Pastor Kirk McCormick: Maximizing your Relationships

“Maximizing your Relationships”

John 15:9-13

“As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.”

- John 15:9

“Few things are as hollow as a relationship intended for passion that instead is marked by mere duty.”

- Maxie Dunnam

Jesus said, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

John 13:35 (NLT)

“Be not angry that you cannot make others as you want them to be, since you cannot make

yourself as you wish to be.”

- Thomas a Kempis

I. The Key to Maximizing your Relationships

The Key - “Abiding” in Jesus Christ.

John 15:9 - Jesus said, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.”
Note: Abiding = staying connected.
The Idea: Abiding is more than just believing in Jesus ... it means drawing life from Christ.
Application: Because Jesus is in us and we in him, fruit-bearing is guaranteed.
John 15:5 – “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.” (NLT)

Note: 2 Hindrances to Fruit-bearing: Disease and Disorder.

John 15:2 - “He [God] removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.”
“Removes” = Disease control.
“Prunes” = Discipline/Shapes - so it won’t be wild.

II. God’s Guarantees for Maximized Relationships

Guarantee #1 - Obedience leads to fulfillment of God’s plan.

John 15:10, 12 - “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”
Note: Maximizing your Relationship does not guarantee a particular human outcome.
Application: To kick-start a wayward relationship...unconditional and sacrificial love.
John 15:13 - “The greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends. (NLT)
Mark Twain – “Forgiveness is the fragrance that the flower leaves on the heel of the one who crushed it.”
William Stoddard - “Forgiving the unforgivable is hard. So was the cross: hard words, hard wood, hard nails.”

Guarantee #2 - Joy is the fruit of being connected.

John 15:11 - “I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.”
Observation: Unforgiving people are miserable and bitter... forgiving people are joyful.
Application: If you are having problems maximizing a relationship, someone is not abiding in Christ.

“In Jesus’ righteousness the unrighteous are granted, as a gift, relationship with God: a free gift. Mercy took a human face.”

- Walter Wangerin