THE KEY TO KNOWING GOD’S HEART

“Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let God re-mold your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all His demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.”  (Romans 12:2 Phillips)

We learn God’s will by spending time in His presence. The key to knowing God’s heart is having a relationship with Him. A personal relationship. God will speak to you differently than He will speak to others. Just because God spoke to Moses through a burning bush, that doesn’t mean we should all sit next to a bush waiting for God to speak. God used a fish to convict Jonah. Does that mean we should have worship services at Sea World? No. God reveals His heart personally to each person.

For that reason, your walk with God is essential. His heart is not seen in an occasional chat or weekly visit. We learn His will as we take up residence (abide) in His house every single day… Walk with Him long enough and you come to know His heart.

-- Max Lucado in “The Great House of God”

“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”  (John 8:31-32 ESV)

ABIDING IN JESUS

Jesus said, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”  (John 15:4 ESV)

Jesus isn’t asking you to do something you’re not already doing. All of us are abiding. The question isn’t, “Are you abiding?” It’s, “What are you abiding in?” All of us have a source we are rooted in, a kind of default setting we return to. An emotional home. It’s where our minds go when they’re not busy with tasks, where our feelings go when we need solace, where our bodies go when we have free time, and where our money goes after we pay bills. We will make our home somewhere, the question is “Where?” 

-- John Mark Comer in “Practicing the Way: Be with Jesus. Become like Him. Do as He did.”

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ABIDING IN CHRIST’S LOVE

Accept this invitation of Jesus: “Abide in My love.”  (John 15:9 NASB)

When you abide somewhere, you live there. You don’t pull in the driveway and ask, “Where is the garage?” You don’t consult a blueprint to find the kitchen. To abide is to be at home.

To abide in Christ’s love is to make His love your home. Not a roadside park or hotel you occasionally visit, but your preferred dwelling. You rest in Him. Eat in Him. When thunder claps, you step beneath His roof. His walls secure you from the winds. His fireplace warms you from the winters of life. As John urged, “We take up permanent residence in a life of love.” (1 John 4:16 MSG)  You abandon the old house of false love and move into His home of real love. 

-- Max Lucado in “Come Thirsty: No Heart Too Dry for His Touch”

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IN CHRIST

In worship recently our pastor reminded us of what is available to us “in Christ.” It brought to mind that over the years of my ministry whenever I would lead a small group study of Paul's letter to the Ephesians one of the exercises I would do with the group is to point out in Ephesians 1:3-14 all that is ours in Christ. First, I would have the group underline each time Paul uses the phrase "in Christ", or "through Christ", or something similar. I have done that for you in the text below. Then I invite them to circle what it is that we receive in or through Christ. I invite you to print out today's quote and do that for yourself, or underline and circle the text in your Bible. It is truly amazing what God has done for us IN CHRIST.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before Him in love. He destined us for adoption as His children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace that He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace that He lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight He has made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure that He set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth. In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of Him who accomplishes all things according to His counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of His glory. In Him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in Him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance towards redemption as God's own people, to the praise of His glory."  (Ephesians 1:3-14)

 -- Rev. David T. Wilkinson, SOUND BITES Ministry

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ABIDING IN CHRIST

Jesus said, “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.”  (John 15:5 NKJV)

Abiding in Christ is essential for prayer that pleases God and brings answers. Trying to cultivate prayer without abiding in Christ is like trying to grow palm trees in Siberia. The climate is all wrong.

Abiding means keeping our shared life with Christ harmonious, free from the discord of sin. It is closely related to cherishing and obeying His Word: “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” (John 15:7 NKJV)

A vine sustains its branched so that they bear grapes. So Christ, as we abide in Him, provides the life and strength we need for obedient, productive lives, as well as for effective prayer.

Abiding kindles within us a craving for the greatest gift we can receive through prayer -- a richer experience of God Himself. Whatever else He gives is secondary… Abiding means we will experience intimate fellowship with the King. This is the crowning privilege of being a member of His kingdom and family. 

-- Warren Myers with Ruth Myers in “Prayer: How to Be Effective in Prayer”

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A DISCIPLE ABIDES IN CHRIST

“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.”  (John 15:5 NIV)

Jesus knows that His true followers desire to live productive, fulfilling, joy-filled lives. In John 15:1-17 (check it out) Jesus lays out four predominant characteristics of a growing disciple:

1. A Disciples Stays Close to the Master. Jesus encourages us to remain in Him (verses 4-5). Another way to translate “remain” is “to abide” in Him. The word abide signifies a permanent position. It means that you let your roots grow deep into your relationship with Jesus, allowing Him to fill every part of your life every day. If you maintain this unbroken fellowship with God, your lifestyle will change.

2. A Disciple Is Fruitful. Just as a branch can only be fruitful when attached to the vine, we can only be productive when we draw our strength from Jesus (verses 6, 16). The Bible describes this fruit as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (see Galatians 5:22-23).

3. A Disciple Obeys the Master. Another clear sign that you are Christ’s disciple is your obedience to the principles and guidelines found in the Bible (verse 10). Only then will you discover what it means to live in God’s love.

4. A Disciple Loves Others. Jesus gave us the ultimate example of love by laying down His life for us. He, in essence, is asking us to do nothing less. That may not mean actually dying, but it may mean placing someone else’s needs before your own.

In verse 11 we find Jesus’ reason of sharing these principles: He wants us to be filled with joy. If you try to find happiness through the pursuit of worldly things, it will elude you. The only way to find happiness is through the pursuit of God. If you prioritize your life as Jesus has laid out in these verses, then “your joy will overflow.” 

-- Adapted from “How to Find God New Testament: Living Water for Those Who Thirst” 

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CONTINUING IN GOD’S WORD

“So Jesus was saying to the Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word [continually obeying My teachings and living in accordance with them, then] you are truly My disciples.’”  (John 8:32 Amplified Bible)

In his book “True Discipleship” William MacDonald identifies what he calls “terms of discipleship as laid down by the Savior of the world.” One of those key terms of discipleship is “An unswerving continuance in His Word. For real discipleship there must be continuance. It is easy enough to start well, to burst forth in a blaze of glory. But the test of reality is endurance to the end. Spasmodic obedience to the Scriptures will not do. Christ wants those who will follow Him in constant… obedience.”

-- SOUND BITES Ministry

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THE SECRET TO LASTING JOY - Part 2

Jesus said, “Abide in Me, and I in you.”  (John 15:4a NKJV)

The other half of the secret of lasting joy is that Christ abides  -- lives -- in us. He gives us exactly what we need in any moment: assurance that we are loved in our problems, forgiveness for our mistakes, wisdom to discern what He wants to do to bring good out of difficulties, and supernatural strength to do what He guides in untangling our problems.

There is no joy when we are worried about whether we will have what it takes. But equally so, there is no joy to be compared to the joy we feel when we know that we are empowered by the Savior of the world! That means accepting His strength pulsing into us as branches inseparably connected to Him, the vine.

-- Lloyd J. Ogilvie in “If God Cares, Why Do I Still Have Problems”

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THE SECRET TO LASTING JOY - Part 1

Jesus said, “Abide in Me, and I in you.”  (John 15:4a NKJV)

The verb “abide” in Greek… means “to take up permanent residence, to settle in, rest.” To abide in Christ means to stop trying to earn His acceptance or to work to justify our right to be His person. We are to relax and receive His grace. That becomes very practical in dealing with our problems. Each day’s problems become opportunities to trust Him and receive renewed grace. We do not need to be strong, clever, or resourceful to abide. Instead, we are to abandon ourselves to Christ, trusting Him with our problems, and accept His assurance that He will assume responsibility for us and our problems.

I like the way J. C. Ryle [in his “Expository Thoughts on the Bible”] interpreted the meaning of Jesus’ command to abide in Him: “Abide in Me. Cling to Me. Stick fast to Me. Live the life of close and immediate communion with Me. Get nearer and nearer to Me. Roll every burden on Me. Cast your whole weight on Me. Never let go your hold on Me for a moment. Be as it were rooted and planted in Me. Do this, and I will never fail you.”

-- Lloyd J. Ogilvie in “If God Cares, Why Do I Still Have Problems”


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THE ABODE OF CHRIST

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”  (John 15:4 ESV)

We rest in Christ, find our nourishment in Him. His roof of grace protects us from storms of guilt. His walls of providence secure us from destructive winds. His fireplace warms us during the lonely winters of life. We linger in the abode of Christ and never leave.

-- Max Lucado in “Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World"

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