LESSONS FROM THE VINE: ABIDE IN CHRIST

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November 29, 2015 Providence

“LESSONS FROM THE VINE: ABIDE IN CHRIST” John 15:1-7; Isaiah 11:1-2 INTRODUCTION: Jesus is the true vine. You and I are the branches drawing life and bearing fruit from the vine. Such a simple picture! But when Jesus identified Himself this way, a host of images and implications arise regarding what it means “to abide, remain, stay” (mevnw) in Christ the vine. ILLUS. We can easily understand the illustration Jesus gives on the positive side. As long as we branches remain attached to the vine, the life of the vine flows into us. We sprout leaves and grow additional branches, we bear fruit consistent with the vine. However, the opposite of “abide” (mevnw) would be to be cut off, detached from, no longer connected to. When that happens, the consequences are dramatic. Consider what happens when a well-traveled road is replaced by a by-pass—up near Boone, Old 421 was replaced resulting in the closing of several businesses since traffic was cut off. When a clot cuts off blood flow either to a limb or to the brain, the trauma is significant. Over the holidays, many of us gathered with loving families while others suffered from brokenness and separation as relationships have been severed with the resulting hurt of no longer “abiding” with one another. So today, we want to take a look at what it means for us as a church to abide in Christ, finding that our very life “juices” flow only from Him and give meaning and value to our lives! THESIS: Apart from Jesus we can do nothing—therefore, we must abide in Him so that the life of the True Vine will flow through us for the glory of His name! I. GRAFTED INTO THE VINE --Before we look specifically at what Jesus said, let’s look at what Paul taught as a summary of how we become part of the vine. A. SAVED BY BELIEVING THE WORD OF CHRIST Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. --So just as we cannot be grafted into the life of Christ through the faith of someone else, we cannot come to Him on our own terms but by resting entirely on the truth of His Word. B. ACCEPTED BY GRACE, NOT BY WORKS Romans 11:6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace. --No matter how hard we try, how deliberate we are in keeping the rules, how rigorously we may defend the church, if we depend on anything but God’s mercy and believe that we are accepted through any other means than His grace--we remain apart from Him! C. SHARING IN THE RICHES OF CHRIST Romans 11:17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, --Israel was God’s chosen olive tree but through hardness of heart and unbelief, their failure to trust the Lord has paved the way for the rest of the nations of the world to be grafted into the rich roots of God’s purposes and calling. --So Paul explains how we got here…why we have be grafted into the vine and now belong to Him.

◆ What should a branch of the vine expect?

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II. ABIDING IN THE VINE John 15:4 “ Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. --To abide means simply to remain, to “stay put,” or to “make your home there.” ILLUS. The hymn “Come Thou Fount” says, “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it; prone to leave the God I love. Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above.” Too much wandering goes on in the church these days and not enough abiding!! Just what does Jesus expect of us when He tells us to abide in the vine in 15:4? He explains by pointing out four ways abiding branches will remain in place properly attached to and drawing life from the Vine. A. ABIDE IN HIS PRESENCE --Christ had already promised His disciples that He would never leave them alone, or forsake them to struggle along on their own. 1. Presence -- Indwelling of His Spirit John 14:16-17 “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you 17 forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you. --Are we aware that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, that there is never one moment when we are not… • • • •

Transparent in word, thought, motive, deed Sealed in a secure relationship Empowered by One who is able to do all things Shown the beauty and splendor of Christ our treasure

--We are never abandoned to our own devices because we abide in Him and He is us! Application: A dedicated, engaged core of you make it your top priority to be here, to make your way into the presence of the Lord Sunday after Sunday—never thinking of missing unless providentially hindered. You provide a base for the ministry, the impact your faithfulness cannot be overstated! Keep it up!! Others of you are new to this and are getting better at it. But there is still so much room to grow! To be involved and to be engaged are very different when it comes to seeking the presence of the Lord with the people of the Lord! My prayer is that week after week, consistency will grow in the coming years. [Note: we have over 4500 people on record who have attend or give to Providence in a given year. How amazing it will be when a growing percentage of that number make it a top priority to abide in His presence with His people as they get engaged here and love it too much to miss it!] 2. Prayer -- Invited to His throne John 15:7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you. --Prayer is the language of desire…the words we speak which reflect what is really and truly on our hearts. --How we express ourselves to the Lord, what ask of Him, tells the truth about our hearts--are we abiding in Him and asking what glorifies Him most?

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ILLUS. As the new year begins and Providence begins its next chapter of ministry under Brian’s leadership, the best thing you can do for him is become passionate and persistent in prayer! He will need a senior pastor prayer team—I have been blessed to have that for more years than I can remember! At least 50 people who pray for me every day and step up to pray for me when I have faced extra needs and challenges! The elders meet with no other agenda but laying hands on me and one by one they pray for me—a humbling time to be sure! You have been faithful—now is the time for a new generation of prayerful people to go before the throne on behalf of the church and its leaders…because when you abide in Christ, you are invited to come boldly and with confidence into His presence! B. ABIDE IN HIS WORDS John 15:7, 10 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for 10 you … 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.” ILLUS. There is an interesting phenomenon in the body of Christ--within the covenant of the vine. Some who profess to follow Christ have no interest in living according to His word. They ignore it, violate it, contradict it and in many ways act as if it were nothing more than interesting information…take it or leave it! But when they suffer the consequences of not abiding in His words, they are the first to demand that God rescue them with a miracle! But what Christ wants is followers who abide in His word…living daily in the light of His word…do what His word commands…shape their days, their priorities, their very lives according to what God has said. Which does Christ commend? The idea of miraculous rescue for the reckless or consistent fruitfulness for the faithful? Application: Continue to hunger for His Word!! Hundreds of people study the Scriptures together every week here at Providence—85% of the worship attenders attend LIFE Bible Studies each Sunday morning; hundreds more come back during the week to feed on and abide in His Word. As I step down as senior pastor, honor Christ and His Word by following Brian and his team to stay hungry! He will feed you well and equip you to walk with Christ in a deep, abiding fellowship fed by His Word! C. ABIDE IN HIS LOVE John 15:9 Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. --In case you need to be reminded, abiding in Christ and remaining in the vine is much more than a religious duty and a laborious job. --He reminds us that when we abide in Him, the overflow of love poured out from the Father on Him drenches us with that same love only God can give! --No one coming near the people of the vine should ever suffer from a lack of love, miss out on the relationships that demonstrate that love…not as a project to be completed, but something that cannot be contained in those who abide in the fullnes of it all the time! Application: As I have watched you demonstrate that love, it has warmed my heart and stirred me to want to love better and more fully, more freely! You have opened your hearts and homes to weekly guests here at Providence…you have welcomed orphans and adopted children into your families…you have generously donated lovingly to needs all over the globe whenever we have pointed out a need! Now, the time has come to excel still more in order to make sure that no one who ever comes here leaves without sensing and experiencing in practical ways the sweet and hospitable love of Christ we know here! D. ABIDE IN HIS JOY John 15:11 These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.

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--You may be able to claim that you love others…that you keep the commandments of the word…that you even sense the presence of the Lord in your life…but if there is no joy, then you are still not abiding in the vine, dwelling richly in the grace of Jesus Christ! ILLUS. Joyless Christians are an indictment on the body of Christ and a disruptive influence on the covenant of the vine! We might hear things like, “Well I have my own way of expressing joy so leave me alone!!” As if there were any other kind of joy than that which Jesus Christ gives! Is following Christ and abiding in the vine bringing you joy? --The covenant of the vine abides, remains, makes itself at home in no other place than Christ, the living vine!

◆ Does abiding in Him protect us from hard times? III. PRUNING OF THE VINE --In a passage likely to be overlooked and downplayed, Jesus Himself warns us that the abundant life He promises is not without some pain! John 15:2-3 “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it, that it may bear more fruit. --Unlike those who would have people believe that suffering is always the result of sin or unbelief, Jesus tells us up front that He Himself will sometimes prune us. --Pruning is not done with a sponge but with a sharp instrument design not to simply wash us off, but to cut deeply at anything that threatens the bearing of even more fruit! ILLUS. The word for “prune” and “clean” in these two verses are the same in Greek. So Christ tells us frankly that the instrument He chooses to prune and clean us will be the word He has spoken...consistent with what He said about abiding in His word. Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. --Rather than resenting His times of pruning, we are called by the Lord to endure them, to persevere…we must not lose heart or hope, become discouraged, depressed or doubtful! --If we trust the hand that prunes, we will bear up under the pain of the shears and look to the joy that comes in the morning! Note: The Greek word for “endure” is hupomeno, a combination of the word “abide” and the word “under,’ showing us that to endure times of painful pruning we must “abide under” the Lord, staying put and remaining confident in His perfect faithfulness! When the surgeon is operating, you cannot afford to try to get off the table! You trust that what he is doing will result in better health and a stronger body. So when Christ has to “cut” as He prunes His vine, we endure for the greater good!

◆ How do we prove that we are following Him? IV. BEARING FRUIT THROUGH THE VINE John 15:5, 8 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart 8 from Me you can do nothing… By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. --A key question for any church that considers itself to be a people of the vine is this--Are you bearing much fruit for Christ?

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A. WHERE IS THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT? --If you abide in the vine, the life-giving flow of Christ will produce in each of us the fruit of a godly, Spirit-filled life! --That cannot be measured by church attendance, Bible knowledge, generous giving, or good citizenship! --That question can only be answered by surrendering ourselves to the probing eye of the Holy Spirit to see if…’ 1. The fruit of the Spirit is present and growing Gal. 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

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2. The image of Christ is seen in us and we are conformed to it. 2Cor. 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. • Until Christ is formed in you -- Gal 4:19 • Conformed to His image -- Phil 3:21 • Transformed into His glorious likeness -- 2 Cor 3:18 B. WHERE IS THE FRUIT OF YOUR WITNESS? --When the fruit of the Spirit grown in us, the image of Christ reflects from us, the power of the gospel works through us! --People come to Christ when the seed of the gospel is sown by those who have become people of the vine and entered into the fullness of this covenant of the vine. Rom. 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. --There is power in the gospel…Jesus Christ does not call on us to save anyone, just to tell everyone!! --If you never lead anyone to Christ, who will? If you are connected to the vine, the vine bears much fruit--in our witness and in our character! CONCLUSION: So, what does it mean to abide with and in Christ? As you understand what Jesus describes here in John 15, is that what you have in mind? If not, where does your commitment need to be strengthened? We cannot afford to be cut off from the Vine…even to allow our connection to the Vine to be pinched or restricted! His part? He called you, saved you, sealed you, empowered you, abides in you! Your part? Repent, believe, receive, abide in Him, bear much fruit through Him! If you have never been grafted into the new life that is found in Jesus Christ, the True Vine, you can do that today by placing your trust in Him. If you have found yourself drifting away and not really abiding in Him, the life of the Vine will not be evident in you! So come, all of you…come with me to connect and abide in Him and allow the life of Jesus Christ to flow through you!

November 29, 2015 Providence Baptist Church © David Horner, 2015 Sermon outlines are copyrighted in the event of future publication. They may be used for preaching and teaching purposes but may not be published or sold.