Who are you abiding in? John 15:1-13 There is joy in abiding Who are you abiding in? John 15:1-13

“happy” appears 25 times in your King James Bible Are you happy with the current state of your life: Job, relationships, income, clothing, etc…

Psalm 146:5 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God:

1 Corinthians 7:20 Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called. 1 Corinthians 7:24 Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God. 1 John 2:27, 28 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming

1 John 2:24 Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.

John 15:1-14 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. 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.  Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

“Abide in Me, and I in you.” A Christian’s happiness, - joy- , is found only in abiding in the Lord. Joy is a byproduct, or result, of abiding, literally DWELLING with the Lord. “Abide in Me, and I in you.”

John 15:3 You could compare the working of the Word of God in your life to peeling away the layers of an onion. For an onion to be useful, you have to peel away the outer layers of skin to get to the “meat”.

In the same sense, the Word of God “peels” away at our “layers” to get to the “meat” – our understanding. This makes us useful for His purpose. In order for this to happen, we have to be willing to DWELL, or stay with Him no matter what. Through any circumstance.

This is the same idea behind pruning a vine. The pruning process trains the branches of a vine to grow the way the husbandman desires them to grow. He trims the branches, ties them off, and cuts off dead pieces. This process is essential for the success of the vineyard.

God, our Husbandman, uses this same process in our lives God, our Husbandman, uses this same process in our lives. Pruning can be a painful process. But if we truly know God for who He is, and we learn to abide, we can learn to leave the process in His hands. His desire is to shape our lives into what He desires to complete His purpose in His people. In our skilled Husbandman’s hands, the outcome is glorious. The finished product is a believer whose very existence depends on abiding in the Vine, Jesus Christ.

It is impossible to do this work without Him It is impossible to do this work without Him. To take this into your own hands would leave you like a scarred, mutilated branch. This is why Jesus calls us to dwell with Him in this passage. He knows the work must be done by a skilled Husbandman. One whose work is to make you fit for the Master’s use.

John 15:6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

No matter what you choose to do, whether you choose to abide or not, God will have His will accomplished. Even if that means tossing you aside and moving on to a more pliable branch.

John 15:7-11 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full