|
|
MOMENTS OF MEDITATION
August 8, 2011 Vol 2. Issue 32 |
|
|
|
Greetings! 
Abiding in Christ is the most sacred engagement of all. There is nothing that holds a more vital role in our lives than keeping ourselves knit to him in everything we do. There is an unction that ties us to Jesus in such a viable way that we must attend to it with the utmost of care. All our efforts to effect a change in those we come in contact with, rests on this fact: As we hold fast to him in life, then and only then can the purest and truest virtues of heaven come forth! |
___________________________________________________________________________ |
If you missed any of our previous email messages, click on "archives"
and take advantage of our selected topics. |
|
________________________________________________________ |
ABIDING IN HIM
Making Him Your Dwelling Place |
"I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth for much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing."
- John 15:5
Everything about our relationship with Christ is predicated on the fact that we are divinely connected to him as our source of life. Jesus said, "The branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine..." (John 15:4). This word "abide," is a reference to a place where one seeks never to depart. There are other words that relate to it, such as: remain, dwell, to continue. All of them implies staying put in a particular station or lot. What we find here, is that it carries the idea of holding fast, to endure, to stay fixed; so as to not drift away. The Amplified Bible describes it as being vitally united. Other renderings speak of it as: taking up permanent residence, to continue to live, or to make Christ your home. All of these ideas are conveyed in the meaning of abide.
In the first epistle of John, we find a key to "abiding." It reads: "But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him"(1 John 2:27). John tells us that the anointing is our teacher. It teaches us everything we need to know. And, the one truth that stands out above all the rest is that the anointing is our assurance that, as we abide in it---we will abide in him. If there is any truth more relevant to the church today, I simply don't know of it. Nothing is as important as learning from the anointing so as to abide in the Anointed One. To assure ourselves that we never depart from this place of abiding, we must become more and more acquainted with the anointing. There are two aspects to the anointing---the anointing within and the anointing upon. The anointing within is that part of our union with Christ that is essential to our experiencing the life of God. The anointing upon is that part of our union with Christ that is essential to our enablement in giving what lives in us. Acts chapter three, verse six, is a perfect example of how both aspects of the anointing operate as one. It reads, "Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." What's obvious, is that Peter had something to give. As a result of what he had, he was able to impart a heavenly virtue into this man that had been lame from his mother's womb. The credit, of course, goes to the power that is in the name of Jesus. Peter even brings this out later in this same passage, "And his name, through faith in his name, hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know..." (verse 16). However, the point that is most relevant is, though we know that this miracle came as a result of faith in the name of Jesus, there had to be more involved that attributed to how Peter was so conscious to yield to the anointing. If you read carefully the opening text, Jesus said, "...for without me ye can do nothing" (John 15:5). And who is He? He is the Anointed One! Through his anointing, we are not only able to maintain a heavenly union, but we quality ourselves to become a heavenly conduit!
The key to your giving is really all based upon your living. What lives in you is what you have to give out to others. If we're not abiding in a place where the teacher is teaching us how to live our life in him, then what is it that we have to offer? If there is anything I have learned from the anointing it is this, it has the power to make us aware of our need to stay vitally connected to Jesus. By becoming aware of our need to hold fastly to him, there grows within a hunger to be used by him. If, for whatever reason, we fail to engage ourselves in the anointing that builds life within us, then it is certain our appetite for the purest of the anointing will change. Many ministers have abused the anointing upon because they have neglected the anointing within. In other words, they have allowed their attention to be drawn to an outward manifestation of the anointing instead of nurturing what is vital to the anointing---their personal union with the Anointed One. Jesus said, "Out of your belly shall flow rivers of living water" (John 7:38). For water to remain alive and fresh, it must maintain a source of supply that is living. Anytime we try to operate under the anointing, when our spiritual reservoir of life is ebbing away, then our efforts will be helplessly ineffective. We must allow the teacher to teach us about life, about abiding in him, then the river will produce the results it was intended to produce!
|
Prayer
Father, today, my desire is to stir up the anointing within. I come to you in humble adoration of all that you are. I worship you with my whole heart---with all that is within me. I seek your face. I want to feed on your presence and be filled with your life. Draw me nearer and nearer until my heart is aflame with a renewed sense of hunger and passion for only you. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen. |
Confession
My heart burns for Jesus. Above everything else in life---I desire him! All that he is and all that he possesses is what I long for. Paul said, "I am crucified to the world, and the world is crucified unto me" (Gal. 6:14). I declare today, I will let the teacher teach me. I will seek to know the Anointed One and his anointing. I will give myself to him, until everything that come from me is of him! |
Defining Moments...
The Amplified Bible calls the anointing, "the sacred appointment." What that says to me is that when we fix our attention on Christ, and become engaged with him, it becomes a meeting place that merges all that we are with all that he is. Paul said, "But we all, with open face beholding in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Cor. 3:18).
To simplify this statement, we could read it like this: "As we inwardly and openly gaze upon the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, something begins to change in us. The Anointed One infuses us with his anointing and we are altered in appearance and virtue, sharing more and more of his likeness. This is the work of the Spirit of Christ and his Lordship, which proceeds from our vital union we have with him."
In His Grace,
Pastor David
Faith Harvest Church
Return to the top of the page
|
 | 4 1/2" x 7" - 70 pages |
"APPLIED CHRISTIANITY"
The Power of Turning Principles into Practice
This is what it takes to make a difference between having a belief system and a living faith! Jesus said, "He that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, that built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock" (Matt. 7:24, 25). The danger to becoming just a hearer of the Word and not a doer of it is that you can be hardened by the rule instead of molded by the experience. To become a powerful and active proponent of truth, you must experience the Word for yourself. The gospel of Jesus Christ is not just about principles. There is practice involved that give each principle its power. It is what you do with what you believe that makes an eternal impact in your daily life.

|
|
|
Moments of Meditation is a weekly newsletter send out as an outreach ministry of Faith Harvest Church in Savannah, Georgia. For more information about this ministry go to our website
http://www.fhcsavannah.org.
"Where the winds of revival blow...healing rivers flow"
|
Registration for FHSM - 2011-2012 Class
Classes with begin Tuesday night, 6:30 - 8:45pm , August 30th 2011.
If you have an interested in building a strong foundation for ministry, Faith Harvest School of Ministry
may be the place for you. Contact us by email to learn more about how you can become a part!
|
|
|
|