Abiding Part 2 11/02/2025

We're going to join in prayer with Christians around the world who are lifting up our brothers and sisters in Myanmar today. And um before we [snorts] do that, we're going to hear a little bit more about the situation there. Um we're going to put you in the middle, brother. Come on over. There we go. Amen.

All right. Well, this is my this is my brother Andy Cap. Everybody say hello Andy. Yeah. Good to have him today. We were going to have Ray Mong.

You can see that actually on the slide there. Uh Ray Mong is uh one of our leaders. He's actually a vice president of our association. Uh he's in in Burmese world in Burmese church world. Um, Renong is kind of the the grand pooha, if you will. He's he's Elfe, if you will.

And um, so they had been actually uh focusing on some church planting things this weekend. So he has just been uh running around and just a lot of things. So uh, in his place, he sent Andy today. And Andy and I know one another because Andy has translated for me uh or tried to translate my craziness uh and uh when I've gone to preach uh at Raymon's church. So he's a good friend and so great to have him today. Put your hands together all actually.

Yeah, that's good. [applause] Now Andy um we're gonna just ask you a few questions and then Andy has asked that uh he'd just like to share a little bit of uh some stuff that's on his heart. So let's go ahead and Emily you go ahead and start. Okay. So first question if you could just tell us a little bit about the situation in Myanmar and how it has changed over the past few years. So we were colonized by British and gain independent in 1948 and from 1948 to 1988 89 there's been power struggle within Burma especially with military and uh freedom democracy and we had a vote in 1988 89 and the majority won to go with democracy but the military didn't like it so they took over with weapons and ever since then we are under the dictatorship of military and one of the things that they try to do is they want to convert everybody to Buddhism and through American Baptist from Massachusetts uh missionary Judson came to Tinstate particularly our area and share Jesus with us and we it changed our culture, our way of life completely and most of the people on the south sides are Chin and Burma is has like six or seven seven ethnic groups and Burmese being the majority and Burmese and Chins are like Chinese and English.

We have no uh resembler whatsoever but the system is run by Burmese. So everyone speak Burmese and when Justin came to Chin state he converted us into Christianity especially pro Protestant. So in Burma right now 87 to 90% are Buddhist and Chin state are little small state maybe less than a million population around the world are majority Christian they made up Burma. So I truly believe that the reason why we here is because we knew Jesus and Jesus want us to send us to uh in worldly term a better um a better better opportunity better lives but com comfortable is not always great it's takes you away from Jesus at the same time so moving forward I mean in 2005 Obama came and visit us for the first time we had election again and we uh democracy party won in between 2015 and 2021 right before p right before pandemic in February the military said well guess what we're going to take over power again and it get worse between all you know this period from 1988 to 20 21 now all the you know especially chin state they have we have arms oursel and now we constantly fighting with the military where I was born in Chin The city where I was born, it's completely deserted because they bomb us and nobody lives there anymore.

And even in our community over here, we are not getting along too well because you have too many uh visionary that wants to fight uh you know uh want to fight the government and completely forget about Jesus. For me personally, they dis, you know, there's so many people that are in India, the border of India, Thailand, Malaysia, just terrible. I mean, if we could show you the picture now, we don't have the picture, but you guys can do some research in there and you see plenty of it. It's just terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible. And I just I mean, you've seen it. We've seen it, you know, you've seen Gaza, right?

And you see many other places where people are just you know treated terribly. And for me um for me uh what I would like for you guys to pray for us is uh we don't um we our God is a suffering God right we just sing the last song talking about Jesus did not defeat the Roman the Roman Empire he defeat dead. So while we pray for the government, I really want to pray for the government to know who Jesus is through all this suffering. Amen. And that the he would use the Chin people to be not focus on the military too much, but focus on uh sharing their faith everywhere they go. Cuz that's where we were.

I I'm here, but that's what God I didn't I can't, you know, we can't compare why they're there. And I'm I don't want to be sad about it, but of course I'm sad about it. But the point is Jesus is the ultimate here. And pray for for us to stay in faith, strongly faith and also share the gospel with the Burmese population uh to the point where if anything necessary to give our lives for Christ. Amen. So I approached a little different than a lot of my folks here in the states because they all focus on funding this and that to fight the military.

But we are Christian. We our identity our identity is we are a disciple of Christ. Amen. And suffering is part of life. We cannot walk walk away from suffering. We cannot run away from suffering.

Jesus suffered and the only way we could know deeper with him is through this suffering we must embrace as a disciple of his. So we pray for our military to we're going to have election in December. It's going to be a mess. Uh and the US is too Trump is too busy with other making peace deal around the world. I think the US have not much interest in Myanmar which is okay. I mean I think Trump is doing a great job going around doing all this stuff.

And so I hope that summarize what's going on and a lot of it is my personal feeling as well how I view in terms of what I would like for you guys to pray for is uh to stay strong in faith and suffering is part of life and that uh we we you know you can we can keep sending them money but if they don't forget about who they are as uh Jesus follower that then we missing the whole point. So, you know, to have their spirit up and also to share their faith as much as they can when they are on the bottom of uh the lowest of the lowest. So, that's a little bit of Burma. It's very unique. It's very um yeah um my grandparents actually were uh a worshshiper of the mountain uh big tree, big rock. They sacrifice animals.

They're head hunter. And then my and my dad is my dad had tw 13 sibling. And half of his sibling were born without knowing Christ. And half of them were born after my grandparents accept Jesus Christ as their savior. And you know most of my parents are um they do the lord's work including my auntie's husband. I mean uh pastor Herman is my auntie's husband.

He's my uncle, my dead, you know. So I I think that's all matter. Wherever we at either you're in, you know, uh here in the states, Burma, wherever we at, I think our goal should be uh Jesus or Jesus. Amen. Um so that's good. That's [laughter] that's great.

Thank you for sharing all that. That's good. I think the only other question I would like to hear more about is if you could tell us a little bit more about the Burmese population here in the indie area and also what the challenges are and prayer requests for the local community too. All right. Um, so we came here I we my family and I came here 1999. I was a seventh grader.

We were the first family actually in Indianapolis that are from India, Burma in India, Thailand and Malaysia as a refugee. So one thing that I really want you guys to pray for us is the gap between our parents and the second generation is larger each years and especially in terms of faith. Our parents they work really really hard and uh they most of them are safe. They know they are safe. But the new generation that are born between 2005 to today we are straying away from Christ. We are not attending church.

We are not we not we're not even lasting one generation of good time. Isn't it? So that's I'm concerned about that. You know, I just got married recently. We don't have any I we don't have children yet. My wife is in Japan.

Uh we got married 2023 Burma. Went there went back there to marry my sweetheart who lives in Japan. She's also from um my states. So you know our kids the ne the this the next generation from our parents. My generation are very blessed. we can kind of um get between our mom our parents generation and the new generation but the new generation they are so influenced by social media school system and a lot of teaching from uh all this ideology that we don't believe in and they buy that matter of fact we there are many of us childrens are believing in that kind of stuff especially the things that we don't I mean when I came here in 1999 we're allowed to pray at school uh before taking the big test but now it's far from it right matter of fact you can't even share your faith and our the next generation plenty of it over there are not and I mean in Southside we have about 20 to 30 people residing over there and maybe 10,000 maybe are under high school or between high school and uh colleges so pray for our faith that's the only thing really with all this comfortable I mean they're dressing like you they want to be this that and it just it's just crazy you know I I I thought I was not that old but for me with them it's like what is going on here what where you know so for our faith uh social media has influenced us a lot a lot of teachings from uh that is not aligned with the Bible has influenced us a lot and they believe it and they believe it and they you know uh they believe it and That's that's that's the main thing is for us to able to save our own kids.

Now I mean big in Burma we trying to save oursel from the military. Here we're trying to save ourselves from going away from Jesus. Now when we were you know when we were when we were suffering back home all we have is Jesus. We pray we pray we pray. We we fasted. We pray we pray we pray.

We attend church to seek comfort. But here we have comfort, but we not we don't need Jesus anymore. So that is that's what we need the most. Amen. Good deal. All right.

Well, Andy, thanks for coming and sharing today, man. Um we will definitely um be in prayer for you um and for the church. uh especially there's uh 30,000 um Burmese on the south side of Indie predominantly and uh it's the right now uh they're the leading refugee group that is in Indianapolis. We have uh within our association we have nine different churches uh that are Burmese and that number is growing. We're adding another one this year uh and those are also of different uh language groups. Uh, and so it's an interesting thing when we get together uh how we'll have uh various uh uh dialects, but they all speak Burmese and uh and they always I try to understand and try to follow what's going on and they're like many times they'll pat me on my head and say, "Oh, Chris, you don't understand.

[laughter] We we try to explain it to you, but you don't understand." But um but yeah, let's pray now. Let's pray for this all the things that Andy's lifted up and for the country. Father, we do come to you today uh united in prayer for our brothers both here in the states and uh in Burma and Myanmar that as they are just going through this uh terrible terrible time of uh civil war within uh Father we pray that this is the moment that believers there will step into uh their relationship with you that as Andy has already shared that their faith would grow that uh that this would be the thing uh that would transform the entire country and [snorts] the military that Father that it would begin to soften hearts. Father, as we pray, Father, we we do pray that you would just now um begin to soften the hearts of those as this coming election uh Father, and the turmoil that that is likely to come, Father, we pray for protection.

We pray for your word and the gospel to penetrate through uh [snorts] the the darkness. Um, Father, we we ask now that you protect our brothers and sisters here, Father, as as Annie's shared that uh just this this second generation that's here uh is struggling and even though we have the comforts and conveniences and father that it is it is pulling them away from you. So, Father, I pray that you would strengthen their faith here as well. Father, help them to uh get to that place of of knowing that that you have to be uh the the number one thing in their lives that Father that uh they will they will once again lean back on you. And Father, whatever that takes, Father, we we do uh lift up those that they will encounter here and as their hearts begin to grow in a missional way that as they're reaching out around uh the city and also uh in different places around the world, that Father that again you would strengthen their faith that you would give them the words to say to the people that they will witness to that Father that you will be lifted up.

you will draw them into yourself. And Father, at the end of the day that we know that it's because of you that people were transformed. And so, Father, I pray and thank you so much for Andy being here today. Father, I pray that this not just be a a moment in time, but that we will carry this burden of Myanmar with us as we leave today and and lift our brothers and sisters up to you. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.

Amen. Amen. Thank you, sir. Thank you, brother. Amen. All right.

Good stuff. Amen. Good stuff. Amen. Well, thank you, Emily, as well for uh always bringing those things to light and um keeping it before us. Uh cuz there are so many things that distract us.

I know that that's that's one of the the the burdens that I always hear when I meet uh with our uh pastors uh our Burmese pastors is that because if there's a way that you can help us because we are losing that generation those who have come here in that first wave and that first generation um they're just struggling with these American ways and you know praise God for America but it can be a corrupting force uh in in particular to our faith. So, [snorts] all right, we're going to be in John chapter 15. John chapter 15. And we're going to continue with that same theme of abiding in Christ. Abiding in Christ. John [clears throat] 15.

And we're going to read the next section uh as our pastor has been walking us through [snorts] uh this chapter and and unpacking uh different sections. We're [snorts] going to look at uh verses 9- 11 today. John 15 9- 11. All right, let's read that together. It says, "Just as the father has loved me, I also have loved you. remain in my love or abide in my love.

If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be made full. Let's pray one more time. Father, I pray that you would illuminate your word to us today. That, Father, that you will prompt uh prompt us to truly abide in you. Father, I thank you for your word and pray that uh as we as we look into this perfect law of liberty, that it will it will begin to sink into our hearts and transform our lives and that we'll walk away different today than when we came in.

We pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Abiding in his love. And this theme of abiding in Christ. It's one of those things that I've actually I've actually since we started this, I've [snorts] been spending time with some of my some of my pastors and saying, "Hey, tell me about, you know, what are your what are your thoughts on abiding in Christ?" And [snorts] uh and most have said, "Well, I'm pro.

[laughter] I I'm for abiding in Christ. And of course, I said, "But tell me how you do that. How how does that work?" Because for me, it is one of those things that I constantly struggle with. It feels like I mean, I understand it intellectually. I believe I I I get it, but it always feels elusive.

It feels like it's just out of reach. Feels like that just when maybe I'm there that it escapes me. And maybe you feel that way too. But it's critical as we mature in our walk. We already read that, you know, unless you abide, you can do nothing. So this is a critical part of how we are to live this thing of abiding.

So I'm going to go back and summarize just a little bit. So it'll it'll help us to focus and make sure that we understand this thing of abiding in Christ and what [snorts] it means. What does it mean to abide in Christ? Well, we've already said and and I think Dwayne has done an excellent job is that it means to remain. It means to dwell. It means to stay, to continue, to endure.

And it was beautifully illustrated and I wasn't here. And by the way, let me apologize. By the way, uh man, I I love you all. I don't want you to think that uh when I am not here, I'm thinking of you. But uh due to the nature of the ministry that I'm in, I'm often taken away and and working with churches and preaching at churches on a weekly basis. But know that my heart is here.

Uh so uh when when we think about this thing that and especially as Dwayne uh led in a leadership retreat that we had, it was it was a it was a really fantastic illustration and moment. We uh where the retreat was held was at this lakehouse and it was beautiful. I mean it was like I don't know there's like 15 rooms or something like that and it's got a dock and it's got all I mean it's just it's laid out fantastic. And as we're sitting there, we we're, you know, observing that, wow, the, you know, the fridge is full and we've got we've got things that we can eat and we've got places where we can go and just relax or chill or get out on the lake or whatever. And Dwayne points out in that moment and he says, you know what, this is what abiding is about. is that in in the midst of this that when we come to abide that it's a place where we can relax.

It's a place in abiding that we unpack. You know, like when you're on a trip, you know, like wherever it is, you know, when you get there, you you unpack, right? You just like, okay, I want to feel like I'm here for a minute. You unpack, you unwind, you unplug, you take a deep breath. And even Dwayne said, "Listen, if you want to take a nap, take a nap. If you want to read, read."

Now, we're going to do some business here, but know that this is a place where you can just abide. It's a place that you can read or play and just enjoy. And that's a living metaphor of what it means to abide in Christ. Now, I know part of my struggle is when I get in that place, I also fight with, well, am I being lazy? Y'all with me on that? Somebody say amen.

Amen. We can say amen every once in a while, right? You know what I'm saying? Um and and so that's a struggle, but it's a balance. And and we're going to talk a little bit about that as well. Now, as we've seen through this chapter, we know that this abiding as he's commanded us to do, that we must abide in him.

As you know, he he gives the illustration of a vine, right? And how the branch has to abide in the vine. And he did such a wonderful illustration, was that last week where, you know, he was trying to produce fruit and that was all, we all love that. uh you know you can't do it right it must just abide and the fruit will naturally come when we abide but he also gives us some instruction he says in verse 7 as you go back and read there says if you abide in me and my words abide in you ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. So our first thing is if we're going to abide is just abiding in his word. Amen.

Abiding in his word. Now what does that mean? All right. Well, we live busy lives. Correct. I mean often, you know, and and I know for me many times in my commute is my some some of the best abiding time that I can have and because I'm all over the city all the time.

So, I have a lot of wheel time and I'm spending time, you know, I I'll be listening to even sermons or podcasts or whatever that help me to abide in his word, to meditate on his word, to just remain in his word. And man, it's so it's it really is an amazing thing. I here's what I want you to do. I want you to I don't know how you do your Bible reading time, but my challenge to you is this in in this coming week. I don't know where you're at and what you're doing and how it works in your world, but I want you to stop and I want you to just soak for a minute. Don't try to just meet the goal.

I've done my Bible reading for today and now I can check it off the list. I want you to just [snorts] sit and soak and just breathe it all in. Take a moment for each phrase, each word, and say, "What does that mean? What are we talking about? How how does this apply to my life? How does this apply to my world?"

And when you begin to take those things in and slow yourself down and unpack, you know, and maybe it is, you know, you just need to get a cup of coffee. Maybe it is that you just need to, you know, get a I don't know, energy drink. I don't know whatever it is that you know helps you just kind of focus but just take time sit and soak in his word and [snorts] man it's an amazingly energizing thing. Now I want don't want you to be frustrated. Sometimes it's going to come to that place where you're going to try to sit and soak in that word and it's going to be like I'm not getting anything. It's okay.

It's all right. That's going to happen. It's just kind of the normal way of things. But don't stop abiding in his word. Come back to it. And man, there will be those times where you're going to you're going to you're going to find something.

You're going to find this nugget of something and all of a sudden you're going like, "Oh, I've never I've read this passage a 100 times and for the first time I see something new, different or a a direct application or something that I can share with somebody." And that's the result of abiding in his word. So to abide in Christ, you abide in his word. We see here, and I love this part. It says just now again, let's just soak in this for a second. [snorts] As the father has loved me, now let's let's contemplate that for a minute.

the unity of the trinity. The love that God is the very descriptor of God himself. God is love. That [snorts] he says as the father has loved me. Our hearts are knit together. He says I have also loved you.

Do you does it ever just hit you between the eyes how much God loves you? He loves you. And so for some in here today, that may be a revelation or it may be something that you understand intellectually, but it's not something that's in here. Maybe it is you never heard it growing up. Maybe you never heard those words from your father. And it's hard for you to understand what it means for the father, for God, for Jesus to love you like he does.

That's a prime part to soak in and understand that he loves you. In [snorts] fact, Romans chapter 8, let's look there real quick. Turn over in your Bible. Romans chapter 8. This is one of my favorite passages that I share especially with new believers because I know as new believers come to know Christ, there are so many things they're going to struggle with. [snorts] [clears throat] Romans chapter 8 and we're going to start reading in verse 38.

And here's what it says. It says, "For I am persuaded. I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Somebody say amen right there. There is nothing that can separate us. What right now in your life is trying to separate you from his love?

Is it the anxiety of something that's coming in the future? Is it the woundedness of the past? You know, because that's where those things live. Those things live either in the future or in the past. And many of you probably last night or even this coming night are going to have some thoughts about something that's coming or something that already happened. And it's covered right here that death, life, angels, principalities, more things present, more things to come will be able to separate you from the love that is in Christ Jesus.

He loves you. My recommendation to you is that at some point today, I want you to repeat that to yourself, that God really loves me. When you see, you know what? I I one of the things that I do traditionally uh is uh during uh Easter time is that I I watch the um the Mel Gibson movie. Um Yeah. And every time that I get to that place of seeing how the torture, the beatings, the blood that flowed that with every strike of the whip, with every drop of blood that's shed, it keeps coming back to me.

That's how much I love you. That's how much I love you. That's how much I love you. Our mind can't even conceive of how much he loves us. But we are to abide in his love. We to stay in that place.

Rest in that place. Relax in that place. Unpack all your junk in that place. And know that no matter what you've done or what you're going to do or what you've done in the past, no matter what, that when you are in Christ Jesus, that he loves you, abiding in his love. And then it says in verse 10, it says, "Now if you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love." So we see three direct things here.

To abide in his word, abide in his love, and keep his commands. That's how that's how you abide. Three simple things. Well, no, I don't know. Maybe not so much simple, but three straightforward things. Just being obedient.

be obedient to his commands [snorts] is abiding in him. Now, I don't know about you, but this this is one of those things where again I I'm I'm I'm constantly on the lookout for, okay, like what amazing thing is God going to teach me today? [laughter] You know, and and I would encourage you to do that. It's like when you wake up in the morning, say, "All right, God's gonna do something. He's going to teach me something today." Amazing.

And it's just like, you know, like when you get a new car and and you know, it's a green Honda Civic and all of a sudden you begin to see green Honda Civics all over the place, right? Well, if you're beginning to look for the amazing things that God is going to teach you, I guarantee you, you're going to start seeing them. Somebody say, "Amen." Right. So, [snorts] start looking for those things. And and when I was studying for this, I was like, you know, when how many y'all love a good bonfire, right?

Yeah. I mean, it's like especially this time of the year, right? I mean, probably even some of you in here, you're making a fire like every day, right? And really cool. Always great. Always fun.

What I what I I love the contrast when you know you build that fire, you know, especially this time of the year and when it's starting to get cold and you got the fire there and it's going and you're you're getting all warm up and cozy and all that kind of stuff. And here's what I've noticed. And and he showed me this the other day around a fire and it's like when I'm close to the fire, I'm warm. But if I take one step back from the fire, I'm not as warm. If I take another step back now, I'm starting to get a little cold. Amen.

But now, if I come back, it's all warm again. [snorts] See, this is an illustration for me. This is like if I'm abiding and staying close, everything's good. But if I begin to take a step back, the fire didn't change, right? Nothing happened with the fire. Fire was consistent.

What changed? My position, my drifting away. And many times when we struggle and we say, "Why? What? Why? Why does God not feel close?"

Well, it could it be that maybe you've walked away. You need to get back and abide. You need to get to that place again by the fire, by the fire of his love and abide close to him. And again, you will have those fires kindled again within your heart, within your soul. You'll have a passion again, a passion to to serve and to give and to be a part of what God is doing. So abiding.

What are some other ways? I don't know. I don't know about you. I think, see, here's the thing. We can't get legalistic about this thing. Oh, it can only happen in, you know, these very easy, neat ways, right?

I think that you can abide in Christ through prayer. Somebody say, "Amen." Right? I mean, that's that's simple. Yeah. I'm just spending time.

What is prayer all about? Is prayer all about asking stuff of God? No. That is not why that's not the the purpose of prayer. What is the purpose of prayer? The purpose of prayer is relationship.

Let's all say that together. The purpose of prayer is relationship. He already knows what you need. He already knows what you want. The point of getting together with God in prayer is to build your relationship. And I think that Dwayne brought that up.

If you had, you know, dates on the calendar and uh, you know, with your wife and you only made half of them, well, for goodness sake, what kind of relationship would you have? And I would say the same thing. If you never talked to your spouse, you would not have much of a relationship. or if all the time that you spent with your spouse was asking stuff of them. You now y'all are getting y'all got some little kids in your life. Amen.

And you know what I'm talking about when them little kids keep coming and asking for stuff all the time. Now it happens for me too. I mean I'm papa now. So, you know, it's like I got one child that man oh man, she will wear me out asking for like the same thing over and over again. And eventually I say, Piper, if you ask me one more time, you're not getting it. And I wonder, does God does he wrestle with those kind of feelings?

Say, if you won't shut up about this thing, I know you want it. I know you think you need it, but stop. Just spend time with me. I just want to I just want to hang out with you. I just want to I just want I just want to hear, you know, what's going on in your heart. Just stop asking me for stuff.

Now, it's okay to ask for stuff. Don't get me wrong. All right? But it could be music for some of us. It could be, man, that's where you find your thing, your connection, your closeness with the Lord is a time that because music is an amazing thing. I I don't know.

There's something about music and worship that is just different, right? I mean, you guys know this that for people that suffer dementia, they may not know where they're at, they may not know who who their loved ones are, but all of a sudden I and I know this firsthand. We used to do when I was when I in my first church, we [snorts] we uh put together a ministry. We heard about a need that was in a nursing home that was close by to us. And they and they said they we went to them and said, you know, well, what can we do? And they said, 'Well, it's very simple.

If you could just come and kind of do, you know, maybe a little sermonet or something and sing some songs, that would be great. And so we started this thing and it [snorts] was it was so much fun. We had a lady that would play piano and we go and I'd lead the music and I'd have people who 80, 90 years old had been in the place for 10 or more years and who most would say is were non-communicative and we'd start singing Amazing Grace and these people would light up. I think God has wired us that way. There's something about music that makes a connection with him. And maybe that's the place where you abide.

Maybe it's through community. Let me tell you something. If you know I if if one of the west best ways that you can abide in Christ is being with his bride. Somebody say amen. Is being with his people. Is hanging out with with the people.

Right. and and all of a sudden, man, you and and you get I don't know. There's stuff that happens in community that doesn't happen in any other place. It's just you're you get encouraged. You get, you know, there's there's things that happen when you're in community, you're working and serving together. I mean, when we were handing out hot dogs, when we were freezing together, Amen.

It was it was woo, what happened? I mean, all of a sudden, it was like freezing together. This bonds us in some kind of way, right? and cooking hot dogs. Those [snorts] kind of things helps us abide. Maybe for you it's something completely different.

But find whatever that is. Figure out a way that you can abide in Christ. Now, why is this so hard? Why do we struggle with this? I don't know about you. This is my deal.

We are very independent, [laughter and snorts] especially as Americans. We're Americans. By golly, you know, we're pull yourself up by your bootstraps, right? We're that kind of people. We're independent. I mean, sometimes we get so independent, we're independent of God.

All right? So, maybe that's a struggle for you like it is for me. Maybe we're distracted by so many things going on, so many things that are on our schedule. We get we get distracted by this or that. And not necessarily that they're bad things. But we're distracted.

We're not making the main thing the main thing. We're not having the Lord be the central part of who we are. Andy Andy brought this up that this is part of the struggle, especially for that generation, that next generation. Maybe it is. It's just busyness. It's just busyness.

Business. You can get so busy for Jesus. I was like this, you know, early in my Christian walk. I got so busy doing stuff for God. I mean, it was all church stuff that I thought, you know, I'll bet God says to himself, "I am so glad that Chris is helping me out. Glad he's there."

[laughter] And how ridiculous is that, right? I mean, it's like, "God doesn't need me, right? I mean, [laughter] so busyiness is not closeness. And just because I can excuse it and and and say, "Okay, well, I'm doing things for that that you know, that's not the same thing as closeness, right? [snorts] We also part of the deal is we've already heard in earlier in this passage is that those branches that produce fruit, what happens to them? They get pruned.

Snip snip snip. We don't like that. We We don't like that. We don't like that. We've got to go through suffering or pain or trouble or whatever you name it. Struggle.

And all of a sudden, it's like Jesus is trying to remind us, hey, listen. I I got something I'm trying to produce in you that's a little bit better. And that's going to take some pain. And we're going to have to snip off some things here and snip off some things there. And let me tell you something. If we resist the kind of pruning, let me tell you something.

At some point, what's going to happen is if that if we don't go along willingly, he's going to make it happen. [snorts] God is an amazing God. And here's what I found out in my time in working with churches and people [snorts] is that [sighs and gasps] sometimes, and God can only do this, the best way he can get you to look toward him is to put you on your back. He'll take the legs right from under you. So now all of a sudden, who you going to look to now? How much are you going to pray?

I tried to tell you before, but you weren't listening. We need to listen. Pay attention. Also, sometimes we're looking for quick results. I mean, I'm a I'm a very, very amateur gardener, right? And that guy, man, I plant something in the ground.

I'm out there the next day looking for free, right? And we're looking for something quick. We're looking for something easy. We're looking for It just doesn't happen that way. The things that are going to last are going to take time. It's the same thing when I encourage you here in this place today, right now, in your seat.

I want you to understand that this church is 8 years old. This is just the beginning. Are you going to be willing to stay in it, to stick in it, to see the lasting fruit of what could come? Because it's going to take time. Now, you got some that, you know, I mean, and we always get jealous about the stories that we hear, the books we read, and we see these, you know, churches that all a sudden, man, we started off with five people, now we got 5,000. [clears throat] And I tell my, you know, my planners all the time.

and said, "Listen, you know why you're reading about that in a book? Because it sells. That's why nobody wants to read about we have five people and 30 years later we still got five people, but we're sticking in it." No, stick in it. You want to talk about Adinum Judson? Adinum Judson is who that uh Andy referred to earlier.

He ministered for years without a convert. Years, stuck in it, stayed in it, and won a country for Christ. That's where the fruit is. When we abide, when we stay, it's not quick. So, let's review. Stay, dwell, remain.

[snorts] And the and I love this part in verse 11. These things I have spoken to you so that my joy, look at this. I've spoken to you so that my joy, Jesus's joy may be in you and that your joy may be full. How many y'all would love to have the joy of Jesus in your heart? Raise your hands. All right.

That's what I'm saying. The joy of Jesus, his kind of joy. Man, what are we talking about there? We're talking about this [laughter] is the joy that remains. I'm not talking about happiness. Happiness is circumstantial.

Here's how I want you to look at that. I want you to look at that as the weather as opposed to the climate. Now, the weather today is cloudy and it could have some rain, but our climate over time is stable. There is a Midwestern climate here. If we go down way south, there's it's a tropical climate. If we go way north, it's like an arctic climate.

That climate stays steady. That's what joy is. Happiness is like weather. And what Jesus is saying here is, I want you to have my joy. I want you to have the thing that's going to last no matter what the circumstances are around you. No matter what may come your way, that my joy may remain in you.

and that your joy may be full. That's what happens when we abide. But we also know and remind us we can't get too far from this because he says, "Apart from me, you can do what?" Let me give you my last illustration of the day and then we're going to stop. you right now probably carrying around in your pocket a living illustration of abiding. Everybody pull out your cell phone.

Give me your pull them out, baby. Want to see them. All right, Miranda, what's your uh what's your battery what's your battery what's your battery life like on your phone right now? 96%. Somebody give me something else. 76.

76. Oh, all right. Who said 46? 46. All right. Excellent.

[laughter] Here's the living illustration. I want you to remind this remember throughout this week. What are you going to do at the end of tonight? But you're going to plug in, right? Why are you going to plug in? Because if you don't, you can't do anything on it tomorrow.

It's a living illustration of abiding in Christ. You have got to get plugged in. When you're plugged in, all of a sudden that battery life starts coming back and all of a sudden you can get on and do stuff. And it's the same way that Jesus is telling, "Unless you abide in me, you can do nothing." Just like your cell phone won't do nothing unless it abides in that electric socket. Somebody say, "Amen."

Let's pray. Father, thank you again for our time together. Father, I pray that you will help us to truly understand this thing of abiding. that we will contemplate what it means to abide in your word, to abide in your love, to obey your commandments. And what we know is that because when we do that, you've promised something fantastic. You've promised us joy.

Joy that will be full to overflowing. Man, that's the kind of joy I want. Joy that lasts through circumstances, bad news, bad diagnosis, family conflict, whatever it may be. I want my joy to be full. [clears throat] Father, help us to abide. Father, I pray right now that if there's some things there's [snorts] busyiness or distraction or other things that would pull us away from abiding in you, Father, I pray that we confess those that we rep prior prioritize, re realign ourselves to a place of abiding in you.

Father, we know that when we do that, not only will our joy be full, but we'll see fruit. Fruitlessness is because we're not abiding. Dear Jesus, speak to us now in our hearts. If we're drifting, bring us back in line. Help us to take repent and take that step that's necessary to come in back alignment, back abiding in you. Father, if there's somebody here that does not know you today as their savior, I pray that before this time is done, that they will want the same joy we've been talking about.

And the Bible says that whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. If you're like that, now's your moment. Father, I thank you for these these people that are here today. I thank you for Andy coming to share. I thank you for the hard work of the praise and worship team as they've come to lead us into a place of worship. And for all those setting up and tearing down today, bless them in a special way that they be energized by knowing that that you are pleased with what they're doing.

Father, I ask now that again you transform us. Make us more like you. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Let's all stand together. Part of abiding is being able to abide together in a time of communion.

In just a moment, that's what we're going to do. The Bible says that when we come together, that we should not look at this lightly. that this is a time that we come to be reminded [music] that if there's some things we need to get right before we come and partake that take a moment and make sure that that happens. We're going to sing [music] and then we're going to come and partake together. So, as they begin to sing, you make your way. [music] [music] [music] [music] Come [music] you weary [singing] heart out of Jesus.

Come you anxious [singing and music] soul now and see [snorts] his [music] perfect [singing] love and comfort for your tears. Rest here in [singing] his [music] wonderous [music]