Hey guys, this is Tracy. If at any time you'd
like to connect with HCV, go to hcv .church forward
slash connect. If you feel called to give, go
to hcv .church forward slash give. And if at
any time you feel called to make a change in
your life, text change me to 970 -00. Enjoy the
message. Hey, good morning, everyone. So good
to see you. Yes, vibrant and alive. Thank you
for welcoming us into your home if you're watching
us from home. Of course, today is Mother's Day,
and we want to say happy Mother's Day to all
of our moms. Hey, moms, can you stand up, please?
That is moms, grandmoms, dog moms, cat moms.
Spiritual moms, we have a gift for you. Yeah,
give them a hand. It's awesome. There we go.
They're coming around. They'll get you something.
Just a little gift from us to you that hopefully
you'll be able to use. Stay up. Stay up. I want
to pray over you. Come on. Stay standing. Don't
sit back down that quick. You're not that tired.
Come on. I know you're a mom. You do a lot. I
just want to pray a blessing over you if you
could. So while they're giving out those gifts,
I just want to ask God to come and meet you right
where you are, to infuse you with his power,
his spirit, and his presence so that you can
go forth and make a difference in your families
and the community. Amen? All right, so if you're
around a mom, you don't mind putting your hand
on them, that'd be great. I just want to pray
a blessing over them. Holy Spirit, come. God,
we are grateful for moms. We're grateful for
how they serve and give out of the abundance
of their hearts. We just ask that you would bless
them today. God, just fill them with your presence.
Fill them with your power. Fill them, God, with
your love. May they go forth from here, God,
to continue to make a difference, not only in
their families, but in their communities as a
whole. that they would be vessels of your living
spirit. And we are grateful for each and every
mom. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. God bless you,
moms. We are excited that you are here. So last
Sunday, I missed you all. But I had the opportunity
to travel to Syracuse, New York, to return to
somewhat of our homeland, if you will. Jess and
I and the family, three kids back then, lived
in Syracuse for three years. Or excuse me, five
years before we planted our church. We planted
out of the Syracuse vineyard. I had the opportunity
to go return there. Me and Jess and Rick and
Lynn Vance went up with us. We led a Holy Spirit
conference. And we spent Friday night, all day
Saturday and Sunday morning. I spoke eight different
times. I was exhausted on Monday. I had no idea
where I was or what was happening. But that's
okay. It was well worth it. We deposited a little
of HCV into the people of upstate New York. And
they are forever grateful. It was a great time.
So Rudy kicked off a new series, Text to Talk,
last Sunday. And he actually discussed with all
of you the how -to, if you will, when it comes
to reading the Bible. Today, I'm going to go
in a little bit of a different direction as we
continue our series, Text to Talk. And I don't
want to look at the how -to. I want to look at
the why. Why should I read the Bible? Well, that
points us to this lamp right here. If you take
a look at this lamp, and I was to ask you, what
is this lamp made to do? That's right. It's made
to produce light. And it produces light when
I plug it into the source. Right? So let me plug
it in, and we'll see if it comes on. Whoa! That's
a bright light. Right? It shines for all to see.
It lights up dark spaces. It allows for us to
read. It allows for us to cook dinner, whether
it be dark or whatnot. But the second that I
unplug this lamp, what happens? That's right.
The lamp doesn't work because it's disconnected
from the source. Now, a couple of questions for
you to ponder. Did this lamp lose its purpose?
Did it lose its design? Did it lose its potential?
No, the only thing it lost was its connection.
And the moment it lost its connection, it lost
its power. And see, unfortunately, so many people
live their spiritual lives like this unplugged
lamp. You're still gifted. You're still called.
You still have purpose and meaning to your life,
but you're exhausted. You're empty. You're frustrated.
Yet the source, is waiting on you to plug in.
And notice, we know the source is ready because
the end is what? It's lit. It's plugged in. It's
ready to go. And please understand, many Jesus
followers do not live this way because they're
broken, because they're dysfunctional, because
they're worthless. No, it's because they're simply
disconnected. See, we live in a culture obsessed
with activity. Always moving. We're always posting.
Always producing. We're always chasing something.
But movement is not the same as connection. Because
you can be really busy and be disconnected. You
can be serving in our church. You can be serving
in the community and be disconnected. You can
roll in here on a Sunday morning and extend your
arms and be worshiping and be disconnected. I
can be preaching to you and be disconnected.
And eventually, what's disconnected loses power.
And that's why some of us are trying harder but
getting weaker. We want peace and patience, but
we can't find it in the midst of our busyness
and our schedules. We force a smile, and we say
it's joy. We want to be kind when we're given
the opportunity, but we choose self. See, we
have to realize fruit cannot be manufactured.
Fruit... if you will, is the byproduct of connection.
See, the lamp, it doesn't fight to shine. It
doesn't. It just stays plugged in. But some of
us have been asking God for strength while neglecting
the place where strength flows. We want the power
of God without the presence of God. We want the
fruit of God without fellowship with God. We
want the promises of God without abiding in God.
But the kingdom, The kingdom of God doesn't work
that way. The power is in the connection. And
here's the danger. Disconnection doesn't always
look dramatic. See, we think disconnection is
a fall from grace in this deep sin. And as they
sin, they fall further and further away from
God. But sometimes the lamp still looks like
a lamp. It just doesn't function like a lamp.
And there are people that gather with us every
single week who on the outside look like they're
happy, but inside they're empty. Because appearance
can survive disconnection for a little while,
but power cannot. And that's why Jesus gives
us one of the most important invitations that
he shared in the Bible. He said, you don't have
to strive. You don't have to perform. You don't
have to impress anyone. Jesus' followers are
called to abide. And in John chapter 15, on the
night before Jesus went to the cross for us,
he looks at his disciples, he looks at us this
morning, and he says, abide in me, and I in you.
See, Jesus knew something. He knew that life
was calling them to live, right, could never
be sustained apart from him, disconnected from
him. And just like this lamp needs power, we
need the power of the Holy Spirit. Today, if
we're going to have strength for what God has
called us to do, it won't come from trying harder
because that just leads to guilt and shame. It
will come from staying connected. Because if
we want the power of the kingdom, we have to
protect the connection and deepen our relationship
with Jesus. And all of that leads us to our first
thought. What is abide? Well, abide, simply stated,
means continuous dependence on Jesus. Let's jump
into John 15 verses 4 through 5. Abide in me
and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit
by itself unless it abides in the vine. Neither
can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine,
you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and
I in him, he it is that bears much fruit. For
apart from me you can do nothing. Now notice,
over and over again we hear Jesus saying to us
throughout This section of the Bible, abide,
abide, abide. And when hearing those words repeated
like this, obviously Jesus wants us to understand
an important truth. Therefore, as we're reading
the Bible, this is when we pause and we ask ourselves
the question, what does abide mean? Because I'm
reading it over and over and over again. This
is Bible study 101. This is how we read the Bible.
Now, the word abide in the Greek is the word
meno, and it simply means to stay or to remain.
Therefore, when Jesus says that we need to abide
in him, it means that we need to cling to him.
We need to live near him. We need to desire to
be in his presence. See, we live a life of total
dependence on God. That's what it means to abide.
We surrender any desire or effort we may have
to live this life in our own strength. See, we
have to realize our worth isn't found in ourselves.
It's found in the God who made us. and loves
us. And if we want to live a life of meaning
and purpose, then we cannot live this life without
God. It's realizing that without Jesus, we are
lost. While in a relationship with Jesus, we
find our purpose, our identity, and our life.
Now, have you ever been asked the question, are
you religious? Has anyone ever asked you that
question? Only a few of you. Wow, that's interesting.
Typically, when you attend a church and you're
there frequently every Sunday, there's always
people in our sphere of influence that ask you
that question, are you religious? I get asked
that question quite often when I'm leading weddings.
And when people ask me that question, I love
looking back at them and saying, no, in fact,
I am not religious. I believe that religion kills.
And when I say those words, quickly they begin
to look at me in a very strange tone. Because
in their mind, they're like, wait a minute, this
is a pastor and he's saying he's not religious.
So then they look back at me and they say, well,
if you're not religious, what are you? My response
is simple. I look back at them and say, I have
a real authentic relationship with God through
Jesus who now lives in me through the power of
the Holy Spirit. And then they're even more confused
as they stare at the words that I just said.
And some of you are thinking, well, Chris, is
that really a good answer? Because I consider
myself religious. And I say, well, let's look
at 1 John 3, verses 23 to 24 and see if this
verse doesn't answer my statement. And this is
his commandment, that we believe in the name
of his son, Jesus Christ, and love one another
just as he commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments
abides in God and God in him. And by this, we
know that he abides in us by the spirit whom
he has given us. So yes, that is the correct
answer. I am not religious. I believe that religious
activity simply pulls us away from God while
a relationship with Jesus spurs us on and fills
us with the spirit. So ask yourself this morning,
is the verse that I just read a picture or reflection
of your life? Do you abide in Jesus? See, the
Bible is the source of truth that allows for
us to fully understand our identity, our purpose,
and our significance. Thus, the importance of
reading it every single day. That is our first
step in abiding in Jesus, which leads us to our
next thought, which is also a very important
truth. And as I wrote this down this week, I
felt like God wanted to highlight this. Particular
truth to many of you because I believe it's going
to be transformational for your relationship
with God today. And it is this. God abides in
every follower of Jesus. Notice what Jesus says
to us in John 15, 4. Abide in me and I in you.
So if you are in a relationship with Jesus, God
lives inside of you. When we gather to worship
during Sundays, when we gather for growth groups,
we're not worshiping some distant, disconnected
God that's up there somewhere in heaven. No,
God is literally inside of us. God is literally
here with us right now. And that truth can change
who we are both individually and as a community
of faith. And you say, well, Chris, I need support
to believe that. John 14, 23, the chapter just
before John 15, Jesus answered him. If anyone
loves me, he will keep my word and my father
will love him. And we, everyone say we, will
come to him and make our home with him. So God
the Father and God the Son literally make their
home, their residence inside of the Jesus follower.
Still don't believe me? Let's go to John 17.
I in them and you in me, that they may become
perfectly one, so that the world may know that
you sent me and love them even as you loved me.
What is Jesus saying to us? I live in you. you.
Paul wrote in Romans 8 10, and Christ lives within
you. So even though your body will die because
of the sin, the Spirit gives you life because
you have been made right with God. Paul again
writes in 1 Corinthians 6 .19, don't you realize
your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who
lives in you and was given to you by God. You
do not belong to yourself. And it's interesting,
the word used for temple here is the Greek word
neos, and this is the same exact word used in
the Old Testament when the description of the
holy of holies is established in the old temple
system. Meaning, Those in a relationship with
Jesus are the naos or the place where God's presence
and power now reside. Because when you think
about the holy of holies in the temple, right,
there was only one person that could enter it
one time a year. And even if that priest entered
it and his heart wasn't right, what happened
to the priest? He died because God is holy. And
God is separate from his people because of Jesus'
actions on the cross. God's holiness now resides
where? It doesn't sound like you believe that.
And some of you are saying in us and some of
you aren't saying anything because you believe
your guilt and your sin and your choices from
this past week relegate you to non -active duty
and that's a lie from the enemy. He's still living
in sin. side of you. This is why Paul writes
in Galatians 2 .20, my old self has been crucified
with Christ. It's no longer I who live, but Christ
who lives in me. So I live in this earthly body
by trusting in the Son of God who loved me and
gave himself for me. And Paul is challenging
us to realize this body, right, this flesh, it's
just an external shell. Yes, we need to take
care of it, church. I believe in it. Why? So
that we can live long, healthy, productive lives.
But in order to be productive, we need to realize
it's Jesus in us. 1 John 4, 12, no one has ever
seen God, but if we love each other, God lives
in us and his love is brought to the full expressions
in us. And if you were here this morning and
you're in a relationship with Jesus, God abides
in you. You are the very home of God. And the
Bible is telling us that this truth is vital
to our understanding of what it means to be a
follower of Jesus. And that's why Paul says,
consider yourselves dead. Why? Because we need
reminded that we don't just believe in someone.
The God of the universe comes to live within
us. It's not about believing in somebody. It's
about receiving the gift. And to abide means
to live in reliance, to live in deep dependence
on God. And that is God's best for you, for me,
and for the entire world. And that's why we're
called to go and tell them, which leads us to
answer the question, well, how do we abide in
Jesus then? This is obviously an important truth,
but let me first say, you don't have to be creative.
Okay, truth is, we live in a world that loves
novelty. New movies are released every single
week. New fashions are released quarterly for
the different seasons. New iPhones are released
every single year. Why? So we can have more stuff
to keep us busy. The answer to the question,
how do we abide, has actually been the same for
over 2 ,000 years. And I get it, the truths in
books and the Bible, sometimes they're difficult
to understand. However, There are also many truths
in the Bible that are so simple that we just
don't do them. And we don't do them because we're
not reading the Bible and applying it to our
lives. Therefore, we need to invite God's Spirit
to reveal these truths to us so that we can truly
abide in Him. Amen? So Holy Spirit, come. Open
our ears, our minds. our hearts, more importantly,
to receive these truths, that as we walk them
out this week, we will learn to abide in you,
which leads us to our first one. We need to internalize
the words of Jesus. Now notice John 15, 7. As
you abide in me, and my words abide in you. We
have to abide in the words of Jesus. What does
that mean? Well, it just means we need to read
the Bible. It means we need to open the book
and get into it. We can't overcomplicate this
truth. Charles Spurgeon, the theologian, wrote,
we cannot separate Jesus from the word. For in
the first place, he is the word. And in the next
place, how dare we call him master and Lord and
do not do the things which he says and reject
the truth that he teaches. To abide in my words
means we live by the sayings and teachings of
Jesus. We pattern our life after it. It's more
than listening. It's more than hearing. It's
more than reading. It's internalizing his truths.
It's making them ours. See, our lives are often
so busy that it makes us difficult for us to
ponder, think, meditate, and reflect deeply on
God. For many of us, if we're really honest,
Bible reading is like ordering fast food. Right?
We drive up to the restaurant. We're starving.
We're on our lunch break. We order. through a
telecom machine. We drive around to the window,
we pick it up, and we eat it while we drive back
to work or to our next destination. Not necessarily
a bad thing when it comes to reading the Bible.
At least you're opening it and reading it something.
But it's not God's best. See, we have to desire
to know God and to understand his teachings.
His life for us, that takes time. Okay, it's
not fast food. It's actually a gourmet meal.
You know a meal that you prep, you prepare, you
cook, and then you sit down and you eat together.
To abide means to feast there, to dwell there.
And God is challenging us. He's raising the bar
for the church saying, are you abiding in Jesus?
Are you actually reading the words and internalizing
them? The psalmist wrote it this way in Psalm
1. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating
on it day and night. And some of you are thinking,
what's that mean, law of the Lord? It means you're
reading the Bible. That's what it means, day
and night. And notice what happens when they're
reading it day and night. They are like trees
planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each
season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper
in all they do. And notice, this is not some
dry obligation. This isn't religious practices.
This is life. This literally is life to us. And
we have to realize there are a lot of things
vying for our attention that become priorities
in our life rather than just a hobby, right?
It's very easy to allow a good thing to become
an ultimate thing that then becomes an idol in
our life. Not necessarily bad, but not God's
best. And I'm not meaning to offend anyone by
this statement, but that's why I never really
understood golf, right? For those of you who
play golf, God bless you. I'm sure it's just
a hobby. For me, I can't quite understand it
because it takes over four hours to play golf.
And in my mind, I begin to think, I don't have
four hours. I don't know if I have four hours
in my day. I don't have four hours in my schedule.
How do people do this? And then to take it a
step further, as you're playing the game, which
I've played it before, you slice it to the right.
You curve it to the left. You're throwing clubs.
You're swearing up and down the course. As you're
in God's beautiful creation, this game causes
you to sin. So in my mind, I'm thinking, what's
the point? What is the point? I'm chasing a little
white ball that I'm never going to master anyway.
So we have to understand. Abiding is not for
the religious elite or the super saints. It's
just not. It's not for pastors or leaders that
are pastoring churches. It's for the everyday
child of God who wants and needs to live in reliance
upon God. which is all of us, in my opinion.
John 6 .63, the spirit alone gives eternal life.
Human effort accomplishes nothing. Wow, allow
that to speak to you a minute. And the very words
I've spoken to you are spirit and life. Therefore,
the words written in the Bible are life -giving.
And unfortunately, we often miss out on their
blessing because we're busy focusing on what's
not. always important in life. So reflect this
morning, where are you? Which leads us to our
next step. We experience the love of Jesus. Continuing
in John 15, as the Father has loved me, so I
have loved you. Abide in my love. See, there's
this idea out there that if Jesus' followers
dwell on the love of God too much, They are missing
out on all the other attributes of God. They
are dumbing down the gospel, which I have often
been accused of doing. But many of you know it's
absolute hogwash, okay? Jesus is telling us in
his own words that we need to fall in love with
him. That's what he's telling us. We need to
be loved and accepted by Jesus in order for us
to remain connected to him. And how much does
God the Father love God the Son? Well, the Bible
tells us that God is love. and that he loved
before there was anything or anyone else to love.
So therefore, how much does the Father love the
Son? It's infinite. It's an infinite love that
our minds can't even wrap our heads around. Therefore,
if we're in a relationship with Jesus, this isn't
even going to blow your mind, Father, God loves
you just the same way. God loves you as much
as he loves his own Son. And why is it so hard
for us to understand and receive this simple
truth about God's love? Well, I believe it's
because we actually receive and understand his
love for us, and that leads to lifestyle changes.
See, when we fall in love with Jesus, right,
we suddenly realize how broken we are. how mistake
-filled we are. And then as we fall more in love
with Jesus, he desires that we change, and we
know how much humanity doesn't like to change.
Doesn't like to change. Yet we read in Romans
2, 4, or do you show contempt for the riches
of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, not
realizing that God's kindness is intended to
lead you to repentance? In other words, this
is saying we want to obey and follow God because
we love him. And as we love him and fall in love
with Jesus, he reveals areas of our life that
are broken, and he invites us to repent. And
remember, repent's not a bad word. What does
repent mean, church? It just means turn around.
It just means fix it. It means make it right.
Right? If you were to go to a doctor and they
diagnosed you with cancer and they were to say
to you, if you do this, we'll be able to heal
you of your cancer, you're going to do it. True
or false? Wow. Some of you don't have faith in
doctors. Darn right you're going to do it. You're
going to do everything you can to survive. Well,
for the Jesus followers, for us to survive, that
means we need to abide. We need to fall in love
with Jesus, 1 John 4, 19. We love each other
because he loved us first. We have the ability
to love others once we are loved by God, notice,
and we love him back. See, our obedience to God
cannot become some religious obligation because
religion kills. It has to be love -fueled and
love -empowered, 2 Corinthians 5, 14. Either
way, Christ's love controls us. Since we believe
that Christ died for all, we also believe that
we have all died to our old life. See, to abide
in the love of God simply means that we have
to abide in the words of God. We have to read
the Bible. We have to apply them to our lives.
We have to be connected to the Bible. And this
is why Jesus tells us to abide in his word. See,
the Bible is not superficial truths explaining
to us the meaning of life and how we should live.
It's literally God's love letter to you and to
me. And we have to realize we cannot experience
a deep love of God with a shallow understanding
of the Bible. There has to be a desire for understanding
and truth. Psalm 63, again, the psalmist writes,
your unfailing love is better than life itself.
How I praise you. I will praise you as long as
I live, lifting my hands to you in prayer. You
satisfy me more than a richest feast. I will
praise you with songs of joy. See, there are
a lot of things that I say on Sunday mornings
during our gatherings. And see, you hear them,
but then what I've often found is people then
say to themselves, well, that sounds right, that
sounds like truth, but why is it not real for
me? Why is it not real for me, Chris? Well, when
I say this, God's love is better than life, it's
one thing to say it, but another thing to experience
it. And see, that's why I'm challenging you to
constantly be connecting to and experiencing
God's love. And for those of you that are struggling
with an old habit pattern or a sin or an addiction
that you have, John Wimber, founder of the Vineyard
Movement, was quoted as saying, It seems the
more I think about not sinning, the more I sin.
But the more I think about just loving Jesus,
the less I seem to sin. Falling in love seems
to be the key. And the things that make you go,
hmm. See, as people, we want to do all these
works and these obligations when in reality,
Jesus is saying, fall in love with me. Just fall
in love with me. Fall in love with my word. Fall
in love with my presence. Fall in love with my
Father. Be empowered by the Holy Spirit. And
then go and make a difference, which leads us
to our third step in abiding. We need to connect
to God in prayer. So we internalize the scriptures.
We connect with God's love. We connect to God
in prayer. If you abide in me and my words abide
in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be
done for you. Oh my goodness. I mean, when I
read those words, let me read them to you again.
If you abide in me and my words abide in you,
ask, everyone say ask, whatever you wish and
it will be done for you. I mean, think about
this. For those of you that like to invest and
plan for your future retirement, if I was to
look at you and say, if you make this one investment,
the returns will make you millions. For those
of you that are health conscious, that love to
take care of yourselves and be healthy, if I
was to look at you and say, hey, if you take
this one pill, it will transform how you exercise,
how you look, and how you feel about yourself.
And for those of you that are moms and dads,
and you love your kids, If I was to say to you,
if you read this one book, it will transform
how you parent your children and your children
will be difference makers. See, if I was to say
that to any one of those three groups of people,
I guarantee you, you would look back at me and
say, I want that. True or false? You want it.
You want that. Notice what Jesus just said to
you. If you're in a relationship with him, ask
whatever you wish and it'll be done for you.
Ask whatever you wish and it'll be done for you.
See, we have a privilege that is given to us
every day, and it's called prayer. It's called
prayer. It's called connection. See, our relationship
with Jesus, it's not just transactional, meaning
it's not just about what he did for us on the
cross. See, our relationship with Jesus should
first be personal, meaning we need to talk to
Jesus every day. It's impossible to be in a relationship
with anyone unless we talk to them every single
day. We need to communicate with them. How do
I know this? If you're married, go ahead and
don't talk to your spouse from Monday to Saturday.
Go ahead. I'll give you permission. Go ahead.
I'll give you permission. Some of you are like,
yes. To you, I say, I'm praying for you. The
rest. You know in your mind, if you don't talk
to your spouse for six days, what's going to
happen? Your relationship's going to quickly
spin out of control. So if we know that's true
for our humanity relationships, why would it
be any different in our relationship with Jesus?
See, there's more to just them believing in him.
We got to connect with him. And one of the biggest
reasons people are not passionate about God is
because it becomes a thing to us. He becomes
a thing to us rather than a personal being that
we have fellowship with. And to live in prayer
is to understand what it means to experience
the fullness of God. If you want to know what
the fullness of God is in your life, begin to
prioritize prayer. I mean, think about it. Summer's
coming. We're excited about the warm weather.
Some of you already have made plans for your
vacations. You've already booked them. Others
of you, you're already budgeting for concerts,
for sporting events, right? And there's so many
of us. We budget all this money so that we can
purchase front row seats to our favorite artist
or our favorite athlete or our favorite location
that we can stare at for seven days, right? We
do all that. While in the meantime, if you're
in a relationship with God, we have direct access
to the king and creator of the universe every
single day, and we don't take advantage of it.
We're nuts. We're crazy. We're distracted. We're
mental. And I am too. What does it mean to abide?
It's communion with God. It's experiencing his
goodness and connection. And then we desire more.
Right? Paul wanted to know him more. Philippians
3 .12. I don't mean to say that I've already
achieved these things or that I've already reached
perfection, but I press on to possess that perfection
with Christ Jesus first possessed me. Here you
got this guy. Wrote more than half the New Testament.
Right? Was shipwrecked, beaten, whipped, bruised,
forgotten, falsely accused, and imprisoned. And
then he says to us. We need to be connected to
God in prayer. I press on to connect to the living
God. Is it really that important? Read Paul's
letters. They begin with prayer. They end with
prayer. And in the middle somewhere, they're
praying for you. I mean, it's just constant prayer.
The psalmist wrote in Psalm 42, as the deer longs
for streams of water, so I long for you, O God.
I thirst for God, the living God. When can I
go and stand before him? Hear that desire? There's
a desire for the connection. There's this desire
for the experience. Do you do the same? Do you
do the same? After all, the average person in
America checks their phone 186 times a day. The
average person in America spends more than seven
hours a day staring at a screen telling us what
to do. We are constantly distracted and entertained
with Netflix and social media. And I want to
challenge you, take some inventory. How do you
spend your time? How do you spend your time?
Because some of you aren't walking in the fullness
of God because you're not prioritizing the relationship.
And that should be our number one priority. C
.S. Lewis wrote this, we are like ignorant child
who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum
because he cannot imagine what is meant by the
offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too
easily pleased. Why do we do this? Why do we
live in the miserable middle? And some of you
are thinking, Chris, what's the miserable middle?
Well, the miserable middle is these two groups
of people. All right, on my left hand, you have
those people that don't partake in the sin of
the world. They know that that sin is bad. It's
not good for them. So they avoid those things.
They make it a religious point. I'm going to
avoid those things. I won't go there. But then
on my right hand, there's the thrill of living
passionately for Jesus. The God is my friend
type of life. You know that you're a religious
lunatic. You're a nut job, man. You're a fool
for Christ. You know I am. Right? So that's the
difference. Unfortunately, a lot of people in
the church, they live here in the middle. They
don't participate in worldly sin, but they don't
participate in the thrill and the real experience
and the pleasure of knowing a living God. Dare
I say that's a boring way to live. That's a boring
way to live. Don't live in the middle. It's not
God's best. Our hearts, our hearts were created
to be loved and ravished on by God. Our hearts
were created to be conduits of his presence in
his kingdom. And hear me out. This isn't a let
go and let God kind of love. No, it takes effort.
You've got to pursue him. Paul says in Colossians
129, that's why I work and struggle so hard.
Look, I work, I struggle so hard depending on
Christ's mighty power that works within me. And
what is he saying? I labor, I strive, but it's
his power. It almost sounds contradictory. Like
Paul is saying, wait a minute, you strive, you
struggle, you press on, you beat your body, but
it's his power. How does this work? How does
it work? It simply means live out these points.
Strive to abide. Because as we strive to abide,
God can then work through us. We labor. We work
in God's presence. Listen, your job that you
hate and is miserable to you that you can't stand
and you need a new job, it will change if you
learn to abide in Jesus. Because your whole outlook
on life, guess what's going to happen? It's going
to change. You won't be miserable anymore. It
will be looked on as an opportunity to further
God's kingdom and that God can provide to meet
your needs. Amen? It's all about the outlook.
Leading us to discuss, we're almost done as we
close it out. Why should we do this? Why abide?
What does abiding produce? Well, first, fruit
is produced. John 15, 8. This is my father. By
this, my father is glorified that you bear much
fruit so you prove to be my disciples. So as
we plug in, as we connect with the living God,
the source that is always on waiting for us to
connect, we light and become fruit. That's our
lives. We become a city on the hill. And you're
like, really? Yeah. That you bear much fruit.
And what is fruit? Ephesians 5 tells us, For
once you were full of darkness, but now you have
the light from the Lord, so live as people of
the light. For this light within you produces
only what is good and right and true. Fruit means
you're living a righteous life. You want to be
righteous? You want to live a holy life? Abide
in Jesus. Live close to Jesus. Because Jesus
produces the fruit in us. What is the fruit?
Galatians 5. Love. Joy, peace, patience, goodness,
kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self
-control. See, as we abide in Jesus, we have
his qualities. The very character of God comes
out of us. And it's organic. It's not transactional.
We literally become like Jesus, his personal
transformation, be the light. Which leads to
our second truth, joy is experience. How many
of you would like a little more joy in your life?
How many? Be honest. If you didn't put your hand
up, you're lying. You know, I say that all the
time because I believe it. We all want some more
joy. John 15, 11, these things I've spoken to
you, that my joy, notice, may be in you and that
your joy may be full. Some of you are just miserable
because you like to be miserable. Because you're
looking for pity. You're looking for people to
pray for you. You're looking for people to encourage
you, which we all need. We all need it. But when
it becomes a need that we just need, need, need,
that means we're not getting it from God. We
have to realize that as we mature in our relationship
with Jesus, that means we experience more joy
in this life. No matter the circumstances. Everyone
say circumstances. See, too many of us allow
our circumstances to dictate our attitude and
our outlook on life. But notice what Paul wrote
in 2 Corinthians 6. Our hearts ache, but we always
have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual
riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we
have everything. It's incredible. Paul is writing
these words from a jail cell. He'd been beaten,
stoned, bruised. Why? Just for following Jesus.
Yet he's full of what? Joy. Dear brothers and
sisters, James tells us, when troubles of any
kind come your way, consider an opportunity for
great joy. Dare I say, the world does not know
we are Jesus followers because we attend a 75
-minute gathering on Sundays. Because we attend
a 75 -minute gathering on Sundays, we get asked
the question, are you religious? That's it. But
the world will know us as light to the world
when we abide in Jesus because we joyfully produce
the fruits of the Spirit in our lives, in our
words and in our actions. It's a dependence on
God to live out a life of humility and service,
which leads us to our final point. Lives are
changed. If you abide in Jesus, John 15, 5, I
am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides
in me and I in him, he it is that bears much
fruit for a part of me and you can do nothing.
We can do nothing. Like we want to see and we
pray for our children that have walked away from
God to come home. Be the light. Are you praying
for them? Are you interceding for them? Are you
calling them home? Are you believing the Holy
Spirit's going to change their lives? We want
to go out. We want our communities to change.
We want our schools to change. We want our workplaces
to change. Are you being the light? Are you being
a judgmental person that pushes people away from
Jesus? We have to understand fruit is produced
in us first that leads other people one. and
desiring that same fruit. And it's our responsibility
then to share the good news and point them to
Jesus, Romans 1. So I am eager to come to you
in Rome, too, to preach the good news. For I
am not ashamed of this good news about Christ.
It is the power of God at work, saving everyone
who believes, to the Jew first and also the Gentile.
And Jesus reminds us in John chapter 4, the harvest
is plentiful, but the workers are few. The harvesters
are paid good wages and the fruit they harvest
is people through the eternal life. What joy,
there it is again, awaits both the planter and
the harvester. See, as we abide in Jesus, his
love for us compels us to want to share it with
others. Dare I say the greatest form of marketing
in the history of the world is not social media,
it's not billboards, it's word of mouth. If we
like what we've tasted and seen, we'll tell someone
about it. But if we're not falling in love with
Jesus, we'll keep our mouths shut because of
our insecurities, our doubts, and our frustrations.
We have to be open to opening our mouths and
allowing the Holy Spirit to speak through us.
See, as we abide in Jesus, we also have the ability
to walk in his power and his authority. The light
bulb doesn't tell us it's on. It's just on and
we see it. We are called to have our lights on
in this dark world so that others will recognize
it, be drawn to it, and then we can share that
love with them. Amen? Will you stand with me?
Listen, I got a really honest, brutal truth for
you that I need to close with before I lead us
all into our weekly prayer. So I want you all
to be focused here and listen. As I was praying
for all of you this week, I felt like God highlighted
in my spirit that many of you don't abide in
Jesus because you think God's mad at you. You
think God's disappointed with you. Listen, I
have six children, okay? I love every single
one of them. Even the one that's the youngest
that I use in my sermon examples every week.
that you know drives me absolutely crazy. However,
I love my children for who they are. They're
a gift. They're God's blessing to my life. I
love them more than life itself and would do
anything for them so that they can go and change
the world. And if a normal, everyday, average
human man can love his children that way, how
much more does our Father love us? Listen to
me. God is not disappointed in you. God is not
angry with you. God doesn't hate you. God loves
you. And he's inviting us back into a passionate
relationship with him. And listen, for some of
us, it's simple as this. God, forgive me. I'm
sorry. I repent and turn back to him. That's
it. That's all you got to do. And then he'll
receive you back in with his love. His grace
and mercy will wash over you. And then you'll
go on desiring to be in connection with him.
But you've got to make that choice. Because if
you don't, if you don't, you're going to constantly
be walking around thinking, God, you're mad at
me. You're upset with me. None of us are perfect.
We all make mistakes. He's waiting for that forgiveness,
that ask, that connection with him so he can
return and fill us with his spirit. Amen? So
turn back to him, church. He loves you. Now I'm
going to pray a simple prayer because I believe
as I was talking this week, many of you realize,
shoot, I'm not even in a relationship with Jesus
because there is no abiding here. And that's
why we pray this prayer every single gathering.
Because we believe that people are distant and
far from God and they need to come home. Amen?
Let's pray. Jesus, I'm broken. I'm full of doubt,
shame, regret, sin. Change me. Forgive me. I
believe. You're God's son. I believe you died
for me. I believe you're alive today. Make me
new. Set me free. Fill me with your spirit. Help
me, God, to serve others. In Jesus' name, amen.
So if you prayed that prayer, listen, see me,
hold on, we're not done. We're not done. I know
some of you are anxious. Several words of knowledge
I need to share with you. They're very specific.
You have pain in your right hip. You have stomach
issues in your lower abdomen that is causing
you discomfort. You have joint pain in your left
toe that's right beside your big toe in your
left foot. I mean, that's specific, dude. You
know that. You have left knee pain. Another specific
one. You have a six to eight -year -old boy or
son that's struggling with disabilities. If that's
you, go get your child and bring them back here
to get prayer. Has everyone got that? Okay. This
has become a frequent one. You have pain in the
neck, both literally and figuratively. So if
you're a pain in your neck to your spouse, get
up here and get prayer, okay? And you have pain
in your left collarbone. So if any of those are
you or you have any other requests, get up here
and get some prayer. Left, right, prayer team.
Amen? All right, it's going to be a great series.
I'm going to challenge you guys to abide and
read the Bible this month. Amen? All right, see
you later.