ABIDE IN CHRIST
Sunday, December 17th 2017
Memorise: “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” John 15:17
Read: John 15:4-7 (KJV)
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.
15:5 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.
15:6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
MESSAGE:
The Lord Jesus Christ gave out several great invitations while He was on earth, and these invitations are still open to us today. If only you can accept them, your life will never be the same again. He says to us “Come and eat”, “Come and drink”, and “Come and Follow me” (John 21:12, John 7:37, Mark 8:34). To follow Him, you must deny yourself of certain desires and lusts; take up your cross daily by being ready to live the sacrificial life that He demands, and put your feet where He trod, while carefully studying the paths that He walked (1 Peter 2:21). May God grant you the grace to truly follow Him! Today, on difference social media networks, quite a lot of people have a great follower-ship. There is no better person to follow than Jesus Christ! Following some of the characters on social media networks cannot add anything good to your life, but following Jesus will add both earthly benefits and eternal rewards to you (Mark 10:29-30). The best thing that can ever happen to you is to follow Jesus! A good follower of Jesus is a disciple of Christ.
In addition, the Lord invites His children to abide in Him. In John 15:5, Jesus says if you abide in Him, you will bear much fruit. Abiding in Him is one secret of fruitfulness in the Kingdom of God. If you want to be able to win a lot of souls to Christ, you must take time to ensure that He permanently resides in you and you in Him. It is only then that His life will fully and freely flow through you. If you are still toying with sin, you cannot be fruitful from God’s perspective. Also, abiding in Him gives you the assurance that all your prayers will be answered (John 15:7). When your requests are granted, what more can you wish for? This is where God wants all His children to be and not just some of them. Are all your prayers been answered? If only some have been answered, then you really need to look at your present relationship with Christ and do some more work on your love towards Him, your faith in Him, your devotion to Him, your obedience to Him, your service to Him, and your study of His word. You need to look at how consistent you are in His presence and go deeper in Him. Don’t stop until all your prayers are answered! Don’t stop until you are most fruitful!
Action Point:
On social media networks today, so many people who are being followed are leading their followers to Hell. Watch who you follow!