If My Words Remain In You
If My words remain in you
"Jesus, the True Vine""I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn't produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. 5 "Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. 7 But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!."
John Piper began this sermon by recitingPsalm 1, Psalm 16, Psalm 103, Romans 5:1-8, Romans 8, Matthew 6:25-34, and 1 Corinthians 13.
The point of reciting these Scriptures is to motivate you by way of example to memorize Scripture. This message is a mingling of my testimony of the value of memorizing Scripture with Jesus' testimony in the Gospel of John.
My Testimony
My testimony can be summed up in eight short sentences.
Memorizing Scripture makes meditation possible at times when I can't be reading the Bible, and meditation is the pathway of deeper understanding.
Memorizing Scripture strengthens my faith because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ, and that happens when I am hearing the word in my head.
Memorizing Scripture shapes the way I view the world by conforming my mind to God's viewpoint.
Memorizing Scripture makes God's word more readily accessible for overcoming temptation to sin, because God's warnings and promises are the way we conquer the deceitful promises of sin.
Memorizing Scripture guards my mind by making it easier to detect error-and the world is filled with error, since the god of this world is a liar.
Memorizing Scripture enables me to hit the devil in the face with a force he cannot resist, and so protect myself and my family from his assaults.
Memorizing Scripture provides the strongest and sweetest words for ministering to others in need.
Memorizing Scripture provides the matrix for fellowship with Jesus because he talks to me through his word, and I talk to him in prayer.
That's my testimony. I hope it will motivate you to make your own discoveries. But what matters most is the testimony of Jesus. So focus for a few minutes with me on a phrase in John 15:7.
Jesus' Testimony
Jesus says, " But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!" Let's simply linger for a few minutes over the words " If..my words remain in you"
What does this mean, and why do the words of Jesus have the effect they do, and what does this have to do with memorizing Scripture?
More Than Memorizing
Having the words of Jesus remain in you is more than memorizing them. We know this for several reasons.
Firstly, we know it because the devil can memorize Scripture. He quoted it to Jesus in the wilderness to tempt him Matthew 4:1-10
1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. 2 For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. 3 During that time the devil[a] came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread." 4 But Jesus told him, "No! The Scriptures say, 'People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, 6 and said, "If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, 'He will order his angels to protect you.And they will hold you up with their hands so you won't even hurt your foot on a stone.'" 7 Jesus responded, "The Scriptures also say, 'You must not test the Lord your God.'" 8 Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 "I will give it all to you," he said, "if you will kneel down and worship me." 10 "Get out of here, Satan," Jesus told him. "For the Scriptures say, 'You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.'"
Secondly, we know it because of what Jesus says in John 5:38. He said to the Jews who were questioning him, "And you do not have his(God's) message in your hearts, because you do not believe me-the one He sent to you". But these people knew much of God's word from memory. Jewish people who are serious about their faith have always memorized Scripture. But Jesus says that God's word is not remaining in them. So clearly when the word of God in our hearts, it is more than mere memorizing.
Bearing the Fruit of Faith and Holiness
What then does it mean?
It means that the words of Jesus take root and bear the fruit of faith and holiness. John 5:38 connects the word and faith: "And you do not have his(God's) message in your hearts, because you do not believe me-the one He sent to you" If the word is in your heart, you will believe in the word and the one who spoke it.
His Words Finding a Home in Us
Having Jesus' word in us means that his words find a home in us. They fit. They belong. In John 8:37, Jesus says, "Yes, I realize that you are descendants of Abraham. And yet some of you are trying to kill me because there's no room in your hearts for my message."That's the opposite of to "have His(God's) message in your heart.
When the word is in us, it finds a place, a home. It's not foreign. It belongs. You move other things around and even get rid of some things so that the word has room and "feels at home."
The words of Jesus don't "stay in you" without effect. When they take root, they produce faith and holiness. John 17:17" Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth".
Sanctify them in the truth," Jesus says; "your word, which is truth".
So when his words stay in us, sanctification happens. We are transformed. Holiness, Christlikeness, happens.
So when Jesus' words stay in us, it means that the words of Jesus take root and bear the fruit of faith and holiness.
Why do the words of Jesus have this effect?
1. Jesus' Words Are God's Words
Jesus' words are the words of God. John 3:34"For he is sent by God. He speaks God's words, for God gives him the Spirit without limit."
So when Jesus is speaking, God is speaking. No man ever spoke the words of God more perfectly or consistently than Jesus. When the apostles taught in their office as apostles, they spoke with the truth and the authority of God. But every time Jesus opened his mouth, we are hearing the word of God. And the word of God is powerful. That's the first reason why the abiding of Jesus' words in us has the effects it does.
2. Jesus' Words Are Life-Giving
Jesus said in John 6:63, "The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life."The Spirit of God gives life through the word of God. And Jesus' words are those words. So his words are "spirit and life." They quicken the spirit and impart eternal life. That's why Peter says five verses later, John 6:68."Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life"
3. Jesus' Words Conquer the Devil
So the words of Jesus are the words of God, and they impart eternal life. And third they produce faith and holiness because they conquer the devil. We have a supernatural adversary, the devil. He hates us. He hates our marriages. He hates our children. He hates our church. And he hates God. In ourselves, we are not as strong as he is. That is why John says 1 John 5:19 "the whole world lies in the power of the evil one"The world has no defense against the devil. None.
But listen to what John says of the young Christians1 John2:14"I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one". Do you see the connection? "The word of God abides in you, and you have overcome [conquered!] the evil one." The devil cannot stand against the indwelling word of God.
Awhile back, someone asked me if I thought a Christian or a Christian family could be cursed. My answer is this. If the word of God abides in you, you overcome the evil one. No demonic curse can stand against the gracious, liberating, transforming, devil-defeating word of God when it is abiding in our hearts.
What About Scripture Memory?
So we ask finally, what does all this have to do with memorizing Scripture?
I will come at this with a broad biblical answer and then a practical personal answer from our marriage.
1. Bringing God's Word into Connection With Our Minds
First, the broad biblical answer. The Holy Spirit awakens life and faith and personal transformation (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and more, Galatians 5:22). God the Holy Spirit does that. But he does it through the word of God (1 Peter 1:23John 17:17). How? If you carry your Bible around all day and never read it, will the Holy Spirit make the nearness of the word of God in your purse or pocket effective in changing your life?
No. He won't. Why? BecauseRomans 10:17"faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ" God gave us conscious minds. He gave us volition and emotion. The Holy Spirit makes the words of Jesus effective when they attach with understanding to our minds and then to our wills and emotions. Christ is glorified when his word is heard and understood and affirmed and enjoyed. So that is how God has ordained for change to happen.
Therefore, anything that brings the word of God into connection with our minds will work to strengthen faith and promote understanding and bring about the fruit of the Spirit and the transformation of our lives-and not just our own, but the lives of others also. Memorizing Scripture makes this kind of connection between God's word and our minds more constant, more deep, and more transforming. Realistically, nothing else can take its place. That's the broad biblical answer.
2. Making God's Word Practical in Our Marriage
Finally, a word of practical application from NoÔö£┬¢l and me.
December 21 was our 40th wedding anniversary. We went away for a couple days. During that time, we read and prayed over Psalm 40 and Isaiah 40. We talked about the difficulties of the year gone by. We pondered how easy it is to get discouraged with painful circumstances. We recalled lunch times when we rehearsed a dozen things that were discouraging in our lives.
And it came clear to us that what we need to do is stop letting the voice of negative circumstances dominate our conversations. Yes, you have to be realistic. The painful things are really there. But we realized that the word of God, the promises of God, the works of God, the thoughts of God, the person of God-that voice was not being spoken into those moments. There may have been devotions in the morning, and there may have been devotions in the evening. But at that moment, God's word was silent. That was mainly my fault. It's a husbands' role to lead with the word of God.
So we lingered over Psalm 40:5 and decided to make it our year-long marriage verse in 2009:
You have multiplied, O Lord my God,your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;none can compare with you!I will proclaim and tell of them,yet they are more than can be told.
We are memorizing it, and we aim to make it the banner that flies over our Monday lunch dates and all our conversations: "[God's] wondrous deeds and [his] countless thoughts toward us . . . [We] will proclaim and tell of them." To that end, I rededicate myself to memorizing the wondrous deeds and the thoughts of God toward us. Pray for us, and we will pray for you. And may Christ make his word dwell richly in us this year.
By John Piper. Website: desiringGod.org