In this sermon on John 15, the preacher begins by expressing his desire for the congregation to not just be challenged, but to be truly changed and live in the commitments and reality of what God has done in their hearts. He emphasizes the importance of living in daily, continual revival in the life of Christ, rather than constantly needing external events to bring them back to where they are spiritually. The preacher then focuses on the concept of bearing fruit, explaining that the ultimate fruit Christ desires is the fruit of new life for those who do not know Him. He highlights the need to abide in Christ, as branches cannot bear fruit on their own, and discusses the purging process that occurs in order to bring forth more fruit.

Hello, this is Brother Denny. Welcome to Charity Ministries. Our desire is that your life would be blessed and changed by this message. This message is not copyrighted and is not to be bought or sold. You are welcome to make copies for your friends and neighbors. If you would like additional messages, please go to our website for a complete listing at www.charityministries.org. If you would like a catalog of other sermons, please call 1-800-227-7902 or write to Charity Ministries, 400 West Main Street, Suite 1, EFRA PA 17522. These messages are offered to all without charge by the freewill offerings of God's people. A special thank you to all who support this ministry. Greetings in the precious name of Jesus. Amen. Amen. Good to see each one of you here. Welcome. Thank you for coming out tonight. I just want to express my appreciation to the brothers that had the vision for this and all the behind the scenes hard work that went on that many of us know little about. And I just want to bless you brothers. I don't know who I'm all talking to, but thank you. Thank you. It's been a blessing. It's been a joy. God has done a work in my heart as well. You know, the one area that I really thought about was the whole concept of an unconditional surrender that God can flow through me and use me. That is God's heart. That's why we're here. And I have needs in that area too. I do. And I want you to know that and I, along with all the others, covet your prayers. But the one that really got a hold of me was when Brother Denny said, the doctrine of evangelism. I said, amen. I've always believed that, but I never said it that way. You know, I've used that already since then. And you know what? Among many of our people, that creates quite a stir. I've had already brothers come to me and say, I ain't never heard that before. I ain't never heard that before. Well, I said, you know, our problem many times is we major on minors and we minor on majors. And I think we would all agree here this evening that the doctrine of evangelism is a major doctrine in Scripture. Amen? It's a major doctrine in Scripture. Amen. Let us walk faithful, not just knowing it, but out of the abundance of our heart, this thing flows that we have to give to those that are needed. Open your Bibles tonight to John 15. John 15. As I sought the Lord, what to bring tonight? Many things went through my heart and my mind. You know, God has done a great work in many of us, maybe all of our hearts. And what would it be, Lord, that to come tonight that would just pick us up and carry us along, that we would not just be challenged, but that we would be truly changed and live in the commitment and in the reality of what God spoke into our hearts a year from now, two years from now. Not that another year from now we need another revival or another tent meeting or something to bring us back to where we are tonight. Amen? But that we would live in the reality of what God has done, pick us up and carry us along. That we would live in daily, continual revival in the life of Christ. And maybe at the same time that there would be those among us here tonight that maybe have held out. Maybe in going deeper, taking the plunge. You know, I don't care, and this is to my own heart, my brothers and sisters, I don't care how long you walk with God. I don't care how much you know the Scripture and how long you walk with Jesus. God has more. God has more. You haven't arrived yet and neither have I. He has more. You know, and just pull all that together and say, Lord, you know, I can't take all those things that God wants to do from here and bring them together in one message. I can't do it. But you know what? I believe God can. In Christ, I believe He can. And I believe John 15 is a key portion of Scripture that where you're at tonight, that you would go on with Christ. Go deeper. Take the plunge from here and be faithful to what God has done in your heart. I believe it all happens when we're abiding in Christ. Abiding in Christ. So, let's open our Scriptures, which I already asked you to, to John 15. I love John 14, John 15 and John 16. John 14, brothers and sisters, is all about you and I abiding, or maybe I should not use the word abiding, you and I being at home in the Father's love, finding a place of belonging in the Father's love, that you are there with confidence and blessedness and assurance. And you come to John 15 and that's abiding in Christ. What's John 16? Come on, Bible readers. What's John 16? Holy Ghost. Amen. John 15, abiding in Christ. John 16, the Comforter. That He has comforted us and that we're empowered with the Holy Ghost. Let us stand again tonight. Can we do that? As we're going to read the first, oh, just the first eight verses here in John 15. The words of Jesus. The words of Jesus for us here tonight. He says, I am the true vine and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, He taketh away. Now, that is a sobering, staggering verse. Consider it. Every branch in me, says Christ, that beareth not fruit, He taketh away. And every branch that beareth fruit, He purges. And that purging is a cutting to the point that it hurts. It's painful. He purges it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now, ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you, says Christ unto His disciples. 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 you abide in me. That's our key verse here tonight. But let us read on to verse five. 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, you can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch. A branch is withered and men gather them and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what you will and it shall be done unto you. Another sobering, staggering verse. Herein is my Father glorified that you bear much fruit. So shall ye be my disciples. May God honor and be glorified through Christ in the reading of the word. Can we have a word of prayer yet before we go further? Yes, Lord God, it's in Jesus' name that we come to you tonight. Lord, we are looking to you. We are lifting our spiritual cups to you, Lord. I pray that you would come in your sweetness, in your fullness, and in your power, and we would see what Jesus meant when he said that we are to abide in him and he abides in us. Teach us, Lord, speak into our hearts and lives. Lord, I can't do it. I need your help, Lord. Stand with your servant in the pulpit of God, Lord. Lord, these are beautiful Scriptures and I pray that they would be quickened to our hearts. Lord, that they would empower us to go forth from here. Lord, be faithful to you in the commitments we've made. And Lord, in even the desires that yet remain in our heart, Lord, that you would just pick us up and carry us along as we abide in Christ and you in us. Lord, I pray that you would have your will and you would have your way tonight in this service, in every aspect of it. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. You may be seated. I think all of us would know that God the Father is the husbandman here, the Lord Jesus is the true vine, and you and I are the branch. And the desire of Christ is fruit. You see it in verse 2. You see more fruit as well in verse 2. You see much fruit in verse 5. And you see much fruit in verse 8. Now, think about it with me, brothers and sisters, in thinking of our heart's desire to be a witness for Christ to our neighbors and those that are hurting and those that are, you know, seeking. Does not fruit have the seed of new life in it? Does it not? You know, the bottom line fruit, I really believe, that Jesus is after is that you and I would bring new life to others who know not Christ. You see that clearly over in verse 16. I haven't read this verse. You have not chosen me, but I've chosen you and I've ordained you that you should go. I have an explanation, Mark, right after the goal. Go and do what? That you should bring forth fruit and that your fruit would remain. Bringing people to Christ. That the fruit would remain and go on to the next generation and they tell others about Christ and it goes on and on and on. That is, I really believe. There's more fruits, I believe, that we could look at. But I believe the ultimate fruit Christ is looking for through this connection is the fruit of new life for those that know not Christ. I really believe that. But he goes on to say here that he says, Abide in me and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can you except you abide in me. Oh, that you and I, as a branch, would be connected to the vine of Christ that we would know Christ as the vine knows the branch. Amen? I believe that's where it all lies. As I'm connected to Christ, His grace and His glory and His goodness and His mercy and His love and His forgiveness, all of that flows through the connection into my life and I am connected to Christ and He is in me. There's a union and a communion, if you would, as I am vitally connected to Christ. And therein, I believe, lies the power and everything is there that it takes for you and I to be and walk out the commitments that you and I made. Without that connection, what does Jesus say? You can do nothing. Your commitments will just go right down the drain and a few months from now, you'll even forget the stakes that you drove and what you made a purpose with resolution in your heart. You resolved it. You've got to be connected to Christ. I need to be connected to Christ. And then as I'm connected to Christ, there's a communion back and forth. And I'm here to say here tonight, brothers and sisters, this is where Jesus is going with the repentance of sin, with the breaking of your heart and denying your will to accomplish His will. And on and on I could go, assurance of salvation, having open heaven over your life. On and on I could go where His will becomes my will at the expense of my will. This is where He's going. You see, Jesus Christ died on the cross and as He died, the veil was rent and it was opened up that you and I can boldly enter into the throne room of grace and we can know Jesus. We can know Him by faith. We can walk with Him. We can talk with Him. We can be connected to Him. You know, I was thinking as I was sitting there, you know, all the lights are on and the fan is running. Let's just take an example and let's say this fan, you know, let's say that it wouldn't be running. I'm not going to turn it off because I'll probably forget to turn it back on. But it's not running. There it is. It has a lot of potential. It has all the right form. It has all the right possibilities. You understand what I'm saying? Everything's in place. It has a lot of potential. But them blades aren't turning. It's just there. Dead. What's its problem? It needs power. How does it get power? It needs to get what? It needs to get connected. It needs to get connected to the power source. You know, many times we have all the potential. We have all the ability. We have all the reality. We have all the doctrine. We have everything. All our T's are crossed and our I's are dotted. And here we sit. But we're not connected. We're not connected. And when we're not connected, Jesus said, you can do nothing. Nothing. Oh, you can do many things. You have many programs and you can have many programs and you can have many systems and many things. Someone has recently said, and I love this. My wife read this somewhere. She's a great helpmate to me. And she said, boy, here's a good one. Someone recently said, maybe what we ought to do is just go back to our churches maybe on a Sunday morning and just say, okay, Lord, we're just going to quiet our hearts. We're going to stop all the programs. We're going to stop all the systems. We're going to stop everything. You know, now we do this and now we do that and now we do this and now we do that. We're just going to stop it all. And we're just going to fall on our faces. And our goal is to find out is God really in it? Somebody back there. Amen. Is this really God's heart? Or is this just what we're doing? Folks, I believe when we are connected to Jesus Christ, as the branch knows the vine, the fruit is going to push out from the current connection, from the inside out. And it's going to be Jesus Christ working through us and working by him for his honor, for his glory. And things will start to happen. But many times it's just not that way. It's all of our programs and all of our systems and all of our organizations. And I'm not saying that things are all wrong. But oh, that it would be God doing it through us, through the connection, connected to the power source. Well, what did Jesus really mean when he spoke here about abiding in him and him in us? What did he really mean? And it's my heart tonight to help us understand what he really meant. Let's go to 1 John 2. The same Gospel writer that penned John 15, the Apostle John. He's an older man when he wrote this. He walked with the Lord Jesus when Jesus walked on earth approximately three and a half years. In fact, John was the disciple that Jesus loved and also here we find that John is now at least 90 years old. It's approximately 60 years since Christ has returned back to glory. And John pens these words as he's thinking about knowing Christ. Look at this. Verse 4. 1 John 2. Verse 4. I'm not going to read all the verses. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar. And the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word in him verily is the love of God perfected. Hereby know we that we are in him. Notice the in him and know him. Verse 6 is what I want. He that he saith, he abideth. Same word as was used back in John 15. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked. Now he's using the same word here, abiding, which means a present, continuous, maintained connection. That's what the word abiding means. And here he says, he says that he that saith he abideth in him, he that saith he's a Christian, he that saith he's a disciple, he that saith he's a follower of the Lord Jesus, he ought to walk as Jesus walked. Now let me ask you a question. Did Jesus need to abide? Did Jesus need to abide? Absolutely. If he didn't, then there's error in this Scripture. John is saying that Jesus is our example of abiding. And we're to follow his example. And that's what I want to do here tonight. Titling the message here tonight, I would title it Abiding Like Christ. We're going to follow Jesus' example of abiding in the Father. Abiding like Christ. And I believe it's what Jesus was speaking about in John 15. And John elaborates on it here. Follow Jesus' example of abiding. Jesus had to maintain daily a union and communion with the Father. Let's explore it. Let's start in Isaiah chapter... But before we do that, let me just lay some groundwork. I'm sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself here a little bit. I think we need to understand how that Jesus is 100% God. Right? And he's also 100% the man. But we need to understand when we bring into context Philippians 2 that... well, let's just go there. Let's just take the time and go to Philippians chapter 2. And let's just explore this for a moment. Because if we don't cover this, it won't make a lot of sense to us how that Jesus needed to abide in the Father. In Philippians chapter 2, he tells us here that we are to let the same mind that was in Christ Jesus be in you. And then he goes on. Verse 5. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. And he gives a beautiful picture of Jesus Christ emptying Himself. And I'd like to suggest to you that the word we use there, the Greek word, is kenosis. It literally means that Jesus emptied Himself of that part of Him that was godlike. He used seven steps in there that He goes down. And He made Himself of no reputation. And being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. In other words, He stepped down from His equalness with the Father. No reputation. He was found in fashion as a man. But even as a man, He humbled Himself. He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Down, down, down, Jesus went in emptying Himself which left Him what? A man. A man. Just like Paul said to Timothy, he said there's one mediator between God and man. The man. Christ Jesus. He's a man. Now, I personally believe that any time that He would have wanted to, remember, He's a volunteer. God the Father did not force this upon Him. He is a volunteer. And oh, that we would be volunteers to follow Jesus and be made fishers of men. Because His love compels us. The love of Christ constrains me and what He's done for me. But He empties Himself. Remember there in the garden when Jesus was there and Peter and those soldiers came to take Jesus? And Peter, you know, he whips out his sword and he's going for Malchus' neck. Malchus is quick. He gets his head to the side. The ear comes off. Jesus tells Peter, He heals the ear and He tells Peter, Peter, put up your sword. Don't you know that I could call twelve legions of angels and I could be delivered? Just looking how He said that. Yes, that seventy-two thousand angels He could have called and He could have been delivered right on the spot. He voluntarily laid it down and He could have voluntarily taken it back any time He would have chose to. But He would not because He loves you and He loves me and He wanted to go to the cross to accomplish the Father's will. So He's a volunteer and He laid that down. Now that leaves Jesus a man. Just like you and I. Leaves Him a man. One hundred percent man. And we could go on and I don't believe that Jesus had a sin nature in Him. I don't believe that at all. Not at all. But He still could have did His own will. Went His own direction. Done His own thing. He could have done that. But He would not. You're going to see that as we go on. But did you ever stop and ask yourself your question now? So He's a man. He's walking in a vital, intimate connection with the Father. How did He do all that He did? He always met every need with perfect poise. He was never stumped. He was never confused and didn't know what to do. How did He meet all those needs? All those miracles and all those blessings and healings that Jesus did? I'll tell you how He did it. He did it by abiding in His Father. He did it by abiding in His Father. And thereby, He accomplished in bringing great glory to His Father. And Jesus, so many times we look at Christ, and I hear this so often. Oh, well, He was God! That's how He did it. That's how He lived sinless and in absolute perfection. He was God. Is that really correct? No. He was a man. He was a man. And I really believe Jesus could have sinned. The old devil would not have tempted Him. In fact, the Bible tells us He was tempted in all points as we are. And yet, He was without sin. How did He do it? He did it the same way that you and I are going to do it. He abided in the Father. And likewise, you and I must abide in Christ. Now, let's go to Isaiah 50 which I already told you to go to as we look at Jesus Abiding like Jesus. Abiding like Jesus. Isaiah 50, verse 4 The Lord God has given me the tongue of the learned that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary. He waketh morning by morning. He waketh mine ear to hear as the learned. The Lord God has opened my ear and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. And just to convince you that this is a prophetic Scripture in light of the Lord Jesus and His walk on earth as a man. I gave my back to the smiters and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. I hid not my face from shame and spitting. We know that is speaking about Jesus. But let's back up. If we could go on, for the Lord God will help me. Therefore shall I not be confounded. Therefore have I set my face like a flint. And I know that I shall not be ashamed. He set His face like a flint to go to the cross to deliver you and I from sin. But Lord, the Lord God will help me. Notice where He's getting His power, where He's getting His grace, where He's getting His strength. From Papa, the Father. But let's go back up to verse 4. I have four things that I want you to see here. First of all, morning, remember, we're learning from Jesus, abiding like Christ. Christ abided in the Father. We're abiding in Jesus. What does it mean to abide? Let us learn from Jesus as He abided in the Father. First thing I see, morning by morning, Jesus woke up, as it says here, He awaketh mine ear to hear. Jesus woke up with His ear listening to what the Father had to say. He's abiding. What about you? How do you wake up? Do you wake up abiding in Christ? Good morning, Jesus. Another day. Thank You for Your grace, Your goodness, Your mercy, Your love, Your salvation. It's new today. Thank You, Jesus. Morning by morning, He is waking up connected to the Father. He would hear from the Father. I could just hear Jesus. I'm assuming some here. Good morning, Papa. Maybe as He's laying in a cave there in the Garden of Gethsemane, down underneath in the cave with a stone for His pillow. Good morning, Papa. Thank You for a good night's rest. Where are we going today? What do you have for me today? Whose need are we going to meet today? I mean, Jesus didn't do anything else, did He? But seek and save a lot, did He? Meet people's needs. Do you and I even have margins in our lives that if we wake up and say, good morning, Lord, and union and communion with Jesus, and He would speak into my heart, and He would say, son or daughter, I want you to go over there. Over here somewhere. And I want you to minister to that person. I want you to go talk to that person about Christ. I want you to go meet that physical need over there. He woke with His ear, morning by morning, to hear. Now to the people that watched on, it looked like He was learned. But He was getting it through the connection. He's connected to the Father. He woke up. And you follow Jesus. This is not just a connection in the morning, and maybe your quiet time, or your devotional time. Oh no, no, no, no, no. Jesus stayed connected throughout the day as He met people's needs. Notice, it also says that thereby He had His ear turned towards heaven as the ear that was learned. And it also tells us that I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. Jesus never rebelled against the connection with His Father. He never turned back. He always obeyed. He was vitally, intimately connected to the Father. And He always obeyed. He never lost the connection. That's staggering. Abiding in Christ. Following Jesus' example. Abiding like Christ. He was not rebellious. Did He struggle sometimes? We see Him struggling in the garden, in the flesh, don't we? With the will of the Father. But you know what? He wrestled through that thing with much strong crying and tears, the Hebrew writer tells us. But ultimately He said, not My will, but Thy will be done. Amen? He was faithful. He was faithful. But I want you to see something else. I want you to see something else here. It tells us there that as He awoke, a word tells us that the Lord God has given Me the tongue of the learned that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary. Beautiful word, brothers and sisters. Jesus knew exactly what to say to minister to that weary, struggling heart. He knew exactly what to say. How did He know what to say that just went right to the need of the heart for those that are weary and those that are struggling, just as it says, a word in season to him that is weary. How did He get that? Through the connection. Through the connection from the Father. Folks, it's not good enough to just go witness. It's not good enough to go pass out some tracts. We need to get connected. You can't put the whole thing in a package and say this is always how I'm going to do it. I got it all figured out. This is what I'm always going to say. It's not how Jesus did it. He had a word for those that were weary in season. A word that came right from the Father who knew the need. And Jesus was connected to the Father. He was abiding in the Father. And then Jesus knew exactly what to say that just met the need of that heart. It was exactly what that person needed to hear. Folks, you and I are going to be a witness for Christ. And here's this doctrine of soul winning again. And we know that's how Jesus lived His life. Then you and I need to be connected as Jesus was connected to the Father. I'd just like to walk you through a little bit. Just a little bit in Mark 1. Go to the New Testament and just briefly watch Jesus live this out. Watch Him live it out. In Mark 1, verse 17, Jesus is choosing His disciples and He tells them to follow Him. Come ye after Me and I will make you become fishers of men. Interesting. Straightway they forsook their nets and followed Him. Jesus is calling His disciples. Maybe it's the beginning of the day. I'm not sure. Verse 21, Then He went into Capernaum and straightway on the Sabbath day He entered the synagogue and He taught. Now He's teaching in the synagogue. And verse 23, They brought those that had unclean spirits and they were there and He touched them and He healed them. And then you come over to verse 29. He heals Peter's wife's mother. And now you come to verse 32. In the evening the sun did set. Now it's evening. Jesus has had a busy day in ministering and bringing a word for the weary in season. They brought unto Him all kinds of disease that were possessed with devils. Gathered together at the door and on and on we could go and He healed many that were sick. In verse 34, Have you been involved in the ministry? At all? That is a busy, busy day. And don't forget, Jesus is a man. Great virtue has come out of Christ. And it's the close of the day. As He was ministering and bringing a word for those that are weary and healing and ministering and He's doing it all through the connection of His Father. Touching many lands. And bringing glory to the Father. And I can just imagine Jesus is exhausted as He walks out of Jerusalem. He didn't sleep in Jerusalem. He goes down the Kidron Valley and up the other side into the Garden of Gethsemane. Down into one of them caves and He lays His head on a pillow at night. Certainly tomorrow I'm going to take a lot of rest for my body and I'm going to sleep in. Right? Look at the next verse. Wrong, exactly. Look at the next verse. And in the morning rising up a great while before day He went out and departed into a solemn, hairy place. And there He prayed. What is Jesus doing? He will not rebel and turn back on that connection with His Father. He knows that if He's going to be used of the Father and bring God the Father great glory today He must get connected. And of course He wakes up connected. He's spending time with the Father. Papa, where are we going today? What do you have for me today? Papa, I want to follow you. He's abiding in the Father. Oh, that you and I would abide in Christ how Jesus abided in the Father. Amen? This is where the power is, brothers and sisters. And if you're here tonight and you're not connected you know this is what conversion and being born again is all about. It's getting connected to Christ. With a clear heart. That's what repentance is all about. An open heaven. So you can get connected. So He can flow through you and use you. You can't pull yourself up by your own bootstrap. You need to get connected to Christ as Christ is connected to the Father. Thereby you can bring God the Father great glory and bring forth much fruit. Let's go on. Let's go to John 6. Verse 38. Actually, let's go to John 5 first. John 5. Verse 26 and verse 27. The Apostle John seemed to understand this part of Jesus better than any of the other Apostles. John 5, verse 26 and 27. As the Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself. When you've seen Jesus, you've seen the Father. Study the life of Jesus. Study how He lived His life. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. He is the express image of the Father. When you've seen Jesus' life, you've seen the Father. It wasn't His own life. Do you want to know what the Father's like? God the Father? Study the life of Jesus. Because it wasn't His life that He lived. Jesus literally did His Father's will from Heaven on earth. It wasn't His life. It was the Father's life. What is your life? What is my life? Is it all about Jesus? When people see you, when people bump into you, and you meet them, is it all about Jesus? Is His life your life? Flowing through the connection? It wasn't. Jesus' life was about the Father. Going about doing His will. In fact, that's the next thing I want to look at. Let's move on and let's go to John chapter 6, verse 38. Just move forward a bit. John chapter 6, verse 38. Listen to the testimony of Jesus. I came down from Heaven not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me. Jesus did not come to do His own will. And I don't believe that Jesus was bent towards sin. I don't believe that. He didn't have the sinful nature like you and I. He had divine blood running through His veins. But, He could have done His own thing. Papa the Father would have said, Son, we're going over here. But He could have said, No, I'd rather minister over here. Folks, He always did His Father's will. What about you and I? Folks, if we're going to do Christ's will through a connection, that means my will's got to die. That means my will's got to die. My will's got to be surrendered. There's this word, that Brother Denny used, which I so much appreciated. Unconditional surrender with no reservations. None! When you're standing before your family, those that are maybe persecuting you and holding the mighty or whatever, just holding you at arm's length. What's God the Father's will? They would seek Christ. They would know Christ. What about your will? And my will? Maybe His will is that you would be bold and put in there whatever you want. Have you died to your will? Jesus, to accomplish the Father's will, had to die to His own will. And that's what took Him to the cross. It took our forefathers to the stake. Their will had to die. And so did Jesus. Has yours? To accomplish the Father's will? To accomplish Jesus' will? What about if the call came for you right now? Or me? I want you to just sell all that you have, go move into the city and be a part of the children's ministry. Oh, me? Yeah, you. Could you say yes? Maybe it would be some other work. Maybe God just wants you to walk by faith and scale down, sell out. I don't know. Is it your will? Or is it His will? Jesus had to deal with His will. And so do I. If you and I are going to be connected, our will must go. If I'm going to have my will, that's going to stand in the way of the will of Christ being accomplished in my life. Do you believe that? It's going to stand in the way. It's going to break the connection. And you will be able to do absolutely nothing. Let's move on. John chapter 5, verse 30. John chapter 5, verse 30. Listen to the words of Jesus. Abiding like Christ. Verse 30. John chapter 5. I can of mine own self do nothing. If you don't believe that Jesus was a man here tonight, if you don't believe that He had surrendered His equalness and all that He was a man, just a man like you and me, let this verse settle it in your heart. I can of my own self do nothing, said the Lord Jesus. And did not He say that about you and I back in John chapter 15? Without me, you can do nothing. Now, if Jesus couldn't do nothing without the intimate connection with the Father, so much the more you and I can do nothing with the connection with Christ. Amen? Jesus did everything that He did through the connection with the Father. But let's go on. As I hear, I judge. These are beautiful verses in helping us understand how Jesus abided in the Father and that we would abide like Christ in Him. As I hear, I judge. I like to use the sinner woman in John chapter 8. There she is. She's caught in the very act of adultery. And they come to Him with her and they got their arms all loaded up with stones and they say to Jesus, they say, the law says she shall die. What do you say? What did Jesus do? He gets down and He's writing on the ground as though He heard them not. And He's just writing on the ground. I like to suggest to you that at that very moment, Jesus, He's a man and of Himself He can do nothing. He said, Papa, Papa, they're right. That's what the law says. The law says she shall die. Papa, what shall I say? Papa, how can I have a word that goes right to their heart? And God the Father, He's got His ear towards heaven, you know. And God the Father speaks into His heart and says, tell them that He that is without sin shall cast the first stone. And He rises up. We tend to focus on what He might have been writing on the ground. He rises up and He says, you, I don't want to point at you, you that are without sin, cast the first stone. And there it was. Those words came right from the Father, flowed through Jesus, went right to their hearts, and they were smitten in the heart. They were convicted because it was a word that came from heaven. As I hear I judge. You know what they did? They dropped their stone from the eldest to the youngest and they walked out. Because there was a word right from heaven, from the Father, that spoke right to their heart. Jesus says, I Myself can do nothing. Nothing. He didn't do that on His own. He did that through the connection of the Father. As I hear, I judge. Folks, this is the kind of connection that Christ wants to have with you and I. Doesn't the Bible say somewhere, like in John chapter 10, that My sheep hear My voice. And what do they do? They follow. When's the last time My brother, My sister... I'm not talking about the tent meeting when they're preaching. Just through the day. You hear the voice of Jesus. Don't say that. You shouldn't go there. Go over here and talk to this man. My sheep hear My voice and they follow. That's how we're going to meet people's needs. That's how we're going to stay revived. That's how we're going to keep the fires burning in our soul. We're connected to Christ. And His life is my life. His power is my power. His goodness is my goodness. And as I hear, I have a word for the weary. And look what He says. Let's finish it. And He says, My judgment is just. It's right. Because I seek not My own will, but the will of the Father which has sent Me. What a beautiful picture of Jesus abiding like Jesus. What's God calling you to do? Where does He want you to go? How does He want you to live out these commitments? Folks, it happens by abiding in Christ as Christ abided in the Father. Do you have that kind of a connection? Not just at the tent meetings. Not just a little on Sunday morning. Maybe a little on Wednesday night prayer meetings. No, no, no, no. Jesus lived this every day as He lived His life on earth. Every day He lived it. Connected to the Father. You know, I love the account there. I think it's in Mark where Jesus ministered to the Syrophoenician woman. If you study that, He was in the regions of Galilee. And then He walked 50 miles north to Tyre and Sidon. It's 50 miles. He walked up there just to minister to that one Syrophoenician woman's daughter. He healed her. And she was a Gentile. She was not a Jew. And then what did He do? He walked 50 miles back. Connected to the Father. Papa said, Son, we're going north today. We're going up to Tyre and Sidon. There's a needy soul up there that needs healing. Her daughter needs healing. And Jesus just forsakes what He's doing and He walks 50 miles up to heal one soul. And then He walks the whole way back. What a picture of Jesus abiding in the Father. I wonder what would happen in this town if the people of God would abide in Christ as Christ abided in the Father. What would happen? Jesus was totally dependent on the Father. Not by will, but His will. Of Himself, He knew that He could do nothing. Do I even know Christ? Do I even know anything about this kind of connection? Challenging. But this is, I believe, what Jesus is speaking about when He speaks about abiding in Him. Abide in Him, as John says, as He abided in the Father. Let's go to John chapter 6 yet. John chapter 6. We're just sort of taking a little tour here. I'm going to drop in at verse about 48. Here Jesus tells them that He is living bread. Actually, He says in verse 48, I am the bread of life. Your fathers did eat man in the wilderness and they're dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven that a man may eat thereof and not die. I am living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eats of this bread, he shall live forever. And the bread that I will give is my flesh which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, how can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, except you eat of the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. And what Jesus is telling us here this evening from this portion of Scripture is the same thing that you've been hearing. He is speaking about partaking of Him, drinking of His blood and cleansing and the washing of the heart and the soul when we see things that we shouldn't see. He's speaking about abiding in Him, being a partaker of Christ, eating of Christ as you were. You see, if you just turn over to verse 63, we see that it says... Shall we keep going or shall we sing? Keep going. Can you hear? Okay, okay, okay. Okay, alright. Verse 63. Well, may the Lord God shower us with His Spirit as the beautiful showers of blessings are falling upon us that we would be all that God would have us be. Verse 63. It is the Spirit that quickeneth. The flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit and they're life. Jesus is not speaking about literally eating His flesh and drinking His blood. He says these words are Spirit. And I love this, brothers and sisters. He's talking about communion and a union with Him that brings life. Look what it says. The words that I speak unto you, they're Spirit and they're life. When you're connected to Christ and His power and His grace and His goodness and His mercy and His love and all those virtues of Jesus are flowing into you, I tell you what, they'll light up your life! They're life! When you're partaking of Christ, it's not deadness. It's not quietness. Yeah, well, it's life! Life! Is Christ your life? Again? Is He your life? As you partake of Him? He's your all in all? He's your life? Now, I want to get verse 56. And you know, we could just go back to this and we could say from that time, verse 66, many of His disciples went back and walked no more with Him. Many turned back. And they walked no more with Him. The cost was too high. The price was too high. You see, this is going to cost you everything. You know, any one of us can put a little form on the outside, get our theology right, get all our doctrine right, but this thing of being a partaker of Christ and drinking of His blood, where His life becomes my life and He empowers my life, you know what? It costs everything to walk through your everyday Christian life like Jesus did. Their life, their spirit, and they're not dead. They're alive. They're real. But now let's back up to verse 57. Here's the verse I really wanted. Actually, let's drop in at verse 56. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me and I in him. Notice, it's the same thing. And then look at verse 57. And I live by the Father. As the living Father has sent me and I live by the Father, so he that eateth of me and even he shall live by me. What's Jesus saying? Abide like I abide in the Father. He uses His own testimony and His own life as an example. Well, I'm going to bring this to a close. Let me ask you some questions. I'm done. Just bringing in conclusion yet. You know, God, the enemy of our soul, He knows that if He can make sure that we don't stay connected to Christ, He knows we're powerless. So He has bombarded us. He has bombarded us with all kinds of things to keep us connected to other things. Connected to the cell phone. Connected to the business. Connected to struggles. Connected to on and on I could go. Go here. Buy this. You can get it cheaper over here than you can over here. Buy that. Do this. Go here. Go there. Just keep the people of God running so they don't get connected. Because the enemy knows that when you get connected to Jesus Christ, you are connected to the power source. You're going to live out His life on earth for His honor and for His glory. And so He throws prosperity in our lap. He makes us successful. He just throws it all at us. And what's the point? Keep you from being connected to Christ. Because if He knows that He can just keep you disconnected, He's got you. And I tell you, brothers and sisters, that's the world we live in. That's the world we live in. We need to deny ourselves. We need to deny the flesh. We need to deny self. That we are connected to Christ and stay connected. Stay connected to Him. Are you connected tonight? Do you know Christ? I'm not just talking about... I'm talking about be willing. When He speaks into your Lord, speak into my heart. Speak into my life. I want to walk out my commitment. God our Father, we thank You.