Abide: The Word Keeps Us from Evil

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Abide: The Word Keeps Us from Evil

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Focus: The Father’s words sanctify us and send us - away from evil and into mission.

1. Context

2. Christ Sanctifying Us

3. Christ Sending Us

John 17:6–21

6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. 8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. 20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

Context:

This week’s passage helps to conclude what is commonly known as the “farewell discourse” (John 14–17).

Last week’s discussion of “the true vine” was the middle section of this discourse.

This discourse occurs in John’s gospel immediately following the Last Supper, the night before his crucifixion just before his arrest.

Chapter 17 is the section of that discourse that takes the form of a prayer, and is often termed “the High Priestly Prayer,” (as it is labeled in the ESV and the NASB) but could also easily be titled “Christ’s Prayer for the Church.”

In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the central component of Jesus’ prayers was the more private and painful acceptance of God’s will in the form of a cup of suffering.

There only Peter, James, and John appear to be close enough to hear his prayers.

In John’s gospel the central component of Jesus’ final prayers that are recorded happen before the garden, while he prays in front of all of the disciples.

In this way, this set of prayers takes on more of a teaching function and delivers doctrine along with the heartfelt cries of the Lord.

One of the central themes of the theological work of the gospel of John is “glory” or doxa and its intertwining with the Word (logos).

This theme is introduced as early as John 1:14 where we read “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

Yet it runs throughout the gospel of John running as late as John 21:19 where Peter’s death is seen as a way of glorifying God.

This theme of glory and its interconnection with God’s word and revelation is an important component of Christ’s majestic prayer for the Church.

Another central theme to the book of John is drawn out in chapter 17—the contrast between the world and Christ, the world and Christ’s followers.

This theme is introduced in John 1:10–13 in that the Word came into the world, but the world did not recognize its own creator.

In chapter 17, this contrast is brought to a head in the prayer for Jesus’ disciples who “are not of the world” just as he is “not of the world.”

Love and unity are also featured significantly in the book of John and make their appearances in the high priestly prayer of chapter 17.

Christ desires the same unity in love between him and the Father to be present between him and his disciples.

This unity of love is presented as a central desire of the heart of Christ and a key requirement for the sanctification of the church.

In John’s gospel this prayer serves not only as the climax of the Farewell Discourse but also of his teaching to his disciples.

From this point on, the story unfolds the necessary fulfillment of the predictions of Christ’s suffering, and his teaching ministry as such has been completed.

The contrast between the world and Christ, between the glory of God and the evil of the world, is made even more clear in this climactic prayer.

In this prayer, Christ prays for unity, for glory, and for protection.

In the coming chapters, the world will divide (rather than unite), humiliate (rather than glorify), and destroy (rather than protect).

It is widely accepted that the gospel of John was written later than the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) and that the author had some access to the gospels but felt free to write independently of them.

From this it may be hypothesized that John was being used to:

• To address the needs of a different audience (particularly non-Jewish seekers),

• To share elements of Christ’s person, teaching, and work that the other gospels did not present or emphasize, or

• To present a more theological-oriented than biographical- or historically-oriented work.

Christ’s Sanctifying Us:

As we abide in God’s word, the Holy Spirit sanctifies us by that Word.

To sanctify us means to set us apart to look like Jesus and fulfill his glorious purposes.

When we abide in the word of God, we develop God’s heart - for Jesus, the things of the Kingdom and the people of this world that Christ came to save through his cross.

At the same time, what we know is that Jesus understands that it can be difficult to be faithful to him in a hostile world.

As we abide in God’s word, God keeps us from the evil that is in the world that is opposed to His word and is hostile to those who cling to that Word.

Jesus’ high priestly prayer teaches us at least three key principles to guide us in hostile times.

1. The Word of God is the only reliable source of strength when we face the rejection of the world (vv. 6– 10)

   • Christ reveals he needed the words the Father gave to him

     • There are schemes of the enemy (Satan) to discourage and dissuade you in your walk with God

   • Christ sees something we need to recognize: if we believe what he says and do what he commands, we will be hated.

     • The enemy will use that hatred to shake us.

   • Clue to the gospel: Rejection and hostility do not have to spiritually derail us. Sometimes greater resistance is a sign we are getting closer to the goal.

     • The enemy can only win if resistance causes us to: back down, give in, grow bitter, or change sides

   • Resolution: When we press through resistance with faithfulness to the Word, God’s victory is ensured.

     • If Christ needed the words of the Father, how much more do we?

     • Christ makes it clear that he gave those words to the disciples so that they would be preserved. i. If the apostles needed the words of Christ, how much more do we?

     • Philosophies change. Self-help gurus come and go. Governments rise and fall.

     • God’s Word remains the same.

     • God’s ways remain the same.

     • God’s mission remains the same.

2. The Words of Christ guide us when the presence of Christ is hidden. (vv. 11–13)

   1. You need to spend time with God to be guided by his Word.

   2. You need to internalize the Word so it goes with you through the day.

   3. You need to search your life to find any area that is not surrendered to the Word.

John 17:19

“And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.”

Christ Sending Us:

The third thing that we discover is that as we abide in Christ’s word, he sanctifies us to send us on mission with him.

3. The world’s resistance is often a sign we are closer to the mission of the Word. (vv. 14–20)

• Christianity’s missional effectiveness is dependent on a simple formula:

  • Surprising faithfulness to the Word

  • In the face of great difficulty

  • Surprising faithfulness + great difficulty = new belief in the word

What difficulty is God asking you to face with surprising faithfulness?

What would surprising faithfulness look like in the face of that difficulty?

What scriptures could guide you to stay faithful in that difficulty?

What should we do that our faith may not fail?

• Rethink the rejection of the world as a sign that you are not of it, but are sent into it.

• Prayerfully consider what kind of suffering might cause you to give in to the enemy.

• Surrender those areas of potential missional sacrifice to God.

Have you been avoiding mission for fear of resistance?

The disciples did too— and they soon scattered.

When the disciples returned, Jesus strengthened them with the Spirit and the Word.

Response time: It’s time to get back on mission with Jesus.

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

Abide: The Word Bears Fruit

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Abide: The Word Bears Fruit

Associate Pastor Cole Parleir

Part 1: The Word Became Flesh

Part 2: The Word Gives Life

Part 3: The Word Feeds Our Spirit

Part 4: The Word Sets Us Free

TODAY - Part 5: The Word Bears Fruit

A brief story of cars and gas gauges.

John 15:1–11 ESV

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 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. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

The Vine:

Jesus is the true vine: the true source and sustainer of life.

Have you ever plugged something into an extension cord and then learned the other end was not connected to an outlet? It’s only as good as it’s source.

In verse 1 Jesus uses his 7th and final “I AM” statement describing himself as the true vine.

Jesus wants us to know through his repetition that he indeed is one with God his Father and we can trust him.

He is the true vine as well as the Good Shepherd.

All who have come before him or after him claiming to be the prophesied and promised Messiah were and are false and not able to deliver eternal/true life.

As Jesus said in John 14 “no one comes to the Father except through me”. This is because there is no other possible way since Jesus is the true, one and only vine.

Acts 17:28 ESV

for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’;

as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’

Question: What are some ‘false vines’ that present themselves to you promising life but have failed or you know can’t deliver?

Maybe it’s been religion saying “attach yourself to my to do list and work your way to God”.

Maybe it’s been your conscious saying “just keep me clear and you’ll be alright”

Maybe it’s been self-fulfillment through becoming the most successful person in your industry

Maybe it’s finding nirvana and disconnecting from life's troubles or expression, rising above them.

These will all prove temporary at bringing peace and joy.

The Vine Dresser:

Jesus’ Father is the vinedresser.

Here we see the relationship of God the Father and God the son. The son submits to the judgments of the Father as the owner of the vineyard and in choosing what is best for the vineyard, which is his creation.

The vinedresser’s goal is for the vine to be fruitful and everything he does is for the good of the vine in becoming fruitful.

God is the cultivator, pruner, and protector of his people.

The Branches:

The branches cannot produce life on their own as they must draw life from the vine.

Abiding in Christ is to keep in fellowship with him so that his life can work in and through us to produce fruit.

All who call themselves Christian are considered branches in the passage.

Not all who call themselves Christians are actually attached to the true vine.

EVERY branch (follower of Jesus who says I know him) will be either taken away or pruned. Every true believer attached to the true vine will bear fruit and be pruned in order to be more fruitful.

The branches who do not bear fruit are false disciples who will be taken away, gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. The missing fruit is the proof that they were never attached. This is most likely speaking of final judgment for those who are not found to be attached to Jesus Christ as indicated by their fruitless lives.

Our sincere faith is proven through the fruit that grows as we abide in Christ.

2 Peter 1:5–11

5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The Fruit:

Fruitfulness is a byproduct of staying in the vine.

Branches do not concern themselves with what kind or how much fruit they produce, their main concern should be abiding in the vine. (Loving Christ)

Staying (abiding) in the vine produces the fruits listed in Galatians 5:22-23

Galatians 5:22–23

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law

Jesus says if you love me you will keep my commandments. Abiding in his love breeds more love for him which helps us trust and obey him, leading to the fruit of righteousness.

This increasing love for Jesus will also cause us to ‘keep in step with the Spirit’ as he makes disciples among us, giving us a new desire for the lost and missions local and abroad.

This obedience in turn renews your mind to pray God’s will and not your own, making your prayers align with what God wants to do, leading to answered prayers and the joy of God filling your heart.

Action:

• Do you call yourself a Christian? Check your fruit to see if you are a true disciple abiding in the true vine of Christ. (Love for Christ that leads to obedience?)

• Ask God to show you where he has been pruning you already and thank him for making you fruitful.

• Join the Community Outreach group on Church Center for local missions or the Charleston, SC mission group.

Second City Church - Associate Pastor Cole Parleir

Abide: The Word Sets Us Free

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Abide: The Word Sets Us Free

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Focus: Jesus is from the Father and speaks his words, and always pleases Him. Those who abide in Jesus’ words are truly his disciples. They will know the truth, and the truth will set them free from their sins.

Abide is an “experiential” word.

We don’t use it often, but it’s a word that really means “LIVE IN.” 

e.g., I live in the U.S. and I am able to tell you what America is like:

• The weather

• The culture

• The people

• etc…

Abide is an experiential word where one gets to be embedded, wrapped around, and feels that particular “world.”

Typically, when and where you abide, you abound.

• e.g., when you abide in fear, you abound in fear.

The series is meant to help us not just cognitively, but emotionally and in a heartfelt manner, bring us to “what it means if we were to LIVE IN that world of GOD’S WORD.”

Psalm 119 gives us a description of what we experience when we “ABIDE” in the Word.

The Word:

• Guides

• Keeps us from sin

• Preserves our lives

• Comforts Us

• Makes us wise

• Is a lamp unto our feet

• Is the joy in our hearts

In the New Testament, the WORD becomes even more real, because it is now the door to RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST.

John 8:23–36

He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. 26 I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.” They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father. So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. 29 And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” As he was saying these things, many believed in him. So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

The book of John helps us to BELIEVE that Jesus is the Son of God and that in him we may have life (John 20:31).

Jesus in the past few chapters uses different festivals to reveal who he is to the people.

This is one of them where he reveals that he is the TRUTH that sets one free.

Four Jewish Sacred Days:

John 5–10 is a recollection of stories that happened on four different Jewish sacred days.

1. Sabbath—Healing a man on the Sabbath (John 5)

2. Passover—Miraculously providing food for thousands (John 6)

3. Tabernacles—Recollection of the wilderness wanderings and Jesus at the temple courts (John 7–10)

4. Hanukkah—Rededication of the temple (John 10)

Although not stated, John 8:23–36 may have taken place shortly after the close of the Feast of Tabernacles while Jesus was still in the city.

Jesus’ Seven “I Am” Statements:

1. “I am the bread of life.” (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51)

2. “I am the light of the world.” (John 8:12)

3. “I am the door of the sheep.” (John 10:7, 9)

4. “I am the good shepherd.” (John 10:11, 14)

5. “I am the resurrection and the life.” (John 11:25)

6. “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6)

7. “I am the true vine.” (John 15:1, 5)

John 8:23–36 takes place after Jesus’ proclamation of the second great “I am”—“I am the light of the world.”

Jesus professes to be the genuine light by which truth and falsehood can be distinguished and by which direction can be established.

Here the Pharisees were challenging the claims of Jesus, as legally, a testimony concerning oneself would be unacceptable because it would presumably be biased.

Yet Jesus claimed to be an adequate and authoritative representative.

Chapter 8 begins with Jesus at the temple setting the woman caught in adultery free, displaying both truth and grace while exposing the “darkness” in her accusers’ lives.

Using that as a launching pad, he declares, “I AM the LIGHT of the world,” who delivers us from the power of darkness.

The Pharisees then have a debate with Jesus about his credibility, while Jesus used this to show his divine side desiring to strengthen the belief that others have in him.

The passage that we are dealing with is part of the ongoing conversation Jesus has with the Pharisees to help them see that Jesus’ version of truth and freedom is of a different level and quality.

Characteristic of the Truth:

In John 8, “the Truth” was not merely referring to the law but the living Son of God.

1. Heavenly versus Earthly (v. 23)

   Jesus claimed that he belonged to a totally different world from that of his questioners.

   To him the difference was natural; to them it was unnatural—something they could explain only by assuming that he belonged to the realm of the dead.

   But Jesus had come from the presence of God, and he asserted that only by faith could they attain his level.

2. Relating versus Reasoning

   Jesus demonstrated a relationship with the Father through the conversation with the crowd:

   • v. 18—The Father sent Jesus.

   • v. 28—The Father taught Jesus.

   • v. 29—The Father is with Jesus.

   • v. 29—Jesus does what is pleasing to the Father.

   The Pharisees, however, took the approach of mere reasoning:

   • v. 19—“Where is your Father?”

   • v. 22—“Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?”

   • v. 25—“Who are you?”

   Through their reasoning, the Pharisees failed to understand that Jesus was speaking to them of God and they missed the point of his unique relationship to the Father.

   Not only did they repudiate his claims, they completely rejected his person.

   To discover and embrace the truth that is Jesus Christ requires more than reasoning.

   It requires starting a relationship with him.

3. Son versus Slave

   Sin in this passage is in a verb tense indicating a habitual, continual action.

   The person in habitual sin is a slave of sin.

   A slave has no security, for he can claim no family ties that entail an obligation toward him.

   The son of a family has permanent status within it.

   Jesus enlarged this analogy by stating that while a son is rightfully a partaker of family privileges, the Son can confer such privileges.

   As the Jews thought they were descendants of Abraham with whom God had established a permanent covenant, they considered themselves exempt from any spiritual danger.

   The hope for real freedom does not lie in the ancestry of Abraham but in the action of Christ.

How to Respond to the Truth:

1. Accept it.

   • v. 30—“many believed in him”

   The first response to truth is to believe and accept.

   When the Pharisees heard Jesus speak they became more opposed to him.

   Yet there were many who heard the same words and believed in him.

   They believed despite the evident opposition of the religious leaders.

   The conversation shifts as Jesus starts speaking to those who believe.

   Though there were still gaps of understanding in the crowd, Jesus spent time revealing more about himself to them.

   There will be gaps in our understanding as we choose to believe in him, yet these will be revealed more and more to us as we journey with him.

   The first step is to ACCEPT.

2. Act on it.

   • v. 32—“know the truth”

   know—γινώσκω (ginōskō)

   Ginōskō is when you experientially learn something.

   Knowledge possessed through the intellectual process of learning is one thing.

   Knowledge gained by experience, by an active relationship between the one who knows and the person or thing known, is far superior to the former.

   Ginōskō is that knowledge that comes not just by reading and listening, but by action and obeying the Lord.

   You may intellectually know some truth but you don’t really "know" it experientially until you surrender and obey the truth.

   A person must be determined to obey the Word if he expects to understand it.

3. Abide in it.

   • v. 31—“abide in my word”

   abide—μένω (menō)

   In simple terms, “abide” means to remain in the same place or position over a period of time.

   Jesus was implying the maintenance of a stable and consistent fellowship with God.

   To abide in Christ means to depend completely on him for all that we need in order to live for him and serve him.

   It is a living relationship.

   As he lives out his life through us, we are able to follow his example and walk as he did.

   There is nothing between us and our Savior, no sin unjudged and not put away.

   This is how the truth sets us free.

Our response today:

1. Pray

   For those who do not know God, repent of your sin and put your faith in Jesus, the Truth.

2. Practice

   For those who already believe in God, continue in your belief and because it’s not just a one-time activity. Practice abiding in Christ.

3. Point to Jesus

   Everyone should reach out to others.

   Truth not only sets us free.

   When we have received Christ’s joy and freedom, it compels us to help others be set free.

   No wonder John used one phrase from Jesus in John 20:21—“As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

Abide: The Word Feeds Our Spirit

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Abide: The Word Feeds our Spirit

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Focus: Jesus is the true bread of heaven. Whoever feeds on him will live.

To feed on the word of God, we must start with reading it more and more.

To understand the word of God, you can ask these four questions:

1. What is the writer saying in context to his listeners? (this exercises proper hermeneutical practice)

2. What is the text saying about God? (this helps develop healthy theology)

3. What is the text saying about humanity? (this helps me understand what God thinks about me)

4. What is the text saying about the world around me? (this helps develop a Biblical worldview)

In John 6, believing in Jesus is equated with feeding on him; eating is not a passive exercise and neither is the work of believing.

John 6:57–59

57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.

Jesus invites the listener to feed on him but, “How can someone feed on Jesus?”

To best understand “whoever feeds on me,” it is helpful to know that Jesus is answering the crowd’s specific request for a sign related to the manna sign Moses gave.

1. What would you ask for?

2. What do you want from Jesus?

3. What does Jesus offer in response?

First, he calls out false hopes, shows their insecurity, and invites those listening to believe in him.

This is the gospel.

Jesus sees past our initial felt-needs to the true need we have—to be reconciled to the Father—and he is willing to give himself to us to make that happen.

Jesus offers an invitation to an active participation in believing and receiving him.

He equated it with “feeding on him.”

This brings us back to our question, “How can we feed on Jesus?”

Feeding on him is a holistic exercise.

It involves our belief in him, receiving his life, and letting him take an active role in our lives.

This is not a prayer that we pray and then go on living without him.

Who Jesus is becomes part of who we are.

How can we know who Jesus is apart from knowing him in Scripture?

• We can not.

How can we feed on Jesus without taking his word into our lives?

• We will not.

• Taking Jesus’ words into our lives involves praying it, trusting it, and obeying it.

How can we feed on him?

• We believe his word, we take it in, and let it transform us.

• We don’t do this just once, we continue to do so.

Believing is submitting our lives to obey Jesus and be transformed; doing what we believe completes the meal.

We all understand what it means to eat something, take it into our body, and absorb it.

In this text, Jesus takes that common understanding and invites us to do the same with him.

Where do we start?

We start by believing his words—he is the Son of God and wants to offer us eternal life.

We take his words in and we absorb them.

We absorb Christ’s character, his ways, his Spirit indwells us and all of who Jesus is becomes part of us.

We lay all of our other hopes down since they are not secure anyway.

Then we live in him and continue as we started—we feed on Jesus, we take in more of his words, absorb those and let them become part of us.

Feeding on Jesus is an active-obedient faith that continues to impact our whole person.

Feeding on his word is part of this process.

Isaiah 55:1–3

1 Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. 3 Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant.

For those who want to come and say yes to Jesus, you can repent of being passive.

You can choose to have an active belief that feeds on Jesus and his words - receiving him and living the full eternal life that he offers!

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

Abide: The Word Gives Life

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Abide: The Word Gives Life

Pastor Rollan Fisher 

Psalm 138:2

I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.

Focus: 

Jesus has life in himself, and everyone who hears his word and believes the Father receives eternal life. They have passed from death to life and will not face damnation. 

Though they may die, they will again hear his voice and be raised from the dead to everlasting life.

 

John 5:19-29

So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.

20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.

21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.

22 For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.

28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

• The way the author “dances” between Jesus’ dependency on the Father and yet emphasizing his own divine authority is a picture of how the Trinity interacts.

- This demonstrates the uniqueness of Christianity.

• The rest of the gospel of John particularizes what it looks like when the Word dwells amongst flesh and reveals God's glory.

Jesus, as well as the majority of early believers and all of the writers of the New Testament minus Luke, were all Jewish. 

Jesus was sent first to the lost sheep of Israel, then to the rest of the world.  

God’s word speaks about his care for the whole world. 

The world is steeped in sin, darkness and death. 

Jesus came to bring life to the whole world, and the world would have access to that life by believing his words. 

- There are several moments in the gospels when Jesus calls those who are dead “asleep.”

- For him, raising someone from the dead is like me waking up my kids on the morning of Christmas Day or their birthday—EASY!

- That's why dead Christians are referred to as those who "are asleep in Christ.”

• Throughout this gospel, Jesus continually asserts that his work is to do the will of the Father (4:34; 5:30; 8:28; 12:50; 15:10).

Jesus' main work is to reveal the Father and bring life to those that are dead in their transgressions and sins.  

This will culminate in the final resurrection when he brings those who are waiting for him into the glories of eternal life.  

This is where we will finally experience the fullness of all that we’ve been longing for, and many striving for in this life without him. 

“The Christian says, 'Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire: well, there is such a thing as sex. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing. If that is so, I must take care, on the one hand, never to despise, or to be unthankful for, these earthly blessings, and on the other, never to mistake them for the something else of which they are only a kind of copy, or echo, or mirage. I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that country and to help others to do the same.”

-C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Turn to Jesus and his word today to experience both the present and eternal life of God!

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

Abide: The Word Became Flesh

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Abide: The Word Became Flesh 

Pastor Rollan Fisher 

Focus:  The Creator of all things invites us to know him through the Word who became flesh.

What happens when this sermon is believed and lived out?

We will commit to a life-long journey of getting to know this God through engaging the Word.

Primary text: John 1:1–5, 9–18 

What do we believe about Jesus?

It is not only important that we believe in Jesus but we must understand what we believe about him. 

We will respond to Jesus based on who we perceive him to be. 

The whole purpose of the gospel of John is to help us to see Jesus for who he really is. 

This is clearly stated in John 20:31—“But these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that by believing you may have life in His name.” 

Read John 1:1–3

In this passage we see “Word” referenced several times. The Greek word here is Logos. 

This shows up over 300 times in the New Testament, but there is something unique about how it is used in John 1. 

The Logos was with God, and indeed was God himself. 

The Logos was in the beginning and created all things.

This points us back to the creation story found in Genesis 1. 

Notice the similarities in the beginnings of Genesis and John. 

Genesis shows us how God created through his word:

• 1:3 Then God said . . . and it was so

• 1:6 Then God said . . . and it was so

• 1:9 Then God said . . . and it was so

• 1:11 Then God said . . . and it was so

• 1:14 Then God said . . . and it was so

• 1:20 Then God said . . . and it was so

• 1:24 Then God said . . . and it was so

• 1:26 Then God said . . . and it was so

The very first thing that God spoke into existence through his word was light. 

Just as God’s Word brought light to darkness in creation, even so God’s Word would once again bring light into darkness. 

(Read John 1:4– 5)

This light is none other than Jesus himself. 

We see Jesus revealing himself as the Light throughout the gospel of John. 

In John 8:12 Jesus says, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

Remember I made a statement earlier: we will respond to Jesus based on who we perceive him to be. 

Not everyone responded properly to this light:

• The darkness did not comprehend (overcome) it: 1:5

• The world did not know him: 1:10

• His own did not receive him: 1:11

If we read the rest of the gospel we will see this play out in the life of Jesus.

That there were those who rejected Jesus shows us a lot about the condition of the world, and even more so the condition of our hearts. 

It is possible to be around the Word and totally miss who he is. 

For example, if you have ever watched Undercover Boss, you can see what it looks like when the boss is right in front of someone and the person fails to recognize it until it’s too late.

As much as this passage reveals the nature of the human heart, it reveals, even more, the nature of the heart of God. 

The Word that created heaven and earth became like us. 

Years ago, Dr. Rice Broocks wrote a gospel summation that begins with this sentence: “The gospel is the good news that God became man in Jesus.” 

The idea of God becoming man is difficult to believe for some, even scandalous for others. 

How could God lower himself to be a man? 

And yet there is something beautiful and amazing about the fact that the Word became flesh.

What does this reveal about God? 

1. The Creator of all things desires to be near.

- “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory.”—John 1:14

- He came close enough that we were able to see his glory. 

He lived the life that we were supposed to live. 

What kind of life was this?

 A life that reflected God’s glory in a powerful way.

 - “Even so was it with the All-holy Son of God. He, the image of the Father, came and dwelt in our midst, in order that He might renew mankind made after Himself, and seek out His lost sheep, even as He says in the Gospel: I came to seek and to save that which was lost.”—Athanasius, On the Incarnation of the Word

- The phrase “dwelt among us” translates into one word, eskenosen, meaning “pitched a tent or encamped” (Tyndale pg. 63). 

This points back to Exodus 40 and the time of the Tabernacle. 

This also looks ahead at what will be in Revelation 21:3—“Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God himself will be among them.”

2. The Creator of all things desires to be known.

- “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”—John 1:18

- The reality is that we don’t know God as we should.

 God was willing to humble himself to make himself known to us. 

As we go through John, we see God revealed through the life of Jesus. 

Towards the end of Jesus’ life on earth, he has a conversation pointing this out to his disciples. “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us. Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, “Show us the Father?”’”—John 14:8–9

3. The Creator of all things desires to be received.

- “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,”—John 1:12

- God reveals himself through Jesus not so that we can simply have more knowledge, but rather that we can receive him. How will we respond? 

Will we reject Jesus like so many others in his day? 

Will we receive him by striving to be near to him and by knowing him?

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher