abiding in christ

What God is after?

Last week we looked at what God is after. What is He all about? The more we learn about God, the more we discover He is the answer to some of our deepest desires.

 

People desire to be seen.

It starts when we are kids. We keep asking mom to watch as we display our latest trick, dance move or athletic endeavor. As we grow older, it becomes a subtle desire. Facebook likes, Instagram followers and Twitter mentions are the new form of attention. God does see us. He is interested in who we are and what we do. 

People have a deep sense of right and wrong (justice).

God created us with this understanding of right and wrong hardwired into our souls. We sense there is good and evil. We also desire to see right win over wrong. We don't want to see injustice. This is a deep longing inside us for another world- a world to come. 

 

People feel like their lives are building toward something.

God describes what our lives are building towards throughout the scriptures. Our lives are building toward eternity. This life we live here is short in comparison to eternity. This eternity depends completely on what we believe about God.

 

Our message was focused on 1 John 2:1-11

This passage comes down to abiding in Christ. That's the answer to the question. God wants us to abide in Christ. If I'm abiding, loving my brother won't be an issue. If I'm abiding, living in sin won't be an issue.

We concluded with 3 ways to abide in Christ:

  • Spend time with God at church and in groups.

  • Be surrounded by people who will keep you accountable.

  • Prepare for days you don't feel like abiding.

Here's a video of the message: