So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” John 8:28-29
Today, we will read the Scripture passages from John 8:28-29; 14:10-11, 15:5, 19; and 17:3. Read it a few times, slowly and carefully.
So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” John 8:28-29
Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these because I am going to the Father. John 14: 10-12
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing. John 15:5
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.” John 15:9
Now, this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. John 17:3
What are these passages saying? What are these passages teaching you about following Jesus?
The Gospels are filled with stories about Jesus and His relationship with God the Father. Jesus abides in God. Let’s look into the word abide. What does it mean to abide? It means to remain. In reference to a place, is to not depart. One needs to continue to be present. In reference to time, is to continue to be, not to perish, to last, endure. Abide is to wait for.
Jesus’ top priority in His life was spending time with the Father above all else. It is important for us to understand that everything that Jesus did, what He accomplished, was from His intimate relationship with God the Father. When Jesus was performing miracles and great ones might I add; It was because God was working in and through Him. When they heard Jesus speaking, it was the Father speaking through His Son. Jesus even went as far as to a, according to John 5:19, That he can’t do anything without the Father. His intimicacy with the Father, through the power of the Holy Spirit, flowed through Him and into the world.
When you study the word of God, you will be able to see that Jesus’ life demonstrates to us how to live a moment to moment relationship with the Father. We see a pattern of Jesus walking off to be alone with God the father. It was just the two of them. He would go into the wilderness, the gardens, the mountains. Places where it could only be the two of them. Where can you go to spend time with our Heavenly Father? The ultimate pursuit of Jesus’s life was an intimate love relationship with God the Father. We must do the same thing as Jesus and pursue an intimate relationship with the Father by abiding in Jesus both personally and daily.
How exactly do we do this when we already have so much on our plates? We put God at the top of our priority. We sacrifice something or somewhere in our life to make time for Him. Wake up early or go to bed later. We can remove hobbies or activities to open up more time to be spent with our Triune God. Are you willing to go this far to abide in Him? Are we ready to really follow Jesus and do as He did?
What will we gain by abiding in Christ?
Jesus believed that apart from an intimate relationship with the Father He could do nothing, why is it that we think this is something that is optional to faithfully follow Him?
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for wanting to spend time with each of us. I pray that as you speak to each of us, you will show us where in our lives we need to put away those things to make more time for you. I pray that we will have a heart like Jesus and desire and seek to spend more time with you.
In Jesus Name
Amen
