Author Topic: Abide in Me and I in You  (Read 89981 times)

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Richard Myers

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Abide in Me and I in You
« on: March 18, 2000, 05:48:00 PM »
What does it mean to have a personal relationship with Jesus? Many today think they have this relationship and they are  a child of the King. It would be sad if there are some that are sincere, but sincerely wrong.

Some will come to Jesus and say "We cast out demons in your name, we healed in your name" and Jesus will tell them "I never knew you, depart from me." Let us make sure we know what this saving relationship is. Here is a thought to start us off.  Christ bids us: "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. . . . He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing. . . . If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples."

What does it  mean to have a saving relationship with Jesus?
Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

Gerry Buck

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« Reply #1 on: March 20, 2000, 10:44:00 AM »
Thank you brother  Richard.
The reason I suggested this topic is that I have been asked that same question,and,I'm not really sure what it means to have a relationship with Him myself.
Does it mean to want to do what He wants to do?
Or is there more to it than that?
I wrestle with this every day,mainly because I am come late to the truth(37 years old at the time) and never had much in the way of instruction in things religious as a child.
Thanks again,

------------------
He is LORD!

Gerry

Examine me, O LORD, and prove me: try my reins and my heart.Ps.26:2
Gerry B.

Richard Myers

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« Reply #2 on: March 20, 2000, 11:37:00 AM »
Brother Gerry,  it is something that many wrestle with each day. I used walk around, saying "Do I believe enough?"  It was a sincere question and one that Jesus answered very clearly.

There are precious promises in the Bible that we can claim each day. Ezekiel 36:26 promises us a new heart. Look at the very next verse and tell me what you think the promise there means in relationship to our topic.

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In His love and grace,    Richard

Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

charlene

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« Reply #3 on: March 20, 2000, 11:45:00 AM »
Gerry and Richard,  I once heard it said, that "we can measure our love for God, by the love we have for our worst enemy", If our love is no more than what we have for our worst enemy.....we have much growing to do to reach that place where we would die for our worst enemy. When we have emtied our vessels completely, and have been filled with Gods Spirit...He is abiding in us and we in Him. As this process takes place daily, we will become filled with a new heart and new spirit. God is so Good. Christ prays for us, that is exciting...John 17 records His prayer.

Ellen White Quote:
Advent Review and Sabbath Herald-DT- 07-29-90
     Reasons for Having Courage
   "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. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you."
        End of quote

In His Love,charlene

charlene

Gary K

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« Reply #4 on: March 20, 2000, 10:03:00 PM »
Hi all,

I like this thread because it is such a personal one. Our religion is to be a personal one between us and God and we as a people seem to have forgotten it for a long time.

How can each of us abide? I think this is different for each of us personally. The principles will all be the same to guide each of us, but since each of us have different needs, personalities, characters, etc... this is the reason it is so hard to say exactly what abiding is.

To me, it is an attitude. An attitude that is born of a desire to be like Jesus and my knowledge of my inadequacy in being like Him using my own devices. As I study His life and Word I see Somebody who is so much greater than I. By this I do not mean size and power wise, even though these are very true also, but someone who is so much greater than I in moral goodness and worth.

I read something the other day that has really stuck with me. "In order to be the most total human you're capable of you must serve something other than yourself."

It is this that I see in Jesus, He lived only for something other than Himself.

Here is what draws us to Him and makes us desire to emulate Him, for in Jesus we see someone interested in us more than in Himself.

This attitude, the desire to serve something other than myself, leads me spend my time with Someone who I have learned to trust by trial and error, and by seeing who He is by the example of His life in His Word. This desire, leads me to where prayer, my communication to Him, becomes as Ellen White so beautifully puts it, the breath of my soul. Meaning that without this constant communication my life becomes empty and meaningless.

I shrivel with out this communication, from me to Him in prayer, and from Him to me in His word and the lessons taught to me by the Spirit through other people and the lessons of nature.

This to me is abiding. It is seeing the loveliness of the character of Jesus and longing with intensity to be like Him, for then my actions will follow my desires and my time will be spent with Him.

YOur brother in Christ, Gary

[This message has been edited by Gary K (edited 03-20-2000).]


Richard Myers

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« Reply #5 on: March 21, 2000, 04:55:00 AM »
Amen, brother and sister! By beholding His glory we are indeed changed into His image. Who could help but serve such a loving God?<P>Abiding is a very personal experience and it deepens the closer we are drawn to Christ. What do you all think of the book The Desire of Ages?
Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

Gary K

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« Reply #6 on: March 21, 2000, 06:38:00 AM »
Hi Gerry,

Even some of us born and raised in the SDA church struggle with this every day.

I was over thirty before I began to realize what it was to abide. I have had to unlearn many lessons taught me, to learn to abide.

I spent years in self destruction before and because of not understanding the necessity of abiding or having heard of it.

Keep hanging in there. Paul said, My God shall supply ALL your needs.

The fact that you want to abide to me is evidence that you are abiding. My struggle is always in consistantly abiding. It is when other things want to crowd out my time for God that I have to make sure I keep that time for Him alive. Just spend "quality" time with Him every day.

Your brother in Christ, Gary


Allan F

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« Reply #7 on: March 21, 2000, 10:31:00 AM »
"He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked." 1 John 2:6.
The main aim of "The Desire of Ages" I feel is to show how Jesus walked.
In no other book that I have read, the character of Christ is being so amplified as in this one.
Richard, in this forum there is a rule of not making advertisements. But when it comes to this book, I want to make an exception. I highly recommend "The Desire of Ages". When we include this book in our spiritual breakfast, we will more easily be able to keep our Savior in our thoughts through the day, and the faith in him will grow stronger.

Allan F


Richard Myers

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« Reply #8 on: March 22, 2000, 09:38:00 AM »
Brother Allan, I appreciate your concern, but you are absolutely correct in your interpretation of the forum standard. There is no restriction upon recommending that which God has provided for our edification. The inspired counsel we have been given is for us and the more we are reminded of this the better off we shall all be.  :)

The book Desire of Ages was given that we might behold our God and by beholding become changed.  It would be good to spend a thoughtful hour each day in the book. It would make a great difference in anyone's life.
Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

Craigo

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« Reply #9 on: March 22, 2000, 09:53:00 AM »
I also highly recommend getting D of A on tape. I have a set narrated by Samuel Tsout.. (I can't remember how to spell his name).  This set is so fantastic!!!  I listen to it everywhere I drive -- yet another way to set aside that "thoughtful hour". The book absolutely comes alive with his reading.
Craig

Richard Myers

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« Reply #10 on: March 22, 2000, 11:13:00 AM »
Amen!  I wanted it so much on tape over ten years ago that I taped it myself. It was never good enough so I kept taping it over, three times!  That's a lot of reading.  :) What a blessing.

Richard

Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

Laurie Mosher

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« Reply #11 on: March 24, 2000, 03:27:00 PM »
  This is a very good topic. Thank uou Gerry for suggesting it!
 I was raised in an Adventist home, knew all the doctrines from early childhood. But I didn't know Jesus as my personal Saviour UNTIL I was in college. I well remember the day in a Theology class (Life and Teachings of Jesus...Desire of Ages textbook), when Elder Hemo Heghesan said to me, "Laurie if you were the only person on this earth, Jesus Christ would have died for you, because He loves you so much!"  It 'blew my mind', and I've never been the same since.
  Br. Ken Parsons mentioned about so many of us that have ministries...I've thought alot about that. Are we doing it to "put feathers in our hats", or to make an external show? Or is it because we love Jesus?
 Jesus' ministry was to serve others....Should that not be our ministry also? Jesus gave up heaven to make a way of escape for us. Praise the Lord for His wonderful love, mercy and grace!
   And while I have been justified, the process doesn't stop there. Sanctification is what I need now- by becoming a partaker of the divine nature. Do I understand it all? I doubt if I/you will ever understand it all.

 As someone once said about us looking out for the enemy, The enemy is US. And it is a constant battle daily to deal with "self". Gal 2:20 "I am crucified with Christ...and Christ lives in me". I need to let Jesus take control of my life in everything, lay all my plans at His feet, use me TODAY in His service, and finally ,make me wholly Thine."
 Keep "the" faith!
  Br. Laurie
Keep "the" Faith,  Brother Laurie

M.A. Crawford

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« Reply #12 on: March 25, 2000, 03:16:00 PM »
I believe to have a personal relationship with Jesus means to believe in and trust Him and take Him at His word without reservation. It means to totally commit the life to Christ because one has decided to follow Jesus all the way in every department of one's life: where one goes, what one does, what one says, and even what one thinks.

I believe a true, personal relationship with Jesus is a saving relationship. The relationship is a personal one because we get to know the Man from Galilee and become closer to Him by way of the experiences we encounter in our everyday living that test our fidelity to Him. It will save because, if it is a true relationship, it will keep us steadfastly holding on to His unchanging hand as we weather the unkind and unpleasant occurrences of life.

The Bible says: "...Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved..." (Acts 16:31). This formula is a simple one unto salvation because true belief involves a faith relationship with Christ that is demonstrated in the life lived. It involves living out this relationship on a daily basis, and not just on Sabbath. By the power of God Almighty, we are able to overcome because Jesus has become our personal Savior, and we can do all things through Him.

Happy Sabbath.

M.A.

M.A.

Gerry Buck

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« Reply #13 on: March 29, 2000, 07:54:00 AM »
I appreciate what you all are saying.
Assume , for the moment , that I am someone that has never heard this before,....how do you go about starting a relationship with someone you never met,but,want to desperately?
One thing I learned on the road , was , start from the beginning and proceed to the end.
What is the starting point?
The next step?
Etc.,etc,etc.
Don't mean to be a pain,but sometimes we take it for granted that others know what we know.
Unfortunately,they don't.
Thanks for your patients(sp?).

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He is LORD!

Gerry

Examine me, O LORD, and prove me: try my reins and my heart.Ps.26:2
Gerry B.

Richard Myers

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« Reply #14 on: March 29, 2000, 10:16:00 AM »
I like that question, Brother Gerry!  It is impossible to have much of a relationship with someone you have never met. So, let me ask a question. Where do we go to meet Jesus? How do we get to know Him?
Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

M.A. Crawford

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« Reply #15 on: March 30, 2000, 01:05:00 PM »
How do you go about starting a relationship with someone you never met, but, want to desperately? What is the starting point? The next step?

The opening words of a song read: "Lord, I want to be a Christian, in my heart, in my heart...." That's how one goes about starting this personal relationship with Jesus. One must be truly sorry for one's misdeeds (Godly sorrow) and honestly be willing to turn away from them and do them no more (repentance). When an individual is willing to do this, it is then that the Holy Spirit will enter into that person's heart (mind) and give him/her the power to overcome---as well as knowledge of---that what is not according to God's Will for that person's life. One then faithfully and often studies the Word of God in order to ascertain that will. This same Holy Spirit will also give one the power to obey God and grow in grace as the life is re-committed to Him on a daily basis.

The next step is action. Action! Action! Everything revolves around action with God. There are many who are professed followers of Christ, but few who are actually PRACTIONERS of His Word. This is why the investigative judgment began on October 30, 1844 with the house of God (1 Peter 4:17). Before Christ returns a seccond time, all cases must be decided as to an individual's fitness for Heaven.  

The life that is lived (action) determines our relationship with Christ. If it is a right relationship, it will be demonstrated by what we say, where we go, what we do, and even what we think (action).

When the Holy Spirit sees us totally committed to living out the Words of Truth in our everyday living, we will have established a personal relationship with Jesus that we claim by faith and will be given the power to overcome any besetment in this life because "...greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world" (1 John 4:4).

M.A.  

M.A.

Gerry Buck

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« Reply #16 on: April 01, 2000, 02:37:00 PM »
If we don't have the Holy Spirit in us,how do we live according to the lead?
Again don't want to be a pain,but it sounds almost putting the cart in front of the horse.
I was a truck driver for a long time,sometimes I need a road map.
Thanks for you patience(looked it up and got it right this time).
And another thing.....how in the world do you put those smiley faces and stuff on here?
E-mail me if you will.

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He is LORD!

Gerry

Examine me, O LORD, and prove me: try my reins and my heart.Ps.26:2
Gerry B.

Richard Myers

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« Reply #17 on: April 01, 2000, 03:05:00 PM »
Brother Gerry, your persistence will pay off. It reminds me of the lady who said even the dogs get the crumbs from the table after Jesus had refused her request for help.  Hang in there and don't stop until you know the answer to your question. Your salvation depends upon you knowing the answer.

What do you have that you can give to Jesus? Can you change your life? Are you sorry for your sins? Are you truly sorry for your sins?  Let me ask it one more time. Are you so sorry for your sins that you quit doing them? Now, we are to the point of knowing that you have nothing to give to Jesus. We must come to this point in order to know that we need help. This is why Jesus is called a Saviour. Today, we have multitudes professing faith in Jesus, yet they continue in sin because they have no power to quit sinning. They never came to the point of knowing they could not do it themselves.

When we learn that we are under the condemnation of the broken law and will be punished for our sins, even though we profess to be Christians, we begin to look for an answer. We love Jesus and we want to serve Him, yet we do not. What shall we do?  The Apostle Paul came to this point in his life. He said "O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death." Now, God can teach us. He says to us in our sins, "Come unto me all ye that labour and I will give you rest." This we can do. We can choose to flee to Jesus. We, through prayer and Bible study go to Jesus just as we are. He died for us while were yet in our sins.

We must feed upon Christ. We must spend time with Him. It would be good to spend a thoughtful hour each day contemplating the life of Christ. This is where it begins. If we want a relationship with Him, we must spend time in prayer and in learning of Him. By beholding Him, we will become like Him. It is a law, my brother. It really works. Come and see. He is already drawing you. We see your love for Him, but He wants the whole heart. He will finish the work He has begun in you.  While many will perish because they reject this beautiful truth, you my friend may have life eternal. Ask for help and He will give it. Our whole dependence must be upon Christ.  :)
Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

M.A. Crawford

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« Reply #18 on: April 01, 2000, 03:23:00 PM »
The Holy Spirit enters a person's life when He sees that the individual is FULLY COMMITTED to serving God and doing what He asks in His Word without reservation. This is not something that takes place overnight. You are to the study the Word of God (the Amazing Facts Bible Study Guides are a good place to start) and proceed BY FAITH that the Holy Spirit will enter the life and give you what you stand in need of.

Everything revolves around faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Faith is simply believing and trusting in God and taking Him at His Word that He will do what He says He will do. And it is not as easy as it sounds, for we must have faith in God DURING THE BAD TIMES as well as the good in order to prove we actually believe in and trust God.

Having the Holy Spirit in one's life is not based upon feeling: it is based upon faith. You may not feel any different than you always have. But when you have done all you are supposed to do, have no fear. God will certainly do that what He promised He would do.

Happy Sabbath.

M.A.

M.A.

Gerry C. Wagoner

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« Reply #19 on: April 03, 2000, 05:43:00 AM »
Great thread.

After all, the Advent believers--when He comes will be in a living relationship with Christ--so much so that He will purge iniquity out of our lives.  Praise Him!

Its been good for me to remember that relationship with the Creator is not a gathering of equals.  It exists solely on the basis of redeeming grace.  

keep up the good work!

brother Gerry C. Wagoner

[This message has been edited by Gerry C. Wagoner (edited 04-03-2000).]