Great Life Changing Lessons on Abiding in Jesus

We have been on a four-week journey of endeavoring to grasp an understanding of what James meant when he said, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial.” We’ve looked at the word steadfastness in depth. In today’s podcast, there’s one more place that we can walk that if we go down that avenue, we will find tremendous help. I believe the Lord wants you to be helped and encouraged in these areas. Well, in fact, He wants you to be helped in all areas. ‘Lord, you are so good to us.’ Glory to your Name. That area where the Lord wants to help us in ‘abiding’ in His Son, Jesus. There’s an absolute link between steadfastness and abiding. You can hear that these words are similar just from speaking these two words in your own hearing. A rather well-known pastor gave the following illustration on abiding. He said a dinner plate left out overnight will be hard to clean in the morning. Now, I speak to you from a place of experience here, having watched my wife Sharon in action. Sharon washes the plates in the sink so vigorously that you can hear the leftover sauce crying out for mercy as it goes down the drain. After that, she puts these already squeaky-clean plates in the dishwasher, subjecting them to even more torture. On top of that, she went and got the dishwasher supercharged. We had a repair guy come over and it is a device now of mass destruction where germs are concerned. Leftover bits have no hope — do you understand NO HOPE in the Horvath household? But this pastor said, “An alternative to scrubbing is soaking the dish in hot water and dishwashing liquid. Letting a dish abide in the solution will allow a hard cleaning job to become a lot easier. This is what abiding does for Jesus followers. We are much easier to clean up when we’ve been hanging out in the right environment. Religion says “Scrape off the dirt.” It tells us to apply elbow grease to fix a problem. Relationship says “Soak.” Just sit in the hot water for a while. Abiding will set you free.”¹ We are going to talking about abiding today as it relates to steadfastness in this podcast entitled ‘Great Life Changing Lessons on Abiding in Jesus’ all on this week’s Light on Life.

More of Why Believing and Abiding Is the Key to the Happy Life

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God’s Word is your link to Jesus the Vine. Even some of the Presidents of the United States thought so. Since it is, setup a Bible reading plan that you can apply a steadfast, refusing to quit mindset to.

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Testimony is vital to a believer’s life. We overcome by it (Rev. 12:11). Each week’s podcast also contains a question designed to encourage testimony.
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Question: Do you have a testimony of how you chose to abide in Jesus, that is settle down and remain in Him, even in the midst of unanswered questions? Please share your testimony in the comments section so others can be encouraged.

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About Emery

Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 48 years ago and has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. He and his wife Sharon of 44 years emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.

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Prayer

Well again, welcome.
Let’s pray.

Father God, thank you for your goodness and mercy. I pray Father that you would give us all a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of what it means to abide in you. Strengthen us with might by your Spirit in our inner man that we might flow in the supernatural steadfastness of God. We thank you for that in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

James 1:2–4 (ESV) — 2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Now, we are going to flip over to John fifteen.

John 15:3–5 (ESV) — 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Now the word steadfastness that we have majored on this month links to this passage in John fifteen, even though the word does not appear here.
You see, the word ‘hypomonē,’ the word for steadfastness, is a word that comprises two words, the word ‘hypo’ and the word ‘meno.’
Put the two words together and you have ‘hypomonē.’
The first part of the word ‘hypo’ is usually a preposition and means under and depicts, one under a heavy load.
The second part of the word ‘meno’ means to settle down or remain and depict the resolve to stay put, abide, and not move.
Put the two words together and the full word translated steadfastness means to stay, to abide, to remain in one spot, to keep a position, or to resolve to never surrender, but to steadfastly maintain territory gained.²
In a previous podcast, we gave you a visual picture of what this might look like if you were trying to get to your car with a ton of groceries on your back.
You are now ‘under a heavy load.’
I mean, it’s heavy man.
But, your mission hasn’t changed — you still have to get to the car.
It’s a trying situation — you must remain under the burden and get to your car.
It’s either that or lose all the groceries.
A person with a ‘hypomonē’ mindset means there’s no way I am quitting.
I’m going to get through this and make it to the car, even though I am under a heavy burden.
Lovers of God ought to have a steadfast, enduring, persevering, and refusing to quit mentality.
That’s the mentality Jesus had.
That’s the attitude we must have.
So, how does this translate over into John’s gospel?

Abide In Jesus: What the Word ‘Abide’ Means

Well, in John fifteen, Jesus made one of His more well-known “I AM” declarations when He said, I am the true vine.
You know the Lord God has a track set for your life that includes bearing fruit, bearing more fruit, and bearing much fruit.
If we will stay connected to Jesus the Vine, we will absolutely, 100% with no exceptions, bear good fruit.
Now, this is where the word meno comes in, the second part of the compound word ‘hypomonē.’
Staying connected to the vine is abiding — it’s meno.
This concept of staying connected or being connected is located in verse four of John fifteen in the word ‘abide.’
So, can we say it this way — staying steadfast in Jesus always produces?
‘Abiding in Christ ALWAYS produces fruit.’
Capitalize, underline and boldface the word ‘always.’
Always means always.
If you remain in Him, you will always be fruitful.
Of this, there is no doubt because the Lord Jesus said so.
Now, all we need to know is what this ‘abiding’ business all about.
We know that the Greek word ‘abide’ means to settle down and remain.
Figuratively, the word means to remain in a sphere.³
Various translators have tried to capture the essence of what ‘abiding in Jesus’ means in their Bible translations.
The English version says ‘abide’ means ‘to remain united to.’
The Contemporary English Version defines it as ‘to stay joined to.
Same thought.
Another translation, the Revised English Bible has ‘to dwell.’
In the Philips Translation, the command ‘remain in me’ is translated ‘you must go on growing in me.’⁴ said that ‘abiding in Jesus’ means to remain or stay somewhere implying a continuing relationship, one that is already going on.⁵
Now, that’s better – a continuing relationship.
Abiding in Jesus involves more than ‘believing in Jesus’ says the IVP New Testament Commentary.
It also consists of being united with him, sharing his thoughts, emotions, purposes, and power.⁶
Yes, but how?
Yet, another commentator, the Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary, says to abide means to adhere to Jesus as one’s vital source of help and strength.
The Pillar New Testament says abiding in Jesus has to do with continual dependence and reliance on him, obedience to him, and tenacious imbibing of his life.⁷
Now, these commentaries add some flavor to the concept of abiding.
You know what, all of these comments sound terrific except for one thing.
How do you apply it?
‘How do I put this into operation in my life?’

Abiding In Jesus: Why You Need God’s Word

*Well, if we will allow it, the Word of God speaks to us on this issue.

How does that work?
Well, the scriptures interpret themselves, they answer questions for us.
Don’t just look at one verse on a subject, look at all the verses.
And, there are indeed multiple verses.
Let’s look at another verse on what abiding in Jesus means.
Go to John eight.

John 8:31 (ESV) — 31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Look at the sentence — “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.”
So, abiding in Jesus means to abide in the Word.
Abiding in Jesus is not about the good feelings you have about the image of Jesus in your mind.
Do you recall what Jesus said, ‘Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks’ — that’s Matthew 12:34 and Luke 6:45.
The heart of the man is the spirit of a man.
Spirit and heart are interchangeable.
So when a person speaks out of their heart or their spirit, that is that person.
The words of a person is that person.
Settling down in, remaining, having the resolve to stay put in, and not move off of Jesus’ Words is what abiding in Jesus means.
Let’s go to Matthew ten and let’s look at another ‘abiding’ scripture.

Matthew 10:11 (ESV) — 11 And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart.

Did you hear the words ‘stay there’ — ’stay there,’ Jesus said, ‘until you depart.’
‘Stay there’ is the word meno, the word ‘abide’ in John 15:4.
So now we have another way of thinking about abiding in the Word.
Abiding in the Word is staying with the Word.
You can’t separate Jesus and the Word because Jesus is the Word.
So, how is your relationship with the Word?
Is it part of your life?
Is it a daily part of your life?
Daily is better.
Consistent is better than once in a while.
Do you have a consistent ‘staying’ relationship with God’s Word?
And with that thought, here is the Quote of the Day.

If all the neglected Bibles were dusted simultaneously, we would have a record dust storm, and the sun would go into eclipse for a whole week.—David F. Nygren[8. Robert J. Morgan, Nelson’s Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations, and Quotes, electronic ed. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000), 62.

That is not staying in the Word.
Well, that’s an interesting quote.
Now, no condemnation here but if you want to grow in this area of aiding in Jesus, having dust on your Bible is not the way.
And with that thought, here is the Illustration of the Day.

The famous poet H. W. Longfellow was once asked how he managed a long and a happy life. Pointing to an apple tree, the writer remarked: “The secret of the apple tree is that it grows a little new wood each year. That’s what I try to do.” No matter what age you are, it is important to continue to grow spiritually each day, each month, each year. Such spiritual growth requires constant Bible study. Why not start growing a little new wood now, by reading at least one chapter from the Bible each day? You will be blessed for it (Ps. 119).[9. AMG Bible Illustrations, Bible Illustrations Series (Chattanooga: AMG Publishers, 2000).

God’s Word is your link to Jesus the Vine.
Even some of the Presidents of the United States thought so.
Abraham Lincoln said: ‘I believe the Bible is the best gift God has given to man. All the good from the Savior of the world is communicated through this book; but for the book we could not know right from wrong. All the things desirable to man are contained in it.’
Theodore Roosevelt said: ‘A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.’
Thomas Jefferson said, ‘The first and almost the only book deserving of universal attention is the Bible. I speak as a man of the world.’
John Quincy Adams said, ‘So great is my veneration for the Bible that the earlier my children begin to read it, the more confident my hope that they will prove useful citizens, and respectful members of society.’
Woodrow Wilson said, “When you have read the Bible, you will know it is the word of God, because you will have found it the key to your own heart, your own happiness and your duty.
Can I tell you, I was absolutely shocked by this quote from Bill Clinton on the Bible.
President Clinton said, ‘The Bible is the authoritative Word of God and contains all truth.[10. Mark Water, The New Encyclopedia of Christian Quotations (Alresford, Hampshire: John Hunt Publishers Ltd, 2000), 39–40.
So saying it again: God’s Word is your link to Jesus the Vine.
That’s what you see in the two passages we read.
Listen to it again.
John fifteen.

3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me…

The word that I have spoken — and the next two words? — Abide in me.
There’s the link.
John eight.
Here, in John eight, Jesus said “If you abide in my word, you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
If you abide in the Word, you will be set free by that same Word of God.
So again, if you desire to be a fruit-bearing believer, you need to be in your Bible.

To Abide in Jesus, Hold God’s Word Fast

Let’s go now to Luke’s gospel.

Luke 8:15 (ESV) — 15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

Did you hear the words ‘bearing fruit?’
Luke eight talks about bearing fruit just like John 15.
Fruit is fruit.
Abiding is abiding.
Luke 8:15 has in it some of the components that you’re going to need to live the ‘abiding’ life.
Now, we know already that we must be in our Bibles — we got that out of John eight.
Here in Luke eight, Jesus starts out with ‘hearing the Word.’
So, ‘being in the Word, being in your Bible, is the ‘hearing’ part.
Those in good soil are those who hear the Word.
If you want to abide, hear the Word, listen to the Word.
But, you must not only hear the Word, you must also hold fast to the Word.
So ‘holding fast’ has something to do with abiding as well.
Those who hear the word, must hold it fast.
Well, what does that mean — ‘hold fast?’
I’m glad you asked — I was going to tell you any way.
The Greek word translated ‘hold fast’ means to heed, to listen, hear, or pay close attention to, and usually respond in conformity.
So, to abide, we have to hear the Word, listen to the Word, and conform to the Word by acting on the Word.
Actually the concept of doing the Word is inside the idea of hearing.
You see Jesus was Jewish.
So, He was raised with the Hebrew concept of hearing which includes doing.
If you say you have heard, it automatically means you’ve done.
Hearing and doing are not separate concepts in Hebrew.
To hear is to do — to do is to have heard.
If we’re not putting the Word of God into operation, we haven’t heard it yet.
Did you get that?
And, if we haven’t heard it yet, we are not abiding.
And since you are not abiding, you will not be fruitful.
So hear the Word — ‘hold it fast.’
But, there’s yet one more component in Luke 8:15.
As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.
And, that component is ‘hypomonē’ patience.
Walking in biblical patience is something that is essential to abiding in Jesus.
We already know what that word means — we’ve covered this in previous podcasts.
It means steadfastness, endurance, refusing to quit, having staying power.
So, here’s a good question.
In this area of abiding, what is the difficulty that we are up against that necessiates us having staying power or refusing to quit power?
Here it is.

those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

We’re exercising patience for the Word of God to come to pass — that Word of God that you are putting your weight on — that you’re holding fast to.
That Word that you’re having done all to stand — that is you stand and keep on standing.
That’s abiding — stay with it — and you will be fruitful.
Sometimes we give up too early.
We quit and we abort the fruit bearing process.
A survey made by the National Retail Dry Goods Association reveals the following results: 48% of the salesmen make one call and quit; 25% make two calls and quit; 15% make three calls and quit; that shows that 88% of the salesmen quit after making one, two or three new calls. But 12% keep on calling. They do 80% of the business. The 88% who quit after the first, second, or third calls do only 20% of the business.
Quitting — not holding fast — walking in impatience disconnects us from the Vine and the fruit bearing process stops!
The potential fruit on your branch is still-born on the Vine!
Do you understand that fruit-bearing is never instant.
You don’t just plant a grapevine and the next day have grapes.
How many answers to our prayers are still born because we disconnected?
We throw our bat and our baseball glove and we quit the game and go home.
We’re not playing anymore.
How many people have lost their healing because they quit?
Now, this verse in Luke eight that we are looking at is just one part of Jesus Parable on the Sower Sows the Word.
Remember the parable.

Luke 8:5–8 (ESV) — 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Four people who heard the Word are mentioned here, only one out of the four produced fruit.
Fruit comes from abiding in the Word.
It comes from settling down and remaining with it.
Staying with it.
Refusing to quit power.
Staying power.
Here’s yet another verse on abiding from the Apostle John.

2 John 9 (ESV) — 9 Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.

If you don’t abide in the Word, if you don’t settle down and remain in it, you do not have the Father nor Jesus.
He is not in that situation with you — that means you are on your own.
Being alone without God, now that’s scary.

To Abide In Jesus Requires Faithfulness

This next group of verses center on the common theme of faithfulness in connection with abiding.
Doesn’t faithfulness sound like abiding or being steadfast?
If you want to bear fruit, faithfulness is a key tool in your toolbox.

Acts 11:23 (ESV) — 23 When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose,

There’s that word ‘remain.’
Remain faithful — those two words are one word in the Greek.
In Greek, this word means to remain with or in, to stay with, to keep on, to go further.
Do you hear how similar these words are: abiding, steadfastness, endurance, staying power?
Remaining faithful is part of the abiding life in Jesus.
A shepherd once came to the city of Edinburgh from the country. He had his small obedient dog with him. While there, the man died and was buried. That little dog lay upon its master’s grave—not for a day, a week, or a month, but for 12 years. Every day at one o’clock a gun was fired in the castle of Edinburgh. When the gun was fired the dog would run to the local baker who gave it food and water. Then back to the grave it would go. This continued till the dog died 12 years later. That was faithfulness!
A man threw a goose, which had been run over and crushed by a car, into an oil drum. For seven years the gander, that goose’s mate, never went more than ten feet away from that oil drum. That was faithfulness!
George Mueller prayed for 52 years for a certain man to come to Christ.
That’s having ‘refusing to quit power.’
A pastor visited an elderly man 21 times before being let in, but then he befriended the man and led him to Christ.
That’s staying power!
Do you now understand what it means to abide, to remain in Jesus?

To Abide In Jesus, You Must Continue

Here is yet one more way to talk about abiding.

Acts 14:21–22 (ESV) — 21 When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

Did you hear the word ‘continue?’ — ‘continue in the faith?’
Here it is again — another word similar to abide.
The word ‘continue’ means ‘to remain in, or to keep on in an activity or a state.’
To abide in the Word is to continue in the Word.
So now, you know how to put God’s Word into operation to abide in Jesus.
You can make the quality decision to settle down, continue and remain in the Word, refuse to quit, have staying power, and operate faithfully.
The choice is yours.

Now, Father God, thank you for you goodness and your mercies today. Help us in our journey of abiding in Jesus. We give you the praise for that in Jesus Name, Amen.

Great Life Changing Lessons on Abiding in Jesus.
You guys have a great God-week, and we will see you next time for another edition of Light on Life.

Why the Jesus Way Means Total Trust All the Time

__________
References:

Tony Evans, Tony Evans’ Book of Illustrations: Stories, Quotes, and Anecdotes from More than 30 Years of Preaching and Public Speaking (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2009), 11. ↩
Rick Renner, RIV, pp. 23 ↩
Gerhard Kittel, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, and Gerhard Friedrich, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964–), 574. ↩
Ronald L. Trail, An Exegetical Summary of John 10–21, Exegetical Summaries (Dallas, TX: SIL International, 2018), 247.
Now, that’s good.
But, how do we actually do that?
For example, two people get married and they are looking for advice on how to make this union work and you say “well, just abide with her” or “just live in union with her.”
You see, this kind of advice doesn’t have enough information.
It is just too vague.
We need concrete steps or actions.
The New International Commentary on the New Testament [one of my favorites ↩
J. Ramsey Michaels, The Gospel of John, The New International Commentary on the Old and New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, UK: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010), 803. ↩
Rodney A. Whitacre, John, vol. 4, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series (Westmont, IL: IVP Academic, 1999), 374. ↩
D. A. Carson, The Gospel according to John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans, 1991), 516. ↩

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Great Life Changing Lessons on Abiding in Jesus

Podcast: Light on Life Season Twelve Episode Twenty

by Emery Horvath

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Episode Resources:How Jesus Style Perserverance Can Make You a Winner

We are currently teaching on the subject of Divine Healing. You can click on the links below to listen to more podcasts or read blog posts along this line.

About Emery

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Prayer

Abide In Jesus: What the Word ‘Abide’ Means

Abiding In Jesus: Why You Need God’s Word

To Abide in Jesus, Hold God’s Word Fast

To Abide In Jesus Requires Faithfulness

To Abide In Jesus, You Must Continue

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Listen to the Audio

Click to Listen | Right Click to Download |Subscribe to PlayerFM

Read the Notes

Accept the Challenge

Join the Conversation

Episode Resources:How Jesus Style Perserverance Can Make You a Winner

We are currently teaching on the subject of Divine Healing. You can click on the links below to listen to more podcasts or read blog posts along this line.

About Emery

Subscribe to the Podcast

Share the Love

Prayer

Abide In Jesus: What the Word ‘Abide’ Means

Abiding In Jesus: Why You Need God’s Word

To Abide in Jesus, Hold God’s Word Fast

To Abide In Jesus Requires Faithfulness

To Abide In Jesus, You Must Continue

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