Well, church, if you would, please take your Bibles and open them up this morning to John chapter 15.
John chapter 15. Our passage this morning is John 15, verses 1 through 16.
And when you've found that, I ask if you would, if you're able, physically able,
would you stand for the reading of God's Word as I read John 15, verses 1 through 16 this morning?
Jesus says,
I am the vine, you are the branches.
Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit.
For apart from me, you can do nothing.
If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers.
And the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned.
If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.
By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.
Abide in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love,
just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.
These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
You are my friends, if you do what I command you.
No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing.
But I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you,
that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide,
so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
This is God's holy, perfect, inspired word.
Let's bow once more and take a seat as we pray.
Lord, I pray that you would speak through the preaching of your word this morning.
God, give us ears to hear.
And cause us to abide in you, we pray in Christ's name.
Amen.
Well, I have had a stressful week this week, thanks to customer service.
I'm sure that many of you have had the same experience with customer service that I have.
It's always frustrating to me that when the internet goes out or the TV goes out,
give it some time, the power might go out this morning, I don't know.
They always ask the same question.
Now, of course, calling customer service is never your first result, right?
You try everything you can in your own power to not call these people.
You try to solve the problem by yourself.
Sometimes you have to put your pride on the side, pick up the phone,
and ask for a little bit of help.
But every time without fail, they always ask the same first question.
Do you know what it is?
Is it plugged in?
Is your device plugged in to a power source?
And I don't know if they've ever had anybody say no yet, but every time they ask,
and I get it, right?
Because if the device is not plugged in to the power source,
it doesn't matter what they do.
It doesn't matter all the troubleshooting that they can go through.
It doesn't matter what you do to fix the problem.
If there is no connection to the source of power,
you're not going to get the device to work.
No connection, no life.
No connection, no power.
Well, in a similar way, I'm afraid, many of us, many Christians,
go through their week, go through their life with very little spiritual power,
very little spiritual life.
And oftentimes we wonder why.
We've come to our gift number three this week.
We've seen that we've been given good gifts of peace,
given good gifts of joy.
We've been given gifts of comfort, gifts of assurance,
given the good gift of the Spirit of God dwelling within us,
His power at work in us.
Every believer has been given these good gifts from God Himself.
But let's be honest,
how many of us actually feel at peace this morning?
How many of us struggle to actually experience the good gifts that we have been given?
Well, this morning, as we look at John chapter 15,
I want us to see the secret to a faithful, fruitful, peaceful, joyful, genuine Christian life.
And the secret, Jesus tells us, is abide in Christ.
Abide in Christ.
As we walk through this chapter this morning, John 15,
we're going to see the picture, the point, and the produce of abiding in Christ this morning.
The picture, the point, and the produce.
First, we see the picture of abiding in Christ.
Jesus, He speaks in a metaphor here in verses 1 through 3.
And I want us to get the picture of what Jesus is describing to His disciples first.
We have to understand the picture that He's giving them before we can apply it to our lives.
We're going to get to that application.
But first, I want us to see the picture here.
Jesus gives us a metaphor.
And He's prone to speaking this way.
We've seen all throughout the Gospel of John.
He's given several I am statements.
You remember these?
He said, I am the bread of life.
I am the shepherd of the sheep.
I am the light of the world.
I am the resurrection and the life.
Each one of these I am statements is declaring to us that He is the I am.
That He is the Lord, God Himself in the flesh.
And each one of these I am statements, it gives us a metaphor, a picture,
to help us understand Him better.
Well, here in John 15, this is the final I am statement in the Gospel of John.
And it's the only one, the only one, that has an additional qualification with it.
Look there at verse 1.
He says, I am the true vine and my Father is the vine dresser.
I am the true vine and my Father is the vine dresser.
What does this mean?
When we hear this, our minds instantly go outside to a garden or to a farm.
It goes to agriculture, to planting.
And that's good.
We'll get there.
But the disciples, when they hear this language, I am the true vine,
their minds instantly go to the Old Testament.
And all of the wealth of references all throughout the Old Testament where Israel is represented as a vine.
And a vineyard is used as a metaphor to describe Israel, the people of God.
And guess what?
It is never good.
It is never pretty.
When the Old Testament describes Israel as a vine, it produces wild, rebellious fruit.
I'll give you one example.
I want you to keep your finger here in John 15, but flip back to Psalm chapter 80.
The passage that we read this morning.
If you have your Bible open, flip back to Psalm chapter 80.
Because I want you to see this.
This pieces together all the pieces that we need to see to understand what Jesus is saying in John chapter 15.
First, we see clearly that Israel is the vine.
Look there if you have your Bibles open to Psalm 80 at verse 8.
It says,
You, God, brought a vine out of Egypt.
You drove out the nations and planted it.
You cleared the ground for it.
It took deep root and it filled the land.
You brought a vine out of Egypt.
Who's the vine?
It's Israel.
You brought a vine out of Egypt.
The Lord took Israel out of slavery in Egypt,
planted them like a vine in the new vineyard in the land of Canaan,
and they lived happily ever after, right?
That's what happened?
Wrong!
They rebelled.
They failed.
They disobeyed.
They were idolatrous over and over and over and over again and again and again and again.
This vine produced wild fruit.
So, Psalm 80 verses 12 and 13, we see this brought the judgment of God.
It says,
You've broken down its walls so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit.
And the boar from the forest ravages it,
and all that move in the field feed on it.
This is a picture of the judgment of God against His people, Israel,
because they bore wild, idolatrous fruit.
This is a problem.
This is the problem that faced the people of God.
God had made promises to Israel.
God promised Israel that they would be His chosen people.
He promised Israel that He would bless them.
He promised Israel He would protect them.
He promised that He would put them in their own land.
He promised them that He would be their God and that they would be His people.
But this big problem called sin keeps getting in the way.
So, look at where the psalm ends.
Psalm 80 verse 14.
It ends with a prayer.
It says,
Turn again, O God of hosts.
Look down from heaven and see.
Have regard for this vine, the stock that your right hand planted.
And for the Son whom you made strong for yourself.
They have burned it with fire.
They have cut it down.
May they perish at the rebuke of your face.
But, listen to this.
But let your hand be on the man of your right hand.
The Son of Man whom you have made strong for yourself.
Then, we shall not turn back from you.
Give us life and we will call upon your name.
Are you piecing it together here?
This is a prayer for restoration.
We see here that the ultimate hope of Israel is for one individual shoot off of the vine of Israel.
One individual Son of Man to come and restore true worship for the people of God.
That's the hope.
And here, as we get back to John chapter 15.
Here, Jesus says,
I am that one.
I am the vine.
Israel was the vine, but it was a rebellious vine.
I am, Jesus says, I am the true vine.
I am the true Israel.
I am the one who will obey where Israel has rebelled.
I'm the one who will restore true worship for the people of God.
All of the promises made to Israel are fulfilled in and through me.
I am the fulfillment of everything that Israel was supposed to be.
Church, this is good news for us.
I hope you understand.
Because what this means is that anyone who is in the vine can be connected,
can be a part of the people of God.
Anyone who is connected to this true vine can receive,
be the beneficiaries of all of the promises of God in Christ Jesus.
Because Jesus is the true Israel,
all of God's promises come to His people through Him.
So you want to go to the promised land?
Jesus says,
Come to me in my Father's house.
There are many rooms.
You want the presence of God to dwell with you?
Jesus says,
Come to me.
I will ask the Father.
He'll send the Spirit to dwell within you.
You want the protection?
You want the peace of God?
The true shalom of God?
Jesus says,
My peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give to you.
You come to me.
Come to me.
I am the true vine.
The true Israel.
The only way to be included in the people of God
is to be connected to the true vine.
Jesus Christ.
He says,
I am the vine.
The true vine.
And you, believer,
are the branches.
Isn't this what John has been telling us all along?
If we've been paying attention,
isn't this what he's been saying all along?
That no one belongs to the people of God
by virtue of their physical birth alone,
but only by spiritual rebirth
through faith in Jesus Christ.
He told us this all the way back in John chapter 1.
It says,
He came to his own,
and his own people did not receive him.
But to all who did receive him,
who believed in his name,
he gave the right to become children of God,
who were born not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh,
nor of the will of man,
but of God.
Church, we should rejoice in this.
And we should praise God for this.
This means that you, Gentile,
you, anyone in the entire world,
anyone who comes to Christ
is now included to belong to the true vine.
And all of the nourishment,
all of the power,
all of the benefits,
all of the blessing,
all of the promises of God
come to you through Him.
That's the picture.
Now, second,
what's the point?
What's the point?
The point is,
make absolutely certain
that you are connected to that vine.
That's the point.
It's very simple.
Jesus says,
I am the vine.
Make it absolutely certain in your heart
that you are connected to that vine.
Make it the aim of your life
to connect yourself deeply to Jesus Christ.
If all of the gifts of God,
all of the promises of God,
all of the life-giving power of God
comes by virtue of being connected to the vine,
we had better make certain
that we are actually connected.
And not just once,
not just once at the beginning
of your relationship with the Lord,
but every moment of every day.
Are you connected with Christ?
Jesus has a word for that connection.
What is it?
It's abide.
Abide.
Abide in me and I in you.
Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself
unless it abides in the vine,
neither can you
unless you abide in me.
I am the vine.
You are the branches.
Whoever abides in me and I in him,
he it is that bears much fruit.
For apart from me,
you can do nothing.
See, church,
there are only two options here
for everyone in the world.
You either belong to the vine,
abide in him,
bear fruit in him,
and so prove to be his disciples.
Or, he says,
you do not belong to the vine,
do not abide in him,
do not bear fruit for him,
and so prove to not be his disciples.
And what happens for these over here?
He says, verse 6,
if anyone does not abide in me,
he is thrown away like a branch and withers.
And the branches are gathered,
thrown into the fire,
and burned.
This is a heavy truth, church.
Jesus says,
this is the work of the vine dresser.
Jesus says,
this is exactly the type of work
what the Father is doing right now.
The Father is the vine dresser.
He says the Father is clearing,
and he is pruning.
It's his work.
Why?
Because he's the vine dresser.
He's the only one who can see
with 100% certainty and clarity
those who are actually abiding in the vine
and those who are not.
Every branch in me that does not bear fruit,
he takes away.
Every branch that does bear fruit,
he prunes that it may bear more fruit.
And Amanda and I went up to the mountains last year,
and we went blueberry picking,
something that we wanted to do while we were up there.
We were out there maybe for an hour
before one of the workers came by,
and he said,
hey, let me show you something.
And he took us,
we followed him to this one bush
that we had walked past probably 50 times that morning.
Now he took us to this one bush,
and he said,
look at this,
this blueberry bush,
it produces pink lemonade blueberries.
Raise your hand if you've ever heard
of pink lemonade blueberries.
I had never heard of pink lemonade blueberries.
But once he showed them to me,
once he pointed them out to me,
I realized,
okay,
these are slightly different color.
They got a little bit of yellow,
maybe a little bit of purplish pink there.
They're a little bit smaller.
And he said,
taste one.
So it had a different taste to it.
I had walked by that bush probably 100 times
without knowing exactly what was going on in that bush,
but he knew.
Why?
Well,
he was the one that planted the bush.
He was the one that cared for the bush.
He was the one that knew exactly what type of fruit
he was looking for it to produce.
He knew what the good fruit was,
what the bad fruit was,
where to point us to go
if he wanted this type of fruit,
that type of fruit.
Well,
Jesus says,
that's exactly what the Father is doing.
The Father is the vine dresser.
He's caring for the vine.
He's clearing out those that do not belong to the vine.
And those that do bear fruit,
He's pruning.
And it might bear more fruit
for His glory.
You know,
this is the Christian experience.
If you're hearing this,
and you're like,
this doesn't really sound like me.
I want us to look here at this passage
because it gives us a full picture
of the entire Christian experience
from beginning to end.
See,
the Christian life,
it begins with God's choosing.
Verse 16.
He says,
You did not choose me,
but I chose you
and appointed you
that you should go and bear fruit.
God's choosing
inevitably leads to cleansing.
Verse 3.
It says,
Already you are clean
because of the word
that I have spoken to you.
That's hearing and believing.
That's when, believer,
when you heard the word of Christ
and you believed it
and you loved it
and you repented of your sin
and you trusted in Christ,
that's the cleansing power
of the word of God.
Faith comes through hearing
and hearing through the word of Christ.
And that initial cleansing
with the word,
it inevitably leads to
ongoing abiding.
Those who are cleansed
with the word
abide in Christ.
Verse 4.
That ongoing abiding
leads to fruit producing.
Verse 5.
That fruit producing
leads to painful pruning.
Verse 2.
And all of it,
from beginning to end,
Jesus says,
all of it is God glorifying.
Verse 8.
By this my Father is glorified,
He says,
that you bear much fruit
and so prove to be
my disciples.
Ask yourself,
as you read this passage,
does that sound like me?
Does that describe my experience?
Where in this paradigm am I?
Am I abiding in Christ?
Have I received the word of Christ
by faith?
Have I been cleansed
by the word of Christ?
Am I bearing fruit
for the glory of God?
Does this sound like me?
See, the point of this metaphor,
the way that we know
whether or not
we belong to the vine
is if we are abiding
in the vine.
And He says,
one way,
one sure way,
we see if we're abiding
in the vine
is if we are bearing fruit.
So the million dollar question
for us then has to be,
what does it mean to abide?
What does it mean to abide?
If Treg was here,
I wish he was here
because I think this is
his most quoted passage.
This is one of his greatest hits.
If he were here
and he were explaining this passage,
I know he would use the word yield.
He would say,
this means that you are
yielded to Christ.
You are yielded to Him
and to His desires for you.
And I think that's a great answer,
but I would ask him,
well, how do you yield to Him, Treg?
And He's not here
to explain Himself.
So we'll look at the passage.
I wonder if you noticed
what I noticed here
as we read this passage.
Jesus,
He changes language around.
He flips the words around here.
He tells His disciples
to abide in Him
in three different ways here.
Did you notice that?
Verses 4 and 5,
He says,
abide in me
and I in you.
But then verse 7,
He says,
abide in me
and my words
in you.
Verse 7.
And then He says,
abide in my love.
Verse 9.
So which is it?
Which is it?
Well, the answer is yes.
And we shouldn't think of these
as three separate things
to put our roots down into
or three separate categories
to abide or to yield ourselves to.
To abide in Christ
is to abide in His Word.
It's His Word that makes us clean.
It's His Word that teaches
and corrects
and reproves
and rebukes
and trains
and encourages
and instructs
and assures us
of God's love for us in Christ.
You cannot abide in Christ
apart from abiding
in His Word.
One way to assess
our abiding in Christ
is by asking ourselves,
are we abiding in His Word?
Do we hunger for His Word?
Do we love His Word?
I'm not saying just have a copy
on your shelf.
Not even just know it intellectually,
but do we possess His Word
in our heart?
Are we feeding on it daily?
Do you love the Word of God?
I know there's nothing special
about a calendar year.
I realize that,
but this year's coming
to a close.
2024 is upon us.
It's a wonderful time
right now
to begin making a plan.
What is your plan
for abiding
in the Word of Christ
this year?
Do you have a plan?
What's your plan
for abiding
in the Word of Christ?
To abide in Christ
is to abide in His Word.
And, he says,
is to abide in His love.
Abide in His love.
Friend, how often do you meditate
on this one glorious,
simple, beautiful truth
that God loves you?
How much anxiety
and stress
and turmoil
and anger
would melt away
in our hearts
if we simply meditated
more deeply
on the fact
that God loves you?
God so loved the world
that He gave His only Son
that whoever believes in Him
might not perish
but have eternal life.
the eternal assurance
of the love of God
is seen in the cross of Christ
where He showed His love for us
by laying His life down
for His friends.
Are you preaching the gospel
to yourself, church?
Not just hearing it here
when you come.
I love that you come
and hear the gospel here.
We need this every day.
We need to assure ourselves
of the love of God
for us every day.
Tim Keller,
the famous pastor,
when he was still living with us,
he would say,
the gospel is not just
the ABCs of Christianity.
It's the A to Z.
It's the whole thing.
We never move past
the glorious news
of the gospel
of Jesus Christ.
Church,
isn't this what we celebrate
at Christmas time?
That the love of God
is made manifest to us
in the person
of Jesus Christ
who came to live
and to die
and to rise
in the place of sinners.
For you,
those who deserve it the least,
He showered His love
on you the most.
Abide in His love for you
in the gospel.
You know,
there may be some here
this morning,
I don't presume to know
the spiritual state
of everybody in the room.
There may be some
in the room this morning
that do not truly know
the love of God
in the gospel.
And if that's you,
friend,
what keeps you
from turning to Him now?
What keeps you
from trusting in Christ
right now,
from receiving His promise
that any who come to Him
will have everlasting life?
Abide in Christ.
That's the point
of this lesson.
Now,
last question.
For those who know the Lord,
I want to get very practical
here in our last point.
Very practical.
When you abide,
third,
what is the produce?
Not what does it produce?
We're talking about fruit
this morning.
Okay?
What is the produce?
I'm not a gardener.
Y'all probably
have realized that by now.
So I'm confident
that this illustration
will make no sense
whatsoever
in a real life scenario.
But just humor me
for a moment, okay?
When you become
a Christian,
when you trust
in Jesus Christ alone
for your salvation,
when you receive
the Word,
the promise of Christ,
when you are now
connected truly
to the vine,
what happens
is you become
an entirely new thing.
You are now
a new creation.
It's as if you have been
plucked up
out of the ground
and now you've been
transplanted
into something new.
You've been plucked
out of the soil
where you've had
your roots sunk
down deep
into sin
and into darkness
and to disbelief
and rebellion
to God
and now
you are connected
to a vine
that is completely
rooted in the will
of God.
And in your
new life,
now,
as you're connected
to the vine,
you may see
some fruit
that does not belong.
You may see
some fruit
that looks a lot
like your old self,
fruit of anger,
fruit of jealousy,
fruit of pride,
fruit of lust,
fruit of greed.
You may see
that fruit produced,
but if you are
actually connected
to Him,
guess what?
That is old fruit.
That is not truly
who you are.
That is old fruit
that's coming
from those roots
that have been
sunk down deep
for so long
and you'll begin
to see
and to realize
and to understand
the difference
between the fruit
that comes from Christ
and the fruit
that belongs
to your old nature.
And you'll begin
to join the Lord
in that pruning work
of cutting off
the old fruit
and producing
the new fruit.
It's a lifelong journey
of abiding in Christ
and seeing fruit born
as you're connected
to the vine.
So the question
I want to ask is,
what might that fruit
look like?
What might that fruit
look like?
And we could spend
all day
discussing the many,
many, many results,
glorious fruits
of being connected
to Christ,
but I see six
in this passage.
We're going to work
through them quickly.
Six fruits
of abiding in Christ.
And would you just,
as we walk through this,
would you consider
how you might ask
the Lord
to produce this
in you this year?
Number one,
the one who abides
in Christ
is marked
by a new aim
in life.
The one who abides
in Christ
is marked
by a new aim
in life.
What is the point
of your life?
What is the overarching goal,
the overarching banner
that hangs across
and over every other
decision you make,
every other thing
that you do?
What is the point
of your life?
life,
before you were
in Christ,
it was entirely
driven by self.
Me.
Bring me glory.
Satisfy my desires.
Meet my needs.
If you are in Christ,
you have a new desire,
a new aim,
a new purpose.
What is it?
It's the glory of God.
To magnify
the glory of God
in the gospel
of Jesus Christ.
He says,
by this my Father
is glorified
that you may bear
much fruit.
Second,
the one who abides
in Christ
is marked
by a new dependence
on God's strength.
A new dependence
on God's strength.
If you abide in me
and my word
abides in you,
ask whatever you wish.
You hear that?
Ask whatever you wish
and it will be done
for you.
Ask.
He says in verse 7,
you did not choose me
but I chose you
and appointed you
that you should go
and bear fruit
and that your fruit
should abide
so that
whatever you ask
the Father in my name,
He may give it to you.
I mean,
that seems unthinkable
that we should make
requests of God
and that we can ask God
to act
and to move
and to respond
to our little needs
in our life.
But Jesus says
this prayerful dependence
ought to characterize
the life of one
who is abiding in me.
Do you want power
for the Christian life?
Do you feel like
you don't have that in you?
Ask.
Do you want
the peace of God
to rule over your life?
Just ask.
Do you want to feel
the joy of the Lord
working in and through you?
He says,
come,
come just ask.
Just ask me.
Our dependence on Christ
is never more clear
than when we are
on our knees
in prayer.
It's so simple.
Church,
but how often
is it neglected?
You can bear more fruit
in one hour of prayer
than in a hundred hours
of labor
in your own strength.
Do we actually believe that?
What does our prayer life
say about whether
we believe that?
God,
make us like
Martin Luther,
the great reformer
who famously said,
I have so much
to do today
that I shall spend
the first three hours
of my day in prayer.
Make us abide
in prayerful dependence.
Number three,
the one who abides
is marked by
a new desire
to obey.
A new desire
to obey.
Before you were
in Christ
serving yourself,
serving your own desires,
you didn't desire
to obey the Lord,
but now in Christ
you have this new desire
to obey Him.
Where in the world
did that come from?
He says,
verse 10,
if you keep
my commandments,
you will abide
in my love
just as I have kept
my Father's commandments
and abide
in His love.
And what does that
obedience look like?
Well,
he tells us
it looks like love.
This is my commandment,
that you love
one another
as I have loved you.
Church,
that sounds simple.
That is the highest calling
in the world.
How has Christ loved you?
He gave everything
for you.
He laid His life
down for you.
He suffered
and died
for you.
And now He says,
believer,
you go and do likewise
for one another.
Abide in Him
and bear the fruit
of love.
And when we do,
when our lives
are marked
by this kind
of self-sacrificial,
other-centered,
God-glorifying love,
we can have,
number four,
a new assurance.
A new assurance.
The one who
abides in Christ
is marked
by a deep-rooted
assurance
that they are
truly disciples
of Jesus Christ,
that they truly
belong to the vine.
Verse 8,
He says,
By this my Father
is glorified,
that you bear
much fruit
and so prove
to be
my disciples.
What did He say
in chapter 13,
rather?
What did He say?
Do you remember?
By this all people
will know
that you are
my disciples,
if you what?
If you have love
for one another.
Church,
our faith
is invisible.
We cannot see
one another's faith.
The roots of faith
are invisible,
but the fruits
of faith
are made manifest
in love
for one another.
And when we see
an outflow
of love for Christ
and love for others,
we should be assured
that we are
disciples of Christ.
And when we look
at one another
and we see the ways
that we are growing
in love for Christ
and serving
and loving one another,
we can encourage
one another.
I see the grace
of God
at work in you,
brother.
I see the love
of Christ
coming through you,
sister.
Number five,
the one
who abides in Christ
is marked
by new joy.
New joy.
These things
I have spoken
to you
that my joy
may be in you
and that your joy
may be full.
What could be
more joyful
than to know
that your sins
are forgiven?
What could be
more joyful
than to know
that Christ
himself
has come
for you
to reunite
you with a God
that you don't
deserve the time
of day with
but he has loved
you enough
to send his son
to reunite
himself with you
through his blood?
What could be
more joyful
than to know
that you have
eternal security?
That you've been
made children of God?
We sing
joy to the world,
the Lord is come.
And the angels
said,
do not fear,
I bring you good news
of great joy
for all the peoples.
The one who abides
in Christ
ought to be marked
by unshakable,
supernatural,
palpable joy.
Does this describe you?
Does your heart
rejoice in the Lord?
If you want real,
lasting joy,
abide more deeply
in Christ.
And lastly,
number six,
the one who abides
is marked by
new fellowship.
new fellowship,
friendship
with God
himself.
Jesus assures
his disciples
here in verse 13.
He laid his life
down as an act
of love
for his friends.
He says,
you are my friends
if you do
what I command you.
No longer
do I call you
servants,
for the servant
does not know
what his master
is doing.
but I have
called you
friends
for all that
I have heard
from my Father
I have made
known to you.
Church,
it is one thing
to serve
the Lord.
It is another thing
entirely to be called
his friend.
And Jesus says,
I have come
to befriend
sinners.
To abide
in Christ
is to know
the Lord
Jesus
not just as
master
but as friend.
To abide
in him
is to speak
to him,
to listen
to him,
to follow
him,
to long
for relationship
with him
as your deepest
and truest
friend
who loves
you
and has
given himself
for you.
Church,
if you feel
yourself
feeling
spiritually dry
this Christmas,
if you are
struggling to
find peace,
if you are
strung out
and too
busy,
if you are
stressed,
if you are
not seeing
the growth
that you
hope to
see in
the Lord,
start
right
here.
Make
sure
that you
are
connected
to the
vine.
Jesus
invites
you to
come
to lay
aside
the burden
of
productivity,
lay
aside
the stress
of your
busyness,
lay aside
the pressure
of doing
everything
in your
own strength
to come
to me
and abide
in me.
Come
to me,
all who
are weary
and heavy
laden,
and I
will give
you rest.
Let's
pray.
Lord,
Jesus,
what a
promise.
Again,
we confess
how easy
it is for
us to
wonder
from the
source of
joy and
source of
power,
source of
strength,
from your
very presence,
but Lord,
we pray
now,
would you
correct us
in our
hearts
and draw
us more
deeply
into communion
with you.
we thank
you,
Father,
that you
sent
Christ.
The sinners
like us
might even
know you,
might even
call you
our friend.
We thank
you for
your love
for us
in the
gospel of
Jesus Christ.
We pray
this in
Jesus'
name.
Amen.