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Abiding In Christ
I. Introduction:
Scripture Reading: 1 John 3:6
1. It’s not the first mile, that’s so important; It’s the last mile when day is done.
Then you’ll see Jesus in all His splendor; And He will have for you the crown you’ve won.
2. We know of the importance of the experience that Jesus calls the new birth. John 3:3-7.
a. This new birth is a change of heart. "The change of heart by which we become children of God is in the Bible spoken of as birth." Steps to Christ, p. 67:1.
b. But we are not born into the kingdom of God as adults but as babes. 1 Peter 2:2.
(1) As babes, we need to grow up. Ephesians 4:14,15.
3. But How do we grow up into Christ? This will be our topic for today.
II. Abide in Me
John 15:1-10.1. Jesus uses the true vine to represent Himself. John 15:1.
a. Why a vine? Why not some lofty tree?
b. As the vine needs support to grow heavenward, "Instead of choosing the graceful palm, the lofty cedar, or the strong oak, Jesus takes the vine with its clinging tendrils to represent Himself. The palm tree, the cedar, and the oak stand alone. They require no support. But the vine entwines about the trellis, and thus climbs heavenward. So Christ in His humanity was dependent upon divine power." Desire of Ages, pp. 674-675—John 5:30.
c. The Jewish church was also represented as a vine. Jeremiah 2:4, 21.
(1) Many Jews had hope of their salvation in their connection to this vine. John 8:33.
(2) Many rest in a hope of salvation by their connection merely to a church/religious organization.
(3) But Jesus said I am the True vine to which you need to be connected for life. John 15:1.
d. The Father is the husbandman. John 15:1.
(1) To the Jewish leaders, Christ was as a root out of the dry ground. Isaiah 53:2.
(2) "On the hills of Palestine our heavenly Father had planted this goodly vine, and He himself was the husbandman. Many were attracted by the beauty of this vine, and declared its heavenly origin. But to the elders in Israel it appeared as a root out of a dry ground. They took the plant, and bruised it, and trampled it under their unholy feet. Their thought was to destroy it forever. But the heavenly Husbandman never lost sight of His plant. After men thought they had killed it, He took it, and replanted it on the other side of the wall. The vine stock was to be no longer visible. It was hidden from the rude assaults of men. But the branches of the vine hung over the wall. They were to represent the vine. Through them grafts might still be united to the Vine. From them fruit has been obtained. There has been a harvest which the passers-by have plucked." Desire of Ages, p. 675:2.
2. Jesus = true vine; we = branches. John 15:5.
a. How are we to be united to the vine?
(1)We have studied on how to make this connection. But is that enough? John 15:4-7.
(2) We also understand that we must choose this connection with Christ. He will then work in us to will and to do, etc. What is the difference between that work and this? Colossians 2:6.
b. "This union with Christ, once formed, must be maintained. Christ said, ‘Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me.’ This is no casual touch, no off-and-on connection. The branch becomes a part of the living vine. The communication of life, strength, and fruitfulness from the root to the branches is unobstructed and constant. Separated from the vine, the branch cannot live. No more, said Jesus, can you live apart from Me. This life you have received from Me can be preserved only by continual communion. Without Me you cannot overcome one sin, or resist one temptation." Desire of Ages, p. 676:1.
(1) Not on and off. Only thus can we overcome sin. John 15:4.
(2) What == result of this union? John 15:8.
(a) What == fruit we bear? John 3:5, 6.
(b) What == difference between the fruit of the flesh and of the Spirit? Galatians 5:16-23.
(c) This is why—John 15:10
[1] Even clearer in this passage. 1 Timothy 3:4-6.
c. There is only one way to accomplish this. John 14:6.
(1) How complete will Jesus do this work? Philippians 1:6.
(2) But we must be willing. John 7:17.
(a) We must consent and He will change us completely. "All true obedience comes from the heart. It was heart work with Christ. And if we consent, he will so identify Himself with our thoughts and aims, so blend our hearts and minds into conformity to His will, that when obeying Him we shall be but carrying out our own impulses. The will, refined and sanctified, will find its highest delight in doing His service. When we know God as it is our privilege to know Him, our life will be a life of continual obedience. Through an appreciation of the character of Christ, through communion with God, sin will become hateful to us." Desire of Ages, p. 668:3.
(3) Does this = a life of uninterrupted victory? "Christ rejoiced that He could do more for His followers than they could ask or think. He spoke with assurance, knowing that an almighty decree had been given before the world was made. He knew that truth, armed with the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit, would conquer in the contest with evil; and that the bloodstained banner would wave triumphantly over His followers. He knew that the life of His trusting disciples would be like His, a series of uninterrupted victories, not seen to be such here, but recognized as such in the great hereafter." Desire of Ages, p. 679:2.
3. Does He tell us to strive to bear fruit? John 7:17:
"‘Herein is My Father glorified,’ said Jesus, ‘that ye bear much fruit.’ God desires to manifest through you the holiness, the benevolence, the compassion, of His own character. Yet the Saviour does not bid the disciples labor to bear fruit. He tells them to abide in Him. ‘If ye abide in me,’ He says, ‘and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.’ It is through the word that Christ abides in His followers. This the same vital union that is represented by eating His flesh and drinking His blood. The words of Christ are spirit and life. Receiving them, you receive the life of the Vine. You live ‘by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Matthew 4:4. The life of Christ in you produces the same fruits as in Him. Living in Christ, adhering to Christ, supported by Christ, drawing nourishment from Christ, you bear fruit after the similitude of Christ." Desire of Ages, p. 677:1.
a. How does He abide in us? John 15:7.
b. "It is through the word that Christ abides in His followers." Desire of Ages, p. 677:1.
(1) He spoke of this earlier. John 6:53-57.
(2) He was not speaking literally of flesh and blood. John 6:63.
(3) "The words of Christ are spirit and life. Receiving them, you receive the life of the vine." Desire of Ages, p. 677:1.
(4) We receive this life from the word. Matthew 4:4.
(a) "The life of Christ in you produces the same fruits as in Him. Living in Christ, adhering to Christ, supported by Christ, drawing nourishment from Christ, you bear fruit after the similitude of Christ." Desire of Ages, p. 677:1.
(b) But why do temptations often appear irresistible? "Temptations often appear irresistible because, through neglect of prayer and the study of the Bible, the tempted one cannot readily remember God’s promises and meet Satan with the Scripture weapons." Great Controversy, p. 600:0.
4. What power is in the Word of God? "The Comforter is called ‘the Spirit of truth.’ His work is to define and maintain the truth. He first dwells in the heart as the Spirit of truth, and thus He becomes the comforter. There is comfort and peace in the truth, but no real peace or comfort can be found in falsehood. It is through false theories and traditions that Satan gains his power over the mind. By directing men to false standards, he misshapes the character. Through the scriptures the Holy Spirit speaks to the mind, and impresses upon the heart. Thus He exposes error, and expels it from the soul. It is by the Spirit of truth, working through the word of God, that Christ subdues His chosen people to Himself.
"In describing to His disciples the office work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus sought to inspire them with the joy and hope that inspired His own heart. He rejoiced because of the abundant help He had provided for His church. The Holy Spirit was the highest of all gifts that He could solicit from His Father for the exaltation of His people. The Spirit was to be given as a regenerating agent, and without this the sacrifice of Christ would have been of no avail. The power of evil had been strengthening for centuries, and the submission of men to this satanic captivity was amazing. Sin could be resisted and overcome only through the mighty agency of the third Person of the God-head, who would come with no modified energy, but in the fullness of divine power. It is the Spirit that makes effectual what has been wrought out by the world’s Redeemer. It is by the Spirit that the heart is made pure. Through the Spirit the believer becomes a partaker of the divine nature. Christ has given His Spirit as a divine power to overcome all hereditary and cultivated tendencies to evil, and to impress His own character upon His church." Desire of Ages, p. 671:1,2.
5. The Word of God will spring faith into action. Romans 10:17.
a. Because every man receives a measure of faith to begin with. Romans 12:3.
b. It will clean our heart. John 15:3.
"As faith thus receives and assimilates the principles of truth, they become a part of the being and the motive power of the life. The word of God, received into the soul, molds the thoughts, and enters into the development of character.
"By looking constantly to Jesus with the eye of faith, we shall be strengthened. God will make the most precious revelations to His hungering, thirsting people. They will find that Christ is a personal Saviour. As they feed upon His word, they find that it is spirit and life. The word destroys the natural, earthly nature, and imparts a new life in Christ Jesus. The Holy spirit comes to the soul as a Comforter. By the transforming agency of His grace, the image of God is reproduced in the disciple; he becomes a new creature. Love takes the place of hatred, and the heart receives the divine similitude. This is what it means to live ‘by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.’ This is eating the Bread that comes down from heaven." Desire of Ages, p. 391:0, 1.
(1) Thus the Law of God becomes our thought. "God has given us His holy precepts, because He loves mankind. To shield us from the results of transgression, He reveals the principles of righteousness. The law is an expression of the thought of God; when received in Christ, it becomes our thought. It lifts us above the power of natural desires and tendencies, above temptations that lead to sin. God desires us to be happy, and he gave us the precepts of the law that in obeying them we might have joy." Desire of Ages, p. 308:1.
"Character will be tested. Christ will be revealed in us if we are indeed branches of the living vine. We shall be patient, kind, and forbearing, cheerful amid frets and irritations. Day by day and year by year we shall conquer self and grow into a noble heroism. This is our allotted task; but it cannot be accomplished without continual help from Jesus, resolute decision, unwavering purpose, continual watchfulness, and unceasing prayer. Each one has a personal battle to fight. Each must win his own way through struggles and discouragements. Those who decline the struggle lose the strength and joy of victory. No one, not even God, can carry us to heaven unless we make the necessary effort on our part. We must put features of beauty into our lives. We must expel the unlovely natural traits that make us unlike Jesus. While God works in us to will and to do of His own good pleasure, we must work in harmony with Him. The religion of Christs transforms the heart. It makes the worldly-minded man heavenly-minded. Under its influence the selfish man becomes unselfish because this is the character of Christ. The dishonest, scheming man becomes upright, so that it is second nature to him to do unto others as he would have others do unto him. The profligate is changed from impurity to purity. He forms correct habits, for the gospel of Christ has become to him a savor of life unto life." Vol. 5, Testimonies for the Church, p. 345:1.
(2) Fulfills Ezekiel 36:26, 27.
c. And finally we grow by the word. 1 Peter 2:2.
III. Conclusion.
1. Emphasis: Wilt thou be made clean and whole? John 5:6.
2. Then "Let these desponding, struggling ones look up. The Saviour is bending over the purchase of His blood, saying with inexpressible tenderness and pity. ‘Wilt thou be made whole?’ He bids you arise in health and peace. Do not wait to feel that you are made whole. Believe His word, and it will be fulfilled. Put your will on the side of Christ. Will to serve Him, and in acting upon His word you will receive strength. Whatever may be the evil practice, the master passion which through long indulgence binds both soul and body, Christ is able and longs to deliver. He will impart life to the soul that is ‘dead in trespasses.’ Ephesians 2:1. He will set free the captive that is held by weakness and misfortune and the chains of sin." Desire of Ages, p. 203:2.
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