John 15:5 (NIV) I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

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3 John 15:5 (NIV) 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

4 We need to let His life fill ours.

5 John 4:34 (NIV) 34 My food, said Jesus, is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.

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7 Are you desperate for life? ABUNDANT LIFE

8 Self-doubting Self-determination Self-imposed

9 SURRENDER

10 John Eldredge the secret of Christianity is something else altogether the life of Christ in you.

11 Romans 8:29-30 (MSG) God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.

12 Pray this: Lord Jesus, I give my life to you today, to live your life through me.

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14 Matthew 16:25 (NIV) 25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.

15 Matthew 16:24-26 (MSG) Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You re not in the driver s seat; I am. Don t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?

16 Jesus has no intention of letting you become whole apart from His moment-to-moment presence and life within you John Eldredge Beautiful Outlaw

17 Colossians 1:26-27 (NIV) 26 the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord s people. 27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is: Christ in you, the hope of glory.

18 Our only task is to maintain a vital connection with Jesus Christ, seeing that nothing interferes with it. Oswald Chambers

19 John 15:5 (NIV) 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

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21 References / Credits 1. Beautiful Outlaw John Eldredge 2.

22 Free Chapel Alberton, AGF Ministry February 3, 2013 Is Jesus an INTRUSION in your life? Scripture Reading: SLIDE John 15:5 (NIV) 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. Jesus said! APART FROM ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING! Today we need to understand what He means by this statement. Let me start by saying what I think He means. SLIDE We need to let His life fill ours. How else can we operate effectively in doing the will of the Father? Jesus himself said, and I quote from the Word. And this is a wonderful descriptive scripture! Is Jesus an INTRUSION in your life? Page 1

23 Free Chapel Alberton, AGF Ministry February 3, 2013 SLIDE John 4:34 (NIV) 34 My food, said Jesus, is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Not only to do His Fathers will but to finish His work. And He says it is His FOOD It s what keeps Him going, it s what sustains him. SLIDE Think of electricity no cable to your home nothing works! Think of fuel (petrol) if your car runs out of fuel you re not going anywhere. Better still, think of oxygen. It is around us, it surrounds us, we walk through it but if it remains outside of us rather than inside of us we will die. Like oxygen gives us life we need Jesus DAILY to give us life. Let me ask a question? NOW ANSWER YOURSELF HONESTLY! Is Jesus an INTRUSION in your life? Page 2

24 Are you desperate for life? Free Chapel Alberton, AGF Ministry February 3, 2013 Not just living BUT abundant, goal directed life? Want it? Then get more of Jesus for apart from him you can do nothing So what is the problem Pastor Des? There are 2 basic reactions to this question. 1. I can t possibly live like Him. He was amazing; I mean were talking about Jesus here. These are those who doubt. SLIDE Let s call them the self-doubting people. But notice what Jesus said. John 20:21 (NIV) 21 Again Jesus said, Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. In other words don t just sit and play Xbox while the world around us is destroying itself! 2. I want to try and live like Him but! Impossible! SLIDE Trying means you are caught up in self-determination. Is Jesus an INTRUSION in your life? Page 3

25 Free Chapel Alberton, AGF Ministry February 3, 2013 These are those who are involved in everything the church has to offer. And the harder they try the worse they feel because they are not making it to a level that is self-imposed. They say! I thought that my relationship was based on my faithfulness, my willingness to sacrifice, to fight the good fight. Of course I am involved, of course the choices I make matter. But didn t Jesus warn Apart from me you can do nothing This is good news you no longer have to imitate His actions. You have to let His life fill yours. STOP striving to be righteous, to be holy. You cannot do these only Jesus can and He has. So let Him work in you and through you. He finished the work, we don t have to. SLIDE What we have to do is SURRENDER. Is Jesus an INTRUSION in your life? Page 4

26 Free Chapel Alberton, AGF Ministry February 3, 2013 SLIDE John Eldredge the secret of Christianity is something else altogether the life of Christ in you. This is - allowing His life to become your life. Jesus did not ask us to go through a process of selftransformation but His transformation of us, from the inside out, as we receive His life we must allow Him to live through us. The branch does not live apart from the vine. It does not even try. It knows that in order to produce fruit it HAS to be part of the vine. Anything else is madness and will only frustrate you. Listen to this? Romans 8:29-30 (MSG) God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after Is Jesus an INTRUSION in your life? Page 5

27 Free Chapel Alberton, AGF Ministry February 3, 2013 getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun. Jesus is not merely our model. If He was it would be an awfully difficult act to follow. And as we SELF-DETERMINE that we want to be like Him we begin a SELF-DESTRUCT process because it is impossible. So HOW do I do this Pastor? Allow His life to fill yours! This is a process of every day giving Him your life. Pray this Lord Jesus, I give my life to you today, to live your life through me. NOW! The big question. If you pray this then it is assumed that you are willing to SURRENDER your self-determination and self-doubt. You can t live apart from the vine. You can t leave the vine when you want to do your own thing and then return when you need Him. A branch apart from the vine will ROT. SLIDE Is Jesus an INTRUSION in your life? Page 6

28 Makes sense? Yes! Free Chapel Alberton, AGF Ministry February 3, 2013 You see if you are doing this then Jesus is an intrusion in your life. And your life is going through a process of rotting. And I can say that without a doubt that Jesus will not intrude in your plans He would rather live through you once you surrender to Him. So let me ask you about your self-determination, your plans, and your way. How is this going? If you are not drawing your life from Jesus, it means you are drawing it from some other source. I ll guarantee it s not working. Jesus commented on this when He said: SLIDE Matthew 16:25 (NIV) 25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. In the Message it is more descriptive: Is Jesus an INTRUSION in your life? Page 7

29 Free Chapel Alberton, AGF Ministry February 3, 2013 SLIDE Matthew 16:24-26 (MSG) Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You re not in the driver s seat; I am. Don t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for? You want to experience the abundant life Jesus offers then SURRENDER your self-determination. This is going to rescue you from striving and self-resolve. You don t have to do it yourself Jesus will do it for you. All you have to do is SURRENDER. Turn to Jesus and allow Him to transform you and you will find the fruit of this profound. Let me ask you another question? The bible says in: Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV) Is Jesus an INTRUSION in your life? Page 8

30 Free Chapel Alberton, AGF Ministry February 3, 2013 Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV) 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Did you really think that you could display any of this fruit without the help of Jesus? It simply is not going to happen without the life of Jesus in you. SLIDE Jesus has no intention of letting you become whole apart from His moment-to-moment presence and life within you John Eldredge Beautiful Outlaw Nothing you do APART from the vine will allow you to overcome sin or brokenness. In his letter to the Colossians Paul says: SLIDE Colossians 1:26-27 (NIV) 26 the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord s people. Is Jesus an INTRUSION in your life? Page 9

31 Free Chapel Alberton, AGF Ministry February 3, To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. If you have forgiveness in Christ praise the Lord BUT! You need to understand that you are now a branch on the vine. SLIDE And as Oswald Chambers said Our only task is to maintain a vital connection with Jesus Christ, seeing that nothing interferes with it. How do we do this? By loving Jesus, by obeying Jesus and every day SURRENDERING to Him. Jesus modeled the SURRENDERED Life; a life lived in union with the Father. NOW! We must give our lives over to Him in order to receive His life. Not just once, but as a regular practice. Is Jesus an INTRUSION in your life? Page 10

32 Free Chapel Alberton, AGF Ministry February 3, 2013 Conclusion The bottom line test of anything claiming to be of Jesus is: Does it bring LIFE? If not, drop it because it is Religious Fog and is apart from the vine. SLIDE John 15:5 (NIV) 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. Amen Source: Adapted from Beautiful Outlaw John Eldredge Is Jesus an INTRUSION in your life? Page 11