Personal Growth.

Steve Gentry

[0:08] I’ll go ahead and have a seat. [0:10] Welcome to Village Church. [0:11] This is your first time here. [0:12] My name’s Steve, one of the pastors here at Village Church. [0:14] And as always, I am thankful and grateful to see each and every one of you. [0:20] Next Sunday, we’ll be beginning our fall series where we will be going through the

[0:26] book of Second Samuel as a church. [0:28] Last year, we went through First Samuel. [0:29] This year, we’re going to be going through Second Samuel. [0:32] Next Sunday will also be our Sunday Funday. [0:36] So please make every effort to be a part of that, as that is always a good time. [0:41] Please volunteer.

[0:42] We were expecting a large crowd of people that are from the church, people that are [0:46] not from the church. [0:47] Somehow people always just show up all over the place. [0:50] So join us for that next Sunday as well. [0:54] We’re concluding our very brief short three-week series on the issue of growth this Sunday. [1:01] This short series was designed to really help you catch a vision for creating, cultivating,

[1:08] and committing to patterns of what God has designed for real growth to be like in your [1:14] life. [1:15] A big part of discipleship is learning to think like a Christian, learning to understand [1:21] the world around you like a Christian. [1:24] And this is especially important in your understanding of both spiritual and relational [1:29] growth, which we’ve already covered.

[1:32] But unfortunately, many Christians will go years without thinking about those things [1:37] according to Scripture. [1:39] The crux of experiencing the Christian life is having the faith to increasingly realign [1:46] and reorient your understanding of life with God’s word as time passes by. [1:53] This always necessitates a shift in how you understand God, how you understand yourself, [2:00] and how you understand the world around you.

[2:03] And so today I want to conclude the series talking about the issue of personal growth. [2:09] When I say personal growth, it most likely evokes a self-help mindset or a self-help [2:18] concept, a weight loss plan, an exercise routine, getting better at business, becoming the best [2:25] you that you can be, or something like that. [2:30] When we think about the issue of personal growth, we typically consider it at the same [2:35] level that an unbelieving world considers it.

[2:39] And I want to change that paradigm for you this morning because I believe that for the [2:43] Christian, personal growth is always going to be about faith in Jesus Christ and developing [2:50] your trust in Him at greater and greater levels. [2:54] And so that means that your potential for growth is changed by the virtue of the gospel [3:00] of Jesus Christ both being true and the gospel of Jesus Christ both being true in your life. [3:08] Unbelief suggests that personal growth is solely about this physical world and physical

[3:14] aspects that are only valuable if others acknowledge it. [3:19] And I believe that is what leads to many of us settling for less than our full God-given potential. [3:26] The gospel of Jesus promises that personal growth is only limited by your repentance [3:32] and faith in Jesus. [3:33] It involves a change that begins at the level of the inner man rather than the outer man. [3:40] Personal growth is about the life of the Spirit.

[3:42] It is about supernatural power that God has working through you and in you by your faith [3:49] that has an impact on daily practices of submitting your life to Christ as your spiritual worship, [3:59] as Romans 12.1 says. [4:01] When I began to kind of design this series, I wanted to fill that three-week gap that we had, [4:07] which was my fault. [4:09] I immediately knew that what I wanted to talk about and the one that I wanted to do was John 15.

[4:15] Because in John 15, Jesus is giving kind of a farewell address in the garden to His disciples. [4:23] And in this text, He unlocks what I believe is a vision for life that will lead to personal growth [4:29] at a level that I don’t think many of you believe you are capable of. [4:36] And I believe that’s Jesus’s point. [4:38] Real personal growth is found in the life of abiding in Christ that He creates for us. [4:46] We, though, cultivate it by our decisions and commit to it as the power of God’s Spirit gives

[4:53] us more and more of the life of Christ every single day. [4:58] I want to start reading the words of Christ in John 15.1. He says, [5:02] I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. [5:06] Every branch in me that does not bear fruit He takes away. [5:10] And every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. [5:15] Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.

[5:19] Abide in me, and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine. [5:26] Neither can you unless you abide in me. [5:31] I am the vine, you are the branches. [5:34] Whoever abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit. [5:42] For apart from me you can do nothing. [5:47] Number one, I want you to understand that you were created to connect with Christ.

[5:53] You were created to connect with Christ. [5:56] That is the purpose of your life. [5:58] So many people search far and wide for significance in your life. [6:02] You search for significance in your abilities. [6:05] You search for significance in what you can accomplish. [6:08] You search for significance and physicality.

[6:10] You search for significance and academia. [6:12] You search for significance and sex. [6:14] You search for significance and money. [6:16] You search for significance and power. [6:18] You search for significance in a host of things. [6:21] And here’s what always happens.

[6:23] is that so many people find significance [6:27] in all of those things. [6:28] So I’m not here to tell you [6:29] that there’s no significance in those things [6:31] because you will find significance in those things [6:34] and then you will be disappointed every single time

[6:38] because you will always find yourself wanting more. [6:42] There’s never enough in any of those things. [6:47] And what Jesus is telling us in this text [6:49] is that he is the source of life for the Christian. [6:54] And until you find your meaning, [6:58] your significance, your power, your might,

[7:02] your greatness, your glory, [7:05] until you find it in Christ,

[7:10] everything else is a waste.

[7:13] Everything else will be found wanting. [7:16] Everything else will be less [7:18] than the significance that you want. [7:22] So when most people think about their potential, [7:24] they begin by considering their own talents, [7:28] their own capabilities.

[7:29] You look at your resume. [7:32] Christians can fall into the trap of forgetting [7:34] that our personal growth does not begin with our strengths. [7:36] I know, I hear the conversations.

[7:39] I hear everything that you guys think [7:42] that your significance is in.

[7:45] I always wonder, have you considered [7:48] what it actually means to be a Christian? [7:51] Because for the Christian, [7:53] potential begins with Jesus and what he has accomplished, [7:57] as well as what the spirit that he has given us [8:00] is capable of doing.

[8:03] And that is what should command our mindsets. [8:05] That is what should command our thought processes. [8:07] That is what should command our desires, [8:10] our wants, our strivings. [8:13] It is all to be found in Christ, [8:15] and it cannot be found anywhere else

[8:18] specifically for the Christian.

[8:23] I think verses one through five that we read through [8:25] remind us that life begins at the point [8:28] of connection with the creator by trusting the gospel. [8:32] And until you find that as your definition [8:35] of what it means to truly live, [8:37] you will never find the life that you were destined

[8:40] by God to live. [8:41] And that personal growth begins at the point [8:44] of faith in Jesus Christ. [8:47] And what Jesus is saying is that without him, [8:48] there is no life. [8:49] Without him, you’re gonna be cast away.

[8:51] Without him, you’re going to be like that branch [8:52] that falls in a storm, [8:53] and if you let it sit in your backyard long enough, [8:55] it’s just a dead branch.

[8:58] No leaves sprout, no fruit to be seen. [9:02] It’s just dead and it withers. [9:05] Jesus says that without him, [9:07] without a connection to him, [9:09] without an abiding connection, you are lifeless. [9:15] Throughout the gospel, according to John,

[9:17] Jesus makes what are called seven I am statements. [9:21] In 635, he says, I am the bread of life. [9:24] In 812, he says, I am the light of the world. [9:27] In 107, he says, I am the door of the sheep. [9:30] In 1011, he says, I am the good shepherd. [9:33] In 1125, he says, I am the resurrection and the life.

[9:37] In 146, he says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. [9:40] And then here in 15, one is his final and seventh statement. [9:44] He says, I am the true vine. [9:46] It’s important to understand [9:48] that all of the I am statements lead right here, [9:53] because what Jesus says right here

[9:55] is what determines whether you can thrive [9:58] in everything else that he says he is for you. [10:02] Without the vine, the branches have no sustenance [10:05] to survive and function as intended. [10:08] And so what Jesus is saying is [10:10] when you divorce your life’s potential from the gospel,

[10:14] you are always going to be limited [10:17] by human standards of growth. [10:20] But faith in Christ removes those limitations [10:23] and allows you to live as intended by God’s design. [10:28] And that is the mission that Jesus came to accomplish [10:32] for your sake.

[10:35] And that’s what the scriptures led to. [10:38] In Jeremiah 221, it’s no accident [10:40] that the same analogy is used [10:42] highlighting Israel’s failure.

[10:45] God speaking through the prophet says, [10:47] yet I planted you Israel as a choice vine, [10:51] holy of pure seed. [10:52] How then have you turned degenerate and become a wild vine? [10:57] Weed, he calls Israel at that point. [11:00] Do not miss what God is doing through Jesus

[11:03] and focus your life on human standards [11:06] of success and failure.

[11:09] I mean, Jesus very much is making a comparison. [11:11] It would be better according to Christ [11:13] to lose everything that the world has to offer [11:17] than to lose him. [11:18] And for so many Christians in our context, [11:21] what I see you even subconsciously living like is,

[11:26] it would be better to lose the life of the vine [11:29] than to lose the trinkets that this world has to offer

[11:36] without God’s design in your life. [11:40] Everything else in the world is going to fail.

[11:43] I mean, look at John 637 earlier in the book, [11:45] look what Jesus says about his mission. [11:47] He says, all that the father gives me will come to me. [11:50] And whoever comes to me, I will never cast out. [11:52] And that’s the beautiful thing [11:53] about the vine and the branches

[11:54] is that Jesus says, stop depending on your strength.

[11:59] Stop depending on what you can accomplish. [12:01] Stop looking at the world as though you are the God [12:05] of your own destiny, as though it is up to what you invest, [12:09] as though it’s up to your power, [12:11] as though it is up to your greatness. [12:13] Jesus says, when you come to me,

[12:15] it’s not even that you figured it out. [12:17] It’s that the father was gracious enough [12:20] to open your eyes to the glory of Christ [12:23] and he drew you to himself. [12:25] And he says, now I have grafted you into me as the vine. [12:29] This is the grace of God in your life.

[12:32] We often become so bogged down [12:36] in viewing our personal growth [12:38] through the lens of others rather than the lens of faith. [12:43] So many of you care more what other humans think of you [12:47] than you care what God himself thinks of you. [12:49] And this is to the detriment of your life.

[12:52] And if you are determined to live that life, [12:55] that’s fine, but do not become resentful [12:59] when others move on because their lives are defined by God. [13:04] Their greatness is defined by Jesus [13:06] and they will grow in their faith [13:08] and you ultimately will be resentful of them

[13:12] and blame them and hate them and have vitriol towards them.

[13:20] And the reality is they have the life [13:21] that you’ve always been longing for. [13:23] You should have just moved on from your idolatry.

[13:29] Measure your life by an increasing level [13:33] of connection to Christ. [13:35] You see, without him, sin destroys your potential. [13:40] I mean, the life, the death, the resurrection of Jesus [13:43] is what redeems human potential when you think about it. [13:46] That is the point at which spirit-filled responsibility

[13:51] begins in cooperating with the pruning of God. [13:55] It doesn’t begin with what you can do. [13:57] What you can do is dead. [13:59] Ephesians 2 makes it very clear, [14:00] you, like the rest of mankind, [14:02] needed God to breathe life into you.

[14:06] And so it is not you that makes the connection with Christ. [14:08] It is Christ that must graciously [14:10] make the connection with you. [14:12] This is the grace of God. [14:14] This is about growing according to his standards. [14:17] And I love that he even says,

[14:19] because then your growth, once you are connected, [14:21] doesn’t even begin with you. [14:23] My father is the vine dresser. [14:25] Other translations say the gardener.

[14:29] Says that he prunes. [14:32] And he branched in me that bears fruit, he prunes. [14:36] And he branched the dozen, he cuts away.

[14:39] I love the picture there [14:41] because it explains so much about life. [14:44] Growth cannot happen overnight. [14:46] I don’t know if any of you have ever looked at a plant. [14:48] I don’t like plants, my wife does. [14:50] We have green things in our house

[14:52] and I don’t know how they survive. [14:54] Not by my hand. [14:56] So I was writing this, my wife is the vine dresser.

[15:01] I like grass though, I love it. [15:03] I cut a lot of grass. [15:05] And if you’ve ever done aerating and overseeding [15:09] and you’ve ridden that bucking bronco [15:12] throughout your backyard thinking, [15:13] oh dear Lord, I may die.

[15:17] And then cast the seed everywhere. [15:19] I think it’s about day five, you start asking yourself, [15:23] what did I do wrong? [15:25] Because some of it I don’t see anymore. [15:28] And some of it’s just sitting there worthless, [15:30] money down the drain.

[15:33] Then day seven, you’re like, eight, nine, [15:36] about day 10, you look out that window. [15:41] Glory!

[15:43] I can do something. [15:45] I’m not worthless. [15:48] You see just a little bit of germination.

[15:52] You see, it’s right at the point of giving up [15:55] that I think is where the real good stuff begins [15:58] to happen in your life. [16:00] Because what God wants to do in our lives [16:02] never happens overnight. [16:04] And I think that is why plants and agriculture

[16:07] is always such a good analogy in scripture. [16:11] When God prunes you, it looks like you’re losing ground [16:14] and a lot of times it feels like you’re losing ground [16:17] because I don’t know if you know this or not, [16:19] but a lot of God’s pruning is very uncomfortable. [16:22] A lot of God’s pruning is very painful.

[16:25] God will, and this is totally the opposite [16:29] of the prosperity gospel. [16:31] God will purposefully lead you through a dark night [16:35] of the soul because he wants a glory out of your life [16:39] that you could not give him without suffering.

[16:45] Because he wants us to be at a place in life [16:50] and he will endure us through suffering [16:53] so that we will look to him and say, [16:56] I cannot do this, I need you.

[17:00] That’s his pruning. [17:02] That’s the father having the shears out in your life [17:06] when he endures you through the most difficult circumstances [17:09] that you would have said before, [17:11] there is no way I could endure. [17:15] And God says, I know, but that’s my pruning.

[17:18] I will endure you. [17:19] I will grow you in ways that you never thought possible [17:22] because you are looking at personal growth [17:25] through the lens of human standards, [17:27] but God always looks at personal growth [17:29] through the lens of his sovereignty.

[17:33] God’s pruning in your life is him taking off [17:38] the limitations of human standards [17:41] and showing you just what he is capable of [17:44] and keeping you dependent on him [17:47] so that your pride doesn’t take you away from him. [17:52] That is the point at which I believe

[17:55] spirit-filled responsibility to cooperate [17:58] with his pruning occurs.

[18:01] Because that is the synergism of sanctification [18:06] where God’s power mixes with my volition [18:09] and I have to make decisions for growth, [18:12] but God through his spirit is enduring me [18:15] through that growth. [18:16] And what I want you to understand is don’t quit.

[18:20] Don’t give up. [18:22] Don’t walk away. [18:25] Let the pruning endure. [18:26] Go through the discouragement. [18:29] If you’ve not been discouraged, you’ve not been pruned. [18:32] I believe that.

[18:34] And some of us, we wanna be so positive [18:37] that we want to deny the reality of the very tool [18:42] that God wants to use to grow your faith in him. [18:46] And pruning happens through continual submission, [18:50] obedience, and experience where I try to take off [18:55] the lens of a person and try to put on the lens of faith.

[19:01] Because Galatians 2.20 states that the Christian life [19:04] is one of faith in Jesus made possible [19:06] through work in the gospel. [19:07] But look at what he says, the life I now live, [19:10] what do I live? [19:11] I don’t live by my standard.

[19:13] I don’t live by your standard. [19:14] I live by faith in the son of God who loved me [19:17] and gave himself for me. [19:20] That’s the lens of the Christian. [19:21] It’s the lens of resurrection. [19:24] And verse four, for the first time in this text,

[19:27] he uses the word abide. [19:30] To abide means to dwell in, [19:33] to have close communion and fellowship with. [19:37] This is where we get the idea, [19:39] if anybody’s ever said a relationship with Jesus Christ, [19:42] this is where we get that idea.

[19:44] It’s to live in Christ. [19:49] Therefore, every experience, both good and bad, [19:52] is seen through the lens of walking as Christ walked, [19:57] seeing how he uses it for our personal growth. [20:00] That’s the concept also from James one, two through three. [20:04] Count it all joy, my brothers,

[20:06] when you meet trials of various kinds, [20:09] for you know that the testing of your faith [20:12] produces steadfastness. [20:13] I don’t like that. [20:15] And neither do you.

[20:19] I mean, the interesting thing about the scriptures [20:21] is that it never lies. [20:22] It’s never false advertising. [20:24] He tells us right there, he’s like, [20:25] yeah, it’s gonna be hard.

[20:27] There’s gonna be moments where you’re gonna be tempted [20:29] to despair, but somehow we’re supposed to replace [20:33] despair with joy. [20:35] I don’t always get that right. [20:38] But the only way I can do that is when I trust [20:41] the vine and the vinedresser.

[20:44] Trials are joyful when you realize God is using them [20:49] to bring more connection to the life of Christ. [20:53] Trials are meant by God to force you to abide.

[20:59] To force you to find life by his standards. [21:02] That cutting experience, that uncomfortable experience [21:06] of pain begs the question, [21:10] are you experiencing life through connection to Christ? [21:18] Or is Christ less than that for you? [21:20] For you abiding in him.

[21:23] Because he has accomplished everything necessary [21:26] to connect you to his life. [21:28] That’s why he makes the statement. [21:31] Already you are clean because of the word [21:33] that I have spoken to you. [21:35] He’s telling his disciples, you have this, you have me.

[21:38] And if you have faith in Christ, you have this. [21:40] He’s made you clean. [21:42] He’s forgiven you of your sin. [21:44] He’s gifted you the righteousness of Christ. [21:46] He’s given you the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. [21:48] You are Christian in Christ right now.

[21:52] This is not something that you are earning. [21:54] This is not something that you are going after. [21:57] This is just life now. [22:02] So wherever I go, I go in Christ.

[22:08] And if I don’t, then I am not abiding.

[22:12] You see, for the Christian, you can’t not abide.

[22:18] You are either in or you are out. [22:21] Jesus is life for the Christian. [22:26] You are a Christian. [22:29] So that connection with Christ means [22:32] that I walk in life into environments [22:35] that foster my growth in Christ.

[22:37] If you have faith, you will be pruned and you will grow. [22:41] If you do not get pruned, if you do not grow, [22:44] what does that mean?

[22:47] It means you’ve been cut, taken away, put off. [22:55] Because you’re not in Christ. [22:58] Hebrews 4.12 notes the supernatural power [23:01] that I think Jesus is referring to. [23:03] It says, the word of God is living and active, [23:05] sharper than any two-edged sword,

[23:06] piercing to the division of soul [23:08] and of spirit of joints and marrow, [23:10] discerning the thoughts and the intentions of the heart.

[23:14] The author there’s writing of scripture, [23:17] which is the account of the gospel. [23:19] It is the word that Jesus speaks to us. [23:21] This is what you were created for. [23:23] Is his cleansing word defining your life [23:27] or are you still pursuing meaning elsewhere?

[23:33] God’s plan for you is his work. [23:37] It’s the pronouncement of the gospel [23:40] to connect you to the life-giving source of Jesus [23:43] so that you can live the life that you were designed [23:46] to live before the foundations of the earth. [23:50] And that means you need to cultivate a relationship

[23:52] with Christ, number two, this morning.

[23:55] You’re designed for it, that connection, [23:58] but then you walk every day seeking further and further [24:02] and further cultivation of how that’s going to flesh out [24:05] in your life. [24:07] And he gives you the responsibility [24:09] of continuing to abide.

[24:11] Re-read verse five with me. [24:13] I am the vine, you are the branches. [24:15] Whoever abides in me and I in him, [24:17] he it is that bears much fruit. [24:18] For apart from me, you can do nothing. [24:21] Some of you need to underline that.

[24:22] You’re trying to grow in so many areas without Jesus [24:25] and he is so clear. [24:27] You know what this means in the original language? [24:28] I’ll read it to you. [24:29] For apart from me, you can do nothing. [24:31] That’s what it means in the original language.

[24:33] It’s a good translation.

[24:36] Some of you are trying to unlock secret knowledge of God [24:39] when you just need to trust the translators. [24:42] It means what it says and it says what it means [24:44] so many times. [24:45] If anyone does not abide in me, [24:47] he is thrown away like a branch and withers

[24:50] and the branches are gathered, [24:51] thrown into the fire and burned. [24:53] Now that is an apt analogy because he’s talking about hell. [24:57] If you abide in me and my words abide in you, [25:00] ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. [25:03] Now we love verse seven, don’t we?

[25:05] Aladdin.

[25:09] We’ve got our genie. [25:11] Okay, I’m gonna connect myself to Christ [25:13] because that’s how it’s a gateway to getting what I want. [25:15] Right?

[25:19] You see friends, Jesus becomes repetitive in this text, [25:23] hammering in this necessity to abide. [25:28] Not a robotic action. [25:29] I don’t know if you’ve ever come to faith in Christ, [25:32] but it’s shocking how not a robot you still are. [25:36] You still have a brain, you still have to make choices,

[25:39] you still have temptation, you still have problems, [25:42] you still have sins that you still need to repent of, [25:44] you still have growth that’s always needed, [25:48] still that man of sin to deal with.

[25:52] But when you come to Christ, when you choose him, [25:57] he puts his spirit inside of you [26:00] and he unleashes this ability [26:02] that I wish so many of you would tap into. [26:04] He gives you this amazing ability [26:06] to think the thoughts of God.

[26:07] Have you ever thought about that?

[26:10] Jesus creates this wonderful atmosphere [26:13] and he draws you in through the power of the spirit [26:16] and in great love for Jesus.

[26:20] Every day you wake up and continually choose [26:23] to draw close to him and feed off of him for life. [26:28] The life of the vine and the branch are not stagnant. [26:33] Already you have seen the continual work [26:35] of the vinedresser to prune you, [26:38] to grow you and form you into the fruitful branch

[26:42] that God has designed you to be. [26:43] However, do not miss the responsibility [26:48] for maintaining that. [26:51] It requires the right focus, it requires the right actions [26:54] and it requires the right postures in your life [26:57] for this work to actually continue to be fruitful.

[27:01] And so growth is defined by you becoming more like the vine. [27:05] In verse seven, Jesus tells us [27:06] that the immediate fruit of abiding, and I love this, [27:09] I gotta get to verse seven, [27:10] the immediate fruit of abiding is an active prayer life.

[27:18] There’s nothing else in this life [27:22] that represents a posture of needing life [27:29] than prayer does.

[27:31] Prayer is the posture that says, God, I need you. [27:36] Ask whatever you wish, he says. [27:40] If you isolate this verse, you do all sorts of damage [27:44] because you can make it very selfish. [27:47] And you can actually, if you isolate this verse, [27:50] you can make it the opposite of abiding

[27:54] because then it just becomes about me.

[27:58] But he’s actually repeating something [27:59] that he said earlier in the same address [28:02] in John 14, 13 through 14. [28:05] He says, whatever you ask in my name, this I will do. [28:08] And then he gives us wonderful qualification [28:11] that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

[28:16] If you ask anything in my name, I will do it. [28:21] Of this series of verses, John Piper wrote, [28:25] prayer is the open admission [28:28] that without Christ, we can do nothing. [28:31] Prayer is the turning away from ourselves to God. [28:38] The key is connecting the phrase in chapter 14, verse 13,

[28:44] that the Father may be glorified in the Son [28:47] and combining it with 15, seven, my words abide in you. [28:54] Ask whatever you wish. [28:55] What is he saying? [28:57] He’s actually talking about being conformed [28:59] to the image of Christ.

[29:03] That my thoughts change because I’m connected to the vine. [29:12] My desires change, my passions change, my wants change. [29:18] Prayer emerges from abiding in Christ [29:21] to empower further abiding in Christ [29:24] so that my desires and Jesus’ desires become one.

[29:31] That’s why it is a prayer of faith [29:34] when you pray, if it be thy will.

[29:38] Because if it isn’t, you don’t want it. [29:42] If it’s God’s will, this is the last day of life for me, [29:46] I don’t want anything else.

[29:49] And some of you think, Parish, that thought, no. [29:52] If I live one day longer than God intends for me, [29:56] I don’t want it. [29:58] Because I want what he wants. [30:01] And I need to align my every day with that [30:06] because it is the pathway to personal growth,

[30:11] becoming like Jesus to the point [30:13] where I want his will to be accomplished [30:16] above everything else that I want. [30:20] Do you treasure Christ so much [30:23] that your prayers are overwhelmed? [30:27] By his mindset, above your pursuit

[30:33] of the small trinkets that this world has to offer?

[30:40] Friends, you have to understand what Jesus is saying [30:42] in this text is that if you do not pursue his growth, [30:46] it is death.

[30:50] I think verses five through seven show us [30:52] that life only exists in Christ. [30:55] Everything else can be likened then to death. [30:58] So I don’t think I’m overstating this,

[31:03] but I think verse seven is really telling us [31:05] that you can get all that this world has to offer, [31:07] all of the sex, all of the power, all of the money, [31:10] all of the stability, all of the clear mindedness, [31:13] all of the nationalism, all of the owning the libs, [31:17] all of the prestige, all of the status,

[31:20] all of the friendships and on and on and on. [31:24] But without the life of Christ, [31:28] it all adds up to a pile of death. [31:33] And I think we forget that. [31:36] And so our prayers become inundated with other desires, [31:40] with other passions, with other gifts.

[31:43] Give me, give me, don’t let anything bad happen to me. [31:46] Give me, give me, don’t let.

[31:50] And friends, all of us must have supplication [31:55] because that’s a posture of dependency too. [31:57] But in your prayers, are you thinking the thoughts of Christ [32:00] or are you just being a petulant child?

[32:05] But if daddy doesn’t give you exactly what you want, [32:08] you’re going to be mad at him.

[32:13] Prayer is an avenue of abiding in Christ [32:16] or it is an avenue of just selfishness.

[32:21] And what that means is that abiding in Christ [32:25] is the greatest treasure that can ever be known. [32:28] And that is what life’s pursuit must be about. [32:30] And if you don’t believe that, [32:33] what are you saying in verse six is, hell awaits.

[32:37] John 8, 31 through 32 gives us the pathway to abiding. [32:41] So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, [32:43] if you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples [32:47] and you will know the truth and the truth sets you free. [32:52] He says it starts with believing his word [32:54] to the extent that you want to live in his word.

[32:57] That makes you his disciple, that gives you true freedom. [33:01] You see, we think about freedom wrong. [33:02] Freedom is not doing whatever you want [33:05] in your sinful, selfish heart with no limits. [33:11] Jesus is telling us real freedom is abiding in Christ, [33:18] thinking his thoughts, knowing his will,

[33:21] bearing fruit to his treasure.

[33:26] And I want to skip a few verses if you just humor me. [33:31] Down in verse 11, he says, [33:33] these things I have spoken to you that my joy may be in you, [33:37] that your joy may be full. [33:39] Because I think at this point, [33:41] we are tempted to despair and say,

[33:44] all right, so I got to follow Christ. [33:46] I’m going to get nothing that I want. [33:49] Thanks, Steve. [33:51] I shouldn’t even ask for what I want. [33:54] That makes me selfish. [33:56] It’s not what I’m saying, by the way.

[33:59] But I think verse 11 corrects us. [34:02] So verse 11 comes in and after we’ve been told, [34:06] ask whatever you want, [34:07] but understand that whatever you want [34:09] is going to be whatever Jesus wants. [34:12] And the reality of the outcome

[34:15] of asking whatever you want in Jesus’ name, [34:18] that the Father may be glorified in the Son, [34:22] is that your joy will be full. [34:25] You will have the greatest life [34:29] because you will have the greatest treasure [34:33] because you would not forsake it

[34:37] for anything in this world.

[34:42] Abiding in Christ then is the pathway [34:47] to growth that gives you the joy [34:51] that God created you to have for all eternity.

[34:58] Colossians 3.16 admonishes us to let God’s word [35:03] dwell in us and he uses the modifier richly. [35:07] Teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, [35:10] singing Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, [35:13] thankfulness in your hearts to God. [35:15] Why?

[35:17] Why would I order my life around that? [35:21] Because that is where the joy is found. [35:22] That’s what Paul’s saying.

[35:25] I don’t want to grow in drudgery. [35:27] Who does? [35:29] Who wants to grow into unhappiness? [35:31] Some people do. [35:32] I meet them a lot.

[35:35] Some people age into just the worst.

[35:41] It’s like you’re not dying because you’re pickled, [35:43] not because you’ve got a good life, [35:46] but because life is vinegar to you [35:48] and it’s just aging you and aging you. [35:52] No, you want to grow into joy. [35:55] You want to grow into the good stuff.

[35:57] You want to grow into that old decrepit person [36:02] full of wisdom and full of joy. [36:04] Your body’s falling apart, but you can tell on the inside [36:09] that person has grown and transformed [36:12] into a beacon of wisdom and goodness. [36:16] It’s Yoda.

[36:19] You’re two feet tall. [36:21] You can barely walk. [36:22] You’re hunched over and no one can figure out [36:25] why your skin is now green. [36:27] But everybody wants to be around you. [36:28] That’s who you want to be.

[36:29] You don’t want to be the old person [36:31] that people avoid calling except for holidays. [36:34] You don’t want to be the person [36:35] that everyone is just in drudgery around you. [36:38] But what the word is saying is the gateway to that [36:42] in the Christian life is abiding in Christ.

[36:46] You won’t find it in other gods. [36:49] You will find the joy that you were created to have [36:52] in Christ and in Christ alone. [36:54] The Christian life then is a life of discipleship [36:59] that stokes the flames of joy by pursuing [37:02] every atmosphere possible to further a lifestyle

[37:06] of abiding in Christ.

[37:10] Absolutely. [37:11] Living connected to Jesus, living connected to Jesus then [37:16] is absolutely life giving. [37:20] Bible, prayer, discipleship, evangelism, [37:25] fellowship with other believers, [37:27] practicing the life of Jesus in real time, in a real life.

[37:32] And so yes, read the Bible, spend time with your Savior [37:39] in response, apply his teaching to your life. [37:44] These are the old ways.

[37:48] There’s nothing new about any of that.

[37:52] Eugene Peterson once wrote, [37:54] there is a great market for religious experience [37:58] in our world, but little inclination to sign up [38:02] for a long apprenticeship in what earlier generations [38:06] of Christians called holiness.

[38:12] The reason that you’re always looking for something new

[38:17] is because you think abiding in Christ is passe. [38:20] You think it’s a good thing.

[38:22] Perish the thought, friend. [38:25] If you start asking yourself, where is the payoff [38:27] for my spiritual investments? [38:30] You’re already losing the plot. [38:33] The payoff is the joy-filled pursuit of abiding [38:36] in Christ every moment, then eternity with him.

[38:42] We get to do what Anglican priest Dean Stanley called [38:46] seemingly ordinary things for extraordinary reasons.

[38:51] Are you pursuing Christ above all? [38:56] Because you have to cultivate that type of lifestyle, [38:58] but then third, this morning, you also need to commit [39:02] to bearing fruit for Christ.

[39:07] Look at verses eight through 10. [39:10] By this, my Father is glorified that you bear much fruit [39:13] and so prove to be my disciples. [39:15] As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. [39:18] Abide in my love. [39:19] If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love,

[39:23] just as I have kept my Father’s commandments [39:25] and abide in his love.

[39:27] Fruit for Christ is a gift from Christ. [39:33] So too many people, maybe even subconsciously, [39:36] pursue the Christian life and think about it [39:40] that God will make it fruitful for you. [39:44] You invest your faith and you wait [39:48] for the interest God owes you to accrue.

[39:54] But Jesus is clear in this text. [39:56] God gives you the life of the Son, [39:58] then you bear fruit for him in increasing amounts. [40:04] You are disappointed with God [40:05] because you don’t think it’s working out for you.

[40:10] That’s because you are not the main character, Jesus is. [40:14] Throughout these 11 verses, [40:16] the contrast between bearing fruit [40:18] and not bearing fruit is highlighted. [40:20] Bearing fruit reveals the life of abiding in Christ. [40:22] Not bearing fruit reveals the life of not abiding in Christ.

[40:26] The former continues to abide, [40:29] experiences fruitful growth, [40:30] and results in ever increasing love and joy, [40:33] while the latter is cut away, thrown into fire, burned. [40:38] No love, no joy. [40:41] You really have to work hard to misunderstand

[40:43] what Jesus is saying in this text.

[40:46] It also lays out an order of fruitfulness, [40:48] and I love this because it’s ever increasing.

[40:52] It begins with Jesus creating the connection, [40:55] then in verse two, the Father prunes you [40:58] to cultivate the first bearing of fruit. [41:01] And then at the end of verse two, [41:03] it has you bearing more fruit as the modifier. [41:07] Then verses four through five show the necessity

[41:09] of continuing to abide [41:11] so that you can then bear increasing fruit. [41:15] Then verse eight culminates in the goal, much fruit. [41:23] The text focuses on a lifestyle [41:26] in which you make choices that bring action, [41:31] which produces an ever increasing amount of fruit

[41:36] the longer you are a Christian in this world. [41:40] This text is about personal growth as a follower of Christ. [41:44] Growth then is seen through bearing fruit [41:48] of loving Christ more.

[41:51] Don’t make this too mechanical. [41:53] That’s the temptation.

[41:56] What is fruit? [41:58] It’s a good question. [41:59] We can go to Galatians five, [42:00] I can talk about the fruits of the spirit. [42:02] We can talk about obedience, [42:03] and absolutely, those things are involved.

[42:06] You can never not have those things in your growth, [42:10] but let’s not reduce it to the level [42:12] of behavior modification, [42:14] because that is involved, but it’s more. [42:18] This is actually also about aligning your affections [42:23] with the love and joy that God has designed you

[42:27] to receive from him and him alone. [42:29] Our fruit doesn’t prove we are good people. [42:34] It proves we are Jesus’s disciples, [42:37] and there’s a difference. [42:39] Verse nine is vital. [42:43] Oh, just give me a minute.

[42:46] Abide in the love that Jesus received from the father [42:51] and gave us through his sacrificial death and resurrection. [42:55] First John 4.10 states that love is bound up [42:58] in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and this is love. [43:02] Do you wanna know what it is? [43:04] Not that we have loved God, but that he loved us

[43:07] and sent his son as a perpetuation for our sins. [43:10] He’s saying without Jesus, [43:12] you can’t even know the fullness of love. [43:15] And in John 15, he’s saying abide in that love. [43:21] Are you in any way obsessed with the work [43:27] that Jesus accomplished to save you?

[43:30] Because that’s what you’re supposed to abide in. [43:33] Now, some of you are obsessed with a lot of things, [43:36] many of them not making any sense to me,

[43:40] commanding your days, your nights, your weekends, [43:45] your effort, your pursuit, you work yourself to the bone, [43:50] and you think about it when you’re laying in bed at night, [43:52] you’re consumed by it, it causes anxiety in your life, [43:56] and you’re pursuing them.

[44:02] And they will die with you.

[44:07] And many of you won’t even be thinking about them [44:10] the next decade, you’ll be moved on to something else.

[44:16] Ephesians 3.19, to know the love of Christ surpasses [44:21] knowledge that you may be filled with the fullness of God. [44:24] I love it because Peter and Paul in different ways do this, [44:27] though right under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit [44:29] about the greatness of what God has done for us [44:32] in Christ Jesus, and Peter will get to a place

[44:34] where he’s like, it’s inexpressible.

[44:38] And here, Paul writing about the love of Christ, [44:40] he says it surpasses knowledge, [44:41] I can’t even make it make sense. [44:43] In 1 Corinthians 5, he actually looks at people [44:45] and he says, when it seems like I’m in my right mind, [44:49] that’s just so that it’ll make sense to you,

[44:51] but when I act like a madman, [44:52] that’s because I can’t even put the gospel into words.

[44:56] Here he says the love of Christ surpasses knowledge. [45:00] Friend, are you abiding in Christ to the level? [45:04] That it surpasses human knowledge [45:07] and what people can comprehend. [45:09] Is that your obsession with the gospel? [45:10] Is that your obsession with Christ?

[45:12] Is that your obsession with how much God loves [45:16] a sinner like you? [45:18] That it commands your days, it commands your nights, [45:21] it commands your weekends, it commands your thoughts. [45:24] Have you ever gotten anxious [45:26] because you can’t believe God loves you?

[45:30] Have you ever been overwhelmed by what a wretch you are [45:33] and what glory Christ has [45:35] and the fact that he has forgiven you [45:37] and you will enter his kingdom [45:38] of no earning of your own, [45:40] but because Jesus just said you.

[45:47] The fruit God wants.

[45:52] I know some of you don’t like when I get specific, too bad. [45:55] The fruit God wants is for you to commit [46:01] to living and light of his love.

[46:06] So you gotta grow in faith, [46:08] but you’ve also gotta grow in faithfulness.

[46:12] What are you committed to?

[46:17] What’s the greatest thing you could ever imagine [46:19] happening in your life?

[46:23] Right now in your life, professionally, privately, [46:27] leisurely, worthlessly, I don’t know, whatever word works, [46:31] what is it that you are convinced [46:33] is the personal growth that you need? [46:35] Where is your growth focused? [46:38] What is your pursuit?

[46:43] There is so much that commands our attention [46:45] through so many voices, [46:48] and it is all for nothing [46:49] if we miss a life of abiding in Christ.

[46:55] Just, is the gospel your greatest treasure? [46:58] Matthew 13 44 is to me the craziest parable [47:02] Jesus gives in this one verse.

[47:06] The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, [47:09] which a man found and covered up. [47:12] Then in his joy, he goes and he sells everything he has, [47:14] and he buys that field. [47:16] That is not good economics.

[47:21] But you know what that is? [47:23] You know what Jesus is talking about? [47:25] He’s talking about obsession with the gospel.

[47:30] He’s saying when the Holy Spirit vivifies, [47:35] a dead man makes you alive in Christ. [47:39] It turns something on you never knew you were capable of. [47:43] It activates something you never thought you could have. [47:46] It turns you into a person that just looks at the gospel [47:49] and says, I don’t want to look anywhere else.

[47:52] And as you grow in your life, as you grow in faith, [47:57] you begin staring at increasing levels, [48:00] seeing another part of the beauty, [48:03] seeing another part of the greatness, [48:05] understanding, I didn’t even know I had this sin, [48:08] but I’m repenting here,

[48:09] and I’m seeing more of the fullness of Christ, [48:12] living in his love, realizing you don’t grow [48:15] into more love for yourself where the gospel is concerned. [48:19] You grow into a person that thinks more and more, [48:21] I don’t deserve this.

[48:25] And he says, the closer and closer you get to heaven, [48:28] and some of y’all are close, [48:29] the closer and closer you get to heaven.

[48:35] He say, I buried the treasure [48:37] and I got to have everything connected to the treasure [48:40] at increasing levels. [48:42] I’ll give my all if I can have the whole field.

[48:48] And then I believe what Jesus is telling us is, [48:52] he already has, it’s ours.

[48:57] It’s the greatest treasure that you never want to lose, [49:02] and it’s the greatest treasure because of God’s sovereign hand, [49:05] you can never lose.

[49:09] What kind of person are you growing into? [49:14] A boy or a girl? [49:14] You’ll abide in Christ, and you will see growth [49:19] that you never knew you could have. [49:22] A few application points.

[49:25] Treasure Christ in real ways.

[49:29] It’s one thing to say it, [49:31] it’s another thing to be able to point to it.

[49:36] Order your life around connecting with Christ, friend. [49:39] You do need to cultivate that atmosphere in your life. [49:42] It does take effort.

[49:47] Trust God’s pruning for your growth.

[49:50] I find myself all the time, [49:52] what a bad things happen to good people. [49:53] I’m always good people by the way.

[50:00] But I often need to be reminded [50:02] that when the thing I don’t want shows up [50:05] or the thing that I wanted to keep walks out, [50:07] I need to look to God and say, [50:09] where are you pruning me right now? [50:12] That’s the response of faith.

[50:13] And then finally, increase your commitment

[50:18] to God’s love and joy. [50:21] God wants you to want to be joyful, did you know that? [50:26] So commit to it. [50:28] Saying, God, I want your joy, I’m going to have your joy, [50:30] give me your joy, and then walk out the door [50:32] and live that life.