If I remember the story correctly, a gentleman whom I have known for years and is very dear to our family, had been out of town for a few days working and was waiting at the airport to catch his flight home. Apparently he was not quite done with ‘work’ and had opened up his laptop computer and became absorbed with finishing up some unfinished tasks. He had his Air-pods (headphones) in and basically was oblivious to all that was happening around him. We all know how that can happen to us, do we not?...we get drawn in to other things...distractions...cares, etc. 

 Now keep in mind that he was sitting there at the gate waiting to board the plane. At some point, he looked up and noticed that nobody was sitting there around him anymore. The crowd had ‘vanished’. The gate door was closed and the attendant was no longer standing there. Do you know what this man soon discovered much to his astonishment? 

 He missed his flight. 

 Apparently, he never heard the multiple calls to board the plane. And he missed his flight. It would have been pointless to go up to the closed door and begin knocking asking to be let on.(Matt. 25:11) The plane had pulled away from the gate ....and left...him...behind. 

 Here is something worth reflecting on: This man had made his reservation. His bags were packed. He had his boarding pass. And after going through TSA security clearance, he was sitting right there at the gate with the door in sight. And he missed the flight. 

 How did this happen? He never heard the ‘final call’ and ...and was left behind. 

 Yesterday, I closed out my message with asking you to give serious thought as to if you are truly abiding in Christ. We are quick to tell others that ‘we are saved’; but being able to answer if we are abiding in Him or not...requires us to give pause and consider what that truly means. 

 To ‘abide’ means to ‘remain’...or ‘to continue on’. Simply stating that you believe that Jesus is the Son of God and died for your sins does not equate with ‘abiding’. I hope you can clearly see the difference here. 

 To abide in Christ means you become an active and obedient follower of Him.(Heb. 5:9) How anyone could fail to see this only shows how the ‘god of this age’ continues to ‘blind the minds of those who are perishing’. (2 Cor. 4:3-4)

 I’d like to direct your attention to the gospel of John, chapter 10. Jesus was in the temple and surrounded by Jews who were pressing Him to reveal if he was indeed, the Christ. (24). Look what He tells them there in vs. 26 – “You are not of My sheep.” 

 Did you ‘hear’ that? You. Are. Not. My. Sheep. You don’t belong to Me, He was telling them. 

 A little earlier, we read in chapter 8 where He had it out with more Pharisees who ‘thought’ they belonged to God simply because they were descendants of Abraham. You might say they felt a false sense of security in that fact alone. Yet, Jesus told them plainly...”You are not of God” (47)...you belong to the devil...he is your father. (44). And He tells them plainly why in that passage there (37-47)...they were unable to hear God’s word. His word was offensive to them. They carried out the desires of their father because that is what they wanted to do. 

 Please note, He was not talking to a bunch of ‘obvious sinners’ wallowing in ‘blatant sins’. This was the religious crowd who knew the word forward and backwards, yet...are being told ‘By The Word’ Himself... that they clearly do not belong to Him. 

 Back to John 10. Leave it to God to always be drawing a line in the sand...you are either for Me or against Me. Choose Ye this day whom you will serve...no man can serve two masters...good tree with good fruit or bad tree with bad fruit...etc. “You are Not of My sheep, as I said to you.” (26) 

 Now pay very close attention here to His next statement: “My Sheep...hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (27) 

 What three facts does Jesus lay out here that distinguishes who His sheep are? 1- They hear His voice. 2- He knows them. Oh, what did Jesus tell those folks in Matt. 7:23 who thought they would be welcomed in to His kingdom because of all these ‘wonderful works they had done in His name’? – “I never knew you.” And 3- those who hear His voice...do what? They. Follow. Him. 

 That is another way of saying...they ‘abide’ in Him. They go...where He goes. 

 I hear people often say the reason they feel or ‘believe’ they are ‘eternally secure’ is based on vs. 28 here where Jesus said: “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.” 

 But who is He speaking of here? His sheep. His...Sheep are in “His hand”. Not ‘everyone are His sheep’. (26). “Not everyone who says, ‘Lord, Lord’’...are His sheep. (Matt. 7:21) ....only those ‘who do the will of the Father in heaven”...are His sheep. (1 John 3:10) 

 There is no greater security...for those...who are...His sheep and in His hand and belong to Him. 

 Oh, by the way...who are the ones who ‘belong to Christ’? Galatians 5:24 will answer that for you. Go take a look at it and underline it if you don’t have it marked already. 

 So the question still remains...are we abiding in Him? How can one truly know? It’s easy for us to declare with our mouths...and even say we ‘believe in our hearts’...that Jesus died, was buried, and rose again and is the Son of God’. No one is here to question or deny that. But are we abiding in Him. How can we know? The only place I know to turn to...is to the word; not my denominational HQ; not my pastor, not my parents, not my friends. So what does the word say? 

 “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” (1 John 2:6) 

 “Whoever abides in Him does not sin... (1 John 3:6)....whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.” 

 “Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know...that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.” (1 John 3:24) 

 Do you want to know why I keep pointing out these verses over and over here? It’s because, for starters, it is the Word of God. And for many, many professing believers, these passages are a problem for them. It ‘hits a nerve’ and is almost offensive. It becomes a ‘stumbling block’ or a ‘rock of offense’. (Rom. 9:33; 1 Pet. 2:8). Might go underline John 8:43,47 as well. 

Yet clearly...it tells us right there how one might know if they are abiding...or continuing on...with/in Him. Of course there is also the issue of bearing much fruit, that Jesus speaks to in John 15:1-8.    

Tell me if this does not sound familiar to you...given how often we hear, if not say it, ourselves: “I fail Jesus every day...I’m a mess...I’m a sinner...woe is me...I will always be a sinner and always fail God but Praise Jesus for His mercy and grace”. 

If you are a parent, and night after night after night, your child takes a seat at the dinner table and just swipes all the dishes off onto the floor making a mess, If their behavior never changes...are you fine with that? (And this is not directed to ‘new, baby converts either) 

 If you are an employer and your employee comes in late every other day or fails to show up several times a month without any notification...do you continue to put up with that? At what point to you tell them...”you do what I say, or you will suffer the consequences”? 

 “Why...do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord’, and not do the things that I say?” (Luke 6:46) 

 Jesus said whoever loves Him will do what He says. (John 14:15, 21, 23-24)

 “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. (John 15:10) 

 When we read and hear Jesus talk about abiding in Him, we also see there is also this idea that not only do we ‘abide in Him’ but He...and His word...abide in us. (John 15:7; 17:7). It is not enough simply to ‘believe’ the word, or ‘hear’ the word or ‘read’ the word. We are instructed to ‘do’ the word. (James 1:22). Anything short of that leaves us deceived. 

 Do you know why so many fail to see legitimate, supernatural transformation in their lives...and remain...’sinners’? They don’t heed Mary’s advice to ‘do whatever He says to you.” (John 2:5) 

So many people today are waiting for, praying and desiring for God...’to move’. God never stops moving. He’s been trying to get us to move...and follow Him. Do you hear His voice or has something else captured your heart and mind and attention? These are good things to make sure of.

Otherwise, you might ...miss the plane.