Abide in Me -December 19

The Sunday before Christmas it may seem a little unusual to talk about something at the end of Jesus life. After all isn’t Christmas about the beginning of His life. Yes, but all of Jesus’ life was leading up to the end. His purpose was to come to this world to give Himself. The coming of the baby Jesus would be meaningless without the context of his death. That is why he came. He came, we read in Matthew 1:21, “to save his people from their sins.”
But it is the next few verses of Matthew 1 that bring us one of the great promises and assurances we have because Christ came. Read Matthew 1:22-23. Immanuel, God with us. We looked at this last week through the account of Ahaz and the prophet Isaiah. God gives us the opportunity to see and experience His power and presence in our lives. And it is because He is with us, God with us, that we can experience this. Ahaz had the opportunity and he turned it down. The result for him was disaster.
We are given that opportunity too, to connect with God, to experience Immanuel. John 1:12 says, “yet all who receive him, to those who believe in His name –what name, the name of Jesus, savior, he gave the right to become the children of God.”
Do you believe? Do you believe in the child who has come and is the son of God, the savior? Do you believe he has come to save his people –to save you from your sins?
Most of us here have done that, I am sure. We have accepted that the baby who came is the son of God, that he came to save us, that he died on the cross for us, that God not only gave us his son, but that his son gave us his life! The great meaning of Christmas is that God gave. And most of us have accepted, we believe. But what about that second part of the promise in Matthew –that he will be called Immanuel –God with us?
What does it mean for God to be with us? We have some kind of mystical acceptance of it, but does it really affect us, impact us to know God is with us? The presence of Christ does have an effect. The immediate effect, of course, is our salvation –we become the children of God. But more than that there is the effect of a growing and deeper communion with Christ.
Jesus would later refer to this as our abiding in Him. In John chapter 15 we see that Jesus is with His disciples and they are on their way to the Garden of Gethsemene. They have had their meal, what we often call the last supper, with Jesus and now they are walking through Jerusalem to the eastern gate of the city which leads to the mount of Olives. As they walk, they pass the temple, this huge structure that dominates the city. They may have even stopped at one of the familiar places where Jesus would teach from in the previous week. We don’t know this, but we can imagine how this is quite possible because Jesus now talks about the vine (John 15:1) Why?
Well, inside the temple grounds, near the entrance to the holy place there is a large purple curtain supported by a large gold beam. Josephus the historian of that period, writes that there was hung by that curtain a large grapevine of pure gold representing Israel. Wealthy citizens would bring gifts of gold to be made into grapes or leaves or other parts of the grapevine.
The grapevine and the vineyard were significant and ancient symbols in Israel and represented the covenant people of God, planted and tended by Him so Israel could produce fruit (Burge pg. 417). Psalm 80:8,9,14-15. And in Isaiah 5:7 we read, “the vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of His delight.” Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Hosea also talk about Israel being the vineyard of God. And so there is a special place that the vine has for Israel. To look on this great golden grapevine, here in the very temple of God, we to be reminded that God has planted and cares for His people.
With this huge, magnificent, golden vine and large clusters of golden grapes hanging down I can well imagine Jesus standing there and looking at them and then turning to his disciples and saying, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.” Jesus often would do this, take something that was ordinary, or visible and use it as a teaching tool “behold, look to the fields that are white and ready for harvest.” “Whose picture is on this coin? Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s!”
And then he brings the challenge and the blessing of Immanuel. “Remain in me and I will remain in you.” Remain-abide. I like that word abide much better, although it certainly does mean remain. We can abide because he is with us. It is hard to be with someone if they are not there. But he is Immanuel –God with us. His presence, his presence! In our lives. Immanuel!
As we read these few words that Jesus gave to His disciples as they made their way to the mount of Olives, we can see that he is comforting and challenging them with something they knew –the work of the master with the vine. And he applies it to their remaining in him –to abide. And in this he gives 5 gifts of grace to us as we abide.
The first gift is growth in Christ. Abide in me and you will bear fruit. The purpose of the branch, us, we who are abiding in Immanuel, is to grow. To grow s a vine! Paul says we are to grow up into Him, Christ, who is the head. We are to grow in our likeness of Jesus, the vine. As we abide, he has already promised us the Holy Spirit, the comforter, who will teach us and guide us. We grow by abiding, by remaining, by being attached to Immanuel. God with us! God in us! This great gift is given to us to grow –to learn to be more like the one God loves best, grow to become more and more like His children.

The second gift is cleanness. Verse 3 says we are already clean, clean because of the word Jesus gave us. How are we clean? Our sins are washed away! He has cleansed us from our sins! Immanuel, God with us, died for us, cleansed us, making us a pure and spotless gift for the father. We are washed clean through Jesus Christ because he came as a child, grew to a man and died for us. The image of clean with regards to the vine and the branches is that the gardener would come along and lift up any branch that is in the dirt. He cleans it off and lifts it up and sets it higher. He cleans us from our sins, that which makes us unfit, un-right to go before a holy and pure God. We read elsewhere we are made holy –we are set apart and sanctified. All big concepts to say this –we are clean because of Jesus. God cannot and will not allow anything unclean in his presence. Can we grasp that? We are made clean by the master for the master so we can be with the master –Immanuel!

The third gift is productivity. Verse 4. Our purpose is to grow but even more it is to bear fruit. I like t grow tomatoes, as many of you do. I like it when I see the little yellow flowers come and then they turn into little buds that grow and become green then orange then red. The purpose is to get fruit. I have grown some really nice looking tomatoes plants that have been some of the most healthy and full plants ever, but never had one bud, one tomato. They look good, but their purpose is not met –they did not have any fruit. Many Christians today are like that –we look really good but our productivity is not great. Why? I think it is largely because we do not abide with Immanuel. Listen carefully to verse 4 again and then the following verses which expand on it (4-8). When we abide, as we abide, as we focus on Him, learn from Him, grow in Him, become more like him, as we abide with Immanuel, we become productive. The gift of Immanuel, God with us is that we are productive for Him –we bear fruit.
The fourth gift is security. We talk a lot about security today. Many of you who are travelling this Christmas will feel the effects of increased security. We may sometimes not like it, but better safe than sorry! And we look for security in our homes, with our finances, with our children. We protect our computers and private information. If we do not –well, I found out this last week what happens when I don’t –One of my computers picked up a virus that took over. Why, I didn’t have that security I should have. Security is something we are and should be very conscious of in our world. And in our eternity. Verse 9-10. If you obey my commands, YOU WILL remain in my love! Talk about security –YOU WILL! This is a guarantee better than any anti-virus, better than any insurance, better than any security screening it is made by the Lord God himself, Immanuel –God with us! And even more Jesus ahs gives us His spirit, remember? Paul in Ephesians 1:13-13 (let me read). Guarantee! WOW! If we remain in Him, abide in Him, live Immanuel, talk about security. And then, Jesus goes on to pray these words (John 17:11-12, and then verse 23. Immanuel, God with us!

The fifth gift is prayer power. Verse 16. We often take this verse out of context, or in isolation. Whatever you ask the Father will give. Hold on here! We must take this in the context of abiding in him. He has loved us, chosen us, filled us, given His Spirit to us, given us His joy, He has given us His commands and the call, the challenge to obey. He sets the rule of love in our hearts. The first four gifts must be opened and working in our lives for the fifth gift to be empowered! Listen to verse 16, there is a wonderful gift and promise there to be sure but take not, “I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit –fruit that will last, then the father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Are you bearing fruit? Are you living the life of abiding? Are you going out and living in obedience? Are you loving others as commanded? Is Immanuel being realized in you? Then ask, ask in order that Immanuel may be realized, ask that you may love, ask that you may bear fruit, ask that your joy may be full, ask that you be clean and lifted up, ask that you grow, ask to be secure, ask to abide and experience Immanuel, and for He is able to do more than you can ask or imagine! Ask in Jesus Name, the name of Immanuel, the name of the vine, the name that is above every other name.
Friends we had these 5 wonderful gifts of grace through Immanuel as we abide –remain, stick fast, grow. Immanuel, God with us. Remain in him, Abide in Him and he will do more than you could ask or imagine!