Abide In The Word of The Lord

Do you remember the setting?

Jesus is in the temple.

The woman was drug in front of him, accused of adultery.

And Jesus said, if anyone's without sin, let him throw the first stone.

So they fade back into the crowd.

And he continues teaching.

He had said, I am the light of the world.

And now they challenge him.

Look at verse 31.

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him,

If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.

And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

They answered him,

We are the offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone.

How is it that you say you will become free?

Jesus answered them,

Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.

The slave does not remain in the house forever.

The son remains forever.

So if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

I know that you are the offspring of Abraham,

yet you seek to kill me because my words find no place in you.

I speak of what I have seen with my father,

and you do what you have learned from your father.

Verse 39.

And they answered him, Abraham is our father.

Jesus said to them,

If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did.

But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God.

This is not what Abraham did.

You are doing the works your father did.

And they said to him,

We are not born of sexual immorality.

We have one father, even God.

Jesus said to them,

If God were your father, you would love me.

For I came from God, and I am here.

I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.

Why do you not understand what I say?

It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.

You are of your father, the devil.

And your will is to do your father's desires.

He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.

When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.

Which one of you convicts me of sin?

If I tell you the truth, why do you not believe me?

Whoever is of God hears the words of God.

The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.

Verse 48.

The Jews answered him,

Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?

Jesus answered,

I do not have a demon, but I honor my father, and you dishonor me.

Yet I do not seek my own glory.

There is one who seeks it, and he is the judge.

Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.

The Jews said to him,

Now we know that you have a demon.

Abraham died, as did the prophets.

Yet you say, if anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.

Are you greater than our father Abraham who died?

And the prophets died?

Who do you make yourself out to be?

Verse 54.

Therefore, Jesus answered,

If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing.

It is my father who glorifies me, of whom you say he is our God.

But you have not known him.

I know him.

If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you.

But I do know him, and I keep his word.

Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day.

He saw it and was glad.

So the Jews said to him,

You are not 50 years old.

Have you seen Abraham?

Jesus said to them,

Truly, truly, I say to you,

Before Abraham was,

I am.

So they picked up stones to throw at him.

But Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

This is the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

You may be seated.

Let's pray.

Speak, O Lord, as we come to you,

To receive the food of your holy word.

As we've sung,

Take your truth,

Plant it deep in us,

Shape and fashion us in your likeness.

Father, I just read a glorious passage from the Bible.

And I know,

Like always,

The word of man,

Even proclaiming,

Will fall short.

And I know there are going to be sentences that don't come out the way that you want them to.

And I just ask, Father,

That any words I speak that are just of man,

That they'll fall to the dust,

That they'll be forgotten.

But I pray, Lord,

That by the power of your Spirit,

The truth of Jesus

Will be clear.

And that it'll be unforgettable.

Amen.

Beloved congregation,

Of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Jesus calls you to abide in the word of the Lord.

That's my message for you today.

Abide in the word of the Lord.

What does it mean to abide?

According to the dictionary,

It means to dwell with,

To embrace,

To rest in,

And to live in accordance with

The word of the Lord.

And in today's passage,

First we see that

Jesus has given his word.

Picture that scene.

Like we saw last week,

They drag this woman

To the middle of where Jesus is teaching

In the court of women,

The treasuries over here,

The Sanhedrin's on the other side of that wall

With an earshot.

And he's been preaching.

He's been giving them the word of God

That the Father gave him,

Preaching it to them.

They drag the woman,

The light of Christ

Pushes back the darkness

So those who were trying to kill this woman,

They get pushed back into the crowd,

They dissolve,

They fade away.

And now,

Jesus continues preaching and teaching,

And as he does that,

They come back out of the woodwork

At him.

And in this passage,

I hope you heard it,

The tone,

It's a fight.

The fight is on.

And you know what happens

When there's a fight?

More and more people come around

To gather around this fight.

That's what's going on

In the temple setting.

Jesus proclaims the gospel

In verse 31.

He says,

Now notice,

It distinguishes.

Who is he talking to?

Look in verse 31.

To those who believed him,

He's speaking the gospel.

Listen,

If you,

You who believed,

If you abide in my word,

Then you are truly my disciples.

And to my true disciples,

Listen to the promise.

Verse 32.

You will know the truth,

And the truth will set you free.

The gospel went out.

But the crowd in front of Jesus

Is a mixed group.

I told you last week,

That's going to be important,

That distinction.

So who he's addressing,

Who he's speaking to,

That's important.

I believe it's one big group.

If you were standing there,

You would not be able to tell

Who's a true disciple,

And who is,

Like he just calls them,

A son of the devil.

But they're a big mixed group here.

And our Lord Jesus says,

If you are truly my disciple,

Then my word will abide with you.

Jesus can say that

Because he comes from the Father.

He is the Son of God himself.

And he knows his Father's will.

And he knows his Father

Has not been silent.

His Father has given his word.

Deuteronomy 4.2

From the pen of Moses

To the second generation,

Right as they go into the promised land,

You shall not add to the word

That I commanded you,

Nor take from it,

That you may keep the commandments

Of the Lord your God

That I commanded you.

Deuteronomy 11.8

You shall lay up these words of mine.

See, God has given his word.

The Bible.

You shall lay up my words

In your heart

And in your soul.

That's what it looks like

To abide in the word of God.

You shall bind them as a sign on your hand,

And they shall be always before your eyes.

It's the same message Christ is declaring.

It pleases the Lord.

It has always pleased the Lord

When his people abide in his word.

The Bible is the word of God.

Many will fight you on that point,

Won't they?

And I've come to the conclusion,

You don't need to persuade them,

But you need to pray for them.

Here's how our catechism answers that.

Same objection, same problem.

And we should know all the answers.

You know, we should know

Like why we believe

But at the same time,

We can't change the heart.

But we can have faith and pray.

Here's how our catechism

By Benjamin Keech

In the 1600s answers the question,

How do we know that the Bible

Is the word of God?

The Bible evidences itself

To be God's word

By the heavenliness of its doctrine,

The unity of its parts,

Its power to convert sinners

And edify saints,

By the spirit of God only

Bearing witness by

And with the scriptures

In our hearts.

Are we able to fully

Be persuaded ourselves

That the Bible is

The word of God?

So you see that?

There's beauty in it.

It's united.

The doctrines are otherworldly.

It's one gospel

Story of redemption.

But ultimately,

It's the Holy Spirit

Working with power

To persuade you.

This is the word of God.

It's mysterious, isn't it?

I was reminded of this

Though, Friday night,

We had our Bible study

And just putting our eyes

Together on Proverbs

And understanding,

Just seeing the truth.

This is the word of God.

The spirit teaches that

And convinces us of that,

Doesn't he?

So that's the first observation.

Our Lord Jesus Christ says,

If you are truly my disciple,

When you hear the word

I have given

From the Father,

You will believe it's true.

Second observation.

How you respond

To the word of God

Reveals to whom you belong.

The word of God goes out.

The group in the temple

Before Jesus is a mixed crowd.

And he gets very different responses,

Very different reactions

From those that are there.

Some want to kill him.

And others will abide

In the house of Jesus,

His own Father's house forever.

Two extremely different

Groups of people.

And I just,

Before we point out

How different they are,

I just want to point out

How hard it is to discern.

Think about it.

Even in the temple,

To your and my eye,

They would have all

Looked very similar.

Both groups

Would have been born

To religious parents.

They're here as Jews

Worshipping the true God

In the temple.

They were people

Who routinely would come

To the house of God.

You know,

This is after the Feast of Booths,

The Feast of Nations.

They're still there

Hearing this teaching.

They would have had

Access to God's word

And even in this setting,

In chapter 8,

They would have heard

The gospel already proclaimed.

God has given them the word.

You and I would not be able

To tell the difference.

Jesus had told them already,

I am the bread of life.

I am the light of the world.

John,

The apostle John,

Has said that

In the beginning was the word.

The word was with God.

The word was God.

John 1,

For the word became flesh

And dwelt,

Abided among us.

And we have seen his glory.

Glory as of the only son

Of the father,

Full of grace and truth.

They've heard the gospel.

But yet there's two

Very different groups

Among them.

Man can't tell the difference

Most of the time.

But God knows the heart.

Jesus knows the heart.

See,

Some will respond

In obedience

By the end of this chapter.

Look at verse 51.

If anyone keeps my word,

If anyone abides in my word,

Jesus says,

He will never see death.

So he's still speaking

To those in this mixed group

That will believe.

That will never see death.

But listen to the opposite reaction

In verse 32.

Jesus says,

My truth will set you free.

It's a simple gospel pronouncement.

But the reaction he gets

Seems way out of bounds.

So picture,

As Christ is preaching the gospel,

They're stepping forward

And forming this inner circle now

Of the Jewish religious elite

Who want to kill him.

And they take over the conversation.

And Jesus looks even beyond

These religious elite.

He looks beyond them

To the powers of darkness

And the principalities

That are behind them.

Giving them these words of hatred

And wanting to kill

The very son of God.

See, when they,

When Jesus said,

The truth will set you free,

Most likely their pockets

Were being lined by Rome.

They said,

We don't need freedom.

We're children of Abraham.

We got it made

In the shade.

We know what we have

And what we don't need.

And we don't need

What you're trying to give us.

Please leave our temple.

That's their tone.

Well, if they really knew

The word of God,

If they knew the book of Judges,

They were,

No, there were seven nations

That have enslaved God's people.

In the time of Judges,

Even before there were kings.

And tracing their history

A bit further,

By the time the northern tribes

Get conquered by Assyria

And the southern tribes

By Judah,

For a period of 70 years.

Read the book of Daniel.

70 years they're in exile

In slavery.

So they don't even know

Their own history well enough

To deny that they

Have been in bondage.

On top of that,

There's a spiritual curse.

Deuteronomy 27 says,

Cursed be anyone

Who does not confirm

The words of this law

By doing all of them.

And all the people

Shall say amen.

Galatians 3.10

Helps us to understand that.

All who rely on works of the law

Are under a curse.

See, everyone

Who has sinned

Is under a curse.

And Jesus says,

You are sinners.

You are slaves

To your own sin.

By the time we get down

To verse 55,

He's pointed out,

You have not known God.

You think you know God.

You have never known God.

You are slaves to sin.

I looked it up.

The latest number in the USA,

According to the Cultural Center for Research,

Is that 70% of Americans

Believe they are Christian.

But only 6%

Believe that the Bible

Is accurate

And true.

You see those numbers?

So,

Of all Americans,

If we take out

All the ones who think

They're Christian,

Just deal with that

70%,

It's only 6%

Then we're down to

So 9% of those

Actually believe

That the Bible is true.

So they think

That they don't have to

Abide in the word of the Lord.

They can still be

A cultural Christian.

Jesus warned them

Out of love

That they will die

In their sins.

Look back at verse 24.

I told you

Unless you believe

That I am He

You will die

In your sins.

Jesus warns them

And He warns all those

Who think they can

Call themselves Christian

Get all the blessings

Of Christ

While rejecting

Christ and His word.

He says,

You think you're

In the holy temple

The holy presence of God

Near God

Forgiven of your sins

You are not here.

You need to look over there.

Look over those walls.

Look east into the wilderness.

That's where you go

If you're banished

If you're unclean.

That's where you are

Spiritually.

You will die

In your sins

Away from God.

You're dying.

Now picture the vultures

Flying above

In the wilderness

Where the carcasses are.

Like the hands of a clock

The shadows are circling them.

He's warned them.

What should our attitude

Be toward those

Who think they are Christians

But they don't want

The word of God?

I've wrestled with that

This week

Preparing for this.

What should my heart

Be toward those

Who think they are Christians

And don't want

The word of God?

I was really helped

By the words of Paul

In chapter 10 of Romans.

Paul describes

These people.

He said,

They have

Zeal for God

But not according

To knowledge.

They are ignorant

Of the righteousness

Of God.

They seek to establish

Their own.

They do not submit

To God's righteousness.

And here's how we should

Have a heart

Toward those people.

Paul said,

Brothers,

My heart's desire

And prayer to God

For them

Is that they

May be saved.

Paul comes to

The same conclusion

That is our Lord Christ.

They need salvation.

They will die

In their sins.

They've rejected

Christ

And his word.

There is no

False assurance

Of salvation

For them

But pray for them

And have a genuine

Desire in the heart

That the Lord

Will save.

Jesus says,

If you are truly

My disciple

Then you will

Respond

By abiding

In my word.

Because how you respond

It reveals

What's the truth.

It just pulls

The blanket off

Of what's already there.

How you respond.

What's truly

In the heart.

So,

Who is

A child

Of the devil?

Jesus

Unmasks

Those slaves

Of sin

And it turns out

It's the religious

Elite.

See,

They were

Mixed into this

Crowd in the temple

But they were

Really wolves

In sheep's clothing.

They pretended

To be sheeps

Following God

As their shepherd.

They got some

Sharp teeth

Underneath that.

And Jesus

Unmasks them.

It's hard though,

Isn't it?

How can we tell

Who is a true

Disciple

And who's not?

What's a true

Church and what's not?

And as I've gotten

To know

Each family

This is something

We all have in common.

I think it's actually

In common for all

True disciples

Is that you will

Go through in life

Some deep

Hurt.

Some deep wounds

From the fangs

Of those who claim

To be children

Of God.

I think that's one

Thing we all have

In common here.

And I think that

Will be true

Of God's people

Everywhere.

They've claimed

To be Christians

They've claimed

To be leaders

And I'm going

To call them

Organizations

Which claim

To be the true

Church but are not.

And Jesus

Doesn't leave us

Wondering.

I've tried to

Trace out here

Everything he says

About these sons

Of the devil.

I've got nine of them.

Number one

They practice sin.

He says they are

Slaves to sin.

Look at verse 34.

Everyone who practices

Sin

Is a slave to sin.

Now to practice sin

In this sense

It's ongoing

Unrepentant

Unconfessed

Covering up sin

Loving the sin.

Number two

Christ's words

Find no place

In them.

Look at verse 37.

You seek to kill me

Because my word

Finds no place

In you.

Number three

They practice

What they hear

From Satan.

See how he sees

Even beyond these men.

He sees the enemy

Who seeks to destroy.

Verse 38

You do what you have

Heard from your father.

You claim to be

A Christian

But really

You're just a servant

Upon a slave

Of the great deceiver.

Number four

They think they are

Sons of God still.

Verse 41

They have

They say

We have one father

Even God.

Jesus says

You are doing

The works

Your true father did

And it's not God.

Number five

They cannot bear

To hear

Christ's word.

You do not understand

He says in verse 43

Because you cannot bear

To hear

My word.

I've shared

With some of you

In Brazil

We did evangelism

With soccer

And it's so true

The simple gospel message

You know

One of our

Brothers in the Lord

We're just going to

Open up the Bible

Read a verse

And tell about

How God saved him

From his sin

And the guys

Would show up

A little bit late

To not have to hear that

So they could just

Play soccer

And then he started

Doing it at the end

Well they would

Leave before the game

Was quite over

So they did not

Have to hear the gospel

So we stop soccer

Right in the middle

Half time

We're going to do the gospel

And then they would

Hear a little bit more

But isn't that so true?

The gospel

You can't bear

To hear the word

Of Christ

Until God gives you

A new heart

Number six

The devil

Is their father

Look at verse 44

Your father

The devil

Has you as a slave

And you do

What he desires

What a terrifying

Reality

See Satan

Was a murderer

From the beginning

In Adam all die

He hates the truth

There is no truth

In him

Jesus calls Satan

The father of lies

Now pay attention here

One scholar pointed out

And this was so helpful

To me

Jesus is not saying

That everyone

Who is a lost sinner

Is a child of the devil

He doesn't say that

He does say

That the Pharisees

The counterfeit Christians

These people

And these religious leaders

The elite

Claiming to be children of God

But were really

Hating Christ

And hating Christ's word

They are children

Of the devil

Because Satan

Is a great imitator

There's a difference

Between being

A lost lamb

That Christ will rescue

As the shepherd

And being an imitator

Of God

To dispel

And to turn many away

From the true salvation

Number seven

They attack

His person

See they don't like

His truth

So they go after

His person

Nothing has changed

Has it

Every generation

Look at verse

41 first

They say

Are we the children

Of adultery

That's probably a slur

It's probably a jab

At Christ's own birth

Number four

Verse 46

Jesus recognizes

You dishonor me

You're attacking me

Personally now

Not even about

The truth I'm giving you

And then in verse 48

They say

You are a Samaritan

And have a demon

See they're going after

His humanity

By saying

You're not even

A pure blooded

Child of Abraham

You're not even

A pure breed Jew

You're a Samaritan

You're a mixed race

They're attacking

His humanity

Your humanity

Is of a lower quality

Than ours

And you have a demon

So they're attacking

His divinity

You're not of the

Holy God

Your divinity

Is polluted

You've got

The influence

Of Satan

They go after

His person

Satan's obsession

Has always been

To kill

The seed

The promised

Seed

Of the woman

Look at

Verse 40

You seek

To kill me

Jesus says

A man

Who has told you

The truth

The truth

I heard

From God

Now look down

At verse 59

They picked up

Stones

To throw at him

It was Satan

Through Cain

Trying to kill

Abel

The seed of the woman

Through whom the promise

Would come

That would crush

The serpent's head

It was Satan

Through Pharaoh

To wipe out

All the boys

The seed

That God would send

To crush

The serpent's head

It was Jezebel

Haman

King Herod the Great

Killing all the baby

Boys in Israel

When Christ was born

It's always Satan

Trying to kill

The promised seed

Of the woman

The seed that would

Crush the head

Of the serpent

And now it's

The Pharisees

Stones in their hands

Ready to smash

The head of this man

In 2 Corinthians 11

We're told

There are

False

Apostles

There are

Deceitful workmen

Disguising themselves

As apostles of Christ

Paul wrote

No wonder

Even Satan

Disguises himself

As an angel

Of light

His servants

Disguise themselves

As servants

Of righteousness

Their end

Will correspond

To their deeds

Leave the justice

In the hands

Of God

Pray for them

And know that God

Will bring his justice

Their end

Will correspond

With their deeds

Misleading many

In the name of Christ

Jude 4

Points out this same problem

As a caution

To the true church

He says

Certain people

Have crept in

To the church

Unnoticed

What do they do?

They pervert

The grace of our God

Into sensuality

And deny

Our only master

And Lord Jesus Christ

He calls them

Hidden reefs

He says

They feast with you

Without fear

They are shepherds

Feeding themselves

Waterless clouds

Swept along by winds

Fruitless trees

In late autumn

Remember the feast of booze

Celebrating the bountiful harvest

But if they're in the middle

Of that feast

They are twice dead

And uprooted

They do not bear

The fruit that keeps

With repentance

They are wild waves

Of the sea

Casting up the foam

Of their own shame

They are wandering stars

For whom the gloom

Of outer darkness

Has been reserved

Forever

Such men

Do not make room

In their hearts

For the word of God

And there will be

No room for them

In the house

Of God

Forever

How do you respond

To the word of the Lord

If you reject

The word of Jesus

Then you will die

In your sins

If you are truly

My disciples

Jesus says

My word will

Abide

In you

Well

If those are the

Sons of the devil

How about the others

Who do respond

By faith

Do we have any help

To discern

Or find encouragement

If you are

Not a son of the devil

But you're a true

Spiritual son

Of Abraham

Yes we do

See their argument

The argument of the Pharisees

Is this

Your nature

Is determined

By birth

And birth

Is determined

By paternity

This is their

Jewish way of thinking

So who I am

Is based on my bloodline

And it comes through

The line of my fathers

Verse 33

They say

We are the offspring

Of Abraham

Now remember

Jesus began this message

He starts by saying

If you're my disciple

My word will abide in you

But then come the hecklers

And all those

Trying to pull them

Way off topic

They're pulling in Abraham

And the demons

He does not lose sight

Of his point

My point to you

Is that my word

Will abide in you

If you are truly saved

But he uses

Their same arguments

He said okay

We can talk about Abraham

We can talk about Abraham

Jesus uses Abraham

In a way that

That is going to be

So helpful

That all of the

New Testament

Apostles are going to

Then pick up on

Okay

He says so

You're trying to say

You are holy and righteous

Because you have

The bloodline of Abraham

He said I'll tell you

What made Abraham special

It was not his blood

It was his faith

He says there are the

There are the physical

Seed of Abraham

The Jews

The whole point in that

Was to bring

The Messiah

But what you need

To pay attention to

Are the spiritual

Sons of Abraham

In verse 35

He says look

Only it's the

Spiritual son of Abraham

Only the one who

Truly belongs to God

By faith

Like Abraham

In verse 35

That's the spiritual son

That gets to stay

In the land

In the temple

In the house

Of the father

The house of God

Forever

He says okay

You want to talk

About Abraham

If Abraham's in view

You are not Isaac

Of the promised

Line of blessing

You are Ishmael

You are the son

Of the slave

You are slaves

To your sin

You want to talk

About the line

Of blessing

You are not Abel

Or Seth

You are Cain

In verse 56

Jesus says

If you're like Abraham

You will bear

The same fruit

Your works will

Correspond to the

Works of Abraham

What was Abraham's

Work

Look at verse 56

Abraham rejoiced

That he would

See my day

And he saw it

And he was glad

Now how

Did Abraham

See the day

Of the Lord

What a great promise

See he rejoiced

In anticipation

Of the salvation

That would come

But then he

He actually

Saw it

And was satisfied

In it

Was glad

God gave him

That faith

By what he

Actually saw

One commentator

Summarized it this way

How did Abraham

See our Lord's day

Verse 56

How did Abraham

See the life

And the ministry

Of Jesus

On earth

The same way

Abraham

Saw that future city

That future land

Heaven itself

It was by faith

God did not give Abraham

Some special vision

Of our Lord's

Life and ministry

But he did give him

The spiritual perception

To see those future events

Certainly Abraham saw

The birth of the Messiah

In the miraculous birth

Of his own son

And when Melchizedek

The priest ministered

To Abraham

God used that

To show Abraham

The heavenly priesthood

Of our Lord Jesus Christ

And he certainly

Saw Calvary

When he offered Isaac

To God

In Genesis 22

Then when his son

Grew up

Isaac grew up

And was married

In Genesis 24

Abraham could see

Even in that marriage

A picture

Of the marriage

Of the Lamb

Of God

To his church

Galatians 3

6-14

Explains this

So clearly

Abraham believed God

And it was counted

To him

As righteousness

Those of faith

Who are the sons

Of Abraham

The scripture says

Are those who

Have that saving faith

That God

God foresaw

That he would justify

Not only the line

Of Abraham

But all the Gentiles

As well

And he preached

The gospel to them

Beforehand

Even to Abraham

Saying

In you

Shall all the nations

Be blessed

One last connection

Think about

Where they're standing

Even this very moment

A couple weeks ago

We said

As they would come

To these feasts

They would be singing

The Psalms of Ascent

And they would be singing

These Psalms

As they climbed up

This mountain

And now they're standing

On the temple

And the temple

Is one peak

Down the hill

Is another hill

Called the hill

Of Calvary

And it's all part

Of this great mountain

The mountain

They're standing on

Is Mount Moriah

The same mountain

Where God called

Abraham to walk up

With Isaac

And to trust him

And abide

In the word of the Lord

By faith

That very mountain

And Jesus says

Before Abraham

Was

I am

I am the one

Who showed

This shadow

Of the gospel

And gave Abraham

A faith to believe

And just as I did

For Abraham

To disciple him

To grow him

To show him

My plan of salvation

I do that

For all my true disciples

Who abide in me

Today

What does it mean

To be a disciple

See look at 31

Jesus says

If you believe in me

And abide in my word

Then you are truly

My disciples

You must abide

In the word of the Lord

To be truly his disciple

You will continue

Learning

You will continue

Taking in his word

And letting his word

Change you

A disciple

Is a follower

And adherent

To a person

It's someone

Who puts themselves

Under the teachings

And practices

Of someone else

You give your full

Personal loyalty

And support

To that person

That's what it means

To be a disciple

And he says

Those I adopt

Those who get to live

In my father's house

Forever

I disciple them

In my word

So if you are growing

As a disciple

Of Jesus

If you are growing

Through abiding

In his word

Then you can have

Assurance

That you have been

Adopted

Into his family

1 John

1 John 2:14

Chapter 2

Verse 14

Jesus says

You know him

Who is from the beginning

Before Abraham was

I am

And in him

You are strong

The word of God

Abides in you

And you have overcome

The evil one

Jesus says

I will disciple you

In my word

And you will know

My father

Has adopted you

By the evidence

That my word

Dwells in you

It grows in you

Because the Lord

Disciplines

Those he loves

I traced out for you

The portrait

Of those who are

Children of the devil

I want to go through

The same passage

And look at now

What does that look like

To be a disciple

Of Christ

One who truly

Abides in his word

Number one

It looks like this

You love Jesus

And you can call

God

Your father

Look at verse 42

If God is your father

You will

Love me

Number two

You belong to God

And you want

To hear

The word of God

Verse 47

Whoever is of God

Hears

The words

Of God

Number three

You keep the word

Of Christ

And will never

See death

Look at verse 51

Truly truly

I say to you

If anyone

Keeps my word

He will never

See death

As you abide

In his word

He gives you

That assurance

When you're laying

On the deathbed

One day

It could be here

Very soon

For any one of us

You have God's word

In your heart

You have the truth

Of the promises

From scripture

Sealed to you

By faith

Through the Holy Spirit

And even

Even though

Your sanctification

Will be gradual

And painful

And you will

Continue sinning

Because of the flesh

John says

If anyone thinks

He's without sin

He deceives himself

What you will be able

To see is this pattern

Though

I used to not

Love God's word

Like I do now

And I want to love

It even more

I used to not

Abide in the word

Of God

The way I do now

And I hope to

Abide in it

Fully and perfectly

And when your soul

Leaves your body

You will abide

In the word of God

Jesus Christ himself

You will dwell with him

Perfectly

And forever

Number four

You see Jesus

Glorified by his

Father

In heaven

Look at verse 54

It is my Father

Our God

Who glorifies

Jesus Christ

When you hear

The word of God

You see Jesus

And the spirit

Stirs your heart

And God once again

Glorifies his son

In your eyes

Number five

He teaches you

To read his whole word

All the Bible

In the light of Christ

Look at verse 58

Truly truly

I say to you

Before Abraham was

I am

Paul picks up on this

In Galatians 3

He says

The promises were made

To Abraham

And his offspring

Saying

It's not to all the Jews

It's to the one offspring

In the singular

It's to Jesus

And Jesus wants you

To read your whole Bible

That same way

He says

Before Abraham was

I am

Abraham saw the gospel

He saw my kingdom coming

And if you're in Christ

If you're abiding in his word

You will learn to read

The whole Bible

The whole word of God

As the redemptive plan

Of salvation

Fulfilled in Christ

All of God's promises

Find their yes

And amen

In Jesus

The last one

Number six

Is that your good works

Will flow

From rejoicing

In the kingdom

Of Christ

Look at verse 39

He says

If you were

Abraham's children

You would be doing

What Abraham did

Then look at verse 56

And this can be

An encouragement to you

If you are

Adopted into the family

Of God

A true spiritual

Child of God

Like Abraham

You will also rejoice

At seeing that coming day

When Jesus will return

In glory

And you will also

Now see it

And find satisfaction

And be glad right now

Spiritually

I see the day

I see the kingdom

The rule of God

Over my life

And that's my

Encouragement to you today

Abide in the word

Of the Lord

He says that

You belong to him

You get to live

In the house of God

Now

And forever

Jesus standing in the temple

They pick up stones

They want to kill him

Right there

On temple grounds

And again

I don't know

If Jesus

Looked

But he would be

Very aware

On the hill of Calvary

The edge of the wilderness

Where the jackals

And the demons

And the goats

That had the sins

Of the nation

Put on them

On the day of atonement

That were sent out

That's where they roam around

In the wilderness

That's where he would die

Not here

Not in their hands

By stones

He would willfully

Lay down his life

In the wilderness

He would say

My God

Why have you forsaken me

Knowing that by being

Forsaken spiritually

It's so that

People could be welcomed

Into the house

Of his father

He would be forsaken

So they could be accepted

And his gospel goes out

If you receive his word

And abide in his truth

You are in the house

Of God the father

And he did not have his life

Taken from him

He laid it down willfully

To accomplish the mission

That the father promised the son

Sealed by the spirit

And applied to you

The plan of redemption

Before time was even created

Is now being applied

In your life

And the purpose

Of your life now

Is for the word of the Lord

To abide in you

Let the word of God

Abide in you

Let the spirit

Reform you

Change you

Transform you

By the renewing

Of your minds

A lifetime is too short

Isn't it?

Let me try to pull it together

The Lord has given his word

How you respond

To the word of the Lord

Reveals

To whom you belong

Christ came with one mission

Give his life

For your life

And if you are ransomed

By Jesus

You're washed in his blood

You are his disciple

His word abides in you

He will train you

To abide in his word

More and more

He will grow you

Into his likeness

Forever

My prayer for you

Has been

That everything else

In your life

That has caused you pain

Every other thing

That currently causes you stress

And makes you want to doubt

The goodness and kindness of God

My prayer has simply been

That he will show you

A little bit more today

Abide in his word

Jesus came so that you can be

Near the father

Trust him

And grow as his disciple

Let's pray

From Isaiah 41

Oh God

Oh God you chose us

In Christ

And you promised

To never cast us off

Thank you for sending

Jesus your son

The offspring of Abraham

Your servant

Thank you for calling us

From the farthest corners

Of the world

Thank you for how you have

Taken us

Into your family

Train us Lord

To abide in your word

To fear not

But to trust that you are with us

You have not left us as orphans

We are not dismayed

Because you strengthen us

You help us

You uphold us

With your righteous right hand

Our Lord Jesus

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen