The Abiding Life and Obedience

Christ is enough for me.

Paul puts it this way.

He says,

For me to live is Christ

where our own hearts might be

related to this question.

And that is,

if you could have heaven

and all the joys of heaven

that's represented,

the freedom from suffering,

the joys that are there,

the fellowship with loved ones,

the bounty that is available to you,

no needs and full satisfaction of heaven,

but Christ wasn't there,

could you be happy?

That's an interesting question.

Because if we were really

to evaluate our own lives

in relationship to that question,

it is very similar.

And that is,

do you find yourself

more caught up with the gift

or the giver?

When God takes away

the joys of all of His blessings from you

so that you can delight in Him alone,

does that cause you angst?

Does it cause you sorrow?

Does it cause you frustration?

Or is there a settling in your heart

that says,

if I have Him,

I have everything?

That's really what we're talking about

this morning.

That's what we talked about last week

when we're in 1 John 5.

And we're talking about

those who believe

that Jesus is the Christ.

What that means

is that Jesus is Lord of all.

That He is the one

who is supremely valuable.

Nothing else compares

to the supremacy of God

in terms of power,

but also in terms of worthiness.

That's where we're going today.

And that's the road that leads

to the victorious

and abundant life.

The abiding life

can be characterized

by your relationship

to Jesus Christ

and whether or not

your relationship with Him

is enough

to overcome any adversity.

That it satisfies every longing.

And everything else

is just an extra.

If and only if that

is true of your life,

can you really experience

victory and triumph

in the Christian life?

That's what I want for myself.

And that's what I want for you.

I want us as a church,

as people,

as believers,

to experience

not only the abundant life

that we've been talking about

through this series of 1 John,

but I want you to experience

the fulfilling

healing

and eternal

and abundant

and joy-filled

fellowshipping life.

There aren't enough adjectives

to fill in the blank.

It is the kind of life

that God wants for you

as well,

but it only comes one way.

So let's pray for divine help

as we look

into the Word of God

and we seek

to be informed

by the Scriptures.

We seek to be convicted

by the Spirit

and we seek

to be transformed

by the renewing

of our minds.

Let's pray.

God, what we are doing

in this moment

is a work

that only you can accomplish.

We are desperate

for you

in these moments.

moments.

We plead with you

for help

in these moments.

Moments to overcome

our own arrogance,

to think we have

this all figured out.

Moments

that we think

we have

under control

and we think

we're living

the Christian life

the way that you've

called us to live.

Please expose

our own pride

and arrogance

this morning.

create in its place

brokenness.

Oh God,

may there be

in our hearts

and lives

a desperation

for the true

abiding life

that can only

be found

in Jesus Christ.

May we then

be those

who truly love,

truly love you

and truly love others.

And may that loving

lead to true

obedience.

Obedience

that sanctifies

and purifies

our lives.

Obedience

then that leads

to certain

victory

in the Christian life.

And certain

victory that then

leads

to continuing

and progressive

faith

that deepens

with every day.

With new

experiences

of the

faithfulness

of our God

and new

experience

of your ability

not only

to meet

our deepest

longings

but to

demonstrate

that you

are truly

faithful.

So God,

will you please

help us

in these moments

as we look

into your word,

tenderize

our hearts,

open our minds,

awaken us

to the truth

of your scripture

and allow

your Holy Spirit

to have his way

in us.

Remove

every distraction,

remove

every obstacle,

every hurdle

this morning

so that we

can rightly

represent

our Savior

as we leave

this place.

That we can

represent you

and call attention

not to ourselves,

but we can call

attention

to the wonder

of the gospel

and the wonder

of the God

whom we serve.

So,

we plead with you

to do your work

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well,

Friday,

our family

went through

another subtraction.

So,

our number two

daughter

was delivered

to college

and it

was hard

enough to say

goodbye to

number one

daughter a week

ago,

but then

I think

really the reality

kind of hit me

like a two by four

yesterday

as I'm

preparing,

helping to prepare

dinner and

a song is playing

and I know

that that particular

song,

when it's on the radio,

I hear this little

singing in the

background

and it's the

singing of

Allison,

she just

sings all the

time.

And then,

to then prepare

the meal and

sit down at

the table

and to sense

the subtraction

at the table

where there's

no longer

six extra

spots,

there's only

four.

And I love

my four kids

that are there,

but having two

that are missing,

just,

there's a

vacancy.

there's a

sense of

distance

and there's

not wholeness

that there was

just a few

weeks ago.

Because I

think through

the,

through 18

years of

building

relationship

and loving

on your kids,

when you

finally let

them enter

or at least

move into

independence

in adulthood,

there has to

be a letting

go.

There has to

be a turning

loose.

And no one

ever prepared

me for this

part of

parenthood.

It's,

it's kind

of a,

not necessarily

a brokenness

of fellowship,

but there is

certainly not

the intimacy

of fellowship

that there was

when they're

present.

Because

presence

helps to

lead to

intimacy.

intimacy.

Now,

we've been

talking about

the significance

of intimacy

and fellowship

with God.

We've been

talking about

the significance

of that

fellowship with

Him and

right out of

the gate,

the very

first thing

that the

Apostle John

wants this

church of

Ephesus to

understand,

is if you

are really

going to

experience joy,

you have to

know Jesus.

joy begins

and ends

with the

source of

joy.

It begins

with Jesus

and fellowship

with Jesus

is possible

only through

relationship

with Jesus.

And fellowship

with Jesus

involves

intimacy

with Jesus.

So the

subtraction

that I

felt at

my

dinner

table,

however,

is not

always the

same

subtraction

that I

feel in

my

spiritual

life.

I mean,

if I

was to be

honest with

myself and

you were to

be honest

with yourself,

my guess

would be

that there

are often

days that

go by

without any

fellowshipping

with Jesus

takes place.

perhaps

weeks

go by

with really

intimate

fellowshipping

taking place

in your

life with

Jesus.

So how

do you

describe that

as an

abiding

life?

How is

it that

we can

feel this

loss of

connection

with family

but when

it comes

to our

relationship

with God

it is

just so

okay,

well I guess

just not

happening.

Somehow

we have

to move

to the

point

where

our

intimacy

with God

is something

that we

feel

and I

think the

problem

is that

our

relationship

with God

is so

mechanical

our

relationship

with God

is so

routine

and

traditional

it is not

initially

an abiding

relationship

so we

don't have

that intimacy

to start

with

and so

when we

don't spend

time with

God

there is

really

nothing

to lose

except

for the

burden

that

comes

on us

with

having

to

perform

of

having

to

go

through

the

motions

of

having

to

check

the

boxes

and so

we

don't

miss

that

intimacy

because

we

never

had

it

in

the

first

place

there's

no

wonder

why

there's

no

fruitfulness

in our

lives

there's

no

wonder

why

there's

no

potency

or

power

in the

Christian

life

there's

no

wonder

why

there's

no

real

affection

for

our

brothers

and

sisters

there's

no

wonder

why

there's

no

victory

over

sin

because

we

haven't

gotten

the

starting

point

right

we're

really

not

believing

the

right

things

we

say

we

believe

the

right

things

but

the

reality

is

it

hasn't

really

changed

us

this

morning

I

want

to

encourage

us

in this

journey

because

just

because

that's

not

true

of

the

past

doesn't

mean

it

can't

be

true

of

the

future

you

can

have

an

abiding

relationship

you

can

have

intimacy

you

can

have

a

victorious

life

that

leads

you

to

love

and

obedience

and

to

deeper

faith

that's

what

John

wants

for

the

people

of

Ephesus

and

that's

what

we're

going

to

continue

to

talk

about

this

morning

we're

going

to

talk

about

the

abiding

life

and

in

this

time

kind of

kind of

concentrating

on

obedience

but

still

picking up

on our

theme

from last

week

and

really

helping

to

fill

out

the

steps

for

how

to

have

a

victorious

life

God

wants

us

to

move

to

victory

that

can only

happen

is

correct

for

us

let

me

read

for

us

the

first

five

verses

of

1st

John

chapter

five

and

then

we'll

kind of

move

quickly

through

our

first

point

from

last

week

and

hopefully

get

to

the

other

points

this

week

we

missed

them

the

last

time

if

you're

a

guest

with

us

this

morning

in

the

pew

Bible

you'll

find

1st

John

chapter

five

on

page

1023

here's

what

it

says

everyone

who

believes

that

Jesus

is

the

Christ

has

been

born

of

God

and

everyone

who

loves

the

father

loves

whoever

has

been

born

of

him

by

this

we

know

that

we

love

the

children

of

God

when

we

love

God

and

obey

his

commands

for

this

is

the

love

of

God

that

we

keep

his

commandments

and

his

commandments

are

not

burdensome

for

everyone

who

has

been

born

of

God

overcomes

the

world

and

this

is

the

victory

that

has

overcome

the

world

our

faith

who

is

it

that

overcomes

the

world

except

the

one

who

believes

that

Jesus

is

the

son

of

God

last

week

as

we

as

we

came

to

this

the

first

step

in

the

victorious

life

is

having

the

correct

faith

do

you

have

the

right

faith

we

find

right

here

at the

beginning

of

chapter

5

everyone

who

believes

that

Jesus

is

the

Christ

has

been

born

of

God

and

last

week

we

talked

about

some

of

the

specifics

of

what

this

means

to

believe

that

Jesus

is

the

Christ

for review

let me

just

walk

through

them

one

at a

time

what

does

it

mean

that

Jesus

is

the

Christ

first

it

means

that

Jesus

is

one

with

the

Father

Jesus

is

one

with

the

Father

he's

one

in

origin

he's

one

in

identity

he's

not

just

another

man

another

prophet

Jesus

was

God

in

the

flesh

as

John

says

earlier

in this

little

letter

in chapter

2

verse

22

he says

who is

a liar

but he

who denies

that Jesus

is the

Christ

he is

denying

the

Father

and

the

Son

because

you

cannot

have

one

without

the

other

there

is

an

inseparable

link

between

Jesus

and

the

Father

now

this

would

have

been

incomprehensible

for

a normal

Jew

because

any

good

Jew

who

knew

the

law

would

have

known

in

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 6 · chapter mention

chapter

6

this

great

Shema

that

was

repeated

on

a

constant

basis

it

says

the

Lord

our

God

the

Lord

is

one

it's

inconceivable

here

is

this

man

Jesus

who

I

know

was

born

in

Nazareth

I

know

who

his

mom

and

dad

are

Mary

and

Joseph

I

know

that

Joseph

was

a

carpenter

I

grew

up

with

this

kid

he

was

in

my

Sunday

school

class

I

know

this

person

and

he's

claiming

to be

God

that is

just

not

a true

statement

it can't

be

because

I

know

that

God

is

one

do you

begin

to

understand

the

tension

and the

difficulty

of what

we've

just

come

to

accept

carte

blanche

as

no

problem

the

Jews

wrestled

with

this

truth

because

Jesus

helped

to identify

himself

as

God

and as

we

understand

in this

immense

and

inexplicable

truth

the

trinity

one

God

three

persons

manifesting

themselves

in

father

son

and

holy

spirit

we

have

come

to

embrace

that

truth

however

complex

and

difficult

that

is

but

here

is

here

is

the

consequence

here

is

the

significance

of that

truth

is

you

cannot

have

God

without

Jesus

I

don't

care

what

religious

background

you

come

from

you

cannot

embrace

or have

a relationship

with God

without

Jesus

Christ

you

cannot

worship

the

pantheon

of

gods

there

is

only

one

as

defined

by

John

and

Jesus

it

is

the

one

God

represented

in

the

father

and

the

son

and

the

holy

ghost

Jesus

is

one

with

the

father

the

second

implication

is that

Jesus

is the

fulfillment

of

old

testament

promise

Christ

was

another

word

for

the

Messiah

and

all

of

the

hopes

of

the

Jewish

nation

for

that

which

would

be

fulfilled

for

them

in

terms

of

this

great

blessing

and

promise

to

their

nation

was

actually

fulfilled

in

Jesus

Christ

he

is

the

promised

one

he

is

the

hope

of

Israel

he

is

the

promised

seed

of

Abraham

he

is

the

promised

king

of

David

he

is

the

!

the

lamb

of

God

all

that

Israel

had

hoped

for

could

only

be

found

in

Jesus

Christ

everything

good

everything

necessary

everything

that

you

should

set

your

hope

on

can

only

be

found

in

Jesus

but

here's

the

problem

the

problem

is

that

we

actually

set

our

hopes

on

so

many

other

things

we

set

our

hopes

on

the

world

strategy

for

parenting

we

set

our

hopes

on

the

world

strategy

for

how

to

get

our

kids

into

college

and

pay

for

that

enormous

bill

we

set

our

hopes

on

the

business

strategies

that

corporate

America

has

put

together

we

set

our

hopes

on

for

you

students

you

set

your

hopes

on

popularity

and

wearing

the

right

things

in order

to be

accepted

you see

satisfaction

for this

world

is wrapped

up in

everything

but

God

but

satisfaction

for those

who are

believers

must be

found

in

Christ

alone

he

is

our

only

hope

and

only

then

will

Jesus

be

Christ

for

you

only

then

will

Jesus

be

Christ

if

he

is

your

only

hope

so

God

has

to

rip

away

from

us

those

things

that

we

place

our

confidence

in

so

that

he

can

make

himself

supreme

it

is

a

gift

and a

blessing

to

us

not

something

that

should

lead

us

to

frustration

and

bitterness

it

is

a

grace

of

God

to

make

himself

supreme

for

you

to

prove

himself

to

be

the

Christ

for

you

your

only

hope

third

Jesus

is

the

only

way

of

salvation

as

John

says

here

in

this

verse

everyone

who

believes

that

Jesus

is

the

Christ

has

been

born

of

God

no

other

way

no

exception

Jesus

is

the

only

means

of

new

birth

you

must

look

to

Jesus

forgiveness

is

found

in

him

cleansing

is

found

in

him

righteousness

is

found

in

him

deliverance

is

found

in

him

help

from

day

to

day

is

found

in

Jesus

salvation

not only

for the

future

but salvation

for today

can be

found

alone

in

Jesus

not

in

all

the

other

things

you

put

your

hope

and

confidence

in

it

can

only

be

found

in

Christ

and

if

he

will

be

the

Christ

for

you

you

will

plead

with

him

to

help

you

understand

that

he

is

the

only

means

of

deliverance

the

only

means

of

salvation

the

fourth

implication

is

that

Jesus

as

Christ

means

that

he

is

Lord

of

all

is

he

Lord

of

your

life

today

meaning

is

he

the

one

to

whom

you

submit

all

of

your

purposes

all

of

your

future

plans

all

of

your

current

priorities

are

they

aligned

underneath

the

lordship

and

headship

of

Jesus

Christ

Jesus

wants

to

be

supreme

for

you

he

wants

to

be

the

lord

of

all

and

only

when

you

confess

Jesus

as

Christ

will

you

come

to

the

place

where

you

make

him

the

lord

of

all

the

supreme

authority

over

every

area

of

life

but

that

leads

us

to

our

next

point

this

morning

and

that

is

a

correct

faith

leads

to

Christ

exalting

love

correct

faith

leads

to

Christ

exalting

love

we

see

that

here

at

the

end

of

verse

one

it

says

everyone

who

believes

that

Jesus

Christ

has

been

born

of

God

and

everyone

who

loves

the

father

loves

whoever

has

been

born

of

him

let

me

read

that

one

more

time

everyone

who

believes

that

Jesus

is

the

Christ

has

been

born

of

God

and

everyone

who

loves

the

father

loves

whoever

has

been

born