Abiding in Him

Abiding in Him

John 15:1-8

January 10, 2010

I.                    A branch that God works to bear fruit. (John 15:1-4)

A.                  Abiding in Jesus. To ‘abide’ is to remain.

1.                   We are to remain ‘in’ the Vine as the branches are totally dependent on the Vine.

2.                   Just as the sap of the vine flows through the branches, we receive spiritual nourishment and are in communication with God.

B.                  The fruits that God wants us to bear are the fruits of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23)

1.                   God chooses to glorify Himself through (us) His fruit-bearing branches.

2.                   A branch that abides in Christ will bear fruit. A branch that does not bear fruit will be cast out.

C.                 God prunes for more fruit.

1.                   We are clean (and continuously being cleansed) because of the word He has spoken to us.

2.                   He prunes away any potential hindrances in our growth.

3.                   God also uses Christian fellowship and accountability as a major tool in pruning.

II.                  A branch that is cast out and withered. (John 15:5-6)

A.                  Through the Holy Spirit helps us to make better decision regarding our spiritual development, our obedience is not ‘automatic’ and we must choose to continuously abide in Him.

B.                  Do not lose hope in the gospel spoken to us. (Colossians 1:23)

1.                   It is important that we are grounded and establish in our faith in the gospel and not move away from the hope of the gospel that we’ve heard.

2.                   Don’t allow ‘hopeless times’ to tempt you to place your hope in other things.

C.                 The process of falling away. (James 1:12-15)

1.                   Beware, temptation will come.

2.                   Full-grown sin takes a process. (Judas processed his decision)

a.                   Not able to endure temptation.

b.                   Drawn away by our own fleshly desires.

c.                   A desire for the sin is conceived and proceeds to be full-grown.

3.                   When we fall away from God we tend to be ‘willing participants’ in sin.

III.                A branch that glorifies the Father. (John 15:7-8)

A.                  The Father glorified. (Isaiah 6:3)

1.                   We glorify God when His holiness is manifested through our obedience and holy living.

B.                  The effects of abiding in Jesus and His words abiding in us.

1.                   Our desire in line with God’s desires.

2.                   Our prayers become effective and powerful.