John 15:4-10
Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “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 15:4-5
The most important thing in life:
Stay in a close relationship with Jesus so that His life can flow through you. … This is perhaps the most important thing that we need to do as Christians. If we remain/abide/stay/dwell/live in Jesus, we can thrive as His spirit in us.
How do we remain in Jesus?
We remain in Jesus as we relate to Him over a period of time (John 15:4-5). … Some new believers get off to great starts but then fade. They fade because they don’t give it enough time to soak up all the goodness Christ has to offer.
We remain in Jesus as His words remain in us (John 15:7). … When we keep His words in us, when we memorize His words, we can use them to help us and they can help us stay on track.
We remain in Jesus as we obey His commands (John 15:9-10). … By keeping His commands, we show our love for Him. And as we obey Him it connects us to Father and His love. Disobedience can disconnect us from that love temporarily.
Together, these three keys lead to a healthy Christian lifestyle. Here’s a little formula our pastor showed us during the sermon that may help us in some areas:
Time + the Word + Obedience = Growth and Faithfulness
When we spend time in the Word and obey Jesus’ commands, we grow in our relationship with Christ.
One event we use to help keep us grounded in this is taking the Lord’s Supper. The bread (or crackers) and juice (or wine) represent His body and blood that were broken and spilled for us, instead of us.