The Key to Faithfulness

The Foundational Calling of the Believer

John 15:5 “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.”

The foundational calling of the believer is to abide in Jesus Christ.

Abiding carries with it two important concepts:

Relationship - To abide with someone means that you walk in a close relationship. You cannot be far from someone and abide.

Dependency - Without the vine, the branch dies.

What can we accomplish on our own?

Nothing

There is a difference between activity and production.

In our flesh we can:

Have a Worship service

Attend Sunday School

Help the hurting

Visit the sick

Participate in evangelistic outreaches

Though we can do all of this in our flesh, we can accomplish nothing of eternal value for the Kingdom on our own. We can have a lot of “religious activity,” but we cannot accomplish Kingdom victories without abiding in Jesus.

If Abiding in Jesus is the key to faithfulness, what causes us to drift from Jesus?

A lesson from Revelation. Revelation 2:1-7 ““To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. “ ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’”

What the Church at Ephesus was doing Right:

They labored for the Kingdom with patient endurance.

They did not put up with evil people.

They were true to the Word.

They faithfully faced trials related to their faith without growing weary.

What was wrong with the church at Ephesus?

They replaced relationship for religion.

In any important relationship, duty without relationship never ends well.

Husband/wife

Parent/child

Jesus does not primarily desire our Christian duty, He desires us.

Signs We Are No Longer Abiding with Christ

We neglect time in the Word and prayer.

We neglect the practice of the Spiritual Disciplines.

We have the wrong motivation for the Spiritual Disciplines.