Abide In Me

"Abide in Me and I in you; as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me" (John 15:4)

God is reaching out to us and He offers the solution to all anxieties and fears. "Abide in Me" (John 15:4) are the words of Jesus and He continues in verse 5: "without Me you can do nothing", and in verse 6, "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered." Do you ever feel "withered," like you just can’t go on? Actually, you CAN go on, for you can abide in Him and He WILL bring you through.

The word "abide" in the Greek, denotes "continuing, dwelling, enduring, remaining, standing and tarrying." "Abiding" simply means that we continue to trust in Him, though the world turns upside down and we think we can do no more. This is the sense of John 6:56, where the same root word is used – "He who eats My flesh and drinks my blood abides in Me, and I in Him." That section is sometimes used in communion services and rightly so, for the context is about what He has done for you, and we find He is the "Bread of life" (John 6:47).

When we take Him (the "Bread") into our very being, we start to abide in Him and He is our sustenance. Your body needs food, but so does your spirit. In reading His word, in prayer to Him, and in communion with Him, we find He is "feeding" us inside. In John Chapter 6, the "manna" (Hebrew = "what is it?") of Israel, is like the gift of Christ in us.

In urging us to "Abide" in Christ, Jesus used the analogy of a branch attached to a tree (a vine - John 15:4). EVERYTHING the branch receives comes through the tree, including the fruit it bears, and NOTHING comes from the efforts of the branch. To abide in Him is obviously the goal of every rational person, but the "How(?)" is where we often break down.

Andrew Murray said in his book, "Abide in Christ", "It is impossible to live the life of full abiding without being full of the Holy Spirit." That's what Jesus taught, for in the very context of "Abide in Me", He said, "I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper" (Greek = "another of the same kind"), "that He may abide with you forever… He dwells with you and will be in you" (John 14:16-17). He will enable you to abide in Him. What you cannot do, God can.

Something amazing happened to the disciples on the day of Pentecost (Acts Chapter 2), that we need right now. The focus is usually on the gifts (of the Holy Spirit) the disciples received, but what they really found was RELATIONSHIP, which flooded them with the joy of the Lord. The "gifts" are wonderful, and there is both need and satisfaction in becoming equipped to help others. But we also need His joy. We need HIM.

Something WONDERFUL occurred that enabled the disciples to LIVE the life that heretofore had been external to them. Previously, they had been like poor children looking through the windows of a candy store. They could see the wonders inside (as the disciples had watched Jesus), but they were seldom a part of the miracles He did for those in need.

We cannot cause or force these things to happen. To quote Andrew Murray again: "His (the believer's) union with his Lord is no work of human wisdom or human will, but an act of God, by which the closest and most complete life-union is effected between the Son of God and the sinner." God does the work, and we RECEIVE, when we abide in Him.

I meet a lot of Christians (including Pastors), and most of the "body of Christ" is either not participating in His kingdom, or is a wreck from doing too much. We have God's many promises, including "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31). We read such Scriptures but often the terrible reality is that we can be tired, worn out, and only able to continue on a moment-by-moment basis.

Our "solution" to this lack is usually to try harder. We work more and even pray more, desperately clinging to the call of the Lord for our lives. Is it His call? Or are we sometimes just doing what we think we "ought" to do?

We have a true solution that starts with Romans 13:14, where it says "Put on Christ." This is the abbreviated version of Ephesians 6:11-17, which gives us explicit instructions about the "armor of God". It can all be summed up with "Put on Christ." If your faith is weak; if you are limited in hope; if you haven't done so well with the "breastplate of righteousness" and so on, you really need to simply "abide" in Him.

The section in Ephesians 6, actually begins in verse 10, where we are told to "be strong in the Lord and in the power of HIS might." It continues with "praying always with all prayer and supplication IN THE SPIRIT" (Ephesians 6:18). We are like the little child who can't figure out his shoelaces and must be dressed by someone larger and wiser. Jesus Himself will dress you and equip you for service in His Name.

You can find Him in His Word, and He LISTENS when you pray. Discover Him, trust Him, love Him, and someday you will look back and discover you have been "abiding" in Him without fully understanding the process.

We were talking with a young man named Jimmy the other day, and he said he had been "praying for a Nintendo" (a video game set) for a long time. Further, he has been persistent in prayer, asking often for that which he wants. God's answer has been something Jimmy has not wanted, for it is at least a "not yet," and possibly a "No." God has something much better than we could imagine. His "No" to our wants can be a "Yes" to our true need.

Lord, we don’t know how to abide in You. We just know that we need You, and Lord, we receive You now. Forgive us, Lord Jesus, and heal us. Send Your Holy Spirit, and let us abide in You. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Ron Beckham, Pastor
Friday Study Ministries
www.fridaystudy.org
ron@fridaystudy.org