Bearing Fruit - Part 6

Doing the one thing, the most important thing in life once you're saved. He that saith, he abideth in him. Ought himself also so to walk even as he walked.

Are you like Jesus, sir? Because then you're not lying. You abide in him. No matter what the devil or man is doing to you, you're like Jesus to them.

To them you're Christ-like to your worst enemy. Fruit. He that saith, he abideth in him.

Ought himself also so to walk even as he walked. The same chapter, the last two verses, verse 28. Now little children, not speaking about small children, but in this old age of John's loving eyes upon all the children of God, those who have been born of God, little children abide in him.

Abide in him. Why? Well he tells us that when he shall appear we may have confidence and not be ashamed. You don't want to be ashamed young man, old man? When he appears, abide in him.

Abide in him. One thing, not ten things and you'll survive. One thing.

Miss this and you will be ashamed. And this God's just saying this for nothing. No matter what your doctrines are.

You're not arguing with me, you're arguing with God if you say cut this verse out of the Bible. Little children abide in him that when he shall appear we may have confidence and not be ashamed. Before him it is coming, chapter 3, verse 6. Whosoever abides in him sinneth not.

Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not. There's no victory in Jesus apart from abiding in Christ. You can come out to the altar a million times and ask God for sanctification and heart-cleansing holiness people.

You won't be holy until you abide in him. I don't despise any work of grace in any heart and I say come. But until you lay down everything in life and make sure nothing keeps you from abiding in God.

Disabiding in Christ. It's not speaking about an act of faith whereby we're in the body of Christ, we're saved, we're in him. No, this has nothing to do with faith.

Disabiding in Christ that Christ and John are speaking about is a discipline. A discipline daily that will cost you more than anything else in life because Satan will try more than anything else in his power to keep you from this because every failure that ever come in your life will be the result of keeping you from this. There is nothing that matters more to Satan than every day to see he keeps you from the quiet time.

Don't you think it's your work that's caused it? It's Satan to make you busy. Sir, you're as real as your quiet time. You're as safe as your quiet time.

Disabiding in him we call the quiet time, the time when we get into God's presence. Do you know what a quiet time is, sir? It's not getting on your knees when you shut the door and spending an hour or two with God's Word and praying and then getting up and saying, there I spend my time with God. That's not a quiet time.

Do you know what a quiet time is, sir? Of any value to God is getting on your knees, young man, young lady, of every day of your life and not getting up from your knees until God the Holy Spirit says to you, now you may go, child, for now you will work with me through this day. A quiet time is not leaving God behind and saying, I gave God my time. A quiet time is getting up when God says, now open the door for now you walk with me through the day.

That's a quiet time. That's the idea. That's the whole purpose of getting through to God.

And you don't have the strength to get up and walk with God. Otherwise you didn't have a quiet time in God's eyes. The quiet time is the only thing you are set for.

A quiet time. It was real. I shared, I don't know if I shared here, but of my daddy.

When my daddy came to God, you know, he never missed the quiet time. He became holy. He staggered my nation, his life.

Though he wasn't a preacher, he won more souls to God than most preachers in our nation's history. He walked with God. He staggered the world.

Don't doubt that, my daddy. He wouldn't miss God. We became conscious of it, you know.

When he was a saint, nothing would keep him from the time with God. Nothing on earth would keep him from God. Can God say that of you? We are visitors.

They sat a little late, came to a certain time. Daddy stood up, tears coming down his face. He looked at them and he said, I don't want to offend you.

I don't want you to go have fellowship with my wife and children, but you've got to forgive me. You've got to excuse me. You see, I have to go to be with God now.

I have to go now because I have to spend so much time with God or I won't be able to sleep. My conscience won't let me. And if I won't go to sleep at this time, I won't be able to get up at this time and spend so much time with God.

And if I don't spend that time with God every morning, I cannot be what God wants of me. So if I don't pray to God or believe God, you have to forgive me. I must be excused now.

And he went back. That was a shock to us as a family that he did that to our guests. My mother was choking of embarrassment.

We had to get her water. I never forget the next time and the next time. Didn't do it too many times in his life.

People heard this and they didn't say a minute later than that time. But some didn't know. We knew what was coming.

I never forget the next time he stood up. Mommy didn't die of embarrassment when he stood up in the tears. He never found it easy to say these words, but he knew nothing must keep him from God.

No one. Some of the greatest preachers in the world came into our home. We were very privileged.

But even then he would get up and say those words. And I saw my mother stand as those men stood and looked at my father. And my mother didn't look ashamed or shocked anymore.

She looked at him with such respect because she knew this is why he's holy. Nothing keeps him from God. No one.

Men in our home have wept and said, I've never met a man in my life and no one kept him from God. No one. No one was more important than God.

Oh, he walked with God and he won the world. He staggered this world as he walked step by step. The world was staggered.

I saw, do you know, a room full of men and I'm talking about a few hundred in one few moments of a few split seconds started weeping at the consciousness of my father's presence. He looked at them and they said, could your life do that? Do you know why God did that? He never missed God. He never missed God.

He devoured the things of God. My children knocked on the door while I was still on my knees. I opened, I said, what is it? No, no, they're big now.

They're taller than me, but when they were small, they said, Daddy, look at the time. You've got to come now. It's getting late.

You've got to go. I said, no, it's too time. Daddy's still busy with God.

No, Daddy, come. And I look at them and I pray. But then I said these words, listen, boys, don't you ever, ever again in your life knock on my door when I'm with God.

Don't you ever again, unless someone is dying, don't you ever come to this door and I wept as I said these words. You see, my boys, I know many preachers whose children weep every day because their lives are so unholy, because they're busy serving God, but they haven't got time for God. This is the only reason you will never weep because of Daddy.

It's time with God. If you want to weep.