The Gift Of Abiding

Well, church, if you would, please take your Bibles and open them up this morning to John chapter 15.

John 15 · chapter mention

John chapter 15. Our passage this morning is John 15, verses 1 through 16.

John 15 · chapter mention John 15:1–16

And when you've found that, I ask if you would, if you're able, physically able,

would you stand for the reading of God's Word as I read John 15, verses 1 through 16 this morning?

John 15:1–16

Jesus says,

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.

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.

If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.

By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.

Abide in my love.

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.

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

You are my friends, if you do what I command you.

No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing.

But I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you,

that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide,

so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

This is God's holy, perfect, inspired word.

Let's bow once more and take a seat as we pray.

Lord, I pray that you would speak through the preaching of your word this morning.

God, give us ears to hear.

And cause us to abide in you, we pray in Christ's name.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, I have had a stressful week this week, thanks to customer service.

I'm sure that many of you have had the same experience with customer service that I have.

It's always frustrating to me that when the internet goes out or the TV goes out,

give it some time, the power might go out this morning, I don't know.

They always ask the same question.

Now, of course, calling customer service is never your first result, right?

You try everything you can in your own power to not call these people.

You try to solve the problem by yourself.

Sometimes you have to put your pride on the side, pick up the phone,

and ask for a little bit of help.

But every time without fail, they always ask the same first question.

Do you know what it is?

Is it plugged in?

Is your device plugged in to a power source?

And I don't know if they've ever had anybody say no yet, but every time they ask,

and I get it, right?

Because if the device is not plugged in to the power source,

it doesn't matter what they do.

It doesn't matter all the troubleshooting that they can go through.

It doesn't matter what you do to fix the problem.

If there is no connection to the source of power,

you're not going to get the device to work.

No connection, no life.

No connection, no power.

Well, in a similar way, I'm afraid, many of us, many Christians,

go through their week, go through their life with very little spiritual power,

very little spiritual life.

And oftentimes we wonder why.

We've come to our gift number three this week.

We've seen that we've been given good gifts of peace,

given good gifts of joy.

We've been given gifts of comfort, gifts of assurance,

given the good gift of the Spirit of God dwelling within us,

His power at work in us.

Every believer has been given these good gifts from God Himself.

But let's be honest,

how many of us actually feel at peace this morning?

How many of us struggle to actually experience the good gifts that we have been given?

Well, this morning, as we look at John chapter 15,

John 15 · chapter mention

I want us to see the secret to a faithful, fruitful, peaceful, joyful, genuine Christian life.

And the secret, Jesus tells us, is abide in Christ.

Abide in Christ.

As we walk through this chapter this morning, John 15,

we're going to see the picture, the point, and the produce of abiding in Christ this morning.

The picture, the point, and the produce.

First, we see the picture of abiding in Christ.

Jesus, He speaks in a metaphor here in verses 1 through 3.

And I want us to get the picture of what Jesus is describing to His disciples first.

We have to understand the picture that He's giving them before we can apply it to our lives.

We're going to get to that application.

But first, I want us to see the picture here.

Jesus gives us a metaphor.

And He's prone to speaking this way.

We've seen all throughout the Gospel of John.

He's given several I am statements.

You remember these?

He said, I am the bread of life.

I am the shepherd of the sheep.

I am the light of the world.

I am the resurrection and the life.

Each one of these I am statements is declaring to us that He is the I am.

That He is the Lord, God Himself in the flesh.

And each one of these I am statements, it gives us a metaphor, a picture,

to help us understand Him better.

Well, here in John 15, this is the final I am statement in the Gospel of John.

And it's the only one, the only one, that has an additional qualification with it.

Look there at verse 1.

He says, I am the true vine and my Father is the vine dresser.

I am the true vine and my Father is the vine dresser.

What does this mean?

When we hear this, our minds instantly go outside to a garden or to a farm.

It goes to agriculture, to planting.

And that's good.

We'll get there.

But the disciples, when they hear this language, I am the true vine,

their minds instantly go to the Old Testament.

And all of the wealth of references all throughout the Old Testament where Israel is represented as a vine.

And a vineyard is used as a metaphor to describe Israel, the people of God.

And guess what?

It is never good.

It is never pretty.

When the Old Testament describes Israel as a vine, it produces wild, rebellious fruit.

I'll give you one example.

I want you to keep your finger here in John 15, but flip back to Psalm chapter 80.

Psalms 80 · chapter mention

The passage that we read this morning.

If you have your Bible open, flip back to Psalm chapter 80.

Psalms 80 · chapter mention

Because I want you to see this.

This pieces together all the pieces that we need to see to understand what Jesus is saying in John chapter 15.

John 15 · chapter mention

First, we see clearly that Israel is the vine.

Look there if you have your Bibles open to Psalm 80 at verse 8.

It says,

You, God, brought a vine out of Egypt.

You drove out the nations and planted it.

You cleared the ground for it.

It took deep root and it filled the land.

You brought a vine out of Egypt.

Who's the vine?

Who's the vine?

It's Israel.

You brought a vine out of Egypt.

The Lord took Israel out of slavery in Egypt,

planted them like a vine in the new vineyard in the land of Canaan,

and they lived happily ever after, right?

That's what happened?

Wrong!

They rebelled.

They failed.

They disobeyed.

They were idolatrous over and over and over and over again and again and again and again.

This vine produced wild fruit.

So, Psalm 80 verses 12 and 13, we see this brought the judgment of God.

Psalms 80:12

It says,

You've broken down its walls so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit.

And the boar from the forest ravages it,

and all that move in the field feed on it.

This is a picture of the judgment of God against His people, Israel,

because they bore wild, idolatrous fruit.

This is a problem.

This is the problem that faced the people of God.

God had made promises to Israel.

God promised Israel that they would be His chosen people.

He promised Israel that He would bless them.

He promised Israel He would protect them.

He promised that He would put them in their own land.

He promised them that He would be their God and that they would be His people.

But this big problem called sin keeps getting in the way.

So, look at where the psalm ends.

Psalm 80 verse 14.

Psalms 80:14

It ends with a prayer.

It says,

Turn again, O God of hosts.

Look down from heaven and see.

Have regard for this vine, the stock that your right hand planted.

And for the Son whom you made strong for yourself.

They have burned it with fire.

They have cut it down.

May they perish at the rebuke of your face.

But, listen to this.

But let your hand be on the man of your right hand.

The Son of Man whom you have made strong for yourself.

Then, we shall not turn back from you.

Give us life and we will call upon your name.

Are you piecing it together here?

This is a prayer for restoration.

We see here that the ultimate hope of Israel is for one individual shoot off of the vine of Israel.

One individual Son of Man to come and restore true worship for the people of God.

That's the hope.

And here, as we get back to John chapter 15.

John 15 · chapter mention

Here, Jesus says,

I am that one.

I am the vine.

Israel was the vine, but it was a rebellious vine.

I am, Jesus says, I am the true vine.

I am the true Israel.

I am the one who will obey where Israel has rebelled.

I'm the one who will restore true worship for the people of God.

All of the promises made to Israel are fulfilled in and through me.

I am the fulfillment of everything that Israel was supposed to be.

Church, this is good news for us.

I hope you understand.

Because what this means is that anyone who is in the vine can be connected,

can be a part of the people of God.

Anyone who is connected to this true vine can receive,

be the beneficiaries of all of the promises of God in Christ Jesus.

Because Jesus is the true Israel,

all of God's promises come to His people through Him.

So you want to go to the promised land?

Jesus says,

Come to me in my Father's house.

There are many rooms.

You want the presence of God to dwell with you?

Jesus says,

Come to me.

I will ask the Father.

He'll send the Spirit to dwell within you.

You want the protection?

You want the peace of God?

The true shalom of God?

Jesus says,

My peace I give to you.

Not as the world gives do I give to you.

You come to me.

Come to me.

Come to me.

I am the true vine.

The true Israel.

The only way to be included in the people of God

is to be connected to the true vine.

Jesus Christ.

He says,

I am the vine.

The true vine.

And you, believer,

are the branches.

Isn't this what John has been telling us all along?

If we've been paying attention,

isn't this what he's been saying all along?

That no one belongs to the people of God

by virtue of their physical birth alone,

but only by spiritual rebirth

through faith in Jesus Christ.

He told us this all the way back in John chapter 1.

John 1 · chapter mention

It says,

He came to his own,

and his own people did not receive him.

But to all who did receive him,

who believed in his name,

he gave the right to become children of God,

who were born not of blood,

nor of the will of the flesh,

nor of the will of man,

but of God.

Church, we should rejoice in this.

And we should praise God for this.

This means that you, Gentile,

you, anyone in the entire world,

anyone who comes to Christ

is now included to belong to the true vine.

And all of the nourishment,

all of the power,

all of the benefits,

all of the blessing,

all of the promises of God

come to you through Him.

That's the picture.

Now, second,

what's the point?

What's the point?

The point is,

make absolutely certain

that you are connected to that vine.

That's the point.

It's very simple.

Jesus says,

I am the vine.

Make it absolutely certain in your heart

that you are connected to that vine.

Make it the aim of your life

to connect yourself deeply to Jesus Christ.

If all of the gifts of God,

all of the promises of God,

all of the life-giving power of God

comes by virtue of being connected to the vine,

we had better make certain

that we are actually connected.

And not just once,

not just once at the beginning

of your relationship with the Lord,

but every moment of every day.

Are you connected with Christ?

Jesus has a word for that connection.

What is it?

It's abide.

Abide.

Abide in me and I in you.

Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself

unless it abides in the vine,

neither can you

unless you abide in me.

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.

See, church,

there are only two options here

for everyone in the world.

You either belong to the vine,

abide in him,

bear fruit in him,

and so prove to be his disciples.

Or, he says,

you do not belong to the vine,

do not abide in him,

do not bear fruit for him,

and so prove to not be his disciples.

And what happens for these over here?

He says, verse 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.

This is a heavy truth, church.

Jesus says,

this is the work of the vine dresser.

Jesus says,

this is exactly the type of work

what the Father is doing right now.

The Father is the vine dresser.

He says the Father is clearing,

and he is pruning.

It's his work.

Why?

Because he's the vine dresser.

He's the only one who can see

with 100% certainty and clarity

those who are actually abiding in the vine

and those who are not.

Every branch in me that does not bear fruit,

he takes away.

Every branch that does bear fruit,

he prunes that it may bear more fruit.

And Amanda and I went up to the mountains last year,

and we went blueberry picking,

something that we wanted to do while we were up there.

We were out there maybe for an hour

before one of the workers came by,

and he said,

hey, let me show you something.

And he took us,

we followed him to this one bush

that we had walked past probably 50 times that morning.

Now he took us to this one bush,

and he said,

look at this,

this blueberry bush,

it produces pink lemonade blueberries.

Raise your hand if you've ever heard

of pink lemonade blueberries.

I had never heard of pink lemonade blueberries.

But once he showed them to me,

once he pointed them out to me,

I realized,

okay,

these are slightly different color.

They got a little bit of yellow,

maybe a little bit of purplish pink there.

They're a little bit smaller.

And he said,

taste one.

So it had a different taste to it.

I had walked by that bush probably 100 times

without knowing exactly what was going on in that bush,

but he knew.

Why?

Well,

he was the one that planted the bush.

He was the one that cared for the bush.

He was the one that knew exactly what type of fruit

he was looking for it to produce.

He knew what the good fruit was,

what the bad fruit was,

where to point us to go

if he wanted this type of fruit,

that type of fruit.

Well,

Jesus says,

that's exactly what the Father is doing.

The Father is the vine dresser.

He's caring for the vine.

He's clearing out those that do not belong to the vine.

And those that do bear fruit,

He's pruning.

And it might bear more fruit

for His glory.

You know,

this is the Christian experience.

If you're hearing this,

and you're like,

this doesn't really sound like me.

I want us to look here at this passage

because it gives us a full picture

of the entire Christian experience

from beginning to end.

See,

the Christian life,

it begins with God's choosing.

Verse 16.

He says,

You did not choose me,

but I chose you

and appointed you

that you should go and bear fruit.

God's choosing

inevitably leads to cleansing.

Verse 3.

It says,

Already you are clean

because of the word

that I have spoken to you.

That's hearing and believing.

That's when, believer,

when you heard the word of Christ

and you believed it

and you loved it

and you repented of your sin

and you trusted in Christ,

that's the cleansing power

of the word of God.

Faith comes through hearing

and hearing through the word of Christ.

And that initial cleansing

with the word,

it inevitably leads to

ongoing abiding.

Those who are cleansed

with the word

abide in Christ.

Verse 4.

That ongoing abiding

leads to fruit producing.

Verse 5.

That fruit producing

leads to painful pruning.

Verse 2.

And all of it,

from beginning to end,

Jesus says,

all of it is God glorifying.

Verse 8.

By this my Father is glorified,

He says,

that you bear much fruit

and so prove to be

my disciples.

Ask yourself,

as you read this passage,

does that sound like me?

Does that describe my experience?

Where in this paradigm am I?

Am I abiding in Christ?

Have I received the word of Christ

by faith?

Have I been cleansed

by the word of Christ?

Am I bearing fruit

for the glory of God?

Does this sound like me?

See, the point of this metaphor,

the way that we know

whether or not

we belong to the vine

is if we are abiding

in the vine.

And He says,

one way,

one sure way,

we see if we're abiding

in the vine

is if we are bearing fruit.

So the million dollar question

for us then has to be,

what does it mean to abide?

What does it mean to abide?

If Treg was here,

I wish he was here

because I think this is

his most quoted passage.

This is one of his greatest hits.

If he were here

and he were explaining this passage,

I know he would use the word yield.

He would say,

this means that you are

yielded to Christ.

You are yielded to Him

and to His desires for you.

And I think that's a great answer,

but I would ask him,

well, how do you yield to Him, Treg?

And He's not here

to explain Himself.

So we'll look at the passage.

I wonder if you noticed

what I noticed here

as we read this passage.

Jesus,

He changes language around.

He flips the words around here.

He tells His disciples

to abide in Him

in three different ways here.

Did you notice that?

Verses 4 and 5,

He says,

abide in me

and I in you.

But then verse 7,

He says,

abide in me

and my words

in you.

Verse 7.

And then He says,

abide in my love.

Verse 9.

So which is it?

Which is it?

Well, the answer is yes.

And we shouldn't think of these

as three separate things

to put our roots down into

or three separate categories

to abide or to yield ourselves to.

To abide in Christ

is to abide in His Word.

It's His Word that makes us clean.

It's His Word that teaches

and corrects

and reproves

and rebukes

and trains

and encourages

and instructs

and assures us

of God's love for us in Christ.

You cannot abide in Christ

apart from abiding

in His Word.

One way to assess

our abiding in Christ

is by asking ourselves,

are we abiding in His Word?

Do we hunger for His Word?

Do we love His Word?

I'm not saying just have a copy

on your shelf.

Not even just know it intellectually,

but do we possess His Word

in our heart?

Are we feeding on it daily?

Do you love the Word of God?

I know there's nothing special

about a calendar year.

I realize that,

but this year's coming

to a close.

2024 is upon us.

It's a wonderful time

right now

to begin making a plan.

What is your plan

for abiding

in the Word of Christ

this year?

Do you have a plan?

What's your plan

for abiding

in the Word of Christ?

To abide in Christ

is to abide in His Word.

And, he says,

is to abide in His love.

Abide in His love.

Friend, how often do you meditate

on this one glorious,

simple, beautiful truth

that God loves you?

that God loves you?

How much anxiety

and stress

and turmoil

and anger

would melt away

in our hearts

if we simply meditated

more deeply

on the fact

that God loves you?

God so loved the world

that He gave His only Son

that whoever believes in Him

might not perish

but have eternal life.

the eternal assurance

of the love of God

is seen in the cross of Christ

where He showed His love for us

by laying His life down

for His friends.

Are you preaching the gospel

to yourself, church?

Not just hearing it here

when you come.

I love that you come

and hear the gospel here.

We need this every day.

We need to assure ourselves

of the love of God

for us every day.

Tim Keller,

the famous pastor,

when he was still living with us,

he would say,

the gospel is not just

the ABCs of Christianity.

It's the A to Z.

It's the whole thing.

We never move past

the glorious news

of the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

Church,

isn't this what we celebrate

at Christmas time?

That the love of God

is made manifest to us

in the person

of Jesus Christ

who came to live

and to die

and to rise

in the place of sinners.

For you,

those who deserve it the least,

He showered His love

on you the most.

Abide in His love for you

in the gospel.

You know,

there may be some here

this morning,

I don't presume to know

the spiritual state

of everybody in the room.

There may be some

in the room this morning

that do not truly know

the love of God

in the gospel.

And if that's you,

friend,

what keeps you

from turning to Him now?

What keeps you

from trusting in Christ

right now,

from receiving His promise

that any who come to Him

will have everlasting life?

Abide in Christ.

That's the point

of this lesson.

Now,

last question.

For those who know the Lord,

I want to get very practical

here in our last point.

Very practical.

When you abide,

third,

what is the produce?

Not what does it produce?

We're talking about fruit

this morning.

Okay?

What is the produce?

I'm not a gardener.

Y'all probably

have realized that by now.

So I'm confident

that this illustration

will make no sense

whatsoever

in a real life scenario.

But just humor me

for a moment, okay?

When you become

a Christian,

when you trust

in Jesus Christ alone

for your salvation,

when you receive

the Word,

the promise of Christ,

when you are now

connected truly

to the vine,

what happens

is you become

an entirely new thing.

You are now

a new creation.

It's as if you have been

plucked up

out of the ground

and now you've been

transplanted

into something new.

You've been plucked

out of the soil

where you've had

your roots sunk

down deep

into sin

and into darkness

and to disbelief

and rebellion

to God

and now

you are connected

to a vine

that is completely

rooted in the will

of God.

And in your

new life,

now,

as you're connected

to the vine,

you may see

some fruit

that does not belong.

You may see

some fruit

that looks a lot

like your old self,

fruit of anger,

fruit of jealousy,

fruit of pride,

fruit of lust,

fruit of greed.

You may see

that fruit produced,

but if you are

actually connected

to Him,

guess what?

That is old fruit.

That is not truly

who you are.

That is old fruit

that's coming

from those roots

that have been

sunk down deep

for so long

and you'll begin

to see

and to realize

and to understand

the difference

between the fruit

that comes from Christ

and the fruit

that belongs

to your old nature.

And you'll begin

to join the Lord

in that pruning work

of cutting off

the old fruit

and producing

the new fruit.

It's a lifelong journey

of abiding in Christ

and seeing fruit born

as you're connected

to the vine.

So the question

I want to ask is,

what might that fruit

look like?

What might that fruit

look like?

And we could spend

all day

discussing the many,

many, many results,

glorious fruits

of being connected

to Christ,

but I see six

in this passage.

We're going to work

through them quickly.

Six fruits

of abiding in Christ.

And would you just,

as we walk through this,

would you consider

how you might ask

the Lord

to produce this

in you this year?

Number one,

the one who abides

in Christ

is marked

by a new aim

in life.

The one who abides

in Christ

is marked

by a new aim

in life.

What is the point

of your life?

What is the overarching goal,

the overarching banner

that hangs across

and over every other

decision you make,

every other thing

that you do?

What is the point

of your life?

life,

before you were

in Christ,

it was entirely

driven by self.

Me.

Bring me glory.

Satisfy my desires.

Meet my needs.

If you are in Christ,

you have a new desire,

a new aim,

a new purpose.

What is it?

It's the glory of God.

To magnify

the glory of God

in the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

He says,

by this my Father

is glorified

that you may bear

much fruit.

Second,

the one who abides

in Christ

is marked

by a new dependence

on God's strength.

A new dependence

on God's strength.

If you abide in me

and my word

abides in you,

ask whatever you wish.

You hear that?

Ask whatever you wish

and it will be done

for you.

Ask.

He says in verse 7,

you did not choose me

but I chose you

and appointed you

that you should go

and bear fruit

and that your fruit

should abide

so that

whatever you ask

the Father in my name,

He may give it to you.

I mean,

that seems unthinkable

that we should make

requests of God

and that we can ask God

to act

and to move

and to respond

to our little needs

in our life.

But Jesus says

this prayerful dependence

ought to characterize

the life of one

who is abiding in me.

Do you want power

for the Christian life?

Do you feel like

you don't have that in you?

Ask.

Do you want

the peace of God

to rule over your life?

Just ask.

Do you want to feel

the joy of the Lord

working in and through you?

He says,

come,

come just ask.

Just ask me.

Our dependence on Christ

is never more clear

than when we are

on our knees

in prayer.

It's so simple.

Church,

but how often

is it neglected?

You can bear more fruit

in one hour of prayer

than in a hundred hours

of labor

in your own strength.

Do we actually believe that?

What does our prayer life

say about whether

we believe that?

God,

make us like

Martin Luther,

the great reformer

who famously said,

I have so much

to do today

that I shall spend

the first three hours

of my day in prayer.

Make us abide

in prayerful dependence.

Number three,

the one who abides

is marked by

a new desire

to obey.

A new desire

to obey.

Before you were

in Christ

serving yourself,

serving your own desires,

you didn't desire

to obey the Lord,

but now in Christ

you have this new desire

to obey Him.

Where in the world

did that come from?

He says,

verse 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.

And what does that

obedience look like?

Well,

he tells us

it looks like love.

This is my commandment,

that you love

one another

as I have loved you.

Church,

that sounds simple.

That is the highest calling

in the world.

How has Christ loved you?

He gave everything

for you.

He laid His life

down for you.

He suffered

and died

for you.

And now He says,

believer,

you go and do likewise

for one another.

Abide in Him

and bear the fruit

of love.

And when we do,

when our lives

are marked

by this kind

of self-sacrificial,

other-centered,

God-glorifying love,

we can have,

number four,

a new assurance.

A new assurance.

The one who

abides in Christ

is marked

by a deep-rooted

assurance

that they are

truly disciples

of Jesus Christ,

that they truly

belong to the vine.

Verse 8,

He says,

By this my Father

is glorified,

that you bear

much fruit

and so prove

to be

my disciples.

What did He say

in chapter 13,

rather?

What did He say?

Do you remember?

By this all people

will know

that you are

my disciples,

if you what?

If you have love

for one another.

Church,

our faith

is invisible.

We cannot see

one another's faith.

The roots of faith

are invisible,

but the fruits

of faith

are made manifest

in love

for one another.

And when we see

an outflow

of love for Christ

and love for others,

we should be assured

that we are

disciples of Christ.

And when we look

at one another

and we see the ways

that we are growing

in love for Christ

and serving

and loving one another,

we can encourage

one another.

I see the grace

of God

at work in you,

brother.

I see the love

of Christ

coming through you,

sister.

Number five,

the one

who abides in Christ

is marked

by new joy.

New joy.

These things

I have spoken

to you

that my joy

may be in you

and that your joy

may be full.

What could be

more joyful

than to know

that your sins

are forgiven?

What could be

more joyful

than to know

that Christ

himself

has come

for you

to reunite

you with a God

that you don't

deserve the time

of day with

but he has loved

you enough

to send his son

to reunite

himself with you

through his blood?

What could be

more joyful

than to know

that you have

eternal security?

That you've been

made children of God?

We sing

joy to the world,

the Lord is come.

And the angels

said,

do not fear,

I bring you good news

of great joy

for all the peoples.

The one who abides

in Christ

ought to be marked

by unshakable,

supernatural,

palpable joy.

Does this describe you?

Does your heart

rejoice in the Lord?

If you want real,

lasting joy,

abide more deeply

in Christ.

And lastly,

number six,

the one who abides

is marked by

new fellowship.

new fellowship,

friendship

with God

himself.

Jesus assures

his disciples

here in verse 13.

He laid his life

down as an act

of love

for his friends.

He says,

you are my friends

if you do

what I command you.

No longer

do I call you

servants,

for the servant

does not know

what his master

is doing.

but I have

called you

friends

for all that

I have heard

from my Father

I have made

known to you.

Church,

it is one thing

to serve

the Lord.

It is another thing

entirely to be called

his friend.

And Jesus says,

I have come

to befriend

sinners.

To abide

in Christ

is to know

the Lord

Jesus

not just as

master

but as friend.

To abide

in him

is to speak

to him,

to listen

to him,

to follow

him,

to long

for relationship

with him

as your deepest

and truest

friend

who loves

you

and has

given himself

for you.

Church,

if you feel

yourself

feeling

spiritually dry

this Christmas,

if you are

struggling to

find peace,

if you are

strung out

and too

busy,

if you are

stressed,

if you are

not seeing

the growth

that you

hope to

see in

the Lord,

start

right

here.

Make

sure

that you

are

connected

to the

vine.

Jesus

invites

you to

come

to lay

aside

the burden

of

productivity,

lay

aside

the stress

of your

busyness,

lay aside

the pressure

of doing

everything

in your

own strength

to come

to me

and abide

in me.

Come

to me,

all who

are weary

and heavy

laden,

and I

will give

you rest.

Let's

pray.

Lord,

Jesus,

what a

promise.

Again,

we confess

how easy

it is for

us to

wonder

from the

source of

joy and

source of

power,

source of

strength,

from your

very presence,

but Lord,

we pray

now,

would you

correct us

in our

hearts

and draw

us more

deeply

into communion

with you.

we thank

you,

Father,

that you

sent

Christ.

The sinners

like us

might even

know you,

might even

call you

our friend.

We thank

you for

your love

for us

in the

gospel of

Jesus Christ.

We pray

this in

Jesus'

name.

Amen.