August 21, 2022 - How to Abide in Christ in the day-to-day of everyday

Thank you so much for that. Dave, and I'm at this time, we're just going to release the kids to Sunday school, so you can just head to that door, meet your teachers and they'll take you downstairs. And the rest of us will just go into a quick 3-minute break. So feel free to greet those around. You say hi. Find out other week was and we will see you back soon.

I know Mom and Dad's not around. I just want you to focus on the bus guy.

when I don't know where,

How do I start it off.

Are you close to me?

Show me. What is a dream?

Why does everybody? Show me. What is that your answer?

Let him know. We don't know.

I know you.

5 for me.

I know Mom and Dad's not around. I just want you to focus on the boat guy.

I need shoes. I don't know why.

Show me. What is a dream?

It's always good to see people. Getting up and meeting each other and talking with each other. Praying with each other hugging. Each other shaking head laughing, crying whatever you're doing. It's awesome.

Been a while.

It if I promise to be done early again today, and you have more time afterwards. Can we get started? Cuz what if someone's waiting online and just bored waiting, so good to see all of you today and so good to meet some of you today. It's great. I had a really interesting email, come to me a couple of weeks ago. And it. I imagine this is a young man because he's emailed me before about a few things and I've helped them out. I I don't know. I'm assuming he's a young brand, like a new Christian kind of thing. happy to answer questions, people have, but He came to me with a question, it's that you know, is Christ returning on Rosh Hashanah this year. Should I be worried?

And and for those of you who don't know, Rosh Hashanah takes place between September 25th and 27th this year, and it is the only ancient biblical Feast that Jesus didn't fulfill in his life. Which is interesting.

Butts. This guy is watching all these videos on YouTube, telling him the Christ is coming back, this September and it's just like it yourself in your family. Ready, you know, tell your neighbors are going to hell. All this kind of stuff that you just, you know, really great. Great material.

Now, how many of you guys remember 88 reasons why Christ was coming back in 1988? It was a little book. I need to find that book because that book, he said the author said all of these reasons points in 1998, or I think it was 2032, but he knew it wasn't 2032 and his reasoning back in 98 was because the Communists would kill us if we hit goes beyond 1988. You guys remember 1988, right? Ronald Reagan, evil empire. That's what we believed back then.

But I'm just thinking like, if I could get that book and just redo it for the next time we might make some money. But anyway,

How about you? Remember Y2K whenever they was going to shut down ytk? How many got excited over 2012? The end of the Mayan calendar is lined up with a lot of things that Jesus was coming back to, you know. I'm not a big fan of scaring people into the kingdom. I'm not a big fan of selling fire insurance. I'm not a big fan of, you know getting by the skin of your teeth. And I'm not a big fan of authors putting themselves, but I'm going to do it here cuz this is the email I sent him. That I've let go of eschatological debates since I figured out that every opinion is so North American and Northern Europeans entered it in. 1989 were Christians were martyred, then were slaughtered in the history of Christianity and the 1990 that was doubled and yet

It was a Great Tribulation but it's not called the Great Tribulation until I'm affected in some way. That's that doesn't make sense to me. I said, I'd rather help people get ready for whatever happens and do good right now, rather than hope they get taken out ahead of time or hang on there and in your yes, Jesus is coming back. Yes, be ready for his return. If it's this September, awesome, even so come Lord Jesus, But realize every time someone thinks better than Jesus when he said, no one knows the day or the hour really get it wrong. And yes, I know that that Steven points to Rosh Hashanah, the only Jewish Festival Jesus has yet to fulfill and the statement, No One Knows the day or the hours made during Rosh Hashanah. How do we? How about we bring Jesus into her? The people in her everyday World by being like him in this world, then you'll be ready whenever he comes, then we'll be ready. If we're the first up against the wall and shot worth of Ray. If the revolution comes beforehand, then we'll cherish the reality that to be absent from the body means that were present to the Lord. I've heard these declarations before probably by the one saying the same thing again or by the disciples. And I've lived long enough to know how difficult it is for people to grow in the knowledge of God. If they've been scared into the kingdom, you know what I was trying to say to him was that if we abide in Christ in the day-to-day of every day, We'll be ready and we'll be getting other people ready for whatever comes in this world. Whatever is is available for us later.

When we abide in Christ, we have his wisdom. Proverbs 13:12 says, when you walk with the wise, you become wise. So when you walk with Jesus in the day-to-day of every day, you become more and more like Jesus, it's a good thing. When you abide in him, you get clarity. When you abide in him, you learn to discern. So how do you abide in Christ? Jesus said, if you abide in me and my words abide in you ask whatever you want, it'll be done, John 15:7. What would be that like what would, what would that be like?

Emory quoted me this this morning. John that the John 15:7 29 in the translation version translates. It this way translation, I'm sorry, the passion translation, transliterated this way. That's the only thing I have against the passion translation is it's not a translation, is the transliteration of the use the difference in early, a l manuscript. But anyway, but it's I love how it says this. If you live in life, Union with me, and if my words look powerfully within you, then you can ask whatever you desire and it will be done. When your lives bear abundant fruit, you demonstrate that. You are my mature disciples who glorify the father? I love you with the same love that the father loves me. You must continually let my love. Nourish your hearts. We need that. Remember last week, I said we you you are designed to leak. You're designed to leak out. Wherever you go, you're designed only got his love and his joint is hope you're just dying to do that. You're also designed to be continually failed. And when we are continually filled with the love of God, we naturally leak out. We can never be so filled and so deep it together that we can't, we're not designed that way. We, we explode out, we we all over the place but we can stop the flow from coming into us. And we can stop the being continually filled. Now, the good news is. Holy Spirit, empowers you to accomplish every good work. Prompted by faith. Holy spirit is in you so that you can abide in Christ in The Fugitive every day. And if you look at what we're going to talk about today and make it a list of rules and these are the things I need to do and these are the things I need to check it out. You're not getting it. It's not going to work. It's about responding to the revelation of love, God gives you it's about making space to give room for that Revelation to occur. Faith is our natural response to his revelation. Our role is simply to make space to allow slow down enough to let him speak clearly to enough to us and reveal what he wants to reveal to us. Okay.

So with that, I want to talk to you about the abiding Christ to him. It's something very, very again. If we take it as a checklist it'll seem overwhelming to you. But what it is it's it's making space for the revelation of God and then regularly responding to that Revelation in our lives. So we need to commune with Christ. That's the word I want us to remember commune and that means you consider yourself dead to sin. You offer yourself as a Living Sacrifice. You make space to regularly connect. You move to the rhythm of the spirit. You utilize what you received from him, you never resist is pruning and you enjoy intense Fellowship. Let's pray.

Heavenly father, I want to thank you. You have made us to be in a relationship with you. And Lord that just that statement should blow us away. Did the creator of the universe?

Wants to have a relationship with me. Not just a relationship but he wants to shower his love on me and wants me to know. He's rejoicing over me with singing.

God, let that Revolution occur in our lives today. Refresh it renew it spring. It 4th, Lord, God, may we know the day that we can walk with you in the garden, in the cool of the day and that's what we were created for in your name, we pray. Amen. Amen. A man. So it does start with us, we need to consider yourselves dead to sin. We got this from Roman 67 to 12. And I'm reading this in the New Living Translation. It says, for when we died with Christ, we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because price was raised from the dead and will never die again. Death, no longer has any power over him when he died. He died once to break the power of sin but now he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves dead to the power of sin in a live to God through Christ. Jesus, don't let sin control the way you live and don't give in to sin desires.

To be in communion with God, we need to recognize that sin separates us from God. Isaiah 59 to it's your sins that have cost you though, I'll cut you off from God because of your sins. He is turned away and will not listen anymore. God has given us the tools of confession and repentance. Confession is agreeing with God, what we did, or what we sat, or what we didn't say, or what we didn't do is sin. Edmonton's. Repentance is turning around and going the opposite direction. It's changing our mind to align with God's thoughts and it's going in the opposite direction.

Sometimes. Yeah that's on us but I understand. It's Holy Spirit. Empowers you to do that it's Holy Spirit to get you in and remind you that

You've been called to a holy life. And it's holy spirit that empowers you and it it he gives you everything you need for life and godliness.

He's the one that doesn't.

Galatians 5:24 of those who belong to Christ have nailed the passions, and desires of their sinful nature, to the cross and crucified them there. The question we can ask ourselves on a daily basis is, can I look at in the eye? You know what I mean? Not that. You know what I mean? When you have that relationship with somebody, if it if you've done something dogs, know this right, dog? That's something bad. It will not look you in the eye if you said did you do this? It turns its head. That's the same thing with us in God, right? Like when guys, if you can look at in the I-X meaning I'm in right relationship with him, Am I in right relationship with him? Can I look at in the eye?

The old in commune is offer yourself as a Living, Sacrifice to go to Romans 12 for that one. Romans 12:1 and 2. And so dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God, because of all he's done for you, let them be a living and holy sacrifice. The kind he'll find acceptable. Don't. Copy, the behaviors and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know, God's will for you which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Just like sin can separate us from. God Pride didn't separate us from God. The writer of Hebrews rights in Hebrews, 3415. Remember what it says today? When your hear his voice? Don't Harden your hearts as real did when they were a bell.

You and me can hear the voice of God.

The parable of the seed, throwing on the ground, the seed is the same, it's the soil that's different. So the seed that is throwing it, if it falls on the hard ground, It Springs up, quick is in the worries of life, and all these things. That's the next one. I will stop for that, but it will the other things, you know what it is. But when it finds rich soil, it's the soil of our heart. Every time you hear the word of God, it's, it's the unplowed. It's in the soil of your heart that needs to be plowed up.

1st Peter 3:15 says in your heart set apart Christ as Lord.

Pride cannot doesn't allow God price to be Lord of your life. Fried doesn't allow price to be Lord of your life. When he's Lord of your life is Lord of your actions. He's Lord of your attitude and he's Lord of Light of your answers. Meeting, he is Lord of what you think, what you say, and what you do.

In the day today of your everyday. God is this pleasing to you? Question, we can ask ourselves with Jesus agree that he is Lord Of My Life.

We can say it, it can come from our lips. We can sing it out Sunday morning.

But it lines up your guy. Can I look you in the eye? Lord is Jesus, lord of my life.

If the answer comes back, yes, Bots.

We have confession and repentance.

With Jesus agree. He is Lord Of My Life.

First m in commune is to make space regularly.

To connect with God.

John 14.

15 to 20. Since this.

If you love me, you will obey my Commandments and I will ask the father and he will give you another Advocate will never leave. You use the holy spirit will lead you into all truth. The world cannot receive them because it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognize him but you know, him because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you is worth its I will come to you soon. The world will no longer see me, but you will see me since I live you will also live. When I am raised to life again you will know that I am in the father and you are in me and I am in you.

The good news is God is always with you.

The question is, are you always with God?

Just like sin and just like fried worries. Can separate us from God. And that's the parable of Matthew. I was getting to you. The feed seed that fell on the Thorns represented among the Thorns, represent those who hear God's word, but all too quickly, that message is crowded out by the worries of life and the lures of wealth. And so, note fruit is produced

When we make space.

For God.

Prayer. Is that awesome example of that? Because prayer is the place where we bring our problems to him. We bring our worries to him, we bring our concerns to him, and he exchanges that with his peace. when we go and make space and have that time of prayer, if we ever leave that space without having peace, all we've done is complain to God.

It's okay to complain to God, look at the songs 2/3, are songs of complaints. You can pour out your heart to God, he's okay with that. It does, you good? Almost every one of those songs turned it back to praise turns it back to yet, I will trust you turned it back to me. I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Make space to commune with God and understand what we give him and what we get from him. We don't hide our problems or hide our concerns or just stiff upper lip it. We give it to him before our. And he gives us his peace.

Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow.

How do you make space? That can happen in prayer, it can happen. Looking up in the store, will look at the sky and the stars in the sky day, but thank you for sharing that. It can happen when you hold a newborn baby and it just marvel at the newborn thing is life. God has given you or has given and you just get the hold it.

It can happen in so many different ways. and when we are with him, he speaks. And he shows asleep sing and he gives us the Revelation so we can respond to it.

Question we can ask is how will I connect with God today in a meaningful way?

Sunday is easy. Come to church. What about the rest of the week? When do you make space to connect with Holy Spirit?

Second m in commune. I want you to remember, you going to move to the rhythm of the spirit? What do I mean by that? Where we at? We are in Galatians 5 so that would be this one. Galatians 5, starting at verse 22. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives. Love joy, peace patience, kindness goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control there's no law against these things, but those who belong to Christ Jesus have Neil their passions and desires of their sinful nature to the cross. Since we are living by the spirit, let's follow the spirits leading and every part of our lives.

Let us not become conceited. Provoke one another or be jealous of one another.

How do you follow the spirit leading and every part of your life?

sin can separate you from God, private separate you from God, worries, can separate you from God, busyness in separate you from God,

Dizziness comes from shame. We're not busy because of the amount of stuff we have to do. We get busy, because we want to avoid the shame of the things left. Undone.

We can't be ashamed of Jesus. we we won't be when we are filled with him continually

Jesus said in Mark 8:38 if anyone is ashamed of me and my message, and this is the adult regeneration and in these adulterous and sinful days, the son of man will be ashamed of that person when he returns with, in glory of the father. And it's only angels

How do you? How do you get over the shame? So you can be a longer sermon. If I go and all that, basically practice the presence of God, you continually filled with Holy Spirit.

17th century, Carmelite monk, brother Lawrence wrote the book, the practice of the presence of God and any in it. He just talks about Is it go about the day today? As is as I'm washing this pot. God is with me and I'm doing it as unto him. You know, as ice rake the leaves, or Rick the Garden or whatever he was doing. I I looked it up I feeling it is unto him. There's glory in my work because it's done as unto the Lord. so, Do you want to revolutionize your work? Do it as unto him.

do it, recognizing he is with you and what you're doing is for him and for his glory,

Question we can ask ourselves is how I practice the presence of God today. We start by asking that eventually it just becomes part of what we do. It's just part of what we do.

So we consider yours ourselves dead to sin. We offer ourselves as a Living Sacrifice. We make space to regularly connect, we move to The rhythms of the spirit. Then you, we need to utilize what we receive from him. And that is I get from John 15, which would be here.

John 15. Starting at verse.

7.

Says. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you can meet me ask for anything you want and it will be granted. When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples that Springs. Great glory to my father, I have loved you even as the father has loved me, remain in my love. When you obey my Commandments remain of my love, just as I obey my father's Commandments and remain in his love, I have told you these things that you'll be filled with joy. Yes, your joy will overflow. This is my commandment love each other in the same way that I have loved you, there is no greater love than to lay down, one's life, for, when friends, you are my friends. If you do what I command, I no longer call you slaves because a master doesn't confide in his slaves but you are my friend. Since I have told you everything the father told me. You didn't choose me. I chose you and appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit so that the father will give you whatever you ask us using my name. This is my command love each other.

Ignorance, is something that can separate us from God. Just like seeing in Pride and worries and busyness ignorance. Jesus said in John 3:3, I tell you the truth unless you're born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God. We need to know what we receive from him as we abide in him. In those verses I just read it tells us we receive his word, we receive his love. We receive his Joy. His word is word is what brings life, his word is what we have to share with others. Joy, joy it and love love is the same thing. We get his love in order to love others. It's that it's we love because he first loved us and it comes to us so we can give it the others. Joy, it's the same thing, but that is exactly what leaks out. You can't keep joy to yourself, Joy, kind of spills out wherever you go. And, and that's that, it's for you. Yeah, yeah, it's for you, but it's so good to just to keep to yourself. It's just too good to keep for yourself.

Those things you receive when you remain in his word and his love and his Joy, it it when you remain in him.

Much fruit shows it, where his disciples much fruit. Is for the father's Glory.

Question. We can ask ourselves and you know what we're doing? It's it's Who can we serve today?

It's in serving people, in Jesus's name. That we get, the love, the joy, and his word. Those are the things that come to us as we serve him. Serve others in Jesus name.

How will you share his word? His love and his Joy today.

Consider yourself dead to sin, offer yourself, Living Sacrifice, make space to regularly, connect move to the rhythm of the spirit, utilize what you received from him. And in his never resist is pruning. We'll just jump up to the start of this chapter and read with Jesus says, he says, I'm the truth Grapevine and my father is a gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn't produce fruit. Any prunes the branches that do bear fruit. So they'll produce even more. All you have, you have already been pruned and purified by the message, I've given you remaining me. And I will remain in you for a branch cannot produce fruit. Even if it is severed from the vine and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. Yes, I am the vine. You are the branches. Those who remain in me and I in them will produce much fruit apart from me. You can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me, is thrown away like a useless, branch and Withers such a branch as good as are gathered and into a pile and burned.

It's like sin and pride and worries and busyness and ignorance can separate us from God. Offense can separate us from God.

Enmark 6325. Jesus was in the town that he was raised up in in Nazareth. And it says, they scoffed it. Then they scoff. He is just a carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, and Joseph, and Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here. Among Us, catch this. They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him. When Jesus told them a prophet is honored everywhere except his own Hometown and among his relatives, an old family and because of their unbelief, he couldn't do any Miracles among them except places hands on a few people and heal them. Offense leads the unbelief unbelief leads to lack of Miracles.

We can't be offended at God. What we can.

You don't know, if you've been a Christian, a long time, that's a difficult concept to grasp because God is God, and I'm just a thought, he's the butter on the clay, I can't say anything.

And yet I work with Christians my whole life. And I know I've learned when I'm offended at God and I can see when they're offended at God. Because they grit their teeth and fold their arms and not because they're cold because they've just not going to move, they're not going to do it.

We need to live on a fender to God. The question you can ask yourself is a, my living offended at God. For myself, I know that if I don't spend time regularly with him, if I don't, if I'm not spending time regularly with him, if I'm not spending time in his word, if I'm not spending time, sharing his love with others. I've learned that those were signs that I need to I'm probably leaving offended at him. You know, if I'm driving and Edmonton traffic and start to yell at the Warren that drove too slow or too fast. I'm probably offended it. God more than I am with a person driving. So, I need to go to God. Confession repentance.

And tell him Lord, I expected you to do this. And this is what happened. It's not what I expected and I don't like it.

But I will choose to agree that you will work all things together for good. And I will choose to believe that I don't need to understand. I have your peace that passes understanding.

Now we get to the good stuff. So when you consider yourself that the same and you offer yourself as a Living Sacrifice and you make space to regularly connect and you move to the rhythm of the spirit and you utilize what you received from him and you never resist is pruning. The EU. Can you can enjoy intense fellowship with him. Have you seen this person? Zephaniah, where am I at zepf and I are at chapter 3 For the Lord, your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take the light in you, with gladness, with his love. He will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.

I told you that scene in Pride and worries and busyness and ignorance and offense, can separate you from God. But you know what the Bible says, Bible said nothing can separate you from God. Nothing separates us from God. Check out what it says in Romans 8:35. Can anything ever separate us from Christ? Love Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or Calamity or persecuted, or hungry or destitute, or endangered, or threatened with death, as scripture says, for your sake? We are killed every day. We are slaughtered like sheep. Know, despite all these things overwhelming Victory Is Ours through Christ. Who loved us and I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love, neither death, nor life, nor angels nor demons. Neither our fears for the day, or our worries about tomorrow. Not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above, or the earth below. It did nothing at all. Creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that's revealed for us in Christ Jesus our lord. Amen. Amen. That is the Revelation. I want us to move from here to here today. I want us to understand that, yes, if even if we've sinned, even if we've been offended, even if we've been worried, even if we've been busy, even if we both have been fried with fried been prideful, even if we worried, nothing can separate us from God. He has given us everything we need for life and godliness. He has given us the tools of come confession and repentance. He has given us every Grace. We need by the grace of God. We are not who we were. And his grace has not been without affecting us.

We can enjoy intense fellowship with him. Because he's done everything to make the way for us.

Listen, you and I were created to walk with God in the garden of the cool of the day.

He wants to walk with you in the day-to-day of every day. He is already there with you. The question is, will you be with him?

Whatever has been keeping you from experiencing this in your life. Don't let it keep you any from it, any longer. If there is sin, if there is pride, if there is worries, if there is busyness, if there's ignorant, if there's a fence, if there's anything else that I failed to mention, but you, there's just something that you don't, you're not trusting God. You're not trusting God.

with what he's giving you

How crazy is that? He gives you all things and you're not trusting you with that. It's crazy and yet we will do it. We've all done it. We all will probably do it again.

Oh, stand with me. Let's pray for revelation.

Lord. Everything we've said is simply words unless you give it life. if you speak it to people's hearts, I pray. Lord God, that today would be a high point. We can look to and realize that as we move forward, once again, we've come to that place of confession and repentance.

And all the sin that so easily, entangles. And I know all the worries that so easily corrupted at vim and put in their proper place under the blood of Christ.

And we move from this point forward as as moving with you and keeping in step with your spirit. Where sin has no control over us anymore. Where worries are exchanged for your peace? Where where pride is put in its proper place and we both stand the Lord. Our God

lord, I pray that whatever you need, we would be open to receive whatever you want to give to us right now. Whatever you want to speak into our life. If it's a revelation of your love, if it's a revelation of your goodness, if it's a revelation of your father, Earnest, if it's a revelation of your sacrifice, if it's a revelation about how whatever Lord guide you want,

Lord let it be. We receive it. And may Faith be our response to that revelation.

Lord, for anyone here who has not had a father who loved them. So they don't understand you as father. I pray for that wall to break down and I pray. Lord, God, that there would be a revelation of you is father. Lord, for anyone here, where it where we, we have trusted you and we have fallen on our face and then we don't think we can do it anymore. Lord. God, lord, where trust needs that revelation of your goodness again. Lord God reveal that goodness.

Lord, this world needs to see more and more of you and it needs to see more of more of you in US. So I pray. Lord God.

Give us ears to hear and eyes to see what you're doing in the people around us, in our friends, and our neighbors, and our co-workers, and our family. I pray. Lord God, that we would be your partners. I know where your partner's, but I pray that we would know where your partners in this and what you want us to do.

Right now, I pray against any fear any doubt any anything, Lord God, that separates us from you.

Lord be glorified in our lives today. In your name. I pray. Amen. Amen, you may be seated if you want more prayer, don't leave here without getting prayer. You don't need prayer from me or anyone around can pray with you, but if you would like for, you can come up to the front.

Thank you, Pastor Trevor for that word and we do just have a couple announcements here at the end.