WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.480 God is so good to us. We are looking at first 00:00:03.480 --> 00:00:07.540 John chapter 2 Just five verses and hopefully 00:00:07.540 --> 00:00:11.660 we can get through these finishing them up Has 00:00:11.660 --> 00:00:15.939 to do with the hope that we have in Christ Let's 00:00:15.939 --> 00:00:18.160 have a word of prayer ask God for us in all this 00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:27.559 time Well, you know our hearts our needs The 00:00:27.559 --> 00:00:34.280 things that Lay us aside of following you the 00:00:34.280 --> 00:00:40.320 things that distract our attention That causes 00:00:40.320 --> 00:00:44.380 to to sin or that leads us into an environment 00:00:44.380 --> 00:00:49.939 which we choose to sin I Pray that we look at 00:00:49.939 --> 00:00:53.020 these verses. They are really powerful that you 00:00:53.020 --> 00:00:55.960 will in spite of the limitations of the speaker 00:00:55.960 --> 00:01:01.810 which are great That you would Your spirit would 00:01:01.810 --> 00:01:05.209 work in our hearts and in the word that you would 00:01:05.209 --> 00:01:10.829 make it alive In our lives that would glorify 00:01:10.829 --> 00:01:15.069 our blessed Savior and change us into the likeness 00:01:15.069 --> 00:01:21.530 of him Thank you so much for the privilege that 00:01:21.530 --> 00:01:25.670 we have and the freedom To meet together in the 00:01:25.670 --> 00:01:30.299 Lord's name this morning I pray this in Jesus' 00:01:30.560 --> 00:01:35.480 name with thanksgiving. Amen. When we're looking 00:01:35.480 --> 00:01:40.579 at the subject of hope, hope that cleanses, that's 00:01:40.579 --> 00:01:44.180 taken from the very last verse of that five verse 00:01:44.180 --> 00:01:50.340 section where it says that everyone who has fixed 00:01:50.340 --> 00:01:52.879 his hope on him, that is on Christ, purifies 00:01:52.879 --> 00:01:56.640 himself just as he is pure. This hope that we're 00:01:56.640 --> 00:02:01.519 talking about is not to be equated with a wish 00:02:01.519 --> 00:02:06.439 doesn't say that it's when it uses hope that 00:02:06.439 --> 00:02:10.439 we're wishing for something the idea of this 00:02:10.439 --> 00:02:15.080 hope is a recognition of the promises and the 00:02:15.080 --> 00:02:18.960 provisions of Christ that will happen and we 00:02:18.960 --> 00:02:22.419 are just anxious to see them fulfilled we're 00:02:22.419 --> 00:02:26.680 anxious to see them take root in our lives and 00:02:26.990 --> 00:02:30.409 and do great things for our Savior's, in our 00:02:30.409 --> 00:02:34.110 Savior's name. And so as we start on this text 00:02:34.110 --> 00:02:36.650 here, we've already been looking at it, but we've 00:02:36.650 --> 00:02:38.810 been looking at the various aspects of hope, 00:02:38.830 --> 00:02:40.990 but I want to focus on the text and get this 00:02:40.990 --> 00:02:46.289 done. Beginning in 1 John chapter 2 and verse 00:02:46.289 --> 00:02:51.110 28, you can follow along with me. John writes, 00:02:51.289 --> 00:02:56.060 and now little children, abide in Him. so that 00:02:56.060 --> 00:03:00.099 when he is manifested we may have confidence 00:03:00.099 --> 00:03:04.039 and not shrink away from him in shame at his 00:03:04.039 --> 00:03:11.500 coming. That first verse talking about that hope 00:03:11.500 --> 00:03:17.960 is the issue that kind of safeguards safeguards 00:03:17.960 --> 00:03:23.419 our life by abiding. Notice at the beginning 00:03:23.419 --> 00:03:28.580 of the verse He words it little children, but 00:03:28.580 --> 00:03:31.340 it's really not talking about just little children 00:03:31.340 --> 00:03:35.219 sitting down. It's been used as a kind of a loving 00:03:35.219 --> 00:03:38.120 term. It's like, I was thinking this morning 00:03:38.120 --> 00:03:42.460 as I was going over, it's like a great grandfather 00:03:42.460 --> 00:03:45.800 or a patriarch sitting at the head of the Thanksgiving 00:03:45.800 --> 00:03:49.740 table with his wife and his children and grandchildren 00:03:49.740 --> 00:03:52.800 gathered around. And he raised, lifts his hand 00:03:52.800 --> 00:03:55.659 and says, these are my children. They're not 00:03:55.659 --> 00:03:58.659 all babies. There are a lot of them adults But 00:03:58.659 --> 00:04:01.039 when he uses that phrase little children, he's 00:04:01.039 --> 00:04:04.960 talking about believers in general We could translate 00:04:04.960 --> 00:04:08.560 that and the fact I use that phrase mostly beloved 00:04:08.560 --> 00:04:14.539 and now beloved Bide in him Want to talk to you 00:04:14.539 --> 00:04:18.399 about this idea of abiding it it carries with 00:04:18.399 --> 00:04:26.389 it staying and remaining in Him without yielding, 00:04:27.610 --> 00:04:31.850 without being sidetracked. It's a good word. 00:04:32.970 --> 00:04:37.550 It reminds us that the relationship that we have 00:04:37.550 --> 00:04:40.189 with our Lord and with our Savior is not something 00:04:40.189 --> 00:04:43.129 that should be passing, but it's something that's 00:04:43.129 --> 00:04:48.029 pretty steadfast. That it should endure, it should 00:04:48.029 --> 00:04:53.209 dominate our consciousness and our life. And 00:04:53.209 --> 00:04:55.550 to be honest with you, I struggle with that. 00:04:56.509 --> 00:04:58.670 It is easy, and I've talked about this, it is 00:04:58.670 --> 00:05:07.550 easy for me to seek comfort. My studies last 00:05:07.550 --> 00:05:10.810 night, I confess to you, I was very tempted to 00:05:10.810 --> 00:05:14.449 turn over to the Alabama football game. And that 00:05:14.449 --> 00:05:17.589 is not a good illustration, but I do enjoy the 00:05:17.589 --> 00:05:21.970 game. And the temptation is... to sit down and 00:05:21.970 --> 00:05:25.910 watch that, which I didn't. I put the sound down, 00:05:25.910 --> 00:05:27.769 it was in another part of the house, and so I 00:05:27.769 --> 00:05:30.449 couldn't see it. I didn't watch it. With one 00:05:30.449 --> 00:05:32.550 or two exceptions, when I had to get something 00:05:32.550 --> 00:05:34.509 to drink or whatever, I would go out there to 00:05:34.509 --> 00:05:38.509 see what the score was. But there are distractions, 00:05:38.730 --> 00:05:40.550 at least there are for me, and I'm sure there 00:05:40.550 --> 00:05:45.019 are for you, and things that crowd... Into our 00:05:45.019 --> 00:05:47.779 heart and our conscience and seek to push the 00:05:47.779 --> 00:05:50.459 Lord aside and this verse is saying here now 00:05:50.459 --> 00:05:55.639 beloved Abiding him stay in him walk close to 00:05:55.639 --> 00:05:58.040 him you have your bibles turn over to the gospel 00:05:58.040 --> 00:06:01.100 of John for a moment and Just let's look at that 00:06:01.100 --> 00:06:04.620 idea of a binding because John talks about that 00:06:04.620 --> 00:06:09.879 in the text of scripture Where he you know the 00:06:09.879 --> 00:06:12.220 verse when he says I am divine the true vine 00:06:12.699 --> 00:06:15.600 In that text of Scripture, which we will read, 00:06:16.259 --> 00:06:20.540 it focuses on the idea of abiding, of hanging 00:06:20.540 --> 00:06:23.860 in there with the Lord. And that's really important. 00:06:24.220 --> 00:06:28.579 And what Jesus is doing here is he's painting 00:06:28.579 --> 00:06:35.180 an agricultural, in agricultural terms, a picture, 00:06:35.399 --> 00:06:39.500 they illustrate the importance of us abiding 00:06:39.500 --> 00:06:42.319 in Christ and in the Lord. It's very important 00:06:42.680 --> 00:06:45.839 but we can see it more clearly when we see the 00:06:45.839 --> 00:06:48.579 illustration that the Lord gives. He says in 00:06:48.579 --> 00:06:52.500 verse 1, I am the true vine and my father is 00:06:52.500 --> 00:06:55.639 the vine dresser. Now that starts out in kind 00:06:55.639 --> 00:07:01.540 of a picture. I used to grow, I used to have 00:07:01.540 --> 00:07:03.680 a garden a long time ago when I had time to do 00:07:03.680 --> 00:07:06.980 it and one of the things I really enjoyed growing 00:07:06.980 --> 00:07:10.100 were tomatoes. I like tomatoes and fresh fresh 00:07:10.100 --> 00:07:13.779 tomatoes and stuff like that. And so the picture 00:07:13.779 --> 00:07:18.279 is you have this vine coming up out of the ground. 00:07:18.420 --> 00:07:21.500 The fact that he uses true vine I think is a 00:07:21.500 --> 00:07:24.040 picture that there are many people who claim 00:07:24.040 --> 00:07:30.100 to be substitute vines, substitute saviors or 00:07:30.100 --> 00:07:33.480 whatever that are not. But he is a true vine 00:07:33.480 --> 00:07:36.740 picture in the garden and the father is the vine 00:07:36.740 --> 00:07:39.660 dresser or the gardener that comes by and tends 00:07:39.660 --> 00:07:42.410 the garden and makes sure that things are doing 00:07:42.410 --> 00:07:46.050 well. I can remember doing that many times. Believe 00:07:46.050 --> 00:07:49.009 it or not, one of the best times to look at the 00:07:49.009 --> 00:07:51.629 garden and see how it's flourishing is at night 00:07:51.629 --> 00:07:56.290 when it's dark. The plants that are alive and 00:07:56.290 --> 00:08:00.290 they are showing good health if it's a healthy 00:08:00.290 --> 00:08:03.629 garden. So anyway, he says that. He says then 00:08:03.629 --> 00:08:07.490 that every branch in me that does not bear fruit, 00:08:07.529 --> 00:08:10.569 he takes away. This is the gardener. and the 00:08:10.569 --> 00:08:12.730 gardener is attending those vines, those tomato 00:08:12.730 --> 00:08:17.689 bushes, and he says the goal of the gardener 00:08:17.689 --> 00:08:21.769 is for that vine to produce fruit. Now bear in 00:08:21.769 --> 00:08:24.370 mind he's making a picture about Christian living. 00:08:25.110 --> 00:08:27.689 And so what he's saying here is just as it is 00:08:27.689 --> 00:08:30.350 the gardener's intention and purpose and pursuit 00:08:30.350 --> 00:08:34.629 for those plants to produce fruit, so it is the 00:08:34.629 --> 00:08:38.559 Father's intention for us. to be fruitful, to 00:08:38.559 --> 00:08:42.360 us to have fruit as well. And so in this picture, 00:08:42.840 --> 00:08:47.039 I'm the true vine. My father is the vine grower 00:08:47.039 --> 00:08:50.279 or the gardener. Every branch in me that does 00:08:50.279 --> 00:08:55.179 not bear fruit, he prunes, he cuts it away, and 00:08:55.179 --> 00:08:59.299 every branch that bears fruit, he cleans it or 00:08:59.299 --> 00:09:01.740 prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. So 00:09:01.740 --> 00:09:04.879 you've got the gardener cutting off the the vine, 00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:08.039 the branches that are not fruitful. And if you 00:09:08.039 --> 00:09:10.100 have the blight, you know what it's like to see 00:09:10.100 --> 00:09:12.580 these branches kind of withered, stuff like that. 00:09:13.500 --> 00:09:15.899 And so it's the gardener's intention to make 00:09:15.899 --> 00:09:19.279 them fruitful and to work with the branches that 00:09:19.279 --> 00:09:23.419 are growing in the vine and starting to produce 00:09:23.419 --> 00:09:26.419 fruit. But the ones that are not growing, he 00:09:26.419 --> 00:09:28.799 takes away and puts them in a pile and burns 00:09:28.799 --> 00:09:32.059 them. And just bear in mind again that this is 00:09:32.059 --> 00:09:35.070 supposed to be a picture of us. the church and 00:09:35.070 --> 00:09:38.429 the people that not everybody that's in the church 00:09:38.429 --> 00:09:41.669 is fruitful not everybody is part of the body 00:09:41.669 --> 00:09:44.850 that there There's one thing to be religious 00:09:44.850 --> 00:09:48.049 It's an entirely different thing for the Lord 00:09:48.049 --> 00:09:51.929 to own your life be Dominating your heart. It's 00:09:51.929 --> 00:09:55.169 completely different the difference between fruit 00:09:55.169 --> 00:09:59.350 and non fruit between life and death And so he 00:09:59.350 --> 00:10:02.629 says that the father takes it away and prunes 00:10:02.629 --> 00:10:04.769 the ones that are not bearing fruit, so they 00:10:04.769 --> 00:10:07.750 will bear fruit. And you can do that with tomato 00:10:07.750 --> 00:10:12.429 plants by cutting off these suckers that take 00:10:12.429 --> 00:10:15.350 the nourishment away from the good vine. And 00:10:15.350 --> 00:10:18.309 so that's part of that vine dressing. Then he 00:10:18.309 --> 00:10:21.830 goes on to say, you are already pruned because 00:10:21.830 --> 00:10:24.169 of the word which I've spoken to you. Again, 00:10:24.389 --> 00:10:27.950 that picture of the fruit is applied to Christian 00:10:27.950 --> 00:10:31.269 life. And what he's saying there is that the 00:10:31.269 --> 00:10:34.909 Word, and particularly the words of Christ, carry 00:10:34.909 --> 00:10:39.450 with them the ability to cut off the extraneous, 00:10:40.129 --> 00:10:43.889 the extra stuff, the frivolous stuff in your 00:10:43.889 --> 00:10:48.409 life. You mentioned this morning, Pete, that 00:10:48.409 --> 00:10:51.950 people can look at the Word and not always get 00:10:51.950 --> 00:10:54.710 the message, not always apply it to their lives, 00:10:54.710 --> 00:10:58.000 and I think... All of us are guilty of that. 00:10:58.019 --> 00:11:01.200 I know I am. And I can reinterpret a passage, 00:11:01.259 --> 00:11:05.139 not for what it says, but for what I want it 00:11:05.139 --> 00:11:10.120 to say. That was R .C. Sproul's strong message 00:11:10.120 --> 00:11:12.720 when he was talking about election. He said that 00:11:12.720 --> 00:11:15.139 a lot of us don't want election. We don't like 00:11:15.139 --> 00:11:17.519 to talk about it. And we want to reinterpret 00:11:17.519 --> 00:11:21.200 the Bible on terms. But he says, you're required 00:11:21.200 --> 00:11:25.090 to teach what the Bible says. not what you want 00:11:25.090 --> 00:11:26.809 it to say. And that's the same with us. We can 00:11:26.809 --> 00:11:30.350 do that. We want to reinterpret it sometimes 00:11:30.350 --> 00:11:33.789 so that we feel comfortable. So here talking 00:11:33.789 --> 00:11:36.669 about abiding, he's now beginning to... He's 00:11:36.669 --> 00:11:39.690 painted a picture of the plant and the suckers 00:11:39.690 --> 00:11:45.330 being the wasted vine being thrown away and the 00:11:45.330 --> 00:11:47.590 good ones that are needing to bear fruit. He 00:11:47.590 --> 00:11:51.330 prunes them so they will bear more fruit. And 00:11:51.330 --> 00:11:54.980 he says something very interesting. is so simple 00:11:54.980 --> 00:11:59.919 and yet we miss it sometimes he says as the branch 00:11:59.919 --> 00:12:04.340 cannot bear fruit from itself unless it abides 00:12:04.340 --> 00:12:08.059 in the vine so neither can you unless you abide 00:12:08.059 --> 00:12:14.639 in me if you go in the garden and you see tomato 00:12:14.639 --> 00:12:18.440 bushes and you see a few of them with the limbs 00:12:18.440 --> 00:12:20.679 that are broken they're withered they're hanging 00:12:20.679 --> 00:12:23.769 down they're not going to produce anything. And 00:12:23.769 --> 00:12:25.570 the reason they're not going to produce anything 00:12:25.570 --> 00:12:28.669 is because the path of nourishment, the path 00:12:28.669 --> 00:12:31.870 of instruction, the path of life that goes from 00:12:31.870 --> 00:12:34.350 the life -giving vine to the branches has been 00:12:34.350 --> 00:12:36.669 severed. They've been broken. They've been cut 00:12:36.669 --> 00:12:40.190 off. So you've got this bush, this tree that 00:12:40.190 --> 00:12:42.870 you want the fruit on it, but you've got in there 00:12:42.870 --> 00:12:45.860 a few branches. that are broken off and they're 00:12:45.860 --> 00:12:47.960 just withered and they're not going to do anything. 00:12:48.139 --> 00:12:49.700 And the reason they're not going to do anything 00:12:49.700 --> 00:12:52.220 is because they can't get the nourishment, they 00:12:52.220 --> 00:12:55.299 can't get the strength, they can't get the direction 00:12:55.299 --> 00:12:57.700 that they need because they've been broken off. 00:12:58.080 --> 00:13:00.899 That's the same illustration here talking about 00:13:00.899 --> 00:13:04.399 this branch of this vine. He says, as the branch 00:13:04.399 --> 00:13:07.860 cannot bear fruit itself unless it abides in 00:13:07.860 --> 00:13:12.029 the vine, so neither can you. Unless you abide 00:13:12.029 --> 00:13:13.909 in me. Now, what's the topic we're looking at? 00:13:14.149 --> 00:13:16.470 We're looking at the topic of abiding. What is 00:13:16.470 --> 00:13:19.730 he saying here? He says that if you want to be 00:13:19.730 --> 00:13:22.789 fruitful, you need to abide in me. That's the 00:13:22.789 --> 00:13:25.809 key of what he's trying to tell us here. He goes 00:13:25.809 --> 00:13:29.889 on to say, I am the vine and you are the branches. 00:13:30.409 --> 00:13:32.970 So now the picture is we're looking at this vine, 00:13:33.190 --> 00:13:36.230 this bush. Christ said, I am that bush. I am 00:13:36.230 --> 00:13:40.799 the vine and you are the branches. He who abides 00:13:40.799 --> 00:13:44.620 in me and I in him bears much fruit. What do 00:13:44.620 --> 00:13:50.440 you mean? Abide in me and I in him. Well, I think 00:13:50.440 --> 00:13:54.580 it's a picture of the communication and the sustenance 00:13:54.580 --> 00:13:56.740 that goes back between the vine and the branch. 00:13:57.159 --> 00:13:59.840 I abide in you and you abide in me. So you've 00:13:59.840 --> 00:14:02.320 got that communication, you've got that nourishment, 00:14:02.399 --> 00:14:04.919 you've got that life that goes from the vine 00:14:04.919 --> 00:14:07.419 to the branches and the communication of the 00:14:07.419 --> 00:14:12.379 branch back to the life. back to the uh the vine 00:14:12.379 --> 00:14:15.159 telling it what it needs and so there it is there's 00:14:15.159 --> 00:14:19.960 the picture he says um he who he bears unless 00:14:19.960 --> 00:14:25.100 he abides in me and i in him he bears let me 00:14:25.100 --> 00:14:27.139 back up i'm skipping over it says i'm the vine 00:14:27.139 --> 00:14:29.659 and you are the branches he who abides in me 00:14:29.659 --> 00:14:33.620 and i in him he bears much fruit apart from me 00:14:33.620 --> 00:14:36.740 or cut off from me you can do nothing If anyone 00:14:36.740 --> 00:14:40.279 does not abide in me, here it is. He's thrown 00:14:40.279 --> 00:14:43.019 away as a branch and dries up and they gather 00:14:43.019 --> 00:14:45.179 them and cast them into the fire and they are 00:14:45.179 --> 00:14:48.480 burned. There's branches that are there using 00:14:48.480 --> 00:14:51.299 energy or stuff like that and they are taking 00:14:51.299 --> 00:14:53.639 away the sustenance from the good branches. He 00:14:53.639 --> 00:14:55.919 says they cut them off, put on a pile and get 00:14:55.919 --> 00:14:59.240 rid of them. Again, it's a picture of the church. 00:14:59.399 --> 00:15:02.980 It's a picture of believers and the fact is that 00:15:02.980 --> 00:15:07.330 God says I'm going to take those away. that are 00:15:07.330 --> 00:15:13.730 not abiding in me and not dwelling in me. That's 00:15:13.730 --> 00:15:17.070 a serious thing. It's placed here in the pages 00:15:17.070 --> 00:15:19.649 of Scripture and I try to read the Scripture 00:15:19.649 --> 00:15:23.289 every morning, but this is a serious warning 00:15:23.289 --> 00:15:28.350 to me and to you. The warning is that we want 00:15:28.350 --> 00:15:30.629 to make sure that we're abiding in Christ because 00:15:30.629 --> 00:15:33.129 we're not going to be fruitful and eventually 00:15:33.129 --> 00:15:35.840 he's going to cut... those away that are not 00:15:35.840 --> 00:15:38.000 fruitful that are a waste of space and a waste 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:41.500 of energy so he said they are thrown away and 00:15:41.500 --> 00:15:44.279 they dry up they're gathered and put into the 00:15:44.279 --> 00:15:49.960 fire but if you abide in me and my words abide 00:15:49.960 --> 00:15:54.360 in you that idea there means to stay in to be 00:15:54.360 --> 00:15:57.679 to be fruitful over the long haul and that's 00:15:57.679 --> 00:16:00.340 the idea of abiding not to quit not to turn away 00:16:00.340 --> 00:16:04.460 if my words abide in you you You can ask whatever 00:16:04.460 --> 00:16:06.580 you wish and it will be done for you. That's 00:16:06.580 --> 00:16:12.460 the communication that comes through the branch 00:16:12.460 --> 00:16:15.340 to the vine. The communication that goes back 00:16:15.340 --> 00:16:18.820 and forth. My words abide in you. You can communicate 00:16:18.820 --> 00:16:23.559 with me and ask back and I will hear your prayer 00:16:23.559 --> 00:16:25.659 and I will answer you. This is a relationship 00:16:25.659 --> 00:16:28.299 and it's a very tender relationship. and it's 00:16:28.299 --> 00:16:31.039 a very good relationship pictured in the vine 00:16:31.039 --> 00:16:33.539 and the branches but it's actually a picture 00:16:33.539 --> 00:16:35.500 of the vine and the branches that's describing 00:16:35.500 --> 00:16:39.240 us and our abiding with Christ and that's a powerful 00:16:39.240 --> 00:16:43.779 lesson that's a powerful thing because as I've 00:16:43.779 --> 00:16:47.179 already said we can easily be sidetracked and 00:16:47.179 --> 00:16:50.919 be guilty of a lot of other things and get distracted 00:16:50.919 --> 00:16:56.679 and football is nothing It's absolutely, in the 00:16:56.679 --> 00:16:59.179 picture of eternity, it's not going to matter. 00:16:59.679 --> 00:17:02.700 The man that was most influential in my life 00:17:02.700 --> 00:17:06.019 with Alabama is in heaven right now and I will 00:17:06.019 --> 00:17:08.180 bet you anything he's never thought about football 00:17:08.180 --> 00:17:11.839 since the day he fell at the Savior's feet because 00:17:11.839 --> 00:17:13.660 that's so unimportant. Do you see what I'm saying? 00:17:14.039 --> 00:17:17.039 But we can, and I can do that, can focus on little 00:17:17.039 --> 00:17:21.279 unimportant things instead of the real important 00:17:21.279 --> 00:17:24.200 things of abiding in Christ. So he says here, 00:17:24.960 --> 00:17:26.819 if you abide in me, and my words abide in you, 00:17:26.960 --> 00:17:30.099 verse 7, you can ask what you will and be done 00:17:30.099 --> 00:17:33.180 for you. My Father is glorified in this, He's 00:17:33.180 --> 00:17:38.099 exalted in this, that you bear much fruit and 00:17:38.099 --> 00:17:42.799 so prove to be my disciples. Here it is. He says, 00:17:42.980 --> 00:17:46.160 it's a desire that you be fruitful, that you 00:17:46.160 --> 00:17:49.029 bear fruit. In the process of bearing fruit, 00:17:49.210 --> 00:17:51.809 you are proving to be my disciples. The whole 00:17:51.809 --> 00:17:54.990 purpose of planting a tomato bush is not to provide 00:17:54.990 --> 00:17:57.609 shade for some bugs on the ground. The whole 00:17:57.609 --> 00:18:00.670 purpose of planting a tomato bush in the garden, 00:18:00.829 --> 00:18:07.210 and yes, we enjoy it. I enjoy gardening. I don't 00:18:07.210 --> 00:18:09.650 do it after the hunt time, but we enjoy it. I 00:18:09.650 --> 00:18:12.130 enjoy watching the plants grow. I enjoy watching 00:18:12.130 --> 00:18:14.130 them prosper. I enjoy the fruit that comes over. 00:18:14.470 --> 00:18:16.710 But the fruit is the purpose for the planet. 00:18:16.910 --> 00:18:19.670 Food is the purpose of the garden. And that's 00:18:19.670 --> 00:18:22.190 the same thing that Jesus is saying here. You 00:18:22.190 --> 00:18:24.309 bite in me and my words are biting you. You can 00:18:24.309 --> 00:18:26.569 communicate with me and what I ask you, what 00:18:26.569 --> 00:18:30.470 you ask will be done. My Father is exalted, is 00:18:30.470 --> 00:18:32.549 glorified, and He is the Divine Dresser. He's 00:18:32.549 --> 00:18:36.130 the one that's in charge that you bear much fruit. 00:18:36.990 --> 00:18:40.990 And in doing that, you prove to be my disciples. 00:18:41.390 --> 00:18:45.029 So the evidence to the church and to the people 00:18:45.029 --> 00:18:48.750 is fruitfulness, and we can go on a study of 00:18:48.750 --> 00:18:51.650 fruitfulness. Yes, fruit means believers, but 00:18:51.650 --> 00:18:53.630 it means a lot more. It means what you do with 00:18:53.630 --> 00:18:56.049 your life, or what you do with your time. The 00:18:56.049 --> 00:18:58.069 fruit of life means what comes out of your mouth. 00:18:58.589 --> 00:19:00.829 If you are abiding in Christ, it affects your 00:19:00.829 --> 00:19:03.210 life, and it affects the aspect of your life, 00:19:03.250 --> 00:19:08.730 and what people see, and how they react to you. 00:19:09.990 --> 00:19:13.319 And so, he says here, if the Father Just as the 00:19:13.319 --> 00:19:17.740 Father has loved me, Jesus is saying that, and 00:19:17.740 --> 00:19:19.779 that idea of love, I'm going to get my water 00:19:19.779 --> 00:19:21.720 over here. I got it under my chair over here. 00:19:21.819 --> 00:19:27.039 Sorry about that. The idea of love there is almost 00:19:27.039 --> 00:19:32.640 a synonym for salvation. I feel like Eric when 00:19:32.640 --> 00:19:37.960 I drink in the bulldozer. The idea of love there, 00:19:38.380 --> 00:19:40.859 as the Father has loved me and I've also loved 00:19:40.859 --> 00:19:45.160 you, There's a synonym for salvation. If you 00:19:45.160 --> 00:19:49.539 remember Paul in Romans, Jesus talked about no 00:19:49.539 --> 00:19:53.380 one can snatch him out of my father's hand. That's 00:19:53.380 --> 00:20:01.779 John 10, but in Romans 8, I forget now how he 00:20:01.779 --> 00:20:03.700 words that. Well, let's look at it. We'll just 00:20:03.700 --> 00:20:10.039 take a moment. Who shall separate us from the 00:20:10.039 --> 00:20:11.859 love of Christ? That's it at the end of Romans 00:20:11.859 --> 00:20:18.279 8. I'm convinced neither death life, nor angels, 00:20:18.460 --> 00:20:20.700 nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to 00:20:20.700 --> 00:20:23.420 powers, things to come, nor powers, nor height, 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:25.599 nor depth, nor any other created thing will be 00:20:25.599 --> 00:20:29.599 able to separate us from the love of God. That's 00:20:29.599 --> 00:20:32.279 not the emotion of God. That's the provision 00:20:32.279 --> 00:20:35.039 of God. That's what love means. And so we cannot 00:20:35.039 --> 00:20:38.539 be separated. from God's provision on our behalf, 00:20:38.759 --> 00:20:40.480 and that's the salvation, that's Christ, that's 00:20:40.480 --> 00:20:44.660 what he's done. We're secure in his provision 00:20:44.660 --> 00:20:48.220 and his love. And so he uses that word here, 00:20:48.599 --> 00:20:50.900 just as my Father has loved me, has provided 00:20:50.900 --> 00:20:55.160 for me, I have also loved you, I have provided 00:20:55.160 --> 00:20:58.839 for you. Abide in my provision, abide in the 00:20:58.839 --> 00:21:01.500 things that I have done, abide in the truth that 00:21:01.500 --> 00:21:04.759 I've given you, abide in these things. Stay in 00:21:04.759 --> 00:21:06.940 these things because this is where you get the 00:21:06.940 --> 00:21:09.039 fruit from this this is what produces fruit in 00:21:09.039 --> 00:21:11.720 your life And so this is important these things 00:21:11.720 --> 00:21:16.660 he says I was spoken to you so that my joy May 00:21:16.660 --> 00:21:21.980 be in your joy is the flag That flies over the 00:21:21.980 --> 00:21:25.119 life of the believer wonders walking close to 00:21:25.119 --> 00:21:30.180 God They have in I think it's in Scotland they 00:21:30.180 --> 00:21:32.839 have a flag that they fly over the resonance 00:21:32.839 --> 00:21:37.349 of the leader when he's home. When he's not home, 00:21:37.490 --> 00:21:41.369 the flag is taken down. And I'm getting that 00:21:41.369 --> 00:21:44.029 now. I don't know firsthand. I'm getting that 00:21:44.029 --> 00:21:46.289 from what I've heard from others. But at any 00:21:46.289 --> 00:21:49.490 rate, the flag that flies over the life of the 00:21:49.490 --> 00:21:52.509 believer, the person that loves Jesus, is joy. 00:21:53.250 --> 00:21:59.210 And that's just an illustration. You need to 00:21:59.210 --> 00:22:01.349 be joyful. You need to let your face know that 00:22:01.349 --> 00:22:04.109 you love the Savior. It's going to affect your 00:22:04.109 --> 00:22:06.509 life and what you do. So that's the first thing 00:22:06.509 --> 00:22:08.430 he's talking about here in this verse. He says, 00:22:08.789 --> 00:22:19.529 now, beloved, abide in him that is in Christ. 00:22:19.970 --> 00:22:23.029 And so that when he is manifested, the idea of 00:22:23.029 --> 00:22:26.809 manifested really carries the idea of revealing 00:22:26.809 --> 00:22:30.519 by sight. when He has manifested or when He has 00:22:30.519 --> 00:22:34.400 revealed to us by sight, we may have confidence 00:22:34.400 --> 00:22:37.720 and not shrink away. Let me just say this to 00:22:37.720 --> 00:22:41.839 you. I'm a pastor of a church and it can be debated 00:22:41.839 --> 00:22:45.200 how closely I walk with the Lord or how closely 00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:47.619 you walk with the Lord. But I can tell you this, 00:22:47.660 --> 00:22:49.539 I know I'm going to stand before Him one day 00:22:49.539 --> 00:22:52.799 and that terrifies me. That's a fearful thing 00:22:52.799 --> 00:22:55.279 and in one sense of the word it's a fearful thing. 00:22:55.599 --> 00:22:58.299 because it's that final exam, it's that final 00:22:58.299 --> 00:23:00.759 standing before the Lord and giving an account 00:23:00.759 --> 00:23:04.079 of Him, of what I've done and how I've lived 00:23:04.079 --> 00:23:06.400 and the things that I've lusted after and things 00:23:06.400 --> 00:23:10.019 that I've pursued. And that's a place that, as 00:23:10.019 --> 00:23:14.880 Paul says in Romans 8, I mean Romans 3, that 00:23:14.880 --> 00:23:17.259 he says that every mouth will be stopped and 00:23:17.259 --> 00:23:20.319 all the world become guilty before God. There 00:23:20.319 --> 00:23:23.279 is a time when we stand before the Lord There's 00:23:23.279 --> 00:23:25.640 not going to be any way that we can explain things. 00:23:25.640 --> 00:23:28.460 We won't have anything to say Our mouths will 00:23:28.460 --> 00:23:30.480 be stopped and we'll stand guilty before the 00:23:30.480 --> 00:23:35.000 Lord this word confidence here Is exactly the 00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:37.400 opposite he said we may have and the literal 00:23:37.400 --> 00:23:44.000 meaning is boldness of speech We may have boldness 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:48.839 of speech and not shrink away from him in shame 00:23:48.839 --> 00:23:53.549 at his coming so here it is We are definitely 00:23:53.549 --> 00:23:56.890 going to stand before Him one day. We are told 00:23:56.890 --> 00:23:59.690 to abide in Him, that we can be fruitful if we 00:23:59.690 --> 00:24:04.569 do that, and that's going to give us boldness 00:24:04.569 --> 00:24:07.730 of speech when we stand before the Lord and we 00:24:07.730 --> 00:24:13.170 see Him. In the one hand, it's a terrifying thing 00:24:13.170 --> 00:24:15.509 to stand before Him, but another thing is an 00:24:15.509 --> 00:24:19.910 amazing comfort to my heart to know that when 00:24:19.910 --> 00:24:24.160 I stand before Him, I will have the freedom of 00:24:24.160 --> 00:24:27.920 expression, and I don't want to make a joke about 00:24:27.920 --> 00:24:30.619 it, but some of us talk more than others. But 00:24:30.619 --> 00:24:32.740 when we stand before Him, we'll have the boldness 00:24:32.740 --> 00:24:35.079 to be able to communicate. We'll be able to speak 00:24:35.079 --> 00:24:38.319 to Him, not because of anything we've done, but 00:24:38.319 --> 00:24:40.519 because God has been working in our hearts as 00:24:40.519 --> 00:24:43.000 we abide in Him, and He has produced in our lives 00:24:43.000 --> 00:24:47.339 an evidence of salvation. And so that's the first 00:24:47.339 --> 00:24:50.039 point, and the first point is this, that the 00:24:50.039 --> 00:24:55.700 idea of hope, Safeguard is safeguarded by abiding. 00:24:56.539 --> 00:24:59.759 Abiding is what protects our relationship there 00:24:59.759 --> 00:25:03.380 in this place of hope in that first verse. Well, 00:25:03.779 --> 00:25:05.619 I wouldn't have to come back to this because 00:25:05.619 --> 00:25:07.819 we're out of time, but we're going to go from 00:25:07.819 --> 00:25:10.339 there talking about righteousness and how hope 00:25:10.339 --> 00:25:13.680 also affects our righteous standing with the 00:25:13.680 --> 00:25:17.180 Lord. Let me just have a word of prayer. Lord, 00:25:17.240 --> 00:25:23.759 I want to thank you. Words really are not there 00:25:23.759 --> 00:25:30.880 to express how great your love is and your provision 00:25:30.880 --> 00:25:35.559 and your call to us. The fact that you have stooped 00:25:35.559 --> 00:25:40.200 so low to communicate with us, to tell us what 00:25:40.200 --> 00:25:44.039 you're like, to give us these illustrations and 00:25:44.039 --> 00:25:48.059 to show us these things when we're not really 00:25:48.059 --> 00:25:51.019 interested. We've got other things to do and 00:25:51.019 --> 00:25:54.180 we are preoccupied with other things and yet 00:25:54.180 --> 00:25:59.619 nothing Nothing is as important as this and so 00:25:59.619 --> 00:26:03.519 I pray you'll help us to really focus on obedience 00:26:03.519 --> 00:26:09.380 and love and really pursue you make room in our 00:26:09.380 --> 00:26:12.180 day for your word and make room in our day for 00:26:12.180 --> 00:26:16.380 prayer to you and and make room in our day that 00:26:16.380 --> 00:26:19.640 we seek to honor you and glorify you and Lord, 00:26:19.640 --> 00:26:22.460 thank you for your your mercy and your grace 00:26:22.460 --> 00:26:26.000 You are so good to us and that's your blessing 00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:30.339 now upon us this week Help us to learn more About 00:26:30.339 --> 00:26:34.680 what it means to abide In our Lord and I pray 00:26:34.680 --> 00:26:36.859 in Jesus name with thanksgiving. Amen