Jesus Christ reveals the
only authentic resource of anointing and power in these words, recorded in the Gospel of
John 15:1-7 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me
that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it,
that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken
unto you. 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. 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. 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. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it
shall be done unto you. It is imperative that we cultivate abiding in His presence.
Abiding in His presence does not come easy, many will be the distractions as well as the
attractions provided by the foe of your soul, attempting to prevent intimacy between us
and the Lover of our soul. We must learn how to keep our mind and heart stayed upon the
Lord. (See Isaiah 26:3-4) Abiding In Jesus Is Essential To Bearing Fruit The promise is very clear if we abide in Christ we will be fruitful. If we fail to abide in Jesus we become unfruitful and are in danger of being cast aside. Jesus reminds us very firmly "without HIM we can accomplish nothing. This word nothing is a strong word, it is the Greek work, oudeis; which means a zero with a vacuum in it. It means absolutely nothing. This word deals with total failure. That is what happens if we attempt to accomplish anything apart from total dependance on Christ. We can do nothing. However it is very encouraging to know that with Him and by Him we can accomplish anything.
God’s Own Garden In John 15 Jesus used the word "husbandman" to define His Father. Figurative: Jesus said "I am the true vine, and my father is the husbandman," He plants, cultivates, prunes and anticipates and expects fruits from His church. The church is alluded to as "God's husbandry by Paul in(See 1 Cor 3:9). It is very important to grasp the term "husbandman." Let’s examine some translations of this word. Paul used this same word to help describe the Body of Christ in 1 Cor 3:9 "For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building."In this passage we discover ourselves being described as "God’s Own Garden"or "God’s Tilled Field." Notice the term Jesus used to described Father God. In John 15:1 "I am the true Vine, and my Father is the Gardener. Again in the (RSV) we read "I am the true vine, and my Father is the Vinedresser. How wonderful to know that He will tend us with loving care. He will bring the right amount of sunshine and rain into our life. The Divine Gardner will always do for us and in us what will produce the most fruit through us. One of the most important ministries of the Vinedresser is that of purgeth or pruning, the cutting away of useless branches, that hinders true fruitfulness. The Greek word is kathairo- which deals with the aspect or the act of removing: it means - to cleanse of filth, impurity, etc. Also to prune trees and vines from useless shoots, metaphorically, to cleanse from guilt, to make amends, or to atone. Jesus used almost the same word- which speaks of essentially the same action when he said "takes away" this word is the word for lifting up the anchor of a ship, sending it sailing away. God does this to the unproductive parts of our life that keeps us from being able to bear good fruit. The word abide is a precious word, it deals with taking up permanent residence. Many are the precious promises released to us, if we abide in Jesus and let the Word of God abide in us. We have the promise of answered prayers. The Lord is answering the plea and prayer of His disciple found in Luke 11:1 - "Lord teach us to pray." As we abide in Him we can ask and receive, it is the Father’s good pleasure to give us the Kingdom. It will produce great joy, to see your prayers answered. (See John 16:24). God will answer our prayers and reveal to us great and mighty things which we have no comprehension of. (See Jer. 33:3).
Abiding In The Presence Of God Have you ever wondered just what qualifies one to go to the next level of anointing? Or just how God positions some in places of leadership. One explanation is found in Joshua’s life. In Exodus 33: We are told of the manifested presence of God coming down into the Tabernacle in a cloudy pillar, One little statement stands out, "he stayed in the Tabernacle". Joshua would not leave the presence of God. This is what qualified him to be the next leader of the people of God. He so loved to be in arena of the anointing. The longing of his heart was to stay in the presence of God. Remember it is only the manifested presence of God that makes us unique and different. Moses pleaded with God saying " God if your presence does not go with us we do not want to go". Let review the account of the conversation between Moses and God, recorded in Exod 33:11- Inside the tent the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. Afterwards Moses would return to the camp, but the young man who assisted him, Joshua (son of Nun), stayed behind in the Tabernacle. Moses talked there with the Lord and said to him, "You have been telling me, 'Take these people to the Promised Land,' but you haven't told me whom you will send with me. You say you are my friend, and that I have found favor before you; please, if this is really so, guide me clearly along the way you want me to travel so that I will understand you and walk acceptably before you. For don't forget that this nation is your people."And the Lord replied, "I myself will go with you and give you success." For Moses had said, "If you aren't going with us, don't let us move a step from this place. If you don't go with us, who will ever know that I and my people have found favor with you, and that we are different from any other people upon the face of the earth?" Many circumstances capture our attention from this passage of scripture. First, it is wonderful to know God longs to communicate with us. It is marvelous to know that God spoke to Moses face to face as a man speaks to his friends. (See John 15:15). This knowledge should compel us to do all we can in order to be called a FRIEND of GOD. God shares His secrets with His friends. Once I asked the Lord about a prophetic man, who at that time in his life was going though much controversy, when I asked the Lord His opinion of this man, very quickly the Lord spoke to me and "He is MY FRIEND!" That was all I needed to know concerning this man of God. Second, we learn from this passage that God will give us clear directions, as we seek His leadership. If we have the heart of Joshua longing to abide in the place of anointing, we too can be transformed. As we behold Christ Jesus we are transformed into His likeness.
Our Position In Christ Jesus The Lord is speaking much to the Body of Christ today from the first chapter of the book of Ephesians it is very interesting to look over the little word "in", it is used over twenty five times. As we ponder the use of this word we gain much needed assurance of our position in Christ. Also we much have confidence in the provisions of Christ. We would do well to study very closely the use of this little yet very important word, "IN". Notice just a few of these "in’s" found in these verses. Eph 1:2-11 "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth-- in Him. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will," Only as we abide in HIM that we have true victory, because it is in Him we live and move and have our being. It is in HIM that we find all Wisdom and Knowledge. It is in HIM that the fullness of the God-head dwells. May great grace be granted to each of us causing us to come to Christ and set at His feet as did Mary, enabling us to do the one thing that is most needful, abide in His presence. Only then can we bear true fruit that will remain.
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February 1999
