​​ABIDE IN ME AND I IN YOU

"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch, and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you. By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you, abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love. These things have I spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends, if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give to you. This I command you, that you love one another." John 15:1-17 NASB

The True Vine

In part one of this study, we looked at Jesus, the True Vine. We also talked about the importance of knowing that Jesus is the Only True Vine. Learning that the Father is truly the husbandman of both the Vine and the branches, we can see and appreciate the Loving Care and Compassion that He gives to us. It is for our benefit that the Vinedresser nourishes and prunes.

Pruning

Pruning is not always a pleasant experience. If you have experienced the Pruning Shears of God's Hand then you know that that is an understatement! A more intimate look at the process may, however, give us insight into the Heart of God.

It is not God's Will that we go about life being and remaining wild and undisciplined. He has a Plan for each of us and it is His Desire that we fulfill our destiny in and through Him. He cares for the new branch as it is conceived in the Vine. A new birth has taken place and the Father...the Vinedresser...is anxious that this new branch has everything it needs to grow into the fruit yielding branch that it is intended to be. The destiny of the branch is found in God's Heart. It is God's Desire that His Will be found in our heart.

Pruning is necessary for growth. But it's not just for the sake of being a strong branch. He wants a fruitful branch. Our conception in His Heart is through the Vine and He, our Father Vinedresser, is the giver of life to that branch. We are not created just to prance around and show how strong we are and how many leaves we have on our branch! We are created to bear fruit...not just fruit...but much fruit.

"It is as the soul gives up its own thoughts and men's thoughts of what is religion and yields itself heartily, humbly, patiently to the teaching of the Word by the Spirit, that the Father will do his blessed work of pruning and cleansing away all of nature and self that mixes with our work and hinders His Spirit. Let those who would know all the Husbandman can do for them, all the Vine can bring forth through them, seek earnestly to yield themselves heartily to the blessed cleansing through the Word. Let them, in their study of the Word, receive it as a hammer that breaks and opens up, as a fire that melts and refines, as a sword that lays bare and slays all that is of the flesh. The word of conviction will prepare for the word of comfort and of hope, and the Father will cleanse them through the Word.

All ye who are branches of the true Vine, each time you read or hear the Word, wait first of all on Him to use it for His cleansing of the branch. Set your heart upon His desire for more fruit. Trust him as Husbandman to work it. Yield yourselves in simple childlike surrender to the cleansing work of His Word and Spirit, and you may count upon it that His purpose will be fulfilled in you."

"Father, I pray, cleanse me through Your Word. Let it search out and bring to light all that is of self and the flesh in my religion. Let it cut away every root of self-confidence, that the Vine may find me wholly free to receive His life and Spirit. O my holy Husbandman, I trust You to care for the branch as much as for the Vine. You only are my hope." The True Vine, Andrew Murray, Moody Press

Abide In Me, And I In You

"Abide in Me, and I in You" is a two-fold command from our Lord. Let's look at the first part of the command.

Abide in Me...What does it mean? What is Jesus, the Vine, saying here? The Vinedresser, our Heavenly Father, desires that we have our abode in the Vine...Jesus. But what is required of us in order for us to abide in Him?

The place of abiding must be a place wherein we place our trust and are willing to offer our obedience. It is not a place of haphazard choosing. To abide in Christ, we must trust Christ. To offer our obedience to Christ we must separate ourselves from all other obediences in our lives.

We desire to be obedient to His Word but we do not always succeed. We look at ourselves and say, "I can't do it. I want to but I can't...Something must be wrong with me." We humans are very egotistical in our earthly nature. We are accustomed to thinking that we must perform...even where God is concerned. This is the reason we fail in "our attempts" to abide in Christ.

First, we must choose that we desire in our heart to abide in Christ. Next, we must allow Jesus, the true Vine, to place within us as branches, the ability to allow Him to do the work. You see, we can't give out of our outer man what is not within our inner man...our spirit man.

The only way we can trust Christ and be obedient to Him is through His Grace. It is only by His Grace that we even realize that we are to abide in Him. He is the One Who, through His Holy Spirit, moves within us to lead us into His Will...in-to Himself. Abiding in Christ is a command, but it is by His Grace that we are enabled to do so.

The second part of this command, "...and I in you..." shows us an additional strength within the command. We must prepare ourselves for Christ to abide in us...abide in Him. The active participation of our will to choose to abide in Christ is the ground cultivation which leads us to allow Christ to abide in us.

In my opinion, there is a very special revelation in this phrase, "...and I in you". We are to abide in His abiding. You see, we can't take the first step without His provision of His Grace. We are to take our abiding, rest in the abiding, accept the abiding, in the fact that He abides within us. It is in this dual abiding, that we find the true Source of the life of the branch. This double abiding provides the branch...us...with the ability, the nourishment, the power to live out what the Vine has placed within us. We are "twice blessed"! Isn't His Grace an amazing thing?

Have you noticed a particular word in the last few sentences? The word is "in". It is a small word but filled with and from a Depth that our finite minds cannot totally comprehend. In fact, used in the context of this Scripture, we cannot comprehend it at all. We need accept His grace to do His work within us to the depth that he has called for us.

"...Let us look upon this infinite, divine, omnipotent Vine loving us, holding us, working in us. Let us in the faith of His working abide and rest in Him alone. And let us count upon Him to fulfill in us the mystery of 'Ye in Me, and I in you' John 14:20. The True Vine, Andrew Murray, Moody Classics

As The Branch Cannot Bear Fruit Of Itself, Unless It Abides In
The Vine, Neither Can You, Unless You Abide In Me

As we look at the process of a vine, we can see that it is impossible for the branch to bear any fruit unless it is attached to the vine. If the branch is broken from the vine, it loses its ability to receive nourishment...it loses its "life". Without nourishment, without "life", the branch will wither and die and not produce any fruit.

But, you know, that is exactly what we try to do. We try to produce fruit without abiding in the Vine. It is impossible but we try anyway! We are so programmed to perform for positive results, that we miss the "abiding" part altogether. We haven't yet learned that what God demands, God provides. He knows we can't do it! We're the ones who keep trying in spite of the impossibility of it all!

"You know, there's something just absolutely incredible about the Grace of God. Because His Grace comes to us in every one of those broken areas of our lives and puts us back together. Let's praise Him for the Glory of His Grace." Higher Call, CD, Steve Fry, Heart Cry

We need strength...He is our Strength. We need support...His is our Support.
We need help...He is our Help. We need....GRACE....and He is!

Our God knows the depths of our shallows. He knows us from the inside out. Others know us from the outside in, if we give them opportunity. The branch requires deep grafting into the Vine to take root and receive the substance of Life.

Abiding in the Vine is "...the restful surrender of the soul to let Christ have all and work all, as completely as in nature the branch knows and seeks nothing but the vine." The True Vine, Andrew Murray, Moody Classics

God's Chosen People

God's chosen people cannot be separated from His Given Land. Let the Word of the Lord speak for itself:

"For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not keep quiet, until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, and her salvation like a torch that is burning. And the nations will see your righteousness, and the nations will see your glory, and you will be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord will designate. You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. It will no longer be said to you, 'Forsaken' nor to your land will it any longer be said, 'Desolate'; But you will be called, 'My delight is in her,' and your land, 'Married'; for the Lord delights in you, and to Him your land will be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, so you sons will marry you; and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God will rejoice over you. Isaiah 62:1-5 NASB

"'Comfort, O comfort My people,' says your God, 'Speak kindly to Jerusalem; and call out to her, that the warfare has ended, that her iniquity has been removed, that she has received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins.' A voice is calling, 'Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. Let every valley be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; and let the rough ground become a plain, and the rugged terrain a broad valley; then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.' A voice says, 'Call out.' Then he answered, 'What shall I call out? All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades. When the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever. Get yourself up on a high mountain, O Zion, bearer of good news, lift up your voice mightily, O Jerusalem, bearer of good news; lift it up, do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, 'Here is your God!' Behold, the Lord God will come with might, with His arm ruling for Him. Behold, His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him. Isaiah 40:1-10

Look At Current Events

The Jews who gathered in flaming torch-light at Yad Vashem on Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day this year recollected, through personal testimony, music, and poetry, the children who perished in what will always remain an inconceivable tragedy, and an incomparable crime.

God promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that their children would be as the stars in the heavens. And so they were: the one-and-a-half-million little ones who died in the flames of the Holocaust. On this year's commemoration they were especially remembered; their names read aloud in the Knesset, and at ceremonies around the world.

But former Knesset speaker, Dov Shilansky, was unable to read out the names of those children he had known and played with, "who were sent to Auschwitz crying 'Mamele, Ich will leben' [Mummy, I want to live]."
"The world heard," he declared, "and was silent."

Shevah Weiss, another former speaker, recalled how most of the children he had known in his Polish village were killed and hung on meat hooks in the local slaughterhouse.

There is no comprehending the evil that so brutally ripped away these millions of innocent lives. And there is no reckoning the wealth with which these children would have infused the Jewish people, and the world, had they been permitted to live their lives to the full.

Snuffed out at the very beginning, all that remains of the light they were intended to bring into the world is the flickering of 1.5 million "stars" in the void of darkness that cloaks the Children's Memorial at Yad Vashem, and the memories of the many-- brothers, sisters, neighbours, friends, and still a few parents--who can never forget.

For those who survived and came to Israel, today no longer all that young, the years since the Holocaust should have afforded a time of healing and peace. They have not. Those who have sowed in so many tears have yet to reap in joy. From The Editor, Middle East Digest, June 1997, ICEJ

Bottom Line

The bottom line is...life. Unless we abide in the Vine, we die. We are to die to ourselves and be birthed within the Mighty Hand of the Vinedresser. His Grace holds us. His Grace nourishes us. His Grace soothes us. His Grace is....Himself.

Sir, we thank You for Your Hands that hold us, nourish us, soothe us and comfort us. But most of all, dear Father, we thank You for Yourself. In Jesus’ Name, we thank You, Amen.

Choice

The choice is ever ours to make. The choice of everlasting death or everlasting life. It is an easy choice. But yet it is difficult. Why? Because we don’t want to let go and simply say, "I can't make it on my own."

Nobody can make it on their own. They may not admit it to you, but the truth within them is still one of defeat.

Do you know that you were never intended to make it on your own? Really!! He wants you to know how much He loves you and cares about you. He is waiting to hold you close to His Heart and give you the Perfect Rest and Peace you've been looking for and been striving for without Him.

He sent His Son, born of a virgin, to live, die, resurrect and ascend for YOU! It doesn't matter what you've done in the past. He loves YOU! You don’t have to "get your act together" before you can reach out to Him. In fact, you can't get your life together until you reach out to Him.

Accept that He lived for YOU.
Accept that He died for YOU.
Accept that He rose from death and ascended to
Heaven to prepare a home for YOU to be with Him.

Ask Him to fill you with the power and presence of His Holy Spirit.

Reach out to Him now. Let Him Love you and show you all the ways He can and will care for YOU. He has always been reaching out to YOU. Won’t you grasp the Hand of the One Who holds your heart in His Heart?

Receive....HIM.

In Jesus' Name Be Blessed

Baruch Haba B'Shem Adonai

Blessed Is He Who Comes In The Name Of The Lord

The True Vine, by Andrew Murray, Moody Classics is an excellent book on the vine as we are taught by the Lord in John 15. We encourage you to obtain a copy if at all possible.