The Abiding Lesson Three

Well, as we begin lesson three of the abiding, we're going to look at verses four and five of chapter 15, friends, for that will be our focus today. We will drop anchor and plumb deep here. The principles of the abiding life are clearly stated in John 15, 4. Abide in me and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine.

No more can ye except ye abide in me. That word abide in the Greek is the word meno and I want us to dig deep into the riches of that word. Those prospectors looking for gold will stumble occasionally on a nugget upon the surface.

But as to those who are willing to labor hard and dig deep, they are the ones who will uncover the mother load and explore that treasure. Well, let's look at the meaning now, friends, of this Greek word meno. It is a primary verb and it means to stay in a given place or relation.

It means to abide, continue, dwell, remain. Terry, I am reminded of the old hymn in the garden. Perhaps some of you remember it.

It goes, I come to the garden alone while the dew is still on the roses and the voice I hear falling on my ear. The son of God discloses and he walks with me and he talks with me and he tells me I am his own and the joy we share as we tarry there none other has ever known. That word tarry signifies this concept of abiding, abiding in a close walk with God, enjoying his fellowship as we linger there in our quiet time of prayer.

The abiding principle of an intimate love relationship with our Savior, vitally connected to him. This word meno also signifies that of a person dwelling or lodging in a place. Picture that in your mind, friends.

Meno also gives us the meaning of a person remaining in a state or condition that continues to remain in force. I believe all these capture the concept of abide in me. Our daily quiet time should be more like a lover's tryst, a place of intimacy, trust, transparency, where we can share with God our deepest fears, our struggles in life, our problems with sin, our grandest dreams and aspirations.

When you have a best friend, you open up to that person and bring them into your private life or walk with our faithful friend. Jesus of Nazareth is one of abiding intimacy. The abiding is a place of fellowship and communion where we share with Jesus what is on our heart and he, in turn, reveals to us what is on his heart.

George Whitefield aptly described this aspect of the Christian life under the term of a felt Christ, and Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones agreed with that description of a felt Christ. Lloyd-Jones said, if we only spent more of our time in looking at him, we should soon forget ourselves. Do we have an experiential knowledge of him? As we absorb the experience of the abiding life, it will also transform us.

For when Jesus was here in his earthly ministry, as he passed from town to village, all who encountered him experienced change. To encounter God is to experience change. Look at the life of Abraham.

Go look at Jacob. Look at Peter. Look at Paul.

How their lives were altered by close walk with God. Now we cannot read verse four without reading verse five, which contains this thought of the abiding. I am the vine, ye are the branches.

He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. For without me ye can do nothing. Christ is the life, the apostle Paul said.

For me to live is Christ. All power flows from him as the vine. I have a lemon tree outside my window, and I take great delight each fruitful season when I can stand out on my balcony and lean over and grab a bright yellow lemon and go make lemonade.

But if I were to break off one of those branches and still expect it to bring forth fruit, I'd be out of my mind. It can't be done. It goes against nature.

The branch must stay connected to the vine for it to produce fruit. When Jesus says, for without me, ye can do nothing, that sums up our stale efforts to produce a form of religion on our own. We can do nothing lasting for eternity apart from him.

We can build some big church campuses and run some appealing programs that are popular and send some short-term mission trips abroad. But if we do it apart from him, we're just doing it for ourselves. Jesus speaks of bringing forth much fruit.

There are degrees of fruitfulness, and the more we linger in the presence of God, the more fruit we will bear for him and his glory. For we mustn't think of ourselves as fruit producers, but fruit bearers. He produces the fruit by his Spirit through us.

Fruit is not by power nor by might, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. Notice Jesus does not say, abide with me or stay with me. That would carry a different meaning altogether, friends.

No, he says, abide in me, stay in me, stay connected to me through a vital walk with me. Now there is a deeper principle here, friends, which may explain our inconsistent walk with God. How are we to abide in him if we do not obey him? Amos 3.3 declares, can two walk together except they be agreed? You cannot expect to abide in him if you are going your own way.

Have you ever seen a mountain stream? I used to live in Tennessee, and up in the eastern part of that state are the Smoky Mountains, and there are streams that flow down those mountains like a clear crystal cascade. But if high winds knock down a tree into that stream, it'll block the water. The blockage must be removed for the water to course through freely again.

So too, in our Christian walk, we must remain clear in clean channels through which as living waters can flow through as a means of blessings to others. This principle of the abiding falls directly under the Lordship of Christ. Now, I admit that the doctrine of the Lordship of Christ has been conveniently swept under the rug of our pulpits today.

That's one of the main reasons our preaching lacks power and authority. It's also why we're not seeing revival in our day, because the people of God are a lawless people today, bent on their own ways. O friends, how can we abide in him if we are not walking in obedience to his commands? Look at Christ's words in verses 9 and 10.

As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you. Continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

Now, we must be honest with ourselves here, friends. A life lived unto ourselves is not the abiding life, but a self-driven life. To abide in him is to live unto him, in total surrender to his Lordship in our lives.

The Gospel has rights and claims on a follower of Christ Jesus for the very reason that he bought us with his blood. Blood redemption gives us access to the Father. But if we are sincere in our desire to go deeper with God and to be more useful to God, it is here where the rubber meets the road.

If he's going to be your Savior, then he must be your Prince. You can't live in treason to a sovereign and expect anything of eternal worth. That's why the church today is a laughingstock to the world.

That's why unbelievers mock all the hypocrites in the church. That's why our pulpits lack authority and influence upon a sin-loving nation. We want heaven, but we want it on our terms.

We join the crowd in my Bible who gathered around and cried, we will not have this man to reign over us. The abiding is comprised of a life of surrender. Now if you fight that, friend, you're fighting with God.

An up-and-down life of inconsistency is a life of self-rule. My Bible says in Isaiah, for all we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his own way. Sin is going our way when we know it isn't God's way.

But God gets serious with those who get serious with him. If you just want information from these messages on the abiding, then that's what you'll take away from this series. But if you truly desire not just information but transformation, if you really want change, then you will experience change because God will work his work in you for his glory and for your good, friend.

He will get out his divine pruning knife on those who desire to be more Christ-like. Look around today at all the evangelism going on in the land, and it's mainly geared toward additions to put more folks on the church roll. Our gospel today lacks teeth because we've taken all the scandal out of the cross.

We preach a comfortable Christianity rather than preach up a bloody cross and a blood-stained savior. We want blessings. We want power.

But we want it on our terms, and God says no. If you want to participate in the abiding, friend, then self must go to the cross. The Christian life is live via the cross.

Paul declares that very thing in Galatians 2.20. I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.

In the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. That verse from Galatians informs us that the Christian life is the abiding life because it states Christ lives in me. But it also informs us that to have the abiding life, then one must face the cross in the life of a believer.

The Christian knows what it is to be in a vital union with a living Lord, and the Christian also knows that the abiding is a crucified life where self must go the way of the cross. Let us reflect upon these truths as we go now, friends, to our time of prayer. Let us pray.