Take Up Your Cross | A Sermon on Matthew 16:21-28

Introduction
Can you imagine what it was like to be a Disciple who walked with Jesus for three years?  To have heard His amazing teaching first hand?  To have experienced His loving grace?  To have seen Him perform the amazing miracles–feeding 5000 with just 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, walking on water and calming the stormy sea, healing the blind and the deaf and making the lame walk?  Walking with Jesus on the earth must have been an amazing experience for the 12 disciples.  And they sensed something great was about to happen as they made their way toward Jerusalem.  Was their Messiah finally going to kick out their Roman oppressors and restore Israel?  They hoped He would as the felt His ministry rising toward a great climax.  And Jesus knew their hopes and expectations when He spoke in Matthew 16:21-28.

Matthew 16:21-28
²¹ From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

²² Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

²³ Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever wants to save their life^[f] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. ²⁶ What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? ²⁷ For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.

²⁸ “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

What Does It Truly Mean To Follow Jesus?
Jesus was determined to go to Jerusalem to face the cross and fulfill His mission to die for the sins of the world. Now, He tells His followers that each of us must carry a cross of our own.

This is part of what it means to be His disciple.
Each of us must face the question: what does it truly mean to follow Jesus?

The disciples knew exactly what a cross was. Today, people often think of crosses as decorations in a church or pieces of jewelry. For Christians, the cross has become a beautiful symbol of God’s redeeming love. But the twelve disciples who walked with Jesus had seen people dying in agony on crosses. Sometimes those crosses stood along the roadside, placed there by the Romans to warn anyone who might challenge their power. So when Jesus spoke about carrying a cross, His words had a very clear and serious meaning.

Peter’s Rebuke
And Peter didn’t like it. Peter wanted nothing to do with a cross—not for himself, and certainly not for his beloved Lord. Peter knew Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the living God. He had just said so in the passage before this one, and Jesus had praised him for his faith.

But Peter did not yet understand the true nature and purpose of the Messiah.

He was still thinking about political and military victory: overthrow Rome, restore Israel, and establish power. His vision was of a limited, earthly kingdom. Maybe he was remembering the glory days of King David’s rule. Or perhaps he was thinking of the more recent Hasmonean kingdom that arose after the Maccabean revolt—the Jewish uprising that people still remember today when they celebrate Hanukkah.

So when Jesus says, “I must suffer and be killed…,” Peter hears something very different. What he hears is, “Our movement is going to fail.” And Peter tries to protect Jesus—to protect the movement, and maybe even to protect his own dream of being part of the Messiah’s inner circle in a free and powerful Jewish nation.

But Jesus knows that His true purpose is far greater than Peter’s limited understanding.

Jesus’ Temptation
There’s something important we need to notice here. Jesus was tempted by Peter’s vision. Who wouldn’t be?

Imagine a choice like a game show. Behind door number one is suffering and death on a cross. Behind door number two is ruling as the powerful king of a free and independent Jewish nation—greater even than the glory of Solomon’s kingdom. Which would you choose?

It’s very tempting. Even for Jesus. In fact, it sounds a lot like what Satan said to Him when He was fasting in the wilderness for forty days. Do you remember the temptation? Satan said, “All this I will give you…if you will bow down and worship me.” (Matthew 4:8–9)

Peter’s vision of the kingdom sounded easier. It promised success without suffering. But Jesus knew that God’s plan was far greater and far deeper. He had to reject Peter’s human vision because it led away from the cross.

So just as Jesus rebuked Satan in the wilderness—“Away from me, Satan!”—He rebuked Peter as well.

Reaching for God’s Kingdom without carrying a cross—that has always been humanity’s sin.
We want victory without sacrifice, glory without suffering, and resurrection without crucifixion.
But Jesus knows you can’t skip the cross and still reach the Kingdom.
The road to real life runs straight through surrender and sacrifice, while trusting God’s plan.

The Disciples’ Cross
So Jesus tells His disciples (and us) plainly what it really means to follow Him.

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”

Following Him means surrender, sacrifice, and dying to self. 

Yet Jesus also gives a surprising promise:  “Whoever loses their life for me will find it.” 
The cross is not the end of life—it is the path to true life.

So each of us must ask: What are we really trying to gain in this life? Comfort? Success? Approval? These things can be appealing, but if gaining them costs us our soul, they are a terrible bargain.

The Transfiguration
For many years I misunderstood the last verse of this passage.
I thought Jesus was talking about His second coming.
That was confusing, because He says that some of the disciples standing there would not die before they saw the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.
But all of those disciples eventually died, and Jesus has not yet returned in that final way.

But that’s not what Jesus was referring to.
Jesus was pointing to something that was about to happen very soon. In the very next chapter, Matthew tells us that six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John up onto a mountain.
There, something remarkable happened. Jesus was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, His clothes became dazzling white, and Moses and Elijah appeared talking with Him.

For a moment, those disciples saw Jesus as He truly is—the King in all His glory.
It was a glimpse of the true Kingdom.

And that moment is very important. Jesus had just told His disciples about suffering,
about crosses, about losing their lives.
But then, He allowed a few of them to see the glory that lies beyond the cross.

The Kingdom of Jesus is not only something that comes after suffering.
Sometimes, God allows us to see glimpses of His glory even while we carry the cross.
And that matters for us.
Because what Jesus said today is heavy. He has told us that following Him means sacrifice.
But the life of a Christian is not all doom and gloom.
It is a life where suffering and glory are strangely intertwined.
Along the road of discipleship there are moments when Christ lets us see His beauty—
moments of peace, moments of grace, moments when His presence becomes so clear that we know we are walking the right road.

The cross is real. But so is the glory.  So be encouraged. Be brave.
And follow Jesus with determination.

Yes, there will be suffering along the way. But there will also be glimpses of His Kingdom—glimpses of the glory of the One we follow.

And one day, the glory we glimpse now will no longer be hidden.
One day we will see Him fully, face to face.

Closing
But today, we need to accept the cross.  Don't let your hope in Christ be a worldly human thing where you settle for a cheap victory without suffering.  Because Jesus says, "If you want to be my disciple, you must deny yourself and take up your cross and follow me."

 

Peace or Division | A Sermon on Luke 12:49-53

Introduction
Isaiah 9:6 calls Jesus the Prince of Peace.
In Luke 2:14, we hear the angels singing, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”  And many love the image of Jesus carrying a baby lamb, gently in His arms.  That’s why His words in our Scripture today are shocking.  Let’s look at them together in Luke 12:49-53.

Luke 12:49-53
⁴⁹ “I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were already burning! ⁵⁰ I have a terrible baptism of suffering ahead of me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished. ⁵¹ Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I have come to divide people against each other! ⁵² From now on families will be split apart, three in favor of me, and two against—or two in favor and three against.

⁵³ ‘Father will be divided against son
    and son against father;
mother against daughter
    and daughter against mother;
and mother-in-law against daughter-in-law
    and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’^[a]”

A World on Fire
Jesus’ words in verse 49 are startling.  “I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were already burning!” 

In Scripture, fire often represents judgement, purification, and the Holy Spirit.  The prophet Malachi foretold Jesus using the image of fire when he said: “But who will be able to endure it when he comes? Who will be able to stand and face him when he appears? For he will be like a blazing fire that refines metal, or like a strong soap that bleaches clothes.”

Jesus’ very existence confronts our lives.  When He enters our world, hypocrisy is exposed, sin is confronted, and hearts are revealed.  You can’t avoid it.  When He draws close it burns away the fake facades we wear like masks.  He reveals who we really are.

So, some try to avoid the Fire.  They stay far away.  They hide in the shadows, running from the Truth.  The Pharisees had a great public image.  Everyone looked up to them and though they were model citizens, the most holy in all the land.  However, their public image masked a lot of private sin and wrong attitudes and selfish motives.  Jesus' teachings exposed their hypocrisy.  So they tried discredit Him.  When they couldn't, they tried to kill Him, thinking that would hide their duplicity.  But Darkness can never overcome the Light. (John 1:5)  The Crucifixion only turned up the heat even more to burn the farce they called “peace”.

What is Peace?
Peace is a word people love to hear.  We pray for “peace in the middle east”.  “Peace” was the slogan and logo of the 1960s—used by people on all sides of the conflicts.  Ironically, “peace” is usually the reason powerful politicians justify going to war.
They drop bombs on each other until one side submits and there is “peace.”  So what exactly is peace?  What does that even mean?

According to our faith, “True peace is life made right with God.”  The Hebrew word for peace in the Bible is Shalom.  It means wholeness, completeness, harmony, a right relationship, and well-being under God’s blessing.  Peace is the perfect state in which Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden before they sinned.  It is the condition humans have been trying to find ever since we lost it, and it is the perfect peace God has been working in our world to restore as well.

But true peace, shalom, is always built upon a right relationship with God.  Apart from peace with God, all other peace is inferior and temporary or invalid.  It sounds good, but it does not deliver real harmony or wholeness.  And it does not last.

Jesus is the “Prince of Peace”, because He came to restore complete wholeness to the world through a right relationship with God.  He came to bring us back into the perfect peace of the Garden of Eden.  But to bring us back to God, all our other idols and false gods and fake peace must be burned up in the fire of God’s refining flame.

Disturbing the Peace
The Pharisees and teachers of religious law, as well as the Romans, said Jesus was “disturbing the peace”.  And it’s true.  He was disturbing their peace so He could re-establish true peace.  In Jerusalem, they killed Jesus on a cross in a vain effort to protect their way of life—which was just a fake kind of peace that rejected God to benefit people in power at the expense of the weak.

But you cannot escape the refining fire of Jesus’ Truth.  His very existence demands everyone choose with whom they will live in peace.  Will you be on God’s side or the side of someone else?  Will you follow Jesus unconditionally as Lord, or will you follow some other lord?  No one can remain neutral.  It is not one of the options.

And we see from Jesus words that our surrender to God leaves no room for compromise.  It is an unconditional surrender.  “Families will be split apart… Father will be divided against son and son against father; mother against daughter and daughter against mother…”

Why?  Because these close relatives sometimes choose differently—one for the Lord and the other for someone or something else.  And the truth is, you may experience this in your life too, if you end up differently aligned with Christ than the people you love.

Jesus absolutely did come to bring peace—peace with God.  But when people must decide whether to receive that peace, it inevitably creates division.

Our Own False Peace
Before we think too much about divisions out there in the world, we should probably ask a harder question.  Where have we made peace with things in our own lives that God never intended us to live with?  Because the truth is, many of us have made a kind of false peace with our brokenness.

We make peace with sins we know are there but don’t want to confront.  We make peace with bitterness we’ve carried for years.  We make peace with habits we know are unhealthy.  We make peace with relationships that are wounded but never healed.

We tell ourselves, “This is just the way I am.”Or “This is just the way life is.” Or "This is just the way the real world works."  And over time, the brokenness begins to feel normal.  It becomes familiar.  It becomes comfortable.  And strangely enough, it begins to feel like peace.

But it isn’t peace.  It’s just settling.  It is selling out.
It’s learning to live with the darkness rather than stepping into the light.
And this is exactly why Jesus says He came to bring fire.  Because sometimes the most loving thing God can do for us is to disturb the false peace we’ve made with sin.

Jesus refuses to leave us comfortable in the things that are destroying us.  
He comes like a refining fire.  Fire is uncomfortable.  Fire burns. 
Fire exposes what is real and what is fake.  But fire also purifies.

The fire of Christ burns away the lies we hide behind.  It burns away the idols we cling to.
It burns away the broken patterns we have learned to live with.  Not to destroy us, but to heal us.
Because on the other side of that refining fire is something far better than the fragile peace we try to manufacture for ourselves.  On the other side is true peace. 
Peace with God.  Peace that restores what sin has broken. 
Peace that brings us back into the wholeness God created us for in the first place.

And that leaves each of us with the same question Jesus placed before the crowds.
Will we hold on to the false peace we have built for ourselves?
Or will we surrender to the refining fire of Christ and receive the true peace only He can give?

Because Jesus didn’t come simply to make us comfortable.  He came to make us whole.

Be Ready | A Sermon on Luke 12:35-40

Introduction
So far this Lent, we’ve moved from Determination to Commitment to Perseverance.  Today we will here Jesus call to Be Ready.

Luke 12:35-40
³⁵ “Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning, ³⁶ as though you were waiting for your master to return from the wedding feast. Then you will be ready to open the door and let him in the moment he arrives and knocks. ³⁷ The servants who are ready and waiting for his return will be rewarded. I tell you the truth, he himself will seat them, put on an apron, and serve them as they sit and eat! ³⁸ He may come in the middle of the night or just before dawn.^[a] But whenever he comes, he will reward the servants who are ready.

³⁹ “Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would not permit his house to be broken into. ⁴⁰ You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.”

Be Ready
Jesus tells this story to exhort His followers to be ready.  Be ready for what? [His return…]
He said, “Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning…”   It almost reminds you of the Passover back in Exodus.  God told the Hebrews slaves to be dressed and ready to go, for the Lord was about to delver them and they needed to have their sandals and and be ready to leave.

Jesus and His followers lived in a time before electricity, a time when you traveled on foot.  Imagine the Master of the home staying out late at a wedding feast—well past his bedtime.  It’s dark and he’s tired from a long wedding celebration—maybe up to a week of socializing.  Then the master has to walk home—maybe a long, long distance.  By the time he arrive home, he will be tired and thirsty.  

And as he approaches his home, he might find a dark home with no lights.  The servants he pays to help him are sleeping.  He has to wait for them to find lamps, fill them with oil, trim and adjust the wicks, and then light them.  And since there are no lighters at this time, they have to strike flints to get the lamps burning.  Can you imagine?  Then, they must dress (you can't greet tyhe master in your PJs).  So the master has to wait for them in the dark while they come to the door and open it.  Then he has to wait for them to go collect water from a well and make some refreshments (there aren't Ritz crackers in the pantry; everything is made from scratch).  He’s tired from the journey, but he has to wait because his servants have been lazy and aren't prepared.

If he has good servants, the master may find a home brightly lit home with lamps in the windows and perhaps along the pathway guiding him to the home.  His servants have been waiting diligently for his return.  They are already dressed to serve.  They've kept their lamps burning so the windows are illuminated and they can quickly answer the door.  They open the door as soon as their master arrives.  They already have refreshments on the table waiting to sooth him after his long journey.

Which servants would you want on your payroll?  Which servants do we want to be?  And since this parable is about the return of Christ in the Last Days, He is the Master, and we are the servants, what should we do if we want to be servants who are ready for our Master’s return?

Be Alert
We need to be alert.  Being ready means being proactive, not passive.  We see the example for this when we are seated and served at a restaurant.  A waiter or waitress  has "wait" is in their job title. A bad wait staff doesn't pay attention to you.  You have to constantly get their attention when you need them.  But a good waiter or waitress is attentive without being intrusive.  They pay attention to your needs from a distance and serve you before you even need to ask for help.

As you wait for Jesus return, are you watching & listening for signs about how you can serve? Are you obediently working?  Are you praying and listening the God's Word in Scripture daily? Are you sensitive to nudges from the Holy Spirit?  Do you look for reasons to serve, not excuses why you can’t 

Spiritual Maintenance
Jesus uses the image of a lamp.  The lamp He referred to would have been a clay vessel filled with olive oil that burned a flax wick inserted through a narrow spout.  These were finicky; the wicks need adjustment, drips must be cleaned up, you must keep at least one lamp burning or else you had to use flints to light the lamp, which could be tricky.

If we are going to be ready spiritually, our spiritual flame needs maintenance.  How do you tend your spirit from flickering out?

Tend Your Flame

Some ways you can help tend your spiritual flame, is through worship--gathering together with outer believers to honor and adore God.  It helps keep your prorities straight and invigorates your spiritual passion.  

Prayer and Scripture train you to share your life with God and be ready to hear His voice.  Don’t wait until you have an emergency to pray.  I mean, you can; but how much better is it if you have a daily/ongoing relationship with God.  Then we you need Him for a major issue, you already have a relationship and know you can trust him.

Through self-Examination, we evaluate our life and ask:

• If Christ returned tonight, what would you be ashamed of?
• What spiritual flame in your life has been flickering?
• Where have you been lounging in spiritual pajamas instead of wearing servant’s clothes?

Repent of your sin; be reconciled with God and your neighbor.  These are also essential acts that hel you tend your spiritual flame and keep your lamp burning bright.

Jesus’ Return is Good News
One thing I don’t want us to lose sight of is this:  The Master’s return is a good thing!  When we follow Jesus as Lord, His return is not an occasion for dread or fear.  When we stay alert and are ready, we know we belong to Him.  We know there is grace.  Jesus is not looking for reasons to be angry, but for reasons to reward.

We want to be found faithful.  And we know Christ will bless us when He comes.  Jesus Himself will sit us down and serve a heavenly feast.

Luke 13:29 says, “People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.”  And Revelation 19:9 says, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”

Closing Meditation
Ask yourself:

If Christ returned tonight, what would you be ashamed of?

What spiritual flame in your life has been flickering, almost ready to go out?

Where have you spiritually been lounging in pajamas instead of wearing a servant’s clothes?

Count the Cost | A Sermon on Luke 14:25–33

Introduction
On Ash Wednesday, we read how Jesus was determined to go to Jerusalem to fulfill His purpose to die on a cross to atone for our sin.  During the Sundays in Lent, we’ll study the stories of Christ’s ministry as He made His way to Jerusalem.  Today, we see that following Jesus is costly.  And we are invited to decide if it is worth it.

Luke 14:25-33
²⁵ A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, ²⁶ “If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. ²⁷ And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.

²⁸ “But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? ²⁹ Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. ³⁰ They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’

³¹ “Or what king would go to war against another king without first sitting down with his counselors to discuss whether his army of 10,000 could defeat the 20,000 soldiers marching against him? ³² And if he can’t, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of peace while the enemy is still far away. ³³ So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.

Hate is a Strong Word
Jesus said, “If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life.”

Hate is a strong word.  In fact, it’s a word our culture often condemns outright.  So, when Jesus uses that word, it stops us in our tracks.  But Jesus isn’t calling for hostility.  He is using strong language to make one thing clear: our allegiance to Him must be supreme.

Driving through Jackson, I often see signs that say, “Love is stronger than hate.”  I appreciate the sentiment.  We need more love and kindness in our world.  And love is powerful—especially if we mean the kind of love Jesus offered. 

But the love Jesus gave—the kind of love His followers are commanded to give—demands that Christ takes first place in our hearts.  Everything and everyone else must come in second.  And if we must choose between Christ or anything else, we must choose Christ.

Furthermore, if we love Jesus, we will hate sin, because we see what sin does.  Sin destroys people and rips our world apart.  Sin required the Savior we love to die on the cross.  He died so that we may live.  He died to destroy sin.  Therefore, let us hate sin.

The sacrificial love of Christ is more powerful than hate.  But His love requires everyone to decide if they will follow Him or follow someone or something else.

Count the Cost
When I answered call to ministry, I knew I would have to go back to seminary to get my master's degree (it was the requirement at the time for my denomination).  I called Candler School of Theology at Emory University (the closet approved seminary for me) and asked how much it would cost.  They said, "$7,000".  Now, my entire 4-year undergraduate bachelors degree in the 1990s cost $7,000.  So I asked, I asked, "Is that for the whole degree or per year?"  They said, "$7,000 per semester."  Understand, it was a minimum of 6 semesters to get my seminary degree.  

After I hung up the phone, I prayed, "Lord, there's no way I can afford to do this--especially if I'm about to quite my job as an engineer.  But I'm determined to follow Your call to ministry.  But if I'm going to do this, You're going to have to make a way."  And He did.  Over the next few years, God made a way through scholarships, grants, and generous churches to help pay my way through seminary.  I had almost no debt from seminary after I finished.  

When large crowds were traveling with Jesus, He didn’t say, ‘What can we offer to keep them interested?’  He didn’t redesign His message to be more appealing.  He raised the bar.  He said, “Don’t follow until you count the cost.”

In our time, the church has often tried to attract people by offering programs, events, activities—and many of those things are good. They serve real needs. They build community. They open doors.

But if what ultimately draws someone to church is comfort, entertainment, or convenience, there will always be something more comfortable, more entertaining, and more convenient somewhere else.  This is why attendance at many churches in America today has declined (or shifted to mega churches where they can offer a more entertaining, attractive experience.)

If we build disciples on attraction alone, we shouldn’t be surprised if people become consumers—shopping for the best experience.

But Jesus did not call consumers.  He called disciples.  He did not say, ‘Compare your options.’  He said, ‘Carry your cross.’  Jesus words today remind us what we are invited into.

We follow a crucified Christ.  We should invite others to decide if that’s who they want to follow too.

Jesus says, ‘Count the cost.’  He would rather have fewer genuine followers than crowds who disappear when the road gets rough.

Closing
Today, Jesus wants to protect us from shallow faith.  He says, “Don’t follow Me casually.  Don’t follow Me emotionally.  Don’t follow Me halfway.  Sit down.  Count the cost.  Decide if I am worth it.”

The truth is:  Jesus counted the cost first.  He knew what Jerusalem would cost Him.  He knew what the cross would require.  He knew what obedience would demand.  And He did not turn back.  He believed you are worth it all.

Discipleship is costly.  But it’s worth it.

An Invitation to the Altar
I want to invite you to do something physical today, because sometimes your body needs to move in the direction your heart is choosing.

If you need to count the cost…
If you need to recommit…
If you have been following casually…
If you have been consuming instead of surrendering…
If you have been near Jesus but not fully His…

Come to the altar.  Come kneel.  Come pray.  Come sit and count the cost.

Maybe your prayer is:
“Lord, I have been distracted.”
“Lord, I have been divided.”
“Lord, I have been delaying.”

Or maybe your prayer is simply:  “Jesus, You are worthy of it all.”

This altar is open and you are invited to come.

 

 

Abide in Me | A Sermon on John 15:1-11

Introduction
I am so ready for Spring to be here.  I’m ready to get my garden going.  I want to try out my luck with this red Georgia clay in Jackson, Georgia. 

Jesus told many parables about farming and gardening.  He also had a fondness for spending time in gardens.  The Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives was one place he frequenting for quiet reflection and prayer.  And it was a contrast to another garden from the beginning of the Bible, The Garden of Eden.  In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve had everything they needed, but they chose to disobey God's one command not to eat the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  Jesus also had a choice in the Garden.  He didn't want to die the painful death on the cross, and He prayer, "Lord if it is possible for this cup of suffering to pass for me, let it.  But not my will, but Thine be done..."  Jesus chose His Father's will over His own.

I want to share a gardening story Jesus told.  

John 15:1-11
¹ “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. ² He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. ³ You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. ⁴ Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

⁵ “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. ⁷ But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! ⁸ When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.

⁹ “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. ¹⁰ When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. ¹¹ I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!

A Simple Lesson, Hard to Live
You don’t have to be a master gardener to understand what Jesus is saying.  If you cut a branch off a plant, it won’t bear fruit.  It will die.  

Jesus is saying if you don’t stay connected to Him, you cannot bear worthwhile fruit.  Just like those branches, you will dry up and die.  

For me, that is simple to understand, but hard to live because I often feel pressure to perform. And there’s often this nagging anxiety in the back of my mind:   “Am I doing enough?  Am I successful?”  And I often feel like I have to prove myself to others.  Do you ever feel like that? 

That’s often the way you feel when you are doing things in your own strength.  You feel the heavy burden because whether you succeed or fail is all up to you.

But that has never been God’s plan–not from the beginning of the Bible until the end.

Scripture has always been about trusting God to make it happen while we are faithful to Him.

What did Adam and Eve do to survive in the Garden of Eden?  Nothing.  Everything was provided.  They just had to be faithful to God.

How did the Israelites escape slavery in Egypt?  Was it by their own might?  No.  It was by the mighty hand of God who brought 10 plagues on the Egyptians.

How did the walls of Jericho fall down?  Was it a great battle plan?  No!  It was a ludicrous battle plan. (Walk around the walls of the city a bunch opf times and then blow trumpets.)  God is the one who did the fighting.

How did Israel survive as a kingdom?  Was it because they had a mighty army? No!  They were an insignificant, tiny kingdom surrounded by superpowers.  But they thrived when they were faithful to God and suffered when they weren't.

Psalm 33:16-17 - “The best-equipped army cannot save a king, nor is great strength enough to save a warrior.  Don’t count on your warhorse to give you victory—for all its strength, it cannot save you.  But the Lord watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love."

Zechariah 4:6 - “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.”

Are you Abiding?
What about you?  Are you abiding in Jesus or trying to do everything on your own power?

When we try to do things in our own power:

• There is pressure to perform
• A subtle anxiety about outcomes
• A need to prove fruitfulness
• An inward heaviness, even while doing “good” things

But when we Abide in Jesus:

• There is peace beneath the activity
• Freedom from comparison
• Openness to interruption
• A quiet confidence that Jesus is at work

Jesus wants us to grow spiritually and be fruitful for His Kingdom.  But we cannot grow or really be fruitful by our own effort apart from Christ.  We must abide in Him.

Jesus said in John 15:5 - “Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”

How Do You Abide in Jesus?
So how do we stay connected to Jesus?  There are a number of Holy H.A.B.I.T.S. that can help us stay connected (to abide) in Jesus.         

Hang Time with God - We need to spend time with God and prayer & Scripture are 2 essential ways we spend time with Him.

Accountability with Other Christians - We need other people to keep us in check.

Bible Study - Scripture is the most reliable and unchanging revelation of who God is.  We need to study  Scripture to really know God. 

Involvement in the Church - A true relationship with God requires relationships with other people.

Tithing - Tithing is the spiritual practice of financial giving God gave us to strengthen our trust in Him.

Service - Jesus said He came not to be served, but to serve and that we should follow His example.

Back to the Garden
Imagine you are in a garden working.  You have just planted some seeds.  You hope these seeds will grow to become a healthy patch of sunflowers 5-6 feet tall with beautiful broad yellow flowers and a dark brown center.

See the dark garden soil at your feet where you just planted the seeds.  Can you make those seeds grow?  Suppose you concentrate really hard, can you make flowers grow just by gritting your teeth and willing them to grow?

Of course not.  We can’t.  Only God can make flowers grow and bloom.  We can plant the seeds, but only God can make them grow.  However, there are things you can do in your garden that will create an environment where growth is more likely to happen.  

What can you do?  You can water your garden.  You can fertilize the soil.  You can tend the garden every day and pull out any weeds.  You can protect the young flowers from bugs and pests and disease. But it is God who makes a garden grow.

It is the same with your spiritual life.  You cannot make yourself grow spiritually–even if you grit your teeth and try real hard.  Only God can make you grow.  However, you can create an environment in your life where growth is more possible.  You can pray.  You can read the Bible.  You can worship and spend time with other Christians, and tithe, and volunteer.  These things help you abide in Christ.  And then Christ can make you grow.