Life Ministries

 “The Key To Abiding Is Trusting”
John 15:1-17

     Jesus said “I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly”. So far we have seen that the real key to living the Christian life as well as the abundant life is “bearing fruit.”  We have learned that the key to bearing fruit is consistently abiding in the vine. And, today we will find that the key to abiding… the key to remaining in Christ, is trusting.

    Now, I know that the scripture says in verse 9 that if we “obey” we will remain or abide in the vine… But, I am going to take you to a video series I used at Wednesday evening group with Andy Stanley (Son of Charles Stanley) who pointed out the fact that we will not “obey” someone we do not trust. Therefore, he says “obedience is a manifestation of trust”…“Trust and Obey” or we could say “first comes trust then comes obedience.” Andy Stanley also pointed out that if we truly believe that God is who He says He is; and if we really believe that God can do what He says He can do…And, if we believe that according to scripture, God always has our good – our best interest – in mind; then why don’t we trust Him?  If God has our best in mind, then why don’t we trust Him with our finances? Why don’t we trust Him with our circumstances? Why don’t we trust Him in every area of life? After all, He is God and He is all knowing, ever-present and all powerful! Able to do all things! There is nothing impossible with God! His Word is truth…absolute truth! Right? So, why don’t we trust and obey? For if we really trusted God, we would obey him…and the Word says that when we obey…when we trust and obey…we abide, we remain…in his love. So, the key to abiding is in trusting.
    John must have been paying close attention to Jesus because he repeats this in a little different way in 1^st. John 3:24 where he says - “Those who obey his commands live in him and he in them.” This principle of abiding through obedience governed the life of Jesus himself and his relationship with the Father; “You will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father and remain in his love” says verse 10…
    There are other scriptures that relate to this principle as well; for instance, John 4:34 – “My food”, said Jesus, “is to do (obey) the will of him who sent me…and to finish his work.” Isn’t that exactly what we should be thinking and doing as his church? John 5:30 again, Jesus says “For I seek not to please myself, but he who sent me”…and one more in John 6:38 – “For I have come down from heaven” ( a testimony of his Deity ) “not to do my will, but the will of him who sent me.”… And finally, in 1^st John 2:3 we read “We know that we have come to know him”…and later in that same scripture it says “this is how we know we are IN him”…this is how we know we are abiding… “if we obey his commands.”
    The importance of trust and obedience was stressed in the Old Testament with God dealing with the nation of Israel in Deuteronomy 10:12 – “what does the Lord ask of you, but to fear the Lord your God and walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve him, with all your heart and soul, to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees I am giving you today, FOR YOUR OWN GOOD”… “Trust me!”
    The importance of trusting and obedience is also stressed in the New Testament. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said; “not everyone who says to me “Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father” (that’s obedience) which is a manifestation of trust, which comes from (abiding in the vine.)
    In the giving of his great commission, Jesus said “Go and make disciples…teaching them to (what?) Obey everything I have commanded you”…Why did Jesus say that?...Because he came to give us life and life more abundantly! And, we can’t read much of God’s Word without realizing that obedience is essential if we are going to enjoy life as God desired it to be. It only makes sense then, that we consider some of the things – some of the commands that Jesus gave his disciples;
    I used to have a board game that was called “The Commands of Christ”…In that game there were 54 command cards…so I would think that there were about …Um… 54 commands! Or things we are told to do or obey as followers of Christ… Here are just a few;
1. We are told to repent of our sins.
2. We are told to be baptized. ( usually go together )
3. We are told to “believe on the name of Jesus Christ” for “there is no other name in heaven or on he earth or below the earth by which we must be saved”.
4. Peter also taught us that “we ought to live holy and godly lives as we look forward to his coming”.
5. We are told to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”.
6. We are “not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together”…”Remember the Sabath…”
7. We are told that “whatever we do, whether in word or in deed, do it all in the name of Jesus, giving thanks”… Make sure God gets the glory in all that we do.
And, finally, - ( I could list all 54 but I think you get the point…) Finally, let’s not forget that Jesus said;  “This command I give to you, that you love one another”… Then he gave us all the “one another’s” in scripture so we would know how to do just that. However, none of this is possible if we are not abiding in the vine. Obedience is a manifestation of our trust in who God is and what God can do…and trust comes from abiding…”Trust and Obey, for there’s no other way”…
The key to trusting is “Love”…