Vine
John 15:5 says, “I am the vine, you are the branches, he who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing.”
Do you know what it means to abide in Him? The English dictionary defines ‘abide’ as’ hold to and stick to.’ Spiritually it means to ‘stick on to Jesus, hang on to Him and stay in Him’. Did you get this? There is a tranquility about it! I remember the words of Prophet Ezekiel Francis, Founder of Berachah Prophetic Ministries, whose testimony inspired me to jump into ministry; he said, ‘your ministry should be birthed from the Presence of God”. I would like to quote Mark 3:14 here, “Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him…..” Being with Him is most important before going into the world to preach the gospel. He is the source of energy, power and anointing to preach the gospel!
Many churches are dry and many sermons are dry, lacking the fresh touch of God and devoid of anointing because they have not been birthed from the Presence of God. Anything fresh from heaven, after abiding with Him, would have the fresh flavor of heaven! People are fed up of stale sermons, grinding over and over again of the same subjects, but our new generation want a ‘fresh touch’. They are ravenously hungry for God! Many young people turned to God when I ministered to them, some of them have also committed their lives to full time ministry and there are others who are doing part-time ministry; serving God from their respective places. This is what happens when you ‘abide with God’! You start affecting the life of others! Is it not exciting? Come on, we need to let the world know that it is fun being in the presence of God!
As I was reading the book of John and the first, second and third book of John, I found that the word ‘abide’ has been used several times. John certainly knew what he was talking about! He was the one who was clinging on to the bosom of Jesus. We read in John 13:23, “ Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.” He is none other than John himself! John went deeper and further in his relationship with God. He was never satisfied just to be a disciple. He wanted to lean on Jesus’ bosom! I guess John enjoyed the ‘soft-spongy-cushion-like-comfort’ offered by Jesus – like the lap of a mother! He snuggled closer and closer to Him! Listen! In order to have this divine-comfort, you need to leave the comforts and the pleasures that the world offers you! Are you hearing me? The Bible says: Luke 16:13 "No servant can serve two masters… Dear friend, I am not satisfied sitting far away from Him, I want to be on His lap and spread all over his bosom. I am excited! Now watch this! While others sat far from him, John is the only disciple that ever heard the Lord’s heart beat!
There are times when we cannot stand, but I am glad for a place to lean! This is His last night, but John is the only one who sat close by. While the others were arguing over who would be first in the kingdom, John was leaning on Jesus’ bosom, all they could see was themselves and one another, but all John could see was Him. While Peter was making lofty and brash promises, that he could not keep, to be faithful to Christ until death; John was leaning on Jesus’ bosom. While Judas was counting his money; John was leaning on Jesus’ bosom. While some were finding fault, John was leaning on His bosom. While the others listened to themselves and one another, John was feeling the Lord’s breath, listening to His heartbeat, feeling the warmth of His love. Dear reader, let these words pour fuels of ‘passion’ into your heart so that your love for Him burns vigorously. I am keen on setting some souls on fire for God! Are you listening? It is enough that we have been watchers of revival and hearers of past revivals, now let us get closer to Him, lean on His bosom, hear His heart beat and bring the world closer to Jesus. Are you ready? Only as we get closer and closer to Him, can we get the world closer to Him. Where are you sitting today? Are you at His feet like Mary or far away like Martha? Mary made the right choice that Jesus said, “Mary has chosen that good part. (Luke 10:42)
The words “Abide in Me” (John 15:4) stirred and touched my heart that I was not able to proceed further. There are certain scriptures in the Bible which creates such an impression in our heart that even after many, many years, we remember them vividly for the mighty changes that it had brought about in our lives. I am sure you would agree with me! This scripture is one of them, for me! It motivated and triggered me to get deeper with God! The launching of a rocket always thrilled me, I remember as a kid watching the rocket crackers as they zoomed into the sky and sprayed fire in the sky. Aha! That was superb! Real rockets are based on the principle of propulsion. Fuel is burned inside their boosters, which produces the gas. The gas builds up the pressure inside the booster and escapes through the nozzle. The gas escaping produces an opposite reaction force, which sends the rocket upwards and into space. A force is required to launch the rocket, likewise, I can say that this scripture is like that ‘force’ for me, to surge rocket-high for God.
ABIDE IN HIM INCREASES YOUR PASSION FOR GOD
Ever since I had an encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ, I have been thirsting to know Him more closer and more nearer. I have never ever been satisfied!
I would like to quote the words of author Tommy Tenney from his book “The God Chasers”. This book touched my heart and challenged me to get to know Him MORE! More than theological facts, we need to know HIM more! Hosea 6:6 says, “For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” The author says, “God is calling you to a new level of intimacy. If you dare to answer His call, the Lord will reveal a fresh part of His character. He will pull you so close that you will be breathing the very rarefied air of Heaven. The only way to the place David called “the secret place” is through the door of focused worship, when you lay aside every distraction and focus your body, soul and spirit upon God. When His presence becomes so strong that you are oblivious to everyone and everything else around you, then you will never ‘recover’ from this.”
ABIDING IN CHRIST GIVE YOU PEACE:
Jesus says, “I am the vine, you are the branches, he who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) Here, Jesus says that He is the vine and we are the branches which means, we need to cling on to Jesus the way the branches cling on to the vine. We had gone as a family to a picnic spot, a pathway hewn between a cluster of trees led us to this place, which is known as the ‘birds sanctuary.’ Cradled by a canopy of trees, this place is a sheer delight to watch; birds from all over the country come there to ‘abide’ in that place. I just wondered what is so fantastic about this place, that the birds flew many miles to come there! The trees, water and the climate had attracted the birds! Bird watchers would just love that place. We stayed there for a while, but I kind of wanted to hang on there! The serenity, peace and greenery around that place made me want to stay there for some more time. I sat captivated by the bewitching beauty of that place! As I thought about it, I realized abiding in Christ also brings us peace, joy and divine happiness! We do not want to get away from that enthralling experience! We need to yearn to stay in His presence or in other words abide in Him.
YOUR PRAYER LIFE CHANGES WHEN YOU ABIDE IN HIM:
How often do we feel that it is a drag to go and pray? We are too busy for that. Spending time with Jesus – abiding with Jesus - can be very rewarding. You just enjoy His Presence that you just don’t want to leave, if we take time to abide with Christ, we will have time to listen to His still small voice. God has often given me the sermons to be preached in meetings, as I sat in His Presence desperate to hear His voice. I refuse to leave until I hear Him! As I carry His Word, as revealed by Him to the pulpit, I can see fresh anointing flow in the meeting. Abiding in Him is very important. Do you hear me?
When I became a ‘born again’ Christian, my prayer life changed and I received fresh revelations while reading the Bible, the words of the Bible took on new significance, the scriptures seem to jump out off the page, touch me and revive me. If you hang around someone long enough, then the character of that person rubs off on you, and the same is true with Jesus – His character will be formed in us as we abide in Him. Praise God! I remember an elderly man tell me, “sister, when I am next to you and when I see your passion for Jesus, that sure rubs off on me. I get charged too and I am bubbling with joy.” That is the kind of influence you need to have on people! 1 John 2:6 says, He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.”
ABIDING IN JESUS MAKES YOU A GOOD WITNESS:
A person who abides in Jesus Christ all the time, will certainly shine like Jesus. Christian Minister Richard Wurmbrand while in prison, shared a cell with a young Communist lad, who wanted to have nothing to do with Christianity. Rations were very low in the prison, and yet Wurmbrand used to share his bread with that young atheist. One day Wurmbrand was telling the young man about a Christian of whom it was said that he was like Jesus. The young man turned around to Wurmbrand "If Jesus is like you, I would like to know Him" What a witness for Christ! (from the book "In God’s Underground" by Richard Wurmbrand.)
While I was working for a multinational bank, I would go around the desks during tea breaks and share the love of Jesus with them. One lady Vice President just held on to my hands and refused to leave them, as I spoke about Jesus to her. She said: “I can feel peace as I hold on to your hands.” As you abide in Jesus, He touches every area of your life and makes you a source of peace for the lost souls in the world. The
more and more you keep touching Him, you can touch the world too! Are you listening? 1 John 5:12 says, “He who has the Son has life….”
1 John 3:6 says, “Whoever abides in Him does not sin.
Whoever sins has neither seen Him or known Him.” The only way to stay away from sin and from the ways of the wicked world is to be saturate oneself in the presence of God and also fill the mind with scriptures. Do you hear me? After I got saved, I prepared a time table for prayer and fasting and also had an agenda for Bible reading. I never deviated from it but stuck to it vigorously. I had to go through periods of discouragements, failure, pain, criticisms and persecution but I was able to sail through it all because I did not give up on one thing, and that is to ABIDE IN HIM.
1 John 4:12,13 says, “No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.” This is powerful! You can never be the same after you ‘abide in Him’. It affects your nature, your character and every aspect of your life. Deep lasting spiritual change is a process. It rarely happens overnight. Bible reading, meditating His Word, worship, prayer, fasting, accountability, obedience are disciplines that reap huge spiritual blessings.
When you are saturated with His presence, the devil can find no way to enter and create confusion. Galatians 5:22 says, “But the fruit of the Holy Spirit is love…” We need to be people of love. This is possible only when we ‘abide in Him’!. Jesus very strongly says, “for without Me you can do nothing.” Very true! Abiding in Him means abiding in His Word, having a close relationship with Him through fasting and prayer.
Dear friend, walking with God is no easy job: you would be hurt, you would be misunderstood, you would be rejected and you would be dejected. In the midst of it all, you need to be able to love others as Jesus loved the people who beat and cursed Him. We would never have rifts and divisions in the churches if we are filled with this ‘divine love’. We would never have fights at homes, if we are filled with this love. Youth groups would never have tug of war over who will lead, if only we have more of this love. In this self-centered world we need to be filled with this ‘divine love’ to be real witnesses for Christ. We need unflagging energy, passion, persistence, patience, punctilious, assiduous and nerves of steel to succeed. Friend, no fun in just making statements, once aboard with God we need to learn the skills of growing in the Lord. Let our lives speak louder!
1 John 2:28 “……abide in Him that when He appears, we may have confidence and not
be ashamed before Him at His coming.”
