ABIDE
Have you ever wondered if there was some kind of secret to Spiritual growth that no one was telling you about? Sometimes our struggle with sin and self may cause us to think that real Spiritual growth is out of reach. Others seem to be growing, but the harder we try, the more we seem to fail and fall back into the same defeating patterns of life. It may even seem that the more we focus on the sins of our lives and the things we ‘shouldn’t’ be doing, the harder it is to stay away from those harmful things.
Well, the key to growth in our lives is definitely not a secret. . In fact, Jesus spoke about it often. In His last conversation with His disciples, He left them clear instructions on how they were to grow and bear fruit in the days to come. Surprisingly, it has nothing to do with our willpower, or gritting our teeth and promising not to sin. While we definitely want to stay away from sin, the way to do it is to stay really close to Jesus and what He’s done for us. His love actually changes our desires. After all, on our own, we already know that we will fail.
In John 15, Jesus called this step to growth “abiding in Him.” In today’s message, we will learn what it means to really abide in Jesus, and how our Spiritual growth is totally dependent on it! It’s really no secret at all!
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5