Session 9 Abiding in Christ: Cultivating Union with God (Jn. 15:1-6)

Transcription

1 INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PRAYER MIKE BICKLE Abiding in Love: Experiencing the Heart of God Session 9 Abiding in Christ: Cultivating Union with God (Jn. 15:1-6) I. THE CALL TO UNION WITH GOD A. John 15 is a highpoint in the Scripture in terms of our relationship with God. Jesus main exhortation was to abide in Me (v. 5, 9c) so that we may bear fruit that remains forever (v. 16). 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me [talks to Me], and I in him [I talk to him], bears much fruit 16 I chose you that your fruit should remain (Jn. 15:5, 16) Most of you know that John 15 is a highpoint in the Scripture in terms of our personal relationship with Jesus. If we want to know what Jesus thinks about us relating to Jesus, John 15 is literally the highplace in Scripture. You will never get anything of more importance about how He wants us to relate to His heart. Let s read one of the key verses of John 15. Jesus said, I am the vine. When He said that in verse 5, He was saying, I am the source of life. I am the source. You are the branches. The expression of My life will be released through you. You are the expression. I am the source. You are the vessels through which I express My life. Now He goes on to develop the critical point saying, Know this, the person who abides in Me, and I abide in them, that is the person who will bear fruit as a branch. In other words, He just said, You are the branches; you are the vessels that express My life. There is no way you will express My life without this mutual abiding, this two-way abiding relationship. He goes on in verse 16 and says, I chose you, that your fruit would remain. In other words, your fruit would last forever. It does not remain for just a few years. You will do things on the earth that will impact the heart of God forever. Beloved, that is a remarkable truth! Jesus lays it out here. Here is the key verse, I am the vine I am the source. You are the vessels that give expression to My life. You are the branches. It is all built on the foundation of you abiding in Me and Me abiding in you (John 15:5, paraphrased). It is a two-fold abiding. If you will do that, then you will bear fruit that I recognize, esteem, and remember forever. It moves My heart. Beloved, that weak and broken people like us can do something that moves the heart of God, and He values forever that is a remarkable privilege. You will notice I have paraphrased or amplified the verse: He who abides in Me he who talks to Me. Abiding in Christ is more than talking to Him, but talking to Him is the fundamental activity of abiding in Christ. I like to simplify it, although this is not comprehensive. The person that will talk to Me, I will actually talk to them through various ways. I will impress their heart with what I want them to know and what I want them to feel. B. Jesus chose us to bear fruit that would remain forever (v. 16). This is a most glorious reality for weak and broken people that through the activity of the Spirit in us and through us, we can do things or bear fruit that God esteems forever. Our life becomes epic as we diligently press into a lifelong journey, knowing that He longs to be deeply engaged with us and that He sees, is moved by, and remembers all that we do in our quest to commune with Him in obedient love. This is a glorious reality that weak and broken people like us can do things that God remembers forever. We want a life of purpose. We often think of purpose as being something that men recognize. Much of the fruit bearing that moves God men do not esteem it or recognize it at all. Fruit bearing is not about getting the attention of men. Fruit bearing is that which gets the attention of God. Much of it goes unnoticed by men. Do

2 Session 9 Abiding in Christ: Cultivating Union with God (Jn. 15:1-6) Page 2 not measure your life by how much men recognize what you are doing. Our life becomes epic as we diligently press into this reality. A life-long journey imagine for decades twenty, thirty, forty, fifty years of walking with the Lord, knowing that He desires, He longs, to have deep interaction with you. Beloved, knowing that makes our life completely different. Not only knowing that He longs for it, but also knowing that what we do in that overflow of relationship moves Him forever it gives tremendous significance to the humdrum, routine mundaneness of life because we are abiding. We are talking to Him from the heart. Nobody sees it. He is talking back to us. He is inspiring and moving our hearts. We are growing in love and humility. Not everybody sees it. Sometimes they will see little bits of it. Much of it goes unrecognized by men. We impact people, bearing fruit. We move them by the Spirit to embrace love and humility. Impacting people does not mean you speak to a large crowd of people in a room at a conference. Sometimes people measure impact by how many people come to hear somebody sing or preach or teach or act or something. It is not the size of the crowd, but it is the ability to move people to a spiritual response to love and humility. That is what fruit is, in terms of impacting people from God s point of view. C. Bears fruit: We bear fruit inwardly in our character and outwardly in our ministry and service to others in the grace of God godly character (Rom. 6:22; 7:4-5; Gal. 5:22; Eph. 5:9; Heb. 12:11; 13:15; Jas. 3:18) and ministry and service (Jn. 4:36; Rom. 1:13; 15:28; Phil. 1:22; Col. 1:5-6). There are two types of fruit bearing in the Bible. Jesus is referring to both. There is the inward bearing of fruit in our godly character: love, humility, purity, and servanthood. There is the outward ministry in service ministry that moves people by the Spirit to embrace humility. Again, it is not getting them excited about your ministry. It is getting them to be moved to love and humility. That is what true impact and fruit are from God s point of view. I could talk to a thousand people in a room like tonight, but I do not know how many people are being moved to love and humility in the secret place of their lives. That is the only fruit that will come out of tonight. We can have 2,000 next week and 10,000 the next week. Someone without Biblical discernment might say, You have an amazing impact. My question would be, How do you know? Fruit bearing is not how many people cram in a room. It is how many people embrace humility outside the room later. That is the measure of my impact and your impact, in terms of ministry. I am only saying this so you are not locked into evaluating by size. I appreciate the size of impact. I appreciate large numbers being touched, but I tell you that you can really get thrown off if that is your grid. That is not how Jesus is defining impact. D. Transforming union with God has two elements we abide in Him, and He abides in us. John 15 is about the transforming union of our heart with God s heart. If I had to title this chapter, I could think of several titles for John 15. One of them would be The Chapter on Transforming Union. Weak and broken people like us we talk to Him, and He moves on our hearts. There is a union that is progressive, and it is transforming in the way we think, the way we feel, and the way we act. This transforming union has two elements. Sometimes the second element is overlooked. He said, Abide in Me, and I will abide in you. His abiding in us is a critical dimension of the transforming union. It is not enough for us to abide in Him. He wants to release His activity in us to renew our mind and our emotions. To change the way we think and feel in the private place of our life. When He does that, it means He is abiding in us. We will look at this later.

3 Session 9 Abiding in Christ: Cultivating Union with God (Jn. 15:1-6) Page 3 E. Abide in Me: The main activity of a believer related to growing in God is to abide in Christ. It involves three activities talking with God, applying His Word, and obeying His leadership. Thus, talking with God is the core activity of abiding. This is where it starts, but it includes more. The first element of this transforming union: we abide in Him. This is the foundational activity of a believer. This is our part of the relationship. We abide in Him. His part is He releases His activity in us. That is Him abiding in us. For us to abide in Him involves three main activities, though it is not limited to these three. It is a profoundly deep relationship, but I am trying to de-mystify this and make it practical so that it is something you can think about and specifically act on. There are three activities that I highlight when I think of me doing my part abiding in Him. He is charging me to abide in Him. He is exhorting me to do that, and He is exhorting you. There are three activities. Number one: talking with Jesus. Number two: trusting His Word, which is not the same thing as talking to Him. Number three: obeying His leadership, which is not the same as trusting His Word. These three activities overlap, but they each have some distinctions. 1. Talking with Jesus: The Christian life is an ongoing dialogue with a real Person. He has much to say, but He allows us to set the pace of the conversation with Him. If we start the conversation, He will continue it as long as we do. When we stop it, He stops it and waits until we begin it again. He responds to the measure that we desire to talk to Him. Talking with Jesus is the core activity of abiding in Christ. That is where abiding starts. It includes more than talking to Him, but it starts there. I am going to spend a portion of this session tonight talking about believers talking to Jesus and the importance of it. We all know it, but it is easy to know it and yet not actually do it. You can sit in the prayer room for hours and not actually talk to Jesus. You can move your body with the music, whether you are tapping your foot or jumping. You can be screaming. You can be high-fiving. You can be journaling. You can be doing , playing a video game, daydreaming, taking a nap, having a discussion in your own head with somebody you are mad at, and never ever actually talk to Jesus in the prayer room. You can jump and scream in a worship service and actually never talk to Him. My point is not to point out how bad all that is. We all do lots of those things. My point is there is something more. That is my point. My point is positive. There is something more than what many are walking in, even many who love the Lord. The Christian life is an ongoing dialogue with a Person. Christian life is far more than ministry to people, far more than having Christian ethics. It is important to have Christian ethics and to minister to people, but the core reality of Christianity is an ongoing dialogue with a real Person. That is the core reality of Christianity. He has much to say to you, but this is important He allows you to set the pace of the conversation. Meaning, if you start the conversation, He will continue it as long as you want it to continue. When you stop the conversation, He draws back and waits patiently until you start it again. He will allow you to talk to Him to the measure you desire. When you do not want to talk to Him, He will not talk to you as a rule. He allows us to set the pace of the conversation. 2. Applying His Word: Applying the truth about God s love and power empowers us to bear fruit (Rom. 8:1, 15). Shame and rejection rise up to challenge what He says about loving, forgiving, leading, healing, and providing for us. We must apply the Word to our heart, by confessing the truth and resisting lies against it when feeling rejection or shame, etc. It is more than talking to Him; it is actually applying His promises to our heart. When we apply the promises of God to our heart, it empowers us to bear fruit. For instance, shame, rejection, and condemnation are very common emotions that everybody experiences. Condemnation, shame, feeling alone, feeling hopeless, feeling

4 Session 9 Abiding in Christ: Cultivating Union with God (Jn. 15:1-6) Page 4 despairing, they rise up in us. These negative emotions that we all understand they are common to everybody. They challenge what the Word of God says about Him loving you, Him caring about you, Him directing you, providing for you, etc. When we feel shame or guilt or overwhelmed with a sense of failure, after we have repented of our failures, the way we apply the Word is we say, Stop, lies, in the name of Jesus. I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. That is how He sees me. He loves me like the Father loves Him. I am not alone. I am not forgotten. He will provide for and meet my needs. He will direct me. I am rejecting the lies that say the opposite. Here is the point. Some people talk to Jesus they actually get that point but they do not go to the next level to apply the promises and refuse the lies. They do not speak the Word over their hearts when contradictory emotions rise up in them. They talk to Jesus, but they do not apply His promises. Many believers neglect to do that. Many believers do not talk to Jesus or apply the promises. Some say, I am into the talking, but I need to lay hold of what He says is true. I need to act on it by confessing it and speaking in my heart before Him. 3. Obeying His leadership: Jesus promises to manifest His presence to those who obey Him (Jn. 14:21-23). Only in the context of obedient love does He reveal the deep things of His heart. We must love God on His terms. Obedience is an expression of our love for Him. We do not earn God s love or blessing by our obedience. However, we position ourselves to receive and express more of it by setting our heart to walk in obedient love. 21 He who keeps [My commands], it is he who loves Me I will manifest Myself to him 23 If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word We will come to him (Jn. 14:21-23) Then there is more than talking and applying. There is obeying. Some talk to Him, and they even apply His promises, but they do not embrace His leadership in their everyday life. They believe God for promises of great blessing, and they confess the Word, but they do not actually embrace His leadership in their speech, in their money, in their time. They are negligent in the realm of obedience. Again, all three of these must flow together. Look at John 14: The foundational truths of John 15 are found in John 14. That is why we are spending a number of sessions on chapter 14. We are laying the foundation first in chapter 15. Then we are going back to see the foundational truths of John 15 back in John 14. In chapter 14, verses 21 and 23, He ties the heart that obeys Jesus to the manifest presence of God touching our heart. He says, If you will keep My commandments, you will experience My manifest presence more. Jesus loves us whether we experience His manifest presence or not. He says, If you obey Me, you come into agreement with who I am and what I am like, and your capacity to experience Me will increase. Beloved, when we obey, we do not earn His presence, but our capacity to experience and feel it increases. Can you imagine what it is like to be in unity, not just in unity with Him, but to have the actual likeness of Jesus? He is the most beautiful Man, the most fascinating Man, the most interesting Man, the most satisfied Man. Having our heart not just agree with His, but be like His. Beloved, that beauty, that fascination, that satisfaction of Him touches us. Obedience is not like the bad side of our relationship with Jesus. Like, He loves us, He will bless us, but we have this one little downside we have to obey Him. No! Obedience is what brings us into unity with the most beautiful, most fascinating, most satisfied Man that has ever walked the earth. Beloved, obedience is our freedom. Obedience is our glory. It is not the drudgery of God loving us and giving us promises, but the one catch is we have to obey Him. We come into unity with His beauty who He is, and what He is like. It is only in context to obedient love that He will reveal the deep things of His heart. He will manifest Himself to us. He said in Matthew 5:8, The pure in heart will see God. He did not say the pure in heart will earn more, but the pure

5 Session 9 Abiding in Christ: Cultivating Union with God (Jn. 15:1-6) Page 5 in heart will have an increased capacity to experience God. We have to love God on God s terms. There is a lot of teaching out in the body of Christ about love, and there is teaching outside the body of Christ about it. There is no love that is not on God s terms because God is the authority on what love is. When we obey Him, it is an expression of loving Him. He takes it very personally when we love Him. When we resist lust and choose Him, He takes that very personally. It enlarges our capacity to feel and see and experience more. 4. Abiding includes our words being in Him, or in His heart. The fact that He answers our prayers and eternally rewards us related to our words shows us how He delights in them. F. Jesus abides in us: There are two aspects to the promise of Jesus abiding in us. First, He abides, or lives, in our spirit instantly at our new birth. Second, He abides in our hearts progressively as He manifests His presence in our heart that renews our mind and emotions. Both aspects of this great promise are in view in John 15:4-5, but the second aspect is what Jesus emphasized here. 17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. (1 Cor. 6:17) The second dimension of the transforming union: He abides in us. The first one, we abide in Him. We just looked at that. We talk to Him, we apply His Word or trust His Word, and we embrace His leadership. These are the three distinct, yet overlapping, activities of the believer. The second dimension is His activity in us. It is a very different subject. In the Bible, there are two aspects to Jesus abiding in us. First, He abides in our spirit instantly the moment we are born again. 1 Corinthians 6:17 says that the person who is joined together with the Lord at the new birth is one spirit with God. He dwells in your spirit the moment you are born again. Instantly He abides in you, in your spirit. Then there is a second sense in which He abides in us. It is a very important Biblical reality. It is His manifest presence in our hearts our mind, will, and emotions. This is not instant. This is progressive. This increases or can decrease over the course of years and decades. This references Jesus activity renewing our mind and our desires, our emotions. G. Paul spoke of Jesus dwelling in our heart or abiding in us by His manifest presence (Eph. 3:17) and of Christ being formed in our hearts (Gal. 4:19). Jesus manifests Himself to us (Jn. 14:21). 16 that He would grant you to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith (Eph. 3:16 17) 19 My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you (Gal. 4:19) Paul is speaking here of Christ abiding in us in terms of in our hearts, not in our spirits. He did that too, but these verses focus on Christ abiding in our heart. Paul addressed this principle. As a matter of fact, here in Ephesians 3:16-17, both of these realities are present: that God would strengthen us through His Spirit. His Spirit dwells in our spirit, but when He strengthens us what happens is He dwells in our heart. That is talking about the renewed mind and renewed desires. We talk to a new believer and say, Invite Jesus into your heart it is not exactly accurate, but it is okay to say it. You do not have to get theological with them. In reality they are inviting Him into their lives, and He actually dwells in their spirit. Over time He renews their emotions and their thinking. In that sense He dwells in their heart. That is about Christian growth. Do not say all that to a new believer. Give them a break.

6 Session 9 Abiding in Christ: Cultivating Union with God (Jn. 15:1-6) Page 6 H. Jesus abiding in our hearts: This involves at least three activities the indwelling Spirit teaches us about Jesus heart, Word, and will, He inspires us to obey or respond, and He empowers us by renewing or transforming our mind and emotions (desires) to come into agreement with His. We are going to look at this concept of Jesus abiding in our hearts. Not in our spirits, but in our hearts. Those are two distinct realities. He abides in our spirits instantly at the new birth. He abides or dwells in our hearts as the Spirit changes our thinking and our feelings, our emotions. Jesus is talking about both of these abidings in John 15, but it is the second abiding, the abiding in the heart, that He is emphasizing here. He says, You talk to Me, and I will move on your heart. I will move on your heart if you will talk to Me. The result will be that you will bear fruit. Men may not esteem it, but God will be moved by it, and He will remember it forever. That is a powerful way to live. In terms of Jesus activity by the Spirit in our hearts, I want to mention three activities. It is more than this, but I am just giving you a snapshot. The indwelling Spirit who lives in our human spirit teaches our mind and emotions about God s heart, God s mind, God s will. Then He does more than teach us. He inspires us to respond rightly. He gives supernatural wooings to our heart to motivate us to respond well. He will not make us respond, but He will woo us time and time again. He will give us those moments of inspiration. If we respond rightly to them, we will walk out the obedience. We can reject and neglect those moments of inspiration. They will come again. It is better to take them on the front-end than on the back-end. On the back-end there might be a little divine discipline coming with those wooings because He loves us. It is more than He inspires us to obey. He actually changes the constitution of our thinking and our emotions. You cannot change your emotional make-up. You can grit your teeth all day long and try to feel differently. You can change your mind, but only the Spirit can change your emotions. Jesus is saying here, I will abide in you. I will move on your mind and emotions if you will talk to Me. The result will be that you will bear good fruit. I. Some only emphasize our legal union with Christ our justification by faith (Rom. 3:21-31). Others only emphasize our living union with Christ our participation with His indwelling life. Our legal union describes our legal position before God based on receiving Jesus righteousness. Our living union describes our living condition (our character) based on responding to the Spirit. Some believers and ministries only emphasize our legal union with Christ. Our justification. Others go to the opposite extreme and only emphasize our living union with Christ. That is what we are talking about tonight our living union. Our participation in His indwelling life. That is all some people talk about. We participate with the life of God in us. That is a most glorious subject. That is the theme of John 15. We also need to emphasize our legal union our justification but we do them both, not pick one over the other. Our legal position is based on receiving the gift of righteousness. Our living condition is based on responding to the Spirit s activity and His leadership in our lives. In our legal position, we receive the gift of righteousness. In our living condition, we respond to the Spirit s leadership. Two different dimensions to our union with Christ. We embrace the work Jesus did for us on the cross. We embrace the work the Holy Spirit does in us as He draws us into intimate relationship. It is both/and, not either/or. I find there are a number in the body of Christ who want to pick one versus the other and pit them against each other. Beloved, we need both of these truths growing in our understanding.

7 Session 9 Abiding in Christ: Cultivating Union with God (Jn. 15:1-6) Page 7 II. TALKING TO JESUS: PRAY-READ THE WORD The core activity of abiding in Christ, remember, is talking to Him. We have to do more than talk. We have to apply His promises and embrace His leadership. We have to do all three. The core activity is talking to Him. A. Talking with God is the core activity of abiding in Christ. Bible study is to lead us into conversation with God by giving the conversational material for our prayer life. It is simply speaking the truths of the Word back to Him as we read it. This makes prayer enjoyable. (For notes on How to Pray-Read the Word, see mikebickle.org) We open our Bibles. Our Bible study is meant to lead us into conversation with a Person. When we study our Bible, we open it. It is okay to study to find biblical facts and to understand some doctrine. That is good, but that is not enough. It is good, but it is not all that He has. When we open our Bible, it is meant to be the conversational material with a Person. When I began to discover the Bible as conversational material with God, prayer became easier and enjoyable. It became really enjoyable. I call this to pray-read the Bible. Pray-read the Word. Meaning you are reading it, but with a prayerful attitude. You are talking to Jesus while you are reading it. B. Talking to God as we pray-read the Word is a practical way to strengthen our abiding in Christ. 2 Take words with you, and return to the LORD. say to Him, Take away all iniquity; receive us graciously, for we will offer the sacrifices of our lips [words of love, trust and obedience]. (Hos. 14:2) We will talk to Him far more through the day if we will take time to pray-read the Word. Here s what I mean by that. I talk to people, and they say, Well, I just talk to Jesus as I go. I say, That is right. Those ten- and twenty-second sound bite conversations all day long. That is actually really good, but I want to give you a principle. You will do that much more consistently if you will deliberately take time to open the Bible and talk to Him from the Bible. C. We direct our dialogue to the Father on His throne (Rev. 4) and to the indwelling Spirit. Paul referred to fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit who dwells in us (2 Cor. 13:14; Phil. 2:1) 14 and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all (2 Cor. 13:14, NAS) When we talk to Him, we direct our attention in two different ways. We direct our attention to the Father on the throne our Father who art in heaven. Revelation 4 the emerald rainbow around the throne, the twenty-four elders, the living creatures, and the sea of glass like crystal. I encourage people to meditate on Rev. 4. That is the scene which we enter into when we talk to our Father who art in heaven. That is not the fullness of our conversation with God. We also talk to God, the Holy Spirit, who dwells in our spirit. That is where abiding in Christ really begins to take a whole new level of meaning. Paul used the phrase, to fellowship with the Holy Spirit. He used that phrase twice. We fellowship with the Spirit. We do not fellowship with the Holy Spirit in the atmosphere of a meeting. It means we speak to the Holy Spirit who is actually dwelling in our human spirit. We turn our attention inward. The Holy of holies is actually dwelling in your spirit. That Shekinah glory that Moses saw in that burning bush on the mountain. Beloved, that very God, the glory of God, dwells in your spirit. He is a real Person. He is as much God as the Father and the Son. One God in three Persons.

8 Session 9 Abiding in Christ: Cultivating Union with God (Jn. 15:1-6) Page 8 D. There are two broad categories of truth related to pray-reading the Word. 1. Scriptures that focus on promises to believe in God s Word are passages that declare truths such as God loves, forgives, leads, protects, and provides for us, etc. When I think about pray-reading the Word in other words, to read the Bible while having a conversation with Jesus I think of two broad categories of Bible passages. First, there are passages that are promises that we are supposed to believe. Promises that God loves you, God forgives you, God promises to lead you, provide for you. Those are promises to believe. 2. Scriptures that focus on exhortations to obey God s Word are passages that command us to walk in purity, bridle our speech, serve others, give time and money to God, etc. There is another category of Scripture. They are exhortations to obey. Walk in purity, bring your speech under the control of the Holy Spirit, use your time and money in the right way. Those are exhortations to obey. So in the broad sense, there are promises you must believe, and there are exhortations that you must obey. E. We dialogue with God as we read the Word by praying promises to believe. 1. First, we thank God for a particular truth. We turn these truths into simple declarations of thanksgiving or trust. Say: Thank You that You love me as the Father loves You and that You forgave me. Or declare: I trust that You will lead, provide, and protect me. 9 As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. (Jn. 15:9) When we talk to Jesus about promises we are to believe, we do two things. Number one, we thank Him for that promise. Number two, we ask Him to reveal it more to us. It s very simple. Beloved, these two things will change your life if you actually do it. For example, the passage right here in John 15. Jesus said one of the most astounding things imaginable. He said in essence, I love you the way the Father loves Me. What? I love you in the intensity the Father loves Me. What do you do with that truth? First, stop and actually talk to Him; thank Him for it. How many of you have actually paused for even ten seconds and said, Thank You that You love me the way the Father loves You. If you get in that dialogue, the Holy Spirit will start moving on your heart. I do not mean every time you say it. As a rule, do not just underline the good verse and tell your friend. Actually thank Him for it. 2. Second, we ask God to reveal or release more about a specific truth to us. For example, pray, Jesus, reveal to me how much You love and forgive me and the certainty of Your provision, or, Father, release Your promised guidance, provision, and protection, etc. Go to the next level. Ask Him to reveal more of it. Say, Thank You that You love me this way. Show me more. The Holy Spirit could be saying something like, I was just waiting for you to ask. The Holy Spirit will say more to you if you start the conversation. F. We dialogue with God as we read the Word by praying exhortations to obey.

9 Session 9 Abiding in Christ: Cultivating Union with God (Jn. 15:1-6) Page 9 1. First, we commit ourselves to obey God in the specific way set forth in a biblical passage. Make declarations of resolve to obey the Word as you read passages about obedience. Declare, I set my heart to abide in You, to obey You with my speech, time, money, etc. 9 As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. (Jn. 15:9) How do we do this with exhortations to obey? It is quite simple. Number one. We pause when we read an exhortation of something we are to obey. We commit ourselves to do it. We stop and say, Lord, I commit myself to do this. We actually say those kinds of words to Him. Then number two, we ask Him to help us, empower us. For an example, we will use the same passage, John 15:9, As the Father loved Me, I love you. Here is the exhortation. Now He tells us to do something. Abide in that love. Abide in it. Focus on it. Dwell on it. Cultivate this reality in your life. So number one, we stop, and we say, I commit myself to take time to abide in Your love. Whatever the exhortation is, take a moment and actually commit yourself to do it. That dialogue will change your approach to the Word, and the way your inner life is formed will radically change when you start talking to the Holy Spirit in simple ways like this. 2. Second, we ask God to empower us to obey a particular truth seen in Scripture. Ask God for help by giving you wisdom, motivation, and power to obey in specific areas. For example, pray, Father, help me to abide in You, to control my speech, to use my time and money in obedience, Lord, strengthen me to love You even as David did. Holy Spirit, help me to abide in Him. Show me how. Motivate me, give me strength to do this. He says, Good. I will. I was just waiting for you to ask Me. G. We will pray-read the Word much more if we schedule time for it. If we pray-read only when opportunity presents itself, then we will not do it nearly as much. This does not earn God s love but it positions us to receive more. One issue in our ability to follow through in our scheduled times to pray-read the Word is in setting aside some activities that take up our free time. This has been a really important point in my life for thirty-five years. I have said this for thirty-plus years. I heard somebody say it when I was about twenty or in my late teens. He said, If you will schedule time to read the Word, and I am adding the word to pray-read the Word, you will do it ten times more in the next year if you put it in your schedule. This guy said, I promise you that you will do it ten times more in the next year if you put it in your schedule. You will not keep it 100 percent of the time it is in your schedule, but when the year has come and gone, you will have prayed or read the Word ten times as much. I began to say this about thirty years ago. I get challenged all the time by people saying, That s just legalism. You are just earning the love of God. It is the same argument all the time for people who do not pray. I say, Why on earth do you want to feel good about not praying and living spiritually dull and spiritually barren? Why do you want to figure out rhetoric and reasons not to develop this in your life? You are not earning anything by scheduling it. You are putting a priority on building your relationship. If you do that with your spouse, they call it wisdom. If you put time into build a relationship with a friend, a spouse, or a child, or whatever, that is called wisdom. You are not earning anything; you are valuing the relationship. You are saying, I am going to put myself in position to build the relationship.

10 Session 9 Abiding in Christ: Cultivating Union with God (Jn. 15:1-6) Page 10 I want to tell you this. You will do it ten times more if you schedule it than if you just do it on the run. I have said that for thirty years. I have had many converts. Many who opposed. A year later they said, You know what, it really worked. It is really easy. Our lives are too busy. We are distracted. If we do not prioritize it in our schedule, we leave it to when it happens. The enemy and your friends will make sure it never happens. Your friends do not mean to, but they will be knocking on your door all the time. III. SEEING JESUS AS THE VINE AND THE FATHER AS THE VINEDRESSER (JN. 15:1) A. True vine: Jesus as the true vine is the model and source of what ideal humanity was originally meant to be when God created Adam. Jesus is the ideal Man He lived out what the Father had in His heart for humanity in Genesis 1. Jesus was saying, Look at Me to see how a person filled with the Spirit is meant to relate to the Father. (This is a primary truth emphasized in John 14). 1 I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser [gardener]. (Jn. 15:1) This is the core of abiding in Christ. It is really talking to Him, and then He abides in us. It is those three activities. In John 15:1 are two very significant truths. These are two foundational truths to abiding in Christ. Jesus gave them at the beginning of the discussion about abiding in Him. Again, the foundational truths of the abiding in Him reality are in John 14. But I like to get people focused on the end result first abiding and bearing fruit. Then we will go to John 14 and get some of the foundational truths behind this glorious truth of transforming union called abiding with Christ. Jesus makes two very significant statements. He says, I am the true vine, statement one. My Father is the vinedresser or the gardener, statement two. These are critical, foundational truths to abiding in Christ, which is the main activity of growing in God. You really want to get this. This is Jesus teaching us how to relate to Jesus. It does not get any better than Jesus teaching about relating to Jesus. He says, I am the true vine. When I read that phrase He makes a declaration, I am the true vine, I see two major ideas, two truths in that declaration of Jesus. He is saying two things. Number one, He is saying, I am the model. I am the true Man. You see, the vine in the Old Testament was the picture of God s people walking in faithful relationship with God. He is saying two things here when He says, I am the vine. He is saying, in essence, I am the true Man. I am the model. I am the ideal as to what God was originally after when He created the human race back in the Garden of Eden. Look at Me, and you will see how a Man anointed by the Spirit, filled with the Spirit, is supposed to relate to the Father. I am a picture of that. That is the major theme of John 14. Jesus is describing how a man filled with the Spirit, and I am using man in the generic sense of man or woman, how a person filled with the Spirit relates to God the Father in transforming union. He says, Look at the way I relate to the Father in My humanity. You will see how God wants you to relate to Him in your humanity. 1. Jesus is the vine the only source of life that satisfies our heart. The vine that satisfies our heart is not wealth, fame, physical pleasure, or entertainment. Some only see Jesus as savior or provider, but do not know Him as the vine to continually draw life from. Second, He is saying more than, I am the model. He is also saying, I am the source. I am the sap in the vine. I am the source of life. I am the source of leadership as well. I am the source of life and the source of leadership for your life. Jesus is the only vine that satisfies the human heart. We try fame, fortune, comfort, pleasure, entertainment, etc. Beloved, they are not the true vine that satisfies the human heart. They are not. We know they are not, but we still draw on them like they are the vine. They are not the vine. They will never satisfy the human heart. There is only one who is the source of life, of God s life.

11 Session 9 Abiding in Christ: Cultivating Union with God (Jn. 15:1-6) Page The vineyard metaphor speaks of the relationship of redeemed to the Lord (Ps. 80:9-16; Isa. 5:1-7; 27:2-13; Jer. 2:21; Mt. 20:1-16; 21:28-41; Mk. 12:1-9; Lk. 13:6-9; 20:9-16). Some believers only see Jesus as Savior who forgives. Or maybe they see Him as provider because they have had a few financial miracles in their life. Or He provided healing. They were healed a little time ago, had a few financial breakthroughs, they feel forgiven. They know Him as Savior, Provider, as Healer, but they do not know Him as the Vine. They know what it is to be forgiven and provided for, but they do not know what it means to have a deep interaction with Him from their spirit that actually changes their emotions over time and positions them to bear fruit that lasts forever. Fruit that God recognizes, even if no man recognizes it. B. Vinedresser: We must see the Father as a zealous gardener, who oversees the health and fruitfulness of His vineyard. He is zealous to take the initiative to train, provide, heal, protect, and direct every believer who responds to Him in order to bring them to greater fruitfulness. Jesus goes on to the next point. Jesus says, Not only am I the vine, My Father is the zealous vinedresser. He is the gardener. What He means by that is My Father zealously oversees the health and the growth of the garden or the vineyard. My Father is committed to every single branch, every believer, bearing fruit. He will be actively, zealously involved in your life. IV. THE NECESSITY OF PRUNING (JN. 15:2) A. All fruitful believers will be pruned by God to help them focus so that they may bear more fruit. A gardener cuts the smaller branches off a larger branch so that it will be flush with more life. The Father prunes us to bring our life into greater focus on our relationship with Jesus (transforming union) and to be more fruitful. Pruning is not the same as God s discipline, which addresses our sin. We often don t have the wisdom or resolve to remove good things that hinder our fruitfulness. 2 Every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. (Jn. 15:2) Jesus gives the most important implication in this context of the Father being the vinedresser. He is the zealous gardener. You could put it that way. He has a lot of energy and zeal to help the branches. Jesus makes a very emphatic statement. He says every branch every believer, because it says in verse 5 that the branch speaks of an individual believer. I want to prophesy over you. Every single one of you in this room that bears fruit, i.e. you are growing in godly character. That is one part of fruit. You are growing in love and humility on the inside, and you have an impact on people. Your words and your deeds impact people where they want to embrace love and humility by the Holy Spirit. You have moved them to respond to the Spirit. You do not do that with your winsome personality. It is not your great preaching, great singing, great everything. It is the moving of the Spirit through your words and deeds. It is bigger than your personality. Jesus said and I prophesy to everyone of you who bears fruit internally or externally; both of them is the idea Jesus said, I promise you My Father will prune you so you can bear more fruit. You will have greater love and humility. Your ability to impart it to others or to motivate others to embrace love and humility will actually increase. Beloved, this promise that the Father will prune us is a glorious promise. It is not a dreadful warning. Pruning is this: the gardener cuts off the smaller branch, twigs or little shoots. There is a larger branch. That larger branch has twigs or shoots on it, little branches. The gardener cuts those little ones off so that the main branch will be more flush with the life of the sap of the vine.

12 Session 9 Abiding in Christ: Cultivating Union with God (Jn. 15:1-6) Page 12 When Father prunes you and me, which He is committed to do, His point is to bring our life into greater focus to this transforming union. He will cut the little twigs and branches and shoots away from the main branch, which speaks of your life. Notice that these little shoots that are cut off, these little twigs, they are not bad. They are not sinful areas. Some people mix up pruning with divine discipline. This is not divine discipline. This is not the removing of sin. This is not discipline. Those little twigs and shoots were actually produced by the very life of the vine. These are good things in your life that were produced by the life of the vine in you, but that which was productive in one season is actually now a distraction to your focus of growing in transforming union. The Father says, I love you, and you do not have the wisdom or the resolve to remove those areas yourself. Because in the western culture, anything that has the life of the vine in it, using that analogy, is growing, and therefore it must be good. When I look back over thirty-five years of pastoring, many things that had the blessing of God on it in one season God removed from me in the next, and I did not want Him to. I had the assumption as a western believer that everything would just keep growing. The Lord says, No, that which grew in one season, the position you had today, the honor you had in the presence of men today, that will actually be a distraction to you tomorrow. I am going to cut it off. You will see there will be more fruit. There will be another season for more activity. Most of us do not have the wisdom or the resolve to cut off something that has been lively with a little bit of goodness, something that has been the fruit, the result of the sap of the vine. Jesus said, My Father is so committed to you that He is going to cut it off. He is going to remove good areas from your life that are getting in the way of that focus of transforming union. This is a glorious thing. This is not divine discipline. This is not confronting sin. This is removing areas that were a blessing at one time earlier on. B. Fruit: The Father s plan for us is to bear fruit that will remain forever fruit He rewards forever. Jesus spoke of more fruit (v. 2), much fruit (v. 5, 8), and fruit that remains (v. 16). 16 I chose you that you should bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain (Jn. 15:16) C. Outwardly, pruning looks like the decrease of God s blessing in our life; thus some completely misinterpret it, feeling discouraged instead of thanking God that they will be more fruitful in love. The Father prunes us because He loves us and works for our greatness and fullness (Mt. 5:19). His commitment to prune our life is a glorious promise not a dreadful warning. 1. Pruning may result in a loss of money, ministry, influence, popularity, position, or power, etc. Pruning removes branches or some previous growth that was caused by the sap or the life in the vine. It is not about removing sin but distraction that hinders our ability to love. 2. In our Western mindset, we often see bigger as always better to have more money, influence, honor, friends, comfort, etc. However, sometimes bigger diminishes our ability to connect with Lord and bear the fruit of love, humility and purity. Sometimes more of a good thing causes distraction that hinders our life of abiding in Christ. Seasons of pruning involve decrease. You do not have the same position. You do not have the same honor. You do not have the same increase in that area of ministry, whether it is in discipling, counseling, this, that, or the other. That does not mean that, if you are going through a hard time, you just quit what you are doing. There is a place of perseverance. I promise you, if you are fruitful, you will be pruned. I promise you that. I prophesy it to you. Because God loves you more than you love you. He knows that if you are more fruitful on His terms, not on the terms of man, but on His terms, in the age to come where you will live for billions and billions and billions of years, you will be so happy He pruned you. You will say, I would have never turned those three

13 Session 9 Abiding in Christ: Cultivating Union with God (Jn. 15:1-6) Page 13 things away that were in my life because they were a result of Your former blessing, but look at me now. Here you are in the resurrection, My life is so much more fruitful because You removed it. I cried, I complained, I went behind people s backs, I criticized, I fought, I pouted. The Lord says, Yes, but I am a zealous vinedresser. I am a gardener. I love you. I wanted you to bear fruit. I took that away from you because it will make you more focused. It will not make you necessarily more popular or make you more this, that, or the other, but you will be focused on the transforming union, the abiding relationship. Beloved, this is critical to understand this. D. This two-fold abiding relationship that includes cultivating an ongoing conversation with Jesus without this relationship, we cannot bear true spiritual fruit that remains forever. It is pride to think that we have the strength to live right spiritually, to relate to people in God s love, and to do the work of ministry that bears fruit that remains forever without connecting with Jesus. 5 He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. (Jn. 15:5) Abiding includes cultivating this ongoing conversation. Again, Jesus said in verse 5, Abide in Me, I in you. Without Me you can do nothing. Nothing. It is pride to think I mean we all have this pride. I am just exposing it as an act of kindness. I am not saying this as a rebuke It is pride for us to think that we have the strength in our own thinking and our own resolve to live rightly, spiritually speaking. I love Jesus, I am going for God. I am going for fullness. Jesus says, You quit talking to Me regularly, that motivation will go away. Oh no, I am in for the long haul. Jesus says, No, your pride is in the way. You do not talk to Me, and if you do not talk to Me, you will not bear that fruit continually. I do not care how radical you are at age twenty-two, thirty-two, fifty-two, or eighty-two. In a few years you will not be if you do not keep talking to Him. It is the very radicalness and the very fruit bearing that actually gets in the way and stops the future conversation with the Lord because we are too busy to talk to Him. We have so much growth on our branch. I am so committed to You and winning everybody. The Lord says, I want you to talk to Me. Do not get so busy working for Me that you forget it is about us having relationship and My life flowing through you. No matter how winsome you are, how gifted you are, how smart you are, how gifted your music is, you cannot inspire someone by your winsomeness, your charm and your gifting. They can dance, they can shout, they can buy your CD, they can go to your meetings, but you will not move them in their hearts to respond to the Spirit in the secret place of their lives. Beloved, that is what I am after. I am not after crowds. I do not care if we get crowds. I am after moving people to respond in their heart to the Holy Spirit. I cannot do that by clever statements. I cannot do that by just turning the volume up or turning the volume down, or putting music before or music after. The Spirit either does it or He does not. He says, If you will talk to Me, I will do more of that with you. I have had people tell me, Your Onething Conference at the end of the year you have 25,000 people registering for it. My, the impact you are having. I say, How do you know I am having an impact?