Scripture: John 15 v 4 - 9: "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.
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.
6 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.
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.
8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love."
The true secret of fruitfulness is revealed in these verses. It is abiding in Jesus. The word 'abide' means to stay and dwell in Him. Jesus is saying we must constantly live in Him, which should be easy but some believers wander off into doubts, fears, sinful activities and lose their focus.
The greatest desire of our Saviour is to see more fruit growing on the vine. Jesus is the Vine, the Holy Spirit is the sap in the Vine and our Father is the One who tends the Vine, pruning, fertilizing, watering and harvesting it.
The fruit is new budding disciples won by our true testimony, prayers and love for the lost. If we neglect this important part of our life in Christ Jesus, we may lose our ability to abide in Him. We need to keep this Vine growing as we are the branches upon it. If we are spiritually idle we (our branch) will wither and dry up waiting to be cast aside.
Zechariah 3 v 7 - 8: " Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by.
8 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH."
In this Old Testament prophecy the coming Servant of God, Jesus Christ, is the big BRANCH while we will be the branches that grow alongside Him. The secret of abiding is walking in His ways, being obedient to His Word. If we do not abide we will dry up.
We need to reflect on how much has changed within ourselves since Jesus began our extreme makeover. I, personally, am not even remotely related to my old unregenerated self. She died under the waters of baptism umpteen years ago. She may have made some feeble attempts to reappear to mock the new me but has now completely expired. Thankfully.
Our old self clings to memories of sinful behaviour which fell under the label of FUN. Being born again means FUNdamental change of every part of our lives. Jesus says we must work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. Fear of being dragged back into the ravages of sin, and trembling with eagerness to grow into His likeness.
The only way to progress is to abide in Him. Dwell in His presence no matter what our occupation may be. Pray about large and small things because if we abide in Him those prayers will be answered.
If we are constantly repenting of old sins and renewing our commitment to God, what I call 'renting a place at the altar', then perhaps our salvation was just mental acknowledgement of Jesus rather than conversion of heart. This is a very real problem but it is rooted in pride that says I can do this for myself.
Pride is a companion of an independent nature. This means independent of God's help until an emergency forces us to our knees. It also seeks every other kind of help before turning to the Lord. We need to know that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.
Humility is not a weakness, it is our strength under God's control. Humility esteems others higher than ourselves. It yields to other opinions and is considerate, inoffensive and gracious. In this day and age of heightened self esteem its quite rare.
Our confidence should be in God's ability not our own. Every condition that is preceded by self- is in contradiction of humility. Self-aggrandizement, self-love, selfishness, self-centred, self-aware etc are a small sample of those characters who will find it difficult to abide in Him. Jesus Christ must be at the centre of all we do. His approval keeps us in check.
When we are in full submission to Jesus as the centre of our lives, He brings peace and order to every situation. He fills us with His love to be able to help others abide in Him.
Then we encounter the words of Paul the Apostle who says we must die to self. We must put to death everything in ourselves that is contrary to God's will for us. We must examine ourselves in His light and compare ourselves to His walk and words. Like if men have looked on a woman who was not their wife, with lust in their hearts, then they have already committed adultery with her.
Every movie, billboard, mobile phone etc is a source of that kind of adultery. This is a sex mad world and 'real' men are experts at it. Jesus never sinned nor lusted after any woman and we must be like Him to abide in Him. Male pride has to break and learn to submit to His level of righteousness by putting away that carnality and honouring Jesus.
Christianity is not a game played on Sundays! It is a completely new way of life. We become citizens of Heaven where no sin is permitted. We must conform to the Body of Christ and not put Him to an open shame.
Women are also independent when they do not submit to their husbands, but argue, fight and send them on guilt trips by reminding them of every misdemeanour since the day they met. A wife is meant to be a helpmeet who supports her husband so they both live a more Godly life.
A couple who share their faith and pray together about the needs of their family, who read Bible together and enjoy fellowship with the Lord will find it easy to abide in Him. They will find favour with God and man and be blessed by prayers being answered timeously by God.
A hymn made famous during World War 2 is
Abide With Me
"Abide with me, fast falls the eventide
The darkness deepens Lord, with me abide
When other helpers fail and comforts flee
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me
Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day
Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away
Change and decay in all around I see
O Thou who changest not, abide with me
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness
Where is death's sting?
Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me
Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies
Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee
In life, in death, o Lord, abide with me
Abide with me, abide with me."
Prayer: Heavenly Father, forgive us for our selfish independent nature which offends You. Please change us to be vessels of righteousness that abide in Jesus. We don't want to dry up and be cast aside. O Lord we do need our prayers answered. In Jesus' name. Amen.