Simply Abide!
JJ Daniel, Washington
John 15:4 "Abide
in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bare fruit of itself, unless it abides
in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me."
John 15: "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained
you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should
remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it
you."
How DOES one "abide in Him"?
1.
Read His Word.
John
7:49 “But this people who knoweth not the law are
cursed.”
Col:3:16:
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and
admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with
grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Psalms
1:1-3 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the
counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the
seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law
doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the
rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also
shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Pr 8:35:
For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD. 36:
But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me
love death.
Pr 8:35-36
in the NL: “Whoever finds me finds LIFE, and wins approval from the Lord.
But those who miss me have injured themselves. All who hat me – love death.”
Mt:24:35:
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
2.
Meditate on His Word.
Josh:1:8:
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate
therein day and
night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein:
for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good
success.
Psalms
1:1-3
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor
standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But
his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and
night.And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth
forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever
he doeth shall prosper
.
3.
Seek HIM, and His Righteousness.
Matthew
6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his
righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
4.
Spend time talking with Him.
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……..Psalms 91
5.
Get to know Him
John
15:a5 “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the
servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all
things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.”
6.
Worship Him.
"He inhabits (abides) in the Praise of His people."
1Peter
2:9: “But ye are a
chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that
ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness
into his marvelous light.”
Psalm
34:1 “I will bless the
LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.”
John
15:7 "If you abide
in Me, and I in you... you may ask what you will and it will be done."
We "have what
we ask" - when we pray according to God's will.
“I John 5:14-15 “And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask
anything according to His will, He hears us; and if we know that He hears us,
what ever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.”
When we keep
asking and asking and asking, and it seems we have no answer from the Father...
it's probably because we don't have a handle on what He has in mind. He will not go against His plans, or your
will.
We some times get discouraged, even angry with God - but WE
have tied His hands, and He's waiting on us to get into step with Him. *Smile*
My friend Al, from Hawaii - taught me something awhile
back that really stuck with me! I was in a season of “wanting my OWN WAY!!!”
(Wouldn’t admit it to just everyone, but kind of like a child throwing a
tantrum). * Smile* Al shared with me
about petting a cat. I am not always the fastest, to GET something… had
to think about it a bit… but when I got it, I GOT IT! *
Smile* We all know that our
favorite cat loves to be stroked, from its head to its tail. He spoke of how we
know the cat is happy, by his purrrrrrrr…. And how content it makes us feel, as
well as the cat.
He went on to
say: but what happens if you continue to pet that cat, in the same direction
but the cat turns around? Now you are petting him from tail to head. The purring stops! The cat is no longer happy! There is no contentment, there is no
peace!
I was that cat!!!
I really hadn’t consulted The Father about His opinion of the situation, (didn’t want to know!!) I wanted what I WANTED,
and I wanted Him to agree! hehehe! I
was whining because He wasn’t doing what I wanted!
I was like that cat, turned in
the wrong direction. God will NOT
change His mind about me, or reconstruct His plans & purposes to fit my
will or my whims.
I was trying to
go left, and He was going right! We had
a standoff; guess who wins? Hehehe
When I GOT
IT, a day or two later… and got myself back on-track, and seeking to know
God, and His will… there was an instant change! The whining ceased! The
struggle ended! The depression lifted! Peace and joy ruled once again! *smile *
And God hadn’t moved or changed His mind about anything! He was still right
there – on track… where He always is! (Thanks Father, for being so patient, and
faithful – in spite of me!)
God’s got ONE mind; ONE will, and He’s going
in one direction; we can go with Him…. Or not!
We find Peace of Mind, Contentment, and joy when we are
running with Him.
Ø
We
know His Will, first from knowing His Word, and then by knowing
His voice, or His personal-direction.
Ø
We get to know His
voice, just like we get to know the voice of those we love.... we 'hang
out' with em a lot! *smile*
Just
like a child knows his mother's voice; Just like a Mom knows their child's
voice, in a crowed room..... We can know the voice of our Heavenly Father, and
“Abide” in His will.
"And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them,
and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice." John 10:4
The NIV Bible says that Sheep in a coral will ignore everyone around
them. No matter how many shepherds come looking for their sheep – they only
respond to the voice of THEIR SHEPHERD!
Awesome, hu? J
Ø
Spend
time with Him;
Ø
Know
Him;
Ø
Hear
Him;
Ø
Follow
Him;
Ø
Abide in Him.
God bless you & yours, as you run with Jesus, and serve His people!
Shalom! Shine on Jesus!
