Scripture Passage
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Sermon Text
Joy of Abiding
This scripture is taken from John Fifteen one to eleven. I am the true vine and my father is the vine grower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it more bear, more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I’ve spoken to you, abide in me as I abide in you, just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine. Neither can you, unless you abide in me, I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers. Such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples as the father has loved me, so I have loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love just as I have kept my father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to use so that my joy may be new and that your joy may be complete. This is the word of the Lord.
Success Accumulated through Helping others
Good life is a fruitful life, that’s what I believe that’s what successful life is all about. A successful life is not how much you have accumulated, or how many achievements that you have made, that’s not what success of life is. The success of life is whether you are beneficial to other people or not. Whether you are fruitful to other people. A fruit is not something that you can see on the outside. It is not quantifiable. A fruit is inequality is something within you. It’s not necessarily what you do, it is more to do with you, what is inside of you, that’s why Saint Paul said about fruit in this way. The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.
Inner Qualities within Us
So the fruit as I showed all these, it is inner quality. You cannot see it on the outside. It’s not quantifiable. Generosity, kindness, love, joy, all these things are inner quality. Of course, these inner qualities manifest themselves hourly, because what’s inside, cannot stay inside. What’s inside, always comes out. If you have some problem inside, then it always comes out. If you’re unhappy, you look unhappy, if you’re not healthy inside, then you look unhealthy. So whatever is inside always comes out, uh, on the outside. So when the inner qualities come outside and manifest themselves on the outside, that’s when these qualities benefit other people. It a uplifts other people, it gives them hope, I believe that being able to do that, that’s meaningful life when you’re able to uplift or encouraged people around you, I think your life is worth living.
Try to Bear Fruit Naturally
You’re not just living for yourself, you’re doing all these things for other people. And that’s very important for a human being to live like that. Jesus also said, “you are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how can saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. You’re the light of the world, let your light shine before others.” Jesus said, “you are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.” That means you got to be fruitful. You have to be helpful to other people. That’s what salt and light do, it enlightens other people. But one thing I realized, my friends, you cannot bear fruit by trying to bear fruit. Of course we have to try but, I realized that you cannot bear fruit by just trying to bear fruit.
Do not force Humility and Humbleness
I realized that it’s not something that you can do by trying. It’s like being humble. You cannot try to be humble, either you’re humble or not. You cannot try to be humble. You look modest and all that, but that’s not really a humility. You cannot try to be humble. Either you’re humble or not. In the same way, you cannot just bear fruit because you want to bear fruit, You try to bear fruit. Being who you are and the fruit you bear cannot be separated. Fruit is a natural result of who you are. That’s what I realized. For the tree to bear his fruit, the truth, the tree has to be faithful to his own existence. The tree does not have to try anything. It just be faithful to his own existence and then it bears fruit. When you’re faithful to your own unique existence, the fruit will come as a result of it. When the right time comes, fruit is not something that you can force to produce. Fruit is a natural result of who you are. You may not be even aware of what you’re doing. You simply did what you naturally do, but you don’t even think about it much, but other people get tremendous encouragement and hope through what you did. That’s what fruit is like. You just lived your life and yet you’ve benefited so many people around you.
Time and Effort Bears the Best Quality
You know, there is a condition that determines a good wine and not so good wine. And this condition is called terroir. In French it mean simply means: The land, but in wine, it is the condition or set of all the environmental factors, quality of the soil, the wind, the climate, the kind of effort the farmer puts in. That’s why they always put the year on the bottle, because on that year, what kind of weather, how much sunlight was there, what kind of wind, was there. Depending on, that year, even though you’re just all same Pinot Noir, depending on the one year, that is it. It can be very, very expensive. Why? It can be very cheap wine. That terrible, terrible terroir, really determines the quality of the wine. What I’m saying is you are the terrior that produces certain fruit.
The Fruit you Bear will be tasted by Others
If I’m not happy, the fruit that we bear may not be very good. You may do a lot of things on the surface, but the work itself is not the fruit. Two years ago, a German wings airplane crashed into a mountain. and all 150 people were killed in the airplane. You know what happened? It was not technical problem. It was not terrorist. This co pilot, he was very, very unhappy and he tried to commit suicide several times, and then while the main captain went out for washroom, he locked the door and he put the altitude to the lowest and he just waited until the plane crashed into the mountain. Just one person’s unhappiness made so many people, not just 150 people who died, but their families, it’s a lifetime impact on their lives, but if we are happy, humble, warm, loving, and confident, then the fruit we bear, will uplift other people in a powerful way. So instead of trying to focus on bearing the fruit, we should build, good, terrior within us. Once we establish a good terroir, than the beautiful fruits will come naturally.
Abide in Christ and you will find Joy
That’s why Jesus said this. No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again, does a bad tree bear good fruit. Your existence and fruit are inseparable. They are so deeply connected for each tree is known by its own fruit, fix or not gathered from thorn, nor our grapes picked from a bramble Bush who you are and what fruit you bear cannot be separated so that terroir the producers good wine, that terroir in your life that produces beautiful fruit in your life, question is how do we cultivate? How do we build that terroir in your life? That’s why Jesus said, you have to abide in me. If you don’t abide in Jesus, you cannot build good terroir. You cannot build good terroir by yourself. Only in Jesus will be shaped in the most beautiful way. I do believe that as you abide in Jesus, you’ll be shaped mysteriously. Even the song that we say, he will lift him, lift me up to more than I can be. He can raise me up to more than I can be.
You will Change through Jesus
You can be more than you can ever imagine as you abide in Jesus and that we didn’t. Jesus, you have no choice but to change because Jesus is a changing agent, so as you abide in Jesus, and Jesus will change you, God will change you in the way that you can never expect about yourself, so when Jesus could, terroir is established so it is exciting to shape by Christ. I don’t know what I will be like in 10 years. It’s not set how God will use me, how God will shape me, change me, it’s a mystery, but I know that as I abide in Christ, he will shame me beautifully. Same thing as all of you. As you abide in Christ, Christ will shape you little by little. That’s why Jesus said abide, me, as I abide in you, just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. If you don’t abide in Jesus,
Abide in Jesus Before Everything else
you’ll be as much as you try to be, but as you abide in Christ, you will be shaped in the way you can never imagine. Working hard, living hard, and devoting yourself. They’re all good but not good enough. The first thing first, the first thing is to abide in Jesus and his word. Even before Jesus, all the ancestors of faith, they knew about the secret, about this wisdom. Some writer said right in the first chapter, he said, “Happy are those, their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law, they meditate day and night. They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield they are fruit in his season and their lives to now with her in order they do. They prosper in Christ and in his word we become formed.” You can never force yourself to abide in Christ. Abiding in Christ means to enjoy being in Christ.
I enjoy being in Christ every moment. I enjoy abiding in Christ. Just sitting there and abiding in Christ gives us such joy, excitement, quiet time, meditation, be always mindful of Christ, studying the word. We are trying to build a reading program for our church, so weekly we’re going to give you scripture and then a little bit of meditation. You can read it every day already. There’s a bible study group formed, about 10, 12 people gathered together. They read Jeremiah and send emails, their reflection. In reading chapter one, what comes to your mind? What passage strikes you? They write down and they write their own reflection and send it.
You cannot Manufacture Inspiration
You know the lords words you don’t manufacturer. Inspiration, you don’t manufacturer. If it comes, it comes. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t come. That is okay. Important thing is that you abide in Christ, important things, you abide in God’s word as we abide in Christ, we realize that you’re not alone. You are not on an island. You experience that connectedness as you abide in Christ you experienced that connectedness. Once we feel that connectedness, we can do all things, and Jesus said, “if you have a abide in me, my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. He didn’t ask. He didn’t say, ask whatever, he asks, ask whatever you wish as you abide in Christ, what you wish changes.” It’s not money, fame, material, whatever. Those things are not important. As you abide in Christ, what you wish changes. I just want to be with you. That’s how you change as your body Christ. I just want to be with you and that will be granted. What’s your wish is simply to be shaped beautifully by Christ. You wish for a good terroir. He knew that not only you can enjoy your life, but you can make other people enjoy their lives. Is that worth living? You being the kind of person that makes other people enjoy their lives.
Naturalness bears Fruitfulness
I think that’s beautiful. Dream. Whatever you do, you make people enjoy their lives and that is possible. Only terroir within news changed and then fruit will come naturally. You don’t even have to try. Your presence becomes a blessed presence. I hope that all of you live abiding in Christ and then wait to see how God, how Christ will change you. Let us see.
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