Abiding in Christ as a Church
Abiding in Christ • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction
When I was at Mars Hill College, now Mars Hill University, I was able to take a class that gave me an opportunity to sing in the College Chorus. We would often perform across the state in various meetings and gatherings. One time we sang at a convention in the Greensboro Coliseum. We had the College choir, chorus and orchestra combined to perform. One of the songs we did was an anthem from a more modern hymn called Stir Your Church, O God, Our Father. It was quite phenomenal to sing with that group and to hear fill the coliseum with what seemed like a dynamic prayer to God on behalf of the church.
The first verse says this,
Stir Your church, O God our Father, Move thro’-out its life today;
Cultivate a sense of mission In our hearts and minds, we pray.
Help us to renew commitment To a way of ministry
Which interprets for our culture How Your truth can make us free.
It was powerful to hear the combination of the voices and the orchestra as this song was performed and these words were sung. I always have been moved by that hymn and have often made it part of prayers for the universal church and for our church as well. I think that the church has become complacent over the years and we need to be stirred up by the hand of God. We are called to be people of action yet we often have become people of inaction. Our prayer should be one that indeed points people to Jesus. I am convinced that this can happen when we recognize the truths found in John 15 and we are obedient in abiding in Christ. Not only do we as individuals need to abide in Christ, we also must abide in Christ as a church. Today, we will look at John 15:8-15
8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have 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.
11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.
12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.
I want to discuss these verses in a way that is a bit out of order. We are going to look at verse 11 first, then verses 9-10, jump back to verse 8, then finish with 12-13. If you go to sleep in points one and two then wake up at point 3, you will be really confused.
The Abiding Church Mapped Out (vs. 11)
The Abiding Church Mapped Out (vs. 11)
What does the abiding church look like? Let’s see what it is to map it out. We know from John 15:1 that Jesus is the Vine. If we dive into that a bit deeper, we will see a cross reference to Isaiah 5:1-2
1 I will sing for the one I love
a song about his vineyard:
My loved one had a vineyard
on a fertile hillside.
2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones
and planted it with the choicest vines.
He built a watchtower in it
and cut out a winepress as well.
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,
but it yielded only bad fruit.
This passage is talking about God providing a scenario for us to grow and bear fruit. In essence, He reminds us here that we are created to abide in Him. So He gives us the privilege to be in His vineyard. God expects vineyard fruit from vineyard privileges. Our study last week of the earlier verses in John 15 that Jesus said I am the Vine and you are the branches (John 15:5).
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
We are connected to the True Living Vine that gives us everything we need to live and live well. While again it is a privilege, we are reminded that we are connected to abide. John 15:11 tells us that this is possible so that our joy may remain in us and be full. The word for remain is the same as abide. Not only does our Lord want us to experience His joy, but He desires for it to be full, to be filled to the top, or to the brim. Isn’t just like our Lord to want that for us? A quick review shows us that if we do what we are commanded to do then we will abide.
15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command.
We are given these commands out of love and our response should be in love.
The Abiding Church Maintains a Loving Relationship with the Father (vs. 9-10)
The Abiding Church Maintains a Loving Relationship with the Father (vs. 9-10)
The abiding church will maintain a loving relationship with the Father. The model we have here is that the Father loves the Son. I remember studying this one day and asking the question, “Just how does the Father love the Son?” I wrote in the margin of my Bible the word “extreme.” Extreme means "utmost or exceedingly, the farthest or very great in lengths, or of a character or kind farthest removed from the ordinary or average." The love that the Father has for the Son is extreme. Jesus goes on to say “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.” Now be reminded that this is not a new thing. The Father has loved the Son forever.
24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
The Father has placed everything in the Son’s hands.
35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.
Jesus in turn shows His disciples and everyone else of His love for the Father and remains in His love. As an example, Jesus remains in the love of the Father by doing what the Father commands. No where in Scripture do we ever say Jesus saying, “how about this way Lord or no I am not going to do that.” Jesus understood the assignment. We need to understand the assignment too. Christian, you and I are called to abide in the love of Jesus and maintain an intimate holy relationship with Him. Our love for Jesus should be the wellspring of our obedience to Him. Again the example of Jesus is to please the Father.
29 The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.”
Through our obedience to the Father and the Son, and because of our love for them, we will abide in the Son. We must come to the point where as individuals, we exchange our long-distance relationship with God for a close loving relationship through which we have daily contact with Jesus.
8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
This leads to another thought we find as we jump back to verse 8.
The Abiding Church Makes Disciples (vs. 8)
The Abiding Church Makes Disciples (vs. 8)
8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
The abiding church makes disciples.
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Do you remember why the church exists? The church exists in its simplest form to equip and empower us in our walk with Christ. In a more complex understanding, there is a branch of theology called ecclesiology which is about the doctrine and purpose of the church. Ecclesiology covers a wide field to discuss the church’s attributes, the church as an institution and the church as a mission. My definition of the purpose of the church is this: The purpose of the church is to relate to society the opportunity of the gospel and how it changes our lives and calls us into action by living out the example of Christ. If our church does not do that, we have lost our purpose. There are many folks that think the church should be run like a business or some kind of social club. Some churches are like that. In a few weeks we will have a business meeting. The business meeting serves the ministry of the church, the ministry of the church does not serve the business meeting. In other words, we exist as a church to live out its passion. The passion of the church is to make disciples. If we are carrying the opportunity of the gospel into our community, we are going to impact others with the message of Christ. That impact will call for action in which lives are changed for the Glory of God. This is done when we make disciples. What is a disciple?
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
A disciple is that person that has given up on self and placed his or her absolute trust in Jesus Christ. A disciple is one that is daily living in a posture of repentance. That person is in an abiding relationship with Jesus strives to grow that relationship daily. A disciple is a person that shares what he or she has become in Christ by abiding in Him and helps show others how to do the same.
The position of the church should be doing everything possible to help oneself and others abide in Christ. We should not have any activity whatsoever that does not promote the abiding of Christ.
31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
Everything we do should help us and everyone that participates abide more in Christ.
The Abiding Church Makes Friends (vs. 13-15)
The Abiding Church Makes Friends (vs. 13-15)
I love these last verses of our text.
13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.
The best example of abiding is the unselfish sacrifice Jesus did for us. I cannot get over the fact Jesus did this for me and because of my sin. Yet in doing so, He calls me friend. Don’t get me wrong. Jesus is not my homeboy or the man upstairs, He is the living, breathing Son of God and He is my Lord, Savior and the Redeemer of my heart. He calls me His friend and I in turn must love him so much that I abide in His love and obey His commands. As a result, I am going to do all I can do to make friends with others and encourage them to be in a relationship with Jesus. That means I am going to promote unity instead of rivalry.
22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
I am going to promote trust instead of suspicion.
37 Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
there is a future for the man of peace.
I am going to promote obedience instead of self-assertion.
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
Oh Stir Your Church, O God, Our Father!
My prayer is that we would be an abiding church! For us to be an abiding church, we must be abiding as Christians. Have you come to the place in your life where you have said yes to the Lord Jesus Christ and you are abiding in Him and in His glorious love?