unto you.”

Jesus no doubt taught His disciples a significant amount of information, more than can be discussed in one sitting. One thing we can be sure of is that they had a comprehensive understanding of themselves, Christ, sin, eternal life, eternal separation from God, who the Creator of all things was, what the purpose of life is, what their specific purpose in life was, what would occur in the future, specifically pertaining to their persecution and events that would one day come to pass. He even taught them how to pray. His words were in them and the Holy Spirit would also be involved in bringing to remembrance the things Christ taught them and the things that are to come (John 16:13).

For us today, we don’t have Christ physically present next to us, but we have Him in us, who does the same thing for us as Christ said He would do for the disciples. We also have everything that is essential for life and godliness in the closed canon of Scripture. (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pt. 1:3; 19-21) This is essential to remember, because when it comes to matter of prayer, knowing Christ’s words and will are vital if we are to see our prayers answered. Listen to what John says in 1 John 5:14-15,

“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask

anything according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know

that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the

petitions that we desired of him.”

John said, if we ask according to His will, He not only hears us, but will answer our prayers. The key though is praying according to God’s will and not ours. The sad reality that exists in many Christian lives, as well as in many churches, is that they fail to see answers to their prayers. This is not due to God not hearing or wanting to answer them, but its because people ask “amiss (wrongly) that they may consume it upon their own lusts.” (James 4:3) Or, they are failing to meet other biblical qualifications for answered prayer. Whatever it is, Jesus said, if you continue in Him and His words are in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By continuing in Him, you are living in obedience to Him. Again, John wrote in his epistle, 1 John 3:22,

“And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep

his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his

sight.”

When you are in step with God, when you are abiding in Him, you have His Word in you, you know His will, and ask in accordance to His will and not you own. Therefore, He answers. As you pray, you are asking God to do what you know is His will. You are in Him, He is in you, and His Word is in you, therefore He is the controlling influence in your life. You see, His Word and His will are always consistent. Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:7-8,

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock,

and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh

receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that

knocketh it shall be opened.”

(Q) Do you want your prayers answered? Abide in Him, let His Word and will shape your prayers and the floodgates of Heaven will be opened unto you.

This brings us to the third blessing of abiding in Christ…

Abiding Glorifies God (v. 8)

To “glorify God” essentially means that when who He is, what He has done, what He is doing, what He will do, His attributes, nature, and character are put on display, He is praised and given due reverence as a result. In other words, when men see fruit in the life of a believer, they are forced …

to turn their mind to Godto acknowledge that only God’s power could do such a thing in their life

ILLUST: There is perhaps no greater example of a complete life-changing transformation than the Apostle Paul. He went from being a staunch persecutor of the Church to one of the greatest ambassadors for Christ. He went from being a persecutor of Christ and His followers to a proclaimer of Christ.

POINT: Paul’s life-changing transformation was not something he obtained on his own. It was the power of God that changed him.

APPLY: When people see such a transformation, they are forced to acknowledge God, just as the eyewitnesses of Paul’s life did. Listen to what they said in Acts 9:19-21

“And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then

was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at

Damascus. And straightway he preached Christ in the

synagogues, that he is the Son of God. But all that heard him

were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them

which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for

that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief

priests?”

Again, people are forced to to acknowledge that only God’s power could do such a thing in a life. They’re also forced...

to desire God to save themto begin asking God for helpto accept God or to close their mind and reject God

ILLUST: Matthew 9:1-8: As a result of the man, who was previously a paralytic, getting up and walking, the crowd of people marveled and glorified God.

(Q) Why is this a blessing? Because this is the sole purpose of our existence in this world, to glorify God. Therefore, when we continue in Christ, people see the power of God at work in our lives, which enables us to be involved in bringing others to Him and pointing others to Him. This is glorifying God

Let’s look at the final blessing of abiding in Christ…

Abiding Gives You Joy (vv. 9-11)

Jesus begins by saying, “These things have I spoken unto you.” He is talking about everything that He previously said. The main gist of the passage has to do with abiding in Christ. He spoke to them about this for a purpose, and that ultimate purpose is joy. Notice how he spoke of “my joy” and “your joy.” Christ had such joy in His life and He wanted His followers to possess His joy and to continue in that joy. We already know that Jesus was telling His disciples this shortly before His death. What is amazing about this is that despite the shadow of the cross before Him, Christ had joy (happiness, cheerfulness, gladness, state of rejoicing).

This tells us that joy is not determined by circumstancesThis tells us that joy does not alleviate one from discomfortThis tells us that joy is something that is internal and typically seen externallyThis tells us that joy ultimately emanates from Christ

ILLUST: As Paul and Barnabas were on their first missionary journey, they found themselves facing opposition in Pisidian Antioch. They saw people positively respond to the Gospel of Christ, but they also faced persecution. In Acts 13:49-52, we read,

And the word of the Lord was being spread through the

whole region. But the Jews incited the devout women of

prominence and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. But they shook off the dust of their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

POINT: Paul and Barnabas did not have joy because of their outward circumstances. Their joy was from another source and it was a reality in their life.

APPLY: Joy can be experienced in even the toughest of times and regardless of what you have or don’t have.

ILLUST: In John 16:16-22, Jesus tells His disciples once again of His coming death and resurrection. In verse 20, Jesus tells them that they will weep and lament over His death, but their grief will be turned into joy. He then uses the illustration of a mother who gives birth to a child. During the labor there is pain, but there is much joy when that child is born. This makes the pain endurable.

POINT: Christ’s followers were going to experience heartache, and would go through a period of mourning, but then there would be joy.

APPLY: Having joy does not mean you will never have disappointments or heartaches, but it softens the blow of those moments.

(Q) Do you have joy in your life?

(Q) What do you look to for joy?

The world looks to a lot of different things for joy, yet they can never really find it. Sadly, believers also fall into the same trap and try to find joy in anything other than Christ. It’s not going to happen though. If you want true, lasting joy, it is found in Christ and is a result of abiding in Him.

Close

In 2017, a survey was done by a woman named Kathy Caprino, a woman’s success coach, writer, speaker, and leadership trainer. It was The Top 10 Things People Want In Life But Can’t Seem To Get. Listen to what they are:

HappinessMoney FreedomPeaceJoyBalanceFulfillment ConfidenceStabilityPassion

Happiness, peace, and joy made the top 5 on that list. Regarding happiness, those who took the survey said “they search outside themselves for happiness - in a job, a husband, a family, a title, a paycheck, a fancy house. As a result, Happiness is constantly out of their control and a perpetual moving target that never stands still long enough for them to grasp.”

Regarding peace, they said the biggest challenge was A lack of clarity about who I am and my purpose.”

Regarding joy, they said, “I believe (and have lived) that we simply can’t feel joy in our lives if the work we do pains us. We’re not able to effectively separate who we are from what we do (and why would we want to?). So when you’re stuck in work you hate, with people you don’t respect, supporting outcomes that feel wrong to you, then your life as a whole can’t help but be joyless, even if your personal or family life brings you happiness.”

The unsaved world longs for these things and so do some Christians. There is a necessity of abiding in Christ, as well as blessings. When you walk with Him, you will glorify God, see God at work in you life, as well as in your prayer life, as He answers prayer. Finally, you will experience true, lasting joy. These are incredible promises that I hope each of us desire to see them become a reality in our lives. Furthermore, when they’re a reality in our lives, others will see it and long for it. This gives us an incredible opportunity to bring them to Christ, where they can be attached to the life-giving vine.