D2l - Brian sumner - Abide

I just want to read some verses for you, simple verses, but I think it's relevant. A lot of people send me these messages all the time asking about how they feel like God's telling them to share the gospel, or how do I share with my friends, or I want to be more of a Christian. And you've got to realize something, that a lot of people claim they believe and even put their faith in God in some way, but there's never been a transformation in their life. And there's many areas in the Christian faith where they'd say well they were never truly saved, they didn't really get to know the Lord, but it may just be that they're immature Christians because the Bible talks about that, the basic principles of Christianity, what it means. And so I just want to read this passage, I want to actually read it right out the Bible so you can hear the word of God, because Isaiah tells us when the word of God goes out it does not return void. So that means you listening to this today, even if you think this is crazy, even if you think this doesn't make sense, it's going to do something to your heart, the word of God. And I'm just going to set it up by just reading right here, chapter 15 of John, Jesus speaking says "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser." So for one, He's saying He's the true vine. He's the vine one of the plant. He's the vine and the Father is the gardener. And He says "Every branch in me that does not bear fruit He takes away." So He's saying that we, as Christians, as believers, as those who follow Him, those of us who are in Him, He refers to us as His branches. And what does He say? "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit He prunes and it may bear good fruit." That goes along with the verse that tells us that for what is given, much is expected. And when you look at this verse, what He's saying is every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, how could that be? Well, Jesus had 12 disciples. But one of them was a stray, one of them was a devil. Another doubted, but still, he finished the race and they had powerful ministries. So, was Judas actually in Christ? He was traveling around with Christ. But he never was really in Him. How do you know? Because there was no fruit in his life. There was no unction of the Holy Spirit, there was no transformed life, he was just simply faking it. He was false, he was stealing the money, he was all about himself and he was controlled by the enemy. And it's sad to say that many Christians, just as Matthew 7:21 says, many Christians call upon the name of the Lord but they never met Him. They never put their faith in Him, repented of their sins, and were never truly born again. And you may say well, who am I to judge? Well, you can't just take one verse in the Bible in the context that you want and put your whole life on that and spend the rest of your life living for yourself and believe Jesus Christ has truly lived inside of you and transformed you. Because you will not find this in the Bible. And this is all the gospel there is, this is all the Christianity there is, we can't make it up ourselves or we're fools. "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit He prunes that it may bear more fruit. You were already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you." What does He mean? That if we're truly in Him, if we've truly repented of our sins, the word He has spoken over us, why? Because His blood cries out on our behalf. When He stands before the Father and we stand before the Father we're found to be in Christ. His word which is alive, which is spoken, which is Christ, and His blood that's united, that's still wet, this very day, on that altar, has set us free. So the word He's spoken before us is setting us free even now. He tells us again in 4 "Abide in Me and I in you." He's telling us, He's pleading with us to abide in Him. "As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me." He's saying you have to be in Christ to continue to bear fruit. And what is this fruit, what is it? Well, for one you can read Galatians and see the fruits of the Spirit, the nine fruits of the Spirit, the way we're meant to live and the way we're meant to be as examples for Christ in the world. Being the salt and the light. But, the fruit too, that we're transformed into His image, daily. The evidence that people around us are disciples now. He tells us to go and make disciples, not just go and give out cards at a coffee shop, not just shout "God bless you" to so-and-so in your family. To literally make disciples by the proclaiming of the gospel, by the sharing in faith, and the loving one another as He loved us. Verse 5 "I am the vine, you are the branches, He who abides in Me and I in him bears much fruit. For without Me you can do nothing." Again, He's repeating the same point. And I want to ask you today, many of the young children that write me or the people that are involved in ministry, are you bearing fruit? How many people are you discipling - not so you can say all these numbers, but so you can know that the Lord's doing a work in you, that there's an evidence of it. Amen. "If anyone does not abide in Me he is cast out as a branch and is withered. And they gather them and throw them into the fire and they are burned." So if there's not fruit, and you can think you have fruit all day but if it's not God's fruit, if it's filled with worms and it's stale and it's filthy it's not of the Lord Jesus Christ. It says "And they gather them and throw them into the fire and they are burned." And the Bible tells us that the angels will come and they'll separate the wheat and the tares. What else? The goats and the sheep, those who are truly His and those who are not. The ten virgins, the five that were found to have oil. 7 "If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you." If you abide in Me and My words abide in you. What does He say in the Lord's prayer? "Give us this day our daily bread." Not give us this day some bread. This is our daily bread. So many people want revelation from heaven and they want the word of God, but they won't even open these pages themselves, and listen to them, and do what it says. So why is God going to give some supernatural revelation when we don't even respond to the basic principles? It isn't just believing. It isn't the fish on the back of the car, or the Jesus image on my skateboard that really shows the faith that we have in Christ. It's the fact that we're bearing fruit and we're abiding in the Lord Jesus Christ. "If you abide in Me and My words abide in you." Children out there, get into the word of God, transform your family by the word of God, through the Holy Spirit, amen. "You will ask for what you desire and it shall be done for you." So many people come to their faith because they want their life to be better, they want it to be all about them and they see some of the things that some of these Christians are rolling around with and listen: The Lord does want us to prosper. It is the Lord's will. But not prosper as we think. The Bible tells us if we ask amiss, He won't give it to us, why? Because I'm still meant to be crucifying my flesh if I'm truly in Christ. The apostle Paul, all the places he spoke, all the things he did, everything he'd seen, he never wrote about it. He wrote about being in Christ. He wrote about being found in Christ and Christ in him, and that's our focus. And then he does say, though, he does add here, "You will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you." Why? Because if you have the mind of Christ, you have the Spirit of Christ, you're doing the will, the thelema, of God. Then your desire will be the same desire of God, amen. It's not for man to direct his ways, it's the Lord's will. Read your Bible, get to know. Verse 8 "By this My Father is glorified, that you may bear much fruit so you will be My disciples." So the whole goal of life, all things were created by Him, for Him, to do what? Glorify Him, to worship Him, what are the angels in heaven shouting? Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty. And it says in verse 8 "By this." So if you really want to please God, if you want to do things for the Lord, take note of those passages I just read from chapter 15 in John down in number 7. And He ends, concludes with 8 "By this My Father is glorified, that you may bear much fruit, and so you will be My disciples." Verse 9 "As the Father loved Me I also have loved you, abide in My love." What is He saying? He's saying as the Father has loved Me, I have loved you. How did the Father love Him? The Father loved Him and He caused Him to be crucified. We're to crucify our flesh. We're to crucify the carnal nature, the things we want to do, and live for Him. What did Jesus say? He who is not willing to lose his life for My sake...what? What's going to happen? If we don't lose our life for His sake we're not going to find it, we're not going to be in Christ, we won't have His life, amen. "As the Father loved Me I also have loved you." So just as God the Father sent Jesus to be crucified and die for us, hasn't Christ sent us to be crucified, spiritually? Or maybe even physically as many of the apostles and disciples were, and die for those around us, amen? 10 "If you keep My commandments you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love." In the garden of Gethsemane what took place? And He said "But not My will be done, Your will be done, Father." What did He say here? "If you keep My commandments, if you keep My commandments, you abide in my love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love." Jesus said "My sheep hear My voice." They know His voice, do you know His voice? Do you know who's ministering to you? Or is it all the things of the world that are ministering to you today? "These things I have spoken to you that My joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full." So when doing this, in crucifying our flesh, living for Jesus Christ we will have His joy, amen. "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." Again, He was crucified, again He didn't compromise, again He lived a perfect life which we can't do, because the Bible says if anyone says he doesn't sin he's a liar. 13 "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. You are My friends" - listen to this - "You are My friends if you do whatever I command you." You ever met a person that said "I'll be your friend if you do whatever I command?" No, it doesn't sound like a very friendly thing to say, but Jesus is saying what? He has to become your Lord, the kurios of your life, for you to become the slave, the bondservant, the servant, the doulos, Him over your life as Lord. And Jesus tells us that "I have called you My servants and My slaves, but now I call you friends." Why? Because He's revealed a truth to us. So if you're really in Christ, and this is all making sense to you, then you do have ears to hear and eyes to see, and the Holy Spirit's at work in your life, amen. It says "You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants for a servant does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, for all things I have heard from My Father I have made known to you." The Bible says people are perishing for lack of vision. Lack of vision. Lack of what? The revelation and the understanding. If we're given the revelation and we have the wisdom, why don't we go and share it with people? Why don't we quit living for ourselves and go out there and be about the Lord's business, just as Jesus was found to be doing, amen. 16 "You did not choose Me but I chose you." Look at that, we didn't choose Him, He chose us, He said "You did not choose Me but I chose you." But look what He called us to do, "And I appointed you that you should go and bear fruit." Karpos, act, work, deed, He appointed us to go and bear fruit, the word is Greek, karpos. "I appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, that your fruit should remain and whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you according to His will." Not asking amiss, like I made the point earlier. "These things I command you, that you love one another." And He goes on, verse 18 "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you." What's He telling us? Don't be surprised when you're persecuted, or people think you're silly or call you stupid or say you've gone crazy. The Bible says the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, so when people think you're crazy, like I'm sure people have thought I am crazy, but man, the Lord Jesus Christ, if you've tasted of Him and you know that He is good, what else comes close? Nothing. I lay down my whole life, I would count it all a loss, the apostle Paul did, why? Because Christ is worthy. And the Bible tells us this is our reasonable sacrifice, to crucify our flesh and live for Jesus Christ, amen. "If you were of the world, the world would love it's own, yet because you are not of the world, because I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." So if we're in the world we're not called to be like the world. The Bible says we're in the world but not of it. What's the world? The world that lives around us, the things that we desire, where it's all about amarital sex or the drinking or partying or the love of money or the love of self or the ego and the pride, it's all about us. If you're really in Christ you won't be about that world, you will be about your Father's business. "Remember the word that I said to you, a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me they will also persecute you." So all the persecution you go through, count it all joy, count it all blessing, why? "So all these things they will do to you for My name's sake because they do not know Him who sent Me." They do not know the Father, they don't understand the spiritual issue that's taken place. "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin." So what He's saying is because of the Law of 613 commandments because of what happened, because of what was spoken to the nation of Israel, because of our sins against God, we're judged and found guilty, we're condemned. But by the blood of the Lamb, but by the Lord Jesus Christ and what He's done for us, putting our faith in Him, amen. It says "He who hates Me, hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did they would have no sin, but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father. But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their Law that they hated Me without cause." Why? Because we live in the darkness and we love the sinful nature, and the Bible says sin is fun for a season, but if you're truly in the light and have the Holy Spirit, you will hate the fact that you sin, and you'll hate the fact that friends, family, and even enemies are going to hell because of their sin. And you'll want to share the gospel, you'll want to be Ezekiel's watchman. "But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their Law, that they hated Me without cause." And Romans 1:20 says that men are without excuse before the Lord, because the universe, what does it do? Testifies to His majesty. "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me." What is this? The Holy Spirit, which came upon the apostles as they waited for the Holy Spirit, the upper room experience. 27 "And you also will bear witness because you have been with Me from the beginning." And now He's talking to His very own disciples, the apostles, then He says "You will bear witness." And today before the Lord I want to ask you a question. Are you gathering or are you scattering? Are you about His business or your business? Are you living for Jesus Christ? For all those kids who ask me "I want to go do this" or "I feel like the Lord's telling me this" open up your Bible and read. Don't focus on the television, or the music, or all these things around us or chasing this person or that person or this temporary satisfaction, which is egotistical, which is vanity, and which is vain, it's going to pass, it's fading, it's going anyway. When everything is burned up the only thing that's going to remain is everyone to be judged before the Father. And the Bible tells us it's appointed man to die once and then judgment, that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and that's the state of the world today. So if you're truly in Christ, get on your knees tonight and start just pleading with Him and say "Lord, use me." Let me read this Bible and these Scriptures and go start going and bearing fruit, abounding in Christ and being in Him, because as people around this world that are serious about their faith, and as you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, as you get to know Him, you'll be united with that body of believers, and we'll be winning souls over one person at a time, daily. God bless you guys, John 15, read it, put on the whole armor of God, He loves us, He died for us that none should perish, amen.