And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. (1 John 2:28)
 
What does it mean to continue, to abide with Christ?  What does it mean to abide when abiding is difficult; when there is confusion or doubt or fear, when it’s hard to sense God’s presence, when His Word seems empty and worship and prayer seems difficult and draining?
 
As you read the pages of the Scriptures and stories of great men and women of faith down through the ages, you discover their journey often takes them through the desert.  It is in those desert experiences that we often grow in our relationship with Christ; it’s here we discover what means to abide in Him.
Biblical writers often spoke of times of consolation when God seems so close, you sense His love and care. But they also spoke of times of desolation when God seems far away.  It is during such times of desolation, in the desert place we must learn to abide in Him.
           
From our study of 1 John, let me remind you of four aspects of abiding we learn during the seasons of spiritual dryness.  The first one is very simple:  don’t quit!  Often in the desert experiences of life we are tempted to bail out.  The opposite of abiding is to leave and some of you may be tempted to do just that.
You’ve been doing the church thing for a long time and you’re tired; at times it feels like you’re barely hanging on and you wonder, is it worth it?  John would say, whatever you do, don’t quit, don’t give up, there is too much at stake.  You cannot have a confident faith if you bail out!
 
It’s in those moments when we are tempted to bail that abiding says, I will not give up, I will not quit, I will not bail out; I won’t just go through the motions or fade down the stretch.  There is a kind of stubbornness to abiding.  Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:58, Be steadfast, unmoveable.        Stand firm.  Let nothing move you.  Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.  What is your immovability quotient?
 
Realize to, abiding will look different during the changing seasons of our lives.  It will feel different on the mountain top than in the valley.  Different seasons often call for a different approach to the disciplines and practices that develop our spiritual life.  Reading the Bible, praying, worshipping, serving and giving are all good practices; they help us abide.  But abiding cannot be defined in terms of particular practices.
Those practices may change as the seasons of life change; they are not an end in themselves but a means of helping us abide.  So we must learn to adapt and to abide creatively.
 
Thirdly we must learn dependence; to gain a sense of our smallness in the light of God's greatness.  When we are in seasons of spiritual dryness, when we are afraid, when there is nowhere else to turn, that’s the very time to learn we are utterly dependent upon God; in Him we find all that we need.
 
David would write in Psalm 25:1-2, In you, Lord my God, I put my trust.  I trust in you; do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me.
 
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.  (Psalm 56:3)
 
Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.  (Psalm 62:8)
 
Finally, earn to rest in God’s love.  Spiritually dry times are an incredible opportunity to experience the depth of God's love.  When you are at the top of your game; when you are praying with great joy, delighting in the Word and experiencing the thrill of giving and serving, that is a wonderful experience.
But, when you come to God and you haven't prayed well or at all; when you haven't opened His Word; when you are weak and battered by temptation            and rocked by doubts and confusion and fear, what do you then?  What do you do when you’re feeling unloved and unlovable, wounded and broken? 
It is in those moments, when Jesus says to you, ‘I love you; you are mine’ and He reminds you, You did not choose Me, but I chose you  (John 15:16), that you begin to understand what it means to abide in Him.  When you hear Him say to you, ‘haven’t you learned by now, you are the object of my undying affection’ and He holds out His hands and says to you, ‘I have you engraved in the palm of my hands’; what you do then?  You rest in His love! 
 
Be encouraged to know we worship and serve a God who wants to meet you wherever you are in your spiritual journey; on the mountain top or in the valley.  He wants to lead you to green pastures and quiet waters; to bring rest to your soul.
 
The Psalmist says…He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  (Psalm 91:1-2)
 
May we continually learn what it is to abide under the shadow of the Almighty; because the payoff is a confident faith that will carry you through the season of dryness, through the dark night of the soul and even through the valley of the shadow of death.
 

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith.  (Ephesians 2:8)
 
In our study of 1 John we have been talking about what it means to live in grace.  We have reminded ourselves that if we are to experience the joy of living in grace, we need to continually come back to the cross; to live our lives in the shadow of Calvary.
 
The Apostle John wanted to make sure that his readers understand this truth, so he gives us a beautiful picture of the ultimate expression of God's grace and how it works in our lives.  He writes: 
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin.  But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.  (1 John 2:1-2)
 
We have an advocate; One who appears with you and speaks on your behalf.  Jesus does that for us.  He comes alongside to support us and to plead our case before the Father.  Not because God is reluctant to forgive but because we would not have an argument in our own defence.  Which begs the question, on that day when you stand before God, will you stand alone or will you have an Advocate who speaks in your defence?
 
In Christ we not only have a righteous advocate, we have One who is the atoning sacrifice for our sins.  This language would bring to the mind of John's readers a very graphic Old Testament picture, the Day of Atonement.
 
Once a year, the Chief Priest would make a sacrifice as a sin offering.       He would take the blood of an animal and pour it over the Ark of the Covenant to atone for the sins of the people.  Year after the year the blood flowed, until the day came when God’s Son, Jesus Christ shed His blood on the cross, once and for all, as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
 
The Father accepts the blood of His Son as payment for your sins.  Therefore, He will not demand payment from you.  There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.   (Romans 8:1)  The blood of Christ was shed for you; forgiveness and grace is available to you because of the cross. No wonder the hymn-writer would declare:  My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
 
He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.  (1 John 2:2)
 
If you want to experience the forgiveness of God and to live in the grace of God, look to Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.  He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins.  His grace is sufficient not only to save but to grant to us the privilege and joy of living continually in His grace.  Because we know our sins are forgiven and that we have a right standing before God because of the cross of Christ.  And because of that, we can then have a confident faith!
           
My friends at Valley, do you have that kind of confidence faith?  Do you know the grace of my Lord?

It was a honest admission:  I pray but seldom does my prayer include confession.

I suspect this admission was not unique to the one who shared it with me.  So often our prayers become singularly focused on interceding for our selves, our families and friends, our church and even for the needs of the world.  Intercessory prayer is a wonderful gift.  But as we seek to experience a more balanced prayer life I have found the ACTS pattern of prayer to be helpful.

Begin your prayer time with ADORATION.  Adoration sets the tone for what follows.  It focuses our hearts and minds and connects us to the One to whom we are praying; it brings honor to Him.  Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name.  (Matthew 6:9)  Such an approach draws us into the very throne room of God; to the One who is worthy or our praise and adoration.  Before His presence we are reminded the One we all out to is able!

In a work entitled simply "Prayer", Ole Hallesby writes:  In praise my soul ascends to self-forgetting adoration, seeing and praising only the majesty and power of God, His grace and redemption.  

If you find it challenging to focus on praise and adoration let me suggest you read portions of the Psalms and rehearse back to God the words of worship expressed by the Psalmist.  List the attributes or characteristics of God and express your adoration for who He is.  Or think of the names of God and use those names as expressions of praise.  Worship music is another means to focus our thoughts on God.  Work at it; be creative.

The 'C' is for CONFESSION.  We talked about this aspect of prayer in our current series in 1 John.  I would encourage you to listen again to that teaching (A Study in 1 John Part 3 - January 31, 2016 -- you can access using the 'message' tab.)  Though often neglected, confession is a rich part of our experience in prayer that leads to a renewed sense of the joy and wonder of knowing we are forgiven!  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.       (1 John 1:9)  

Here I would caution you to avoid the' forgive my many sins' approach to confession.  Name your sin, own up to it honestly before God and claim the cleansing, healing grace of Christ, purchased for us by His shed blood.  In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.  (Ephesians 1:7)

The 'T' is for THANKSGIVING.  The Psalmist writes:  I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.  (Psalm 9:1)  As you pray, choose to give thanks!  An approach that has helped me in this area is to think in terms of giving thanks for answered prayer, spiritual blessings, relational blessings and material blessings.  Almost everything n our lives falls into one of these four categories.

When we have offered our praise and adoration to God, when we have engaged God in confession and expressed our thanksgiving to Him we are then in a place where we can seek His face in SUPPLICATION.  Philippians 4:6 says, let your requests be made know.  Pray about anything and everything!  I find it helpful to think in terms of personal requests, family and friends and the church.  Keep a prayer journal or use any number of tools that might encourage you as you intercede before God.

The ACTS pattern of prayer might become for you a means of experiencing a more balanced and dynamic prayer life.   I pray that you will use it, experiment with it and refine it that it becomes a rich part of your time with the Lord.