Abide in Christ

Abide In Christ

by Juan Rodriguez

John 15: 1- 8 (NIV)

¹ “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ² He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. ³ You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴ Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. ⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Introduction:

• On this stage, I have a box taped on the floor.
• Jesus says, “Abide in me, and you’ll bear much fruit.”
• To abide means to remain/wait/stay.
• What a fantastic deal given to us by Jesus.
• Abide here, and I will bless you.
• Wait here, and I will renew your strength.
• Remain here, and I will hear your prayers.
• What a bargain!
• To wait, stay, & remain, & He will produce fruit in us.
• Yet, this bargain carries a burden.
• It’s difficult to wait here when the world seems to be burning around you.
• It seems impossible to remain here when grief and anger have overtaken my soul.
• It’s tempting to walk away from Christ when culture questions & mocks my beliefs every single day.

Challenges – the enemy:

• Remaining in Christ is challenging.
• I’m thinking of when I wrestled in P.E. class.
• There is a circle on the floor, and one of the tasks is to get your opponent outside the ring.
• The goal of the enemy is to push you out of Christ.
• Now first, you have to identify the enemy.
• You need to know who you’re wrestling against.
• When we don’t know who we are fighting against, it’s like shooting a ball into your own basket.
• All your effort just led to a point for the other team.
• In wrestling terms, it’s easy for the enemy to push you out when you don’t see him coming. It’s easy for him to hit you when you don’t see him coming.
• Know your enemy.
• The Bible says we don’t wrestle with flesh and blood but principalities, powers, darkness in this evil world.
• We spend all our time fighting puppets while the puppet master goes unaffected.
• Your spouse is not the enemy, nor is a politician or a boss or a virus. Look at the bigger picture.
• Get the real enemy in your scope and pull the trigger.
• Dig your feet into the ground and see the schemes of the enemy so that he doesn’t push you out of Christ.
• Ignorance is not irreversible! Stay on alert for the enemy and determine to abide in Christ!
• We lose when we are pushed out of Christ.
• That’s the real fight. That’s the real enemy!

Challenges – ourselves:

• It’s bad enough that the enemy is trying to push me out of Christ, I’ve got things inside of me that try to pull me out of Christ as well.
• These ropes represent the things that are connected to me, the things that affect my heart and personality.
• This first rope is called feelings.
• My feelings easily pull me out of Christ.
• I get angry and I’m pulled out of Christ, into expressing myself in a way that’s not Christlike.
• Loneliness tugs me away from devotion to Christ and pulls me into toxic friendships.
• I get tired and give up entirely on godly standards.
• I’m insecure, depressed, impatient, and choose a solution that is outside of Jesus.
• Like a promiscuous spouse, we let our feelings dictate our faithfulness.
• Let me warn you: If your emotions are not under control, your emotions will control you.
• Our emotions will convince us that it is smarter, more comfortable, and even justifiable to abandon our devotion to Christ for the sake of our feelings.
• The challenge is to forsake feelings for the sake of Christ. To remain in Christ, despite my feelings.
• Here’s why: feelings are deceptive.
• I remember being younger, and there was a season of about two months where my bones were hurting from the knees down.
• For no reason. I wasn’t athletic. I wasn’t active.
• Some days I would cry because it hurt so bad.
• It wasn’t long after that, maybe a couple of months later, that I notice that I was taller than my siblings.
• Today, I am the youngest of 5, yet I’m the tallest in the family.
• You see, I felt pain, I felt sadness, I was crying, all the while I was growing!
• It wasn’t just pain, they were growth pains!
• If you are abiding in Christ and your emotions are flaring up. If you are abiding in Christ and you feel pain, just tell yourself:  these are just growing pains!
• Don’t let it pull you out. The fruit is about to sprout!

Challenges – labels:

• Another challenge are the labels we identify with.
• Political parties are a big one this year.
• Nationalism is another big one. Ethnicity is one.
• The issue is when we identify more with a political party than we do with Christ.
• Some of us are more American than we are children of God.
• Some of us would forsake the fruit of the Spirit if it came between us and our nationalism.
• We would look over sin as long as it’s “OUR” president doing it. We look over injustice as long as our party is looking over it too. 
• We ignore the facts as long as it fits with our narrative.
• Our clubs, clichés, and groups become demonic when we allow them to pull us outside of Christ.
• You’re a Republican, but what about the things the Bible says on being full of grace, mercy, and compassion? How does that affect issues like racism, immigration, and government assistance?
• You’re a Democrat, but what about what the Bible says about the sanctity of marriage and the value for life, even those unborn?
• I understand that you believe all lives matter, but what about considering others above yourself and listening more than you speak.
• I understand that you believe black lives matter, but what about the sons of God being peacemakers? 
• What about forgiving others as Christ forgives you, not holding their sins against them?
• These labels are a PART of who you are, but they shouldn’t DEFINE who you are; Christ defines you!
• I must remain in Christ at all times.
• Even if that means disassociating with some labels.
• Don’t be so broadly defined.
• It’s like when I’m talking to a car-lover.
• They show me a muscle car, and I go “nice car.”
• They are insulted! “Nice car? This isn’t just a nice car. This is a…” Then they recite the make, the model, the engine, the gadgets, and more.
• They recite the stats of this car by memory better than they recite the pledge of alliance.
• I’m like that with food.
• Pastor Juan likes peanut butter.
• No! Now, I’m insulted.
• I like honey roasted, crunchy peanut butter --- preferably the Peter Pan brand.
• I’ll fight you on the specifics!
• This is how we should be with our labels!
• I’m an independent. I’m a Hispanic. I’m a black man.
• No. I’m not JUST that.
• I’m in Christ! I’m a child of God. I’m an ambassador of Christ. I am part of a royal priesthood. I am a peacemaker.  I’m carrying the ministry of reconciliation. I am a part of the body of Christ. I am a new creation. I am the salt of the earth. I am a light on a hill. I’m a disciple of Christ.
• I’m not just an American --- I’m an American, in Christ.
• I’m not just a Hispanic --- I’m a Hispanic, in Christ.
• And I will fight for that distinction.
• I will defend that distinction.
• Above any other label, I’m in Christ!

Challenges – Greed:

• How about this rope called greed?
• How many of us have been pulled out of Christ by the famous words, “I need.”
• I’m trying to teach my son about the difference between need and want.
• He doesn’t NEED that piece of cake.
• He doesn’t NEED to stay up late watching Paw Patrol.
• He doesn’t NEED to hit his sister in the face.
• I’m having the same conversations with myself.
• We can be impulsive due to the things we think we need.
• Remember that the heart is deceptive.
• How do we identify between what we need and want?
• Let me explain it to you:
• If I truly need it, I can get it right here, in Christ!
• If it helps me bear fruit, I can get it right here.
• If it’s God's will for me, I don’t have to go outside of Christ to get it.
• I can remain here, wait here, and abide in Christ.
• If I can’t get it while being in Christ, then this thing is not “for my good,” it’s for my greed.
• Listen to me: God’s Word will never rob you from life; it will just save me from that which strips life away.
• The best of both worlds isn’t always applicable.
• There comes the point where you either get what you want or you get Christ.
• You get what you want and miss out on what God has for you. Our greed robs us from God’s provision.
• Our greed causes us to make demands to God, demanding Him to approve our preferences or else we’ll step out of Christ.
• “Approve my wants. Approve of my traditions.”
• Listen to me church: Our union, in Christ, is not a business deal; it’s a covenant!
• Try making demands in a marriage.
• You can’t force Christ in a corner.
• You can’t outsmart or manipulate Him.
• When you begin to see God as a “joy kill,” or an obstacle to your desires or a hindrance to your plans, you’re in danger of stepping outside of Christ.
• Like children who cause parents to take opposite sides, our greed separates us from God.
• I love my kids, but I know where they belong on the totem pole; below my wife! If it came between them or her, I’d pick her in a heartbeat.
• Isn’t this the devotion and loyalty Christ asks for?
• “If you don’t hate mother, father, sister, and brother for my sake, you aren’t worthy of me.”
• “Sell all you have, give it to the poor, and follow me.”
• This seems radical for a religion. It’s reasonable for a relationship; for a covenant.

Belt of truth:

• There’s a reason why these ropes are tied to a belt.
• Our spiritual belt is the belt of truth.
• Whenever these things try to pull you out of Christ, pull yourself back in with the truth!
• There’s no greater truth than that which we find in the  Word of God.
• Jesus says, abide in Me by abiding in My Word.
• We have a deficiency in Bible reading and bible knowledge in the church.
• I am fully aware that it’s not about how many Scriptures you know; rather, it is how many Scriptures you live that truly matters.
• That being said, knowing the Bible is the beginning to living it.
• And living the Bible is the beginning of using it to defend yourself against the push and pulls of life.
• The Bible shows me what “in Christ” looks like.

Conclusion:

• Jesus gives us an amazing promise.
• If we abide in Him and His Word, we will bear fruit.
• Our world is experiencing a spiritual famine due to fruitless Christians.
• Don’t assume that you are in Christ.
• Look at the fruit in your life!

Jeremiah 7:3-11

³ This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. ⁴ Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” ⁵ If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, ⁶ if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, ⁷ then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever. ⁸ But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless. ⁹ “‘Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, ¹⁰ and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things? ¹¹ Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord.

• “Pastor Juan, I’m all good. I’m in church.” 
• Yeah, but are you in Christ?
• If you don’t abide in His truth, in His Word, if you don’t walk in the light, you are not in Christ.
• Pastor Mark told me the illustration of an apple tree.
• There are apples on the ground, but they are rotten.
• Some have bruises. The best apples are on the tree!
• Yes, in Christ, you’ll have to raise the standard.
• You’ll have to climb higher. It’s harder. More energy.
• But don’t settle for things that lower your standards. 
• Don’t stray far from the vine! Don’t get pulled!
• The best fruit is on the vine. The best fruit is in Christ!
• Jesus is beckoning you… Forsake everything that lures you away and abide in Jesus and His teachings.
• The pushes and pulls of life are our enemy.
• We must determine to abide in Christ at all costs! 
• Prioritize abiding!
• When the world pushes, push back!
• When these things inside of you try to pull you away, pull yourself back!
• And you will bear much fruit.