Hello, my name is Adam Knapp from All People’s Church and I am with you on God Today. I want to focus for a moment on what it means to abide in God. So often we hear that phrasing. It is talked about in worship circles and prayer. We are told we need to abide in Him and we have this idea sometimes in our mind, but never necessarily, the actual understanding of what that looks like. We know it comes out of John 15 and that God is the vinedresser, and Jesus the vine, and we are told to abide in Him and apart from Him we can do nothing.
What does it actually mean to abide in Him and what does it mean when we are not? You see, something related to being fruitful. Jesus says that if we are fruitful by abiding in Him we will prove to be His disciples and bring glory to His father. The question is: what does it mean to abide? Is it just some idea? It is proximity? Is it being close to Him? If you read further down in John 15, the conversation turns and Jesus says, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love.” It is not about some feeling, or some notion, or some idea. It’s about walking in obedience and pursuing after Him. That is how we remain in that posture of abiding. It is not proximity based on feelings. It is proximity based on obedience. When we follow after Him and we pursue after Him and listen to the leading of His voice, we know we abide in His love and become fruitful in Him. It is the same thing Paul speaks about in Galatians, where se says, “Against all thing there is no loss.” Speaking of the fruit of the Spirit.
I want to encourage you today. Maybe the Lord has told you to do something and you are nervous about it, or you are not sure how it will go over, or you are not sure how people will respond. Let me remind you: we are called to abide in Him. That means to be obedient, step out in faith, trust that He is going to help you. He will take care of the results. Because ultimately, if He has called you to do it, He understands what is going to be the fall out, and He is going to strengthen you through it. Again, I just want to encourage you to make sure you are abiding in the Lord. I want to pray with you for a moment so that the Lord will strengthen you and help you with that.
Father, I ask you would help those that are watching right now to lean into your heart and to trust you. If you have given them commandments, if you have given them things you would like them to you, that you are going to assist them and your grace is going to empower them to be able to do those things. Father, we talk so often about abiding in you and loving you. But, I ask that of this generation, that we would be those that would be obedient and that we would show forth our love by following after you and allowing you to be Lord of our lives. Strengthen those now that are struggling with this in areas where maybe they have fallen, or they failed, and they feel like they can never get back up again. Lord, let them realize that all they need to do is begin to obey and abide. Lord, I thank you for what you’re doing for those that are watching. I pray this in Jesus’ Name. My name is Adam Knapp and this is God Today.