Spotlight: Abiding in Christ
Notes
Transcript
Handout
A few weeks ago, we started our sermon series entitled: Mirrors to Windows. The focus of this series is the truth that God wants us to reflect Jesus in our own frontlines. Like a mirror’s reflection, Christians are called to reflect Jesus in the places outside these church windows- in those places where we live, work, and play. In those ordinary places we can see God do extraordinary things in us and through us as we join Him in drawing people to Himself.
In the first week of this series, we presented the following main ideas:
MAIN IDEAS OF SERIES
• God wants you to reflect Jesus in your own frontline.
• To best reflect Jesus in our own frontlines we must first become more like Him. (and)
• To best reflect Jesus in our own frontlines we must allow Him to saturate every aspect of our lives.
Last week we put a spotlight on the first two of those main ideas as we discussed our need to develop Christ like character.
This week I want to put a spotlight on the last of those truths:
• To best reflect Jesus in our own frontlines we must allow Him to saturate every aspect of our lives.
The other day I went to McDonalds and through the garbled sound of the drive through speaker the teller asked, “would you like to make that a large?” Her question got me thinking of the times when “super-size,” and “biggie size,” were a thing. What they were offering the consumer was something more than the average experience. In other words, we don’t have to be content with normal because we can have more.
In John 15, Jesus goes into the upper room and offers His disciples the opportunity to, as Dr. Tony Evans puts, it
“super-size their experience of Him. I hope you are not satisfied with the regular order of Jesus. I hope you want something more.”
That brings me to our first point this morning:
SERMON POINTS
1. To best reflect Jesus in our own frontlines we must allow Him to saturate every aspect of our lives by abiding in Him.
Last week’s sermon challenged us to commit to authentic character development. If I were to use one word to describe what God did in my life as I shared that message, it would be- conviction.
This week my one-word description is- longing. I passionately desire that deeper, that richer experience of Christ. I long for that satisfying fulness of abiding in Christ and I long for Him to take us, all of us, to another level.
This longing is reflected in the poetic words of Jesus’ analogy in John 15- let’s start with verse 1
Jn. 15:1-11
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 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. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 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. 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. 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. 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. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
(Have your electric kettle on a table. Turn it on now for an illustration later)
In this short passage, Jesus tells us ten times to abide in Him. But what does that mean?
According to the Oxford Dictionary the definition of abide is to “accept or act in accordance with (a rule, decision, or recommendation).”
This definition corresponds well with Jesus’ instruction in John 15.
Friends, it is Father God who provides a way for us to have a relationship with Him through Jesus. If you don’t already know Him, I want to introduce you to Him this morning. You see our sin, your bad choices and mine, keep us from having access to our good and loving God. Sadly, our ungoodness and sinful choices have a consequence- an eternal separation from the goodness of God. But He was not satisfied to leave us to suffer that consequence on our own so He became one of us. His name is Jesus. He lived a sinless life and suffered and died on a cross to take upon Himself the penalty of our sin. And when He rose from the dead three days later He conquered both sin and death. So that all those who want to have a relationship with God and to spend an eternity with Him in heaven need only to believe in Jesus- to accept His free gift of forgiveness for our sin- and to choose to follow Him.
As John 3:16-17
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
If you have never put your faith and trust in Jesus, I invite you to do so this morning. Don’t wait.
Friends, through Jesus our relationship with God is established and maintained by Him. As speaker Graham Cooke explains,
“Relationship is forever possible because of Jesus’ sacrifice. In relationship we stand in His righteousness and are given grace to conform to God’s image. God takes care of the relationship; we take care of the fellowship.
“Abiding is the practice of staying in fellowship.” -Graham Cooke
We don’t do anything to get into the Presence of God because salvation is a free gift, but we must do everything to stay there. Fellowship is about developing, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we are able to maintain the present-to-the-moment lifestyle of abiding. The Father has put us into relationship with Jesus and He will not take us out of this placement. The work of the Holy Spirit is to enable us to stay in that place and enjoy the benefits of consistent fellowship.”
Friends, we abide with Christ by receiving and believing in all that Jesus has done for us. He gave us a way to have a relationship with us but it is our decision, our choice, to grow that relationship- to fellowship with Him.
Our relationship with Jesus is kind of like the relationship between a husband and wife. That analogy is used often in the Bible. A healthy marriage depends on both people in the relationship working to maintain it. They need to spend time together, talk and share with one another, even date each other. I always say that before marriage dating is optional but after marriage it is a necessity. My love for my wife has grown stronger over the years because I have developed and fostered it. This is just like abiding in Christ. In John 15, abiding means intimacy. Jesus is saying, if you want to be like me, you must hang out with me.
We must spend time with Him, talk with Him, share every aspect of our lives with Him, and be honest with Him- Some people just visit Jesus. They visit Him on Sunday or when they say “grace” at mealtimes. They want to “go out with Jesus” or “date” Him, but as Dr. Tony Evans states,
“Jesus wants a ring. He doesn’t want just a little bit- He wants us to give Him our all.”
So in John 15, Jesus tells us 10 times, “abide with me.”
(Pour hot water from the kettle into a clear glass mug and take one already un packaged tea bag and dip it quickly in and out of the hot water as you talk. The water will turn slightly tan. After a few times, take it out and leave it out).
I don’t know about you, but I love tea. Now I have come across two main kinds of tea drinkers.
The first are the dippers. They take the tea bag and they dip it in and out of the water. When it comes to tea… this is all well and good but when it comes to intimacy with Jesus- not so much… Are you a dipper? Do you let Him in (dip the tea) but then you push Him out (take the bag out). You pray to Him some times (put the tea bag in) but ignore Him for days (take the tea bag out). You pray when things are rough (dip) but forget to thank Him when things are good (out). You love Him on Sunday (dip) but really want Him to let you do your own thing the rest of the week (out and stay out). Friends, how well is that working for you? (long pause, as you examine the light tan tea. Put it down and then take a 2nd glass mug and fill it half full with hot water. Then take the 2nd tea bag unfold it and let it dangle over the second cup of hot water.)
The other kind of tea drinker takes the bag and just drops the bag in (drop it) and then they just leave it alone. They are abiders. They let all the tea goodness just seep into the water- permeate it- saturate it and you can see a transformation occurs. Because hot water and tea are made for each other and if you just let them hang out long enough together the change will come. What about you? When it comes to Jesus are you an abider?
Pastor John Piper explains,
“It is trusting in Jesus, remaining in fellowship with Jesus, connecting to Jesus so that all that God is for us in him is flowing like a life-giving sap into our lives. That’s number one: abiding is believing, trusting, savoring, resting, receiving…
Nothing of any spiritual, eternal significance is possible apart from this abiding in the vine. Jesus says, ‘Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing’ (John 15:5).
In other words, we are not dealing here with something marginal or optional. If we are not united to the vine so that Christ’s life is flowing into us, then his words, his love, his joy will be utterly and totally barren. Nothing of any lasting value will come from us.”
That brings me to our second point this morning,
2. If we fail to abide in Christ, our faith will suffer (John 15:4-6).
Take note that Jesus starts with an analogy of what it looks like not to abide in Him. In verse 6 He explains,
“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.’
Uncover the withered and dying plant. Friends, I have a confession to make. I am a plant killer. A murder of all things green and growing. I just do not have our dear brother Ernie’s talent. I try to care for them, but I forget to water them. I give them too much shade and well - this is the result (point to the plant) As fellow plant killer and author Trilla Newbell explains,
“I forget to water the plant, choking it from its needed nourishment. And then one day, I turn around and there it is, withered away. This didn’t happen overnight. It happened after a series of neglect. So one by one, the branches fall off from the vine.
This, I think, is what Jesus is explaining to us in John 15:4–6. He explains that by not abiding in him we are like my pitiful plants — we will soon fall off the vine — our roots where we receive nourishment were never truly planted. The fruit of the vine is proof of our faith. Not perfection — but fruit, even if a small bud.”
That brings us to our third point this morning:
3. When you abide in Christ you will produce more fruit.
In other words,
You can measure the quality of your intimacy with Jesus by the quality of your fruit.
In John 15 and later in Galatians 5, fruit is used as an analogy for our Christ-like character. We looked at Galatians 5 last week so let’s take a closer look at what Jesus says here in John 15. He begins the chapter by using His analogy to demonstrate that abiding in Him produces fruit then in verse 9 He describes what the fruit is (NIV),
John 15:9-17
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.
Love. Jesus uses that word nine times in this passage. If you have been tracking with us Sunday after Sunday, you will know that we talk about love a lot. This is why. Because as Jesus points out in this passage, at the very heart of the Christian faith is LOVE.
It is the fruit- the evidence of our faith. It is the reward for our fellowship with God. It is the joy- the hope- the encouragement- the promise- the stronghold- the unshakeable foundation of who we are as followers of Jesus.
God loves us so He sent His Son to lay down His life for us. We respond to His love for us with love for Him in return and the fruit of God’s love for us and our love for Him is love for others.
As Corinthians 13: 4-8 describes,
1 Corinthians 13: 4-8
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
This echoes Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV) where the fruit of the Spirit is identified as,
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
“love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
Friends, last week I reminded all of us, including myself, that when it comes to character- we just can’t fake it. We may think we have others fooled but the people who really know us- they well- know us. We just can’t fake it. And here in John 15, Jesus says it as well- those who abide in Him produce real sweet and delicious fruit. Those who do not abide in Him do not. The closer you are to Him, the deeper your fellowship with Him, the more radiant and authentic your character. The more love you allow Him to poor into your life- the more love you have to poor out to others. The more of Him you experience- His glory- His peace- His joy- His patience- His healing- His encouragement- His holiness- His kindness the more of Him and all His wonderful attributes you experience the more you will have to share with others.
Brothers and Sisters,
Abiding is the difference between faking it and authenticity.
It is the difference between doing it in our own strength or by His divine provision.
Abiding is the difference between burn out and fulfillment.
It is the difference between striving and thriving.
In short, it makes all the difference in the world.
To best reflect Jesus in our own frontlines we must allow Him to saturate every aspect of our lives by abiding in Him.
Let us pray (I suggest that you invite the congregation to respond to the message through the time of prayer maybe even do an alter call).