Three Ways to Abide in Christ

Jesus doesn’t just want your behavior, your money, or even your service. He wants your heart.

In John 14:15, Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Then in John 15:4-5, He invites us to “Abide in me, and I in you... for apart from Me you can do nothing.” These are not casual requests. They reveal His deep desire for relationship. A connection built on love, sustained by abiding, and evidenced through obedience.

Let’s explore two words that shape this relationship: love and abide.

Love: Forfeiting Rights for Relationship
Love isn’t just a feeling. It's “an affection for another that compels one to forfeit rights and privileges on another’s behalf.” That’s the kind of love Jesus calls for, one that willingly surrenders, not out of obligation, but because of deep affection.

Jesus wants your love. He wants you to remain in His love and to lay down your rights because He has called you to something higher. Love moves us to action. It moves us to change. It’s not just about saying you love Jesus, it’s about showing that love through obedience and surrender.

Abide: Remaining Connected
To abide means to remain, stay, or reside. Jesus says, “Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit.” The key to a fruitful life isn’t more striving. It’s more abiding.

Jesus wants to give you a vibrant, life-giving relationship. But there’s a problem. There’s too much of you in you. That’s the core issue—too much self, not enough surrender.

The solution is to humble yourself and say, “Lord, do a work in me. Form me into who You want me to be.” Romans 8:29 says God has “predestined that you would be conformed to the image of the Son.” His plan is to make you look more like Jesus.

Three Ways to Abide
So, how do we abide? Jesus gives us three practical ways in John 15:

1. Abide Through the Word

In verse 7, Jesus says, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you…”

This means you have to:
●Take in the Word
●Soak in the Word
●Memorize the Word

Let the Word dwell in you richly. Let it shape your thinking, your decisions, and your desires.

2. Abide Through Prayer

Jesus continues in verse 7, “Ask whatever you wish…”

Prayer is essential. It’s not just about asking for things. It’s about communion with God. It's about aligning your heart with His.

3. Abide Through Obedience

In verse 10, Jesus says, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love.”

Obedience is the overflow of abiding. Some of you are stuck, not moving forward with Jesus, because you refuse to obey. The bottom line is: obedience is the key to breakthrough.

Obedience in Real Life
Marriage
●Wives, respect your husbands, not because they’re always respectable, but “because of your reverence for Christ.” Watch how God transforms.
●Husbands, love your wives “as Christ loved the church.” That means sacrificially and unconditionally. Jesus loved you when you were unlovely. Do the same.

Finances
Are you stuck financially? Maybe it's because you're holding on to what belongs to God. Malachi 3:6-10 says, “You are robbing me.” The principle of first fruits still stands because “I, the Lord, do not change.” When you give God what is His, you open the door for blessing.

Everyday Obedience
Are you loving your neighbor? Are you loving God with all your heart, soul, and mind? Look in the mirror and ask, “Where am I not obeying?” Then make the change. Breakthrough comes when you obey.

Hands and Feet: Living Out the Mission
John 15:8 says, “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”

God is glorified when you bear fruit. That’s your purpose. That’s your mission. S, how do you bear fruit? You become the hands and feet of Jesus.

Serve Others
●Maybe it’s mentoring a child.
●Maybe it’s serving coffee at church.
●Maybe it’s creating space in your week to help someone in need.

Find a way to serve. When you position yourself to serve others, God will bring relationships into your life. That time you spend serving will become your favorite part of the week because you’re stepping into your purpose.

Disciple-Making Isn’t Complicated
You don’t have to be an expert to be a disciple-maker. If you help someone take one step closer to Jesus, you’re making a disciple. That’s it. That’s the mission. Just help someone take a step.

Less of Me, More of Him
At the heart of it all, Jesus wants your heart, your hands, and your feet.

He wants your love that surrenders rights.

He wants you to abide in Him through the Word, prayer, and obedience.

He wants you to serve and disciple others.

The core issue in our lives is that there’s too much of us in us. But as we surrender, abide, and obey, Jesus begins to transform us, making us look more like Him and bear the kind of fruit that glorifies the Father.

Let’s give Him everything. Let’s love, abide, and obey.


This blog is based on the message shared by senior pastor Dr. Roger Patterson at our Cityrise Bellaire campus on Sunday, May 18, 2025. Check out the full message below!