191 Years & Counting… If We Abide In Jesus. (John 15:1-11)
GIST: If we abide in Jesus, doors to serve will be opened, God’s glory will be on full display, we will be encompassed by perpetual love, and our lives will be filled with abundant joy.
This morning, we’re celebrating Providence’s 191st anniversary. Guys, that’s exciting. For 191 years, God has been working through a local church here. That’s incredible.
Today is a day to look back and thank God for all He’s done (and He’s done so much!). It’s also a day to look forward because seeing that legacy of faith should be an encouragement to keep walking with Him until He returns. Last week, as I was reading John 13 and preparing to share that with you as our bridge message between the Summer in Psalms and the return to our Revelation study, I read over John 15 as well. Just reading it felt like a Homecoming message to me, so I really wanted to share it with you today.
Honestly, there is too much here to take in one setting, so I want to give you a few pre-points to set the stage, then we’ll camp out in the last section today. Let’s read verses 1-6 to place this in some context.
“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. 6 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.”
Verses 1-6 really present what could be called “The Context of Life”. Without Him We Can Do Nothing. Our existence is completely dependant upon Jesus. Without Him Our Future Is Empty. Our hope is in His salvation alone. With Him We Will Face Cleansing (Pruning). Life won’t always be easy. That’s important to cling to as we walk through the blessings of abiding in Jesus in just a moment. Those promises don’t come with a guarantee of ease. The branches that are dead are cut off, and those that are alive are pruned to ensure they keep growing. And that could be a whole sermon in itself ☺️! With Him We Will Bear Fruit. There will be evidence of His grace in our lives.
It’s in that immediate context that we come to the passage I want to digest a bit with you this morning. Let’s look a verses 7-11.
“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. 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. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”
Here’s our gist for this morning. As we look back to all He’s done and look forward to all He’s going to do, let’s keep this in mind→ If we abide in Jesus, doors to serve will be opened, God’s glory will be on full display, we will be encompassed by perpetual love, and our lives will be filled with abundant joy. No, that doesn’t mean it will always be sunshine and rainbows, but it sure does mean it will be worth it! Let’s dive in.
I. If We Abide In Jesus (7a)
“7a If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you…”
Before we get into any of these results connected to abiding, we should at least spend a few seconds establishing what that expected condition is, right ☺️? To abide in Christ means to remain focused on Him, to seek Him first, to deliberately follow Him. Abiding in Christ is living life with seeking Him, wanting to know Him more, wanting to love Him better. It’s not just a nominal Christianity. If Jesus is just a t-shirt you where or a service you attend, that’s not abiding.
Abiding in Jesus also means… yeah, digging seriously into His Word ☺️. This is the first point, but it’s already here! We abide in Him and His word abides in us! When that is true→
II. Doors To Serve Will Be Opened (7b)
“7b… ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”
Now, we have to consider the→
Context Of Our Desires. Otherwise, this could really seem like a name it and claim it teaching. And if you were to just take 7b all alone, I could totally see where you would think that. It’s like Jesus is just a genie. BUT that’s not at all what is being described here. If we are abiding in Jesus and His Word is abiding in us, our desires are different, so what we’re desiring isn’t just selfish stuff anymore. Let me give a couple examples→
If We Are Seeking Jesus, We Will Find Him. This promise is sprinkled all throughout Scripture. Here are two examples that often come to my mind. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” (Matthew 5:6); “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”(Jeremiah 29:13) He isn’t trying to hide from you! We can know Him. We just don’t spend a whole lot of time looking…
If Our Hearts Have Been Transformed By His Grace, We’ll Want People To See Him. That should be our desire. It’s the great commission: “And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20). And if we want to share the gospel, He will provide doors for us to walk through. Guys, we’ve seen that this summer. If we’re abiding in Him, and He’s changing our desires, we will see Him open doors for us to come closer to Him and share Jesus with the people around us.
III. God’s Glory Will Be On Full Display (8)
“8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples.”
If you’re with us often, you’ve probably heard me make this statement→
God’s Glory Is His Character On Full Display. The glory of man is his best attributes. The glory of God is… Himself, because He only has good attributes! So God being glorified by us bearing fruit means→
People Will See Jesus When We’re Walking With Him. This is incredible! Bearing fruit means living lives that start to reflect the heart of Jesus. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—those are called the “fruit of the Spirit”. And when that kind of fruit is springing up in our lives, it is because Jesus has made a difference! Because of that, people will see Him. Our lives will be a testimony, a witness, to His glory.
Guys, this is so amazing to me. We’re broken, messed up people who need Jesus so badly. Still, we can be used by Him to show other broken, messed up people His amazing grace! And that happens… when we abide in Jesus. Furthermore→
IV. We Will Be Encompassed By Perpetual Love (9-10)
“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.”
I know love has come up a lot over the past couple messages, but I’m not adding it to the Bible. It’s there. It’s all over the place…because God is love. If we abide in Him… we will be abiding in love. Let me just make a few observations about these versus here. First→
His Love Is Abundant. He loves us like the Father loved Jesus. That’s a perfect love. You cannot be loved better than Jesus loves you. In fact, if you’re reading these words right now and you get nothing else from what I’m typing up, please please hear this: Jesus loves you completely: warts and all. And→
We’re Meant To Abide In His Love. Our lives are meant to be consumed not by grumbling, not by fear, not by lust, not by bitterness, not by anything else this world keeps throwing at us, but by love. It should be our “positive obsession”. My son and I both have a tendency to fixate on things we really get into. And I know we’re not alone. Are we fixated by His love? If we are, we won’t just be thinking about it, we’ll be living in such a way that demonstrates our commitment to His love. This verse actually says “if you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love”.→
So, Is Obeying God Earning His Love Then? No. Not at all. You can do absolutely NOTHING to earn His love. He loves you. Period. In His sovereign grace, He has chosen to do that. Obeying God, however, puts us in the right mindset to experience His love. If we love Him, we will want to follow His lead, and when we follow His lead we’ll be in the center of His will because we’re walking with Him—sticking with that love!
V. And Our Lives Will Be Filled With Abundant Joy (11)
“11 These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”
Yes, I know. I bring up joy all the time too. But I’m not making it up. You see it there too, right!? ☺️ It keeps coming up because this is true:
Jesus Wants Us To Experience His Joy. How beautiful is it that Jesus says, “I told you all this so you can have My joy.”? His joy. The joy of the creator of all joy. I’d say that’s pretty incredible. And→
Jesus Wants Our Joy To Be…Abundant. He wants it to be full. Guys, I see a lot of heartbreak in my life. As a teacher and preacher, it’s around me every day. I don’t share many personal stories because most people come to me in confidence, but there are a lot of hurting people out there. Marriages that are falling apart. Teenagers who have made stupid decisions and feel like they’re worthless now. Kids who have never heard their parents say a kind word. Adults who have so much bitterness and resentment built up in their hearts every day feels like a struggle against… well everything. This world is covered in a cloud of pain… but Jesus came to bring joy— and we can experience it IF we abide in Him.
And that’s how we will continue to walk with Him as a church until He returns. Let’s recap in our→
TAKEAWAYS
IF We Abide In Jesus→ These promises don’t apply to unfaithfulness.
Doors To Serve Will Be Opened. We need to open our eyes, pray for His will to be done, and walk through the doors He will open…even if they aren’t what we were expecting.
God’s Glory Will Be On Full Display. This is such a beautiful truth. If we abide in Jesus, people will see Him in our lives. Man, just thinking of that gets to me. I am broken. I don’t live perfectly. I’m not the answer. Still, I have people coming to me all the time with their brokenness. What can I possibly offer them? Jesus. Jesus. Jesus!
We Will Be Encompassed By Perpetual Love. We’ve talked about this a bit over the past few weeks, but when do we not need reminded of this glorious truth? If you are walking with Jesus, following His leading, obeying His commandments, you can trust that you will experience His love. This does not mean by obeying you will earn His love. That is a reality you can’t do anything to impact. He loves you unconditionally because He is God and that’s what He’s chosen to do. However, if you’re walking with Jesus, you will abide, rest in, be all wrapped up in, that amazing love!
And Our Lives Will Be Filled With Abundant Joy. Walking with Jesus doesn’t spare you from tears. It doesn’t shield you from all heartbreak. It doesn’t remove every frustration. Walking with Jesus gives you hope and a joy that is complete regardless of circumstance. Smile. Jesus loves you.
Is Your Joy Full?
“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.” (John 15:10-11 ESV)
These verses come at the end of a discourse where Jesus tells the disciples to abide ten times in seven verses! That level of repetition is something to which we should pay special attention. In context, the passage develops that all future hope and purpose rests on us abiding with, staying connected to, Jesus. And that isn’t presented as some kind of scare tactic meant to force us into mindless, obligatory service either. It’s an expression of overwhelming love calling us to fullness of joy.
Don’t we want that?
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