1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,960 Truth beyond brokenness, and that is the truth of faith. 2 00:00:09,960 --> 00:00:12,520 For the Christian life is a life of faith. 3 00:00:12,520 --> 00:00:14,960 It is a walk of faith. 4 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:21,680 I'm thinking especially this morning of two verses in Colossians chapter 2, verses that 5 00:00:21,680 --> 00:00:28,480 you undoubtedly have read before, of where we have the nugget of this truth about the 6 00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:34,440 Christian life being a life of faith. 7 00:00:34,440 --> 00:00:40,800 In verses 6 and 7 of Colossians 2 it says, And you therefore have received Christ Jesus 8 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:49,520 the Lord, as you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. 9 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:56,080 Having been rooted, firmly rooted, and now being built up in him, and established in 10 00:00:56,080 --> 00:01:02,960 your faith, just as you were instructed and overflowing with gratitude. 11 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:08,480 He tells us here that as we receive Christ Jesus the Lord, so we are to walk in him. 12 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:13,400 Did we receive him through self-effort? 13 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:17,960 Did we receive him through our own ability, our own fleshly strength? 14 00:01:17,960 --> 00:01:21,500 No, of course not. 15 00:01:21,500 --> 00:01:27,480 When we received him, when we were saved, we simply appropriated by faith what God had 16 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:33,440 to give us, eternal life, through Jesus Christ. 17 00:01:33,440 --> 00:01:40,400 We simply reached out and took by faith the Savior. 18 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:43,080 How is it then that we walk in him? 19 00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:45,480 It is the same way. 20 00:01:45,480 --> 00:01:53,120 It is not through much effort and work and self-striving, but rather we walk in him the 21 00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:56,000 same way by faith. 22 00:01:56,000 --> 00:02:04,120 We simply reach out and take from him his power and receive it, and appropriate it. 23 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:10,160 We receive from him his life and allow that life to flow through us. 24 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:12,240 That is the life of faith. 25 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:15,520 That is the Christian life. 26 00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:20,840 We have said that the walk of faith involves two ideas. 27 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:23,840 One idea is the idea of abandonment. 28 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:31,760 If we are going to walk by faith, it means that we must forsake and abandon certain things. 29 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:39,040 G. Campbell Morgan, a Bible teacher of another generation now, talked about abandonment. 30 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:43,920 When he talked about it, he was suggesting that we hand over the control of the whole 31 00:02:43,920 --> 00:02:55,080 life to God in order that through that life his will may be realized and his work done. 32 00:02:55,080 --> 00:03:03,480 The life thus abandoned to God is a life that has given up its own plans, purposes, and 33 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:10,240 hopes, and has taken instead the plan, the purpose, and the hope of God. 34 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:12,040 That is what I mean by abandonment. 35 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:16,360 It is a biblical concept. 36 00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:25,880 It means that we abandon ourselves from self-interest, from self-will, from earthly relationships. 37 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:28,600 That is, we keep them in right perspective. 38 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:34,720 We abandon human and earthly and material possessions to whatever extent they may be 39 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:37,160 encumbering and hindering us. 40 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:47,720 We abandon ourselves from those and to God, indeed to the cross. 41 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:54,140 For it is through dying, as the song said earlier, that we inherit eternal life. 42 00:03:54,140 --> 00:04:02,200 It is through dying to self that eternal life is enabled to flow through us in what we call 43 00:04:02,200 --> 00:04:03,760 the Christian life. 44 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:09,640 But today I want to come to the second key thought in the walk of faith, and that is 45 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:12,260 the word abiding. 46 00:04:12,260 --> 00:04:16,720 It seems to me that these two words, abandonment and abiding, pretty well summarize what the 47 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:19,720 walk of faith is all about. 48 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:24,720 And if we are talking about abiding, there is one key passage in the Bible, of course, 49 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:31,640 which we think about, and that is John 15. 50 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:40,880 John 15, I want you to turn there with me. 51 00:04:40,880 --> 00:04:44,920 Jesus says, I am the true vine. 52 00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:55,320 Literally, he says, I am the vine, the true one, the original one, the genuine one. 53 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:59,600 And my Father is the vine dresser. 54 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:04,160 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away. 55 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:10,480 And every branch that bears fruit, he prunes it, that it may bear more fruit. 56 00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:18,040 He says, you are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 57 00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:24,760 Abide in me and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the 58 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:26,020 vine. 59 00:05:26,020 --> 00:05:28,200 So neither can you unless you abide in me. 60 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:31,680 I am the vine, you are the branches. 61 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:36,380 He who abides in me and I in him, he bears much fruit. 62 00:05:36,380 --> 00:05:41,400 For apart from me, you can do nothing. 63 00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:49,760 We need to keep in mind as we look at John chapter 15 that the subject here is not salvation. 64 00:05:49,760 --> 00:05:56,560 Jesus is not talking here about how to be saved or how to keep saved. 65 00:05:56,560 --> 00:06:03,960 And because some have not understood that, they have gone to this chapter and have received 66 00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:09,200 from it teaching that is unsound. 67 00:06:09,200 --> 00:06:16,120 John chapter 15 is a chapter that talks about fruit bearing as believers. 68 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:18,980 That is the theme. 69 00:06:18,980 --> 00:06:23,680 You need to keep that in mind as you look at what Jesus says here. 70 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:29,800 He is telling us that we are branches and he is the vine as far as fruit bearing is 71 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:30,800 concerned. 72 00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:34,560 That is the analogy, that is the picture. 73 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:40,520 If we are going to bear fruit as believers, we must abide in him just like branches have 74 00:06:40,520 --> 00:06:42,840 to abide in the vine. 75 00:06:42,840 --> 00:06:45,640 What does it mean to abide? 76 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:51,920 The word literally means to remain or to stay. 77 00:06:51,920 --> 00:06:58,320 It is used 120 times in the New Testament and over half of those times in the writings 78 00:06:58,320 --> 00:07:01,980 of the Apostle John. 79 00:07:01,980 --> 00:07:06,840 What does it mean spiritually to abide? 80 00:07:06,840 --> 00:07:10,040 We will think about a branch for a moment. 81 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:15,660 A branch abides in the vine. 82 00:07:15,660 --> 00:07:21,360 It receives its life from the vine. 83 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:27,120 It bears its fruit because the life of the vine flows into the branch and out through 84 00:07:27,120 --> 00:07:33,760 its tips to produce the fruit. 85 00:07:33,760 --> 00:07:40,400 So Jesus is saying to you and me that we are to be like branches abiding in the vine. 86 00:07:40,400 --> 00:07:47,680 That is, receiving from him our life, our strength, our power. 87 00:07:47,680 --> 00:07:58,240 Because we receive it from him spiritually, then it produces through us fruit. 88 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:04,960 Have you ever heard a vine produce fruit? 89 00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:06,960 Have you ever heard it? 90 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:09,300 No. 91 00:08:09,300 --> 00:08:11,560 We don't have too many vines in these areas. 92 00:08:11,560 --> 00:08:13,720 We have apple trees. 93 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:22,520 Have you ever gone into an orchard at night and heard the apple trees going, uh, uh, uh, 94 00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:25,360 uh? 95 00:08:25,360 --> 00:08:26,360 You hear that? 96 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:27,360 No. 97 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:34,520 If you hear that, you better run. 98 00:08:34,520 --> 00:08:39,120 It's not apple trees. 99 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:40,880 They don't have to do that. 100 00:08:40,880 --> 00:08:45,400 They don't grunt and groan and try hard to bear fruit. 101 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:46,640 Why? 102 00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:51,400 Because apple trees bear apples. 103 00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:54,880 Those branches are not working hard at it. 104 00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:59,440 All they're doing is abiding in the trunk of the tree. 105 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:01,400 And the result is the apples are produced. 106 00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:05,040 It's a very natural, painless thing. 107 00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:09,000 It just happens as they abide, you see. 108 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:15,640 Now the analogy Jesus uses is a vine and branches. 109 00:09:15,640 --> 00:09:22,740 It happens very naturally, fruit bearing, that is, when we abide in him. 110 00:09:22,740 --> 00:09:29,960 You see, abiding allows the flow of his life through us. 111 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:31,400 The result of that is fruit. 112 00:09:31,400 --> 00:09:34,060 You know what the problem often is? 113 00:09:34,060 --> 00:09:39,000 We want the fruit without learning to abide. 114 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:45,080 We want to be branches off doing our own thing, producing the fruit, and sometimes even with 115 00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:50,640 sincere modis, even wanting to glorify God, but we don't want to take the time to understand 116 00:09:50,640 --> 00:09:56,720 what it means to abide. 117 00:09:56,720 --> 00:10:06,120 Warren Wiersbe has exegeted this chapter in a very practical way, as he uniquely can do. 118 00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:10,880 He tells us that there are five secrets here in fruit bearing. 119 00:10:10,880 --> 00:10:15,700 He says the secret of fruit bearing is abiding. 120 00:10:15,700 --> 00:10:20,560 The secret of abiding is obeying. 121 00:10:20,560 --> 00:10:23,740 The secret of obeying is loving. 122 00:10:23,740 --> 00:10:28,280 The secret of loving is knowing. 123 00:10:28,280 --> 00:10:32,440 If you read this chapter, you'll see exactly what he's saying. 124 00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:41,220 As we come to know the Lord, then we will come to love him more deeply and intimately. 125 00:10:41,220 --> 00:10:47,040 And as we come to love him, we will want to obey him. 126 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:51,440 And as we obey him, we abide in him. 127 00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:54,480 And as we abide in him, what happens? 128 00:10:54,480 --> 00:10:57,040 We bear fruit. 129 00:10:57,040 --> 00:11:01,720 Do you know what it is to abide in Christ? 130 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:07,180 You know, most of us are a lot better at working for the Lord, working for Christ, than we 131 00:11:07,180 --> 00:11:10,660 are abiding in him. 132 00:11:10,660 --> 00:11:23,520 And yet our work for him is not going to be fruitful unless we first learn to abide. 133 00:11:23,520 --> 00:11:35,040 A recent publication was released by the Multnomah Critical Concerns publishing company. 134 00:11:35,040 --> 00:11:43,920 And Don Baker wrote a book entitled Depression, Finding Hope and Meaning in Life's Darkest 135 00:11:43,920 --> 00:11:45,760 Shadow. 136 00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:48,960 Don Baker is a godly man. 137 00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:56,040 He is a pastor of the Henson Memorial Baptist Church in Portland, Oregon. 138 00:11:56,040 --> 00:12:04,380 In his book, the first half of which recounts in his own words his experience with depression, 139 00:12:04,380 --> 00:12:12,880 he tells about what led up to that experience and about the ten weeks that he spent in a 140 00:12:12,880 --> 00:12:17,680 psych ward in a hospital in California. 141 00:12:17,680 --> 00:12:21,800 It's worth reading. 142 00:12:21,800 --> 00:12:27,500 During those weeks he was in the hospital, his wife Martha, on one occasion, brought 143 00:12:27,500 --> 00:12:33,640 him a book by Andrew Murray, one of his favorite authors. 144 00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:38,600 It was entitled Abiding in Christ. 145 00:12:38,600 --> 00:12:40,360 He relates in the book these words, 146 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:46,460 The cover picture was that of an earnest Christian kneeling beside a chair, apparently agonizing 147 00:12:46,460 --> 00:12:48,160 in prayer. 148 00:12:48,160 --> 00:12:57,480 I studied the picture for a few moments, and then threw the book across the room in disgust. 149 00:12:57,480 --> 00:13:01,680 In later years that same book became a treasure, but often I've recalled that moment with 150 00:13:01,680 --> 00:13:07,600 bewilderment, wondering what emotion triggered such a violent response. 151 00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:12,040 Was I expressing a momentary disbelief in prayer? 152 00:13:12,040 --> 00:13:18,300 Was that picture calling on me to expend levels of energy which I no longer possessed? 153 00:13:18,300 --> 00:13:27,160 Was the whole concept of abiding saying something to me that I wasn't ready to hear? 154 00:13:27,160 --> 00:13:28,360 Don Baker goes on to say, 155 00:13:28,360 --> 00:13:33,800 I have never known for sure just why I threw that little book with such force, except that 156 00:13:33,800 --> 00:13:39,920 possibly the word abide had never been one of the more important words in my theological 157 00:13:39,920 --> 00:13:42,360 system. 158 00:13:42,360 --> 00:13:48,160 The word really had very little meaning, relational significance for sure, but its experiential 159 00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:51,000 meanings were vague and elusive. 160 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:59,680 To abide had always meant something similar to stop, to rest, to be still, to be quiet. 161 00:13:59,680 --> 00:14:05,200 Whenever I would read a verse like Psalm 46.10, be still and know that I am God, I would never 162 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:08,280 stop to ponder its meaning. 163 00:14:08,280 --> 00:14:18,180 Christian ministry to me was never characterized by words like rest, stop, quiet, or stillness. 164 00:14:18,180 --> 00:14:23,920 If that was what abiding meant, I didn't have time to waste on such an experience. 165 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:27,840 Do you identify with that? 166 00:14:27,840 --> 00:14:34,600 Some of you who are so busy working for the Lord, do you identify with that? 167 00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:39,200 For 20 years, he says, I had grown accustomed to a ministry of action, a ministry that had 168 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:43,200 made insistent demands on both time and energy. 169 00:14:43,200 --> 00:14:47,600 I was convinced that I should be in my study before the men of my church began their work 170 00:14:47,600 --> 00:14:48,600 day. 171 00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:53,320 I prided myself on being the last to turn out my light at night. 172 00:14:53,320 --> 00:14:58,000 In three pastorates, I gave my entire work day to counseling and visitation six days 173 00:14:58,000 --> 00:14:59,840 a week. 174 00:14:59,840 --> 00:15:03,980 After the family would retire, I would slip over to my office to spend the quiet hours 175 00:15:03,980 --> 00:15:10,120 of the night in study, returning home at about four in the morning. 176 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:17,520 The schedule worked well until some of the local police officers came to Christ. 177 00:15:17,520 --> 00:15:21,560 Those officers who worked the night shift would drive by, see my light on, stop, and 178 00:15:21,560 --> 00:15:24,640 come in for counseling. 179 00:15:24,640 --> 00:15:30,760 I was accustomed to a Christianity that gave obvious, active meaning to every moment. 180 00:15:30,760 --> 00:15:36,040 Anything less suggested a flaw in my commitment. 181 00:15:36,040 --> 00:15:37,640 Friends would encourage me to slow down. 182 00:15:37,640 --> 00:15:40,760 Doctors would warn me to change my lifestyle. 183 00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:43,600 Encounters with God were always on the run. 184 00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:47,400 Prayers were telegraphed. 185 00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:50,320 My study of scripture was impersonal. 186 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:56,000 Every new concept was assimilated with my people in mind and remembered only to be incorporated 187 00:15:56,000 --> 00:15:59,440 into a future sermon. 188 00:15:59,440 --> 00:16:06,140 For a fast-paced Christian like myself, the word abide had little meaning. 189 00:16:06,140 --> 00:16:14,200 Now that my whole world had stopped its violent, wrenching pace, I was bewildered. 190 00:16:14,200 --> 00:16:19,520 Some of you are bewildered this morning about abiding. 191 00:16:19,520 --> 00:16:24,960 Baker goes on to say, Like Elijah, I felt I had been exceptionally zealous for the Lord. 192 00:16:24,960 --> 00:16:29,760 I had worked diligently at tearing down the false altars to the false gods. 193 00:16:29,760 --> 00:16:34,960 I was accustomed to the great and strong winds and the rending of the mountains and of the 194 00:16:34,960 --> 00:16:44,320 fire and the earthquakes, but a total stranger to the still, small voice. 195 00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:52,760 There comes a time, he says, in every Christian's life when the only thing he can do is abide. 196 00:16:52,760 --> 00:17:00,440 My time had come and I did not know how to do it. 197 00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:03,760 Maybe that's where you are today. 198 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:08,600 He goes on to relate the fact that God had not stopped speaking to him. 199 00:17:08,600 --> 00:17:19,360 God was still with him, but it took him weeks to slow down, to stop, to rest, to begin to 200 00:17:19,360 --> 00:17:22,200 learn what it is to abide. 201 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:29,800 It seems to me that there are several related ideas to abiding, abiding like a branch in 202 00:17:29,800 --> 00:17:30,800 the vine. 203 00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:39,760 In the first place, it means resting, not striving. 204 00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:44,160 And then it means depending, not forcing. 205 00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:51,320 Now frankly, most of us are used to thinking about Christian witness and Christian work 206 00:17:51,320 --> 00:17:58,600 in terms of striving and forcing. 207 00:17:58,600 --> 00:18:01,800 Abiding is resting and depending. 208 00:18:01,800 --> 00:18:09,760 Abiding is producing fruit, not producing work. 209 00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:14,560 Abiding is trusting, not trying. 210 00:18:14,560 --> 00:18:23,760 And all of that comes from uninterrupted communion of the vine and the branch. 211 00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:33,080 Andrew Murray tells us that the branch is to be utterly given up to the vine. 212 00:18:33,080 --> 00:18:36,240 The vine gives as much or as little sap as it pleases. 213 00:18:36,240 --> 00:18:44,680 The branch is at the disposal of the vine, just intended to bear fruit. 214 00:18:44,680 --> 00:18:53,120 Another place he reminds us that you cannot really distinguish the point at which the 215 00:18:53,120 --> 00:18:59,440 vine stops and the branch begins. 216 00:18:59,440 --> 00:19:01,520 Why is that? 217 00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:06,920 Because they are grown together. 218 00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:16,040 You see dear people, you and I are branches in the vine. 219 00:19:16,040 --> 00:19:25,600 You cannot see where Jesus stops and you begin because you see you are identified together. 220 00:19:25,600 --> 00:19:32,700 When you are abiding in Christ, in this biblical sense, what you are doing is simply recognizing 221 00:19:32,700 --> 00:19:43,960 that union with him and on the basis of that beginning to draw upon his life and his power. 222 00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:51,840 But so often we are like branches that are cut off, still laying over there somewhere 223 00:19:51,840 --> 00:19:56,600 trying to do its thing. 224 00:19:56,600 --> 00:20:04,720 Branches that are cut off, not from salvation, but from receiving and appropriating his life 225 00:20:04,720 --> 00:20:07,080 and his power. 226 00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:13,340 What is it that cuts off that receiving of his life? 227 00:20:13,340 --> 00:20:27,240 The expression of it through us, wrapped up in one little word, S-I-N. 228 00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:30,600 That is what interrupts our communion with him. 229 00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:38,280 It is that which causes his life not to cease giving us life, but to cease flowing through 230 00:20:38,280 --> 00:20:41,800 us, expressing what he is like. 231 00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:51,840 It is sin which quenches his spirit from working through us. 232 00:20:51,840 --> 00:20:55,840 There are some of you today who are very, very frustrated in the Christian life. 233 00:20:55,840 --> 00:20:59,360 Oh, I know you look good sitting there. 234 00:20:59,360 --> 00:21:00,720 You really do. 235 00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:03,240 You look real pretty. 236 00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:09,280 And your smile looks genuine and that handshake is firm and warm and sincere. 237 00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:25,760 But if the truth were known, your experience in the Christian life is in the pits. 238 00:21:25,760 --> 00:21:32,000 Part of the problem is that you have not learned how to abide in the vine. 239 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:37,800 Now, it is impossible for me to tell you exactly how to do it. 240 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:40,200 You know why that is? 241 00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:41,880 I can give you principles. 242 00:21:41,880 --> 00:21:43,940 I can explain truth to you. 243 00:21:43,940 --> 00:21:51,920 But only you can learn how to apply those and experience it in your own life. 244 00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:57,520 And there are some of you here today that are not even ready for it because you have 245 00:21:57,520 --> 00:22:00,760 not even gone through the breaking process yet. 246 00:22:00,760 --> 00:22:04,760 You are still fighting with God in your life. 247 00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:10,360 There are still some things you do not want to receive from Him. 248 00:22:10,360 --> 00:22:11,440 You need to deal with that. 249 00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:15,800 You need to be broken before God. 250 00:22:15,800 --> 00:22:23,160 And there are some of us that have not abandoned ourselves yet. 251 00:22:23,160 --> 00:22:29,240 But there are some of you here today who are hungry and desirous and wanting and eager 252 00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:36,800 to learn what it is to abide. 253 00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:39,080 Abiding is simply obeying. 254 00:22:39,080 --> 00:22:44,600 You say, yes, but that is hard to do. 255 00:22:44,600 --> 00:22:52,040 Well, in one sense that is true because sin within us seeks to keep us from obeying the 256 00:22:52,040 --> 00:22:54,000 Lord. 257 00:22:54,000 --> 00:23:01,520 But in another sense, it is not true if we love Jesus. 258 00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:11,100 Jesus said, if you love me, you will keep my commandments. 259 00:23:11,100 --> 00:23:15,040 We spend a lot of money on our kids. 260 00:23:15,040 --> 00:23:21,940 You know that every other week or so my wife goes to one of the supermarkets and she buys 261 00:23:21,940 --> 00:23:25,520 a lot of food. 262 00:23:25,520 --> 00:23:34,040 She spends more money than I used to get in a salary when I was single and just starting 263 00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:35,640 out as an assistant pastor. 264 00:23:35,640 --> 00:23:43,880 Of course, that was a few years ago and food has gone up. 265 00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:45,960 We spend a lot of money buying our kids shoes. 266 00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:50,940 Do you know how much shoes cost for kids? 267 00:23:50,940 --> 00:23:55,840 A little bit of leather costs as much as my shoes. 268 00:23:55,840 --> 00:23:59,160 We buy them clothes. 269 00:23:59,160 --> 00:24:01,200 You know what? 270 00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:06,600 This state in which we live says I have to do that. 271 00:24:06,600 --> 00:24:12,920 There are laws in the books of the state of Minnesota that force me to buy my kids food 272 00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:14,200 and clothing and shoes. 273 00:24:14,200 --> 00:24:19,600 If I don't, they are going to be taken away from me. 274 00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:23,320 Is that why I buy my kids those things? 275 00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:27,880 No. 276 00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:34,760 I do what I should for them, not because I have to, but because I want to, because I 277 00:24:34,760 --> 00:24:38,480 love them. 278 00:24:38,480 --> 00:24:40,380 You listen. 279 00:24:40,380 --> 00:24:47,520 When the commandments of the Lord Jesus Christ seem hard and seem to rub against us, the 280 00:24:47,520 --> 00:24:50,760 problem is not the commandments. 281 00:24:50,760 --> 00:24:52,800 The problem is our heart attitude. 282 00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:57,840 We are not loving Him as we ought to. 283 00:24:57,840 --> 00:25:07,000 For when we love someone, we want to do what pleases them and what is good for them. 284 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:15,160 And when we love the Lord Jesus Christ, it is our heart's desire to obey Him. 285 00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:18,320 His commandments are not grievous. 286 00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:20,440 They are our delight. 287 00:25:20,440 --> 00:25:25,800 Sadly, we don't perfectly keep them because sin still dwells in us. 288 00:25:25,800 --> 00:25:34,640 But the more we love Him, the more we want to please Him by obeying Him. 289 00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:41,320 And how do you get to love Jesus more? 290 00:25:41,320 --> 00:25:43,520 Same way you get to love anybody more. 291 00:25:43,520 --> 00:25:46,520 You spend time with them. 292 00:25:46,520 --> 00:25:52,000 My wife and I have often remarked that as we look back now upon our marriage and compare 293 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:56,520 the love that we had when we were married to the love we have now, we didn't even love 294 00:25:56,520 --> 00:25:59,040 each other then. 295 00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:00,960 Some of you can identify with that, can't you? 296 00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:03,440 I hope. 297 00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:10,000 I hope you're not saying, well, I loved her a lot more than I do now. 298 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:16,880 Now what has happened over the last 13 years? 299 00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:17,960 What's happened? 300 00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:22,100 We have spent a little time together. 301 00:26:22,100 --> 00:26:26,760 And the more I get to know her, the more I love her. 302 00:26:26,760 --> 00:26:31,800 The more we know each other, the more we see each other's faults, the more we love each 303 00:26:31,800 --> 00:26:32,800 other. 304 00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:41,280 Now my friend, the more time you spend with Jesus, the more you're going to get to know 305 00:26:41,280 --> 00:26:42,280 Him. 306 00:26:42,280 --> 00:26:47,760 And the more you get to know Him, the more you're going to get to love Him. 307 00:26:47,760 --> 00:26:54,920 The more you love Him, the more you're going to want to obey Him and please Him. 308 00:26:54,920 --> 00:27:00,260 And the more you obey Him and please Him, the more you'll abide. 309 00:27:00,260 --> 00:27:08,000 And the more you abide, the more fruit, real fruit, will be produced in your life. 310 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:13,560 That's what abiding is all about. 311 00:27:13,560 --> 00:27:22,080 The Christian life, if it seems difficult to you, perhaps is because you're seeking 312 00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:29,400 to do it in your own strength, the basis of your own will and fortitude. 313 00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:32,480 Don't we so often put our plans together? 314 00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:36,320 We decide what we're going to do and then we say, now Lord, we thank you that you've 315 00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:40,820 been here with us and you please bless what we've decided to do. 316 00:27:40,820 --> 00:27:42,480 You bless and help us, right? 317 00:27:42,480 --> 00:27:44,800 I mean those two usually go together. 318 00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:47,200 Bless and help. 319 00:27:47,200 --> 00:27:48,400 And we think that's abiding. 320 00:27:48,400 --> 00:27:51,320 No my friend. 321 00:27:51,320 --> 00:27:56,480 Because you see, when we're abiding, it means that He's the center of our lives. 322 00:27:56,480 --> 00:28:03,240 It means that whatever decisions we make, whatever actions we're going to take, whatever 323 00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:07,120 direction we're going to seek, we're consulting Him first. 324 00:28:07,120 --> 00:28:13,560 He's number one. 325 00:28:13,560 --> 00:28:18,680 The Christian life is abandonment and abiding. 326 00:28:18,680 --> 00:28:35,600 Go back to Matthew chapter 14 and we'll close with this one final episode. 327 00:28:35,600 --> 00:28:51,120 Here in the middle of the chapter, Jesus sent the disciples ahead of Him in a boat and the 328 00:28:51,120 --> 00:28:57,560 boat got away from the land on its way to its destination. 329 00:28:57,560 --> 00:29:02,640 Night came and with the night came a storm. 330 00:29:02,640 --> 00:29:08,560 And it says that the boat was battered by the waves, verse 24. 331 00:29:08,560 --> 00:29:14,380 And then in verse 25, and in the fourth watch of the night, that is sometime between three 332 00:29:14,380 --> 00:29:25,360 o'clock and six o'clock in the morning, Jesus came to them walking on the sea. 333 00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:29,360 Now you can see the disciples, can't you? 334 00:29:29,360 --> 00:29:30,360 They're out here in the boat. 335 00:29:30,360 --> 00:29:34,600 They haven't slept a wink. 336 00:29:34,600 --> 00:29:36,000 The oars are out there. 337 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:40,680 They are pulling, trying to keep that boat headed into the waves at the right angle so 338 00:29:40,680 --> 00:29:42,880 that they're not going to sink. 339 00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:43,880 They are frustrated. 340 00:29:43,880 --> 00:29:45,240 They are worried. 341 00:29:45,240 --> 00:29:51,120 Jesus is back there and here they are about to die. 342 00:29:51,120 --> 00:29:55,440 And the fourth watch of the night, He came to them walking on the sea. 343 00:29:55,440 --> 00:29:59,640 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were frightened and said, it's 344 00:29:59,640 --> 00:30:02,040 a ghost. 345 00:30:02,040 --> 00:30:03,520 And they cried out for fear. 346 00:30:03,520 --> 00:30:05,040 And you know what? 347 00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:09,200 You would have too if you'd have been there. 348 00:30:09,200 --> 00:30:14,200 And immediately Jesus spoke to them saying, take courage, it is I. 349 00:30:14,200 --> 00:30:16,640 Do not be afraid. 350 00:30:16,640 --> 00:30:18,600 They knew His voice. 351 00:30:18,600 --> 00:30:23,320 And Peter answered Him and said, Lord, if it's You, command me to come to You on the 352 00:30:23,320 --> 00:30:24,320 water. 353 00:30:24,320 --> 00:30:28,600 Did you hear that? 354 00:30:28,600 --> 00:30:32,440 He didn't say, Lord, if it's You, get over here in the boat. 355 00:30:32,440 --> 00:30:40,040 He said, Lord, if that's really You, then command me to come to You in the water. 356 00:30:40,040 --> 00:30:43,680 And He said, come. 357 00:30:43,680 --> 00:30:51,560 And Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 358 00:30:51,560 --> 00:30:54,800 Do you know what I see there? 359 00:30:54,800 --> 00:31:00,960 I see abandonment and abiding. 360 00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:09,560 Because Peter, having received this command from the Lord, come, had to leave the boat. 361 00:31:09,560 --> 00:31:12,320 And he didn't have a life preserver on. 362 00:31:12,320 --> 00:31:14,880 There was no life jacket. 363 00:31:14,880 --> 00:31:22,880 I mean, he had to step out of the boat on the water. 364 00:31:22,880 --> 00:31:27,320 And then he had to walk to Jesus and he did it. 365 00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:35,360 He not only abandoned the boat, he had his eyes on Jesus, was trusting Him, and he walked 366 00:31:35,360 --> 00:31:39,280 on the water as he was abiding. 367 00:31:39,280 --> 00:31:44,720 I think that illustrates for us a different perspective, a different analogy, what the 368 00:31:44,720 --> 00:31:46,280 Christian life is all about. 369 00:31:46,280 --> 00:31:51,800 Now it goes on to say, but seeing the wind, he became afraid and began to sink and he 370 00:31:51,800 --> 00:31:53,320 cried out, Lord, save me. 371 00:31:53,320 --> 00:31:56,480 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took a hold of him. 372 00:31:56,480 --> 00:32:03,600 I think what happened was Peter was out there walking on the water watching Jesus. 373 00:32:03,600 --> 00:32:07,200 Back in the boat, John said, look out, Peter, here comes a big one. 374 00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:08,200 And this wave was coming. 375 00:32:08,200 --> 00:32:13,680 And he looked, and there it was. 376 00:32:13,680 --> 00:32:17,120 That's just like some Christians, isn't it? 377 00:32:17,120 --> 00:32:20,440 Watch out! 378 00:32:20,440 --> 00:32:24,160 A reasonable thing to say. 379 00:32:24,160 --> 00:32:26,600 But Jesus was there and Peter cried out. 380 00:32:26,600 --> 00:32:28,200 He didn't have to say much. 381 00:32:28,200 --> 00:32:32,680 Jesus reached down, picked him up. 382 00:32:32,680 --> 00:32:38,320 My friend, the secret to the Christian life is faith. 383 00:32:38,320 --> 00:32:43,040 And faith is abandonment and abiding. 384 00:32:43,040 --> 00:32:48,400 Do you need to be broken today and finish that process, or that Christ's experience, 385 00:32:48,400 --> 00:32:49,400 rather? 386 00:32:49,400 --> 00:32:51,720 That process really that goes on through life. 387 00:32:51,720 --> 00:32:57,960 If you're struggling with God over some circumstance in your life, what you need to do today is 388 00:32:57,960 --> 00:32:59,480 say, Lord, you are right. 389 00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:00,480 I am wrong. 390 00:33:00,480 --> 00:33:04,280 I give you control. 391 00:33:04,280 --> 00:33:08,520 I humble myself before you. 392 00:33:08,520 --> 00:33:13,040 There are some of you that are clinging on to self-interest and self-goals and what you 393 00:33:13,040 --> 00:33:18,440 want and material things and relationships and what you need to do today if you want 394 00:33:18,440 --> 00:33:25,640 to walk the walk of faith is to abandon those things. 395 00:33:25,640 --> 00:33:31,000 And all of us here today need to learn some more about abiding, obeying, because we love 396 00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:35,920 Him and know Him. 397 00:33:35,920 --> 00:33:41,200 Let's bow together. 398 00:33:41,200 --> 00:33:46,120 John chapter 15, of course, follows John chapter 14 where Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, 399 00:33:46,120 --> 00:33:47,120 and the life. 400 00:33:47,120 --> 00:33:49,440 No man comes to the Father but by me. 401 00:33:49,440 --> 00:33:54,320 And someone here today perhaps needs to trust Him as Savior. 402 00:33:54,320 --> 00:33:59,160 You need to come to Him for salvation. 403 00:33:59,160 --> 00:34:03,900 If so, would you today repent of your sin and trust Him? 404 00:34:03,900 --> 00:34:06,760 He is God came and died on the cross for you. 405 00:34:06,760 --> 00:34:14,480 He's been raised from the dead that He might give you eternal life. 406 00:34:14,480 --> 00:34:17,600 So we can't stay in John 14, folks. 407 00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:26,400 We've got to go on to chapter 15 and learn what it is to abide in the vine. 408 00:34:26,400 --> 00:34:31,760 Heavenly Father, I pray that you will teach us today what we need to learn that we might 409 00:34:31,760 --> 00:34:36,640 abide. 410 00:34:36,640 --> 00:34:46,040 I pray that you will deal with us in such a wonderful and intimate and personal way 411 00:34:46,040 --> 00:34:53,600 that not one of us will go out without knowing that you've touched our heart and you've 412 00:34:53,600 --> 00:34:56,560 said something to us this morning. 413 00:34:56,560 --> 00:35:02,840 And I pray, Father, that we will respond to you just as we should. 414 00:35:02,840 --> 00:35:06,200 May we trust you and obey you. 415 00:35:06,200 --> 00:35:08,880 May we love you. 416 00:35:08,880 --> 00:35:17,200 May we come to know you as you've revealed yourself in the Word. 417 00:35:17,200 --> 00:35:19,640 Would you sing with me? 418 00:35:19,640 --> 00:35:41,680 Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey. 419 00:35:41,680 --> 00:35:56,880 We're going to close by singing number three.