This past weekend on Sunday, July 21st, Mike Bickle preached a message titled “Abiding In Christ: Cultivating Union With God” from John 15:5. It was a really timely message for our missions base, but even more so for me personally. It’s fairly easy to be in a ministry like ours that focuses primarily on worship and prayer to actually be in the room, but not encounter Jesus in worship or participate in the intersession. This is nothing new for the human heart in many other contexts as well. I think I just see it more clearly because I am constantly in an enviroment where I have an opportunity to turn my gaze towards Jesus and often don’t take it.
Mike stated in this message that the primary duty of the Christian is to live an abiding lifestyle, where we are actively pursuing an intimate relationship with Jesus through a constant dialog. It would seem, for a person that’s been around the Church for a while that it should be a given but in my personal experience, many things often take a precedent over actively talking with Jesus. The work of the ministry is very important, but it’s not replacement for long and loving meditation with Christ. This was a very timely message for me and I believe it will be helpful for you as well.
Here are some quotes from his message;
“Abiding in the vine simply means, if you talk to Me, I will talk to you.”
“God has called you into an abiding lifestyle.”
“The Christian life is an ongoing dialog with a real Person. He has much to say, but He allows us to set the pace of the conversation with Him.
“Jesus is the Vine, the source of life, and we are the branches, the expression of His life.”
“We will pray-read the Bible ten times more if we schedule time for it. If we pray-read only when opportunity presents itself, then we will not to it nearly as much.”
“Pray-reading God’s Word does not earn us God’s love; it positions us to receive more.”
If you would like more information about Mike’s series titled “Abiding In Love: Experiencing The Heart of God” click HERE, and if you would like more information on this specific sermon, including video (as it’s available) and notes you can click HERE.