THE Key is Christ!

Just quickly, I wanted to post last Sunday’s sermon. Thank you to those that prayed for me. God really moved upon my heart as I preached. (I encourage you to look up the Scriptures that are referenced.) Friends, what you read below is my own meager attempt to communicate what I believe to be the foundation of life. The True life. Life in Christ. Without the following element in our lives, all the rest is for nothing. We will never live a fulfilled and effective life, nor will our relationship with Christ grow, without the vital foundation of truth that I have tried to share below. Let us always…..
Abide In Christ!

The
Secret of a Fruitful Life

&
the Foundation of the Joy of the Lord:

Abiding
in Christ

John
15:1-17

Jarod
Hinton, November 2006

Introduction: Abiding in Christ is one
of the most foundational truths in all of Scripture. When we talk
about primary and secondary issues in Scripture, this one is
completely in the “primary” category. That may be the reason it
is somewhat difficult for us to grasp hold of, and perhaps why the
enemy tries so hard to cause so many people to neglect that part of
their walk with Christ. In our culture of doing, and moving, and
getting busy but never quiet, the idea of peacefully abiding in
Christ is foreign to us. Even in the church we focus more on doing
something for Christ, rather than on being within
Christ.

Not that doing good works is wrong, but
we have it exactly backwards. We think that getting “busy for
Jesus” will bring about an abiding fellowship with him, when the
truth is that the “being” (the abiding in Christ) must come
before the “doing”. Abiding in Christ is the foundation of doing
anything that will really last.

1. What
   does it mean to Abide?

   1. English
      – To rest, or dwell. To tarry or stay for a short time. To
      continue permanently or in the same state; to be firm and
      immovable. To wait for; to be prepared for; to await.

   2. Greek:
      “men-o” (3306) – to stay
      (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy): – abide,
      continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry.

   3. To
      abide in him is to rest in him. To stop “moving” and just be
      within Christ!

      1. It
         is essentially the difference between doing
         and being.

   4. Illustration
      – Baby in the womb

      1. Baby
         just abides. Not necessary to move around. Just grows. No doing
         involved.

   5. Working
      definition: Abiding in Christ is the calm and peaceful position of
      rest within the love of the Father, and living according to the
      knowledge that our identity, and effectiveness, is found in
      Christ.

      1. Identity
         in Christ? He is us. We are Him.

         1. We
            have our identity in who He is and what He does.

   6. Abiding
      in Christ has nothing to do with our worthiness or strength.

   7. Illustration
      – Christ gives us one: Vine and branches.

      1. Where
         does vine end and branch begin? They are one.

      2. “The
         connection between the vine and the branch is a living one. No
         external, temporary union will suffice; no work of man can effect
         it: the branch, whether an original or an engrafted one, is such
         only by the Creator’s own work, in virtue of which the life, the
         sap, the fatness, and the fruitfulness of the vine communicate
         themselves to the branch. And just so it is with the believer,
         too. His union with his Lord is no work of human wisdom or human
         will, but an act of God, by which the closest and most complete
         life-union is effected between the Son of God and the sinner.” –
         Andrew Murray

      3. Being
         a channel.

2. Why
   is Abiding so important?

   1. We
      can do nothing without Christ (vs. 5)

      1. He
         is our strength!

      2. “To
         the vine it owes its right of place in the vineyard, its life and
         its fruitfulness. And so the Lord says, ‘Without me ye can do
         nothing.’ The believer can each day be pleasing to God only in
         that which he does through the power of Christ dwelling in him.
         The daily inflowing of the life-sap of the Holy Spirit is his only
         power to bring forth fruit. He lives alone in Him and is for each
         moment dependent on Him alone.” – Andrew Murray

      3. Good
         Things – Christ = No lasting eternal fruit.

      4. Good
         Things: Feeding the poor, being persecuted, speaking eloquently,
         moving mountains. (1 Cor. 13)

   2. Necessary
      to bring forth much fruit (vs. 4)

      1. Bearing
         much fruit is the test of a disciple (vs. 8)

      2. To
         be salt in the world, to shine brightly in the darkness, we must
         abide in Christ!

      3. The fruit of a plant benefits
         those around it, not the plant itself.

         1. The fruit of our lives will
            benefit those around us.

      4. To bear fruit in the world is
         one of the greatest things that we are called to do as disciples
         of Christ. But it is impossible to do without abiding in the VINE!

   3. We
      wither if we do not abide in the vine. (vs. 6)

      1. What
         is withering?

         1. Bearing
            no fruit. (No lasting spiritual results.)

         2. Break
            easily. Brittle. (Angry)

         3. Depression.
            Lack of Joy.

         4. Inability
            to be used by God.

3. How
   does Christ connect Joy and Abiding? (vs. 11)

   1. He
      says the purpose of him saying this to us is so that his joy might
      remain in us.

   2. Abiding
      brings Joy.

   3. “The
      joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Neh. 8:10)

   4. Are
      you discouraged? Go to Christ and abide in Him.

   5. He
      might not take your troubles away, but you will have joy and hope
      in the midst of them.

4. How
   do I Abide in Christ?

   1. We
      often look for something we can do. But sometimes we are just to
      BE.

      1. Illustration: Mary and Martha
         (Luke 10:41-42)

   2. Faith
      plays a pivotal role.

However…

3. Keeping
   the Word

   1. What
      does “keep” mean?

      1. Greek
         “tereo” (5083) – to guard
         (from loss or
         injury, properly
         by keeping the eye
         upon). – hold fast, keep, observe, watch.

      2. “Keep”
         does not simply mean “obey”. Obedience grows out of keeping,
         but they are not the same thing.

      3. I
         believe the best way to “keep” the Word is to meditate upon
         it.

         • That
           means more than just reading it.

         • It
           means thinking about it, and asking questions about the passage,
           and studying it when you have opportunity.

   2. John
      15:7,10

   3. 1
      John 2:3-6

   4. 1
      John 3:24

   5. Christ
      is the Word of God (John 1)

   6. If
      you abide in the Word, aren’t you abiding in Christ?

   7. There
      are deeper things involved here, but essentially that is the path
      to abiding in Christ…to abide in the Word.

Closing:
Do you want to bring lost souls to Christ? Abide in Him! Do you want
to be a better parent? Abide in Him! Do you want to see more
spiritual fruit in your life, growing more like Christ? Abide in Him!
If you want your life to bear any kind of good fruit, lasting and
worthwhile, whether in business life, family life, social life, or
married life…your whole heart and soul must be given up to abiding
in Christ! That is the only way we can bear any fruit. Without him,
we can do nothing.