By Rev. Michael Mwangi
Senior Pastor, Fedha Church KAG
John 15:1-11
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
After returning to God by repenting, we must abide in Him. The way to abide is through our obedience to God’s Word and remaining faithful. That's why God desires obedience more than sacrifice.
1 Samuel 15:22
22 But Samuel replied:
“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
Obedience or abiding means we are walking according to his word and decrees. It is living in obedience
John 14
21. Whoever has my
commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be
loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.
23“All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them”
Abiding ushers his presence
As we abide, his word abides in us. Jesus lives in us in the person of the Holy Spirit. His presence lives in us through the Holy Spirit, God takes up active residence in our lives at all times leading us and transforming our lives to be more like Jesus.
1 Corinthians 3:16
16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?
Ephesians 2:22
22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
We become the temple and dwellings of the Holy Spirit and more like Jesus and God's children.
His presence dwelling in us and leading us makes us alive.
The Spirit gives life
John 6:63
It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
Romans 8
14. For those who
are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.
His presence makes the difference and ushers the following:
Abiding results in fruit-bearing
As long as we are abiding in him and his word in us, fruit-bearing is normal. God desires us to bear fruit which is a mark of true disciples.
John 15.8
This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
We bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit residing in us and our lives are Christ-like in every aspect.
Galatians 5
22. But the fruit
of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness,
23. gentleness and
self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Similarly, when we are not abiding, we draw away from his fellowship, we walk in the fresh and our lives are canal
Galatians 5
19 The acts of the
flesh are obvious; sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery,
20 idolatry and
witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition,
dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.
Abiding cures our struggles with sin
When we abide in him we live in the spirit and we are no longer controlled by the flesh or struggling with sin. When we are not abiding we are carnal Christians who live according to the desires of the flesh even when we know the truth which is very frustrating. You live as a slave of sin yet you desire to do the right thing.
Romans 14:14-24
14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. 15 If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.
19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.
22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
But when we abide in him and His Spirit working in us, we don't struggle with sin and enjoy a life of freedom and victory. Sin is a bad master and always enslaves but the Holy Spirit frees us from sins.
2 Corinthians 3:17
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
Where there is Spirit there is liberty.
Galatian 5:16
So I say live by the spirit and you will not gratify
the desire of the flesh.
Abiding cures, the struggles of life
When we are struggling in sin we experience spiritual dryness and barrenness. As a result, we also experience physical and material drought that brings struggles in our lives. But as we abide in him, we are connected to him who is our source of provision. We live for him a true picture of Christ and a witness and a light to the world around us. As a result of the connection and intimacy, our lives are well-supplied.
As his word abides in us, our desires and will are conformed to his. We become righteous and more kingdom-minded and therefore pray and ask what pleases him and in line with his will. Thus he promises to ask anything in my name and you will receive. sure We will not struggle in life or with need.
Abiding brings divine power.
Abiding ensures we walk right with God and we have his presence with us.
We therefore walk in divine victory because nothing can stand us. As righteous people, we have power over situations and principalities
James 5:16
16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
The prayers of a righteous person are powerful
Pruning
Vines are raised for fruit bearing not leaves. Branches that bear fruits are pruned to be more fruitful. Pruning removes excessive leaves to channel nutrition to fruit bearing. As we live for him we go through trials to mature our faith and make us more productive
James 1:2
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials
of many kinds.
Unproductive branches
If we are not abiding, we are disconnected. We are technically spiritually dead.
Ephesians 2:5-6
5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.
We were dead in our sins
If you are living in sin you are like a branch that that is cut off from the tree and its place is in the fire. Dead branches harbour pests and breed diseases that's why they are thrown into the fire.
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