Steve Gentry
[0:00] Well, alright, go ahead and have a seat. [0:03] Welcome to Village Church.
[0:07] I rarely use performance enhancing drugs. [0:10] I just want to tell you that this morning. [0:13] So you can trust me. [0:15] You can trust me. [0:16] My name’s Steve. [0:17] I’m one of the pastors here.
[0:18] You’ve never been here before. [0:19] I want to welcome you. [0:20] If you come here frequently, then welcome you as well. [0:23] I’m glad you’re back.
[0:26] Man, we have been in a crazy time of growth as a church, as a congregation. [0:33] And I just want to make an announcement. [0:36] We had to pull a trigger on something quicker than we were prepared to, which has us all [0:40] considering using performance enhancing drugs.
[0:44] On February 10th, I believe it is, we’re going to be going to two services. [0:49] This is going to change your Sunday mornings. [0:51] It’s going to change mine more.
[0:56] But on February 10th, we’re going to go to two services. [0:58] They’re going to be 9 and 11. [1:00] So if you come at 10, you’re going to miss something. [1:03] So as of February 10th, 10 o’clock is no longer an option for you. [1:08] But 9 and 11 will be. [1:10] And if you don’t have to come to both, they’re going to be identical.
[1:14] We were not progressing to having two different services on a Sunday, mostly because of my [1:18] extreme laziness and lack of performance enhancing drugs. [1:21] But we’re going to go to two services and we’re going to do this for a great number [1:26] of reasons. [1:27] One is Village Kids is maxed out right now, whereas the space that the county will let [1:32] us put back there.
[1:33] So we’re going to expand our horizons where kids are concerned. [1:37] And in a county where we have 60,000 students, that’s a very important and vital part of [1:42] making disciples is our kids. [1:45] And I’ve got one, one on the way. [1:47] So I’m pretty concerned about that aspect. [1:50] And the other reason is we want to make space in here for growth.
[1:54] We moved here believing that God would fill it and he did and then some. [1:59] So we’re moving to two services in order for God to be able to do more, for God to [2:03] be able to bring more. [2:05] But so prepare for that. [2:07] If you are a volunteer here, your leader will be in contact with you of how that shifts [2:12] your responsibilities around as volunteers.
[2:14] If you’re not a volunteer, I’m going to ask you to help us out. [2:17] We need more with going to two services. [2:20] We have more responsibility to kind of spread out among everybody. [2:23] So I’m going to ask you to sign up, join up, go to the connect table after the service [2:28] and find a place to serve. [2:30] Now if you are serving, you’re probably not going to have to go to two services, but
[2:33] I make no promises. [2:36] It is what it is. [2:38] And God is doing so much. [2:40] And we’re gearing up on that Sunday. [2:42] We’re going to launch a new series going through Genesis 1 through 11 as a church [2:47] together.
[2:48] And what that’s leading up to is Easter Sunday at the end of March. [2:52] Now I’m going to go ahead and tell you on Easter Sunday, we’re going to have a huge [2:56] crowd. [2:56] I believe God’s going to bring it. [2:58] He always has. [2:59] And we’re going to have a lot of people who don’t know the Lord there that day.
[3:02] And so we’re going to be launching a new series on Easter. [3:04] But what I want to prepare you for is on Easter Sunday, we are going to be having baptisms [3:08] in both services. [3:09] So I want to let you know that in the weeks prior to that, if you are a follower of Jesus [3:15] Christ and you’ve not been baptized, I want to invite you to be baptized on Easter Sunday. [3:20] We’re going to do it in the 9 and the 11.
[3:22] We already have a few that are going to be baptized that we know of, but we’ve got room [3:25] for as many as will be baptized. [3:28] I will shift everything around for anybody that wants to follow the Lord and believers’ [3:32] baptism. [3:33] So if you want to know more about baptism, go back to the Connect table or shoot us an [3:38] email or give me a call.
[3:40] All that information is on the website. [3:41] Just don’t do it at 3 a.m. because I may not be in as good a mood as usual. [3:46] I ought to talk to you about it at that time. [3:47] But let me know and I’d love to talk to you about it. [3:49] If you don’t know what that is, let me know. [3:51] I’d love to talk to you about that as well.
[3:53] But we’re going to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ by celebrating people who [3:57] have new life in Christ. [3:59] And I can’t think of a better way to do that or a better witness to the Lord, frankly. [4:04] Now without further ado, if you have your Bibles, John 15. [4:08] We’re going to start in verse 7 this morning. [4:12] Now last week we started a three week series called Abide where we’re just going to spend
[4:17] three weeks going through the chapter of John, excuse me, chapter 15. [4:22] We’re going to break it down. [4:23] I think this is one of the most vital chapters in understanding what it is to live life in [4:30] Christ. [4:30] And this is what is called his farewell discourse to his disciples on earth. [4:35] And he’s talking to them.
[4:37] And then in John, chapter 17, we find out as he prays to close that out, that he’s [4:42] talking to us as well, that we are a people that God has drawn to himself for redemption, [4:49] to know him, to find him as our source of life. [4:52] And we’re also people who are meant to live abiding in Christ. [4:58] We read in Romans, chapter four, that it is blessed to have our sins covered, to have [5:03] our sins forgiven.
[5:05] And that is what we have in Jesus. [5:08] He gives us complete redemption. [5:10] He saves us totally. [5:11] He leaves no part of our life in sin uncovered, where he redeems us totally from the sin [5:19] that separates us from him. [5:22] And in John, chapter 15, we see that the calling of redemption is a call to come and find life
[5:28] in Jesus and that we are actually called to abide or stay in Jesus for the rest of our [5:35] lives, that we are called to move with him. [5:37] We are called to find our life in him, to find our purpose in him, and to really find [5:43] what we find in our lives is our identity. [5:46] Who we are is defined by who Jesus is, who he always has been, who he was on earth and [5:53] who he currently is as he’s preparing to come and take those who trust in him home to be
[5:59] with him forever. [6:00] But in John 15, 7, he makes a little bit of a shift because in the first part of the [6:06] chapter, he’s talking really about how we think about ourselves, how we think about [6:11] our purpose. [6:12] But then in chapter 7, he begins to include more actions that we do on our part. [6:18] Between 1 and 6, he talks about just the simple key that he mentions over and over again
[6:22] in this chapter of abiding in Christ. [6:25] But in John 15, 7, he includes another action and then includes more that are conditions [6:32] of what it looks like to abide in Christ. [6:35] So in John 15, 7, I want to just start reading.
[6:40] He says in 15, 7, and 8, if you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you [6:48] wish and it will be done for you. [6:50] By this, my Father is glorified that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. [7:00] All right. [7:00] John 15, 7 is one of these texts that is, it’s not necessarily so much controversial [7:06] as it is very easy to misread and misapply and really easy to find disappointment if
[7:13] you look at it the wrong way. [7:15] Because I don’t know if you’re like me, but in John 15, 7, what I first kind of go to [7:22] is if I ask anything in the name of Jesus, I can get it. [7:25] I can get it. [7:26] And I can tell you, Friday, I didn’t get what I wanted.
[7:32] Thursday, Wednesday, Tuesday, Monday, I asked God for things He didn’t do. [7:37] I said, God, I need this. [7:39] And some of them are like, in the next five minutes, I need this. [7:44] And then I set the stopwatch, waited five minutes, nothing.
[7:51] So it’s very easy when my life of attempting and seeking to really obey God and abide in [7:57] Christ that when I look at a text like that, I’m just left really disappointed with God. [8:04] I said, God, but you said, I think I’m abiding. [8:07] But you said, if I ask, you’ll do. [8:09] And you didn’t do. [8:11] And sometimes it’s something as minor as, you know, just asking for a free Coke or
[8:16] something. [8:16] But sometimes it’s pretty major that God would heal me or heal someone else or that He would [8:22] come through with a financial miracle or just a number of things. [8:26] And sometimes God doesn’t do what we ask Him to do.
[8:31] And so in that situation, what do I do with my disappointment? [8:36] What do I do with the fact that God doesn’t always do what I want Him to do? [8:44] The reality is, is that it is not that God is meaning to disappoint me, frankly.
[8:52] It’s that God has something better for me. [8:56] The reality is that abiding in Jesus gives life to prayer. [9:00] It gives meaning to it. [9:01] It gives purpose to it. [9:03] And it gives definition to what prayer is all about. [9:07] Abiding in Jesus gives life to prayer.
[9:10] What you saw there is this text that has two conditions. [9:15] And then right after that, He gives us a promise with those conditions. [9:19] The first condition you’re going to see in this text is really that in order for us [9:24] to have a meaningful and fruitful prayer life, that we have to abide in Christ.
[9:29] Verses 1 through 6 are things that need to be true for us to understand what it means [9:35] to even ask God anything in the first place. [9:37] That our life finds meaning in Jesus and the movements and the environments that we enter [9:43] into, need to find their purpose and definition and significance in Jesus. [9:48] That we are not meant to be people who move off into our own things and in our own wisdom, [9:53] but rather we are meant to abide in Christ.
[9:56] And then secondly, I want you really specifically to hone in on this, because if you want to [10:00] know more about that, go listen to the podcast, because man, you want to go to lunch, don’t you? [10:05] Well, right after that, He says, if my words abide in you. [10:11] Now, last week, we talked about the reality that in John 15, He says that already the [10:16] disciples are cleaned by the word that had been revealed to them. [10:20] And that was the term Logos, the same term that’s found in John chapter 1, describing
[10:25] in the beginning was the word, talking about the reality that Jesus is God, and He’s the [10:29] ultimate revelation of who God is. [10:32] That if we want to know who God is and what our God is like, we look to Jesus, because [10:36] that’s Him. [10:38] Now, here it’s a different word. [10:40] It’s the word Rema.
[10:41] It is for specific words. [10:43] So Jesus is talking about something different. [10:46] It is not just a general revelation or an overview of who God is. [10:50] Jesus says, you need to know my words specifically. [10:55] You need to know what it is that I came to reveal to you. [10:59] In John chapter 14, verse 26, He actually said that if we’re living in Christ, if we’re
[11:04] following Jesus, then He is going to continually bring us back or bring us reminders of who [11:11] He is. [11:13] That He’s going to bring to remembrance everything that He said. [11:17] So my first reaction to that is really to say, okay, so I need to take the Bible, I [11:21] need to memorize the entire thing, and then I can get whatever I want. [11:25] Then just whatever I ask, I get it.
[11:28] It’s like that reality that we always talk about in Psalm chapter 37, verse 4, delight [11:32] yourself in the Lord, and He’ll give you the desires of your heart. [11:35] Man, there’s a lot of desires of my heart, and I want them all. [11:40] Big house. [11:41] I mean, I’ll even take a jet ski. [11:43] That would be really fun.
[11:45] He hasn’t given me that yet.
[11:48] You have to understand what He’s talking about. [11:51] The reality that when I come, it’s not about information as much as it is about dependence [11:58] and desire.
[12:00] That I have to constantly come back to who Jesus is. [12:05] That He wants me specifically to find my mission and vision in Him. [12:12] Prayer is the ultimate sign of depending on God to move in our lives. [12:19] Abiding in Him presupposes that we want what He wants. [12:25] Do you understand that? [12:27] When I come to prayer, and my first thought is, God, this is what I want for my life.
[12:34] Who’s the center of that prayer? [12:37] I am. [12:38] Who am I abiding in, in that situation? [12:41] Myself. [12:42] I have ultimate authority. [12:44] I have ultimate power.
[12:45] I’ve got the steering wheel, and I say, God, I want this.
[12:49] When you abide in Christ, it gives you an understanding of who God is, and how much [12:56] He is for me. [12:57] But being for me means that I have to be for Him. [13:02] Because He’s God. [13:03] Remember, He’s the gardener. [13:04] He sees the whole garden.
[13:07] He sees every part of it. [13:08] He sees a part that maybe needs to be cut off. [13:11] He sees a part, maybe I need to be watered. [13:14] He sees a part where maybe I need to be replanted. [13:16] He’s the gardener. [13:17] He has ultimate authority.
[13:18] He has ultimate power. [13:19] And most importantly, He has ultimate perspective that I’m lacking in.
[13:26] So oftentimes, when I see a phrase, and I see a promise, ask whatever I want, I miss [13:33] the part where He says, in His name.
[13:37] You see, abiding in a life of prayer, abiding in a life where I’m coming to God, it means [13:44] that my heart is so overwhelmed by Him that I want what He wants. [13:53] And as a loving Father, I have to look to what He wants. [14:00] In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus is teaching His disciples to pray. [14:04] And He tells them, in a very important phrase in verse number 10, He says, [14:12] Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
[14:18] That’s an amazing prayer of trust. [14:22] That I actually want the will of God to take place here as it is in heaven. [14:29] But the reality is, that is a very hard place to live. [14:34] What’s interesting about John chapter 15, verse 7, is that the first text, the first [14:39] part of anything that I have to do in this scenario, because abiding is about staying, [14:46] it’s about remaining, it’s about being in Jesus, it’s about depending on Him.
[14:51] The first thing He tells me to do, the first action He wants me to take, ask.
[15:02] You see, the amazing thing about action is that in this phrase, it never moves past dependence.
[15:13] My son asks me a lot of things and for a lot of things. [15:16] And the older he gets, the more I realize, he is completely dependent on me.
[15:23] If he goes outside by himself, he won’t know what to do. [15:27] If I tell him to go make breakfast, I have no idea what will happen.
[15:32] I mean, I tell him to go get yogurt and he brings me the sour cream.
[15:38] He’s dependent.
[15:40] Friends, so are we. [15:43] And the greatest lie that we often believe is that we’re not. [15:46] And so in our prayer life, one of the most important things that we can understand is [15:51] compare scripture with scripture and understand that when He says, ask whatever you want in [15:55] My name and it will be done, the presupposition or the condition on it is an understanding [16:00] of absolute dependence on God to where our prayers should always be followed.
[16:06] If it be your will, do it. [16:11] Because He’s a loving Father who wants the absolute best for me and I have to really [16:18] humble myself to truly believe that what He wants is better. [16:25] And it’s a very hard thing to believe. [16:27] It’s a very hard thing to trust. [16:30] But it’s good.
[16:31] And it’s what He means. [16:33] And that when we let His Word abide in us over and over, what we will find is that [16:40] God has far more wisdom than any human that has ever existed. [16:45] And then if we hope to have any true wisdom, we can only find it in Him. [16:51] This is about the transforming and conforming of my desire with His. [16:59] And that the only way my prayer will ever have any life is if I am caught up in the
[17:07] life of God as Colossians 1, 10 tells us, that as we’re walking worthy of our calling, [17:12] we will grow in our knowledge of Him. [17:17] And as I grow in my knowledge of who He is, I cannot help but gain more trust and gain [17:25] more perspective about my life and thank Him for the times that He hasn’t given me [17:29] what I wanted. [17:31] But rather His will was done, therefore my life is better.
[17:38] And that’s a hard reality to trust. [17:43] But exactly why Jesus says, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. [17:52] Because I can always trust Him far more than I trust myself. [17:57] And as I go, His will that is revealed in Scripture becomes more precious to me because [18:04] I begin to see through my life and through my prayer more of His unrevealed will being [18:10] totally open for me.
[18:12] Being totally unfolded for me. [18:15] To where I see that He is a good God and He is worthy of my trust in the good times as [18:22] well as in the hard times. [18:25] I want you to understand something about Village Church.
[18:29] I want you to realize, when we were talking about this a little earlier as the staff [18:31] as we were praying together for this morning, that this is a place where if you’re feeling [18:35] okay, it’s a good place for you. [18:37] But if you’re feeling pretty bad, this is a good place for you.
[18:42] Some of you had a terrible week. [18:45] Some of you just had a week where you were saying, God, what are you doing right now [18:49] in my life? [18:50] Where are you in my life? [18:53] And I’m with you this week. [18:56] Because I said that a few times myself.
[18:58] It was a tough week. [18:59] Told my wife Friday, I don’t know that I’ve ever had an anxiety attack, but I may just [19:03] have had an anxiety attack. [19:05] And I don’t say that lightly. [19:07] What I mean is that sometimes the stress of this life can be so overwhelming that we [19:12] go to a text like this and it’s so hard because we want to say, God, I know what you want
[19:18] and I know what you have for me. [19:21] And then He doesn’t move where we want Him to move. [19:25] And so it’s so tempting to stop abiding and move past Jesus in this moment and say, this [19:31] is where your will needs to be and God says, no, it’s back over here. [19:35] You’ve got to trust Me. [19:36] I’ve got perspective.
[19:38] I see the bigger train wreck that sits right in front of you that you don’t see. [19:42] You think it’s bad right now? [19:43] It’s worse right there if I give you exactly what you want. [19:46] Just abide. [19:47] Just trust. [19:48] And in the end you will say thank you because I’m going to give you exactly what you actually
[19:52] want but I know what you want more than you know what you want. [19:55] So just trust Me with what you want and pray your will be done.
[20:00] That’s the reality of what faith actually looks like. [20:05] Faith is not going to God and saying, God, I know what I want. [20:09] I know what it looks like to be comfortable in this life. [20:11] So you give it to me and then I don’t get it and then I say, well, I didn’t have enough [20:14] faith. [20:15] Faith is the reality that He knows more and when He doesn’t give me exactly what I want
[20:21] at the minute I want it, I say, God, I trust you because you’re good and you’ve proved [20:25] you’re good through your Son Jesus Christ. [20:28] That is faith. [20:30] That if we are to live a life active, we do not ask as we are moving. [20:36] We ask and then we remain.
[20:40] We ask and say, God, you’re good. [20:42] We ask and say, God, your will. [20:45] We ask and then we keep staying. [20:47] We never move past the moment of dependence on God because that is not where His life [20:54] is. [20:55] We stay reminded of our dependence.
[20:59] We do not cover our own sin. [21:01] He covers our sin. [21:03] And if He has the power to do that, He can be trusted with the particulars of my life. [21:10] Secondly, this morning, abiding in Jesus produces a life of action. [21:16] Abiding in Jesus produces a life of action. [21:21] In verse 8, He tells us that the Father is glorified when we bear much fruit and prove
[21:28] to be His disciples. [21:31] And then Jesus says, as the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. [21:37] Abide in my love. [21:40] If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s [21:44] commandments and abide in my love. [21:46] These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be
[21:52] full.
[21:54] Interesting thing about verses 7 through 17, which is where we’re going to finish today, [21:59] but verses 7 through 17, if we look at it, we can kind of almost begin to view it like [22:05] the Proverbs. [22:05] These are just wise sayings that are a little bit disconnected.
[22:11] But the reality is that once we get to 17, you’re going to see that everything comes [22:14] full circle. [22:15] And some of you are skipping ahead of me. [22:17] Shame on you. [22:18] You’re like, well, I’m just going to go ahead and read 17. [22:20] But it’s in verse 16.
[22:25] But everything is going to come full circle. [22:27] That everything He’s saying right here in these verses is one complete thought about [22:32] what it looks like to have a total life in which I trust God fully, in which I’m walking [22:38] in Him and I’m active in Him. [22:40] And that actually the actions in my life never move past abiding, but the actions in my [22:44] life are just a continual life of me asking and Him supplying, me asking and Him changing
[22:50] me, me asking and Him conforming my desires to His desires. [22:54] And when He begins by saying, ask in my name, you will bear fruit. [23:01] Notice that the fruit bearing comes with the asking. [23:06] It doesn’t start with obedience.
[23:10] I love that about this text. [23:13] Because I want you to understand that when He says, you prove to be my disciples when [23:17] you obey me, that this is about more than obedience. [23:23] Abiding is about more than obedience. [23:26] What we see in asking is a life that is devoted to finding everything in Jesus. [23:33] Sometimes when we get to this text, we get bogged down with disobedience.
[23:37] And we’re going to look at it and we’re going to say, oh, okay, well, here’s the hang up.
[23:44] The condition here is my obedience. [23:46] I don’t get Jesus if I disobey. [23:49] And then the gospel seems to really contradict itself. [23:53] Because Jesus came because of my disobedience. [23:57] He redeems me because I’m disobedient. [24:00] But remember, this is about a life that’s fully dependent on the obedience that Jesus
[24:05] has on the cross and in everything that He has ever done for us. [24:08] So what I want you to understand is that the action here does not begin with self-sufficiency. [24:16] And it never gets there. [24:18] The action here begins with an awe and a worship of who Jesus is and what Jesus has done. [24:29] It begins with me looking to Jesus before I ever look to what I’m actually doing where obedience. [24:37] Obedience begins with wanting God to work in our lives and a deep understanding of how
[24:42] great and eternal His forgiveness of our shortcomings is.
[24:49] This is why we stay close to Him. [24:51] Obedience isn’t about measuring up. [24:53] It is, again, about depending on Him and wanting Him to work through me. [24:59] See, some of you, you struggle with disappointment. [25:03] You struggle with just feeling displaced in your life in Christ and unsatisfied with your [25:09] life in Christ because you’re staring at yourself in the mirror.
[25:13] You’re staring at your activity. [25:15] You’re staring at your actions. [25:17] You’ve never really moved on to the place in your life where all you really do in your [25:21] Christian life is stare at Jesus.
[25:25] You see, when we ask and He doesn’t give us exactly what we want, sometimes that disappointment [25:33] is about me more than it is about God. [25:37] But in our obedience, when we stop to measure up and it causes us to really feel like Jesus [25:43] isn’t giving me what I want in my obedience, well, it’s the exact same thing. [25:49] It’s because I’m looking at how I measure up. [25:52] I’m looking at how good I am.
[25:55] Maybe I struggle even on a Sunday morning to feel really involved in the life of the [25:59] church because it’s about how I’m adding up to the people around me. [26:02] Well, this person is more obedient. [26:04] This person is better. [26:05] This person has more of what I want and I resent that person for it or I resent myself [26:10] because I’m not as good as they are or I don’t understand where they are.
[26:14] And the reality is that all of the dissatisfaction in your life is all just measured up by humans. [26:22] By humans. [26:24] The most disappointing thing you could ever look at is yourself or someone else. [26:30] At some point, you’re going to find dissatisfaction in that.
[26:37] The reality is, is that God wants us to look to the life of Jesus for our sufficiency in [26:44] our obedience as well as our disobedience. [26:50] The difference between following Jesus in disobedient times is where you look for forgiveness [26:58] and contentment. [27:01] If you are staring in a disobedient attitude, I mean I could go all day with what is obedience [27:05] and what is disobedience, the dos and the don’ts, but that’s not going to help you
[27:09] at all because it’s right here. [27:12] The dos, the don’ts, they’re right here. [27:14] But what you’re going to find is that sometimes you do and sometimes you don’t.
[27:20] Sometimes you’re a man of God like audio adrenaline said, and this is weird that I’m quoting CCM [27:24] from the 90s, but sometimes I’m just alright.
[27:29] The reality about your life is that you are going to have shortcomings because you are [27:36] not in heaven with Jesus yet. [27:38] You’ve not been glorified. [27:40] So what, does that mean it’s over? [27:42] I’m not abiding? [27:44] If in your disobedience you continue to just stare at yourself, it might.
[27:49] But in your disobedience if you just go directly to Jesus and say, I am not but you are, help [27:58] me abide Father. [28:00] That moment, your shortcoming becomes another moment for God’s grace to be more alive to [28:09] you than it was before. [28:11] We were designed by God to be in constant awe of how deep His forgiveness is. [28:19] That I as a follower of Jesus can never sin so much that His forgiveness will not reach
[28:26] me.
[28:28] That His grace is sufficient. [28:31] That Jesus is covering over me is greater than my sin. [28:34] And that is trust. [28:36] And that is what creates a heart that abides. [28:41] When you look at how good you are, that is not a heart that abides. [28:45] If you look at how bad you are, that is not a heart that abides.
[28:49] A heart that abides is in spite of both of those, you look to how great Jesus is and [28:55] how loving He actually is. [28:57] Look at the text, He says abide in my love. [29:01] Because if you abide in how good or bad you are, you will not experience His love, you [29:07] will just experience selfishness for good and selfishness for bad.
[29:14] But He wants us to bear fruit and the only fruit that is ever born comes from a ruthless [29:21] trust and a ruthless dependence on who Jesus is. [29:28] That is it. [29:29] That is where you are going to begin to bear much fruit. [29:32] That is why He starts with ask. [29:35] You will bear and you will obey because of Jesus.
[29:43] This is where it moves into the hard part for us. [29:48] Because our trust in God will produce a life in which we are living to obey Him. [29:56] Where we find our joy in obeying Him. [29:59] Notice that in verse 11 He says, I do this so that my joy may be in you. [30:05] So that the very joy that I have as God is going to be your joy. [30:09] You are going to experience the type of joy that I experience as God.
[30:12] And if it is God joy, then it is pretty much the best joy that has ever existed because [30:16] He is God and He has the best of everything. [30:19] So the reality that you have to understand here is how do you get there?
[30:24] Well, obviously it is about abiding in Jesus, but what does that look like? [30:28] Well, it looks like a life in which you strive through the power that God gives you through [30:34] Jesus to live like Jesus lived and to live for what Jesus lived for. [30:39] And there is nothing harder than that than you will ever do in your life. [30:43] Because it is going to demand you deny yourself.
[30:47] No one has ever followed Jesus and not had to deny himself. [30:53] No one has ever done it. No one ever will. [30:57] Because I want to go here because I am tilted towards sin. [31:01] Jesus isn’t, so He wants to go there. [31:04] And so at some point those paths converge and it is not Jesus that is going to deny himself.
[31:11] I am going to do it if I trust Him. [31:14] But here is the reality. [31:16] Many of you are trying to obey God and live His vision for your life. [31:22] I believe that you are. [31:23] I think you are striving. I think you are even struggling to do it. [31:27] But I think here is your problem.
[31:29] You are also at the very same time trying to do exactly what you want.
[31:37] You are trying to do both things at the same time. [31:41] It doesn’t work that way. [31:44] It is an attempt at multiple personality disorder.
[31:48] That is insane. Literally.
[31:52] You are trying to both say, God I want the life that You have for me.
[31:59] God give me the life that I have for me.
[32:05] You cannot find satisfaction in God by having two kings on two different thrones. [32:13] You can’t do it. You can’t do it.
[32:18] It is not that God has not been clear. [32:21] It is that we struggle to trust. [32:24] We often just simply want to measure our lives by the wisdom of this world.
[32:30] Because there are two competing kingdoms that are at work in your life. [32:35] There is the way that God has spelled out in Scripture. [32:39] About everything in life. [32:41] From masculinity to femininity. [32:44] To wealth and what we should do with it. [32:47] To our possessions and how we should steward them.
[32:49] To our time and how we should steward it. [32:52] To the gifts and talents that He has given each and every one of us. [32:54] And how we should steward those. [32:56] I mean He has been specific. He has been clear. [32:59] But there is also a competing economic system from this world that says, [33:04] This is what masculinity looks like.
[33:06] This is what femininity looks like. [33:08] This is what you should do with your wealth. [33:10] This is what you should do with your poverty. [33:12] This is what you should do with the gifts and abilities that I have given you. [33:15] This is what you should do with your time. [33:16] This is what you should do with your life.
[33:18] And it becomes a struggle between two masters. [33:21] Because I want to be comfortable in this life, [33:23] but I also want to be eternal with God in the next life.
[33:28] So sometimes we believe the lie. [33:31] That if I live by this world’s system,
[33:36] just obey some of those do’s and don’ts, [33:39] I can have eternity as well as everything that this life has to offer. [33:45] And we think we can have it all.
[33:51] You can’t. [33:53] You can’t.
[33:56] You can’t. You will be disappointed with God. [33:59] You will be separated from Him. [34:02] You will cease to ask. [34:04] You will trust yourself. [34:06] You will move past life in the vine. [34:09] Begin to live life in you.
[34:12] And in the end, you will not be worshiping Jesus. [34:17] Instead, you will conform Him to your image. [34:22] But in reality, you are worshiping yourself.
[34:31] The problem of desire is a problem of abiding. [34:39] When I want what this world has to offer, [34:43] more than I want what God says He has to offer, [34:49] I am not abiding.
[34:52] I am not.
[34:55] Finally this morning, abiding in Jesus’ name, [34:58] abiding in Jesus defines a love that gives life. [35:05] Abiding in Jesus defines a love that gives life. [35:08] So where does that leave us? [35:09] Where does that leave us? [35:11] Look at 1 John chapter 2.
[35:16] The same guy that recorded the saying of Jesus here wrote this, [35:20] Whoever says I know him, but does not keep his commandments is a liar. [35:25] He is pretty blunt there. [35:29] And the truth is not in him. [35:32] But whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected.
[35:38] But look at this. [35:40] By this we may know that we are in him. [35:43] Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way that he walked.
[35:56] I imagine that when John wrote 1 John, [36:03] he was thinking about John 15, which he had written, [36:05] which he had recorded were the words of Jesus Christ himself. [36:09] So I think we have a little bit of a commentary there. [36:12] That John is thinking about the analogy of what it means to abide in the vine, [36:16] and he says this is exactly what it means.
[36:19] I have to walk as Jesus walked. [36:22] I have to live as Jesus lived. [36:24] I have to be as Jesus was. [36:27] Because he is God, and he came to reveal who God is, [36:30] but more than that he came to reveal what God does.
[36:35] He defines what love that I need to abide in actually is. [36:39] So with the remainder of the time I will talk about that.
[36:44] That the love that Jesus is attempting to help us to abide in, [36:48] finds its very definition in his cross.
[36:55] Look in verse 12 of John 15.
[36:59] This then is my commandment. [37:02] He talks about being obedient to the commands. [37:05] So Jesus is going to sum it up here. [37:07] He says this is my commandment. [37:09] That you love one another as I have loved you. [37:15] It is very easy to misdefine love.
[37:18] It is very easy. [37:20] You want to have problems in your marriage, here is how you define love. [37:23] How satisfied the other person can make me.
[37:29] I can define love that way if I want to. [37:33] If it is subjective and loves about a feeling, which it is not by the way.
[37:40] Then as long as I feel like I am being loved, well then I can love back.
[37:49] Jesus does not give us that option.
[37:54] What he says, that you love one another as I have loved you.
[38:05] Jesus defines it specifically. [38:08] And how does he love us?
[38:15] As he is saying this very phrase, he knows where he is headed. [38:21] And he knows what he is about to do. [38:22] So he says this, greater love has no one than this. [38:28] That someone lay down his life for his friends.
[38:34] That is powerful, that is strong.
[38:37] But you know what Jesus is doing?
[38:41] He is prophesying about what he is about to do for the very men that he is talking to. [38:48] Jesus is walking right after this discourse. [38:53] He is right then and there walking towards the garden of Gethsemane. [38:59] Where he is going to be under so much anguish that the scriptures say that he was going to sweat blood. [39:06] Because he was walking towards something that God has never done before. [39:12] And that is die.
[39:15] For his friends.
[39:18] For his disciples.
[39:21] For you. [39:22] And for me.
[39:25] That Jesus is going to lay his life down and pick up a resurrected life. [39:32] In which there is hope, in which there is real joy, in which there is real peace. [39:37] And ultimately there is real redemption in who he is. [39:42] Because of what he has done. [39:44] And he calls to us and he says, I want you to grasp the reality that the greatest love you could ever know. [39:51] The greatest understanding that you could ever have is in me.
[39:54] And understanding what I am doing. [39:56] And then walk that way yourself. [39:58] That you are to lay your life down for your friends in me. [40:04] That doesn’t mean I need to strap myself to a cross. [40:07] It means the opposite. [40:09] It means that I need to live for something different.
[40:11] It means that I need to live for a new type of love that maybe I have never experienced before. [40:16] It is a type of love that is less about me and it is more about God and others.
[40:21] See Jesus is the only person that has ever lived that has been obedient to what he himself says is the greatest commandment. [40:28] To love God and love others. [40:31] In the cross he exemplifies both.
[40:35] And in closing today I want you to understand. [40:38] If I can just look at Matthew 6, 10 on the screen one more time.
[40:45] Jesus instructs them to pray, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. [40:51] But then I want you to look at another text. [40:54] One that Jesus himself prayed in Matthew chapter 26 verse 42.
[41:00] Again for the second time he went away and prayed, meaning Jesus. [41:04] My father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.
[41:21] When I am following Jesus.
[41:25] When I am disappointed because God is not doing what I want him to do.
[41:31] I look to this, the book of Luke records it that he says, father if there be any other way, let this cup pass from me.
[41:40] In his humanity he cries out, this is too much. [41:44] I can’t take the sin of the world. [41:46] Is there any other way?
[41:49] But in his obedience.
[41:52] In his trust. [41:55] In his joy. [41:58] That God has something better.
[42:03] He says, your will be done.
[42:09] Friends I want you to understand that in my disappointment.
[42:14] That is where I look.
[42:17] That is where I go. [42:20] Because Jesus was after something greater than worldly comfort. [42:25] Jesus was after something greater than material success. [42:30] Jesus is after the eternal gain of as many worshipers for God as possible. [42:37] And he goes to the cross and he says, this is love. [42:41] Not just the fact that I am laying my life down, but for what I am laying my life down for.
[42:47] For what I am exchanging my life for. [42:49] For the reality that I am exchanging my life. [42:52] That others may have full joy in God. [42:56] The same type of joy that he had experienced for eternity with the Father. [43:00] And he wanted to give that to us. [43:02] And if we want to know what love is.
[43:04] If we want to know what real obedience is. [43:07] We will in faith and in trust. [43:10] And in a faith that we want to be active. [43:13] We will lay down all of the pithy comments. [43:16] About what love is in this world. [43:18] And all of the material success that the world says we have to have.
[43:22] And we have to supply for our loved ones. [43:24] And all of the fake love that this world tells us. [43:27] And we will say, this is love. [43:29] And I will exhibit it by my life. [43:30] That I trust God because he loved me to the point where he gave it all. [43:36] I will gladly give my all for that joy to go into the lives of others.
[43:45] Faith is active. [43:46] Faith must go forward. [43:49] And you must trust God more than you trust yourself.
[43:57] Trusting him enough to obey. [44:02] Is the only way I can ever truly love other people.
[44:07] If I don’t live with the motivation of seeing others redeemed. [44:11] No matter what it costs me.
[44:14] I will never in my life love anyone else.
[44:22] Because Jesus does not give me a broad definition of love. [44:25] He gives me the smallest, most minute, clearest definition of what love ever is. [44:30] And that is exchanging everything that this world has to offer. [44:34] So that others may experience the joy of God.
[44:38] That’s riches. [44:39] That’s gain. [44:40] And that’s the Christian life. [44:43] It’s what God is calling you to. [44:46] But it’s good. [44:47] And it’s great.
[44:49] Notice how he closes it here.
[44:54] Greater love is knowing than this that someone lays life down for his friends. [44:58] You are my friends. [45:00] If you do what I command you. [45:02] No longer do I call you servants. [45:04] For the servant does not know what his master is doing. [45:07] But I have called you friends.
[45:08] For all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. [45:12] You did not choose me. [45:13] But I chose you and appointed you. [45:15] That you should go and bear fruit. [45:17] That your fruit should abide. [45:18] So that whatever you ask the Father in my name.
[45:24] He may give it to you. [45:28] See how he came full circle there? [45:31] He says in verse 17. [45:32] These things I command you. [45:34] So that you will love one another.
[45:42] Jesus is smart.
[45:46] He’s fairly good with words. [45:48] He’s a sharp guy.
[45:51] And so he begins and he says ask whatever you want and you’ll have it. [45:55] Here’s what it looks like to follow me. [45:57] And as you’re doing that everything that you’ve ever wanted is going to transform. [46:00] And it’s going to strangely begin to look like everything I have ever wanted. [46:04] And when you’re living like that. [46:06] When you’re sacrificing for the cause of the gospel and it advancing for the joy of all peoples everywhere.
[46:13] Your requests may change a bit.
[46:17] Your desires are going to change a bit. [46:21] And what you ask me to do is going to change quite a bit. [46:26] Because he’s the God who loves us.
[46:30] I often don’t want to obey God because I would rather exist for other things.
[46:37] Or trust my own instincts. [46:39] Of how to treat people.
[46:42] And who deserves my love. [46:45] And who I should hold grudges against.
[46:49] Real faith though. [46:51] Is seen in believing God. [46:53] More than I even believe myself.
[46:58] Obedience is an interesting thing. [47:01] Because sometimes it means going against everything I’ve ever learned. [47:05] Everything I’ve ever been taught by this world.
[47:08] It’s in trusting God more than I trust me.
[47:14] And that is fruit of the gospel. [47:18] God’s great design was at a lot of cost to himself. [47:23] He walked this world on a path that he never would have taken. [47:25] A path that was totally aimed at redeeming you and I.
[47:31] And elevating us to a point where we don’t look to God and say, how dare you. [47:37] We look to him and say, we’re friends. [47:42] You’ve taken me from a miniscule servant who doesn’t deserve anything from you ever. [47:50] To someone whom you have given everything in the world. [47:53] You’ve brought into your throne room. [47:56] You’ve made me your own.
[47:57] You’ve given me life.
[48:01] And in exchange, I gladly give you mine.
[48:07] Abiding in Christ is very active.
[48:10] But abiding in Christ is never about more or less than trusting him fully with every aspect of my life.
[48:22] That is what it means to follow Jesus.
[48:28] The band’s gonna come and we’re gonna go into a time of reflecting on communion.
[48:36] I love the activity of communion and that’s one of the reasons we gotta go to two services. [48:41] It’s pretty cramped. [48:44] But I love getting up and coming to God’s table. [48:51] I never want to lose that. [48:53] I want to fight for it in here. [48:55] Because I think there’s something very important that goes on while you do this activity.
[49:02] It’s a response, not to me. [49:05] It’s a response to who God is for you. [49:11] God’s for you. [49:14] He proves it in Jesus. [49:16] And when we get up, we take a step towards fellowship with him. [49:22] Towards remembrance of all that he’s ever done for us.
[49:25] And we walk towards him in hope and in faith that he has a life to use in me. [49:34] Through his power. [49:36] Through my trust in him. [49:38] And so this morning, if you’re a follower of Jesus, God calls you to come to him. [49:46] He’s taken down the barrier of sin. [49:48] He’s taken down the barrier of your lack of faith.
[49:51] He’s taken down the barrier of your disobedience. [49:54] And he said, come, find life, find it in me. [49:56] Find filling. [49:57] Find hope. [49:58] Find power. [49:59] Because I find that when I take up the bread and when I take up the cup,
[50:03] I proclaim to myself as well as to others that I trust in Jesus and I’m on a journey towards him. [50:14] You’re not everything you need to be. [50:17] Neither am I.
[50:19] But what’s awesome is that when Jesus was praying in that garden, [50:24] he was getting ready to do something that would give me eternal forgiveness for every shortcoming and every disobedience I could ever have in my life. [50:32] And he’s done it for you. [50:35] No matter where you are, no matter how good of a mood you’re in, no matter how bad of a mood you’re in,
[50:42] Jesus loves you. [50:45] He’s chosen you to be his own.
[50:48] If you’re in here and you’re a follower and you want to trust, [50:52] come to this table. [50:54] Reflect on all that Jesus has done for you.