12/29/2016
Great devotion led by Sis. Stephanie Sampson. Prayer was amazing. I'm confident we're going to see what we have been praying for. In Jesus Name! Thanks for blessing us Sis!
Title: What does it means to abide in Christ?
We draw our sustenance (nourishment, nutrition, food) from him.
John 15:1-8 (HCSB)
1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vineyard keeper.
2 Every branch in Me that does not produce fruit He removes, and He prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit.
3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.
4 Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me.
6 If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown aside like a branch and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you.
8 My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be My disciples.
Abiding in Christ means to means to remain, rest, stay, wait, and continue. Abiding in Christ, then, involves waiting upon the Lord and entering into His peace. We as believers should always desire to abide in Christ. We should never face a moment when we are not attached to God.
In order for the us as Christians to conform to the image of Jesus we must abide in him. What does it mean to abide in Christ? It means to remain, rest, stay, wait, and continue. Abiding in Christ, then, involves waiting upon the Lord and entering into His peace. There should never be a moment where we are not attached to God.
The words of Christ must also abide in us. Its vitally important that we as believers:
• study and learn the Word of God. We must daily study to show ourselves approved unto God..
• have our thoughts and desires controlled by the word.
• be motivated and controlled by the word
When we abide in Christ, we can be assured that our prayers are heard and our prayers are answered because we abide in him. A genuine believer walks in constant fellowship and prayer with the Lord. Abiding in Christ is where we get our nourishments from, where we can draw strength from. A vine that has been detached from the branch will eventually die, it is useless and lifeless.
Just as a branch draws its life-source from the vine, believers must stay connected to Christ for His life to flow through them and produce spiritual fruit. Branches "live and move and have their being" (Acts 17:28) only by the life of the vine.
There are ways to tell if a person really is attached to Christ:
⇒ Does he bear fruit?
⇒ Does he live righteously or do shameful things (Romans 6:21-23)?
⇒ Does he bear "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance" (Galatians 5:22-23)?
⇒ Does he lead the lost to Christ (Romans 1:13)?
Abiding in Christ is a patient expectancy; it is neither wasteful idleness nor anxious striving
Abiding in Christ, therefore, means to draw supernatural strength from the presence of the Lord and walk moment by moment in the leading of His Spirit.
Abiding in Christ means the following:
• Bearing spiritual fruit —
• Hearing the Word and keeping it in your heart —
(Luke 8:15).
But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience"
• Loving Jesus and doing what He says — "Jesus answered and said unto him, 'If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him'" (John 14:23). "He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked" (I John 2:6).
• Loving others — "He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes" (I John 2:10-11).
• Trusting God and making Him your refuge — "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust" (Psalm 91:1-2).
• Hating the world's system — "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever" (I John 2:15-17).
• Remaining steadfast in the faith of the Gospel — "Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God" (I Corinthians 7:24). "Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father" (I John 2:24).
The Fruit of Abiding
God looks for the evidence of our abiding in Christ, which is good fruit. James wrote, "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman [Gardener] waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain" (James 5:7). What is the good fruit the Gardener seeks? It is the fruit which His Spirit produces. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance"
(Galatians 5:22-23). The fruit of the Spirit comes only out of an abiding relationship with Jesus. It is not brought about by our own strength, nor by the works of the flesh, but only by abiding in Christ (Matthew 7:19-20).
Those who bear fruit will encounter seasons of purging (which means pruning or cleansing) in their lives. Jesus said, "Every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit" (John 15:2). Such seasons can be uncomfortable and even painful, yet pruning is a necessary part of growing in our relationship with the Lord. "But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you" (I Peter 5:10).
The fruit of abiding in Christ will become apparent in your life: Do you love your brother? Do you also love your enemy? Do you enjoy spending time with Jesus in the quiet place and searching out His Word for hidden treasures? Do you have inner peace and joy in chaotic circumstances? These are all evidences of abiding in Christ, "whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls" (I Peter 1:8-9).
There is also a tragedy when we are not abiding in Christ.
Those who do not abide in Christ will be ashamed before Him when He appears. "And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming" (I John 2:28). Abiding in Christ is the only way to not be ashamed before Him at His coming. The Bible says, "thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me" (Isaiah 49:23). And elsewhere, "Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed" (Psalm 69:6).
What happens if a branch does not abide in the vine? Well, Jesus warns us: "Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he [the Gardener] taketh away ... If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned" (John 15:2, 6). Those who fall away in unbelief and do not continue in Christ will be cut off like a withered branch to face God's wrath. Paul confirmed this hard truth: "Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off" (Romans 11:22; also see Luke 12:46). Furthermore, Hebrews 6:8 says, "But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto
cursing; whose end is to be burned."
When men see fruit in the life of a believer, they are forced...
• to turn their mind to God.
• to acknowledge that only God's power could do such.
• to desire God to save them.
• to begin asking God for help.
• to accept God or to close their mind and reject God.
God is glorified by the fruit born in the life of a believer, glorified by some men beginning to think about God and calling upon Him.
What happens when we abide in Christ?
1. Prayers are heard and answered.
And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: and if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
2. We give glory to God by bearing much fruit, our lives are fruitful, not unfruitful
3. Our relationship with God is strengthened.
4. We will have Godly character and walk righteously
Asheba Stewart will lead devotion and prayer tomorrow morning. She is indeed a prayer warrior and has a love and passion for people. She is truly kingdom minded. Her heartbeat is souls.
Everyone is welcome to join us for devotion and prayer on the SRPC conference call Monday -Friday @ 7am to 7:15am. The conference call number is 1 (641) 715-3580 Access code 166281.
