Abiding in the Word - 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.

Ken Hess Interview:

I’m going to invite Ken Hess up…

We are in a sermon series called “Abide” through , and our goal for this series is to learn how to remain in constant awareness of, connection to, and dependence on the power and presence of our loving Savior.

And to help us make this tangible, we are doing some interviews with people in our church who are in different stages of life… who have different day-to-day experiences… but who have the same pursuit in their lives: to abide in Christ…

And today I’ve asked Ken Hess if I could interview him...

Ken, you are a dad… you also are a supervisor at Scenic Ridge Company… overseeing the fleet services… the trucks and drivers there… you have a lot going on… but most importantly you are a man seeking God...

1) So what are some challenges that you face in your everyday life to abiding in Christ?

Staying Christ Like and patient with my Family

Everyday pressures of balancing work and family, providing for our physical needs

The world around me, Easy availability of temptation in advertising, news, society in general.

2) Are there any particular habits that have helped you face those challenges and abide in Christ? What helps you remember and depend upon Christ’s power and presence with you?

Time in the word, What I found works really well me on my 25min drive to work I have been listening to my Bible app read through the bible.

Friends who are Christ followers, I am blessed to work with a group of guys who are also actively pursuing Christ, along with gospel community times.

Good music, for example worship music on Sunday mornings before we leave for church helps me prepare my heart for time together with other believers.

3) How have you seen Christ produce his fruit in you? How do you know personally when HE is doing a work?

Through my Children when they talk and present a biblical world view it certainly wasn't from me, had to be Christ working through me.

When I am able to provide encouragement to someone.

Those times I am able to remain patient with my family, and love them with the love of Christ.

Ken, I’ve appreciated seeing Christ produce his fruit in you… so thank you for sharing some of your own experience with us...

It’s so important that we see this invitation to Abide in Christ as the central focus of the life of every believer...

There is no other focal point in the life of a believer than abiding in a real… vital relationship with Jesus Christ…

And I think it’s also important to recognize that there are real challenges to this…

it’s not a default setting for our hearts to remain constantly aware of Jesus and connected to him and dependent on him...

And so we need some life habits that help us with that…

We all have habits that we run our day by… we all have morning routines… and activities we do when we have some downtime… and ways we prioritize our schedule...

And even if you don’t think you have habits… even if you think your life is completely random and chaotic… then your HABIT is to be random and chaotic which will not promote focused dependence upon Christ.

We all have life habits… and we need to direct those habits toward a heart posture of abiding in Christ… and we can be motivated by the fact that HE is going to produce LIFE and FRUIT in us as we look to him…

So when we think about habits that fuel that a heart posture of abiding... we sometimes call them “spiritual disciplines””… we really can think in three general categories: word habits.... prayer habits... and fellowship habits.

The heart posture of abiding is fueled by three primary categories of habit: word habits.... prayer habits... and fellowship habits. We are going to talk about the first two today because Jesus shows us just how closely related they are, and then we will talk about the third one, fellowship, next week.

word habits.... prayer habits... and fellowship habits.

Be in the word… pray… and gather with God’s people… and all three priorities are right here in .

We are going to talk about the first two types of habit today… the word and prayer... because Jesus shows us just how closely related they are, and then we will talk about the third type of habits, fellowship habits, next week.

Except that we can sometimes forget that those things are

We are going to talk about the first two today because Jesus shows us just how closely related they are, and then we will talk about the third one, fellowship, next week.

Be in the word… pray… and gather with God’s people…

And maybe you’re like… really? That basic? I KNOW I’m supposed to be reading my Bible and praying and gathering with God’s people…

In fact, my five-year-old has learned that this is the answer to how to grow in your faith… “read your bible, pray, go to church...”

It’s become a guess to most questions I ask him because it’s right so many times…

And so... YES… we are really going that basic… because if you are anything like me, those basic habits can quickly become so familiar and so mundane that I forget WHY they are important.

They become MERELY habit… they can even become a type of man-made law… and they start to lose their focus and purpose for fueling an ongoing relationship with Christ…

and they lose their the wonder that I get to express my relationship with the God of the universe through them… and from there they lose their priority in my life...

Have any of you ever experienced that?

Reading the Bible starts to feel like a chore... or a law that I fail at maintaining… and praying starts to feel like talking to a wall… and being in relationship with other followers of Jesus starts to get messy and hard and I can think of other places that I’d rather be...

And when that happens… what is really going on is that we’ve lost sight of the purpose of those heart habits: abiding in Christ.

These habits… these disciplines… are not end goals in themselves… they are a way of experiencing the end goal: a real… vital connection to the living God.

And so here’s the big idea as we focus in on these first two types of habit:

Big Idea: Abide in Christ through a constant conversation of receiving his words and responding in prayer.

Your Bibles are open to …

Jesus is walking with his disciples from the upper room where they just shared one last meal that they would have together before his death…

And John emphasizes that in that room, he grabbed a basin and a towel and did what none of them had the humility to do: he washed their dirty, grimy feet… and he showed them what it was like to serve one another and love one another…

And in that upper room, he washed twelve sets of feet… the feet of the twelve who had walked with him so closely for the last three years...

and he said to them that they were clean, but not all of them...

Because now as they walk out of Jerusalem and to the Mt. of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane, there are only 11 sets of feet...

Judas has now left the group to betray Jesus to the religious leaders.

As they walk, Jesus continues teaching them about how they are going to get along without him… after he has gone to the Father...

We are going to mostly focus on verses 7-8 today, but I want us to pick up the whole parable again starting in v. 1...

Read

Before we get to the habits of the Word and prayer, I want us to start where we were last week:

1) Concede your absolute need for Jesus as the only source of life. (v. 1-6)

Explain: This whole first point is review from last week by the way… because it is so vitally important that we understand this foundation: Jesus is the Vine… we are the branches who only can receive life in relationship to the vine… and the Father is the vinedresser...

If we are ever going to pursue life habits that help us maintain a posture of abiding in Christ, we must be CONVINCED of this point: Jesus is the only source of life who can produce the fruit the Father seeks.

As the vinedresser, the Father is actively tending the vine seeking fruit… Jesus says in v. 2 - “Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” (, ESV)

The Father has planted the choicest of vines… he has sent his own son into the world…

He has planted the choicest of vines… he has sent his own son into the world…

And like any farmer in his right mind, he expects to find fruit on the vine he has planted… Inward character, Outward obedience, and multiplying ministry… that Jesus produces in us and through us...

We talked about how we tend to read this passage and think about just one part of biblical fruit…

But the Father is seeking all parts of fruit… everything that your life is producing should be the FRUIT… the OUTCOME… the EVIDENCE... of an abiding relationship with Jesus, the Vine...

But we need to make sure we think about three broad elements of biblical fruit… Inward character, Outward obedience, and multiplying ministry...

The in

At risk of pressing the illustration: You could think of it like the seed of the fruit (the inward character)… the meat of the fruit (the outward obedience)… and the reproduction of the fruit when it falls off the vine (multiplying ministry)…

At any rate, we need to be thinking about all elements of biblical fruit… not just the one we want to emphasize or has been emphasized for us...

The Father is seeking all of it… he wants to see MUCH fruit produced from our lives…

I don’t want us to lose sight of that fact… because it is a huge part of our motivation for abiding in Christ.

And I want you to understand this: God is not seeking fruit so that he can take something from you… but so that he can give life to you.

Fruit is the EVIDENCE and PRODUCE of the life of Christ that is nourishing us and producing life in us.

If our lives are attached to the vine… we MUST be… we WILL be… producing the fruit of the vine.

If our lives are attached to the vine… we MUST be… we WILL be… producing the fruit of the vine.

And every branch that does not bear fruit he destroys… verse 6 says that he gathers up those dead branches and throws them into the fire…

there is eternal conscious torment in hell because without Jesus, we are dead in our sin, incapable of bearing fruit.

But every branch that DOES bear fruit… every branch he has united to Christ through faith and made clean… Jesus says that the Father prunes.

He actively tends to the vine removing the things that would draw life away from the fruit he wants to produce… cutting off the things that would keep us from relying upon Christ alone…

so that the life of Christ can flow through us to produce more fruit.

The Father is actively tending the vine seeking fruit… we have to know that and believe that…

But a problem arises when we start to focus more on the fruit that God wants to see than on the thing that will actually produce the fruit… abiding in Christ.

The problem comes when think God wants us to produce fruit apart from the vine.

The problem comes when we try to produce fruit without the vine.

We end up getting so focused on the fruit… that we start to worry…

What if I can’t produce the fruit the Father is seeking???

What if I’m not producing the right fruit???

What if I’m not producing enough fruit???

What if I don’t have enough… faith… or energy… or resources… or character… to produce the fruit that he’s seeking…

What if this pruning in my life is just God being mad at me and he’s going to ditch me with the other dead branches?!?!?!

And instead of turning to Jesus Christ in faith in those moments, we turn to ourselves and other people to tell us what we need to be doing.

We turn to our own methods and resources and ideas to produce the fruit the Father is seeking… instead of going to the only source of life.

But Jesus says to his disciples, “Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.”

In other words, because they believed the words of Jesus, the Father has attached them to the True Vine...

He has made a clean graft into the vine… Faith in the gospel is the fibers that attach us to the vine

and it is only through ABIDING FAITH that we can bear fruit… and if we have truly come to faith in him, we WILL bear fruit as the Father prunes us.

And when we start fixating on the fruit and how to produce it, we need to remember again: there is only one command in the first six verses of this chapter, and it is not “bear fruit.” The command from which all fruit of character and obedience and ministry flows is this: “abide.”

Go to the source of life to receive from him all that you need to produce the fruit the Father seeks.

Receive from Christ all that you need to produce the fruit the Father seeks.

Remember that we do not simply abide in him in our own strength, but he abides in us.

He keeps us and sustains us and sanctifies us.

Yet not I but Christ in me...

For every one look at fruit, we need to take 10 looks at Christ.

We must be CONVINCED of this… we must CONCEDE that Jesus is the only Vine… the only source of life... who can produce the fruit the Father is seeking.

He is the TRUE vine… there is no other source of true life…

We can’t run to self-help books… we can’t look to our own perfectionism… or to our own ability to keep all the plates spinning perfectly…

Jesus is the only source of life who can produce the fruit the Father is seeking.

He says it so clearly in v. 5, “Apart from me you can do nothing.”

And while we often feel the gap between God’s desire for fruit and our ability to produce it, like I said last week, I wonder if we feel it enough?

In the days and moments since we last were together, did you forget at any time that Jesus is the only source of life for you?

Did you try to rush ahead in any choices without first seeking him in prayer?

Did you grow anxious or weary because of the expectations and demands of life that you felt like you were falling short?

Did you grow prideful because of some evidence of success in your life that you think YOU accomplished?

Did you become more focused on your own desires than on what God is seeking?

All of these are evidences that we need even more to concede that JESUS is the only source of life… so that we will run to him and abide.

Do we really believe these words that “apart from me you can do nothing?”

We are completely incapable of producing ANYTHING that is pleasing to God… ANYTHING that is of eternal lasting value… apart from an abiding relationship with Jesus Christ?

That’s where we left off last week… and I wanted to review that all again… because if we are every going to be motivated toward a constant conversation with him… we must CONCEDE our absolute need for him.

Not our need for an initial salvation and then we just go do our own thing...

Not our need for him in order to escape final judgement so that we can get into heaven...

No, our need for him in every moment to produce the life… the fruit… the Father is seeking.

We have to be convinced that this is what we NEED… and what he WANTS to do… what he is EAGER to do…

It’s why he created you in the first place…

Have you made that concession? Have you surrendered? Have you admitted your need?

Abiding starts there.

But once we understand our need, then we can rightfully look at HOW we abide… what will help us remain in constant awareness of, connection to, and dependence on the power and presence of our loving Savior?

And so Jesus brings us to the essentials of abiding: the word and prayer and fellowship.

Like I said, we will look at the Word and Prayer this week, and fellowship next week.

That’s where Jesus goes next.

Look at verse 7: “If you abide in me, and my WORDS abide in you, ASK whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (, ESV)

Do you see the conversation of HIS WORDS and our PRAYERFUL ASKING in this verse?

That is the essence of abiding… it starts with his words:

2) Cultivate Christ’s desires in you by receiving the nourishment of his words. (v. 7a)

Explain: Notice back up in v. 4, Jesus says, “Abide in me, and I in you...”

And then again, in v. 5, Jesus says, “Whoever abides in me, and I in him...”

But then in verse 7, notice the change: If you abide in me, and my WORDS abide in you. Why the change?

Why the change?

Jesus is showing us that the WAY that he abides in us is through the words he has given to us.

He already said in v. 3 that the disciples were made CLEAN… they were cleanly grafted into the vine… they were united to Christ through faith… because of the word that was spoken to them.

We abide in Jesus… we remain aware of and connected to and dependent upon him… by receiving his words through faith.

Now it’s important that we recognize where we find the words of Jesus...

He’s not just talking about the words that he spoke while on the earth…

We don’t MERELY abide by the words that are in red letters in our Bibles… we are not red letter Christians making the words of Paul or the Old Testament LESS THAN the words of Jesus...

Jesus is ALSO not primarily talking about some audible voice or voice in our head that we will hear and know for sure that it is him speaking…

I’m not saying that he never speaks that way… but if anyone is going to claim he spoken to us that way, we had better KNOW the words that he has FOR SURE spoken in order to measure any other impression by them.

What Jesus is talking about here when he says, “my words abide in you...” is ALL of the scripture: All of the Bible is the words of Jesus to his people given for the sake of abiding in him. He says later in that…

He says later in that…

We don’t just abide by the words that are in red letters in our Bibles...

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” (, ESV)

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” (, ESV)

So we know how the story unfolds: The Spirit came… and he kept speaking the truth of the words that Jesus spoke… he did not speak on his own authority...

He just took them deeper into the truths that Jesus had already revealed… he showed them the implications and applications for living the Christian life…

And some of these Apostles… and some other followers of Jesus like Paul and Luke… took what the Spirit revealed to them and wrote them down in letters and Gospels… it’s what we now have as the New Testament.

So therefore, all of the New Testament is the words of Jesus given to us for the sake of abiding.

Not only that, but the Old Testament contains the words of Jesus too… The book of Luke tells us that Jesus explained to his disciples,

The book of Luke tells us that Jesus explained to his disciples, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,” (, ESV)

“These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,” (, ESV)

Listen: we can know that Jesus taught every scripture of the Old Testament in light of his fulfillment… and therefore every scripture is a word OF Jesus… ABOUT Jesus…

The rest of the Bible makes clear that...

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (, ESV)

And…

English Standard Version Chapter 4

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

“...the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (, ESV)

And...

The Apostle Peter wrote, “...you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.” (, ESV)

“All flesh is like grass

and all its glory like the flower of grass.

The grass withers,

and the flower falls,

When Jesus says, “if my words abide in you...” he’s talking about ALL of the Scriptures…

25  but the word of the Lord remains forever.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

They are the nourishment… the nutrients passed from the vine into the branch so that we might LIVE and bear MUCH fruit.

But there is a difference between the words ABIDING in us and the simply being exposed to the words by hearing them spoken or reading them off a page…

For Christ's words to abide in us, it’s going to take more than merely reading my Bible as a task to check off the list...

It’s going to take more than me reading the Bible as an intellectual exercise.

It’s going to take more than reading some things that I don’t really process and moving on only to forget what I read…

Christ’s words abiding in us means that they shape us in such a way that they nourish new desires and motivations for our life in him.

It means that we believe them and take them to heart and conform to them and we remember them.

Here’s why this is important: It’s because WORDS are CONSTANTLY shaping our desires and motivations.

God has created us in such a way that WORDS are CONSTANTLY shaping our desires and motivations.

-Words are constantly shaping our desires. The question is, "Which ones?"

And at any given time, you have words abiding in you… remaining in you… shaping the way you think and feel and behave… the question is, "Which ones?"

Think about all the words that come at you throughout the day and how they affect your heart:

Think about your Media intake: often the words that are abiding in us are the words of our daily media intake...

Whether that is cable news confirming your political bias… or trying to communicate to you that the world is falling apart and that there isn’t a sovereign God holding everything in control… so that you would watch more of their news and their ratings go up…

Or words of social media boosting your ego or entrenching you in certain ways of thinking, “Me first… me first… me first”...

This could be the TV shows and movies we watch… or the books and newspapers that we read… or the music we listen to...

Or even the books and newspapers that we read...

Words upon words upon words that we take in through media… these words abide in us… they make their home in us and promise life…

they shape our thoughts and desires and motivations...

If you don’t think your media feed is shaping you, you are lying to yourself.

This is especially true if the first words you turn to in the day are the words of media or social media… that is preaching something to your heart.

Curate that carefully…

Other words that try to abide in you throughout the day may be your "to-do" list

These are some of the loudest words for me that shape me the strongest...

The demands of the day… the commitments that I’ve made… the expectations and requests of of others… the emails I receive... the desire to perform well...

It is a daily liturgy that tries to tell me: you ARE what you accomplish.

And if I’m feeling good about where my to-do list is at, I feel at peace and happy and even proud...

And if I’m not feeling good about my to-do list, I start to feel like the world is falling apart and I need get control…

If we do not take time to quiet ourselves in God’s word… our to-do list will convince us that our identity is in our activities.

Or how about your relationships (friends, family, colleagues, etc.)

The people we talk to throughout the day fill our minds and hearts with all sorts of words...

Words about ourselves that may be true or untrue...

Words about others or about God that may be true or untrue… helpful or unhelpful…

Those words abide in us and we repeat them over and over in our minds…

The words of your relationships… but also what about your own words… think about your complaints..

Every time you complain, you are saying words that are shaping your heart.

They are words that already abide there… out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks....

but they also serve shape your heart to solidify your discontent…

It’s a word that already abides there that only serves to solidify your discontent…

They are words that claim that God is not good and that he has not provided all you need and that you need to get something apart from him.

If I’m honest, I can spend a lot of time complaining… I prefer to call it venting...

I’ll complain about the government… I’ll complain about the IRS… I’ll complain about the person who cut me off on the road…

But that word “venting” a funny word… because if I’m honest, it never really serves to get rid of the steam that I think it does...

Instead it leaves me choking on the filth of my own words…

and your belief that God is not good and that he has not provided all you need.

We listen to our out loud complaints… but sometimes it’s not just what we say out loud… sometimes it is our inner voice...

---Your inner voice

The words that we convince ourselves are true based on how we feel at any given moment.

The words of despair and hopelessness… the words of self-shame and defeat… the words of “if I only had _______ then my life would be complete.”

The words of doubt… the words, “nobody loves me”… the words of “God could care less about me...”

Paul Tripp says, “No one is more influential in your life than you are, because no one talks to you more than you do.”

Source: https://www.paultripp.com/wednesdays-word/posts/talking-to-yourself

The fact is that we are constantly surrounded by words… and here’s why I would spend so much time getting you to think about that:

The words that abide in you are the ones you learn to crave through the habits that form your days and weeks.

-The words that abide in you are the ones you drink in through the habits that form your day.

By way of illustration… there have been seasons in my life where I would eat Ice Cream every single day… sometimes multiple times per day… I didn’t really INTEND to make this my habit, it just was…

It’s not the best thing for me… but I would do it…

What faucets do you use to get a refill?

I don’t remember the turns I made or who else was on the road… I was just on autopilot…

But if I

And so REGULARLY it will happen that I’m driving to Lancaster City and instead of going straight on 222, I will go right on Bunker Hill Rd.

And during those seasons, every day around the same time, I would get hungry… and I would satisfy that hunger with Ice Cream as my first go-to response…

What source do you use to fill the cup that you leave on your nightstand?

Until over time, the amount of sugar intake started making my body feel sore… and I’m like, “What’s going on, something’s gotta give!”

Why? Because that’s where my mind is TRAINED to go…

So I would have to deny myself that craving for a few days in a row, and eat something different… and over time, I came up with a new go-to snack… potato chips…

I guarantee you that you try to stay away from toxic sources of water to nourish your body…

But here’s my point… In the same way, we will CRAVE the foods that have become our habit, our go-to words are the ones planted in us through the habits that form our days and weeks.

You won’t be healthy if the only clean water you drink all day is the first glass you pour… and then you drink water from contaminated wells the rest of the day...

In the same way, we will CRAVE the words that are formed through habits that form our days and weeks.

And if Christ’s words are to abide in us, we need to...

And if Christ’s words are to abide in us, we need to...

1) Identify where and when we are prone to believe words that are not Christ's... and then

-Our habits must be purposefully pointed toward the goal of abiding in Christ and allowing his word to abide in us.

2) Confront those words with a new habit.

ALL of our habits must be purposefully pointed toward the goal of abiding in Christ and allowing his word to abide in us.

Too often we don’t understand the purpose of our habits… they become an end to themselves… they are just something that we do…

We know that we are supposed to listen to a sermon every week...

But we forget that the purpose of those habits are to fuel an ongoing heart posture of abiding in Christ through his word...

And when that happens, they begin to feel kind of pointless or lifeless… and they lose their appeal...

We might feel like they are not working or that WE are just failing… and so we give up on them.

But the words that abide in you are the ones you learn to CRAVE through the habits that form your days and weeks.

The faucets that you continually run to...

And the

I would suggest that for the word of Christ to abide in us, we need to develop three rhythms for our word habits: weekly, daily, and momentary.

Suggested Habits to help the Word Abide in You

Suggested Rhythms and Habits to help the Word Abide in You

Weekly Habits:

Sunday worship: The word of Christ dwells in us richly when we actively address one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs… when we hear the word preached and we purpose ourselves to listen carefully and remember…

Listen… if you don’t purpose to make this a weekly habit, it will get pushed to the sidelines and you will go weeks and even months without it...

Just do this little excercise: count up the weeks you didn’t make it to church last year... if the answer is more than 5, you missed 10 percent… if the answer is more than 10, you missed 20 percent…

Now go back and think through the seasons of the past year that felt dry or you felt distant from God… I’d bet there was some correlation…

And I don’t say that to shame you or to guilt you into anything or to put a law upon you… forgetting what lies behind and pressing on toward what lies ahead… so that we might be FOUND IN HIM…

and we could draw a line between those times and our consistency in gathering with God’s people during those seasons… I hear people say it all the time.

Pursue Sunday worship as an opportunity to grow closer to Christ… not as a law to make yourself worthy before him.

How about the weekly habit of Gospel Communities: they are a place where we discuss how the word of God that was preaced on a Sunday is actually changing us so that we don’t just hear it and move on, but we hear it and remember and apply...

Maybe it would benefit you to have a weekly habit of one longer personal study where you really dig into God’s word…

maybe that would be a good habit to set up on a Sabbath day of rest…

Weekly word habits are opportunities to take an extended look at God’s word in some way… to be nourished by drinking deeply from the fountain of living water…

We need some extended time at least weekly where we are drinking deep from God’s word...

But we could think of it this way: if you only drink a really big glass of water once a week and that’s all you take in, you are going to shrivel up and die…

But if you only drink a really big glass of water once a week and that’s all you have, you are going to shrivel up and die…

Daily Habits: a reading plan (like the Abide plan), memorization plan (like the Fighter verses), identifying a specific time and place in God’s word

It’s best if this daily intake works together with your weekly intake in some way…

That’s why we’ve started putting together reading guides… because you need to see how scripture works together… and because you need the truths of God’s word nourishing you day after day...

and because you need the truths of God’s word nourishing you day after day...

But remember… the goal isn’t just to have your time in God’s word… put it down… and then go drink from other wells all day long...

The goal is that his word would abide in us… that it would continue to nourish our souls throughout every moment of every day.

Sometimes you may need more than one daily habit in the word…

Katy and I were talking about how 4pm every day is the hardest time for our family and for both of US to maintain a heart posture of abiding… because that’s when the kids start melting down and whining and getting antsy...

That is a HABIT in our homes… and it’s not a habit that is fueling our abiding… The chaos is evidence that the kids and parents alike are forgetting the power and presence of Jesus...

The chaos is evidence that the kids and parents alike are forgetting the power and presence of Jesus...

And so we need to replace that old habit of chaos with a new habit...

So yesterday at 4pm… like clockwork… it started happening again…

and we stopped and spent 5 minutes reading a verse in that applied right to what we were dealing with in that moment… that we were working together on our home and that we needed to do that without grumbling and complaining and that God was willing and working in us according to his good pleasure...

This isn’t legalism… like if you don’t do this you have fallen out of his grace...

And I’ll be the first to admit that NOT all the crazy went away… but it was an opportunity to nourishing our heart and mind with the words of Christ…

And it did help us stay focused.

The goal of any word habit is that his word would abide in us… not just in the times where we have a cup of coffee and worship music playing and we can focus… but all throughout the day...

This is simply

That’s why I would also suggest we need to think about…

Momentary Habits: When you finish your morning reading, try to identify “one thing” that you are going to carry with you all day,

"Fighter Verses," they are called that because they are intended to be used to FIGHT…

in the moments of temptation or doubt or anxiety…

in the moments where we are beliving lies and we need to take them captive to TRUTH...

We need to apply those memorized verses in THOSE moments… we need to receive the truth of Christ’s words and believe it when it is hardest to believe.

Sometimes we also need to just take advantage of "short bites" -

We need to leverage God’s words in the moments we are tempted to sin...

building habits that when we have a moment of free time, we open our Bible app instead of scrolling social media…

maybe you could carry an index card with you that has a verse we are memorizing on it and reading it again…

We need to apply the truth of God’s word to the lies we are told by the culture and the lies we tell ourselves...

having a Bible open on the kitchen counter so that when you walk past, you read a verse…

Remember… the goal is abiding… that the words of Christ would abide in us and shape our desires and motivations…

It’s not to establish a new law so that we can perform for God...

It’s not to check all the tasks off the list… and feel bad about ourselves if we miss one…

The goal isn’t the habit itself… the goal is abiding.

But I used to avoid habits because I was afraid they would lead me to legalism… and I’ve come to believe that was just foolishness...

We all have habits… the question is, which words are they promoting…

And so here’s what I want to challenge you to do…

Once you have conceded your absolute need for Jesus, and you’ve identified that the REASON for the habits is closer abiding, pick one habit from each rhythm and pursue it for one month.

--Identify the main reason for the habit (closer abiding), pick one habit from each rhythm and pursue it for one month.

Pick one weekly habit… one daily habit… and one momentary habit… and pursue it every day for one month. And then reevaluate.

You can use the suggested habits I’ve mentioned or you can make up your own...

But I would encourage you… whatever habit you choose… make it your own...

Know the false words that try to find their home in YOUR heart and replace them with Christ’s words.

Now this is important: If you mess up the habit for a day… or even a week… don’t give up… don’t spend 2 seconds wallowing in self-pity… just keep focusing your heart on the Lord.

The goal is a heart posture of abiding… not completing the habit...

If we have conceded our need for Jesus as the only source of life… we will recognize that we can’t live a day… or even a moment without him...

I used to avoid establishing a habit for fear of making it into a law and being legalistic about it… I now realize that was just foolishness…

Author Justin Whitmel Earley says it this way, “Place habits before love and you will be full of legalism. But place love before habits and you will be full of the gospel. God’s love for us really can change the way we live, but the way we live will never change God’s love for us.”

So when we are talking about habits, we aren’t talking about legalism… like if you don’t do these habits, you have fallen out of his grace...

We are talking about simply focusing your heart on the nourishing life of his word as often as you truly need it.

And his grace is there for you… he will give you everything you need… Which is why Jesus says what he says in verse 7… look at it again:

“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (, ESV)

Abiding in Christ involves a constant conversation of receiving his word and responding in prayer.

And once we concede our absolute need… and cultivate Christ’s desires in us by receiving the nourishment of his word… we can then...

3) Confidently pray for whatever you need to fulfill Christ's new desires in you. (v. 7b-8)

Explain: This is a promise that is FREQUENTLY repeated by Jesus… and yet we are often so afraid of it because it is abused so often.

Listen to all these different times Jesus repeats this invitation and promise:

“Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” (, ESV)

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.” (, ESV)

“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.” (, ESV)

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” (, ESV)

Then back to our text for today in - “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (, ESV)

Do you think Jesus wants us to ASK for what we need? So then why are we so hesitant to do it?

I think there are a few reasons…

First, we don’t ask because we haven’t first conceded our absolute need for him as the source of life.

We don’t ask because we don’t really feel like we need Jesus to do the things only he can do in our lives.

We have skills… we have money… we have insurance… we are good… we don’t need to ask…

Second, if we DO ask, it just feels selfish to us...

We think, “I can’t ask for something for myself! How could that possibly be what God wants me to do?!?! That’s what all those prosperity gospel preachers tell me to do… and I KNOW they aren’t right!”

It just feels selfish to us… and we think God has better things to do…

But I think underneath all of that is a deeper problem: I think we are afraid of being let down...

Like… what if God DOESN’T give the thing I ask for… then what?

What will that say about ME? What will that say about HIM?!?!

And so we do not ask.

But all three of those reasons… not understanding our need… feeling selfish… being afraid of being let down… miss the point of Jesus’ invitation.

This is not a promise that Jesus will give you whatever you want in your sinful desires. It is a promise that he will give you whatever you want based on the NEW desires that are shaped by his words... so that you bear much fruit.

One of my GCC pastor friends, Brandon Capuano at Harvest Buffalo, asked this question in a sermon to his congregation recently: “If every prayer of yours was answered that you prayed this year, who would be the main beneficiary? If every prayer of yours was answered that you prayed this year, how would the kingdom of God have advanced?

That really gets at the heart of it… doesn’t it?

Notice… the ability to ask is BASED UPON the words of Christ abiding in you: IF you abide in me and my words abide in you… THEN ask whatever you wish...

In the other verses that we read, he used the words, “Ask according to his will… ask in my name...”

The words, “In Jesus name” are not supposed to be words that we use to wrap up our prayer with a nice neat bow...

They aren’t words that are a magical incantation either...

They are a constant reminder to us that our prayers must be the expression of Christ abiding in us… the expression of his desires flowing through us…

I would encourage you to say those words, “In Jesus name” with all of the full meaning Jesus intends for them… that HIS words are fueling the desires of your prayer…

This invitation to “ask” is give to the person who has RECEIVED the nourishment of the word… it has spoken into and shaped the desires and motivations of their heart…

and now they are responding… expressing their need for God to provide everything for them.

They need his grace for the character he wants to produce… and so they ask...

They need his provision if they are going to obey in the way they want him to… and so they ask...

They need his courage and power and endurance for the ministry he wants to produce… and so they ask…

And as they ask, HE GIVES!!!

When your desires have been nourished and transformed by the word of God that abides in you… confidently pray for whatever you need.

When your desires have been nourished and transformed by the word of God that abides in you… confidently pray for whatever you need.

The Father answers those types of prayers… because he is glorified by the fruit they produce.

You need absolutely everything from him… to produce everything he wants to produce in you and through you.

And so ask CONFIDENTLY… believing God will answer.

He is more committed to producing life and fruit in you than you could ever imagine.

Because as Jesus says in verse 8 - “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” (, ESV)

We show the glory of God in our lives when HE PROVIDES everything we need for fruit he wants to produce in us.

If we could produce the fruit without remaining in Christ as his disciples, we would get the glory… but we CAN’T.

And so we concede that we have an absolute need for him… we cultivate Christ’s desires by receiving the nourishment of his words… and then we confidently pray for everything we need to fulfill those new desires in us.

This brings new life to our prayers, doesn’t it?

No longer are we just praying for things WE want in our flesh hoping that God will give them...

No longer are we just talking to a wall, wondering if anyone is listening...

We are now casting ourselves before the Lord… seeking everything we need to produce the fruit he is seeking in us.

Our asking becomes a cooperation in his work toward his purposes for his glory.

It becomes the primary thing that we do to bear much fruit.

And so as we close, here are some…

Suggested Rhythms and Habits to Abide through Prayer

Weekly Habits: Fasting, 1 hr in focused prayer, prayer with others

Daily Habits: Praying the Scriptures, Kneeling Prayer, a prayer list for each day of the week, a specific time and place for prayer

Momentary Habits: "Arrow prayers"

Again, pick one habit from each of the three rhythms… weekly, daily, and momentary… and commit to pursuing them for 30 days...

-You can be confident in prayer because the Father is glorified when you produce much fruit... which he is committed to giving you everything you need for that fruit.

And if you fall short of your goal… return to the need… convince your heart of it… believe his sufficiency for you… and keep going…

Abide in Christ through a constant conversation of receiving his word and responding in prayer.