Text: About 15: 1- 17
Witness: Reverend Hao Xiashu.
In this passage, the Lord Jesus explained the relationship between God and believers with vines and branches, and told believers the privilege of sharing his life and understanding his will. And the responsibility of Christians-obeying the Lord and bearing fruit. In fact, if we read this passage carefully, we can see the invitation of the Lord to each of us. The Lord invites us:
First, the responsible disciple
The Lord chooses not what we do for him, but what we get from him and enjoy him.
1. Protected-"in my heart forever"
About 15: 1- 17 appears 1 1 times "You must be in me forever". We believe that living in the Lord means being with Christ, making his life in us and showing the life of Christ. But from the Gospel of John 16: 33 "There is peace in me. You have suffering in the world, but don't worry, I won the world. " You can see that there is a meaning of being protected by God in the Lord.
2. gain dependence-"pray and give us achievements"
Jesus is the savior of mankind. He not only saved our lives. In Psalm 23, David said, "Although I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I am not afraid of evil, because your rod and your staff comfort me." For sheep, it is very safe to have a shepherd's stick and fishing rod to protect them.
3. Get supplies-"You can't do anything without me"
John 13: Tell us that Jesus served among his disciples at dinner. Before his death, his service left us an example and comfort, and he wanted to be the supply and help for every believer.
John 6: 33-35 Jesus called himself the bread of life, which came down from heaven to give life to the world. Those who go to him will never be hungry, and those who believe in him will never be thirsty.
4. Be cared for-"Love forever"
God's greatest punishment for believers is to ignore him and let him make his own decisions. God loves people, he will be with him, give him joy and let him live in his love, but because he loves him, he will always prune them, because he wants every believer to bear fruit. The Lord knows that only when believers bear more fruits can they get the glory of God. In fact, for vines, pruning is the most important part of planting. Pruning is to remove dead branches, diseased branches, insect branches and branches that are not fruitful but grow vigorously. Branches that will affect the fruit will absorb nutrients, endanger the harvest and weaken your spiritual vitality. So pruning is the closest time to God.
Second, the glory of the winner.
1. May all believers have glory and reward.
Rewards and glory are often mentioned in the Bible. If we are entrusted with a heavy responsibility according to our own abilities, Jesus tells us to work hard with the gifts God has given us and serve in the heart of the Lord. In the future, the Lord will give us rewards and glory.
John 17: 4-5 Jesus said, "I have glorified you on earth, and I have done what you entrusted me with." Father! Now please let me enjoy the glory with you. "Jesus told us in prayer that we should glorify God before glory. He set an example for us himself.
2. obey his orders
Obeying God's command is the responsibility and obligation of believers, and it is also the condition of becoming a master friend. Before the Lord invited us to be friends of the Lord, he promised that we would be friends of every believer, that we would never give up believers and that we would always be with us. It is our blessing to have such a friend to accompany us all our lives.
3. Be fruitful and please him.
About 15: 16 "assignment" means "appointment", which means to separate someone and entrust them with special tasks. God chose us and separated us in order to bear fruit, so that God and people could be glorified and benefited.
Third, be a friend of the host.
After we are redeemed, we are the servants of the Lord, but he does not regard us as servants. If we obey his orders, we will treat us like friends. When Abraham obeys God, he is a friend of God. 20: 7; James 2: 23).
1. Share his love
Being loved and loved is a beautiful thing. People are eager to be loved and willing to love, but love is always so scarce. Jesus chose us as his friends to share his love and relied on him to carry out the command of loving each other.
Obey him
According to Jesus, the way to glorify God is to obey God. When you obey, you will be filled with the holy spirit; When we obey, Jesus will appear in our lives; When we obey, God lives in us. When we obey, we will live in the love of Jesus; When you obey, you will get the friendship of Jesus.
3. Learn to know God better
Man's knowledge of God is directly related to whether he can become a friend of the Lord. The people who really know God are those who are willing to obey God's word. Only those who know God can know God's mind and be a person who is pleasing to the Lord.