The Daring Exploits of the Abiding Christian

INTRO

We are going to take a look at John 15 this morning, and while you are turning there in your Bibles let me tell you about this passage:

During my Senior year of High School and into my freshman year of college I was constantly bombarded with these verses. I heard them from the preacher at my church, I heard it at youth retreats I helped with, I even heard it in the youth group on Wednesday.

Each time the call was the same:

Abide. You must abide in Christ. You need to abide in His love. If you aren’t abiding then you don’t know Jesus!

Hearing all this, I was ready to abide! Really ready! One problem though, I didn’t know how. I’m not sure if all these messages just didn’t get to the “How To” section on abiding or if I just didn’t catch it. One thing was for sure though, I didn’t know how to obey this command that I was convinced was essential to living my life with Christ.

It was worse than that though, I was also convinced that if I was more spiritual, if I was able to get thing just a little more aligned in my life, then I could learn how to abide.

I felt like if I was some sort of Super Christian then I could abide! I felt like I needed to be superman.

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This comic is a first edition superman. I don’t know if you can read the caption at the bottom it says:

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“THE COMPLETE STORY OF THE DARING EXPLOITS OF THE ONE AND ONLY SUPERMAN”

Today I’ve got good news for every Christian in here. You don’t have to be Superman or Wonder Woman, you don’t even have to be some sort of Next Level Super Christian. Today I want to talk to you about the

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“THE DARING EXPLOITS OF THE ABIDING CHRISTIAN”

Let’s start by reading this passage together.

John 15:1–5 ESV

1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 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. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 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.

1. Abiding Christians Bear Much Fruit.

We are called to bear fruit.

SHOW BEAR FRUIT

I’m not talking about this kind of bearing fruit. We are called to bear much fruit.

So as we read verse 2

John 15:2 ESV

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.

immediately I’ve got a couple questions:

First, What kind of Fruit? If I’m suppose to bear much of this stuff, I need to know what it is, right?

What kind?

I believe Jesus has in mind all the fruits of intimacy that come from a relationship with him. This fruit we are suppose to bear would certainly include the

Fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 but I think there is so much more.

The New Self we have in Christ can be seen in Colossians 3:12-17. Write these verses down and go read through it a few times this week.

With the list in Galatians and in Colossians this bearing fruit thing seems to look more and more like a job for superman, right?

I think for this very reason Jesus says these things to the disciple right after He’s talked about the Helper who is coming. Let’s look at this in John 14:26:

John 14:26 ESV

26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

Just in case we missed it Jesus says it again in John 16:13 after He’s talked about all these things.

John 16:13 ESV

13 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.

These verses should comfort us! We have the Spirit of God in us helping us bear much fruit!

The next question that comes from these verses is How do we bear much fruit?

How do we bear fruit?

Jesus doesn’t leave us hanging! Look at what He says here in John 15:7:

John 15:7 ESV

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

Look closely at this verse, Jesus kind of flies right over it, but it’s right there one way we bear much fruit is by

Knowing the Scriptures

Wow! What insight Wesley! You’ve been studying all week and all you’ve got is read the Bible?

But hold on, look what Jesus says: If you abide in me and MY WORDS ABIDE IN YOU...

John 15:7 ESV

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

The disciples seem to have an advantage here. They hear these words first hand from Jesus. But I think we have the advantage. We have the very words of God spoken through out history preserved right here in this Bible. We can hear these words over and over again.

Bear with me a minute and you might want to slip your foot into a steel toe boot, because I think we could spend the whole message here.

Do you read the Bible?

In our day and age there are so many good resources for studying the bible. We can grab our phone and watch a hundred sermons, listen to thousands of podcast, we can pull up the bible app and read pages of devotionals written by Men and Women of God from all over the globe!

But, do you read the Bible?

R.A. Torrey was an American evangelist, pastor and writer said it this way:

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Do not study commentaries, lesson helps or other books about the Bible: study the Bible itself. Do not study about the Bible, study the Bible. The Bible is the Word of God, and only the Bible is the Word of God.

Torrey is taking a hard stance here and don’t think there is anything wrong with the helps. But we have to read the actual Bible.

We must spend time in it. We must memorize it.

We must cling to it as if our very lives depended on it, because truthfully they do and our live will depend more on it the darker this world gets.

Okay, I am stepping off the soap box.

How we know what to pray

We have spent time abiding in the Word of God.

The Second way we bear much fruit is by praying. Another profound statement I know, but look at the text:

John 15:7–8 ESV

7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

How do we know what to pray? From the time we have abided in the Word of God. Here is a second quote from R.A. Torrey:

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The prayer that is born of meditation upon the Word of God is the prayer that soars upward most easily to God’s listening ear.

How we know what commands we are to keep

We have spent abiding in the Word of God, and time praying the word of God over our live and the lives of others.

Now, the third way we bear much fruit is by keeping the commandments of Christ.

John 15:10 ESV

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.

Now he’s not saying keep my commandments so that I’ll love you.

Some of you may have grown up in houses like that, or you may live in a house like that now.

The second half of the verse would make no sense if this was the case. Jesus isn’t loved by the Father because He keeps the Father’s commandments.

Jesus is saying: here is the way you show you are abiding in my love—you keep my commandments. And SPOILER ALERT one of His commandments is to love which we’ll look at in just a minute.

Notice also that keeping the commandments isn’t some white-knuckled, teeth-grinding, keeping of the commandments. It’s motivated by love.

John 15:9–10 ESV

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

Outcomes

This is one of the outcomes that we:

Love in a similar way that Christ and God love

John 15:10b ESV

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.

We also live lives of joy:

Joy - Christ’s Joy and our own

John 15:11 ESV

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

Jesus has spoken these things to us to give us joy! His joy in us leading to our joy in this life and the next.

The band MercyMe has a song called Grace Got You, listen to these lyrics:

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Have you ever met those who Keep humming when the song's through? It's like they're living life to a whole different tune And have you ever met those that Keep hoping when it's hopeless It's like they figured out what the rest haven't yet

The second when you realize What you have inside It's only just a matter of time 'til you

Sing, so the back row hears you Glide, 'cause walking just won't do Dance, you don't have to know how to Ever since, ever since grace got you Laugh, 'til your whole side's hurting Smile like you just got away with something Why? 'Cause you just got away with something Ever since, ever since grace got you

This is one songs way of showing how joy infects a Christians life.

2. Abiding Christians Love One Another and God.

John 15:12–15 ESV

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 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

So right up front I just want to say

Word for friends is φίλος - means friend or beloved - it is the noun form of one of the Greek verbs for love φιλέω

It where we get the city of Brotherly love Philadelphia

We saw earlier that the keeping of Christ’s commandments is motivated by love and here we see that one of the commandments is love!

This should surprise us because the idea of loving one another and God is all throughout Scripture.

This idea is throughout all of Scripture

i. Ten Commandments in Exodus 20

ii. Micah 6:8 Do Justice, Love Kindness and Walk Humbly with God

iii. Greatest Commandments

Matthew 22:36–39 ESV

36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

How?

As Christ loved us

We must speak the truth in love.

Earlier in this series we saw in John 3 Jesus talking to Nicodemus. Even though to the outside world it might look like Ol’ Nick had it together but Jesus knew he needed salvation and so Jesus has some hard words for Him.

In the next chapter, Jesus talks to a Samaritan Woman. Even though there was bitter racial tensions between Samaritans and Jews, he speaks kindly and humbly. He even tells her in some of the most direct language that He is the Christ.

So we must speak the truth in love: hard conversations when needed, tenderness when needed, to people like us, to people different than us.

We must walk through all seasons of life with others in love.

In John 2 Jesus is at a joyous Wedding at Cana, he even helps out when they needed help.

We see Him join in the bitter sorrow of the Death of Lazarus in John 11.

We must also lay our lives down for others.

1. Part of this will happen as we love like Jesus. But we also have to Consider others better like Jesus did. The Apostle Paul record this in

Philippians 2:3–7 ESV

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

3. Abiding Christians are Chosen and Appointed.

John 15:16–17 ESV

16 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. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

Jesus chose and appointed His disciples to go and spread the good news about Jesus. In this verse we can see that the fruit we are bearing is changed lives—our own but also others. As we share the Gospel or good news with people that Jesus has payed the price for sin and that we can be cleansed of all unrighteousness people will respond. We will bear fruit that abides—for eternity!!

As we are faithful, God will do the great things He has been planning since before the earth was created! Look at these words of the Apostle Paul:

Ephesians 2:8–10 ESV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

And it’s our responsibility to walk in them. We have been chosen and appointed to bear much fruit. We must pour out our lives, not to get grace, but because of grace, not to get love, but because He first loved us!

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“Grace is not opposed to effort; grace is opposed to earning. Earning is a attitude. Effort is an action."

Again, these are not super Christian acts. R.A. Torrey when he was in his freshman year of college took a straight razor and sat on his bed. He was determined to take his own life rather than turn to Christ. The Lord prevented him from taking his life and he fell down and commited his life to Christ saying, “Jesus Christ, take me.”

These words are fitting for us today. Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, according to the will of the Father is calling us to do the very thing we were made to do: abide in Christ and through that abiding we WILL bear much fruit to the Glory of God!

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