Text to Talk Part 2 | Continuous Dependence with Chris Schlotterbeck

Hey guys, this is Tracy. If at any time you'd

like to connect with HCV, go to hcv .church forward

slash connect. If you feel called to give, go

to hcv .church forward slash give. And if at

any time you feel called to make a change in

your life, text change me to 970 -00. Enjoy the

message. Hey, good morning, everyone. So good

to see you. Yes, vibrant and alive. Thank you

for welcoming us into your home if you're watching

us from home. Of course, today is Mother's Day,

and we want to say happy Mother's Day to all

of our moms. Hey, moms, can you stand up, please?

That is moms, grandmoms, dog moms, cat moms.

Spiritual moms, we have a gift for you. Yeah,

give them a hand. It's awesome. There we go.

They're coming around. They'll get you something.

Just a little gift from us to you that hopefully

you'll be able to use. Stay up. Stay up. I want

to pray over you. Come on. Stay standing. Don't

sit back down that quick. You're not that tired.

Come on. I know you're a mom. You do a lot. I

just want to pray a blessing over you if you

could. So while they're giving out those gifts,

I just want to ask God to come and meet you right

where you are, to infuse you with his power,

his spirit, and his presence so that you can

go forth and make a difference in your families

and the community. Amen? All right, so if you're

around a mom, you don't mind putting your hand

on them, that'd be great. I just want to pray

a blessing over them. Holy Spirit, come. God,

we are grateful for moms. We're grateful for

how they serve and give out of the abundance

of their hearts. We just ask that you would bless

them today. God, just fill them with your presence.

Fill them with your power. Fill them, God, with

your love. May they go forth from here, God,

to continue to make a difference, not only in

their families, but in their communities as a

whole. that they would be vessels of your living

spirit. And we are grateful for each and every

mom. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. God bless you,

moms. We are excited that you are here. So last

Sunday, I missed you all. But I had the opportunity

to travel to Syracuse, New York, to return to

somewhat of our homeland, if you will. Jess and

I and the family, three kids back then, lived

in Syracuse for three years. Or excuse me, five

years before we planted our church. We planted

out of the Syracuse vineyard. I had the opportunity

to go return there. Me and Jess and Rick and

Lynn Vance went up with us. We led a Holy Spirit

conference. And we spent Friday night, all day

Saturday and Sunday morning. I spoke eight different

times. I was exhausted on Monday. I had no idea

where I was or what was happening. But that's

okay. It was well worth it. We deposited a little

of HCV into the people of upstate New York. And

they are forever grateful. It was a great time.

So Rudy kicked off a new series, Text to Talk,

last Sunday. And he actually discussed with all

of you the how -to, if you will, when it comes

to reading the Bible. Today, I'm going to go

in a little bit of a different direction as we

continue our series, Text to Talk. And I don't

want to look at the how -to. I want to look at

the why. Why should I read the Bible? Well, that

points us to this lamp right here. If you take

a look at this lamp, and I was to ask you, what

is this lamp made to do? That's right. It's made

to produce light. And it produces light when

I plug it into the source. Right? So let me plug

it in, and we'll see if it comes on. Whoa! That's

a bright light. Right? It shines for all to see.

It lights up dark spaces. It allows for us to

read. It allows for us to cook dinner, whether

it be dark or whatnot. But the second that I

unplug this lamp, what happens? That's right.

The lamp doesn't work because it's disconnected

from the source. Now, a couple of questions for

you to ponder. Did this lamp lose its purpose?

Did it lose its design? Did it lose its potential?

No, the only thing it lost was its connection.

And the moment it lost its connection, it lost

its power. And see, unfortunately, so many people

live their spiritual lives like this unplugged

lamp. You're still gifted. You're still called.

You still have purpose and meaning to your life,

but you're exhausted. You're empty. You're frustrated.

Yet the source, is waiting on you to plug in.

And notice, we know the source is ready because

the end is what? It's lit. It's plugged in. It's

ready to go. And please understand, many Jesus

followers do not live this way because they're

broken, because they're dysfunctional, because

they're worthless. No, it's because they're simply

disconnected. See, we live in a culture obsessed

with activity. Always moving. We're always posting.

Always producing. We're always chasing something.

But movement is not the same as connection. Because

you can be really busy and be disconnected. You

can be serving in our church. You can be serving

in the community and be disconnected. You can

roll in here on a Sunday morning and extend your

arms and be worshiping and be disconnected. I

can be preaching to you and be disconnected.

And eventually, what's disconnected loses power.

And that's why some of us are trying harder but

getting weaker. We want peace and patience, but

we can't find it in the midst of our busyness

and our schedules. We force a smile, and we say

it's joy. We want to be kind when we're given

the opportunity, but we choose self. See, we

have to realize fruit cannot be manufactured.

Fruit... if you will, is the byproduct of connection.

See, the lamp, it doesn't fight to shine. It

doesn't. It just stays plugged in. But some of

us have been asking God for strength while neglecting

the place where strength flows. We want the power

of God without the presence of God. We want the

fruit of God without fellowship with God. We

want the promises of God without abiding in God.

But the kingdom, The kingdom of God doesn't work

that way. The power is in the connection. And

here's the danger. Disconnection doesn't always

look dramatic. See, we think disconnection is

a fall from grace in this deep sin. And as they

sin, they fall further and further away from

God. But sometimes the lamp still looks like

a lamp. It just doesn't function like a lamp.

And there are people that gather with us every

single week who on the outside look like they're

happy, but inside they're empty. Because appearance

can survive disconnection for a little while,

but power cannot. And that's why Jesus gives

us one of the most important invitations that

he shared in the Bible. He said, you don't have

to strive. You don't have to perform. You don't

have to impress anyone. Jesus' followers are

called to abide. And in John chapter 15, on the

John 15 · chapter mention

night before Jesus went to the cross for us,

he looks at his disciples, he looks at us this

morning, and he says, abide in me, and I in you.

See, Jesus knew something. He knew that life

was calling them to live, right, could never

be sustained apart from him, disconnected from

him. And just like this lamp needs power, we

need the power of the Holy Spirit. Today, if

we're going to have strength for what God has

called us to do, it won't come from trying harder

because that just leads to guilt and shame. It

will come from staying connected. Because if

we want the power of the kingdom, we have to

protect the connection and deepen our relationship

with Jesus. And all of that leads us to our first

thought. What is abide? Well, abide, simply stated,

means continuous dependence on Jesus. Let's jump

into John 15 verses 4 through 5. Abide in me

John 15:4–5

and I in you, 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. Now notice,

over and over again we hear Jesus saying to us

throughout This section of the Bible, abide,

abide, abide. And when hearing those words repeated

like this, obviously Jesus wants us to understand

an important truth. Therefore, as we're reading

the Bible, this is when we pause and we ask ourselves

the question, what does abide mean? Because I'm

reading it over and over and over again. This

is Bible study 101. This is how we read the Bible.

Now, the word abide in the Greek is the word

meno, and it simply means to stay or to remain.

Therefore, when Jesus says that we need to abide

in him, it means that we need to cling to him.

We need to live near him. We need to desire to

be in his presence. See, we live a life of total

dependence on God. That's what it means to abide.

We surrender any desire or effort we may have

to live this life in our own strength. See, we

have to realize our worth isn't found in ourselves.

It's found in the God who made us. and loves

us. And if we want to live a life of meaning

and purpose, then we cannot live this life without

God. It's realizing that without Jesus, we are

lost. While in a relationship with Jesus, we

find our purpose, our identity, and our life.

Now, have you ever been asked the question, are

you religious? Has anyone ever asked you that

question? Only a few of you. Wow, that's interesting.

Typically, when you attend a church and you're

there frequently every Sunday, there's always

people in our sphere of influence that ask you

that question, are you religious? I get asked

that question quite often when I'm leading weddings.

And when people ask me that question, I love

looking back at them and saying, no, in fact,

I am not religious. I believe that religion kills.

And when I say those words, quickly they begin

to look at me in a very strange tone. Because

in their mind, they're like, wait a minute, this

is a pastor and he's saying he's not religious.

So then they look back at me and they say, well,

if you're not religious, what are you? My response

is simple. I look back at them and say, I have

a real authentic relationship with God through

Jesus who now lives in me through the power of

the Holy Spirit. And then they're even more confused

as they stare at the words that I just said.

And some of you are thinking, well, Chris, is

that really a good answer? Because I consider

myself religious. And I say, well, let's look

at 1 John 3, verses 23 to 24 and see if this

1 John 3:23–24

verse doesn't answer my statement. And this is

his commandment, that we believe in the name

of his son, Jesus Christ, and love one another

just as he commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments

abides in God and God in him. And by this, we

know that he abides in us by the spirit whom

he has given us. So yes, that is the correct

answer. I am not religious. I believe that religious

activity simply pulls us away from God while

a relationship with Jesus spurs us on and fills

us with the spirit. So ask yourself this morning,

is the verse that I just read a picture or reflection

of your life? Do you abide in Jesus? See, the

Bible is the source of truth that allows for

us to fully understand our identity, our purpose,

and our significance. Thus, the importance of

reading it every single day. That is our first

step in abiding in Jesus, which leads us to our

next thought, which is also a very important

truth. And as I wrote this down this week, I

felt like God wanted to highlight this. Particular

truth to many of you because I believe it's going

to be transformational for your relationship

with God today. And it is this. God abides in

every follower of Jesus. Notice what Jesus says

to us in John 15, 4. Abide in me and I in you.

So if you are in a relationship with Jesus, God

lives inside of you. When we gather to worship

during Sundays, when we gather for growth groups,

we're not worshiping some distant, disconnected

God that's up there somewhere in heaven. No,

God is literally inside of us. God is literally

here with us right now. And that truth can change

who we are both individually and as a community

of faith. And you say, well, Chris, I need support

to believe that. John 14, 23, the chapter just

before John 15, Jesus answered him. If anyone

loves me, he will keep my word and my father

will love him. And we, everyone say we, will

come to him and make our home with him. So God

the Father and God the Son literally make their

home, their residence inside of the Jesus follower.

Still don't believe me? Let's go to John 17.

I in them and you in me, that they may become

perfectly one, so that the world may know that

you sent me and love them even as you loved me.

What is Jesus saying to us? I live in you. you.

Paul wrote in Romans 8 10, and Christ lives within

you. So even though your body will die because

of the sin, the Spirit gives you life because

you have been made right with God. Paul again

writes in 1 Corinthians 6 .19, don't you realize

your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who

lives in you and was given to you by God. You

do not belong to yourself. And it's interesting,

the word used for temple here is the Greek word

neos, and this is the same exact word used in

the Old Testament when the description of the

holy of holies is established in the old temple

system. Meaning, Those in a relationship with

Jesus are the naos or the place where God's presence

and power now reside. Because when you think

about the holy of holies in the temple, right,

there was only one person that could enter it

one time a year. And even if that priest entered

it and his heart wasn't right, what happened

to the priest? He died because God is holy. And

God is separate from his people because of Jesus'

actions on the cross. God's holiness now resides

where? It doesn't sound like you believe that.

And some of you are saying in us and some of

you aren't saying anything because you believe

your guilt and your sin and your choices from

this past week relegate you to non -active duty

and that's a lie from the enemy. He's still living

in sin. side of you. This is why Paul writes

in Galatians 2 .20, my old self has been crucified

with Christ. It's no longer I who live, but Christ

who lives in me. So I live in this earthly body

by trusting in the Son of God who loved me and

gave himself for me. And Paul is challenging

us to realize this body, right, this flesh, it's

just an external shell. Yes, we need to take

care of it, church. I believe in it. Why? So

that we can live long, healthy, productive lives.

But in order to be productive, we need to realize

it's Jesus in us. 1 John 4, 12, no one has ever

seen God, but if we love each other, God lives

in us and his love is brought to the full expressions

in us. And if you were here this morning and

you're in a relationship with Jesus, God abides

in you. You are the very home of God. And the

Bible is telling us that this truth is vital

to our understanding of what it means to be a

follower of Jesus. And that's why Paul says,

consider yourselves dead. Why? Because we need

reminded that we don't just believe in someone.

The God of the universe comes to live within

us. It's not about believing in somebody. It's

about receiving the gift. And to abide means

to live in reliance, to live in deep dependence

on God. And that is God's best for you, for me,

and for the entire world. And that's why we're

called to go and tell them, which leads us to

answer the question, well, how do we abide in

Jesus then? This is obviously an important truth,

but let me first say, you don't have to be creative.

Okay, truth is, we live in a world that loves

novelty. New movies are released every single

week. New fashions are released quarterly for

the different seasons. New iPhones are released

every single year. Why? So we can have more stuff

to keep us busy. The answer to the question,

how do we abide, has actually been the same for

over 2 ,000 years. And I get it, the truths in

books and the Bible, sometimes they're difficult

to understand. However, There are also many truths

in the Bible that are so simple that we just

don't do them. And we don't do them because we're

not reading the Bible and applying it to our

lives. Therefore, we need to invite God's Spirit

to reveal these truths to us so that we can truly

abide in Him. Amen? So Holy Spirit, come. Open

our ears, our minds. our hearts, more importantly,

to receive these truths, that as we walk them

out this week, we will learn to abide in you,

which leads us to our first one. We need to internalize

the words of Jesus. Now notice John 15, 7. As

you abide in me, and my words abide in you. We

have to abide in the words of Jesus. What does

that mean? Well, it just means we need to read

the Bible. It means we need to open the book

and get into it. We can't overcomplicate this

truth. Charles Spurgeon, the theologian, wrote,

we cannot separate Jesus from the word. For in

the first place, he is the word. And in the next

place, how dare we call him master and Lord and

do not do the things which he says and reject

the truth that he teaches. To abide in my words

means we live by the sayings and teachings of

Jesus. We pattern our life after it. It's more

than listening. It's more than hearing. It's

more than reading. It's internalizing his truths.

It's making them ours. See, our lives are often

so busy that it makes us difficult for us to

ponder, think, meditate, and reflect deeply on

God. For many of us, if we're really honest,

Bible reading is like ordering fast food. Right?

We drive up to the restaurant. We're starving.

We're on our lunch break. We order. through a

telecom machine. We drive around to the window,

we pick it up, and we eat it while we drive back

to work or to our next destination. Not necessarily

a bad thing when it comes to reading the Bible.

At least you're opening it and reading it something.

But it's not God's best. See, we have to desire

to know God and to understand his teachings.

His life for us, that takes time. Okay, it's

not fast food. It's actually a gourmet meal.

You know a meal that you prep, you prepare, you

cook, and then you sit down and you eat together.

To abide means to feast there, to dwell there.

And God is challenging us. He's raising the bar

for the church saying, are you abiding in Jesus?

Are you actually reading the words and internalizing

them? The psalmist wrote it this way in Psalm

1. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating

on it day and night. And some of you are thinking,

what's that mean, law of the Lord? It means you're

reading the Bible. That's what it means, day

and night. And notice what happens when they're

reading it day and night. They are like trees

planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each

season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper

in all they do. And notice, this is not some

dry obligation. This isn't religious practices.

This is life. This literally is life to us. And

we have to realize there are a lot of things

vying for our attention that become priorities

in our life rather than just a hobby, right?

It's very easy to allow a good thing to become

an ultimate thing that then becomes an idol in

our life. Not necessarily bad, but not God's

best. And I'm not meaning to offend anyone by

this statement, but that's why I never really

understood golf, right? For those of you who

play golf, God bless you. I'm sure it's just

a hobby. For me, I can't quite understand it

because it takes over four hours to play golf.

And in my mind, I begin to think, I don't have

four hours. I don't know if I have four hours

in my day. I don't have four hours in my schedule.

How do people do this? And then to take it a

step further, as you're playing the game, which

I've played it before, you slice it to the right.

You curve it to the left. You're throwing clubs.

You're swearing up and down the course. As you're

in God's beautiful creation, this game causes

you to sin. So in my mind, I'm thinking, what's

the point? What is the point? I'm chasing a little

white ball that I'm never going to master anyway.

So we have to understand. Abiding is not for

the religious elite or the super saints. It's

just not. It's not for pastors or leaders that

are pastoring churches. It's for the everyday

child of God who wants and needs to live in reliance

upon God. which is all of us, in my opinion.

John 6 .63, the spirit alone gives eternal life.

Human effort accomplishes nothing. Wow, allow

that to speak to you a minute. And the very words

I've spoken to you are spirit and life. Therefore,

the words written in the Bible are life -giving.

And unfortunately, we often miss out on their

blessing because we're busy focusing on what's

not. always important in life. So reflect this

morning, where are you? Which leads us to our

next step. We experience the love of Jesus. Continuing

in John 15, as the Father has loved me, so I

have loved you. Abide in my love. See, there's

this idea out there that if Jesus' followers

dwell on the love of God too much, They are missing

out on all the other attributes of God. They

are dumbing down the gospel, which I have often

been accused of doing. But many of you know it's

absolute hogwash, okay? Jesus is telling us in

his own words that we need to fall in love with

him. That's what he's telling us. We need to

be loved and accepted by Jesus in order for us

to remain connected to him. And how much does

God the Father love God the Son? Well, the Bible

tells us that God is love. and that he loved

before there was anything or anyone else to love.

So therefore, how much does the Father love the

Son? It's infinite. It's an infinite love that

our minds can't even wrap our heads around. Therefore,

if we're in a relationship with Jesus, this isn't

even going to blow your mind, Father, God loves

you just the same way. God loves you as much

as he loves his own Son. And why is it so hard

for us to understand and receive this simple

truth about God's love? Well, I believe it's

because we actually receive and understand his

love for us, and that leads to lifestyle changes.

See, when we fall in love with Jesus, right,

we suddenly realize how broken we are. how mistake

-filled we are. And then as we fall more in love

with Jesus, he desires that we change, and we

know how much humanity doesn't like to change.

Doesn't like to change. Yet we read in Romans

2, 4, or do you show contempt for the riches

of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, not

realizing that God's kindness is intended to

lead you to repentance? In other words, this

is saying we want to obey and follow God because

we love him. And as we love him and fall in love

with Jesus, he reveals areas of our life that

are broken, and he invites us to repent. And

remember, repent's not a bad word. What does

repent mean, church? It just means turn around.

It just means fix it. It means make it right.

Right? If you were to go to a doctor and they

diagnosed you with cancer and they were to say

to you, if you do this, we'll be able to heal

you of your cancer, you're going to do it. True

or false? Wow. Some of you don't have faith in

doctors. Darn right you're going to do it. You're

going to do everything you can to survive. Well,

for the Jesus followers, for us to survive, that

means we need to abide. We need to fall in love

with Jesus, 1 John 4, 19. We love each other

because he loved us first. We have the ability

to love others once we are loved by God, notice,

and we love him back. See, our obedience to God

cannot become some religious obligation because

religion kills. It has to be love -fueled and

love -empowered, 2 Corinthians 5, 14. Either

way, Christ's love controls us. Since we believe

that Christ died for all, we also believe that

we have all died to our old life. See, to abide

in the love of God simply means that we have

to abide in the words of God. We have to read

the Bible. We have to apply them to our lives.

We have to be connected to the Bible. And this

is why Jesus tells us to abide in his word. See,

the Bible is not superficial truths explaining

to us the meaning of life and how we should live.

It's literally God's love letter to you and to

me. And we have to realize we cannot experience

a deep love of God with a shallow understanding

of the Bible. There has to be a desire for understanding

and truth. Psalm 63, again, the psalmist writes,

your unfailing love is better than life itself.

How I praise you. I will praise you as long as

I live, lifting my hands to you in prayer. You

satisfy me more than a richest feast. I will

praise you with songs of joy. See, there are

a lot of things that I say on Sunday mornings

during our gatherings. And see, you hear them,

but then what I've often found is people then

say to themselves, well, that sounds right, that

sounds like truth, but why is it not real for

me? Why is it not real for me, Chris? Well, when

I say this, God's love is better than life, it's

one thing to say it, but another thing to experience

it. And see, that's why I'm challenging you to

constantly be connecting to and experiencing

God's love. And for those of you that are struggling

with an old habit pattern or a sin or an addiction

that you have, John Wimber, founder of the Vineyard

Movement, was quoted as saying, It seems the

more I think about not sinning, the more I sin.

But the more I think about just loving Jesus,

the less I seem to sin. Falling in love seems

to be the key. And the things that make you go,

hmm. See, as people, we want to do all these

works and these obligations when in reality,

Jesus is saying, fall in love with me. Just fall

in love with me. Fall in love with my word. Fall

in love with my presence. Fall in love with my

Father. Be empowered by the Holy Spirit. And

then go and make a difference, which leads us

to our third step in abiding. We need to connect

to God in prayer. So we internalize the scriptures.

We connect with God's love. We connect to God

in prayer. If you abide in me and my words abide

in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be

done for you. Oh my goodness. I mean, when I

read those words, let me read them to you again.

If you abide in me and my words abide in you,

ask, everyone say ask, whatever you wish and

it will be done for you. I mean, think about

this. For those of you that like to invest and

plan for your future retirement, if I was to

look at you and say, if you make this one investment,

the returns will make you millions. For those

of you that are health conscious, that love to

take care of yourselves and be healthy, if I

was to look at you and say, hey, if you take

this one pill, it will transform how you exercise,

how you look, and how you feel about yourself.

And for those of you that are moms and dads,

and you love your kids, If I was to say to you,

if you read this one book, it will transform

how you parent your children and your children

will be difference makers. See, if I was to say

that to any one of those three groups of people,

I guarantee you, you would look back at me and

say, I want that. True or false? You want it.

You want that. Notice what Jesus just said to

you. If you're in a relationship with him, ask

whatever you wish and it'll be done for you.

Ask whatever you wish and it'll be done for you.

See, we have a privilege that is given to us

every day, and it's called prayer. It's called

prayer. It's called connection. See, our relationship

with Jesus, it's not just transactional, meaning

it's not just about what he did for us on the

cross. See, our relationship with Jesus should

first be personal, meaning we need to talk to

Jesus every day. It's impossible to be in a relationship

with anyone unless we talk to them every single

day. We need to communicate with them. How do

I know this? If you're married, go ahead and

don't talk to your spouse from Monday to Saturday.

Go ahead. I'll give you permission. Go ahead.

I'll give you permission. Some of you are like,

yes. To you, I say, I'm praying for you. The

rest. You know in your mind, if you don't talk

to your spouse for six days, what's going to

happen? Your relationship's going to quickly

spin out of control. So if we know that's true

for our humanity relationships, why would it

be any different in our relationship with Jesus?

See, there's more to just them believing in him.

We got to connect with him. And one of the biggest

reasons people are not passionate about God is

because it becomes a thing to us. He becomes

a thing to us rather than a personal being that

we have fellowship with. And to live in prayer

is to understand what it means to experience

the fullness of God. If you want to know what

the fullness of God is in your life, begin to

prioritize prayer. I mean, think about it. Summer's

coming. We're excited about the warm weather.

Some of you already have made plans for your

vacations. You've already booked them. Others

of you, you're already budgeting for concerts,

for sporting events, right? And there's so many

of us. We budget all this money so that we can

purchase front row seats to our favorite artist

or our favorite athlete or our favorite location

that we can stare at for seven days, right? We

do all that. While in the meantime, if you're

in a relationship with God, we have direct access

to the king and creator of the universe every

single day, and we don't take advantage of it.

We're nuts. We're crazy. We're distracted. We're

mental. And I am too. What does it mean to abide?

It's communion with God. It's experiencing his

goodness and connection. And then we desire more.

Right? Paul wanted to know him more. Philippians

3 .12. I don't mean to say that I've already

achieved these things or that I've already reached

perfection, but I press on to possess that perfection

with Christ Jesus first possessed me. Here you

got this guy. Wrote more than half the New Testament.

Right? Was shipwrecked, beaten, whipped, bruised,

forgotten, falsely accused, and imprisoned. And

then he says to us. We need to be connected to

God in prayer. I press on to connect to the living

God. Is it really that important? Read Paul's

letters. They begin with prayer. They end with

prayer. And in the middle somewhere, they're

praying for you. I mean, it's just constant prayer.

The psalmist wrote in Psalm 42, as the deer longs

for streams of water, so I long for you, O God.

I thirst for God, the living God. When can I

go and stand before him? Hear that desire? There's

a desire for the connection. There's this desire

for the experience. Do you do the same? Do you

do the same? After all, the average person in

America checks their phone 186 times a day. The

average person in America spends more than seven

hours a day staring at a screen telling us what

to do. We are constantly distracted and entertained

with Netflix and social media. And I want to

challenge you, take some inventory. How do you

spend your time? How do you spend your time?

Because some of you aren't walking in the fullness

of God because you're not prioritizing the relationship.

And that should be our number one priority. C

.S. Lewis wrote this, we are like ignorant child

who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum

because he cannot imagine what is meant by the

offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too

easily pleased. Why do we do this? Why do we

live in the miserable middle? And some of you

are thinking, Chris, what's the miserable middle?

Well, the miserable middle is these two groups

of people. All right, on my left hand, you have

those people that don't partake in the sin of

the world. They know that that sin is bad. It's

not good for them. So they avoid those things.

They make it a religious point. I'm going to

avoid those things. I won't go there. But then

on my right hand, there's the thrill of living

passionately for Jesus. The God is my friend

type of life. You know that you're a religious

lunatic. You're a nut job, man. You're a fool

for Christ. You know I am. Right? So that's the

difference. Unfortunately, a lot of people in

the church, they live here in the middle. They

don't participate in worldly sin, but they don't

participate in the thrill and the real experience

and the pleasure of knowing a living God. Dare

I say that's a boring way to live. That's a boring

way to live. Don't live in the middle. It's not

God's best. Our hearts, our hearts were created

to be loved and ravished on by God. Our hearts

were created to be conduits of his presence in

his kingdom. And hear me out. This isn't a let

go and let God kind of love. No, it takes effort.

You've got to pursue him. Paul says in Colossians

129, that's why I work and struggle so hard.

Look, I work, I struggle so hard depending on

Christ's mighty power that works within me. And

what is he saying? I labor, I strive, but it's

his power. It almost sounds contradictory. Like

Paul is saying, wait a minute, you strive, you

struggle, you press on, you beat your body, but

it's his power. How does this work? How does

it work? It simply means live out these points.

Strive to abide. Because as we strive to abide,

God can then work through us. We labor. We work

in God's presence. Listen, your job that you

hate and is miserable to you that you can't stand

and you need a new job, it will change if you

learn to abide in Jesus. Because your whole outlook

on life, guess what's going to happen? It's going

to change. You won't be miserable anymore. It

will be looked on as an opportunity to further

God's kingdom and that God can provide to meet

your needs. Amen? It's all about the outlook.

Leading us to discuss, we're almost done as we

close it out. Why should we do this? Why abide?

What does abiding produce? Well, first, fruit

is produced. John 15, 8. This is my father. By

this, my father is glorified that you bear much

fruit so you prove to be my disciples. So as

we plug in, as we connect with the living God,

the source that is always on waiting for us to

connect, we light and become fruit. That's our

lives. We become a city on the hill. And you're

like, really? Yeah. That you bear much fruit.

And what is fruit? Ephesians 5 tells us, For

once you were full of darkness, but now you have

the light from the Lord, so live as people of

the light. For this light within you produces

only what is good and right and true. Fruit means

you're living a righteous life. You want to be

righteous? You want to live a holy life? Abide

in Jesus. Live close to Jesus. Because Jesus

produces the fruit in us. What is the fruit?

Galatians 5. Love. Joy, peace, patience, goodness,

kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self

-control. See, as we abide in Jesus, we have

his qualities. The very character of God comes

out of us. And it's organic. It's not transactional.

We literally become like Jesus, his personal

transformation, be the light. Which leads to

our second truth, joy is experience. How many

of you would like a little more joy in your life?

How many? Be honest. If you didn't put your hand

up, you're lying. You know, I say that all the

time because I believe it. We all want some more

joy. John 15, 11, these things I've spoken to

you, that my joy, notice, may be in you and that

your joy may be full. Some of you are just miserable

because you like to be miserable. Because you're

looking for pity. You're looking for people to

pray for you. You're looking for people to encourage

you, which we all need. We all need it. But when

it becomes a need that we just need, need, need,

that means we're not getting it from God. We

have to realize that as we mature in our relationship

with Jesus, that means we experience more joy

in this life. No matter the circumstances. Everyone

say circumstances. See, too many of us allow

our circumstances to dictate our attitude and

our outlook on life. But notice what Paul wrote

in 2 Corinthians 6. Our hearts ache, but we always

have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual

riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we

have everything. It's incredible. Paul is writing

these words from a jail cell. He'd been beaten,

stoned, bruised. Why? Just for following Jesus.

Yet he's full of what? Joy. Dear brothers and

sisters, James tells us, when troubles of any

kind come your way, consider an opportunity for

great joy. Dare I say, the world does not know

we are Jesus followers because we attend a 75

-minute gathering on Sundays. Because we attend

a 75 -minute gathering on Sundays, we get asked

the question, are you religious? That's it. But

the world will know us as light to the world

when we abide in Jesus because we joyfully produce

the fruits of the Spirit in our lives, in our

words and in our actions. It's a dependence on

God to live out a life of humility and service,

which leads us to our final point. Lives are

changed. If you abide in Jesus, John 15, 5, I

am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides

in me and I in him, he it is that bears much

fruit for a part of me and you can do nothing.

We can do nothing. Like we want to see and we

pray for our children that have walked away from

God to come home. Be the light. Are you praying

for them? Are you interceding for them? Are you

calling them home? Are you believing the Holy

Spirit's going to change their lives? We want

to go out. We want our communities to change.

We want our schools to change. We want our workplaces

to change. Are you being the light? Are you being

a judgmental person that pushes people away from

Jesus? We have to understand fruit is produced

in us first that leads other people one. and

desiring that same fruit. And it's our responsibility

then to share the good news and point them to

Jesus, Romans 1. So I am eager to come to you

in Rome, too, to preach the good news. For I

am not ashamed of this good news about Christ.

It is the power of God at work, saving everyone

who believes, to the Jew first and also the Gentile.

And Jesus reminds us in John chapter 4, the harvest

John 4 · chapter mention

is plentiful, but the workers are few. The harvesters

are paid good wages and the fruit they harvest

is people through the eternal life. What joy,

there it is again, awaits both the planter and

the harvester. See, as we abide in Jesus, his

love for us compels us to want to share it with

others. Dare I say the greatest form of marketing

in the history of the world is not social media,

it's not billboards, it's word of mouth. If we

like what we've tasted and seen, we'll tell someone

about it. But if we're not falling in love with

Jesus, we'll keep our mouths shut because of

our insecurities, our doubts, and our frustrations.

We have to be open to opening our mouths and

allowing the Holy Spirit to speak through us.

See, as we abide in Jesus, we also have the ability

to walk in his power and his authority. The light

bulb doesn't tell us it's on. It's just on and

we see it. We are called to have our lights on

in this dark world so that others will recognize

it, be drawn to it, and then we can share that

love with them. Amen? Will you stand with me?

Listen, I got a really honest, brutal truth for

you that I need to close with before I lead us

all into our weekly prayer. So I want you all

to be focused here and listen. As I was praying

for all of you this week, I felt like God highlighted

in my spirit that many of you don't abide in

Jesus because you think God's mad at you. You

think God's disappointed with you. Listen, I

have six children, okay? I love every single

one of them. Even the one that's the youngest

that I use in my sermon examples every week.

that you know drives me absolutely crazy. However,

I love my children for who they are. They're

a gift. They're God's blessing to my life. I

love them more than life itself and would do

anything for them so that they can go and change

the world. And if a normal, everyday, average

human man can love his children that way, how

much more does our Father love us? Listen to

me. God is not disappointed in you. God is not

angry with you. God doesn't hate you. God loves

you. And he's inviting us back into a passionate

relationship with him. And listen, for some of

us, it's simple as this. God, forgive me. I'm

sorry. I repent and turn back to him. That's

it. That's all you got to do. And then he'll

receive you back in with his love. His grace

and mercy will wash over you. And then you'll

go on desiring to be in connection with him.

But you've got to make that choice. Because if

you don't, if you don't, you're going to constantly

be walking around thinking, God, you're mad at

me. You're upset with me. None of us are perfect.

We all make mistakes. He's waiting for that forgiveness,

that ask, that connection with him so he can

return and fill us with his spirit. Amen? So

turn back to him, church. He loves you. Now I'm

going to pray a simple prayer because I believe

as I was talking this week, many of you realize,

shoot, I'm not even in a relationship with Jesus

because there is no abiding here. And that's

why we pray this prayer every single gathering.

Because we believe that people are distant and

far from God and they need to come home. Amen?

Let's pray. Jesus, I'm broken. I'm full of doubt,

shame, regret, sin. Change me. Forgive me. I

believe. You're God's son. I believe you died

for me. I believe you're alive today. Make me

new. Set me free. Fill me with your spirit. Help

me, God, to serve others. In Jesus' name, amen.

So if you prayed that prayer, listen, see me,

hold on, we're not done. We're not done. I know

some of you are anxious. Several words of knowledge

I need to share with you. They're very specific.

You have pain in your right hip. You have stomach

issues in your lower abdomen that is causing

you discomfort. You have joint pain in your left

toe that's right beside your big toe in your

left foot. I mean, that's specific, dude. You

know that. You have left knee pain. Another specific

one. You have a six to eight -year -old boy or

son that's struggling with disabilities. If that's

you, go get your child and bring them back here

to get prayer. Has everyone got that? Okay. This

has become a frequent one. You have pain in the

neck, both literally and figuratively. So if

you're a pain in your neck to your spouse, get

up here and get prayer, okay? And you have pain

in your left collarbone. So if any of those are

you or you have any other requests, get up here

and get some prayer. Left, right, prayer team.

Amen? All right, it's going to be a great series.

I'm going to challenge you guys to abide and

read the Bible this month. Amen? All right, see

you later.