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Building My Relationship with Jesus

Building My Relationship with Jesus

Last updated on: June 14, 2018 at 9:57 pm by Jim Erwin

Building My Relationship with Jesus 2018-06-14T21:57:30-05:00 Jim Erwin

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Building My Relationship with Jesus Christ

Building My Relationship with Jesus is a sermon from John 15:1-8 about the importance of my relationship with Jesus Christ.

Pet Sitters International began sponsoring a “Take your Dog to Work Day” in 1999. The purpose of the day is to promote pet adoptions “in a positive and proactive way.”

Take your dog to work day! I thought about it, and then decided my dog’s day was better than mine. So instead of bringing my dog to work with me, I went to work with the dog. We went for a little walk, took a nap, and had lunch. We might sniff around the yard a little this afternoon, bark at noises, then wag our tails for friendly strangers. This was a great idea.

Next, let’s try “take Jesus to work day.” Actually, we should practice taking Jesus everywhere all the time. We could try living his life in our world, thus bringing glory to God.12

What is the GOAL of my relationship with Jesus Christ?

The goal of my relationship with Jesus is to be used by Jesus. Jesus told us that He saved us for a purpose. The purpose is to be used by Him. He said this various ways:

Jesus gave us a Great Commission:

THE GREAT COMMISSION:

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”” (Matthew 28:19–20, HCSB)

Jesus gave us a Great Commandment:

THE GREAT COMMANDMENT:

“He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37–39, HCSB)

These two statements by Jesus define the fruit that He wants us to produce. We are expected to build relationships with other people. The Great Commission explains the process of personal spiritual growth into God’s family. The Great Commandment explains how we are to relate with others.

In this passage, Jesus uses a farming illustration. He tells us that we are expected to produce. In this case, what we produce is fruit. Here is the setup:

God is the Gardner

““I am the true vine, and My Father is the vineyard keeper.” (John 15:1, HCSB)

Jesus is the Vine

““I am the true vine, and My Father is the vineyard keeper.” (John 15:1, HCSB)

We are the branches

““I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me.” (John 15:5, HCSB)

Love is the fruit

“My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be My disciples.” (John 15:8, HCSB)

How do I know this? Because the fruit reveals the tree. The behavior reveals the kind of person. In this case, if I am producing fruit of being loving, lost people will know that I am a Christian.

“You’ll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles?” (Matthew 7:16, HCSB)

If this is true, that a tree is recognized by the fruit it produces, then the fruit that He expects us to produce is love. When we have love for one another, lost people will take notice.

“By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”” (John 13:35, HCSB)

How am I going to produce love that the lost will see as genuine? I have to receive that love from the Source – Jesus Christ. If I remain, join, hang out, or abide with Jesus, I will be a more loving person. Why? Because God is love. Jesus is His Son and He is the imprint of His Father.

“The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His One and Only Son into the world so that we might live through Him. Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another.” (1 John 4:8–11, HCSB)

So God is love. God loved us. Jesus showed that love. We should derive our love or imitate our love for one another from Him. If we are showing love to one another, we are telling others that we are Christians.

THE PROBLEM: Producing love on my own.

““…because you can do nothing without Me.” (John 15:5, HCSB)

THE RESULT: Producing love without a relationship with Jesus is impossible.

“If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown aside like a branch and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned.” (John 15:6, HCSB)

THE SOLUTION: Letting Jesus help me be loving.

“If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you.” (John 15:7, HCSB)

If you build your relationship with Jesus, He helps you be loving the right way. Two ways Jesus helps you:

Spend time with Jesus in prayer so that He can give you strength through His love.

““I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me.” (John 15:5, HCSB)

Reading God’s Word so that Jesus can continue to make you a loving person.

If you do these things, you will be more like Jesus. Your prayers will be more Jesus-like and Jesus-focused.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.” (Matthew 6:33, HCSB)

If I spend time with Jesus, and seek His direction, He changes the way I am. I become more like Him and my prayers get answered and He provides all I need.

“I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13, HCSB)

Let me close with the following story:

The Great Survivor

On November 23, 1942, the British merchant ship S. S. Ben Lomond sank after being torpedoed by a German sub 565 miles off the west coast of Africa. A lone seaman, Poon Lim, survived. He swam in circles for a couple of hours before finding a small raft rising on the swells. To his relief the items he found aboard gave him hope: a few tins of biscuits, a container of water, a flashlight, and a rope. By carefully rationing his supplies he survived sixty days. When his rations ran out, he made a hook from a wire spring in the flashlight, attached it to the rope, and caught small fish. He occasionally lured sea gulls aboard by placing bits of food on the raft. He used his life jacket as a reservoir when it rained, and he swam daily for exercise. On April 5, 1943, more than four months after the sinking, some Brazilian fishermen found the lonely voyager off the coast of Brazil. He had lost only twenty pounds and could walk without help.

We too must keep ourselves in spiritual trim as we serve Christ. To remain spiritually fit, we need the nourishment of his Word and the exercise of prayer. We call it our devotional time, but it is really our lifeline, our spiritual umbilical cord to life in Christ. It provides the spiritual vitality we need to be victorious and to reach out to others.3

1 “Take Your Dog to Work Day * About,” http://www.takeyourdog.com/About/.

2 Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell, “Take Your Dog to Work Day,” in 300 Illustrations for Preachers, ed. Elliot Ritzema (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2015).

3 Virgil Hurley, Speaker’s Sourcebook of New Illustrations, electronic ed. (Dallas: Word Publishers, 2000), 222–223.

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