ABIDE IN ME and MY WORDS IN YOU
I woke one Saturday morning (July
23, 2022) a couple weeks ago to the Lord speaking those words to me. I knew
there must be more to that phrase than just what appears on the surface.
Proverbs 25:2 – It is the glory
of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.
While none of us here may be
literal kings (or queens), the Bible does tell us in Rev 1:6,10 that Jesus has
made us Kings and priests unto God. And the Bible also instructs us to SEARCH
the Scriptures. (John 5:39)
Solomon said he applied his heart
to know and to SEARCH and to seek out wisdom. (Ecc 7:25)
Have you ever asked the Lord,
“what does that mean?” when you read a Scripture?
If you ask and then listen, He’ll
begin to reveal and open your understanding to deeper things.
Jesus spoke many things in
parables yet there was a deeper meaning behind His words. He revealed it to those who stayed close to
Him and asked (meaning, His disciples). But sometimes we have to do a little
digging, a little more studying, a little more searching the Scriptures to
understand the meaning more fully.
ABIDE means “to stay, to dwell,
to remain stable”….unmovable, unshakeable.
Oxford dictionary added this definition: “to accept or act in accordance
with a rule, decision, or recommendation.”
Hannah had longed for and prayed desperately
for a child and promised God that if He would give her a baby, she would
dedicate that child back to the service of the Lord.
When he was old enough, Hannah
brought her long awaited, earnestly prayed for first born son, Samuel, to Eli
at the Tabernacle so he could appear before the Lord and ABIDE there forever.
(1 Sam 1:22)
As a mother, that had to be the
hardest thing but she knew the best thing for him would be to dwell in the
house of the Lord doing the work of the Lord.
Samuel dwelt and remained in the
presence of the Lord all the days of his life.
His mom made the choice for him before he was born. But he then made the choice to remain in the
service of the Lord - steady, unmovable, unshakeable, keeping his mind and
focus on God and listening for what God had to say. Because he chose to ABIDE
in God’s presence, God used him mightily as a Prophet in Israel.
David asked and then answered his
own question in Psalm 15…
1 – Lord, who shall ABIDE in Thy
Tabernacle? Who shall Dwell in Thy holy hill?
The answer came….
2 – He that walketh uprightly,
and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the Truth in His heart.
3 – He that backbiteth not with
his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against
his neighbor.
4 – in whose eyes a vile person
is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and
changeth not.
5 – he that putteth not out his
money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth THESE
THINGS shall never be moved.
BECAUSE their hearts are fixed on
God and doing what is right in His eyes.
David made this vow to God….
Psalm 61:4 – I will ABIDE in Thy
Tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert (covering) of Thy wings.
David went on to talk about those
who FEAR the Name of the Lord. In other
words, they don’t treat or take the Name of the Lord lightly. They reverence His holy Name. David said the
ones that do….
Psalm 61:7 – He shall ABIDE
before God for ever: O prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him.
David must have learned a lot
about ABIDING in God because he again penned in
Psalm 91:1 – He that DWELLETH in the secret place of the Most High shall ABIDE
under the shadow of the Almighty.
There is a secret place in God
that is only found through close communion and much time spent with the King of
Kings. It’s not hard to find. It just takes spending more time in prayer,
Bible reading, and fasting.
It is a place that is so precious
and sweet when you find it. Once you
find it, you will long to be in God’s presence more. You’ll long to read your Bible. Because in those times, you will feel God’s
presence hovering and speaking to you. Sometimes, He’ll even wake you in the
night hours to talk to Him, and He’ll draw you to and show you things in His
Word.
When you find and remain in the
Secret Place of the Most High, God is going to cover and protect you.
Jesus also talked about the need
to ABIDE….
Throughout John chapter 15, Jesus
mentions the instruction to ‘abide’ several times.
John 15:4 – ABIDE in Me and I in
you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it ABIDE in the
vine; no more can ye, except ye ABIDE in Me.
I have a grape vine that has
branches extending out in all directions.
However, if I was to cut one of those branches off, it would not be long
before it withers and dies.
The main vine is where the
branches get their nutrients from. That branch can not bear fruit unless it
stays connected to the vine.
Grape vines require adequate
exposure to sunlight in order to produce fruit.
The more sun they get, the more abundant the harvest.
Jesus went on to explain in John
15:5 – I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that ABIDETH in Me, and I in him,
the same bringeth forth MUCH FRUIT: for without Me ye can do nothing.
* The more you stay connected to
the vine (which is Jesus), and the more you let God saturate you with His
presence, the more spiritual fruit you will produce.
Jesus issued a dire warning in John
15:6 – IF a man ABIDE NOT in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and withered;
and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
* We won’t make it if we don’t
stay connected to Jesus!
* There is no way you can stay
alive spiritually for long if you’re not praying daily; not reading God’s
letters of instruction to you (the Bible) every day; not attending Church
faithfully and hearing what God is trying to say to you through the
preacher.
* Too many are trying to live a
life disconnected from the Vine (Jesus Christ).
They may be alive physically, but they are dead spiritually. We will
spend eternity somewhere. The choice is
ours. Living for Jesus will be worth it all in the end. Those who choose not to live a dedicated life
for Jesus will quickly realize the first moment in the flames of hell how much
the things of this world were NOT WORTH IT. Choose to ABIDE in the vine and live for Jesus
while you can.
Jesus continued in John 15:7 – IF
ye ABIDE in Me, and My words ABIDE in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it
shall be done unto you.
* Notice: there was a requirement
followed by a Promise.
Jesus was trying to open their understanding in John 15:7 teaching:
IF ye ABIDE in Him = you remain stable, won’t be shaken in your faith, one who is in Church, then out, living for God, then they're not, they live this way, then the opposite. They’re unsteady and waver in what they believe.
And He also said we need to let His words ABIDE in us = God’s Words need to remain in us.
The Bible talks about those who are a forgetful hearer (James 1:25)
It’s so easy to “hear” the preached Word or read something in the Bible, but then not remember what we heard or read not long afterwards.
We need to strive to keep God’s Word in our hearts and minds.
Not to be a forgetful hearer so you will not waiver or be easily swayed by every wind of doctrine. .
Remember the second part of the definition of ABIDE was: to accept and act in accordance with God’s rules, decisions, or instructions.
This flesh can get in the way and think that certain rules, decisions, or instruction are unfair or ridiculous. It’s easy to want to rebel against them.
This afternoon, as I was
driving home, I was asking God for more understanding concerning what
He had spoke. He answered in a way I wasn't expecting. I was absentmindedly
driving, following a vehicle in front
of me, not paying attention to my speed or my surroundings.
Suddenly, I noticed there was a patrol car directly behind me and I was doing over the speed limit. I was not ABIDING by the laws of the land. I slowed down and prayed he would have mercy. He followed me as I turned, and I continued fervently praying. Thankfully, he turned again and quit following.
My thoughts and feelings about the laws and rules do not matter. They are there for a reason, and if I break them, there will be consequences unless mercy is shown. Mercy is extended quicker when you are humble and repentant.
Just as we need to abide by the laws of the land, we also need to abide by the laws of God’s Word….whether we like them or not.
So, Jesus said IF we ABIDE in Him and let His Words ABIDE in us…
THEN ye
shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
John 15:8 – Herein is my Father
glorified, that ye bear MUCH FRUIT; so shall ye be My Disciples.
* God is glorified when we
produce spiritual fruit and others see it.
People will be able to know and see that we are His disciples.
* Jesus said all men shall KNOW
we are His disciples if we have love on toward another. (John 13:35) Love is a fruit of the Spirit. God receives
glory when we produce MUCH fruit.
We find another requirement
followed by a promise in the next verse….
John 15:10 – IF ye keep My
commandments, ye shall ABIDE in My love; even as I have kept My Father’s
commandments, and ABIDE in His love.
* We need to follow, keep, accept
and act in accordance with whatever rules, decisions, or instructions are
written in the Bible.
* IF we do this, we will remain
in God’s love.
Jesus wants us to abide in Him
and His Words abide in us.
He said the reason He spoke these
things to us is so that His joy might remain in us and that our joy would be
FULL. (John 15:11)
When we abide in Christ and His
Words abide in us, we will have joy and our joy will be full.
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