1089. Abiding in Christ to Show the Greatest Love

Welcome to The Daily Platform from Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina today on The Daily Platform or continuing a study series from seminary chapel called abiding in Christ today speaker is Dr. Rick Cross, the Executive Director of acorn global advance the title of his message is abiding in Christ to show the greatest love. I like to have us take our scriptures in turn to the abiding passage of John chapter 15 in the morning organ be looking at a text that has become very special to me and I'll tell you why.

In a few moments focusing today on sacrificial one another, loving, and I recommend you this morning that abiding living is the fuel for sacrificial loving John chapter 15 verse 12 says this this is my commandment, that ye love one another as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends for 17 these things I command you, that you love one another father. It sure appears that this text is very fitting for this week, having begun with Palm Sunday in even looking at Good Friday tomorrow, and resurrection Sunday coming.

We thank you for the focus of this text and read acid you would use your word in our hearts ministered to by your Holy Spirit this morning and it's in the name of Jesus Christ that we pray.

Amen. So no.as you have gone through seminary travels this semester. You know that, beginning in John chapter 15 and probably on through the verse of chapter 17.

We have a text here where the intimacy of our Lord is seen, we see beginning in the upper room. Even we see the progress going to the garden of Gethsemane, where during that journey.

The Lord talks about the Holy Spirit. He talked about coming persecution.

He talks about loving one another. He talks about things on which he is very concentrated and very focused and then in chapter 17 he finishes the section and he models all of this in prayer. He models the abiding is talking about as he abides before his father in prayer. I started by saying this is a very interesting and special passage for me because over the last few weeks and then going on until probably early summer teaching a class at super Road that have to do with praying theology. We've had a section where we have looked at systematic theology in a small group and now we are attaching them the mindfulness of theology and developing it in prayer. So it's not just input.

It's also output and so the last few weeks we have taken John chapter 17 and we have prayed the Scriptures back to the Lord Jesus as he is abiding before his father. In prayer we are abiding with each other in prayer and taking the model of Christ's prayer as our model. It is been incredible. Is been very sweet. It's been fun to see people who have not necessarily engaged with corporate prayer become very fascinated and stretching in the matter of praying together, and realizing it's not a performance. It's simply abiding in the presence of God Almighty and so I don't know, watch the clock and Dr. Hankins.

Can you tell me again when I should be done. 20 till okay will be done before then because what I like to do is if you will tolerate this. I don't know if this is I didn't ask permission to do this. I would love for us to pray. I would lust like for us to have a time and you can prep your mind for this taking some of the Scripture and praying it back to the Lord and maybe even abiding before God's presence in prayer.

Bethinking even this morning about attributes of God that you can adore him for not just for what he does for us but for who he is.

I know that many of you would probably simplify empathize with this and that is much of our praying today is needs based praying and often very little even mirrors the prayers of the New Testament as as followers of Jesus Christ mirrored the attributes of who God is and even prayed the Scriptures back to God.

So this morning we can prep our mind for that. We like to conclude, as the Lord concludes 15 to 17 in prayer list. Conclude this chapel time in prayer. Very compelling to me that our Lord when he cleansed the temple and he overturned the money changers tables. He said you've made this a den of robbers. This should be a house of prayer, so the gathering of God's people ought to be typified by prayer, afraid that most churches today are not typified by prayer lives today are not typified by prayer maven. We finished today with the taste of abiding before the Lord in prayer are spiritual tongues or appetites for Jesus Christ so as we look at verses 13 and 14 are 12 and 13 in verse 17 in order to understand these verses we almost have to back up just a little bit.

Not all not encroach on the preaching that's already been done in the section but we have to have the backdrop of verses 9 to 11 to understand, 12 and 13 and he think of this.

I drove this morning and in a vehicle that the Lord is provided for us it's a pretty vehicle. It's a comfortable vehicle but it's a worthless vehicle. If it doesn't have fuel and I can point to it and I can describe bed and I can even think about how it would be to drive from Greer to Greenville and but unless there's actually the fuel in the tank and going to the internal combustion engine.

It's only a declaration of the parking lot. I like to recommend to you this morning that we can talk about sacrificially loving each other, but the fuel for that is are abiding in Christ the fuel for that is abiding living Vine life in Jesus Christ. So I submit to you this morning that abiding living is the fuel for sacrificial, loving, so what is abiding living read some of the material that's out there you're to start or even listening to sermons about this texturing to find a smattering of applications, many of which are very negative.

I was shocked to hear the negative portrayal of this almost as if abiding in the vine in abiding living as a chore I heard messages that I as I listen to this been even talking about theology in a church environment.

I've heard people talk about reading your Bible, as if it's as if you had coated with sugar to get it to go down almost like it's medicine you force yourself to read your Bible no matter what. And you force yourself to prayer to pray, no matter what I suggest to you that abiding in the buying of Jesus Christ is, and ruling an enjoyable, it's not like force-feeding.

It's beautiful and there's three components mentioned in verses 910 11 about this abiding living. First of all verse nine as a father hath loved me, so have I loved you, continue or abide ye in my love.

The first component of abiding living is seeing the vine love seeing vine love. So we have four children were married to her still at home and the ones in the dorm your ones at home in our youngest is a high school senior doing home school, but also taking dual credit classes here when the classes he's finishing up his anatomy at home, got a nurse from mom and and she understands all these things and so mom on Amazon not a pig and the scalpel to dissect the pig and some of you been through this.

I never went through this. I'm glad you could even smell the formaldehyde already for over talking about was she. She watched him as Stephen took the knife and as he put up whatever you call it a gouge ricotta slit down the down the cavity of that pig and she showed him how things go through the mouth down to the digestive track.

She taught Jody mother tendons were to shut them all the internal workings of the pig, recommend to you that our Lord is doing something similar. It's almost as if he is picturing a buying maybe even holding a vine or pointing to a vine and is almost slicing that bind open any showing where the source of love is the source of love is God the father.

It flow flows through the buying son to the branches of Christ followers. It's almost as if he saying, look at this trace through the vine. It's beautiful, and so I'm encouraged us this morning as we split open architect as we split open the Old Testament you can see the love the vine love of God flowing through God the father from God the father through God the son to the followers of God Almighty.

You split open the New Testament you find the exact same thing. The flowing love of the father and the son, and what this does is as we see that love in the Scriptures, the flowing love the vine love of Jesus Christ. It it amplifies vine life. It's almost like our Savior takes the volume level with these components and turns up the intensity of over talking about the results in loving one another so verse 10 says as we talked about verse nine seeing the buying lovers 10 says if you keep my commandments you shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my father's commandments and abide in his love. So abiding has to do with seeing vine love, but it also has to do with savoring buying truth, savoring buying truth, so we see the commandments. Here we can say that we see the law, then, not as a constraint not as an obligation, but as an extension of God's love, heat out of love, delivered his people out of Egypt, out of love. He gave them the 10 Commandments are truth, that we find in the Scriptures, the commandments that we are to keep is an extension of God's love for us.

It takes, it is beautiful.

As we abide in Christ we see the love that flows through the Gospels and throw through the epistles and through the prophetic. But we see all this, the club coming from the source of God through the vine of Jesus Christ of the Christ followers the branches. We also see that the buying truth unfolding you may have. You may have experienced this or not but toe when I was in the student here in the dormitory and I was preparing actually a sermon for Mr. Hankins at that point Dr. Hank is now in a class I was looking through books of illustrations and I thought that was appropriate. It turned out, maybe not, but it but I was looking through books of illustrations and how to illustrate truth and one of the things I came across was fascinating to me. I don't know that the true story but it preaches pretty good. So would you say it could be true and that is that a lady found a book at a used book sale and as she brought home. She started reading through the book and she said this is a very boring book. She closed the book and she threw it on the floor and walk around doing her chores along the way. Somehow she could've picked the book under the sofa and months later she and her social settings met a man that she became very interested in, and she found out that he was an author turned out that he was the author of that book that she had kicked under the sofa. So she went home. Move the sofa, pulled the book out and to her amazement it became the most enjoyable book she had ever read. So what's the difference. The difference is the relationship with the author and I'm to recommend to you that as we savor buying truth hour abiding in Jesus Christ becomes not obligatory but enjoyable it becomes life giving Dr. Hank as mentioned are having pastor the church in Colorado and one of the enjoyable things of looking back on some fruitfulness there. The Lord provided was in January 2013 I am cursed our folks on the first Sunday of 2013. Would you make a practice of reading the Scriptures this year and then I bumped it up a little bit and I said would you join me in reading the Bible through in the next 90 days that's that's an accomplishment bill to do that takes about 45 minutes to an hour and 50 minutes every day dependent on reading speed to read the Bible through in 90 days.

About 40% of our congregation said they would like to do this so our music pastor Ben was a man by the name of Barry Burton and very girt followed my admonition to read the Scriptures by saying and he was good at doing this he said and before you Pelo your head at night.

Would you read one paragraph of theology every night, and he recommended some theologies and he said just just the paragraph, so read the Bible through in 90 days but every night Of theology if he were here today he would he would probably tear up because this is just the way he was. But he said within about two weeks he started noticing a difference in the intensity of the hymn singing, he started noticing people singing amazing Grace, and even tears coming to her eyes as they were singing the hymn's wife because their lives are being flushed and nursed by the Scriptures and then some of them with that.

We just read about grace and we told our head on.

Grace and encourage you this morning that buying truth makes buying living beautiful so's seeing buying love, savoring buying truth and then verse 11. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain or abide in you, and that your joy might be full. So in abiding we understand it is seen by love. It is savoring buying truth, but it's also saturated with buying joy saturated with buying joy. So here is our Lord. Turning up the volume a little more, turning up the intensity about understanding abiding in Christ really almost talk to a very high level because in in the context joy is not dependent on external situations.

Joy is coming from God the father through God the son to the followers of Jesus Christ. Joy is internal, whereas you would say today even earthly joy or happiness is external and we know that they get this because very soon. In the book of acts we find instant specifically in acts chapter 2 and verse 42 that there continuing in buying truth in the apostles doctrine. There's the steadfast in the apostles doctrine breaking of bread and were before the breaking of bread, fellowship, and prayers, and the result of that in acts 243 or 44 it talks about, and the result of that was that.

Fear came upon every soul, and we can even rename the word fear as offboard joy. There was such incredible emotion about what God is doing. As a result of these people, savoring buying joy that their jobs were dropping their job there.

There were looking at what God was doing and they could all fear came upon every soul that would have to do with believers and unbelievers. This was incredible joy that was coming as a result of abiding in the vine in acts chapter 4 soon after that, Paul, Peter and John were released from jail from prison and they went to the there just the disciples they gathered together and they prayed Saul to they pray the Scriptures and is out, and in what I think they asked for with boldness, Lord. Maybe proclaim your word.

Your name boldly and many times in a test for the word boldly is connected to the Holy Spirit. So we find people that are abiding in Jesus Christ evening prayer evening buying truth were bringing these things before the Lord, and the result was the Bible says and the place was shaken.

There was an incredible occurrence of Holy Spirit activity as a result of divine life and great grace or joy was upon them. Also, vine saturation buying abiding.

This is not medicine.

This is joyful living in the vine, Jesus Christ.

When author described this way as poking someone and buying this leaks out. The thing about that if somebody ruffled you or squeezes you or irritates you, is it Jesus Christ that comes out or is it flesh the comes up as we are abiding in Jesus Christ and in in the vine, abiding living fuels sacrificial loving. So with that verse 12 says this this is my commandment of love that this is another words you wonder what to do with this.

Here's what you do that you love one another as I have loved you. Please put yourself in the in the in the shoes of the disciples this point they have been taken from low volume level to high volume level in abiding in him. Jesus Christ living in vine living and it's almost as if there wondering now that we comprehend this now we see this, what do we do with this and I do know this is a fitting parallel, but it makes sense to me maybe like since you I love aviation. I've always loved to fly and am a bit of the simulators of every commercial airliner except the 787 and it's it's an incredible thing to sit in the cockpit of the simulators and if you understand aviation you know that as the as the plane takes up our picks up speed on the runway and the pilot rotates the joystick and pulls the nose of that plane up there was a time there's an instant, where the leading edge of the wing cuts into the density of the air and it creates what we call left and if you've ever been the airplane. You can see the watch that you can sense it. It's yes it's the thrill of the of the horse powers of those jet engines and the incredible velocity going down that airstrip. But then when you when the nose comes up in the lift is almost as if God in heaven takes that takes the wind and tonight the wings in the list that airplane, I recommend to you that at this point God takes all the things of the disciples of her and puts his everlasting arms under them and move lifts them up a think you want to know what put the do it this I'm a tell you in the end of verse 12. Love one another as I have loved you, so you've received my love in the vine now deposited in someone else, give it away minister to others, serve one another. Sacrifice. Sacrifice your time.

Jesus did sacrifice your talents. Give your money in serving Jesus Christ and so be filled with buying life. I gotta beautiful picture of this some years ago when I was entertaining a man who is a multi-millionaire.

He has always been in my name. His name some of you would know him.

He has not always a struggling business.

Somebody challenged him with ministering to others by giving and by supporting the work of the Lord, and he said I was challenging so I can see how I could do that my business was faltering atheist, so I started taking a percentage, and I started getting 5% of my income to Lord and less on my business plateau so I gave 10% of the Lord he sees of this is not a prosperity gospel. He said Rick I just will let you know a God that my life temper so I start to see my business increase and at my talking to him. He said I am now giving 80% of my income to the Lord and I can't out give God. He's I used to try to provide rental cars to missionaries may came home for furlough. Now I get to buy them motorhomes haze of my by the motorhomes unable to buy them low and sell them hi. He said you don't make money on motorhomes but I do and you talk about somebody who was filled with joy, he said, I understand how money works and I can get what my understanding is to encourage one another, so I would encourage you this morning love one another as Jesus Christ has loved us. It's a present, active, imperative at the continual command so look for ways to love one another. Be creative and loving one another.

This go several aware, especially in an academic setting. Maybe look around this room are there people that you would easily love or their people to get on your nerves for somebody that you would rather not love.

Be creative in demonstrating love. I'm glad that God did look at the cross and say he really gets on my nerves. I do love me anyway so love one another. Bless one another, just as Jesus Christ is blessed you abiding living fuels sacrificial, loving Texas.

Just as I have loved you, and as Jesus said, that I can only imagine a lightbulb coming on these disciples heads because it wasn't too much earlier that he demonstrated his love for them by washing their feet after they had tried to reason as to who's the greatest me.

We have in this context we have a demonstration of buying the living and sacrificial, loving will have time to look at this much but you some of you would know that the history of the Moravians in the prayer movement of the 1700s Moravians 24 hour prayer chain going on for 100 years. This was sacrificing their schedule in order to pray New York City 1857 to 1859, the New York prayer meeting a revival man by a judge a man by the name of Jeremiah Lanphier was burden to use his lunch hour to pray for awakening in New York City and he put handles all of her businesses and he he open the top floor above a neighboring church for prayer and over the course of several weeks the numbers began as people sacrifice the lunch hour to come and pray. People started seeing incredible things happen. And today you can go to Amazon and buy a book on Amazon. The Chronicles 10,000 people a week trusting Jesus Christ as Savior and that prayer movement. This is loving one another by sacrificing our time, talents and treasures. The Lord Jesus Christ and by the way, in that Moravian firmament. Now we can trace over 300 missionaries have come from them, or even permit you think God does not bring joy to our lives as we abide in him. It's beautiful. The alternative is ugly, but following Jesus Christ is beautiful, abiding living fuels sacrificial, loving soul in that I'm hearing on I can say this because I probably possibly get the door before you do know you're an academic culture, you realize that you can fill your head with knowledge, but unless there's an output. You can have a very cold heart, and you can say I'm here to prepare for ministry. But I would encourage you prepare for ministry by serving one another and abiding living fuels sacrificial, loving. Lastly, verse 13.

Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Primary meeting here obviously would be Jesus vicarious substitutionary atonement and this is divine love in action and it is the greatest love that.

May we be reminded, as we close this morning that are self-sacrificing love may even bring us to death were Internet. In our culture, where our country is no longer largely friendly to grace very hostile to grace. What does that mean it may mean that even in our country we may give our lives for Jesus Christ. It maybe self-sacrificing love even to death a few months ago I had the privilege of being in Tanzania, Africa and meeting with a man named David who has means, but he has chosen to set aside his funds live on very little of his funds so that he once a year and invite over 200 pastors to his village and pay for them to be there and feed them for two weeks so that he can teach them the Scriptures because these pastors are going back into the bush and the Satanists are burning their churches and capturing their children and these people are coming learning wanting to learn more about who Jesus Christ is and David Nakagawa sacrifices his livelihood to be able to love these brothers and teaching them the Scriptures. I would remind us leave this morning about a girl named Beth who was from our church in Colorado with Afghanistan as a missionary. A few years ago before all the hostility necessarily over there saw her coworkers slain knew that if she was good to go into a house and get the gospel she would get sick for two weeks because as she made the food she know that her body would reject it, and giving the gospel meant that she would be ill for two weeks, we have a very easy existence.

May we understand that abiding living is what fuels sacrificial, loving these things I command you, that you love one another you been listening to a sermon preached in seminary chapel by Dr. Rick Ross, which was part of the series abiding in Christ. Join us again tomorrow is we continue this series on The Daily Platform