The Joy of Abiding

Dr. Ryan Rush | John 15:1-8 

Transcript

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If you pay attention, you notice about every year a new diet fad comes out, at least once a year. There's been so many through the years. I remember several years ago there was one called the cabbage soup diet. Remember that? Uh Lana picked up on that one, and the idea was she made this big old pot of soup. We're supposed to eat that cabbage soup for seven days. All you can eat, which in reality is all you can stand. I mean, there's only so much cabbage soup you can eat. And the idea is, hey, you can eat, you can, you can get as full as you want to eat, but it's not rocket science. It's really just old-fashioned torture to eat cabbage soup for a week. Of course, you're going to lose weight. There's been so many weight loss uh strategies through the years. There have been the great fruit diet, the low-fat diet. Remember snack wells, whatever happened to those? We thought we were just gonna eat a bunch of devil's food cookies and we're gonna get skinny. That didn't work. Uh the Atkins diet, the Beverly Hills diet, built around fruit consumption. And uh every year we think we found the answer, and it turns out we just still get hungry. So that didn't solve the problem. And it's not just diets, the way we think in America is very similar in that we we uh we find ourselves looking for some other source of fulfillment that doesn't quite fill us up. If I can just get that job promotion, if I can just graduate from that school, if I can just get married, if I can just get my kids out of the house, if I can just what is that is that too personal for somebody here? Wow. Some 20-something kid sitting next to your parents going, man, that's awkward, you know. If I can just retire, then I'll be fulfilled. And we find out that none of those things are where we find true fulfillment. Well, Jesus tells us where we can find real fulfillment and is so different from what the world knows about fulfillment. That's what I want to look at today. Would you find in your copy the Word of God John chapter 15 today? Because Jesus says something radically different about lasting fulfillment. It's not found in a better formula, it's found through relationship. As you're turning, uh, I want to remind you of an important opportunity today. I'm so excited about beginning at 1 p.m., 1 to 3 p.m., you'll have an opportunity to walk through the new uh worship center area on the south of the campus. And so you can come through and you'll be able to stay inside the flags, write uh a scripture verse or a prayer on uh one of the beams there, and we'll pray through that. I'm gonna ask you to pray something specifically as we pray through that miracle campus. Let's pray and invite the Lord to show each of us what our role would be in this time. Now, I know all of you, or many of you have given generously already. Many of you are uh in the midst of our three-year campaign and giving specifically toward that. I'm so grateful. But we're in the midst of this, and God is doing something so extraordinary. So I'm just asking you, would you just invite the Lord to show you if there's anything unique in this season before we move in that you might do or your household might do that you didn't have in mind before? We don't need a banquet to do that. We just need to hear from God. We we already have seen a miracle. I think the fact that we're moving in such a beautiful building for under $18 million is a miracle. That's the work, hard work of our incredible building council that put so much into it uh when it could have cost so much more. It's a beautiful building. There's nothing extravagant about it. Probably the most extravagant thing about the new building is the number of women's restrooms. It's incredible. Other than that, other than that, we kept it pretty conservative because we want to keep doing all the work we do that's outward focusing on the the community and and the world as we share the love of Christ. So I'm so grateful. But uh here we are, just a few months into this giving campaign, and a few months before we move into the property, and uh, I received some news this morning that I have to share with you. It's still on this card. Todd Pendergrass came up and gave me this card during the 8 o'clock service and said, Pastor, just want to let you know we had significant gifts given yesterday, and the total given to Go Beyond It Home to date is now $10,28,292. We're over the $10 million mark. God be the glory toward that $18 million goal. And uh we just pray that God would provide, wouldn't it be something if we moved in with it almost paid for or paid for as we worship the Lord on that first Sunday? So praising God for that. Well, let's talk about what we really want to happen in that building and in this building as this becomes the courts in a few months. Um, we want to invite all people to experience true fulfillment in Jesus Christ one home at a time. What is this true fulfillment that Jesus shows us in John 15? And it's this idea of abiding. Now, let me give you some context about this passage. This is the last of the seven I am statements that Jesus made in the Gospel of John. Remember, Jesus has just instituted the Lord's Supper with his disciples, and uh that was from the fruit of the vine, which makes it really interesting that that's the next metaphor he uses here. They have left the upper room, and so they're on their way, probably. You know how I know we left the upper room? Because at the end of chapter 14, he says, get up, let's leave. He starts making his way with the disciples toward the garden. And so he's on Mount Zion and he steps outside the gate, and they're walking through the valley, down toward the Kidron Valley and around by the Temple Mount, then through the valley and up onto the Mount of Olives, right at the base where you have the Garden of Gethsemane. I love, when I go to Israel, walking that path. It's an exhilarating thing. Lord willing, I'm going to be back in November. I'd love to take some of you with me because it's just so cool to walk that and recognize the landscape and the terrain of what he must have seen. Now, at the time of Jesus, there's a good chance there were some vineyards along the ridges in the Valley of Gehenna and then along, as you turn the corner to the Kidron Valley. So he might have been walking by some vineyards there late at night under moonlight or starlight, we don't know, and then make his way up. But he's he's sharing this metaphor with his disciples on the last night before he died and rose again. So he had this one moment, and he talks of all things about this concept of abiding, a connection with God. So let me read with you. John 15, 1 through 8, as we get started. You look on as I read. I am the true vine, and my father is the gardener. Every branch in me that does not produce fruit, he removes, and he prunes every branch that produces fruit, uh, that produces fruit, so that it will produce more fruit. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. The one who remains in me, and I in him, produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me. If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown aside like a branch in the and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you. My father is glorified by this, that you produce much fruit and prove to be my disciples. Now it doesn't take a theological scholar to figure out the key word in this passage. The word is remain. The Greek word meno, it's used eight times in the passage, and it means literally to stay put or to stay around. It's sometimes translated by a different word that I love, and it's the word abide. We sang about it a while ago. This idea of abiding, of remaining in the Lord. I love how the message puts this passage. It says, Jesus says, make yourselves at home in my love. Isn't that good? So the main point Jesus wants to get across on this last night is that to be fulfilled, we walk in him, we abide in him. John 15, 11 sums it up. I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. Doesn't that sound like a definition of fulfillment? Jesus is saying, you want to have a deep, lasting, abiding joy in him, then there's some steps you need to take. I want to share with you from this passage two steps that you need to take if you want to abide and experience true fulfillment. Now, I will call them paradoxical steps. You know what a paradox is? A paradox is an apparent contradiction. It's not a contradiction, but at first glance it looks like a contradiction. And in this passage, he kind of gives us a paradox of two steps that you have to take if you want to experience true fulfillment. And here's the first step: abide by resting. Abide by resting. By rest, I mean you have to learn to stop striving. You have to surround, uh to surrender rather your own determined fight to get what you want, to do what you want. You stop it. You surrender. John 15, 9 says, As the Father has loved me, I have also loved you. Remain in my love. Do you understand how astounding that statement is? The Father's perfect, everlasting love for God the Son is the same love that Jesus, God the Son, has for you. So, how in the world do we get to enjoy that love? We abide. Abiding begins with resting, remaining in the vine. There's nothing to do, but there's something to do. It's a choice of rest, a choice of surrender. Our youngest daughter, Lily, is disabled. Many of you know that. And uh several years ago, she got a service dog. Uh his name is Opie. Remember the Andy Griffith Show? He's named after Andy Griffith Show. And it also is practical because she's nonverbal and so she can sign for Opie. Just oh, oh, that's Opie. If you meet Lily, she's gonna tell you this is Opie. Okay. Opie was born and raised for Lily to meet her needs. And so when we picked him up and we learned all the amazing things he could do, he's a brilliant dog in some ways. In other ways, he's just a dog, but he's amazingly smart. So uh so we're learning all these commands, and I was surprised that there was no command for stay. We didn't practice stay. We said, how come you didn't learn stay? Said, because stay is an implied command. You don't need to learn stay. So theoretically, if you say opi, down, he's gonna lay down right there. Now, he stays there long enough, he's gonna forget like every other dog, but but he's just gonna stay there because you didn't tell him otherwise. So that's his job. You don't have to tell him to stay because you told him to get down. You say sit, he's gonna sit until you tell him otherwise. You say heal, he's gonna heal until you say something. You don't have to say stay because it's an implied command. And what Jesus is saying is if you want to experience joy, the implied command is that you're gonna rest and you're gonna stay with Jesus. You see, I love that picture that he's given us. He's the vine where the branch. Now listen, a branch is just a twig, it's a useless part of the vine. It's not even good firewood unless it's plugged into the vine. And then it's a part of the life-giving process. Isn't that amazing? Incidentally, if you're an astute reader, some people have questions here because you say, wait a second, I see the cast of characters. The father's the wine dresser, the wine dresser, and the son is the vine, and we're the branch. And then he throws this out and says, uh, whoever does not bear fruit, I cast aside and it's burned up. Is he talking about, what is he talking about? Okay, we could spend all day talking about the various theories, but can I just fast forward to the right one in my personal but accurate opinion? Okay. So all through the Gospel of John, we've been there for several months, we've seen over and over that John is delineating between the professors and the possessors. There's people who confess Jesus, who say something, who act like it, who are not connected to the vine, and there are those who actually know and possess the Lord Jesus Christ. And he's saying those who are outside of Christ who are just kind of hanging out, sitting in the seat every week, that that they they they uh they act like they know him, but they don't, okay? They're not connected. That's who we're talking about in this case. But if you're in the vine, do you see? If you're in the vine, there's life because of your connection. That's why Jesus said in verse 5, you can do nothing without me. But listen, that connection is a personal connection. It can't be a ceremonial connection where you say, Well, I was baptized as a baby, so I went through this serum. No, that's not how it works. Uh, nor is it a genetic connection. I was raised in a Christian home. That doesn't hold water. It's a personal connection. Jesus says the word you 11 times in eight verses. Do you know Jesus? You personally must determine whether to accept or reject the grace offer Jesus gives us because he paid the price. He's the only one worthy. That's the heart of salvation. God's love is not a reward for how we act, it is righteous standing given as a gift because of what Jesus did in our place. Why not today? I mean, if you don't know Jesus and you just came today to check things out, you came, you came on the perfect day. Because this is the heart of what we believe. We get to walk with Jesus in this love relationship, true fulfillment. Sounds wonderful. Here's the challenge. If you think you need to do something or you can do something, actually, this idea of resting can be offensive. Say, how dare you? I'm good enough on my own. That's where you get into trouble. In fact, this idea of resting uh gives us a clue about the overall theme that he's saying. And so it's gonna feel like an aside, but it's really important because this is the heart, if I'm gonna truly teach this text, of what Jesus was clearly saying to the disciples on that day. We get a clue in the very first sentence when Jesus says a word, he says the word true. You see that? You might underline that because it's very important. He's bringing up Israel in light of prophecy. I mentioned a while ago, Jesus might have been walking along some tangible vines that they would have known were there as he's given this metaphor. But let me tell you a vine they definitely would have seen or known about. When you turn that corner, some of you have been on that walk and you look up and you can see the Temple Mount from on that side of the valley. And as you do so, they would have been able to see up or at least know that it was there. There's a massive gate that separates the courts of the Temple Mount. Josephus described that gate in detail in his history of the first century. And guess what's on that gate? Massive bronze gate, and it has emblazoned on it a vineyard, a golden vine. Do you know why? Because all through the Old Testament, the nation of Israel is spoken of as God's choice vineyard, called to bear fruit for God. Several passages in the Old Testament bring them there. There is no doubt that the disciples would have been aware of that when he's talking about a vine. That was the intention of the nation. It was supposed to bear fruit. Perhaps the most famous passage about this is in Isaiah chapter 5. If you want to write it in your notes and look at it later, that speaks of Israel as the vineyard on the choicest hill, but it yields worthless grapes. Some passages or translations say wild grapes. The idea is that God made a covenant with the people, and they broke the covenant, and God says he's going to let others come in and take over that vineyard, and it will be destroyed. And then God explains the parable in verse 7 of Isaiah 5. He writes, For the vineyard of the Lord of armies is the house of Israel and the men of Judah, the plant he delighted in. He expected justice, but saw injustice. He expected righteousness, but heard cries of despair. That's why it matters so much that Jesus stood in the shadow of that golden vine, and he didn't say, I am the vine. He said, I am the true vine. The only Israelite who perfectly bore the fruit Israel was planted to bear was Jesus. The nation failed to measure up. Only the Son could measure up, and the nation rejected him. You know, when I mention Israel, people tend to fall into one of two extremes. Some dismiss Israel entirely. Say, well, it's just uh we're the nation of Israel now, there is no Israel today.

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And others believe supporting Israel means defending everything the modern state does. Neither reflects the biblical picture. This is a source of a lot of confusion among Christians today. So I've taught on it many times, but Israel is essential to understanding prophecy. It's the centerpiece of God's prophetic calendar. If you ignore Israel, you're missing the point of what's happening, what's playing out exactly as God said it. God is not finished with Israel. On the other hand, we don't have to pretend that Israel can do no wrong and they need nothing from God. In fact, at its extreme, there are some misguided Christians who believe that somehow Israeli Jews can bypass the Messiah and get to heaven. No, they get to heaven the same way any of us does, and that's through Jesus Christ alone. They need Jesus. They don't get a pass. That's what Jesus is saying here. He is the true vine. Supporting Israel's right to exist doesn't require us to baptize every decision their government makes any more than loving America means endorsing everything that happens in Washington. What Israel needs most is our prayers that the veil would be lifted and they would see Jesus for who he is. Israel has by and large not embraced her Messiah. And the same promises about Israel's future explain a lot about Israel's presence. Because this is what Jesus is telling the disciples. He's clearly talking about Israel. And I'll tell you another reason. There is no more clear example of missing out on the point of rest that leads to true fulfillment than the nation in Jesus' time that was saying no thank you to a Messiah who would suffer and saying, we'd just rather pay ourselves and work ourselves and strive ourselves, and they missed the rest. We have to avoid the same decision. It only comes through Jesus. 1 John 4, 9 and 10 puts it this way: God's love was revealed among us in this way. God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. Love consists in this: not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. We get rest and fulfillment only through Jesus, only through surrender. There is no other way. So here's the question. If you look back over your life in the last week, does it reflect or embody a culture of resting or a culture of rushing? Because he's inviting us to abide. And abiding cannot happen unless we remain. That's the first step. Here's the second. It's gonna sound a little like a contradiction, as I warned you, because here's the second step. We abide by obedience. His love calls me to obedience. We rest in Jesus, and then we're positioned to take an active role in cultivating our relationship with Jesus. Do you understand why these need to be sequential steps? If you start here, you're never gonna get to the rest. You're never gonna get to the opportunity to relax. You gotta say, Jesus paid it all. But once he does, okay, you respond through obedience. That's what he says. Hebrews 4 11 puts it this way: let us then make every effort to enter that rest. Doesn't that sound like a contradiction? That's what we do. We're diligent in our rest. Our usefulness is found in actively remaining obedience, discipline, prayer. Look at what Jesus says in verses 10 and 11. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. Does it contradict resting? Absolutely not. Jesus loves the Father by obeying him. And we love Jesus by obeying him. Obedience is not the goal, it's the embodiment of the relationship, of the trusting. Let me give you an example of the difference that I'm talking about. It's not like working toward the goal, it's like the relationship, the relationship and being diligent about the relationship leads to the goal. Some of you know I've wanted to learn Spanish for at least the last three years. I mean, serious about it. I don't want to learn Spanish. I have hired a Spanish-speaking coach, didn't work. I have bought Spanish language books, didn't work. I even have a Spanish language app that bugs me every day. I'll keep the notification. Hey, you're you're on, you know, you're 26 days removed from practice. Well, clear, you know. You're not gonna believe this, but I still hadn't learned Spanish. The only time I've ever come close to really learning Spanish is on times when I've been on mission trips in the Spanish-speaking world, and I'm surrounded by people speaking Spanish. And everybody I know who's spoken Spanish, no surprise, you know what they do? They're immersed with community where they're speaking Spanish. Go figure. And when you're around it, you learn it, you take it in. That's the only way. And incidentally, you'll hear people say, I used to know Spanish and then I haven't used it, and so I can't remember it. So the only way to do it is to be diligent in the relationships where you're speaking Spanish and then you learn Spanish. I know this. Why don't I do this? But do you see how this is the very same thing that Jesus is saying? Listen, you rest and you surrender in relationship. You abide. But as you abide, you be diligent to enter that rest. You continue to cultivate the fulfillment by obeying. You're in the relationship, you're in the community with the Lord. And if you want to experience true fulfillment, you have to actively stay connected. We actively remain. We don't work for our relationship, but we cultivate that relationship that we've already been given. There's two ways that I can see here that we cultivate that obedience that Jesus shows. First, it's not very fun, okay? You ready? Embrace the pruning. The father tends his vine. That's what a loving father does. Verses two and three every branch in me that does not produce fruit, he removes and he prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. That word prune literally means to cleanse by cutting. It's the same root word as the word clean in verse three. The vine dresser removes the dead wood, cuts back the living wood so the sap is not wasted. And notice when the Lord prunes, what happens? We get more fruitful. We move from fruit in verse 2 to more fruit in verse 5 to much fruit in verse 8. God prunes. Sometimes it's painful. As far as I can tell, God prunes in three ways in the Word of God. First, by scripture. Sometimes the Word of God comforts, doesn't it? But sometimes the Holy Spirit is a surgeon. And some of you experience this too. You're reading through the Word, and the Holy Spirit just taps you on the shoulder and says, pay attention. This is contrary to how you're living, Ryan. And listen, you're missing out on the joy. Just that blessed holy cutting. Listen to the surgeon. Sometimes he prunes by suffering. C.S. Lewis says, pain plants the flag of truth in the fortress of a rebel soul. Psalm 119.67 says, Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep your word. There's something about suffering. If you don't waste it, it will lead you back to the Lord. And then, of course, sometimes pruning comes through sin. If we end up sinning and the Lord chastens us because he loves us and draws us back. And yes, when we confess our sin, he's faithful and just to forgive our sin. But how many of you know there's still pain and consequences from sin? And when we listen to that, when we repent, God draws us back and he prunes us. So trials become an occasion for joy when we yield to the master. So first, embrace the pruning. Second, embrace the habits of obedience. Embrace the habits. We talk a lot about habits here at Kingston, right? Because when you know what you ought to do, you need to make it a part of your regular routine. Not just say, well, sometime I need to do that. No. If you want to abide, you're going to say, every morning when I wake up, I do this. So, real practically, for me, what I seek to do, my routine, I go into my study, I get my phone out of the way, put it on do not disturb. I set a timer that I have there for a period of time where I'm not going to be disturbed. The reason I don't use my phone is because then I have to look at my phone and somebody might have just texted me, and there I am again. Or I have to listen to those annoying reminders to learn Spanish. So get rid of those. Talking to God right now, okay? I light a candle, which sounds cheesy, but it just reminds me this is a special sacred place, and all distractions are out. And Lord, here I am. I'm a child, you're my father. I want to hear from you. It's a diligent decision, it's a habit. Okay? If you don't have a habit, it doesn't happen. We talk about habits all the time here. Rest, bless, gather, go. Why? Because when we cultivate those habits, then we find true fulfillment in those domains of life. John 15, 12, this is my command. Love one another as I have loved you. Isn't that the habit of going? It speaks to the believers, loving believers here. Um, but in Luke 10 it says to love your neighbors. In Matthew 5, it says love your enemies. But that's really the heart of the fruit he's talking about, isn't it? It's love. It's the overflow of love in a life that's in a love relationship with Jesus, and that's how it happens. So get real practical for a moment. What are some habits in your life that will help you be diligent about abiding? Because if you don't have them, you're gonna miss out, you're gonna be robbed of the joy of true fulfillment in Jesus. Listen, we find fulfillment in resting, we find fulfillment in obeying, and they work hand in hand. Do you see? You put those together and you have this glorious combination that I would call abiding. I just returned from Turkey or Turkey, however you want to say it, Thursday evening with our high school graduates. Had a glorious time for a week, uh, traveling through the seven churches of Revelation, the one that got a letter, the ones that got a letter. Amazing time of looking to God's word, reminding them that we are sending them into the world with a purpose, that they their vision goes with them, our vision goes with them. We had a guide, really nice guy, who was a Muslim man. Uh, think pretty much all the guides in Turkey are Muslim and very nice. He he's uh more of a secular Muslim. I don't think I never noticed him practicing anything, but he was fairly fascinated with our teachings. He'd stop me every now and he was listening to everything. And he said, Now, why in the world did you focus on that? I said, Is this a Roman milestone? Well, I'll stop here. I want to do a teaching. Nobody pays attention to the milestones, they're all over, everywhere on the road. Well, it's because Jesus told his disciples, when you're compelled to go a mile, go two. And he said, Why would you do that? Well, we call it going the extra mile. He'd never heard that term because that's what Jesus did for us. Do you see? We're showing grace to someone, we're demonstrating to them what Jesus has done for us. We're in the ancient city of Ephesus, and he points out two arches that were built by uh some freed slaves. And uh I said, Oh man. So I stopped and gave a teaching about that freedom. And uh he said, Why nobody's ever noticed the arches? Why'd you do that? I said, That's the heart of what we believe, Jill. You see, is that we were slaves in our sin and we were set free. It's like I've never heard that before. So we're we're talking through the differences, and he says something so profound. He said it, I didn't. He said, So really, your faith is based on love, and our faith is based on fear. I said, pretty much. And in reality, you could lump all the religions of the world, all the humanistic thinking that you can think of in the history of the world into that category. It's based on fear. And yet Jesus has come so that we can live a completely different way. We've been invited into a love relationship because of what Christ has done. So, what do we do with that wonderful invitation? First of all, if you've come today and you've never trusted Jesus, I can't think of a better day than this one to say, Lord, I'm tired of doing this on my own. I need you. I'm a sinner in desperate need of a savior. And Lord, would you come and save me? Forgive me, change me, and He'll do it. And then there's a bunch of us who are saved. You're a Christian, but you know, if you're being honest, that the discipline of abiding and the joy of remaining sometimes left wanting in a fast-paced world, aren't they? And because of that, you're missing out on that true fulfillment. Could it be that today the Lord is calling you to reconnect, to cultivate some habits that bring you back to the things that matter? Let's bow together. Heavenly Father, thank you for the power of your word. And Lord, we give your Holy Spirit free reign in this place to speak to our hearts, to move, to call us to decision. I pray that if there's one in the room who's never trusted you as Savior and Lord, that today would be the day of salvation. For each of us, Lord, we confess how easy it is to get distracted by unimportant things and to miss out on the joy of abiding. Draw us back, Lord. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen. Hey, Pastor Ryan Rush here, and I just want to thank you for being with us in King's One Line today. What an honor. But I'll tell you what'd be even better. We'd love to see you get connected with the physical church in the days ahead if you haven't already. And that means maybe if you're lovely in the West, you're gonna be love to see you again.