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The Danger of Self-Reliance · In the Stillness Podcast

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  Hey y'all, this is friendly. Welcome back to In the
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  Stillness. Happy Friday.
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  We have made it to the end of another week and heading into
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  Memorial Day weekend. I hope y'all are all doing well.
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  We are going to be finishing out second John.
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  I'm reading through verses 9:00 to 11:00 today and there are a
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  few more verses after verse 11 that I'm not going to read over
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  us. It's basically just John closing
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  out his letter. But this passage, the verses
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  that we're in really challenged me because it talks about
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  remaining faithful to Christ, how we abide in truth and do not
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  drift from relationship with God.
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  I honestly think one of the biggest temptations in today's
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  culture is self-reliance because the world constantly tells us to
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  trust ourselves, to move faster, figure everything out on our
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  own, when really the Kingdom of God teaches dependence.
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  It teaches surrender and how we are to abide in Christ.
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  So I want to talk about today what it means to remain in
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  Christ rather than slowly drifting into independence from
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  Him. Let's go ahead and read the
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  verses. Anyone who wanders away and does
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  not remain faithful to the teaching of Christ has no
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  relationship with God. But those who remain in the
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  teaching of Christ have a wonderful relationship with both
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  the Father and the Son. So if anyone comes into your
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  fellowship claiming to be a true believer yet doesn't bring this
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  teaching, you are not to consider Him as a fellow
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  believer, nor should you welcome him into your homes.
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  For if you welcome him as a believer, you will be partnering
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  with him and his evil agenda. OK, very direct and straight to
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  the point. But one phrase that jumped out
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  to me was remain faithful, because drifting from God does
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  not typically happen all at once.
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  Sometimes it just looks like depending on yourself more than
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  depending on Him. Maybe it looks like making
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  decisions without praying first, trying to force outcomes one in
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  control rather than surrendering to His will.
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  And our world oftentimes rewards those mindsets.
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  But Christianity was not meant to be lived independently from
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  Christ. Jesus says in John 15 verse 4,
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  abide in me and I in you. Abiding means remaining, staying
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  connected, continuing with Him daily, not just believing in
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  Jesus once, but walking with Jesus consistently.
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  And then we see in John 8 verse 31 to 32, Jesus says, if you
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  abide in my Word, you are truly my disciples and you will know
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  the truth and the truth will set you free.
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  So here's the thing, freedom is connected to abiding, not just
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  an occasional connection, not just knowing about God or
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  listening to sermons and the word preached occasionally
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  actually remaining close to Him. Psalm 119105 This has been a
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  verse that I have really just prayed through this season in my
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  life and meditated on. It says your word is a lamp to
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  my feet and a light to my path. A lamp does not usually show the
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  entire Rd. it simply shows the next step.
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  And I think sometimes we get frustrated because we want
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  clarity for the next 5 year plan, but God is only asking us
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  to trust Him with today, to ask Him for Our Daily Bread and
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  trust that He is going to nourish us and give us exactly
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  what we need. Waiting on God can feel
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  uncomfortable because our flesh wants immediate movement,
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  immediate answers. But hear this, waiting on God is
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  not weakness, Isaiah 40 verse 31 says, but those who wait on the
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  Lord shall renew their strength. So not those who rush ahead, not
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  people who force every door open for themselves or rely on their
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  own understanding, those who wait on the Lord because
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  dependence on God is not passive.
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  It's actually an active trust. I believe sometimes the most
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  spiritual thing that you can do is pause and just ask God, Are
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  you actually leading me here? Is your presence going before me
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  in this place? Is this what you have for me?
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  I think a lot of us don't intentionally walk away from
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  God. We just slowly stop including
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  Him in everything. Another thing I loved in this
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  passage is how it connects abiding with relationship.
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  It says those who remain in the teaching of Christ have a
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  wonderful relationship with the Father and the Son.
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  Sometimes people reduce salvation to just getting to
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  heaven someday, but heaven, our salvation is the result.
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  But Jesus is the point. He is the point of our lives.
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  Eternal life is relationship with Him right now.
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  John 17 verse 3 says eternal life means to know and
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  experience you as the only true God and to know and experience
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  Jesus Christ. Notice it does not just say know
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  about Him, but to know Him personally.
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  When you remember what Jesus saved you from and what He has
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  brought you into, it truly transforms the way you live.
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  His grace does not make us casual about our sin.
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  His grace draws us near to God. A real relationship with God is
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  going to come with conviction. The Holy Spirit does not just
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  comfort us, He transforms us. Titus 2 verses 11 to 12 tells us
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  that the grace of God teaches us to say no to ungodliness.
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  And the closer that you walk with God, the more you abide in
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  Jesus. Because Jesus is God, the more
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  you begin desiring what honors God.
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  It's not out of a religious performance or obligation, but
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  it's out of love. And then John kind of shifts
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  into talking about false teaching.
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  And I think this matters so much today because we live in a world
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  where a lot of people have platforms and not every voice is
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  truly reflecting the teaching of Jesus.
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  You can be around Christian language yet still drift from
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  Christ himself. That is why discernment is
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  crucial. Deception becomes easier when we
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  stop abiding closely with Jesus ourselves.
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  One thing that's important to understand is that hospitality
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  was a huge part of the early church, and this was something
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  that I was really looking into as I was reading through these
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  verses. Traveling believers and teachers
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  would constantly stay in people's homes and be supported
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  by other families. So when John is making an
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  emphasis and warning them to not welcome false teachers, it's
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  because hospitality was such a normal expression of Christian
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  love and fellowship. And frankly, reading this kind
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  of convicted me because I think hospitality is kind of a lost
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  thing in today's world. Everything feels so fast-paced
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  and centered on self, from our busy schedules to our own
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  comfort and our own space. But Romans 12 verse 13 says
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  share with the Lord's people who are in need.
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  Practice hospitality. Hospitality does not always have
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  to be something super major and huge.
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  Sometimes it looks like just inviting someone in for dinner
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  or maybe reaching out to someone checking in on them.
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  It is making time for people serving instead of always
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  thinking about yourself first. So I think this passage was such
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  a good reminder for me personally that while we should
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  absolutely be discerning spiritually, that is what these
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  verses are really highlighting. We are also still called to love
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  people well and to reflect the heart of Jesus and that looks
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  like inviting people in, being warm and hospitable.
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  Such a big take away for me for these verses.
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  Just to round it all out is do not slowly drift into
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  independence from God while still calling yourself close to
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  Him. Stay connected to Jesus, abide
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  in His Word, be rooted in it. Make time to read His word every
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  single day, even in the moments and days that you may not feel
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  like it or you're super busy. I promise you it will purify and
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  transform your mind and your heart, and it is so worth it.
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  Wait on the Lord. Seek His wisdom.
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  It tells us in James that if any of you are lacking wisdom, ask
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  the Lord because He will give you more wisdom.
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  He desires to do that and stay sensitive to His Spirit's
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  leading. You were never called to carry
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  Christianity in this religious persona and your own strength.
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  The goal was never just to get to heaven someday.
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  The invitation is a relationship with Jesus, and that begins
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  right now where you are. So let's go ahead and move into
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  prayer. Dear Father, thank You for
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  inviting us into union with You, into a real relationship where
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  we can know You personally. Would You forgive us for times
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  that we have relied more on ourselves than on You?
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  Would you teach us to remain close to You, make us more
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  sensitive to Your Spirit? Keep us anchored in your word of
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  truth. Sanctify us by your Word, Lord,
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  Your word is truth. Would you help us to wait on You
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  instead of just rushing ahead to what is next to what our flesh
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  is craving? I pray that we would live
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  governed by the Spirit. Would you grow and increase our
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  discernment? Give us a deeper intimacy with
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  You in our lives. Would you aid us in loving
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  others so well? God, show us how to serve others
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  faithfully. Give us creative ways to do
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  that. And may we reflect your heart in
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  all areas of our lives. May we honor you with our
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  speech, with our conduct, in our faith, in our love, in our
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  purity. May others see the love of
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  Christ through us. We ask these things in your
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  name. Jesus.
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  Amen. OK guys, that is Friday's
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  episode. I hope you'll have a great
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  Memorial Day weekend and I look forward to being with y'all on
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  the next podcast.