John 15:1-27

Christ continues to prepare His disciples for the coming time when they will no longer be together.  These are some of the most important instructions for every believer to keep in mind as we seek to honor and serve the Lord.

ABIDE IN CHRIST: The principle of abiding in Christ is one of the most important concepts for us to understand as we seek to serve Him.  It is easy for us to think that we are capable in our own strength of living a life that will be fruitful and productive.  It is natural for us to feel self sufficient and capable in our own strength.  This is spiritual pride and finds its source in Satan.  Apart from Christ we are unable to produce anything of true spiritual fruit.  We must recognize our dependence on Christ.  He is the source of life.  Our ability to live in a manner that pleases Him and to be productive in His kingdom is proportional to the depth of our relationship with Christ and our dependence upon Him.  He is in the business of producing fruit through us.  This process may be painful as we often require "pruning" but this is how He cultivates fruit in and through us.  We must never be tricked into thinking that we can be productive apart from Christ.  The work of the kingdom done in the power of the flesh is a source of fruitlessness and not life.

ABOUND IN LOVE: In case you have not noticed this is a key principle that must be remembered by all true followers of Christ.  He has repeated in over an over again.  We must love one another in a genuine and growing love.  If we are truly abiding in Christ His love will overflow in our lives and pour out into the lives of other people. 

ENDURE THE WORLD: Abiding in Christ will cause us to love one another and we should be encouraged by that love because following Christ will cause us to be hated by the world.  The world hated Christ and if we are following Him we should expect the same treatment.  He will be with us and give us the strength that we need to endure, but we must be prepared for this treatment.  We must not allow trials and persecutions to discourage us.  Rather, we should view them as an affirmation of our oneness with Christ and use them as a source of motivation to continue to abide in Him.

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