Abiding in Christ Jesus.
Part four
Joh 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.
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall
ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit;
so shall ye be my disciples.
9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you:
continue ye in my love.
10 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.
11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
Joh 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.
If you are not in Christ, relationship with him is the work of Christ on the cross and our obedience to his word, see verse 9-10 there is a love relationship in obedience. You may say, I know Christ, but does Christ know you? Luke 13:24-28
There are only two branches here not three so either you are a Christian or not. If you are not a Christian the word of God says you are thrown into the fire to be burnt. This is the everlasting fire of hell.
You might say, how can God do this? Let me expose this so you can understand. First of all we need to understand that God is the Creator. Why did God create the universe, the earth, man, animals, trees, plants etc.?
Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.
You are created not for you self but for God.
As the Creator can he destroy anything if he wants to? Yes, the Creator is sovereign, meaning he is not obliged to us; he can do anything he wants to as per his will. During the time of Noah, God destroyed all humans and animals, vegetation except Noah and his family because of sin.
Now let us be more specific, what is the purpose of his creation? Read Psalm 148.
Ps 148:1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights.
2 Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts.
3 Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.
4 Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.
5 Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created.
6 He hath also established them forever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass.
7 Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps:
8 Fire, and hail; snow, and vapor; stormy wind fulfilling his word:
9 Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars:
10 Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl:
11 Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth:
12 Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children:
13 Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.
14 He also exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of
all his saints; even of the children of
All are created to glorify him, to praise him meaning to worship him. If we dont glorify him God can make even the stones shout with glory.
Lu 19:37 And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen;
38 Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.
39 And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples.
40 And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.
How to glorify him?
Read John 15:8
8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
Man is not an independent being but Created by God the reason why God created man was to serve and glorify his Maker. We see an order in creation.
The lowest of his creation is the earth/soil, water, sun, moon etc.,
Go a step higher and the next are the vegetation, plants, trees, grass, etc.,
Go another step higher; we see all the insects and animals.
Go one more step higher, we see man.
If you see this picture carefully, there is an order in creation. God is not the author of confusion. The lowest creation, earth, water, sun serve the rest of creation. If not for these there we cannot live.
The next higher vegetations, plants, trees and grass serve the rest of the higher creations. The animals, fish, birds and humans cannot live with these.
Then the next higher creation, all the animals serve man. We eat them; we have them as pets and sometimes for work.
Then the next step is man. The highest creation of the earth. All the other creations of God serve man. Man is the nearest to God. Made in the image of God. All Gods inferior creations are serving Man. Is man serving and glorying God?
The all wise God with infinite in wisdom created man to serve and glorify his Creator.
Isa 43:7 Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.
Man was given dominion over all the rest of the creatures. Even the sun was created for you. So there will be daylight, heat and energy. He created the moon and the stars for man for season. God brings rain and snow for man so theyre for his crops. Just imagine if there is no rain for a whole year, we will all die. God gives us rain and sunshine for our vegetation and animals for our food. Next time you go to a restaurant, grocery store thank God. The next time before you eat thank God for the food. Think of anything that you use they are all created to serve you. Your home, the wood from the trees, cement, carpets, stove, refrigerator, phone, shoes, clothes they all come from the earth, and yes all the raw materials they all serve you. But do you serve God who made them for you? Without wood, food and the raw materials you will not have anything. Thank God for the Sun, moon, water, and oxygen. It is sad that many enjoy these things but never give glory to God.
Yet there are many who do not thank God at all. God created you, (Ps 139:5) gave you gave you food, clothing, a place to live, gave a job, some a car to travel. You may say, oh no! I found this job not God; I earned everything, the food, clothes and all provided by my labor. Let me ask you, who gave you the brain to think, who gave you the intelligence, who gave you the mouth to speak? It is all of God. When God told Moses to go and tell Pharaoh, let my people go, Moses told God that he is not a good in speech. God asked Moses? Who gave you the mouth to speak? We cannot take the next breath if not for God. Not all people die when they are old. He can take your breath at anytime if he wants to. Yet there are many who do not care, God has given them many, yet in reality they do not love God at all.
Mr 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
God is to be loved more than anyone else as he is your Creator and you are dependent upon him for life. To love God with all your heart and soul is to love with emotion, feelings for him. To love with all of your mind is to think and meditate upon him. When you fall in love with someone you think of that person, do you think of God all the time or is it only on Sunday in church. God is not a dead God; he is the Creator, living God. To love him with all your strength is to serve him with you body.
But there are many who do not love God at all; they love their friends, husbands, wives, and children more than God. People love themselves more than God; they love their dogs, cats and pets more than their Creator. They love their cars, clothes, homes, and music and have no desire for the Creator. If you were God what will you do? Jesus said not me.
Joh 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.
If you are living not for God to God you are useless. Not fit for God at all. There are three different places.
A place where there is nothing but good, which is heaven.
A place there is good and evil, which is this earth.
A place there is nothing but evil, which is hell.
If you are not living for God, not bearing any fruits, you are not fit for heaven, not fit for earth as it is not profitable for an unfruitful person who devour all the things what God has given on this earth. They are only fit for nothing but to hell.
Many are living here devouring all the benefits of the earth, eating, drinking, and gratifying the sensual appetites of the flesh. The sun is serving you day to day, the water is serving you when you are thirsty and want to be clean, all vegetation laboring and spending its strength for you, and you devour them for your support and comfort. All the other creatures that are inferior to you do glorify their creator according to their nature but you are highly exalted than them and many of you are useless to God, as you bear no fruit to God.
8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
If men do not bring fruit to God, heaven is not the proper place for them. In heaven there is the Holy God, holy angels imagine having fellowship with the Holy God, angels and holy souls. You will feel uncomfortable unsuitable as they serve God and glorify God in heaven. If you cannot bear fruits now and glorify God here on earth how can you be serving and glorifying God in heaven?
Ps 5:4 For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.
God did not send his Son to vegetations or animals but came as a man to save sinners. Sinners are people who realize they have violated Gods laws, sinned against the Creator. Jesus took the place of the believing sinner on the cross and his sins were charged to Christ who had no sin, then Christ holiness, his righteousness was imputed to the sinner who trusts in Christ. God takes that heart of stone and give a heart of flesh to obey him. You will have joy in salvation, you will obey his word, love to read the Bible, Gods holy word, and you will become thirsty and hungry for God. You will see the change of your conduct, you will bear spiritual fruits. You will desire to be with your Creator. In heaven there will be no more pain, no more tears, no more hardship, no more problems, heaven is heaven, a place of comfort for eternity.
If you refuse then it is that branch that has no fruits thrown into the fires of hell, the lake of fire not for a short time but for eternity, it is the place where Satan will be burnt and all the demons with all who does not want to follow the living God.